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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!
no subject
[ That's about as close as he could possibly come to explaining it? He guesses? He brightens up at the phone and takes it from him. ]
Oh sweet, thanks!
[ While these devices are very new to him, Barry is... adaptable to say the least. Especially to new technology. He starts to flip through in only one direction. As he looks, he keeps up the conversation. ]
You been here long?
i'm just assuming for humor's sake barry's not wearing any ipre gear
[ Cisco's natural reflex to help people who are in need has, in this instance, overridden his good sense, which he realizes a moment too late as Barry begins swiping through the pictures. Eddie had gotten called away, some urgent case back at the precinct, but most of Cisco's wandering through these caves in the last hour had been with him. And while there are plenty of pictures of the crystals they'd seen, there are also a lot of selfies. Very sappy selfies of the two of them, hugging and kissing each other's cheeks and generally looking like two dorks in love look when they're taking pictures together.
He feels his face go very hot and clears his throat, saying: ]
Just uh- just ignore those ones.
[ He's a mess, and very grateful when Barry asks a question that he can answer instead of focusing on how embarrassed he feels right now. ]
'bout a year. Which is totally crazy, it doesn't feel that long at all. What about you, you a newbie, or an old veteran?
nope i'm team 'whatever works for the thread'
In love, huh? Same reason I'm here.
Lup. Get back to Lup. You could find everyone else again better if you had Lup.g
Me? I've been here a coupla hours. I need these gems to get back to my world. Or... One of 'em anyway.
[ There! That... looked pretty close. Whether or not they were gonna be pure... He had to try, right? ]
This, hey! I think this might be a type of it, huh? But uh.... Well, anyway, you wanna show me where these are?
no subject
Seriously? Damn, you're keepin' it together way better than I was, a couple of hours after I showed up here.
[ He'd been in a complete panic, paranoid and distrusting everything he'd been told about this place, and the portal, and the intentions of the people who'd brought him here. Cisco's smile goes a little brittle, thinking about it. It's easier to see, looking back, what a very bad place he'd been in, at the time, just based on the intensity of that reaction. He had been full of fear, not wonder or excitement or curiosity. It had taken a while before he felt safe enough for those things to come.
Cisco leans over to see which photo has caught Barry's eye. He nods slowly, taking the phone back and flipping through a few photos in each direction, reminding himself of the context, and... yes, he does remember that particular cavern. ]
Sure, I can do that.
[ He's pretty skeptical of whether or not this dude is going to have any success with whatever magic he's planning on doing, with those gems, to get himself back home. It seems like that's probably not going to be possible, to him, but he doesn't want to squash this guy's hope. And besides, it's not like he's some great big magic expert.
So he sticks his hands in his pockets, nods for Barry to follow him, and heads in the direction of the cavern from the pictures. As they're walking, he asks: ]
Lemme guess, you're some kinda wizard or somethin'?
[ Seems a logical enough conclusion to draw, given the circumstances. ]
no subject
[ 100 times. Well, 101, he supposed. Hands in his pockets, he follows the kid along. It's a crapshoot, a bit hopeless, but Barry 'Lich Bitch' Bluejeans isn't a man to give up easily now, is he.
He shrugs a shoulder at the question. ]
Yeah that's close enough. Definitely a magic user. You?
[ He was guessing not by the way he asked that question. ]
no subject
I've kinda gotten into a habit of just using 'wizard' as a catch-all, no matter how many times people try to explain to me how a sorcerer and a warlock and a wizard are all totally different.
[ They move into a different cavern, this one less well lit, and Cisco flicks over to the flashlight app on his phone, holding it aloft to illuminate the path in front of them. The going is a bit tricker, too: less strolling and more scrambling over stalagmites. The last thing he needs is to trip and fall flat on his face in front of a stranger. ]
Naw, not me. I don't have anything against it, don't get it twisted, I just come from a world without all that. Magic's just a thing in movies, and stories people tell to kids. You better believe I was wigging out when I came here and so many folks were acting like it was totally mundane.
no subject
Now, all that is tossed out the window at the surprise that his world had no magic. Like fuckin' Joaquin?! Jesus, that was just so... cruel to him. Out of all of their adventures they never once found a world where magic didn't exist. He can't even imagine it. The very fucking idea of not being able to use magic is just-- It goes against every law of arcana he knows. He blinks in wide surprise. ]
Woah that's uh. Damn. For real? Do people normally have something against it? They probably fuckin' hate gravity too, huh.
[ Because it was just a force in the world how can you imply someone not like a force..?!?!? ]
no subject
[ He turns to flash a quick grin at Barry, because that's got to be a constant across the multiverse, right? Who hasn't accidentally dropped something on their foot and then cursed gravity for just doing its thing? But he does answer the question seriously, as well. He doesn't want this guy thinking he's going to face widespread prejudice and mistrust, here. ]
Not most people, no. I've met a couple of weird anti-magic folks here and there, but mostly no one cares. You get used to a lot of stuff pretty quickly in this place. Nobody here is from here, see. Not originally. And everybody comes from such different worlds, it's like - nobody's got culture shock 'cause everybody's got culture shock. See?
[ They have to pause for a moment, letting another group of cave explorers pass by, before they continue walking. Cisco's frowning a little, now, trying to figure out the best course to get there. The route he and Eddie had taken had probably not been the quickest way, but it's the surest, in terms of not getting lost. So he decides to retract it, in reverse, even if it takes a little longer. He's enjoying talking to this guy, anyway. ]
I do think the transition is easier for some people, though. People who are used to the idea of going between worlds, or meeting other sorts of sentient beings. The place I came here from, Earth... it's pretty limited. Sure, we had some dope shit of our own, but we didn't have contact with any alien species. Didn't have interdimensional travel. Didn't have magic or any kinds of people except humans. Lots of... pretty narrow ideas about who you can be and how you're supposed to act, what you're supposed to wear and talk like. Lots of wars killing one another over stupid bullshit.
[ Cisco punctuates this all with a shrug. There are people here from worlds far more violent and dystopian than his own. Plenty of them. But he's come to realize that compared with a lot of civilizations, Earth is parochial and petty and rather lacking in diversity and wonder. ]
no subject
Yeah, sounds a lot like most worlds. We uh. We went through 99 different ones before settling. [ Which is the shortest way he could put it. ] Each one was completely unique and this is no different. Which I guess doesn't make it all that unique?
[ Attempt at a lame joke! ]
We saw one that was just an uninhabited island and a buttload of water. Hardly any animals. Just makes me wonder what kind of underwater world we missed out on, considering.
[ A pause. ]
Man how do you people survive without magic!
[ Mind fuckin' blown. ]
no subject
But he is used to hearing a lot of fantastic tales from people who have had adventures across the stars, so he doesn't even make the connection. Instead he laughs at the joke (not lame at all, as far as he's concerned) and focuses on making sure they don't get lost. ]
Think there might've been merpeople? Man, I hope I meet a mermaid someday. That'd be so dope.
[ Barry's exclamation, which Cisco's pretty sure wasn't intended as a joke, still makes him laugh. ]
Can't miss what you've never had!
[ They round a corner, then, into the cavern containing the particular gem that Barry had been looking for. Cisco says aha! and points over to the wall in question. ]
Okay, this is it! You, um, need a hand for your magic spell or anything? 'Cause if not, I'm probably gonna leave you to it. My boyfriend got called away all of a sudden, and that means I gotta figure out dinner and he's super picky so I gotta go... figure out how to make some kale not taste like kale, I guess.
no subject
Nah, you go ahead, treat your man right. Including with vegetables. Thanks for the help, my man.