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etcelsior2015-08-22 08:10 pm
maskormods) wrote in etcelsior2015-08-22 08:10 pm
Entry tags:
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?
no subject
That's good to know. Are they here?
[ Either one of them, really. And as for that other question... ]
No one knows where he is. That's the reason for looking. You'd expect a Medieval Welsh King to be buried in Wales, naturally, where he could be properly honored and treated as a national hero. That's how it ought to have happened.
But his enemies were close at hand, and so it was necessary to take him far from them. Virginia is, admittedly, quite exceptionally far - but that's where the ley line comes in. It could have been any ley line, of course; but the one in Henrietta has peculiar connections to him, which I've only discovered over time. My search for him is what brought me there, in fact. Did you still want to eat?
[ He says this because they're passing a little Italian place, and little Italian places have a way of beckoning Gansey inside. He loiters beside it, amiably waiting to Billy's cue. ]
no subject
[He looks at the restaurant, and sure, it's nice. Billy could do with some Italian food, really. Carbs really do it for him, he won't lie.]
Wait, are you saying you came here on purpose?
Or you mean to Heropa?
[Because if Gansey came here on purpose-
Well, that would be different.
The inside of the restaurant is kind of dark, but comforting, too, in a way. They get a booth, and Billy takes a look around. No one really nearby, that's good.]
So, okay, what got you going on Glendower?
no subject
[ Gansey's eyes lift to the city around them, to the city that has the familiar smell of Virginia trees, but not that quintessential feeling of home. No. This little excursion could not have been more unplanned. ]
This was very far from my choice. I need to get back as soon as I can.
[ Which he recognises is no simple matter. That's already very clear. Sliding into the booth, he pulls a menu over. He barely looks at it, though, because that question is one that weighs on him. He looks up, assessing Billy.
If there's anyone who might believe this story, he thinks, it's this boy. ]
Seven years ago, I died.
[ A little pause. All things considered, that's probably not the best way to start any story - even a true one. ]
I stepped on a nest of hornets. I didn't realise it at first. By the time I did, it was far too late, and they were everywhere. On my arms, in my clothes. In my ears. Everywhere.
I'm allergic, you see. They stung me over and over again, more than they would have needed to. I died...
And then I heard a voice. It said: 'You will live because of Glendower. Someone else on the ley line is dying when they should not, and so you will live when you should not.' And so I lived, and since that day, I've been looking for him.
[ Gansey has been in touch with his own mortality since that day. He knows he's been given a second chance at life, and so he intends to make it count. ]
no subject
Exchanging lives like that isn't elementary magic. Bringing people back to life is a tricky business.
[Billy should know, considering he's....done it. Twice. Once on accident. Both times it was a disaster.]
It's pretty commendable to keep looking, but-
....like, are you sure it wants to be found?
no subject
But none of them had been like Billy. None of them had talked about it as if it was a technical issue that they could deconstruct. What a fascinating perspective. Gansey has the curious feeling of being both in this conversation and observing it, filing it away in his mind to make notes on later. ]
He.
He wants to be found. It feels as though he does. These last few months, I keep getting closer. I find things that would have delighted me at the start, and now they're disappointments because it feels so close. Both closer and further away than ever.
[ Gansey frowns as he says that, as he articulates it. His fingers flicker, curling in on his hand. ]
But I need to find him, Billy. I've come far. I can't give up on him now.
no subject
[He considers this, and maybe it's that simple. Maybe he does want to be found. And Billy understands the need to find him.]
Well.
I can probably help you out. I don't know how yet, but it can't hurt to have the demiurge on your side.
no subject
Why not Billy, too? ]
It can't hurt. But I'll not call you that, if you don't mind.
Being in a completely different reality might hurt, though. I don't have to tell you, I really do need to go home.
no subject
[Seriously, Billy would not appreciate it. He nods a bit.]
Unfortunately, crossing dimensions around here is basically not possible. So you might have to tough it out and wait.
no subject
That's what I was afraid of.
[ And it sets a coldness inside him. Henrietta - home - has never felt further away, and that's crushing to Gansey. He doesn't let it show on his face. He's careful to keep that clear. ]
After all it's what the nice gentlemen with the guns said, and who could ever disbelieve them?
I suppose you're going to tell me the wait will be a long one.
no subject
It might be.
Some people are here years.
[That's the bad news. Billy's at a year and a half; he knows people have been here for much longer than that. He still feels new, in a lot of ways.]
But some people don't stay long at all. There's no telling why or how.
[He draws a little doodle with his finger, out of nervousness, on the menu.]
We really try not to think too much about it.
no subject
I’m not sure I have that luxury.
[ He sits back in his seat, staring at Billy. Then the moment passes, and he takes that feeling and he puts it away – packages it to the back of his mind, and instead he focuses on what they’ll do about it. Gansey is not good with situations beyond his control. He needs to find a way to get a grip on it. ]
This Porter is the thing, isn’t it? You’re convinced it doesn’t draw its energy from ley lines, and yet it behaves in ways I associate very much with ley lines. Time means little to it. Space is just another calculation. So where does it get its energy from? What is it? Do you know?
no subject
It has a goddess, I guess.
Well, that's what we kind of figure she is. She doesn't really...wake up or anything.