metalogs | CONFLUENCE 24

Entry tags:

CONFLUENCE 24

A CONFLUENCE...?

A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces.

There don't seem to be any people falling from the sky this month. The Seers view it as a sign that the New Year is going to be a peaceful one. So, for the first time in two years, the Guilds can throw a celebration.

In commemoration of the hard work from both sides, they opt to hold a shared celebration on neutral ground. Sunset Falls is, as ever, the perfect place to do so. The Willow Maiden is still dreaming deeply and though most of the town is blanketed in a fine coat of snow, the meadow in her forest is warm and lush. There are wedding tents set up on either side, and the middle of the meadow appears to have been claimed by civilian metas and human allies who aided in the efforts.

The Alliance and The Society have set up both of their usual holiday setups in this space. An anti-gravity dancehall has people dancing in the sky. And as the Starfallen are the only reason anyone is still here right now, those who haven't picked a side are also welcome. Francis Starling has set up a small lounge between the two spaces - something she isn't finding much humor in.

Each side is elaborately decorated. The Alliance has its more humble and relaxed aesthetic, and The Society has its usual ostentatious presentation. Some magicians have conjured an enormous clock, ticking down the moments to the New Year… which is a day later than when the rest of the world celebrates it. Who can say how this tradition started, other than that time travel sucks?

There's alcohol for the adults and juice for the kids. A magically refilling buffet table. Desserts that appear with a thought. It's a miracle that everyone got this through the year, and the Guilds have spared absolutely no expense.

There are party games, some as basic as Pin the Tail on the Donkey. And other far more elaborate - high contact sports where the super strong can go all out. Hide and seek turns into a cerebral game of cat and mouse.

STARS READ

There is a fortune-telling booth set up in the far corner of the meadow, nearer to where the Villains tent is than the heroes. Chaos Gate sits behind it, watching the party unfold with a slightly guilty smile. It is, after all, her fault that things got so wildly out of control... but at the same time, one can't deny that the world is more interesting. Perhaps even better for it. Characters can approach her and for a small fee (mostly a drink ticket, though she'll take whatever you have in your pockets, even if it's lint) they can be assigned a constellation.

This constellation doesn't correlate to any known star you've heard of. When asked, she says it's unique to you. It's not just your star sign, it's the star sign that all the celestial bodies across all worlds created when you were born. Whether she's kidding or not is hard to say, she is collecting drink tickets after all, but she thinks that as the Willow Maiden's head priestess, it's her right to slack off when her boss is sleeping.

You can ask questions about your past, your present, or your future. Each person only gets three, so think carefully about what you want to ask. If you're stuck and in dire need of guidance - she's right here for you. She'll answer with her limited omniscience.

With that said, there is a side-effect of having your fortunes read. As this is chaos magic, being perceived puts everything in a bit of flux - you'll have an unfortunate side-effect for the next week or so. Your horoscope for each day is suddenly far more accurate. These can be quite serious, or quite silly. Such is the danger of asking anything of Katherine West.

STARS FALLING

Just as the exuberant gathering of heroes and villains countdown to 1, and the screams of Happy New Year die down - something begins to streak across the sky. Unlike the distant shooting stars, this is… close. Far more reminiscent of one of the Starfallen abruptly appearing and tumbling toward the Earth.

For a moment, the partygoers can only stare at it. Wondering if perhaps the Seers had missed something. A few flight-capable heroes move to take off to intercept the falling thing, anticipating that this is a Starfallen and that tonight's festivities are about to be disrupted by their disorienting arrival - only for one of the Seers to hold out a hand to stop them.

Unlike the Starfallen, the object is burning up as it falls.

"Well, it's been a while since we've seen that," Mechanima buzzes, mask switching from a giant question mark to a firework. "I suppose we're all a bit paranoid about space debris being people these days. Let's get back to the party, shall we? I don't want to remember this tomorrow."

And though some return to partying, others… don't. Atomight, Mechanima, and Frances all look notably perturbed and when approached with questions, don't have answers. The best they can offer is that wayward spaceships aren't uncommon, but the last time they saw anything like this - the Starfallen were the result.

Chaos Gate herself looks notably… disturbed. If asked, she says this is an all too familiar sight. Two years ago, she was standing on a farm in Little Love feeling the world shift as things that were never meant to be here fell to Earth. And this feeling is the same.

Stars continue to fall through the rest of the night.

Come morning, those within the Guilds will be called to base. The phenomenon happened the world over, and though there's no indication that anything made contact or damaged anything - that's more concerning. While the usual missions are there to request, there are new ones to investigate what happened.

And for once, these are not limited just to the metahuman cities. Whatever happened, happened everywhere.

MISSIONS

The headquarters of the Guardian Alliance are easy to find. It’s located in one of the taller and more ornate skyscrapers of Central City

The first floor is something of a public space. There’s a small museum dedicated to the Alliance’s most famous exploits, standees of famous heroes for tourists to snap selfies with, and even a little gift shop! For metas, though, the real business starts upstairs. You’ll have to check in with a receptionist, who will unlock the elevator to HQ proper. There’s not a lot of visible security beyond that, but you still get the feeling that any kind of trouble here wouldn’t end well for the troublemakers.

The Guardian’s Club is the central hub of the headquarters. It’s an open and sunny lounge area with shining white walls and floors. The furniture is modern, in bright primary colors, and there’s a high ceiling that allows for people of any size, or those who just want to fly around for fun. Off to one side is a large games area - the main attraction is the large pool table, but there’s also some board games, co-op video games, a snack bar, and even a DDR machine. Bonding with your fellow heroes is a great thing!

Outside of this area is where you’ll find the mission board. It’s a modern touchscreen display, on which Alliance members can tap their member ID, input mission preferences, how many they intend to take out with them, and receive a mission.

Where the Guardian Alliance’s headquarters gleams, The Society’s headquarters is much darker. The two buildings are actually quite close to each other. Entering here, you’ll find a similar reception desk where your credentials must be verified before going into the headquarters proper. Security here is far more visible, with clear cameras on the walls and buff guards, often with visible powers such as rocky skin or hands that crackle with lightning, posted nearby. You have to imagine, though, that the real safeguards here are the ones you can’t see.

Inside the Society Lounge, the furnishings are classy in a far more toned-down sense. The furnishings are dark wood, with chairs and long couches upholstered primarily in reds and violets. Here, there’s a full bar! According to the sign posted above it, however, any disorderly conduct within the Lounge will be swiftly dealt with.

The mission board is a sleek electronic display posted on the back wall of the lounge. It’s quite high-tech, updating itself regularly. You can use the touchscreen to request a job. After inputting one's member ID and the amount of people they intend to take along with them, it will assign out tasks based off of what it thinks they will be able to handle. But be careful; who gets assigned what is all public information, and it sure would be a shame to fail.

Please fill out the form and post it below our MISSION REQUESTS header.

CHARACTERS INVOLVED:

GUILD: What guilds are the characters affiliated with?

REQUESTED DIFFICULTY: Easy/Medium/Hard

REWARD REQUEST: Is your character after money, or a specific item?

LIMITATIONS: What do you not want your character to get assigned? Please note we are happy to offer new missions if our initial offer doesn't work!

CLIFF NOTES.

➢ Welcome to the first Confluence of Arc 3! We've outlined what can be expected throughtout the month STATE OF THE GAME for January.

➢ All Starfallen are invited to a lavish New Years party - taking place on the evening of January 1st, as due to some temporaral shenanigans that is actually the start of the new year.

➢ Players can have their fortunes read by Chaos Gate, who is set up. They get three questions and she will answer with what appears to be some limited omniscience. Doing so may result in your luck and overall reality being a little bit wonky throughout the next week.

➢ As the party goes on, a starshower will begin. Though nothing dramatic appears to be happening just yet, players can be sent out on investigative missions to see just what happened. This is happening the world over. It also is happening in space itself - space exploration is now on the table.

➢ Any missions will feed into the January event, as well as any fortunes or questions asked.

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A. Party like it's whatever year it is now (NYE Party)

[Leo loves a good party, and this is his first real New Year's Eve party, so he's absolutely living it up. He has those silly year glasses on (the ones that 2024), he has a glass in his hand that's... probably just juice, and he's wearing a very sparkly jacket so he looks like a disco ball when he moves (where did he even get that). Technically part of the Alliance, Leo can be found both moving around their side of the meadow and mingling down in the middle.

He can also be found on the anti-gravity dance floor, grooving to any song there is and inviting anyone he knows (and even those he doesn't) to dance. If you're not careful, you might just find a three-fingered hand grabbing your arm and pulling you into a spin whether you wanted to go or not.]

B. Catch Me if You Can (Party Games)

[A high octane game of capture, with powers allowed? Now that sounds like something right up Leo's alley.

Leo's got the flag, but he's deep in enemy territory now. He looks down an opponent, grinning as he bounces on his heels.]

Come on, you can get me. I'm a turtle! Our whole thing is being slow.

[Leo is, in fact, quite fast. But what his opponent doesn't know won't hurt them. And if he can catch them off guard and slip past them, that would be something for sure.]

C. Stars Falling

[Leo likes making wishes on falling stars as much as the next person, but this, some kind of space debris coming down to earth, has him a little on edge. Maybe he's just paranoid about things that come from space these days.

After the stars fall, he's a little more noticeably subdued. He still smiles and makes corny jokes, but he also pulls himself away from the main thrust of the party, lingering near the guild heads and those who come to to them with questions to see if he can hear some answers...]

D. Anniversary Party (Central City, post-NYE)

[Leo's up on a rooftop, looking out over Central, and... well, not sulking. Just, you know. Contemplating.

It's been a year since he's arrived in this world - give or take a few weeks thanks to time travel shenanigans. A year of getting adjusted to a new life, without his family other than Donnie, without New York City, or any of his usual routine. A lot's been pretty okay, or even good, but...

Well, he misses home. And he doesn't want to pass on his bad mood to anyone else, so he's up here on a roof in the middle of the night, brooding.

No, not brooding. Contemplating.

Of course, Central City rooftops aren't always the loneliest places. Maybe someone will join him...?]

[Considering Donnie's very irregular sleep schedule, it's not hard for him to take notice of an absent brother. It wouldn't be so strange or concerning under... Well, what really is considered normal, anymore?

He may not be Dr. Feelings but with a new year debuting in this world, his focus has drifted towards Leo. The time difference between them hasn't stuck out as much as it does now, and Donnie figures if he's just feeling anxious about it being a new year in general, he has no idea how it might be for Leo who's actually been here an entire year. Maybe it's some kind of secondhand anxiety. He has no idea. He doesn't like it though.

It's not at all difficult to track Leo down, and just as easy to block his own signal so it won't tip off his brother. After all, maybe it's a false alarm, maybe it's all in Donnie's head, his head gets pretty busy after all. The thought vanishes once he catches a glimpse of where Leo is, so he crosses the rooftops the old-fashioned way.

There's still some hesitation once he reaches the same roof, and there's something about the distance, even if it isn't much now, but it's enough for Donnie to move again, walking over before inviting himself to sit there next to his brother.]

[Oh great. The person he least wanted to infect with his bad mood. Leo silently curses the trackers.

Leo doesn’t want to bum Donnie out with his thoughts about home, so he constructs a smile on his face. Everything is totally fine! He’s just out on this roof in the middle of the night for the view.

Totally convincing.]

Heeeey, bro. Enjoying the night life?

[The small snort he breathes isn't so much amusement as it is mild exasperation. Typical Leo. Donnie shakes his head a bit, but he decides he'll play along for now. He sets his hands behind him, leaning back to look out at the city lights, both familiar now and still so painfully foreign.]

As much as any turtle I guess. Been out here long?

Not that long. Just, ya know, couldn't sleep, thought I'd do a little patrolling. The city seems pretty calm right now, though.

[That part is more or less true. At least Leo hasn't noticed anything going on in the general vicinity - it's not like he was actually patrolling, though.]

I'll probably head back soon. [Now that he's been caught and all.]

Even crime takes a break I guess. Maybe people are thinking of starting fresh this year.

[Not that he really believes that for a second.]

It's kind of nice though, the quiet. Wonder how long that's going to last. [His eyes track towards the sky as he thinks about the strange shower of falling stars.]

...so everything's good?

Probably until the next crazy thing happens.

[It crosses his mind, too, the falling stars. It has to mean something, he's just not sure what.

The question pulls him right back to his earlier thoughts, though, and he tries not let his smile fall. It droops, even still, regardless of his intent.]

...Yeah. I mean... [He sucks in a deep breath, lets escape in a tired rush.] It's not a big deal.

Probably true, especially around here.

[He pointedly keeps his attention turned outward at the city skyline, even as he shifts his position, leaning forward to rest his arms over his knees.]

That's not exactly a resounding yes.

[Leo grimaces, mirroring Donnie by pulling his own knee up and hugging it, chin resting on his folded arms.]

…It’s just… been a whole year. [His voice gets thicker, but he is very determined not to cry.] You already know I miss home, so…

[So it’s not a big deal!]

...yeah. Kind of hard not to remember that.

[He glances over at Leo before sinking his own chin against his arms.]

I haven't given up yet.

[He knows, it's not all on him, but he still feels like he should have found something out by now.]

I know you haven't.

[He does know. He trusts Donnie. This isn't about his progress or lack thereof, and Leo doesn't want him to feel guilty.]

I haven't, either. [He'll do whatever he has to, not to go back there.] I know we'll figure it out. I just...

I wish... my last real conversation with Raph hadn't been a fight. [He cringes.] If I'd known it would be this long... Well. I guess I wanna believe I would have said something different.

[He knows what Leo's talking about now, at least, though the reminder makes him wince too. When it came to Raph/Leo arguments, that one had definitely ranked up there.]

Hey. It's taking longer than we would have hoped, but... We'll work something out. We'll get you home.

I don't know if the methods the Alliance has to let people visit their home timeline functions now. Last I heard, something weird was going on with them before they stopped altogether, but that was before we went timeskipping to the past.

[He lifts his head some.] Maybe if we both went, we could figure something out on that side..! And sure, maybe cause another fracture in the timeline but how many different paths have already branched out by now just from both of us not being where we're supposed to?

[They'll get him home? He hopes so. He's found some people in this world who are important to him, wouldn't mind the ability to come visit now and again, but it will never really be home, after all.

At Donnie's suggestion, he lifts his head, too. Donnie seems... surprisingly cavalier about potentially breaking the time stream, but then he is right that it's probably already broken in ways they can never know anyway.

And going back... even if it's just for a short time, even if they don't remember later, just to see them again...

Leo can't help but fidget anxiously. It's not that he doesn't want to try, but...]

It wouldn't... let me, before. Wouldn't let me go home.

[At first, it didn't work at all, but that was apparently normal. Later, he may have been able to use the machine, but it wouldn't have put him where he wanted to be. It would have stuck him back in the Prison Dimension, and that's...]

What if you try to take me through with you, and me being there messes it all up?

[Even worse than Leo going back to the Prison Dimension would be taking Donnie there.]

Leo | OTA

d

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

B

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject