maskormods: (Default)
Mask or Menace | MODERATORS ([personal profile] maskormods) wrote in [community profile] etcelsior2020-07-25 05:52 pm
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ON MY WAY

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.

    WOOF WOOF! This Friday is National Take Your Dog to Work Day, and everyone seems to be out with their pooch, enjoying the summer sun! (At least until they start to sweat and have to make a beeline for someplace with air conditioning.) However, the thing about superheroes is that their work can take them anywhere, and with the Top ImPort contest leading the news, EVERY imPort is a hero in the minds of the public!

    Got a costume on? Here's a corgi. In line for an iced coffee? Come kiss this old lady's schnauzer. Allergic to dogs? Have a Claritin...and then brace yourself as this Great Dane tries to sit on you. And be sure to smile! Can you imagine how many likes a pic of the coolest new imPort cuddling man's best friend will get?

    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.

    Welcome, everyone, to the sugar fueled festivity that is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day. The celebration is taking place on two closed down city blocks, with a market in between them selling all the pun filled souvenir shirts and stuffed ice cream cone toys, fudge bottle body pillows, and every kind of craft fair knickknack in between, that you can imagine. The powers that be in Nonah have clearly tried to divide the celebrations up into the ice cream and ‘normal’ food sides, but this is America. They can’t tell you what to do. Go try those meat and potato ‘fudge sundae’ monstrosities or cover your ice cream in wine from an adult beverage cart. Dip your deep-fried cheese in hot fudge. Disgusting food choices are in the constitution (somewhere).

    But on the pure ice cream side, there are certainly enough choices to make ‘real’ food not super necessary. In addition to your normal food flavors that range from the tame you’d see in any ice cream parlor, or the slightly more hipster flavors like ‘lavender’ or ‘bacon maple,’ there are existential flavors. Yes, inspired by some previous imPorts, these flavors induce a specific emotion in the person while they eat it, which lasts up to about 10 minutes after the dessert has been consumed. These range all over, from ‘full cell phone battery’ to ‘the bitter-sweet satisfaction of vengeance against your sworn enemy.’ Maybe try a ‘puppy love’ and ‘first day of autumn’ twist covered in fudge for a true moment of contentment. It’s all in your hands. Careful though, things like ‘moment you first realized your parents were only human’ or ‘pain of failure’ are also available, though obviously not as popular. Hopefully, you don’t create an emotionally devastating mix out of curiosity (or a prank on another imPort).

    In addition to ice cream, there are all kinds of family fun activities to pick from. Traditional carnival themed games have been set up, with the normal employees yelling at the crowd to attract attention. Throw a ball in a milk can, get a goldfish in a an (empty glass) ice cream cup! Pop balloons with dulled darts, get a sprinkles themed pair of sunglasses. This is Nonah, though, which means hard work deserves a reward. The bigger prizes for big point getters are a little insane: genetically modified fish that can breathe air, stuffed animals the size of a minivan, a free years worth of ice cream (to be taken home all at once now). There are also some bounce houses and slides that kids and adults alike can enjoy, just no ice cream allowed inside the rides

    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.

    Welcome to the Church of the Ancient Webmistress' annual cookie sale! To raise money for a variety of community organizations, card tables line the street where the church is located, and boy, do these baked goods look delicious! Cookies, brownies, pies and more are all for sale for very reasonable prices--and to help out such a good cause, you're definitely going to buy some. Right, hero? The watching crowds certainly expect you to set a good example (when they're not busy purchasing tasty treats themselves.)

    It seems there's been a mistake, though--mixed in with the cookies frosted to look like spiders are, er, a tray of someone's special brownies. Edibles, as it were (though everything here is edible--and delicious!) Just try to keep it together, okay? After all, there are kids here, and you're a role model! Or possibly not, but if you end up feeling the need to stare at your own hand for an hour, maybe find a side street. Or at least purchase some extra munchies to support any number of charities.
gothard: (Default)

[personal profile] gothard 2020-07-27 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
Hey, I mean- if you ever need a guy to spar with, with moves like that? I'd take you on any day.

[Kirishima grins, showing off rows of shark-like teeth as he jabs a thumb into his own chest.]

Name's Kirishima! What's yours?
genuinewrestleboy: (fellowship of the nerd)

[personal profile] genuinewrestleboy 2020-07-27 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
[ Caspar grins back immediately. He literally just met this guy but he likes him already. ]

I'm Caspar. You serious about sparring? I'm always up for a good fight!
gothard: (pic#13104263)

[personal profile] gothard 2020-07-27 09:23 pm (UTC)(link)
'Course I am! I'm always serious about sparring. So what can you do? Some kinda strength power?

[He's at least learned that people don't commonly call their abilities "Quirks", here.]
genuinewrestleboy: (sophomore slump)

[personal profile] genuinewrestleboy 2020-07-27 10:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Nah, that punch was all me. [ That JRPG Brawler strength training's really good.

He sounds proud of himself saying that but he's pretty neutral on what he says next - he doesn't hate his power and thinks having one is cool but it's been just as much a liability as it is helpful.
] My power's bouncing. Big blows just bounce right off me! But it kinda works the other way too. I'm still learning how to use it.

What's yours?
gothard: (pic#13104263)

[personal profile] gothard 2020-07-28 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh man, you're gonna be fun as hell to spar with.

[Kirishima announces initially without context before explaining by example; he punches both of his fists together with a satisfying thud of an impact, hardening them up to his elbows the moment they strike each other.]

Mine's called Hardening! I can harden any part of my body. You punch me, and it'd be like punching a mountain!
genuinewrestleboy: (the mighty fall)

[personal profile] genuinewrestleboy 2020-07-28 09:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Whoa, that's so cool! Nice, it'll be like immovable object meets... bounceable object.

[ Caspar practically has stars in his eyes, leaning forward slightly to get a better look. ]

How hard can you get? Hard enough to take a hit by an axe?
gothard: (Default)

[personal profile] gothard 2020-07-29 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Totally! Deflects bullets, too!

[Kirishima can't help but preen, especially since usually it's the much flashier Quirks- or in this case, powers- that people are fawning over. No harm in soaking in the attention now and then, right?]

Nothin' lasts forever of course, but I can take some pretty hard hits, no problem!
genuinewrestleboy: (the phoenix)

[personal profile] genuinewrestleboy 2020-07-29 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Ugh, that's so awesome! My bouncing's good for blows but not sharp stuff.

[ He's almost jealous. Imagine if he could just run into battle without worrying about that kind of thing! But he gets over it quickly because 1) worrying over stuff he can't change isn't his style and 2) he's more excited by the possibilities. ]

Talk about the perfect sparring partner. I've been dying for a fight where I don't have to hold myself back!
gothard: (pic#13104267)

[personal profile] gothard 2020-07-31 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
You and me both. Most of the time, I'm looking for people to fight that can really pack a punch, yaknow? Not to say it's not still worth doin' but...

[He wants somebody who isn't afraid to set off an explosion directly into his face, like some best friends he knows.]
genuinewrestleboy: (grand theft autumn)

[personal profile] genuinewrestleboy 2020-07-31 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I totally get what you mean. It's not like the bad guys are gonna hold back! So you got to practice fighting as if it's the real thing!

[ Some would say he probably needs to practice fighting less, but you know. ]
gothard: (pic#13104276)

[personal profile] gothard 2020-08-02 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
[Clearly if your friends are telling you to practice fighting less then they don't know what real progress is like!!]

Yeah, exactly! Especially in a place like this, where it looks like there are a lot more heroes than normal if I'm honest...
genuinewrestleboy: (real pain for my sham friends)

[personal profile] genuinewrestleboy 2020-08-02 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh hey, you have heroes in your world? The kind with powers and costumes and stuff?
gothard: (pic#13104271)

[personal profile] gothard 2020-08-02 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh yeah! That's like, just how things are normally. Though not everybody is just...made a hero automatically, yaknow? You gotta get licensed first.

[It's apparently a lot easier here though...]
genuinewrestleboy: (growing up)

[personal profile] genuinewrestleboy 2020-08-04 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
I dunno how many imports actually try to be heroes, but I see your point! Guess your world doesn't want people to go off the handle and cause huge problems?

[ Caspar is, of course, assuming that wouldn't be him. ]
gothard: (pic#13104271)

[personal profile] gothard 2020-08-04 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, it's a little more complicated than that. You gotta go to school for it, get licensed and all. There's a ton of stuff you need to learn too, like first-aid, protocol for crisis situations, how to deal with the public...

[He counts them off on his fingers as he goes.]