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TEST DRIVE MEME
TEST DRIVE MEME
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metaheroes! You do not need an invite in order to play on the test drive meme.
Test Drive threads can be used as game canon and can be treated as your character's arrival to the game. The first Arrival event differs from this Test Drive Meme and takes place a week later which also gives you the option to start fresh.
The first application round is closed to friends of the moderators. If you are interested in joining the game and do not know anyone involved, you can reach out to the mod team via here to request an invite for the February app round.
metaheroes! You do not need an invite in order to play on the test drive meme. Test Drive threads can be used as game canon and can be treated as your character's arrival to the game. The first Arrival event differs from this Test Drive Meme and takes place a week later which also gives you the option to start fresh.
The first application round is closed to friends of the moderators. If you are interested in joining the game and do not know anyone involved, you can reach out to the mod team via here to request an invite for the February app round.
CRASH LANDING
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.
Bad ones still occur every now and again. Something big and bombastic that shatters the peace that the world has cultivated over the years. But it’s rare. Where there was once terror any time a psychic or a precognitive seer predicted the future, people often simply shrug and make mental note to ensure they've renewed their meta-anomaly insurance.
After all, the Guilds have always been good about reporting when something big was happening well before it actually happened.
And so imagine the surprise when the sky splits open over Little Love, Kansas in the early hours of the morning on January 4th.
No one sees it coming. Especially not smack dab in the middle of Kansas.
Little Love is a small town — really more a handful of connected streets than an actual city. A gas station and a water tower proudly welcome drivers into town off the interstate, and a statue of its greatest hero, Featherweight, stands proudly in the middle of its tiny central park. Crops and cows sprawl as far as the eye can see in every direction. This is the place people go to get away from it all, the kind of place where nothing is ever supposed to happen.
Awareness hits you in a rush. So does the ground. You barely register it hurtling towards you before you make impact. Whatever surface you strike - the pavement, the frozen fields, someone's shed - is pulverized, but somehow, you're unharmed.
You're not alone, either. All around you are others who fell picking themselves up from their own craters, equally and impossibly undamaged by the impact that should have pulverized you.
Perhaps they know what's happening. The town is still and quiet, there's a chance to speak now in what is surely the calm before the storm.
As you move through the sleepy town, it comes awake. Lights flick on. Townspeople step outside in their pajamas and nightgowns to find the source of the commotion. Some grab blankets to offer to the newcomers who clearly aren't dressed for a midwestern winter, but they won't go as far as to invite anyone inside and quickly step back once blankets are accepted. They appear quite apprehensive and seem to be keeping their distance.
TOO MUCH POWER
It's nothing personal: new metas rarely have full control of their abilities. The fact that you all just came tumbling down form the sky makes it pretty clear to them that something strange is afoot. Confluences almost always make for chaos, and newly powered people don't handle that kind of stress well.
Perhaps you're one of the lucky ones, who have already had powers or who are capable of taking this in stride.
But perhaps you're not. Perhaps energy crackles within you, and before you know what's happening, your new powers are activating. You don't know how to control these. Perhaps your new eyebeams suddenly blast from previously unpowered eyeballs, destroying the water tower. Perhaps your new ability to shift density has you stumbling back and disappearing into the walls of houses or dropping through the earth.
And it's not just those of you who fell from the sky. Some of the citizens appear to be experiencing similar problems. A scared preteen phases through you. A farmer who fused with one of his bulls rampages through Main Street, destroying cars and street lights and terrifying those he once named friends.
Cause problems, or step up as a hero and help minimized the damage, or do your very best to calm down and coach these new metahumans.
STRANGER THAN FICTION
As the energies fueling this Confluence reach their conclusion, something smashes through the local library's roof, gleaming in the moonlight. Smoke chokes the air, made thicker by magic. Perhaps that is why you struggle to process the cybernetic dragon clawing its way free of the wreckage. It lets out a mindbending scream and lurches skyward, and in its wake other impossible storybook creatures follow suit. Ghosts, goblins and - Pinnochio?
The frightened folks of Little Love freeze in place and the creatures careen towards them, intent on causing mischief and mayhem.
And as the dragon soars above your heads, each flap of its wings send a shower of glowing words falling down upon your heads. If one of these words touches your skin a digitized voice begins to speak — once upon a time — and the world around you flickers like static. The town falls away and is instead replaced with a watercolor landscape. As the narrator continues, the story takes the shape of a children's book of your choosing, and you've been thrust into the role of the protagonist.
Only it doesn't seem quite right. Did Hansel and Gretel's witch always wear form-fitting spandex? Did Little Red Riding Hood always have a plasma rifle? You're fairly certain The Little Mermaid didn't take place in outer space! Yet all around you, these modified, blockbuster versions of traditional tales spin to life out of voxels. The stories each follow their own winding tale, but one thing is consistent: it's a classic you know, but with a sharp sci-fi twist.
Mercifully, you're not alone. Whatever this is seems to have grabbed people in pairs, and so you've got a partner to work through this. Perhaps you can use your knowledge of the original tale to speedrun it to its conclusion, or perhaps you'd rather just blast your way to the end using your newfound abilities.
If you were lucky enough to be untouched by those letters, congratulations: you're left watching those unfortunate enough to be touched blink out of existence. This leaves you and whoever else got out unscathed standing before a horde of cartoony sci-fi villains intent on wrecking havoc on the already ravaged town. The townspeople don't seem to have any real defense against them, leaving it up to you and your fellow fallers to protect what little town they have left.
The dragon makes its way back to the library, landing with a thunderous boom and roaring again. Clutched in one of it's mighty clawed hands is a glowing book. If fairy tales have taught you anything, it should be that beating the dragon and grabbing its mcguffin is the only guaranteed way to save the day. Go forth, heroes!
AFTERMATH
All the monsters have been dealt with. The people who were caught under the book's spell stumble free as the illusion breaks, either because they finished the tale or because the dragon was felled. Those who helped save the day are celebrated. People cheer, eagerly shake hands and embrace you, expressing their gratitude at simply being alive.
Just when you think you’ve got a handle on your new situation, there's a flash, a rush of energy. You find yourself standing in a large white room. Around you are the other fallers and the townspeople who had just displayed a sudden burst of abilities. All look equally alarmed. Anyone injured in the library fight will find the injuries tingling as energies within the space begin to stabilize you.
A robed figure slumps against the outer side of the glass doors, their hand pressed to the surface and faintly glowing. A second later, a man materializes out of thin air and bends down to check on them. He straightens up and presses the intercom button:"My name is Atomight, and you're at Alliance HQ. You were all caught in a Confluence and as a result, many of you have developed metahuman abilities. There are power nullifies in place so please don't worry about losing control. And the space is enchanted and will give you whatever comforts you ask of it.And then he's gone.
"We won't keep you here long. I apologize for this, I truly do. This is not at all the way we want to welcome new metas. But we need to ensure that your condition is stable, and there are far more of you than we could ever have anticipated... This one wasn't on the books. I've got to go back to help, but I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."
The room responds to sentient intent, materializing whatever you wish from thin air and rearranging the space to fit whatever is brought in. Before long, a massive spa-like bathroom fills the far corner. Rows and rows of doors spring up, leading to little cubbies sporting beds as soft as dreams. A chest of drawers spits out the most luxurious clothing you can imagine. Tables spring up groaning under incredible amounts of food.
Ask it and it provides. The only thing it won't give you is an exit.
The room will keep you safe from outside forces and put a cap on those new hard to control abilities. It will also stop you from killing each other, should that urge be one you struggle with. The room is attuned hostility and responds to the intent to harm. The moment you think to lash out at someone, you'll find yourself hauled away into a quiet time out corner.
Might as well grab a bite to eat and mingle a little. Ask the room for a magical puppy to pet so you can calm down a little, or ask a stranger for a nice warm hug to cope with a very strange and stressful day.
Atomight eventually returns. This time, he steps inside. Evidently, you're all safe. His smile is warm and apologetic, but he's here now to answer your questions and ask a few of his own to gain an understanding of what has happened.
WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE
You're not going home anytime soon. That becomes all too clear in the hours following your arrival. Reports are coming in from across the world - dimension hoppers can't open portals back home, time travellers are temporally locked to this point in time. Something is wrong and it's going to take a little longer to fix it. A week at most, they assure you, refusing any offers for your help.
And so 24 hours after your arrival, the Guardian Alliance makes arrangements for somewhere less... well, like their gym.
The Diadem Hotel is a luxury hotel usually reserved for the obscenely wealthy. It's 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 Alliance feels it only fair to offer you a little comfort on their dime. Everything is complimentary, and everyone gets an alliance credit card to spend on entertainment, clothing, and whatever other necessities they might need. The cards appear to have an obscenely high limit and there doesn't seem to be an expectation for you to pay it back.
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 latest Mystic Mike movie, a franchise wherein a fictional male stripper gets magical powers and begins fighting crime using a pole as a staff.
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.
CLIFFNOTES
Your character has been dropped into the farming city of Little Love, Kansas. Characters may lose control of their powers. You're free to destroy as much of the town as you'd like. A giant cybernetic dragon rips out of the library, freeing a ton of sci-fi infused storybook villains. The villains start destroying the already wrecked town. Characters can step up and stop them, or take advantage of the chaos to do something nefarious. The cybernetic dragon holds a magical book that is the key to releasing the characters trapped in those twisted tales. We won't be threading this battle out, but please feel free to assume it falls and 'powers down' multiple times. Characters may also get pulled into classic children's stories if they are hit with the word shower from the dragon's wings. These stories have a sci-fi twist to them. You're free to choose whichever classic tale you'd like and warp it as you go along. They'll be released from the story if they reach the proper conclusion (eg. Hanzel and Gretel escape the witch's candy spaceship) or break it in a fundamental way that means it cannot continue along the intended route (eg. you shoot the witch with a ray gun before she ever gets her hands on them). They need to get to the end of the story to escape it. Everyone will be released when the dragon is destroyed. NPCs arrive on the scene just after the dragon falls. Player characters (and the residents of the town who have gained powers) are magically transported to the Guardian Alliance's headquarters. They will be held in a magical room for a period of about a day, and then will be transitioned to the Diadem Hotel. Characters are given luxury suites at the hotel, and a credit card with an unlimited balance. They're free to mingle, eat, shop, and check out the world they've been dropped into. You can talk with Atomight here. While we will not be directly threading the encounters out, we will summarize any answers and responses he will give. The threads in this Test Drive Meme threads can/will be carried over into game canon. If you do not get a chance to tag into the test drive, don't worry! The game's opening event will be a Confluence taking place a week later.
Taken | FAQ | Locations | Teams| The Guilds | Character Alignment| Plotting Post | Mission Board
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he tosses the bags on the bed. and freed from his IMMENSE BURDEN, he finally rolls the sleeve of his jacket up to show off the 'thingy'.
in this case it's a bracelet. ]
Okay so, this thing? I guess it's enchanted. So like... [ he pulls it off, and all at once the illusion vanishes. rather than a pale boy with gold hair, there's a gold boy with pale hair and blank white eyes. ] Tadah.
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Back in Josh's room, he watches curiously as the bracelet is slid off to reveal — blank astonishment on Loki to begin with, but also — a beautiful golden boy with hair and eyes like snow. He was not expecting that. A Hulk-out of some kind, tentacles or pincers, sure. Spider-legs? A lizard tail? ]
... Wow.
[ Crossing the room he looks down at him, raising a hand with fingers curled. He pauses before touching Josh's cheek, meeting his arctic eyes. ]
May I?
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[ he grins.
he's well used to this. everyone wants to know what his skin feels like. whether it's cold and smooth like metal or warm like skin, and the truth is while it's warm, it's difficult to tell whether the texture is.
because he was sixteen, stressed, and had literally only knicked the surface of his powers and could already screw himself over with them.
what is, of course, the most shocking is he is a nuclear reactor of energy. an almost fully realized omega level mutant. ]
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Don't go exploding on me now.
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[ he sure is NOT.
the other interesting thing of josh's power is of course, the passive healing factor. the energizing that comes with touching him. he's been told time and time again that it borders on addicting, and he can't turn it off. ]
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What did you say you had? A [ — it's like watching the finest details of Loki's bones soften in a split-second, not much changing besides the harsh cut of his jaw and the dimensions under that hoodie as she says — ] girlfriend?
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he's stupid. and easily tempted. and not about to screw everything up when he just got her back. ]
I did. And I think I also said she was extremely scary.
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[ It's an out as Josh steps back, and Loki looks around the room instead to detract from her fascination with his appearance. Her tingling fingers trail over furniture as she wanders. ]
Hiding beauty is a wise move, especially amongst mortals. Was it your choice or theirs? Atomighty and his ilk?
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[ he doesn't sound super pleased, but: ]
And I figured it was a good idea, given I dunno how friendly this world is to mutants.
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[ To lighten the mood, Loki sighs and twirls, apparently now a fox. On legs. AnthroLokiFox??? ]
... I've been hiding a few different faces too, for much the same reason relating to gods.
[ Fluffy ears twitch; a thick tail swishes. ]
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Probably a good idea.
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Loki helps themselves to sitting cross-legged on the end of Josh's bed, legs folded and hands in a lap. The tail curls around their knees before it melts away back to the most comfortable body they currently relate to; just a normal guy, nothing weird about the fellow in jeans and a hoodie. Except his eyes, perhaps. They always reject every colour in the catching light but green with a weirdly cat-like sheen, fixed on Josh as Loki quietens. He reads the uncomfortable body-language and a trickle of guilt slips down his spine, uncertain whether it was the come-on or the body-shifting. ]
I made that all about me, didn't I? I've been without good company for some time, it's been dire in Jotunheim. No fun at all, there. I won't harm you, I promise.
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[ he drops his hands. ]
I'm not worried about that. Or like - sorry, I didn't mean to make it a whole mutant thing. [ what exactly that means he doesn't bother to elaborate on. it could be 'get weird about someone being attracted to me' or 'show i have zero impulse control and need to physically distance myself before i make a mistake' or 'subconsciously consider my problems more complex and hard to deal with than your problems and judge you for being concerned about your own safety, fellow superpowered individual'.
truthfully, fickle gods have exhausted his patience over the years, but humans have always been worse to mutants than gods... mutants have been worse to each other than gods. and david spoke fondly of loki and he does not want to offend him.
or make him feel alone when everything is awful. ]
This is all me, not you. You're fine.
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[ He can still smile convincingly. God of ... nothing, currently, but lies once. You don't forget how to ride a bike. ]
If you want to walk abroad as you are, consider me your Scary Dog privilege. All the power in the world does not make it easy to cross a street when all eyes are upon you, I know how that feels.
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... I wouldn't want to put you in that kind of danger. [ which sounds like an excuse and he's already shoved his foot in his mouth before. josh takes a breath. ] I didn't agree to it because I'm afraid of being judged, or whatever. I'm used to it. I've been like this since I was sixteen, and I ran away from Xavier's at seventeen, so...
[ used to it. on his own. ]
People've targeted me. Really bad ones. And... since they can't really hurt me, the hurt the people around me. It's for everybody else's safety. I wouldn't want you getting hurt because I wanted to walk around as myself, that'd be really dumb and selfish of me.
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[ The level way Loki addresses him waits for Josh to meet Loki's pointed gaze. ]
Who has targeted you?
[ He gets the sense Josh has no real clue who he is or what he has done, which is for the best. Loki doesn't want to crack the veneer in place of whatever or whoever Josh sees when he looks at him (he likes being liked), so he has to skirt the fact that if anyone hurt his friends he would willingly take them down (tricking Nightmare into the Christian heaven where their one god doted on him was a special, recent kind of torture he dreamed up) in ways far worse than more people can imagine.
So he sits nicely, demure and thoughtful. A good guest for a nervous golden boy. ]
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[ no one a god needs to worry about, he figures. but somehow that tone doesn't say that's a good answer. ]
These guys called the Dark Riders, back when the Terrigen Mists were a thing. The Friends of Humanity. [ he scratches his chin, glancing to the side. ] O.N.E. is kinda always sniffing around. Pretty much the usual anti-mutant crew. I've been on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar for a while, too. A-And I mean none of it applies here, it's just, if it does.
[ he shrugs awkwardly and tries for humor. ]
It's like playing Overwatch. The opposing team always tries to kill the healer first.
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We're in a new world. None of them can touch you here, and even if they could their reach would not be far. Besides, they would think twice before harming one of my associates. SHIELD especially. Scary Dog, remember?
Wear your gold, sunshine.
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[ he still looks uneasy about it. but if he's only going out for walks with a literal god maybe that's fine? he scuffs his fingers through his hair again. ]
What about you, though? Are all your powers working like they should be?
[ he has no idea what those are other than shapeshifty and troublemaking. ]
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[
Load of goatshit.Loki? Loki is fine, super fine. Extra fine. ]I can't think of a demonstration but, yes, I'm alright.
[ He is so far from being alright but no one needs that sad sack of a story. ]
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[ okay. he's not in immediate danger of being seduced and being reckless, so... how about we... sit next to the poor stressed god. ]
It's okay if you're not okay.
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And if I'm not okay? If I lose my mind and destroy this planet? Obliterate all life to make a throne of bones out of the inhabitants? As long as that makes me feel better, would it be alright, Josh?
[ He gives a soft snort, looking ahead at a middle-distance. ]
It's not okay for me to not be okay. Don't fret, precious, I am.
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[ especially when you're immortal and can't die and live half-paralyzed by fear of what you'll do if no one can stop you. ]
But if you say it's all good I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
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The line is a lot thinner, for me.
... I really am fine, there's just. Well. [ A puff of breath escapes him as he slumps. ] My brother is such an ass, sometimes.
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Oh yeah?
[ a gentle prompting. come on, buddy. ]
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