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➢ This is part one of our Starstruck event. At this stage, we are asking that everyone make a choice: Will their character head to the past to make a change to the timeline, or will they remain in the future and hope for the best? It's possible that "hoping for the best" aligns with the thought of spending as much time as possible with loved ones before you're wiped away. That's a very distinct possibility. Otherwise, they may stay in the future to try to guide the people in the past: letting them know what changes are good or bad for the future. Or if the world looks like it's about to explode. That helps, too.
➢ The next log will be posted on September 20, 2023 and will take place on April 2, 1985. We will have an event plotting post going live for this on September 8th.
➢ The majority of the groundwork for this event will take place in 1985 and there will be no immediate way for characters to return to the future, or characters from the future to head to the past. We will work with anyone who wants to create a new link between the past and present to make sure the best future is brought about. Either way, once the door shuts, Willow Maiden is tapped out of all of her energy.
➢ Depending on player actions, there is a very strong chance that the world of 2023 will be radically altered by the actions of the past. We won't be completely changing the setting, but may apply changes to better align with the needs of the current game population.
➢ However, a few things that are up in the air: the Godfall event could be prevented, Chaos Gate could be the big bad of 1985, and the world's perception of metas and meta powers could be radically changed.
You are in a forest, lush and evergreen. The sky above you is dark and infinite, but when you stare into it you feel only the rush of possibility. The trees wave to you in the breezeless meadow and you know it's not simply the wind. They are welcoming you to their home and hoping you feel welcome here too.
And then they gestured to the weathered path stretching out before you into the thicker part of the woods.
As you walk it, the line between leaves and stars begins to blur.
The Willow Maiden is the sun of this small universe and she smiles at your approach. Her wooden face is stiff and still, but you feel her joy nonetheless. She is as proud of you as a parent, and so glad you heeded her call… whether you meant to or not.
We haven't much time, she says, her like a soft bell ringing gently inside your mind. I had hoped we would speak again before She found her way here, but her loyalists ensured I did not have the strength. Now what I have left is given to keeping this world alive, and to keeping her out… But still, I wanted to speak with you - all of you - before what's next comes to pass. This world is at a crossroads, and what you do next will determine both its future… and its past.
You have lived this day a number of times. Infinite branching timelines, each with different choices. Some of you will remember all in the weeks to come, others will not. This is not the first time I tell you that new stars are falling today but it will be the last… at least, in this world as it is now.
An image fills your mind and you wonder if you've looked up to the stars above you. After a while, they reveal a young woman – Chaos Gate – who emanates with grief and an intense energy that feels as if it's been sucked out of the world around her. The Willow Maiden imparts a meaning to what you're seeing: Chaos Gate attempting to rewrite history, hoping to destroy what she once helped create.
I cannot stop her from entering the past. The Willow Maiden says. And there will be a precious few moments after she crosses that it will remain open. You must follow her into the past and stop her from ripping the world asunder in her pain. The past is malleable, but not in the way that she intends. Not with the power that she's wielding.
The Willow Maiden looks at you, and you feel her hope. She wants you to help – to make things different from how they will be if Chaos Gate's grief is allowed to reign supreme. Or different from how they might be even without that.
Then you wake up wherever you are just as the gray fingers of dawn begin to stretch through the sky.
11:58 PM, SEPTEMBER 1ST 2023, CENTRAL CITY, MICHIGAN .Everyone receives Willow Maiden's message.
But not everyone falls from the sky, as if shuffled from one reality to another. That experience belongs to the newcomers who have fallen from the sky time and time again; the dream, however, only occurs before the final instance of flight down to the area below. As if prepared by the dream from Willow Maiden or otherwise, everyone is called out to help, ready to use whatever powers or technology still functions in this world to provide a soft landing.
Down below, a Confluence seems to start: an abrupt whirlwind of energy. The time: 11:58 PM. A gentle voice guides anyone who's come to the site toward the doorway that opens before Chaos Gate. It's distant, strained, but if you reach into the recesses of your sleepy mind, you'll realize that it belongs to Willow Maiden. She needs your help. She needs you to go forward and follow Chaos Gate.
Though the answer isn't apparent or obvious, you might know one thing for sure: whatever you're witnessing caused the repeated days, like time was forced on repeat while Willow Maiden protected the arrivals of newcomers and sought a solution for the chaos that could erupt. If she hadn't done this, this world would be done. Over. You don't know what that means, but you know that this isn't a theoretical feeling. Chaos Gate will destroy the world. Something must be done. Willow Maiden herself can't find the words or the strength to tell you as much, but it's imprinted on your mind. You know.
Now you have a choice: head into the doorway that Willow Maiden has opened, or stay behind. Some others have arrived there and may need some help in getting acclimated. More than that, their arrival, without knowledge of where or why they're there, can disrupt the timeline in unexpected ways. But disruptions aren't as bad as complete obliteration. Willow Maiden believes it's a risk that's worth taking.
There is a sense that this choice must be made here. Willow Maiden only has so much strength to prevent any further passage of time. This door will close soon.
11:58 PM, MARCH 17, 1985, CENTRAL CITY, MICHIGANAlthough many new arrivals may recall 2023, they may wake from their repeated dream in the 1980s. The atmosphere is completely different: a handful of people shuffle by in leg warmers. On the other side of the street, there are a few guys who look like they're right out of a Van Halen music video. But more obvious than anything is this: it's not Halloween at all. Between the cars, the advertisements, and everything in between, someone can readily pick out one truth: it's the 1980s. 1985 to be exact.
Unlike the arrivals in the future, these arrivals are a lot softer: vines reach out to set arrivals down on the ground. The vines themselves are shaky in their grip, as if whatever strength they're holding on to is rapidly slipping away. Inwardly, you have an answer for this: her time is slipping away. And she is the tree-like woman from your dreams, warning you about a devastating possibility in a world where you've just arrived (or feel as if you've just arrived).
Just as a car peels down the street burning rubber, everything abruptly stops. Lighting streaks the sky overhead, and a gateway opens nearby. Someone steps out and then disappears, but the door doesn't close. Here, there is a choice, arising unbidden in your mind: stay here and help or head through the portal and wait. There is a sense that this decision needs to be made now. Whatever strength the Willow Maiden has is abruptly slipping away.
Once that choice is made and everyone has decided, the gate between 1985 and 2023 will close. Whatever will be will be.
For better or worse.
MARCH 18-APRIL 1st 1985, EVERYWHEREOnce the portal closes, everyone left in 1985 will be very aware that they are stuck in this past. Any power or ability to move through time will be barred, almost as if that's just out of reach. That doesn't mean it can't be regained or found. The power is simply lacking an energy source. Even in this neck of the timeline, Chaos Gate is sucking up all the energy around her; her grief acts like a parasite on the meta energy of this world.
➢ Any technology brought from the future to the past won't work. Any cellphones and other devices are right out the window (including any teleporters). Instead, people can cook up alternative means of communication. Or they can rely on snail mail. You do you. Travel to other cities will need to involve flight (if someone can fly or planes), powers, cars, trains, and anything else that comes to mind.
➢ Chaos Gate has disguised herself in this past. Through some inklings left in your memories, you'll know that Chaos Gate wants to eradicate the cult that caused a heap of problems in the future – as well as fight and destroy the god behind it all. Even if the Shining God probably deserves a punching or three, destroying her is very bad.
➢ A teen vigilante named Starstruck is the most powerful meta in this timeline. Despite his intense power levels, he's doing a lot of good in this world and has gained a lot of fame as a result. If anyone wishes to seek out Starstruck and get a sense for him, they're free to! This can happen in the NPC ENGAGEMENT thread.
➢ Savvy onlookers will also notice a group of individuals who always seem to be circulating around where Starstruck helps out citizens. While presenting as fans of his, they have ulterior motives – namely, they're planning these crimes to involve Starstruck so that they can get a good read on his abilities. A small handful of them will have a familiar emblazoned sun on them.
➢ There are, of course, villains all around Central City. This is before the crime syndicates had their grip on the city, so there is a lot of chaos that goes on in the darker parts of the city. There is a lot of corruption within the local government, leaving the city ripe for the taking for would-be villains. Feel free to make up bad guys to keep from causing trouble or to dig into the backstory of, as it might link back to the present in some way.
➢ Younger versions of a wide variety of NPCs can be found HERE if they want to be sought out for answers. Thanks to the weirdness of superpowers, they'll be more open-minded to the predicament than one might expect of a stranger approaching another stranger.
➢ All other world engagements can be brought to QUESTIONS & ENGAGEMENT. These will be addressed quicker than our usual engagements, given they are event-related.
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Bruce and his team are part of the going into the 80s when asked to. Bruce being Batman and all, he'll want to investigate/track down Chaos Gate in the 80s since that'll (mostly) be his role within the team as the detective and all. What's the best way to go about this? Should I just list off how he (and Nightwing) would go about investigating/searching for her? Or are there signs/clues he and Dick would be able to pick up on/discover to find her path, etc.?
Thanks for any insight, mods. I appreciate it.
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Her motives are absolutely murderous and she is leaving bodies here and there, she does not seem to have the mental wherewithal - or care - to do this and not get caught.
If they look for Fantastic's parents, that's the surest way to chart her path. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas are currently wealthy teenagers, attending high school in Central City. The same highschool that Starstruck is attending.
If you would like to tell us how and where Bruce and Dick will be searching for clues, we would be happy to provide tidbits specific for them!
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And at this point in time, having a child is far off from their radar. They're still working to graduate first, after all. They do, however, go to meetings with each other on Wednesdays in downtown Central City, to a law office called Perkins and Co. It's owned by a man named Neil Perkins, who is a family lawyer. He has a few legal aides and more assistance than one family lawyer could reasonably need, but aside from that - from the outside, it looks legitimate.
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Bruce and Dick will definitely be looking into this Neil Perkins. Hitting the library, time spent in Central's Recorders' office — trying to see if there's any buildings or land that Perkins owns. It's the 80s and tech/databases for searching aren't as efficient as present day/future, but. If there's anything they can find, they'll look into it.
Also, stakeout that meeting because that's what bats and birds do. Try to ID whoever (else) is going to that meeting, possibly try and bug someone with a parabolic microphone or Bruce could possibly linger in the shadows of that meeting/use the shadows as a means to hear what's going on and see if they can figure out what's being talked about. Might as well use that power he's got if he can. Unless it's meta-proofed somehow then sucks to be him but an attempt was made.
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Bruce will be able to linger in the shadows to listen in on the meetings. They're often between Neil, the two teens, and one of the legal aides named Agatha. Agatha is an older woman, and something seems... a little off about her. Different. During the meetings, the four of them discuss what the two teens are after - they want to become better heroes, be well known, become something more than they are because they're tired of living in Starstruck's shadow. There's talk of how difficult it is to alter DNA, that giving full grown human beings extra capabilities is just not possible, that if they want to get out from under his shadow, they're going to have to get rid of him completely. Alternatively... there are IVF programs that a company called Enkindle are currently working on. Enkindle works out of Excelsior and is run by a man named Vincent Green. A quick search will show that he specializes in synthetic biology.
Maybe they can't be the great heroes of their generation, but they can always make the next generation's strongest.
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If they were to follow her by normal means, they'll find that she has a habit of... disappearing. One moment she's walking down the street, but when she turns the next corner, she disappears entirely, as if she had never been there to begin with.
However, she always disappears into crowds. Maybe it isn't so much disappearing from existence, as it is changing her appearance to prevent followers.
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He'd also like to drop an anonymous note to Atomight that Starstruck may be in danger. Sent through the mail from a mail box in Excelsior. With as close to a lack identifying marks as possible, though it would have to be hand written.
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Atomight will receive the note. Dick may hear rumors about him spending time with the local teen group of heroes over the next few days.
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