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The Diadem ([personal profile] thediadem) wrote in [community profile] diademooc2025-05-15 08:42 am
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TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025

Test Drive ∞ May 2025
The First Collision
©
Jump ⇅ :: ArrivalPanoramaFringesInvite Request
The Diadem is an invite-only panfandom game set in a retro-futuristic world where uprooted souls find themselves deep within an eerie wasteland of roads and highways frequently assailed by cosmic storms. Three united strongholds keep the population. Its capital is Panorama, a large metropolis at the planet's center.

Soon, you realize you aren't alone. Calling themselves fluxdrifts, the "locals" have similar stories to you, either for themselves or their ancestry. You speak to an old woman who claims she hailed from another star. You meet a young man who says his great-great-grandfather knew a strange language everybody spoke "back home." As you explore, you stumble across a coin you recognize or your sister's locket. How did it get here? What does this mean? That's for you to discover.

But first, you need to find a ride.

No invites needed to play on the TDM. Everyone's welcome! Use the Invite Request thread below to request an invite from another player.

∞ Summary ∞
IC-wise, arrivals are scattered throughout the month. Events described on the TDM are also ongoing throughout the month. If you'd rather jump right into the action, you're free to begin in media res with your character having already been on the planet for several days.

Post-impact, characters will wake up in a med tent by the Scrapyard. From there, they must accept a vehicle on loan and make the 2-hour drive to the nearest city, Panorama. If they refuse the car because they don't want the loan, they'll be in debt for medical bills instead...so just take the car. It'll come in handy.

Some things to keep in mind when bringing in your character:

  • Pick an injury. At minimum, they got knocked out; at most, whatever they can recover from. Medicine is decently advanced so they'll heal faster if not painlessly.
  • Decide items kept. Reasonable items on their person only: photos, keys, clothes, costumes. No pets or animal companions. Wildly out-of-place tech and personal cell phones will be damaged beyond repair.
  • Select a weapon. Do this only if eligible. Guidelines about weapons and powers are on the FAQ.
  • Choose a vehicle. Decide whether your character gets 2-3 options or if they're stuck with something they hate. Players can pick directly from our collection or source their own images. Anything under a similar aesthetic will work. If your character needs accommodations for driving, they can have them. Ask us for details.
  • Get a phone. Characters have to obtain a phone (and a SIM card) themselves. If they've got one from home, it's damaged beyond repair. Phones are cheap. It'll only take a couple of weeks to afford one. You need to know the number before you text or call anyone. Read about phones and the Forum before you hop on it.

TDM threads can be canon if characters are accepted. Top-levels made to the TDM should be open to all.
TDM Questions? Here — Game Questions? FAQ
SettingTakenReservesApplications ::: ⇅ Top
Fluxdrift
Arrival & Introduction
Date: Throughout May
You've tumbled over a cliff. You were fighting for your life. You're on the cusp of death. You slipped in the shower. Whatever the catalyst, you struggle to cling to consciousness. As darkness overtakes you, a swirling vortex warps light and shadow in a way that defies all physics. A dark wail etches into your very bones. You couldn't describe it if you tried. You can barely comprehend what it is.

Then you open your eyes.


Through the figure's mask ©, you swear the face is grinning down at you. The tent you're in smells of antiseptic, and scratchy blankets line your cot. Injuries you've sustained have been bandaged. In the corner, you spot a MedBot that's fixed you up. Depending on the extent of your injuries, the doctor on duty might give you some painkillers before you go. Thankfully, your belongings are by the exit. Sorry if anything's damaged. Your landing was pretty rough.

You follow the figure outside. They are Yom Crook, here to lend a hand to fellow fluxdrifts like yourself. Their car's parked beside them. Actually, there are lots of cars around, but Yom Crook's stands out with its painted shark mouth. They explain they found you, unconscious, in a diffusion zone and brought you here. The nearest city is a 2-hour drive northeast. Forget about walking. You'll never make it. Also, you owe the doctor a lot of money for patching you up. But you're in luck: they've got some wheels for you and if you accept the vehicle on loan, Yom Crook will cover your medical bills. That's a good deal, right? It's not the shiniest car or motorcycle, but it'll do. If fortune favors, you'll get to choose between two or three options. Plus, if you need accommodations to drive—like adjustments to your seat height or modified controls—you'll receive all that for free.

Take the vehicle. (And the loan.) Yom Crook assures you that you'll have six months before collectors come around. Any time you're ready to pay a part of it down, return here to the Scrapyard. You'll get a receipt and everything. Paying off the loan in six months isn't impossible, but it will take a lot of work. Just don't get too lax. There's a good chance you'll be juggling multiple loans as you try to get by.

You either know how to drive, or you'll have a bare-bones manual to get you started. Road rules are more a suggestion than enforced, so just hit the pedal and go. The car has some basic features. The built-in compass will help you navigate.

OPTIONAL PROMPTS: a flat tire; a body on the road (is it a trap?); a fender bender

Panorama
Explore & Settle In
Conditions: Warm spring temperatures, light showers
After 2 hours on the road, you find civilization. The largest of the strongholds, Panorama is where the economy thrives. Massive power plants glowing red make it visible from a distance. The city is divided into three districts. For now, you can access the Pavilion and the Blocks. Don't worry about the Sanctum; they're not letting you in.

You only need to know two things about Panorama: 1) it's big, the size of a modern metropolis, and you'll need your car to get around; 2) anything goes as long as you don't pick a fight with the wrong person. Street smarts will get you far. Despite its geographical size, the population isn't huge. With roughly a million people in a city designed for over twice that number, Panorama is far from deserted, but nor is it overcrowded. It's a good thing. Resources are limited as it is.
The Pavilion: Free Samples
©
Like any large city, Panorama features a couple of supermarkets. The stock's not as consistent as a proper supermarket. On occasion, shelves can remain cleaned out for a week or two. Regardless, the long tradition of free samples remains. If you're not already shopping, you'll notice the crowded parking lot and clusters of lines inside.

Try samples, push through the crowds as you shop, or give yourself a five-finger discount. If you're cautious, you can pocket a few small items without consequences. The Pavillion doesn't have the infrastructure for surveillance; unless someone sees you, you won't be caught. Steal from the store or pilfer someone's wallet. Maybe you even make a new friend if you bump into another fluxdrift. Or, start a fight with somebody who cut you off in the cheese line. Don't make too much of a ruckus, or you'll be thrown out.

As you look around, you'll see posters advertising temporary positions for the cash register or graveyard shifts in the warehouse. Seems they might've lost several employees recently (how'd that happen?), which is good for you! It's just a 6-week position, but it'll get you on your feet. The city has temporary positions like this all over. Permanent ones are harder to come by when you're new.
Samples include: steamed cabbage dumplings, synthetic cherry juice, cheddar cheese, and chocolate-covered alien eggs (it's crunchy and weirdly tasty). They're served in the usual throwaway paper cups with little toothpicks.
The Blocks: Power Outage
©
Power's finicky in Panorama, especially in the Blocks. Saint Margery's Hospital, located in the same area, has priority for power so the first to go are the motels. Maybe you've been in your room for a couple of weeks, maybe you just got here—and by the way, every motel desk is happy to put the fee on your tab if you don't have the money upfront—but all the motels on the east side are in a blackout, leaving only the west side motels up and running.

What do you do? You have three choices:

  • Risk leaving your room and head to the other side where there's power. Knock on some doors and negotiate with another to share the room. They might shut the door in your face, ask for a favor in return, or be nice enough to help you with no strings attached. There's no guarantee your unattended room will be untouched, though, and you'll be on the hook for any damages an intruder causes.
  • Sit in the dark and deal. It's not the worst idea, but the TV's down, the vending machines are powered down, and with the entire place plunged into darkness, you risk getting robbed. If you struggle with defending yourself, you might want to find some trustworthy company. You can also sneak out of there and let them take your leftover pizza. It's not like you've got a ton of valuables, right? Plus, clobbering someone in the face with a frying pan sounds great until you realize you've gotta do something with the body. And what if this person's got a friend waiting?
  • Get in your car and drive (or grab a friend for a road trip). If you scroll the Forum, you might notice reports on diffusion zones southward. Besides, these motels are hardly your forever home. The city can only provide so much. Why not go for a ride and see what you can find out there?

OPTIONAL PROMPTS: clean up on aisle 3 (what is that goo?); a knock at your door but no one's there; you hear screaming or a commotion down the hall


The Fringes
Quad 3: Lockdown
Conditions: Stormy, with flooding roads
Felix Bjurstrom
> Date: 125-05-17
> Time: 02:15:57

> Emergency road lights have been reported in Quadrant 3! Please, can someone go see what's there? When last we chasers investigated emergency lights, a whole truck filled with sour candy had tipped over. Our stores were stocked for weeks! Oh, be careful - reception looks bad in that zone.
Whether you end up here on your own or you were following a tip on the Forum, the outcome is the same: you come to a stop in front of a 2-story office building that's flooded several inches deep. Emergency lights from a roadblock flicker through the stormy night. Stepping out of your car, you're soaked within seconds. When you check your phone, you don't have any bars. No calls in or out.

Through the open windows, a computer awakens and displays a cheerful smile. The lights inside switch on.

Pick your scenario role below. Your thread partner doesn't need to take the opposite role! They can join you in the same scenario (i.e. trapped together). Players are also free to create a generic NPC for the other side to facilitate the thread.

After characters escape, they'll find one bottle of antibiotics in their pocket or car, whether they remember taking it or not.


A: Sealed In
As you peer through the windows, you see crates of medicine floating around. Antibiotics in the diadem are valuable. Hospitals and doctors are always buying. You can keep it for yourself or make a quick buck. Or maybe you're compelled to help somebody back in the city who's in need. Whatever the reason, you decide to take the risk and step inside.

Water splashes around your ankles. The lock buzzes behind you. If you try to break the windows, you discover they're unnaturally resistant to shattering. With the whole place locked tight, the water begins to churn. Then the computer lights up again.

Warning, it flashes in large, bold text. Quarantine in progress. Release code required for exit.
  • To find the code, you'll have to search. Duck under the water, go through sopping envelopes and sticky notes or pick the locks on the filing cabinets and desk drawers. You can also try hacking the computers. Use your computer knowledge or fall back on the age-old trick of seeing who wrote down their password.
  • The files, notepads, and emails start innocuous, but as you look through them, disturbing phrases jump out at you—a dark thought you've had or a cruel taunt from someone in your past. The longer you're fixed on the terrible words, the higher the water begins to rise. Only another can break you out of your trance.
  • With the rising water comes fear. And the more you're afraid, the more the water also rises. You begin to see faces in the water, bobbing like balloon heads. Do you recognize them? If you move to take a closer look, they will sink back beneath the surface as if never there.
  • If you manage to swallow your panic, you can eventually find a triple-laminated binder with the release code and instructions. Bad news: you need someone on the outside to punch in the 6 strange symbols in order. The instructions explain that the code panel is located at the back of the building.
Let's hope a friendly face comes along.

B: Set Free
As you peer through the windows, you see not just the crates of medicine but someone trapped inside. They look like they might be in trouble, and from your vantage point, you notice that the water is bubbling strangely. It's definitely not normal rainwater. As you watch, the water rises unnaturally, stopping and starting. It's as if the water level is responding to an external stimulus.
  • The glass is soundproof. You can't hear what the person inside is saying, so you'll have to communicate with each other another way. Try charades, typing on your phone, or whatever you think of. Eventually, you determine that they're stuck and that you need to enter some sort of code onto a pad located—according to your trapped partner—at the back of the building.
  • Around the back, shadows swallow your surroundings. The panel must be pried open, but a slippery substance makes it hard to get a good grip. Each time the substance touches you, you grow uneasy. You swear you see eyes watching you, though when you turn around, nothing's there.
  • You can't seem to keep the instructions in your mind. And those symbols...they burn into your retinas. Through them, you glimpse an incomprehensibly massive figure unfurling in the darkness, pulsing as if in a deep sleep. When you snap back to reality, you realize you've injured yourself, slicing your hand on a sharp edge or a bruise you can't remember getting.
  • Once you manage to release the doors, the water inside the office drains upward into the sky as though sucked out by a giant hose. The darkness spreads. Get out of there fast before the shadows drag you or your partner into the void.
Of course, you don't have to help anyone. You can leave the individual there, make a deal, or outright extort them. But remember, you're not the only person on these roads. You might want to play your cards carefully, even if altruism isn't your first instinct.
brandingproblem: (spinning like a carousel)

panorama

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-16 12:40 pm (UTC)(link)
free samples
[Listen. Clint Barton is generally an okay person. He wouldn't call himself a good person by any means, but when he's able to pay for things, he pays for them, which is an okay person thing to do.

But growing up learning to pick pockets just to be able to eat that day is a lesson he took to heart, and becoming a spy who steals secrets and hearts and lives didn't exactly make those skills rusty.

If this is purgatory, this isn't going to help his case for going on up instead of down, but ask him if he's in a place to give a shit about that right now. He gets it, okay, he does, this isn't exactly a Robin Hood situation. Everyone's just trying to get by. If anyone's rich, it's in that closed off section of the city everyone gets turned away from. And if he's good at hunting for shit to sell out in the danger zones, and if he's good at figuring out something to pretend to be normal about in the city itself, then he should be able to make it without sticky fingering any basics from the stores.

But for the moment, he's sticky fingering some basics from the stores.

He's good at being sneaky about it, but with enough people in enough places, someone might catch him. He tries not to rob directly from the people, but regardless, watch your pockets if you happen to get bumped into. They might feel lighter.

There's a kid, though. An honest to god kid who doesn't look in great shape. He's seen them go through the free sample lines a couple of times now, like maybe this is the only food they're getting today, and watches them meet up with what looks to be mom who's been doing the same thing.

He doesn't have a lot on him. This isn't his responsibility. He stares at the ceiling for a few moments and sighs, approaches as quietly and calmly as he can, tells them to pick three things they really need, he'll pay for it.]


honest work
[Speaking of paying, though: he can't spend all day every day out there scavenging. That's not reasonable. Places are hiring, and he's a man who's good with his hands. In all kinds of ways. Doing something honest isn't demeaning, it's just...been a while since he's done something beyond killing or saving the world.

Things he isn't opposed to doing again, but he's pretty sure he should start smaller than that. Establish himself a little bit of a foothold before he goes and offers himself up as some kind of mercenary, at least. He's not in his 20's anymore, can't be doing that kind of impulsive shit and managing to get by without dying somehow in a place he doesn't know yet.

The idea of being a cashier is honestly funny enough he can laugh about it. A warehouse is fine, easy enough. The idea that there are suddenly a lot of positions opening up gives him pause, however. Hm. Well. He can ask around, get pointed in the right direction.

He gets pointed in two directions, in fact. Construction is a pretty good gig unto itself, even if he wonders where they get some of the material from. All he needs to do is answer some questions and demonstrate that he knows how to use a bunch of tools and that he can measure twice and cut once most of the time. He's done enough of his own DIY carpentry around his home that, given enough time and supplies, he could renovate a place inside and out if he has to. Not much of a welder or anything, but give him some wood, some plaster, he's not a bad hand.

In another life, maybe that could've even been fulfilling.

The other place he's pointed to is a place called the Dome.

In his first fight, he breaks two of the other guys ribs and knocks out a tooth, and in his second, he very nearly gets a hidden shank to the gut. And that's almost fulfilling in whatever this life is.

If he starts sporting some bruises that he didn't have before, well, that's just life in Panorama, yeah? It doesn't settle him, really, but it does soothe some animal need in him.]


when the lights go out
[Honestly? This is kind of nice. It's quieter, at first, until people get restless and frustrated by the lack of lights and tv and distraction and lit up storefronts in the immediate area.

And maybe laying in bed in the dark staring at the ceiling isn't actually a productive way to pass the time.

There's a pounding at his door, and he sighs deeply before reaching over to grab his keys off the counter, ends of metal poking subtly out from between his fingers.]


I don't have anything for you.

[Later--probably not that much later, honestly--he decides this useless lump routine is pathetic, and it's time to take a drive. Looks like there's some zones going on for him to casually risk life and limb at.

If he catches someone else looking like they're gearing up to head out, he gives them a little nod.]


Saw the reports too?
carmesi: <user name="bangparty"> (pic#17848043)

a lil twist on honest work - hi clint

[personal profile] carmesi 2025-05-16 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
( even though the idea of a cashier is funny enough to clint, to wanda, it's something novel. no such things as part-time jobs in war-ridden sokovia, and much less in america as an avenger, when something as trivial as a work visa presented its own issues and she really wasn't allowed to leave the compound much (not that she wanted to, anyway, grieving as she was—is—for pietro). so she does her work at the cash register, a part-time job of three weeks, and she does it well.

she sees familiar faces, in the sense that she's seen the same people shopping for things every other day, and she passes their items through the scanner, totals the amount, accepts their joolies and bags their purchases.

it is simple. menial. she doesn't have to be social about it if she doesn't want to.

...the face of the person putting down items on the conveyor belt, today, is a little more familiar than the others. thankfully, the store's emptied out, so no one's behind clint, rushing them to hurry. )


Clint.

( he looks different, older, somehow, bruised as all hell, but he's — here. )
brandingproblem: (I don't wanna talk about)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-16 04:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[He tries not to read too much into anything. For instance: some people have red hair. That doesn't have to mean anything. The chances of people around him being people that he knows are, apparently, so insanely low that it doesn't have to mean shit for shit.

Whether it's another dimension connected to every other one, or if it's purgatory, or wherever the hell they are. He can go pay for his groceries like a normal person to the normal cashier and only vaguely note the hair, and it's fine, everything's fine, everything's so fucking fine.

Only he does know that face. Only he does know that voice.

He raises his eyes to her and simply doesn't know how to react. Is she back, too? Did Bruce snapping his fingers work and she came back along with everyone else (everyone else not Natasha) and she came back and--

Except that she's here, now, so. Does it matter?

His mouth flaps a few times, an ache inside him trying to ease with variable success.]
Hey. [Not the most inspiring thing to say to someone that hasn't existed for five years, but he works with what he's got. He reaches out a hand hesitantly over the scanner, offering up to hold. Not because he needs to know she's here, because she is, but--maybe it's a little of needing that physical input.] You-- [don't choke don't choke] --you okay?
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (pic#17848226)

[personal profile] carmesi 2025-05-16 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
( clint has always been open with her, through everything she's lived through with the avengers ever since she was relocated to america from sokovia. even when all stark wanted to do was lock her away so she could cause no harm, clint had been the one who came looking for him, the one who always, from the start, had made her learn to trust herself—to believe in herself.

which is why it's so easy for her to catch the tendrils of a deep-seated sadness settling in him; how unlike him, and it forces more questions to the forefront of her mind than anything else.

he had been in the raft, too, but that's just something she assumed, having not really seen him after they were marched into its confined halls. coming here, arriving here— wanda didn't expect to see anyone familiar, anyone who cared. she starts shaking her head, before abruptly nodding, eyes fixed on the hand he holds up. there's scarring on her wrists from scorch marks, from she assumes the bindings that had kept her hands and arms useless; a single one around her neck, from the collar they put on her, to stop her from using her dangerous, ugly powers.

it seems stupid, this small space between them, keeping them from one another. which is why wanda ignores his hand, but goes around the desk, and finds herself feeling all over again like the wanda she had been, when losing pietro, helpless and alone.

is it a surprise at all that she presses to him, arms circling around his middle? )


I got here a few days ago. ( her words are mumbled, face pressed to his shoulder. and, with her next words, she answers something that maybe hadn't even crossed his mind to wonder about—just where she had been, last. ) I made it out of the Raft. I don't know — how.
Edited 2025-05-16 19:58 (UTC)
brandingproblem: (all the glamor and the trauma)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-16 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[That's better. It's what he wanted, he knows, but wasn't about to just let himself have it.

(And if he holds on tight as he can, what happens if she still slips right out of his grasp?)(Shut the hell up, Barton, and enjoy this.)(She's alive. She's here. It's better than dead and dust.)(Is it?)

His arms give her a crushing hug in return, knowing that of the many things Wanda is, weak is not on the list. He presses a kiss into her hair and feels just a little bit better for the fact that she's real. And sad and lost and join the club, honestly, but they can be sad and lost together.

Except. She says something that confuses him, and her shakes his head a little. Finding his voice, rough and thick but at least present instead of hiding away behind layers of grief.]
Yeah, I know you did. We all did. That was years ago.
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (pic#17848210)

[personal profile] carmesi 2025-05-16 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
( there is certainty in knowing that clint wouldn't lie to her, and while she lets the comfort of his physical presence overwhelm her, this state of peace and things making sense can obviously only last a minute before they're blasting into another state of confusion.

she pulls away, at arm's length, to look him in the eyes, searching. )


Years? No, I was there, just a few days ago, until I arrived—

( wanda stops herself, inching back a bit more, hands at his arms. )

You look older.

( not by a lot, mind, but significantly enough that what she sees now, of him, doesn't match her most recent memory of his face. he is bound to notice how much younger wanda looks, too, to the memories he has of her when she last visited him, while on the run with sam and steve and natasha. )

...and you're all beaten up?
Edited 2025-05-16 21:09 (UTC)
brandingproblem: (telling me I'm cursed)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-17 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
[They don't let go is the thing. The blessing here. Because what he'd like to do is make sure she's within grasping range until the sun burns out so he never loses her again.

But that sentiment clearly wouldn't quite hit the same if he said it out loud. She's confused. And it's funny, because she looks exactly the same as when he last saw her.

Minus the awful collar and jumpsuit they put her into. He can see the marks left behind.]


Yeah, it's the age. [The dry humor at least hasn't vanished. It took being around the gang again to bring it back out.] Promise the two aren't related. ...Or they're not directly related, anyway. [One could argue he's beaten up because of the years on him making him need a way to get some fight out of him without necessarily resorting to killing again. But y'know. Semantics.]

Wanda. It's been seven years. For me. Since the Raft.
carmesi: <user name="bangparty"> (pic#17848038)

[personal profile] carmesi 2025-05-17 12:39 am (UTC)(link)
( she hears him, says what he needs to — about how long it's been, and wanda can't help but scoffs, thinking that he's joking. the usual clint grin and laugh isn't there, though, which brings wanda down from building up into laughing in tandem with him.

quietly, she does the maths in her head, thinks of yom crook and his brief explanation about fluxdrifts. tries to — consider what it all means, what potentiality for the absurd there is, like people from the same world, but different timespaces, to be here, together.

despite what clint would prefer, wanda does draw her hands away, hugging her arms to her middle; a defensive action, one she'd always do when she is feeling uncertain, worried, or scared. still, she doesn't step away, leaning only slightly against the side of the table with the register.

she swallows — changes the topic, but not by much. )


Is it just us?
brandingproblem: (heaven or hell like it's do or die)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-17 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
[If only it was a joke. Two years of house arrest and mostly just hoping Wanda was okay in--Wakanda, or wherever they were all hiding out. Five years of her being dust and Vision being dead. Natasha had to tell him. She had to catch him up on everything after... After.

He suddenly doesn't know what to do with his hands, and he kind of wants to reel her back in, but he doesn't want to seem clingy. They rest at his sides. They stay still. He's always been good at stillness.]


I don't know. You're the first face, friendly or un-, I've recognized since I got here. Guessing if you're asking that, the same goes for you.
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (pic#17848193)

[personal profile] carmesi 2025-05-17 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
( she glances at him again, pokes a little bit through his thoughts, at what is making him furrow his brows like that, bear on such a serious expression. she isn't very fond of the inkling of thoughts that she's starting to gather, so wanda draws back rather quickly.

her expression grows even more somber.

genuinely? she doesn't want to know. )


It's kind of nice.

( she admits, blunt honesty, because wanda's never cut corners regarding what she means with her words. )

Being away from all of that.

( in the meantime, she will consider him, see where he's at when she says that. )

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justbywatching: mooncats (pic#17820007)

[personal profile] justbywatching 2025-05-16 04:10 pm (UTC)(link)
( There's a fire in Maya's belly that's been burning for a long time. If she's truly honest with herself, she knows that Ronin didn't put it there. Neither did her uncle. For all the ways that both men have fanned the flames, she knows she was born with that spark.

Rage is just a tool, and like any tool it can be used for good or bad depending on the hands that wield it. Hers might burn hotter than most, but she has to thank it for the ways it's kept her safe and alert. So sometimes, Maya takes it out and plays with it a little bit.

She'd discovered the Dome on accident, but she can't deny that she has a way of being drawn to these types of places. The crowd had scoffed at her when she'd first stepped into the ring. Despite her taller-than-average height and athletic build, they'd taken one look at the silent woman with the prosthetic leg and considered the fight a done deal. She'd made out like a bandit that night, and one taste of someone else's blood on her lips and the cash it could earn her and she'd been hooked. So here she is again, bouncing from one flesh-and-blood foot to the urethane one, waiting for her partner to take their place in the ring.

When he does, there's a moment of shock. And then Maya's smile turns mean. )


You again? Finally, some real competition.
brandingproblem: (we're all gonna die)

lmk if you'd rather play with communication issues instead

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-16 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[He does his best not to underestimate anyone he's up against. That's his shtick, to look underestimate-able, slip between the shadows, be overlooked, and then strike hard and fast if he has to strike at all.

And frankly, knowing Natasha for as long as he did, as well as plenty of agents who may have looked more mild mannered, he's not going to make the mistake of thinking this girl's making her own mistakes being here in this fight club.

Damn, that prosthetic is gonna sting like a bitch if he lets it hit. Nothing about his expression rings with any kind of recognition for her, his face initially a mask. He's surprised, then, when she lifts her hands to do a series of signs. Surprised still when he can understand her, because ASL isn't a language he picked up (though maybe that's an oversight on his part, given how useful it could potentially be out in the field-), and surprised further still that she seems to know him. And not just in the 'hey aren't you that arrow guy' way.

He lifts his hands just a little. Until they start the fight, they don't have to be fighting. But also he can't hold off on fighting long else people are gonna get rowdy in the bad way.]
Hi. Sorry, have we met? [Actually, given the phrasing, maybe the more pertinent question is:] Have we fought before?
Edited 2025-05-16 16:49 (UTC)
widows_kiss: fond, upset (BW 013)

Lights Out

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2025-05-17 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ Natasha felt like she was following an impossible trail of breadcrumbs.

She thought she’d seen him, the day before, but he’d vanished into the shadows before she could reach him. She’d almost convinced herself it was her mind playing tricks on her, wishful thinking, maybe, to not be here alone. Almost talked herself out of looking further, until she heard two locals at the bar talking about the fights and…

…Maybe? She had to look. Just to know, one way or another. If it was really him…

You could find a lot out about who passed where if you knew the right people to ask. The right questions to ask. It came as naturally to her as breathing, after all these years. It’s certainly not the first time she’s had to track him down, even if she knows he’s not hiding purposefully from her. Probably.

Still, she hadn’t accounted for literally hunting through the dark for him, that proved a bit too much of a challenge even for her and the thump he’d heard at his door had been born out of frustration, rather than intent.

But then his voice comes from the other side and she freezes in disbelief, not even able to breathe as the sound of it washes over her and she could almost cry with relief.

As it is, her voice wobbles a bit as she thunks her forehead against the solid wood and gives a shaky exhale before calling back through the door. ]


You sure about that? You’ve been awfully hard to find.
brandingproblem: (giving me the worst advice)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-17 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[All of a sudden, he's standing at the top of a very long drop on his first alien world. It isn't the height that flips his stomach.

There are a few long moments of no response. His breathing is shallow and shaky, and a few blinks later, he recognizes that he is not, in fact, on an alien--

Well, no, he has no idea, this might be an alien world after all. But he isn't there. He's in a random motel room in this wild other dimension full of such normal stuff along with weird stuff. And Natasha. Natasha, here. Natasha, alive?

God. Maybe he did die.

He works his way over to the door, heart the loudest thing in his ears, and if he opens it and nobody's there, there's going to be a very poor reaction. The door cracks open. And there's no mistaking her. Not in a hundred universes, a thousand dimensions, a million lifetimes. The door is all but flung open, and he doesn't know what the next step is, because the paranoid thought of what if it's not her won't leave him be, but his mouth is dry and his eyes are wet. Hard for words to work their way through, his voice broken for it, but he pushes through.]


Wasn't even trying to hide this time.
widows_kiss: upset (BW 011)

cries about them

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2025-05-17 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She picks her head up when she feels the door open, and she’s not ashamed of the fact that there’s tears in her eyes when she meets his gaze. The absolute wrecked look on his face is enough to send them spilling down her cheeks as she closes the distance between them in a step and throws her arms around his neck, clinging to him tightly.

Reassuring herself that he’s real, he’s here. Because he’s probably questioning the same.

The urge to say sorry is on the tip of her tongue, but that feels… trite. Wrong. She’s not sorry for the choice she made. But she’d known how it would hurt him. Hurt the others. Steve. Bruce. They’d all lost too much already, all of them. If she’d seen any other way in that moment… But she hadn’t. And she’d do it again.

So she didn’t say it, but she did give a broken sort of laugh as she pulls back to cup his face in her hands, the touch grounding her. It was easier to fall back on the lighthearted banter they’d always shared, even when times were at their worst. She’s relieved for the normalcy of it. Her voice shakes, choked with emotion, but she manages a crooked smile for him. ]


I know. I might have exaggerated. I didn’t even have to blow anything up this time.
brandingproblem: (I don't wanna talk about it)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-17 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[If hearing Laura's voice was the best thing to happen in five years, this is the second best. She's real. She's real. He holds on tight, nuzzles his face into her hair for as long as he can before they part just enough to see each other. Because they need that just as much as anything else.

An incredulous laugh, thick with emotion, bubbles out of him out of an uncertain smile, and he leans their foreheads together.]


I think things are already blowing up enough out here without your help. [And given her own tears, she knows. She knows what happened. She's aware of her situation, or this wouldn't be such an insane stab to the heart. What does that mean for him? Is he dead? Is this were souls go between? Or has she been resurrected?

He's not thinking he'll get any concrete answers. The most important part is that they're both here. It's the only thing that matters in this moment.]
alwaysarmed: (I don't wanna hear it)

free samples

[personal profile] alwaysarmed 2025-05-18 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ She spots him in the crowd pretty easily. He might think he blends well, but he sticks out like a sore thumb to her. Maybe she's just hyper-aware of people she's tried to kill on more than one occasion. Or he's not as sneaky as he thinks he is because he is old and tired.

But then again, she isn't quite as young as she was the last time they met, either.

She trails him for a little bit, until she starts noticing what he notices. She of course has been less desperate about taking free samples, she's been taking them because she's angry about it. Her pockets are full of cabbage dumplings and little chocolate eggs.

She feels a little bad about it, when she overhears him offering what he does for them.

So she breaks off her stalking and disappears into the din, only to reemerge when he's paid for their items and are outside the store. She walks up and stands next to Clint, not looking at him but instead focusing on the mother and her son. She holds out a bag to the kid. ]


Here. Three things you didn't really need, but kids should get candy whenever they can, huh? There's also some extra dumplings in there, I made friends with a sample lady who does not like her job much.
brandingproblem: (I want to win your trust)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-18 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[Does he get the feeling of being watched? Yeah, that comes with the paranoid spy territory. He might've felt that way even if he wasn't being followed. It's like a sixth sense, though. But so long as nobody comes at him with an intent for harm, then sure, watch him. Maybe it's an employee who's gonna stop him at the door for his pilfering. Who knows. Who cares.

This woman cares.

And it's strange, because he thinks it an odd thing for a stranger to do, but also because there's the vaguest sense of familiarity. Can't put his finger on it. Nobody he's ever met, he's pretty sure.

The kid takes the bag, and the mother is trying to hold back tears, and they leave, sharing some dumplings. Clint slides his hands into his pockets and watches for a few long moments. As an aside:]


Thanks. I know it's not much, but...

[But it's a day those two get to not go hungry. And he knows how much that means.]
alwaysarmed: (I spent years becoming cool)

[personal profile] alwaysarmed 2025-05-19 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ She breathes deep, watching the mother and son walk away. ]

It's everything. To them. Maybe most of the people here are still struggling, but tonight, not them. At least not so much.

[ It had taken her a while to understand the point of being a hero. It was easier to shoot a target, complete a job. Worrying about the little guy had seemed annoying and distant to her. But that was of course Natasha's legacy. One she had ultimately decided to take on for herself.

Exhaling through her nose, she turns her head to look at Clint finally, trying to determine why he didn't look quite the way she remembered him. ]


So, any theories on how we ended up in this place?
brandingproblem: (like a really nice guy)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-19 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
[It's everything. Yeah. She gets it. Maybe he'd taken himself out of the hero business long enough to forget how it feels.

Like a bicycle, though. Never forget how to do it. Muscle memory.

He eyes his new companion and the very companionable way she says we.]
Did you get involved in anything leading up to your death, maybe?
alwaysarmed: (And in one single second)

[personal profile] alwaysarmed 2025-05-19 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yelena cocks her head to the side at that question, more surprised to hear something like that said out loud. She had thought it, of course. She doesn't remember much of what had happened before she'd woken up in the clinic, bandage on her head and the remnants of a concussion making her vision blurry.

She lets out a small scoff, shaking her head. ]


I do not think we are dead. This place seems too real to be an afterlife. Besides, if I were dead I think I would at least remember how I died and it wouldn't be some stupid head wound that took me out.
brandingproblem: (like a really nice guy)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-19 11:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, given that a head wound can range from 'bleeds like a fountain but is barely a cut' to 'skull cracked open and brains on the pavement' and everything in between, he's not as sure as she is that a head wound wouldn't do it.

He remembers falling. Why would he remember an impact? Would anyone really remember the moment of their death at all?]


What's that even mean? Seems too real, what, like an afterlife wouldn't feel real at all?
alwaysarmed: (Laid out my broken pieces)

[personal profile] alwaysarmed 2025-05-19 12:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, sure. But I don't think this way. Take them, for example.

[ Yelena gestures in the direction the mother and son departed in. ]

You and me, we belong in the same place for sure. But them? Do you think that a little boy deserves to be in the same place as two trained killers?
brandingproblem: (that is all I got for now)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-05-19 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[Trained eastern European/potentially Russian killer woman who recognizes him as some form of trained killer too sets off so many alarm bells in his head. And funny enough, all those alarms start sounding like Black Widow.

He is aware, in the way that someone as entrenched in the spy world as him even while on house arrest, that there has been some kind of effort to save the other Widows. He assumed Natasha was involved. Is this...?

Is it her? And if so, how far, far away should he be running? Because maybe he's dead, maybe he's not, but he isn't sure he wants to risk finding out what happens when he dies here, thanks.]


I didn't say this was heaven. [And before she can point out the obvious:] Didn't say it was hell, either. I don't know. Does anyone ever get what they deserve?
alwaysarmed: (No matter how hard I tried)

[personal profile] alwaysarmed 2025-05-19 05:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This seems like a weird thread to pull to her. She's never examined religion too closely, but part of her has always hoped that an afterlife was something better. At least for the people who had done things to get there. ]

In my experience, sometimes they do. I would hope this is not the dump we all end up in regardless of deeds done in life. Natasha would not deserve to be in a place like this, not after what she did.
Edited 2025-05-19 17:01 (UTC)

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