etcelsior | WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN

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test drive

WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN

T E S T D R I V E M E M E

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 someone else's thread, either!

And remember there's only one rule in Test Drive Meme Club: HAVE FUN ON THE TEST DRIVE MEME!

01.The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place, where locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city.

Unfortunately, tragedy has struck today. It seems like the entire Heropa PD is parked out of a local, popular grocery chain. A huge crowd is amassed in the parking lot despite the best efforts of officers to get them to leave. They whisper about excitement and shame, and you don't have to ask if you just listen in a bit...

"What do you think he'll do to the employees? He sounded so serious..." "He really wants that pussy, huh?" "If I left my man for cheating on me, I'd take the damn cat, too!" "How does he think taking her and her coworkers hostage is gonna make her change her mind about him being a bad boyfriend?" "My wife is pregnant, please - if I don't get her favorite deli sub I might as well not go home!"

Domestic disputes! Tragic. The police aren't too sure how to handle this hostage situation, claiming the man only has a box cutter and isn't actually waving it around at the moment, but...are you an imPort? They'd really appreciate the help, okay. Get in there and counsel the unhappy couple. Or not!

02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, with large numbers of citizens waiting to be awed by your very presence. Look at you! Organic wonder! Synthetic wonder! Whatever you might be, those words have meaning here. Science and technology are the lifeblood of this city, so you're likely to come across a good many locals taking your picture with the newest of devices. The imPort craze remains high here, and you may find yourself cornered by overzealous imPort fans, media wannabes and opportunists alike, shoving cameras in your face.

Today in De Chima, there's the unveiling of a brand new invention in the convention centre park! With a simple scan, it will print out your Closest Love Match of the other individuals present, along with your percentage of compatibility and a free coupon to get lunch with your new date if you match 90% or higher!

A little odd that it seems that nearly every couple has 90% or higher, isn't it? What's the probability that the scanner is broken?

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has carried a reputation for ups and downs ever since imPorts began reappearing again, just those few years prior. Several imPort heroes have put focused efforts into cleaning up the streets of this somewhat infamous city, while a handful of others had swooped in to help the criminal industry thrive. More so here than the streets of any other imPort city, the battle between good and evil looks more like a war of escalation than a heroic tale. Everything from the classic bank heist to brutal bloodbaths can happen around the corner. You have to keep your eyes open and your mind sharp when you live in Maurtia Falls, and hostility against imPorts can spike. The emergence of locals with superpowers is hardly helping...

Despite the lack of gratitude that's in it for you, you may want to step in once you see a very, very sad supervillain wandering Maurtia Falls' streets. Dressed in a cape that appears to be a large swath of fabric purchased from a nearby sewing store, galaxy-themed leggings and no shirt is a man who runs right into your vicinity before striking a pose and yelling, "Everyone, stop before me and my wrath! I am Mister Mars, and provided you give me what I ask for, nobody needs to get hurt!"

At which point Mister Mars snatches an old woman's purse, loudly laughs in her face, and begins to float upwards. By the time he reaches the height of the tallest building in the area, he's beginning to look slightly panicked as he fails to really be able to move anywhere but up. Meanwhile, the old woman has begun shaking her cane at him and screaming quite an assortment of alarming expletives.

Maybe you should help one or the other out? If not, just lean back and enjoy the show.

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities; loud, busy and there's always some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement.

Today there's a big lemonade stand on one busy sidewalk, staffed by a group of industrious kids. Aww, isn't it sweet? Wait...is that a cookie stand a little ways down, also run by elementary-to-middle schoolers? Heck, the entire block is full of kid-run mini-businesses — a gathering of pint-sized entrepreneurs! And they have their eyes on you, hero, because as a celebrity imPort, your pockets are full of $$$, right?

05. Jeopardy, Nevada by all rights shouldn't exist. A glowing neon city smack in the middle of the desert, the only reason it's still here is that the central nuclear power plant has tapped half a mile down into a subterranean lake for its water supply. So though the desert around it may be barren, the occupants of this small city are happily self sufficient. Those weird figures you see out of the corner of your eyes? Don't worry too much. Probably just weird radiation after effects. Jeopardy has a lot of those.

Despite the weird constant hum and the creepy cultish bingo, Jeopardy is usually a pretty calm place. A safe place. But not today. Today, someone has released a couple hundred tiny praying-mantis-like robots into the city, and the place is in chaos. Shops are closed up early because though these little destructive creatures don't have bullets, they do have some weird arm appendages that like to just crunch everything in existence. Like a locus swarm of cockatoos, anything made of wood or plastic is being crunched up and left for scrap. But at less than six inches high apiece, rounding them up is proving extremely difficult. Luckily, the mayor in her wisdom is giving out titanium nets to any imPort who wants to help round up the trouble makers. And, in the spirit of the city, she's offering the imPort that catches the most robots a free meal for two in the swanky Radiation Galley - Jeopardy's top tier, five star restaurant.

Get catchin', imPorts!

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Slime

[ Well, it seems that he is back on Earth! A bit of a different Earth, true, but Earth nonetheless. He did miss it, even if this is America and not really Japan; the technology is different too, but similar enough to be nostalgic. What's NOT nostalgic is how he keeps being dragged around and being thrown from universe to universe constantly! He didn't die back in his last world, which was a nice change of pace, and he got to keep his slime body, but really... he was brought here just when he was about to settle in his last world.

Rimuru kept thinking and cursing his lack of luck as he slid through the street, until someone basically... well, kicks him. He is just a slime, so it's easy to miss him, but that was pretty rude!!! The child who did so makes a small face, quickly going "Ewwwwww it's gross!" and Rimuru defends himself ]

Sorry, but I was born this way! [ well, not born, exactly. ] I have had to accept this refined, streamlined form, but it wasn't by choice.

[ the kid just looks even more grossed out, before another nearby comments "Is it... a hero?". Rimuru turns to them (even though he has no face!), squirming a bit embarrassed. He'd smile and blush if he had a face. ] I wouldn't call myself an Hero, but-

[ "Step on it." ]

Whaaaaaaaat?!!?!

[ "Yeah, we should step on it." ]

YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULDN'T!! [ why are kids so mean!! He is just a friendly slime, why all of this?! ]

Human form

[ he escaped those little monsters! Why would anyone want to step on such a cute slime? Once he finds a quiet little nice place, Rimuru decides it's better to turn into his human form. Despite this world taking people from other universes and having weird super-heroes around, they are probably still a lot more comfortable with something that looks human rather than just a monster.

He still had oddly colored hair, but the glances he got from other people were less weirded out than when he was a slime and that's good. With communicator in his hands, his file, as well as a note as to where he'd be living, Rimuru walks around until he realizes he is absolutely lost ] No matter how you look at it, I'm pretty lost... [ Until he remembers, he has a special skill that is very helpful and could probably give him a hand! His Unique Skill "Great Sage" never failed him. And so he frowns trying to call for his Skill, but... nothing happens. He looks surprised to say the least and tries once again but... nothing. ]

Oi. Great Sage? [ no answer. And he feels like he was just splashed with cold water, even though he technically feels no cold. Suddenly Rimuru grabs on to his head, now talking louder~~screaming~~ ] Great Sage?! Where are you?! Are you hiding on purpose?!! Come out, I need you!!!

[ no matter how you look at it, it totally looks like Rimuru is pretty much screaming at himself, yeah. In fact, some natives just downright avoid him because they don't want to be part of this whatever this is AT ALL. ]

Network, Video

[ Video starts with a blob. There is a blue blob in front of the communicator. And after a couple of seconds, the blob squirms and a voice is heard ] Oh! This is on! That was easier than I expected. [ yes, the blob is talking ] Hello, I'm Rimuru Tempest: a slime! [ the blue slime hops once, swaying from side to side for a moment before he continues, excitedly ] Don't worry, I'm not a bad sliiiiime!!! [ well. Maybe people in this world know Dragon Quest, maybe they don't. This place reminds him of his own Earth a lot, with some crucial differences like Superheroes, but if he is lucky, there will be others from the same place as him.

In any case, slime introductions were made, and suddenly the ball bounces and suddenly reshapes itself into a boy (~~girl? Who knows.~~) and Rimuru finally stands in his human form, hands on his hips. He sees no need to continue playing super-cute, so he calms down, but he is smiling ] I think you'll appreciate it a lot more if I look like this.

It's not the first time I was pulled into a new place, though it's still weird. I kept some of my powers, but not all. [ he looks down at his hands and then crosses his arms, with a thoughtful expression on his face ] I'm missing my Unique Skill. It's a bit lonely. Will I be able to get her back? Can I level up in this place? [ level up... well, sure, he will use that expression, it's easier. ]

In any case, this seems like a really interesting place. I hope we can be friends. [ and he smiles wide again before he cuts off the feed ]

Edited 2020-04-24 23:42 (UTC)

heropa.

[ well, this is a sight. cloud can't really say he's in the mood to get dragged into this - it seems like it's going to be a pain in the ass. the cops aren't really... doing anything, and while he's on the government payroll thanks to all of this registration garbage, it feels like a waste of his time to get hauled into everything they don't want to handle.

but... ]

Fine. But I'm expecting double.

[ and in he goes. in one scenario - it's a stealth mission. do you come in to help him out, maybe worried that the surly looking blonde is going to cause more problems than he solves? or are you the unfortunate person who breaks the poor sod's fall when cloud punches him straight through an aisle. ]

de chima.

Not interested. [ he says, trying to pull away from an over-eager salesman trying to sell him on finding his bonafide soulmate. but - they're super insistent. and kind of grabby? before long, he's in front of one of the scanners looking uncomfortable. he's not meeting the eyes of the other person they've roped into it.

ding!

well... its a match alright. ]

jeopardy.

[ well this is sure Some Shit. he's out here because, you know - some shop keepers are paying handsomely to keep their place from getting absolutely shredded. which means he's posted outside what looks to be a night club, buster sword in hand, smashing it down on the hordes of little bitey buggies. when they're stunned, the net is coming out to scoop them up.

someone who owned this sword and took great care of it is probably crying in heaven. ]

misc.

[ catch cloud hauling ass after some dumb pickpocket who thought he found an easy mark. the boy is employing some impressive parkour - and also letting out some curse words that would make a sailor blush.

also: catch him handing out fliers or collecting signatures, looking bored and slightly irritated. a job's a job. and honestly people are too intimidated by the look on his face to say no to one of these, so it's nice easy money. ]

NETWORK
Name's Cloud.
I'm a merc looking for some decent work.

heropa

[God, grown ups are so stupid. And as much as he wants to just turn around and leave, the part of him that's just too controlling to let that happen wants to step in and fix this problem himself. The guy's only got a small blade and they're waffling on what to do?]

Seriously? [he exaggeratedly bemoans with a roll of his eyes before he just...slips a rifle off his shoulder, because yeah, he's carrying it around. He still doesn't quite understand the concept of leaving your weapon at home. And you know what? He doesn't want to understand it. This works for him.]

Just give me some space.

[The obvious solution is to snipe the fucker. Even if someone doesn't blast his head off — which someone absolutely should — at least shoot the stupid box cutter out of his hand, or blow his kneecaps out, right? Right. Just give him a minute as he tries to get into a position to line his shot. For a kid, he definitely at least knows how to hold his gun. Even if...his solution leaves a lot to be desired.]

nonah

[He's not used to live and bustling streets at all, but what stands out to him in a pleasant way is the distinct lack of adults. Or rather, the fact that the kids seem to almost outnumber them. They're not anyone he knows but they're here, and for the most part he just wanders around and makes sure no dumbass starts hassling them.

Eventually though, he has a cup of lemonade in one hand and a cookie in the other. Hell yeah, sweets. And more importantly, these sweets aren't full of radiation. The taste is so...pure.

He's casually chatting with one of the kids at one of the stands with his mouth full of cookie.]

Word of advice, charge the mungos — I mean grown ups more. Just bat your eyelashes at them or whatever and they'll pay whatever because they're fucking stupid.

maurtia

[MacCready rolls his eyes at the scene before him. He feels compelled to interfere, but not out of any sense of justice. He just, quite frankly, feels like being a little shit.]

Hey, mungo dung-o! Catch!

[A rock goes sailing towards the floating man, though it just misses him. At the moment he's not so high that he can't hit him, as he's only about as high as one of the smaller apartment buildings. But he's intent on nailing him in the face or something before he gets too high.

He picks up another rock and winds his arm back. No, he has absolutely no regard for the potential to break a window. Who gives a shit.]

network

look i just arrived at this dump. what's a guy gotta do to get some more ammo around here? and explosives, you know, a grenade or two. stuff like that.

[Look, it's an absolutely normal request.]

Heropa

There's a lot of cars. That's what gets Rude to stop. Can't help it, he's used to being the sort of authority figure that could step in to these situations, help defuse them. As it is the suited man just stares at the mess of things. How these officers and bystanders realize he's one of these 'imPorts' is beyond Rude. All he knows is that he's gotten pulled aside with another person assumed to be an 'imPort' and told they needed to go in there to defuse the situation. And all Rude can ask is a single question.

"Why?"

Yes, he may have worked with Shinra authorities before to defuse such situations, but that didn't mean he much thought it was an appropriate choice. In this case he didn't have materia or a back-up pistol and it wasn't like he knew these people. Surely this was what cops were for.

"Is it our business?" he continues, looking for input from the other imPort.

De Chima

This was not what he'd signed up for. At least, Rude is PRETTY SURE he did not sign up to get kidnapped to another world, be given strange powers, be stripped of any of his normal support structure, and then get pulled over to a love match machine. It was a strange contraption, much like the fortune telling machines at the Golden Saucer, and Rude frowned down at the compatibility results and the coupon. This was... strange.

"I," he starts to say, and then stops. And then looks at the coupon. It IS a reduced price for food. That's something to be argued for. And yet it's also a strange situation. "Uh, you can have the coupon if you want."

Nonah

The first table gets him real good with the lemonade. The kids have this whole song and dance routine, with talking about how they need to make sales to help with a sick dog. And the dog in question is even lying beside the booth looking pathetic. So Rude buys a lemonade. And at the cookie stand there's a cute girl saying it's a school project to teach them 'ant-tray-pen-new-l' skills. So he buys half a dozen cookies. And then there's the popcorn stand which is actually trying to raise money to buy yarn so a nursing home can have supplies for the old ladies to knit with. And so on and so forth.

Though the big man may not look like it, he's a push over for these sorts of things, and before the end of the block Rude's trying to juggle a practical armload of child-sold goods, looking for somewhere to sit down or someone to foist it all off on so he can walk awya. Down the middle of a street. Just to avoid the kids.

"Want some cookies? They're free."

The other man pulled off to the side could not look less prepared to handle any sort of hostage situation, and yet he's smiling as if this was something he did on a regular basis. Shawn looks over at the tall guy in the sunglasses and grins his way.

"Of course not, but that's exactly why we should get involved!" He conspiratorily whispers. "We're neutral third parties. No one can accuse us of papayas or whatever."

Bias. He completely meant the word bias. Shawn's grin widens.

"We're the perfect candidates to go in! Come on, man, I need a partner."

Accuse them of what? That... makes no sense. And that grin is unnerving. But mostly, Rude's eyes narrow behind his shades as he hears the word 'partner' offered. He has a partner, thank you very much. Short, scrawny, all attitude, and definitely more intimidating than, well, papayas.

"No one could begin to mistake us for papayas."

They aren't going anywhere until Shawn explains that.

De Chima.

[Everything felt like a surreal dream at the moment. Every part of him felt as if it were weighted down. The last few hours alone had taken what seemed to be the last of his strength. The disease had left his body but he still felt the mind-numbing exhaustion eating away at him. Only sheer determination kept him on his feet walking down the street towards the housing he had apparently been assigned to, pistol tucked in a pocket of his coat. Not that it would do much good if he encountered a remanent right now.

He heard the sound of many people gathered nearby but he stayed out of direct sight as he figured out a way around. All that changed when suddenly there was a camera in his face and someone pulled him towards the crowd. He was about to reach for the pistol but paused as he took in the scene in the plaza.

No one seemed to know who he was so far. No one was calling for his head yet. But he still needed to escape this place- his experience with mobs wasn't the best even if they didn't seem unruly or violent at the moment. Someone had a camera in his face while voices around him were asking questions about his personal life and trying to get him to do a dating match thing. He had no intention of answering any of their questions or indulging in any kind of nonsense.

He wasn't listening though, he was looking for an escape as he calculated his options.]

Wildcard

[Hit me up with anything. Feel free to reach out to me!

[ Who better to pick someone to help than Khisanth, who has never been in a relationship and isn't really clear on the human perspective on them? She's currently Onyx, fancy-looking human ("human") woman with the long dark hair and the bewildered expression.

Hostage situation she can understand clearly enough, but lover's spat? Beyond her. Well, she's game to give it a shot. ]

I guess it is now. [ She glances over at the unlucky guy snagged alongside her, and offers a shrug. ] Do we ... go in and kill them, or ... ?

[The worst part is that they had to drag a very attractive looking woman along, didn't they? One who clearly looks bored with this. What a mess. Still, he looks a bit shocked that someone would accept the mess as their own.]

I think the intention is to avoid death and maiming. We're supposed to be the good guys.

[Not that he'll hesitate to break the guy with the knife if it comes to it. With a sigh he turns to the door, because like he can deny the suggestion of the woman. They're involved now.]

You any good in a fight?

[ The crowd cheers as the two imPort saviors head toward the store, and Onyx shoots them a puzzled glance over her shoulder. She's still not used to the celebrity of all of this, but she's getting the impression that anything they do is very exciting. Strange. Almost as strange as the thought of herself as a "good guy". ]

I can hold my own.

[ Will she need to? They said he'd been armed with a boxcutter, and that's yet another thing she's never heard of. Is it powerful? She grows a little wary as he pulls the door open, mentally sorting through useful spells that she might need. ]

How do you get someone to stop without death and maiming? It's the easiest and quickest route.

[Very not powerful. It's pathetic. Unless the guy has someone in his arms and the thing to their throat. Rude can't fathom why no one has just tackled the man and been done with it yet. Still, he follows and ignores the cheers.

It's strange. No one cheers Turks.]

Usually? Tell them to stop. If they don't? Knock them out.

[ Knock them out is a little vague, and she's not sure she knows how to. Not without outright killing them, at least. Her fingers flex as they step under the fluorescent lights of the store, and she wishes they were claws. She would feel a lot more secure going into an unknown situation like this with her scales, and not soft human skin. ]

We'll try that, then.

[ There's a commotion to the left, hysteric voices and a few people stood tensely back from two figures. The hostage and hostage taker, she assumes.

After a brief hesitation: ] ... I'll follow your lead.

[His lead? Rude doesn't sigh. Just nods as he steps further forward. And yeah, the man turns jerkily, brandishing the box cutter at him. Rude looks distinctly unimpressed. Really, he's embarrassed for the guy, for choosing something so... pathetic.]

If you drop that and come out now, my friend here won't have to hurt you.

[He's trying good cop bad cop. Usually he's the bad cop, sorry.]

[ That sounds like her cue. Onyx arranges her face into what she hopes looks like an intimidating scowl, and lifts her left hand as if to cup falling water. With a bit of concentration, flames spring into her palm and crackle there.

(She's pleasantly surprised, actually. This spell takes some finesse to keep the flame controlled, which is not her strong suit.)

A little smugly: ] We're imPorts. I can promise you'd rather not learn about our abilities.

« D E — C H I M A »

( Annabeth is already in a foul mood by the time she reaches the park. It's ( mostly ) not the fault of anyone here. Sure, the photos haven't exactly helped, but the root of her issues come squarely from home.

It's not their fault, she reminds herself calmly, and when she smiles for the next picture it's only half-forced.

She's managed to weave herself away from the worst of the device wielding photo grabbers, and Annabeth is just about to relax when another hand lands on her. She doesn't blow up at them, because that would be inappropriate. Instead she turns with all the patience in the world — right up until she sees what they're doing. )

Love Match? Love Match?!

( Apologies for the poor sucker that wandered near enough to end up Annabeth's 90%, because she's tearing up that voucher like it insulted her personally. )

« J E O P A R D Y »

( Frankly, her heart isn't in this. It's not great, and Annabeth is aware that maybe tanking her reputation half a second after arriving isn't the smartest move, but that doesn't make it any easier when she's supposed to be running around with a net and catching...bug robot things. Some quest.

Really, she should just be grateful that it isn't Hell again.

Still she's trying to muster up something, which is why Annabeth swallows her pride and starts catching the destructive little robots again.She'll even oh so enthusiastically (ha) call out to anyone else around, totally making an effort to engage:)

Is uh, this a serious problem here? I'm just trying to gauge the threat levels in this place...

« W I L D — C A R D »

( another prompt! something random! text her! everything goes – canon point is tentatively the start of house of hades for those canon-familiar/curious –

sharknado for questions! )

[Rude is definitely experienced enough in this stuff to not flinch or look at the woman in shock for that little display. Interesting, though, that their powers should have overlap like this.]

That's just a taste of it. I suggest putting the weapon down. Talk to the cops.

[Please be sensible. That's his hope. And the man seems to be shaking now like he doesn't know what to do.]

I... But the cops would put me away for this.

[Rude shrugs.]

Of course they will. You're doing something wrong.

[ at this point he should be pretty well used to being hauled around by the nose by strangers. and maybe he is - but this is really on another level. no one is actually in trouble, they're just all over him and he is NOT a fan.

especially not with these cameras. like, he's kind of got enough worries right now? but no amount of gentle (for him) rebuffing seems to be taking effect. they ask cloud, can we cal you cloud? and he says no, and they say cloud, are you seeing anyone, do you have a special someone? and he tries walking faster, saying i told you that you couldn't call me that, and that's none of your business. but their business is his business, and so on, and so on, until he has enough and stops humoring them at all.

he's shoving his way through the crowd to get the hell out of here and back to his room. ]

No. I said screw off.

[ and he's definitely bumping rufus' camera guy as he passes. not intentionally but, like, dude is taking up a lot of space. take up less. ]

And you're doing it badly.

[ She can't resist the peanut gallery commentary -- honestly, if he wanted to kill this hostage, he should have just done that. He's not getting anywhere with the dramatics. She wonders with a faint interest if these two are the ones involved in the romantic disagreement, or if he'd taken someone at random.

The distraction has her flame almost dying out, and when she glances down and notices that, a mental nudge to stoke the fire higher ends up being a little too much of a nudge. The flames spiral upward, flaring to catch a cardboard display to her left. Onyx jerks back as it all but explodes into flame, instantly looking guilty.

Oops. Better try and cover? ]

That -- [ uhhhh ] That will be you, if you don't let her go.

[ smooth. ]

Edited 2020-04-25 03:30 (UTC)

[ alright so technically he's already in the game but he's getting PORTAROO'D, SANS MEMORIES. so here we are. ]

( heropa )

[ hostage negotiation, huh? not Reno's specialty. he tends to run his mouth off, get impatient, and send a delicate balance into a wild tailspin that usually ends in a rowdy shootout (which is of course just how he prefers it), but he's not incapable. he's fucking classically trained, he'll have you know, by the best there is and that means he is the best there is and you better stand aside. after getting the lowdown from the frankly embarrassingly incompetent local PD, Reno sighs and holds his hand out. ]

Gimme that.

[ he means the megaphone, which he's duly granted possession of. it shrieks as he cuts on the speaker, earning more than a few winces around him, and loudly declares: ]

ALRIGHT, ROMEO, LET'S CUT THE BULLSHIT. WE GOT THE PLACE SURROUNDED. LET THE NICE LADY GO BEFORE I GOTTA COME IN THERE AND FUCK YOUR FACE UP. YOU REALLY WANNA PLAY THESE GAMES TODAY, MAN?

[ Reno lowers the megaphone, swiping his bangs out of his eyes. ]

Think that oughta do it, right?

( de chima )

[ any (un)lucky import sorry enough to be sat down at the booth will find the other seat already occupied. Reno's having an absolute shrieking BLAST with this today. it seems that although he isn't used to it, the attention and praise has gone straight to Reno's head, and he's indulging the eagerness of his new fans by playing along with the matchmaker machine. he's managed to sway some of the locals into taking a vote on who, out of five, his real best match is (he figured it out after the first two he got pushed into trying out were the exact same), and sits with his chin in his hand, waiting to be paired off with a smile and a pair of eyes that'd melt wax. fiery, intense, just a bit dangerous and untrustworthy. ]

Mm, I dunno, you guys think this is the one, really?

[ the crowd is all a-flutter. one girl shrieks as she pulls the lever to test the match. one thing's for sure, he's figured out how to work the crowd. this is only round three and yet, somehow, he's got a stack of coupons piled up on the table next to him. sure enough, here's another fated pair! Reno's grin looks more like predatory big cat than friendly, but that's alright. ]

Wow... wouldja look at that. Another winner.

( misc - maurtia falls )

[ tragically, he's lost his memories of this place he so nobly defended from the heartless and had begun to loosely think of as home, but perhaps the impression in our hearts aren't so easily made to fade away? (nah yeah it's bs, he's just a creature of habit.) Reno emerges from the very same liquor store he frequented in his several months as a resident with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, looking just a bit bewildered as to how and why the girl at the register a) was so happy to see him and b) knew his first name. he's so distracted by it that, as he's lighting his cigarette and glancing unsurely over his shoulder as he leaves, he walks right into a fucking lamp post. CLANG. ]

( network )
question: the fuck? i'm already a superhero.

Edited 2020-04-25 04:36 (UTC)

So does he. Short, anxious, magic head, and not intimidating in the slightest.

"No, of course not, that would be ridiculous. Neither one of us even looks like we have the sweet, buttery flavor of a juicy papaya fruit. Whatever gave you that idea?"

Someone has completely forgotten what they just said. Oh well, more important things to worry about!

"Come on, we have a kitty to save." Shawn pauses. "Oh, and the hostages. We can't forget them."

[Okay, that one gets Rude turning to look at her and just raise an eyebrow. A silent attempt to convey 'that isn't helping'. Because really, that sort of statement could inspire someone to try and do it better. And they do have a hostage to help here. But then there is other fire and god help him, it's like the first time he worked with Reno.

Amateurs. He's surrounded by amateurs.]

I... You can't just... You can't do that. That's imPorts abusing power!

[Yeah, he might not be wrong, Rude turns to regard the man and cracks the knuckles of one hand, then the other, rolling his neck.]

Well, I could make it easier on you. Fists are better than flames. You've got to the count of three.

[Please, strange lady, count. Because you can't be trusted with force, apparently.]

[ That's a good line, she should remember that. She stands, watching the hostage taker, waiting for the count. The flames crackle next to her, and she quenches the flame in her own hand, as it feels a little outshone in light of that.

Then she keeps waiting.

... Then she realizes counting was probably her job. Ah. Quickly: ] One -- two ...

[ the cavalry has arrived, mister (vice?!) president. Reno doesn't realize just quite what a handful he's in for, but he recognizes Rufus for who he is from damn near a mile away and is instantly stricken with confusion and then concern. whatever's going on, something's not right with him, and that just won't do. he cuts across the plaza in a flash, intending on darting his way through the crowd, not stupid enough to call out even though it's painfully tempting to. nothing about this screams automatically dangerous, but the look on Rufus's face when he gets close enough to see it is enough to say all it needs to, to Reno. he's a loyal hound.

he whips his e-mag rod out and touches it to the side of the camera guy's neck more than just a little gently. don't worry, it's not charged up. if it was, it probably would've just killed him. instead it just stings and startles. when the guy turns, he draws his arm back like he intends to really hit him with it, hissing back off, and that's all it takes to scare him away. easy peasy. ]

Sir—? Fuck, you don't look good.

[This wasn't what Rude wanted to be doing today. He wanted to explore, gain tactical data, maybe fine a nice place that did tacos for lunch. Instead he finds himself swept up in the crowd, pushed and pulled this way and that with people who wanted to get the 'compatibility tested'. Rude wasn't certain what they meant. All he knew was he wanted none of it.

Especially when someone pushed him toward another individual. Of familiar height. In white clothes. That he bumped into. And then looked down at.

Were Rude not someone capable of staying composed, well, he might have flinched.]

Sir. I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were there.

[Rude has been ignoring every other person on the street trying to press fliers or clipboards into his hands. This? This was why he didn't hang around outside of the office much, except for the necessities like going to bars or getting groceries or hitting up a book store. Too many people trying to get things from you.

Each time he kept moving, ignoring the either overly enthusiastic or absolutely apathetic employee or volunteer. It wasn't until he thought he caught sight of someone familiar that he stopped. Stopped and immediately shifted his stance.

Strife.]

You.

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WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN

Rimuru Tempest // That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime

cloud strife | ffvii:r

"Rj" MacCready | Fallout 3

Rude | FF7 Remake | OTA

Heropa

excuse me while I die over the mental image of these two hanging out

Rufus Shinra | Final Fantasy (Advent Children)

heropa

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Annabeth Chase | Riordan Mythos

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reno ( ff7r )

heehee

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Hello Boss

Misc: Fliers