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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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[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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