expiationlogs | TEST DRIVE MEME #11

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TEST DRIVE MEME #11

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)!

♡

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

W-well, probably somewhere outside this carnival!

[After all, the more attractions Kurt's checked out here, the more unpleasant things he's stumbled across.]

There's a whole city out there that's just like a normal city. It's a lot lighter on the nightmare side! What kind of place helps you relax? Like, a cafe or something...?

[Though he'd been warned away from the hall of mirrors, to his misfortune, he hadn't gotten the same warning about the fortune teller. Now he's here, the power of suppression stolen from him, and the young mutant has to deal with the consequences.]

There is only one place I would go and you cannot take me to him.

[His attention moves away from Kurt, this time pressing both of his palms against his eyes. Why is he even bothering? How can any of this be real? How would any conversations be meaningful? The longer he's stuck in this... whatever it is—Chaos's capricious nature catching up with him, toying with him when he's so close to the promised goal? It's not as if he ever truly trusted the Spirit, and its nature never did align with plans, no matter how beneficial towards their mutual goals.

—He doesn't have the time to be breaking down like this. But if he can't trust his own mind, what can he even do? When he speaks again, it's in a whisper.]

Is this how it ends? Kept away by meaningless fantasy? [He can't make sense of it.] Would familiar faces not be more effective to torture me?

I'm sorry. I want to help, but I don't know how...

[His hopes of calming him down are dashed by the man's response. It's the stinging reminder that something horrible happened to this man's ward right in front of him, and that's outside of his power to fix.]

I can only say that this place isn't the end. You can keep on living here. This place might be part-computer simulator, but I promise I'm as real as they come!

[He doesn't move; his hands stay where they are, his posture that of a man defeated.]

You want to help.

[What an absurd statement. It's spoken with such sincerity he almost believes the sentiment for a moment. What's the point of him hearing this? If a hallucination—some inner part of himself attempting to cling to hope? It's a nearly laughable failure if that's the case. If an illusion—mocking him, he's sure. If neither—

Could it really be what all these strange sorts are trying to convince him it is?]

If you want to help—then prove to me this is only a simulation. I'd sooner be comforted by the idea of being a copy.

[At least then his plans would proceed as they should. His true self would remain to make sure the boy wouldn't wither away.

All of this is pointless, but—he has to believe in something.]

I do.

[He tries to stress that. Stranger or not, this guy's definitely been through a lot, and Kurt can't just abandon him. He has to try, at least.

Although now his request is harder to fulfill for different reasons.]

Well, I don't really know how to prove it. Kinda ironic that we just solved that problem where glitches were happening all over... That could have really helped prove things! But trust me, it's the truth. I'm not sure if that really makes us copies, though. The real us could be plugged into this whole thing, or teleported into it. It's real confusing if you think too much about it!

[The young man's earnest attempts to answer and lighten the mood—poorly, in his opinion, but earnest nevertheless—reminds him of the children he'd recently left. They'd treated most of his attacks with levity of a sort, but he'd given them the chance through his own blithe demeanor and only toying with them until recently. Then he turned one of them into a weapon and watched as their naiveté collapsed.

He laughs again, the sound pulled out of him with an edge of despair this time.]

They don't have to be familiar after all. [To say his tone is light would be false, as there's certainly the undercurrent of things being wrong, but it matches the laughter.] This truly is a punishment.

It- it doesn't have to be like a punishment.

[He meekly responds. He feels more and more at a loss when it comes to figuring out how to help this guy out.]

Sure, they're going to try to punish you for whatever crime they pinned on you eventually, b-but for now you're free here! Things can be fi- I mean, they might not be so bad! Look, I can help you get set up at the inn. Maybe some rest will help you out!

[He feels like he's being mocked, somehow. Whatever power has done this to him, whether it's corrupted his mind or brought him to another world, is laughing.

His hands fall from his face, only for him to let out another low chuckle. A bitter smile remains on his face as he turns a gaze as cold as ice to the young mutant.]

... Has anyone told you you're absolutely horrible at this?

[Not the kinda smile he was hoping to inspire...

Kurt shrinks back at his feedback.]

I- I'm usually better at this kind of thing, I swear! I guess it helps if I already know the person. I haven't known someone with- with a situation like yours. But I do want to help, for reals!

[Another, unfriendly laugh. His tone is quiet, at least, though there's a sense to it that says he's anything but calm.]

Of course you do.

[There's something almost like the edge of a threat in the way he continues—sorry, Kurt.]

Go on, then. Lead the way.

[It can always get worse, but at this point, it's difficult to see how. He'll humor it.]

[This really isn't going the way he hoped... He nervously nods along and starts to move, while trying to remember the way out.]

S-sure. Let's get away from this carnival and to the inn! [He pauses and then adds uncertainly-] You, uh, have any feelings about teleportation?

[Altius is, at least, intending to follow at a reasonable distance. His smile has faded by the time Kurt asks his question, however, which could be a good or a bad thing. It leaves nothing but ill-tempered fatigue behind in his expression.]

What sort of teleportation.

[On the one hand, he's exhausted enough that traversing one of his own portals sounds like misery, and it would deprive him of gathering more information along the way. On the other hand, wasting less time would be preferable in some senses.]

[Kurt demonstrates right away - teleporting several feet ahead, accompanied by a small puff of smoke with a fleeting whiff of brimstone. He looks back with a good-natured smile.]

This kind. I can teleport with others, too. It could cut down on our travel time!

[The fact that Altius only initially responds with a brief blink at that puff of smoke without any real shock... well, Kurt can make his own judgments. He continues walking forward to cross the gap the teleportation has put between them, and uses that time to weigh his options.]

You make it look easy. [... it doesn't sound like a compliment, somehow...] What does it actually feel like?

[...Well! That is less of a reaction than he's used to. He's glad he didn't spook or startle him on top of everything else at least, but this still does leave Kurt wondering if this guy has familiarity with this kinda thing.]

It kinda feels like you're leaping from one place to another in a blink of an eye? It is not for the weak of stomach, my friend.

Only a leap?

[His tone is almost dismissive, but it would have to have more energy for that. He stops in front of Kurt once he's close, scrutinizing him for a moment—then he turns to glance over his shoulder at the carnival.]

... fine.

[He doesn't trust any of this, but fall treats and playing games won't help him. He'll offer his hand if Kurt indicates it's necessary; otherwise, he'll fold his arms and wait.]

That's what it feels like, at least. [It actually involves traveling through portals to another dimension, but too quickly for anyone to really notice.]

Okay, let me treat you to a trial port! [Physical contact is required, so Kurt reaches for his hand and proceeds to teleport them ahead to the furthest point ahead that he can see.]

There! How was that?

[It does take Altius a second to reorient himself mentally; his gaze sharp, he looks ahead, to the side and behind himself, but Kurt will probably notice that he doesn't seem to lose his balance or react physically with any shock to the sudden displacement.

Even without his own portal thing, he's been leaping across rooftops fairly often for the past several months and stole a magic Gem with teleportation not unlike Kurt's; this is basically nothing new.]

Hm, [he responds vaguely at first—but his tone is neutral, which is probably a step up. He seems distracted by his thoughts for a moment before answering properly:] Reasonable.

[Wow. This is easily the most neutral reaction to his power he's ever experienced. No excitement, no fear, no physical reactions. 'Reasonable'. What is this guy's deal

Kurt raises an eyebrow and meekly smiles.]

Um, good to know! I'll make some bigger jumps now. While we're moving, I feel like I should ask, who are you? My name's Kurt, Kurt Wagner.

[And as they talk, he'll initiate some more teleportation jumps to bring them towards the carnival's entrance!]

[With each jump, he doesn't seem to know what to fixate on. He's not used to so many in a row; usually it's once and he's where he wants to be. He's half distracted by that thought when he starts to answer:]

Ze—

[Another teleport cuts off his response and knocks some of his thoughts back into place as his mouth clicks shut. A notable frown has come to his place by the time they're through the next.]

My name is Altius.

[He says this sternly, almost as if reminding himself. He brings his free hand over his face—blocking out the sudden blinking in and out of each spot will probably more helpful than not, if Kurt decides to continue on.]

Why am I acting like this?

[Whoops, he might have gotten a bit carried away there! At least now they're by the entrance/exit. Kurt does pause on the teleporting for the moment.]

It's, uh, good to meet you! [It's not a name one hears every day. He does also wonder what z-sound he was trying to make for a second there.

And his question gives Kurt extra reason to pause the teleportation spree for the moment.]

Acting like what?

Unpleasant.

[He turns his eyes to Kurt almost as if daring him to disagree.]

I'm more put together than this. I shouldn't be reacting so poorly...

[At least they're a little further away from the noise of the carnival. It's helping him sort through his thoughts a bit better, anyway.]

Oh. [He waves a hand to dismiss that.]

I- I get it, man. It's fine. You... you've been through a lot. Things must feel raw. [He remembers how he felt right after Mystique's shattering.]

So I'm not holding it against. And - sorry if I overdid with the teleporting. But hey, we're at the exit now!

[Normally he would have accepted the excuse and gone along with it, but this damned honesty... with a bit more insistence:] That's not what I meant. Even under duress, this isn't how I act.

[... although yes, he is feeling a bit ragged. He glances back at the noisy celebration with something like a scowl; it's probably obvious he's not going to be returning anytime soon, even if relief is far from the impression he's giving off.]

The movement was fine. [Despite his earlier insult, he doesn't seem to be annoyed with Kurt.] Which direction is the inn?

Oh. [Now he gets that he means.] Something must have messed with you. That's kinda of a thing that happens here sometimes. Some things can make us act differently than normal, or sometimes it's like it happens at random.

[He shakes his head.]

But as for the inn, it's not far... [He proceeds to give some directions.]

TEST DRIVE MEME #11

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