30 days has September

[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.

Everyone’s in preparation for the arrival of Autumn! A small street fair has dedicated itself to welcoming Fall with open arms. Harvest foods have practically taken over— hot pumpkin-themed drinks, warm apple pies, and butternut squash soups are everywhere. One stall in particular has a scarecrow-building class, providing with plenty of patched up clothes and straw.

If you stay late enough at the fair to see the moon rise, you’ll notice it takes on a deep orange glow— pretty normal for a harvest moon. But it’s strange… a few scarecrows also seem to share the same color glow from their eyes. Maybe it’s just a reflection…?

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! Synthetic wonder! Whatever you might be, 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!

Although what really seems to be the question of the month for those hardhitting journalists is a little less of the mundane;

"So what do you think about the recent Import mission to Mars? How much did that cost the government, and what will the repercussions be?"

Maybe they're hoping for a psychic Import on these matters...

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. 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, and hostility against imPorts can spike. The emergence of locals with superpowers is hardly helping... #THANKS TONY STARK, #ya muffin.

Up ahead, it seems like there’s a traffic jam- or rather, a complete deadlock. But strangely, no one’s honking their honks or trying to zoom around other cars. Upon closer inspection, it seems like everyone is stock-still, with blank expressions upon their faces. The only figure moving in the crowd is a woman with a rather strange black and white outfit…

It seems like yet another local with superpowers has emerged from the woodwork- perhaps literally, in this case, given that she’s dressed up like a mushroom.

It seems that Feelia Fungus has taken to telepathically freezing the entire intersection with her mind control “spores” while she helps herself to robbing civilians of their belongings. It’s up to you to stop her!

Remember: September is known for being mushroom hunting season!

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.

One might think that being such an industrial-based city, Nonah might might leave behind old cultural traditions. But with their motto of “Work Hard, Play Hard,” they certainly wouldn’t forget about a holiday they hold dear: Oktoberfest. 

The germanic celebration is in full force this week, complete with stalls giving away beer, and various snacks like brazen and würstl, along with various cakes. Anyone underage will be given a nice warm cider instead, and some natives may even try to convince you into wearing some classic dress- a dirndl.

For those with a more competitive streak, there’s a crossbow contest for most bull’s eyes hit!

Comments

[ficcion]

Imagine that your creator didn't just made you, but decided to dictate every little aspect of your life. How would you know that you're more than someone's puppet, a fiction inside someone else's head?

I mean, I guess religious people have that sort of figured, or conveniently buried over faith and dogma. I'm not much of a believer.

[nightmarist]

autonomy isn't a question of less or more, fiction or nonfiction

your life is yours whether you were made or you just happened

and in this scenario you have your life but not your freedom

like any other slave or prisoner who's ever lived

[ficcion]

I think, I would have liked to hear that some time ago.

I just feel like it would be very upsetting to realize you exist to amuse someone else. Maybe it's not the best way to start conversation.

I'm Sophie, by the way. Thanks for humoring me.

[nightmarist]

why would that be upsetting?

ronan, by the way

[ficcion]

Because one moment you think the place you are right now is the result of your choices and omissions, but it turns out it's been all fabricated, and you're just the means for an end.

Nice to meet you, Ronan. Even though we haven't really met, I don't think I'm going to get used to this network thing.

This all probably sounds like nonsense.

[nightmarist]

it doesn't, actually

in this hypothetical scenario, do you know for sure that your choices were fabricated or is that just the assumption?

[ficcion]

How so?

In this hypotetical scenario you know for a fact that your choices have been fabricated, and that even now you might be following some sort of script.

[nightmarist]

[He's not answering that.]

some people call that fate

[ficcion]

[ And just like a recently decimated studio, Sophie will remember this. ] I feel like fate tends to be either an easy way out of responsibility, or a coping mechanism for not having control. Or an excuse. Do you believe in fate though? And... do you think we could speak in person? I would like to actually talk,for once.

[nightmarist]

i can come to you if you don't startle easily

[ficcion]

You mean like magically appearing next to me? Okay, I think I can brace for that.

I'm at a park in Heropa. I think this thing can send my location. Not sure if you need it.

[ And a moment later she sends a link.]

[nightmarist]

[He's here already. Or he was here the whole time and she somehow failed to notice a 6-foot-2 punk standing right next to her until this precise moment. It's unclear.]

Hey.

[ficcion]

[ She still jumps a bit on her spot. Sophie is sitting on a bench, a blanket of sorts underneath her and book by her side. Her backpack sits by a corner. Sophie is not short, but she's still an average sized 15 years old. Tall guy is tall. ]

Hey. Ronan? Somehow I thought you would look... scarier. Older? I don't know.

[nightmarist]

Really?

[She doesn't think he looks scary enough as it is? That's new. Ronan takes a seat on the bench so she doesn't have to crane her neck to look at him.]

[ficcion]

I mean, I guess you could be scary if you wanted. Maybe you're good at being scary on purpose.

[ He looks like a punk with an attitude but that doesn't scare her much, specially not after their conversation.

She shrugs. ]

How did you do that anyway? Just pop here. Is that the "power" this place gave you?

[nightmarist]

Maybe I'm your imaginary friend.

[Ha. Ha. He is so funny.]

[ficcion]

All my friends turned out to be imaginary in some way or another, so this wouldn't be much of a change.

[ She's going to stare at him a bit now, though, as if expecting Ronan to turn transparent. ]

I don't think I could come up with you though. I can't even think what kind of book or movie you could come from.

[nightmarist]

Teen romance, clearly.

[Ronan is unbothered by the staring. He's used to it. He's really quite opaque, though.]

[ficcion]

[ Not opaque enough though, so Sophie looks away. ]

Is that a genre these days? I'm still trying to catch up. I'm sorry Ronan, but it sounds awful. Did you at least get actual romance out of it?

[nightmarist]

Incredibly, I did.

[On that subject...]

We were talking about fate, weren't we?

[ficcion]

Incredibly.

[ There might be a bit of sarcasm in her voice.]

Hmm, we were. Fate feels a bit like letting some alleged higher power take the wheel?

[nightmarist]

I guess, if you'd also call gravity a higher power. Fate's just the part of time you haven't gotten to yet. Everything that will ever happen has already happened. If you don't believe me, just wait until someone else from your world shows up and starts telling you about your own future.

[ficcion]

You were making a good point until you got to the last part, because my world already ended.

Unless the bastard wants to write a sequel? But I think he can't.

Anyway, you're okay with that? With everything being predetermined.

[nightmarist]

[Ronan won't point out that she might very well be living in the sequel right now.]

Why does it matter? The choices I make are the choices I wanted to make, have already made, would always have made. They aren't suddenly not mine just because I've made them already.

[ficcion]

[ She's trying really hard to not think about that, but Sophie can't help the feeling that something else is going on. Whatever that might be, she doesn't know. ]

So if you knew everything you are going to do for the next, I don't know, entire year, and that you can't change a thing, would you be fine with that? Maybe if it remains unknown until it happens you could live with it, but once you're given the script of your life...