Say Something, Anything

[maskormods]

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? It's been a peaceful month, but memories are long in the Cold War. Some people usher their children away from anyone clearly not 'from around here,' while other natives may be brave enough to directly approach obvious imPorts and ask their thoughts on the war with Russia and what the imPort ambassadors are planning to do about it.

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 you may find yourself cornered by overzealous imPort fans, media wannabes and opportunists alike, shoving cameras in your face.

Their questions are likely to be fairly 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 heat wave. Every bit of shade you can spot seems to be occupied by locals or even wildlife seeking to get out of the sun. You might want to check out some consumerism-inclined shelter from the heat that even the night doesn't seem to relieve, be that a smoky and dart-eyed bar full of grumbling locals, or a grimy and industrial coffee shop (full of grumbling locals). ImPorts aren't being welcomes with a punch to the face today, but you might find your water closer to boiling than refreshingly cool or your beer with a surprise ingredient if you walk into the wrong establishment.

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?

Comments

[devoutish]

[On one of those days that he's surrounded by a crowd, he might find that it's taking longer than usual for them to disperse. If he pays attention, he'll notice that that's because a steady stream of newcomers keeps joining the throng. And if he pays even more attention, he'll notice the man standing nearby. He clearly doesn't want to deal with the groupies himself, so every time one approaches him, he points them on to Bruce instead.

Enjoy, Bruce. Unless you find some reason to excuse yourself, you might be here a while.]

[the_caped_crusader]

[If he blinked, he would miss it, but either way Bruce was already gone, a vacant space only now occupied by the confused chattering of now aimless people who, without cause to stay, continued on with their day. Years in Italy as a young man and tutelage from an old friend, Zatara, had taught him more about escapism than just straitjackets and handcuffs. It didn't take much to fool a layman either; he certainly didn't escape to a rooftop or disappear into a crowd-- he had just conveniently placed himself exactly where they all wouldn't be looking. It was almost as though if you looked for him, he would be just outside of your periphery, as though through some force of will he controlled sight itself and could only be seen when he wanted to be seen.

That wasn't true, of course. Rather, if or when Alfie noticed, he would just find Bruce sitting on a bench along the sidewalk yards away, a cup of coffee in his hand, and disguised only by having casually removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeved. Bruce smiled slyly, and waggled his fingers hello at him casually.]

[devoutish]

[Alfie does notice, and he nods in his direction.]

Very nice.

[He sounds approving.]

I could learn a thing or two from you.

[the_caped_crusader]

It's nothing special. Just something I picked up over the years. Back home, you'll go insane if you don't learn how to dodge a crowd.

[He plays coy. Bruce considers him carefully for a minute, and extends a hand.]

Bruce Wayne.

[devoutish]

Yeah.

[He shakes, firmly.]

Alfie Solomons. Where's home, then?

[He sounds American - as opposed to Alfie, who is pure Cockney London.]

[the_caped_crusader]

Gotham. Which, to my disappointment, doesn't seem to exist here. I'm a bit new to the whole interdimensional travel thing.

[But he wasn't, was he?]

You don't seem to be from around here either, if you don't mind my saying. [He stops to clarify, and makes a short, sweeping gesture around himself.] America, I mean. I suspect we're all not from around here.

[devoutish]

[Gotham. He's never heard of it, but that doesn't necessarily mean much - He's hardly heard of every American city around, after all.]

I'm not from America, no. London.

[the_caped_crusader]

Mm. I met a girl in London once not too long ago. At an art gallery. It's a beautiful city.

[He briefly recalls Jezebel, and at the same time, Simon.]

You miss it?

[devoutish]

[The look Alfie gives Bruce makes it clear that he thinks that's a pretty stupid question.]

It's fucking home, innit.

When did you go? What year?

[He's getting used to people being from the future, too.]

[the_caped_crusader]

A man who loves his home. I can appreciate that.

[There's a glimmer in his eye before he shrugs.]

Oh, I don't know. A few years ago? 2013, maybe? Hard to keep track of time.

[Bruce finds himself curious, and he decides to press.]

Why do you ask?

[devoutish]

Just a few years off from here, then.

[And over ninety years off from Alfie.]

Yeah, my London's a bit different from the one you visited, mate.

[the_caped_crusader]

[Bruce had once found himself in 15th century Gotham, then only a small colony, and one occupied by one of his great ancestors, Nathaniel. He had gone by the name 'Mordecai' then, of course, but found himself without that luxury now. Bruce absentmindedly touches at a scar beneath his shirt from back then, surrounded by a patchwork of his other injuries throughout the years.]

If you love a city for long enough, it never really changes. Even as the world around it does.

[devoutish]

Yeah? Poetic.

I've looked up photographs, from this time. It looks like it's changed quite a bit.

[the_caped_crusader]

[Bruce shrugs lightly, a cheeky smile across his face.]

I don't know about that. I think I dated a poet once-- maybe it's rubbed off. Call me sentimental.

Still, you take a photograph of something and that's supposed to epitomize everything that it is? I'm not sure. You tell me. It's a lot more than that, I think.

[devoutish]

The people that are long since dead, the places that have long since been demolished and rebuilt. It might not be totally unfamiliar, right, but places do change very much.

[the_caped_crusader]

[He takes a thoughtful pause.]

You know, I used to visit the hospital where my father worked, as a child. Not often, of course. He was always very busy, and of course he didn't have the time to babysit me. I didn't give it much thought back then, only that I had wanted to be closer to him, and I took any opportunity I had to do that.

It's called Sacred Heart. After he died, I didn't go back there for a long time. But when I did find myself back there years later, I remembered when my father would take me there as a boy. I won't say I know what your home or the people in it mean to you, but I still see memories like that everywhere I look in Gotham. Even after the earthquakes, after it was rebuilt.

I think that people leave something behind after they die. Cities grow around memories. They pass on something from themselves and it lives on through the city, and is carried by its people.

I guess that's something I have to believe is true. I've spent most of my life trying to do just that.

[devoutish]

[Very poetic. And not something Alfie really disagrees with, but he still clucks his tongue.]

For myself, I'll still take London of 1922. Of course, they wouldn't let me visit London of 2016 if I tried.

[Since he's unregistered and all.]

[the_caped_crusader]

1922. You are a long way from home.

[He raises an eyebrow, and casually casts his eyes down to his forearm. The tattoo isn't visible now, but he knows it's there all the same...]

Not a fan of our hosts, I take it?

[devoutish]

Are you?

[Just casually answering a question with a question.]

[the_caped_crusader]

Of course. Although, I'm a businessman. We're well-known for our duplicity.

[He smiles roguishly. Bruce Wayne barely trusts his closest allies, let alone a faceless, jingoistic authority. Still, he doesn't enjoy the idea of being watched, and it's easier to play along than to proclaim his dissent outwardly.]

[devoutish]

I'm a businessman myself. Which is why I'd rather be at home, running my business, than sitting here in the future. Yeah?

So no, I cannot say I'm fond of our hosts.

[the_caped_crusader]

I'm not exactly looking into long-term investment properties, but this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. And I certainly won't be able to run it if I'm cut off at the ankles because I didn't buy the sales pitch they gave me.

[devoutish]

All right. Tell me more about this marathon you're running, then.

[the_caped_crusader]

I just got here.

[Bruce discards his now cold coffee to the side. He hasn't broken character, so-to-speak, but he is notably less nonchalant.]

And I certainly don't have a plan yet. But I have enough sense to know when to keep my head down, and when to stick my neck out.

[devoutish]

There's a lot of unregistered people here, mate. I'm not gonna stick out.