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quaranmeme2017-11-20 06:55 pm
riverview: november 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 22 Character Slots available.
● Reserves are Open. Applications will be open from December 1st until December 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
After the reawakening of a hydroelectric power relay station in the Abandoned City last month, due to the power surges sent through it by a resident, there have been multiple scouting parties out to the station to try to get it permanently up and running. Getting this set up would really help with making the power grid more stable and would be a solid first step toward expanding the size of the livable city. The only problem? The path along the transit spur is still not properly secured, and any trip out to the station is liable to draw animal attacks from the surrounding overgrown buildings.
Each team that has headed out to help get the station up and running has had ample bodyguards and fighters to protect the techs, but those kinds of expeditions aren't exactly sustainable. This month's focus is on setting a temporary but solid perimeter fence around the length of the spur line to allow for regular transit trips out to the power station. Anyone who volunteers will join one of the small teams that will clear the area around the track, or will follow a clearing team with a small hover-sled that carries 10 posts. Once the each post is set up (through being driven into the ground or attached to a tree trunk or other structure), a force shield and line of laser beams will engage between the newest post and the one before it, allowing the teams to slowly erect a zone of relative safety for anyone who wants to travel along the spur line.
Have your character start up a team or join an existing one and help get things moving toward expansion of the city! This mission will be assumed to be completed as of December's Test Drive Meme.
It isn't just security that's needed along the tram spur line - the whole thing needs to be activated and made to work so it's a quick and easy train ride from the Inhabited City to the power station. That means that the tracks and tram cars need to be repaired and the whole thing needs to be cleared of debris and plant life. It also means that supplies will need to be run along the spur line to aid anyone working on the repair.
Whether your character has some kind of technical, mechanical, or construction expertise that would allow them to help with repairs, is a fighter that can help protect teams on the semi-secure train line, or is just willing to help cart hover-sleds of supplies along the tram line for the teams, every little bit helps!
The upcoming holiday in December is called Hygge and it is a celebration of familial love and found family. Characterized by meals with family, time spent together, and cuddling up around bonfires with found family, it's very focused on a close-knit group that already exists.
But what about the newcomers? People who've only arrived this month or last month and haven't had a chance to put down roots and make those connections? It certainly isn't fair for them to be completely left out!
To deal with this problem, the Government of Riverview is hosting it's annual "More Alike Than Different" convention, an event where anyone who hasn't had a chance to develop a warm, comfortable circle of found family or close friends to celebrate Hygge with can come and find people who may be like-minded, share problems or interests. The convention lasts from November 20th until Hygge begins on December 1st, and features an open space full of cozy half-circle couches where people can settle in and create a sign or other indication of the shared experience being discussed there. This is a quick and easy way to find groups of people that you have things in common with, for better or worse!
How It Works:
● This prompt works in a slightly unusual way, and will happen in the prompt iii sub-thread. Players can post an OTA top-level for each individual character but use this sub-thread for prompt iii specifically.
● This sub-thread will work similarly to the Bakerstreet "Support Group" meme, where a player can post a blank top-level under the sub-thread with something about a character that they might have in common with other characters. Then they can post up a conversation starter with their character that other characters with similar experiences can join in on.
● The subject of the top-level can be traits, life experiences, interests, or anything else broad enough to encompass more than one character. Examples: "Underappreciated Geniuses," "Troubled Mech Pilots," or "People Who Love Pets More Than People." The mod account will post a couple of generalized top-levels to get the ball rolling and spark some ideas.
With the increase in rainfall in the Quarantine lately and the dropping temperatures, a bit of trouble has been brewing with some new delivery drones used by an online shopping conglomerate in the city. The drones have been malfunctioning due to leaks in their outer core, and have been functioning in a way they're not quite supposed to.
Instead of picking up items from the depot and dropping them off to the intended recipients, the drones have, instead, been taking items from random places - whether it's stolen directly off of a casually shopping resident in the marketplace or taken from an open window or a house balcony, things are going missing all around the city. And where are they ending up? Well...anywhere that's been delivered to by the online shopping conglomerate in the past year, which means pretty much anywhere!
Whether your character is losing a personal item to a rogue drone and chasing it down, or finding an item that might belong to someone else, just include a note for anyone who might like to lose or find the item, and see what kind of random new friends can be made while returning the items to their rightful owners!
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
[There are things she could say, but as bad as she might be at playing cards close, she knows better than to resort to knives. Yet, anyway. He's a threat, but it's not as much his hands, or a gun that she's worried about. It's words. Influence. And he's already proving himself uncomfortably good at gathering that in short order. The last time she really considered killing someone it had been based on the knowledge that they would kill her, and someone she cared for, if she gave them the chance. That fact is less obvious here, more blurred lines, and there are people she wants to talk to before she does anything rash. Or well- one person, anyway.
She listens to what he says, murmurs in that easy way that indicates interest. And then he asks what her name is. She almost lies, because it would be safer. But the truth is that such a lie wouldn't last. She'd felt safe here- too safe, she realizes now- she should have known better. Even as sparse as she's been on the Network, it wouldn't take too much to find out her real name, even just with how involved with the reconstruction she's been.]
Just doing my part. My name is Ava Anatalya Orlova.
[She doesn't expect it to mean anything to him, but it's not a certainty. And if he knows, that's even more dangerous, because she doesn't know what's in her file. So many options and none of them are good. Her lips twitch into that slight touch of a smile, forcing it, even if she wears it well.]
And you're Alexander Pierce.
no subject
And now knowing that there were certain elements from his world here, he would have to be careful. The power of words was one that he knew very well and the opinions of others often fell heavily with those that spoke and had established themselves in high regard. He would have to play very carefully and be in a position to either keep people quiet or not in a position where they should talk of him at all.
In asking for a name, he knew he put her in a difficult position. That's where he wanted her, since she had approached him. It put her in the position of having him ask questions, to dig for details of her life, who she associated with and how much other people found her presence comforting or interesting.
With great politeness, he extended his hand to her for them to shake. Like civilized adults. Also, to physically show that he was not at all intimidated by her despite being aware that she could likely best him. He had given her no reason to and if she attacked him, there were enough witnesses that he could easily paint the picture slanted in his favour.]
A pleasure to meet you, Miss Orlova. A fine Russian name, if I do say so. For some reason, you remind me of someone else, but let's be honest, I've met my share of Soviets in my time in office.
[He smiled at her, warm and welcoming.]
Glad to know that my reputation proceeds me. Now is it because we are on the same work crew or from the same place in this vast universe?
no subject
She's just as aware as he is that if she were to just murder him in public that it wouldn't look particularly good. And as someone still dodging the fact of having accidentally set fire to the residential building and put a good few people in the hospital, she's not willing to push the court of public opinion too far. Later, under cover of dark and shadow, that might be a different story.]
Oh? Yes, in your line of work, I'd imagine so.
[She ignores the urge to ask him about Ivan, about organizations that exist in the dark or sea monsters that may or may not be dead. She dislikes his second question more than the first. It's a similar problem, where she's been far too upfront about where she's from. That not-quite-a-lie she told everyone that asked about where she was from before here. But in some way it implies a connection to him that she doesn't want, that he has any sort of authority over her. There's a flicker of something, a brief pause even if her smile doesn't falter.]
I was in the SHIELD Academy, Operations.
[Field Agent training. He's sharp enough for Natasha to have not seen the whole mess of it coming, even if she understood why. She's still wary of any particularly grandiose deceptions. And she had been in the Academy. Just not a recruit in the same way that the others were; young and deadly. And then the hellicarriers had come down. They'd tried to take her and while she'd escaped, there had been a lot of people that didn't. She'd spent the next several months running, looking over her shoulder-- but she leaves that out.]
no subject
He dropped her hand again after the polite amount of time, tucking his own into his pockets. He could have simply returned back to work and directing people to their tasks, but there was nothing currently fundamentally wrong with what was going on beyond their conversation. That he could have a casual conversation with a beautiful young woman was not anything that he would play any attention to himself. He spoke with many people.]
Diplomat has it's advantages with rubbing elbows with many political leaders and being invited to various countries. How long did you live in Russia before moving to the States?
[He could ask that question because he knew there were no SHIELD academies overseas, so she had to have come to them in order to be trained. He gave her a quick glance over, putting all the similarities with Romanoff together in that single moment, and his smile remained as warm and inviting as ever.]
I've been to the Academy a few times. Always hard working individuals there. It's nice to see the change of the world in such places. Your strength is our strength as a nation.
no subject
He could have returned back to work, but he doesn't. And she has to take a breath to steady herself. Focusing on keeping things casual, keeping it even, not letting him know exactly how much he got under her skin just by existing.]
I was brought to the States when I was nine.
[At the surface, there's nothing remarkable about the sentiment. But the phrasing is a little strange. No mention of her parents, or moving. It's very small and subtle, as much so as the slight flicker of her eyes, the way her fingers almost tense at her sides. The she was brought there. Sharp minds might wonder under what circumstances.]
That's what they tell us, isn't it? Wars are won or lost by men. Bringing peace out of chaos.
[She says it like they're two lines of the same song, but they're not.]
no subject
The illegal side of it was even easier. Romanoff had not been easy; who wanted to give permanent residency to a Soviet spy? SHIELD had managed to make the argument for it, and the State Department had chipped away at the necessary red tape. Productivity could be done anywhere if there was enough backroom dealings.
He watched her for a long moment, as if able to see the information she wasn't going to tell him.]
Specifically for SHIELD, I assume. You must be skilled for that process to happen.
[He smiled at her, turning his head to watch the workers moving about their tasks. He had most of his attention on her still, and he considered how best to approach that sentiment. She knew of him, so he had to wonder how much she knew.]
And women. Let's not be sexist. Chaos will always exist on some level; you can't have order without it. More, it's about having enough control to give the most peace to everyone.
no subject
That the SHIELD team she'd been handed off to had taken her to some off-record safehouse, where she'd lived off of MREs for years, trained in the subversion of technology, operations, world politics, the history of SHIELD. That when she'd tried to escape they'd made her watch as they wiped a man she hadn't known, back then. Listened to him scream as they threatened to do the same to her.
He says skilled and she almost points out that at fourteen she'd used everything she'd been taught and actually managed to get away, even if it was only for a few years. But while she doesn't say any of it, there's something in her eyes for that moment as she debates her answer, but she swallows it down with a sigh.]
Something like that, yeah.
[Not a lie, not the truth. She's always been better with those, with things not said, than actual deceptions. He smiles, and it feels like an attack, gets under her skin. It feels like he knows too much no matter how little she tries to say.]
It's a quote. World War II generals weren't exactly known for their focus on equality. [It's that last sentence that catches on rough edges, things she doesn't even quite realize are wrong.] Gather the control to bring peace to those that need it most.
[She watches him very carefully, because these are answers she doesn't have: how much of what she was raised to was SHIELD and how much was something else? It's a dangerous gamble, and yet here they are.]
no subject
And HYDRA was also looking for secret weapons. The wiping technology was not widely used after all; it had to come from somewhere and a little bird chirped about a need to remove information from an insurgent. Somewhere in the line of command, it was given up. It wasn't used often for the damage it caused, but it still had to come from somewhere.
She was measuring her words carefully, he could tell, but it was clear she knew she was out of her element. Her approach to him had been reckless, and now he had her for as long as it took to figure out what she was about. She was young, likely seeing an opportunity without considering how to best match herself up against his own strengths and weaknesses.
That she gave a vague answer didn't surprise him. It was confirmation enough.]
General Patton, yes. I am aware of his quotes, but I don't have to agree with them. World War II was also a high-powered discrimination machine against people of colour and homosexuals as well. Colonel Phillips enjoyed using Patton's quotes for inspiration, but he was an old school soldier who discounted a young man named Steve Rogers. We all know how that went, now don't we?
[If she was going to challenge him with a game of words and meanings, he would engage her. He would see wear the soft underbelly of her knowledge was.]
Wouldn't you agree that everyone has a right to peace unless they have done unspeakable acts which negates that right because they hurt others? That they have grasp too hard on control and let peace slip through their fingers instead?
no subject
Her answer is vague, but it doesn't seem to be the misdirection she'd hoped, judging by the way that he looks at her. There's a twist of her lips at his words, when he mentions Steve Rogers.] Anyone who discounted Steve Rogers found themselves on the wrong side of history, I'd say.
[She might be including Pierce in that number, to be fair. But, then there's those questions, and she falters a little. If he's sharp enough, he might be able to pick up that there's a sort of implicit conflict, contradictory messages that he's pushing at.]
That depends on how you define peace, doesn't it? There are-- I mean control isn't-- [Dear god, someone save her.] Innocent people deserve to be protected from those that would do them harm, and those that seek control without care for the cost miss the point.
no subject
[That he was opening up the possibility of two sides to every story shouldn't be too hard to understand. It was the long-game that he was playing in that regard. There were certain story lines that had a particular play to them, a way to break someone down to their way of thinking when someone went looking for the truth of it.
He nodded his head, praising her in his own silent way that she had jumped on that train so quickly and easily. She was clearly well trained, but she hadn't the years of experience just yet. Those would come with time.]
I completely agree with you. Peace comes with a cost, yes, and those who are innocent deserve protection. If we can protect them by removing the people that would harm them, don't we have an obligation to do so?
no subject
No, it's not all Russia is. But it's some of what they are. The KGB just became the FSB and the same unethical projects continued, albeit quieter and under prettier names. Word was some of them even had connections to SHIELD.
[No telling how she knows that, but she does. She pointedly doesn't use the word Hydra, but she's pushing back a little, even if it's pretty clear that she's not immune to getting caught up in his rhythm, that play of logic and reason.] But no, we don't paint them all with the same brush, but villains exist plenty well on their own, even without the biases of history.
[Thanks to Natasha putting the files on the internet she knew a bit about Insight. Not all the details -- it hadn't actually been what she was looking for -- but pieces, enough to feel the ground she was standing on start to feel a little uneven.] That depends on how you define it, I suppose. It's easy to call anyone a threat through the right lense.
no subject
However, he simply watched her and gave the illusion that he was seriously considering her words. He was giving her his time, his consideration, and allowing her to say exactly what she meant. It was the best underappreciated compliment that anyone could give another person. Everyone wanted to be heard after all, especially to voices locked up and silenced for inhumane projects.
She was good about backing herself into a small corner in the same breath though. He liked that.]
But who is a villain? No one goes about their lives thinking themselves at the villains of their own story. Why I knew a young women by reputation from Soviet Russia; she was considered a villain even after she defected. Was she? Or was she a product of unfortunate events which forced her hand into survival? I don't believe she considers the skills she has to use as villainous. Do you?
[He inclined his head towards her, watching for reaction and more to see what she had to say. Villains were those who everyone else painted, and yes, there was evil action in this world, but were the people behind them villainous?]
Do you consider yourself a threat to the well-being of others?
no subject
So she plays nice, isn't quite sure how to extricate herself from this conversation without giving anything away. The deeper in she is in this, the more telling it seems like it will be when she pulls away. Especially when he brings up Natasha. Not by name, maybe, but with the details she's fairly sure that they both know exactly who he's talking about. Does he know the connection, or is it just the obvious reference- one of SHIELD's top agents, former Soviet.]
Somewhere in between, I suppose. There are people that know how to use people, and it's those people, with their finger on the trigger and no care for the lives they ruin that are really the villains.
[And then there's that question. She pauses, a slight jerk to her body, like he's hit something personal. Because she is, knows she is. There's something about her demeanor that sharpens, a certain way that her blue eyes flatten. She wants to just shut down, run. She is a weapon. Born as one, raised as one, whether it was Russian or SHIELD fingers trying to hold onto her was the only question. When the Academy fell, they'd tried to get their fingers on her, but she'd managed to escape. A shadow, like they'd taught her.
That question sounds almost like a threat. Normally, when she lies, she spins it carefully, truth to temper the deception, but that question cuts to close, and her voice is more like flint than silk. For all that she has of Natasha's skills, her life, her history, it's at the end of the day colored by Ava's personality. And her fears.]
---No.