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etcelsior2020-05-24 09:21 pm
maskormods) wrote in etcelsior2020-05-24 09:21 pm
Entry tags:
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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Anyway, back to the question. Her lips curl into a devious grin, and she chuckles a little bit, hands behind her back as she stares down the Quiz-bot and rocks back and forth on her heels, letting herself hum thoughtfully and even chance a glance up at the sky. Is this what is feels like, facing a great opponent, and knowing you have the upper hand? It's kind fun.]
Aah...that sounds like a tough one. How could anyone possibly measure the stars in the sky? It all seems so far away... [Do you give u--] There are approximately 9,096 stars visible to the human eye in the night sky at once, combing the northern and southern hemispheres of the globe.
It sounds small, right?
The naked eye can only see up to a magnitude of 6.5 in most cases, so using that information to calculate the visible depth of stars in the sky was easy for astronomers with the tools and previously collected data of the sky at their disposal. To calculate the stars in the galaxy is, eheh...an astronomical task, but that's been attempted as well. But that wasn't your question, so I win.
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Then Ochako answers. Not just that, but she goes above and beyond. She’s so knowledgable about the subject and he stands by his statement. To be as passionate as she is truly is a talent.]
... You did it! That was incredible! [He looks at the Quiz-bot, almost apologetic. Was it impressed too? It probably didn’t expect to be shown up today either.] I wonder what the prize is?
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Final question.]
Eeeh?! But you said-- [Where would you like to eat? A slip of paper is partially emerged from the Quiz-bot's metal plating, it must be a gift certificate of some sort...probably to a restaurant by the sounds of it. A big, fat $50.00 is emblazoned on the piece that's sticking out, the side that's not yet printed (probably waiting for her answer) still inside the automoton.] Ah? Where??
Oh...um... [She turns to her companion.] How about you answer this one? Then we can have a meal together!
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Before he can panic too hard, the gift certificate is printed. Now put on the spot, and being more anxious than he’d care to admit,] Huh!? But— It’s your prize! I didn’t do anything!
[The bot chimes impatiently. Atsushi can’t think of anything he wants to eat. He doesn’t go out any further the cafe downstairs from his workplace, and he’s more concerned with having food than having good food.
But this is her prize! He has to think of something worth her time and effort! What would that be? Afraid that his not answering will cancel the prize, Atsushi blurts:]
Chazure! Luxury chazure! [At least the bot is smarter than Atsushi. It prints a Japanese restaurant gift certificate. Luxury tea on rice might not be a thing, but the Quiz-bot has taken mercy on him.
He sighs.] I’m sorry. I didn’t ask your name, or what you wanted to eat...
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And her rumbling tummy. She bows to the quiz-box after taking the voucher, waving it bye as it goes off to...p-probably harass someone else, haha...]
Mm, it's fine! My name is Uraraka Ochako! It's nice to meet you! Eheh, sorry for putting you on the spot there...I wanted to share a little of my happiness, I guess. But, this restaurant sells sushi! And I don't know exactly how much fifty dollars is, but maybe we can get a good meal!
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Atsushi’s shoulders slump with relief. Her cheerful and kind attitude puts him at ease, helping him to gradually shake his anxious state. He even cracks a slight smile, bowing politely at her introduction.]
I’m Nakajima Atsushi. It’s nice to meet you, Uraraka. [She looks younger than him, but he figure it’s easier to start formal and adjust to be as casual as she prefers.] Thank you for your generosity. I think 50 dollars is... [He thinks about it for a few seconds.
Then shakes his head.] It must be a lot of sushi. I hope you don’t mind my suggestion?
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Of course not, Nakajima-san! [She's bouncing a bit on the heels of her feet, unable to hide her excitement. ] I don't get to eat sushi very often, it's really expensive to get the good kinds, so this is a treat!
[Ochako and her family doesn't exactly have cash to spare, after all. With their business failing, she took up trying to become a Hero for the sake of getting government grants and payment to help support her beloved parents. Ochako has always had a kind and generous heart. If she can share some of her so-called wealth with others, she absolutely will.]
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I'm so glad! Shall we be on our way, then? I'm eager to see what fifty dollars of sushi looks like.
[He's never indulged in sushi either. Being from an inhumane orphanage, Atsushi isn't even used to restaurants in general.] And maybe... Hear more about you, Uraraka-san. You were so smart earlier. I was amazed! I never knew there was a telescope in space. How did you learn about that?
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[Y-Yeah...Ochako has only just arrived here perhaps a few hours ago, and this is America. Not just another prefecture of her homeland in Japan, but a completely foreign country by the looks of it. The signs are different, the roads are different, by some miracle people can understand her (which is really odd, Ochako's been told Americans never learn foreign languages very well past middle school), but all in all she is utterly lost here.]
M-Maybe a guide, or a travel map, would be a good idea first? Unless you're familiar with the area, Nakajima-san?
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[Atsushi had hoped that maybe she knew this city better than he did. Fortunately, he does know enough about navigating cities to be of use here. One of his few jobs during his 'apprentice days' was to keep his co-workers from getting lost.
He gestures towards the gift certificate.]
I'm not familiar myself, but there might be an address on the paper. We could start with that. [And then for finding a map,] Let's walk down this street. If we see a hotel or bus stop, we may be able to find a map.
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[And if not, maybe she could use the internet on her phone to look something up. If there's Wifi here, then cellular reception shouldn't be an issue. There's sure to be some hotspots around...or free wifi from a nearby shop or cafe. She can probably mooch off it for a second or two just to get directions. Worst comes to worst, wandering around and simply asking someone isn't totally out of the question.
She looks at the coupon, and indeed there is an address! And telephone, but Ochako's cell probably has zero reception, considering she's, uh...out of the country, and there's no way she could afford an international plan. Not a damn chance.]
There's an address!! Now all we need is a map of the area and we should find it easy! Or do you want to try asking directions? Maybe there's an officer on duty somewhere...or a hero on patrol...
[Actually, now that she really looks around...a lot of these Americans look really, erm... plain. Unless their quirks were more hidden and didn't alter their physical forms, they seems very...boring-looking. Or 'normal' in the sense not a one of them had horns, wings, a tail, etc. And she hasn't even seen a single suited hero on patrol! Yeesh, America, what is even up with you.]