expiationlogs | TEST DRIVE MEME #12

TEST DRIVE MEME #12

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!

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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)!

♡

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Arrival
It was not his first time lounging around in a coffin. Granted, the time before had been up to him, and he'd just found it an amusing place to nap (and got company even!), but all the same. So he wasn't in any particular hurry to break his way free, idly nudging at the lid from time to time.

However, just leaning back in a dark coffin without even any light for reading inside was boring. So there was likely some light humming to be heard by any passers by.

Missile Toads
If Tianlang-Jun had lived someplace that celebrated Yule, they likely would have decorated with monsters and bones. So once he'd left the coffin, the former emperor entertained himself with cheerfully poking at everything.

That included the toads, the one he'd grabbed hold of after it'd stuck him to the ground croaking in protest. "Now now, calm down. This lord is just taking a look."

Winter Solstice
If there was something to be said about demon emperors, current or former, it was probably that they tended not to follow orders too well. Especially ones known for skipping off into other realms to go read dirty books and watch plays instead of actually ruling.

In other words, Tianlang-Jun had no intention of staying inside all night just because he was told to. As for the snowmen, after the first one hit him with a snowball, he took great pleasure in smashing any he saw, frozen claws raking through yet another as his arm slowly turned to ice.

Wildcard
Ideas? Give me a poke!

The boredom will be alleviated, somewhat, by the loud gasp from the coffin next...ah...door? Xie Lian was once buried in a coffin for a hundred years. With a sword in his chest! It's probably understandable why he is a tad claustrophobic.

"This...please... Take off the lid!" his arms shake as he attempts to free himself - and, really, he should be able to, but his nightmares are right before his eyes and his muscles are weak.

The voice certainly caught his attention. And for being a demon, Tianlang-Jun wasn't completely heartless. While no coffins featured in his personal nightmares, being truly trapped did.

Giving a kick to his own lid, it easily snapped from its latches and fell to the ground, freeing him to help his more unfortunate neighbor. However festively decorated it was, the other lid was no more of a match as it was yanked away from its coffin and the prisoner within.

"Is gongzi alright?"

Xie Lian's face is bloodless when he is revealed, his hands shaking as if he is still trying to push against the lid. Relief floods him immediately and he sits up, bowing his head to his rescuer. After managing a few good deep breaths, he nods.

"Yes! Thank you. I... I don't like small spaces."

Or coffins for that matter.

"Were you trapped too?" he glances at the coffin nearby and frowns, "Who did this to us?"

It was a sorry state to see such a lovely face in. Like the tragic hero of a ballad. Tianlang-Jun nodded his head in return, offering his hand to help him out the rest of the way.

"Trapped in a manner of speaking. I don't think mine was crafted with me in mind," he said with a gesture to the broken lid. "And unfortunately, I don't know who. Someone with a death wish, clearly."

Tragic hero is a good way to sum up Xie Lian's existence. Maybe he is more of a tragic almost hero? Then again he has defeated a certain Emperor - with help, of course.

He takes the hand offered to him and pulls himself up and out of the coffin. A little shiver runs down his spine and he looks away from the wooden box.

"Fear got the best of me." he presses his lips into an unhappy line, "That might be the case."

He isn't feeling very charitable.

"Thank you again for doing what I could not. I am Xie Lian." he bows to his rescuer properly.

Better or worse than the tragic villain role that he's likely taken up?

But of course, Tianlang-Jun was still himself, so he used that hand to draw his new companion close. In order to share warmth of course. It was, after all, rather cold outside.

"No need. I have a weakness for pretty faces and those with poor luck," he said, turning him away from the emptied coffins. "This lord is Tianlang-Jun. Let us find some warmth away from here."

Who can say? It might be a toss up.

Xie Lian's feet shuffle as he is pulled closer and he tips his head back to look up at Tianlang-Jun. Ah, he is in impressive company! He can sense the power the other has and it's...well. It's confusing.

"What if the poor luck rubs off on you?" he isn't cursed anymore with bad luck, at least, "I agree with that. Surely there is a building close by. Anything would be better than being in the open."

Confusing was an excellent way to describe Tianlang-Jun in general. He smiled down at him, eyes red and his mark visible on his brow, making no attempt to look human. Not when he could sense that his pretty companion wasn't quite mortal himself.

"I think you will find that it takes more than some poor luck to bring this lord down for long," he reassured, looking around for someplace that looked inviting enough. "That may be an inn that way."

The clash of demonic and heavenly qualities isn't something he has encountered! How can someone carry both and not be at constant war with themselves? Was this how Tianlang-Jun was born?

Xie Lian is eager to find out.

"I won't cause you trouble knowingly." he cranes his head to see around his companion, his footsteps moving quicker, "Then let's not dawdle! I don't know about you, but I dislike the cold."

If you asked him what about him was most heavenly, he probably would have said his face, honestly. More than that, Xie Lian would have to ask.

"A good quality in a traveling companion," the demon agreed. "I will endeavor to do the same, in that case. After all, one should always repay kindnesses."

And cruelties, but Xie Lian hadn't shown him any of those so far.

He matched the man's pace to the promise of warmth. "We're agreed there. Leave the cold to the Mobei."

His face definitely fits the bill! But there is far more to discover underneath. Since he has no real pressing matter to attend to, why not learn about his companion?

"Yes, they should." he is delighted at the reasoning, puffing out a small cloud of breath as they stride towards the inn. He cocks his head at the name and asks, a tad breathless:

"Mobei?"

"The clan who leads the lands to the north where this lord is from. Ice demons of course, so the frozen wastes suit them quite well," Tianlang-Jun explained cheerfully. "You'll know if you meet one by the frozen nature of their faces and personalities, especially their newest king."

He slung an arm around Xie Lian's shoulders. "The Sha in the south make for better company. And one can stand to visit without drowning in furs."

"How fascinating! I wonder if I'll get the chance to meet them. I am living on a mountain now and I've never encountered more than the usual wildlife." Xie Lian pushes open the door to the inn and ushers his companion in first.

The arm around his shoulders basically means he follows Tianlang-Jun inside immediately, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

"You have traveled far and wide." then again, so has he, "Have you ever visited Heaven?"

He briefly entertained the thought that it might be entertaining to have the Sha girl show up, before Xie Lian managed to suggest something so outlandishly impossible that it distracted Tianlang-Jun entirely. He threw his head back with a laugh, slapping the smaller man on the back.

"My friend, the heavens would relocate itself into the Abyss before they welcomed someone like this lord as a visitor."

Xie Lian should stumble from the impact of that hand, but he doesn't. He might seem small for a man, yet he boasts a body that is mostly muscle. He frowns - not out of offense - at the laughter, rolling the possibilities over in his mind.

"Are you a demon, then? Or a ghost?"

"A demon, of course," Tianlang-Jun said cheerfully, pleased with the other's strength. If it came to a fight, it would be properly entertaining. If it didn't, it was always good for a demon's friend to be strong. "A heavenly demon at that. Despite the auspicious name, most would say that we are the worst kind, and it's a blessing that there are so few."

A heavenly...demon? Xie Lian looks so puzzled by that and yet the proof is right before him! He stands on his toes to peer into Tianlang-Jun's eyes and cautiously capture one of his curls with his fingers.

"Have you rejected godhood? Is that it?" is this another path that Hua Cheng might have taken if he had been more...

Well. Wicked? Mischievous?

All of the above?

He raised an eyebrow and bent down for him, a small smirk forming on his lips as he was studied.

"An ancestor, perhaps. This lord was born a demon," Tianlang-Jun said. "But I might have, given the option. Heaven sounds dreadfully boring. Hardly a tea house or theatre to be found."

"I see!" Xie Lian is beginning to understand, "Mm it is very boring." he smiles and asks for two rooms. Only one can be spared and he looks towards Tianlang-Jun questioningly.

"Do you mind rooming with a god? I'm sure I will be terribly boring, but I promise I don't live in Heaven."

"As long as you don't mind rooming with a demon. You seem much more interesting than I imagine most gods are," Tianlang-Jun agreed. "And I promise that I won't bite. Without permission."

"I've resided with ghosts and monsters. I suppose it is time for me to live with a demon." he teases as he walks to their room and opens the door, "It would be sad if you sent a martial god fleeing from a single bite!"

"And I've resided with righteous cultivators. It would seem we're both used to keeping odd company," he said cheerfully, glad to find himself in good company despite the strange circumstances. "If your gods are anything like them, then I would hope they're as sturdy."

"I think we should survive through the night." Xie Lian goes to the fireplace and sets about warming himself up, "I wouldn't say many of the gods are righteous, actually. They can be quite selfish."

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TEST DRIVE MEME #12

Tianlang-Jun | Scum Villain's Self Saving System | TDM - New Player

Arrival

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