etcelsior | PRESENT TIME, IT'S A TDM

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PRESENT TIME, IT'S A TDM

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? But, whatever the last year has brought, the holidays and the New Year has come and with it a renewed (if possibly temporary) sense of generosity towards the displaced imPorts. Part of this includes a special second ball drop in Heropa on New Year’s Eve, including festivities such as local bands performing, an ice sculpting competition, free food and hourly fireworks display over the water. Some people mutter it’s all being done to keep the imPorts away from real Americans at the Times Square ball drop, but surely that’s just a nasty rumor.

But when a small gang led by one of the new superpowered natives tries to steal this ‘imPort’ ball at 11:30pm, one has to wonder if keeping the powered community away from native crowds wasn’t a good idea. The (uncreatively) self-named ‘Ice Boy’ has ice powers and five non-powered followers trying to steal the New Year’s ball as their powered leader provides a distraction. They are going out of their way to not hurt any natives, but clearly have something to say about the government using up public funds for imPort events.

Enjoy the festivities, then stand and watch the newest native supervillain steal the ball or slip into your spandex and try and stop him. Or, if you’re the type, go and help him out. Whatever you pick, it’s going to be a New Years to remember.

02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter than Heropa, there are still large numbers of citizens to be 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 remains high here, 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, favorite foods, and more!

Given the rock star status of imPorts, it’s no surprise you’re especially big commodities around the holidays. Action figures, wrapping paper, it seems everywhere you turn there are products with imPort’s faces appearing on it. Not to mention the made for TV movie of ‘ImPorts and Santa Save Christmas.’ No one really knows why the Russians are riding pterodactyls to ruin Christmas, but does it really matter? Watch the show in a store window long enough and you just may see a (similar but legally distinct) version of someone you know riding Rudolph to help save the day.

Ah, the wonders of capitalism.

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has had its ups and downs since imPorts started reappearing. Several imPort heroes have put focused efforts into cleaning up the streets of this somewhat infamous city, while others have swooped in to help the criminal industry thrive. More so here than the streets of any other imPort city, the battle between good and evil looks more like a war of escalation than a heroic tale. That might make the less than warm welcome imPorts are given in the city a little more understandable. The emergence of locals with superpowers is hardly helping. While some of these individuals have turned to crime, many locals seem more inclined to defend their native powered drug dealer than help the non-native hero bring them to justice. Who are you to tell them how to live?

So while that Salvation Army Santa on the corner might seem to be more serving as a look out for the shady bar behind him than collecting donations, is it really worth trying to sneak in and see what’s happening inside?

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. More so than any other city, Nonah has embraced every holiday available to celebrate this time of year. To be American is to be part of a melting pot, and that there’s more money to be made by the thriving local industries hardly hurts. Today is a large winter market place. Streets have been closed off and local merchants big and small have set up booths throughout the city to sell their holiday (and normal, who doesn’t need a new pair of wingtips for the New Year?) wares. While outdoors, there are enough heaters scattered around that you’d hardly notice it. Any imPort willing to say they bought their menorah, kinara, Saturnalia wine, or whatever else at a specific booth is in for a big discount from the managers!

Go wander and get your shopping in, folks. Any imPort willing to be interviewed about how they celebrate in December back on their home world is instantly surrounded by a small gaggle of people. Any jokesters out there should be careful to not make up too many fake holidays. The people here might just take it to heart this time next year.

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[ Well, of all the things she expected...gross destruction of property wasn't one. Well-played, Bartimaeus; Kitty breaks first, eyes going wide and alarmed as she starts forward, saying - ]

Oh - oh! Bartimaeus, stop that, don't, someone lives in there!

[Look, feats of great magical construction still needs basic resources.¹ By the time Kitty protested, the foundation block of that particular condominium was almost hacked down to the size he needed...]

What? Hey, you don't get freebies like this all the time.

Well, I don't want a freebie, do I.

[ She comes up to him and pushes gently at his shoulder - and then throws her arms around him and wraps him tightly in a hug. ]

Hullo.

[Point, set and match to Kitty Jones. He... really didn't know what to do with that. Not a lot of people were into that whole embracing terrible forces of evil or whatever the insult of the year was. In fact, he was only - after being surprised to not feel the awful bite of silver - dimly aware that it was a particularly affectionate gesture.

There wasn't a whole lot of that among the all of the backstabbing. Shame, honestly, it gives great access to that exact region.

He ends up staring up at her and... well, if it had been anyone else, it would have meant that he'd have taken them up by their ankle, dropped them in the nearest pond or largely unfresh body of water and crowed at their misfortune for a while.

As it is he just. Stays there a moment.

And then transforms. The small building boulder drops heavily into the sidewalk and Kitty Jones has a particularly ridiculous bird perched on her shoulder.]

Oh, no more of those gooshy emotion dripping all over everything. I'm completely off of those.

Oh, is that so?

[ She shoots a glance over at that rock currently putting a dent in the street - and then at the people behind her, some of them entranced by the scene and some of them getting terribly tetchy over the lack of miracles happening - and then decides, eh, they don't matter so much. Far more important is Bartimaeus. She gently reaches up to grab him, and brings him around in her hands -

And then she gets a full glimpse of the bird he's turned into and bursts out laughing. ]

Oh - oh, no. And I thought that demon with the whips you turned into that one time was ugly. [ Then, getting a hold of herself - ] By which I mean it's so, so good to see you, and you can just deal with the gooshy emotions, mate. When did you get here?

[It gets worse. That tiny mouth opens and just keeps opening.]

A couple of hours. I've been entertaining myself.

A couple of hours, is it?

[ She cups the ridiculous-looking bird in her hands; her thumbs come up to stroke the feathers around his neck. Warmly, and with more amusement than condemnation: ]

I hope this is the full extent of the damage you've caused.

[The bird leans into the petting insistently.^{1^]}

Absolutely.²

[ ...Translation: probably there's something else. Ah, well. It's only a problem if they catch up with Bartimaeus, she supposes.

Blimey, she hopes he's not eaten someone.

She returns the bird to her shoulder and strolls out, leaving the adoring crowd (and the gross property damage) behind. ]

Good. Well. D'you remember anything of this place? Being here before?

What? No. Should I?

[He had been drained nearly to a wisp at the end of that .. affair. That does account for the occasional lapse.]

I don't know.

[ She answers quite frankly. ]

Some people do, after they go home. There was a time that you were here, briefly, but lots of people come back without remembering a thing...But you do remember me from back home, yeah?

[So, he's been summoned and released before. That... didn't sit particularly well with him. Perhaps when he's recovered more, the pieces will shift back into place. Djinni don't typically forget though.

On the other hand, that is a far more pressing question. He is quiet a moment, the ridiculous bird staring with huge yellow eyes at her.

Was that fondness the nitwitted sentiments of the little girl who took it upon herself to blame him for her sudden, bizarre bout of insanity known as saving John Mandrake. Or summoning him for pipe dreams of universal love and a free army to fight and die for her, pretending they still weren't slaves.

...

But there were blemishes that were missing, others that were exaggerated. Some, particularly, in those hard to see areas where one's sense of self is blind in humans, the skin is unusually smooth, perfect. Bland. .. Fake.

No, it's the eyes that give it away the most.

The bird shifts, pouring out of her hands to answer in a very simple manner.]

Yes.

[ Answer enough, then, to her next question: what's the last thing you remember? At the very least, she knows that she's gone through the Gate in his remembrance...Whether he's yet fought Nouda, that's a question. Whether he's gone beyond that fight, whether he remembers Nathaniel, the Glass Palace...

God. It's weird looking herself in the face. Her real face, the face she wears when she's not putting on appearances for the world around her. Her hand comes half up to cup Bartimaeus' - her - cheek, entranced by the oddness of seeing her double...Well. Nearly her double. There's no mistaking those eyes for her own. Or the gentleness of that expression, either.

In a sudden flutter of self-consciousness, she herself shapeshifts. She'd meant to save this for a really good moment, see if she couldn't outright drop Bartimaeus with shock, but with a little flash she becomes a sparrow, fluttering up to land on his shoulder. And she huddles down there. ]

Good. I wouldn't want to have to re-introduce myself, you know. Especially after I worked so bloody hard at our friendship.

Harder than nearly anyon- Hold on there!

[Bartimaeus' expressions twist into alarm, confusion spreading across her face. She traces the path of the bird, jaw dropped all the same. That was no fancy glamour woven around her, she changed her form.]

Since when could you do that? [First she bellies up to magic, now shows off a bit of spirit work here. Was it a side effect? Ptolemy surely couldn't change form after... part of the feebleness of his body came from him continually trying, his own essence to accustomed used to the Other Place to sit properly back into heavy meat and bones.

Immediately, he checks how she looks on the seventh plane.¹]

When could you do that?

Edited 2016-12-19 20:05 (UTC)

[ Kitty flutters her wing against Bartimaeus'-or-rather-her-own-neck, seeing if the spirit is a touch ticklish. Curious thought, isn't it? She knows she's ticklish there, but Bartimaeus by no means would have replicated her nerves as well as her skin. ]

Since I got here. Or, well - since a while after I got here, really. But - you know.

[ She hops down Bartimaeus' arm to perch on his hand. ]

I don't know why, but that was the power this place gave me. Along with a few more characteristics of spirits. Ugh, I'm sorry that I ever thought it was annoying that you shifted forms so much - it's miserable staying in one form, isn't it? It itches.

[What she was on the seventh was comforting. Soft white hair, skin that has lost its plasticity and bunched in places humans fret over... an aura that matches her eyes - a human that has seen more than a human should, and came out of it. No. It was her.

She lifts her hand, expression mild, nearly soft. As much as she hadn't reacted as Kitty might have, the wings little more than a brush of sensation. Bartimaeus did have a really good sense for how to pet a bird.]

Apology accepted.

Rubbish, isn't it? Gets you right there in the core, all achy. I didn't understand how you humans standed it.

Well, we humans don't feel it. [ She hesitates, then allows - ] Well. Or if we do, it's more like just aches and pains. They take years to build up, instead of minutes.

[ Then, with a sigh of enormous pleasure as Bartimaeus pets her - ]

And, ugh, silver. I'll never think that silver is pretty ever again.

Got the same problem with iron, too?

Ugh.

[ She huffs a sigh. ]

Revolting. And - oh, I used to love those shortbread biscuits with rosemary in 'em - they're disgusting now.

Ug you're still eating dead matter? I've found it's really never worth it.

Twists up the digestion for ages, and the stains.

[ With a little laugh - ]

Well, I'd rather starve if I didn't! I'm still physical in form. And biological.

Well, guess there's got to be flaws. Coming from a human base, as it were.

[It's the usual guff, Kitty's fingernails gently scratch right THERE between the wings.]

Ooooh, you - Oh.

[ Kitty gives a small sigh of pleasure as Bartimaeus scratches her, irritation fading. ]

Anyway. I'm not wholly like you. I'm sort of - halfway, now. Which is lucky for me.

[ She sits up then, a little alarmed - ]

Oh, Bartimaeus - have you got access to the Other Place here?

There's supposed to be something like it. [Bartimaeus had thrown out the folder and the communicator almost immediately.¹ But that doesn't mean he didn't give it all a good look through.]

I haven't tried it yet, honestly. [Which says a lot to his general distrust of the situation here.]

Edited 2016-12-20 01:41 (UTC)

Really?

[ Kitty gives a little huff of surprise. ]

You must be nervous, then.

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