![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
expiationmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
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?
no subject
Words trailing off, Erichthonios turns his gaze to sweep the room, veering to the end where a pair of supply cabinets reside. "...I believe it is the one on the left?"
Unless they had gotten misplaced again.
no subject
"I'm William, by the way. It's nice to meet you!"
no subject
Very short, as it turns out. Between the injured from the battle he's been hearing about and those injured from reveling too vigorously afterward....
"I am Erichthonios, and while I have no say here, if there is anything I may help with here, you need but ask."
no subject
For a while after that, there is no conversation. William busies himself with the task delegated to him, making sure the soiled sheets go into sacks and laying out new ones with practiced flicks of his wrists. He's naturally called upon to help get people standing as well, which he does without complaint. Thankfully most of the ailing are simply terribly hungover and not seriously injured. William may have the goddess' blessing to grant repose to the dead but that doesn't mean he wants to see anyone hasten to their deaths.
Once he's done, he sinks into a nearby chair with a deep sigh of relief. "Phew..."
no subject
"'Tis almost time for their meal. Would you like anything?"
no subject
If he could pray his own bread then that would have been enough as well. Any food he receives is a gift he's thankful for.
no subject
"How much do you typically consume, if I may ask? I have noticed the patients here have more robust appetites than many of my people."
no subject
A quick once-over of the other man does not reveal anything that would suggest a different appetite to other people. So why...?
no subject
Though, come to think of it, Emet-Selch had mentioned this land being less rich in aether than their own...
no subject
Which makes him all the more curious about the man before him. "What is aether? Is it some kind of life energy force?"
no subject
A plant... That isn't a bad comparison, actually.
no subject
He mulls this over for a moment. There's no real comparison he can draw upon from his current homeworld, and his memory of his past is terribly fuzzy. Perhaps it's something like the period of fasting and meditation he used to conduct with Mary.
"Well, to answer your question, I don't need to eat much at all either. I'm used to sparse meals. As long as I have enough to nourish my body, I'll be fine."
no subject
Which is to say, not sparse, but not a feast, either. An adequate amount for recovering.
"I shall return soon."
And so he does, carrying meals from the kitchen to the infirmary, first to the patients, and then those helping them.
His own meal is comparatively smaller, but true to his word, William gets the same as the others.
no subject
"If you don't eat much, what's your cooking like?" he asks curiously after Erichthonios settles. "Is it really simple foods like salad or soup?"
no subject
They do not eat much, but they aren't deliberately minimizing caloric intake."Although we do not eat much, we are a creative people."
Quite literally, for they can create almost anything, given they have enough aether at their disposal for the process.
"We just do not take our sustenance in the same proportions and frequency those here seem to."
no subject
no subject
"...Mayhap there are other variables you have yet to consider."
no subject
If it helps to take the sting off William's thoughtless comment, he seems open to being corrected.
no subject
They are... quite a long-lived people, after all.
no subject
"As in...something like eating nothing but bread for weeks and months on end? I could probably manage it if it were part of some kind of ritual of prayer for my goddess but I imagine that's not what you mean."
no subject
Surely the boy has yearned for something new and different at least once in his life, however young he may be.
If he doesn't get it at this point, Erichthonios doesn't know what else to do but subject him to a meal or two.
no subject
no subject
"I will accept your apology, though I feel it would be better if you came to understand."
He shakes his head.
"...but now is not the time or place for lessons and lectures. Eat, and replenish your energies. Lengthy discussions of culture and cuisine can wait for another time."
no subject
"Right... Thank you again."
He briefly lifts his bowl to indicate what he means and offers a quick smile. Then, after a short prayer to thank the gods, as well, for the meal, he digs in.
/wraps this up and puts a done stamp on it
Mayhap with more hands the operations of the infirmary will go more smoothly...
Once he checks all the patients one last time, Erichthonios tucks himself into an isolated corner to take his meal.
Afterward, he will work well into the night.