etcelsior | throws thumbtack confetti everywhere

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

[ The losses you can name are the worst. When Annie's head broke the surface of the water, she gasped and tried treading water without knowing that was what she was attempting in the first place. The pier is tantalizingly close, but to breach the distance between her reach from the water even to the bottom... it would take some kind of leverage, or a helping hand.

Erwin Smith was not the helping hand she ever expected. Not the one she wanted, either, but beggars only choose when they were certain it wouldn't be to their disadvantage.

Giving a nod of her head, she kicked harder with her legs, pretending the water could be firm enough of a surface to push off and bridge the distance between his hand and her own. Annie's wet fingers locked around Erwin's forearm, eyes glancing to the side. ]

The post.

[ The support beam close to their left would allow her to have some foot hold, to take the burden of her waterlogged weight of Erwin as a whole. She could scramble upward, if she only had that foot hold, if she could get her other hand on the flat surface of the pier...! ]

[Erwin grasped her wrist tightly as soon as her hand found his forearm. She had slipped through their grasp before, he wasn't going to let that happen once more.

He glanced to where she was looking to see the post, nodding as he shifted so she had enough room to get her foot on the post, never letting go even as his grasp slipped slightly on her wet arm. He tightened his grasp as he hauled her up so she could get a better foothold to start hauling herself up.]

[ What comes next is for thinking after she has ground, or a stable surface, under her feet. Annie's feet slide down the length of the pole, finding tenuous holds. Waterlogged and prone to coughing fits, Erwin would feel once she was supporting some of her own weight. Then when she had most of it, relieving the pull on his arm as she had the support between her thighs and her free handsecuring holds above her. Once she had herself with enough leverage to pull up and flop-crawl under the lowest rail, she did. Erwin keeping his hold on her would either help or hinder her movement, but before she can brak that hold, she was taken by another coughing fit.

Thanks for the help, Erwin. She'll be happy to go now. Once she's standing again. ]

[As soon as she's able to make her own way up, Erwin lets go so she can crawl under the lowest rail. He didn't step away, kneeling down for a moment as she coughed on the pier.

There was no concern in his expression, but if she died that meant answers they were denied before would be lost, which means he's going to make sure she's breathing at the very least.]

Annie. Are you alright now?

[Don't mention it, Annie.]

[ No, she isn't, and much of the why behind that is standing right there. She managed to be on her hands and knees as the coughing grew less violent, breathing in great big gasps that calmed and slowed as the air flowed freely through her lungs. She pushed back to sit on her heels, hair plastered in crazy angles over her face. One eye is free enough to see Erwin without brushing the rest aside.

She didn't answer. It's not in her best interest to be dictating in a conversation where she doesn't know Erwin's stance quite yet. Particularly when she wasn't inclined to rely on violence as a first solution. An eventual ends, yes, but not a first solution. ]

[While he fully intends to get what information he can out of her eventually, assessing what he can of her demeanor. He's not sure how long she's been here, what she knows of their present situation.]

What will you do now, Annie? [He asks bluntly, his eyes never leaving hers.] This must be disconcerting for you, a world unlike the one we left behind.

[ No more or less disconcerting than it is to him, though she hadn't expected to be awakened like this. His question is blunt, much like the ones who'd recieved them on arrival had been blunt in making their requests. Annie lets her breathing calm further before she responds. ]

Live. Until I'm called to act on registration.

[ Not that she needs to wait. Annie recognized when a deal had been offered that she didn't have the means to turn down for now, and that had been the case here. Like Erwin says, this world is unlie the one they left behind. She needs time to adapt to the dramatic shift in circumstances. ]

[He has no doubts that she would let herself die now from just water, standing up to look down at her.

It would have been easy to let her drown but answers would have died with her, but even now he wonders if it would have been the right decision, for the sake of having a Titan Shifter in this world now.

He'll accept the responsibly, whatever may happen now.]

I'm pleased to hear that. I trust you can walk on your own then.like as always. There is b]

[ She stands, a creaking effort only because she'd been on her knees not long before. ]

So it appears.

[ Her words come out more strained than she would have liked. The children responsible for this mess have returned to their games, all but a handful who continue to stare at the two of them where they are on the pier. ]

It's time to leave.

Then lets be on our way. Levi and I can debrief you fully on the current situation.

[Erwin is aware of the onlookers and the fact he is without his gear, despite being at a disadvantage he never takes his eyes off of her. It's clear that there will be no argument of him expecting her to follow him]

[ She seriously debates just walking the other way and losing herself in the crowd. Only the fact it won't solve things, and this running away isn't to any beneficial place or better position, makes her start walking again, following behind Erwin. ]

How long has it been?

[ That they've been there. Or if there were others - all good questions, only one she'll ask. And even that just to keep the ones they pass by from wondering too much over the man in his thirties and the young woman in her teens were doing after that pier falling fiasco. Public attention... she'll have to keep that in mind. ]

[While he doesn't care what this looks like to any observers, Erwin knows this will go easier if he doesn't have to grab her arm and force her. He considers her question for a moment, time seems drag on here somewhat he's found.]

Just over a month now.

How long have people been arriving?

[ Her following question is neutral, filing away his answer when it's answered. Water sloshes in her boots as she keeps pace behind him. The wind off the water brings on a chill in juxtaposition to the relative heat and humidity she's unfamiliar with in this new place. It's not comfortable - but she doesn't expect to be comfortable. ]

For quite some time now, I believe, several years.

[It's neutral enough to answer questions like that. He only looks back at her once in awhile, only to make sure she's keeping up. So long as she is, he's not concerned otherwise since things are going to be getting a bit more uncomfortable in the near future.]

[ She makes a small noise to indicate she'd heard, slowing down as they reached the end of the pier, where it melded into the boardwalk joined to it. Shops and all sorts of places to eat stretched out, mostly to the North.

Years is too short. ]

There's water in my boots.

[ She'd like to dump it out before they're on proper roads. ]

throws thumbtack confetti everywhere

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