riverview: test drive meme

[riverviewmod]

riverview test drive meme

Welcome to Riverview's test drive meme! Feel free to dip your toes in on the test drive meme to try out your character in the setting, play out a mission, and get samples for your application at the same time!

● Reserves are currently OPEN.
● Applications open on April 1st.
● Providing all parties are amenable, threads on the test drive meme can count as game canon, as the plot in the prompts presented is game canon.
● TDM threads do not count for Activity Check, but they do count for Activity Bonus Points, so long as all characters involved are accepted into the game.
● Since this particular TDM is plot-heavy, current players are welcome to do their own top-levels to interact with the plot. However, since it is still a TDM intended to help potential new players get involved, there will be a special additional +25 Activity Point bonus for any thread submitted by a current player that involves a potential new character rather than focusing on existing CR, for this TDM post.

Feel free to use the prompts below or create your own scenario. The setting is built to be flexible, so feel free to make things up as you go. Thanks to player-created plots, this month's Test Drive is set to effect the game setting for the next few months, so please enjoy!

information resources
premise ● arrival ● setting ● ask a question ● calendar ● navigation

plot overview

After just over a week of increasingly serious blackouts and brownouts around the city, the team in charge of the structural integrity and defense of the wall has found the source of the problem, and posted a network entry explaining that the issue is caused by a large quantity of lizard-like monsters that have compromised the underground infrastructure of the city, and requesting volunteers to help do a full-scale manual extermination of monsters and assess the damage and do urgent repairs.

prompt i: a call to arms

The most urgent request presented is for people to help clear out the monsters in the underground tunnels - and there are a lot of them! With estimated monster numbers in the area of 500-1000, ranging from adult to juvenile, there's a lot of work to be done to clear out the underground infrastructure of the city. The Perimeter Guard will have a steady stream of transport trucks going to escort any fight-capable residents who want to volunteer out to the tunnels. They will also provide weapons of various varieties as well as short training sessions on how to use them safely in a confined space for anyone who doesn't have their own.

Whether you fight with a weapon, your fists, magic, or poison darts, your help is more than welcome down in the tunnels. The only real request is to keep seismic or explosive abilities or attacks on the mild side, and to be careful not to poison the city's water supply! Other than that, go wild.

prompt ii: into the depths

Clearing out monsters is all well and good, but they have definitely done some damage to the city's infrastructure. So it isn't just the brawn that needs to step up to help the city, it's the brains. There's a call for anyone with any kind of special ability that would help with emergency repairs. Whether it's engineers, chemists, anyone with first aid, runners to distribute supplies, or any other special ability that would help out in the underground tunnels and fix some of the damage that's been done, anyone is welcome to help. And if you think it's just scientists who are needed, think again - magic is a well-known if not-well-understood facet of life in Riverview Quarantine, and some of this stuff works on a more arcane level than a mundane one.

And, of course, all of these brainiacs are going to need a little backup, so any bruisers to act as escort and protection are also welcome.

prompt iii: trapped in a...

Not everyone has the skills or desire to head out into the jungle and fight for the city, and that's perfectly fine. Inside the Quarantine walls, life is carrying on as normally as it can. That is, aside from the ongoing blackouts.

Wherever you might be in the city, you run a pretty decent risk of getting trapped somewhere for a short period of time. Whether it's trapped in an elevator, a tram car, a store, the housing you share with someone you barely know, or anywhere else in the city, it could happen to you. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship or a meet-cute to tell your grandkids about...at least, that is, if you get along with the person you're stuck with...

prompt iv: friendr/network

Whether your character is posting up a silly word game to distract people from the dangerous mission going on, trying to get hold of a friend, or putting out feelers for people to go out into the fray with, the network is going strong.

Alternately, an offer for a new, free app is popping up on people's devices - Friendr is a friend-finder and/or dating app. If characters choose to install it, they will fill out a short bio and parameters for what they're looking for, upload a snap of themselves, and then proceed to browse for matches. This is a typical swipe-left-or-right type app.

Code to post your character's bio is in the textbox below, or you can just do a text version of the information in the app. An example of how it looks can be found here.

<center><blockquote style="width: 220px; margin: 0; padding: 0px; background-image: url('http://i42.tinypic.com/2uf53s4.jpg'); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana; border-radius: 20px; text-align: center;"><div style="padding: 10px 0 0 0; text-align: center;font-size: 25px; font-weight: 900; font-style: italic; color: #528887; text-shadow: -2px 2px 2px rgba(150, 150, 150, 1);">F<span style="font-size: 16px;">RIENDR</span></div> <center><img src="ICON URL HERE" style="border-radius: 50%; width: 70px; height: 70px; box-shadow:-3px 3px 2px 0px rgba(82, 136, 135, .75);"></center> <center><div style="width: 210px; background-color: #528887; color: #fff; padding: 5px; font-size: 14px;">Name of Character</div></center> <center><div style="width: 210px; background-color: #528887; color: #fff; padding: 5px; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"><b><small>AGE:</small></b> ## <b><small>INTERESTED IN:</small></b> Male/Female/Any <b><small>SEEKING:</small></b> Type(s) of Relationship(s) <b><small>ABOUT ME:</small></b> Blurb goes here, can be as long or short as you wish.</div></center><br> </blockquote></center>
Many thanks to mistojen for coding this especially for Riverview!

prompt v: wildcard

Choose your own adventure and do something else in the setting!

navigation

Comments

Victor Nikiforov | Yuri!!! On Ice

[genice]

ii

( Of the many interesting things he's faced thus far in his life, and more immediately in his life for bizarre and dangerously interesting, running supplies thorugh underground tunnels still populated by territorial animals more than capable of killing a person without pause ranks up there as interesting. Victor pauses to adjust the headlamp he's been lent for the duration, checking the time on his device and adjusting the straps of his likewise borrowed pack. Sound echoes down here deceptively, as he's learned; but in passing the last branching tunnel there'd been a scrabbling and sudden quiet that had the small hairs at the back of his neck standing on end. He reaches up and flicks off his headlamp even though there's sporadic light in this part of the tunnel system, spanning between two groups of individuals working on restoration. Victor lacks the skills to do more than be the runners; he admires those who have the skillsets better able to help in a time of crisis, when this is largely a volunteer aided and driven affair. Nonetheless, in his running, he's careful, and scrabbling noises and stalking silences are a warning sign.

He moves forward quiet and light on his feet, a dancer closing distance between where he stands in this tunnel to the branch he can see further down the way. The gentle, rhythmic thud of unhurried footsteps catches his attention. Someone else is coming. Someone perhaps better equipped to handle the scrabbling, or perhaps just as ill equipped as he is.

Victor steps into the branching tunnel, hands held up at shoulder level, palms forward, fingers spread wide. )

Ah, hello. You wouldn't happen to be down here for the animal wrangling?

( He asks with his eyes serious and his lips ghosting into a hint of a smile; more to set himself at ease and make this less of a hurried question than it is at heart. One way or another, it's a situation to handle. He's got plans for handling it.

(Spoilers: his plans involve running away.) )

iii

He doesn't fault the elevator when it jerks and whines before going completely dark. The air stops circulating; there wasn't any music playing in the first place, but he can imagine how it would have gone silent too. Avoiding going down countless flights of stairs had seemed expedient, particularly when the building had been vouched for with a back-up generator to operate the elevators should power cut out again (this wasn't a scheduled time, he'd checked that too).

So much for that. Victor blinks in the dark and pulls out his phone, clicking the screen on in order to provide a source of life. There's only one other person in the elvator with him at the moment, though they'd been coming to a stop near another floor before everything went dark.

He sighs a touch dramatically, leaning back against one of the elevator walls with a quiet huff of annoyed amusement. "Hopefully the power will come back soon. This is almost a perfect set-up for telling ghost stories... or mimicking some of those drop-thrill amusement rides."

He chuckles, shaking his head. Not exactly restive thoughts while trapped in a pitch-dark elevator with no circulating air, but still amusing. This isn't Elevator or Devil afterall.

v

( hit me up with a wildcard or hit me up with a blank comment and I'll whip a comment up for us! please respond in whatever format works best for you. )

iii

[realimperfect]

There's very nearly a grumble when the elevator stutters to a stop - but of course it would. Nothing could exactly be that simple, right? After being on some weird star ship, blowing up a planet, and the lot, nothing would probably ever be 'normal' or 'boring' again and frankly sh might be beginning to miss times in Romdeau where life was calm, natural and measured. Sometimes that control freak part of her mind came out in a fairly vigorous way, but not so much so as right now. She's aware it's only her and one other man in the elevator, but she'd been content, before it had stuttered in to darkness, to leave things in silence on her way to get her coffee.

A pale hand comes to her forehead to momentaily rub in frustration before reminding herself that that is precisely how she will ruin her skin -

But then she's looking up, a little hatch at the top of the elevator, and calculating her reach.

"I'd rather not drop in this, or anything, really. Point your flash light up.. I'm going to se how close to an exit we my be from the top."

Bossy.

[genice]

"Such a demanding individual," he says, a light sort of quip when he's not intending to be obstinate. Working together to get out of situations he's not equipped to handle has started to become a pattern.

She has a point, therefore he'll cooperate up until he thinks something's needlessly dangerous. (Like the elevator actually starting to slip.) He turns his phone toward the ceiling, sliding his finger over the screen to keep it active. "What are the chances of any exit having a manual override we can access from this side of things?"

[realimperfect]

"So I've been told." It's an off handed comment but, even had the other man meant it obstinately, provided she was going to get out of this little issue? She was fine with putting up with it. After all, at the moment he was cooperating, and she just wanted out of this suspended, dark box. She takes a moment more to line herself up, thankfully fairly long in frame even if she wasn't completely tall -

The space was small enough that even in here heels she could put her feet on the side rails and reach the doors, then it was just a matter of figuring out how the hell to get the small trap door open. There's a moment where she fiddles with what she assumes is a locking mechanism, then hits it - still nothing -

"Probably very little, but it's worth a shot rather than hoping they get us out of here quickly..." She pauses in her fiddling to look down at him before continuing. "If I hadn't just come from a place where this was fairly common I wouldn't jump so quickly, but - Do you by any chance have anything with a flat edge on you? I think I may be able to make it work but I know I don't have anything..."

[genice]

He could hold out on hoping the people in Riverview in all their variety were somewhat more sensible and about as roughly friendly as the civilians and low-level crew as the Eluvio; then again, the lack of manual overrides had stuck out to him when dealing with the aftermath of the fleet-wide outages. He shifts to the side to adjust and compensate for her movements, keeping the light of his phone more or less focused on what she's attempting.

"A flat edge?" How flat, he almost asks, mentally scanning through what he has on him. In the end, he digs into his pocket and offers up the dogtags he'd been given what feels like a lifetime ago: it's hardly a matter of days. Keeping up with his life lately has been a challenge in and of himself, but offering up the remnants of the evidence of his second most recent involuntary universe relocation, it's like making forward progress.

Then again, having familiar dogtags offered for her yay or nay might be a different kind of tip-off for her. "Will this work?"

ii

[anotheroldsoldier]

[The heavy footsteps approaching belong to booted feet, which belong in turn to a man in his thirties dressed fairly oddly, though his cowl is down, his face and hair smudged with grime. The rifle in his gloved hands is standard issue for the Guard, but the shield on his back is definitely not. He moves through the tunnels with his own sort of quiet grace, despite his broad build.

When he comes up on Viktor, he only quirks a brow. A supply runner? He's hoping so. It's a little dark, but his eyes have adjusted to it by now.] Yeah, if you wanna call it 'wrangling'. [He's more of the. Extermination type.]

Hey, have you seen a blond kid running around down here? The idiots in b-squad lost my trainee.

[genice]

( Wrangling was the most polite way he could think of terming "killing"; from what he understands, they're at least only dealing with creatures without sapience. Recent experience has given him reason for pause when it comes to presumptions.

Still, it's something of a relief that this man has that particular angle covered; Viktor barely blinks at the oddity in gear. Not because it doesn't register as strange, but he doesn't pretend to have a read on normal in Riverview yet, and his new companion carries himself like someone who knows his business.

In animal wrangling, of course. (Potentially far more. He won't make that call.) )

Before all that, I want to warn you I'm pretty sure something that needs wrangling was starting to track me from a split in the tunnels a few metres behind me.

( He tips his head to the right, indicating which direction in the tunnel this one t-intersects with. Announcing that is a priority simply because he can't address the rest without leaving them both unprepared if the scrabbling and thudding was from the problem invasive species or not. )

I didn't pass anyone else on my way here. What's their name? About how tall are they? I can keep an eye out for them as I'm running around down here.

( There's no reason not to, and the idea of a kid running around down here on their own is disturbing, even when he's used to kids of various ages having a certain degree of necessary autonomy, and certainly their own cultivated skillsets. Kind of like Yurio — wherever he may be now. If Viktor's lucky, that answer is "back home complaining about top competition disappearing while he wins the GPF." )

[anotheroldsoldier]

I'll handle it. ['Handle' is another nice word for 'kill', apparently, judging from the way he pops out the empty clip of his rifle and loads a new one into it with a practiced, unbothered motion. He's looking toward the direction the runner nods at, listening for its path of movement as it approaches - clumsy, noisily. The good thing about this creatures is at least they think they're the scariest things in the dark - they aren't. They're pretty simple-minded, relying more on numbers than strategy.

He cocks the rifle and doesn't spare the other man another glance just yet, standing with the air of a predator lying in wait.] Yuri Plisetsky. Short, skinny, blond, has a temper. [The scrabbling is getting closer, and he lifts the rifle, staring through the sight.] He's armed, but not enough if he runs into a nest.

[genice]

( He tips his head forward in a nod of acknowledgement; choosing to have faith in a statement of ability instead of hold it in suspicion. He's run into many more competent people as a whole than incompetent; besides, he knows he's the one who doesn't have an offensive skillset to offer in this particular arena.

All those thoughts are abruptly sidelined as a very familiar name reaches his ears. Without thinking about it, Victor takes a step forward, reaching out to his temporary companion; he checks himself (don't tangle with someone geared up for a fight, even when thoroughly surprised) at the last second, fingers curling into a fist. Yurio? )

Yuri's here?! In Riverview?

( Moreover, Yuri Plisetsky was a trainee of what smacks of a militant sort of instruction? It's not so completely unheard of, especially not where they're from, but it's such stark evidence of a shift in circumstances he doesn't bother hiding the flicker of distress across his features. Yuri's always been free to make his own choices in the face of his own life; fifteen or fifty-five, in Victor's eyes, the same would hold true.

It doesn't make it a restive thought. Risks of injury in a field like this are completely different than what they faced on the ice for competitive figure skating. )

How long has he been here? ( Clarifying: ) In the city? How long has he been training with you?

ii

[bespredel]

[ Perhaps Yuri would have been better suited to some sort of running work, after all- he was fast, flexible, and slippery when he wanted to be, but that wasn't what he'd signed up for. Really, by being hauled through an interdimensional portal he hadn't voluntarily signed up for any of this... but semantics.

Training with James and the others was tough, but not impossible. It was a little surprising how many of his existing skillsets helped him to get a leg ahead when it came to fighting- sometimes literally, when you had a skater's thighs. Of course, it wasn't as though he was some sort of overnight assassin. He knew he still had a lot of work to do, as nine times out of ten James would still sneak up on him, or put him flat on his ass before Yuri could even blink. But all that mattered was that he was learning, he was getting better. He knew it, when his muscles reacted before his mind when fighting some of the smaller monsters alone. He could keep away from their teeth and claws easily enough, it was the forward momentum of attacking them back that was new. All things considered, he thought he was doing all right. He wasn't dead yet, and he'd been cleared for a little more field training. So that was good, wasn't it?

Now, though, all Yuri could think of was James' words ringing in his ears. 'Stay with your squad. You watch their back, they watch yours.'

Yeah, and hadn't they done an absolutely shit job of that. So far as Yuri was concerned, once he met back up with the men from Perimeter Squad B, he was going to jam his short spear as far up their asses as it would go. if they were even still alive, since apparently they couldn't look out for their own team properly. ]

James is going to make them eat their own shit for this. [ Yuri grumbled beneath his breath, stepping careful, and quiet through the dark underground. Nimble as he was, it certainly aided in him keeping to stealth. Alone, he knew he couldn't take more than one or two monsters at a time. And they never seemed to appear in such numbers. It was either a god damn hoard, or nothing at all. So keeping a low profile was Yuri's best bet of making it back out in one piece.

It wasn't as if he was completely helpless, though. In his hands he gripped a short spear, one built for the smaller quarters of the sewers, and just right for Yuri's height to wield within them. In case of emergency, he also had a sturdy bowie knife strapped to his thigh in easy reach. And, in case of absolute emergency, they had given him a stun gun as well. It wouldn't kill anything down here, but it would help keep him alive in a tight spot.

He hoped, anyway.

Creeping silently down the tunnels in search of his team, the absolute last thing Yuri expected to encounter down here, was suddenly standing right before him, his back to Yuri. ]

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?! [ There was no mistaking that roar, Yuri's foot stomping down against the filthy ground in outrage and surprise, his voice echoing wildly through the tunnels.

So much for avoiding attracting attention. ]

[genice]

( He winces at the volume, but it's the recognition of Yurio's voice that sets Victor whirling around, eyes wide with unfeigned surprise. Even in the sporadic, low lighting, he can make out details about his youngest rinkmate — the short spear he carries (and carries properly, there's a comfortable familiarity his body language communicates that Victor picks up on), the knife strapped to his thigh, the way he moves as a whole. It's not furtive.

It's also reassuringly loud, minus the fact there's a rather large unknown they're all dealing with that Yurio is unintentionally inviting to come crash their heartfelt reunion moment.

Which might explain why Victor throws his arms out to either side, head cocked to his left: )

Yurio! I'm running supplies while trying not to attract the attention of unpleasant, territorial creatures, like the one I'm pretty sure that was coming from back that way.

( He gestures to the left, calmly walking toward the admittedly jarring sight of Yurio, Russian Warrior Ice Faerie. He's not smiling; it's not the time, really, or the place, for all he's glad to see someone he both recognises and cares about. It's complicated; there's that fear of space and the murderer that hadn't been caught and the mystery of people going missing, only Yurio is here.

Looking far more prepared than Victor himself is, all things considered. It's a point of consideration and hesitation both. )

Looks like you've been here long enough to settle in. I look forward to hearing about it sometime soon.

( Once they're out of here, so to speak. He's looking down the connecting tunnel to their left because he most certainly is hearing scrabbling and thumping and muted grunting hisses from that direction now. (This may or may not be an exaggeration.) What isn't an exaggeration is the lack of anything on hand (or any formula) that'll be particularly helpful from Victor's end of things.

So it goes. )

[bespredel]

[ He shouldn't have shouted, and he knows it immediately when an awful, grating animalistic screech echoes through the tunnels. Yuri can't quite tell where it's coming from for how the sound bounces, but given what Victor says, he can at least make an informed guess. ]

Don't call me that. [ He felt as though he had to say it on principle; even though a stupid nickname wasn't really his priority right then. ]

I can't believe you of all people would run around in slimy monster infested sewers. [ He deadpanned, taking a step backward as Victor took a step forward, as if he still couldn't quite believe his eyes. Surely, Victor was too extra for this sort of work. It had to be a trick; maybe it was some new messed up game that this place was playing on him. ] Do you know where you're going?

[ Because Yuri had lost his team, and in turn, his navigator. Which is kind of a real piss off, seeing as there are way too many tunnels down here. ]

[genice]

( In many other circumstances, Victor would smile at the patent absurdity. Hanging around in tunnels that don't have some sort of cultural curiosity and thus generated interest from that sector would sum up any thoughts on tunnels he'd had back on Earth.

Being two universes removed has shifted his expectations. It has not, however, made him less extra in the space he gets between things backsliding into hell. Just ask... well, Yuuri. Hm.

Yuri's question is all he deigns to respond to, adjusting his own mental map and giving a nod of his head and a wave of his hand onward. All the screeching echoing is doing wonders for his focus. )

Oh, more or less. I'd be a terrible runner if I was lost all the time!

( That finally merits something of a smile on Victor's part; hah. Stopping for directions with no one to ask is a pointless endeavour. He's moving between front lines and the secured sectors. It's not restive, and he doesn't love it, but he grits his teeth and gets through it regardless.

In this sector of tunnels things are supposed to be clear, but the uncertain nature of what's blocked off versus what's open versus what the invasive species had burrowed through makes it all something of a gambit. Nonetheless, he moves forward into a jog down this tunnel without hesitation. Idly ambling along while Yuri's homing beacon of a cry for the predators does its work seems like a singularly terrible idea. )

It's a left up ahead, a right, then another left before we hit a surface access point. Someone should be stationed there.

( Meaning if they're getting chased down, as long as they're swift on their feet, it's unlikely it'll be two on whatever number of predators are in pursuit.

It might be three on whatever number of predators are in pursuit! )

ii

[backwatertrooper]

Would Victor feel particularly reassured by the fact that while said someone else is carrying a rifle pointed downwards with the sort of easy grip that implies familiarity at the least, he also doesn't look much older than another blond kid Victor might be more familiar with? The hair's far wilder, though, and the answer to the question is, at first, a blink, then a frown accompanied by a headshake.

"... uh, yeah?" Not sure shooting them counts as wrangling though, Cloud's pretty sure, but that thought isn't voiced aloud. "This part should be pretty clear, though..."

At least he hopes so, because looking the older man over, Cloud can't see anything that looks like a weapon, only a supply pack similar to the one he's carrying - if he can help with this, too, why wouldn't he?

[genice]

Ah, good. Teenagers. In most honesty, his experience with teenagers is with a far more motivated and disciplined section; tempers and hormones and tendency to sprout up over the course of a few months aside, the upcoming generation chasing at his heels are the same age as he was when he was chasing his predecessors off the podium.

"Ah, good," Victor says with a half smile, glancing back over his shoulder. "There's a decent chance this area isn't as clear as previously thought. Mind if we keep going?"

He gestures them on, moving forward. Thus far nothing appears to be stalking after them. Victor would prefer for that to remain the case.

[backwatertrooper]

Immediately straightening and looking around with a frown at the comment about that this stretch of tunnel might not be as clear as it'd been marked, Cloud shakes his head.

"No. It's what I'm here for." Well, after a fashion. Right now and here, that's what he's here for because he signed up for it, but Cloud still can't quite believe he got himself here at all (except he can). Cocking his head, he can't... hear anything, but that doesn't mean there aren't any creatures around - and then he has to try and catch up to the man's longer strides, shifting his grip on his rifle a little.

"... I have a knife, if you want to borrow it until we're past this area," Cloud offers up after a few more steps, because by now he can tell what probably had Victor worried - there's no actual signs of them being followed, but he can swear he keeps hearing something just far enough away it's impossible to tell what it is, even if it's not echoing.

[genice]

Victor slants his eyes sideways to take in Cloud as he makes his offer. He smiles, less about amusement or reassurance, more about a certain degree of self-awareness. "I'm not well trained enough with knives to do much more than attempt to disarm an opponent," he says, admitting it without bothering to make excuses or offer explanations. He only knows that much because he'd stepped forward and asked for the help in training in self defense, not because he wanted to learn how to move on the offensive. He'll re-evaluate that again, now that he's here.

He doesn't find himself any more moved toward violence. He's a lover; and the ways he fight have never been involved in this kind of brutality. Still.

He shakes his head in turn, belatedly adjusting his stride to better match Cloud's as they move. "Thank you for offering. It's better that you keep it." The distance scrabbling and hissing is still soft enough to not quite intrude, but it's also persistent. "Have you been part of the Perimeter Guard for long?" It's a question that makes several assumptions; he's not strictly right in making any of them.

V

[yokunaru]

[The smartphone makes a dull thunking noise as Yuuri sets it back down on the table and rubs at his eyes.]

I woke up thinking that yesterday was a dream. It's a little weird to be using a phone like this again after... [He gestures at his wrist, empty of the device that would normally be strapped to it.

Come to think of it, it's pretty weird to see sunlight streaming into the room of the apartment, too, when they've been in space for months.]

[genice]

( Viktor's having trouble staying still this morning, though he's refraining from anything quite as overt as pacing. He stands at the window, fingers drumming against his upper arm, simply staring out. It's not that he hasn't seen two worlds since he found himself waking up on the Eluvio. It's that there's more of a certainty this is the last one he'll see.

It feels both larger than expected, and surprisingly stifling. The latter won't really set in until he's spent more time here. He's always believed one day he'd settle down. More recent turns in his life had led to the gentle hope of settling down with Yuuri; settling down to what has always been more nebulous. Still, confining as the ship had been, there had been movement; here is a different sort of confinement. Five years, in theory, and then able to... he's not sure. There are details he doesn't understand, but it's a single city, smaller within its second wall, and another wall pushing into the verdant forests and jungle around (is it even a jungle, he asks himself, he has no idea what a jungle really looks like face to face).

The pensive expression relaxes when he turns his face toward Yuuri. )

Our dreams have been less wild than our lives lately. Did you sleep at all last night?

[yokunaru]

A little. [Definitely not as well as he'd have liked, and there's no point trying to hide that from Viktor when the slight bags under his eyes give him away immediately. Yuuri rubs at them again with one hand. Besides, Viktor already knows how easily Yuuri can get caught up in his worries.]

It's just a lot to take in... again. There's a whole new set of rules to learn, people to meet... [Yuuri falters, biting his lip.] Do you think anyone else ended up here, too?

[genice]

( He fully turns to look at Yuuri, considering what answers he could give. In the end he goes for the most honest one, walking over and sitting down next to him, draping an arm around his shoulders. )

I don't know. Short of asking everyone we think we recognise directly, I don't know how we'll learn that.

( The mechanism of the portal doesn't make full sense to Viktor. He's not sure it needs to; it's real, regardless. )

It's a bit like being thrown into a whole new culture. ... Again. Only with more nature involved, and less of a chance of being thrown out an airlock or left without gravity.

ii

[bewreaks]

[ Honestly, the only reason Crow is down in the tunnels is because there's little else of note to do. At least this is exciting and it reminds him of home so he'll take the opportunity to fight monsters and explore the tunnels for anything interesting over being cooped up and bored any day. Fighting creatures head-on out in the open is not his style — or any Rogue's, for that matter — but down here in the dark and enclosed spaces, he has the advantage which makes navigating the tunnels all the more easier.

He's in no particular hurry as he makes his way down another tunnel, looking for all the world like he's on a pleasant stroll, when he hears movement up ahead. He can make out the familiar sound of a light footfall; faint and barely there unless one knows what to listen for. Although it's likely to be one of the many volunteers that have come to help out here, his hand automatically goes to grip the hilt of the dagger strapped to his belt anyway because years of adventuring in monster-infested lands have taught him that you can never know for sure what's around the corner.

It's a gesture that quickly transforms into more casually resting his hand on the hilt as he's met by someone approaching him with hands help up in a universal sign, easing the initial tension somewhat. ]

Among other things, yeah. I am. [ He raises an eyebrow as he replies, though his intrigue is obvious in the slight tilt of his head to one side. ]

Why? Do you need an escort?

[genice]

( Victor flashes a winning smile, absolutely sheepish at the same time. He's not apologetic for where he doesn't have capacity to handle with grace. Fighting is not his forte; even with what he'd been learning for self defense purposes hadn't been meant to be largely offensive.

Running across and working with people who had that skillset is a different sort of blessing and something he respects. )

Oh, I suspect so. There was something sounding fairly unhappy in the last tunnel I passed through. On the off chance it's feeling particularly aggressive, or has friends, it seemed wiser to invest in the buddy system to get back topside and restocked.

( After all, running without supplies or information to run with makes the running rather fruitless. )

[bewreaks]

[ Crow doesn't respond right away, instead pausing to give Victor a blatant once over while looking like he's considering something before ultimately shrugging. He's not the altruistic adventurer he once was, but he's here to fight monsters anyway and it's not like he's going out of his way that much. It's hardly going to mean trouble for him. ]

Well, lucky you, I'm feeling generous. I'll go with you.

[ It's said playfully as he finally returns the smile. Drawing his damascus to keep it ready by his side in case the unhappy creature mentioned has decided to follow, he gestures for Victor to go ahead and start moving. ]

I'm Crow.

[genice]

( He doesn't seem phased by the blatant once over, but it's less being entirely at ease and more used to the same for all his adult life. For different reasons, ranging from being a public figure to being rated and evaluated by competition: here he figures it has more to do with competency.

Something that Crow's phrasing seems to back, though why trip over the details that cease mattering once they've reached a mutual purpose? (Victor. Really.) )

Victor Nikiforov. Good running into you, Crow!

( Markedly different from the last man named Crow he'd run into, but that's helped by the lack of animal parts. That and names not being so unique that people don't share them fairly often.

He starts off, referencing his mental map of this place and veering toward the tunnel that leads back towards one of the checkpoints up to the surface streets. )

Have you been in Riverview for long?

( Days, months, years; maybe a whole lifetime. He's run into all sorts in his brief time here so far. )