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

JAKE ENGLISH | HOMESTUCK

[pageunwritten]

[ Strapping young vigilante Jake English -- no, Golgotha -- is...

...hooting and hollering as he rides a stegosaurus.

But he looks damn stylish as he does. ]

Re: JAKE ENGLISH | HOMESTUCK

[metabee]

[Metabee had managed to get himself a nice spot on a nearby rooftop where he has been firing lasers at the dinosaurs. Unfortunately the small rounds didn't seem to be doing much from this distance besides irritating them, and he was pretty sure firing heat seeking missiles at cold blooded reptiles was a bad idea.

And of course some guy had to be riding them and blocking his shots. He leaned over the edge of the wall, shaking his fist.]

YO, do you mind? How am I supposed to shoot these dinosaurs if you are in the way , dude?

[pageunwritten]

Woo-hoo!

[ Wait, someone is yelling. Jake's super-ears perk up and he looks up at the rooftop. HIS EYES GO WIDE AND HE GASPS. ]

You shouldn't be shooting them at all, you scoundrel!

[metabee]

[He clambered up onto the ledge of the building to get a better view of the guy in the skeleton costume. This did nothing to diminish the fact that he is pretty dang small, and probably only emphasized it. He'd has to stop shooting in order to continue his irritated arm waving, which probably left him pretty vulnerable.]

Well what am I supposed to do, man? They said 'Stop the dinosaurs,' and I don't know about you, but I didn't really plan on getting squashed by a giant lizard today!

[pageunwritten]

[ Jake releases his mighty steed to fly on up to the ledge where Metabee is standing. He puts his hands on his hips all hero-like. ]

Stop them? They're harming no one!

[ He says as a brontosaurus steps on a car. ]

[metabee]

Man, you might need to get your eyes checked.

[The crunch of metal from the smashed car was pretty audible from up there, which was pretty unnerving considering. Metabee jumped back onto the rooftop where he was less likely to fall into the fray.]

They just need to stay near this portal thing, ok dude? I am guessing from the funky getup that you're a superhero, right? So either help out or get out of the way.

[pageunwritten]

[ Funky?? His getup is the coolest ever. :I ]

You're the one who needs to help or get out of the way, buster. No more shooting, got it?

[metabee]

You have a better idea, wise guy? I don't know about you, but I can't exactly go toe to toe with a stegosaurus.

[tallyhope]

You could try being nice to them.

Re: JAKE ENGLISH | HOMESTUCK

[nothinbut_therain]

[Starbuck sees what Jake is doing and likes his style. She's been hearing everyone call these other dinosaurs "raptors," and, well, she sure as hell knew how to fly some sort of raptor, if not the animal sort.]

[She gets up on the balcony of the fourth story of some apartment building, and tries to pick out the biggest flying thing. She climbs on top of the railing, and gets ready to jump onto her chosen target. Hopefully it can hold her weight.]

[This isn't the worst idea Starbuck's ever had. But boy is it up there.]

[pageunwritten]

[ Today is the best day of Jake's life.

He hops from the stegosaurus to a t-rex, which is none too pleased to have a rider. It starts thrashing about. ]

Whoa, nelly.

[ He might need some help here. ]

[nothinbut_therain]

[Starbuck -- miraculously, thank the Lords, glory halleluiah -- lands on the back of a raptor. Equally miraculously, it does not plummet to the ground. She hollers in excitement as the wind rushes past her. Nothin like a little stunt flying to clear your mind. ]

Okay, [she mutters to herself.] Now how do I make you go?

[Starbuck figures out pretty quickly that she can nudge the raptor along with her knees, and grab its neck to steer. It seems willing to oblige her, if only out of shock that some strange creature jumped onto its back out of nowhere.]

[And just in time, too. She sees Jake struggle with the huge dinosaur, and manhandles the raptor his way.]

Hey kid! Need a hand?

[pageunwritten]

[ !!! Someone else riding a dinosaur! Sweet. Today is the coolest day ever.

He wraps his arms around the t-rex's neck, managing to keep his grip light enough so as not to strangle it. ]

Er... I do seem to be experiencing technical difficulties. This little guy doesn't quite want to listen, I don't think.

[nothinbut_therain]

[Starbuck manages a fumbling sort of orbit around Jake's dino nemesis.]

Ohhkay. So there's no way you're gonna fit on here with me.

[She gets close enough to the t-rex to catch its attention, and, suddenly, has a terrible plan-like object in mind.]

Right! I'm going to lure it over to one of those buildings over there, and you jump on the roof. Sound good?

[tallyhope]

Oh, er. Well, I can fly, it's just-- whoa, there! [ He clings more tightly as it thrashes around.

He really wants to ride it :( ]

Re: JAKE ENGLISH | HOMESTUCK

[sick_heartbeats]

[Dirk has been searching for something interesting since he got here - or more accurately, since "here" is "a crowd of superheroes fighting dinosaurs", trying to decide between a number of interesting things - and when he sees someone riding a stegosaurus he thinks he's found it.

But now that he's gotten closer, that someone also looks familiar.]

Jake? Oh my god.

[He cracks a grin and continues heading in Jake's direction.]

[tallyhope]

[ omg, Dirk, you're not supposed to say his real name! YOU COULD OUT HIM!

Good thing Jake didn't hear you.

He does, however, see Dirk as he gets closer. His eyes widen and he waves frantically. ]

Ahoy there! Climb on up, the weather's fine!

[sick_heartbeats]

[Dirk doesn't really care about all that secret identity bullshit. He's sure Jake will soon realize there's nothing to worry about. No one cares about a couple of small-time vigilantes like them, and anyways, anyone who does could track them down easily regardless of how loud Dirk does or does not say Jake's name when he's running around in that ridiculous skeleton getup. Are those bones glow-in-the-dark? Seriously.

Dirk climbs up on the stegosaurus, flashstepping to avoid disturbing it too much. It groans and shifts around anyways. Poor dude does not look happy.

Dirk turns to Jake.] You know this thing's gonna throw us, right?

[tallyhope]

How could you accuse Stanislaus of such a thing?

[ Jake leans forward to pat the dino's head. ]

[sick_heartbeats]

[Dirk shrugs.]

Just trying to warn you. Don't come crying to me when it goes on a terrified rampage and you're too unconscious to stop some well meaning superdick from vaporizing it.

[Ouch, Dirk. Cold.]

[tallyhope]

[ Jake FROWNS and pets Stanislaus's cheek. Stanislaus is actually being very calm, wandering around and munching on leaves off of trees. ]

Please, Timaeus. I've been at this superheroing thing since long before you were born! [ He's never going to get tired of that joke. ] I believe I know what I'm doing.

[sick_heartbeats]

[Dirk rolls his eyes at the joke, which he has heard way too many times by now.]

Yeah, okay. I guess we'll all survive if you dino-whisper him into accepting me as a herd member or whatever.

[He scoots closer to Jake.] So are you keeping him? I need to know before I go out and catch a raptor. Don't think they'd get along.

[tallyhope]

Hmm. [ Completely oblivious to any scooting Dirk may or may not be doing, Jake rubs his chin in DEEP CONTEMPLATION. ] While I would certainly enjoy having a pet around the house, I doubt he would fit in our apartment. And from what I've seen in the movies and whatnot such an arrangement is doomed to end in a tragic separation of one sort or another.

Which means we probably couldn't keep a raptor, either.

[sick_heartbeats]

True. A raptor would probably also eat Maplehoof. Can't have that.

Guess we gotta give him back eventually. Might as well have some fun before then though. How fast can this thing run?

Re: JAKE ENGLISH | HOMESTUCK

[halfa_hero]

[Danny was in the middle of creating ice-walls, trying to keep the dinosaurs contained or guiding them back towards the portal, when he spotted Jake.]

Dude, what the heck are you doing?