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 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]

[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.

[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]

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

[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]

[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.

[jacksonian]

[ Ha. Hahaha. The look Mark gives Thorne is openly gloating, though his voice is mild when he calls over the waiter and orders: ]

One filet, medium rare, with whichever sides the chef particularly likes today. And a salad.

[shipmaster]

[They do manage to stuff the answering glower when the waiter reappears.]

Full sized. And I'll have a coffee too. Tiramisu to follow, with espresso.

[U lil shit.]

[jacksonian]

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

So.

[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]

[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.

[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?

[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]

[The snarl was cut short as one of the servers appears at the table, and Bel has to pretend at being civilized for a moment as the salad and steak are put down.

Like all things that have to have a second start, it's a little more subdued.]

You came onboard with some solid holomaps of the facility. Taura and I worked out the drop plan and exit strategy, you were supposed to handle the kids.

[jacksonian]

I know they suspect what's going on.

[ He looks up, his expression hollow and miserable. ]

They suspected. In my creche.