riverview: april 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 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

prompt i: baiting the behemoth

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....

prompt ii: pest control service

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.

prompt iii: rainbow bite

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.

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 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.

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
[jungle image is by Armand Serrano and Paul Lasaine]

Comments

Kara Danvers • Supergirl

[clobbers]

i. baiting the behemoth ( Seriously, she could do this in her sleep. By herself. Blindfolded, even! But thankfully, though she does have a love she'll never admit to for hogging the limelight as her alter-ego, she's since worked with others to combat a threat. Both as Supergirl and as herself. This does not really call for her to sport the good old red and blue. It's just a walk in the park jungle, right? Okay.

So! She spends most of the trek chatting away about food and how great it is—though her hunger blessedly doesn't come up—and generally seeming unassuming and cheery. Though she thwacks hanging vines out of the way as if they were flies, help her charge cross a stream and generally threaten predators with how apaprently unassuming she is. (Her companion thankfully is behind her and isn't likely to see the flash of literal fire light her eyes unless they peer around her.)

Kara seems fearless, unaffected by the heat and humidity, and generally maintains her good cheer with ease. Until a particularly large bug crawls up a tree directly in front of them, and she freezes. In that moment, a cold shiver runs down her spine, and her hands draw into tight fists at her sides. She has put herself between her companion and the tree, as if to shield them from the offensive sight of the bug. )

I'd hit it, but I don't want its guts all over my clothes. You don't happen to have a really big flyswatter on hand along with that bait, do you?

( She'll probably hit it. It's all she can do without outing herself too much. )


iv. u/n: kara

FRIENDR

Kara Danvers

AGE: 25
INTERESTED IN: Food. Musicals. Hitting things. Did I mention food? And game night! BRING IT ON.
SEEKING: Alex should have filled this out for me instead.
ABOUT ME: OOOPS I thought that 'interested in' section was for what I'm actually interested in. Like hobbies! And I uh have a lot of those. Being completely ordinary among them. And painting. Singing karaoke. Sometimes--my sister says I put the 'Kara' in Karaoke a--

( She's hit the character limit! Whoops. )

[ i ]

[supersweet]

[ Jon stares at her, frozen in place. Surely this was Cousin Kara. It looked like her, right down to the hair. Even the glasses matched. But her disguise wasn't on (or she chose not to use it). Jon opens and closes his mouth, not sure of what to do. Should he act? What if it wasn't her?

What if he gave out his secret to the wrong person? ]

No . . . ma'am. We — we should go.

[clobbers]

( Ma'am?! Kara blinks owlishly, and then scrunches up her nose comically. That Crinkle™ is out in full force as she furrows her brows together, and shakes her head. )

Miss, please! Miss. I'm way too young to be a ma'am yet!

( That's got her laughing softly, before she extends a hand. )

Allrighty, grab on to my hand, okay? I don't want to lose you in this uh... is it a jungle, or a rainforest? I mix the two up all the time. In whatever this kind of forest is.

( And if she makes just the teeniest use of her superspeed to get them past the bug in a hurry, she will never admit to it. It's with a great sigh of relief that she peers all about their surroundings and can spy nor hear no overly large insects. )

What's your name, kiddo?

[supersweet]

[ A long pause as Jon considers his options. Finally he seems to come to a decision. ]

I'm Jon. Jonathan Kent.

[clobbers]

( Dumbfounding her may be easy, but he's done so thoroughly with just four words alone. She stops and goes very still, blue eyes—familiar blue eyes—so like her own peer back up at her.

And she's caught between confusion and something else that's tightening her chest. )

I'm Kara Danvers. It's, ah... nice to meet you, Jon. Any relation to Martha and Jonathan Kent, from Kansas?

[supersweet]

I know.

[ And that knowledge is bittersweet. Nobody knows who Jon is and the old fears haven't been laid to rest. He fiddles with his large glasses nervously. ]

They're my grandparents. My dad told me about them.

[clobbers]

What? No, seriously—what?

( This is... oh, look! A fallen log, how convenient. Kara is going to march right over to it as if in a stupor and sit down heavily. And then look over at him in amazement. )

Are you... telling me that I'm a cousin and I guess sort of aunt, and nobody told me? No, wait! Aha. This is another one of those alternate reality situations, isn't it. or you're from my future—or—

( Sheepishly, she smiles over at him. )

Sorry. I'm not crazy, I promise. Just surprised! In a good way.

[supersweet]

[ Jon's never heard his cousin talk this much before, but they haven't spent that much time ago. Kara was still trying to fit in her city and Jon's parents were busy with their own problems. Some of his usual exuberance was slowly trickling back. ]

Different reality. And you're my cousin once removed? That's how you explained it to me.

(i)-ish. hello again! lmk if this is okay

[signifies]

[ Since it defeats the purpose of Liam not seeing them, Clark too chose to eschew the red and blue. Instead, he's considering having a small S shield patch made for this uniform to mark him out as Kal. Clark Kent shouldn't be wandering around the jungle with minimal protection anyway. It raises too many questions.

They're divided into pairs arbitrarily. Before they set out for the jungle (Clark has the bait strapped to his back), he extends his hand to her. ]

Looks like we're together on this. I'm Kal.

[ Clark has heard Kara's name but not what she looks like... ]

hi! this is just fine.

[clobbers]

( She's got the idea completely backward regarding the red and blue, which she's kicked herself for more than once since they left the city. 'If I don't need to take down the behemoth, it should be fine!' How wrong she'd been. Kara adjusts her glasses and looks over at the man she's been escorting, finding something familiar about his eyes.

It's only when he gives her his name that she takes a step back, looks him over—and then grins. )

Second time's the charm, or so I hear! What? It's me, Kara.

( And she hasn't grown so many heads as to turn into a hydra since they'd saved the Venture and then taken down Metallo together.

Slowly, she takes his hand, confused for a moment before she considers that this might be an alternate version of him. Barry has told her once or twice about meeting himself on 'another Earth.' So, she lets him take it in before the temptation to give him a no-holds-barred bearhug overcomes her. )

You look a bit different, though I think I know why. If you're Kal-El, then I'm your cousin. Kara Zor-El. And I... hate bugs.

[signifies]

[ He shakes her hand slowly in disbelief and uncertainty. ]

You're Kara?

[ She has a strong grip and wears the same glasses; give him a moment to take it in. Clark doesn't often feel so speechless or lost. ]

My family?

[clobbers]

( She knows that look; she'd probably worn it herself, when she'd seen that AI hologram of her mother for the first time. )

Yeah.

( All over again, she feels overcome with emotion and swallows hard, meeting his eyes. He's obviously never met her. Nor placed her with a family, people he could trust. What happened to you? She wants to ask, but she's terrified to.

So, she rushes forward and nearly bowls him over with that bear hug instead. Her grip is strong, and she doesn't want to let go as she lets out a shaky breath. )

Your family. And I'm not going anywhere.

[signifies]

[ Clark's breathing is just as shaky. His fingers curl in her clothes. He hugs her like he's afraid she'll disappear. ]

I heard about you.

[ Jon's universe is very different from his; he'd not given much thought to the possibility of Kara being out there.

(If she is, he'll wait for her and hope, desperately. If not... he can't shoulder that loss.) ]

How did you escape?

[clobbers]

( There's no need to hold back; a hug which would easily crush any of her human friends feels comfortable with him. She closes her eyes for a long moment, overcome despite the fact that she's known him in her reality since she'd been thirteen years old.

It's like seeing him for the first time all over again, and it's hard not to cry. )

I used to hold you, when you were little. Sing to you sometimes, too. But you probably wouldn't remember.

( He'd been too young for that. Kara takes her turn to curl her fingers into his shirt, turning her head to look up at him, eyes bright. )

My parents made me promise to look after you. They sent me in a pod that took off right after yours did. I just took the, uh. Scenic route through the Phantom Zone.

Friendr

[idolpire]

Musicals and hitting things? You remind me of someone. Might be the blonde.

[clobbers]

Is she the one to beat on game night, too? I'm curious to know who you're referring to now!

[idolpire]

Someone who doesn't matter as they're not here. I think. Who knows? Maybe you're her in disguise.

[clobbers]

If I am, this is one heck of a Halloween costume!

[idolpire]

Dunno. Blonde and young and female? Now, if you differentiated between naughty nurses and naughty police officers, possibly.

flustering her is so easy

[clobbers]

( Oh, he has no idea. But it's a good thing this conversation is in text, because his quip makes her sputter aloud on her end. )

Not those kinds of costumes! Ughhh I mean that my boss once called my fashion sense "strip mall chic." So unless your girlfriend... friend—whatever—dresses like that and wears glasses, there's a bit of a difference.

( The supersuit sure makes her stand out, but that's not coming up. )

You got a name, or are you just trolling me? :P

i.

[nanamari]

[ Taking a brisk hike through the jungle isn't really Ana's idea of a good time these days. She's much more useful at a distance, watching over the others through the scope of her rifle, but she's well aware of the fact that she's an old soldier in new territory - she doesn't want there to be any doubt as to her ability to do her damn job. She needs to prove that she's still able, even if she only needs to prove it to herself, in the end.

Besides, if she's tired and hot, she doesn't feel it quite so much with the company. She's only just met Kara but she's a bright, kind woman, and Ana has already promised to cook at least three different dishes for her to try. Whatever Middle Eastern food she's had is definitely sub par compared to homemade, this is a Fact.

Ana's hand drops to her sidearm reflexively when she catches the movement, but Kara has already stepped in front of her to shield her from-- a bug. Granted, it's a very large and unpleasant looking thing. ]

Hmm, unfortunately not. I could shoot it? [ She's mostly joking. ]

[clobbers]

( The promise of home-made food has distracted her, she can admit this to herself if not to the general public. She can't do much better than pancakes, so anything that isn't takeout is a rare and coveted treat as far as Kara is concerned. Ana's company has been a delight, all things considered, sometimes slowing down just a little because the pace she sets at times would tire even a young cadet pretty easily.

Just now, though, the unheard of has happened: her appetite is temporarily absent, as she stares at the thing with a look of utter disgust. Like a centipede, but winged. Gross.

She's somehow unsurprised when Ana offers to shoot the thing, a light giggle escaping her. )

I won't mind if you do. ( If she uses any of her abilities while not wearing her suit, it'll bring up far too many questions. She's in an odd predicament where she has to rely on her human companion. And she doesn't much mind, given how capable Ana seems. )

That's a face only a mother could love.

[nanamari]

[ Ana makes a sound of agreement. ] I wouldn't like to meet its mother either.

Wait. [ Her hand rests where it is, not drawing her sidearm just yet. She looks at Kara very seriously. ] You realize if I miss you'll be obligated to sacrifice yourself to this horrible creature with its many legs - so that I can run away. Are you really ready for such a responsibility?

[ She's smiling now. It's so much like teasing her own daughter, she forgets herself for a moment.

It's a little strange that Kara seems to have come all this way so confidently while apparently unarmed, but she'll have to see how the day goes before she renders any judgement on that. ]

[clobbers]

( Kara blinks for a long moment, and then bursts into laughter, grinning at Ana. )

Somehow I don't think you're going to miss. and if you do, I'll thwack it with something. Really hard. I can improvise a fly swatter if needed.

Aha! I knew you wouldn't wanna get too close to it, either.

( She'd miscalculated horribly when it'd come to not putting on the red and blue. Now, she's stuck, and seemingly defenseless.

Seemingly only because she can always feign martial arts training if she has to hit something. Looking over at Ana now, her lips twitch and she raises an eyebrow. )

I think you're about to prove me right.

[nanamari]

Of course I'm not getting close to it. Washing bug juice out of my hair would be a nightmare.

[ Ana pats Kara's shoulder, then gently urges her aside so that she can get a clear shot at the creature. ] I'll leave the melee to you if it comes to that. You're a brave girl, I'll miss you.

[ Ana draws her gun, fires once. Her bullet hits the thing in what she believes to be its head. That's the only part of the operation that goes according to plan.

The creature doesn't just drop dead. Even without a head, its body twitches violently, spasms, and then bursts.

Ana, disciplined soldier that she is, swears and scrambles backwards. She still gets splattered with goo which, while apparently harmless, is utterly disgusting. ]

Well. [ She clears her throat. ] That was much worse than I thought it would be.