HE TOLD ME SEVERAL TIMES THAT HE DIDN'T LIKE MY KIND

[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 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, deeply masculine 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!"

"That's just what Ronald Chump says!" Exclaims a young woman. She raises her fist in anger at the imPort-hating individual. "We're not going to tolerate bigots here!"

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. Science and technology are the lifeblood of this city, so you're likely to come across a good many locals taking your picture with the newest of devices. Be forewarned: since FanPort happened, imPort fandom is at a new height. Don't be surprised if people start following you just to see if you'll do anything TMZ-worthy.

The trick is to stay calm, and don't wig out if someone asks what you think about imPort shipping.

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania, is having a rainy day. The streets seem to be running with water, the sky can't seem to stop crying. You might want to check out some consumerism-inclined shelter, be that a smoky and dart-eyed bar full of grumbling locals, or a grimy and industrial coffee shop (full of grumbling locals). Watch your step, newly minted imPort, because if you let on that you're fresh meat then you're likely to attract a posse of two or three sharp knuckled no-good-dooers. This is the criminally exciting part of town, so beware.

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. There's a baseball game going on in one of the parks amidst all those tall buildings, and you're welcome to watch! It's not an official game in the season, it's more like a friendly skirmish between local baseball teams. Midway through the game, the umpire might take note of you new imPorts -- assuming you're standing out in the crowd. He'll welcome you to throw a pitch if you'd like! Of course, the opposing team isn't too keen on the idea. Better look for more imPorts to play ball!

Comments

[ghemnotgem]

( she can smell the fear, the small rush of excitement. how very different he is from ivan xav, her middling temporary husband. )

They called the hit off-- five? Six years ago.

( so he's safe now, should anyone find out. but satisfied with his half, tej continues. )

My sister is valuable to the House that took us over; you'd understand if you could see her. They would display her as a sign of their victory. I am just a loose end, likely to end up dead as soon as I returned home. ( her life is valuable to the right buyer, like his. he has enough to condemn her without her name: her description, the fact she's a jacksonian running for her life. he doesn't need her full name to sell her out if he wanted to. ) Ivan Xav had hidden us in his apartment after the first break in of our place, in the hopes it would keep us safe. But through -- circumstances out of our control ( as a result of byerly's first scheme, among others ) the local police thought Ivan Xav had kidnapped us, and Komarran Immigration Services were onto us. We were running out of options. Rish and I had decided to throw ourselves off the balcony of his apartment to prevent them from taking us and eventually ending up in the hands of the people we were trying to flee.

( tej decides to leave out the kiss she'd given ivan xav as an apology. )

Anyway, Ivan Xav realized that marrying him would give me protection from Immigration, and he said that it would put ImpSec on our side as well. ( though he hadn't explained how or why. ) He hired Rish to give her protection as well, and we could get a divorce as soon as we got to Barrayar. So-- ( she gestures, palm out in a sweeping gesture. )

That's how I became Lady Tej Vorpatril.

[vorbarra]

[ Oh, God. Why does Gregor need to be the one to tell her this? He's not sure he's ever fully faced up to the reality of her death himself, the magnitude of that loss to him. His grandfather had been an abstract loss, one he'd never really known; his father a loss of opportunity at first, when he'd still thought him a war hero, and then a darker, keener loss of something that had never been accessible to him in the first place.

But his mother... was something Gregor had once had.

He swallows hard, something in his face cracking. ] Mother, I... I don't want to answer that. [ Coward. He's such a coward. But he can't, not without shutting down. He still has a vague memory of the time surrounding her funeral, a blur of grayness that extended for days, weeks, no one realizing how little he was talking... ]

[darkimitation]

[Of course when Yuu blocks his Helm Split attack, he jumps backwards and then lunges forward again to try attacking him front the front this time. He's determined to catch the other off guard and make him fall at the very least. That way he knows he can win while also proving he's the better fight between them.]

[vorbarra]

Oh, I can't blame you for that at all, [ he says ruefully. ] I wandered around in a fascinated daze for at least a week.

Gregor Vorbarra. You aren't one of Lucy's sibs, are you? I recognize the name.

[ Gregor is also not coincidentally subtly more relaxed and casual upon learning this. He has a public persona and an among-friends persona and they appear similar at first glance, but really are not at all, and his trust and respect for Lucy is immense. It's an easy in with him. ]

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl refrained from saying anything about the job he'd been given, instead meeting Rick's eyes and letting himself smile just a little for a moment at the sentiment. Ain't home, but could be more than a stop along the way.

"How 'bout you show me to the house, then?" He went with, instead. "See how much of a home it can be." And let him figure out sight lines for when he stayed up at night on watch. Because no matter where the family settled down, he was going to do that.

[kickingand]

[ Not fast enough, Jo.

Dean doesn't even respond to the dogs, he's by far more interested in her and what she just almost said. ]

Back? You mean I was here before.

[mymarksman]

I truly wonder how much of this is incompetence masked as a desire to help. [ Medraut can't help but smile a little at that, a small little smirk of a smile. Because you'd think that people would at least make an attempt to care about these smaller details like neither of them being heroes. ]

[thanks_satan]

Ad that her grin just about matches his.

"Maybe not just as brightly, buuuuut," she rolls up one sleeve, showing her wrist which now has two USB ports and a audio output, "I might try my hand at DJing."

[exonerated]

Lucy! [ That is a resounding yes. Edmund's smile widens, but it also becomes more exasperated, an expression mastered only by a fond older brother. ] Unfortunately, yes, I am indeed one of her older brothers. If you know her, then she's here. Of course.

[ Since when does Lucy not get into trouble, really. And since when does Edmund not follow her? It's the natural order of things. ]

I take that you are a friend of hers?

[ The body language did not go unnoticed, but such is the effect Lucy has on plenty others. She is kind and trustworthy, and a delightful person all around. Edmund teases her, but only out of love, honestly! ]

Simon Keyes | Ace Attorney

[murimurimuri]

Maurtia Falls

[This meat is very obviously fresh, and tender-looking at that, so he is set upon almost instantly the second he wanders into an alleyway. The shriek he lets out is high-pitched distressed-damsel-esque, if you're into that sort of thing.]

Please don't beat and rob me and human traffic me! I promise it'll be way less fun and profitable than you're thinking!!

[What a fine hero has been imPorted here.

Wildcard

[Anything else! Bump into him on the street - he's not very remarkable so maybe you didn't even see him? Or maybe you did see him hanging out in the park and talking to squirrels? Or dressed up as a clown juggling by the side of the road? Who knows!]

[thanks_satan]

Huh. Cool.

[ Not what she was hoping for, but still intriguing. He sure does have A Look. ]

[coppelganger]

[ Sarah follows along, relieved to be out of the spotlight, and waits until the two of them have well and truly ditched the crowd before she mutters, ] It gets old quick, trust me on that.

[angelfire]

[ Lucifer doesn't falter in the face of that power. Why would he? Instead, all humor disappears from his expression, lips pressed into a thin line, and he angled his head forward, looking keenly up at Inanna. He wasn't about to back down over something like this.

And as they say, you fight fire with fire. Lucifer let his grace spill free; usually he contained it, but there was no need to do that, obviously. It was a heaviness, like gravity itself took form. A mirror, a hum of intention, in response to the power shown to him in turn.

His eyes flashed with it, lit blue, and stayed that way. ]

You have a little something to learn about this place, your majesty.

[dendarii]

[ There are two things to react to here, and - dear god he's not sure how to respond to the first, so he tries the latter instead. ]

Temporarily so. Well. Ivan would be crazy to let you go if he had the opportunity, but I'm assuming that you have much better prospects than him.

[ And now ... circling back to the first one: ]

How old is he?

[angelfire]

Old man? Scruffy? He's really quite offended. But if you'd met him last month, he was six foot something, perfectly well formed, muscular--made Mr. Morningstar look like a weed. But you have to work with what you have at hand. Lucifer flares his nostrils, and shrugs, reaching out to take his comm device back, and clicking the programme off he returned it to his pocket.

"There's really no pleasing some people."

He reached out to touch her again, but this time they took flight, teleporting with a swerving sort of bottoming-out of the world around them. At once they were standing in the center of a butterfly garden, enclosed in the tropical heat under the high glass ceilings. The butterflies were all but frozen in mid air around them, beating their wings at a one frame per second rate, slowly, slowly picking their way through the air.

"Not that I have to prove myself, but slowing down time is a pretty Big Deal."

[watch_me_burn]

[Oh no. She hadn't meant to cause him pain but there was little excuse. She was fresh from the moment, still somewhat in shock over what happened and without any time after to parse how she felt on the matter. Gregor, on the other hand, had years, two decades to feel the weight of that loss and the proof was in front of her now.

His tone is enough to clue her in that she misspoke, but the way his expression changed, even ever so slightly, it was enough. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands.]

Forgive me, my son. We don't have to talk about it or anything else. [And maybe after this moment he wouldn't want to see her again, either. That would break her heart, but just knowing he had gotten to live his life and grow to adulthood, that he hadn't died at such a tender age, frightened and alone, that would be enough for her.]

[thanks_satan]

Well shit that is cool. Her stomach drops a bit, but hey it's not nearly as bad as the Morrigan's abyss. She regains her balance and pulls herself away from him quickly enough, flashing a bit of a we-both-damn-well-know-that's-rude look.


"A little off brand though," She raises a hand up to move it around one of the suspended bugs, "you were doing better when you lit my smoke."

[ghemnotgem]

Oh yes. ( her head falls, fingers suddenly becoming very interesting indeed. her marriage prospects -- rish would want her to go with someone who had better connections than ivan xav. any surviving member of her family would want her to marry someone who had money, something they could use. it was so tiring after a while. it's with a sigh that she answers: ) Better prospects are required.

( but that question is easier to answer. )

Mid-thirties, I think.

[dendarii]

[ Ah. That hadn't really been what he'd meant. Now he feels a bit guilty for suggesting it at all. Fortunately he's distracted by ... ]

-- Thirties?

[angelfire]

[ Lucifer hummed, keenly, drinking from his glass and just enjoying the show. The men didn't have an easy time of it, and soon enough others were joining in, high on testosterone and booze and ready to throw in with their long time drinking partners against this thug with powers. There were five of them now, and another pair climbing out of their chairs, and the barmaid was on the phone to the owner of the bar to ask what she should do. Lucifer could hear the conversation if he bothered to try to listen to it, but he wasn't really that invested.

Dean was rough, intent. He brawled with the men, and every time he took a blow it sped him up rather than slowing him down. He dug his heels in and became if anything more vicious, more determined, and it was everything beautiful that Cain had become, after he'd become a demon.

Lucifer let it go. His work really was done, all it had taken was the right comment to the right person, and the bar had fallen in on itself. Not really Dean's fault, it wasn't like he'd started it, or even thrown the first punch. ]

Behind you.

[ It wasn't much inflected. A man was throwing a bottle toward Dean's head. ]

[kickingand]

[ Dean had damn near forgotten that Lucifer was even remotely involved with this. It felt as if he was right back home - if he could really and truly call it home anymore - Crowley somewhere in the back egging him on or rolling his eyes or doing whatever it was that Crowley did when Dean ran off to go screw some pretty blonde. He just didn't care, had no reason to, and was simply enjoying the rock and roll of the fight itself.

The only time he really remembered that Lucifer was there watching the show was when the blow from behind came slicing through the air, leaving Dean to dodge out of the way and knock into more men in the process. It was practically turning into a mosh pit of fists and stomped feet, aiming where he could and ducking out of the way with all the rest. Necks were wrung and used to fling people in another direction, bowling men out of the way and blowing out knees. At one point, Dean even shouted over the raucous, not so much using words as emphasizing his point of attack, dropping down low like a bull and shouldering his way through men.

Other patrons were finally skidding their way to freedom, booking it through the door as Dean took another clip to his cheekbone, a fist skidding across his face. ]

[angelfire]

[ Hello would be a nice start, Sam. But then--Sam hadn't been all that interested in talking the last time he'd seen him, right? The imaginary him, anyway.

It's unmistakeable the moment when Sam notices. His reaction is defiance and fear mixed together, and it's immensely satisfying. Lucifer regards him, not unkindly, and he gestures toward the barman, leaning up to say something into his ear. He nods, and smiles, and shoots a glance down the bar at Sam, before pouring a double shot of whiskey and taking it to him. ]

A gift from your friend over there. He says you should go sit with him.

[ Why move, when he could bring Sam to him? Lucifer folded his arms and settled back. His only interest was Sam; his only focus was the youngest Winchester, his vessel, his pet. Oh, this was going to be so much fun.

He raised an eyebrow, deliberately. ]

[angelfire]

[ Just as soon as it had started, the fight was slowing, the room starting to thin as the injured and the afraid booked it. Those not involved hung near the sides, as though waiting for things to work themselves out so that they could decide what to do. Finally there was just Dean standing there over an unconscious pair of men who had been left behind by their friends.

Lucifer stood, the moment everything stilled, and called to the barmaid. ]

My friend and I will be buying everyone here a drink. [ He called out, louder: ] The next round is on me, so long as someone clears up this mess. Gentlemen? [ He tipped his head toward a group who had stayed out of the fight, and sure enough they set about dragging the unconscious men out and righting the tables that Dean had thrown about. The barmaid didn't even make a fuss about Dean leaving, but smiled at him, a little turned on, a little fearful, as she poured him another generous shot from his bottle, all but inviting him to stay.

It was immensely entertaining. ]

You'll be stronger once you learn how to use your telekinesis as well--assuming this place let you keep it.

[angelfire]

"I'm not really your fire and brimstone kind of Devil. It's a little cliche, isn't it?"

He puts his hands back into his pockets, barely looking at the butterflies. She was much more interesting, even if he only had her words to go on.

"This place draws people from different worlds. There's a Lucifer whose daughter is in a rock band, a Lucifer who runs some sort of nightclub, and there's me."

[kickingand]

I will?

[ It was a 100% legitimate question, Dean trying to shake loose from the adrenaline pulsing through his system. He felt utterly high on it, blood pumping furiously, the rage quelled for the time being but still altogether vibrant. Just because he'd slammed his way through a fight didn't mean there weren't lasting effects from it, aching a bit but altogether inclined to jump off the nearest tall building simply because it felt like he could. There was nothing left to punch his way through, the men all giving him an amusingly wide berth, and Dean stretched out a bit, letting his back crunch loudly as he moved.

The woman behind the counter poured him another drink and Dean flashed her a vicious grin, something that now suddenly seemed to work on near all the ladies, something that oozed away when he looked back to Lucifer, confusion finally striking across his features. For all that Dean cared, they were the only two beings left in the bar and Dean ignored the others righting tables and setting things back into place, reaching behind himself to slide his glass closer. ]

Thought that only worked with the blade around.

[ Not that he was actually taking advice from Lucifer, but he was listening to a certain extent. It just didn't mean he was going to believe everything he had to say. Or was interested in it to begin with. ]