we're all reponsible here

[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

[performance]

[ He's Robin, and he's very good at watching people.

He'd spotted Bruce some time ago, and he'd done his best to tail him without being noticed (with begrudging credit, he supposed, to the new powers this place had stuck him with). Making sure that it was him, for real, and not just his mind playing tricks on him with how badly he needed it to be true.

It's him, he decides, a long enough time later that he's really, really sure. But something's off. The age? The haircut? Something more than that? Dick can't tell, but it's Bruce, it's definitely Bruce. It's unmistakable, even if all the details aren't quite right.

... He isn't sure what's keeping him from approaching, or maybe he just doesn't want to put a name to it. The longer he waits, the more uncertain he becomes, and now he's wracked with indecision. What if it's not his Bruce? What if— what if he expects Dick to be older, or better, or any of the other ways he doesn't match up to what the people here expect of him?

He'd been doing so well at not looking suspicious, but now he's lost in thought and indecision as he leans against the nearby railing of the boardwalk and tries to plan for a scenario he'd never even considered. This isn't stealthy. ]

[chiroptophobic]

[ Hard to tell, harder still to know. Bruce moved in a certain way, spoke in a certain way, observed in a certain way, always asking questions and rarely providing more than was necessary in the way of subtle gestures, plastic smiles brimming with supposedly genuine warmth, and a comfortable rumble in his vocal tone that imposed safe familiarity on the conversation, allowing it to continue for as long as he needed to.

His whole approach to people was targeted and efficient, visually carefree, except when observed for a significant period of time.

The risk was, though, that observing for too long was the fastest way to be observed observing, and Dick's hesitation as he leans against the railing is the break in the pattern Bruce needs to pick him out of the crowd, letting his mind wander back over the faces he's seen and the glances that might have been someone watching from afar, letting them form into a picture. Bruce stayed put for several moments, let a young family pass between himself and Dick, and between the bobbing balloons and the pram, the cheerful call of a child to its mother as it dashed too far ahead, Bruce disappeared.

And with a crunch of sand on concrete, turned to lean against the rail beside him. He didn't say a word pending an explanation, nor demand one. ]

[performance]

[ Dick's good, but Bruce is better. It's only a second, and he should have this, but the balloons and their riot of colors obscure his vision just long enough that he can't track anymore. A second is all it takes. Dick worries for just a moment, thinking he's lost him, and then all of a sudden— there he is.

How very Batman.

He squares his shoulders and looks up at Bruce with forced calm and a bit of humility. He wants to be happy to see him, but it's never that simple, is it? ]

... I slipped up, huh?

[chiroptophobic]

[ It's difficult to read the response. If Bruce realized that he was known, his take on the squared shoulders might have been different. There was something there, though, that wasn't just run of the mill catching someone in the act, and it was up to him to play his cards close enough to his chest for long enough to find out what it was. ]

It depends. You've been watching for over an hour and a half.

[ Which was impressive on its own. He raises his chin slightly, as though in judgement. ]

So the first part wasn't bad. [ Implying that yes, the mistake was still a mistake. ] What does that mean for next time?