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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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But then again Gogol's doomed the moment he hears his far more stoic friend break into laughter as well. and then he sees the sparkles. Gogol wheezes into another bout of laughter. Being in misery is not far off if this keeps up since his abdominal muscles are threatening to cramp from the laughter.
Still he manages enough strength to weakly paw at Fyodor's cheek before pointing in the direction of the glow. ]
I've never seen you so incandescent! I'm really touched that the thought of you putting me out of my misery delights you so much that you're glowing!
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...this is not a clown prank. he's glowing, there's sparkles, he looks like a cute kitten surrounded by flowers with the biggest, most innocent eyes possible. it's difficult to see exactly what gogol is seeing but— ]
You don't think it's contagious? [ oh and he's going to grab his dear friend if allowed and rub his hand over his collar/cheek/whatever is closest to his grabby hand just to see if the sparkles transfer. ]
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[ Allow him he does! With seemingly no fear for his life despite the potential for death-at-a-touch. On the contrary Gogol grabs hold of the dark haired man at his waist and shoulder to use him as a support as he almost keels over at the ridiculousness of the situation.
...Those hands are cold though. Which means Nikolai does squirm this way and that. However the giggling doesn't cease. The sparkles don't transfer sadly but the clown is glowing in other more emotional ways. ]
Am I infected!?
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they touch with ease in these moments, a hand on his shoulder and waist, and his free hand settled on gogol's elbow to keep him from falling over in laughter. dostoevsky remains very serious despite it being over the top. he sparkles and sparkles in accompaniment to that high helium pitch. ]
Although—[ and the expression gives way to curious malice, the hand who had been touching gogol most liberally settling over the clown's injured one. ] I was hoping it would heal this.
I'm quitting on the formatting but please believe the tiny voice still exists in all our hearts
Still bent at the waist he has to look up at Fyodor through eyes now narrowing into crescents. Thus Gogol straightens up with a spine that curves with a sense for elegance. The opportunity to lean far to close into Fyodor's space before doing so fully presents itself and he takes it. It's close enough to jostle a strand of dark hair with a breath of amusement even. That is exactly when a smirk returns to his face to replace the candid joy from before. Only after a pause rife with tension where the clown offers that hand for examination does he finally straighten fully.
That air of levity of gone and instead replaced by something heavy with a danger produced between the both of them. or it would... if the squeaky voice didn't persist. ]
Some injuries are not so easily healed. Fedya, shouldn't you know this just as well as I do? [ High pitched gasp. ] Ah?! You do! So does that mean that you're concerned about meee?
forever in our hearts
then the space is between them once more and the touch adjusts accordingly, gentle but firm. ]
Of course, how else are you to strangle me if one hand is useless?
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[ Not to mention how it's personal. Could he go through with it all the way? Maybe he could. All to watch Fyodor writhe underneath his hands. Would it be something Fyodor also would be into?
That's an immediately cognition halting thought. Uh, fuck, QUICK-- ]
Anyways~ don't play coy! It's way more likely that you'd ask me to strangle someone for you, isn't it?
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Ding, ding! Correct, Kolya. I might be in need of these [ and at this point he very deliberately lifts the injured hand, shifting so it's palm is brought up gently to touch his lips. as if such an act could heal the damage, a kiss to make it better, he knows the tale.
and gogol's reactions are always so entertaining so he leaves that hand close. ] So, you best take better care of them, yes?
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Which means it's a good thing his balance is okay. Because Fyodor is actually trying to kill him indirectly with his next stunt clearly. The kiss to the palm makes his breath falter. But of course Fedya leaves it there to agonize him further and so he shifts his bandage clumsy fingers to gently press into the man's jawline. With actions like this it's hard not to wonder if Fyodor knows about their ill-fated entanglement last time he was here despite not remembering it. ]
Oh yes, funny story that. A one of a kind experience I wouldn't recommend!
[ Gogol's fingers shift to coax one side of Fyodor's mouth into a smile. The pads of his fingers pressing against his lips. ]
Even so, it looks like for the time being you won't have to find someone else to clean up all the messes.
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I imagine, not many things injure you. But there is more isn't there? Lots of little secrets that built up while we were apart.
[ he kisses the pads of those fingers playfully, but with no true emotion just mimicry. a dysfunction in himself—how he feels and does not feel never factors in. he doesn't know how.
but kolya would know the act now, he's seen after all behind the veil, what fyodor looks like when it's emotion he genuinely feels like— ]
Would you like to clean my messes still?
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He pulls his hand away from the kisses with reluctance. It provides a dull hurt that throbs in the wound to do it but he uses that as motivation to then press that hand over Fyodor's mouth so he can no longer do it. Speak no evil! ]
It suits me to do so, don't you think? I think I will.
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