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

[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.]

[kingpawn]

...

[ Walt watches with a growing sense of dread, narrowing his eyes. ]

What did you do.

[hostage]

[This is hilarious, isn't it? Huh? Well, he's still laughing. (And crying?)]

I - I fucked up, Mr. White.

[kingpawn]

[ What else is new? Walter sighs heavily, closing his eyes and burying his head in his hands to scrub at his face vigorously. ]

How deep are you?

[ Fucking up can only mean one thing. Jesse's cooking. ]

[hostage]

[In some stupid, boyish fantasy, he'd somehow expected Mr. White to be proud of him when this moment came. Instead, Jesse's clearly delivering the worst possible news.]

I can end it. I can stop, I promise. I'll quit tomorrow.

[Spoken like a true junkie.]

[kingpawn]

[ He doesn't believe it. Jesse can never get out. Even when he wants to. ]

Good. Tomorrow, then. One more cook tomorrow, and then no more.

[ Walt will entertain him, pretend to believe him. But he knows right then that Heisenberg has to come out of retirement if Jesse's truly going to get out. ]

[hostage]

[Jesse gives a quick, jerking nod.]

Okay.

[There's more - much more - about it that they'll have to discuss. But Jesse doesn't want to lay everything on Mr. White all at once. Not least because he's terrified of what Heisenberg will do about it.]

[kingpawn]

This can be the start of a new life. A good life. You don't get second chances like this very often.

[ He takes the change of clothing. ]

It's best not to waste it making the same mistakes.

[ Walter stands up slowly. ]

[hostage]

[Jesse remains where he is, shoulders hunched and arms drawn inward.]

I'm sorry.

[Such a hollow thing to say at a time like this.]

[kingpawn]

Don't tell me. Show me.

[ He tilts his head toward the kitchen, letting Jesse off the hook for now. Maybe if he feels useful, he'll feel a little better. ]

You don't happen to have that soup I asked for, do you?

[hostage]

[...He forgot all about that. Jesse picks himself up immediately and hurries off to retrieve the ramen. He doesn't have much in the way of dishes or silverware, so Walt will have to make do with the styrofoam container and a plastic fork.

At least it's still hot?]

[kingpawn]

[ It works. He survived on less. ]

Thank you.

[ He takes the bowl, but remains standing -- walking around the room and looking over things. Maybe there's a business card for some blanket business where the meth lab is stationed. Maybe there's some hint as to who Jesse's working with. He's looking for it while pretending to just be admiring the place. ]

Do you like it here? It seems like a relatively decent place to live. Not so sure I would have been able to tolerate living so close to my students back when I taught, however.

[hostage]

[There's no evidence to be found. Jesse swept the place clean back in December, a step ahead of the investigation that's now poised to come down on both their heads, if they don't stay careful. After his ex-girlfriend showed up at his door demanding a confession, Jesse doesn't even keep a gun in this place anymore.]

Nah, the kids are great. Plus I got two dogs...

[Neither of which are around at the moment, roaming free around the entire building, as they tend to on most days.]

Um, it's actually a little too quiet around here sometimes. I go into town a lot.

[Who's he kidding? You know what he does, Walt: hookers and hotels.]

[kingpawn]

[ There's a slight quirk of his lips. Some things just don't change. It's a welcome relief to find Jesse so unchanged, his old habits in tact. Who knew where his life would lead him after he got away from Jack's gang. But Walt is grateful to not have to see the aftermath. ]

Oh? Where are the dogs?

[ This gives Walt even more of a chance to look around at things. C'mon, Jesse, there's not even a little something here? He takes a bite of the ramen, slurping it up. ]

We had a dog once when Junior was little. And he loved that dog because it was the first thing that treated him just like a normal human being. But that was also a problem. See, the dog didn't know that you needed to be careful with Junior. He just thought of him like a person, no different from other people. So he'd jump on him and play rough, because in his mind Junior was his best friend so he should be able to play with him the same way he played with us, right?. The dog didn't understand why we had to keep scolding him. Skyler eventually decided it was too much and Junior could get severely injured, a tragic accident waiting to happen. So we had to give the dog away and haven't had a pet since.

[ He takes another bite of ramen. ]

But I always missed having one. There's something to be said about their loyalty, something you don't find too often in people.