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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!
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It makes ... a kind of twisted sense, when Ren hints (he would never outright say it, no, not Snoke's power-mad little wildling) that this is Hux's doing. His frown eases and his lips part on 'Absurd, why would I give you such leverage' but he never actually says it. Instead, he looks at his gloved hands and then the scene surrounding them with a closer squint, something in the cold pit of his chest warming. ]
I summoned you ...
[ Which is one way to put it, probably not the wisest. Nothing about this ranks very smoothly though, so screw it: Hux tries to navigate the power he wields in his own dream, anxiety threading through his veins yet not enough to curb his curiosity. How far does his dominion reach? Everything is disconnected now that it's a waking dream. Where is Ren in all of this? ]
You're weren't executed, you were meant to be here. Somewhere.
[ Wherewherewhere? ]
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'Summoned.' As if Hux could.
(Can he? Ren has no idea why he's here, in Hux's dream, after all. What if it's possible that he really was summoned?)
He turns to face Hux again, fist clenching at his side. ]
Invited. [ Spoken as a feral growl. ] Should I feel honored that your fantasies don't include my death?
[ Despite the dig, it's an interesting point. Meant to be here... Where does he fit into the General's dreams? He starts to move away from the throne, intending to explore this world of Hux's creation. ]
Perhaps we should take a look around. Find that 'somewhere.'
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Killing you wouldn't be half as satisfying as you'd like to think.
[ Ren should be executed by the lowest Stormtrooper in the ranks in the worst way possible, all to debase him and prove that he isn't worth Hux's time, even in death ...
That's the impression he hopes his sneer gives, anyway. Hux clears his throat and exits the enormous hall through the doors behind the throne onto the main streets of the Supremacy, not waiting to see if Ren follows. This is Hux's dream and he's not going to let Ren stomp about it in without some kind of direction and discipline, if only to prove Hux has the better set of fucking manners with which to set an example. ]
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The weak would always fear and revile him for his powers. As they should.
And yet, now that it seems to be clicking with Hux that Ren may not have as much power or control here as he'd like for the general to think, he can feel more of his mask of calm contempt slipping away. With a scowl, he follows after Hux, quickly catching up to match his pace. There's no way he'll trail behind the other man like a dog. ]
And what would satisfy you? [ He spits his words out, laces them with more hostility than curiosity.
...
It's very likely Ren's just trying to give the general as much rope as possible to hang himself with. So he can justify taking his anger out on Hux ASAP, in dream or out. ]
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Funny you should ask. As of late, thanks to you, I've no idea what the answer to that question may be.
[ In any context.
The ship is a behemoth and it would take days to walk its length, even without stopping. Hux is glad of this, bare of other crew as it seems to be, because it means he can get a cathartic kick out of simply continuing to walk away from the irritant at his side. He wants to go to the bridge, yes. He always has felt more at home in command central, it was his safe-place before Ren ever started invading it; before that monster, Snoke. He can see and hear everything at any given time, all the control is there. It's where his head will feel clearer, he's sure. ]
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[ Which is, naturally, meant as a dig rather than a compliment. Hux, the type of man who'd surely map his every decision out years in advance, too inflexible to adapt to messiness and chaos. Of course he'd be left reeling when certain factors (like Supreme Leader Ren) throw a spanner into his structured life plan.
And you can walk away all you'd like, Hux, but Ren has no problems keeping pace with you. This is just a brisk stroll! He's completely unbothered!
...
Except for the part where he's absolutely bothered by this entire situation, stuck in a dream with a
frenemyhostile subordinate with aspirations of taking his place, without the extreme advantage that the Force would provide in the waking world. But, as long as this remains Hux's dream, without any of Kylo's own subconscious bleeding into it, things should be... fine. A learning experience for Ren, while Hux remains in the dark about the former Ben Solo.Just ignore those creeping threads of blackness in the walls of the corridor, visible only through the corners of their eyes, like a corruption that's beginning to spread through the once-pristine Supremacy. ]
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You ruin lives, Ren. Is that what you want to hear? Snoke shafted you onto my ship where you held rank without having earned it, then proceeded to systematically, and literally, carve your way through life regardless of the burden you put on others.
[ Barely chewing back a growl, he stops abruptly and takes advantage of there being no Force to knock him around by poking a finger in Ren's chest. Distracted, he doesn't notice the eroding shadows. ]
Is it any wonder that I dream of a world in which your own special brand of chaos has been subdued? Do me the feeble favour of not acting surprised by what you see here.
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You have no idea what I've given to the First Order. The sacrifices-- [ He bares his teeth. ] I've earned my place here!
[ Has he, though? He's not committed to the First Order's cause, not the way Hux is. He's disobedient, despite his efforts; he's done more to sabotage the First Order in recent weeks than help. He's a boy, looking for a father, a purpose, and finding himself utterly untethered without either.
He knows that, much as he might try to deny it. But Hux needn't know. And so Ren reacts to the finger poking his chest in the expected manner, by grabbing the front of the other man's robes and pulling him in to growl in his face. The shadows spread along the corridor, bringing rust and ruin with them. ]
Nothing you can do will ever surprise me, General.
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[ The fury blotting Hux's cheeks an unflattering pink against his red robes blanches and his expression falls, suddenly fixated over Ren's shoulder. He tries to wrench away at the sight of the ... black mold? What the fuck. Panic levies his voice higher. ]
Stop it. Stop whatever you're doing, Ren, stop it right now!
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I'm not doing any--
[ And now, finally, Ren, too, looks beyond Hux and sees the cause of panic. Darkness encroaching around them, infecting the Supremacy. There's a cautious sort of concern in his face as he releases Hux and takes a step back. That seems to slow the spread of the shadows, as if they aren't sure what to do now. Is there some connection there, between the darkness and Ren's own state of mind? ]
Let's go.
[ Let's just OUTWALK THE DARKNESS. Or run, if it follows. For now, it seems to have paused. ]
no subject
[ Seething with the indignity of such a trespass, Hux gives him a shove and starts hurrying down the clean half of the corridor. If anything is enough to make Ren nervous, it's worth making a sharp exit from.
He peers at him sidelong, glancing between Ren, the darkness, and the path ahead. The Supremacy suddenly feels like a maze, not at all a comfort no matter where the dream-Ren is being kept under control. ]
What is that? Is it ... Is it the Force?
[ Who wants that shit around on a good day, let alone if it looks like that. ]
no subject
[ Okay but lbr it's obvious that Hux isn't.
But Ren won't let that stop him from trying to throw the blame at him anyway, even as they make their hasty retreat. He thinks that the darkness has stopped, but at times, he's certain he can see it just outside his line of sight, sprouting like so many weeds in the otherwise sterile labyrinth. ]
I. Don't. Know. [ Gritted out in sheer frustration. Is it the Force? Is it some influence of Snoke's, from beyond? Is it... the dream-Ren, wherever he is? ] But it isn't real. None of this is.
[ So... No need to panic? And yet, it does nothing to relieve that instinctual, primal fear spiking inside him. ]
no subject
Because it was always just Ren. Ren, with his expressive eyes and worried mouth, hiding his inexperience and putting everyone else at risk. ]
This is foolish. I'm not running away from something that isn't real in my own head.
[ It's the only safe-haven he has left now that Snoke isn't around to pressure him with severe migraines when displeased. Since boyhood, people have imagined Hux was a weak-willed boy (even Brendol) but none of them ever appreciated his mind.
Coming to a halt with fists balled at his sides, he thinks logically about the situation: this is his dream, he controls reality itself, if indeed any of this is malleable then it all belongs exclusively to him. Except for Ren, of course, but naturally he would be the outlier. Hux screws his eyes shut and thinks of his own ship the Finalizer, how any degree of power he ever earned was crystallised on that ship, and in the corridor by Ren the emperor's ridiculous robes melt into the severe uniform of a general. The Durasteel walls darken in hue, shift formation to that of a Resurgent-class Star Destroyer. ]
If you won't make it stop, I will.
[ How? He doesn't know. His tactics are limited to "Think At It Really Hard", but they don't feel entirely useless. This isn't Ren's head. ]
no subject
He comes to a halt when the other man does, watching him with open curiosity. The ship around them shifts, as does the general's garb, and the blackness... It's nowhere to be seen.
Ren's impressed. He won't say it, but he is. And yet, instead, he breathes out sharply and remarks: ]
That uniform suits you better.
no subject
He strides past Ren with a huff, heading for a turbolift. Decisively, he snaps, ]
I'm going to wake myself up.
[ Because it's obviously all just about willpower now. Maybe. ]
no subject
I won't stop you.
[ He's tired of this, too. It isn't worth his time, to stick around here wondering what Hux's mind will reveal. He can do that just as easily-- no, much more easily-- in the waking world, with the power of the Force at his disposal. As Hux stalks off to wake himself up, Ren goes in the opposite direction, as there's no reason to stand beside the general, as if tethered to him. ]
no subject
The problem is, it fails.
Hux doesn't, in fact, want to wake up at all, and why would he? It's a shabby backwater moon and here is his own ship, phantom crew scattered around the more he thinks of how much he wants to stay, as though materialising directly from his craving to be as close to home as possible. Not on Arkanis, no, but right here. Ren won't be of any help in the Quarantine, he's too selfish and obsessed with his little Force-magic to actually assist Hux in formulating a plan to ensure their survival for the next five years. Ren will vanish into the crowds and Hux will be without anyone at all, not Phasma and certainly not the boy-man who could actually prove an asset if he weren't so volatile.
When he enters the bridge and heads to the viewport at the front, he's surprised a moment later to hear the same doors opening again. He has a feeling caught somewhere between dread and anticipation ...
Subconsciously, the hallways have all led to the same place. ]
no subject
But he can't deny that he sees something of 'home' in Hux. It's not the kinship he feels with Rey, that bond forged of not only the Force, but also mutual experiences with loneliness and abandonment. And he loathes Hux, but at least he's familiar. More familiar than anything else on this rock. Finally, somebody from their universe, who isn't with the Resistance. Somebody who knows only Kylo Ren and doesn't give a damn about Ben Solo.
Is it Hux's doing or his own that sends him not to his own quarters, but to the bridge?
Snappishly: ] What is this? [ AND DON'T YOU GIVE HIM A SMART-ASS RESPONSE LIKE "THE BRIDGE." ]
no subject
[ How mortifying to be an accidental jailer this way, when the blame is squarely rooted in his corner. Since none of the crew is real he indulges in rubbing a hand over his face, pinching his nose as if to stem a headache.
A living, breathing one. ]
I'm trying to do as I said and wake up, it's proving ... arduous. Quieten down and let me focus.
no subject
How hard is it to wake yourself up?
[ Maybe quiet is the last thing you need. Now, face to face with the other man once again, Ren stares him down (at least the best he can with someone who's not that much smaller than himself) and then reaches out to pinch his arm. It's an utterly impulsive (not to mention childish) attempt at waking Hux up and ending this. ]
no subject
Don't touch me, Supreme Leader.
[ Smashed into a console? Fine. Force-choked? Less so, but predictably violent all the same. Descending into pinching? He has some degree of dignity to cling to and it doesn't involve letting Ren manhandle him on a tepid basis. ]
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Except, this being a dream-- this being Hux's dream-- it doesn't work, and he's left with an immeasurable sense of impotent frustration. ]
Then wake up already!
no subject
Careful, Ren. [ Singsong, smug. Too much, thrilling in the lack of power afforded to the other man. The last time Hux issued that warning he was intimidated by the reply, yet what is there to fear here? ] I may awaken yet you might not. Trapped here without your precious Force, I wonder if you would finally learn anything of value.
[ He wouldn't want Ren locked in his mind, yet the threat is quite a heavy one. ]
no subject
That's all true, that it's one of Ren's blindspots.
But Hux underestimates him, too. People who assume he's nothing more than a spoiled child with no skills beyond the Force, who mistake his lack of emotional discipline for a lack of discipline overall... It's to their own detriment.
Physically, he's still a force (heh) to be reckoned with. And so, as Hux's smug smirking and his snide threats have the knight seeing red, Ren lashes out quickly to strike at the general's face with his fist. And then he tries to yank the other man to him, to pull him into a hold, intending to get an arm locked around Hux's throat. ]
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He may not have Ren's heft or muscle but long before training with the First Order, no one at the Arkanis Academy enjoyed scrapping with little Armitage and his sharp nails. There is no such thing as fighting dirty if you win. ]
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