empatheias_ooc | 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

[ Jean is instinctively adverse to whatever this replier has to say, the sudden wave of strong feelings serving to make him uneasy... but then the clearer contents of the message grab his attention, and a surge of shock and alarm goes through him, manifesting as sparks around him. He doesn't have time to pay attention to the physical, though, his reply rushed: ]

You know what a scout is?! Hey, who are you? This isn't -- this isn't some kind of dumb mistake, is it?

Edited 2017-04-26 02:33 (UTC)

I am a scout! This is Zoe Hange! Who are you?

[Battering bursts of anger - neither of them should be here! - relief - a scout is here and alive if not safe - and guilt. We should both be at home, at work.]

Who is this? Scout, where are you?

[As far as she's concerned, any scout besides Erwin is one she has the right to order around.]

Wait, I know you [ -- is the dumb, instinctive thought that is unfortunately transmitted when Jean hears the name. It then really clicks who 'Zoe Hange' is when the ordering starts, and that's when Jean's training kicks in, his coherency suddenly improving dramatically. ]

Squad Leader! This is Jean Kirstein, Scout Regiment, previously of the 104th Cadet Corps! I'm -- [ and here Jean falters, the image of a floating island the strongest thing that comes through, mixed with distinct regret and dread. He likes it here, shouldn't like it here, and he doesn't know how to control those feelings yet. ]

... I'm in a city. Verens. [ There's reluctance there, almost. ]

[Satisfaction flows back towards him. She's getting her own emotions in hand quickly now, quicker in fact with a young recruit in need of guidance.]

Good. It's the same for me. Let's meet in person at the clock tower in town center. Are you in need of retrieval?

No. I know the one. [ The clock tower makes for an easy landmark, even if he's only been here a little over a week. He just has to focus on being practical rather than worrying about what encountering Hange might mean. ]

I'm heading there now, Squad Leader. I'm only a few blocks out.

Present and waiting.

[And there she is, when he arrives, obvious in the traveling cloak and 3DMG, standing smack in front of the tower looking around at passersby.

When she spots him she waves and heads over.]

[ Jean is decked out in similar apparel, minus the traveling cloak. He feels a little self-conscious when he approaches, worried that he'll look foolish glancing around at everyone, but thankfully, Hange is impossible to miss. And it's -- nice seeing another Scout, even if Jean is nervous. That she's higher up on the chain of command helps to ease him a little, too; he's not sure how he'd fare dealing with idealistic Eren, who'd probably fume in his entirety at being displaced.

Though, he might not be out of the woods yet.

His feet move him along to close the distance between them, and he automatically stops and salutes Hange when he gets close enough, not prepared to dispose of formalities just yet. ]

Reporting!

[She looks him up and down, checking for injuries, any signs of wear and tear. He seems all right and that eases a part of her. Hange is not motherly but she cares about her troops and wants to see them well.

Her emotions for now are very contained. Nothing 'leaks' from her.]

Jean Kirstein.

[She doesn't know him very well, more by face than name. Now she looks at him and commits both face and name to memory.]

Well met, soldier. Stand at ease. When did you arrive here?

[ Jean, for his part, is familiar with Hange, but in the typical subordinate sort of way. He's seen her before, but also, it's impossible not to hear stories about her. She loves Titans in some sort of strange way, and by doing so is the antithesis to everybody he's ever known.

It's crazy. ]

Four days ago. [ He relaxes, fist falling down by his side. He allows himself a quick glance at the people and things around them, as if taking in the surroundings all over again with Hange here. ] I just showed up, a few streets away. Nothing made any sense at all, and so I thought maybe I was dreaming at first... [ He trails off, feeling a little weird about having this dialogue with her. ]

[Yes, that is often the strong first impression people get. Sometimes it's the only one they depart with, which is a mistake - one that's all right with Hange. It's a mistake that can turn into an advantage.

She nods.]

Walk with me.

[Is she ignoring his awkwardness? Yes, probably. He can work out his feelings on his own time. Hange begins to move, obviously expecting him to follow.]

I'm freshly arrived myself, so I value any and all impressions you've gathered of the city and surrounding lands. When I picked up your thought... [What a strange phrase to utter,] ... you sounded somewhat frantic. Were you in danger?

[ Jean falls into step beside her automatically, and for a second the awkwardness melts away and this all feels so natural -- Hange's silhouette, with the Survey Corps insignia emblazoned upon it, and him following along attempting to absorb new information that'll help their fight -- that he feels like he's suddenly back at home.

The feeling quickly melts away, though, when Hange asks her question, and Jean's blood turns cold. Ah, dammit. ]

N-no. [ She's perceptive, of course, and as annoying as it is, he can't be irritated at her, given she's asking about his well-being. ] I was just-- surprised. I didn't know what to expect when I heard you. After all, if another scout can show up, can't a Titan just as easily appear here?

[ It's not the initial source of his dread, but the thought had occurred to him in the short space of time before they met. Continuing: ]

It's so... peaceful here that the idea put me on edge.

(( Sorry about the speed! I went from planning on apping from anime material alone to deciding to gun all ~90 chapters before apps open, so my mind has been through the blender... ))

Hm.

[The breeze swirls around them suddenly, ruffling at Jean's hair and tugging at his clothes as if to rifle through his pockets - that reflects Hange's suspicion. She's not buying it.]

Yet I felt you sounded agitated even before I spoke to you. Not that we should be complacent, you are correct - but between the two of us I am confident we can take on anything short of perhaps a titan shifter.

TEST DRIVE: MAY

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