walking in a winter wonderland

[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.

Although even Florida can get chilly during the winter, a relative heat wave is sweeping through, resulting in an impromptu Beach Body Competition sponsored by a local gym. ImPorts who are the buffest of the buff all the way down to the super skinniest (competing in separate weight classes, of course) are likely to be urged to join in for some fun in the sun and the extra attention they garner from native fans.

Those who just aren't interested in competing might be called in to judge another competition down the beach: a youth sand-sculpting contest! Only one team can walk away with the grand prize of a laser tag package, but can you bring yourself to be harsh on those wide, hopeful eyes?

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.

With Christmas coming, the producers behind a guerilla new reality show are hard at work getting new footage—starring you! Areas of the city with the most foot traffic have been absolutely blanketed in mistletoe. If you happen to pass beneath a sprig, you might find a small camera crew jumping out of nowhere, urging you to give the person next to you a smooch—and thanks to the strange radio waves coming out of the unit on the executive producer's wrist, you'll feel a little compelled to do so!

...except the compulsion isn't that strong, so those who don't kiss on the first meet can easily break out of it. Your next choice: give the camera crew a piece of your mind, or ask the would-be kissee out for coffee? They are pretty cute...

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...

The downtown mall is tilting the balance solidly toward welcoming to imPorts with a Winter Welcome Festival. All the storefronts and many temporary kiosks occupied by local vendors are holding special sales, and newly arrived imPorts are given a coupon book to make the most of them. The food court has some free goodies for participants to mix and mingle.

Unfortunately, a local rogue with the alias of Klone Kringle is here to spoil the fun. After a small boom echoes throughout the mall, everything dissolves into chaos as dozens of copies of a man dressed in a polyester Santa Claus costume begin looting the retailers! The guns they wield that shoot snow and ice might not be lethal, but they can certainly slow you down (and give you a cold). Will you be the hero and help take down Kringle(s), or will you seize the opportunity to do some theft of your own?

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.

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah have passed, Christmas and New Year's Eve are coming up, but what about holidays from home? This weekend, the Nonah Cultural Center is hosting a one-day event during which attendees can share stories of their traditions and celebrations (whether they are related to winter holidays or completely different ones) and sharing them with others, either on a small stage with a microphone or in individual recording booths, so that these tales of cultural traditions can be preserved for others to learn about. ImPorts from worlds that are not variants of Earth are particularly encouraged to attend. Small refreshment tables will also be open to those who speak.

05. Jeopardy, Nevada by all rights shouldn't exist. A glowing neon city smack in the middle of the desert, the only reason it's still here is that the central nuclear power plant has tapped half a mile down into a subterranean lake for its water supply. So though the desert around it may be barren, the occupants of this small city are happily self sufficient. Those weird figures you see out of the corner of your eyes? Don't worry too much. Probably just weird radiation after effects. Jeopardy has a lot of those.

Saturnalia is just around the corner and Jeopardy is in full festive swing! The seven-day marathon of festivities includes a parade, with a ((cw: arachnophobia)) very special float from the Web Mistress's church; a day long city-wide paintball game; an attempt to break the world record for largest bingo game with everyone playing in dead silence; and a feast!

The final feast, of course, comes with the main event: ritual sacrifice. Of course, no one actually wants to do anything quite so base, in 2018, so the sacrifice is more metaphorical than actual: the kids of North Jeopardy High have spent three months building a giant chocolate Santa tied up in ropes to be slaughtered and fed to the city at large! Bon appetit!

Comments

Ludovica-2 | Destiny 2 (OC)

[iliveidie]

((i'll get more icons eventually))

🞛 DE CHIMA
[Trying to make their way through the streets is a relatively short robotic being in what appears to be a weird mashup of what one would expect a mage and a rogue to wear. If her clothing doesn't make her stand out enough the metallic blue faceplate and gold horn-like protrusions her head certainly do.

Ludovica is unaccustomed to such enthusiastic attention, but she does her best to not disappoint. Back home it can be a mixed view of Guardians which is why she often avoids normal people when she can. But here, they absolutely love her for being something unrelated to the Traveler, an imPort.

She takes a few pictures here and there, often getting called 'Iron Man' -- whoever that is -- until the camera crew pops up on her face.]

Er... [Why does she have the urge to kiss someone all of a sudden? She doesn't even have proper lips to do so with!]


🞛 MAURTIA FALLS MALL
[Shopping for anything other than weapons and armor isn't something Ludovica does, ever. Anything other than those two things is pretty unnecessary when she's constantly on the move. But she's been given some coupons and some money so why not make the best of it? Even Stardust, her Ghost, is interested to see what is to offer in the mall.

Unfortunately, shopping is cut short buy Klone Kringle's attack.
Ludovica immediately jumps into action, hand reaching for her rifle that is usually slung over her shoulder only to find empty air.]

Dammit! [She mutters, she'd forgotten her weapons hadn't been on her when she was transported to this Earth. That was fine, she'd just have to do this the old fashion way.]

«I'm detecting some strange energy from those guns.» [Stardusts warns within her mind as she runs toward the commotion.]

Strange ho-- [The question is answered before she can even finish speaking as a blast ice smacks her in the torso and sends her reeling back onto the floor.]

«That kind of energy.» [The Ghost responds with an almost amused tone.]


🞛 JEOPARDY
[The festivities are unlike anything she can recall seeing. Sure the City has its various celebrations, but nothing quite like this. She finds herself in awe of up until she catches sight of the float that looks suspiciously like a Fallen Walker -- if Walkers were skinnier and lacked guns.]

All this spider stuff is a little weird. [She says this aloud, appearing to speak to no one in particular, though her Ghost does give a sound of confirmation that only she can hear.]


🞛 WILDCARD
[Ghost hunting in jeopardy? Getting a bite to eat or some coffee? Whatever you want, thorw it at me!]

Maurita Falls Mall

[lootsnshoots]

[Cayde is overjoyed to see a fellow Guardian, and an Exo at that. Well, they're a Warlock but we can't all be perfect. But who is he kidding, of course one of Ikora's charges is well-suited to figuring out whatever Vex nonsense that has to be at the root of this imPort business, right?

Regardless, he allows himself a small chuckle when she gets tagged in the face with an ice blast.]

Come now Warlock, do Ikora proud! Vaporize him with your mind or what have you.

Bean/Julian Delphiki | Enderverse

[justlittle]

Heropa

Bean does not intend to enter any competition, either the youth sand castle building one or the beach body one. But just walking by the beach body contest, Bean gets gawking looks from the spectators and judges alike, marveling at how small he is. Really, Bean thinks of himself as having grown a lot during his year at Battle and then Command Schools, but he must still look like a doll to the people of this Florida beach. “How old are you?” they call out to him. “You can’t be more than four; what are you doing on your own?”

“I’m seven,” Bean corrects simply, before flashing his imPort tattoo. That apparently explains enough.

By the time they let him go on his way, he’s earned himself a ‘Smallest in Show’ ribbon.

Network

@^Graff

[ There’s no reason for Bean to use his carat Graff login here to hide behind. He’s already checked, and the real Colonel Graff isn’t on this version of Earth, that Bean can tell. But he isn’t about to let his real name get out so easily. And old habits die hard. ]

The government briefing left a lot to be desired. But I’m sure we “imPorts” are a studious bunch. There’s bound to be more information available on what exactly we’re doing here.

Anyone feel like being helpful?

Heropa

[janus_scholar]

[He refrains from laughing, but just barely. He's holding one of the clipboards that the judges are carrying.]

I had nothing to do with that, I assure you.

"sister mary eunice" ✝️ american horror story: asylum

[bloodyhabit]

✝️ nonah

[The Cultural Center's hosting it's get together and it attracts her, like a fly to honey. Dressed in a black habit with a silver cross hanging around her neck, "Sister Mary Eunice" invites herself in with all the politeness she can manage. It's aggravating, having to smile for hunched over old men and hold open the door ahead of her for a few old broads on canes, but she does it for the sake of appearances. Best way to get at the sheep is to wear their skin, and there's no Briarcliff here. She's starting with her slate clean, but her throne stripped away.

While people talk about their faiths and traditions, she listens - ever curious about what could be considered 'false Gods', but here could be true reality. It's mildly reassuring to know not everyone's a filthy little Christian, but she's not hearing any of the gritty details here. They're all talking about love, compassion and get togethers. It's actually a bit of a downer.

Tilting her head to the side, she remarks:]

I would've expected a little more variety, wouldn't you?

✝️ jeopardy

[After the Cultural Center was something of a bust when it came to thing she was looking for here in terms of debauchery and talks of vengeful Gods, she ended up in Jeopardy. The essence of a cult was on the air like the taste of ocean salt, and she licked her lips as she adjusted her habit and looked around. There was definitely an energy here that had an appeal to her. Horrendously oversized spider floats aside, Mary Eunice's wanderings finally led her to the mention of the final feast. And it was the sacrifice that was piquing her interest - making her anticipate it like she did The Sign of the Cross's yearly broadcast. At least until she was again let down upon receiving her portion.]

Chocolate. It's chocolate.

[Her bubbly sweet voice has fallen flat as she looks down at the chocolate she was served. Hacked off pieces of St. Nick's candy corpse, this had to be the worst ritual sacrifice she'd ever seen.]

nonah

[planetary_bonds]

[Yusei's not sure what to say to...any of that, really, but he does have to admit that she's not...wrong?]

I wouldn't really know much about the subject, but I don't necessarily find it a bad thing...

[This is coming from Yusei "clustering stars weave greater bonds" Fudo, so. despite that gritty exterior of his, he's actually quite the softy.

Just yet another disappointment for Sister Mary on this fine day.]

Yusei Fudo | Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

[planetary_bonds]

[a. heropa]

[Yusei's knowledge of Christmas-related festivities is limited. At most, it's always been something celebrated with a slightly warmer than usual dinner with Martha, and he's been told about extravagant parties being thrown in Neo Domino City for the occasion.

...Even knowing all this, though, he's pretty sure that beach body competitions aren't a normal staple of the holiday season. Is this a trap of some sort...? He shakes his head at the local recruiter, frowning.]

No, that kind of thing...it's not my kind of competition...

If you're worried about being shown up, it's not a problem! Even skinny guys like you have their own appeal, you know? There'd definitely be a chance for you to win over some fans~!

That's not the problem I was thinking of...

[If the recruiter knew what his body was like under that jacket of his, they wouldn't be calling him skinny at all - but that's hardly the issue here! What kind of "competition" even is this?! Help???]

[b. maurtia falls]

[Sales? Coupons? As someone who's used to running on a shoestring budget, these kind of things are a godsend to him. Although...]

Cosmetics...clothing...maybe I could take apart the game systems for fresh parts, but I could just get ones that are junked, so...

[This coupon book is...surprisingly useless...

Before anyone can explain to Yusei that the whole idea of Christmas shopping is to buy presents for other people, the book is knocked out of his hands by a snowball, of all fucking things. Its subsequent demise is barely mourned, instead glossed over due to the small thing of, oh right, a snowball being thrown indoors. Snowballs and snow in general is not something that's normally found inside warm and crowded shopping malls, after all, unless they're fake and used as part of winter-themed displays, in which case maybe they're not too out of place? But then again, such displays usually don't get thrown, so perhaps things are a bit weird after all - ]

Shit-!

[okay nevermind they're being shot out of a gun by some dude in a bright red costume. that's definitely out of the ordinary. Yusei looks back and forth between the pile of snow at his feet and the villain of the day robbing the storefronts, and it takes him very little time to decide what to do after that.

With a gust of wind and sparkles, the snow is blown off the ground, packed into a ball, and flung right back at the perpetrator. It barely misses them, and they turn in alarm. Unable to discern more than the general direction that their ammo is being flung back at them, the criminal fires a round of ice-laden snowballs into the crowds around Yusei, only for said missiles to stop in mid-air by more shimmering, sparkling breezes.

And then Yusei and Klone Kringle end up starting an absurdly superpowered snowball fight in the middle of the mall.]

[c. wildcard]

[ooc: feel free to pm me or message me at emexceedschangezearu to come up with prompts or send your own!]

a! /blows the ancient dust off of this character

[jounouchi]

Oi, oi...listen to the guy.

[ One Jounouchi Katsuya couldn't help but overhear the minor argument between Yusei and the recruiter. And one might think he's coming to the rescue, all cheeky grins as he claps a hand on Yusei's shoulder, leaning forward to leer at the person badgering him. But, nah... ]

He recognizes there's no chance in hell of winning when you got competition like me in the mix! You're wasting your breath, so why don't you move along? I'll be signing autographs later.

[ Clearly taken aback by Jounouchi's boldness (or idiocy), the recruiter does head on their way with a shake of their head. And that leaves Jounouchi to turn to Yusei with a smirk. ]

No need to thank me. Jounouchi Katsuya always looks out for the little guy!

Catra | She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

[plentystrong]

HEROPA

[ Catra is not a happy camper. Being forcibly removed from her home world and put into an entirely foreign place - and just when things were going so well! - and then, of all things, told to mingle?

She hates it.

And she hates it even more when the people in this new world start to ogle her - commenting on her body, grabbing her tail, fondling her ears... it doesn't take much until she's had enough and starts batting at hands. ]

Let me go! Or do you want to lose an eyeball?

MAURTIA FALLS

[ So maybe one thing Catra doesn't hate is having coupons which let her try free food. And what food it is! For someone who has lived off ration bars all her life, an entire new world opens up, and so you might find her happily chomping away at some treat in a corner.

Or you might find her a bit later, when the bomb goes up and she immediately jumps out of the way, onto the kiosk she was lingering around, observing the area. The fact that people are in danger doesn't bother her very much. She is content to watch from her vantage point.]

JEOPARDY

[ Jeopardy might be a strange city, but Catra feels weirdly almost at home there. It's tech-y and a little creepy, just like the Fright Zone.

Saturnalia, of course, is a different game. So many people in one place, celebrating. Catra is exploring and trying not to get too uncomfortable in the crowd, and she's doing well --

until she sees the float, of course. The time she was attacked by the mechanical attack spiders in the First Ones' ruin flashes before her eyes. She jumps and yells in surprise.]

Ahhh!

[ But she adjusts quickly - and immediately gets ready to attack the giant spider. Body tense, claws out, she's about to jump. ]

Heropa

[janus_scholar]

[Uh oh. Looks like a responsible adult is in order. Walter steps between Catra and the crowd, lightly batting them away with the backside of the clipboard he was given for judging. It's meant for the sand castle contest, but they don't need to know that. He's giving off enough of an air of authority to cause them to back away.]

Keep your hands to yourselves, please! Touching the contestants is not permitted.

[That scares them off completely. He turns to look at Catra, one eyebrow raised.]

Are you alright?

Kassard Armis | OC

[armis_and_dangerous]

De Chima

[Kassard's in awe of the technology here- and less than impressed by the adoration for imPorts. He's held his tongue for the moment though- instead just smiling politely and expressing geniuine interest in the technology. Then the camera crew jumps out, and Kassard glares at them, ignoring the unlucky individual who was also caught under the mistletoe.]

No.

[Kassard's initial reaction is to stare incredulously at the presumption. He doesn't understand or approve of this adoration of imPorts, and his bad mood is only compounded when he feels the compulsion- one which he knows isn't coming from his own head.]

That does it!

[Kassard snarls, grabbing one of the crew by his suit lapels and slamming him into the wall. He's absolutely furious.]

Do you think manipulating minds is funny? Because I don't. And I'm sure the authorities won't either.

[Kassard's tone is low and seething- and he's reaching for the gun at his hip.

Someone should probably get him to calm down.]

Maurtia Falls

[Clearly, despite all the talk of coexistance, witches- or imPorts, or whatever they called them here- were still threats. Kassard's dodging snowballs, not quite enough of an asshole to start shooting in a building full of already terrified people, but fully intent on dealing with the Kringles.

He throws a punch at one who's quick enough to dodge- and Kassard's arm goes straight through a store window, shattering it. Kassard curses, loudly- then stops as he realizes there's no blood- his sleeve's been cut by the glass, but his skin is untouched.]

What the hell?

[But any attempt to make sense of it is cut off by a snowball to the face, and Kassard snarls, charging toward a pack of Kringles.]

Go away you freaks!

Network

[Kassard's face appears on the network. He's composed and professional, but there's an undercurrent of frustration in his tone.]

Where can we register our disapproval of the current situation with witches- imPorts, I mean? Because frankly, the current system isn't working. Telepaths should be detained as soon as they're identified, and any others with powers of mental influence should be monitored before they're released. Those found to have physically dangerous powers should also be monitored more closely, and the government's far too reluctant to use it's nullifying technology.

[Kassard keeps talking, his tone growing grimmer and nastier.]

And I'm concerned that the authorities in charge of imPorts have been compromised- punishment for lawbreaking is ridiculously lax- did they let imPort's write the laws themselves? And they've even let them into the government. How do they expect this to go well?

Network

[iliveidie]

[Upon viewing the video, Kassard is met with narrowed purple optics behind a metallic blue faceplate. Something about the way the optics are narrowed just speaks volumes of disapprovement.]

Are you not an imPort yourself? [A feminine voice speaks, as the mouth moves a blue glow can be seen emanating from it matching up with the words.]

Walter Strickler | Trollhunters

[janus_scholar]

Heropa
[Walter looks about as uninterested in the beach body contest as one can. He's even wearing a turtleneck and a jacket despite the heat wave. However, he's got the perfect sort of slightly-intimidating, slightly-paternal vibe to be picked out as a judge for the sand sculpting contest.

The official judging hasn't started yet, so he's just walking up and down the beach, casting each of the half-formed sculptures a critical eye. He pauses before one of the many castles, scrutinizing it more closely. It's not the best on the beach by any means. It's not as decorative, there's some leaning going on in some of the towers, but by god these kids are trying. It's one of the largest castles here, and it looks like there's more planned. But the team has stopped working since he arrived, looking up at him wide-eyed like they're about to be reprimanded. Perhaps a fear of teachers is universal.]

There's a distinct lack of moats on this beach, I've noticed. If you dig a canal from the ocean to here, it should fill up with water quite nicely. Though I suggest you strengthen your structures first. There's still time yet.

[The team start bustling to work, assigning different children to fix the castle and dig the moat. Satisfied, Walter walks back up the beach to where onlookers and encouraging parents are milling around.]

De Chima
[Unfortunately for Walter, the combination of the suggestive radio waves and his own desire to blend in mean that he's inclined to go for the kiss without thinking it through. Fortunately for the other person, he is an extremely polite man. Instead of kiss on the mouth, he takes the other person's hand and gives it a soft, chaste kiss on the knuckles.

But even this is enough to make him realize that something's wrong. His expressions quickly flit between shocked, embarrassed, confused, suspicious, and then... very angry. He drops the other person's hand and glares into the faces of the reality show crew. His voice is level but furious.]

That's highly inappropriate.

Jeopardy
[He hasn't been to a real Saturnalia celebration in quite some time. This one definitely has the spirit; but the infusion of modern traditions, and the Jeopardy flair to them, are a fair bit disturbing. He's almost impressed.

The Santa effigy is particularly eye-catching. He looks around and spots a fellow gawker nearby. He jokes:]

I'd hate to be here around Easter.

Wildcard
[Open to whatever! Walter is also a magical creature in disguise, so he might give off the vibe of something dark or unpleasant to any magically inclined people out there.]

Jeopardy

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel's not entirely sure what Easter is, but she's mostly just relieved that the sacrifice doesn't involve anyone dying. 'Ritual Sacrifice' had brought up unpleasant mental images and even worse memories.]

I think it's in... questionable taste. But it's less unpleasant than killing something. [Or a person.]

Riku | Kingdom Hearts

[dreamprotector]

[ A – Heropa ]

[Riku is overall more than all right with the heat wave – he has seen snow before, finds it fascinating really – but over all it's easier when he doesn't have to think about putting on some more layers while he explores the city. He relishes a little in the feeling of sand under the soles of his shoes when he reaches the beach – sand and ocean will always remind him of home.

He doesn't really have a destination here, he's mostly curious about how the people take to the shores in this world, so he gets a bit swept up when some moderator grabs him by the arm and shoves a mic into his face, noting excitedly that Riku just has to be here to take part in the Beach Body Competition; buff and young as he is.

Riku takes a step back, confusion plain on his face.]

What kind of competition?

The Beach Body Competition to find and reward that keep up their shape even in winter – you are here to enter after all, aren't you?

What? No! I think you've got the wrong guy here.

[He carefully tries to extract his arm from the moderator as the other keeps riling up the crowd around them to pressure Riku into joining the competition – mainly because he doesn't particularly cause a scene by hurting him. Maybe cause a small distraction to help him out?]


[ B – Network ]

So, what's up with all those Santas in this world?

I mean, I get having one or two in every city for the kids, but the number I've seen so far seems kind of excessive.

[He swears, he's seeing one at every street corner. If he didn't know better, he'd think there was a stalker at work.]


[ C – Wildcard! ]

[What it says on the tin; either hit me with a prompt of your own or hit me on plurk (iceylyl) for some plotting and I can write up something for you! :3]

B - no name on the network ID because idk he hasn't set it up yet

[pullsheavendown]

I thought there was supposed to just be one and he lives in his town.

[Christmas Town, not the North Pole. Obviously.]

ambrose spellman | chilling adventures of sabrina

[mortuarybound]

de chima.

[Of course he found himself in this new world wearing his dark red bathrobe he had been lounging around the house in. But he didn't care because for the first time in 75 years he was seeing the world outside of the Spellman mortuary and the Academy of Unseen Arts.

It was a lot to take in and he stood there for a moment, letting the sounds and smells wash over him. At least, until someone decided to snap a picture in his face. Then there were other cameras, questions, and flashes all around him.

Satan help him.

There was a tight crowd around him so slipping away was going to be difficult. No one caught the words muttered under his breath and the next moment he was on the other side of the street. The crowd would continue to talk to the illusion he left there which would dissipate once they got their fill.

Mortals. Ambrose let out a breath and shook his head as he kept walking.]

nonah.

[This time Ambrose had stopped by his assigned housing to change into actual clothes, throwing together an outfit that looked a bit out of date with a patterned shirt and a worn jacket. He had heard of some cultural even and though he doubted anyone from the Church of Night would show up, he was still curious to see what he would find.

He wasn't going to share his own inclinations- it seemed there were followers of the False God here who wouldn't take kindly to someone who walked the path of Night. He carefully pushed his way through the crowd, giving an awkward nod whenever someone wished him a Merry Christmas, pretending that he didn't understand. It was better that way.

The whole thing felt surreal but after 75 years on the same property, he was interested in learning about this new reality he found himself in.]

network.

Does this seem a little too good to be true to anyone else?

[Yes, he's sitting outside wearing the bathrobe he arrived in. He wasn't inclined to go to his assigned housing just yet, ignoring the stares of the mortals around him. He pressed his fingers together, a thoughtful frown on his face as he spoke again.

He cannot believe that anyone would give magical powers to mortals- that seemed like a recipe for disaster.]

They give us powers, told us some vague thing about being heroes and just... set us free? There has to be a catch, some kind of strings attached. No one just hands out power without expecting something in return.

[And they seemed to have given him his freedom on top of that. No little birds following him around, no indication that anyone from the Church of Night was going to come to drag him off to the Nether Realms. This was definitely too good to be true.]

De Chima

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel's seen it happen before- had experienced it before- and so she gave a sympathetic smile as he stalked away from the crowd. She's tall and unnaturally pale, wearing clothes that seem just a little old fashioned.]

Sorry- they're like that with everyone. How you dealt with them was impressive though. [Illusions were an aspect of magic she knew of, but had little skill in.]

Lyndell Kahl | Original Character

[insensed]

Heropa
[The weather was pleasant and Lyn took advantage of it. Most of the year was cloudy and grey-skied in the West Settlements where he grew up, but the summers could be so hot and humid. A heatwave that wasn't sticky with heavy air was fun. Visiting a non-polluted beach? Even better.

What he hadn't expected was to be pushed into judging a sand castle contest of all things. But they insisted and the children were expecting someone to do something, and thus he stood there looking at each castle with the other judges they had recruited.]

It is obvious he didn't put enough water into the sand. His castle isn't damp enough and leans to the side.

[Yes, if he's going to judge, he's going to pay attention to every detail. Someone else may need to balance him out.]


De Chima
[The people of De Chima remind Lyndell of people from some of the more less visited, but not entirely remote planets he's visited. They don't see Magi as often and thus the arrival of any is seen as a grand event. He's never quite gotten used to it, but he at least isn't breaking their photography devices. Yet. The one person who followed him for a block before asking for his autograph almost got bounced into a tree, but they were fine in the end. After he got them back down from the tree.

Psy-guards have never been Lyndell's strongest area of magic, so he does feel some compulsion. A strange urge to get closer to whoever he might have found himself next to underneath the mistletoe. Of course, he has been trained to recognize that kind of tampering with his mind. But it was hard not to recognize the urge to kiss someone he had never met before as being out of the ordinary.]

If we say no, do you think they'll go away? [Or will they try to coax them into going along with it?]

Jeopardy
[He loves sweets. It's not something Lyndell has ever tried to hide, but...this feels like something very different as he watches them roll out the large chocolate figure and prepare it for sacrifice. And the way they carved the chocolate up...well, it was almost enough to make him not want any. Almost.]

I'd like a piece that doesn't include the chains on his arms or the gag in his mouth, if you don't mind. You can give that piece to them. [He motions to the closest person to him waiting.]

Network
I want to understand how magic is used here on this version of Earth. Not the other paranormal abilities that more common. Magic.

Anyone willing to share their knowledge I will provide information in kind about the magicks I have studied previously, or we could come to an agreement with some other form of payment. Contact me here, if possible.

Network

[bindsthedead]

Of magic native to this world- I'm not sure if there is any. Of magic from my own world, I'd be happy to tell you in exchange for information.

amy pond; doctor who (s5)

[keepoutsign]

heropa

[ While this isn't strictly speaking her wheelhouse, it's not like there's a reason she couldn't be perfectly qualified to participate in a beach body competition. Which does not mean she's willing to change out of her entirely comfortable outfit, but the fact that it's a miniskirt and leggings means it's not that hard to throw a few winks and laughs at the judges before she heads off on her way.

She really doesn't seem terribly concerned, over all, and even though she brushes off being assigned a specific judging position she does saunter over to inspect a few things. ]

Is that supposed to be the leaning tower of Pisa, or does that need some more.... water or something?

maurtia falls

[ It's all been surprisingly merry, but Amy is deeply, deeply unsurprised when the merriness turns to mayhem sooner or later. It takes her a bit to get through the fleeing people, but at the point she reaches the marauding.... Santa Claus'?? it doesn't take her long to make her presence known. ]

Oi!! You lot, I didn't say you could just take off!

[ And the Doctor isn't here to back her up on this, not yet, but he's got good timing, right? Eventually, if he's really needed, he'll show back up.

And if he isn't, then she can handle it by herself anyways. ]

That doesn't belong to you!

network

[ She's clearly familiar with the concept of a video recorder, tapping it briefly but more intrigued than anything. ]

Oh, this is new. Always something new though, isn't it? All right, so.

Someone here needs help, I'm guessing? Or a few someone's. Or --

Has anyone seen a blue box, or a thin man with a bowtie poking at things he probably shouldn't be poking at?

Or just point me in the direction of the latest large explosion, that should do the trick.

Network - video

[drivesadesk]

I haven't seen anyone like that, no. If he's someone from home, he's probably not here.

Even if we do get our fair share of explosions.

Gwen Stacy | Marvel Comics (Earth-65)

[symbioticbeat]

01)

Are you kidding me right now?

[Gwen sounds incredulous with a hint of amused. While she is most definitely not stripping down to a bikini and joining the competition she can't help but be interested in watching.

Even though that's wrong. Very wrong. Demeaning. Shallow. They should absolutely be beyond this as a society. Maybe she'll actually be able to say as much if someone catches her gawking, but she doubts it.

It's harmless fun, right? People work hard for those bodies - unless they're gifted with natural buffness through super powers, in which case it is a little unfair. She's willing to give the contestants the benefit of the doubt.

She'll just stand... over to the side. Inconspicuous. Casual.]

02)

[Mistletoe? Ugh, how completely expected and yet still utterly irritating. The camera crews are the worst. If only she had Miles' ability to turn herself invisible. She might be able to get the symbiote to change her costume to match the wall behind her like a chameleon, but then she'd feel like some wannabe ninja.

A moment with her eyes on the camera crew behind her is distracting enough that she manages to bump into someone.]

Ah, crap. Sorry. [Way to show off those graceful spider-moves.] I'll just be...

[There it is. Right above her head. The very thing she's been running from (aside from the cameras). She should be making a run for it, but suddenly the idea of just going along with this doesn't feel like such a bad idea. Maybe the stalkers will even go away if she does, right?]

Um... [If only she was less awkward about it.]

03)

Klone Kringle?? That's-- [Honestly a better name than "Spider-Gwen". She's still gotta work on that.] --so seasonally limiting!

[Better or worse than the Bodega Bandit? Does he take a break the rest of the year or does he have different names for every holiday? Inquiring minds want to know. But not really.

Gwen swings in and aims webbing at one of the "klones", wrapping it up. One down... far too many to go.]

05)

[Has Gwen seen more high-tech robotics in her time as a super hero? Absolutely. Does that make this display any less impressive? Not at all. It's so intricate and takes so much fine control. There's more art to this design than what's behind any killer robot.

The chocolate Santa isn't as impressive, but it's a lot more delicious.

She's munching on a piece as she continues to stare up at the "float".]

You don't think they'd let me up there, do you?

wildcard)

[Go for it.]

5

[airforceful]

You know, this seems like one of those situations where it's better to apologize than ask permission.

[Carol's in civvies, but she's certainly not making a secret of her powers. She's been publicly known in her own universe long enough that she really doesn't see a point to it. Which is why she starts hovering a few inches off the ground while she calculates the best route to the giant spider robot.]

kairi | kingdom hearts

[heartslight]

heropa;

[ Kairi is actually not participating in anything, instead opting to walk along the beach in search of seashells. She's interested to know what sorts of shapes they come in in this world, and she also just ... enjoys making things out of them. So she may as well!

She finds a particularly interesting one when the moderator for the Beach Body Competition spots her and makes a beeline for her. He grabs her arm to get her attention so suddenly that she ends up dropping the shell she'd picked up, and she's at least a little irritated at his manhandling. ]

What do you think you're doing? Let go!

[ Nope, time to go into some sort of spiel about how she should be participating. Ugh. ]

de chima;

[ So Kairi is not the right girl to be telling to kiss people. Or trying to influence into doing it. Her willpower is astounding, so that strange radio wave does little to deter her from outright refusing — clearly shocked at this happening in the first place. So in the face of being shouted at to kiss whoever's next to her, she just shouts back: ]

Wh-What?! No way!

[ But if you're someone she knows, she at least won't say that last sentence ... just confusion. She's not mean to her friends, okay. ]

maurtia falls;

Hey! Stop right there!

[ Kairi has a pretty strong sense of justice, so seeing all those Santa look-alikes looting stores bothers her. She can't just sit by and let it happen. She's always one to prefer action and helping out rather than running away and cowering. But as she's running up to the closest one, ready to summon her Keyblade, she ends up ... shot right in the face with snow, causing her to fall back onto the ground rather unceremoniously. ]

Ack —!!

wildcard;

[ Have another idea? Go for it! ]

de chima.

[fashionchoice]

[GOD WHY MUST HIS LIFE CONTINUE TO BE EMBARRASSING WHEN IT COMES TO GIRLS!! Thankfully having Heroic Willpower™ is just kind of a given when you're Spider-Man, otherwise he'd be torn between mild offense at her immediate rejection or dying of mortification on the spot.

Lol jk, he's definitely dying of mortification regardless.]

Seriously, take your crappy TV show somewhere else! [He glances over at Kairi though, looking apologetic.] Sorry about this. Misteltoe's a dumb tradition anyways.

josh foley | marvel

[goldtoxicity]

heropa

Um, no it's not body paint, it's - look, I kinda gotta go? Do you mind, man? [ When he was sixteen he would have been all over this. A chance to show off and be the center of attention? Who in their right mind could say no? So he's either no longer in his right mind or he wasn't then, because he's trying to gently back out of this without causing any hurt feelings. He'd rather not make a spectacle of himself, thanks. He's got things to do and like... a life to figure out, or something.

There's no handbook for coming back from the dead, and there's definitely not one for dealing with that and then getting spit into another dimension. One that, for once, doesn't seem dead set on putting you back in the grave. He's gotten more compliments on mutation here in a week than he ever had back home.

Unfortunately, the guy is pretty insistent. And when you've gotten pretty bad at saying no, insistent is bad. Josh rubs the back of his neck and tips his head back with a sigh, shooting a pleading glance at anyone who will make eye-contact. ]

de chima

Um.

[ well HELLO random stranger. josh glances at the camera equipment and then helplessly to the other. ]

I mean, I'm down if you are...?

maurtia falls

[ Maybe one of the worst thing any X-Kid could hear is the sound of an explosion. It's one of those sounds that just stop you in your tracks and give you that terrible thousand yard stare. He's been stuffing his face with free treats all day and well, this tracks. This is absolutely in line with his luck. No sooner has the explosion happened is Josh getting roughly shoved aside by a wanna-be evil Santa. Caught off guard, only manages to react. One hand whirling out to grab the guy's arm on a complete impulse- going black as it does, catching the skin between the elbow and glove.

That's... really all he needs to do. The guy pitches forward and drops completely unconscious, and Josh awkwardly backs up, stogging his darkened hand in his hoodie pocket. ]

Uh... Whoops. [ It's complete anarchy. Looting everywhere. Snow guns and - and wow, he really regrets getting out of bed.

That aside, don't be surprised if a somewhat frosty golden mutant drops by to lay a hand on your shoulder to get that body temp back up to normal. ]

WILDCARD.

[ are you bleeding? are you sore? are you feeling generally unwell? well, he's got the time and nothing better to do than to try to fix that. ]

Heropa.

[fridgeflower]

[ Laurie is decidedly not making eye contact. She'd barely caught a gleam of Josh in the unseasonably bright sunlight before she'd pulled the brim of her sunhat down to cover her face. It may be too noticeable for her to turn and start running, making her way casually down the beach as she had been, so she'll have to settle for (hopefully) walking past unnoticed.

It doesn't mean she won't try to help out. She considers the best method as she approaches, the least obtrusive and bizarre. She keeps her hat pulled down and loosens her body language as best she can, just in case she hasn't changed enough in nearly five years.

A blonde in a floral one-piece and shorts passes a couple of feet behind the persistent Floridian, large hat cocked to one side and sandals in hand. A moment later, the man's expression shifts from eagerness to aggravation, and Laurie can hear his tone shift as she tries to pick up her pace. Escaping the situation seems more pressing when he starts vocalizing his anger.

"Oh, right, so the people of this world are just supposed to support you while you get to brush us off like we don't exist. I'm just trying to be friendly, dude. If you're gonna be like that, screw you."

Laurie glances back to watch the man turn and stomp away from Josh. (It's not very successful in the sand, but oh well.) Is it safe to run now? Because she's going to try that while she suspects Josh is looking the other way. ]

Finn | Star Wars

[hatejakku]

De Chima

[ Finn didn't know what to make of any of this. All he wanted to do was take a look around, but people seemed intent on stopping him at just about every corner because of the whole ImPort thing.

This group was a little different, though. After being startled half to death - already off to a good start - Finn noticed the camera and the sprig and the person wanting a kiss and the compelling noise to obey from one of their comm units- That was just about the extent he could manage, to be honest.

He turned and ran. ]

Maurtia Falls

[ Once again, Finn was on an adventure to just have a normal day visiting a new city. The exploration part was pretty interesting without a war looming over his shoulder, not that the thought didn't totally make him feel guilty or anything.

But his thoughts didn't matter. Just as he was checking out some pasties behind a counter at the food court, everything was interrupted by the explosive noise and subsequent breaking loose of all hell.

Finn considered fleetingly that he should just leave. Take his coupon book, maybe buy one of those doughnuts if the store employee was amendable, and continue about his day. Not like he was even armed right now, stupidly underprepared. Instead, his heart was already pounding, and one of the doppelgangers was headed for the food court anyway.

Apparently not expecting him to do much else but cower, Finn got the jump on the guy. He disarmed from behind and got him on the ground. ] Are you really going to rob a-!? [ Another one stole his idea and shot him from behind with ice, stunning him enough to knock him down. ]

Jeopardy

[ After the trip to Maurtia Falls, he figured nothing could top that nonsense. He'd been wrong.

There wasn't much to say about Jeopardy. There were strange shapes on the edge of his vision, everyone played games in total silence, and there was a giant spider. The spider was fake, to their credit. But there was a spider religion! Finn had been hell-bent on having an open mind, though. A spider religion might be interesting! Certainly different.

It was the chocolate sacrifice where they lost him. He watched a group of kids climb to the top and start hacking away at the statue's throat, having to take several swings at the thing while laughing and having a grand ol' time. It reminded him eerily of the Supremacy, and he might have flinched with every hack, but it was really hard to look away. ]

Wildcard

[ ooc: I'm open to anything! Feel free to hit me on linatrinch if you'd like to plot. And I'm totally fine with using prose tags instead if you'd prefer. ]

Maurtia Falls

[ralltiir]

[ Akobi hadn't planned on seeing any action today, but as soon as chaos breaks loose in the shopping centre, he knows his luck just isn't that good.

He takes out his side arm and fires two warning shots into the air. ]

Halt! My name is Commander Jeroen Akobi, officer of Aegis Force. I order you to cease and desist these foolish actions at once.

Michiko Malandro (Michiko to Hatchin)

[garotamalandro]

H E R O P A
[ Michiko comes from a pretty warm country and is certainly not used to the cold. Lucky for her, apparently there is a heatwave in heropa, hot enough to make people return to the beach. That means, naturally, her choice of clothes while she is in heropa is pretty fitting for a nice hot day.

She is used to be given looks, but never before she was asked to participate in a competition. At first, she is absolutely suspicious ] Oi- you fuckin' with me?

No, no! You really have the body for this. [ and now she is considering it. Somewhat. Michiko is pretty hot, of course she'd win this easy, and - ] We have lots of imPorts in already - the weirdest bodies you can find, to the pr- [ the man was about to tell her there are pretty contestants too, but Michiko doesn't let him finish. Instead, she kicks him right between his legs, with the heel of her shoe ]

YOU CALLING ME WEIRD, YOU FUCK?! [ and now Michiko is exploding. The man is on the ground, groaning, saying THAT'S NOT WAHT I MEANT, but you think she listens? Absolutely not. Instead she keeps screaming, hands quickly reaching for her own breasts and pushing them up ] I'M HOT AS HELL, HOW DO YOU FUCKING DARE?!


M A U R T I A . F A L L S
[ The emerge of Michiko is hardly going to help this city.

She is a new comer, just arrived, and she absolutely needs CLOTHES. And MONEY. And she needs money to buy clothes. She arrived wearing a prison suit (though most won't recognize that as it's specific from Diamandra Penetenciary) and she is actually really cold, which means she needs to get something warmer and much nicer on her hands.

The mall seems a pretty good place to start, and Miss Michiko will take her chance. She enters a shop and grabs as many clothes as she can before she goes try them on. Because she has no purse or bag, her method of stealing will be pretty simple: put as many clothes as you can on, and GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE.

The moment the shop clerk notices what Michiko is doing, it's a bit too late, she's already running to the door, wearing four coats, a lot of shirts, skirts and even pants underneath, and she even had time to grab two sunglasses - one pair goes to her face, the other is put between her boobs. And even wearing really high heels, she is running like the wind! ]

STOP THAT WOMAN!!! [ someone screams, but Michiko is out of the shop and still running like crazy through the many people who were just having a good time at the mall. The shop clerks clearly won't catch her. They'll call the police, but might be too late.

Unless you want to give it a go, Hero.

Or give her a helping hand. ]


N E T W O R K
[ a kid comes to the video. He looks straight into the camera and then nods before he turns to a woman in the background who seems to be showing a piece of paper to some guy who in turn is a lot more interested in her breast. ] Look again- pretty sure if ya look at the paper and not my tits, you can answ-

Lady! [ the kid calls ] Your communicator thing is working.

[ Michiko turns to the kid and the communicator (and the camera), and promptly ignores the man she was trying to get an answer from, and approaches ] Ya sure?

Hm- the green light means it's recording.

And the whole network thing- [ michiko leans in frowning at the camera. The kid, on the other hand, just groans ] Hey! M'just making sure! I never used anything like this!! [ Michiko's defensiveness is met with the kid just rolling his eyes before he steps away ] Don't roll your eyes at me, you shitty brat!!!

[ And after she grabs the piece of paper and shoves it in front of the camera ]

Hey! Anyone seen this girl? Her name's Hatchin. [ and yes. She is absolutely serious ]

Heropa

[plentystrong]

[ Catra has, by now, mostly escaped the clutches of the overly curious and touchy-feely beachgoers and is wandering around by herself. Nevertheless, her senses are on high alert, so her attention is quickly caught by the woman shouting expletives and downright causing a scene.

So Catra stops and observes. Something about the woman strikes her -- Catra can't tell if the woman has any powers she can use, but she certainly has daring. Catra likes it.

And she'll need to make some allies here anyway.

In the end, she saunters up to the scene, lets her gaze sweep over both the woman and the poor, terrified man sitting before her on the ground, and shakes her head while crossing her arms and swishing her tail in disapproval. ]

Please, sir. Are you harrassing this poor lady?

Connor | Detroit: Become Human

[youcantkillme]

HEROPA

(1)
One moment he was walking around, and the next he was in a whirlwind of a conversation, and a big blue ribbon saying ‘JUDGE’ was pressed to his jacket, hanging directly over Cyberlife’s identifying blue triangle. ‘Join the rest of the judges, wait for the contestants to be on stage, rate them on the scales provided on the forms.’ The human was gone before Connor could say anything.

Connor looked down at the ribbon, before taking it off and turning it around in his hands. He was a poor choice for multiple reasons, but he did have visual analysis software that would allow him to deconstruct the contestants and compare them to examples taken from a search engine. They wanted him to stay. He also had no outstanding tasks that could be completed in this world. Should he…?

(2)
Escaping the Beach Body contest was an exercise in futility: as soon as he got further down the beach, he was accosted again, and another Judge ribbon pressed over his serial number.

“Wait!” It was no use. They were already gone. Connor took off the ribbon, glancing around.

There. Someone with their back turned to him, but who was otherwise not obviously engaged in anything complicated or time dependent. “Excuse me,” Connor called, walking to them. He smiled vaguely, mimicking the human that’d saddled him with this. “Would you like to be a judge?”

MAURTIA FALLS

Breaking glass. Screaming. Shouting. Gunfire--no, not guns. There were projectiles, but without proper ballistics. It was... snow?

It was ruining the mundane scene Connor had settled himself down to. Unable to continue cataloguing social differences between humans here and humans from his own world (Conclusion: Incomplete), he turned to leave. Just as he did, a shrill wail split the air. He looked back, and immediately tracked it down to a small child hiding under a bench on the edge of the chaos.

Vigilantism: /vijəˈlan(t)(ē)ˌizəm/ noun: law enforcement undertaken without legal authority by a self-appointed group of people. Connor was not registered, and as things stood, he did not intend to register. He looked back to the exit. The scream came again.

Someone else would need to rescue the child. He should… leave…

This time the child’s scream was lost in more glass breaking. Connor closed his eyes for several seconds. Then he turned, striding crisply towards the fray.

WILDCARD

[OOC: Suggest something, and I’ll run with it! Brackets and prose are both fine, I’ll match however you start.]

Maurtia Falls

[bindsthedead]

Another imPort was already on the scene- A tall, unnaturally pale young woman dressed in dark, but entirely normal clothes was also heading towards the incident.

What was unusual was the sword at her hip, the bandolier of bells across her chest, and the glowing symbols she was tracing out. They hovered around her hands like sunlight caught on gold.

Sabriel had vaguely registered that someone else was heading towards the Kringles, but had been more focused on working out a restraining spell, and trying to dodge the snowballs, keeping her mind half submersed in the Charter as she finished the spell.

At least magic's tendency to disrupt technology would work to her advantage, and stop those stupid guns from working.

Sora | Kingdom Hearts

[happylocksmith]

Heropa

[Is there anywhere better to be than the beach? Sora doesn't think so. And while he might be young and athletic and pretty tanned thanks to a lifetime of running around outdoors and enjoying the sun on the islands, he's not about to whip off his shirt and pose in a beach bod contest, no sir. That's not his proverbial cup of tea.

But when he sees a couple of little kids struggling with their sand sculpture he can't help but stop and offer his help before somehow, someway, he's been dragged down into the sand to help little Curtis and Lauren with their extremely complicated and ambitious design that looks eerily like a whale he's seen rather too much of before. He wasn't going to get involved but then someone mentioned laser tag and so what if Sora's a little older than the average contestant? Laser tag!]

Hey no, you don't wanna make the sand too wet now, you wanna put that on top of the base layer so it makes it stronger later or it's just gonna look like a mud pie. Pass me that- no not that one the other-

[And then the design's been picked up by a stray gust of wind and Sora, barefoot, sandy and grinning, is tearing off after it.]

Hey! Stop that paper!

Maurtia Falls

[It's one thing being used to visiting different worlds, but it's quite another thing being told you have to live in them now, so Sora's off to pick up some of the essentials - like pyjamas, socks, underwear, snacks - to make his new place feel a bit more like home when he's thoroughly taken in by the atmosphere. It reminds him of Christmas Town in a way (only with way less Heartless and the undercurrent of menace that a revived Oogie Boogie and his minions brought up), and the freebies are a pleasant bonus too. After getting a really good helping of cocoa with whipped cream and marshmallows, Sora's sucking on a candy cane and idly perusing the stores and the seasonal goodies when he spots something out of the corer of his eye.]

Santa?

[That's when the boom happens and suddenly there's more than one Santa and he's being decidedly naughty. Sora is understandably appalled, and instead of doing the sensible thing and staying away from the gaggle of armed Santa Klones as one of them breaks the glass on a store front, there's a very peeved teenage boy taking off in pursuit, wielding a very large key and pointing it at the broken window.]

Hey! You're not Santa- woah!

[A blast of white heads in his direction and he's able to dodge roll out of the way just in time, though he seems to have acquired some frosted hair tips in the process.]

You're definitely on the naughty list when the real Santa finds out about this and then you'll be sorry!

Wildcard

[Hit me with your best shot! ]

maurtia falls!!

[heartslight]

[ Kairi's been looking for Sora for a while now, so she's glad to hear his voice all of a sudden — it's easy to pick out, even if he weren't talking so Sora-ly about Santa.

Though the situation isn't that great, and there's a bunch of fake Santas around her, she runs in the direction of his voice until she spots him and his frosted tips (nice look??). ]

Sora!

[ She's both glad to have found him in general and glad that she's arrived in time to help out, however little help she might be able to provide. ]

Connor-60 | Detroit Become Robots

[313_248_317_60]

A. De Chima

For this particular imPort? Synthetic wonder would definitely be the better guess. The LED on his right temple might be subtle enough to those with no idea what to look for, but anyone who approaches from behind can spot the glowing script that spells out Android on his jacket. Maybe that explains his dead, unmoving stare: skimming through the human passerby as if regarding an especially boring shelf of books.

Or maybe he's just not that friendly.

Whatever the reason, a small cluster of would-be interviewers present a brief distraction. At range, the conversation is difficult to overhear, but a careful observer can catch the blink of interest, the moment when bored condescension changes to focus. A facsimile of a smile slides 'pleasantly' across his face, mouth moving as he extends a hand towards the group's camera. The young woman holding it steps nearer... and he closes the gap, skin peeling back from his hand to show white plastic as it closes around the device.

It takes 0.37 seconds for Connor #313 248 317-60 to analyze the filmed data. Only a fraction longer, to ensure any records of himself are lost. The woman yelps as her expensive hardware fizzles and dies, smoke emerging from the casing. By then, this android is already turning: hand falling to his side, synthetic skin reactivated.

"Thank you for your assistance."


B. Maurtia Falls

Humans are irrelevant to his mission. But humans are everywhere, especially here: packed into the shopping mall like animals, without so much as the blink of an LED among the throng. It's an odd and fascinating sort of chaos, watching them attempt to manage their own lives with no more efficient machines to do it for them.

He's not particularly surprised to see the efforts go to shit. Screams break out through the enclosed space, and the android's eyes flick toward the source, cataloguing the potential risk with a healthy margin for hysteria. The red-clad attackers earn a flat, incredulous stare... before Connor steps back entirely, disengaging from the scene.

Or, tries to. The collision with a moving body forces a stumble, and he twists, a fluid, too-quick motion ending in a shove. Cold eyes appraise you, mouth flat with irritation.

"Watch it."

De Chima

[bindsthedead]

Sabriel doesn't know what an android is. Technology more advanced than what could be found in the nineteen-twenties is something she generally approaches with caution and carefully following the instructions. But a small smile crosses her face as she sees the device break. It probably isn't magic- surely she'd have felt if it was- but he's clearly an imPort who found a way to deal with over enthusiastic natives, so she steps toward him, pointedly ignoring the camera crew.

"Sorry. The locals are... overeager. But they get bored eventually," Sabriel's tone has a restrained friendliness to it- she's never been one for excessive displays, "Unfortunately, they're also not very helpful when it comes to explaining things, as they'd rather ask questions."

Carol Danvers | Marvel 616

[airforceful]

Heropa

[Carol flew to the beach today, which may have been a mistake since it's immediately gotten her hounded to join the Beach Body competition. She's pretty sure she'd have a good shot if she was even remotely interested. But she waves them off.]

Look, I've done the parading around in a swimsuit thing. Not really my style these days.

[That only encourages them, so she rolls her eyes and walks over to the nearest car, picking it up with one hand. She holds it over her head and cocks an eyebrow, her other hand on her hip.]

This body built enough for you?

Maurtia Falls

[Carol's dealt with some pretty lame-ass villains over the years, but this feels like a new low. Snow and ice guns don't hold up very well to her blasts, and that's if they can even hit her, which is a hell of a challenge cause she's fast.]

Here's the thing.

[She ducks out of the way of an ice beam and blasts back at them.]

Why "Klone Kringle?" Santa Clone was right there! I mean, come on.

[She picks one of the clones up and swings him around to smash him into one of the other clones.]

That's just lazy punning.

Heropa

[iliveidie]

[Ludovica has somehow managed to weasel her way out of getting dragged into the silly competition, likely because she recently teleported behind the car Carol decides to pick up. She's so close to making her get away, but not now.

She's caught like a deer in the headlights, gaze shifting from the woman holding up the car to the people that had previously been trying to talk her into "showing off her bod".]

Er...

🦇 KATE ❛Batwoman❜ KANE 🦇 DC (comics)

[withbattitude]

01 | De Chima

When Kate is approached by an enthusiastic camera crew encouraging her to kiss the person closest to her (because mistletoe!! and festivities!!!), she takes a look at the person, notes he's some average looking guy, and deadpans a flat "No." If it were a woman, she'd consider it if they were also cool with it.

"Can a lady just not go shopping for cookie supplies and eggnog?" Anyone who knows her would know that she's a bit more agitated than she's letting on.

Or maybe you're another person passing by who wants to try to kiss her too.

🦇

02 | network | id: BATWOMAN

I've seen some shit, and ... this shit's wild. Anyway, I'm in need of three things:
• A sparring partner who can keep up.
• The best bookstores in each of the Porter cities.
• Eggnog.


🦇

03 | WILDCARD

( hit me with anything!! )

network, id: batman

[cassassin]

[ a voice response comes--privately--modulated down and slightly distorted. ]

That's new.

Monster in the Darkness | Order of the Stick

[yelloweyesdarksomething]

1. Heropa

[ There is a brightly colored umbrella softly patterened with ducks, and underneath the umbrella is a shadow cast so dark and deep that it's impenetrable - except for two glowing yellow eyes that you might catch at the right angle.

He'd been dragged to the beach body competition with some trepedation and the organizers are asking him to step out of the dark. ]

Uh, you sure about that? 'Cause, like, I'm not supposed to do that. I might get in trouble. I dunno if it'd be a good idea anyway, most people start screaming. It's like, super annoying.

5. Jeopardy

[ Whatever is hidden in the dark under the umbrella gasps audibly at the chocolate santa, and at the first opportunity begins eating the offerings of its sacrifice. Or at least, that's what seems like what's happening given that the darkness passes over some chocolate, you hear chewing sounds, and the chocolate doesn't come out again. ]

Best. Day. Ever!

Wildcard: Network

um do you ever feel day jah view?

network

[divaricate]

Way too much, why?

Harry Dresden [Dresden Files books]

[iminthebook]

This place was weird. Harry had no idea how to react. But he grinned a lot, when he wasn't annoyed. Which, okay, in these cities, was a lot, but still. He grinned a lot too. Every four-color hero and villain was around, it seemed, from ones he knew to ones he did not. He found himself staring sometimes, and shaking his head, and being dumbfounded.

And he had quickly learned to wear sunglasses everywhere he went. Too many people wanted to smile, shake his hand, and look in his eyes. Argh. After two separate people had ambushed him that way, and he had learned more than he had wanted to know about them, he had quickly enspelled a pair of glasses to keep his soulgaze under control. And he had a lot of adventures...

***

In the city of Heropa, Harry wandered. The city seemed nice, for what felt, sometimes, like a combination tourist trap and ma and pa town. Weird, but nice. It was even warm, for the season, too, but what else would you expect for this time of year, he supposed. Somehow, in coming here, he had missed a birthday, which was about his luck. Maybe that meant he was not yet that old. Maybe.

But he doubted he was that lucky.

Speaking of warm, as he wandered, he encountered advertisements for a Beach Body Competition. And insistent people trying to get him to participate. Apparently, the local gym was sponsoring it, making it some kind of big deal, but Harry didn't even think once about it. Not a chance. Not that he was ashamed of his body, mind you. He just... had no desire to show it off. At all.

Harry kept having to dodge people asking him, urging him, and even cajoling him into trying out. And he was getting annoyed. Enough so that the temperature around him was lower than the air everywhere else. He was going to have to find ways to be less famous and less seen. Time to relearn veils. Ugh.

With a shake of his head, he ambled onward, amused, and annoyed, all at once.

***

In De Chima, Virginia, Harry felt a little more at home. At first. But not for long. It was a larger city, and more bustling, but also more annoying, in that everyone seemed to want to shake his hand, say hello, and get pictures. Why this?

And not only that, but everyone seemed to be obsessed with science, and him. As well as other Imports, but still. What the heck was an organic wonder? He was just a wizard and a private investigator, even if these people seemed to think him something more. It was weird suddenly being recognized everywhere and known for what and who he was. It was... freaky. And uncomfortable-making.

People kept asking him how his powers worked and some even tried to convince him there was a scientific explanation. The longer he was recognized, the less at home he was feeling. Did people in this universe really have nothing better to do? Argh. He ducked his head, dodged another camera and slipped around a building.

With mistletoe everywhere, he found himself being ambushed and kissed, or attempted-kissed at least. Some of that was fine, some was very weird, and he quickly found he wanted nothing of it. Managing to get a change of clothing and a hat, despite his loathing of hats, he slunk along, watching out for those damned things.

He had noted the slight compulsion that seemed to be activated when one arrived under one, and with a sense of mischief, he had turned that around on a camera crew or two, using magic to 'bounce' their signals back at them or hex the entire thing. He smirked as he moved along. There were times when having a wizard's hex field around him was a good thing.

Occasionally.

He rounded a corner, only to find yet another mistletoe, and another camera crew, and someone else already trapped there. Swearing, he glared at the camera crew, and at the damn mistletoe, then he sighed as he glanced at his fellow trappee.

“Fun times, huh?” To hex or not to hex, that was the question...

***

In Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, he discovered less praised and more wariness, and felt himself relax. This? This he knew how to react to and deal with. And in this town, he could vanish. Moving through streets less shiny and more seeming to love their shadows, he started to recognize several things. Crime, and powered people doing it. Magic, faery, or superheroes, he still knew this sort of thing, and he grinned.

Rounding a bend, he found himself confronted with an honest to gods bank heist. He watched for a moment, eyes steely behind his silvered sunglasses, as he identified the four perpetrators clearly. One had weird metal-controlling powers, and a second had some kind of fire manipulation, while yet a third seemed to bounce off walls. The fourth? He was bulletproof, as a poor bank guard learned before dying. Harry growled, anger surging, and raised a hand as he raised his voice. Bloody Savages.

“You boys are dumb.” Then he slashed his hand downward.

“Infringo!” Ice bloomed around the fire controlling one, a swirl of blizzard pouring down just on him and his bag of loot as he cried out in fear and confusion. Harry's gaze turned to the next one, as the man trioed to send bullets and a desk at Harry. Harry rolled to one side and intoned aloud.

“Venatus, servatus, maximus!” A cold wind, freezing almost, hurled forward and slammed the items into the man, sending him crying out as he was buried under a desk.

The bouncer and the bulletproof kid, a woman, it appeared, were swearing as they shot at him, advancing toward him to try to take him out. One arm snapped up and he activated his bracelet. The bullets dropped, losing their kinetic energy as they hit his field, and falling uselessly.

Harry smirked as he strode in, and dodged a punch, then used a move Murphy had taught him once upon a time to throw the man with the guy's own momentum, right into the ice storm that was still surrounding iceman. He bounced, but only after taking a chunk of ice to the head.

“You damned asshole! What the hell are you doing? Why are you doing this? I'm going to kill you!” Those wee some of the more calm words that the final one, the woman, was saying. Some of her ideas were creative, but sounded painful. Very painful.

“Language. Really. You're in public. “ He dodged a thrown computer, and a chair, and more bullets. Before he managed to bring ice storm down on her now, the firestarter unconscious at this point, and freeze her in place.

The bank went quiet, and he relaxed for a moment, before suddenly a piece of balled up paper trash bounced off of him, folowed by a stapler. What? He looked up to find the people in the bank glaring at him and throwing things. What the heck? "Get out of here, you louse! We don't want your kind!"

“Stars and stones. What is going on?” he retreated outside and then dodged down a street when a few followed him out. This place was confusing. Very confusing.What was going on? Some more trash, including some very ripe and smelly things, slapped into him and he kept going, ducking into and out of alleys and down new streets. This world was mad. Utterly mad. At least they didn't want autographs?

Finally, he ducked into a building and found himself inside a mall entrance. Quieter, but not by much. Signs advertised a Winter Welcome Festival. He sighed and trudged off to find some food and some new clothes.

***

Or misc! Pitch me something, anything!

maurtia falls; tw self-harm

[viciousmaukery]

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t find it there, because no sooner had Harry gone maybe ten feet when an ostentatiously-dressed, lavender tiefling crashed into the display in front of him. Said tiefling staggered to his feet, yanked what seemed like two prop scimitars out of his belt, then nicked his arm and the back of his neck with it. Ice suddenly crystallized along the edge of the blades, turning them sharp and keen and deadly.

And just in time, because a man dressed in a ripped-up version of Jolly St. Nick, aiming a ray gun at Molly, burst from the tent that Molly had been tossed out of. So did another man who looked exactly like him, right down to the shitty fake beard.

“For fuck’s sake,” Molly muttered. “I just wanted a coat.” The sword twirled in his hand, and he glanced to the nearest person—a very tall man in a coat that rivaled Molly’s own exceedingly extravagant coat for style, and Molly frowned at him. “Get out of here,” he said, and then the guy on the left took aim and fired, a bolt of ice shooting out of the gun and slamming into what remained of the display as Molly narrowly ducked out of the way. Ice froze over the remnants of the display, and Molly winced a little. He’d have to give the poor vendor something for her troubles. Gods knew she hadn’t signed up for this shit.

Then he rushed forward, closing the distance, and in a whirling dervish of blades and color, sliced two nasty wounds into the man’s torso. The man’s identical twin (or clone) took offense, though, and whipped around to take aim at the lavender tiefling currently trying his damnedest to stab the everloving shit out of his buddy.

Tim Drake | DC Preboot

[alreadywon]

HEROPA

Tim has roughly zero desire to show off his Hot Bod(TM) - particularly given that no one needs to see his fun collection of scars - but he is all over that sand-sculpting contest. Not as a judge, obviously. As a participant. He found a child having some serious difficulty with his sand sculpture and snuck into the competition under the guise of 'helping'. They have a gargoyle now. It's a work in progress.

MAURTIA FALLS

The annoying thing about secret identities is that it can be difficult to pull off a stealthy change into your hero suit without accidentally outing yourself. There's actually plenty of other heroes around to help manage this particular outbreak of (ugh) Klone Kringles, but that doesn't mean that Tim can't put in a little bit of help.

Which is to say, one of them just got nailed with a batarang that mysteriously came out of nowhere. Which clearly has nothing to do with the teenage boy innocently stuffing his face with french fries. Someone should probably rescue him, actually, seeing as how he's clearly a Civilian In Danger.

NETWORK

honk if u ♥ bats

[the network tag says The Gotham Bat Conservation Society]

encrypted voice; id: batman

[cassassin]

Honk.

[ deadpan as hell. definitely not bruce or dick's voice. it's filtered, pitched down and slightly distorted bass. ]

Quintet | Nature of Nature's Art

[quintet]

01.
There's something a little bit fascinating about a muscle contest where the only real demonstration seems to be preening. Even here, out in the open, seated atop a box one of the people here had brought along for the party... Quintet finds herself unable to look away. It's weird, how well the semaphore translates, even when the people doing it are enormous, bipedal, naked apes. You saw this kind of flex in dogs for goodness sake; this display of grease and flex is disturbing and mesmerizing in precisely the way a fire is. It's dangerous. It's bizarre. Which is what's got her tail lashing, should anyone care to notice the annoyed little cat having a day out on the beach.

Quintet has never been a good judge of beauty. That's the realm of artists, which she is, but not... the kind of artist that hits people. Who's going to win? Don't ask her! Or do. It's a free beach.


02.
There's something about a full camera crew jumping out to take photos of ordinary felis domesticus that leaves something to be desired in the area of 'sane public relations' and yet here we are.

Someone stop her before she slaps them into next week. Or, if they don't, be prepared to watch as a twelve-pound animal punches three or four fully grown humans right onto their ill-repared behinds. Don't surprise her like that!


05.
When she had heard the term human sacrifice, Quintet had had concerns, and now that she sees the humane alternative... she has even more concerns.

"I can't eat this," She remarks, over the chocolate santa, as grumpy as two missed meals and an interrupted nap, "I can't eat that. I can't eat anything here! What happened to society, that this is what we call food? This is worse than the time I ate kitten."