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

[laserguy]

[YEAH he's totally cool and everything... even though he has no idea what she's talking about. Hellfire Gala?????? Does he host something like that in the future?? In that case, not bad, future self. Or at least other version of himself, because that sounds pretty cool at least. Hellfire.]

Nice to meet you, Gwen.

[But Gwen Poole, huh? Scott's pleasantly surprised to see her pull off the mask. She honestly reminds him a little of Gwen Stacy, but she's a mutant and not a spider, so Scott's just going to add a tally on 'mutants' here. He's always happy to see more mutants around and everything... their group growing and stuff.]

Only 60% chance? [Scott huffs, but there's that smile to him still.] That just means I have to give you an order that you really want to do.

[He sounds more confident than he feels about that, but it's fine. Don't worry about it.]

[variantcover]

Or, [ She gives him an extra cheesy wink. ] You could just say, "pretty pretty please."

[ Is she being sincere? Or is she yanking his chain? Hard to tell, with Gwen. ]

[laserguy]

[That gets Scott to snort, eyes rolling behind the protection of his shades. He's fully assuming that she's just joking with him, amusement clear in his own voice as he rests one hand against his hip.]

You wish. [Somehow, bantering with her feels easy. It's nice. Honestly, he's been kind of lucky that every mutant he's met so far has been really chill with him, despite parallel universes and all that.]

Can't imagine your Scott saying something like that. Not starting it now.

[variantcover]

Okay, fair. It would be pretty out of character.

[ It'd be funny though. Picture good old stick-up-the-ass Summers saying "Pretty please, my X-Men!" ]

Anyway, you seem a lot more chill and approachable than the Scott Summers in the universe I just came from, so you've already got a leg up in my book.

[laserguy]

Yeah, I get that a lot.

[Scott says with some nonchalance, only slightly exaggerating that feeling as one shoulder lifts in a shrug.

Although, he can't help but wonder if she shares a universe with any of the other X-Men. Morph's?? Maybe Quentin's?? Or even Kurt's. Apparently, him being a giant stick in the mud is a common trait shared between all their Scotts, so hearing this doesn't really narrow down which timeline she's from. All too possible she's from a new universe altogether with another Scott that's like that.

He's honestly not entirely sure how to feel about it, so he does the possible best thing, and that's not thinking about it too much. 100%. After talking with the other mutants, he's already well-aware that he's from the 'peaceful' timeline. Hopefully that will last--]

So, that means there's an 80% chance that you'll listen to what I say, right?

[variantcover]

[ Gwen waves a hand dismissively. ]

Eh, I dunno. I might be a mutant, but I'm no X-Man. If the time feels right for an epic team up, then maybe. But sometimes a girl's gotta do her own thing for the narrative.

[ In all honesty, she'll likely end up taking direction a lot more easily than she says. It's just fun to rile up leader-type people like Scott. And besides, she's pretty sure she'd never get away with this kind of mouthy behavior against Earth-616 Scott Summers. ]

[laserguy]

[Hmm, so she probably won't join right away. Scott shifts on his feet, maybe just a little disappointed, but he cocks a small smile at her.]

Door's open if you wanna join.

[Is this how it works?? Just asking mutants to join the X-Men?? Scott really isn't sure, because of all the mutants in this world, he's technically the only one that isn't a X-Man. Well, at least before Gwen showed up. But Morph and Rogue and everyone else placed him as the leader, so... he gets to make up the rules anyway. Yeah, that's how that works.

Besides, Gwen seems nice! And she can use swords, so that's really cool. Even if her reality powers aren't working... she's still a mutant and that's what counts. Speaking of which, he still wants to ask her about all that later.]

But if we're all fighting some giant monster or some evil overlord, I'm expecting you to pop up next to us.

[variantcover]

Really? You're going to issue an open invite to someone you only just met? No background check necessary?

[ She's not gonna say that he's going to come to regret those words, but she's not NOT saying it. ]

Oh, yeah, I mean. If it's giant monster time, then it's all hands on deck, no matter what team you're on. You can count me in for that.

[laserguy]

Yeah sure.

[He's almost careless about this... but he honestly believes that it would be fine. It's worked so far, right? With all the other mutants. He believes in all the other X-Men and it's nice. Even if it's also nerve wracking--]

If you end up sucking, I'll just kick you off.

[As simple as that!! His lack of experience is probably shining more than ever right now, but it's fine. Don't worry about it. Guess he can at least make her go through the Danger Room a couple of times or something, see what she's capable of (he probably should), but invitation is still there.]

[variantcover]

Sounds like a fair trial run to me!

[ Man, whatever universe this Scott comes from must be nice, if he hasn't been burned by other mutants trying to gain his trust and then betraying him, or anything like that. ]

Do I get a cool new yellow and blue uniform and everything?

[laserguy]

Uh sure, if that's what you want.

[He's pretty sure that everyone else on the team has different colors for their uniform. It's hard for him to fully discern color, but he can tell that much apart. Everyone's outfit is just a little different from each other.

Scott isn't entirely sure what his uniform is supposed to look like. Maybe he won't need to ever wear one back in his timeline. A part of him still kind of hopes for that, that things will remain 'peaceful.' No Genosha or anything like that. At least they're not in hiding.]

Xavier's Mansion is actually here, well, the one from Rogue's and Morph's universe. Maybe they can hook you up at some point.