The power is in your hands

[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 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?

Comments

No worry at all!

[timeshares]

What? Before introductions, even?

[vacationer]

I'm Lourdes. What are you?

[timeshares]

The name is Luke, pleased to meet you. As for what I am, it's the semi biological result of the poor impulse control of the gods known a demigod.

[The tone is dry and flat.]

So, Lourdes, what are you?

[vacationer]

[Demigod. Kind of human, but kind of not. That makes him very distinct from the other non-humans here, in her mind. He isn't an alien - he's like her.

So he gets to be the first person to hear the truth.]

I'm a human. But my soul is a piece of a star.

[timeshares]

[He'd heard of people being turned into the stars by the gods ... After a moment of thought, he simply nods. It wasn't too much of a stretch to think of a star, or a part of one returning.]

It's no wonder you can see monsters for what they are...

[vacationer]

... I think you might mean that in a different way than I do.

What monsters have you met?

[timeshares]

Likely ... This place doesn't work by the same rules I'm used to. So it follows...

As for what monsters? Hellhounds, dragons, giants... You name it.

[vacationer]

As far as I know, we don't have anything like that where I'm from.

[timeshares]

Something else, then?

[vacationer]

I thought you decided you didn't want to know.

[timeshares]

[It's just that curiosity is a difficult beast to slay entirely.]

Better or worse than zombies?

[vacationer]

Worse than anything you can imagine.

[It's a dramatic statement, but one she fully believes.]

[timeshares]

[Luke studies the people around them while chewing that grand statement over, and finally settles on a shrug. Different world, different rules. No point in tempting the Fates.]

So. You've got time away from them, at least.

[vacationer]

[He has a point. She's happy to be away from the angels, and without them, she can get back to what she'd originally been doing: having fun, and not thinking about anything else.

But being on another world doesn't take away her knowledge of what they had told her.]

Remember what I said about how once you know that everything's going to end, you stop being able to enjoy things?

[timeshares]

... Yeah. Got a bit of an idea of how that goes.



So, things are unfinished, I take it?

[vacationer]

Do you actually know how it goes, or are you attempting false sympathy?

[timeshares]

Don't flatter yourself.

[vacationer]

... So what happened to you?

[She's leaving his question to her unanswered again, but hey, it had worked out okay the last time.]

[timeshares]

[It's okay. Luke can read omission fairly well, as it is.

The flare of temper from him cools quickly enough.]

So, some guy decides to kill all the gods, end western civilization and you know, probably the human race. Great Prophecy sort of material right there. Me? I find out a couple of years before the end that the whole point of my life is to die for this conflict. No way out, no where to run, no where to go, can't even die early. Blah blah, all that. All that I had was the choice of who I got to die for.

Was kind of a joy kill.

[vacationer]

[Lourdes keeps her expression as blank as she can when he talks - but when he talks about dying being his entire purpose in life, a flicker of something crosses her face.]

Who did you pick?

[timeshares]

Family.

[vacationer]

[She flinches.]

Oh.

You don't regret it.

[It's more of a statement than a question.]

[timeshares]

It was the right choice.

Well, it'd be too late to worry about it now, anyway.

[vacationer]

How do you know it was the right choice? You didn't make the other one. You can't compare.

[Now it's her turn to snap - because it doesn't matter that they're only talking about his experience. To Lourdes, Luke's choice not to betray his family is a direct insult to her. He'd stayed strong. He hadn't given in. He hadn't turned into a monster.

But she had done all those things.]

So I'm kind of laughing at how similar they are. This is a great thread by the way!

[timeshares]

[He blinks at the intensity in her voice, and returns the scowl.]

I can't. But I spent seven years making the wrong decision, so I think I've got a decent frame of reference.