etcelsior | owning your okayness

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 to have fun!

01. Your memory is still a haze and you might feel frustrated or anxious, or maybe the sight of an underground lab you've just been led from by an escorting soldier with dried blood splatters on the floor stirs something else in you. The soldier apologizes for everything you have to see; a recent attack has left the underground lab in Cape Canaveral in near shambles. Military personnel move past you, focused on the sorely needed reparations and clean-up. You're ushered out quickly and then suddenly, you're enveloped in a faint blue blue light before you find yourself under the bright Floridian sun. Another soldier steps toward you with a smile, directing your attention to a car near a large gate. She mentions she'll be debriefing you soon, handing out a brown folder. You don't see the digital tattoo on your wrist, but it's quickly explained on your way over to the car as you realize there are other confused faces nearby, all holding files of their own.

02. The city of Heropa is worse off than the base in Cape Canaveral. The streets looks as if either a hurricane passed through the city or a small recently made it their personal wrecking grounds. Asking anyone will reveal it's the latter... sort of. None of it was intended. The locals are nice, busy with cleaning up the streets and fixing their shop windows and doors. They normally would love to take pictures with you, Hero, though they are preoccupied with work. Every now and then, however, anyone who is so obviously an imPort will find a local backing away from them nervously, pulling their child back with them before closing a door.

03. De Chima, Virginia, hasn't had the same rotten luck as Heropa. Downtown has closed off some streets for repairs, with parts of the street torn out or shop windows shattered, however people in this big city carry on with their daily lives. Anyone who is quite clearly an imPort may find themselves the center of attention, particularly with young children who rush over to you on their hoverboards. Some of the adults passing through smile and wave at you. Thank you, they say, thank you for stopping that domestic terrorist group. The country owes you. They feel even safer with an elected imPort Ambassador watching over the city.

04. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, has, as always, avoided any major or minor damages. Ask about the Hornets or the recent fights between imPorts and the locals will shrug. Don't get them wrong; they're glad those damn Hornets have been dealt with, but they don't want to discuss politics. Try asking the local imPort Ambassador. What's his name? Ryan? Revan? They don't offer any more information. Naturally for a big city, the people are somewhat aloof in nature. You might even notice the police are just the same, turning their heads the other way when two shady figures exchange fat wads of cash at the street corner. Did the police just drive away in their hovervehicle without bothering to observe what those two were up to? They sure did.

05. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities. It's loud, busy and there's some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. Anyone who they come to determine an imPort is bombarded with all sorts of offers; job offers, advertising gigs, spokesperson for advocating children stay in school, etc. Anything and everything! You name it. Shops offer discounts for food and clothing, whatever they need. People flock in droves with questions, but they all say the same thing. Thank you for your service to this country, Hero. You saved a lot of lives. Wow, feels great to be a hero, doesn't it?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Oh, oh, she'll raise her hand, she'll definitely raise her hand to that. An metal and leather armor clad hand, at that. Very not modern, very not modern whatsoever. ]

This is going far, far into the 'must have finally gone insane' territory for me, so, no, not just you. [ That said, she'll lower her hand and open her own folder. ] Personally, I pictured something with more fire and cackling when I finally went...

Yeah I always thought I'd end up with a lot more metal and buckles. Kind of like your get up.

[Her outfit looks like something someone would wear at one of those fan conventions. Honestly he feels a little sorry for her. If he's melting in his duster then she's got to be broiling in that thing.]

At the very least I thought I'd get a cozy padded cell somewhere instead of being tossed into an oven.

Edited 2015-03-01 04:29 (UTC)

[ She'll deal, she'll deal. Florida's not quite as bad as being set on fire, so yeah, could be worse. ]

Don't forget the pointy bits. [ Aaand probably the fur trim. That is not even remotely friendly for this weather. ] Though I don't think they plan on leaving us out here to bake.

[ Not that she's made any move to head for the car on standby near where they've been leaving the new arrivals. ]

I'm amazed you don't stab yourself with that thing when you put it on.

[Harry smirks while he continues to ignore the file he holds loosely in his hand. Talking to her is more fun anyway and despite her odd appearance, she's the least strange thing about this whole situation.]

Call me crazy, because I'm still pretty sure I am, but I don't think people who just abducted us have our best interests at heart.

[This situation has all his warning bells screaming in his ears, or maybe that's just the migraine. Either way he doesn't like it.]

Practice does make perfect.

[ She barely ever stabs her own eye anymore!

The mention of the people who've grabbed them, so to speak, has her looking off towards anyone who represents those ones in particular. The ones in all the uniforms and nice suits and what she suspects are weapons. ]

All right, Crazy, you can call me Hawke. [ ~~hi crazy, i'm dad.~~ ] I'm not sure what you think matters when they outnumber us. Strange, though, that they're trying to shuffle us off and away right after picking us up.

[All right, that actually makes Harry chuckle.]

Strange is suddenly waking up in an underground lab straight out of a comic book. There's a lot of strange things happening today.

[She holds a good point though. Nothing about this feels right to him.]

Maybe they don't want us trying to peek in their closet for presents. Definitely feels like there's something here they don't want us seeing.

Not that strange, provided you're used to waking up in strange places. [ That's just another Tuesday. ] Which... I suppose most people aren't.

[ Her attention moves on from the people in their uniforms to the building they've all been escorted out of. She's sure the entrance is still there, they would only have to go looking for them. Pick a dozen fights along the way, too, but... ]

Well, everyone does have something to hide. I wouldn't be opposed to kicking a few doors in, if you really want to go back and take a look.

Yeah see that's one of the reasons I put wards on my house, or eat at Burger King. No one drugs food at Burger King.

[They'd have to be crazy to ruin fine food like that.

Harry already starts thinking about their odds. The first big problem is the amount of suits with guns. He knows he's good, but even he can't handle that amount of firepower. It takes only one well aimed bullet to put him down for good.

Then there's the fact of actually trusting Hawke. He's got no idea who she is or what she can do. For all he knows she might just want to see him get himself killed. She's funny, but that doesn't mean he trusts her yet.]

I might have gone crazy, but I'm not stupid. We'd need a plan before we can start poking our heads where they don't belong. I'm not entirely eager to use my death curse here.

[ There'd be a lot less optimism about the whole 'let's go back and bug them' idea if she actually knew what all these guns even were, that's for sure. ]

Burger King...?

[ She was also pretty sure they mentioned no kings in the little 'welcome to somewhere weird and far away' spiel, but that's the least important thing he's said thus far. In any case, Hawke doesn't seem too inclined to start kicking doors in on her own, so she just shrugs when he says he'd prefer a plan and instead moves on to all those other interesting things Crazy said in passing.

She sets her hands on her hips and leans in closer, eyeing him, as if trying to spot something in particular.

Ah, the old game of is it or is it not a mage? It's so much easier when they actually wear robes, but apparently she isn't the only unconventional dresser around here. ]

Yes, a death curse does sound awfully permanent, doesn't it? Personally, I skip the cursing and set them on fire. Seems more straightforward that way.

[Okay she's definitely got to be from way out of town if she doesn't know what Burger King is.]

The finest food franchise if ever there was one.

[The closer she leans the more Harry leans away. He makes sure not to make full eye contact with her either. Now probably isn't the best time to be locked into a Soulgaze.

So someone hasn't heard of personal space obviously.]

Trust me, I prefer sticking to fire too. Throwing a fireball at someone doesn't require me dying first. A lot less messier that way. Sort of.

I suppose I'll just have to trust you on that.

[ Because 'food franchise', also a mystery. Anyway, she'll only invade his personal space for another second or two, then draw back to grin. ]

There we go! Common ground beyond 'oh, we've been kidnapped'. You can rarely go wrong with a well-aimed fireball. [ And a short, silent beat passes between that and her immediate follow-up. ] Well, unless you don't mean to burn the building down, too, but you know...

[Suddenly Harry looks just a tad bit awkward.]

Heh, yeah...

[Harry and property damage go together like two peas in a pod unfortunately.]

Bad guys really need to stop picking fights in places that are so flammable. Insurance agencies don't really cover 'fire by wizard'. Pretty sure they'd go broke if they did.

I have no idea what those are.

[ At least she's honest about it. ]

But I doubt anyone was usually prepared for a mage roasting their operation where I'm from, either. Luckily most places were made of stone, not wood.

Starting to think there's a language barrier here or something.

[Because he hasn't even considered her being from an alternate universe in the past yet.]

Yeah, we're not so lucky where I'm from.

I'm not so sure it's a language barrier so much as Thedas having none of what you keep referencing.

[ Except for 'burger'. That actually was a nonsense word. ]

What exactly are you from?

I don't even know what a 'Thedas' is so I guess that makes us even.

[Don't you go dissing burgers lady. Someone needs to school you on their magnificence.]

Chicago. Going to take a wild guess here and say you've never heard of it.

owning your okayness

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