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

[replacerepeat]

[When you're around a crowd of students like Susin's constantly, sometimes you forget what it's like to interact with regular people. Then again, it's hard to say that this guy could be labeled as someone "normal".

Jaekyu squints his eyes at him- not entirely sure if he's being made fun of right now or...not. There is a row of mannequins lined up next to him in the window...that don't have faces? But then again...]

What, you mean like those people who stand in windows and model clothes? [He gives a small, sort of scoffing laugh.] No one'd hire me for something like that.

[Not like fashion sense has ever been a strong suit for him, anyway. Reaching out, he taps the shoulder of one of the actual mannequins to the left.] That's why they've got these guys anyway.

[nonversation]

[ "Regular people"; how flattering that Jaekyu thinks Eunjae is regular. He takes a long sip of his smoothie, but gags a little as it goes down. You'd think being a vampire for as long as he's been would have learned him a little better, but he still eats human food as always.

He nods dumbly at everything Jaekyu says, but he's only really half listening. It's obvious from the look on his face, and the way he seems to get distracted by the window between them, craning his neck all the way up to see where it ends, then coming back down and looking vaguely befuddled, motioning towards the mannequin to Jaekyu's left. ]

That one isn't your sister?

[replacerepeat]

[It's not exactly a lasting impression. Eunjae at least looks pretty regular, on first glance...and Jaekyu didn't have any reason to think otherwise. Until they'd started talking.

He stands there awkwardly for a second or two- eyes glancing over towards the mannequin's blank head, and hand slowly edging off it's shoulder. If this is a joke, it's not one he particularly cares for.

It's too bad he's completely devoid of any witty comebacks.]

No.

[nonversation]

Oh.

[ Jokes aren't something Eunjae is particularly good at. Sometimes Gun tries to teach him things to say to make girls laugh, but apparently his "delivery" "sucks", whatever that means. Mostly he just zones out and plays games on his phone.

Pretty much what he's doing now, except nobody in their right mind would give him a small piece of technology to take care of. ]

Okay.

[ Guess Jaekyu isn't a mannequin after all. That's probably good. Now that that's settled, he should probably go home, wherever that is. ]

Well, bye.

[ He ducks his head politely to the mannequin too. ]

[replacerepeat]

[Jaekyu gives him an incredulous look. Before Eunjae leaves, he moves up closer to the window and reaches out on instinct to try and grab his sleeve. Which doesn't do any good when there's glass in his way.]

You're just going to leave me? [Not even try to help? Couldn't he at least call someone else?

There're definitely worse places to end up spending the night...But the longer he stands in the window with his back to the empty store, the more unsettling it sounds. The streets are starting to thin out even more, and his only company would end up being the mannequins in the windows. He'd really...rather not.

Even so, he tries to keep the alarm out of his voice. He doesn't particularly want to come off as frightened to the person who just compared him with a mannequin...Instead, he ends up sounding a little confused (which, he also is)]

[nonversation]

[ Oh yeah, that's why he stopped. Though for a minute he looks even more perplexed, drawing his brows together to stare open-mouthed at Jaekyu like he's just told Eunjae he has two heads. ]

Are you stuck?

[ He looks at the window again, following it down with his eyes to the point where it meets the door, then follows it all the way back to where Jaekyu is, and points unhelpfully. ]

The door is there.

[replacerepeat]

[With a sinking feeling in his chest, Jaekyu's eyes slowly follow Eunjae's finger- hoping that maybe...maybe he'll be looking at a different door. One that he'd somehow missed earlier.

But it is, in fact, the exact same one at the front of the store.]

You mean...the one that's locked. [He says this slowly, like he's still not completely sure if Eunjae's messing with him. Because that seems way more likely.]

[nonversation]

[ People talking slowly to him is something Eunjae is well used to by now, almost as much as when people huff at him and give up when he doesn't understand after the fifth attempt at explaining.

Which is where this is headed now, because the door being locked is something Eunjae doesn't seem to be able to comprehend. ]

But you're on the inside... so you can open it?

[ Doors all open from the inside, right? ]

[replacerepeat]

[Jaekyu blinks a few times. This doesn't...feel like someone playing a joke on him.]

The workers locked it before they left. [Even if they hadn't-] You probably wouldn't be able to either. It's a store, so I'm sure there's an alarm...and I don't really want the police to think I broke in.

[There's a chance they might believe his story of getting locked in, but he'd rather not risk it. What's worse- spending the first night being stuck inside a clothes store, or at a police station?]

[nonversation]

[ Well, consider Eunjae stumped! A door that doesn't open from the inside, an alarm that will go off... Sure sucks for Jaekyu. Looks like he's going to have to stay there until reopening; Eunjae sure isn't smart enough to think up any ideas to get him out.

He spends a long time looking dumbly at the door, looking a lot like a video that has frozen to buffer, before turning back to Jaekyu and blinking slowly. ]

How are you gonna get out?

[replacerepeat]

[Jaekyu's shoulders slump as he gives a small sigh. The sound of someone who's finally given up.]

I guess I'm not.

[He should've known better than to hope he'd actually get out somehow. His luck is never that good.]

Do you think they'd mind if I used jackets to sleep on?

[Please talk to him a little while longer at least. Passing time with literally anyone is better than sitting around waiting for sunrise. Or whenever the stores hours are. He should probably start looking for a sign that'll tell him when he'll be let out.

With the way things are going, maybe tomorrow will be a holiday and the store'll be closed.]

[nonversation]

They don't like when you take a lot of things off the shelf.

[ This is something he knows from experience. Not personal experience, but back when he was young and still alive, his sister used to take him shopping with her, and he would be the one who carried all the clothes in a big heap, and the one who was scolded by the store when she purposefully ditched him there and left him piled high with clothes she had no intention of buying, telling him to stay put until she felt like coming back. ]

You should go home to sleep.

[ Something he seems to have forgotten was the dilemma in the first place. Surely there are so many other people Jaekyu can talk to who would be able to hold a better conversation than this moron. ]

[replacerepeat]

[There's literally no one else left on the street by now. It's either Eunjae or nothing.

Maybe Jaekyu should just lie on the floor now and hope he falls asleep. ]

I don't even know where I live.

[Which is true. The files are still in his coat, but he hasn't actually visited his new house yet. It could be a few cities over, for all he knows.

With another look at some of the shelves, he starts taking some of the thicker sweaters off anyway. He can always refold them in the morning...If they didn't want the clothes messed up, they shouldn't have locked him in the store.]

[nonversation]

[ Well... Eunjae is out of ideas. Nobody ever taught him how to get someone out of a locked store, and he doesn't know how to start going about it. He could break the window easily, but Gun will scold him for doing it, and he still isn't completely convinced this guy isn't just a mannequin trying to escape.

He's still making the same befuddled, dumbfounded expression, watching Jaekyu take the sweaters off the shelves and not really comprehending much. He's never had to spend the night in a store before... if Eunji doesn't come back for him in time, the police usually take him home at closing. ]

Maybe you live here, so they locked you in.

[ This is where mannequins live, right? ]