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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
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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
[ And for once he's not actually lying about it. Technically Find Familiar is a wizard spell as well, so he can cheerfully confirm that it is without feeling awkward about it. ]
That's Chaser, he's my familiar.
[ He start moving in the direction his bat flew in, motioning her to follow. ]
no subject
[There's a hint of being impressed in 2B's voice. Maybe some spells aren't so useless after all.]
Alright. Let me know if you detect anything dangerous.
[She straps the spear to her back and moves forward, falling in line with the small party of two. Chaser kinda reminds her of pods that androids like her used back home. Speaking of which...]
Can he fire Magic Lasers too?
no subject
[ It's one spell he doesn't have to lie about and he's pretty fond of his familiar, so he'll happily gush about it.
He nods in response to her request, pressing on. ]
Oh no, he's just a bat. He can't cast spells himself, but I can communicate with him and see through his eyes.
[ Which is why he veers to the right suddenly, knowing that Chaser has seen some more lizard creatures further along the path they're currently on. ]
This way. There's more up ahead.
no subject
[She follows the new direction, not surprised to see Tom acting on recon data. It's sensible.]
If you receive information about hostiles getting close, let me know.
[2B seems happy to help with combat, shame about carrying the bait though.]
no subject
[ Of course he'll let her know, but he'll avoid the creatures and give them as wide a berth as possible if he can help it even if it means going out of his way and taking longer on this mission.
As capable as his companion seems to be, better to be safe than sorry and all that.
Now that they're trudging through the jungle with no immediate threat nearby, he realizes he doesn't even know who his rescuer is and that he hasn't introduced himself either. So with that in mind, he glances over and offers a shaky smile. ]
I'm Tom, by the way. Tom Collins.
no subject
[A quick answer that reveals a rather strange name. Her eyes continue scanning the area for enemies, but it seems unnecessary. They really are avoiding all hostiles.]
At this rate we'll be able to avoid any more contacts with the enemy. But don't lower your guard yet, Tom Collins.
[She sounds careful. Does 2B foresee more difficulties that need Magic Lasers to solve?]
no subject
It's nice to meet you, 2B.
[ Frankly, Tom is always on edge so the warning hardly needs to be said. All the same ... ]
I won't.
[ Because it's not like Chaser can see everything, he's still a bat with a limited range of vision and since he's flying up ahead, he can't see what might potentially creep up behind them. Tom is painfully aware of that as he forges on ahead, nervously clutching the straps of his backpack. ]
no subject
[Is 2B calling out orders, or is she trying to be reassuring? It's a little difficult to tell.
And because the atmosphere wasn't tense enough, suddenly she stops.]
... I think something is following us.
Do you have a spell for a wide area scan?
no subject
[ Honestly, whether it's ordering around or an attempt at being reassuring, Tom doesn't mind either way. He's more than fine with letting someone clearly more capable take the reins here and tell him what to do.
He notices her stop from his peripheral and immediately halts himself, dread seizing him before she even says anything. Her statement has him fearfully glancing behind them, voice dropping to a more hushed tone. ]
N-no, but I can send Chaser the other way if you want.
no subject
[She folds her arms and her gaze lowers. 2B needs to quickly consider her options.]
Let's do something else.
[She already seems to have a plan. What could it be though?]
no subject
Besides, it becomes clear very quickly that she already has something in mind.
He casts another few anxious looks around before his focus goes solely to 2B, voice remaining a hushed, urgent whisper. ]
What? What should we do?
[ Making a run for it seems like a viable option. ]
no subject
We're close to our destination. We run, and leave whatever is after us behind.
Try to keep up.
[Sure sounds like making a run for it - but she wants to move forward, deeper into the forest.]
no subject
Sounds good to me!
[ He doesn't need to be told twice.
The moment she starts moving to run, so does Tom. ]
no subject
As soon as 2B starts running, she leaves Tom behind. Despite foliage and wearing high heels, the android is dashing forward with ridiculous speed.
Keeping up might be really difficult.]
no subject
Oh no. It's more like impossible.
Whatever tiny bit of confidence he had in his ability to hoof it when in danger is left in the dust (very much like he is) as 2B starts running way faster than he ever could manage.
Being left behind is enough to make him panic, the sudden frantic rustling of leaves behind him only serves to make that worse. ]
Wa— WAAAAAit!
no subject
humanandroid rocket must have heard the screams, because it makes a quick turn and runs back quickly.]What's going... ah, nevermind.
[2B decides it's time for straightforward solutions. Not slowing down too much, she makes a grab for Tom, hoists him up, and carries on back with the dash.
This time though, she'll be carrying a most-definitely-wizard.]
no subject
What-what are you—
[ He's unceremoniously hoisted up before he can even finish his question and then they're moving.
Fast.
All he can do is shriek and cling to her for dear life. ]