etcelsior | now don't be rude

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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

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[ Steph is definitely one to enjoy such great weather! so she's wandering around, out of costume, and is generally mingling with the locals. it's such a drastic change from the scenery of Gotham that it would be a crime to not take advantage of it while she can.

one way to take advantage: eating a double scoop of ice cream on a very tasty cone! it's like heaven, really.

... heaven that is now falling to the ground as someone just bumped into her, and sent her yummy treat flying. ]

Noooo!

wildcard

[ there is a blonde girl in a Batgirl costume. doing Batgirl stuff. INTERESTING. ]

[That is one purple costume. The truth is, Kate can't help but admire it—though the admiration skids to a halt when the blonde-haired Bat-person turns, and Kate identifies her as a Bat-person. Her lips turn downward—not out of scrutinizing her negatively or anything to that tone, but because of her relationship with Kate. (Batwoman, she mentally corrects.) The fact that there's another woman with that symbol leads her to wonder if they're connected. In fact, it's better to ask.

Of course, she waits. She waits to observe this girl, and her style is completely different from Kate's. She's freer and less intense, which Kate admires. In fact, she thinks it's better, given the last time she encountered Kate, complete with "sadness sunglasses."

When this Bat-person turns away, she slips out of where she's hiding and claps.]

Not bad. I like the purple. [She watches the guy on the ground, whose gun has been kicked far from his hand. She's good, isn't she?] I don't get the feeling that he does.

[Of course, Kate is in her own uniform: purple, sunglasses, quiver, and a bow in hand. Her appreciation is coming from a very obvious place.]

[ there are a few things that flash through Steph's mind at roughly the same time when she turns towards Kate:

a) the d-tier villain on the ground had company

b) she should have noticed that there was someone else in the area; Batman would have noticed that there was someone else in the area

c) wow what a cute outfit

she quickly decides that the stranger most likely has nothing to do with the beaten man. call it a hunch, maybe. and she should stop comparing herself to Batman, anyway, since at least she's more likable with a better personality (and in the end, doesn't that mean she's the winner here?). so instead, she focuses on the third thought. ]

Wow, what a cute outfit.

[ focusing does not mean saying it out loud, self. ]

It looks like we have a mutual interest.

[Kate moves forward, and as she does, she uses her free hand to push her sunglasses back onto her forehead. It's obvious that she's not invested in hiding her secret identity, not the same way that other people are able to. As she nears the guy, she bends down to get a good look at him.]

He didn't know what was coming to him, did he? [Which isn't really an admiration for the violence. She glances back toward the Bat-person, eyebrows raised.] Do you go by Batwoman, too?

God, no. There's already too many of us that sharing names is way too confusing.

[ damn you, Batman and Batman.

although if Other Purple Girl knows about Batwoman then this conversation just became like twenty times easier. it's always nice when someone else does the explaining for you. ]

Batgirl. I'm the more plucky and less broody one.

Batgirl. Wow, that's some range in the name.

[It comes out before she realizes that it's a rather tactless thing to say, but she does offer a rather apologetic look after a moment.]

Uh, not that I have room to talk. I share the codename Hawkeye with someone who's not here, but we're not exactly something you see every day.

[ she briefly considers the two Batmans, multiple Flashes, and the entire legion of Green Lanterns. ]

Eh, that actually happens quite a lot. Although I do have to say that the Batgirl legacy began before Batwoman started her career, so if you want to make jabs at our very clever naming scheme, you should be aiming at her instead.

[ although... something that Hawkeye just said was interesting. ]

So there's superheroes where you're originally from too? This isn't a career that was suddenly sprung on you when you got here?

Noted. And, oh, yeah, they're pretty common. From what I've noticed, though, that's more common to our two worlds than anyone else's. But we have some pretty good representation here.

[By which she means there are quite a few people from her world—or a version of her world, at any rate. It's still strange for Kate to encounter people who don't have that experience, but it's fairly common here ... at least.]

But your world is the Superman and Batman world, right? [Just to be sure. Kate won't say how she knows those names, as it's still a little ... well, odd. But she wouldn't be surprised if Iron Man and Spider-Man were just as "fictional" to Batgirl.]

[First of all, Shiki isn't sure how she got into this situation. What was it again? Ah, yes a hero mission gone wrong; they were supposed to be apprehending a gang smuggling drugs into the city, but it was two against a bunch of guys armed with guns. They took away her knife (well, one of them) and it was a locked room and handcuffs for them.

Also there is a more important question running through her head. Shiki turns to look at Steph straight on and in a deadpan voice asks:]

Why the weird costume? Is it really necessary or were they supposed to laugh to death?

[Yeah]

[ wow, rude. there are many uses for the suit: insulation, body armor, easy Halloween costume. the list could go on, but Steph is above that. she will not sink to petty arguing even though her SUPER AWESOME outfit has been insulted.

seriously, though, rude. ]

You're a ray of sunshine, aren't you?

[She is the rudest]

If I am, that's the first I've heard of it.

[They room was locked, but they still had room to move around so Shiki stands up.]

Sounds quiet. I think we can try to break out now.

They're kind of bad at the whole hostage thing. They don't even tie us to a chair? That's like, Villain 101 stuff there.

[ she looks around the room. there are some windows, but they're pretty high up. they would have to find something to climb on to reach them, probably. the baddies had confiscated Steph's handy grappling hook. ]

Shall we try the door?

I blame the drugs. I'm with you on the door though.

[What Shiki actually does next is use her right hand to pull up her left jacket sleeve up, albeit with some difficulty. She makes a gesture with her head to direct Batgirl towards her way.]

First, I'm gonna need you to slap my arm.

[Is she gonna explain why? Uh.]

[ out of all the things Steph had been expecting her to say, that was... well, it wasn't the last thing, but it's still pretty far down on the list. ]

You want me to what your what?

Slap my arm. Or punch it. Either way, it should open up.

[A beat. Eh, she'll kind of explain then.]

I keep an extra knife in it. It's a fake arm.

[It looks completely real though in spite of what she just said.]

Oh. [ she keeps a knife in her fake arm. that... does not make the situation any less weird, but okay, Steph can deal with this. she did not get stuck with a masochist. ]

Okay, uh. Hold still?

[ while she is definitely no stranger to hitting people, this is still so. odd. so she is just going to close her eyes and hit Shiki's arm. ]

[And it opens up! Shiki didn't even flinch. The seam is no longer invisible and the hatch opens revealing a knife; inside the arm, it's like looking at computer circuits. Her finger joints and suddenly very doll like and not human at all.

The knife falls out and down to the ground, but after closing her arm and letting her sleeve fall back in place, she picks up the knife.]

Alright. I'll cut your handcuffs off first.

[ Steph isn't really an expert on technology like Oracle and Supergirl are. but she can appreciate when something is obviously well put together. whoever came up with this design must be pretty damn smart.

she holds her hands out. for a second she wonders how sharp that knife is and if it can actually cut through the cuffs, but the girl seems pretty confident. ]

Try not to slice off any fingers. I like those.

[EYE ROOOLLL]

I've had enough trouble tonight as it is. Last thing I want is to deal with you bleeding all over the god damn place.

[It's really quick, but for a moment her eyes glint and the knife goes through the cuff links like butter.]

You warm my heart.

[ she stretches out her arms, glad to be able to move them freely again. while Steph kinda wants to watch her free herself to see that cool slicey motion again, there are more pressing matters to attend to. so she walks over to the door and presses an ear against it.

there's no sound on the other side. hm. ]

[Shiki gets her own cuffs off and watches the costumed girl listen through the door]

Got anything or are we in the clear?

I think we're good to go. Ready?

[She nods stepping towards the door, knife brandished.]

Step back a bit. If we do this right, they won't notice right away.

[ she was just going to kick it open but. okay this works too. she steps away and gestures towards the door. ]

[This time, what's going on with her eyes is a lit more clear! That's because Shiki really has to focus on this. She can cut objects, sure, but sometimes their "death" is a tricky thing to perceive.

But it ain't no big thing and while it looks like her knife is barely hovering above the space between the door and the lock, she swipes downwards, making a clean cut. And the door opens.]

... There.

stephanie brown | dc comics

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WILDCAAAARD

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