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

[a_noble_flame]

[That much of a stick in the mud. Alice briefly thinks of Oreldo but her thoughts clear up fairly quickly at Pidge's question.]

I guess that's pretty obvious. I can usually tell a veteran from a civilian pretty easily too.

[She considers the corn a moment, a slight smile on her lips.]

At least they perked up in the end. I was starting to worry.

[For all her outward military gruff, Alice does have a soft heart. Even for ears of corn. That said, she parks her hands on her hips.]

So then, concentrate on my appreciation... well, that's not hard really. I do appreciate food a great deal, not simply for myself but for others. There are many people out there who don't have enough to eat and suffer for that. And there are many more with plenty who don't recognize the privilege they have.

[She sounds more contemplative and straightforward than sorry about any of it. Facts were unfortunately facts and she had already beaten herself up over her own privilege long before this moment.]

[ramblingly]

[There was an odd lilt to the officer's words that piqued Pidge's interest even as she hugged a wilted bundle of corn close to her chest. Crops like this growing in the open were rare in the deserts she hailed from-- agriculture had moved into a more scientific domain that was protected from the elements for the most part. But the crops grown in the outdoors in this land had an entirely different taste and feel to them...

But, Pidge was aware that her sentiments may have stemmed from so many months in space.]

...Yanno, that sounds a little like you're trying to remind yourself of that, Ma'am. [Pidge said at length, reaching up a hand to brush away a leave that had gotten stuck in her glasses.] If you don't mind my being open here.

Maybe you should think about something smaller? A city full of people is too big-- maybe just think about how you and your friends would like a meal with this harvest?

[a_noble_flame]

[At that the blonde paused before turning a surprised look over to Pidge. And then her shoulders relax a little, lapsing downward as she herself looks skyward in thought.]

My friends and I?

[... Had she ever had anything beyond meals out in the field with her troops? They're the first ones she thinks of when she thinks of friends, even if perhaps others would consider the two different things altogether.]

I wonder.

[That said, she picks up an bundle of corn mirroring Pidge's method. She holds it close to her chest while she considers the idea. And then she laughs a little, though it's not really a merry laugh as much as it is one of realization.]

I do think my happiest meals have been with them though.

[Meals with her father and stepmother weren't harsh by any means but they were worlds different from those with her grandfather. And with her troops, well...

The corn plumps up noticeably in a few seconds, drawing Alice's glance downward to it. Her eyes widen a little.]

Well that certainly worked.

[ramblingly]

[Ah. Seems that the woman had found her 'key' at long last. Pleased with this turn around in events, Pidge's bright smile seemed to almost be enough to lighten the dour atmosphere of the storehouse that they stood in.]

It did, [She said, bouncing up on her toes with her restrained energy and starting to turn and face the rest of the storage bins surrounding them.] And, now that we've got the tools we need, we can get to work fixing--

[The vastness of the wilting crops that she found herself facing were enough to have the words dying before they left her lips for the sheer depth of her surprise. She had known that there was a lot, but this was more than she had estimated!]

--All of this.

[She paused, passing a glance back at the young woman she'd been speaking with.]

Officer. Got any ideas?

[a_noble_flame]

[Alice on the other hand had looked directly at the sheer amount of crops they needed to revitalize and saw absolutely no reason why she couldn't do so single-handedly. Now she looks towards the bins with a new sense of realization.]

... Earlier I had thought this couldn't be too much of a problem. Now though... this really isn't a task that one can simply accomplish with their efforts alone.

[The Second Lieutenant turns the question over in her mind, posing once again with a hand against her chin and the other arm still holding one of the perked up corn bundles. She had something of an idea but... she glances over to Pidge now, brows raised curiously.]

How good are you at public relations?

[ramblingly]

That depends, [Pidge replied, arching a questioning eyebrow right back.]

Did you want them blackmailed or kneecapped?

[Translation: she's terrible, don't make her do it.]

[a_noble_flame]

[Ah.]

I was actually hoping for some civilian cooperation in revitalizing these plants.

[ramblingly]

Well....I'm not exactly your person to go give rallying speeches...

[A sheepish grin as Pidge scratched idly at her cheek. Speeches and public relations were so not her deal...]

[a_noble_flame]

[Pidge looks sheepish and so does Alice.]

I'm not either. One of the other members of my squad is usually better at talking to civilians really.

[Since Oreldo isn't here though, Alice has to think on how to handle this situation with her and Pidge's clumsy amounts of finesse.]

It isn't right really to expect civilians to shoulder the burden of fixing this problem either. What we really need is some way to amplify our own emotions.

[ramblingly]

...I wasn't even thinking of civilians. I was thinking of other guys like us.

[People who were whisked away from their homes and their duties and brought to this strange little place.]

Although, I wonder... how would you amplify emotions? Do they come out as a wave, like sound?

[The question had set the machine that was her mind in motion as Pidge mulled over the various possibilities. Tinkering was her thing, if nothing else.]

If so, we'd just need a solid amplifier like they use at concerts, but we'd need to figure out how the wave works so we can channel it from it's source to the device.

[a_noble_flame]

... I guess others like us really wouldn't be civilians.

[It's a little hard for her not to think like that though. Not that she thinks she's the be all end all of army around here but she does try to protect far more people than she probably should.

The more Pidge talks, the more Alice's expression wavers. After a moment she scratches at her cheek sheepishly.]

I haven't really wrapped my mind around how this emotional stuff works at all. It's not that it doesn't take effort but I'm far more used to physical effort.

[Not that she doesn't put forth emotional effort but boy howdy, this place has already asked her to start deeply examining emotions she just kinda glances towards now and then or accepts but doesn't think about.]

[ramblingly]

[They were taking the term 'civilian' on a few separate definitions, it seemed tp Pidge. While she had attended a military academy and knew it's proper definition, her experiences in recent months have taught her a different way of looking at the word:

'Those not involved.']

Make that the two of us, [Pidge confessed with a nonchalant shrug, as if the detail were no more than a mere technicality in all of this.]

I'm also used to things taking a physical effort, even if it's just pushing a button to make the machine work. This....I admit, it's beyond what I know right now, but it's obviously worth something here. That's enough reason to look at it, I think.

[a_noble_flame]

Of course.

[She admitted that readily enough, even if she seemed somewhat frustrated. At least until she realizes the bundle still tucked against one arm has wilted a bit. Then the brief frustration broke for exasperation at herself.]

Alright, being frustrated won't help.

[And here Alice made a decision. She planted her free hand in a balled-up fist against her hip.]

We're going to concentrate on appreciative thoughts all night if that's what it takes! I refuse to give up on this!

[And there she went, charging into the piles of corn like she was on a mission.]

[ramblingly]

[...Ah. So the power of emotions were that strong hm?

Pidge just grinned, already liking where this idea was going.]

You planning on making all this into a feast for the whole town? [She asked, a teasing lilt in her voice as she looked over at the young woman.]

That's as good a plan as we're gonna get right now, so I thing we'd better get started!