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Riverview Moderator ([personal profile] riverviewmod) wrote in [community profile] quaranmeme2017-09-21 08:26 pm

riverview: september 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 40 Character Slots available.
Applications are open 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: fungal safari

With the fall months starting to set in, the leaves changing color, and the pumpkin spice lattés freshly unleashed into the Quarantine, many minds in the city (or at least the ones who've been around for over a year) are turning to the fall mushroom harvest.

Every year, several of the Quarantine's fanciest boutique restaurants are competing to make the most original new recipes with classic favorite mushroom varieties harvested fresh from the jungle. These glowing little shrooms are a rare once-a-year delicacy that half the Quarantine is totally bonkers for, and a restaurant can turn a really serious profit from capitalizing on those cravings. Of course, that means that they need to source the mushrooms from the jungle, which is much easier said than done, considering the fact that the monsters out there like the delicate fungal flavor just as much as the people in the city. So, restauranteurs around the Quarantine are putting up signs and advertisements everywhere from billboards to just after the credits of your favorite trashy reality TV show.

The monetary rewards for returning with a fruitful fungal harvest are extremely high, so if you're looking to feather your nest egg a bit and are willing to do a bit of exploring and brave some beasties, head out into the jungle in search of bounty.


prompt ii: what a fun-gi

The restaurant business isn't the only business that's interested in providing a chunk of change for some mushrooms from the jungle - there's also a less reputable trade in the type of mushrooms that don't end up in risotto. While the advertising is more covert, it's not much less obvious, particularly since the glowing mushrooms aren't exactly contraband and occupy a grey area, legally. In fact, if you're curious, you can pick them up at most of the outdoor markets around the city.

And what is it the mushrooms do? Well, in a way that's quite common when mushrooms are involved, things get a little trippy. Depending on the type of mushroom a character tries, there could be a wide variety of effects, most of which center around size changes and hallucinations or weird dreams. Whether it's all in a character's head, or they're actually changing size depends on the type of mushroom they ingest. Welcome to Wonderland!

NOTE: The mushrooms can have physical effects to change a character's size from however tiny you would like to go, up to a maximum of 15 feet tall, or they can have whatever sort of hallucinogenic or dream effects you choose, including dream sharing between characters who eat the mushrooms together. Be sure to warn in the subject line if you use this prompt in a way that resembles drug use. All effects wear off in a maximum of 24 hours.


prompt iii: tavernfest!

Every year on the last full weekend of September (the 22nd until the 24th this year) there is a special event called Tavernfest. A mash-up of Oktoberfest and a renaissance faire, Tavernfest is a tradition celebrating and promoting various local breweries in the Quarantine, along with food that pairs well with their beers, in a setting that hearkens back to historical periods. Costumes are encouraged, and everything about the fair is rustic and simple, from the cooking methods to how the brews are served to the various fair games and attractions.

Considering the nature of the Quarantine, though, 'historical' can mean a lot of different things, so expect to see people dressed in a wide variety of historical costumes from their own worlds and planets. The sharing of culture is encouraged at Tavernfest just as much as it is everywhere else in the Quarantine, so attendees are highly encouraged to wear the historical garb of their own worlds and talk about what it means to them!

NOTE: Riverview's legal drinking age is 14+.


prompt iv: under my umbrella

This one's pretty simple - this is the month where autumn is really starting to kick in, and autumn on this moon means lots of rain showers. In fact, the rain can be so prevalent that there's a long-standing trend of people in the Quarantine using umbrellas like fashion accessories. They can get quite fancy, matching them to their outfits or carrying umbrellas that are adorned with decorations ranging from cute to high-fashion to bedazzled.

The one difference between umbrellas and regular fashion accessories? Umbrellas are meant to be shared! Riverview Quarantine has a culture of sharing, and that's never more apparent than in the chilly autumn and winter months when the rain is falling and everything's damp and miserable. So whether your character is out and about sporting a fancy umbrella with room for one more, or if they forgot theirs and are looking for a generous stranger willing to spare some shelter, hopefully the culture of caring will prevail!


prompt v: friendr/network

Whether your character is posting up a silly word game, 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

Use the wildcard prompt to choose your own adventure and do whatever else you like in the setting!


navigation

[campfire image found on pinterest and is signed]
ikols: WHEN I WALKED INNNN (OOOOH YOU KNEW I WAS TROUBLE)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-26 09:43 pm (UTC)(link)
I would love one. [ The same mischief is mirrored right back as he slips his phone out again. ] May I record it?
thisisamazing: (hail to the chief)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-27 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
[He slings his leg over the side of the dragon's back, sliding into the saddle and hooking the prosthetic foot into the pedal that controls the prosthetic tailfin. Hiccup tilts his head, waiting expectantly. Evidently this is to be a hands-on demonstration.]

If you want to. You coming?
ikols: a dangerous cipher in the quiet (i'm a shadow creeper)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-27 08:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ Already recording the way Hiccup sets about saddling up, Loki's glance is surprised when the invitation comes and he looks between Hiccup and Toothless. Flying. He does adore it, unable to take any form nowadays that allows him to do it, hours spent with Tony in the workshop and he never built up the courage to ask to try on the suit's boots.

He didn't expect a dragon to come along. ]


If neither of you minds ... [ Putting his phone away, he nears Toothless to pet his side where straps loop around the beast's belly, petting him gratefully. ] I'll try to stay lightweight. Are you sure there's, ah, enough room for two?

[ Because Loki loves flying but hates the falling part that usually ensues. ]
thisisamazing: (earnest smile)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-27 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
Of course I'm sure. [He laughs, but it isn't a mocking sound. Toothless roars in agreement, wings already shifting a little restlessly.] Don't worry, Toothless can carry a lot more weight than you might think. He's amazing, aren't you, bud?

[He flashes Loki a wide smile, full of eagerness to soon be in the air. A young man with the soul of a dragon.] We won't drop you. Just slide on behind me and hold on.
ikols: not so far off (all these tall tales)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-27 12:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Loki promptly hops up with an ease that speaks of a familiarity with riding horses and settles his hands politely behind him, gripping the saddle. Safe to say that he needs no further encouragement to go flying on a dragon. ]

For the record, if you drop me I think you get cursed for a million years or, um, something.
thisisamazing: (playful smirk)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-27 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
What are you even afraid of? You're a god. [He laughs teasingly at that, reaching back to move Loki's hands to his waist instead of the saddle.] Here, hold on to me. It'll be more secure. [Sweaty hands gripping leather in the air, bad combination. He's seen it happen. But once he's content that he and his passenger are both secured, he leans forward, hands splayed over Toothless's scales.]

Let's go, bud.

[A few people in the throng startle as the dragon spreads his wings wide and takes a running start into the air, beginning a quick ascent over the city. Hiccup moves in sync with the dragon as easy as breathing, leaning just slightly this way or that when he turns, prosthetic working the tail-fin mindlessly, and the three of them soar.]
ikols: heeey yooo ayyy yooo (and i was like)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-27 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not the one literally hooked into his seat, sassy.

[ An undignified Eep! leaves him as Toothless does his stuff, muffled against Hiccup's back when they take off and Loki's grip cinches in securely around the dragonrider's waist. He peeps over armour once the rhythm of the flight banks out, humming appreciatively. ]

Smoother than Thor's goat-chariot.
thisisamazing: (sassy)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-27 02:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Only by the leg. Which does come off, you know. [He shoots back good-naturedly, his grin wide as Toothless' powerful wings beat on either side of them. The cool bite of wind in his hair is exhilarating. It doesn't smell anything like Berk when he inhales, but it's good all the same. High enough that the air just starts to thin and clouds mist on either side, Toothless slows to an easy glide, gently dipping and circling here and there.]

Thor seriously has a goat-chariot? Why goats? Does he just like goats?
ikols: i've got no reason to love you (so walk on by)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-27 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He hopes Rocket Raccoon never spots that leg.

Loki's grip eases as they gain height, sitting up to enjoy the view. If the thinning air wasn't such an issue for Hiccup he would love to go higher, take a dragon like Toothless through the stars ...

His reply is distracted as he plays his fingertips through the wispy clouds, turning them into snowflakes. ]


Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, giant god-eating goats from the troll-lands. I tamed them with a magic bridle for him ... as a gift.

[ Sort of. A humiliating one, but still. The goats are pretty fearsome. ]
thisisamazing: (teasing)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-27 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[He can't help but feel a little proud, that his dragon, his Toothless, has managed to impress a god of the Norse pantheon. It's maybe a little embarrassing, but he's happy. Hiccup and Toothless wheel in large, lazy circles, Hiccup occasionally steering the dragon with just light touches or Toothless takes the reins altogether. Flying is an easy comfort.]

Wow. I thought those were just kinda crazy stories, you know? Vikings love embellishment and one-upping each other's storytelling. I swear the dragon that ate Gobber's arm gets bigger every time.
ikols: i'm a special kinda psychic (read my mind cause baby)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-27 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
There's truth to most stories, that's how they get started. Nothing's ever really a straight-laced lie.

[ With only one hand now loosely curled around Hiccup, he walks two fingers up the leather scales that make up the rider's armour. Ice flutters out in whorls over a red-painted pauldron. ]

For example, tonight a handsome dragonrider on a mighty steed of fire and brimstone whisked a godling through the skies.
thisisamazing: (trying not to laugh)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-27 04:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, but I always wondered how much truth there was. At least when I got older. Vikings have been known to get things wrong. [He chuckles lowly and pats Toothless' scaly head, the fingers of the other curled loosely around the bar at the front of the saddle.

The next comment makes him snort out a laugh, and he looks down at the hand tracing icy swirls over his pauldron. Handsome? What? No.]
See, there's a big exaggeration. [He remarks dryly.] And a slightly misleading statement! His plasma blasts aren't really very brimstone-y.
ikols: forever asking more (in wonderment at you & yours)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-27 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Vikings get excited easily. [ They used to when they existed, anyway. Ivar certainly acts as a faithful example, what with all the stabbing and the screaming.

His hands leave Hiccup to spread out, swerving up and down on the air-currents. ]


Plasma is badass, much better than brimstone. I give Toothless full marks! And, you know, [ leaning forward as he pretends to fly, he peeks over Hiccup's shoulder with a playful smirk, ] just because a fella is the God of Lies doesn't mean he's the pathological sort.
Edited 2017-09-27 16:48 (UTC)
thisisamazing: (awkward smile)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-27 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
That we do, actually. [Granted Hiccup is the same, with a lot less stabbing and screaming and a lot more questing for knowledge and nerding out about dragons.

He looks back over his shoulder at Loki, not entirely knowing how to react. Before he was fifteen, nobody looked his way, and he's really only used to Astrid thinking of him that way. It's easy to turn it into a joke.]
Well, I guess if you like talking fishbones. But, hey, you know a little about me now. What about you? Not all the stories can be true.
ikols: gonna make him cream (he's my number one daddy)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-27 06:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Me? Ah, you'll get extra points if you don't ask about horses.

[ The conversation is cheerful, friendly, buoying his mood so that he can admire Hiccup's green eyes and the sky surrounding them in equal amounts. Slumping against him companionably, he loosely weaves his fingers together around Hiccup's waist once more, charmed to be asked about himself when it doesn't happen often.

Or, well. Ever. ]


Let's see. My name is Loki, I enjoy long rides on dragons and walks on rainbows, lilac and brown interior decor, and my favourite food is a toss-up between sushi and Korean barbecue. Also, I happen to be deified. Does that meet your expectations?
Edited 2017-09-27 18:01 (UTC)
thisisamazing: (downward smile)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-28 06:31 am (UTC)(link)
No horses, got it. [He laughs, steering Toothless into a wide, wheedling turn. It's a fairly sedate flight compared to the ones he might take alone, to keep their guest comfortable up here in the air. It's a little strange to think about it, but Loki probably doesn't have a lot of dragon-riding experience. The close press isn't even uncomfortable for Hiccup, who isn't entirely unused to riding with someone else.]

I've learned not to stick too closely to expectations. [He smiles wryly.] I've never heard of sushi or Korean barbecue. Are those god things or, like, traveled the world things?
ikols: keeper of thought & memory (come odin)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-28 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
A travel thing. In your time that food would be on the opposite side of the world, I happened to have a menagerie of restaurants where I lived in a city. Toothless would enjoy sushi, it's all made fresh and mostly from fish.

[ Chattering away, his spirits continue to rise. These are the same sort of easy pleasantries he shares with Dick, refreshingly casual. He wants to give Hiccup anything and everything, on impulse. ]

I have a tavern-come-club called Trixie, by the way, we serve breakfast at all hours. You're welcome to eat there for free. We have a necromancer for a bouncer, he's only a little younger than you if you need help settling in. You can trust Nico. Nothing rattles him, not even skeletons.

[ BadumPSH. ]
thisisamazing: (haha well funny story...)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-28 10:38 am (UTC)(link)
That's so cool, though. I'd love to hear about it sometime. Back home we're only just now mapping the outer islands in the archipelago. [Look who is a total exploration and travel nerd. It's this guy. Maybe this is why he's seemingly fine being in Riverview for the time being, even though he has a village to get back to.

Toothless lets out a little roar, inquisitive, tilting his head a little to glance back at Hiccup and Loki.]
Yeah, bud, if any place in the city sells sushi, we'll get you some.

Yeah? That's a generous offer. Thank you, I'll definitely stop by to see it, it sounds nice. [The comments about necromancers and skeletons get a nervous little laugh out of him though.] Well, that's good, because I am most certainly rattled by things like skeletons.
ikols: like i do (they don't give a fk about you)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-28 10:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ Mental note: send Hiccup a list of sushi restaurants and their alien counterparts, ranked by quality of fish for Toothless. The uneasy laugh gains a grin in reply. ]

No harm will befall you under my roof. Or your dragon, for that matter.

[ Wriggling in his seat for a better grip, he wheedles over Hiccup's shoulder. ]

Can we go a bit faster?
thisisamazing: (big ol grin)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-28 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
That is actually comforting to hear. [Not that he thought Loki was going to hurt him or Toothless (if he thought that, they'd be dropping him into the river, most likely), but there is something reassuring about hearing a god promise you won't come to harm under his roof.

But then he's grinning, green eyes alight again as he looks over his shoulder.]
Oh we can do faster. You sure you're ready for all this?
ikols: the way you want to be (live your life)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-29 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Absolutely! Ah, one moment.

[ Settling into his seat with tightened knees and his arms around Hiccup, he tucks his chin behind the rider's shoulder and gives a muffled yelp. He really hopes this doesn't turn into another experience like squealing beside Lorelei as they dived into Asgard from space, that really turned over his dinner. ]

Okay, go!
thisisamazing: ([toothless] take flight)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-29 05:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[Hiccup settles into the hold, satisfied that his passenger is probably secure enough (and confident enough in his and Toothless' rescue maneuvers if he does fall out of the saddle), and shifts the position of the tail-fin with a click of his metal foot.]

Alright, let's show him what we've got, bud! [Toothless roars in unbridled joy, and suddenly they're plunging in a spiral, his wings half-curled. He drops several yards through the open sky before he shoots back up, quick as lightning given reptilian form. Night Furies are notoriously fast and agile in the air, and this one is no exception; even the prosthetic tail-fin operated by a human doesn't slow him down. Hiccup changes its position without thinking, natural as breathing, fingers curled around the saddle bar and body bent in a gentle curve, shifting with Toothless' movements.] Yeah!
ikols: on the block i'm magical (gnarly radical)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-29 05:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ An undignified Eep! is the last noise that escapes him as they spiral toward the ground, an unease growing that translates into Loki all but hiding his face from view until they are no longer pointed at concrete; Thor used to pull that shit and it was never funny. The wild banking and twirling is much more fun, although he's very relieved he doesn't have to breathe because he's fairly certain any mortal behind Hiccup would have turned to jam in the G-force.

It's not heights that scare him, it's the idea of falling. Hard to trick your way out of that.

Hiccup is much more graceful in the air than he is on land, that much is for certain. Loki loves flying but, unlike Hiccup who is clearly half-dragon himself and born to it, the godling finds comfort in his driver's ability to get his belly back on the ground, the apprehension of all low creatures (snakes, foxes, otters) a tight knot in the pit of his gut. ]


It's cool!

[ Because even so, it is. ]
thisisamazing: (playful)

[personal profile] thisisamazing 2017-09-30 09:46 am (UTC)(link)
[After that first nosedive, he seems to realize that Loki maybe isn't having as much fun as he is. It's easy to forget that other people might not be used to air tricks on a dragon's back like he and his friends are; what doesn't faze them might be terrifying to others. He pats the side of Toothless' head, and the dragon just seems to 'get' what his rider is asking. They don't dive again, stick to twirls through the air, loop-de-loops, sharp turns. Toothless even fires off a few plasma blasts ahead of them, tiny explosions that he banks around easily.

Hiccup smiles over his shoulder, wide and encouraging.]
It's okay. Trust me. We've got you.
ikols: let not them hear (fret no dear heart)

[personal profile] ikols 2017-09-30 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He settles in more comfortably once Hiccup, perceptive as he is, subtly weeds out the diving. By the time the Viking checks on Loki the godling is smiling post-plasma blast. ]

I trust you. How long have you been flying?

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