riverview: april test drive meme

[riverviewmod]

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 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
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prompt i: from the deep

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.

prompt ii: enlightened guidance

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.

prompt iii: a touching story

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.

prompt iv: floral exchange

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.]

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.

<br><center><table style="width:300px;"><tr style="border-bottom:1px dashed #528887;"><td></td> <td style="padding:20px; padding-bottom:0; width:300px; font:38px Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; text-transform:uppercase; color:#c4c4c4; text-align:center; letter-spacing:2px; background-color:#2a2a2a; border-top-right-radius:50px; border-top-left-radius:50px;"><b>Friendr</b></td> <td></td></tr> <tr><td style="font-size:70px; vertical-align:middle; text-align:right; padding:0; color:#528887;">«</td> <td style="background-color:#2a2a2a; padding:20px; padding-top:10px; padding-bottom:0; width:308px;"><img src="IMAGE URL - 300px WIDE OR LESS" style="border-radius:20px;"><br> </td> <td style="font-size:70px; vertical-align:middle; padding:0; color:#528887;">»</td></tr> <tr><td></td> <td style="background-color:#2a2a2a; font:12px arial; text-align:left; padding:10px;"><span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Age:</b> your character's age</span> <span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Seeking:</b> friendship/romantic/anything</span> <span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Preferences:</b> sexual preference or n/a</span> <span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Interests:</b> three interests</span> <span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Bio:</b> 30 words or less</span> </td></tr> <tr><td></td> <td style="text-align:right; font-size:10px; background-color:#2a2a2a;"><font color="#528887">base code by</font> <a href="http://photosynthesis.dreamwidth.org/" style="color:#528887;">photosynthesis</td></tr> <raw-code><tr style="border-bottom:1px dashed #528887;"><td></td> <td style="background-color:#2a2a2a;font:20px Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; color:#c4c4c4; text-align:center;">Character Name</td> <td><td></tr><tr><td></td> <td style="border-bottom-right-radius:50px; border-bottom-left-radius:50px; background-color:#2a2a2a; text-align:center;"><table style="width:100%; font:30px Verdana;"><tr><td style="text-align:left;"> <span style="text-decoration:none; color:#528887;">« ✘</span></td> <td style="text-align:right;"><span style="text-decoration:none; color:#528887;">✔ »</span></td></tr> </table></td> <td></td></table></raw-code></center>
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

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

navigation
[Meeting by Stas Bordukov]

Comments

christopher kent ( dc:preboot )

[flection]

from the deep;

( the flooding would be a nonissue if he were allowed to fly as he saw fit to. the problem with flying all willy nilly is someone's going to see, and he's supposed to be a secret. even--with everything that has happened, all the bad stuff, all the stuff he wishes he could forget, chris still knows better than to publicly reveal himself.

even if he's not sure where this is, considering it's not the phantom zone he should have been left in. fingers of one hand twine around the fabric of his sleeve, pulling out loose strands as he wades through waist-deep (not deep at all for most people, probably) water, tries to sift through it and get to higher ground.

or at least that was the original intention, up until some weird crocodile-lizard thing started swimming around him in circles and waddling faster doesn't quite seem to dissuade it from following. )

Hey--no--stop!! ( the likelihood of it actually hurting him is extremely low; weaker than most kryptonians still leaves him as plenty tough, but being tough doesn't stop his weird as heck dance in the floodwater as he tries to shove the crocizard away while taking several steps to the side. ) Go away!!

friendr;

	Friendr
«		»
	» Age: 7 » Seeking: home » Preferences: » Interests: superman, baseball, spaceships » Bio: I'm not supposed to be here?
	base code by photosynthesis
	Christopher Kent
	« ✘ ✔ »

[ friendr ]

[supersweet]

[ huh.


huuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

Jon locks the connection before sending a text. ]

What do you like about Superman?

[flection]

He's strong and awesome and amazing and a hero!
Who wouldn't like him?

[supersweet]

Don't get me wrong, I totally agree.

Are you from Metropolis?

[flection]

I'm not from Metropolis but I live there?
Lived there. I don't think I do anymore.
Are you?

[supersweet]

[ TIME TO TEST A THEORY. ]

Yeah. I live there with my dad.

Do you know him? His name is Clark Kent.

[flection]

My foster dad's name is Clark Kent.

( one of his names anyway. probably not the same one, considering--everything. though there is an easy way to get an answer to that too. )

Do you know Lois Lane?

[supersweet]

[ Oh. Okay. Jon can roll with this. Probably. ]

Yeah. She's my mom.

[flection]

( except that doesn't make sense, because that's his mom and dad, too. how can they have the same mom and dad except--not? )

She's my mom too.
How old are you?

From The Deep

[redcapebluecollar]

[He hadn't even been there an hour before he was already volunteering to help. Not at all expecting to see any familiar faces as he flew, rescuing people stranded, supporting the Perimeter Guard wherever he noticed they needed it.

Not even registering that the young voice that he heard protesting as he was flying towards it sounded familiar (even as his heart ached, because it sounded so similar to-)

Oh.

It was enough to bring him up short, looking like he'd been hit upside the head with the Daily Planet globe, taking in the sight of the boy for a split second before he moved, too fast to see, scooping him up and into a tight bearhug.]

Chris-! [Pay no attention to that tremor in his voice, he's just too delighted to see the son he thought he'd lost forever.]

[flection]

( out of the water in less than an instant and he's--almost caught off guard, almost. but chris recognizes those arms, that voice, and immediately moves his own hands to wrap them around clark's neck, holding onto him close as a wide smile blooms across his lips.

he wasn't supposed to see clark again, not after--what happened. he was supposed to go back to the phantom zone, and who knows if he would ever get back out of there. this is much, much better than he could have anticipated. )

Da--Kal-El! When did you get here?!

[redcapebluecollar]

[Clark couldn't bring himself to let go even a little, as if afraid that the phantom zone would open up here and now, yank the boy in his arms away. But still smiling with the sheer delight of finding him again, moving a hand up to ruffle his hair affectionately.]

Just a couple hours ago now... heard they were having trouble with the flooding so offered to help. [As if it were any surprise.] But what about you? How long have you been here?

[If only Lois and Jon were here too. Chris could be reunited with his mother too, meet his brother. Clark could only imagine the two would get along well, that Jon would be excited about the idea.]

[flection]

( it's okay if he doesn't let go, chris doesn't have any intentions of releasing clark, either. he had to, before. it was let go or watch others suffer, leave the gate to the zone open. here? there isn't that risk, so he curls in close instead. ignores how wet his pants and shirt got in the water, that's not important.

they'll dry, everything's wet right now. what's more important is the guy he's attached to. chris buries his face into the curve of his neck, muffles out words against him. )

I just got here today. ( not longer than a few hours ago, either. ) Missed you.

[redcapebluecollar]

[Definitely not letting go for awhile. Hope Chris is okay with being carried around for a little bit. He knew why Chris had let go before. Knew he wanted to save everyone. But he never quite forgave himself for the boy having to make a choice like that, for not thinking of another way.

But Chris was here now, safe and Clark could make sure he stayed that way.]

Missed you too, buddy. [Just pressing a kiss to the side of his head with a wobbly little chuckle.] Looks like we've both got some good timing, yeah?

[He just didn't like the idea of Chris having to go it alone for long. Knew that he was capable, but that was beside the point after everything he'd been through.]

[flection]

( clark is gentle when he holds him. doesn't squeeze so tight he feels his bones ache. doesn't throw chris around like he's a sack of meat. he's strong, plenty capable of hurting him but clark--would never. chris has no reason to want to leave his arms, not when clark is so--clark. )

Y-yeah. ( being here alone would have been scary. something he could handle, he's been alone before, but it doesn't mean chris likes it any. lips purse together tight, head tilting up enough to press his face into the side of clark's own, a mimicry of a kiss pressed to his cheek. )

This place's all wet though.

[redcapebluecollar]

[Clark could in theory, but definitely wouldn't. It would simply never occur to him to hurt Chris, to treat him even remotely like he'd been by others. No child should have had to endure what Chris had, and he would be damned if he didn't do everything in his power to give the boy the kind of life a child should have. Warmth, and family, a safe home and a certainty of being loved, instead of pain and loneliness.

The returned gesture just earns a smile turned Chris's way, wide enough that it had the corners of Clark's eyes crinkling too.]

Yeah it's kinda damp over here. Let's see about getting you some dry clothes, hm? Then maybe scare up some lunch.

[flection]

( family, friends, a home--they're all concepts he's picked up from clark himself. lessons learned from the safety of these arms, between meeting ma and pa kent, having lois hold his hand, read him bedtime stories, going to school, meeting robin--none of that would have happened without clark's interference.

he would have been brought to another weird containment area, brought up underground without seeing the light of day. he may be young, but--chris has enough foresight to realize just how lucky he is. )

Egg drop soup? I think I--I smelled some coming from over there. ( a hand raises, points off in the direction of one of the restaurants. ) I would've flown but I--I'm a secret, right? So I stayed low.

from the deep; before i forget to post this. :')

[spellcheck]

[ Lois doesn't like being told no. She doesn't like being told to stay back or to keep her distance, not when there are so many unanswered questions and this place is already one question after another.

She moves with purpose, spine straight and shoulders back, moving with the sort of confidence that makes it appear as though she actually knows where she's going and what she is doing. She'd even grabbed a pamphlet with the intention of waving it around like a press pass, like that's going to do much for her here. But hey, she's fooled smarter people than a few members of some paramilitary group. There's something crazy going on down in the flood waters and, at the very least, she wants to know what exactly they're dealing with here. What sort of dangers they're working with.

She also gets way too involved with the rescue efforts, but that's just Lois. She can't always wait around for Superman to show up and save the day. She may be a bit ill-prepared without super strength or a weapon of her own, but she can help get people to safety.

That's when she hears it.

There's something familiar about the voice, something that doesn't quite hit her immediately, but the voice is clearly that of a child and that's more than enough to send her running toward the source. ]

Stay calm! [ It's hard to be reassuring when you're panicked. She moves quickly, signaling a group of guards nearby. ] Help is on its way!

[flection]

( chris would recognize her voice anywhere. the cadence of it, the way she speaks. he hasn't known lois for long, but he--hasn't known anything for long, and he sticks to the memories that do mean something. the ones that stick out as important. the ones lois happens to be involved in? all of them are important.

she calls out and he's immediately turning his head, forgetting about the thing going around his legs because it can't hurt him even if it's a little terrifying. it can't touch him, but any of these things could hurt her. instead of even acknowledging it further, he's turning around and wading through the water towards lois. still at a perfectly human speed, but-- )

Mom!

[spellcheck]

[ And there it is -- it's not that she can't identify the voice, it's that it is a voice that she isn't expecting. A voice that she hasn't heard in a long time. It has to be a trick, maybe this whole stupid place is just playing with her head, and yet... ]

C-Christopher!?

[ She can already see him in the distance, perhaps not quite defenseless, but so small. So scared. The adrenaline hits and helps make her faster and while there are no cars to lift, she certainly feels like she can take on... anything that might put her son in danger.

Her son.

The son she'd thought she'd lost. The son she thought she'd never see again. ]

It's okay, kiddo! I'm coming! I'm...

[ So close and the moment he is within reach, Lois grabs hold of him, pulling him out of the water and into her arms. ]

[flection]

( if there were cars to lift he would shove them all out of the way, for her. while chris and lois may have had a bit of a rocky start, they--they're better, now. he loves her more than words could describe; the mother who took him in, who taught him what it was like to have a family and people who genuinely cared for you.

she gets close and reaches out and he takes an extra moment to grab onto the thing that's still following him why and throws it a bit of the way down the flooded mess, not caring much for who sees because the absolute last thing he wants to deal with is it hurting her.

chris is more than a little damp, but he doesn't care right now. not when he can wrap his arms around the person he thought he might have lost for forever, stuck in an endless wasteland with nothing but instead here he is, here she is,

and he's wrapping his arms around her neck, holding on tight. )

Sorry, I-- ( sometimes you just have to throw stuff? )

[spellcheck]

No, no. It's okay, Chris. It's fine.

[ It's hardly ideal, but it's over and done now. She's hardly about to scold him for trying to keep her safe.

Lois shakes her head in response, gently cutting him off as she wraps her arms tightly around him. She holds him close, like if her grip on him loosens even a little she might lose him all over again. ]

We'll just... try to be a little more careful next time, okay? You know what Dad would say if he was here. For now, let's just focus on getting you out of here.

[ He may not be at risk of catching a cold or getting sick the way a human child would undoubtedly be, but it can't be very comfortable for him. Once they get out of the water and someplace warm and dry, they can... figure this all out. Figure out what they do next. ]

[flection]

( he'd say that using his abilities around others where he can be seen is dangerous, that they're a secret for a reason, that it keeps them safe. he's--keeping lois safe by using them though, right? isn't it better to be safe now than to worry about being safe later?

getting out of here sounds like a great plan, one chris definitely approves of. he nods his head, presses in close, listens to the sound of her heartbeat for just a moment. it takes some time before he stops and realizes that there is an important detail they've left off here, something he's not too sure how to address well. )

You, um, you look different, Mommy. ( older? different. still lois, but different. it's hard to put into words. )

[spellcheck]

[ There are buildings nearby, businesses that are far away enough from the flood to at least attempt operating as usual, and she considers just taking him somewhere with enough light and warmth and quiet so she can assess the situation.

The community housing building is further away, but it seemed like the safer bet after his little display. Lois isn't sure about who saw what, if anything, and what it would mean in a place like this. ]

Do I? [ She knows the obvious differences -- the hair is lighter now, kept closer to her natural color. She likes to think she's aging gracefully, but sure, she's older too. ] A lot has happened since we saw each other last, kiddo.

[flection]

( lois is still very pretty, chris would be among the firsts to tell her that if needed, but it's the differences he's taking note of now rather than anything else. it doesn't make too much of a difference as far as he's concerned.

she could look like a giant space monster as long as she was still lois. )

I went into the Phantom Zone.

( did he--has it been that long? it feels like it's only been hours for him. )