TEST DRIVE: February

[empevents]

— TEST DRIVE: FEBRUARY —

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 January 25th and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on February 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: The trade agreement between Verens and Briarlan is in full swing, with the opening of Verens’ very first radio station! As an amplitude moderation (AM) only radio station, it will focus more on news and talk shows than music. That doesn’t mean it’ll lack for education or entertainment, as home radio sets begin to be sold throughout the city. Speaking of which, as a new entertainment business installed in the city’s economy, it can offer something else to the Otherworlders: employment! And a party! Enjoy.

1. Open Invitation: As soon as the new technology is installed and tested to perfection, the station organises a party to celebrate its grand opening. Invitations are distributed like fliers; in the eyes of the new station, the more party attendees, the better. Held both inside the station and on the block outside of it, there are tables upon tables of cake, cookies, passe horderves, and non-alcoholic beverages. Go ahead and mingle! Every half hour or so, the radio talk show hosts will invite someone on the outside podium to try and entertain the crowd.
   
2. What’s Your Favourite Colour?: So, you would like to work as a radio talk show host! It’s open auditions and you’re either the person demonstrating your interviewing acumen as a potential radio jockey, or you're the person being paid 50 sylvs to allow yourself to be interviews on-air. Either way, the day certainly won’t be wasted. Feel free to improvise to your heart’s content or use a handy list of interview questions and suggestions provided by the people proctoring the auditions. There’s also cookies and juice boxes available but try not to talk with your mouth full on air.
   
3. Five Nights at Radio Shack: Didn’t cut it as a potential radio personality? Not to worry, the station needs janitors too! Because they hire on week-long contracts, it can be considered more of a temp gig than anything--which is for the best, because the basement underneath the station is dark, vast and labyrinthine. The tasks required are mopping, dusting, taking out the garbage and bringing any equipment from the basement to the ground floor. If there are creaking noises, whispers, giggles, faint voices, all of it can be explained by natural phenomenon or radio interference piping through the walls. Those footsteps, on the other hand...

• Prompt E: A necessary industry of any society is beekeeping, and Verens is no different. Giant bee skeps for equally giant bees need their honey and comb collected, too. Typically, this task is handled by beekeepers and their assistants. It’s a little different this month, however; due to a significant increase in the amount of honey the bees are producing, they’ve recruited outside help. Volunteers get 70 sylvs per day of work as payment and a jar of honey as a goodwill gift.

1. Honey and Gather: Honey gathering! Due to the unorthodox bees, the skeps are the size of large houses with many twisting corridors and convenient openings for volunteers to enter. The task is simple: in groups of two, wander the hives, collect the comb, and let the honey drain into the buckets provided. Once the bucket is full, bring it back to the closest beekeeper’s household. Get a new bucket, rinse and repeat. Easy, right? A typical large bee is about the size of a person, with the queen being the size of a midsize car. They are friendly enough, although quite curious and prone to brief fits of territorial displays if they feel their home is being intruded upon. Good thing they’re susceptible to Dunamis!
   
2. A Queen Imperiled: Unfortunately, opening the skeps to volunteers also makes the beekeeping industry susceptible to mischief and theft. While the worker bees were distracted by the presence of people, a group of poachers managed to get in and steal away the queen bee. Getting her back before she’s sold is imperative, and the beekeepers are willing to pay a hefty reward. Track the poachers to their hideout several few miles away, dispatch them as best you can, and bring the queen back to her people. They need her.
   
3. Let Me Be Your Wings: Good news! Now that the queen has been rescued, she is grateful and accommodating to her saviours -- enough so that she is willing to give people a ride back to her home. There’s no need to be afraid, she’s twice as sturdy as a horse. The bad news? Her wing took an unfortunate hit during her capture and she can only make part of the journey. Hopefully whoever rescued her has a plan to transport her the rest of the way back. Ever gone bee walking? It’s a bit less agreeable than dog walking.

• Prompt F: Selenium, the holiday to commemorate and remember lost and loved ones is coming up soon. It will be held in Theasthai, which requires some travel for those in Verens, but with teleporters, it should be easy to get there and get back to the city. It's not the most cheerful of events, but it seems that some of the organisers are more eccentric than traditional. It must have been why they were hired!

1. The Ring: A few months ago, children (and people who looked like children) received unsigned letters and were found at a bottom of a well in the forest three days later. Investigations led Enforcers to believe that this strange phenomenon was caused by a girl named "Samantha" who passed away in the hospital years ago. In order to let Samantha's spirit enter the realm of the dead properly, the eccentric organiser for Selenium is hosting a wrestling competition at the city square. Samantha's dream was to be a pro-wrestler, and a small festival that shows sportsmanship and competition might help her find peace. Put on a body suit, enter the ring, and tackle your opponent to the ground! Of course, this may or may not be a voluntary thing. . . said organiser can be rather pushy and just shove the suit onto anybody nearby. It's for the sake of the spirits, she says!
   
2. Wishing Stairs: One of the temples in Verens has now become a festival attraction. Booths serving small Arehtei-related trinkets can be found at the top of the stairs, and they're lined up leading to the bell at the centre of the temple. Ringing the bell will send a message to the dead, wherever they may be. It's a calling of sorts to them—a means of telling them that Selenium is coming soon and that their loved ones will be connecting with them soon. There is a catch, though. . . going up the staircase up to the temple is a bit challenging. Salt is spread on each step with only two small circular spots for someone to step on. It's said that making it to the top of the staircase without getting any salt on one's shoes means that their wish will come true. Why don't you give it a try?
   
3. Shutter: Photographs in Empatheias are still sepia toned, compared to the more modern and futuristic worlds some Otherworlders are from. One of Selenium's organisers got wind of how photos are important to the dead—even more so to those of the living—as it's how they remain alive. One of the halls in the city is now occupied by some Thespian organisers and their Verens counterparts, and they are requesting for assistance in gluing, piecing together, and repairing photographs. The photos are scattered all over the tables in the hall: some are torn, some have ink blots or food stains which need to be cleaned, and some have been folded too much that the creases have deformed the faces in the photograph. Those who wish to assist in this endeavour will receive a plateful of warm butter cookies, hot chocolate, and 200 sylvs. Just watch out, though, because sometimes, the subjects of the photos seem to move when no one's looking.

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include sunflowers and/or bear cubs.

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

[gainsaiyan]

[Gohan laughs as Goten tries to pull him along, mostly because he knows Goten totally could drag him along anywhere if he really wanted to.]

Easy there, slugger! You could at least tell me what you're in the mood for right now. [There's a pause on Gohan's part, as he flies forward, ahead of Goten now.] And don't say "everything", either. [He knows you, Goten. You'll eat anything. He knows because he'll eat anything too.]

[sonofson]

[Goten keeps up with him, following just a little behind. When Gohan asks what he's in the mood for, he opens his mouth to answer only to be interrupted. Gosh Gohan, didn't mom tell you that it was rude to do that?

But he is right. Slowly closing his mouth Goten purses his lips. He thinks for a moment before looking back to Gohan, picking up a little bit of speed so he can fly ahead of him.]

But I do want everything....but if you really wanna know....something sweet?

[Goten's eyes light up with a sudden realization. He'd really prefer for their parents to be here with them but since they're not he has the best most amazing idea ever!]

Gohan! Can we have cakes and stuff for dinner?!

[gainsaiyan]

[Gohan's first thought on this whole situation is that as a kid Mom would never ever let him have cake, or any sort of sweets, for dinner. He even remembers a couple times of Dad trying to make a case for why they should totally have dessert for dinner, only to suffer her wrath. He probably shouldn't let Goten have sweets for dinner.

But then he realizes something. He's an adult now. Kind of!

He can totally have cake for dinner. He can have cake and pie and ice cream and nobody can stop him. ...Goten probably still shouldn't have that stuff for dinner, growing boy and all that. But hey, what's one time, right?

He gives a long, thoughtful pause before giving his answer, as if to build up suspense.]

...Okay, sure. Just this once, we'll do it. But next time we see Mom, you can't tell her we did this, got it?

[sonofson]

[Goten as flipped around, flying with his back in the direction they're going so he can see any clue to Gohan's answer before he gets it. Even though Gohan is wayyyy less strict than their mother it still felt like a bit of a long shot. Sure, he doesn't have to listen to Gohan either but it just is natural for Goten to fall in line with it. Gohan is his big brother and he looks up to him. Mom would put him in charge if she had any say in it, even Goten knows that.

So he waits eagerly for an answer. Gohan's long thoughtful pause is killing him as his anticipation grows and grows after not being shot down immediately. Just as he's about to push his luck by adding a dragged out 'Pleassse', he gets the answer he was anxious to hear!

There's a small gasp of surprise as Goten's face quickly lights up once again. He beams and starts cheering as he flies back over to Gohan to do loops and circles around him]

YEAH! Alright! This is going to be great. I won't tell! I promise!

[Goten laughs joyfully, trying to name various sweets he wants for dinner. Cookies, cakes, ice cream, ICE CREAM CAKE with COOKIES ON TOP! Pudding and candy---the list goes on. Whatever comes to mind. More sweets are sure to come as soon as he can see the selection. Dessert for dinner is the best thing ever! He's sooo going to tell Trunks about it later. Goten is willing to bet even Trunks hasn't had dessert for dinner before!]

Thank you Gohan! This is going to be the best dinner ever!

[gainsaiyan]

[Gohan can't help but laugh at Goten's youthful enthusiasm and energy. He has no idea where the kid stores that much energy in such a tiny frame, but it was a little enviable to him in a way. As a kid, he had Goten's curiosity, but definitely not his spirit.

...It dawns on him that this sugar binge he's about to let Goten go on might give him even more energy, and he's not sure he's ready to deal with Hyper Mode Goten, but... maybe he'll have a sugar crash faster??? He can only hope. Otherwise he's going to quickly regret this.]

Hahaha! Just don't go too overboard, okay? I've gotta be able to pay for whatever you eat, or else we're gonna be washing dishes the rest of the night!

[And the two of them both have an aversion to chores.]

[sonofson]

[More circles and loops around the older teenager and Goten does another flip before dropping down onto Gohan's back. He may have energy to burn but Gohan is a better ride then even Nimbus. Plus, since he's been able to fly he hasn't really gotten to hitch a ride with his brother...not counting the flight to Gohan's training spot of course.]

Okay, I'll do my best!

[Goten grins, though its hard to say if he will actually be able to hold himself back. He eats like a saiyan but he doesn't always have to gorge himself out all the time. Just most of the time. But doing dishes doesn't sound fun at all. Especially the rest of the night.]

When that happened to me and Trunks, we sorta just tried to sneak out of there. He didn't get his money from the Tournament yet and we already ate all the food...

[Granted they got caught but maybe if they didn't run and instead flew away then they would have gotten away with it. Luckily bumping into grandpa Ox did lead to those poor cooks getting paid.]

[gainsaiyan]

[Good ol' Grandpa Ox-King and his seemingly infinite stores of money. Must be nice to be a king. They'll have to enjoy it while it lasts.]

Good to know you two were up to your usual trouble back then. [He knows how you two can be when you're together. ...Don't ever tell him about Mighty Mask.

With Goten perched on his back, Gohan decides to really show him what kind of speed he's capable of now, as releases his full power and takes off back towards town. Better hold on tight, Goten, because it's gonna be a quick ride!]

Hey, Goten. I need to ask you something. [Because he hasn't forgotten something you almost said.]

[sonofson]

[ Yeah that's true. Trunks and him can get into a lot of trouble when they're unsupervised. Goten starts to laugh but is cut short as Gohan decides to kick things up a notch.]

Whhoaaa!

[Goten goes tumbling backwards down Gohan's back from the sudden burst of speed. It's not so much that it's too much for Goten to handle but the sudden kick with no real warning did almost throw him off! He manages to grip onto the back of Gohan's shirt before practically bear hugging him to hold on. A little warning would have been nice! But Goten can't really complain. No, not when Gohan can fly so fast and it's like a ride. Gohan defiantly outshines Nimbus. That poor yellow fluff ball of a cloud would be lift in their dust.

Once he regains his grip though, Goten does manage to slowly pull himself up back towards Gohan's shoulders. Granted he still does have his legs wrapped securely around Gohan and fistfuls of his shirt.]

Huh? What's up, Gohan?

[gainsaiyan]

[Gohan glances back when he feels Goten's weight suddenly slide off his back. He almost came to a stop to grab Goten if he fell off, even if he would have been able to just catch himself in the air. But thankfully, it looks like Goten managed to hold on. Still, he slows his speed down, juuuust a bit. All this power's still pretty new to him, he hasn't gotten a whole lot of opportunity to really exercise control of it.]

Back during our fight, you tried to say something's impossible for you. What's impossible for you? [He knows at this point that his little brother is pretty darn capable in his own right, and it's unusual for him to hear Goten accept being incapable of something.]

[sonofson]

[He blinks slowly, head cocking to the side as he tries to remember what exactly Gohan is talking about. A lot has happened between now and then what with the promise of dessert and what not. He's much more focused on that then what he said during their match.]

Impossible for me...? Hmm...

[Give him a second, he's racking his brain to remember when exactly he said that during the fight. He hums, thinking harder. He has to resist the urge to cross his arms or scratch the back of his head. Even though Gohan slowed down a little bit, he doesn't want to risk falling off. But finally he gives a sheepishly grin. Whoops.]

When did I say that? I forget...

[gainsaiyan]

[There were many things Gohan could have expected his little brother to say to him in response. But such a typical Dad answer? Was not one of them. And he really should have known better than to not expect that.]

Seriously?!

[The sharp blow to his concentation is enough to get him to falter, his flight trajectory dipping suddenly as he plummets towards the ground. He's quick to catch himself and resume a normal flightpath. Hopefully Goten didn't let go during that second or two of turbulence!]

[sonofson]

[Goten blinks, not really seeing the problem with anything really. He stares at the back of Gohan's head, looking more confused but his smile stays in place.]

Ahuh....

[Luckily, his hold on Gohan was good enough that he didn't let go but it did surprise him a bit. He isn't sure what his big brother was excepting. Oh well. Goten can't help but laugh a little at his reaction. Gohan is funny.]

Is that bad?

[gainsaiyan]

[Gohan lets out a small sigh over Goten.]

No... I guess it's nothing big, then.

[Though Gohan still can't help but worry about that. But he knows getting an answer out of Goten's going to be difficult. He'll just have to wait until it happens again.]

Alright, let's pick up the pace. [The town's in sight, so Gohan's going to increase his speed to get them where they need to go.]