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

[boundarykey]

Okay, I won't! I trust you, plus they never talked to me in person... I kind of feel that's really not okay, especially if you want to talk about something important like being bad and stuff. [ Abby is very confused why no one did. ]

Oh!!!! That's so cool... Okay! [ Abby thinks its the same as her! At least, in the way where she was a servant, that was trying to fit in with the other servants. Abby, after all, is a Pseudo-servant housing a God that does not belong to their universe whatsoever. ] I get it; [ She nods her head triumphantly. ] you can definitely live alongside me all the time. We can even be friends!

[digthefuzz]

You're right to think that. No one should give you a crime like that without even a trial and giving you a chance to prove your innocence. Whoever's in charge of this place - they're the bad kind of strangers. The ones you're better off not talking to.

[He grins at her adorable answer.]

I'm glad you understand! I thought you would - you seem like a smart girl! And I would be honored to be your friend!

[boundarykey]

[ TRIAL?? ]

Oh... [ Considering how every other trial she has been in and has been a part of always ended the same way. Abigail makes a scrunched-up face that makes it very evident that she wouldn't want to see that happen. At any rate, despite the lovely exchange Abigail seems to focus on that. ] You have Trials here?

[digthefuzz]

[It does become clear that he might have said something wrong. He frowns as he tries to answer.]

Well, um, depends on what you mean by trials. I was talking about the kinds of court trials we have back home, where lawyers argue to prove if someone is innocent or guilty. That's not a thing here, but it's a bad thing, because the people in charge just skip ahead to saying you're guilty of something. They try to pass sentences on people eventually too - and that often ends up being a trial of its own. And that's trial as in 'a hardship or a challenge'. ...Which can also apply to a lot of things that happen around here.

cw: violence mention

[boundarykey]

!?!?

[ Abigail seems a bit more panicked now then before, her hands drawing closer to her chest. She quickly tries to get out - ] Do-Do they h-hang people here?

cw: violence mention

[digthefuzz]

[Immediate horror at the conclusion she reaches.]

No! No, nothing like that!

[He takes a breath.]

Their punishments can be bad, but not ones that... that are like that. If anyone talks about anything like that to you, just let me know. I'll keep you safe!

[boundarykey]

Thank you God.... [ Abigail places her hands together in a small little prayer. ] I was so scared... Thank you so much, Mister Kurt, um... [ This genuinely scared her, but she believed what Kurt said and was happy that nothing like that could be going on here. Even so, she was still worried about what punishments there were and what things happened here. ] Can you tell me more about the punishments? I don't want to get in trouble if they are scary.

[digthefuzz]

[He's glad he could relieve her worries. Noa he knows he should be careful to try not to upset her, which makes her next to question tougher to answer.]

Well, a lot of the time it's like a challenge they give to you. Usually they try to make you do something that you're uncomfortable with. Like they wanted me to tell on my friends. But it sounds like some of them aren't that bad! You just have to be careful.

[He really hopes that even Jerry would hold back when it comes to a kid.]

[boundarykey]

That's not fair... Why would they ask you something like that? I'd have to ask my friends first if it was okay before I said anything about them... [ Abigail pouts, not sure what to say at first, but then.. ] Wait, but that doesn't make sense. Telling on your friends is a bad thing isn't it? Secrets are important to everyone; even God has secrets. He has his own secret plans for every single one of us, and he can't tell anyone that... ? [ She then shakes her head, disapproving of these facts. ] No, no, I don't like these people at all. They don't sound fair.

[digthefuzz]

That's because they aren't fair. That's the sad truth about this place, fraulein Foreigner. [He punctuates that with a sad nod, but then he offers her a reassuring smile.]

But luckily, most of us who are stuck here are a lot fairer. That's why it's good to find people who will look out for you and help you through any unfairness. And I want to be one of those people helping you. We'll get through this together!

[boundarykey]

Okay! I will do my best to help you! I think that's why I came here; my purpose is to help you! [ She nods her head, clearly thinking that this had relevance to Grails and Singularities that needed to be resolved. ] I am all by myself here right now, and I don't know what is going on, but I will try my best to learn as fast as possible.

[digthefuzz]

That's very nice of you. But you seem really nice and helpful. I don't want to hog your help all to yourself! I think you should find a bunch of friends to help. Share the wealth! And make sure they help you too. We'll all help each other! And I'll definitely help you learn about settling in around here.

[boundarykey]

Yeah! Okay... That's so nice!! So, everyone wants to help? Okay, but if no one can fight or do things, I can help stand in for that! It's, um, my job, too! [ She nods her head. ] Please teach me what you can; that way, I can teach anyone else who comes from my world, too.

[digthefuzz]

I can't speak for everyone here, but I know there's plenty of good people here who will want to help out. We'll all do our part!

And I'll do my best as a guide. Anything specific you're wondering about?

[boundarykey]

Um.. Yeah! Do you know what a 'Holy Grail' is? [ A pause thinking about how she has to ask all these complicated questions usually the other servants ask. ] Also, have you seen anyone here with a white jacket on? It would have a sigil on it that has two diamonds, too. Maybe... Are there any weird things going on here that don't seem normal?

[digthefuzz]

I've... heard about a Holy Grail? There's plenty of old legends about it- and movies! [He thinks wistfully about Indiana Jones - and Monty Python.]

Um, I don't think I've seen anyone with a jacket like that? As for weird things... Well, weird things kinda happen pretty normally around here. It's weird, right?

[boundarykey]

Hehe, yeah, this is all pretty weird. I guess weird is normal for you in a silly place like this? [ Her eyes light up just a little bit, looking over to the snowy sight all around them. She thinks the other person is from Earth, but she still isn't sure... Abigail will likely ask Gilgamesh later. ] Those frogs, for one, are they normal? They are... Well, I guess they are for me too, but not like that... Those frogs are kind of mean.

[digthefuzz]

Yeah, something like that! [He says with a laugh. And he shakes his head when asked about those frogs.]

You're on the right track - those frogs are really mean. Try to stay away from them if you can! I think they're just here for the holidays, but I'm sorry to say they are a good example of the weirdness that can pop up around here. Just try your best to be careful, okay?

[boundarykey]

What!? What!? [ Abigail says excitedly twice, surprised and seemingly confused by the notion. ] How can that happen all the time? For how long? A long time or a normal amount of time - all the time? That's a lot if its all the time...

[digthefuzz]

W-well not all the time! Most of the time, things can be kinda nice and peaceful around here. But at certain times... like it's usually once a month... some weird things happen around here for a while. It's inconsistent, so it's hard to predict, so that's why we just have to stay on our guards. And look out for each other! [He offers a reassuring smile.]

[boundarykey]

[ She giggles a bit, but still looks mildly concerned. ]

It's kind of like that where I came from; I hope it's at least nice things and nothing too scary.

[digthefuzz]

That's what I like to hope for too. But when there are scary things? That's when you call on your friends to help out!

[boundarykey]

Yeah, and we'll be super strong together. Just like on the TV shows, there was one I was watching with the other kids called Kawaii Cure - and the girls save the world with the power of magic! [ She says excitedly and triumphantly. ] I wish I could be a magical girl like that, too.

[digthefuzz]

Sounds like a fun show! [He smiles.] And a good example of how we can band together! Hey, I'm sure you're a magical girl in your own way, even if you don't have the powers. At the very least, you can throw a mean snowball!

[boundarykey]

[ She makes a small worried face, only because she does have magical powers but she can't tell anyone. ]

Yeah, I can! [ A pause as she tries to change the subject she brought up. ] Is there any other cool places here?