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expiationmeme2023-05-29 10:59 am
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.
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?
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I can keep walking, thank you. I just wanted to know there's somewhere with a roof waiting for us.
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There are many places with roofs waiting for you. The question is whether you would prefer something quiet... or lively?
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[ He realizes the breadth of shenanigans that wording opens him up to once the words leave his mouth, but. It's fine. That's a problem for future, more well-rested Sigma. ]
no subject
[ Luckily they're close now. Close enough at least that it looks like Gogol is intentionally leading them through rows of buildings with a location in mind. The building he stops in front of seems a fairly high traffic area at first in that a number of the "Chosen" are leaving and going from the same entrance.
It's where they all stay currently. A clown he may be but he have the decency to hold the door open for Sigma to go in first. ]
In you go!
no subject
He'll still be looking where he can once inside, after a quiet "thank you" to Gogol. There's got to be something somewhere, some snag hiding in a corner hinting at the true nature of this place. ]
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[ Whether or not Sigma takes this information too Nikolai chatters on about some of the people they pass, and often to those people's chagrin. "You wouldn't believe how boring that one is! It's very impressive." "Wow! Noooo idea who that is." ]
[ At some point during the building's tour Gogol abruptly swings a door open. No one yells at him for it so it must be a room he's familiar with. The inside looks like the primary function is as a bed room so take that as you will Sigma. ]
Now then, you should be able to recollect yourself in here.
no subject
And eventually, just what he's been waiting for. The structure of the whole place is hotel-like enough that he has an idea of what's inside before looking in, but there it is: bed. The bonus boost of energy he'd been given when thrust into a crowd drains almost all at once as his body begs him to make a beeline, but he keeps hold of his manners long enough to let himself take a quick look at everything here as well. ]
I'm assuming this is yours?
[ One of the things he's looking for: some sort of something that would mark it as Gogol's space. Anywhere they shared previously hadn't been inhabited long enough for that sort of thing to settle in, so he has to admit he's...curious what that would look like. ]
no subject
Notably: the abandoned cello in the corner. Abruptly Gogol tries to grab Sigma's attention once again with a sharp clap. The clown has an important announcement it seems. ]
And now it's also yours!
[ Sigma you've activated his trap card. The one dubbed And Now You're Voluntold Where to Sleep Every Night! What? He needs to keep an eye out on certain assets. ]
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--Huh? For the night, you mean?
[ There seemed like plenty of rooms here, surely they aren't all full?? ]
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Ohhh that's a good guess! But it's wrong. Now think beyond that.
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That may be on hold now, but... ]
You know I won't be running away, right?
[ Where would he even go? ]
no subject
I suppose not! I wouldn't expect you to run. Yet you did request that I make sure you stay alive until my new set up is finished, didn't you?
[ Gogol taps at his temple with his injured hand to put it on understated display. ]
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But he still won't ask outright, not yet. ]
...Alright, alright. I'll be staying here.
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Good! That's a good boy with the correct answer. [ A small but no less dismissive half-wave. ] Now then, because I've got some errands to run I'm going out for a bit... so stay here and make yourself at home while I do.
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And oh no does every last bit of will to do anything else immediately sink right down from his eyelids into the mattress with him. Ugh, he'd have liked to have a bath or something to get the remnants of whatever the hell these past 24 hours have been off for a more pleasant sleep, but. He guesses that won't be a problem once his head actually hits the pillow.
Even so, something starts crawling up Sigma's throat once Gogol speaks again, about stepping out. Exhaustion makes the opening and closing of his mouth to throw away whatever it had been not particularly subtle, but he busies himself with taking off his shoes to keep his eyes away from the other. ]
Mm. I'll be here once you're back.
no subject
So he doesn't. ]
Until then.
[ On the way out he flicks the lock on the door from the inside. He Overcoats away with a typical flourish. ]