CONFLUENCE 04

[metamods]

Who: All everybody
What: A Confluence strikes!
When: March 27, 2022
Where: Sunset Falls
Content Warnings: Comic book violence, ghosts and demons.

CONFLUENCE

Weird things happen in Sunset Falls.

This is a given. The residents of the town have never known a time where the paper didn't feature a mysterious occult murder as a headline, or a student wasn't being outed for using a little mystical enhancement to boost their athletic prowess.

So when the Alliance arrives, stating that residents must vacate the area as quickly as possible, nearly every person grabs a go-bag and gets the hell out of dodge. If something is big enough to earn the capes' attention, then it's surely not worth risking life and limb to find out if they're bluffing.

Guild members receive an emergency bulletin telling them to teleport to Sunset Falls at their earliest convenience. The notice warns them to prepare themselves, grimly remarking that if Confluences have been bad in the other cities then they will be a complete and utter nightmare in Sunset Falls.

This time, however, there is no great fall to kick things off.

New arrivals come into awareness seconds before they make impact - but this time, they're flying up and through the floorboards of Sunset Falls' high school gymnasium. The ground underneath flickers an ominous purple, a lingering gaze may feel the void gazing back in confusion... and then there's a burst of burning wind. Something rushes out of the void as it closes, leaving you to crash back down to the ground. There’s nothing left but broken shards of gym flooring scattered around you…and the lingering touch of something angry and malicious being freed.

Exiting the gym brings you directly into the main lobby. You can see people standing outside the doors, seemingly unaware of what has transpired behind them. Suddenly, there's a rush of wind and energy behind you, making a mad dash for the doors. They swing open hard enough to crack the windows, and then all is suddenly quiet.

01. SPRING THAW

Spring thaw has come swiftly this year. In the span of a few moments the temperature has gone from frigid to a balmy summer day, and only continues to rise.

As the disoriented new arrivals step outside, they find themselves standing in what could be a sweltering summer day. The heroes standing guard jolt in alarm as the doors behind them swing open. Air rushes out, a blast of frigidity that's a relief in the suddenly sweltering night. They turn, and spy the new arrivals. It seems like they’re almost - though certainly not quite - as confused as the rest of you. The recent Confluences have all happened with a bit more fanfare than this.

But the night is only getting hotter. If that’s the end of it, no one’s going to complain. And it must be over now, right? The citizens of Sunset Falls have already started to return, vague figures in the distance trickling out of alleyways and from behind buildings. Fantastic, the squad leader on this expedition, attempts to radio back to headquarters with this news - only to drop the communicator when it begins to wail in unearthly woe.

The people gathering around the school are getting closer. One by one they step into the streets, into the halogen glow of the streetlamps, and...

Something seems a little... off about them. Their eyes are distant and they appear to shimmer slightly in the dim light. Heroes and villains alike pause and glance between each other, a confused murmur breaking out as some recognize certain faces amongst the crowd. Some of the heroes born in this world shout out names in elation; others shrink back as they spy a less friendly face amongst the ghoulish collection.

The metas closest to the doors — Fantastic of the Guardian Alliance and Chaos Gate of the Society — take a few steps back. They're not naive enough to believe this is a good sign. Fantastic gestures for the new arrivals to get back inside the school and shut the doors. Chaos Gate extends a hand to summon her staff and gives a merry shout: everyone should prepare for a mess! This is a horde of ghosts, and they probably aren't that friendly.

Some of the apparitions appear to be wearing costumes that belong to decades past: spandex and capes in bright neon colors and embroidered with psychedelic shapes. Others simply look human, wearing civilian clothing marked with arcane symbols.

Either way, they're metahumans, to be sure - all of them know how to use their powers, and they’re looking to use them on all of you. Former hero or former villain, it doesn’t seem to matter. None of them seem to entirely register who or what it is they’re fighting; they won’t respond to attempts to talk them down, even from those guild members they used to know. They’re just attacking, lashing out with something like desperation. If you want to get through this, you’re going to have to fight back.

Spectral though they are, striking one of the ghosts feels like hitting someone of flesh and blood. But the more damaged they are, the less human they look. They begin to crumble and decay, looking less like living people and more like ghouls the more they’re beaten down. When they’re finally defeated, they burst in an explosion of unknowable spiritual energy…and also ectoplasm. Slimy!

02. SUMMER SWELTER

Should new arrivals, or metas who came along to help with the Confluence, break free of the throng of ghosts and flee into Sunset Falls, they won’t find themselves entirely safe. The ghosts won’t pursue, but they aren’t the only thing that slipped through the cracks in reality tonight.

The farther you get from the school and its host of the dead, the hotter it gets. The heat is oppressive; a shimmering haze rises over the pavement, and all the various birds and bugs of the evening have gone utterly silent.

The first sign is a pressure in your lungs, the air growing scalding to breathe. Then, without warning, pieces of your surroundings begin to spontaneously ignite. The roofs of the dark and vacant houses start to smoke; power lines burst and shower sparks and bits of melted wire and plastic. At the epicenter of the inferno, you can see a luminous shape shimmering through the air: a fire elemental.

It needs to be put out before it incinerates everything! You won't be able to rely on punching or regular fighting here - fittingly for a creature born of Sunset Falls, you'll have to rely on a more creative use of powers, and maybe some magic.

For each event with a clear antagonistic NPC force — such as the Vlog Squad, in the February arrival — interested players can pitch their characters' encounters with those NPCs. Whether characters are heroic and suited to the role or not, the aim is the group effort of pitching in, so we highly encourage collaborating on these encounters. Once enough NPC encounters have been submitted, we'll determine if and how the trouble has been addressed, and select one of those encounters to be the final, conclusive one in the game. Everyone else's encounters will also have taken place, but may have been temporary stopgaps in addressing the conflict rather than a conclusive blow. For this Confluence, we are asking that submissions be finalized by 3/5.

How it works:

• Reply to the relevant top-level comment with an encounter and/or questions about the encounter. The mods are happy to go back and forth with before locking in exactly what a character or group of characters does. Any conversations between characters and NPCs will most likely be happening prior to combat unless specified by the players.


• The mods ask that players present two options. In one version, the character or group of characters kills, immobilizes, or otherwise apprehend the villain(s). In the other version, one way or another, the villain escapes or overcomes the character or group of characters. Players who wish to have a specific spot in the timeline (near to the beginning or near to the end) should make this request explicit, and the mods will make efforts to accommodate this.


• The mods will RNG the results for the final encounter. For all other submissions, the escape/overcome option is selected. Open calls for collaboration which result in multiple player characters contributing to an idea or solution (see: Kamala Khan's solution to the Cerberus fight) have a much higher chance of being the final encounter, as we want to reward player collaboration and innovation. Please be sure that after everyone has weighed in you return to the top-level comment to report exactly what is happening and who is doing what.


• The mods will reply to player submissions with a brief outline of how all of the run-ins go, whether it's a fight or a slapstick series of hilarious accidents that involves the character(s).

Request NPC encounters using the following form —
<B>Characters involved:</b> Name (username) <b>Details of the encounter:</b> What's the plan? <B>How might the villain escape or overcome the player character(s)?</b> <B>How would the player character(s) kill, immobilize, or apprehend the villain?</b>

EXAMPLE—

Character(s) involved: The Iron Giant and Hank Hill
Details of the encounter: Hank will ride in Iron Giant's hand as they search the city for the Vlog Squad, eventually spotting them in a public park. They land explosively in the middle, throwing all of the squad off of their feet while the Iron Giant sends out a signal to scramble their livestreams and begins trying to catch the offenders up in both hands. Hank will try to tackle at least one of them.

How might the villain escape or overcome the player character(s)? Playlist slow motions Iron Giant and they easily duck its grasp, and Filter leaves Hank floating upside down as they make their escape.

How would the player character(s) kill, immobilize, or apprehend the villain? Iron Giant grabs Playlist before she can slow it, then picks up and captures all but Emoji; Hank throws a branch and beans that guy right in the head. Iron Giant gathers him up too, and they turn them in to the first batch of emergency responders they find.

03. SAFE AND SOUND

The foes finally vanquished, Fantastic - covered in ectoplasm, scorched, and thoroughly pissed - shouts that he's radioing back to HQ. If anyone doesn't want the ride back, they have five minutes to get out of his sight. The new arrivals have less of a choice in the matter as he's not bothering to clarify what "a ride" means. He simply slams the button on the communicator and barks into it that they've handled things and are ready to go. With a rush of arcane power, those who haven’t vacated the area find themselves somewhere else.

The gymnasium has been foregone in favor of a more permanent arrival space. Powers are still dampened here, but not turned off entirely. Anyone displaying intentions to harm others in the space is met with a swift time-out. Fantastic can be approached for conversation, although he doesn’t seem terribly interested in offering any actual assistance.

The guilds check over new arrivals, and once given a clean bill of health, a hot meal and the option to take a nap in a secured space, they are shuffled off into the Diadem Hotel. Recruiters from both the Society and the Alliance approach in the hotel lobby, each pitching an offer to join their respective side.

04. PACTS FORGED AND BROKEN

Evil is a very real presence in Sunset Falls, lurking in the shadows and waiting to manifest in the hearts of men. The more angry and down on their luck a person is, the easier it is to sway them to make things just a little easier on themselves.

The new arrivals have escaped and made their way to Central City, seemingly safe for the time being. But not everything that slipped free from that strange void was a human spirit. It seems that something may have followed you home.

It begins with the sound of whispering. Your deepest desires, your greatest fears: this voice knows them all. It waits until you're alone, or in a moment of desperation against a foe far stronger than yourself, and then it begins to beckon.

The demon will offer pacts, offering their greatest wish in exchange for but a shard of their soul. Power, money, fame - all of it can be yours if you're willing to offer succor for this starving creature who only wants to make your dreams come true. He's got a compelling voice and you may find yourself inclined to agree, offering what he asks. How could you ever refuse such a deal?

Agreeing will result in a sharp pain somewhere indescribable, as if your very existence is being splintered. For but a split second you're incomplete - and then something slips inside the crack that is left in its wake. Each pact made seems to make the world just a little worse - Sunset Falls and Central City in particular seem to have increased amounts of bad luck, as if it’s following the new metas around.

One does not make a deal with a demon lightly. Please report any pacts made here.

SUMMARY

• New arrivals will be erupting through the floor of Sunset Falls High’s gymnasium. After the fighting ends, they are brought to the Guardian Alliance HQ. Older characters are given the option to teleport with them or can make their own way home.


• The breech has also set free a number of souls who were laying dormant. These souls manifest in the streets and will attack player characters. They appear confused and disoriented but cannot be talked down.


• A fire elemental has also manifested. Player characters will need to work together to put the fire out. Players are encouraged to use the OOC comm to coordinate, and can report their attempts here to find out how they’ll play out.


• A demon has tagged along. He will tempt people into forging a pact with him, granting them a wish in exchange for a fragment of their soul. This is a player plot opportunity and the consequences of this are not immediate. Please reply here if your character strikes a deal with this demon.

Comments

loki odinson | mcu | ota

[dothelokimotion]

( i. spring thaw ) cw: violence, death

[ the heat was getting to him. usually, his shapeshifting abilities trump major changes in temperature. his frost giant nature hadn't interfered all this time. it made sense though, that it would pick now, when loki is displaced and vulnerable.

well. not that vulnerable.

he eyes the horde of spectral costumed ghosts making their way through, his nose wrinkling at the sight. ]

Who are the local heroes here? Is it still the Avengers? Can we blame this on them? Because it certainly isn't my fault.

[ one of the ghostly superheroes lunges for him. quick as lightning, one of loki's hands flash with a dagger, embedding itself directing into the ghost's head. he watches it explode with an expression of pure disgust. ]

I refuse to ruin my clothes for this.

( ii. magic things at sunset falls )

[ acclimatization is key.

which is why loki first started in sunset falls. he's not sure if it is the center of a convergence — an alignment of celestial bodies and powers fixating in a specific area — or something else. and there is a quiet thrum of fear in his heart that it could harken the worst. like thanos. his own shielding should protect him from being found out, but who knows how many stones thanos had now?

( thor will stop him, his heart believes. thor will die, his mind replies )

either way, dressed in a black midgardian suit, he stops near the edge of the woods and extends his arms. green light spreads from his fingertips and he closes his eyes, letting his senses spread along with it. if you interrupt him, loki will snap back at you. ]

Do you mind.

( iii. wildcard )

[ got a different prompt you’d like to do? ping me on timmtams / pm this journal ]

i

[azulescarabajo]

[ Jaime is, somehow, pretty comfortable. The scarab suit is pretty good at climate control and even if everyone else is wilting a little, Jaime seems to be dealing just fine.

Plus, you know, he grew up in south-west Texas. He hovers a good ten feet off the ground, iridescent wings blurring as he stares at the oncoming wave of ghostly apparitions. Squinting down at Loki, he tries to make sense of what he's hearing. Thankfully this is not his first time getting yeeted into an unknown situation by forces beyond his control. ]

Uh, I dunno who the Avengers are but I was thinking maybe Justice League? Don't think we're quite close enough to Gotham to attract the Bat but maybe Teen Titans'll show up--

[ He cuts himself off and levels a blast of energy at an oncoming ghost, wincing as it explodes into ectoplasm. Also because Khaji Da is chattering at him. ]

...But I can't get the Teen Titans on the phone, which is, uh. Bad? Let's go with bad.

[dothelokimotion]

[ what even is a teen titan. does thanos have teens now? what a terrifying thought. ]

How bad is it?

[azulescarabajo]

Well... usually it's not exactly hard to get a hold of them. And this does look like Earth, so I assume they're on it, somewhere?

[ Jaime shrugs. ]

So pretty bad? I usually just work around El Paso!

ii.

[hevenly]

[ Angela has been exploring Sunset Falls off and on since she arrived. For one thing, she had a debt to repay the school for stealing a pair of gym shorts. For another, she has heard that the youngest incarnation of her brother will be spending time with a magician here, and she wishes to meet the man in question.

So when she sees someone clearly doing magic, she approaches. ]

No. Do continue.

[ She is clearly not remorseful for having interrupted. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ he squints at her skeptically. ]

Interested in magic now?

[hevenly]

[ Notably, Angela is now lacking the minotaur horns and furry legs that she had the last time they spoke, but she is still clearly the same person. ]

Magic is the trade of those closest to me in this realm. I would understand more of it, so that I may better protect them.

[ Protect the boy, of course, but the older Loki's tale of being immolated by a local god leads her to believe she ought to look out for him as well. ]

ii

[thecoolerloki]

[Loki hasn't quite settled into Sunset Falls yet, with most of his time here spent stuck in a haunted house. And he's now living in that haunted house so that's fun.

But he should know this place, at least as well as he knows Broxton. It's that same train of thought that leads him to the woods alongside his other self. Of course, he hadn't been planning on doing any magic, always forgetting that it's now at his disposal.]

Do you?

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki huffs in response, even if the tension in his shoulders uncoils slightly. bad, because nothing is more dangerous than a loki, but what danger does he have to fear these days?

his neck aches. ]

Yes, actually. Unless there is something you require?

[thecoolerloki]

There is much that I require.

[So no. He's just being annoying for the sake of it.]

What are you doing?

i

[slidesrightoff]

I don't think you have a choice.

[Eddie's wardrobe is, tragically, already ruined. He had opted for just his normal clothes too, so it was doubly tragic. He liked this jacket.]

The local heroes are called The Alliance and I mean you wouldn't be wrong to guess them, but seeing as that guy over there [He motions to Fantastic.] who looks like a wet, pissed-off cat is their leader, I'm guessing they didn't have anything to do with it.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki sighs. that's something he supposes, though it doesn't fill him with confidence over the efficiency of heroes. not that he had a lot of that to begin with. ]

I suppose these ghosts die like anything else.

[slidesrightoff]

[As if heroes aren't the cause of half the problems they try to stop.]

Or at least explode like anything else. [Eddie flicks some goo off his hands--away from Loki; no need to be rude to a new arrival.] I didn't know ghosts could also be zombies. Ghosts always seemed... I dunno... like smart assholes, I guess? I don't think anyone's home here.

ii

[chin_godzilla]

(Oops. Godzilla hadn't expected his walking around to be interrupting something, but that's where he's at right now. Even with the charm keeping him at about 7' in height, he normally has a heavy footstep. And since he's not trying to sneak up on anyone...well. Here he is.

The lizard, completely unbothered by the heat, decides he's gonna take a seat right where he's seen and decides waiting to wait patiently. It's not like he knows anything about magic, anyway, so it's probably best to let the man do his thing. Or keep lookout! Godzilla's been a bit on-edge since the ghosts attacked and he'd rather not have an encore out here.)

[dothelokimotion]

[ that . . . is a very large lizard. it reminds him a little of dragons, which tugs at his nostalgia and he almost regrets his snappish tone. almost, because loki doesn't do regrets. he eyes the creature curiously. ]

You seem like an intelligent creature. Is something the matter?

[chin_godzilla]

(With Loki's attention back on him, Godzilla responds by looking in the direction of the town's high school with a snarl. He was not a fan of the ghostly invasion, thanks. Fighting them wasn't a problem, so much as how many of them there were and how much trouble they and their superpowers caused. That and he doesn't have much experience fighting the undead.

No, that's not true; he did kill his resurrected father, but that's its own can of worms.

But thinking on that and the gross ectoplasm he needed to clean off has the lizard giving a dog-like shake and a groan to go with it. It was so gross, Loki, he hated it.)

i.

[monomachy]

[The heat doesn't bother Diana; she's from a tropical island, after all. What does bother her is the appearance of all of these spirits, and their immediate aggression. She's tried talking to some of them, urging them to return to the Underworld, but it's no use. They continue terrorizing the people of this city, threatening harm, and the options left to her are both few and grim.

She has not yet found a replacement for God-Killer, and so her shield and her own hands are her only weapons. They are enough, of course, but they also make everything... messy.

Trying very hard not to think about all the ectoplasm under her nails and on her armor, she happens across a man yelling about heroes and his clothes. She envies him his dagger. Diana grabs the cape of an approaching specter, keeping it from leaping on him, and throws it behind her into the nearest brick wall. She does not look back at the splatter it leaves.]

You care so much for your clothing? [She sounds amused. But also:] Why would this be your fault?

[dothelokimotion]

[ that was dramatic. very thor-like, if he was being honest. clearly not human, at the very least. ]

Yes, actually. Clothing matters.

And my point is it is absolutely not my fault.

[monomachy]

[Diana raises an eyebrow.] You can get new clothing.

I believe you. [Simple, and she continues:] But what would make you say that in the first place? Have you done something... like this before?

spring thaw

[tinglesense]

[ Peter is only at the school when this happens because, you know, he attends school here. Somewhere after the initial confusion, he slips away to ditch his regular clothes and stick to being Spider-Man.

But he's not expecting ghosts. Jeez, is this another weird spell thing? Dr. Strange is probably going to be pissed. Hopefully Peter can avoid being in the vicinity for that, since he's getting really damn sick of being connected to magic bullshit.

He's also not expecting Loki. Oh, man, okay. This one looks a lot like the one from his world, the one in textbooks and all that.

He swings into this scene just in time to see Loki stab a ghost. He has a little bit of a moral crisis about it, because stabbing people isn't great, but…these aren't people, right? They're kind of like zombies or something? Shit.

He lands a few feet away, poised to take off again. He doesn't have any sharp instruments, but he does have his regular fighting abilities and his wits. That will have to do. ]

I have it on pretty good authority that the Avengers had nothing to do with this.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki pauses. squints at the outfit. why even a mask? ]

And who are you?

wildcard riffing off ii

[rehandle]

[ It's as Loki turns away from his magical assessment out by the woods and its handful of interruptions that another presence makes itself known, lingering at the edge of the path back to town.

To his credit, Stephen at least hadn't introduced another intentional distraction - which may or may not be because he doesn't want to provoke another attempted stabbing without some distance between them, but the result's the same.

In mild greeting: ] Loki.

[dothelokimotion]

[ he purses his lips tightly, restraining the urge to lash out in a petty manner. not that he didn't want to, but he'll save it for later. ]

Magician. I heard you were around.

i;

[sinistral]

Go ahead and blame them, [or so says the voice off to Loki's left.] Probably won't do you much good.

[Bucky personally has chosen to forego knives in favor of a handgun, because he doesn't want to get close enough for knife work with the slime these things are leaving behind. Gross.]

What is the clothes ruining criterion? Just for reference.

[dothelokimotion]

No ectoplasm on clothes actually.

[ he glances at the man next to him, curious. ]

I dislike having to create new ones out of magic continuously.