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etcelsior2015-08-22 08:10 pm
maskormods) wrote in etcelsior2015-08-22 08:10 pm
Entry tags:
The power is in your hands
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 someone else's thread, either!
And remember to have fun!01. Your memory might be a haze still and you might even feel frustrated or anxious by the sudden news that you are no longer in your own world and that the Porter scientists and military cannot send you back. You don't get a chance to linger long in the underground Porter lab, but something is clearly amiss; light patches on the floor indicate something else used to sit in that spot in the room. Parts of the wall, floor and the tables look as if they have been refurbished in the past few months -- something happened in here some time ago. Something big.
You're ushered out quickly and then suddenly, you're enveloped in a faint blue blue light before you find yourself under the bright Floridian sun. Another soldier steps toward you with a smile, directing your attention to a car near a large gate. She mentions she'll be debriefing you soon, handing out a brown folder and a pamphlet. You don't see the digital tattoo on your wrist, but it's quickly explained on your way over to the car as you realize there are other confused faces nearby, all holding files of their own.
02. The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place. The locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to help cool you down in this awfully nauseating heat. Some of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation and others might not say anything. In fact, some people might back away from any imPort who quite obviously looks like they aren't from around the neighborhood. Once in a while there's a look of disdain on someone's face and hushed voices. Something about "the outbreak" and "the government's gotta crack down on their medical files". "Some of them can't be right in the head" says another.
03. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, and though it's quieter, there are just as many citizens awed at your presence. Heavy winds have people grasping at their newspapers and constantly brushing hair out of their faces, but that doesn't distract them from crowding you in excitement if you're obviously from a different time or world, or just let it slip that you're a newcomer. Children and young teenagers are especially likely to ask for an autograph and a photo.
Some locals seem less enthused to see you. They never make an approach, but they can be overheard scoffing and muttering something about cameras. "Who do they think they are?" or "I don't like it... it reminds me of the government corruption back in the eighties." What could they be talking about?
04. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is normally known for being a little more on the apathetic side, but there's been tension in the atmosphere lately. Nobody will outright state what it is that's rustled their jimmies, though you might find a newsstand with articles on recent and aggressive vigilante behavior within the city. "ImPorts: loyal to the cause of their own?" reads one newspaper article.
People are not as friendly in this city and go out of their way to avoid walking down the same sidewalk as the more obvious looking imPorts pass through. Local cops say nothing, but they scowl at those imPorts and utter something about "no badges" and "acting like authority figures".
05. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities. It's loud, busy and there's some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. Anyone who they come to determine an imPort is bombarded with all sorts of offers; job offers, advertising gigs, spokesperson for advocating children stay in school, etc. Anything and everything! You name it. Shops offer discounts for food and clothing, whatever they need. People flock in droves with questions, but they all say the same thing. Thank you for your service to this country, Hero. You saved a lot of lives. Wow, feels great to be a hero, doesn't it?
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I'm Erik.
[ He extends a hand, hoping that it will break Billy's concentration on him. He won't comment on it; he doesn't want to embarrass the guy. ]
You are?
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Billy Kaplan. Hi. Sorry-
[He looks well and truly embarrassed, for a moment.]
It's nice to meet you, Erik. I promise, I'm not actually an idiot.
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Putting aside what he came over to interrogate Billy about, he hooks onto something slightly more pressing. ]
Have we met previously?
[ He can't imagine having such an impact on someone and not remembering them at all, and he doesn't often forget people, but somehow... ]
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[He mutters that a bit, but whatever. He takes a breath, trying to figure out how to break this to him, or considering if that's even a good idea. Finally, he makes a decision.]
You were here a while ago. Like a year? With Charles Xavier. You met me then.
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Ah, a mutant, then.
[ He has only been here so long that he's only comfortable speaking about this since no one else is here. And really, he can't imagine how this would happen other than he and Charles are going on nonagenarian recruiting missions and for some reason showing the new folk photos of them in the sixties... but honestly he shouldn't be surprised. That's what he signed up for, right? A lifetime of helping young mutants. Yep. That's the conclusion he's drawing here. Try not to burst his bubble too hard. ]
I'm sorry I'm not the one you met.
[ And yes he assumes that Billy met this world's Erik Lehnsherr, as if there is such a thing. ]
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[His dad is a robot. Sort of. Not really. It's Complicated.]
And my grandfather. And I have powers, but I don't think I'm technically categorized as a mutant. It's not precisely genetic.
[Oy, he's getting a headache.]
Anyway, I've met a couple of versions of you. The one in my world, he's pretty fond of me. But he's older than you are. We're from 2013.
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[ He raises an eyebrow at it in a curious, totally non-judgmental way. But really, come on, even he was taught punnet squares in school. ]
How did we meet then? In your world.
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[He is not making this nonsense up.]
My twin isn't here. He's definitely a mutant. A speedster.
[He realizes that this version of his own grandfather probably doesn't know about the twin, one white one black and one that goes really fast and one that just does stuff thing, but whatever.]
My genetics aren't exactly a straight line. Because of my mom, her power has to do with like...magic. Or it did, for a while.
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I see.
[ He doesn't. ]
I'm not sure why I wouldn't just call.
[ You know, to make an appointment or something. Were they fighting? This is like literally translating a joke to another language-- he's even more confused than when they started. ]
What's your power?
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Well, I think that you wanted to meet us in person.
[Okay, stop. He sighs, heavily. He's so bad at this, really.]
You wanted to meet us because you're our grandfather.
[Surprise!!!]
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What.
What... Whhhhhhhat ]
I.
[ It is exceedingly rare that anything makes Erik speechless. But honestly, his eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly agape and he probably looks like the splitting image of Billy when he had sat down, really. ]
I'm not sure what to say to that.
[ Stating the obvious for 500, receive daily-freaking-double. ]
It's not that I don't believe you--
[ --No, it's definitely that. ]
--But this is a little hard to take in.
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[He knows. Trust him. He knows.]
I wasn't even sure I should tell you. I'm never sure I should tell you.
going on a feels trip don't break his heart too much with the truth !!!
[ Despite how it seems, Erik wants a family desperately. He had just given up on the idea of one, having dedicated the last decade and a half to hunting down Shaw. Now he has this fledgling found family of brothers and sisters, entire mutantkind, that he loves so fiercely. And now he has Billy, who carries his genes (sort of), who carries mutant powers (sort of?), who he seems to, in 2013, have a decent relationship with.
He is not Billy's grandfather yet, but this means he has children. Or will. And his children have children-- two, at least. Twins, even. Imagine that, both mutants, both alive, both assumedly healthy. For someone who's shelved that dream long ago in pursuit of other pressing needs, that's sort of beautiful to hear. ]
Your mother, then? She's... my daughter?
[ He says this tentatively as if speaking it too surely will make it untrue. As rare as it is for him to be speechless, it's even rarer for him to get nervous butterflies. But as he repeats the thought that he has a daughter... he has a daughter, he's a father... it's an overwhelming phantom sensation, like holding a baby right after it's born and thinking, this is mine. ]
;;
Yeah. She's your daughter. And you have a son, too. They're twins. It sort of runs in the family, I guess.
[Billy looks down at his coffee, and then back up, eyebrows raised a little.]
You didn't know about us. It's complicated, really. We didn't even know about each other, for a long time. We were separated at birth.
[That's the easiest way to put this mess.]
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[ Well... They found each other now and it seems to have worked out? After all, Billy is calling him grandfather, at least he won't refuse him the title. ]
So far, everything you've told me seems complicated. Why don't we try something simple?
How old are you?
[ Lol. Simple. ]
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But Billy runs with it.]
19.
[ish.]
How old are you?
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31. Almost 32, if it helps.
[ For sure, not old enough to be a grandfather. Not even old enough to be Billy's father, really. But it'll be a long time until 2013. ]
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[He looks at Erik a long minute. It's like looking in a mirror into the future. Some things are different; the shape of Billy's eyes, the color of his hair, the slope of his chin, maybe, but they still look like they could be nesting dolls; him and Pietro and Tommy, all four of them.]
You kind of liked grandfather, back home, but maybe you're not old enough for me to call you that. I mean I can, still. If you want me to.
[Erik isn't the only one who would like a family. It helps that Billy has been sort of away from most of the adults in his life for a while, and he's only getting them back now.]
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[ Though he hopes it is grandfather, secretly. It doesn't make him feel old like it should. Just... that somewhere, somehow, he didn't fuck this up as bad as he thought. And he hasn't really been able to call someone a relative since his parents. ]
I don't know how much of a legacy I made, but I wouldn't deny your claim to it.
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Grandfather, really.
[He scratches the back of his head a little.]
It just would feel weird to call you Erik or Magneto. No offense.
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[ Yes, you've stumbled across a Magneto so baby, he doesn't even know how baby he is. ]
But no one calls me grandfather either. Tell me, about our family. Please.
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Well, I mean, okay. Um. From what I know.
I have a twin named Tommy, and my mom is Wanda. She has a twin named Pietro, who has a kid too, but I haven't met her. I didn't meet them until about three years ago, a little after I met you for the first time. I think someone told you that we were around and you came to find us.
So, we're pretty disjointed, but I really love my mom.
[He means it, too.]
We haven't really gotten to spend any time together in the last year, though.
But...what specifically do you want to know?
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[ Well okay, he assumes Luna isn't here if they haven't met and there isn't another reason that they haven't. But maybe they are-- or Billy's father, or something. Because Erik would like to meet all of them. Like taking a glimpse into your future, seeing all the people in your life.
A few months ago, he had no one of permanence. No one left.
It's... kind of amazing. ]
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[And definitely not Luna. But-]
If you want to meet my mom, you'll have to go slowly. She's a little skittish.
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[ The answer isn't "yeah. you did." so at least there's that. ]
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