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

mia hawthorne * original character

[exter]

i. a call to arms （ ｎ ｉ ｇ ｈ ｔ ｍ ａ ｒ ｅ × ｍ ｏ ｄ ｅ ）

[ The first thing you notice when you arrive at this particular section of the tunnels is the cold. It's really freaking cold. The second thing you notice are the bodies.

That's a lot of bodies, all reptile looking. Upon closer examination it might even be noticed that they don't seem to be physically hurt in any way, but they're all very dead nonetheless.

The third think you notice, if you dwell for long enough in that corpse-ridden section, is the young woman sitting against to a wall, eyes closed and breath uneven. She inhales quickly from the nose and exhales shakily from her mouth, counting each breathe in what barely constitutes a whisper.

She's also completely unharmed. ]

iii. trapped in a... （ ｄ ｅ ｖ ｉ ｌ × ｉ ｎ × ａ × ｂ ｏ ｘ ）

[ She's never been clauthrophobic, but the fact she's stranded god knows where and the elevator just died on her with an odd jerk that suggest the cables holding it in place aren't particularly well cared for are making Mia a bit nervous. Nervous enough to slide against a wall and cover her face with her hands as she tries to keep her breathing even and not let her less personable side sneak out from the cracks of her person, because she's not alone in the elevator and because she might accidentally send them all down to the floor, a good five levels underneath them. ]

This isn't how it goes in the movies. Someone would've already opened a panel on the ceiling and we would be climbing some stairs or- or something.

[ Talking doesn't help even, so she stops. What wouldn't she give for some familiar, solid ground and a hot cup of tea. ]

iv. network （ ｔ ｈ ｅ × ｖ ｏ ｉ ｄ × ｓ ｔ ａ ｒ ｅ ｓ × ｂ ａ ｃ ｋ ）

un: mia

Well, this is actually happening, right? Portals and monsters and magic and whatnot. Somehow this isn't how I saw my day going.

Nonetheless, I feel the obligation to offer my services. As a psychiatrist, my particular set of skills is certainly not as immediately useful as others might, but if anyone ever needs to talk, then that's basically all I'm good at. Certified even.

v. wildcard （ ｔ ｅ ａ ｔ ｉ ｍ ｅ ）

[ Nothing like a good cup of boiling hot, ultra dark tea to calm the nerves and render her tongue incapable of distinguishing between flavors for a solid couple of hours.

Mia can be found sitting by... literally anywhere calm enough, seriously, holding the paper cup between her hands and seeping while her eyes scan the surroundings. This is going to take time getting used to, not to mention she's still trying to get used to being herself, weird as it sounds.

If she sees someone approaching she'll shrink a bit, but maybe what she needs is a good conversation to get her mind out of the current train wreck. ]

take two: electric boogaloo

[spellslots]

[Taako is a little bloody, his hair tied up under his hat to keep it out of the way and his clothes are grubby, but he's honestly kind of relieved when he rounds a corner to find a tunnel with dead things, not alive things that want to eat him.

But when he notices Mia, tucked up against the wall, he frowns.]

You okay, pumpkin?

what are you talking about nothing happened haha-ha

[exter]

[ There is no immediate reaction from Mia, but a moment later she nods softly. Too softly maybe. ]

Yeah I just- just need a minute here. Me and dead bodies, we don't mix well.

[ She eventually opens her eyes and stares at the stranger, taking in the details. We'll, he's obviously been busy. ]

Are you unhurt? There could me more of them around.

i was gonna find a emoji with the nervous sweat drop but they all looked like eldritch abominations

[spellslots]

[In the interest of not looking too threatening (which, let's be real, he couldn't look threatening if he tried), Taako drops down into a crouch, umbrella braced on the ground to help him keep his balance.]

Most folks aren't a big fan of dead shit.

[He could Banish the corpses, maybe, but it'd be using up a spellslot that he might need in the near future.]

I'm perfect, don't worry about little old me. [He's just a bit beat up, it's fine.] How about we get you outta here instead?

[He offers a hand to help her up, if she needs it.]

#accurate

[exter]

[ Mia smiles weakly. She hates being the weak one, mostly because she's supposed to be trained to remain in control at all times. But this isn't her studio and dead bodies aren't patients. That thought helps her get over her own bruised ego and accept his hand.

It's good Taako believes he can protect them, because Mia has had about enough trying to protect herself. She would also hate herself if she scared him, literally to death. ]

I like the sound of that. And I'm Mia, but the way. And I am lost of course.

[spellslots]

[Once she takes his hand, he stands back up smoothly, tugging Mia up along with him, though he tries to be gentle just in case she's injured at all.]

Taako, and luckily I am not lost, for once in my life!

[That's an exaggeration, his sense of direction isn't that bad, but being kind of relentlessly ridiculous is his thing.]

You wanna tell me what happened down here?

[There's no injuries that he can see.]

[exter]

[ She won't comment about the name, because that's rude. Once on her feet, Mia looks down at herself. She's not only unharmed, but spotless beyond the bits of dirt on her butt after sitting down. Yeah, she totally looks out of place where. ]

Things... escalated. They tend to do that when I panic.

[ It's not a lie if she's technically saying the truth, right? ]

[spellslots]

[One day someone will actually tell him that he shares a name with a kind of food.]

Cool, cool, cool, cool.

[He seems completely unbothered by whatever the implication is here, mostly because he just assumes it's some kind of magic.]

Just feel like I should clarify super quick: if we run into any of those things again can you not do that me?

[The magic he's used to is often an area of effect attack, rather than targeted, so he's used to spells that can mess with everyone. If she can kill things so easily, he doesn't wanna get accidentally targeted.]

iii

[morganknight]

[Leaning up against the opposite wall of the elevator, her erstwhile companion in captivity seems far less bothered by this turn of events, arms lazily folded over his chest and an amused smile on his face.]

Okay, but in the sitcoms, one of us would be giving birth as we speak. So I think we should probably stick to avoiding fictional tropes until we're certain we can pick which ones we want.

[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. ]

[morganknight]

It's so played out, don't you think whoever was in charge would try to shake it up? And we didn't get a choice in getting stuck here, so why would we get a choice in which of us has the duty of sustaining the miracle of life?

[His grin is goofy and utterly amused, well aware that he's being excessively ridiculous.]

[exter]

It's a common pattern that people tend to rely on things that have worked before, as they often tend to keep on working. Small decreases of returns aren't enough encouragement for everyone to suddenly try something else. It's... frustratingly logic, really.

[ Reading people is kind of her job anyway. ]

And besides, if you were pregnant this wouldn't be a sitcom, it would be sci-fi with a touch of horror.

[morganknight]

Yeah, I really don't have the hips for it. [Morgan brushes his coat back, the better to run his hands over said hips. True enough, they are not shockingly prominent.] How about we both stick to not being pregnant? I feel like that somehow works out best in the short term, call me crazy...

[exter]

Neither do I, really.

[ She'd argue that her butt is cute and of the perfect measurements for her body type, but she doesn't have his confidence. ]

I don't really like kids that much, anyway.

i

[goldcuffed]

[Damen probably shouldn't even be out here. His stab wound from his half-brother's hand is still healing after being brought here, and though it's made an unusual amount of progress, they still said he should take it easy. But he had heard about the monster infestation, and honestly, going out and doing something had seemed like a more appealing idea than lying in bed, worrying about his lover.

Down here in the tunnels, he has to stoop a little bit, to avoid hitting his head on pipes or the ceiling or archways. He's very tall, and broad, and carrying a big two-handed sword the Perimeter Guard had found him, old but sharp. As he makes his way through the tunnel, he beam of his flashlight dances over still, reptilian corpses, and-

It's cold. It's impossibly cold, to someone used to a much warmer climate than Riverview's in the first place. He suppresses a shiver, and then his light falls on the woman.]

Are you alright?

[exter]

[ The moment Mia lifts her face the room seems to freeze over. Her eyes are pitch black, all four (ten? twenty?) of them, a black ooze coming out her nose and ears, equally dark goo creeping from every crack around him, a soft screeching sound slowly rising in pitch--

Nope, everything's okay. Her eyes are a lovely brown and are only two of them, as any respectable human should have. It's still kinda cold, but certainly well within the normal parameters. Everything normal, everything cool. Totally cool.

Mia stands up slowly, one hand against the wall for support. ]

Y-yeah, I'm alright. Just a bit shaken. I shouldn't have come here, there's something seriously wrong with those creatures.

[goldcuffed]

[What- What in the world was that? Damen's eyes widen briefly, his mind not even wanting to process the flash of horrific- something. He shakes it off quickly. Everything is fine now, it was just- the painkillers they had him on at the hospital, still working their way through his system, yes? Surely. The drugs just haven't completely faded yet. They did say he shouldn't be out here until he's rested.

He shakes his head slowly, curls sticking damply to his forehead. After a moment, he offers a hand to help her up.]

Wrong with them? What happened? They're all dead, but there are no wounds on them. Are you sure you're alright?

[exter]

[ Still leaning against the wall, Mia huffs. ]

The temperature got really low and everything started dying, so I hid.

[ It's amazing how one can tell the truth without saying all of it. Still, she's not ready to confess to being the source of all that death, not yet. ]

I'm very shaken, but I'll survive.

[goldcuffed]

[A sudden chill down here seems strange. Everywhere else Damen has been, it's been about the same - humid, mild, with that sort of stagnant underground smell.]

We should get back, then. A sudden drop in temperature might mean something is wrong. It isn't safe to linger.

iv

[smokedout]

un: dodger

so you've got a degree in sticking your nose in other people's business. how's that going?

[exter]

We've been ripped from our worlds, stuck on a city that's randomly shutting down and under attack from reptilians beings hiding underground.

And yet this is the most ridiculous thing I've heard ever since I came here. Congratulations.

[smokedout]

another prize for me, i'd like to thank the academy.

seriously, we got blackouts and lizard fucks to deal with, who gives a shit about their feelings?

[exter]

You're not really good at this conversation thing, are you?

[smokedout]

i have my moments, but i keep em to a minimum. why, you wanna psychoanalyze me?

[exter]

You can't afford me.