TEST DRIVE MEME: JANUARY

[simpathis]

— 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 Thursday, December 25th and Applications open Friday, January 1st.
  
  
• 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!

Now with that out of the way, here are some prompts you guys can work from!


PROMPTS

• Prompt A: Things are a bit out of control right now, and that includes your emotions and the elemental cores. Just the slightest feeling will be exaggerated. You were only smiling a little? You're now a walking light bulb. Just a little pout? Strong torrential rain is now over the entire block.

• 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.

• 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: Empatheias is currently experiencing an island-wide blizzard. Several thick inches of snow covers the landscape, and with the city's unusual architecture, falling snow from the eaves of roofs is an actual hazard to be wary about. So what can you do with it? Do you play in it? Throw snowballs? Try to help clear the roads? Or does your mood actually worsen it by creating your own mini blizzard or make a large patch of melt or even turn to rain and pools of water?

• Prompt E: The city is worse for wear and needs help getting fixed up. This can be done one of two ways: physical labor or using positive emotions to help speed the process a long. Which do you try?

• Prompt F: Empatheias doesn't celebrate Christmas, but quite a few of the PCs have decided to celebrate it amongst themselves. Will you help spread the season of joy and free will? Or try to ruin it? Don't forget your emotions will reflect your mood.

• Prompt G: Make your own! It can even involve pigs or a bucket of paint.

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

C/F

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[Fearsome... assassin... warlord. Okay, Ryuko's not exactly a Christmas person or anything but she's pretty sure that's actually not how it works.]

Uh, I think somebody's been givin' you the wrong idea about the whole thing. He's just an old, fat guy who gives presents to little kids.

[steel_over_blood]

...Yeah, that's a good cover story. You'd need to come up with one if you were operating on a global scale.

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[The hell, dude...? Cover story?]

No, seriously, that's all he does. Flies around once a year, drops off presents for all the kids then takes off. And anyway, it's just a story.

[Spoken like a kid who stopped believing that stuff a long damn time ago.]

[steel_over_blood]

[ Santa Claus is deadly serious business until proven otherwise. Such a being is not to be underestimated! ]

This isn't the first conflicting account of Lord Claus I've heard. My original source is one I trust to be aware of hidden danger - they've claimed to have encountered the man himself.

[ That's about all he'd trust Kurome with, mind you. He still won't give out her name - professional courtesy, in case this gets back to Santa and he feels like he needs to silence her. ]

I'd like to believe you, but I can't do that based on words alone. If you had evidence, that would make your case stronger.

Hoping that the following even is a thing in Japan. I just don't know.

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[But he is easily diverted with milk and cookies.]

[What the hell, is she seriously having this conversation?]

Ah, well, people go around dressed up like him all the time. Y'know, so kids can tell him what they want for Christmas at the mall or whatever.

[She is seriously having this conversation.]

If we had one I'd drag a mall Santa out here and yank his beard off for you. Other 'n that, I dunno what the hell kinda evidence I'm supposed to show you.

[steel_over_blood]

It all makes sense now. A league of assassins with the same persona is far more likely than just the one guy targeting that many people in a single night!

[ We are seriously having this conversation. ]

This Santa Claus business goes deeper than I thought.

[guitar_case_vagabond]

Wha--? What the hell do you think goes on at Christmas? Jeez!

[This is a very frustrating conversation to be having.]

I told you, it's just a dumb story about some old guy who drops off presents for all the good kids every year! It's just somethin' people tell their kids to keep 'em in line!

[A beat.]

And he doesn't off the bad kids either! He just leaves 'em a chunk of coal!

[steel_over_blood]

Maybe in your world, but who's to say a real one hasn't slipped in at some point? Some people here are from strange places where walking trees and dragons are only stories - your world could be like that when it comes to Santa Claus.

[ Ryuko can speak for herself on that front because Bulat's having fun. He's kind of missed strategizing against potential threats, even if the Santa cult seems like a fairly benign group. ]

[guitar_case_vagabond]

Those are stories too.

[Right. Because there's no weird shit going on where she comes from what with the talking clothes and the carnivorous business suits and-- okay, okay, point taken. Her frustrated huff can actually be heard over the telepathic link.]

So, you're tellin' me that there's a world out there where friggin' Santa Claus runs some kinda worldwide murder gang?

[steel_over_blood]

I'm not ruling it out.

[ Bulat would fit right in; he wears a live dragon. ]

...That one world, it has that song about him, right? The one that sounds something like, "You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, he watches you when you're sleeping"? If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on that one.

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[She used to wear an alien. They've already got plenty in common.]

Yeah, we got that one back home. It's because he leaves presents for the good kids and screws over the bad ones.

[Ugh, she's almost talking about the old fart like he's real here. SHE'S NOT BITTER ABOUT IT OR ANYTHING. YOU ARE. SHUTUP.]

[steel_over_blood]

That didn't come off as shady to you guys? Some strange old man looking in windows and watching you sleep and judging you all year round... I was a well-behaved kid about twenty years ago, but I wouldn't have stood for that.

[ Bulat's using a somewhat subjective interpretation of well-behaved but Ryuko doesn't have to know that. ]

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[... Okay, yeah, she's starting to make a face over here.]

Uh. I guess when you say it like that it does sound kinda creepy.

If he does show up around here I might have'ta kick his ass.

[steel_over_blood]

Worth getting on the bad kid list?

[ Bulat just how old do you think she is. ]

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[That is a very good question.]

Tch! I'm at the top of the bad kid list every year.

[That is not something she should be proud of.]

[steel_over_blood]

The top of it, huh... What'd you do, set traps in the chimney?

[ He's kind of curious about what her deal actually is by now, but not enough to pry into it outright. ]