etcelsior | we're all reponsible here

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

Not quite an impressive position, but I have to say it's interesting.

No, you're right, it's not exactly pivotal. But it's a good starting point. I'm only seventeen, after all-- they're hardly going to give me a position in the inner circle. To even hold a formal ministerial position at all at seventeen is fairly remarkable. Everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up, I'm no exception. And if I do the job well, in time, I'll be promoted.

I'm not sure if that's ambitious or not.

[ Only after she says it does she realize how that sounds ]

-- I mean, don't you have any hobbies?

[ It's weird to have these kind of conversations, especially when it makes her feel like a hypocrite. But it's the kind of smalltalk that she'd engage in at school and he's about the right age. . . ]

[The question seems to take him by surprise, as if it's completely out of left field for him.]

I...

[And in fact, it is. Not once in living memory can he recall anyone ever asking him what his hobbies were. Being a magician and the work that entailed was something all consuming to him, and it was plain to those around him. They expected no less..]

My job is my hobby, of course. Though, to be quite honest... a hobby in the traditional sense of the word that you mean... is really only something for people with time to waste.

Maybe you should get one here.

[ She thought he was kind of a jerk -- and he might still be -- but there's something too familiar about that kind of response. ]

[He blinks in surprise, and the smile on his face is one of disbelief.]

... You must surely be joking.

Do you suddenly not have time to waste? Or is it just that every moment of your life is so precious you can't bear to waste it on something so mundane as a hobby?

[There a pause for a moment as he considers those words and how to answer them.]

...

I suppose ... it is true enough, that I may indeed have more free time here than I'm accustomed to. But I can't imagine that will last long-- the government will surely recognise my talents and pull me out of something so mundane as school to work for them soon enough.

[ . . . she can't hold back a laugh at that. He sounds so sure that he'll be picked as some kind of chosen one. ]

Is that how it will be -- !?

... Is something funny?

It can't be because you work hard, you already said you're way beyond that. So you -- just think that someone will look at you and be so impressed they'll just have to pull you out of school to do something greater!?

[ Her laughter fades quickly but the amusement is clear ]

The government has our files. They know what we can do and are capable of. They wouldn't have picked us personally if they didn't. They need our help.

If they already know what you can do why weren't you just fastracked to a position of great success and admiration then?

They must keep up the appearance of giving us a "choice."

[ She can't believe him . . . ]

You usually have to earn acknowledgment. Even if you're strong, even if you have skills and even if you've done great things in the past.

I understand being great, but if you can't even impress me how are you going to impress them?

I-- I know that!

I will earn it. Just watch and see.

And no one is going to just hang around to watch you. I don't plan on just being a passive member here either.

[ a beat, before her smile grows a bit wider ]

Are you only after a government position again?

[His already serious face darkens somewhat]

Not necessarily. I'm after whatever position in this world will greatest allow me to help the war effort to the best of my ability. The sooner this war of theirs is over, the sooner we can return home.

[ That's a bit of a moodkiller, honestly. Her own war ended just recently and while it's annoying to get pulled to a difference place, Rin's determined to make the best of it. There may be things she can learn here that will give her an edge in her studies. Or, well, she hopes it's not an entirely wasted trip. ]

Honestly, for a kid you're so . . . [ what's the word she's looking for ] boring!

... But I am not a kid. I'm legally an adult, employed by the government in my own world with the full adult responsibilities that entails. I would thank you to think of me as such. Whether you find me boring or not is none of my concern.

. . .

[ There's nothing to say to that for a moment. ]

Is that all that makes you an adult? Having a job and all of that. It's like you haven't lived your life at all.

And who are you to judge how I choose to live my life?

I work hard, and one day I intend to become recognised as one of the greatest magicians of my time. I'm already well on the way. Not that I need justify myself to you.

Does it matter if I judge your life if you don't need to justify yourself to me.

[He's not pouting. Much.]

... No. Indeed it does not.

It seems like you don't want to be involved in anything until one day someone looks down at you and raises you up though. What a way to live.

[ She is, perhaps, a little judgmental in her tone of voice. ]

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