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.
ikols: i'll tear your city up (tie him up)

[personal profile] ikols 2022-04-21 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
I'm just saying, who's being the argumentative one now?

[ He asks it mildly, gaze lingering on Tim sidelong as they walk. His empty snack-stick is tossed into a passing bin as Loki dusts his hands clean. ]

And I bought you the corndog you wanted because you're cute, for clarification.
qualityfriend: (heh)

[personal profile] qualityfriend 2022-04-21 07:48 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, that's who I think it is, too! [There's excitement in her voice.]

Are you from Gotham, too?
qualityfriend: (troubled)

[personal profile] qualityfriend 2022-04-21 07:50 am (UTC)(link)
[She looks down.]

I know. Having powers doesn't make you invincible. Or else Batman wouldn't be very effective. But... now that I have powers... I just felt like I couldn't keep my head down anymore.
tosavethisworld: (i'll do better with every heartbeat)

[personal profile] tosavethisworld 2022-04-21 08:18 am (UTC)(link)
[She gets the feeling it might not be as metaphorical as she initially thought. Which is something—maybe they have some kind of obligatory symbiotic relationship? Although why someone would anchor themselves to a cat somehow, whether through some kind of biological means or something else entirely, she's not sure.]

How'd you two meet in the first place?

[A shrug.] Well, you're right about that. Like I said, I don't run into cats often. [To herself, clearly thinking out loud:] Only things with red eyes I know about are machines when they catch sight of someone.

[Against the fur? All right. She reaches out and very tentatively pets Teekl, going against the fur as requested. The way she does it seems a little awkward—generally when she pets something like this, it's an overridden machine she means to ride.]

Or else what? [she asks, still petting.]
tosavethisworld: (you are loved more than you know)

night at the museum

[personal profile] tosavethisworld 2022-04-21 08:29 am (UTC)(link)
[Aloy, on the ground circling around but on comms, is a little floored by so much art, and all of it collected into one place. Museums are new to her in general, art museums even moreso—she can see the value in collecting and preserving history, wishes they had something like that back home, but this? Seems little more than extravagance to her.]

Why would someone put a giant coin on display? [This she asks while scanning the crowd with her Focus.] That just sounds like tempting trouble.

[Huh. Nothing down here just yet.]

Coast seems clear for now down here. Do you see anything up there?
chulk: (pic#10489086)

[personal profile] chulk 2022-04-21 10:06 am (UTC)(link)
You're really cynical, you know that?
whocares: (from cold blood and bruises)

[personal profile] whocares 2022-04-21 11:19 am (UTC)(link)
better than a gullible mook
forceforlight: (NW-Haley)

[personal profile] forceforlight 2022-04-21 11:34 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah. Right. He hadn't had as much to do with Bart as Tim ever had, but it's pretty obvious that the hint had gone right over the kid's head. Honestly, he can't help but be amused at that.]

[Shaking his head, he grins at Bart.]


You'd be surprised how bright things can be in grim environments. Probably because those are the places that need it more.

[He steps closer, dropping his voice a bit. Not that anybody is actually paying attention to them.]

Bart. It's Dick. You know, Tim's older brother?

[Of course, the problem with stepping closer is that Haley is now doing her best to sniff at the cat. Since cat is a fairly new scent for her.]
Edited (I managed to forget his dog's name...) 2022-04-21 12:17 (UTC)
wordiness: recadreuse (034)

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-04-21 12:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Because I'd like for you to like your coat? Is this a trick question? [ he's very concerned, does no one ever ask your opinion about these things or..

also: weird, he gravitates toward the same colors. or maybe that's just the sign of a budding friendship, although billy does tend to lean toward soft goth and witchy vibes rather than punk. (you should've seen his nails a couple of comic runs back.) ]


Doesn't matter about the shirt, though obviously more fabric is better, and it's different because it uses two different abilities. [ he holds up a palm, and blue energy coalesces into a tiny series of tarot cards over his palm. not that he uses tarot, generally speaking, but it's an example, so don't get lost in the weeds, tim. ] Divination and related arts are magic, and my magic can be kind of flashy.

[ he closes his hand into a fist and the energy winks out. then he takes the end of his shawl and flicks it at tim. ] On the other hand, changing clothes into other clothes, or making new ones, is something I do pretty often and leans toward reality-warping, which I can do without any fuss.
forceforlight: (Default)

[personal profile] forceforlight 2022-04-21 12:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[Dick's always been the expressive one in the family, though he can hide it. But Bruce has known him long enough to see the half second of relief on Dick's face before he pushes it away for a happier expression.]

You really should have called if you wanted me here earlier, B. I know phones aren't your favorite, but still.

mostdangerousbird: (44 shake the hand of a brand new fool)

[personal profile] mostdangerousbird 2022-04-21 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. Um.

[ Is. Is that a thing that people just do in real life? They just tell people that they met less than an hour ago that they’re cute.

Without it being some attention/media ploy, or else being some sort of self-confidence machine?

No, of course not. If Loki’s a god, then he’s not operating by a standard rulebook. Tim’s lucky he’s not being told he’s cute by a talking swan or something.

Or unlucky, because he wouldn’t be so confused and flattered if it was a talking swan. That would be ridiculous.
]

Hnh. You don’t get to call someone a flesh-sack like they’re nothing and then fix it by calling them cute.

[ Tim is going to remove himself mentally from the scenario and maybe his ears won’t feel so hot. ]
forceforlight: (Default)

[personal profile] forceforlight 2022-04-21 12:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[Honestly, the shawl is NOT the most extra thing that Dick has seen somebody wear. One of his best friends had a uniform that was stars all over at one point. And then there's Raven, who is 90% cloak at the best of times.]

[The puppy in question strains a bit toward Billy, nose working as she sniffs at him Dick grins, rubbing her ears.]


Her name's Haley. Though I think she's still getting used to it.

[It does NOT help that his little brother and...girlfriend? Friend who is a girl? 'It's complicated'? Still call her Bitewing from time to time.]

You can pet her, if you want. Just let her get a sniff first.
forceforlight: (NW-Gargoyle)

[personal profile] forceforlight 2022-04-21 12:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Back home in Gotham? You don't know the half of it. Remind me to tell you about Two-Face and the Penny Pincher sometime.

[...Yes, he knows how ridiculous that sounds. He really does. But his entire childhood was ridiculous, so it tracks.]

[He shifts slightly, scanning the area once more.]


Still nothing from up here. Though with so many powers out there, somebody could have shrunk to the size of an ant or smaller and we wouldn't know.l
ikols: we both forgot to mention (details)

[personal profile] ikols 2022-04-21 12:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, that's all it took to fix it? [ Grinning widely. ] Good to know.

[ The poor guy, his ears are tomatoes. ]

Well, cute flesh-sack or not, you ought to tell me ... which way do you swing? [ There's a pause as if he forgot to clarify, then with the same serene gaze Loki amends, ] Alliance or Society?
wordiness: (008)

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-04-21 12:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ his uniform is also mostly stars, actually, maybe they shop at the same interdimensional superhero store.

he immediately melts at the permission, and offers up his hands for her to sniff. once she's satisfied, he has to gently squish her little face, then scritch behind her ears. ]
Who's a good girl? Is it Haley? Is it Haley? Yes it is, miss ma'am. [ he boops her nose, then glances back up at dick again with a sheepish grin. ] Sorry, it's just that my husband and I probably wouldn't have the time for a dog, so I have to get my fix through other people's.

[ he rubs her chin, then draws back just enough to hold up his phone again. ] I can offer payment for services rendered by helping you find the park, though?
tosavethisworld: (it'll fuck up your mind)

[personal profile] tosavethisworld 2022-04-21 12:53 pm (UTC)(link)
The Penny Pincher. [She says it with a note of disbelief and curiosity.] You could do it now. Would pass the time until something happens. [She sort of wants something to happen, if only because guard work is boring work, and Aloy's getting antsy.

She huffs out a breath. Yeah, she's a good tracker, but even she'd have trouble tracking down someone smaller than an ant.]


Thanks for that. Now I'll be worrying over if I accidentally squashed someone the whole night. [She taps her Focus to send out a pulse, cocking her head to the side as various items and people light up with information. None of it's relevant, currently, and this brief pulse hasn't revealed any ant-sized or invisible criminals scurrying around. She'd have to fully scan the room for that, and in a crowd like this the idea of standing still while her Focus scans the area makes her itch.]

Some of these relics, I can understand craving. But others—I have a lot of questions about the Old Ones' tastes. [This, she says while squinting in confusion at an abstract sculpture.]
ikols: let my bed be made (o brother dear)

museum theft!!

[personal profile] ikols 2022-04-21 01:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Sorry, Dick, Loki can't hear you, largely because he's on the ground and running toward a display as a fox. The russet, furry thief leaps through some alarm lasers and with an elegant series of hops lands on the top, sniffing the egg-shaped artefact there. Said fox also happens to be wearing a golden helm with horns, of some kind, and he knows what he's doing because none of the alarms actually go off.

In his defence, he has a very nice fluffy tail, and looks a little bit too ethereal to be a normal creature if one stares long enough ...

He pauses, sniffing in the direction of the rafters, then quickly (and delicately!) snatches up the egg between his teeth and vaults off the pillar toward the door. Gotta go fast! ]
the_caped_crusader: (pic#15390941)

[personal profile] the_caped_crusader 2022-04-21 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I know. I've been a little busy.

[ he steps forward, letting bitewing sniff his hand before he gives the pup a firm skritch on the head. ]

You're almost the last one here, besides Barbara, maybe.
mostdangerousbird: (039)

[personal profile] mostdangerousbird 2022-04-21 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Tim has been having a lot of trouble lately, identifying and articulating what he wants rather than trying to performatively be what he thinks other people want him to be. It’s getting better, but the concept of being able to want something and act on it without ripping it to shreds in his head first… that’s a fledgling concept.

The clothes are somewhat related to that. He used to dress with much more character and has lost that to present as something inoffensively upper crust. He’s a teenager who willingly wears ties and button-downs.
]

I don’t know how real clothes or warped clothes are constructed. I want it to look like a pea coat, I guess. Black or grey or navy. Anything’s fine.

[ Something neutral that doesn’t scream teenager as loudly as a hoodie.

And too late, tarot boy, it’s been noted that you can make cards appear out of thin air and are an entire planetarium light show.
]

You can manipulate reality without any fuss. As in, it’s less complicated than and distinct from the magic.

[ Oh, he has so many questions he might implode, because they’re all the sort of questions that a normal person wouldn’t ask, about multiverses and omniverses and the Fifth dimension and the definition of the reality and context of the warping.

But then he’s not just someone at the market. Then he’s memorable.

So Tim can only just quirk an eyebrow.
]
wordiness: (024)

[personal profile] wordiness 2022-04-21 04:50 pm (UTC)(link)
A pea coat? [ he gives him a thoughtful once-over, taking in his extremely neutral outfit, then quirks his own brow. well.. if that's really what he likes..

not that he's sure he believes that. at least, not if the lingering glance at that henley is any indication. which.. could make for a good example, actually. ]


Reality-warping is more instinctive. [ lips quirking up a little mischievously, he reaches out, flicking the collar of tim's shirt-- and with a slither of fabric over skin, suddenly it's a double for the one on display. there's no fanfare to it, no blue energy.. one second it's the shirt tim was wearing, the next it's something else. ] Magic is something studied, learned, for the most part. And I make rules for myself because otherwise I-- I don't like knowing what I'm capable of.

[ which is a little too vulnerable for a stranger in the market whose name he doesn't even know, so he clears his throat and moves on. ]

Anyway, a lot of magic is ritual. I mostly use words, and not particularly formally, but different disciplines use different methods.
kid_flash_found: (Default)

[personal profile] kid_flash_found 2022-04-21 05:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[Bart has to shift slightly to keep the cat from doing more than putting his ears back with wary hiss, and he absently corrects the behavior.]

Sorry, Kat-El isn't really keen on meeting new folks. He's really attached to the ones he has. Long story.

[Still, he nods at Dick's introduction, taking a moment to mentally add the domino and costume and figure they match well enough to his memories. Any variation is probably due to time or not-quite-matching universes.]

I remember. Kinda hard to forget that time you came to straighten things out in San Francisco when your dad came to help his friends talk Cassie out of staying.
mostdangerousbird: (029 didn’t recognize u w/o the handcuffs)

[personal profile] mostdangerousbird 2022-04-21 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
N-no. No.

[ To all of it. All of it because the implication smacks in the face. Tim’s not sure if he’s reading too much into it. Self-discovery’s been at the forefront of his mind. He could just be overly sensitive, right? Right.

He’s not okay with checking if he’s right, even if Loki did call him cute. Gods like you has to be a universal bad sign, maybe even a multiversal truth.
]

That’s a… lot of presumptions. I’m neither.
ikols: keeper of thought & memory (come odin)

[personal profile] ikols 2022-04-21 05:42 pm (UTC)(link)
It was a question, Tim. Relax.

[ Poor guy. Loki dials back the flirting, lips pursing as he looks ahead. ]

I'm unaffiliated, you won't be able to reach me though either faction. If you need to, I can give you my phone number ... ooor [ the more Tim-like option that Loki thinks he will enjoy, ] you could set up a summoning circle and pray. I'll come by.

As long as it's not, you know, three in the morning or something. I do sleep.
forceforlight: (D-Smile/Laughing)

[personal profile] forceforlight 2022-04-21 07:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[Wouldn't be a massive shock. Donna always had the best taste out of the original five. Garth was probably second these days, but it had taken aging up significantly in order to get it. Really, Dick would have preferred he get it a better way.]

[Still, he laughs and grins at the way the kid reacts to Haley. And Haley, being a puppy, laps it up. Including more than a little bit of licking of hands and a quick bark when Billy pulls away.]


No worries. I never thought I'd have time for a dog, either, but I think I found her at a time when we both needed someone. And she kinda weaselled her way under my skin.

[That's absolutely his story and he's sticking to it.]

And helping find the park would be great. Preferably before I end up peed on.
forceforlight: (NW-Gargoyle)

[personal profile] forceforlight 2022-04-21 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's easy enough to get Dick talking. He's always been the distraction, after all. And it's useful in a fight. And to just pass the time when nothing is happening.]

The Penny Pincher was pretty much just a low-level street crook who decided to make all his crimes revolve around pennies. He stole money from banks...but only pennies. Stole some valuable pennies. And, then, somebody made a gigantic penny for the exhibition and he had to have it.

[He keeps scanning the room, because he's absolutely expecting something to happen.]

Now, Two-Face is another matter. And a pretty sad one as well, really. The main thing you need to know for the story, though, is that he has a two-headed coin that he uses to make decisions. And, because of that, ALSO has a thing about coin-based crime. [A pause.] You know. That sounds even weirder when you say it out loud, and I've lived it.

[He shifts slightly, though just to relieve some of the tension through the backs of his calves.]

"Art is subjective," is the best I can offer. That one there is definitely not my style, but I can see somebody liking it. Abstract art tends to be more about the emotions it evokes rather than any particular thing that it's meant to represent.