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

[spiritualize]

Thanks. Big fan of it. Yours wasn't bad, either.

[ shotlocks were the best actually. a tendril of darkness curls around his arm, still, and he shakes it away in time to meet yu's blade with the flat of braveheart's side - the peal of sound the metal meeting gives off is a little painful on the ears. his arms still feel almost sunburnt from the light spell, and he winces as he pushes back to bear down on the thinner katana.

sure, sword combat seemed fair. his own mp hadn't quite hit recharge, but he wanted to save a little in case a cure spell was needed rather than be caught out taking a major blow with no recovery available.

he rotates his keyblade in his hand, meeting the edge of yu's katana and trying to lock it in one of the divots braveheart sported along its own edge. his footwork is solid, braced to move - but he's goading again, challenging smile on his face. incredibly stupid. ]

Swordplay's alright, too. You've been through some stuff, huh?

[izanagis]

[The curve of darkness around Riku's arm doesn't go unnoticed; cool gray eyes flick down to it for a moment before he focuses on the clash of their blades again. It does bring up questions; is it just a powerful spell? Is it normal? Or is there something about it that isn't quite under control? He doesn't know enough about how the other boy's magic to have an answer to that, but he's not sure he entirely wants to find out. Not right now.

Metal scrapes metal as Riku twists the keyblade; Yu's katana catches on the divot, but he pulls back before the blade can get too stuck, taking an extra step back --his footwork is not so solid-- from the force of it.

They're both being incredibly stupid, really, but they seem like they're having fun? One thing that can be gleaned from Yu's stance is that it's much less practiced than his attitude seems to imply. Almost as if he's learned most of what he knows from experience, rather than being taught.]

I could say the same for you, [said with a flicker of smile as he moves forward again, aiming low with his sword this time.]

[spiritualize]

[ the only reason riku notices the difference in their footwork is that he had been much the same until fairly recently. only through training briefly with terra and aqua had his own stances really solidified, the ragged edges of years of learning as he went being tucked more neatly into the mold of a more formal master. ]

Yeah, you could.

[ they're definitely having some idiotic sort of fun, though. riku echoes yu's smile even as he gets his leg clipped by the tip of yu's sword, a little hiss of pain following as he steps back. he's quick, despite his less trained form, and riku had admittedly underestimated the length of the blade.

well, that was an excuse to maybe show off a little now, right. he doesn't pause to reposition, instead flashing a smirk as he briefly blinks out of sight and ends up to yu's right, keyblade already swinging forward in a sweeping motion. ]

[izanagis]

[Yu's frame of reference for battle has broadened considerably since he first got to Aldrip, but most of the monsters still amount to Shadows, at least in the way you fight them. He doesn't often fight other people, either -- not seriously, at least. So Riku disappears--]

...!

[--and it genuinely catches him off-guard.

He works on the most basic of his fighting instincts, quickly summoning the card for Atavaka. The Persona doesn't do anything yet, but his affinity for physical attacks does come in handy. Riku's blade hits Yu, palpably, sweeping right across his chest. But even though it knocks him back substantially, Atavaka blocks any damage he might have taken from the hit. It takes him a moment to catch his breath.]

... I have to admit, that was impressive.

[spiritualize]

[ it's bizarre to feel his blade connect - not quite with his full force, he's not out to break any bones over a hat (oh right, the hat) - and push back yu with the blow, but not feel the telltale catch of any damage being dealt. and sure enough, his eyes flick up to see his friendly adversary winded but unharmed.

probably for the best, but a mote of irritation crosses his thoughts regardless. ]

Thanks, but... hey, are you cheating or something?

[ he gestures vaguely at yu's intact form with braveheart. maybe a barrier spell? there'd been that card appearing, but it hadn't seemed like any magic had been cast. ]

[izanagis]

I am, [he admits candidly, brushing dust off of his jacket. At least he has the good sense to look apologetic about it.] Sorry. It's a habit.

[He summons Atavaka one more time in a similar fashion, but doesn't cast a spell. Maybe it's a bad move to show his cards, so to speak, but Riku is enough of an impressive opponent that he knows when to call the match. Could he keep going like a cheat? Sure, it's basically how he survived the TV world. But it's not worth it for a friendly match like this.] This Persona blocks physical attacks. They may connect, but they don't hurt.

[At least he didn't go for Rangda. Repelling attacks would bring this to a whole new level.]

That's probably enough to disqualify me, so I think that means you win.

[He holds out the witch hat like a peace offering.]