etcelsior | The power is in your hands

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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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Hm. So...The bird's a normal bird, but part of his powers? But not the power itself. She cares relatively little for the coffee; she's rather more taken with this mystery. ]

Well - how did you tame her?

Uh. Fuck. [Ronan fishes a rumpled twenty out of his jacket pocket-- this is a boy who has never had to care for money. He tosses it at Kitty without much of a second thought.] I raised her.

[ Seriously? Kitty holds that bill up to him and warns him: ]

I'm keeping the change from this.

Whatever. [Ronan shrugs, and Chainsaw squawks again. He finds a place to sit, even going so far as to get Chainsaw a cup of water to drink from. He really should get out of here, and he intends to, but Chainsaw is probably thirsty and he needs to sit down after wrestling with Kitty. And then he'll probably sneak out while the girl isn't looking, right?]

[ Good luck, though. Being some sort of angry lumbering giant menacing the townsfolk, or having a raven clinging to his shoulder - that's one thing. She can accept that. Having no problem with her just...keeping sixteen dollars? She looks at him as though he's the greatest freak of nature she's ever encountered, and keeps turning around to look at him, a what the fuck are you really for real sort of look. Evidently...he is, and so finally she just - sort of - pays for her drink and comes over to him.

And immediately starts in again. ]

Did you hatch her? From the egg?

[Ronan is mostly concerned with making sure his bird gets properly watered, but he has time to groan and lean back in his chair when Kitty returns with all her incessant questions.]

No, I don't... [He considers it. No, probably not.] She never had an egg.

[Chainsaw lifts her beak to caw in agreement.]

[ Never had an egg? Kitty opens her mouth to protest the impossibility of that, then pauses to think instead. Okay. She doesn't think he's having a laugh, given how he's answered questions so far, and that'd be a pretty hard thing to be mistaken about. So, instead of pointing out how weird that is: ]

Okay. Where'd she come from, then?

[God dammit.]

My head.

[ I thought you said she didn't come from an egg is a quip Kitty considers but does not say. Kind of miraculously, given how dumb she gets when she's a bit flummoxed. Instead, she stares at him a beat, two, three, then finally says: ]

Okay. Well - How does that work?

[Ronan glares at her. His power-- his gift, his curse, his pain in the ass-- is his private thing, alone. She asked a direct question, so he won't lie, but he doesn't have to answer. He's told her too much already.]

Tell me your power first.

[ She considers that a few moments, picking at her fingernail. It doesn't seem like a good idea, but...Well, it's not as though she hides it from other people, does she? Or on the network. He can find out without too much trouble.

So: ]

I suppress others' powers. I touch them, and they're just a normal human. Like any other.

[Ronan sneers and grabs Chainsaw, who squawks in protest. He moves the bird farther away from Kitty on the table, bringing the cup of water along with so Chainsaw doesn't just hop back to where she was.]

That's fucking weird. Don't touch me.

[But, obviously, if her powers could fuck up Chainsaw, they would have already. He peers at his raven to make sure she's alright, but her head is stuck in a cup of water like it's the best thing in the world.]

[This is stupid.] Were you always a freak?

[ That's - a little hurtful. A little. Not that she expected wide-eyed admiration for her powers, but, well...Being rebuffed that harshly is hard to shake off entirely. So there's a bit more aggression in her voice than before when Kitty answers: ]

Yeah. And it's saved my life. Loads of times. And I already touched you, you idiot, and you were bloody fine, weren't you.

It's not me I'm fucking worried about, dumbass. [Ronan continues to stare her down. Did he hit a nerve? He feels shitty about it, which means it was the right move.]

Good for you. I'm glad you use your freak powers to make people less freakish. [He knows exactly what he's implying about himself; he doesn't care. It's true, anyway, so why should he?]

Ugh. Do you even know other words? I'll seriously get you a thesaurus, it'll be brilliant for you.

[ The barista at the counter calls out Alice, and Kitty stands and goes for her drink. Though as she does, she calls back: ]

And people aren't freaks or normal. Everyone's just a person.

Yeah, thanks for the after school special, freak.

[And so Kitty has guaranteed Ronan using the word 'freak' around her as much as possible in the future.] Can you control it at all?

Yeah, by not touching people.

[ She comes back sipping her drink. It's a ridiculous sort of concoction - looks more like a milkshake than a coffee. There's a cherry on top of the whipped cream that crowns it. ]

And I seriously mean it. I mean, do you think that you're a freak?

[Ronan, having grown up among the irresponsibly affluent, hardly bats an eye at a coffee priced under twenty dollars.]

[He just glares at Kitty's inquiry.] Fuck, what are you, my therapist now?

Seriously. Is that how you think of yourself?

Why the fuck do you care? If you don't wise the fuck up, I'm gonna stuff you in that fucking dumpster this time. [It's not an empty threat. When pushed, Ronan always pushes back; he doesn't believe in bluffing.]

[ She purses her lips. ]

You try to do that and I'll take the knife I carry in my purse and I'll cut your jacket in places where it can't be repaired. You'll have to throw it out. And threatening me is basically confirming that, one, yeah you do, and two, you feel sensitive about it.

Fuck this.

[He doesn't care if his jacket gets stabbed. He cares if she pokes into his personal fucking business. The matter of freak-or-not-a-freak is a complex one, an issue he's muddled through himself in the past; it's not one he's going to bring up in his first conversation with a near total stranger.]

[So he stands, abruptly enough to shake the table, and turns to leave without another word.]

Hey - hey!

[ She stands, too, scowling at his back. ]

Don't run off. If you insist on calling me a freak, I deserve to at least know what you mean by it, don't I.

It means, [His tone rises, speaking as though personally insulted,] you're not fucking normal!

[ She shakes her head and keeps after him - ]

'Normal' is a word that doesn't mean bloody anything, though. It's a useless word.

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