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TEST DRIVE MEME #0

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.

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[While others deal with some of the larger beasts, something a bit more unpredictable has caught the Mockingjay's attention: namely a small back of raptors that have made their way into a residential area. She arrives on mechanical wing, but proceeds on foot. At least with creatures this size she can actually use her skills.]

[The appearances of the creatures frighten her. They are far too reminiscent of mutts, and at first that is what she had assumed they were. It wasn't until one of the other Trailblazers had told her they were dinosaurs that she knew they were actually native creatures of a former earth.]

[Needless to say, dinosaurs were not on the list of district priorities when it came to things to learn about. Thinking about things from that far in the past is dizzying.]

[Folding her mockingjay wings behind her, Katniss crouches low behind someone's car, and just listens, her bow at the ready. She's not sure where they are, but she'll find out soon enough.]

[Seemingly out of nowhere, the young superhero-in-training appears beside her fellow Trailblazer. She doesn't think she's supposed to be out in the field yet, given her inexperience, but she couldn't resist when she heard there were dinosaurs. Maybe she can subdue one and ride it to look awesome. She's sure that would convince the rest of the Trailblazers to start taking her on missions.]

Hey, what's the plan? [Cynthia keeps her voice low. The raptors may not be as large as some other dinosaurs, but that doesn't mean they're any less dangerous. She doesn't get to see this kind of danger up close most of the time, so it's pretty exciting. She just hopes they don't bite anybody.]

[Katniss definitely hears her arrives, even if the path is sort of unclear. Her attention is on the lawns up ahead, though, and not the trainee behind her. She's tense, and for the moment following the question, she doesn't speak.]

[Suddenly, she stands, her bow taut with an arrow. She lets it loose just as a raptor comes racing out from behind a parked RV, and pegs it right in the reptilian eye. A moment after the dinosaur drops, it explodes.]

That. [Her voice is a little nervous. She wasn't sure if it would be that easy, though she's not disappointed.] That's the plan.

[Cynthia gives an excited little clap. There's nothing like seeing a dinosaur explode after a shot to the eye.] Great shot! All of your shots are great, though, so that probably doesn't mean too much. ...Still!

[She looks around a bit, searching for more raptors to take down. She can't see any of them from this position, so she ascends into the air. When she's high enough to get a good view of the surrounding area, she spots a raptor entering someone's backyard. That's not good.]

[Swooping back down to where Katniss stands, she points in the direction of the raptor she saw.] There's one over there, in the backyard of the second white house. Should I lure it out so you can shoot it? [Cynthia sounds pretty excited about that possibility.]

...Thanks. [If it seems like she's being awkward while saying that, it's because she is. She doesn't make friendly conversation well.]

[She moves from behind her cover, sticking to the ground for the moment. At Cynthia's warning, she crouches next to a garbage can.]

Alright. Just make sure none of the civilians get involved.

[She salutes her teammate and flies toward the house. On her honor as a hero, there's no way she'll allow any civilian to come to harm!

The raptor is still roaming the backyard when Cynthia gets to the house. It hasn't noticed her yet. Shouting at it might draw the attention of other raptors in the area, and that could be a bit too dangerous, so she descends and picks up a rock. She rises to her previous altitude, above where she thinks a raptor can reach, and she throws the rock right at the raptor's head.

With a sharp crack, the rock makes contact. The raptor whips around and rushes toward where Cynthia is. It doesn't seem to have quite recovered from the hit, because it stumbles somewhat as it runs. It tries to jump up to bite at Cynthia, but she's just barely out of its reach.]

Perfect! Sorry, dino-friend, but we can't let you hurt anyone. [Cynthia starts to move backwards in the air so that the raptor will follow her into Katniss' sights. When she brings the dinosaur into the open, she signals Katniss with a big smile and a thumbs-up.]

[Katniss doesn't really seem to acknowledge the thumbs up. Her expression stays neutral as she effortlessly lets another arrow fly, just as the raptor is bounding into the air.]

[It catches the beast through the neck and sends it flipping over someone's car, leaving a path of warm raptor blood. Someone is going to hate dealing with that, later.]

Eugh. [Cynthia grimaces at the blood. This raptor-control has to be done, but it's still pretty gross.]

[She flies within speaking distance of Katniss. It's eerily quiet around them. Hopefully everyone's inside, where they'll be...safer.] Hey, do you know how many of these guys there are?

[Katniss starts walking forward, carefully listening whilst thinking of an answer to Cynthia's question. She frowns a little more deeply.]

I saw an entire pack from the air. These ones must have been stragglers.

[She definitely has her bow at the ready, in any case.]

Edited 2014-01-19 18:38 (UTC)

[katniss you surely needed another overly serious boy with dark hair and grey eyes in your life rite

this one is, as might be expected, awkwardly staring at her, but he's honestly just wishing he had a bow. his claws are too brittle to be much use right now.]

[Katniss is crouched down low, waiting for a shot to open up. Jon's awkward staring doesn't go unnoticed, though. She glances at him, and then glances again a moment later when she realizes it hasn't stopped.]

What?

Sorry.

[jon looks down momentarily, embarrassed to be caught spacing out on a mission.]

You need cover?

[he immediately regrets this as he is still searching for a suitable weapon, but at the very least he makes a good meat shield.]

[She also seems to be wondering what he's intending on doing exactly, but after a moment of hesitation she gently shakes her head.]

Just keep an eye out. If you see anything I don't, let me know.

All right.

[the offer was to punch dinosaurs, not to stand around doing nothing, which is a lot harder. he's pretty sure she'd be better off finding higher ground, maybe shooting them from rooftops. that's what he'd do if he had a bow. at least he can stand in front of the cars--maybe he can lure the dinosaurs into position? he saunters over a little ways ahead, growing himself a fresh set of claws as he does so.]

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