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

[overrate]

I have to touch you.

It's not like some radar or whatever. And it's not like I know what I've got when I get it.

[ maybe he shouldn't tell him, but, you know. he's putting some faith in the fact that dick trusted him. ]

[deadthenred]

[ Touching is tricky, but… ]

Do you wanna do this?

[ He can make the offer, at least. ]

[overrate]

Sounds like you already know what your power is.

So why are you offering?

[deadthenred]

Maybe I wanna see how yours works.

[ Basically. And if he's honest, there's one other thing, which is a lot harder to explain. ]

Also, maybe you want a power for… however long it is you get to keep it.

[overrate]

[ suspicious.

but he can handle himself without a power, so. he looks at the beer, considering. ]

Fine.

But I don't need powers. Let's get that part straight.

[deadthenred]

Believe me, I get it.

[ He really does. ]

[overrate]

[ he glances at his arm.

raises an eyebrow, and says nothing else.

but he does shoulder-check him as he passes, out into the night.

and he's staring at the can. what sort of power did he get passed-- something that could be used on beer. ]

This got an emotional trigger?

[deadthenred]

Do I seem like an emotional trigger kind of guy?

[ Probably not, right? Really, Bucky barely knows how this works. He hasn't practiced much. ]

My friend Toro told me that figuring out how to use his powers was like learning how to let go and hold on at the same time. I've been trying to figure out what he meant.

[overrate]

Yeah, and imagine how it is when you get a new power every couple of days. The only ones I'm pretty good at are Dick's and Jason's.

[ because he's gotten to use both more than once.

But fine. he has to dig deep to the same place he always does. he was able to figure out Caroline's, right? just. give him a minute.

he should probably be more careful about activating the blue glow-- but hey.

bucky was right, there isn't an emotional trigger. ]

[deadthenred]

So you improvise.

[ And soon enough the tell-tale blue glow starts up. Man, that's an awful feature. Who wants to start glowing in a combat situation? ]

Seems like you got it figured out pretty well.

[overrate]

Getting into a life or death fight with a vampire will do that to ya.

[ the frost starts to appear on the can-- clearly...

this was now a frosty cold beer. ]

... Ice?

[deadthenred]

Yeah. It's a joke.

[ It doesn't sound like he really wants to explain it, but then he adds. ]

My codename's Winter Soldier.

[ One of them, anyway. ]

[overrate]

[ he doesn't look... exactly happy to hear that. in fact, he looks really frustrated. ]

Cool. Good to know the power says something about you.

On a personal level. Fucking fantastic.

[ he'll jump on the "codenames" in a moment, he can't completely ignore it. but it always adds insult to injury that he's just... a copycat. ]

[deadthenred]

I'd rather it didn't. [ Not just because it's a terrible joke. But also he doesn't like thinking that his frozen KGB assassin days are the most notable thing about him.

Also, gee whiz, it's a terrible joke. ]

So we both get to be unhappy, but you're the one with the beer.

[overrate]

I am.

[ he tilts it back and forth lightly. ]

Thanks for that. Didn't even ask for it, and now it's nice and cold.

[deadthenred]

What can I say? [ He holds up his hands, empty. ] I'm a bad influence.

[ Jason might be legal here, but Bucky still wouldn't put him past twenty-one. ]

[overrate]

Is it a bad influence if it's legal now?

[ casually confirming that assumption is what he's all about. ]

[deadthenred]

That according to the fake ID they set up for you or your actual age?

[ That, Bucky realizes, is exactly the kind of question that would've ticked him off at 19. ]

[overrate]

I'm 19. No fake ID necessary anymore.

[ but it does get him an annoyed cringe for his trouble. it's not that he hates being reminded of his age-- he minded more when he actually had to lie to sneak into bars.

here, it was just another "out of touch adult" moment. ]

[deadthenred]

Drinking can still mess you up, even if you're forty-five.

[ Which Bucky is not, but. How has he even gotten here? ]

[overrate]

I know.

[ he shrugs off the advice, and then cracks open the beer. fuck open container laws. ]

[deadthenred]

Yeah. You probably do.

[ A pause. ]

It's not very good beer.

[overrate]

[ and then he just takes a solid sip of it, doesn't cringe. ]

Cheap shit has its place.

[ he's not going to fuss over the quality, even if it does taste weird compared to "cheap beer" from the 2000s. ]

[deadthenred]

You gonna ask about the codename?

[ He hasn't actually told it to anyone here but Jason. ]

[overrate]

I assumed it was your alter ego. Kinda like Robin or Batman, but if there's a story there...