etcelsior | Lies a place that few have seen.

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Lies a place that few have seen.

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!

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[ The teller fumbles a pair of stacks short of the money bag and starts to sniffle, progress stalled to a stop. William rolls his eyes. ]

It sure as hell isn’t for the company. [ He nudges Claire forward with the wrist of his gun hand -- closer to the counter, knife withdrawn to leave her room to slip free. ] Make yourself useful and bring that bag here, won’t you.

[ Does he really expect her to just - what, pick up the bag and help him rob a bank? Apparently so. And that gun still dangerously close to her back is good argument.

She steps forward, hesitantly, and goes to take the bag full of money. The man reminds her of Alpha, in a way. It's what prompts her to guess: ]

You're in it for the thrill.

I’m in it to see what happens next. [ He holds his knife hand out, a pair of fingers crooked past the grip. C’mere.

In the distance, sirens have just started wailing on the wind. ]

[ If it ends this - if she can run the hell away after this - then fine. She hands over the bag with a slightly sardonic flip of her wrist. ]

I don't see the difference.

[ When she offers the bag out, he reaches past it to close his hand on her shoulder, knife and all. The point of it curves back towards her cheek, discouraging struggle in the laziest possible way. ] I don’t require you to, [ he says, matter-of-fact. ] Hold your breath.

[ The world changes.

Sight, sound, touch -- everything is transformed into choking heat and raw sensation -- a twisted, distorted awareness of space, movement and direction.

It only lasts for a few seconds.

Cold air is the first thing to cut in when they re-materialize on the bank’s roof in a blanket of smoke; cinders rattle and spit over the gravel at their feet, skipping on the wind. The man in black (kindly) flicks an ember out of Claire’s hair with the tip of his knife before he steps away from her. He holsters his gun as he goes. ]

You got a name, Doctor?

Edited 2016-12-13 04:11 (UTC)

[ She was expecting another pass with the knife. Another mark, maybe? A hostage to walk back out of the bank with? But then the world disappears around them. She gasps as they come back into being, then chokes. Should have taken a breath back there.

It takes her a moment to draw fresh air into her lungs. Another to clear her throat enough to speak. She manages, somehow, not to fall, though she wobbles for a moment on the sudden gravel under her feet.

Oh great. Heights. She hadn't even realized she was scared of those until just now. Damn Topher for going through the trouble of putting in something she never even has to encounter inside the Dollhouse. ]

Claire. Claire Saunders. [ Her gaze flicks to the edge of the roof again, then back to the man in black. ] I'm surprised you care. Do you even have one yourself?

[Water dripping off his heel with each and ever step, Chilton fled to the middle of the lot in a run. He didn't comment on the man in black's sudden dryness, although he shot enough of a venomous look to speak something smart. The sirens in the back of his mind and now rounding his ears, Chilton was quick in his calculation.

Small. Fast. Mundane.

A black Honda Civic, with same state license plates. Chilton pointed to it and then clenched his fist. The door locks popped open, the ignition started. The car backed out of its slot, turned, and ambled to meet its riders.

Chilton was lucky that the only camera was pointed directly at the outside ATM. That was only sheer luck.]

I'll drive.

[Heroics were never the problem. What Chilton had running through his mind were the new mathematics in betraying this man as soon as he humanly could.]

NETWORK.

[ USERNAME: childs ]

Alright, where's the best place in Nonah to get a drink? The cheery mood is giving me a headache.

Just one. I'm a few. No family, too. Who am I?

NONAH.

( someone really, really isn't in the festive mood. when beth walks down the street she has a carefully neutral expression on her face, but it's hard to miss the sourness in the frown on her brow. everyone around her seems to be more and more excited, but all it's doing is making her more frustrated as she gazes carefully into each shop window she passes.

her hand automatically jumps to an empty belt when she hears a shriek -- but it's laughter, and she quickly shoves a hand in her hair as she realises it's just people enjoying themselves. whatever threat this place could potentially pose, it's not here, and beth needs to get herself off the street before she ends up jumping a merry shopper. even without a loaded gun, she could do some damage before people even had a chance to intervene.

beth quickly ducks into the closest looking thing to starbucks she sees and approaches the counter with a fake ass smile and a fake ass friendly greeting. she doesn't even realise that "whatever's fastest to make" is happens to be a pumpkin spiced latte until she starts sipping it, and immediately her delicately furrowed brows becomes an all out scowl. this shit isn't what she signed up for, and a heavy, heavy sigh of frustration follows. )

Do you want this? ( sorry, closest person, beth's already gesturing at the apparently offensive drink. ) The ah...holiday spirit isn't my thing.

WILDCARD.

( want to yolo something? spandex fire breathers? accosted by children?? the joy of free heropan drinks??? i'm super easy, just buzz me if you have any questions! )

Edited 2016-12-13 12:58 (UTC)

( Sarissa Theron, reporting for duty. If by "reporting for" you mean "colliding with" and by "duty" you mean "disaster."

There's a distinctly Australian and possibly irritatingly loud voice cutting through the air. )

The fuck do you mean, snakes can't swim? You're not a full quid hey, ya knuckle-dragging mongrel. All snakes can swim. Not all snakes swim with their heads above water, but they can all swim. Christ.

( Sarissa is, surprisingly, not that drunk - just riled up and aggravated, energy threatening to fizz over the sides. She's standing, taking the dude's beer with a bit of a and fuck you, buddy to the way she sips the guinness, before deliberately knocking his shoulder as she walks off. Fucking morons and their fucking wrong information about fucking reptiles. She was loud enough to hear a fair way away, although that isn't necessarily warning for the reckless way she moves through the room, until she clatters into someone. Her demeanour softens almost immediately, before she even looks at them - ) Christ, sorry.

( all she wanted to do was enjoy one drink.

or more accurately several, but the one is what she laments in her mind, sugar coating the worst of her habits as she stands up with a roll of her eyes. the argument is loud and not yet violent, but she'd seen enough bar brawls as a beat cop to recognise the beginnings of one.

-swim with their heads above water-

every inch of her doesn't want to do this, but whether it's the job ingrained so deeply in her person or just the fact that she wants to drink in peace, beth gets up and walks towards the altercation. she's hesitated just long enough that it's winding down by the time she approaches though, and if the loud woman in question stalks her way into beth's line of sight she would have just walked away.

but she sees her.

beth doesn't move out of her way, mostly because she's busy trying not to internally ( or externally ) shriek, and it isn't until they collide that she's pulled out of it. )

You're not- ( an eloquent start.

a sharp loud cough, an even sharper sucking in of air, and just like that beth's back to being composed. still borderline internally screaming, but externally at least her demeanour is cool. ) I'm over here.

( it's supposed to be an invitation, a request, but there's a commanding edge to her voice as she gestures to the slightly secluded misery corner beth had previously been tucked away in, half-drunk glass about to be swooped up. she would have made sure sarissa was following her, but given that her abandoned drink is about to be taken by staff she decides to just assume that the painfully familiar face will follow her lead. )

( Helpfully: )

Oh, shit.

( Easily said, the way you might go oh shit if you realised you'd but the kettle on for tea and by the time you remembered it had gone cold already, and the process had to be started over. It's not quite so simple as all that, of course; it's that Sarissa is caught in a tug o' war between feeling too much and too little at any given moment, and her mind or her body are leaning in the direction of self-preservation, for now. She shoots a glance in the direction of aforementioned knuckle-dragging mongrel, rolls her shoulders, and follows the... person.

Possible-clone, possible-not-clone. It's a hurt that still stings, but the ache is duller, now. Still as constant and on-going as the tide, but the way it rolls over her doesn't feel like it'll drown her anymore. There's plenty of other shit that'll try to do that.

Sarissa's wearing a beat up, faded grey tank top, leather and beaded bracelets down her wrists, and black jeans that have torn across the knee from wear, but only on one leg. She's silent, at least for a few moments, as she leans against the nearest solid surface to the maybe-clone. )

Don't worry. I hear being a pain in the arse isn't genetic.

( anything else.

literally anything else and beth would have taken it in her stride. murderers. neolutionists. anything would have been better than clones. it's all she can do not to show the profound and utter exhaustion she feels when she sees sarissa's face. all the drinks in the world couldn't be enough to make this better.

she wonders idly how long it'll take her to find something better - a persuadable doctor preferably, but surely street crime exists everywhere - but her focus is still on the other woman. the slight shaking in her hand can be a problem for later. )

I hear the thing between our eyebrows is. ( she says finally, and a laugh follows along with it as she shoves a hand into her hair. it's funny because it really isn't, but she still smiles at sarissa, and it's only a little wry in the twists at the corners of her mouth. god, what is she getting herself into. ) I'm Beth. This isn't freaking you out then?

( Beth. It's fortunate she doesn't have a drink, because that's the moment when she would have been drinking and it would have ended in a very flattering spray of booze showering over Beth. There's not a lot Sarissa knows about Beth; she knows Sarah tried to steal her identity, her life, slept with her boyfriend. She knows that when Sarah straightened her hair to play at being Sarissa for Halloween it reminded her of doing herself up to look like Beth, and she knows Sarah torments herself. Really, what she knows about Beth isn't really about Beth. It's about Sarah trying to cope with Beth, the guilt of her.

And now Sarissa is meeting Beth. The Legendary Beth, the larger than life Beth. Beth who killed herself in front of Sarissa who had her life pulled away from her. Beth the Clone, in front of Sarissa the Interloper. She isn't qualified to respond to this situation. )

Yeah. Just glad it's not a monobrow, personally. ( In a gesture perhaps incongruous with the scrappy appearance and tanlines and rough-as-guts elements to her, Sarissa holds out her hand to shake. ) Sarissa Theron. My sister Cosima's mentioned you.

You know Cosima?

( immediately there's a a break in the thunder going on behind her eyes. knowing that this is one weight that hasn't been placed firmly on her shoulders is enough for the relief to edge its way in, and this time when the corners twist at the edges of her lips again it's genuine. if beth knew the creature she'd become to them after her death that relief would have been so short lived, but as it is ignorance is definitely bliss.

she's quick to shake her hand in return, far more friendly now that she knows sarissa already has a foot into clone club, and she gestures towards an empty seat as she drops back down into the one she had previously occupied, before all of this had started (again). )

Has she told you about all... ( she gestures her hand vaguely between the two of them, a totally subtle way of asking if she was in clone club. ...she's honestly a good detective, promise. ) You're from..what, New Zealand right?

( nailed it )

[ Sarah is Christmas shopping, like a bloody suburbanite, trying to choose between two oversized mugs for Cosima. One has a cityscape of San Francisco curling around it, but the other one has a turtle with a multicolored shell. So it's a tough choice. When the woman nearby starts offering her drink around, Sarah doesn't look over immediately, just offers an over the shoulder, ]

It's not pumpkin spice, is it? [ Because no.

Then she realizes this is a prime chance to get someone's opinion on her Mug Situation, so she turns, holding one in each hand. ]

Hey, mind if I— [ Her voice cuts off as cleanly as if someone sliced a knife through it. ]

( thankfully beth doesn't get to weigh in on the mug situation, because she'd probably be rude and say neither. less thankfully is the fact that the two cross paths at all, at least for her, because beth is beth to sarah, but all sarah is to beth is yet another echo of a face haunting her. and to really rub it in, it's also the last face she ever saw, so thanks for that one universe, really.

when sarah stops, beth recognises her. the adornings are slightly different of course, the punk wear softened and the tightly braided side of her hair abandoned, but the details are the same. if nothing else beth has an eye for details. )

You're her, ( she says finally, throat wound tight as she forces words out to break the silence. ) the girl from the train station.

( the girl who saw me die. )

Beth.

[ Sarah fumbles, putting the mugs back on the shelf and nearly dropping one in the process. They end up in the wrong spots, both of them, but she doesn't care and turns back to Beth without quite meeting her eyes. Of course it's Beth. She's standing in front of Beth Childs in a bloody off-brand Starbucks, and for a few seconds she's not sure what's real and what's not. She's stood in front of Beth so many times, in dreams, in hallucinations, and each time, Beth has turned away from her.

She reaches out hesitantly and tries to touch the sleeve of Beth's coat with two fingers, testing for solidness. This already feels different from all the other times she's seen Beth. For one thing, this one doesn't know her name, while the Beth in her dreams always knows exactly who she is and what she's done. But she has to check. She has to. ]

( she's half tempted to just leave when sarah turns to abandon the mugs. as far as beth is concerned she'd be well within her rights to, she's given enough to this clone business without it being dragged to whatever this place is too. she could just walk out and make a break for it - this woman wouldn't follow her, right?

she stays put though, tightens her hands into fists and draws her shoulders up tight and tries to write every line of her face into something calmer, less....tired. she has to hold it together. )

That's me. ( she attempts for sarcastic and lands somewhere between humor and bitterness instead, but she trains her eyes on sarah even as fingers touch her coat. she doesn't move, just lets the moment pan out before relaxing her hand back into open palms. a second passes, another, and beth is the one to break the contact when she suddenly shoves her hands into her pockets. ) And you're...?

[ Sarah pulls her hand back when Beth moves, mirrors her and shoves her own hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. ]

Sarah Manning.

[ After that, she's not sure what to say. "I'm sorry"? The words are far too simple to express the guilt and fear and the weight of what she feels for Beth. She doesn't think there are words that exist that can express all of that. But she has to say something, and in the end she settles for a weak sounding, ] I know Cosima and Alison. [ There. Something that lets Beth know that she knows about the situation, that she's an ally. ]

Just a gun and a bag of money. [ No name.

The wind snaps at his coat as he closes in on the edge. Patrol cars can be seen tearing through traffic on the approach, and after getting a good long look, he turns to head back to her. ]

You from around here, Claire?

Funny, [ he says, as he pops the passenger side door and rolls himself down into the seat, ] that SUV didn’t have a driver either.

[ He drops the money bag down on the floorboard between his boots and works the seat belt, taking his time with buckling up. Grinning to himself while he does. Chilton’ll drive. That’s fine. ]

I like the color.

Edited 2016-12-14 05:33 (UTC)

[ She is going to sit down right here, thank you very much. Far away from the edge of the roof. ]

Hell no. I was pulled in like so many other people. And you.

Have you ever been killed?

[ He flips the knife from his left hand back to his right on his way, a little too casual in his handling of a blade big and heavy enough to dock through a finger if it slips. ]

The way I’ve heard it told, the finality of death no longer applies to people like us.

[ Claire freezes instantly at that implication, her eyes tracking the knife as he handles it. Figures she runs into the only import - so far - who wants to use their resurrective capabilities to kill people. ]

The finality, yes. The pain - plenty of that.

[ She'll throw herself off the roof first if she has to. Or maybe that power of his ... now that she's seen in action ... ]

Well I suppose that’s only fair.

[ Turnabout, and all.

Sirens give out to the sound of car doors slamming in the parking lot below -- voices and radios.

The man in black sinks himself into a crouch before her, stiff in the knees, breath whisking white through the cloth of his bandanna. ]

How’s it work? [ he wants to know, with his knife hand crossed casual over his knee, like he’s asking about a warranty that sounds too good to be true. ] They come get the bodies and put ‘em back together?

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Lies a place that few have seen.

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he's gonna vanish here shortly but can take her with a ways if ur down for powers use on her

PLEASE DO I'm enjoying this even if Claire isn't

bamf

Re: bamf

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beth childs | orphan black

????? hi friend i'm here to make you regret your choices

it's happening already

excuse you

u love me

UNFORTUNATELY

:* :* :* :*

i'm also here to make you regret

the two of you are going to ruin me i swear

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