CONFLUENCE 020

[metamods]

Who: Everyone!
What: A Confluence! + Part II of the Downburst plot
When: The beginning of July
Where: Primarily Arcadia & Excelsior, Washington
Content Warnings: Just a little of Fantastic's fascist ideology

 

CONFLUENCE

A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces: it encompasses all occurrences that cause sudden, unnatural change in this world.

The Starfallen only arrive during Confluences. For this Confluence, the sky over Excelsior, Washington opens up after a ripple rolls through the clouds, seeming to cause a visual glitch for anyone who’s watching. The glitch itself looks more like an adjustment to reality than anything, and time – if but for a moment and nothing more – stops. Everything stops, and then it starts again.

It’s that stoppage in time that makes the arrival of the Starfallen easy and safe. Rather than forcing the people of Excelsior to contend with their new arrivals, they find them suddenly on the ground, standing as if they were there the entire time. How did that happen? How did they get here? It’s unclear.

The effects of this flicker in time won’t be immediately obvious. As the newly arrived Starfallen take in their surroundings, they’ll notice that the rather advanced city they’re in is experiencing a bit of trouble. Large, carnivorous plants walk the streets and people are chasing after them one by one. Moving in and out of the scene is a rather dashing-looking man – one they’ll soon learn is named Fantastic. He’ll stop by the Starfallen once or twice, flash a smile and offer some help, but he’ll otherwise be occupied.

Well, that aside, time for you – one of the many new Starfallen – to adjust to your new surroundings. Welcome to Excelsior and welcome to an era of political turmoil. Don’t worry about the time dilation that may have occurred. That’s the least of your worries.

EXCELSIOR

A safe “landing” of sorts means that the newly arrived Starfallen will need to look up to get the full scope of where they have arrived: a city with tall buildings, flying cars, and visuals that make it seem as if it’s further in the future than it is. Technological progress and prowess is the name of Excelsior’s game; it’s just too bad that this progress sometimes comes with its share of hiccups. In this case, those hiccups are the dangerous plants roaming the streets and causing problems. These plants had been a problem very recently, and it seems that any weed whacking only temporarily dealt with the issue at hand. That, or whoever made them in the first place wasn’t put off of their experiments.

Or … maybe something else is afoot?

After all, it’s rather surprising that someone as enterprising and industrious as Fantastic is roaming the streets to stop the problem at hand – but then again, these plants are rather troublesome!

Aside from his occasional greetings and offered help to the newly-arrived Starfallen, he’s otherwise occupied. In his stead, several rather official-looking individuals will be approaching the Starfallen once they recover from the time stoppage. They’ll offer the newcomers a mobile device as well as a teleporter, along with a place to stay in a state-of-the-art facility named Arcadia. After all, Arcadia is meant to be there for Starfallen – a safe haven when they might otherwise be caught up in the chaos around them.

No one is obligated to go to Arcadia, but it appears that anyone who’s newly arrived will be given their teleporter with the intention of forcing them there. Once they’re given freedom to move on their own, there is a good chance that they will be teleported right into Arcadia proper against their will. Upon arrival, they’ll find that their teleporter is now glitched. A guard, upon spotting their arrival, will greet them and apologize if they can’t go anywhere else. “Our system has been buggy lately.”

At least they’re trying to keep the Starfallen away from the plants?

➢ Everyone arriving during this Confluence will be given the same story: that Fantastic and the Alliance have been working hard to provide a safe home for all Starfallen because the world itself views them with a great deal of animosity. Just recently, a man hypnotized a number of Starfallen in order to force them to cause harm to others and themselves – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

➢ Once someone who’s been forcibly teleported to Arcadia either accepts their place there or manually leaves – by exiting through one of the gates on foot – they’ll find that their teleporter is working. Somewhat. From time to time, it’ll just drop them right back into Arcadia even if they intended to use it to go elsewhere. Like Dorothy always said: there’s no place like home.

➢ Despite the rather forcible welcome, Arcadia is … rather nice. Constructed in collaboration with the people of Excelsior, Arcadia is an odd mix of modern-day and historical architecture, leaving it to be a beautiful view for anyone to witness from a distance. All aspects of Arcadia are pristine, and it’s apparent that this structure is meant to be safe and protected. Each Starfallen who chooses to take a room will find that their quarters are designed to their liking: they’re allowed to choose anything and everything they want.

➢ There are a few … quirks when it comes to Arcadia. There are suns emblazoned throughout, as well as guards standing post. These guards are equipped with strong armor and power nullifiers if anyone tries to fight them. Finally, the entirety of Arcadia gives off a sense that it’s resonating with magic – with this being the strongest near its lowest level. That level is, of course, blocked off to anyone who may dare to enter.

➢ If Arcadia seems a little … empty, that’s because it’s been shunned by the current population of Starfallen. Thanks to their antics and ungrateful tendencies, they’ve decided that they’re too proud to take what’s been offered to them. Instead, they’re causing problems all over the country, and Fantastic is working tirelessly to stop their mayhem. Surely this is all there is to it, right? … Right?

DOWNBURST II

Right around this Confluence, Fantastic begins making frequent television appearances in order to try to assuage any worries that the people he’s promised to protect might have in the wake of the chaos following his rise to power. What does this mean? Well, a lot of bloated speeches that no one wants to listen to, as well as countless television programs interrupted so that he can ensure that everyone hears the sound of his voice.

Even with his frequent messages, his message largely remains the same – so here are some notes.

➢ Fantastic always apologizes for the chaos happening everywhere. While he hoped that he would be able to bring order to the Alliance and use his new opportunity to help others, it appears that some bad actors have attempted to frame him in a bad light. These bad actors are not limited to the Starfallen – while he doesn’t name Atomight or Mechanima, it’s apparent that he is likely referring to them.

➢ After all, Fantastic inherited Atomight and Mechanima's messes. The biggest and most recent "mess" is just about everything in Central City. Everything. But he mainly means Jinx's destruction of the city on Father's Day – which is an event that could only take place with Mechanima's intervention. Had the city not been placed under an unwanted quarantine, Fantastic would have been able to intervene and help.

➢ When it comes to Mechanima, he reassures the citizens of Central City that he is doing everything in his power to restore its autonomy so that Alliance processes can proceed as normal. Otherwise, it appears that all Alliance operations have been moved to Excelsior for the time being. He alludes to the “problem” being solved by some heroic Starfallen there, so there is no reason to keep it under quarantine … but some villains just can’t help themselves!

➢ Overall, Fantastic alludes to countless problems. Guards who are just trying to protect reticent Starfallen are being attacked without provocation. Many people are speaking out against Fantastic and even calling what he’s doing a “regime.”

➢ The more Fantastic appears, the more he seems desperate – frazzled. At first, it seems like an act: him appearing desperate to win viewers’ hearts and minds. But soon he’ll seem less calm and collected, like he’s aware that he’s lost control (or never had control in the first place). He won’t admit this outright. He’ll never admit it. No, he’ll always smile. Always seem pleased to help anyone, even the Starfallen who hate him for some reason. Always.

CLIFF NOTES.

➢ Welcome to the midway point for our Downburst event! This Confluence is meant to double as a means for all of our new players to integrate into the middle of an event. We reused some assets from the most recent TDM in order to help, but if you would like any additional help keeping your TDM threads canon, please hit us up below!

➢ No players will be forced to place their character into Arcadia if they don't like the bizarre and not-at-all-biased intro to this world – their teleporters can merely glitch out if they so choose. After all, it doesn't seem like anything is going as planned.

➢ Even though this batch of Starfallen have just arrived, they will be followed by Guards as if they've been here all along. Isn't it fun to suddenly be under unwanted surveillance upon arrival?

➢ Incoming players can check our prior event log for more information about Arcadia and the Guards in detail.

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.

Comments

QUESTIONS & ENGAGEMENT.

[metamods]

Re: QUESTIONS & ENGAGEMENT.

[kid_flash_found]

Given the teleport glitching and stuff, if Bart started using his scouts to "remotely" enter Arcadia, and possibly give folks a lift out, what kinds of consequences might he be in for. He isn't directly in control of the duplicates, they're independent, but operating on basically a set of limited instructions before they have to return to him.

Also, this is a power he's openly used as an Alliance member, so it would be obvious to those paying attention who's behind the glowing transparent guys...

Hitori "Bocchi" Gotoh | Bocchi the Rock! | OTA!

[bocchitime]

Arrival in Excelsior

[It should go without saying that Hitori did not see this coming.

The last thing she remembered, she was taking a stage dive after her performance at the school festival. It was supposed to be a cool rock star move, something that would finally get her classmates to learn her name. Maybe they'd even want to talk to her and be her friend after putting on a performance like that.

But of course, that's not how it went. She dived into the crowd and audience moved out of the way, causing her to fall flat on her face in front of the entire school. It was mortifying, horrifying - one of her worst nightmares come to life. And in that moment, Hitori wished that she could be anywhere else.

And then suddenly she was.

Instead of being face down on the ground, she was standing on her feet in a city she'd never seen before. One with flying cars and - what are those giant plants?

Hitori flinches back from the street as one of the plants runs by - thankfully not focused on her. She's from a world with no magic, no superheroics or anything like that - all of this is incomprehensible to her. As much as she hates talking to people, she is so out of her depth that she has to ask somebody what's going on.]

E-e-excuse me?

[Okay, so emergency or not, it may have taken her a couple of minutes to figure out how to approach someone and ask them a question. She's trying her best.]

I-I'm sorry. Do you know w-where we are? I-I seem to be lost, a-and I don't know how to get back to Shimokitazawa. S-sorry again.

[She's trembling as she asks this, and she looks like she's either about to cry or throw up. This is what her best looks like, she isn't built to handle high-stress situations like this one.]


Guards? Guards!

[Okay, so the gist has been explained to her. And if this city didn't seem to be full of robots and superheroes flying around and fighting giant, carnivorous plant monsters, she'd find it hard to believe.

As it stands, though, she figures she's either finally cracked and is having a full blown hallucinatory mental breakdown - or it's real. And both of those options feel pretty terrible; it's hard to believe, but she'd give anything to be back in that school auditorium right now.

Okay, maybe not. But she'd give anything to be back at home in her room right now.

The whole situation is so bizarre and terrifying that it actually takes her a while to notice that she's being tailed. The Guards that have been posted - the ones that are following every Starfallen in the city - have taken notice of Hitori as well and are following her at a respectable (but still noticeable) distance.

It probably won't come as any surprise to learn that being followed by two adult strangers does not do anything to ease Hitori's anxiety. Instead, she picks up her pace as she briskly walks away from them - occasionally, frantically glancing over her shoulder to see if they're still pursuing her (and they always are).

Anyone within a few blocks of her will be able to hear a very loud, high-pitched whine coming from Hitori's direction, as her brisk walk turns into a run and her anxiety shifts into full-blown panic. She doesn't even realize she's causing it - she never had any powers at home, and it was never actually explained to her what her powers were or how she could use them.

As she flees the Guards that had been tasked with following her, the whine becomes louder and louder. Before too long, it's ear-splitting - the glass in the nearby buildings is beginning to shudder.

Somebody should probably stop her before this gets any worse.]

Guards? Guards!

[contocricket]

[Archie isn't overly fond of the guards constantly watching. He's decided to explore Arcadia, see what he could do to help, but there is something very clearly Wrong with this place. The large insectoid wings on his back buzz nervously.]

[Pongo gives a whine of his own at the ear-splitting noise, lying down in the middle of the sidewalk and covering his ears with his paws. The loop of his leash slides down Archie's arm as the man does the same.]

[For the moment, both man and dog are a bit too distracted to see where the source of the noise is coming from, but maybe the sight of a good doggo will help calm the source down?]

Guards? Guards!

[levelshift]

[Excelsior sucks. It has to be Accelerator's least favourite place in this universe, even though he hasn't exactly been traveling outside of Central very much. Regardless, it reminds him too much of Academy City, so he avoids it when he can. Unfortunately for him, working for the Society means having to go to certain asshole cities, whether he wants to or not.

That's why he's there today, here to knock some minor felonies off the errands list Chaos Gate has given him. It's annoying and tiring but he doesn't have any options here, so he's intending on getting in and out as quickly as possible.

... Though that's kiiind of hard to do when he and everyone else on the street is getting hit by some kind of ear-splitting sonic attack. Everyone around him starts covering their eyes and he makes an irritated noise before reaching up to hit the switch on his choker, making his reflection kick in. With his esper ability working it's easy enough to filter out those soundwaves using the vectors, though as he notices the noise increasing in strength he finds himself following it to its source.

He walks down the street, and around the corner, and sees some girl (his age? Maybe a little younger) that it's coming from. He also sees the surrounding buildings about to lose all their windows, and a couple of those asshole Arcadia guards behind her.

Well, he could just leave the whole situation alone. It has nothing to do with him, and he's supposed to be working anyways. It's none of his business, even though she's clearly having a rough time and if she messes up those buildings there's a good chance the situation will escalate. Badly.

He knows a little bit about what it's like being a freaked out kid causing a situation to escalate via uncontrollable powers, but it's still none of his business.

(And what's with that weird side ahoge?)]

....

[And he notices the SUV parked on the street next to him.

It's super, super none of his business.]

..........................

[........ He's going to go ahead and tap that vehicle, causing the side of it to indent with a massive crunch, snapping the gas line in the process, causing a spark from metal scraping together, and with another tap the SUV is exploding into flames and being launched over Hitori's head, directly at the guards following her. Accelerator looks delighted.]

How about you fuck off, you sons of bitches!!

[This is totally fine.]

Guards? Guards!

[whistlestoptea]

[ A big audience, the guards might not be, but Raine's anxiety is also bubbling with the feeling of being watched. They're just about able to keep it together, though, even if their pace might pick up slightly.

The high-pitched sound they suddenly start hearing isn't too bad at first, but rapidly becomes louder and so, so much worse. Raine claps their hands over their ears, face scrunched up in pain. They try squinting out of nearly-closed eyes in order to, well, see something... and what they see is a girl.

A girl, maybe high school age, nervously walking roughly in their direction. Raine's sense for everything sound-based is well-honed enough that they can tell the sound is coming from the girl, and somehow they doubt she's doing it on purpose.

They grit their teeth, breathe in and out once, and, through the pain of the noise, force a smile on their face as they approach her. ]

Excuse me? You look like you could use some help.

Dr. Rebecca Holiday | Generator Rex | OTA but she's gonna want to talk to Six before going anywhere

[threephds]

Excelsior

[ Holiday had just gotten back from an agonizingly tiring trip to Egypt - which was scientifically frustrating and confusing and she had so many unanswered questions. She'd just stepped into her bedroom to get ready to go to sleep... ]

[ When she suddenly finds herself standing in the middle of a street. Surrounded by EVOs and onlookers. And there's some muscular, handsome man...flying around. Fighting the EVOs. Like a superhero. ]

[ She blinks and looks around, seeing the flying cars and very advanced-looking technology all around her. Ah. A dream. Okay. Well, she'd had a long day, might as well play along with her subconscious. ]

[ Holiday feels around to see that she still has her weapons, then reaches up to find her communicator still in her ear. That was good. She presses a finger to the comm and opens her mouth to speak, when she's cut off by a small group of guards. ]

Um...hello.

[ They aren't Providence. She doesn't recognize their uniforms at all, in fact. Maybe something her tired mind made up. ]

[ They tell her something about Starfallen and refer to the flying man as Fantastic. Sure. Holiday starts thinking this is something from one of Rex's comic books. Before she can object to anything, because all of this is very odd, they hand her a phone and a small device that they claim is a teleporter. ]

Yeah, alright, thanks. Except that teleportation technology hasn't been safely perfec-

Arcadia

[ Suddenly, Holiday finds herself in an entirely new location. And now she has a bit of a headache. She'd never gotten a headache in a dream before. It felt very, very real. That was...concerning. ]

[ But it didn't change the strangeness of her situation. She reached up to her comm, hoping to get ahold of dream!Rex or dream!Six or whoever so they could pinch her and wake her the hell up. ]

Rex? Six? Knight? Anyone there?

[ While she waits for a response, she's looking around her new location to find that there aren't any of those plant EVOs anymore. Or very many people. There are, instead, different and more well-armed guards that she definitely doesn't want to talk to if she can help it. One of them shouts something to her about glitchy technology, but she pretends not to hear. ]

[ She's also going to stare at the teleporter in her hand, curious about how it works and why she would've been handed something that's glitching. Other than Breach's powers, which hadn't been subjected to proper study, she'd never seen working teleportation. Was her dream trying to tell her something? ]

Arcadia

[sixthdeadliest]

[Thank God Six had had the sense to insist that his communicator still be able to pick up transmissions to his old Providence "number".]

Six here. What's your status?

thea queen ➝ arrow (dctv) ➝ open

[withasouvenir]

ARRIVAL — EXCELSIOR

[ one minute she's laying on the floor of the arrowcave eating popcorn and watching reruns of criminal minds (it was the one with jasper from twilight) on her phone, waiting for oliver and diggle, the next minute she's standing in the middle of the road about to get mowed down (ha!) by a walking rhododendron.

eloquently, ] What the fuck!

[ she backs up, almost tripping over her own feet, hands up like she can placate a plant. ] Okay, Audrey, let's not be hasty. I'm not Jeff Goldblum, I'm not gonna be delicious fly dinner.

[ there's a quiver and bow on her back and a katana, but thea is so surprised to find herself in a very high budget production of little shop of horrors that her brain is still playing catch up to just what the heck is going on here. ]

GLITCHING — ARCADIA

[ eventually, thea listens to the whole spiel from the alliance, shady, taking a teleporter without thinking. ten minutes later she is in arcadia and finds the first guard to ask, ]

Hey, hi, um, respectfully, what the hell is happening?

[ the guard explains that the teleporters are glitching, also shady, and thea pretends to accept this, ducking back into the room she'd landed in. it's nice, exactly how thea would dress her own room, complete with a rack for her uniform and a closet full of clothes she would absolutely wear. which she does, doffing the speedy suit and pulling on a very adorable outfit, tucking her hair under a beanie and sneaking out. it doesn't take long to figure out she can teleport once she is free of the confines of arcadia, but every time she zaps back to the city within a city, she has the same, frustrated reaction. ]

Not again!

EXPLORING — EXCELSIOR, LITTLE LOVE, SUNSET FALLS

[ she's not wholly willing to live in arcadia, but it works for now as she teleports across the country in an effort to find her brother.

little love is a little too smallville for her so she doesn't linger, but she can hold a hammer so when a sweet old lady asks for help building a shelter, thea doesn't have it in her to say no which is what finds her building a wall and feeling very much like she's about to be recruited into an amish barnraising cult.

sunset falls is worse because the city itself makes thea's skin crawl and vomiting frogs is... gross. ] Oh, it's okay buddy, better out than in, huh? [ she pats the back of the poor person puking frogs onto her boots, smoothing their hair back. ] Big Prince of Egypt vibes here, I hope you guys don't have a river nearby.

[ excelsior makes more sense to her and often finds herself sitting on the edge of any tall building's roof, legs kicking against the side as wind swirls her short hair around her head. usually she has popcorn, always she has her bow — just in case she needs to do some vigilantism, most of the time she is talking to herself, seeming to weigh the shit circumstances. ]

Kebabs here are great, but I am broke. Dad's not here, but I am broke. This popcorn is amazing. I wonder if Kevin Bacon exists here? [ a soft sound of distress. ] RIP Tremors.

WILDCARD

( go where your heart takes you, thea is infinitely curious and will be popping around to anywhere the teleporter will take her or hmu at plurk (baleinette) or disco (dostoevskyish) if you want something special xoxo )

Little Love

[sixthdeadliest]

[Six is a mercenary, not a carpenter, but over the past several months, he's started to really make an odd sort of home here in Little Love. That means helping out the neighbors whenever possible.]

[He pulls up in his used truck, getting out to start unloading more wood for shelters and securing still in-tact structures.]

Could use a hand.

nighttime rooftop meet n greet—

[thwikt]

[ losing a tail? easy. stealing a burner phone and catching up on current events? necessary. postponing the inevitable bewilderment that comes from abrupt interdimensional travel? sure. finding a place to spend the night with no money to your name while evading the authorities? a serious wip.

he'd stuffed his baseball caps and sunglasses into a backpack that he's added to his long list of IOUs, but it's way harder to find an inconspicuous place to store a bow and quiver. they're too eye-catching to be lugging around in a big city in broad daylight though, so he made do with a spot on the far outskirts of excelsior, tucking them away somewhere most wouldn't even think of looking and where those who would won't have any interest in taking.

now he's back in the city, wearing a nondescript hoodie over his arsenal suit, a beanie on his head and a mouth mask to cover his face as he makes his way up to a high point. more IOUs. he's pretty sure the list will keep growing, but it can't be helped for the time being.

he needs a new perspective — and maybe like a minute or a second to just... breathe.

what he didn't expect to find was company. ]

You, uh, okay there? [ he stays back, partially obscured by the shadows, half out of consideration and half out of sheer caution. ]

Arcadia!

[bocchitime]

[The problem with teleporters - especially glitching teleporters is that all to often you don't actually get to see where you're teleporting to. And in Thea's case, this time she is teleported just a little too close to an unsuspecting teenager.

Hitori had been minding her own business about 20 feet from a cute little cafe, desperately trying to work up the nerve to go inside and order a boba tea, despite her crippling social anxiety. So when Thea just appears out of nowhere, just a few feet in front of her, she screams.]

AH! I-I'm sorry! [She leaps back, already apologizing - although she isn't really sure for what yet.] Wh-where did you come from?!

arcadia.

[reneger]

( he's been in arcadia since--well, close to the beginning. the new arrivals getting stuck teleporting back in when they leave is unexpected, but not terrible. there are worse ways it could happen, ways they could be even more stuck.

she yells when she's teleported back in, and heron watches her from a nearby fire escape. he doesn't usually go out in the daytime, and there's more than one reason for that, but the situation in arcadia's forced him to adjust his schedule. so he's plenty visible when jason whistles a short tune between teeth to pull her attention up, then waves a hand down towards her. )

You consider dropping the teleporter? Might help.

exploring—excelsior.

[vaudevision]

[ the teleporter is working agreeably for vision, who after doing his full remote reconnaissance of this realm—namely, reading a lot of internet—has given into the compulsion to explore.

excelsior is pleasantly reminiscent of many other major western cities that vision has seen both in his eternally online life and in person as a cape. he’s zigzagging through the city with unreal speed, little more than a blur—but when he catches a voice unusually high on the wind he doesn’t skid to a stop before thea queen so much as he simply stops blurring before her. he’s in cranberry robot mode, cape lilting gossamer-light from the altitude; the small gem in his forehead glints. ]

I don’t think he is. [ posh yet somehow difficult-to-place british voice. ] I checked.

Six | Generator Rex | OTA

[sixthdeadliest]

Little Love, Kansas - Helping Out

Six was a mercenary assassin, a man trained to kill. However, in the time since his arrival in this strange world, he'd somehow become part of the Little Love community even if he did largely keep to himself. They'd thought him odd but had welcomed him all the same, particularly since neither of the guilds had had much interest in the rural community, so he'd thought to station himself there.

Right now he was doing the best he could, using his truck to haul what was needed on various farms. Just little extra repair work jobs. Nothing all that big of a deal. Rather mundane on the surface. If it just so happened some of it went to shelters or reinforcing homes, well, it was a rural town. Surely it meant nothing.

Needless to say, this little town had Six's loyalty more than the Alliance these days.

Little Love, Kansas - Training

The training grounds he'd set up on the property weren't really that impressive compared to Providence's reflex room, but it would do. That and some of it was blended with good old-fashioned chores to teach discipline and build muscles.

At the moment, Six was working on sharpening one of the spare blades with a whetstone, perched on a bench on the side of the house.

Arcadia, Washington - Exploration

Six flashed his Alliance ID to the guards who didn't look all too thrilled at him being there. However, a cold, unwavering stare with a stoic face unnerved the uniformed man enough to back down.

He didn't like this place one bit. The place had a nice coat of paint, but it was a prison. No doubt about it.

Arcadia

[ofgoldenfoil]

Aurican loved it. As a young dragon with no experience to the outside world, he has no notion of society’s complexities. The more subtle machinations were currently flying over his head. It made him more like a human boy than he actually was.

But there were difficulties. Aurican was learning how to exchange foods and services, which consisted of learning how to use the Alliance-issued card for money. To give hand someone the card was easy, but the expectation to read turned out to be more difficult.

Aurican never expected this sort of problem and the cashier behind the counter is at a loss how to help a seemingly illiterate boy. Aurican looks around, trying to find someone like him for help and spotted Six. Desperate for help and hungry, Aurican waved at Six.

Archie Hopper | Once Upon a Time | OTA

[contocricket]

Arcadia, Washington - Forced Exploration via Glitching

Archie hadn't wanted to come here, not really, but his teleportation device had glitched out. At least having a hold of Pongo on his leash had pulled them both here and not horrifically spliced them together ala The Fly. Still, he was going to be taking the bus back.

If possible.

This place was unsettling. Near-empty as was typical of all brand-new communities but there was a tension in the air that made his large insectoid wings buzz in agitation. The buzzing drew the attention of a guard (what else could the person in the uniform be but a guard?), and he gave a nervous smile before starting to walk with Pongo. The Dalmatian's wiry fur stood on end.

"Just stay calm. I'll get us back to Central, and then we can figure it out from there."

Arcadia, Washington - Helping Newcomers

Archie isn't a hero. If he was a character in a story, he'd be a sidekick at best. But he always tried his hardest to do his best.

And right now there were a bunch of people who were scared and lost. If nothing else, he might be able to calm them down.

"Hi. I'm Archie. This is Pongo." He gestured to the dog who wagged his tail. "What's your name?"

Central City, Michigan - Diadem Hotel Lobby

Archie walked through the front door with Pongo on high alert, the Dalmatian sticking close to his pet and eying everyone who so much as glanced in the former cricket's direction. Which probably wasn't too unusual given the large insectoid wings on his back which buzzed with agitation.

Pongo gave the hairy eyeball to someone approaching. He wasn't growling but he was tense.

"Sorry. We had a near-miss on a walk," Archie explained awkwardly. "He's still a little keyed-up."

Re: Archie Hopper | Once Upon a Time | OTA

[codicies]

In addition to all that, maybe Dylan was approaching Pongo a little too fast. He takes a step back and flashes Archie an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. I'm not great at reading dogs."

Leonardo | OTA

[faceguy]

A: Teenage Mutant Delinquent Turtles (Central City)

[Leo doesn't actually consider himself a villain, but he's not against getting into a little mischief. And since the Arcadia goons tried to arrest his dad friend, and since joining the Society, well, Leo sees it not just as something fun to do but indeed as his duty to raise a little shell against the remaining guards in Central.

He's not going to hurt anyone. But he's okay with ruining their day.

Maybe you're just out walking around, when you notice those dang Arcadia guards headed your way. They yell for you to stop, just talk to them for a moment-

And then, Leo, in all his ninja turtle-y glory, suddenly appears behind them, a few good feet out of their power-sapping range (not that it would really matter for him right now, but that's beside the point).

Leo holds a finger to his lips to signal quiet, then wiggles the carton of eggs that is in his hand.

Rest assured: the eggs are very rotten.]

B: Summer Vibes (Central)

[Leo's always liked heat - probably the whole reptile thing. He can get too hot just like everybody else, but right now it feels pretty good to him, and he takes some time to get outside. Now that he's feeling less worried about both Huvrye and Donnie, he doesn't really want to spend all day cooped up in Dylan's apartment.

He's been laid out in the grass in a park, reading a book(!) on his phone, because somehow that's a thing he does now. But he's been aware, for a little while, that there's definitely one of those Arcadia guards loitering just down the walking path, in an area more secluded by trees, probably hoping Leo will wander back that way when he gets up to leave. There are fewer of them in Central now, but the ones that remain are trying to be sneakier.

They aren't sneaky enough for Leo, though!

When someone walks by, Leo waves a hand to signal them. Hopefully they won't scream at the giant turtle boy sunning his shell in the grass.]

Heeey, sorry to bother you, but you know those guard guys? Dressed like they just walked out of a bad dystopian movie? There was one back in those trees and I'm wondering if they've left yet.

[Help a guy out?

ALTERNATIVELY, if Leo already knows the person approaching him, he actually sits up, giving a more enthusiastic wave.]

Out for a walk before our overlords decide we're not allowed to do that, either?

closed to Donnie

[faceguy]

The thing about having to keep out of their apartment and stay at Dylan's is that now Leo and Donnie have to share sleeping space - obviously, it makes sense the two people who are literally siblings would be roomed together. So Leo's not going to complain about it, but the thing is that he and Donnie may be close, but they're not usually quite so on top of each other at all hours.

It had been just a smidge annoying.

And then Donnie got hurt, and suddenly Leo wasn't annoyed by it anymore.

He's trying not to hover, and he's trying not to be overbearing, but it had been scary. It had been scary when he realized Donnie was caught in the blast, scary when he couldn't find him, scary when he finally did find him, scary when he had to take him to a human clinic for the first time in their lives. Add that on top of everything else that has been going wrong for them lately, and, well.

Leo just feels better going to sleep when he knows Donnie is so close, that's all.

At least with Donnie on the mend, Leo's stopped harassing him so much about resting. But he's still trying to get Donnie to sleep through the night, and that means Leo himself can't be a giant hypocrite by staying up until 3AM, so he goes to bed at a fairly reasonable hour too.

So he's settled down on his side of the bed, said his goodnights, and tried to sleep. And the good thing is, having Donnie so close makes it surprisingly easy.

Well, easy for Leo, anyway.

closed to Accelerator

[faceguy]

heyyy accy
theres some of those guards hanging around near the alleyway we use for our lair

wanna help me mess with em?

[That's what he sent Accelerator approximately thirty minutes ago. Now he's chilling on a rooftop above said alley, sipping on some boba tea while he waits for Accelerator to arrive. Protecting the lair is his main concern here, but chasing away the guards counts for Society cred, too. A win-win, really.

Plus it's just fun to mess with them, as long as they don't get caught up in their power nullification.]

B

[unkindled_madness]

[Sephiroth may have been cutting through this park in an effort to lose his own stalker, so he's vexed to notice a different guard lingering nearby.

He is, however, momentarily distracted from his irritation as he's addressed by... a sahagin? He supposes one would be subject to the same force that's made all of them understand one another, but he's never heard of one being so... friendly. Or relaxed. Or above ground.

Does Earth even have sahagins??]

...unfortunately, he's still there. Tracking you, I suppose?

Raine Whispers | The Owl House

[whistlestoptea]

ARCADIA

[ For all that Raine comes from a world of magic, portals aren't really an everyday thing. Oh, they knew Eda used to have one of those, but she was, well... a bit exceptional in many ways. Still, when they wake up in a strange land full of tall buildings, they figure they must've somehow been transported to the human realm.

And they have to say, it's not what they expected at all. Magic isn't supposed to exist over there, but giant plants plaguing the populace seem to be a thing. And Raine is even more surprised when the friendly humans approaching them give them devices for communication and... teleporting?

Okay. Interesting. Mentally, they make notes of everything they see, and they have to pause, take their glasses off and scrub at their eyes for a moment; that's how overwhelming everything is.

Their sense of wonder is not yet marred when they are teleported into Arcadia against their will, but by the second, third and fourth time, this changes. The local are very insistent that it's for their own good, and, well.

If that doesn't sound familiar.

But by this point, it's abundantly clear that someone really doesn't want them to leave. They figure that for one thing, it would be better to not draw too much attention to themself, and for another, this is a matter that merits investigation. They decide to stay in Arcadia for now, but rather than visit the room offered to them, they take a walk around.

Unfortunately, they are being followed by a guard, which irks them greatly; so as they walk, they surreptitiously look around for a way to ditch the guard.

They figure it would be good to see who's their ally and who isn't, so they approach the next non-guard person they see, putting on a friendly smile and waving slightly. ]

Ah, hello... you don't happen to be new here as well, do you?

EXCELSIOR

[ Once Raine has settled in a room that seems eerily suited to their tastes, they decide to try that "going outside" thing again. After all, instead of idly sitting around, they might as well try to help with the plant problem -- and maybe find out more about this world instead.

Evidently the supernatural is hardly out of order here, even expected from an outsider like them, so they don't hesitate to use their magic, drawing forth their viola with a spell circle and whacking at plants with razor-sharp slices of magic that they generate by playing notes on their beloved instrument. ]

Excelsior

[levelshift]

[It's always something or another with this city, isn't it? The first time Accelerator had visited (which he hated) there had been sentient, murderous meat stalking the streets. Apparently a vegetarian must have gotten offended, because now it's plants. He is so, so done with this stupid city. It's bad enough the whole "city of the future" reminds him of home, but now there's this.

He's trying to conserve his battery power, so he's mainly been leaving the vicious plants to actual heroes. Of which he is not, thank you very much. Villains don't help put down scourges running rampant - villains go commit minor felonies as given to them by their bosses and then get the hell out of Dodge.

Though, that's a little hard to do when his attention is getting dragged over to someone apparently fighting off the plants with a fucking musical instrument of all things. Accelerator is a little further down the street, but like the other bystanders he doesn't bother attempting to flee, he just hands out there on the sidewalk, leaning on his crutch and watching out of curiosity. He isn't bothered by the plants either - when you've spent years of your life being the Strongest, things like ferocious plant monsters, as weird as they are, don't feel like a threat.

Of course, he doesn't make any attempt to help, either. Why should he? They seem to have things taken care of. And he's more interested in how they're attacking, anyways. That's with sound waves, obviously, but you need some seriously intense ones to cause physical damage like that, especially without an amplifier.]

Hey, when you're done weed whacking, what the fuck is that? A violin?

Carol Danvers | Marvel Comics | OTA

[chewiedout]

.:Arrival in Excelsior:.
[ Suddenly coming to consciousness while having a large carnivorous plant nipping at her ankles isn't the strangest things she's experienced but it's up there. Drinking to the verge of passing out during her Warbird time with the Avengers had certainly created for some interesting experiences.

When one of the plants connects she glances around, eyes widening as the scope of the city and the plants starts to actually hit her eyes. She instinctively glances up to the sky, an attempt to get up and out of reach so she can take it in.

She notices the same plant going for the next person and chooses to blast it away instead looking down at the street.]

You okay down there?

.:Arcadia:.

[Carol teleports into Arcadia for the second time with the glitchy teleporter shoving it back into her pocket in frustration. She hadn't been trying to come here but the last time the guard had apologized for a buggy system, two times in a row was just annoying however.

Oh for christ's sake.

She heads for the gates again, really, she hopes this is for the last time because this place has far too many vibes that are reminding of her things that have happened in the past. And then of course, there's the guards that are following her again, it doesn't seem to matter where she goes. She's annoyed and can't help chirp at them as she starts to trudge through Arcadia on the way back to the gate.

Really gentleman, I assure you my ass isn't all that great, there's probably better ones to follow around.


.:Excelsior:.
[After several days in Excelsior being hit with the rumors of what exactly is going on with Acadia, along with the frequent TV appearances from Fantastic it's enough to make Carol highly suspicious that something nefarious seems to be going on. She's had enough time in alternate universes that always seem to hold on to her until some problem is fixed, and this problem feels like it's almost rubbing her nose in it. A constant reminder of previous mistakes, of past Civil Wars. Of mistakes. Of dead friends.

She thinks about trying to teleporter again, but at this point is pretty much convinced it's a one way ticket to Arcadia.

She's pretty sure the key in understanding all this is to meet people on the other side of the mess, but that's hard to even find out to know where to go. So instead she finds some back ally bar that looks off the beaten path and is staring into a tonic and lime, wishing very much that it was a vodka tonic instead hoping for any sort of clue or hint or quite conversation but she's afraid that doesn't even seem likely with the guards literally following her everywhere.]

.:Wildcard:.

((Feel like something else? Go ahead and throw it at me or hit me up on Plurk (endtransmission) for something custom ))

Arrival

[bocchitime]

[Hitori is on the ground when Carol manages to escape the plant and make for the sky - and so when the carnivorous carnation seeks a new target, Hitori is the first one in sight.

She shrieks and cowers as it approaches her, unsure of where to run to or what to do in this strange new place. So when Carol graciously blasts the plant away with a burst of energy, Hitori is huddled down with her head in her hands.

It takes her a moment to respond to Carol's question, but when she does look up she's visibly trembling and she looks like she's about to throw up.]

U-Um... Y-yeah, I-I think I'm o-okay...

[She does not think that. She isn't sure if she's ever been less okay in her life, actually.]

natasha romanova | marvel cinematic | OTA!

[redhourglass]

( specific top levels below! i may add more once i know what i’m doing 🫣 )

arrival — excelsior (open to all!)

[redhourglass]

( it doesn’t feel like anything. a momentary lapse of black, like when you blink a little too slowly and can see your eyelid for a second. one moment natasha had been scrawling into a notebook already riddled with messy notes (tesseract? soul stone vormir gauntlet raccoon) and the next…

she’s standing in a city, like she’s been there all along. like she hadn’t suddenly been yanked through .. whatever it was, wherever she was? the flying cars were a dead give away that she wasn’t in kansas anymore, the skyscrapers sleeker than she’s used to in any major cities around the world that she’s traveled to (and she’s been to them all).

oh — and people running around with various pruning instruments. that’s new.

not to mention the explanation that a harried native gives her stinks of ‘nothing to see here!’ energy, the idea of this place called ‘arcadia’ feeling a bit too much like what the accords had been meant to do. the last thing natasha is signing herself up for is saving some other world — or entering their version of state-controlled prison.

so she breaks free from the welcome party, ducking down an alley and coming out on another street. most people seem to ignore her; either comforting other newly arrived like her (starfallen, she forces herself to use the terminology knowing that is how she’ll pick it up fastest), or looking vaguely worried at associated shrubbery.)

He looks like a man in charge. ( a handsome man with a smile, strutting around like he owns the place — and busy. surveying the folks near to her, natasha notices the way they watch him, files that away for later. eventually, she nudges someone. )

Who is that?