maskormods: (⒊)
Mask or Menace | MODERATORS ([personal profile] maskormods) wrote in [community profile] etcelsior2015-08-22 08:10 pm

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?
enucleation: by frottage (Normal - pic#9158180)

[personal profile] enucleation 2015-08-24 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
It's apparently something the Porter does. A pattern, if you will. [ everyone wishes to be an exception to said pattern, but in the end, they aren't. ]

It does. People are sent back by the Porter quite often. But no one has a saying in it, and no one but the Porter decides who leaves and when. [ well, not the Porter, but the being possessing it ]
incogneto: (let's just say i'm frankenstein's monste)

[personal profile] incogneto 2015-08-24 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Why does no one find that extremely ominous??? ]

Have you spoken to this Porter?
enucleation: by frottage (Normal - pic#9158185)

[personal profile] enucleation 2015-08-24 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ oh everyone does, actually ]

A lot of people have tried, but there was no answer. A figure by the name of Lachesis possessed the Porter and now controls the machine. Lachesis decides when we come and go.

And most importantly, Lachesis is silent. And it will defend itself accordingly, if necessary.
incogneto: (he ate my heart)

[personal profile] incogneto 2015-08-24 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
...Then who was the one who found out Lachesis' name?
enucleation: DEFAULT - DEFAULT (Normal - pic#8845554)

[personal profile] enucleation 2015-08-24 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Lachesis existed in another world, universe, another version of Earth - she is an Artificial Intelligence and she has done all of this before, except in the original Universe that she came from.

Some imPorts from that world have met her and are familiar with her methods. [ and she may have introduced herself before going totally silent forever ]
incogneto: (not the good kind of sudden clarity)

[personal profile] incogneto 2015-08-24 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ... ]

What happened to that universe?
enucleation: DEFAULT - DEFAULT (Normal - pic#9158188)

[personal profile] enucleation 2015-08-25 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
Lachesis' "sister", Clotho destroyed the world. We are lacking details on how since there aren't many imPorts left from that time. But those imPorts, back in that universe, decided to save Lachesis from Clotho's cage and by saving her, Lachesis granted them salvation as well, by bringing them here before the world was destroyed completely.

[ it's a huge mess ]

... We don't actually know if Clotho came along. She hasn't made herself known so far, unlike Lachesis.
incogneto: (idk he doesn't look too happy)

[personal profile] incogneto 2015-08-25 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
And Clotho, does she speak? Does she have other powers?

[ It seems weird that these beings would be so powerful and yet so limited. And strange that they would act as patrons of sort-- matrons, he supposes-- to the imports, and yet communicate so little with them. ]
enucleation: by frottage (Normal - pic#9158152)

[personal profile] enucleation 2015-08-25 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ only Lachesis is known to be there. And Kaneki never said Lachesis was benevolent or supportive. ]

I don't know. The theory is that she didn't come along and she stood with the destroyed world.

And like I said, there are nearly no imPorts from that world left, so we can't tell you what she could and couldn't do.
incogneto: (he ate my heart)

[personal profile] incogneto 2015-08-25 09:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Convenient.

[ Seriously... This is giving him a headache. ]

How long have you been here?
enucleation: DEFAULT - DEFAULT (Default)

[personal profile] enucleation 2015-08-25 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
A year. [ 12 months this month. Time flies, it seems ]

Some have been more.
incogneto: (this almost looks sympathetic)

[personal profile] incogneto 2015-08-26 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
And how many missions have you been on in your year?
enucleation: DEFAULT - DEFAULT (Normal - pic#9158114)

[personal profile] enucleation 2015-08-26 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Missions? [ he blinks ]

What do you mean?
incogneto: (play me a song mr piano man...)

[personal profile] incogneto 2015-08-27 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
You don't get assignments?
enucleation: by frottage (Normal - pic#9158145)

[personal profile] enucleation 2015-08-27 07:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ he shrugs ] There is rarely any assignment from the government of late - and no one is forced to do them.

I personally don't. I have no interest in working for them. [ despite his tattoo saying "Registered" ]
incogneto: (bro u can't be srs)

[personal profile] incogneto 2015-08-28 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
It seems like a lot of trouble to bring us here if they don't care about truancy.
enucleation: DEFAULT - DEFAULT (Normal - pic#8830704)

[personal profile] enucleation 2015-08-28 07:47 am (UTC)(link)
They weren't the ones bringing us here - Lachesis did. The government has no saying in it and Lachesis is not working for them, either.

[ kaneki finally reaches for his cup of coffee to take a sip ] All the government can do is hope and ask we help them. Some do, some don't. Some antagonize.
incogneto: (always an asshole)

[personal profile] incogneto 2015-08-29 11:14 pm (UTC)(link)
And I assume they send the rest of the cooperative ones to clean up the mess?