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

[ephemerous]

No... It's all right. If you still hold doubts, perhaps I can explain.

[Nahyuta closes his eyes and forces himself to calm. After all those years of having Rayfa held over him, his reaction to her very existence being called into question is one of kneejerk defensiveness. Those wounds are still fresh. But Apollo is not Ga'ran: they're having this conversation in the first place because he wants to understand Apollo, and why he's still hurting so much, even after everything they've done and will continue to do for Dhurke. It's nothing against Rayfa herself, not really.

Once he's managed to calm enough to set his own feelings aside on the matter -- something he has more than enough practice on -- he begins.]

You should understand that, at that point, my mother never expected to have a second child. It was not a thing that can be explained rationally. She loved Father with all her heart, but she suspected him of the blaze nine years prior, and she had not been convinced to the contrary. Yet she was not unhappy that she had fallen with child, and she was overjoyed when Rayfa came into the world. Perhaps, if things had gone on that way, Mother would have come to trust Father, they could have deposed Ga'ran peacefully, and all would have been well. You could have come home.

[Nahyuta is trying to keep his voice even as he explains. Recounting what is simultaneously one of the happiest and one of the most devastating years of his life isn't easy.]

But it was not to be. Confirming the very fears Dhurke had held for you, Rayfa and Mother were taken hostage, and our family torn asunder once more.

[justchords]

(he's silent as nahyuta speaks, patiently and politely waiting for him to finish, give apollo a chance to collect his thoughts on the matter. he held no grudge against queen amara or rayfa, they were as much victims of ga'ran's tyranny as anyone, even more so. and he just couldn't bring himself to be upset at people who were like him, dragged back into this situation because of dhurke.

it takes him longer than a few moments, allowing nahyuta's words time to sink in, fists clenching against his sleeves in a small part of dislike at his own actions.) I... I don't hold it against them, I swear. Queen Amara and Her Benevolence were dragged into this as much as we were. No one is at fault, and I don't want to feel like this, but... the first thing he did after sending me away was have another kid.

(it stung. it stung and prodded at his heart more than he thought it would, more than he wanted it to. none of this was fair to anyone, and yet he was being selfish in his reasons.) When I first found out about her in court, I... I'd be lying if I.. if I said I didn't feel... (replaced.)

... I'm sorry.

[ephemerous]

I was simply trying to convey that Rayfa was never planned, given the circumstances.

[He can't feel angry at Apollo even if he did feel some kind of resentment related to Rayfa, not after all he's been through. Maybe Nahyuta's explanation isn't convincing enough... So he thinks of another avenue to explore. Then it occurs to him: evidence is everything to a lawyer.]

...Apollo. You still have Father's badge, do you not? Why do you think he gave it to you, and why do you think I allowed you to keep it?

[If Dhurke really had just tossed Apollo aside and forgotten him, Nahyuta can't imagine he'd ever give away something so precious. He'd sooner die with it pinned to his chest or torn away from him by force. Or else, he might have simply given it away to Amara or Nahyuta instead.]

He entrusted you -- no one else -- with his very heart and soul.

[justchords]

None of it was planned. We couldn't do anything about it, that's why it hurts so much. (that they were both just kids, powerless in the face the greater powers around them to do anything at all to help their father. nahyuta was taken advantage of, apollo was thousands of miles away and unable to even know the situation of his own family. there's still a smidgen of guilt in his heart for trying to forget them, keep them all out of his mind.

it's the mention of dhurke's badge that gets a reaction of him. his face turns to nahyuta, almost in scared wonder. the thought bubbles up in his mind, slowly at first, that yes, dhurke gave him his attorney's badge before the trial began.

it hits him with the force of a falling piano in mere seconds what that notion meant. even nahyuta wasn't able to pry it from dhurke at the detention center, he of all people knew just how important that badge was, possibly even as much as apollo protects his own badge. he lets it sink in, allowing the meaning behind his father's action to really set itself in his mind to understand what it means.) You know... there's a lot of things I would change if I could.

(he turns away from nahyuta again, and at first glance, apollo appears fine. but the fists clenching his shirt sleeves, coupled with the cracking strength in his voice. turn just the right way and you'd be able to see him crying, a slow, steady stream of tears as he looks at nothing in particular.) But... not him. I couldn't have asked for a better dad.

(this time, much quieter.) ... he really loved me, didn't he.

[ephemerous]

[Nahyuta watches as the penny drops for Apollo, and finally -- finally -- Apollo understands what he's been trying to convey. The badge had been the thing in court that had stopped Nahyuta from giving up his final shred of hope after learning of Dhurke's death, and now it was Nahyuta's turn to help Apollo too.]

He did. [He sets the box aside he'd been carrying, and moves over to Apollo, resting a hand on his back. He knows Apollo well enough to tell when he's crying, even if he won't openly show it.]

And even if he was not able to give you the happiness he wanted for you in life, he was at least able to pass onto you all that you needed to grasp that happiness for yourself. That is what the badge represents.

[justchords]

(his head turns just barely at nahyuta's touch. he wasn't at all a physical person, so any form of contact from him was often meant with great care. he stops his head before he can make eye contact with nahyuta, quickly turning away to rapidly wipe his tears away before finally facing him with still damp, red eyes.

he should never have doubted dhurke, not his words, his actions, his motives or reasons. things may not have ended up the best for apollo, but he never should have tried to use that bitterness to negate dhurke's love for him.

a smile begins to form on his face, nodding in response to show he understands,) You're right. He gave... everything to me. Even if I didn't quite deserve it for how I treated him. Heh... sorry. I was kind of stupid.

[ephemerous]

[Nahyuta gives a soft smile in return, removing his hand as Apollo turns to face him, and shakes his head.] No... After everything you've endured, it's only natural to have doubts. But perhaps those doubts can be laid to rest now.

[And at least he's cleared those doubts, so that Dhurke can be remembered for all of his goodness, not his shortcomings. Even a dragon is fallible, after all.]

When you reunite, in this life or the next, you will have the opportunity to tell him your feelings. Until that day comes, keep his badge close to your heart. [In other words: Nahyuta's giving him permission to keep it, for as long as he wants it.]

[justchords]

(his expression shifts, losing a hint of that depressive state to something a little more sheepish. but not quite guilty.) Still... I should've had faith in him. Or at least tried to.

(rather than spending his life trying to forget his previous one. nahyuta's words hit close to his heart, at even the thought of being able to tell dhurke his feelings on the last fifteen years of his life. he's at least grateful he's cried all the tears he can today, he'd rather not lose face again.) You... you're really okay with me keeping it?

(apollo wouldn't lie, he still felt its proper place was with nahyuta. his son.)

[ephemerous]

[Nahyuta nods, firmly.] I am. You yourself reminded me it is the tie that binds us together as a family, even when I had almost given up on all Father taught us. It was you who cleared Father's name, and fulfilled his dream.

And... perhaps it is you who needs to keep a piece of our father close to you most of all. [In case he ever doubts Dhurke's love for him again, or anything that Apollo himself is capable of. If he ever misses his family, when he returns back to the States, and feels the kind of despair and loneliness he did before. The badge has come to represent far more to both of them now than its original intention alone, in endless ways that could help Apollo.

Nahyuta raises his hand in the clawed salute of the Defiant Dragons.]

A dragon never yields. Through this mark, the creed is a part of me forever. Let the Dragon's Eye serve you in the same way.

[justchords]

(his heart twists in the slightest wince of pain, reminded of the 15 year gap he was without a father. rayfa would be the one to understand him in this situation best, yet she was still able to grow with a father.

there's a wistful smile, flashing back to the brief period of time he was able to spend with his already then departed father. it still stung his heart, maybe it always would, that he was only thought of at the end, that he only had a few rushed days with his father. but nahyuta was right. they had his memory to honor, to help guide them. and in that sense, dhurke never quite left them. not as long as someone breathed life into his creed the way nahyuta does right now.) I'll treasure it. I promise.

(he won't lose dhurke's dream or ideals, certainly not after they've come this far. he stares down at his own hand, the right, without the bangle. maybe he should consider getting his other family on his right hand.) He'd be proud of you, you know. Pronouncing his creed like that.

[ephemerous]

[Nahyuta clenches his fist shut, and holds it over his heart.] As I am proud to be his son.

[Even if being so has meant a life fraught with hardships, for both of them, because of Dhurke. There's no family he'd rather have, and it gave them everything they needed to save their country from suffering further.]

I hope that, even if it takes time, you will come to feel the same way. [Proud and happy, instead of hurt and grieving. He's sure that's how Dhurke would want to be remembered.]

[justchords]

(apollo hesitates, taking in the sight of nahyuta being so much like his father. he'd seen the pose enough times that he's almost positive he sees dhurke's image reflected in nahyuta at this very moment.

moments later, he repeats the motion, hand in a fist over his heart and a bright smile on his face. honoring their father who'd sacrificed so much, even his children, in order to promise them a brighter future.) I am. I'm proud I can say he's my father, too.

(that isn't to say the grudges he's held onto the past years have vanished. but they're certainly not as pronounced in his heart as they once were.)

[ephemerous]

[Apollo's bright grin, and so soon after he'd been distraught, is enough to melt Nahyuta's stoicism away into a smile of his own. He's relieved; maybe he's helped play a small part in quelling Apollo's anger towards Dhurke, even if it will never go away entirely.]

He would be glad to hear that. [As is Nahyuta, now that it might finally give Apollo some peace of mind.] I suppose we'd best be getting back; we've tarried long enough here, hm?

[justchords]

(his smile falters, but only for a brief moment before he composes himself quickly again. he'd rather not lose the rare good mood he's found himself in, especially not after all of nahyuta's efforts to bring his spirits back up.) I wish I could've told him.

(one of his own last lingering regrets after learning of dhurke's passing. there's an endless list of things he wishes he could've had a chance to say (not all of which were kind), but that one is at the top of the list no matter how he may feel.

he is, however, a bit sheepish at having kept them so long.) A-Ah, yeah, sorry about that, Nahyuta. I kinda wasted our time a little.