Test Drive: May

[empevents]

— TEST DRIVE: MAY —

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 24th of April and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on May 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!
  
  
• For any concerns or questions, head over to this top level.
  
  
  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: Perhaps one may have heard that Verens used to be a floating island, and it was! When the island then ended up on the surface, creatures which explorers have called "Dinosaurs" (quotation marks included) were discovered inhabiting the plains and the mountains in a far off area. It's time to go back to the jurassic world for a very important mission: gather as many Amaranthus Rubus, red pearl-shaped fruits that heal any and all wounds on one's skin. The hospital needs it! As such, one needs to prepare.

Explorers do not wish to harm the "Dinosaurs", as they are afraid the "Dinosaurs" would go extinct should any danger be placed unto them. This means that one's option when encountering volatile and aggressive "Dinosaurs" is to run away. A fun run is now being held in Verens a few days prior to the trip to the "Dinosaur" plains, where 50 sylvs and a t-shirt that says "I successfully ran away from a 'Dinosaur'!". The colour of the shirt is random, though, but there are as many as the colours of the rainbow. Maybe trade with somebody else who's finished the run if you don't like yellow so much.


• PROMPT E: Once the preparations have been made, it's time to set forth into the land of the “Dinosaurs”. As you enter their domain, it may be difficult to resist the temptation to interact with these rare and unusual creatures, and some of the “dinosaurs” are indeed tranquil and herbivorous. Go ahead and feed the long-necks leafy branches and if you're feeling daring, climb up on their backs for a ride! However, many of the “dinosaurs” are quite a bit more dangerous, and they are very territorial. If you cross paths with the a pack of raptors, prepare to run, fight, or distract. All explorers have been supplied with strips of alluring jerky to placate the beasts. Who knows, you might even make a friend! Be careful not to lose and hand, though.

The Amaranthus Rubus is thickest near the home of the most terrifying “dinosaur” of all, the "Tyrannosaur", and if you are daring enough to approach the lair of this creature to reap the fruits, you may not even have the chance to run away before the creature corners you, roars, and...wiggles his sad, little arms. It seems poor old "Tyrannosaur" just wants some kind of tool to extend his reach! Help him out and he will let you go. Or refuse, and he'll eat you. Sounds reasonable, right?


• PROMPT F: It seems like the land of the "Dinosaurs" isn't so bad after all! Perhaps "Dinosaurs" and man can co-exist, but for that to happen, much research will have to be made regarding a "Dinosaur"'s way of life. Now aboard the ship to head back to the city, researchers are talking about another excursion in the future that's solely for researching on "Dinosaurs" - various species, what they eat, their excrement, and the like.

The trip back to Verens is a little long. Perhaps you're just resting in one of the rooms when there's an explosive sound that can be heard. Oh no! It looks like the engine's running out of steam! Luckily, there's a steam generator in the ship, but steam can only be made through cooperation, anger, and sadness. The entire ship needs your help to get back to the city safely, and if you have to hold someone's hand, slap them, and yell at them to get them to manifest their emotions tangibly, then do so!


• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include swords and/or stones.

Comments

[inklongdry]

[ Well, decision made, then. Arthur gives a curt nod, plucking the spell tome from its usual place at his hip. As the pages whisper open in his hand, he simply responds with, ]

Clover?

[ At the sound of her name, Arthur's faerie companion appears in a shimmer of light, fluttering in the space in front of the Scholar. ]

This will all happen quite quickly, so be prepared to move as soon as I give the signal.

[saviorexe]

[There’s a time and a place to question strange occurrences — if Markus doesn’t know that innately simply by being the kind of android he is, he’s been quick to learn it after his arrival to this world. Still, there are some instances that he simply cannot account for until they happen. Clover appearing out of what appears to be a thick tome, summoned from the pages itself(?) is one of them, sending his processing wheeling in an attempt to understand what he’s looking at, until he has to actually make an effort to halt it, merely accepting oddity as truth for now.

He can question it later. Again, a time and a place. And right now, their time should be focused on not being torn apart by the teeth of hungry raptors.

Fingers press into the bark of the tree a little more fervently, but Markus will only nod.]

Don't worry. I’m ready.

[A scan’s already thrown out in a half-second, determining the best route down if need be. He is ready.]

[inklongdry]

[ It probably looks that way, given how closely Arthur fetching his book and Clover appearing take place. Once they’re well out of danger, Arthur would be happy to explain that his faerie friend actually lives in a rock that he keeps in his pocket.

Which is probably not the strangest thing Markus will ever encounter in this world. ]

Very well.

[ Three things happen in quick succession, then. At some unspoken command, Clover flutters her wings and golden light settles over Arthur and his companion, a humming sort of energy seeping in through their skin – real or not. A haste spell, meant to lend speed to their movements. Next, Arthur flings out a hand, a mote of light leaping from the pages of his tome to follow the motion. The light takes the form of a large dome of swirling blue light that lands right on top of the waiting raptors. Already, it’s clear that their motions are slowed by the spell as they struggle to escape it.

Third, and most certainly not least, Arthur shouts, ]

Go!

[saviorexe]

[It’s quite a light show. Vibrant, though not quite magnesium-bright, but enough to where a lesser man (or android) would be distracted by the display. Magic, something so utterly foreign to him still, working its way into his faux skin, into his casing, some immeasurable energy that he once again has to halt his processes from trying to understand what’s happening and will his focus into their escape.

The Go! is the equivalent of releasing a coiled spring. A route previously analyzed is one that’s easily fallen and executed, and Markus moves with the telltale perfect swiftness of an android backed with magic, swinging down on a branch, planting feet on others to keep balance, letting gravity take him down to ground-level.

When he lands, it’s uncomfortably close to the raptors, but he’s off in a sprint after that — their predators seem very slow to move, as if existing in a bubble of molasses, while Markus’ own actions are impossibly quick.

Thanks for the buff, Arthur!!!! Hope you're right behind him.]

[inklongdry]

[ Arthur is more than happy to explain the finer workings of his own school of magic, but that will have to wait until their lives are no longer in danger. Survive first, exposit later.

He does have to wonder if his new companion is a fighter or some form of athlete in his own right, because he makes it out of that tree and onto the ground with a sort of precision that Arthur frankly finds startling, to say nothing of the speed with which he bolts off.

The healer is not quite so graceful, but at least Markus did him the favor of outlining the best path down. He nearly falls once or twice, but he sees himself safely to the ground not an unrecoverable distance from the other man. Hastened along by Clover's spell, Arthur bolts off after Markus.

Shadow Flare is not a permanent spell by any measure, so it's only a matter of time before the raptors work their way free or the magic dissipates. Hopefully they've enough of a lead to lose them. ]

[saviorexe]

[He allows himself a turn of the head to make sure that his new companion is right behind him; and he’s not right behind him, per se, which leads to the conclusion that he might’ve not made as swift of a descent, but he is following.]

Hurry!

[—Markus makes sure to yell after him, though he’s sure it’s a redundant idea. Still, anything to act as motivation, especially now that he can see the raptors beginning their lurch-and-run in their direction, at a distance.

Before them is another large swath of trees, interspersed with mediocre space between them. Maybe they can lose their trail in the middle of this makeshift forest, or find a more suitable hiding spot within.]

[inklongdry]

I'm trying!

[ THANK YOU FOR THAT HELPFUL PIECE OF ADVICE MARKUS. Arthur is already running for all he's worth, and though he is certainly terrified, there's something almost nostalgic about trying to outrun hostile creatures.

Man, he really needs to rethink his life choices.

Clover flits just ahead of him, helping him keep tack of Markus as the other man disappears into the trees. Behind him, he hears the tell-tale screeches of the raptors and the thudding footfalls that signal pursuit. ]

[saviorexe]

[THAT'S WHAT HE'S HERE FOR, TO HELP

They both probably need to rethink their life choices; the issue being that Markus is a maker of bold decisions, and as a result these bold decisions sometimes manifest as running away from hungry dinosaurs with no time to reconsider or regret.

To his credit, though, Markus does move quickly, aided by his calculations that allow him to weave through the trees without slamming into low-hanging branches, or stumbling through the underbrush. A sharp turn and something catches in his periphery at a distance: a cliffside just above them, on the edge of the trees, and a very small ledge that winds across its side, with just enough room for them to shimmy across to safety where the predators cannot hope to follow.

Below them just happens to be a very, very long drop. But that's fine, right?

Markus stops, grabbing hold of Arthur's arm so that the man doesn't rush right past him when he catches up.]

Hope you're not afraid of heights! [-he says, indicating at with his other hand at the precarious ledge.]

[inklongdry]

[ Arthur is thankful that he has Clover to act as a beacon as they trail Markus. The other man moves and dodges things with an awareness that Arthur certainly lacks, especially with hungry raptors at their heels, and it is only the faerie’s glow that alerts him to low hanging branches or tangled underbrush.

The way Markus stops just as suddenly as the way he started, made all the more jarring when Clover’s haste drops away from them both. It’s pretty graceless, the way Arthur stumbles to a halt, but he keeps his feet beneath him, and that’s what counts.

Ah, he sees the plan here. He sees it and he doesn’t like it at all. ]

Heights, no. Falling from them? Very much yes.

[ However, the sound of a raptor’s cry sounds behind them, much closer than Arthur would have liked, driving home the point that he pretty much has no choice. ]

Gods damn it all—

[ Time to cross the ledge now! ]

[saviorexe]

[Definitely time to cross the ledge now! The cry and dinosaur-like barking of raptors is only motivation for them to act faster; it’s either fall to their deaths or be torn to shred by predators. Neither one is a particularly kind option, but at least trying to escape still allows them a chance of survival. Markus isn’t sure he could say the same if either of them were met with the immense jaws of a reptilian, hungry predator.

Markus, ever a proponent of taking the lead — and therefore knowing that a leader is the last to fling himself into potential “safety” — allows both Arthur and his companion to move past him first.]

Just don’t look down.

[Solid advice, though maybe easier said than done. Vertigo is a killer, though, to a human’s sense of balance; this, he knows.]

I’m right next to you, just keep going.

[A steady shimmy along a HIGH CLIFF, A VERY HIGH DROP, but Markus keeps his gaze planted forward, constantly calculating the small variables that go into balance and locomotion with each step. Pieces of rock clatter beneath their feet with each movement, careening down, down, down. Markus frowns, only sparing a glance at the side to see if they can manage to get far away enough to avoid the snapping jaws of a raptor.]

We'll be safe before you know it.

[inklongdry]

[ Not for the first time, Arthur wonders just how he gets himself into these situations. He could be back in the city, safe and sound within the walls of the library, where the only turmoil he had to face was the threat of a paper cut. (But Arthur knows better – he’s spent so much of his life with only dusty tomes for company that it could hardly be considered living at all. Danger may follow him as certainly as those raptors are, but he wouldn’t go back to his old life for the world.)

“Don’t look down” is an awfully tall order, but Arthur somehow manages to avoid spooking himself between only glancing at where his feet need to fall and otherwise keeping his eyes squarely on Clover as she flutters along backwards in front of him.

Just when he thinks that Markus may have the right of it, only a mere few feet from safety, the small ledge begins to give way beneath his feet. Panic propels him, sees him leaping to the cliff’s edge on the other side of the chasm. For a harrowing second, he thinks he’s not going to make it, but he manages to land gracelessly in the grass, tumbling over solid ground.

His glasses are a bit askew when he glances back, panicked, at Markus. The small ledge is still there, but now there’s a sizable gap to get to the safety of the other side. ]

Can you jump?

[ It’s a long way. ]

[saviorexe]

[The promise of safety, only to have it literally crumble out from beneath their feet. For a moment, Markus experiences that needle-point sensation of sudden panic as Arthur makes the leap, calculations flying into overdrive while he processes just how likely it is that the man will make it. Probability, luck, or both are on the man's side, because with an uncoiling of relief does Markus see him land a little clumsily in the grass, but safe all the same.

That leaves him, though, with the real leap of faith.

It's a wide gap, one that would not be so much of an issue if he was allowed a running start. But there's barely enough room as it is, and the option of turning back is not an option at all when there are hungry dinosaurs waiting. And so, time to run the reconstruction algorithms for himself. Scenario after scenario, a different way of stepping, or jumping, or throwing his weight forward. After a few passing moments, Markus looks at Arthur from across the way with a serious air, but nods.]

Might need a hand if I just come up short. Just in case. Think you can grab my arm if I try to make the jump?