time to put your face on

[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.

The current craze sweeping the city and social media is getting people on their feet: the Camp Midnight Challenge! Based on a popular video game, the goal is to get the funkiest, silliest, most eye-catching dance sequence on video—with a twist! Successful completion of this challenge requires getting an imPort to join in a duo dance that incorporates their powers! Swarms of eager teens, tweens and would-be BlueTube stars are out and about on the sidewalk looking for newcomers to join in. If they spot you, you better come up with a good excuse or put your dancing shoes on!

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.

Today in De Chima, there's the unveiling of a brand new invention in the convention centre park! With a simple scan, it will print out your Closest Love Match of the other individuals present, along with your percentage of compatibility and a free coupon to get lunch with your new date if you match 90% or higher!

A little odd that it seems that nearly every couple has 90% or higher, isn't it? What's the probability that the scanner is broken?

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...

Local resistance to superheroes has made the city a popular gathering place for experimental engineers and scientists whose methods are misunderstood by the establishment, aka 'mad scientists.' Today, the latest creation of a former food scientist who used to work for Yell-O Desserts, is rising up in gooshy style!

From the canal that bisects the city rises a giant, gooshy, uh....thing. The blob slowly begins to ooze through town, growing larger as it consumes anything it comes across, absorbing it into its gooey depths. It's slow, but relentless, and doesn't have any obvious weak spots. Will you attempt to fight back and arrest its gelatinous progress, help the slow runners get away or make a break for it yourself? Or maybe see how good a dessert it makes?

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.

This month there's the release of a hot new movie about imPorts themselves, though in order to evade copyright, it seems that the imPorts on screen are simply amalgamations of several different imPorts through the years instead of staying faithful to one true story. They've got everything! Action! Romance! Death! Desire. It's a whole load of hooey, in other words, but it's hooey with a big budget. What this means, however, is that even the newest imPorts are being roped into this red carpet affair. Even if they're simply passing by on the street, an eager reporter may well step up to you, saying, "Oh, are you an imPort? Please, you must come in! No, I insist!"

If you succumb to their pushy ways, you'll find yourself in a gala, likely unprepared and underdressed for the flash of the cameras and an endless torrent of questions about what you want to do here as an imPort, whether or not you feel you'll find love in this place, whether or not you fear an inevitable port-out (despite the fact that you may have just gotten here!) and will be plied with food and, if you're of age, with plenty of booze.

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.

You're in luck! You're just in time for Jeopardy's traditional Valentine's Race!

The premise of the race is simple: hogtie your lover, throw them over your shoulder (or back, if needed), and carry them from the bank of the train station (it's actually not a train station, it's a non-functioning movie set that's been turned into a museum, but it's still called "the train station.") While the tradition says "lover," as long as the person you tie up has consented to it, it's allowed!

At the end of the race, the Mayor gives a short speech about love, and movies, and tradition. She's also baked thousands of Valentine's and heart-themed desserts for all participants and audience members! They just happen to all be... shaped like the actual heart organ, rather than the symbol.

Comments

slams in to

[solarcharged]

[ Pretentious film galas, annoying reporters, screaming crowds. For Apollo it's almost like being back home again. Fame had never been important to him - it was some minor detail of his life that just happened to take place in between punching aliens and incinerating supervillains. But he didn't mind it, truth be told. Everyone's got to make a living, he says to himself as he works the crowds with his usual easy charm. The people of Nonah actually like their shiny new solarpowered superhero and Apollo's happy to indulge them in a few photos and soundbites once in a while.

He catches sight of Steve in the corner of his eye, doing his best to be as unobtrusive as possible with his plate of food. Apollo excuses himself from his latest interview with a sunny smile and an earnest apology, before threading his way through the crowd towards the new face. ]

You can run, but you can't hide. [ He grins and nods a head behind him at the reporters still circulating the room, still looking for more imPorts to accost. ]

They'll track you down sooner or later. They can smell fear.

i warned you

[etch]

[watching the stranger approach, there's a brief moment where steve considers trying to slip away before he reaches him. the other man seems too at ease with all this for the two of them to be in the same situation. too comfortable with being stuck in a world so clearly cut off from their own. it's only the fact that he knows he won't get anywhere if he tries to go at it alone here that keeps his feet firmly planted where they are.]

That obvious?

[it's an act, on his part. the smile he puts on, the warmth in his voice. if there's one thing he learned during his time on stage at the uso, it's how to act comfortable, even when he feels anything but. with the reporters still on the prowl, it's a little more trying than he'd like. but having one person to focus on--

yeah, he can do this.]

Steve Rogers.

[freeing up his hand, steve offers it out for a shake. it doesn't matter where in the universe he is, manners are important.]

[solarcharged]

[ Apollo shakes his hand with a warm, broad one of his own. ]

Apollo. Good to meet you.

[ He nods backwards over his shoulder at the rest of the gala unfolding behind his back. ]

Sorry about the circumstances. I'd say 'try and enjoy it' but...

[ He tails off with a rueful shrug. Apollo might be able to tolerate the weird brand of imPort idolisation in this world, but that doesn't mean he likes it. Back home there had been something vicious about the way the press treated the Authority - how they would turn from fawning to scathing at the drop of a hat - but here in Nonah they were on the pleasant side of obsessive. As necessary evils go it's a nice change for Apollo, but he knows it's not for everyone. ]

Welcome, anyway. I've only been here a month but it's not all like this, I promise.

[etch]

So you mean they'll actually stop?

[because it's a lot easier to focus on having to deal with the reporters than the fact that apollo has already been here for a month. with all that's just happened at home, he knows he needs to get back. knows that those left behind need to get together and come up with a plan to fix everything. he can't do that if he's stuck here.

but that's a thought he knows better than to dwell on. especially in public. it'll only ever go bad places, and without a punching bag in front of him to take it out on, he can't risk it. so instead, it's another smile, and a glance back towards the reporters again.]

It sounds like there are a lot of us here. You would've thought they'd be bored of us by now.