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

ronan lynch | the raven cycle.

[fuckwashington]

a. FLORIDA MAN STRIKES AGAIN | cape canaveral, fl.

[Is Ronan actually reading the pamphlet- no, no, there he is, half way through and he's crumpled it up. With a look of evident disgust on his sneering face, he throws the discarded ball of paper at you.]

[Yes, you.]

[A raven sits on his shoulder, and it squawks what might be laughter.] What're you looking at?

b. SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT | de chima, va.

[Are you near any forested area in De Chima? Ronan is. There he goes, crashing through the underbrush with a look of utter disdain. Don't take it personally, he just has resting bitch face something fierce.]

[A raven flies ahead of him, occasionally stopping on a branch to wait for her sluggish human companion. Why doesn't everyone have wings? Really, it's ridiculous. When she crows, Ronan looks up and speaks as though he expects a response.] What?

[Then he looks over and sees you. He doesn't seem pleased.] Fuck off.

c. LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE | de chima, va.

[Back in the civilized world, Ronan is walking around the town with a bird on his shoulder. His jacket hides the tattoo on his back, but he draws attention to the new tattoo on his wrist with how he keeps picking at it. He seems like he wants to claw it off, but such attempts are curtailed by the watchful eyes of De Chima residents.]

[The locals don't seem to like it, and they mutter fearful whispers under their breath.]

[Unlucky for them that Ronan has good hearing.]

[His head whips around, and he walks decisively toward a middle aged couple standing outside a Whole Foods. Their eyes widen in fear as Ronan stalks toward them, and they look even less pleased when he opens his mouth.] What'd you say? You wanna repeat that?

[Someone please stop this tragedy in the making.]

c.

[quaerit]

[ There's something that's almost comforting about seeing Ronan Lynch, temper raised, about to release it on a pair of unsuspecting citizens. Gansey reacts on instinct, rushing to close the distance between them so that he can intercede before it gets any worse. He does that, and thinks about that, before the wonderful fact that Ronan is actually here properly settles in his brain, and then his sense of relief is overpowering.

First Adam, then Ronan. The world is righting itself again.

He still needs to help those bystanders, though. ]

I think they were inquiring about the raven on your shoulder. Not a sight they're used to seeing, I'm sure.

[ Please don't get in trouble on our first day, Ronan, that is the last thing we need. ]

[fuckwashington]

[It's not really that Ronan believes Gansey, it's that Ronan respects Gansey. A subtle difference that means he'll do what Gansey says, because Gansey has his best interests at heart. If Ronan were more poetically-minded, he'd think something of kings and they're knights, but he's not, so he doesn't. He just glares at the couple, now making awkward excuses and trying to back away into the relative safety of the supermarket.]

Whatever.

[Said in a tone meant to imply various suggestions for where they could stick their organic zuccini.]

[And like that, he's forgotten them completely. He refocuses on Gansey, and the entire world reorients around him. Things are good now. They're right.] When'd you get here?

[quaerit]

[ Thank God. Gansey sends a polite smile and a friendly wave in the couple's direction, seeing them on their way and trying to enforce the message that everything is just fine here.

Because it is, and will be. It's not the couple he's worried about. Ronan is always his focus. Now, he can allow himself that sense of relief. His whole expression changes once he's looking at his friend and not the couple; polite cheer gives way to a far more genuine, and open look. His half-smile has more of the real Gansey in it than anyone has seen thus far. He's never needed to wear a mask for Ronan. ]

This morning. Interesting way to start the day. I've seen Adam already, so it's starting to feel like a reunion. Coincidence. [ Because it's not. ] What about you?

[fuckwashington]

[And it doesn't show, but there's something warming about someone being genuinely happy to see him-- him of all fucking people-- that Ronan would happily die for. That's what loyalty is. That's the happy cost of it.]

[It's the closest thing Ronan's felt to home since-]

[Whatever.]

No Noah? [There's a pause, like he's trying to remember the name, but he's not, because that's fucking unforgettable.] Blue?

( b. )

[aberth]

Seriously?

[ Ronan isn't known for being polite but Adam would have thought kidnapping and men with guns might make him a little bit happier to see him. He knows he is. Ronan and bird are a familiar sight. He could do with familiarity. ]

Can't you at least just pretend you're not an asshole for five minutes? [ But he smiles a little, crossing the distance, glad that he's not alone. ]

[fuckwashington]

[Ronan squints through the thick underbrush, trying to recognize the guy he swore at before he could properly see his face. Then he recognizes the voice, and- fuck. He mentally chastizes himself-- that's fucked up, you fucked up, that was fucking stupid and why did you do it?]

[Outwardly, he shows no remorse. Just a rolling shrug of his shoulders as he walks toward Adam's voice. (His voice is so much nicer, so much kinder, than Ronan's can ever be.)]

Whatever. You looking for it too? [They both know what 'it' is. Chainsaw flaps her wings, drawing herself to a closer branch, as if agreeing with the unspoken statement.]

[aberth]

I can't feel it.

[ There's a loss in his voice that startles him. He'd always thought that when Cabeswater finally left him he'd feel better. But there's so many things left unfinished and Gansey --. ]

I don't think it's here. Or we're not there. [ He glances up at Chainsaw, then back to the boy below. ]

[fuckwashington]

[Chainsaw squawks, and, according to the rules of pathetic fallacy, it almost sounds reassuring. Ronan, meanwhile, just seems concerned. The emotion sits poorly on him, like clothes that don't fit.] You can't? Not at all?

[It's a dumb question to ask, but Ronan can't conceive of it. Gansey is Cabeswater. He's trying to find his home as much as Ronan is. The idea that it's lost to him...]

[Ronan begins to worry about Gansey. That, too, is a troubling and new sensation.] That just means it's better hidden.

[Faith is true and good and pure, and faith is stubborn as a fucking mule.]

b

[vacationer]

You first.

[Lourdes lifts her chin and stares at him. It would be a challenging gesture if she had something more than a blank expression on her face, but she doesn't.]

[fuckwashington]

[Ah, challenges. Ronan can respect those. He snorts-- it'd sound like laughter if he seemed like someone who did that sort of thing-- and begins heading in the other direction.]

[Sadly, the bird has other ideas. A normal-sized raven, average in every way, lands near Lourdes in the forest. Its black eyes stare deeply into the girl's, as though trying to assess her worth.]

[After a moment, Ronan can be heard crashing through the underbrush, trying to find his bird.] Chainsaw, c'mon. [He holds his arm out as a perch, but the raven-- Chainsaw-- ignores it.]

[He looks at Lourdes as though this is her fault.] What do you want?

[vacationer]

Nothing. You're the one who came back.

[She looks up at the bird, then makes the connection.]

Your bird is stalking me.

[fuckwashington]

Not for you. [He says it with an empty sort of disdain. She hasn't, really, done anything to piss him off yet (yet), so his anger is general and unspecific.]

[But that just means he needs to find a reason.] You got a problem with her? [His arm is still raised, waiting for Chainsaw to join him.]

c.

[illuminescent]

[It was the bird that caught her eye, initially. It's not that she doesn't see many birds, but often they are not accompanying people, not here. Then she sees the tattoo and she wonders why he looks so uncomfortable with it. In Narnia, she has never seen anyone with a tattoo, but here she has been made to understand that they are common and often are very carefully chosen by the people who wear them.

Then the fight begins.

She is just nearby; she doesn't know where d'Artagnan is - probably watching her from some corner of the street, but Lucy is not inclined to just let this unfold the way it appears to be unfolding.

The citizens know Lucy, because she's becoming quite well-known around the city for being the girl with the horse and the girl with the bodyguards and occasionally the girl with the bow, so when she targets Ronan with a smile and very carefully steps in the way, she looks-

Well, disarming, really.]

My apologies, but really, it is quite unbecoming to mutter about another's appearance, no matter how you should disagree, if you please.

[She's not speaking to Ronan. The couple look down at her, and they're turning to leave, and she turns to look up at him.]

Should you like to punch someone, I would suggest me, although I would not care for it, so please do not.

[fuckwashington]

[What the fuck.]

[So this lady just talks them down like it's nothing, without fighting, and then asks him to punch her. Ronan doesn't like people fixing his problems-- he likes his problems where they are, so he can make them worse-- and he doesn't like people telling him what to do and really, at the heart of the matter, her prim accent and poised countenance reminds him of country clubs and bubbling flutes of champagne.]

[It's not personal, he's just an asshole. When things get good, he wants to burn them down.]

What's your fucking problem?

[The raven squawks in something that could either be welcome or accusation.]

[illuminescent]

[Her eyebrows go up, and she looks at the raven when he squawks. Not a talking raven; well, that's a shame. Unless he is disinclined to speak - she will not assume either way.]

Currently? I'm worried about your wrist.

[Well, if he's going to ask a blunt question like that, she may as well be honest.]

But that isn't what you mean, is it?

[She just looks at him like she's sort of unimpressed, her arms going behind her back.]

c, just casually tagging all the young male corvids

[rathercommon]

[ If there is one thing Kitty Jones can't stand, it's - Well, actually, that sentence is perhaps starting from a faulty premise, because it implies that there is the possibility that there'd be only one thing in the world that would get Kitty fired up. But amongst the things that get her extremely fired up is the issue of imPorts bullying locals. ImPorts have powers; they have celebrity; they have the bloody ability to come back to life. So when she sees one of her fellow imPorts being rude to a local? It doesn't matter to Kitty what that local might or might not have done to deserve it. She gets mad.

So shoving her way in between the angry kid and the couple is a skinny girl, who's not particularly tall but acts tall, whose head is shoved towards him and whose hands are balled into fists and whose face is twisted into a scowl of anger. And she spits at him - ]

Back off! They're just scared of you; don't make it worse.

the corvid youths is actually the name of their punk band true fact.

[fuckwashington]

[For a half second, Ronan almost thinks it's Blue. But, no, it's some other tiny girl with an attitude problem (pot, kettle, etc, except Ronan is very very tall). e looks down at this new interloper with arrogance and interest in equal measure.]

Fuck off, this is none of your business. [He's... curious if this girl will keep going. Blue would have.]

I hope they're doing the soundtrack to the remake of The Crow

[rathercommon]

Fuck you, I'm making it my business.

[ Far from backing off, she takes another step forward - which, of course, puts the fact that he's way taller than her into even starker relief. But she hardly cares. If she'll end up having to stand on her tiptoes to fight him, then by God, she'll stand on her tiptoes. ]

You're an imPort, yeah? Those people can't fight against you. So if they say something you don't like, you either ignore it, or you make yourself into a real bully. You want to be that? A bully and an arsehole?

a.

[caerulea]

[ She's staring really hard at him right now. Practically glaring daggers as he throws the paper her direction. Not a very unRonan-like thing to do. There's a strange comfort in the familiarity of the action. Even if it is rude and agitates her at the same time. ]

Are you really not going to read that?

[fuckwashington]

[Oh, fuck, it's Blue Sargent, his least favorite girl. (Coincidentally, Blue is also his favorite girl, because Ronan only knows one girl.) (Don't tell anyone.) His sneer morphs into a twisted smile.]

You already read it, didn't you.

[caerulea]

[ There's a moment when his sneer catches her off-guard. It instantly warns of her of what's to come. The inevitable insult.

Delivered right on time.

Her surprise fades into a look of pure anger before she huffs and turns away to busily look through her file. ]

Not all of it. Most of it. [ Finally she looks back up. ] You should be reading it too. It's not like this is a walk through Cabeswater.

b!! HA I BEATCHU hours...later....

[smudgedlife]

[Where someone who matters is mostly alone, Noah is probably near. The same goes now, but this time, it's Ronan suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Noah startles from behind a tree he is definitely not using to hide and certainly wasn't peeking around.

He knows Ronan wasn't talking to him, not really, but he feels like answering] No.

[Satisfied with that, Noah slinks out from behind his hidey hole. Forgotten leaves stick up in his hair, and the usual smudge under his eye looks suspiciously like a very normal, nasty purple bruise]

Are they gone? [It's a furtive question that lacks its partner glance. He's worried if he looks away, Ronan will disappear.

To be honest, it's a fair concern]

[fuckwashington]

[Oh, that's better. Something familiar. Ronan starts making his way over to Noah.] Who?

[Anyone else, he'd think they were hallucinating. With Noah, it probably means he's tapping into some deep spectral bullshit.]

[smudgedlife]

Those people. They were following me. [Immediately, relief crosses his run-flush face. If Ronan hasn't seen them, he probably lost the scary crowds that were looking for a spectacle. Yeah, it's honestly not as mysterious as it seems. This time.

He makes a face, thinking of the crowds] And people call me creepy.