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quaranmeme2018-01-20 07:58 pm
riverview: january test drive meme
riverview test drive memeWelcome 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 2 Character Slots available.
● Reserves will open on February 15th. Applications will next be open between March 1st to March 7th.
● 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.
● 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
premise ● arrival ● setting ● ask a question ● calendar ● navigation
Starting around the 20th, residents of the city will start hearing some pretty disturbing rumors circulating - the rumors originate with some members of the Perimeter Guard who are returning from patrols, pale and a little panicked. They're reporting that a herd of terrifying beetle-like behemoth monsters lumbering toward the city - one female leader clocking in at 60 feet long and about 20 smaller male companions, each around 30 feet long. Unlike the Behemoth who showed up earlier in the year, these ones are nasty, sporting horns and big enough to knock over trees and displace even the bigger monsters in the usual crowd, and they've already breached through the wall of the Abandoned City and are heading toward the city itself. A herd like this could cause some serious damage, maybe even enough to compromise the wall of the Inhabited City. Thankfully, the Perimeter Guard has a nice big ace up their sleeves in the form of a small fleet of mechs, but the problem is that the mech are still in beta-testing, prone to breaking down, and there aren't enough to go around. This means that there's going to have to be some serious support on the ground.
The attack on the behemoth beetles is two-fold. The first order of business is to send out anyone with big powers or big guns to wear them down, beating on them the old-fashioned way, with brute force. The second is to circle around behind and, while the monsters are distracted, try to herd them away from the city using bright flares, fireworks left over from the Festival of Light, and even more big guns. Volunteers to do the shooting and supplying the brave souls going out into the jungle are welcome!
What do you use to fight a giant monster? A giant mech. And thankfully the Perimeter Guard has been working on something just like that - a new fleet of 20 three-story-tall mech suits meant to be manned by two people. With the behemoth herd approaching, the Guard is calling for anyone with piloting experience, or even people willing to take a quick course in it, to help man the fleet and head out into the fray, stomping through the brush and fighting the behemoths either in the Abandoned City or the jungle outside it. The goal is to take them out, take them down, or at least help the ground teams herd them away from the city and discourage them from returning.
Mechs are piloted by two people working together - while it's not exactly drift compatibility, the two characters need to act together, with one directing where the mech goes and keeping an eye on the terrain, and the other one manning the guns and keeping an eye on the mech's defenses and energy and ammunition levels. This takes a lot of concentration and cooperation, and this day is bound to forge a lot of new friendships....and probably a few mortal enemies. On top of the difficulty of working with someone who may be a total stranger, don't forget the mechs are in beta-testing and are only being used as a last resort, which means they have a bad tendency to break down in unexpected ways.
Each mech is fitted with two large canon-style guns that can be semi-automatic or automatic with a limited amount of ammunition, one plasma sword, and a force shield that can take four serious hits before it is depleted. They have a finite amount of energy storage and are able to be in continuous use for 3 hours maximum before shutting down. Out of the fleet of 20 mechs, the mod only expects about 5 to still be functional at the end of the battle, so feel free to have characters destroy them in threads. If any player (once accepted to the game) is interested in having their character take over the mechs as a project going forward, feel free to PM the mod account and we can talk it out!
Once the city is safe enough that it isn't in poor taste to advertise fun outings, residents will start seeing ads for a new attraction in the city - the Crystal Caves. Presented as an excellent date spot, the caves are beautiful natural formations only recently discovered just a short walk outside the city. With the path cleared and patrolled by hired security to ensure that the trip there is safe, happy couples (or singles, but why go alone when you can bring a special friend or two?) can walk through the caves.
Inside, characters will enjoy a short walk along a twisty cave path where the walls appear to be made of semi-opaque crystal that shimmers with different colors, looking almost a little like the Northern Lights. After this path, the caves open into a series of beautiful caverns that seem to be made of pure crystal, with jagged crystalline formations in wide varieties of colors, some of which look almost like they've been slowly melting for decades, molten and shimmering. Visitors can find booths offering rock candy crystals on sticks and other treats, souvenirs, and for those without as much exploratory spirit or patience, guided tours that point out some of the more beautiful formations. There are also a few smaller caverns that have been converted into overnight camps where groups can stay the night and enjoy a catered group breakfast in the morning!
If there's one trait that entrepreneurs in Riverview Quarantine all seem to have in common, it's jumping the gun and opening attractions or releasing new products before taking the time to conduct enough tests. The Crystal Caves are no different, unfortunately, though in this case the effects are a little less distressing. Residents who traveled to the caves will find themselves tossing and turning at night anywhere from a few days later to a week later, depending on their mental fortitude, and slipping into incredibly strange dreams. Varying from wild flights of exhilarating fancy to personalized nightmares depending on the personality of the dreamer, the dreams are incredibly vivid and realistic, with everything feeling, smelling, sounding, tasting, and looking completely real.
The strangest part of the dreams, though, is that anyone who'd looked at the same particular crystal as another person and seen their reflections in it will experience the dream with that person as an equal participant, able to share the same dream-granted abilities and experiences, able to work together as a team or hinder progress. Whether that person was a partner, a friend, an enemy, or even just a stranger observing the same formation at the same time, if their reflections appeared on a crystal together, they will find themselves sharing each other's dreams off and on for about a week. Some dreamers might even find that just thinking about a particular person they know as they fall asleep can pull that person into their dream, even if they weren't in the caves together.
This effect can be shared between just two people or larger groups, and the dreams themselves can belong to any character affected or be a combination of all of their dreams. The dreams themselves tend toward the positive more than the negative and the fanciful more than the realistic, but where they fall on that spectrum depends largely on character temperament and personality. Characters affected simply have to have looked at the same crystal in the caves, even if it was on a different day or at a different time, or for characters who would not have gone to the caves, be thought of by a person who has while they fall asleep.
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.
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.
Use the wildcard prompt to choose your own adventure and do whatever else you like in the setting!
clarice fong / blink ( the gifted. )
b. crystal caves.
c. friendr.
» Seeking: We'll figure that out later.
» Preferences: Ditto.
» Interests: Fried food, terrible spotify choices, new sneakers.
» Bio: Surprise, I'm a mutant! Bet you didn't guess.
b.
He's been following her for a few minutes, not wanting to disrupt her rapture at the cave and its natural beauty, himself getting lost in it a little, light reflected over surfaces and his skin, making everything look slightly ethereal.
He stays hidden in shadows around the mouth of the small cave Clarice has entered for a moment, a pleased smile growing on his face as she hears him anyway - she can say what she wants, but some of his teachings definitely got through to her.
He steps forward, into the crystalline light, and shakes his head. ]
Please, stay.
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Immediately her features soften, smile blooming into something more real. She's been navigating the edge of trying to hide herself away and being proud of who she is since she got here, but there was still a part of her that didn't want to deal with strangers and their probing questions. Clarice has the feeling mutantkind might not be all that well known around these parts.
John is definitely not a stranger. Clarice still moves, but this time it's to get closer to him, her hand finding his arm, chin tipped up to look at his face. The light reflects all around them and she thinks strangely that this is what happiness feels like. ) And here I was, going to get you a postcard. ( She doesn't lean in to press her lips against his like she wants to. World hopping comes with risks, she's already heard the lectures. He knows her, but he might not know her. Still she can't help the soft way she's looking at him. ) You know, you're really living up to the whole tracker thing. I was impressed the first time. Now I'm super impressed.
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I'd have liked a postcard. [ His voice is gentle, as it tends to be when he's talking to Clarice. ] I guess there isn't much that'll stop me when I've got something in mind. [ Someone.
In the darkness and lights of the cave, her eyes look positively enchanting. John's stomach twists. ]
What's the last thing you remember, from back home?
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Andy left. With the Esme and Lorna. ( It dims her smile a little to think about it. They'd finally started working well together, like a team, like a family and Lorna just -- walked away. As someone who's done that herself plenty of times, she can't help that it still hurts. ) Are you --? Do you remember it?
( She thinks about how shitty it would feel if he didn't. If for some reason he came from a different time. Clarice has only just found enough bravery to bridge the last gap. )
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Andy's screams. Lorna's eyes. Sage's apology. Esme's smirk.
Anger rises in John, making him tighten his fingers around Clarice's before he breathes out, forcing it all out. He's here to rebuild. Start over. A new world for them, where they can be free - truly.
And she remembers the same as he does, so -
does that mean -
His heart in his throat, John, for once, doesn't let himself stop. He nods. ]
I remember it.
[ And then he leans down, and kisses Clarice. ]
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Still real.
( She grins, but doesn't pull away, watching his face as they breathe in together. Part of her feels selfishly happy he's with her, that despite everything they didn't get separated. In fact, she pushes up to kiss him again, uncaring if anyone might walk past, her hand now going to rest at the back of his neck, fingers lightly pushing up into his hair. )
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A better world, hopefully. They could bring their friends, every mutant that's ever been scared for their lives, if all goes well. This is not a thoughtless plan, they are not abandoning everyone.
It comes as a rush, from him down to her, his hands gripping her hips, one sliding up her back. He wants this solution for his kind and he wants her, selfishly, all to himself, too. He wants it all, and he feels like maybe, maybe, he could have it.
When he pulls back, he takes a deep breath, letting his eyes open slowly. In the light, she looks magnificent. ]
I didn't want you to be alone.
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B.
*That lasted for like five second, Lauren closed the distance at double speed.*
You're okay! And here.
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( Clarice's surprise is evident on her face, but that quickly shifts into a bright smile. She reaches out, a hand on Lauren's arm, maybe to prove she's real, maybe to just offer up some kind of comfort. )
I definitely did not think I'd be seeing you here. How long have you been here? Are you okay?
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*The smile is a bit taxed, it's hard to be happy knowing what's going on. But it is just as hard to complain when things are fairly tame.*
I've been here a few weeks. They put me to work protecting the city wall.
have you seen the finale, friend? i don't want to spoil you
( Whenever things went to actual hell in a handbasket. Clarice doesn't mention that bit yet. Not until she can figure out what's going on. )
I have! This one, however, hasn't been rescued from Trask yet.
*Being here might not actually mean anything, but it still felt like she was shirking off her duties at home. That and the other thing she hasn't gotten over yet.*
I'm just glad we're not at Trask anymore.
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( Which means Lauren is from the past. Clarice might spend her time punching holes in space, but she doesn't really know the first thing about time. It might be easier to not mention her being from the future. Unless she can talk to someone first. Besides, where would she even start? )
I really should have paid more attention to Star Trek growing up.
( She can, however, talk to Lauren. Make sure she's definitely all right. ) So, what's it like here? You're being treated okay?
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*Maybe it was a mistake, letting her fear control her life for as long as it did. So many things she didn't do because it might lead to being questioned. And hiding was hard enough on the best days.*
Honestly, yeah... no Sentinel Services, they set me up with a job and a bed. It's not paradise or anything, but I prefer defending the city wall from monsters than having to run from bigots and mad scientists.
I know we have to go back, but...
*The break was nice.*
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c (un: 1763XS)
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nobody needs to be screaming along to fall out boy.
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[Doctors say mental health is so important when you're Being An Adult so of course this is what people should care about!]
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huh.
you learn something new every day.
and don't worry, i've not had time to get drunk in ages. my mental health is peachy.
( Don't quote her on that. )
a.
Well. Could have gone worse, honestly.
He's trying to pull himself back together when someone suddenly appears over him, reaching out. The bright green of her eyes barely phases him - he's from London, he's honestly seen stranger - but the fact that he's pretty sure this is the source of that strange energy, that's what gets Peter to stare.]
How did you do that? [He finds the time to ask as he pulls himself upright. Professional curiosity waits for nothing.]
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I'm a Mutant?
( Except she's not exactly home now though. That word might not have the same meaning here that it does there. )
Uh, I have powers. Portal powers. ( Looking him over. ) Are you okay? You're not hurt?
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No, no, I'm fine.
[He glances briefly at her, then over her shoulder back the way she'd come.]
Are there more of them?
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I'm Clarice, by the way. ( She doesn't offer up her other moniker. It's not like she's at home, introducing herself as Blink seems fairly ridiculous. Tearing her gaze away, she focuses on the treeline, the coverage it offers. It might give them enough to avoid the beetles. It might also get them trampled. )
I think we should try and get behind the Mechs. That way we're not in their path. And if anything breaks through we'll be able to stop them.
( She's just assuming they can both help. )
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[It's returned with a friendly enough nod, though his attention is more on the trees as well. At least until she brings up the mechs, and he has to suppress a small wince.]
Not a good idea for me. [He somehow doubts anyone inside would be particularly pleased with the thing falling apart underneath them because Peter accidentally destroyed a microchip or two.] You should go, though, it will be safer.
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( Clarice used to consider herself a survivor. She'd been on her own for so long that there was little choice but to be. But since the Underground and all the things they'd shown her, she'd definitely noticed a change in herself.
Or maybe it had been there all along, she just hadn't recognised it. )
I'm not leaving you.
( He's a stranger, but she's going to keep him safe anyway. )
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