expiationmeme | TEST DRIVE MEME #4

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TEST DRIVE MEME #4

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.

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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.

WILDCARD

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!

TOP LEVEL DIRECTORY

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

a. arrival

[Quentin Quire is annoyed.

Not because of the mysterious abduction. Or the fact that his powers still are a little on the fritz after that whole thing with Jubilee. Or even the stupid paper describing his "crime" — which by the way? that riot was ages ago. Get new material, spooky white room island kidnappers. Kid Omega is an X-Man and an Avenger, so suck it! Well, sort of. Close enough!

No, no, all of that is old hat. Pedestrian. Yawn. What's really annoying Quentin Quire is the seawater he woke up waste-deep in.]

These socks are Cervelt! Does that mean nothing to you stupid peasants?!

[Is he yelling at the sky? Yes. While gesturing dramatically with the pair of wet socks and shoes in his hands? Also yes. With no regard for the fact that he looks insane? Obviously. That's not important. Complaining is what Quentin does, and anyone who has the misfortune of being in the area is going to have to listen to it.]

Hey! I know there's some evil boss or supervillain or shady government suits out there who captured me, and I know you probably think you're hot shit for catching an Omega-level mutant. And yeah, I can't really blame you. I am pretty much amazing. But playtime's over, got it? So go ahead and save me the trouble of hunting you down, and I promise to only microwave half of your pathetic brain!

b. festival of the sun

[It's not even fair, honestly. Expecting all these normies to be any sort of competition in any contest ever for someone as awe-inspiring as Quentin Quire.

Boat racing? Easy. ~~Nobody said "no telekinesis" so it's not cheating.~~ Sandcastle building? Simple. ~~Again, assuming telekinesis isn't cheating, which it's not.~~ Seashell hunting? Okay, Quentin doesn't really have seashell-finding powers so this was one a little harder, but he is a super genius with a million brilliant thoughts every second. So ultimately, not that hard.

But hey, Quentin isn't all about punching down and lording his power over all the lesser beings. Eventually it's time to let the lower life forms have their fun ~~and no he didn't get disqualified for "obnoxious gloating" so shut up~~ and go be charitable elsewhere. He's volunteered to work at a booth for a charming local — who he's now pretty sure is not a supervillain — because he's just that nice of a person! Unfortunately, Quentin has had multiple of those ice cream treats from the many contests he won, and the sugar crash is hitting him hard.

Maybe you're here to confront him about the contests, either as a participant or as an observer. Maybe you're just here to buy something from the booth he's now very dubiously running. Either way, Quentin is barely even awake at this point, drawling sleepily as he leans back in his chair, feet propped on the table in front of him.]

Yeah, yeah, that'll be 5... whatevers. I don't know the currency here, and I don't care. Just leave it on the table, okay?

c.1 a pile of junk

[Look, Quentin basically has to take a bunch of this junk. I mean, hello? A million brilliant thoughts per second?? Who is better equipped to introduce modern technology to these primitives?]

Don't worry, everyone, I'll take it from here! Super genius coming through!

[Not that there's a crowd or anybody looking particularly confused hanging around the pile of broken tablets and bits. Quentin just feels the need to announce his presence as much as possible. Without even bothering to sort through anything, he gathers together a bundle of pieces in a telekinetic bubble and waltzes off the utmost ~~and least earned~~ confidence. Surely this will go well!]

c.2 a pile of junk

[It's not going well.

Not sorting through the pile before taking a bunch of shit was a mistake. Announcing that he was a super genius for everyone to hear was a mistake. Making sure he was sitting somewhere clearly visible to work on his haul was a huge goddamn mistake. Now he's stuck with a crapload of motherboards and touchscreen displays and hard-drives and not a single fucking battery. And since he's already talked himself up, he can't exactly go back to the pile and admit that he made a mistake. Nobody will ever take him seriously as a genius again! Not that they will anyway if he can't get one of these stupid fucking things working.

... Shit.

Quentin gets up, hands shoved casually into his pockets, and makes his way over to the nearest person who appears to be semi-competent at piecing together their own tablet.]

Hey. [Yep, super casual. Not insecure or nervous. Definitely not sheepish. Quentin Quire is never sheepish.]

You got any extra batteries?

( well, what an entertaining show this new person is displaying! it definitely beats watching the locals build homes for several hours, asking for her help every couple minutes, and dealing with their nice manners. because quite frankly, the sugary coated attitude the locals mostly have is making her want to gag up her breakfast and swallow salt water. so here sits jinx, a seventeen year old with long blue braided hair ~~with pronouns~~. her pink eyes (yes, her eyes are pink, how freaky!) glisten in interest as she tilts her head to the side -- grinning rather mischievously. )

Can I get a front row seat to see that?

( the teen isn't sure what a "microwave" is, but if it has the ability to destroy someone's brain, that's something worth witnessing!! )

Edited 2023-08-15 06:41 (UTC)

[Hmm, let's see...

Cool, pirate-core/punk aesthetic with a funky post-apocalyptic vibe? Check. Unnatural hair color in an eye-catching style? Check. Enabling Quentin's megalomaniacal rants? Check.

Hey, she's meeting all of Quentin's standards!]

Huh? I mean — yeah. Obviously!

[Expensive socks? Forgotten. Quentin Quire Charm: ~~Nonexistent~~ Activated. He tosses the socks and shoes aside and glides over to where Jinx is sitting, now levitating a few inches off the ground. Because yeah, he can also fly. Impressed yet??]

For you? You can have anything you want.

( it's a little impressive, yes. she's heard of magic users being in aldrip and mages were a thing back in her world. jinx never witnessed them first hand, though. she was born and raised in an underground city where the air was polluted with no sunlight and her people weren't really allowed to venture off elsewhere. but it's still amusing to see someone using magic without her little gemstone being the main source of how it's all done.

with him levitating beside her, the teen props her elbow on top of her knee -- a hand resting on her cheek and a brow quirking at his direction. )

Oooooo.... — Is that right? ( she asks, her smile slides now into its sly nature. ) 'Cuz what I want is reeeaallly explosive. Might be a lil' too mind-blowing for ya, Chuck.

Edited 2023-08-15 15:44 (UTC)

[Oh... okay. Wow, that usually doesn't work. Actually, it's maybe never worked. Until now! Awesome!

Quentin looks positively delighted for a moment... before realizing he's probably coming off as a complete dope and quickly attempting to regain his composure. He's even in a good enough mood to ignore the "Chuck" thing. Typically a reminder of pasty old Charles Xavier is enough to ruin his day, but since he's pretty sure this girl has never met the ancient bald hasbeen he'll let it slide.]

"Mind-blowing"? Please, I'm Quentin Quire! Kid Omega! Top tier telepath, psychic extraordinaire! My powers are rivaled only by my genius, and both are unlimited. [Okay, technically his powers in particular are not so "unlimited" at the moment. See, there was this whole thing with absorbing a cosmic horror space bird and then giving it up in an act of noble self-sacrifice and unintentionally fucking up his powers. But really, how much could whatever this "mind-blowing" idea of hers possibly stretch the not inconsiderable power he has left?

Quentin floats to the ground, spreading his arms dramatically.] I basically wrote the book on blowing minds!

( did he just say telepath and psychic? if it's possible for her ears to perk up, it would. because that's something she hadn't heard of anyone doing. and if he can do what he says he can, then maybe this doofus isn't a complete doofus after all. and with this place being a "prison" and all that, he would be fantastic to have in her corner.

the next big question is, how will she convince him to be her ally? jinx figures it shouldn't be too hard to accomplish since he already threw it out there she could have whatever she wants. so all she has to do is play her cards right and she'll have him roped within five minutes, tops. gosh, boys can really be easy. so once again, her pinks glitter with a light nip of her lower lip as she slants more in. )

Show me then. ( she says smoothly. ) Blow my brain to bits.

( now out of context, this sounds... horrid. but hopefully he gets her meaning. if he is psychic, does that mean he can read her thoughts right now? it would be interest to see if he can get it one hundred percent right with her pondering about whether or not he can be of use to her. but would that mean he'll be able to hear the voices inside her head? well, good luck to him if he taps that. or maybe he can just move something. that would be pretty neat too. )

Edited 2023-08-16 03:42 (UTC)

oh good well quentin collects bad life choices so obviously this will go great!

querulus - 2023-08-16 07:43 (UTC) - Expand

oh lordy! cw: hallucinations + voices.

opheliac - 2023-08-16 12:13 (UTC) - Expand

in which quentin is more op than he thought whoops

querulus - 2023-08-16 14:21 (UTC) - Expand

oopsie poopise!

opheliac - 2023-08-16 15:38 (UTC) - Expand

a+ communication after accidentally traumatizing somebody, 10/10 no notes

querulus - 2023-08-16 20:57 (UTC) - Expand

hahahaha

opheliac - 2023-08-16 21:42 (UTC) - Expand

Quentin Quire | Marvel 616

a. arrival

i'm so sorry

i think i should be the one apologizing. she is an awful germlin

look it's quentin's own fault for being a simp

jinx is collecting simps cause he isn't the only one hahaha

c.2 ahh hello a Quentin!!!

the trash boy has arrived!

bless, he is a menace and I love him

he's doing his best/worst and i'm proud of him

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