metalogs | CONFLUENCE 017

Entry tags:

CONFLUENCE 017

Who: Everyone!
What: A Confluence! An invasion!
When: Early April
Where: Everywhere!
Content Warnings: Nonconsensual life takeover, drug use, death

ARRIVAL

A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces.

Wherever you were, whatever you were getting up to back home—it doesn't matter anymore. One moment you're standing, laying down, sitting, getting shot at—the next, you're falling. It's not from a short distance, either. The sky opens up, and out of it comes you. Maybe you've got the ability to catch yourself before your face meets asphalt, but if you don't, don't worry about it. The citizens of CENTRAL CITY are here to lend a hand. The thing is, some of them might find it difficult to control their powers. Many of them might keep you from crash landing, but you'll still fall and hurt your leg (if not break it). Their skin is pallid and they have dark rings under their eyes. Well, some of them, anyway.

Whatever way you've arrived, you're here now. Your saviors can't seem to focus to stick around too long, and just absently point out where you're going. That's right: you've been dropped off close to the DIADEM HOTEL and won't have to walk very far to get to your temporary housing.

Welcome to Central City.

DIADEM 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 just to sample. But given the circumstances, the Guilds feel it's 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. The employees here seem to be largely untouched by whatever's affecting the citizens outside–but that's probably because they know better than to touch some strange metas they come across.

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 ARCHETYPE 2: WAYS OF THE MOUNTAIN. It's a long, long movie about an alien species that needs to eat rocks to survive. While critically acclaimed, few people can summarize what it's about other than that it's a science fiction marvel for the ages. Not seeing it basically means you're not cool, but it feels like no one has truly seen it because no one even knows what it's really about.

CENTRAL CITY

Typically, Central City is a city of architectural marvels offset by terrible income disparities. Typically, the people here are aware of where not to go; they know which shadows to avoid, which neighborhoods to leave abandoned, and which pizza shops aren't likely to see trouble at all hours of the day. To the outside eye, all of these things remain true. Much of the city continues to be little more than a dilapidated shell of itself–a recurring reminder of what it could be if its citizens weren't afraid of its potential.

At the moment, Central City's citizens are feeling A LITTLE OFF, ALMOST AS IF THEY'RE BOTH IN STEP WITH ONE ANOTHER AND NOT. Why is that? An odd, new INVASIVE SPECIES HAS BEEN TAKING ROOT. That's right. It's pod people time.

To anyone observing the city, nothing has changed. But the people inside will undoubtedly notice the shift. A large number of people have been seen coming from the abandoned, forgotten parts of the city, dressed as if they're keen to return to their 9-5 job. The crime syndicates are keeping quiet; many of its members are fatigued and unaware, trying to go about even their most basic tasks like shaking down local businesses without feeling like they want to fall asleep on their feet.

That's the thing: CENTRAL CITY IS SAFER THAN USUAL because a whole lot of citizens are currently dead on their feet. Not literally–not yet anyway. At first this might seem like a blessing in disguise, but all of the strange behavior is likely to add up. What does this strange behavior look like–and what comes next?

➢ Right now, no one knows that there are pod people, and–in fact–that they have been quietly taking root for a while. A large part of this is because they're difficult to spot before they fully absorb an identity. Think of an ability that makes it hard to focus on someone–that's what's going on with them. As a group, they have a simple cellular structure and seem to have a central nervous system that they share. Yep, it's a hivemind folks. Now–where is that hive?

➢ As a species, the pod people are symbiotic in nature. Their "barely noticeable" forms are only illusions; their true form, at birth, is parasitic and worm-like in nature. They insert through someone's skin and begin to take root, sucking away at their energy bit by bit until they can begin to take on a life of their own. They quite literally form a new body near the hive and hatch out of it. Once they hatch, their host body will begin to wither quickly and die, as its memories and energy are no longer needed. Once they take on this form, they are able to sustain themselves away from a host.

➢ They absorb all aspects of someone's identity: their appearance, their quirks, their memories, and everything else. One might even ask if THEY ARE NOT TRULY THE PERSON THEY TOOK OVER WHEN THEY'RE DONE. Everything about them is the same, after all–EXCEPT FOR A NEED TO CONTINUE TO SPREAD NEWLY BORN PARASITES FROM THE HIVE TO OTHERS VIA TOUCH.

➢ The process of the takeover happens in six steps:

1. INFECTION - the symbiotic parasite is passed via touch

2. ENERGY DRAIN - the parasite begins to take root, causing fatigue in its host

3. MEMORY LOSS AND DISASSOCIATION - there is an odd sense that someone is in two places at once; in addition, it's hard to recall facts about themselves and the people around them

4. HIVEMIND AWARENESS - there is always a sense of power nearby in Central City, as well as safety–there will also be telepathic awareness of other hosts who are at this stage

5. COMPLETE TAKEOVER AND LOSS OF LIFE - the original host begins to wither into a husk, begins to die

6. REBIRTH - the new pod person is born and they are autotrophic in nature: small parasites can be passed from their body, always replicating so that they can continue and spread

➢ COMPROMISED METAS WILL FIND IT DIFFICULT TO ACCESS THEIR POWERS RELIABLY. When the new pod person is born, they will be born with the power that their previous host had.

➢ STOPPING THE POD PEOPLE IS AN OPTION. So is SAVING THEM. No matter what, some investigation into what they are, how to manage them, and if they're truly harmful is needed. After all–being a part of a hive mind might actually not be so bad. It seems to have helped Central City.

CLIFF NOTES.

➢ New arrivals will be appearing in Central City. Their arrival will be expected and handled by a number of local heroes, helpful magic, and a few drones–except all of them (sans the drones) will be feeling tired and a touch under the weather. What gives?

➢ Central City dealing with some pod people. Not obviously, of course, but this is a problem that metas of all types are free to investigate. How people choose to deal with them is up to you, but feel free to hit us up with any questions about this mini-event down below.

➢ Little Love has a … cow problem. Or a goat problem. It depends upon your definition of problem. It's time for the great cow strike of 2023. The goats are just passing the word.

➢ Sunset Falls had a ghostly problem that has now become a withdrawal problem.

➢ Excelsior is on its anti-meta propaganda again. There are some citizens from the city exploring other locations to see if they can spot some trouble. Central City seems like it's in some trouble–it would probably be best not to let the propaganda engine catch wind of that, huh? Pod people are just a different name for metas, as far as they're concerned.

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

How will the goats react to a sun goddess trying to herd them so they stop breaking things?

Some of the talking goats may get sassy with Amaterasu, but they will allow themselves to be herded. They will, however, run off if given the chance. They do have urgent goat matters to attend to after all.

1. arrival;

( he's falling.

that much is clear; there's wind at his back and nothing but sky above him which is odd considering he'd just been standing on a dingy little boat. craning his head back is enough to show that he's still a significant distance away from the ground, so kell just--stays falling for a minute. takes inventory. there are coins around his neck, his dagger is still in his coat--the coat is still here. and in the palm of his hand is the ring he'd just recently gotten hold of.

everything accounted for, aside from the people he'd been with and the boat he'd been on. and a familiar feeling inside his chest, an odd silence where he had grown used to noise.

kell moves a hand down under him, palm towards the ground just as he starts getting too close too fast that it might have been a concern. a gust of wind picks up his weight, changing his trajectory from the straight fall down to a curved decline. enough of one that he manages to get himself right side up and lands on his feet--a landing just rough enough to earn a barely noticeable wince, before his lips are twisting into a frown. a hand raises to dust off the front of his red coat, before he's pushing both hands down into his pockets and--walking off. no words to the welcoming committee, no stopping to listen to what they have to say. if he can disappear into the crowd, all the better for him. )

2. boy with a coin

( the city is unfamiliar. it's not extremely surprising to him, given he'd been on unfamiliar grounds just before he'd arrived. but kell has looked at maps before, he couldn't have told anyone exactly where they'd been, but he's absolutely certain it's not here. and even if it was, being here doesn't make sense. which makes trying to travel elsewhere dangerous, because he doesn't know what he'd be walking into. but it didn't stop him.

there's a small cut on his arm, intentionally made and quickly healing which kell fully ignores as he walks his way down a narrow alley in the middle of the night. a small coin is clutched in the palm of his hand, noticeable only due to how tight his fingers are curled around it. the black coat with silver lining that he's switched to feels a little more safe, less likely to stick out especially when it's this dark out. he hears someone approaching behind him, shoes hitting against pavement kell--stops in place. waits a moment before he's turning himself around, eyes first to the person holding the knife, then up towards the dim sconces attached to the building--and back down. )

I wouldn't, if I were you.

( bad day, worse mood. )

3. the birds up there mock me.

( kell doesn't get his hands on a phone. doesn't catch the eyes of the guilds, doesn't receive a phone or the handy credit cards he wouldn't know how to use regardless. but he does wander around the city enough to see people tapping away at their phones like they're mad.

he sees it enough to get curious over what they're doing. asking would just make him seem even more out of place than he already is, he knows by now that new arrivals isn't new here, but that doesn't change that he doesn't want to announce himself as an outsider.

so instead he just opts to find someone who looks very entranced by their device and is sitting down in a position where kell can, as stealthily as possible, stop behind them and read over their shoulder. does it count as snooping still if the intent is to figure out why the fuck people are staring at a tiny lit up rectangle. )

4. wildcard.

( throw something down and i'll roll with it, or hit me up at crowbars and we can plot it out! )

[ she had thought she'd seen a familiar red coat earlier, head turned so fast she's nearly given herself whiplash, but the red coat had vanished around a corner and when lila had sprinted over there was no sign of him at all. she's imagining things, seeing what she wants to see when it isn't really there. every shock of coppery red hair the last month has been the same disappointment.

kell isn't here. he is back in white london being tortured probably while rhy is clinging to a half life in red london with only lila to save them both and she's failed.

her hand curls around the magic box, blood welling against the cut on her wrist. she has the box to guide her this time but it's still the memories that well up in her chest that fuel the power — the fury in his eyes before he stalked off, the heat of his hands on her skin, his lips against hers, the stranger tied to her bed with his many sided coat, the scent of lilies, the pain in his scream beyond that door. she presses her blood to the wall. ]

As Tascen Kell.

[ it works, the brick wall melting away, the whole world swooping off kilter before it rights itself again and she's standing... in front of a man with a knife pointed at her. the relief of the magic working bleeds away into another disappointment, the box falling from fingers gone lax to bounce against the asphalt. her knife is already in her other hand but what is the point? ]

( a door opens--but not a normal door. a door through places, a door that feels so familiar that kell's attention falls away from the would-be attacker and refocuses in on it instead. luckily for them both, it gets their attention, too. there's a fifty-fifty chance on who it could be--at least, as far as kell knows, as far as he would assume, and as pleasant as holland's presence would have been,

well. kell's glad it's lila. he takes a step forward behind her, notices the knife in her hand and opts to trust her ability to guard them both for a moment. she's dropped something that looks plenty familiar, after all, and kell takes a couple steps forward to kneel down behind her and pick it up. he's careful to be slow with his movements, loud enough that she'll be able to pick up ever step, hear the moment he scrapes the box down against the ground before pulling himself back up to his feet. )

Lila. ( he says her name like it's a relief, because it is. this isn't his first new world, first time walking around somewhere almost entirely unfamiliar, or the first he's felt cut off--but it's different this time. it's unfamiliar in a way other londons weren't, he's cut off in ways he hadn't been before. lila is something familiar in an odd world, something that feels right. ) Don't kill him.

( this would be a bad place to leave a body. )

QUESTIONS & ENGAGEMENT

Re: QUESTIONS & ENGAGEMENT

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kell maresh » open

boy with a coin, girl with a knife

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the birds up there mock me.

sorry for the super delay!

claudia donovan ⪢ open

closed.

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Dylan Brock + General TL for the Parasite Worm Plot

01. Descendant - Private Room; CLOSED to close friends & associates of Jason and/or Dylan + Friends of Those Friends

02. Unspecified laboratory — If you want to claim it as your character's lab, go for it! — OPEN to any science-y types who'd like to participate

03a. The Descendant (several days later) - OPEN TO ALL - Town Hall Discussion

Wlildcard

01c

Re: 01c

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Wildcard

Wildcard

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CLOSED to Sephiroth | Hivemind Shenanigans

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