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memepatheias2019-05-18 07:20 am
empevents) wrote in memepatheias2019-05-18 07:20 am
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TEST DRIVE: June
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 25 May and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on June 1st. Reminder: Our application cycle only lasts 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: Empatheias seems to love festivals! Every festival is always filled with so many people - whichever city might be celebrating it. However, the next coming days has Verens filled with people from all over the world. The Nightingale, as most people know her, is a travelling Fortune Teller who has decided to pass through Verens for a few nights. As such, she's set up a booth. She will tell the fortune of whomever wants it for only 10 Sylvs.
Apart from being able to see one's future, The Nightingale also sells various wares that would improve one's luck, one's love life, one's career, and the like. Buying a blue adamantium bracelet is said to triple one's bank account, while buying a red feather hat would give its wearer more opportunities to meet new people. Just about every item for every possible effect can be found in The Nightingale's Shop, and everything is limited edition! Perhaps one may want to try purchasing an item and see what happens.
• Prompt E: Rumours are going around about how The Nightingale’s fortunes and her charms are effective. Verens is abuzz with stories such as that man who stumbled upon some spare Sylvs while wearing one of The Nightingale’s pendants, or a shopkeeper whose profits shot up threefold in a week after she paid the fortune teller a visit. Everyone’s horoscopes as told by The Nightingale, even those as specific as, “You will accidentally run into a wall in the next five minutes” or “You will be unable to control a particularly odious fart while you are walking with a good friend”, are coming true. A strange phenomenon, to be sure, but those who are perceptive and diligent enough may notice that a person’s emotional state might just have something to do with how fortunes come true. Persons dominated by negative emotions receive negative fortunes, and so on.
• Prompt F: Some of these fortunes sound just a little bit too good, don’t they? And the frequency with which they come true is suspicious on its own. How could the Nightingale be so precise and accurate in all things? Well, as it turns out...she’s not so precise. Or, at least, not in actuality. Her fortunes and charms are, in fact, powerful spells that fool those under their influence to believe they are coming true, when they are, in fact, not. Once she begins to pack up to leave town and head to her next destination, charms will begin to break, bank accounts will fall back to their normal numbers, and newly-found sweethearts will find their eyes unclouded. Will you stand for this trickery?
If confronted, the Nightingale will reveal her true form as a powerful demon witch. She will not hesitate to attack those who provoke her, and her offensive spells are powerful enough to turn friends against one another. Avoid her magical blasts and aim for the talisman she carries! Once the talisman is broken, the Nightingale will disappear in a puff of smoke...but at least she seems to leave behind all the sylvs she collected while in town. Maybe your fortunes aren’t so bad after all...
• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include seeds and/or spoons.
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He was too new to this current situation to contest Reyes on the mind games of this place. It seemed like an odd thing to say when he wouldn't have thought the older man would admit any kind of weakness at this point, especially in any potential argument that they could have with one another. "As if I wouldn't come," he growled back. "You're pretty stuck on this 'not caring' theme. As dramatic as ever." That's all he would say on it. He wasn't going to be changing Reyes' mind any time soon given how continual the accusations were. "You can leave at any time, since all you're going to do is berate me."
As they walked, he made certain to keep increasing the distance away from Reyes one small step to his left, taking him further away. He made certain that it was subtle, only increasing it obviously when it meant to have to walk around trees that were in his direct path. Nothing that was out of the ordinary.
He shook his head, expecting Reyes to just vanish from behind a tree and leave him to his own stupid devices. He was gritting his teeth behind his mask, and it was much self control not to shoot the other man in the chest for the continual battering when he was already off balance with the situation. Reyes had always been so damn high and mighty with that stubbornness. Arrogant prick.
"And whatever stupid I get up to is on me, so you can disappear into the woodwork like you always do," he snarled. He had no interest in their continual battering back and forth. He was exploring, nothing more, nothing less.
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It was a simple fact of this place, and one that caught too many people unaware to not let it be a known matter to possibly contend with. Planned on just giving out enough info that Jack could use and build off of easily enough on his own. "No one to blame but yourself for coming," all Reaper had done was given him his location and left it at that. "Eat and breathe dramatics at this point," because it would be clear enough to anyone that actually knew how he was. Why hide it? "Not so great when the shoes on the other foot, is it? Then again even simple advice was beratement to your ass."
There was something following- or they were walking through the territory of something that wanted to keep an eye on them in turn. Either way he was remaining at the same distance, keeping watch from the corner of an eye.
"It'll come in time, like I said. This'll be the last you'll be seeing of me as far as I'm concerned," easy enough to do. Had done it before, knew every path to places he needed to get to. "Speaking of stupidness you could get up to, you still got your crystal on you? Most people are stupid and either toss it or try to sell it.
"That thing is the only protection you've got to keep this world from killing you simply for existing in it, so even if you don't wear it keep it on your person." His head tipped. "This place uses crushing a crystal as a death sentence for that reason."
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He stooped at one point, picking up a rock fist-sized stone that he had kicked ahead of himself by accident. He heft its weight as they walked, waited for the next verbal barb of blame being thrown his way - like Reyes was immune to blame, always had been - and then he twisted as he rounded the next tree and whipped the stone right at Reaper's chest. "Don't you worry, you son of a bitch, I blame myself for a lot, but don't you dare think that you're angelic. You failed as much as I did, and you were just as keen to bait me out of the city otherwise, you wouldn't have given me your location in the first place."
As if their anger and bitterness towards each other could be hidden at this rate. He could tell on his side that he was teaming to go for another fight, this one where he wasn't quite so confused on the situation. He blamed himself enough for what had happened to Overwatch that he had taken on a new persona, lost much of his old touted values and dedicated his life to hunting down the reasons and people who had seen Overwatch crumble quite literally under his feet. To be blamed by the man he had tried to go to bat for for years... it was more insulting than Reyes trying to kill him in Cairo.
He was also aware they were being followed, but he was keeping that to the edge of his mind. Likely just wildlife making certain that they moved on. Or a predator looking for an opportunity, but it wasn't as if he or Reaper presented easy opportunities.
"How about instead of blaming me and paying lame lip service like you care, you just get the hell out of here?" After all, all advice came with barbs to his intelligence, and he was having none of that anymore. He was done, so Reyes could just piss right off or face him chasing the older man off. "You keep talking about disappearing and never showing your face to me again, yet you're still following me like a lost little puppy. I don't need you, just as I'm nothing to you. You've that abundantly clear. Leave."
no subject
Always thinking that he could do more, even near the end. When he'd completely withdrawn and steeped himself in to trying to at least catch the tips of the roots that had sunk in to Overwatch. Had a chokehold on Blackwatch with all those familiar faces he'd seen when he'd dug himself in to Talon.
He'd accepted his part in it all, and had already screamed and yelled it out here. Smoke curled away from where fingers had curled in to that fist-sized stone and melted it with that extreme bit of heat a different sort of anger in him caused.
"You don't know how much I hate the fact I still care about you, even now. Hate it that much more, even single second because you keep showing how one sided it truly is." Lips curved in something so close to a sneer, baring far sharper than normal teeth, "How every single bit of it is being wasted on you if all it is for you is lame lip service." Was only then that rock was flung right back towards 76's own torso, warped from the extreme heat it was subjected to in his own hold, solid again from the cold that had been trying to bury the more passionate sort of anger.
He had been needed here, it had grown so much that everything gained back was shattered that easily. Wiped away as if it never mattered, and it didn't now. It didn't matter, no matter how much he wanted it to. That it didn't matter he still wanted to help before he'd leave the man be and do whatever Gabriel could to try and tear him out of his heart—
"I wish you were nothing to me, that I could stop caring as easily as you have with me. So I could leave you to whatever the hell is out here and not care if you come back out or not," There were reasons partners were asked for in Beast Master tasks. "That I didn't feel a need to make sure you had the most basic of information to build off of and be fine while trapped here like everyone else," for however long or short a time that might be.
The grass was blackening around his feet again, dying and smoldering as if left over from an old fire. "You can't even give me this much before I do exactly as you want. I know you don't care about or need me, I know how much I failed and what blame is mine just as much as it is yours," that later bit snarled, "I'm not blameless, and you're not a damned battered martyr. You came out here because you wanted to, and you can't act as if I tricked or baited with just an 'I'm here' given to you."
no subject
He had dedicated these last six years to finding out all the agents that had taken down Overwatch, and that mission was never going to end even if he was stuck in this place. It couldn't. It was his war, his need to avenge those that had fallen after giving so much of themselves to Overwatch. He had some answers, but it was never enough, and until he either died or found the many messy reasons, his war was all that he had. It consumed everything.
So much of it was guilt he couldn't shake. Some of it was arrogance, he knew. He didn't deny that he grieved and that only when he was fighting or finding some information that he truly felt alive again.
Now, facing Reyes on the boiling point of their answer and blame for one another with the mashed up guilt they both clearly suffered with, Soldier: 76 was more than willing to throw down against Reaper. When the stone was whipped back at him, he caught it in a gloved hand easily, turning it over to examine how it had been warped by extreme heat, running his thumb over the surface as he took his first steps towards Reyes rather than away.
"Don't worry, all that hatred will corrupt any care that you have for me," he replied coldly, one step in front of the other, holding on his own feelings beyond anger out of the mix. The insinuation that he had stopped caring was ridiculous to his own ears, but he knew there was nothing he could say that would counter Reyes' opinion of how little he thought of the man he had fought with and built Overwatch with for thirty years of their lives.
He was closing the distance between them, tossing the melted stone up in the air and catching it even as the smell of burnt grass reached him. "I don't want anything from you, Reyes," he said coldly, masking how much he cared, how much he wanted to set the other man free of this wretched existence. Gabe had always been a driving point; like Reyes, he knew the other man hadn't died in the fall of Overwatch. It was a matter of finding him.
"No, I'm not a martyr," he agreed, for the first time sounding tired. "I'm just a soldier." He stared at Reyes, rolling the stone in his hand before he dropped it at their feet. "There's not point in you giving me information when you're not going to follow up on it, when you're just going to become a wraith again. You walking away proves just how little you actually care, you selfish piece of garbage."
no subject
How futile it was to do anything here, hope for anything, want for anything. When it could so easily be erased. Gone. Every bit of letting go and talking, the effort put forth both ways. He couldn't expect it to happen again.
Hand clenched at his sides, as if so ready to draw those shotguns from seeming no where, but they remained empty now. Watching the soldier's every step, eyes narrowed as he kept that curve of a snarl on his lips to bare teeth. Half wishing for his mask again, to have the comfort of it covering anything that could crack. Even as the grass around him smoldered and smoked.
"You've made that abundantly clear, Morrison."
Found him here and no with no where to really run, stuck in a few areas that was no where near as vast as anywhere on Earth he could go. "Says the man who wants me to do exactly that- you can't have it both ways and call me selfish for just giving you what you want, you wretched pile of shit." Reaper still stood his ground, not putting distance between them, smoke curling off his shoulders. "You just want to be justified, " for anything. "All you're doing is proving how much you can't care, that I've been nothing to you."
no subject
God how he wanted to hurt and kill this man, this accuser who had once been so close to him. The only person he had once considered able to cover his six so completely when they were fighting the Omnic Crisis. A compliment of skill and personality.
Now they were nothing. Now they resented one another, spitting curses and accusations like they had never once been close. 76 knew they had bad blood between them, years of frustration never dealt with, incidences with no answers and a whole pile of grief that wedged into seeing clearly.
"Shut up about my lack of care!" Soldier: 76 shouted it with a feral snarl. "You don't know me and what I feel, you arrogant bastard!" They had both sacrificed after all, and while the logical part of him recognized that, the very angry hurt part refused to see that.
So he wasn't at all surprised when he was the one to take the first swing, looking to belt Reyes across the face as hard as he possibly could. They had never been good at going easy on each other physically, hadn't had to after SEP. Thus, he gave his all to the fist he threw, following one with another aimed at Reyes' gut.
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How easy it would have been to have placed that shot to the back of this man's skull, but instead he went low. To put on a show and draw things out, wait for 'Shrike' to show up because he knew she would. Give him reason to retreat, even if it meant there'd be questions on why he left them alive later.
"You're saying you don't care!" Snarled right back as he moved in to personal space to try and swing yet another fist in to whatever part of 76 was easiest at the moment. Even if that hit to the face had busted a lip again to where it was bleeding. He was used to the physical pain, could ignore it and keep coming. Was doing his best to fight through it. "You don't need me, you don't want anything from me! You want me to leave!" Throwing it right back at him.
Grass turned black and smoldered with each step he took, scorching the earth as bits of flames licked about the wisps of shadows coming off of Reaper himself.
"I shouldn't care about you when you plainly state you don't care about me!"
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The fist to his face landed on the side of his visor, but it was a hardy piece of material and remained in place given it was latched on. He was moving to ram a knee into Gabe's gut at a similar time as he was moving to punch the other across the face again. He was snarling like a feral dog, low growling sounds even as Reyes verbally railed on him hard.
"Then yeah, go, it's better if you're not hanging around," he growled out even if a part of him wanted opposite to that. He figured that would never be, not after all they had done and seen over the last years.
"Why would you even want to care about me after everything that's happened?!"
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There was a difference between the two of them in this moment; Cairo was still fresh for Jack, while for Gabriel himself it was well over three years ago. Wouldn't be the moment he returned home, he'd be back in that costume -the Red Death- and surrounded by all of that proof of how deeply he'd sunk himself in to Talon. Leaving Jack and Ana alive and instead continuing on with his own plans.
All of this was an old anger that had partially healed over. "You don't know a damn thing," because he couldn't, snarled as the words were in return. Claws digging in to the fabric surrounding 76's knee, directing it elsewhere even as he took the hit to the face.
Hand going for his head again, going to disengage what kept the mask in visor in place as the other hand rose for it as well. Getting the damn thing off again or not he aimed to pull the other's head forward towards his own, aiming to knock their skulls together in some anger fueled headbutt.
"Because I never stopped—" As much as he might have tried after the explosion, dragged himself in to his own self appointed mission. "Even when I stopped talking, I never fucking stopped caring!"
Even if things would be easier if he had.
no subject
For him, the pain and the anger warred and bled together. He had gone searching for Shrike, but he ended up confirming his suspicions as well. They had fought like they were doing now, like they wanted to hurt each other. Because he had wanted to hurt Reyes, to express some of the old pain of loss and failure that they had suffered under separately, never bridging the gap quite the same way after Ana had died.
For the second time, his visor popped free with Reaper's attempts to rip it off of his face. He made no motion to do more than knock it aside as it fell, and his forehead connected with the headbutt leveled at him. His own was slightly off, forcing him to step back and shake his head even as he took a wild swing to keep Reyes from pouncing on opportunity.
His blue eyes stared back with the storm of emotions, and his teeth were bared in a feral snarl. He was already charging back in, swinging a low punch at Reyes' gut before he planned on just bowling the other man over.
"Neither did I," he snapped angrily.
no subject
Divide everything up and ship it off to the highest bidder.
Failure after failure where even when there was a success it felt like a failure, there was no saving Overwatch. No saving them. Sure, Overwatch operated a little while after the explosion of the Swiss HQ, but the steps to eradicating all evidence had already been done. No one left had the heart to keep it together after so much was lost.
A heel dug back in to scorched earth as Gabriel kept his balance after the connection of heads, leaning to avoid the swipe and allowing just that moment of space. Red on black stare back, even if narrowed, sharp teeth bared as if any second he could decide to use them after than continuing with punches and other blows. Hand moving to catch that fist by the wrist, but not quick enough to try and brace himself for being bowled over.
Instead claws sunk in to 76's side and shoulder, Reaper shifting weight to keep them rolling. Not even to aim for being on top, hardly cared who wound up where as momentum kept them going just enough. "Didn't do either of us a damn bit of good," snapped right back.
no subject
And like any sinking ship, Morrison and Reyes were obligated to go down with it. And they had. The conspiracy that ended everything they had built and protected was something he focused his entire being on. All that frustration, anger, and distrust was aimed at the man in front of him.
His ear rung with the headbutt and neither of them gave ground, never did when they were angry with each other. His charge was headlong, but it worked to knock them both to the ground as they rolled over and over fighting for top spot while the momentum was good. He was busy gripping Reyes to throw any new punches, and that was fine by him.
Eventually, they rolled right up against a tree, and that's when he let go of a hand to punch Reaper in the face, not even caring about the changed appearance of the man struggling with him on the ground. He also moved to jam a knee into whatever flesh he could, driving and fighting no matter what.
"Doesn't mean we stopped no matter how much we should have!"
no subject
Didn't care if he could taste his own blood, busted lips, only drove his anger that much hotter as even part of the tree they'd rolled up against scorched somewhat. Snarled and turned his head just enough at the hit as his own fist struck for face in turn. Torso twisting itself so that knee only dug in to dirt or tree root. All hands and claws as it wasn't just his own natural two going for 76.
Clawed hands made of shadow were clawing at him as well, digging in to the ground and jacket. Twisting to try and get some firm grip, aiming to try and jam a knee in turn against 76's side. Letting whatever bit of anger left in him fuel him to just keep going.
"What's it matter now?!"
no subject
He smelled smoldering bark and grass, waiting for the moment when one or both of them would catch on fire. His head snapped back with the punch and his lip split, spilling blood across his teeth and dribbling down his chin. He twisted and struggled against the grasp of claws, noting there were definitely more than the ten fingers Reaper owned in the mix.
One hand moved to clutch at Reaper's jacket to roll them away from the tree enough that he could make an active effort to throw his weight up to straddle Reyes to begin his rain of punches.
"It matters because apparently you still have come capacity to care."
no subject
He practically snarled at the sudden movement, torso twisting before arms came up as some sort of shield from the assault of fists, forearms taking every blow. For the moment pinned, even with how damned easy it was for him to get out of this. Didn't take a damn thought, seconds, but he remained solid rather than wraithing himself away.
Those extra hands hadn't let go of 76's jacket either, pulling at it as if trying to distract him, or even get him enough off balance to pull him back. Gripping at biceps and the collar of jacket and shirt, those clawed fingers catching at leather and fabric alike in their efforts. These extra limbs didn't pack all of the strength Reaper had in his own, but damn if they weren't stronger than the average man's either. Would have been stronger if they weren't pulling from his own shadow and he could see what he was doing, but it was what he was working with.
"More than just some, jackass!"
no subject
Once on top, he locked his knees tight to Reyes' sides to maintain his position while he punched and punched, not pausing for a moment to do more than rain more down. All of his anger, all of his frustration, all of his pain at and for this man came out as his face screwed up in a mix of being completely furious and absolutely devastated. The blood running down his lips and chin only emphasized the mix.
He had to shrug off hands that were grasping at his clothing between his own punches. As more of them were added to the mix, the less strength to his strikes and he rocked and twisted his shoulders to try to dislodge them even as he kept his position.
"Then why didn't you come for me?! You knew I survived and I suspected you did! If you damn well cared so much, why didn't you come?"