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maskormenace2017-05-10 04:56 pm
maskormods) wrote in maskormenace2017-05-10 04:56 pm
Entry tags:
- !npc | the government,
- tohru adachi | n/a,
- † aerith gainsborough | the ancient,
- † brendan frye | n/a,
- † duo maxwell | shinigami,
- † gemini de mille | gemini,
- † hazel lockwood | n/a,
- † john watson | n/a,
- † kidou yuuto | playmaker,
- † kotetsu t. kaburagi | wild tiger,
- † lapis lazuli | n/a,
- † sabriel | abhorsen,
- † sherlock holmes | n/a,
- † tetsuo shima | n/a,
- † utena tenjou | calyx,
- † veronica sawyer | dead girl walking
THE MAJORITY REPORT: MAY 10TH, 2017
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.
no subject
The planet's about the same age as the ones in other worlds, though.
no subject
Two things can be the same age and still be different.
[In any case, it's strange that she should disagree with him on this considering the conversation they had at the zoo. Hadn't she been all for not drawing attention to herself by switching jobs or housing? By adapting to her assigned routine and not causing ripples?
Sakuma considers quickly what the most tactful way to allude to that might be, then wonders if he should even dare. These reports are government sanctioned, and he can't trust her not to say too much. She probably doesn't mean to be, but she is oblivious to the ways of humans and very reckless regarding their habits...
So he finally just offers a simple:]
Anyway, I like school, so it isn't a problem.
no subject
in her defense, it is incredibly boring to stare at an empty sports field by yourself for several hours straight. anyone might forget the concept of time like that.]
I guess not, for you.
[humans only lived for a sneeze anyway, so she supposed they had to prioritize what they did with that metaphorical inhale of life. if one of them wanted to spend all that time sitting in a room learning about five minutes of a mudball's history, that was. pretty stupid, in her opinion, but their prerogative. she guesses. probably.
...god, it was so dumb.
the conversation has actually piqued her curiosity on another topic, however, and so she doesn't linger very long on the baffling state of affairs that the earth educational system was.]
Was that map on the wall right?
[because obviously Sakuma is going to know she's talking about the map of the world in the classroom and not anywhere else. it was such an uneventful visit to school, after all.]
no subject
Accurate to this world, yes.
no subject
['the part on the right' here being...northern Eurasia....]
no subject
All of it.
[Sorry if his answers are vague, Lapis. He really doesn't want to discuss this.]
no subject
Oh. I guess we really never were here, then.
[she'd always figured that, even without delving into the deepness of space to search for where Homeworld ought to be. but proof like that still stings, as if some kind of impossible dream has been snatched from her before she ever realized it existed.]
no subject
What kind of impression would her kind have left on that part of the world that it would be recognizable on the face of a map? She's an alien...so, could it be colonization? Or perhaps something larger, like geographical reformation? With her powers, or a legion of gems with powers like hers, it wouldn't be impossible. It probably wouldn't even be difficult.]
How can you tell?
no subject
[even with her short stay on gem-controlled earth, Lapis knew that very well; she was originally created to terraform, after all, and the landscape of any planet she was meant to visit was vital to her briefing.
there was a sort of irony in how the lack of a hole could open up such a large one in her chest, but she doesn't have the mental energy to do more than brush it aside for the time being. it was tiresome, having to stare at her life through the lens of so many cruel jokes.]
no subject
The word drops like a lead weight in Sakuma's stomach and he remembers, for all that she doesn't look very terrifying, she is still a space rock. An alien. Regardless of his personal curiosity, trusting her unconditionally must always be out of the question. Given her ignorance of humans, it's probably safe to assume she doesn't have humanity's best interest at heart. That none of her kind did...
But she's not openly hostile, either. Or hasn't been to his knowledge, not yet. Could that only be due to this government's ability to dampen or cut off powers? Would she be different if that restriction weren't in place?]
How much is a lot?
no subject
[she briefly considers trying to quantify an operation that she wasn't personally involved with, then discards it on the grounds of that being an outrageous waste of effort. it would probably be a lot easier to just use a visual.
the feed goes silent for several minutes before the notification for an attachment pings to life. the picture is of Lapis holding up a very hastily drawn map of Europe and Asia, showing off a very decided lack of Russia.]
That much.
no subject
There is a part of Sakuma that is decidedly glad for this planet that gems like Lapis haven't settled here. And yet...he still has to know. To hear her side. Because, much as he feels the tug of caution, he also recognizes the fact that she didn't need to tell him any of this, and that a person who was looking to make friends or who had themselves participated in such devastation...wouldn't broadcast it. Not that he has any way to prove her innocence or guilt.
At least...not any way he's very familiar with yet.]
Why?
no subject
[she stares down at the drawing now settled in her lap, hidden from view once more. it had held excellent potential in so many facets of the empire - that much Lapis remembered, the excitement buzzing through the chain of command. she'd never had time to see it herself...and thanks to the Crystal Gems, she suspects that she very well may never will.
what could possibly worth that price? it was a question she'd asked herself countless times within the confines of the mirror, and one that she could never find an answer for. no planet ever seemed important enough to pour so many lives down the drain for.]
They'd already done that by the time I showed up, though, so I'm not really sure what that one was for.
no subject
That thought chills Sakuma to the bone.]
That one?
[There were more?
Was she involved in those, then?]
no subject
[they hadn't even gotten around to handing out her orders before the war had broken out in full force. Lapis couldn't even say with certainty how much else might have been done on the planet if the Crystal Gems hadn't made themselves - there had been no time. it was all so pointless.]
no subject
What gave them the right to do anything at all in the first place?!
He wishes he could ask Lapis this question, but doesn't trust himself right now to keep his emotions in check. Naturally, he is very close to the situation. Even if it isn't his Earth that was in the hands of the gems, and even if he doesn't belong on this one, the fact that any world should be treated so callously...
...it reminds him of Kageyama.
Using people, chewing them up and discarding them again when they're no longer useful.]
What about you?
What did you want to do?
no subject
[Lapis hadn't been allowed the time to form an opinion on earth before events beyond her control had colored it in for her. what would she have thought about reformatting this planet into something useful for the empire, before all of that pain had rained down onto it?
she couldn't say. that was a different Lapis who would have looked out across those shores.]
It especially doesn't matter now.
no subject
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?
no subject
Do you know how many Lapises there are in my universe?
no subject
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?
no subject
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.
i'm sorry she kind of hit the ultra trigger on the head
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.
so what prize does she win
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.]
tears
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.]
mmm more salt for the ocean
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.]