Test Drive Meme 006

[voidtreckermods]

Welcome to our Test Drive Meme! Here is the place to see how your character might fit the setting, grab some samples and start having fun!

1. Post with your character. I’ve written out some prompts but feel free to make up your own, you have a whole train to play with!

2. Assume they have been around long enough for threads to jump right into the action!

3. Have much fun!

Happy testing!

Void Trecking

The thing about being on a train hurtling through void space is there’s not much to see. Outside the window lies an endless void of kaleidoscope colours shifting and swirling. It’s probably best not to stare at it too long. Do so and you might start to imagine order in it. Shapes, places, even figures. But your eyes shift... Back to chaos. Probably best you do something else other than stare out the window. Or convince your fellow passengers that void watching leads to headaches!

Relaxing

The newest carriage to be added to the Voidtrecker Express is a rock garden. In a glass domed carriage, flickering with the light of the void the rock garden is a peaceful and medative space, full of mosaics, a pond, fountains and small stony bridges.

It's also the closest to an outside space you have and so is likely to be used for less than peacful activities. Splash in the rivers, race around the paths. Or try and relax on a bench and read amongst the chaos.

Goblin Town

Goblins riding wolves, everyone's favourite foe. The wolves fly, obviously and the goblins fight with short spears, almost like knights on horseback if the knights were terrifying and demonic looking. They are causing trouble by harassing a small village.

Team One

Fight the goblins. A handful of weapons have been provided but mostly you need to try and outsmart the goblins. They can come from any direction, including up. Try and keep the village safe from their attacks.

Team Two

Protect the villagers, help them barricade their houses. Deal with any goblins that get through team one's defences. Some of the villagers want to help and that's alright, some of the villagers want to help and are still in single digits, that's probably less alright. Keep everyone safe!

Team Three

The thing with sieges is, some things still need to happen. People still need to eat. Babies need fed and looked after. Animals need tended. Try and help with the logistics of everything in the heart of the village, as far away from the fighting as possible.

Pick a team, go wild!

Comments

[luckybucky]

It most certainly wasn't a joke, but he didn't exactly have time to tell her that as he grappled with another goblin, punching its face a few times with his metal fist before tossing it into another oncoming enemy.

He took the broadsword when it was offered, nodding to her. "Asset," he replied in kind. "Barnes, maybe. I can't exactly remember things clearly," as he swung the sword in a wide arc, cutting a goblin neatly in half. "Thanks for having my back," even though he was clearly in the dark about a lot of things.

He wasn't particularly skillful with the sword, but he was very effective just the same.

[queenvictoria]

What had happened when he fell off that train? Besides the most glaringly obvious--the new metal arm he is sporting. Peggy feels a swell of concern and pity for Bucky, but now isn't the time for that. They can talk about memories later, with Steve. There are some rather more pressing concerns.

"And thank you for having mine, Sergeant Barnes. Cover me." Having seen a Voidtrecker ally in some peril, she runs towards the worst of the fighting and the goblins encircling the teenager.

[luckybucky]

He nods, and heads in that direction with her, making sure nothing closed in on her from behind. It felt oddly familiar, and following her lead was as natural as breathing, like something was right with the world again.

When they reach the goblins that have ganged up on someone, he does his best to help her dispatch them.

[queenvictoria]

'His best' is more than effective. Not only does it rescue the unfortunate kid in the middle of all that chaos, it buys them a moment to breathe. Peggy tosses Bucky a water bottle and leans up against a house to catch her breath. "I hadn't been expecting to do all of this again so soon," she admits, fanning herself. "We just finished the last bloody war." A stray curl has escaped from her bun and her lipstick is smeared and yet she's smiling, feeling exhilarated in spite of it all.

[luckybucky]

He catches the bottle, twisting off the cap and chugging half of it without letting the bottle touch his lips. He puts the cap back on and offers it out to her as he approaches. "You've only done this once before?" he asked with a huff of a laugh. "You look like you've done it your whole life."

And for the first time he's noticing just how good she's looked doing it, letting himself steal a short glance before offering her a real smile. "You seem to know who I am," even if he didn't know who he was. "Who're you?"

[queenvictoria]

Peggy laughs, a little bitterly. "It feels like my whole life, sometimes. It's been a long six years."

She takes the bottle back and pauses before drinking. "I do," she says eventually, deciding that the truth is the best course of action. "My name is Margaret Carter. I'm an officer with SOE--British Intelligence--attached to the American Strategic Scientific Reserve."

Peggy gives him a sad smile.

"I was one of your commanding officers, Sergeant Barnes."

[luckybucky]

That explained why he snapped to attention for her, he supposed. "Most of my memory is fragments, just bits and pieces that don't fit together, that feel like they couldn't," he admitted, coming up to lean against the wall next to her, turning his gaze to the sky for a moment. "You're the second person I've met that feels real, like they're from before things were bad. You seem smarter than he was," he flashed a little bit of his old smile at her. "I don't remember serving under you, but I'll be here when you need me," it wasn't like he had much of a choice about sticking around, but she seemed to genuinely care about him, and that had been in short supply for a while.

[queenvictoria]

Suddenly Bucky—the real Bucky—shines through and Peggy finds herself smiling back. He’s confused right now, but they’ll make it right. They have to.

“Oh, he means well,” she laughs, pushing sweaty hair out of her face. “And he’s a good person to have around. He knows you better than anyone; the two of you have been friends since childhood. But I’ll try to fill in the gaps where I can, if you’d like me to.”

[luckybucky]

Friends. Steve had said that, when they’d been fighting. When Bucky had been like a scared dog backed into a corner, biting at anyone that risked coming close. “I’d appreciate that,” he replied with a half smile. “Especially considering that I might’ve burned my bridge with him,” people weren’t generally very friendly after you’d tried to kill them more than once.

[queenvictoria]

Seeing Bucky this lost is hard. Peggy can only imagine what it must be like for Steve; how painful it must be to have a best friend who doesn’t recognize him. It’s heartbreaking.

“I wouldn’t count on that,” she replies gently. “When your whole unit was captured by the enemy, Steve singlehandedly jumped miles behind enemy lines and destroyed an entire Hydra base to rescue you. That’s how you and I met: you and Steve and all of the other POWs came marching up to the Allied lines, long after we’d given you all up for dead. Steve is one of the most stubborn men I’ve ever known. He doesn’t give up so easily, and he doesn’t like taking no for an answer.”

[luckybucky]

Something about that story has a memory neatly sliding into place, and he lets out a bark of a laugh. “He couldn’t call his ride. He got shot and that stupid thing took the bullet for him, so he couldn’t call for you to come get him,” he shook his head. “I wasn’t in very good shape, was I?”

[queenvictoria]

Peggy looks genuinely pleased at that. “See? You do remember.” This is encouraging. Bucky’s memories aren’t gone, just a bit scrambled. She recognizes the effects of psychological conditioning, having been briefed on it during her training with the SOE. “Do you remember what happened next—the Howling Commandos?”

[luckybucky]

He spent a moment, focusing on the memory and trying to pull more of it forward. “You were mad at him, in a really nice dress,” he chuckled, looking over at her. “And my flirting fell completely flat. I don’t think that had ever happened to me before, but Steve...” was better than him in just about every way. It had been about time for someone to look at him like that. “Do you love him?”

[queenvictoria]

The memory is bittersweet, and Peggy looks away, suddenly self-conscious. She regretted being cross with him after the plane had gone down. Regretted it like nothing else.

“...I do,” she says eventually. “I love him very much, and I think he loved me. But we never had time to explore it. He went down in that aeroplane and we never found him. Now he’s living in the future and he’s had a life without me. It would be cruel of me to hold him to those old feelings.”

[luckybucky]

“If he’s as stubborn as you say, what makes you think he’s given up on getting back to you?” He smiles, looking out at the battlefield. It’s still quiet, but the energy is familiar — violence is inevitable. “He doesn’t know when to quit. Even when he’s lost, it’s not in him to give up hope,” he remembers punching Steve, over and over again, until he broke down in the face of Steve’s simple determination.

[queenvictoria]

Peggy opens her mouth to argue, but finds nothing to say. Bucky’s right. Maybe she gave up too soon.

“...I think you’re remembering more than you let on, Sergeant Barnes.”

[luckybucky]

"Nah," Bucky replies softly. "What I remember is how he saved me," he looks away now, because he's downright ashamed of what he did. "He broke through the programming, but it nearly cost his life. Once he'd stopped Hydra's plan, he wouldn't fight me. Wouldn't even defend himself," he hangs his head and swallows heavily.

"He was broken and bleeding and saying my name," he had to stop, or his voice was going to break. He cleared his throat. "I learned everything I needed to know about him from that."

[queenvictoria]

Peggy has to fight the impulse to reach out and grab Bucky’s hand. She had ideas of what might have happened for Bucky to lose his memories like that, but what he’s describing is even more horrible than what she had imagined.

“That sounds like Steve,” she says softly. “Stubborn to a fault.”

She clears her throat to banish the tears that are suddenly pricking at the corners of her eyes and tries to adopt her clipped and businesslike tone from before.

“I’m glad he did. It’s good to have you back, Sergeant Barnes.”

[luckybucky]

He knew he had an instinctive trust for Peggy, but now he understands why. It's a balm to his aching heart that she can hold back from offering unwelcome comfort, and instead offers him the security of a more formal interaction. Something simple and certain, that he can use to push the moment away.

Some day he would be ready to deal with all the feelings that come with his trauma, but right now he's grateful they can sweep it aside. "It's good to be back, ma'am," he replies, and when he looks up his eyes are dry, if a little red. "Ready for another round?" he nods towards the battlefield, where the goblins are finally regrouping for another charge.