etcelsior | sure, jan

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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[ Over the years, Sabetha thought she had forgotten that voice, had banished it to some part of her memory not easily dredged up. That is, until Locke Lamora speaks and brings with him every ounce of reminiscence she'd tried to bury. In a place like this, not at all like Camorr or Emberlain or even Karthain, it's actually something of a relief.

She turns towards him, her face sifting through several expressions before settling decisively on shock. She supposes she shouldn't be surprised, not when she was so unceremoniously brought here herself. Would the others be here too? Jean, Calo, Galdo? Did she want to be reunited with the Gentleman Bastards again, as if nothing had changed in the years between?

For now, it's just Locke here in front of her—and against her better judgment, she'd allowed him to capture her full attention once, and he hadn't exactly relinquished the better part of it since. This isn't how things were supposed to play out, not even close, but Sabetha has always been able to deal with being caught unawares. ]

Locke. [ She regards him carefully, not moving closer but not moving away, either. ] You're trying to be charming so soon?

[Not moving closer but not moving away. It's a good sign. One he's all too worried he'll scare away if he takes another step closer. Good luck is fleeting, he's learning, and the Thirteen have a way of screwing things whenever they could.

Gods, if she isn't beautiful. The sharpness of her gaze, the way she looks at him as if he were some punitive thing she could crush under the heel of her boot and hoping that behind that hard stare there's something softer. A love, a care reserved just for him after all these years. If there ever was one to begin with.

No, he won't get to thinking like that.

He smiles and it's nervous, flinching at the edges.]

Sabetha. You and I both know that's entirely dependent on if it's working. [Damn, too serious. He shrugs.] Though I do have a quota I've got to fill. It seems my brand of charm is in high demand.

At this point, Locke Lamora, I am choosing not to be charmed by you. [ There's no real edge to the words; her usual sharpness is there, but when isn't it? Seeing as a moment later, she returns the smile. Hers isn't tinged with nervousness, although it is tinged with amusement at Locke's. That's familiar, between the two of them—Locke's nervousness around her and her taking every advantage that comes from it. ]

They must have decided they had a use for the both of us here. [ She takes a moment to look at him, really look at him, to see what's changed since she last saw him. She wants to ask, but refrains for now. No need to lay out their past and history so soon. ] I can't say I blame them for their choice, but it's rather inconvenient.

[One smile and he's out of his wits. By some miracle, he remembers how to stand though his knees feel like caving inward beneath him. Even with everything going on, every panic fresh in his mind, she can still reduce him to something so basic. Wonderful. Absolutely-wait.]

Did my ears deceive me or did I just hear a compliment? [He leans back and tries not to let that stare seize him. It threatens to, just as her changes-closely observed-threaten to betray his every effort of restraint.] "Can't blame them for their choice"?

[Giddy as a child who's gotten their first bit of money, Locke attempts to swallow it down with a light cough and a broadening smile.] It is rather inconvenient though. Were you also, ah, occupied with pressing concerns? Before they took you, that is. Which, by the way, where exactly were you?

So you caught that one. [ Her smile settles into more of a smirk. ] Even I'll admit that between the both of us, they'll soon find themselves poorer. More paranoid, too.

[ Besides, she'll give credit to Locke's inventiveness... at least on the occasions it doesn't end in spectacular flames. These days, she's not exactly one to talk in that regard, either. Her arms fold across her chest and her smirk fades with his question. ] The Kingdom of the Marrows, for the most part. Some business in Emberlain and Vintila—rich noblemen with more coin than sense, that is.

[ She purses her lips. ] Although I'd just travelled elsewhere for the beginning of a new scheme. And now here I am. Were your own affairs going well, Locke?

[ She'd heard troubling news from Camorr, after all. But if anyone can extricate themselves from trouble, it's Locke. ]

[He's not sure how to take that news. The idea of Sabetha with someone else was disconcerting. The feeling settles with him like a spoiled drink and he tries to brush past it, comforting himself with the reminder that he had no justifiable reason to feel so sick. Sabetha was her own woman and what she did was up to her.

It gave him little comfort.

Coughing, he straightened the position of his fanny pack and set to tidying up the rest of his tourist disguise.] Yes, well. You know how things are in Camorr. The nobles are still dense enough to look beyond my little fingers.

[He thinks of Nazca and hesitates, knowing he should tell her and yet not compelled to; telling her would only lead to the Grey King and he'd rather stray from that subject as long as possible.] Things... are twisting rather unpleasantly now, though. If that's what you mean to ask. [Maybe there's a way to work around it. It should be simple enough to hide his own involvement. Sabetha deserves to know.]

sure, jan

fgjkggj quiet screaming

i am sorry in advance for any and all sappy writing

i am 100% okay with it

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