Lies a place that few have seen.

[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 there's only one rule in Test Drive Meme Club: 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, while others might not say anything -- but if you have something nasty to say, better not say anything at all, right? This month has been a rocky one, and locals are beginning to eye imPorts with renewed scrutiny; if people like them can get superpowers, are imPorts really that special, after all? Some people usher their children away from anyone clearly not 'from around here,' while other natives may be brave enough to directly approach obvious imPorts and ask their thoughts on the war with Russia and what the imPort ambassadors are planning to do about it.

ImPorts are a divisive issues, even in pretty Heropa.

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 very presence. Look at you! Organic wonder! 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. The imPort craze is at an all-time high, and you may find yourself cornered by overzealous imPort fans, media wannabes and opportunists alike, shoving cameras in your face.

Their questions are likely to be fairly mundane, however; get ready for an interview about your taste in romantic partners, personal underwear choices, favourite foods, and more!

Also, as the Halloween craze is reaching a fevered pitched, more and more children are running around in costumes of their favorite imPorts! Do you recognize any of these masks? Perhaps one of these costumes mimics YOU!?

...

Isn't that kinda creepy?

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania is populated by a whole lot of people who are having awfully bad days. With the emergence of locals with superpowers, many seem to have latched onto their new supercharged identities with an incredible amount of gusto. As your character walks down the street, they may find themselves accosted by a large man in his mid-20s, dressed in an ill-fitting spandex suit of orange and yellow. As he thrusts his finger into an imPort's face, the spandex rides up, turning into more of a crop-top, which he duly tugs back down before shouting, "You're not the special ones anymore, imPorts! Feel the wrath of Heartburn!"

Stupid name aside, he does seem to have superpowers as he breathes a large plume of fire. His aim still isn't great, though; it could hit the imPort in question, or be sent in the direction of a nearby local, or even a particularly flammable building.

What will you do, Hero?

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. This fine day, pumpkin spice seems to be in style, to the point at which you happen to be crashing an open pumpkin spice festival. From drinks to sweet treats to some other things that really, really shouldn't be pumpkin spice flavoured (pumpkin spice flavoured vodka, anyone? It tastes like regret!), everyone seems to be in the mood for the upcoming season.

Taste test a few samples and take in the hustle and bustle of the city, everyone! And hey, if just gorging yourself isn't enough, why not try your hand at the pumpkin carving contest going on? The competition is fierce!

Comments

[shipmaster]

[No, it isn't at all. The smell is absolutely divine even before they walk in the front door. And it goes straight to their stomach.

... They hadn't eaten yet. Hadn't eaten in more than a day. Combat nerves were something you never actually grew out of, just gathered more rituals.]

Well, you have taste, anyway.

[jacksonian]

[ Mark just grunts in acknowledgment as he lets the hostess take his coat. There's a glimmer of malicious pleasure as he answers - ]

Yeah. Well. I've gotten used to this world.

[shipmaster]

Because... [God, this was going to happen in a cafe. Well, at least it wasn't the whole Fleet. Their shoulders hunch.]

I didn't dislike him. I was fairly sympathetic... and the mission he came on with was a high profile rescue. A good one. A raid on Bharaputra's brain transplant operation, a whole set of kids lined up to be killed.

[They look down.] I didn't know he wasn't you until a few days in. I wanted to do it anyway, and, well, after he explained what happens to those kids... I didn't care.

[shipmaster]

[They just make a pleased little sound in answer to that. The appreciation was honest, this sort of thing WAS Bel's catnip. They're ushered to a booth in the far corner, lighting low, and the sheer amount of polished wood- Bel runs their fingers over the sealed table with a sort of bemused reverence. It really must be good to be on Earth. Damn.

The hostess waits for their drink orders, setting menus in front of both of them.]

Just water, please.

[dendarii]

[ It doesn't quite sink in immediately. He has to work through the situation first - Mark coming to the Dendarii for help with the clone operation? Well, that makes sense. A cause Miles would help with if Mark came to him, surely. Hell of a risky operation but with Miles at the head ... Not so bad. What's the problem with that?

I didn't know he was you. That's the catch, isn't it. Mark fooled Bel, stole the Dendarii ... and then Bel helped him do it. There's a difference between going to Miles for help and stealing his mercenary fleet. A big fucking difference. His puzzlement fades into cold stillness as the full implications sink in. ]

You didn't stop him? Delay him? Bel, you know I would have helped--!

[jacksonian]

Black coffee.

[ He'd like a glass of wine. Or three. That's usually Miles' indulgence rather than his own, but he'd like something to key down his anxiety and nerves. But he's been absorbing lessons from the likes of Aral Vorkosigan, and one of the important lessons is: don't get sotted in the presence of your enemies. Or your potential enemies. ]

Do you see anything you like on the menu?

[shipmaster]

No. I didn't know. [Bel bites their lip before continuing.] He - doesn't trust you. That him doesn't trust you. [Bel clarifies.] I figured he would have up and ghosted the moment he thought I had cottoned on. And without him, you'd have never gone in and finished the mission. Too risky, no payout ... and you know how we left it last- There would be a damn bidding war for anyone caught between the Barons.

And I thought- He came on like you did sometimes. In that slump where you just sort of shut down for a while. [They make a vague 'you know' gesture.] But you always come out of it tearing and brilliant right when we need you.

I thought.. if I handled the usual he could pull together the rest. He seemed to think he could pull together the rest - the inside operation.

[They had thought about - and almost did - call it off right at the 11th hour, when it was clear that ... Mark wasn't going to pull out. That's where they usually lived, not the other way around. But they were both in too deep at that point.

There's a moment here, where they consider explaining... and just decides to skip the excuse portion.]

Every point where we needed command, it all just.. crumbled. Every possible way it could have fallen apart it did. One of the kids called in security with positions, numbers and we were just fucked afterwards.

We were holding under heavy fire... and last I knew, you were coming in hot to extract.


... I thought you knew.

[shipmaster]

Do they actually get the ribeye right, here? ... Well, it's Earth, they must.

[dendarii]

[ Is that true? Miles wouldn't have helped? He opens his mouth to protest - then snaps it shut again, thinking instead. It would be high risk with little payout, other than the lives of those children. Important, very much so, but no long term solution. And doing all that on Jackson's Whole ... Any one of them would be fodder. A bidding war of the bloodiest order.

(He still has trouble believing Mark would just disappear. But then again Mark is reluctant enough to accept Miles' help here. Clearly things didn't go any better back home.)

It doesn't help the barbed spike of betrayal that goes through him. He has to swallow, thickly, and marshal his thoughts. ]

No. It hasn't even happened yet. And - I was planning on retiring.

[jacksonian]

[ Ha. Revenge is coming. ]

Naturally. Not just any Earth - old Earth. The resources here exceed what you'll find on nearly any planet in the Nexus.

[shipmaster]

[NOW Bel looks struck, brows furrowed, and at a loss. Naismith couldn't even be 30. Not even close if the whole... future thing was in place.]

Retiring?

[dendarii]

It's - that's complicated and recent too. [ His gaze flicks over to Gregor briefly. ] We're trying to go back and change things.

[shipmaster]

[It's almost like a play in three acts, all across the herm's expressive face. First was a vague acknowledgement, as the comment was half heard and registered. Then, suspicion dawned as little bits of information start clicking together - a puzzle working out of little dates, information... the deplorable state of the tech, the year, abundant resources ...

.......................... everything on here is meat. Slaughterhouse meat. Even the potatoes boast of bacon and...................





They snap their menu shut, the stare across the table was so impressively flat.]

Salad.

[shipmaster]

... How changed is changed, sir?

[They didn't mean that to sound plaintive. It just happened. Came out in the sudden vision of the Oserian Fleet remaining until Oser finally made their retirement and cashed out. Endless years with Auson shoving their contract down their throat - life without the Dendarii and everything that came with it.]

Re: Bel Thorne | Vorkosigan Saga | OTA!

[unclassifiable]

[It hadn't bee hard to conclude that this was Captain Bel Thorne. The space armor was more advanced than anything SImon had ever seen but the basics were the same, and then to realize that there was a Betan hermaphrodite under that armor... That was a hard description to match for anyone but Captain Thorne.

So this was one of Miles's Dendarii. Simon was settled enough with Miles to take that as a proper vetting, so he'd been keeping quiet tabs on them for a few days now, slowly bringing in his perimeter closer over that time, now close enough to have the bottle thrust at him apparently. He blinks in surprise, put accepts the bottle smoothly,bringing it up to sniff.

He grimaces and hands it back quickly.]

Good god. Was that an assassination attempt?

[shipmaster]

I should wonder.

[They wave off the return with a grimace, barely giving much of a glance to the man in front of them. Puppyish, bland .. there wasn't much to note.] Keep it. Find someone you don't like. [After a beat, they correct themself.] Hate.

[unclassifiable]

[Simon's brow quirks. Just that small gesture seems to animate his features; His manner seems different—teasing, interested. He holds the bottle up with an air of an offering.]

They do say misery shared is misery halved. I'd be interested to see if that holds true even in such dire circumstances.

[shipmaster]

[Bel ... blinks and then laughs. Simon may note the smallest of glances, a flick to the man's ear before sliding back - an old, overall useless habit in the great uncivilized world.]

Good sir, if you're offering to drink with me, you need to pick one I don't already know is awful.

[unclassifiable]

[Simon notices because he was looking for it but he pretends not to, screwing the cap back on the vodka. He inclines his head, an invitation and a directing gesture just down the street.]

I'd be happy to oblige.

Have a Mello • Death Note • Fashionably late

[thischaos]

[02. De Chima]

[He doesn’t like the bustle; reminds him too much of downtown L.A. at any given hour when he’d have to pull up his hood and tuck his chin just to make it through without anyone taking a second glance at his face. Paranoia is par for the course as far as he’s concerned, which is why Mello isn’t particularly amused when the low click of cameras sound in his direction. (More along the lines of highly annoyed, but with this much attention, a scene and subsequent fallout isn’t in his best interest.)]

Don’t do that— [First and last warning, aimed at every stupid half-wit within a twenty-foot radius. Bad enough that he has to tuck his wrist beneath his sleeve everywhere he goes. Mello doesn’t hide. And he doesn’t pose for photo-ops. And he doesn’t answer questions about himself. Or anyone. He doesn’t like people’s faces obscured, even if there’s a logical reason for it during this time of year. Makes him jumpy.

These people are too close, the air too prickling-cold where it slips through gaps in his coat. All of this—

What? A sweetheart? He doesn’t have time for this shit.

Maybe if he takes one down, the example will be efficient enough for him to get out of here without any further questioning.]

Whoever you’re looking for, I’m not him. [Or maybe he is. Doesn’t matter. He wants out.]



[Wildcard]

[Throw it at him; he can take it. But can you?]

THAT JOKE TAG THO BLESS

[rideme]

You know damn well what I mean.

[What respect there was turned to something bitter, something angrier and harsher, in the wake of Cullen's announcement. Solas had been someone the Inquisitor trusted. Someone on the inside. And he'd been working shit behind the scenes, hadn't he? Like the Ben-Hassrath spy Bull hadn't been able to be, when everything was said and done.]

[The smart comment is irritatingly Solas. And it makes big hands clench into fists. Why here. Why not some alleyway where he could clock this asshole into next week. Here, there are bystanders. There are employees who are just trying to earn a living. Good people who don't deserve to get caught up in Bull's pissed-off tirade.]

[He moves more easily through the tables of the cafe than someone his size should. Moving to stand close enough to where he won't have to yell across the cafe.]

Don't you have a bone to chase? Or a ball? Some dog shit to do, smartass?

Get lost.

[dendarii]

[ Miles doesn't know all of the thoughts going through Bel's head just now, but he can guess at the shape of them. He needs the Dendarii too. ]

Just from this point on. My point, I mean. Like hell I'd skip on forming the Dendarii and rescuing Taura.

[shipmaster]

[That... is a relief. That's amazing eight years... well. Five, properly. That's hard to argue with.

... Though what they just went through wasn't going to happen. Couldn't happen. They weren't actually sure how they felt about that.]

It... was a pleasure serving with you, then, Admiral.

Have you decided who is getting that promotion?

[dendarii]

[ That is a much easier question to answer. Entirely devoid of that creeping hollow sensation in his stomach from even discussing stepping down from this life. He's sure, he's absolutely sure, but it still aches ... ]

Quinn, of course. Who else?

[shipmaster]

[Bel's lips quirk in a wry half smile.]

Of course. You pick the one it's going to be hardest to slide in a better deal on financing. [There's a talent Bel has for teasing and sounding grudgingly approving at the same time.]