etcelsior | sure, jan

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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...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?]

[ 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.

[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.]

[ 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.

[The meaning of that story breezes right by Jesse, who takes it 100% literally.]

Oh, that's sad. We had a dog for a little bit when I was a kid, too, but he was too much trouble for my parents.

[He doesn't pause on that thought, either.]

These two I got now... One of 'em - Lucy - used to belong to some friends of mine here, but they left so now I'm taking care of her. And the other one's not actually a dog. His name's Toboe and he's, um, more like a wolf. But, like... a real good-behaved one. He's pretty cool. Him and Lucy pretty much go all over the school when I'm not around.

[ Walt refrains from commenting on Jesse's remark about having a dog in the past. He also refrains from commenting about it being pretty irresponsible to let two dogs roam around in a place where children go. Instead, he finishes off the ramen and sets the bowl down. ]

Your friends. Were they moving and couldn't take the dog with them?

[ Or...were they killed is what Walt wants to know. How dangerous is this world they're living in and how much danger had Jesse brought on himself? ]

Um...

[Good question. Jesse has no honest idea. Skye and the rest might have gone after Joel, but there's no way they would've hurt Ellie, so he has to believe they're not dead. The timing of their disappearance seems too convenient, though.]

I think they just wanted to get outta town. You know, fast.

For their own reasons?

[ He raises a suspicious brow. ]

Or because they were tied to you?

I dunno. Some stuff was happening. I took care of it, but they weren't really the types to hang out and see who was gonna come out at the end of it. Then again, it could just be they finally had the money they wanted and they were planning to ditch me all along.

[Does he sound a little hurt and bitter? There's a reason for that.]

[ He doesn't want to rub it in Jesse's face, but then again, he really kind of does. ]

Maybe you should have taken the time to consider the character of the people you chose to work alongside.

[ Walt rubs the knot of tension forming in his temple as he sits back down on the couch. ]

But you're alive. And you seem to not be wanted by the cops. I mean, they had their chance to arrest you at the scene of that car accident. Those are good things.

[They were his family. Jesse somehow thought, whenever the time came, they'd all run away together. It wasn't something they'd promised to each other, but he'd thought they'd come to trust him. Or at least cared about him, in some small way. Enough not to leave him fending for himself.

Jesse takes a breath. It doesn't matter now. Mr. White's here, and that's someone who won't abandon him.]

I never even came close to being arrested, don't worry.

[Dying, on the other hand...]

I do worry. I can't help but worry.

[ There's a flicker of a sad smile. ]

You're all I have left to worry about.

[Jesse looks at Walt, conflicted by that statement. He never asked to be Mr. White's priority, and definitely not at the expense of the guy's family. It doesn't make him feel happy to know the guy lost his life and everything in it.

...But it's nice to know that Mr. White cares.

Still:]

I'm not.

[Let's get that out there, before he gets too comfortable being someone's most important person.]

Your brother-in-law's here, too.

[ The smile, sad or not, melts away from his face immediately. His stomach drops and the ramen threatens to come up the way it came. Walt tries to keep his voice steady, tries so hard not to betray his fear, panic, guilt, grief, or anger. ]

What does he know?

[Jesse presumes Walt's asking about the business here.]

He thinks I'm Heisenberg now, but he can't prove anything.

[ Walt shakes his head quickly and the calm dissipates just like that -- turning into a bitterness he harbored toward Jesse in that moment; the moment when Walter truly wished him dead. ]

But does he know? Does he know you killed him?

He's not -

[Is this a test or something?]

He's not dead.

[Is he..?]

I mean, he was paralyzed when he showed up, but I took care of that and - I mean - Christ, I wouldn't do that, Mr. White. He gets up in my shit a lot but I know how much your family means to you, so - I'm not Gus, okay? I wouldn't ever.

[If this is a test, it's cruel. They should be past this stage of doubt. But when Jesse thinks about the bullet that appears to have killed Mr. White, and his fear that he himself pulled the trigger, then a narrative starts to form - the story of a future in which Jesse truly lost it. For all that he wants to believe himself incapable of a blind, murderous rampage, he knows that he is capable.

Mr. White knows it, too.]

[ His expression twists and his words are acid. ]

You were a coward.

[ He doesn't elaborate any more than that, wanting Jesse to face that doubt, that uncertainty about what he had done. But more than that, he wants Jesse to face the full responsibility for it. Jack might have pulled the trigger, but Jesse killed Hank by leading him there. ]

Hank is here, and you introduced our product -- my product to this world? Of all the idiotic things you've done, Jesse! Of course he's going to think you're Heisenberg if you and him are the only common denominators in this.

[ Walt gets up and starts to pace. ]

I need to talk to him. I need to try and set things straight.

[Jesse doesn't know what to say. Things have taken a turn so quickly that he's stunned. You were a coward. This isn't a hypothetical. If Mr. White wasn't so obviously hurt and angry, then Jesse would demand the details - but he isn't owed anything, is he? If this is as true as it sounds.

Jesse doesn't so much as breathe while Walt speaks. He's shaking again, but he wouldn't be able to name the emotion he's feeling. Part of him wants to die. The other part of him is afraid he's about to be killed.

He finds his voice enough to whisper:]

He doesn't know you're involved in any of this.

[There's no point in Mr. White blowing his own cover.]

[ You feel that, Jesse? What it's like to not be able to breathe? That crushing devastation? Your world collapsing from underneath you? Remember that. Feel it tenfold. ]

For now.

[ But even so, Walter can breathe a little easier about this. If Hank knew, he likely would have said something to Jesse -- after all, him and Jesse were buddies, pals toward the end. ]

I plan to keep it that way. Hank stays out of this.

[ He stops pacing, stifling a cough in his sleeve. ]

But I need to know one thing --

[ Walter looks at Jesse dead on, watching him in his emotional conflict and struggle. ]

-- are you with me this time, or against me?

[Does it make a difference if Jesse swears his loyalty when he's so clearly incapable of controlling himself anyway? All the best intentions and none of the will to keep himself from hurting people. Psycho, coward, traitor... He's learning so much about himself today.]

...I'm with you.

Whatever happens - or happened, I guess - it... I don't know why things went the way they did, Mr. White, but I never wanted to hurt you or - or anybody. Especially not your family. I can't ask you to forgive me but you gotta know I didn't want any of this. The last thing I remember is you and me were good. We were -

[It was what Jesse always wanted, the way things were between them.]

We were friends.

[ Things are where Walter wants them. Jesse becoming a loose cannon shouldn't happen as long as he doesn't find out the one thing that tipped him over the edge. ~~As long as Saul keeps his mouth shut~~ It's a chance to start over.

He sighs, his face weary. ]

It's the past. At least for me, it's the past. All you can do is move forward and learn from your mistakes. Now, at least, you know what happens so you can keep it from repeating itself. But there's no reason for any of this to go down that road.

[ He makes his way toward Jesse, settling beside him and resting a tender hand on his shoulder. ]

We are still friends, Jesse. We're more than that. We're family. I forgave you for what you did because I realized my part in it as well. Hank never would have become a weapon for you to use against me if I had never started cooking in the first place.

[Jesse flinches when Walt touches him, anticipating something less... tender. When pain doesn't follow, Jesse raises his eyes. His remorse hasn't left them, and nothing Mr. White says is going to ease the guilt he's feeling. He's something truly evil. How does he go forward, knowing that?]

Let me heal you, Mr. White. Please...

[If it wasn't obvious which one of them deserved the death sentence before, it's obvious now.]

[ Walt's fingers twitch on Jesse's shoulder before he pulls them away. He doesn't know if Jesse has to directly touch someone to make it work or if it can be a passive touch, but he doesn't want to risk it. ]

Absolutely not. This is my burden. Not yours.

Don't you wanna be with your real family?

[Because the words are nice and all, but Jesse isn't really family. Can't and never will be. Because you don't forgive the person who killed your family and then invite that person into it. He knows it's impossible.]

It should be me. No loss, you know? I could do just one good thing.

sure, jan

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