TEST DRIVE MEME ( 005 )

[lifeaftr_mods]

Test Drive Meme #5

Hello, and welcome to LifeAftr! We’re pleased that you’re expressing an interest in the game. Here, you can test the waters, gauge how your character may fare in the world of LifeAftr, and even gain some in-game incentives, if you so choose.

Remember that Reserves will open on November 17th and that Applications will open on November 24th!

Two important notes:

1. LifeAFtr's test drives take place on the island of Mu, which exists apart from the real world and possesses a dream-like quality that characters are innately aware of from the moment they appear on its shores. No need to panic or fret. Dreams are odd things, after all - and anything can happen in them. Why would anyone question where their mind chooses to wander in its sleep?

2. Due to the nature of Mu, threads in our test drive can not only be accepted as thread samples in your application, but can be accepted as game canon as well. In fact, certain choices your character makes in Mu have the potential to bear in-game consequences, largely in the form of test drive reward items.

All That Glitters
The caves deep beneath the island's surface are not dimly lit; in fact, they practically sparkle with a strange, unearthly greenish light. Blame it on the crystalline growths that protrude plentifully from every nook and cranny, stalactites and stalagmites alike.

Their glow might be soothing to some, and viscerally terrifying to others, but one thing remains absolutely certain: based on the creaking, groaning noises of shifting rock and the high-pitched tinkle of breaking shards of crystal...

You aren't alone down here. The deeper in you venture, the more the thicker clusters of the things begin to move. And eventually, it will become plain to you that it isn't the crystal at all that's moving, but rather the thing inside of it - something vaguely humanoid shaped, bipedal, with arms and legs and the dull, pale glimmers in the region of what might almost pass for a face.

Formed entirely from crystal.

Upon spotting a living creature, each of them will begin to lurch closer and closer, arms outstretched. Every one is slow and cumbersome and even fragile enough to be smashed, if you dare venture close enough. But once they've trapped you, there is no escaping whatever fate they have in store for you.

And rest assured, it is not a pleasant one.

[The above prompt is a version of our Crystal Clear event from October! Feel free to give the event write-up a read for more information.]

It's High Tide
When you initially wake on the beaches of this strange island with its bleeding, dreamlike edges, you might notice that something seems deeply amiss...something like the fact that you're lying in a whole mess of seawater. Assuming you're not thoroughly soaked already, you'd better figure out a way to get to high ground, because the water level is rising very rapidly. Pretty soon, there might not be anywhere safe to go besides the trees, and even those might not be safe the longer this goes on.

Fortunately for you, if you can find them quickly enough, the island of Mu has helpfully provided some assistance for those who don't feel like doggy-paddling for the duration of the dream. Better hurry and hang onto them before you drown! Unless you'd rather doggy-paddle the whole way out, that is. In which case, we're sure the water feels great.

A Crappy Endeavor
In your travels on this strange new land, you might start to notice something following you. Something...oddly shaped, like a lot of dirt and clay that's consolidated into one great awkward moving lump of a creature. What lies beneath is far more like the common beetle...just much, much larger. And unfortunately for everyone involved, they have a very specific appetite:

Your poop.

Mu has produced a very close approximation of the creatures known as f'rshaymes, animals that go beyond merely being useful for disposing of all that nasty waste. Doiing so comes with significant benefits, as the combined process of mud and excrement as it goes through a F'rshayme's digestive system leaves behind pure clay for the...brave.

Often found in small herds of six to eight individuals, f'rshaymes are extremely docile and would be very easy to turn into a herd of your very own. How nice!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[gathersnomoss]

Stone isn't the most flexible of materials. Not without a lot of magic.

[says the man who has it all over his skin]

[journalname]

I have known monsters to be made of stone before. But yes, their magic does tend to help move matters alo -

[The crystal thing is starting to get closer, close enough that it takes a swipe at Asgore. Though he's distracted by the conversation, he does pull his hand away in time.]

- goodness, we do not need to do that.

[gathersnomoss]

[Good, the other man can fight, or at least dodge.]

I don't think they're here for preschool etiquette.

[Zelgadis is already considering which spells would not blow up in his face, and would at least discourage pursuit.]

Or to make friends.

[Read: as soon as the banter is out of the way, I'm going to start the fight or retreat.]

[journalname]

I suppose we have intruded upon their cavern. Perhaps it would be best for us to try to find a way out.

[Asgore certainly has no desire to get in a fight with these creatures! He doesn't understand them in the least.]

[gathersnomoss]

First we get some space away from them.

[Zelgadis turned to start moving quickly, if not running.]

[journalname]

[Asgore's strides are long, and he doesn't really need to run to keep pace. Honestly he doesn't seem as alarmed by this as you'd think.]

Can you see well enough?

[gathersnomoss]

Once we get away from the crystals, I'll need to cast a light spell.

[so, not really, no]

[journalname]

Ah. Will fire do?

[He summons a couple of fire bullets to hover in the air around his own body. His vision isn't terrible in the dark, but he doesn't want to alarm this new person by shooting fire near him.]

[gathersnomoss]

Fine's fine.

You're a sorcerer as well?

[that is also useful to know. Even if this guy is inconveniently nice, he's competent.]

[journalname]

I am a monster! My people are naturally magical.

[He'd offer a hand, but they're both moving a little too fast for that to be practical, so instead he just turns with a smile.]

My name is Asgore.

[gathersnomoss]

[Monster was a broad word; it could encompass anything from 'thing that scared the pants off some peasant farmer' to 'mazoku' (who probably wouldn't identify themselves unless they wanted to murder the witnesses). Play it as 'non-human with innate magical abilities'.]

Zelgadis. And I am a sorcerer.

[journalname]

It is nice to meet you, Zelgadis!

[gosh, are they going anywhere...]

We are headed farther down, I believe.

[gathersnomoss]

... We don't want to do that. Look for a side passage that leads upward. Or at least one without the crystals.

[journalname]

I have spent a very long time living in a cavern system. Not exactly similar to this one, but all the same.

[He'll figure it out, if there's a way that seems a little more up-and-outwardly.]