riverview: may 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 June 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 for 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: search & rescue

Following rumors about a magical healing spring deep in the jungle, a group of intrepid explorers ventured out to verify whether it existed or not. After finding the spring inside an ancient temple overrun with tree roots and flora, they brought samples back and discovered that the spring did, in fact, have healing properties. Just like the rumors said.

Until the authorities decided what to do with this information, no actions were to be taken, nor information revealed to the public at large. Unfortunately, the news leaked and spread to the alternative science communities as well as the top minds at Gramarye Magic Research. With interest piqued, several more unauthorized expeditions set out beyond the fence in search of the spring. And once the information leaked beyond these scientists and scholars? Everyday citizens also launched their own excursions into the jungle, many bringing ailing family members or friends along for the ride.

This month the mission is to deploy teams of skilled citizens into the jungle to rescue some of the less fortunate, unsuccessful parties. Some of these people will be trapped or set upon by monsters, unable to move forward to the spring or back to the safety of the city. Others have simply run out of supplies and need the teams to restock them so they can continue their trek. And some groups have managed to reach the spring and collect their own samples of the spring water, only to find themselves struggling to return to the city before the samples lose efficacy. Feel free to create your own party to rescue, and get a team together to do so!

prompt ii: death from above

Normally, living inside the Inhabited City is a pretty safe bet. You can go day to day without running into a monster or risking any kind of danger requiring a fight. Generally, the tall, laser-fenced walls keep out anything particularly dangerous.

The problem with walls? They only go so high.

While usually assault from airborne monsters isn't a problem that's on the map, there's a few weeks during late spring where a swarm of flying monsters not unlike feathery pterodactyls are migrating back to another part of the moon. They're only in the area for a couple of weeks, but during that time, residents can expect occasional attacks by swooping monsters if they should see easy prey. Usually, a good sturdy dark-colored umbrella is enough to keep them from seeing a potential victim or meal, but sometimes the attacks still happen. So the Perimeter Guard sends extra details, calling in all the reserves, to patrol the city and keep an eye out for citizens in distress. There's also a general call for anyone who's experienced at fighting to help protect their fellow citizens. Whether your character is being attacked or protecting someone else, be prepared - these monsters are quick and have very sharp teeth.

prompt iii: homesick bazaar

Over the past couple of weeks, the portal has seemed really fixated on food. Almost every time the portal changes location, new bundles of food are near the entrance, ripe for the Perimeter Guard Orientation Team to pick up and drag through. As a result, the Orientation Team has set up a free bazaar outside City Hall. The Bazaar lasts from the 20th until the 31st of May, and is completely free, featuring tables and booths laden with food taken from the other side of the portal. Many of these foods will be familiar to characters in the City, whether it's that special brand they're totally addicted to or a plate of grandma's family recipe.

Everything at the Bazaar is totally free, and anyone joining in on the feast is encouraged to share (read: gently not allowed to leave until they do) and to tell stories about the origin of the foods from their own home. It's a multidimensional foodie's paradise!

prompt iv: prijata pregaming

Prijata is a holiday in Riverview celebrating platonic love - essentially, it's a celebration of friendship, geared at showing appreciation for existing friends and finding new ones. While I won't spoil the rest of the prompts for the introductory mingle, one of the main staples of Prijata is gift giving, and the Government of Riverview gets into the spirit of it by giving small gifts to everyone who's arrived since the last Prijata.

This prompt can be used to give a quick idea of what your character is into so other characters or players can suggest gifts to be given them (or to give them) if they are accepted! More information can be found in the Prijata Pregaming modpost.

prompt v: 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 vi: wildcard

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

navigation
[river market image is by Tyler Edlin]

Comments

[maskerading]

[ Uh, yeah. Yuuto bites his tongue, however, because as much as he wants to ask why, he's well aware of the hypocrisy behind asking questions when he's been so dodgy himself. He'll just accept that this guy somehow... heals. Sure, life's a strange thing lately, anyway. ]

Can't say I like it much when someone gets hurt for my sake. Let's not make that a habit, alright?

[aeturnus]

While that's usually fair enough, I did it for my sake, too.

[ He gestures vaguely behind them, kind of upward. As much as he can in his current position, anyway. ]

Those guys really gun for whoever they can find. It was getting pretty tiresome.

@ladystark

[wolfwhosang]

[ The reply is slow in coming. Her fingers may be nimble with a needle, but that skill is not immediately generalizable to typing on phones. ]

Trees are such lovely symbols, aren't they?

[ Best to keep it to a pleasant minimum. Pleasant, and soft-headed. The words sound kind, but they are only words. ]

Might I look upon the face of my benefactor? If you would ask for such an intricate design, surely we must meet with one another more than once.

@ladystark

[wolfwhosang]

[ Off-screen, Sansa stiffens at what she sees as presumption. She did not ask to be addressed by face.

But this is not Winterfell, and she is not the lady of this place. In the end, she relents, and meets one face with another. Her hair is Tully auburn, her eyes an equally Tully blue. Her face is a pleasant mask. ]

When I was a little girl, I liked to read poems of heroes and their maidens.

[ Florian and Jonquil. Songs and stories. She has no more use for such follies, of late, but she does smile politely. ]

Might I know your name, my lady?

[unanticipate]

But I only have your word to go by.

rey | star wars: the force awakens

[sensitively]

ii. death from above.

[ Since the migration over the city of the flying monsters — creatures that remind Rey briefly of vworkkas from Jakku, except with longer wingspans — she heeds the call of the Perimeter Guard to rush to the aid of any citizens falling prey to attack. Skywalker's lightsaber comes in handy for defense, in such cases; at least she's getting some practice using it, she thinks, instead of letting it sit idly clipped to her belt.

But what are simply a few sparse, minor swooping attacks by curious and hungry creatures becomes more dangerous as the migration continues, and close to the tenth day cycle following their appearance an alert is raised as a swarm of them begin diving from the sky into the inhabited portion of the city. In particular, toward a small gathering of people exposed out in the open. She bolts toward them at breakneck speed, her lightsaber already drawn and flashing blue. There are screams and scattered panic as teeth and claws materialize from the sky. ]

— Get down!

iii. homesick bazaar.

[ Food has always drawn her in, in this place. There's a variety of it from different lands and worlds, and she's lived for so long on the same measly freeze-dried Imperial rations that Rey finds she has quite a taste for virtually anything that even has a taste.

At this particular bazaar she delights to find such exotic foods from her own galaxy, even if it's from the Outer Rim, and not anything she would have found on Jakku. There's Tatooine delicacies like sand gizzars and Tusken black melon, Corellian buckwheat noodles with rancor sauce, and even the extremely-rare Alderaanian starblossom fruit — the latter of which is tart and juicy on her tongue, and she goes back for several more servings.

She's going to be hard pressed to share that particular treat. ]

v. friendr.

FRIENDR

rey

AGE: 19
INTERESTED IN: none of your business.
SEEKING: mechanical salvage. ship parts.
ABOUT ME: i'm willing to help with any particular repairs for engines or mechanical pieces that people might need fixed, but i'm mainly keen on acquiring salvaged material for my own personal use.
and no, i'm not interested in telling anyone why.

[[ ooc: good with brackets or prose! feel free to wildcard a scenario as well, if something strikes you; i'll roll with it! ]]

[wolfwhosang]

[ Sansa steps back stunned, as though struck. Perhaps from most men, she might have expected it. From a woman armored as a warrior, less so.

But then Myranda had worn armor as well, some days. She feels foolish all at once again, like a little girl. ]

I--my needlework, [ she offers, her mind racing as the creatures draw nearer. ] Coin, if you would have it. Some poem. Oh, my lady, please--

[ No one could protect her anymore. She had told Jon that, and so she is preparing for her terms to be considered inadequate. Sansa flattens herself against the wall, umbrella held aloft, waiting to beat back the creatures herself as best she's able. Mother would have been prepared to do the same. ]

[yorkist]

( Even now, Elizabeth occasionally continues to do as she pleases. Because no matter what may be writ upon a sheet of parchment, no matter that Parliament dared make it law; she is a princess born.

And she neither forgets that, nor her friend's hopes that his sister might stand with him. Sansa will find a girl with hair a shade or two lighter than her own and curling, loose across her back and shoulders, and hazel eyes which change depending on mood and the garb she wears; today, they appear as blue as her own.

She smiles faintly, effecting her own mask, because she must recall that this is not Mary, Anne, Chatherine, Bridget—or even Cecily. )

As did I. My Lady Mother was more than passing fond of such content and shared it with me. Though tales of Gods and great battles fascinated me as well.

( Elizabeth inclines her head. )

You may. I am Elizabeth Plantagenet, Princess of a land called England. And you are?

[snarkbark]

Do you also do editing work?

[wolfwhosang]

[ All at once, the bottom drops out of her stomach, and she realizes now whose arm she has seized.

She should have known it at once, yet after so long apart, they are still learning who the other has become, how tall they have each grown. To trust one another. His fingers tighten on her arm, and the hand holding her umbrella slackens. ]

Jon.

[ The tone is joyful and desperate all at once. All her tension, all her relief comes out as a crack in the end, like a knot undone. ]

Jon, [ she repeats, her voice fervent as he begins to lead her away. For an instant, the mask falls, and she is only Sansa. She had known about the threat, of course, but she is as much a wolf as he. Her life needn't be spent hiding indoors, particularly when the risk had seemed small. ] Will these umbrellas not prove enough?

[bespredel]

[ He sighs, frowning and looking perturbed. Jack seemed pretty disturbed by what Yuri had told him, and that... well, it hadn't really been his goal. ]

I wouldn't have answered if I didn't want to. Look- this place can be a lot, okay? And all we have to figure it out is each other. So... whatever. [ It's the closest to offering more help that Yuri is going to come, but if Jack cares for it, Yuri will keep talking to him. ]

ii

[advanced]

[He vaguely recognises her as the woman who had her pencil stolen, though he hadn't talked to her for long, and he definitely hadn't got the impression that she would be this good of a fighter.

Not that now is a good time for introductions, or re-introductions.

Bucky comes barrelling into the fray from the opposite direction, gun out and six shots fired in quick succession at the first two flying things in line. He's an excellent shot, but they're moving targets, so only four of the shots hit, but it brings one of them down.]

Protect the civilians, get them out of here!

vi

[advanced]

[Bucky's taken to prowling the perimeter in the shadows after the attacks, watching for more of the creatures approaching. He's not a member of the guard, but that doesn't mean that he's about to let people just get hurt for no reason, not when he might be able to protect for once instead of be the one doing the hurting.

He sees a silhouette on the platform against the night sky and considers leaving well enough alone, but it's a precarious position and he can't take the risk that whoever it is will get killed.]

There are better places to think.

[It's a quiet admonishment as he swings himself up onto the platform, blending well into the night in full black with long sleeves, a hood, and black gloves.]

[scholiast]

From time to time, but I prefer writing. Did you need something edited?

[scholiast]

Oh. That sounds really nice, I'd love to visit a world like that.

(She really would– it would be so relaxing, not having to worry about venturing too far off from the group. Able to go off and do her own thing. She glances over her shoulder, reminded of the creatures, but they don't appear to be following, simply circling above the place they had left.)

I think they're giving up the ghost, so to speak.

[aeturnus]

[ He stops at that, turns and looks, then gives her a large grin at that. ]

So they are. You didn't get hit by any, right?

[scholiast]

(Lucretia looks up, one hand deep in her pocket and searching for a pencil or pen.)

You're from another time entirely. (Knowing this both makes a lot of sense, and is deeply confusing. She finds a pencil, and starts to scribble information out on a free page without looking down. Turns out writing her thoughts out in long sentences is great for putting two and two together; Lucretia's eyes narrow slightly as she starts to make sense of it all. She ignores his invitation.)

How far forward in the future are you from? (This isn't the Taako she knows. It feels strange, to think that.) Further along than the cycles?

[spellslots]

[Here's the thing.

He doesn't know how this works, he doesn't know if telling her what's coming will ruin it, somehow, if she'll go back to her time with the knowledge of the relics and Fearun and everything that she does to them. It might change things for the better, but he doesn't know.

And he doesn't know how fucking subtle he can be, if he tries to answer any of this.]

What's happened has happened, I can't, uh, c'mon, you gotta know I can't tell you too much of this shit. Davenport would fucking kill me.

[He feels guilty, somehow, and annoyed when really, Lucretia is the one who fucked it all up.]

[scholiast]

(She gently takes her hand back from his, straightening out the cuff of her jacket.)

Not at all. Thanks for getting me out of there.

[scholiast]

(Lucretia thinks, dimly, that if Taako had wanted to tell her, he would have already. Since when is he one to play by the rules, including the Captain's? She doesn't appreciate being kept in the dark, but if Taako isn't going to say anything, she's not about to make him divulge.

She frowns down at her book, and neatly crosses something out before snapping it shut.)

Okay. I understand.

(It's something about her. And maybe if he doesn't want to tell her, she shouldn't want to know. She feels strange and anxious, and shoves both hands into her pockets to hide the way her fingers tremble.)

You– said something about your place?

[spellslots]

[All he's been wanting is someone familiar, someone from home, and he feels like he made a wish on a fucking monkey's paw, because what he got is this mess of a thing that he's nowhere near equipped to deal with. He's angry and he's sad and he's so, so relieved, despite it all.

Taako holds out his hands, wiggling his fingers in offering, hoping that no matter how weird this is, she'll still trust him.]

I cannot be fucked to walk, we're close enough to teleport it.

[aeturnus]

[ He just gives an apologetic smile for holding on so long. Not that he's trying to pull anything, it just doesn't make him so awkward as most. ]

You're welcome. You have anywhere you were trying to get to, or just... checking the city out?

for spellslots ♡

[scholiast]

(Being pulled from the Moon to the Inhabited City almost feels like being forced to take a vacation. While the literal distance from the Bureau is nice in theory, Lucretia is anxious to be back already– she has so much to do. There are a lot of irons in the fire that she's been delicately balancing for years, and finally they are starting to come together.

Lucretia supposes that it was this that caused the portal to open in the first place. Seeing Magnus, Merle and Taako for the first time since... since–

Well. They have their first assignment; she has Lup's Phoenix Fire Gauntlet. Two of seven relics reclaimed. After they had departed for Rockport, she had sunk down behind her desk and cried, momentarily overwhelmed by grief and doubt and longing for the Starblaster; her friends; their journey through the hundred cycles.

And now she's here. Part of her appreciates the intervention, and part of her is twitchy, waiting for the Hunger to descend. She distracts herself by exploring, taking long, contemplative walks, and wishing she had a journal with her for old time's sake.)

[scholiast]

(Lucretia glances up at the sky, squinting into the sun for a moment.)

No, I... I was exploring. (She looks back at him, and she has a funny look on her face, like she's trying to decide whether or not to ask him something. Curiousity wins out, as it almost always does.)

I've been looking for the Light of Creation. Do you know of it?

[spellslots]

[Anger was always Lup's domain. Taako can be petty, Taako is petty, but he's good at keeping it self contained or finding other outlets, while Lup always burned brightly and fiercely when something upset her.

Right now, though, he feels a lot more like Lup, with his umbrella outstretched, hand shaking, magic missile at the ready.

But he can't do it, just like he couldn't shoot at an unarmed Lucas, he can't fire at someone he spent a century loving, no matter what she's done to betray him, betray them in the decade since then. Hurting Lucretia won't bring Lup back.

The magic missiles still fire, but they sail over her head, striking harmlessly against the side of the building to catch her attention, and there's Taako, still shaking as he drops the disguise self spell that he's worn constantly since Wonderland, because he wants her to see. He wants her to know what she did, sending them into that hellhole so fucking unprepared.]

Remember me?