TEST DRIVE: MARCH

[empevents]

— TEST DRIVE: MARCH —

Welcome to empatheias' test drive meme. This test drive is to help interested players test their characters in the game's environment. We've included a few prompts that incorporate specific elements of the game, though you'll find all of them have a lot of leeway for players to get as creative as necessary. Before diving in, here are a few things we'd like to remind everyone about the game in general:

• Date reminders. Reserves open Wednesday, February 22 and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on March 1st.
  
  
• OC Reminder! Just a quick reminder that original characters are allowed. Those interested can also use the test drive. OCs do not need to be reserved.
  
  
• Emotions are key! Empatheias' premise focuses on how anyone's emotions can affect their environment, be it big or small. While not every emotion will cause a reaction, significant ones definitely will. How much effect a character will have will ultimately be up to you, the player. Also, while we're giving a lot of leeway for the test drive, keep in mind that there will be some limits in the actual game.
  
  
• Everyone has an amulet. All characters have a unique amulet that is specialized for them. It will contain all of their emotion drops and it serves as the network device. Remember, communication is telepathic. Otherwise, it works basically the same.
  
  
• Assume the character is already in the game. Because "OMG WHERE AM I IS THIS REAL LIFE" threads aren't going to be very helpful in this test drive! Plus those are going to happen in-game, anyway. So to make things easier, just assume that they've been around at least a week or so. Still learning the ropes, but not a complete "first day" experience.
  
  
• First or third person allowed. Your threads can be in either first or third, but we'd advise being flexible about it. Remember, these threads can also be used in your application for samples! Reminder: We only require one sample and it can be done in either format. We have also made a change to our sample requirements, so look over the Applications page!

Now with that out of the way, here are some prompts you guys can work from!


PROMPTS

• Prompt A: How about giving the emotions a try?

• Prompt B: Refer to the Task Board and choose a task your character may be interested in taking up. For this prompt, you could have your character ask for help, already be in the middle of the job, or react to it in some way. Perhaps they were an unfortunate victim or want to create a job countering an existing one. You could even have a prompt making a job request. Creating jobs for the purpose of the test drive is absolutely doable.

• Prompt C: How about giving the amulets a go? Start a telepathic conversation and see how it works. Remember, the amulets are sending out the owner's thoughts so might want to be careful about how the stream of consciousness goes...

• Prompt D: The rainbow colored paint darts are back and "improved." The colors match those of the Arehtei, so purple is anger and calm, orange love and hate, pink joy and grief, etc. There are two different versions of these guns:

1. Emotion Seeking. The darts will actually seek out those who match the negative emotion of its type. So if there is a pink dart, it will seek out someone who is currently feeling grief. When hit, the intention is to make them feel the more positive emotion and thus hopefully improve their mood. Keyword: intention. Sometimes it can just make it worse…
   
   
2. Random Target. The darts are completely random and will hit whoever the gun is aimed at. Again, the intent is to help spread positive feelings, even make a happy person feel even happier! But like the other type, it can make it worse instead.

So either grab a gun or be an unwitting target. Note: it's possible to be hit with more than one dart, so have fun with that.

• Prompt E: There is a new type flower that has started to bloom around the island. No one knows its origins, but its scent is so wonderful and colors so vibrant that they are already spreading all over town. However, researchers have discovered something alarming: the flowers are actually absorbing the emotions of those around them and are related to the plant that had produced the apathy toxin from a few years ago. While locals can help collect those already in town, help is needed in destroying and containing the plants out on the island.

• Kill it with fire. Best way is with fire, so grab a torch and help produce some controlled fires. Of course, if it goes out of control, you'll want to put it out fast. There is one side effect to this method. The ash and smoke released from the flowers contain all the emotions they have absorbed, so there may be some unwanted effects happening around the environment. Maybe even influencing your emotions.
  
  
• Deadly aroma. The sweet scent actually carries a type of toxin that relaxes the mind and muscles, making the victim feel so calm that all they want to do is just sit there and continue to be with the flower. Sounds innocuous until you realize that it's just a way for the flower to drain out the emotions to a complete apathetic state. When it's just one or two, it's not as harmful, but when you're in a field of them… Just be careful and wear the mask. Otherwise, you may find yourself lying in the flowers forever. If you see someone in this state, get them out quickly!

• Prompt F: Interior designers have been hard at work designing new things to make homes, buildings, and even the area outside of those two look vibrant and ecstatic, and their newest creation is flooring that responds to your feelings! The color and design will change to match how you’re really feeling at the time… or most of the time it will. They’re being shown outside in wide-spaces, to get as many people to test them and enjoy them as possible, and the color and design is based on what the person standing on them associates with that feeling.

• Mismatching. While most of them will, in fact, work as advertised, there’s a good portion of them that will actually show a random color and design—for example, if you’re happy to see someone, maybe it’d normally be yellow with a lot of hearts! ...But in this case, maybe it’ll be red with a lot of storm clouds, as if you’re angry and upset to see them.
  
  
• Holesome fun. Younger locals have made a game out of these floors as well : one person holds up a card with a certain color and design (you decide), and the person on the tile has to match it exactly, using whatever emotions they can to try and manage it. For example, blue with flowers. Of course, it’s a little harder if you happen to be standing on one of the mismatched ones… Adding to the pressure is a time limit: if you can’t manage it in five minutes, the tile the person’s standing on will actually break and they’ll fall through the ground, thanks to certain nanobots’ rising popularity. Don't worry, you'll be helped out. Or stuck there to be laughed at.

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include geese and/or potatoes.

For your threads, put the Character Name and the Canon in the subject line to help readily identify them. You're also welcome to use more than one prompt for respondents to choose from. If you have any questions or want to brush up on the game information, refer to the Game Information entry. Otherwise, tag around and have fun!

Comments

Ahsoka Tano | Star Wars: The Clone Wars

[neveraknight]

(Prompt C)
[voice]

[Ahsoka thought to give this a try. She's only been here a short while and she hasn't bothered with this amulet. Having someone in her head isn't... ideal, but it could be useful if everyone can do it. After all, circumstances are a bit different here, right?]

Greetings. [She is careful with how she speaks. Calm. Thoughtful. Her words carry a calming feel to them.]

I am told this will reach those who listen. I understand it is late in the evening here, but I am curious about where we all come from. Would anyone care to... talk? Maybe for a little while?

---

(Prompt D)
Ow! [Ahsoka jumped forward a half a step, reaching back to feel something had hit her, right in the rear. Her hand pulled a dart and rubbed at her rear, eyes narrowing as she looked around. An attack? She'd barely got here and someone was on the attack?]

[She saw no one though. Not right away. And the pink dart that hit her had not only given her a great boost of joy... for a moment, but also a deeper sinking of grief.]

[Because her heart wasn't already deeply pained as it was?]

[There was a laugh as she felt the joy trying to take over. Small white flowers popping up, barely bigger than a thumb nail, all around her. It was a good reaction, considering her heart was still grief stricken from leaving the Jedi Order, even after being asked back. She'd controlled herself, but there was no reason for this... joy.]

[A joy that didn't last long. She laughed an uneasy laugh again, as both hands came up over her face, feeling tears spilling from her eyes. Her shoulders rocked as she let out a sudden sob. Her grief welling deeper than before.] W-what... is wrong with me?

[The flowers that grew at her feet had a cycle. Sudden brilliant growth, then wilting, charring, and turning to dust, just to repeat again. Hundreds of tiny, tiny white flowers in a cycle of death and rebirth as she felt her grief take a deeper hold.]

---

(G)
[This is NOT what she had in mind when picking up a random job around here. Knee deep in a bin of potatoes and trying her hardest to corner three geese that were escaped and trying to cause chaos. If you asked her, she would never have thought three dumb birds would be smart enough to make such a mess on such a small potato farm.]

[She had answered the cry for help and followed the man back with a few other people. Geese? Simple birds, but they were running around this potato farm making the biggest mess. All the man asked was to catch them alive, and cage them. That no harm should be done to them.]

[Easy enough for her. And she could use the credits.]

[Except her boot was hooked on something in the bottom of this large bin of potatoes and geese were laughing at her. And she was trying her best not to use the force to draw attention to herself, so she was doing this on her own, shoving potatoes away to try and get to her foot, but they kept falling in.]

C!

[lothrat]

[Yeah, having someone's voice in your head is still a little weird for him, too. Ezra honestly doesn't use the amulet much, but tonight he's feeling a little bit bored, and that voice offers a ready distraction for him. Something about it is... almost familiar, too, though maybe that's just coincidence.

Still, he's willing enough to answer back.]

I don't mind talking. What did you want to know?

[neveraknight]

[As much as she's keeping herself emotionally in check, there is a odd relief to having someone respond to this. As much as she would rather not connect to people right now, there is also the need for conversation. So it was nice to hear someone speak back]

What don't I want to know? [She said it kindly and there is a feel of a smile there.] I got a full run down of what is going on here, but I guess I want to see if it's true. That we all come from different, well, planets, yes, but universes as well? Know anything about that?

[lothrat]

[Ahsoka might get the feel of a mental shrug coming through. Telepathy means he's not just sending the "voice" of his thoughts, even if he's not trying to give her his feelings, too.]

Well, I'm not sure I completely buy into everyone being from a completely different galaxy. A galaxy's pretty big, you know? We might just be in a part of space I've never heard of before. Farther than even the Outer Rim.

[Just gonna throw that one reference in there to test the waters here, even if odds are she hasn't heard of it.]

[neveraknight]

[She's starting to notice she get's a bit more from this then a voice. How interesting. She has to wonder what else she's telegraphing out there other than words too.]

That was my thought too. [She said honestly, and one might get the feeling she had lifted a finger as she said it. Ah ha, so she's not the only one thinking that.] Somewhere out in Wild Space, maybe. Or even beyond that?

If that's the case, what planet are we on and how did we really get here?

[lothrat]

[Ezra perks up, and even sits up, too. Wild Space isn't a term he's heard anyone else use who isn't from his part of the galaxy. His interest in this conversation just kicked up a couple notches.]

Honestly? I have no idea. Everyone's story seems to be different. I don't know about the planet, either, just that everyone calls the island Empatheias, and a few names for places on the surface.

[But okay, time to play it casual now.]

So, you're interested in other worlds. What world are you from, then?

[neveraknight]

[It is refreshing to hear someone who seems to know what she's talking about.]

I had noticed that the locals seems to have different stories, when they actually talk to me.

[Shit. She should have considered her answer to her own question. After a thoughtful pause she said:]

I am a Togruta, from Shili, if that means anything to you? [Though, sadly, unknown to her, a foggy image of a city planet might just appear as she thinks of where she is from. Coruscant. And that might be the Jedi Temple, if you can make it out in the image at all.]

[lothrat]

[Not that Ezra's ever been to Coruscant himself, but people from their galaxy do tend to be familiar with the seat of galactic power there, even if only from pictures. A little odd, that she's saying one thing while picturing another, but that can easily be explained away by transience. She could have just moved, after all.]

It does, actually. I'm a Human, from Lothal.

[In contrast, the image he shares is entirely deliberate, of a world with green seas of grass, and mountains in the barely seen distance.]

I've never been to Shili, but I've heard of it. I have a friend from there, too.

[neveraknight]

[She had to smile as she saw the image. So that was in fact a thing with this amulet, huh.]

And I have heard of Lothal. [she said with a nod, considering all this. At least she had found someone who knew anything she might know. It was better than trying to talk to the locals.]

Do you? They are a very artistic group of people. That's something I didn't pick up much skill in. [Too busy training for everything else.]

C

[carefulapostate]

[Solas had been curiously prying on the strange telepathic network when he heard the humble plea for some company. It seemed like an interesting conversation at any rate.]

It certainly would be interesting to hear where everyone is from. I've always enjoyed learning about other cultures, though I never would have expected to be exposed to the variety I am here.

[neveraknight]

[There is a soft relief to hearing someone else, and a faint smile could be felt through her words. It's late, but there seems to be people willing to talk. Perhaps it will help her get her mind to other things.]

It is interesting. For me this... planet seems to be a bit behind in times, which makes me wonder if it's beyond the Outer Rim from where I am, but there seems to be thought that most of us are from different places than even I know. Are you from somewhere that hasn't seen what's beyond atmosphere?

[carefulapostate]

I believe I must be. I admit I'm unfamiliar with your terms. This place is far more advanced than Thedas, where I'm from. I have been struggling learning some of the unusual trinkets.

[He lets out a chuckle in spite of himself.]

What is your 'planet' like, if I may?

[neveraknight]

[It's not unheard of that a Planet might not know of the galaxy outside of their planet. It wasn't as common as it might be, but it still happened. Maybe this Thedas was like that...]

I can't say I have heard of Thedas, but I know there are a lot of planets out there that I am still learning of. Do you not have technology at home like they have here?

[A pause. She should have thought about what her OWN answer would be to that question, huh?] It's... a very large city. One that covers almost all of the planet. [Or it was. She had been about to leave it.]

[carefulapostate]

No, not like here. The magic though, my world has in abundance. In times past it was far more magically advanced, but all there is left of that era is ruins and time lost memories.

[He hadn't thought much of worlds beyond the stars before now, it wasn't a concept his world had considered as a whole. At least not since ancient times, and even then, it was limited. The possibilities were astounding.]

A city? It covers the entire land? Are there truly no forests or lakes? Where do you get your food?

[neveraknight]

Magic... [Like the Force. She knows there are some things out there that people call 'magic' but she just assumed it was another name for the Force, or a higher ability.] Is, or, was magic really all that common where you are from?

[The possibilities really were astounding, weren't they?]

There are some trees left, here and there. For the most part it's all built up, or built down. Food is processed there, or shipped in, I believe.

[carefulapostate]

It is, many are born with the talent for it, myself among them. Again, it was more widespread in ancient times, but it lead to a great many wars. What happened to cause the fall of the ancient empires is naught but legend now.

[Granted, he knew those legends, but that was something he was used to keeping to himself. He was more interested in trying to envision how they imported food in her worlds, and there was something almost fairy-tale about ships sailing among the stars.]

So it is all imported? Interesting, to hear of it on such a mass scale. Are such large cities common?

[neveraknight]

[Born with magic. Wars? It sounded more and more like Jedi and the Force, at least of recent. She felt her gut twist when she thought of the Jedi. No, she was trying to distract from that. Not think of it.]

I know some people who can do things like magic. We call it the Force though. It's something that you are born to do but takes a lot of training to handle. I wonder of you and they share the same kind of abilities.

[Still a tint of sadness in her voice at that, but the questions helped. Gave her better things to think of.]

I wouldn't say it's a one of a kind planet, as there are planets that are almost as built up as it, but Coruscant is... pretty large. It's nearly at the center of most trade routes, so ships come and go easily. You can get imported goods from all sorts of planets, so long as they pass customs. [Or get smuggled in, which is also common.]

D. Also quiet screaming...

[failinglight]

[Barriss Offee had always been good at masking her presence, even in the company of Masters and more experienced Jedi. She was best with the subtle things, and after her conversations about her uncertain future, she knew better than to directly approach Ahsoka Tano. But that didn't mean she missed the presence on arrival, and it was impossible, after a few hours, to resist the lure of the Tohgruta's feeling in the Force.

Following behind at a healthy distance, she decided that perhaps the only positive way to open any sort of dialogue would be to inject a little positivity into the interaction from the start. At least, if it was Ahsoka from the future. If it wasn't, well...then this could just be a harmless prank.

So, it had been her that took that shot, staying well out of sight for the moment. If nothing else, it was nice to see her friend smiling. Keeping low, the Mirialan padawan pulls up her crystal and taps it to life, sending a message out.]

Ahsoka...?

Also flailing and screaming...

[neveraknight]

[The darts were meant to HELP, right? To make the negative emotions lighter. Joy, not grief. Yet here she was, feeling both in heavy doses. Something much have gone wrong with that art, because it was a bit messed up and not at all doing the trick right.]

[Not at all, because here she was, paused in the middle of what ever she was doing... crying into her hands, but laughing a choked tired laugh. What the heck just happened?! She dropped the dart she pulled from her back side to the ground and tried to stand taller again, sucking up a breath and rubbing at her eyes.]

[This place was terrible. She didn't want to make this her home. She didn't want to live here. This was not where she intended to sneak away to when she left the order. She hadn't even stepped off Coruscant yet and yet here she was on some strange planet, on a floating island, crying and laughing through stupid emotions that she for so me reason can't keep in check.]

[AND THEN... she heard that voice in her head. The amulet? Her hand slide over her face and all the white flowers died off at once in a puff of dust, only to be replaced by sad blue ones.]

Barriss? [She thought back, feeling sick in this sudden wave of grief.]

Get yourself together, Ahsoka... [She told herself, feeling a bubble of a joyous laugh come from her a moment later.]

Sad kids :( :(

[failinglight]

[Barriss has no idea how to react to that, the intense feeling of grief slamming into the Padawan, threatening to carry her away. She stays put for the moment, concerned that she's had that effect on her only real friend...and that the dart had failed. It should have worked! It was supposed to make Ahsoka feel better, and that...that irritates her, but the confrontation is here. No sense running and making Ahsoka feel like she's hearing things.

Tapping her crystal again, she sends an image of herself. An image of herself at least three years younger than Ahsoka would remember, kneeling with a genuine feeling of concern flowing through the connection they've established.]

Ahsoka. It's me. I...you're not hearing things. It's the amulet. I'm on Empatheias too.

[Her head bows meekly, worry creasing her brow.]

What year is it, for you?

Go be friends again, my children ;-;

[neveraknight]

[She's heard of how the amulets work. She's sure it was the amulet, which means the girl was here. It's Barriss that she's not sure how to handle however. Because of her the Council... they... they--another wave of grief hit her hard, and her hands moved over her head a moment, as if to hold it in physically.]

Get. It. Together. Ahsoka. [She told herself again. She was SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS. She could hold her emotions in check so much better than this, so she didn't understand why this was happening at all.]

'Barriss, I...' [That image though. That image of a younger girl. Why was she so much younger? Ahsoka moved closer to a wall and plopped down to sit, her hands coming down to rest on the amulet at her chest. She closed her eyes and took a breath in then out. In. Out. She refused to let these rogue emotions take her over.]

[And then she laughed, smiling. The flowers around her still cycling through death and rebirth, but they were white again.]

'Barriss. Where are you?' [She then mentioned what year it was, before adding...] 'Not long after the explosion at the Temple.' [And another round of her breathing, trying to bring what ever these crazy emotions were into check.]

:( maybe. Barriss will try very hard for that.

[failinglight]

[Barriss nearly lost the contents of her stomach when that grief blasted her through the amulet. She had no idea how to even begin processing this. But, she knew something was wrong with the dart and she knew even more that she couldn't just leave Ahsoka alone. Not like this.

The feeling coming through the crystal this time is more guarded, confused, but no less genuine. She has no idea what actually happened, or what could have possessed her to take such actions that would have hurt her friend. It stung to even think on it, and so she tried not to, instead focusing on positive thoughts and on how to address the ills Ahsoka was suffering from now.

Discarding the dart gun, she closed her eyes and sent one more message.]

I heard...I heard about that. That hasn't happened to me yet. I'm from... [Insert date 3 years prior.] and...I don't know what happened, exactly. But I'm not far from your location.

[She takes a risk, gambling, and unmasks her presence as she steps around the corner of the building into full view. There's no trace of darkness there, only wide eyed confusion and worry, concern directed entirely at her friend.]

I'm here. If you're...feeling ill, I can treat you.

Give her time. I was mean and took her from a shitty timeline.

[neveraknight]

[She doesn't mean for the emotions to strike so hard. Grief had already been there at the edge of her mind though, what with how Barriss framed her, betrayed her. The council lost faith in her, and only Anakin believed in her. With leaving the order even after they said she could come back. It had already been heavy in her chest. The Dart just amplified it.]

[She sat there, back to a wall of a building, flowers, so tiny, popping up around her in joy, and dying in grief over and over. A sight to be seen. Her hands flexing in and out, trying to will it under control. Hearing her friend helped in some way, and hurt in others.]

'How is that possible?' [she asked, another choked back sob before a strange laugh. These emotions were terrible. She took another deeper breath, holding it, and then--she felt the girls presence. Felt her appear, not far away. She glanced that way, seeing her there. Younger. Concerned. She can feel the worry.]

[Running her hands over her face, she had to think this through. Her emotions were off the charts and she didn't know why. Her ex-best friend was younger then she should be and had no idea what happened? And she was sitting in the middle of tiny flowers by a wall in a strange city.]

[What was even going on anymore?] I don't know what happened. [She stated first, holding her breath again. The flowers were dying less and less at least. She rubbed her face again, clearing it of tears.] It feels like too much to handle...

How are you here, so much younger then me? [her brain is telling her to be careful. Don't trust it. Her heart is pleading for her to try.]

That's okay, Barriss is from a Legends timeline.

[failinglight]

[Barriss isn't even going to hold back. She's never been very good at eschewing attachments, and now is even harder. Moving down the alley, hands up where Ahsoka can see them, she visibly shakes a little the closer she gets. Ice swirls up around her feet, crystallizing along the hem of her robes with every passing second.]

I'm here because this world pulled me here. And I'm not younger than you. I've always been older. I'd guess we're the same age now.

[She'd entered the Order a handful of years before Ahsoka at least, enough so that now that estimation feels right. There's a ghost of a smile, but it's brief, fleeting.]

This is...it's like those hyperspace accidents the spacers talk about sometimes. We're out beyond Wild Space, according to Master Yoda. On some other planet, one called Empatheias. [She looks away, towards the ancient Master's blazing presence in the Force. It's bright enough that she can feel Yoda without needing to look, and she knows Ahsoka can too.]

He'll find us soon, I'm sure. He...explained all of this to me when I woke up here. But, I'll tell you everything I know, too.

[She lurches a little, sitting down hard on the alley across from Ahsoka, blue eyes refocusing intently on her friend.]

This world is tied to emotions. They...cause the flowers, and the ice, and...everything else around here. I almost didn't believe it, myself...but you can see the effects. Just...focus. Focus on the sound of my voice and try and still your mind. Like meditation, like we learned at the Temple as Younglings. That'll help.

Ooo, I need to read up on her Legends Timeline still.

[neveraknight]

[She's still breathing in and out slowly, trying to concentrate on this sudden hit of emotions. Willing it away.]

Not... younger than me. I mean... that wasn't what I meant. [She took in another deep breath and let it out slowly.] Younger then you should be, to me. In my past, is it? [She then shook her head, no, no. That wasn't important right now. And Barriss was explaining this place. Some of it she had heard already. She had been told about emotions, but she had not been hit with something like this.]

[Still, hearing her once friend talk her through her focus felt... comforting, in a way. In. Out. The flowers stayed more than before. Barely withering before growing again.]

It's never been this hard to focus before. It's like something surged through my body and right to my brain. To my heart. [blue eyes opened to look to the girl again. She was right. They did look to be around the same age now. How strange.] Something hit me from behind and then I couldn't stop... feeling.

[Also, had she said Master Yoda was here?]