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- !confluence,
- !event,
- a certain magical index: accelerator,
- marvel comics: carol danvers,
- rtmnt: donatello hamato,
- rtmnt: leonardo hamato,
- ✗ archie hopper | once upon a time,
- ✗ augustus "gus" porter | the owl house,
- ✗ aurican | dragonlance,
- ✗ hitori gotoh | bocchi the rock,
- ✗ raine whispers | the owl house,
- ✗ roy harper | dc comics,
- ✗ six | generator rex,
- ✗ vision | mcu
CONFLUENCE 020
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
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.
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?
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.
➢ 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.
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.
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[ Does he mean when he lost his memories??? She's confused by the wording and glares at the side of his head. What games are you playing, dream!Six of the last? ]
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[Which, in all fairness, had been something he'd done for years. Six knew he was a bit of a stray.]
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I don't know what you're talking about, Six. I saw you less than an hour ago.
And there's no way Rex or I would let you walk away from Providence without a fight.
[ Gives him a playful elbow nudge. She likes having you around. ]
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I didn't see you after I brought Rex back. We were all supposed to meet up for that dinner he wanted.
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[ ???????????????? ]
[ She's trying to figure out what he's talking about. If she's dreaming about the old Six, why is her brain having him reference a time she can barely remember? ]
Dinner...oh. You're talking about when we started having meatloaf together on Fridays?
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Well...I don't know. You were at that dinner, you were at the next ten dinners after that.
[ He missed one or two, but surprisingly tried his best. They'd even had some late-night microwaved leftovers together once when they both missed out. ]
[ Not that the real Six remembered any of that. ]
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[What is going on?]
shes gonna have a little bruise at this rate
You were definitely at that dinner, Six.
[ This is really tiring her out. Alright, dream! Holiday is DONE with you. She starts pinching her arm to wake herself up. ]
[ Pinch pinch pinch. ]
[ ...why isn't this working? ]
[ PINCH PINCH PINCH ]
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[And going to watch her pinch herself. Repetitively.]
...What are you doing?
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Trying to wake myself up. It's not...working.
[ What else might work? Maybe if Six did something completely shocking, that would wake her up. ]
You should slap me. Or kiss me. Do something unexpected.
[ No she would not normally suggest that Six kiss her but it's fine 'cause it's just a dream, right? Right??????? ]
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Holiday, this isn't a dream.
[Though that is something a dream version of him would say, isn't it? Dammit. And it's not like he can tell her to say something only the two of them know since he might not know something she knows.]
[His head is starting to hurt again. He hates this place.]
[Well, she said to do something unexpected, so he's going to do the first thing that comes to mind.]
[Instead of kissing her or slapping her, he removes one of his shuriken from his suit jacket, keeping it hidden in his palm so she doesn't see what he has. Then, quick as lightning, the blade is out and he's holding it millimeters from the skin covering her carotid artery.]
[Not typical Six behavior in the least bit, definitely unexpected.]
[Needless to say the guards are alarmed, shouting and running over to help Holiday.]
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How could it not be a dr-
[ She's cut off by the nearby guards shouting. Cue eyeroll. ]
I'm fine! We're good, he's not going to hurt me.
[ She didn't realize how much they were paying attention to them. The slap probably would've been a bad idea, then. Holiday brings a hand up to the shuriken, poking it with her pointer finger with a smile that said 'see? no harm done.' ]
That should've woken me up.
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[Six raises an eyebrow at the guards, mutely challenging them. Just giving them a feel of how dangerous he truly is...and they back down.]
[He looks back to Holiday.]
Believe me a little more now?
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[ If this isn't a dream, then that would mean this Six is her old Six. The one she'd mourned. The one she'd cried over. The one she'd...well. ]
[ It can't be him, because he's gone. ]
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[What is she talking about?]
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I...
[ This is feeling less like a dream and more like a nightmare of confusion. Even when he first lost his memories, they weren't on such completely different pages. ]
I know that. You...I mean, are you-? Is this-?
[ She is unable to form normal sentences. Instead, she's trying to think about what happened around the time the Friday dinners started. Rex learned about Beverly, he ran off 'cause of Noah and Knight. Six brought him back and told her something about a cult run by a nanite-obsessed AI. Why would her dream be reminding her of that? ]
[ Unless this isn't a dream. But that's not possible. Is it? ]
[ Is it?????? ]
[ She pinches herself one more time. Just to make sure. ]
...not a dream?
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[Though how could he have been in two places at once? He'd been here for months but there for two years.]
i think i forgot to give her a sad icon. i must hunt one down
[ He's him. He's him. This isn't a dream? If she's going to accept that, then she's going to have to accept that she'd just accused two-years-ago Six of checking her out and also that she'd just asked him to kiss her. Which is...fine. She'll recover from the embarrassment once she recovers from the headache-inducing confusion. ]
[ She reaches a hand out slowly, then pulls it back. No, Holiday. He may remember the first year you spent together, but he doesn't remember the second year. He doesn't know about his friend's death or Caesar or...Beverly. ]
I, um. I'm sorry.
[ Not the right thing to say. She didn't know what to say. There are so many things she knows that he doesn't. It's just like when he lost his memories, except...different. Is this worse? No. Maybe. Either way, her head and heart are aching. ]
Where are we, exactly?
[ She wants to hug him. She can't do that, he'll be uncomfortable. She wouldn't have hugged him an hour ago 'cause she'd be uncomfortable. Is there no winning with them? ]
[ She needs to stop thinking about this. She needs to focus on where she is and what's going on and then she can deal with the emotional clusterfuck that is her feelings for Six. ]
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[Though that doesn't explain why he's in two places at once.]
We're on an alternate Earth that never had the Nanite Project. People with powers have randomly appeared here due to events called "Confluences" for decades, but only recently these Confluences have started bringing people here from other worlds while altering many of them.
You and I are the only ones here with nanites.
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[ Parallels worlds. Yes, she's read about the theory. But it's never been proven. Though...working teleporters weren't supposed to be a thing either and she's already seen that. ]
[ Could she possibly just accept this? Holiday wasn't sure. This was a lot. ]
I...okay. Powers. Like...Superman? Green Lantern? Those kinds of powers?
[ Rex's and Breach's abilities were created by science and they were completely reasonable to the world of science. Superpowers and aliens were a little out of her wheelhouse. But she did see a man flying around earlier. ]
[ Thinking about the two of them being the only people with nanites. Hmmm. ]
Do we need to worry about infecting the other people here?
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[It'd feel like an insult.]
And, no. I joined up with one of the local guilds to gain access to equipment to have someone monitor my nanites. Every time they've tried to draw samples to study, none of the nanites came out. They seem to stay inside our bodies even if we're injured.
But that's no guarantee that we won't go EVO.
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I'd like to see those results. Just want to double-check that they know what they're doing.
[ Since this world apparently didn't have The Event. It'd be good to make sure. ]
If they're right, then...that's one good thing, at least.
[ She doesn't want to think about the possibility of going EVO. Without Rex, there was no cure. She hadn't developed a cure for regular or incurables yet, and even if she managed to find one...well, chance of EVO incurability is 29%. Chance of incurability when a direct relative has already been diagnosed as incurable goes up to 83%. Those odds aren't good. But she doesn't need to worry Six with those details. ]
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Jealous, Holiday?It had been a necessary evil. Largely because Six hadn't wanted to be "Patient Zero" for infecting an entirely new world with nanites.]They don't. The best they can do is trial and error. Once a month I go into Alliance headquarters for them to try obtaining samples and I have to be in quarantine for the whole procedure just in case. But without being able to obtain samples, the only thing they can do is verify they're still there via CT scan.
[He'd seen enough footage of the horror show MRIs had become to insist on them not using an MRI.]
It's not like I could tell them any specifics on how the nanites work.
[Not an idiot but it's not his field.]
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Then I'd definitely like to talk to them. I'm sure they'd appreciate someone who actually knows what she's talking about.
[ She is entirely focused on nanites and science now. There's nothing else to focus on. She's so glad her portable nanite scanner was in her pocket when she ended up here. ]
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Sorry it took so long. Work has been swamping me.
Nooo prob I literally just dropped my friend at the airport like 20 min ago lol