Mask or Menace | MODERATORS (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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etcelsior2019-12-20 12:35 pm
maskormods) wrote in etcelsior2019-12-20 12:35 pm
Entry tags:
SLAY BELLS RING
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, they won't let that spoil the fun. It's not beach weather, but it's time for a palm tree decorating contest to bring everyone into the holiday spirit! Note that isn't technically Christmas decorating. Pick a theme, any theme, from holidays to puppies to capitalism and have at. The natives will judge and vote for their favorite- so really, there's nothing wrong with a little pandering. The winner will get both the honor of having defeated their rivals, and a free lifetime supply of Italian frozen ice and hot dogs from the sponsoring local stand.
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?
Speaking of that Italian ice, there are some free samples being offered to tempt you into competing for the prize. And, shocking to no experienced imPort, someone has meddled with it just a bit. Each of the three flavors will have a different effect and, fates help us, they can be stacked, though the effects only last about an hour. Strawberry with fill you with team spirit, encouraging you to decorate a tree in a group or spontaneously form a new rock group. Even those that usually Only Work Alone will want to form a team. Lemon will spike your competitive nature. You're not just going to win, you are going to wave the severed heads of your competitors before their weeping mothers-, er, that is, win by a lot. Finally, lime flavor with up your silliness factor. Everything's fun and happy at the Holiday season, right? Why not pull a prank or two while you're here, or just enjoy a nice knock-knock joke with friends. Hopefully you didn't get that lemon-lime mix and now must pull the most epic prank ever or show that you are the single happiest person on this or any other world. That could get complicated.
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.
Although Nonah sees milder winters than some imPort cities, it's strangely snowy today, with icicles hanging everywhere. They definitely weren't there this morning, and no storm has passed through, so what gives? A downtown disturbance makes it clear: a would-be supervillain calling himself THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN has attacked. Is he some kind of mutant, a scientifically modified human, or is there just a lot of arctic-tech stuffed into his snowsuit? Whatever its source, he's spraying ice and snow far and wide from his hands, turning the area into a winter wonderland and absolutely ruining sales for local businesses that depend on foot traffic! Also, some citizens have been frozen in blocks of ice. That's bad.
Come, heroes, and defeat this icy menace! That, or build a really cool snowman. It's your call.
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!
Usually the feast focuses on the symbolic ritual sacrifice of a giant chocolate Santa Claus, but this year is a little different. In an effort to display their gratitude for imPorts keeping their city from being ground zero of the apocalypse, they are making an entirely different set of effigies: you! Instead of one Big Chocolate Santa there are over a hundred 1/6th scale chocolate humans, each lovingly recreated in the visage of their favourite imports. Whether or not that loving visage is accurate may be up for debate, but... Hey, want to eat a chocolate rendition of your own head? Now you can!
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Were they all so difficult, or was it based on the individual? A monster that was a mirror of yourself in ability really would be quite troublesome if you were of a high level.
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But that was months ago. Since then we managed to avoid the apocalypse.
That happened in Jeopardy, so maybe there are some residual anomalies there...
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I'm glad you've already avoided it. I would rather not leave one and stumble into another.
[It would have been too much, he was sure he would have broken down into tears if that had happened. He's done with it! Done!]
I'm not overly worried. The spiritual levels are a bit... low. But then, I'm surprised there is any spiritual activity at all here.
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[He had to pause, wasn't that obvious? Look at him! He was obviously someone who could sense spiritual energy!
Well, alright, maybe that wasn't obvious, though with all the other people pulled from places you would think it should be. Though the way the question was said....
Could he have potentially arrived with something else?]
This master is a cultivator, I am unaware of any specific abilities granted to me from being in this place.
[To be honest he couldn't think of anything cooler to be than an immortal cultivator anyway.]
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You keep saying 'master'. Who is 'this master'?
[The wording sounded odd to him.]
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It was embarrassing wasn't it!? Who talked like that in the real world!? Not that this felt like the real world.... Why must his aesthetic be questioned!? This was so much easier to play the right role when everyone else was the right genre!]
Me... I am...
[How can he possibly explain that it was just a lofty way to refer to himself!? This person was speaking in English... THIS WAS DEFINITELY A LANGUAGE BARRIER ISSUE! But there was an auto translate. Don't tell him the auto translate here is just as stupid as that google translate system from Proud Immortal Demon Way... world? How did he even settle this complicated double transmigration!]
I am a scholar... a cultivator, a Daoist Immortal.... I am a master with disciples, and I am a teacher.
[This was painful, don't make him explain it, it hurt, it hurt too much! He felt like someone role playing in the street with a costume! Why!?]
It might not translate well....
[Should he switch to English? Make it easier? His proficiency was pretty good. But wouldn't that be really suspect? Also... he hadn't practiced in like ten years! Better pretend he can't.]
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[It already made more sense to him now.]
That's an impressive list...
[Hard to tell if he's being sincere or not - but he doesn't seem to be mocking.]
What do you teach?
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But somehow his disciples grew up well! It was almost a miracle.]
Qing Jing Peak focuses on academic pursuits, such as art, calligraphy, history, literature and music. So of course those are the subjects that are taught. Of course as a whole Cang Qiong Mountain Sect teaches cultivation. I am the lord of Qing Jing Peak, second only to the sect leader.
Master is in reference to one who has mastered a skill, one who can teach that mastered skill to others.
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So it's a creative talent and teachings.
What's your name?
Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier...
I am Mysterio!
[He makes that sound very grand.]
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Shen QingQiu, and wielder of the Xiu Ya Sword.
[He almost said Peerless Cucumber just because this guy said Mysterio, but... he should actually use a name. He completely forgot about using his actual original name.]
I would say all cultivation is a creative talent in one way or another.
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[Oh, yes, definitely a prideful boast in there.]
Arts, literature, music. All of those things you said! I turn them into a spectacular show.
[Very proud of himself.]
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[He hid his face behind his fan again. He felt a little embarrassed.]
To cultivate the most important thing is to gather spiritual energy within your body and practice martial arts. Everything else is more connected to the six arts, or the four arts.
[How to explain, he had never had to explain before.]
Do you know what Daoism is?
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Is that some kind of religion?
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[Wait, wasn't the way he was about to explain this a bit too casual?
System! System!? Are you there? Hey! I'm talking to you! Where are you? Give me an easy mode here! Let me have multiple choice! This is too much!
Of course when he's rid of the system he needs it.]
But, there are levels. Generally one follows such principles on the path to immortality when one is a cultivator. Of course, one must have a good foundation to start
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Like when people build shrines all over the globe to fallen superheroes. Even ones who don't deserve the attention and acclaim.
[Did that take a bitter turn at the end. Yes, yes it did.]
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Well, depending on the fantasy level he assumed.]
An extended life span with the goal of living forever. Though, gaining that level of cultivation is quite dificult, most are incapable of reaching a godhood stage.
[He however was at a stage of eternally young and extended life span. He wasnt sure how extended but he would guess if he was careful at least triple digits. Maybe. If he thought about it almost all the previous generation was never spoken of in Proud Immortal Demon Way.... The current generation of Peak Lords were relatively young, not in the original work they'realmost all wiped out.]