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etcelsior2019-10-25 05:03 pm
maskormods) wrote in etcelsior2019-10-25 05:03 pm
Entry tags:
HERE I COME
NOTE: This is the final test drive of 2019 as apps will be closed in December.
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?
The recent dimensional anomalies have disrupted people's daily business more than a little, but the latest danger is a herd of zombies shambling towards the annual Mister and Miss Corncob beauty pageant. Right in the middle of the swimsuit competition, too! Of course, who gets the crown is partially based on audience appreciation — are you going to take out some of the undead or cheer your favorite participant on to victory? Either way, you're (probably) a hero!
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!
It's nearly Halloween, and the annual city parade and costume contest are underway! You've got one, right? The locals just love it! If you don't, well, that's okay — just for imPorts, there's a special costume rummage bin at the start of the parade route. Try cobbling something together from costume shop donations and items left behind by ported-out heroes! Then strut your stuff and prepare to be cheered for!
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.
Despite the lack of gratitude that's in it for you, you may want to step in once you see a very, very sad supervillain wandering Maurtia Falls' streets. Dressed in a cape that appears to be a large swath of fabric purchased from a nearby sewing store, galaxy-themed leggings and no shirt is a man who runs right into your vicinity before striking a pose and yelling, "Everyone, stop before me and my wrath! I am Mister Mars, and provided you give me what I ask for, nobody needs to get hurt!"
At which point Mister Mars snatches an old woman's purse, loudly laughs in her face, and begins to float upwards. By the time he reaches the height of the tallest building in the area, he's beginning to look slightly panicked as he fails to really be able to move anywhere but up. Meanwhile, the old woman has begun shaking her cane at him and screaming quite an assortment of alarming expletives.
Maybe you should help one or the other out? If not, just lean back and enjoy the show.
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. To be American is to be part of a melting pot, and that there’s more money to be made by the thriving local industries hardly hurts.Natives may gather around new arrivals and ask both personal and broad questions about life as an imPort, what they are looking forward to, what their favorite article of underwear is. A few night clubs offer free entrance - just this once!
In the middle of the city's biggest park is an autumn tradition — a corn maze! Of course, it's not real corn, since there hasn't been time to grow it. But craft supplies store Mikey's is sponsoring a maze built with genuine imitation corn, and hundreds of locals have already enjoyed getting lost inside! Curiously, few of them have come out the exit, and those who venture inside will discover the maze is twistier and deeper than they ever could have anticipated. Somehow, it's bigger on the inside, thanks (no doubt) to some dastardly villain's powers. Will you try to navigate a way to the exit, forge your way through the stalks, or have a nap?
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.
Things are quiet in Jeopardy. Weirdly quiet. In fact, way, way too quiet. But if you ask any of the citizens of the city why they won't talk to you, they just raise a finger and make a shhhhing sound and then point down the street towards the church. If you try to shake them, they grit their teeth. WHY WILL NO ONE SPEAK TO YOU?
(The one who is silent the longest wins a new fridge.)
BAAAAW JAIME
I'm happy to be back.
[ONE BIG SNIFFLE and he's just. Watching his friend because if nothing else, it's proof that he exists.]
At least it's where no one'll see, right? Better than your street.
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[ They've seen a lot more than that too. Okay, he'd still rather do so in private, but his privacy's been shot to hell by now - and boy, he's done a lot of public crying. Ugh. Okay, stop thinking about that, that'll do you no good.
He reaches out to grab at Tadashi's shoulder - reaches up to grab at Tadashi's shoulder; stupid tall Tadashi - as though unwilling to forgo physical contact for too long. This still feels surreal. Unreal. ]
Come on. Let's get you out of here.
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[There are a lot of key things Tadashi still doesn't know about Jaime, but he does know to trust him. If he says he knows the way, then Jaime knows the way. He doesn't take the shoulder touch for what it is, just that Jaime's feeling familiar and reaches to match the motion, hand on shoulder.]
I'll follow you.
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[ Jaime gives Tadashi's shoulder one last squeeze before gesturing at him with his head to lead the way. ]
Here, follow me. [ He doesn't know the way, per se, but Khaji does. ] So how long have you been here, anyway? And where do they have you staying? And doing? A lot of things have changed since -- well, you know.
[ Jaime would have known if Tadashi was his neighbour again. It feels wrong that he might not be his neighbour anymore. That he won't be in Heropa. Everything changes, whether Jaime likes it or not. ]
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They've got me in Nonah now, as a youth counselor. [He sounds... almost relieved at that. He knows Tony's gone and that job's a no-go now. He can work on projects on his own without restrictions or stipulations.... but now he also has less access to supplies.]
I got here this morning. [And then got himself lost in a supernatural corn maze. Who else, right?]
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[ At least he can fly there. Even though Tadashi's put some distance between them, Jaime keeps on glancing behind him at Tadashi, making sure he's there and keeping up and -- and mostly there, honestly. ]
But, um, as long as you're here, right? And I've got a lot of your stuff! I mean, I kept a lot of it. I'll take you to my storage unit and we'll --
[ Jaime, watch where you're going!
He runs directly into one of the walls of corn. ]
Oof. Yes. Yes, I know I should look where I'm going, just -- give me a break, okay?
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[Just. Yknow. Tadashi back from the dead after 3 years and all, give Jaime a break, Khaji. Tadashi takes a breath and rests a hand on Jaime's shoulder, just. Don't mind him, testing out his healing again and taking care of whatever little scrape Jaime just got; he doesn't know Khaji has it covered.]
Anyway, I think that's what teleporters are for. I think I'll have an easier schedule than when I worked for Tony so I can come and go.
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[ ...oh. Oh no. Tadashi doesn't know. He's never known. He never got around to telling Tadashi. He doesn't know why - it's not as though he never trusted the guy. Heck, he knew about Khaji, which most people who knew about Blue Beetle didn't know about. Still don't, half the time. He deserved to know.
Maybe it's just that around Tadashi, he didn't feel like the Blue Beetle. For once, he just felt like Jaime. It wasn't enough for most people. But it was always enough for Tadashi.
Kind of a lame excuse for keeping secrets, huh? ]
Um, a lot's gone down since you got ported out. We'll need to catch up on a bunch, but, um. There's something you should know about. Do you remember the Blue Beetle?
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It seems like a lot of things happened while I was gone. Your hair's so long!
[He doesn't mean it in a bad way! He's proud of Jaime just from what he's seen. Though Tadashi's forgetting that Jaime's supposed to be leading the first few steps so he stops and waits.]
But sure, what's up? Tell me everything.
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[ Or, rather, too reluctant to go to a hairdresser to get it done properly, so it just grows and grows and grows. Despite all appearances, Jaime's vain enough to want to get a professional to do it so he doesn't look like more of a mess than he thinks he already does. But that's besides the point. He's changed so much, but the thing he has to tell Tadashi hasn't changed since he arrived.
He points at himself. ]
I asked you if you remembered Blue Beetle 'cause, um, that's me? I mean, that's me. And I'd rather you hear it from me than someone else, so, um...
[ He can't be that nervous over the grand reveal. Tadashi has no reason to dislike Blue Beetle.
He has reason to be mad about being kept in the dark for so long, but keeping him in the dark longer sure as heck isn't going to help. ]
Yeah. That's the big one.
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Okay. Okay, Jaime is the Blue Beetle. And he'd rather Tadashi hear it from him than someone else which means other people knew and Tadashi didn't, and wasn't Jaime upset at one point that he was the only one who didn't know about Tadashi's Big Horrible Demise out of their group and his thoughts are getting ahead of themselves.
Likely what Jaime sees on the outside is Tadashi just watching him blankly, almost expectantly.]
Okay. Okay, so you're the Blue Beetle.
[Oooooh shit that explains a lot.]
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[ Jaime waits. He's bracing himself, though he doesn't know for what. He knows Tadashi well, but it's been so long and Jaime's so different now, and -- and he'd been effectively lying to him for months. Years. A long time. Too long, even. He gnaws at the inside of his lip - it's going to be sore and bloodied by the time this day is over, he knows it - looking straight ahead of him as though that makes any of this easier, his emotions doing painful yo-yos between Tadashi being here and this being one of the first, awkward conversations they get to have. ]
That's, um -- that. That was it. That was kind of the end of that sentence.
[ Is that... okay? ]
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I feel kinda dumb not guessing that sooner. [Tadashi! Feeling dumb!] But it makes sense. I probably should've figured that out before.
[His tone is all easy and good natured; he does feel like he should've figured it out before, but he didn't and that's that. Everyone has their own secrets, and Jaime just... revealed one of his biggest, shit.]
Thank you. For telling me, Jaime.
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[ He shakes his head. He doesn't know how to complete that sentence. He didn't tell a lot of people he probably should have told. There were a lot of reasons, but not many of them make sense.
Maybe he was just afraid of more change, in this place that continued to thrust it upon him. It's the same thing that made him reluctant to make moves that were good for him too, the idea that he would take a good thing and ruin it instead of make it better. ]
But I'm glad you know now and that you're, um, not mad about it.
[ At least he doesn't sound mad. ]