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

[totheno1]

[Well that's certainly not something Kei expected to be taught at a school, especially in Japan, or at least, he supposes based on the name. There's low odds someone would even speak about that. Then again, that type of 'situation' it seems, tends to happen more often than he wants to believe.]

It's possible he might have been a Persona user before, if the subject interests him. To most people, it's merely a type of highly-debated psychology. Perhaps in your world, it might just be that.

[In his world (and totally not Ryoji's!!!), however, there's a probability Jung was literally a Persona user.]

[luneminary]

[Now that’s a plot twist he would find to be too shocking to wrap his head around — it’s one thing for weirdness to occur in this strange new land, it’s another to learn of the possibility that it exists in your original world in the first place! What’s next, discovering that he’s classmates with someone with the same supernatural ability? Or maybe one of them would be a robot!

lmao no way amirite]

I can’t believe it, but you might be right — he’s our school nurse, and not necessarily a psychology expert, y’know? Are Personas something common in your world?

[totheno1]

[NO WAI that's just silly]

That's a truly complicated question...[he hasn't met other users here yet either or his answer might be slightly different.] I couldn't tell you how many can use a Persona, but I've met my share of others who were able to summon them...both good and bad.

However, to be a persona user, you must have a strong heart and will to freely manipulate them. There is more to it, but perhaps we can talk about this later, least another part of your body or mine meets a similar fate as your scarf.

[luneminary]

That makes sense. [sage nod.] It's like how there are super heroes and super villains. That sounds so cool though! Hey, do you think there's a way for me to have one?

[He would sound like an excited puppy here until he is reminded of why they were having this conversation in the first place (The Bad Scarf Incident.)]

Wait, you're right - the glitches haven't ended, have they? [Where did they come from, anyway?] Let's go somewhere safer, first.

[totheno1]

That...I am not sure in this world, unfortunately, but it would depend if you have a strong sense of self. I assume if you are here, then there is always a possibility...

[Anyway back to the task at hand, because if he continues like that he's going to break the timeline.]

Yes. Let us go, young man.

[He doesn't quite wait for Ryoji's reply before be looks around and starts to get away from the glitching, the latter probably realizing Kei is at least trying to look around to make sure no one else is stuck somewhere before they finally make it a place that's less glitchy.]

[luneminary]

[He doesn't mind Kei's urgency at all, not when there's a looming invisible threat in the form of the glitches. It would be awful if Kei's scarf ends up getting stuck! Then again, they know that 'Persona' thing could fix that issue, yeah?

Ryoji does his best not to badger him with questions on the walk away, although it's obvious that he's brimming with curiosity. But the moment they feel safe, all gloves are off.]

So if it's a power that you can gain, instead of something that you're born with, does that mean you have to experience something in order to get it? [He mentioned something about having a strong sense of self - maybe it's a kind of situation that proves it, then!] How did you get yours? ...And why is it a guy on a surfboard? Do all Personas come with surfboards?

[If only. Thanatos would look cool if he used his coffins as a surfboard. But maybe that'll come true in the future - Ryoji is like a sponge when it comes to learning, after all!

In any case it'd be because of you. Good job!]