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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
Well. It's working isn't it? ]
Ah. How terrible. The ruling class thinks so low of us plebians. [ The voice is always pretty flat, but it's an audible swap to that specific Absolute Monotone. All the energy of an office memo given flesh. The signature is a smack to their shoulder. ] Stop scaring the civilians.
[ Poor Lion. No one here knows he's a menace, so all he has to do is maintain the barest illusion of manners. They smile at the nearest person, but Will just bows the faintest amount in... apology. At least it looks like an apology, so it's definitely in apology. A remarkably Decent result for future arguments. Good points haul, 10/10. Embarrassment will overtake them in approximately eight to twelve seconds.
And the exact second Lion starts to feel the need to curl up in shame is when they're verbally pinned. ]
Got any bets on the color?
no subject
The narration's guess is right on the money - Lion's mortification is immediate, with only a scant few seconds to hiss "I do not-" in their defense before he so thoroughly undercuts them with that fake apology. They can tell it's fake, the feathery bastard that he is. But nobody else knows the difference, so there's nothing they can do but sulk and drop the matter for now.
(At no point does it occur to them that he might be right. That'd just be proving his point for him.) ]
That's not fair, Will, [ eventually gets grumbled at him under their breath. It's all they can manage in the moment, even if they want to shrivel up further from how childish it sounds. But they will remember this for later, oh yes they will, and his doom will be swift and merciless.
Anyway.
The offending geode is fetched. There's no escaping the show for either of them, so they're being annoyingly stuffy about the whole thing out of spite. ]
Well, I had been trying to form a guess based on what the other crystals turned out to be, but there doesn't seem to be much of a pattern. [ Which the jewelcrafter seemed determined to attribute to the local deities, though he's wisely choosing to not repeat the story for now. ] But on a complete whim? Gold, knowing my luck.
[ Or, well. It's less their luck and more the two-point-something-million Fragments of dedicated colour theming between Beatrice and the Ushiromiya family as a whole. It's weird how often, out of any possible colour, things tend to randomly be gold when they're forced to pick. ]
Though I'm likely to know the answer... what about you?
no subject
Uh huh. Sorry.
[ With all the energy of someone who's not sorry at all. They're free to continue to be annoyed with the lack of Anything. The hammer is already in one hand, tapping idly against the side of his neck as he stares at nothing. Gotta get the force right.
Lion speaks. Coherent. Using the fancy speech when they get snippy. Still annoyed, but not vibrating with it. Not... consumed. Recreating a personality is hard. Too easy to fall into old habits. Easier still to get stuck on one feeling and run it into the ground. All the Heavens know how terrible his own ended up, but at least he can knock Lion off the mental hamster wheel they get stuck on.
And theirs is coming out splendidly. Strong-willed. Entirely open to speaking their true feelings, even if it weirds out strangers. Trying to make light of a horrible truth. They need more practice. Optimism suits them better. Makes them radiant. Eyes bore into the back of Lion's head at the question. They don't deserve another nightmare. Give them something Nice for a change. ]
Didn't know you spoke rock. [ That grammar is horrid you bastard- ] ...Cadet gray.
[ Huh. Weird pick.
Alas, Lion does get the chance to question it. One quick gavel strike, but without any of the Weight to it. One (1) perfectly split geode is their reward. ]
no subject
Like now. They can feel the starting pound of one prodding at their temples with Will's continued flippancy, and one eye actually twitches at the reply - good grief is his grammar terrible - before they just. Shut their eyes and take a deep, meditative breath. There's no sense calling him out for it. He'd just spin everything around to paint them as the spoiled rich kid once again, with not even a scrap of shame over driving their reputation into the ground. Better to let it go and let it get out of his system the same way they would any of the Head's truly fixated rants. It's a skill set that they've had plenty of time to practice, after all.
Sigh. But the choice of colour gets them to pry their eyes back open, shooting Will a skeptical glance before they even bother to check if he's right. ]
Of all the pedantic colours to choose from, you pick gray? [ There's a joke here, and it's flying right over their head. Sigh x2 combo. ] ...Wouldn't that just be quartz again?
[ And the worst part of all of this is, he probably is right somehow. It'll be some detective-y logic puzzle where x is the number of crystals already opened, y is the colour variance displayed, or some other obvious-to-everyone-but-Lion repeating pattern that he sees as clear as day but they walked right past until it was too late.
...Still. No way out but through, is there? So with all the dread anticipation of someone walking to their appointed end, they stare down at the freshly opened geode.
Only to stop dead in their tracks at the vibrant green gem twinkling cheerfully in their hands. ]
...Oh.
[ "Ah, what a delightful colour!" rumbles the jewelcrafter, oblivious to the sudden hush. ]
no subject
Pfft. ]
It's a pedantic color, for sure.
[ Allllright enough of that. Rearrange thoughts back into proper sentences; emotions locked back in their box. Just as quickly as that genuine crack of laughter escaped, so too does it vanish back to apathy. Honestly, it probably will be gold. Narratives are brutal like that. Nothing overly cruel, obviously - not yet, let the Players get comfortable first - but something Rude. And when that shining emerald is exposed to the light, to the gasps and chatter of everyone nearby, even Will himself goes still.
That's super rude.
The jewelcrafter's one statement sparks and the multitude takes hold. Voices layer over each other in white noise: content, interested, joyous in their simplicity. ("Delightful, yes, I agree-" "-auspicious color to be sure. A blessing of prosperity from Those Wh-" "andmother always said to keep one under my pillow for headaches." "Oh, mine said the same-" Strike recording from the record. Reasoning: irrelevancy. )
Movement resumes, and Lion can feel the sensation of a head turning to look at them, once, then looking back down to the stone. The hammer gets set down the exact time their shoulder gets lightly pressed against. An anchor. ]
You can carry on the tradition.
[ Family is still an obvious raw spot, but all four of them had that same emerald brooch. Their own tiny display of solidarity with one another. At the same time, a visible display of their bonds. Now, when Lion finds someone special enough, they can have a fifth brooch to welcome them with.