action | party mingle

[seeingscarlet]

Who: Wanda, Bucky, and you!
Broadcast: No
Action: Iskaulit
When: March 10

[It's a double birthday party! There's pizza with slightly strange cheese and cake. And probably shenanigans.

...definitely shenanigans.]

Comments

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Right, [Bucky says, nodding.] Well, it beats not having the staples. As long as Steve hasn't tried to make anybody an apple pie with Ritz crackers, I'd say it's going all right.

You sound like you might like cooking - or is this just for the special occasion?

[unbearablynaive]

He might have, but for the lack of Ritz crackers. I couldn't say.

[His eyes widen a bit.] Oh, certainly not on a regular basis. Making ice cream is simple chemistry. I don't require food, nor do I taste in the same way a human does. Cooking is a purely social exercise.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Either way, you're lucky.

Huh. Do you... need electricity?

[He pauses, and then - ] That's a really dumb question, isn't it.

[unbearablynaive]

[The Vision bites back a smile and taps the Stone in his forehead, which briefly glows yellow.]

There's more than enough power in this to keep me going for a very long time.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

[Bucky's brows rise, as he looks at the stone. It's nothing like anything he's seen before... and yet something in the back of his mind sort of reminds him of certain things he'd thought he'd never see again.]

I'll take your word for it. That's a fancy battery.

[unbearablynaive]

[There's undoubtedly a reason for that....]

Indeed. Though I suppose if it hadn't been available, I'd have been fitted with an arc reactor or similar. Mr. Stark does continue to improve the technology.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Somehow, it kinda makes me feel better that you don't have an arc reactor.

[Because then he'd be more under the control of Stark, and... look, nobody deserves that.]

He's an interesting guy, though. At least, my version. I don't know about yours.

[unbearablynaive]

I could make one, if I had the right materials. There's not much Stark technology I couldn't duplicate.

[Comes from having the memories of his AI research assistant. Also from being nice to FRIDAY. She lets him get away with a lot of things because he asks nicely (and knows every single hole in Stark's code, that helps).]

Oh, I'd be concerned to learn there was a reality where he were boring. And I doubt you're any more accommodating to his stubbornness than Captain Rogers is?

[How would having Bucky in Steve's place change that whole dynamic? How would Bucky feel about the Accords? Will Sokovia even happen in that timeline? it's an interesting thought experiment, not least because the Vision's very existence depends on the answer to some of it.]

[stillgotmyleftarm]

I'll keep that in mind.

[It's not just a dismissal - he really will, because actually, that might be useful someday. And they probably both know it.

Although Bucky laughs, because,] I'm honestly a little glad to hear that Steve probably lets him get away with exactly as much as I will - which is zilch. [Because,] Guy like that? Can be brilliant, but he can be destructive, too. He ain't thinking about what his shit's gonna get used for - just whether or not he can make it.

A lot like his dad, [he observes, quietly, though even then, it's not an insult, really.]

[unbearablynaive]

He--has tried to become more conscientious lately. First there was the mess with the terrorists that kidnapped him, then Sokovia. But you're not wrong that a balancing influence does everyone good. He has a very strong personality.

[Read: Tony is as stubborn as a mule.]

[stillgotmyleftarm]

[Bucky frowns a little.] What happened with Sokovia?

Or is that a long story I probably shouldn't ask you to get into right now?

[Because he can imagine it might be.]

[unbearablynaive]

[He grimaces. That's right, Captain Barnes is from before all that, timeline-wise.]

Suffice it to say that Mr. Stark bears a great deal of responsibility and guilt for lives lost, though it also resulted in my creation and Wanda joining the team.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Well, [Bucky decides quietly, after a moment.] Guess that's how it goes. Even bad decisions can result in good things.

Guess nobody learns shit otherwise, huh?

[AKA, ideally hopefully the guy learned something. Not that Bucky is banking on it sticking overly well. For a smart guy, Stark is incredibly stupid.]

[unbearablynaive]

[He gazes off into the distance, seeing once more the broken figure of War Machine spiraling to the ground and impacting.]

We can try to learn from others' mistakes as well, but the lesson is learned best when it is your own actions which have consequences.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Yeah, [Bucky agrees, just a little soberly.] I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

I guess if that's the case, all we can do is try to make smaller mistakes, instead of bigger ones, you know?

[unbearablynaive]

Indeed. And, most importantly, to learn from them as well.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Yeah, [Bucky breathes.] Well, I guess there's no real shortage of mistakes to go around, in general. But I'm still glad it seems mostly quiet around here, except for what the Atroma get up to.

Although I guess that could change, depending on who else shows up.

[unbearablynaive]

[He nods, conceding the point. For every Loki, who doesn't see the point of being king of a fishbowl, there might be someone else who doesn't care for the scope of the power as long as there's power to be held.]

In many ways it's a vacation from our normal eventful lives. And it does give us an excuse for a party.