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

[ the implications of such a simple phrase: belonging, ownership, something else that not in dostoevsky's experiences. he is a solitary man by necessity, lonely-yes, but not with ambitions for companionship.

in fact, he's been dead set on eliminating dazai and ridding himself of the last person who matches his mind. who could, if circumstances were different, understand.

there's a call to violence in those words; they make fyodor's skin crawl. submission? to dazai? is that what happened? ]

A poor joke to play, Dazai. [ he drops the honorific, just to test the waters. ]

Edited 2023-06-07 21:11 (UTC)

(his expression barely changes. he's calm as he can be, that hollow smile only becoming larger, but there's no deception in his tone, in his expression - because it isn't a joke he had been playing. truly, if one had been played, perhaps that had been dazai himself.

drop honorifics, for all he cares.)

You think I'm joking? Why is that?

[ the hollowness of the smile does not pass unnoticed. it is an expression fyodor has seen dazai wear, both in and out of prison, back during the port mafia days and as recent as a few minutes ago. ]

This is a world that operates by rules which are different from ours, and so killing you here is no longer a priority, however I will reconsider it if you keep making terrible jokes.

I think I would recall agreeing to belong to someone. [ in this world or back home or in whatever hell awaited him. fyodor is a being of immutable decisions, unyielding will. if he says something like belonging, if he makes a promise-he does not forget. ]

You don't remember anything.

(if he did, he wouldn't be threatening, not with such real intent. the agreement had never ceased to exist, even if fyodor had. it's not in his best interest to unleash the hell that would come should dazai die, is it?)

I remember [ he lies, because not really but he can infer ] to agreeing not to start a fight here when our goals are the same. [ because it's logical dazai would do this. ]

[ he does not step closer, just shifts position so he can watch dazai's face; he's looking to stop the hollowness, the lie, the deception not knowing he will find none. ]

You're bluffing, Fyodor. If you knew what the agreement consisted of, you'd have led with that. It's only natural that I would have you agree to that, you haven't convinced me much. You do look very cute when you bullshit me, though!

(it's what he'd do, after all.

but he does have a card - annoying the shit out of fyodor to see what he can get from it.)

[ he grits his teeth. not having information is a disadvantage he loathes, knowing dazai is more entrenched in this world and by that has more ways of keeping fyodor in check, even if fyodor were to reject any truce—he's not dazai's, but he is certainly more cornered that he would like. ]

What is it that you want then?

Would you like to be updated, or will you continue to attempt to fool me? I must say, I'm not in the mood myself.

(if it had been any other place, they'd stand in equity. today, however, it isn't so. not when he had something with the man, not when he had missed the man, not when he had gone through all this without the man.)

No. [ which is vague: could be no don't tell me or no I intend to not play or even 'no i am also not in the mood' ]

I can recognize the disparity in our current positions. [ that is why he is here after all. there is a scalpel under his sleeve, warm against his skin. ]

Out of my own sadistic vice, I am rather tempted to leave you in the dark for a little longer. Tell me about your day.

(motherfucker.)

[ fyodor doesn't swear but he does smile sweetly, like he's going to pick dazai's bones from between his teeth one day. ]

And out of my own sadistic vice, I am tempted to help along your suicide attempt but I know we can both agree to the testament of my self-restraint.

I woke up, showered, and then I tracked you down.

Fyfy, my poor heart, stop talking sweetly to me. I'd drown you alongside me.

Ah, me specifically? How special I must be.

Don't call me that. [ and that's perhaps the biggest, most irrefutable confirmation that this fyodor does not hold the memories. he clicks his tongue, frowning. ]

You're the only person in this world that can be of use.

Not entirely true. Also, you had given me permission, so I'm ignoring that part, alright?

(he misses his fyfy.....)

And I'm now revoking said permission.

[ but he also knows better than to argue too much when he needs information from dazai; nothing angers fyodor more than anything that fucks with his plans, unless that is something that fucks with his mind and memories. ]

Can't revoke if you are not you who had given me the permission. I told you, this you, a little less mine, and you were already so little mine already! I feel like I've been cheated.

(who cares about your lonely soul, dazai. it's a whine that is energetic, a contrast to the melancholy he carried not long before fyodor appeared.)

[ well, if this is what they must talk about, then they will. ]

I have never been anyone's. Now, Dazai-kun, you're out here contemplating suicide, why is that?

That's a better story than a recount of my day.

You were like, 2% mine. You kissed me, you know? Right here.

(which is where dazai points, the spot between his eyes, where fyodor's lips had touched.)

Ah, when am I not? Is that really that interesting to you?

[ something flickers in fyodor's expression at those words: he knows what that means, the gesture—

and it does not seem a lie. it doesn't matter, if he can't recall then it didn't happen as far as fyodor is concerned. ] It isn't, but what else should we talk about then?

The agreement sounds fitting, if you do not wish to speak about us.

(which, clearly, he doesn't.)

Us. That sounds like an ominous combination. [ implausible, impossible. it makes fyodor want to recoil in shame-if this is true, what does this dazai know of him?

that gentle kiss, bestowed like a blessing. ] The agreement seems pretty straightforward, no killing attempts, yes?

It was great while it lasted.

(a dance, one where every step is careful, and careless, as they step into an abyss of darkness and hazard.)

You don't know what the terms are, however.

Don't lie like that. Even if I were to accept the implication that I was yours in any way or form, it could not have been great.

[ not in the way fyodor envisioned it. it's not the dance, that final waltz is always fun, it's the fall and then the aftermath— ]

Nothing outrageous I imagine.

I would not lie about something so awfully true.

(it's awful because it's not here. he is not happy.)

No. You work with me, no murder of any kind, Gogol gets to kill you when we're back, myself and Chuuya will work under plans with the agreement that Corruption is a joint decision of two, and I let you go back to... I suppose, drowning me? I live with Chuuya, Nikols and you lived next door. I keep an eye on you, you're free to keep an eye on us. Also, ah, of course, Clown Protection is involved.

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cw suicide talk

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