riverviewmod: (Default)
Riverview Moderator ([personal profile] riverviewmod) wrote in [community profile] quaranmeme2017-07-20 08:17 am

riverview: july test drive meme

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!

● There are currently 5 Character Slots available.
Applications open on August 1st and will remain open until such time as there are 30 or more character slots available at one time. Applications will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Any applications in excess of available spots will be placed in a queue and processed as drops or activity sweeps happen.
● 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, and may continue while applicants are waiting on the queue (including spanning multiple TDMs).
● 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.
● Threading on the TDM is intended for prospective new characters, so top-levels should only be posted by players of these characters. Since the events in the TDM are considered game canon, characters currently in the game are free to use the TDM prompts for logs and posts on the regular communities.

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

premisearrivalsettingask a questioncalendarnavigation


prompt i: tropical thunder

So you thought that the impending summer and the great weather meant the end of the stormy spring season? Not so much. Just like the storm back in February, though, this one isn't exactly natural.

Early in the morning on July 20th, the portal switches to a different reality, and almost immediately, an ominous greenish mist starts to seep through. Though the Perimeter Guard tries to contain the spread, it's next to impossible to stop an intangible foggy mist, and as it rises, it contaminates the clouds. By the early afternoon, a storm is brewing. As the rain falls, it's the same musty, unnatural green as the mist, and it quickly becomes obvious that the rain burns any living creature like acid. Thankfully, it's very mild acid - a few minutes of exposure will only result in non-living biological matter disintegrating, like hair, fingernails, and the outer layer of horns. But stay out in it much longer than that, and any exposed skin will start to itch and peel and then burn and sting like a bad sunburn. Feel safe with your umbrella or raincoat? Good luck, because stay out in the rain for more than 15 minutes and it will start to erode even synthetic fabric and plastic, though it seems completely ineffective against metal, stone, glass, and plant matter like leaves and wood.

Unless you're really creative, the only safe places are indoors, under the eaves of buildings, inside vehicles with solid tops, and anywhere else with a solid roof - hope you're sharing the closest hidey-hole with someone you really like!


prompt ii: lights out!

Unfortunately, while most of the electricity in the city runs through metal wires, a few key components of the power grid involve synthetics like plastic and other materials. About 25 minutes into the storm, right when these materials start to be eroded away by the acid rain, rolling power outages start to occur at random in the city. While the whole city isn't affected and the fences remain at full power, many places will suffer a complete drop in power. As the storm intensifies, the temperature starts dropping until it goes from a nice warm summer day to something distinctly chillier.

Here's hoping your characters can keep themselves warm and entertained until all the digital comforts of the modern world return - time to break out the candles, board games and cards, or swap some stories. And maybe swap some body heat.

Bonus: there is a ton of free ice cream being handed out before it melts? Not helpful?


prompt iii: basic problem solving

Thankfully, with all the genius minds in the city, someone was quick to come up with a solution after a couple hours of examining an acid rain sample. It's pretty rushed, but as the storm clouds coalesce into a sickly green-and-charcoal swirl in the sky, an experimental machine is put together that will blast a compound into the sky that will nullify the acid storm. It only takes a short time to put several more units together, and then the Perimeter Guard is recruiting heavily through every channel available for teams to take the devices out into the woods so they can be aimed properly to shoot their payload into the clouds.

Teams can consist of anywhere from two to six people, one of which should be a driver, and the rest of which will be needed to help clear any fallen trees. These teams will be fitted with coveralls and helmets that will (hopefully) protect them from the rain while they're outside of the vehicle.

Two canisters full of the compound straight into the eye of the storm clouds are expected to clear up the ever-building thunderhead clouds and stop the rain, but more definitely won't hurt.


prompt iv: basic bouncers

Isn't going out into the woods dangerous? Oh. Right. It definitely is. Each team of explorers trekking out into the forest is going to need some protection. A call is also going out to the general population requesting that anyone who is a strong, experienced fighter please accompany the teams out into the forest to protect them from monsters that are willing to risk the rain in search of a lightly acid-tenderized exploration team shaped meal.

The protection teams should expect most of the danger to come in the form of giant, ravenous monsters that look like either massive elk or boars, and seem completely immune to the rain - probably because their backs are protected by thick layers of grass, moss, tiny saplings, and thick slabs of bark. With their backs all coated in moss and grass, they're also well-camouflaged in the murky green fog and rain, so they seem to appear out of nowhere, bellowing and trying to either spear the teams with their horns and tusks, or eat them whole.

Armed with super stylish full-body suits that should (theoretically) protect them from the ravages of the acid rain, these fighters are exactly the muscle the exploration teams need.


prompt v: 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 free app is popping up on new arrivals' 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. An example of how it looks can be found here.


Friendr base code is by photosynthesis.
The code in the textbox is for the default color scheme, but the Friendr app has a wide variety of themes, so feel free to customize with colors and patterns as you see fit, but do not remove the credit line out of respect for the creator of the code.


prompt vi: wildcard/recovery

Whether or not this month's mission solution is actually threaded out on the Test Drive Meme, the acid rain will let up in the late evening of the 20th. Blackouts will continue for a few days afterward, and there will need to be considerable time spent cleaning up the city in preparation for this month's celebration. Feel free to thread out any of that, or use the wildcard prompt to choose your own adventure and do whatever else you like in the setting!


navigation

[SP New Old World image by ANTIFAN-REAL at DeviantArt.]
sweetlies: ([060])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-07 06:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Actually, Ciel can't blame them either. Anyone who came to a strange new place would prefer to trust what they know rather than what they're assured is better for than.]

You and I find ourselves in agreement. Who knows just what they do and claim it better, we have no method of judging it until after the fact.
somakemelaugh: (you rang)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-09-09 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
[There's a faint grin in him, despite the cold.] You should consider medicines, I think. Half of medical science is throw the darts at the board and see what sticks anyway. [At least in his way of doing things, it was.]
sweetlies: ([038])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-09 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
Sciences were never quite interesting enough for me.

[If he meant in regards to his delicate health, Ciel ignored that.] Perhaps in another life, Madam Red's work might have caught my eye.
somakemelaugh: (relaxing)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-09-10 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh well. Worth a shot.] Aye, perhaps. I'm not surprised where you found your fortunes, but it does surprise me that you chose not to go into the sciences. But it's not my decision. You made your own ways.
sweetlies: ([052])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-10 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
[Never hurts to try.]

Is that really so surprising? [He's actually curious, he can't even school his expression to hide that curiosity. Was it because of his own health that it was surprising? His mothers?]
somakemelaugh: (you rang)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-09-10 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
The medical field has become quite profitable in recent years. Advances made in that area help people live longer, help people feel better faster. The general populace tends to favor their quality of life just as much as their quantity. I'm sure you knew. Then again, your own wealth, being what it is, well I just can't say why you're comfortable where you are. Ah, but there I go again, wondering about things I've no business in.
sweetlies: ([032])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-10 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
That is true but I'm not sure my occupation would allow for how... busy, those in the medical field can be. And I'm not sure how well anyone would take to someone closer to my age, considering how thorough my education was to ensure I became earl.

[He just slowly shakes his head.] That's never stopped you before. Why now?
somakemelaugh: (hmm)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-09-10 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Perhaps not. It certainly doesn't make my life any less busy. [Or didn't, as the case might be.] But it makes for good job security.

It's just idle conversation. Truth be told, I don't really care why you do or what you do, but conditions outside aren't improving much, and it's better than sitting in silence and waiting for the next thing to happen, and you're humoring me.
sweetlies: ([043])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-10 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah, that's right. His Bizarre Dolls were technically speaking a medical marvel.]

Haven't the Phantomhive's always been good for a laugh, though? [He doesn't take a glance outside. There's no way he's escaping without at least a cold. And Undertaker has been generous with his time...]

Why do cemeteries have fences around them? [He pauses for a moment, eye slowly moving to Undertaker.] Everyone is dying to get in.
somakemelaugh: (you rang)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-09-10 08:37 am (UTC)(link)
[He makes a soft sound, indecisive and almost dismissive.] Only when they want information from me.

[At first, he'd thought the question was honest... until he heard the punchline. It's not clear to him which stuns him more, the fact that Ciel is trying to tell him jokes or that he's looking to get him to laugh without asking for something. That, in turn, makes him wonder if the Earl really is after something. They always are. The grin hasn't changed, but he's now looking at the boy, and he'll allow a giggle at the humor.] So they are. [And so they're on to terrible jokes. Alright, he can play this game. It won't get good information, but he can appreciate it.] Why doesn't a skeleton dance when he go to parties? [Wait for it.] Because he's got no body to dance with.

[He can't help it. He breaks out a wide grin and cackles. It's not really that funny, but the situation is.]
sweetlies: ([068])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-10 09:09 am (UTC)(link)
We've all been willing to pay for it though.

[All of his predecessors had a better sense of humor, he's sure, but they were willing. And that says enough. Ciel's no good with humor, he hasn't been for a long time, but he tries.

Undertaker's joke in return takes him a moment but he can't help his lips quivering, wanting to laugh. It's a bad joke, he shouldn't want to laugh.]
I think that was my best one, actually.

[He'll try again though.] How do you make holy water?

[Just a little pause, again.] You boil the hell out of it.
somakemelaugh: (hmm)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-09-10 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
You wanted what I had. I didn't think the price was too high for that, even if it's not as easy as tossing down a few coins.

[So they really are trading silly jokes. He can't help a wide grin. It's not going to burst his sides, but there's genuine humor in it. And the subject? He lives for this sort of thing.] Ah, that milord even remembers jokes like these. I don't know which is more the amusing.

[He turns to the boy, leaning into his elbows on the table as he does.] A man on a walk with his friend happens to pass by a graveyard on their way home. He looks to the graveyard and says, "I can't be buried here." His friend looks at him, confused, and asks why. The man replies, "Because I'm not yet dead." [He doesn't even wait for Ciel to get it. He's already in a light fit of giggles.]
sweetlies: ([034])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-11 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
No. It wasn't an unfair price.

[Just one he hasn't been particularly skilled in. He wonders if his father had practiced that skill or if it was something that had come to him naturally.] I'm trying to do better. Even if it doesn't do anything for either of us here.

[His ears burns a little at the comment, they probably even look a little red, but he lets it go, smiling at the joke and trying not to laugh. One does escape a little though.]

A doctor recently opened a firm that doubles as both a morgue and an optometry practice. How long do you think that place will stay in business?

Remains to be seen.
somakemelaugh: (suave)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-09-18 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
[He can't spare a giggle or two for that. This is just too rich.] I do recall that you seemed to think it was ridiculous once or twice. Why, I can't say. [Especially when the boy is willingly humoring him this time, and even initiated it.]

Tell me, then. What sort of whim is it that has you jesting with me on this miserable day?

[He'll be all too happy to continue, but inquiring minds must ask.]
Edited 2017-09-18 05:29 (UTC)
sweetlies: tea ([040])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-18 06:37 am (UTC)(link)
Considering how varied your sense of humor is, it can be ridiculous.

[In all honesty, he isn't sure why he is either. Undertaker has been confusing in general back home and here; helping but not pushing to help. Never hurting Ciel.]

You said it yourself. It's a miserable day. [He shrugs his shoulders.] It's a distraction.
somakemelaugh: (hmm)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-09-21 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, now. You call it that, but I seem to enjoy it. Here it is, just this side of freezing and I'm having a bit of humor over it all while you're sitting there, all in a fuss. [He hadn't always known the boy to be like this, but really and truly, he knew why it'd changed. Here though, things were different. Surely the Earl could lighten up a little, couldn't he?]
sweetlies: ([060])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-21 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
[He almost, almost lets out a huff and proves Undertakers point. Instead he just takes a breath and crosses his arms against his chest.]
I'm not in a fuss.

It's cold and it's a distraction. And you're company I happen to enjoy for the moment.
somakemelaugh: (relaxing)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-09-24 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Close as can be for you is what it is. [That look on his face isn't going away, but when does it ever, really?] Aw, and here I thought milord only visited when needs suited. How kind of you.
sweetlies: ([051])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-09-25 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[He wants to repeat that he's not making a fuss but then he'd be doing just that. Instead, he slips back to the same thing he always insisted.]

I'm not kind. I'm not sure why everything insists I am.
somakemelaugh: (nomnom)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-10-01 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
You keep saying that, but I wonder why others keep saying quite the opposite myself. Why in the world would they assume someone like you would ever be kind? [Despite the chill, he giggles. So interesting, this.] Why, indeed.
sweetlies: ([051])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-10-02 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
[Ciel stares down at his empty cup. What was it Sebastian had said? If he wasn't kind, he was a coward. Maybe he was.]

People who are kind don't do what I do.
somakemelaugh: (leaning)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-10-06 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
Oh? What makes you say that? [Other than the fact that the boy held a leash on a demon and regularly committed 'legal' crimes with him, all in the name of the Queen.]
sweetlies: ([032])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-10-06 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
I kill people or let them die. So long as it furthers my goals, it's never mattered. [He let his aunt die, killed all the children in Kelvin's basement.] I'll frame a man and justify his imprisonment with another of his crimes.
somakemelaugh: (welcome to the parlor)

[personal profile] somakemelaugh 2017-10-06 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
[He nods.] Yes, yes. You did do those things. Terrible things, indeed. And yet you still have people around you who would stick by your side, here and home, who would call you kind. Strange, isn't it?
sweetlies: ([032])

[personal profile] sweetlies 2017-10-06 05:21 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, it is... [He can remember finding all his servants, how different their lives now and before were. They would argue his kindness. Maybe a part of him is. Some part Sebastian can't taint.]

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