empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: February

Entry tags:

*test drive

TEST DRIVE: February

— 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.

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.
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.
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.

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!
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.
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!

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!
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?
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!

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[ Oh! It's not someone coming to attack him or anything like that at all, it's just a normal person who seems to also be working hard down here in Creepy Basementland. Oscar immediately relaxes and lowers the mop, feeling both relieved and sheepish. ]

Uh, right! I'm sorry about that, I just thought...

[ He trails off and then looks from side to side hesitantly. ]

Hey, you haven't... heard any weird noises, have you?

[Roman rolls his eyes, noncommittally. But his grip loosens and he seems to relax as well.]

Yeah, yeah, I get it. Relax kid, this place isn't haunted or anything.

Why? Think you heard a ghost?

[ It's only now that he sees him calm down (and now that he's calmed down some himself) that Oscar realizes Roman had tensed up too, and his expression turns even more apologetic. But since Roman doesn't comment on it, neither will he. ]

No, ghosts don't scare me that much anymore.

[ He still wouldn't want to run into any wayward spirit, but that's kind of for a different reason. ]

I... was worried somebody might be lurking down here. Like a bad guy, or something.

[Roman wants to say that, honestly, the baddest thing in here is probably him. But he refrains, figuring he can behave a little longer. At least until he learns this kid's deal. If he's learned nothing else, it's that kids are weird and he tends to encounter a lot of them.]

Well, I haven't see anyone. I was just told to take out the trash and then I could go.

Why? Is there supposed to be?

[ Oscar dips his head down. ]

No... it's just that this place is pretty dark, and I keep hearing things, so it sort of put me on edge.

[ It sounds so silly when he says it aloud, and he sighs softly at his own imagination before looking back up at Roman. ]

But if you haven't seen anyone, then that's good.

[Well, he can't blame the kid there.]

Do I want to ask what kind of things?

[ A pause. How should he say this... ]

Stuff like something squeaking or scraping along the ground, or people whispering—

[ He stops as a faint voice reaches them just then. It's a man's voice, though he sounds too raspy and distant to be understood. And, well, the fact that he seems to be speaking backwards also doesn't help. ]

... You know, stuff like that...

[Roman is tensing up again, and looking less than thrilled at this development. Though he hopes it comes across more as exasperated, rather than scared.]

Well, isn't that just wonderful?

I think I'm going to finish taking this out if it's all the same to you.

[ Fear, exasperation, either way it's clear Roman has had just about enough of this place, and given that Oscar's earlier apprehension has returned too, he doesn't blame him. ]

Oh, sure.

[ Though that'll leave him on his own again, won't it? He glances at the mop he's still holding, then down at the (slowly starting to thaw) bucket. He doesn't want to abandon a job he agreed to do, but... maybe it would be okay if he took a break and stepped outside for a bit. Only for a bit! ]

Actually, um, before you go... do you need any help with that?

[Roman looks down at the bag he's carrying and the at Oscar. There had been a second bag that he had been considering abandoning, as opposed to coming back to it and finishing the job properly. But this could also kill two birds with one stone.

He certainly wasn't thinking of Oscar's well being in any case.]

There's another bag in the other room. Grab it and that will at least get this job done.

[ Oscar's face lights up with a grateful smile. ]

Okay!

[ As he quick as he can, he leans the mop up against the wall and scooches the bucket over before darting off to the other room, returning a minute later with the second bag in his arms. Because of how small he is, he can't see around it very well, so he's going to wait for Roman to go first and then follow after. Lead the way, ginger man! ]

[If Roman wasn't so eager to get out of this place, he might have laughed. Instead, he simply nods before turning on his heel and heading out at at decent pace.]

Let's just get this done.

[ He nods too, not that it's visible at the moment. ]

Sounds good to me.

[ As he walks along behind Roman, he's careful not to get too close so that they don't bump into each other by accident. At a few points, the bag starts to slip, so he has to stop and adjust his grip on it, but when he's got it again he matches Roman's pace once more. ]

[It might be a little faster than Roman's normal pace, but he's trying to give the sense that he's not trying to rush even if he is. Creepy old haunted houses don't really agree with him. Even if he'd never admit it.]

You aren't hearing anything else weird, are you?

[ Oscar pauses before answering to listen closely, but it seems to be quiet around them for now. Which is still a bit spooky in its own way, he supposes, but he'll take it. ]

No... not at the moment. But I'll keep an ear out, okay?

[ And if he spots anybody sneaking up, he'll throw the trash bag at them! ]

Yeah, do that.

[Because he will be focusing on getting out the house as quickly as possible. So it's totally alright to leave the listening and the paying attention to a kid, right? Granted, so far this was seems the most normal of the ones he's met. And Roman would know, he's something of a magnet for the weird ones.]

Just down the stairs and out the door, I think.

[ Oh Roman, you sweet summer child... he's the weirdest of them all! ]

Wait, stairs?

[ Considering Oscar can't see his feet too well right now and he doesn't have the greatest balance to begin with, that might be a bit of a problem. But okay, he'll simply have to do his best not to trip. ]

Uh, right. Down the stairs. Got it.

[ And just to be safe, he pauses again to make sure he has a tight hold on the bag before descending. ]

[One day someone will sit Roman down and explain everything. And that will be the day he just gives up.]

It's not that far. You'll manage.

[At least by Roman's perspective. Granted he's the one leading the way right now so he has that advantage.]

[ He's about to answer in the affirmative when the basement goes and acts up again. It's the high-pitched giggle of a little girl this time, and it sounds close, like she could be right beside them. Oscar yelps at the suddenness and misses a step in his surprise, which leads to another yelp as he begins to tumble down the stairs, still grabbing onto the bag for dear life. ]

Look out—!

[Roman actually jumps when he hears the giggle. He'd been so focused on getting down the stairs and out the door that the sounds actually scares him and he turns suddenly.

As he sees Oscar tumbling towards him, he goes to take a step back and misses the stair causing him to stumble backwards and begin his own fall.

They land in a heap at the bottom.]

[ He manages to spare a thought for his Aura before they hit the ground, but it still hurts a lot when the impact comes, and a couple of minutes go by before Oscar manages to push himself up. Once he does, he scrambles to try to help Roman up, too. ]

I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, are you okay?

[Roman, unfortunately, does not have the luxury of aura. So instead, he's sjust going to be momentarily stunned. He doesn't initially brush Oscar away but eventually he waves him off.]

Fine, fine. I've had worse.

What was that?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE: February

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