HE TOLD ME SEVERAL TIMES THAT HE DIDN'T LIKE MY KIND

[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, where 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, deeply masculine voice wonders aloud: "More of them, when we already know they can't protect us? That's just painting a bigger target on the city's back!"

"That's just what Ronald Chump says!" Exclaims a young woman. She raises her fist in anger at the imPort-hating individual. "We're not going to tolerate bigots here!"

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. Science and technology are the lifeblood of this city, so you're likely to come across a good many locals taking your picture with the newest of devices. Be forewarned: since FanPort happened, imPort fandom is at a new height. Don't be surprised if people start following you just to see if you'll do anything TMZ-worthy.

The trick is to stay calm, and don't wig out if someone asks what you think about imPort shipping.

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is having a rainy day. The streets seem to be running with water, the sky can't seem to stop crying. You might want to check out some consumerism-inclined shelter, be that a smoky and dart-eyed bar full of grumbling locals, or a grimy and industrial coffee shop (full of grumbling locals). Watch your step, newly minted imPort, because if you let on that you're fresh meat then you're likely to attract a posse of two or three sharp knuckled no-good-dooers. This is the criminally exciting part of town, so beware.

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities; loud, busy and there's some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. There's a baseball game going on in one of the parks amidst all those tall buildings, and you're welcome to watch! It's not an official game in the season, it's more like a friendly skirmish between local baseball teams. Midway through the game, the umpire might take note of you new imPorts -- assuming you're standing out in the crowd. He'll welcome you to throw a pitch if you'd like! Of course, the opposing team isn't too keen on the idea. Better look for more imPorts to play ball!

Comments

[illuminescent]

[She gasps as he says her name and he's not the only one running because she is too, and just after he asks his relatively obvious question she's flinging herself into his arms with all the force that only Lucy could manage.]

Edmund-

[She is clinging to him then. As though they were small still, in a way she almost doesn't do anymore. She buries her face in his shoulder and he smells like home, the smell of Cair Paravel hasn't faded from his shirt or his skin.]

Edmund, Edmund, Edmund.

[There is a slight desperation in her tone, like maybe she was never expecting to see him again.]

Oh-

[She leans back a little and she's not quite crying but there are definitely tears in her eyes.]

Yes, it is likely I am, a little.

[exonerated]

[ the magnitude of lucy's emotions isn't lost on him — it seems fraught with desperation, like meeting an old friend she hasn't seen a long time, though edmund could swear that they've seen each other only hours ago — but he remains a rock for her to hold on to even in his puzzlement. ]

A little. [ he echoes. ] A little is a bit more than not at all, Lu. When did that happen? Is it — did this place do that to you?

[ although, she does seem — fine, in general. they've spoken a little of powers and such. edmund has yet to read up much on his own. some of the words they use are a little beyond his knowledge. too scientific, if you will. ]

[illuminescent]

[She runs her hand over his hair, her thumbs at his temples for a moment. Oh.

She missed him so much.]

Yes, I suppose I could glow more, it is only a little bit of the magic I do here, but Edmund, I have missed you so.

[She says it so fondly, and presses a quick kiss to his cheek, just like that.]

I did not think you would come at all. I did not think anyone else would come, that I would be here alone and without any company.

[exonerated]

Well, I'm here. [ After all these years, Edmund is wouldn't know how to comfort his sister. It borders on uncomfortable, but he remains still under her hands, only briefly making a face when she drops a kiss on his cheek, because — well, siblings! ] Not out of my own volition, of course, though I suspect the same could be said about your own experience here.

It reminds me — [ Reminds him of what? Edmund pauses, thinking it through, though nothing really comes to him immediately. ] Never mind.

So, you glow. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it does suit you, Lucy.

[ She has always been the brightest light in Narnia, Aslan's greatest believer. ]

[illuminescent]

[After years, Edmund is second in this only to Peter, and only because Peter is the eldest. She moves her hands to grip his, and ignores what it reminds him of. Because she remembers something too, and she doesn't like to admit it.]

I've quite mastered this magic. Look.

[The light turns slightly blue, and then buzzes to green and then back to yellowish.]

Oh, but Edmund, you cannot have been long here. I would not have been so poor a sister as to not see you sooner.

[exonerated]

You're right, I've only just arrived.

[ That is really quite fascinating magic, and Edmund is left to stare after it. Nothing so destructive as the ones that the Witch owns, surely. This is Lucy they're talking about, anyway. Edmund doubts that it would come to that. ]

Is that not the same for you?

[illuminescent]

No-

[She knows this is how it works. She knows it is not so simple.]

Near to a year. But it seems in Narnia that no time passes at all.

[She knows it is hard to believe, but she knows, too, that Edmund will believe her, because Lucy does not lie.]

[exonerated]

But that's — [ a weird thing to say, so difficult to comprehend, so much of a lie to tell, if it is.

Edmund knows, of course, that Lucy does not lie (Edmund does, but that only augments the truth in Lucy's words). ] — that's quite a long time, Lu. In my last memories of Narnia, you were still with us.

[illuminescent]

Yes.

Time passes oddly here. The last I was in Narnia was the ball for your birthday, where I wore that gold gown and you said I looked a bit like a pumpkin.

[That was when Edmund turned nineteen.

That might be why she looks a bit younger than usual.]

[exonerated]

I don't remember that. [ Yes, he does, the little shit, and she did look a little bit like a pumpkin, no matter what she thinks. He just probably could've been less awful about it.

He sobers up just as quickly, of course, because time passed by for him, in a way. He's a little bit ahead of her there. ] Well, would you like to know what I remember last? Good news or bad? I highly recommend that you ask me the good news first, if you wanted to know at all.

[illuminescent]

[Well, that's why she threw her slipper at him, and that's also why she ended up half the night with only one slipper (luckily when ladies slippers are made of silk, having one thrown at you, even by your sister who almost never misses, is not such a hardship) but well.

Siblings.]

How queer, Edmund, as you have the longest memory of all of us.

[But okay, moving on.]

You should tell me the best news first, and then the good, and then if bad follows, you must line it with silver.

[exonerated]

[ They're all sort of connected, really. ]

Well, the most absolute best news, of course, is that King Lune found his lost son and heir, a delightful young man named Cor. He was found by a Calormene fisherman, whom Cor implied to be stern and cruel enough to try and sell him to a Tarkaan as a slave. But he'd escaped and found his way back to his father.

[ Edmund laughs then, at a memory. ] Ah, no, he made his way to our party, Susan's and mine, and we were so certain that he was the young prince Corin that we took him in with us. They look very much alike.

We were in Calormen, Lucy. Susan had — well, she figured it would be a good idea to meet with Prince Rabadash at his home, as he's travelled so far to speak flatteries in her ear and learn about herself and Narnia. She wanted know what the man was like, in his own home. Her logic was sound, of course. [ Edmund has always had a different view of Rabadash, but then again, he was not the only being courted. He'd had his fears and suspicions, but then, he's never been the kind to trust fully. Rabadash had a smile and a way with words that reminded him of someone he'd rather forget. ] I accompanied her, of course. For her protection, and to strengthen our relations with the southern cities.

Prince Corin was with us, as Archenland's ambassador. He disappeared all of a sudden — and we figured out later that he went and fought a Calormene boy that insulted Susan! — but that's when we found Cor.

[illuminescent]

[There's stunned silence for a moment. Everything shows on Lucy's face - no one ever really accused her of being the brightest and best but she's not stupid, so-]

Well.

I never thought Susan to have such poor taste, for one.

[ASLAN HELP US.]

But Cor! Cor! How delightful, how incredible, what luck you have!

[That part of this tale is good.]

[exonerated]

Ah, don't be like that, Lu. [ Edmund says — not really chiding, just playing up a grave countenance. ] He appealed to her in ways that he knew would strike her heart. She thought him handsome and kind. Sometimes, you cannot see what others can because you don't wish to see it. Even your heart can betray you.

[ A lesson, of course, that Edmund would not have wished for any of siblings to learn. ]

Besides, Susan had a change of heart in the end, and we took her out of there as fast as we were able to. When Rabadash found out, he sought to wage war. For his wounded pride, obviously. He devised a plan: to conquer Archenland and gain passage to the mountains, then use our own friends against us.

[ He smiles, at least, at her enthusiasm. ]

He is a wonderful young boy, and he saved us all. His friend, Aravis, told him of the Calormenes' plans that she overheard. He then was the one who raced through the desert to meet with King Lune and told him of Rabadash's plan.

[illuminescent]

[There's silence, for a moment.]

She has always loved too keenly, hasn't she?

[She doesn't say it like it's a flaw. She says it like it's something to be admired. Susan has always loved others so fiercely, in a way, when her heart has allowed it.]

I am glad you were with her.

I am more, and selfishly, glad you are here with me. Things here are different.

[exonerated]

Yes. [ To all of those things, really. ] Have you truly been by yourself all this time? None of us were able to follow you at all?

[illuminescent]

I have-

[She pauses a moment. She has just lost the Musketeers. That was the worst blow. Losing Athos who was as much a father as she could imagine any father.]

Ah, I have friends, of course. I am more than adept at friendships.

But you are the first. I always thought it would be you, if anyone.

[Peter is more protective, true, but Edmund is more practical. Better at finding her.]

[exonerated]

Well, [ he pauses, then smiles wryly ] I feel as though it's always been like that from the start. You, then me, then we'd drag Peter and Susan kicking and screaming to whatever mischief you've thought of indulging for the day.

[illuminescent]

Do you think they too will arrive?

[There's a brightness in her tone that means that yes, she hopes so. Even if it would be strange, it's less strange when they are together.]

[exonerated]

I think our hosts are far too unpredictable to cater to our wishes. [ If the time difference between them is any indication. ] Wish for it, if you like, but do not hope.

[ The slight pause from Edmund weighs, perhaps, too much. ]

Lucy, how certain are we that Aslan is not involved here, somehow? You've not seen him, have you?

[illuminescent]

[She looks slightly alarmed, her head up a bit, and then she looks around and shakes her head.]

The only thing that the Lion might have done is allow them to take us. I do not think he governs here. Certainly no one else knows his name.

[It's been odd. To not be surrounded by people who know of Aslan.]

[exonerated]

[ Then it's one of three things, in Edmund's mind: that this is a test that Aslan allowed to happen, that he did in fact let them be taken by the people that govern this place, or that he knows nothing of what's happening her at all. With so many realms to watch over, he could not always be in Narnia. The last one is most disconcerting. ]

If he allowed it, yes. [ He says softly. ] I'm sorry, Lucy. I was hoping that with Aslan around, we could have some form of guidance.

[illuminescent]

It would not be the first time I had to be my own guide, and it will not be the last.

[She takes his arm, though, and squeezes it as she goes to his side. Leans on him a little.]

Your presence makes this less onerous, for the small burden it's been to be here without anyone from home.

But, ah-

The animals here do not speak.

[exonerated]

[ True enough. The wisdom in that statement is not something Edmund will refute.

And yet- ] Ah.

[ They are on their own here, in a way. ]

Well, it is a different world, and Aslan himself is not in it to give the animals their gift.

[illuminescent]

Yes, you will find it quite strange when none of the rabbits you pass say so much as a good day!

[Rabbits, of course, being very friendly.]

And I have chosen to not speak on the Talking Animals. I remembered that outside of Narnia they were not common, and so often people thought it strange or unnatural, and that would be no favor to any of them there to be thought as such here.