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

Beverly Crusher | Star Trek: The Next Generation

[dancingmd]

i. search and rescue
Beverly has not been in the city long, but when there is a call for search and rescue teams to go out into the jungle, she is quick to volunteer. After all, while she may not be a warrior, she is a doctor, a botanist, and an experienced explorer, with enough sense to get out of the way when a security team is grappling with any dangerous creatures. What’s more, she has a very handy device, brought with her from her world: a tricorder. She had been thankful enough already for their mysterious benefactor on Prytt who brought it to her, but now she’s even more so, to have something familiar to hold on to and something that can help people in this new world.

As she carefully picks her way through the undergrowth, the tricorder softly hums, scanning for any lifesigns - either of the party they’re looking for or of any creatures lurking in the shadows. Perhaps even more importantly, it will keep a record of the path they’ve taken, so they themselves don’t get lost.

Abruptly, Beverly comes to a stop, holding her hand out to indicate that the others might want to do the same. She offers a murmured explanation to them: “There’s something up ahead.”

Whether it’s a monster or a lost civilian remains to be seen.

iii: homesick bazaar
It’s coincidence, of course, that these showed up at the bazaar. It has to be. After all, she hardly has a monopoly on Earth cuisine. Still, it feels maybe just a little bit like the universe is mocking her by bringing a giant container of croissants and an equally large bag of coffee beans through the portal. But everyone at the food festival is so friendly and excited to exchange information, it’s hard to let herself wallow too much in her feelings of homesickness. So she moves on to the next booth and after examining the colorful offerings, asks, “What are these called?”

iv: prijata pregaming

Beverly will be quite surprised to discover any gifts left for her at the upcoming holiday but she’s pretty easy to please, with her wide range of interests from the theater to gardening to poker (Besides, she’s got a mother’s enthusiastic belief in “it’s the thought that counts").

[Will match prose or bracket!]

iii!

[eloquentness]

"They're called cronuts, technically," Iris says with a smile, glancing down at the red-and-yellow lightning bolt across each pasty. "My coffee shop back home sold these all the time. They're pretty good, if you don't think about what they'll do to your waistline."

They even taste like the ones at Jitters, warm and fresh from the oven and lightly glazed with some sugar-y concotion she could never fully name. While she's content to have one or two? She's also set up her own booth to pawn off whatever she can't eat. Which, in this case, is a lot. The portal must've laughed at her, she swears - how else would everything on her booth come in some nifty shades of red and yellow??

[dancingmd]

"Cronuts?" Her brow furrows. Give her a moment to parse that out...

"Like a donut and a...croissant?"

Jean-Luc would be horrified. She smiles at the image of his disgusted face and picks one up.

[eloquentness]

"Exactly." Iris laughs, leaning back and resting along the back of her booth. "If you've never seen it, your world must be one of the luckier ones."

Not that she's had a chance to really parse out who's from Earth and who's been lucky enough to traverse the universe. Seems that everywhere she turns, someone's familiar enough with the place.

[dancingmd]

Beverly takes an experimental bite. Flaky and sugary, the pastry melts in her mouth, leaving behind a trail of guilt. "Oh!" She says as she covers her mouth and finishes chewing. "That is entirely too dangerous of an invention right there!"

[eloquentness]

"Right!!" Iris reaches for a smaller (still red-and-yellow) cronut herself, breaking off a tiny piece so she can savor it without much guilt. "When Jitters - my store - had these, we couldn't keep them on the shelves long enough."

Mm, the powdered sugar and flakiness is as good as she remembers.

"I'm Iris, by the way. Thankfully? I don't actually know how to make these at home."

[dancingmd]

"Beverly. It's nice to meet you." She laughs. "I'd shake your hand but..." She gestures at her sugary, sticky fingers.

[eloquentness]

"No worries." Iris laughs too, finishing off her own cronut. "I've got napkins too, hang on."

Like everything else, they're red-and-yellow, with that signature lighting bolt in the middle. They do the job, at least, which is why Iris wipes her hand on one and then brings over a whole stack of 'em.

[dancingmd]

"Thank you!" She takes one of the proffered napkins. Meticulously wiping at her hands, she makes note of the symbol both on the napkin and the cronuts themselves. "So is the lightning bolt the company logo then? I must say, it seems an odd choice for a pastry place."

[ iii ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki glances at the dish, distant. He hadn't expected anyone to approach him and as such, his train of thought was disturbed before he got himself in order. ]

Baklava.

[dancingmd]

[Well aren't you a friendly one. Beverly eyes him thoughtfully before picking up a piece of the flaky pastry.]

A... Turkish dish, if I remember correctly?

[dothelokimotion]

[ He nods. ]

That is what history says, though I am uncertain how much of it is true.

[dancingmd]

Oh? Is there another story instead?

[dothelokimotion]

There are many stories. The word may be Turkish, but I doubt that was its point of origin.

[ He shrugs carelessly. ]

History is written by those who have the clearest recollections. Not the most truthful ones.

[dancingmd]

[She raises her eyebrows, intrigued.]

Not the winners?

[dothelokimotion]

Is that what they're called now?

[dancingmd]

At least that's how the saying goes.

iii

[sweetlies]

She'll find herself at a booth filled candy and some sort of bun. Candy alone wasn't terribly interesting, at least the young boy overseeing it didn't seem to think so. He just looked bored, turning his good eye towards her when she approached and then following her gaze. Almost giving a laugh.

"Curry buns. It's a specialty of the Funtom Company and the winner of Her Majesties Royal Warrant. It's meant to be enjoyed under any circumstances, by adults and children alike."

[dancingmd]

She blinks, surprised both at the pre-packaged explanation and at the bored way in which it was delivered.

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that company." She smiles. "Do you mind if I try one though?"

[sweetlies]

He wasn't used to having to peddle his own line of products, or socializing. Or giving any of it away at no cost. Unfortunately, this just wasn't his day, and he couldn't think of much better a way to describe his companies products.

"I'm hardly surprised, we haven't expanded beyond a few sister companies at this point. Oh, but please, help yourself. The buns are fried but the curry inside, we only use the finest ingredients available, including our own chocolate."

By now, he at least managed to put on a semi-friendly smile.

[dancingmd]

Still odd, his behavior, but she will try a bite in any case. It's an unusual flavor combination, but a tasty one. "Delicious!"

[sweetlies]

How do you socialize properly when you work primarily in Englands' underground? And spent three years basically being raised by a demon? He didn't know, but he was trying at least.

"I'm glad you like it. Most people are more interested in our line of candy so you're more than welcome to take one along if you like. As well as some of the candy, of course."

[dancingmd]

"Thank you! I do prefer savory things myself. But ah -" She pats at her clothing. "I don't have any bags."

[sweetlies]

Ciel took a moment, checking around the stand and found a few napkins to wrap one up in.

"It's not the best solution but I'm afraid they only provided food rather than any bags to put it all in. Ridiculous. In any case, they should be sturdy enough to survive until you can get a bag to put it in."

The idea of setting up the Funtom Corporation here crossed his mind for a moment but what chance did a thirteen year old have here in starting his company up? Again.

[dancingmd]

Better than nothing at least. She carefully wraps a bun in a few napkins. "I guess they assumed we'd just eat everything here."