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

[jacksonian]

[ Mark leans back in his chair and gestures expansively. Tempting to mock Bel a bit more, but...No. ]

So.

[dendarii]

Strange, isn't it? After Beta Colony and being on a ship both.

... You're welcome to stay at the Residence too, if you like.

[shipmaster]

So. [They dim at the subject at hand without the anger behind it. This wasn't something they could laugh at.]

How do you want this? Quick and to the point or with all the fixings?

[jacksonian]

Just get to the point.

[shipmaster]

Intensely... I'm still adjusting to the idea we're planet bound.

[Bel considers that offer only briefly.]

That is very kind of you. If I get into too much trouble where I am, I'll let you know.

[shipmaster]

[Bel closed their eyes. The conversations of the room were claustrophobic, echoing, a din of nonsense. They were abjectly comfortable.

When they opened again, that boiling anger was back.]

You, pretending to be Admiral Naismith, have stolen the Ariel, Green Squad and myself to a raid on Bharaputra’s main compound to rescue over 40 children.

As of my last memory, we are pinned under heavy fire, shuttle lost, two dead, one salvageable, two grievously injured.

[jacksonian]

[ Mark swallows hard. That's...bad. And he doesn't doubt for a moment that it's true. Once he'd learned of Naismith, of the Dendarii mercenaries, he'd daydreamed often about what he'd do with that sort of force. If he were allowed to become Naismith, instead of Vorkosigan...He can easily picture impersonating Miles to take the Dendarii. Especially if the clones were at stake.

Still. He can't help but feel an ache of guilt. After all that Miles has done for him...Here. In this world. Not there. ]

Are...any of the clones hurt?

[shipmaster]

[Of course that was the first question. The mercenaries were disposable. Mark didn't know them. Bel's betrayal was all the more terrible for it.]

So far? Nothing that synergine won't handle. They're the only shield and chip we have.

[jacksonian]

[ His face tightens with equal parts dismay and displeasure. ]

They're not - they're not shields. They're children.

[shipmaster]

Do you think I don't know that?

There's no choice.

[jacksonian]

[ Mark bows his head, staring hard down at the table. He picks at a bit of the varnish on the wood with his thumbnail. ]

If we could have rescued them, though -

[ He falls quiet. Then he starts again, mumbling - ]

It would have been...That's forty kids who would have a chance at life.

[dendarii]

[ Miles considers that for a moment ... and then he grins. ]

I can help you with that. The adjusting, I mean. Ever been horseback riding?

[shipmaster]

[They can't offer anything to that,as much as they desperately wish to. To have something for the blood, the risk, 40 lives removed from hell. But Bel doesn't know what Miles promised or didn't...]

I know, that's why I had decided to help you do it.

[There's no gentleness in that statement. It is the time of someone who gambled everything and lost.]

The Admiral was coming in to extract, which means we probably survive.

[jacksonian]

Decided to help me?

[ His gaze snaps up, brows furrowed. ]

You said - stole. I was pretending to be Miles, and I stole all of you. Now you're saying you decided to help?

[shipmaster]

I knew who you were by the first conversation of any length. I played along until it was obvious you were going to get us all killed.

[jacksonian]

[ His face twists in anger, and he spits: ]

So then how is it my fault and not yours, too?

[small_reservations]

Xion... Xion, Xion, Xion.

[He mutters under his breath, as if trying to place the name, before smacking his head with the heel of his right hand.]

Oh! Right! Xion! Duh.

[He's got some vague memories of her, but it's hard to connect the name to them. Now that he has, now that he's trying to remember, it's a little easier. However, that's not the only thing Riku said.]

Your replica? You mean the one from CO? Now there's a blast from the past!

[He's pointedly not touching the fact that Roxas isn't here anymore. That's almost painful - it takes some mental acrobatics to remember he can't really be heartbroken, that it's just a memory of being abandoned.

Again.]

[andaway]

[Haaaah.

He isn't surprised, not really. The hints were there, and he's been waiting for his wife for long enough to be... kind of in the look out. But suspicion and confirmation are two completely different things.

His smile freezes, but he does his best not to show much.]

I'm- no, I'm not a local. I am an imPort. Name's Clark? Clark Kent. [Which shouldn't tell her anything, but he still checks her reaction.]

Mine too, I got a job and all that.

[small_reservations]

[He's still willing to cut her down. Ready and willing, with how angry he is at her. But this anger... It isn't real, is it? This desperation? He takes a deep breath, trying to calm down. It's hard. Harder than it by rights should be. He eventually manages, though, just... cooling his head.]

... Sorry.

[As for what he's going to do with Roxas, when he finds him... He wants his friend back. If Roxas resists... Well, Axel's not sure why he would. They are friends, after all. It had to hurt Roxas as much to leave as it hurt Axel to be left, right?]

I just want things back how they were.

[shipmaster]

Oh, trust me. Those dead are mine. My men, my command and my blood. I let you lead them into hell.

[They lean forward, fingers pressed hard enough into the table that red and white tagged bones and pressure points.]

But I can be angry at you for not having the first damn idea of what you were doing in there. We did our jobs.

[jacksonian]

I -

[ Mark's gaze drops again. He glares miserably down at the table. He wants to snarl back at him - you know who I am, you know I'm not Miles. What stops him isn't the self-pitying self-righteousness of it, but the sting of the fact that that's true. I'm not Miles. He screwed it up, because he wasn't Miles.

He mumbles: ]

I wouldn't have gone in without a plan.

[shipmaster]

I... No.

You have those?

[dendarii]

Multiple, in fact. And acreage to ride them in. You're going to love Penny.

[small_reservations]

I did a lot of things, you're going to have to be more specific!

[Whoops, he's still close to the edge. Just going to get more secure, even if it means getting closer to the replica. He's got his chakrams low, spinning one loosely in his hand as he sidles around.]

If you're referring to getting all my coworkers killed and getting you into a fight you should by rights have won... Well, orders are orders!

[skepticgirl1]

[ Lois is very obviously not anyone's wife yet, being all of sixteen. Quite unfortunately for Clark, though, she has no reaction to his name.

(She notes the faint change in expression, and wonders why.)

She wrinkles her nose in distaste. ] I am getting really tired of that term, really fast. ImPorts. We're kidnap victims, not a commodity for trade.