maskormods: (⒉)
Mask or Menace | MODERATORS ([personal profile] maskormods) wrote in [community profile] maskormenace2017-05-10 04:56 pm

THE MAJORITY REPORT: MAY 10TH, 2017

THE MAJORITY REPORT: MAY 10TH, 2017
With this new influx of imPorts and the fallout of the mysterious dreamscape, public opinion has never been so mixed. On one hand: intrigue! New imPorts! On the other: potentially dangerous new imPorts! New threats!

HOSTAGE MEDICATION
As seen on TMI reporting, online and televised:
Hostage situation at a new Customer Savings Solutions Pharmacy in Heropa! Male suspect captured twenty people waiting in line for their medications, threatening to repeal their need for health care.

Strangely, no hostage was harmed and the situation was resolved in mere minutes.

Two female vigilantes are rumored to have broken down and brutally humiliated a male suspect (Caucasian, 5'11''). Confirmed details remain scarce. These vigilantes are reported to have been Amazon warriors from another planet, very likely imPorts.

TYGER, TYGER VIRAL BRIGHT
As seen on BlueTube, Bwitter, Rumblr, Deddit, and some local news networks and small papers in Heropa:
A cellphone video of a chase between imPort superhero Wild Tiger and what appeared to be a repainted ImPocreat has now gone viral, after being featured on a popular imPort fanblogger's recent post. The video, following the escaped Blickablake (eventually identified as belonging to Nonah-based imPort Tetsuo Shima) and its valiant pursuer all through the city, has spawned dozens of gifs and macros, with the hashtag #tigervstiger trending on Bwitter.

Many imPort fans were endeared by the bumbling antics of the superhero known for never using his powers outside of an emergency, but some were less than impressed. Deddit user DownWithImPunks said, "lol look @ dis sad sh!t, our ~heroes~ outsmrted by a machin w/ no brainz. feel rly safe 2day", while others argued the real problem was with Tetsuo for allowing his ImPocreat to run wild in the first place. "It's government property after all," pointed out one noted import critic in his column in a local newspaper, "we can't have that kind of thing falling into the wrong hands. Irresponsibility in this case is a matter of national security."

Meanwhile, BuckStars, the origin point of the chase, has capitalized on the buzz--offering a limited edition Wild Blickablake Bubble Tea free with any purchase of a large drink* and posting a link to the clip on their official website.

*while supplies last

NATURAL CAUSE AND EFFECT
As seen on BlueTube and limited local newspaper coverage:
Police in Maurtia Falls have reported the death of Sally Cunliffe, 68. A respected local business owner, Ms. Sally Cunliffe reportedly transferred a large sum of money from her account just prior to her death. The official coroner report indicates that her death was due to a heart attack. Police are not treating the death as suspicious. That being said, authorities would like the recipient of Ms. Cunliffe's funds to come forward to answer a few routine questions, as they have so far been unable to trace them.

WELL PLAYED, YOUNG SPORT
As seen on BlueTube and in Nonah newspapers:
We're midway through this year's national youth soccer championships, and in a surprising turn of events, Nonah Middle School's very own Blue Barracudas are shaping up to be the team to beat!

Although they had a slow start at the beginning of the season, with the majority of the players' performances being described as lackluster, a marked improvement in their playing — believed to be the result of midfielder Yuuto Kidou's expert instruction — has rocketed the team into the front running.

The departure of two key players, co-captain and midfielder Ken Amada and defender Hiroto Kiyama, will no doubt have a monumental impact on the team's range of capabilities going forward, but coach Peyton Chamgerlain has stated that she believes their new lineup will be pivotal in crushing their competition. The Barracudas have elected Yuuto to be their new captain, and with Koujirou Genda rumored to be an unrivaled goalkeeper, and newcomer Jirou Sakuma being welcomed late onto the team as their primary striker, it would seem Chamgerlain has managed to successfully cover for the team's losses, and in record time to boot!

The Blue Barracudas' next match against the Astro Hawks will be held next Friday afternoon. Show your support for these fine youth athletes by sporting the Barracudas' blue and white colors, coming down to Nonah Middle School to watch the game, or by tuning in on BlueTube to watch live coverage brought to you by Nonah Middle School's student body president, Joseph Lee.

bElieve
As seen on Maurtia Falls televised news:
Upon the tallest hill in the city of Maurtia Falls sits a new art installment on the sidewalk. It seems that the guerrilla artiste bElish has struck again! A four foot tall bust made in the likeness of Ambassador Baelish and composed entirely out of synthetic honeycomb has been left on display on top a five-foot tall white podium.

What is the meaning behind this, the public wonders.

CODE SWITCH
The Homeland Security Advisory System has moved from INDIGO-GO to SILVER AGE because this is an era of second best.

WANT TO SUBMIT TO THE MAJORITY REPORT?
The Majority Report comes out the 10th and 20th of every month. You may find details and submit here. The cut-off time is 12:01 AM PST on the 9th and the 19th for the corresponding dates.
substrategist: (040)

[personal profile] substrategist 2017-05-15 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
[Sakuma stares at those words and bites back the urge to quite literally yell at his communicator. How can it not matter?! Does she retreat into apathy just to avoid feeling anything, or is she just naturally this hard-hearted?!]

I disagree.

[Because of course he would. How can he not? He has witnessed for himself, has lived through what it means to become a monster birthed by despair and loneliness...

By...a loss of purpose.]


I don't think there is any question more important than that except...

[It's a glaring red button that reads DO NOT PUSH but he reaches out for it anyway. He always has been someone who learns lessons the hard way.]

Who is Lapis Lazuli?
oceanthief: (when i leave it all behind)

[personal profile] oceanthief 2017-05-15 03:32 am (UTC)(link)







Do you know how many Lapises there are in my universe?
substrategist: (007)

[personal profile] substrategist 2017-05-15 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
[Assumptions are dangerous, but that's one he's always felt was safe to make: there are multiple Lapis Lazulis. If they're a race of gems, that seems the logical conclusion, after all. But what he doesn't know is if they're all exactly the same, if they share one mind, one consciousness, one heart, one soul...and all that. No matter the distance that separates them.

He hates to answer a question with a question, but perhaps it's necessary here to drive home his point.]


Are they all you? Are you every other Lapis Lazuli in existence?
oceanthief: (so no one can touch me now)

[personal profile] oceanthief 2017-05-15 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
We're all created for the same purpose. There are hundreds of thousands of Lapises throughout the empire who can do exactly what I can, and they're always making more.

If they can't do the task they're made to, they're shattered. There's nothing unique or special about any of them - or their opinions.

They left me for thousands of years and never noticed. Nothing I think matters to them.
substrategist: (081)

i'm sorry she kind of hit the ultra trigger on the head

[personal profile] substrategist 2017-05-15 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Sakuma's next reply is delayed compared to the others, Lapis' words doing a little of their own excavation. He feels exposed, even if that wasn't her intent, the way only a space rock or anything affiliated with one could ever make him feel.

Because there is familiarity there, and try as he might to separate himself from those parallels, they're too glaring to ignore. Like looking directly into the sun, they burn.

Kageyama had created Teikoku for one purpose. They were trained to think and act like one, to be a perfect unit, and if they'd stayed with him, they would have remained pawns in his plan to destroy soccer. Rebelling only meant they were cast aside and replaced, for there were always extras standing in the wings, waiting for their chance to stand in the spotlight, unaware of the ways it would chip away at them, reducing them to mere reflections of their former selves.

Without him, they had faltered...



"Why... Why?! Why have you gone back to him?!" Kidou had asked.

And Genda's answer was unwavering and unapologetic, "For power."

"For power? Wanting only power was what the old team under Kageyama wanted!" Of course Endou hadn't understood. He had everything Teikoku had lost. He had Kidou. And he had victory.

"I thought we left that and took a new step forward!" Kidou at least wanted to understand. He was trying. But how could he see? The world looked so different from above...

"You abandoned us to join Raimon, so what would you know?"



Those feelings of resentment and humiliation were what Fudou had been able to manipulate. They hadn't felt special any longer, after so long of their team being undefeated. They were nothing. Less than nothing.

But there'd been a glimmer of something, a spark that lit a dangerous fire that day in the hospital...



"That's it! Get angry! Fill yourself with hate! Rage! You guys have been beaten and tossed aside like an old rag! Doesn't that upset you? Take all of that disappointment you're feeling and carve it into your hearts, until your bloodstream pumps backwards! Then you can get stronger! Can you feel the thumping of my heart? The screaming of my heated blood? I want to be stronger. More. More. More! I know the same kind of blood is flowing through your hearts, too! You want to be stronger, stronger than anyone else in this world! Stronger than even Kidou! In order to get power, you'd do anything. You'd even sell your soul to the devil. Right? Right?!"



He hadn't been wrong and, that memory, more vivid now than ever at Lapis' words, nearly makes Sakuma give up on this conversation. But giving up here would be too much like the way he'd given in back then.

Giving up meant accepting that there was nothing special about him. That who he was didn't matter. And while there is a part of him that questions the reality of Sakuma Jirou as he exists in this world, he can't help but want to actively defy that doubt. For Kidou's sake, and Genda's, and his own. Because he has a right to exist! To have his own opinions! And be his own person!

And not fear being written off or erased for it...



"Are you afraid? Afraid that someone like me will surpass you?"

"No! Don't you get it? At this rate, your body will..." His body would shatter, bones breaking, organs failing, all due to the repetitive use of a technique they'd forbidden the use of. But what did he care? If he could never play soccer again, if he could just stand at the top of the world once and look down on everyone else, that would be worth it, wouldn't it? No longer would he feel the humiliation of defeat.

For once, someone else could rub their face in the dirt!

"There's no value in losing. If it's for the sake of winning, I'll shoot as many times as it takes."



Everything hurts. His chest is tight in a way it hasn't been since he'd first come into contact with the Aliea Meteorite. But one memory in a sea of doubt gives his lungs a much needed breath of fresh air.

Kidou...had kept his promise. He'd said he'd be waiting, and he was. They found each other again, and found soccer.]


Not noticing and not caring are their failures.

That doesn't really mean your opinions and thoughts are worthless.
oceanthief: (Default)

so what prize does she win

[personal profile] oceanthief 2017-05-15 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
[she can't hear any of the struggles behind the momentary silence of Sakuma's replies, and perhaps that's for the best. manipulation, the dangerous feedback of hatred...it all led back to Malachite in her head.

that was a darkness she hated embracing in this world where it was unnecessary.]


No. But not having the power to do anything with them does.

[Homeworld had advanced by leaps and bounds when she'd finally managed to return. there was nothing she could do, no matter how desperate she felt, to oppose the will of a power so tremendous. the only opportunity she had to protect the one person who mattered was silence and misdirection - and what had that done for them, in the end?

she couldn't even depend on the Crystal Gems to keep Steven out of harm's way, even with an advanced warning that had thrown her so close into danger and discovery. he'd been taken anyway, and they'd all sunk together.]
substrategist: (073)

tears

[personal profile] substrategist 2017-05-15 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
Power?

POWER?


[He's shaking. He'll have to step away from this at any moment. But how can he just leave that of all things untouched?]

If you don't have enough power by yourself, then rely on the power of your friends! There is greater strength in numbers!

[Soccer wasn't a one man operation, after all. And neither was saving the world. Even Raimon, whose soccer didn't exist in perfect synchronicity like Teikoku's, still demonstrated unparalleled teamwork. It was essential to overcoming the greatest adversities.]

You can't do it alone. It isn't worth it to try, not if it means...

[And that's it. That's all he can allow himself to say, and even that is too much.

No more replies will come.]
oceanthief: (Default)

mmm more salt for the ocean

[personal profile] oceanthief 2017-05-15 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
[she waits, and waits, and waits. Sakuma's words rest heavy on her chest, pounding hard and twisted against a sore spot that is all too familiar too her by now.

it would have been anger, if he'd finished his sentence in a timely manner. but by the time Lapis decides that he's finished his words the pain has died down into a dull ache that's easily manageable. this was what she lived with every day, and so she can push past it with ease.]


There is no one else.




Sometimes it's worth it, though. Even if all you can do is drag someone down with you.


[she'll be glad that he doesn't respond, in all truth. Lapis can feel the storm flexing just beneath the surface of her skin with every word she types. it's a close call.]
Edited 2017-05-15 05:46 (UTC)