tushanshu | text; anonymous.

Entry tags:

text; anonymous.

What does this giant turtle eat?

[ he knows steve is here -- and who knows how many people gunning to catch him. which explains the anonymous text.

also sometimes ex-winter soldiers get curious in between relentlessly stalking the network. ]

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I was on a flying city fighting robots. I guess after that, giant turtles don't seem so weird.

You?

No, I guess not. Any injuries?

I was reading.

[ Hiding. ]

[Huh. That seems like a strange question, or maybe just a strange thing to focus on over the rest of it.]

I'll have to get back to you on that.

Any recommendations?

[ bucky tries very hard not to think about why he just asked the thing. ]

Between the Washington Post and the New York Times?

I don't think those are going to do us much good here.

Where are you from?

It's not going to do anyone much good anywhere.

Is that important right now?

What makes you say that?

Sort of. You sound like you're from Earth. I'm just wondering if we're from the same version of it.

Can you do anything about all that's happened in the papers?

New Jersey. 2014.

[ .....................oh, he is so sorry. ] Does that help?

Sometimes.

[But he's more focused on the date, even the place. 2014 was an important year for him. And the state-

And seriously, Jersey?

It could be a coincidence. It probably is.]

Not really.

[ Another thing Hydra never managed to take away: an unabiding hatred for for new jersey and everything it stands for ]

By sometimes you mean rarely.

[ Nothing personal -- the world is just so fucked up to him right now. Everything's changed. ]

Do you know me?

[It's just a feeling, maybe. A feeling that there's something personal here. Maybe someone who lost someone in New York, or in D.C. Someone who blames Captain America - that wouldn't exactly be unheard of.]

You always have to try. It doesn't always work out the way you hoped it would, but you can't just give up.

[Everything's changed. Except Steve.]

No.

[ Yes. He remembers him, he remembers that tenacious, indomitable spirit -- the boy from Brooklyn. It takes him awhile to respond. ]

You practice that line a lot, or did you just come up with that?

[ He knows the answer to that. ]

It just slips out.

sometimes it's better for you just to give up.

I don't believe that. The day you stop trying is the day where there's not a chance of things getting better.

How's that worked out for you so far?

[ He shouldn't. He knows he shouldn't, but he asks it anyway. Has Steve really never changed? ]

I'm still trying.

[It's a confession, of sorts. Maybe his ideals don't always align with the modern world, putting him at odds with it sometimes. Maybe things haven't gotten much better. But there's no alternative that he can see, none that he can accept.]

What about you? Have you given up?

There's nothing to give up.

[ Can't give up what you don't have; it's only common sense. There's nothing for him but to make amends, to atone, to figure himself out and hopefully keep resisting the urge to put a bullet between his eyes. No -- his victims wouldn't have wanted to give him the easy way out. He has to keep going. But he knows what Steve is sharing -- and a part of him thinks that it's just like him, confessing these things to a faceless stranger, his heart on his sleeve. ]

Are you always this friendly with strangers?

I don't believe that.

[If he has that, then he has something. If he's still breathing, he hasn't given up. If he's still reaching out to people, even anonymously, then he wants to connect. It's not too late, and Steve's a stubborn punk who's not letting it go.]

Well, you haven't offered me candy yet. So yeah, I feel okay about you so far.

Don't be too happy. I haven't found a suitably suspicious-looking van yet.

[ everyone knows candy's dispensed from those kinds of vans. bucky's subconsciously looking to reach out -- wanting to make a connection even if he doesn't want to put a name to any of it. See, he's just a jerk that way.

But being anonymous is good. Being anonymous lets him pretend to be someone other than himself for just a little while. A guy from New Jersey talking about candy and vans. ]

Lemon drops are my favorite.

[Better for strangers with candy and suspicious vans to start with him, right?]

[ ...this all sounds unsettlingly familiar. bucky takes awhile to respond. ]

I'm sure somebody told you to never take candy from strangers. Or to tell them what flavor you like.

[It would. but hey, the last time Steve was in a similar situation, he was chosen for the serum.]

Someone did. But it wouldn't surprise him if I did it anyway.

Would it upset him?

[ He wants to know. What does he remember of that ghost? ]

It would. And then he'd probably ask for the bigger piece.

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dislocked - 2016-05-26 16:32 (UTC) - Expand

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starspangled - 2016-05-26 23:02 (UTC) - Expand

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