etcelsior | The power is in your hands

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The power is in your hands

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 might be a haze still and you might even feel frustrated or anxious by the sudden news that you are no longer in your own world and that the Porter scientists and military cannot send you back. You don't get a chance to linger long in the underground Porter lab, but something is clearly amiss; light patches on the floor indicate something else used to sit in that spot in the room. Parts of the wall, floor and the tables look as if they have been refurbished in the past few months -- something happened in here some time ago. Something big.

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 and a pamphlet. 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 what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place. The locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to help cool you down in this awfully nauseating heat. Some of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation and others might not say anything. In fact, some people might back away from any imPort who quite obviously looks like they aren't from around the neighborhood. Once in a while there's a look of disdain on someone's face and hushed voices. Something about "the outbreak" and "the government's gotta crack down on their medical files". "Some of them can't be right in the head" says another.

03. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter, there are just as many citizens awed at your presence. Heavy winds have people grasping at their newspapers and constantly brushing hair out of their faces, but that doesn't distract them from crowding you in excitement if you're obviously from a different time or world, or just let it slip that you're a newcomer. Children and young teenagers are especially likely to ask for an autograph and a photo.

Some locals seem less enthused to see you. They never make an approach, but they can be overheard scoffing and muttering something about cameras. "Who do they think they are?" or "I don't like it... it reminds me of the government corruption back in the eighties." What could they be talking about?

04. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is normally known for being a little more on the apathetic side, but there's been tension in the atmosphere lately. Nobody will outright state what it is that's rustled their jimmies, though you might find a newsstand with articles on recent and aggressive vigilante behavior within the city. "ImPorts: loyal to the cause of their own?" reads one newspaper article.

People are not as friendly in this city and go out of their way to avoid walking down the same sidewalk as the more obvious looking imPorts pass through. Local cops say nothing, but they scowl at those imPorts and utter something about "no badges" and "acting like authority figures".

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?

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Uh.

Kind of ... normal? [ Except for Welsh Kings and ley lines and magical forests. But Adam is not Gansey and so he hoards the reality of his world until he knows he can trust her. ]

I'm from Virginia. That's why I came here. I thought I could get home that way.

Well - everyone's from a normal world from their perspective, aren't they.

[ She says that cheerfully enough. Though: ]

That must be a bit hard, though. Coming here and seeing all this.

I thought I could get home. You know, hitch hike or something? Only then I asked a bunch of people and they told me Henrietta didn't even exist here and it kind of ... sunk in.

[ Which resulted in the almost nervous breakdown on the park bench. ]

[ A sympathetic nod. ]

Yeah. Are you going to stay here, do you think?

I guess I don't really have a choice?

[ They've taken him from his home. He can't get back. The tiny little apartment above St. Agnes doesn't exist here. ]

Do you know if there's like a hostel or something? [ Maybe she'll think he's a backpacking hipster instead of broke. ]

[ Huh. Pride is one thing, but - turning down government housing for it? Living in a hostel instead? Kitty had left the house they'd assigned her, but that had been out of fear and paranoia, not pride. Does his go that far? ]

You're...not going to live in the imPort housing?

What?

[ It's okay, Kitty. He just didn't know. ]

Oh. That's a thing?

Oh!

[ She relaxes just a little bit. Okay, so then maybe he won't die starving and frozen on the street. ]

Yeah. You get free housing from the government. A job, too, and a stipend. If you register. Which basically just involves saying that you'll cooperate with them even though you don't really have to.

[ He might still do that. ]

Are you sure we're still in the US? [ He gives her a small smile to convey that he's joking. Still, it's almost valid. the government aren't all that helpful to people like him. ] I'm not really the hero type though. [ He doesn't think he can do it. He can barely save himself, let alone anyone else. ]

[ She smiles right back at him. ]

Oh, I'm not, either. But if they're idiots enough to give me money because they're deluded about me, I'm hardly about to correct their mistake. Especially since I make sure that money goes to the people it ought to go to.

So are you like Robin Hood?

[ Is she giving her money to the poor? ~~Is that why she wants to buy him coffee.~~ ] Don't they make sure you're doing something heroic every so often? Like why give us money if we're not doing it. It's a job.

[ A little puzzled, and unfamiliar with the reference: ]

Robin Hood?

[ Anyway - ]

And no, they don't. Honestly, I'm fairly certain they keep giving money even to the worst ones. Which is ridiculous.

[ He'll just imagine he's being a huge dork and not specify what he meant with the Robin Hood comment. He doesn't know how to talk to girls, he doesn't want to make things worse. ]

They must have a lot of resources.

[ What would that be like? To be given money just because? To not have to worry about paying rent and student fees and three jobs and studying. Maybe he could take a nap before midnight. ]

[ A little sniff. She's clearly none too impressed with their performance. ]

Well, the entire government, I should say they do. Unfortunately, they just use those resources badly. Like just about every government, of course.

Yeah.

[ He's best friends with the biggest WASP to ever WASP. ]

So why do they bring us here instead of getting the natives to do the work?

They don't.

[ She pushes her hands through her hair, clearly annoyed - though not, of course, at him. ]

It's a machine that brings us here. Working at random. The government just decided to use us as a resource now that we are here. By kissing our arses. Throwing nice things at us so we'll feel positive towards them.

Oh.

[ Well, there goes his plan of convincing someone to send him back. ] A machine though? That's like the beginning of every sinister robot movie I've seen.

Maybe.

[ Then she shoots a wry little smile over at him. ]

That's not going to stop you believing, is it? The fact that there's something that resembles some absurd melodrama? Because things are just going to get worse. Everything here is like that.

No.

I'm kind of used to absurd melodrama. [ Searching for dead Welsh Kings, boys who can pull birds and people out of their dreams, kissing curses. Adam has seen it all. ]

I'm just not looking forward to dealing with our robot overlords, is all.

Oh, they're mostly standard government-overlords. We don't actually deal with the machine all that much - it's pretty silent. Quite rude, really. So you can predict exactly what it's going to be like - lots of bureaucracy, stupidity. Privilege given to the wealthy and powerful. The poor and downtrodden ignored. Not actively oppressed, though, which is at least a step in the right direction.

[ Poor and downtrodden ignored. Well, Adam has been living a life of faking it until he makes it. ]

Right. This is going to be a blast. [ His voice has just the right level of sarcasm in it, his footsteps matching Kitty's. She's been helpful, she's given him the information he needs, his prickly exterior has almost faded. ]

So can I find a way to get a message to my friends?

If they're still home, no. If they're here, yeah. Which happens sometimes - [ She's quick to add that, flashing a sympathetic sort of smile at him. ] Pretty frequently, actually, where people you knew back home end up here. Which can be either horrid or nice, depending. So there's definitely hope.

[ If they're at home Adam won't be able to contact them. His footsteps falter at the idea of living a life without the people he needs. No Gansey, no Blue, no Ronan, no Noah. He's been aiming for a free life since he was old enough to think and yet now the possibility is here he feels the first wave of fear wash through him. ]

How -- [ He has to swallow down his feeling, keep his face from looking too wild when he glances at Kitty. ]

How would I find out for sure?

[ She slows a little bit as well, chewing a moment on her lip. ]

There are ways. The best one is to put out a call on the network.

Is that an oh-God-I-miss-them face, or is it a I-dearly-hope-they-don't-show-up-here face?

They'll worry if they can't find me.

[ He just has to think of the last time he went missing, of the Gansey family trying to scour half of DC while he walked and walked and walked, not knowing who he was or where he was going.

He doesn't want to put his friend through that again. ]

What's the network? Like cell reception?

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rathercommon - 2015-09-07 16:29 (UTC) - Expand

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aberth - 2015-09-07 20:48 (UTC) - Expand

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