TEST DRIVE MEME #11

[expiationmods]

Test Drive Meme #11

Welcome to Expiation, a pan-fandom adventure game with elements of fantasy, science fiction, and some subtle horror.

THE STORY SO FAR (click to expand!)

Characters have arrived in Expiation, a seemingly idyllic fantasy world where they have been told they will be judged and sentenced for crimes they were charged with upon arrival.

Every two months, several characters are chosen for sentencing, where they’re brought to City Hall and told to perform a task related to their assigned crime.

Their only contact at City Hall is a mysterious and long-suffering man called Jerry.

Over time, characters have begun to realize that not all is as it seems in Expiation: as it turns out, the entire world is a simulation that seems to be run by an artificial intelligence.
This AI claims that its purpose, and thus the purpose of Expiation, is rehabilitating the Chosen after their crimes.

In March 2024, after the destruction of City Hall, the city of Aldrip was forced into an upgrade status. While this upgrade was being implemented, characters were pulled into a false reality where they believed they were natives to the city of Aldrip.

Aldrip has been a bit of a glitchy place for many, many months. However, in Summer 2024, these glitches became difficult to ignore, and pointed at evidence of a catastrophic systems failure. For several months, characters experienced chaotic effects as elements from their worlds and many others were thrown into the setting without warning, even going so far as to import a Gnosia infection.

The AI in charge of Expiation believed that performing a system reset might be the only way to stop the glitches before they could impact the world as a whole.

In September 2024, characters complied with the AI’s request and performed a reset. Although this set the AI back to a default state where it felt more neutral–rather than affectionate–toward the Chosen, several people created a system backup that they hope will return some of the data that has made the AI more sympathetic toward the Chosen.

When Aldrip was reset, City Hall became a Courthouse, and this is the new building where Chosen are now sent for sentencing.

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.

October's TDM takes place on October 21st.

You can view our CALENDAR to keep important dates in mind. RESERVES open on October 21 and APPLICATIONS will open on October 24. After this, applications will next open in December 2024.

Full Navigation

Arrival

Spooky season has come to Aldrip in full force! City and outskirts gardens are full of pumpkins to harvest, trees begin turning red and orange, and there’s a chill in the air that’d have anyone reaching for a cozy sweater. The wind picks up occasionally, howling through the trees, especially near the forest… While the seasonal weather is welcoming, the locals are anything but: they send disapproving glances and keep a wide distance. Unfortunately, this may only be heightened by the new arrivals to the city…

Newcomers to Aldrip face a rude awakening this month. Strange iron cages have appeared on surfaces all over town, short and tall alike, and this is where new Chosen find themselves upon arrival. The cages themselves aren’t terribly hard to open, honestly; the latch is on the outside, and it’s a bit finicky, but it’s not locked or anything. That said, some of these cages are quite high up. They’re sometimes near ledges and windows, but not always, and some new Chosen might need a helping hand to get down.

Yeah. The optics aren’t great. No wonder the locals are a little nervous!

The fall carnival

On the morning of October 21st, a Fall carnival pops up, seemingly out of nowhere. It hasn’t been well-advertised–maybe a flyer or two around town–but luckily for the Chosen, those who work there don’t seem to have the same opinion of them as the locals do. Costumes are not required for the carnival, but they’re definitely encouraged! There is a large tent near the entrance with lots of costumes to choose from, and changing rooms as well, should the Chosen decide they’d like to give it a try. The tent workers will be so excited to help with this process–but they might find some very unexpected choices for the Chosen!

There are plenty of rides, games, and food stalls, so come on down! Some special attractions the Chosen may take note of include:

The Funhouse
Billed as a standard house of mirrors, the Chosen are encouraged to try to get through the maze as quickly as they can. Push your limits! Test yourself!

Inside the mirror maze, the Chosen will find more of a test than they might have expected, at first. As they go deeper into the maze, the mirror reflections seem to change. At first, it’s just little things: your reflection might look in a different direction, or move when you stand still. But deeper within the maze, these mirrors begin to show things about the Chosen that they might not be ready to admit just yet. Some reflections may try to confess to the character’s crime to anyone who may be in the funhouse, even going into detail about it. Some may even show the crime as it happened, or a warped version of that crime. Anyone present can see and hear these reflections.

The reflections will follow Chosen until they find their way out of the funhouse. Unfortunately, that could take quite a bit longer, since those reflections are so very vocal and distracting.

Pumpkin Pick-up
You know those duck games at a fair where you pick up a rubber duck and the bottom of the toy has a prize written on it? Well, we know better than to pick up a duck in a dungeon carnival here in Expiation, so for extra spooky flair, these are small pumpkins instead, with painted jack-o-lantern faces! Picking up a pumpkin should reveal a prize…but what’s this? It’s a challenge instead? Interesting.

Written on the underside of each pumpkin is a truth-or-dare style directive. Players are free to make up any challenge they want, here! If you’re looking for some ideas, we’ve provided some examples in the details cut below.

Click here for a list of example challenges!

Tell someone your biggest regret
Tell someone about the scariest moment you’ve ever had
Confess your deepest shame to a stranger
Take someone’s shoes
Attempt to pickpocket someone without them noticing
Find a stranger and show off a secret talent
Tell someone about the thing you hate most, deep down
Kiss or hug a stranger
Eat something that doesn’t look like food
Tell someone about the cruelest thing you have ever done
Start dancing in the middle of a crowd, but only if there’s no music playing
Tell a stranger about the worst lie you ever told
Ask a stranger out on a date
Set off a small firework without warning
Give away your shirt and do not replace it
Confess your greatest weakness
Put on an extra silly costume
Exchange clothes with a stranger

You get the idea! Feel free to use these as a jumping off point and make up your own–there are no limits to what the pumpkins might say. Once the task has been completed, Chosen may turn the pumpkins in at one of the prize booths for whatever prize they would like. There’s no visible indication on the pumpkin as to whether the task is done or not, so you’re welcome to try bluffing, if you don’t want to complete it…but somehow, the booth worker always seems to know.

Dueling Potions
One of the stalls is a game of chance: two identical potions sit before you on a table. The carnie claims that one is a luck potion, and that choosing that potion will give you excellent luck for the whole day…but how do you tell which is which? By drinking the potion, of course!

There’s a 50% chance of victory, here. One vial does indeed contain a good luck potion, and if you choose that vial, your luck will be incredible for the next 24 hours. Unfortunately, the other bottle contains a bad luck potion, and that will have the opposite effect: for 24 hours, you’ll be plagued by disaster, bad happenstance, and maybe even some extra clumsiness. Does it seem a bit like you need to have good luck to get good luck, here? What, is this a commentary on something? Hmm.

Fortune Teller
Want some woo in your spooky season? A midnight-blue tent covered in stars seems to invite you in. You’ll find a bonafide fortune teller within, complete with crystal ball and heady incense. How fun! They’ll give you a cursory reading, either by palm or with strange-looking cards. You get the feeling that this reading is fairly accurate, but strangely…it’s hard to recite details later, if you try to tell someone else about what they told you. How odd. Maybe it was the incense.

It’s not just a hazy fortune and a nose full of frankincense that Chosen leave this booth with: they also feel a compulsion to speak their minds more than they might otherwise. Whether this is telling secrets usually kept close to the vest, expressing their opinions more readily, readily admitting to crimes they’ve been charged with or other wrongdoings, or some other manifestation of this effect is up to players!

There are plenty of other games, rides, and booths to explore, many of which have perfectly standard fare for events like these. Characters can use these booths to win tickets and get prizes: many booths offer cute stuffies and kitschy toys, of course, but Chosen can also find useful items like weapons, food, clothing, accessories, and things like that.

Witch hunt

Last year’s Witch Hunt was metaphorical in nature–this year, it’s much more literal. A limited number of witch hats are placed on a table in front of the carnival. As soon as the clock strikes noon, the Chosen may grab one and try to keep it out of the hands of fellow competitors. These hats are first-come, first-served, but it really doesn’t matter who starts out with one–it’s who ends the hunt with one that counts!

It seems to be like a city-wide game of tag. The Chosen’s job is simple: obtain and keep a witch hat on their head until the clock strikes midnight. If a “witch” is caught by another Chosen (by way of being tagged), they must hand over their hat, or they’ll be disqualified.

There’s no official sign-up for the hunt, so characters can join in whenever they’d like, or may decide not to join at all. So, what’s this all for? Anyone who manages to have a witch hat on by the time the clock strikes midnight is guaranteed a prize! OOCly, this prize is any small non-magical item from home, either personal or not; ICly, Chosen will not know what this prize is before entering. How do you obtain this prize? There’s an RNG for those who would like a chance to sign up to win an item. Sign-up is optional, and TDMers are welcome to join in! New items will be delivered at the start of November, so any new applicants who win the hunt will be able to obtain their items as well.

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

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[humandispel]

[A single answer can bring forth so many new questions, but there is no longer any doubt in his mind that the place Atsushi comes from is absolutely different from the one he knows of.

A dark chuckle comes out of him, too effective in this supposed charade.]

Are you scared of what happened afterwards?

[He knows the rules of the Port Mafia. Of how they were all trained. To keep them on their toes, to help them survive the darkness of Yokohama. He doesn't want to be too harsh on Atsushi, not when he knows what best to do to encourage him.

At least he has an excuse for his next order.]

Keep an eye out for this Akutagawa. Capture him by any means necessary, but do not kill him. I have many questions for him.

🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍

[beastundermoonlight]

"Yes, Dazai-san, I am terrified. But my fear doesn't matter. I will never disobey your orders."

[ The answer to that question for him is obvious. The Port Mafia has no room for those who cannot follow orders.

Although he is worried about leaving Akutagawa alive, he must never disobey Dazai's orders. Otherwise... ]

"I will capture Akutagawa when I see him. Mark my words."

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[humandispel]

[Haah. The other him surely did a number of Atsushi-kun, huh? Then again, he was also the same back in the day. There's even a pang of nostalgia that comes from that reaction - one that he is unused to feeling when it comes to matters with his favorite student.

Perhaps he is leaning too hard into this act. But even now he doesn't know how exactly he could save Atsushi-kun. Things like these are actually hard for Dazai.

He remembers the headpat he gave Akutagawa-kun one time, and he practically fainted as a result. Should he do the same..? No, maybe not on the head. That might still be too much to process.

He decides to place a calming hand on his shoulder instead, and Dazai hopes his smile isn't too sharp. That it is the ray of encouragement he intends to give instead.]

Have some faith in yourself. I know you can do it.

🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍🧍

[beastundermoonlight]

[ Atsushi stiffens from the hand that is placed on his shoulder. His first instinct tells him to shrink away, afraid he had done something wrong again. His body can't help but react that way to human contact.

But he steels himself, unwilling to offend his superior, which was more of a death sentence to him.

So when Dazai merely holds that hand in place and encourages Atsushi, it leaves the Weretiger boy deeply confused, like a scared animal. Even if this was Dazai-san, his boss whom he yearns for praise from— like many adults he knew, his superior would never acknowledge him in this gentle manner.

He was just a monstrous man-eating tiger after all, unworthy of being a human being.

Trembling slightly, Atsushi pulls the other's hand away and shook his head. ]

"... Dazai-san. You shouldn't dirty your hand like this. I am no more than a beast for the Port Mafia to use."

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[humandispel]

[...I see. So even that was a step too far.]

Oh?

[Then he shall tune his words to the right sharpness - a dangerous lilt to his voice, a sinister beat of amusement. As if Atsushi has done something wrong, a kind of teasing engrained with teeth.

(He would like to mean it as a joke, really, but neither of them are properly prepared for such a mundane thing.)

If he has to manipulate Atsushi into accepting kindness once more, then so be it.]

Are you telling the Boss of the Port Mafia what to do, now?

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[beastundermoonlight]

"N-no! Not at all, Dazai-san!"

[ The Weretiger immediately releases Dazai's wrist, shaking his head again. He lowers his gaze to the ground, his body still visibly shaking from fear.

White Reaper or not, under his guise of a beast was just a timid, weak stray, unsure if he was allowed to take even a morsel of food in front of him.

Too afraid that if he would think of himself as a better person, he would be dragged down to hell in his nightmares and see that man he murdered with his own claws.

Shit, he needed to keep himself together in front of Dazai. ]

"I apologize for offending you. Praise from you is just... unusual, sir."

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[humandispel]

[Indeed, this Atsushi is but a stray - even moreso than the young tiger he has met by the riverbank. At least that Atsushi wasn't scared of kindness or gratitude. But fear is but a hindrance in the Port Mafia: one must perform all of their duties regardless of their personal feelings. Such is their oath, and their methodology. Atsushi should learn to be able to move in spite of that fear.]

I only say what I mean. If I am praising you, then you would have deserved it.

[So Atsushi will be fine - or he will drown in his own nightmares.

Dazai begins walking forward, with a presence that demands he be followed. He looks back only once, a coy smile upon his face.]

Follow me, Atsushi-kun. We should grab something to eat.

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[beastundermoonlight]

[ It was always a challenge to discern from reading Dazai's expression, but for a fleeting moment, the stray boy felt as he glimpsed at an entirely different person. It was unsettling, but he could be imagining it.

He stood there awkwardly as he observed Dazai's back, before he realized Dazai was walking ahead of him and almost stumbling, he catches up keep the pace. ]

Do you know where to go from here, Dazai-san? Come to think of it... Where are we?

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[humandispel]

Hahaha! Who knows!

[And that laughter is so strangely genuine Dazai is sure the him who became the Boss would never have been able to make that sound, but he can't help it - this situation has because frankly so absurd that he can't even begin to figure out how they ended up in here!]

All we're sure is that someone is skilled enough to take us unawares, place us in this situation, and somehow contain us all within this large city. Isn't that enough to make you wanna explore, Atsushi-kun?