TEST DRIVE: FEBRUARY

[empevents]

— TEST DRIVE: FEBRUARY—

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 Wednesday, January 25 and Applications (Canon | OC) open Wednesday, January 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: Over two years ago, the ill fated Red String of Fate toy made its debut. At the time it seemed like a solid idea, but as it turned out… it didn’t exactly work as advertised. People found themselves tied together with entirely incompatible people instead of the proclaimed “emotionally compatible” and to top it off, personal, influential and private telepathic communication came out drenched in sap and overly lovey-dovey overtones. It was, without a doubt, one of the company’s least successful product launches ever. And you would think that they would have learned. However, they decided to try again, and… well. It wasn’t exactly all that well thought out the second time around. But third time’s the charm, right? Wrong. Even if this time, it’s in the form of rings that will draw two people together in a “matched pair” rather than a string.

1. There’s not really anything wrong with believing in true love, but trying to formulate a product that can detect someone’s ideal mate is innately flawed. Which only means that no matter how many times the product is adjusted, it’s just not going to work. Those who wind up with the product shoved onto their fingers (by a sales rep or through actually purchasing the product) will find themselves, once again, pulled by an unseen force to the nearest person they are “compatible with”. Same height, same hair color, whatever. It’s not exactly discriminatory. …Unfortunately as poor a match as they may be, the two cannot be separated until they share a meaningful embrace. So settle in, you might be together for a while.


2. In certain pairs, normal conversation is often unintentionally made amorous, simply from inflection in voice, or perhaps a heightened affectionate emotion. Or, on the flip side, anger and aggression is increased ten fold, but it’s kind of 50-50 as to what effect will take place, all dependant on which hand they wear the ring. Left, romance, Right? Anger.

• Prompt E: The inexplicably cavernous sewers of Verens are no place for a sane individual, but here you are anyway—dropped there by some horrible emotional shift that made an entire section of street vanish and then reappear above your heads as if nothing had happened. You and the poor fool you’ve been dumped down here with need to find your way to the access tunnels and climb out, or perhaps go the other way and swim out through the Lake Niras outflow. Or just smash your way out, if you’re feeling destructive. But your own emotions will work against you, as you struggle against the terrible scent, the darkness, and the entirely-justified questioning of why your life has taken this horrible turn.

1. There’s something odd about the way the water and sewage is sloshing around your ankles, almost as if it’s rising. But wait, that can’t possibly be a pair of eyes you see under the oil slick surface… could it? You’ve heard rumors about all sorts of beasties down here but surely your mind is just playing tricks on you.


2. Remember that part about emotions turning against you? Maybe you’ve been trapped down here way too long with someone who’s just not living up to your expectations, or you’ve got something else on your minds—but the smell around you certainly seems to be growing thicker, the scent growing harder and harder to ignore. The water and grossness at your feet also seems to be growing thicker almost as though it’s curing like cement. The cause? Negative emotions. But are they yours or the person you’re stuck here with? Perhaps you should work through those post haste…


3. Escape! You’ve made it out, but not without a great amount of effort on both you and your partner’s parts. Did you manage to find a way out through the access tunnels? Or perhaps you really did travel through all that much to the Lake Niras outflow… whatever it is, You’re certainly stinky, and possibly tired and cranky too.

• Prompt F: Some bandits went and stole another airship, only this time the Enforcers are prepared with a few of their own. Join in for some intense air battles. Just don't make the ship explode—they'd like it back in one piece please. Unless you're actually on the bandit team, in which case you probably want to blow up the Enforcer ship.

1. What's an airship fight without some on deck action? Either the bandits are swinging over to the ship you're on, or maybe you're swinging over there. Whatever the case, it's a full on brawl. Just watch out—those bandits are well-armed with some interesting firearms and weapons. If hit, one of the following emotions will start to take over your senses: unquestionable rage, debilitating fear and panic, and sleepiness. Needless to say, these effects will hinder one's ability to fight.


2. Can you fly or are you okay with climbing up the full height of your airship? Then grab a few sleep and apathy grenades and throw them at the bandits. Just be careful not to accidentally hit your allies. Otherwise they will be the ones feeling sleepy and want to give up. Also watch out for flying nets and bullets. Those bandits will definitely try to bring you down.


3. While the enforcers are trying to maintain the integrity of the stolen ship, the bandits feel no such need to hold back and are freely unloading their weapons onto the Enforcer's ships, forcing them to defend themselves. Other than decapacitating the bandit behind the weapon, it's also possible to overload it with intense emotions. Explode it with rage or clog it with happy, loving flowers.

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include bubblegum and/or toadstools.

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

Gilles de Rais | Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist

[raisdiant]

C. La Pucelle d'Orléans
Jeanne...

[No one ever said that Gilles wasn't predictable. His amulet transmission, then, is just what anyone who knows Gilles would expect.]

If they summoned me in all my glory, they could summon you too! Are you here? Answer me—!

[He's keeping this a voice-only transmission, so he can (sort of) plausibly deny making it later, if necessary.]

D. Anneau au portrait de Jeanne sans Peur
[Gilles didn't need to be prompted to put on the ring. He'd scoffed at its alleged power, thinking it no match for the strength of such a mighty nephilim. ANd honestly, he hadn't paid that much attention to the spiel. He had been interested in the concept of new jewelry, however, which is why he slips a delicate golden braid onto his finger. He has no intention of buying it, but he might steal it. He likes shiny things, and it will go with his earrings—

—or so he's thinking, when he feels a strange, unprecedented tug on his finger. Leading him toward something...]

Stop it at once. I have no intention of going anywhere with you!

[He's addressing the ring, which he of course has not paid for, even as he starts to (unwillingly) walk off with it.]

E. Musée des égouts de Paris
[In the dark depths of the sewer, something stirs. Is it one of those rumored monsters? Whatever it is, it's approaching steadily. There are faint splashes in the water, and the air in the passageway grows heavier, as with dread. Or some heavy, negative feeling that's weighing everything down.

Suddenly, there's a dazzling blue light, and the source of the noise is revealed: a man with lavender hair, dressed in purple. So—still possibly a monster.]

What's this? A lost little lamb, perhaps?

F. La bataille d'Azincourt
[He's a demon, so it's probably not that surprising that he ended up on the side of the bandits rather than the Enforcers. He doesn't even need an airship. He was just bored and looking for a fight. So in addition to the bandit crew, there's a flying man in a purple hat striking the Enforcer ship with a wave of pure ill-will.

(He may switch sides, if he feels like it.)]

D

[saintofstoic]

[For him it's choice. For Joan it's an insistent sales representative and only a slight concept of what goes into trying to push a purchase that ends with Joan and the very plain band on her finger.

The rings really do push people to move though. From behind her the sales rep yells something about unintended side effects but Joan's already being tugged in a direction. It's insistent on what it wants and Joan doesn't really put up the fight that others might. Maybe this is just what rings did, how should she know.

At least she doesn't quite run Gilles over. Instead it's more like she simply meets up with him, finally finding the insistent tug and her footsteps drawing to a close. She peers at her hand curiously.]

I'm not sure I understand.

[What exactly did you want her to find here, ring?]

/sobs with laughter

[raisdiant]

[It takes a great deal to make Gilles shut up, because he loves to talk, and to hear the sweet sound of his own voice. However, when he follows the tug of the ring and finds himself face to face with the person it's leading him to, he stops his grousing and closes his mouth, for once, his eyes widening.

The familiarity is undeniable, even though—there's a difference as well. He can't quite define the difference, but if it's the purpose of this ring to lead one to one's match, then there's only one person that this can be, clearly. That golden hair, those blue eyes!]

But I do.

[Or he thinks he understands, which to him is the same thing.]

Though the centuries may pass and kingdoms rise and angels fall, we were meant to be—side by side!

[It's hard to tell if the ring is making him speak this way or if it's just him.]

c:

[saintofstoic]

[... She slowly tilts her head at that.]

Side by side.

[The two of them? She studies her ring even more now, brow furrowed.]

That sounds a little dramatic.

[Like Rasputin's speeches. Oh she may have thoroughly bought his speeches at one point but they were always very dramatic.]

[raisdiant]

Or tête à tête!

[Now that the initial shock of seeing her has worn off, Gilles is—radiating. Although not light. It's more like shadows that he's giving off. They flicker outward from him, their quick, chaotic motion bearing no relation to anything in the surrounding environment. Although here and there, a few gleams of actual illumination shine through. It's an odd effect overall, accompanied by a crackle in the air, like electricity.

It's not clear exactly what he's feeling, but it's apparently something strong. The ground is starting to vibrate beneath his feet. He's having a little trouble processing this.]

But I've always been dramatic! You know that!

[Admittedly, he used to be less dramatic, but that was a long time ago.]

Jeanne...?

[saintofstoic]

[The effect is certainly eye catching. Joan's own feelings lay in a quiet smoke trailing her feet and seems more apathetic than anything. The veracity and agitation of this man's shadows... they represent feelings, don't they? Others had said as much and Joan wonders what sort of feelings he must have to create those crackling tendrils.]

Yes?

[It's an automatic answer born from being known her own life. All of the clones knew each other at school after all and it only strikes her as odd after the question passes her lips. Now there's light surprise in place of confusion, a soft sea of turbulence in the smoke around her feet.]

... Have you? I don't know you.

[raisdiant]

Don't—know me—?

[The shadows spike outward—no signs of light visible in them now—violent as swords, but of course, they're only shadows, so they don't hurt anything. That feeling of electricity in the air only grows stronger, though.

Gilles slowly sinks to his knees in front of her. Somehow, this ignorance and indifference is a more crushing blow than he'd expected. Seeing her eyes filled with holy light, that would have been expected, would have filled him with rage, but this—what is this feeling?

How humiliating to be seen like this, lofty nephilim that he is! And yet he can't seem to help himself. Again, it's difficult to say if the dramatics are added to by the ring, since Gilles can be plenty dramatic on his own.]

I'm your companion. Gilles de Rais.

[saintofstoic]

[Oh well now she certainly knows him. Or knows of him. A step or so back from the seeming violence of those shadows - whether they can hurt her or not is trivial at this point - and she tries to piece this together in her mind.]

You're not a clone.

[He's not. St. Kleio cloned many people - Rasputin, Napoleon, Adolf - but never Gilles. Not that she knew at least. And she was sure there was no one here from St. Kleio. Was he one of the renegades like the other Joan who had tried so hard to rescue her? No, this was a totally different world so she had no reason to think that either.]

You're dead.

[She knew very well how Gilles had ended up after all. The clones knew everything about their originals, at least as far as they could be taught. So he couldn't be the original Gilles either, could he.]

[raisdiant]

Of course I'm not!

[He doesn't exactly know what that means, but whatever it is, he's sure he's not it. He recovers from his emotional outburst, shadows receding slightly.]

And I never truly died, although that is the story in the history books, I believe.

[He's a bit vain about being in the history books. He's still on his knees, but he gives his braid a fluff.]

I committed so many crimes, soaked my hands in so much blood—someone was bound to take notice. And they did! Hell itself came to call at the cell of Gilles de Rais. That is how I became the demon you see before you. Centuries ago.

[Perhaps he should sound as if he feels bad about some of this, but—he really doesn't.]

E.

[thirdprogenitor]

[ How she ended up down here, she's still not too sure. Despite the dark and the smell that lingers in the sewers, she doesn't seem too bothered with her being down here; at least she's out of the sunlight. Her one-eyed bat, Arukanu, sits perched on her shoulder, curiously looking about, Krul making her way through the water until she picks up the sounds and crimson eyes glance up to the sudden bright light... and the man that comes with it. ]

Hardly. [ She responds dryly, seeming almost unimpressed. Although, he doesn't appear to be entirely human, so there's that. ] You're in my way.

[raisdiant]

Hm, no, I suppose not...

[At about the same time she gets a clear glimpse of him, Gilles notices that she's not human, either. He makes a thoughtful noise, tapping his chin.]

Perhaps more like a she-wolf that's lost its way.

[He's already committed to this animal metaphor theme, so he's sticking with it. However, if he took in the statement "you're in my way", he doesn't seem to be reacting to it, as he remains exactly where he is.]

And I wonder what such a wild creature is doing so far down in the dark.

[thirdprogenitor]

[ She-wolf. She's not entirely just what that means (they don't exactly exist in her world) and so she continues to stare at him, unimpressed, Arukanu blinking his one eye in curiosity at the strange man.

Although, when he happens to mention wild creature, she can't help but laugh a little under her breath, almost seeming amused. ]

Monster is typically what mine are called. Wild creature is a new one. How cute.

[raisdiant]

Oh, are you a monster too? Somehow, I'm not surprised. You look it.

[She does look like one, and that bat could be straight out of hell, although there's nothing about her that particularly reads demon to him. Not that there aren't different demons from different worlds here. Although clearly, he's the most authentic.]

I am exceptionally cute, yes. Thank you for noticing!

[Gilles twirls his hair.]

[thirdprogenitor]

[ The fact that he somewhat reminds her of a silver-haired vampire thorn in her side back in her world is... not the most flattering of things but for now, she'll tolerate him lest he give her a reason not to.

Nails painted pink brush aside a few strands of pink hair, crimson eyes shining to him with an almost quiet sort of amusement that holds... something else behind it. Though what? Well, that's a little hard to say. ]

Cute or not, you're still in my way.

[ Regardless of how small she is around practically everyone else, she doesn't show an ounce of care about it. ]

[raisdiant]

Am I?

[She reminds him of a denizen of Hell in some ways, but not one in particular at the moment.]

It could be, you're looking at it all wrong. Maybe...

[He trails off and pauses, as if thinking it over.]

...You're in my way!

[Not that he seems to be going anywhere at the moment, but the shadows coiling around him don't seem to have anything to do with the light he's giving off. So wherever he's going or not going, he's at least a little agitated, his wide smile aside.]

[thirdprogenitor]

[ Eyes of crimson slowly glance to the coiling shadows, wondering if this is simply a manifestation of emotions and how to really take such a thing in the first place. With having lost the bulk of her own humanity, it's not as though she's an expert on what emotions evoke what sort of manifestations from others.

So, she smiles a little right back to him, Arukanu flapping his wings some, though he still remains perched on her bare shoulder. ]

Am I? I suppose you do look like you belong down here.

[ Now, Krul. Be nice... ]

[raisdiant]

[Gilles continues to smile, and whatever emotions he has, he doesn't reveal them. He also abandoned humanity centuries ago, so it's unlikely his emotions now are the same as a human's. Which may be why they take the form of shadows within the shadows.]

Oh, but it would be the stubborn cave dwellers that present an obstacle to those of us on an errand.

[He doesn't have any real reason to antagonize her, as he could easily go around, her, but... she's interested him, a little.]

You're the one who seems suited to the dark.

[And he turns up his own bluish light, which in no way affects the emotional shadows looping around him.]

[thirdprogenitor]

[ Something they have in common then: having lost the bulk of their humanity. How funny for creatures such as themselves to end up in a place like this (so dependent on emotions) of all places then.

The bluish light causes her to blink, a touch curious before her attention turned back onto him. Arukanu? Not interested at all and glancing off to some other area around them.

At his observation, she smiles a little, seeming so sweet and harmless. ]

Vampires usually are. [ Though the fact that she wears an enchantment to allow her the ability to move through sunlight helps. ] But you don't strike me as a vampire. At least you're not livestock.

[raisdiant]

[To Gilles, it doesn't matter how sweet and harmless someone looks—some of the sweetest looking demons in Hell are the most dangerous. It's his thought that she might be dangerous that had interested him in the first place.

Fortunately for him, he still has a lot of emotions, even if they are warped. Or maybe that's not so fortunate, but it does contribute to his power, here.]

A vampire? That explains it, then.

[He doesn't specify what it explains, but he seems satisfied by the information.]

Of course not! I'm a nephilim. Nothing could be further from livestock.

C

[dragonsinmy]

[There is a feeling that can best be described UTTER DISGUST at hearing this message. The voice doesn't sound the same, but the words... OH MAN THE WORDS...]

Not again...

[Someone here has been the target of such words before because she JUST SO HAPPENS to look like the Jeanne from her world...]

C

[raisdiant]

[One Gilles de Rais is much like another. Well, in some ways, at least.

The utter disgust is responded to with mild affront. Gilles doesn't recognize the voice either. Jeanne, his Jeanne, would either greet him fondly or reply with some kind of hateful heavenly nonsense, depending. Gilles isn't particularly interested in talking to people who aren't Jeanne. However, he doesn't understand the response, and that interests him.]

Again? Explain. Has Jeanne d'Arc been here?

[dragonsinmy]

Maybe someone by that name has, but that is not what I had meant. I more meant that I really did not need to hear more crazed raving about the Maid of Orleans again. Once was enough.

[Now we just need Fate Jeanne to show up.]

[raisdiant]

Crazy? Raving? I made a simple query. I'm not known for raving crazily.

[This isn't exactly true, but it would be unfair to expect truth from a demon.]

It's only natural that I, her stalwart companion, should want to be reunited with her! Maybe I don't care to hear you speak of her with such disrespect.

[Clearly, all the Jeannes are needed.]

[dragonsinmy]

It is more you who I have problems with, Gilles de Rais. I very much doubt you can be far different.

[raisdiant]

Oh, does my reputation precede me?

[He could have said something about there being other companions of Jeanne d'Arc, but he's just pleased to be considered the only one worth mentioning.]

I am indeed the famous Gilles de Rais. If I've done you some harm, my dear, I would like to take this opportunity to formally not apologize.