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

[spidermenaces]

Just Gwen so far

We made a lab

You wanna come see?

[starguy]

You made a lab?? Hell yeah, I wanna see!

[ He knows Peter is smart, the question of "how smart" may become self-evident soon... ]

[spidermenaces]

Okay okay so club building go up the stairs turn right turn left then big room

[starguy]

Gotcha.

[ He doesn't know how to get there but he's gonna find out one way or another!!

Give him like 15 minutes and he'll show up. ]

Hey!! You guys here?

[arachnerina]

[Guess who forgot to warn her that other!Peter was coming?

yeah. exactly.

Gwen sure is working on one of her web slingers when the door bursts open, and yeah, okay, Quill knows about Peter's identity, but he doesn't know about hers, but it gut reaction to having the door open suddenly is to grab her web shooter and immediately hide it behind her back.]

P- Peter! Wow, hi. Hello! I didn't know you'd be swinging by! [hahaha spidey joke get it, also don't mind her, she's got to send a glare at the other Peter next to her. A little warning would've been nice!!]

[spidermenaces]

(HE'S 95% SURE HE TOLD HER, BUT SOMEONE KEEPS LISTENING TO MUSIC ALL THE TIME AND DOESN'T HEAR HIM-- besides, she could totally get away with telling peter that the web-slinger is his....... if anything, she outed herself, but he'll help it out, it's fine, THIS IS FINE.)

I-It's okay, Gwen, he knows I use those, don't worry.

(SEE???? #savedtheday

either way, he's on the other side, doing the chemistry thing for the webslingers. tubes, tubes, glass, fire...)

[starguy]

[ Quill just laughs. Some part of him wants to make a "I hope I'm not intruding..." joke but he believes in guys and girls being friends without making things weird, so he just waves a hand and steps on into the room. ]

Yep! Hey, Gwen! Ooh, are you a spider person too? Are you Spider-Woman?

[ He just sounds excited about it, honestly. Don't worry, tour secret is safe(?) with Star-Lord. ]

Man, you weren't kidding about the lab thing. This stuff looks rad. Rocket would have a field day.

[ He will try not to touch anything, but his eyes have the gleam of a guy who wants to touch everything. ]

[arachnerina]

What? Me? No-- no, no. No way. I'm just-- me. He's the spider person. Definitely not me too.

[cue a lot of awkward laughing, because wow, did he really just guess that?? holy shit she's wants to crawl in a hole and die, even if it's not that far of a stretch. He already knew about Peter, and she met him when she first arrived, looking for Peter. Or a Peter, anyway.

So much for secrets around here!! This is why she worked alone in her world.]

[spidermenaces]

(QUILL WHAT THE SHIT

time to save, time to save, don't spill the solution, and the first thing that comes out of his mouth is:)

Nope, those are mine, I got like, really thin wrists.

(.................

come ON, peter.

gwen better APPRECIATE this.)

Hey, put on a pair of glasses, I don't want that stuff to go into your eyes!

[starguy]

[ That denial is so clearly obvious. It's so. You kids are so bad at secret identities. I'm include Quill in "kids." ]

Riiight. Okay. I get it.

[ He draws a zipper over his mouth, gaze jumping from Gwen to Peter. ]

Ixnay on the ider-spay. I can keep a secret! I once saw Groot steal one of Gamora's figurines and I let Drax take the heat for it.

[ He winks, as if that should garner any kind of trust. Really, really obviously. If a wink could be loud, his would be. He then pops his visor on because what better way to protect your eyes than with a pane of glass that pops up from seemingly nowhere? (It's in the back of his neck. It's an implant. Space is cool.) ]

Anyway, what are you kids working on?

[arachnerina]

[...yeah. That was really smooth. No wonder he didn't buy it. Gwen smacks her forehead, knowing she was just as guilty in this as Peter, but... he hasn't blasted Peter's identity everywhere, so??

Hopefully this Quill guy was trustworthy.

Or not.]

Aren't you just...blabbing about it right now? [Granted she had no idea who he was talking about, but she doesn't want him blabbing to strangers about them!!

Sighs.]

Webbing. For our web shooters. Both of our web shooters. [cat's out of the bag, so might as well roll with it now.]

[spidermenaces]

-- Hey, if you were just going to talk, then I didn't have to say that!

(but it's actually funny, because quill does blab a lot, about things peter only half gets, because he did only meet half his people, and it wasn't even his people-- unimportant, but he can't help the jab.)

Yeah, right? Now we're definitely gonna tell your not-actual-girlfriend.

(because she apparently isn't? this is confusing.)

Yeah, gotta do it from the very scratch, it's not really like we can go down the chemistry store and get the solutions. This is going to be an adventure.

[starguy]

Aw, come on! You guys don't know 'em, so it's fine! The version you know probably doesn't even collect figurines.

[ Yeah, he's not super worried. Of course he's a little sad knowing his friends are unlikely to show up, but he powers through that sadness with his endless optimism. ]

Seriously. My lips are totally sealed.

[ He raises his hands in surrender, trying to make himself seem as harmless as possible. He is used to doing that, actually. ]

Dude, how cool would the chemistry store be, though. [ He chuckles.] That's totally cool that you guys make this stuff from scratch, you're so smart! [ He means that. He isn't just saying that, he is big on complimenting people. ]

Any chance you guys know how to make jet fuel? I'm... probably gonna run out.

[ He taps his shoes on the ground, the metal starting at his feet and climbing all the way up to his knees. Why can't everything just run on cool Spartoi tech like his guns, that never run out of ammo and create elements from nothing. ]

[arachnerina]

He figured it out! There was no point in pretending otherwise! And anyway, who's the one that told him about their powers in the first place, hmm?

[not to point fingers but!! Peter did spill the beans first. Just saying.]

Unless they show up here too. You never know. [She wouldn't risk it. It's for that very reason she's trying to keep her cover from being blown by these loose mouthed boys. Just in case.

As for the jet fuel request, she shrugs and looks over at Peter.] I'm sure we could come up with something for you that'd work.

[if they can make synthetic web, they could absolutely make fuel for Quill's...jetpack..things.]

[spidermenaces]

Well, technically, it's because I kind of know him. Well, not him him. My him. He was in space with me and pointed a gun at my head, but, like, bad taste in movie and geography aside, pretty solid dude.

(aside from the whole gamora thing, which as established, wasn't this quill, and well. he could probably not have lost it, that would have been great. that aside, it was that little spark of familiarity that is making him a little too comfortable.)

Oh, yeah, that was a thing, let us see, take them off, do you know what is in the fuel? Because if it's some insane space stuff, I'm not gonna guarantee it.

[starguy]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. [ Peter raises a hand, his tone serious. ] Hey, I would never point a gun at your head.

[ Just sayin'! Other Peter Quill sounds like a dick. But Peter does start taking off his boots, pressing down on a few clasps here are there until he can easily step out of the armored sections. ]

Ta-da! I think the fuel was some kind of synthetic eco fuel that Rocket came up with. It's really cheap and actually not all that explosive -- I told Rocket I refused to wear bombs on my feet, so he made it work that the ignition in the jets just runs super hot.

[ I am making all of this shit up, don't @ me ]

[arachnerina]

Oh right, so this is the-- what movie did you say-- oh, right! Footloose. This is the Footloose guy?

[or maybe not him, exactly. The multiverse really seemed to be having fun messing with them. And not just in a fun, spider-verse way.

Don't mind her, she's just going to set all her tools down and come around to where Quill is standing, to get a better look at his boots in question, before turning to Peter.]

Can you scan the fuel with that fancy suit of yours? If we get the chemical composition, might be easier to try to recreate without just winging it.

[spidermenaces]

Exactly that guy! But this one is cooler, but, Quill, to be fair to the other you, he just saw me in the suit in a very high-pressure situation, I definitely am not blaming that you.

(it is and it is driving peter freaking CRAZY, only 01 person knows what he is talking about at 80% of the time, it's so disorienting with all these people who he knows, but don't, who know him, but don't.

but it's fine, he gets to see cool tech. he is approaching, taking in all the words that peter is saying. a look here, another there, before he shoots a web to the door to keep it closed, same to pull the curtains before the suit is on.)

No, it's not connected to a network right now, so the functions are limited, though he did say something interesting, hold on.

(he can't just tell the freaking ai to roll up some cool stuff, he has to do it manually, gestures or eye commands, so it kinda looks like he's playing with a huge screen for a second before he comes closer to look at it. click, click, click.)

Okay, I took some X-RAY and infrared pictures of it. That should give us a starting point on how it is designed so if we know how it works, then it's a little easier to figure out what it needs.

(i'm pulling this out of my ass)

[starguy]

The footloose guy? I'm not even Star-Lord? Come onnn.

[ Peter crosses shrugs in disbelief. If you ask him, the other-him kind of sounds like a dick, so it's really no offense taken. But Peter lets them do their thing, even if it leaves him in just his socks at the moment. ]

Nice. Yeah, the actual controls are hooked up to my belt, but I just control how much juice to give it. [ He points out where two little cables stick out from the boots where they hook up, because that's a real thing that works on his outfit. ] You guys can go nuts and try and figure it out, honestly. These aren't like, forbidden tech or anything.

[ Not like his blasters, he means!! ]

[arachnerina]

Honestly, he only told me about your lame taste in movies.

[She just shrugs. She didn't know he went by Star-Lord until Quill mentioned it, and had no idea he was actually the same guy that Peter had told her about until now.]

Does that suit have a printer? [IT HAS EVERYTHING ELSE, IT SEEMS. Must be nice. Either way, she'll want to take a look at those scans he got later.

For now, she's doing what she knows and grabbing a sterile swab, and using that to swab the fuel port.]

I'll run this and see what I can learn about the fuel. Hopefully it's something we can make here. If not...well, we'll figure it out when we get there, if it comes to that.

[spidermenaces]

Told you 'Star-Lord' isn't gonna stick, man.

(HE HAS POTENTIAL IN NAMING... THIS ONE, THOUGH... but either way, he is very busy in his suit, his fingers and hands gesturing and moving around as he controls the visor in front of his eyes-- until he has to laugh out loud.)

What?! No! It's a war weapon, why would it-- hehe, why would it have a printer?! Am I gonna give the bad guys a ticket?

(it'd be actually funny actually he would. but it doesn't stay longer, it returns to his belt like nothing ever happened.)

We'll do our best for sure.

[starguy]

Dude, it's literally on my Nova file and everything! Star-Lord is officially my callsign!

[ These kids got no respect, smh. Calling his taste in movies lame? Maybe the other Peter Quill, sure, but his? Nuh-uh. Not worth it. ]

Hey, you joke, but I got a space parking ticket once and that scut can lead to Nova impounding your ship. It's no joke.

[ But Peter is happy to leave these things in their capable hands. He believes in the power of smart, genius teens. He was once a smart (not genius) teen as well. ]

I'll leave you kids to it, then! I'm not using these much 'cause I'm worried about the fuel, but if you end up needing something, just let me know.