expiationmeme | TEST DRIVE MEME #3

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TEST DRIVE MEME #3

TEST DRIVE MEME #3

Welcome to the TDM for Expiation, a pan-fandom adventure game with fantasy, science fiction, and some horror elements. We ask that top-level comments are reserved for new characters and players looking to experience a taste of the world and overarching storyline. Characters already in the game, however, are free to use TDM prompts in their own catch-alls and logs. Feel free to submit any TDM / prompt-related questions to the corresponding comment below.

New players / characters looking to app are free to use TDM threads as samples in their application. Preexisting players / characters may use TDM threads as part of their AC proofs (with the stated limitations).

You may find the below links helpful in getting to know themes of the world, locations, the people, and so on.

info | world

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN...

BRAVE NEW WORLD (ARRIVALS)

After receiving the paper with your sentence, the whole world quickly becomes dark and you find yourself falling through what seems to be an infinite void. You lose track of time after a while, but as soon as your focus seems to waver, your vision clears and you find yourself resting rather unceremoniously in a pile of seeds used for chicken feed.

Once you make your way out of the grain silo (and we of the moderator team wish you good luck in finding a fun way out of it), you may find that several other people have been dropped into the world just like you have. Some are disoriented, others are panicked, and others yet are simply angry about being brought somewhere against their will. Amidst the chaos of new arrivals to the world of Expiation, the newcomers will find that there are some people in the crowd who seem a little more familiar with what’s going on.

These people will tell you that you find yourself in a strange new world, and that it’s best to make your way to a nearby town called Aldrip to get settled down there. It’s a few hours by foot away from this area, but it’s the only place in the nearby area that can accommodate newcomers like you.

WE LIKE TO PARTY (WE LIKE, WE LIKE TO PARTY)

Recently, many Chosen have emerged victorious from a hard-fought battle, taking out a gargantuan creature that threatened to suck the energy from the whole area surrounding Aldrip if it had not been stopped. Such efforts do not go unrecognised, and in the aftermath, the locals all decided to band together to celebrate their saviours’ heroics. Nothing less than a village-wide party and parade would be fitting for such an occasion.

This is an undertaking that will likely take a significant amount of effort. While the locals wanted to make this into a surprise, many of them lack skills to put the thing together properly. Chosen who want to get involved in the preparation process can put their organisation and culinary skills to the test to create fixtures and food for the event. Better yet, your efforts over the past months have improved supply routes into Aldrip, meaning that the food shortage has passed, and you’ll have just about anything your heart desires for the occasion.

Alternatively, you can choose to enjoy the spoils of your efforts! Once the day of the party arrives, Aldrip will erupt into a full-scale celebration, and all Chosen are encouraged to party as hard as possible. Good food, good drinks and good times will be in no short supply for the occasion. Additionally, those who took to the front lines in the previous event will be revered as heroes and likely spoiled rotten.

THIS IS HOW YOU GET ANTS

PLEASE PARTY RESPONSIBLY

It’s no understatement to say that some of the Chosen like to party hard- and that’s quite alright! A few days ago, the people of Aldrip had already set aside a few rooms in the inn to act as an infirmary for those who had been injured during the battle with the Branded. It took little effort for them to expand this project into a full medical wing for those who would undoubtedly be acting irresponsibly during the festivities.

It’s up to you to decide what circumstances brought you here. Perhaps you were injured in the previous battle, and have been stuck in bed as you recover from your wounds. Maybe you had just a little too much to drink, and you decided to come by while you collect yourself. Regardless of what your reason for being there may be, the people of Aldrip have guaranteed that you will receive the best of care.

With that said, the place is terminally understaffed. Aldrip’s locals will certainly appreciate any assistance they can get- even if your character might not have the best training or bedside manner. Medicine can’t be that hard- what’s the worst that can happen?

MR. MAGNIFI'S MAGNIFICENT MIXTURES

Once word of the upcoming celebration spread, several individuals from outside town came in to offer their services or goods in Aldrip. One such individual came into town riding on a rickety cart with the words “Miraculous Magnifi’s Medicine! Guaranteed to heal what ails ye!” emblazoned in gold on its side. The thing smells a bit off, with a strong chemical scent coming from the back, but the moustachioed man who emerges from the back assures you that all of his “mixes are made with meticulous ministrations!”

Those who buy and consume the potion might find themselves feeling strange over the next few days as symptoms emerge. Some people wake up to find that their hair has taken on a rainbow of colours during the night, that rats cuddle up to them for no reason, or that their irises have been replaced with strange spiral shapes. Feel free to come up with inventive but harmless side effects for the miracle elixir- it’s meant for some good fun.

They’re strange symptoms for sure, and certainly not the advertised cure-all. However, Magnifi is already gone by the next dawn, meaning that no one can get a refund. Thankfully, the symptoms will go away after a few days, but the chaos that ensues in the meanwhile will certainly make for some fun stories.

IT'S NOT OVER

♪♫ LET IT GROW ♫♪ ► (FUTURE EVENT TIE-IN)

The party celebrating the dread beast’s defeat can be heard from miles outside of Aldrip, but the situation is not quite yet resolved. Much of the once-lush forest outside of Aldrip had its life force absorbed from it, leaving little more than profaned ground and an overwhelming scent of rot. Worse yet, there are reports that some of the beast’s severed golden tendrils have taken on a life of their own, creating snake-monsters that threaten the local wildlife.

However, the monsters are not the only new arrivals in Pessiria Forest. Those who go to investigate the area will find that fairy-like creatures have gathered in the profaned land and are trying their best to help bring the area back to its former glory. At first, they seem to keep their distance or ignore you entirely, but after determining that you mean well, they inform you that they can temporarily bless the Chosen with the power to make full-sized plants burst forth from the seeds they plant into the ground.

It’s still going to be hard work. Even with the power to bring plants to life, planting seeds in the miles of dead forest will likely take a very long time. Still, these strange fairies could use the help, and tough jobs can be better if you bring a little help from your own friends. (Or enemies. No one’s going to judge you for who you bring.)

WHAT'S THAT MYSTERIOUS LAUGHING SOUND?

The process of regrowing the devastated part of Pessiria forest is well underway, but the process does not go entirely smoothly. Partway through the process, locals start to report that they can hear a strange girl laughing in the forest in the middle of the night, but no one seems able to track down its source. Curious Chosen can patrol around the forest at night to try and figure out the mystery.

Those who are particularly sharp-eyed might see a faint spectre of a little girl wearing a straw hat dancing about, but she never seems to stay in sight for more than a few seconds. One blink is all it takes for her to vanish.

You probably won’t be able to catch this strange spectre, but it’s become something of a game among the villagers to go looking for her anyways. Some say that seeing her is a sign of good luck, and wave to her before she disappears. Others say that if you see her while holding hands, it will bless you with a lifetime of good love. Almost all of these assertions are probably nonsense- but what will you do about it?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A- what? But I just... I JUST saw you. [How long was she dead for? Was this one of those weird time shenanigans things? Ugh, where was Setsuna when you needed her?]

Ah! Then, we should check out the garden! If this place is where we go after death, and if I've been here before but just don't remember it, then I'm sure to have a statue already, yeah?

[She takes Galaxia's hand without even thinking, much like she had before.]

Let's go see!

[... Does that mean this could be actually be a place of death? Time may have no meaning here. Months for her, moments for Sailor Moon. This place leads to more and more mysteries.

Such as Sailor Moon just up and taking her hand like they're the best of friends. Galaxia kind of awkwardly stares for a moment, because while this should be expected, it still catches her off guard. Is this how she makes so many friends?]

... I did not see one of you before. But I have not looked through all of them.

[She starts walking before Usagi gets it in her mind to drag her towards the garden without even knowing where it is.]

It's this way.

[You're going to have to get used to it, Galaxia. You more than anyone should know how much Usagi hates being alone without friends beside her.]

Haaa yes right, YOU lead. Eheh. [She rubbed the back of her head with her free hand, more seeds falling out of her hair.] At least we'll see if I've been here before, that would help narrow down if this place is where we go after we die.

Coming coming! [She quickly moved next to Galaxia, not sure what to make of this whole thing. If this was death, where were the others? If this wasn't death, did she succeed? Did she manage to save everyone? Or was this place... unique, for her and Galaxia for some reason?]

[But they aren't frien--oh whatever, there's nothing she can really do about it right now. She just sighs in the tsundere anime fashion.]

I haven't seen any others like us here. We are the only ones with Sailor Crystals on this world.

[Maybe it's like back at the Cauldron where it's just them now. No one else. Minus that little girl Galaxia still doesn't know what to think of. That power.]

Will you protect the people here too?

There's no senshi for this planet? Maybe she hasn't been awoken yet! [It took literally thousands of years for HER to awaken so, who knows. Then again, Galaxia had a... knack for sensing Sailor Crystals. Well, technically, so did Usagi, but Usagi tended to be able to do it unwittingly.]

Of course. [She said immediately and then paused.] Why wouldn't I defend the people here? If I'm able to help, I should. [She knows, technically, the biggest danger is literally the woman beside her. Galaxia was incredibly powerful and capable of many things.] Has something happened here where they would even need me? [If this was the after life COULD she even defend them?]

No. Not that I've sensed. Only us. And this is not our planets.

[Not that Galaxia considers herself as having a planet anyway.]

But things have gone on lately. Kidnappings. People being controlled by a dark force. I haven't found the source. But --

[Beyond herself]

Dark existences are here.

Well, no, it's not our planet. [Not Earth and not... well, not wherever Galaxia is originally from.] But we can still help.

[At the mention of kidnappings and people being controlled by a dark force, Usagi sighed. She's not shocked, but it's never good to hear.]

Well, if darkness exists, then those who provide light are here as well. [She immediately offered, and she wondered for a moment if Galaxia had tried to intervene or not.] If they need my help, they have it. [She smiled.] Besides, we're in this together. We might not be this world's guardian but if we have the power to help, we should do so.

[Nope. She was fully ready to let people get kidnapped. She did save someone from wolves once, but he got mad because he was hunting them and there was nothing left after she was done.]

Even though this place accuses us of crimes? Why help them if that's how they see it?

[What makes them even worth it?]

We don't know that the people here are the ones who accused us. We don't have a clue if they're the ones in charge of... any of this, Galaxia.

[Usagi always wanted to give someone the benefit of the doubt.]

Besides, this place doesn't even SEEM like an actual prison. I know you've been here longer. [Literally, Usagi only just arrived.] And we don't even know who is accusing us. I'm not going to start out mad when I don't understand what's going on. All I have is a small piece of paper on a planet. That's not enough to make me give up on these people.

You put far too much faith in others, Sailor Moon. People are not all good. The ones here might not be either. I don't know how you can hold onto so much hope.

[Though to be fair, only a few she's run into have been ones to be wary of. Most of the people she's run into seem rather ... normal.]

Maybe I do. [She shrugged, nonchalantly, clearly not bothered by such a notion.] But I'm not here to judge their lack of goodness or what that might even mean. No one is all good or all bad all the time, not even you, and especially not me. If there are bad people here, then I'll deal with them, whatever that might need to look like. But I'm not going to go in assuming they're bad.

[She gave Galaxia's hand a gentle squeeze.]

I'll hold onto hope for the both of us, then, until you can have hope in them too!

Oh! And... well, call me Usagi. I call you by your name, Galaxia. Call me by mine! [Sailor Moon IS her name, sure, but Sailor Moon would not exist if Usagi was not who she was.]

[She's so not used to someone taking her hand and being all nice like this. She's still very awkward about it, but Sailor Moon is definitely the one who embraces all ...]

Usagi. Why do you use that name as well? Why do you hide from the people of your planet?

Because I'm more than just Sailor Moon. I was Usagi before anything else in this life. [She was the reincarnated Moon Princess, the future (maybe not anymore?) Queen of Earth and the Moon, she was Sailor Moon, the strongest in her galaxy. But before she had been any of that, she had been and remained, Usagi. Sailor Moon was a part of her, the way Serenity was a part of her, but she was human too.

Weak, and frail, and klutzy human.]

It's not so much hiding as... I want to live my life, I don't want to be Sailor Moon all the time, I want to spend time with my friends and family and not be tasked with defending everyone and everything.

Besides, while I CAN befriend people as Sailor Moon, I can befriend people easier as Usagi. I wouldn't be me if Usagi hadn't come first. [She offered.]

Your duty is who you are.

[Well, technically who they are. Though Galaxia didn't exactly follow that either. When she wasn't on her galaxy domination plan, she was planet hopping.]

But I suppose I understand you want to live another life. Be something else. A lot wish for such a thing ... Sailor Senshi wanting to be normal humans and normal humans wanting to be Sailor Senshi.

It isn't. If it were, a Senshi wouldn't be able to transform in and out of her form. Yet here we are, able to be outside of it. If it were only that, Mercury, Venus, Mars, all of them, should have gone back to their planets even though they are the only ones from it anymore, but instead, they're on Earth, protecting her.

You are more than just Sailor Galaxia. You aren't human, but you don't have to hold yourself to these strict standards of a Senshi only.

[She leaned forward.] You are able to be more, even here and now.

I don't know what that is.

[To be more. To be something else. At least she didn't completely back away when Usagi leans forward.]

People act so careless in their lives. They barely notice what's going on around them. I saw it on many worlds. So many people are the same, no matter what you go.

[A brief pause.]

Earth is fortunate to have you to watch over it.

Well, I'll help you, Galaxia! [She smiled, tilting her head.] I will help you learn it, if you want.

Careless, yeah, but you can't live every day in fear, either... that's no way to live a life, and Galaxia, you deserve to live your life instead of chasing after this... idea of power.

You know that, right? That you should get to live too.

[At the mention of her protecting earth, she smiled.]

Thank you, it was my wish, you know? To protect Earth alongside my loved ones. [And now, she's here. She inhales.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE MEME #3

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