etcelsior | DANCING WITH MY HAPPY FEET

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, Florida 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. Some of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation, while others might not say anything -- but if you have something nasty to say, better not say anything at all, right?

They are, however, in the middle of some awfully hot weather, so some good samaritans have gained the approval of the government to close off a few of the streets for some good old-fashioned fun. They've equipped everyone who steps in with water guns of varying quality, and there's also access to water balloons, a slip n' slide, and more! Why don't you grab an ice cream cone, watch the festivities, and cool off? But you'd better be careful - there's always a munchkin or two here to spray any unsuspecting onlookers they may find.

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! 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. 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. Their questions are likely to be fairly mundane, however; get ready for an interview about your taste in romantic partners, personal underwear choices, favorite foods, and more!

On this lazy summer day, the biggest buzz comes from a group of teens and tweens who are all taking part in a massive scavenger hunt spread via social media! What are they gathering? You! ImPorts are likely to be targeted and asked to pose for pictures in which they demonstrate their powers, video clips in which they share fun facts and secrets about their home worlds, and much more! If you're not interested, you better hurry home -- they're persistent!

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has had its ups and downs since imPorts started disappearing. The city's political core now gutted with its mayor and supreme ambassador exported out, the streets have returned to the hands of the local people -- and incidental, the local criminal element. 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.

As your character walks down the street, they may find themselves thrust within what appears to be an organized protest and a smaller counter-protest. There's shouting, there are chants. You pick up rhythmic beats of THE END IS NEAR, GET THEM OUT OF HERE clashing against the clumsier counter-chants of IMPORTS ARE PART OF US. You probably don't know why, but there are sects of people who believe your kind is bringing about the end of the universe. You'll probably learn why, in due time. But given the scorching tension of the situation you have found yourself in, it's probably a good idea NOT to use your powers.

But even keeping your powers on the down low, you're of keen eye, or at least today you are, as fate would have it. You see a boring looking man, perhaps in his mid-20s, with a cluster of boring looking companions (three or four at most) wearing backpacks as they all uniformly step back and don black masks. The protests are crossing the street ahead of First National Bank. These men beeline towards the bank.

They are going to rob it, and people are going to get hurt, you're sure of that. They're probably armed, given their backpacks. What do you do?

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. You may find yourself in the midst of a few closed-off streets for some occasion or another - whether it be a food cart festival, no-car day, or something else! - and surrounded by the hum of people, the waft of food being served on the street, and plenty of attention

Today there's a big lemonade stand on one busy sidewalk, staffed by a group of industrious kids. Aww, isn't it sweet? Wait...is that a cookie stand a little ways down, also run by elementary-to-middle schoolers? Heck, the entire block is full of kid-run mini-businesses — a gathering of pint-sized entrepreneurs! And they have their eyes on you, hero, because as a celebrity imPort, your pockets are full of $$$, right?

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.

What's that sound? Why, the Church of the Ancient Web Mistress's choir is putting on a performance! A sizable contingent of the congregation's musically-minded members has gathered downtown, attempting to forge a spiritual connection through the power of song. Sure, these hymns sound a little spooky to your ears, but the sincerity is what matters, right? And the churchgoers, who are also handing out lyric sheets to interested participants, are sincerely interested in getting some imPorts to join in as temporary members of the choir. Never hurts to get a little more press and tithes, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Find somewhere to sit and enjoy it?

[ Crowley offers with a raised eyebrow. There are some little tables and chairs nearby. ]

Okay.

[ And off they go, enjoying some ice cream in a nice day out, like a strange combination of parent and child.

By some number of bites, and some people watching for a minute, Adam's ready for a new round of questions.]

How long have you been here?

[ Annnnnnd again with the questions. Okay, okay, fine. There's no harm in indulging the kid, he supposes. At least, he can't think of anything. ]

A few weeks, maybe a month? I dunno, time is pretty relative for me.

[ Yeah, better get used to a lot of this, Crowley. A child's curiosity, amped up by the very recent discovery of a whole other side of his world, plus a whole new dimension?

As a legal adult that gave him some attention, that's just part of the job.]

A month? [ He looks at him, vaguely confused, trying to make sense of time and what happened back where they're from.]

Can you leave, if you want?

Not that I've been able to figure. I mean, London exists in this dimension, but it's not the same one. Dunno how to get back to our own.

[ He dons a vaguely confused look, albeit a little surprised. If he can't go back, with all of the things he's seen him do... ]

So we're actually stuck here.

Yep.

[ Crowley is not concerned about this when it comes to himself, of course. He's an eternal being of Darkness and Damnation. Worst case scenario, he's stuck here for a few months or a few years, then winds up back in his home dimension, none the worse for wear.

Buuuuuuuut Adam is human. And only eleven. Hm. ]

Don't worry. You'll be fine.

[ Right? Probably. ]

[ He's looking at his ice cream, but not really. It's true, he'll probably be fine, all things considered. Right? ]

What about my mum and dad? And my friends?

[ He looks over at Crowley again. ]

They'll wonder where I've gone.

Supposedly, whenever you go back, you get sent back to the exact moment in time you left. So they wouldn't know you'd ever been gone.

[ He says this despite not having experienced it personally. ]

[ He blinks, taking a couple of seconds just to think about that. The idea that they just...won't notice.

They won't notice, because it won't be anything? Any time? Huh.]

Like time travelling?

Maybe. Or you could think of it like... back home is a film, and someone hit the pause button. It'll start up again when you go back.

[ He pauses to think about it, then his brows raise slightly, when the idea clicks.

With that, he’s— well, he’s not okay with it, but he does feel better.]

Huh.

That doesn’t sound so bad.

Yeah, not so bad I suppose. If you've got parents and whatnot to worry about. Your little friends, and all.

[ Crowley, being an eternal being of pure evil, is used to humans aging and dying quickly, and the only being he really cares about is Aziraphale, who is here too. So. ]

[ He thinks about them, his parents, his friends, his home, and there's some real fear of not being able to see them again. But, being as he is, and strange as this place is, he’s also curious about this whole new world. It doesn’t really feel real, but reality is more easily moldable and changeable than most people would realize.]

You don’t? Have anyone, I mean,

I have Aziraphale, and he's here.

[ So, there you go. ]

He's here too. [ The boy acknowledges. ]

Has this ever happened before? Being sent to a different place like this.

[ Do angels and demons go through different dimensions? ]

I guess this isn't that weird to you.

Not even once, so this situation is pretty weird, yeah.

Oh.

[ Well. What does he know, really? This side of the world is still new to him. ]

Whoever's in charge must be really powerful, then.

Pretty powerful, yeah. I doubt as powerful as the Almighty, but pretty well up there.

[ The boy looks at him curiously. ]

You mean like...God?

[ This might not be a conversation they both want to have on this one day, over ice cream.

Well, the ice cream part is good. ]

I said not as powerful as Her.

But pretty powerful, to get a Principality here.

What's a Principality?

[ He's eleven, please be patient.]

's the sort of angel Aziraphale is. They're the... protectors, I guess you could say.

[ He takes another little spoonful of his ice cream.]

Is that why he took the sword?

[ War's sword? As far as the boy knows. At a glance, it looked a lot more fitting in their hands, but it felt right, in some way, when Aziraphale held it.

Even though it looked very out of place. ]

He took the sword because it was his. Back in the day.

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