TEST DRIVE MEME #8

[expiationmods]

Test Drive Meme #8

Welcome to Expiation, a pan-fandom adventure game with elements of fantasy, science fiction, and some subtle horror.

TDM top-levels are open to all, whether you are already in-game or not. New characters, please put TDM in your subject header so we’ll know you’re trying things out! You can also put your top-level in the TDM DIRECTORY at the bottom of the post. New folks are welcome and encouraged to use TDM threads as samples in their application. Current players may use TDM threads as part of their AC proofs.

April's TDM is forward-dated to the end of Gogol, Dara, and Seimei's player plot on April 20th.

You can view our CALENDAR to keep important dates in mind. RESERVES open on April 20 and APPLICATIONS will open on April 23 After this, applications will next open in June 2024.

NEW FOR APRIL 2024: there is now a top level for everyone to post their TDM top levels into! This is for new characters only. Thank you!

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Arrival

You remember a room of blinding white light—so bright that you couldn't make out any details. You heard voices, speaking in muffled tones. It sounded an awful lot like they were talking about you. You were just on the verge of figuring out what they’re saying, you were so close...but what happened after that?

Ah–that's right. You fell into blackness.

New characters are most likely to wake in one of the following locations:

THE DOCKS
You wake to the gentle sound of waves, your body rocking with the movement of the water. Wait—water? Since when was there water beneath you?

Since now, apparently. You appear to be in the lower rooms of a boat…and you might not be alone. There are several of these crafts in the harbor, ranging from larger cruising vessels to small sailboats. The one thing they all have in common is this: they are all half-built, as if someone realized very recently that there is a whole ocean to explore. Wonder where they might be going? Either way, you’d better get out of here, before the construction crew finds you and brands you as a stowaway.

ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
When you come to, the first thing you hear is the commotion of distant voices and running feet. You feel a warm light on your face…it’s too bright to look at directly, so when you open your eyes, you have to look away. It’s probably for the best. Those stage lights can’t be good for your eyes.

… Stage lights?

That’s right, you seem to be just offstage in an entertainment venue. Someone is fussing with you, powdering your face with some last-minute touch-up makeup, vaguely coaching you on. “You’ll be great! Just get out there and have fun!”

With little room to argue or ask questions, you are immediately shoved out on stage, and find yourself in front of a sold-out crowd. What you find on the stage to help you perform is up to you: a microphone, musical instruments, magician’s tools, a full-blown play, the sky’s the limit.

Break a leg…?

CITY CENTER
“These new statues are so lifelike!” Click.
“I wonder which artist installed all of this? It’s almost eerie, isn’t it?”
“I feel like they could move at any second!” Click click.

You wake in a garden. Not just in a garden—amongst the flowers, almost as if you’re an installed piece of artwork. Are you alone, or posed with someone else? Up to you. You may even find yourself entwined with vines, half-buried in the ground, or subtly hidden beneath a large bush. A few hapless locals stand in front of you, taking pictures. Do they really believe you’re a statue? They’re in for a rude awakening whenever you finally move…

Well. Better dig yourself out of here and figure out what’s going on.

However you awaken, the next time you’re able to stand still and take in your surroundings, you’re approached by a small mechanical creature, which reveals a handheld tablet with a rolled-up parchment within it. Booting up the tablet for the first time brings you the following message:

WELCOME, CHOSEN.
WE ARE SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE.

So…now what?

These new familiar streets

The unexpected expansion of Aldrip means that there's suddenly a vast uptick in things to do. The locals don't seem to find any of this unusual or surprising at all, but the Chosen seem to remember that Aldrip wasn't always like this...how unusual! Well, whatever the case, the city is abuzz with activity…and wildlife, apparently. Thanks to some recent events, there seems to be a surplus of poisonous snakes slithering haplessly through the city, as well as, perhaps, a few lingering pockets of miasma. Best to watch your step…

i. This smells like a sidequest
Businesses and individuals all over town will be giving out quests ranging in size, scope, and request. Any of these will net you a prize from the right requestor. These prizes are mostly just silly little knick knacks, and they don’t seem to have any value, but the locals are adamant that they are quite important! At the same time, some locals may offer more useful rewards, such as money, clothing, food, or even a month’s rent at the local inn, especially for newcomers. Either way, you might have to team up to complete some of these challenges. Grab a partner!

Quests and requests can include, but are not limited to, ideas such as:

A local art collector looking for striking photographs of local flora and fauna
The neighborhood food cart owner on the hunt for new and interesting ingredients and recipes
Your neighbor’s search for their missing cat
Requests to clear monsters out of certain areas
Scavenger hunts to find local landmarks, such as murals on the side of buildings, a specific statue, or a hole-in-the-wall business

You're free to use your imagination, the setting, and local NPCs to come up with whatever ideas your heart desires.

ii. Should’ve waited for the patch
This sudden change is going fairly well, but it could be better. Some areas of town will be subject to something that seems like glitches. These effects could range from things going missing or suddenly changing (your favorite lipstick just changed from red to blue?? how odd!) to streets and doorways going into places they logically shouldn’t go to. Your front door isn’t supposed to be at the end of the dock, is it? Better watch your step, because strange things seem to be afoot.

Day and night life

While it’s not an official festival by any means, the beginning of spring is the cherished start of the planting season for the farmers outside of Aldrip, and the entire city comes together to promote it! Chosen are encouraged to take part in the planting process if they desire, but there’s plenty more to do, for those who don’t have a green thumb. Flyers can be found all over town for various competitions, shows, businesses, and events. Just be careful—the city has grown rapidly in a short period of time, and that means crime rates have grown as well. It’s unwise to linger alone after dark. Who knows what someone may find down a dark alleyway…or who knows, maybe they should be more afraid of you.

iii. Iron Chef: Aldrip
Fire up those pots and pans! The highlight of the town center is a huge cooking competition, where locals and Chosen alike are encouraged to bring their finest culinary skills to the table and create a spectacular dish. Those who would rather cheer from the sidelines, or even act as judges for the competition, are encouraged to do so as well. Anyone may enter—and we do mean anyone, so judge at your own risk.

iv. This is not Aldrip’s Best Friends Race
Many local businesses in the Commercial and Entertainment Districts are putting on all sorts of shows and competitions: talent contests, arm-wrestling competitions, fashion shows, dance exhibitions, the sky's the limit. Local business owners will tempt the Chosen into participating by offering rewards: free items, the option to keep costumes they put you in, trophies, all manner of comforts that could entice wary newcomers into volunteering.

Chosen who own or work at local businesses are also encouraged to participate by starting their own shows or contests. They’ll be rewarded with an uptick in business and free advertisement.

The Events Center will be hosting a lavish and well-advertised drag show and competition, and some locals will encourage participation from Chosen of all genders. Most of them will lay off if the Chosen are really not interested (they’re not putting their lives at risk for this!) but some of the more determined and charismatic ones might not take “no” for an answer.

Wildcard

Just because it’s not in the prompts doesn’t mean it can’t happen. We encourage you to look at our new setting page for Aldrip, as well as the world map. Anything that looks interesting there is fair game, so have fun with it!

♡

Comments

[marakunda]

(Akihiko gives a small nod at the comment on his landing, dusting his hands off as he straightens back up.)

Boxing club.

(As if that explains everything, but at the end of it all it isn't as if Akihiko can go into detail about SEES and his night shifts. Saying nothing didn't feel right either.

The bag is rustling, the muffled yowl promising death by a thousand scratches for the both of them and Akihiko can't help but wonder if the world would have been better off had the cat been left up the tree.)

The owner should know how to calm their pet down. (But, Yu does have a point and Akihiko concedes, folding his arms as he mulls it over.) Anywhere nearby the sells tins of cat food?

[izanagis]

A boxer, huh?

[As if that explains it?? I mean, of course Yu is wondering what might be missing from that explanation -- mostly because his current abilities with a sword can't exactly be explained by "I was in kendo club in my old school." But social links are a long game. You don't learn everything about a person just from one experience, no matter how harrowing, no matter how close your brush with death might have been.

(This is a fairly dramatic description, but the makeshift bag is still full of whirling angry razor paws, after all.)]

Hm, [he muses for a moment, then looks at their current surrounds.] My place might be closest, actually.

[He nods in the direction of the dojo, just a few streets down.]

[marakunda]

( Akihiko could easily go into a discussion on how boxing isn't all just in the fists, that footwork is also just as important, but the fact the pair of them have a demonic cat-shaped entity in a bag puts that on hold.

There's a small hope sent out into the world that Yu's jacket is a tough one, or there'll undoubtedly be problems. )

Is it? ( It's a strange stroke of luck but Akihiko will take it, fine to go with the plan than overthink it. ) You must have cats then. Lead the way, I'll cover the back.

[izanagis]

[Yu is gonna miss this jacket. If he's very, very lucky, it'll be extensively furred but in one piece by the time they finally calm the feline raging within. He has a feeling it's more likely to be full of holes...if it holds together at all.

His expression changes slightly at the assumption, because uh--] I just feed the strays.

[Why does he not own a cat. No idea. He just doesn't. Forever the petless protag. Anyway, he smiles a bit at the offer for cover.] D'you think we'll run into something on the way?

[He's not convinced that they are, but it's an interesting way to word things nonetheless.]

[marakunda]

(Akihiko stares blankly for a moment, somewhat caught out by the explanation that he'd not given a single thought to. Someone who went out of their way to feed strays had to be a good person and Yu immediately goes up in Akihiko's estimation.

Especially if all the cats in this place are as angry as the one they have.)

You could say you have cats then. (There's the smallest hint of a smile before Akihiko glances at the jacket before surveying their surroundings. He doesn't know much of this place yet and there's been little time for jogs to scout around.)

I get the feeling you never know in this place - that's what I keep hearing since I got here.

[izanagis]

[His eyebrows lift at the assertion, but -- in a weird way, Yu kind of gets what he's saying. He doesn't respond with words so much as with a faint smile and a tip of his head, but he really can't...quite argue the logic there. The cats at the farm know him pretty well, after all. They may not be his, but there's definitely a bond there.

(Hm. He wonders how the Fox is doing back home.)

A soft chuckle at the follow-up.] That's a fair point. [You never know in Aldrip. Yu is only mostly certain they won't run into a Shadow, specifically, but that's more due to the technicalities of it than anything.] Guess we'd both better stay on guard.

[At least he brought his sword, right?]