phantastus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
phantastus) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dazlious2012-01-11 01:48 am
phantastus) wrote in dazlious2012-01-11 01:48 am
Breaking this sucker in with SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOW
The Snow Meme
It's the middle of the night, and it's almost completely silent.
Maybe you're in the only house that still has its lights on, and you're looking out the window at the blanket of white now coating everything in sight outside.
Or maybe you ARE outside, and you're walking through this winter wonderland and wondering if anybody else is even awake to see it.
... But you're not alone. Who else is there?
INSTRUCTIONS:
‧ Post with whatever character you want
‧ Responders roll (random.org is good for this!) for weather (if you want) + scenario and get to threading!
‧ ???
‧ Profit!!
LEVEL OF SNOWFALL:
1) The snow just stopped-- leaving everything from sidewalks to streets blanketed in squeaky brand new snow!
2) Very light. Just sprinkling.
3) Heavy-- big fat flakes drifting down FAST!
4) All-out blizzard.
SCENARIOS:
1) What? The middle of the night isn't a good time to go walking outside? Pffff, fuck the police, you're out taking a stroll! Maybe you were making a middle-of-the-night run for some groceries or maybe you just wanted to be alone with your thoughts-- either way, hope you brought a jacket!
2) You're stuck. Your car broke down, or you got locked out-- now you're looking for shelter. Maybe there's a friend nearby, or maybe you're gonna have to ask a total stranger for help.
3) MIDNIGHT SNOW WAR!!! Best time to have an epic snowball fight with forts and hostages and capturing flags is after dark when all the boring people are holing up indoors, right? Maybe you trooped out with a group of friends to play in the snow, or maybe you're just hiding in your fort waiting to nail unsuspecting passersby on the street, or maybe you're a responsible adult who's tromping outside to break up the snow war and drag those crazy kids in by their ears. It's like two AM, guys, come on.
4) Cuddly blankets? Check. Fire in the fireplace? Check. A good movie on the TV or well-read book in your hand? Check. Hot cocoa (with the appropriate number of marshmallows? Double check. Boy, you sure hope nobody's outside in all this-- you're perfectly happy to appreciate the winter beauty from indoors.
5) Mix and match, or create your own scenario!
Oh dear god it's human Starscream up in here
[Oh no, wait, this day isn't done with him yet; all of a sudden the source of the obnoxious dinging noise that has been emanating from the dashboard and threatening to trigger a migrane since he left for work this morning becomes all to clear, as the engine gives out a few final choking splutters and stops.]
[How was he supposed to know that cars need gas?!?]
[He reaches for his cellphone with a snarl, thinking a quick call to AAA should sort things out, only to find the battery dead. Drained at double pace from all the cold, most likely.]
[Clenching his jaw and practically hissing through his teeth, he resists the urge to throw or break something in irritation, reaches for the door handle and all but wrenches it open and steps out into the bitter cold to look for....]
[He stifles a shudder of anger]
[/help/]
beautiful
[BUT THE FIRE (which you don't have) IS SO DELIGHTFUL]
[AND SINCE THERE'S LITERALLY NO PLACE FOR EITHER OF YOU TO GO RIGHT NOW]
[LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW]
[But no, really, James isn't particularly happy about this situation either. That so-called super has surely locked the doors to the shabby apartment complex that he'd been ruefully calling home. Meaning that he's stuck till morning.]
[It's for this reason that he's not even bothering to move at more than a slow, resigned trudge. What's the point if either way he's gonna end up sniveling underneath some overhang until sunup?]
[But he pauses, thumbing up the brow of his hat to better see the angry-looking... businessman? Is it a businessman? What the hell is someone in a suit like THAT doing in this part of town?]
[He doesn't say anything. Not at first. He doesn't talk to anybody much these days if he can avoid it. Except for Laura, who miraculously manages to be the only decent company around.]
[... SO... STARSCREAM, ENJOY SOME BIG DROOPY WEIRDO IN AN UGLY CHRISTMAS HAT AND A NASTY OLD ARMY COAT STARING AT YOU FROM ACROSS THE STREET.]
JESUS CHRIST A HOBO GET IN THE CAR
[OH dear god what.... IS that?? A hobo? That's the only explanation for the tragically shabby ensemble, right? His first instinct is to immediately retreat back into his car, lock the doors, and hunker down until morning, but the humiliation of the idea keeps him anchored to the spot. ]
[Right, it's just some local! Nothing he can't handle. Right?]
[Then why is he hesitating. His eyebrow twitches a bit as the forces of fight or flight duke it out in his brain. He really does not want to interact with this sad excuse for a person but what other choice does he have?]
[After a few dreadfully long awkward moments he manages to find his confidence and puts on the most commanding, superior tone he can muster]
YOU THERE!!!
[Nope his voice totally didn't crack at the beginning of that statement. Nope.]
no subject
[But then the guy starts yelling, and-- oh. Oh, he's being talked to. ... Maybe? Probably.]
[James casts a somewhat unsettled glance around the general area, as though he somehow thought there were possibly other people around that this guy might be talking to instead. But when the search turns up nobody, he looks back to Starscream, points to himself, and mouths 'Me?']
no subject
"YES you, I demand-- ....REQUIRE your assistance, assuming you are a local to this area that can get me access to a phone ora mechanic of some sort. If you could just spare a moment of your oh so precious time."
[He tries really hard to sound sincere but really just does not succeed at all.]
no subject
He couldn't rightly call himself a local.
He was here only because he had finally reached the point where he couldn't pay to keep the car filled anymore. So it was in storage, and he and Laura were stranded until he could build up a fresh safety net to get them going again. And in a far-north wintertime... the prospects were dim.
"... There's a... a pay phone down that way."
He pointed down the road.
no subject
"I take that to mean you don't have a *cell phone* then. Very well then, I will wait here while you go and call a blasted tow company. Return once matters are sorted and I.... SUPPOSE I can reward you. Monetarily. Somehow."
He pauses for a moment after, before making a rather flippant gesture indicating that James should get a move on and take care of what he asked for before his already alarmingly low patience runs out.
no subject
Well, you shouldn't be, because it's a really wimpy frown.
James has never been a hotheaded man. His temper is a slow burner-- but the coals of indignant anger in his belly have never been colder nor harder to stoke than in the past few months, when he'd sunk so low that he barely felt the right to feel indignant about anything.
All the same, he gave Starscream a rather insulted look.
Man alive, who does this guy think he is-- giving orders like that?! It almost stirs memories of his higher-ups back at the office, smarmy strutting jerkwads that they were, except even their egos had been anchored by the fact that their job was just as crappy as everyone else's. This guy was a piece of work the likes of which James wasn't entirely sure he'd ever seen before.
... But... monetary reward.
Money meant food for himself and Laura.
His already-pitiful ego would take a blow, but dignity came second to dinner.
"... Fine. Don't go anywhere."
And with that, he was plodding off through the snow.
no subject
Suddenly he wonders if he even has any cash on him to tip the plebeian with. Given his luck today the answer is probably a resounding 'no', but fortunately this man seems like enough of a pushover to Starscream that it probably will be inconsequential. A wandering vagrant like that should be grateful just to bask in the presence of the great Starscream, offering him payment for such a meager task is SURELY beyond generous!
no subject
James, with small mounds of snow on his shoulders, drew up alongside the car and rapped on the window.
no subject
He doesn't even notice James is there until he raps on the window, too invested in shivering and just looking downright miserable. Trying to put on his best authoritative face despite this (and failing miserably) he rolls down the window.
"Well?? I trust you were successful?"
no subject
He was rubbing his arms for warmth, but he looked more resigned than miserable. Unlike Starscream, he was used to this.
no subject
"I suppose that's to no fault of your own....... did they give any indication of how long it would be?"
He's drumming his fingers on the steering wheel nervously, ridiculously sharp nails clacking dully even through the leather gloves he's wearing, unsure where to take this conversation now that he's gotten what he needs from the other man. He's not the kind of guy that excels at petty small talk, especially when irritated. Sure he can lay on the charm when he needs to, but at this point it's hardly necessary, so he just settles for being grumpy.
no subject
Sheesh, you expect a little gratitude...
Still, James kept his tone civil enough when he answered. He was still holding out hopes for a tip.
"The guy said forty-five minutes to an hour..."
no subject
"Oh BRILLIANT, so in other words enough time that I'm likely to freeze to death before they even arrive."
Suddenly the reality of the situation hits, and the notion of sitting out alone in the cold and dark in an unfamiliar area for that long is more than a little bit unsettling to a guy that is a Grade A certified coward.
no subject
NOT HIS PROBLEM.
He was a compassionate guy, but the truth was that he really did not care a whole lot whether or not this guy was a little chilly. He had a car to hide in. He'd be fine.
"Sorry."