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etcelsior2016-01-23 06:21 pm
maskormods) wrote in etcelsior2016-01-23 06:21 pm
Entry tags:
MOM CAN YOU DROP ME OFF? (IN RUSSIA?)
TEST DRIVE MEME
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! If you'd like, take a look at our ATP post!
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 to have fun!01. The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place. The locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city. Some of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation and others might not say anything. In fact, some people might back away from any imPort who quite obviously looks like they aren't from around the neighborhood. Once in a while there's a look of disdain on someone's face and hushed voices. A snippy voice wonders aloud: "My taxes are going to their parties and other expenses? When are they going to do something for us for a change? Why if they weren't around, I bet the Soviets--" These naysayers may, however, find themselves hushed with a judgmental: "You couldn't do what they do even if you had powers. They don't have to help us, you know!"
02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter, there are just as many citizens awed at your presence. Heavy winds have people grasping at their newspapers and constantly brushing hair out of their faces, but that doesn't distract them from crowding you in excitement if you're obviously from a different time or world, or just let it slip that you're a newcomer. Children and young teenagers are especially likely to ask for an autograph and a photo.
Some locals seem less enthused to see you. They never make an approach, but they can be overheard scoffing and muttering something about cameras and an incident involving gas. "Biological warfare... we sure some of them haven't defected?"
03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is normally known for being a little more on the apathetic side, but there's been tension in the atmosphere lately, contrasted by headlines broadcasting petty, unimportant local news and no worldly news.
People are not as friendly in this city and go out of their way to avoid walking down the same sidewalk as the more obvious looking imPorts pass through. Local cops say nothing, but they scowl at those imPorts and mutter under their breaths resentfully about "vigilantes". However, not all locals turn the other way seeing imPorts; some of them will offer a polite enough smile and thank them for their hard work. They don't stop to clarify what they mean, though.
04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities. It's loud, busy and there's some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. Anyone who they come to determine an imPort is bombarded with all sorts of offers; job offers, advertising gigs, spokesperson for advocating children stay in school, etc. Anything and everything! You name it. Shops offer discounts for food and clothing, whatever they need. Advertisements are abound for imPorts to make appearances at various, televised celebrations, luring them in with promises of free food, merchandise, and payment. ImPort action figures and merchandise are on sale now, and every corner's coffee shop is still serving festive peppermint goods of every shape and form.
2 | idk what im dooooing
That feeling of isolation soon dissipates as curiosity leads him toward the network and he spots a familiar face. He feels a push of relief, and then something else. ]
Kogami-- [ The feed isn't hard to understand, and the way he handles his communicator and keeps his voice steady it's almost as if he's a natural, like he's been here for months already.
Then he pauses. ]
You should be careful who you offer your favor to.
u are doing a beautiful thing
For some reason, in addition to the relief at not being alone in a world neither of them really understand, he feels an odd sense of amusement at the warning. In their world, such a thing wouldn't even be an issue. Anyone walking around in society was able to do so because their Crime Coefficient was low enough, and one could be confident that their favor could never be used for untoward ends. Here, though...
....here, there is no such thing as a Psycho Pass. And for Gino, who's lived his whole life in fear of the looming shadow of the status latent criminal, it must be terrifying to be thrust into a society where no such distinctions exist. It's a little overwhelming even for him, even as it carries with it his freedom. He offers his old friend a mild smirk, leaning into his pillow with an exaggeratedly relaxed air.]
I never said I couldn't decide what kind of favors I'd accept owing, Gino.
[...]
Is Tsunemori here, too?
[He'd tried to look for her when he arrived, but his body had given out on him before he got very far.]
hold me im frightened
I have no idea. I haven't come across any trace of her either physically or virtually, so it would be safe to assume no. [ Kogami would have found her somehow if she were here. That or she'd make her presence known to them, surely.
He scans a page, turns it over, and then exhales a half sigh. ]
Why are you in the hospital already?
tenderly wraps tentacles around uwu
[And no, his wounds haven't reopened, though Ginoza couldn't be faulted for assuming so if he does. Still, that discrepancy isn't what sets the alarm bells off in Kogami's head. No, it's that Gino is so calm about Tsunemori, who, according to Masaoka, had run off after the second kidnapper. It's the sort of thing that risks increasing a Crime Coefficient, and he knows how much the Inspector worries about Tsunemori sharing his same fate. He's just a bit too fuzzy from the painkillers to connect the dots straightaway, but it does prompt him to ask--]
She was safe, then? Before you got here? ...What about her friend, Funahara Yuki?
bless this tender embrace
He hasn't looked up from his papers yet, but when he does its as if no time at all has passed, and his pinched eyebrows quirk disdainfully. He takes a moment to study Kogami's set expression. It's like he's forgotten.... ]
What's the last thing you remember before arriving here?
[ He's a detective, and he knows Kogami wouldn't joke about something so serious and personal, so he's determined to straighten this out early before it causes either of them serious distress. ]
C:
If he needed any more evidence to confirm that something strange was happening here, it's that response. Gino looks and sounds confused, as if it's odd for him to be asking how things turned out after he called for backup. As if the answer should be obvious. The question his former partner asks in return seals it; there's something he should know, and he doesn't.]
...Masaoka had just finished patching me up. He said Tsunemori ran off after the second kidnapper.
Why? What do you remember last, Gino?
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[ He busies himself flicking through the papers again. There's no mention of his Crime Coefficient as well he knows, but every time he double checks he wishes he could have been mistaken. Though worry over his hue has plagued the best part of his life, now he's in a world that doesn't pay it any mind he feels anything but at ease. It's as though a safety blanket has been ripped out from under him, leaving him vulnerable to an incredibly high fall into the dark depths below. ]
For me, that was some time ago. Inspector Tsunemori is fine.
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But time travel? That's the straw that breaks the suspension of disbelief camel's back, odd as it is.]
There has to be another explanation than that.
[...but what would that explanation be? As far as he knows, memory scoops can't be done in reverse, to create memories rather than search them.]
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[ Probably because it's just that; difficult to imagine. Ginoza himself doesn't really understand or believe, but theorising is better than floundering in the unknown and he can't think of anything else that might explain what's going on here.
Of course a memory wipe is another possibility, but that idea weighs uncomfortably heavy in his mind. It doesn't explain why his memories haven't been erased along with Kogami's. There is nothing in the time between what they both remember that warrants such an action for the enforcer... but for him? He thinks back to Kogami's earlier question, the one that he'd dodged.
The last thing he remembers is talking with his father. Their discussion had been a deep one and Ginoza had been left reeling with further questions and a settling sense of understanding that honestly frightened him. What with his secretly deteriorating hue, he considers Kogami lucky if a memory wipe is the explanation. ]
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You've got to admit it's all a bit farfetched. We're detectives; face-value isn't exactly what we do.
[But other than his disbelief he's...honestly got nothing, and that's the part that drives him up a wall. There's no evidence to investigate, no leads to chase, no suspects to hone in on through profiling. There's just refusal to believe in their current reality, and acceptance of it. Kogami's caught somewhere between the two.
A pause, and then he decides to press on that question that Gino avoided.]
So, are you going to keep me in suspense? I'd have thought you'd jump at the chance to give me advice from the future, Gino. What's that thing you're always saying--"the wise man learns from history"?
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There's no target to sink your teeth into here. [ He chides, deflecting Kogami's bristle with well practised ease. ] As I said already, if something as impossible as our being here turns out to be possible it would be foolish to disregard any theory as far-fetched.
[ He pauses, and finally looks away from his papers to fix Kogami with one of those stares. ]
Tsunemori is fine. Her dominator didn't work and Funahara Yuki was killed by the kidnapper. Just before I left we acquired a detailed picture of his face.
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It might not so impossible. They could be lying about not kidnapping us, and this is how things are outside Japan.
[Maybe someone tampered with his head in the meantime and that's why he can't remember what Gino does, why he can see everyone's Hues; some piece of tech roughly shoved into his brain to do its own partial cymatic scans.
...It's grasping at straws, though. He's read the imPort FAQ, and the welcome guide. He's even looked over the network. People talk about their superpowers all the time, and many of them claimed to have them back in their homes, homes whose names he doesn't even recognize. He can get as conspiracy theory as he wants about all this, but the evidence is against him. As a detective, he can't overlook all that. Eventually, he sighs.]
...Or maybe I just want all this to make more sense than it does, but pretend I'm still arguing for the first option.
[The news about Funahara Yuki is sobering, though. All of that mess, for naught. He wonders if maybe he shouldn't have gone in alone after all, though he doesn't regret telling Tsunemori to stay back when he did. If they'd let everyone know and tried to go through the official channels, though...it might have turned out this way in the end, anyway, when their kidnappers grew angry at being deprived of the plaything they'd wanted. He closes his eyes for a moment while a mild spasm of pain washes over him before addressing the
portable information terminalcommunicator again.]That's unfortunate. ...But it sounds like her Psycho-Pass is still stable, at the least, so it's one thing to be grateful for.
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Mm. She has an incredible amount of control. In order to get the picture of the kidnappers face she did a memory scoop, and even then her Psycho-Pass never peaked too high. [ Oooh, is that a hint of jealousy???? Probably. Ginoza, despite following orders and talking with his father about the issue, hasn't yet landed on a concrete and effective technique to regulate his hue and what with the unsettled nature of their environment... He's dubious that it will do him any good. ] She's as stable as she's ever been.
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She really is one of a kind, isn't she.
[There's a pause after that. Don't think he didn't notice that trace of jealousy.]
...Gino.
[His lips press together as if in debate with himself. A few more moments later, he continues.]
...If you want to know, I should be able to tell you what your Hue is if you come by in person. [...] Can't say how accurate they are, but for some reason I've been able to see them.
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He's already done his homework and back in that room he'd tried his best to read the scans for any sign of his hue, his Crime Coefficient, his mental state... He'd found nothing. How could they let him go without knowing, how could they be sure of what they were releasing? .... and if they'd done it for him, what other dangers might they have let loose into the world?
He doesn't answer right away, instead he busies himself by shifting where he stands, weighing out his options. He could save Kogami the worry, save himself the shame, and refuse... but if what Kogami says is accurate, then as soon as they meet in person he'll probably find out anyway. Sooner or later, he'll have to face it head on. ]
Alright.
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Gino doesn't expect a clear Psycho-Pass result. That's something he's not entirely sure what to feel about. They were best friends, once, a lifetime ago. But then Kogami became an Enforcer, and he lost the right to that relationship, along with most other things in the world. It's something he's just quietly accepted, something he's lived with without complaint because he had to, pushing it to the back of his mind as something he could deal with after he got justice for Sasayama.
But just because Kogami has a damn good poker face doesn't mean he doesn't care. His brows knit further, and though his overall expression doesn't change, there's definitely a spark of concern there. Just how badly has Gino been doing, lately? How close is he to ending up like both himself and his father?
The latter question, of course, Kogami won't have an answer to, when he sees him. And it's only fair to warn him of that, beforehand--in case he's depending on the Enforcer to make sense of a world without the order he's always known for him.]
It doesn't come with the number, for the record. Just the color.
[He opens his mouth like he's going to say something more, then closes it again, settling for texting Gino the address of Cape Canaveral General Hospital.]
--> action
[ And isn't that just a laugh, because they might aswell not be though they are different classifications. Ginoza understands, however, that regardless of whether or not the number is present, the Hue will be enough to tell these seasoned members of the MWPSB what state the Inspector's mind is in. The fact that Gino is doubting himself at all doesn't bode well.
He shuts off the feed without another word, leaving that degrading shut down hanging in the air.
Arriving a short while later Gino takes a moment to check the address and ward number he's double and triple checked enough times to recite from memory - a show of a routine while he steadies his nerves and straightens his tie. Then, he pushes open the door and enters. ]
You look worse in person. [ He comments dryly, and his eyes habitually glance at the notes deposited at the end of Kogami's bed. ]
do they still have bandaids in fantasy future japan who knows who knows
[It's said airily, with that same cheeky grin he was wearing when he first responded to Gino's post, but it's true--in person, it does look a bit more worn, tired. Probably because of that certain glaze in the eyes when you're in pain that can never quite be hidden. He grunts, pushing himself up a little straighter.
When he reopens his eyes, he focuses on the Hue he can now see, and...his eyebrows furrow. That was...worse than he'd thought. He wonders if he should lie, if he should offer some neutral color like yellow or a lighter green that isn't so clear as to make Gino suspicious, but isn't the shade he actually sees. He doesn't want Gino to start isolating himself, out of some misguided notion of public safety when Kogami doesn't even know if these Hues are accurate. Both the man who brought him here and the one who'd brought the cigarettes had clouded hues, but maybe that was just some kind of error. This "power" of his, it could be clouded by his own latent criminal status, his own perceptions. Ironically, the only Hue he can't see is his own, after all.
But he's also known Gino for entirely too long for such a lie to be entirely convincing. He knows his tells are already there, lying in wait at the corners of his eyes and mouth as he considers it.
Ultimately, he decides, it's best to just rip off the metaphorical bandaid.]
...Royal blue.
FUTURE BANDAIDS, now actually waterproof
But thinking about it doesn't sit well in Ginoza's mind, so he looks at the notes again, picks them up and rifles (hahaha) through them. ]
How long till you're able to leave?
yessss pls
[He'll go stir-crazy if it's any longer than that.
Might have to threaten to set fire to the room.He rubs at the place on his side that the bandages are covering up, the gaping wounds left behind once the bullets were removed closed up with stitches.]
Guess they're not a fan of repeat customers.
[Despite the dryness of his tone, though, he noticed how the Inspector didn't say anything about the Hue he'd told him, didn't even seem to question it. One might say Gino was taking the news surprisingly well, but really, he suspects its just the opposite.]
Gino, don't...
[He trails off uncertainly, unsure how he intended to finish that sentence. Don't punish yourself? Don't be upset? Don't be afraid? Angry? None of those seems to feel right to say, and what's more he doesn't feel right saying them. He'd...given up his relationship to Gino three years ago, and he was supposed to have accepted that. At home, it was simple--working on cases, Inspector and Enforcer...the lines were clear. But here everything is thrown into chaos, and he feels a twinge of something in his chest; protectiveness for his old friend, maybe. Or concern. Guilt?]
...It's probably not even right.
[Who was he, to think he could function like a part of the Sybil System, after all? There's no Dominators or scanners to corroborate what he sees. It could all be meaningless, even random. This country wasn't equipped to tell him either way.]
I'm not sure how any of this even works. Don't...take it as irrefutable.
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He swallows. His knuckles have gone white with how they're clutching the clipboard. ]
Don't, Kogami. [ He doesn't trail off with his response. It's a warning, a command. His eyes are daggers when he looks up at the other man over the clipboard. ] I don't need to hear it from you.
[ He aches every time he's like this, but it's a self-inflicted pain that is necessary to ensure he doesn't suffer anything worse. Kogami has hurt him before. He's so quick to lash out at others instead of accepting his fear both of this new world and of his own deteriorating Hue that he doesn't really take in Kogami's reassurance at all. ]
no subject
He takes the shutdown without complaint, without arguing back, and for a few moments, a heavy silence lingers between them. Kogami stares out the window, tendrils of smoke snaking out from his mouth as he exhales. He supposes he should've expected it the moment he revealed his "power" to Gino. Despite the absurdity of it, the impossibility of confirmation, he's probably taken that color straight to heart, and will likely continue to struggle with it on his own. Maybe he shouldn't have told him, after all.]
...Right. [It's a firm reminder, that whatever relationship they once had is forfeit. So where does that leave them, here?]
So, which city did they house you in?
no subject
He should really take their situation into deeper consideration and weigh out the productiveness of conforming to a system that is staggeringly absent in this new world they've found themselves in, but some part - perhaps a selfish part - of him can't bring himself to do even that much. It's been all he's known for so long, a firm ruleset to turn to in moments of weakness.. but now that it's gone he feels unsupported and lost without those guidelines to follow. He wonders, what would a person with a stable hue do in a situation like this? What would Tsunemori do?
--Ah, right. Housing. He deposits Kogami's notes back in their place at the foot of his bed and glances to his own file once more. He'd been so wrapped up in the notes about his person and the lack of any mention about his Crime Coefficient or Hue that he'd completely forgone checking where he had been assigned to live. Priorities. ]
Nonah. [ He finally reads, then looks up. ] You?
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He blows out another puff of smoke before responding--]
Same here.
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His frown twitches. ]
Which house number?
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