riverview: test drive meme

[riverviewmod]

riverview test drive meme

Welcome to Riverview's 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 April 1st.
● Providing all parties are amenable, threads on the test drive meme can count as game canon, as the plot in the prompts presented is game canon.
● TDM threads do not count for Activity Check, but they do count for Activity Bonus Points, so long as all characters involved are accepted into the game.
● Since this particular TDM is plot-heavy, current players are welcome to do their own top-levels to interact with the plot. However, since it is still a TDM intended to help potential new players get involved, there will be a special additional +25 Activity Point bonus for any thread submitted by a current player that involves a potential new character rather than focusing on existing CR, for this TDM post.

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. Thanks to player-created plots, this month's Test Drive is set to effect the game setting for the next few months, so please enjoy!

information resources
premise ● arrival ● setting ● ask a question ● calendar ● navigation

plot overview

After just over a week of increasingly serious blackouts and brownouts around the city, the team in charge of the structural integrity and defense of the wall has found the source of the problem, and posted a network entry explaining that the issue is caused by a large quantity of lizard-like monsters that have compromised the underground infrastructure of the city, and requesting volunteers to help do a full-scale manual extermination of monsters and assess the damage and do urgent repairs.

prompt i: a call to arms

The most urgent request presented is for people to help clear out the monsters in the underground tunnels - and there are a lot of them! With estimated monster numbers in the area of 500-1000, ranging from adult to juvenile, there's a lot of work to be done to clear out the underground infrastructure of the city. The Perimeter Guard will have a steady stream of transport trucks going to escort any fight-capable residents who want to volunteer out to the tunnels. They will also provide weapons of various varieties as well as short training sessions on how to use them safely in a confined space for anyone who doesn't have their own.

Whether you fight with a weapon, your fists, magic, or poison darts, your help is more than welcome down in the tunnels. The only real request is to keep seismic or explosive abilities or attacks on the mild side, and to be careful not to poison the city's water supply! Other than that, go wild.

prompt ii: into the depths

Clearing out monsters is all well and good, but they have definitely done some damage to the city's infrastructure. So it isn't just the brawn that needs to step up to help the city, it's the brains. There's a call for anyone with any kind of special ability that would help with emergency repairs. Whether it's engineers, chemists, anyone with first aid, runners to distribute supplies, or any other special ability that would help out in the underground tunnels and fix some of the damage that's been done, anyone is welcome to help. And if you think it's just scientists who are needed, think again - magic is a well-known if not-well-understood facet of life in Riverview Quarantine, and some of this stuff works on a more arcane level than a mundane one.

And, of course, all of these brainiacs are going to need a little backup, so any bruisers to act as escort and protection are also welcome.

prompt iii: trapped in a...

Not everyone has the skills or desire to head out into the jungle and fight for the city, and that's perfectly fine. Inside the Quarantine walls, life is carrying on as normally as it can. That is, aside from the ongoing blackouts.

Wherever you might be in the city, you run a pretty decent risk of getting trapped somewhere for a short period of time. Whether it's trapped in an elevator, a tram car, a store, the housing you share with someone you barely know, or anywhere else in the city, it could happen to you. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship or a meet-cute to tell your grandkids about...at least, that is, if you get along with the person you're stuck with...

prompt iv: friendr/network

Whether your character is posting up a silly word game to distract people from the dangerous mission going on, trying to get hold of a friend, or putting out feelers for people to go out into the fray with, the network is going strong.

Alternately, an offer for a new, free app is popping up on people's devices - Friendr is a friend-finder and/or dating app. If characters choose to install it, they will fill out a short bio and parameters for what they're looking for, upload a snap of themselves, and then proceed to browse for matches. This is a typical swipe-left-or-right type app.

Code to post your character's bio is in the textbox below, or you can just do a text version of the information in the app. An example of how it looks can be found here.

<center><blockquote style="width: 220px; margin: 0; padding: 0px; background-image: url('http://i42.tinypic.com/2uf53s4.jpg'); font-size: 12px; font-family: verdana; border-radius: 20px; text-align: center;"><div style="padding: 10px 0 0 0; text-align: center;font-size: 25px; font-weight: 900; font-style: italic; color: #528887; text-shadow: -2px 2px 2px rgba(150, 150, 150, 1);">F<span style="font-size: 16px;">RIENDR</span></div> <center><img src="ICON URL HERE" style="border-radius: 50%; width: 70px; height: 70px; box-shadow:-3px 3px 2px 0px rgba(82, 136, 135, .75);"></center> <center><div style="width: 210px; background-color: #528887; color: #fff; padding: 5px; font-size: 14px;">Name of Character</div></center> <center><div style="width: 210px; background-color: #528887; color: #fff; padding: 5px; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"><b><small>AGE:</small></b> ## <b><small>INTERESTED IN:</small></b> Male/Female/Any <b><small>SEEKING:</small></b> Type(s) of Relationship(s) <b><small>ABOUT ME:</small></b> Blurb goes here, can be as long or short as you wish.</div></center><br> </blockquote></center>
Many thanks to mistojen for coding this especially for Riverview!

prompt v: wildcard

Choose your own adventure and do something else in the setting!

navigation

Comments

[goldcuffed]

What do you call two people who come from times without elevators, who are currently stuck in one? Screwed, probably.

Damen is frowning in the darkness, reaching out to push the buttons that normally make the box move, but they don't seem to have any effect this time. After a moment, a single bulb flickers to dim, barely-there life - an emergency light, but it just seems like more suspicious technology to Damen.

"This never happens with stairs," he grumbles, politely shifting himself to put his back to the opposite wall. It's about the most he can do. He can't exactly make himself smaller in this confined space. "Stairs and torches seem so much more reliable."

[trashmammal]

Just the bones, got it.

[That's not actually what she said but Mae's only picking up like half of this, too focused on other stuff to bother. Speaking of-]

So what do they talk about, usually? The dead people, I mean.

[trashmammal]

I thought monster gorillas were more about climbing big skyscrapers and... I dunno. Kidnapping damsels? Apes are into that right?

['Cause Angela is clearly the Ape Expert here.

God, what the hell are they even talking about? This conversation went off the effing rails somewhere.]

[exter]

Umbrella...Staff. Okay. Sneaky. Sure.

[ She's seen weirder. It's not a comforting thought, but at least she's willing to accept such a thing exists. ]

Can it also stop rain?

[ You never know. ]

[exter]

I hate that fake laugh track.

[ She's still covering her face, but her voice sounds definitely amused and less tense than before. ]

Also one of us? [ Mia looks up. ] You're either giving yourself too much credit or...

[ She's not sure how to finish that sentence. ]

[burntbridges]

[She shrugs.]

What do living people talk about? Most just want to hear about how the world has changed, or talk about how things were when they were alive. Sometimes they like to speak about how things would be if their life had gone differently.

[exter]

[ Much of a tea snob that Mia is, she uses the common teabags from the nearby store. Now, if someone can find her cool leaves to boil...

She simply nods without stopping to check if Mae actually sees the gesture. A few moments later she's back with a cup of steaming, cream colored tea and she hands it over with a big smile to her new cat-person-lady-friend.

Seriously though, Mia is probably the easiest person to befriend as long as you're not trying to gut her. ]

Here you go. It's a bit hot, so drink carefully. I'm Mia, by the way. Mia Hawthorne.

[exter]

I meant to say, we in our world have other things to worry about.

Here too, apparently.

[trashmammal]

Thanks.

[Thankfully Mae has pretty much zero interest in taking anybody's guts out, so they should get along okay. She takes the cup in both hands, laying her back against the windowframe, looking a little more relaxed than before. The feeling in her head hasn't left yet, but it's not as bad now.]

Mae Borowski. Is my name, I mean.

[keeponstrolling]

[Tommy curses and fumbles the catch, his legs flailing to get a grip. The stool rocks back with an alarming clunk, and pitches him straight into the bar counter top. He barely catches himself before he hits it with an oof, and pushes himself back upright with affront. He waves the caught prize in his hands at Logan.]

Hey! Why dontcha warn a fella next time, huh?

[A grudging pause as he uses it to light his cigarette on his first try, slipping his own one back into his pocket. He adjusts his shades as he turns to face Logan, lighter dangling from his fingertips.]

But thanks. [Two fingers flick out in a parody of a salute.] 'ppreciate it.

[wingedman]

[ Sam just leans against a wall and gives him a Look. ]

If you don't know what the problem is, then we're probably more fucked than just an elevator breaking down.

[exter]

Oh, Mae is my sister's name too.

[ Ain't that cool? Not really, Mia considers after a moment, since there's so many people in the world...worlds...still, it's a nice coincidence. ]

So, have you been here long? I just got here.

[inthemoonlight]

"Oh, thank heavens for that, at least," she says when she sees the emergency light. But seeing how she doesn't really understand this tech, she doesn't know why the lights are working again but not the elevator itself.

His observation has her chuckling a little, though. "That was my thought! And I would have chosen the stairs, had it not been pitch black in there." At least a stairwell has more room. After he moves, she too moves to stand against the wall, hands folded in front of herself.

"What a strange way for two people to meet. Mrs Cecelia Wynn. Pleased to make your acquaintance." There's a quick curtsy to top it off.

howard stark | mcu

[sexpo]

(ii)

[While this might not be the sort of thing he's used to - it's been a hell of a long time since Howard Stark had to actually step out of a nice, cushy lab environment - he's apparently been shanghaied for this mission. And as advanced as the electronics here might be, there's only so many things you can do with a power grid, and it's not completely unlike what he's used to.

And if there's one thing you can say about Howard, it's that he's a damned fast learner. So here he is, crawling (not literally crawling - most of the time, anyway) through a bunch of tunnels with a big, fancy gun strapped to his back in case he's lucky enough to bump into some of these so-called monsters, carrying a borrowed toolkit.

When he gets to one of the power boxes, he pops it open and leans in to start studying - passes his unlucky partner in crime a flashlight.]

Make yourself useful and hold that, will ya?

(iii)
Oh, come on, you gotta be kiddin' me.

[Howard just glowers at the elevator. He's more used to the kind with an operator, but he hits the buttons anyway, just to see if it does anything. When it doesn't, he pops open the panel and starts tugging at wires here and there.]

Who the hell designed these things? Were they drunk?

id: a.herveaux

[rouxgaroux]

Where I'm from like polices like. Humans are still working on catching up with the fact that others actually exist. They think they have a say with the others, but they really don't yet. Each kind has their own way of putting down justice on their own though. Each has their own traditions as far as that goes.

[sexpo]

I'm stuck in an elevator with a pretty lady, and you think you have to apologize for it?

[ Howard grins down at Peggy. He's already unbuttoning the cuffs of his sleeves and rolling them up. ]

More importantly, you think you're actually gonna be stuck here for awhile with me around? I almost feel insulted, Peg.

i

[usandthedead]

[ Of course Rick has helped to clear out the lizard-like creatures. It isn't all that different than clearing a place of Walkers except that the creatures in question have claws and move a little bit quicker than the dead.

This man, in boots and jeans, a western shirt and a holster resting low on his hips, finds the woman kneeling or sitting by what looks like a corpse. It turns his stomach with nerves to see the dead. His instinct is to damage the brain so it doesn't rise again and he has to remind himself that the dead don't reanimate here.

Instead, he focuses on the woman, stepping closer to he to see if she's injured in any way. ] Someone you know? [ Asked of the corpse she's kneeling over. ]

ii

[ikols]

You're not supposed to be here.

[ Stark looks like shit, which is surprising enough to stop Loki in his tracks as he passes by the scene en route to his set-up with Strange. He paces over through the bustling river of people, already suited up in his horns and coat in preparation for the teleportation measures.

His attention flicks from the discarded weaponry to Tony's body-language. ]

Stark?

[ettersberg]

And would you say that this is effective?

[smokedout]

Let's just say if you get stuck with the amount I can handle, you'd better start praying.

[Pretty cocky of him, but he can back it up for the most part. A fireball forms in each of his hands as the creatures grow closer, and as soon as they're in range he teleports into the middle of them to grab some sort of furry beast and set its fur ablaze.

While completely unarmed and completely outnumbered, Dodger seems to just be having fun with dodging attacks from all sides and teleporting around to pick the monsters off in a seemingly random order. His fighting style is gruesome, breaking necks and ripping skin off with his bare hands and occasionally just breaking their legs or setting them on fire and leaving them to panic while he moves on to the next target. At least he's keeping his distance from Morgan, since he doesn't know him well enough to avoid getting in his way.]

iii!

[smokedout]

You uh. You know what you're doing, right?

[He hadn't spoken the entire time they'd been on this elevator, but he feels like he should put in his two cents now that this man is fucking with the wiring. The last thing he wants is for some show off to break it and get them trapped permanently.

He's just going to... light a cigarette while watching Howard judgmentally.]

[burntbridges]

[She doesn't look up - in fact, she doesn't notice him at first, but after that she just decides she can converse while searching for the corpse's soul at the same time.]

No, but that's no reason not to give them attention.

[In fact, she considers it an improvement. She's not big on the dead people she knows personally. And... well, hopefully Rick won't be too freaked out by the corpse slowly struggling to its feet, following Letha's lead as she gets to her feet with her hands still raised with her palms out to it.]

[rouxgaroux]

Yeah, I'd say so. It only really gets messy when outsiders try to interfere in the politics of a certain kind of other.

[usandthedead]

[ Whatever kind of attention she's giving them, Rick stands guard over it for the moment with his hatchet in hand and the colt revolver still in its holster at his hip. This tunnel might be cleared for the most part, but he knows all too well how quickly that can change. Nowhere is safe.

Of course, he figures her attention is saying words over the dead, which is all well and good, until the dead start rising - which, is just Rick's luck that it starts to happen right here and right now.

Rick draws his colt and aims for the head as the thing starts trying to get up. ] Get back! [ He's really trying to help. ]

i read the books like a million years ago and thomas is a dear

[spellslots]

[Well he's not entirely wrong with that guess, so good job Thomas.]

Transmutation is my speciality. [Taako puts a hand on his chest with a little bit of flair and a little bit of ego, because he's just like that.] But I got a whole range of shit, little bit of evocation, little bit of necromancy, you know how it is.

[Does he though.]