riverviewooc | riverview: test drive meme

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meme: test drive

riverview: test drive meme

riverview test drive meme

Welcome to Riverview's first 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 March 1st.
● All threads on the test drive meme can count as game canon once the game is up and running.
● TDM threads do not count for Activity Check, but they do count for Activity Bonus Points.

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 ● navigation

prompt i: batten down the hatches

If the sky has seemed a little more yellow-green than usual for the past couple of days, there's a reason for that. Meteorologists have been warning of a particularly nasty storm blowing in from the direction of the Delta in the Southwestern part of the Abandoned City.

The Quarantine is about to be hit by a nasty typhoon, and there's a lot to be done. Whether you're helping sandbag the banks of the river, which is bound to be swollen by the storm and flooding, weatherproofing your building, or just huddling indoors for warmth and helping reassure your friends, family, or partner that everything will be okay, it's time to take action!

prompt ii: monster madness

There's been a lot of talk around the Quarantine about the various predators and monsters outside the fence, and how they've been getting steadily more active, crowding the fences, trying to leap over them, seemingly driven by some kind of mania. There have even been increasing instances of predators that normally mind their own business attacking the fences wholesale, slamming into it over and over as if they're trying to find a weakness.

The good news? The fences have been holding. So far.

The bad news? They won't be holding for much longer.

The Perimeter Guard is in a bad way, and it's all hands on deck. They've also sent out a few of the Perimeter Guard Cadets to post up flyers around the city asking for temporary help in fighting off the beasts. So pick up whatever weapon you're best with, hop onto a truck transport, and head on over to the fences to help drive off the monsters and keep the Quarantine safe.

prompt iii: hold your lover close

With a storm rolling in that's going to keep everyone indoors, that might cause power outages, and is just frankly pretty scary, a lot of the clubs, restaurants, and hotels are doing special events to keep everyone's brains occupied and flooded with endorphins.

There are flyers around the city advertising various couples activities: speed dating, dance classes, overnight pool parties, and all-expenses-paid lovers' nights in.

The catch? The great deals only count if you're a twosome. So if you don't have someone to love, hit up speed dating in the indoor courtyard of Riverview's largest mall, or grab the first person you see and take the opportunity.

prompt iv: solution

After a day or two of storm activity, things are definitely not getting better: the rain is torrential, the monsters are attacking with increased energy and decreased rest times, and the distractions are starting to wear thin. Power outages happen off and on, a very rare situation in Riverview Quarantine.

The government has put out an all-points-bulletin imploring anyone with an exploratory spirit to help.

From what government science techs can tell, the storm isn't natural - after all, even the meteorologists were saying that the pressure systems seemed extremely strange. They've managed to narrow the cause to an area in the delta where the storm seems to be originating from, and are broadcasting the general location so anyone with the guts can head out into the storm and try to find the source of it.

Any characters who decide to penetrate the jungle in search of the source will find a device in the shape of a pyramid, with glowing blue edges about a day's walk into the Abandoned City. The pyramid is a malfunctioning weather control device that is causing wild pressure fluctuations and causing the storm as well as making the animals in the jungle aggressive and erratic. Characters can destroy or deactivate the device to end the storm.

This mission can be threaded out however you would like, in groups however large you would like, and more than one team can accomplish the goal.

prompt v: wildcard/network

Whether you're looking for help with a mission or just want to get to know your fellow new arrivals, your character can make a post to the network.

Or you can choose your own adventure and do something else in the setting!

navigation

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I
[He's never really said much the whole time he's been here, some things simply do not change from one world to the next. Besides an initial angry demand that he be returned to his home at once, only to be told that such a thing might not be possible for some time. Though his frustration hadn't abated entirely he had at least resolved himself to do what he must. Whatever world he was on, there were those in need here and he was bound to aid them however he could. At least for the time being. Besides, if the portal could transport a person across worlds perhaps it could also transport them across time.

So when the warnings of the storm came, Jack was right there in the thick of it. Lending his strength to the efforts. Whether that's stacking sandbags, lashing ropes to shore up walls and structures or leaping from nowhere to brace a load somebody's struggling with.

Toward the end of the day he'll move off to the side with a simple meal of stew and bread. Should he see somebody emptyhanded, he'll pause before offering up half of the bread to them.]

Here. It is important for everyone to keep up their strength.

II
[Now this was sadly nothing new. Monsters and beasts terrorized every corner of the world he called home and this place is no different from the looks of things.

Upon his arrival it hadn't taken long to hear tales of a pack of savage predators that struck from a deep, dark patch of forest only to vanish again before the Guard could snare them. Fortunately, a plan had been devised to capture the pack, however the plan required a volunteer to act as bait. A risky task that nobody had dared volunteer for. Until now.

Dressed only in a plain white gi, sandals and armed only with a simple sword, the Samurai stepped out beyond the safety of the walls. Rain dripped from the straw hat he wore on his head as he surveyed the trees before him. Then he turned his back. Sat. And waited.

He could play his part and, he trusted, so would his allies at the wall.]

III
["We need somebody just like you! It's super important!"

That had been how the request had been framed. As something of fire importance to the security and wellbeing of the people in the Quarantine. And, well, when phrased in such a way how could he possibly refuse his help? He couldn't, that's how. So he'd agreed readily, prepared to confront whatever danger or hardship awaited--

And now he's seated at a folding table, behind blinking in confusion at the bizarre setup and glancing down at the card in front of himself that simply read "Jack."]

I... do not understand. What is the meaning of this?

[Perhaps he should have asked what exactly "speed dating" was before he agreed to this.]

[He's got a small plate of things he's sampling, the blandest he could find among the festive offerings, and he's standing to one side. His clear preference is for observation rather than engagement. He isn't here to mingle.

But idly, to her,]

I take payment in gold, silver or gems.

[It's playful enough. A nod, perhaps, to her continued belief in his illustrious career of piracy, yet again it gives nothing away.]

[Wanda responds with a low chuckle.]

I'm fresh out of all three. [Nevermind that she wears more rings on her fingers and necklaces on a daily basis than him. And isn't it a strange amusement to be acquainted with a man with whom there actually be a comparison.] You'll have to take a rain check.

[After a pause, she reaches up and plucks one of the flowers out of her wreath and drops it stem first into his front pocket.]

Consider that an I.O.U.

[wow he only wears two rings and has an ear pierced how dare you imply he's some bejeweled vagrant. Flint is smiling slightly is she steps in close, and when she seats the flower in his shirt he's compelled to fish it out again. He twirls it between his fingers, bends to inhale its scent.]

This is a camellia, is it not? From the Orient.

[James, you wear more jewelry than any man or woman on her team, including the robot who literally has a giant gemstone stuck to his (its?) forehead. She watches him pluck the flower out to catch it's scent.]

It may be? I don't know all of the different kinds of flowers by sight, not beyond the more popular types. Roses. Daisies. Tulips and daffodils. [Etc. It certainly adds an interesting layer to what she knows about him, however, that he would know.] Have they made their way to Nassau?

[He twirls it a second time, and then affixes it more properly in the buttonhole of his shirt pocket. He hmms faintly.]

Merchants from all corners of every empire seek to bring civilization to the New World. Flowers, you'll find, are but one luxury the wealthy don't like to live without. Perfumes, all manner of apothecarical things. This flower is used in a variety of teas, and its oil for cooking.

[Joji uses it to keep the edge of his sword keen. It's where he has cause to know this one especially, as the man has a taste for it and Flint has learned to set any stock they find aside for him. He would never admit aloud to doing so, but good men are hard to find and though he does not often stoop to rewarding them himself, gifts left in sight of those they're meant for earns as much goodwill as anything.]

And in floriography, it means admiration. And, I believe, good luck.

[She very much doubts he would have worn a wreath like her own so she's glad he at least accepts the flower, placing it back in his pocket, and better secured.

Since he isn't inclined to hear as much about the future of the world as she could tell him, she's glad that he's at least open enough to speak of the world at his time. She can only imagine history class would have been far more interesting coming from someone who lived in the time, considering how fascinated she is by the tidbits he drops here and there in conversation.]

Does it? [And there are layers to his layers, it seems.] Considering our circumstances here we could all use the latter. The former wouldn't be so terrible either, I think.

[Luck is a thing for madmen and fools. He's been both, and had his share of it. His smile is crooked.]

I imagine not.

[He holds out his plate, laden not only with her offerings but some from the others as well.]

Care for a sample?

I could be convinced.

[It takes so much arm twisting. So, so much. After all of the work she's done she fully intends to enjoy herself. She reaches out to try one of the finger foods there that she didn't cook, immediately popping it into her mouth.]

Which one is your favorite?

[With due amusement,]

Flower, or food?

Both? Whether it's present today or not.

[He seems like he'll answer both of these questions without evasion so she'll be greedy enough to ask for two answers.]

[God, but Thomas enjoyed flowers. The Hamilton estate had gardens, both an aviary and an apiary with servants to tend all three, but Thomas never shied away from the dirt. They acted with propriety at all times when there was the chance of eyes upon them, of course, but one of his favourite memories beyond the walls of the bedroom they sometimes shared is of Thomas with his hands in the dirt trying to explain the etymology of the Sweet William plant. It was named for lovelorn men, Thomas told him, and James had been compelled to listen to his recitation of the poem whence it came rather than to carry on with his report as he should have done. As he would have done with anyone else. He learned with Thomas, that some things could wait.

The Latin name of the plant, of course, was--]

Dianthus barbatus. Sometimes called London's Pride or Sweet William. It symbolizes gallantry. As to food-- hm. [There are a million things he could say. Dishes he learned at his mother's knee. Ones he ate at the Hamilton house. But at his heart, a simple sailor, he can't help but say,] Oranges, perhaps.

[They prevented scurvy, and were not so bitter as the lemons the Navy kept aboard their ships to ward off that dread thing.]

[Sweet William and gallantry. Wanda has half a mind to sit him down and ask him to name flowers and explain their meanings, if only to see when or if he'd finally be stumped. She half expects him to name a similarly unique food or dish, so when he names oranges, her lips draw up into a smile.]

I've always liked them myself. My brother would steal a couple for us sometimes... [When jobs were harder to come by, when they were forced to do whatever necessary to make it through periods when money was scarce. She remembers sitting on swings in a park, peeling oranges together and flinging the peels at each other when they weren't eating the slices within.

It's one of her favorite memories of her brother, even if she'd scolded him for taking such a risk. She'd been too hungry to be that upset with him, and the fruit had tasted so sweet. Thinking of him now makes her feel a sharp pang in her heart, one she talks over before silence becomes a noticeably dramatic and heavy pause.] I haven't found a favorite flower yet, however. Maybe red poppies.

[They're common enough in Sokovia, and red's always been her favorite color.]

[He pops something that looks like battered shrimp into his mouth. Something recognizable at least in this place, is enough for him.

She doesn't know the meaning of the flower, surely, but the choice is suspect in his mind regardless. It's too perfect a coincidence given all the strange similarities they share. He knows she's seen dark, terrible things. Horror sings in her, soft and lachrymose and he looks upon it like a brother. No stranger, he, to horror. Or loss.

He turns the plate on his hand that she may be proffered a small blackberry tart.]

Used as an offering to the dead in ancient Rome.

[No, she doesn't know about the meaning of the flower, that's his forte. She thinks nothing of it when she mentions it, just remembers seeing them grow wild outside Novi Grad at times. Remembers seeing them in small mason jar vases on the tables of sidewalk cafes when the streets are calmer in the spring.

Wanda reaches out for the tart when offered, but she lets out a small snort at his response.]

Of course it is. Fitting. [She shakes her head, giving him a wry smile and a murmured thank you.] Perhaps I should round things out and adopt the pomegranate as my favorite fruit. Food of the underworld as it is.

Edited 2017-02-28 06:21 (UTC)

You could choose to look at it that way. I always felt there were numerous ways to interpret that fable.

[The plate now empty, he takes care to set it with a growing stack of others. It hasn't occurred to him that they're disposable. The notion of using a plate only once is abhorrent to someone to whom every earthly item is something hard-won, he assumes they're just a flimsy modern thing that there will be some miraculous way to clean.]

That sounds pretty normal. They aren't blue or anything, right?

And wow.

Mind. Blown.

[Wanda doesn't see fit to instruct him on the disposal of the plates. No doubt it would launch them into an entirely different conversation regarding waste and recycling which doesn't appeal to her at all. Instead, eating her blackberry tart, she lifts an eyebrow.]

I'm sure there are. How would you interpret it, however?

Well some are, of course. Your horses aren't blue back home?

[She's absolutely fucking with him.]

ooooOOOOOoooooooeeeeeooooo you're an alieeeen invader

[It's not really clear to him, what it means when he keeps holding her hand - it's something he's only really used to doing with Iris, his fiancée. But it isn't like that with Wanda, and it isn't just to keep track of her in the crowd either.

Either way, it's nice, so he tries not to think too much about it. Tries not to read too much into it.]

Great. I am a total sucker for a good espresso. I usually go for a nonfat latté with lots of foam. You?

[A few steps, and they're heading down the side hallway, where there's less of a crowd. He doesn't let go of her hand, though, just holds on and keeps moving.

Definitely not reading anything into it.]

No? I've never seen a blue horse. There are blue horses where YOU come from??

[Okay so maybe he is slightly gullible over text.]

You seriously did not just say that to me.

[He hmms faintly.]

I don't believe Hades was the villain classical mythology paints him as. A man consigned to rule the realm of the dead would go mad, and what is a god but the divinity of man given immortality? He merely wanted companionship. Demeter was the one set to cast the world in an endless winter for the safe return of a daughter treated not unkindly. I think Persephone acknowledged she could love and be loved by two people equally, and that it was her choice to split her time as she did.

[He rubs his fingers against his beard, strokes the bristles in a little downward motion. He's not thought about that tale in years, and it held no especial meaning to him, but as he's aged he finds it resonates more keenly.]

[Wanda can't help but laugh just a little as he describes his drink, shaking her head.]

Just coffee with room for milk. Sometimes a sugar if it's particularly bitter.

[She and Pietro always seemed to be scraping by, and neither of them really had money to wait in line for fancy coffee drinks, at least not consistent enough to have a favorite. Black coffee and creamer is easy to come by, and they've both stocked up on extra sugar packets when possible.

Glad that she won't be left behind, she squeezes his hand and tries to stay close as he moves them forward.]

For someone who definitely needs a coffee break you don't seem to be lacking energy. [He's got a certain pep in his step, okay. She hasn't had to be careful to not fall behind with anyone outside a mission in a while.]

[Wanda listens, finishing off her tart as he speaks. He doesn't spin the tale in such a way that it reinvents it entirely, but there's something in the way he tells the story that makes it feel new again.

She wonders if he realizes that his stance on Hades, setting him up to be a man with understandable feelings and needs rather than an outright villain, isn't all that unlike the way he spoke of pirates. Desperate men driven to do terrible things.]

It's rare that people remember that Persephone was a goddess in her own right. For all that the gods had a hierarchy I think I could subscribe to the idea that it was her choice to split her time between two people she loved.

[She lifts an eyebrow.] I suppose this makes my pomegranate just as unfairly villainized?

Blue and purple! Some of them have a dusty rose color too in some parts of the country.

[So, so much bullshit. She can't help herself now.]

I seriously did. Congratulations, you are officially 200% more ambitious than you were before you arrived.

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Page 23 of 63

riverview: test drive meme

Jack | Samurai Jack

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