{ The Walk Into A Bar Meme }

[unrelatedname]

 The Walk Into A Bar Meme!


The bar's a comfortable place, where everyone knows you just have to walk up, give the bartender a smile, and order up a drink. Everyone goes to a bar sometime, whether to pick up a companion for the night, to pick up a friend, or pick up a drink. You never know the story behind the guy sitting next to you, or the bartender. But that's what bars are for, aren't they? To learn about the guy on the stool next to you, drinking his gin and tonic.

So what do you do in a Walk Into A Bar meme?

1. Comment here with your character and their canon in the subject line. 
2. Hit RNG for a number between 1-15.
3. Tag someone else using that number as your character's reason for coming to the bar.
4. Profit!

So, what's your poison?

1. Sex on the Beach - You're here at the bar for one reason and one reason only, to find some company for the night. It might help, to buy them a drink first. But then they might throw that back in your face...

2. Tonic and Gin - Life's been one disaster after another lately, and the only thing that makes it easier is the sweet numbing taste of alcohol...

3. Midori Sour - Your friends dragged you out here and they've suddenly abandoned you for some rock star in the VIP lounge. Are you bitter? Maybe. Or maybe you'll just use the opportunity to flirt with the cute bartender...

4. Shirley Temple - You got a call five minutes ago asking you to come to the bar to pick up your too-intoxicated friend/brother/sister. But now that you're here, theydon't seem to be anywhere to be found...

5. Poolside Pleasure - There's nothing like being on vacation in a tropical paradise, is there? And what better way to soak in that tropical vibe than to swim up to the Tiki Bar for a relaxing fruity drink with a paper umbrella?

6. Moonshine - Maybe you're underaged. Or maybe the bar isn't exactly what you'd call legal. Whatever the reason, you're not supposed to be here, but you are, and while you're here, might as well get something to wet your whistle, right? Just be careful not to get caught...

7. Hair of the Dog - Last night was... do you even remember last night? Probably not, given the wicked hangover pounding in your head right now. Well, nothing cure a hangover like having a drink in the morning to take the edge off, right?

8. Champagne - Something great has happened! Did you get a promotion? Kill your nemesis? Whatever it is, you feel great and it's time everyone celebrated with you. A round of champagne on the house!

9. Shaken, not Stirred - To everyone else, this is a regular bar, but not to you. You know you're here to meet a clandestine contact, an enemy informer or a secret spy. Better play it cool and keep your eyes open...

10. Sunken Pirate Ship - You've been out on the high seas for months, and finally made it into port with your pockets full of gold. What're you going to do first? Drink that gold away or buy some company for the evening? You can do both at the bar...

11. Punch in the Rain - You're the bouncer of this bar and you think the guy sitting next to you has probably had too much to drink. Maybe it's time to cut them off. Hopefully they'll go easy, huh?

12. Bartender - Everyone who walks through the door has a story to tell, and you're the guy they love to tell those stories to. Are you the type to listen, or the type to slip a little something extra into their drink in hopes that they shut up about their sob story?

13. Absinthe - Whatever it is you just drank didn't seem to agree with you. And at the corner of your eye you keep seeing this bright green faerie... Is everything happening around you reality, or have you slipped into some kind of hallucination?

14. 357 Magnum - Did you just insult my mother? Whether or not they did, you sure think so, and you know what's the best way to settle things in a bar? With a bar brawl, of course!

15. Happy Hour - Anything goes! Got another scenario you want to play out, this is the place for it!

Comments

[pilot05]

Wufei frowned. "You're not getting sick, are you?" he asked warily, pushing himself to his feet and heading over to grab his panda. "And don't be ridiculous, we can share one of the beds, they're more than big enough," he said it dismissively, not because he was trying to make light of things, but because if he was casual enough then Heero wouldn't get any weird ideas.

"Thank you," Heero said when Duo took his plate, and got up to head to the sink to start washing. He was apparently taking the same approach to his concussion that he'd taken with the broken leg. Good thing Wing wasn't damaged at the moment.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo didn't answer the first question but laughed at the second. "I'm fine on the sofa, Wu. And as for you." He grabbed Heero by the time waist and pulled him away from the sink. "Sick people go and sit their asses down and let the healthy ones deal with the details. I don't wanna deal with the paperwork of reporting why Zero One keeled over washing dishes. So scram."

The phrase "herding cats" came to mind with these two. It was nice Heero wanted to help and once Duo was happy that the guys head wasn't just gonna fall off then he'd be more than happy to accept the help. But until then it was his job.

[pilot05]

Wufei turned to watch Duo in the kitchen, lifting a brow as he looked between them and debated the merits of starting an argument.

"I'm not sick, it's just a concussion," Heero replied, but Duo's move made him dizzy enough that he listened. Perhaps a little too well, as he sat down right where he was in the middle of the floor.

Which was what made Wufei decide that Duo had enough on his plate without an argument, so he took his panda and his tired ass both off to bed. "Don't make me wake up alone," he called down the stairs, mostly so Duo would know he'd gone up.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo was too shocked by Heero just dropping to the floor that he absently agreed to what Wufei said before reaching down to haul Heero up off the ground.

"Dammit, Yuy." He hooked his arm around Heero's waist and dragged him through to the living room. "Floor bad. Sit here and wait. Let me finish what I'm doing and I'll help you get upstairs."

[pilot05]

"You said to sit," Heero argued, but did his best to help Duo move him, though he was clearly scoring lower on coordination than he normally did.

At least once he was in his seat, he stayed put. That was something to be thankful for, right? And there was the news, still playing on the TV, so it even kept him distracted from the fact that the bear had been left behind at the table.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Nothing to worry about, Heero. Once Duo left him and finished clearing up, he grabbed himself a soda and the bear and rejoined Heero. But he just stood there for a while, watching him with an unreadable expression.

"Here." Duo tossed the bear into Heero's lap as he passed to drop himself into the armchair with a heavy sign. "So... You gonna tell me how you got hurt and if you've any other injuries?"

[pilot05]

Heero caught the bear, settling it into his lap with a quiet hum. "I got hit by a car on my way out of St. Gabriel's," he replied flatly. They hadn't been at St. Gabriel's in weeks, but Relena was still there. "I think some ribs are broken on one side."

[maxwellsdaemon]

"For fucks sake, Heero. Do you even care about your own health? Are you actually a robot?" Duo had dropped his head in his hand and just stared over at the other like he wss crazy. What the hell could he have been doing that had needed him to just 'walk it off'?

"Suppose that's why you're here though, huh? For me to play nurse maid? Hope you guys don't expect me to wear candy stripes" He gave a quiet little laugh at his lame little joke.

[pilot05]

Heero was silent for a long moment, making sure his brain had the time to process what was being said before he settled on a reply. "I almost was," he said softly. "If J had retrained me, it would have stripped away my emotions. I would be better."

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Better? Dude, buddy, no. Just no." Duo had dropped his hand from his cheek now and leaned forward. He still held his bottle of soda in his hands but he hadn't opened it yet. Just rolled it between his hands, elbows resting on his knees.

"Not having emotions is bad, okay? You gotta feel to be human. Not just pain and shit but... But happiness and joy and... I dunno, love and passion and sorrow and anger and the whole mess that normal people get to enjoy. You think it'd be better if that bastard stripped all that away from you?" he sighed and cracked open the bottle and took a deep drink of it, all while kind of wishing it was something stronger. The caffeine was a good thing though.

"Maybe I'm just the idiot for giving a shit when you don't... Heh, maybe I should ask him to retrain me too..." Help him kick that pesky habit of caring too much.

[pilot05]

Heero frowned, ready to argue the point, right up until Duo flipped the script on him. The idea of Duo, of anyone, undergoing that kind of training made him sick. "NO!" The word popped out louder than he'd intended, hands clenching on the bear in his lap.

He had the decency to look a little sheepish. "No," he repeated, softly this time. "The training is..." he dropped his gaze, paused to find the right word. "Inhumane."

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Oh yeah...? Its inhumane. But okay for you?" Duo looked over then, it was a small victory but he most definitely thought he'd scored a point there. Or at least proven one.

"We're both soldiers here, Heero. Both fighting the same damn war. What makes you so damn special you have to sacrifice your humanity? What happens when the war ends and you start missing it?" He pushed himself back and stretched out his legs to cross them at the ankles.

"Look... The point I'm making is... You gotta look after yourself, Heero. I can try and do it. But if you don't help me, how the hell do help you?" because he wasn't a medic. He knew the basics. He knew how to stitch up a wound. But he didn't have much here to help concussions and broken ribs and internal injuries caused by broken ribs because Heero couldn't keep his ass still.

[pilot05]

He looked away when Duo scored that point, letting out a soft sigh as he listened. "My life has no value," he replied softly, looking up at Duo again. "That's why I can be used as a weapon. It doesn't matter if I get broken, as long as it hurts the Alliance, too." He said it with such steely conviction, like he believed it all the way down to the marrow.

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Street rat. No family. No future. Not even a name of my own." Duo replied coldly. "Who the fuck are you to talk to me about having value?" Duo...wasn't actually angry though. While his voice was icy his gaze was surprisingly calm and calculating.

"You've value, Yuy. Even if it's just as a weapon. But let's throw a curve ball at ya. How about as a friend? Are you allowed to have those?"

[pilot05]

Heero frowned tightly at Duo, but he didn't argue. He knew that tone, how seriously Duo was taking this -- and it was just one more layer that didn't make sense. "No," he replied, matter-of-factly. "They are a weakness."

[maxwellsdaemon]

"I see..." Duo nodded, laughed quietly and took a long drink of his soda. "Then I guess fuck you too, Yuy."

A weakness. Maybe. But maybe sometimes it was worth being weak?

That headache was making his head throb and the dumb logic had Duo feeling his braincells were literally falling over dead from the stupidity. J had done a real number on Heero. And if he ever got his hands on the old bastard he'd throttle him.

[pilot05]

Heero's gaze dropped to the floor as he mulled that over, nudging it around in his mind like a dog sniffing a new bone. "You're a weakness," he decided softly, pulling the bear out of his lap to look at it. "I've collected several since coming here."

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo was taking another drink of his soda, almost draining the whole bottle, when Heero spoke again.

"You're an idiot." Duo called over to him. "Friends aren't weaknesses. They're strengths. They're reasons to fight. Reasons to keep on fighting. To get up every mornin' and keep on goin even when everything feels hopeless." At least to him. He was fighting for a future where they could all live and be happy. Friends was a big part of that.

[pilot05]

Heero grunted in what almost sounded like agreement. "I won't be needed, if I survive the war." He would die fighting or be executed if they lost, which meant they had to win if he expected to live. He wasn't even sure if he would like to.

"I couldn't kill Relena," he said softly. "Or you."

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo considered throwing his bottle at Heero's head, but didn't because of that concussion.

"You really are an idiot. You will be needed. We'll fucking need you. The five of us. Who the hell knows what we've all been through? We're gonna need each other, Heero."

At the next part, Duo blinked. "... And that's a failure on your part, huh? You still want to kill me, Heero?" Duo asked just as softly. Wondering if he needed to be sleeping with one eye open tonight. If he slept at all.

[pilot05]

His hands squeezed the bear again. "I never wanted to," he replied, letting out a soft sigh. "I don't like to kill," getting the words out was almost painful.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Booze and sickness made Wufei honest. Possible brain damage did the same for Heero. Now wasn't that just something?

Duo gave a much heavier sigh, finished off his soda and pulled himself up out of his chair with apparent effort. Once up, he took himself over to the sofa and dropped back down again, this time at Heero's side. Duo...he was a glutton for punishment, apparently. Which was what made him hook an arm around Heero's shoulder and pull the guy into a one armed hug at his side.

"Heero, buddy. None of us like it. Despite what the media tells everyone we're not all psychopaths." And he called himself the God of Death, not because he went around killing, but that people he loved died around him. "It sucks. But if it means that there are kids out there having fun and living normal lives, I'll do what I need to. If it means one say we'll see peace... It's worth it. Which is why you need us, Heero. Going alone'll break you. But havin someone to lean on?" he gave him a little squeeze around the shoulders, mindful of the ribs. "It helps."

[pilot05]

Heero watched Duo come over, plop down next to him. He considered what Duo said carefully, and, yes, when squeezed, he shifted a little to lean against him. "I killed a kid. By accident," he said softly, holding the bear up so Duo could see. "I was careless with the explosives, a suit tumbled into a residential building. It... injured me." He couldn't think of any other way to put it. Something inside him had broken when she found that little girl.

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Well shit..." Duo couldn't help it, he held Heero a little tighter then. A kid. There was always that fear of collateral damage, they all tried to minimise it as much as possible but mistakes could be made. They tried not to think about it. Clearly Heero thought about it.

"I'm sorry, Heero." his tone had gentled now. The hand on Heero's shoulder rubbed slightly. "But it was an accident. I'm just... The kid had a bear like that, huh? That's a good way to honour their memory you know? Keepsakes. That way they don't truly die, if someone's around to remember them."

[pilot05]

Heero nodded, looking down at the bear and running his hand over its head. "Her name was Mary," he murmured, letting himself accept the comfort that Duo was offering. Maybe it was the concussion, or knowing that he wasn't the only one needing or wanting comfort, but he was willing to accept it, for the time being.

"When the war is over, I'm never going to kill again."