TEST DRIVE: JANUARY

[empevents]

— 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 Friday, December 25th and Applications (Canon | OC) open Friday, January 1st.
  
  
• OC Reminder! Just a quick reminder that original characters are currently 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!

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: A new card game is sweeping through the streets of Verens: "Magica Ex Arehtei." Players take on the role of an Otherworlder and form battle decks out of minions, monsters, dunamis, and even the Arehtei themselves. It’s insanely complicated in its details, but this hasn’t stopped a seller from handing you a starter deck and all but pushing you into a chair to face an opponent… who may have just been conscripted themselves.

• Prompt E: After a long period of quiet (something about ‘emotional and physical harm to Empatheias’ and ‘manufacturing plush weapons without a Class E(X) license’), toy manufacturers have flooded merchant stalls and storefronts with a new offering, the hyper-cute stuffed Thras. No negative emotions, they promise! Plush Thras is so full of bravery, he’ll inspire anyone who holds him to new heights of courage and valor!

Naturally, magiscience has gone too far, and picking up the doll instills you with vigor, energy, and fearlessness past the point of recklessness.

• Prompt F: Thundersnow! A phenomenon in which a snowstorm is accompanied by lightning and thunder, and not a terribly uncommon one in Empatheias. But today’s thundersnow is more like an apocablizzard -- lighting lashes through the sky and lances down to catch buildings and trees with its fury, all hidden behind whirling sheets of billowing snowflakes that have blanketed the city in a foot of snow with no sign of stopping.

The outside is cold, windy, miserable, and potentially dangerous. Are you trapped in a building you didn’t expect to be in? Or perhaps you’ve joined up with an emergency emotion squad, trying to impose calm or cheer on the raging storm?

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include lumps of coal or moose.

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

[celestial_wizard]

[ She glanced over towards the bathroom, and then back towards him. ]

... yeah... yeah, I will. But... you should get some rest first. Come here.

[ She reached for his hand to tug him over to the couch so he could sit down with her. Priority one was taking care of her partner, and that meant getting comfortable and rested. ]

[explodewiththerage]

[He's being silly. Silly and weak and that's so not like him. But after having so many of his foundations so completely and utterly shattered by revelations, it would be more surprising if he just bounced back from it all like nothing happened.]

Oh. ALright.

[He follows Lucy over to the couch and just drops himself on on his rear on the soft cushions of the couch.]

I hope Happy's okay...

[celestial_wizard]

[ She couldn't blame him, really. She didn't know what the asshole said to Natsu to make him doubt himself so much like this, but she knew she had her work cut out for her to fix it. She never wanted to see him the way he was moments earlier. Once he settled beside her, she reached out with both arms to gently pull him down so he could rest his head in her lap - keeping his wound face up of course. A faint blush dusting her cheeks, she glanced away briefly, and then looked back down to him. ]

Happy ... Happy and everyone will be fine.

[ She believed that most of all. That was why she could be calm - although Natsu was unbelievably strong, and he couldn't defeat Zeref. And he was reduced to such a mess after what Zeref said - no no, she couldn't start doubting now. The lights flickered only briefly, before she focused on what was important; her partner. ]

[explodewiththerage]

[Of all the things he expected getting a sudden lap pillow from Lucy was the last thing to come to his mind. But with the wound on his cheek still rather fresh, that naturally meant he would end up more or less facing Lucy's stomach.

This...is actually kind of really nice. Especially in his current state of mind.]

[celestial_wizard]

[ Of all the things she thought she'd ever do, letting him use her as a lap pillow was definitely not one of them. But she wanted to do whatever she could to help comfort him, and make him feel better. She had to keep herself from panicking with the way he faced her, though there were some nervous twitches when her hand lowered to brush against his hair. This would help, right? A..although she was kind of trapped if he fell asleep like this. ]

[explodewiththerage]

[He closes his eyes after a while, a look of peace and comfort slowly settling in over his features. Safe. This feels safe. But that's only because of Lucy.]

Thanks...

[celestial_wizard]

[ She didn't know if he was going to fall asleep like that, but ...she won't mind if he did rest a little. Stars, she knew he needed it in a -big- way, and if she could help him relax after everything she'd learned and he went through, well, that was fine. It was just the two of them. She smiled faintly, watching his face as he closed his eyes. She owed him so much, being a pillow was only a chip in the wall. And she could have lost him. ... No, stop, don't dwell. Dwelling helped no one. ]

[explodewiththerage]

[Seeing how she didn't answer to his gratitude, Natsu went quiet for a while and just turned his head into her stomach a little more, immersing himself in her scent, her warmth, just her overall presence that was more soothing than anything else in the world right now.]

Sorry.

[celestial_wizard]

[ She startled a little, distracted out of her thoughts when he spoke up again, frowning a little. She wanted to tell him that the apology wasn't necessary, but she'd be lying. He had a lot of people to apologize to for nearly throwing his life away like that. Especially Happy. It took her a minute to speak again, partly because she wasn't sure what to say and partly because DID HE REALLY HAVE TO PRESS IN SO MUCH MORE OHGOD, and she slowly started to pet her fingers through his hair. ]

..d... don't worry about it for now. It... it's more important that you get the rest you need. I'll stay with you. I'm not going anywhere.

[explodewiththerage]

[Given that actually get a response out of her, Natsu concludes it was the better of the moves he could have made. Still he knows he owes an apology to a ton of people. But that ton of people is not here right now. So Lucy gets hers first.]

Yeah. I know. You're not like me after all.

[Not someone who breaks his promise in the end.]

WATCH OUT, A Herd of TealDeer!

[celestial_wizard]

[ She flinched, then scowls, reaching down to pull his ear. Hard. Well. With him she can never tell if he can actually feel her tugging his ear or if he reacted just to humor her. ]

STOP that. You made mistakes, we -all- make mistakes. [ She sighed softly. ] Natsu... you are a better person than you give yourself credit for. You've always had the strongest heart I've ever seen. Everything you've done, you did for others, never for yourself. Because you want to protect everyone. That's why you take everything to heart so much harder than anyone I know.

But what makes you any different from the rest of us? And I'm not talking about... what Zeref told you. About you being E.N.D. You don't have the heart of a demon - you're nothing like your... your brother, or any of the demons -he- created. And.. I never met him, and I wish I did, but you have the strength and heart of your father, Igneel, more than any demon out there.

When you.. [ Her voice broke slightly, and she glanced away for a moment to compose herself. Taking a breath, she glanced back at him. ] When you do the things you do, you behave so recklessly, it's always to protect the people you care about. Even when you left a year ago, you did it so you could get stronger, so you would be able to protect us. And when you left to fight Zeref, it was because you wanted to protect us. That if you took the leader down, that would make it easier for us all to turn aside the rest of his army.

Any of us would have done the same. We want to protect the people we ...care about. [ Okay if she had decided to leave for a year to train, she would have at least TOLD him, but... she was putting that aside. She...could understand why he didn't tell her to her face. She would have cried; she would have asked him to take her with him, and that would have been hard for him to deal with. ]

I'm not like you? [ She laughs quietly. ] I'm more like you than you know. [ That's his fault too. ]

Stampeeede of TealDeer!

[explodewiththerage]

[He thought that was the right thing to say. After all he'd broken his promises while Lucy held them dear from the start. She'd said as much when she first explained her magic to him. But he didn't expect that to anger her the way it did. To the point that he actually hissed in pain when she twisted his ear. That opened his eyes right away and he turned in her lap to look up at Lucy.]

Wh-

[No saying anything else too soon was a bad idea. So he kept quiet for the moment letting Lucy get it all out. ANd what she had to say shocked him with how true it all rang.]

Lucy...

Quick, catch them! We need dinner!

[celestial_wizard]

No!

[ She wasn't gonna let him cut her off and try to say he was worse because he broke a promise, or because he wasn't human or something stupid like that. She didn't see him as a demon. She saw him as human, or a dragon if he'd rather. She saw him for who he was, not what he was. ]

Ever since you brought me to Fairy Tail, you have never EVER broken a promise, except twice, and BOTH of those times you had our best interests in mind. I know why you did what you did, and don't get me wrong I am -furious- with... what could have happened. But I l- [ UM. ] I'll...let that go. Even if you have to -- [ No. She can't even say -that-, even if he has to give his life up, she'll forgive him. She brings her hand away from his ear to rub at her eyes quickly, taking another breath, and letting it out slowly. ]

I... will never forgive you if you "sacrifice" yourself for me or anyone else.

I was lonely when you left the first time...but I knew you were coming back. I just had to be patient. [ And she didn't do a great job of that since she constantly tried to find word of him. ]

If you sacrificed your life... [ She glanced away. ] I know I'm being selfish, but all I can think about is how miserable I'd be without you around. Just like "she" was.

[ Obviously she means her future self. ]

I'll get the shotgun!

[explodewiththerage]

[She's really unloading all of her feelings on him and he could wear some of the items not firmly afixed to the floor or walls are rattling. But it's not until the very end that it sinks in at last. She. The one who survived the complete destruction of everything she loved and still traveled in time to save them..He didn't want Lucy to end up like that. Seeing her so distraught and fearful once was enough to last Natsu a lifetime!]

I'm the worst. Needing you to actually say that to my face before I get it...

Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!

[celestial_wizard]

[ It's probably a really good thing that they hadn't properly 'moved' in and there were only basics in the cottage. They'd have had to go out and replace everything that broke. Still his final words sank in, and the rattling calmed as she glanced sharply at him. She regretted bringing up her future self like that, but in order to explain to him the full impact of what he had almost done was, she had to use the heavy artillery. If he hadn't understood even after that... ]

N..Natsu...?

There's too manny capn!

[explodewiththerage]

[It was harsh. It was also ruthless. But it was necessary. It certainly knocked any notion of sacrifice form his mind and that was the intended result.]

Yeah?

[He turns back to let one eye meet Lucy's from his current position.]

Retreat! RETREAT!

[celestial_wizard]

I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to bring ...that... up, but...

I wanted you to understand. [ Sacrificing oneself tended to be shortsighted. Sure it -might- end the threat but what if it didn't? And the results afterwards... ]

Tactical retreat underway!

[explodewiththerage]

[He just shakes his head a little, the first sign of a peaceful smile tugging at his lips.]

No. You're right. You always are. I lost sight of something so obvious...

Now that I think about it those might have been Santa's Reindeer...

[celestial_wizard]

[ She lets out a soft sign at that smile. ]

There's my Natsu...

[ ... th..that was said out loud wasn't it. She blushed abruptly, cutting her gaze away from him. ]

U-um...

You go on and ...and get some sleep now, okay? [ He was probably still tired. Otherwise she supposed they should look into supplies and things. He probably would still have some rough nights, since the damage Zeref did wasn't fixed by a long shot. But at least she thinks she patched up one thing - the more important one, in her opinion. ]

...OH no. good thing we didn't shoot any

[explodewiththerage]

[She just...called him her Natsu? That...makes him inexplicably happy. And the lights around the house seem to shine much more warmly all of a sudden.]

Oh. Um right. Though I don't wanna move just yet...

Yeah. I don't want coal in my stocking ;o;

[celestial_wizard]

[ It .. uh... don't take it the wrong way! She glanced around briefly. Honestly with the weird way the things were flickering before, and now they're brighter, she hoped there wasn't a problem with the power around here. She didn't notice the way stuff rattled when she was talking at Natsu earlier or she'd think the place was possessed. ]

Um... you don't...? Well... [ Figures he was just too comfortable. And that was partly her fault, for trying to soothe him wasn't it? ]

..ah... okay, you can stay for a bit longer, I guess.

Lets sneak away.

[explodewiththerage]

[The brighter glow wasn't dangerous though. Nothing like shoddy wiring. It was smooth and gradual if anything.]

Heh thanks.

[He'll try his best not to fall asleep like that. No promises though.]

OK. No one will ever know. >.>

[celestial_wizard]

[ If he managed not to fall asleep she'd be shocked. Especially when she distracted played with his hair. It was fluffy, hair like that needed to be fluffed and played with! He'd do the same thing to her hair given a chance. Probably. ]

... you're welcome, Natsu.

Lets just erase the evidence

[explodewiththerage]

[Oh no. It's the hair ruffling that does it really. Without that he felt he might be able to stay awake. But as soon as he felt those slender fingeres combing his hair, Natsu felt himself slip under into sumber in record time. Right there. Surrounded in the safety of the warmth and presence that made up Lucy.]

Good idea; We were neeeeever here...

[celestial_wizard]

[ That was part of her plan, really. She knew he needed to sleep, he used up so much of his magic, after all. And.. though this meant she was trapped in place with him lying on her lap, she decided it was her own fault for putting him in this position to begin with. Her hand continued petting through his hair a bit longer, before she started to relax, exhaling softly, remaining awake to watch him a little longer before exhaustion claimed her, and her head dipped forward, nodding off. Just a little catnap... that was all.