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

[wronganswer]

[ She'd completely forgotten he was supposed to treat her. No one actually treats her, at home; and she'd gotten flustered and just automatically paid, not wanting to accept things for free from citizens.

It's only as she watches him climb into his chair that she wonders again what he is if not a mutant, but it's too rude to ask. She'd grown up in a very mutant-heavy slum -- she's one herself, after all -- so she doesn't even have to suppress a reaction. He has all his limbs. That's pretty good by Cursed Earth standards. ]

I'm not enough of a hardass, [ she sums up concisely. ] I'm a borderline pass from the academy.

[dendarii]

[ Reasonably healthy even, given his bones have been replaced, but there are telltale scar lines along his neck. And a gauntness to his frame that suggests a lifetime of medical issues. ]

I'd say there are worse things in the world to be.

[wronganswer]

[ There's a lot of things she could say to that, but truthfully, what she's interested in is... ]

If you're saying that, your homeworld must not be too bad. [ Since he thinks being a hardass isn't a necessary survival trait. It absolutely is, for her. Also, she's totally fishing. Anderson can't help wanting to know about everyone else's origin dimensions. ]

[dendarii]

[ Well, Miles certainly doesn't mind talking about Barrayar. He brightens at the subject change. ]

No, not bad at all. Prejudiced towards mutants like me, but I can't help but love her anyway.

[wronganswer]

[ She doesn't quite startle, but if she were a cat her ears would be pricking forward. Finally, someone she can understand. ]

So you are a mutant. [ She doesn't backtrack after saying that, just sounds level. Anderson gives a nod. ] I am, too. And... [ She picks briefly at the paper sleeve around her coffee cup. ] I want to help them, even if they hate me. [ Just as neutral as before, solid in her decision. ]

[dendarii]

[ That - is quite a lot to unpack. He's suddenly quite sorry he didn't follow up the description with his usual caveat, but he's not going to walk it back now. ]

You are too? Why would they hate you, then?

[ And he looks her over curiously. She doesn't look any different... ]

[wronganswer]

[ It's true, she doesn't. And frankly, she'd agree that if you take on the prejudice, you might as well be categorized as one, technicality or not. It's not like her looks have ever protected her from the insults. ]

I'm psychic. I read minds. [ She's learned to say that matter-of-factly, without challenge or apology, and looks up from her cup to check his reaction out of morbid curiosity. Whether jealousy or discomfort with her abilities, other mutants aren't always very comradely with her, either. ]

[dendarii]

[ Oh. Well. There's a bit of a record scratch internally - a careful reordering of his thoughts so that he's thinking carefully, or at least not being snide inside his head - before he recfocuses on her. But he's mostly curious, not repulsed. ]

All the time? Do you have to activate it with anything?

[wronganswer]

[ She's heard worse, undoubtedly. (Much worse.) She's also not listening right now.

Hmm. Genuinely doesn't care if she reads him? Or just very well controlled?

She shakes her head, takes a sip of her coffee before answering. ] Not all the time. I could, but it's intrusive, and I don't really want to know. But no, I don't need anything for it. It's like tuning into radio stations.

[dendarii]

[ A bit of both, though he relaxes when she mentions the radio tuning. ]

Ah, that's good. I imagine it would be painfully overwhelming otherwise.

[wronganswer]

[ There it is. Not that she blames anyone for preferring that she's not reading them constantly. It's the whole reason she doesn't-- she respects peoples' right to privacy. ]

Yeah, [ she says with a faint sigh, picking off some of her scone and eating it with a little more focus than is necessary. She's not quite over the local food yet. ] You don't seem too bothered. Don't have a guilty conscience?

[dendarii]

[ Ah, guilt. His expression turns melancholy a moment as he looks down at his plate. Funny she should ask. ]

All my crimes are in the open already. And I've already been punished.

[wronganswer]

[ Huh. Not what she was expecting. Anderson lightly reaches out to check he's telling the truth out of pure reflex, but feels nothing but genuine remorse and honesty. It's only after she's done it that she realizes this isn't her problem anymore.

She's not a Judge here.

She retreats from his mind as quickly as she went. ] It can't have been that bad if you're still walking around, [ she says prosaically. ]

[dendarii]

[ He doesn't notice; even if her presence is palpable, he's too lost in his own misery a moment to sense the touch of an intruder. He only sighs softly. ]

Not the sort of crimes that merit execution, though I feel much like a dead man.

[wronganswer]

[ Dramatic, isn't he? Anderson keeps her mental fingers to herself and eats more of her scone as he speaks.

She has to swallow before answering. The obvious question is asking what crimes they were, but it just doesn't matter to her. Not her job, she repeats to herself, and even if it were, by his own honest admission he's served his sentence. That makes him a clean slate to her as a Judge. ]

Not in prison either? [ She's already learned no one else calls them iso-cubes. ]

[dendarii]

[ Just a bit. Especially now, when he's fresh out of his "medical" discharge but before Simon's chip begins to malfunction. He's never felt more lost in his life. ]

Not as such. I could have been, perhaps, but Simon had a soft spot for me. Discharge was bad enough anyway.

[wronganswer]

[ Oh, discharge. That explains it. She looks vaguely more sympathetic. ]

Directionless and wondering what's left? [ She'd almost been there, if she hadn't had Dredd's inexplicable last minute pass on her assessment. She's still not sure what he saw in her to do that. It's so hard to tell. She'd thought him totally unaffected by that whole assignment, by all of Peach Trees. ]

[dendarii]

[ Someone like himself then, eh? Miles nods. ]

Just so. My transportation here was fortuitous.

[wronganswer]

[ Definitely not someone from a slum block, or whatever his homeworld's equivalent is, the way he speaks. ]

Everyone's discharged here, [ she agrees. ] Including me.

[dendarii]

[ His clothes are too fine for slums as well - worn, but clearly of excellent make. Custom-tailored.

Miles nods, not surprised; he'd recognized it in her as well. ]

Were you back home as well?

[wronganswer]

[ She shakes her head, taps the badge over her heart. It has a stylized Anderson on it. ] I'm a fully instated Psi-Judge as of four months ago.

I just meant no one here is what they were at home. [ She hadn't realized before coming here how important place is for her internal definition of who she is. ]

[dendarii]

[ Huh. He rubs at his chin lightly, considering that title. ]

A Psi-Judge? Are there many, then?

[wronganswer]

No. Most mutations are physical, [ she nods at him, ] not psychic. The Hall of Justice tests all of us that are for aptitude when we're kids, but we have to pass the aptitude test and meet the physical requirements to be considered.

[ She's not saying this, but Anderson's the strongest psychic they've ever seen. They'd made more than a couple exceptions for her. ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles doesn't really judge by physical appearance, all things considered, but ... ]

What are the physical requirements, then?

[wronganswer]

Nothing crazy, but-- you have to have all the normal limbs. Radiation isn't kind.

[ That's probably the most diplomatic way to say that. ]

For a psionic mutant, I'm lucky.