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

[janebond]

[ Nikita smiles at her, genuinely warm. ]

The name's being called into service again.

[ To help her blend in; it's more suspicious not to have a callsign. It's no surprise that Max doesn't offer a real name, but names are just another mask, one that's easily shed. Nikita knows her face and voice; she just needs something to call her by. ]

[thephix]

[That earns a quiet huff, something like a laugh, because she knows when a question is being avoided.]

Something tells me we could speak for months and we'd walk away knowing nothing.

[Since they're both just - talking around any real answers or information.]

[janebond]

[ Wryly, ] You can blame me; it's an old habit.

[ There's no reward without risk, and she'd rather stay on this woman's good side. ]

You know what our world is like.

[ It's a stab in the dark; thieves and vigilantes are a spy's kissing cousins. They overlap enough. If Max is for the other side — well Nikita would like to think she isn't playing the long game, but trust is another weakness she's not willing to show this soon. ]

[thephix]

A month ago, I may have said that I do, but now I'm less inclined to make assumptions.

[Since she, you know, got tossed into some kind of alternate Earth where the cold war is still happening and superheroes aren't terrible people.]

[janebond]

[ She makes an agreeable noise. ]

What do you make of the capes?

[ She's curious. They don't exist back home, they create all kinds of variables and problems that she's going to deal with at some point. ]

[thephix]

I'm surprised that they seem to have some integrity, here.

[Max knows how much that's giving away about her own world, but that's fine, it's information she's willing to share.]

[janebond]

[ It sparks a small lightbulb; she files it away for later perusal. ]

We don't have them, but we do have heroes.

[ She's thinking about Ryan as she says it. He's no fighter, he had a cushy desk job and a well-lit office, and he was willing to go to great lengths for her. Michael does the same and always has, next to her with his boots on the ground, but it takes a man of extraordinary courage to keep Division open the way he has. ]

[thephix]

I suppose most worlds must have at least a few of those.

[Max thinks her world only has one; she's no real hero, but Atlas is, even if the longer she spends with him the more she twists him into something for her own use.

Or maybe that's just Asteria talking.]

[janebond]

I'd like to think we've still got hope no matter where we are.

[ Maybe that tells a little too much. She shrugs. ]

Even that has to be taken sometimes.

[thephix]

[Hope isn't something that Max believes in, but saying that would definitely be admitting too much.]

I can't say you struck me as an optimist.

[Considering they met about fifteen minutes ago, it isn't as though Max could form a full opinion of her.]

[janebond]

I surprise even myself.

[ A wry smile. And on that note they pull up in a part of town that's quiet this time of night. It's a respectable neighbourhood - Nikita has no doubt Max knows her way around those but she'd stand out too much at this time of night. So Safehouse C it is: a small two room apartment. She opens the door for Max. ]

Here, up the stairs, right at the end of the corridor.

[ It's a defensible position: corner, with nearby buildings and a well-maintained fire escape. ]

[thephix]

[Max offers a smile, but doesn't say any more as she climbs out of the car and heads towards the apartment. She's glad Nikita gave her directions, because she makes a point of going first, so that Nikita doesn't have to turn her back to Max.

She can be threatening if she has to, but right now she'd rather but Wildflower at ease, if only because it makes getting information a little easier.

Once they're inside, she looks over at Nikita.]

Do you mind if I smoke?

[janebond]

[ The room is bare. The bed looks like it came out of a prison: metal frame, plain white sheet, brown blanket. The windows have the blinds drawn down. There's a table pushed next to the kitchen sink, instead of plates there's handguns in various stages of disassembly on it, and one Glock 22 which Nikita picks up and puts facing the window nearest them. The couch has seen better days too. ]

[ There's no exposed gunpowder in the room, so Nikita shrugs. ]

Go ahead.

[thephix]

Thank you.

[And she means that; she wouldn't have smoked if Nikita didn't want her to, but sometimes she just needs to be doing something with her hands.

So she delicately lights a cigarette, taking a few drags before she speaks again.]

You never really answered my questions about why you need guns.

[janebond]

[ A soft laugh, after discreetly noting the brand. ]

Self-defence. [ hmm ] I suppose they look ridiculous, but they're serving my purpose for now.

[ Combined with the power she supposedly has (she doesn't trust it or want to rely on it), she's good to go. ]

[thephix]

I wasn't aware we needed that much self-defense.

[She says it like do you know something I don't? but what she really means is that she isn't sure she believes that answer.]

[janebond]

It pays to be prepared.

[ look she just feels safer with something familiar around ]

[thephix]

I imagine it also pays not to be caught with illegal guns.

[There's always a trade off; she's curious about what made Nikita choose this particular kind of safety.]

[janebond]

Also true. [ she shrugs ] It can be liquidated in a pinch.

[ There's always somebody around in need of a bazooka. She comes to sit down upwind of Max. ]

[thephix]

[She notices where Nikita moves, and rather than responding to her comment, she raises an eyebrow.]

I can put it out, if it bothers you.

[janebond]

[ Shaking her head, ]

I'm fine, just not used to it.

[thephix]

[Max nods, accepting that answer.]

May I ask where Wildflower originated?

[Some people are sensitive about this sort of thing, but Max is curious.]

[janebond]

[ She answers without hesitation; there's no reason to hide this. It's not as though Max knows Carla or can trace her. ]

Someone I [ loved like a mother ] knew chose it, because they save their strength for the right moment.

[thephix]

[Something like approval flickers in Max's expression; she doesn't think this woman needs any approval, but it's still a good name.]

It's a far nicer name than many I've heard.

[janebond]

[ She smiles. ]

And why Sphinx?

[ Not really a question she felt the need to ask: only so many reasons someone would pick a codename that belonged to a creature of mythology that ate those who failed its riddles. It just feels polite. ]