etcelsior | WAKE UP IN THE MORNING FEELING LIKE

Entry tags:

WAKE UP IN THE MORNING FEELING LIKE

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at someone else's thread, either!

And remember there's only one rule in Test Drive Meme Club: have fun!

01. The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place, where locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city. Some of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation, while others might not say anything -- but if you have something nasty to say, better not say anything at all, right? But on closer inspection of these Silent Stanleys and Stellas, you might notice that some people actually back away from any imPort who quite obviously looks like they aren't "from around the neighborhood". Once in a while, you may hear a voice raised:

"Did you see how visible their elections have become? They're just trying to grab power! Have you seen the homes they live in?

Of course, for every claim, there's a rebuttal; you may well hear a competing voice arguing, "They deserve to have a say in things too! You know it's different for them!"

ImPorts are a divisive issues, even in pretty Heropa.

02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter, there are just as many citizens awed at your very presence. Look at you! Organic wonder! Science and technology are the lifeblood of this city, so you're likely to come across a good many locals taking your picture with the newest of devices. The imPort craze is at an all-time high, and considering the ambition of many of De Chima's residents, you may find yourself cornered by overzealous imPort fans, media wannabes and opportunists alike, shoving cameras in your face.

Their questions are less politically charged than they are mundane, however; get ready for an interview about your taste in romantic partners, personal underwear choices, favourite foods, and more!

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is having a rainy day. The streets seem to be running with water, the sky can't seem to stop crying. You might want to check out some consumerism-inclined shelter, be that a smoky and dart-eyed bar full of grumbling locals, or a grimy and industrial coffee shop (full of grumbling locals). Watch your step, newly minted imPort, because if you let on that you're fresh meat then you're bound to find a few people who decide that the only proper welcome for an imPort is a nice set of knuckles to the face.

One or two more cowardly locals may hesitate before giving you such a greeting, however, with a muttered, "Wonder if the new guy in office is gonna do more than the last one."

Ouch. Look at the political savvy on this guy!

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities; loud, busy and there's some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. You may find yourself in the midst of a few closed-off streets for some occasion or another - whether it be a food cart festival, no-car day, or something else! - and surrounded by the hum of people, the waft of food being served on the street, and plenty of attention

Look there -- someone's demoing a VR roller coaster! Won't you give it a shot?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

01. heropa

[ It's pleasant here. The people are kind and friendly enough to somewhat put Gino at ease after his harrowing introduction, but despite that he intends to navigate straight toward whatever which way will lead him to his housing. It's then that he smells something he hasn't smelt for years; something that reminds him of a gentle voice early in the morning, a warm kitchen and an inviting scent, a good breakfast and brighter days. It's been a while since he's smelt fresh bread like this, and it's the smell that has him ducking into the small bakery and standing to the back of the small queue forming.

He stands for a while, keeping mostly to himself though he won't be rude if someone happens to strike up a conversation with him.

Once he's paid for his pickings - offering the right amount of money with an almost practised ease to say it's his first day here - he stands outside with the paper bag under his arm, closely inspecting his change. It's not like he hasn't seen the coins before, but nevertheless he looks on with a kind of awe that makes his new status in this world glaringly obvious to anyone who might pass him by. He looks normal enough that he has gone relatively unnoticed until now, managing to dodge that difficult debate concerning the demographic he suddenly aligns with. ]

02. de chima

[ On a list of things Gino absolutely does not want to do today, this is somewhere near the top. He honestly thought he could get away without being spotted for the intruder he is/feels like, but a group has obviously noticed the fact that he's walked the same road twice now, and he's immediately swarmed with invasive questions on the sneaky guise of offered assistance.

Luckily for him, he's very good at giving off a kind of general aura of go the hell away so the expression on his face soon deters the group and they disperse. His ability to make awful first impressions is staggering. Hoping that no-one saw him make a total dick of himself crushing the hopes of people who were genuinely more than likely just interested in him, he ducks around a corner and once again tries to follow the map to his intended destination with a sour expression. ]

03. maurtia falls

[ Gino doesn't get a knuckle-sandwich, but he does get an earful as a fellow import almost takes it instead. He'd been standing in the corner of a convenience store waiting for the rain to let up enough that he didn't get soaked as soon as he stepped foot out the door, but the powerful speech putting the import in place has him biting the bullet and shrugging his heavy coat around better around his shoulders before putting up his hastily bought and cheaply made umbrella and facing the wind and rain head on. Anything to get away from the shakily constructed argument that was bound to turn troublesome. Better men than him might have stepped in, might have defended the rights of the person being picked on... but Gino felt that he didn't have a leg to stand on. Pragmatically, he was just as much a target as the import under scrutinization in there. Besides, he'd never been the hero.

There's a lot to be said about the situation of this world, and perhaps a lot to be said about his own in the same thread. He can't quite stifle the nagging sense that he is feeling what his enforcers might be feeling; he's never been a minority before, after all, and he's only tasted prejudice the once and it was enough to lend a hand in his soured opinion of his own father, so its needless to say that being in this situation isn't exactly comfortable for him. You can't really blame him for being a bit prickly, which is exactly what he is as he - umbrella and wind blinded as he is - ducks into a small shelter at the side of the road, probably a bus shelter or a smoking hut, to take a break from his efforts and realises with a visible emotion that settles somewhere between disappointed and surprised, that he isn't alone. ]

04. nonah

[ The bustle is the most difficult thing he's had to deal with, not because he isn't used to it - he lives in the midst of the largest city in his world, and works for the police, of course he's accustomed to crowds - but he definitely isn't accustomed to these people, and nor is he accustomed to what he suddenly feels standing in their midst.

The powers detailed in his file hadn't made a lot of sense upon first inspection, but now Gino is experiencing them first hand, and so far he's definitely not a fan. Typically his head is full of thought, of consideration and deliberation and the strict organisation that a man like him needs in order to function.. but now there's something that seems to want to pull him off the logical path, something that wants to take him - both literally and figuratively - down another, toward something he can't place even once he's there. His emotions shift into something else, from mild confusion and the constant tension he feels to a deep slump as he listens to a nearby girl cry on her cellphone about a boyfriend she's recently broken up with, and he realises what is happening to him helplessly, unable to do anything.

He remembers seeing the words on the page, the description of this power he's been given by whatever means by which he'd arrived here, and his stomach drops. He's sure that last one was his own emotion, at least.

As he walks, he realises that the more people he focuses on, the wilder his mood shifts, until he's scurried to one of the more uninhabited edges of road, where everyone seems to be passing in order to crowd around what looks to be someone publicly testing a virtual-reality device, and presses his hands against the cool bricks to find his bearings. God knows what that just did to his hue. If only he could check. ]

[Aerith had been trying to lead a normal life recently. She'd never gotten much chance to do that on her own world, but here, she could. She thought so, anyway. Then Riku was killed, and, well, that hadn't done wonders for her emotional state. Where before, she'd gotten better at keeping her powers stifled in her day to day life, now she doesn't bother. The loud, endless chatter of the people of Nonah's souls and the soul of Nonah itself echo in her mind... But this is the life she's used to leading, so on the outside, she looks perfectly normal.

At least until she senses... What?

Something...

An abnormality?

Aerith focuses on it, singles out the one feeling that's more and more erratic by the moment from the rest of the crowd. It's not long before she catches up to the man, who's now isolated himself. She's still listening in when she finds him. Gingerly, she steps up beside him, gently touching his arm.]

Sir? Are you okay?

[He's new here, and new to his powers, from the look of it. Is he psychic, maybe? Just in case, she calms herself down, and cuts off from reading him. She'd hate to create a negative energy look between them or something.]

[ His gaze snaps on her as quickly as his arm flinches from her touch, and while his expression is kind of pinched and distasteful it's honestly no comment on her - it's pretty much always like that.. that, and he's surprised; not many people in his world actually approach one another with touch, and least of all him.

His sharp eyes scan her face quickly and when they're sure she's nothing but a harmless stranger, he exhales and straightens up. He realises now that he was making a scene of himself getting so worked up but the ache in his chest is still staggering nonetheless, like he's just been stripped away from something close to him, that he held dear, and he genuinely struggles to clear his throat around the feeling to nod a little woodenly. ]

Mm. I'm fine. [ Fine enough to do that megane thing with his glasses, which probably only makes it clear that he's not fine at all. He glances at the crowd over the frames. ] I'm just not used to this atmosphere. [ That's putting it lightly. ]

[Quickly, instinctively, Aerith's hands are up to show she's not a threat. Afterwards, she lowers them, laughing softly. See, how silly it would be to think she was a threat? She's so small. She's not even armed.]

You're an imPort, right? I am too. I've been living in this city for a few months.

[Mind like a labyrinth, she thinks, like Tetsuo taught her. She won't risk opening a channel between them until she knows he's stable.]

You seem like you should be sitting down. Want to get some coffee with me?

[ He doesn't fail to notice how small she is - the same height if not just a little shorter than Tsunemori, with the same kind of look in her large eyes and the same kind of defiance in her stance that had Gino certain he wouldn't like to be caught on her bad side, armed or not - and therefore doesn't miss the ridiculousness of his actions. Here he is, this six-foot stretch of awkward, flinching like a teenager in the face of a woman who barely comes up to his shoulder.

He nods at the question, feeling an odd sort of something settle in him at the confirmation, like there's truly no escaping the brand now that he's admitted to it. ]

You don't have to do that. [ He answers, able to tell that she's only offering because of the state he'd gotten himself in. He straightens the cut of his blazer, perhaps a little self conscious. However..... coffee does sound like a good idea, he can't deny that, so he makes no more effort to dissuade her. ]

[Good, that's exactly what she was going for. Cute and mostly harmless. It would mess everything up to scare him more.]

That's not a "no," right?

[She laughs a little to herself. This guy's really straight-laced. He says that all stern but then waits there anyway for her to take the lead. It's almost cute. She doesn't see guys like that often. He's probably shy too.]

I know a nice, quiet cafe around here. You can come with me if you want.

[And in fact, she's already starting to walk away, because she's pretty sure this guy's gonna come with her.]

[ That immediate understanding, the uncanny ability to be able to identify exactly what he needs and precisely how to apply it so as not to spook him is almost frightening in it's similarity to Tsunemori's growing comprehension of his ways. He can remember the look she'd given him after her memory scoop, when she'd told him not to worry even though he hadn't said a thing... Either he's obvious with his emotions, or she's special, like Akane. Some part of him - the part that still feels like an anxious child - hopes it's the latter.

Of course he follows her. His head dipped, he mutters a quick thank you. ]

[He'll probably find out himself before the day's done. Well. There's no better way to get out of one's comfort zone than pushing yourself relentless into the deep end of the pool, right? Right?? She'll keep telling herself that.]

You're new to your powers, right? It's like that with some people. Some of them, like me, had powers before we got here. But the Porter gives them, too.

[He'd been pretty obvious about it, after all.]

I'm Aerith, by the way.

Ginoza. [ He nods to her, a short semi-formal bow since there's no time to do it properly or shake her hand. He wilts, just slightly, at her question though. ]

Yes. [ He must have been obvious, he can't help but be embarrassed. ] In my world no-one has powers. [ Unless you count those criminally asymptomatic people he'd only just had his eyes opened up to, but that subject is still something he's keeping close to his chest despite this new - free - world. ] I.. don't quite understand why I have the ones I do, or how to use them. I'd rather not have them at all.

[It's okay, she catches that he's trying to bow and nods her head politely too.]

They don't usually make sense. I know a boy who sneezes kittens. [She laughs, but she's not kidding.] What are yours? They looked kind of like telepathy.

[Tetsuo, a telepath/telekinetic is one of her close friends here. He's the one that taught her the mind labyrinth trick. If she's right, she might be able to set the two of them up... Help this guy get some control over himself...]

Kittens... [ He repeats, his expression falling dumbfounded for a moment before he lets out a helpless laugh. He can't help it, the mental image her description conjures up is just too hilarious. ] I see. Do they force their way out of his nose, or...?

[ He can't imagine that would be too pleasant, but it's nice to worry about someone else's problems rather than his own, however fleeting the break may be. ]

I suppose it's something like that, but I can't read minds.. It's more like I can read... feelings? [ He's lowers his voice. ] I thought perhaps it would simply make me feel a little sad or angry when around certain people, but it's... suffocating, and loud. I felt like my world had fallen apart walking through that crowd, like my heart had been shattered.

[ His expression firms, and he looks resolutely at the ground before grumbling the next part. ]

I can also take in those... auras, I suppose, onto myself. I can clear the mood of anyone who might be feeling scared or paranoid or manic, and bring them back to a safe middle-ground by taking on whatever they were feeling at the time. [ And he's the most sour about that, because of course he'd get a power useful to everyone but himself, when arguably he's someone who needs it the most. He'd kill to be at a safe middle-ground. He dreads to think what the mess of feelings he's just waded through in that crowd has done to his already shaky hue. He sighs hard through his nose. ] But I can't control it, so I have no say in what I take from whom.

I have no idea!

[She ends up laughing, too, and it's nice to see this guy loosening up a bit already. He must be feeling better. She's glad. It's bound to be scary for him...

At first Aerith thinks the powers he's describing sound a bit like her own. Of course it's some wishful thinking on her part, but it would be nice too - then she'd be able to help him. Hearing too much, the world being suffocating and loud... She's been there. That was most of her life. She could handle it.

But, no, then he mentions the auras. She definitely can't do that. It would be useful though.]

That sounds tough.

[She sighs, thinking it over as the cafe comes into view.]

... Do you think you could focus it on just one person?

More than likely, but it'll need work.

[ However, he's not sure how he feels about the prospect of practising this power... Who would he go to for guidance, if anyone? And how would they be able to help him if all powers in this world are different? Though, the alternative is living with the screaming sounds of intense emotions all battling for a place in his skull, of leaving himself vulnerable to what those around him are feeling.. and that thought is much more frightening.

He looks up at the cafe as they come close, and his expression firms. ]

I'm not accustomed to being abnormal.

ginoza nobuchika | psycho pass | ota

4

oooohhhhh boy!!!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

03

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject