etcelsior | FROSTED TIPS ARE IN

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FROSTED TIPS ARE IN

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. It seems like the entire Heropa PD is parked out of a local, popular grocery chain. A huge crowd is amassed in the parking lot despite the best efforts of officers to get them to leave. They whisper about excitement and shame, and you don't have to ask if you just listen in a bit...

"What do you think he'll do to the employees? He sounded so serious..." "He really wants that pussy, huh?" "If I left my man for cheating on me, I'd take the damn cat, too!" "How does he think taking her and her coworkers hostage is gonna make her change her mind about him being a bad boyfriend?" "My wife is pregnant, please - if I don't get her favorite deli sub I might as well not go home!"

Domestic disputes! Tragic. The police aren't too sure how to handle this hostage situation, claiming the man only has a box cutter and isn't actually waving it around at the moment, but...are you an imPort? They'd really appreciate the help, okay. Get in there and counsel the unhappy couple. Or not!

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?

Spring has sprung, and 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

( NOTE: this is still gabbie/

mantlepieces! I will actually be canon-swapping Reggie from Afterlife With Archie to his Riverdale counterpart in June after the season finishes up, but figured TDMing him now can't hurt. 💪 )

HEROPA

worse

Here in Heropa stands Reggie Mantle, all 6'3" of him, in the process of rolling up his shirt sleeves to his elbows now that he's already slung the leather jacket-style hoodie he showed up in over his shoulder. Atop his head is a brand new pair of sunglasses, though he's too busy squinting judgmentally at his surroundings to actually lower them over his eyes yet.

This isn't the same Reggie Mantle that resident imPorts have long since grown to know and hate, but some things never change.

The commotion is pretty impossible to ignore, though, but Reggie still doesn't actually get involved -- he's still barely even processed anything except for the most obvious, observable facts of his situation, the unreality of it not really sinking in yet. Right now, shit is just weird and way too hot. No, what he does instead is take advantage of the distracted crowd to get a large, free frozen yogurt from a stand which would otherwise have a huge line right about now, and sits himself down on a bench where he can watch this scene unfold as one might watch TV.

He shakes his head, scooping yogurt into his mouth and continuing with his out-loud train of thought:

and

DE CHIMA

If there is any singular, universal truth about Reggie Mantle, it's that he loves attention. He loves it, and does not seem put off at all by the people flocking around him to take his picture -- Reggie just grins and poses each time, not even questioning it. After all, why should he? This is awesome; finally he's getting the sort of recognition (not that he really gets for what, exactly) he deserves.

His temperament changes slightly when he starts getting hit by questions, though he's not so much indignant or uncomfortable the way other imPorts might feel in his position. He's not uncomfortable at all, in fact, but decides to be difficult for an entirely different reason.

guarantee

should

random guy

was

Because ultimately who is he to pass up a chance to talk about himself? That's just ridiculous.

date

He grins smugly, holding his arms out as if to say, See? Wasn't that better?, but then snaps his fingers and adds:

[Dear Diary: apparently, dickwad jocks are a constant across universes and timelines. It's almost a comforting thought for Veronica, who has been walking around in something of a haze since she woke up in a brand new world almost thirty years into the future. She takes a sip of her homemade slushie and squints at the guy.

Kurt and Ram would probably high-five this guy. Heather would seduce him. JD would shoot him and make it look like a suicide. Veronica takes one last loud slurp and says, over the din of the questions:]

You realize you sound like a self-obsessed dick, right? [And also a future gas station attendant.] Stop telling the nice paparazzi how to do their jobs right.

[ It seems to take him a moment to notice it's him that she's talking to, but once he does Reggie turns to look at Veronica, putting his hands on his hips the way people do when preparing to stand their ground on something. Not that he looks mad; he gives her a brief, assessing look-over, then raises both eyebrows. ]

Look, if they can't handle a little constructive criticism then they're in the wrong business-- not my problem. And if they're writing about me, then of course I'd want it to actually be good.

[ He smiles in, well, a self-obsessed dick sort of way and shrugs his shoulders. ]

I mean if you think about it, I'm helping them keep their jobs. They should be grateful.

[He even swaggers like they do. Did. Veronica looks up at him, takes an obnoxiously loud sip of her drink. She doesn't even like slushies all that much, but she has to admit they give her an air of cool detachment.]

And if you think about it, most of them have been at this a lot longer than you. [She shrugs, meets Reggie's gaze with only the minimal amount of having to tilt her head up to do so.] They already know how to keep their jobs without some future high school has-been "helping" them out.

[She punctuates the insult with another sip of her slushie.]

[ Reggie generally prides himself on being for the most part unflappable, hard to "get to," but even he has to admit that slushie-sipping is really, really annoying. But on purpose, obviously, so he still tries not to react visibly other than the fact his smirk flattens somewhat, making his expression slightly more irritated than smug.

What a weird girl. Reggie almost outright starts with asking What's even your damage? but decides against it, because nah. He can do better than that. ]

Sure, says you. But people get fired from all kinds of jobs every day, including jobs like this. Especially if they can't step up their game-- if even I'm not impressed by the questions I don't see why anyone else should be.

Who exactly do you think you're calling a has-been, though? If you knew anything about me maybe you'd realize how stupid that makes you sound. I'm no future anything.

[ ... Wait. ]

I mean... [ His eyebrows furrow. ] Like-- because I'm always living in the moment. Duh.

[Used to be Veronica thought of herself as a good person, and would at least try not to completely irritate this guy in front of her. She doesn't think that now, after the Heathers and the murders, and so she very loudly keeps sipping, not trying very hard to suppress her own little grin at the irritation.

Privately, she thinks he does have a point. But she's enjoying getting on Reggie's nerves, so she keeps sipping until he tries to backtrack.

Then that little grin spreads wider into a catty smile. Heather Chandler rubbed off on her more than she'll admit, and Veronica's anger at herself needs an outlet somewhere. In lieu of a diary, she'll rip into Reggie instead.]

I know plenty about you already, I can guess your fate from there. [She holds one hand up, raising a finger for every point:] You're Reggie Mantle, you're sixteen, you're single, you're the captain of the football team, and you like breasts. [She snorts out a laugh.] You sound almost exactly like every other jock I know.

[A pause. Then:] Maybe slightly smarter. You're at least aware you're not going to amount to anything.

[ By now Reggie's smug, blase manner has definitely been replaced entirely by tense irritation, and he's not even sure how that happened so fast. Usually he's significantly better at brushing people off almost effortlessly, but he's almost as loathe to admit how just being here has probably thrown him just slightly -- affected him maybe just a tiny bit -- as he would be to admit that Veronica's getting to him at all.

He opens his mouth as if planning to correct her on something, one of the points she listed even though she was quoting him practically verbatim, but then closes it again. Not worth it to approach from that angle, because he likes his arguments to be either ambiguously-intentioned banter or outright throw-downs; pedantic arguments, on the other hand? The worst, in his opinion. ]

Not bad-- you remembered most of it. You see now why my responses were better, right? People remember what's actually important. [ He cocks his head slightly, amending: ] Usually.

And you know that's not what I meant. [ Not that she's necessarily wrong, but... moving on. Quickly. ] Who the hell even are you, anyway?

Oh? Because I think I got everything important. [She should probably stop pissing him off, but she's loathe to do that, almost as much as she loathes herself. She pauses for a truly loud sip, before continuing on.] Plus, it's pretty much the same thing as what any other jock would say, just switch out the name and the sport. I'm actually kind of sad for you, you're so predictable.

[Another loud sip, as she stares Reggie dead in the eye. Go on. Say something. I fucking dare you, she thinks.]

So you're not that smart? [Siiiip.] Veronica Sawyer.

[ Reggie inclines his head slightly, something of a shrug, as if saying maybe, maybe not -- but he doesn't confirm either way if there really is something she overlooked, or if he's just being especially difficult because he's frustrated.

It's a bit of both, but honestly, it's nothing he'd be particularly eager to clarify to her anyway; he was vague in the first place for a reason. And it doesn't matter. He is mostly just being petty and contrary because he's mad, but-- now that the heat of that anger has begun to cool and he's feeling more level-headed again, he may either finally manage to regain his chill, or decide there's always room to get more of a malicious dick. Hmm... ]

Forget it. [ Then he shrugs again, more exaggeratedly. ] That's funny, actually, because I could say the same thing. I know a Veronica, except she's more like... I don't know... the cooler, mirror version of you. But then you sound just like this sullen, fake-deep little weirdo I have to go to school with.

[ Yeah, obviously he went with being a dick. ]

I mean you know the type, right. The pale loner who has literally no friends, yet still thinks that somehow makes him better than everyone else? The kind of guy who decides to shoot up a school because someone bumped him a little too hard in the hallways. He also hates jocks. Especially me. I bet you two would have a lot to talk about.

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An Ares or an Aries? The clarification is necessary. You'd be surprised at how many godlings stalk this world.

[Chilton was less perturbed by the unbridled narcissism than he was over the fact this young man said his name was Reggie Mantle. The fact that Mantle had been recently absent from his scheduled job only inspired a sinking drift down his stomach rather reminiscent of the Titanic.

But he didn't let it shift his small frown.]

An Aries. You always have to throw that in for all the Astrology freaks out there, you know?

[ Reggie turns from the reporter with a self-satisfied grin, then takes a moment to assess Chilton casually, looking him over. Then, gaze moving back up to Chilton's face, Reggie raises an eyebrow. ]

What do you mean?

[ He hasn't really had a moment to process this whole different world, changing dimensions thing -- mostly he's been avoiding having to think about it at all -- so the God question throws him a little. Enough that he doesn't even make a comment about how it's an easy mistake to make, considering how God-like in appearance people find him. ]

Edited 2017-04-26 05:59 (UTC)

Has no one given you the proper briefing?

[He is staring at this man, of course. This man who claims to be Reggie Mantle -- the most logical conclusion as according to this world that he was, in fact, Reggie Mantle. Just not the one that Frederick Chilton once knew, and sometimes mentored.

The most pragmatic conclusion was to ignore that detail.]

We get all types, I'm saying. Inevitably you will meet someone calling themselves a Greek Goddess.

[ Reggie considers the question but then shrugs slowly, eyebrow still arched upward. Because the answer would technically be "yes," he just has been making a point of not wanting to listen. Or read. It's an awful lot to deal with, and Reggie as ever is loathe to admit when something is too much for him to emotionally process.

He'd so much rather avoid processing it or even thinking about it for as long as possible. ]

Well, yeah. I mean... I skimmed it.

[ Another shrug, this one more nonchalant, but he moves on quickly: ]

Actually though, we do have those types where I'm from, too-- but we just call them "crazy" there. Maybe it's a regional thing?

Cute. [Although, by Chilton's tone, it is probably evident that he meant it ironically.]

Just be sure you know how to use your powers, especially if they're defensive, before you say such things if in the presence of deities. Free [by which he meant unwarranted and unasked for] advice.

Come on. You really think I don't already know the ins and outs of when or when not to tell someone that they're crazy? Like I'm some idiot. No, usually I just mind my own business and not get myself stabbed, you know?

Though it is a tough call when they actually deserve it. Sort of feels like it's my responsibility to say something, in that case.

[ Then Reggie puts his hands on his hips, lips flattening somewhat into a thin, contemplative line. Okay, fine-- he needs to finally accept he can't keep ignoring every weird thing about this situation, or he will start making himself seem like an idiot.

Plus, this guy makes a good point in that at least this is useful information to know, if only for basic survival reasons and not "emotionally processing" ones. ]

Yeah, so... about that powers thing. [ A pause, then: ] Is it serious?

[The frankness of this Reggie's response took Chilton by surprised -- it was confrontational without being moody or surly; perhaps not the difference between night and day, but certainly a few hours before twilight compared to what he was used to.]

Quite serious, yes.

[One show of frankness deserved another.]

Would you like to experience it for yourself?

[ That seems like a loaded question, somehow-- not just in general, but somehow especially coming from Chilton. Reggie isn't sure what it is about this man exactly, but he definitely gets the sense that if he isn't too careful, if he lets his guard down, he'll find himself walking right into some kind of trap.

Maybe there's nothing to that feeling, of course, but maybe also on some instinctive level it's game recognizing game. Reggie is aware enough of some of his own behaviors to observe when they mirror similarly elsewhere. ]

Thaaaat depends. [ Which is effectively a yes, just with a but-- Reggie wets his lips idly before pressing them briefly into a line, then: ] What would I have to do?

Yeah. Those are the kind of fascinating details everyone's dying to learn about.

[Reggie is familiar enough, because in spite of what Joaquin's sarcasm conveys right now, in Riverdale being captain or Riverdale High's football team really does amass to some local fame. More importantly, Kevin has mentioned him more than once.

Kevin mentions everyone more than once, but Joaquin has a good memory in addition to being tasked with finding out stuff, so of course he knows this guy. Mostly he remembers Kevin's rant about how things would be a lot easier if him and Moose were less busy compensating and focused on making out with each other instead. But then, Kevin thought the solution to most problems is hot guys making out and while Joaquin doesn't flat out disagree, he's not sure how much of Kevin's gaydar may just be wishful thinking.]

If you want everyone's attention, you have to reveal dark secrets.

Sure they are-- why not? I mean you can't just give it all up at once, there is an art to introducing yourself.

[ Everyone's a critic... but that's okay, it's nothing Reggie isn't already pretty used to dealing with. That's just what happens when you combine confidence, smugness, a somewhat obnoxious demeanor, and a big mouth all in one person -- you get someone like Reggie Mantle, everyone's favorite polarizing personality.

Reggie doesn't go to the south side of Riverdale very often, so while Joaquin does look vaguely familiar, he still doesn't recognize him to the same extent that Joaquin does him; he's seen him around but wouldn't be able to place the guy by name, especially since Reggie wasn't present for any of the recent times Joaquin's hung out with some of the other kids from Riverdale.

Pointblank, he adds: ]

That's true if you're a masochist. [ Then puts his hands on his hips, looking at Joaquin curiously. ] But even if I was that desperate, I don't have dark secrets.

You don't? Must be boring for you.

[They are far away from Riverdale - not that he entirely understands why - but Joaquin still assumes that it only takes one look for him to be categorised. South side trash, a serpent and he owns both of those easily.]

Only guy in Riverdale without secrets.

Please, secrets are not the only thing that can make life interesting. If we all cared that much all the time about what a bunch of small-town nobodies think of us, the entire town'd be certifiable.

Y'know. Instead of just half the town.

[ Ah, good ol' wholesome Riverdale. Even Reggie, who's hardly in the thick of everything that's been happening there lately, isn't immune to all the weirdness... whether by experience, by association, by reputation, or otherwise. It is a small town, it's just impossible to hide everything.

So a lot of the time, Reggie doesn't even bother; doesn't go out of his way to, at least, and so far it's worked out pretty well. He's not stumbled over any bodies in rivers because of it.

He clarifies: ]

Without dark secrets. Not exactly hard once you consider the competition.

Half the town? You haven't been out much.

[Not even baby showers are safe in Riverdale. Actually, especially not baby showers, from what he's been told. It seems ludicrous, but in Joaquin's experience, the South side makes a lot more sense than everything on the supposedly right side of the tracks.]

But this isn't Riverdale. [Obviously. A beat, and then...]

Are you alone?

Oh, I get out plenty. But you have a point, I guess half is still pretty generous. My perspective must just be skewed by the fact I try not to hang out with psychopaths.

And what are you, deaf? I just said I was single, didn't I?

[ Because Reggie often just says the first thing that comes to mind out loud as he's still thinking of it. Then he pauses, realizing that's probably not what Joaquin meant.

Right. No, this isn't Riverdale... and Reggie's vaguely annoyed by the reminder even if it is obvious, and even if there's also some (conflicted) novelty to the freedom of actually being out of Riverdale. ]

Or... wait. You mean like-- [ He pauses again, lips tightening into a tense line, but then he shrugs as dismissively as he can muster. ] As far as I know. Are you?

That must be it.

[Good point actually, now that Reggie brings it up. Why hasn't he been at Jughead's birthday party? Most of the football team was there, cheerleaders, the crowd he'd expect. It doesn't matter much here, but he makes a note anyway.

His lips quirk at Reggie's assumption, but then he nods at the ultimate question.]

As far as I know. [Which makes the selection of the two of them very random.] Moose would make more sense, at least I've met him.

[ Whatever the reasons might be for why Reggie hadn't been at the party -- besides the fact it was for Jughead, that is -- or available to assist Archie and his dad, it's true that for the time being they're mostly irrelevant. And Reggie probably wouldn't be eager to discuss them with someone who's name he doesn't even know or remember yet, anyway.

So he just nods in wry acknowledgement at first, but then his eyebrows raise. How-- does Reggie even want to know how Moose might have met this guy? ]

Well don't sound so disappointed. [ He tilts his head slightly. ] How do you know Moose?

FROSTED TIPS ARE IN

REGGIE MANTLE | RIVERDALE

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