empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: MAY

Entry tags:

!mod,
*test drive

TEST DRIVE: MAY

— TEST DRIVE: MAY —

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 Monday, April 24th and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on May 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: Elios’ land was a great place to hold this year’s festival, but it’s always best to leave a place as you found it. This is especially important for the surface, as there’s a lot of work put into trying to heal the different domains that span the land down below Verens. Anyone who volunteers for cleaning duty is getting paid, and vouchers to several of the cafes up in Verens as a reward! For anyone not interested in cleaning but interested in a new closing ceremony of sorts, they can instead attend a fireside dance that will be held for the next few nights at the site of the festival once things are tidied up.

Cleanup Ordeals. Not too much mess was left around luckily as most people who helped organize the Festival understand the importance of cleaning up the mess you make, but it looks like the tent areas have a lot left to clean up and take down. Removing flowers and string lights, packing up fabric and blankets, and generally picking up trash here and there left by festival goers is the main job. It’s a big job, and the festival organizers encourage anyone with special skills or dunamis practice to use whatever they have at their disposal to speed things along.
Fireside Dance.It’s a small, simple gathering done once the sun has gone down and the sky is dark. The fire is stoked hot, surrounded by worn black stones painted with Elios’ symbol in red and orange tones of paint. The dance is a quick one, requiring two circles, an inner and outer one. Partners on the outer circle travel the inner circle and wind up dancing with each person in turn. Luckily it’s pretty quick to learn and everyone spirits run warm to match flushed cheeks. At the end, each participant is asked to throw a small twig into the fire and express a moment of love or hate, in the pursuit of balance.

• Prompt E: During the festival this month there was a curious prize at one of the game booths. Some of the Elios plushes from the bobbing for ducks booth seem to not have been plushies at all! After a few days of having one in your possession, The plush will engulf in non spreading flames and burn completely out, revealing one small egg, white or black. Depending on your mood the past few days, the egg will either hatch a leathery or feathery winged creature. Hopefully you’ve been in a good mood! Luckily, the creatures are only around long enough to perform their duty before winking out of existence again.

Bad Egg. Negative emotions have lead to a sour and dark winged creature who is up to mischief. They will not listen to their “owner” and instead are quite often out to make things difficult for them. 3 misfortunes or specific instances of bad luck will happen over three days to their possessor while they run amok. A claw shaped trinket is left behind as a reminder to try and enjoy life and not get caught up in bad moods.
Good Egg. Positive emotions will lead to a happy, bright and angelic feather winged creature. They’re mischievous as well, but often in gentler ways, and sometimes try to play cupid for their owner. These playful creatures will grant 3 small wishes over three days for their owner, such as desires for better weather, tastier food or small trinkets. No wishing for a million sylvs here! Once it poofs out of existence in a puff of glitter it leaves behind a small pearl as a reminder to value the things they have and experiences they get that make live worth living.

• Prompt F: A small ring of Circus performers from Thesthai have traveled up to Verens and set up a tent out near lake Niras. It’s a small Circus performance, a prelude to something that might be bigger in the future. All performances are done by the Circus members themselves, from acrobatics and magic tricks, to displays of fearless daredevilry with the help of Verens steam-punk inspired vehicles. Overall it seems to be garnering a lot of attention, causing a several day repeat showing of the activities. Performancy plays a central role in some setups, and they seem to be the most popular...

Animal Experience.Enjoy the animal menagerie, all sorts of creatures are here. They’re all well taken care of, and seem to enjoy the food and pettings they’re getting from the attendees. Happy animals make for happy animal loving customers afterall! There IS one catch.. mischevious circus performers will cast performancy on those who aren't paying enough attention to their surroundings, and circus goers in the menagerie area may find something new if they look in a mirror. Animal ears and tails and a host of other features! Don’t worry. It’s temporary and all in good fun.
Carnival Games. Carnival type games have been set up outside the main tent, including a lot of familiar games that may have been seen during the Zephyras Flower Festival. Ring Toss, water laser races, darts, and the good old fashioned strong arm competition are all part of the setup. The prizes here range from simple small toys to bigger 4 foot tall plushies. Careful though, some of these setups might actually be rigged. The house has to have an advantage, in the end. Where would they make their money?

• 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He's in trouble alright. He doesn't know any doll repairmen here, so it'd be troublesome if the creature got to his wires and he'd be unable to use his arm correctly.

Luckily that does seem to scare the squirrels off (for now) and he picks at the small tear in his fake skin as he looks at the animal that helped him. ]

You chase them off to take their place?

[ he huffs lightly, shaking his head. ]

What do I look like, some kind of scavenger?

[ yes, this is a talking fox. probably not a common occurrence, but he won't assume anything when it comes to people's prior experiences. ]

No. They're just annoying. Here, let me get a better look at that wound...

[ it's not bleeding, and he's pretty sure he won't be able to lick it better. ]

... what are you?

Yup.

[ Look, scavengers look any way poss- wait. ]

You talk! Are you a doll too?! Or are you some weird toy?!

[ He's never seen a talking fox before, the toys that move around in his world typically don't talk, and tend to just try to kill you. Not hold a conversation. ]

I'm a doll. You haven't seen this really old guy who's kind of a hothead around have you? I think I need some repairs here.

A doll? A toy? No, I'm a kitsune. I'm way cooler than those things!

[ but he said 'too'. he's not aware of any talking dolls or toys, but he also gets the sense he's not talking to a human. ]

Old guy... no, just me and you and the squirrels. I'm sorry. But maybe if you had something of his, I could get an idea of where he might be.

[ or at least, find someone who recognizes it. ]

What's a kitsune! Tell me all about yourself! [ Nosy, yes, but his life has been filled with death up to the time he escaped his creator. These days he's mainly destroyed Toys and... some other things. Like parts of his own face, but that's what the bandanna and face paint is for; hide it. ]

Aww, Varii's the best at repairing me though, that sucks. Ummm, I have a screwdriver, does that work?

Oh. Uh... well, I'm a shapeshifter. Here, maybe this will be better than an explanation...

[ with a quick back-flip, he changes back into his humanoid form. with a flourish of his hands and a wave of his tail, he laughs gleefully. he quickly adjusts his scarf to make sure the stone inside is secure, before bowing. ]

I hope that was good. Anyway. A screwdriver? Show me.

You're a- [ His eyes widen, and his mouth opens in an amazed grin. That was so cool! He didn't know of anyone who could do that. He could probably be modified to look different ways but largely he would keep looking the same forever, until his body broke down. ]

That's amazing! And uh yeah, gimme a sec- here! [ He pulls it out, and hopefully this guy will get something from it. ]

[ it's nice to surprise people, to see the the awe on their faces when he does his transformation the first time in front of them! especially this one, whose smile is so pure and genuine. it makes a fox's heart warm, so much so that tiny flowers bloom start to bloom around his feet. ]

Okay. Lemme see...

[ he stares at it for a while. actually, he's never really seen a tool like this before. it's like a really crappy knife? ]

... uh... what does this do?

I didn't know- hey, did you do that too?

[ He bends down to indicate the flowers and poke at them. Sure enough, they're real. His electronic brain can register that there's a scent coming off them even if to him it's code rather than actual smell. ]

Oh! It's for opening me up so he can do maintenance on me.

... oh! Yeah. I did. Sometimes, when you feel really happy or sad, things happen. They're pretty, aren't they?

[ as he kneels to pick one of the flowers, they starts to blow away as a warm breeze flows past the both of them. ]

Open you up...? Does it hurt? I don't know if I'd be that helpful, but...

[ he's no healer or doctor! he's just a fox! ]

It happens for everyone? Or just you? You said "you" so it means it happens to more than just you, right?

[ He's so interested, he loves learning new things, especially after having been through a lot of negative things in his 18 years since creation, and in a new world to boot. ]

Nah, I don't feel pain, so it doesn't hurt at all.

Everyone here has the power to make their emotions do things. [ his ears idly twitch, leaning to one side. ] For better or for worse! You have to be reeeeally careful about keeping them under control.

[ he hands the screwdriver back to Sattsu, as he sticks his tongue out. ]

I could try to lick it! Uh... think that'd work?

That's so cool! [ It flares a flurry of excitement inside him, when he thinks about how he might get to be like a real person for the first time ever, and flowers start to grow, which makes him even more excited. ] Oh my god! [ If he had tear ducts he would've cried.

Then he's confused for a moment, and he looks up at him. ]

If that's how you usually do it I guess? I don't know, I can't taste things.

[ as pleased as he is to see Sattsu enjoy the sudden burst of happiness-created flowers, he's still confused to how he could deal with the wound. if it doesn't hurt him, maybe he doesn't have to do anything about it, but he's still worried... ]

Well, I could at least give you something to wrap that up with... here, how about this?

[ reaching into his scarf, he pulls out a pink cloth, decorated in sparkles and sequins. ]

It's really bright, but...

[ Well, right now it'll probably be okay, but if left alone for too long he might get stuck somewhere and tear his whole outer layer off. ]

Oh, that's cute. I've never worn pink before. Let's do it!

[ He sits down properly on the ground and touches the flowers he made appear. They're really there. ]

I can't believe I'm part of something normal.

... something normal? I mean, this is still pretty unusual to me, but...

[ his voice trails off as he wraps the area with the bandanna, making sure it's snug so that nothing will possibly leak out? he doesn't know doll biology. doll-ology. whatever that is. ]

Hm... it suits you! [ he grins. ]

But it's normal to this place, right? I've never had that before! I can do the same thing as someone who's a real person!

[ His tone is happy, but the words might seem bizarre to some.

He inspects his arm and the bandanna, then grins back up at him. ]

Thanks!

You're not a real person? [ he gently pokes the doll with a tilt of his head. ] You feel real. You talk like a person.

[ he presses his nose against Sattsu's cheek. personal space can suck it. ]

What makes you fake?

Sort of not.

[ Due to being wires and metal he should be pretty cold, but since he's technically a robot his body heat is pretty high. Higher than a human's, that's for sure.

The flowers wither a little bit, but he's still smiling. ]

I'm a doll, I said so already. I wasn't created to be a person.

Says who! You can be whatever you want to be. Did a human tell you otherwise?

[ with a gentle frown, he sees the flowers wilt. his tail immediately starts to wag, determined to keep him in a better mood. ]

Either way... you can make your own decisions! And if you can't... I could help. Maybe.

[ though he seems a little uncertain about that. ]

Of course. My creator did too, but lots of humans liked to point it out.

[ He smiles up at him, though the flowers aren't really getting any better. ]

I could make decisions after my core broke a little bit. I'm a bit faulty.

Faulty...?

[ he hums in thought. ]

... that's weird. You seem like any other human I've met. I don't know if that makes you feel better, but...

[ and then he gives the doll a hug. ]

You even feel human to me.

Nah, I'm used to it, it doesn't bother me.

[ Lies, but the smile still being on his face makes it seem like he's not lying (which would also be sad, but).

He was not ready for the hug; it's not a regular thing to him, and his eye widens a little bit, his broken eye remaining closed. ]

You're funny. He made me to look kinda human so I can sneak up on people I gotta kill.

... wait. Kill?

[ but he keeps hugging him, keeping his eyes now locked onto his open one. ]

Any people? Or just bad ones?

[ suddenly he's a little worried. please no staberino. ]

I don't really know, they were all strangers to me.

[ Huh, most people who aren't part of Cards would have reacted worse than that. ]

I was on strings, so I just did what people wanted me to, and my creator got a bunch of money for it.

[ It's an awkward shrug since it's in the middle of a hug. ]

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