memepatheias | TEST DRIVE: April

Entry tags:

*test drive

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

Too fast? Not at all.

[Zarkon's tone is neutral, so he's probably not implying that Coran is too slow. Just an honest, if unflattering, answer to the question. Zarkon turns toward the remaining felled trees.]

Three.

[That's only two more than one! And one of them is a smaller tree, as Coran will be able to see when Zarkon nods in their direction.]

Oh. Haha. Good. Just three more! Easy!

[He is really going to die. Maybe this Zarkon is evil!?] Can we do the small one next, please?

Yes, it should be easy.

[Zarkon is still feeling no pain. He may not be evil, but he's implacable. He's started on this job, and now he's going to finish it.]

I have no preference. If you prefer the small one, then—

[So saying, Zarkon is already striding up to it and raising it to position its roots properly. Come on, Coran, keep up!]

Yes. You're right. Easy. [Maybe he should call the others and ask for help. It would work in his favor either way. Either they'd all get along and help get these trees back in the ground or they'd all fight and take Zarkon down so he still doesn't have to shovel any more dirt.

No, he'd rather have Zarkon alive and telling Keith without prior warning would probably not work out.]

Sir, if I may ask? What was the last thing you remember before turning up here? [Asked as he gets down on hands and knees to start piling up the dirt again.]

Precisely.

[Zarkon continues to hold up the tree, holding it still as Coran works in the dirt. He feels calm now, and the air around him is still—more still than it is farther away, where natural breezes continue to blow. Zarkon notices this; his emotions often affect the air around him, and sometimes the ground beneath his feet. Hm. As he watches Coran work, he wonders if he could try something... After all, his goal of coming out here was to practice using his emotions.

A laborer would be more suited to Coran's task, and under ordinary circumstances, he wouldn't ask a royal advisor to do this work, but these circumstances aren't ordinary.

Coran's question, though, is simple enough.]

I was with the other paladins. We were on a mission.

[Coran would be more than happy for any extra help. ~~Or hindrance.~~]

Ah, the other paladins. [He says it wistfully. Remembering the days long gone with fondness. These days "other" paladins had a bit of a different meaning as well.] And how long have you been in this world now?

Not long. A few days.

[Zarkon doesn't pick up on the wistfulness in Coran's voice; he isn't always the most skilled at reading such emotions. If anything, the powers here improve his emotional IQ, at times. Feelings are easier to read when you can feel their effects. Speaking of which—]

Brace yourself, Advisor. I'm going to try something.

[Without actually telling Coran what he's about to do, he acts. He taps into his annoyance again, because so far, he finds negative emotions more powerful. He tries to concentrate on the loose earth churned by the fallen trees. If he can focus and direct his anger on it—

In response to Zarkon lashing out mentally at the dirt, a sharp gust of wind blows a large amount of it toward the hole in which the tree's roots are balanced. A portion of it does fall into the hole, aiding Coran's efforts—but another portion of it slams directly into Coran.]

Am I the first person from home you've seen?

Oh - GAH! [Coran wasn't sure what he had been expecting when Zarkon said he was about to do something. It sure wasn't that. The man falls backwards with a pile of dirt on top of his.]

Ah, yes, that was pretty effective. Good job, sir.

[Zarkon surveys the results of his dunamis practice. He hadn't intended to cover Coran with dirt. Oh, well.]

I'll try it from the other direction.

[So he does, this time having the wind blow from the other way, with the tree serving as a buffer between Coran and the dirt. There's another gust of dirt and wind, but this time, much less of it hits Coran.

Zarkon may seem to have ignored Coran's question, but he was just waiting to reply until he was finished his experiment. He considers the matter of "people from home" and immediately discounts Lotor.]

Honerva is with me.

[Coran ducks behind the tree as the wind picks up. Helping to avoid most of the dirt that comes flying at him. Honestly, it wasn't like he was going to stay much cleaner shoveling dirt around the trees.

Once that tree is in place he stands and gives his clothes a quick brushing off. Not that it actually does anything for all the mud already coating them or his face. It's more habit than any real help.]

Honerva? Really? [Coran isn't as far along as the others yet. He hasn't been given the full details yet on who she becomes.] Th- That's probably good.

[Probably. Unless she's already a quintessence junkie or already dead for as far as Coran is concerned.]

[Zarkon watches Coran brush himself off and assists with a short burst of cold wind. Again, he doesn't ask first, but this is Zarkon's way of being helpful, while helping himself practice. It's brusque, but not hostile.]

Of course it's good.

[The wind gets sharper and colder. He doesn't appreciate anything that's less than approval of Honerva. And yet... He is concerned about her. Even he can't deny that. He almost hadn't recognized her, at first. He doesn't like to admit to weakness or Honerva's weakness, but Coran's familiarity and helpfulness are reassuring. Zarkon misses his fellow paladins and his familiar life. Alfor had always trusted Coran. The wind only increases in strength as Zarkon struggles with his conflicted feelings. In the end, his concern for Honerva wins out.]

However, she may be--unwell.

[Coran doesn't at all feel threatened by the wind that Zarkon was kicking up. It was only natural for anyone showing up here to want to test out what their emotions could do. Especially if they were someone like Zarkon.

He does get a bit nervous when the wind starts getting colder once Honerva is mentioned.] Ah, I only meant that while it's good to have her here with us it is unfortunate in that she was taken away from her work. I know how important it is to her. [How fatally important it was in the way Coran remembers things. Which is even more concerning when Zarkon mentions that she is unwell.]

Unwell? Oh dear, well, that is most certainly not a good thing to hear. I hope she feels better. Do you know what is wrong? Maybe there is something I can suggest to help her feel better.

[Like detox.]

Ah. I see. In truth, it may be nothing.

[Zarkon relaxes; he is somewhat on edge and easier than usual to rile. He is already thinking better of admitting there may be a problem, because he doesn't like to admit to problems. He should be able to handle these matters by himself. It's not as if Coran is his advisor, or a Galra; he feels he should maintain the correct protocol here, to provide some semblance of order.]

As you say, it could be because she was taken from her work. You know how driven she is. But she can work here as well. There is much to study. The power, for instance—it's unlike anything I've seen before.

[And to illustrate, Zarkon focuses his emotion and creates another strong gust of wind. Some of the nearby trees creak faintly.]

Well, hopefully it is nothing. Or just something like the common Altean infectious flu! Very annoying and itchy, but with a bit of rest easy to recover quickly from!

[Coran really doesn't think it's the flue, but it would be nice if that's all it was.]

And yes! The power here is very strange. You seem to be getting a much better grasp on the concept than I have already! [Magic has never been his forte.]

I don't believe she has your flu.

[It may not be a Galra disease, but he's known enough Alteans to know that that is probably not what it is. Not quite the same symptoms.]

But maybe it is rest that will help her.

[That's what he likes to think, anyway. Yes, he'll go with that. And he also goes along with Coran saying he has a better grasp of the dunamis. Zarkon is used to being good at things, especially things that might be used in combat.]

It makes sense to learn to fully utilize every power we have at our disposal. I'm capable of creating significant force, but I'm training to improve my control.

I hope the rest will help her then.

[Coran nods along as Zarkon speaks.]

I must say that I am not surprised to hear you already have a handle on the powers, sir. I'm certain that with a little more time and practice you'll have mastered both the power and the control of these emotion based powers.

I'm sure it will. She does seem already improved since I first encountered her here.

[Because she'd been entirely blue and calling herself by another name at that point. But he's trying to look on the bright side, here! And not in denial at all.]

With discipline, one can learn to master a skill more quickly. It is a matter of will. You can accomplish the same, if you apply yourself. How long have you been here?

[Denial is the best thing ever. So useful! Like saying you don't have the slipperies even if you do!]

Ah, well, I suppose it's been a couple months now? [Why does he feel a lecture could be coming on?] But I've had a lot of ah, duties. Royal duties and things going on. [Building useless things. VERY BUSY!]

[Zarkon definitely doesn't have the slipperies, at least! And neither does Honerva, which would be more likely, as she's an Altean. That, he's sure of. Not the same symptoms at all.

Zarkon is thoughtful for a moment.]

That's no excuse. It's our responsibility here to learn as much as possible and refine our emotional control and acuity. That is the way of this world, so you can consider it your royal duty from now on. You'll report to me for training, Advisor.

[Zarkon doesn't feel they're on a first name basis, in spite of his initial lapse. That's not how Things Are Done. Zarkon's also sure this is how Alfor would want him to proceed. (Whether or not that is actually how Alfor would want him to proceed, he's sure of it!)]

Ah- bu- um, ahhhh -- [Can he do that? Zarkon is a leader of his people, but he's not the Altean king. Can he give Coran a royal duty!?]

Al-- alright. [It probably won't be THAT bad, right? Right!?]

[He's royal, so he can give a royal order! Or that's how he sees it. Besides, he knows what's best, and he's doing it in Alfor's stead. Since that's what Alfor would want. (Or is it?)]

We'll have your form improved in no time. We can start now. We do have more trees to replant.

[Clearly, Coran needs more discipline.]

You mean right now-- right now. But sir! This was your training wasn't it? It would be incredibly rude of me to interrupt!

[And because he doesn't want to horribly embarrass himself.]

Irrelevant. Your training won't interrupt mine.

[Sorry, Coran, now he's interested, and he's as bossy as usual.]

It will be a learning experience. Show me what you're capable of.

You mean r-right now? Well, uh, I mean. I haven't stretched or anything! And ah- um, alright.

[Crap. Crap. Crap. CRAP! Can magical powers have performance anxiety? Coran finds that he's suddenly have a lot of trouble calling on emotional powers of any kind.

He continues to stare daggers at that fallen tree. Trying to will with all his might that some breeze would swell up. Even if all it could do is to shake the leaves. Anything! Just the smallest of breeze! He must be able to! Even the gentlest of--

Opps. And now that tree is suddenly on fire.] Ah.... ta da?

Coran—!

[Congratulations, Coran, you made Zarkon forget his formality and revert to a first name basis. But maybe congratulations aren't really in order, considering the situation.

They... aren't doing a great job of restoring the trees, as it turns out. It could have gone a lot better.]

This is unacceptable!

[And Zarkon's frustration causes a wind to spring up, which simply fans the flames.]

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