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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Ah-

[Right. Concern. For her. Hakuno, the only person who has ever been truly concerned for her... She'd almost forgotten. Without Hakuno here, she'd almost begun to forget that someone would care. She'd fallen back onto her old fears, to go through things alone...]

No, no! Please, don't worry, I promise I'm all right! Well, I did try to release one of my Noble Phantasms without having enough energy, but I was able to get enough mana to survive, so there's nothing to worry about!

[Hakuno frowns, and searches out Tamamo's hand so she can hold it. Her voice is small - it usually is - but serious.]

I really wish you'd told me about that sooner.

... But I'm glad you're okay now.

[Except... Wait a minute.]

Wait, uh... How'd you manage to do that, exactly?

[shit.

shit, she really didn't want to answer this part. she was hoping hakuno would focus more on the name being revealed than that.]

... Well... There was simply a temporary contract, you see... As a Servant, I seemed to count as 'Master-less' while you weren't here...

[Hakuno's brow furrows a bit as she thinks this over.

... There's... more complex feelings regarding this news than Hakuno had expected. It's silly, of course. She needed to do it to survive. But...

She squeezes Caster's hand, putting on a smile.]

It's alright. I'm here now, so you don't need to worry about that anymore. Okay?

[She pauses, trying to think of how to say this without sounding suspicious.]

So... is this temporary contract still in effect, or...?

[She practically jumps in surprise at the question, and then flings her arms around Hakuno.]

No, no! Tamamo is a loyal Servant and humble wife! That person was returned to her homeworld already, and I never contracted with anyone else! I have no desire to serve anyone else but you!

[There's a tinge of desperation to her voice. The light from her tail is no longer shining- Rather, there's a halo around her, but darkness in the center. An eclipse, blocking out the sunlight. She is desperate- Hakuno has to believe her. Because if she doesn't...

She'll end up alone again. Just like with Twice. Just like with Toba.]

He-oof!

[Even knowing Tamamo, Hakuno wasn't expecting her to react so suddenly. Was her petty jealousy really that obvious? A pang of guilt stabs at her chest as she puts her arms around Tamamo and tries to calm her down. It was stupid to even entertain a thought of her feeling the way she does for anyone else, and moreover if it was to survive-!]

I-It's okay, it's really okay.

[She puts a hand on the fox woman's head, trying to lean back enough for her to see the smile she's putting on for her.]

I'm not going anywhere.

Master...

[Her devotion must be beyond question. She loves Hakuno. Hakuno would never leave her like Twice and Toba did...

But she thought that about them, too.

She must be beyond question. She is an Anti-Hero, one who is evil, one whose legend was about betrayal and lies. Even if that legend was not true... Her loyalty had to be beyond question. If not...

The eclipse clears, slightly.]

... I'm sorry I came here without you. And if you will forgive my selfish request... Please, stay with me here.

You don't have to be sorry about anything.

[She hugs Caster and rests her head against hers. She's increasingly aware of the fact that they are, indeed, still standing in the middle of a crowded festival thoroughfare, but that's not important right now while Tamamo is standing in front of her, upset.]

We're in this together, alright? I'm not leaving your side.

[She brushes Tamamo's hair from her face and tries again to meet her gaze.]

So maybe we should take this out of the middle of the walkway. I think the shop owners might be getting mad that we're scaring away customers...

-- Ah.

[whoops.]

Heavens me! Shouldn't they be more understanding?! Rather, shouldn't the pure emotions on display here be wonderful for them?! True love overcoming trials! The loving affection between husband and wife!

[yeah the moment's gone.]

[Hakuno offers a sheepish laugh, gesturing apologetically to the shop owners as she ushers her wayward fox wife down the lane.]

We'll have plenty of time to overcome trials later. Why don't we go ring the bell in the meantime?

[Taking a page from Tamamo's book, Hakuno keeps up the cheerful, abiding exterior, but in the back of her mind, she's thinking about what else she said. Someone out there knows Caster's true name. She'll have to find them and talk to them later, find out who they are and what their intentions are. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe they don't even care. If there's no Holy Grail War going on, does it even matter?

There's too many questions she can't answer right now, and the fact that Tamamo referred to herself by name a moment ago didn't escape Hakuno's notice either. She can't bring herself to bring it up with her now, after everything that just happened, but she knows she's going to have to talk to her about what happened eventually.

For now, though, she holds Caster's hand and keeps her close as they walk through the crowd.]

Ah, right! A blessing for us lovey-dovey couples! The bell, let's go!

[she's going to pull Hakuno along, eager to put the shops, and the conversation, behind them.]

I'm still pretty sure you ring the bell to send a message to the dead, Caster, it's not a regular shrine...

[Still, she knows well enough that Tamamo will make up her own damn mind about what a shrine does, so she just sighs and lets herself be tugged along.]

Well, I'm right here to receive that message, aren't I?

[A Heroic Spirit is just a long-dead soul, after all. And Tamamo is nothing if not an expert at loopholes.]

So you're just going to talk to yourself?

[... Actually that's not too far-fetched. Hm.]

Of course not!

I'll be here to receive your prayers, of course. ♥

[Hakuno's mouth opens to say "that seems a little greedy" and she immediately closes it again. Of course she's Tamamo. It's rank narcissism at its finest, but that's part of what makes Tamamo so cute.

Come to think of it, Nero's pretty self-centered too. And, more or less, one could argue Altera was pretty egotistical too.

... Maybe Hakuno should be concerned for her taste in women...]

Fine, fine, so long as you'll agree to answer them.

Hehehe... Of course! Absolutely! When it's your prayers, I'll answer each and every one of them... Com~plete~ly~! ♥

[She's leaning in to whisper into Hakuno's ear... It's amazing how she can make that sound so dirty.]

[Geez! The sudden whispering in her ear gets a shiver out of Hakuno, and her cheeks reflexively color up again. She knows that Caster's just doing this to make it harder for her to ask for anything more serious, but the more aggravating thing is that it works.]

Unless that prayer's to quit trying to fluster me when we're in a public setting, right?

[Because that keeps working, too, much to Hakuno's chagrin.]

[She pouts a bit...]

Well, if that was what you truly desired, I would grant even that wish...

[Oh, don't pout over something like that...]

... Maybe at least dial it back a bit.

[SHE'S HEARTBROKEN...]

As you wish, my Husband...

[The rational part of her Soul knows Tamamo is just acting, hamming it up to make her feel like a jerk. But the less rational part of her Mind only sees those puppy-dog eyes and quivering lip and droopy fox ears and feels the weight of guilt like a cursed stone on her shoulders. She turns away, takes a few steps, crosses her arms, puts a hand to her forehead, and sighs heavily. There’s really no negotiating out of this, and the last thing she wants is for Tamamo to sulk for the rest of the day.

Without turning back to Tamamo, she walks up to the bell, takes the mallet, and strikes the bell with a solid blow. She sets the mallet down and clasps her hands together with her head low, and mutters her prayer in earnest.]

I pray for a long and happy life for me and my family.

[She says it out loud so Tamamo can hear it. She’d probably know what she was praying anyway, but it means more to say it. And yes, that family includes Nero, like it or not. Hakuno worries about the Saber, but she’s the best suited to protect the SE.RA.PH. and Altera. And more importantly, she won’t be alone. After some fussing she’ll be fine.

But the bottom line here is that she caved and retracted her previous “prayer”, but she’s not going to say that out loud.]

[Oh.

Oh, no.

Oh, no, she's having feelings.

She's genuinely touched by this, and it seems... almost like it would spoil the mood to do her usual thing of throwing her arms around her. And even for someone like Caster, whose skills are listed as breaking the mood, won't cross some lines.

Instead, she takes Hakuno's hand.]

Your prayers have been heard. And I will answer them with all my might.

[Hakuno squeezes her hand and smiles warmly at her.]

Thanks, Caster. Want to go get tacky matching souvenirs?

Yes!

[NO HESITATION she loves that dumb romance matching shit...]

Ah, do you think they have fox charms?

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