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

[hatefully]

[ :| talk. To a human.

Feh.

This isn't the time to be fantasizing about violently destroying the force that stuck him in this situation. ]

...

[ He's still glaring, but that seems more an expression that comes naturally to his face than a specific new ire with her. (It's certainly not a facial expression that somebody who looks like a 11-12+ child in both statue and the general mold of his features should be remotely capable of.) Under the cloak, Forte folds his arms. ]

Oh?

[ Deigning to not ditch the conversation as it stands, he's curt. ] I'm Forte. [ Adding the ".EXE" for the benefit of some random Import seems somewhat pointless. ]

[bindsthedead]

[What an odd child- if he is a child. Regardless, Sabriel feel a little protective- she was a prefect at her school, after all.

And under these circumstances, that protectiveness manifests as a desire to be honest and informative, though the scowl is a little offputting.]

We have apparently been brought here and given powers- though mine seem to be the same I've had all along- by something called a 'Porter'. The government here apparently asks for our allegiance in exchange for lodging, employment, and several other benefits. They are either unable or unwilling to send us back, despite my repeated requests. [Sabriel scowls.]

Also, this 'United States' has been at odds- but not actively at war- with a nation called the 'Soviet Union' for some time. Apparently our presence here has made things worse, as Imports are generally seen as allied with this nation's government. [In Sabriel's opinion, that's ridiculous. She doesn't intend to join any side, as long as no one's trying to raise the dead or practice necromancy.]

[hatefully]

[ He tsks, jerking his chin downward in a minuscule node. His movements still come jerkily, as if he doesn't really get how to perform them.

His voice belies his fury. ]

That was the drivel I was told upon my arrival too. [ And hey, Forte had made 'repeated requests' in his own way as well, eager to wash his hands of this place. They had been just about as fruitful. ] How this 'Porter' or the government expected to win my allegiance when it saddled me with this pathetic body...

What an insult. As if I care about their squabbles.

[ More of a blank stare when terms like 'Soviet Union' and 'United States' come up. Though there's a distinct lack of surprise to hostility to Imports. Humans were hostile to anything they couldn't control fully and many Imports seemed to fall into that area, even with the superheroism business they had going on. ]

[ However, the human Import had finally mentioned something that piqued Forte's interest. Ignoring the headache that came with the overabundance of stimuli, even at the sunny, relatively quiet pier: ]

You say you have powers, even before this local's interference.

What sort of powers could a human lay claim to?

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel sighs, and holds out her hand, tracing glowing symbols in the air. Water condenses around them, before splashing to the ground.

It's a minor spell, but there are too many people too close for Sabriel to be inclined to showing off how big an explosion she can create. And using the bells in her bandolier would be a spectacularly bad idea.]

I am a Charter Mage, among other things. What were you, before you were brought here? ['Necromancer' is not something she wants to mention in public. Not until she's certain how people will react.]

I'd rather not be involved with any of this either, but we may not have a choice. [Sabriel's own frustration seeps into those words. If it comes to war, she'll have to intervene, even if it's just to get both sides to stop]

[hatefully]

[ Forte watches the brief light show and the watery results splashing down into small puddles to their feet, red gaze intent. It's a mundane display that still implied skill, a measured response. Power. He'd be more confused by ~magic~ but his world runs on bullshit internet magic so

A sharp huff of air. ] ... Pretty. [ not a completely asshole-ish tone! ]

Is it useful for combat?

[ If he had manual access to his memory logs, he'd run a search for the two words separately. Alas. Not having memories in a digital format is so cumbersome.

Then, his eyes narrow coldly. ]

I'm a NetNavi. [ Present tense; just because he'd got shoved into this human body didn't make him a human. He wasn't a human. It wasn't his body and he regarded it as such. Oh, wait. Oddly dressed human wouldn't know what a NetNavi is, anymore than he knew what a Charter Mage was. He corrects himself. ] An independent AI.

[ ... ]

What does that matter? ... I don't intend to humor them. If they don't grant a choice, I'll just take it.

[ The other Imports might go into this conflict if they were simply offered no feasible options but to agree for their own (or others) safety. He didn't intend to join them. And Forte makes this statement wholeheartedly if nonchalantly. Here is somebody operating on an unreal amount of confidence in their ability to back up their words. ]

[bindsthedead]

Very much so. And for making sure it's unneccesary. [From Sabriel's perspective, immobilizing or blinding your enemy before they can hit you counts as 'avoiding combat'.]

Ah- I've met another one like you here. [Though Magicman looked considerably older.

Sabriel doesn't laugh at his confidence, though she offers him a grim smile.]

'Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?' [Not a question with an obvious answer, in Sabriel's opinion.]

I'm sure you're not weak, but there's something to be said for subtlety.

[hatefully]

[ lol @ trying to ensure situations where combat is unnecessary, human.

A good fight is the best. ]

Mm? Is that so. [ Shame he didn't seem to have access to the GetAbility program here then. Not that Forte knew whether it'd work on biological beings or not. (It probably wouldn't.) ]

And was that your duty, human? [ To make sure there's no needless fighting around you. ]

[ Well, a fellow artificial being was better than another filthy human. ]

... Who?

[ Look, his creator wanted a kid (with double arm cannons), not a companion, okay. That question, paired with a grim smile from the human, earns a raised eyebrow. In Forte's viewpoint, it was the person who decided to walk the path, not the other way around. ]

There is.

I'm not interested in employing it.

[ Faced with a problem, solve it by destroying it. If it can't be solved with that or one doesn't get what they want from it, then find other ways. Forte didn't like being pushed around. And he wasn't any good at throwing a mask over it and playing nice until he could actually push back, a wise course of action or not. ]

[bindsthedead]

[Forte you are one strange child.]

No. My duty is- or was- to make sure that the dead remain truly dead. Hopefully, that will not be necessary here.[Which is harder than it sounds, even if you're a necromancer.]

His name was Magicman. [And in retrospect, it's easy to see the similarities in the way the two of them don't seem quite settled into their own skins.]

Perhaps you should consider it. I doubt you're much more powerful than anyone else who's been brought here. Get used to your body and find allies, master what abilities you have- do you know what they are?- and learn more about this world before you do something reckless.

[Suddenly, Sabriel feels like she's back to being a prefect again- corralling younger students and stopping them from breaking the rules and doing something stupid. Still, she's patient. She can't say she didn't do some incredibly stupid things when she was the age Forte looks like he is.]

[hatefully]

[ Beautiful rival character logic.

Forte's foot taps a few times on the pavement of the pier, then stills. ]

Your world is odd, if you have an... official job just to do that. [ Yeah, he doesn't know enough about her world to really get the difficulties. Never heard of a human coming back after they die. After all, humans can't have back-ups or ghost data floating around the network spaces of the internet. Let's not mention to Sabriel that one time Forte transcended deletion out of his sheer thirst for revenge. ]

I've never met that NetNavi. Tch. [ Forte doesn't recognize the name itself, but the naming scheme is familiar so the human's telling the truth. ]

...

I imagine that Porter gave their body a similar treatment as it did me...

[ hmm :|a ]

[ He's silent for a moment, eyes distant and angry, wary. And then she gives him a short lecture. Forte scoffs. Whatever his thoughts on her advice or whether or not he had some ideas of what to do once he re-masters walking, he choses not to share them with the other Import and they don't show on his face. ]

Hmph.

[ ... She should probably save her breath. ]