Bucky Barnes
17 December 2014 @ 05:50 pm
[Bucky's on deck, in the snow, wearing his Howling Commandos uniform and looking cold, but not miserably uncomfortable. His rifle's slung over one shoulder - you can see the strap - and he runs a hand through his hair briefly before speaking, shaking the snow out.]

You know, this is my fourth Christmas away from home. [And while there's definitely something kind of wistful in his expression and voice as he says it, he also doesn't seem especially broken up by it. This is more an observation than whining.] Three years ago I was in Africa, two years ago I was in London while we were putting together the Commandos, and last year, I was freezing my ass off in Bastogne.

[It comes out a little like a joke, but obviously it's not quite actually funny. You had to be there? Humor's the only way to really deal with some of this fucked up shit?]

Most everyone thought we'd whip the Germans in a couple weeks after D-Day, and we'd definitely be home by Christmas, but they broke out in the Ardennes on December 16th, caught everyone with their pants down. The 101st and a couple other units got cut off at this little Belgian town called Bastogne outnumbered five to one, with no supplies, no reinforcements, no way to get out. The Commandos were in the area anyway, so we snuck in to get them some stuff as an early Christmas present. Day after Christmas, the Third Army broke through the German line so more supplies could come in and the wounded could get evacuated, but the guys would've said they didn't need anyone coming to their rescue, and I kinda believe 'em.

I'd been through a lot of rough shit in the Army, but those guys were something else. Sitting in those foxholes, I was the coldest I've ever been, and I had gear that was designed to hold up to bad weather. They didn't, so they got trenchfoot and frostbite even if they were being careful. Hot food was a joke, the medics had to keep bottles of plasma shoved under their armpits to keep them from freezing...

[He trails off, expression caught somewhere between that same not-quite-amused look from before and just empty distance. It's not quite wistfulness, not by a long shot, but maybe something like it.]

It's nice to know that those guys won't be somewhere like that their next Christmas. Maybe they're even gonna get to be with their families. [And then Bucky just grimaces a little, mouth turning down in an unhappy frown.] The ones who got out anyway.

[Private to the Admiral]

gifts for steve, helena, morgana, scott, stiles, isaac, ben, lydia, kira, allison, mason, stephen, mickey, jean, babs, dillon, luna, ian, snafu and souji + everyone in boot camp )
 
 
Bucky Barnes
07 December 2012 @ 04:50 pm
[Bucky has been quiet, and brooding, and dealing with some shitty stuff since coming back from the Overlook, and hasn't really been in the mood to talk to most people, but when he clicks on the audio function and starts talking, he sounds more or less normal, at least at the beginning.]

So I know most people probably don't care and there're probably gonna be some of you who'll point out that's just some Earth thing that happened a million years ago and no one cares, but four years ago - for me, anyway - was the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

[He's quiet for a really long moment, almost to the point of where someone might wonder if he forgot to shut off the comm, but he picks up again, and now sounds a lot more pensive than most other people have probably heard him get before. Again, he's had a lot to think about.] It's just weird to think about, because everything before that happening seems really far away, almost like it happened to somebody else. And it's kinda hard to explain, to someone who didn't have to go through it exactly what that's like, because everything you worried about before that seems so dumb in comparison. And yeah, maybe it's just boring history to most of you, or it doesn't matter because you're not from Earth or whatever, but millions of people died, by the time the war was all over. It's easy enough to ignore it when it's not affecting you, but no one's the same after they get that kinda stuff dumped in their laps. It's not just something you read about in history books.

[And again he pauses, but this time he just shuts the damn thing off, because he doesn't really do introspection often, and certainly not to a public audience, so frankly he's kind of embarrassed he got this far before cutting himself off.]

[Private to the Admiral]

Presents for Steve, Natasha, Ben, Peggy, Tony, Rhade, and Jefferson )