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

[batstard]

[ That awkward moment when someone walks in on you. And then also that awkward moment where you are in fucked up vine bondage and some new person walks onto the scene. So I guess you get to see Jason hissing a bit because he has just yanked hard enough to dislocate his own thumb, and is now trying to yank his fucked up hand out of these shitty vines. ]

Why the fuck does everyone gotta make it weird today, huh?

[purple_reign]

[It is also worth noting that Inanna is pretty drenched in blood himself. It's spilled down his back and front. And his sides. Almost like he was decapitated or something! Weird.

He ignores Jason for a moment, kneeling to check on Persephone first.]

It's a...weird kind of day.

[pummelgranite]

[ Inanna, we absolutely 100% must stop meeting like this.

She's breathing, but it's slow and pained. There's also a lot of blood that seems to have come from the bullet hole in her shoulder. ]

[batstard]

[ You keep bleeding, Jason will just slowly keep working his way out of these shitty fucking vines. God, they are so shitty. Also now his hand is bleeding from where he ripped open the skin pulling his hand out of the first loop, this is just great. What a great day. ]

No shit? You're gonna want to put pressure on that. Or get me down from here and I'll do it.

[purple_reign]

[Inanna has a better plan: making a finger gun and firing a few white hot little stars at the wound to cauterize it. They can worry about finding a healer later. Of course he murmurs an apology to her,] Sorry darling. I'll make it up to you. [before looking over his shoulder at Jason.]

First, I'd like to know how she got hurt.

[batstard]

[ Okay, well, he obviously is not escaping fast enough here and needs to pick up the pace. And also keep this guy distracted, he guesses. Nice. He has now successfully yanked a hand free of the vines. It doesn't have a working thumb, of course, which makes this all very difficult. But that's fine. He can still very carefully slip that hand into his pocket and grab a knife, awkwardly. ]

It's kind of a long story, and I feel like you are maybe not an expert on the application of first aid in the field, on account of how shitty that was. Did you just laser burn that wound shut with the fucking bullet still inside? Crazy.

[purple_reign]

You're right, I'm not, but I do know better than to try to pull a bullet out myself. I know I can't put a tourniquet on her shoulder either, so that was the best option right now.

[He turns back to Persephone again, turning her so that he can try to pick her up while he keeps chatting casually with the bondage victim. Leaving her on the floor just seems so inconsiderate.]

And you still haven't answered my question.

[batstard]

Honestly, cauterization is almost never the best option. I mean look, in a situation where rapid exsanguination is occurring and you have literally no other way of stopping the bleeding, sure. But you have plenty of other options available. I have actual military-issue field dressing, for one. Besides which, she's not bleeding out nearly fast enough to justify cauterization. Even if you had to sit there and lean on the wound, that's a better idea than burning it. Risk of infection, high incident of permanent scarring, I mean serious scarring. Not "oh-no-I'll-never-be-a-shoulder-model" shit, like, fucks you up for good type scarring. Anyway, what was the question?

[ I hope you are enjoying this lecture. It mostly is there to given Jason time to use this knife to start sawing through this fucking wood as fast as he possibly can without a working thumb. ]

[purple_reign]

[Ha ha Inanna is so okay with this lecture. Everything happening right now is fine. Cradling his friend in his arms while some suspicious guy lectures him on field treatment is the height of a good time, for sure.

He levels an even look at Jason, maybe a little too calm.]

How did she get hurt. I could find out myself, but I thought I'd be polite and ask first.

[batstard]

[ We're all calm here, 100% of people are fine. Jason is just freeing his other arm now. It's nice to have hands. Having hands is Jason Todd's favorite thing to have. ]

She got shot. You want the play-by-play, details and all that? Met this girl in an alley next to a fire. She was looking to buy dead bodies. Bloody, as in full of blood, inside. I feel like, why don't you just get blood, right? Why does it have to be inside a body? Seems kind of weird to me, but what the fuck do I know, right? I honestly don't know shit about the need for blood-filled bodies.

[purple_reign]

[Well! With an explanation like that he doesn't need to use his divination at all. It's easy enough to sort out how Laura went from asking about...bodies...to getting shot by someone suspicious of her. It certainly raises quite a few more questions though, but this guy isn't going to be able to answer any of them.

He closes his eyes for a long moment and lets out a slow breath.]

Where's the nearest hospital?

[batstard]

23 blocks North and like, 3 blocks East. Hey, you guys should ask them if they have some blood there. You know, for her body, and also for whatever the fuck she needs bodies full of blood for. Good luck with that.

[purple_reign]

[Under other circumstances he might try to smooth the situation over, promise to talk to Laura and figure out what's going on. Unfortunately he just can't muster up the energy for it tonight. A sudden and unexpected death just takes the wind right out of someone, you know?

He narrows his eyes to sharp slits of light, anger and various misplaced emotions held carefully in check.]

Thanks for the directions.

[Time to glitterport himself and Persephone to the hospital! He might even come back if Jason takes long enough struggling out of his wooden bindings.]

[batstard]

[ HE IS ALMOST FREE WHEN YOU COME BACK, but look, there are a lot of these fucking vines, okay. Also, once you show up he has to stop sawing to pick up his gun, because fuck the whole fuck right out of this. ]

What, you get lost or something?

[purple_reign]

[He doesn't react except to make sure he keeps his eyes on that gun. And to frown again. There are a lot of things to frown about now.]

I have more questions to ask, but I thought I should make sure she was being taken care of first.

[batstard]

[ He's not pointing it at you for now, but he's definitely ready. ]

How sweet. But you know, you should probably get your friend's side of the story first, right? So why don't I give you my card, and you fuck off and we can talk about this later, when I'm not busy.

[purple_reign]

Unfortunately I can't ask her anything while she's unconscious. You, however, are perfectly able to talk.

So let's talk. Why did you shoot her?

[batstard]

Tell you what. You tell me why she's collecting dead bodies, I'll tell you why I shot her.

[purple_reign]

...I don't know the answer to that.

[batstard]

Yeah? Well I'm assuming it was pretty fucking bad, since she wouldn't tell me either. So maybe go find out and then talk to me.

[purple_reign]

Is that the way it is? Then I suppose I should assume the reason you shot her was "pretty fucking bad" too since you keep avoiding that.

I want to hear what happened. [His eyes burn a little more brightly.] Now.

[He didn't really expect a complete story from him, but he wasn't sure he expected a complete story from Laura either. None of this made any sense to him. Why was she looking for corpses? What did she need blood for? What goddess was she???? At least Jason was somewhere he could start with—assuming he ever decides to talk.]

[batstard]

[ Alright well. He actually laughs at that. It is not a sound of amusement or happiness or anything like it. This is purely pissed-off laughter. Just because fuck today and fuck everything, and fuck this conversation in particular. ]

Well, you know how it is. These things are relative. You're what, her boyfriend? So probably you don't give a shit that she's JV serial killer or whatever the fuck. Love makes you do crazy things, I get it. But just to be clear, I don't give a shit. I shot her because I told her if she didn't answer some simple questions I would, and she didn't answer them. I am a man who keeps my promises. So you should believe me when I tell you that I have had a long day, and if you pick a fight with me, I will put a bullet in you, and it will not be somewhere nice. Okay?

[purple_reign]

[If the threat bothers him, he certainly doesn't show it. He keeps a flat, tight-lipped look fixed on Jason.]

I'm her friend, and she's anything but a serial killer. I don't know why she wants bodies, but I know she's not the kind of person who'd actually kill anyone. [Probably. Maybe once and then she'd have a breakdown, but this didn't really sound like that...]

So you...held an illegal interrogation and then shot her when she didn't want to play along with you?

[batstard]

[ Dryly: ]

Sure did. Go ahead, call the cops, we can talk all about your friend's organ farm, and I'm sure they'll be fascinated to hear about how she would definitely never do such a thing, scout's honor or whatever.

[purple_reign]

I think you mean we'll talk about what you, the strange man who threatened and then shot her, claims she said.