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

B

[cicatrize]

[ jack's been fine with all the fan attention and autograph requests because, really, it's not terribly different from the life he'd led already. it's when he overhears the other imPort nearby being harrassed that he steps in, giving the girl a quick 'let me help you out with that collection, sweetheart'. after he's done, he goes pacing after the man, commenting on what he'd said in the crowd. ]

Good God, can we please keep fathers where they are?

[ can we please keep jack's father where he is? ]

They have an impossible knack for ruining things otherwise good.

[ jack's not normally this polite. not genuinely. but he's made an art of seeming so, and it's a amicable smile he flashes the man, humored and friendly. ]

[quaerit]

[ Gansey had, actually, been all too happy to let someone more comfortable with celebrity take charge of the crowd. The consummate ease with which Jack swooped in reminds him forcibly of his mother's prowess with Party supporters, and Gansey despises that sort of attention.

He's more surprised when Jack catches up with him again, but at once, his manner is friendly. You saved him from the horde; at the very least that merits you a handshake. ]

I wasn't prepared for quite so much baseless enthusiasm. You looked as though you're used to it, so thank you for the save. I'm Gansey.

[ There's that hand - offered with the kind of assurance that makes him seem far older than he really is. The smile that accompanies it is the kind that election campaigns are made on: polite, charming, confident, controlled. ]

[cicatrize]

Son of a King. [ jack answers with a nonchalant shrug. meaning Prince, but lets be honest, no one would give two shits about Jack if it weren't for his father. Jack's never had any illusions about that. ] It comes with the inheritance.

You seemed like you could use the escape.

[ meeting Gansey's offered hand, Jack shakes, firm and confident and reflecting everything royalty taught him in presenting oneself, seeing the same politically crafted play in Gansey. Polite, charming, confident, controlled. It's that last part that makes it so so obviously political. always controlled, to a point that it's suffocating. maybe that'd been what drove him to give the guy an out from the fans. or maybe he was just pretty. whatever. ]

Jack Benjamin. I take it you're one of the new arrivals as well? [ because the people who've been here a while seem to have better strategies to handle the masses. ]

[quaerit]

[ Son of a King. Gansey’s brows lift, but with interest instead of disbelief. He also doesn’t look remotely intimidated. His smile widens just slightly beyond the edge of his controlled gloss, and there’s more of a warmth to his eyes.

His easy, polished attitude remains. ]

I know the feeling. Though, autographs are slightly beyond the norm – at least for me. [ Gansey is used to dealing with politicians, congressmen, senators, businessmen, all the people who provide the undercurrent for his mother’s political ambitions. He’s not just Richard Campbell Gansey, he’s Richard Campbell Gansey III, which means there’s been two more before him and it’s widely accepted that he’ll end up falling into their lifestyle after them. Politics and maneuvering, playing the game. It makes him want to flee from them all and never look back.

But even politics is not the same as celebrity. Jack seems used to both, which makes sense, for a prince. Gansey notes that he doesn’t introduce himself with his title, despite making it clear that he has one. ]

I arrived today, some hours ago. Coming here ought to have taken me home, but of course it’s not that simple. Do you mind if I ask which King?

[cicatrize]

[ it's been a long time since jack's had to actually introduce himself to anyone - anyone that didn't already know perfectly well who he was and who's son he was, more importantly. seeing the boy's brows lift, his smile widen and eyes warm, almost has him taken aback. if jack's control of his composure hasn't been iron for so long, his surprise may have shown through.

this makes it better, right? because anyone who knows him, now, back home, wouldn't have the same starstruck glaze to their staring. not after what he did. yes, this is definitely better. ]

Silas Benjamin, of Gilboa. [ he doubts this kid knows him, or came from jack's world at all - because he's used to being flocked around by the public. anyone back home that's had the public flocking about them, jack knows. or at least, knows of. and he doesn't know this boy. ] Which I haven't even heard whispers about here, despite not being able to take two steps in my old world without seeing some evidence of my father. So, if you've never heard of him either, I promise, my feelings won't be hurt.

[ said with a charming smile and a mild, self-deprecating chuckle. ]

[quaerit]

Gilboa?

[ Make way for the history nerd. Gansey lifts his eyebrows. ]

Well, I've heard of that, but only as a mountain. [ He frowns. ] Perhaps a mountain range. In Israel, certainly not here. But I haven't heard of Silas, and your accent is very American. [ Refined American. But that doesn't mean much. Gansey's own accent is very American, but anyone who recognised it would also recognise that he comes from wealth because of it. ] I'm sorry. That must be disconcerting.

[ Jack doesn't appear too broken up about it, though. In fact he looks very comfortable, and thus Gansey is not wary about saying so. ]