these are the times that try

[deadthenred]

WHO: Bucky Barnes + various
WHERE: Red Wings, the safehouse, ???
WHEN: Late March.
WHAT: Catch-all log for March, with some open prompts.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: N/A, will update if it changes.

[ Prompts are in the comments below. PM or message me at lightfellows if you'd like a closed starter. ]

Comments

002.

[sestra]

[ helena also still lives here. she is not, however, as conscientious as bucky at looking after the place. her bed has been the same one since she arrived, the sheets constantly a mess, and there's usually a small stack of food or empty plates at the floor beside it. ]

[ she is for once in her life bringing a large pile of dishes towards the kitchen, but only because she stepped on one and broke it. oops. ]

[ also she is hungry, so she's going in for more food. she pauses with her arms full of mess, not sure if the man is speaking to her, then decides to answer him anyway. ]

Why? Is very convenient place to stay.

[deadthenred]

'Cause I am gonna be doing dishes all day, at this rate.

[ But even if Helena didn't mean to hand over the dishes she's carrying, he's reaching for them anyway. There's a system to how he's got them all stacked. ]

[sestra]

No one says you need to be doing this.

[ it was not her intention to pass them over to him, but she certainly doesn't fight it when he reaches out and takes them sorting them quickly. he can clean if he wants to! just like she can reuse the same plates repeatedly without washing them! hers are particularly filthy, if he caught sight of it. ]

[deadthenred]

Yeah, but someone has to, and I don't see anyone else volunteering.

[ If people were cleaning up after themselves, the dishes wouldn't have gotten so bad. ]

Did you actually eat off that?

[sestra]

Because you already do it, so no one else does this. [ people come and go and some definitely do dishes more than others. helena is not generally among the frequent cleaners. ]

It was my plate. I was keeping it by bed so no one else would take. [ technically, she supposes, it's still a community plate belonging to the safehouse, she just claimed it. ]

[deadthenred]

Well, if you stick around a bit, I'll give it back.

[ It's gonna take a little longer to scrub this one off than most, but clearly, he is doing it. ]

So, do you like it here, or is it just convenient?

[sestra]

Okay. I would like it back please.

[ she may have an attachment to it at this point. it's not her fault she's never really had her own Things. it's probably good that he's cleaning it so rigorously. ]

[ helena shrugs. ] Convenient. It does not cost me any money, and I am not sleeping on floor. Bed is nice. [ is it tho, or is it just a mattress? ] I also like the food here, because it also does not cost money. Is not worst place to stay.

[deadthenred]

Yeah.

[ It's not a tube, for one. But her perspective makes him reconsider a bit. The neural implant screws with his ear for accents, but he wonders where she's from. When she's from. All those sorts of things. ]

Calling it a bed is a bit of a stretch, you realize. [ But it's better than nothing. ] Just 'cause something could be worse doesn't mean you need to settle.

[sestra]

[ she spent her Youth(tm) behind the iron curtain in the late 80s, it was good times. ]

[ his remark that he doesn't have to settle... is something that honestly hadn't occurred to her about this place. she's too used to the bare minimum, even a cot is a step up. ]

Is not floor. [ or a cage. therefore, she is going with technically a bed. ] You are thinking that staying here is settling? [ the way she asks is far from accusatory; it's genuine curiosity. ] There are nice places in city. I always think they are too nice, would not let me live there anyway.

[deadthenred]

Because you don't know how to wash your dishes? [ He hands her plate back, scrubbed very thoroughly. ]

Rich people don't know how to do that either, they just have people who do it for them. [ Like her, right now. ] There's nothing too nice about any of it.

[sestra]

I know how. I like choice. [ not the choice to be a slob, just... the choice to put off chores for another time, instead of washing so many dishes her fingers go raw. still, she accepts the plate back and immediately curls it in close to her chest. quietly: ] Thank you.

[ it still feels too nice for her. a real house or apartment that is hers just sounds fake. ]

I have never lived in real house before. It is easier to stay here longer when I do not even know how to be finding place to live.

[deadthenred]

I've only ever done it once. A couple months ago. Before I got brought here, anyway.

[ He bought a house in Indiana, and it had felt strange and normal at the same time. Otherwise, he'd lived his life on base or in a tube or Captain America's secret apartment or a spaceship or… anyway. He bought a house in Shelbyville, IN and that's the first time he'd looked. ]

It isn't that hard. If you're smart enough to live without a roof over your head, you're smart enough to figure out how to live in a real house. [ He leans against the counter. ] If you want the choice.

[sestra]

I have stayed in house, but was always temporary. [ hm. well now she is contemplating how nice it might be to have an actual space... for her own? how has that concept never occurred to her before about this place?? ]

I like choices. [ bad ones or good ones, being able to decide for herself has been one of the most freeing things about escaping tomas. they're not always the best choices, but they're still hers. ] How do you find empty house or apartment? I do not think you can just move in and claim in this city.

[ what the heck is a real estate and how does it work! helena can only handle hotels, let's be real. ] When you phrase like this, having own house does seem better than staying in safehouse forever.

[deadthenred]

[ You know, he hadn't checked the squatter laws. ]

If you have the money you can look around for ads. Someone was just showing me— [ God, he didn't like the hologram stuff he had set up in the apartment SHIELD gave him, and he doesn't like the hologram stuff now.

But he throws out a few overlays of room listings that he'd been looking at. Mostly small, cheap apartments, for someone who doesn't care much about living in a sketchy area. But there's information, people to call, prices. ]

[sestra]

[ her mouth opens when he sends it over, and it's clear she is at the very least skimming over the information, ignoring the man for a few moments. it's not a lot, but it's more than she had before. she is definitely not someone who cares about living in a sketchy area, and some of these look nicer than her old convent. ]

This is looking like very good place to start. Thank you, Mr. Dishwashing Man. Are these houses you would like to live in also?

[deadthenred]

I've been looking into some of them. [ But not in the way that he minds sharing the ads. He hasn't visited any of them, yet. Or thought about the things he really needs, in a place. Especially since he hasn't got the stock for a weapon room, here. ]

And it's Bucky.

[sestra]

[ she is temporarily distracted by looking over the apartments again, idly wondering what might be the best fit for her - or, she supposes, which one she wants. she's storing her own weapons at a friend's house, it would be very nice to have them in her own space. ]

Hello Dishwasher Bucky. I am Helena.

[ just gonna drag out the dishwashing for a little longer because of who she is as a person. ]

It might be nice to find house with more windows.

[deadthenred]

Ah. Now you're picky. [ He smiles, making a joke. Really, he's glad she has opinions, that she's thinking about her options. Since she wasn't before. ]

Helena like the capital of Montana?

[ That's his revenge for Dishwasher Bucky. He can tell she's not from Montana. ]

[sestra]

I thought point about house was to be picky. Pick more than we have here. [ she doesn't miss the smile, and she's usually bad about noticing that sort of thing, but she does get the sense he is... being friendly. huh. ]

I have not been to Montana. This is state from America, yes? [ there is no way to tell if she is being serious about this or not from her tone. dishwasher bucky is gonna stick around, she thinks, so she can tolerate weird jokes about presumable states. ]

[deadthenred]

That's the one. [ Did they have him memorize all the US capitals as part of the Captain America test? No. ]

Your world must not be too far off mine.

[ If the United States existed, that's a good start. But she's clearly from someplace else. ]

[sestra]

I am knowing New York. [ she can barely name all the states, much less the capitals. america is too big, and she only ever went places they told her to before. ]

[ she wrinkles her nose. ] It was Earth, just much different from this one. I am not thinking Canada exists anymore, but I know Ukraine does. New Kyiv they call it. They spell it right way, at least.

[deadthenred]

And how's that? [ Not Киев, he's guessing. ] I don't really understand how the translator they put in supposed to work.

[ Most people seem to be speaking English, anyway. But maybe he just can't tell. ]

[sestra]

They spell it Ukrainian way, not Russian way. [ and the russian romanization got more mainstream for a long while. ] At least when it is being in English.

[ she speaks english and ukrainian, her translator does funky things sometimes. she stopped trying to figure it out too. ]

[deadthenred]

That's complicated. [ He means, translating it into Russian and then translating it into English, again. ] People who live there know what to call it.

[ Bucky Barnes comes out against the occupation of Ukraine? ]

[sestra]

Yes. And I lived in Ukraine, so I am knowing what to call it.

[ bucky barnes is CORRECT. go away russia let her country be free of your meddling. ]