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 rocks back on her heels a bit. Man that... that really sucks. ]

But it's only a small percentage, right? ... I-I mean... even if it's at 1% it's still bad, but it's not a completely hopeless case. People who are afflicted can still be cured. Do you think they remember any of it? After they're purified?

[shepherds_pie]

[Yeah, it's...not pleasant. He's never felt more terrible or sorrowful than the times in which he's forced to do that.]

It doesn't happen very often, no. I can only hope that they're okay after passing on, but...I don't like it when it does happen.

[Perhaps, more than anything else, he feels as though he's failed them in some way by not being able to purify them.]

Some of them remember, but a lot of the time they don't. I've come across some people turned into hellions who refused to believe that they had been corrupted like that. Others don't remember what happened at all.

[celestial_wizard]

I'm sure they are. I only know a little about what you described to me, but ... if they were turned into monsters -- um, hellions, then they would at least be grateful to you for helping them to find peace. No one would want to be trapped as a monster for their entire life - especially if they forgot their humanity.

[ She looked thoughtful for a moment. ]

So... I guess it must be traumatic - no, I think it definitely would be traumatic, and denial, or forgetting is their only way of coping.

[shepherds_pie]

[That eases his heart somewhat. He still doesn't like it, but Lucy makes a valid point.]

You're right. Thank you, Lucy.

[Sorey thinks about that, and nods after a moment.]

That's probably a big part of it. Even some of the seraphim weren't aware that the transformation had happened.

[celestial_wizard]

[ She doesn't blame him for not liking it - she wouldn't either. But if she helped him a little bit, she was happy, and it shows; the air in the library felt a bit warmer as she grinned at him. ]

You're welcome.

[ She looked thoughtful for a moment, suddenly wanting to ask if his seraphim friend Mikleo - or any of the others - had ever fallen victim to malevolence but that felt like a very personal question to ask. She discarded it. ]

Hmm... I see...

[ ....how did their conversation get so serious and blah? ]

Hey, why don't we talk about something else?

[ Something less likely to lead into uncomfortable territory. ]

[shepherds_pie]

[Honestly, he doesn't know. Something about war. He's glad to change the subject, though.]

Ah, sure.

[What to change it to.... Oh!]

What's it like to be part of the magic guild you're in? Are there different magic guilds?

[celestial_wizard]

[ Oh shit Sorey you just stepped into another babblebomb. Her face just -lights- up at the question. ]

It's amazing. Everyone in Fairy Tail is so warm and welcoming, it's like a really big family. There are smaller teams within the guild, since a lot of us like to go out with people we get along with really well. The team I'm in has five people including me, plus two Exceeds, but there are some who have smaller teams. Alzack and Bisca used to go together a lot, and then they fell in love, got married, and now they go out on missions with their daughter Azusa - she's the cutest little thing. And then there's Levy, there's are three others in her team, plus one Exceed. Mira-chan doesn't usually go out on missions, but when she does she always takes her brother and sister with her. Then there's Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe, and Gildarts, but he goes out alone on solo missions a lot.

There are a lot of different magic guilds though- there are light guilds, like Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, and Sabretooth, but there are also dark guilds and independent ones. Light guilds are approved by the Magic Council, but Dark Guilds aren't - they're usually criminal organizations, who take on assassination or kidnapping jobs or ..worse. OH, and there are non magic guilds too - thieves guilds, and mercenary guilds, but we don't interact with them much. Actually, we tend to butt heads with them more often than not. But we're allied with a lot of the light guilds; Lamia Scale, Mermaid's Heel too.

[ Quick, she's taking a breath! Stop her, Sorey, stop her. ]

[shepherds_pie]

[Whoa, jeez! Sorey doesn't expect this, but, well, he does this with Mikleo a lot when they get on the subject of history or archaeology.

He...he thinks he understands the guilds better. The concept is certainly really neat with how they act like a family. At her breath, though, he decides to cut in with another question.]

Uh, not to interrupt, Lucy, but what are 'Exceeds?'

[celestial_wizard]

[ W..whoops. Lucy stops short, realizing she had really been going on a tangent there, and blushed sheepishly. ]

Ahaha - s-sorry about that. Okay, well, Exceeds closely resemble cats -- if...cats walked on two legs and talked... but they were born on our sister planet, Edolas, Happy and Charle, the two Exceeds in our team, were actually sent to Earthland...um, that's our planet, before they were born so they were hatched shortly after Natsu and Wendy found them. Ah, and they use Aera magic that lets them fly. Happy and Charle often fly their partners into battles and things. Although personally I think Natsu just likes flying with Happy half the time.

[ Considering his dad was a dragon, and they would go flying, it probably reminded him of Igneel. ]

[shepherds_pie]

[Huh. That's fascinating!]

Flying cats? Sounds pretty cool! Although, I don't think I've ever heard of a cat being born from an egg. Guess there really is a first time for everything.

[celestial_wizard]

Hahaha, well, it's not like they're normal 'cats', though they definitely have cat-traits.

[ The number of types Happy scratched up her furniture.. fffgh. ]

[shepherds_pie]

That's still incredible! I've met a handful of seraphim who weren't human in appearance, either. I've met a dog seraph, a cat seraph, and my friend, Lailah, told me that there are even armadillo seraphim. They can do anything a human-looking seraph can, just in animal form.

[Sorey has no idea how they came about, either.]

[celestial_wizard]

Whoah.. Really? [ Dog and cat, okay but.. ] Armadillo seraphim? And they speak like humans and everything? That's so cool!

[shepherds_pie]

They do! Although, it's more telepathic communication, I guess, but you can understand them perfectly either way! I'll bet that those three aren't the only species. Unfortunately, I haven't met any others yet.

[celestial_wizard]

Aww... but don't worry, I bet once you get back to your home you'll be able to keep traveling and meet more seraphim!

[ ...although she won't ever find out about it. That's..kind of depressing. She liked talking to Sorey. ]

[shepherds_pie]

Yeah!

[It's a shame, really. Sorey isn't going to let that stop him from making as many friends as possible, though. Neither will it stop him from telling them all about the experiences he's already had.]

I can tell you all about them if our paths cross again!

[A hope that makes the air around them a little warmer. He's not sure he can keep a promise like that, but he can at least give the both of them a possibility.]

[celestial_wizard]

[ Who knows what the future brought. Maybe there'd be a way to visit each other's worlds, or travel between this one and their own world yet. It was... very unlikely, but still. There was a 1% chance maybe. ]

What do you mean 'if'?

[ She grinned teasingly - she was pretty sure she'd run into him again, here, if nowhere else. How could they not? ]

[shepherds_pie]

[Sorey laughs at that.]

Okay, you got me. "When," not "if."

[celestial_wizard]

Right!

[ That settled, she grins, leaning back. ]

So what do you do when you're not meeting seraphim and things?

jsyk, I keep screaming about these two to my friends b/c they're adorable omg??

[shepherds_pie]

Well, I like to catch up on reading different books! If there are any ruins to explore, you can count on Mikleo and I to start exploring them. Or at least be the first ones to volunteer. Other than that, I'll just talk to my friends and try to improve my cooking.

[He's good! He's just...not as good as some people he knows.]

How about you? What do you do when you're not busy doing guild stuff?

fkjal;g omg i know right?

[celestial_wizard]

[ Her grin broadens at the hobbies list, and she has to keep from giggling at the question. ]

You're kidding! You like reading too? I love reading new stories - [ She gestures general at the library in a 'which is why we are here, I suppose!' fashion. ] Although, I've.. um, actually been doing more in the way of writing than reading, lately.

[ Her two dreams; join Fairy Tail, and be an author. ]

And I like to spend time with my friends - although in a way you can count that under guild stuff too, I suppose. The adventures I go on and the missions I've taken with my friends - they tend to get so convoluted and crazy, that a I like a little downtime sometimes. Sitting in front of a nice crackling fire would be ideal right about now.

I can't dealllll

[shepherds_pie]

[Ah, yes! A fellow avid reader!]

I love it! Although, I tend to get a little too into the book and forget to eat or sleep. [He looks a little sheepish.] You're going to be an author? That's great! When you're done with your book, I hope I can get a copy! And I can see about getting you a copy of Mikleo's. He wants to write about all of our adventures and experiences.

[These are dreams that Sorey will only encourage in however way he can. He chuckles at that, though.]

That's a feeling I can understand. And that sounds like a great idea, honestly. A shame that I haven't seen any fireplaces around here, although that's probably for the best.

FKJl; just wanna squish them ;o; January is too far away!

[celestial_wizard]

[ She loves it when she meets someone who shares the same hobbies as her. Natsu wasn't much for reading, though she has seen him peeking at some of her manuscripts from time to time. ]

Haha, I can relate there. Well.. I don't think I've ever gotten so caught up in my reading that I forgot to eat personally. Sleep though, definitely. Especially when I'm writing, sometimes I just knock off at my desk mid sentence.

[ She giggles. Brightening up at the possibility of getting a copy of his friend's book. ] Oh! That would be fantastic! I'd..offer to show you one of my old manuscripts too, but... well, obviously that's back home.

[ She grinned sheepishly. Oops. ] Why is it for the best that you haven't seen any fireplaces, though?

+1 to both of those things ;o;

[shepherds_pie]

That sounds about right for me, too. I can't count the amount of times I've fallen asleep using the book as my pillow! I'm honestly lucky that Mikleo keeps on top of that.

[Otherwise, he wouldn't nearly be as hale and hearty as he is now. Sorey smiles at her, though.]

Don't worry about it! I'll just have to look forward to the book you write here.

[He looks a little thoughtful.] Well, not all libraries can afford to make fireplaces safe. With all the books around, an accidental fire can be a huge risk. This one uses magic and technology together to better circulate the heat in the building, right? Less risk that way.

*sob* We'll hang in there! It's just... ;.; two ..weeks away...

[celestial_wizard]

[ Yeeeeeeah, Natsu's done that too. Usually after invading her apartment in the first place, and then she'd wake up and kick him for climbing in the window again. ]

Hee! Count on it! You'll be one of the first people I'll show. Promise!

[ She glanced around the library, suddenly realizing. ]

Ohhh... yeah, I-I see what you mean. I didn't think about that. I guess I always kind of took Natsu for granted there...

[ Odd comment aside. ]

Still, if you're extra careful in your own home, it makes a room feel a lot cozier. I want to see if I can get a place with a fireplace when I get back.