ximilia | video | un: s.wilson

[ Is there anything better than hanging back in the sunshine room? Paint a picture of golden sun on warm, dark skin, of tranquil surroundings, a man reclining against the trunk of a tree with a small stream gurgling in the background, of something truly soothing to behold... or notice the fact that Sam Wilson is wearing a leather jacket that distinctly, a hundred percent has only ever been soon on one Bucky Barnes before. If one of them is gonna be a filthy clothes thief, the other is gonna follow suit, it seems.

No, they're not clothes sharing. This is goddamn war. It is a nice jacket, though, and hey, Sam can appreciate the double victory of looking fine as hell and aggravating Bucky. ]

Hey guys. Sam, for those with whom I haven't had the pleasure yet. Got a treat for you.

[ No, it's not his very fine self, thank you very much. Sam holds up a very distinct golden amulet. ]

Managed to snatch this off Lord Suk-ju all the way back in Gyeongje, when the asshole tried to escape. Some of you were around for that. For those who are unaware: This shit's magic. Protects from physical and magical harm, pretty damn completely. All you gotta do is hold it. Got about a week's worth of daily confrontation stored in it before the magic shrugs and abandons you to get punched in the face.

Full credit for the side hustle goes to Ed, Sabriel, Syrlya, Zelda and Eliot. I ain't magic, so I'm really just the eye-candy on this operation. Thanks to our resident magically inclined talent, we figured out that the magic on the original amulet can be... I guess replicated? Not copied. And not to just on any object - needs to be from Gyeongje specifically. Thankfully, Ed's got a cheat code for that and can make copies of the base amulet, provided we got enough gold to work with, and those copies can be enchanted as if they were from Gyeongje. Pretty nifty. And that means... ta-da.

[ Sam holds up 5 other amulets. They look almost identical to the first, but he keeps them on what looks a keychain, separate from the original so as not to mix them up. ]

We've been kinda running a knock-off magic amulet production line here. Now, couple things - and I'm just gonna bullshit to the best of my understanding here, I'm sure our resident sorcerers of various persuasions will chime in with more technical explanations if needed. As I said, I'm the eye-candy and one of the test dummys of this operation, not the brains.

These knock off amulets are less efficient than the original unless you're the person who did the enchantment. Meaning for the rest of you, they will block some physical and magical attacks, but not all. The stronger the attack, the higher the chance it goes through. [ That was a fun round of testing to find out. ] Protection operates at about 50 to 70% efficiency compared to the original, best as we can tell, and depletes faster. We had enough raw material and enough people to make 5 of these knock offs. Current plan is to hand the amulets out before missions. Team and I agreed to prioritize civilians and non-combatants who could use the extra protection because they don't got powers, gear or other enhancements to work with.

Let me know if you feel you could use these. Between the original and the copies, we can outfit six people for now. We need them back after missions, otherwise they can't get re-enchanted and we can't make more copies.

[ Sam's spinning one of the amulets around his finger. The gold glints brightly in the fake sunlight. ]

If you're a sorcerer and interested in helping make more of these in the future, ring us up. And if you're in a position to get some gold - bars, coins, in the form of jewellery, whatever, either on missions or through requests from your home worlds - please consider forwarding that to us. We can only make more of these if we get our hands on more raw material.

Thanks for your time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Roger makes note of the possibility of seeing magic on the station and decides to just roll with it as well.]

...Okay, [he replies hesitantly and after some contemplation, the promise of safety very much informing that decision. He may be very difficult to seriously injure and very good at putting himself back together, but that doesn't mean he enjoys it.] When do you want me to do that?

[ Honestly, it's the best approach Sam's found to all of that. Accept 'this might as well be happening' and roll with it. His life was so weird even before he came here. ]

We can meet up in the training room right now if you'd like.

Roger roger.

[and so he does go into the training room, and eventually upon seeing Sam greets him.] You're here. I should actually introduce myself. I'm R0-GR, but you can also call me Roger.

So... what should I do?

Sam. Nice to meet you, Roger.

[ The droids on the station are still strange to him, truth be told. But Sam's spent nearly two years as an Avenger working alongside Vision, who looked more humanoid, yes, but was no less inorganic - if perhaps a whole lot more advanced.

Point being - sentient robots do not phase him. Over Sam's shoulder meanwhile, a small kite shaped drone hovers. ]

This is Redwing - afraid he ain't like you. [ Redwing's just a machine, not a hint of sapience or sentience in there - despite the fact that Sam acts like he's an actual living thing. ] Redwing's gonna fire a shot at you. You get to hold this... [ Sam hands Roger one of the amulets. ] ... and this. [ As well as a perfectly circular shield made out of strange metal, painted in red, white and blue with a star in the center. ] Stand wherever you're comfortable, hold the shield in front of your torso. Redwing's got perfect aiming systems, so he'll aim for the shield. If the amulet works on you, the bullet will be diverted and not even come close to hitting you. If it doesn't work, the bullet will hit the shield and not harm you at all. You think you're good with that?

Uh... [Roger has regrets. He's not entirely sure what he was expecting to do when he volunteered to test a protective magic item, but hearing he'll be shot at is still unnerving. Nevertheless, he proceeds.] Alright.

Roger takes the shield, observing it for a moment in his hands, before tapping it a few times. It seems to perplex him for a moment, but he puts it on over his arm. Then he takes the amulet, observing that for a moment as well. He admires the details, stalling for as long as he reasonably can.

Then he moves about as far away from Redwing as he can, until he's up against the wall. He sort of cowers behind the shield so that only his legs and the shield are visible. Does this work?

[ Sam gives him a thumbs up. There's plenty of padding in that area, so if the shot doesn't hit, it will just thunk into the padding, causing no harm. ]

Perfect. And don't worry, you're perfectly safe either way, you got my word on that. That shield can block much worse than what Redwing can fire at it. I ain't looking to hurt anyone here. Just stand still with the shield. Ready?

[ And Sam seems genuinely relaxed - not unkind in the way he is unconcerned, just perfectly sure that Roger is absolutely safe. Tries to be reassuring, at least. ]

[There's a long hesitation, then a shout.] Yeah. Ready! [There's a strange electronic warble that he makes part of the way through the word "ready", but he doesn't recant it. He simply braces himself.]

[ Sam's careful with it. Double checks the calculated shot trajectory and aiming sensor before giving the command to fire.

The bullet shoots out, dead center on the shield - but before hitting it, the amulet's magic curves the bullet to the side. It doesn't hit Roger - just thunks into the padding of a training mat harmlessly.

Sam grins. ]

Good job! You just proved the amulet's gonna protect non-organic people, too.

[Roger continues holding the position he's in until the round actually fires. He flinches when it does, and though he has no eyelids to close he does shut off his visual sensors for a few seconds.

And then, just like that, it's over and he opens his eyes, so to speak. He sees where the round actually hit, relieved.] Wow. That actually worked. [He goes back to where he was and takes Sam's shield and holds it out so Sam can have it back. If he takes it, he reluctantly offers the amulet back as well.]

So that's it?

[ Sam doesn't take it back immediately, some measure of amusement playing around his lips. ]

Yeah, that was it. Unless you wanna do some more testing to feel safe with it?

[ The offer's genuine, too. Sam noticed that flinch. If he can help a robot feel more secure for upcoming missions, why not? ]

[Roger considers this for a moment, though frozen in place while still holding the shield and amulet.] Actually, if you're okay with it, there is something else I want to try. [Roger moves the shield and the amulet into his left hand, and with his right he carefully takes out a blaster pistol that was holstered to his hip. He offers it to Sam, holding it in such a way that it's clear he will not fire it.] Redwing fired a solid projectile, right? I want to see if it works against blasters. [It could yield useful data, certainly. However, it would also give Roger some peace of mind to see that the amulet actually works against his own weapon.]

[ Sam tests the heft of the weapon in his hand, inspects it. It's unlike any weapon he's held, though he takes a step to the side and fires a practice blast safely into the padding, whistling. Closest to that he's seen were chitauri rifles.

Satisfying sound the thing makes. ]

Closest thing Redwing's got to that is a high powered laser - but he can't fire that like a shot. [ He glances at the shield briefly. ] This typically punch through metal? My shield's pretty damn strong, but I don't wanna put you behind it if it might not protect you.

[ ooc: blaster pistol vs vibranium - who wins? xD ]

I... don't know. [Roger taps the end of his proboscis in contemplation. He hits the shield with his fist, then shakes out his wrist.] I think it could withstand at least a few hits before it started taking serious damage. What's it made out of? How would it hold against Redwing's laser?

[OOC: Vibranium would definitely win, no contest.]

Redwing's laser can cut through any metal given enough time, but not instantaneously - except for that metal. It's called vibranium.

[ Sam makes a vague, all-encompassing gesture. ]

Only one place on our planet that comes from, and they guard their secrets carefully. Your blaster pistol cut through metal usually? If it don't, we should be good.

I'm really not sure. I only actually got this a few days ago, and it's a First Order weapon, so I don't know a lot about it. I managed to shoot down a pair of TIE Fighters with it, but that was just really really good aim. [It was mostly luck that he was able to do just the right kind of damage to one to cause them to crash into each other.] It's still just a blaster pistol, so it shouldn't be able to cut straight through. Especially if a laser can't cut it.

video | un: s.wilson

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omg that icon???

it was essential that I make a specific icon for roger holding the captain america shield

love it

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