I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS

[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. The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place. Despite the recent coup, locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city. 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. An upset voice wonders aloud: "More of them, when they just showed they can't protect us? That's just painting a bigger target on the city's back!" However, they're quickly hushed with a judgmental: "They helped save the cities, and it's the Soviets you should be angry with anyway! The imPorts are here to protect us!"

02. 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. Many people are out and about repairing damage from recent incidents, 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 spies. "How can we trust any of them now?"

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is not as friendly and its citizens tend to 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 mutter under their breaths resentfully about "vigilantes". However, not all locals turn the other way seeing imPorts; some of them will offer a polite enough smile and thank them for their help in overthrowing the trespassers. They don't stop to clarify what they mean, though.

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities, although it saw the most damage in the battles for control of the porter cities. Despite this, 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. Advertisements are abound for imPorts to make appearances at various, televised celebrations, luring them in with promises of free food, merchandise, and payment.

Comments

Matthew Lynch | The Raven Cycle

[dreamkid]

(I was way too ready for this)


I. De Chima
[ It's been a few days since Matthew's arrival and his popularity as a newcomer has failed to diminish. If anything, the opposite is true. It doesn't seem to matter that he had nothing at all to do with ousting the recent Russian occupation.

His left cheek is faintly red where an old lady gave him a well-intentioned pinch (to which he did not object) and in one arm he's carrying a box of assorted sweets someone pressed into his hands (he definitely didn't object to that either.) He's going to be late to his part-time job if he keeps getting stopped, but that doesn't seem to be a concern of anyone he's bumped into on the street so far. Or to himself, really.

As he crouches down, windblown and laughing, to take a picture with a demanding little spitfire of a boy, a few girls close to Matthew's own age cluster nearby and fail utterly to keep their voices down as they giggle to one another, "He's so cute, isn't he?" They are not talking about the little kid. ]



II. Heropa High [or any high school honestly, please come talk to him]
[ Matthew struggled through the placement tests and, with some relief, now finds himself in an actual classroom filled with actual people more or less his age. At least a school setting is familiar, even if it's not much like the timeless, expensive, and--apart from a few female teachers--exclusively masculine Aglionby Academy.

Before class starts he leans over toward the student next to him, a big golden teddy bear of a boy ready to introduce himself. ]

Hi, I'm Matthew. Are you like, from here or did you get-- [ he makes a sort of 'swooping in' gesture with his hand] --sucked in from another place, too?



III. Rich Kid Problems
[ Maybe he is a little spoiled, but Matthew has never needed to utilize public transportation before in his life. (Scratch that. Actually he is quite spoiled. But in a good way, like a beloved baby animal, and not in a bad way, like milk.)

Either way the end result is that he currently has no ride and no idea what he's doing. Hover trams? Underground trains? What? Maybe he's wandering around a station, maybe he's standing near a bus stop. He's probably trying to figure out the right number for his destination. He probably looks a little bewildered.

He might have forgotten exactly where he's supposed to be going.

He definitely should have some kind of chaperon. ]


IV. Wildcard if you prefer (especially if you know Matthew, but that is not a requirement!)

hello new friend; II

[illuminescent]

[She is a little older than he is; she shouldn't be in any class with him, but the fact is that Lucy is also sort of remedial in the sense that she comes from a world that is flat, and the stars are people, and the sun is close enough that there's a bird that makes regular trips to it.

So she's in Matthew's science class, is the thing.

She has her hair pinned up in a way that's absurdly elaborate, especially for someone who doesn't have maids to do it for her anymore (but that's just how she works) and she's a pretty girl, but made prettier by the fact that he speaks to her and she smiles.]

I'm Lucy.

[It's been hard to make friends at school - she won't lie about that. She has friends elsewhere, though. Lucy is easy to love.]

I came from afar as well. Are you most recently arrived?

[Part of the issue may be how she speaks.]

YESSS

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew is easy to love as well, and also in the business of making friends with everybody. You never know when you'll need a science class buddy, for one. (It doesn't hurt at all that she's pretty, not that he would've ignored her if she wasn't.)

Either he fails to realize she's older or figures it doesn't really matter; he continues to address her with the easy familiarity of a peer. ]

Lucy.

[ He smiles, too. It takes him a second to work out her meaning, because she definitely doesn't talk like anyone he's used to. ]

Pretty recently. A couple days. It's really weird, right?

[ Weird but not as frightening as it had been for him the first day, at least. ]

[illuminescent]

I have been here near to a year now, and I assure you it gets no stranger than the first days.

[She leans a little, easily, casual. She speaks oddly but her manner is friendly, sweet, and she matches him in familiarity.]

But it is good to see someone so easily smiling! I should hope that means you are acquainted with someone already settled in this world, and that you are not so alone as some are when they first arrive.

[She remembers the first few weeks, before she met the Musketeers, how lonely she was. It was hard to get to know people. She missed her family what felt like every moment.]

[dreamkid]

[ Again it takes a second for everything to sink in. ]

Oh yeah, my brother's here, too, and his friends.

[ There's something special about the way he says "brother"--obviously affectionate, but maybe a little less obvious is the utter dependency Matthew has on him here, in this impossible place. In this war.

All that's still a little far over his head, though.

He crosses his arms and leans on his desk, peering at her with somewhat wider eyes. ]

You've really been here for a year?

[ Luckily he's already figured out--rather, it has already been explained to him, slowly and in small words--that Ronan has been here for months despite Matthew never missing him at home, because of how the Porter behaves. Otherwise the suggestion of the possibility that he might be here a year himself would likely cause him to freak out.

That is way too long for his mom to be by herself without anyone checking up on her. ]

[illuminescent]

Your brother?

What is he called?

[Maybe she knows him. She knows a lot of people, so it's entirely possible. Or certainly, she may have heard of him.]

Yes, and I was not so fortunate to have my own brothers or my sister with me.

But you should not fret on it. You are not alone, and I will gladly also be your friend, should you so wish it.

I; forgive me I could not help myself

[meticulousinexecution]

[ It is not so much a matter of seeing him as knowing him - this particular knowledge goes both ways. To steal things from the Dreaming, to craft life into a thing and set it free in the waking world is, by matter of course, meant to be the realm of Morpheus and Dream alone, but such things wander in and out of realities. Morpheus understands this.

And this small dream, this benign and kind thing, this boy pulled free of his realm for the sake of a Dreamer, Morpheus won't hold it against the dream itself. He's young. He doesn't know or understand.

But still.

He watches the exchange from nearby.

He looks like a monolith when he does stand next to Matthew, though. They are parts of the same thing. Dream and a dream.]

Here.

[He hands Matthew something. A bit of candy. A dream-thing itself, something pulled from the same place that Ronan pulled Matthew, something familiar and old and reassuring. Something that doesn't exist in the waking world.]

NO THIS IS AMAZING

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew looks up, up, and finds himself oddly more curious than afraid, considering the rather enormous presence of this new person. He offers a smile and takes the gift. ]

Thanks.

[ Unlike a whole box of candy, a single piece almost demands to be eaten right away. So that's what he does, popping it into his mouth like a child. ]

Oh-- [ His eyes go round with immediate happiness, fingertips lingering for a moment on his lower lip, and then the polite smile he had before bursts into one that is much more. ] Hey, that's good. What is it?

[ He does think he knows the taste from somewhere. It reminds him of his mom; maybe it's something she used to buy for them? ]

[meticulousinexecution]

[He doesn't smile, but he doesn't scowl, either. Matthew is one of his subjects, in a way, even if he doesn't know it. And where Morpheus has been called more stern than any of his siblings (and certainly more frightening than Death) he doesn't seem frightening now. He seems casual, almost.]

Something from home.

[There are places in the dreaming where there are bowls of it, entire factories that churn out perfectly rounded, perfectly shaped candies for the consumption of children or children at heart. It tastes like memory and nostalgia and long summer days.

And maybe a little bit of strawberry, too.]

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew isn't frightened. Normally he might be at least a little more cautious, but for some reason he isn't now. ]

From your home? So you're not from here either?

[ He moves the candy from one side of his mouth to the other, almost ponderously. It tastes like the Barns--it tastes like his home. Maybe it was actually something their dad brought back, when he came home from his trips. ]

[meticulousinexecution]

We're from the same place.

[This is both true and not. Morpheus is from nothingness, or rather, from the dreams of mortal creatures, and he is the dream of mortal creatures. But the Dreaming is home to the both of them. In a way.

He folds his arms up, and he actually smiles, a little. It's an odd thing, a smile from Morpheus.]

I'm glad to see you well. As well as you can be.

III

[quaerit]

[ Gansey well understands the pain of trying to navigate public transport. He had terrible trouble with that at first, until Ronan's dream car had made it mostly unnecessary. Said dream car is the one Gansey rolls up in, stopping only because he recognizes Ronan's brother. The window slides down and he leans out. With his sunglasses on Gansey looks much the way he always did in Henrietta - except that the Camaro he's in is black with orange stripes, and not the other way around. ]

Matthew? I thought that was you.

[ Matthew will have seen this Richard Gansey III trademarked smile many times before. ]

Can I give you a lift?

[dreamkid]

[ Bless you, Gansey. Bless you. ]

Oh, Gansey. [ The greeting is both enthusiastic and relieved. In answer to the offer Matthew moves around to the passenger side of the car and climbs in without hesitation, more than glad to be freed from the confusion of navigating the city himself.

He's known Gansey for longer--if not hardly as well--than Adam, Blue, and Noah, plenty long enough to take him up on a favor without being self-conscious about it. ]

Hey-- [ He looks around the inside of the car as he buckles himself in, amusement tugging at his lips. ] You got another Camaro.

[ Gansey's love for his car is almost as legendary as Glendower himself. ]

[quaerit]

[ Gansey takes off again, window rolling back up as he goes. He is on decent terms with both of Ronan's brothers - better than Ronan is himself, in Declan's case - but he knows this one is the favorite. As long as Matthew's here, they'll all be watching out for him.

Part of which means making sure he doesn't know too much of what Ronan doesn't want him to know, unfortunately. ]

I did. Well, we did. We're sharing the car. It doesn't break down like the Pig.

[ He almost sounds disappointed. ]

So, where am I taking you? I can't even recall where that bus would have been going. It doesn't take long to get back out of that habit.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew likes Gansey. A large part of his reason for this is because Gansey likes Ronan, because Gansey gave him a home when they were exiled from theirs--because Gansey, to Matthew's knowledge, has never threatened to wash his hands of the middle Lynch brother once and for all (unlike the elder Lynch brother)--but some of the reason Matthew likes him is because Gansey is just a very likable fellow. ]

I don't even know if it was the right bus. [ Having been provided this lucky escape from the situation, he confesses his own cluelessness quite cheerfully. ] Hang on--

[ He works around the seat belt to fish a piece of paper from his pocket, and once he has it in hand he reads off the address aloud. ]

But I'm not really sure where that is.

[ For the sake of the scene let's just say it's the location of Matthew's assigned job, somewhere in downtown De Chima. Very delayed, he adds-- ]

So, wait, you're sharing a car? With Ronan?

[ Do they have a custody agreement drawn up or something? It's hard to imagine how else they might make that work. ]

[quaerit]

[ Gansey considers, and then neatly switches lanes. His regular model-building habits have given him a very good understanding of how De Chima is laid out. He’s never been to the place, but he knows the address. ]

I’ll get you there. This is Main Street, and the studio I work in is around this corner.

[ He points it out, figuring that if Matthew’s ever lost, he could find Gansey there. Or, more accurately, he could find one of Gansey’s clones there, since it’s not actually all that usual for Gansey himself to go to work. ]

We’ll pass Blue’s Aquarium, too. I’ll show you when we get there.

[ And then, naturally, they hit traffic, and Gansey slows to a far less satisfying crawl. He sighs, and then answers Matthew’s other question with a little smile. ]

Shared custody. It’s a step up from Chainsaw, admittedly. None of us have the resources we do at home, it’s very strange. So I sympathise. [ With the public transport trauma, he means. ] You’ll get used to it.

i.

[fuckwashington]

[It's time for Matthew's own personal stormcloud to appear. Glaring at anyone nearby, Ronan turns the corner to meet Matthew, complete with imposing raven on his shoulder. Is Chainsaw more puffed out and ornery than usual? Yes. Yes, she is.]

[Ronan walks a few paces behind Matthew like stalking your little brother is normal. It's not, but Ronan's become increasingly paranoid since Kavinsky showed up.]

Why do you need a job again.

[dreamkid]

[ The girls who thought Matthew was cute take one look at Ronan and suddenly find somewhere else to be, as does most anyone else in the near vicinity. Matthew himself turns and takes in the scene: Ronan, glaring. Yep.

The stormcloud does nothing to blot out his sunshine and he gives a pleasant shrug, pushing the hair out of his face because it's windy out. ]

They just gave it to me, and it could be fun.

[ He also isn't sure how to quit, to be totally honest... ]

You have a job, too, don't you?

[fuckwashington]

Yeah. It's not fun. [Work isn't fun!!! What if Matthew gets, like, a blister or something.]

[dreamkid]

[ Dream him a bandaid, of course. ]

So, why do you stay there?

[ He's not really buying that Ronan hates his job. Also, since the area has been fully cleared of passersby who might have otherwise stopped him, Matthew is free to continue his walking to work. Which he is doing. ]

[fuckwashington]

Because it's less boring than everything else. [Also, Ronan refuses to go to high school, listen to authority figures, or accept government stipends. His options are not exactly overflowing.]

You've never had a job. [Or Has He? If he has, we can safely assume Ronan doesn't consider it a 'real' job because he is, as has been noted elsewhere, a shithead.] It's not whatever Saturday Morning Cartoon shit your imagining.

iii.

[psychofailed]

[And this dude here is probably the worst choice in chaperones, at least in terms of people who know how to deal with cute children.

But...well, here he is. And there that kid is. At first, Kogami wasn't going to do anything, but this kid has been wandering back and forth and back and forth for the last fifteen minutes now and eventually he gets up with a sigh, approaching the boy. He's...well, he's not smiling. Or looking particularly friendly or helpful, tbh; he kind of cuts an intimidating figure, actually. Nonetheless:]

Lost?

Sorry about the delay!

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew's immediate impression of Kogami is authoritative, and following that is a striking moment of self-awareness in which he wonders if he himself looks perhaps a bit juvenile delinquent. This is not something he's ever really had to worry about before. ]

I wasn't loitering. Not on purpose, [ he promises earnestly, just to get that out of the way. ] I think I'm pretty lost. The tram brought me here but... [ He's got a note with handwritten directions on it, given to him by an easily befriended classmate, and it might be obvious to Kogami--far more than it is to Matthew, at least--that he is literally on the wrong side of town. ]

no worries!

[psychofailed]

[It wouldn't be an inaccurate assessment, being as he was law enforcement before arriving here.

Matthew's immediate defense of himself does get a raised eyebrow, but even the mildest possibility of suspicion is erased when he looks at the note. Kogami doesn't fully know his way around here yet, either, but good lord, kid.]

Keep going this way and you'll end up in Mexico.

[There's a couple moments of internal debate. On one hand, if he misses his own bus, he'll be late to work. On the other....even if he managed to point the kid in the right direction, he'll probably get lost again. And lost kids could get hurt, or kidnapped, or...

Goddamnit.

Kogami reaches into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette from a pack and a lighter because while he might look authoritative and have been in law enforcement, his responsibility meter only goes so high. An exhale of smoke later, he turns back to the boy.]

Come on, kid. I'll take you.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew has been kidnapped once, does that make his cluelessness even worse? Maybe. Probably.

But he really does not want to end up in Mexico. And since, out of all the people he's known in his life, only one of them has turned out to be a kidnapper and the rest have been largely very good to him, he is going to trust this guy. He tries out an appreciative smile, and if he weren't already ridiculous enough it turns out he has dimples. ]

Whoa, for real? That'd be great, thanks!

[ He doesn't think to ask if Kogami has anything else to do because he is rather used to being taken care of, but his gratitude is 100% genuine and he wears it very nicely. ]