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

[whathawksdo]

[ It's okay, Solas. It's Halloween! Know one even knows you dress up really weird normally, at least for today. Even Hawke won't give him a second glance (only one, mildly curious, but she isn't one to outright ask if someone's ears are real or fake for the day). She probably should have given him a second glance, but with how the timeline has worked out here, the Champion is so far back on it that the people of the Inquisition are unknown up until they introduce themselves, sometimes politely, sometimes by blaming her for the entire war, occasionally by yelling at her or, most commonly, with extreme confusion.

Anyway, none of that really matters right now, since she's only in Heropa to pick up a few things. The first thing: coffee, which she has stopped for. Unlike a large chunk of Heropa's population, she isn't doing the whole costume thing right now, although the jeans and t-shirt are a vast change of pace from her usual gear. That's what she's wearing when she flops down into a seat at a table next to his, one that had previously been occupied only by several dogs supposedly waiting for their owner to return. Hawke is not actually that owner, but she told them to stay put while she ordered regardless. ]

Now let's see what else he wanted... [ Talking to herself? Talking to the dogs? Does it matter? Once her coffee is settled on the tabletop, she'll pull out a mostly crumpled list, look it over, take a moment to stare at it in mild despair. ] Aaaapparently a lot of nonsense. Did he write half of these down as equations? [ Right. Great. She tosses that down on the table alongside the coffee. ] Yeah, that's not happening. Looks like we're officially done for the day, boys.

[ It's barely even out of the morning, but yep, that's right, doggos, job (of doing absolutely nothing useful) well done. This does not bother the random dogs laying around her table, who, as dogs do, just seem happy to be included. ]

[solasan]

[ Truly, he was more comfortable in his simplified clothing, but well, when one is running a rebellion and capitalising on the mythos built up around a godhood one never had and that one openly decried, looking strange (or impressive) enough to fit the part was a matter of cultivating expectation.

Here, he was liable to be labeled a medieval fantasy fanatic. So it goes.

He recognises Hawke not for what she's wearing, nor for her vast accompaniment of dogs (though it does pique his interest why any one person was walking around with such an entourage). It's when she speaks and he shifts his attention to a casual inspection of her features that it truly clicks: the Champion of Kirkwall. Last he knew, she was assisting Varric with his responsibilities in Kirkwall, for a certain definition of assistance. Is it worse that Solas has "Hawke doesn't die" or not, truly we don't know.

He has not, however, seen any one Ferelden manage to reach quite this level of canine saturation. In his quiet observation of a woman who doesn't seem to notice, care, or recognise him, it's almost pleasant. He can sip at his coffee, listen with half an ear, and continue to prod at his "communicator" with no intention to engage. It's almost pleasant, or as close to pleasant as his irritation and frustration will allow him to be under the present circumstances, simply because it's not demanding.

Plus he actually knows who she is, and that's more than he can say for the majority situation around here. ImPorts, native peoples who've been recently inflicted with "powers," an ongoing war, the inequities on all sides... all more delays, if these were what would stop him from getting back and finding whatever resolution will become inevitable. (Be that he succeeds, or that he does not; the future changes with each moment lived in the present.)

... Ultimately the only reason he ends up talking to Hawke is incidental to the sprawling dogs between their two tables. Holding his cup in one hand, he glances over Hawke's companions, then to the woman herself. ]

Would you mind asking your friends to clear a way?

[ Who knows how well they do or don't listen, but he's taking an educated guess. Meanwhile he holds up his cup to indicate his intention, communicator turned down over the top of his nondescript file on the tabletop, partly under his plate of crumbs.

He'd like a refill on the coffee. He needs more caffeine to deal with sorting and processing all the information he's brushing up against. ]

[whathawksdo]

[ Hawke looks up from her current conversation with the dogs, the question inviting another, much closer look at Solas. Now that she is looking, she's much more certain that whatever he's dressed up as, it isn't a costume at all. That's an elf, a very real one, although she's long since learned that doesn't mean a whole lot. There are apparently elves on all sorts of worlds and occasionally they aren't even elves, but something from space.

In short, she isn't about to assume anything.

She will offer a somewhat sheepish grin, however, before waving a hand to the little pack sprawled around them. ]

I can try, but the porter failed to add "also they will listen to you" onto the end of this ordeal. [ It really depends on how the dogs feel, much to her very minor dismay. They are dogs, after all. It isn't always so bad. But speaking of dogs, she'll turn her attention back down to them and raise her eyebrows at them expectantly, as though she assumes they have any idea of what's been said already. ] Go on. Move over.

[ She'll point off to somewhere out of the way a few times, she'll repeat the command several different ways. It's a no-go. They only watch on with the same super happy doggy expressions, but either don't understand or don't actually care to move in the first place. In the end, after a long suffering shake of her head, Hawke has to resort to trickery. The Champion of Kirkwall makes an enormous act of reaching into her pocket, exaggerating every motion to grab their attention before, ]

Oh, you're all paying attention now, aren't you? Well? Who wants a treat?

[ She makes like she's pulling something out of that same pocket. Close observation will prove there's absolutely fucking nothing in her hand, but the dogs don't know any better. The whole lot of them immediately surge to their feet, bustling with excitement because someone just said the T word. ]