sure, jan

[maskormods]

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.

Comments

Teddy (Hulkling) Altman | Marvel 616

[notasaviour]

2

[It wasn't that he minded the waving and the smiling, really, it was just that he felt like he was getting the applause for nothing. So far, he'd barely had the time to get used to being here, and he wasn't famous or anything. He certainly hadn't done anything to deserve the attention he was getting.

What he really wanted to get something to eat, maybe see if there was anything interesting around here. Find some people his own age, too, who weren't going to stare at him and expect him to pose for photographs.

If he was flying, of course, people wouldn't be able to stop him. The downside to that was that he had to revert to shift the wings into place, and he'd done that once. Never again. Green brought even more attention. Paying very little attention to the people on the street, he sped up, looking for an alley or something to duck down.]

Ah, sorry. Excuse me.

[Or, wildcard option, approach him somewhere. He'll probably be green.]

GUESS WHO GETS FIRSTIES

[selfimage]

[ it was the same old song and dance as before.

multidimensional hopping, a few stops for photo ops, and then a milkshake to follow it all up. Teddy is as easy to spot as Odin's beard among mortal facial hair. it's all too obvious that he has no idea who he's approaching, and when he finally hears the words "excuse me," Loki lifts a brow in response. ]

We've been waiting for you—or, well, Billy has, specifically. [ and then, to himself. ] Oh, how jealous he'll be knowing I got to you first.

[ to Teddy's credit, Loki's a little harder to spot without the horned get-up. instead he's dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a hoodie. inconspicuous among the mortal masses. ]

the last person he wants to see :P

[notasaviour]

[It takes him a while to work it out; give him a break, he's distracted and he's so not expecting Loki in regular clothing. And, if he was being honest, he'd been hoping not to see Loki. He should have known better, really.

Still, it's a new world and he supposes any familiar contact is better than none and did Loki say Billy?]

Wait, Billy's here? Where is he?

[He's not precisely desperate... but if Loki doesn't cough up answers, Teddy's going to have to get annoyed.]

[selfimage]

I don't track him twenty-four seven.

[ he says with mock indigence. some part of him is relieved—they wouldn't have to babysit Billy anymore. all the concerns of Billy's loneliness felt like the weight of something moving off of his shoulders. at least, for now. ]

You can call him, you know.

Don't let me stop you or anything.

[notasaviour]

[With Loki right there? No way.]

Now I know he's here, I'll call him later.

[He hesitates, but... well, Loki had stopped him first, and in an apparently friendly way. Maybe it was stupid, but it was pretty rude to just ignore that, right?]

How are you, anyway?

[selfimage]

[ they had left on decent terms, even though Loki had, well up and left entirely. after that, he had thrown them a party, mostly because he wasn't entirely sure how to broach the whole "sincere apology" thing. he had, after all that time, been getting better. between Kate, Verity and Lydia, and the dance of two steps forward and one step back in the friend department. ]

Well, aside from handling a multiversal kidnapping caused by a robot goddess? See: I had nothing to do with it.

[ pause! ]

I'm good. They're giving away free malts.

[notasaviour]

You said you had nothing to do with Mother, too.

[He's just saying.]

...Okay. I could use a drink, and some answers. If you're feeling helpful, maybe you could answer some of them.

[selfimage]

No, actually. I never said that.

[ they just never asked—and who would really think to? way to hit him where it hurts, Teddy. even a year later the spot was a little sore. ]

If you want the fill-in, I can provide.

[ he owed him a little, maybe. ]

Though Kate may have something to add, later.

[totalpacifist]

Oh no, I'm sorry! That was my fault. [Since he's made of metal and the other guy (though huge and wow pretty green) feels like he's probably made of flesh, X has to ask,] Are you all right?

[notasaviour]

[Well, at least the person he bumped into is being nice about it... which only really makes Teddy feel worse. He rubs the back of his neck, feeling awkward.]

No, it really was mine. I wasn't watching where I was going, sorry.

[He maybe feels a little bruised. Is that guy made of metal? Teddy wonders if he's anything like Jonas, then.]

I'm fine, honestly.

[totalpacifist]

Good good- but really, my fault. I'm so sorry. [the cyclical nature of apologetic people ladies and gents] There's so much to stare at around here- not you! I wasn't referring to you. [x maybe don't bring it up and he won't think you were referring to him]

[notasaviour]

I'm pretty used to people staring, to be honest.

[He smiles as he says it, trying to be reassuring. He is green, which isn't exactly a normal skin colour.]

People didn't used to be so enthusiastic about it, but it's not anything new. Everything here is odd, though. It's like the City of the Future stuff people used to imagine back home, especially the cars.

[totalpacifist]

You mean with the hovering? [X glances up at a sedan as it wobbles overhead.] I'm used to that, but the design is very, very strange. Pretty much everything here is strange, even the currency. I'm still not clear on what they expect us to do.

[notasaviour]

Really? They don't hover back home. The shape of them is about right for the 1950s though. The currency's not that strange, but the linked bank account... that's a little too futuristic. [He frowns.] I'd guess they really do want us to do what they said, be heroes, but the registered thing makes me a bit uncomfortable.

[Bad history with that idea, yep.]

[totalpacifist]

Really? [says the guy who was basically registered military property the second he got dug out of the ground] Could I ask you why?

HELLO

[inmyothertights]

[Billy is totally across the street in a diner, eating a piece of pie (in fact, he's just speared a piece and it is halfway to his mouth) when he spots someone green-

A certain someone green-]

Ted-

[He doesn't finish Teddy's name, because he realizes quickly that Teddy can't hear him, and actually, he forgets he can teleport, because he's flustering to the waitress and trying to leave money and then running out of the diner, so fast that when he gets across the street he literally slams into him-]

Teddy!

what am I even doing

[notasaviour]

[Billy might not be physically imposing, comparatively speaking, but collisions at speed are still surprising and slightly painful even for Hulkling.

Not that he cares, much, because maybe Loki might have mentioned Billy was here and now he is, and really, that's about the only thing that matters. That, and making sure Billy doesn't fall over; running into Teddy that way can't have helped his balance much. He reaches out and puts his hands on Billy's shoulders to steady him.]

Hey, Billy.

[So many things he wants to say, but they all get kind of tangled in the moment, so he settles for smiling.]

Being brilliant

[inmyothertights]

[Screw smiling, because Billy is kissing, right there on the street. Just one, to be fair, and no tongue, but man, he missed him, he missed him, he missed him.]

Teddy-

[He swallows it a bit, and then his arms are around him in a hug, tighter than usual for Billy, as if to make sure he's real.]

Teddy.

being terrible, more like

[notasaviour]

[Well, if he had any doubts about this being his boyfriend, maybe some alternate dimension Billy, that fixes them. And even if Billy's hugging a little too tightly, Teddy's still just going to slide his arms around Billy, and enjoy it for a few seconds. He can stop worrying so much about where Billy is, at least.

Of course, that leaves him with other concerns. Billy's obviously been concerned about where Teddy is, too, so it's probably time to reassure him on that front.]

I'm here. It's okay, Billy, I'm not going anywhere, not now I know where you are.

[People can try and force them apart, but that's never worked. And after last time, he's almost certain he could tell if people were trying to manipulate them apart, too. It's not going to happen again.]

lies <3

[inmyothertights]

[He takes a moment, let's himself just stay there, quiet, and finally he nods. It's reassuring to hear that, it really is.]

I'm living with Kate, you'll come home with me, right?

[There is something almost painful about that, like maybe he thinks that Teddy might just say something like we agreed we'd try and stay apart, but Billy just can't think of that kind of thing, not right now, not with Teddy so close.]

we'll see, but thank you:)

[notasaviour]

Sure, for a bit.

[All he really means is that the little stuff he does have is in the room they assigned him, and he's not sure if there aren't rules about staying somewhere else. Agreements like that wouldn't count in this kind of situation, anyway, not so far from home. And even if he was angry at Billy... well, he wouldn't stay that way for long with that welcome.

Still, they're starting to draw attention, and right now he'd rather not deal with it. Carefully stepping out of the hug, he reaches for Billy's hand instead, picks a direction and starts walking again.]

So if we're here, and Kate's here, anyone else? Tommy? Noh-Varr?

[inmyothertights]

[He doesn't say anything, at that first part, because maybe he's still unsure, but man-

They walk and Billy's hand tightens in Teddy's and he smiles, a real smile, a Billy Kaplan is in love smile, the kind of smile only Teddy really sees.]

Oh, they were, but now it's just Kate, Loki, and America. But it's not bad, really.

[selfequipped]

[Things that Kate Bishop is good at: being a leader, kind of being controlling, picking out the best burger joints, having terrible taste in guys, and being a good friend.

That last part becomes tricky when Billy's involved. Kate adores Billy, and if any number of options were presented to her to help him, she'd take every good one. That is, any of the ones that wouldn't damage Billy himself. But she's at a loss with certain arenas, namely the ones that could have much to do with the Teddy part of his brain.

Kate is a good friend, but she can never be Teddy. That's really the moral of this story.

After a year of being stuck in this particular version of the multiverse (this particular mayfly dimension, as she's come to consider it), she's relived to spot her friend from afar. When the various eager citizens try to pester him, she trots over and slips her hand into the crook of his arm, saying brightly:] Not to worry, everyone. I can show him the ropes. I know, I know, but he's a good friend of mine. I've got this covered.

[Kate glances up at Teddy with a relieved smile on her face. She's not saying it exactly, but that relief? He's probably seen it from time to time.

This time, it directly relates to one Billy Kaplan. But she's glad to have him there, too. While Billy's been closer to her on many of her misadventures, Teddy's been her friend for ages now. His strong, formidable presence is something she's missed.]

[notasaviour]

[Kate's one of his oldest friends, or at least the ones still around. There's only really the three of them left from the days of six teenagers trying to fill a void without really knowing what they were doing. And unlike his boyfriend, he's almost never had to worry about Kate at all. She's always been the most confident of them.

He can understand the relief, though. He loves Billy, but he's not always the easiest person to deal with, especially if he needs help and won't admit it.]

Thanks, Kate. It's not like it's a big deal, everyone's just trying to be friendly, but sometimes the enthusiasm gets a little overwhelming.

[Not that he'd admit that to almost anyone else.]

So you're here too. Think they're trying to collect the full set?

[selfequipped]

At different points, they've had almost all of us. You're actually pretty late, come to think of it. [And at one point, they had all of the most recent "main" Young Avengers, sans Teddy. The arrival of everyone but Teddy had been hard on Billy especially. Even Kate had begun to think that he really wasn't in the plans for this world (though "even Kate" is a little inaccurate—confident or not, she's never been without her set of worries).]

But you'll like what we've got going here. We've even brought a few new people into the fold. [And a specific old one, but Kate isn't going to spring the "Loki's back and I'll yell at him for being a jerk" right off.]