etcelsior | time to put your face on

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[A brother, he says. Roxas is listening carefully, but he has a hard time connecting it to any of his experiences; it's only when whoever-this-is talks about a Keyblade being taken to someone's heart that his eyes go a little wider.]

Oh yeah? How come it wasn't just gone?

A heart can survive a lot, don't you know? The master thought he could collect something from my brother's heart. It doesn't really matter.

[ Sort of. Drawing out the darkness to enable Ventus to actually be able to use that power. ]

What matters is that another, young heart touched my brother's and filled in all those cracks. The kid's heart responded to my brother's own and made him whole again.

[Like he should know anything about a heart.]

Lucky him.

[ Lucky him indeed. ]

But here's the problem. After my last parting with my brother, his heart never returned back to his body. Apparently the little heart that repaired his was far too good of a place to stay.

[ Vanitas stops pacing. ]

So let me ask this again. Why do you have my brother's face.

[Uh. Okay.]

That kid—you mean Sora?

[He frowns, genuinely perplexed now.]

I don't. I have no idea what you're talking about.

Bingo. The little heart that my brother took so much comfort in was none other than Sora's.

[ There it goes, though. The glass that covers his face. He looks irritated all the same as he approaches. Closer. And closer. ]

I know why I look the way I do. So who. Are. You.

[Roxas stiffens, a small noise of distress and surprise escaping his lips. It's a small sample of what he really feels, so much that he can't express because what is this and how is it possibly?.

He shakes his head, ignores the question. And then both Oathkeeper and Oblivion are in his hands, two flashes in quick succession, and he charges forward, ready to strike. There's no hesitation, because he knows it isn't Sora. Can't be.]

Who are you?!

[ If the kid isn't going to answer his question, Vanitas doesn't really feel inclined to give him one in response. So when Roxas dashes forward with his two Keyblades, Vanitas decides that this little battle they're about to have is a good way to work out his own agitation at seeing that face.

His Void Gear might not be two different Keyblades, but Vanitas can hold his own. He takes his weapon and casts a dark thundaga before charging in himself.]

[Okay. Not what he expected. Roxas is fast and good at dodging, but thundaga tends to go everywhere, and in this case everywhere includes him. He catches a bolt and winces, only a small noise escaping his throat, and then they're Keyblade to Keyblade in a mighty clash.]

Who are you really? Why do you have a Keyblade?

So you're not a pushover. Perfect.

[ Vanitas isn't going to answer. However he does grind the blades against each other in an attempt to push Roxas back. If that doesn't work then, well, hopefully Roxas can withstand a dark firaga being launched at this close of range. ]

You're not Ventus. It's almost a shame. I think I could like you better.

I don't care!

[He crosses his Keyblades in front of him to block the blast. Some of the fire splashes around them, singeing his coat, but he doesn't even feel it—he's too angry, and he's not even sure why. Flinging one arm out, he calls a pillar of light, streaking directly toward this jerk.]

[ Anger? Good. Some of Ventus' best expressions were ones of anger. But this kid? This kid takes it to the next level. Vanitas just laughs, a little high and perhaps slightly crazed.

He's enjoying this. All of it. Even as he puts some distance between them, uncaring about the heat of his conjured flames on his suit, Vanitas is preparing another strike. Until he sees this kid use light. ]

How did you -

[ Not that he has a choice but to dodge and get out of the way of that hot mess. Vanitas is, after all, a being of darkness. A direct hit from light is not ever going to end well for him. ]

[Roxas blinks in surprise. His use of light can be impressive and dangerous, sure, but he's never seen a reaction that strong or bewildered before.

And then he smiles.]

What's wrong? Afraid?

[ To be fair, Vanitas hasn't quite seen someone use light like this before. That's saying something. But Roxas' use of the word 'afraid' puts him right back into a more comfortable emotion for him: irritation. ]

If I was you'd know it.

[ Afraid? Him? No. He isn't afraid of any one person or any one thing. However as his irritation builds so, too, does his own darkness. From it spawn a few Floods. Vanitas intends to use them as vanguards as they rush forward. ]

Would I? Because I think you are.

[No more time to trade jabs, though. Roxas takes a defensive stance, bent at the knees and ready, swiping out at the creatures (Heartless? No, not quite) in a flurry of blows.

And then there's more light, a trio of columns, sweeping across the pavement in front of him from right to left, searing the creatures. He isn't aiming them at the boy this time, but if momentum carries him into their path, well, Roxas won't cry about it.]

[ That's what the Floods had been for: to take the heat off of himself. Now that Vanitas can see it coming, he can dodge it. Sure, he looks like he's all brute strength and power, but he's pretty quick on his feet. ]

What are you talking about. I'm having a blast.

[ All so he can take a swing at this Ventus look alike. This time he leaves an after image so he can circle around from behind. ]

[Roxas is ready and not afraid, but then the after-image fades. He's got half a second to look around in alarm for wherever the boy might h ave gone, but the sudden blow from behind tells him first.

Pain blossoms as he's knocked off his feet, but he turns into a roll as he hisses in pain—and then pushes up off the ground again, springing forward in a flurry of blows. They may both be fast on their feet, but one Keyblade will never be faster than two.]

time to put your face on

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