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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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[ 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. ]

[Kit doesn't need to get close to the dinosaurs to get great pictures of them, she just has to technopathically steal the pictures from the phones of people who are stupid enough to get close. She's totally holed up in a coffee shop with about a dozen other terrified citizens, sitting cross legged on the bar and posting the best photos to an anonymous twitter account with her brain, looking remarkably relaxed considering what's going on outside.]

[Sun Wukong is having some wild fun riding the dinosaurs and flying amongst the chaos. He doesn't really like reptiles as a rule, but he likes pandemonium and destruction so it's pretty great. They're not demons, though, and seemingly not intelligent enough to converse with, which also means they are not really that fun to play tricks on since they just lumber around most of the time. Then he remembers that he's supposed to be PROTECTING THE CITY FROM HARM, and finds some raptors invading the monkey exhibit at the zoo. He goes and fights the raptors with his staff, pulling out a handful of hair to make copies of himself to fight the multitude.]

[ Neither Baelheit's psychic abilities nor his expertise on cybernetics are much use in a fight, and he'd been unlucky enough to be out and about when DINOSAURS STRUCK. So rather than put himself in harm's way, he's trying to run back to his lab in order to fetch some SCIENCE GADGETS that might be of use. He's definitely no hero, but he's not super keen on watching dinosaurs demolish LA, either. ]

Is it a bird? A plane? No! It's... a... sheepdog?

Ammy is having a delightful time. Yes, the temporal vortex will need to be dealt with, yes, mass havoc is happening, but these aren't demons or forces of evil, just confused animals. Fortunately, animals tend to recognize her godhood, and are almost always friendly.

Meaning, Amaterasu isn't fighting the gigantic animals, confused and upset as they are. She doesn't have to. Instead, she's gently herding them back to the vortex area, occasionally barking to get the animals' attention and interrupt any attacking they might be doing.

So that multi-ton pair of Tyrannosaurus, the small pack of Utahraptors, and the very anxious Triceratops? Perfectly under control. Definitely not anybody's dinosaur army, no matter what it looks like. The fact that they're being herded by what looks like a perfectly normal-looking white dog is nothing to be concerned about.

(At least people with spiritual sight can see that the dog is actually a sun-spirit. However, those people tend to be in short supply...)

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

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

But he looks damn stylish as he does. ]

[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.]

As the dinosaurs run amok, cause carnage, destroy buildings and all that, Miss Flora Poste is perched in nearby a coffee shop--a distance not quite safe. She holds her smartphone up to the window. There will definitely be video. She also posted some tips on Running, and some links to Helpful Media regarding prehistoric megafauna.

"I don't suppose anybody could reason with them," she says calmly, to no one in particular.

Click. Oh, no; that is not a good picture. Perhaps an Instragram filter will save it.

"Excuse me, citizen of Earth? Can I get a word about the events of the day?"

Registering the sounds, the velociraptor turns, slowly, and looks at its prey. The humanoid does not appear to notice, and raises his arm to his face. A number of small square lights on his wrist switch on.

"Space Ghost here, reporting live from downtown L.A., where these citydwellers are having some trouble with transport within the city. Citizen dinosaur, you're new to the area. What is stopping you from getting around?" He offers his wrist to the dinosaur, a small red blinking light on the wristband indicating that recording is in progress.

The dinosaur bites! ...and watches, stunned, as its jaws pass straight through the arm.

"Not going to talk, huh? Well, listen, pal, listen to me. I don't need to know why you're in trouble. I can tell. When you have a bad attitude, no one is going to want to spend time with you on public transportation. And buddy? Your attitude stinks."

The velociraptor doesn't really care about much more than biting.

"Fine. Fine. But don't come crying to me about the death of journalism!"

He blasts the raptor with his wristband, and it falls down, stunned. The area isn't yet completely devoid of hapless civilians, and where there's peril, there's local area niche interest news. Space Ghost stalks off, determined to find someone to interview.

[jon--longclaw--is not having an easy time of it. his claws are sharp, but not especially strong, and his attempts to subdue the more aggressive dinosaurs have mostly resulted in a lot of broken nails and feathers. currently he is scavenging for bits of rebar or loose piping on rodeo drive--not really an area known for its industrial byproducts, but hey, he's new. you can find him if you follow the trail of intermittent bloodstains and claw bits.]

Vanessa Goldpaw, renowned director of the LA-based Goldpaw Technologies, professional science genius, and professional six foot tall leopard woman ever since that science accident, usually doesn't stand around downtown filming supernatural crises on her phone. Usually, at times like this, she is watching things proceed from the safety of her extremely classy office. Usually if she wanted to film dinosaurs she'd send someone else to do it for her. Usually, if she felt compelled to go take a first hand look at what was going on with something like this, she'd have an entourage with her.

However, today she is alone. She isn't so much filming the dinosaurs as filming the various heroes tackling them, but the difference is hard to spot without a pretty keen eye. She doesn't seem as concerned about the fact that she is on the same street as some dinosaurs as, perhaps, she should be. Actually that stegosaurus is getting kind of close. Her phone's flash seems to have made it angry. Perhaps someone should get her out of there.

Edited 2014-01-15 02:56 (UTC)

Karkat was already out when the time vortex happened, across town from the West Coast Trailblazers' base, and his weapons. He is pretty sure he could give a few of these scalebeasts a run for their Earth money if he had his sickles on him, but without them he's pretty much useless.

Fortunately he is also pretty OK at running and hiding, and right now that's what he's doing – keeping his head down as he scuttles sideways from car to car. Any pretence of stealth mode is sort of ruined by the fact that he keeps on muttering "Fuck, fuck, fuck," under his breath.

Edited 2014-01-15 03:19 (UTC)

Tarvek shows up on a motorcycle with a large toolkit labeled "bike repair kit" and a laser pistol. He's using the pistol to try to drive the dinosaurs away from civilians, but he's more of an irritant than a real threat to them.

Tarvek is keeping an eye out for unusual electromagnetic energies or mechanical trouble.

[ It doesn't take much for Starscream to figure out that something big is happening in the city, even trapped as he is in vehicular mode; the panicking soldiers skittering all around the base are enough of a tip off to that. The commotion itself is of little interest to him, but chaos breeds distraction, and now seems like the perfect time to take advantage of that and send the holo-matter avatar out do a little resource gathering and reconnaissance. And so he hits the streets. ]

Yuuya came to this timeline or reality as part of a group from a future where uplifted birds like himself rule society. They'd been hoping to reach somewhen else, but time travel is difficult! While the scientists try to figure things out, Yuuya likes to use his skills and ICPSS solid-state hologram generator to be a hero.

...well, he's much better at the small scale, sneaking into places where he shouldn't be, maybe beating up unpowered humans. So a dinosaur invasion is a little beyond his expertise. But that doesn't mean he can't try!

Just now that means clinging to the quill-bristly back of a maddened Triceratops, wings half spread to keep his balance, busily steering it back towards the portal with delicate applications of a bullet her and there. Part of a car decorates one of its brow-horns.

"It's funny how humans think 'herbivore' means 'harmless and gentle'!" he muses, loud enough to be heard over it. "They even think doves are peaceful creatures." Yuuya fires into its flank. His pistol is too low caliber to really hurt the beast, but it certainly stings, and the Triceratops wheels in that direction to try and attack whatever hurt it.

THE BOULDER stands in the middle of the street, a wall of immovable muscle amidst the chaos. "THE BOULDER is perturbed by these unsettling developments. THE BOULDER wishes to see the landmass of the world expanded for the use of humanity, not these transtemporal interlopers!" THE BOULDER strokes their chin. "... THE BOULDER has also always wondered whether THE BOULDER could punch out a dinosaur."

[Neku is grumpy on the best of days, but this is a little too much for him. Dinosaurs stomping around, civilians screaming everywhere... the noise is enough to give anyone a headache. He'd REALLY rather not get involved, but a pack of velociraptors aggressing a group of tourists is kind of a situation that even he can't turn his back on. He's doing his best to keep them at bay, flinging them around and slashing at them with a psy-shock here and there, but there's a lot and he's getting a bit overwhelmed. Some backup might be nice.]

(This kid is an antisocial loner that isn't currently committed to any team, but you're welcome to try your hand at getting on his good side, if you're up for that challenge.)

Trying to herd dinosaurs back into the vortex is kind of a struggle when they keep appearing, but Will'o'Wisp has done her best!

She's just about got a group of surly Ancathopolis through the gap and crossed her fingers for it to seal up behind them, wary and aware of a two-legged runner coming in on her left that has been following the slow-moving group at a distance for about five minutes. There's a refrigerated yoghurt store on her right side, and there's no way she's slipping into another freezer apartment for a long stay again just to get out of the way.
Grimacing, she tries to figure out what kind of dinosaur it could possibly be - Jurassic Park was on her to-watch list - before it screeches, presenting a jarring display of feathers. An answering screech comes from a rooftop.

Oh, well then.

Those are rather a lot of teeth.

[Cynthia, a.k.a. Flourish, is not technically supposed to be here. She's still a trainee with little control over her superpowers, but...she just couldn't resist sneaking out when she heard there were dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are so cool. She bets she'll be even cooler if she ends up saving the day.

To herd the dinosaurs back to their vortex, she's "borrowed" a wooden staff from a martial arts supplies store she happened upon. She'll return it when she's done, of course. Until then, she's using it to smack the less dangerous-looking dinosaurs away from the hapless civilians and toward the vortex. She'd love to have a helping hand, or a civilian to heroically rescue from the JAWS OF DANGER.]

Stand back!

[She bursts in with a flash of light, and her entire body shines and explodes in brightness for a moment before Mami is left standing in a ring of little flowers. Her outfit is still shining slightly from the transformation, and the whole scene may have attracted some attention.]

I am Mami Tomoe, member of the Sis Puella Magica. Us Magical Girls are the warriors who keep wraiths and demons at bay; do not think that just because you are neither, you are exempt from our pursuits of justice!

[Is she yelling this at a bunch of dinosaurs? Yes, she is. When they hear her voice and start advancing, she suddenly jumps in the air and begins to spin, waving her hands- and whipping white guns out of absolutely nowhere, the weapons gaining color and materializing in her hand.

The flowers she spread on the floor during transformation begin to reveal tendrils, that rapidly latch onto the dinosaurs' feet and keep them in place as she blasts them back with guns. She may or may not be getting caught up in the heat of the moment- want to lend a hand?]

Edited 2014-01-18 03:44 (UTC)

[Dirk steers his rocket board towards the chaos. When he sees the dinosaurs below, he can't help but grin.]

Awesome.

[He looks around to find some dangerous flying creature. He wants a sweet aerial battle, and surely the airborne ones are no less dangerous to the public, so he is also helping people. Score.

Katana in hand, he selects a pterodactyl-looking thing and heads towards it.]

[ Tom Haverford is basically L.A.'s Edna Mode, except instead of selling costumes he rents them, and instead of no capes he is very yes capes. Capes on everything. Satin capes, velvet capes, sequin capes. He is also not very famous or successful, yet. He spends a lot of time trying to promote Rent-A-Swag and get famous superhero sponsors for his business. He has superpowers, but they are garbage. He is basically Dazzler, if Dazzler wore a cool suit and tried really hard to emulate Jay-Z in her day to day life.

When it comes to dinosaurs he is probably unabashedly finding somewhere to hide, occasionally throwing himself in danger's path if he sees a cool superhero to try and chat up. ]

Edited 2014-01-22 20:59 (UTC)

[Teddy was just minding his own business on the way to his after school job, but then dinosaurs started pouring out of a hole in space-time. Great. Ducking into an alley, he stashes his bookbag and hoodie inside a recycling bin for safe keeping and greens up. The dinosaurs have scales and claws? Well, so does he.

Teddy dives right in to the fray, punching an ankylosaurus hard in the jaw and subsequently swearing loudly as a bone in his hand breaks with an audible snap.]

Shit, ow!

Edited 2014-01-22 21:28 (UTC)

[Once he heard the news that prehistoric earth creatures were invading the city, it didn't take Tomar-Re long to fly to the site of the space-time portal from the Alpha Force HQ. He had managed to track down a small herd of the reptiles attempting to make their way down a crowded street.

Not wasting any time, Tomar-Re quickly created a large, fence-shaped constructs, pushing the dinosaurs away from civilians and back toward what appeared to be the epicenter of the event.]

[Aragorn has been alive for over a thousand years, the last of a race of immortals from a sunken island city. His superpowers? Well, he's basically a D&D Ranger without the animal companion. Expert tracking, heightened senses, stealth, survival -- and battle.

He's got a legendary sword, of course, and while Aragorn usually goes by "Strider" and dresses in street clothes and hooded jackets, often passing as homeless, right now he's got the sword out and is menacing a dinosaur with it.]

Back, beast -- back to your own time!

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