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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!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at anyone's thread, either!

And remember to have fun!

01. Your memory is hazy and you might feel increasingly frustrated or anxious, or maybe you're excited as soldiers march past, barely glimpsing you. One second you're somewhere underground, the next you're enveloped in blue light, and suddenly you find yourself directly under Flordia sun's bright and burning glare. A female soldier steps toward you with a wide smile on her face and directs you to a car, ready to debrief you. You realize you are not the only one, surrounded by equally confused or eager faces... and you're all sporting a digital tattoo on your wrist.

02. Welcome to Cape Canaveral, where the smell of the ocean is in the air and locals are more than pleased to see new imPorts roaming their streets. They wave, they cheer, they ask for pictures as politely as they can. The more inhuman you look, or if you're wearing a costume, the more likely locals are to approach. Hey, enjoy the moment! The popular malt shop is offering you a free drink if you need it.

03. The technology in this world is certainly something. The cars are clearly modeled after popular 50s cars, but they hover several feet above the ground as they drive down the street. There are digital jukeboxes in restaurants, motorcycles also hover through traffic, advertisements can be seen on a digital projector on the taller buildings. Even kids on skateboards appear to drift a safe ten feet off the ground while playing!

04. Wherever you are, you can hear the loud revving of an engine, distance at first before you finally see it: a hovercar bursting around the corner, going beyond the maximum speed limit and just barely making its sharp turn. It doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon, not with two police cars trailing it... and uh oh. Those skateboarding kids don't have much time to get out of the way as the car comes speeding down the road. You've been brought here for a reason Hero — so you better act fast.

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[So this is what it feels like to have a lung tumor. That's new. Jesse's experienced a lot of body horror over the past seven months, but this is altogether different. He swallows a gulp of air to try to calm the spasms in his chest, becoming aware a moment later that Mr. White's holding onto him.

Jesse looks up at him with a tiny, reassuring smile and nods. He's got tears in his eyes. Is that just from the cough, or is he choked up in more ways than one?]

I'm - yeah. I'll be okay.

[ You loser smackhead imbecile no, no, no.

He has an instinct that Jesse's done something stupid. Maybe he doesn't understand the reasoning behind it or how it works (and how does it work? it infuriates him to be stuck in a place that defies the laws of science so brazenly and fundamentally), but he has a feeling that makes him frown. A feeling that makes him ache. ]

Jesse. [ Hissed, as he tugs Jesse's jaw up under his palm. Look at me, son. ] You're not alright, are you? What just happened?

[ Walt has been content with his death sentence since day one. Don't go changing that omg. He can't pass it onto Jesse like this-- the very idea makes him want to crawl out of his skin. ]

[Don't be mad at him, Mr. White. Jesse looks so happy, even though he knows - well, of course Mr. White wouldn't want him to do something like this. That's why he didn't ask for permission.]

I used my power. They told you, right? About powers? So... Hey, it's really okay, Mr. White. You feel better, don't you?

[ Walter White is not supposed to feel better, not in the grand scheme of things. He's not supposed to trade his state of being terminally ill, his very fate, with anybody in particular, let alone his equally damned but still more charming and overall less morally bankrupt partner. It's not like Walt gives a shitto about Jesse. Def nah.

It's just that Jesse has these wet blue eyes that cause him to draw a sharp breath when he looks into them a second too long, as he absorbs those words. You little shitto. This is such bullshit. ]

Did you-- did you take my cancer, Jesse?

[ If that's true, what is he supposed to do with that? What is he supposed to do with his corrupt fatherly feelings that have gone unspoken, festering in place of silences? A dead man trading places with a young man that has so much potential.

Fuck. No. ]

[This idiot looks fleetingly guilty about it, because only Jesse Pinkman could look guilty about saving someone's life and curing their cancer. He avoids Walt's eyes for a second, which is an obvious tell. But lying is kind of useless, anyway. Mr. White will find out how his power works one way or another. Everyone else around has seen him use it.]

I, um... Yeah.

[He's quick to reassure Mr. White, though:]

It's okay. Really. I done this a lot. Um... I mean, not this this, but healing. Stuff. And I always get better after a little while. So - So cancer'll probably be the same, right? I mean, it's not even important, 'cause -

[He's back to smiling, because this next part is what makes it all worth it.]

- 'cause you got time now. Even if you're stuck here for a while. You got time to make it back to your family someday. You don't gotta worry.

[ "I done this a lot," he says. "You got time," he says. Walt reels away from Jesse and buries sunken eyelids against wrinkled fingertips. His glasses nudge up, without falling off. ]

Jesus. [ He's not taking in Jesse's smiling and good intentions. He sees it. He notices it. Walt just does not care. No, that's a straight up lie. He does care, someone he considers family taking on a burden like this, but managing his impulsive hair-trigger reaction. Well, that's another story. He's close to furious that his partner does not understand that Walt does not need fixing and how dare Jesse--

How dare he. What made him think he could take on a critical decision like this for Walt? ]

You-- [ And he rounds on the kid just like that, voice raising and temper flaring. ] "Cancer'll probably be the same?" You didn't think to ask me first, before you pull something like this?

[ He's had his family issues, money issues and health issues sorted out by Jesse within... what, less than a minute? Just what his ego needs. And beyond that surface reaction, there's a wound. One he doesn't want to face. After everything he did to protect Jesse, after all that, this is what it comes to? ]

Do you understand what you've done? Do you really get it? [ YOU CURED CANCER. YOU LITTLE SHIT I REMEMBER WHEN YOU THOUGHT WIRE WAS AN ELEMENT. YOU... might die. His yelling voice gets scratchy at the end. Desperate. ] Can you undo it?

[He understands why Mr. White's upset. If someone he cared about had done this for him - well, he'd probably react even worse. But there's a really fundamental difference between himself and Mr. White, and it's the reality that Jesse isn't important. Not to himself, not to his family, not to anyone. If his regeneration somehow couldn't get rid of cancer - or if it made the cancer even worse - then that would be okay.

Mr. White might be the only one who'd miss him. But he'll realize eventually, how this was the best choice. The only one, really.]

I - I can't undo it. God, Mr. White. I wouldn't even if I could. Listen -

[He used to shrink back in moments like these, but it's been a while and he's changed, so he steps forward instead to take Mr. White by the shoulders. Kind of like how Mr. White always does with Jesse when he's the one freaking out.]

I thought about this a lot. I been thinking about it every day since I got here. I'm sorry I didn't ask, but I knew - I knew you'd react...

[He wasn't sure, actually. After what Saul told him, he wasn't sure Mr. White would care at all.]

I'll be okay. I promise.

[ It takes him by surprise. All of it. The powers, the suddenly being cured, these impossible truths and the very heavy weight of them -- but Jesse surprises him most of all. Jesse's words and how calmly he is explaining himself. He says he's been thinking about this every day, about Walt's cancer and wellbeing.

A harsh twinge of guilt rides on by, the part of him that's still human reacting to this. His eyes lock on Jesse in front of him. If only he knew. Walt hopes that even if Jesse knew everything, he'd come around to seeing Walt's side of the story eventually. He'd have to understand that everything he did was to help Jesse as much as himself.

To protect them and their business. Nothing is more important anymore. Jesse doing this-- Walt doesn't want this from him. Not to mention, the best thing that ever happened to him was his cancer diagnosis. It freed him. Jesse's too young, too meant for other things; he has never fully understood. He won't. Walt sags in place, chin dropping.

He moves forward and puts both arms around Jesse's shoulders. Suddenly, en embrace. Or not so suddenly. There was a long pause there where Walt was clearly sorting through about twenty different emotions at once, and this is where he ends up.

Awkwardly expressing gratitude. Beaten down. Walt doesn't want this from Jesse, but-- God, sometimes he's relieved to still have him. ]

[Jesse expects more arguing - some screaming insults, maybe a bit of throttling - so when Walt moves in to hug him instead, he's taken off-guard.

It'd be a lie to say he hasn't been hoping for a response like this. Not that he did this just to please Mr. White, but he did hope that Mr. White would be pleased. Everyone wants the gifts they give to be happily received. But he mostly did it because he cares about Mr. White that much. Owes him so much. Owes him his life, really. It would have been worth the sacrifice even if Mr. White was angry with him for it.

After his moment of alarm, Jesse settles into the embrace naturally. He doesn't get enough of this, and he craves it, so of course he wraps his arms around Mr. White and hugs him in return. The rush of emotions brings a tightness to his chest, another cough rising out of him that he suppresses by burying his face against Mr. White's shoulder.]

[ Walt is still angry.

It's settled down into the type that festers. It will probably explode at another time, but this is not the right time. Jesse has no clue what he's done, no sense of the scope or meaning even as it pertains only to Jesse, and Walt is far too petty not to remain irate over the loss of control, but...

This fucking kid. He's really not a bad one, all in all. Somewhere along the line, Walt came to depend on him, irrational as the instinct may be. Jesse is the other half of the world he's chosen. Jesse always comes back. Eventually if not right away. There he is: he returns the hug after a moment of surprise, one Walt can sense, and it hurts as much as it brings comfort.

Walt blinks and finds that his eyes are a little misty. He sets a hand over the collar of Jesse's jacket at the back, protectively pulling him a bit more in when he hears that cough.

This is awful. ]

... I'm sorry ... [ And he's still human. These words and gestures don't pass between them often, if ever, but taking on his fatal illness? Jesus. It's too much. ] I-- I didn't mean for... you know I wouldn't want for you to--

[ He needs Jesse, is the thing, but he'd prefer not to see him hurting. It's why it's best he does not know. ]

I'll be okay.

[He'll say it like a mantra and that'll make it true. For all he knows, it is true. Jesse's yet to find anything that can kill him. It's a safer gamble than it feels like. He's coughing now, but that's only because it takes a while for his regeneration to kick in.

...Here's hoping that doesn't mean regenerating cancer cells at an exponential rate.

He sniffs and shakes his head a little, pulling back to smile at Mr. White.]

I been ready, just in case you ever showed up. There's so much other stuff I gotta show you. You're totally set for life. Jesus, I got... Wait 'til you see the money, Mr. White. You don't gotta about anything.

[ Regeneration. That just doesn't make any real sense, but neither does swapping health statuses with nothing but a touch. Walt furrows his brow and stares at Jesse while he speaks, almost in awe. Set for life? He'd been preparing like this just in case Walt showed up? Well, he's certainly willing to share, if nothing else.

Walt swallows a strange lump in his throat. He shakes his head slowly, not fully understanding. For so much to have been accomplished without him... but he knows, despite his ego, that Jesse's every bit as good as him. ]

You mean to say you've been, [ here he glances over his shoulder quickly, to make sure they're really alone. The car gets a suspicious look too. He doesn't know where they are or how Jesse's been able to - ] For how long? How much?

[ Money, that is a word that grabs his attention. ]

And my family? [ Jesse had mentioned... ] Where are they?

[ Those worlds don't cross, normally, but this is the only face he recognizes right now. The only person he can ask. Let's say this happened before Saul pulled his obnoxious little stunt mmkay. ]

Edited 2014-09-30 23:08 (UTC)

[It's a busy day and no one around is paying any mind to two reuniting friends, but Jesse keeps his voice low anyway, whispering into Mr. White's ear:]

Five million a month. That's how much we pull in.

[Of course, that number gets whittled down to account for costs, but it's still an absurd number. Jesse will make sure Mr. White's taken care of.]

I been at it for four months. It's yours, Mr. White. I got everything waiting for you.

As for your family...

[Jesse knows this part's going to be disappointing. After all, he's not the one Mr. White really wants to be with. He wants his kids and his wife. The people he goes home to every day.]

Unless they just showed up with this crowd, they ain't here. Not yet. I been keeping an eye out.

[ Did he hear that right? Five million a month? And he-- it's yours, Mr. White. Everything waiting for him. His heart thrums in his chest a little faster, because he can't deny it-- that's an exciting number. Five million a month. Jesse has everything running smoothly, from the sound of things.

The little bastard. They ran into so many... issues, when they took on the business themselves, and for the past four months Jesse has been pulling in cash like that? Without Walt? He puts a little distance between them now. His face goes blank.

It'd be just as easy to blame that on the news about his family. Convenient. Walt lets out a resigned sigh, and after a moment of being disconnected from everything around him simply to maintain, he turns back to Jesse. ]

Everything that you made up to now is yours, Jesse. [ It's not generosity. It's stubbornness, plain and simple. He squares his shoulder and speaks severely; there will be no arguments about this. ] I had no part in it. I don't care what you do with it, or how you spend it. Who have you been working with?

[ "We?" You been cooking with anyone else??? This will bug the everloving fuck out of him until he understands this new set up and has a chance to take his place at the wheel of it. ]

Edited 2014-10-02 02:28 (UTC)

[Not... quite the reaction he was expecting. Jesse senses that Mr. White's not entirely pleased by the news and retreats a step, his hands going to the back of his neck.]

I, um... It's just me. In the lab. But I'm working with a distributor. Got some people of my own, too. I can introduce you to everybody, you know. If you want. Or not, if you don't want 'em to know you. It could just be you and me.

[He puts on a tight little smile and gets closer again to murmur the next part:]

I got an RV. It'll be just like the good ol' days, you know?

[ The tenseness of his posture relaxes, upon hearing that Jesse has been cooking alone. Nobody else is learning his formula. That's good. That's the most important part. Distributors are necessary, as they both know.

... an RV. Just like old times. Walt considers him again, almost fondly. It was never perfect, but it used to be easier. He enjoys what he does, truly-- feels tied to a bizarre sort of nostalgia at Jesse's prompting. That was before everything became... colossally messed up. That was before he wronged his partner so deeply that even he knows to be ashamed of his actions, on some subconscious level. ]

I will want to meet them, eventually. These are our new employees, as I understand it. [ Walt nods. And this is the most important part, again, so he places a hand back on Jesse's shoulder and speaks to him directly, clearly. And like he's talking to a child. ] But you and I, we're the only ones who cook. The only ones in that lab. This is our hard work; our product. You understand.

[ And, maybe even more bizarrely, like he's talking to a friend. One he can trust. ]

I know you do.

[Everything about this comes back to nostalgia, doesn't it? After all, Jesse only got into the business again so that he could fight his overwhelming loneliness. He was never more important to people than when he was making drugs, and in the lab he could shut his eyes and pretend he was home again. In any world, there's always the chemistry. And the chemistry is his only link to the one person who cares about him.

When Mr. White touches his shoulder, Jesse's smile softens. Is that what he was worried about? That Jesse had a new partner?]

It's our secret, Mr. White. Don't worry. Nobody else knows the formula. Nobody's ever even been in the lab but me.

[ Exactly what he wants to hear. Walt lets out a sigh of relief. As for his family, well... that does disturb him. He was just a bit more concerned about the state of his meth first. And-- well, it bears repeating, in his own mind if not aloud, that Jesse is like family to him. Guilt pricks at him again as he takes in Jesse's smile and the enormity of what he's offering. In one fell swoop, he cured cancer and-- all this money, all this effort. In a strange new place.

Walt gives a squeeze and buries his guilt. It is a fleeting thing, always. It chips away at him slowly if at all. ]

It's just you and me, is it? [ Outside of his immediate family, Jesse is the only one he really cares about. Walt lifts his hand stares at the tattoo on his wrist. ] And you will-- you will get better. You said that you would.

[ He has to. Walt will exploit any and every strange loophole this place has to offer to make sure his partner stays with him through this. ]

I swear, yeah.

[He doesn't want Mr. White to keep worrying about it. It's so pointless. Honestly, who even cares if he dies? He's done pretty much everything he set out to do. Everything's exactly the way it's supposed to be and he finally feels... something close to peace, anyway. As close as someone like him can get to it.]

It's good, right?

[Please tell him he didn't make some horrible misstep. He worked so hard at this.]

[ Jesse needs this. He needs confirmation, affirmation, something like that. That's how it is with him, and Walt can use it with impunity, but he also cherishes it. In a strange way. It's a constant. The universe is random and Jesse is constant. He should not die. He should not be in danger, unless it were to become necessary. Walt would rather that never happened. ]

It's good, Jesse. [ So he throws him a bone. Walt is both sincere and detached when he speaks. How does he manage that? Who knows. ] You've done good.

[ He hasn't. Walt now has to face the prolonged inevitability of existence in an entirely new light. That's disconcerting, to say the least-- but for now, at least for now, he won't shove his discomfort in Jesse's face. They have their business and they have their formula. He'll figure it out from there. ]

No end in sight.

[ Woo, he's drifting. Where is he? Barely present. ]

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jhssy

mr whhhht

u........want it just as much as i want it

it's not wrong?? 2 want it???

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