TEST DRIVE MEME #9

[expiationmods]

Test Drive Meme #9

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.

June's's TDM is forward-dated to June 20th.

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

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?

Summer Solstice (June 20th)

The summer solstice, also known as the longest day of the year. Aldrip may have received a big upgrade in size recently, but this special day still calls for celebration amongst the locals, who have a long tradition of celebrating various celestial phenomena. For this occasion, the entire city will be throwing a Midsummer celebration! The festival itself takes place from June 20-24, with the solstice happening the evening of June 20. There will be celebrations before, during, and after the festival as well!

On the shortest day of the year in December, the Chosen were told to stay indoors until sunrise. The opposite holds true for the summer solstice: all are encouraged to remain outside from dusk until dawn, and locals throw a festival to keep everyone entertained through the wee hours of the morning!

The streets of the commercial district are lined with sun-painted lanterns, lit as dusk starts to fall and kept glowing until sunrise the next day. Those lanterns illuminate a lively street bazaar featuring exotic food and drink, curious wares, and lawn/party games of all kinds. The Chosen are encouraged to either participate, or occasionally wager bets on other people who may be competing against one another. May the odds be ever in your favor?

As the sun begins to set, locals light large bonfires. There will be music and dancing—Chosen are encouraged to participate in whatever way they’d like, whether they want to perform or lead a line dance. If they’re not inclined to join in, the fires and music still provide a perfect backdrop for a little relaxing conversation and meeting new friends.

After dark, a large fireworks show begins. All in attendance are encouraged to bring (or find!) blankets to lay out so they can watch the show. Clinking glasses with good friends at the height of the show is considered good luck, so it’s not uncommon to see some folks having a drink during this time. As Aldrip is so close to the ocean, some locals even offer discounted boat rides to get a different view of these fireworks.

At dawn, the locals finally tuck in for a few hours of rest. But don’t worry—the Midsummer festival continues even after the solstice is done!

Midsummer Festival (june 20-june 24)

Locals begin prepping for the festival days in advance, and while they won’t drag others in to help the same way they have in the past, they still won’t turn down an extra set of hands. You’ll even get paid for your troubles, either in money or in favors (free meal vouchers, rent at the inn, etc). There’s no shortage of work to be done, from dragging tables around to stringing lanterns or even collecting sticks for bonfires. Just be careful, locals tell of strange whispers coming from Pessiria Forest at odd times of day and night…

The festival itself has different activities and happenings depending on what area you visit. Most of these activities can be done on any day of the festival. Most of the games and contests outlined here are examples—you’re free to make up others if you feel so inclined!

BEACH EPISODE!!
The beach is a prime location in the month of June, and locals really go all out for this particular occasion, setting up a large beach party with food, drink, and brightly-colored umbrellas to provide some shade.

There are various sporting activities such as beach volleyball, windboarding, surfing, and a large, built-up dune for sand surfing. Most of these are just for fun, but if locals see some really good contenders, they might urge a competition between them.

For those less sporting, there are all sorts of activities and challenges. Kite flying, sandcastle building, and scavenger hunts are particularly popular with the locals. Maybe they’ll ask you to bring back a certain number of round seashells, or to make friends with someone sitting under a pink umbrella…the possibilities are endless, really. There will also be official competitions for kite flying and sandcastle building, so put your best foot (or shovel) forward!

Some enterprising locals have also set up boat tours to take locals and Chosen through the nearby waves. In some places, the light makes it seem almost like you can see something in the distance…but it’s not on the map, right? Maybe it’s just your imagination. Hmm.

HAVE A FIELD DAY
The rolling hills outside of the city make a perfect place for various races and games. Bring your competitive spirit, because there will be medals awarded for winning races! Some common games include: bag races, “wife” carrying (gender, spousehood, and pre-existing relationship not required, of course!), three-legged races, relays, baton passes, and foot races.

It’s not all sporty competitions, though! Some older locals will lead more relaxing activities, such as stretching, meditation, and recreational group dances. These are volunteer-led groups, of course, so if those volunteers have to sit down or step away for a bit…well, they’ll have to ask someone to take over for them.

Those with good animal handling stats are not forgotten either, of course! There will be animal races, as well, on horses or even chocobos. There may or may not even be a petting zoo, pony rides, or other fun, relaxing activities with animals. Sometimes you just need to sit in a pen full of bunnies, okay.

Please do be careful, though: increased activity could make some of the monsters roaming outside the city a little bit curious about what’s going on this close to town…

WHEN YOU’RE DOWNTOWN
The green spaces of Aldrip have been decked out in their very finest, and floral season is in full bloom. Some enterprising gardeners will be unveiling new garden designs in honor of the festival: hedge mazes, giant sculpted topiaries, and elaborate fountains.

While it doesn’t hold a candle to the Ketsoran diplomatic masquerade, the event center will also be hosting several nights of dining and dancing during the festival. It may be a little less lavish, but it’ll nonetheless be quite glamorous—and the food will probably be good, too.

The bazaar from the day of the solstice continues throughout the festival. Additionally, various shops and businesses may choose to provide specials, discounts, and other offers to entice new and current Chosen alike.

THE SPIRE
One of the taller buildings in town has installed a large spire near one of the garden squares. They claim that, as the sun rises to its midday point, light passing through the spire will create an incredible light show. They’re right, as a matter of fact: the light reflects and refracts, scattering rainbows across the square. It’s a dazzling display. When the sun passes its midday point, however, the beautiful color show suddenly turns into white light. Anyone looking at this light will find that they are no longer able to keep track of how long they’re watching it. Your mind may begin to go blank, almost as if it refuses to accept something, some deep truth that the world is trying to tell you…

…

No, that must be your imagination. The light vanishes shortly thereafter—or was it ever there to begin with? The unsettling feeling may remain, but it’ll be harder and harder to be certain of what caused it.

This is fine and also normal.

Wildcard

Make your own fun! Just because it’s not in the prompts doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Have at it! Go crazy! Try not to break anything (too much)!

♡

Comments

[howyouseit]

[Ekko watches along intently as his counterpart struggles to find the rope to pull up the sail at first, a small gasp escaping him when she almost slips and falls but thankfully catches herself. The last thing he needs is for Rise to fall off and smash her head on the way down or something terrible like that he'd feel pretty awful despite forewarning that she might do so beforehand.

When she sings him praises he cannot help but shrug his shoulders a little with a sincere smile along with it. He was used to whizzing through the skies above on a far more advanced hoverboard with precise movements so this was nothing by comparison.]

I'm used to something a little more unforgiving if you fall off so this is nothing. You're doing great though we're almost there just don't slip at the finish line, alright?

[Trying his best to give her a bit of reassurance, making sure she was paying close attention again before making his next move.]

Listen up, this is one of the last steps…Go ahead and grab the middle bar on the sail. It's how you steer along with that crossbar.

[Going over it slowly he does exactly as he says, securing his hands on the mast at both hold positions. He's never actually used a wind board before so he tests how to shift his weight and turn himself first before going over it. Moving the sail back he notes it catching the wind whilst shifting it forward resisting him. Now that he had the gist of it he looks back towards Rise one last time with his final instructions.]

Make sure you keep your weight in the center and keep your arms extended or you're going to end up eating it real quick! Once you pull the sail back it's game on so you best be ready, if you want to slow down to stop twist it forward. Let's do this!

[idollizing]

[More unforgiving!? What is this guy doing, bungee jumping without rope!? Wait, she can't focus on that- if she doesn't follow the instructions, she'll end up making a fool of herself in front of him! That's not allowed in her book! She grabs the bar of the sail and pulls it towards her, trying to bring her wobble on the board to a minimum.

...and it feels like the worst part is over? Standing up on this thing without falling over is tricky, but once with something to hold on to, even if tricky, it's kind of okay? She even manages a giggle when the wind gets her board float forward- not in the direction she wants, but it's going somewhere, so that's a win! Right?]

This is kind of fun, [she nods frantically when he reminds her to keep her balance centered and she corrects herself immediately. She's still hesitant to get the speed up to nines, but she's balancing this well- for a beginner!]

Wait- what do you mean 'game on'? I can't race you! I can barely stand on this![The fear of going too far and not being able to come back due to sea currents is REAL.

Then again, if he takes off and leaves her in the shallows here, she might panic either way and chase after him (to the best of her ability!).]

[howyouseit]

[Rise seemed to get the hang of things relatively quickly which was good to see, a sense of pride welling up inside Ekko knowing he was a good enough teacher. Well, maybe for something like this but if it came to actual schooling she was shit out of luck there having no real education. He was a self taught learner such as it was along with being a talented inventor who was pretty bright by most people's standards in Zaun, fixing gadgetry at Benzo’s shop from a young age before his untimely demise. But that was neither here nor there and didn't want to ruin this fun moment dwelling on such things.

Once he's sure his newfound companion had comfortably found their center and was beginning to learn the basics he thought to show off a little, for he was known to be a bit cocky at times when he excelled at something. Leaning his weight back he catches the wind on his sail taking off to carve perfectly into an oncoming wave with a burst of laughter ushered out triumphantly.]

Whew! This definitely makes me feel back home!

[Sorry Rise he's a bit enraptured by the task at hand but quickly looks back over his shoulder to make sure she hasn't bailed off yet, he wasn't about to leave her completely alone after he was the one to coax the girl into this. Turning backwards Ekko circles around to come at her opposite side to face her directly, giving an impressed nod as he watches her go passing by.]

See you got this! Told ya it would be good time!

[Yelling out over the roar of the ocean as he thoroughly enjoying himself thus far.]