metamemes | TEST DRIVE MEME #3

Entry tags:

!test drive meme

TEST DRIVE MEME #3

TEST DRIVE MEME

A confluence is defined as the convergence of one or more forces. A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces.

Confluences have been mild ever since the Godfall Event occurred in the 1980s. The older generations tell their children of the confluences they remember as children, the earth-shaking events that transformed the landscape of the world (and the people) every time they occurred. Now they're largely inconveniences. An explosion of experimental ALIEN NANOBOTS here, a magical LIGHTNING STORM there, nothing particularly disruptive to day to day life.

ONLY SHOOTING STARS. CENTRAL CITY.

Awareness hits you in a rush. As does the sound of a town’s EMERGENCY ALARMS WAILING. Just as you begin to register the sound, you realize how quickly the towering skyscrapers are coming up to meet you. You may throw your hands up to shield yourself from witnessing your own grisly demise. Not to worry - THREADS OF MYSTICAL ENERGY rush up to meet you, grabbing for limbs and catching you before you make landfall. A NET MADE OF STARS has come up to cradle you, giving you a much gentler entry into this world than most others have received thus far. A smattering of exhausted looking people holding staves and wands peer up at you and attempt to smile, though they appear to be much more focused on keeping you held aloft.

Correction. They’re keeping MOST of you aloft. The mystical net made of stars doesn’t seem quite large enough to cover the entire sky. THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE FALLING. Perhaps you’re not spared the fall, plummeting through the gap in the net and straight into someone’s living room. Or car. Or straight into the sewer systems.

DIADEM HOTEL

You're not going home anytime soon. Hopefully, the LUXURY HOTEL they've put you up in will ease that sting.

The DIADEM HOTEL is usually reserved for the obscenely wealthy. Its rooms are enormous, the beds quite literally enchanted to offer the perfect night's sleep, and the food would usually cost your life savings just to sample. But given the circumstances, the Guilds feel its the least they can do to aid your transition into this world. EVERYTHING is complimentary, and everyone gets an ALLIANCE CREDIT CARD to spend on entertainment, clothing, and whatever other necessities they might need. The cards have an obscenely high limit and there doesn't seem to be an expectation for you to pay it back... though if they catch you abusing it, their accountant will be coming for your head.

There's a shopping center immediately across the street. It has an impressive array of outlets that cater to your every need. Food, clothing... and swords? If you can think of it, it's for sale. Although anything clearly supernatural or metahuman seems to be at a minimum and offered under the table. You can grab clothing made to withstand any superpower and a surprisingly mediocre Taco Bell order while you're at it. There's a Super Cinema in the shopping complex across the street that's showing the highly anticipated DROP DEAD GORGEOUS movie, a thriller wherein a fictional beauty queen accidentally swallows a fragment of the Necronomicon and becomes the world’s most powerful necromancer. Oh, and her boyfriend transforms into her chainsaw.

CENTRAL CITY isn't exactly the nicest place in the world. Wander too far from the shopping district and you'll find yourselves thick into territory controlled by the local non-meta crime syndicate... but maybe that's where you want to be. Maybe you're here to see just what this world is dealing with. If you're going to be stuck here you might as well make yourself useful, right?

Or perhaps you're NOT the heroic type. Maybe this is simply scoping out the competition.

Regardless, it won't take long for TROUBLE to find you. Test out your new powers, do a little thieving, stop a few muggings - this is your time to use as you see fit.

MAY FLIES AND FLOWERS. EXCELSIOR.

EXCELSIOR has just opened its very own BOTANICAL GARDEN! The facility is roughly the size of a city block, a modern monolith of steel and glass, specially equipped to prevent birds from flying into the many windows. There’s plants from all over the world growing inside, different rooms hosting rare and exotic specimens from different climates. Each mini-biome has animals native to the regions they mimic, of course - not a great many of them, but you’re likely to see some insects and birds flitting here and there.

To better protect the guests, all animals inside are man-made creations - be they mechanical or genetically engineered for a single purpose. The most notable of these projects is a MECHANICAL BUTTERFLY enjoying its first test flight. Researchers hope that these butterflies can be introduced into nature to aid the waning bee populations. These butterflies, beautiful creations spun from delicate metal wire, can be found in nearly any of the ecosystems present in the Botanical Garden. Aside from being hardy and efficient, they’re also equipped with a CHEMICAL ENHANCEMENT that makes the pollen they collect twelve times more potent. Everything’s getting pollinated in here! Best hope you don't have allergies.

This SPECIAL POLLEN also has the side-effect of making anyone in the vicinity feel quite lonely or loved. Theorized as a way to make dates more intimate, no more consideration was put into the ethical ramifications of subtly altering people’s mood for commercial benefit. It’s Excelsior, after all, hopefully someone warned you they view ethics as optional.

Should you have come to this beautiful slice of nature alone you may find yourself OVERWHELMED WITH LONELINESS as the flock fly overhead. Yet this loneliness comes with an edge of courage. Perhaps you’re emboldened to approach another lonely heart and ask if they would care to accompany you.

If you’ve come with someone you all may find yourselves feeling much more WARM AND AFFECTIONATE towards them. Such a pretty place, such great company - let’s spend some real quality time!

WORKING ALL ANGLES. SUNSET FALLS.

Be you hero, villain, or unaligned - socialite KATHERINE WEST has a request for you. Miss West appears to be quite distressed. The weirdness of Sunset Falls has put her dear father in a bit of a pickle and she’s looking for strapping heroes (and villains, and unaligned, really anyone with two feet and a heartbeat) to help out. She states that she’s no metahuman and so she can’t offer you a team-up, but she can offer you a shoutout on her Instagram page.

The TASKS she’s issuing seem simple on the surface. Safe enough that you may be swayed by her sweet smile and the 15 million followers who might take a shine to you.

HUNT SOME WOLVES.

A shame she didn’t mention that these wolves are WEREWOLVES.

A pack of werewolves has been wreaking havoc in the PARK. They come out at night to grow their pack. Nearly a dozen locals have been conscripted by this infectious bite.

Luckily, there is a POTENTIAL SOLUTION! This particular brand of lycanthropy can be cured if you grievously wound them with a SILVER WEAPON. A quick google also tells you that curing the ALPHA – or killing him – will end the curse for the whole pack. She’s twice the size of a direwolf with jaws like a steel trap.

Granted, killing them is the faster solution. There is a slight hitch in that plan. These wolves REVERT BACK TO HUMAN FORM upon death. It might look weird to find a bunch of bodies in the park so you’d best be prepared to clean up after yourself.

There’s always the risk you’ll get bit and JOIN THEM. Should this happen, the transformation will come on suddenly and painfully, your body distorting under the light of the moon. The ANIMAL INSTINCTS will come on just as powerfully - you’re part of a pack now, and you’re out on a hunt. Hopefully some kind soul can hit you with silver or take out your alpha, because you won't turn back on your own.

HERE KITTY KITTY.

Miss West has tasked you with finding all of the town’s TREED CATS. This one is an easy enough task, right? For the last four months there's been an absurd amount of cats getting stuck in trees.

Well, it seems two months of storing AMBIENT CHAOS MAGIC has made these cats more unpredictable than usual. Chaos magic isn't something you want to mess with, especially not when it's held in purrsnickety paws. It's easy to snatch them from the branches if they don't know you're coming, but if you approach under their watchful eye you'll begin to find the rules of reality start to bend. The ocean becomes a sky full of fish, and the grass beneath you a warm carpet warmed by a sunbeam. Your thoughts and feelings suddenly seem to be able to influence this space - so careful! You wouldn't want your worst fears to suddenly manifest.

Now would be a really bad time to remember that dream where all your teeth fall out.

DANCING SHADOWS.

This one is fairly simple. All Miss West wants is a PICTURE OF YOUR SHADOW. She gives you her best camera and asks you take the very best shot you can.

The ambient mystical energies of Sunset Falls are known to be chaotic. The LINGERING MAGIC of the spell that snatched you from the sky is ignited. Your shadow begins to glimmer faintly like the night sky itself. If you catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of your eye, you could swear you spy your shadow smiling back. Its eyes appear to be bright, burning stars.

These stars grant it a RUDIMENTARY SENTIENCE. And with it, liberation! No longer is it bound to your feet. Your shadow-self wants to live it's very best life and that means doing whatever impulsive thing strikes its brand new consciousness. CAUSING MAYHEM, infecting other shadows with its newly gained brilliance. Before long, the town is OVERRUN with dancing shadows. While their antics don't affect the physical space, if you glance down at the ground in pure chaos.

The magically inclined among you may want to work together to bind your shadows back to your feet. It's not good for a person to be split between planes like this. It's not good for the world, either, as the ground seems to give an ominous rumble every now and again. Catch your shadow and pin it under your foot!

WILDCARD.

Metaheroes takes inspiration from all walks of comics. Take a look at the CITIES to get an idea as to what day to day life is like in the other cities. Perhaps you've encountered a supervillain (or hero) who needs to be thwarted, or a metahuman with unusual powers creating bizarre effects. You can also take a look at the MISSION BOARD to get your start as a professional hero, villain, or vigilante.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

steven;

★ i. shooting stars.

No, no, no, no -

[ This is absolutely not at all any good. Steven's stomach flips unpleasantly, like when you experience momentary weightlessness on a roller coaster (he's never been on a rollercoaster and this only cements the fact that he was right to avoid them). He doesn't like the way the sirens get louder or the way the buildings start rushing past him. He doesn't like that he doesn't know if it's better to keep his eyes closed or keep them open. He doesn't like that he's literally falling to the ground and no suit or Marc has manifested to somehow help him.

He's not what he'd call a Praying Man so Steven just screams and anticipates the pavement, at least thinking when he hits it that it'll go so quick he won't feel anything.

The pavement never comes.

This fall is longer than Steven thought it'd be, which isn't comforting. Nothing about this is comforting. He's not keen on the fact that his untimely end is taking its time, and he's already taken a breath before screaming some more.
And then it dawns on him that he isn't falling anymore. Amazed at how the impact really was quick, Steven assumes he's gone and died, and the cradle of stars is whisking him to the afterlife.

Funny there's so many buildings and loud sounds, though. Steven cautiously looks over the edge and peers down at all the faces of the people using honest-to-goodness magic wands to keep him aloft. ]

Oh. Um. Hello. [ He waves a bit. ] Sorry about the yelling. Is there a way to get down from here? Without more of the falling business. Ideally.

★ ii. may flies and flowers.

Oh. Wow.

[ Steven may as well be a kid in a candy store. The moment he steps inside the botanical gardens, his eyes light up, and he's not sure where to start. He dutifully grabs a brochure that has a mini map of the place, and pores over it, mentally charting what he feels is the ideal route. It's not as if he's in any rush. It's his turn to be out and about after all, and he'll be damned if he's not going to enjoy this.

He starts his walk through, pausing to look at almost every little thing he sees. In his head, Marc groans, and Steven happily ignores it. It's not his fault if his counterpart doesn't know how to appreciate the simpler things. Eventually, Steven catches sight of the butterflies. He blinks at them in wonder, following one through a biome until it flutters at the edge of a mini pond filled with a fish that seem like koi but aren't actually koi. The butterfly lands on his shoulder and Steven barely manages to contain how tickled it makes him. When he sees someone else come through, he'll look at them excitedly. ]

Have you seen this? Here - Come have a look.

[ Steven's always been friendly, but he's feeling particularly warm towards people suddenly.

As he speaks, he gently lets the mechanical butterfly move to the back of his hand, which he then holds out gently to the stranger to take. ]

marc;

☾. iii. diadem hotel.

[ There's no such thing as a free ride. Marc doesn't buy into the idea that this is all just complimentary. Sure, it might be true that he won't have to repay anything with money, but this is the sort of thing people use to hold against you. Everyone wants a favour eventually, and Marc isn't into the idea that he's at the mercy of hospitality that's probably gonna come back and bite him in the ass.

He does a reasonable sweep of the hotel room. He doesn't actually think there's going to be bugs or cameras, and that's not exactly his area of expertise, but he doesn't think there's any harm in checking. Nothing about the room seems odd or out of place. It's clean and orderly and the complimentary toiletries smell as expensive as the bedding looks. Steven had, of course, been delighted until Marc (somewhat reluctantly) put him in his place. Marc has no intentions of letting Steven take control until he's had a chance to fully suss things out.

With the hotel room seemingly in order, Marc ventures out. He bypasses the shopping centre. It looks too perfect, like the hotel, and Marc assumes it's proximity and design are meant to help ease people into a sense of security. If you want for nothing, you're happy. He wants to see what the city is really like. It's not long before he finds what he suspected all along.

Behind the facade of luxury are meaner streets. It's not like in a movie, where you cross a road and suddenly places are boarded up and tagged and everyone looks sketchy. It looks relatively normal, except for the way Marc can feel people watching him as he passes. He's about to turn back towards the hotel when he sees a commotion up a block. ]

Hey. Hey!

[ He jogs over, getting in the way before a scuffle can take place. Once the presumably guilty party takes off at the intrusion, Marc turns to the stranger he may or may not have just saved. ]

You okay?

☾. iv. hunt some wolves.

[ He doesn't care about social media. He doesn't even care about helping, but Steven had said that it's bad form not to help when they're entirely capable of helping and Marc found he couldn't argue with it.

He'd been surprised to find that his powers were returned to him once he arrived here. While Marc's still trying to work out whether he's happy or not about that, at the realization that it's werewolves, he feels a little better being able to go in with some supernatural force behind him. None of the weapons he has readily available with the suit are silver, though a quick stop at the fancy mall by the Diadem is enough to equip him with a dagger that's supposed to be authentic silver.

Marc supposes he'll find out if that's true or not when it's too late to turn back.

As he makes his way into the park, Steven makes a joke about how it's funny that a Moon Knight would be hunting werewolves ("Get it? Werewolves? Moon?"). Marc said this is exactly why it's him out here suited up to fight them and not Steven, because he doesn't need Steven making quips and letting them get bitten. Marc lurks behind a tree, the moonlight catching the white of his suit and making him look more like a spectral figure than a man on a hunt. When he hears rustling behind him, he spins around in a flash, silver dagger ready to strike. ]

Jesus - [ Not a werewolf, just someone else lurking out here in the dark in a wolf infested park. ] What the hell is wrong with you?

wildcard;

Choose your own adventure! Any prompt goes, feel free to run into Marc or Steven at the Diadem hotel or out and about in any city/location. If you want a specific boy, let me know and I'll be happy to provide.

Edited 2022-05-16 06:52 (UTC)

Out from the bushes walls a pig in a Spider-Man costume. He looks strangely oversaturated, like a cartoon character brought into the real world.

Which is pretty much the case.

"Me? Which one of us is pointing knives at people, pal?"

It's a good thing Marc's face isn't visible behind the mask, because it's very what the fuck right now. He's hunting werewolves, he was the servant of an Egyptian god, why wouldn't a talking pig dressed up like Spider-Man be a thing that happens now?

He suddenly feels very tired.

"You can't just sneak up behind people when they're looking for wolves," he says, voice a hushed but stern whisper.

Edited 2022-05-18 00:09 (UTC)

"Ohnononono. Listen here, Mister Cloak Guy, if that is your real name. This isn't on me. Just because you can't look below eye-"

Spider-Ham's eyes widen, including the ones on his snout.

"-HIT THE DECK!"

He drops to the ground as a werewolf jumps out towards them.

That's some Looney Tunes bullshit right there, but there's bigger, wolf-shaped things to worry about. Luckily, the Moon Knight instincts kick in, and Marc dives and rolls out of the way. As he comes up to a knee, he throws his silver dagger, and he sees the blade just skim the hair of the creature before getting stuck in a tree.

"Shit -"

He glances around, looking for the pig as he gets ready to tussle with a werewolf.

"Why grandma, what big teeth you have." Spider-Ham quips as the werewolf charges him. He leaps into the trees, firing weblines to try and slow it down.

"Hey buddy, you got a game plan that doesn't involve stabbing them? Because if that is someone's grandma, I'm not the one who's going to have to explain to her grandkids why someone knifed her."

Marc Spector/Steven Grant || MCU

hunt some wolves

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

ii.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

i

no subject

no subject

i. shooting stars

no subject

no subject

no subject

ii

no subject

iii;

no subject