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

[Laying foundation for future arrivals to deal with prejudice. Barry does his best not to scoff with a humorless smile.]

Sounds a little familiar. I knew I should double checked my brochure.

[Pamphlet. Whatever. He needs to focus on the thing that's giving him hope on returning home, as if he's never left.

Time.]

I think I can figure something out for me to do. [The waves of thought lighten up on that.] What about you, what do you do? I haven't even asked your name and you've filled me in on a lot already.

Sad as familiarity is, at least it means you're somewhat prepared.

[As grumpy and sullen as Dezel can be at times, though, he has no issue moving on from there. Lately, maintaining anger over even the most set in of grudges has been draining. Not that much more needs to be said regarding their inability to leave or Bradley's failed attempt.]

Name's Dezel. I work for the Investigations Unit of the Enforcers. Once in a while, I take up Task Board jobs with trusted partners for a few extra sylvs.

[Finding Grumpy McGrumperson on his first try. Barry's oddly proud of that.]

Had to learn about sylvs when I tried to buy something with cash. [All he wanted was a burger. Is that a crime?] So Enforcers? Sounds like my work back home. I'm in police forensics, or was, back at Central City.

[Whoops. A little unease because he hates asking this question.]

That is if you have forensics on your world?

[Seems to be Dezel's luck he keeps running across so many optimistic sorts. Not that it's a bad thing, despite how he might grumble about it once in a while.]

Mn. It's "gald" where I'm from.

[At the mention of forensics, there's the equivalent of a mental head tilt on Dezel's end.]

No, the word isn't familiar on Glenwood. What did your job involve at home?

Edited 2016-11-01 11:48 (UTC)

Gald. Gotcha. [ODD, but who's he to judge. Hey, mine has ugly dead dudes on paper.

Doesn't even sound right in his head.]

Well, it's part of investigations. After a crime goes down, I come in and sweep the area for evidence. A fingerprint, DNA like a hair or finger nail, or even tracks from shoes or tires. Blood too. Any clue that can give me a lead on putting a face on a criminal. A lot of science-y stuff basically.

[Such a sad mental sigh.]

Aaaand I'm willing to bet none of that matters here in Final Fantasy land...

[Dezel takes all that in without interrupting and while there are a couple things that don't click with him - mostly to do with the acronym of DNA - he actually does understand most of that. (Though the joke at the end sails clean over his head, even if the intent is clear. Sounds like something his buddy Ben Tennyson might say. Then again, he's fairly sure Ben's used that acronym as well at some point, once or twice...hmm.)]

[He's quiet a moment, thinking. Then:]

Maybe. Maybe not. You could try speaking with Detective Bobby Fulbright about it, since he supervises the Investigative branch. Your experience and knowledge might be something we'd have use for... Especially since some of that sounds like tracking skills put to good use.

[This does bring to mind something else, however...]

You any good in a fight?

I'll ping him! Anything I can do to help and get back whatever I can from my old routine.

[Nerds are invading Verens, Dezel. Experience fear.]

...I can bite. Really hard. My canines are sick.

[He's trying.]

[Dezel makes a small sound of approval at that. Good this one is up for making himself useful.]

If you want, tell him I sent you. Not that it's needed. The man always seems more than happy to have more "friends of justice" around.

[Oh Dezel knows all about dealing with nerds. He lives with a pair of history obsessed, ruins exploring nutballs. ...though Barry is reminding him of some weird combination of one of those plus one motor mouth Ben Tennyson. It's enough to make him wonder what he's getting into, here!]

[But hey, good job, Barry. That crack about biting actually earns the barest hint of a chuckle.]

Heh, points to you if you actually are willing to bite to save your own ass. But aside from that, I'll assume the answer's a "no."

Yeah, you're right. That's pretty much a no.

[More of a white lie since keeping his identities separate is going to be a thing as always. Getting the surly-ish sounding guy to crack a smile? He's pretty hapy about that little achievement.]

Sounds like the police captain I've always wanted. Tell me it pays well. My price of living is kind of stupid high.

[Fortunately, Dezel doesn't detect the lie. Either a lucky break or evident of Barry's ability to fib convincingly, seeing as telepathic connections can at times make keeping secrets difficult.]

Unfortunate, but likely not a deal breaker. There are plenty of us who can fight where others can't.

[Several months ago, Dezel would've scoffed at the apparent admission, having little tolerance for those unable to handle themselves in combat. But time in Verens has changed him enough to appreciate others for their strengths. Still, that doesn't mean he might not bother Barry about fixing the issue at a later time.]

It pays decently, but if not enough, take up a couple Task Board jobs a month. Those often require at least two people per job, but you probably won't have the same difficulty I do with finding work partners.

[Telepathic Defenses +1 all thanks to a killer gorilla.]

Those tasks are really varied. Like I'm pretty sure I can handle petting kittens for cash by myself. A balrog on the other hand, yeah, might need some back up.

[...]

That's a monster. From a book. Balrogs aren't real here, are they?

[Please say no, Dezel.]

[Barry will receive the mental equivalent of a raised eyebrow over that one.]

Long as I've been here, there are still creatures in this world I'm not familiar with. It could be a kind of monster here for all I know.

[That he's not more knowledgeable about all the kinds of creatures in this world is somewhat annoying to him, even with all the reading he's done at the library and despite the time he's spent outside of Verens and even off of Empatheias. Though this does make him wonder...]

Why? Not used to dealing with monsters?

I mean, [How to even explain that monsters aren't exactly a thing isn't something Barry has deal with often. Or ever, really.]

no? There's metaphorical monsters that people can become and then there's the fantasy stuff. Medusa, minotaurs, basilisks and whatever else that isn't an animal; none of that's actually real on earth.

[His cheeks fill up as he tries to exhale everything, including the thought of how metahumans fit into the mix.]

I've played that Monster Hunter game a little bit? [Does that count?]

[...oh lords.]

Not that I know anything about said game, but no. I really doubt it.

[On his end, Dezel tugs at the brim of his top hat. Typical fidgeting for him when he's annoyed or bothered.]

What's fantasy for you can be a reality here. Or is reality for some of us where we're from. So I suggest you get used to the idea of creatures like basilisks, wyverns and hellhounds existing.

[A mental shake of the head follows. Tch, it's no wonder so many humans lack spiritual insight. For some, the fantastic and supernatural are no more than fiction...]

Right. Different reality. Still working on that one.

[And stepping on toes. Though Barry's pretty sure that's going to happen no matter what he tries because that's.just.Barry.]

Man, this is not what I was expecting to happen.

[There is a bright side to this.]

I am so going to get a real dragon pic and show it to my friends. That's going to be so cool.

[Barry...]

[At the mention of a dragon, there's a sudden cold snap from Dezel's end of the line. The topic is apparently a touchy one, the chill carrying with it a sharp sense of disapproval.]

If there are any dragons in the wilds of this world and if they're anything like the ones on Glenwood, getting anywhere near one is a death sentence for the ill-prepared. Don't think so lightly of them.

[Wyverns he's not fond of, either, but thanks to them being about and less of a threat here, Dezel's adapted to the idea of...tolerating them. Sort of.]

[Whoops. There's stepping on toes and then there's stomping. The topic's so casual to him that Barry's a little startled at what he can sense through the telepathic connection.]

My iphone has zoom, [Ahaha...] no worries.

[Well, he should really clarify on that.]

Trust me, I wouldn't get anywhere near something that has teeth longer than my arm. I don't even touch the glass when I visit the tigers at the zoo. But thanks for the heads up.

[There's some momentary confusion over the iPhone mention. What the hell is that? And what does it have to do with taking pictures? Isn't that what cameras do? Godsdamn all this weird technology.]

Good, because I don't want to have to pull your ass out of the fire at any point. Literally.

[...he says as though he gives a damn. ~~And maybe he kind of does...?~~]

They really do breathe fire?

[Of all things to take away.]

and, uh, thank you. That'd be awesome. Not being on fire is a big life goal of mine.

Edited 2016-11-02 13:11 (UTC)

[Barry... For Hyanoa's sake...]

Yeah, they do. Hot enough to burn a man to a crisp in seconds. And their taloned feet are large enough to crush both a horse and rider. When they attack, it's like the unleashing of a violent storm.

[Just in case Barry was wondering about anything else.]

You know what, I think I'll just tone down my expensive habits instead.

[Or immediately start cracking down on trying to duplicate the massive calorie bar formula.]

Are there any fun things to do that aren't being mauled by monsters? Karaoke, dance clubs, petting zoos; I'm easy.

Edited 2016-11-03 11:53 (UTC)

"Karaoke"?

[Obviously not a term Dezel is at all familiar with. ~~And one he may regret asking about.~~]

There are parties and festivals now and then. The former when people throw them for birthdays or whatever else, the latter surrounding events like changing of the seasons. Someone organized a pub crawl not that long ago...

[There's a mental shrug of sorts.]

Not that I count dealing with most of those things as "fun." A lot of noise and too many people.

[Guess who A) isn't a people person and B) doesn't get out much for the sake of being social? Yep, this guy right here.]

Aw, that sounds really nice. Birthday parties are the best.

[The equivalent a delighted chuckle goes though at the pub crawl. Not only because those can be fun, but because Barry's immune to getting drunk. So watching other people happily getting smashed is usually filled with lulz.]

A little noise and getting to know people isn't a bad thing. I mean we are kind of all stuck here, right? Karaoke's perfect for that sort of thing.

[Can diabolical intent be conveyed? Because he's sure as hell full of it suddenly.]

You need to go. I can organize it, I have an iphone and the best playlist in Central City.

We'll agree to disagree on that.

[Because Dezel was totally assaulted at his own birthday party last month by two people wielding buckets of green glitter, okay? And glitter is like the herpes of craft supplies HOW DO YOU EVEN GET RID OF IT. He's still finding bits of it in his jacket pockets.]

[As for this karaoke business... Dear lords no. Dezel knows that "up to no good" feeling coming across the connection all too well.]

Like I'd agree to anything without knowing what it is, exactly... Not that I NEED to do anything, anyway.

[So grouchy. You'd have your work cut out for with this one, Barry. And for more than one reason...]

[Birthday blues. Of course. Barry should have guessed that from his acquaintance's demeanor. He won't push it. For now.]

It's so easy even I can do it. [Says the nerd with the golden voice.] Nothing's beats this. Okay, so check this out. You get drinks, friends and each person shares a song they really enjoy...

[The dreadful pause where Barry's smile has teeth almost as sharp as Dezel's.]

by singing it.

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