etcelsior | DANCE MAGIC DANCE

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test drive

DANCE MAGIC DANCE

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.

Unfortunately, tragedy has struck today. It seems like the entire Heropa PD is parked out of a local, popular grocery chain. A huge crowd is amassed in the parking lot despite the best efforts of officers to get them to leave. They whisper about excitement and shame, and you don't have to ask if you just listen in a bit...

"What do you think he'll do to the employees? He sounded so serious..." "He really wants that pussy, huh?" "If I left my man for cheating on me, I'd take the damn cat, too!" "How does he think taking her and her coworkers hostage is gonna make her change her mind about him being a bad boyfriend?" "My wife is pregnant, please - if I don't get her favorite deli sub I might as well not go home!"

Domestic disputes! Tragic. The police aren't too sure how to handle this hostage situation, claiming the man only has a box cutter and isn't actually waving it around at the moment, but...are you an imPort? They'd really appreciate the help, okay. Get in there and counsel the unhappy couple. Or not!

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. 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, a company that manufactures tech-based educational toys—"Where Science Meets Fun!"—is running a demo of its latest project, Quincy the QuizBot. Filled with information taken from the curricula of many grade levels, Quincy is whirring through the streets to conduct pop quizzes! Answer a question right, win a prize, ranging from a coupon for a free soda at the local fast food joint to a $100 gift card, based on difficulty!

Except...something's gone wrong with Quincy's programming. An hour or two into the demo session, he starts to approach passersby and demand answers. "WHAT IS THE SQUARE ROOT OF 47284? CAN YOU LIST THE PHARAOHS OF EGYPT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER? ANSWER-ANSWER-ANSWER-ANSWER!"

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...

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.

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.

Despite the weird constant hum and the creepy cultish bingo, Jeopardy is usually a pretty calm place. A safe place. But not today. Today, someone has released a couple hundred tiny praying-mantis-like robots into the city, and the place is in chaos. Shops are closed up early because though these little destructive creatures don't have bullets, they do have some weird arm appendages that like to just crunch everything in existence. Like a locus swarm of cockatoos, anything made of wood or plastic is being crunched up and left for scrap. But at less than six inches high apiece, rounding them up is proving extremely difficult. Luckily, the mayor in her wisdom is giving out titanium nets to any imPort who wants to help round up the trouble makers. And, in the spirit of the city, she's offering the imPort that catches the most robots a free meal for two in the swanky Radiation Galley - Jeopardy's top tier, five star restaurant.

Get catchin', imPorts!

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[ Momo accept the baggie with a small bow to the seller and turns to hand it to Ochako, smiling. ]

Here you go! You can pay me back later. [ And then, because she's been in this world for a while now and the conversion rate is old hat to her: ] A quarter is about 27 yen.

[ Never mind that Momo gave the kid two quarters. She isn't going to hold Ochako accountable for her own generous tip. ]

When did you get here? Do you need me to show you around?

[Taking the baggy, Ochako waves after the kids as they laugh and bow back at them, albeit jerky and uncentered, snickering and snorting with laughter. Seems the gesture isn't one that's common in America, and the kids are having fun with it. Cute... Ochako smiles after them, then follows Momo a little distance away, just so they can talk in peace without getting heckled by anyone else.]

What?! That's all?! [Those little ankle-biters were about to get almost eight times the amount that that cookie was worth in yen! Ochako puffs up her cheeks in frustration, huffing that she she was almost ripped off. I mean...in the long run, it is just 200 yen, but it's the principle!!] Thank you, Momo-chan, you saved me...

Ah, but I did arrive recently, yes. I still don't really know where this is, or how we even got here, but you look well!! It's okay we're here, right? [Momo-chan wouldn't be in such good spirits if it weren't that way, right?]

[ Momo walks over with Ochako to a park bench which is placed a distance away from the crowd surrounding the children's food stands. It's probably for the best if they sit for this conversation. ]

You're lucky I ran into you. Out of everyone here from our world, I've been here the longest.

[ Exactly how long that is is a bit complicated, but... Let's start with the basics. ]

We're on an alternate Earth, in America. There is a machine called the Porter which brought you here. You should have been given a file when you arrived, which explains the basic situation. This world is different than ours in that the majority of the local population has no quirks. But imPorts-- people like us who have been brought here from different worlds-- we all do have quirks, regardless of whether we had them before we got here or not. Sometimes your quirk is the same, and sometimes it is different. Oftentimes you will have more than one quirk. For example...

[ She reaches up into her ponytail and pulls out a long unique looking replica sword, that's way too big and too heavy to logically fit tucked into her hair the way it was. ]

I can store things of any size and weight inside my ponytail, provided I can lift them up there myself.

[Holy shit, Momo-chan.]

OOOOH! SO COOL!!!

[Ahem, back on track.

Ochako listens carefully, trying to absorb as much information as she possibly can. Honestly, she is lucky to have run into Momo - not just because she was here the longest or whatever, but because she's smart. She pays attention to small details someone like Ochako would have missed, and she's responsible and reliable...someone that Ochako greatly looks up to, and admires.

Still, that is a lot to swallow - another world? An 'alternate earth'? How can that be? I mean, the realm of possible versus impossible was shattered when quirks came into existence so it's not...entirely out of the question, but it still seems so fantastical to think that there's another world so similar to theirs, out of reach, where quirks still haven't manifested, technology able to pull in people from those other worlds, and even bestow on them a quirk...or more than one.]

Hah...that's so much to think about. Is everyone else back home okay? You probably don't know that, do you? [She takes a deep breath, worrying her brows together and chewing nervously on her thumb as her toe digs a groove into the dirt.] Multiple quirks...that was thought to be dangerous back home, right? I-I think I remember being taught that. A-Are you okay, Momo-chan? Doing that sort of thing doesn't hurt?

I'm sorry, I know it's a lot... [ And there's yet more information to tell her. ]

I'm fine. Quirks here-- they call them powers, not quirks, so don't get confused when someone doesn't know what you're talking about-- they work a bit differently than they do back home. It's no trouble at all to have more than one.

[ She's seen people with up to three different sets of abilities. It really isn't anything she was used to back home, but at least she was more readily able to adapt than people who come from worlds with no quirks at all. ]

It is possible to travel between this world and home, though not of your own volition. The porter seems to decide randomly when someone comes or goes. I've been back and forth three times now. The good news is, time is effectively on pause back home while we're here. When we go back, it's as though we never even left. The strange part is that while we're back home, we have no memory of ever having been to this world. And when we come back here, we can either regain our memories of this place, or not.

Last time I was here, Midoriya-san and All Might were with me. Both of them are here again now, but I'm the only one who remembers our previous stay.

[Woof, there's even more, and Ochako is visibly struggling. Her face scrunches up, brows furrowed both in contemplation and discomfort. She's not really sure that she likes all this. Momo's been back and forth here several times? Time stands still for a person that arrives? But...if that were true, then how did Ochako end up here? She still remembers being moved through what she perceives as a shared timeline easily enough. Nothing changed for her...though the threads of time and fate may change depending on the person? It just seems...contrary to what's said.

Ugh, it's just so much to think about, and she has to focus on the positives before the negatives overtake her, and she's worrying all over again about things that may or may not matter now. Momo's not in any pain from her added quirk, they're together, safe, and...and it seems like Izuku and All Might are here, too? She sighs, placing a hand over her chest.]

Ah...if All Might-san is here, then it's fine. Mm... [Though the...remembering and not remembering thing definitely has a frown ghost over Ochako's face for a moment. Memories...time...taken away. It seems a little scary, and very sad, to just forget something like that. Even if it's not time or memories of their world, it's still messing with someone's mind. Ochako's definitely not a fan.]

Is...there a reason for all this? Why people--ImPorts? Why they're being brought here from their homes? It seems almost like kidnapping...but if there's a reason for it... [If they need help... I mean, it doesn't excuse that taking people here without their consent isn't wrong - but it justifies it a little bit.

Everyone deserves to be saved. Especially when they're crying out for help.]

[ Momo can tell her friend is struggling with this, and she understands. It's a lot to reckon with. And the fact that no, there isn't really a reason for it, certainly doesn't help matters. She would love to tell Ochako that they're here to be heroes, to parrot the party line the United States government officials at Cape Canaveral tell people when they arrive.

But she can't lie to her. Not when she knows the truth. ]

I'm afraid there isn't much more to it than that. The Porter chooses people-- seemingly at random, though there are some patterns you can see if you look closely. It decides who to bring, and when, and who to send home, and when. Sometimes it brings people back, and sometimes they remember... But sometimes they don't.

[ She frowns, then takes a deep breath, and looks Ochako in the eye with more conviction than she's showed in a long time. ]

But, that just means it's up to us to decide what we do with our time here. This world doesn't have pro Heroes the same way ours does, but there are a few teams that serve much the same purpose. I have an internship with one of them, the Justice League. I'm sure they would take you on as well, if you wanted to continue your training here.

[So they're just...taking people? Taking random people, unwillingly it sounds like, not only from their homes, but from their timelines as well, just....because? It doesn't make sense, as Ochako's frown deepens at that, her eyes casting down at her feet. Why though? What purpose does it serve? Why rip people from this world and their own, again and again, and distort their memories so thoroughly that they can't remember anything? Isn't that painful for those left behind to remember them?

There's some serious conflict painting itself on Ochako's face as she quietly mulls all this over, wringing her hand together before her. No one is physically hurt, yes, but this "just because" sort of way to pull people to and from this world and theirs, it's....well. It leaves a very bad taste in her mouth. Eventually, she looks up at Momo and really, really looks at her. She was the longest one here, so then that must mean...]

How many people from home have come and gone before? Was I ever here before? [There's no way to remember, no way to make it right, or even better, but she'd like to know at the least....and then start trying to ease Momo's burden.]

[ Ochako is taking this... Not well, per se, but as well as can be expected, when something this big is dropped into her lap. Momo returns her gaze, expression serious and collected. ]

As far as I know, it's just myself, Midoriya-san, All Might, and, briefly, Bakugo-san. I don't think you have ever been here before. Though, [ she looks away, a little hesitantly. ] it is entirely possible you had come and gone before I arrived the first time. We have no real way of knowing.

[ But wait! That's not true, now, is it? Something occurs to Momo, and she sits up straighter, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket suddenly. ]

Actually, come to think of it... The imPort network has an archive of everything everyone has ever posted to it, and it's searchable by name! [ She runs a quick search: U-R-A-R-A-K-A O-C-H-A-K-O...

Nothing. She breathes a sigh of relief. ]

No. You've never been here before. Or, at least, if you were, you never used the network.

[Those three...it sort of makes sense, in a way Ochako doesn't enjoy, exactly, and it shows on her face when she visibly flinches with each name. They're always caught in the middle of something, and while she'll never berate or blame them for it, she just wishes they could catch a break sometimes. They work hard, all of them, and they must be really tired of having to deal with stuff like this.

It'd be really nice if they could just have one, just one, comfortable day to enjoy some peace and quiet in their lives. It's...not fair that they don't. It's not fair. She opens her mouth to say something, thinks against it, and closes it again - instead just breathing out through her nose.]

Mm...thank you, Momo-chan. [She doesn't exactly sound happy, but she is sincere in her thanks. It's a lot to take in at once, and there's so many things about this situation that really bother her, but they just have to take it in stride. One thing, though, that'd been heaviest on her heart--]

No one ever...forgot anyone else completely, right? [This time, when she looks at Momo, she shrinks a little bit.] They never forgot they were still friends, right?

[ Ochako is good, and kind. Momo can't help the warm smile that comes across her face at that question. ]

No. The one thing this world cannot take from you is your memories of who you are, your life outside of this world.

[ She reaches out, and places a hand over Ochako's hand. ] You are still my dear friend and classmate. Nothing the Porter does can change that.

[Ochako's smile is bittersweet, though she hides it well. It's good that nothing will change between her and her dear friends and classmates, as well as her beloved teachers, but...Momo answered a question Ochako didn't really voice. Memories remain the same - constant and never changing for your world, and anyone in it. Anything past that, anyone outside of that...may not be so lucky.

It's painful, isn't it? To meet someone, in a faraway place, make precious memories, then have it all vanish in an instant. That's painful, yes, but for that person to return, with no memory of those shared feelings and memories...it must be unbearable. This place can do that. And if people create bonds like she has with her classmates, then...she can't imagine how much those who've lingered here for long can bear it.

Momo-chan... Ochako won't ask anything more. She nods her head, blinking back heat that burns behind heavy lids, and smiles.]

Mm, that's right.

[ Oh. Oh--! Oh no! Ochako is smiling, but her eyes are tearful. Momo holds onto her hand even tighter. ]

Did... Did I say something wrong?

[ Why does she feel like she should hug Ochako right now? You know what? She's just going to do that. Lean forward and wrap her arms around Ochako's shoulders in a hug. If her life has taught her anything, it's that she shouldn't hesitate on matters of importance, and her friendship with Ochako is important to her. ]

I'm sorry if I said something to upset you!

[The hug is a little surprising, but wholly welcome. Ochako sinks into it, holding her friend tight in return. She...really needed that, come to think of it. It's grounding, when all her thoughts and emotions are flying so fast in a million different directions. It's hard to stay grounded, without a little bit of help, or someone to pull you back down.]

Eh...n-no! Not at all! I'm just... [Taking it all in. And leaving some thing unspoken. Ochako doesn't want to pick at any scabs this place must have inflicted on Momo. There's no reason to reopen those wounds - it'd be cruel of her.] ...taking it all in. Ehehe, I-I guess it's just a little much...s-sorry, Momo-chan.

I'm fine, really!! Thank you.

[ The Momo that Ochako is used to-- the Momo with no memories of this Earth-- would probably be less free with her physical displays of affection. But people in America are more open and demonstrative emotionally. Her mentor, Darin, more than most. His influence has rubbed off on her, Momo supposes. But it isn't a bad thing. Not if it helps her show her friends how she feels. ]

If you're certain... [ She gives one last good squeeze and pulls away, smiling at Ochako again. ] I'm here to answer any questions I can. And if I don't know the answer to something, I can probably find someone who does.

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DANCE MAGIC DANCE

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