TEST DRIVE: MAY

[empevents]

— 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.

1. 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.
   
2. 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.

1. 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.
   
2. 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...

1. 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.
   
2. 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!

Comments

Sattsu | Replica

[clowndoll]

B - squirrels
[ Look - he might not have much of a clue about what's going on here, but squirrels look pretty cute and they're not even the size of a house, like that bunny Manji and Karu met. Seems pretty harmless, right? One's even friendly enough to climb in his hair.

When it starts to gnaw on him it's less friendly though. He's a doll, he's made of metal underneath his fake skin, and it really shouldn't get to that.

He starts shaking his arm, but the squirrel has a steady grip. ]

Hey, hey, let go, Varii's not here to repair me!

D1
[ Cleaning is easy, he can do that in his sleep (he doesn't sleep though, so it's not like that's going to happen). He likes having fun though, and as a pierrot he's got a job to entertain.

So since he's picking flowers down anyway he takes the chance to braid them into a flower crown and puts it on your head, laughing about it as he himself is wearing at least three of them. ]

You look funny! Want some vouchers?

[ He can't eat, so he has no use for them. ]

E2
[ He's been in a pretty great mood in a while, so his egg hatched something really nice. He doesn't know what to wish for though, as he's never lived for himself before. He was created to serve a purpose, and here? He's been having a good time but he's kind of lost.

So, with the feathery creature on his head, he hops up to you, grinning. Not that he's capable of not smiling, his lips are forever turned upward no matter what he's feeling. ]

Hey, if I don't make any wishes, you think this lil' guy will stay around?

Wildcard>
[ ooc: Anything goes! Contact me on plurk @fylgja if you want. ]

B

[foxtastic]

[ ah... he looks like he's in trouble! it's those darn squirrels, causing mischief again, and Kaden's really not looking forward to dealing with them. they are, after all, very annoying.

still, Sattsu needs help.

with a quick flip and a bright flash, he's rushing over in his shapeshifted form, barking at the squirrels in a combination of yips and yaps, hoping to get them off of him. maybe? ]

[clowndoll]

[ 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?

[foxtastic]

[ 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?

[clowndoll]

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.

[foxtastic]

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. ]

[clowndoll]

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?

[foxtastic]

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.

[clowndoll]

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. ]

D1

[dhamp]

[ Kain, who has been helping out since the sun started going down, hears the sound of his eyelashes brush against his blindfold even though blinking is meaningless. He can tell he's got something on his head (flowers, he's sure) but since he can't see it he can't actually tell if he look funny. He can smell the scent of flowers coming off of this boy who is definitely not human, though.

He smiles, and gasps dramatically. ]

Do I? That's great! I love looking funny while I'm off the clock!

[ But the boy also asked a question. ]

What would the vouchers be for?

[clowndoll]

Some food place, I've no idea!

[ A faint smell of oil can probably be felt from Sattsu as he grins, blinking with his one still functional eye. Why is this guy wearing fabric over his eyes? ]

You playing pin the tail on the ass?

[dhamp]

Well food can be fun! I enjoy making it more than I enjoy eating it though.

[ But if you have to drink the blood supplements to it every time, then naturally you might feel a little put off.

The sudden question makes him confused but he grins cheerfully, so his fangs are slightly visible. ]

I'm a master at it~ [ He giggles. ] At least according to my son when he was little, but now he says I'm terrible at it, so I'm probably not.

[clowndoll]

It is? I've never had it! Zenli smokes even though he can't even taste it, we don't have lungs!

[ So obviously he doesn't know what blood tastes like. He knows what it looks like and the sound a severed head makes when it hits the ground though. ]

You know how to make tails too? I've always wanted to try having one! [ Hmm, he doesn't understand it. He's never met a functioning family after all. ] Why's he say that? Is that a family thing?

[dhamp]

Oh dear, you don't? How come?

[ (What does blood look like?) It's true that the boy doesn't smell human. Or like flesh and blood overall. But he's never met anyone who does not need to eat at all. ]

Maybe you could braid one and attach to the back of your pants. Kids like doing that when they play, I think. I also think that it's because he's a teenager now. But I don't know for sure; it's a very long time since I was a teenager and even longer since I was a child.

[clowndoll]

We're dolls, so our maker didn't give us any.

[ He can describe it some time, but it's easier when you're actually looking at it. ]

I don't know how to braid! Teenagers don't like their parents? Does that mean i I were a human now, since it's 18 years since he made me, I'd be hating parents too if I had any?

[dhamp]

[ A doll? Well, Kain is an old dhampir who’s seen a lot, so he’s not surprised. ]

My, they didn’t? Then you don’t need to breathe at all, do you?

[ And they don’t need to drink blood, or eat other things to survive? How convenient and sad. ]

If you want to learn you can practice on my hair. Al used to do it when he was little. I don’t think teenagers generally hate their parents, they just think we’re embarrassing. But papa just loves his precious Al so much~ [ Wait, he asked another question #GASP! ] If you’re not the type of person who would hate your parent you wouldn’t hate your parent. Do you hate the person who made you?

[clowndoll]

[ Sattsu mostly saw death and murder the first years of his creation, but then he saw more fun things, so he's still surprised by a lot of things. ]

Nope! I don't know what anything smells like either! You could be smelling horrible for all I know.

[ It is. It's mostly sad though, when you hang around humans the way Sattsu has. ]

Yay! I wanna do that!

Yeah, I hate him. He made me kill so many people for stupid reasons and made all the other dolls sad too. And his Toys kills all the people I don't anymore.

E2

[omnicider]

((ooc: nvm that i have ou!j in game already, i'm just trying this out, ok? ))

[ J's egg isn't very quick to hatch, and the question is what it will end up becoming, since he feels certain things on the surface and other things under it. It's always been a bit of a roller coaster inside of him, particularly since K killed Michael. But he keeps the egg around because while he doesn't care much for birds, he isn't entirely heartless. Definitely not heartless enough to throw it away.

He was just on his way to the library, where he spent most of his time, but now he's interrupted. He smiles slightly, adding in a thoughtful look, but he's not really interested in being interrupted. ]

I wonder. Perhaps? Or it might run out of steam while waiting?

i was so confused at first like "there's another j in a different series??" lmao

[clowndoll]

[ If it had been based on right before he came here his egg would have been filled with a lot of negative and sad emotions, but as it is now, it's a lot better.

He pets the little critter happily, but gasps (still smiling) when the stranger says that. ]

No way, you mean like it'll just disappear or die?!

[omnicider]

[ He shrugs, as if he's not at all bothered by the possibility. While he likes small fluffy animals that are not dogs, he doesn't care so much that he would be unsettled by the thought. ]

Something like that. I can't say that I know much about magic, but that is a magical creature, isn't it? The possibility exists.

[clowndoll]

[ What, how could anyone not be bothered by the thought when something so cute is attached to you? He holds up the critter to J's face in his hands, and it nibbles a little on his gloves. ]

But it's so cute! Look at it! I've never had a pet before, I've only sorta-kinda been one myself!

[omnicider]

[ J remains unmoved by the cuteness. He's been shut off from the world for nearly a decade, and emotions just got in the way. He's still trying to adapt to not being locked up any more, and to the thought that he doesn't need to shut himself off any more. But even before that, he wouldn't be moved just because something is a little cute. ]

Appearance doesn't matter. You don't know anything about it, right? The possibilities exist.

[ He doesn't comment on the boy's comment about having been something similar to a pet. He knows that there are people like that. Those who think otherwise are ignorant fools. ]

[clowndoll]

[ HOW? Sattsu is literally heartless and he's reacting, how can J not? ]

Maybe I can ask the one who laid it! It's not a creation, right? It came from an egg, it's gotta have a mama!

[omnicider]

[ He’s not heartless, he’s numb. ]

Maybe you can, if you can find who did it. Maybe it comes from an egg, but in a place like this, it might not mean anything.

[clowndoll]

[ Horrible. ]

In a place like this? What's that mean? I'm new here!