etcelsior | OH MY GOD YOU GUYS

Current Mood: accomplished

Entry tags:

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS

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. The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place, where locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city. 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. An upset voice wonders aloud: "More of them, when we already know they can't protect us? That's just painting a bigger target on the city's back!" However, they're quickly hushed with a judgmental: "They helped save the cities, and it's the Soviets you should be angry with anyway! The imPorts are here to protect us!"

02. 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. Many people are out and about taking care of their regular business, 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 spies. "How can we trust any of them now?"

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is not as friendly and its citizens tend to 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 mutter under their breaths resentfully about "vigilantes". However, not all locals turn the other way seeing imPorts; some of them will offer a polite enough smile and thank them for their help in overthrowing the trespassers. They don't stop to clarify what they mean, though.

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities; 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. Advertisements are abound for imPorts to make appearances at various, televised celebrations, luring them in with promises of free food, merchandise, and payment.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ah...

He's had a stressful few days. That must be it. Too keyed up, low on sleep and running for too long on manic adrenaline. So he's mistaking some random person for Hughes... No surprise. Even after all the time that had passed, he still sometimes heard that voice in his head. He still turned around, picked up the phone, thinking Hughes would be there.

He knows all this. But he still freezes at the voice, heart slamming hard before he talks himself down. Hughes is dead. Hughes's ghost, if he believed in such things, wasn't even in this world.

He's a little disoriented from smacking his head and the stranger's voice, he can't snap back so easily into a careless remark, though he tries to orient himself to the direction of the voice.]

Ah... Yes, I probably look awful, don't I.

[The rueful smile that should come with that admission appears a little late, and it's weak.]

Edited 2016-03-27 03:55 (UTC)

[The advantage to being the one with sight: being able to SEE exactly what's wrong here. He watches Roy go through the different emotions, watches as he settles for the least offensive and-or most polite way to respond. He watches him do this and... continues to frown. Because there's just no way Roy doesn't recognize him, and yet, he can't really fault the man for being in denial.

It's easy to be in denial about a reunion with an old friend when said old friend died... well, who knows how long for Roy--it certainly hasn't been that long for Hughes, but he still tries keeping up a light tone even as his voice sounds a lot closer. The pointed sound of his steps giving away his position purposefully.]

Don't worry, you're the same kind of mess as usual, Roy. I mean, I've seen worse.

[except for the running into trees part. that part's new and also worrying.]

['Roy'. Nobody called him Roy, nobody but Madame Christmas and...

His heart stops. The false lighthearted expression drops from his face. He feels numb, starting from his suddenly harshly constricted heart and spreading outward.]

Ah... I must be more of a mess than usual. I'm hearing things. More than usual.

[There's a faint tremor to his voice. His whole body is strung taut as a wire, almost shaking.]

[Aaaand there we go.

It's not like he's in the best state to deal with this, either, but continuing to allow for the denial won't necessarily help either one of them...]

For once, you're not. But trust me, I know how hard a pill that is to swallow, so if you want to ask me anything...

[He's closed enough to offer a supportive hand on a shoulder but refrains from doing so, not wanting to push his alchemist friend into reacting to a possible perceived threat. Especially considering how things ended--... yeah, let's not think about that.]

Though, uh. It hasn't been very long for me, so try to be somewhat sensitive here.

Edited 2016-03-27 06:05 (UTC)

[That's a good call. Roy's mind goes from dead numb still to suddenly reeling. Too late, too slow, his mind jumps to Envy. Who was dead, but so was Maes. Every explanation for this was absolutely impossible.]

In Ishval—What did you say to me, when we were watching Kind Bradley?

Aw man, you really have to go that far back?

[It's an idle complaint, since he knows exactly what he said at that time. It was a defining moment for the both of them, after all.]

Just answer the damn question and stop complaining!

I see your attitude hasn't changed that much.

[He says it in a bit of a grousing fashion, but he's still frowning pretty heavily at first, thinking over that memory, trying to remember the specific words but...]

It's not exact, but if I remember right, you were going on about how you'd change things, that you'd knock a guy like Bradley and his people out. I thought it was pretty risky, but if there's someone I'm going to put myself at risk for, you'd be it. So I'd support you from my position below, help you get up to the top.

[Except that's not quite what happened...]

... sorry, Roy. I somehow got ahead of you.

[Roy drags a hand heavily across his face, his body suddenly shaking.]

Damn right—you should—be sorry! But we did it... we actually did it, you know. Took Amestris back from those monsters.

[He lets out a heavy exhale. Reaches forward—stops, frozen, hand shaking. He's struck with the terror that he'll reach out and no-one will be there after all, that he's just blind and crazy or having some waking nightmare.]

[Except Hughes is completely capable of taking hold of that shaking hand, his own barely even steady itself. He doesn't grip, just easing Roy's hand to his chest where this body has a beating heart and lungs taking in air before exhaling it.]

Knew you would.

[A beat.]

--no, actually, I was worried that you guys wouldn't figure it out quick enough if I wasn't around, but I guess it worked out.

We nearly didn't!

[Roy bows his head, pulling in a deep, ragged breath and suddenly he's clutching Hughes with both hands despite the pain, greedily absorbing the familiar feel of the Amestrian uniform. When his fingers trip the new rank bars—Brigadier General—his breath hitches on a sob.]

Maes—I feel like I'm losing my mind! You're here. You're—[Another shaky, trembling inhale. Wetness drop to the ground below him.] Impossible.

Edited 2016-03-27 07:15 (UTC)

Rude.

[Though not wrong. All of this is pretty much impossible. He should be dead and buried back home in Amestris--even he can't fool himself that he might have survived somehow. After all, he remembers pretty distinctly--

... but he focuses on the man in front of him, clinging onto him like a lifeline, shaking and ~~making it rain~~ crying in a way Hughes hasn't really seen from him... probably ever. And that's saying something. So what else can he do, except offer the support Roy's probably not been accepting from others? Hell, it helps him out, being able to focus on someone not him.]

But I hear this place does a lot of impossible things, compared to back home--and that's saying something.

[YOU'RE RUDE!!

Clumsily, carefully—his hands hurt and he's still reeling hard—he follows the uniform up to Maes's face, feeling the scant beard and the lines of his jaw and his broad cheekbones with another harsh hitch in his chest.]

Damn it—how am I supposed to know it's really you if I can't see you shoving pictures into my face!

[That definitely confirms his suspicions, so he lets Roy feel his face without saying anything. He does smile at the complaint, though.]

Speaking of. Apparently this place gets you special powers when you're brought here. Three guesses what one of mine is--first two don't count.

...

You're joking.

[SUDDENLY, A PAPER THING AGAINST ROY'S FACE. Like, right smack in his face.]

It's like having a portable photo album wherever I go now!

[LAUGHS?? MIGHT BE CRYING MORE??? Definitely crying more.]

Stop that! I can't even see it right now.

[It's okay to cry on this one. it was a picture with a thumb in the way of family's cute faces anyway. He does pull it back and away, nonetheless.]

Yeah, you're gonna have to explain that one, Mustang.

[IF YOU DID THE THING, YOU ARE IN SUCH TROUBLE, MISTER.]

It's not what you're thinking—not how you're thinking it. I refused, so they forced me through the Gate—the Homunculi—Fuhrer Bradley was one of them! So was Seylum Bradley. Wrath and Pride...

Seven Deadly Sins, huh. How original.

And somehow, I wish I were more surprised about Bradley, but it sure makes his random visit to Ed's room that day make a lot more sense.

You'd think someone calling himself 'Father' would name is 'children' with a little more affection.

—He did what? Tch. Yes, just checking in on a 'precious sacrifice', I imagine.

I'm guessing the "precious sacrifice" wasn't me.

But he stopped in right after Ed told me and Major Armstrong about the Fifth Laboratory. Saw Ed's drawings and whatnot. So he probably was the one who gave the order because, let's be honest, Major Armstrong's a good man but he's not the one to put obscure facts together and he probably knew how close we are.

... and the fact that there's apparently a "Father" figure I didn't even know about. I'm actually kind of pissed I got taken out of the action so early. Then again... probably a smart move on their part, tactically speaking.

[And suddenly, the bigger picture is a lot more horrifying that what he'd even begun to suspect before he was taken out. But he shakes his head, putting a hand on Roy's shoulder.]

Anyway, you can tell me more about it after we get you some proper clothes. Just who let you dress yourself in the dark, anyway?

[Roy's hand curls tightly against Maes's jacket as he speaks, jaw tightening.]

Of course. You figured it out long before the rest of us, and even that was a lot of dumb luck.

[He drags his other hand over his face again, grimacing with a faint blush as he wipes at his own ear tracks. Grumbles a little.]

You're hilarious! I was pulled right out of the hospital; I had to scare one of the Americans into giving me some decent shoes,

Again, I see you still have the same attitude. What kind of thuggish behavior is that? You don't have to scare people into helping you, jeez.

[He's gonna lead Roy off somewhere, keeping a grasp on him to keep him steady. At the very least, his friend needs to sit down to recover from all the sudden shock of reunion and whatnot.]

And excuse you, that was all skill. Intelligence is my field, so of course I figured it out. That and someone talking about all the different skirmishes that were going on at the time combined with the fact that Amestris has always expanded in a circular kind of pattern...

Anyway, intelligence is also how I know what's what in this place while you're mugging Americans for their boots.

I wasn't—He tried to protest on the grounds that it was against regulation. Obviously I asked first!

No, I meant our dumb luck... Of course you're good at intelligence, you've always been incredibly nosy.

[HE'S FINE, HE'S DOING FINE. He's bitching at Hughes for having terrible personality. Because Hughes is alive, or he's dreaming with so much vividness it might as well be real... He feels a little light-headed. He keeps reaching out to touch Hughes, grasping at his uniform in fleeting touches. makes himself let go just to end up doing it again a few minutes later. Hughes is alive and he's suddenly got absolutely no more patience for being blind. He can't believe this is real until he sees him. God, but it's like he never left, popping up right when Roy needs him most.]

Go ahead and brief me. We need to get out bearing as soon as possible. Fullmetal's here, and so his his mechanic—Miss Rockbell.

Edited 2016-03-30 02:46 (UTC)

clouds are gathering up above

the low rumble of thunder...

humidity gathering in the air

THE FIRST DROPS COMING FROM THE SKY...

Drip... drip...

sprinkle... drizzle

Re: sprinkle... drizzle

no subject

no subject

no subject

IT'S RAAAAAAINIIIIIIINNGGGGGG

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject