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expiationmeme2023-10-08 10:33 am
TEST DRIVE MEME #5
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 in a... forest?
NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS
ARRIVALS
New Chosen will find themselves in Pessiria Forest. There's a chill in the air and a strange rustling in the leaves. There's some sort of wailing noises that seem to echo through the trees, and occasionally, Chosen—new and old alike—can hear the sound of familiar voices. Maybe even impossible voices.
Was that a sound? The wind? Something else, maybe watching and waiting in the shadows?…
… Nah. That's probably all in their head.
Probably.
Making their way out of the forest, newcomers will find that Aldrip's local residents are a little wary of them. Maybe even a little cagey about welcoming them, especially since some locals are still missing. Luckily, there are plenty of others like them, other Chosen, who have been here long enough to know the ropes.
ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES
Aldrip has had a bountiful harvest this year. As a result of the surplus, lumpy and misshapen vegetables are being tossed out, thrown into compost, or given to animals as food.
They don't seem to like this.
Over the past few days and weeks, these poor things have been left to rot, watching their brethren become animal food as they waste away, their potential being ground into the dirt. But no more! Through sheer determination and the power of a good old-fashioned grudge, they begin to mutate, sprouting arms and legs and—uh oh, are those teeth? This could be bad.
Late into the night on October 9, the mutated vegetables begin to rise from their graves. Scorned squashes, contemptuous carrots, abused apples, and other cantankerous crops decide that enough is enough! The tables have turned, and now they would like to eat you! Be warned that their bite is definitely worse than their bark, and they have a taste for human blood. Take cover, or you might just find yourself becoming dinner. But they're not immortal! They can be burned, bludgeoned, or sliced to stop their assault.
Upon investigation, there may be a link to the water source and the mutated plants. Shut off that water source and find a new one, and maybe there will be less of the cranky creatures.
A few days after this onslaught of veggies, the locals decide to prepare a big vegetable feast. Are those still good to eat, do you think…?
(Note: while the bulk of these creatures won't last long, you will still be able to find occasional stragglers throughout the rest of the month.)
THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU
CW: ANIMAL MISTREATMENT
Given tablets equipped with a camera feature, Chosen new and old are asked by some scientifically-minded locals to catalog creatures and animals of Aldrip and the surrounding areas. It seems new creatures are appearing almost daily, and as these local requestors say, it's important to know your neighbors! They'll offer a variety of rewards: money, goods, services. Doing favors for them might boost their opinion of the Chosen, as well.
Those who accept this task will find any manner of animals, new and old. They'll also find some…………weird things. Animals that seem to have been spliced together: Chocobos with elephant trunks, wolves with feathers, snakes with crab legs…the possibilities for these chimeras seem to have no limit.
Brave adventurers will find that following some of these animals for a while will lead them to a camouflaged bunker deep in the woods. Surrounded by an electric fence and automatic turrets, it seems that someone doesn't want you getting in there.
This may be as close as you can get, for now, but if you keep a low profile, you might be able to observe for a while.
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Some strange new plants seem to be gaining sentience, to the point where they are taking requests. Some of them may be benign or even silly: water lilies asking Chosen to take a swim with them, thirsty ferns asking for water, venus fly traps who need help catching flies. Some ask for items, human food, or just a chance to chat. Still others would like to be entertained with song, dance, or jokes…weird.
Entertaining most of these requests just results in the plants not annoying you about them anymore. But some plants are asking for blood, too, either human or animal. When fed, these particular plants go wild wanting more, more, more! Eventually, they will only be satiated by eating people. More killer creatures?! Uh oh.
Maybe finding the source of where all this started will help…
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 |
| Bungo Stray Dogs | Jouno Saigiku |
| Bungo Stray Dogs | Tetchou Suehiro |
| Dissidia NT | Lightnig Farron |
| Fear & Hunger 2: Termina | Levi |
| Final Fantasy XIV | Noise Deathmouse |
| Horizon Forbidden West | Beta |
| League of Legends | Xayah |
| One Piece | Tony Tony Chopper |
| Persona 3 | Tohru Adachi |
| Persona 4 | Shinjiro Aragaki |
| Persona 5 | Yusuke Kitagawa |
| Reiwa no Dara | Dara |
| Tokyo Revengers | Mikey |
| Tokyo Revengers | Takemichi Hanagaki |
| Urusei Yatsura | Benten |
1
she tilts her head.]
What? And what the hell are you doing to the ground?
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Don't tell me you've never seen earthbending before. Where is this? Who brought me here?
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Nope. Never seen it. Plain ol' human here, unfortunately.
[she puts her hands into her pockets and rocks back and forth on her feet for a moment.]
Aldrip. We still don't fucking know who brought us here, though.
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That's such an odd response it takes Toph a moment to put it together. ] Wait, do you think I'm not human? [ Although maybe that's a compliment. Toph seems more entertained than offended. ]
And you got brought here, too? I thought it was just me.
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["those weirdos"... she means it affectionately, i swear.]
Nope. We all did. Supposedly we're all criminals and shit like that.
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[ But seriously, she can boast any time (and she will). Even figuring out why this person is weirdly ignorant of bending isn't important. Right now she has to get some answers. ]
Criminals according to who? [ she scoffs. It's obviously not the Fire Nation trying to lock them up or punish them if she's included -- thanks, Zuko -- which leaves maybe the Earth Kingdom. Are the Dai Li still around and going rogue? ]
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Who the fuck knows. They're talking about some sort of "Council" [in air quotation marks], but that's probably a whole lot of bullshit if you ask me. I still think there's some fatass rich people controlling it all for their own entertainment, but I'm probably a little biased.
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[ As a lapsed rich person, Toph has an even more dismal view of them than the average person.
A pause before she continues more slowly, in a serious tone, processing: ] So I'm really somewhere completely different. It feels like it, but... I wasn't sure.
[ There's subtle, small things about the environment that just don't add up right to Toph, who is exquisitely sensitive to environmental cues. ]
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[gods and magic aren't really so much her thing as most of the rest of people here.]
Yeah. You're not on your world at all anymore. This is completely new for all of us.
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Unlike her previous flippant self-assurance, Toph considers this carefully, not yet casting judgment. She doesn't necessarily mind being somewhere new, no matter how bizarre or inexplicable; in fact, she'd been looking for things to do, new adventures to go on, before she'd shown up here. That being said, she still has a keen sense of loyalty to her friends, and she doesn't want to leave them without her support while they're rebuilding after the war.
They're such hopeless dunces without her.
Toph lets out a breath. ] Huh. Okay. I guess we're all in the same boat, then. [ Nodding in acknowledgement at her, she goes on, ] I'm Toph Beifong. Since you don't know what earthbending is, it's manipulating earth and rock using qi and martial arts. I was born with it.
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[she considers that for a minute, looking at Toph's small form. she's definitely not judging... more like appreciating.]
That's probably the coolest power I've heard of so far. You wanna go get some grub?
[casually adopts her-]
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Heck yeah! As long as you're buying. [ Toph laces her fingers together and stretches, as if visibly settling from her alert-combat-investigation mindset into her casual-wandering-around-town mindset. Being able to detect whether someone is lying to her makes her adjustment period here very short. Toph has never been the sort of person to need an explanation. ]
Do you have a name, or should I just call you Miss Eat the Rich?
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[she motions for her to follow (unaware that she's blind), before starting off.]
You got anything in particular you wanna eat, Toph?
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Toph follows her readily. ] Whatever's good -- I'm not picky. What do you do for fun around here? If this is a totally different world, there must be all kinds of freaky stuff, right? [ If she's not going home any time soon, she may as well settle in. ]
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she likes underdogs, anyway.]
There's monsters everywhere. Some people fight them... I fight them, when I'm bored. Mostly I drink and...
[she clears her throat.]
Stuff.
[she has a gf.................. if ya catch my drift]
At least, when weird shit's not going on.
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Fighting monsters? Count me in for that!
[ Toph can't help but snort when Vi awkwardly trails off. ] Fighting, drinking, and stuff. You sound like a walking party. [ She's thirteen but she's thirteen with very, very good hearing. ]
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I mean, I work at a damn bar. You can't expect me not to drink half the shit I sell.
[bless her heart.]
I dunno, there's some powers clubs or something for kids with powers. Maybe you'll find somebody who can do weird earth stuff there too, who knows?
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[ Toph tends not to get along with other kids, with a couple very notable exceptions.
It's a reflexive answer, and a moment later, reflecting on how unpleasantly alone here she is, Toph amends, ] Unless somebody wanted a teacher. I wouldn't mind taking on some students.
no subject
There's a kid who has laser beams for eyes who's pretty cool, even though he shot me with them once.
[a beat, before she rethinks this statement.]
But I was kind of being an asshole, so it makes sense.
no subject
Laser eyes? Maybe I do want to meet him if he's getting back at people for being assholes.
[ Congrats, Vi has taught this children's show teen her first swear. ]
no subject
[at least she seems amused. but it is kind of amusing, if she thinks about it too hard.]
There's probably some other weirdos here, but since I'm I'm normal [lol] it doesn't come up too much with me.
no subject
[ Toph sounds slyly teasing, her way of expressing skepticism at this claim of normality. ]
They better not have brought any boring low-level pickpockets here, or I think I'll be insulted.
no subject
Even without this place telling you you're one, who hasn't broken the law?
[a beat.]
Maybe a few goody two-shoes hanging around, but there's some straight up dangerous people here too.
no subject
[ She can. Toph shows a glimmer of serious consideration, though her overall impression is still utterly casual. ]
Anyone I should look out for?
no subject
Might wanna keep your eyes peeled for a bastard name Silco. Fucked up eye, always talks pretentiously about life and struggles or whatever. You won't be able to miss him.
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