Test Drive: April

[empevents]

— TEST DRIVE: APRIL —

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 March 25th and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on April 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. For new characters, these threads do not count for activity check. However, these can be supplementary threads for players already in-game.
  
  
• 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!
  
  
  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: Arehtei Amusements is a new company in Verens seeking to bring Arehtei themed festivities to the people of the city. This might've not been the best idea as it's not endorsed by the creatures themselves and coming up with festivities for some of them can be a bit of a stretch, but they've already incorporated, so it's a little late for that now. Anyways, first up is Piphron, which might not be the best or the easiest choice, but it's too late to change their focus now. So visitors to the Piphron Party will find a few activities awaiting them:

1. Catch of the Day: One of the first activities people will notice resembles a game of frisbee. But with blindfolds! What better way to build trust if you can't see or at least that's the line of thinking here. Participants will be grouped together and whoever's turn to catch will be blindfolded and have to rely on their partner's directions to catch the flying disc. Everything about this seems like it was a better idea than on paper, but it's probably too late for that now. Especially if one of them is flying at you!
   
2. Leap of Faith: For those who want to try out something with less of a chance of getting hit in the face with a frisbee, there's also a trust fall activity going on. But unlike the regular team building exercise, this one seems to have been taken to the extreme and mixed it with bungee jumping. After a brief lesson in Dunamis, one person will be escorted to a platform to fall off it and work with their partner on the ground to slow their descent using emotion magic. And don't worry, it's completely safe! The area under the platform seems full of what looks like foam padding, so there's nothing to worry about if someone messes up or falls too fast.
   
3. Paper Trail: The Arehtei have two sides and since balance is important, they've also tried to incorporate feelings of distrust into today's activities (besides the feelings of skepticism one might have from watching this nonsense and learning the event organizers are planning on more things like this). The organizers were trying to set up a mock murder mystery to try and sow feelings of suspicion or distrust in good fun, but it seems like someone's stolen the sign up sheet listing all the roles! So now they're asking for help to recover the sheet and the culprit responsible! It could be anyone, but odds are they're still in the park somewhere. Or more likely, the wind blew the paperwork away when someone wasn't looking, but they don't seem to be considering that one, so good luck hunting for the mystery thief!
   

• Prompt E: Whether he finds you on a random street corner, inside a grocery store, or at the library, a butler who introduces himself only as Benson is handing you an invitation and informing you that the illustrious Count Dunnit has invited you to stay at his manor for the weekend with a few other select guests. The Count has yet to name an heir for his abundant fortune, and he apparently has decided to bequeath his estate to whoever he enjoys spending the weekend with the most. How can you possibly refuse? However, should you choose to join Count Dunnit and his other guests at the manor, you may find that this weekend is more than you bargained for...

1. Curious Cuisine: Upon arrival at Count Dunnit’s manor, all guests will be invited to partake in a sumptuous dinner of all sorts of rare and exquisite Verenthian delicacies. The food comes in all sorts of strange varieties and colors and aren’t the sort of things that one can find at any restaurant in town, though perhaps for good reason. Whether or not any of this is appetizing is debatable. Have you ever tried grilled wyvern tail? How about bat wings? Snakes? Just snakes? Well, if the cuisine isn’t to your liking, towards the end of the meal, the lights flicker out and when they return, Count Dunnit has crumpled down into his seat, dead as a doornail. Things just took a turn, didn’t they?
   
2. In the Dining Room with the Candlestick: So, Count Dunnit is dead, and everyone in the room is a suspect. You’re a suspect. Anyone here might have killed him to steal his fortune. So it falls to you and your fellow guests to analyze the evidence and discover who the culprit is! Dunnit was poisoned, ostensibly, so starting your investigation in the kitchen and interrogating the staff may prove fruitful. However, it also appears that Dunnit has a stab wound in his back, leaving you to find a knife. To complicate matters further, there is also an injury from blunt trauma to his head. Anything might have caused that. How will you investigate the murder? And moreover...can you trust your fellow guests?
   
3. Goodnight Sweet Prince: As your investigation continues, it becomes clear that there are simply too many variables in this situation for there to be any one culprit, and all clues point to the murder being a joint effort by the members of the staff in an effort to prevent any of the guests from receiving the fortune they feel they rightly deserve. Once the jig is up, however, they release a sleeping gas into the manor and make their escape before anyone can pursue them. These sleeping gas has some extra special properties that make those under its influence particularly cuddly and snuggly when they lie down for a little nap. You may wake up closer to someone than expected. Maybe they’re a complete stranger and you can both agree to never mention this again...or maybe not!
   

• Prompt F: As the years go on and more people begin to get a grasp of their Dunamis magic, Mr. Bubbly, a man with a vision wants to start training exceptional children to become the island's first official superhero group. He believes that by teaching them to harness their Dunamis by an early age, as well as instilling in them a strict moral code, they'll be ready to defend us from anything in the future. The name of this class? The Umbra Academy. Meanwhile, another man with a different set of ideals, Lord Saline, wants to begin his own program, The Astra Academy. While his school teaches young minds to control their Dunamis as well, he is viewed more as an extremist who wants to tear down the wealthy. While the schools are aware of each other, they have agreed not to clash directly.

1. First Class: As both academies officially begin class, they are going to need both students and teachers. Anyone aged 17 and under is welcome to join either group, be it as a student or a teacher. Anybody over that age will have to apply as a teacher/guardian, as the students are largely made up of ten year olds. Either way, whether you're a student or a teacher, you are tasked with standing in front of the class and introducing yourself. Talk about your world and most importantly, what it means to be a hero! Be prepared to take questions, too.
   
2. The Clash: Astra Academy's first mission is underway! Lord Saline has tasked both students and teachers to break into the vault of a museum, using only Dunamis and non-lethal methods when disposing of guards. Ideally this is meant to be a stealth mission, so it's best not to get caught at all. The target? A pink diamond, belonging to a corrupt owner, which Lord Saline intends to sell and distribute to the poor. Meanwhile, the Umbra Academy has a mission of their own! Their students and teachers are to stop an ongoing burglary of a popular museum. If it wasn't obvious so far, it quickly becomes clear that both groups are sent to the same location, with the goal to prevent the other from succeeding. Looks like it's the clash of the academies!
   
3. The Last Stand: Eventually, it's revealed that Mr. Bubbly and Lord Saline are in fact the same person, a legendary con man known as Jet. He created both academies and pit them against each other so he can steal the pink diamond for himself, which he succeeds. Now, even though they're officially disbanded, it's going to take the full force of both academies to catch this criminal mastermind before he gets away. Jet commands a luxury airship full of well-paid guards and mercenaries, which is easily tracked down by our heroes. Using your lessons of stealth and combat from either class, it's time to find your way around his cronies and get that diamond back!
   

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include spiders and/or capes.

Comments

Atreus | God of War

[kynslod]

B. Task Board

[There's a request on the task board to help with some mean birds on the roof, and since Atreus has a certain affinity towards understanding the thoughts of animals, he figures he ought to help! So he's up on the roof, keeping his distance, yet leaning forward to try to get a good idea of what's going on. There's a wince on his face; the downside to understanding their thoughts is that there's a lot of thoughts coming from all these pigeons. Angry ones, at that. Eventually, he can parse out what they're saying, and he leans over to whoever's accompanied him on this quest.]

Uh... They say this is their home, and they shouldn't have to leave. [And after a pause, and a squint,] And that Gemina should leave instead?

[Well, this might be a problem.]


D. Leap of Faith

a. [Atreus still isn't really sure how this whole thing works. He's just getting used to using emotions to control the environment, and he's not really sure if trust and distrust is something he's proficient at.

Still, someone's counting on him, so he has to try. He looks up at them, then the padding below, then holds out his hands as if that'll help this whole magic thing a little.]

Okay... I think I'm ready!

b. [Or you're on the ground! In that case, Atreus isn't even going to wait for a signal. This looks like so much fun, so he's already leaping off the platform with a big, wide smile on his face. Better be ready to think fast and catch him!]

Woohoo!!


F. First Class

[Atreus has never been to a school before. He's always been taught by his mother, and eventually his father. Being in a room full of people he barely knows and taught by someone he likely knows even less is completely different. He doesn't like it very much, so he mostly just wonders when it's time to get out of here.

Which, of course, means he's first up to talk about himself. He doesn't want to do it, but after some humorous back and forth between himself and the teacher, he finally does get up in front of the class. He's quiet at first, then he, well... tries.]

My name's Atreus. My world's pretty cold and barren, and there's a lot of monsters around. And... I guess being a hero means helping people when they need it?

[He glances at the teacher, or he might even make eye contact with you. What else does he say? He's never done anything like this!]


Wildcard.

[Come at me!]

How about a big bird dog?

[beastfriendsforever]

[Maybe the boy decided he wanted to prove himself and explore the wilderness on his own, maybe take on one of those hunting tasks. Whatever the reason, he's having an adventure in the forest outside of town.

Also outside of town, a large bird dog-like creature has taken residence in said forest, because the city of stone is too cramp for him and full of those small stick people. None of them smell like his little person either, so there was no reason to wander close to their settlement. The old scars on his body have taught him stick people with their pointy sticks and fire are bad. Still, while it's been a peaceful life here, he misses his little person that took him on adventures.

So imagine his surprise and curiosity when he happens upon a little person wandering close to his home. It's not his little person, but it is still a little person. For Atreus, when he spots Trico through the trees, there are only a set of eyes peering back at him. What is this little person going to do?]

[kynslod]

[Atreus sees those eyes staring back at him, and though it does startle him, enough to take a step back and almost reach for his bow - he stops short.

A power he's learned he has is to be able to tell what an animal is thinking, or feeling. It can sound like a voice in his head, or just a feeling that digs at him. With the wolves back at home, all he could hear was hunger, a crazed anger, wanting to take and tear and eat eat eat.

He feels no such thing here. And while he's still getting used to the whole god thing, he decides to trust what he's feeling - at least for now.

His arm lowers from reaching the bow and instead slowly reaches out, palm up as if to calm the beast, or at least let it know he doesn't mean harm.]

Hello?

[He's still tense, ready for battle if his intuition turns out to be wrong, but he sure hopes not. He hasn't really fought without his father before, and he isn't sure he's ready to try yet.]

[beastfriendsforever]

[His ears fall back at the motion for the weapon, but then the little one stops. He was raising his hand at him, nothing dangerous. He takes a few cautious steps closer, sniffing the air to catch the boy's scent better. Now partially revealed, Atreus can at least see his figure a little more. He coos quietly, as if curious, but also wary.

His instincts tell him to fight or flight, take the little one back to the master, but the master isn't here. There's also another side of him that had been touched by another little one like this child. Thus there was a longing for companionship.]

[kynslod]

[...

Well what the heck that thing is huge. Not World Serpent huge, but waaay bigger than other wolf... bird? Beings he's seen before.

His mouth gapes a bit as a result, head tilting up to keep his eyes on him as the beast steps closer. He feels... something from the giant. A sense of... longing? Of missing someone? Something? Atreus can't tell what exactly, but that's fine.

He takes a step closer himself, slowly. Not out of caution, but more out of trying to placate the giant.]

Vera logn...

[beastfriendsforever]

[His ears twitch. He says strange things too! Was it a command? He looks around. There's nothing to climb or pick up, so he's looks back down at the little one and bellows before sitting down. That must have been a greeting from him.]

[kynslod]

[That was a big bellow, holy cow.

But now that it's sitting, Atreus takes another few slow steps closer. He holds up his hand, towards the beast's nose, though he knows he can't reach it unless it bends down to meet him halfway. Or 9/10th of the way.]

Do you have a name? I'm Atreus.

F.

[dedunce]

[To instill good values upon the youth of any society must always be a goal at the forefront of any responsible adult's mind, and while Hildibrand is questionably responsible he is always well-intended. Through sheer charisma (and perhaps because taking "no" for an answer is just not something he does most of the time) he's ended up taking on the role of assistant to the assistant to the assistant teacher.

Which really just amounts to "please stand in the room and don't do anything stupid".

Yet the moment Atreus' eyes meet his he can practically feel the nonverbal cry for help, and so he immediately speaks up, striking a dramatic pose with one finger thrust high in the air.]

Wonderfully said, Atreus! To help the helpless is the mark of a true gentleman. Perhaps you can tell us of a time when you had the chance to do exactly that? A good tale of heroism is just what we need to set the mood!

[kynslod]

Oh, uh...

[The dramatics are... kind of weird? Compared to what he's used to? And looking forward and seeing all eyes on him-

Oof.

He ducks his head, mostly so that he doesn't have to see everyone staring at him. There's probably more people in the classroom than he's ever seen in his short life.]

Well... There was... [Oh no. He's gone blank! What has he done? What should he say? Say anything, Atreus! You can do it!] There was... a man. I mean, he used to be a man; he's a spirit now. Was... a spirit. He and some other spirits wanted some last wishes fulfilled so that they could move on, and father and I helped them with it. I remember one of them just wanted to see the sky again... and one wanted to see a good fight. They... seemed really happy.

[dedunce]

[To be fair, his theatrics are weird for pretty much everyone. He's not the model of normalcy, but to him that's the highest flattery. After all, a Manderville man must always seek to exceed expectations extraordinarily!

He nods with enthusiastic encouragement as Atreus begins to speak - for all his oddity he actually seems to be paying rapt attention. As the story ends there's a moment of silence.

And then the tears begin to flow.]

W-worry not, for I weep with joy! To see one so young who embodies the manliest of ideals... it feels as though I've stumbled upon a fantastic treasure. Bringing joy to all, the living and the dead alike...

[He stands up tall, and begins to applaud with gusto]

Bravo! Bravo, young Atreus - a fine man, you will make!

[kynslod]

[Oh. And now he's crying. Atreus just leans back some, honestly not sure what to do or how to handle this. Although... it does feel nice, being praised for his actions, when his father was almost always against helping for the sake of helping.

So, even though the crying and the thunderous applause is still weird to him, he still gives a little smile, even as he ducks his head.]

Thanks... It's good to help people. Living or dead.

Leap of faith A

[glitchinthesystem]

[ He's not really sure what to feel in this moment. One is embarrassment because he has to let a little kid catch him. The other is worry that he may just land on top of the kid and crush them. The is fear that the kid can't catch him and he'll die even with all that padding. He's definitely trying to hide the nervous look on his face though because he doesn't want to ruin the kid's confidence yet; His broken body on the ground could do that.

Still, he can't help but ask;]

You sure, kid? I'm gonna need absolutely think you're ready before I leap.

[kynslod]

[Pause.]

Uh, actually...

[Yeah, he's not ready.]

How am I even supposed to catch you? I know I have to feel things, but what?

[What kind of emotion catches someone?]

[glitchinthesystem]

[ Okay, good he asked because again, he didn't want to splat. As for how this magic worked he can only give a blank stare in return.

Emotion magic was still confusing and weird to him. ]

Um, maybe it's like you believe really freaking hard and it happens? Like picture me not turning into a mess of organs on the ground.

I think. [ Yeah, he doesn't sound at all sure how this works. ]

[kynslod]

... Okay?

[That sounds simple enough? Though Atreus is sure he won't die from the jump. The foam is soft enough, and besides, both he and his father can survive that height, so other people should as well! But, again, he holds out his hands as if that'll help channel the magic, or something.]

Here goes believing hard!

[glitchinthesystem]

R-right. You believe hard kid.

[ God, if there existed one out there please don't let him die in this fall. He's just going to close his eyes and hope that the foam is definitely soft enough that he won't get hurt and fall.

Falling.

Falling.

FALLING. ]

Caaaatch Meeeeeee!

[kynslod]

[Well hey, luckily for him, Atreus IS a god!

A god who has no idea what he's doing and is realizing that believing really hard doesn't seem to be doing much. Glitch is falling falling FALLING and nothing Atreus is doing seems to be working!

He squeezes his eyes shut and tries to think of the last time he fell from a large height. It was exhilarating and incredible, flying through the air of the realm between realms, and he knew beyond a doubt that he'd be safe because his father was there, and he had absolute faith and trust in him -

And so, at the very last second, a strong gust of wind sweeps up from underneath Glitch and stops his fall, or at least slows it down considerably.]

B

[jamminshield]

[A small boy is working with Atreus. Steven has high hopes of finding some sort of peaceful resolution to this dispute. This other boy's ability sounded like one of the coolest things ever! He sure wished that he could understand Lion's thoughts all the time. Although, when he interprets the words of the birds, they're not exactly what Steven hoped to hear. So he frets.]

Yikes! Sounds like this might be a tough one. Maybe we can try to negotiate with them somehow. There has to be a way that everyone can be happy!

[kynslod]

Yeah, I think so, too. But how do you think we should do that?

[Meanwhile, Atreus is gonna move away from the birds for now. Their voices are thundering in his head, and it's honestly kind of painful.]

[jamminshield]

Hmmm... [He pokes at his chin thoughtfully.] We have to get the birds and Gemina sitting at the same table. Then they can talk things out! ...As much as a person and birds can!

[kynslod]

How can they talk things out if they don't understand each other? [He gives a little shrug as if to emphasize it.] I hear them in my head, but I can't talk back to them.

[He looks around, trying to see what else they could do.] Maybe we could find them a new home?

[jamminshield]

Ohhh, so it only goes one way. [He scratches at the side of his head awkwardly.] That does make it tough...

[Then he nods at his idea.]

Now that's a great idea! We'll just have to find somewhere really nice. So nice, that they'll forget all about this rooftop! We're now in the business of bird real estate!

[kynslod]

Real estate?

[He says it slow, the way one does when they have no idea what the other's talking about.]

task board

[worldserpent]

[ whoever was supposed to be with atreus, they're not there anymore. in their place, a tall, androgynous figure stands, serpentine eyes staring up at the boy as he leans over the edge of the roof. for a few moments, he's silent, but then his lips part, revealing teeth that are just a little too sharp to be human. (as if the eyes weren't a dead giveaway.) ]

Eat them, [ he suggests, less focused on the pigeon dilemma than the boy himself, who smells.. familiar somehow. hm. ] You have animal speech?

[kynslod]

[... Where did his partner go -

Wait - ]

What? No! I'm not going to eat them! Why would I do that?

[DON'T BE NAUGHTY.]

I can't talk to them, but I can understand them a little. [He gestures to them,] And I don't think they want to be eaten.