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

[flackjacket]

[ she can't blame him for sacrificing himself, even if she wishes that there had been another way. he is who he is and that man is the one she fell in love with. someone who will always do good, even at great cost to himself.

she smiles, intertwining her fingers his his again, but it's small and a little shaky.

she still wants a future with him. she's not quite sure how to breach that topic. in the end, what she settles on is ] It wasn't all downhill. After the first kiss.

[ she remembers saying those words all too well. how could she forget? ]

[burntbridges]

[Letha lets out a little shriek as she ducks, hands flying to her ears with shock from the noise. She's panicking and trying so very hard to keep her control, before she can think straight enough to disanimate the corpse. It crumples to the ground, and though Rick won't be able to hear it she can now hear the person that corpse belonged to asking bewildered questions.

Letha ends up on the ground as well, breathing hard and crying because the absolute last thing she expected was to get shot at for testing her magic. She was just trying to have fun. And when he questions her, on top of the dead person beside her questioning her and the fact that she now has to explain what she was doing and why that person's poor head is all blow to pieces... she's overwhelmed, and just hides her face in her hands and curls up defensively.]

[signifies]

[ He smiles, playing with her fingers. ]

So it does only hold with humans?

[flackjacket]

[ it feels like starting over, like a second chance, and lois finds herself smiling down at their hands. she's still angry that they were essentially abducted, she still wants to find out more, but—

this isn't the worst thing that could have happened by far. ]

Seems like it.

[smokedout]

Are you always this much fun to talk to?

[One of the creatures tries to scramble past him, and he stomps down on its skull.]

In my line o' work the best response tends to be punching shit before it becomes a problem. But I'm guessing you don't get to share your philosophy with a lot of hitmen, huh.

[Honestly, sarcastic as he is, he's enjoying the conversation. Enough that he teleports to the edge of the battle so he can just keep chatting with the occasional kill.]

ii because WHY THE FUCK NOT

[amelioraate]

[ Honestly, the only reason Tony even notices himself is because of the complete lack of movement. Everyone else was moving around, keen on getting shit done (adhering to the plan he and Ray and Michael came up with that Tony is still 96% sure of, but there is that four percent and really, Tony knows well enough that it is more than enough for shit to go wrong) and make sure that the damned city doesn't just collapse.

Well, you know, that and the fact that it was himself looking for all intents and purposes like he would rather be sleeping.

Or really drunk.

Actually, the latter seemed way more applicable and Tony really has not had enough sleep or coffee to deal with this shit.]

Nope, nope, fuck this, no. This is not--

[ Is there your doppelganger, Iron Man suit and all, jabbing a gauntleted finger into your chest right now? Maybe.]

The hell are doing.

ii. i hate you so much [slight modification bUT IM SURE YOU GET IT]

[amelioraate]

[ The last thing that Tony expected right now was some version of his father crawling through the tunnels and into the area he had currently just cleared with thanks to Strange. He is wearing the armour, stealth black instead of his usual blinding red and gold, when Howard shuffles in with a toolkit and a flashlight and--

There is a heavy sigh before he lets the faceplate slip back, one eyebrow raising as he reaches out to take the flashlight.]

Pretty sure I am more useful than you there, Howard.

[ Is there a little bit of derision in his voice? Maybe. Just a little. He can't help it, this may not be his adoptive father, and maybe this Howard is an actual decent father more often than not, but--

Well, old habits and whatnot.]

iii.

[amelioraate]

[ Seriously, where the hell was this place pulling people from? Tony had never in his life been considered a small guy, unless you counted Thor and Steve, but-- whatever. Point is, that when the guy steps into the elevator with Tony, there is suddenly a whole hell of a lot less room and Tony seriously regretted not just taking the damned stairs despite the fact that he was tired from way too much time in the office and not enough sleep.

And then, of course, because Fate loved him so, the damned elevator stops.

Groaning, the genius lets his head fall back against the wall, then repeats the action one more time for good measure, before giving his companion a Look.]

Unless this is some kind of romcom and we are now meant to make out since we are serendipitously star-crossed lovers, no no it isn't.

[ And his toolkit is in the office. Of fucking course. Tony pushes off the wall and motions for Damen to move over a little. Well, as much as he can.]

Shove over there, I will see what I can do. [ He starts to work on prying the panelling off the wires which is... harder than he expected actually.] You wouldn't happen to be Asgardian, would you? Totally look the type, also would you happen to have a philips on you? I mean probably not but man that would make my life so much easier right now. That and like, six gallons of coffee. That would be nice too, but I am guessing no to that as well.

[ Sorry, tired Tony is a rambling Tony.]

[goldcuffed]

[Judging from the suspicious glances Damen gives the elevator and its various features, he's regretting not taking the stairs himself. He doesn't exactly trust modern technology - they don't even have electricity where he comes from.

He looks over at Tony and raises both eyebrows, wondering what a romcom is and if that's supposed to be some kind of come-on.] My star-crossed lover isn't here at the moment, but he'll be terribly angry if we do anything untoward.

[Essentially, 'sorry pal, I'm taken'. Also? He has none of those things. He's wearing gym shorts still.]

I'm Akielon. And I don't know what a phillips is.

[mercyful]

Well, perhaps they'll climb this building, hmm?

[ Don't ask her. She's just in Distraction Mode right now. ]

But perhaps not. Perhaps there are only lizards.

[mercyful]

"Good!" Hearing him say that after all he's been through means a lot to her. Saving him had meant facing questions she'd never thought she'd have to; questions about the cost of saving a life, what was the right thing to do, and if what she could do for him once he was saved would ever be enough. He'd left Overwatch, and she'd felt like she hadn't helped enough.

"I always wanted you to be well," she says gently.

[wingedman]

[Most of the reason why he recognizes this Tony is because he's already met the other one who doesn't look anything like the Tony Stark he's used to, and so Sam's willing to make a deductive leap, more or less.]

Really? You sure you're Tony Stark?

[Because not wanting to fuck around with wires doesn't seem like any Tony Stark he's met.]

[sexpo]

I'd say that I taste terrible, but I've been assured by a number of women that isn't the case.

[And there's a raised eyebrow at the source of light, but there'll hopefully be more time to investigate that later. Right now, fiddling around with the elevator is more important.]

[sexpo]

Pretty standard system of breakers - it's designed to route electricity through different parts of the city and limit the power that goes through the grid. If there's a sudden surge, it just flips off before that power can go through and burn everything it's connected to out.

[ While he talks, he's digging tools out of his toolbox and pulling on a pair of thick gloves. ]

And it's done its job, but we've had these guys down here chewing on the wires, so to speak, so we gotta do a manual restart and try to reroute some of the power to areas that don't have any.

[ ...this may, of course, make absolutely no sense to her. It's okay, Howard doesn't make sense to people from his world half the time. ]

[sexpo]

[ In fact, this Howard is from the 1940s and not a father at all (as far as he knows, and he pretty much keeps condom companies afloat singlehandedly, thank you very much), and he has no idea who the guy talking to him is. But the suit he's wearing is damn impressive, and that at least earns an interested eyebrow arch. ]

...have we met?

[ Howard meets a lot of people, and he doesn't necessarily remember all of them. Especially depending on his level of sobriety at the time - although, to be fair, he's been pretty sober since he ended up here. Something about traveling across dimensions does that to a fella. ]

[naz]

Well, I guess it's true what they say about learning something new every day.

Hmm. Can/do you every turn people or do you specifically just feed?

jesse mccree | overwatch.

[peacekeeps]

i - this life's never uneventful

[ in the tunnels the beasts just don't seem to stop. which is fine with jesse mccree, who enjoys when opportunities to dispense justice come hand-in-hand with an easy workout.

in a bottlenecked area behind reasonable cover jesse's picking off monsters with ready ease, bullet holes landing in vital areas with immediacy and mathematical precision. he's conversational with company and grateful to anyone who brings him more ammunition.

also someone should possibly let him know the area isn't well-ventilated??? the cigar smoke threading its way down the tunnels is starting to seem like a permanent fixture, and down in the deep dark it's not so great for visibility either. ]

iii - ... except when it is

[ outside it's coming down something fierce, thunder shaking the city and rain coming down in sheets. jesse's heading home to wait it out, maybe take a load off. he normally takes the stairs everywhere, but he's feeling a touch ornier than usual from having been caught in the rain. he steps inside, tapping the button and pulling his wet hat off. he tips it politely to his present companyand runs a hand through his hair as the elevator starts moving.

naturally they've barely been in there ten seconds when the power goes out and the elevator grinds to a halt. jesse glances up as the dim backup lights flicker on—and then right back off.

he whistles, long and slow. ]

Ain't that just the way.

v - good samaritans

( username: j.mccree )

don't know bout you, but i've seen more lizards in the past ten hours than i did living in the desert half my life.

it's still pretty rough out there on the streets, so if anyone's needin an escort to and from anywhere, best speak up. name's jesse mccree. i've got good aim and free time.

... a lot of free time, from what i hear, so it's probably not a bad idea to start gettin to know some folks too.

[flowlikewater]

[ He hopes that there will come a time when they can speak and his brother won't be so... shocked. Shocked by basic kindness. Just one small step at a time, it seems.

Genji nods. ] Very well, I will follow.

[ He keeps himself a few paces behind him, watching his shoulders and listening for any tell tale signs of another beast approaching. Genji watches those tense, broad shoulders and he suddenly remembers when they were children, when Genji was probably barely five years old and toddling around the gardens after him. "Come play! Play with me! Wait up!"

Shaking his head, he takes a heavy stride so they're side by side as he asks that question. ] Hm? [ He was so lost in memories he almost doesn't register what he asked. ] Oh, no. Enhanced actually. [ He reaches up to tap at the round coverings where his ears would be. ] It just filters the air.

[ He's quiet for a beat. ] I breathe and eat with no trouble.

i

[mercyful]

Leave it to Jesse McCree to light up in a tunnel where the smoke circles around him and anyone else around him. He's like the image out of a movie poster with his hat, stance, and that gentle curl of smoke. It would be a lovely image if it wasn't for the need to breath. But she's not going to outright yell at this person, because Angela would recognize his ensemble anywhere, and it makes the corner of her mouth quirk up in a smile. Of course she's one to talk, wearing a pair of angel wings and a halo in here.

"You know," she begins conversationally, "smoking's bad for your health."

[smokedout]

[That gets an amused snort out of him, which is the closest he's decided to get to being any fun to talk to.]

Just hurry up and get this thing working before I get it in my head to test the claim.

iii

[adiuvio]

Ain't it.

[ Life. John's just not cut out for it anymore. It's a struggle to get up in the morning knowing he'll have to fight the world every step of the way. Today, even the weather's determined to drown him.

Still, a dog's got to do its business. At least someone likes the rain.

The smell of wet fur hangs heavy in the enclosed space, but The Dog is otherwise unobtrusive. The Dog is well behaved. He doesn't fidget or whine, which is more than can be said of most people.

John reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out his communication device. No bars. Some things never change. ]

Doesn't look like we've got reception.

[tenures]

What year, if you don't mind me asking?

[ an odd question to ask, and yet. ]

I've realized as of late that it's hardly a constant matter.

[tenures]

I reckon we have another good forty five minutes to spend on inappropriate innuendos before an idea strikes.

[ she as well sit down. All the better, since she can't swat at him from where she sits. ]

[tenures]

These messages?

Useful endeavor, I admit. I'm unfamiliar with it but I can see the merit.

bryn fletcher ➶ original

[anchorpoint]

[post-apocalyptic sci-fi/fantasy adventure sidekick character | age: 23 | click here for info on Bryn's world]

i. a call to arms

[There is literally no way on this planet or any other planet orbiting any star in any universe that Bryn is going to go down those holes with complete strangers as his only backup. Maybe, back home, in his own jungles, in his own caves, with Lark and his sword at his back, but not here.

But he's also not gonna sit back and let a bunch of monsters take out a city that feels so much like a shinier version of home. It's something to do, anyway. So he climbs a tree by the exit of one of the tunnels, gets himself settled in sturdy and secure, and draws his bow, calling out to the people going in.]

Hey, you chase 'em out, I'll pick 'em off. Cool?

[His grin is wide and his eyes are bright - someone's obviously excited about the prospect.]

iii. trapped in a...

[This tech is way beyond what Bryn's used to where he comes from, where the most you might get is a train or something, old-school, steam-powered, unless it's an artifact. The elevators are something else, all glass and tech and Bryn takes literally every single chance he can to ride them. Right at the top, he feels like he's astride the entire world, and it's so cool to look down and see all the treetops and walls and the big-ass abandoned chunk of city out beyond the close walls.

Of course, being on the elevator so often means he inevitably gets stuck. Right at the top. And he should probably be all upset, but instead, he's pressing his face against the glass wall, peering out at the city.]

Damn, so neat.

iv. text

@b.fletcher

how long's everyone been here now?

v. wildcard

[Bryn will be out and about around the city, mostly shopping in street markets, looking for bright pretty scarves, archery and fletching supplies, survival supplies, and jewelry. The weirder the better. He'll also be stuffing all kinds of different food in his face, bar hopping in search of excellent booze, settled in out of the way (usually high up) places and drawing in a battered notebook, and anywhere adult checking out toys.]