April, Come She Will

[maskormods]

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.

Like it or not, thanks to the proximity of the main Porter Heropa has always been the heart of the imPort community in the US. And to show their dedication to making the local-imPort community really work, Heropa has followed in the footsteps of their sister city Nonah and started a Follow An ImPort to Work day initiative. Whatever government assigned job you have there is, suddenly, a child there shadowing you. Well, by suddenly we mean their parents appeared, gave a whirlwind of instructions, pat their kid on the head, and then left them in your tender care. For an entirely unspecified number of hours. Could be you got a surly teenager or a fanboy tween or a gurgling baby that has no idea what’s going on. Whatever age, the government was kind enough to have automatically registered you for the event, free of charge! Or warning.

Maybe you’ll make the best of it and teach the kid a thing or two. Maybe you’ll find some unsuspecting imPort visiting from another city to hand the kid off to. Maybe you’ll realize that absolutely no background checks have been run and small children are probably, entirely unsupervised, following around criminal masterminds or serial killers at this very moment. Maybe you and your new sidekick should do something about that, or at least check to make sure the fellow imPorts you see with a kid in tow are on the up and up. The future of the next generation is in your hands.


02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, with large numbers of citizens waiting to be awed by 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. If you let yourself get cornered, beware! Anything from personal questions about romantic chances to bedroom habits to dietary queries might be come up!

Nothing says warming weather and blooming trees than a massive robotics convention! The first annual ROBOCON is being held, and everyone is excited. De Chima Dynamics is the major sponsor, and they have rolled out dozens upon dozens of bizarre, amazing and slightly disturbing robots in order to inspire awe and wonder in the public. And, of course, to drum up some business. They might be the major vendor, but there are plenty of other robotics companies here to impress and inspire - as well as maybe sell you a brand new house bot on the side.

Everything seems to be going swimmingly - (especially the solar powered fishbots) - until someone starts yelling about how the horse bots have gone haywire. It's a stampede of stumbling, tumbling legs, and they're headed right through the convention hall, barrelling through everything in their path.

Quick, someone has to save all those convention goers from being roughly pushed over or bruised or having their booth toppled over.

Or sit back and watch a bunch of clumsy robots stumble over people, I guess.



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.

With the shift of the season towards warmer weather, winter coats have finally made way for windbreakers, and snow has been replaced with rain.

It's not a disaster as much as it is an inconvenience at first. A sudden downpour quite literally rains on the annual Make Way For Spring Parade (not too unusual, really), and causes it to come to a sudden halt.

The rain turns from annoying, to heavy, to outright dangerous in almost record breaking times. Maybe you're safe and dry inside of a local shop or building, or maybe you're caught up in the rainfall, trying to get out of the storm before you're soaked from head to toe.

But things turn from bad to worse, as one of the parade float drivers tries to get the large decorated platform out of the rain, and the amount of water on the road causes it to swerve out of control. And oh no- is that an elementary school bus it's headed straight for?!

This looks like a job for some super-powered interference!

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities; loud, busy and there's always some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement.

Getting jealous of all those kids in school getting their biannual book fair? Wanting to chase that thrilling sensation of seeing so many books you’ve never seen before in one place? Hate the idea of going to a library despite the fact it’s the exact same thing but free? Don’t worry, everyone else feels the same way!

Welcome to the Nonah book fair! It’s hosted outside due to the lovely weather, and around are all sorts of books, new and old, all looking for lovely homes. Some have autographs by the author, some look ancient and should probably be held in better conditions than a plastic table in direct sunlight. Some look even … mystical, maybe? Or maybe just old.

…What, are you expecting some kind of danger about? No, it’s just a book fair. Have fun.

Comments

Norman | The Promised Neverland

[a_good]

01. Any City

[Norman may not stand out as much as some imPorts, but he's still a bit conspicuous. Part of it's the outfit- pure white except for his shoes, the effect emphasized by his almost-white blond hair. Part of it's that he's an eleven-year-old wandering around by himself looking at everything very closely. He leans in close to examine the cars on the side of the street; he lingers in front of a clothing shop; he spends nearly ten minutes in front of the window of an electronics store watching the news on the display t.v. And part of it's the number tattooed large and bold on the left side of his neck: 22194.

It's that last part that's netting attention from a couple of natives, demanding to know if it's the sign of an additional security measure the government is taking to monitor imPorts.] No, it's- it's from my world. [Norman raises his hands, as if in surrender.] Please, I just got here.


02. Maurtia Falls

[As soon as it becomes clear that the weather's going to keep getting worse rather than clearing up, a sodden Norman ducks into the nearest open shop, a local coffee house chain. He stops just by the entrance, thinking it would be best to drip on one area if he can help it (today was not the best day to chose a sweater over a waterproof jacket). At least it's warm in here, and it smells nice. As he debates whether he should take his sweater off, he looks around at the other patrons. And the signs. He's never been in a coffee shop before - what does "nitro triple shot hazelnut mocha" mean?

If you're coming in as well, he'll try to jump out of the way.]


03. Nonah

[Wow! Grace Field House's library is extensive and well-stocked, but even it doesn't have the variety that's on display here. Norman wanders the tables with a happy smile, fighting back the voice in his head that keeps pointing out that Ray would appreciate this even more, and probably have an even better idea of what to do. No matter what, there's so much information here, and he's going to take advantage of it. History, maybe mythology... If he can figure out where those are. Is there even a system?

A child might pop up by your elbow.] Excuse me, do you know how this is ogranized?

01 oh my god yes promised neverland

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima struck an unusual figure himself. 6'1" and change, clad in a formal tuxedo with long hair pulled back in a high ponytail. ]

Hey, lady. Back up a step or six.

[ he said, stepping up to meet a particularly aggressive questioner. ]

Plenty of kids runnin' around with ink these days, alright?

[ Well... not where he came from, but this was America. Right? ]

aurelia hammerlock / borderlands the presquel / cw for a thoroughly terrible woman...

[diamondslap]

parenting 101 (feel free to interrupt at any point of this)

[a teenager was unlucky enough to be saddled with aurelia. the poor girl has been with her for less than five minutes, and already looks thoroughly horrified at whatever aurelia has said to her-- the content of which probably isn't hard to guess, given she's an absolutely huge woman with an expression so sour any plants she looks at might wilt. she's rather taken aback-- a common person, someone who looked to be from the middle class just came right up to her and spoke like he had any right to! her! lady aurelia hammerlock, heiress to the hammerlock fortune, ceo of their galaxy-wide mining operation! she didn't even get a pack goblin out of the experience; aurelia had tried to give her sniper over to the unfortunate teenager, but had been met with whining like it's too heavy and you're not going to shoot anyone, are you?

kids these days, honestly. aurelia can be found on a pavement with everyone giving them a wide berth, glaring at the teen.]

Is this some kind of cruel joke? [she asks, voice cutting.] It's like they don't even train you people to be pack mules from birth anymore! The state of this planet, honestly. Give it back, I don't want you dropping it.

[it's a struggle, but the teen holds out the sniper, which aurelia takes one-handed. she's ripped under that stylish coat.]

Bugger off, then. I won't even waste my jewels by throwing them at you!

[well, the problem of aurelia having a teen near her is solved. the young girl looks more than happy to scarper, leaving aurelia standing in the middle of the pavement.

she locks eyes with the next person unfortunate enough to come near her and shoves the gun at them.]

You're under my employ now, darling. Come along, we've a space station to conquer.

are those starting notes ice ice baby or under pressure?

[as the parade float careens towards the school bus, a small frost diadem (covered in blue gems and looking much like the prongs of a small trident) slams into the float, spreading ice all over it to the point where it's stopped by the sheer amount of sudden weight. the diadem returns to its owner - aurelia - and she clips it back on her wrist, grinning happily as the ice that was taking over the float continues spreading for a short time until it finally stops, leaving the float looking much like an icy sea urchin.]

Yes, yes, you're welcome, darlings. [she says, nodding her head slightly. people noticed it was her, of course. you kind of can't avoid it.] Everyone just give me your most prized possessions! That'll be thanks enough! Don't make me freeze more of you!

[...is the driver okay???]

wildcard

[catch aurelia in any of the cities being terrible.]

You're Not My Real Dad

[counterfeitheart]

[Kira sees the scene. Some lady with a big weapon who chases some girl away. Like whatever. Anyone could do that.

And then the gun is thrust at him. He looks at it, no expression on his face as he looks it over, despite the commanding tone she took with him.]

What's the pay? Any benefits? Policies on piercings? I don't have to smile like I like it, right?

[Oh and he's not taking the gun, just kinda keeping his hands shoved in his pockets. He's a teenager, what did you expect?]

Negotiator | DC Comics | hey remember cnc? he does

[stabbyfingers]

01 | H E R O P A

[ The green-skinned, bio-luminescent, noseless alien known as the Negotitator is doing his best to ignore the small human child assigned to him. He's just trying to walk here, walking at a brisk pace with his black coat billowing behind him. It'd be all very dramatic except for the half-jogging kid trying to keep pace talking a million miles per hour.

"What species are you? Are you from space? What's space like? Do you have a space ship? How do you smell without a nose? Why do your fingers glow?"

Finally, Negotiator snaps. ]

Enough. Stop the incessant questioning.

[ He spots the first person looking. ]

You. Help me with this infantile human. [ Before he loses composure and kills it. Beat. He's supposed to be a nice, pleasant alien. ] Please.

04 | N O N A H

[ Negotiator is going through books at a table filled with books on science and technology, unimpressed. He picks up a book about NASA, muttering to himself. ]

How a world capable of the technology of the Porter doesn't have the resources to go beyond its own solar system -- it's illogical.

[ He snaps the book shut. He can't believe he went from being stuck on Earth in the City, to being stuck on a completely different Earth. Maddening. ]

There must be a book on the machine.

heropa!!

[allherheart]

My name is Milagro..

[ um excuse you, mister! if he's supposed to be her point person, then he should just! actually answer a question or two!!! ]

And if you want me to leave you alone and stop asking you fifty million questions.... [ she folds her arms, taking zero pains to hide her giant GL ring, ] You should buy me some ice cream.

Mollymauk Tealeaf | Critical Role: Wildemount Edition

[viciousmaukery]

[heropa]

—and that is how I got these magic swords.

[It's that time of month again, the time for new imPorts and new ways to drive them up the wall, and if this small, wide-eyed kid were assigned to anyone else, he'd probably have successfully driven some poor new sucker up the wall. Fortunately for the kid, he got Mollymauk, and Molly's always armed with a bullshit story to pass out to sweet, impressionable little children. Also, a couple of fancy-looking scimitars, one of which he now spins in his hand with a showy flourish.

The kid makes a small, delighted noise, clutching his notebook close. Molly sketches out an exaggerated bow, and the kid claps happily. That's good. That's always good, he likes making people happy.

That is so cool! Oh, next question: where did the tattoos come from? Were you in a gang?]

Oh, no. Better. [He grins, and bends down to meet the kid's eyes. For a purple horned man with red eyes, he's pretty good at establishing a rapport with small children.] I'm a fortune teller. These tattoos are special, and not because I was in a gang—more because when I was younger, I was meant to be a sacrifice for a demon that lived in an iceberg.

[Whose bright idea was letting the carnie influence a small child?]

[de chima]

[Clearly someone failed an Animal Handling check. Robot Handling check? Whatever.

Anyway—Molly hadn't quite counted on something going terribly wrong during the convention, hadn't really been paying much attention beyond his own shock and awe at the robots on display. He'd been petting a robot dog when the stampede happened, and now he doesn't have a robot dog but he does, in fact, have an armful of convention-goer, having yanked them out of the way of a stampeding horse.]

That was far too close.

[He knows what happens when people get trampled by horses. He imagines it would be worse if the horses were made out of metal instead of flesh.]

Does that happen very often around here?

[nonah]

[Is that a purple horned man at a New Age bookstore's booth, trying to haggle down the prices for a pack of imPort-themed tarot cards?]

I'm just saying, it's a bit much for a deck, don't you think? Especially if it's been out for some time, as you've said. It could be a little outdated now. What say I take it off your hands for—ten dollars?

[Yep. He's already playing around with the tarot cards without having bought them, shuffling them in his hands with practiced ease. No fancy tricks just yet, he hasn't bought them, but you might be able to spot your face among the cards.]

[wildcard]

[im v tired and ready to sleep, feel free to use this option if none of the above doesn't work for you! hmu @ this journal or robbstark if you want any other specific scenarios.]

De Chima

[heirtrigger]

[That convention-goer is another tiefling, one who happens to be very tense after all that. Before answering Mollymauk, however, she makes a point to clumsily peel herself away from him, because honestly the last thing she wants right after nearly being run over is physical contact. Once free, she smooths her coat out with stiff, awkward motions before turning her eyes to the continuing ruckus.]

I could not say. I've yet to become terribly acquainted with this world.

[There's a few moments' pause as she turns to look him over, honestly not sure what to make of him. He didn't seem to share the same general ancestry, going by appearance...]

...also, ah, thank you. For, uh. That.

Kuroda Miki/ko | Devilman CRYBABY

[theitsybitsybider]

01.

[ The brat was more than making her nervous. He was making her a target. She's seen how humans treat the special and the different, and she'd really like to not see it again. She didn't buy for a second this shit about everyone being soooo impressed with "imPorts." The kid had to be some kind of tail or trick. ]

Go on brat! Scram!

[ Miko raises her arms above her head for emphasize but the child in question just lifts up his own hands in imitation.

So with a heavy sigh, she lift the kid up by the back of his shirt. It's easily done, despite them being the better part of 100 lbs. After a moment of suspicious looking around, she decides to use two hands to hold it up.

There, nice job. Looking normal. ]

Does anyone know where this thing is supposed to go? Hello? Where are its parents??

04.

[ There's a beefy young woman flipping through glossy coffee table books about native athletes. She's tall and fucking buff. There's something about her, something in her sharp features that looks a bit predatory, though her expression looks mostly bored.

She used to love browsing book, back when she was meek and human and honestly kind of a nerd. Right now it's hard to do anything but think about the circumstances that brought her here.

She puts that book down, and picks up a copy of Charlotte's Web. ]

1

[wahey]

They're supposed to follow you to work.

[There's Akira, still in his skydiving jumpsuit after a fresh trip from the airport. He's noticeably childless, since one or two tandem jumps from 13,000 feet in the air was enough for most children to want to bail and go home.

He leans into her personal space rather than offer help, though, because where did this other dog come from!!!]

Mimir | WicDiv

[mimiir]

(ooc; spoilers up to #34 of WicDiv)

01. NONAH

[As most indoor folks tend to do, Jon is a creature of computer, legos and books. He used to enjoy books a lot more before getting his first laptop; now, books remind him of his dad. Their familiarity is an undeniable pull, despite the memories now attached, Jon wants to rise above such petty things.

He can still love books, right?

Dressed in an inconspicuous outfit of plain jeans and long-sleeve shirt, cap shoved down to flatten his hair as much as possible, Jon peruses the books on sale.

In fact, his favorite thing about this fair might be the its location: outside, where he can feel the fresh air and sun, rather than the books themselves]


02. [DEDDIT POST; ANON]

I'm somewhat of a geek and all ... so having a family is not in my future plans but I was wondering what people thought of that.

You know... having kids and all. Seems like a lot of work that no one enjoys.

Alternatively, if you don't have kids, what do you think of your parents? Asking for a friend.

02

[kittenstrophe]

[ Oh boy, does he have opinions about kids. ]

Children are dirty, noisy and require constant supervision for years at the least. Just get a pet, they're better in about every single way.

Sebastien LaHaye | Scion RPG/Original Character | OTA

[likedeathpersonified]

[Will match format. "Prose" or [Action]. Up to you]

(oo1: Heropa: Children?)

No warning was given at all, but he suddenly had a kid left to him and was standing there looking down at the small child like it had two heads. He stood there with the child, the two of them staring at each other in silence.

"So.... can you do anything interesting?" he asked the kid. The child before him just stared, before lifting his hand to under his shirt, to his arm pit and... PFFT! Pft, Pbbbtt, pfbt! Fart sounds came out loudly.

Bastien smiled at that, reaching out to scruff the boys head. "That IS a good talent. Wanna learn something else?" But the kid shook his head NO and suddenly dove off in another direction, taking about three steps and BAM, running smack into someone else, with some good force, knocking the kid over at least.

Bastien frowned, sighing and started after the kid. "Sorry about that...." he said to the person the kid ran into.

(oo2: De Chima: ROBOCON)

Robocon? It had a fun sound to it, really. This place was a bit pushy about the photos and shit because of who he was, but otherwise, it was almost interesting. He felt like a celebrity and all he had to do was breath. Weird, right?

Not as weird as robotic fish. He was standing before a huge tank of fish swimming, displaying different levels of fish-botics, when he heard the stomping of metal feet. Someone screamed stampede and then he heard the thunder.

He's got no powers to stop robotic horses, but he has good common sense to move. To the person looking at the fish with him, he reached out, tugged at their sleeve, then pointed to something that looked safe. The steps at the back of the tank. Used to climb up and load the fish-bots into. Bastien nodded to the person to follow him, and he moved, ducking under a red velvet rope, and moving up the steps. In good time too, because three mechanical horses just stomped into this row of the hall, and one crashed into the space he and that other person had just been. A crack in the tank happened, but the horse was already clamoring to it's feet again and charging off. More were coming though.

"Talk 'bout a show..."

(oo3: Maurtia Falls: Rain Storms)

He had never minded the rain. Sure, it made a mess of his dreadlocks but that was easily fixed in the end. His leather jacket had seen better days anyhow, and the skeleton spine and ribs painted on the back had been long ago water proofed, so it wasn't in danger.

What was a danger was the idea of drowning out here. Had he been as dumb as a turkey he might stare up into the sky and drown doing so. Thankfully he wasn't going to drown, as he stared up to watch the rain fall hard. Eyes squinted, so he could see through his lashes. It actually felt nice. Back home the rain didn't fall like this at all.

It was a little bit later that he was standing in a book shop, trying to wring himself out a bit at the front door, watching other people do the same. The water was rising out there and this no longer looked like a standard rain.

"Is this normal for this time of year?" He asked someone near by.

Later, on his way home, his boots sloshed through ankle deep water to get past this street. He had his hands shoved into his pockets, and the rain still falling made him feel more irritable than pleased like before. He was soaked, cold and annoyed. It wasn't until a call for "HELP!" had got his attention. Freezing in place a moment, he took access to one of his powers, being able to see perfectly in the dark. His eyes went red and a skull face paint appeared on his face, but he could see just fine out here now.

"Hello?!" He called out into the night and the rain. Ears open and trying to find who might have called for help... was it you? Or was it someone else?

1

[notgood]

And the person said kid ran into happens to be someone Bastien knows. At least somewhat. 

Chauncy looks up from his phone, he’s texting someone (how is he already texting someone), while a six year old girl clings to his leg.

“You got one too. Great.”

Chauncy Anderson | OC | OTA

[notgood]

1. HEROPA

[Who in their right mind would leave a child with a complete stranger? Someone looking to be slapped with a negligence charge at best, really. 

It isn’t that Chauncy hated children. He just wanted nothing to do with them. Which isn’t an option now, because some idiot of a guardian threw a six-year-old at him and he has no idea what to do with her. Obviously he can’t leave her, and thankfully she’s old enough to walk on her own, but the bigger problem remains of how he’s going to get her back to her parent… and if there’s other ‘new ImPorts’ who had a kid foisted on them, who are much worse equipped to deal with this.

Most people, when speaking to a child, will kneel down to their level in some manner. Chauncy doesn’t. ]

What was the name of this program? ‘Follow An ImPort to Work day’? Do you know who was running it? Or where we can find them?

[Chauncy, she’s six, she doesn’t know anything. ]


2. DE CHIMA

[That sure is chaos happening.

Chauncy sure is sipping at his latte, watching, completely unaffected. It’s almost supernatural, how absolutely all the madness of people rushing past, things being thrown around, and all hell breaks loose- and he’s completely untouched. ]


3. NONAH

[Yeah it’s… a book fair. He doesn’t recall ever having been to one- they didn’t really do that sort of thing in boarding school.

So maybe he’s interested, in an impartial sort of way. Flipping through books, browsing covers, judging all of them by said cover because yes, there’s that phrase about not doing that, but everyone does it, because there simply isn’t enough time- in a day, in a week, in a year- to go through every book judging it by it’s inner cover summary.

Then there’s one that looks kind of strange that catches his eye.

But it’s probably not really magic. Most likely. Definitely.]


4. NETWORK

[It’s video, and it’s a man who looks very prim and clean and completely unamused. Despite this, it looks like even he doesn’t know what to say, despite starting the post.

…And to those who know a Dr. Chilton, he looks startlingly similar.

First he leans forward, leaning on his hand, and then eventually settles on staring straight at the camera.]

I’m in a coma, aren’t I? It’s the only thing that makes sense, because nothing makes sense anymore. It’s been- let’s say three days, maybe four, since everything went to hell. Now I’m here, things make even less sense, and this is most likely the result of whatever hospital I’m in upping my dosage of whatever painkiller they put me on.

[So then he claps his hands and leans back again.]

Now that that’s squared away, I think I’m going to go steal a flying car, and maybe I’ll find some aliens and unicorns along the way.


5. WILDCARD

[Or like just do whatever.]

Network

[recommendations]

Sir, I must ask you not to do those things. You are not in a coma.

I know, that most of this doesn't seem possible, but please, believe me. It's real.

Eleanor Shellstrop | The Good Place (spoilers for season 2)

[forkingbullshirt]

Heropa

[Ok, she could do this. It had to be part of the test that Michael and the Judge had discussed. Otherwise, who would entrust her with a screaming baby?

She held the kid at arm's length, trying to figure out how to get how to make those high pitched sounds. She could barely take care of a houseplant, let alone a small human. For a test, this really sucked.]

Are you forking kidding me? Ugh, why can't I say fork still? Fork this.

[Deep breath. Her friends were depending on her if they were all going to go to the Good Place together so she couldn't drop the ball on this. Or drop the baby.

That was proving difficult as the thing squirmed in her hands and she had to shift it under one arm as she tried to get her phone out. Surely Google would know the best way to get a baby to stop crying because she sure as hell didn't know.]


Nonah

[The book caught her eye as soon as she looked over the books. Book fairs were for the nerds who actually liked to do extra homework or things like that. She would have normally passed the fair on her way to get coffee but this time she actually approached the tables.

She picked up the book, holding onto it tightly. She hadn't seen Chidi or the others since she had arrived but at least this book, What We Owe to Each Other, was something she could hold onto in the meanwhile.

After a while she looked up, noticing someone looking at her.]

What, just because I'm hot I can't read philosophy?

wildcard

[hit me with your best shot.]

[theitsybitsybider]

[ heres a BEEFY TEEN also dangling a baby as far from her person as possible ]

Why the fuck do you keep saying fork?

Anders | Dragon Age

[rebelhealer]

01
Anders is pretty good with kids, actually. He was always pretty good with the younger apprentices at the Circle, and he's delivered plenty of babies at his clinic, not to mention he's healed children, be they orphans or ones parents brought in.

Still, he wasn't expecting to have to watch a kid today. A kid who is full of questions.

"Sorry, I don't fly. Or jump high."

03
Anders is used to rainy days in Kirkwall. But he still didn't bring an umbrella, nor does he own a poncho to keep the water off. So he's currently huddled under an awning, waiting for the rain to let up so he can get home. He's already quite soaked, and he's thankful that he didn't wear the feathers today.

"At this rate, it'll be snowing again before the rain stops."

04
Books. Anders likes books. There's so many here that one would never find in a Circle, or even in Kirkwall. Maker, there's books here he didn't even know existed.

Anders' bag is already brimming with various books, in various genres and of various lengths. From thick paperbacks to light reading, and he's curious to see what counts as "fantasy fiction" in this world.

"If Varric could see this place."

Wildcard!
Come at me with your own prompt!

4, oh hey an Anders, hi!

[rebelarchivist]

Dorian's bag isn't quite as over-flowing as Anders is, it's not that he doesn't love books, but he's used to the abundance and he's a bit pickier. He doesn't really even look that different from most of the people browsing, a buttoned up shirt, a tie, a pair of decent slacks, he doesn't even have his staff across his back. It's not as if he needs it here, after all.

But he does notice Anders clothing, and indeed he's thinking of saying something to the man (and why does he look vaguely familiar?) when he says a very very familiar name. So he looks up from the romance novel he had been debating (still better than Swords and Shields, thank the Maker) and raised an eyebrow, considering the man before he speaks.

"Varric Tethras? Can't say I've heard that name since coming here." The man sounds cultured and has a rather distinctive Tevene accent. Around his neck is the one thing he's kept of his Thedosian outfit, though no one here recognizes it, the pendant of twin snakes curled around each other. His birthright.

Majima Gorō | Yakuza 0

[justbeingknife]

01
[ Majima slipped behind the bar, where a thin row of snub-nosed bottles and a few glasses sat in wait. With a deft motion, long-practiced by the look of it, he popped the cap off the first bottle as he slid one of the glasses forward so the kid could see a little better. ]

Alright. I don't know why the hell they thought this was age-appropriate, but I'm gonna teach ya how to pour a beer.

[ He tipped the glass at an angle, and began to pour down the side, only briefly glancing up at his young charge. ]

...You'll thank me later.

[ ooc: Feel free the be the kid or an onlooker, I'M REAL SORRY. ]

04
[ A tall man with long hair and wearing a formal tux was perusing the fiction section. He looked, frankly, out of place -- not only because he was missing an eye, but because the seriousness of his expression was entirely inappropriate for the material he was currently reading: a racing manga.

He looked up as someone wandered by. ]

Whattaya think? An '86 beatin' a GT-R? I woulda loved this shit as a kid.

01

[beyourzoomer]

[Max wasn't accompanied by parents when she arrived here to shadow someone for the day on their job. She just showed up because it's what she was instructed to do. Her arm is still in a sling and she still hates it, hasn't been able to ride her skateboard since the injury and it sucks. And she, too, is wondering who thought this was age appropriate, but she's kind of amused regardless.

She's witnessed her stepbrother chugging beer on more than one occasion, but he never bothers pouring it into a glass first. This actually makes it seem kind of fancy. She arches an eyebrow at the comment about thanking him later.]

Are you gonna let me drink it when you're done pouring it?

harry potter

[firebolted]

( DE CHIMA )

[ while this version of america is already loads better than home for the simple fact that voldemort doesn't exist here, harry is nevertheless not thrilled to be here. he's had a traumatizing year at school, but as much as he'd love to spend the summer away from the dursleys, he's not sure an alternate universe is the place to do it. besides, he's worried about his friends, and what might be going on while he's trapped here.

he'd decided to attend some kind of robot convention to distract himself from circling thoughts of cedric's lifeless eyes, the horrible thing being reborn of blood and magic and flesh. turns out that trouble follows harry potter wherever he goes, though, and the next thing he knows there are-- robot horses staggering through the convention area.

they're not especially dangerous, as far as he can tell, more likely to cause bruises than broken bones, but harry slides his wand from his back pocket anyway. he's been told--several times now--that there's no statute of secrecy here, that he can be open with his magic, but he's admittedly still a little nervous. magical rules in america are pretty strict as far as he can remember-- but hey, if there are a bunch of people here with powers out in the open, magic surely isn't that big of a deal?

well, no time to test it like the present. with the stumbling, shambling robots trampling everything in sight, harry flicks his wand at the whole front row of them-- ] Petrificus Totalus! [ --and watches as metal legs lock together and tumble over, sending the ranks behind them also stumbling into their fallen comrades, piling up in a creaking, whirring mess. ]

Huh. [ well, that was a mess, but at least it's stopping them. and.. he hasn't been descended upon by angry aurors yet, so.. a win? ]

( NETWORK | un: h.potter )

[ harry.. looks just a teensy bit nervous in the camera feed, narrow shoulders pulled in and lips a thin, uncertain line. he takes a breath and straightens up, though, chin lifting slightly. right, he's got this. ]

Hullo. I was, ah, hoping someone could answer a few questions for me. [ this is a bad idea, harry. you're definitely going to get in some major trouble. ] Um, first of all, I guess.. does anyone here know about magic? [ what kind of magic, he's not specifying. that's not so important right now. ] Also, is it true that.. it's possible to meet people from the past or future here? And.. people who've.. died? [ his jaw tenses briefly at that, glance flicking away. ] .. Thanks, that'll do for now, I guess.

( WILDCARD )

[ pm me if you want a specific prompt! or prompt me in one of the other cities, i'm not fussed. ]

De Chima

[deformer]

Ah, geez!

[Rua was attending Robocon as a fan, 'cause robots are cool and he wants to learn how to make his own robots and y'know what, he was having a lot of fun with it -- until the horse bots started going nuts. He quickly rubs his hands together, ready to jump into action and use his own mechanically-based powers to calm then down!]

I'll handle --

It?

[When some other dude pulls out a stick and a couple seconds later, they're all toppling over. He blinks a couple times and tilts his head. He looks at the horses. Then at the dude. Okay, kinda stole his thunder there, but on the other hand...]

...

That was pretty cool!

John Doe // Joker || Telltale Batman

[pathofvigilante]

.01

"Hey there," the young man that greets you wears a smile stretched a few inches too wide. He's holding a baby-- well, attempting to hold, but not doing a very good job of it. The child wiggles in discontentment and boredom, and thin arms nearly fumble her to the ground. He catches the baby under her arms, but holds her out insistently.

"I don't know who's in charge of the free babies around here, but it was not a good idea to give one to me. I-I mean, I have no clue what I'm doing! Do I water it every hour, or...?" he growls in sudden knife-sharp anger, "it's just too complicated!" and suddenly reverts towards the persona of cheery weirdo.

"You'll take it from me, won't you? You'd be doing me a real favor."

.03

Sometimes real life was not at all like the comic books; right and wrong get really blurry, until everything is muddy and grey. That, and there's not always time to switch into full costume. So inconvenient, right?

Guess that swerving truck won't wait though; how rude. Whatever, school children are in need, and letting them possibly get squished into red putty would be bad, even out of costume, right? At least he's got his toys...

John grabs his grappling hook, a whimsical yet eerie device that launches viciously biting fanged chompers at his target; in this case, a sturdy looking streetlight on the other side of the road. He braces himself while pulling the thick cable cord taught, prepared to take the impact of the vehicle with the line of his grappling hook--

And his shoes slide on the pavement as the massive float strikes the tripline barricade, wavering dangerously close to toppling over as John continues to loose his footing a few inches at a time.

"Okay, I may have overestimated my ability, just a little," he growls under his breath in useless frustration, "so much easier with a partner," he grumbles to himself, yanking a bladed throwing knife (completely NOTHING like a batarang) from his bag and stabbing it into the pavement, creating a sturdy hold to grip on.

Just because he needs help doesn't mean it's easy to ask for.

"Why the hell is this thing so freakishly heavy?!"

Wildcard:

--Network Post--
Entry: ???
Format: Video Post
Username: CatsOnPinkPlates

Hi there, internet! You can probably tell, but I am not, in fact, the 'cats on pink plates' lady. I'm just temporarily borrowing her phone, because I need to put out a message. Amazing how people don't even notice a stranger's hand sliding into bag, or thier pocket...

Not that I did that this time-- or at all, I mean. She just left it on the table, like she new in her heart that I really needed to borrow it, and I am going to put it back--

I'm getting off track here, there was something I wanted to say... Oh, right.

Batman? Uh... are you here? Anywhere? Like, at all? My memory gets kind of fuzzy after Arkham round two and, well... I was hoping to fill in all those dangerous blanks... never know what lurks in the dark unknown, am I right...?

I'll keep borrowing this phone a little longer, in case I receive any important replies. And because it has this super addictive flash game and I don't have anything do to right now. I'm sure pink cat lady would understand.

encrypted video; id: batman

[cassassin]

[What?

Fucking... what? What???? fucking Joker what???

Something about this guy seems... different, though. She's seen footage of Joker, encountered him once or twice, but something's decidedly off.

Not as manic. The sense of...danger in his movements isn't quite there. It's enough to get her to at least hear this out. Doesn't hurt that there's been a tiny plastic Joker here before--the scale of Alternate Universe Jokers is decidedly pretty wide already.

It's a dark room on the other end of the feed, and there are gold-lensed eyes looking out from a black cowl that covers the entire face. A voice, deep and slightly warped, comes out--not that different in tone from the voice morpher John's Batman uses.]

I'm here. But not the one you're looking for, I think.

Bootsy Calico | Boss Baby: Back in Business

[kittenstrophe]

01. HEROPA
[ He had tried so, so hard to get out of doing this, from simply pointing out that he was in no way qualified to look after human children, to going as far as pretending that the cats at the clinic had some sort of rare and highly contagious disease that would make the place unsuitable for visits for the next few days. Of course, none of that had worked. In fact, if he had been in any position to judge, his first thought would have been that the kid had some pretty terrible parents.

The only saving grace was that he hadn’t been assigned a toddler, so Bootsy had been able to more or less leave the kid to their own devices.

That’s it, until the kid decided to wander off. Honestly, he couldn't care less about them getting lost, but the clinic's supposed to be a reputable business and it would be terrible publicity if someone found out that he lost a minor he was supposed to be looking after.

Which is how he ended up where he is right now —stopping random people on the street. ]

Excuse me. Have you seen a kid about [ he makes a vague gesture below shoulder height ] this tall? Probably looks lost?

02. NETWORK

[ The video shows a small kitten dressed as a lion, kneading its bed before lying down. It then turns to the camera, blinking as if it was trying to bat its non-existent eyelashes. ]

Isn’t this absolutely the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? All I know is that if I didn’t have one [ several ] already, I’d be running right now to get a cat of my own!

03. WILDCARD

[ Feel free to either come up with your own prompt or hit me up at darkest_shine / PM me. ]

Yue Katou | Angel Sanctuary

[autorejoin]

   Heropa— Who Thought This Was A Good Idea?

[ "Follow an ImPort to Work," they said. "It'll be fine," they insisted. Well whoever "they" are, they're morons.

There's this guy, a bleached-blond teen with a metal arm (the left one), waving at the kid to follow him as they walk down the sidewalk. The bright-eyed child follows along eagerly, his phone out as he types everything this teen's saying. And I do mean everything. ]

Anyway, half the shit you learn in school's useless. It's all numbers and graphs and literature, and it's so boring you could scream. Everything you're really gonna need— this! This is where you're gonna learn it.

[ Katou gestures broadly to the city around them. ]

Anyone who tells you otherwise? They're just trying to get you to shut up and get out of their way.

[ Someone please take this young, impressionable elementary child away from this guy. ]

   Nonah— I Swear He's Not Illterate

[ Anyone who knew Katou in life would be shocked to see him at a book fair. Don't worry— so is he! The truth is, he'd been passing by while heading somewhere entirely unrelated, and he figured "What the hell, why not?" There's just one problem, and he's about to say it pretty loudly— ]

Where the hell's the manga section!?

   Wildcard

[ Wanna try something else? Let's do it! Anything goes! ]

Heropa

[counterfeitheart]

[Kira absolutely does not have a small child in tow. Whether he had just not gotten roped into this or he had completely ditched the unfortunate to get him was left up to the imagination because he certainly isn't going to say.

Still, he can't help it when he finally notices Katou """"""""""mentoring"""""""""" a child.]

Thought this was "Follow an ImPort To Work". Now I know you ain't got a job, ya deadbeat.

[Heh. Deadbeat.]

Hyacinth Sūn | OC | OTA

[greektragedy]

1. Heropa

[ The heat of Florida is why she's glad she was reincarnated as a woman. Why the Fates have decided such, she will never understand (and who can at that rate?) but sun dresses? She lives for sun dresses right now.

A local boutique had caught her eye early on, and she was finally circling back to take a look at their stock when she's stopped by a parent. She barely understands what is going on before a baby is thrust into her arms, along with a diaper bag and information on what she should do in case of an emergency. ]

Ma'am I think there's been a mistake!

[ Not taking a not, she waves after Hyacinth and the baby and disappears around a corner. She blinks, looking down at her child shadow absolutely unsure of what to do. ]

But I'm only nineteen... I'm too young for a baby.

[ Oh boy someone help her. ]

2. Maurtia Falls

[ She forgot how much she hated rain. Not because it was wet and bothersome (really her umbrella should have at least helped a little bit!) but because it had ruined her newspaper. It HAD been so nice earlier! What happened? Put out by the sudden rain, she takes up shelter in a clothing store trying not to drip everywhere.

Reluctantly she tosses the paper out, finding a chair close to the window with a sigh to watch the rain. ]

Maybe it'll pass soon. [ She mutters to herself, tapping her feet on the ground.

It wasn't surprising to watch as one of the parade floats attempts to find shelter when the storm started to pick up. She bolts to her feet when she realizes that this was going to go south very quick. But what could she do? She's still figuring out how to use her abilities (five minute future vision doesn't really help) but the dejavu of the situation at hand has her rushing back out into the rain. ]

Wait! Stop. You're going to hurt yourself!

[ The wind is too loud for the driver to hear her, and she stands in the pouring rain wide-eyed in horror as he starts to swerve towards the on-coming school bus. ]

Oh gods.

3. Nonah

[ Of course just after she finally decided to try and get a library card instead of living at one of the local book cafe's they hold a book fair! With luck she is hoping to find something about the mythology of the world, wondering how close it is to her own without having too much issues. Maybe she can find the answers she's been seeking in this world! She pulls her hair up into a long ponytail, trying to keep cool in the heart as she starts to scan the titles along the spines.

Not that she's paying attention to anyone around her, now currently lost in the non-fiction section (at least they set up a section!). She chews on her bottom lip absentmindedly, before plucking a rather old looking book out of the fray. ]

You should be out of the sun... [ She mutters, carefully opening the book to see what she has found. Good thing the government gives her money every month -- it's all going to books. ]

4. Wildcard!

[ Feel free to either come up with your own prompt! ]

2

[likedeathpersonified]

[So much for the fun times. Or the sun times. He didn't mind rain but when it was this heavy it became annoying. He was soaked too, and there had been a parade? Everything seemed to be a mess, wasn't it?]

[A streak of pink darted past him, and he paused, frowning as she yelled that someone was going to hurt themselves. His eyes looked to the float, and the school bus. What was a school bus doing out here anyhow?]

What's going on?

[Thick New Orleans Creole accent, with a bit of a drawl for a moment, like he was moving too slow. He came closer to the startled young woman as he watched the float crash into the school bus, his heart sinking.] Oh...

Oh no... [The float was large enough that the bus seemed to be rammed into and literally tipped over.] Come on, we gotta help them!

Gabriel Reyes || Overwatch (Pre-Fall)

[goingwrong]

A. De Chima

Positive media attention was something Reyes needed to be used to again. He'd seen plenty in the past, but since heading up Blackwatch media was something to be avoided. With the fall out of the Venice mission, of course, the world knew just who he was or at least what his team did. The dark stain on their exalted Overwatch, or so they claimed. Here, however, no one knew about that. Or if they did, they didn't seem to care. At least he'd learned to pull on a natural smile and engage with people who wanted his photo. Some days he almost felt like things were normal.

That's how it seemed to be going at the convention, at least. Completely normal. He'd come to find how advanced this world's robotics were, out of some lingering paranoia that he might have just jumped into the past rather than another world. However, the AI and machines were nowhere near the near-life his own world created, so he let himself just enjoy the scene.

He was in the middle of showing off one of his powers to people. He dumped the bullets from both of his guns and threw them to the ground. Reaching to the holsters at his hips, he whipped out a pair of identical short-barreled shot guns, now fully loaded. One of his fans picked up one of the fallen guns, and in the middle of asking if he could keep it, the thing simply faded away. However, before Reyes could say anything about it, a commotion broke out. Without hesitation, he simply vanished from where he'd been standing. A series of gunshots rang out through the convention hall.

Like dominoes, the horses started toppling one right after another. As the last slowly collapsed to the floor, Reyes seemed to form out of tendrils of shadow, his still smoking gun pointed at where the horse's head had been. He stared at the collapsing machine, a little stunned himself, shadows rising off his skin like dark smoke.

B. Random ImPort Cities

There were any number of ways to gather information. Some legitimate, others not so much. Thankfully the information he sought was simple and easy to find. He just wanted to get to know the world. Sure, he could dig into the officially sanctioned information, or rely on the "guides" pieced together from other ImPorts. But he knew a little too well that such things were either unreliable or were scrubbed clean at best.

Digging through the internet wasn't his style. So he opted to take a more personal approach. He started visiting bars, from the shady hole-in-the-wall dives in Maurita Falls to the most upscale places in De Chima to the hip joints in Heropa. Well, the hippest that a scarred up, middle aged man could feel comfortable in. He drank and talked and listened. All while piecing together a far more detailed picture of this world.

C. Network -- Audio

[ Reyes' tone is clipped and straight-forward, but not harsh. The military lifestyle tends to do that to a man. ]

The names Gabriel Reyes. I'm sure we'll all get to know each other quite well in due time. But first, I need to get caught up to speed. The introductory debriefing was, to put it lightly, very lacking. Tell me all you know.

Video

[marr]

[It's the word choice that catch Marr's interest. Debriefing in particular.]

Telling everything would take some time. A number of people have compiled extensive notes and documentation about our situation here, I will allow them to direct you to the most current versions.

But the very short summary is that we have all been brought here from very different places and times, and anything you think is impossible can and perhaps will happen here.

Jack | He Never Died

[neverdied]

1. Heropa

[There's not many worse choices you could leave your kid with than a grumpy as hell, demonic cannibal, and yet here Jack is, staring down at the toddler before him with a hefty brow furrow of confusion. He never asked for this, never signed up for it, wasn't even sure what was going on when a flustered looking father dumped the child before him, tossed a bag of supplies his way, and departed with only a swift kiss goodbye for his son.

Kids aren't really Jack's forte any more, haven't been for the last few centuries, and he could hardly be deemed the most responsible of careers either. Leaving the child to fend for itself was only met with screaming, and as tempting as it is to keep walking, a reluctant moment of conscience has him deciding that maybe he should at least find this small creature a carer for the day. A carer that's not him. Better to dump it with someone else than risk the urge of a tasty baby snack, right?

You may be the lucky winner of this gift, whether you just happened to be passing nearby, chilling at a cafe, hanging out in the park or do any number of activities, it's possible there's a grey haired, moderately confused looking guy ditching a crying toddler at your table, by your feet or shoved into your arms.]

Thanks. ... Bye.

[He'll be doing his very best to nope away from this situation, thank you very much.]

2. Nonah

[Old shit, now that's something Jack can get behind. He's picking some of the older looking tomes from various stalls to flick through, but what really catches his eye is a battered looking bible.

Don't mind him, just standing there for an eternity as he flicks through it. The book owner seems wise enough to just leave him to it.]

This is incorrect. [He decides to point out to anyone listening. What part he's talking about isn't clear, or maybe he just means the entirety of it. Who knows?]

3. Wildcard

[Anything and everything in between. Seriously, just think up any scenario and assume he's there, because that how he do.]

2

[baphlement]

You're not the first to "OP do you take constructive crit" God himself.

[Says BAPHOMET, a god who is MOST CERTAINLY NOT NERGAL.]

Jason Todd | DC Comics (Rebirth)

[batburgers]

Heropa
[If there is one thing Jason did not expect when he was stuck with this "job" was to get strapped with a kid. A kid who is currently making him question why he ever would even potentially consider having kids of his own. Not because he was mean, or rude, or clingy. But because the child could not stop asking questions about everything he was doing and "Not right now" and "When you're older" were not enough of a deterrent to him to stop him from asking more questions.

"But he's holding that rope around her--"

"No." Jason is taking the nine-year old's hand and strips off the ridiculous as fuck apron he was told he had to wear and then head's straight over to the window to flip the sign from "open" to "out to lunch."

"Let's go get something to eat. You like cheeseburgers?"

It turns out little Landre sure does and he's taking that prime distraction to get the little boy out of the adult bookstore he definitely should never have been left in with him. Especially not with him. They go to the nearest burger joint to get a meal, but he'll be keeping his eye out for the first easy target he can hopefully drop her off with because 9-year olds have no reason to be in porn stores, even if all they sell is books. 9-year olds are old enough to read.

But of course nothing is ever that easy, because this little boy isn't just into asking him questions, he might be asking anyone nearby some crazy question having to do with whatever topic pops into his head. Does he ever stop?]


De Chima
[He thought Robocon would be a fun distraction from the eyes and attention that was generated just from being an imPort. A convention just to look out crazy and highly advanced robotics? Count him in! Maybe they might even make a roomba that also worked as a security system. Who wouldn't want a vacuum that could shoot bullets while it dusted your hardwood floors?

Just him? Fine. Whatever. Robots are still cool.

The robotic sea animals in the Roboquarium were interesting. Even the barnacles that cleaned real barnacles off of the bottom of boats--weird, but interesting--but he moved on quickly enough to see what else the Con had to offer. Robotic toaster that also put whatever spread you wanted on the bread after it was done, robotic toilets that massaged your feet while you handled your business, robo-spiders that could help with evacuating pets out of buildings during emergencies, it went on and on.

But the thing that caught Jason's attention most was the robotic sloth. Because why? What in the world could a robotic sloth do that would make it intriguing enough to create it? All it did was hang on a fake tree branch and every so often turn its head to look out at the con-goers with deep black robot eyes that look like they might eat someone's soul. He was both disturbed and unimpressed.]

They could have at least made it shoot lasers from that death stare.


Nonah
[Did someone say book fair? Because he heard book fair. One may find Jason Todd wandering and checking every single table there is because he's not going to miss a single chance at a classic or out of print novel he might want to read. He already has a basket full of books, some in far better condition than others, but all placed into the basket with care. Philosophy, poetry, dramas, biographies, children's fairytales--Jason's tastes are very ecletic in this regard.

But if he sees anyone he thinks isn't handling the books with care, he's not going to be shy about calling them out.]

Have a little respect, okay? It's for sale, but you don't own it yet.


Network : Text (id: numberoneoutlaw)
Best bars in the porter cities, go.
Common fights are not a negative.


Wildcard
[ooc: I'm pretty open with what I'm willing to play out. If you have ideas, PM me!]

text; anon

[mimiir]

Research suggests that cities that regard imPorts negatively are more likely to have what you want.

Harrison Wells, E2 || The Flash

[throwingstuff]

[ Only up through S3, no s4 spoilers please]
A. Heropa

High school biology. There were a great many jobs in this world that would be a waste of his talents, but assigning him to babysit a bunch of teenagers who had no interest in any sort of science ranked somewhere between janitor and zoo keeper, in his book. Computer science. Engineer. Physics. Math. At least those he could talk about, but biology? It may as well be English for all the tools he had to teach it. Okay, he could summon up enough to educate a bunch of children, but he just didn't care. Well, not that he didn't care, but there were so many areas that he could apply his skills in this world. But when things moved at the speed of government, he was going to have to take matters into his own hands.

On a day when he had his classed watching videos from some popular children's show called Bob Stan the Science Man because he didn't feel like standing in front of so many slack-jawed faces, he found one that didn't fit in with the rest. He walked into his first class ten minutes late. Most of the students were either absent or causing trouble. Yet sitting next to his desk was a new face. One who actually perked up and ran up to him the moment he entered the room. A girl, a year or two younger than his students. She clutched a notebook and started yammering at him about something.

Holding up a hand to her he stopped her tirade. "Why are you here?"

She explained the whole shadow program and that her parents couldn't wait around for him to show up. She started to go off about how excited she was to get one of her actual heroes. She said something about robotics, and dropped other names like Stark, but he wasn't listening.

"Sit." Was all he said, pointing at a desk far from his own. She looked crushed. "Stay."

He moved to his desk and put his back down, still holding his coffee. It wasn't that he didn't care about the girl. He wasn't going to let anyone hopes get too high if she was only here for the day. He might actually expect to see someone attentive here tomorrow, and that would just mean disappointment all around.

B. Maurita Falls

Harry was far from the parade. In fact, he wouldn't have been in the city except he needed something that he could only find sold here. Technically it was black market stuff, but only borderline. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and it was getting harder and harder to find power sources that had enough juice through legitimate sources. If he was going to find out just what was stopping him from punching a hole between universes, he couldn't wait around for legitimate sources.

However, the pickup went south. Fast. It certainly wasn't the first time he had a gun in his face. He had his hands half-heartedly raised, trying to talk to the man. His attempts were met with demands. Finally, he pressed his lips together, eyes closed for a moment. "You really don't want to do this," he said.

"You ImPorts think you run this world," the man said, cocking his gun. "It's about time we get a shot."

"I don't--"

"Shut up, I'm talking here."

"If you'd just--"

"What you're going to do..." The man's words slowed to almost nothing. The world seemed to fall completely still around Harry. He'd promised himself upon seeing his file that he'd never use his powers. The porter had a very twisted sense of humor, giving this particular set to him. And yet, without even thinking, here he was.

Feeling as if he were doing so at a leisurely pace, he pulled the gun from the man's hands. A simple pistol. He carried nothing else with him. No sign of a power source. Harry brought the gun up, slamming it into the back of the man's head, then let go of the power. The world rushed back to normal speed as the man crumpled to the ground. To the man's eyes, and anyone who might have been watching, it would have looked as though Harry teleported those few paces, all with the telltale rush of air and crackle of electricity.

The signs of a speedster.

He dropped the gun next to the man, muttering about how much this was going to set things back.

C. Network

[ The video shows an older man with wild dark hair in a plain black sweater. His expression is difficult to read. Stern? Irritated? Cold? Frustrated? It could be anything, but mostly he's just displeased. ]

My name is Harrison Wells. Given my experience, you may already know a Harrison Wells. I'm not him. I have intentionally kept my presence on this network minimal, but I come now with a request.

I have discovered a means to bypass the Porter's control between worlds, however I require a highly specialized team to make it a reality. Specifically theoretical sciences, quantum mechanics, and other such fields. Find the necessary information attached.

[ What's attached may seem like gibberish to most. A cryptogram in the form of a multi-layer digital file. Depending on how one opens it, it looks just like a bunch of advanced math in a jumble. Or nonsense coding. It's the sort of thing only Tony Stark level genius types could solve. Theoretically.

Once solved it reveals the following message: ]

Returning home by choice is out of the question. The Porter is an AI advanced beyond anything I have seen. It may be possible, however, to find a means around it's iron grip on this world. I propose locating a universe much like this one, with only one difference. This AI may have found a means of closing doors between each unique world, but there always cracks.

If we can find a means to slip into a version of this world where the Porter does not exist, we may be able to open a door that can take us home. It's just a matter of locating the correct universe.

You clearly have the necessary skills. Submit your qualifications here. [ And included is a link to his inbox. ]

c

[icecution]

Correct me if I'm wrong. The Porter is what allows transport between this world and our own at all, is it not?

Logan | Cowboy Jurassic Park

[grandtheftequine]

Hᴇʀᴏᴘᴀ

[ Heropa reminded him of Sweetwater—all sun and welcoming smiles, people trying to draw the new arrival in for a drink or a photo op. It was sweet and quaint and it made Logan itch to test out just how little the consequences mattered here. Only the fact that someone had immediately left a kid in his care ruined the effect. He had barely stepped out of the taxi from Cape Canaveral when the little mouth-breather had been dumped on him with little more than an introduction—the kid's name was Billy, which he'd had a laugh at, at least—leaving him standing on the sidewalk in full cowboy gear, looking down at Little Billy's vacant expression. ]

...So, kid. You ever fire a gun before?



(Want a different prompt? Let's chat at rathaway, or feel free to leave me something else!)

[slightlyoffchilt]

Oh my god, you cannot just offer to teach presumably random children how to fire guns. You -- [He glanced the man over, noting the distinctly Goth Cowboy attire.] Sable ne'er-do-well.

Lockheed | X-Men Marvel Comics 616

[morethankittysdragon]

01. Heropa:

Lockheed is perturbed to be here in a world not his own, but not perturbed to be famous. With men and women looking to get his attention, he is perfectly content to wander the city, sometimes, and work others. Getting a free drink from local shop owners in exchange for a picture of him on their shoulder, or flying, is pretty sweet, he thinks. And the local beach is cool. Lots of Human women in bikinis, lots of people gaping at the little purple dragon who flies and talks, and still more beer. He could get to enjoy this.

Of course, no one asked him about this whole 'Follow An ImPort to Work Day' initiative, or else he would have called it bad news, very bad news. The government of the USA of this dimension was really trying, very hard, to end up just as much on his shit list as the last one had. Ugh, why?

He's been assigned a child to follow him at his job. It's the third job he had had in a week, and yet, here they were. And why? Well, that would be telling, wouldn'; it. And governments never admit why they do things.

The kid is quickly taught the stupidity of pulling on wings or being an ass, by the singing of hair and the nipping of noses by very sharp teeth, and perhaps that is not what was meant by the government and parents, but then, they had not asked Lockheed, but had been assholes about it. So, too bad. At least the kid seems to be smart enough to learn, and in fact, to appreciate learning, once they realize they will be treated well if they do so.

Within an hour, the kid is wearing an entirely purple outfit, and is following Lockheed around using a borrowed hover set, helping Lockheed in his courier job. And once the kid actually starts listening? They are both having fun.

It is possible, Lockheed might acknowledge, if pressed, that he was not meant to teach the kid the merits of ogling willing women, and how to buy beer even without an identity card that says you can, but oops, no one told him that. His kid is Lockheed'ss assistant, and to Lockheed, that means the kid has privileges. Because that is how Lockheed rolls... Er, flies. Whatever.

This may be fun! Unless some idiot ruins it.

***

02. De Chima

Lockheed is not so sure he likes the name organic wonder! He is no mortal human superbeing. He is a proud member of the Flock. Well... ex-member. But still! Even if he has a human form now, because of this weird world's sense of humor, he is still not human inside, and will not be human most of the time, if he can help it.

Still, he accepts the fame and adulation of the humans, while responding with a cold shoulder to those who seem to be trying to take advantage of him, or of his assistant, or who seem to be trying to attack him. he is glad to take a picture, as long as there is some inkling of good to him in it, from fame to a drink, to possibly getting to use a new gadget. People who get too zealous and impolite will get their devices knocked down or fried by Dragonfire. Lockheed does not take well to rudeness. But those who are kind and patient will find themselves treated well and their names are taken by Al for future work, use, or meetings.

Lockheed is glad to test out new gadgets that are shiny, because technology is something he likes. Gimmicky ones, or ones that point to space flight, will get his approval! Robots? Not so much. Robots get his scrutiny and his immediate pointing out of flaws, errors, issues, and things that are likely to go wrong if not fixed. Which is not to say he won't accept a housebot, but only if it is tailored to his specs. And yes, he has notes, pages of them.

His kid assistant, now stolen and a permanent fixture at his side, Al, let's say their name is, gets to play with the robots as well, and any official who starts to say otherwise gets the sight and sound of an angry dragon, and an import talking loudly about how their product is just so last year... pretty soon, the sellers get the drift, and Al is getting to poke, prod, and play with the robots plenty, with Lockheed looking on proudly.

Of course, something goes wrong, and a hero is called for. Lockheed sighs, and sends Al to find the control booth, heavily armored in the remnants of a explosives tester bot, as Lockheed goes to cut the horsebots off, a line of fire sending them scattering back toward their origin.

It'll be messy, but somehow Lockheed and Al will get this done. Even if maybe some help would be useful.

***

Maurtia Falls

When the rains start, It's an inconvenience for sure, and a major one. Al and Lockheed are still working as couriers, now relocated to here in Maurtia Falls, don't ask why, when the rains turn bad, and they are in raincoats and heavy duty covered hover carts quickly.

The bad rain gets worse, and even as packages are delivered the bloody darned float that looks similar to Lockheed starts swerving out of control. What's a purple alien dragon to do, but go to the rescue, huh? And so he and his assistant go to it. Al, now swiftly learning mechanics and electronics from the best people Lockheed can find, is sent to take control of the control cab of the float, even as Lockheed barrels toward the school bus, hoping to push it, or somehow lead it, out of the way.

This could get... sticky.

***

04. Nonah

Lockheed and Al are there to find some more books for Al's education and for Lockheed's growing collection of eclectic human ideas. Lockheed is peering at odd books, and being trailed by Al and their smallest hovercart, which already has quite a few books in it, neatly stacked and protected from the too bright sun.

Lockheed and Al sport matching shades and armbands, purple and black, with the name of their courier service on it. And if the hovercart also has a compartment holding beers in it and keeping them cold, along with some tasty sandwiches, well... Lockheed likes being prepared, okay?

Hey, look, it's a book fair! have fun!

william. westworld.

[larped]

ᴅᴇ ᴄʜɪᴍᴀ

[ Ending up near the robot horses had been an unhappy accident. William had been making his way through the press of the crowd on the convention floor, too focused on his troubled search for a familiar face to pay more than superficial attention to most of the exhibits. It's too late once he realizes that he's dressed to match, right down to the white cowboy hat he's holding between his hands. Now he's trapped in mistaken identity hell — or at least customer service purgatory — until he can find a break in the crowd. ]

Sorry, not a real cowboy. [ He's trying his best to avoid eye contact, and the smile on his face is growing a little tighter with each eager followup question. ] Sorry, not a robot cowboy either.

[ There's a snort from the livestock. Oh god, robot horses can sense anxiety, can't they? ]

( ooc or give me a wildcard! canonpoint is episode five. )

[slightlyoffchilt]

How would you know about robot cowboys?

[Inquires one (escaping) Frederick Chilton, who definitely LEGALLY held Teddy Flood in his hospital for some seventy-two hours once. The comment had dislocated Chilton from his agenda (living!) to focus his full attention on this newcomer.

Who he had never not ever met, ever, on any timeline.]

princess carolyn | BOJACK HORSEMAN

[purrttyinpink]

HEROPA

[ This is hardly the first time Princess Carolyn has been saddled with a child. Memories of an old flame and his own child, Vincent Adultman and Kevin, come to mind as a young boy around the age of eight has been left in her charge. At that time, PC may not have been exactly clear-headed to deal with a young boy who had been so demanding for chocolate and drinks.

But this time, PC is determined to get it right. Think of it as a trial: one where she proves she's great with kids and someday will be even better with her own. She doesn't have to give herself a long winded pep talk for this; she knows she has it in her.

A wide, feline grin appears on her fuzzy face as she bends down to speak to the boy. ]

Okay, sweetheart. Talent scouting is the name of the game today. Wanna learn how to earn ten percent per client?

DE CHIMA

[ She had only sneaked in to get a glimpse of whatever was going on. Mostly, she wanted to know if any big names were going to show up so she could rub elbows with them. However, once the chaos erupts PC is more than happy to take a step back.

As one of the bots accidentally tumbles in her direction, flight or fight instincts kick in... and flight wins. Fur standing on its ends, there's a low hiss from deep in her throat before she suddenly leaps over ten feet in the air to avoid getting trampled. She lands in a clear area, on all fours, catching her breath. ]

Of course, of course. It had to be a horse.

De Chima

[slightlyoffchilt]

[And Chilton, already safely situated in that clearing, really shouldn't have been surprised by an anthropomorphized pink cat. Nor anything she might articulate.]

What, do cats and horses have a thing? I... I don't understand.

[Amidst the fray of the chaos, he stood. Above it all. With drink in hand.]

randall flagg | the dark tower/the stand/etc

[shooktheworld]

[Heropa]

[Flagg seems to have attracted a gaggle of children around him, mostly teenagers, listening intently to his every word.]

And that's how you can start a fire without getting caught. Now, who wants to know how to hot-wire a car?

[The kids all enthusiastically raise their hands. Someone step in and be a better influence before he moves on to even worse crimes.

Or join in the fun and be an equally bad influence. Up to you.]

[Nonah]

[If there was one thing Flagg could get legitimately, non-maliciously excited about it was a good book. He was stuffing books into his jacket, not really taking much time to actually look at them before deciding he was interested.

And then there came a point where he was running out of space. There were two more books he wanted, but he only had room for one. He looked back and forth between them, before turning to the nearest person for opinions.]

Which one of these would you take?

[He holds up the books. One was called Hot Spell, some sort of medieval fantasy story. The other was called Forgotten Starlight, a sci-fi.

Judging by the covers, both of them were absolutely erotica of some sort.]

[Network]

Can you get games on this thing?

[Yep, that's it. No introduction. Just that.]

[wildcard]

[Anything goes!]

Heropa

[pathofvigilante]

I could definitely use a refresher!

[Cue the grinning green haired weirdo, raising his hand enthusiastically with the younger crowd.]

I mean, it's not like I don't know how, I just wanna make sure you're teaching them right. This is important stuff. Have you even covered how to pick the lock on the car door first?