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quaranmeme2018-05-20 02:35 pm
riverview: may 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 34 Character Slots available.
● Reserves are currently CLOSED. Applications are currently OPEN and will close on June 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 ● exploration progress report ● ask a question ● calendar ● navigation
Something strange has been happening in the city over the past few weeks, and it's starting to get kind of serious - people are disappearing. It started with a little girl whose parents are still convinced and terrified that she wandered off into the jungle to the north of the city, and things have only gone on from there. So far, a total of 10 children ranging in ages from five to their teens have gone missing, most last seen near one of the exits at the city walls or near where the river flows through the fences of the Inhabited City.
Today, it's reached the point where it's becoming a bit of an emergency. With so many sightings near the exits to the city, the government and Perimeter Guard have set up a joint search project, and are requesting volunteers to help scour the jungles in search of the missing kids. Any volunteers or members of the Perimeter Guard are offered a handout with images of the kids and will be forming a grid to search the entirety of the jungle. Which won't be easy, because it's not just a jungle out there - it's dangerous!
Normally, living inside the Inhabited City is a pretty safe bet. You can go day to day without running into a monster or risking any kind of danger requiring a fight. Generally, the tall, laser-fenced walls keep out anything particularly dangerous.
The problem with walls? They only go so high.
While usually assault from airborne monsters isn't a problem that's on the map, as residents who've been around for a while might remember from last year, there's a few weeks during late spring where a swarm of flying monsters not unlike feathery pterodactyls are migrating back to another part of the moon. They're only in the area for a couple of weeks, but during that time, residents can expect occasional attacks by swooping monsters if they should see easy prey. Usually, a good sturdy dark-colored umbrella is enough to keep them from seeing a potential victim or meal, but sometimes the attacks still happen. So the Perimeter Guard sends extra details, calling in all the reserves, to patrol the city and keep an eye out for citizens in distress. There's also a general call for anyone who's experienced at fighting to help protect their fellow citizens. Whether your character is being attacked or protecting someone else, be prepared - these monsters are quick and have very sharp teeth.
It's been all over the news lately, the restoration of the old abandoned Amusement Park that was successfully cleared out and repowered, and is gearing up for a grand opening. However, thanks to a team led by Aecinos Ixocia and the technical expertise of Aoba Seragaki, there's another entertainment feature that was powered up and cleaned up at the same time, and is ready to open over the weekend - the Hot Springs!
Flyers and other advertising has been put up all around the city to alert city residents to the fact that the springs are opening, and expounding the various amenities and activities that the springs have to offer. Among the touted features are mineral hot spring pools of various temperatures ranging from cool to near-boiling, said to have healing qualities that moisturize and soothe the skin, as well as whisking away stress. There are a lot of testimonials to the fact that the springs have had an impact on chronic pain, headaches, and even temporary, acute illnesses.
If soaking in a hot tub isn't your thing, there are also lap pools, a wave pool, and even a few waterslides that are cleaned up and running smoothly - there's an easy and medium one for the less adventurous, but the other two slides are pretty harrowing! There's also a lazy river with inner tubes intended for couples or groups of friends to laze on and enjoy the warm spring weather. For those with something a little more frisky in mind, there are special tubes intended for romantic pairs or groups that go through a Tunnel of Love that lasts for 10 minutes and affords a pretty decent amount of rose-tinted privacy for lovers to enjoy.
Ever heard of Tough Mudder, the Spartan Race, or Ninja Warrior? Well, something similar is brewing in Riverview. With the weather warming up, several companies in the city have contributed to the construction of a difficult obstacle course with three different levels of difficulty to make it challenging for people of all fitness levels. Featuring just about any obstacle you can think of, it tests participants' running, jumping, climbing, and other athletic prowess. It also tests participants' teamwork skills, since several of the obstacles can't be overcome without a little help from a friend or stranger.
But what about people with super powers? Isn't that an unfair advantage? Yep! It sure is! Any participants in the Mud Run are required to use a power dampener of some sort if they're super powered, so everyone is on the same level. Have fun with that!
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
it makes you have to turn into a man-tube to get them out
[And with that non-explanation, suddenly Magnus gets hit right where he least expected it: the feelings. After being told that he's been here before, he suspected he might run into people who he befriended (or... otherwise, as the case may be) that he no longer has any recollection of. After having just remembered 100 years worth of forgotten memories, Magnus is getting a little sick of forgetting the important people in his life.
Still, there's no need to dial it straight to 100 right away. Just be casual about it.]
uh, maybe! what's your name?
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[Sweet Maker if he hasn't missed this deceptively clever banter. Magnus' mind takes odd twists and turns, but he's always so perceptive...and original in his way. It's part of his charm.
Why had he responded again? Self-flagellation? Alright, even he recognizes that's over-dramatic.]
You needn't placate me, you know. I've heard this happens.
[Such a clever thing, text. No one can hear your apprehension or hesitance.]
My name is Dorian.
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[Oh whoops he got the message that this guy is the famed Dorian and immediately got flustered, fumbling the keys and accidentally hitting send to the initial message.
Magnus has some mild panic because now that he's half-responded Dorian's gonna know he saw his message, but his mind has completely blanked on what to say next. What do you say to the boyfriend you've never met?]
i guess you kind of have me at a disadvantage
i know OF you. don't really know much about you yet.
or remember or whatever
[This certainly happened sooner than he expected.]
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[Elephants in rooms are meant to be ignored, are they not? That was, after all, the entire point of the analogy. But his is Magnus...possessing of memories or no, and Magnus is not a man to let things lie.
Damn him.]
I know you spent several decades trolling the cosmos in order to protect the Light of Creation, that you're rather fond of dogs, possess an impressive talent for carpentry, and clean up rather well.
[But there's no reason for him to be mean.]
Oh, many know of me. I am Dorian of House Pavus, heir of Magister Halward Pavus of Qarinus, Ambassador of the Tevinter Imperium, Senior Enchanter of the Minrathous Circle of Magi, Hero of the Inquisition, blah blah blah.
Here, I'm a researcher at Gramarye Magic Research. You're free to ask me questions, if you like.
[Yet he gets the feeling he's going to regret saying that.]
no subject
uhhh hail and well met???
why didn't taako tell me you're like an important guy
how do you remember all those titles
[Magnus can't help but feel he's out of his league???? But then, wait, he's not... actually dating this guy. Not anymore.]
as for real questions
[His thumb hovers over the keys as he considers his next words carefully.]
i think it's better if we talk in person
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Though that isn't all of my titles and...I remember them using mnemonics, mostly, just like any other well-heeled, upper-class snot.
[He was afraid he might say that. It was ridiculous, of course, being afraid, and it wasn't as though this rejection was unknown to him. It's only that he'd allowed himself to hope you see.
He'd always known that was a terrible idea.]
Why? You don't owe me anything, Magnus.
[There's a slight pause before the next line is sent.]
How'd the war go? That is why you chose to leave. All well and won, I trust?
[Maker's Breath, why can't you make lines come back?]
no subject
definitely not upper class anything
i know what side the tableware goes on and that's about it
[So, you know. How did that even happen.]
i... chose to leave
that's news to me
as is the winning of said war, but taako told me about that
i just came back from the middle of it
i drank some ichor and remembered im over 100 years old and then i was here
you say i don't owe you anything, but i think we both know that i owe you something at the very least
an explanation maybe
the time of day??
you seem like a nice dude and i don't want this to be like
bad blood between us or anything
no subject
Yes, well. I'm something of a pariah in my homeland. You see, I don't care about all the pomp. I even know how to pitch a tent and how to skin a rabbit. I never thought I would, but I do.
Yes. We spoke before you left. Briefly. Very noble, really. A lesser man would have selfishly remained. Having fought a war against seemingly insurmountable odds myself, I know how daunting it can be, and it isn't a task just anyone would undertake. You are not, by any stretch of the imagination, "just a guy".
There is nothing between us nearing "bad blood", either. No one here would stand to ask you to remain when existence needed your aid. It would be selfish of us to ask it of you.
But if you would like to meet, fine.
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the war will be won, the hunger will be stopped
apparently some of my friends are here from a year after it's already over and done, so. yay us
[But he can see where his past self was coming from. The need to protect the world from something he almost feels responsible for. And if he really was from before the end of the cycles, then... he was probably a little more hot headed about all that, by then.
But since then, Magnus has settled down. Gotten married. Lost people. Traveled the world. Set things in motion that would end it once and for all. He's aged ten years, for Istus' sake.
He was ready to die for anything, once, as long as he could die a death he could be proud of. Now, he feels more like... he's ready for this war with the Hunger to end so he can live again.
And the bonds he's made with others are to thank for that. So... yeah. He and Dorian could use some bonding.]
yeah. i'd like to meet.
[Apparently taverns don't exist here, so...]
i think there's a cafe near where i'm staying with taako
no subject
So, yes. Yay, you.
[And now that it was coming down to it, there were giant butterflies in his stomach. Pesky things, butterflies. They never knew when to quiet down.]
There is.
When would you care to do this?
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[If Dorian didn't think Magnus meant right the fuck now, he has yet to grasp the full meaning of "Magnus rushes in".]
are you busy uh
now-ish?
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[Of course he means right now. Can't a man hope, though? Ah, right. That's what landed him in this mess to begin with.]
I was only planning on drinking myself into a stupor.
[He may have had a glass or two already.]
...so, no. I suppose I am not, in fact, busy.
no subject
not in that order
[Okay, yeah. This sounds like an immediate problem, and like Dorian is feeling more feelings than he's letting slip.]
...yeah ok i'll see you there
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You shall. I shouldn't be difficult to spot.
[No, he apparently has not had enough wine to think this isn't a terrible idea, yeah. He does abstain from fixing that, even though he's tempted. He does spend a good amount of time seeing to it his hair is perfect, that that the kohl around his eyes is free of smudges, that he isn't in need of a shave or anything so unsightly.
While he does want to make a good impression on Magnus, again it would seem, it's more than he simply always takes that care. It comes from a lifetime of required perfection. It also allows him to waste time, to assure he is not the one who arrives first. Would he stand Magnus up? No, certainly not, but it gave him a bit of peace of mind to know the option was on the table.
That and how would someone like him make a proper grand entrance if he was the one warming the table?]
no subject
[Hear that, Merle, you ungrateful ass?
Magnus kind of expected to be there first. He doesn't prepare much for anything, let alone big emotional talks, and besides, the place is close to where he's staying.
It's only when he arrives, sits, and orders the first coffee drink he sees on the menu -- a caramel macchiato, which he absolutely butchers the pronunciation of -- that he realizes he may or may not be waiting for a while. If Dorian doesn't show up, then... maybe he deserves that, a little bit? Dorian was clear that he doesn't hold Magnus leaving against him, but he also seems like the type to be less inclined to share tougher feelings, especially with someone who's... technically a stranger to him.
But Magnus has experience wrangling people who refuse to share their true feelings, and while he can't say he's ever really mastered the art of getting Taako to open up, he's at least practiced at it.
He isn't even sure who to look for, despite Dorian's assurance that he won't be hard to find. Magnus notices his nail polish is chipped, and only now thinks that he wishes it wasn't.]
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[The banter was welcome, truth be told, something familiar and comforting to focus on instead of his quickly unraveling nerves. He told himself it was silly as he dressed, something casual by Dorian's standards, in deep purple, and that showed off the curve of his shoulders and the tightness of his midsection and posterior. Feelings or no, Dorian did love being fondled, even if it was only with the eyes.
What liquid courage he had was flagging by the time he arrived at the aforementioned cafe, and when his olive eyes scanned the patrons and found Magnus there, older but just as strapping as he remembered, and just as...well...Magnus, he thought to walk on by, but entertained the thought only for a moment. The man owed him nothing, to spite his protests to the contrary, but it was partially that selfless heart of his that had roped Dorian in the first place. He couldn't just abandon Magnus here. He owed him that much.
The cafe was small, and happened to be one Dorian had frequented in the brief weeks he'd spent more time at Taako's place than his own. That being said, however, it was his luck the barista remembered him. The excited greeting, the dodged questions of 'where have you been', the recollection of his 'usual' hadn't been the means by which Dorian had intended Magnus to "know him when he saw him", but there it was. No backing out now, Dorian Pavus.
His laughter seems genuine as he claims his coffee from the girl, deep and throaty and the girl seems to be flirting even if he isn't reciprocating. He gathers his resolve about himself as he turns to the table Magnus has claimed and takes the man in. He's older than Dorian remembers, and yet it's only been a month since they last spoke. A decade is a long time, even without a war and a mind-altering cosmic fish.
He smiles, full lips curling, as he saunters (it's really the only way to describe the way he moves) over and eases fluidly into the other chair at Magnus' table. His voice is thick, soft like velvet as he describes it, and his words are accented and cultured. Refined.]
And so we meet, as you requested. With no phone separating us, I greet you. [He may just be teasing at this point, a play on Magnus' earlier 'hail and well met'.] Dorian of House Pavus, in the flesh.
no subject
Taako was at least kind enough to let Magnus know that Dorian was handsome, but Magnus didn't really have an image of the guy in his head. Whatever it started to be once they started talking over the phones, it's promptly dashed and replaced with a pleasant surprise.
It's instantly interrupted with the cold reminder of the circumstances of their meeting.
The teasing greeting earns a laugh from Magnus, though, and he puts down his coffee and for a moment he struggles with the correct way to greet him but then lands on offering a handshake and a grin.]
Magnus Burnsides, known in some circles as the Hammer.
no subject
Right? They could have tried at least...
Still, he's here now, and he's going to make a good show of it. He smiles, pulling off 'amicable' rather than 'bittersweet' pretty well, and takes that offered hand.]
A pleasure, Serrah Burnsides, and I've heard of that moniker. I can imagine a few reasons why as well. [There's a teasing tone to his voice at the last, but that's mostly because Dorian can flirt with anyone...though there's something more there than he'd typically offer someone else. He can't help it.]
no subject
[He's just being stupid, he knows it was probably just a fancyboy polite title or whatever. But then Dorian has to go and be flirtatious and Magnus can't help but clench his teeth.]
Uh, yeah, there's... a reason. Probably not the one you're thinking of.
[He doesn't normally share this backstory to the nickname, but it's... as good a way as any to get on track to the point of this whole meeting.]
I was the Hammer of the Hammer and Tongs woodworks and smithery.
no subject
Shaking his head, he frowns. No, really. We don't have to be serious, do we? Serious is always so...dour.]
Yes. You were a carpenter. This much I know.
[Fine. It was probably...out of line or something anyway.]
no subject
[He can tell Dorian isn't happy with the way this conversation is turning, but he's got to explain what he's getting at here for Dorian to understand and hopefully not be so... down about getting shot down.
Best case scenario. Which Magnus knows is usually not how these things go.]
I don't know if I... ever mentioned the Tongs to you? His actual name was Steven Waxmen.
[The magic goldfish in a small orb at Magnus' hip almost seems to perk up at the name.]
And... his daughter was Julia Burnsides.
[Magnus kind of grits his teeth and concentrates very hard on his fingers, which are laced on the table.]
no subject
He'd started to set little masons to work breaking down all the little walls around his heart when Magnus had come to him, telling him he was going home, and while he'd been heartbroken then, he'd thought...maybe he'd return after doing whatever it was he'd needed to do. When he'd shown up again, Dorian had actually allowed himself to hope again...but he should have known better. He steels himself though, against the...emotions, the vain hope that this time might be different, the rising anger at his friends for encouraging to trust Magnus, that he'd never hurt him.
Solitude was preferable to this. Still, Magnus didn't even remember him. Even if he did, he had no intention of discussing this. With anyone other than his wine collection. He tapped an index finger against the paper side of his coffee cup and looked up, his face a careful mask of amicable indifference.]
You never mentioned a business, only being rather fond of woodcarving. Did you start this business with your father-in-law before or after you were wed?
no subject
[He's sort of numbly answering the question, because honestly, this digs up old wounds for him, too. And he doesn't like being part of hurting someone like this, even if Dorian seems okay. Maybe he is okay. Maybe it wasn't serious like that.
Maybe it's fine? But he still needs an explanation.]
There was-- There was an incident. When I was out of town. Someone...
[The mad governor Kalen, of course. But that memory was stolen from him. Magnus' voice is tight as he goes on.
He doesn't talk about this to anyone. He's never even told Taako or Merle, barely mentioned Julia to them. But it's extremely relevant, right now.]
Someone sabotaged the-- It was a cliffside town, partially held up by these massive columns. The column to the artisan's district was destroyed. I had to--
[Dig his wife and father-in-law out of the rubble and bury them out by the mills.]
...They didn't make it. The town was deserted out of fear.
no subject
But. Magnus is Magnus, whether he knows him or not, and he may not harbor any feelings for the mage, but he can't say the same. He's never known love, not really, nothing true enough to marry someone. Even his parents loathed one another. Love was a thing of fiction, a romantic tale tacked into a novel to increase its emotional impact, or something, well, those who weren't him got to do, at the very least. No one had ever stayed. A port in the storm? Yes. He'd been one before...maybe he had again and simply hadn't realized it.
Maybe he still could be...he was certainly familiar with taking what he could get. He took a sip from his coffee cup, partially because his mouth had gone dry and he didn't want his voice to waver as he spoke again and he took a breath, frowning in sympathy for a lack of empathy (thankfully) at that sort of grief.]
I...had noticed the past-tense. I'm sorry. I take it it wasn't long ago.
no subject
Six years ago, now. Feels like it...
[No, don't put that on his shoulders, Magnus. You're already asking for a lot, telling this story to an almost-stranger-who-dated-you-but-you-don't-remember-it.]
--So when I came here and, you know, I found out about you, I didn't know what to... I'm not sure what to say. That's the reason things might be more... complicated than you might have signed up for.
I'm sorry.
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