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expiationmeme2023-02-27 01:04 am
TEST DRIVE MEME #2
Welcome to the TDM for Expiation, a pan-fandom adventure game with fantasy, science fiction, and sometimes subtle 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.
BE OUR GUEST
You may possess any number of questioning thoughts as you traverse the blindingly white room and are dropped into a darkness beneath your feet, but perhaps those same thoughts will be replaced with an awe and curiosity as you come to. Expiation has you now and you have joined the ranks of the Chosen, a seemingly select number of individuals who have arrived with parchment either in-hand or near them, detailing physical and mental statistics in addition to a particular crime to which you have been accused.
How you choose to spend your time here is largely up to you...
IT'S A WINDMILL, NOT A GIANT
As you begin to acquaint yourself with the lay of the land about you, you'll find that not too far from where you've woken there's a rather grandiose tower windmill. Its blades rotate at a casual pace as it faces the ocean and its accompanying shoreline. It appears to be in relatively pristine condition, implying that it is cared for well and often, likely by the locals of the town of Aldrip, which can be easily spied from the elevated level of land upon which the windmill sits.
Outside of the main structure is a collection of wooden crates in various display. Some of these are closed. Some are open. If you observe for long enough, you'll eventually find that a few relatively muscular sorts arrive on the scene to retrieve some of these crates and take them back the distance toward the town that lingers at the base of the mountains. If you choose to inspect the crates, you'll find some of them filled with heavy canvas sacks that contain flour. If you choose to ask the town locals retrieving them about this, they will explain that the windmill companion you have woken near is just one of the many implements that the locals use to provide sustenance to dining tables, festivities, and more.
You have the option to help the locals carry crates back, potentially to curry some favour with them, or simply take some sacks of flour yourself. Crates require more than one person to carry due to the weight, but two able-bodied adults should be able to handle the job quite well. A sack of flour can generally be carried by one, but perhaps you'll find yourself needing some assistance anyway. Maybe ask one of the others who've woken up near you. It certainly seems you're not alone in this new endeavour.
WHERE ONLY THE BRAVE MAY GO
If windmills and manual labour aren't your thing, you may find yourself drawn to the seemingly mysterious cave at the foot of the mountains, not far from the windmill in question.
The locals refer to this cave as Lorentia. Jagged rocks poke out around the entrance and have been sculpted and shaped to resemble what appears to be the massive sharp-toothed mouth of a dragon. It is possible you may be momentarily stopped by one of said locals who will explain that the Lorentia Cave is a passage system that leads through the interior of the mountains, though due to some collapse of the inside, the passageway does not go in far and is currently blocked off for the safety of local citizenry. In other words, proceed with caution.
If you're still feeling brave and care to take a peek inside, by all means. No one's going to stop you.
The interior of Lorentia Cave consists of both narrow passageways and some larger, more cavernous like rooms. There are assorted mining implements scattered along the ground, propped up against the walls, and carts that are filled with various ores, rocks, crystals, and more. The locals of Aldrip use Lorentia Cave for largely mining purposes and many of the things that are retrieved can be used for the smithing forges, the crafting of weaponry, or fashioning into jewellery and other accessories that are sold locally and taken to other towns on the continent.
There are some crudely designed signs that note to take care and depict simple skull drawings, indicating that certain paths may be a little more dangerous to traverse than others. If you are especially lucky (or unlucky, as the case may be), you may even spot some skeletal remains from some less-than-fortunate souls who got caught in a dead-end path and simply never made it out again.
If you listen closely, sometimes you hear the flutter of wings and a distant roar. Maybe it's best not to linger...
NO SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
MAXWELL'S SILVER ROCK-HAMMER
The townsfolk are welcoming to newly-arrived, something that has largely been met with a fair amount of scepticism and wariness from prior arrivals. That said, they continue to be hospitable, eager to share stories and songs about their land, their people, and their traditions.
A jewelcrafter is displaying their work today, putting their various wares out for locals and members of the Chosen to admire, or perhaps to purchase. Part of their demonstration is opening geodes with rock-hammers and showing off the impressive inside of colour and masterful natural works of art gifted to them by the land's bounty. They may choose to speak a little on how they revere the land, the resources they've been given, and how all of this has been bestowed upon them by the very gracious Those Who Were There, a mysterious and seemingly celestial higher power.
For those who are interested, they have the opportunity to offer some assistance to the jewelcrafter by opening some geodes as well. There's plenty of rock-hammers to go around and the most recent retrieval from Lorentia Cave's mining appears to have been very successful. The jewelcrafter is so moved by the offer of help that he's more than happy to let those who aid him keep one opened geode for themselves at no cost.
Congratulations on your new piece of decor!
FORGING BONDS IN THE FIRES OF PASSION
If you were a brave soul who made visit to the Lorentia Cave and came back with some weapon or armour crafting materials (including skeletal remains), you'll find that the smithies of Aldrip are eager to do business and many of them enjoy their craft for the sake of being passionate about what they do.
They'll waste no time in starting the forge and should you have a specific piece in mind you are requesting, as long as they have the materials on hand, they'll even be willing to show you the general process from start to finish on a rough draft of the piece in question. If you're feeling especially keen to help, they may offer to let you work directly on your project, though they will express apprehension and a wary eye for those who fail to have prior experience with such gruelling tasks.
Once your piece is finished, you can either wear it immediately, learn the best way to maintain and keep your equipment, or put it out on public display to show the rest of Aldrip and its residents, new and old alike. If you choose to let the smithies keep your piece, they'll pay you the cost of the materials you've brought them, plus a small percentage markup depending on how much personal effort you put into the craftsmanship personally.
Better yet, you may have just come out of the situation with a permanent bond. The smithies have an appreciation for those who share similar interests and may be willing to provide future discounts to those who purchase their wares.
FEEDING THE MASSES
YOU'RE A REEL CATCH
Aldrip locals always have a need for food and with many Chosen having recently arrived, that need has increased exponentially, for now they have a larger number of mouths to keep fed and stomachs to keep happy. To help inspire this retrieval of food, Aldrip is hosting a fishing competition and anyone who's interested in participating may do so, provided that they follow the guidelines set in place.
All participants must use local fishing equipment and this will be provided by the various merchants in town free of charge, save for those who wish to keep their fishing tackle. All fish caught within the local rivers, ponds, and the nearby ocean are acceptable for submission. Citizens (local or Chosen) are forbidden from using magic or technology as a means to catch their quarry. Anyone found breaking these rules will be disqualified and will be fish'd (that is, they will have raw flopping fish thrown at them).
The winner of the competition is chosen by having caught the largest fish (determined by size and weight) and will be announced at the end of the competition. The applicable winner may keep their fishing tackle free of charge and have their winning fish cooked in the style of their choice by the locals, which can then be shared amongst the people if they so choose (a fantastic way to make friends). The winner will also have a mediocre fish sculpture awarded to them with their name chiselled into the details in honour of their glorious victory.
OOC Notes:
Both TDM participants and characters already in the game may participate in the fishing competition. Please use the designated comment if you wish to partake. On the 13th of March (after applications have closed for the cycle), the winner will be announced and drawn by RNG. We will announce who the winner is on this TDM post (in these notes), the moderator plurk, and the OOC community.
I'M A [X], NOT A FISHER
If you're not a fishing kind of individual yourself, there's still plenty for you to get involved with.
Aldrip has need of people who are capable of preparing meals, especially seafood. It is probable that many participants of the fishing competition will end up fishing up things that are not fish or eligible for submission, but still edible. These include crabs, lobsters, jellyfish, octopuses, clams, and other related sea life. If you have experience with cooking or simply want to help out, the Aldrip locals will welcome you with open arms and may even pay you for your assistance.
If cooking isn't your forte, you'll find that some of the Aldrip citizens enjoy a betting pool from time to time. If you have some coins or something else you don't mind putting up for gamble, you might just come out with the whole pot if you put your currency on the winning fisher. Anyone found to be attempting to rig the betting pool and competition, however, will be returned their bet. We don't take kindly to cheaters here.
At least not openly.
Fishing can be a sometimes dangerous pastime. You may find a fisher who has gotten themselves accidentally hooked on their line or perhaps when they were freeing a fish, the hook got lodged into their thumb. Aldrip welcomes those who have healing abilities to help assist those more unfortunate situations, so fishers can go back to casting out their lines to make the most of the competition. That said, there's nothing in it for potential healers, just the notion that you've done a good deed.
no subject
So what does he do now? Walk away? He probably should. Not a day goes by where he doesn't think about how much grief he might have saved her and everyone else if he'd just had the decency to die instead of being so stubborn.
But that's not what he does. It's not who he is. So he has that moment, that reeling, gut-punch moment, and he does what he always does: he takes it. Deals with it. He'll figure out what the hell to do about it along the way.]
Sorry. Just-- that's-- [Gods, how to put it? How much does he tell her?] ...a lot to take in. It's been a lot longer for me.
no subject
[Watching him struggle to put emotions to words, Serah just waits. She can already tell that there's clearly a lot that she doesn't know. Honestly? She's not even that surprised by it, especially now that he's explained that they're from very different points in their timeline. But that's alright, she's already accepted that by the very nature of their quest things could go very wrong at any point.
Sure, this is a lot sooner than she'd expected, but time's funny like that. Isn't it?]
I'd wondered, this didn't seem like anywhere we'd be needing to go. So I guess things went wrong somewhere.
[There's a pause as she looks around them, really considering the situation they're in. The letter in her pocket that she's... actually refused to read. A little reckless act of rebellion once she'd glimpsed a little bit of it. Things she's not sure she wants to know.]
Or maybe it's not that at all. Maybe something's gone right. After all I'm here and so are you! So maybe there's something to be learned here, something to be gained from this somehow.
[It's that feckless optimism again. That unshakeable belief that she can and must succeed. Even if he told her everything? She wouldn't change a thing.]
no subject
Noel used to think of himself as kind of an optimist. Maybe even foolishly so, in the face of the future that was closing in on him. Not so much, these days, but still...the very idea has him recklessly spinning through positive outcomes. A second chance? Could he save her-- save everyone? If none of it's happened yet, for her, then maybe...
No. He's gotta snap out of that.]
Whether we're here for something good or bad, you're right. There's clearly something we're supposed to be learning from. That said, I'm not sure we're gonna find out any more than that until we figure out who's in charge, here. What they want. What they really think of us.
[It...it's just so easy to slip back into this mode, two partners sleuthing it out until they can solve the puzzle. It makes his heart ache, a bit. Makes him feel a little foolish, too. How much lecturing would he get from her if she knew anything about what the last five centuries had been like for him? If he thought Lightning had delivered a beat-down...imagine the kind of bruises that would leave.]
I think we've got our work cut out for us.
no subject
Even if it ends up being something bad, that doesn't mean that something that starts bad has to stay bad. Just means there's a bigger chance for change!
[Lectures with Miss Farron, anyone? He's so much older in so many ways, but does she care? No, not really. If anything, it just shows that older doesn't always mean wiser.
There's a tinge of solemnity in her voice now, as she looks at him, a seriousness in her eyes.]
And if something does happen? And you have to work without me, that's fine too. Because it can't just be us, can it? Then there's got to be others. So even then, you're still not alone. Okay? No matter what happens, I know you've got this.
[Okay, seriousness over. Whatever phase that was out of her system as she bumps her shoulder into him playfully.]
Right. Where were we? Doing physical labor, right? We'd better get to work! They're not going to move on their own after all.
no subject
That's a lot to put on her shoulders. But when things are bleak, you can't help but think of all the things that could have been done differently.
Noel is quiet for a minute, repeating those words in his mind. You're not alone. Somehow, it hits in a way it never has before, as if maybe he's needed to hear that for a long, long time. Because it's true that he's tried to be, he's tried to push everyone away for centuries. But...it's never been what he wanted. All he ever wanted was to be able to get close to people.
... Even if it scares him a little bit, these days.] Thanks, Serah, [he finally says, with a grateful sincerity that adds some gravity to his tone. He lets that tone and those words say it all, pivoting with her when she bumps his shoulder.]
You're right. Bet if we each take a side, we could haul this thing all the way back to town. What do you think? Ready to give it a try?
[Weird and crazy and kinda messed up as all of this is...in the end, there's no one else he'd rather be doing this sort of physical labor with.]