empatheias_ooc | TEST DRIVE: SEPTEMBER

— TEST DRIVE: SEPTEMBER —

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 Tuesday, August 25th and Applications open Tuesday, September 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! 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!

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? The following emotions will have more effect than usual: fear, bravery, grief, joy, anger, and calm.

• 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: (Taken from the Intro Log) Last month a giant tree overtook the clock tower in Merchant's Square, a place that's usually bustling with social activities and businesses. It still is, but this tree is more than just any normal tree.

HELP! Unfortunately for you, you've landed somewhere atop the leafy branches of the tree. If you can't fly or climb down yourself, you might want to call for help, be it shouting at the top of your lungs or accidentally shouting at the top of your mental lungs for all to hear telepathically. Just be careful not to fall—maybe someone will catch you but would you really want to take those chances?
Memory petal. Beautiful petals the size of one's palm continue to scatter about the city, most of them falling around the tower. These petals will start reflecting a memory of the individual closest to it. Memories are ranging from those that display one's greatest achievement to their greatest fears.
In the tower. Did you happen to wake up inside the tower instead? Bet you weren't expecting it to be dark and dreary with rustling vines that move on their own. There are some hostile creatures, ranging from giant insects and snakes, but easy to fend off. It's even easier if you think happy thoughts. However, if you succumb to your fears, then things will worsen.

• Prompt E: The long awaited tournament has finally arrived, and you can be a part of it!

In the Arena. Whether it was voluntarily or forced into it, you are now facing another Otherworlder to battle. Fortunately, it's not to the death. Unfortunately, how skilled either of you are is completely unknown. The biggest question of all is—can you even fight? But fear not, there's another secret weapon in your arsenal: your emotions. Whether it's striking fear into your opponent's heart with a bolt of courage, or making the ground break and crumble from the adrenaline, this battle will be unlike any have ever seen before!
Sparring match. Maybe you're not quite cut out for an actual bout in the ring. But how about a spar instead? Or maybe you accidentally walked in on someone's practice and are now the target.
Spectating. Shout louder! Let the stadium ring with your voice! Just try not to create too much excitement to actually cause the stadium to physically ring. Wouldn't want it to collapse on itself.

• Prompt F: The weather is a little hypersensitive at the moment, what with all the excitement in the air. Emotions are in full affect as people talk about the winners and losers of the matches. The results can be quite...interesting. For this in heated arguments, that is definitely a dangerous storm brewing around the area. Or maybe the air is getting so hot, things are starting to melt. Maybe it's the opposite—the air is ice cold and a blizzard might happen in the middle of summer! For those gossiping and squealing about their favorites, the sun seems to cast hotter and brighter rays upon them. The air just seems to be electrified! For those lamenting over losses, it just never stops wanting to rain.

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include something that looks a lot like a vuvuzela and/or mirrors.

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

Don't underestimate this island, or these people.

[He had caught only glimpses of potential with his eye, and yet what he'd seen unsettled him. Enough to make him angry, so that the clinging aura around him flickers like a candle's flame.]

[Still, he keeps his voice perfectly calm.]

If you're asking if this is part of the plan, you don't need me to answer that for you.

[That isn't an answer, and yet it addresses the most important question for the pair of them. Father hadn't anticipated this.]

Don't worry. I've done my research and won't be so easily fooled. [Though he said that, he suddenly recalled his previous encounters with those he saw beneath him. Wrath had a point, and him being overconfident did lead him to trouble in the past. The shadows recedes, deciding to linger closer to Pride's body. The concern was appreciated, but Wrath being this visibly unsettled was troublesome.]

You should worry about that temper of yours. It's a little harder to hide here. [He started to walk down the pathway again and expected Wrath to follow. Might as well talk while they worked on getting out of the tower.] An island of emotions...the idea we could be trapped here for some time is troublesome. Despite what I've learned here, it hasn't gotten me anywhere useful.

[Unsettled indeed. Closer to humans than Pride was by purpose and creation, he was all the more concerned with the abilities some of them here had. Alchemy can do many things, but it has rules that had to be obeyed -- and these powers didn't. Creating something out of nothing violated everything he understands, and yes it seems so commonplace here... Yes, he's bothered.]

All we can do here is prepare. Clearly whatever brings us here makes no distinction between human and homunculus. Which means the rest of our pleasant little family could make its appearance here at any moment.

[A frown.] If they bring Father...I want to believe he'd be able to control the situation, but even I have to admit that this is beyond anything we've ever dealt with.

[The air around Pride felt heavy. 300 some years and still nothing could compare to this island. No, he needed stop thinking like that. Doubt was not something he should be feeling. Father wasn't here, so he had to make the decisions and doubting himself wasn't going to help him or his siblings.]

I'll be watching for the others. Although, it might be best to let Envy go and retrieve them. We are supposed to be father and son after all. [And sadly, not all of his siblings know how to be discreet.]

[He knows the answer -- it's 'no'. No great plan to found a country. No control over alchemy. Maybe hundreds of years would let Father get the control he wanted, but Wrath, this Wrath, would be long dead by then.]

[But it isn't his role to say that.]

Greed can't be trusted. If he appears, I'll fetch him myself. He'll need to be... contained before he can form any ties with the humans here. It's problematic.

Oh? While I'm confident you'll be able to take him in, I'm concern you won't just be dealing with Greed. [That Xingese prince has caused Wrath some trouble in the past, and last he recalled, both Greed and the prince were working together. And then trying to contain them in a place like this. Greed's tenacity knew no bounds that one did not simply just contain him, and killing him won't do a thing here.

They're going to need a bit more leverage somewhere. He fumbled with his amulet while he tried to think of how to keep Greed under control. Everyone received an amulet upon arrival and it protected them from the island's more negative effects....hm.]

Wrath, do you know what happens when someone is separated from their amulet?

[Hmph. Ling and Greed, even together, are no match for Wrath. Still, questioning Pride, who is the next best thing to Father's voice in their progenitor's absence... not wise. The more so because while Wrath doesn't believe himself expendable at any point until the plan is complete, he has to make sure Pride doesn't believe that either.]

I know what happens to a human that loses their amulet. I expect it would be the same for him or I. [But for a homunculus without a human base... who knew?]

Then use that knowledge to your advantage. [That was Pride's way of saying "I believe you're capable, but just in case things go bad."]

Although, I am curious to see the affects myself. We might as well get some useful information out of him while he's being held captive. [If they're fast enough, there would be minimal involvement with the public and they could keep it behind closed doors. Just the idea of punishing Greed themselves, made him all sorts of giddy inside. Father would be proud of his children, he's sure. As if the vines could feel that twisted happiness, they started to recede as they continued their progress...at least a few anyway. His emotions didn't remove the thicker vines that had become more prominent the further down they went.]

We must be close to the bottom. [And the vines probably won't be the only things they'll deal with the closer they get to the exit.]

At this point I expect Greed would rather die than come running back. I'll have to make sure he doesn't get the choice.

[At that, Wrath draws a sword -- not to punctuate the statement, but simply because his phenomenal instinct tells him that danger is rising. Well, relatively speaking. Absolutely nothing could be more dangerous than these two.]

What about the Enforcers? They seem the sort you could easily get close to. Perhaps we should begin subverting them.

The police force? [His tone sounded amused, as if he thought the idea of the Enforcers was funny to him.]

I had a nice chat with one of the head officers. He's a fool and easy to manipulate, you should be able to influence them easily from within. [Law enforcement was more of Wrath's area really than Pride's.] Although, once the Fullmetal and the Flame Alchemist find out you've joined the Enforcers, they might cause you some trouble.

[The shadows around Pride began to fade as he stopped to let Wrath pass him. The thick vines was obscuring any source of light from coming in, rendering Pride useless for the time being, a feeling he didn't want to have. Having to rely on someone else was already a hit on his ego.]

There are more of those insects pass these vines. [At least he could still use his sense of smell.] And there's something else, it smells just as foul as those insects.

[The shadows won't last long; severed vines fall to the floor around Wrath, though he hadn't gone to any efforts to make the stroke of his sword particularly visible. He takes the lead, unquestionably assuming that he is the more expendable of the two, although tactically having Pride in the back is the right choice as well.]

Colonel Mustang knows perfectly well that making enemies of us here will work against him. The man's a traitor, after all. Fullmetal probably won't listen to reason, though.

[Which amuses Wrath at the same time as it angers him. He only really enjoys the complications humanity throws into their schemes when they don't affect him directly, after all. Fullmetal could prove to be a real nuisance.]

TEST DRIVE: SEPTEMBER

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What if the Homunculi stop taking orders from Pride cause they realized he not the know-all Father?

It'll be a while before he figures out this whole 'choice' thing.

Could be something interesting to plot long-term :3c

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