dankmemes | Test Drive Meme #30

Welcome to Hadriel's test drive, and thank you again for your interest in the game! As always, our reserves page is here, and our applications page is here! Reserves open March 25th, and apps are open April 1st. Please remember that there is an app cap of 20 apps.

Two quick points here as well:
1. Any thread made in Hadriel's test drive will be accepted as the sole Action Log sample in the application.
2. All threads made in the test drive can be considered game canon, either through handwaving or through a shared mental experience while coming through the Door!

Test drives will be broken up into specific god mini-events, during which your characters can see how well they fare under the watchful eye of one of the gods. Choose wisely or just simply pick 'em all, and have fun!

F E A R

SCENARIO ONE: CHOMP CHOMP
[The Door brings in all that is chaotic and evil in the world. This may include you, may include the person next to you... and may include the monster behind you.

Or sticking out of that pipe, even. Yes, that's right, the Door seems to have brought in an infestation of piranha plants, which may be familiar to you, since they've been in nearly every Mario game.

Piranha plants are large orb-shaped plants with big ol' teeth, all the better for biting you with. They can't walk around, but their stalks can stretch pretty far, so they'll be perfectly happy to stretch out and bite the heck out of you if you get too close - and some of them are good at hiding. You might not see them until it's too late. Luckily, while the biting is pretty bad, it's just about all they can do. You'll be fine, as long as you keep your distance.]

SCENARIO TWO: THEY'RE COMING TO GET YOU
[You've got a scratchy throat, a little cough, a general feeling of awfulness. It sucks being sick, doesn't it? Maybe you can find someone to get you some juice, or hold your hand, or just be sympathetic to how crappy you feel. After all, no one likes being sick. But how can you know that person is actually trying to help you? They have an untrustworthy look in their eye, and you're pretty sure you just heard them mutter something about leaving your body in a ditch.

Or maybe you're the one trying to take care of a sick friend. You have only the best intentions, but they don't seem interested in cooperating at all. In fact, it seems like they think you're trying to hurt them! What the hell? And here you were trying to be a good person for once. Oh shit - did you just sneeze? This isn't going to end well.

This is a mini version of our Flu Season event this month.]

H O P E

SCENARIO THREE: FONDLY YOURS
[When you stepped out of the house this morning, you found a small bouquet of flowers on the doorstep, just waiting for you. They're just the sort you like - your favorite kind, in fact - so they must be meant for you. But who could they be from?

Of course, there must be someone you wish they were from. A lover, a long-term flirtation, your best friend thinking of you. Or maybe you're hoping for something else: an apology from someone who hurt you, or an olive branch from and enemy. Whoever you're hoping they're from, well - the only way to know is ask, right?

Unless you'd rather leave a secret bouquet for them, instead.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Scenario One

[To say that stationary plants with teeth doesn't really phase Bucky much is more or less the understatement of the year. But considering the last thing he remembers he hadn't been too hopeful about making it out alive, this is almost like a goddamn walk in the park. Carnivorous plants. That's not even the worst thing you run into on a daytrip to the Savage Lands.

He's still in uniform, which yeah, looks a little bit worse for wear at the moment, but at least he still has the shield. That's somethin' anyway. And it definitely comes in handy when one of the plants tries to take a bite out of him. Bucky curses, using the shield to hit the plant in its orb-shaped head and detach it from his shoulder. You'd think they were too big and brightly colored to be particularly steathy, but either they're better than he gave them credit for, or he's just tired.]

Anyone need any help?

[He calls, trying tpo see if there's anyone else around. Given that he hasn't seen any threats that are independently mobile, he's more concerned about other people in need of assistance.]

Scenario Three

[He's dressed down now, having found himself clothes and a place to say. But he stops in surprise, and can't help smiling a little at the flowers, lifting them up so he can breathe in the scent of red roses. They always remind him of Natasha, but considering the current circumstances he can't imagine who would have left them for him.

So for the moment he just kind of stands there a bit awkwardly with the flowers, looking around to see if there's anyone around that seems to be leaving flowers for people. It's certainly a nice gesture, at any rate, he guesses. Certainly beats the first round of fauna.]

So does everyone get one, or am I just lucky?

Wildcard

[Bucky's pretty easy, feel free to find him working out, or whatever seems fun; I'll roll with it.]

[Natasha is still trying to settle in, herself, and of course she's having a bit of trouble trusting anything just yet. It's like a curse. She follows Bucky into the apartment, and her eyebrows go up when she sees the bouquet. Well, they certainly are pretty.]

Maybe you have fans you don't know about, James.

[He's still smiling, but when he looks at her something warms in his expression. They're both new here, but there's a certain stability to having Natasha around. It's something he can trust, lean on a little. She gives him hope.

There's a lot they haven't talked about, but Bucky has no problem avoiding those conversations for the moment. It's easy to tell himself that it makes sense while they're still settling in, getting their bearings. The truth of course is that he doesn't really want to have to talk about whether or not Natasha watched him die. Maybe it's the elephant in the room, but they've got the space for it.]

Yeah, I doubt it. They suit you better, anyway.

[He plucks one rose from the bouquet, holding it out to her, mindful of the thorns. It's easier to dwell on her than it is on Sin with an Asgardian Hammer, hitting the ground, and then... being here.]

[Elephant in the room is an understatement, but Natasha is used to pushing things like that aside when something more pressing presents itself. It's like second nature for both of them, and at the moment, being trapped in another universe takes precedent.

Still, even if she knows he was alive, if terribly injured, even if she knows they have other things to focus on, her heart twists when he holds out the flower. When she takes it, her fingers brush against his, lingering for just a few seconds as she smiles back.]

Do they? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to flatter me.

[It's something they'll handle when they have to. Bucky isn't exactly desperate to know his future, and he's fairly sure the answer isn't something good. When is it ever? But there's enough to keep them busy, easy distractions as they work out the world they've ended up in (gods, of course it was gods, because Bucky definitely hasn't had enough of that shit).

Their fingers touch as Natasha takes the flower, and she lets the touch linger a little. That counts for something; maybe more than it should.

It's the other thing they haven't really talked about. What this all means for them, where their relationship stands. On Bucky's side it's easy, but with so much unsaid he doesn't push too hard, either. It's enough to have her close. So the little things- they mean a lot. That touch makes it a little easier as he raises an eyebrow, a slight shrug to his shoulders.]

Well, they say it's not flattery if it's true.

[There's always too much going on for them to ever sit down and talk about each other, at least in that context. It feels like a luxury, maybe for Natasha more than others. She knows what her role means, and it doesn't generally involve sweeping romances.]

Always a charmer, James. Where do you think they came from?

[Their relationship has always had its elements of tragedy. So, it's not something he takes for granted, but she's always been one of the good things in his life, and he's glad to have that here, however strange this place is. Neither of them really have lives for sweeping romances, but he'll still say it's worth the attempt.

He smiles at her words. He's gonna take that as a win, or at least admission that the attempt isn't unwelcome. Man, looking at her still knocks him off his feet.]

Dunno. Saw a few other places with 'em, but the flowers don't seem to be compromised.

[He shrugs his shoulders. He just got here, he's not quite sure what to make of this place just yet, let alone randomly appearing bouquets of roses. It is a strangely nice feeling though, after the monsters that came with the arrival.]

[It's the familiar sound of a vibranium dome-shaped object that attracts his attention first, and through the remnants of plant matter he makes his way toward the source of the sound. Tony manages to convince himself that his brain is playing tricks on him, awful ones if he thinks that he might want Steve of all people to turn up around here. That is until he spots the suit.

Stopping in his tracks, Tony lets out a huff of breath, holstering a handgun; his only weapon thus far and taking a few steps closer.]

Anywhere else, you'd be the last person I'd want to see Rogers.

[The use of the name Rogers catches him a little off guard. It's always been a hard thing for him, stepping into being Captain America, even if he gives it all that he can. He'd expected Steve to take it back when he'd turned out to be not-dead, but he still wears the costume, carries the shield.

It's a look in the dark, and in the shadows and the facial hair, he doesn't quite realize it's not the man who knows. So there's a touch of a laugh, something wry.]

Why, are you and Steve fighting again? It's Bucky.

[He tugs the cowl down letting the fabric hang down, and there's similarities, but he's not the same as the one Tony knows. Brown eyes and short hair, a few more lines to his face, maybe a little older or a little more weathered, one way or the other.]

Sure am glad to see you, though. You get anything off the portal?

[Sorry, Tony, Bucky totally thinks you're something more like friends.]

[Like this, with the drama dialled all the way to eleven it's really no surprise that Tony stops dead in his tracks when he hears the response - gaze focussed on Bucky as he unveils himself.

That he goes as far as to take a step back makes his opinion on the matter increasingly clear.

His genius provides him with a thousand possibilities. Each a little more far-fetched than the next, starting with the notion that maybe they end up patching things together and ending in other-dimensions where none of the bullshit happened. Could there really be a place where this guy didn't kill his parents and didn't suffer the consequences for it?]

You and I are not friends.

[To his credit, the gun stays pointed toward the ground.]

Test Drive Meme #30

Bucky Barnes | Marvel 616

Three!

!!!! ahhhh yes

hey you're rude

yepp totally! though lbr I could be worse

HOW DARE YOU

look, I could have given you SAD PANDA James and no one wants that

One. With a healthy dose of mistaken identity. :/

annnd mistaken identity part deux

AND WE'RE DONE. >:|