empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: January

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*test drive

TEST DRIVE: January

— TEST DRIVE: JANUARY —

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, December 25 and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on January 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: As the holiday festivities end, the expectation of charity and giving back will be rearing its ambivalent head. Namely, Verens' very own Community and Otherworlder Assistance Centre will be recruiting for its many charitable projects and drives! Like all non-profit organisations of that nature, the expectation is for people to contribute and give without expecting anything in return - so roll up those sleeves and pull out that wallet, because this is going to cost in both time, money, and dignity!

Mr. Top Hat J. Roomba: Looks like you're one-half of the lucky pair who got recruited to go door to door, selling chocolate bars and magazine subscriptions. The money earned doesn't go to you, of course. At the end of the salesmanship, it all goes right back to the charity foundation! Sounds easy, right? Well, not so much. You see, the foundation has had an undue number of thefts lately from its volunteers - and while they're no accusing you, of course! - they are no longer financially comfortable leaving the volunteers unsupervised. Each pair will be followed by a watchful roomba-like device that will belt out situation-sensitive commands deduced by careful monitoring of the situation. It also wears a snazzy top hat.
100% Organic: The Community and Otherworlder Assistance Centre also spearheads an innovation of its very own making: the emotion-sharing program! There are two ways to participate. The first is assisting in imbuing donated cosmetic products with the very essence of happiness and cheer. Having trouble summoning that up on the spot? Not to worry, because you'll be doing it inside The Puppy Room! (Puppies 100% organic. Please, try to keep animal hair out of the bottles.) The second way involves randomly assigning two individuals together for a more traditional approach to emotion-sharing. In this, there's only one rule: don't make the other person cry. And yes, you may also have unrestricted access to The Puppy Room.
It’s The Furry Hour: Lastly, there is the culmination of giving back to the community by putting a smile on each and every child’s face. The best way to do that? Put on a costume, say, this one or this one or even this one, and wander through the streets! Be careful, though -- the costumes are sensitive to Dunamis and any symptoms of emotional distress, regardless of whether or not they’re highs or lows. There are strict fines levied to anyone who dares damage a costume, or you might just end up mopping floors for a month to pay it off.

• Prompt E: Dunamis magic, emotional effects, crystals... one can live in Empatheias without ever really understanding the basics of it. However, it's encouraged to take at least a few courses as it will make adjusting to this new world a lot easier. At the Welcome Center, an eccentric new instructor is offering advanced classes (with a twist!) to new and old attendants. Interested natives can also join the classes as well, and the ones that are available are:

Think Positive! One of the most common types of emotional effects comes in the form of flowers. The most simple example being if one feels overwhelmingly happy, then flowers will start to bloom around them. In this class, Otherworlders will be learning exactly that! To be precise, the class takes place inside a botanical garden, and the exercise is to think positively so that more flowers can bloom. Think negatively, and the flowers will die, or they'll entangle you, or grow poisonous. Easy, right? No! This is an advanced class and controlling one's own feelings is KEY. Because there's also a tiger on the loose. Wait, what? Don’t worry - it only preys on fear and anger, so remember your lessons!
Think Negative! It's also important to know how to harness one's negative emotions, because such feelings are just as valid and useful as the opposite. In this exercise, two students are locked in a meat freezer, and the way to pass the test is to make each other seethe with rage until their fiery emotions bring the place down to room temperature. Make sure to insult each other a lot, and don't hold back! Maybe talking about a painful past can help? Alternatively, what the instructor did not account for, is that passion can be fiery, too. Maybe a kiss will do the trick? Otherwise, somebody will get the students out of there in 40 minutes and give them a nice cup of hot chocolate along with an F.
Think… Neither! Lastly, apathy! It's just as important to know how to harness. This class is a little more traditional, in the sense that everyone is sitting at their desk and watching a slide show. Students can talk amongst themselves in class, but they must not show any emotion! It's a little difficult, however, as the slide show gets more and more outrageous the longer the class goes on. At first it's a series of tasty food, then it's cute animals, and then some scary monsters. After that it moves on to more provocative imagery, such as poverty, graveyards, and... male and female models posing naked. Close your eyes! Or leave the class with the person sitting next to you? Otherwise, just try not to react to anything that comes up on the screen. Knowing when to be apathetic can save your life in Empatheias, too!

• Prompt F: It's out with the old and in with the new! Winter— no— it's not winter that is coming, but rather, the Notus season. Which is winter, technically, but the lovely citizens of Verens and natives of Empatheias call it differently. The season brings about snowfall and occasional storms, which means activities outdoors are limited due to the weather. The various sports teams in Verens have become even more serious with their training. The coaches refuse to let their team members gain weight due to the cold, which is why they're opening their training sessions to the public. Challenge them and win a prize! Make sure these players are given hell, because they won't shape up otherwise.

Hit 'Em High. One of the less formidable teams who play Verens Hoop Ball (patent pending) are the Champsters. Nobody truly knows how the Champsters are in the league when their plays are so awful. The sport itself, the Empatheias equivalent of what Earthlings would call basketball, had only been founded close to ten years ago. There aren't any "legends" yet, but the Champsters are players who will likely never be found in the hall of fame. In any case, they've opened their gym to any contenders who wish to take them on; 1-on-1, 2-on-2, 3-on-3, or even a full-on game. The sad excuse of Hoop Ball players are a sad excuse, needless to say. They play and cry like newborn fawn, and their coach will give anybody who makes them cry a heavy slap on the back and a 500 sylvs gift cheque at Steambucks. Thanks for showing the Champsters how much they suck - maybe they'll get motivated to do better because of this!
There's No Crying in... The managers of the Verens Football (soccer) team are inviting everyone to enter their gym and join their training for the day. All participants receive a 500 sylvs gift cheque to be used at Steambucks! And as soon as one enters the indoor pitch, they will hear the coach of the team screaming his lungs out. "THERE'S NO CRYING IN FOOTBALL!" - and the phrase might strike you as odd. Isn't it supposed to be baseball? And then you hear the muffled sobs of some people at the end of the goal line. . . wait, what? Anybody nearby is going to get yelled at, as well. "Fall in line and add some emotion to each kick!" the coach shouts. And with the intensity of each kick and the added emotions to it, it's no wonder the goalkeepers are getting beaten up. The coach doesn't seem to care, though…
You're on Ice. Apart from the indoor sports being promoted even though it's winter, some Verens officials have frozen the lake just by the outskirts of town for ice hockey and ice skating purposes. There are even cones and other obstacles lined on the ice for people to pass, and the officials are giving out a 500 sylvs gift cheque at Steambucks (AGAIN?!) to anybody who can clear the obstacles. Just watch out for the pucks that are flying every so often. If it hits your head, don't worry! Be comforted by the knowledge that the ice hockey team is doing their best and are making sure they're strong enough for the next tournament.

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include crayons and/or pompoms.

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

E-1: "positive" dunamis

[Kolivan has been the leader of an organization wherein calm and focus are necessary for survival for a very long time. To that end, the basic dunamis classes haven't actually been telling him much, and it was his hope that a more advanced one would give him something a little more solid to work with. Instead, to his aghast bafflement, apparently these people's idea of a great class is to lock a bunch of civilians in a room with some sort of snarling horned tooth-beast, and expect them to be happy about flowers.

Look. Kolivan is the first to agree that there are some things you can only learn by doing despite the inherent dangers, but you've got to have limits.

To that end, the Galra is ignoring the flowers in favor of keeping the tiger sidetracked. There are too many nervous people, most of them small and very breakable humans who aren't even carrying weapons, in this garden for him to feel comfortable doing otherwise. For most of the "class" he can be found off to the side somewhere, standing casually in parade rest and scowling severely down at the tiger. Reacting to his annoyance, it paces back and forth in front of him, occasionally leaving him behind to track down those it can sense growing too frustrated.]

Stop that. Come here.

[-- and when that happens, all he has to do is follow it, and ratchet up his irritation until it turns its attention back to him and resumes pacing. Nobody is getting mauled by this stupid beast today. On the other hand, Kolivan is a seven-and-a-half foot alien cat-lizard person and his frown is causing whatever flowers are nearby to shrivel up like dying insects, so his looming may not really be helping anyone's nerves. Perhaps a happy medium can be found somewhere.]

Taskboard: Selenium mirror-crystals

[There's a sort of bitter rightness, Kolivan thinks, in this world pulling someone like him into it right before the holiday that centers around honoring the dead. He's been told of the horror stories of years previous, of course -- ghosts of the missing turning up to haunt the living, apparitions showing up in candlesmoke to spill treasured secrets. But none of that bothers him at all once he's told of the lanterns and the rest, and when he learns that those organizing the event need help with their preparations, the Galra goes to lend a hand without hesitation.

He has a lot of dead. He can carry the weight of them just fine, but it's something he's most always conscious of.

The only obvious change in Kolivan's expression and posture as he thinks back on recent casualties is that, sometimes, he scowls somewhat less than usual. Empatheias itself makes up for it, though, reacting to the variety of emotion that colors his grief. It isn't that Kolivan actively summons shadows. It's only that the lights around him grow dim and hushed, ultimately fading to dark entirely. The glowing lines on his Marmora uniform fade out first. Then any lamps or light cores that may be around, so slowly that it's not even noticeable at first.

There's something almost reverent about the effect. Still, the fact remains that the room is going dark. Hopefully nobody actually needs to see what they are doing or get anywhere by sight alone, because Kolivan is entirely content to leave things as they are, and though he isn't a hostile person, his demeanor is not exactly welcoming.]

[Matt has never been the most calm of people in the face of a crisis. Sure, he's better than he was, but when faced with a growly tiger and a growly Galra, there is a lot of cold, turbulent wind surrounding him, and the flowers are dull and dying at his feet.

However, he takes a breath, and takes a step forward.]

Hey, so on Earth there are entertainments where people make tigers jump through hoops. Yeah, it's kinda stupid, but I took Pidge there once when she was really little, and she wouldn't stop talking about how silly it was that, of all things, the tigers were jumping through hoops.

[Is it true? Who knows, but the flowers at his feet are starting to get just a bit of color back, and a few vines start growing as well.]

[Naturally one of the only individuals on the island who knows to be afraid of the Galra is here today, too. Kolivan makes a conscious effort to scowl ever so slightly less, and keeps his broad shoulders relaxed. From what he understands, Matt Holt has very good reason to be wary, even if Kolivan isn't the sort of Galra he should be worried about. That's depressing, and he doesn't want to make it worse.]

I take it the Green Paladin has always possessed an excitable personality.

[It's meant to encourage Matt to keep talking. Focusing carefully on his own emotions, Kolivan keeps one eye on the tiger and the other on the flowers. He'd be lying if he said he didn't find the sheer scope and variety of emotional effects in this place to be fascinating.]

Edited (fucking html) 2017-12-19 03:24 (UTC)

[Matt's never been one to judge people by their outsides. He knows Kolivan isn't one of the Galra who'd kick his ass on sight, but there's a tiny part of his brain that still gets startled when he gets glared or scowled at, and he's trying to make that part shove off.

He smiles, however, nodding, and keeping up a bit of chatter.]

Oh, absolutely. Pidge has always been extremely excitable. Even when she was really tiny, she'd bounce around the living room reciting things that she'd learned from either Dad or I. I'm pretty sure she knew most of the major stars before she was seven.

[There's a hint of pride in his voice as he talks, and the flowers get just a bit brighter.]

[Pidge is still very tiny, Kolivan thinks and does not say.]

Her intelligence has been a great asset to Voltron and the Blade alike. [A pause as the tiger makes an attempt to sneak off after someone else, and Kolivan allows his annoyance at this entire situation to help him frown the thing into staying put.] From what we know of Earth's technology, I gather that she is already far ahead of many of your peers.

[Several months to reach a moon on the outskirts of a system that size? Really? Hmph.]

[Pidge will always be tiny, Matt will totally agree with that one.]

I'm glad she's been helpful. She's really good at that when she wants to be. And then there's when she doesn't want to be helpful, and she'll be hacking into your everything.

[A small pause, and a nervous glance at the tiger as the flowers just... stand there at his feet, not sure whether to grow or wilt.]

Yeah, she and I both are pretty advanced considering what most Earth tech is. I've seen broken down ships that are thousands of years old that are still better than what we have at home.

That's to your advantage, if it's kept you off of the Empire's radar all this time.

[No wonder the Blue Lion was hidden there. In the space boonies. Had the Galra known that, or had another reason to swing in that direction earlier, Earth would have been assimilated into the Empire long ago.]

...it is...extraordinary, I think, that of all the humans who could have been drawn into this war, chance brought together a group of you with the skills enough to make a difference.

[ Congratulations, your happy medium has come in the form of one (1.) colorfully dressed, messy haired Earthling who just so happened to be taking the class with Kolivan. The good news is that Eiji wasn’t even all that surprised to see a seven-foot-tall cat-lizard. Kolivan is not even close to the strangest thing he’s ever seen. On top of that, he is basically immune to dour frowning and scowling, so this makes him the perfect candidate for keeping people calm and happy while this guy works on distracting the tiger.]

[Which he picked up on pretty early on. Eiji elected not to call too much attention to it, but once he’s gotten the group settled down singing campfire songs, he slips away to make sure their big, purple classmate hasn’t gotten mauled. Luckily he doesn’t think he’s in any danger himself. He’s optimistic to a fault and has an easy time keeping positive even in presumably dangerous situations. To say nothing of Eiji having fought monsters and demons and things that would probably make a tiger piss itself in terror.]

[He rounds a corner and spots him, the flowers Kolivan having caused to wilt perking slightly in his wake as he joins him.]

Ah! You haven’t been eaten, thank goodness. I was worried when we hadn’t heard from you.

Edited 2017-12-19 04:05 (UTC)

[Kolivan, having been exposed to things like Lance's unique way of delivering exposition and Hunk's insistence on "pizza rolls" as a diplomatic aid, gets the feeling suddenly that this human is the reason he has been hearing snatches of music going on elsewhere in the garden.

Well, if it works it works.]

It was necessary to keep the beast sidetracked. [But if the rest of the class's nerves are soothed -- Kolivan stops focusing on how stupid this entire thing is and sure enough, the tiger remains where it is, with nothing elsewhere in the garden to attract its attention. Good job, shaggy and colorful human.] You are the one responsible for the singing?

[Best to be sure. Assumptions make an ass of u and me, by which we mean assumptions often kill people. He doesn't bother to address his own safety, however. He is large and has a sword. If he'd thought even he couldn't subdue the tiger, he'd have gone farther to call this entire thing off.]

[Once the tiger settles down, Eiji watches it closely, making sure its really staying put. Once he’s sure enough he looks back at Kolivan with a smile.]

Guilty as charged. When you’re afraid, sometimes it helps to have something easy to focus on. Singing, I’ve found, is very good for taking your mind off of scary things, moreso in a group. Everyone can join.

[ It’s something helpful he picked up from less than happier times. But, often the things he learned huddled together with a bunch of scared people in a dilapidated structure as bombs exploded all around, came in handy in some of the strangest instances.]

Edited 2017-12-19 21:44 (UTC)

You have experience.

[This is said with something like vague approval, despite Kolivan's intense case of resting bitch face. He can respect a guy who looks at a situation and immediately does something effective to alleviate it, at least in an "initial first impression" sort of way. The Galra certainly wouldn't have used that sort of tactic himself, but that's because he's no good at such things and he knows it. Everybody's got their own skills and this is what teamwork is for, okok.]

That way of thinking must serve you very well in this world.

[Yeah, he definitely has experience. His smile doesn’t falter, but there is something decidedly older about it now.]

Mm, I travel a lot.

[And that’s about the only explanation he gives for that. As for the rest he chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck.]

It does, I guess! I’m getting by just fine in this place. It’s really interesting, I’ve never been anywhere like it.

[He pauses to pass the tiger a look. He frowns.]

I wonder how long they want us to stay in here with him. They didn’t really specify a time limit, did they?

[Kolivan chooses not to follow up on the notion of this man's "travelling". He's already learned from Keith and the others that many of the Otherworlders have hardship and war in common, and it took all of fifteen minutes of standing awkwardly in their house to observe the changes in the Paladins after a bit of life away from the strain of their usual battles. Empatheias is an opportunity many of the Otherworlders will never see at home, and for the moment, at least, Kolivan is feeling much too soft-hearted to begrudge anyone that, even in casual conversation.

Keith is among those who won't see the end of the war, he's told. It isn't a surprise, but, well, he'd hoped. The lights above them in the greenhouse dim noticeably.]

I spoke to the instructors before the class began. [Kolivan arrived early, because of course he did.] They were eager to provide their students with as much individual assistance as requested. They did not mention the beast to me at that time.

[Because of course they didn't.]

[Hunk found himself running late to the class, thanks to a last minute customer taking forever to decide if he wanted an apple tart, or a peach one. Despite the young baker's assurances that both were equally delicious, it took a frustrating fifteen minutes for the guy to finally pick a freaking set of cupcakes instead. By the time Hunk finished counting out the till, and completed his closing duties, he was running into the garden at least twenty minutes late to the advance Dunamis class.

As much as he enjoyed his lessons with Allura, Hunk was someone open to learning from as many sources as possible. Since being positive was a relative strong area for him, he figured starting with that class would be a good idea. It should be a easy show of what he considered his strong foundation. Except he didn't count on the pair of tigers involved.

Entering the garden, Hunk finds himself immediately tensing up as he finds a group of other trainees huddled together on one side, and on the other are two pissy cats staring each other down. Okay, that's not fair to the tiger. Anyone would get irritated at having Kolivan frowning at them down the way he is.

Somehow, he's sure Keith knew the alien rebel leader was going to be in this class, and he hadn't warned his boyfriend in the slightest. Hunk is still working on warming up to the giant Galra. Compared to Thace, he is significantly harder to read, and is always so... serious. Plus, there's the whole taking Keith on deadly missions, and instilling all that "Knowledge or Death" bullshit in him that rubs Hunk wrong on many levels.

Too late to back out of the class now though!

Hunk sucks in a deep breath, and exhales it slowly, focusing on happier thoughts. Like how cute Gordon looked sleeping this morning, laying on her back, her stubby little feet kicking in the air. Or how delicious his new cake recipe came out. Can't forget that he also got to hear some of Keith's singing to the lava pepper plant last night too. All those good, pleasant thoughts create a flurry of flowers around him, and fills the air with their sweet scent.

Moving closer to the frowny, grumbly pair of felines, Hunk smiles at the four-legged one being overly scrutinized. His cheerful mix of spring flowers bumps against the line of wilted ones, as if gently trying to encourage their dying brethren to return to life.]

Hey there Mr. Tiger. Is this guy bothering you?

[Look. In Kolivan's defense, he has always made it a point to stress that we prefer "knowledge" way more than "or death", and Keith was hyped up on "or death" long before he met Kolivan. Remember when he "or death"ed all over Zarkon all alone in a fit of pique? They didn't even know the Blade of Marmora existed at that point in time!

So while he recognizes that the Yellow Paladin has good reason to be invested in Keith avoiding "or death" in this place since there has apparently been some failure in that regard down the pike at home, he's not taking shit from this kid. Not after all the huffing and flouncing he had to tolerate out of the aforementioned Keith whenever Kolivan reminded him sternly to not die.]

The beast feeds on fear and anger. Left to its own devices, it goes after anyone it senses nervousness or frustration from.

[It is a testament to Kolivan's alarming willpower that his increased annoyance is reflected in neither his voice nor the tiger's behavior, outside of a rolling snarl out of the tiger. So there.]

[Why even have "or death" as an option. Why not Knowledge or GTFO? That is way more reasonable. You Galra are so intense. Also, Keith probably can't help being hyped on "or death." It's probably some screwy Galra genetic thing. So, still your fault for enabling that behavior. Shame on you Space-Cat-Lizard dude.

Hunk looks between the tiger, and Kolivan. This is clearly the worst kind of contest of wills. Namely because the odds of it ending any time soon are slim to none. Focusing his own back to happy thoughts - delicious cookies, fixing a broken gadget, not being mauled by a tiger, Hunk takes a couple more steps towards the tiger, flowers sprouting up with each one.]

Well, yeah, that's probably the point of the exercise. Which I think you're going about the wrong way. You're supposed to be focusing on happy feelings. If you just keep being annoyed at it, you're just gonna keep him annoyed too. Try and think about something positive. Unless, you know, you can't manage that, or whatever.

[If you are not alive, you are dead? This is not rocket science??? Also the Blades are great at GingTFO when they aren't getting blown up, if this were a real discussion and not introspective snark Kolivan would not understand why Hunk is making things complicated by adding extra options onto getting dead or not.

Anyway, Kolivan reacts to the accusation that he is incapable of happy thoughts by continuing to frown.]

My annoyance is deliberate. I would not trust that many of the students here could defend themselves if they were to provoke the beast inadvertently.

[The job had seemed simple enough, he had lost enough to likely give the people what they wanted and then some. Then there was this whole thing about Elves and mirrors, he should be a natural at this!

Of course before has an opportunity to have a go at... whatever it was they wanted him to do aside from think of depressing things, the entire area went dark. Well, it looked like he might find himself employed with an entirely different duty than what he had planned, but he wouldn't complain.

He raised his hand and summoned a green flame in his palm and held it high over his head to try and light the area. It took him a moment to adjust to the force acting against it, but he managed to brighten the place enough to avoid any potential accidents. However, since he only had the one arm all he was good for now was acting as a humanoid candlestick. He sought the sourse, which wasn't too difficult all things considered, and approached him, his tone was jovial, but also laced with a bit of sympathy.]

If you keep going at that pace, you'll put the rest of us out of work. Come on, ease up, I can't imagine that's even good for you.

[Kolivan had glanced up as soon as the fire manifested, instantly on his guard. Of course he's been warned of the various magics in this place, but the most personal experience Kolivan has had with the magic of his home is the occasional battle with the Druids...who have murdered some of the very companions he's thinking of today. It's an act of calculated effort to remind himself that even in his own universe, there are magics that are beautiful and life-giving.

He just hasn't had the opportunity to see them in person, being a Galra himself and all.]

On the contrary, the opportunity to focus on such subject matter freely is a welcome one.

[Kolivan's tone is a little stern, but that's mostly because it pretty much always is. The mirror, which flickers as it reflects the elf's light, is held delicately in his large, clawed hands.]

[With the light shining on the odd looking man, he could probably observe the peculiar appearance. Of course he wasn't the oddest looking individual he'd ever seen, he was sort of like a furry Qunari only instead of horns he had... funny fuzzy ears. Not that he really had much room to talk as far as odd ears went himself.

The gruff demeanor did not particularly phase him either, he knew many that were much the same. So he decided to take a seat nearby for a chat, since he was already here and talking... and this guy seemed he could use a chat or an ale, probably more the ale but he did not happen to have any of that on him. So chitchat it was!]

Things keeping you busy back home I take it?

Yes. [Kolivan does not sound sad or angry about this at all. It's just a fact.] I understand that this is true of many Otherworlders.

[That this place is essentially crawling with veterans of some form or another is one of the few comforts Kolivan has in Empatheias. His life has revolved around the war against Zarkon for many, many years. This abrupt chance to be little more than a civilian has left him baffled and uneasy.]

I have been told that most find it a relief to take advantage of the peace. This seems as good a method as any.

[He chuckles and kept his tone his usual jovial and friendly.]

You make it sound so easy. I was retired back home, but I didn't know just how poor I was at it until I came here. I'm still waiting for something to jump out to try and kill me.

[He hadn't really made it sound easy, more like he quoted other people that made it sound easy. Given the state of the room, he really did seem like he needed to get something off his chest, and Ladanelan hoped being relatable might help getting him to talk. It wasn't like he was lying either, the lack of strife here felt utterly bizarre to him and he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.]

It is peaceful here though, how are you handling getting used to all this?

By finding work to do.

[Kolivan does make that reply sound easy. It isn't something he really had to think about very hard. He is not retired, and has no interest in being so.]

That this world seems to be largely calm thus far in no way means that there is nothing to be done.

[Well... very to the point. A black and white way to look at things, but in situations like this simplicity made things easier to take. He was a bit envious, he no longer had many skills worth money, outside of his own world at least. Aside from his magic anyway, and that had it's limits.

Like right now his arm was getting tired holding up the little flame, so he lets his hand rest on his lap with it for a bit. It left the room a bit darker, but stamina was not one of his strengths.]

You must have a variety of skills to make use of then. It's good to be versatile.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE: January

Kolivan | Voltron

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