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]

[It's a coy pleasantry. He can't remember the last time he said those words and meant them.]

You as well.

[He fixes the skin back on his belt, and bends to his work. There is no wasted movement to him, his gait rolls like he's used to the world bucking up to meet him beneath his boots. A sailor's walk. He doesn't feel the need to hide it.]

In my experience, the best place to wait out a storm is the local tavern. Have you a mind for a drink?

[He keeps the tone neutral. He's not a man to make advances, but bars yield information and beautiful woman are a convenient distraction. He'll use her to what ends he requires.]

[divulsion]

[Wanda's impression of the Bahamas is certainly different from his, no doubt. The Bahamas to her is a vacation place for wealthy Americans. Sandy, sunny beaches. Tropical drinks. The sort of place that she and Pietro rarely let themselves dream about going because it always seemed so far out of reach. After all, they were two orphaned kids in a war-torn country, without support or any prospects. More importantly, perhaps, each of them lacked that weakness that would allow them to turn their backs on their homeland when it was dying by blocks.

She lifts an eyebrow, letting him lead them around the floor.]

The former pirate haven? I think I've heard a little about it.

[But not much. It had been mentioned in passing in those those pirate movies. She and Pietro had made it through all three in a weekend a few years ago.]

What's it like there now?

[diagenesis]

[Former. Yes, he's heard other people comment to that effect. No empire endures eternal. Piracy is not progress. Extinction looms. No matter how they fight, no matter how they push back against Britain and Spain, dead men cost a nation less than its pride. James Flint is not a short-sighted man.

So while there's a faint grimace tugging one corner of his mouth down, it's the only indication that he knows what the future (one possible future. He's not a man of god any longer, there is no destiny but that which you rip bloody and wailing into the world) has in store.]

I wouldn't know. [There's no chastisement. His tone is mild without deception.] It's a little less... former when I'm from. 1716.

[divulsion]

[His reaction isn't expected, the startling, the expression on his face, but she expects that he feels as odd to be here as she does. She smiles with understanding. She never would have imagined being at a speed dating event, not in Sokovia and not in America even. Being here now makes her almost feel unlike herself. Like she's in disguise or undercover somehow.]

No, never. I'm not certain I'm going to go through with it either. I'm not... [She pauses, not certain how to put this.] I'm not here to look for a date specifically. I just wanted to meet people, maybe go to one of the other events...

[The ones that require two people. It seemed like it might have been odd to invite Steve to a pool party. Their relationship was friendly but more of a mentorship, as far as she knew.]

[keepitup]

"Love at first sight huh?" he says, chuckling. "Well that needs to be a story on it's own. One that I probably don't even know yet because you haven't told me about the drawer." No really, he's having way too much fun. "We met through a mutual friend so ... when did we first see each other? Blind date? Noooo, I like your rule that the closer to reality we are, the more believable it is." He thinks for a moment, and then turns back to Caitlin with a smile. "Work. A mutual friend knew both of us from work. She brought me to your lab because I wanted some help on a project, and once we started working together ... the rest was history."

As for her question on whether or not he actually treats women like that, Ray can't help but grin and give her a slightly curious look. For all the goofy fun they've had tonight, when he answers this time, Ray is incredibly sincere. "If I love someone ... she'll know. It's not just about insisting on giving her the best of everything." There's a tinge of sadness that starts to seep in as he talks. "Sometimes ... no, all the time, it's about putting her first. Even if it doesn't work out for you in the end."

He hadn't meant to bring that up — to bring Felicity up in that way — but there's also a finality to the way he says it. Ray knows he'll always love her. He isn't someone who can just take love back after he's given it out. But at the same time, there's no question in his mind that it's over. It's not even that she picked Oliver over him, he thinks. It's that she loved Oliver all along.

And wow that is not where Ray plans on taking them tonight, but then Caitlin laces her fingers through his and it makes him glance towards her for a second — but she's not looking at him, she's looking up the line, and yeah, Ray sees it too. The kissing. But again, he thinks, we're standing in line with a bunch of actual couples. Clearly they just happen to be very affectionate people.

" Well sweetie," he responds, almost just as loudly in response when he realizes what's she's trying to do here, "Let's just walk around until we see something we like. Maybe this place has a Thai restaurant."

He's already incorporating her favorite foods into normal conversation, not that it's particularly difficult, given she'd just told him. But still.

By the time they're two couples away from the door, for some reason, they still can't hear whatever the doorman is saying before he lets people in. But sure enough, the kissing doesn't seem to stop. And before they know it, they're at the front. The bouncer — at least Ray thinks it's the bouncer — welcomes them and asks if they're here for the special couples deal they're having tonight.

"Yes! We are indeed! A couple, that is. Here to learn to dance. ... How much is the cover?"

[divulsion]

[Wanda doesn't often put her foot in her mouth. More often than not she speaks with deliberation, even as her thoughts wander. It's clear at once, not just from the grimace on his face but the way his thoughts and emotions flare that she's said something to prompt a stronger reaction. She doesn't catch specific thoughts, not in words, but impressions. Not the pain of loss, perhaps, but something more complicated. Too much to be figured out in a moment.

Still, she's given some clarity in his response.]

I'm sorry, I assumed... [It had been easy to accept that everyone was from different worlds but with so many of the people she knew present, all from the same time, her thoughts had automatically continued in that direction.] I'm from the early two-thousands. Three hundred years in the future. Everyone that I've met here from the same reality has also been from near the same time.

[batbullets]

[Jason's been through more than enough turbulence to last a lifetime. A woman going with him to fight monsters who gets thrown onto him because of things she can't control? Not the thing to get upset over. Not even for someone with his temper issues.]

I didn't actually think to ask, and I kind of regret it now. I mean, what are we facing? Mummies, zombies? Something bigger like Godzilla? No clue. [He really, really ought to have asked first, but honestly, he was just happy for the chance to punch, hit, or shoot something.]

Do you have any fighting experience at all? I've...fought some monsters before. Also aliens, lunatics, and, you know. Regular humans. [He shrugs. His life has been a varied, interesting one, he knows.] I grabbed a couple of guns and a couple of knives, though. Hopefully, that's all that I'll actually need.

eddie thawne | dctv: the flash

[causational]

i. batten down the hatches

[It's only been a few days since he arrived here, was released from the hospital after being pulled back from death. He shouldn't have survived, but somehow, he's here. It's been a bit of a struggle, honestly, keeping himself occupied in the face of everything that he just went through - the kidnapping, everything with Iris, his own death.

It's terrible, but he's almost a little relieved when the reports of a storm come in.

Eddie is a natural leader, and it isn't long before he's found his way to a small park where people are bringing supplies to hand out in anticipation of the storm, and started making order of the chaos.]

Hey, thanks for helping out. [Lifting his head, he offers a wide, warm smile.] What've you got to help out there?

ii. monster madness

[Eddie's not really a fighter by nature. Of course, he's not afraid to draw his gun when he has to, but he only does it when he has to, to protect himself, or the innocent. He isn't the kind of guy who fights just for fighting's sake.

But this seems to be a pretty clear-cut case of protecting the innocent.

So he climbs onto one of the transports, takes the quick training class on how to use a laser cannon (an actual laser cannon - Cisco, Barry, or Felicity would probably be totally losing it over this, even if it's a little lost on him) and heads up onto the platform the Guard uses to patrol. It doesn't really seem real, more like a scene out of a bad sci-fi movie, at least until he sees the rain-streaked leathery hide of what looks like a cross between a velociraptor and a 12-foot tarantula.]

Holy crap! Do you see that thing?!

iii. hold your lover close

[This is probably a really stupid idea. Fresh out of a relationship of over a year, and a little uncertain about the status of his recent engagement considering he'd died is not exactly a good mindset for checking out couples' activities.

The problem is, all those things that make his mindset a little weird are the same things that make him want a good distraction. And it really seems like you can't go to the pool party alone, you can't check out any of the good restaurants alone, and there are a dozen other things you just...can't do alone. The weather outside is too bad to leave, too, so Eddie's left standing a little lamely in the atrium in the mall, looking around at the passers-by. Finally, he sucks it up, takes a breath, and reaches out a hand to someone walking by - male, female, it doesn't matter.]

Heeyyy...you interested in the pool party?

[batbullets]

If Jason was taken surprised - or impressed - by Ronan's lack of response at the gun being pointed in his direction, he didn't show it. "Pretty sure my crisis happened when I came back from the dead," Jason said. "I'm all uncrisised now, but thanks for trying to psycho-analyze me or whatever."

The truck stopped moving and people started getting up and hopping off. Jason waited for the crush to get past him before getting up himself, his hands gently brushing over the handles of his guns. Security blanket and all that. Though, really, he'd do anything to have his red helmet back with him. Or even a domino mask. Without them, he felt oddly naked going into a fight.

"The hell is your damage anyway?"

[diagenesis]

[He has been so careful with what he's allowed people to know of him, only to have it dashed in an instant by one who looks a ghost to his stillborn heart. He could say it was a woman's witchery that prised it out of him, but the truth is more dangerous yet: he told her freely.

He focuses on the instructor. A moment of calm. Days ago by his reckoning, Silver asked him about Thomas, and he had no answer.

In a lighter tone,]

I've heard that cars trump horses quite remarkably well.

[divulsion]

[She hopes they're not fighting Godzilla. Sure, she has formidable powers, but it doesn't mean she could hold her own against it. Not on her own. At least, she doesn't think so? Everything she's fought before has been human shaped. The closest thing she'd ever seen that was abnormally large had been Ant-Man, and he'd been on her side.

Still, her smile stays in place as he talks about mummies and zombies, aliens and lunatics. Regular humans, which implies there are irregular humans in his world. Curious. He doesn't seem to include himself in that group, however, listing off the weapons he's brought with him. He'll note that Wanda has none.]

If we need more then they ought to have prepared us better. But yes, I have fighting experience. Robots. Regular humans. Powered humans. I missed the alien invasion. [And she doesn't sound sorry for it at all.] Monsters will be new.

[causational]

I get that.

[The startled expression smooths out to something a little softer, a little warmer, just for a moment before he smiles. It's broad and unguarded, and he exhales a little pent-up breath.]

I'm mostly here because I need something to think about that isn't the storm. You know? The storm, and coming through a portal into some kind of crazy science fiction jungle city.

[Another deep breath, and he lifts his hands, idly straightening the leather belt he's wearing, tilting his head.]

I'm Eddie. Is there any event you're particularly interested in? We could go together. Platonically, I mean.

[divulsion]

[Their initial interaction had seemed so promising and in an instant she could feel the tension practically rolling off of him. Not through her powers, not through any boosted perception from experimentation. Just through normal, human observation.

He moves on, and Wanda can't say that she's surprised, and neither does she push the subject. As she lets him lead their dance, she also lets him lead their conversation onward.]

In some ways, yes. But it depends on what criteria they're being judged by. For speed, yes. I might say stamina if they were living creatures but they're not. They corner well enough as well, depending on who's made it. But horses have their own place still, and cars don't have the warmth and personality, or sense of companionship a horse would. [A small smile tugs at the corner of her lips.] And cars can't jump over obstacles or think for themselves.

[Thank god. Wanda's had her fill of artificial intelligence.]

[diagenesis]

[His tone is dry as tinder, undercut by wry amusement,]

Someone's never been bitten by a horse.

[But the insight she offered was graciously given. He won't thank her for it, but it's appreciated all the same.]

[divulsion]

[She laughs at once, hand briefly squeezing his as she misses a step.]

No, I haven't, and I'm fine with that. You prefer ships as a mode of transportation, I assume?

[He hasn't said that he's a pirate but again, she's assuming that it's more likely than not that he is if he counts Nassau as a home.]

[diagenesis]

[He compensates for that missed step, sliding his foot backwards to offer her a little of his balance in turn. Dancing is not a difficult thing for a man who's spent half his life on a ship's deck. Storms or sunny weather, the ocean rolls.]

Personally, I find nothing clears the head like a good walk.

[He has always been a private man. He's given her enough of himself for now.]

[divulsion]

[It seems whatever she's said to upset him is staying with him. No longer open, he doesn't take her question and expand upon it. Granted, Wanda's spoken little of herself so she can hardly fault him for it. Perhaps what's more impressive at the moment, however, is the way he accounts for her misstep so easily.]

It's true, there is something to be said for a good long walk. [For lack of transportation.] I enjoy them at night, when the city is quieter, stiller. My brother and I used to walk everywhere in Sokovia.

[Though that was for lack of their own car, and before Pietro died and Novi Grad was destroyed. She never thought she'd ever consider those years simpler, sweeter times.]

[diagenesis]

[He doesn't recognize the name, yet she knows Nassau. The face of the world has changed. The name sounds Muscovy, almost. Could be the same region. Could be a colony somewhere, he supposes. The New World will be the fiefdom of whoever has power enough to take her.

Perhaps what surprises him the most is that there is a place that exists where a woman can walk at night unnaccosted. A brother's company is no deterrent for those that would do her harm. He barely trusted London's wealthiest avenues - with good reason, as it turned out. As cities go, she had as much mind of her own as Nassau. The nature of men and women is immutable. There will always be theft, betrayal. No culture is devoid of it, no family free of it. Love and loyalty grant no immunity to dark impulse.

He doubts the future is some quiescent, gentle thing. After all, used to.]

I confess, I've not heard of Sokovia.

[divulsion]

[Oh. That is quite the smile. A bright flash of teeth that lights up his face and Wanda's at once struck by the fact that he really is quite handsome. It's not an observation that warms her or makes her feel awkward, but rather it just takes her by surprise. Her brain had processed it at once, but the smile added something more.

She's not looking for a date but she can appreciate attractiveness when it all but jumps up in front of her. Smiling in return, understanding entirely what he means by needing a distraction from the reality of this reality, she nods.]

I'm Wanda. And I was thinking of the pool party. I've never been to one and I thought it might be fun. If you're interested I'd be glad to go with you. Platonically.

[There would be less pressure that way, she thinks. It's already an adventure in itself getting to know someone as a friend, after all, and she'd like to be able to relax and enjoy herself.]

[detia]

[Adam shrugs, nods.]

Your call, but I'm sure we can find something for you to change into. This place is already going to be a breeding ground for sickness, you might want to give yourself the best chance not to get ill.

[He shrugs again, then motions at the bag with his chin.]

What kind of food you found?

[detia]

Adam, calmly, brings the gun up and aims as Caitlin shouts, the mountain lion not moving. Giving her some more space, he steps to the side, gun cocked, ready to strike. The beast growls and growls, but doesn't move - neither to retreat nor attack, which is not actually a bad thing. Looking back a just a second at the rest of their group, Adam motions at them to walk past him, giving the animal a wide berth, towards the city.

"Quietly!" He whispers harshly against the rain and turns back to focusing on the lion, growling more and more fiercely, sounding just about ready to either run off, or strike.

In the end, it runs. Adam's surprised by it - he honestly thought the beast was scared enough to just go at them, but it doesn't. And for a second, Adam thinks it's because of them, but then he hears the crack, the sudden thunderclap, and he doesn't think. He throws himself at Caitlin, pushing them both out of the way of half a tree falling where they were standing a moment before, the bark still smoking from the lightning that just hit it.

They hit the ground hard, with squelching wet noises and mud splashing around them. Adam shields Caitlin as best he can, his arms around her head, before pulling back a little once the tree is down, looking at Caitlin with wide eyes, panting.

"Are you okay?"

[detia]

[Meaning nothing to him is quite right. He's probably looking at her with the most weirded out look on his face, but he schools his features into something more neutral quickly.

She's an alien. Hopefully, not one that wants to destroy his planet.]

About me? Um. There isn't... Okay. Well, I'm a soldier. I was trained to become the Champion of Earth, save it from alien threats. But that really didn't pan out.

[He says it matter-of-factly, like it doesn't mean much, even though it meant everything to him. It was all he'd ever known.]

That's my story. What's yours?

[detia]

[Twenty seconds. Adam's mind works back to training, to all the timed events he'd had to go through, and twenty seconds - that's a hell of a long time. More than enough to get killed.

He's just going to have to keep an eye out for her, that's all. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

Looking at her again when she asks him if it's his thing, Adam shrugs, a half smile on his lips.]

I'm handier with a firearm, is all. I'd be interested in learning though.

[somnioergosum]

Ronan's response to Jason's confession of resurrection was not what one should expect, probably because it was not at all in accordance with common decency. His nose wrinkled as though he found the act of dying distasteful, but was in reality one moment that he tried to stop himself from laughing. The laugh wasn't directed at Jason, rather it seemed at Ronan's own private joke.

The smile never left Ronan's face but it turned ugly, the curve of it sinister and crude. He leaned back.

"Not everyone who dies comes back," he said as though that was the only explanation to it.

It wasn't. But it was close.

"You ready?"

[naz]

"When I tell you about the drawer, I'll tell you about the love at first sight," she promises playfully. Caitlin realizes that even if they never get to do the "couples" activities for some reason, just talking to Ray and building out this fake relationship with him is amusing enough to occupy her mind and is distracting her just as effectively. That's the whole point of this, anyway, isn't it? Granted, as far as the activities go, they're meant to distract people from the oncoming storm, but for Caitlin, it's about distracting her from her own guilt and the fact that she's here at all. Ray's doing a wonderful job of that all on his own.

His response to her question sounds as sincere as he looks when he gives it and Caitlin gives him a sad and sympathetic smile. He's talking about Felicity, she can tell, but all Caitlin can think about is how she and Ronnie never really did that for one another. They never put one another first; work always came first, then each other, then themselves. Of course, one could argue that both times Ronnie had died — the time she'd thought him dead and the time he'd actually been killed — he'd died trying to protect Central City and as Caitlin was in Central City, he'd put his life on the line for hers. When one is grieving, they tend not to see things with that rosy a glow, or maybe Caitlin is just strange like that. Instead, she sees it as having been left behind, not for an unworthy cause or anything, but all the same. Sometimes feelings aren't rational. That's how she sleeps at night; telling herself that she doesn't have to connection rationality to emotion. It doesn't always work that way.

"You sound like a Disney prince," she blurts out and as soon as she hears the words come out of her own mouth, she laughs, cheeks coloring as she shakes her head and tucks her hair behind her ears. "Sorry. That's really sweet, Ray. Seriously. They should make more men like you," she adds with more sincerity.

The fact that he's throwing around her mention of a favorite food in the conversation they're trying to be overheard having is not lost on her and Caitlin gives him a little grin caught somewhere between endeared and amused. "Oh, I hope so," she says and that's genuine. Now that she's been talking about it, she's kind of in the mood for Thai.

The two of them reach the doorman and Caitlin smiles as he addresses them, leaning her head onto Ray's arm a little. Ray's answered the question asked and she's just trying to sell it. Admittedly, Ray's awkward response is probably a little kink in the hose, but that's okay as long as she looks super comfortable with him, right? Holding his hand, leaning on his arm, looking like she actually belongs there...that'll do it.

"For the couple's special, give her a kiss," says the doorman in response to Ray's question. "Regular cover is ten and two drinks."

In spite of the fact that she's heard the whole of what the man says, for whatever reason Caitlin's mind fixates on the "ten and two drinks" and she wonders ten what? reflexively, because she's just now realized that she doesn't know a whole lot, if anything, about the currency here. It takes a few seconds for her mind to catch up and the surprise registers on her face when it does: he wants them to show their affection to get in. If they were a real couple, they wouldn't think twice, but Caitlin is a terrible liar, so she hesitates, looking up at Ray to silently ask whether they ought to just go somewhere else or if they should just give one another a quick kiss and then move on like it never happened, or what he wants to do.

And then Caitlin realizes that she's the one who approached him and it's not really fair to ask him to make that call. So she clears her throat and smiles — a little awkwardly, but it's there all the same — moving her free hand up to the back of Ray's neck, a sign that she means to draw him down without actually doing so. "That's easy enough," she says, although admittedly she's perhaps trying to convince herself and Ray more than the doorman. Her chin tilts up because Ray is a little taller than she is and he can probably see an ounce of reluctance hiding behind her eyes that betrays the smile she gives him which she hopes is equal parts reassuring and apologetic. If they're going to pretend to be a couple, how hard can it be to share a quick peck, anyway, really?