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Empatheias Events ([personal profile] empevents) wrote in [community profile] memepatheias2018-11-19 07:38 am
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Test Drive: December

— TEST DRIVE: DECEMBER —


Welcome to [community profile] 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 25 November and Applications (Canon | OC) open a week later on December 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.

  • Enable Me/App This Pls. Talk about your app plans or look for a cast HERE!

    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 same committee of natives that decided to tackle Halloween have decided to take on the winter holidays of Otherworlders as well! After interviewing several Otherworlders to acquire some grasp on the traditions associated with these holidays, the committee determines that many of the typical winter festivities just aren’t up to snuff with what they like to see in Verens. So after running away with some ideas and getting the locals involved, there are all sorts of new and unusual winter activities popping up around the city! Which one will you give a try?
    1. Tree Toppers: At various locations throughout Verens, there are massive, fully decorated evergreen trees standing tall for the public to enjoy. However, there are more to these trees than meets the eye, and should you approach, you will see a placard among the boughs: climb to the top of the tree, and snatch the crown at the top to become Winter Royalty! Sure enough, the trees are topped with crowns made of real gold, but reaching the top may not be as easy as you think. The trees are several stories tall, and they are not particularly stable. Perhaps you need a partner to spot you, or maybe you’re racing to the top! Either way, it’s going to take some effort to reach the crown.
    2. We Won’t Go Until We Get Some: Groups of natives have taken up caroling and arrive at your door to serenade and ask for some figgy pudding. The thing is, they are relentless. They will not leave until they have received some figgy pudding, so if you don’t have any on hand (and why would you), it’s time to take a trip to the grocery store and whip up some of the requested dish. Hopefully you know how to make it...or find someone who knows how, quick! Those carolers are getting awfully hungry, and it’s getting late...
    3. Elf on a Shelf: Through the course of their “research”, the committee learned of toy-making elves, though they seem to have conflated their understanding of them with another creature from folklore. They have taken imps from the forest, dressed them up in cute red and green costumes, and set them loose in the city, claiming that whoever captures the most “elves” with be rewarded with a giant rocking horse. Some of the “elves” will hide and thus need to be sniffed out, but others still are far more mischievous and are likely to get into your cabinets and drawers. Oh, dear...perhaps you’ll be earning that rocking horse, whether you wanted it or not.



    • Prompt E: The recent death of an Arehtei has prompted some people to believe that there may be some Arehtei who have yet to come back, or have yet to be discovered. As such, a team not at all enforced by the local government are going around encouraging others to join their cause: find new Arehtei.
    1. Make 'em Talk: As most Arehtei are like giant animals, the group has captured all kinds of creatures from all over the world and are trying to see if certain emotional reactions will make these creatures talk. Arehtei talk, after all, so it would only be natural for the undiscovered Arehtei to be capable of speech. Perhaps you come by the petting zoo or perhaps you were asked by a member of the team to help out. Your task now is to make the creature before you speak.
    2. The Monthly Rituals: The various emotions represented by the current living Arehtei are all well and good, but what about emotions such as Hot and Cold, Rich and Poor, Alive and Dead, Woke and Lit? There are apparently so many other emotions that don't fall under the spectrum of what the current Arehtei represent, and the group is now hosting a ritual at the park in hopes of summoning new Arehtei. People attending the rituals are partnered up again and they have to make their partner feel these new emotions. For your efforts, you are given a cup of either peppermint mocha or raspberry iced tea!
    3. Emotional Effects: Maybe even summoning the long forgotten Simpathis, Arehtei of Apathy, might help. Despite the destructive effects of the lack of emotion, people are encouraged to turn off their emotions for a minute or two in hopes of the emotion drops in people's crystals to help the Arehtei in some way. After all, feeling certain emotions make the emotional state of the world tilt in a particular manner. Should there be a lot of apathy, then the Arehtei of apathy might (re)surface and bring some balance! Just watch out for people suddenly making the ground shake. The glass you're holding might suddenly break, or perhaps the street you're walking in might suddenly lose all its colour.



    • Prompt F: Life in Empatheias is generally a peaceful one, but it's also important to be perpetually prepared for any kind of emergency. The Verens General Hospital has issued a half-day mandatory First Aid course for all of its citizen. The staff are aware that these kinds of classes tend to be boring for most people, which is why this one will come with some exciting twists! The first thing everyone will notice is that all the training takes place outdoors. To be precise, it's a forest that looks more like a boot camp. Remember, attendance is mandatory!
    1. Stayin’ Alive: The first course is a classic CPR course - you and a partner are given an instruction book on how to resuscitate a person, then apply those skills on a dummy. That's what seems to be the case for most pairs, but some others won't be so lucky! It turns out that some staff members will shoot poison darts from afar. If you're hit, it's your partner's job to either suck out the poison, or run back to the supply cabin for the antidote. This is the REAL test! Isn't it thrilling?
    2. I Will Survive: The second course is another much-needed skill when it comes to saving lives; namely the fireman's carry. Once again, you're paired up with a partner, but this time only one has to do most of the work, while the other has to do their best to play their part. What does this course involve? It's an army-style obstacle course, where one has to carry another person through various obstacles. How exciting!
    3. How To Save a Life: The final course involves performing emergency surgery. Don't worry! The surgery is performed on a test dummy, of course. With the most basic training instructions (which is completely inadequate for this task), you and your partner are tasked with surgically removing the dummy's kidney and replacing it with a fresh one from your medical box. Work slowly and carefully together... and don't panic. Seriously, don't. The staff have also released some monster snakes nearby, just to add to the excitement. Stay calm, and the creatures won't sense your presence. Alternatively, one partner can fight them while the other one works on the patient. First Aid has never been so blood-tingling before!




    • Prompt G: Make your own! It could include music and/or jump ropes.


    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!
lightofchaldea: (just spell it F G O)

E-2 so I went to wash dishes and came back to this...!

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-19 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
Thankfully, Ritsuka has been here a few months and has a decent grasp on modern slang. And even if she does think this 'ritual' is a bit silly... well, look, they were giving out free drinks, okay?

"Pretty sure that's not what they mean by 'woke'..."
critplz: (singing songs of the English unsung)

that's what you get for being productive, smh

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-19 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
Dear Master. Lancelot knows he can count on her to enlighten him on modern things when he needs it, which is frequently. He may come equipped with a Servant's basic toolset in understanding the modern world, but he's also got, you know, Dadness working against him.

In this case, he wasn't expecting to be wrong, though, and blinks at her over his paper cup.

"What other meaning is there?"
lightofchaldea: (just spell it F G O)

APPARENTLY also hi and obligatory <3!

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-19 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
"It's... sort of realizing the truth of something, I guess? Or sometimes to say that something's profound or enlightening. I think."

She might be familiar with modern slang, but sometimes not even the internet can decide on one single usage of a term, after all.

"I guess it depends on who's saying it in what context though."
critplz: (you were born in the water)

HELLO <3!

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-19 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
"I see . . . "

Kind of, anyway. Maybe he's being a little hasty to say that. He's still trying to turn it over and use it in a sentence in a way that makes any sense to him at all.

"Then, it's a spiritual sort of awakening, and not a literal one. I may be awoken, or Woke, by some revelation?"
lightofchaldea: (it'll be an adventure)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-19 06:12 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, kinda like that. Or like when someone 'wakes up' by realizing they've been overlooking something bad that's happening around them."

These kinds of things are hard to explain, okay. So she certainly doesn't blame him if he doesn't think it makes a lot of sense. (Really, even knowing slang doesn't necessarily mean thinking it makes sense...)
critplz: (all smoothed out)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-20 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
Lancelot nods. It at least kind of makes sense. Or so he thinks, enough that after a couple beats of contemplation, he lets out a sigh, and:

"If only Mash were here with us! She has a particular talent for making me feel bad about things."
lightofchaldea: (it'll be an adventure)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-20 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
"It'd be nice to see her again, yeah... But before you say anything else, maybe I should point out that throwing around slang terms you just learned is a good way to start sounding like Teach."

Sorry, Lancelot, she knows you mean well, but your Dad levels are just far too high for this stuff.
critplz: (but of course)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-20 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
He already had his mouth open to try and say something woke, so that was well-timed; he has the grace to look embarrassed about it, at least.

"Right, right! I understand. Master, whatever intricacies the meaning has, I don't believe I know them well enough to invoke the feeling of being woke in you, or in anyone else. And so, what will we do now?"
lightofchaldea: (just spell it F G O)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-20 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
Since Mash isn't here, clearly it's Ritsuka's duty to prevent her not!dad from embarrassing all of them in her stead.

"Maybe just enjoy some more hot and cold drinks?"
critplz: (how'd she move so fast)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-21 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
"That hardly seems like enough to help this ritual along."

But it does sound pleasant, so he's not terribly admonishing in saying that. Who doesn't like a quiet moment alone with Master? And she probably understands how all of this works better than he does; it's taking a while to find his feet in a world with these alien emotion logistics.

He hums over a sip of his mocha.

"Master. How long, again, have you been in this place?"
lightofchaldea: (it'll be an adventure)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-21 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm not sure anything we do will help it along, so... Maybe it'd just be good moral support?"

Playing along a little, in other words. And an excuse to have a few free drinks.

She pauses at that question though.

"Almost three months, I think?" An absurdly long time to be away from Chaldea under the circumstances, and yet...
critplz: (and you were raised up in the sky)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-21 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
He nods:

"Then I'll trust your judgement on matters of how it works here. Right now, it's difficult to imagine ever getting used to it. But you, as always, have managed to make yourself more at home. I admire that quality in you."

There he goes, with his trademark laying it on a little thick even though he's being completely earnest at the same time. Near his feet, a completely out of place plant shoot pushes through the snow, bright green against the backdrop of white. He doesn't notice it, though.
lightofchaldea: (are you sure about that?)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-21 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
She blinks, a little surprised by the sudden compliment.

"I'm sure you'd manage too if you'd been here that long..." she says. "And it helped that there were already people I knew here, you know."

She knows he's being earnest, but, well, what is she supposed to say to something like that, anyway?
critplz: (victorious mother tongue)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-21 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
"And I will be helped in turn by you, and the others."

He says it with every confidence. . . . However, after a moment, his smile does twitch a little.

"I should say most of the others."

There's, you know, Kiyohime. There might be Gilgamesh too. But for the most part, at least, he's earnest!

"That aside, I would like to hear more of what your life here has been like, if you don't mind. I think I could learn much. And, I may even be Woke by it, depending on what you say."

No . . . he used the word . . .
lightofchaldea: (quiet thoughts)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-21 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
There were a few things she'd been about to say, or at least considering saying, but no. No, he just had to go and derail it by trying to be 'cool' or whatever he thinks it is to be using the latest slang.

"I don't mind... As long as you don't say anything like that again."

Seriously, it's all she can do not to groan.
critplz: (but of course)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-21 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
"Ah . . . I apologize, Master. I truly thought I had it right that time . . . "

But, suitably cowed into giving up on correctly using slang, he settles and falls into silence to wait.
lightofchaldea: (let's watch the stars together)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-21 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
"If you have to think about whether it's right at all, it probably isn't."

He should probably be glad Mash wasn't here to hear that, really. She'd probably give him a much sterner response than Ritsuka's, after all.

"Anyway, I guess for the most part, things here are... quieter than Chaldea. It's a little strange at first, but I was able to find a place to stay and work to do almost right away, so that probably helped. And while the stuff with emotions here takes some getting used to, learning dunamis helps with that part."
critplz: (you were born in the water)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-22 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
"The emotional magecraft? Are you skilled with it?"

It's hard not to be curious; he's no wizard himself, and the very thought of learning it is a lot more daunting for him than it probably is for an actual magus. It makes sense that she'd take to it.
lightofchaldea: (just spell it F G O)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-22 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
Ritsuka would be quick to point out she's not really a magus herself, considering that the most she can do is used the command spells and mystic codes provided her by Chaldea. Really, that very fact is a not insignificant part of her own interest in dunamis.

"Yeah, but I'm still just learning," she replies.
critplz: (how'd she move so fast)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-22 06:12 am (UTC)(link)
"Is it too much to ask for a demonstration? I'm curious as to how it looks. Perhaps someday I'll even learn it myself."

He's new enough that even the simplest displays of the emotional effects are still fascinating to him; not only that, but he still hasn't figured out what his own even look like at this point. Maybe he should be testing it out a little more. Heck, maybe now's the time, if they're sitting here meant to be feeling feelings anyway.
lightofchaldea: (it'll be an adventure)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-23 06:07 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, I can try..."

She means it when she says she's just learning. Oh, she's starting to get some results by now, to be sure, but it's nothing particularly big or flashy. Not yet, at least.

But even so... She takes a moment to concentrate, focusing on some of the easier to muster emotions, internally redirecting and channeling that energy, then finally directing it into a more controlled form... Then with a practiced hand gesture and suddenly mischievous grin, there's a sudden brief put powerful blast of wind hitting Lancelot square in the chest.

Granted, it's probably not strong enough to knock a Servant off-balance, but then again, Ritsuka wouldn't have done it if she thought it could actually hurt him.
critplz: (it couldn't come at a worse time)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-25 07:08 am (UTC)(link)
Enough to knock him over, no. But the surprise alone is enough to at least make him sway like it was a real danger for a second. It may not have been much by Servant standards, but it was more than he was braced for, not knowing what to expect. It could have been anything!

Once he resettles, automatically lifting a hand to his hair to push it back into place—like it's not already kind of a mess—he regards her again with wide-eyed interest.

"—And you did that only with your emotions? Nothing else?"
Edited (idk what I did there) 2018-11-25 07:09 (UTC)
lightofchaldea: (this is great!)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-25 07:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Yep!" Ritsuka replies with a grin. "I don't know any magecraft or anything, after all."

And even when she's wearing her Mystic Code, she's limited to the preset spells it contains. Suffice it to say, she's pretty thrilled with being able to learn dunamis here.
critplz: (and you were raised up in the sky)

[personal profile] critplz 2018-11-27 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
It's an incredible display. Even for something so simple and brief, it's unheard of to accomplish it just by feeling hard enough, and knowing how to direct those feelings. Ritsuka's pride in it is both obvious and contagious; Lancelot can't help but smile back.

"You will rival our Casters, given enough time to practice. How is it done? You simply . . . feel?"

As cool as it is, that does also sound dangerous.
lightofchaldea: (are you sure about that?)

[personal profile] lightofchaldea 2018-11-27 05:31 am (UTC)(link)
That's... quite the compliment to say, even if it's possibly meant a little as hyperbole, and Ritsuka's face reddens a little. Fortunately, however, Lancelot's question gives her a convenient distraction to focus on.

"Sort of... You have to learn how to recognize your emotions and the energy they produce, then how to control it. Figure out what sort of effects it causes normally and then find ways to copy or change them, and only make it happen when you want it to."

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