maskormods: (Default)
Mask or Menace | MODERATORS ([personal profile] maskormods) wrote in [community profile] etcelsior2017-09-24 10:02 am
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I PUT THEM TO BED, NOW THEY ARE DREAMS, AND WE GO --


T E S T D R I V E M E M E
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 ON THE TEST DRIVE MEME!

    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. Many of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation and their local troubles, while others might not say anything -- but if you have something nasty to say, better not say anything at all, right? That's just the Heropan way.

    But despite the relatively small size and mostly easy-going population, this here is not a city immune to the urbane ways of the world. And Heropa, like the rest of the world, adheres to the calendar of this universe. You, fine imPort, have just happened to land squarely on SING LIKE YOU'RE IN A MUSICAL DAY! Wowee! Locals and tourist natives alike will conspire to cajole you into singing your GREATEST WISHES and CLOSING ACT songs. And, oh, you don't feel like singing? Then BEWARE of anyone spritzing a sweet-smelling yellow perfume at you -- that's a lasting vestige from the crumbled HEAVEN SCENT corporation, still on the market, and it will COMPEL YOU TO SING. Even if it's for a few minutes, you'll be singing a few bars. It's nothing personal, the locals just want you to feel like you belong.

    Happy Sing Like You're In A Musical Day!

    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! Those words have meaning here. 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 or recently published PLoS papers. 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. Some of them MAY ask if you personally know the De Chima Ambassador, Sam Merlotte. Beware if you answer in the affirmative; anything from personal questions about romantic chances to bedroom habits to dietary queries might come up!

    If you wander the clean streets beneath those chrome and glass skyscrapers, you'll come upon the limited greenery clearing that De Chima possesses. You'll see a live demonstration in the middle of small Newton Park. A live demonstration! Of what, you ask! Of the start-up company DeCRYPTO CANINE! You'll find a fenced little area in the park fitted for a low-rise stage. On that stage are lots of dogs -- terriers, labradors, dachshunds, huskies, even a great dane or two. Around the collar of every one of these dogs is a glowing blue band encapsulated in a silver framing. When the demonstration begins (at the push of a big red button on a remote control), the glowing blue changes to yellow, to green, or to red -- all depending on the dog.

    "Communication with our good canine buds!" Says the woman on the stage with the microphone and the remote. "DeCRYPTO CANINE translates blood pressure and adrenaline into mood, and mood into limited speech! At long last!"

    Who let the dogs out? This woman, because she opened the fencing floodgates and these dogs ran to greet the waiting audience. Wagging tails -- green! And a computerized voice says "YOU ARE NEW HELLO I SMELL YOUR BUTT NOW WE ARE FRIENDS".

    Whimpering, lowered tails -- yellow! Concern! "YOUR CROTCH SMELLS BAD. ARE YOU SICK."

    Tense shoulders, hunched posture -- red! "BAD MAN BAD MAN BAD MAN!"

    What will these dogs reveal about you?

    03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has carried a reputation for ups and downs ever since imPorts began reappearing again, just those few years prior. Several imPort heroes have put focused efforts into cleaning up the streets of this somewhat infamous city, while a handful of others had 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 -- but that war waging is taking a turning tide thanks to the order and regulation established by Ambassador Petyr Baelish. Locals know him best for his library and his hardline on containing the criminal element. Trustworthy guy, they'll tell you. But one man's leadership isn't enough to clean up a troubled city in a year's time; everything from the classic bank heist to brutal bloodbaths can happen around the corner. You have to keep your eyes open and your mind sharp when you live in Maurtia Falls.

    Case in point: the two cars screeching down the bust, bustling streets of this noir-styled city. A green car and a red car, both sedan styled, dodging and weaving through midday traffic like they had learned to drive at a bumper car rally. Not too far behind is the wail of several police sirens. You know that the police are too far away, that these speeding vehicles might make it to the off-ramp freeway and get home-free -- what do you do about it? Huh, hero? What do you do?

    NOTHING
    Just go about your business. Crazy day, huh?

    CHASE THE GREEN CAR
    Going 79 MPH in a 35 MPH zone, that'll be some chase. Careful about the other vehicles, parked cars, pedestrians. But when you catch up to the fleeing vehicle, beware: the lady in the passenger side is armed. The lady in the driver's seat is armed. The guy tied up in the trunk is not armed. These sunglass-wearing bounty hunters will fire at you, they are armed and dangerous. They are mean. They will not humor your shit. And they are hauling tail trying to...

    CATCH THE RED CAR
    If you pursue the red car first, you will find a very angry Bonnie and Clyde type couple with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of diamonds and jewels in their backseat. They have a bazooka.

    04. Nonah, North Carolina, has its own unique rhythm; it is 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. Natives may gather around new arrivals and ask both personal and broad questions about life as an imPort, what they are looking forward to, what their favorite article of underwear is. They probably already think they know what Ambassador Miles' favorite article of underwear is -- and it's probably a kinky assumption. Whoops!

    If you prefer to dodge the unsavory bustle, take a walk downtown into the heartbeat district. There you can find the throbbing nightclubs and dazzling haute bars. And as a newly arrived imPort, you're invited to the VIP lounge of the hautest bar in town: THE TIPPING POINT. It is a very fancy affair, however, so if you're not dressed to the nines, you WILL be taken care of and given a designer suit or cocktail dress to borrow for the evening. All you have to do in return is smile for the cameras! And there WILL be cameras, along with B-List celebrities hobbing at your elbows. Lucky night for you if you're JUST at the legal drinking age, but not quite there -- this lounge doesn't card. So sit down, take your gin and tonic, and smile.
cigarbribery: (my love is alive way down in my heart)

maurtia falls

[personal profile] cigarbribery 2017-09-25 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, god.

NYPD.

Foggy wrestles, briefly yet visibly, with his lawyerly instinct to Stick It To The NYPD and his instinct to also be helpful and let this guy borrow his car, a rental, with only faith that it won't end up going the way of most police cars in high speed car chases and get the owner on his ass. Eventually, like an adult, he decides to compromise.]


You're not commandeering my car, buddy, I'm renting it. [But there's the tell-tale sound of the door unlocking.] Get in. I'll drive.
hardboyled: (Default)

[personal profile] hardboyled 2017-09-25 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[That sweet, sweet sound of an unlocking car door is like music to his ears. It's the sound of acceptance! Of allowance! Of someone who's actually letting him do his job even if it's not actually his job any more!]

Seriously?! Oh my goodness, thank you. [Jumping into the passenger seat before Foggy has the chance to reconsider his offer. No take backs now.]

Follow those speeding cars! Then we'll... ... Well, I'm kind of making it up as we go along here.
cigarbribery: ha (just send for me; oh baby)

[personal profile] cigarbribery 2017-09-26 08:20 am (UTC)(link)
We can ask them very nicely to stop getting into high-speed car chases?

[Says the guy about to get into a high-speed car chase in a rickety little rental. But whatever, Foggy's now in this up to his ears, apparently, and he shifts gears and floors it, peeling away from the curb on the heels of the green car.]

You realize the NYPD doesn't have jurisdiction in Pennsylvania, right?
hardboyled: (Default)

[personal profile] hardboyled 2017-09-26 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[A firm nod of agreement at the idea of asking really nicely for crime to stop! Oh, if only that always worked, Boyle would be the best damn cop ever.]

Yuh-huh! I also realize I'm not even in the NYPD, technically. I mean, not here at least. [Beat.] Hi, I'm Charles, by the way. [Reaching over to extend a hand, because high speed or not, it's still polite to shake hands with new company!]
cigarbribery: (if you ever need a helping hand)

[personal profile] cigarbribery 2017-09-27 10:28 am (UTC)(link)
[If that worked his workload would drop significantly.]

So technically you're acting outside the law here. [Sure. Aiding and abetting. Why not. Foggy's already doing that anyway, at least this Charles isn't running around in a red leather suit and a gimp mask, unlike some people.] I'm Foggy. Technically, I used to be a lawyer.

[And with that he swerves left, trying to catch up with the green car.]
hardboyled: (Default)

[personal profile] hardboyled 2017-09-27 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh God, you're right. We're acting outside the law. Is this illegal?! What am I saying?! Of course it is.

[Boyle merely slinks further into the car seat, one arm gripping the door, the other the side of the chair, keeping him nice and central as they bank sharply.] This was a bad idea, Foggy! Why did you talk me into this?!
cigarbribery: (i'll be there on the double)

[personal profile] cigarbribery 2017-09-28 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
You're the one who tried to commandeer a rental! I just wanted to go to work!

[But hey, this is actually a lot more exciting than investigating insurance claims, that's for sure, though Foggy will never admit to that in a million years. The car banks hard enough that he's kind of terrified they'll tip over on the side and that'll be hell to explain away, but they don't and he is so grateful.]

Please tell me you have a seatbelt on. Please.
hardboyled: (Default)

[personal profile] hardboyled 2017-09-29 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Of course I put my seatbelt on! I'm not some kind of savage. [Snappy little bitch, huddled in his seat as he lets out a sigh of relief at them surviving another risky manoeuvre. This is fine, he's survived years of Jake's driving.

All he needs to do is breathe slowly and deeply, and remind himself that this is just another day in the office. Except in a car. And doing illegalities because he's not longer a cop.]


This is fine. We're fine. Okay? Okay. I'm sorry I yelled at you. We can get through this together and not die. It's fine.