TEST DRIVE MEME #12

[expiationmods]

Test Drive Meme #12

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 the Courthouse (formerly City Hall) and told to perform a task related to their assigned crime. Their only contact at the Courthouse 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 September 2024, that AI needed to be reset as a consequence of some catastrophic systems failures. So far, there has been no downside to this reset–but the AI has also been strangely absent since then.

-In November 2024, a strange event overtook Aldrip and turned it into a week-long eternal night where technology ceased to work. During this time, the simulation that generates Expiation seemed to malfunction, causing a strange crack to appear in the surroundings. Through this crack, characters were able to see some sort of metal enclosure. They could reach a hand in, but little more than that. This crack has disappeared, for now, but what it means for Aldrip's future remains to be seen.

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.

The missile toads can be found throughout the rest of the month of December, and there will be one prompt that is during the Solstice.

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

**REMINDER ON NEW CANONS AND CANON UPDATING**

A note about spoilers. There are a lot of canons coming out right now that players are inevitably interested. This is good! However, we’d like to remind you that we have an app wait time of two months for new canons and one month for new material, ie canon updates.

In addition to the wait times, we request that any players (and potential players!) be sensitive about spoilers. Warning for spoilers is encouraged; you can even put spoiler content behind a details tag or block it out in text. Additionally, please do not use spoiler icons in top-levels or top comments, and ask before including spoiler content (including icons) when tagging out. Thank you!

For those who may not know how to do a details tag, we'll give you a handy-dandy code!

<details><summary><b>TITLE HERE</b> (click to expand!)</summary> this is where the text for the drop-down goes! spoilery tl prompts can go here so players who aren't interested in getting spoiled can keep scrolling OR interact with a non-spoiler prompt if there is one!</details>


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Arrival

You wake.

Or…you think you do.

The first thing you notice is…well, darkness, even when your eyes are open. Reaching out, you realize that you’re in a very narrowly enclosed space. You feel as if you’re probably standing up. Beyond that…well, it’s impossible to tell…

It’s a strange awakening that greets new Chosen this month: they arrived encased in coffins. Most of these, they’ll be able to open themselves. It’s possible that some of them may get a little stuck, though, meaning they’ll need some help from the outside. These coffins begin to appear in the sidewalks and open spaces of Aldrip overnight, appearing at random, and they’re all standing upright. Huh, it’s almost like they’re a specific reference or something. For an added festive touch, they’re adorned with seasonal bows and may even have wrapping paper prints on them.

Welcome to Aldrip?

JUST HEAR THOSE DRY BONES JINGLING [missile toads]

The holiday season has come to Aldrip, bringing with it all manner of festive cheer! Buildings are adorned with decorations and festive depictions. Skeletal Santa and his eight zombie reindeer, Frosty the Lavaman, Rudolph with menacing red eyes, glowing with a strangely haunting light… What, isn’t that just the normal holiday fare? Don’t your yuletide decorations spontaneously burst into flames, or grow terrifyingly sharp teeth?

Doesn’t your mistletoe come with amphibians?

That’s right: they’re back. Mistletoe has appeared throughout the city, and with it comes a seasonal infestation of missile toads. These nefarious creatures will do anything they can to get Chosen stuck under their namesake foliage, even shooting sticky substances at their feet to trap them! This substance only seems to disappear when the missile toads’ demands are met. They’ll pelt you with a little scrap of paper to tell you what those demands are, one of the following three:

”Now kiss!” Need we say more? The type of kiss required is up to you. Pucker up!
”Now fight!” Feisty little fellas, aren’t they? These toads want a show, and they won’t be satisfied until someone walks away sporting bruises.
”Now talk!” Maybe the physical stuff is too easy. This toady audience wants to hear secrets–the juicier the better! Whether one participant or both needs to confess something is up to you, as is the severity of the secret.

These creatures plague Aldrip through the end of December, but given the questions we’ve gotten about how to use them (you know who you are), this might not be the last we’ve seen of them…

[img courtesy of titsay @ twitter]

The Winter Solstice

Aldrip’s traditional Solstice feast is set to happen just after the longest night of the year, and what a feast it’s shaping up to be! Even before the Solstice itself, the town is decked out with twinkling lights and snowy decorations. In the daytime, there will be snowy fun and games: snowball fights, ice sculpting, snow fortress building, and wintery sports like ice skating. Even the locals seem to be put in a better mood!

However, Aldrip’s tradition comes with an attached superstition. The locals say that all must be indoors the night of the Solstice itself, beginning at sundown on December 21st. Tricks and misfortune await anyone outside when the dark and the cold sets in, so they say!

But then again, nothing really happened last year, so it should be fine. Right?

Well…

Any Chosen who wish to test their luck will find misfortune awaiting them in the form of snowmen patrolling the streets. These snowmen are on the lookout for any creatures out of bed, and beware–if they see you, you’ll be pelted with snowballs until you’re out of sight. Can they be snuck past? Sure, probably. They’re just snowmen, after all. You’d be right to try sneaking, too: anyone hit by one of their snowballs will find their body slowly turning to ice. Brr! Oh, and, because we’re sure someone is going to ask: the snowmen can be melted, destroyed, fought, or otherwise messed with. They melt down just to ordinary water.

Anyway, the icy affliction can only be melted by a show of affection (platonic, friendly, romantic, etc), either by the affected Chosen or toward them. It can be as simple as a funny joke or sweet story, or as complicated as you wish, but it must be genuine. The longer the afflicted Chosen goes without, the more their body turns to ice–eventually, they may become one of the ice sculptures on display around town! They can still be turned back if it comes to this point, but obviously they’ll be at the mercy of someone else’s gesture of affection, as they will be unable to move. Oh, and they’ll probably need some time to warm up.

The snowmen disappear at first light after the Solstice, and the feast begins as soon as people are able to leave their homes once more. All will be able to enjoy the festivities in peace at this point…well, except for the missile toads. They’ll still be around for the rest of the month.

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

3

[digthefuzz]

[A teenage Nightcrawler bamfs over and manages to wrap his tail around one snowman before toppling it over!]

Man! For snowmen, these guys are way un-cool! Am I right?

[As he quips, he turns towards the costumed lady nearby. It's definitely cool to have another superhero-y type around!]

[variantcover]

[ Gwen allows herself a brief moment to fangirl over Evo-Kurt coming to save the day. That tell-tale nose shadow and cool early-2000's bangs are just so killer. ]

Oh. Yeah. I think they need to chill out.

[ She swings her candy cane down like a sledgehammer, flattening the nearest snowman. Fighty banter is a go! ]

[digthefuzz]

[Kurt definitely feels like he's found his people. A hero type with a sense of humor! He's a bit awed at how she takes down that one snowman with just a candy cane, but now he takes his turn to quip and show off!]

I know, right? There should be snow problems!

[With that, he hugs a snowman and teleports up into the air before dropping it to its doom and then teleporting back to the ground.]

[variantcover]

[ The snowman that Kurt drops from on high slams down into the ground, its lower half losing structural integrity, leaving just its round head intact, lying on top of a pile of loose snow. Gwen decides to finish it off, stomping her heavy boot through the head. ]

If they don't lay off, I'm gonna s-cold them. [ A pause. ] No, that one needs some workshopping...

[ She's interrupted from her self-critique when a full body shiver overtakes her. She doubles over slightly, one hand grasping at her chest. ]

Eurgh! I think that snowball did something to me.

[digthefuzz]

[Kurt didn't think her joke was that bad. Confidence goes a long way with jokes so she should have just committed to the pun she had chosen!

He doesn't get to voice any of that, thoogh, as his attention is diverted by something a tad more serious. He teleports over towards her to see if there's anything that he can do to help.]

Wh-what do you mean? What did it do?

[variantcover]

[ The shiver won't seem to go away. It takes Gwen a lot of effort to keep her teeth from chattering. ]

I-I dunno... I feel cold, like I've got a brain freeze in my chest.

[digthefuzz]

[That doesn't sound good. He feels like he can remember two lifetimes' worth of brain freezes!]

So like - like a body freeze? Or, or just a freeze?! Oh man... Hang in there! I- I can take you somewhere warm! Maybe that'll help?

[variantcover]

[ Gwen exhales, her breath coming out in a cloud of condensation. ]

Something like that. M-maybe. I dunno. I'm not sure this is something that a blanket and a hot cocoa will fix. It feels way more... plot relevant.

[digthefuzz]

[His mind was already running through the possibilities of things like that which could help her warm up! But then he's thrown off by her suggestion.]

Plot relevant? [People don't speak in meta yet in his time period. So he's confused!] ...Um, what plot is this relating to...?

[variantcover]

[ Gwen shrugs, then wraps her arms around her middle for warmth. ]

I dunno...? Somebody's got to be behind these snowmen, right? I don't think any supervillain would go through the effort of animating a bunch of snowmen to attack people with snowballs if the snowballs didn't have some kind of nefarious effect attached to them.

[digthefuzz]

You'd think that! But in these parts, sometimes things like this just happen without any head honcho calling the shots.

[He really wishes there was some big supervillain to take down to stop these problems. It would feel a lot easier!]

I can keep on taking down snowmen to see if that'll help? But I really think you should focus on warming up!

[He teleports away and soon returns with a soft blanket to offer her.]

[variantcover]

O-Okay, I—

[ Oop, and then he's gone. But he BAMFs back soon enough with a blanket, which Gwen gladly accepts and wraps around herself, staggering slowly over to sit on a nearby curb. ]

I guess I'll just s-sit here and try not to turn into a popsicle.

[digthefuzz]

[At least she has something now! Even if Kurt's still not sure he's on the right path. He gives an uncertain smile.]

R-right. You do that. Let me know if you need anything or get any other ideas! I'm about to kick some more snow!

[With that, he bamfs over to take on some more snowmen! Before he returns to check up on her.]

[variantcover]

[ She lets him handle a few snowmen. It's honestly kind of nice to just watch him in action. Reminds her of when she was younger, watching X-Men: Evolution on the WB.

Although, after a bit, she calls out to him. ]

Uh... Nightcrawler? I think I need some help. I can't, uh. I can't feel my legs.

[ She opens the blanket which she had wrapped around her, to show that her legs have started to turn to solid ice underneath.

...Wait a second, he never told her his name, did he? ]

[digthefuzz]

[And without any commercial breaks!

Once she calls out to him, he quickly bamfs right back by her side, and he's alarmed that it looks even worse than it sounded!]

Whoa!! You- you- you're freezing! Like, ice, for real! Okay, this is not working! We need to get you somewhere warm, and... [He grips his head uncertainly.] Wait, that won't just melt you, would it?? Oh man, oh man... There's got to be a way to-

[He wracks his brain, but another thought hits him at the same time.]

Wait, I never said my name, did I?

[variantcover]

[ Oh, whoops. Meta knowledge strikes again! ]

Um. Can I just say it's one of those multiverse kind of things, and explain more later, after we figure out how to melt my legs without melting my legs?!

[ She's happy to tell Kurt all about how she knows who he is (if he'll even believe her), but she has more pressing concerns at this exact moment. ]

[digthefuzz]

Sure!

[Honestly, just hearing the word 'multiverse' is enough of an explanation for Kurt, considering his experiences in this world so far with several people who he didn't know who had already met some older version of him.]

That- that's definitely the big issue right now! Um, um, why don't you we try getting out of the cold? I can teleport you indoors. Maybe that'll help!

[variantcover]

[ Okay, phew. Gwen was half convinced Kurt would just look at her like she was crazy, but he seems to be pretty accepting of the idea of multiverses. Maybe this whole jamjar isekai setting is working in her favor, for once. ]

Okay, yeah, it's worth a try. [ She chuckles nervously. ] Lucky thing I'm with you. Being BAMFed places is a lot easier than if someone needed to carry my half-frozen body inside.

[digthefuzz]

It does have its perks!

[He grins.]

It sounds like you're familiar with how it works, too. That saves us some time!

[With that, he places a hand on her shoulder, and - BAMF! Before they know it, they're in some parlor that has a lit fireplace.]

There! ...Is that helping?

[variantcover]

[ She is familiar with how BAMFing works, yes. In theory. In practice, she's never done it before. So being suddenly BAMFed into a warm, cozy parlor room leave Gwen a little giddy, partially from the instantaneous change of scenery, and partially out of pure fangirl joy.

That said, moment of truth. She pulls the blanket open to show her legs again and... No, still frozen. If anything, the ice has crept even further up her thighs.

Gwen slumps forward, feeling defeated. ]

Great. I finally get out of a comic book, only to turn into an ice sculpture...

[digthefuzz]

[He looks down as she moves the blanket, and frets as he sees her ice continuing to spread.]

Oh man... This is no good at all...

[He's starting to run out of ideas! But he blinks as he thinks of what she just said.]

Wait, you were in a comic book? I don't know how that works, but that sounds like it would be really cool!

[variantcover]

Uh, yeah... Long story, you probably won't believe half of it.

[ No one ever does. They all just assume she's crazy, spouting nonsense. It doesn't even occur to Gwen that people who are themselves stuck in a universe that is not their own might be more able to accept her whole shtick. ]

But it's not like it matters now. I won't be selling any more issues if I'm just going to go all Anna-from-Frozen here.

[digthefuzz]

Hey now, my friends tell me I'm very gullible!

[He says that as if it's a good thing...]

But you're right. We got more serious things to worry about right now! I don't know who that Anna is, but I won't let you get like her! Let's see, um, what else is there? I could try to get some chicken soup! That always helps with colds. Or, uh, maybe we can hug? It might sound weird, but this is a world of weird things. Maybe it just needs a little body warmth!

[variantcover]

That's not a selling point!

[ But it does get Gwen to sit up. She's not about to let this character assassination go uncountered. ]

And besides, that's a really reductive take. You're not gullible, or naive, or whatever. You're awesome! You show genuine interest and excitement about everything and everyone you meet. All you want is to be chill with people and feel like you fit in. Do you know how relatable that feeling is, to an awkward pre-teen looking for escapist media to forget about her sad, lonely reality?

[ Maybe she's getting a little too passionate about it, but X-Men: Evo was a really formative experience for her, and Kurt was a big part of that.

But... Maybe there's merit to her rant, after all, because she's starting to get some feeling back in her legs. She looks down at her lap and watches the icy chill melt a few inches down towards her feet. ]

Oh, hey! Something's happening!

[digthefuzz]

[Kurt just... crouches there, stunned as he listens to her so suddenly defend him so fervently. And so personally, too! It's like she knows him so well.]

W-wow... thanks!

[He blinks and gives a confused smile. But then as she exclaims, he looks down and notices the melting in her legs.]

Yeah! Whatever you're doing, I think it's working! Um, keep talking about how great I am!