etcelsior | THE GREATEST POWER OF ALL

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?

Unfortunately, tragedy has struck today. Outside a local 24/7 diner featuring waffles and other breakfast food, a large crowd has gathered while several fire trucks keep a steady stream on it and the buildings nearby. The diner is obviously destined to burn, and its waitresses, in bright yellow, stand outside watching with no small amount of worry reflected in their eyes. One of them complains, again, that she'd left her purse inside - and now a good $100 is going up in flames. For what? Won't somebody help her out, at all? The police are so inept! Just the worst!

The windows burst and, clear as day, one can see an alligator trapped inside the entrance, trying to make its way out but dissuaded by a patch of fire in front of the door. EMS and crowd alike gasp and wonder aloud, what can they do? Will no one save this poor Florida swamp cat?

02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter than Heropa, there are still large numbers of citizens to be 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 remains high here, 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, favorite foods, and more!

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has had its ups and downs since imPorts started reappearing. Several imPort heroes have put focused efforts into cleaning up the streets of this somewhat infamous city, while others have swooped in to help the criminal industry thrive. More so here than the streets of any other imPort city, the battle between good and evil looks more like a war of escalation than a heroic tale. That might make the less than warm welcome imPorts are given in the city a little more understandable. The emergence of locals with superpowers is hardly helping. While some of these individuals have turned to crime, many locals seem more inclined to defend their native powered drug dealer than help the non-native hero bring them to justice. Who are you to tell them how to live?

It's not quite spring yet, but already flowers are popping up—in the form of seven-foot sentient musclebound daisies! A local criminal known as Flower Power has set them on the city, and they're going on a rampage, but a number of citizens have taken advantage. Do you go after the bushwhacking blossoms or the local looters?

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. To be American is to be part of a melting pot, and that there’s more money to be made by the thriving local industries hardly hurts.

Natives may gather around new arrivals and ask both personal and broad questions about life as an imPort, what they are looking forward to, what their favorite article of underwear is. A few night clubs offer free entrance - just this once! And they are bound to notice that a man has taken up a spot in a local street, eating pancakes off of a fold out table and holding up traffic. Many people are taking pictures and more interested in whether or not this is performance art than ushering him out of the way. He does have an extra chair and table, however, and will welcome and feed company, especially imPorts.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

De Chima
[Of course an Elric would immediately find his way to the most advanced city. It's like they were born with a natural magnetic pull towards information and the promise of scientific advancements. Alphonse can be found wandering the streets with only a little confusion. At one point he's stopped on a sidewalk to pull out the manual for his comm so he can flip through it to explain some aspect. Who knew these things even came with manuals?

At another point, he's using the comm itself to navigate the streets with a clear destination in mind. He passes by curious groups of natives and overeager reports without so much as sparing a glance for them, too focused on wherever it is he's heading. Spoilers, it's a library. Was there really anywhere else he could possibly be going? It takes him all of five minutes inside and—and he's being scolded by one of the librarians already?? From the sounds of it, some other Elric managed to rack up an obscene amount of debt in library fines the last time he graced the facility with his presence.]

Wh— H-Hey! How much? How am I supposed to pay that when I just got here?!

[OOC: FTR I played the last Ed who was in game, and he did, in fact, rack up obscene library fines at every library he went to.]

[The library, somewhere with accessible knowledge of this place and time and all, seems an obvious place to start to find out more about what exactly is going on. So it is also where Winry finds herself, and instantly tunes in to turn her head at the familiar voice. Though something seemed to be missing from it somehow? That tinny echo.

But that meant....! She starts, all but scrambling to approach, pausing at the sight of the other teen with that familiar golden hair.]

Al....?

[Whatever caused him to raise his voice -- notable in how rare that was, flies out the window as far as Winry is concerned. She might just be standing there sort of staring at the moment, dropping the books she had been looking at.]

[Oh thank god, someone sensible who'll understand just how frustrating the situation is. Al holds a placating hand up to the librarian so he can step back from the counter and turns towards the familiar voice, a look of long-suffering exasperation pinching at his face. The gold eyes are just as recognizable as his hair, a bit softer than Ed's even through the obvious irritation.

Whatever he'd been about to say is forgotten when he actually looks at her though. Something isn't quite right—she looks too surprised, not like someone who's come to find out what he's yelling about. And she'd dropped her books. His expression smooths out into vague, curious confusion.]

Winry? Are you alright?

I...y-yeah. Of course! More than alright!

[Now that Al is here. Now that Al is whole again, like she's always hoped. Always believed they'd manage to pull it off even if it took them years. Even if it came at a cost. The books stay at her feet, as she steps over them and all but launches herself at him with arms outstretched.

Because of course she wants a hug. It feels like it has been forever since she did. At least, without the spikes with his armor. At the least, the way she buries her face at his shoulder probably hides the threatening tears.]

...you're back. It's really you, Al.

[This is the strangest and most intense deja vu Al has ever experienced in his life, but of course he catches her up in a tight, solid hug. He's warm and soft—softer than the armor ever was, anyway—and he's trying to tilt his head to get a look at her without having to let her go. It really seems like keeping her in that comforting hold is the best choice for the moment.]

I—uh. Of course it is? What were you expecting?

[At the very least, Winry's emotional reunion with him has onlookers giving them space, so Al has time to figure what to do regarding the fines. You know, once he eventually disentangles himself from her, of course.

Because she isn't intending on letting go after a few seconds. More like a few minutes, savoring this. He's so soft and warm. She'd forgotten his particular scent, similar to Ed's with that old book smell, but different. Unique.]

I -- I was...the armor.

[Out of any answer she could have given, that was the last thing he expected to hear. For him, it'd been nearly two years since he'd been freed from that metal hulk. They'd been through all of this. Why would she expect it now?

Al loosens his hold on her just enough to step back, as if getting a clear look at her will clear up...whatever is happening right now.]

That, um. That was all over years ago. Why would you... [He pauses, head tilting to the side with a curious frown.] Are you...shorter?

Years....?

[He says that so casually, so finally. Winry isn't sure what to make of it except to assume that he recalls more of what happened back home in comparison to her. It has her pulling back too when Al finally steps back to look to her.]

I'm..! Maybe, if you remember that much more.

[Hey. She isn't Ed and about to rage at Al even implying such a thing.]

Years.

[There's an incredulous quality to his voice now, like he can't believe this is something he has to explain because really now. But there's no way Winry would play a joke like this on him, so it has to be real.]

We came home, and you hugged me and cried so much I was worried you might dry up.

I -- I think I'd remember that, Al!

[Not that this is....really much if any different of a reaction but at least this time she didn't outright knock him to the ground with her hug. Probably due to him not still recovering and being so much taller at the moment.

The tears still clinging at her eyelashes probably diminish her pout somewhat though.]

[He leans back a little to get another good look at her, quietly gauging her height against his own with a confused, almost concerned hum.]

I think...maybe it hasn't yet. You even look younger... [And after every impossible thing he'd seen today—and in the rest of his life—it didn't sound that far-fetched.]

I mean, I remember you were taller than Ed, but....

[Not this tall? The armor was an anomaly, really, she knew that wasn't any way indicative of Al's actual height even as his body grew on the other side of the Gate all those years. But still. He isn't wrong that she feels shorter than she used to remember around him.]

He's actually a little taller than me now. You should've seen his face the day he really noticed it. [Al had thought he might never stop crowing about it.

He turns a more serious look on Winry again, his smile over the memory fading a little. This wasn't necessarily bad, whatever it was, but it was definitely Strange. And Strange things deserved to be treated seriously, in his experience.]

...When's the last time you remember hearing from us?

He....Ed is....?

[Winry blinks. This is not how she remembers most of their childhood. Okay, obviously initially with Al being younger. But he really hadn't taken long before he grew taller than Edward. She can imagine Ed not appreciating that realization again.

Still, it's....amazing. To see him whole again. To feel that soft flesh where there used to be metal. His eyes, his smile. Winry can't help but be overjoyed.]

Probably when Ed came to get me to fix up his arm, before he left to deal with Father. I'm still not sure just what he was doing in my room. Or -- why he just sat there and didn't say anything when I got in, but.

THE GREATEST POWER OF ALL

Alphonse Elric | FMA (manga/brotherhood)

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