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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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[ He shrugs nonchalantly. It's not like he knows that many teenage girls himself, and the ones he does know, well... he can only hope they're not engaging in wanton destruction in their spare time.
Ragna briefly considers telling her to piss off, but decides against it, mostly because he's got a funny feeling she'd pester him about it anyway. Besides, if whoever dragged him into this world managed to pull that off, on top of apparently knowing what he's capable of, then who's to say they won't announce it to everyone in the damn town on the first occasion? There really aren't any good reasons to try and keep it a secret.
With a flick of his wrist, he causes a circle of complex symbols made of blueish light to form next to him. He sticks his hand in it like it's the most natural thing in the world to do, and pulls out the parchment he, like so many others, had found on his person after waking up here. ]
Knock yourself out.
[ He tosses the parchment over to Jinx. Upon inspection, she'll find that aside from the usual spiel, there isn't that much new information to be found there. In fact, the section about his supposed crime only contains three words:
"Destroying the world". ]
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Mm, sorry, Buckaroo. But I'm allergic to cupcakes. — Irritates the skin.
( and she will leave it at that. but luckily for the two of them, that bitterness in her voice doesn't stick around. her attention immediately focuses on his neato ability just now. so he is a magic user, who would thunk? although with a name like "bloodedge", jinx should had pieced together there's something intriguing about this stranger. )
Oooo!! — A portable... portal! That's a killer magic trick. ( hopefully the little praise she gave him just now is enough for him to stick around a bit! even not, she'll continue to bug him in the future. catching the paper, she unrolls to read his crime. it's definitely a lot shorter than hers, but seems to be way bigger all the same. )
Woah, get outta here! You destroyed a world?! — Now that's just psycho.
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Or so Ragna tells himself, trying to ignore the sudden pang of guilt in his chest. See, this is why he doesn't like engaging in any sort of social interaction: you never know when you say something that will make things awkward and─ thank fuck for that subject change. ]
"Magic"...?
[ He repeats the word under his breath, raising his eyebrow in confusion. No one in their right mind would mistake Ars Magus for real magic... no one in his world, that is. Or should that be his "former" world? Whatever. Either way, it tells him that other worlds might not have Ars Magus, which... makes a whole lot of sense now that he thinks about it. You learn something new every day.
He's not entirely sure how he feels about the fact the girl doesn't even question the validity of that crime, but... it's not like he could really deny it if asked, so that might actually spare him a headache there. That's not to say he's happy about it, but is he ever? ]
... Guess I can't really argue with that.
[ There's no joy nor pride in that statement; in fact, he sounds kind of... tired? They could've listed tons of other stuff he's done, like murder, manslaughter, terrorism, destruction of property, obstruction of justice, dine-and-dashing (... not his finest moment), but nooo, they had to go straight for that. Just his luck. ]
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( she says, giggling as she rerolls the paper. but instead of handing it to him, she flips it around between her fingers. )
— All the more reason for you and I to be allies. Me, The Loose Cannon, you, world destructor, we would make a good team. Don'tcha think?
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[ Of course, if we go by any sensible person's metrics, he certainly is one. And while he's used to playing the part by now, it does get exhausting at times.
Ragna listens to her offer with a frown. Now, he's not as strongly opposed to working with other people as he used to be (which... isn't saying much), but he's not exactly eager to trust a random teenage girl he's just met. ]
... And do what, exactly, Little Miss Cannon?
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We're suppose to be trap here, right? Filled with a lotta colorful people who can do a lotta colorful, dangerous, things. If a buffy guy or girl tries to rough things up, we can take 'em down together. Rule this place.
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It might come as a surprise to you given my charming personality and shit, but I'm not actually that big on the whole "teamwork" thing.
[ He wants to make that part clear first and foremost. Ragna leans back in his chair, exhaling slowly. ]
But... what the hell. If someone needs to be brought down a peg or two, I don't mind kicking their ass.
[ Not for the purpose of "ruling" the place, mind you ─ it's more that he knows not doing anything about people stirring up trouble is more than likely to come back to bite him in the ass later. It's self-preservation, really. ]
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( taking this as a "yes", jinx bounces on her seat in sheer glee while clapping her hands together. )
Great! — Then we're buddies. The JR twistin' and shapin' this place up like a spin wheel.
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Whatever. Just make sure you're not the one whose ass I need to kick, 'kay?
[ He has a funny feeling that's not out of question. ]
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( she bellows out a crackle then, arms wrap around her midriff as she falls back on the table. it's not at all funny, but it is for this girl. )
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[ He doesn't confirm nor deny the part about the possibility of hurting her, though despite what the crime he's accused of might suggest, he wouldn't do that without a good reason. ]
Well? Don't you have some other people to bother or trouble to cause?
[ He's being sarcastic, of course, but he probably should be careful with suggestions like that... ]