empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: September

— TEST DRIVE: SEPTEMBER —

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 Friday, August 25 and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on September 1st. Apps will only be open for four days!
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!
Transfer to in-game. If accepted, you can assume threads made on the Test Drive happen in-game if the scenario can reasonably fit. These threads do not count toward AC.

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: There’s an epidemic going about that hasn’t been cured just yet. You might find some rather delusional people who believe that their reality is something else. In fact, you might even encounter a friend or two feeling this way. If your luck is the worst or you’re the type to get sick easily, you might even be affected by these strange symptoms.

Do You Believe In Life After Love? You’re suddenly approached by two natives, one of them saying they LOVE you so much! The other doesn’t seem too pleased and is accusing you of being a homewrecker. It seems their false memories are making them think you’re part of their love triangle. Uh oh… this definitely could cause a riot, especially out in the public.
The Giving Tree. Whether you like it or not, the Tree of Memories is raining petals everywhere, thus revealing real and false memories of everyone and anyone alike. Your memories might definitely be broadcasted, too. Nobody is safe thanks to this epidemic.

• Prompt E: It’s the last month of summer, so everyone’s been taking advantage of the heat! The waterpark has been booming with customers since summer began, and they want to have a lot of customers each day, as well. There’s so many promos there! Not to mention, there are so many summer activities all over the city. There is literally so much to do that one can’t possibly do them all!

Cry Me a Lazy River. The waterpark promo entails that each person who visits will get a half-off voucher come wintertime. IT’S A GREAT PROMO. And everyone seems to be so into the idea, because the water park is packed! The lazy river is lazier than ever because while the tide keeps everyone moving and afloat, there’s not much room to move. The lines in the water slide are way too long that you may as well just jump from the ledge rather than go down the slide. The wave pool feels really warm because someone may have peed in there…
1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. By one of the lakes is a fishing contest. It’s not about who gets to fish the longest fish around. There are so many categories: shiniest fish, fish with the hardest scales, fish with the largest mouth, fish with the bluest eyes, and fish who can jump the highest when out of the water! Come join the contest, because while it may be ridiculous to some, the grand prize in each division is 10,000 sylvs!
99 Hot Air Balloons. Amongst the tens of events happening all over the island is a Hot Air Balloon festival. There are balloons that are shaped like the Arehtei, and there are balloons that look like the lovechild of a platypus and a waffle. Besides looking and riding hot air balloons, there are other attractions like ziplines and paraglides. Hope you’re not afraid of heights!

• Prompt F: Now that things are settling down, despite there being an epidemic around, people are beginning to organise excursions and adventures in the less known areas of the island and other areas belonging to the Arehtei. However, there are so many things that need to be researched before coming up with plans on how to go about said excursions. Researchers are looking for volunteers who could help them sort out the information. Two heads are better than one!

Look At the Starch. And how they shine for you… (Ahem!) Volunteers are given a stack of books to look through, but they’ll soon realise that these books have holes all over the pages! There’s not much information to go on when the next page to what you’re reading has already been eaten by roaches and silverfish! Fortunately, these insects seem to have thrown up what they’ve eaten into tiny bits and pieces. If you’re patient enough, you could glue the pages back together! … and find that the pages might be pertaining to a grocery list or a young girl’s list of crushes in school. . .
Elfeba. While going through the library and the important documents, you might bump into a strange looking jar. Don’t take off the lid! Or touch it! Or even look at it! Oh no-- it’s already too late. Any attention given to the jar releases the baddest and most wicked of all elves, Elfeba! She’s a troublemaker, and she likes playing with people’s hair! If she hates your hair, she might even grab a pair of scissors to cut it! Put her back in her place (literally) by knocking her out and shoving her back inside the jar. Be careful - she’s fast and can teleport short distances!
Dungeon Crawling in My Skin. So, you’ve managed to come this far… now you’re exploring dungeon that’s never been explored before. There is no map to guide you, but thankfully, it’s not as creepy as one would imagine. There’s the sound of water running that can be heard through the walls, and if you manage to get through the other side of the dungeon without running into chimeras and human-eating wallabies the size of lions, then you’ll find yourself on a cliff with a large stream of waterfall before you. It might be pretty to look at, but careful! Any sign of emotion while near the waterfalls will turn the water into fire! Hopefully you weren’t trying to drink the water!

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include desk slams and/or ice cream that changes flavour depending on emotion.

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[C]

Okay, guess I'm trying this out. [ Why? Who knows. Call it an experiment of sorts. ] I'm going to be really embarrassed if this ends up just being me, talking to myself in my head. [ Is it still embarrassing if she's the only one who knows? Probably a moot point. ]

[D2]

Telling Ariadne to stay away from something, or not to touch something, is always counter-productive. In fact, it's a sure way to get her to do the thing she's been told not to do, in most cases. That's just how she is - nosy, might be a good word to describe it.

Regardless, she is curious about what she'll find near the mysterious tree, and that curiosity has gotten her into trouble before this. The memory that might be experienced seems pretty innocuous at first - after all, who hasn't had a philosophical conversation at a cafe over a cup of coffee before? But it quickly turns surreal, and Ariadne just looks a little put-out about the invasion of her privacy.

"Okay, maybe I was asking for that," she says after a moment. Looks like she just blew her "innocent architecture student" cover.

[E3]

If there is one thing Ariadne cannot resist, it's new experiences - she's always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie, and the hot air balloons are right up her alley. It's exhilarating, from the moment they lift off and she's faced with the knowledge that only a strongly-woven basket sits between her and a deadly fall. What a feeling!

"Damn, that's gorgeous," she says to her companion(s).

[F2]

Remember that thing, about being too curious for her own good sometimes? Yeah, that's pretty much always what gets Ariadne into trouble. Today, it's a - an elf? Sure, okay, elves are a thing here, she supposes. The little imp seems particularly fixated on Ariadne's hair, which she thinks is pretty inoffensive - she keeps it long, and rarely does much with it. Today it's curling around her shoulders, but the little elf has decided that's wrong.

With a screech, the thing comes at her with a pair of scissors, as though she's ready to chop it all off, and Ariadne does what comes to her first when faced with an angry imp coming at her with a sharp object - she ducks and covers, trying to get away from the damn thing.

"Shit - don't touch me!" she yells, covering her head with her arms to try and protect herself from the onslaught.

[G - wildcard]

Let me know if there's something else you'd like to do! Or just spot her around town, drawing buildings, if you just want to start a conversation.

Before true havoc can be wrought, Jyn has the imp by the arm and shoves it to the ground. If it's one thing she hates, it's people (and things) scaring the crap out of girls.

She continues to hold it down to the ground while it flails and squeals.

"Don't you dare, you filthy monster," she tells it calmly but firmly. She then turns to Ariadne.

"Are you okay?"

Well - if anything, more unexpected than the attack is someone coming to her rescue. Ariadne isn't sure what she was expecting, but that isn't it.

Still, she recovers quickly - her fight-or-flight reflex might err on the side of "flight", but she's no shrinking violet. She grabs up the jar to help her good Samaritan put the elf back in her place.

"Yeah, fine. Just took me by surprise, is all," she says with a faint smile. "Thanks for the help. This place gets weirder and weirder every day."

"Does it? I've only been here two days. It's been... different, to say the least. We don't have anything like this world where I come from."

With a little effort, Jyn manages to stuff the elf back into the jar. She is not at all delicate about it. The creature has triggered her protective instinct, and she has yet to calm down about it.

"Yeah, it's... nothing like home," Ariadne replies, watching her rescuer closely. It's always interesting to her, the ones who jump to help other people. Not that she wouldn't - but she's a designer, not a fighter.

"I'm Ariadne," she says after a moment. "Thanks again for the help."

Jyn nods and returns the greeting.

"Ah. My name is Jyn. I'm glad you're safe."

She turns back to the elf in a jar, who is not at all happy about ... being in a jar.

"Where did this come from and where can we dispose of it? It's annoying."

Her questions may or may not be rhetorical. It was almost as if she's considering throwing the jar in a pit or something.

"I don't know - I just came in here thinking I might be able to learn a bit more about this place," Ariadne says, helpless. That's what libraries are for, right? Not - jars with murderous elves in them, or whatever.

"I didn't even touch the damn thing, just looked at it, and then it popped out and started screeching about my hair," she adds with a scoff.

Jyn studies the girl's hair for an indication of what the elf might have gotten uppity over. It looks fine to her. She takes that to mean the creature is just psychopathic.

"If it is a menace, we should take it where it can't hurt anyone else. Do you know where the nearest, um..." She takes a moment to search her memory for the correct term. This world has stores, not marketplaces. They each sell a larger variety of items, most of which she's never seen before. But she knows she'd passed a "pet shop" somewhere. "...'pet store' is? Perhaps they would know where to keep it, besides in a jar."

Jyn is so focused on her little annoyance that she hasn't noticed light steam seeping from the ground. The more irritated she gets with the thing, the more steam the ground lets off, and it seems to follow her when she shifts her position, almost as if her frustration is manipulating the ground she steps on.

"A pet store?" Ariadne glances at the steam rising from the ground around her new acquaintance's feet, her eyebrows raising. She has mostly calmed down by now, the momentary panic of being attacked passing in a sense of relief.

"I'm not sure what a pet store would know about... something like that," she says after a moment. "Then again, maybe they would, in this place."

It's not like she knows anything about - whatever that thing is.

Jyn takes notice of Ariadne's glance downward. What is...? Oh. She sighs.

"This again. I hate this world, you know? Mad little oddities seeping out from crevices and leaking from doorways and the like." She kicks at the steam to try and disperse it, but her irritating lack of success only causes it to billow thicker.

"Nevermind this nonsense. The pet store is the only place I can think of that would have any ideas, so I think we should try there first. Let's ask someone if they know where one might be, assuming one exists here at all."

She hopes the steam streams doesn't follow her there. The small, misty clouds that are starting to form are making the fairy struggle and squeal even more than it already does, and Jyn wants this whole situation to be over with. She doesn't feel right leaving the fairy with Ariadne, however, so she takes it upon herself to deliver it to a proper home.

Ariadne looks thoughtful - and ready to follow Jyn to wherever she plans to take the thing. It's her responsibility, really.

"I don't have any better ideas, so I guess it's a plan," she says with a wry sort of smile. "Or maybe a magic shop." That's only partly a joke.

Jyn takes a deep breath and exhales slowly as she walks, trying to calm herself after the chaos that had just ensued. Thankfully, that obnoxious smoke has stopped following her, which is a huge reason why she does it, but screaming elves don't exactly have a calming effect on her either.

"A 'magic shop'? They have those here too?"

She sighs, grip still tight on the jar.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to this place. As much as I never thought I'd say it, I miss home."

TEST DRIVE: September

ariadne | inception

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