A for effort though

[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

[seekingsestra]

[Oh, Doctor. If you think Helena plans to pay for any of this you are dead wrong. She looks him over while stuffing another onion ring in her mouth and then slides (a rather greasy) laminated menu across the table at him.]

Look at menu.

[helpline]

[ He has a pipe dream that one day he'll be able to go somewhere and not have it erupt into utter chaos in the process (just mild chaos will do, thank you very much.) Today probably isn't that day.

But menu! Menus can answer his question. He looks at the menu and just...frowns. ]

Are any of these [ said with a gesture to the sauces ] buffalo sauce? [ two thousand years old, and the Doctor still has moments where he has no idea what on Earth humanity's talking about. ]

[seekingsestra]

[It is a rare occasion that Helena meets someone less equipped to deal with mundane human things than she is. This guy is weird, but if he needs her to teach him about menus and sauces, well then, that's what she'll do.]

The orange one. Brown is barbeque, white is cool ranch. [Helena, there are two white sauces.]

[helpline]

[ They can not human together. But okay, so it's the orange one. The Doctor nods then, with seemingly no respect for table manners or the fact that this technically isn't his food, dips a finger in the buffalo sauce, licks the sauce off his finger and...frowns. ]

This doesn't taste a thing like buffalo.

[seekingsestra]

[Helena has eaten sauce with her fingers plenty of times. What are table manners? We just don't know.

She laughs just a little at his comment.]

You ate a buffalo?

[helpline]

[ Table manners are for LOSERS. ]

Of course! America, 1880s. First time I visited, I went to the OK Corral, but the second time, I traveled with a wagon train for a while. Word to the wise, anyone who says that buffalo is a tough meat just isn't doing it right.

[seekingsestra]

I will take this advice. For when I eat buffalo. [She definitely does not believe him, but that's ok. It's a harmless story and she thinks she gets it. After all, she likes to tell stories that way too, exaggerate them, make them more dramatic and fun than the reality they're based on.]

Were you a cowboy?

[helpline]

[ Whereas the Doctor is taking this as 'she believes me, that's good, I won't have to explain the time travel bit'. Explaining the time travel bit is fun, but also so boring, especially when they can talk about cowboys instead. ] I thought I was once. I went through this terrible phase where I thought Stetsons were "cool."

[ he makes the air quotes with his fingers as he says 'cool,' cringing slightly. Sorry Eleven. ]

[seekingsestra]

Stetson?

So now you are retired. [For a moment she considers adding "me too" but then he might ask what she used to do.]

[helpline]

Big cowboy hat.

[ And ah. Retired. Does it count as 'retired' if he never had a job to begin with? ] It wasn't my job to be a cowboy, it was just something I thought I'd like. [ wait a moment. Retired = old. Almost instantly, a frown springs up on the Doctor's face. ]

Hang on though, retired? Does this face really look that old?

[seekingsestra]

[Ahh, the hat. No one ever told her it had a special name. It wasn't important for her to know.]

You could be. You have grey hairs. [So that's a yes. Duh. She eats a heaping spoonful of pudding and leaves the spoon sticking out of her mouth.]

[helpline]

That doesn't mean I'm old! [ he's just so pouty at this. ] I'm only two thousand years old, I've got a few thousand more in this body.

[seekingsestra]

[She has to pull the spoon out to talk.]

Oh, yes. Only.

[Yeah, she doesn't believe him at all.]

[helpline]

[ He's starting to tell that. ]

Yeah, only. I'm a Time Lord. We age different than you lot. [ aka humans ]

[seekingsestra]

[Sir, your make-believe is out of control.]

Different from who?

[helpline]

Humans.

[ And, as if to prove his point, the Doctor...shoves his wrist in Helena's face. ] Feel my pulse.

[ if she does so, she'll be able to pick out two distinct heartbeats. ]

[seekingsestra]

[Helena leans back so he's not quite so much in her personal space and then, after shooting him a look, reaches out to press her fingers to his wrist. It feels...weird. She (relatively gently) shoves his arm back toward his side of the table.]

You should see a doctor.

[helpline]

I am a doctor, [ said with a little self-satisfied smile. ] Or, at least, the Doctor.

[ When Helena shoves his arm back, the Doctor brings it back to his side....after sticking his finger in the buffalo sauce again and licking some more off. ]