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DOWNBURST: PART I
➢ This log will cover the next three weeks of in-game time – from June 10 to June 30. This period will kick off with Kon freaking out with his friends with the Alliance HQ attack occurring soon after.
➢ Arcadia is open for business and tours, even if no one moves in. If anyone wishes to investigate Arcadia, they can feel free to – for what someone might find, please hit up the mods with any questions below.
➢ Around June 21st, Mechanima will announce that the parasitic infestation of Central City has been stopped. He’ll give credit to the efforts of Spider-Boy, Spider-Man, and Sleeper for their efforts in stopping the spread of the parasitic entity. But the quarantine is not lifted – he’ll cite the attack on the Alliance HQ as part of his reason for maintaining it. The subtext is that he doesn’t want to give Fantastic back “his” toys.
➢ During the last week – with the assumption that no one, or almost no one, has moved into Arcadia – the guards will begin bearing down on the Starfallen more obviously. Whoever’s giving them orders is antsy, and the guards are being made to act on that.
➢ What happens with (or even to) Arcadia will be decided by the playerbase. If you have any ideas, please feel free to hit us up! We’re down to hear what anyone has in mind.
➢ Fantastic’s big move will happen in the next event log on June 30th, as it will be dependent upon actions here. We’ll let you know if this date changes on mod channels.
➢ For characters seeking The Fixer, Frances, or Atomight, there will be comments below. We’ll be treating them like NPC engagement threads for the sake of ease.
➢ For any questions pertaining to this log, please hit the mod question thread below, as that is where we’ll be responding to any questions in or around this event.
It begins with Kon. On the surface, there were no obvious plans for Fantastic to take over the Alliance. On the surface, Atomight should have been allowed to continue in the same shoes, no matter how much disdain he started to receive from the public and his fellow heroes. But these plans had been in motion for a while, with Fantastic eventually being the beneficiary. When the trigger comes to set off Kon, it’s meant to show that Fantastic was the right choice all along. And wasn’t he? After all, Kon’s destruction was evidence that a stronger, firmer hand was needed. Fantastic wouldn’t showboat about it. Kon needed help.
The end result—Kon’s explosion of sorts—was proof enough. Not that Fantastic would say this. No, the Alliance leader wouldn’t let such a thing be used for publicity. That would be too much. It’s better if publicity makes itself.
Enter: the Alliance HQ in Central City. If Kon’s takedown can be passed through word of mouth, the attack on the Alliance HQ was meant to be breaking news that would get around-the-clock coverage. After all, the Alliance is meant to help metas of all stripes – Starfallen and otherwise. Fantastic even had a headline in mind: “Fantastic Stops Challenge to Alliance Authority.”
However, nothing ever goes as planned. First: a weird bodyswapping parasite arrived in Central City and forced Mechanima to place the city under quarantine. Second: it was meant to be a two-pronged attack, but Fantastic’s guy putting everything in place didn’t have the hold on his subjects that was meant to be in place.
So, the Alliance HQ attack is one Starfallen who can’t control herself: Doreen, also known as Squirrel Girl. But here, she’s known as the Felonious Fox. Taking her down is of the utmost importance – and so is figuring out what happened to her. It might not be a bad idea to ignore Mechanima’s quarantine on Central City as a whole to make that happen, lest she be forced to do something she’ll regret.
As for Fantastic? Without his two-pronged Starfallen attack to stop, he has to improvise.
ARCADIA
Within 12 hours of the attack on the Alliance HQ, Fantastic is on television making a statement:
“Hello, hello.” He flashes a smile – it’s clearly meant to disarm the audience, as seeming confident is most important in times like these. “I have been involved in an investigation for the last day about a number of Starfallen who have been engaging in duplicitous acts and have come to a troubling realization. These Starfallen have been manipulated and implanted with dangerous directives in order to bring harm to both themselves and others. Needless to say, this discovery was alarming … and worrying. The suspect is a hypnotist with no known powers.” Here, a picture of The Fixer flashes on the television. “This man is on the loose and we welcome any leads to stop him.”
With no preamble, he continues: “I hoped to make this announcement under better circumstances, but ah – better sooner than later, right? Today, I’d like to introduce you all to Arcadia.” The video cuts out to show a beautiful, state-of-the-art compound near Excelsior – which can be seen in the distance. “For months, the Starfallen have arrived in this world with little support beyond what the Alliance has provided them, and we’ve put together a project that we hope will be of great service to new and old Starfallen alike. We thank the great citizens of Excelsior for working with the Alliance in making this dream a reality.” Fantastic pauses again to smile – he attempts to exude as much warmth as possible, but he mostly just looks proud of himself.
“Now, let’s introduce you all to … Arcadia.”
Fantastic is now gone, and a video begins, flashing a logo covered in Greek olive branches: Arcadia. The subtitle? “A Place For All the Travellers of the Stars to Feel Safe.”
➢ First off, the beginning of the video makes one thing clear: all Starfallen are welcome to visit Arcadia and take a tour as soon as they’d like. There are openings today for tours if they would like, and these tours are as safe as anyone might like.
➢ The video itself is a guided tour of Arcadia. Meant to be a permanent residence for all Starfallen, it’s a compound that has state-of-the-art technology designed to keep the Starfallen safe. The only way to enter the compound is by passing a number of randomized screenings, ensuring that no one can enter unless they pass one of these checks.
➢ Arcadia is pristine. Neither the Alliance nor the architects and engineers of Excelsior cut any corners when it came to ensuring that the location was beautiful. Most significantly, while it largely resides on a patch of cleared land outside of Excelsior, there are options to elevate Arcadia above ground should the people there need to protect it. Arcadia is able to rise up like an island in the sky to offer protection to its people.
➢ All of the homes inside Arcadia are beautiful. All of them come pre-furnished, and Starfallen will be able to pick the interior colors, types of appliances they’ll need, and any other amenities they might require. Need a hot tub? No one at Alliance HQ will be asking any questions. Have specific dietary requirements? Never worry – Arcadia will provide anything needed so that someone can live their lives as discreetly as possible.
➢ Security is important. Beyond the randomized screenings for entry, there will be guards in Arcadia around the clock to ensure that Arcadian citizens are not harmed. These guards will be armed with depowering devices should anyone attempt to attack the Starfallen, largely making it possible to neutralize their attack. Some of the guards are even shown without their gear in the video: they’re all generically attractive men and women of all stripes. If they weren’t guards, they could easily be models.
The video ends with a request: “Come and see Arcadia today. We’ll do everything we can to make this the home of your dreams.”
➢ With its introduction out there in the world, Arcadia’s doors are open! While there are scheduled tours, it doesn’t seem as if anyone will be denied entry if they want to check out the location. Visitors are provided with a guest pass for a day – unless they choose to sign up to stay before they leave. (Hint hint: there will be a lot of pressure to sign up, but no one will be forced to stay.)
➢ Arcadia is a bit like the Tardis from Doctor Who. While it doesn’t seem like it could possibly house all of those different apartments for Starfallen, it seems to be endless. Anyone who’s able to sense magic can guess that some spellwork went into this accomplishment.
➢ Should anyone visit and go off the beaten path and explore without a guide – or just wander off to “find a bathroom” and end up somewhere they shouldn’t, for example – they’ll find strange engraved symbols on the lowest level of Arcadia. Near here, there will be an additional magical residue that differs from what might be sensed throughout, as it’s much darker and insidious in nature. At the core of the compound, near a sign indicating that it’s the Mechanical Room keeping Arcadia afloat (figuratively and literally – should it need to elevate into the sky like an island), the magical residue turns into magical resonance. Something powerful is happening in there. Something dark.
➢ Guards are present throughout doing patrols, but they’ve been directed to not make contact with the Starfallen at this time. Trying to interact with them will lead to some small talk. These guards seem like your average Joes turned guards. They have families, pets, and favorite movies. They also think Fantastic is really, really cool.
➢ Even if the tours are guided, characters are largely allowed to move freely. They can visit several times before making a decision, but the pressure to sign up for a spot in Arcadia will escalate over time. No one is being held here against their will, but leaving isn’t the safest decision.
➢ Given Excelsior’s reticence toward metas and Starfallen, anyone heading into the city to get a sense of the sentiment toward Arcadia will get mixed opinions. But the people there are largely accepting of their fate. Having Arcadia nearby will mean that any dinosaur-shaped problems won’t be allowed to get out of hand. The Starfallen will surely help. The people of Excelsior will be able to explore their ideas, even if they turn into people-eating plants, and the Starfallen will help. Of course, many of the businesses in Excelsior have either been blackmailed into accepting their fate – or paid off. No one is happy, but they can see the upsides. Albeit reluctantly.
➢ As if geo-tagged, edits of the same video advertising Arcadia will appear wherever the Starfallen are, whether it’s on televisions in department stores, on ads on their social media, or elsewhere. It’s apparent that Arcadia is being pushed and it’s being pushed hard.
With the Fixer on the loose and loudly described as a danger to all Starfallen, the guards that were hired to protect Arcadia will now appear elsewhere, especially in locations where Starfallen frequent. Want to get your quadruple-shot caramel macchiato? A guard will be there, ensuring your safety. Want to see the newest multiversal pic of epic proportions with a generic and predictable ending? A guard will be buying a ticket, too. These guards are there to keep the Starfallen safe – and avoiding them will be difficult.
For a select few Starfallen, the guards won’t just be keeping an eye on them and monitoring their movement. They will be acting. In some cases, this action will be positive – but in others, it will be negative and threatening. Trying to challenge the authority of the Alliance is an unwise move when the Starfallen are at risk.
➢ For most, the guards will be an ever-present, creepy part of their lives. They won’t be immediately violent toward anyone that they’re observing, but they will be quick to act if someone tries to dodge their surveillance. Unless someone effectively goes into hiding, the guards will mysteriously be able to spot them again to “protect them.”
➢ Engaging with the guards violently will lead to problems. At this stage, they’ve been directed to only act in extreme circumstances – attacking them counts as extreme. These guards have been equipped with teleporters, enhanced speed and strength, as well as immensely powerful power inhibitors that depower any Starfallen within a five-foot radius.
➢ For a handful of Starfallen, their actions will be marked as threatening without provocation: Mark Bryant, Bart Allen, Heron, and Huvrye Tirvio. Since they pose a threat to the ability of the Alliance to protect all Starfallen, the guards will seek them out and attempt to apprehend them. Should they be successful, the Alliance will release a statement to the media about how some troublesome Starfallen have been stopped for the greater good. How these interactions go is up to the players themselves – the guards do not have to be successful.
➢ One Starfallen in particular, Ken Kaneki, will be approached by a guard without her mask as she offers him a place in Arcadia. The Alliance has noticed that he seems to be having a hard time adjusting to his new world and they’re here to help. The guard in question has no idea about why Kaneki might require additional assistance, but will promise that all of his needs will be met. If they’d like to talk in a more casual setting – including with her imposing armor off – she’s happy to go change. (Of course, the armor can be reapplied at the touch of a button, but she won’t be telling Kaneki that.)
➢ When the guards first appear, they will largely be omnipresent and creepy, but harmless otherwise. As the weeks go on, however, the guards will get antsy and will be hovering closer. Engaging with them at this stage is likely to cause an altercation – with the guard insisting at some point that the Starfallen may need to be brought into custody “for their own safety.” These altercations will only begin near the end of the period this log covers.
➢ Any captured Starfallen will be briefly imprisoned in Excelsior before being offered a spot in Arcadia. Jailbreaks and escapes are welcomed and encouraged.
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The risk! The danger! Star crossed lovers, diametrically opposed, good and evil clashing by night and holding hands by day!!
I just wanted to mess with him. Before the confluences happened, HE was the only exciting thing going on. He knew how to have fun
And this isnt fun. For anyone.
She’s not present to make it, but there’s surely a sigh.
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Yeah, him and the cultists are fucking things up for all of us. It's a pain in the ass. I'm guessing he didn't get involved with those pricks until after you two broke up?
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Ugh, so many questions and not enough answers.
Maybe it'd be easier to start with whoever sent that text message. They might know shit.
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A lengthy pause as the villain mulls over everything she doesn't currently know. She mopes, she mourns, she laments.
And then she decides she has enough wallowing and gets up to find some answers.
i'm gonna ask some questions, hold on.
...
...
......
.........
okay so i can confirm the text came from my side
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Your side? What do you mean?
It doesn't really sound like she's referring to the Society, here.
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OUR side
society
whatever
mechys busting his metal butt tech is HIS department and magic is mine but it sounds like hes got one of his tech nerds on it and
and i guess little old ME isnt allowed in on the secrets because blah blah THE JERK IN CHARGE IS MY EX and BLAH BLAH CONFLICT OF INTEREST
like oh my god its not like!!! i get in his case!!! every time he gets soooo invested in atomight!!!! like come on we KNOW who the original enemies to lovers were man deny it all you want WEVE ALL READ THE FANFICTION
its like they dont TRUST me you know?????
its not like i can MAKE him see sense i just have to wait for him to get his ass kicked and SEE SENSE and then everything will be fine and go back to normal
i never thought i would miss NORMAL
i just wanted things to be a LITTLE more exciting and it WAS and THAT was great now its just really sucky!! who knew it would get this sucky???
ugh!!!!
anyway
YOU trust me right accy
She may be losing the plot a little here. Though, with that said, it doesn't seem like she's great at keeping secrets. Or has found this a personal slight and is now willing to say anything so long as she feels suitably trusted.
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(He's glad this is over text, though. If this was an actual conversation his socialization batteries would be running very low.
Also. Does everyone just date everyone else around here? Geez, maybe the Alliance and Society were actually created for weird relationship kinks....)
There's a beat as he considers her question before texting back.
Sure. You trust me with your cats, and you haven't given me any reason not to trust you.
It's kind of a calculated answer, but he figures it's good enough. He's got confirmation that warning was from someone in the Society, which is interesting.
If you think kicking his ass will help why don't you just go and do it? Who gives a shit about Mechanima, whatever that bastard is doing it obviously isn't enough since things are getting worse. Do you think whoever sent that message got his permission? I'm willing to bet no, because if they had we probably would've gotten something more official instead of some sketchy-ass text.
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and like secret identities and shit!!!!
ugh
no i think they know i think im just on the outs
or thyere worried im ~COMPROMISED~
and the big boss and his bf AND their gf are basically all busy trying to keep things from exploding because they are EXPLODING and its sounding like everybodys ready to pack a go bag because they think once the freaky cult people are done with you guys then the govs gonna be coming for us
so theyre like
can we fix this or is it too fucked
and like
are the next 20 years gonna be a repeat of the OLD days where there were no guilds and everything was BAD and people were constantly DYING and like
things get to the point like they did when that guy lost his shit because his parents died and we had no more confluences because blah blah power and emotions and world breakage and shit
i dunno
i went to like ONE meeting for a cult
not like the murder cult but like their mortal enemies or whatever
which is weird because all they do is sleep and dream and hand out pillows and its weird but they were all like
your power and wishes change the world! dreams for a better future are how you change your path!
and i was like oh this is WAY too obviously culty for me so i dipped
the vlog got like 10m views though
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I didn't know cults could have mortal enemies, especially in the form of other cults. It sounds like a lot of bullshit, but can you send me a link to the vlog?
Might as well check it out.
So if the cult gets their way, it's a domino effect for everyone. What a pain in the ass. If Mechanima and everyone are so worried about things going back to how they were, how come they aren't taking more drastic actions?
Going in and slaughtering all the cult members would mean there wouldn't be anyone to back Fantastic and Arcadia would probably shut down. But I guess that wouldn't look good, politically-speaking.
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[ give her a moment and she'll present him with a link to her vlog titled MY NIGHT WITH THE DREAMERS and it is, honestly, pretty boring. the cult is settled in the forest of Sunset Falls. They're all the epitome of the 1960s hippie movement, long hair and flowing clothes with flowers tied in their hair. They're doling out enchanted pillows to the populace and teaching them affirmations to say to 'empower themselves to create their own future' and 'cast off the shackles of destiny' and talking about how dreams can manifest reality.
it's a lot. ]
and like
listen accy if they went that route they would just be MAKING things how they were before.
there's a reason we have The Code and that's to keep things kinda orderly.
the only time things go out the window is if we're staring down an apocalypse and we're not there.
at least not yet.
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[Cults. Sheesh. He'll follow the link and watch the vlog. Being a modern kid from Japan and not all that into pop or Western culture beyond the typical stuff he picks up through osmosis, this is incredibly bizarre to him. This is what cult weirdos do with their free time? Good lord.]
Goddamnit. [This sucks. He wants to break down a door and take care of things in like fifteen minutes.] I suppose it's a good thing they think we aren't approaching a fucking apocalypse yet. Everyone just needs to take out the cult while still following the rules.
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i guess prepare for war because this might get really ugly.
hopefully you don't mind your hands getting a little messy, i know some people join up for the freedom part and forget that some of the guys are like actually villains, capital V
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