riverview: test drive meme

[riverviewmod]

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

Comments

[diagenesis]

[A dry laugh.]

Oh, hardly that. They're an evil fruit. Have you ever tried to eat one in a timely fashion? You'll make a casualty of your clothing, that's for certain.

[Though the taste is sweet enough, when one is willing to take those risks. He prefers a less troublesome prize, where all matters save those ascribed to piracy are concerned.]

[divulsion]

It's a good thing that I wear red so often then. [It's a signature color of hers, after all.] They always seemed a fruit better savored, however, than rushed through.

[Which may as well be a symbol for their budding friendship. Difficult to get a handle on, potentially messy and best taken at a measured pace than trying to rush it.]

[diagenesis]

[He's not generally a man that has such time to spare. If he can't eat it one-handed whilst charting a course, loading a gun, shining his boots or barking orders to his men then it's of no particular use to him. The only thing - the only thing - he cares to do in idle contemplation is read. All else is a matter of haste.]

Well, perhaps I'll find the time here to give them a chance at changing my mind.

[divulsion]

Unless you're given to diving headfirst into time consuming projects, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding opportunities.

[She'll find him one and surprise him, perhaps. Plus a bag of oranges in case he grows too impatient to make it through the whole thing. Though if Wanda had to guess, he'd strike her as a man possessing too much self-control to let impatience get to him quickly if he put his mind to it.]

[diagenesis]

[He is entirely given over to diving headfirst into whatever can keep him from an idle life. It is will that drives him, yes, but he harbours a suspicion that the day he stops moving forward towards his inexorable goal is the same one all his sins of the past catch up with him. He has no mirror to face Medusa, he will be cast over again in granite and blown like dust to the unfettered wind.

He dreams of a place an oar will be mistaken for a shovel. But he has long given up the idea of seeing it for himself. Peace is not in him. It has no place in the desecrated, twisted black heart of him. Even here, he has not been able to stop moving. If he is not reading, he is planning, if he is not planning he is talking. Learning the lay of the land. He manages to project an effortless calm, but there is no end to the depth of what sacrifices he has made to embody it.

So he simply gives her a crooked smile.]

And here I thought I was to build you a ship.

[detia]

Discipline; it's a good way to put it. Habits that have been drilled into him from birth. Control, focus, honor. Don't act without a plan - and be able formulate a plan in seconds if necessary. Trust your instincts, but follow orders first and foremost. Adam's never had to think about it, it's always been his whole life. Orders, training, discipline, extreme control over his own body.

Now that his structure is gone, he's clinging to the discipline, to what he considers to duty - to himself and others. He's still military, even if he's in a completely different world with completely different people. He's still who he is, and he is a soldier. A Champion. A Savior.

What he isn't, though, is a scientist. "What would you speculate?"

He has a few thoughts himself, just ideas in his head of what could cause this storm, but hers might be anchored in more science than his. And he's interested - anything he can learn, anything he can know to be wary of, he's willing to hear about.

At this point, they've rejoined the rest of their team, who have been stopped waiting for them fora minute. They get back to the head of the group, and start back towards the ruins, looming over them ominously. Let's hope they don't get attacked by even worse in there than out in the forest.

[detia]

Yeah well, they're not just for show. You good? Because we do have to keep going if we don't want this whole city to flood. You gonna help?

[He has no idea who she is, or what help she can be, but she's able-bodied and breathing, so there must be something she can do. And if she refuses, then he definitely will make a note of it.]

[detia]

You wanna go out for dinner with me?

[He blurts the words out, feeling a sudden flush to his cheeks afterwards. Did he just ask her out? On a date? She is, after all, beautiful, and she wants something normal, and Adam, he - well, he's never had normal, so he wouldn't mind trying it out, too.

So, apparently he did. Ask her out.]

[detia]

I'm definitely not going dancing, but the pool party sounds like fun. And maybe the whole massage thing. I've never -

[He's never had a massage that was meant for relaxation. To be honest, he's never had anything that was meant for relaxation. That was just not in rotation.]

Anyway. Also, the bean bag cinema thing. Sounds comfy.

[keepitup]

Ray is great a technology, maybe even a genius. But when it comes to hand-to-hand combat and the instincts that requires, he's ... let's just say he's not a genius in that department. Which is why, when he sees a man run out of the brush towards him, he's not even sure if the guy is trying to rush him or something else, but by the time he's figured it out, there's a stabbed beast to his left and a shot one on his right.

He's speechless for a moment and he just stares, as Rick talks, until finally.

"Y-Yeah, I think so too ... Thank you for ... you know, saving my life right then." Holy moly did he just nearly die? Maybe the monsters wouldn't be able to get into his suit, but Ray hasn't come that close since this all starter. He can't be sure. "I'm Ray."

He glances down at the machete, then up at the man, then into the distance where his suit has alerted him to something incoming. This time, Ray is ready. He uses his wrist to aim, and bam a blast of energy shoots out from his arm, and something thunks to the ground in the distance. If he was being really honest, he doesn't hit every shot, but he's pretty pleased he hit this one.

[keepitup]

He sees the way she shakes out her hand, like it stings or something, but Ray is too far away to see the cuts or any traces of blood.

"Everything okay over there?" he asks, as he flies in the direction she waved in, hovering downwards and then landing, metal boots hitting the ground as Ray reaches over to pull out her knife. "Got it!"

Then it's back up into the air, back over the fence, and then back down again inside the perimeter. He's still got to stick the landing a little better, but it's not ungraceful so Ray is pretty pleased.

"Here you go," he says, smiling through the protective window in his helmet. "Though, you ... might want to clean it off a bit."

[keepitup]

It's a good thing for both of them maybe, that nothing is said for a few moments. While Caitlin is front of him and can't see his expression, Ray smiles faintly to himself, but he also scrunches his eyebrows in a mix of surprise and confusion. He wonders if he went too far, not just for her sake but for his own, but then he remembers the way her fingers curled against his neck and how she'd kissed him back ... and he's not so sure anymore.

And, well, Ray's always had too many feelings for his own good.

He laughs though, when he sees her hold up her hand for a high five, because it's adorable, and for Ray, it's the perfect thing to re-break the ice.

"I just want to make sure. Was that-" He takes a step closer to her as he asks, one hand in his pocket now as the other gestures out from his chest. "-okay? I know I probably shoulda asked, but the bouncer was right there and-" A smile pulls at his lips. There's only a hint of embarrassment. "Well it was go big or go home."

He'll answer her question about what kind of dancing in a bit. Ray just wants to clear this up first.

[dust_of_life]

She walked over to him, not at all surprised by how tall he was. Somehow, seeing a guy hovering above you just gave that impression. Had to admit, though, he was also kind of good-looking. At least from what she could tell behind that window.

"Thanks," she said, taking the knife like she didn't even notice it was covered in goo. "I'm Fatima, by the way." She decided she didn't need to bother adding the usual, 'and I'm not a terrorist.' This wasn't seventh-grade and they weren't back home in Los Angeles, at her all-white middle school from days of yore.

For a moment, she reached out to offer him a handshake, but then paused, glancing at her hand, all covered in cuts and blood. Probably better not.

Her hand dropped to her side again.

"So what's a nice boy like you doing in a place like this?"

[lushton]

Okay. Wait, you're not a crazy psychopath, are you?

[ It bears asking in her line of work. ]

[advanced]

[She has a good point. If it's the choice between one stranger and a multitude of potential strangers, he'll choose the individual. So he finally sinks down into a chair nearby; she might notice that he instinctively chooses one that puts his back against the wall and gives him a fairly good tactical viewpoint of the area.]

Why not Luke, that's my middle name.

[It's not, again a lie, but it trips off his tongue easily. He's more than used to making up aliases along the way.

There's an awkward pause as if he's trying to remember what exactly small talk is and how to utilise it.]

You didn't want to stick with the other Adam?

[uglyminded]

[ She glares daggers at him and picks the sandbag up with one hand. Enhanced muscles and unbreakable bones make her very, very strong. ]

[advanced]

[His eyes darken as he glares at her for a moment, is she doing this on purpose?]

You don't need to risk yourself, ma'am. [There, friendly and polite (despite being said with a brusque tone of voice), surely she can have no objections to that?] Let me do it, you stay here where it's safe and dry.

[detia]

I don't... think so? I got evaluated by a psychologist monthly and nothing ever came out of it.

[It might sound like he's teasing, but also he's telling the truth.]

[detia]

Good.

[He can't help but chuckle.]

You trying to impress me, or piss me off?

[advanced]

Yeah.

[He doesn't make any move to take the food himself, he's already eaten enough to keep him going for now, and he's sure there'll be some left later.]

There might be people still caught out there.

[He's not a hero, he's no Avenger, but he wants to at least try and help instead of destroy for once.]

[uglyminded]

It can't be both?

I wouldn't want anyone to think I won't do my part.

I

[greatcleavage]

[They might not have exchanged a word socially all day, but Roy already felt something of a kinship to the other warrior. Wherever he'd been lending his efforts, so had Jack, with the same focus and determination, and results that could not be questioned.]

[But even Roy's strength, both natural and magically augmented, had its limits. So when he spots Jack off to the side and wanders that way, it's with a hand raised to ward off the offer.] I had something earlier. What I'd really appreciate is just a place to sit out of the way. If you don't mind.

[detia]

It's too dangerous. [Adam sounds resolute, but considering how the guy's reacted to everything he said so far, he doesn't hold much hope that he'll listen.]

Don't go putting yourself into danger. Stay.

[detia]

Good.

[He nods appreciatively.]

I'm Adam, by the way. Sorry for knocking into you.

[staystrong]

Yeah, maybe. If someone's open to it.

[There were some real assholes out there who weren't impressed by common courtesies. They already knew what they wanted and didn't want to go through any fancy talk to get it.]

Do you... eat anything? I'm all out of gasoline.