empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: FEBRUARY

Entry tags:

!mod,
*test drive

TEST DRIVE: FEBRUARY

— TEST DRIVE: FEBRUARY —

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 Monday, January 25th and Applications (Canon | OC) open Monday, February 1st.
OC Reminder! Just a quick reminder that original characters are currently 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: Everyone's heard of "trust exercises," right? To help inspire more trust back into the community, a group of young adults have come together and created a maze-like game. Everyone is paired together—randomly or with a friend. One person is blindfolded while the other is not. They are both bound at the wrist with a cloth. Together, they must make it through the game and through various obstacles in the way. Nothing too dangerous—just some random pitfalls, uneven steps, as well as some puzzle challenges that requires team effort. Of course, because one person is blindfolded, that means the other must guide the other. Where does trust come into play? Two places. The first is the cloth rope. The more trust someone has, the stronger but more relaxed it is. It will allow the two people to walk comfortable distances and even separate to get through large gaps. However, the less trust they have in each other, the tighter the binding becomes and starts to wrap up each other's arms, forcing them to stick close together. This will make some of the obstacles very difficult. So, how will you fare? (Players are welcome to come up with any kind of obstacles that are in the maze.)

• Prompt E: Those inventors are at it again. This time they have a new device called "Emotion Bubbles." Apparently they see Dunamis as some kind of competition and have begun working ways to replicate the same effect, but with magitech. The Emotion Bubbles allows one to channel their emotions by blowing into a flute-like device. This device is then supposed to convert the emotions into bubbles that will then drift harmlessly away.

Supposed to.

It's of course in the very early stages of development. While it works perhaps 35% of the time, the rest have the bubbles either exploding, turning to ice balls, spew bolts of lightning, and other more hazardous reactions. So instead of going through the proper channels and experiments due to budget cuts, they are handing out the flutes and studying those who try it out.

• Prompt F: Night of Selenium. Since those on the test drive are unable to participate in this month's event, here's a scenario based around it.

It's Night of Selenium, the time of year where everyone stops to think about those lost and sometimes forgotten. Whether recent or ancient past, the memories of the dead can linger, sometimes stronger than others. For the Otherworlders, not only will they remember, but they will actually see a ghostly image of those who have died. Some will look friendly, some not. Allies, friends, family—enemies, rivals, betrayers. And like everything else, it's not just the memories of the person, but the emotions invoked by these emotions. They are stronger today, revealing the true, inner feelings for the dead. How will you handle these reminders? Make peace? Or allow them to continue their curse upon you?

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include a chainsaw and/or pompoms.

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

[Yuri tilts her head, willing her emotions to remain calm, continuing to exude a soothing aura as best she can with it. Not that it seems to matter with this guy-- it's like a wave meeting a brick wall.]

I'm waiting for you to calm down. [She looks away, though, eyeing the first stretch of the maze-- there isn't any obstacles really, just some rocks placed strategically around for her to try and get him to avoid. Trying to build up the trust with something easy, she imagines.]

You're cutting the circulation off to my hand. [And she's getting dangerously close to touching him--she doesn't need her touch-based mind/emotion reading powers to know he's pissed, and she'd rather not feel it firsthand.

It's also kind of hard to get someone to trust you if you accidentally invade their mind and stumble across a memory, after all.]

((OOC: here is a quick overview thing of Yuri's powers, btw!))

[At least this one seems marginally reasonable, he thinks at first, some of his irritation subsiding. But then she complains about the aggravating cloth as if it's his fault and he becomes aggravated again, fists clenching as his lip curls.]

You'll just have to endure it. I wasn't the one who put it there.

(OOC: Got it! Feel free to have her see whatever if they touch, I'm cool with it. :3)

Neither am I. [She gives him a pointed look, even if he can't see her, then sighs softly.]

I'm sorry. [But she apologizes anyway, because she's not above doing that if it'll get them moving] This situation isn't the best, I know, and I don't want to be stuck in this any more than you do. I'm not your enemy here, and I have no wish to become one.

[She leans herself away as the cloth seems determined to bind them tighter] And unless you trust me at least a little to get us both out of here, we're going to have a lot more difficulties here soon. [And then, polite despite her lateness and the slight urgentness of the situation, she adds:] Please.

[She's saying this way more for her own sake than his, really]

[The apology and further words do help to soothe his ire, and he lets out a breath as he presses his lips together. In response to his yet-unspoken acquiescence, the unnatural cloth stops pulling them together, though it still remains tight, close enough for them to easily brush against each other by accident.]

Fine. [He speaks with an almost haughty tone, as if it's taking him great pains to agree to this nonsense. Though he does feel that this is a waste of time, he's slightly putting on airs, attempting to keep his ego intact through the situation he's been roped into.]

Lead.

[She tries to exude an aura of calmness again, giving the cloth a light tug to indicate for him to step forward.]

The ground is mostly flat, but there are some decent-sized rocks. I'll point them out-- there's one coming up on your left foot, so come this way. [Another gentle tug to get him to move to the right and avoid it. Or, attempt to.]

My name is Yuri, by the way. We should at least know each other's names, right? [Her arm bushes his and she winces slightly, a brush of her mind against his and the stewing emotions underneath. In a place where emotions rule, his swirl through her own and disrupt her attempts at being calm and controlled, the aura stuttering out abruptly.]

[He follows her instruction without issue for now, though it's clear he wants to go a bit faster than her pace, and the calm around her does nothing to change his underlying impatience and irritation. He might not be lashing out at the current moment, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't like to destroy this whole maze and the people responsible for it.

It would just be too much trouble, is all.

It's only after a pause that he deigns to respond to her introduction. He might as well make his name known, if this place is going to come to fear and respect him as so many other planets do.]

Kylo Ren.

[Though he can't read her feelings as precisely as she can his, he can nonetheless sense when the controlled air around her suddenly gives way to something more volatile. He doesn't particularly care about whatever she's feeling, but it does make him raise his eyebrows in curiosity.]

Pleased to meet you, Ren-san. [She...assumes Ren is a last name?? Naming conventions were always a little confusing.

The nature of her ability means she can also feel his curiosity and she lets out a low breath, tugging him gently out of the way of another rock] Sorry. You're very... angry. [Tactfully put, Yuri. She winces]

That's not what I-- Ugh. [PAUSE. REWIND. TRY AGAIN] I'm not good at talking to people, I don't do well with them, I'm sorry. I can feel it. Your irritation. And it's disrupting my emotions; not that my attempts at calming seemed to be working... [She doesn't sound like she wants an apology or like she's accusing him--just stating a fact. Yuri's emotions seem to run permanently on a muted wavelength-- not quite apathy, but repressed and tired, like someone who's seen and done too much and just wants to lay down and nap for a while.]

Rock by your right foot.

[It's close enough to a family name, even if it's more of a title than anything. He assumes the suffix is one of respect by her tone, so he doesn't bother asking for clarification. He does like being respected, after all.

At the thought of someone reading him in a way he hasn't explicitly permitted, though, he frowns suspiciously. She certainly didn't feel like a Force-sensitive, but apparently there were things that could grant similar abilities in other galaxies.]

Of course I'm angry. This exercise is pointless. [He steps over the indicated rock without pausing.] It's irritating enough to be brought to this planet with no way off it, but for the natives to think they can drag us into whatever charades they want is hardly bearable.

[He has half a mind to just destroy the whole thing and the people involved, honestly. It would be satisfying for his temper and help gain him the reputation he's looking for.]

Well... [Yuri muses softly.] I won't disagree with that. They don't seem to care about how much they've disrupted our lives.

I've heard that things seem to freeze when we're taken, and hen we return it's right at the moment we were taken anyhow, so nothing changes, but... I can't verify it, so it's hard to trust it.

But we're not sure what they might do if we don't listen either... We could try to take your blindfold off, but they might just put us back at the start again. [She leads him around the corner and then stops short.]

Oh. Hm. [That's not an encouraging sound, Yuri...] It's a balance beam...over a pit... [WHAT KIND OF OBSTACLE COURSE IS THIS. Yuri stares at the pit in front of them, stretching the width of the corridor; no easy walk-arounds here] I think it's just water in it though, but I'll still have to lead you over it. [Backwards, probably, she thinks. If she holds his hands and leads him one step at a time it's probably doable and if they fall it'll just be irritating. It doesn't look deep, and she can't imagine they'd put them all in real danger... But then, what does she know?]

Sounds like a convenient lie to keep us placated. [He's not convinced of that at all, which just makes him more impatient than usual, which feeds into his temper. He sounds like he's being forced to make a very difficult decision when he speaks.]

I'll keep it on for now. I'd rather not risk having more of my time wasted.

I have no problems with balance if you can keep yours. [The Force has a few internal physical components as well, after all, and if he reaches out with it, he can get a general idea of that beam.]

[She won't deny that's just as plausible too. While she doesn't consider herself a complete pessimist, she's at least keen on keep things in the realm of realism. There's no reason for them to tell them the truth here--but then, she doesn't see a reason to lie to them either, unless they're worried about those with the power to destroy things doing just that.]

I can keep it. [At least, she's pretty sure. Running up and down an almost perpetually rainy mountain didn't quite compare to a balance beam, but she's fairly confident.

She walks up to the little steps leading to the balance beam and carefully maneuvers her way up first. Because of the cloth wrapping awkwardly around their arms, she has to twist her upper body a bit awkwardly to walk, and she gives the cloth a look before settling the same gaze on him]

If you trust me a little more, the cloth should unwind and make this a bit easier. [Of course, she can't just will him to automatically trust her, but...] I haven't led you astray yet, have I?

[Unfortunately, with Ren in the mix, the possibility of destruction was more of a likelihood. He wasn't the kind of person to yield to just anyone's wishes, especially when that anyone was unknown.

Trust isn't something that Kylo Ren feels often, and he presses his lips together when she suggests he try. After letting out a slow breath, however, the rope loosens marginally—enough for them to put several inches of space between them.]

Perhaps not.

[He'll wait for her to move forward slightly before climbing onto the beam himself. He has about as much desire to touch her as she does to touch him, so he'll be using that extra space as much as possible. The ordeal is made even more awkward by the fact that he's nearly a foot taller than her.]

[She breathes a soft sigh of relief as the cloth loosens-- her fingers tingle slightly from where blood rushes. The cloth hadn't been tight enough to completely cut off circulation or anything, but it had been enough to be uncomfortable.

She extends her arms carefully to balance herself, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. Glancing behind her to make sure he's keeping up proves a poor move as her balance wavers and she has to pause, taking a deep breath.]

I'm pretty sure it's just water, but I'd still rather not fall in it. [She speaks more for the sake of having something to say and in the hopes of dragging attention away from her near-fall itself. Not that it would matter if they fell in--there was a ladder on both sides of the pit so really they could just climb up to the side they need to get to anyhow.

Probably, she thinks, they didn't want them wasting time doing the balance beam over and over again. How thoughtful.] This hasn't been as terrible as I expected it to be, at least. I could have gotten stuck with someone worse.

[Is it hilarious or terrible that she actually thinks Kylo's one of the better partners she could've gotten for this??]

[When Ren steps forward on the beam himself, he doesn't hold his arms out like she is for balance—instead, he's merely holding out the arm attached to her, his gloved fingers spread. He's making certain of his steps using his supernatural sense, and in a way, making sure of hers as well. Should she begin to topple, he won't hesitate to catch her with his Force abilities before she falls into the pool itself.

He doesn't stop the slight pleased smirk that comes to his face briefly, even if her comment is only a minor compliment.]

You won't fall.

[He doesn't go on to explain exactly why he thinks this, but he seems very certain about it. ~~Hilarrible is always an option for people who catch Ren on a good day and end up thinking of him as anything but a terrible person.~~]

[Yuri tilts her head curiously but doesn't risk looking back at him again. Learned that lesson already, thankyouverymuch]

You sound pretty confident in that. [If there's a lightly skeptical tone in her voice, who can really blame her?]

They say there's people from all sorts of different planets and worlds here, though. I suppose I can believe anything at this point. [When you start seeing and talking to dead people and stuff, you tend to just roll with weird things. Jedi mind power bullshit? Sure, why not. She's fought against a dead woman who could kill her in one touch so what room did she have to judge?]

So, I'll trust you. My life is in your hands, so please take care of me. ['Life in your hands' might be a tad dramatic, but, really... And it's only fair for her to extend trust in him if she's asking him to trust her.

...Besides, it's not like she really cares about her life much in the first place. Oops.]

Keeping you out of the pool means keeping myself out of it, and I have no interest in getting my robes wet.

[He has no problem with dirtying himself it if it's absolutely necessary, but it would be just plain embarrassing if something like this was the cause.

He'll continue to follow behind her, matching her pace. Thankfully the cloth is now giving them several inches of space apart, so they can make their individual steps without dragging the other out of their place.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE: FEBRUARY

D -- I'm cool with spoilers, I've seen the movie! o7

awesome, noted!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

sorry for the delay!

no problem. :3

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject