memepatheias | TEST DRIVE: August

Entry tags:

*test drive

TEST DRIVE: August

— 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 July 25th 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.

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: Helisium, the upcoming festival, is a celebration of daytime games and ballroom dancing. However, the sad truth is that not everyone knows how to dance, or how to play certain sports. To kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, a certain section of the party-planning committee has come up with a new sport that incorporates the best of both worlds. The name of the game? Footloose Ball, and it's the latest craze! Why not join and learn something new? There's even a tournament being held, with a big prize on the line!
1. Training: The rules of Footloose Ball are simple, it's a combination of rugby football but with a twist! The player in possession of the ball must constantly be dancing as they try to reach the goal. But there is plenty of time until the game, so the coach has instructed everyone to go out into the city and dance for a whole day. Going grocery shopping? You must dance! Waiting in line for coffee? You better dance! Talking to someone else? Get them to join!
2. Otherworld Cup: It's the day of the finals game, and now it's do or die! Literally! Maybe. What the rules forgot to say was that the player in possession of the ball must dance, or the ball will shock them with a high voltage! Can they get to the goal and score a point for their team? As for those NOT in possession of the ball, they don't have to dance until they have the ball, and they get to use whatever skills (or magic?) they know in order to stop the other player. Anything goes!
3. Victory Pose: The winners of Footloose Ball Cup have been declared! Now all that's left is a traditional team photo with the trophy. Make sure not to blink! Just kidding. The method that the group "photo" is taken by isn't with a device, but a traditional painting instead, which means the team will be posing there out in the sun for a while. You can't rush art, as they say, so make sure to stand still as the artist does their job. The good news is that players are allowed to talk to each other as they stay still, so why not get to know another a little better now that the game is over? As for those who aren't posing, they are allowed to interact with the players, too. Why not get them a drink? Or heckle them? That's also an option.
• Prompt E: Helisium is the highlight of the summer and every restaurateur in Verens is eager to see their establishment become one of those selected to cater for the festivities. Of course, there are only a few slots available, which means the only way to settle who’s the top chef in town is through some rigorous cooking competitions! These teams of chefs are going all out, and need all hands on deck, so they will be seeking volunteers to help them win their way to the top! Do you have what it takes?
1. A Pizza the Action: One round of the cooking competition asks teams to cook rather traditional dish: pizza! However, nothing is as simple as it seems, and the hosts soon reveal that teams will be required to cook their pizzas with some...unusual (and dangerous) secret ingredients. Are you given a spiky, smelly durian to work with? Are those lobsters actually alive? Or are you asked to serve your pizza while it’s on fire? The more creative you are, the more points you’ll earn your team. Things are sure heating up!
2. Piescraper: Any chef worth their salt will tell you that presentation is key, and in this event, presentation is the only key. Really, it doesn’t matter what you use so long as it’s food, but the judges want to see the most impressive food sculpture you can come up with! Just bear in mind that these creations must stand on their own and be created entirely, 100% out of food products. Your team may earn extra points for making the tallest sculpture as well. Start building!
3. The Great Verens Bake-Off: Desserts are almost as important to Helisium as the regular food is, though the judges for this event seem to be a little less...intense than the others. For this competition, participants are asked to bake and decorate a beautiful, tiered cake with sweet, edible flowers. These flowers have certain emotional effects on those who handle them, and such individuals will find themselves feeling very pleasant and agreeable, no matter how prickly they may ordinarily be! They may even try to assist other teams with their bakes. Oh, well...at least everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. The judges will be making their decisions based on which team had the most camaraderie, so play nice!
• Prompt F: The roleplaying cult of Ortheias seems to have become more prominent lately, having taken in new members from Briarlan. Today, they seem to be playing a "murder game" called Syndicate! They are also inviting people who aren't members to participate… will you join them by picking a role from the purple hat the men in cloaks have to offer, or will you just watch? It's confusing and anger inducing, either way. For those who want to play the game, the objective is to catch all the Syndicate members before they "kill" all the innocents in the game!
1. I Put On My Role and Wizard Hat: Perhaps you are forced by a man in a cloak, or perhaps you voluntarily pick a role from the various strips of paper in the purple hat. The roles are for the Syndicates are: blackmailer, consigliere, boss, and framer. As for the innocents, the roles are: janitor, spy, veteran, doctor. There seem to be neutral roles, as well, such as the survivor, the witch, the amnesiac, and the fool. The game moderators don't seem to intend on explaining what the functions are of each role (thanks, mods!) so go ahead and make up your own backstories and abilities. Of course, they key to this game is to figure out who the other person is without letting your own identity slip. Good luck!
2. Activity Check: Everyone is safe while the sun is still up… Do you have your role and have you gotten to know the other participants of the Syndicate game? Good. Because the game moderators now want you to participate in an activity! You now have to think of a lie about yourself and convince two other people that this is true. Basically - just lie to as many people as you want! Be sure you're convincing… but remember - the moderators are watching you. No unruly business!
3. The Trial: After a day has passed in the setting of the Syndicate game, a trial happens. Why? Because you've lost one person to one of the Syndicates. This person is now dead in the game and cannot be revived. It seems that everyone is suspecting you - whether it's your clothing, the way you're dressed, or just the fact that you're breathing the same air as they are, you are now the primary suspect for the "murder"! Prove your innocence to all players involved, try to pin it on the nearest person, or maybe even get into a fight with everyone? The world is your oyster.
• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include raisins and/or a skirt with holes in it.
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!

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[She's not very intimidated by the stranger's attitude problem. If anything, she's glad that he's honest about his emotions. It would be only too easy to put a facade.]

Is this odd moss coming from you?

[Moss? His eyes narrow a little before he looks down and sees the green substance that has spread from his feet. For a second a more curious look appears on his face. Did he truly cause that?

Slowly he pushes himself away from the ground and starts to float as well, noticing how little bits of green drop down from the soles of his boots.]

Hmn.

[He doesn't really feel like answering her question. To be fair, he is not entirely sure if he can answer it properly. It seems to be coming from him but how?]

How is this possible?

[Well. That's an undeniable confirmation, there. Rose folds her hands together, managing a mild smile. She still remembers when she first arrived and created thorny vines by accident, so she can sympathize with this problem.]

That would be because of your feelings. In this world, the surroundings react to your emotional state, so if you're harboring some particularly strong feelings... Well, moss might just begin to grow.

[To be honest, it is kind of fascinating to look at. The idea that 'emotions' or 'feelings' could trigger such a response. Would it be worse if it were anger?

Finally he looks at her fully and notices that she is smiling. He does not like it and in response he scowls a little.]

Well, mortal...what do you think a god is feeling right now?

[Mortal? God? Rose blinks, her eyebrows raised in obvious surprise.]

I would think... that any god who was brought here and is unable to leave would feel roughly the same things as any other who is in this position. Helplessness, frustration, perhaps even a bit of homesickness?

To compare gods to mortals... [The nerve.] Do you truly think gods feel the same way mortals do?

[The idea is absolutely idiotic. Gods are above mortals. Except for the fact that he is not entirely sure about what he feels about being separated from his master. It is liberating to speak his mind and not be corrected. To be told how valuable mortals are, that their actions did not need punishment.

For a moment he looks down again, trying to estimate how far these emotions of him went. Did they cause any damage?]

[Rose isn't offended by that attitude in the least. If anything, it intrigues her a bit. She's already come across all sorts of interesting people around here and she loves learning more about them.]

Well.. I don't know. Wouldn't they?

[She finally floats over to the roof and takes a seat there, making sure to avoid the moss- or mould, or whatever it is. She folds her legs as she watches the stranger with keen interest.]

[Slowly he hovers to the edge of the building, following a trail of that green substance that supposedly came from him. It seems to have covered the wall as well, going all the way down to the ground. Now he has seen quite some things in his life, but this is new. For that this planet seems quite unique.

Too bad it is crawling with a large variety of mortals. It probably won't do any good to the planet.]

Mortals handle their feelings poorly and I do not like to be compared to the likes of them [He pauses.] Of you.

[He looks over his shoulder after he has said that, only to notice that she is looking at him some sort of interested look on her face.]

Stop that.

[Mortals handle their feelings poorly, hm? Well, she knows that humans can be a bit of an emotional mess, but then... perhaps Gems aren't much better. If indeed there's gods out there who can keep their emotions in check, she envies them just a bit.

Zamasu's remark catches her off-guard for a bit, because at first she doesn't quite know what she's supposed to be stopping.]

Hah? Stop what? [A blink, then she sits up a bit straighter.] Oh, I'm sorry. Was I staring?

[It is not a surprise that, once again, he finds his point proven. Mortals lack respect for their gods.]

You really want me to answer that question, mortal? You really do not have a clue about your disrespect towards me?

[Goodness gracious, this is a pompous one, isn't it? It's starting to remind Rose of Yellow Diamond just a bit.]

My apologies. I've never met a god before. [Or, uh, someone who insists that he is one. She has no idea if it's true.] Will you tell me how you would like me to behave?

[The apologies surprise him a little bit. Only a little bit, though, nothing more.]

You do know what gods are, not? [This woman is completely clueless.] If so, you must know they stand above mortals like you.

[You do the math, Rose.]

Well, I wouldn't know about that... Doesn't that depend on one's definition of a god? I've heard quite a few! And that was just from humans! Imagine what sorts of definitions other worlds might have!

[Oop, she is maybe rambling a bit, but she just can't help herself. These sort of things are just so fascinating to her.]

Are you telling me that mortals have a right to define a god? [His voice is somewhere between surprise and contempt.] Or do these gods you know allow you to? Have they granted you such power?

[He has turned around fully now.]

Power? Right? Why would we need such a thing? People are free to form their own opinions, aren't they?

[Rather... She hopes that they would be. That's how it is on Earth and that's how it appears to be here. She folds her legs a bit tighter, hanging her head back.]

One person may believe that a god is someone who created all life, another person may believe that a god merely judges life which was born of its own accord... The people in this world believe that the Arehtei are gods, while people from other worlds would sooner see them as very powerful beings and nothing more. If gods will not show themselves to us and speak to us, how would we know their preference?

And that is what happens when gods take on a passive role. Mortals grant themselves too much freedom when a god does not interfere. They take the liberty to start their wars, their destruction, their evil.

[The look on Zamasu's face seems to have changed from a disdainful one to a frustrated one. Things like this really, really matter to him. Just wait until he gets to the subject 'justice', Rose.]

No god puts them to justice. No god punishes them and thus the endless cycle repeats itself. It is sinful to just watch mortals commit their crimes against the universe, against their gods. [This comes from a god whose job has been just that: watching. And his future job would be exactly the same if he is not planning to change it.]

[Well. That's... a lot. Rose isn't entirely sure what to take away from all that, instead just buzzing with more questions.]

Then... There are other gods? What are they like? Are they like you? Is there a god for every world?

[Um...wait... Didn't she hear him speak? Didn't she hear his words? These are important matters, mortal! Allow him to pull an insulted face. Allow him to keep that face for a full minute.]

No. [Zamasu shakes his head and shrugs a little.] Of course there are others but none of them is like me.

[Goodness, what's he looking so insulted for? Why isn't he flattered that Rose is showing an interest? ... Other beings are so odd. She's going to keep asking questions anyway.]

So even within the ranks of gods, there are differences? Are you free to express yourselves and become the sort of gods you wish to be?

[But Rose, everything is an insult to Zamasu. Really, it is not difficult to piss him off and he is everything except flattered right now.

Despite all that he realizes very well that no one has ever bothered to ask him such things. If there is such a thing as free expression in his world or if every god is allowed to be their own sort of god. What an annoying sort of interesting question from the mouth of a mortal.

Careless, without respect and yet...]

There is not. [Zamasu knows very well that his ideas are considered 'radical'. Yet, he is so very sure that they are absolutely right And at times he feels sort of shameful to have such opinions. A god who creates should not nurture a will to destroy said creations.]

Why would you ask me all these questions? [And be so disrespectful about it as well.]

[What a strange question for him to ask. Is he used to those around him just knowing all about him- or if not knowing, then at least accepting what they do know? That must've been boring.]

Because I wish to learn, of course! Why else would anyone ask questions?

[Zamasu mostly thinks that everyone knows of his godlike status right off the bat. And if they do not, he will tell them. At least a thousand times. Just to make sure.

The look on his face becomes a little bit more thoughtful now... That entire concept of learning is not new to him. Especially not because, technically, he is still an apprentice, he is still learning and it would take millions of years before he would be able to become Supreme Kai.

And would he become the god he wants himself to be?]

There is a thing called too many questions. [After that it stays silent for a long while and eventually he opens his mouth again...]

Every god has their role. It is up to them how to interpret it and how they will follow the rules. To me, the well-being of the universe is the most important thing. [And what would be the best for the universe right now? No mortals.]

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TEST DRIVE: August

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