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quaranmeme2018-04-20 06:40 pm
riverview: april 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 25 Character Slots available.
● Applications are currently open and will close on May 7th at 10:00 pm EST.
● 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
For the past month, the flooding in Riverview has been out of control, and the attacks of strange mutated creatures from the swollen river haven't been helping much. While the water level has stabilized over the past couple of weeks, the river is still way, way out of bounds and keeping a large number of people in relief shelters or put up with volunteer families, causing significant damage to riverside properties, homes, and businesses. While residents have done everything they can to try to correct the situation, from machines and tech to magic and appealing to the River Spirits during the yearly Flower Festival River Spirit Procession, nothing has made any real meaningful difference.
On the 20th, almost a month to the day after the river started swelling out of control, anyone looking at the rushing surface of the water will start to see a strange glow just underneath it, and as the day progresses, glowing white tentacles start to rise from the surface of the water. As the tentacles rise from the surface, members of the Perimeter Guard will be setting up a protective barrier around the area to keep civilians back until they figure out what's up with whatever's in the river.
In the meantime, the presence of the glowing thing is driving the last of the nasty giant mutated crocodiles, carnivorous toads, and other monsters out of the river in droves. While the Perimeter Guard is still holding the line, volunteers are being called for to take out the monsters as they exit the river, menacing the rest of the city. Whether your character is a member of the Guard in training, helping keep the civilians safe from the possible new threat in the river, or a volunteer helping take out the fleeing monsters, their help will be more than welcome.
After a few days of study, Gramarye Magic Research's strongest mages have banded together and found a way to communicate with the glowing presence in the deep, using a wide variety of nature-based magicks from different realms. And what have they learned?
The presence is not just one creature, it is many, and they are awakening from a long, long sleep. Possibly almost as long as there have been people on the moon - it's hard to tell, when the creatures 'speak' so slowly. What the mages have managed to get from them is that it is their awakening and movement that's causing the flooding in the river, a combination of blocking up the river's exit through the fences with their bulk and an overflow of elemental water magic that is causing the river to swell with more water than it can hold. The creatures, who call themselves the 'Guardians of the Deep,' are eventually ruled to be completely benign, and their only request is to be helped on their migration to the sea - a trip that they usually take once a year when they are not in hibernation. The problem is that, since their last migration, the river has become a much more dangerous place, plagued by monsters and clogged with rubble from the Abandoned City.
Any resident with nature magic of any kind and who can communicate with the creatures, who is a fighter or member of the Perimeter Guard, or who has abilities that can help to clear the river of any debris or blockages, is invited to aid in the attempt to escort the Guardians of the deep down the river. Once they reach the delta and waterfalls, their path will be clear and they will be free to explore the ocean until they return to the city in late fall.
ETA: In response to a player question, the Guardians look like very large glowy amoebas.
The Guardians of the Deep are slow-speaking and they are also slow-moving. For a period of at least two weeks, they will be making their way from the center of the city down the river with the current, and as they travel, they'll be having a rather...interesting effect on anyone who is sensitive to their influence. This sensitivity is something a character may be aware of through a strong connection with or love of nature or animals, it may be a spiritual or magical sensitivity, it may be an emotional one, or it might simply be something a character is not aware of until they are affected. However, no matter what a character is or where they come from, they may be susceptible to the aura of the Guardians.
And what does that aura do?
Starting on April 20th and intermittently continuing throughout the next month, any characters with a sensitivity (feel free to make one up that affects your character, or have them be immune as per your choice) will lose an important sense. While sight is the most commonly lost sense, others may lose hearing, taste, touch, smell, or other senses unique to their physiology (whether biological, mechanical, or otherwise). The only relief from this loss is for the character to make direct contact with another character - any other character, in any way, as long as there is no clothing, material, or other matter blocking contact. As soon as contact is broken, the loss will return.
The effect can last for as long or short a time as each player wishes, and affect whatever sense is desired. Reprieve from the effect comes with skin-to-skin (or equivalent) contact with another character, and is not limited to just one other character - it doesn't matter who else is being touched, as long as it's someone.
During this year, there's been an influx of people from a dying reality consisting mostly of living plant people, and they've really taken the Flower Festival as a great opportunity to introduce one of their most honored traditions to the people of their new adopted world. The tradition involves sharing various types of flowers with strangers, with each type of flower having a different meaning and effect on both the giver and receiver - the bond of the exchange can spark emotion as well as physical responses that function in a unique way that affects almost everyone that participates, whether animal, plant, or even android.
Some of the flowers have been used up, but a few types still remain. Any characters exchanging the flowers with other characters, whether friends or strangers, will experience emotional/psychological effects, physical effects, or both once the exchange is complete. Effects can last for as short or long a time as the players involved want, and are as follows:
● Baby Blue Eyes - Trust/Healing the Inner Child
Emotional Effect: Either an inexplicable trust in the person the flower was exchanged with, or a generalized paranoia.
Physical Effect: De-aging. Characters can become a younger version of themselves, physically, mentally, or both. Whether or not their normal selves are of age, de-aged characters may not participate in adult prompts unless they're de-aged to something above 18.
● Rose - Friendship/Beauty
Emotional Effect: Openness and a desire to make new friends, or excessive competitiveness.
Physical Effect: A temporary glamor that makes both participants in the exchange appear as the most beautiful possible version of themselves, and improves their charisma.
● Valerian: - Relaxation/Heart-Opening
Emotional Effect: A near-complete erasure of anxiety and stress, or a dramatic inexplicable increase in it.
Physical Effect: Forced honesty. Both affected characters become incapable of lying. Whether they're compelled to blurt the truth or if they can keep their mouths shut or talk around the truth is up to player discretion.
[Flower meanings used in this prompt come from this site.]
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
Observant as always... [His voice cools a bit further, now distinctly icy.] What do you want?
no subject
'Oh Genji, it's been so long since we last saw each other. We should talk.' [ Enjoy his you impression, Hanzo, he's definitely practiced. ]
I want to help you. I get no joy in seeing you stumble along like this. I know how to fix it.
no subject
[The words come out of his mouth almost reflexively; he doesn't need anyone's help, but especially not his baby brother's. He'll just... stumble his way home, and then... do something... and then his sight will return. Eventually. Yes.
...Okay, maybe he does need help. He casts a suspicious look in Genji's general direction, and lets out a scoff.]
It may have been a long time since I last saw you, but do not think you can fool me with one of your jokes again.
[Yeah, that'll show him.. trying to help and offer solutions, god, what an ass.]
no subject
You will find I have not joked at all since we reunited. If I was truly teasing you, I would have just watched you stumble around.
[ Genji scratches at his hair. Of course his brother would appear when he has terrible roots showing beneath the green. He's getting grayer too. ]
I can at least assist you until you are safe, if you would prefer. 'Touch' is the key to returning your lost sense.
no subject
[This time the comment is just muttered under his breath, but not because he particularly cares if Genji hears it. It isn't as if Genji has had many chances to play jokes on him, so far.. and he doesn't trust him for a moment. Because if it were Hanzo who were betrayed like that, he would take any opportunity he got to hurt and spite him, however small.]
Touch?
[True, he can't see how that would lead to a prank... but Genji knows how much he dislikes physical contact. His personal bubble is sacred, only to be disturbed during combat.
But resisting him won't get him anywhere will it. He continues to watch the spot just left of Genji with suspicion, as he holds a hand out in his general direction.]
no subject
Yes.
[ With that, Genji reaches his hand out and gently grasps Hanzo's. The silicone padding of his hands should be warm. ]
I am not sure of the exact reasoning, but contact with someone gives you back the sense you lost. Things like this tend to happen around here with frequency.
[ A pause. ]
Can you see me, brother?
[ He doesn't have his mask on, after all. ]
no subject
He lets out a yelp of surprise, yanking his hand away and plunging himself back into darkness. It had been one thing to see his brother's eyes, scarred up and hidden in the armor, a meer ghost of the man he'd destroyed in cold blood. It's very different to see a fully recognizable version of him, with that stupid hair...
And then with a noise of frustration, he trusts his hand forward again and searches Genji's hand out, looking almost accusing.]
Yes, I can see you- what have you done with yourself?
[Says the man with the bridge of his nose pierced.]
no subject
He grasps Hanzo's hand, rolling his eyes once he could see again. ]
I just dyed my hair. You're the one with the brand new haircut and piercings. [ A pause and he looks a little playful. ] Somehow I'm not surprised. I knew you had it in you, brother.
[ Genji doesn't really have the real estate left for piercings. His ears are permanently covered in cybernetics, his lower jaw is entirely synthetic now. Not to mention the scarring. ]
I have done nothing 'to' myself. This is my normal now.
no subject
[His tone is much more stiff, as he looks Genji over and lets this new look sink in. It's not... a bad look, he guesses. He almost looks like a normal person, if he ignores the synthetic jaw and keeps his focus above the shoulders.
The comment on his own appearance makes his cheeks turn a bit pink, and he purses his lips a bit. It's true, Genji just looks like he did when they were younger... not much has changed, despite all the damage Hanzo himself inflicted.]
I was- trying my hand at blending into the crowd. It is easier not to stand out, dressing like this.
no subject
Of course I am. Who else would remember that time you threw up in front of a classmate and then we both pretended to be sick the next day?
[ A simpler time, back then. Before their expectations seemed quite so... obvious. Genji's learned to treasure those memories as he gets older.
The crows feet that crinkle around Genji's eyes are the only real major sign of age, besides the graying roots. The Shimada curse, going gray once you hit thirty. ]
I see. I think this is the least amount of hair I have ever seen you with.
no subject
I thought we agreed not to talk about Nakayama-san.
[It was over two decades ago, it really shouldn't embarrass him as much as it does... But Hanzo's always had much too good a memory for his own well-being. And the look of embarrassed shock on that girl's face when he'd gotten sick on her shoes is permanently etched into his memory.]
It's- longer than usual, when it's down. The sides proved... unruly, when I grew it out. Better to shave them down.
no subject
He tilts his head a little. ]
That is true. We do have unruly sideburns in our genetics, don't we?
[ Genji shakes his head, then tugs on his hand. It gives him a brief flash of being young, perhaps one of his earliest memories, and toddling along after his big brother through the gardens.
He wants to be the one to help guide him now. He hopes. ]
Where are you staying? I have been here for about a year now, I know the city.
no subject
He knows that if their positions were reversed he would kick Genji into the dirt and leave him there, and that makes it all the worse.]
The communal housing. As long as I have somewhere to sleep after dark, the location does not matter.
no subject
He has to prove he's forgiven him through action, not words. ]
Ah yes. I stayed there when I first arrived here as well. Let's go then.
[ With that, he starts to walk. Guiding his brother along. ]
no subject
But the silence is heavy, even more so than he expected it to be. He should say something, shouldn't he.]
I did not know... this much of you was left.
[Great topic choice, Hanzo. Truly, you are a master of conversation.]
What have you been up to, while you were here?
no subject
That was my battle armor, I do not wear all of that all the time. Although back home, being covered head to toe is... easier. I do not have to hide my face in this place.
[ The ease of which he says it shows just how much calmer he is now. Genji is not prickly and combative like in his youth anymore. He wants his brother to understand the state he is in now. ]
I am a part of the Guard that watches the walls of this place. The people here are kind, so it is well worth protecting.
no subject
I.. see.
[He speaks slowly, still trying to wrap his head around all of this.]
You've been settling yourself well, then.. haven't managed to anger anyone of importance?
[It's his way of caring, he swears.]
no subject
He laughs again, a faint snort. ]
No, I have not. I do not tend to pick fights like I used to. I no longer see the need.
[ Look at what Zenyatta did to your baby brother, Hanzo. He thinks before he does things now and everything. ]
no subject
A moment later he recovers from the self-reflection, and offers a small scoff.]
Was there a need that you saw before?
no subject
[ It's said simply enough, although he's still looking straight ahead. ]
You were always studying or training. How else were we going to talk to each other?
[ No sense beating around the bush or talking in metaphors. ]
no subject
If you had studies of your own, you could have asked for my help. We could have trained together. You could have done something other than squander away your potential and waste our family's wealth. You were a burden on me and everyone else around you, and now you simply see no need for that?
no subject
All I wanted was a choice. I wanted to have a real family. I wanted my big brother to see me as a person and not just an extension of his sword hand.
[ The grip lessens and Genji lets out a steadying exhale. ]
But neither of us were given a choice. I understand that now.
no subject
[He growls the words through clenched teeth, his grip just as rigid. He has to admit he was wrong; it isn't just surprising for Genji to be so calm, it's infuriating.]
We could have built an empire. We could have lived like kings. And you chose to throw all of that away. You chose to ruin it for both of us.