empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: October

Entry tags:

*test drive

TEST DRIVE: October

— 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…

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?
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.

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?
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.
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!

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.
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.
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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Prompt C:
[So. Crystals that could make his thoughts into a conversation, are they? How utterly invasive and fascinating all at once. Of everything he had seen in his long life, rocks that could turn thought into sound wasn't one of them. He had to give it a go, of course. They said it was the way people tended to communicate around here over long distances, so why not?]

This side of town isn't quite cheery enough for all I've seen of it. Is it really like this all the time or is everyone here just worried about something or other? Maybe someone should look into that.

Prompt D: In the Sky with Diamonds
[That didn't feel or sound like any rain he had ever experienced, and it certainly wasn't cold enough to merit hail. Curious, he tilted his head back and looked up, unable to see much more through the reaper's haze and his own hair than slight glimmers of light now and then. Whatever it was pegged him a few times on his shoulders, dropping right out of the sky itself; he held out his hand, palm open and cupped, to collect a little of the strange not-rain and brought it closer to his face to examine.]

[It looked like... crystals. Clear, pristine, glistening crystals. He was hardly an expert on geology, but it seemed like some type of quartz or diamond. For all he knew, it was glass.]

Isn't that something? Right out of the sky, too. [He smiled and pocketed the few that he had managed to catch to examine further later and strolled on down the street, unconcerned about the storm of tiny crystals around him. He didn't believe in magic, but even with his poor vision, the world around him had suddenly shifted into something out of a book with the sparkle from the falling minerals all around him. Much as he would be loathe to admit it, the situation did have a sort of appeal.]

Prompt F: Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo
[Halloween. If that wasn't a holiday meant for people like him, he didn't know what was. While it wasn't Halloween, exactly, pumpkin carving was one thing he took his time in enjoying each year, so naturally when he heard of the pumpkin harvest, he'd volunteered.]

[But as with the rest of this world, even the pumpkins were unusual and not at all like any he had ever pulled the innards from in his world. No, these had a bit of sport to them and a mind to make their would-be mutilators work for their prize, something Undertaker delighted in. If his pumpkin wanted to run, let it. He didn't need carving knives or scoops to pretty that orange hide up.]

[It was easy enough to catch up to - he hadn't even needed to teleport to close the distance between them - and one quick swipe of his death scythe was all that was needed to put a stop to that mad rush. He approached the downed pumpkin, grinning like a loon, and reached out a hand to run long fingernails down over its surface in a caress.]

Such a feisty one, aren't you? Ah, but don't worry yourself. I'll make you look lovely yet.

[He giggled, shifting the scythe back into its sotoba disguise, and plunged it into the ribbed rind, working a sort of perforation into the shape of a triangle - the first eye of the largest pumpkin he had ever carved.]

(Nothing behaves as it should in Empatheias and "Ciel" has had his true emotions revealed more times than his liking. Sebastian might think less of him - not that it matters. They are bound by contract and he is not ready to throw in the towel. Even so, living here is...difficult...for one who lives a lie day in and day out, avoiding missteps in order to keep his life and, in another place, gain his revenge.

The absurdities - as seen with the damned pumpkins - are not helping. He sees a particularly large one downed by a...scythe. A Reaper's scythe. For a moment, he considers calling Sebastian, but -

"He seemed to have no intention of hurting you..."

That's right. Undertaker had lashed out at Sebastian and the other Reapers. He had not hurt him.)

Undertaker. (He approaches at a distance, arms crossed over his chest.) You appear in the most unexpected of places.

[He may have heard those footsteps, he may not have. Either way it goes, he gives no indication that he even realizes the young Earl is there, working away at the second eye on his pumpkin prize, determined to make a wicked face on it as he always has each year.]

As do you, milord. [He draws the sotoba back, plunging it in again to finish off the outline for this eye. One good hard shove will put this piece of the pumpkin back into the guts of the thing, as he did with the first one.] What an interesting place we find ourselves in tonight.

(His inspection of their surroundings is subtle. He identifies some escape points, though, really, what good will they do him if Undertaker pursues him in earnest? Taking a breath - the cooler air is making his chest feel uncomfortably tight - he tilts his head curiously to see the pumpkin better.)

First you remove its only limbs and then you give it a grotesque face? That hardly seems sporting. (Not that anyone plays by the rules of sportsmanship. Really, that's laughable.) Tiresome, you mean.

[The shove puts him near up to the elbows in pumpkin innards, and his arms come out spotted here and there in seeds larger than they should be and stringy orange pumpkin fibers. Had this been a normal pumpkin, he'd be chewing on parts of it by now, but he wouldn't trust this thing in his stomach any more than he trusted it to sit still with those odd legs.] That's what you do with pumpkins, isn't it? Pull off the stem and carve the face?

[The sotoba, he lifts and leans against his shoulder as he turns to finally face the boy. A seed or two are knocked loose with the motion and land on his coat, but he doesn't seem to care, not with his sleeves having fallen victim to the mess as well.]

(It's far too like the insides of a person for his liking. "Ciel"'s stomach does a nasty little heave - a precursor to a task he likes to avoid at all cost - and he reminds himself that it is only a pumpkin. The real danger lies in the man carving it.)

Part of the stem. I - (No. He will not speak of that past. It has been dangerously close to the forefront of his mind lately and he needs to avoid it.) I have not seen you in some time. I think this world can do without your more gruesome creations - if the power to create them remains with you.

[He catches that meaning very well, though he's not interested in it for the moment. It does make for more play, and he'll take it as is, placing a palm on part of the pumpkin he hasn't any intention of cutting into... yet.]

I do apologize if my absence has troubled you, but business has kept me away. Might be you'll see more of me soon though, given this little vacation I've been forced to take. But here. [He pats the pumpkin again.] I think this will make for a good start, don't you?

(Undertaker catches onto far more than he lets on, he is sure. But denial is blissful and "Ciel" likes to pretend no one but Sebastian knows his true identity. ~~He really doesn't give Lizzie credit either.~~)

Care to elaborate? Your business has caused us to cross paths. I wonder if that will continue? (The answer is yes. To what degree is what remains unknown.) This is no vacation. Soon enough, your emotions will be manipulated too.

(Too? Yes. Too.)

I say you are putting your scythe to good use.

Edited 2017-09-21 04:49 (UTC)

[Rather than respond right off, he turns his attention back to the massive pumpkin again and pokes another hole between the eyes, aiming to make a nose this time.] My business or yours, milord? I seem to recall you coming to my parlor for one reason or other in the past.

[He yanks the sotoba out and pushes through again, making a new hole.] No matter. Whatever happens, we'll surely see each other again, whatever this place is.

(The shift in attention allows him to venture closer. He has never seen a pumpkin so big. Can he be forgiven for being a little curious?)

Your business. I never asked you to reanimate the dead. (His voice is flat, brooking no argument and he certainly isn't conveying a joke.)

Sebastian was certain of it. Of course I did have some collateral to ensure it would be so.

[Another puncture, one closer to the final product.] Indeed not, and I never asked you to consult me in your own matters, but I always did enjoy your visits. [On that, he won't elaborate. He doesn't need to.]

Ah, yes. That butler of yours. Does he care for my chain now? I would assume so, since he seems to do everything else for you, but what do I know? [If he's at all bothered by his assumptions, be they right or wrong, he's letting on to nothing. But the pumpkin does have one or two more holes in it. A few more and the nose will be ready to come out.]

(He rests against the pumpkin's side, vaguely watching the progress.)

You consulted the previous Earl. Would you suggest not following in his footsteps? (To what end he can manage from foggy memories.) If you did not enjoy my visits, I would not have gathered any information.

(Due to the payments the Undertaker liked best.)

Not to the degree I do. (The chain is...interesting. Special. The name of family - the hair of family - does cause a stir within him.) He does not do everything for me.

(Well that's a low blow. He blows his fringe out of his eyes.)

I have approached you alone.

What I would suggest is of no consequence. [It never really did, not unless it pertained to a case, but he would watch passively now as he did then. These choices were not his to make.] But I did remind you to take care of your soul.

[One more hole and the nose is ready to be pushed into the hollow inside like the eyes, and he sets about doing just that. The rind is thick and it has taken quite some effort to poke all of these holes into it and get the face going, but he shows no signs of tiring, only of needing a serious bath later.]

It's a beauty, isn't it? One of a kind. [And he's not proud of that, so says a faint softening of his tone in that description, one that's gone as soon as it came.] Is that why you're here now? To ask me about the chain?

(His eyebrows rise and he does not look wholly convinced. But he can't exactly argue. That will get nowhere.)

My soul will remain with me until payment is due.

(He can pretend very well that it doesn't bother him. Yet in his weaker moments, he is terrified of the outcome and he retreats within his broken mind for the memories of his seemingly stronger twin brother.)

I think there is a reason for it. (Who needs such a large pumpkin?) I am not certain what to ask. It seems obvious that you were the one to reap the soul of one of my kin.

[The grin widens without the humor to back it up.] So it will. That's what the contract demands.

[There, he pauses and his head turns to the boy again for the first time since he set back to his work.] Oh? Interesting that you would come to that conclusion.

[He lifts a hand to the nose he'd just punched out, running fingers over one piece that formed an unexpected bump. Really though, there's not much to be done about it. The sotoba isn't sharp enough to detail on meat this hardy and he's not bringing the scythe out of it right now with the child this close to risk startling him into summoning the demon in on this conversation. He still has a mouth to carve out, after all. It will have to do for now.]

(The odd inclination to explain himself nearly overwhelms him, but he blames it on their environment and pushes it back.)

He recovered from the wound you gave him, but as he is now, here, he does not recall as much as I do. (The difference is likely only months, but that makes such a difference for one as busy as him.)

Why else would you have their hair locket? Did you not make it yourself upon encountering the body?

(A curious practice to be sure, yet not surprising knowing the Undertaker's track record with bodies.)

Edited 2017-09-21 06:38 (UTC)

[Just as well, he won't ask for an explanation. What he does is to stand back and survey his work for a moment before moving a little to one side to start working at the mouth on his art. This is going to take a while.] Mm. So this place does more than play with your emotions, does it? That'll be good to know for later.

[A few holes down the line, he turns the sotoba and starts working a short line down from the lip at an angle, working out a tooth in the mix. It's not quite as grotesque as he'd like, but he'll deal with what he has. A sotoba isn't exactly ideal for pumpkin carving, but on one this size?] I've encountered many bodies. Comes with the territory when you're a grim reaper and a mortician. So have other reapers. Curious though, that none of them seem to carry chains like that one, isn't it?

There does not seem much that is outside of its scope where we are concerned. (The prisoners. Inhabitants. Whatever. He brushes a pumpkin seed off of his sleeve. While the process of carving is very messy - Undertaker, you seriously need a bath - he can't help enjoying being a simple spectator.

The man really needs a sturdy sword for this task.) You left the other Reapers for a reason. Sentimentality?

(That seems too easy of an explanation.)

You say you left because you tired of it, but what made you tire of it?

[That gets a giggle out of him.] Maybe I'll fall victim to its whims one day. I'm already here so the prying and the poking can't be too far behind. Won't that be fun. [It's not a question. He's sure whatever will happen to him here will be just as unpleasant as the young Earl's feelings on the matter from his earlier explanation.]

[He works his way across the upper lip, then steps back and makes a shooing motion with one hand, gently enough that he doesn't fling pumpkin parts everywhere as he does.] Might want to stand a little farther to the side there, milord. I need this part next. That's quite a loaded question. Shall I tell you now, or should I wait until this place makes me tell you and whoever happens to be standing around when it happens?

It is inevitable as long as you remain. (Fun? Maybe for someone like him. It's hell for "Ciel", who has so much to hide and so many damn secrets.) You are also given an alignment. Our emotions are used to power those who we are aligned under - and the world in general.

(The motion is noticed and he steps out of the way, none too thrilled with the idea of getting the pumpkin innards on him.)

I am not fond of forced truths. Tell me or not, if the information is vital for the future, I shall discover it one way or another.

Tit for tat, then. I think I might like to stay a while and see what this is all about. [So said as if he doesn't have a care in the world for who knows what about him. The Earl steps aside as requested and it's on to the next part.]

[But the next statement comes as a bit of a challenge, and his mind changes in an instant.] So used to getting everything you wish, you nobles. Perhaps you will, but since you're so determined, it'll be information gained not through me unless this place decides otherwise. Make it a bit of a challenge for you.

I can give you an answer now, though it will only increase your hunger for it, I fear. (Madness. Pure madness. "Ciel" moves around the Undertaker, stifling a cough behind his hand.)

It has nothing to do with nobility. (Not entirely anyway.) If I must discover information, I will do all that is necessary to acquire it. Failure is never an option, especially if it interferes with my plans for the future.

[On to a new tooth, one not like the first he'd worked out. This one is thinner, seeming like one that hadn't quite grown in yet, or one that may have cracked off on something long ago.] It doesn't matter to me. You'll say it now or you'll let me wait, just as I'll do for you. It'll reveal itself in the end eventually, or it won't.

[He's not asking for a laugh this time. In fact, he's not even considering it.] In your situation, I don't suppose it would be. Still, you're asking for something not yet for sale on my part. This time you'll need to wait and see what happens.

(He is envious of how detached Undertaker can be. Is there a reason for it? What cards does this Reaper hold? Why did he seek to sever his bond with Sebastian? Was it simply out of loyalty to his family? Or...)

What end do you envision? (Undertaker has surely seen many ends.) I'm fine waiting. The pieces are not yet aligned anyway.

[One more tooth done and he works back around to create the lower lip. It's a little harder to work from this angle, but he can manage it.] I can't rightly say. As you yourself said, the pieces are not yet aligned, and now the playing field is all new. I suppose that butler of yours either isn't here or you've seen fit not to call him on me, but I can say I haven't seen any others like me around. Might make this easy or hard, depending on which side of the board you're looking at.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE: October

Undertaker | Kuroshitsuji aka Black Butler

Prompt F :3 Well hello there~

hiiiiiiii o3o

Do make yourself comfortable. owo

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject