TEST DRIVE MEME: AUGUST EDITION

[metamods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces. These used to happen once a month.

Used to.

Now, the world seems to be in a panic. Not only are Confluences gone, but the energy which used to clash and fuel the world seems to be fading. Scientists speculate as to what this will mean for the future - will it be one without metahumans, or will there be no future at all? The consensus seems to be clear: A world built on the wonderful, the supernatural, can simply not thrive when it’s bled dry of its life force.

Starfallen already in this world will wake from a dream, knowing that something is about to occur in Central City. Instinctively, they know where it is going to occur, and with that knowledge comes a sense of urgency. It seems that the natural metahumans got the same message as they will also be waiting.

Which is why when the skies open up on the morning of September 1st, 2023, new Starfallen tumble to the earth. For once this is met with celebration. There is a cheer throughout the country as the first few begin to appear, caught on livestreams and video.

However, the surge of energy that usually comes with them doesn’t occur. Worse - they don't have the same protections they did the first time they fell. They're tumbling towards the Earth at rapid speeds, and the Starfallen can tell that if they hit the ground it's a game over.

This is not a Confluence as anyone knows it.

PRESS PLAY. CENTRAL CITY.

You are falling from the sky. You don’t know how this happened. One minute you were in your world, living your life, and now the ground is rushing up to meet you. The wind stings your eyes and howls past your ears. You know instinctively that you are not protected and if you hit that ground, it’s all over. Yet you come into awareness too late to save yourself, bracing for impact.

You’re saved from a splattering by a flotation spell. The magic surges upwards and grasps you, changing your meteoric fall into a graceful drift down to the earth. There’s a crowd of heroes and villains of this world waiting for you, all of them costumed and caped and uncertain if you are friend or foe. They offer food and gentle voices to explain what has just happened and tell you that they’re going to bring you somewhere safe. They express their gratitude that nothing bad happened this time.

But the mark, the hole you fell from, does not disappear entirely from the sky. You wonder why no one mentions it.

You’re ushered into the headquarters of the Guardian Alliance, an organization of metahumans - which you now are, supposedly - who are committed to using their powers to do right. They explain your situation calmly, as though this is old hat. You are in another world. You’re trapped here, they haven’t found a way to send anyone hope. They say you might have superpowers now, and they seem hopeful that this is the case. Whether you’re a hero, or a villain, you have people here who will help you integrate and make the best of these unfortunate circumstances.

It’s a lot to take in. When the debrief is done and you’ve had a moment to gather your thoughts, you’re brought to a lavish hotel.

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 for just a small taste. Even in these trying times its powers persist. 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. Granted, she's feeling a little more lenient than usual given the circumstances.

There's a shopping center immediately across the street. It has an impressive array of outlet shops 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 a film called THE FIRST STITCH. It’s a historical biopic about one of the very first metahumans, the Crotchet King, who used his thread controlling powers to knit up the city’s loose ends. It’s ridiculous, heartwarming, and honestly, makes you want to learn to crochet.

When you close your eyes at the end of this painfully long day, you hope things are better tomorrow.

REPEAT. SUNSET FALLS.

You are falling from the sky. You don’t know how this happened. One minute you were in your world, living your life, and now the ground is rushing up to meet you. The same magician saves you from a deadly landing with the same spell, but he looks more worn out this time. You struggle to make sense of what is happening. By the looks of the others around you, the feeling is mutual.

It’s still September 1st.

It’s the worst sense of deja-vu, bad news being delivered all over again. You’re in a new world, one that seems to be malfunctioning. And not only are you stranded here, with no real hope of going home, there seems to be a lot of turmoil underneath the scenes.

This time instead of going to bed, you go to the city of Sunset Falls, Massachusetts. Their annual Harvest Festival is occurring. There’s sweets to eat and carnival games to play, giant hogs to judge (or liberate), and you find the festivities vaguely morbid in nature. Asking the locals what they’re celebrating will lead you to realize that this harvest historically had very little to do with things grown in the ground and more with people being put in it.

And unfortunately, history is repeating. One by one townsfolk go missing throughout the day, turning up dead hours later. Perhaps you are a detective, eager to solve the mystery. Or perhaps you seek a little stress relief, deciding to join in on the fun.

The hole in the sky is bigger.

Regardless of how you spend this day, at the end of the day you close your eyes again and -

REPEAT. EXCELSIOR.

You are falling from the sky. You don’t know how this happened. This is not the first, or third, or fourth time this has happened. This time the magician is not able to hold the spell, he collapses and as he does you hit the ground. The concerned faces turn to the magician, who you know now to be The Silent Mystic, and you are temporarily ignored. That’s okay. You’ve done this multiple times before, so you understand a little about what is happening. Your deeds from the previous day are not acknowledged by the people who live in this world. It is, after all, still September 1st. You just got here. You haven’t done anything yet.

But the ones who fell with you seem to know you. Some of the others here seem to have that same look, the recognition of what is happening. You’re in all in a time loop.

This time you venture to Excelsior, Washington – the city of tomorrow, full of technical wonders created based off of 3am "what if - " statements muttered by over-tired teenagers with too-big imaginations. Usually, the city prides itself on it's ability to take that imagination and make it real, but not today. After the mess with ARCADIA, everything in Excelsior has seemed a little less - extraordinary. Where technological marvels have kept the city up and running and massively improved it's infrastructure, a significant portion of it is. . falling apart. Trains are running off-schedule and not meeting promised times. The AI that runs their programming is currently facing an existential crisis, mirroring it's creator's own. Power outages are occurring at random intervals, shutting down whole businesses for several hours, or worse - causing electrical fires that Excelsior's government is quick to call for help managing.

Some smart homes are simply shutting down entirely, locking it's residents inside. Cars aren't running, stock markets are crashing, hospitals are switching to run off of old, less tech-reliant gear to manage their patients, given how inconsistent everything is. The city is falling apart, and it needs help.

REPEAT. LITTLE LOVE.

You’re tired of hearing the words “September 1st”. You dread September 1st beginning again. You try watching the clock to memorize the moment, you think it’s 11:58 PM on the dot, but you can’t be sure. The clocks in this world don't seem to be synced together anymore.

You realize nothing you do has consequences. Rob a bank, steal a horse, feed the hungry, fight crime - none of it seems to matter when it’s all reset at the end of the day. Perhaps the moment your feet touch the ground this time, you’re running off on your own. Maybe you wait until you receive that credit card and then seek to max it out.

Why not have fun? You’ve got more power than most anyone here, save for the other Starfallen who fell with you. Those already don’t seem to consistently recognize you, as if all they’re getting is fleeting glimpses until they see you up close. And even then, the next time you meet those first few moments will still be between two strangers.

The crack in the sky is a chasm. No one seems to notice it.

Maybe this time, you go to Little Love. There’s talk of prehistoric animals terrorizing the farms. Surely that time related mishap must be related to yours. This must be the way out of this labyrinth! You arrive there in a small town overrun with long extinct animals rampaging through the streets - wooly mammoths, giant lizards, sabretooth tigers, but also enormous cows who have shed years of domestication.

At first, it seems like a good sign. Time travel. Maybe this is why you're here? But retrace these beast's steps and you'll find yourself in a cavern underneath the town, where forgotten alien technology is flickering to life. Its malfunctions are causing rapid evolution in the local wildlife. And if you veer too close, it looks like you might be affected in the same way. You may become a wild thing made to hunt the scared people scurrying above your head.

This is the time to be heroic! Or to take advantage of the chaos and steal a few precious bits of extra-terrestrial tech for yourself. Maybe this time it will stick, who's to say? There is a way to return the affected creatures to their previous pint sizes with some creative thinking or reprogramming, but there's also ample opportunity to take control of this pack. Someone who can direct them, either for good or for evil.

Whatever the case, you end the day exhausted and maybe a little sunburnt from the hot Kansas sun. You hope that’s a sign that whatever is happening will be over soon

RESTART.

It still September 1st, 2023. It has been anywhere from two weeks to two months, if you’re keeping count correctly. You're not sure. You lose track of how often you fall from the sky and you still don’t know how you got here, but at least now you expect it. The mage seems to be weakening with each successive loop, and this time he stumbles as he casts. The spell sparks but nothing happens, there is nothing to cushion your fall, and you wonder if this is the end it all was leading to.

You close your eyes and brace yourself.

Vines burst from the city streets, reaching up to grasp you and hold you tight. Slowly, you are lowered to the ground. They pat your shoulders like proud parents, squeeze your hands affectionately, and then pull back into the earth and disappear

The heroes and villains that stand before you are dumbfounded. The exhausted magician stares at the hole the vines disappeared into and then looks up. Words spring into the air before him, subtitling his thoughts. Thank the stars for divine intervention.

Something feels final about this time. The sky looks normal for the first time since you got here. No empty chasm that makes you feel lost when you stare into it.

The things that occur in this world all start as they did the first time you experienced them. Sunset Falls still has a serial killer on the loose, Little Love is overrun by megafauna, and Excelsior's power grid is failing. And of course a thousand other minor crises throughout the cities that you encountered on different versions of this endless day. You know these things are going to happen, so maybe you can stop them - maybe you can make them worse - but you can’t do it alone.

CLIFF NOTES.

➢ All of the threads that happen within the TDM will be canonly happening on September 1st - thus, any threads that happen before, or after September 1st, will technically still happen on that day. They can remember one September first, no September firsts at all, or they can remember up to sixty September firsts, but the day itself is always September first. Tired of seeing September first? Us too.

➢ These memories can come to them at any time - if a character on the TDM apps in October, they're welcome to remember that particular September first in October. It will feel like missing memories syncing up, such as would happen with a canon update.

➢ You do not need an invite to play on the TDM! But you do need an invite to join the game. Current players can extend two invites this cycle.

➢ Current Players are welcome to treat this as a bonus event. These events are canonically happening within the game but can be largely ignored if you'd prefer to use the month for personal plots. Characters do not have to remember any loop. You can tag into the TDM, reference these prompts in network posts, or use them in your own logs.

WILDCARD.

It's been September 1st for a while now. You might as well make the most of this day and see all this new world has to offer.

The world you've landed in is one that takes inspiration from all walks of comics. Explore the CITIES away from the chaos occurring to get an idea of what day to day life life is like. Something is always happening, whether it be big and bombastic as supernatural entities invading or as subtle as cats getting stuck in trees.

Perhaps you've encountered a supervillain (or hero) who needs to be thwarted, or a metahuman with unusual powers creating bizarre effects. Maybe you yourself are here to take advantage of the chaos, benefitting from other's suffering.