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etcelsior2017-09-24 10:02 am
maskormods) wrote in 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.
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[AND WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO BE THERE, RIGHT? Sorry, Lord Leo. Your retainer is nasty and your sister is hot. Thank the Gods neither of the royals were here.]
A snake is acceptable, though. Yeah. [He's kind of in a better mood already, if the loosened grip on his dagger is any indication.]
Venomous, of course. Not one that should be allowed anywhere near human civilization. The kind you'd see and instantly try to behead with a shovel.
[Oh sorry, were we talking about wings or something? Niles was lost in his new fantasy of being a universally reviled creature.]
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Yeah! Yeah!!! Exactly!!!!! [ Sure, they were talking about wings, but Odin's just happy to see Niles get involved. ] Imagine it! Villagers would speak of you, the serpent of the forest, in hushed tones, huddled together in fear, wondering if - come next blackest night - they would be the ones to be struck down in your hunt. When the foolish and the drunk wandered away from the safety of their homes and into your territory, it would be you, the legendary, reviled serpent, who would force them to breathe their last. Your hiss would send a chill down even the most stalwart of knights! Fangs, dripping with toxic ichor - one bite, and dinner is yours! The curve of your tail, sleek and slender though it may be? Your greatest weapon! Your form holds the strength of a dozen men, though even a dozen more than that would lay battered and broken in your den, all so easily defeated! Your scales glint in the--
Okay, but really, you can't say that about Lady Camilla. She would behead you if she heard. Straight up.
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[His arms are folded over his chest now, dagger still in his hand but sitting there where out won't be hurting anyone just yet. He lets Odin ramble on, nodding a little in agreement. This wasn't something new for him, and for once it wasn't something COMPLETELY stupid.
Alright it was pretty stupid, but that was fine.
He does laugh a little at the end there.]
Oh of course she would. Without a moment's hesitation. Can you imagine it? A good thing she's not here.
[You know he SAYS that, but he turned his head to look around then. You can never be too certain!]
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You know, there are people here who are just as dangerous and axe-behead-y as the Lady is. I won't tell you not to be terrible, but you should be careful to not be terrible around someone capable of killing you a million times before you even hit the ground.
Would you be a dog if he was covered in scales and didn't have any legs?
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What's life if you don't have brushes with death from time to time? I certainly don't intend to stop doing what I do best, if that's what you're suggesting. And you know what that is. Annoying or disgusting people until they leave me the hell alone.
[Or until they're his friends, he GUESSED. Not that that actually stopped him being annoying or disgusting at all. He just also interacted with them in other ways sometimes.]
And no.
Absolutely not. I would not be a scaly, legless dog.
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[ DRAMATIC SHRUG. he loves his boy niles but jeez louise he's gonna have to put him on a leash. who sells leashes around here?? actually, he should just ask niles, because he probably already knows. ]
Coward. I'm gonna draw you as the scaliest, legglessiest dog and you're gonna love it. Anyway! C'mon, we're not done. [ he looks around, spies a small, fluffy dog that's just green-collared for absolutely EVERYONE, and picks it up and drags it over. look at that tail go! wag wag wag. ]
C'mon. Make friends with him. Introduce yourself. Knifelessly.
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Lord Leo is the only 'alpha' here. And if I recall correctly, I'm usually the one getting our assignments handed in on time because a certain overdramatic idiot can't get his head out of his ego long enough to get them done.
[His arms are folded over his chest as he wrinkles his nose at Odin, remembering the whole 'naming a weapon' assignment all too vividly. Getting carried away, Odin would have never submitted a thing! Thankfully Niles was there to actually get something done.]
You're about to end up on the wrong side of someone's temper and/or blade here in a moment if you don't get that thing out of my face and shut up about calling me a dog!
[He'll wait until you are asleep, Odin Dark. He'll wait and then he'll stab you in your sleep as a fun prank between friends. He won't kill him but he will TOTALLY deserve a stab wound.]
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Okay, well, yes, obviously Lord Leo is the top dog. Cat. He's a cat. But. But have you ever heard of "Alpha, Beta and Omega dynamics"? It's a rare form of literary technique that subjects the characters that reside in the piece of fiction that utilizes these parameters to interact with each other in a specific, defined hierarchy. Leo is Alpha. I'm Beta. You're the Omega. Do you understand?
[ do you understand, niles? do you? odin stares, long and serious, before he decides he's ready to move on. ]
I'll let you stab me if you just give this a chance and pat this puppy. Pat him and tell him you don't find him cute, and I will straight up let you stab me. Okay? Legit. 100% serious. I am giving you a free shot to stab me.
[ the white dog tilts his head. wuff. ]