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memepatheias2019-03-19 07:11 am
empevents) wrote in memepatheias2019-03-19 07:11 am
Entry tags:
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!
• 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:
- 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!
- 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.
- 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...
- 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?
- 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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
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Sheryl ... Nome.
[ What was a man like him doing here then? As far as Sheryl knows, this party was only for the rich and well-connected. At least that was what their host told her when he invited her and since she was looking for investors for her concert, it didn't seem like a bad idea. At least, it wasn't bad until he thought it was okay to try and touch her lower than her waist earlier.
So how did he manage to snag an invitation?
She should probably still be suspicious of him. Logically, it probably wouldn't make any sense for him to be the murderer. He had plenty of opportunities to kill her, especially when they went outside. With this young boy unconscious, there would be no real witness.
Maybe for now, she could trust him. That didn't mean she was letting her guard down one bit though.
She watches him pull out a ... water pistol? A strange thing to bring to a dinner party. ]
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Not that she needs to know any of that.
Bishop whispered into the gun again, the keywords being "trigger" and "silencer", and the cylinder change from blue to blood red. The waiter looked at him while trying his best to look defiant however, Bishop pointed to the side and pulled the trigger and the ground next to the kid head burst as something hit it while the gun let out a soft dull thud. Clearly, this isn't a water gun anymore.]
I'm only going to ask my questions once, and if I don't like your answer, I'm going to take a kneecap. If you lie, and I will know if you lie, I'm going to take a kneecap. If your answer sucks or I don't like it, guess what I'm going to do? That's right junior, I'm taking a kneecap. When I've taken both kneecaps-[He reaches into his coat and retrieves a jet black serrated combat knife.]-I'm going to take a finger, and just as a reminder, you have ten of those and I have a lot of questions. So.
[Bishop crouches then points the gun, as he promised, at the waiters right kneecap.]
Miss Nome, you may want to be somewhere else right now. This will not be pretty.
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This man was dangerous. Despite the 'polite' offer, she knew he would still not hesitate to kill her if he had to. However, she did not like the thought of killing or hurting someone more than necessary. And, this was a boy. Probably only a bit older than her.
Maybe the waiter had sensed that from her at first because he was now looking at her pleadingly, still believing maybe that they were together. He was making one last attempt of rescue before the torture began. As if she had the power to control this monster of a man. Despite the name, she wondered if even a god could.
She dashed his hopes though by giving a bright smile, as if this sort of torture was just another day at the office. ]
Alright. I am going to need to touch up my make up anyway. Don't make me wait too long.
[ Her only hope to help the boy was encourage this fear. The more afraid he was, the less he will have to endure.
She leaned over, angling her face to look like she was giving him a kiss on the cheek and whispers to Bishop's ear. ]
He is a boy. Please do not kill him.
[ With that, she gives another giggle and walked away. Once she was out of earshot, she had to wrap her arms around herself to keep from shaking. She was afraid for the boy ... but most of all, she was afraid of this man named, Bishop. ]
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When she left, seemingly abandoned the boy, a long moment of whispers and nervous chatter Bishop emerges from behind the car. He put away his gun and knife as he approached.]
Well...my instincts were right. [He reaches behind him and recovers some object covered in a handkerchief. He unfolds the cloth and reveals a bloody kitchen knife.]
He was carrying this puppy out and he was gonna toss it in the creek back there. [A beat.] He's alive and unharmed by the way. I put him to sleep so he won't remember you or me.
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Now that they had the murderer and the smoking gun, she hoped this meant that the danger has passed. He was murdered by a boy. Maybe not so unbelievable. Sheryl was much younger when she agreed to become a spy that would inevitably kill thousands. ]
Thank you.
[ As grateful as she was, she still didn't understand why. Why did he decided to kill his employer? She composes herself and turned to go back inside. ]
We should go back in and let everyone know what happened. You can also tell me ... why he did it.
no subject
Yeeeaaahhhh....The kid isn't the murderer. Well, not the only one.
[He covers up the knife and tucks it into his pouch.]
He confessed that the servants worked together as a whole to kill the Count. Apparently they're not to keen about him giving out his fortune or something like that. The hall we were in was also booby trapped, but from he told me it's not anything lethal. Just hinder anyone who tries to stop them.
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Sheryl didn't care about the fortune. She had come here to look for potential investors, not to become some sort of heiress. Despite the gas being promised to be not lethal, it wasn't like they should leave things the way they are. Someone in there could have an allergic reaction to the gas. ]
Shouldn't we go warn them? Shouldn't we just evacuate the people in there and just leave whatever fortune here behind?
This was a ridiculous plan. Endangering people for money? I can't accept that.
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It's cute how you think that the rich and wealthy are going to give up on getting more money because of something like this.
[He leans on the side of the car, arms crossed while he ponders his next move.]
If we go in there now and let the guests know about this, they're going to get their own private security to deal with "them". "Them" being the Counts servants, well, murderers. We help the guests, we doom the servants. We help the servants, the rich get their money and, possibly, may later get killed.
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Sheryl wanted to help them. ]
Help them. I will pay you any fee you require.
Name it, and I will do anything in my power to make it yours.
no subject
By "them", I'm guessing you mean everyone inside, yes?
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Yes. If the servants had to resort to murder, then they are just desperate. I know what that feels like ...
... and I might not like every elite in that room, but I still do not want to see their blood spilled.
[ Does he accept the challenge? ] So, can you? Or can't you do it?
1/2
I'm expensive, you know? The government back where I'm from paid me good money, enough to keep me satisfied for the remainder of my life.
2/2
So keep your money. I don't need it. Besides, stopping now will only put a stain on my pride.
[He pushes himself off the car and stretches, rolling his neck and popping his spine to loosen himself up.]
But if you do insist on compensating me, lets see....One date. Take me on a nice date and I'll consider that payment.
1/2
"Aren't we all?," she thought. She wasn't surprised. As a professional, she understood how important these exchanges were. She was quite expensive as well but this especially went to pros like him that trade with the possibility of exchanges their own lives.
She was about to ask for a price when he continued. ]
2/2
Sheryl had always been the one cooking up surprises, so she was not used to someone taking her by surprise like this. If he was teasing her, was this really the time to do that?
She was frustrated but at the same time she couldn't help blushing. ]
Mou, is this really the time for this?!
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Now then, I'm gonna need a bit more info...[He looks around seeing what's available. A few fancy cars, Sheryl, and the kid waiter. Not much, but then an idea comes to him. He heads back to the waiter and searches him and retrieves a set of keys.]
These don't look like master keys, but it's a start. So. You planning to wait out here or come with?
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Of course I am coming.
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I had a feeling you'd say that.
[He says idly while going through the keys. They're properly labeled, pantry, back entrance, mezzanine, storage, and a few miscellaneous rooms were listed on the ring.]
Hmmm...nothing particularly useful. Hmmmm...[He thumbs the pantry key while looking at the manor.]
Explosions. If I cause random controlled explosions in the manor, I should be able to scare everyone out and since I have access to the pantry I should have more than enough materials.
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She should probably just gather her thoughts later. ]
How do we get into the pantry? The cooks and other waiters are probably there and the pantry should be busy. Dessert should be served soon.
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[She had a point, and if the servers spot them then they might be alerted. To add, he's not really familiar with the manor so finding the pantry alone will take time.]
Yeah, going for the pantry would be foolish. That leaves the storage to be our the next best thing. The problem with that is that it's most likely in the basement, and to safely detonate I need to bring it up to the second floor.
[He looks up at the manor then at Sheryl, eyes focused as he goes through different scenarios and conditions. Contingency plans, escape routes, timing, damage evaluation, and potential collateral damage.]
Alright. Storage it is. Miss Nome, I need you to serve as my look out and if need be my distraction so I can safely transport what I need.
no subject
Do you want me to stay outside the door, then?
no subject
Not exactly. Look.
[He opens his palm which glows a deep blue and model of the manor made out the same blue light appears above it. Most of the manor is not revealed, however, the ballroom where they came from, some parts of the second floor, and some of the basement are drawn with light.]
The storage is down here in the basement, the entrance of which is from a door off the main entrance in the lobby. The plan is to blow up some empty guest rooms up on the second floor, which I can get to from the lobby as well. The problem is, there's a chance I might be spotted hauling the things when I cross the lobby. That's where you come in, you stay by the entrance and keep watch and when I come up you let me know if it's safe to cross and distract anyone who gets too close. Simple, yes?
no subject
So she was the distraction. It sounded easy enough. She already knew she was distracting without trying, but just to be sure maybe she should put more of an effort. She didn't really do extra service, but she will consider this an exception. She then turned to him and winked. ]
That sounds easy enough.
[ She removed the shawl from around her shoulders, revealing her low-cut dress. The next thing she did was took out the pins from her hair and arranged it to be loose and look a bit more sexy. ]
Distracting enough for you?
1/2
Quiet.
2/2
Here. When you need to communicate with me, just touch this and whisper. I'll get the message and I'll be able to send you messages as well.
[He'll hold out his hand for her to take the accessory before pulling his sleeve back to check his watch.]
I estimate we have about thirty to forty minutes to pull this off. Ready?
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