TIME TO GET READYYYYYY

[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?

In the wake of the recent blackout, neighborhoods are coming together to repair damage done by miscreants and share resources. In one of the commercial areas, retailers are taking advantage of the mild weather to hold a sidewalk sale. New arrivals and long-settled imPorts alike will receive a small discount at most stores, and while a few locals give them envious looks, many are just interested in what they might buy. You could set a trend, hero!

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!

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?

There's still snow on the ground in Maurtia Falls, and some locals have decided to hold an impromptu snowman-sculpting contest. But...wait. That one looks familiar! Some of the snow people are definitely meant to be imPorts, but they aren't exactly flattering likenesses.

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. 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.

Go wander and get your shopping in, folks. Any imPort willing to be interviewed about how their New Year Resolution is going is instantly surrounded by a small gaggle of people.

Comments

[beautiful_monster]

You just had that pair skate exhibition. [His expression sharpens again, and he points commandingly at Viktor.] And don't start talking about it again! No one wants to hear all your gross lovey dovey bullshit!

[fourlevels]

[ He ignores the pointed finger too. ]

Only just? That was almost a month ago now! I was already back in St. Petersburg before coming here.

[beautiful_monster]

That doesn't make any sense! I'd know if you went home!

[fourlevels]

Huh ... must be another quirk of this different dimensions thing?

[beautiful_monster]

...Maybe... [It made just as much sense as gaining super powers did.]

It's really been weeks for you? What have you been doing all this time?

[fourlevels]

Getting used to this place mostly. Trying to register for the local competitions too; there's some hoops we have to jump through since we're imPorts.

[beautiful_monster]

What kind of hoops?

[fourlevels]

Ridiculous amounts of paperwork, and we're required to wear something that nullifies the powers they gave us during competitions. Speaking of powers though ...

[ He glances down at Yuri's feet not quite on the ground. ]

Looks like you got something similar to ours too!

[beautiful_monster]

[Huh. That doesn't sound too bad. Honestly it was something of a relief. Yuri could never be satisfied with beating his competition thanks to such an unfair advantage.

And more important than that is gushing about his new power.]

You too, huh? It's great, right?! Did the pig get it too?

[fourlevels]

Yuuri got it too, [ Viktor adds the emphasis for ... well, emphasis. The smile on his face doesn't falter either. ] It feels weird without having actual blades on but it's proving to be both fun and useful!

[beautiful_monster]

[Yuri looks pointedly uninterested in the correction. He rocks back on his heels, gliding a few inches that way.]

It's going to make practice a lot easier, but you're right... It's not the same. Have you found a real rink yet?

[fourlevels]

We have, though it's not anything like the one in St. Petersburg, or even Hasetsu. It's just down this way!

[ Viktor takes a few beats to reach in towards his own power, his feet subtly rising off the ground just a moment later. Skating on the sidewalk now, he leads Yuri the few blocks down to the rink.

As they skate—at a sedate pace since it won't do to cause an uproar with the locals on the sidewalk with them—Viktor casually switches to Russian while they glide along. ]

So what other powers did you get, Yura?

[beautiful_monster]

[Yuri kicks off the pavement to follow along at his side. He's only keeping half an eye on where they're going though, distracted with glancing around at the sights of the city too. He answers back in Russian without thinking about it.]

More things that sound impossible. Turning into a cat, some stuff they call "Making an Impact"... I've got my file with all the information in my backpack.

[fourlevels]

[ Viktor laughs. ]

It does sound crazy, but it is possible. I can turn into a poodle! I wonder what that last one means though ...

[beautiful_monster]

I don't know. I haven't read the whole thing yet. It looked long.

[fourlevels]

Haha, it really is long. [ Says the person who still hasn't read it all either. ]

We can walk you through most of it though. It's actually really nice here, and much, much warmer than St. Petersburg.

[beautiful_monster]

But I like the cold better. [It made for the best ice skating, after all.]

[fourlevels]

Just think about it like a vacation!

[beautiful_monster]

For how long?! I don't want to be stuck here forever. This isn't even a cool part of America! I've never heard of Heropa before in my life!

[Why couldn't they end up in Hollywood or The Big Apple? Somewhere people actually knew about.]

[fourlevels]

Neither have I, but at least it's Florida. It'll have beaches and ice cream all year long. Just like summer in Hasetsu.

As for how long we'll be here, well ... we actually don't know!

[beautiful_monster]

[Oh. He hadn't even thought about the possiblity of year-round ice cream. It was tempting...and they had just seen that time was strange here, to say the least. Maybe things would be alright at home...]

Tch. It's still a pain.

How much further is that rink?

[fourlevels]

Just around the next corner ...

[ By now they're starting to get some looks from the people passing them by. They're going slow enough that the pedestrians can catch snippets of their conversation, and even if they can't understand Russian, they just know that it is Russian and are shooting these imPorts passing by some dirty looks for it.

But as Viktor promised the rink was just around the next corner. It ... looks pretty rundown on the outside, to be honest. An inner-city building sandwiched between two others with busted letters reading "Ice Skating" above the doors. ]

Ta-da!

[beautiful_monster]

[Yuri's taken notice of those looks too. It's strange—nothing like the adoring looks that he's used to getting from his fan girls or looks of approval or pride from anyone else that might recognize him. He shoots a sharp-eyed scowl at a few of them which certainly doesn't help at all.

His expression only falls even more when he finally gets a look at the ice rink Viktor's brought him too.]

It looks like GARBAGE.

[fourlevels]

Well it's not the St. Petersburg rink, but it still suits well enough for our purpose. It is better inside though.

[beautiful_monster]

[UGH!!!]

It'll do for today.