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

[nikolaievich]

[Illya reaches for the phone, but doesn't look at anything on it. Mostly because he doesn't really know what he's supposed to be looking at. It looks high-tech, and he definitely appreciates Clark giving it to him without hesitation, but he (obviously) hasn't seen one of those before.]

And what are 'these', exactly?

[nikolaievich]

[Illya frowns, circling the orbs with his own hands to find some kind of... string, or something of the sort. But there's nothing, it really just lights. He tilts his head, lets out a gentle 'hmm' of consideration then looks back at Taako.]

Interesting, but how are you going to defeat monsters using a trick of the light?

[spellslots]

I'll admit I'm a show off, but even I'm not gonna waste the big stuff on a show for some guy.

[Magic is a finite resource, just like anything.]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Yuri won't be forgotten. Bucky is fond of the kid already, has to be if he's training him, working closely with him to hone his defensive skills. (Just his defensive skills, for now. He won't train any more killers.) He shoulders his rifle and motions down one of the tunnels, the one he knows will take them up to the surface the quickest. It won't take him long to play the escort, and then he can come back down and find his wayward trainee before he hands B-squad their asses.]

The carrion might bring other stragglers from when the nest scattered. I'll take you up to the exit. [He doesn't wait to see if Victor is following, just expects that he will be followed.]

He's still young, young people are adaptable. And I guess he felt he had to. There was a massive storm, when we came here, knocked out the power along parts of the perimeter fence. I don't know how he ended up out there fighting, but he wasn't bad then. He's getting better now, he's a hard-worker.

[anotheroldsoldier]

Then you should stick to the city. Don't put yourself in a position where others will have to save you.

James Barnes. Everyone calls me Bucky.

[bespredel]

[ Yuri had been doing his best to learn the lay of the tunnels, but there were so many- and this crisis had only popped up barely a week ago. It wasn't enough time to learn miles and miles of twists and turns intimately enough to remember every step. It wasn't as extensive as say, the Parisian catacombs, but it wasn't easy to remember, either. Thus why they usually travelled with a guide who knew things a lot better. But then Yuri had been knocked away from his team, and subsequently left behind, and well-

Well, he was just relieved to have stumbled across someone at all, really. Not that he would ever tell Victor that.

Locking his jaw, Yuri jerked his shoulders in an uneasy shrug, before finally grunting out, ] Since I got here- a few weeks. [ His grip on his spear tightening, one hand absently moving to scratch and the bandages he still wore around his left forearm, to keep his still healing wounds clean. At least his stitches had come out. ]

[redoublement]

[ Laurent sighed, bringing one slender boned hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, lashes sweeping shut as his forehead pinched, frown deepening. It's sheer force of will that keeps Laurent from sagging against the wall, from letting the exhaustion he feels allow him to do something about it. But Laurent has endured worse, and the last thing he can allow himself to abide is showing his own weaknesses before a stranger. ]

How long should we wait until we start devising alternative methods of escape? [ Because Laurent was already considering it, lifting his head away from his hand and gazing around the little metal box, a critical, considering expression on his features. There had to be some way out; it was ridiculous to think that those who could engineer such a feat of a machine that could lever people up and down electrically without stairs, and not think of how that box might turn into an oversized coffin if it happened to get stuck. ]

[redoublement]

Talented or not, I would like to see their work for myself. [ Because he knows Damen, and he knows that regardless of what he says, it could have been far worse than he would have allowed himself to let on. Laurent needed to know, needed to see for his own sake that the other wasn't going to start bleeding out again at any moment. A week- it wasn't very much time at all, and certainly not after suffering such a life threatening injury. ]

I admit I had some... stress. To relieve. Dealing with these monsters was at least a suitable enough distraction to keep me occupied for a few moments, at least.

[signifies]

A cell phone.

[ It's already unlocked. Clark presses various apps. He shows Illya the maps and camera functions. ]

This is a search bar. Type something in and press the arrow at the bottom right.

[inebriety]

[Tony thinks this might be how things would have went with Natasha if he ever got the chance to see her again. Albeit with a lot more emotions thrown in at his former fiancée.]

It can't be worse than chemotherapy. I think I'll manage.

[He wave his free hand in a universal gesture for 'do as you will'.]

[ikols]

[ Stark is sick like Jane Foster? Cocking her head, Loki nods and acquiesces without probing for more details just yet. Technically she can teleport without any warning, there one moment and gone the next, but the gradual brightening of their surroundings allows for anyone riding shotgun to have some warning and brace themselves for the smooth, if disorientating, ride. When the light dies down the world has changed significantly; aircon hums quietly in an otherwise silent apartment, a kitchenette to one side of a spacious living area with a corridor leading off adjacently. The rampant noise and bustle of the tunnels is gone, replaced with a clean modern sanctuary.

Loki continues to stare at Tony from underneath her lashes, thumb running absently over his knuckles as if she might upend more answers with a touch. ]

Food's in there, beds and showers are that way. Make yourself at home. Um, [ additionally, ] if you want a quiet life don't visit the other floors. There are a handful of your team here but from more alternate realities, not just ours. They're much younger and stupider.

[inebriety]

Never heard of him. [Yet.]

[Tony takes a little longer to answer his first question. Thinking about who's on the team always lead to remembering everyone they had lost.]

Steve, Thor, Monica, Clint, the Spider people pitch in occasionally, but it's mostly just us now.

[inebriety]

[He mock frowns.]

I'm rich, handsome and smart, you only have two out of three so wouldn't it be better for them to take after me?

at least they're good for one thing this way

[inebriety]

[His experiences with the multiverse have had his counterparts being indistinguishable from him, but there must be something about him that immediately called him out as other to her. He's going to think about that rather than how another Wanda died years ago.]

I'd love to join you. It'll be good to reacquaint myself with everyone again.

You're the first person I recognise so far so no. Do people usually arrive in groups?

[realimperfect]

I know Root made them for people eventually. She got me hooked on that stupid comet break game or something like that - not wounded to be away from it now that I think about it.

I sunk far too much time in to that stupid game, really.

Not that I'm sad to see that game or that shuttle go, really.

[realimperfect]

I would say it's a waste of time, personally. If you're going to be out in a new place you're bound to run in to people anyway - for better or worse.

[advanced]

[The look he gives Yuuri is long, silent, and utterly judgemental about his abilities to stay alive long enough to help anyone.]

If you don't know exactly where they are, how do you plan on finding them to help them?

[This tunnel system is an absolute warren.]

[advanced]

[If she couldn't have managed then he would have tried to do it with her on his back. It would have been more difficult, but he probably could have managed. He's tense under her grip, waiting for an attack that he thinks is coming but still hasn't quite arrived.]

Then do it now.

[He'll wait only long enough for her to grab onto the cable before he's vaulting over to the doors. He slams the fingers of his left hand inside, now isn't the time to be worried about pretending this is a normal arm, and starts to pry the metal outwards to buckle it and make an entrance.]

Can you see anyone coming?

valantin toreth | administration series

[triarchic]

i. a call to arms

[ Toreth can't help but feel slightly underwhelmed at his effectiveness, here. He's not at all bad with a gun, of course, but some people around here are really fucking good with their bare hands or, oh, their minds. It leaves him feeling, well -- not insecure, per se, but a little miffed. Maybe if he had powers or special abilities he'd be doing a hell of a lot more good here. Maybe then he wouldn't have to actually find cover and all of that strategic crap.

At least he can take his frustrations out on the monsters.

If someone stumbles upon him, he's probably hiding behind a rock looking peeved. Either that, or he's walking up aggressively to you if he's spotted that you're 1) available and 2) have some sort of fancy powers. ]



ii. confined spaces

[ The whole day has been a series of close calls. Lights have been flickering in a few of the places Toreth's been to, but there hasn't been any catastrophic failure as of yet -- no automatic doors suddenly slamming shut, no serious power outages.

The elevator stoppage was, therefore, probably seriously overdue.

Toreth groans when it happens, and it's out of exasperation rather than serious concern about the elevator shuddering to a sudden halt. It's late and he's been out in the field all day, and the last thing he really needs is this. He'd been rather excited to get back to his room and indulge in some drinks, actually, a bottle of which he's just bought and has stashed in the backpack over his shoulder. ]

Fucking swell, isn't it? [ The comment is aimed mostly at himself, but he turns to the other occupant of the elevator, anyway, finding them in the emergency lighting. If he's going to be stuck somewhere, he might as well attempt to entertain himself. He just hopes he's stuck with someone interesting. Even better if they're attractive. ] Hope you didn't have anywhere to be.



iii. network | un: toreth

so, how successful are people with that hookup app, anyway?

colour me curious.



iv. wildcard

[ feel free to come up with your own starter! Toreth can easily be found at bars and clubs, and is 100% amenable to company! ]

[yokunaru]

Phone games can be pretty addicting. I guess we're lucky she never got around to making more than just that one.

I hope she and everyone else back there is doing OK. Do you think anyone else made it here? So far it's just you, me, and Viktor.

[yokunaru]

[Sensitive as he is to these things, Yuuri feels the judgment in that look and wilts visibly.]

I ...thought someone down here would be able to point me in the right direction. [Yeah, this is starting to sound like a pretty bad idea. He exhales.] You think I should've just waited up there, and helped with the first aid once they brought the injured out of the tunnels.

[It's a statement, not a question, because he's fairly sure he knows what the answer will be.]

[yokunaru]

Got it. I don't want to put anyone else in danger by having to rescue me either.

Bucky it is. How long have you been here?

[realimperfect]

"That is true. However at least here in this elevator we're at more risk of it dropping than drifting to the ceiling or, you know, a slow suffocation." Always so pleasant to think about or touch on when she gets the chance. either way she's not happy to be trapped, but if there were any bright sides to see, she's apparently trying to gt up to just that right now. The roof hatch is jiggling a bit more now that she's loosened the bolts, but still no dice to getting it open.

She muses to herself about how to open it lowly, purely talking herself through the problem rather than speaking conversationally - "So it appears as though there may be an official 'key' to this thing after all... loosened to a point but now it's at a stop..." She pauses, chewing on her lip as she hops back down on to the floor, nodding to what he'd noticed about the brown out. She hadn't considered that, but, then again, when an electrical grid was struggling in general nothing really surprised her.

"Me too. But if the electrical is already stressed anything can happen... Honestly I'm debating how much force it would take for me to just.. break the roof hatch." There's a stretch of a pause before she's reaching down in to the tight neck of her shirt, pulling out a necklace and observing the end, eyes narrowed as she calculates her options.

"I wonder if this might be close enough to the bit this needs to come loose, though.." Vincent wouldn't mind, right?

[realimperfect]

I'm pretty happy she didn't have a chance, for one. Too bad she didn't make more useful apps too. A few seemed to have their uses but I wonder if one could've been made to track who was still on the ship and those who had disappeared.. something interactive if possible.

Not sure. But if so many of us have than I would not doubt there are others. Though it may not be entirely useful to ask either.

[yokunaru]

[After a second of blinking rapidly in surprise, Yuuri's face lights up with a relieved smile.] Yurio? I didn't know you were here, too... [Yuuri's gaze slides past him, as if looking for something.] Is anyone else here?

[He rubs at the spot that Yurio had jabbed at, still smiling, and not at all phased by the unhappy greeting.]

Ah, I heard some people were injured down here. I might not be able to fight, but I can help bandage them up. [Even as he holds up the first aid kit he'd quickly thrown together, Yuuri's smile slowly turns into a concerned frown as he gives Yurio a closer look.] You...you're bleeding! Have you been down here fighting the monsters?