HOUSE OF M(ETA)

[metamods]

HOUSE OF M

A DREAM IS A WISH…

In dreams you will lose your heartaches,
whatever you wish for,
you keep.

Anti-Meta sentiments are on the rise. This is no secret. Check the news and you see it, politicians arguing about the dangers that superhumans pose to the world. What if they go rogue? What if they stage a mutiny? How can they tell that heroes are really the good guys, when so many of them have secret identities. In the last week, multiple protests against metahumans potentially moving to their cities have broken out across the United States. Some cities have proposed legislation that would make it illegal for metahumans to live within their borders.

Excelsior is leading the charge, politicians are looking to ban any metahuman whose abilities are not technical in origin from living there.

It is little wonder, then, that so many go to bed dreaming of a better world. One without the hardships of this one, or of the one they endured before.

Meanwhile, across the country, Sunset Falls is in a state of change. Mayor West finally has candidates willing to take the position of Mayor from him. This shift in the city's attention prevents anyone from paying much mind to the odd and potent energies taking shape. Sure, there are strange occurrences happening. A young woman walks by the school and immediately forgets her name, her job, and where she lives. Others report a strange feeling of being watched. Those sensitive to it may feel something otherworldly and strange hanging in the air. Bearing down on them with oppressive force.

And, dear heroes, as you know - two forms of surging energies create what is known as a Confluence.

THOSE LEFT BEHIND

You wake to pandemonium.

An emergency broadcast is blaring across any transmissible signal. A Confluence of unprecedented size has struck. Half of the country has been consumed by it.

By noon, there is a quarantine in place - not that anyone seems to be trying to leave the affected area. No, this quarantine is to prevent people from trying to go in. Unauthorized access is not permitted, not until the capes in charge have a better idea of what is going on. Once again, the Godfall Protocols are enacted. All able-bodied metahumans are recruited to the task, and once again, the Starfallen will find themselves standing shoulder to shoulder with those far weaker than them.

This time there is no giant monster to fight. Just a barrier, invisible to the naked eye, that seems to alter anyone who enters into it. The early metahuman scouts report themselves to be unaffected for the first few hours, but any normal humans who enter this space quickly find themselves… no longer themselves.

Atomight, Frances Starling and Mechanima are all at the Alliance HQ. For once, the three faction leaders seem to be in perfect harmony. This is a bad idea, they cannot send their people into this No Man’s Land… but they have no choice. The Godfall Protocols are what they are, they were created for this very reason. Though they are not arguing with each other, the government agents suddenly standing in HQ are telling a very different story. The three of them are not hiding the fact that they are all too aware that their “freedom” comes with a price, and their resentment is reaching a boiling point.

At some point during these early hours, Atomight finds himself temporarily locked out of his office. While the three leaders are distracted trying to regain entry, Fantastic takes center stage and begins issuing the most scripted heart-felt speech you have ever heard. Unlike the other three, he doesn’t seem to care much for what he could be sending people into. This is not a speech meant to inspire confidence that all will work out in the end, that the weakest among them will be taken care of, it is a speech to inspire soldiers.

By the end of this first day, they have gathered enough information to make a determination. The Starfallen seem to be more resilient to whatever effects are occurring than the rest of the population. They are called to a unique, private meeting - one in which all three leaders attend.

“We don’t know what you will be facing there,” they state plainly. “But we know you have the best chance of making it out with your minds intact.”

The choice is yours. You can help secure the area, you can retreat to Little Love and hope that this expands no further, or you can step into the unknown.

You can engage with the leaders here.

HOUSE OF (M)ETA.

Inside the quarantine zone, all is well.

Your alarm rings a little late and you find yourself groggy and briefly disoriented, as though waking from a very long dream. One that you find yourself considering to be unpleasant, and not worth thinking about. You stretch and slide out of bed, perhaps kiss your partner good morning and prepare yourself to wrangle your children and get them prepared for school, but today is like any other day. The world is as it always has been, and you find yourself oddly comforted to know that things are not as bad as they could be.

And then your day begins.

If you are a card carrying member of the Guardian Alliance, then you report to work before most of the world is up and running. Atomight appears to be busy in Central City, as he is not present and is not answering any calls, but you know what to do. The Guardian Alliance is all about finding ways to be useful, without enrolling in any of the government run Metahuman departments. It pays less, and you have to have frequent check-ins with actual government approved heroes, but you find a measure of freedom in it… though the pressure is immense. One wrong move and you may find yourself imprisoned for “irresponsible” use of your powers, branded as the reason why metahumans should stay under the thumb of the government after their service ends, and not allowed to organize themselves in fear they may take over the world.

If you took the darker path, then you will find yourself reporting to an ordinary office building in whatever city you live in, for a boring job that you do not have. Villainy is not a safe passtime, but those who band together tend to stay alive a little longer. The Society of Villainous Reformation exists to provide the community that most villains lack. Villainy comes in many shapes and sizes, and the Society has all sorts. The only uniting factor in this faction is the fact that you do not want to be used the way heroes are. You want to use your powers as you see fit, whether that means you get an edge on tests or rob banks to your heart's content is up to you.

Or are you a vigilante? A complete wildcard, answering to nothing and no one but your own personal sense of justice? Vigilantes have a reputation for being brutal and efficient, needing none of the teamwork and oversight that the guilds use. They are also generally less accountable, unless The Society or the Guardian Alliance steps in.

Starfall, formerly Starstruck. He was one of the first heroes to enroll in the government's War Hero project, which has now become a mandatory military service for all young metahumans upon reaching 18.

The most concerning thing right now in the world is the cult, the Battlements of the Shining God. They are known to sacrifice people to their fearsome God, stating that it will give them the power to put things right. But… you have never seen them in person. Only heard of the wreckage they leave. But disturbingly, if you tune in to the nightly broadcast that the Dreamers of the Willow Maiden put out to help lull you to sleep, you will note they seem… off. Warning of a war that is coming. You are fairly certain you can handle a confrontation with them, though. After all, nothing you couldn’t handle has ever happened.

And as you fall asleep at night in this perfect world, in your perfect life, you swear you hear The Lady herself whispering in your ear. Wake up, wake up, this dream is not yours to live.

Yet when you try to hold on to those words, they slip from your thoughts. And when you awaken, all remains as it should be.

SNAP BACK TO REALITY

For those who agree to go into the quarantined zone, you find yourself given the best gadgets both the Alliance and The Society can offer. They are unsure how to prepare you for this, though the scouts that made it back say that things seem… fine. Peaceful, even. Everyone seemed so happy, but they did not recognize them.

Contact will be difficult to maintain. The radios were functioning while they were inside, but it seems that the further they went into these zones, the worse communication got.

When removed from the quarantine zone, those who were affected regained themselves bit by bit. Some held on stubbornly to their illusionary life, but when presented with undeniable evidence of the life they had before, and reminders of any joy they found within it, they came back to themselves.

“Are you saying that they have to befriend them to remind them of their sanity?” Mechanima asks, torn between incredulity and amusement.

“What he’s saying,” Frances cuts in, “is that they need a reminder that they have a life worth living outside of whatever the hell is going on in there.”

Atomight nods. “This appears to be a shared delusion manifested by magic. So, a mass psychic relay would be the best way to break the hold. However, it will take time to do safely.” He turns to the gathered volunteers. “Your job is to start cracks, so the whole thing shatters when we deliver the final punch… and no one soul is left bearing the brunt of that psychic backlash.”

There’s a moment of silence. You find yourself being handed resources for your trip inside - no weapons, just first-aid kits and any items you may have told people to gather that could remind your lost friends of who they are.

"This is going to change everything," Atomight continues. "Even if all this goes to plan, the fact that it happened at all means things won’t stay like they’ve been."

He doesn’t elaborate. Mechanima’s mask turns to troubled static, and Frances throws a glance back towards the Alliance’s tents. Many of the native metahumans are gathered, and Fantastic is posing for photos with them. The hashtag #METASTOTHERESCUE has been trending for hours, and were you to believe social media, Fantastic is the one leading the charge.

You turn, take a deep breath, and walk through the invisible threshold into another world. The teleportation devices you have been given will take you directly to the city of your choosing.

IN SUMMARY...

• The unrest in Excelsior and the upcoming election in Sunset Falls has caused a massive confluence, which has affected a great portion of the country.



• Anyone within the border of these affected areas finds themselves thrust into an alternate universe, wherein they lived a very different life as a native citizen of this world. In this version of the world, the Godfall Incident never happened.



• All metahumans - regardless of if they belong to Society, the Alliance, and the Unaligned - find that the Godfall Protocols are being enacted, meaning that metahumans will be conscripted into assisting. Knowing most metahumans do not stand a chance against whatever metaenergies are causing this, the leaders of these groups are asking the Starfallen to enter willingly.



• Being in the alternate universe for more than 72 hours will make you start to believe that you are part of it. It is very keen to assimilate you into it, and you may find yourself slowly developing false memories the longer you are in there.



• Exiting isn't an immediate cure, but the longer you are out, the faster you will come back to yourself.




• You can bring your AU-affected friends back to reality by reminding them of who they are, and that the life they have outside of the bubble is equally good as the one inside.



• Anyone who wants to sit this one out can kick back, relax, and enjoy some Kansas hospitality. Little Love is a safe area and will protect any citizens who do not feel capable or are unwilling to jump into the unknown.

Please direct any questions regarding this log HERE.

Comments

Balthier | Final Fantasy XII | OTA

[portolan]

[ ooc: will match format -- no preference ]

Is There Anybody Out There? - Day One, Outside the AU Zone

There was a particularly sensitive deal in the works that Balthier needed to go see to in person, and the transportation of the object was too delicate to leave to anyone else’s hands, not after what happened last May. So he ended up out of town for a few days. Including the night the alterations took place.

He gets the alert on his phone and his blood goes cold as he looks at the map of the effected areas. He hasn’t gotten texts from anyone since yesterday, but he hadn’t thought anything of it.

He’s going in, of course, but it’s going to take time to get briefed, see what support the Society can offer, make sure his transport is still working.

In the meantime he fires off texts to everyone he knows, trying to take a tally of who is still themselves.

Of who still remembers him.

Where are you? I need to talk to you.

Homecoming - Early in the Week, Excelsior

It hasn’t been a great first day of reconnaissance, and he knows he’s supposed to leave in cycles to keep the magic from effecting him too harshly.

Whether he’s gone in with someone and they’re regrouping to leave or he’s convinced someone within the Excelsior bubble to accompany him, he wants to stop by his house and grab a few things for his time away.

“I’ll just be a minute,” he says as he goes to open the front door. It took a little while to find the house, as some of the town map has shifted, so he’s relieved it looks the way he left it. “Can you get the suitcase out of the downstairs closet?”

It’s automatic to turn toward the stairs, already running through where things are in his head, when he stops dead.

“Ffamran, honey? We weren’t expecting you today.”

It’s his mother who steps out of the kitchen, warm and smiling and alive, looking completely comfortable in Earth clothes.

He tenses, because he hears shuffling in the living room, and Cid – the man he’s killed twice now – is walking toward him with a grin on his face.

“Good to see you, my boy. I thought you’d be buried in exams.”

And he hugs Balthier.

Happy Fucking Anniversary - Midweek, Central City

He’s taking a break in Central City, trying to regroup and decide what his next steps are. The Society is putting him up at the Diadem while his house is inaccessbile, and honestly, he hasn’t made it past the hotel bar.

This is where he was a year ago, fresh off a Confluence, fresh off everything happening at home. He’d lost everyone. He had no idea what he was going to do.

And now everyone he cares about doesn’t remember who he is. His house and his job are gone. He’s right back where he started, except he doesn’t think he has the energy to do this again. Can he get to another country? Can he get sent to some other world?

It’s not like Balthier to get drunk in public, let alone sad drunk, but the number of empty cups around him certainly point to his not having a good night. And he’s fiddling with a particularly beautiful pocket watch, a gift from a person who currently doesn’t know who he is.

“What’s the point of rebuilding when the storm’s just going to come again next season?” He’s not really talking to anyone, but he’s not really controlling his volume either.

A Memory of a Memory - Mid to Late Week, Excelsior

[ ooc: I’m waiting on a mod answer on this so may tag slightly slower but YES BRING ME CHAOS ]

Convincing people this isn’t real one by one is slow and painful. He’s exhausted, and he’s hurting, and he’s willing to take a risk because scions curse it all, he is Balthier, and he has saved worlds and ended gods and survived reality jumps and come back from the brink of death and he’s not letting go of his life here.

He picks a prominent place in town, one he knows well, and settles himself in the middle of it, somewhere with support for when he gets weak. This is the biggest illusion he’s ever cast, making the area not just look like it ought to, but laying a thick perception spell so that anyone who enters remembers things as they were.

It’s not perfect, and it’s a strain to hold it. But if he can wake anyone up, it will be worth it.

As people approach, he asks, “Do you know about Starfall?”

Wildcard

[ Feel free to wildcard me or hit more than one prompt for different parts of the week! If you want to discuss something, hit me on PM or plurk portolan ]

Happy Anniversary

[atypical_echo]

Mark didn't really want to be dealing with all of this, of course. He was a hero, sort of, but a world just filled with things being messed up and the wrong way around was just so hard to consider. And there wasn't much he could do he thought. So he'd come to check on a friend, hoping the guy would have some idea of how Mark could help with people. Maybe they could go into the mess together to try and help people.

And instead here he was, eyes cast toward the bar. He wanted a drink. He shouldn't drink... Before he could tear his eyes away, though, he saw something else. Someone who might well need saved from his own drinking.

The whole thing about being sober was that sometimes you had to reach out and help others too, pull them out of the bottle if they wanted away from it.

"I don't know what the point of rebuilding is, but I can say the answers aren't in those cups, man."

Re: Happy Anniversary

[portolan]

“If they were I wouldn’t still be sitting here,” Balthier snaps, temper loosened by the liquor.

He’s not irritated at the man’s comment, not really. He’s irritated that he feels so helpless, and so of course the one time in his life he blows off some steam and does something less than responsible, some stranger is calling him out. Can’t he even fail in peace?

[atypical_echo]

Really? That's a bit much of a fuss in his books.

"Someone you love is in there, isn't it? The altered space the Guilds are talking about."

[portolan]

He sighs and makes a face that is utterly miserable, hand coming to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Everyone," he corrects. "Everyone I love is in there."

[atypical_echo]

That's... A lot worse. And Mark doesn't know what to do about that.

"Are you... Are you Starfallen?"

Because if so, the guy can save them, can't he?

[portolan]

Balthier nods, but he throws back the rest of his drink. "Lot of a good it's doing me."

It's not the first time he wished he had his damn healing spells.

But he doesn't order another drink, even shakes his head no when the bartender asks, ordering water instead.

He's not going to be good to fight tomorrow if he's hung over.

[atypical_echo]

A hell of a lot of good indeed. Mark sighs and moves to sit by the guy and orders a soda.

"IT does though. You can go get them, right?"

[portolan]

He rubs his temple, fighting back the urge to snap again. Talking helps. Fran used to always get him to talk, and David--

"I can physically find them. None of them remember I exist, and nothing I've tried has made any headway."

[atypical_echo]

Can physically find them, but they don't remember. That's a puzzle indeed. Mark considers and sighs.

"Are they Metas?"

Is There Anybody Out There?

[unkindled_madness]

The text still makes it through to Sephiroth's phone, the sender unfamiliar. It seems urgent, so it's only polite to respond.]

I believe you have a wrong number.

Re: Is There Anybody Out There?

[portolan]

This is Balthier. From the antiques shop.

[ Is he wiped entirely from Sephiroth's memory, or just relegated to some specific alternate relationship? This isn't his first rodeo, even if his stomach is tight and something feels...off. More than usual. ]

[unkindled_madness]

[Antiques shop? Not the sort of place Sephiroth would frequent, but...]

Are you trying to reach Luke?

[portolan]

[ Luke??? How much is this thing altering people? ]

Tall fellow, dark hair, likes theater?

[unkindled_madness]

That's right.

He is my husband, so I can relay a message for you if you'd like.

[portolan]

[ Husband. That was new. He knew there was something going on but they'd seemed...private and jumpy about it.

What exactly was this situation doing to people's minds? ]

Tell him I had some questions on his order. This number is good. Thank you.

[unkindled_madness]

I'll let him know.

( wildcard )

[dothelokimotion]

You said you had an order for me?

[portolan]

[ .....fuck ]

Yes a pair of antique chairs, green upholstery.

[ He sends a photo and prays Loki's taste hasn't changed much. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ hmm. ]

I don't recall putting in such an order.

[portolan]

It may have just been in your name. Props perhaps?

[dothelokimotion]

Perhaps. I think I'll stop by for a visit. Where are you based?

[portolan]

Excelsior, but I have a partner location in Sunset. I can do either.

[dothelokimotion]

Sunset would be more feasible for me, thank you. Text me the details.

[portolan]

[ Well, good thing he has guild resources to help with this. He checks with contacts, so it takes a little while, but he sends Loki -- Luke -- an address ]

I can meet you this afternoon or tomorrow.