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

d

(1.

great. it's just his luck he'd be the one stuck with farming duty. he couldn't even have time to mope about it, unless he wants to risk ruining the crops, and apollo definitely doesn't want that hanging over his conscious. so he does his best to look on the bright side of things. yeah! there's always one of those. a little exercise in the great outdoors. sure, the weather isn't perfect, but it's better than being cooped up in his house with not a lot to do.

at least this way he can give back a little, help the people out. it may not be defending, but it's a start around here. and really, lawyer or not, apollo won't turn down those in need. he approaches the fields, ready to get started until... a swarm of armed scarecrows, one or two of them with torches, block his path. rather menacingly, at that. apollo jerks back, and he has... nothing to protect himself with.) Oh come on, who lets scarecrows have weapons!? Especially torches! Aren't you guys running the risk of letting yourselves on fire!?

(that actually causes them to hesitate, realizing he does have a valid point. don't they technically run the risk of the entire field going up in flames, too? maybe if he can just reason with them as to why fighting is such a bad idea, they'll let him go.)

(2.

this is something a bit more up to speed with apollo's tastes. simply chasing the bunnies out of the fields. it's an activity he has more fun with than the others, memories surfacing of a small, brown bunny he had years ago and how dearly he cared for it. it brings a smile to his face, one rarely seen, and he's practically glowing from the thought alone. he shoos the bunnies away with a smile and a soft command to scamper away from the crops everyone worked so hard on.

not long later, he comes across a rather adorable little white bunny, as though someone just picked up and shaped a lob of snow. and gave it... creepy red eyes? he doesn't think much of it, ready to just give it a little scare to get it out of the fields. this plan goes horribly awry when the furry little creature leaps at him, leaving apollo narrowly dodging what was sure to have been a rather nasty bite. he yelps as he continues dodging, eventually straight up running away from the little hell spawn.) When did rabbits become carnivorous!? Seriously, isn't this a bit much!? I didn't even do anything!

f

(1.

because of course apollo justice is the one stuck investigating nerd zombies. sure, he could've gotten something else, like a lovely meadow or a regal castle, but no. let's give him creepy labs with lights that flicker, nightmare inducing moans, you know, like something out of a horror movie. they may be weak, but apollo being stuck with only a large stick as his weapon is definitely not going to help matters much at all.

especially not when being pelted with various office supplies and backed more and more into a corner. he dodges notebooks, pens, small containers of paperclips and rubber bands, but the creepiest part is when long, not quite flesh colored arms reach out with weak moans. and apollo, in return, weakly swats them away with his stick. yeah, he's had better plans.) ... I'm seriously not cut out for this, I just want to go home.

(sos send help, idiot red lawyer in way over his head. almost literally, with how these zombies are starting to pile up.)

(3.

this was more like it. a simple collection job, all he needed to do was grab as many of these little crystals as possible, right? collecting evidence came easy to him, handling the liquid carefully based on the warning he was given before coming. pangs of sadness definitely washed over now and then, so he made a point to take breaks. not grab too much at once unless he wished to risk feeling real emotional pain.

but curiosity got the better of him, as he went about examining the rest of the room, just to take a peek and really learn what this place was all about. unknowingly, he moved just the wrong object on a shelf, which was apparently propping a few other things up. flipping through items unaware, it's moments later that a jar of said liquid wobbles over the edge just enough... to have the entirety of its contents dumped straight on apollo. he'd cry out in frustration over his misfortune, but something else hits him before the urge to do that.

it's like slamming into a boulder, the way every grieving and painful memory rushes back into his mind as though it happened only moments ago. names flow through his mind, one after the other, each hitting home more painfully than the one before it. dad. mom. clay. dhurke. faces flash alongside the names, bright and smiling like he wishes he remembered them. those dissipate, and he's only left with their crime scene photos. a young man his age with a knife in his chest. a man far older than him with three bullets in his chest. the feeling of falling over, a small crying baby in front, with the last memory being that of pain. a vague silhouette of a woman, one he couldn't pinpoint.

it's a slow, robotic movement as his arms raise up, fingers clenching in the fabric of his shirt as he hugs himself, staring down at the ground and trembling. using all of his power not to burst into tears right there. for those who dare to get close to him at a time like this, they'll hear him mumbling "i'm fine, i'm fine" over and over.

maybe if he says it enough, it'll be true.)

[ This was probably one of their more ridiculous ideas -- she'd assumed this task would be easy enough, collecting the information that'd been listed. What she hadn't been expecting was a practically haunted office building full of the undead. This really IS something straight out of one of those horror movies she and Apollo had seen on more than one occasion during late nights at the office.

Dodging things being hurtled in her direction from every which way was pretty easy. Facing off with the undead? Not so much. She's not in the same room as Apollo right now, and she's glad, because he can't see how she stiffens, how she can feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, or himself feel how cold the air has gotten around her because this is managing to unsettle her enough to where it's physically showing.

She manages to pull herself together, though, because she's not the type to lay down and die... or in this case, lay down, cry, and get eaten alive. So she begins mowing through zombies, sacrificing Mr. Hat until she can find a more suitable weapon.

When she finally comes upon her poor friend, she can only stare in horror for a few moments, before she quickly moves to pick up a chair, and begins to literally beat the ever loving crap out of these things until they fall down onto the ground. Some of them are definitely not moving anymore, but a few are still crawling and grabbing at their ankles, to which Trucy quickly kicks them away because it's gross, and she knows she's got blood on her and this whole thing is disturbing and she wants to go home too.

And yet, she regards her friend with a grin, opting to hide her discomfort as per usual with a bright smile and as confident an aura as she can muster up. ]

You okay, Polly? Come on, let's get out of here, okay?

(apollo would very much like to scream hold it and attest that every single one of trucy's ideas are ridiculous ideas because it's trucy, the girl lives for ridiculous.

he managed to hold off on his own for a time, keeping them at bay long enough for trucy to rescue him. yeah, that's gonna be a pretty big sting to his pride. well. what little pride he has left. he's making a mental note, however, to help replace the valiant mr. hat. ah... he deserved better than a zombie punching bag.

another mental note: never piss off trucy. she's tearing through those zombies like they're tinfoil, and apollo would be highly impressed if not for the current mildly life threatening situation staring them down. his own weapon has been beaten down enough that it's practically useless, immediately tossing it to the side in favor of wrapping up trucy in the most comforting hug he can manage.

he could see that she was nervous, for him, it was practically written on her face. but he won't let her know that. he knows her creed, he respects it, he won't ruin this for her. but, well... he can't exactly stop a few tears from shedding, either.) I'm so glad to see you, Trucy. Y-You're not hurt, are you?

[ This is not easy work, that's for sure. She's strong, but she can definitely feel this in her arms and back, but adrenaline is pushing her forward because like hell is she going to allow Apollo or herself to be eaten or mauled half to death. When she finally hits the final zombie down, she slams the chair down on it one last time to make sure it doesn't get back up.

Out of breath, she continues smiling, dropping the chair and shaking her arms out as if this is no big deal and there's absolutely nothing wrong when in fact there are so many things wrong with this situation. Happily, the magician returns his warm embrace, careful not to get him dirty -- between the mess thanks to the zombies and the dust from their search, she knows she must look like crap. ]

I'm glad to see you, too, Polly. I'm not hurt, are you? [ Turning her attention away from the corpses, she allows her gaze to fall on her red clad friend, giving him a quick once over to look for any obvious injuries. ]

I uh, couldn't find anything in the other room-- [ A notebook comes flying at them, and she lifts a hand to catch it, before hurling it back in the direction it came from. She's not in the mood for this crap right now. ] --and I'm not sure how big this place actually is... are you up to continue on, or do you want me to lock you in here for a bit and come back for you if I find something?

Edited (LOLOLOL using the same icon fail ...AND FOR FAILING TO READ THE HUGGING PART) 2016-10-21 02:54 (UTC)

(while he's very glad of trucy's capabilities to handle herself against zombies protecting their work, he'd also prefer for her to never have to be in a situation like this, now or ever. neither of them are very good with scary things like this (apollo especially, but he'll deny it), and while he very much would like to go hide somewhere, he can't just let trucy keep saving him like this.

he doesn't care about getting dirty, it's not like he stayed that way long against the zombies anyway. he's far more concerned about any injuries she might have sustained. he gives her a quick once over for anything even remotely out of place, and while he's currently definitely not the bravest one in the room, he's making a promise to himself right here and now to protect her.

he opens his mouth to respond, interrupted rather rudely by a book that... trucy barely reacts to. yeah. that's it. he's dead serious, shoving down any bit of fear that might be trying to bubble up. he grabs her hand, guiding her toward the door. he breaks off a piece of the chair she was using before, giving himself another makeshift weapon. he is so done.) No. We're getting out of here. We didn't sign up to fight this many zombies unarmed. No amount of money is worth your safety.

i can and i did his lines are dorky as fuck but HE'S JUST FINE

magicpanchira - 2016-10-22 00:33 (UTC) - Expand

um his lines are beautiful works of art excuse you

justchords - 2016-10-22 23:07 (UTC) - Expand

no apollo in general is a beautiful work of art end of story ok

magicpanchira - 2016-10-23 11:47 (UTC) - Expand

inhales he's such a good SUCH A GOOD

justchords - 2016-10-24 07:28 (UTC) - Expand

yes he is he just needs to be hugged and loved forever he's BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH in his short life

magicpanchira - 2016-10-24 11:50 (UTC) - Expand

he needs people to not die, like that is his only standard at this point

justchords - 2016-10-25 20:25 (UTC) - Expand

this is so true that it hurts

magicpanchira - 2016-10-26 09:51 (UTC) - Expand

stares at the cast like who's next

justchords - 2016-10-27 03:37 (UTC) - Expand

i have someone in mind who could potentially be next tbh and it bothers me

magicpanchira - 2016-10-27 09:16 (UTC) - Expand

if it's thalassa, capcom is dead to me

justchords - 2016-10-31 01:46 (UTC) - Expand

TBH i think it's thalassa because they've been building up to this and ugh ugh ugh

magicpanchira - 2016-10-31 03:13 (UTC) - Expand

stg this boy has lost enough, let him keep his shitty mom

justchords - 2016-11-03 03:02 (UTC) - Expand

the mom who is busy momming Machi and not her own kids

magicpanchira - 2016-11-03 03:37 (UTC) - Expand

well he was forgotten too thanks capcom

justchords - 2016-11-06 06:15 (UTC) - Expand

pmuch everyone from aa4 is gone forever now

magicpanchira - 2016-11-07 13:02 (UTC) - Expand

loud sighs i could go on for years about how capcom fucked over aj

justchords - 2016-11-09 15:57 (UTC) - Expand

agreed ugh

magicpanchira - 2016-11-19 02:07 (UTC) - Expand

[Maya was helping out in the carrot patches for a couple of days now, here and there when she had the chance. I guess you could say that she was totally an expert at this by now. Apollo, on the other hand... Maya picks up a little brown bunny and strolls over to him, holding the rabbit in her arms and petting it gently ~~like the true disney princess she is~~. She manages to catch him as he's running away from the red-eyed rabbit.

Running around like that won't get him very far in the rabbit shooing business.]

Maybe it's those horns on your head, Apollo!

(apollo definitely will not protest to maya currently showing off her expert bunny chasing skills if it'll get the killer bunny to stop trying to... well, kill him. but really, by all means, maya, stand there and enjoy the show as apollo continues to yelp and narrowly dodge angry teeth. he's been bitten by rabbits before, okay, he knows they can draw blood.) What, do they look like carrots, Ms. Fey!?

(WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS HAVE TO SHIT ON HIS HAIRSTYLE, HIS HAIR IS GREAT.)

[Maya is absentmindedly petting the top of the rabbit's head now, staring at Apollo's hair.]

Well, when you put it that way... I guess I can see the resemblance.

[She will very much enjoy the show for a few more seconds.]

Are you... afraid of the bunnies, Apollo?

(first he's mistaken for a demon, now for a snack... he loves his hair, and would very much prefer people keep their opinions on it to themselves.) My hair does not look like carrots!

(never mind that he was the one who said that. he dodges just a little too slowly and now... the rabbit is currently destroying his pants leg. he is literally standing with his leg hoisted in the air, gently trying to shake the little guy off. it may be out to kill him, but he doesn't want to hurt it...) No, but rabbit bites can hurt! A lot!

apollo justice // ace attorney (possible spoilers for spirit of justice)

HERE COMES JUSTICE....'S SISTER

the puns don't work as well when you add "sister" just saying

i don't know what ur talking about it's fine IT'S FINE

u can't steal his lines too oh my god

D2!

no subject

no subject

no subject

F3

no subject

no subject

no subject

F1 - I couldn't decide, so I give you someone else entirely

no subject

no subject

no subject

d2

no subject

no subject

no subject

arrives late to the F1 party with steambucks

i was about to disown you bc i thought that said starbucks

i would never do something so tactless.

really bc i feel like you would