etcelsior | TRICK OR TREAT

TEST DRIVE MEME
MENACE WITH YOUR MASKS

01. 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.

You'd think they'd have learned not to hold it by now - but there's once again there's a herd of zombies shambling towards the annual Mister and Miss Corncob beauty pageant. Right in the middle of the swimsuit competition, too! Have you ever wanted to fight zombies while wearing a bikini or speedo in the fall? No? Well this is your life now. Put on a good enough show and the judges might just award you some extra points!

And of course, the ImPorts in the audience are rushing up to help you. Better not get upstaged!

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. 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.

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. You’ll find someone all too eager to help you - in fact, they're so eager they've already picked something out for you.

Hopefully none of that gear actually works. It’d be crazy if your rocket boots suddenly kicked off, or that prop flamethrower shot some real flames!

03. MAURTIA FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA has carried a reputation for ups and downs ever since imPorts began appearing. 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...

Unfortunately Halloween in this city means a sharp jump in crime. Masked criminals are everywhere right now.

It feels like there’s a bank heist happening every other minute. Perhaps you’re rushing to heroically stop it and free the hostages, or maybe you’re the one wearing the mask looking to make out with a couple million more than you had before.

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.

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 in 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.

Those weird radiation effects seem to kick it up a notch in the month of October. The world is awash in bright and unnatural colors that have nothing to do with the neon and your ears seem to be faintly ringing. You may find the air bizarrely charged today, the people are acting even stranger than usual. The weird figures in the corner of your eye are more prevalent, seeming to inch closer, and closer, and closer...

But that’s probably nothing, right?

As the clock strikes midnight the weirdness crescendos. Suddenly people are gaining traits from their costumes. Those fake vampire teeth are real, and no amount of shaving is gonna get that fur off your face Mr. Werewolf!

06. The HEROIC HALL has just opened! It’s a state of the art combat dome in De Chima. Engineered by the best and brightest on the planet, its futuristic holograms are as real as they come. There are safety features in place to keep things from getting out of hand, and they usually work. Usually. But any scenario you could possibly dream of is at your disposal to use. There are a number of pre-programmed options for you to choose from, ranging from the mundane like saving a cat from a tree, to the extreme such as stopping the apocalypse. There are even convenient scripts so you don't have to come up with your own zingers, and every session is recorded so you can watch your own greatness!

Uncertain? Well, the hot ticket this month is SCENARIO 21. Have you ever wanted to save the world without dealing with those pesky stakes? Here’s your chance! Scenario 21 features the greatest hits. An all powerful villain hell-bent on ending the world, a (poorly programmed) love interest held hostage, and a (equally poorly programmed) mentor who believes in you! Of course can’t do this on your own, this script was written for two! Find your new teammate and save the world together!

Once it’s over, don’t be surprised if you’re approached by the eagle-eyed talent scouts that refuse to take not interested as an answer.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Some would say the thugs deserve it. And perhaps they do deserve to get roughed up - Ammy would have ignored it, probably snickered to herself watching a cute girl half their size take down three grown men like that on her own. Heaven knows certain types do indeed need to be put in their place from time to time. Or behind bars. Their auras stink of wickedness - one that reeks most foul, and Ammy takes great joy in ridding the world of that foul presence.

However, it's the girl's aura that makes her head jerk up, ears up and out, the fur around her neck and back standing on end, eyes alert and focused. It's so hideous in its familiarity that Ammy has to will herself not to spring right away, because she's been wrong before. She's felt an evil presence within many people in this world, and oftentimes she was wrong in her first assumptions, her first impressions. It's a bias she can't easily shake - the need to purge evil spirits, and retain balance in the world.

Ammy follows regardless, her natural instincts kicking in as she stalks quietly after the group. With the clamor of the city drowning out the sound of her claws on the concrete, it's not difficult. She just wants to observe, to make sure nothing...foul happens. It could be simply her bias, her senses alerting her to something, but being wrong like most times she's felt this way. Just lay low, observe, and intervene as needed. It's the glimmer of a blade in the moonlight, however, makes the decision for her. Ammy switches out her reflector for her rosary beads, and with a flick of her head, one of the magatama beads shoots out and strikes Toga's knife, a sound almost like a bullet.

If that wasn't enough to startle the thugs (and make ya girl drop ya knife), then the sight of a large dog baring its teeth and growling is enough to make their knees buckle and them to turn tail and book it. The one time people being afraid of her works in her favor, how ironic. Maybe she'll remember that for another time.]

[All it was a same routine, same play and ending. Guys with large egos ~~nothing else~~ picks up random clueless chick, and then have it their way... so they thought. Playing the blond was an easy task, and as always, her performance was flawless. If the dog was ever noticed, Toga brushed it off aside. She was focused more on her preys, and maybe carve a bigger grin on those dumb faces after a few good stabs from her blade.

Alas, all didn't go as anticipated. Toga's back was against the wall, grinning like a clueless school girl. The conversations between them were short. When the opportunity arose, with a flick of the wrist, her blade snapped out ready for the kill until BAM. Instantly, her blade was shot off her hand. The blade landed aside. The situation didn't register to the thugs soon enough, only a deep growl from the strange dog caught their ears. The guys didn't hesitate to drop everything and run, leaving the 'clueless blond chick'.

Pansies.

Still, something felt unsettling. Her knife was aimed. It's a big dog.]

That was my lunch.

[Toga's mood fouled as the men vanished from their sight. Suppose she could stab the dog instead. Was the thing still growling? Shit, that was one huge dog. Toga reached down to retrieve her knife.]

Bad doggie! No biscuits for you.

[Were the situation any different, Ammy may have taken Toga's side - men like that deserves to have their pants set on fire, or their feet frozen to the pavement for a few hours. Worse, perhaps, but striking a human with lightning usually doesn't end well...and she's not that sort of being that can kill so easily. At least, kill a human. Demons, evil spirits, monsters...those are mostly exorcised when she defeats them, though perhaps that is a form of 'death' for the wicked. But speaking of wickedness...

The nostalgic feeling of a wily woman in a fox mask makes the hair on Amaterasu's neck stand out, bristle along her back and roll back her lips over sharp teeth. This girl has the same aura as the demon fox, or at least startlingly similar, and Ammy is half tempted to brandish her own blade in response to the retrieval of the girl's knife. It'd be unseen - she highly doubts this one has the sort of clairvoyance to see her true form - but it'd be a funny sort of irony as well. Not that it'd really matter...Ammy doesn't need a sword to cut something in two. In fact, she doesn't even really need to touch anything. Just has to envision a cut, and her brush does the rest.

So, her eyes watch the child closely, but she doesn't move the attack. Not yet. If the girl wants to have a battle of blades, then so be it. If not, then they'll both be on their way, quietly...though Ammy may keep this girl's scent in her memory. For once.]

[Such a beautiful animal, that white coat with little red, and those teeth, it was actually cute! No point pouting on lost meals when something else caught her attention instead. Her eerie grin returned, still crouched down as she sheathed her blade back to her thigh, slowly. The red hue of the creature was just... not enough. Much as her blade itched to taint it's white fur, Toga had to restrain herself for obvious reasons.

Yet...

The temptation was irresistible. Toga's body held still, crouched down, her hand remained on the blade. Her back was probably against the dog in that eerie of silence.]

You know...

[She spoke again, her tone lighter than before.]

You are kind of cute, so big and fluffy, like a giant plush I'd lean on all day.

[Slowly, her head tiled back, her tiny fangs bared happily, grinning towards the dog.]

Can you imagine having it? Having a cute girl laying right on top of you on endless days? Like a good plushie??

[If a wolf could grin, Amaterasu may have done that right at this moment, there there is a gleam in her eye that speaks volumes, the vicious look she gives the girl shifts...slightly. Something more coy, perhaps, maybe even playful. This one is as cheeky and witty as a fox indeed... Not nearly as wicked as that fox-faced wench, Ninetails, but...it's close.]

Too young.

[The voice is like a whisper on the wind - murmured almost as if someone were behind the young girl, close enough to lean into her ear, but there's no one there...

Amaterasu rushes forward, a blur of white that even Toga can't match - Amaterasu rivals the wind when she goes full throttle, after all - and flowers spring to life behind her for mere seconds before they wither and die...but she doesn't leap at the girl. No, she dashes around Toga, jerking her neck to one side so that her rosary beads whip out like, well...a whip. The curl around the girl's ankle, and Ammy pulls the proverbial rug right out from under her. Worse yet, Toga may be able to see the red hues in Amaterasu's fur, but they're faint to her eyes...her faith is shaky, at best. The goddess's divine instruments, her weapons and how she uses them, will be practically invisible to her, so...

Don't smash your nose on the pavement, girly, Ammy won't kiss it better.]

TRICK OR TREAT

MF - rolled an 18 to hit the knife YEET

fff rolled 17! x-x

no subject

rolled wisdom on 10.. v-v

WELP...time to roll initiative - 19 lel