PARTY AT MOM'S HOUSE

[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 anyone's thread, either!

And remember to have fun!

01. Your memory is hazy and you might feel increasingly frustrated or anxious, or maybe you're excited as soldiers march past, barely glimpsing you. One second you're somewhere underground, the next you're enveloped in blue light, and suddenly you find yourself directly under Flordia sun's bright and burning glare. A female soldier steps toward you with a wide smile on her face and directs you to a car, ready to debrief you. You realize you are not the only one, surrounded by equally confused or eager faces... and you're all sporting a digital tattoo on your wrist.

02. Welcome to Cape Canaveral, where the smell of the ocean is in the air and locals are more than pleased to see new imPorts roaming their streets. They wave, they cheer, they ask for pictures as politely as they can. The more inhuman you look, or if you're wearing a costume, the more likely locals are to approach. Hey, enjoy the moment! The popular malt shop is offering you a free drink if you need it.

03. The technology in this world is certainly something. The cars are clearly modeled after popular 50s cars, but they hover several feet above the ground as they drive down the street. There are digital jukeboxes in restaurants, motorcycles also hover through traffic, advertisements can be seen on a digital projector on the taller buildings. Even kids on skateboards appear to drift a safe ten feet off the ground while playing!

04. Wherever you are, you can hear the loud revving of an engine, distance at first before you finally see it: a hovercar bursting around the corner, going beyond the maximum speed limit and just barely making its sharp turn. It doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon, not with two police cars trailing it... and uh oh. Those skateboarding kids don't have much time to get out of the way as the car comes speeding down the road. You've been brought here for a reason Hero — so you better act fast.

Comments

doge

[corviform]

[ Gil's not quite sure if he heard that right or if he was supposed to have heard anything at all. He blinks, a little hazy due to the heat, expecting the dog's form before him to disappear like some mirage, maybe reveal itself to be human.

No, it's still a dog.

Did that dog talk just now? ]

That's definitely not...

[ His mind drifts to dinosaurs and fairy dragons. ]

Ah...

wow much gil

[ifnotloyal]

[ Oops.

Were the other ones supposed to know about this? Or...? Unsure, Ace only turns to look when he hears Gilbert (and hears him very well, even the quieter 'ah'), ears perking up, tail giving a weak wag. See? Friendly, friendly dog. ]

wow

[corviform]

[ That may have actually worked for now. Gil has been unable to deal with this sticky, hot weather since his arrival, so he begins to wonder if he's simply dehydrated. ]

It must be this awful heat... [ He looks over at the dog once more. ] This must be someone's dog... or perhaps the military's. What is it doing all the way here?

[ifnotloyal]

[ Try having a double coat like Ace does, mister, then it really is awful. He expects to be shedding like mad for the next few weeks with the weather suddenly being off like this. Though since Gilbert seems relatively harmless for now, Ace will quit observing from a safe distance and trot on over to him, jaws parting to let his tongue loll out in a doggy smile.

Ace does have dog tags, if Gil's that curious about who he belongs to, but oh boy, that address is going to be from a completely different part of the US. ]

[corviform]

[ He's always preferred dogs to cats, so while he's mainly confused, he lets the dog approach without taking a step back. He just doesn't know what he should be doing with this dog...

If it belongs to the military it would have a collar, he thinks. He squats to observe the dog's neck. It doesn't feel right leaving it here now. ]

Uh... good dog?

[ifnotloyal]

[ There is a collar! Along with the tags, which state he's 'Ace' in a larger font than his address. The address will be some house in a place called Burden Hill, in a state that is much, much farther north than Florida and a mystery to us aaaall. ]

Usually.

[ Sorry, Gil, maybe it wasn't the heat after all. ]

1/2

[corviform]

[ He's in the middle of lifting his hand, reaching over to pat the dog's head so he can eventually get it to turn it up and read the dog tags when he talks.

Gil freezes, his eyes growing wider by the second before he begins retracting his hand. ]

[corviform]

What?!

[ So eloquent.

He jumps back, landing on his rear a couple of feet away from the dog. ]

[ifnotloyal]

[ There we go. There's the fear. Ace doesn't like it, but he forces himself not to react too much to Gilbert's abrupt retreat, not much beyond a cringe and a step back. After that, he slowly lets his muscles go from when they went tense at his shout and sits down.

He isn't a threat! He's just sitting here! Looking hopelessly disheartened, the way his ears are flattened back and his head angled downward, even though he's still watching Gil.

Maybe he shouldn't try talking again after all... ]

[corviform]

You... you definitely talked just now!

[ Don't pretend otherwise! He's not so much scared as completely shocked by this. He's run into strange things before, but it never ceases to surprise him. ]

Didn't you?

[ifnotloyal]

[ It's going to take a little while longer of Ace watching Gil before he makes a decision. If this is the way life here is going to be, people may as well start getting used to... this.

Whatever this is. ]

I did. Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you.

[corviform]

I'm not surprised. [ He pauses for a brief second before correcting himself: ] Well, perhaps a little...

[ He continues to eye the dog warily. ]

What are you? Who are you?

[ This dog could be something other than dog, taking the form of one. ]

[ifnotloyal]

[ What is he? It isn't obvious? ]

I'm Ace. I'm a dog.

[ There's more, but all the footnotes in addition to 'is a dog' really aren't for humans to know. ]

[corviform]

Ace...?

[ That... sounds about right for a dog. ]

Are you an imPort?

[ If the dog can talk and is here, it must be. ]

[ifnotloyal]

That's what they're calling everyone else who ended up here, right? Because I'm not local, that's for sure.

[corviform]

That's right.

[ So talking dogs is just the norm where he's from. ]

They brought a dog here, though? What could they want with a dog?

[ifnotloyal]

Why not? If you're going to ask that, what could they want with a bunch of humans?

[corviform]

What sort of question is that?

[ But he's... a dog. Dogs may be useful, but they aren't fighters by any means. Guard dogs perhaps, but... ]

... Unless their Porter has granted you powers as well?

[ifnotloyal]

[ Ace could ask the same.

Why not dogs? ]

It did. The speaking to humans part is new.

[ So there's a power, if one can call talking a power. ]

1/2

[corviform]

Then you couldn't speak before?

[corviform]

[ He deflates, gazing at Ace with a dead-eyed expression. ]

And that somehow doesn't surprise you?

[ifnotloyal]

It did at first, but I don't see any reason to raise a fuss over it.

[corviform]

You talk now, how is that not...

[ He's arguing with a dog. He has officially lost it. Gil gets to his feet, wiping the sweat off his brow. He could do better than to wear a scarf in this weather, but he'll never be comfortable enough to expose his neck again after what HABIT did.

He looks toward the crowd of new imPorts. ]

You should probably follow them.

[ifnotloyal]

I could always talk, just not to humans...

[ Or did this guy think animals just never communicated or...? Then again, that was what most humans thought, so it's not as though Ace should find that surprising.

But now his attention shifts to the crowd Gil is looking at. ]

I'm not so sure about that. I think they're planning to give me to a new family.

[corviform]

[ It confuses him for a second before he shakes his head. ]

No, it's nothing like that. ImPorts are currently housed together. The government here provides for everyone unless they choose not to register.