etcelsior | now don't be rude

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

[It'd be easy to start yelling at him now and demanding for her skateboard back, her hands even clench up into angry fists for a second there, but Riley just glares at him and stands her ground.

He's just such a dick, though.]

Why do you care? I said I didn't think you were here, it's not like I was trying to ruin your fucking night. Just give the board back, I'll go practice somewhere else.

[Joel raises his free hand at Riley as much to tell her, just stop, stop right there, you little shit. His lips press even tighter together and he gives her a look that speaks volumes of how much he wishes he could kill this kid. Not literally kill her, but... Goddamn, does she get on his every last nerve.

With a heavy, terse sigh, he drops his hand back to his side.]

You oughta be grateful I'm even lettin' you stay here.

[She really doesn't get him. All she ever did to him was show up and be friendly with Ellie, a connection to a time when he wasn't her entire world, someone who might be just as important to Ellie as Joel is himself. She's a fucking teenager and yet here he is, acting like she's come to ruin his whole life.

It's kind of creepy, an old man like him trying so hard to elbow her out of Ellie's life. And entirely pointless, because Riley will never just give up her best friend, but here is Joel, trying to start shit again.]

You know, I'm getting really sick of this shit. You're not letting me stay anywhere, I stay here for Ellie.

[Oh, but that grates even more on his nerves. He points at his own chest with a stab of his finger.]

Because I let you. [And then he's pointing at Riley with a stab of his finger.] I'm tellin' you now, kid, you keep pushin' it and you'll be findin' your own damn place to live, I don't care how important you are to Ellie.

Edited 2014-07-29 05:26 (UTC)

[She's not scared of him. Maybe she should be, he's huge, way bigger than her and she doesn't doubt that he'd win if they ever got in a fight that was just based on strength. But she still doesn't back down. She just glares at him, stands her ground.]

Yeah, but you do. You know if you kick me out she'll figure out why and then you'll be fucked. So just give me back my fucking skateboard and get out of my face!

[Joel doesn't budge. He's not handing the skateboard back. Yeah, Ellie would be pissed at him and maybe she'd leave him - and that's the only reason he hasn't kicked this little punk out. He gives the kid a hard look.]

You ain't anywhere near as special as you think you are.

[That actually gets a laugh.]

I know exactly what I mean to her. And she must mean a hell of a lot more to me than she does to you because I actually try to act like a decent fucking person when this is what you throw in my face.

[Joel's jaw tenses. The hardness in his eyes turns several degrees colder. Riley oughta be glad she's a kid because if she weren't... His hand, the one not holding the skateboard, curls into a tight fist at his side.]

Pretty goddamn rich comin' from the kid who was stupid enough to get Ellie bit.

[And now everything is different. This isn't Joel putting up boundaries or marking out territory in Ellie's life, this is the kind of low blow that makes Riley's blood run cold. For a moment she can't even breathe, because how many times has she had that exact thought?

It was her fault, all of it. One good day that turned into the end of their lives, or should have. She's still glad Ellie walked away, but that Joel knows, that he's using that against her, makes her feel sick.]

You don't know what you're talking about, so shut the fuck up.

No? Well, sure sounds to me like that's exactly how it played out.

[Stupid goddamn kid. With a shake of his head to himself, he takes a step back into his bedroom and stoops down to set the skateboard resting against the wall. She's not getting it back.]

[She can't- she can't think about the mall, so she picks the petty sixteen year old option instead. If he's going to act like a child, she might as well act her own age.]

You know I got that for her, right? I'll be back on it with her tomorrow and you'll still be a lonely old asshole who keeps trying to hold her back.

now don't be rude

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