sure, jan

[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

Aelita | Code Lyoko

[audiofile]

03) [ Aelita's no stranger to tech, but what she sees around her in the city is absolutely wild, looking more like something she'd find in Odd's collection of cheesy old sci-fi movies than anything. Who would even know where to start between hoverboards, retro flying cars, consumer holo-displays... She's too polite to do more than gawk at it all, but once she ducks into the malt shop to get out of the sun, her attention is immediately captured by the sleek, boxy looking contraption set front and center.

The jukebox, she decides, is a perfect place if any.

She's settled one arm on the frame, happily flipping through the catalog but not choosing anything, just as intrigued by the mechanism itself as she is the music selection. Which might put her in the way should someone actually want to pick a song. ]

[ Or a wildcard! I'm up for anything.]

03

[hypnotherapy]

[ He likes music well enough; it's not his thing, necessarily. But the jukebox is interesting.

Though by the way someone else is poking at it - not Aelita - it's having trouble, and not one that can be fixed with a mechanic's touch. The audio is fuzzing, and the screen seems to be having trouble. The song selection's not working right. ]

May I...?

[ He doesn't raise his voice, but he gets heard in the crowded shop regardless.

He just has to touch it for a moment, then something happens and -- he's gone. There is a conspicuous absence of person.

The screen sparks blue for a moment, and then returns to complete normalcy. There's some kind of clicking sound, and he's back - albeit on his knees and looking more than a little ill. ]

That...should fix it. [ He holds a hand up to stave off any words. The other hand is pressed to his head. ]

[audiofile]

[ Conspicuous indeed, and enough to draw her attention rather quickly. As soon as he's back she's about to ask 'How' but it doesn't seem appropriate when he looks like it's going to make him throw up any second. ]

Are you alright? It's just a music player, you didn't need to make yourself sick over it.

[hypnotherapy]

It was a miscalculation. [ He winces, getting to his feet by using the jukebox as a support. He has to lean against it now. One hand still pressed to his head because ow ow ow. ] I thought plugging in would be...easier. But this body isn't used to it yet.

[ He hopes it gets easier, otherwise he is going to have a hard time adjusting. ]

[audiofile]

[She's there in a second, helping him up but going back to a respectful distance once he's leaning on the jukebox.]

Plugging in? Is that what you did?

[ She's pretty sure she knows what he just did. She wants to hear it from him, though. ]

[hypnotherapy]

I can transmit myself into...the cyberworld of an electronic device. Where all the programs are held. I kept that, at least.

That is 'plugging in', yes. It is...slower than I'm used to.

[audiofile]

Slower? How are you used to doing it,then?

[hypnotherapy]

I am always a data being. Back home. The internet...Everything is connected. [ How is he supposed to explain it? It's as natural as...well, breathing. ] That's...my world. Like this physical world is yours. I do those things...without thinking.

[ ugh, ugh, he's just reminded of how weird a human body is. ]

[audiofile]

[ Oh boy, you have no idea how familiar that sounds to her. Being reminded just gives her a whole host of mixed feelings. As far as he should be able to tell though, she's just fascinated with the idea.

Now that the commotion is over, she opts to move towards one of the booths, and offers a hand to help him should he need it. ]

You mean you were an AI, originally? One they made human?

[hypnotherapy]

[ He has a hard time reading people's cues when he's so off-balance, especially in a body like this.

But people being interested in the ability to enter the cyberworld isn't a new thing. He wouldn't find it worth more than a footnote in any case.

He follows, though he declines the hand. He has to get used to walking by himself anyway. And at least his migraine is easing up. ]

Yes. Pure data. A body like this is... [ He pulls at his coat collar with a grimace. ] Different. There are so many things. All at once. I can't...track them properly. My memory is...different. Worse.

[ Sensory overload, to put it succinctly. ] I don't know how...humans manage. But they're born into this world. They live their whole lives like this. So I must manage. As well. I have no choice.

[audiofile]

[ the plus side to the booth means they don't have a diner full of people listening quite as closely. Not that they seem like strangers to the imPorts and their oddities but still. ]

It's not so bad, once you get used to it-- I mean, I'm sure it will be. Why not look at it like an opportunity?

[hypnotherapy]

[ He appreciates the quieter environment, at least. Anything that lessens the pressure on his senses is very welcome right now.

He doesn't miss the spoken words. He can pick those up fine. ]

Your situation is similar. Yes? Or no.

I will get used to it. In time. I suppose there are upsides to it.

Though I have yet to find them. There is...too much going on. So much to track. [ Being experienced in netbattling isn't helping him; it's actually making the problem worse. On a field you pay attention to everything around you so that the opponent can't use it against you.

There's just a lot to take in. ] I need to learn. To close things out.

[audiofile]

Lets just say I can sympathize. [ You seem pretty nice, AI guy, but Aelita isn't so sure she can trust you yet. ]

If too much sensory input is a problem then try focusing on one sense at a time, maybe? The human brain doesn't process information like a computer does, trying to take everything in at once is only going to slow you down.

[hypnotherapy]

[ He'd say that would be a good way to approach interactions with him, if he knew her thought process. Nice doesn't mean trustworthy. ] Fair.

I am trying. [ His tone is rueful. ] Isolating one sense is hard, too. I can't. Compartmentalise, like I am used to. Learning how to use this new body is...part of the process.

[ A pause. ] Thank you.

[audiofile]

I'm sure your are. [ And she means it. ] It's a different kind of compartmentalization, and it will take some time and effort to learn, but you'll get there. I just wish I had some better advice.

[ After all, stint living in a computer or not, Aelita was originally human. That's more than he can say. ]

You're welcome. I suppose you could come to me again if you want to talk about it more, but I don't think I caught your name?

OH MY GOSH YES

[friendshiprocks]

[ Someone does actually want to pick a song. And that someone is Hime, who's been waiting patiently for a bit...but the problem is that patience isn't Hime's strong suit. It's not even in the top ten of her strongest suits. So it only takes about a minute or so for Hime to huff, ] Are you gonna pick anything or what?

excitement? in MY top level??? *a*

[audiofile]

[ Honestly, never mind the flying cars, this thing is the real marvel. Over 1000 song choices and yet they still managed to pack in what looks like a delicate selection mechanism and analog record player-esque reader behind the glass--

And then there's an irritated voice from behind, and how long has she been here again? ]

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with any of these artists, actually. What would you recommend?

code lyoko's my jam, yo. you have great taste!

[friendshiprocks]

[ As Aelita asks for her opinion...that's really enough for Hime's mood to change from annoyed to interested. ] Weeeell, this one's pretty good. [ And she points at a selection, finger smudging the glass a bit. Her choice is a girl group band, something like whatever MOM's version of the Shirelles or the Chantels are ]

But to be honest? I don't know what half of these things sound like.

aahhh, finding games where these characters click is hard but Mom looked like a good candidate

[audiofile]

Why not find out? It's not every day you get hear music from an alternate reality. [ Idly Aelita wonders if this world has a version of the Subdigitals, that would be beyond cool, but she moves out from in front of the machine instead. It's Hime's quarter after all. ]

i can see what you mean. still, you've got at least one person here who'd be stoked to see her

[friendshiprocks]

You know, you're right about that, [ said with a little smile. And so, Hime puts in the quarter, randomly picks a selection...and gets whoever this world's equivalent of Patsy Cline. ]

You know...it's not too bad.

HERE WE ARE, GOING FAR, TO SAVE ALL THAT WE LOVE

[wonk]

Hey, do they have Nicki Minaj in there?

[Roxy stretches her neck over Aelita's shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of the catalog. It's almost as if she just appeared there, rather than actually walking over.]

Also your hair's nice. I like it a lot.

IF WE GIVE ALL WE'VE GOT, WE WILL MAKE IT THRUUUU~

[audiofile]

[ The sudden voice in her ear causes her to jump, turning around to face Roxy with a startled look and her hands spread over the glass display almost as if she'd had something to hide. (Which is absurd of course, but just how distracted had she gotten exactly?) ]

I, uhm, thank you? I'm not really sure who Nicki Minaj is though...

[ the things you miss out on when you're from 2004 ]

[wonk]

You're about to find out though. Here, can I...? [She sneaks her hands around Aelita's, and pokes in a half-glimpsed code.

She gets it right on the first try, and after appeasing the machine's demand for a quarter, the radio edit of Anaconda begins to play. Roxy's grin widens as the beat kicks in.]

[audiofile]

[ with the immediate scare out of the way, Aelita allows room for Roxy to finagle in her code and quarter. She finds herself bobbing along to the beat, if only a little. ]

Not quite my style, but it's good! Is this something from here?

[wonk]

Kinda has to be. But it's from my world too. One of the classics of this century.