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riverviewooc2017-04-20 11:42 am
riverview: april test drive meme
riverview test drive memeWelcome 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 May 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.
● Threading on the TDM is intended for prospective new characters, so top-levels should only be posted by players of these characters. Since the events in the TDM are considered game canon, characters currently in the game are free to use the TDM prompts logs and posts on the regular communities.
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.
information resources
premise ● arrival ● setting ● ask a question ● calendar ● navigation
Recently, a team of skilled explorers went out into the jungle to the Northwest of the city to follow up on several sightings of a giant lizardlike behemoth that's been skulking around outside the walls, a creature whose level of aggression (and therefore how dangerous it might be) was unknown. The team, while not exactly as stealthy as they were supposed to be, did manage to find the creature, which they found to have about the intelligence and temperament of a very, very, very large dog. And whom they named Liam.
Having established that the behemoth (which is around the size of a blue whale, snakelike in shape, but with four legs, brown striated scales, large claws and teeth, bad breath, and an affinity for face-licking) is not an intentional danger to the city, the authorities could not rule out the idea that it might cause accidental damage to the city, walls, or crops around the city. As a result, research has been done and a new mission has been drafted and recruited for - baiting the behemoth. The objective of this large-scale mission is for many small, quick-moving teams to take behemoth bait deep into the jungle for the purpose of luring the massive but mostly-harmless creature away from the city and hopefully to a new, less-inhabited feeding area. There is room for many different teams, and all of them should be heading deep into the jungle heading directly away from the city, going Northwest. The authorities in question have come up with a wide variety of food and pheromone scented lures that range from mild to truly stinky, so which type your team gets is up to you.
Each lure is small enough to fit in a cage-shaped canister that can be carried like a backpack by one person with average strength, and each lure-carrier will need to be accompanied by at least one or two fighters. Why, when the behemoth is peaceful? Well....
The behemoth might not be aggressive, but unfortunately it's picked up some unwelcome companions. After last month's near-disaster where a colony of lizardlike monsters had taken up residence in tunnels under the city, wreaking havoc in the power grid, and were subsequently either killed or flushed out of the underground, some of the local fauna has been bumped down the food chain.
The fauna in question is a very large pack of mammalian six-limbed creatures that usually live in the trees and hunt oversized insects in the underbrush. When the lizards escaped the underground into the surrounding jungle, and drastically reduced the population of the insects the mammals usually feed on, the predators became parasites, attacking the only thing left that is more docile than the insects they usually feed on - the behemoth. These creatures are quick-moving, well-camouflaged in the jungle with mottled brown-and-green fur, and sport massive teeth and long tongues that allow them to stick to whatever surface they land on.
Hungry as they are, they will make no distinction between the behemoth's juicy hide and the lure-carrying teams that are trying to help it. Hopefully, their ranks can be thinned enough that the behemoth survives the trip to its new home.
Not everyone is cut out for missions into the jungle or cleaning up angry predatory parasite monsters, but that doesn't mean that staying home means being safe from the weird things that come out of the portal. In the early morning of April 20th, drawn by the warmth of the rising sun, a massive swarm of rainbow-colored fireflies emerges from the portal into the quarantine. Unlike regular fireflies, though, they are bright enough to glow even during the day, and these bugs have bite! While generally harmless aside from stinging a little, the bite of the rainbow fireflies causes certain kinds of emotional response to become heightened, depending on the color of the firefly in question. While scientists have never run into these bugs before and have no idea how it works, they can cause this effect in any kind of sentient creature that is capable of emotion, including androids and characters that are usually unaffected by substances. The effects on emotions are as follows:
| ● RED: Lust/Anger ● ORANGE: Honesty/Openness ● YELLOW: Fear/Anxiety |
● GREEN: Jealousy/Envy ● BLUE: Sadness/Grief ● VIOLET: Love/Affection |
When a character is bitten, the effects on their emotions can last anywhere from an hour to a week, depending on the character's psychology and resistance to certain emotions - for example, if a character has a hard time dealing with their grief, the effect of a blue firefly may last longer than other colors. How the characters manifest the heightened emotional response or sensitivity is up to the individual player, as different body chemistry or other circumstances might change how characters are affected. Red firefly bites have a 50/50 chance of affecting a character with lust or anger, though characters who have not reached sexual maturity (underage characters) won't get get the lust effect.
Firefly effects can be easily avoided simply by avoiding the fireflies. It won't take long for some of the geniuses in the Quarantine to start making and distributing firefly repellent, and characters can expect sales of mosquito tents to skyrocket.
These alien fireflies have a lifespan of around a month, and they are unable to procreate outside their native environment, which means the last of them will be dying off around May 20th.
CLARIFICATION: In response to a player question, the effects of the fireflies CAN layer, so they can be affected by more than one at the same time. Red fireflies with the lust effect don't make characters incapable of controlling themselves, just heighten feelings of arousal/desire.
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 free app is popping up on new arrivals' 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.
Many thanks to
mistojen for coding this especially for Riverview!Choose your own adventure and do something else in the setting!
no subject
Nah... been keeping outta their way. I like keeping my emotions in my chest.
[He's seen too many people get suddenly euphoric and affectionate, or break into a mindless rage... it feels a little gross to watch them, much less imagine what he'd be like under the influence.]
Not about to try and talk me into it, are you? [He sees a few orange ones in that jar and he wants exactly nothing to do with those, specifically.]
no subject
Why not? It's not like they're really going to hurt any. It's no worse than a mosquito bite, right?
[He follows Dodger's line of sight to his jar, where apparently the human is eyeing up some of the insects specifically. He doesn't know which ones, but they seem to have personally offended him.]
I will if you will.
no subject
What are we, 14?
[There's a smirk on his face now; the man's peppy attitude is contagious, even if on Dodger a grin tends to look sketchy as all hell. Something about the scars and the way his smiles never quite reach his eyes.]
What do I get out of the firefly pact?
[He didn't say no.]
no subject
[Because Christian is not above stooping to the level of a fourteen-year-old. Especially when the retort he gets doesn't look serious. He winks, smirking as he keeps eye contact. The amusement might not really reach the man's eyes, but it is there. He can work with that.]
What about having a good time? Isn't that worth something?
Besides, you'll want to know if you're immune.
no subject
Good time's always worth something. [Usually in terms of money.] You first, I'll follow.
no subject
[Christian takes the laugh as a good sign, though. The guy doesn't seem that bad. A little sketchy, maybe, but that's not much different from home. He undoes the lid of the jar with a smug look.]
All right. It you're nervous, I'll go first.
[He reaches in and plucks an insect out by the wings, closing the jar again once he has his prize. He sets the blue insect on the back of his hand, letting it go, and soon after he feels the expected sting. It makes him grit his teeth, but he smiles, eyes watering slightly as he keeps his smile.]
There. See? Just hours of fun here.
no subject
Still, he raises a brow when the man hand-picks a bug, and his choice of color makes him question his motives even more. He's been watching people enough to know that no one's getting 'hours of fun' out of the blue ones - is he trying to make a fool of himself?
...It's not a bad plan, if his goal is to make Dodger worried about him.]
Yeah, yeah, just hand it over.
[He snatches the jar away, taking what he feels is the more fair approach of holding it open and covering the opening with his forearm. In a search for escape the bugs all crawl up... and as soon as he feels one of them sting he flips the jar upside-down again, scaring them back up into the bottom as he screws it closed. Dodger hasn't noticed it, but... the bug that stung him is orange. Ah compulsive honesty, his lifelong nemesis.]
no subject
It's fun in a way.
He takes back the jar, starting to sniffle as his eyes water and his nose begins to run. The sadness takes hold, gripping him like a familiar friend. One that he knows will leave again. And that's always the way, isn't it?]
So, did you get one that you liked?
no subject
We'll see. [He can already tell he won't like it... he just hopes it fades soon enough.] ....Are you going to be okay?
no subject
Not great.
[Not great at all. Who knew that feeling sadness would be this painful? It's physically trying, not just sad. It's worse than sad.]
It's okay. I'll be okay. Just need to breathe. S-so. [Deep breath.] This can't be the worst thing you've ever seen.
no subject
[He hesitates, before reaching out and pulling Christian closer with a hand on the back of his neck, right on the edge of where one would call it 'intimately close'. Dodger is a bit awkward with physical contact, especially with attempts to comfort, but he's trying.]
Trust me, I've seen and been worse. [He almost manages to keep his internal struggle to himself, but a moment later it leaves his mouth without conscious thought.] Last I saw of my last girlfriend, she was crying on the floor. I hit her head against the wall so hard I think I might've broken something in her head.
[And... at the very least the aloof, sarcastic attitude is gone now. His voice is monotone, but it's somber.] I'm kinda glad you brought this on yourself this time. I'm usually causing shit.
no subject
Are you worried about me? We just met. Why would you be worried about a guy that lets crazy insects bite him?
no subject
[No he's not, not by a long shot. He can't even honestly say he'd do this for anyone. But he's an impulsive person, and he guesses occasionally those impulses are good.
And hey, if the honesty bug didn't take those words away they must be worth something.]
Listen, there's three possibilities. One, you're a manipulative little fuck that I can kill once I catch onto it. Two, you've got the mental capacity of a puppy and shouldn't be left alone with crazy bugs. Three... maybe I see something we got in common, and I wanna make sure people like me don't end up the way I did.
[And... that is way too honest for his liking, but if he takes it back now it might seem like he was serious about it. So he just lets it hang there.]
no subject
[There might be a little sarcasm in Christian's agreement, but it's a playful sarcasm. One that isn't accusing or harsh, despite the tears and grief that are forcing their way into his reply thanks to a certain little insect. He leans in, almost like he's doubling over in pain, but manages to hold back from a complete breakdown. The effort leaves him trembling.]
That's an ominous thing to say about yourself. What did you do that you feel so bad about?
no subject
I'd rather keep some of the mystery, if you don't mind... it's kinda my big thing. [Which is surprisingly difficult under the bug's influence, but apparently admitting that he wants to keep his secrets counts as being honest.] Maybe once we know each other better.
no subject
So you get to keep secrets but I have to suffer? How is that fair?
[He laughs against Dodger's clothes, bringing an arm up against his back to hold him.]
Tell me something else, then. About yourself.
no subject
[The comments have no heat to it, they're just facts. He continues to hold Christian closely, running his fingers through the smaller man's hair and just... letting him get out his gross feelings.]
But you really wanna know about me, huh... maybe if you stopped crying and slept with me you might learn a bit. That's how most people get to know me. [Well, that is honesty in its own right.]
no subject
[Christian says that through a watery laugh, sniffling and crying out his feelings against Dodger's shoulder. Unfortunately for Dodger, he makes a mess of himself, but it's really just what he deserves. The other man just ends up getting caught by the fallout by being nice.]
It's part of being a friend, you know. Getting to know someone. How much would I learn by sleeping with you?
[It sounds more like a joke to him, because it's been a long time since he's been in the dating scene. He leans into the feeling of fingers in his hair, eyes closing as he sneaks in a hug.]
no subject
[Again, no heat to the comment. He even reaches to try and dry Christian's eyes, and presses his lips to Christian's forehead while he's at it, just for a second.]
I find you interesting... if you sleep with me, I'll know you're worth keeping around, maybe even worth losing some mystery. And I'll have that to hold over you if you cross me. It's a good system - and it's the only opportunity you'll get for a fuck this good.
[He's never really put it out in words, it's just a thing he does. Which makes pointing out it out a little weird, but at this point he's just rolling with the punches. This whole situation is weird for him.]
So, are you interested?
no subject
[ Not that his say means anything much. But he goes in assuming friendship, because he might as well enjoy it while he can. And for all the time Christian apparently has, he doesn't seem to be able to spend it on connecting with people as much as he wants to. Most of the time, he's messing that up.
Through the tears, he manages to laugh at Dodger's shameless boasting. If he were an honest man, he'd agree that he was interested. It sounds like a good way to spend the night, and Christian liked the idea of fun in any context. But he isn't honest, and admitting attraction is difficult for him, so he laughs, afraid of messing up -- and that's why he never makes the connections he wants to make. The feel of a light kiss alone is enough to make him ducks his head. ]
You're that confident, huh? Maybe another time... I try not to sleep with anyone on the first meeting.
no subject
His expression actually becomes rather bemused, as he has this epiphany. And he has trouble moving back to his deadpan sarcasm, so Christian gets a sort of lopsided smile from him.]
I'll look forward to it. You gonna be alright on your own?
no subject
I'll be all right. Just need to pull myself together and let this all ride out. Maybe I'll dream that you're really as good as you say you are and I'm braver than I am.
no subject
I like that dream.
[That honesty sneaks through for one more comment, and he has to hold himself back from breaking his slick facade long enough to burst out of existence in a flash of sparks. He's spent enough time messing with this man and getting tripped up... for now.]