TEST DRIVE: NOVEMBER

[empevents]

— 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.

1. 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.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. 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.

1. 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.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. 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.

1. 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.
   
   
2. Flying equipment. The various medical equipment has also taken life, scalpels and needles flying everywhere and stethoscopes ready to strangle.
   
   
3. 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!

Comments

[staredown]

So you rectified an ignorance, is that it? There is a nobility to that.

[Kija gets another appraising stare. Abi approves of that. Really, it's got to be better than Guen just... spearing things over a fire and stopping before it was entirely charred.]

Ingenuity is a virtue. I've never needed it for much, but I hope I can see it in others.

[Honestly, Abi was only sixteen when he drank the Blue Dragon's blood. Still young enough that these were not his own concerns-- and immediately after that, he became one of the king's dearest companions.

But he is a general, too, and a soldier. War and the privations thereof are something he knows, even though he always tells himself how temporary it will be.]

Very well. I shall learn of you, and be grateful for it. [He rests a hand on the pumpkin, h-hesitantly, picturing the king passing soup to the princess, and insisting she try it.]

[backstory]

[To be honest, if he hopes to learn anything from Kija about cooking it's probably a mistake. But Kija thinks it looks simple enough. If you watch someone long enough you'll pick it up. Right? Feeding the princess and the king would give him the utmost honor.]

If I may ask-- I have a number of questions still. [He's probably asked so many by now in general. But maybe talking is a good way to distract him from whatever is bothering him in general?] You must surely travel with the king all over. Or do you stay mainly within the capital city? How long have you been a dragon warrior? Are you able to communicate with the gods?

[staredown]

[Abi considers Kija. If it feels as though he is looking right through him, that is not literally true, but...]

In the future, will you please restrain yourself to either asking me only one question at a time, or else submit them in writing, Hakuryuu?

[He moves his gaze back to the pumpkin. It seems as though it has benefited from Kija's help, and thus so has Abi. He starts to walk toward the next row, some poor drooping corn stalks. Kija gets a "well, are you coming?" glance before Abi starts to answer. Really, Kija does ask little, and Abi pretends that instead of feeding his curiosity, he has a great big ripe juicy melon to share with him.

The corn starts to straighten as he talks.]

We go where we are needed. I wish the King would stay in the capital, but I suppose he wouldn't be much of a king of he didn't raise his sword sometimes.

You and I must be nearly of an age. I am just eighteen, so it must be two years since the dragon's blood was bestowed on me.

[backstory]

[He can't help the excitement. He is sure no one else within the current generation of dragons have been so blessed and fortunate. He follows after as they move to a new area, and listens in interest as he speaks. So at such a young age. But then of course, there have been dragons who barely reached the age of fifteen before the new generation was born. Perhaps it shouldn't be so surprising.]

You are the same age as Shin-Ah. [They are entirely different from one another however. His younger brother rarely speaks, but his presence within their group is great.] I wish that he were here. I think he would benefit from having the ability to learn from you. [Perhaps then he would not fear his power so. And would be able to walk freely should he wish to without having to cover his face.]

[staredown]

That I somewhat doubt. [He nods to Kija.] You and he were... born with the blood of the dragons, you've had your whole lives to learn how to use these powers. They are a part of you.

For myself, it is a great blessing, but one that has been... grafted on.

[Ahem. That was a little more than he meant to say, but Kija is just so eager and understanding, it's hard not to...

He had more questions, didn't he? And Abi feels strange contemplating this Shin-ah, although that is a beautiful name. "Moonlight."]

As for communications with the gods. Only when Seiryuu offered to me his blood drink. Besides speaking with Hiryuu every day, I've heard nothing more since.

[backstory]

[Perhaps so, but-- ]

Shin-Ah was simply raised to fear his ability. [Frowning, Kija is visibly bothered by it. Outside of his village, things are incredibly different. Lifting a hand up, he points a finger toward one of his own eyes.] Because of this he keeps his eyes covered at all times.

[Slightly offended by it all...] The village of Seiryuu no longer respects the gods, and has done him a great injustice. It is a gift that should be celebrated.

[Brows knit, he releases a small sigh.] I am sure King Hiryuu would be disappointed that the Village of Seiryuu and the Village of Ryokoryuu have... mistreated what was once so sacred.

[staredown]

[It's on the tip of his tongue to say you can't expect reverence from Shu-Ten's descendants, purely by force of habit, but he can't, really, without being seen as hypocritical. That's not fair to Shu-Ten. They may fight, but they fight fair.

Instead, he tries to imagine this Shin-ah. His own flesh and blood-- many generations removed, perhaps, but still his own. He tries to imagine being ashamed of the greatest honor in his life, and it isn't easy to do.

Slowly, he begins:] It is a fearsome ability, and one that is not to be used lightly.

[For a second, he has to look off over Kija's right shoulder, and not at his face, because else he'd remember the expressions of the people who died believing they were being devoured by the Blue Dragon. There was a different kind of terror in their dead eyes that wasn't present when one was killed rather more unceremoniously by Hakuryuu's claws or Ryokuryuu's weapon. Unceremonious, but honest. Real.]

I believe that's why it turns back on me. It ensures my humility. It is a constant reminder that no matter how high the dragon gods have brought me, they can bring me back down just as far.

What you tell me is troubling. I can only believe some terrible corruption happened in the intervening time. I suppose that the passage of time has caused something crucial to be lost. Someone who didn't know it was a holy power would be terrified of it-- something I have constant proof of.

[backstory]

[It's frustrating nonetheless. Surely it's as he says. Along the way, things that were once important have been forgotten. How can they change that in the present, however? In his own village, such matters are handled carefully, and the stories continue to live on. However, is there any hope for the village of Seiryuu? Their hatred and mistrust run deep.

But some day, no matter how Kija doesn't want to think about it, a new Seiryuu will be born. By then perhaps Kija himself will no longer be around, or will be in a state where he cannot make much difference. But someone surely should help the next Seiryuu. And the next Ryokoryuu. It's important that their villages be educated to prevent the future generations from being hurt, too.

With those thoughts in mind, he frowns. The pumpkin beside him seems to have stalled with such heavy thoughts.]

My power is different from yours. [Clearly. There's no doubt that their methods of attack share little similarity. Unlike perhaps with Ryokoryuu. While different, it may be easier to relate in various ways.] I'm not sure if it's possible to help translate the ability to use it effectively and safely with words, or that it would do any good. [Lifting his claw up, he stares at his right hand.] I can only think of it in terms of having confidence in ones self and the desire to protect that which is important.

[He glances back up to Abi then.]

Is it similar?

[staredown]

[Abi shakes his head almost before he catches himself.]

Hakuryuu's power is a simple power. It's wielded one way. It can be more finessed or less, I think, but it is a simple, straightforward thing.

[This isn't said as an insult. Merely the truth. Hakuryuu does one thing, and he does it very well.]

The dragon's eyes... sometimes, nothing is more terrifying than nothing. Have you ever been paralyzed?

[backstory]

[Because it's true, he doesn't take offense. Rather, the power is straight forward as he said, and it's the skill that they use it with that makes the difference. The confidence to plunge into the fray of an intense battle, and know how to move and think quickly enough.

However, Seiryuu's power takes bravery of perhaps a stronger sort. Because of the very fact that it backfires.]

I... have not. [Fortunately.] I have only witnessed it happen. [And consequently, how it's backfired upon Shin-Ah.] I imagine that it can make one feel very helpless.

[staredown]

It's humiliating, if I'm being honest. [Why is he being honest? Damn you, Kija.] That is the other side of the coin of humility, after all.

[He does manage to stop himself from adding that it's terrifying, too, to be aware of your surroundings yet trapped in your own body. Or worse, to begin losing consciousness and know you'll be left at the mercy of whoever is closest, and praying it's Hiryuu, one of the other three, or even one of his subordinate soldiers.]

I understand the sentiment. Hakuryuu's power is something you can see and touch. So is Ryokuryuu's. But Seiryuu's, ironically, is invisible. There is nothing there to fear, so it's feared all the more.

[backstory]

[Don't be embarrassed by honesty Abi. Kija respects it...!

Reaching out, he rests a hand upon his shoulder, gently squeezing, but is careful not to harm him. He always tries to be aware of his own strength.]

I am confident that you were chosen for such a power because you have the unique characteristics and strength that makes you the most suitable. [The same with each descendant after him.] I cannot imagine it to be easy. But because it is not, the fact that you manage it's strength and use it in defense of your king is admirable.

[staredown]

[Abi lets the hand rest where it lay a reasonable length of time, about as long as he's comfortable with, before gracefully bowing in thanks-- which does have the added benefit of letting him gently and politely slip back into his personal space once he straightens back up.]

You flatter me with the benefit of hindsight, but I cannot say I dislike hearing it. I endeavor to be worthy of your praise.

[backstory]

It is nothing.

[He's only responding with his honest opinion. However, he directs his attention back down to the pumpkin beside him. While it had halted growing, it seems to be be back on course once again.]

Perhaps we should focus on this though? I think that we can help many more grow before we leave.

[staredown]

[Abi blinks, startled, and-- oh. He spares the vegetable a glance, and rests a hand on it.]

You're right, of course.

[...and begins to think again, about being able to bring something he helped grow to the princess and the king.

And, in fact, Guen can come, too. It looks like his descendant might teach him manners, and that would be something to see... he could see Kija being a nice addition to their dragon gatherings.]