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

also sorry for disappearing i was literally just playing stardew for two weeks 😩

[orphne]

[Kotone has never been too worried about what someone should or shouldn't do with a stranger, at least. She doesn't rub her back or murmur soothing words, but just holds her close and rests her chin on her shoulder.]

...My name's Kotone. Kotone Shiomi. [It sticks in her throat to say it, but she forces it out anyway, summoning a smile to her lips like it doesn't hurt at all.] I'm friends with Minato. Me and him are pretty similar, you know!

[Like, not completely the same -- the more she learns about Minato, the more similarities she finds, and yet, just as many differences, too. The one that Aigis can sense though, that's the one that matters.]

kotone didn't become the seal... she was just playing stardew... i see...

[pallasathena]

... Kotone-san. [She says with a smile of her own, though her face is still wet with tears.]

I'll protect you, I promise. Even if I have no memory of it, I know you're important to me. That... being with you, is my highest priority.

[Aigis pulls her closer, her grip tight.]

I will never leave you.

you get it...

[orphne]

[If Aigis' shoulder were flesh and bone, Kotone would dig her chin into it. As it is, she can only squeeze her more tightly, trusting the other girl to be able to feel it in her own way.]

I'll stay with you, too. For as long as I can.

[She can't make that same promise Aigis can. She knows she'll leave eventually. Aigis had been with her until the end, but she can't do the same in return. Closing her eyes, Kotone has to take a deep breath to keep her expression something close to cheerful. She won't cry, she rarely cries, but it's hard to keep a smile for something like this.

It's almost funny that Aigis is better at expressing her own emotions than Kotone herself. It just shows how much the robot has grown.]

I'm... really glad to see you. Really. So it's okay if you cry!

also sorry aigis is in insane pre-answer mode she is.... not coping well

[pallasathena]

[For as long as she can...? Then she's even the same as Minato in that way. Aigis shakes her head, she won't fail this time. She'll make sure they both lead full lives. There's that, and...]

I-I don't know if we've done this before, in your memories, but...

[She feels her cheeks grow warm.]

If we go somewhere more private, you could touch the base of my neck and...

[Her genetic material will be burned into her. She'll be a part of her forever, same as Minato.

Aigis tilts her head, a teasing smile on her face.]

You can cry too. Y-You never let yourself, right? No matter how tired you are.

i love her trying to speedrun her own social link what a queen

[orphne]

We did, but...

[It hurts to think it, but she finally gets why Shinji had been so bothered by her just accepting him as her friend when he didn't know her at all. It's almost eerie, knowing that this Aigis doesn't know anything about her, but is still so willing to let her in. There's a tension stretched tight within her chest as she opens her mouth, wanting desperately to agree, wanting her friend to be at her side like she had been at the end, but...

Her smile is soft and a little sad, but she doesn't cry as she shakes her head.]

You don't know me. I can't ask you to do that.

[Shinji here had been so adamant about that, that the Shinjiro Aragaki she'd known hadn't been him. Now, she finally gets it.]

So... let's be friends again first, okay? [She draws back just enough to meet Aigis's eyes, her smile only faintly reaching her eyes, but there within them all the same.] I want us to get to know each other as ourselves. Not who we think we are to each other.

I'M SORRY I WAS ABSORBED BY HADES 2

[pallasathena]

Ah...

[She's acting like she used to, isn't she? Not caring who Minato or Kotone really was, only that she could sense Death sealed within them. Aigis wanted things to go back to the way they were, she wanted to be happy again and not filled with this crushing grief. She feels her tears welling up again, her cheeks hot with embarrassment.]

I'm sorry.

[For rushing into it all. For not treating her as her own person.

She pulls away completely now.]

I... I would like to be friends as well.

NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR VIDEO GAMES it truly do be like that

[orphne]

It's okay!

[And it really is okay. Even if it hurts so much it's hard to breathe, thinking about being forgotten, she owes it to Aigis to let her be her own person. Neither of them are the person they expected to be, but that's okay. They'll learn all over again, and maybe even emerge stronger than before, like she and Shinji now.

...Speaking of Shinji, maybe she should tell Aigis about them...? But it's probably best to let her find them on her own. That way, they can explain themselves without any of Kotone's preconceptions coloring Aigis' perspective.

What Kotone does do is dig in her pocket to pull out a handmade handkerchief. The fabric isn't familiar, nor the design -- it's something she made here in Aldrip -- but it's cute, with bright colors and handmade stitching. Without hesitation, she reaches up, clearly intending to help dry the robot's tears.]

Then... can I come with you while you look for the kitty?

[pallasathena]

[Her gaze turns downwards, suddenly finding that she's unable to look Kotone in the eyes.]

I... I think I'm going to take a break, actually.

[Which probably seems odd for anyone who knows Aigis. She's not the type of person to give up, certainly when it comes to helping someone. But-]

This was- I, when I saw the notice, I couldn't help but think of Minato-san. We once looked for a lost cat together. In the end, the cat had gone away because she didn't want her owner to have to watch her die. Her owner accepted it was simply her time. I know it's silly, but part of me thought, that if I found this cat in time then...

[Then it'd be alive? And Minato would be too? She shakes her head.]

I don't know. But if we are going to be friends, then I don't want to treat you as a replacement for Minato-san.

[orphne]

[The hand holding the handkerchief pauses, hovering uncertainly in the air between them as Aigis breaks eye contact. Subtly, Kotone's fingers curl in it just that little bit as she searches the other girl's face for any hint as to her feelings. For a robot, Aigis is still one of the most expressive people she knows. And it's true; it's strange for her to want to give up.

...Oh. Yeah. January had been fraught with so many thoughts and feelings and scrambling to do as much as she could before time ran out, but she could never forget the time she'd spent searching for that older lady's cat with Aigis. But Aigis had done that with Minato, huh? It makes sense that she wouldn't want to do the same thing with Kotone herself.

So she smiles, and takes Aigis's hand, and presses the handkerchief into it.]

Then... you keep this, and give it back when you're ready.

[Everyone copes with grief and loss in their own ways, in their own time. She knows that better than anyone. She'd witnessed Ken's reaction to her firsthand, but seeing Aigis remembering Minato...

It's a feeling she herself doesn't know what to do with, and it edges her smile with a hint of quiet resignation and sadness as she tilts her head to try to meet Aigis's eyes in spite of it.]

Okay?