TEST DRIVE MEME #0

[capitalm]

A TIME VORTEX has opened in downtown LA! Some magic folks have been contacted to close it, but they haven't gotten here fast enough for the vortex not to spill out a HECK TON OF DINOSAURS – all kinds of dinosaurs of all kinds of sizes. There are theoretically gentle herbivores among the fierce predators, but they are all pretty pissed off about their sudden, startling relocation, and a lot of them have spikes.

(The vortex is both temporally and spatially unstable, which is why the dinosaurs emerging onto the streets of LA are constrained neither by specific prehistorical era nor geographical location.)

What you do is up to you. Here are some suggestions, though:

Fight some dinosaurs. You might be trying to herd them back to the vortex, or just trying to stop them by any means possible.

Flee or hide. If you're lucky the dinosaurs won't work out how to open doors and you can spend your entire thread hiding behind the bar in a Starbucks with some other hapless civilians without having to confront any of them.

Try to capture the dinosaurs on camera. If you can get some really good photos you might be able to sell them to the local paper in order to supplement your elderly aunt's meagre income. Or just use them to get a bunch of notes on Tumblr, either way.

Take advantage of the chaos to do crime. The forces of law enforcement are preoccupied with all these prehistoric reptiles.

Or pretty much anything else you think your character might be doing. Any location in LA is game, although there's no real need to meticulously look them up – you can just assume a generic street, rooftop, store, etc. (You don't have to look up the dinosaurs, either.)

If you have a character who you'd like to assume is part of a team, but that team hasn't been named or brainstormed OOC yet or anything, feel free to indicate in your opening post that you're assuming your character is operating alongside others and encourage others to tag in as if they are part of the same team! Or just handwave it and assume they got caught without their usual teammates or separated from them. Whatever way works best for you.

Events from this test drive are not automatically assumed game canon, but individual threads can be if you and the people who you thread with end up mutually wanting to keep them.

Comments

MILLY | BATEN KAITOS

[bombsheltered]

[ Milly is flying around as Starbreaker, her super hero alter ego, in her SWEET AS HECK SUPERHERO OUTFIT. A post-high school TEEN SUPERHERO, she is basically a Flying Brick but also secretly a cyborg. She is generally amiable to teaming up, so feel free to handwave that right in. Otherwise she'll be off punching dinosaurs right in the face, swooping in to save defenseless civilians. And she is doing it with gusto. ]

[usedhammerarm]

Do I look defenseless to you?

[the 13-sweep-old Alternian who'd suddenly found herself knee-deep in reptile bird things (she didn't know what they were called specifically) glared upward at the flying superhero who was, apparently, attempting to save her. she produced a small orange ball and threw it on the ground, and with a tiny explosion a gaudy, red-and-white hammer suddenly appeared in her hands.]

Are you strong enough to carry me or do I have to bounce things at them from the ground?

[bombsheltered]

[ Ugh, talk about ungrateful!! Some people just can't be helped. Milly gives Amanda a huffy look, twirling around in midair to face her. ]

HEY! I'm the one risking my butt out here to help you! I don't see you doing anything useful! And -- and what do I look like to you, a pack mule?!

[usedhammerarm]

I was just getting bread! [Amanda sighs and rolls her hammer lazily in her hand.] I should have stayed in Japan. Giant dinosaur attacks are made-up there.

[and she very suddenly pulls out another orange ball and slams it against a nearby wall with that same hammer. a skateboard with a poorly painted heart-shaped symbol pops out; she gets on.]

I'm already sucked into this. Let's fight already!

[bombsheltered]

Call me crazy, but if we have them in LA, they probably have them over there.

[ Eyeroollll. Whatever, she totally doesn't have time for this! It's time to get back into butt-kicking gear. Milly glances at Amanda and her skateboard, raising an eyebrow. ]

Was that a request for a team-up? Please tell me that little skateboard of yours has jets or something.

[usedhammerarm]

Of course it does. I wouldn't get anywhere without it.

[she kicks her heel on the side and a set of four wings pops out, two on either side. it looks like a dragonfly, almost, especially when they all start fluttering and she begins hovering.]

Are we defending people who actually can't defend themselves or do I have to do this myself?

[bombsheltered]

[ oh god Milly really would have preferred the skateboard to have jets. The insectoid wings are a little weird, okay. ]

Please! I'm a professional, here. I only went to your rescue because you were looking so helpless down there! Some people just don't know how to say thank you. But hey, you do what you were born to, gratitude or no!

Re: MILLY | BATEN KAITOS

[reluctantproxy]

[Neku literally cannot believe what he is seeing. He's honestly not even convinced that he's not having some sort of hallucinatory episode from all the emotional feedback washing around him, what with the rampaging dinosaurs and the swarms of costumed idiots zooming around above and cartwheeling all over the sidwalks. Whatever. Near as he can tell no one else is actually in any mortal danger, so it's not his problem--]

"Mew!!"

[wait is that a lost kitten. in the middle of the road.]

[and is that a pteranodon eyeballing it, getting ready to swoop down on it from above?]

[With an audibly exasperated groan he moves to pull the kitten towards him, to safety-- and somehow manages to fling the pteranodon directly at Milly instead. Shit.]

[bombsheltered]

[ Milly is already busy punching other dinosaurs in the face, and she totally does not see that pteranodon coming. It slams into her from behind at an awkward angle, throwing Milly way off her trajectory, and with a frustrated and surprised squeal she practically somersaults through the air as the pteranodon flaps desperately, smacking her with its wings. ]

Augh! ARGH!! Get this thing away from me! God, I hate birds! And lizards! Bird lizards are even worse!!

[ She aims a haughty kick at the pteranodon, catches it in the face, and sends it spinning in the other direction. With a huff, she swoops down to hover in front of Neku, hands on hips. ]

HEY! What's the big idea, throwing dinosaurs at me?! I'm one of the good guys here!

[reluctantproxy]

[GEEZ this girl is shrill. Any apologetic sentiment that Neku had managed to build up for accidentally flinging a flying reptile at her is instantly thrown out the window and replaced with an intense irritation.]

"Hey BACK OFF, it was an accident OK? You're not hurt right? So no harm done! So why don't you just shove off and go back to playing hero?"

[Honestly, this kind of overreaction is why he hates people]

[bombsheltered]

Maybe I wasn't hurt, but I seriously could have been! Or what if it was someone else? If you're going to be a hero, you have to watch what you're doing!

[ Aaand while she's yelling, a rather large, formidable looking dinosaur is coming up behind her. ]

[reluctantproxy]

[He doesn't quite notice it a first either, and growling angrily he spits out a retort]

Screw you, who ever said that I was trying to be a hero?! I was just trying to get out of the damn area when... you... uh--

[Neku doesn't have the slightest idea what the hell that is, but he DOES know that it's toothy, aggressive looking, and probably too big to lift]

Wh-- watch it!!

[Making a split second decision, he launches forward and tackles her to the ground, landing between the dinosaurs feet as it strikes forward, jaws snapping on thin air]

[bombsheltered]

[ Milly lets out an undignified yelp as Neku tackles her to the ground, and she pushes him off -- pretty easily, at that -- and springs to her feet with an indignant huff. ]

First you throw a dinosaur bird at me, and then you knock me right out of the air! What is your deal -- eek!

[ The dinosaur behind her swipes, missing narrowly, but oh god oh god Milly can feel its creepy gross dinosaur breath. She spins around, launches herself into the air to avoid another grasping claw. ]

Oh, no you don't! Ugh! I have had it with these things!!

[ Milly shoots forward and punches the dinosaur RIGHT on its stupid nose. And hard, at that. She does pack one hell of a punch. ]

Arrgh! Take THAT!

Re: MILLY | BATEN KAITOS

[hangedmagician]

[Teamwork with a pretty girl? Doesn't get much better than that as far as Junpei's concerned. He's hurling explosive blasts at the dinosaurs with abandon, making sure they're covered from both high and low, trying to stop them spreading out as much as actually causing damage.

His own viewpoint's going to allow him to see things she can't, too...]

Got a big one flying in behind you! Watch your back!

[bombsheltered]

[ Milly hears the warning come from off to the side and she whirls around in midair immediately, delivering a spinning kick to the dinosaur with a triumphant yell, following up with a no-holds-barred bare-knuckled punch. It plummets to the ground with a weak cry, and she pumps her fist. ]

Ha! That'll show you for stomping around my city! Thanks for the heads up, by the way --

[ She turns to where the voice came from and nearly pulls herself up short. Oh, god, nobody told her he was cute. ]

Oh!

[hangedmagician]

My pleasure!

[He gives a grin as she looks over at him - but her reaction catches him off guard, too. Aw, man - has he messed things up again already? Of course not. But just in case...]

Hey, something up? Don't tell me I've got a T-Rex behind me or something...

[bombsheltered]

[ Oh no he's even cuter when he smiles. Is she blushing? She is totally blushing. Milly covers her mouth with her hand and coughs loudly. Play it cool, Milly. PLAY IT COOL. ]

Wh -- oh, no! No, not anything like -- HEY! What did I tell you?!

[ The dinosaur she'd just punched into submission has come flying back up for some kind of revenge, but she punches it right back in its stupid face, and it falls down for good. Now where was she? Oh, yes. Trying not to make an ass out of herself in front of cute boys. She swoops down a little closer, hands clasped behind her back as she hovers in front of him. ]

Um -- thanks for the assist, back there. I'm Starbreaker, by the way.

[hangedmagician]

[Oh, he is not letting this chance slip by, even if it is in the middle of a prehistoric battlefield. Smiling slyly, he heads straight for cheesy line central -]

A beautiful name for a beautiful lady. I'm Hermes.

[bombsheltered]

[ WOW JUNPEI WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO BE SO CUTE

Unfortunately (for Milly), cheesy lines work like magic on her. Her face goes totally pink, and she flounders for a moment. What does she even say to a perfect line like that?! ]

Oh -- um -- [ she laughs, clearly a little flustered. ] Thank you, Hermes. You know, it's not that often I have people saving me, so...I appreciate it. That was some pretty good teamwork.

[hellacold]

[it's not that jon doesn't enjoy being scooped up by cute girls, but as he is not actually incapacitated, this will only end in embarrassment for both of them. it'd be best for everyone to get it out of the way now.]

You can put me down. I have a healing factor.

[he wipes the blood out of his eyes with his stupid bandana mask.]

[bombsheltered]

Huh? Oh, sure thing!

[ Milly alights neatly on top of a minivan, taking a few neat hops onto the sidewalk and ducking into an alley, far enough out of harm's way to set Jon down. She passes a hand over her forehead, letting out a jubilant little sigh. ]

Whew! That was a close one, though, wasn't it? Are you sure you're all right?

[hellacold]

[jon rights himself with as much dignity as he can manage and dusts himself off, casually fluffing up his hair.]

I'm fine.

[he smiles wryly--most of the nuances are lost through the mask.]

You seem like you're having fun.

[bombsheltered]

[ She dusts her hands off almost primly, beaming. ]

Hey, you have to love what you do, right? Besides, a little butt-kicking is always a good way to de-stress after a long week. What, don't you like the heroics and all?

[hellacold]

[he raises an eyebrow.]

I like them better when I'm doing the butt-kicking.

[bombsheltered]

[ Milly looks just a little embarrassed, but she recovers quickly enough, letting out a laugh. ]

Sounds like you want to get right back in the action. What do you say to a team-up?

[ She grins, extending a hand. ]

The name's Starbreaker.