and since we've no place to go

[memeorabilia]

❄ it's quiet
and the snow's beautiful tonight

snowfall;

stage i; none, streets are already blanketed in white.
stage ii; very light and intermittent.
stage iii; light - moderate. lasts longer periods.
stage iv; continuous, heavy snowfall.
stage v; the hardest of cores - blizzards, snowstorms, you name it.

scenarios;

① fuck the police, this is the best time for a walk. hope you've got a nice thick coat on.
② stranded in the buttcrack of nowheresville? weren't you watching the time? now you've gone and missed that last bus out of there. or maybe you're lost, somehow. what do?
③ literally chilling, in this weather, is quite easy to do. sitting around relaxing in it is a wee more difficult, but sometimes much more enjoyable, especially if shelter can be found. the snow is beautiful to watch, after all.
④ the weather's not going to stop you. your snow fort's packed full of ammo and ready to go. those aren't snow angels over there; they mark where the poor souls you've downed have fallen. be careful with that snowman's head!!
⑤ you're about fifty miles from civilization but there's a roof over your head, so never mind the chilly draught, right? right. you mightn't be the only one lucky enough to stumble upon this little shelter, though. remember to share the blanket.
⑥ everyone stuck outside should be jelly. you've got a fireplace and hot cocoa and damn if it isn't awesome. a heater's not quite so romantic, but it'd do. there'd better be a backup generator in case the power trips.
⑦ mix and match, or make up your own.

Comments

seductively slides into your inbox

[mekarekt]

[ Being lifted from the collar isn't that pleasant. Okay, not pleasant at all. Hana doesn't being made to feel like a child, and the way 76 treats her when she's done nothing but BE COOL (no, she hasn't) is unfair.

Coupled with the snow on her face, it's no wonder she's scowling at 76. One hand wipes down from her forehead to her chin and, feeling ornery, flicks it at his chest to repay him dusting the snow off her person. ]

It was over forever ago. Seriously, I doubt anything is gonna get through Winston's alarm system, Torbleborble's defense turrets, or your wall hax visor. [ She taps her temple. ] And I have new games to play.

[ Always the games. ]

[mylawn]

Then let’s go in.

[If 76 feels at all sorry for manhandling her in such a way, he doesn’t show it—though it is difficult to tell with the mask he wears. No matter how he feels, he’s not going to budge, not even in the face of her scowl. Now that they’ve determined their shift is over, he’ll be the first to trudge back towards the base.

And he knows he might regret asking, but—]

What games?

poses sexily

[mekarekt]

You're the boss.

[ She snarks and follows behind him, kicking snow at the back of his legs with every step she takes.

Until he asks. REMEMBER, HE ASKED. At least it gets her to jog to catch up so she can talk at length about her games. ]

So many! I have a backlog of them. Pokémon Yin and Yang just came out! I have to catch'em all, all over again. I think I'm going to go for a water type starter this time. The water type is a really cute rabbit. I always go for fire types but it's good to mix it up.

Oh! And Grand Theft Auto 9! I'm not a huge fan, but it's in my personal code to try all games at least once. Someone just came out with a new Star Wars game, too! [ They talked about Star Wars earlier. Hmmm... ]

Why don't you come play that one with me?

[mylawn]

[Yeah, perhaps there's some measure of regret here as she instantly launches into a long discussion about the games she is playing and the games she is going to play and he unfortunately recognizes more of those franchises than he should probably admit. Isn't anyone going to come out with a new IP, ever?

But it's endearing, in a way, to hear her so passionate about it.]

I could.

[Could. Not necessarily will. He's probably going to regret this.]

You like Call of Duty?

draw me like one of your french girls

[mekarekt]

[ The first thing out of her mouth is a snort.

She should have seen Soldier:76, the epitome of Call of Duty, asking her that when it came to games. ]

Is this some roundabout way to ask if I like you? You're basically a personification of Call of Duty.

[ META??? But it's true. ] On the Overwatch team, anyway. Winston is Donkey Kong, McCree reminds me of Raynor from StarCraft. Stupid Terran.

[ Does she like Call of Duty, though? ]

Okay. It's not my most favorite game, but it's cool. [ Said like she doesn't have Black Ops (all of them) or Infinite Warfare or Heroes or anything other NAME THERE IS in 2017 or in the future. She does. ] I'd still kick your butt if we went one on one.

[mylawn]

I’m not.

[He kind of is, which is probably why he sounds so offended. It’s entirely likely he’s played those kinds of games post-Crisis, and did a lot of whining about how military operations are actually nothing like that.

76 is pretty good at it, though, not that he’s ever going to admit it outright. It is difficult, however, for him to resist the call of competition, even if it’s just video games with a nineteen-year-old girl.]

Don’t be so sure.

notice me......

[mekarekt]

You totally are.

[ Earlier, he had mentioned that games are nothing like real life. Hana still stands by what she said in that so much is like a game. That's what makes it so easy to treat it like one.

A nineteen-year-old that is a former professional gamer and still isn't no scrub when it comes to buttons and joysticks. As she uses two to control her MEKA, which by the way, is still sitting in the snow. A little covering of white sitting on its crown as they move closer to it. ]

Puh-lease, Soldier:76. If there is anything I'm sure of, it's that I'm better than you at video games. [ And anyone else in Overwatch. Ah, Genji is pretty good though. She'll admit that.

She's never played against the soldier yet, though. ]

always

[mylawn]

[He offers little more than a grunt, apparently not interested in arguing how Call of Duty he is or isn't (he totally is). They're going to play video games, apparently, and that is much more important than the fact that he is totally a Generic Rifleguy™.

76 is also under no illusions about his own abilities--he's okay, but she's a professional gamer, and is therefore probably going to whip him soundly in most everything from DDR to Street Fighter. It is simply a fact of life, and he's not really looking to challenge that, even if he is sort of egging her into a competition.]

All right, all right.

[He mock-shrugs, the grin evident in his voice.]

If you don't think it'll be a challenge...

oh shit POSES AGAIN

[mekarekt]

[ Is it because it's a battle he knows he will lose? Too bad he doesn't have the same line of thought when it comes to going against D.Va in the vidya game called Call of Duty.

Or DDR, or Street Fighter, or Galaga. Nobody has beaten her high score in Hanamura yet. Nobody will.

Another soft punch in the arm comes from the MEKA Queen. ]

First of all, we have to work on your BM if you think that's enough to tilt me. Second of all, I'll take anybody on. Any day, any time. Boy or girl, young or old. Come at me.

[ BRO. ]

[mylawn]

BM?

[Okay, so maybe he's not so hip with the lingo, but whatever. He can play video games, which he thinks should give him some cool points. Some kind of points, maybe. He flinches a little when she punches him in the arm, but he doesn't let that trip him up for long.

Shoving her back, however, seems a little much. They reach her MEKA and he drags a gloved hand over the smooth pink surface, wiping off some of the snow.]

[mekarekt]

[ He played Call of Duty and he doesn't know the meaning of BM? For shame. ]

BM stands for Bad Manners, duh. You know, bad sportsmanship?

[ Nobody else knows that but hardcore gamers. He shouldn't feel bad.

He has more cool points than McCree, if that counts for anything. Though she's not sure how to feel about him touching her MEKA all willy-nilly or whatever. ]

Teabagging is number one when it comes to any kinds of BM.

[mylawn]

Right.

[Well, now he knows, and he won't soon forget. He's got no idea if this is winning him any points with her (and wonders why he even cares about winning points with her), but here they are, he guesses. It seems to be working.]

I promise not to teabag you.

[Which is. Maybe an awkward thing to say out loud as they walk back to the base.]

[mekarekt]

[ A bark of surprised laughter escapes her before she covers her mouth. ]

Grosssss.

[ He's old so she doesn't want to think about Slowpoke 76 teabagging of ALL THINGS.

He won't have to promise it anyway. If he gets a kill at all, then she'll be more impressed than annoyed. As much as he's the personification for Call of Duty, she never pegged the Soldier as someone who actually played video games at all. He's so serious.

Then again, she's seen a side to him today she wouldn't normally. Soldier:76, the Tsundere.

Hana unlatches the back panel and starts to shrug off the coat. She won't fit in the cockpit with it on. With a small smile, she holds it out towards him. ]

Gamsa. [ It did keep her warm. Just before he can grab his coat back it lowers a couple inches. Her smile tugs up higher. Sly. ]

Heeeeey. [ Uh oh. ] Do you want to make our competition a little more interesting?

[mylawn]

What?

[It's clear he Doesn't Get It, and shrugs it off as she opens the back of her MEKA. 76 waits patiently for her to do what she needs, looking perhaps a little surprised as she gives him the coat back. He shakes it out and pulls it back on, raising an eyebrow when she suggests higher stakes.]

I'm not takin' my mask off.

[Because of course she's going to beat him, and of course that's what she means by making the competition more interesting.]

[mekarekt]

[ If she curses in Korean, then he won't yell at her, right? She does, vehemently, and then climbs into her MEKA with the latch slamming closed behind her. A moment later, everything is booted up and her voice is back to being distorted. ]

You're in the Splash Zone.

[ He'll understand what she means when the pink robot shakes itself as if it's actually an animal, scattering snow everywhere.

Maybe she does it on purpose because he ruins ALL HER PLANS. And because she's D.Va. ]

[mylawn]

Wh—

[76 doesn’t manage to get an additional inquiry out before she’s shaking snow off her MEKA all over him. He’s completely caught of-guard by the maneuver, and even though his mouth and eyes are covered, that doesn’t make this any less surprising or infuriating.]

Come on!

[He starts brushing the snow off himself, scrubbing at his mask, sounding more than a little petulant—perhaps the most emotion he’s displayed all night.]

HAPPY DAD DAY, OVERWATCH DAD

[mekarekt]

[ Innocent whistles could go here. She doesn't actually whistle, but her expression says it wouldn't be out of place if she did. ]

What? I warned you.

[ Her small shoulders shrug in the cockpit and MEKA copies her.

Along with a little emoji that pops up:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]

THANKS, I SAY, A DAY LATER

[mylawn]

Let's get inside.

[He practically growls that, indicating that whatever sort of rapport they were building is now over. 76 does his very best to shake and dust the snow off himself, but it's clear that he's been momentarily soured on the whole 'being outside' thing. THANKS, HANA.]

/mercy voice YOU'RE WELCOME

[mekarekt]

[ Lol, oops. Did she actually upset him with her Blizzard move again? She supposes that will make it easy to best him at COD if he's already tilted at her.

Thing is... she kind of liked the weird friendship they had going on from being put on patrols together. She liked seeing the new side of 76 that wasn't all duty and seriousness and get off my lawns. He was a person, too. Not just a soldier.

Hana hangs back for a bit, waiting, and until 76 realizes she's not following with her robot she suddenly puts on the thrusters and barrels towards him. ]

Incoming!

[ HANA WHAT THE FUCK

Don't worry, she's not looking to tackle him over (like she often does to enemies close to edges for envirokills). She scoops him up and plants him on top of her MEKA so he has a ride. It's not inside but he can rest his tired, old feet this way. ]

[mylawn]

[HANA WHAT THE FUCK indeed. 76 is completely unprepared for this kind of maneuver, and no amount of super soldier reflexes will save him from what comes next. He hears the sound of her jets, but with his back to her he doesn't know what she's actually doing until it's far too late.

He wheels around just in time for her to nearly collide with him, and then before he can get out of the way, she's scooped him up in the MEKA's arms and deposited him right on top. His brain takes a moment to catch up, and that moment is filled with some choice profanities and a not insignificant amount of flailing.]

What the hell are you doing?

[mekarekt]

[ That's definitely a new curse she hasn't heard before. Over the sound of a blizzard, his profanities, and her MEKA Hana shouts: ]

Getting us back inside so we can play Call of Duty! What else?!

[ As quickly as possible. ]

Haaaang on!

[ They're going up and above the forest. As fun as it could be to dodge and weave the trees, it's Worth It to increase the altitude. Get the high ground, so to speak. That and she doesn't want to run the risk of Soldier getting sick all over her robot.

More gross than teabagging.

The Overwatch base is just a couple kilometers northeast of their position. Even in the haze of the snowfall, its silhouette can be seen in the distance. ]

[mylawn]

Hang on--

[Really, he has no objections to riding the MEKA back inside--it's just the surprise and the lack of time to orient himself that gets him. He tries to shift, gloved hands scrabbling for purchase on a surface not necessarily designed to carry a person on top. 

He’s still cursing up a storm, at least until it feels like he’s not about to fall off. When he realizes that they’re heading upward, he gets a little more creative.]

You got a handhold on this thing?!

[Not that he thinks she can hear him over the sound of the rockets.]

[mekarekt]

[ Genji didn't need handholds when he was perched on top of her mech, ready to fight off Diablo. He probably has something on the bottom of his shoes that sticks him to surfaces, though. That's why he climbs so easy.

Which is worse: The storm of Soldier's cursing or the storm that's been going on for a good few hours now? In Hana's opinion, neither bother her. Soldier's storm is more interesting with the colorful words he's been using. There's a couple new ones she can add to her vocabulary. She'll have to ask someone what they mean... ]

Grab the ears!

[ Ears? What does she mean? Robots don't have ears.

It's probably the two little wings at the hood that look like bunny ears. ]

[mylawn]

[76 would argue that all of this is the worst, 0/10 would not do again, but it's too late to quit now, and Hana strikes him as someone who fully commits. They're not so different in that regard, if he gives it some thought, but he's too busy trying to hold on for dear life to really consider it.

To his credit, he seems to understand what she's talking about when she refers to 'ears',
and he's shifting as well as he can to take hold of them.

It's better, now that he doesn't feel like he's about to topple into the forest below, but it's still not how he wanted to spend the evening.]

You have to warn me!

1/2

[mekarekt]

[ If he actually said 0/10, she would be so proud of his meme.

He's right, too. She commits and never backs down or gives up.

Hana wonders if he's still on top, but if he fell he would have been yelling loud enough for her to hear it. The nagging cements it. He's fine.

Relatively. Still naggy. ]

I did! Didn't you hear me say "incoming"?!