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]

[And an unknowable thing terrifies and deceives. He understands it well. He may not be magical, but Flint is an educated man surrounded by those to whom it seems an especial sort of witchery. He has done things, manipulated outcomes in ways that built his legend and saw people fit to proclaim him as one having sold his soul. By that stroke, he has power over others that seems preternatural. But he is just a man. And he imagines, being confronted with what it is she speaks of, he would be driven to dislike it all the same.

One can't help being born rich, yet he hates that class of folk all the same. Yet one can loose wealth gambling, or on poor investments. One's wares can be seized or sunk. That power can be taken. The one she describes, it seems, cannot.]

No. I imagine it isn't. Let's speak on something else.

saaaam

[divulsion]

[It's hard not to smile back when Sam grins at her. Even Wanda, who's not given to smile all that often, especially lately, finds it almost infectious. Here at a speed-dating event with the recent stress of their situation back home far away, it's a little easier to let the tension go. She makes a sympathetic sound as she touches the corner of the tag at her shoulder, smoothing it down to stick to her top.]

Perhaps. Speed dating always seemed like something that would work better in theory than practice. Is there even enough time to get to know a person in such a short amount of time?

[And really, what would she even tell any of them? Hello, my name is Wanda. My parents are dead. My twin brother is dead. The city where I was born and raised was destroyed by a homicidal robot and now I'm on the run from the rightful governments of over a hundred countries. What about you?

Yes, that will go over so very well.

At least she won't be the only person on their team giving it a shot.]

[lushton]

Can't they do that much themselves? I'm not a magical Pop N' Fresh, this takes effort. 'Sides, they're all pissed at me.

[ Why would she actively help them, her quota for Good Deeds has been achieved with that literal pat on the back. ]

[lushton]

Yeah, but, while you're getting to know them, what would you rather be doing?

[ Before Clark can answer, she hurriedly goes on with a wave of an animated hand. ]

Like, if you ended up hating the date, are least you had fun somehow. What would make it all worthwhile?

[lushton]

Only sometimes.

[ Teasing him? He can decide as she sips her drink and eyes him over the rim. She's not, but she could be if only a little more true to Amora's rep. How convincing can Sylvie be? ]

[diagenesis]

[He hands him one wordlessly. He, meanwhile, dries only his hands.]

James. Thank you, for your assistance out there.

[zethir]

[Luckily for Clark, she's not alluding to anything other than the fact that she's glad to be doing this work with a second person, not just by herself.]

Wouldn't say no to that but I won't hold it against you if you take a break too.

[Still gripping her bottle in one hand, she offers the other out.]

I'm Bryn.

[signifies]

Clark.

[ Only Clark. No reason to mention a last name, and nothing about Superman. He shakes her hand firmly but carefully, very mindful of his own strength. ]

Nice to meet you, Bryn. Where are you from?

[signifies]

No problem.

[ Clark scrubs it through his hair. Wet clothes aren't a nuisance, he dries what skin is visible.

He finds a warm part of the room to spread the towel. ]

Do you mind if I wait out the storm here?

[signifies]

[ Curious question. Clark ponders it. ]

Good food.

[livingsymbol]

Because they'll be less angry if you get them out of their houses. And because it's the right thing to do.

[Steve grins and turns the pat into a push, urging Sylvie toward the door. She wanted to play superhero. This is what she gets when Captain America is around to see her.]

Come on, let's move. They're waiting for you.

[zethir]

Askoupur. It's on a planet called Teru that, well, no one seems to have ever heard of before. Seems like I've met a dozen people from Earth but not a single one from Teru.

[She smiles, shrugs. At the moment she's not particularly homesick and while it would be nice to have someone around who's even heard of her home she's managing.]

And you?

[Don't mind her while she breaks into the nutrient bar while you talk, Clark. She's going to make sure she can keep her energy up until their task is complete.]

[diagenesis]

Not the least. Make yourself comfortable.

[He has a small cookstove, and on it something that smells very much like soup. Without much preamble he proceeds to mix the ingredients for dough in a bowl before spooning it on top of the soup to cook, rather like dumplings.]

[signifies]

[ She's from a different planet completely, and physically they look like they could be from the same one. Clark has learnt not to hope too much after a childhood of wondering and wanting, but even after learning of Krypton he can't help the desire to immediately ask her more. ]

Earth.

[ He feels the need to add: ]

Sorry. It can be hard by yourself.

[signifies]

[ Clark finds a small spot to sit down, cross-legged. He fishes the bar out of his pocket and eats quietly, folding up the wrapper to dispose of later. Silence doesn't bother him, and the world is never fully silent.

He watches Flint cooking, distracted only listening for anyone outside who might need help. ]

[arsebiscuit]

Tell me a dirty story.

[Sera is all too happy to leave magic behind. She perks up (and damn it, yes her ears wiggle a little bit as well) at this whole subject change plan. The perking hurts her head a little, and she dedicates herself to gulping down her water while waving him on to start the story with her free hand.]

[zethir]

[She flashes him a quick smile, appreciative of the sentiment. It's not easy being on her own, it's true, but she's luckier than someone else from home might have been. Her time in the skyguard taught her how to work as part of a team, how to lead and when to know how to follow. Being tapped to become one of the Council's agents taught her how to work alone and how to survive even when the odds were against her.]

It can be, but for the time being it's not difficult to adapt. Ask me again if we're still here a year from now and the answer may be different, of course.

[She jerks her chin toward him gently.]

You here on your own too? Lots of people from your world but from what way I've heard it explained, it doesn't mean everyone shows up with friends or family, or even from the same version, right?

[Maybe he's by himself, even with so many Earth-natives present.]

[diagenesis]

[No stranger he to silence. If the man is not compelled to speak, Flint certainly won't force the issue. He tends his soup, which is plain and hearty, the recipe is ages old. He uses few spices to make it palpable, and once it's cooked to his satisfaction he takes a bowl for himself.]

Should you change your mind.

[A nod to the pot. He's not averse to sharing.]

[signifies]

[ Clark nods. It smells good. The invitation is for the intimacy of a shared meal, with a man who's not overly inquisitive. It wouldn't hurt to make friends here at least for the time being.

He sits down opposite, taking a bowl. ]

Thank you.

[burntbridges]

Yes - I'm actually quite good at it. Any body should work for that.

[It's too bad she doesn't have anything to give an example with - but she gets the sense he might be too spooked by such a sight to keep speaking to her.]

My husband was quite good at it as well... I plan to raise my child as one as well, should nothing get in the way.

yesssssssss Sam

[advanced]

[Apparently his luck is not in tonight. When he finally chose a shelter to slip inside, he did not expect it to house one of the Avengers, especially not one of the ones who he had fought directly. He can practically still feel that wing breaking under his power.

He halts in the doorway, only moving enough to lift his arm and catch the towel before it hits him full in the face.]

I'm not staying.

[It's ever so slightly incredulous, why would he stay now that he knows one of the Avengers is here? Especially this one.]

[diagenesis]

[Christ, of all the things to which he's disinclined. Flint is not the least bit bawdry. It isn't that he's puritanical in any sense, but he's possessed of great reservations.

And very few of his stories can be told without cost. So, so few.

But Gates is already on his mind, and however they ended (I'm sorry, I'm sorry--) the man was a brother once. James is removed enough from the circumstances now that he can celebrate what was. Ten good years, had they. Before the last.

He can't tell it to the letter. That would give away his piracy, and open the avenues of conversation he has no desire to answer, but.]

I was working a shipbreaking job once. A group of men under me I'd known for years. One of them had a knack for finding hidden cargo and the like on old derelicts, things even the ship's captains had forgotten about. He specialized in tracking down booze. [a lift of his glass to signify his meaning.] So, we pull apart the bulkhead of an old sloop and he finds this bottle. We all think he's won the jackpot. Bastard pulls the cork out with his teeth and takes a swig've'it.

[His accent is generally a fairly cultured Londonian thing. It speaks of, God help him, elocution lessons that he never had but mimicked exactly. It slips there, at the end.]

Not water, not liquor. Straight piss. Sprayed half the rest of my work crew spitting it out again. I've never seen a man so virulently dunked in an ocean as that. Poor recompense, but I wager it made them feel better.

[diagenesis]

[No need. And yet,]

You're welcome.

[Flint does not get drunk in any but the most dire of situations, but he still has a difficult time trusting water when he's accustomed to it being so commonly diseased and dirty back home, so he produces a bottle of wine and sets it out. His meaning is clear, but it's an invitation rather than any attempt at forcing the issue. Not everyone drinks.]

I suppose I should ask the requisite question, if you're inclined to answer. Assuming you're from Earth, what year is it for you?

[His tone is mild, leaving room for avoidance or a lie.]

[arsebiscuit]

[ It wasn't the kind of dirty she was aiming for, but the punchline has he spitting water clear across the table and onto some neighboring patrons nonetheless. There are some turns and glares, but she just sticks her tongue out between her pointer and middle finger (you know the gesture) and keeps giggling. ]

Ha! Serves 'em right, chargin' in without sharing.

[signifies]

[ Clark sets out two glasses. He doesn't mind a drink, if it's what's expected in this man's company. ]

I'm from Earth.

[ There's no reason to lie or avoid anything: he hasn't been asked about his abilities (yet). Kansas, the Kent's farm. The only home he knows. ]

It's 2013 last I knew. [ #comicbookmovies ] What about you?