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

[mightymorphin]

Don't worry, I get it. But hey, you can always wait and see if anyone has a bad reaction to seeing me walk around.

[Besides, being able to change into anyone made it easy to just... slip away from a conflict. As long as no one had a way to detect mutants here, Morph was pretty confident that they could deal with any confrontations that might happen.]

Oh yeah, I can do it all. People, animals - haven't tried plants yet, not too sure I want to. It means that I get some of the benefits of the physical powers I'm copying, but I can't shoot laser beams or anything.

[And, just to demonstrate, Morph rapidly shifts their form into Kurt's - not the blue-furred one, but a perfect duplicate of the hologram image standing before them. They raise their arms to look over their hands, even speaking with the same exact accent as Kurt.]

I don't know about this form, though. It looks too normal. Dexterity is all in the muscles, you know?

[digthefuzz]

[Kurt has a bit of an unsure smile during that first part. He'd feel a little guilty about another mutant acting as a guinea pig for him, as happy-go-lucky as they sound about it.

But then as they confirm Kurt's question, his mind continues to wander. Another shapeshifter? Could it be possible? There have been very few examples of mutants with powers that are exactly or almost the same. He tries to stay calm, to convince himself that their power likely works different than Mystique's.

And then Morph turns into Kurt. That takes him off-guard! Such an exact transformation - it reminds him of what she could do.]

Mom? [Oh no. Did he say that out loud? He awkwardly tries to cover up.] I- I mean - it's like looking in a funky mirror! [He tries to sound excited! Because maybe this isn't Mystique posing as another mutant to befriend him!]

[mightymorphin]

[Morph quirked a brow at that, just as quickly shifting back to their natural, pasty form. They put their hands on their hips, regarding Kurt with a little confusion.]

What'd you say? Mom? That's one I haven't heard before.

[They're teasing, sure, but it was such an odd reaction that they couldn't let it slide. Kurt just seemed a little uncomfortable... which could've been Morph's fault for copying his face right in front of him, but that still didn't explain the verbal slip.]

[digthefuzz]

Sorry. [He says, averting his eyes uncertainly as Morph points out the Awkward Thing.] I- It's just... I was reminded of someone else.

[He hesitates for a moment, and then he looks back towards Morph.]

Does the name 'Mystique' mean anything to you?

[He doubts all shapeshifters know each other, but if this Morph is an X-Man, than they should know about an enemy like Mystique. ...Assuming this isn't Mystique trying to get close to him and trick him like she did with Rogue! But Kurt doesn't want to believe that.]

[mightymorphin]

[Oh. Ohhhh. That made a lot more sense. Total shapeshifting wasn't a common power in the slightest, so they couldn't really blame Kurt for jumping to that conclusion.]

Yeah, I heard she's a real b- I mean, bad guy. But I've never met her. I was away from the team when they had their run-ins with Mystique.

[It might sound a little suspicious, but Morph isn't sure they can explain that one without it sounding like an excuse. The whole 'brainwashed by a supervillain' thing would sound ridiculous to... well, anyone that hadn't been there. They weren't even sure if the team fought Mystique while they were still under Sinister's control or if it was while Morph were recuperating on Muir Island.]

It's true that we have similar powers. Problem is, I'm not sure how to prove to you that I'm not her if we can do all the same things.

[digthefuzz]

[It does sound very convenient. But at the same time, Kurt feels a vague sense of anxiety more than anything. While he worries about the possibility that Morph is Mystique, when he focuses, he doesn't really feel it in his gut. They feel different.]

It's okay. [He waves his hands softly.] I don't really think it. It's hard to shake off the- the idea completely, but I believe you. You... you seem like your own person, Morph. And I want to trust you.

[mightymorphin]

Hey, glad to hear it, [they say with a smile.] I get that you don't know me yet, but if you're willing to give me a chance, that's all I ask.

[That Kurt lived at the mansion and knew who both Logan and Mystique were, but didn't recognize Morph, was... well, it's a little strange, but there's obviously some sort of time travel thing going on. They can't really begin to guess what the deal is there.]

Does that mean you still wanna help with checking the hospitals? It's up to you, kid. If not, just point me in the direction of the closest one and I can go check it out.

[digthefuzz]

Of course. I think everyone deserves a chance. [He says that with a light smile. And at the same time, he remembers a conversation with Scott, and how Mystique was a mutant hero in his timeline.] ...I think I'd even say the same with her if she was here.

[And now his smile grows as he nods along.]

Of course I'll still help you! Now that I know who we're looking for, it'll be a lot easier to cover ground! We can even take the express trip! [He offers them his hand as he says this.]