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

[lothrat]

[It's not an answer, and under other circumstances that dodging might rankle him, especially after being caught off guard, but there's something... Ezra frowns at a nagging sense of familiarity that comes as he really looks at the guy. Something about his face, or his voice...

It takes a moment for it to click. Uncertainty wars with a different kind of surprise, because there's no way. No way.]

Master... Kenobi?

[hadthehighground]

[Now this time he is surprised. He may be very well known among the Jedi of his time, but this young man didn't really look the part of a traditional Jedi. That certainly had him wondering.]

That's right. And you are?

[lothrat]

[No way. It is him. Ezra's eyes widen before he can catch himself.]

I'm Ezra. Ezra Bridger. [Wait, he's probably giving off the wrong impression here. Feeling flustered and still scrambling to catch up with what this means, he quickly adds.] You don't know me. I've just seen your holorecording, that's all.

[A holorecording made fifteen years ago. Ezra can't help but add, a little breathless-]

I thought you were dead.

[hadthehighground]

[Ezra Bridger... certainly not a name he recognized, and he had known and taught quite a few younglings. The mention of the holo recording though causes him to stroke his beard thoughtfully. Though the mention of being dead drew an amused look.]

Well in your time I might be. You're not the first to tell me that.

[He can only assume that Ezra is from several decades into his future much like Rey and Kylo Ren.]

[lothrat]

My time?

[Ezra blinks. He's been here a few days, but timelines haven't come up, and it's not exactly something anyone would think to ask about. Not without a reason staring them in the face.

Kind of like there's one staring at him now.]

What do you mean?

[hadthehighground]

Whatever it is that brings us here, it pulls people not only from different worlds but different points in time as well.

[The people from their galaxy are a very good example of that.]

For me, the Clone Wars just ended with the rise of the Empire.

[And of course the slaughter of almost all the Jedi, but he won't go into that.]

There is another who is from nearly 20 years in my past. Others 20 or 50 years in my future.

[lothrat]

[It's probably a good thing that Ezra is sitting. Shock ripples out from him - literally, in fact, causing the leaves of some of the carrot tops to flatten themselves on the ground. If this were anyone else, Ezra would probably accuse them of pulling his leg, looking to see how gullible he is. But this is a Jedi Master.

A Jedi Master, and he's still reeling from that.]

You're serious? You're really from the past?

[hadthehighground]

From your perspective, yes.

[The emotional reactions that affect the carrots hardly go noticed as he's been in this world for months and such things were common place. He's gotten used to it. Also to the whole bit of having to explain his things work to newcomers.]

[lothrat]

[Sorry, Obi-Wan. Give him a moment here. He's got to let that sink in and settle.

...yeah, no, it's going to take a long time for this to settle, and Ezra's just not that patient. He straightens back up from where he'd rocked back in his seat, his eyes never leaving Obi-Wan's face. It's not that he's doubting the Jedi Master here, but skeptical habits die hard and he's looking for any sign of anything being off.]

That was fifteen years ago for me.

[hadthehighground]

Oh, really? In that case, I would be around in your time after all.

[He knew that much from what he's learned from Luke and a few others.]

A lot greyer probably, but still very much alive and well.

[lothrat]

[Another ripple of surprise chases after the first, though not quite as pronounced the second time.]

You are? Will be? [Were? What tense is he even supposed to be using here?] Where have you been? We haven't heard anything from you. Not even rumors, and we've listened.

[They'd pounced on every rumor of living Jedi that they could find. Most had been false, wishful thinking at best.

The worst had been an outright trap.]

[hadthehighground]

[There is a melancholy smile at that.]

There's a very good reason for that. I made sure to hide myself where the Empire would be least likely to find me.

[Or at the very least, the last place a certain someone would come looking for him.]

On Tatooine.

[In this place there was at least no harm in admitting that.]

[lothrat]

[The look Ezra gives him is slightly alarmed. He's heard of Tatooine. Or, more specifically, he's heard of the people who live on it.

Might have stolen one of their names when he was feeling particularly facetious.]

That's a Hutt world. Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, sure, the Empire might not go there to look for you, but the Hutts can be just as bad or worse.

[hadthehighground]

Oh yes, I'm well aware. And I will spend 20 years living there apparently.

[Twenty years of isolation in the desert. It was a depressing thought, but he knew it was necessary. It wasn't about him after all.]

But there is more at stake than my own safety. I have something to protect, something the Empire can not find. Or rather, someone.

[lothrat]

Someone?

[Come on, Master Kenobi. You can't just say things like that and expect a boy not to be curious. He leans forward, resting his hands on his knees.]

Who is it you're protecting?

[hadthehighground]

[Of course Ezra would ask, and Obi-Wan's smile loses its sad edge.]

The last hope for our galaxy, and the Jedi. A boy, about your age actually at your point in time.

[In fact, from how old Ezra looks he imagines that they must have been born about the same time.]

His name is Luke Skywalker, and he's here also.

[lothrat]

Last hope?

[Ezra gets an odd look on his face at that.]

What do you mean by last?

[Skywalker, Skywalker... He knows that name. But not a Luke.]

He's not related to Anakin Skywalker, is he? That hero from the Clone Wars?

[hadthehighground]

[And that sadness returns to his eyes as Ezra asks for clarification.]

Surely you must know the fate of the Jedi.

[He can't imagine anyone wouldn't. While he had held out hope for survivors, the future that he's been told about is quite a grim one.]

Actually, he is. Luke is Anakin's son.

[lothrat]

[Ezra's still frowning here, brows furrowing down.]

Well, yeah, but we're not all gone. [We. He counts. He's Kanan's padawan. Maybe he wasn't a survivor from the initial Jedi purge, but he's still surviving it now.] There's you and me and Kanan and Ahsoka, and I think Master Yoda might still be alive, too. Maybe there are others?

[He stops then, and stares, caught flatfooted for a moment.]

Wait, his son? I thought Jedi didn't have children.

[hadthehighground]

"Ahsoka..."

That was something that caught him a little by surprise, though perhaps it shouldn't. The fact that she had left the Order could very easily have been a reason that saved her life. He's glad to hear she's still alive. At least for a time. Because from what he's heard it's pretty much certain that Luke would be the last Jedi. And what that means he can't bring himself to tell this child. So he decides to tip toe around that.

"Yes, well. Anakin always had a knack for not following rules."

[lothrat]

Ezra tilts his head at the way Obi-Wan said that, but he can't quite pin the tone in Jedi's tone down, other than to catch the recognition of Ahsoka's name. Which makes sense, if he thinks about it. If Obi-Wan knew Anakin, and if Anakin was Ahsoka's teacher, then he'd probably know Ahsoka, too.

Whatever the tone of Obi-Wan's voice means, though, Ezra's distracted from it in light of the actual answer he got.

"Huh. And he gave you his kid to hide him? Sounds like you don't follow rules, either."

In hindsight, maybe he shouldn't cheek a Jedi Master.

[hadthehighground]

Gave? ... Well that's not really how it happened. But then, Ezra didn't need to know that, at least not now.

Instead the Jedi just chuckled. Cheeky younglings were not a thing he wasn't accustomed to.

"Sometimes, what's right doesn't always align with the rules."

[lothrat]

"Sounds like a rule I could live by."

Ezra's definitely been living outside of the rules for the past eight years of his life.

"So you adopted Luke and lived with him on Tattoine. And now you're here with him, too. That's pretty lucky, having your family. How old is he?"

Can anyone blame him for the conclusions he just drew?

[hadthehighground]

There's something to be said for one so confident, if not a bit presumptuous.

"I didn't raise him," Obi-Wan clarifies.

"I gave him to his relatives, and will watch over him from a distance. I will also train him."

As far as his age though he pauses at that. He wasn't exactly sure on Luke's age but he has a good idea.

"In his early twenties if I'm not mistaken."

[lothrat]

"Oh." Ezra feels a moment of sheepishness before he brushes it off. Really, it was an honest mistake. "But you're still his Master, or will be, so it's still lucky that you're here."

He wishes Kanan was here with him.

"Though I guess it's a little weird for you, if you remember him as a little kid, but now he's that old."