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

yesssss Peggy!

[advanced]

[The sound of her voice is like fingernails down a chalkboard, making him tense up to an almost ridiculous degree. He hadn't know she was here, and the sight of her is familiar enough to almost send him catapulting back in time. He didn't know her that well, she was Steve's gal, but he has pieces of memory surrounding her.

Peggy. Peggy Carter. At least he thinks that's what her name was.

He wonders if she recognises him, he looks very different from the Sergeant Barnes who used to be in the Howling Commandos. It makes him wary enough that he almost doesn't answer her, too caught up in thought.]

Water. Right.

[He turns again, heading back towards the door. It's better this way, get on with a task.]

[advanced]

[This is like a worst case scenario.

Of all the shelters that he could have chosen, he had to pick one that has an Avenger inside? It's not that he's frightened of her, per se, it's that she's an Avenger at all. That means she has a connection to Steve, to the people looking for him, and that's not good.

Maybe she doesn't know him? He moves stiffly further into the room.]

You can have that, I can get more.

[advanced]

[Bucky shakes his head and water droplets fly off from his hair as if he's a dog shaking himself dry. Not that it helps much, his hair is still plastered to his head, and his clothes are sopping wet.]

No.

[A beat.]

It wouldn't help, I don't have anything dry to change into, so a towel would be pointless.

[starspangled]

Oooh.

[steve laughs, but he likes the idea of that actually. the friendly competition just gets his blood rushing that much faster.]

I almost feel bad for the monsters now. Maybe we should just tell the other guys to go home.

[he's joking. they need everyone they can get. but steve always did like being part of a team, and it definitely feels like he and scott are on the same one. so when he goes head-on against the next trespassing monster, steve's ready to have his back if he needs it. #teamcap]

[starspangled]

[what can he say, he's a popular guy. but maybe it does sound like a bit much.]

I guess it's a little more complicated than that.

[rouxgaroux]

I've seen a few utility trucks around, used for transporting stuff, I guess. Kind of like big rigs back home but they seem more sturdy. [ Is it going to freak her out if he admits to knowing how to hot wire vehicles? Maybe. Maybe not. But right now it's a small concern since most everyone who can fight is out fighting and that leaves them to secure the fence.

Alcide studies her for just a moment before giving up the truth of it. Most people in his neck of the woods know how to do it anyway. It's not like they all use the skill to steal cars. ] If the wiring's like vehicles where I'm from. I can get 'em goin' whether we have anything to start it with or not.

[ He gestures over to a large warehouse looking building and starts in that direction. ] They're over this way. We can get this done together. I'm Alcide. Alcide Herveaux.

[batbullets]

"Chainsaw." Jason looks at the raven again and then looks back at Ronan, an amused smile on his face. "Really? Okay." He shakes his head and his hands brush over the guns. They're not the guns he's used to holding, not the trusty weapons he's had since he returned to life and to Gotham City, but they'll do for now.

"Guns can't exactly scout ahead, kid," Jason says, finally. "They don't fly, they don't have eyes. Don't get me wrong - when confronted by the monsters, they'll do the job. I was asking for a scout ahead, that's all." He shakes his head. "Maybe lose the edge a bit. We're all on our own here. Keep it up, there's a chance that the only friend you'll have is your pet over there." Of course, this is where Jason's new acquaintance will undoubtedly tell him that the raven is all the friend he needs.

ii.

[batbullets]

[Thankfully, Jason's had enough practice with guns not to accidentally set one off when their vehicle bounces around as though it's been attacked by bumper cars on all sides. Still, he slips the guns into their holsters and looks all around again, taking in the faces around him. He's been silent this whole time, keeping to himself, silently studying everyone, trying to assess who they are, what sort of fighters they might be, if they might eventually pose any sort of threat. He's noticed that the woman next to him - gorgeous, quiet - has been thrumming with some sort of energy. He's not sure if it's nerves or anxiety, or something more, but it's hard for him to ignore. It's harder for him to ignore once their vehicle throws her into him.]

Hey, it's no problem. [He flashes her a patently charming smile.] We're probably headed to - I don't even know. But monsters, right? Civilization tends to get rockier around them. Are you okay?

i

[dylinquent]

( Sitting around has never much suited Dylan. Opting for inaction leaves the nerves buzzing under her skin like little flies, dragging frustration and anger out in spades. She can help, somehow. (Maybe it's a problem of growing up surrounded by doctors, by those who react to emergencies with action and aid without even pausing to breathe-)

She's running back and forth, hefting sandbags with grunts and groans and probably not all that safely because she's a teenage girl, not anyone who's been taught how to move heavy objects or trained for muscle or strength. But when Dylan hears the request, she dumps the one she's carrying onto a pile against a building and gestures towards a table nearby. )

Over there.

( Exhaling, she wipes sweat from her brow and pushes loose hair back. Yeah, a break sounds good. )

I'll join you.

gdi phone tags with terrible punctuation mistakes, sorry

[advanced]

I suppose Captain America is a celebrity, meeting royalty isn't all that far-fetched.

[Weird to think of some poor little kid from Brooklyn making it this far. He swallows hard, qualifies the statement to squash any hope of it being a memory.]

You're all over the news, all of you.

[advanced]

I'm not meant to be here.

[He holds up his bag of shopping in one gloved hand, half an explanation and half as if it's a shield against her. He doesn't really do small talk, this is the most he's spoken to a stranger in a long time already.]

I wasn't paying attention, I didn't realise where I was.

[naz]

Caitlin smiles at that. She tends to agree; people don't just have one favorite anything. It's never that simple. She laughs a little at the way he bobs his head while considering. "See? I totally agree!"

Weirdly, Caitlin finds herself thinking, a little sadly, that she's kind of been missing out by not having Ray as a part of her life. He'd make a good friend; he's smart enough to keep up with her, he's funny… Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a friendship that'll last them beyond this place.

The gasp has her laughing again. "I can't help it, Ray, it was love at first sight, but that terrifies men. Any self-aware female knows that," she says with feigned defensiveness. Then, her tone lightens into something more lofty and nonchalant. "Besides, I'm waiting for the right moment to present itself. That matters, you know." Another tight smirk, like she's trying to hide it, creeps over her lips and she has to press them together to keep from laughing again.

Since Ray seems unaffected, or maybe oblivious, to the kissing couple being let in, Caitlin decides to ignore it and feign ignorance too. Maybe she's getting stressed over nothing, anyway. That's probably it. They can cross that bridge when they get to it, if they get to it. Instead, she focuses on Ray's decision about their fictional date nights and a quiet, endeared aww! escapes her. It's funny, but that's how she and Ronnie used to do things. She's more of a homebody than he had been. And, apparently, than fictional-boyfriend-Ray is.

"We make Netflix and Chill so dull and adorable," she observes with a grin as they near the end of the line to enter the restaurant. "...do you really treat woman like that? Because that's really sweet, Ray…" she tells him with a fond smile. If this is what Felicity gave up, Oliver must be incredible...

The line is moving pretty smoothly and as they get closer and she's noticed a second couple kissing at the door, Caitlin takes Ray's hand, lacing her fingers through his. That's not a friend thing to do, right? It should totally count as proof if that's what's happening here. She's entirely too uncomfortable with lying when it isn't a life or death situation, as it turns out.

"So what did you want to do for dinner after this?" she asks, a little louder than probably necessary, in the hopes of being overheard by the doorman, just in case. Extra effort to really sell it doesn't hurt, after all.

[naz]

With a kind smile, Caitlin shakes her head. "I would never," she says sincerely. Even Caitlin knows how insulting that would be. She's seen a few episodes of Jersey Shore. ...okay, a season of it. Just one season. She'd needed a break from science and nature documentaries on Netflix, don't judge her. "You don't look like one of those guys, anyway," she assures him. He's kind of missing the T in GTL.

In spite of herself, Caitlin huffs out a surprised little laugh at that. "Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it?" Her eyebrows cock just once as she looks around. Yeah...that's actually something they may have to worry about if the weather gets too bad too quickly…

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. If this weather is normal, it shouldn't be too hard to find adequate shelter. If there's a storm cellar around here, it shouldn't be far and it won't be hard to find," Caitlin replies.

Then she pauses, looking around, and chews her bottom lip a little. "Yeah, I know what you mean…and you might be right about that... You think these people have this handled? We could check for a basement and see if we can find a storm cellar," she suggests. "I just think it would probably be safer…"

[naz]

Caitlin watches as he nods and prepares himself. Hopefully, they won't need that gun, but she's certainly not mad at him for having it at the ready in case they do. Caitlin might not like the idea of killing an animal because they're afraid that it might attack, but if it does attack, well. They have to do what they have to do.

"I'm not going to argue that," she tells him, because she isn't. It's a legitimate stance, especially since he's the leader of this group and far be it for her to ask him to set aside that responsibility knowing that if something bad happened to her, he'd have to carry the burden of it around. It isn't her place to tell him to stand down no matter what and even if it was, she wouldn't. Caitlin values all life, but she certainly values her own more than some random mountain lion's.

Caitlin puffs out her chest in an attempt to make her tiny frame appear more intimidating and she takes a step forward so that she won't accidentally clock Adam with the branch.

"Go on! Get!" she shouts at the mountain lion with a surprising volume in her voice, considering how soft-spoken she's been up to this point. She swings the branch menacingly at it. "Get out of here, go on!"

It growls at her, but it doesn't look to her like its decided whether or not it wants to pounce or wander off. So, she tries again, even louder and swinging the branch again. "Go on! Go home!"

[batbullets]

It's been so long since Jason has spent any time with his Netflix queue that he doesn't even remember what it's like to need a break from watching something. When he's not out trying to kill the Gotham City crime scene from the inside, he's holed away in his lair underneath the police department, monitoring everything.

...that doesn't mean I'm turning into Bruce, though.

"I appreciate that," he laughs. "I think they're good. Two people less might not hurt them much - at least not if we can find some adequate shelter that helps, right? A storm cellar, a bunker, a cave filled with bats. Something. Anything." Jason surveys the room, his intense navy blue eyes sweeping over everything. The place they're in, the room leads off through a view different ways. He looks at the central of the three options and nods. "Maybe that way."

He still noticeably holds on to the hammer he's been holding, though, as they make their way to the doorway. They're in a new place, and he's weaponless. While he's more than capable of handling himself in a fight, he likes having a little back-up. Besides, in his experience, storms sometimes tend to bring out the crazies. It's better to be prepared, just in case.

As they had that way, he swoops down and grabs a couple of flashlights just sitting around, tossing Caitlin one. "Sadly, we're both lacking for night vision goggles," he says.

sylvie lushton, marvel-616

[lushton]

i. batten down the hatches!

[ She's useful and it's ... nice. Sobering up in the hospital post-arrival (not to mention post-tentacle monster, courtesy of Amora) has left Sylvie quieter than usual despite donning the only other outfit in her magical wardrobe that seems fitting for lending a heroic hand; also, Amora isn't around to cast her off into a sucker-themed Hel again, which has a lot to do with the spiteful donning of green and gold.

Here, in this realm a universe apart, she can be the Enchantress. Five years to go and this is Sylvie putting her best (uncertain) foot forward by assisting in the mundane tasks that have everyone else rallying together, yearning to forget the Red Hood's bullshit plans that made her a joke in Asgard. Here and now, she watches as strangers lift sandbags together, new friends being made in real-time before her eyes. (I can do this too, I'll impress them.) Sylvie levitates thirty bags and blockades the windows and doors of a whole street in a green lightshow that dazzles for a block ... and then various residents start banging on their own doors from the wrong side, annoyed they can't get out. ]

... Oh, shit. Sorry! [ Running to the nearest door her first instinct is to start yanking down the sandbags by hand, yelling to her irritated homeowners. ] It's okay, I'm going to get everybody out!

[ If someone helps her stop fretting about screwing up on her first try, maybe that will go faster. ]

ii. monster madness.

When do we break for lunch? Are we attacking in, like, waves?

[ Easy for the magical girl flying overhead to be blase about driving off monsters when she keeps turning them into frogs, but perhaps she's forgetting to sympathise with her fellow perimeter guards. As a ravening beast launches itself forward, she catches it in midair in a simmering glow of eldritch power (does it smell like ozone around here?) and transforms it into a kitten. It mews indignantly, falling at the feet of someone nearby (congrats, it's your new pet!). ]

I could really go for a cronut, you know?

iii. hold ur luvver close.

[ Far more confident after days spent healthily alive and not blown up post an unscheduled visit from Amora, Sylvie wears her nametag (ENCHANTRESS) with pride and nurses a glass of wine at the bar before setting off into the wild unknown of speed-dating. She doesn't want to fall off the wagon again like she did with the Illuminati, but a little alcohol can't hurt. ]

Hey, [ if this is your table she's commandeering, then hi, ] so, are you hoping to scam a free dinner-date or something fancier out of this?

[ Because she's down for suggestions. ]

[somnioergosum]

In one sense, Jason was, undoubtedly, correct. In another sense, he was also, undoubtedly, incorrect.

"Just shoot the damn guns. Why bitch about it to me when there's fuck all my bird can do about it."

The wording was precise because Jason wasn't one of the people who was going to be privileged or burdened with the knowledge of what Ronan was. Because...

"I'll save your ass but that doesn't mean I want to be your friend, gramps."

He might have liked the snark coming from Jason if it were intended as banter or a taunt, but his nerves were raw. He did have friends. He had a-- fuck, it was both weird and thrilling to even think the word-- boyfriend. But they weren't here and without them, Ronan was unmoored.

omg but the ability to do phone tags at all. i can only dream.

[starspangled]

I don't see that changing anytime soon.

[he doesn't sound thrilled about that. but it's not the first time he's been in the news, had his face on the front page. it's not the first time he's turned on the tv to see guys in suits arguing over words like fugitive and vigilante with his name attached. stick and stones, he guesses.]

Buck-

[he says his name and then abruptly nothing else, even stopping in his tracks. there's a tug-of-war inside of him, how much he should tell him, or if he should tell him anything at all. it's one of the rare times when steve rogers doesn't know what to do.]

[advanced]

[Steve stops and Bucky's posture immediately changes, tensing completely as if expecting a fight. His eyes dart around looking for the threat, before he finally settles back on Steve's face again in hard confusion.]

What?

[He doesn't realise that he's answered to 'Buck' until he's responded. A mistake. He shouldn't do that, shouldn't give Steve hope that he's suddenly going to turn into someone from the past.]

[starspangled]

[the word trust keeps popping into his head, something that steve would like to build on. he's not sure it can be real if he's keeping secrets from a friend - look at what happened with tony.

steve takes a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling with it.]

I'm not Captain America. Not anymore.

[People might still call him that, especially the ones who never really saw Steve Rogers.]

Some things have changed.

[advanced]

[The wind is picking up and there's electricity in the air, he can taste it, and he knows it'll only be a short while before the storm hits properly. Now isn't the time for this conversation.

But it's now or never.

He can already feel the need to run from Steve building higher and higher, a desperation that threatens to claw his throat out. None of this shows on his face or in his voice, still the same calm level it was before.]

What are you talking about? I saw you on the front page of a newspaper two days before I got here, Captain America saves hostages.

[starspangled]

That wasn't two days ago. At least not for me.

[god, but he needs for that storm to give him more time, knowing that it might not. for a moment he just stands there, like he's afraid that any word he says, any movement he makes might send bucky running.]

That portal must've pulled me from a different point in time. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth.

[advanced]

[He's heard crazier things. Hell, he's one of the crazier things, they both are. Steve slept through seventy years encased in ice, isn't that just another form of time travel?]

How different?

[His fingers twitch at his side, but he doesn't move other than that even if the wind is whipping his hair into his face.]

[starspangled]

A few months. Maybe longer. It's been two years since you pulled me from the Potomac.

[so bucky can get an idea for himself. steve takes a step forward.]

Buck, a lot's happened. I don't know if I should tell you all of it, maybe I shouldn't even have told you this much. But if you ask, I will. [he stops there.] It's your choice.

[advanced]

[That means Steve is just over a year ahead of him. A lot can happen in a year, a lot evidently has if he's no longer Captain America. What could stop that? He wants to know very badly, a part of him that never quite got erased fully, the part that pulled him from the Potomac, wants to help protect Steve if he's in trouble.

But the rest of him doesn't want to know, and that step towards him is the itchy finger that sets off the trigger of motion. He takes a single step back to counter that one forwards, expression shuttering into blankness, and then all of a sudden he's running away.]