maskormenace | Entries tagged with † franziska von karma

March 2021

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WILL YOU HELP SAVE THE WORLD?

Mask or Menace is a panfandom urban 'superhero' genre DWRP game, where heroes, villains, and everyone in between seek to survive and thrive in a world loosely parallel to our own.

gabriel_gray

Here's one for you. What do you call a man who is still three weeks from his doctorate when the multiverse kidnaps him? Mister.

In any case, hi, I'm Trevor; Mr. Zeitlan to some of you. I was recently employed to a posting at Xavier's, and as you can imagine there's not a whole lot of accessible material on my subject, which covers abilities of every kind. I'm putting together an encyclopedia of powers based on my extensive experience in my own world and what I learn here, but there's all sorts of teaching materials I'm having to fake as I go along. Incidentally, if anyone would like to help with that, I have afternoon office hours at the Institute, and you're welcome to drop in. I teach mornings.

Okay, so killing two birds with one stone, I have a couple of questions; if you could take a moment to reply to them, or just answer one, you'd help me out no end.

First of all, what was your first experience of using your power? Was it intentional or accidental? Any details about how you felt, or the consequences of using it would be helpful, as I'd like to use other people's experiences to build confidence in my students.

Second question is a little bit of fun, really: If you didn't have the powers given to you by the porter, which abilities would you like to have had instead?

[OOC: If anyone wants to handwave or plan classes/sessions, or teacher/teacher interactions with "Trevor", throw me a PM. These can be backdated to assumed CR if you like ("Trevor" comes off as knowledgeable, but there's an edge of creepiness to him that anyone could pick up on, and no, not just because he has giant eyebrows though that doesn't help his case one bit.]

restingstitchface

[There's a certain anonymity in text. A certain kind of power.

Invisibility affords safety and security, yet enables the greatest cruelty. It offers the individual the chance to be sucked into the swirling whirlpool; that spiral pathway to the state of consciousness called the group mind. And at the heart of that mind is fear.

Fear is the first and greatest teacher anyone can have, he knows. How people could begin to understand the world without developing their exploration of fear, he had no idea. A child without fear of their parents is a child without an awareness of danger. Parents insure their children against failure by making them terrified of a lack of success - of being worthless in their eyes. The first lesson begins with parents, yes.

He hadn't known his parents. He'd lived with his Granny, who'd taught him to see fear was everything and nothing. It was power and control. It was empty and meaningless.

Mothering Sunday. Father's Day. Parents' Day. Today being what it is, he will help people see the truth. Should they choose to close their eyes, he'll force them open.]

Fear is the greatest enemy; the father and mother of suffering.

You set aside a holiday in which you convince yourselves you love, respect and admire your parents because you fear that you don't care. They grow old, yet you can't wait for them to die.

You give or receive gifts, but none of you are willing to focus on the motivation behind this day. You buy parental approval to avoid being called a failure. You buy cards because you fear voicing questions. You buy into the dream that keeps you an eternal child because you fear the day that comes when you will eclipse their presence.

The religious amongst you fear the Lord; the Father of all. Some of you revere Mary, the Mother of God.

But you are all terrified, frightened children. Scared of the truth. You will never win the approval you crave. You will one day be alone. You will be told you should never have been born. So you celebrate to forget. Except you forget that without a child, both Father's Day and Mother's Day are meaningless. What about the millions of children who have no father or mother?

Why do you lie to yourselves? Why do you celebrate at all?

yatagarasu

[This is Kay Faraday.

This is Kay Faraday moving the focus of the video away from her and toward the couch, where Miles Edgeworth is fast asleep and drooling on his pillow. She giggles quietly at the sight before approaching him slowly, the view zooming in toward him. Then she whispers:]

Hey, Mr. Edgeworth, it’s waaaay past lunchtime!

[She gets no response out of that. But right now no one can see her facial expression because her device is still pointed toward Edgeworth.]

Mr. Edgeworth, the fridge is empty!

[And this is Edgeworth, rolling over on his side, mumbling something about “groceries” and “later”. His eyes are still closed, and he dozes off immediately.

There is a pause as Kay considers her next move. Then, without warning, because she’s still off-screen, she proclaims in a louder, more mischievous voice:]

Mr. Edgeworth, smile for the camera!

[Edgeworth blinks, staring blearily at Kay and the camera. Kay… camera…? Cam...er…]

Augh! KAY!

[And he bolts up immediately, lunging for the device. Kay hurriedly steps backward with a yelp, and the video ends there.]

flightsuit

[Up on the screen is a young man with too many freckles on his face to count. He's from a time long ago, but he's grown accustomed to wearing modern clothes, with a simple red t-shirt on. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for the large black dragon that rolls about on the grass behind him.]

Uh, hi there! I'm Hiccup. Some of you might know me if — well, if you're all even still here. From what I've figured out, I came here earlier this year, but uh, some sort of glitch happened and I got kind of stuck or ... something like that. Basically, I kind of left for a few months and was just kind of curious what's actually happened since I left. I mean, last I saw, there was a giant dragon wrecking things so, uh, things were kind of crazy. But I guess that was a while back now.

[He sighs deeply, recalling that, shaking his head.] If you knew me before, I'm sort of the "dragon guy" or whatever, so if someone can tell me what happened, that'd be great. I'm ... really hoping to clear up any anti-dragon views around here. Because they're not all bad! Really. It's — it's complicated, but I promise you that. But, uh, I guess that's that. Thanks.

[With an attempted smile, more sheepish than anything, the feed goes off.]

pobrecisco

[ There's a text advertisement popping up on the network, the header flashing. ]

Hey there all you newly empowered superheroes-to-be!

You've got your cool new powers, but now what? I'll tell you what. Now you need a name. Gotta keep your real identity a secret, right? But I bet you can't come up with just the right one.

That's where I come in. I'm basically an expert at this by now, so tell me your powers and the theme you're working with, and I'll give you the best name you could possibly hope for!

And for those of you who aren't so new to this, I have a proposition for you, too. You have tech or gadgets or a super suit or whatever that got busted while fighting crime? Or maybe you need an upgrade to keep up with the times? I can totally hook you up. With anonymous drop off, too, so you don't have to give me any sensitive information like your real name!

...I just kinda need to find a place to work, materials to work with, and a place to set up said anonymous drop off first. So if anyone has any suggestions, you would totally be helping me, and your local superhero community, out.

[ There's a private, secure connection to chat with him linked for anyone who doesn't want to publicly broadcast their information. It's not completely unhackable, but it's about as close as Cisco can get it, which is still really good. ]

boneitis

[The vid feed is now filled with the image of a dude in a ball cap with some truly magnificent facial hair. Really, his beard is a sight for the ages.]

I’m just gonna call this a comm check. Testing, one-two-three.

So yeah, hi, my name’s Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, call me Joker. I’m a single white male looking for--

[The screen is suddenly filled with static, like it's encountered some kind of interference. It slowly clears, showing Joker's annoyed face again.]

--looking for a decent cell connection, for the love of fuck. I dunno what I was expecting from this ass-backward tech, but apparently it's too much to ask for it to actually work right--

[More static. When the feed comes back in, his face is further away because he's holding the device at arm's length, at an awkward angle like he's looking for a signal.]

Okay, before this piece of shit cuts out on me again, if anybody's seen a guy about this tall,

[He presumably gestures to indicate height, but since it’s off-camera it’s exactly zero percent helpful. Good job, Joker.]

perpetually pissed-off expression, can't grow anything more than a five o'clock shadow to save his life, says 'I should go' a lot? Send him my way and keep him away from any and all fish tanks. And if anybody else from the Normandy crew sees this,

[His hand turned into a thumb by his ear and little finger by his mouth in the world’s most sarcastic telephone gesture.]

Call m--

[Static.]

bindsthedead

Hello everyone, I have a small favor to ask. [Sabriel's in a graveyard, wearing rather muddy clothes-she's making this post during one of her breaks at work, apparently.]

First- I won a car, thanks to that game at the last swearing-in. But unfortunately I have no idea how to drive it, though I'd like to learn- is anyone willing to offer lessons? I can pay you for your trouble.

[Someone, help her. Hopefully someone will teach her who doesn't view traffic laws as optional.]

Secondly- part of the nature of Charter magic is that it's a power granted by baptism, not birth- I've taken on several students here, and I'm always happy to teach more. I want anyone interested to understand that Charter magic takes dedication and training to master- the rewards can be great, but all lazy or slipshod spell casting will get you is singed fingers.

[And while there's a light in Sabriel's eyes as she speaks, it suddenly dies away.]

And no, I have no intention of teaching anyone necromancy, even in a theoretical sense. After the incident with Melkor, I trust everyone understands why. [Not that there's much theory to Free Magic- it runs on will and instinct, and Sabriel can't actually give anyone that power- not unless they already had it.]

tucky

Okay, I got a question - why's there so many kids here? You can't turn a corner without running into an imPort kid.

[This... may be a slight exaggeration. It almost does feel that way to Tiffany, though; she came through the Porter from a totally kid-less environment. She'd seen child visitors to the prison in passing, but hadn't interacted with one in years until coming here - and that's not even touching on her own vague Kid Issues, which are currently heightened after her conversation with Jesse about her past.]

I mean, it just seems kinda cruel, you know? Porting in a bunch of kids without anyone to look after 'em. I mean, unless the people here are meant to look after 'em, but come on. How many of us are the type? And I know I would've missed my mama something fierce if I was taken to a whole new world when I was little; some weird fucking stranger wouldn't've cut it.

... Hell, I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong; I could be wrong. Never really knew what to do with kids myself, so it ain't like I know how they think - how y'all think.

So never mind, maybe.

bratziska

( The screen turns on, revealing the face of Franziska von Karma, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, riding crop in hand. Miss her? )

So, it seems that I have returned after a period of absence. ( The corners of her mouth shift slightly, forming a little frown. ) But honestly, I don't remember being gone at all. It was barely April, and now it's July. I've heard of this happening before, but it doesn't make it any less disorienting. Or any more foolish. I wish they could decide whether I'm coming or going. ( Insofar as there is a 'they'. She doesn't really want to talk about that, so, moving on! )

I've done my best to catch up on recent events, but it's likely that some smaller or less important things that have fallen through the cracks. So, tell me: what's been going on in your lives lately?

( A beat, and she brightens up again. )

Oh, and since I left so soon after my birthday, I'll still be accepting presents even if they're a few months belated. I mean, if you already got me something, I might as well accept it.

microbrobotics

[ Having fun with that age plot, everyone? Hiro admittedly hasn't been working quite as crazy hard on a cure this time around, but gosh darnit this is still mostly his fault and he's still got to do something. So here's another video post of him in his lab/garage (with the usual assortment of tech junk everywhere), moving back and forth between his computer and something juuuuust out of frame to the left. He keeps adjusting his new nerd glasses too, not quite used to the feeling of having them on his face just yet.

After a moment, he takes a deep breath and faces the camera. Hoo boy, how to phrase this. ]

So - uh - I know a lot of people kind of got their ages messed up? Like on Wednesday or so? About 6 PM?

[ Ughhh, he runs a hand through his hair. ]

The good news is, I know what happened. Because that was my experiment, and I'm really, really sorry to everyone who got messed up. The other good news is that it was supposed to wear off. Nanites and resilience and blah blah, you probably don't want details.

... It was also supposed to wear off in a couple hours. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that it should wear off, I just don't know when.

But if it doesn't, I'm working on something. Just - everyone hold tight? Don't play in traffic? What other responsible things are adults supposed to say at a time like this?

welcome

[A smooth, low voice comes over the feed. So he doesn't have his own show anymore. So he can't, legally, call himself a reporter in this world. But he has this network, and it's better than nothing.]

We seem to have some sort of friendly epidemic on our hands. Some of you are once again experiencing the joys of childhood, while others have been granted a glimpse into the ravages of age.

[A wistful sigh. The incident hasn't affected him, sadly. He wouldn't mind a return to his youth. Even a vision of his future body would have been interesting. He does wonder about the state of his hair in ten years.]

If you're upset about this situation, then I say--don't be. Try to enjoy it! If you're young, take advantage of your freshly empowered body. Run around for hours. Traipse in the dirt. Come home and eat ten hot dogs, with little to no digestive consequences. Drink a gallon of soda, and revel in your body's ability to somehow turn so many empty calories into useful energy. You'll miss that when you're back to your old self.

And for those of you who went the opposite way -- hey, there's nothing wrong with that, either! See how distinguished you've become. Shout at people on the streets. Get discounts. Preview the pains and illnesses that will bring you closer to sweet, gentle death.

And, hey. I'm sure this will all sort itself out soon enough. Things always do, don't they?

[His voice drops an octave.]

In the end, they always do.

whippings

( Good morning alternate universe America, this broadcast is brought to you by a more mature looking Franziska von Karma. While she appears to be almost twenty, any such changes are merely superficial. She's still the same impulsive, pretentious teenager at heart.

She's leaning against a tree, hands curled around her riding crop. )

You know, despite the occasion itself being complete and utter shambles, I must say I've been enjoying the results thoroughly. It is reassuring to know that my beauty will only increase exponentially over the years. ( A smirk. ) Not to mention that people are finally giving me the respect I deserve.

( She runs a hand through her hair, stopping suddenly at her chin as if she's still getting accustomed to a new hair style. ) I'm going to find a way to stay like this forever. ( And any naysayers might just be told about the ace up her sleeve: her secondary power. ) Why shouldn't I be able to?

( A beat as she straightens up. ) It's my fourteenth birthday next week, but I don't want to be fourteen any more. Not since this has happened.

( A clearing of the throat. ) I've asked this network for help with my superpowers before. I'm pleased to report that my flying abilities are improving at a satisfactory rate. So this is just something new to put my mind to.

... So, on a final note, just how many people got turned into children aged thirteen-or-under?

( A question for gloating purposes, you see. )

givetheslip

This is dumb. Whoever's responsible for making us this way needs to undo it! I was already a girl once, I don't want to do it again.

[The accent is English. The face is likely unfamiliar to most, but the name attached to the feed reads: Maria Thorpe.]

I'll hit you if I have to.

[And...that's about all. She's normally a little more eloquent than this, but apparently that goes right out the window in the face of preteen wrath.]

( action option! )

darwinatrix

This is Major-General Olivier Armstrong. If you can ignore the bevy of Imports wasting our time with their age-changing frivolity, I have an announcement to make.

It's no secret that whatever their other feelings towards us, the natives of this world recognize that we Imports pose a threat to them. For how could we not? We have powers they can scarcely conceive of, let alone match. Even a single Import could outclass a regiment or more of this nation's army.

Therefore, I am hereby announcing the formation of RISE: the Rogue Import Suppression Enforcers. We Imports shall police and judge our own, apprehending those among us who would prey on the most vulnerable of this nation's native population and passing sentence as necessary.

Those among you who wish to lend your aid to the RISE mission are welcome. I await your questions.

lonelyyouth

[Caesar isn't always an angry ten-year-old, but when he is, he's irrationally moody. With his memories in tact, he's thankfully not slipping into old slang or terrible habits, it's-- it took him a while to become as refined (and only horrible temperamental when pushed) as he is while an adult! Zeppelis are a hot-blooded lot!]

This change in our bodies--

[Is-- is that his voice now? He sounds like a child! He looks like a child! This is not okay. On every level, this is horribly upsetting.]

--it's surely part of some new plot to take advantage of us while we become accustomed--

[The way he speaks does not suit a preteen to the point even Caesar is taken aback. Erm.]

Bastards.

[And a child hissing out a curse. Choice. Now, Caesar isn't sure who the 'bastards' in question are, but he will hit them, and even a child's attacks fueled by Ripple deal a firm blow.]

Don't let your guard down! ... And...

[Oh, right, this video has mostly been from the (bare) shoulders up.]

I need some clothes.

firstborncopper

[Instead of the young man everyone usually sees when Maedhros gets on the network, he looks more like he's around fifteen or so. And he's practically vibrating.]

Two hands! I have two hands again!

[He tries to mostly stay still but it's hard when he has something he thought he'd never have again.]

Does anyone have a forge or something? I want to make things. [He wants to make all the things and he wants to make sure certain people can't use them.]

girlwithout

[Much as she has genuinely loved getting back into dance, it means she's now juggling dance, school, work, and a city that has such unbelievably awful crime issues that she could basically patrol 24/7 and still not be doing enough for. It's not that she dislikes being busy. Being busy has helped her stave off several otherwise well-deserved meltdowns. But all work and no play makes blah blah blah. Rikki's doing her homework like a responsible go-getting young adult and suddenly decides that screw that she needs a break.

So yeah, there's a video of a slightly frazzled-looking redhead now.] Does anyone want to go do something, I don't know, teenager-y? Do we still do teenager things?

hands4healing

[Have a Winry, with the sound of a dog barking very close by.]

I don't understand why we need a day to celebrate puppies?

[Barking.]

Are we supposed to show each other pictures of them? Or take them for walks?

[More barking.

And Winry glances sideways.] Zoey, quiet!

[Oh, wait.]

Well, I guess if we're supposed to share, this is my dog, Zoey!

[The video feed swings to show a black and white Border Collie, dropped in a play bow with her tail wagging. She has a tennis ball between her front paws and is obviously wanting Winry to throw the ball for her to chase. A hand reaches into view for the ball, vanishes off-screen, then reappears as a chartreuse blur, arching away from the camera lens. Zoey speeds after it.]

So, that's my dog...does anyone else have a pet to share? [Winry asks, still off-screen, with Zoey prancing back with the ball in her mouth.]

spidersense

[ the audio is fumbly & like theres too much wind at first. its awkward & theres a muttered 'manischivetz' in the background before suddenly it gets silent like someone went inside. the voice from before speaks up, louder & clearer, with a distinct queens accent lacing her words.

the name attached to the post is jessica drew ]

... You know, if someone asked the one place I'd refuse to go in the world, I'd tell them Florida. But I guess I died and went to the last ring of Hell anyways.

[a beat. its a poor quip but shes too thrown for a loop & not to mention extremely wary of her whole situation to actually be funny. ]

It looks like I'm paparazzi here. Follow you until you... whatever. [ theres a sound like she wants to say more. she wants to see if her teams here but she doesnt trust this network & or the systems here. so she just hangs up. ]

khajidont

Hey. I'm not really sure who oughtta know, so, uh... general PSA: Gon and Killua got ported out. I don't know for how long, but for now, they're back in their own world.

[Illumi too, but Jaime's not going to even hint at the fact that he knows who the hell Illumi is, let alone the fact that Killua grabbed some of his DNA for him. Exercising a little caution won't kill him. He pauses before adding on,] Brenda got ported out a while ago, but I'm pretty sure I managed to contact all her friends about that already.

[He blinks awkwardly at the camera for a second, lets out an almost imperceptible sigh, and straightens his posture.]

I know we got a lot of new people coming in now, so hey everyone, I'm Jaime. [He gives the screen a little wave.] You've been told that you can't go home, so I'm betting talk about people going home might be kinda confusing. The deal is that sometimes, people get Ported out. As far as we can tell, it's totally random; it can happen to any of us at any time, but there's no way of controlling it. It's been circulated a little already, but there's a FAQ out there if you guys got any other questions. I'll put a link here.

[He cuts the feed. And, true to his word, he links to Kate's FAQ. There you go, newbies.]

MASK OR MENACE

NETWORK COMMUNITY

Entries tagged with † franziska von karma | n/a

March 2021

Links

WILL YOU HELP SAVE THE WORLD?

text; ID reads Trevor Zeitlan

06 ⚜ Text | ID: Anonymous

flight 007 ☄ [video; backdated to July 23 a.k.a. before people go time traveling to the past]

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003 ◦ VIDEO (age event)

video | Age Plot

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