Empatheias Events (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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memepatheias2018-09-18 07:07 pm
empevents) wrote in memepatheias2018-09-18 07:07 pm
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TEST DRIVE: October
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 September 24th and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on October 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: The new season has brought some interesting merchants into town from the outlying cities, and one peddler from Theasthai in particular is creating a lot of buzz with his magical masks that he claims will bring good fortune and riches to the wearer if worn for a full day’s time. Some masks are ordinary and will have no effect, while others...are a bit more unusual. For a modest fee, you may rent one of these masks, but be sure you return them within three days...or the consequences may be dire. Oh, and mind that once the masks have been put on, they cannot be removed until midnight of the following day! Choose wisely...- Paper Faces on Parade: Sure enough, many of the masks have strange effects on the wearer’s emotional state. Some may alter their behavior and make them more peaceful or more aggressive than normal, while still others will have more significant effects, like encouraging its wearer to give the next person they see a great big hug or a genuine compliment, whether they like it or not. In cases where the wearer may not go along with their mask’s persuasion, they may find the mask growing tighter and tighter around their head! But if they give in to whatever action the mask suggests, they will find themselves overcome with feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction. It’s not such a high price when it’s just a hug or a compliment, but hopefully your mask doesn’t want you to throw a pie in the face of the next person you see, or even worse, try to kidnap them...
- Master of Disguise: Yet other masks appear blank when they are put on, and to the wearer, they will continue to appear as a blank, unremarkable mask. But for others who look upon the mask when it is being worn by another, they will see someone important to them who is not currently present in Empatheias. Is it their long-lost best friend they see? An old flame? A bitter enemy? Better think quick! Who knows how they may react to the person they see you as.
- A Terrible Fate: So, you forgot to return your mask in time, did you? The mask salesman is absolutely not happy, and even if you attempt to return the mask later, he will not accept it. He promises retribution to come soon, and in the next few hours you may start to notice that it almost looks like the moon is getting closer to the island. But that can’t be possible, can it? Yet over the course of the day, it will appear to you as though the moon is rocketing closer and closer to the island, dead set on a collision course! You should tell someone, right? The only problem is...no one else sees the same thing you do. They don’t notice the moon at all! What will you do? Evacuate the city, or submit yourself to asylum? Or commiserate with a fellow offender who neglected to return their mask on time?
• Prompt E: In the wake of the fundraiser hosted by Otherworlders earlier in the month, a certain miniature local celebrity will be making a follow-up appearance at Verens’ mobile petting zoo! Currently set up in the city’s central park, the petting zoo will offer opportunities to both feed and play with a wide range of animals, including goats, alpacas, pigs, rabbits, deer, sheep, and of course, regular-sized ponies for rides. There will also be a few domesticated wyverns available to interact with, for those who aren’t put off by the horns and teeth! While the zoo itself seems to consider its primary audience to be local children, visitors of all ages are welcome and encouraged to enjoy themselves.- Feeding Time: Of course, the petting zoo’s primary attraction is the chance to get up close and personal! There are apples and carrots available to be offered to the animals that favor them, as well as plenty of ordinary feed that’s available for a small fee. Some of the animals, however, are less interested in the food and more interested in what their visitors are wearing— goats can be caught nibbling on shoelaces or pant legs, and more than a few hats will be snatched off of heads by curious alpacas. Others are far less mischievous, with rabbits, piglets and fawns that are far more than happy to take any offered snacks and respond affectionately. Whether you’re spending time with one of the more docile animals or having to chase down a mischievous hat-thief, they’re all certainly happy to have visitors!
- Goat Racing: Taking some inspiration from chicken races of the past, the petting zoo would like to introduce Verens to everyone’s new favorite sporting event: goat racing! Attendees are free to place their bets on goats— all money will go to supporting the zoo itself and continued care of the animals, but the prize is that anyone who happens to pick the winner gets to take one of these little guys home with them for the day! Surely, we’ve all dreamt of temporary goat parenthood. Pick your favorite to win! As it turns out, however, the goats are easily distracted and many will keep wandering away from the race to chew on whatever they can get their teeth around. Some kind and focused encouragement will go a long way towards helping them get back on track, but be careful not to overwhelm them! They’re under a lot of pressure, here.
- On the Lamb: One of the attendants has accidentally left the gate to one of the pens open, and as a result, there’s suddenly a dozen sheep on the loose! They’re quick to scatter, and many will run off to various parts of the Merchant’s Square and towards Canal Street, with the potential to fan out towards other parts of the city as well. Do your best Bo Peep impression and help to round them up! The sheep are easily spooked and agitated, but projecting a sense of calm and other soothing emotions will help to keep them calm in turn, and make it easier to close in and guide them back to their handlers, while impatience or frustration will spook them further and cause them to flee. Patience is absolutely the key to bringing these lost lambs home!
• Prompt F: Magical Girls are the latest craze in Verens! A local group of enthusiasts have heard enough stories from Otherworlders that they want to create their own festival based around it. Of course, nobody actually needs to be an magical girl to participate, nor does gender necessarily matter. No, this is an event for those who appreciate the genre or just want to have some little fun. For each event, there are star gems to be won, which are traded in for sweet goodies, so why not give it a shot? Extra points for those who come in a magical girl costume!- Talent Show: Every magical girl has some kind of skill or ability, right? In this event, anyone can show off their pose, speech, transformation, animal-sidekick... whatever they feel best represents a magical girl! Put lots of enthusiasm into it! Everyone else attending the convention must rate their performance on a scale of 1 to 10. The higher the rating, the more star gems you win!
- Battle Royale: A closed off part of the city has been reserved for more serious magical girls, where the rules allow any magical girl to challenge the other to a fight. There are no rules for how they wish to engage in fight, apart from the loser having to relinquish all of their star gems to the winner. Do you challenge a fellow Otherworlder magical girl? Or do you form a team with one to beat some of the natives, who also fight as magical girls? Be careful, they're quite good at using their emotional effects to their advantage!
- Gacha Galore: It's the end of the Magical Girl Festival, and now it's time to turn in your star gems. But there's a twist! Nobody gets to choose their prize, but instead they have to pay 20 star gems and let the roulette pick their prize. If you got what you wanted, feel free to show it off! And if not? Well, maybe somebody can trade?
• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include pumpkin spice and/or buckets.
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! - Paper Faces on Parade: Sure enough, many of the masks have strange effects on the wearer’s emotional state. Some may alter their behavior and make them more peaceful or more aggressive than normal, while still others will have more significant effects, like encouraging its wearer to give the next person they see a great big hug or a genuine compliment, whether they like it or not. In cases where the wearer may not go along with their mask’s persuasion, they may find the mask growing tighter and tighter around their head! But if they give in to whatever action the mask suggests, they will find themselves overcome with feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction. It’s not such a high price when it’s just a hug or a compliment, but hopefully your mask doesn’t want you to throw a pie in the face of the next person you see, or even worse, try to kidnap them...
Wei Wuxian | Mo Dao Zu Shi
[A world where emotions power magic...it's a strange concept, but at the same time, he can't help feeling a little hopeful at the idea. If he figures this out, he could recreate all the things he used to be able to do! And he's been putting a good amount of effort into that since he arrived, so today he should be able to.....
He found a wooden plank somewhere, a little bigger than he'd needed - big enough to sit on crosslegged, which is exactly what he's doing now. Focus, focus...positive feelings, right? Yeah, positive sounds right. A minute or two of concentration seems to do the trick, too, as he slowly begins to lift up into the air, board and all--it doesn't go up much higher than an inch or two, but it's enough to make him grin with barely restrained glee.]
--It worked! It's working! Hey, Lan Zhan, I--wah!? [Suddenly remembering that Lan Zhan wasn't here apparently threw him off just enough that the whole board just kinda....physically tipped him back onto the ground. He crawls up pretty quickly though, pointing accusingly at it as if it's some sort of live creature.] You did that on purpose!
master of disguise
[Getting a mask sounds pretty fun - even better if what the salesman says is true and they actually bring fortune and happiness and all that. Of all the masks to choose from though, somehow he found himself picking up a blank one - maybe he can decorate it himself! He might have to return it at the end of the day, but nobody said he couldn't draw on it. Now if only he could find a brush and some ink...easiest way to do that is to ask around, right?]
Hey, excuse me, do you know where I could find--er, sorry, is there something on my face? [Patting his mask just to be sure...]
on the lamb
[Sheep! Sheep everywhere! A whole stampede of sheep! Honestly this chaos is more exciting than stressful for Wei Wuxian, but chasing them down is still somehow difficult despite the laid-back attitude...probably because he's literally chasing them.]
Hey, come back--no, wait, keep going! Left! Left! [Sadly the sheep don't feel like following directions. Left, right, forward! He should be able to herd at least one of them this way, at least...probably.]
wildcard
[because we've always gotta have one of those, right? I can roll with just about anything, try me \o/ ]
the future of the sheepdom is up to us
and the main reason why?
a fox wearing a scarf, whose tail is cheerfully swishing back and forth. one might think the sheep would be frightened of a predatory creature in their midst, but no...
he's as cool as a cucumber. ]
Shhh. They're sleeping.
no subject
You seem to have quite a strong hold over these sheep...either that, or they find you incredibly boring. Which would you say it is?
[ he's talking quietly at least...also patting one of the sleepsheep. ]
no subject
And... well, if I acted like you did, I'm sure every sheep in a wide radius would be heading to the baa-ckfields!
[ he did it, he made a pun just for Wei ]
no subject
also it made a joke. it's a punny fox? he stares at it for a moment in surprise before starting to laugh, covering his mouth in an attempt to not wake the sheep. ]
Haha--maybe we should've switched places! You as the shepherd, me as the fox. [ a beat. ] Don't actually do that, by the way. Can you do that?
no subject
[ anything is possible, as long as you believe in yourself. look at Kaden, he's never known a sheep before and now? they're almost kind of... getting real close, being attracted to his kind of calm and contentedness?
actually they're definitely starting to form one sheepblob. ]
But I appreciate your enthusiasm! I can't really carry them or lead them though, I think they might start thinking I'm one of their own.
no subject
if only he could reach that level of calm and contentedness...sadly he's more curious and energetic than anything else. the conversation's caught his attention though, and he leans on a nearby sheep like it's some sort of table, resting his chin on his hands. (the sheep closer to him might be a little less blobby than the ones near the fox, but at least they've all calmed down somewhat?) ]
It'd probably be difficult to carry them anyway, with how many of them there are. [ seriously it feels like they've multiplied ] Maybe if we team up we could get them back where they're supposed to be, though.
no subject
[ with Wei leaning and sort of focusing his energy on talking, it makes Kaden's ears twitch and his tail stand straight up when he realizes that most of the sheep are just overall calm, even with the man alongside him! earlier, they were just kind of not into being still and chill. ]
Maybe I could carry you on my back, and you could do whatever you were doing earlier...? Have you ever ridden a kitsune before?
no subject
....then again, they're surrounded by sheep and in a totally different world, so ???? maybe riding foxes is normal around here, he wouldn't know. ]
What was I doing earlier....I've ridden a donkey before, does that count? [ no seriously which thing was he doing earlier do you mean the whole "chasing them while yelling directions" thing because he's totally down to try that again! ]
no subject
No. Do I look like a donkey to you? No donkey has fur like mine, a tail like mine, or a handsome set of features like mine!
[ and to prove his point, his tail twitches and lights up, suddenly bathed in bright and brilliant red sparkles. ]
I'm sure if we chase them together, we can get them wherever they need to be!
no subject
[ lies, that donkey was the most ornery creature he's ever met. the sudden sparkly red lights seriously catch his attention though, eyes widening with interest. ]
How'd you do that? Is that a kitsune thing? You're certainly the shiniest fox I've ever met! [ just imagine if he could learn to make sparkles like that! and then use it on other people--is this sheep a brighter white than it was before? maybe it's just his imagination. ]
Well, if we're going to get these sheep moving, we might as well start moving ourselves. First rule of anything! [ pushing himself up off his sheeprest! ] Think I should try yelling at them again?
no subject
[ because if he was called anything that wasn't his name, he's pretty sure his pride would take a hit? or maybe he'd be insulted? after all, he's not an apple! but apples are tasty. this is actually a problem he'll have to think through later. ]
Actually... after being for a while, you start to understand your feelings better! This entire place sort of makes them more obvious, if you can't already tell.
[ the sheep. the kitsune's tail. ]
Yeah, I think that'll work. If that doesn't, you could try waving your arms and pretending you're... um... a bear?
no subject
[ getting named after its favorite food makes sense, right? 'course it does.
also: he looks down at the shiny white sheep, bleached clean by ~pure imagination~ or something, and.
...he's got all sorts of funny ideas about how feelings magic could be either hilarious or incredibly inconvenient, but for now he's just gonna clap! really loudly!! ]
Alright, sheep, you heard 'im! Let's get moving, or I'll have you for dinner! I'll roast you with angry feelings!!
[ shoo! shoo!! this is totally how sheep herding works, trust a guy who's never met a sheep before. ]
no subject
sheep will be sheep. not quite lemming status, but close enough. ]
... maybe I need to show them what to do? But I'm not exactly feeling very afraid of you either.
[ the kitsune takes a second to think, before shaking a little bit. ]
Oh noooooo! What a scary... human...?
[ watch him tremble in fear??? the sheep don't know what to do either. lowering his voice, he wags his tail. ]
Try a little harder! Put your back into it!
no subject
and by "different tactic" i mean he's gonna climb onto his new favorite sheepstool and start trying to goad it on like some kind of horse. ]
Come on, let's go! Gogogo! Don't tell me sheep won't move without apples either? I really do wanna eat one of these now, though...
[ he's hungry??? ]
no subject
Of course not! Apples are tasty, but you can't bribe animals with food like that! [ huff! ] You're going to make them upset!
[ and certainly not Kaden, because he's NOT UPSET AT ALL no way he's fine. just fine. except his agitation is getting the sheep to slowly back away from him. ]
... unless you said you were going to eat one of them?
[ this gets the sheep to tremble. then, shake, then... book. ]
no subject
...or maybe he's actually physically feeling it. the sheep sure can! ]
Why would they be upset? It worked just fine with my Lil' Apple! It might even work on me, to be honest. [ seriously though that donkey was a serious pain. but ah! they're escaping! he grins as he tries to urge his noble steed (a little more gently this time) after their quarry. ]
Have you tried eating sheep before, Mister Fox? They look pretty meaty, under all that fluff. Maybe we should catch one!
[ are they successful shepherds now!? ]