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

[dothelokimotion]

Then I'm afraid, Captain, that I must reject your most thoughtful offer.

[livingsymbol]

So are you saying you don't trust me? Or is it that I shouldn't trust you?

[dothelokimotion]

[ That response gives him pause. Why would Steve Rogers ever consider trusting Loki? The concept was absurd. ]

I am saying our ideas do not align.

[livingsymbol]

Tell me about it.

[No, really. Apparently Steve is actually asking instead of being sarcastic. Maybe it was Loki's pause. He already has one Loki he doesn't seem to understand.]

[dothelokimotion]

What is there to tell?

[ There's a note of incredulity. ]

Surely you are more than aware of my reputation.

[livingsymbol]

Something like that.

[He frowns, because he's really not used to this sort of exchange. But he's trying.]

What are your plans now.

[Simple and direct.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Flatly, though there's a faint amused smirk on his face. ]

I have only just arrived, Captain. I can assure you, even my plans of chaos and evil take time to create.

[livingsymbol]

[Okay, that gets a stiffer, more serious scowl out of him.]

Why don't you give all that up while you're ahead?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Much better. Loki inwardly relaxes. The terms of engagement were clearer now. ]

You're creating castles of air, Captain. I have not started on anything yet. Or is it the American way to accuse without proof?

[livingsymbol]

[The challenge makes Steve's hair stand on end. He glares, showing teeth as he does, because he can't help it.]

I haven't accused you of anything you didn't suggest first, Loki. If you're not up to something, all you have to do is answer my question.

[dothelokimotion]

I was not aware suggestions are a crime.

[ Finally, this feels like fun. He settles himself in his chair, the very picture of sprawling decadence. ]

And I believe I did state my plans earlier. Don't tell me you've forgotten already?

[livingsymbol]

No, you didn't. You made a lot of suggestions, but you didn't say they were your plans.

[The calmer and more amused Loki gets, the angrier Steve gets in return. He tries, tries not to let the god get under his skin, but it's hard not to jump right in and start a fight.]

I want to hear you say it.

[dothelokimotion]

My saying so is hardly proof of veracity. What do you think will change if I say it?

[ Literally the only reason he's not saying is watching Steve Rogers lose his temper. Loki would have done this years ago if he knew it would have worked so easily. ]

[livingsymbol]

That's not the point!

[The words are out, hot and tense, before Steve really has time to think about them. Part of his frustration is with himself, because he's unable to do anything at the moment when Loki isn't really causing harm. He can't fight nothing, and outside of a fight he's short on ideas.]

If you're not going to do anything, then we don't have a problem. I just want to hear you say it.

[dothelokimotion]

[ While Loki prefers his victories to be larger than life, he can relish the smaller,easily pried from ones as well. He has won this round, so perhaps he will take pity on the poor man. ]

I'm not going to do anything. Honestly, Captain. With the army of superpowered heroes roaming around, I'd be fool to try anything.

[ . . . It wouldn't stop him, but he'd tread lightly. ]

[livingsymbol]

[Loki has successfully rankled Steve, but finally getting a direct answer at least cools his anger to a flat, almost dry expression. He doesn't cross his arms, but by the way he holds himself, he gives the impression that he would if they were face to face.]

That's right. You would be. So I expect you to be on your best behavior.

[dothelokimotion]

Yes, mother. Would you like me to salute as well?

[ He's half-tempted to use an illusion to wear the spandex suit once more. That had been fun too. ]

[livingsymbol]

[Steve scowls again, unable to actually retaliate as long as Loki isn't being malicious. He doesn't underestimate the potential trouble any Loki can cause, even if he isn't actually doing anything, so he can't really relax. But if taunting is the worst thing that he gets at the moment, he has to swallow that bitter pill.]

Actually? It wouldn't hurt.

[That doesn't mean he won't take an opening to push back when he gets it.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki makes an ooh noise, his mouth formed in a perfect "o" as he chuckles. ]

Oh, but it could hurt. I would not want to lay waste to the sanctity of the order.

[livingsymbol]

[If looks could kill, Steve would be trying to pin Loki to the wall. But that's all he can do from where he is.]

Very funny. How about you do it as a gesture of good faith?

[dothelokimotion]

And what of your faith?

[ Loki makes a show of checking his nails. ]

After all, I have no faith in you. The man under the ice who slept the century away when his friends needed him.

[ Parachutes, apparently, were a bad idea. ]

[livingsymbol]

[He could snap back. He almost does. The usual routine of putting sarcastic challenges down with his own sarcastic retorts is itching under his skin, but he bites it back.]

I'm not the one that tried to hurt innocent people.

[Okay, he held out for a little. But Steve is in a bad mood for games.]

What would you want from me?

[dothelokimotion]

No. But I never claimed to be heroic.

[ Not then, not now and not ever. He had tried his hand at the dutiful son. At Steve's question, his brow furrows. ]

I want nothing from you. I believe that is quite clear.

[livingsymbol]

As a gesture of good faith.

[He's stubborn even about things like this. Even in playing fair with Loki.]

I'm asking for one from you, so I want to know. What would it take to get it?

[dothelokimotion]

[ A long pause and even Loki's good mood seem to flag a little. ]

You must be joking.