empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: NOVEMBER

Entry tags:

!mod,
*test drive

TEST DRIVE: NOVEMBER

— TEST DRIVE: NOVEMBER —

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 Tuesday, October 25 and Applications (Canon | OC) open Tuesday, November 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 Boreas Harvest Festival is fast approaching, and the farmers are trying hard to work through the bleak weather conditions to get their crops in before they go bad from all the apathy. All hands on deck—but there may be too many unwanted hands roaming around.

Scarecrows. The scarecrows that have been set up as a festive reminder of the time of year have unfortunately come under the influence of some errant strong emotions from the farm hands that work in the fields. Unfortunately that includes trying to ward off anyone who enters the fields with pitchforks and is one of them carrying a torch? Maybe if they can be convinced that you are trustworthy they will calm down.
Invading rabbits. There are ton of rabbits ravaging the carrot patches. They're easily frightened, but some are more tenacious than others. Beware of the white rabbit with red eyes.
Save the crops! Several batches are already starting to spoil! The only thing that can save them is dumping as much positive emotions into them. Joy of good food, hope for a bountiful meal, love of eating—whatever will work. Just be careful. Too much and those things might grow and explode…

• Prompt E: Aiada, the Arehtei of appreciation and jealousy, has sent a personal request for those who are interested. There is a small island just beneath Empatheias that she has been cultivating over the many centuries. She wishes to contribute to the Harvest Festival with some seeds and spores. However, the recent atmosphere has also reached down there, and now it's all a mess! Giant mushrooms replaced the trees and there's slime and mold everywhere. The cure? Aside from getting a lot of heavy duty cleaners and pushing it off, appreciation will go a long way to help.

Goop brigade. Grab that bucket and shovel and clear the goop out! Just be careful not to have too much get on you—jealousy might take over.
Appreciation balls. To help hasten the effort, Aiada has given several tubs filled with light, green orbs. Once channeled with enough appreciation, they can be used as mini-grenades to help explode and wash the area with more positive energy. Those caught in the blast won't be harmed. If anything, they'll just be very thankful.
Watch the ledges. Careful, it's a fairly small island and the goop and slime has made things slick. If you fall… That's not a good way to go, let's just say that.

• Prompt F: Various parties are interested in the emotion shards scattered all over Thera. But this time around, the focus is on the medical laboratory as the equipment and potential research there is also of interest. For three days those who volunteer are sent back to try and gather as much as possible—but of course this won't be easy.

Skeletal Scientists. The remains of the scientists who once worked in these rooms are still lurking, ready to protect their work. Fortunately they're relatively weak nerds, so not too difficult to dispatch. Just be careful.
Flying equipment. The various medical equipment has also taken life, scalpels and needles flying everywhere and stethoscopes ready to strangle.
Questionable liquid. Most of the easy shards have already been taken, leaving the more difficult to retrieve ones left. In particular they're found in strange, dark pink liquid. It's mostly harmless—except that upon contact intense waves of grief and suffering will course through. The longer the exposure, the worse it is. So hopefully a bucket full of it doesn't fall on you…

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include feathers and/or confetti.

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

B - The Ring Boss ||

"That the best you got?"

The southern drawl is said through a mouthful of blood, a broken nose gushing across his lips as he smirks, goading his opponent into a trap. Been awhile since he's fought bare-knuckle, but has to admit it's quite the exciting rush. His opponent rushes in, and he dodges, sidestepping and managing to elbow them in the back to topple them over.

"Come on, 'm practically fallin' asleep here-!" It's nothing like the fights he's used to. Deadlock, Blackwatch, and Talon- all of them were far more skilled than anyone here, and it gives him an easy win- even if he'd let the opponent get a few licks in. With another few motions, he slams his metal fist into the side of his opponent's skull, knocking them down for the count.

He wipes the blood off his face with the back of his ungloved right hand, grinning out at the crowd.
"Come on, that the best y'all got?" He looks around the crowd, tries to find someone to fight him. "I'll make a bet- first person who can knock me down gets all my winnings for the night!"

Hopefully someone will face him that's a challenge- maybe one of the strangers, like himself.

D - Scarecrows ||

Mercenary work tended to be a bit... different than this. Thievery, assassination, kidnapping- he's had to do it all, for the greater good. There wasn't a job McCree took that wasn't just, and he'd like to remind himself of that every time he had to face what he's done, not just as a mercenary but as a member of Blackwatch. Good of the many outweigh the few, kill one life to spare a million and all.

Which is why he finds it so strangely refreshing when most of the "hero for hire" ads on the town bulletin are something like trying to calm down some sentient scarecrows that have taken up arms against farmers trying to harvest their crops. Odd. But the likelyhood of anyone getting hurt or him having to do anything illegal are low.

His spurs jingle as he heads to the fields, his peacekeeper pistol holstered and the cigar in his mouth unlit. Should be easy enough, right? Just gotta talk to them, calm them down. Except the moment he enters the field, he feels eyes on him, sees the gleam of a pitchfork in the tall corn stalks.

Well. Could be a little less creepy.

"Alrighty, there, easy now. I ain't here to hurt you." He holds his hands up in surrender, trying to minimize his threatening demeanor. "Just want to talk."

Apparently, however, they didn't. One scarecrow jabs its pitchfork towards him, and another rushes him from behind, causing him to tumble. A yelp, a yell, and he sees someone else in the distance.
"Hey-!" He shouts, tossing a straw-stuffed nightmare off of him.

"Mind givin' me a hand?!"

F - Questionable Liquid ||

This was probably not his best idea.

Already bad enough hospitals gave him the creeps, even ones that were bright and clean and shiny, filled with friendly looking staff. But this? This was a goddamn nightmare waiting to happen. The medical center seemed to be abandoned, and he'd already run into some of the roving skeletons of the previous researchers. They were easy enough to dispose of, but that wasn't exactly why he was here. No, he was looking for shards.

"Place gives me the creeps..." He mutters to himself as his footsteps echo down another abandoned hallway, his hand on his peacemaker. Ever ready, ever vigilant. He needs to just collect a few shards from that strange, dark pink liquid that seems to be collected in random buckets and beakers.

He finds one in what looks like an abandoned surgical suite, and he grimaces as he sticks his fingers into the liquid to retrieve it. It's sticky to the touch, he thinks, considering how it clings to the metallics of his prosthetic arm. Carefully, he holds up the shard to look at it in the dim light-

And is struck by a sensation that almost sends him to his knees, like the breath has been knocked out of him by grief and anguish. Memories flash before his eyes, churning in his brain as he grips at the operating table, accidentally knocks it over in his hurry to get out of there.

This had been a bad idea. And it was about to get worse, as he stumbles through the operating doors and straight into another person.

It's chance, mostly, that has him in the area; sure, he saw the ad, figured if the things were giving people trouble he could deal with it, but- well. He didn't exactly go out here looking for anyone other than the scarecrows, much less someone currently being overwhelmed by them. It doesn't mean he doesn't come to help, though - quite the opposite, despite him not being a hero. He's got a job to do, and here's here to do it

and, apparently, save someone else's ass in the process. A very familiar jackass, come to think of it, once his pulse rifle blows some holes through a couple of forms.

"What're you doing screwing around?" he demands as one decides that maybe it should turn its pulse rifle on the one with the bigger gun. This is almost insulting; he fought harder enemies in basic training.

He swears, it's a ghost that comes and saves him from these straw monstrosities. That's how he always thinks of the white-haired man with the pulse rifle, who was currently-

"Aw, hell, what'd you go and do that for?!" He dusts straw off his serape, scowling up at the other man around his cigar.
"Didn't you see we're supposed to make friends with 'em, not go blowing holes in 'em!" Looking back into the corn stalks, he takes a step towards the older man, taking out his pistol and starting to load it.

"Now our job's about to get a lot more difficult. Thanks, Jack."

Excuse him for saving your ass, McCree. 76 gives the other man a harsh look...not that it can really be seen with his visor. But his posture combined with the little flickers of - whisps? not quite fire-flickers, they're too small for that, but it does seem like 76 is a little annoyed for more than one reason - says quite a bit before he takes another look around.

"Didn't realize friends tried to stab each other with pitchforks. Or is that some mercenary thing I wouldn't know about?"

Besides, he's already moving to kneel next to one and get a better look at it. Cover me is implicit in the action, though he's positioned to keep an eye on McCree in the process.

Damage is already done, no use in crying over spilled straw. Still, when the man asks asks if stabbing each other is some sort of mercenary thing, McCree can't help but make a face as he spins the barrel of his pistol.

"Well, now that you mention it, ever tell you how I got this bionic?"

Story for another time, he keeps his eyes in the shadows of the tall cornfield. Shouldn't be too many in here, only four or five. Ten, maximum. And if they can get all of them, well...

Farmers should be able to get to their yield.

"Already know of three, two ran off into he field when you showed up. We need to clear it without damagin' the crops."

With the high crops, it'd be difficult - even with ~~aimhack~~ the assistance from his visor - to hit them without risking further damage. The so-called farmboy in him is already wincing at what it sees, only to be swiftly shoved back down and silenced as the soldier gets to his feet. Story for another time, indeed- right now he's focusing in on some motion down the way that doesn't seem to be from the wind.

"Shouldn't be hard." Even with minimizing shots. Even if Winston can help with the ammo, it's not exactly endless. May be better to try and sneak up on them and then smack them with the rifle if they turn violent. "Where'd you see 'em?"

"Told you, they're in the field." But he remembers the path they went. Without another word, he takes the lead- He's not under Overwatch command anymore, and that means that the Captain? Doesn't give him orders anymore.

And he was used to being on his own, a mercenary and a punk kid. Jack would have to follow his lead on this one.

"Should save our ammo, though. Draw 'em out of the field and use the pitchforks against 'em. No fire, can't risk setting the corn alight."

Jesse McCree || Overwatch

D SUP SCRUBLORD

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D

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F because it was about to get worse

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F

Heya, doc!

hey cowboy : D

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B

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