+ Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright! | OPEN +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: EVERYONE (if they want to live)
Where: EVERYWHERE (inside the mansion, knocking on doors)
When: 6/24 - 6/27
Rating: PG-13?
Summary: The Summerween Trickster has made his decree - Trick or treat...or die! This is a mingle log for Trick-or-Treating!
The Story:



On the morning of the 24th, everyone will find that the mansion was inexplicably decorated for Halloween...sort of. The idea behind the decorations is mostly the same, except that every jack-o-lantern is made out of a watermelon instead of a pumpkin. No, this is SUMMERWEEN.

For the first day it will be harmless enough, just a change in décor and a little spooky summer fun. However, by the second day there will be sightings of the Summerween Trickster, a creepy fellow made entirely out of unpopular loser candy, and he is not happy. In the entrance hall, there will be a giant jack-o-melon container with a counter and a count-down clock ticking away to the end of the event.

Your job, Wonderland, is to trick-or-treat for your lives. You have until the end of the event to deliver one million pieces of candy to the jack-o-melon before the end of the event, to appease the Summerween Trickster.

What was that? You'll just sit this out and wait for the event to end? I wouldn't do that if I were you. You see, the Summerween Trickster could be lurking around any corner. If he catches someone not fully embracing the spirit of Summerween (refusing to trick or treat, not wearing a costume, etc), they will not survive the experience. The Trickster will kill them and swallow them whole, making them part of his horrible loser candy body.

More details about trick or treating can be found here. This is a mingle post for trick-or-treating, if you'd rather use this than make a post! [Brackets] or prose are both welcome.

Comments

[assembles]

[ There are some who would probably claim that it would be impossible for Steve to look bad in anything. He can't say if that's really true, but he does have to admit that it could have been worse. Actually, being dressed like a clown would be worse.

As much as he might not enjoy showing off his body in this way, he knows in theory that other people get something out of it. So at least some people are enjoying it.

He's not going to think about whether or not Bucky falls into that category. He knows it's complicated.

At the question, he glances over, frowning as he realizes that he doesn't have a good answer. ] You know, I... didn't really think about it. I just asked the closet for a Halloween costume. [ He looks down at himself, pecs and abs and all. ] Maybe I would have had better luck if I'd been more specific.

[readytocomply]

[Bucky glances down the hall, counting the number of doors he can see from where he's at, considering the amount of time they're going to have to spend at each one if they're going to cover the most ground. When his eyes go back to Steve, they follow his gaze, dragging down his body, lost in thought for a brief moment.]

Could've still given you what you've got on, too.

[The closets are fickle, as he's learned slowly.]

You look good, Steve. You'll have all of Wonderland swooning before the night's over.

[assembles]

You assume I want that.

[ Steve sends Bucky a disarming smile, wanting to make certain that Bucky knows he's just joking. But Bucky should have memories of him as the awkward, skinny kid who barely knew what to do when a girl actually talked to him.

He's grown out of that in a lot of ways. He's worked side-by-side with Natasha and Wanda. He's even kissed a few ladies. That being said, he still doesn't know how he'd handle a whole room full of people swooning over his bare chest.

(That moment when he'd come out of the vita ray chamber doesn't count. He'd been pretty disoriented at the time.)

With a shrug, he moves to the next door and gives it a hard knock. ]

[readytocomply]

[Sometimes Bucky forgets. Not that Steve used to be that scrawny kid that was the best person he'd ever known, but that inside this new muscular body, his old self is still in there. Just because he's physically different, didn't mean everything about how who he used to be is gone. Considering that Bucky was in similar shoes, he should do better to remember that for Steve.]

Don't you? [Bucky thinks of the promise he made himself when he'd shown up here. That if Steve was real, if the Steve he knew came back like the others said, that he'd do everything he could to do better. He'd put effort into talking. He'd try.] Maybe not all the attention, but some?

[He waits for the candy to get tossed out, then he cuts Steve off before he can walk to the next door. Tense, he lifts his hand and rests it on Steve's shoulder.]

I want you to be happy, Steve. You never really did smile as much as you should, and you do even less now. I can help.

[Christ, Steve, don't ask him how. He's flying by the seat of his pants.]

[assembles]

[ It's usually Natasha and Sam who challenge Steve with questions like this, who show in their own way that they care by asking after him. Of course Bucky would do it too, but it's been so long since they've had a conversation like this that Steve falters for a moment.

While he's never been a fan of Bucky calling him out on his various issues like this, Steve does have to admit that right now he's struck with a hint of nostalgia.

He could have kept walking even after Bucky grabbed for his shoulder, but he doesn't. If he wants Bucky to be honest with him about what he's going through, then Steve has to do the same. ]

Believe me, you just... being here is already helping a lot.

[ He tries for a smile then, and while it's a little tight and a little sad, it is genuine. Nothing could make him happier than having his best friend back. ]

And I could say the same thing to you, pal. [ Steve bumps his shoulder against Bucky's. ] If I have my way, you'll be smiling up a storm in no time.

[readytocomply]

If you say so, Steve.

[Bucky's eyes narrow, minutely, zeroing in on Steve's smile. It makes him ache for a reason he can't put his finger on. The smile is genuine, but not quite as happy as Bucky would've wanted. He feels his age all of the sudden, exhausted even though his body isn't tired. He wants to ask Steve about it all, but he's still not sure it's his place to ask him things like that.]

Yeah? And how're you gonna manage that?

[He drops his hand from Steve's shoulder with a small smile. Bucky has faith in Steve. If anyone can make him smile more, it's his best friend, and he's already started.]

I'm not sure I can handle your jokes right now.

[The way his mouth quirks says the opposite.]

[assembles]

Wow, really? [ Steve puts a hand to his own (bare) chest as if he's just been gravely wounded. ] That's just ice cold.

[ The words are out of his mouth before he actually thinks too much about them, so he doesn't realize the mistake he's made until a few seconds later. Mentioning ice and cold around someone who'd been named for winter, who'd been frozen in some pod whenever Hydra didn't need him?

Great job, Rogers.

Steve's face goes blank and maybe a few shades whiter as he shakes his head. ]

Sorry, that... wasn't on purpose.

[readytocomply]

[Bucky feels an initial wave of frustration. Not at Steve, but at the circumstances of his life that have brought them both to this moment. His best friend, the person he cares about more than anyone else, can't make a simple joke without fear that he'll upset Bucky. Maybe even trigger him.]

It's fine, Steve.

[He worries the inside of his lower lip with his teeth, dropping his eyes to the floor between them.]

You've gotta stop worrying so much.

[It's a half-hearted request. Bucky doesn't know what he'd do if Steve wasn't there to worry about him.]

[assembles]

[ While Steve had known deep down that Bucky wouldn't take that kind of thing personally, he's still trying to figure out his limits and where they stand with each other. It's not like he wants to joke about the awful things that Bucky's been through, but on the other hand, sometimes humor is the only way to deal with something that horrible.

His gaze flicks down to the floor and then he nods. ]

Sorry, guess it's force of habit.

[ Not just worrying about Bucky, but worrying about all the people around him who he considers himself somewhat responsible for. He'd called them all to help him, and they'd all paid the price for it. It's hard not to carry that with him even now, even here.

Finally, he looks up again. ] Less worrying, more smiling. I'll work on it.

[readytocomply]

We'll both work on it.

[Less guilt and more smiling, in Bucky's case, but it's a lot for them both. Sometimes he thinks Wonderland is terrible and then in the next breath that it might be a way for him to get more of himself back. He's never confident in the latter, but if they can be here long enough that Steve might smile more, Bucky'll take whatever this place dishes out.]

Five bucks says I'll have the most candy by the end of the night.

[He raises a brow, lifting his back up and shaking it.]

wrap here, maybe?

[assembles]

[ It's not as if Steve isn't also buried under guilt, even if it isn't the same as Bucky's. He hasn't said it to Bucky, at least not since he left Wonderland and lost his memories, but Steve's still plagued with wondering what might have happened if he'd looked a little harder for his body in that gorge.

Now isn't the time for dwelling on that, though. They're together here now, doing something as lighthearted as trick-or-treating, and they should at least try to enjoy themselves.

So Steve does as requested and smiles (really, it's more of a smirk) at that challenge. ]

Oh, we'll see about that, pal. [ Now that he's got something to prove, Steve continues down the hall. Now he's a man on a mission. ]