metamods: (Default)
meta moderators ([personal profile] metamods) wrote in [community profile] metamemes2022-03-04 04:33 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME #02




TEST DRIVE MEME
Welcome to [community profile] metaheroes! As the game is invite-only, please bear in mind that new players must have an invitation from a current player to apply. Interested players who do not know anyone in the game can reach out to the mod team HERE to request an invite for the March app round. These invitations will be processed the day before reserves open. However, no invitation is necessary to play on the this test drive.

Threads from this post can be made game canon if players agree upon it. To facilitate this, this log has no new arrival prompt. Please see the PREVIOUS CONFLUENCES for general ideas as to how characters may have arrived. New characters will be arriving with the March 27th arrival log.

For players who do not want to thread out an arrival, they may backdate their characters' arrival to a previous Confluence. These characters were not picked up by the transportation spell used by the Alliance. These characters will have been living on their own for the last few months, so please address this in the 'Brainstorming' section of the application.


01. METASTRAVAGANZA — everywhere.
Things haven't been the same since Confluences started again. The last two months have been more exciting than the last twenty years! The skies are full of new heroes, the day is saved and threatened by unfamiliar faces, the media is having a field day trying to report on every single new face while companies try to snag them for brand deals.

But not everything in this world centers around costumed combat. Today is a perfectly normal day and you're tasked with the most dangerous mission of all - leading an every day life. Maybe you go to a perfectly normal job to maintain your secret identity - or maybe you've already abandoned that, living full time as your metahuman self.

The sun is shining, and even in the early hours of the morning, parties in the DOWNTOWN STREETS of those CITIES STRUCK BY THE RECENT CONFLUENCES are disrupting the reconstruction efforts that have gotten well underway. These parties celebrate meta efforts to save the day! The streets are full of booths selling food and hastily made knock-off toys of the newest heroes who haven't yet put a copyright on their costume.

But not everyone looks so thrilled about this celebration. Many people look disgusted at this celebration of metahumans interrupting their commute to work, muttering under their breath about what a pain in the ass metahumans are and how much destruction they've wrought in these few short months.

Meanwhile, school-aged metas board the bus to LOFTY HEIGHTS META SCHOOL, hidden somewhere in the sky. There, in-between learning about grammar and punctuation, they are trained to use their new abilities ... Notably, when powers training arrives, the new arrivals outshine the metas native to this world. Very few seem to have any powers on par with the new comers.

Later in the day, the Student Council holds an assembly dedicated to the responsible use of powers. They award any students who have helped save the day with accolades — as well as detention for skipping class to help out as an unlicensed hero. Whoops!

Maybe you should just skip today.


02. SEEDY UNDERBELLY — central city.
Central City is a hard place to live. The city is in almost constant peril, with constant power vacuums in organized crime and city government being filled by worse and worse people. Despite having the Guardian Alliance stationed at its center and doing their best to uplift the people and their citizens, the city suffers from a corruption so deep that it seems to be baked into the very concrete.

The Alliance does what it can to make the city a better place but it's a bandaid over a bigger wound. Because the nigh constant metahuman-centered destruction is the source of so many of Central City's problems - meta organizations are often the last resort for its people. Still, the Alliance makes sure to keep heroes on hand to punch muggers as well as run soup kitchens. Their healers provide healing free of charge, and many of their psychics are trained therapists who use their powers to soothe the citizens' many traumas.

But the real power in the city is held by people like FRANK KAFKA, a crime lord with a finger in every pie. Both guilds leave Kafka to his own devices because he officially possesses no metahuman abilities and he avoids any dealings with them. Tonight, his goons are running their favorite extortion scheme with a twist. A group of them marches through a run-down street, shaking down vulnerable families and businesses for protection money. If an individual resists, the gang threatens to bring the spectre of newly created metahumans down upon their head. Though Kafka himself is not present, his goons will give up his location under enough pressure.


03. NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM — excelsior.
With how often the city is destroyed, one wouldn't expect the MUSEUM OF EXCELSIOR to get much in the way of priceless artifacts, but the museum's basement vault is one of the most well guarded facilities in all the country. Practically impenetrable, it stores every conceivable relic of value. But today, thanks to some villainous meddling, there's a lapse in their security that aligns perfectly with the planned time for the changeover of an art exhibit, affording some enterprising thieves a chance at millions of dollars in priceless artwork.

Heroes affiliated with the Guardian Alliance are asked to patrol and keep these relics safe, while the members of the Society of Villainous Reformation are called upon to pay favors forward by getting in their way. As the untested new kids on the block, player characters draw the short straw and are sent in pairs to complete their task, regardless of whether it's to steal these artifacts or guard them.

Villains, now's the chance to get rich quick! Heroes, protect these treasures from falling into the wrong hands!


04. DINOTOPIA — excelsior.
Confluences are back.

And that means new unaffiliated supervillains are running rampant in the streets, causing the kind of directionless, clumsy chaos that the Guild typically frowns at. A little mischief is good if it serves as distraction for a heist, but this is...

Well...

This a very large velociraptor with human arms standing in the middle of Excelsior. If anyone asks, he calls himself DINO DAN. But why would you ask when he's busy transforming people into dinosaurs - or partially into dinosaurs - using his aptly named Dino-Ray? The people of Excelsior are used to a lot of chaotic shenanigans, but this is a little much even for them. The newly transformed dinosaur-people are losing themselves to their instincts and charging at bystanders. Of those that retain (or regain) their senses, some appear strangely delighted to have this new experience, while others wail in horror at their lost humanity.

As heroes line up to stop him, he'll tell anyone who listens about his displaced rage and the revenge he seeks on an unfair world that let him turn himself into a dinosaur. Not surprising, out of an Excelsior local. However, confronted by metas who can stop him, Dino Dan hooks the Dino-Ray on his belt and grabs a second ray-gun. Anyone he shoots with this one disappears with a comical POP!

Those unfortunate enough to be hit by this ray will find themselves standing in a land before time, right beside a research station. Those clever enough to pull out their cell phones will notice that they still have reception, and rule out time travel.

In addition to clippings of ancient and extinct plants, characters who venture inside will find a half dozen prehistoric humans have apparently been displaced through time and held captive in Dino Dan's remote island research station. If that wasn't obvious enough, his research notes suggest the use of time travel — though like all other dimensional travel, it stopped working in January.

Characters may trigger a trap in the research station and find themselves also temporarily transformed into reptiles, or they may take it upon themselves to rescue the poor folks this mesozoic maniac has been holding hostage! Whatever the plan: if he's causing havoc in the city, that has to mean there's there's a teleporter in his lab to get back. But there's no shortage of Guard T-Rexes blocking the path.
thecoolerloki: (04.)

[personal profile] thecoolerloki 2022-03-09 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
I do not! What old men do you know that wear hoodies, pray tell?
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne / Prodigy - From Marvel Comics (Bad Plan But Not Arguing (Concern))

1

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2022-03-09 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
[There aren't many people of that particular build that David might find his attention drawn to. He approaches cautiously, standing next to the man he'd only ever met once at a wedding he didn't know if Thor had even been to yet in his time, if this even is the Thor from his world.

But when he sees the man pick up the figure of Loki, David has to smile and comment on that observation.]


Tell him that and you'll only inflate his godly ego to even greater levels. And I say that as a friend of his.
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne  / Prodigy - From Young Avengers (Yeah I'm Listening But... (Watching))

A

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2022-03-09 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
The woman was quick. David had noticed it too, what was happening, not to mention the fact that there had been a hand off. You don't have powers like his and have a teacher who was the head of a Thieves Guild without having some experience in reading these things.

Most of the crowd looks either interested for the show, or confused. So David steps forward and, with quick hands, lets his fingers dip into his pockets to pull out the items that were stolen. He holds them all in one hand, very openly, so everyone present can track what he's doing.

"Here you go, ma'am," he said as the woman who had clearly been stolen from rushed over. The items were returned in short order but before she could thank him he raised his hands to ward that off. "I think you should offer any thanks to this lovely lady here. She caught the thief that had your items. I don't know if the purse will be recovered, sorry."
ikols: i've left them behind (the rest of my pack)

[personal profile] ikols 2022-03-09 07:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ Billy blushes so easily, that has to be a crime as well as the way he covers his mouth so daintily. ]

It was back when I first arrived and I was stuck in that holding cell where they give you whatever you want while also depowering you. I wished for someone who I knew would have helped, and ...

I couldn't just leave it there.

[ He offers it over, not sure what it would mean to have it now he knows Billy is married. Something about that is. Well, not up to Asgardian honour codes or somesuch nonsense that gnaws at Loki's conscience. ]

Here, you can have it back. Make a cushion out of it or something.
dothelokimotion: (A story never stands on its own)

[personal profile] dothelokimotion 2022-03-09 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
A hoodie over skin tight clothing? Oof.
wordiness: (009)

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-03-09 02:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ there's something a little dangerous, almost illicit to know that when loki wished for help, his magic brought a token of billy. he's not sure if he should ask himself--or loki, for that matter--what that means. it could be a simple matter of billy just being the obvious, powerful choice of ally, but then again.. he had kept it. and now he's offering it back, and.. why?

he's overthinking it.

his fingers lower, but it's to reach out, taking one of the trailing edges, rubbing his thumb over the ragged fabric. expression thoughtful, he glances up to meet loki's eyes, and blue light sparks over the worn cloak, twisting it into something small, winding around loki's wrist. once it's finished and the light fades back down to nothing, the cloak's been refashioned into a bracelet made of interlocking scarlet links, lit faintly from within. ]


You ought to keep it, [ he says softly, chin in his palm again, trailing a finger over the bracelet before withdrawing his hand. ] My color looks good on you.
wordiness: (012)

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-03-09 02:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, you too, [ he says softly, trying not to seem too obviously grateful and overwhelmed. he'd thought he'd be basically alone here, but finding angela leaves him almost too relieved for words. ]

You're not with one of the guilds, I guess? [ that sort of thing isn't exactly in her nature, any more than he expects it's in her siblings' natures. ] Do you-- I mean, how are you managing here? [ he really can't see her in a 9-5, either. ]
wordiness: (024)

yesss

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-03-09 03:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he should have guessed, honestly. not because he expected david to be here, just.. billy's powers have a way of guiding him even when he doesn't realize. he blinks, startled as the familiar face pops up, and laughs at the greeting, fingers pressing over his mouth to stifle it. ]

Oh my God, David. [ he smiles helplessly at him, nudging his own cup toward the other man. ] Well, you definitely look like you could use the caffeine, and I can probably make biscotti happen if you want. [ his nose wrinkles up at the bridge. ] But only if you swear never to call me your highness ever again. [ he gets enough of that from his husband's court and people, he definitely doesn't need it from his friends, even playfully.

he doesn't usually try to make food or anything--not really something he needs to use his powers for, typically speaking--but a moment later, a plate with several biscotti appears on the table anyway. ]
I can't promise they aren't a little off, I'm working off memory here. [ he takes one anyway, though, to turn between his fingers and peer at critically. .. it looks right, anyway.

his glance slides to david again a moment later, head tilting faintly. ]
Actually, I was just on Krakoa before I got here. Tommy and I were helping Mom.
ikols: CAPTURE YOUR ATTENTION (anything to)

[personal profile] ikols 2022-03-09 03:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ No discussions will ever be had about The Cloak unless he is dead and a gormless Loki who knows nothing about the situation has taken over, so all facts are invalid anyway. As he watches the cloak reform he feels his mouth dry out and swallows any chance of a lump forming, highkey aware of Billy's magic softly imbued in the bracelet and lowkey wondering how he's going to explain wearing a red accessory with his all-green clothes. He tells himself he'll take it off when he goes home, knowing he won't and feeling a squirm of guilt in the pit of his gut that he firmly forces down.

It's the warm café making Loki's cheeks peachier as Billy's touch draws away, he will insist in retrospect.

My colour looks good on you. ]


You know, the last time I charmed a witch we had three children.

[ The shit-eating grin is back when he looks up, masking any (gross!!) emotions with a smirk. ]
wordiness: (009)

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-03-09 03:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[ the frozen moment and flush of loki's face tell him this was either the right move or a very, very inadvisable one for both of them. it's also strangely empowering, being someone that can make the liesmith himself react in such an honest way.

so although the sly smirk coupled with the comment are enough to fluster him and leave him a little wrong-footed, he only leans his cheek further into the hand he's resting his chin on, brows lifting. ]


Well, maybe one day. But it would have to be well after living a long life with Teddy, so you'll just have to be patient.
helpdesk_hero: David Alleyne / Prodigy - From Marvel Comics (Thinky Thoughts Time (Concerned))

[personal profile] helpdesk_hero 2022-03-09 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
When you ask yourself later 'what was the moment I became David's hero', remember this.

[He pulls the coffee toward himself, pops the lid of the cup off so he's got a clean part of the rim to sip from, and does so. Fuck that's good. And look, even biscotti. That ended up getting a bite from it. Once he swallowed David fished a bottle of medicine out of his pocket, popped a pill, chased it with more coffee, then slides the cup back to Billy.]

Seemed like a good way to test your place in time. Not everyone you'll recognize here is from Earth-616 like us, and even those that are aren't always from the same point in time as us. For instance, you're the closest to me in time, except for Jean Grey and Loki. Well, the Loki we worked with, which little kid Loki insists on addressing as Ikol. Never thought I'd actually meet the kid.

[Their whole mess with Mother was heavily because of the guilt 'Ikol' felt over Loki. Having to have both of them in his life has been an experience. Still, he looks at Billy very seriously.]

Your mom is a fucking wonder, Billy. I mean, after Utopia I was already on the side of 'she tried hard to make things right', but after what just happened back home...

[That had been a horror ride for David. One of the worst days of his life followed by trying to hold Tommy up through the worst of his, and no one could reach Billy and David hadn't even known why. It had all been so much, and for Wanda to go to the lengths she did for them... Damn.]
superflighty: (( 66. ))

mark grayson | invincible

[personal profile] superflighty 2022-03-09 05:19 pm (UTC)(link)
1. METASTRAVAGANZA: ARRIVAL, SCHOOL BUS.
[ There is very little that surprises Mark anymore. Ever since he accidentally threw that garbage bag into space and started living the life of a superhero back home. Maybe the most shocking thing he had come across was the fact his father quite literally trained him before zipping off into space-- unknown, and from what he could tell with his poor vision at the time, rather unbothered. Falling into another universe was a piece of cake. Right? Right.

After all of his briefing and a few days settling in, the excitement of knowing that there is a school specifically for superheroes very much drowns out any apprehension and confusion. For all we know, the school just acquired a geeky highschooler who is currently looking out the window all starry eyed.

He turns to whatever unfortunate soul is seated next to him. ]


Hey, you seem like you know more about this place than I do. Are there any comic book stores around here?

[ But before his company can answer, Mark asks another question: ]

Any reason they strap us down in these seats so securely? Dude, any buses I take back home don't give a shit if you buckle up or not.

[ It was probably explained to him, but he's a little spacey (forgive my puns) and maybe didn't catch that wormhole detail. ]


2. NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM.
[ Protect some artwork? Seemed pretty easy. Almost too easy, especially considering some of the stuff he's dealt with back home, but he won't complain. Not to the Guardian Alliance's face, at least. It seems like a pretty slow night so far, so Mark is taking a gander at the artifacts found in here. Don't worry, he asks questions in this prompt too: ]

This always bothered me, but like, how do people even determine what makes abstract art good? You know? I'm not an artist, so maybe I'm missing something here.

[ Okay, buddy, maybe you shouldn't be talking right now? It might blow cover. ]
iboughtaplant: (Default)

[personal profile] iboughtaplant 2022-03-09 05:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Parker was all too happy to melt into the background the moment someone else stepped in. The less notice she got, the less people would remember her. It was better that way, right? Right.

Besides, the lady got her identity and credit cards back under control so it wasn't a big deal anymore.

"It was nothing, really."
thecoolerloki: (47.)

[personal profile] thecoolerloki 2022-03-09 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Take that up with the rest of Asgard! I look nothing like the old man.

[With a wave of his hand, he pulls up an eerie green illusion of the Loki that once was.]
wordiness: (024)

museum!!

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-03-09 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ the guy that steps up next to him is in his early twenties, in a red cloak and a kind of bodysuit beneath that looks like it was cut right out of the night sky. he takes a moment to look at the painting in question, then to the stranger. ]

I don't think there's really any consistency, personally. Someone important decides they like it and suddenly that artist is famous. [ he's not going to say that it doesn't deserve to be, but what really separates one great artist from another great artist? people who notice their work.

a pause, then a shrug. ]
But I'm not an artist, either, so what do I know? [ then he jerks his thumb back in the direction he came from. ] There's some really fun magical artifacts back that way if you're getting sick of paintings.
superflighty: (( 20. ))

[personal profile] superflighty 2022-03-09 06:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Wow. This guy? Stylish. He really has to talk to Art about some other kind of costume? His is.. nice.. but it's so bright. His hair is cooler too! Man, he's got to make a lot of changes if he's going to really be surrounded by superheroes like this.

Mark settles his hands on his hips, looking at the painting, really..... taking it in....

Who am I kidding? He's bored. ]


Makes sense to me.. but man, what a troublesome job for someone.

[ His brows lift at the invitation. ]

That sounds way cooler, not gonna lie. Show me.
azulescarabajo: (Let me see if I can explain)

Re: i

[personal profile] azulescarabajo 2022-03-09 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. Oh. Realization hits him like a ton of bricks. This is Bart Allen. Kid Flash. Or just the Flash? He'd seen the funeral coverage, knew that he'd been active again at some point--they'd just never really crossed paths all that much even when Jaime was in the Titans. He exhales.

"Oh. Sheesh. I feel stupid for not recognizing you..." Khaji hadn't either, for what it was worth. But then, not knowing Bart's DNA how could he have been expected to. He awkwardly sticks a hand out.

"...Uh, I'm the Blue Beetle?"
wordiness: (027)

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-03-09 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he is stylish, thank you for noticing.

mark's suit, on the other hand, doesn't get a second look, because let's just be honest here, billy comes from earth-616, in which almost everyone he knows wears something superhero-y. the blue and yellow is really bright, though. there's no way this guy is going anywhere stealthily. ]


Sure, come on. I'll just-- [ he flicks a hand in the air, muttering something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like he's telling the room to tell him if someone comes in to steal something, and blue sparks light up in all the doorways and around all the paintings before fading away. ] Okay, we should be good to go. [ he starts to head out into the hallway with a smile thrown mark's way. ] Some of them are fakes, obviously, but there's a really interesting cursed pot that I think people used for assassination.
superflighty: (( 28. ))

[personal profile] superflighty 2022-03-09 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Mark also low-key looks like a bug, especially when he's flying and he failed to put that into his costume consideration, but anyway..
One thing about suddenly being around a lot more superheroes is the unpredictability. Naturally, he's curious of his company's abilities, but he could at least ask about is tactfully. Instead: ]


Uh, what was that? Also, are you sure messing around with something that is considered cursed is a good idea?
ikols: & up those cliffs I climb (i wake and hear you calling)

[personal profile] ikols 2022-03-09 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I can be patient.

[ His attention is all on Billy, a melted stirrer polluting Loki's drink where he holds it still. It's true that he and Billy will outlive almost everyone they know but it never occurred to him that they would know each other throughout the years, centuries down the line. Millenia. That's a ... weirdly comforting sentiment, more so somehow than the amorphous promise of. Stuff.

The trouble is he doesn't want to be patient, Loki likes his pleasure instant and accessible. It only deepens his interest to have to wait and he is certain Billy, clearly a sadist of the worst order, knows that.

He clears his throat. ]


Until then, [ this fucking obscure light teasingly twinkling in the future, ] I should give you all the current gossip in these parts. Get you up to speed. We're going to need more pancakes.
kid_flash_found: (subtext)

Re: i

[personal profile] kid_flash_found 2022-03-09 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"Kid Flash," Bart said, taking the hand. "Don't feel guilty, between Robin, Superboy, and Wonder Girl, it's a wonder anyone ever notices me."

He'd heard of Blue Beetle. If nothing else, the fact that he read just about every newspaper most mornings would allow him some level of awareness. But he'd been old, and then dead, and then came back from the future. It made it hard to really circulate.

"It's not like I'm anything special. Just a guy who runs really fast."
wordiness: (028)

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-03-09 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Good. [ he smiles as he lifts his cup to his lips again, lashes dipping over his eyes as he takes a sip.

it's something he hasn't given extensive thought to before, because he doesn't like to imagine a future without teddy, but the fact is.. there will be one eventually. teddy is beautifully mortal: he'll age and gray and eventually--hopefully after a long, fruitful life--die surrounded by his family.

and then billy will have to go on without him the best he can. and although the thought of it leaves him aching with dread, at least he won't be alone. ]


Please, [ he agrees, ] and you should get bacon if you still like it.
azulescarabajo: ([BB] Oh I see)

museum

[personal profile] azulescarabajo 2022-03-09 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The guy in the black and blue beetle suit seems a little out of his depth, too. Thankfully, the way that Khaji modulates his voice keeps Jaime from sounding too much like a kid, but... he's a little shorter than you might expect. 5'9", maybe? He scratches his chin. ]

Uh... I dunno, really? I think it's just, like... you're supposed to take away your own interpretation?
Edited 2022-03-09 18:59 (UTC)
ikols: beg for it (imma make you)

[personal profile] ikols 2022-03-09 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
I do.

[ He already had some today! More would be better though. Loki briefly heads off to the counter to order himself some bacon pancakes and Billy some chocolate ones, as well as some fancy cookies for their drinks.

As he slides back into his seat with their food, he sighs. ]


Do you know Josh Foley, AKA Elixir?
monomachy: idolatry @ dw (born to fly)

seedy underbelly

[personal profile] monomachy 2022-03-09 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[This city hurts Diana in a way that is almost familiar, yet still new. Many streets are dirty, many of the buildings broken, and it's hard not to think of the villages they'd passed through on their way to the Front, especially Veld. But there's something darker at work here, with a stranglehold on the deepest parts of the city that the "Guardian Alliance" has not been able to break. It isn't our problem, Kafka isn't a metahuman.

Not their problem, perhaps, but it's certainly the people's. Which means it's hers, too.

She wears her armor, the red and gold metal shining and so at odds with the neon-lit gloom of this place. The goons aren't difficult to find; they seem to be at every other street corner, harassing people for money, jewelry, anything they think they can get their hands on. The first few, she tries reasoning with; asking them to leave the frightened couple alone, to go home. They respond with knives that snap against her bracers. Very quickly, she realizes that words will not serve her here, and it breaks her heart a little.

Diana methodically makes her way through the streets, grasping collars, flinging men across roads, against brick walls. Enough to scare them, to send them fleeing. She only offers a word or two to those she rescues before moving on. Eventually, she finds a bigger group, and that is where Arthur finds her.

Her arms are already raised defensively, ready for whatever they think to throw at her. But her head whips around at his call, and it takes her a moment to register what he's said. Her gaze quickly scans the men around her, before finally resting once more on Arthur, brows drawn together.]


What does size have to do with anything? [She sounds baffled, and not frightened at all, despite the looks of her situation. The goons seem just as stunned that someone has dared interrupt them a second time, and have yet to move.]