metamemes | TEST DRIVE MEME: JANUARY EDITION

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TEST DRIVE MEME: JANUARY EDITION

TEST DRIVE MEME

A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces. It’s common to see these at least once a month, but you might see two or three in an especially wild one. Only one of these confluences brings in people from other worlds.

You come into awareness in a rush finding yourself among the stars - hurtling towards the Earth at top speeds. Wherever you were no longer matters, what matters is what you currently are.

And that is chased.

Something is hot on your heels, breathe like the sun washing over the skin of your neck. If you dare to turn your head you do not find a human holding fast to you, but the concept of a person... In its empty eyes, you glimpse the death of eternity, every possibility in your life disappearing the longer you make eye contact.

Luckily for you, it can't follow you through the atmosphere. The entity smashes into the wall behind you and you hear a scream of frustration as you punch through the ozone layer and continue hurtling toward the Earth.

Normally, people are expecting you. There's a rhythm to this now, a method to the madness - but someone is interfering with your arrival, and rather than finding yourself safely delivered to Excelsior - you're on a crash course for a remote island.

PARADISE THIS ISN'T

Those already in the world of Metaheroes may also find themselves displaced: going about their business one moment and hurling through the skies the next along with new arrivals. It isn't exactly the softest of landings. Though you do not sustain any damage - the environment around you does. You smash through trees and rocks, carving a path along the beach. The heat radiating off of you transforms the sand into glass.

After getting your bearings, you may notice you're being followed by a drone of sorts - it's small and seems to have a mind of its own as it flutters around you, recording you from every angle. For the first several minutes, that's all it seems to do. Attempts to destroy it are futile, as it's surrounded by barriers that protect it from outside sources. And after it's satisfied that it's caught your arrival just right, you'll hear a loud, booming voice: LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ANOTHER CONTESTANT! The voice breaks into a description: going over your appearance, your abilities that you may or may not have shared previously, and any special skills you may have. It doesn't matter if that information was private previously: it's now live, broadcast on OURPOWERS for everyone to hear and know. Maybe the voice missed some, maybe it went through your backstory, or maybe all it did was give a brief description before moving on to the next new contest. Either way, your presence on the galaxy's number one reality tv show THE BLUE PLANET has been announced.

Welcome to the show of the century, hope you survive through the end of the season.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW

Welcome to your home for the next several weeks! This tropical island paradise has been completely terraformed, the plant life utterly alien and the animals warped to be more dangerous. The goal here is to learn to survive - either by working together or by tearing everyone else apart. Whichever contestants choose, the producers don't make it easy. Your suffering is entertainment, after all. The more entertaining you are, the more you find yourself thrust into new and dangerous scenarios just so the audience can soak up your amusement.

They're also not above manipulating your relationships. Occasionally you'll hear the manufactured whispers of fellow contestants conspiring against you. Trust is a gamble, especially as there are those out there that truly do not believe that you're all in this together and can get out in one piece.

There's a lot of weird sounds in the forest, monstrous beasts prowling around the treelines out to eat you or, you know, kill you just for fun. Any fun abilities that would lend to your escape off the island are suddenly nonfunctional; there's a barrier preventing both people from teleporting in and people from teleporting out.

A TOURNAMENT RING has been erected in the center of the island and there contestants will be forced to compete for resources to survive. There are weekly challenges where contestants will compete for resources. You can form teams of two with your fellow captives and can split your winnings, usually food or water, but sharing beyond that is strictly forbidden.

Contestants can also play it up for the camera in the confessional for extra rewards. Start up a showmance, drive those ratings up, up, up. The more outlandish you are the more luxury they'll live in.

They could put together a ship if they're clever enough to avoid the cameras. Outside of the TOURNAMENT RING and the RINGLEADER'S QUARTERS, you've got access to everything available on the island. This includes several shipwrecks close to beaches, various small facilities full of supplies that may or may not be guarded by killer robots or monsters, and numerous other useful areas. The world is their oyster - well unless they find themselves suddenly teleported to the tournament ring.

If you're popular enough, or maybe if the RINGLEADER just gets bored enough, you'll find yourself brought in to fight against another: your best friend you've been hunkering down with, a stranger, an enemy - whatever could create the most drama or sounds entertaining at the moment. After all, this is an entertainment show, they need to keep the people entertained.

And this? This was just the audition.

Being too entertaining is just as dangerous. Anyone who lingers under the spot light too long becomes a commodity, a thing people want to consume. The contestants in the Contest are not the only ones being watched, as those heroically trying to break through that barrier are also being judged.

As when the curtain falls and the season ends, whether by heroic rescue from outside forces or by a winner being declared, you won't find yourself released with the other captives. Oh no, you're being brought back to the studio.

MORIA 285

There's a rush and a pop, and suddenly the chosen contestants are standing in what appears to be a... dressing room? There are costumes everywhere, and as they push some of them back, you find rows of cots. A small kitchenette, an even tinier washroom. There is a single skylight above them, too high for your average person to reach, and the sky shimmering through it is a rich, neon green.

You're going to be an intergalactic star - whether you want to be or not.

Welcome to Moria 285, the most dangerous planet this side of the Milky Way. The wildlife here is ravenous, the flora and fauna are poison and the people never leave their homes. The new stars are safe so long as they stay within their cages - they can even gild and upgrade them if they perform well enough - but contestants will be expected to put on a show for their entertainment. Romantic scenes, dramatic scenes - or even a fight to the death, if they've decided the chemistry is just right.

Drones will attend to every need the kidnapped have as long as they play along. At least once a day the robots will bring in a script and choose two people to be scene partners, and those chosen will be shoved in front of the cameras for the entertainment of the enraptured masses. They could always break out and take their chances on this toxic wasteland of a planet, or go down fighting their captors to take control of the narrative. Where this story goes is ultimately up to its actors.

The Ringmaster is somewhere in the building, after all. These cells aren't designed to keep people in, they're designed to keep monsters out. Traversing the winding halls may just put you in his path, but forcing the Ringmaster to leave his production room will not end well for you. He appears behind the faces of friendly drones with musical tones, but an entity suddenly willing to void intergalactic peace treaties for his own entertainment is not to be trifled with.

EXCELSIOR - SPACE TRAVEL

Earth, while hosting a sizable number of entities from other planets, is not meant to be accessed by other planets. There are treaties in place to keep the most dangerous parts of space far, far, far away from here as Earth has become a refuge for those seeking a more peaceful life. For anyone to break the treaty is a concern. It means they think they've got more power than the metahumans who guard the planet, and that is something to fear indeed.

Earth is also notoriously hard to leave. Space travel has been completely blocked since the first inter-dimensional Confluence, but now all systems are go… hopefully.

Metahumans can now explore the stars. And just in time, because those who have been kidnapped are far from home. If any are particularly good with technology and engineering, now is their time to shine. This is a rescue mission, and all brains are being called to help construct the ship.

The planet they've been whisked away to is nowhere close to Earth itself. Teleporters aren't going to be able to access it, but the Alliance does have a ship they've been slowly putting together to account for situations like this… but that also doesn't assist in figuring out where they have been taken to. As far as Silent Mystic can tell, it isn't in the Milky Way Galaxy. Nulls is working on tracking down signals, but it may take some time.

A call goes out to heroes with intergalactic experience, asking for any assistance they can provide in rescuing the missing metas once they have been located. Those of you who don't need to rely on a ship to traverse space can get a head start, they have the approximate coordinates of the planet - the rest of you will need to head into space the old-fashioned way.

It's a four-day trip in a relatively small vessel, so brace yourself for a rough ride.

But truth be told, the moment the Starfallen set foot on the planet they may feel like they played directly into the Ringmaster's hands.

CLIFF NOTES.

➢ New arrivals and existing characters are kidnapped and brought to a deserted island which has been terraformed into a reality tv show from hell. Participate in ridiculous competitions for vital resources, confess your deepest desires to the camera, and maybe you'll get out of this in one piece..

➢ If you played the game too well, you'll be chosen as the planet's new stars. None of its inhabitants will appear in person. The planet is too dangerous to its inhabitants to leave their heavily fortified homes, but stars are attended to by robots. You'll start off in a broom closet which good performances can upgrade into a lavish green room. Follow your scripts to the letter, or else face the wrath of the cold and callous ringmaster. It's out of the fire and into the frying pan - you're thrust into the technological dystopia of Moria 285 to be the stars of anything the producers can think to put you in. Have you ever wanted to be an actor? Too bad, you don't get a say in that.

➢ Those of you left behind can stage an intergalactic rescue mission. And the whole thing will be televised for the universe to see. Best be on your best behaviour.

➢ Players are welcome to use this as a mini event!

➢ 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 one invite 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.

WILDCARD

The world you've landed in takes inspiration from all walks of comics. The planet this test drive meme is set in draws heavily from Mojoworld and the Savage Lands, but players are also free to draw upon the earth-based settings if they prefer something a little more relaxed. 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 are here to take advantage of the chaos, benefitting from other's suffering.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If they do manage to build a ship, would they be able to sail out of the barrier?

What's keeping fliers from flying their way out?

A ship with no contestants on it will sail beyond the barrier without any issues! However, a ship with one of the contestants on it will find that as soon as the contestant reaches the barrier, the ship itself will begin to crumble.

The barrier keeps fliers from escaping! It's a mix of science and magic, and extremely difficult to take down. A speedster wouldn't be able to phase their way through it, and Superman wouldn't be able to force his way through it either.

Would supplies and/or resources include stuff like spare batteries or generators? Since this guy would need to recharge his choker periodically.

And about how long is this event supposed to go for?

Think Hunger Games in terms of supplies - whatever makes the game more entertaining is what can be found on the island! So if Accelerator having a battery/generator would make it more fun (for you and the audience!) he'll be able to find them. However, they may be far and few between, just to keep it interesting!

The characters who are transported on the island will find themselves transported as they're picked up by the Ringleader (for new characters, this aligns with the confluence. For characters who have been in game, this aligns with whatever timing works best for players) and will be dropped out of the island as soon as they're considered no longer entertaining enough to keep around - we want to leave this open to players as to not restrict their gameplay too much, so this is another "whatever works for you!" scenario. As for the planetary jump, we'll go over this in the Event Plotting post that's going up on Friday.

Great to all of this. Thank you!

01. Arrival (ISLAND)

Apollo is thousands of years old, and thus had seen the rise of Reality Entertainment in all its forms, from gladiators of yore to Survivor to Hephaestus TV. It doesn't take him long to recognize what's happening on this island.

Especially when he's suddenly introduced by an announcer.

"LLLLOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ANOTHER CONTESTANT, FOLKS!"

Apollo jerks in surprise, whirling to try and find the source of the voice.

"THIS IS LESTER PAPADOPOULOS, THE FORMER SUN GOD OF HIS HOME WORLD!"

"Apollo!" He snaps bitterly at no one in particular, before choosing a camera drone to look at. "My name is Apollo, and my godhood was restored!"

"WAS IT, LESTER? LET'S SEE SOME OF THAT GODLY GLOW!"

The fact that drones weren't immediately smited was worrying, because Apollo was definitely willing a smiting. As the announcer keeps talking, Apollo looks to his hands, which did look worryingly fleshy and mortal.

Oh, no, no, no—

He tries to summon up his divinity, and to his surprise and relief, his hands begin to glow with a soft light. His powers feel weak, but they're not gone. Not like before.

Whatever this place is, at least he's not completely helpless.

-

02. Poetry Jam (ISLAND)

Okay, fine. He has an audience? He's going to give the people what they want. Going full God of Poetry and Verse.

Apollo has spent some time arranging some large chunks of driftwood into a vaguely circular shape. Luckily, it seems some of the other arrivals — contestants? — have gotten the idea and sat down on the makeshift chairs.

"Thank you all for coming to the poetry jam," Apollo says, spreading his arms in welcome. This is the first time a poetry jam was mentioned at all. "I'd like to start us off with a haiku."

-

03. Encampment (ISLAND)

Apollo's godly domain is vast and varied. Poetry, daylight, doctors, verse, music — They seem so random at face value, don't they? Yet there is a connecting factor: Apollo is the god of civilization, of community, of the things that are accomplished when people come together; Which comes in handy as the weeks go by, and the contestants started forming factions.

Apollo falls in with a group of contestants, each with a varied skillet, and lends what he can of his own power to help. He can ensure disease doesn't come to camp, he can inspire songs and stories, he can provide light when kindling is running low.

Though he'd never admit it to Artemis, some of the things she had taught him millennia ago are coming in handy, too. With mortal(ish) hands he helps to construct shelters, hunt, forage, and defend their small society from both monsters & enemy factions.

-

04. Camp Infirmary (Island)

Of all the powers Apollo can lend to the people who have become his friends and allies, the most important is the power to heal.

A couple contestants return to camp from one of the Challenges in the Arena. They've brought back food, but it's not time to celebrate just yet; One of them has returned with a nasty injury. They're brought immediately to Apollo.

"Shh, it'll be okay." Apollo holds his hand over the bloody wound. "Let me help you take care of this."

-

WILDCARD??

It's impossible not to hear the announcement, especially since Will's close by. (If he were more paranoid-- or understood reality TV better-- he'd suspect the proximity of their arrival locations was intentional.)

Will runs in the direction of the voice as thoughts swirl in his head. Why would his dad be here? What did the voice mean by 'former god'? He definitely remembers Apollo getting his divinity back!

He sees the unmistakable (but worryingly weak) glow and darts into the clearing.

"Dad?"

"A FAMILY REUNION, FOLKS! DOESN'T IT WARM YOUR HEART?" his own drone declares from behind him.

Apollo whirls at the sound of his son's voice, and his face lights up. Not literally — The golden glow fades as soon as Apollo stops concentrating on it.

"Will!" He closes the distance between them, wrapping Will in a tight hug.

He wonders if the viewers at home will balk at how similar in age they look. Maybe can transform back into the beautiful, buff, blonde and bronzed form he prefers... but with his power feeling so weak, he doesn't want to risk it right now. Best to conserve his strength until he knows what he's up against.

It's not lost on him how much he's changed. Six months ago, Apollo would have prioritized his good looks above anything else.

Apollo pulls back after a moment, inspecting his son's face for any cuts or bruises. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you at all?" He tries to keep his voice calm, but he can't help but feel a little panicked as he wonders what kind of entity could kidnap and weaken a god like this.

"CAN FATHER AND SON KEEP EACH OTHER SAFE IN THE DANGER AHEAD? OR WILL THIS BE A HEARTWRENCHING TALE OF GRIEF?"

Apollo scowls at a nearby camera drone, then turns back to Will with a softer expression. "Everything is going to be fine," he says, with more conviction this time.

Will hugs him back just as tightly before letting go.

"I'm okay. Are you hurt?"

While Apollo is looking over him for injuries, he's doing the same to his dad. Will is a little dirty but otherwise completely unharmed.

He can tell that Apollo is a little panicked (and he's a little alarmed to, honestly, given the circumstances) so he takes a deep breath and gives his dad a warm smile.

"We'll figure it out together."

"SUCH DEVOTION! BUT WILL DEVOTION BE ENOUGH?"

Will sighs. "I've tried to get rid of i--"

He's interrupted by a strange noise in the forest.

QUESTIONS & ENGAGEMENT.

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Lester / Apollo || The Trials of Apollo (Riordanverse)

01

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jon kent ( dc comics )

( b )

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kell-el | legion of superheroes

ii

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will solace ☀ riordianverse

Tournament

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welcome to the show

Gemini de Mille | DC Comics

Welcome to the Show

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