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expiationmeme2023-08-06 09:08 am
TEST DRIVE MEME #4
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.
You may find the below link helpful in getting to know themes of the world, locations, the people, and so on.
AS OF AUGUST 2023: We have decided to reduce the waiting period for new updates / canons to two months. So if your canon is two months old, your character is appable as of now.
The last thing you recall is waking in a room of blinding white light. You hear voices around you, speaking in muffled tones; you get the distinct impression that they’re talking about you. And you’re on the verge of figuring out what they’re saying, you’re so close...but then the floor drops out from under you. You’re falling into blackness.
You come to after falling through this dark void, and when your vision clears, you find yourself on a…beach? Many wake up covered in sand, but some wake in the shallows of the ocean, too. Surf’s up!
IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN...
SAND AND SALT (ARRIVALS)
After dusting off the sand (or drying off with a towel, if they had a really rude awakening), newcomers to the area find themselves greeted by the locals and directed to the city of Aldrip, where they can find food, shelter, and dry clothing, should they need it. There's mention of an inn, though some mutter that it's getting a little crowded, so maybe characters should find a roommate or make nice with the locals so they can crash on their floor—at least temporarily. Once they're in town, they'll notice that there is plenty of construction going on: building materials everywhere, half-finished structures waiting to be finished. Maybe you won't be sleeping on the floor for too long, after all.
Those who choose to remain on the beach will find the locals setting up for something that looks like a festival. Colorful tents are anchored in the sand, filling with strange-looking goods, delicious-smelling food, games, and other activities. Locals call this the "Festival of the Sun," a celebration of the hottest days of the summer, where crops begin to swell bountifully and the seas become warm and refreshing. The festival has not yet begun, of course, and there is plenty of opportunity to help out. Chosen who wish to lend a hand will find themselves enlisted to help set up or decorate tents—or even to run some of them, if they're so inclined. Grab the balloons and streamers! (Or…colored scarves and flowers, maybe.)
FESTIVAL OF THE SUN
The festival kicks into gear in the afternoon, and there are plenty of activities to draw attention. There are boat racing competitions and a sandcastle contest, as well as a grand seashell hunt taking place on the beach. All of these are free to enter, and the contests offer prizes both for participation and for winning. Participation prizes are small tokens of memorabilia: seashells, shark teeth, dried flowers, things like that. Contest winners will find themselves gifted a refreshing treat or a free meal.
Other tents boast all sorts of different games, food, and trinkets for purchase. Merchants will accept coins or other goods in exchange, but if you find your pockets empty, they may also have to help work the booths if they need a well-earned break. Better get to work, and don't forget to give your most winning smile!
Later in the evening, the locals light a bonfire and host traditional songs and dances as the sun begins to set. All clean-up work will be left until the morning; according to Those Who Were There—the locals' patron deities, apparently, though they offer little information about them—it's bad luck to work this evening after the sun sets.
THIS IS ECOLOGY
MAKE A FRIEND
It seems there have been new additions to Aldrip and the surrounding areas. Even the locals are surprised to see large, flightless warking birds now charging around the meadowlands in packs, not to mention the cute piglets with bunny ears and other strange animals that seem to have appeared. There’s even something that looks like it’s made of rock roaming around–its bark is worse than its bite, though. You may even find that if you befriend them, you can ride on them.
Most are harmless, but Chosen may find a few more monsters than usual roaming the area, too. It seems best to be careful—especially after dark and in the forest, when some of these creatures feel emboldened to roam a little closer to civilization.
[[WILDCARD: Players can use anything from this post to interact with! It doesn’t even have to be the ones we mentioned in the prompts.]]
STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS
It's not just animals that have begun to appear in the area, either. Strange new flowers and plants seem to be cropping up everywhere, as if this is a normal habitat for them. Most of them don't seem harmful, although some of the vines can be a little…aggressive. However, getting too close to some of the flowers and mushrooms could give someone a nasty surprise. This is particularly unfortunate because the locals seem quite interested in the new additions to their town, encouraging the Chosen to investigate and acquire samples.
The pollen from these new flowers isn't normal, so Chosen won't find themselves sneezing too much. Unfortunately, they may find it has some other effect on them, such as sleeping, confusion, temporary loss of sense (sight, touch, taste, etc), powerlessness, forgetfulness, or inability to speak. While these are all examples of effects the pollen might have, this is certainly not a limitation. Just about anything you can come up with—within reason—is fair game.
STRANGE MACHINATIONS
A PILE OF JUNK
Ask the locals, and they'll tell you all about the recent trip to the desert, including how several of them were rescued and owe the Chosen a debt of gratitude. While they're repaying this debt mostly by way of helping with building projects, they've also brought back piles and piles of…broken technology. Mostly tablets: dirty, sandy, scratched up, and missing critical components like batteries and chargers. They've very kindly piled all of these things in the eating hall at the inn, and anyone who wants to check them out is welcome to do so. It's possible that cleaning them up and matching them up with their missing components will activate them, but you may have to sift through a whole pile to do so.
But activation does not necessarily mean they're in perfect working order. They may randomly beep, as if pinging off of certain locations, or make strange static sounds if they're turned on for too long. Some of them seem to ping off of each other, too, beeping more quickly as they're brought nearer to the other tablet they seem to be paired with. When connected to the pair, they seem to stabilize a bit more. Not enough to find anything of value in the system itself, but characters might find that they can now text each other, play one of the games, or send pictures on a local network.. After about ten feet of distance, they fail again and aren’t able to be used on the local network.
GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
Whatever happened to the locals at the beginning of the month seems to have passed—mostly. Every so often, Chosen might notice the locals acting a little strangely, stopping what they're doing for a second as if they've forgotten something, repeating something they've already said, or even flickering in and out of existence.
These experiences are minor, but Chosen might notice some other oddities popping up occasionally. Some animals seem very…odd, at a glance, like a fox that has two tails or a deer with three eyes. Look again, and you might think your eyes were playing tricks on you, because they appear normal. Fish with transparent scales, plants that change color—these are examples of the occasional oddities Chosen might encounter.
They might also sometimes hear strange noises, particularly at night. Beeping or static like the sounds coming from the tablets could easily wake a person in the night—as can the sound of a voice, perhaps even a familiar one, luring Chosen out of their beds and away from the town. The source of these voices is a mystery, and they always seem to stop before characters get too far, but you'd do well to be careful after dark.
You know the drill–this is the wildcard one. Just because it’s not listed in the prompts above does not mean it’s unavailable as an option. We encourage you to do whatever you’d like to utilize the setting to its full potential. If you have any questions about what is and is not possible, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Click to view:
| CANON | CHARACTER/TOP LEVEL |
| Arcane | Ekko |
| Arcane | Silco |
| Critical Role | Mollymauk Tealeaf |
| Digimon | Mimi Tachikawa |
| Final Fantasy X-2 | Paine |
| Fullmetal Alchemist: Broherhood | Pride |
| Honkai: Star Rail | Dan Heng |
| Land of the Lustrous | Phosphophyllite |
| Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story | Mitama Yakumo |
| Marvel 616 | Quentin Quire |
| Omnicient Reader's Viewpoint | Han Sooyoung |
| Persona 1 | Naoya Toudou |
| Persona 2: Eternal Punishment | Kei Nanjo |
| Persona 4 | Yu Narukami |
| Persona 4 | Yosuke Hanamura |
last updated: 8/16/23, 10:55PM
no subject
Yosuke shifts in his sleep, however.]
Noooo it's Sunday...
[clearly sleep talking.]
no subject
Mizuki will take that as a yes, then, approaching decisively before nudging him with her foot. Despite everything, she's probably being more gentle than the Ambystoma. ]
Yo. C'mon, I think your little guy's hungry. Plus you're crushing all of the flowers.
no subject
you're going to have to be forceful than that, Mizuki.]
I don't... gotta be up for school, Mom!
no subject
You know, he inspires a violence in her, almost with a similar energy to Date, but they literally haven't even spoken yet. Rather than kick him in the damn balls like she might have done to Date, she takes it down a notch, just for him, opting instead to stomp on the ground just outside the bed of flowers, sending a huge gust of wind and what feels like a mini-earthquake directly underneath him.
The rumble from below and the rustle of the flowers sway violently as they are temporarily flattened. ]
Hey!
[ Oops. The Ambystoma looks startled. ]
no subject
E-Earthquake????
[he looks up at Mizuki...
and then lays back down and falls asleep in the flowers again.]
no subject
[ Mizuki stares incredulously. She should just leave him there, honestly, but instead, after a short while to consider it, she finally steps into the flowers to lift Yosuke's twink ass and sling him over her shoulder like lumber.
Just as suddenly and out of nowhere, Mizuki cracks a laugh.
She doesn't think anything of it at first... Just lowers herself to offer her arm to the ambystoma. ]
C'mon. Hahaha! [ Oh, god. She hiccups in the effort it takes to clamp her mouth shut. Then still lets out a snort when she opens it again. ] Y-You, too.
[ Does this thing have a name? ]
no subject
he groans a little when Mizuki tosses him around like a sack of flour, but he still doesn't wake up.]
no subject
The sound of crashing waves start to get louder, punctuated by her footprints in the sand. She nudges him, lifting her shoulder. ]
Last chance, dude.
no subject
what...]
Wait... what happened?
[?????]
Am I getting kidnapped??? Please, I'm not that cute!!
no subject
The ambystoma, meanwhile, hops off her arm and starts bouncing around them, making splashing a little water Yosuke's way for good measure. ]
You're not. [ Kidnapped. Or cute. ] I was just trying to wake you up, but I guess all I had to do was get you away from those flowers.
no subject
[he staggers to his feet now, pushing himself away from Mizuki a bit...
he blinks.]
Wait, you carried me? You're that strong??
[he's not even paying attention to the ambystoma right now, which might be for the best.]
no subject
Yeah. Try not to think about it too hard, wouldn't want you to break your brain.
[ Not that she tries to hide her superstrength at all, but perhaps there's a time and place for boasting. Also, since Yosuke seems to be ignoring the abystoma, it helpfully leaps into his arms to be carried. ]
no subject
My brain's already broken to be honest...
[yeah.]
Everything's been a--
[he screams as the ambystoma jumps back into his arms... and goes to drop it again.]
no subject
...Really? Little guy was waiting for you to wake up, man.
[ That's cold. ]
no subject
Well he could've warned me before he jumped into my damn arms!!
[he glares at the ambystoma now, as if that's honestly the source of the issue here.]
Don't just jump into someone's arms like that, it freaks 'em out!
no subject
[ She strokes the ambystoma's head. Though the little guy doesn't seem too bothered (maybe he got used to all that yelling), he finally does comfortable in Mizuki's arms.
Actually, follow-up question: ]
He's not yours?
no subject
[like he's "perfectly" calm right now.
but anyways. he huffs, and gives the creature a side eye.]
No, he was freaking me out earlier. Probably thinks I'm funny or something... he won't stop following me around.
no subject
Mizuki looks down to the ambystoma, then back at him. ]
Now that I look at him, I don't really know what he is.
no subject
[he throws his hands in the air.]
What if he's some world eating creature or something?? Maybe he'll grow to the size of a house!