TEST DRIVE MEME #3

[metamods]

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.

Comments

[heydrb]

“I remember,” it’s a soft, fond sound joined by a smile as he laces his fingers behind his head.

There is a little twinge of something— doubt or maybe hesitation. But he pushes it aside for something more neutral, “No judgment here.”

[atypical_echo]

"Good," Mark answered as he returned to flop on the bed he supposed was his now.

"I... gotta warn you. New and exciting nightmares for me."

[heydrb]

“Oh…” he bites his lip. He hadn’t thought of that. “Does—” he frowns a little and pushes up onto one arm. “Does the empathy thing work when you’re asleep?” Not something he’s really ever taken the time to consider.

[atypical_echo]

"So far as I know, I don't copy any powers when I'm asleep, except what Rose could do specifically because it was related to sleep," Mark answered. "Most atypicals need to be conscious to initiate powers, so the same is true of copying them. It's not a one hundred percent thing though."

Alex could still burn in his sleep.

[heydrb]

He nods a little. “Makes sense.” God, Rose. He hasn’t talked to her in months.

God, he hopes he just sleeps through the night for awhile. He remembers with a crystal-clear clarity the nights of dreamless sleep while The AM kept him pumped full of the really good drugs.

Damien’s not exactly a connoisseur of drugs, he kind of hates everything about an altered state of mind, but he could kind of get the appeal when he had the morphine drip. That perfectly fuzzy haze that kept reality and other heavy things just outside of his reach. He’d give almost anything to get sleep like that again.

“I guess we’ll find out soon enough if this place makes anything better or worse than at home,” he sighs and sinks back into the pillows again. His fingers curl in on themselves, with nothing to fidget with in hand.

[atypical_echo]

Well, perhaps they are lucky that the beds are enchanted for the perfect night's sleep. They could both use that for a little bit.

"I suppose we will. Not that I'm tired. Wait, hold on, I'm going to see if there is a coffee machine in here."

[heydrb]

So, so lucky.

"I'm sure there is," it seems like a pretty well-stocked sorta place, by his account. Mark seems to be having fun exploring the room, though, and he's kind of content to just amusedly watch him flit around the room at the moment.

[atypical_echo]

Thing is, the contentment feels nice too, so he doesn't have a problem with doing it. Instead he smiles as he moves through the room to investigate. And then he has to pause by the window.

"Oh shit this is so beautiful. Come see the view."

[heydrb]

He almost just mumbles something about how he's already seen it, but... nah. He won't deny him that.

Damien pushes himself up and moves over to the window, looking out at the scene. "Bet it looks even better, lit up at night," he says from over Mark's shoulder.

[atypical_echo]

"Guess I'll have to hover here tonight to see," Mark agrees. Damn he wished he had a camera to take pictures of it. He leans against the window, smiling warmly and radiating pleasure and joy at the sight from the window.

"That's part of why Boston always called to me. I was so beautiful, and the styles so distinct."

[heydrb]

"Yeah, guess so..." If Damien sounds distracted, it's definitely only because it's kind of a mess in his head with Mark's emotions floating around and definitely not because while Mark is staring out the window, he's watching Mark.

A cityscape view out of a hotel window. It's such a simple thing. A throwaway thing taken for granted by probably every single person that's ever been on a vacation. But it brightens Mark up like a goddamn Christmas tree, and it's such a damn infectious feeling.

"Yeah," he mumbles an agreement at the beautiful comment. "it was..." but Damien is still looking at Mark.

[atypical_echo]

Good news: Mark hasn't been used to Damien's emotions empathically enough to know that the beautiful comment was pointed toward him.

"I just want to go out and take so many pictures. Of course I don't really have the right sort of camera. Fuck I hate that."

[heydrb]

"So get one," it's almost a fluid motion from his pocket to the credit card they were issued held between two fingers. "they're not giving us free rein like this for long... take advantage of it while you've got it."

Maybe it's easier for Damien to do that because... that had been his entire life from 13 to 29. But that hasn't really occurred to him, exactly. That it might be harder for other people to accept getting things no strings.

[atypical_echo]

"Yeah, I don't buy that they won't expect us to repay that. No one is that fucking generous. It's all super Sus."

Like, he doesn't know what to do with this at all. And it's definitely strange. But he wants it. Badly. But he needs... he needs the camera to make a living.

[heydrb]

If he knew a damn thing about cameras, Damien would just buy the thing for him with his own card. He doesn't care if they want to come after him for credit card debt– they're literally in another universe where, chances were, they didn't even have real identities. How were they going to come after him?

"Just buy the fucking camera, Mark." He pockets the card again and shakes his head, forcing himself to step away from the window. On his way back to flop on the bed he'd taken up, he grabs a take-out menu. May as well get something halfway decent to eat, and there are plenty of options. "What do you wanna eat?"

[atypical_echo]

"I suppose I'll look for a place tomorrow. Or the internet. It's always an option."

But he will still hem and haw over it. But he turns to look at Damien.

"Take out? Would have taken you for a room service kind of guy."

[heydrb]

"We're here for– how long did they say?" He's terrible at paying attention to things when he doesn't care. "Plenty of time for room service." he shrugs. "Plus, you didn't answer my question."

[atypical_echo]

"I think it was two months? I don't know. I'd have to check."

And he really doesn't want to check because he doesn't want to go see anyone who is a hero here because no thanks on the power leak.

"I don't know. Thai sounds about right."

[heydrb]

"Two or three... I think. I dunno, whatever." He shakes his head. Not important at this point. He'll figure out the living situation thing when he has no choice but to figure it out, personally.

He nods his agreement with that idea. Thai does sound good. "All right," he finds a place on the menu card and calls, taking cues from Mark for half of the order and giving his own answers for the rest.

He tosses the phone on the table beside the bed and looks back over at Mark. Two months? Living together? How the hell is he supposed to survive that, when Mark can feel every single thing he feels?

[atypical_echo]

Yeah Mark will probably be the same.

"You're buzzing with frustration," Mark noted. "Come on, can't we just... We're stuck here right now, in this moment. Can't fix it today. So can we pretend it's all okay?"

[heydrb]

“Is it?” He sounds doubtful and the look on his face matches. “I don’t think that’s… the right word-” Not that he’s sure he wants to muse over what the right word actually might be.

“And anyway, I’m not— I’m trying not to be weird about it.” But reality is, Damien is actually a really fucking awkward guy when he doesn’t have that near-complete control in a situation he had grown so used to having.

[atypical_echo]

"Dude, if I'm honest, you're awkward as hell," Mark points out.

And in Damien's defense... Mark's always been attracted to awkward people. It's an awkward trait of his. Someone perfectly smooth wasn't going to work with him. He's too awkward for it.

"Guess I just have to deal with that."

[heydrb]

“Yeah, no shit,” he rolls his eyes with a soft huff of a laugh.

He laces his fingers behind his head, “When do you think, between making my parents be cool with me eating ice cream for dinner for a week straight, my teachers decide we don’t need homework all month, and willing someone to kiss me in a bar in LA, I might have ever been able to figure out how the fuck social cues even work?”

All very random, and very true examples of things he’d done, from early on. Mark wants honesty? Well, there’s a chunk of it. “I keep telling you I don’t know how this shit works, I guess you get a front-row ticket to it now.”

“Plus,” a smirk touches his lips. “you don’t actually mind it.” He can feel that.

[atypical_echo]

Oh shit. That's... a lot. Mark turns his attention to Damien and then, after a moment, moves closer to him. Shit, this guy...

"You never had a fucking chance, did you? God, that's so fucked."

Of course he doesn't mind it. Don't see him that clearly, sir.

[heydrb]

“Nope,” he blows out a breath and shakes his head. But God, it’s good to hear someone else say it. It’s like a wave of relief, just to know that finally, finally, someone maybe even kind of gets it.

It’s literally all he’s wanted for so long, it’s kind of overwhelming to have even some small percentage of that level of understanding sitting between them.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, scrubbing both hands over his face. It’s a thick, cloying feeling, and he doesn’t mean to spill it all over everything.