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

[timeshares]

[He gives a grin and a half shrug.]

I've heard paranoia's in season. Just staying fashionable.

[vacationer]

That's cute.

[She thinks she's ~*above*~ paranoia by this point.]

What if there is an apocalypse coming? Would you want to know?

[timeshares]

Good question. Do you think it's better to live blissfully unaware?

[vacationer]

It makes most people happier.

[timeshares]

[That gets something of a longer look from him, considering her a little more carefully...]



To answer your question: Yeah, I'd want to know it's coming. I'd have a hard time letting myself enjoy that kind of happiness. Fatal flaw, I guess.

[vacationer]

If you'd have a hard time enjoying yourself, you should pick not knowing.

[timeshares]

The key to a life without worries, I presume.

[He gestures casually back to some of the residents loitering around the activity of the new imPorts, and commenting amongst themselves on the imPorts' conversations.]

So lets assume they're infected and showing no symptoms yet.

No worries for now, but what will you do with them later?

[vacationer]

What makes you think I'd do anything?

[She chooses to watch the people he's talking about rather than look at him.]

It wouldn't be my problem.

[timeshares]

[He scratches at his chin. He starts to say something, stops and just grins, leaning back against a cafe fence instead.]

Okay, I can't argue, there's something appealing about a world where everyone would appreciate you for your brains, but the conversation's got to be dull after a while. All the moaning..

Bits falling into the soup.

Just uncivilized, really.

[vacationer]

[A tiny smile flits across Lourdes's face. It's there and gone in an instant, but it's still an accomplishment, because she barely smiles at all these days - not genuinely, anyway.]

And the smell. Have you ever smelled a bunch of rotting bodies? It can't be pleasant.

[timeshares]

Can't say I've had the pleasure of that particular adventure. Sounds like the air freshener business would be booming, though.

So there you go. If it is the eve of an apocalypse, I've given you an excellent investment plan.

[vacationer]

Nah. If it's the eve of an apocalypse, nobody is going to be thinking about that stuff.

[timeshares]

Well. You can't say I didn't try.

[vacationer]

Hm.

[She leans on the fence too, though not too close to him.]

You made the right choice, by the way. Between knowing and not knowing - if you can't fix it, you shouldn't want to know about it.

[timeshares]

I can't say I have the best record with fixing things. [It's said a little flatly.]

But I get where you were coming from... There's something maddening about a wrong that you can't look away from but can't do anything about either. I'd want that kind of option too.

[vacationer]

You probably won't ever get it. Or if you do, you won't know it.

[timeshares]

Probably not.

Well, not while we have glow in the dark tattoos.

[vacationer]

What do the tattoos have to do with it?

[timeshares]

Probably a part of that worrying thing... but it's probably going to be pretty hard to work a quiet nine to five when you're obviously marked as something not normal for this world.

[vacationer]

Were you actually planning on doing that?

[timeshares]

[The laugh is pretty much immediate.]

Nah. I'd rather fight monsters at this point.

[vacationer]

Have you ever done that before?

[timeshares]

[He scratches his chin thoughtfully.]

Plenty of monsters, zero on holding down a desk job, depending on what you're asking.

[vacationer]

I meant the monsters.

Did you win?

[timeshares]

I manage well enough when I have to.

... Sounds like it's something you're used to as well.