etcelsior | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Now would be the absolute worst time to tell him that she doesn't know what he's talking about. Leia knows that, in the future, raising a family is something that will happen.

One moment he's pleading with her, then the next he's talking about killing her son. Which is it?

"You don't need to rush this—" whatever this is "—everything's going to be alright."

All of the emotions she can feel coming off of him threaten to choke her. That doesn't stop her, her hand moving to curl over his because she won't let him get to where she can't reach him.

He's dangerous, unpredictable, and underneath it all, he's lost. Lost to what's good and bad, Light and Dark.

He knows she can feel it too. The wildfire-- the hurricane tearing through him hates her, loves her so much he can't bear it. He wants to believe her, more than anything, but it's too late. The storm will swallow him and destroy him unless he destroys her first, severs everything...
He bites his lip, his voice barely more than a whisper. Her touch on his hand burns like a brand.

Young,
You're so young,
But when I look at you I know.

Strong,
You're so strong
A place where I could not belong
It's there inside me- something wrong

Mother--
Spare me from the shame
Let me be my chosen name
Mother!
Free me from this pain--

My destiny
My destiny
No disappointment
Just annointment
I am what I was always meant to be

Don't look at me so broken-hearted
I must finish what He started

Who is He? What is going on?

"You don't have to tell me you're in pain, I can feel it. I know what you're feeling. I know."

There's so much struggle, a whirlwind of chaos waiting to be unleashed, a fiery temper laying just beneath the surface.

"Let me help you," she pleads softly, gaze searching his face. He towers over her, she has to tip her head back. "I can help."

"You can't," he mumbles, blinking furiously fast to try to fight the treacherous tears welling up in his eyes. He sniffs, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath- and the crackling blade in his hand flickers and dies.

You can't help me
though you tried you never could
I tried to tell you
but you just misunderstood

I don't belong here in the light,
it burns my eyes
So let me step into the night--
it simplifies.

A shuddering breath of her own comes out, an exhale of relief, once the saber goes out, her hand staying on his. There's no longer a red harsh hue cast against their features. She hears the mumble and the crease between her brows deepens.

"Help me understand then. I can't do this alone. We can make it work, together."

Leia won't stop pleading. This time, her free hand goes to his upper arm.

If only she could think back, in this moment, to what Breha would say, how she would handle this. As a mother.

He's frozen in that moment, caught between a desperate, uncontrollable desire to sink into her arms and the knowledge that he never, ever can. Ever again. He sucks in a breath and pulls away- or tries to, at least- the misery and fear spilling out in angry, pleading rhyme:

He was weak!
Not hot or cold
Tepid
Useless
Uncontrolled

He tried--
He tried!
to stem the tide
but the darkness
it was there inside

Pigeonholed and unconsoled
he crushed himself into your mold
sought out the truth you left untold
and when he found it--
hate took hold.

I burned him out-- connection severed
that part of me is gone forever
but while you hold him in your heart
your love for him tears me apart--

What sin must I commit to prove it?
What evil must I choose to lose it?

I beg you, mother- cut the tie
Let your tortured child die

The more he sings, talks, unleashes such turmoil and upset, it makes no sense. There's a struggle, a hard one. Leia didn't push back when he pulled himself away, but he doesn't get far after that last line.

"No," she breathes. No, how could he ask that of her? Was he truly that tortured? "Please, listen to me–"

Leia moves forward again. This time both hands desperately grip his arms, as if to make him listen and understand.

"You need to fight this. This darkness, you can't let it overcome you. Ben, please–"

Was this the kind of struggle Anakin had gone through? Dark warring with light. Good and bad.

It's the name. That's what gives him the strength to resist her impassioned plea, to see it as what it always has been: the misguided attempt of his short-sighted mother to force her son into the shape she would prefer.

Ben.

He hates Ben- for his weakness, his stupidity, his blindness to the obvious truth right in front of his face- and she wants him to go back to that? Back to worthlessness and confusion? No.

He shakes her off.

I am the darkness! Can't you see?
Lord Vader's blood, it runs through me
It's what I am, there is no choice
I've always heard His distant voice
Long before I learned the truth
You hid from me for all my youth
I felt the edge of something more
A yearning I could not ignore
and as I looked upon His face
My broken pieces fell in place

It's what I am, it can't be changed
I have been freed!
I won't be chained.

I PUT THEM TO BED, NOW THEY ARE DREAMS, AND WE GO --

You work it so well

well that escalated quickly

Yes, good, never stop

eventually i will run out of overdramatic rhymes

BUT UNTIL THEN

well it turns out i got a little more

Turns out you do huhuhu

aaaand a little more...