throws thumbtack confetti everywhere

[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

Elsa | Frozen

[handwringing]

[[ Prompt 2 ]]

[It's been a rough four hours. First, there was learning that she'd plunged Arendelle into an eternal winter, then she'd thrown Anna out of her palace, then she'd been kidnapped and told she was meant to fight crime, had coated the interior of the machine they called a "car" in an inch of ice in the process, and now she'd been let loose, no idea where to go and in a city bigger than she'd ever seen (not that she'd ever seen more than the one, to be fair).

It was too much to take all at once, and her powers were reacting to it. Snow swirled around her as she moved, a trail of ice following her feet, and several people pointed and tried to talk to her about it. Sorry, she'd say, in an attempt to be polite, but as it happened more and more, she started to half-beg, half-command, "Leave me alone, please just leave me alone."

At least they weren't afraid of her or trying to kill her, but she hadn't turned the town into a frozen wasteland yet. One wrong move, and she would, and then they'd turn on her.

Getting away from the crowd, she ducks into an alley and presses herself against the wall, holding her hands like that will stop her powers.]

Conceal, don't feel, conceal, don't- no no, control it!

[It's too late. Ice starts to creep up the alley wall and across the ground.]

[naw]

[the first hours had blurred nonsensically, the noises and colors and steel too overwhelming to take in. so much steel. metal. she'd never seen so much metal everywhere in such great quantities, not even in battle when weapons clashed against armor. there are no dirt roads. why is everything covered in stone and metal?

well, obviously something's wrong here. she hurries past the humans, covering her rather conspicuous ears with her hands until she reaches an alley, noticing Elsa too late.]

Ah-! What are you-

[Nah stumbles back and slips on ice, barely breaking her fall with her hands- and revealing her long, pointed ears at the same time. whoops.]

Stay back! Stay back, or else you'll regret it!

[maybe the outburst would seem more threatening if it weren't coming from a small unarmed girl.]

[handwringing]

Oh- oh, no, it's okay-

[Seeing the young girl slip on the ice had panicked her, slightly, but it sounded like she was okay, if maybe a little bruised from slipping.

More flurries fall, and the ice continues its trek up the walls, but more slowly while she's preoccupied.]

I won't come near you. Just... are you alright? You're not hurt?

[She notices the pointy ears, and wonders if this girl is an elf. She wouldn't be too surprised, after meeting trolls. It seems impolite to ask, though.]

[naw]

[ice magic? her eyes dart between Elsa and the ice creeping up the walls. she doesn't respond for a moment, mouth slightly open in vague puzzlement. she'd seen mages using fire and thunder and wind, but never ice.

maybe in different circumstances she'd be asking all sorts of questions, but right now there's more than enough she doesn't know.]

I'm... I'm fine. [her initial panic is already fading; Nah slowly tries to stand, feet slipping on the ice a bit. someone who asks if she's ok can't be an enemy. no, an enemy would've gone straight for her throat.]

You startled me! You should practice your magic where people won't get in the way!

[handwringing]

I wasn't practicing. It was an accident.

[She takes deep breaths, and the ice stops moving up the walls. The snowflakes keep going, though, heedless of the hot Florida air.

She gives a gentle smile, glad the girl is unharmed, and not panicking anymore.]

I'm glad you're alright. You were in a hurry before - is something wrong?

[harryingjet]

[Fun fact: the nervous system of a human is way different than the nervous system of a robot. So robot-turned-human Starscream is pretty much freaked when Elsa starts making snow and ice and drops the temperature, mostly because he's never felt snow falling on his hair or the sensation of being really really cold.

So he's going to make the situation worse.]

Can't you turn that off?

[handwringing]

[What a question. It's just so funny, she forgot to laugh.

She grimaces instead, and looks over at him.]

Not really. Just, please, leave me be. It will melt on its own.

[Hopefully before she freezes all of Cape Canaveral.]

[harryingjet]

[It would melt on its own...that's nice and all, but Starscream is cold at the moment. So, he walks closer towards Elsa as if to yell at her to no, turn it off, stop the snow because he didn't know what it was but he hated it...

And then he slipped on an icy patch on the ground and hit the floor with a thunk.

Somebody doesn't know how to walk on ice.]

[handwringing]

[Oh no, that's not good. She starts to approach, to help him up, then stops herself.]

Are you alright?

[She hopes he's not hurt.]

[malodorous]

[ Oh, hey. Ice. That's pretty weird, considering how hot it is in Florida, especially now that it's Spring and stuff. Seems like the kind of thing he might want to check out.

So he follows it, as he tends to do anyway, and comes across the remains of the crowd, the alley, and... Yep. That's the queen. He shifts to automatically look around for Anna or Hans, even if he mostly knows they're not here. The last he knew, Elsa had never seen him. If she has seen him at this point, she doesn't know him, so... It's kind of null, either way.

When he first speaks, it's not to her but to the people lingering at the opening of the alley. As much faith as Anna had in her sister, Kristoff knows that she can hurt people. Badly. That, and they're being obnoxious. Fine way to get yourself frozen solid. ]

Hey, back off. Shoo. Don't you people have anything better to be doing? [ There's a few more brusque exchanges. He assures the people that he knows her, he's an imPort too, he'll take care of it... Then he addresses Elsa when they've finally dispersed. ] Alright. I'm not here to hurt you or anything. You have to calm down.

[handwringing]

[Thank goodness, the people are leaving. Elsa breathes a sigh of relief, only to realize that her savior is not leaving either.

She has to peer through the alley gloom at him a moment - he looks familiar - and then realization dawns, and she straightens up a bit.]

You were with Anna. [Not that she'd bothered to get his name.] Why are you here?

[malodorous]

[ He scowls just a bit at the question before willing the sour expression down. Elsa's... She scared, skittish like a trapped hare. The best thing to do is to try and illustrate that he's not a threat. Everything's okay.

So he shrugs instead. It's a dumb question, but okay. Sure. He can try. ]

Why are any of us here? [ A beat. ] That's hypothetical. Nobody actually knows.

[handwringing]

How can nobody know? Those people, didn't they bring us here?

[The ice stops growing, but it doesn't stop changing, thickening in places until it looks black against the brick wall. The snowflakes stop, though, only a few dropping here and there.]

[everylittlething]

[Elsa is probably not expecting company back there in the alley. Much less is she probably expecting company from a teenage girl who looks beyond impressed with her feat.]

Oh, wow! That trick is amazing!

[But she looks so distressed... what's up with that? Trucy approaches curiously, very slowly, one step at a time.]

What's the matter?

[handwringing]

[Trucy's sudden appearance does make her start, the ice around her feet suddenly spiking, only a few inches. But it's just a kid, hardly a threat. At least, she hopes not.]

Nothing. [Obviously not.] Just, please, stay back. The ice will go away soon.

[She hopes.]

[everylittlething]

[Trucy regards her with a brief tilt of her eyebrow, but doesn't say anything. She folds her hands behind her back and watches Elsa for a moment, staying where she is- maybe she has stage fright or something like that. No big deal.

She sounds for all the world like there's nothing wrong at all, or even that it isn't very weird that this woman is, uh... making magic ice.]

That's really impressive. I can't imagine how you do it.

[She leans back against the opposite wall of the alley.]

Your costume is beautiful too! It really fits along with the theme!

[handwringing]

[Costume? Elsa's not sure what she means by that, but she tries to accept the compliment gracefully.]

Thank you. I made it myself.

[She rubs her hands together, and the snowflakes start to slack off. This girl is actually... impressed by her ice? Well, Anna was too, when they were young - it doesn't mean that won't change.]

Re: Elsa | Frozen

[earnedmystripes]

[So you know what powers are familiar to Kotetsu? Ice powers. So when he sees the random ice leading into an alley, he follows it, thinking that maybe Blue Rose has arrived in Heropa.

What he finds instead is...almost nostalgic, in a painful sort of way. Kotetsu makes some noise to announce himself and then carefully approaches, hands held up as if to keep her from panicking. He comes to a stop just a few feet away, offering a smile he hopes is reassuring.]

Hey, easy. Getting all worked up is just gonna make it worse. Take a couple deep breaths, close your eyes, and think about what you want your power to do. Don't freak out if it doesn't happen right away, just focus on calming down, okay?

[handwringing]

[Unfortunately, his appearance only startles Elsa more, and ice spreads even further, coating the ground before her and the wall behind her.

She looks at him, listens to his words, and something about it reminds her of her father, telling her to calm down. And she tries, oh does she try, but she can't stop it. There's too much stress.]

I can't! [She scoots along the wall, away from him.] Just, please, stay back! Don't come any closer.

[earnedmystripes]

I won't come any closer.

[His tone stays even, though he doesn't move back, either, and there's no sign of fear from him, either.]

Breathe, okay? Count to five, then let it out. It's scary, but it's your power. You can control it, I promise you can.

I had trouble with mine too, when I was a kid. But now it's like second nature to me.

[He fires it up, glowing bright blue from head to foot, and picks up a piece of metal on the ground that hasn't iced over, holding it up--then crushing it in his hand easily as if it were soft and pliable. He then swings the thing around in his hand, and despite his obvious superhuman strength, it doesn't get damaged any further.]

See?

You'll master yours too, with enough practice.

[individualist]

[It's been a while since he's seen someone out of control like this, even if the spread isn't exactly large scale yet. He can't help but be curious.

So he takes a step or two further into the alley, approaching with no hesitation.]

Having some trouble?

[handwringing]

[Her head whips toward him. This man isn't afraid, but she is, and more ice spikes around her, only a few inches high, but obviously defensive.]

It's fine. [Obviously.] Stay back. I can handle this alone.

[choreographics]

[Snow...it wasn't that Ryan wasn't used to snow. Sometimes it snowed in Albuquerque, but it really was pretty rare. There was also the fact that the last thing he recalls from home was that it was the middle of summer and now he's in Florida and does it even snow in Florida?

It doesn't matter. Curiosity is one of Ryan's greatest traits (or flaws, depending on how you look at it) and so despite the fact there's so much to see and do and look at to figure out what's going on, he's following the path of snow and ice that leads to the alley and it's there he finds Elsa. He's not sure what to make of all of this, but he's definitely watching her closely.]

If you really want to control it, try finding your center.

[handwringing]

My center?

[What exactly does that mean? She takes a few deep breaths, but it's not really helping. The ice keeps creeping along the alley.]

Just stay back. Please. It'll stop in time.

[choreographics]

[Right. Okay. How does one explain a center and the core and the flow of energy to find a sense of inner peace when it barely sounds like it makes sense to him? He just leans back against the other side of the alley across from her, folding his arms over his chest.]

Deeper breaths. [He's not that easily startled, considering.] So wait, does this happen often or...?