TEST DRIVE: October

[empevents]

— TEST DRIVE: OCTOBER —

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 Sunday, September 24 and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on October 1st. Apps will only be open for four days!
  
  
• 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!
  
  
• Transfer to in-game. If accepted, you can assume threads made on the Test Drive happen in-game if the scenario can reasonably fit. These threads do not count toward AC.

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: With the crystal having been mysteriously stolen, the weather has been nothing but uncooperative, lately. Actually, uncooperative is an understatement. Just yesterday, it was raining frogs! Now, well…

1. In the Sky with Diamonds. You might be walking in the streets or in the safe confines of a building when it begins to hail. It's not just any ordinary hail. Instead of ice falling from the sky, it's little beads and pieces of… you guessed it: diamonds! Some are actually fake, but there are some that are genuine. Only the experienced eye will be able to tell. The catch is, it only rains diamonds for ten seconds. And in this short span of time, people have gone berserk over the stone. Looks like some are eager to sell what they've collected, while some are fighting over what "should be theirs". Are you one of those people opportunistic enough to make money out of this, or are you doing something else of your own?
   
2. One in a Melon. The crazy weather has not only been affecting the people living in Empatheias, but also the flora and fauna. The fruit stands everywhere have been selling all kinds of hybrid fruit, ranging from melons the size of a building to blue grapes that taste like chocolate! The latter sounds oddly delicious, truth be told. The vendors are all for giving free samples to anybody who passes by, too. In fact, there's one fruit stand that seems to be selling really well. Investigate, and you'll be given a slice of pineapple! Take a bite, and it tastes like Hawaiian pizza. Is this heaven or hell?

• Prompt E: It's safer to stay indoors given the strange weather, but you can't help but go out in the streets and explore! You're in a new world, after all. There is so much to see! Of course, when it begins to rain cats and dogs (either literally or figuratively), you look for a place to hide. Somehow, you've managed to enter a building that's dark, only lit by a flame in the middle of the room. There are a lot of hooded men and women surrounding the flame.

1. Welcome! When they notice someone else enter, they all look at the door's direction. "Ah! It seems we have a new arrival. Welcome to the Ortheias. You are now in a world where your magic can change the emotions of people. What is your name?"
   
   It looks like you've entered the headquarters of some roleplaying cult. Try and leave, and they will explain to you that nobody can leave. Nobody even knows why they're here. And then someone will casually whisper to you these exact words: "As an OOC Note, we will all leave in an hour and half from now." Do you create a character, or do you play as yourself?
   
2. Getting Acclimated. With everyone in the room doing their own thing and "gathering relationships", as they so put it, you've been left to your own devices. Do you talk to other people who might be stuck here for an hour and half, or do you practice your "Emanis"? It seems that this fictional world they've created lets each person manipulate the other person's emotions by casting spells. A short display of fire can make someone angry, or making flowers appear out of nowhere might make the other person happy. Of course, these are all fake and the cult just narrates their usage of magic without actually displaying it.
   
3. An Event! Towards the end of the roleplaying session, the "roleplay moderator" announces an event! One of the guardians of Ortheias, the Durathei of fire and ice, Seesonne, has attacked the city of Snerev! A part of the city is now burning, while the other half is encased in ice! What would you do in this situation? People are panicking, so you must stop them from worrying too much!

• Prompt F: While Halloween does not exist in this world, Otherworlders have been present long enough for the natives to slightly change their calendar. For the month of Empta (October), they wish to make sure the Otherworlders are feeling at home by celebrating Halloween! They know nothing about it, but they are going to try and replicate the feeling!

1. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo. For the rest of Exi (September), farmers are asking Otherworlders to help them harvest pumpkins. Thanks to the strange weather recently, these pumpkins have grown to be the size of a car. They're rather big! What's more, they've also grown legs and can run! It appears they don't want to be caught, but anyone who gives chase will be able to get them to stop easily. Just chop off its legs! And to make it inanimate, one has to carve a face on it.
   
2. What's Your Favourite Scary Story? To prepare for what's to come next month, the natives are asking Otherworlders to go to the Welcome Centre every weekend for a meeting of sorts. One will be able to find refreshments and snacks there, and there are a lot of people listening to speakers who rotate every so often. It seems these speakers are talking about their favourite scary stories. Perhaps you're one of the listeners, or you're speaking and sharing yours! Things are beginning to be spooky, though, that's for sure.
   
3. It Leaves a Good Taste in Your Mouth. Children are selling cookies door-to-door, and the only type of cookies they're selling are maple leaf cookies. It's only 10 sylvs a box, and taking just one bite will send one to heaven! It's so delicious that it might make anyone who eats it react in a strange way (the video is just an example, not the exact reaction). Spectate at how people react to these maple leaf cookies, or be the one that gathers a lot of attention!

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include cat ears and/or nail polish.

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

[tutorials]

[ She caught it. Of course Quistis caught it. Somehow, it's not very surprising for something like this to happen to him, though, it sort of seems the story of his life -- at least from the knowledge that was imparted to her about his. At least he's a good attitude about it. Were it her in that situation, she certainly wouldn't be able to recover gracefully.

She nudges her glasses up the bridge of her nose with the knuckles of her index and middle fingers. It's more to hide the smile she's trying to wear down than her glasses slipping. ]

Good afternoon, sir. [ He's the president of Esthar, after all. Though not as giddy as Selphie might be over his presence, she still feels a deep respect toward him for that. She doesn't expect him to remember her name, so she holds out a hand. ] Quistis Trepe; I wouldn't quite say I'm on a roll... [ It takes her a moment, briefly glancing toward the over-sized monstrosity while her nose and cheeks start to redden, slipping over to dust her ears. ] ...it's a little obvious that my artistic skills aren't quite up to standard isn't it? I'm a little bit better at the catching part, it would seem.

[transient_gunner]

[He grinned wider and took her hand to shake.]

None of this "sir" nonsense! Just call me Laguna, I'm not really a president around these parts.

[He let go to briefly hop over to his sandal, the guts were already on the back of his shirt and the seat of his pants, he didn't need to be squishing his toes into the stuff. Once back and with both sandals, he sat down next to her to take a better look at the face.]

Well, you're on a roll with catching the darn things! And what matters is that you have fun with the pumpkin carving, y'know? But hey, I got an idea. I used to this all the time as a kid, want me to carve out the ones you catch? Bet we'd get a whole lot done! Whaddya say?

[tutorials]

[ She retracts her hand quickly, though not rudely. There's a careful balance to a good (and diplomatic) handshake. ]

I'll try my best, but I'm afraid casualty isn't my strong suit.

[ There's humor in her voice at least, although it's definitely something there's truth in. Quistis either gets to a point of being unprofessional with an attempt to grow closer or she is too stiff; there's not really an in between. Somehow, it's a little easier to fall into the former when you're dealing with a guy missing his shoe. Perhaps she should have fetched it for him? That probably would've been the polite thing to do.

Her hand falls to her neck while her arm drapes her waist in an attempt to feel slightly less awkward about all of this. ]

Thank you, s-- [ She simply drops it with a sheepish laugh and faint roll of her shoulder. ] I don't think this is really meant to be a fun activity, but you do have a point. This way I believe you'll manage to not fall into a state of undress -- hopefully, anyway. They aren't malicious so I shouldn't need proper back-up, but the size of some can be a little intimidating. Beats a Ruby Dragon alone, though, wouldn't you say?

[transient_gunner]

[He didn't mind even the minor slip. If she liked being formal, then so be it. At least she tried! He had the grace to look sheepish himself about the Ruby Dragon.]

So much easier! And hey, my friends did show up after a time! So I wasn't totally alone.

[No, it probably wasn't meant to be a fun activity, but where was the fun in that? You gotta run around chasing these munchkins, the least they could try to do was make a game out of it. He shoved a lock of hair behind his ear as he continued to grin.]

Well, my clothes are already ruined. I'll get changed later though, pumpkin guts aren't the worst thing, y'know.

[tutorials]

[ She hadn't meant to imply a very particular memory she witnessed, but his reaction is worth the accident. She chuckles softly, warmly. ]

Perhaps you're still a little touchy about that since your thoughts went straight to a particular incident. All the same, having a team feels wonderful, doesn't it?

[ The fondness in her voice seeps in, permeates, digging deep and rooting itself. Without them, she'd be utterly alone and she's much happier being here, with them -- although she'd prefer everyone to be here. ...then again, she gets the feeling that Irvine and Zell might make a mess of things here, the former shooting them and the latter's excitement pounding them to pieces... She feels a little warmer thinking about it.

She begins to carry on, though at a comfortable pace. ]

I appreciate that you're not taking the excursion to change. [ Her nerves feel less prickly as they carry on. It's a little odd how easy he is to talk to. Maybe the "sir" will slip off on its own? ] No, they're most certainly not.

[transient_gunner]

I'm not touchy! [He pouted a little at that.] How many Ruby Dragons do you kids fight that you don't go to one particular incident?

[But yes, teams were awesome. He laughed and stood up to settle with an uncarved pumpkin, taking the carving knife.]

Whatever I change into will only get dirty again, knowing myself. So, we'll just have to deal! So! I'll start with this one, if you wanna go on ahead and catch another, yeah?

[tutorials]

Of course you aren't, sir. [ She is overly dismissive in a joking way, one hand at her hip and the other spread upward, twisting as she talks. ] I've not kept count, but quite a few. They're a wonderful test of skill and they yield powerful magic. Their hides and bones can be used, as well, and frankly Garden isn't cheap -- additionally, I'm a full grown woman. I suppose that could be considered payback for my wording, but I'm hardly a child.

[ She worked hard to get where she is, but her entire life she's felt like an adult. The pressure she'd put on herself, at least, was just that. ]

Alright. If you need anything, just call for me.

[ She's unfurling her whip at her side, hand tight around the end and the other twisted and ready to raise about her head for a swing of momentum before striking. Spotting one in the distance, she starts off after it. It's not terribly far away, so hopefully it won't carry on much further. They aren't exactly easy to move at this size.

Nearing, it seems to be a group of them. This is either going to go well or she's going to end up a mess. Attempting to avoid startling them she takes it slow and careful; with great precision, she manages to slice through the stubby little legs of one and reach for one leg from another. Seeing its fallen comrade roll over, though, it begins to panic and hop around, bumping into the third and sending it in a running frenzy while it literally starts to roll around.

So, she gives chase, nearly tripping over the one with missing legs. Had it intentionally tried to do that? ]