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TEST DRIVE MEME #02
TEST DRIVE MEME
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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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
dinotopia —
and frankly the warning about larry the lizard down there was too hysterical to be believed. )
I have no idea what any of those words mean, ( said by way of greeting, brisk and to the point as he leans past kai to survey the scene.
the fingers of a glove already caught between his teeth. )
Some people really have no taste. ( a slight sneer to the words. does he particularly care about dino dan's no doubt tragic backstory? not really. what he cares about is that his entire day's been disrupted because someone got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.
saints. the clean-up is going to be a nightmare. )
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angling his body, kai looks over at his new rooftop companion, getting a better view of him. he can sense the energy coming from him — nothing familiar, of course; alternate dimensions and all that, but it always piques his interest, more so than anything that could be going on down there. )
I take it you're not a big fan of dinosaurs. Personally, ( he places his hand over his heart. ) I love them in nugget form more, but considering they've been extinct for millions of years, calling them poor taste might be a little on the side of mean.
( he tosses a few more popcorns into his mouth, munching away. )
BTW, are you a witch? ( he wiggles his fingers at him. ) Witchy woo.
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easier to simply not ask at all. ) What does a witch look like, precisely? ( in a bland, almost disinterested tone. like they're discussing the weather and not something quite so indecent as magic.
glove tucked under his arm, aleksander sets his palm to the stone of the building — he hasn't decided, yet, what he'll do. reaching for dan's shadow at this distance seems iffy, but working merzost in the open is never a sensible call.
particularly not with an audience. )
And I'm not particularly fond of anything large and carnivorous, scaled or otherwise. Though I suppose I should be glad these don't breathe fire.
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people don't usually just out themselves because somebody asks, especially in this less-than-hospitable climate. he has more than one thing he wouldn't tell others about himself, but being a witch is not one of them. he's waaaayyy too happy that he has regained access to magic again that he is nothing short of proud. )
It isn't what you look like. ( a slight eyeroll. ) It's what you feel like. ( he motions at him with a popcorn pinched between his fingers. ) Unless that isn't magic I'm sensing from you and it's something... else.
( he momentarily redirects his gaze to the trigger happy raptor. did the velociraptor come before the man or did the man come before the velociraptor? those little human arms are seriously raising some questions. wait—... did mr. "what does a witch look like" just mention something about creatures breathing fire?
his eyes widen comically as he turns his attention back on him. )
Breathe fire like dragons breathe fire? You wouldn't happen to be from like Middle-earth, are you?
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his tone suggests that he's weighing the merits of whether or not to take offence. this certainly feels like the kind of conversation that should offend him. )
You're very funny. ( is what he settles on; it's clearly not a compliment but it's gentler than the alternatives. )
And I'm an Etherealki, if we're being technical. A Summoner. If I were a witch, I would probably have resolved this by now.
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( he pauses for a moment before his face scrunches up a little. )
An Ethy-what now? ( he tried. ⭐ ) What do Summoners summon? Is this like a... ( give him a second he knows this one— ) A Pokeyman type situation? Do you carry around a little ball with cute monsters inside?
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he stares.
it's a long, uncomfortable stare. )
I sincerely hope you're joking.
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I was curious. Isn't it easier to just ask?
( he stares right back at him with the most pleasant smile. )
Nope. It's apparently a huge thing. ( he holds up his hands. ) I don't get it either.
no subject
( mildly; the laissez-faire attitude really isn't the stranger's fault. objectively aleksander knows this, knows that not every world is as brutal as his own, but damn if there isn't something grating about it all the same. )
That kind of talk will land you on a pyre where I'm from.
( if you're lucky. if you aren't then the shu get their hands on you and you're swallowed by one of their labs.
aleksander flexes his fingers again, reaches for those lingering threads of shadow and pulls. it resists a little, as the shadows of this world tend to do, before begrudgingly settling into the shape of something very nearly like a large curved blade. )
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( he doesn't sound worried about it. )
Besides, we're on an Earth with people who can shoot lasers out of their eyes and velociraptors with muscular arms. I don't think anyone will be going burn the witch! here. ( and even if they did, he could always just snap their necks. )
Oooh. ( his eyes widen in delight as the shadowy construct of a blade manifests in his companion's hand. he leans toward him slightly, a wide grin on his face. ) That's fun. I've never tried that before. ( he looks down at raptor ray. ) Are you gonna try to knock the gun out of his hand with that?
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( a twitch of his fingers and broadens, rounds into something that looks a little less likely to bisect. )
Possibly. Though if he keeps moving there's a reasonable likelihood it's going to cost him a limb. ( he doesn't sound particularly concerned about this, of course, but let it not be said that an effort hasn't been made.
and lizards regenerate, don't they? )
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Or maybe I'm just confident for a good reason.
( he nods his head agreeably. )
That would be a shame. ( he doesn't sound particularly sympathetic. ) But I guess you gotta do what you gotta do for the greater good.
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( it's the answer he'd have expected, except that there's none of the usual chest-beating following in its wake. his head cants slightly, an invitation to expound. )
I don't think the people here would know the greater good if it stared them in the face.
( that was humanity for you, though. caught up in the details when the reality was absolute good was every bit as terrifying as absolute evil. more so, perhaps, if only because it believed its own righteousness. )
Still, a scene on Main Street is a scene on Main Street.
( and with that, he lets the blade fly. )
no subject
We've got guys like Spider-Man and Iron Man around here though. I'm sure they have plenty of ideas on what the greater good is.
( he leans dangerously forward on the parapet as he follows the trajectory of the blade, immediately falling silent as he watches its path curve towards the unsuspecting dinosaur. is it gonna hit him? is it? ) Nice throw. ( it 100% hit him. o u c h. he can hear the cry of pain all the way from up here. )
Haha. That's so cool. ( he glances back over at him. ) I'm Kai, by the way. ( he extends a gloved hand out towards him. )
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he seems the type.
the blade hits its mark. triumph rushes through aleksander, blunting the edge of his earlier irritation. it was a good shot. )
Aleksander.
( the hesitation before grasping kai's hand is barely noticeable. although it feels strange to be touching anyone this openly, even without kai's glove in the way as a buffer. )
A pleasure.
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Pleasure's all mine. ( he swivels around in his seat, hopping down from his perch on the parapet. )
We should be friends, Aleksander. Keep in touch. ( he pulls out his phone as he waggles it at him. ) Let's swap contacts?
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You'll have to show me how.
( not an outright refusal, at least. )
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as it stands, while he is a man of considerable skill and foresight, he is also a bit of a moron when it comes to situations like this. which is why, rather than reconsidering, he is going to hand kai his phone. rip restful night sleeps and ignorance to the memesphere of the internet, he hardly knew you. )
no subject
he probably should have just yeeted him off of the building, but instead, he has given him access to his contact info and he will one day rue the day that he ignored his initial instinct. anyway, it won't take too long for kai to get it all set up. he will very graciously explain the steps while he does it too because he's nice like that. )
There you go. ( he hands the phone back to him. ) Feel free to call or text me anytime. ( (: )