memepatheias | TEST DRIVE: April

— TEST DRIVE: APRIL —

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 March 25th and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on April 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. These threads do not count toward AC.

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 Verens Emergency Response Teams are running drills to make sure that the Verens populace, natives and Otherworlders alike, are prepared for any and all emergencies. This means large scale obstruction of public areas, traffic delays, businesses closing their doors temporarily in the name of professional cooperation... and, best of all, Otherworlder participation!

Alpha Lava: If you asked Team Alpha, they would say they drew the short straw. They are in charge of the volcanic eruption preparedness drill! This includes cordoning off sections of the merchant’s square and residential district to conduct the following tasks: evacuation drills, where random houses are the "willing participant" of loudspeaker announcements telling them they have thirty seconds to escape their homes before they die; dunamis training exercises, to determine who would be most able to hold back or freeze incoming pools of lava; and, most helpful, the role of victim mannequin. Posing still as a statue for several minutes at a time to simulate being encrusted by molten lava is a thankless job, but someone has to do it.
Epsilon Epidemic: Team Epsilon's emergency preparedness drill is outbreak of a deadly disease! For this simulation, they will be rounding up helpful Otherworlder volunteers and distributing signs for them to wear around their necks. Following that, instructions are varied. Perhaps some people end up in quarantine, informed that Team Epsilon will shoot to kill anyone who escaped. Perhaps some people are under strict instruction to act out their sign to the best of their ability, and will be penalised if they don't! (What's the penalty? It's quarantine, or no gift bag, or both.) Perhaps they are simply dead and have to lie in the street all day. Yes, that's very boring. No, they don't have a choice. At the end of the simulation, all participants are given a gift bag filled with handmade cookies (courtesy of Team Epsilon's very own multi-talented Agent N) and gift certificate for a spa day for two. Most importantly: have fun!
Gamma Grandstanding: Team Gamma ended up with the newest preparation drill. Its official title is "People With Indeterminate Motives" (PWIM for short) to keep from throwing a wrench in the Briarlan trade deal and offending sensibilities, but make no mistake: it is about knowing exactly what to do if pirates invade Verens and conduct a hostile takeover. Some Otherworlders will be placed specifically in local business - restaurants, independently owned shops, even the zoo - and trained how to protect them from PWIM. Some businesses will be targeted; others will be ignored entirely (hope you brought a deck of cards!). Other Otherworlders will be asked to play the pirates - sorry, PWIM - themselves, complete with lame costumes (eyepatches, fancy hats, fake parrots to sit on a shoulder, itchy peglegs) for the sake of immersion. Arr! Aye, avast!

• Prompt E: Despite the rain and everybody coming down with colds during the month, everyone in Verens is still doing their best to get ready for next month's Flower Festival. And Otherworlders are definitely expected to help with prep work. After all, it's everyone's festival, so everyone should help make it the best it can be! So here's a few ways to help!

Sign Me Up: The Festival needs signs! Lots of signs. And lots of signs need lots of painters! Or one incredibly overworked painter, but in this case, they've decided to go the teamwork route, pairing up Otherworlders and having them make signs advertising various games at the festival! Sounds easy, right? But with emotion based paints in play, be careful. Too much negativity between partners and the wording will change, the paint could run, go too far in the other directions and the signs will be practically glowing, but possibly lead to claims of false advertising!
Special Delivery Flower Festivals need lots of flowers, and people to transport those flowers! And thanks to handy tech exchange with Briarlan, this year there's some fancy containment units for transporting them. They're really just crates with some fancy looking meters attached, meant to open up when they reach the festival grounds. Unfortunately, these new inventions probably could've used some additional testing and are prone to opening randomly sending flowers all over the place! Try and collect as many as possible and bring them back to the grounds, the festival organizers would appreciate it.
Flower Round Up! Or maybe painting signs and boxing flowers aren't your thing, so how about...corralling them? With all the good vibes in the air, it seems some of the flower arrangements have literally pulled up roots and are running around the festival. And you can't have a flower festival without flowers, so do your best to try and get them back where they belong before they run off to start some sort of flower civilization in the woods*.

*They probably will not form a flower civilization in the woods, but you never know.

• Prompt F: With Verens trading with more and more cities out there, some shopkeepers have gotten an idea to try and increase sales by encouraging both citizens and Otherworlders to shop local by promoting a tour of various business in the merchant district! Though the crystal has been a little negative, they're still hoping the tour goes off without a hitch! After all, it's too late to postpone it.

On the Clock: The first stop is Click, Clack, Clock, a clock shop that offers delivery to anywhere on the island! Unfortunately, due to the poor weather, all of the delivery staff are out with colds, so they're looking for volunteers! And yes, you're on this walking tour, but don't be surprised if you're handed a bicycle and a clock and sent on your way to deliver a clock. Hopefully they remembered to tell you where to go before shoving you out the door.
Shine On: Assuming you haven't been conscripted into the clock store's delivery force, the next stop is at Verens' very own Restoration Works, an establishment for restoring old antiques and making them look good as new. They've set up an interactive demo for everybody, so partner up and practice using your emotions to bring some shine back to some dull scraps of metal! Sorry guys, they're not going to let you work on anything really valuable during the tour, but if you show some promise, maybe they’ll hire you on in the future!
Polg-Oh No: Finally, the tour will end with a nice relaxing meal at the Sweethearts Cafe. Or it was intended to be relaxing, anyway (who would've thought the antique store would be the calmest part of the tour?), but it seems no place is safe from the Polgo plague. Better keep an eye on your plates, otherwise the second you’re distracted, the small kitten-sized blue bugs might scurry up the table and try and run off with your food!

Even if you’re paying attention, they might give it a shot anyways. So be on your guard and ready to give chase if it happens!

• Prompt G: Make your own! It could include blueberries 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ You know, there's really no one he would rather be at a Vaguely Annual Cheese Festival with, helping him into a cheese wheel costume, dropping puns with him like a stone cold punster. Which is probably why he asked her to come with him in the first place. He knows it's cheesy, but it's true!

Still, Operation: Cheese Wheel Costume isn't going flawlessly, though her assistance doesn't spare her from a snort of laughter. ]

Cut it...cut the cheese...

[ Give him a moment to ascertain some level of maturity(?) again. Okay. He's good. ]

Cut the cheese, heh...I-I mean - yeah, totally! It, uh - [ He gives the other leg a tug. This is kinda snug, isn't it? He's not putting on weight, is he??? ] - fits like a dream!

[ It really doesn't, and as he tries to stick his arm through one of the arm holes, he's finding it's waaay to close to the leg holes for his torso height. Oh, man, this is gonna be uncomfy. ]

[Whether the joke was intended or not, it's hard to tell with Lightning maintaining a deadpan expression as she moves on to help with the arm holes. The thing is barely stretchable, and before she tries to heave it up over his shoulder, she pauses.]

Yeah... a bad dream.

[Letting go, her side snaps back and thwaps so hard against his side that it startles her. Whoops.]

This was the only size?

[Someone remind her again why they're even doing this? Do they get free cheese?]

[ They get the unforgettable memory of Prompto rolling down a big hill in a cheese wheel costume. And also, free cheese at some point, hopefully. Like, that just has to be a given, right?

Prompto shimmies a bit in the costume, sucking in a deep breath when the two sides of the costume snap together. He would feel at his chest if he could, but as it is now, his arms are pretty much just...stuck out at his sides. Like a starfish. He probably looks super cool. Maybe...he's glad he didn't hand off his camera to her to snap some pictures of this. ]

The only one they gave me... [ Look, okay, he's...not a huge guy, but he's also not child-sized!! This costume? Definitely child-sized. ] Hey, maybe if I wreck it, I get to keep it! Could always use a cheese costume around the house...

[ I mean, why not?? ]

[That... is the strangest logic she's heard all day, and Lightning makes no effort to hide it in the way she pauses just so she can narrow her eyes at him. Wreck it so they can keep it. Someone's gonna have to pay for it, too, and it's not going to be her!

They've come this far, though (and by far, she means that they've somehow got his legs through their respective holes). It would be stupid for them to try and give up now. Besides, he really seems to want to roll down that hill. Who is she to take that away from him?

Weirdo.

Hands on his shoulders, Lightning spins him in half a circle so that he's facing the other way. Maybe if she can get this thing over his back, he can stretch his arms through it that way? This is like a really weird game of Twister.]

Right. I'm sure this'll look great on Gladio.

[Okay, she would pay real money to see that.]

[ At least he's fairly flexible and lithe...if anyone can twist themselves into a pretzel to get into a cheese costume, it's him.

(Not that that will stop him from whining about it, but, you know.)

He tries to slouch down to better facilitate Lightning pulling the costume over his back, his expression somewhere between a grin and a grimace. It'll be worth it...it has to be...

But he's not helping the effort when he breaks out into convulsive laughter at the mental image of Gladio in this thing. ]

Tch - can you even imagine? He'd probably tear the thing right in half if he flexed, like, one finger! This pinky. Pinky finger. Skadoosh, and the whole thing's ripped to shreds!

Ska... doosh...

[It sounds even more ridiculous when she repeats it out loud. What the hell does that even mean? Is it weird Eos slang for something? Granted, he's not wrong. As if they weren't already having a hard time with this thing...]

Hold still.

[Lightning presses a firm palm between Prompto's shoulder blades and with some effort, she slides one side over his arm and it snaps into place for them. He'll have to shimmy to get comfortable, though... whatever the threshold for "comfortable" is in this thing.]

There. Should be easier to get the other arm in now.

[ It's not Eos slang, just Prompto slang. It's a cool word, though, right?? He's gotta use it more often...even if it really doesn't mean anything.

Holding still is a tall order when it comes to Prompto, but he manages to freeze in place long enough for Lightning to pull the costume over his arm. When it snaps into place, he exhales a sharp "oof!" at the sudden constriction of his lungs, and he does indeed do some super cool shimmying moves to attempt to get comfortable in this thing. ]

Sooo better not get a wedgie while I'm in this thing... [ What, it's a valid concern! ] Ready for number two! Hoo boy. Arm me, Light!

[It is certainly a valid concern, and Lightning even leans over to check that it isn't too tight. Yeah, he's probably going to get a wedgie in this thing.]

Alright...

[With an 'if you're sure' tone behind it, Lightning gives a shrug and snaps the second arm into place with more ease than the first. Okay, job well done! She steps back to admire their... handiwork? All that's left now is buttoning the front into place, which shouldn't be much harder now that the damn thing is finally over his shoulders.]

So, now what? I'm supposed to just push you down the hill?

[ No, buttoning it up isn't any harder than anything that came before, but as each button is slipped into place, Prompto can feel his heartrate picking up. is it possible to get claustrophobia inside of a cheese wheel costume? He may be about to find out.

There's a hint of something like panic behind his eyes, but he still forces a grin, determined to see this through now that they've gone through all the trouble of getting it on. He isn't going to throw away Lightning's hard work by not even taking the thing out for a spin! ]

Guess that's all there is to it! [ There is, in fact, a small crowd gathered at the bottom of the hill, waiting to see the human-cheese-roliing spectacle. This is really a thing people actually came to see. Who knew.

He turns (read: waddles) to face her, his back towards the hill, his expression somber, grave. ]

Lightning, if I don't make it out of this...remember me as I lived, not as I died.

TEST DRIVE: April

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