memepatheias | Test Drive: January

Entry tags:

*test drive

Test Drive: January

— TEST DRIVE: JANUARY —

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:

Pre-Intro Log. For the Test Drive, we are using parts of it as a "pre- intro log," which means not only can players go ahead and use the prompts as if the character is arriving into the game for the first time, but this setting will be adapted and continue in the official Intro Log. For TDM purposes the prompts are a little more generic and vague than what will be on the actual Intro Log, but they're relatable enough that can be easily transferred to the official log with a few minor tweaks. For those who do end up applying and entering into Emp, these threads are considered "forward dated" to the Intro Log.
Date reminders. Reserves open December 25th and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on January 1st. Apps will only be open for four days! Because we're on a bi-monthly schedule, the next app cycle after this is MARCH.
Emotions are key! Empatheias's 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. 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 to collect their emotions and serves as the network device. Remember, communication is telepathic, but it works basically the same as most other network devices.
First or third person allowed. Your threads can be in either first or third, but we'd advise being flexible about it. If you have a preference, be sure to specify. 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.
For your threads, put the Character Name and the Canon in the subject line to help readily identify them. You're 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!

PROMPTS

• Prompt A: How about giving the emotions a try? Is your character feeling particularly wound up upon finding themselves in a new place? Or perhaps they're finally getting to live out the fantasy dream and are overjoyed! Or they just stubbed their toe and are in a lot of pain. Whatever it may be, this prompt is your catchall "let's try these emotion effects out" for any miscellaneous situation you may think up.

• 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: It's winter in Verens, and the festivities are alive with some new gimmicks. As always, emotions come into play, so be careful where they take you! Try not to destroy the city.

Beware the Snowmen: Do you wanna build a snowman? All snowmen are affected by the emotions around them, and it doesn't take too much to make them come alive. They have imbibed different emotions around them, so you'll find lovey-dovey snowmen who have no respect for personal space, snowmen jumping up and down with joy, sad melting snowmen, and irate snowmen trying to lob their coal and carrots at you. A few snowmen have managed to get hold of murderous tendencies and will now try to kill you when you pass by. Good luck? It's kill or be killed.
Bittersweet Chocolate: For those looking for a way to warm up, many cafes have begun to offer hot chocolate which is said to be the best in all of Verens. It tastes delicious, with the right amount of sweetness...except to those who hide their true attitude or personality behind a facade. To people who aren't true to themselves, the hot chocolate will taste terrible depending on how much they conceal, not feel. It'll also burn their tongues pretty quickly no matter how long the chocolate has been sitting around.

• Prompt E: Candles of Remembrance for Selenium, a holiday for mourning and grief, are always going through different changes for each year and the prototypes are distributed to see if it works. Normally, when lit, the candles create an image of a person sorely missed, whether they are dead or still alive. But something went wrong with the candle-making process this time. Various scents and aromas were infused into the candles to help improve moods, but the complete opposite is happening.

Well, This Stinks: No images are produced from the smoke and flames, but instead, they exude horrible and disgusting smells from memory. They can range from recent events like burned cookies from last week, or the stench of a bloody battlefield from years past. The scent of the candle depends on the character lighting it, so everyone will be able to smell whatever they smell from it. It's very strong, so it's possible someone could actually feel nauseous either immediately or from prolonged exposure. But that's not all. The aroma will elicit varying feelings of regret, disgust, hatred, rage, and overdramatic despair.
Counter Whiff: On the other end, a different kind of aromatic candle is producing far more pleasing scents, but it's way too strong. It's like getting a bottle of strong, "mature" perfume shoved up one's nose. The scents from these candles have even stranger effects, such as actually knocking someone unconscious; soothing them to sleep right on the spot; or even have strange hallucinations believing that the person in front of them is the one from their memories. The candles also make those affected strangely happy with extreme exuberance, and the emotion effects from their displays of joy are just as extravagant.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side: Both candles have a troublesome side effect: their scents attract a variety of wildlife from the woods. Deer, skunks, chipmunks, foxes, all sorts of birds, you name it, they've begun to invade the city and zero in on those lighted candles, lingering around them or worse, actually taking the lit candles, which can (and will) potentially start fires. The fires can be put out normally, but strangely enough, after they go out, it is as if the affected structures and items were never burned in the first place. Now they just reek of candle scent. Attempts can be made to remove the scent, but it'll take either a lot of scrubbing or somehow creating emotions that produce a more pleasant scent.

• Prompt F: Boreas, or winter, is in the air and this month the city suffered from a number of wintery effects, partially due to the Arehtei Peromei. Some like the blizzard and mistletoe could be considered typical holiday fare. The werewolf flu sweeping the city, not so much, but that still hasn't stopped the citizens of Verens from celebrating the holiday season. [Note: Scenarios pulled from our current event, and the full details can be read here. Due to the timing, these threads cannot be carried over into the game.]

Hibernation: A despair filled blizzard has taken the town by storm, bringing a strong urge to hibernate with it. Characters with strong negative emotions will be hit the hardest, but most everyone will feel the urge to take a nap right then and there at some point. There are ways to ward off the emotionally induced drowsiness though as roving bands of carolers seek to keep people's eyes open and spirits light. In addition a number of hope infused lanterns have been strung throughout the city to guide travelers to safety and keep them from dozing off in a nearby snowbank.
Mistletoe:t's not just the snow either, the town is also plagued by a particularly invasive species of mistletoe brought to the island by Peromei. To citizens' dismay, it isn't ordinary mistletoe or even ordinary magic mistletoe. No, instead this awful plant that lurks in corners and on ceilings is influenced by a combination of Peromei's and Elios's influences to make it aggressive and mobile. It now prefers to slither around and attach itself to moving targets. Once attached to someone, it induces a terrible longing for the sort of love and affection one secretly hopes for the most -- anything from a simple hug to a mom to fuss over you to a new friend you can always have lunch with -- and it won't let go until its victim has found someone who can fulfill that longing.
Wereflu: In addition to the mistletoe and blizzard, there's also the aforementioned werewolf flu sweeping the city. Thanks to a foolish researcher, the infected are suffering partial or in some cases full transformations into wolflike creatures. The main cure for it is positive attention as like the mistletoe, the afflicted will be driven to seek it out and the more they get, the sooner they'll be back to normal. If left unchecked, it can lead to more feral aggressive behavior, so Otherworlders and natives alike have been warned to be cautious when attempting to help those affected.

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include paper snowflakes and/or cinnamon.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The last time Anakin had roamed Verens, things hadn't ended well between him and Qui-Gon. So to feel his Force signature pop up again sends a start through the old Jedi, complete with a conflict of emotion. He's uneasy, yes, but he's also--dare he say it--hopeful for what could be.]

[The dreary snow doesn't impede Qui-Gon nearly as much as it had in the earlier part of the season. Still, he keeps his large hood up and his warm robes tucked tightly around his body. His long strides are full of purpose as he continues in search of Anakin, letting his senses and the Force guide his every movement. Uncovering fellow Jedi in Verens has become old hat to an old man.]

[Sure enough, he finds the young man surrounded by some of the overly emotional snowmen he'd heard about in passing from the locals. Qui-Gon wastes no time and steps forward, kneeling in front of one of the near-puddles. Logically, he knows that it technically isn't alive, but there's something about their distraught bids for help that pulls at his already vulnerable sense of compassion.]

Perhaps there is something we can do for them. Shall I show you how, Anakin?

[He glances up at Anakin with the tiniest hint of a smile. If nothing else, it's certainly one way to make his presence known.]

[Anakin being both himself and far too focused on the strange snowmen (mostly getting away from them) did not notice Qui-Gon's presence in the force until he heard the voice.

A voice he had not heard since he was a small boy. But there's no denying it, as the memories from then still rang clear as day. He turns and for a moment just stares.

If he wasn't convinced about this all being a strange dream before, he was now. Qui-Gon died. He couldn't be here kneeling near him. It wasn't possible.

But then again neither were snow people.

Which is why this couldn't be anything else but a dream.]

... Master Qui-Gon?

[If there's anything else he wished to say, he failed the manifest the words. All in all the elder Jedi Master's appearance caught him completely off guard.]

[Judging by the bewilderment in Anakin's tone, Qui-Gon can safely assume that he's brand new.]

[So, with an enigmatic smile, he transfers some happiness to the melting snowman--which seems to at least stop the process--and then stands to his full height. He's a commanding presence when he chooses to be, and the epitome of a gentle giant otherwise. Addressing Anakin brings him to a happy medium between the two: a familiar individual, but one who has clearly earned respect during his days.]

[Qui-Gon dips his head in a nod.]

Welcome to Verens.

[It's as close to a confirmation as Anakin is going to get.]

You're dead.

[While rude, they were the only words to manifest at first. His general shock has him rather frozen. This is a dream.

It had to be.

Qui-Gon was dead. Gone like so many others from his life and there was nothing Abakin could do to bring him or anyone else back.

And yet there he stood, a commanding and gentle presence both in person and in the force. There's so much he wants to say, yet he can't bring forth the words.

Because this is all just a dream.]

Back in our galaxy, yes, I am.

[Sure, Anakain's observation was a bit R U D E, but its true nonetheless. Qui-Gon Jinn didn't live to see the young boy he whisked off of Tatooine grow into a Knight, nor did he live to see the aftermath thereof.]

[But he's certainly heard of it.]

But moments after my death I was brought here, where I've remained for the past three years.

[He almost said something about him being alive all this time and not coming back. And how dare he do that. The Jedi needed him. Anakin needed him.

But he stopped himself when he heard the number of years.]

That isn't possible. You've been gone far longer. This is a dream, isn't it? It has to be ...

I have to go back. I can't be here. Not now.

[Qui-Gon's brow is fraught with compassion as he listens. He tentatively reaches out with a hand to place on Anakin's shoulder--maybe having something tangible to ground him will help, but he'd also understand if it's an unwelcome gesture.]

It's not a dream, Anakin.

We've both been pulled to another world from different times.

How do we get back?

[On one hand he does not want to leave Qui-Gon or leave him to the fate of death.

But he had to. She needed him above all else.

Though if what he said about bring here three years were true then that did not give much hope.

Still there had to be a way.]

[That's the question that always came up whenever he came across somebody new to Verens.]

[And it's the question that, although he has the answer, he finds it the most difficult to provide any kind of response to.]

[Qui-Gon isn't offended by any kind of implications that could be found in Anakin's request. It's not unreasonable, after all, and all it shows is that Anakin feels responsibility and passion (the good kind) for what needs to be done at home.]

[He squares his shoulders and sighs. They're not in for an easy conversation, it seems.]

That isn't up to us.

This world has a habit of retrieving and sending people when there are specific parameters met. However, we do not know what those parameters are, nor when we reach them.

[Understandably that is not the answer Anakin wanted to hear. It wasn't clear cut or something he could easily solve.

Mostly the answer given was a frustrating one.

Anakin held in his worry and normal inclination to demand answers to ask another question.]

What happens when we go back? If you're from another point in time, does it continue on while you are gone? What happens to everyone ...

[And the people he cares about]

When we're not there?

[He couldn't afford to not be there for Padme with the war, his dreams, and the birth of their child at stake. But he also didn't have enough information about what exactly is going on.

Maybe that frustrated him more than anything.]

[There's a lot to unpack, but they--thankfully--have time.]

[Qui-Gon takes each one of Anakin's questions in stride, waiting patiently until he's done. Hopefully, he'll be able to alleviate some of that uncertainty.]

From what I understand, the points from which we are taken are undisturbed by our disappearance. If and when we return, it is at the time we've left, and the galaxy is none the wiser.

[Qui-Gon's worse bring a great deal of relief. And a sigh, but not one out of despair or annoyance. For the moment he felt a million times lighter.]

I hope that is true.

[Not that he does not believe Qui-Gon. It is strange, but he does trust his words.]

Much is going on back home. The war.

[Padme.]

A lot has happened and I am needed there. But if I return the moment I left, then everything will be fine.

[Yeeeahhhh... about the 'everything will be fine' thing...]

[Qui-Gon knows about a good chunk of what occurred in the galaxy after his untimely departure. There are some details that he's missing, and some events that he's sure have been skewed by the perspectives of their key players, but he's aware, nonetheless.]

[So he nods in understanding.]

Are you speaking about the Clone Wars, then?

Yes, it's been going on for quite sometime. It feels like it will never come end, especially with all the politics involved.

[They spent far too much time talking and not coming to any sort of agreement and less time actually doing what needs to be done.

This is what Anakin believes anyway.]

How did you hear about it?

[Ah yes, politics, one of the deepest, most widespread messes that the Jedi should never have entangled themselves in.]

[Qui-Gon would whole heartedly agree with Anakin there.]

[But first, he has some explaining to do.]

I've learned a lot about the events that transpired following my death by speaking with others from our galaxy who've appeared here.

And there were many--including yourself. Two different times.

Funny. I don't remember ever being here before.

[Does this place give amnesia as well? Or this could always go back to the dream theory and nothing here is real at all.

Just the fact of being here before and not remembering ... bothered him. Like it was somehow a missing piece of his life that he couldn't recall. Maybe it ultimately didn't matter, but he didn't like not knowing things so either way it caused him a deal of frustration.]

I'm not surprised. Some individuals remember their time here, and others do not. I'm not sure what factors are involved there, unfortunately.

[He wishes he had more answers for Anakin, and he doesn't blame the young man for needing information that's actually concrete.]

That isn't very useful.

[His frustrations were not really directed towards the Jedi Master, though he should be more grateful that his questions are getting answered at all.

He sighs.]

I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound rude or dismissive. I'm just ... I feel like I'm at a point where I don't know what path to take. I've been stuck in all kinds of situations. But this --

[He gestures all around.]

Is all different.

Understandable.

[The sad eyes of melting snowmen don't exactly help matters.]

My recommendation is to regain your bearings for now. The galaxy isn't in any danger with either of us gone, and there is time to sort out your emotions.

[Qui-Gon tries to catch Anakin's eye.]

You don't have to pick a path now, Anakin.

[His eyes lock with Qui-Gon's for a moment and he lets out another sigh.]

You're right. I just ... I have a hard time settling down. With the war I'm always on the move. I don't know if I remember what it's like not to be constantly doing something.

I suppose there is a lot we could talk about though you've probably already had all of those conversations when I was here ... before?

[He still doesn't like the idea that he doesn't remember something like that. But he will get over it.]

[He totally gets that jarring, sudden change that comes with switching from a constant, fast-paced, and dangerous environment to a life that is far more slow-moving. He can only imagine the intense uneasiness of a quick transition from the middle of a war.]

[Qui-Gon nods, but then waves a hand.]

It doesn't matter if I've already had those conversations. What matters is going what we can to ensure your comfort.

I'm afraid I won't be comfortable until I get back home. Not that I can't handle being in new places ... It just isn't the same.

[And the pressing matters to finding a solution to the dreams he's been having surrounding Padme dying is not helping. It's always on the back of his mind.]

Even if you're not fully at ease during your time here, we should do what we can to mitigate any distress you may have.

Partly because your emotions can greatly impact your surroundings. As you can imagine, negative emotions can have some devastating effects on the area around you, just as positive emotions can invite healing and repair.

[He gestures to the snowmen.]

For example, feeding these creatures happiness seems to alleviate their suffering.

I know. I should be mindful of my emotions. That is a lecture I have heard many times.

[And probably could quote back in Obi-Wan's exact tone and infliction.]

I will try, Master Jinn. I think I'm just still a little lost all things considered. I'll be fine.

[He glances at the snowmen.]

These things are just a little unsettling.

Just a little.

[Qui-Gon eyes them too and, closing his eyes, sends them another wave mixed with calm and happiness, owed to a warm memory from years ago.]

[They seem to settle down, at least temporarily, as Qui-Gon's eyes flutter open so he can address Anakin.]

As for feeling lost and minding your emotions, allow me to help you with both.

Is that alright with you?

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