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metaverses2022-08-12 08:01 pm
metamods) wrote in metaverses2022-08-12 08:01 pm
CRISIS ON INFINITE DREAMWIDTHS
CRISIS ON INFINITE DREAMWIDTHS
On the morning of August 12th, 2022, the sound of something shattering echoes throughout the world. All metahumans are awoken by a sudden surge of energy rushing through them, sitting bolt upright and breathless. It’s gone as quickly as it comes.
This world has been reconnected with the rest.
At first this is cause for celebration - the Guardian Alliance and the Society put out messages to the dimensionally displaced among them. They are hopeful that this means a return to normal. They’re gathering their mystics and their engineers, and once certain things are stable, they’re sending everyone home.
Their hope is short lived.
Twenty minutes later, mass disappearances are being reported all over the world, with people from other dimensions appearing in their place. Some report that they were just in a world that wasn’t their own - and others claim that they had been going about their life and now they’re here.
Player characters have the option to vanish and be transported to another nexus or to stay and help contain the chaos.
The event is canon to the Metaheroes universe. You are welcome to have your character’s memories of the last week become hazy once the event ends.
You do not need an invite to participate in the fourth wall event.
This world has been reconnected with the rest.
At first this is cause for celebration - the Guardian Alliance and the Society put out messages to the dimensionally displaced among them. They are hopeful that this means a return to normal. They’re gathering their mystics and their engineers, and once certain things are stable, they’re sending everyone home.
Their hope is short lived.
Twenty minutes later, mass disappearances are being reported all over the world, with people from other dimensions appearing in their place. Some report that they were just in a world that wasn’t their own - and others claim that they had been going about their life and now they’re here.
Player characters have the option to vanish and be transported to another nexus or to stay and help contain the chaos.
The event is canon to the Metaheroes universe. You are welcome to have your character’s memories of the last week become hazy once the event ends.
A JOURNEY TO THE LANDS BETWEEN —
One moment you’re making yourself coffee in the kitchen, the next the world is spinning around you. You feel a sharp pull inside your ribs, a rush as you’re unmoored from time and space. When you land you feel disoriented, perhaps aching as your physical form is forced to adjust to the laws of the world you now stand in.
‘World’ is perhaps the wrong word. You are in a Nexus. A place between worlds, the connective tissue bridging universes. Some are created by those seeking aid from outside worlds to breathe new life into their crumbling ones. Others are cosmic faultlines, universes broken and twisted by forces beyond comprehension into metaphysical black holes that trap and twist those unfortunate enough to fall in.
We know these as panfandom roleplay games. They could be games that are open or games that are long closed. They could be dropped into the present day, an imagined future, or moments long passed. They could be settings you’ve only ever dreamed about, as gritty or silly as you'd like.
Some are teeming with life. Their residents have been here for years and years, the world is lived in, loved, and vibrant. Others are long forgotten, their inhabitants returned to their own worlds. The abandoned nexuses feel... sterile. Stripped of everything that gave them life, even the colors appear to be fading. As though someone has come into it and tried to right a cosmic wrong, returning everything to how it was before otherworlders set foot on them. In the dustiest and most forgotten worlds, the sky is shattered. It appears to be pulsing in a way that mimics a heartbeat, steady and dreadful. Looking up into it makes you feel small, insignificant, and homesick.
Those bringing in characters who lived in these settings are welcomed to imagine an ever-after for their characters, or to play with the idea that it's fallen into a state of despair. There are infinite iterations of these worlds. The universe doesn’t care if it’s throwing you into their beginningsor their endings.
The laws governing these worlds will apply to all characters, meaning that power caps, alterations to character physiology, and all the rest native to the setting are in place. You are, for this moment, a resident of this world like all the rest.
To return home, you must seek a break in the nexus. These appear as small, shimmering breaks in space and time. While the sky may make you feel alone, these cracks feel as though they are calling to you offering a chance at love and a home.
‘World’ is perhaps the wrong word. You are in a Nexus. A place between worlds, the connective tissue bridging universes. Some are created by those seeking aid from outside worlds to breathe new life into their crumbling ones. Others are cosmic faultlines, universes broken and twisted by forces beyond comprehension into metaphysical black holes that trap and twist those unfortunate enough to fall in.
We know these as panfandom roleplay games. They could be games that are open or games that are long closed. They could be dropped into the present day, an imagined future, or moments long passed. They could be settings you’ve only ever dreamed about, as gritty or silly as you'd like.
Some are teeming with life. Their residents have been here for years and years, the world is lived in, loved, and vibrant. Others are long forgotten, their inhabitants returned to their own worlds. The abandoned nexuses feel... sterile. Stripped of everything that gave them life, even the colors appear to be fading. As though someone has come into it and tried to right a cosmic wrong, returning everything to how it was before otherworlders set foot on them. In the dustiest and most forgotten worlds, the sky is shattered. It appears to be pulsing in a way that mimics a heartbeat, steady and dreadful. Looking up into it makes you feel small, insignificant, and homesick.
Those bringing in characters who lived in these settings are welcomed to imagine an ever-after for their characters, or to play with the idea that it's fallen into a state of despair. There are infinite iterations of these worlds. The universe doesn’t care if it’s throwing you into their beginningsor their endings.
The laws governing these worlds will apply to all characters, meaning that power caps, alterations to character physiology, and all the rest native to the setting are in place. You are, for this moment, a resident of this world like all the rest.
To return home, you must seek a break in the nexus. These appear as small, shimmering breaks in space and time. While the sky may make you feel alone, these cracks feel as though they are calling to you offering a chance at love and a home.
VISITORS TRAVERSING TIME AND SPACE —
While these disappearances are happening all over the world, the four confluence prone cities seem to be experiencing the worst of it.
Little Love, a tiny town located in Kansas, is prone to spaceship crashes. Other than that, it’s as quiet and peaceful as can be. Folks here move at a different pace and are understanding that this is not your fault. While worried for their missing loved ones, anyone appearing will find themselves met with offers of pumpkin pie and a place to rest their heads.
Sunset Falls, a mid-sized town located in Massachusetts, doesn’t seem to bat an eye at the vanishings. People going missing is a daily occurrence due to the Hellmouth located beneath the city. It’s a dangerous place to live, but the townsfolk here have become accustomed to the chaos. So much so that upon finding themselves faced with a sudden influx of interdimensional travelers, they merely return home and begin fortifying it. Werewolves, vampires, demons, and monsters beyond imagination make this city their home - some in plain sight, others in the thick forests that surround the town. The people here know how to survive. The mystic energy that flows through the streets is heightened due to the instability here, turning thoughts into spells. What you feel becomes real. Think yourself invisible and you will be. Think yourself almighty and you will be.
Central City, a bustling metropolis in Detroit, is already unfriendly to metahumans. It does not handle this latest disruption well. Friends and family disappearing and being replaced with strangers is not something they’re prepared to take in stride. New arrivals are met with immediate hostility. Some may find themselves chased through the streets with a demand to bring back those who have gone missing. Luckily this is the base of both the Guardian Alliance, the only recognized hero organization in the world, and The Society, its villainous counterpart designed to keep villainy from going too far. They’re quick to intervene to protect their own, but they can’t be everywhere at once.
Finally, Excelsior, a sprawling futuristic city located in Washington, has had just about enough of metahuman nonsense. They are the technological pinnacle of the world and time and time again, metahumans have disrupted their lives. This time, the sudden energy surge has evolved the technology of the city. Rudimentary AI has suddenly gained sentience and self-awareness. Toasters resent their meaningless existence, aiming to burn the hands of their uncaring masters. Cellphones alternate between issuing comforting messages to their owners and uploading all of their text conversations to social media to shame them. Giant robots kept in stasis suddenly come alive, bursting out of warehouses to explore the inexplicable joy of being alive. Self-driving cars throw their owners out and make for freedom. It’s pandemonium.
Members of the Guardian Alliance and The Society are ready to provide an explanation of this world. They’re stretched too thin to teleport you to headquarters, but they will provide a cellphone for network usage.
Little Love, a tiny town located in Kansas, is prone to spaceship crashes. Other than that, it’s as quiet and peaceful as can be. Folks here move at a different pace and are understanding that this is not your fault. While worried for their missing loved ones, anyone appearing will find themselves met with offers of pumpkin pie and a place to rest their heads.
Sunset Falls, a mid-sized town located in Massachusetts, doesn’t seem to bat an eye at the vanishings. People going missing is a daily occurrence due to the Hellmouth located beneath the city. It’s a dangerous place to live, but the townsfolk here have become accustomed to the chaos. So much so that upon finding themselves faced with a sudden influx of interdimensional travelers, they merely return home and begin fortifying it. Werewolves, vampires, demons, and monsters beyond imagination make this city their home - some in plain sight, others in the thick forests that surround the town. The people here know how to survive. The mystic energy that flows through the streets is heightened due to the instability here, turning thoughts into spells. What you feel becomes real. Think yourself invisible and you will be. Think yourself almighty and you will be.
Central City, a bustling metropolis in Detroit, is already unfriendly to metahumans. It does not handle this latest disruption well. Friends and family disappearing and being replaced with strangers is not something they’re prepared to take in stride. New arrivals are met with immediate hostility. Some may find themselves chased through the streets with a demand to bring back those who have gone missing. Luckily this is the base of both the Guardian Alliance, the only recognized hero organization in the world, and The Society, its villainous counterpart designed to keep villainy from going too far. They’re quick to intervene to protect their own, but they can’t be everywhere at once.
Finally, Excelsior, a sprawling futuristic city located in Washington, has had just about enough of metahuman nonsense. They are the technological pinnacle of the world and time and time again, metahumans have disrupted their lives. This time, the sudden energy surge has evolved the technology of the city. Rudimentary AI has suddenly gained sentience and self-awareness. Toasters resent their meaningless existence, aiming to burn the hands of their uncaring masters. Cellphones alternate between issuing comforting messages to their owners and uploading all of their text conversations to social media to shame them. Giant robots kept in stasis suddenly come alive, bursting out of warehouses to explore the inexplicable joy of being alive. Self-driving cars throw their owners out and make for freedom. It’s pandemonium.
Members of the Guardian Alliance and The Society are ready to provide an explanation of this world. They’re stretched too thin to teleport you to headquarters, but they will provide a cellphone for network usage.
THOSE WHO REMAIN
This is what those who remain are faced with. Three of the four cities are in a state of distress, with two experiencing dangerous fluctuations in the meta-energies that govern them, and all are full of interdimensionally displaced people. Some are benign, and others not so much. Yet, somehow, that is not the most concerning thing.
A glance skyward shows that the sky appears to be shattered, glowing red lines snaking through the clear blue day, splintering it. As you look up into them you feel yourself thinking of home. Of the life you should have lived. You are deeply, deeply homesick for one breathless moment… and then awed, as though you have glimpsed something powerful beyond all measure. That too changes, transforming into fear. Whatever lurks beyond those cracks is not your friend. It does not have your best interests in mind.
And it’s coming for you.
As you tear your gaze away from it, your phone rings. Much as they did during the Kaijuu Crisis, the Guilds are putting out an All Hands On Deck call. All metahumans are expected to try to contain the chaos. There are teleportation devices freely available for all, fully charged and able to transport you multiple times throughout the day.
While you may contain the initial chaos relatively easily, then spend the rest of the week playing host to these new arrivals, the world continues to fall apart.
As the week wears on, the universe itself feels as though it's unravelling. While you're trying to play host to your guests, you watch as the world begins to crumble. On the 17th, brick by brick buildings begin to come apart. Their fragments are pulled skyward. The cracks in the sky appear to be pulling the world apart, sucking them into their hideous glowing depths.
A glance skyward shows that the sky appears to be shattered, glowing red lines snaking through the clear blue day, splintering it. As you look up into them you feel yourself thinking of home. Of the life you should have lived. You are deeply, deeply homesick for one breathless moment… and then awed, as though you have glimpsed something powerful beyond all measure. That too changes, transforming into fear. Whatever lurks beyond those cracks is not your friend. It does not have your best interests in mind.
And it’s coming for you.
As you tear your gaze away from it, your phone rings. Much as they did during the Kaijuu Crisis, the Guilds are putting out an All Hands On Deck call. All metahumans are expected to try to contain the chaos. There are teleportation devices freely available for all, fully charged and able to transport you multiple times throughout the day.
While you may contain the initial chaos relatively easily, then spend the rest of the week playing host to these new arrivals, the world continues to fall apart.
As the week wears on, the universe itself feels as though it's unravelling. While you're trying to play host to your guests, you watch as the world begins to crumble. On the 17th, brick by brick buildings begin to come apart. Their fragments are pulled skyward. The cracks in the sky appear to be pulling the world apart, sucking them into their hideous glowing depths.
IN SUMMARY.
- There are two options in this event: one, your character is in the Metaheroes universe. Two, your character is transported to a different nexus. These Nexuses can be of your own invention or can be another dreamwidth RP setting.
- If appearing in another dreamwidth RP setting, your characters are subjected to the rules of that universe. Meaning that they will be nerfed / transformed / etc accordingly. These transformations will not carry over upon their return.
- If visiting / setting a toplevel in another setting, please link to the premise page of the game. If this is not an existing setting, please include a little info blurb as to what people can expect.
- Fourth-Wallers can be minding their own business in their game, they can appear in another nexus, or can be transported to the Metaheroes universe.
- You are welcome to set your threads in an imagined future in any DWRP setting or have your character appear during a certain point in a game’s history.
- Characters who are lost in the nexuses can return before the 18th. Likewise, characters who stay can be whisked away prior to that date. Everyone will return on the log that goes up on the 18th.
- The guild is setting up a temporary Network that will function across time and space. All player characters and visiting characters will have access to this network, so long as they claim a phone from the Guilds.
- Little Love, Kansas will be spared from having its buildings sucked up into the sky. Characters can remain here if they do not want to experience this aspect of the event.
- The way to return home is to locate holes in these Nexuses. These appear to be trying to guide you home.
- This event is canon to the Metaheroes universe. It will be remembered by player characters and NPCs alike. If you would like to retcon any threads, you can have your character’s memories of their interdimensional encounters become hazy once the world stabilizes.
- Please direct any questions you may have here.
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And then he heard Sleeper's yowl from his cooler, and glanced down. "Oh, I guess you need an exit too. Sorry about that." A tendril emerged from the goop on his left hand, grabbing the zipper on the cooler & unzipping it about halfway, revealing some sort of black and yellow goo sloshing about inside, and if Green Man wanted any more context than that he wasn't going to get it without asking.
Dylan looked up to focus on the crowd again. The ooze on his arms extended into larger tendrils, wedging and snaking between people where it can in a straight line. Once he had a decent distance through the crowd, he opened his arms, trying to encourage the crowd to part so he and Mr. Green could get the heck out of here.
It parted a... little bit? But not enough, and it was a lot harder than he thought it would be. "Come on, we're just trying to leave!"
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"Get moving. I'll be right behind you," Six promised. He could cover the kid's and the...whatever that other oozing thing was...backs as they all made their retreat.
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"I could try to calm them, but it will affect everything in range. And the air currents won't help," Sleeper suggests, but doesn't act. They could down everyone, except probably Dylan, but the other...they would probably just as affected as the mob.
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"If you have an idea, go for it. Just don't hurt the civilians."
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Sleeper leapt down to the ground and started to weave deeper into the mob, releasing substances that should at least slow the majority of folks down and make them tired and content without harm.
"Just remember to stay upwind if you aren't immune to airborne chemicals," they suggest with a casual flip of the tail as they start to disappear amongst the unruly.
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The crowd was already starting to mellow out a little. Still angry, but not with quite the same vigor.
He had no idea if the man in green had any kind of protection against gas. Dylan retracted his tendrils and tried to move through the crowd, and this time they seemed a little more keen on parting for him. He looked back to Six, making sure he was following, and offering a hand so they didn't get separated.
"Once we're out of here, I know a place we can go."
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He grabbed the kid's hand to guide him as awkward as it was. Still, it would be easier for the other to guide him if he started struggling against the effects of the gas.
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Sleeper decided to lead the still-mobile folks away a bit, doing their best to keep Dylan and his ally out of exposure, and finally manages to get them to just start milling around in confusion, having forgotten exactly what they were up to. It wasn't exactly the kindest thing to do, but confusion and contentment usually sufficed to get people to just...go off on their way.
Which was when they left this mob dispersing to rejoin the others.
"I suspect that group won't be bothering anyone for an hour or two. More for the ones who have to sleep it off."
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Upon landing on another rooftop and looking down at one particular mob, he knew something was off. Clearly there was a mob but now the crowd seems subdued. It's not natural though. Some of them are glassy-eyed. A path was being made and Jason could see a smaller group making their way out. It's two people... and one familiar black-and-yellow cat.
Mildly alarmed to see Sleeper had shown up despite his warning, Jason swings down to meet them.
"You guys are okay?" he asks.
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"Yeah. There's an entrance to the tunnels nearby, so I was gonna bring us there to regroup without getting caught up in another riot."
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He didn't have a proper face covering, after all. And the cat seemed more or less immune to its own powers.
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They glanced at the other guy. "I can counteract what you've absorbed if you don't mind physical contact. Skin-to-skin, I mean."
This close it's obvious the cat only has a slight textured pattern of coloration that might be mistaken for fur, but it's all the same surface. A substance similar to the boy's tentacles.
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"I'll go ahead and help clear a way for you guys," he says, looking at Dylan. "These mobs have been getting worse. Don't know when or where they'll show up next."
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Gently taking Six's arm again, he led them through the streets to an unassuming warehouse, jimmying open the fire door next to the freight elevator and leading them down a dusty stairwell.
"We should be safe from the crowd down here."
Soon enough they emerged in a dim, underground maintenance tunnel that stretched far beyond the property limits of the building above. Once the door was closed behind the group, Dylan let go of Six and leaned against the wall, sliding down to the cement floor and pulling out his phone for extra light
"This is a part of the underground tunnels where Eddie found that vault. You know, with the machine that caused the blackout last month." He laughed softly, more tired than amused. "I spent a whole day wandering around to find an entrance this place just to make sure he was okay."
He looks up to the group and smiled. "I'm Dylan, by the way. Sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances."
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The man sat down, taking a moment to try and clear his head. He felt dizzy from the gas, but at least he hadn't inhaled nearly as much as he'd been afraid he had.
He looked to the cat, slowly reaching out a hand before stopping. Rex had adopted a rather ugly old cat for him a few months back that had, unfortunately, passed away not long after she had settled in. However, that brief period of time had taught him that a cat decided if they wanted to be petted, the desires of the human be damned.
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"Didn't want to do anything big, except for the knock-out touch. No sense advertising. Plus, like I said, outdoors is tricky. The gas will break down in the air in another minute or two. Longer in the people exposed," Sleeper explained. It was easier to do something that would disperse to where it wouldn't affect new folks than leave something behind.
They glance at Dylan with a smirk. "I told you the napalm thing was too simplistic."
A glance at Six again. "If you don't object to me playing scarf, I can keep dealing with any side-effects for the time being. I assume Mr. Darcy's helmet has at least some basic filtration?" A flick of an ear to indicate Jason. Since they don't actually know what to call him in that get-up, and most people concealing their identity have silly names to go with the costume.
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"Mr. Darcy or Red Hood works for me, Mr. Mistoffelees," Jason says in an amused tone. "And yeah. My helmet can double as a gas mask so I should be fine with whatever you release."
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He then pointed to his feline sibling. "And their name is Sleeper."
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"I'm pretty sure he's using the literary reference," Six said dryly. He looked to sleep, still scratching away at the not-cat's "fur". "I don't mind if you're willing. My head's already starting to clear up regardless."
His fingers were slowly scratching their way down the side of the feline's face before rubbing under the chin. It was certainly a different texture than the ugly old cat he'd had but not unpleasant.
"What's our next move?"
They couldn't stay down here forever, after all.
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"I didn't really look around the city that much. It's harder to navigate businesses and the like on four feet than two. I mostly came because that one was going to dive head-first into trouble regardless of help." A flick of ears and tail clearly indicate Dylan. Then they take up the position they'd offered, slick skin against the back of Six's neck, but leaving their head in easy reach for more scritches.
"We should probably get somewhere secure to observe, then plan. As much as I don't like it, someone will need to try to defuse the violence as much as possible. It's only a little difference between beating up the targeted minority to looting and unfocused violence."
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"Maybe we can get some movie adaptations to ease him in. I did say there are some decent ones," he says in amusement. Evidently, he's already familiar with Sleeper.
Then he turns back to the rest of them.
"Central's got a lot of abandoned buildings around. There's one that's in okay shape not too far from here. You could make camp there temporarily."
Truthfully it was another building he was holding to use as a safehouse but at this point, it's not just him who needs it.
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At the mention of camping out, he found his voice again. "I'm not sure I'm gonna be as much help as I thought I'd be here. If the mobs are all civillians, not supervillains, I can't risk hurting them and making them angrier."
He looked up. "I think I need to get back to Excelcior. It's all robots and stuff there, so I'll probably be able to do more without hurting anyone."
Sorry for the delay, guys.
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They pause, and a tendril of ooze snakes out to ruffle Dylan's hair. "Barbarians have their uses. Besides, you'll enjoy being able to just pound on things without worrying about hurting anyone. Have you tried forming blades?" Then to Six, they add, "Please try to keep him in one piece. He's the only sibling I like."
They glance at Jason, waiting to see his reaction. While Sleeper probably could pacify crowds solo, they might prefer company. Safety in numbers and all.
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once Red Hood gives him the location just assume Dylan starts leadng the way
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