empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: MARCH

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*test drive

TEST DRIVE: MARCH

— TEST DRIVE: MARCH —

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, February 22 and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on March 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 rainbow colored paint darts are back and "improved." The colors match those of the Arehtei, so purple is anger and calm, orange love and hate, pink joy and grief, etc. There are two different versions of these guns:

Emotion Seeking. The darts will actually seek out those who match the negative emotion of its type. So if there is a pink dart, it will seek out someone who is currently feeling grief. When hit, the intention is to make them feel the more positive emotion and thus hopefully improve their mood. Keyword: intention. Sometimes it can just make it worse…
Random Target. The darts are completely random and will hit whoever the gun is aimed at. Again, the intent is to help spread positive feelings, even make a happy person feel even happier! But like the other type, it can make it worse instead.

So either grab a gun or be an unwitting target. Note: it's possible to be hit with more than one dart, so have fun with that.

• Prompt E: There is a new type flower that has started to bloom around the island. No one knows its origins, but its scent is so wonderful and colors so vibrant that they are already spreading all over town. However, researchers have discovered something alarming: the flowers are actually absorbing the emotions of those around them and are related to the plant that had produced the apathy toxin from a few years ago. While locals can help collect those already in town, help is needed in destroying and containing the plants out on the island.

Kill it with fire. Best way is with fire, so grab a torch and help produce some controlled fires. Of course, if it goes out of control, you'll want to put it out fast. There is one side effect to this method. The ash and smoke released from the flowers contain all the emotions they have absorbed, so there may be some unwanted effects happening around the environment. Maybe even influencing your emotions.
Deadly aroma. The sweet scent actually carries a type of toxin that relaxes the mind and muscles, making the victim feel so calm that all they want to do is just sit there and continue to be with the flower. Sounds innocuous until you realize that it's just a way for the flower to drain out the emotions to a complete apathetic state. When it's just one or two, it's not as harmful, but when you're in a field of them… Just be careful and wear the mask. Otherwise, you may find yourself lying in the flowers forever. If you see someone in this state, get them out quickly!

• Prompt F: Interior designers have been hard at work designing new things to make homes, buildings, and even the area outside of those two look vibrant and ecstatic, and their newest creation is flooring that responds to your feelings! The color and design will change to match how you’re really feeling at the time… or most of the time it will. They’re being shown outside in wide-spaces, to get as many people to test them and enjoy them as possible, and the color and design is based on what the person standing on them associates with that feeling.

Mismatching. While most of them will, in fact, work as advertised, there’s a good portion of them that will actually show a random color and design—for example, if you’re happy to see someone, maybe it’d normally be yellow with a lot of hearts! ...But in this case, maybe it’ll be red with a lot of storm clouds, as if you’re angry and upset to see them.
Holesome fun. Younger locals have made a game out of these floors as well : one person holds up a card with a certain color and design (you decide), and the person on the tile has to match it exactly, using whatever emotions they can to try and manage it. For example, blue with flowers. Of course, it’s a little harder if you happen to be standing on one of the mismatched ones… Adding to the pressure is a time limit: if you can’t manage it in five minutes, the tile the person’s standing on will actually break and they’ll fall through the ground, thanks to certain nanobots’ rising popularity. Don't worry, you'll be helped out. Or stuck there to be laughed at.

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include geese and/or potatoes.

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!

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[Out loud, Noctis snorts - wouldn't that be nice?]

Nah. Nothing's ever that convenient with this stuff. It's gotta be in person.

[It seems even the royal family can't catch a break.

...That was unfair to think, no matter how true. Crowe shakes her head.]

Then any time that seems right to you will do fine. [She resists the "sir", but only just. It probably makes itself known in other ways.]

[He thinks about it and decides he'd honestly rather get it over with sooner than later, especially since he's probably gonna be leaving tomorrow for a day or two to go hunt some bothersome creatures off the task board for money. Besides, if it goes the way it did with Nyx, it'll leave Noctis wanting a nap, and he's got nothing much planned this afternoon, so it's perfect.]

I was about to go grab some lunch. Wanna come? We can deal with it after.

[That is indeed a casual invitation to lunch with royalty. This is weird, and it feels so, enough to leave her uncertain in her own skin in ways she has not been for years. Thoughts can't convey the way the shortest hairs around her face start to stand on end a bit, or the drumming of her fingers upon the tabletop while she works on thinking of it as a navigable social possibility.

...It's a lot easier to take as an order.]

That should work. [The lunch, or the pretending at orders, or both.] What's my destination?

[He tells her the name and gives her a mental image of roughly where the place is - it's a nice cafe that serves a variety of things, both native recipes and ones brought from other worlds. The most important thing about it, though, is it has menu options that are light on the veggies and also this fruity tea drink that Noct has taken a liking to - which is why it's where he was headed for lunch. Hopefully Crowe will find something to her tastes there, too.

In any case, whenever she arrives, she'll find him loitering outside, leaning against a lamp post and people watching while he waits for her. The dog Umbra sits at his feet, also people watching, and it is the dog that notices Crowe first, standing up and barking once to get Noct's attention. He looks over and then stands up straight, pulling a hand out of his pockets to wave once, wandering over to meet her closer to the door. Umbra pads along beside, wagging his tail, seemingly happy to see Crowe. (And clearly another reason, besides Nyx's word, to trust Crowe; Umbra's approval generally means a person is all right.) ]

Hey.

[The ~~city~~ town is still unfamiliar enough that it takes some time to find a street similar to the one Noctis pictured. Crowe tried very hard not to dwell on how someone else was putting thoughts into her head like that, concentrating on the trip instead, on memorizing the way. She moves slowly enough.

A dog's bark gets more of her attention than the young man loitering; only when he waves does she connect brief glances at a younger Prince Noctis with the person there in front of the cafe. Crowe stops and blinks a bit, briefly smelling ash and smoke; it fades in the face of a happy pup. She'd bend to let the dog say hello were she not facing the crown prince.

Speaking of. She remembers herself a bit and straightens up, almost unflinching.]

Afternoon. [...It's the best meshing of formal (as expected) and informal (as Prince Noctis seems to prefer) she can manage on short notice.]

[Noctis has been here just long enough that he's started to forget that that is actually kind of creepy and so thinks nothing of it. Umbra, meanwhile, looks up at her, tongue lolling out as he continues to wag his tail. His ears are perked as he listens to them, and he sniffs at her a bit. It occurs to Noctis he probably ought to introduce Crowe to the dog, as he's unsure if they've met or not in the brief time she's been here.]

Oh - uh, this is Umbra. [Hearing his name, the dog wags his tail a little faster] He's ... technically Luna's, I guess, but he comes and goes as he likes.

[There's an awkward moment or two - or well, moments that have the potential to be awkward anyway - before he glances towards the cafe door.]

-- shall we?

[And unless she's really quick, Noct'll open the door for her. ... yeah he really does not stand on ceremony / rank.]

Umbra. [Carefully, with a mix of stiff and hesitant, Crowe hunches down into a crouch, offering a hand for a sniff or shake or whatever other trick this dog might know.] Pleasure's mine.

[If permitted by said pup she will pet and scratch between his ears and stand again. There is a faint uncomfortable shift.]

When you say he's "Luna's", you mean the princess, don't you?

[He's already got the door open and- well, if the surprise weren't written all over her face, the gentle fizzing in the air ought to do nicely.]

Uh, thanks.

[Umbra shakes her hand like a good pup, and he definitely enjoys the being scratched. If she kept petting him, he'd probably lick her face, but no, she stands so he just trails after and sits outside. He's well-behaved and smart enough to know which places he can and can't enter, but the weather is mild and there are outdoor seats, so it's not like they're really abandoning him - and not like he can't find ways to entertain himself if need be.]

Ah, um... yeah. Lunafreya. [Even if he no longer has trouble pronouncing her name like he did as a child, it still feels weird to say her full name; she'll always be Luna to him before he ever thinks of her as princess or oracle. Nonetheless, there's a hidden smile in his voice as he says her name.

But Noct just kinda shrugs to the thanks - a 'no problem' sort of gesture - as he follows her, eyes slipping up to the menu written above the counter upon which an array of baked goods are displayed with names and prices written on neat pastel labels. It's not a super fancy place, but it's not a hole in the wall either. Pleasant and homey.]

[Problem number one: she is never going to get used to casual waves and gentle smiles from Noctis and she's certain of that and no one can change her mind, all right? Definitely not inside a cafe with "cute" written subtly into frostings and frills.

Problem number two: she hasn't a coin to her name.

The Glaive life was not glamorous but it got you fed and sheltered and compensated for your troubles, and didn't leave a lot of money lying around to "play" with. Even if she'd had it...probably by now someone else does, and either way it isn't here with her to help pay for pastries.

And there is no way she's having the crown prince pay for her lunch.

In an effort not to shift her weight from one foot to another and back too often, Crowe studies the menu offerings thoroughly and for longer than they warrant. Can't even buy herself a damn drink, can she? She'd be laughed out of their usual watering hole back 'home' for ordering some water...

Maybe she can go out and sit in the sun with the dog.]

[After skimming the menu and deciding what he wants, Noctis glances over at Crowe; she looks like she's still deep in thought over the menu, and it occurs to him she's not been here long, and a lot of the food here is just enough different from back home to maybe throw someone off. Therefore, misinterpreting her overlong stare, he asks:]

What sorts of food do you like?

Anything that keeps me going.

[It is an automatic answer and she winces a little before she can stop herself. In truth she has been observing the menu without thinking about its contents beyond how she can't afford them. This time her toe scuffs the floor.]

These choices are all right enough. The ones I recognize. [Some have decorations that she can only perceive as fruit but it isn't any fruit she's ever seen, or smelled.] What sorts of food do you like?

[The inflection is the key, there; she looks at him only long enough to look away and it sounds more like she's trying to get the right answer to a riddle than find out his preferences.]

[Well, her initial answer makes sense, especially considering what he knows about the Kingsglaive and the histories of its members (which really isn't more than general knowledge and what Nyx has told him). In any case, he glances up at the menu again.]

Um... I like fruit and a lot of meats, especially fish. [Sweet thing and savory things; anything bitter or tasting like carrots can go away tyvm.] Of the stuff here, beef's pretty similar to garula, and chicken is basically chickatrice, so those are usually good choices.

[But he recognizes uncertainty and indecision when he sees it, if only because he's felt it a lot himself in the past, so he decides he might as well just order for both of them. So he goes up to the counter and gets two different sandwiches (and doesn't even ask for them with no lettuce or tomatoes if only because he has no idea how Crowe feels about veggies) and the fruity iced tea for each of them, as well as a bowl and some water in it for Umbra.

Thusly encumbered with a tray, he steers them to one of the tables for two outside, where he sets one half of each sandwich on each plate and puts the second glass of tea before her wile he busies himself with giving Umbra the water.]

Try some of each. You can buy me lunch another time, if you want. [Once she's settled and stuff.

... honestly did she really think he was going to invite her to lunch and then sit and eat in front of her? She's just gonna have to get used to how casual he is - especially here where as far as he is concerned, rank doesn't really matter.]

[It happens almost before she realizes it is going to, Noctis brushing past and ordering food and paying for it. Her half-spoken offer to carry some of it at least goes unfinished. Though both indebted and affronted, Crowe does appreciate his efficiency. Suppose that's what a royal upbringing does.

Silent, eyes wide but mouth closed, she follows him outside. Since she has so much time on her hands she files away what beef and chicken are, for later. For...when she eventually buys him lunch in return?

Crowe sits gingerly and heavily at once in the chair across from him, turning a bit against the sun.]

You didn't have to do that. [In doing it he made it absolutely plain he intends no formality at all. She was warned about this a little bit already. But it...it is endearing, for all it goes against the things one is taught in the Lucian military of not quite citizens. Something that wants to be a smile sits awkwardly on her lips.] Thanks.

[Noctis shrugs at being told he didn't have to as he lifts up the top pieces of bread on his halves and picks the lettuce and the tomatoes off, setting them aside in a neat pile. But he pauses to look up at her again at the thanks and manages a small smile in return.]

Mm.

[He means something like 'no problem' and 'you're welcome' but sometimes he speaks in a language of hums and looks and gestures more than words - perhaps because he has never been particularly eloquent with them.

And then the bread goes back on the now veggie-free sandwiches.]

-- do you like tomatoes?

[Because if she does, she can have his.]

They're all right. [There are foods she might turn down but most things are inoffensive enough. She's been watching him dismantle his sandwich halves with more open amusement.] Looks like you don't, though. Princes don't have to eat their vegetables?

[...Which is sort of something she has only heard about. The order to eat your vegetables. Sometimes she says it to Libertus while tapping him with her spoon until he complies.

That memory is both warm and sad, and though she keeps smiling she takes a bite of one sandwich to cover anything else. "Beef" doesn't taste exactly like home but it has a toughness and smoke to it that she appreciates. This is food to keep you going.]

Hey, this is pretty good.

Nope.

[... well that's sort of a lie. He still had to eat vegetables sometimes growing up, but raw tomatoes are slimy and gross, and lettuce doesn't taste good, and he's an adult, etc. etc.]

If you don't want them, Umbra might...

[Dogs probably aren't supposed to eat tomatoes and lettuce, but Umbra isn't an ordinary dog and has definitely eaten Noct's veggies in the past.

In any case, he starts on one of the halves of his vegetable-free sandwich, and he nods, chewing on his bite, to her pleased remark. He swallows and takes a sip of his drink before he replies - even if he's casual as hell, he isn't totally without manners.]

There's lots of good food here. Ignis works at one of the restaurants here, so he could give you better recommendations.

[Wait wait wait. He's trying to pass off his unwanted vegetables to her? Crowe can't quite help the smile, though it sticks to half of her face, and...and what the hell? She spears the tomato slices from his plate and adds them to her sandwich. Pretty sure dogs shouldn't have vegetables either.]

We get a lot of rumors about what you're like, you know. [She pokes the top of the bread back into place and keeps her gaze lowered.] None of them quite match...uh, this.

[This is different to what she expected, having never had the privilege of driving Noctis around the city as an escort or anything, but not worse, at least. He's sort of comfortable to sit with.]

Ignis? [With the sound of familiarity, and she manages not to say "your servant?" because she is unrestrained but not stupid.] He works in a restaurant?

[Yes, good job Crowe, repeat exactly what he said to you, only with more skepticism and less intelligence.]

[Hell yeah he's passing his unwanted vegetables to her!

In any case, the remark about rumors is... well not surprising nor is the implication that he's not what she expected. She's not the first person to tell him that and probably won't be the last. But hearing it directly from her is both embarrassing and amusing in turns.]

I hope that's not a bad thing.

[But she doesn't seem too off-put at least, so...

In any case, it's probably a good thing she doesn't call Ignis 'your servant' because really the correct term here would be 'your mother.' Noct swallows the bite he's chewing on, nodding.]

Yeah. A place called From the Hearth. [sips some tea] He likes to stay busy. Besides, gotta earn money somehow - might as well be something he enjoys.

"From the Hearth"? Can't say I hate the name. [It carries memories both precious and painful. She lifts her glass in a slight tilt his way before her own sip.] It can't really be bad. Just didn't know what to expect from a prince.

[Crowe leans a bit forward in her chair. Keeping up the at-attention stiff posture is wearing her out today and this kid really isn't demanding it, is he? Hell, she probably should've knelt or something when she first got here, and not to pet the dog.]

We've got way worse stuff to say about Niffs than about you. Takes up most of our free time. [There's some scorn in there, harsh and static-crackly. "Free time."]

[That gets an amused snort out of him.]

I guess there are worse ways to spend it.

[ The way she says that, though... well, he guesses being a soldier you wouldn't get a lot of real down time. At this point he sort of runs into the wall of not really being sure what to say next. Small talk has never been his forte, and although he's curious about Crowe beyond the few stories Nyx has told, he's none too sure what to ask her. So he just falls quiet after that. ]

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TEST DRIVE: MARCH

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