Test Drive: AUGUST

[empevents]

— TEST DRIVE: AUGUST —

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 July and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on August 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: Mystery boxes have begun to turn up not only on people’s doorsteps but also anywhere they go - at their workplaces, dropped off on their cafe tables, even falling out of trees or windows right in front of them. There is nothing special about the boxes themselves - nothing is written on them and they are made out of generic cardboard - but they may contain items such as a set of cute furry animal figurines, a ring of old tarnished keys, or a fancy but stained secondhand fedora. Others, however, have more sinister, mysterious contents, such as a black coat with a muddy hem, a blood-spattered kitchen knife or even what looks like a severed bloody finger. Ask around about who has been leaving these boxes all over the place, and you will get conflicting reports. Otherworlders lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a person suddenly in a hurry to leave the scene will learn that this person behind the mystery boxes can appear as a man, or a woman, or neither.

• Prompt E: Receiving a mystery box has its pros and cons. Some items give so much emotion and energy to a person, exaggerating everything they feel and think. It's a good thing at times, because when one is happy, they truly are HAPPY! When one feels like they're on top of the world, they may end up floating! However, there are instances in which the other person feels like they're drowning due to sadness, in which case, they may feel like they're underwater and need air to breathe. Don't worry! In times like these, all you need is a slap in the face to make you feel better! Or if that's too physically hurtful, others have discovered that crying stops the hyperbole of emotions, too.

• Prompt F: Investigations eventually lead to the founder of the cryptocurrency EmoGold who goes by the pseudonym "Sato" to be the one sending out mystery boxes to people. It seems the emotional currency has taken a dive in terms of exchange rate between EmoGold and Sylvs that he thought giving out mystery boxes to people would make them want to learn more about EmoGold and mining… sadly that didn't work and only proceeded to creep people out! "Sato" is now under custody of the Enforcers, and all the furniture in his house (strange and unique as they may be) is now up for auction! A lamp that looks like a cow and shoots light out of its eyes for 5,000 sylvs going once… going twice… SOLD!

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include forks and/or snow.

Comments

[lightofchaldea]

"Yep! Like making ice cream that makes you feel happy when you eat it, or maybe something that makes you feel brave."

Or negative emotions, too. Which, depending on one's perspective, can also be interesting to experience, especially if you're going in assuming there'll be some effect anyway.

"Oh, he's not the only one who keeps things interesting. Shuten and Ibaraki are oni--that's not the same as a demon, really, but oni like to cause trouble if they have nothing better to do, too. Ah! And Merlin's half-incubus, so that sort of counts...? He definitely likes making trouble, though, he's said so himself."

Interesting doesn't even cover the half of it, really. Yet Ritsuka happily welcomes them all as comrades anyway.

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Oh, he'll encourage her to continue all day long. Demon, after all, and he doesn't mind a good pun when they're actually good ones.

"Oh, sure," The flames licking up from between the flags all but disappear, save for a few still moving around his feet. "What was that you said, about burning out too quickly? Wouldn't want that."

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Uh. Yeah.

[Aziraphale, why do you say these kinds of things? He makes a small head-motion and hooks his thumbs into the pockets of his trousers, and starts moving away from the bench he'd been brooding sitting on.]

Come on, angel. We'll find you a proper bookshop, alright?

[Then he'll be happy, and... Crowley can worry about him a little less.]

[roseheartz]

Don't they? Some ducks appear a lot smarter than one would give them credit for. You never know!

[Occasionally, Rose's mind entertains 'silly' thoughts. This is one of those moments. You're welcome, Crowley.]

[roseheartz]

[White corrected herself, it's true, but it doesn't change that she called her Pink. Some of the snow around Rose's feet promptly melted into a puddle, but what with the flakes that are still falling, it's not too much of a problem.]

... My Diamond. [She says it rather stiffly and instead of doing the typical salute, she bends her spine (or lack thereof) in a bow. Earth has rubbed off on her so much.]

[yuzanagi]

I think if we put our heads together, we might be able to find something.

[Maybe it is due to the hope and positivity he has in him, but the flowers begin to turn towards Yu as he continues to speak, stopping only when he notices. This seems to make him even happier and...little flower symbols appear next to his face.]

Look at that! Clearly they want us to take them!

[dj_jiraiya]

[Nevermind that seeing flowers light up around his face or the sunflowers themselves turning towards Yu being only slightly creepy on his list of creepy things he's seen, there's still one question.]

Take them where? I mean... [He looked at the time and then scratched the back of his head.] Okay, it's barely lunch time. Let's leave them here for now and we just go... I dunno, apartment hunting? We can come back for them in a bit.

[The flowers turning meant they were still in the ground at least, so hopefully they wouldn't sprout legs and just walk, right? Right.]

[dj_jiraiya]

[Yosuke couldn't help but laugh a little. Looks like they were both a little lost.]

Sure, I'll follow your lead. We can always ask if it gets to be a bit much.

[He's good with exploring and the box isn't very heavy.]

So, can I ask where you're from? Or, uh, when?

[He's not American, but even he can see the clothes are old.]

[smallkindnesses]

Just

as

planned.

Blackmailed, never. That sort of thing was simply not Shelly's style. At least, not when there are better methods at her disposal, and absolutely never in any serious way between true friends. However, it would be a falsehood to say she had never manipulated him. It's simply that, like right now, she'd used her powers for good. (For instance, when one unexpectedly has a... house guest in need of healing, and one of the first coherent questions out of that guest's mouth had been a request for news of a young Miss Sinclair, one cannot help but conclude, after some reflection, that having an adorable, young Miss Rainsworth on hand can be a very useful thing for prying open a closed and broken heart.)

Aside from that, the thing about Shelly Rainsworth is that, in modern parlance, she is a ride or die bitch, in all the best ways. A friend she's only just now getting to meet is exactly what Kevin is. She knows him too well and has loved him too much for him to be anything else, and that is simply that. Oh, it's true that--in the wee small hours, and quiet, private moments--she will feel a stab of longing for her beloved, old Break. That's as unavoidable as missing her daughter, or her mother. He's best friend and family and we shan't say what else, all rolled into one, and she is away from him.

However, even if he's become a whole other person in his own right, Kevin's new-yet-familiar presence can't be anything but a welcome and unexpected comfort. He clearly hasn't been left all alone, here, and now she is not. (She hadn't been worried about this , mind you. A Rainsworth is never worried--openly. But something in her eases, just having him here, sitting across from her.)

She looks up at him with a warmly-teasing sparkle in her eyes, a tiny, conspirational smile tugging at her lips.

"Well..." she says, softly. "I already know the very beginning, or something close enough to it. So, tell me what changed things." Her smile brightens, becomes girlish, and it's as if she's sitting in her own personal sunbeam. Reaching across the table, she takes his left hand in hers, again, brushing a thumb delicately across the tiny rosebud adorning his finger. "And tell me all about this!"

Obviously she's not merely speaking about the ring so much as what it represents, but she would be enchanted by it, even if it were not adorning the finger of a dear friend! Roses have always been her favorite flowers, and the prospect of there being some magic here that allows them to be worn in such a way, and never fade, is a delightful sort of miracle!

(Given that he seems to have discovered a great many parts of "Xerxes Break" without ever really becoming him, she almost wonders if he'd stumbled upon someone at least a little bit like herself. The rose makes her suspect as much, and in an odd way it warms the cockles of her heart. How romantic, to think that the fates sometimes bring together the sort of people who will bring out the best in one another--even if not always the exact same people.)

[lightofchaldea]

Don't let her know you think they're good puns, it might go to her head! (Well, no, it won't, but still.)

"Exactly! You gotta cool off every once in a while."

[mutesiren]

[Because it's something that she thinks everyone should have experience with????

Zivis gives him a grin and offers him a hand.] Come, I'll show you where the fishing boats are. We can borrow some tools and go fishing!

[unspeakablyevil]

I will gladly. Once I figure out what it is that stands before me.

[She's inorganic, that much he's aware. Aku smells no blood running through her veins.]

[jamminshield]

[Steven's smile grows a bit. It's nice that she seems to be appreciating it! It sounds like a good step. He answers her with a nod.]

They are having fun. And... maybe you could have fun too, White. It's easy!

[sleepyhollowed]

[There we go! A nice, old-fashioned handshake between two completely normal people!]

Kieran. Kieran Duffy.

[It's freeing, not to have another family name hanging over his own. No O'Driscolls or Van der Lindes. Just Duffy.]

Nice to meetcha, Simon.

[sleepyhollowed]

[For the briefest of moments, Kieran expects Yosuke to get on his case over not being sure about where to go, so he braces himself for it...]

[...but then he hears that brief laugh instead, and he can't help but return it with one of his own. Sure, he was surprised, but he lets it give way to the relaxation of the moment. As if in response, birdsong follows behind Kieran as he thinks of a response to Yosuke's questions. Had they not arrived in such a strange world, the second one would've come off as odd, but bearing witness himself to the many oddities of Empatheias--food, clothes, machines, etc.--Kieran is able to take it in stride.]

I, uh, I don't exactly got a home or nothin', but the year's 1899!

I-If that helps.

[sleepyhollowed]

[Kieran hesitates.]

[Sure, Zivis is a nice plant-fish lady who's offering to take him somewhere nice to do something he loves, but that sounds way too good to be true.]

[Then again, he's paid his dues. Maybe this is just a little happy something to make up for the bad that went down back home.]

[After a moment, Kieran reaches out to take Zivis' hand, fighting against the little flutter in his chest that comes with it (ignore the little shimmering lights appearing around him, please).]

L-Lead the way, ma'am.

I mean m-m-miss.

No. No, wait! I meant Zivis!

...

M-Miss Zivis.

[...Nailed it.]

[dj_jiraiya]

[Yosuke knows all to well the feeling of being a disappointment. Despite having grown in the last year, it's always all too easy for him to use self-deprecating humor on himself.

He hears the birdsong a bit as they walk, smiling lightly at it. Was that from Kieran or were there actually birds following them? He didn't see any.]

Wh-...1899?! Dude, that's old!

[Foot in mouth. It took a moment for Yosuke to realize just what he said and he winced once he realized it, cheeks coloring.]

U-Uh... so-sorry. I-I didn't mean that you were old! J-Just... y'know. That's a long time ago. For me. That is.

[sleepyhollowed]

[Welp, whatever birdsong was there is gone now!!!]

[Nah, it's not that bad. Although Kieran does make a bit of an unimpressed face, it's clear that he's not angry. Maybe just a little annoyed at the outburst.]

Well, what's the year for you then?

[dj_jiraiya]

[He said he was sorry!

He fidgets with the box a bit, not really wanting to answer. Because, you know, being 113 years into this dude's future was actually kind of awkward now that it was brought up. Why did he bring it up?

He bit the bullet, though.]

2012.

[sleepyhollowed]

[Time for someone else to get surprised!]

Woah, woah!!! Hold on there!

[Sparks of light pop around Kieran's head as he cranes his neck to look down at Yosuke.]

You're kiddin' right?! 2012?!

[dj_jiraiya]

[Literal !!! appear briefly over Yosuke's head when he's told to hold on, and the teen does. Stopping and looking at Kieran a little miserably.]

N-No. I'm not kidding. [His voice totally cracked there.] B-But I don't know anything about what was going on in the west during that time till now! I'm from Japan!

[So don't ask him too many questions about that because American history wasn't exactly the most important subject in Japanese high schools. Also, Yosuke wasn't the best student.]

[sleepyhollowed]

[That's a lot of information there! Both stuff about the future and about a country that Kieran's only heard about in passing. The poor boy wouldn't be able to point out Japan on the globe, at any rate.]

[Regardless, any surprise that Kieran felt before gives way to some intense curiosity.]

What's it like, huh?

I mean, the future, your country... all of it.

[dj_jiraiya]

I... um, well...

[It wasn't that he didn't want to say anything but fitting in 113 years was kind of a lot. Plus the history between the two countries (Yosuke is like 80% sure this guy is American) would be a bit of a downer in a certain part. But also wouldn't it like... mess with things? Timelines and all that stuff?]

That's... kind of a broad question, y'know? I mean, things improve like medicine and machine and all that. But like... I'm not really the best person to give a history lesson.

[sleepyhollowed]

Yeah, sure. I gotcha.

[Kieran falls silent for a bit, brow furrowed as he tries to think of a better question.]

[Aha! He's got a good one.]

What's the food like?

[mutesiren]

[She definitely feels like a plant. A bit waxy, somewhat wet. But firm! And honestly, she takes the lights as normal bits of happiness, because her happiness often shows the same way. Only with bubbles!

She laughs lightly, the sound again like rain tinkling down.] Zivis is fine, Kieran! We're going to be good friends after all! [Leading him off!!!]