entry 001 ɞ video | action

[readytocomply]

[It had been the right thing to do. For everyone. He wasn't safe, couldn't trust himself, and while he hadn't wanted to do it, it had been the only choice. But he's been in and out of cryostasis enough to know when coming out this time isn't the same. It's not just the breeze on his skin causing his too-long hair to dance across his forehead, or the sweet, dry smell of fruit trees. No, it's the way he wakes up. Slow, naturally, like he'd slept the whole night through, and there's nothing normal about that.

The communication device his fingers are curled around doesn't bother him. Bucky's used to not remembering things, but the stalls and the vendors with their strange shapeless masks who stand nearby do. He walks past one, their face completely smooth, as featureless as a blank wall, and his breath catches in his throat, freezing him in place. There's a million explanations going through his mind and none of them make any sense except one and he doesn't want to think about that.

It takes a vender getting too close before he snaps out of it long enough to go through the motions. Better clothes, sweats and a white tank aren't cutting it, and a relatively safe place to hide so he can figure things out, grabbing a pamphlet on the way.

Bucky's face is half-hidden when the feed starts, voice low, and he wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't necessary. He was on shaky ground and he needed something to steady him.]

Name's Bucky. I'm looking for someone. Steve Rogers.

[It's risky to put it out there like that. He doesn't know these people and he's been alive long enough to know that even the prettiest people with the brightest smiles can be hiding the worst lies and secrets. But he needs to find someone he remembers. Everything is muddled and this place looks like something his mind has made up.]

He might go by Captain America.

[Just in case he's alone in Wonderland, he adds a little more.]

If someone could tell me what the hell's going on here, I'd appreciate it.

[There's a brief pause. He considers mentioning the obvious physical difference that would set him apart, but they'll figure it out when they see him.]

I'll be on the first floor, entrance hall, if anyone wants to talk in person. This way's fine, too.

[ooc: spoilers for civil war possible in this post; if anyone doesn't want them, please let me know.]

Comments

[readytocomply]

[Bucky sits in the chair closest to Michonne, but with the best vantage point, back stiff and eyes on her.]

That can't be easy. Sitting across from someone that you know but doesn't remember you.

[He wants to ask her why she would. He's not worth that kind of trouble, not worth the effort when he's so easily forgotten who she is.]

You're telling me the things I want to know. If that's not a good first impression, nothing is.

[His shoulders relax, slightly, and he gestures to the clothes he's wearing. Tank, slacks, all white and making the lack of his metal arm all that much more apparent.]

Is there somewhere I can get some clothes?

[He mulls over the bit about Steve, not really sure how to handle any of that.]

[thesamurai]

No, it's not. And it's probably not easy for you to hear, either. [She's lost so many people just be sheer virtue of being where she's from.] When you connect with someone, maybe on some level that never goes away. Who knows, but I guess we'll find out.

[Michonne gives a small shrug and a hint of a smile. Maybe they'd never be the same type of friends again, but she'd never simply not try.]

So, the closets will give you anything you want, for the most part. Think real hard about what it is you want, in any of the rooms that are unoccupied, then open the closet. It'll be there.

[readytocomply]

[It wasn't, but he figured she could tell. Nobody wants to forget, and nobody wants to do the forgetting.]

Yeah, guess we will.

[He doesn't know what kind of friends they were before, but if she wanted to try, he wouldn't stop her. Maybe she'd be the first real friend he's made in a long time.]

That's it? [That sounds unbelievable, but if it works and he doesn't think to hard about it, it'll be fine.] Stand outside them and think of what I need.

[thesamurai]

That's it. Personally I use it to stock supplies. Because another thing this place likes to do is stop being nice and quiet. Place works by taking memories, events, from all of us. Usually not the best of the best, then brings them to life. Makes everyone go through it. Lasts a few days, up to a week.

[Things she wishes people had told her - although she'd arrived while there were naked giants wrecking the place, so maybe people assumed no explanation needed.]

[readytocomply]

[Sometimes he feels out of time, picked up and dropped down somewhere he doesn't belong. That's especially strong right now. Closets like that weren't possible where he's from, but here they are. He'd get around it eventually.]

Can it give you anything?

[His eyes flick down to his arm, what's left of it.]

[thesamurai]

[That makes Michonne pause. How many times, even after people told her she couldn't get her son out of that closet, had she stood in front of it, willing the magic to give her back her three year old? Too many times to count, and she shakes her head just a little.]

It's limited. No people. [She's assuming that means parts of people too, but:]

If you die here, you come back. Don't know if you necessarily come back with all the same things you left with.

[readytocomply]

[It probably wouldn't give him his arm then, but he'd try it anyways, just to be sure.]

You come back?

[Bucky frowns at that, suddenly a lot more overwhelmed than he'd been a minute ago. If people could come back if they'd died, it changed everything.]

Anyone, no matter what?

[thesamurai]

[Michonne nods slowly, but then adds:]

For some reason - and I don't know why - no one knows if you can come back more than five times.

[But she can think of a person or two she'd be willing to test that out on if they did show up. Which reminds her of something else.]

People who died in their world can come here, too.

[Sorry, Bucky.]