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

[hostage]

[Jesse's so surprised by that, he laughs instead of making a face. After everything Saul told him, he hadn't expected Mr. White to be this kind to him. He doesn't know what to make of that, other than to believe Saul was full of shit or trying to play him or something (which was totally his first instinct, anyway).]

I'm glad you're here.

[Is it okay to confess that? Look, he's been alone for a year and Mr. White's supposedly at death's door, so he feels like it should be said sooner than later.]

[kingpawn]

[ Jesse's words strike him to the core. He wouldn't be saying them if this was real.

But the thing about hallucinations is they can be anything you want them to be. And Walt chooses to keep it going as smoothly as possible. It's nice to imagine this can be a reality between them. ]

I should be the one who's glad. It's somehow easier to deal with this knowing you're here as well.

[hostage]

Yeah...

[It certainly would've been easier to have Mr. White there at the beginning. He wouldn't have made so many fucking mistakes, for one.]

Maybe it's selfish, but I kept hoping you'd show up. You know, like all this crazy shit would start making sense if you were around to explain it to me.

[kingpawn]

I'm sorry I wasn't there. Not that I think me being here would have made this whole thing any easier to swallow.

But for what it's worth, I'm here now. [ He lolls his head toward Jesse. ] You don't have to face this alone anymore.

[hostage]

[Jesse glances at Walt again with misty eyes and smiles. He's determined not to think about how Saul allegedly gave him a gun and advised him to murder this man, about all the other murders that would lead to that moment - and how Mr. White's immediate assumption was that he and Jesse both were dead. Saul warned him that Walt would be coming to kill him. He should be asking himself if that happened already, from Walt's perspective. And if it hasn't happened yet, is it going to? Is he bringing his would-be killer right into his home?

Of course he isn't. Mr. White is his best friend.

They've reached the Xavier School - a beautiful vintage mansion with sprawling grounds. Jesse pulls the car up right by the dormitory entrance.]

You're gonna like it here. It's like being on vacation all the time.

[kingpawn]

It certainly isn't what you would expect out of a school.

[ Walter studied it in awe before he unclicked his seatbelt. ]

You can unlock the door now.

[hostage]

[Jesse ducks his head sheepishly - he forgot he did that - and unlocks the doors. He hops out of the car without so much as a limp to his step. See? Regenerated.]

I'm on the second floor.

[kingpawn]

[ Walt does take notice of how able-bodied Jesse is. ]

You live here?

[ His eyes veer to the school once again. He hadn't put two and two together. Of course a dorm would be here. But it was so....prestigious. ]

You're really the nurse here? You're not just making this up?

[hostage]

What, you think I break into boarding schools in my spare time?

[Actually, that sounds like something he would've done a lot of in his younger years. But in this instance, he's got his own key fob and that unlocks the door in one simple swipe.]

Come on.

[kingpawn]

I don't know what you do. We've been apart for...some time.

[ Walt thinks of Jesse in shackles -- beaten and unkempt. He's glad his mind had conjured up a more positive image for now. So he falls into step behind him, letting his former partner lead the way. ]

[hostage]

[There's a comment that isn't ominous at all. Jesse glances back to Walt, but he doesn't ask. Questions can come later. He leads the way up the stairs and to his door. The apartment they enter is plain - carelessly messy but not a disaster, so Jesse must be in a period of reasonable mental health - and most of the upgrades he's made to the place come in the form of electronics. The decor is more or less default school property.]

Make yourself at home. Got my own bathroom, so you can take a shower or something, if you want. Bed's all yours if you wanna catch some shut-eye. I dunno if you had a chance yet.

[kingpawn]

[ Walt has seen Jesse at varying states of emotional highs and lows. It certainly is a good sign to see the apartment this way. Walt focuses on some trivial decoration, lifting it up and staring at it before putting it back in its place.

He stifles a quiet cough into his hand as he heads over to the couch, peeling the blood-stained shirt and jacket apart. ]

I could go for a change of clothes. And maybe a shave.

[ His hand swipes along his overgrown, hobo beard. ]

Maybe something to eat. If you could get me something light -- like a soup, I would very much appreciate it.

[hostage]

[The way the jacket was covering it, Jesse hadn't noticed the blood until now. He glances down, his eyes lingering on the stain for a moment before he peels his eyes away. Too long to pretend he didn't see it, but he doesn't say anything yet. Instead, he gets to work preparing a cup of ramen noodles. Once that's in the microwave, he turns his focus to the closet and searching through it for something that'll fit Walt comfortably.

All the while trying desperately - desperately - to convince himself he's not the one who put that bullet in Mr. White.]

[kingpawn]

[ Walter watches Jesse watching him. A tense, silent moment where Jesse can't keep pretending all is well. Walt looks after him when he walks off and then sits for a few seconds longer. His fingers are itching to comb Jesse's apartment for some kind of weapon, but he remains where he is for now -- partially too exhausted to move and partially pretending to be too exhausted to move. ]

Are you seeing anyone these days?

[ Back to the casual conversation. From the looks of things, Jesse is leading a normal life, so now is just as good of time as any for him to be dating. ]

[hostage]

[Jesse spends more time than he should with his back to Walt, busying himself with sorting through clothes while he works frantically to school his expression.]

Nah, um... Nothing serious. Keeping it casual, you know?

[Finally he comes away with a black t-shirt and jeans that are the closest to Walt's size. He walks back over, slowly, and offers them up with trembling hands.]

[kingpawn]

Good. I don't think I have to remind you that you don't know who you can trust. I'd like to think your survival tactics haven't left you.

[ Walt looks at the offered clothing and then Jesse's unsteady hand. ]

Look, Jesse. [ He sits forward, slow and carefully accepting the clothes. ] I wanted this. [ A small gesture down to his once-wounded side. ] It was over. Everything was over. Until it wasn't and here we are.

[hostage]

[He has so many questions, the chief among them being - "Why?" But he can't bring himself to ask any of them. He doesn't want to know the answers. Something terrible happens in the future, Saul already made that clear. But Jesse doesn't - and doesn't want to - exist in the reality where all this shit goes down.]

The last time I saw you was when I gave you your birthday present.

[Which, Jesse notes, Walt isn't wearing right now. Did he ever? How fast did it happen - both of them deciding that the other should die?]

[kingpawn]

[ Walter is surprised to hear that. He instinctively reaches for the wrist with the watch -- a watch he had worn practically every day -- before he recalls leaving it behind. If Jesse didn't remember any of what happened afterward, then seeing Walter now, like this, must have been terribly unsettling.

Walt shakes his head and reaches out, inviting Jesse into a warm, comforting hug because what this also means is that Jesse's still on his side. ]

It's alright. Listen to me, none of this affects you. You survive. You live throughout all of this. I died to save you...

[ It's true in a way. Walter was also the one who got him imprisoned in the first place and would have had him killed after everything that happened with Hank -- but eh. This is a better spin on the story. Mr. White is Jesse's best friend, after all. ]

[hostage]

[Jesse sinks down into the embrace without a second thought, suddenly overwhelmed by this terrible feeling that Mr. White's going to disappear any moment now. Like he's a ghost who's just here to say goodbye. But that isn't fair. Everything was finally good between them. They were just getting started, and it can't end like this. Jesse clings onto him and doesn't let go, his trembling only getting worse as he fights back tears.]

I don't - I don't want you to die.

[kingpawn]

Shhh. Shhh.

[ Walter consoles, running his palm in soothing circles along Jesse's back. ]

I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I won't be dying again any time soon.

[ He rests his chin atop Jesse's head. ]

This is a fresh start, Jesse. This is our chance to start things over again; to make them right.

[hostage]

[What does that even mean? How can anything possibly be made right? How's he supposed to be okay with knowing that Mr. White died to save him? Jesse buries his face in Walt's shoulder and stays like that. His voice cracks when he asks:]

...What am I supposed to do?

[To make up for everything that happened. For everything that will happen. To fix all of this. What the hell is a "fresh start"?]

[kingpawn]

[ Walter holds him loosely, his eyes drifting toward the wall. ]

For one, keep being a school nurse. It's something you enjoy, isn't it? It's a step in a positive direction.

[ Jesse doesn't have to sell meth anymore. And neither does Walter. Their partnership is pretty much over now, but that doesn't mean Walter can't be a mentor. ]

[hostage]

Is that what we're doing now? Is that what you want? Be regular people. Pretend nothing happened.

[Because Jesse's not sure he's even capable of that. But he understands, of course, why Walt would want to leave behind the dangerous lifestyle that got him killed - if it wasn't by Jesse's own hand. (Jesse still isn't sure. Is Mr. White lying to spare him?)]

[kingpawn]

Well, what do you propose?

[ Walt raises a brow, drawing back to look at Jesse. ]

We start a meth business in a city filled with supposed superheroes? We become criminal masterminds and use our meth to take down the world?

[hostage]

[Jesse wipes at his eyes and lets out a weak laugh - bitter and edging on deranged. He's in trouble now, isn't he? For a million mistakes made. He ruined everything. He ruined everything, here and back home and everywhere.]