zymasoldat: CW (048)
Bucky Barnes | зима солдат ([personal profile] zymasoldat) wrote in [community profile] pineslog2017-02-14 02:30 pm

the adventures of bucky barnes, totally normal small-town mechanic

Who: Bucky Barnes and ANYONE
Where: Pretty much open to anywhere in town.
When: February 14th - 20th
What: Catch-all for Bucky trying to blend in even though he's got more of his memories back. IT'S HARD. HE DOESN'T TRUST ANY OF YOU (except for Steve and Nat).
Warnings: None yet, but will update if necessary
[Open]

I: ESTABLISHING A ROUTINE [OPEN]
Ever since his accident (or what the nurse claimed was an accident-- he wasn't so sure he believed it then, and he finds the story even more dubious now), things have been coming back to Bucky in fragments. Mostly images and impressions, certain knee-jerk reactions to this and that, largely devoid of the greater context. Some of them contradict each other, but each memory feels equally real, which makes it difficult, to say the least, to sift through them and figure out which life he really led. Is he Bucky Barnes, local mechanic, Idaho born and bred, star pitcher of the baseball team who never set foot outside the Midwest until he joined the army? It sounds right, sounds perfectly grounded and normal and like the kind of life he should've lived.

But he's not so sure it's real. In fact, he's all but certain that he's the other Bucky Barnes: the guy from Brooklyn whose formative years were marked with hardship and scarcity. He remembers joining the army, same as the Bucky Barnes who fits in here, but this time, he never returned home. He fell, he lost his arm, a scientist gave him a new one-- it explains the robot arm, which none of the memories of a nice, normal life in Wayward Pines can even begin to do. There are fragmented recollections of torture and experimentation, then large gaps punctuated with brutal, efficient murders.

He remembers being nobody. He remembers shooting Natasha. (Who once kicked him in the playground? Who's dating his best friend? No, no, he's not so sure...) And he remembers giving his all to try and eliminate Steve. (A constant in both lives. If nothing else, at least he can be certain about his friendship with that skinny, scrappy punk.) He remembers the mission, and he remembers abandoning it and working at becoming a person again.

Despite the gaps and muddled imagery, the broad strokes of a life are there, so outlandish that he shouldn't believe them. But there's something intimately familiar about not knowing who he really is, not remembering large swaths of his life that... well. Maybe it's crazy, but it makes it all the easier for him to believe that he really is the World War II vet turned brainwashed assassin turned fugitive.

But who else-- besides those few, familiar faces from the past that he's chosen to believe in-- is in the same situation? Who can he trust? This town is strange enough as it is, and until he has a real bearing on things, he knows it's best to keep his head down and keep on blending in. Be the Bucky Barnes that everyone else seems to know.

Easier said than done, he supposes. After all, he doesn't even know how to fix up cars. Basic repairs and maintenance, sure. He's got that. (Any knowledge that might help with a mission.) Anything more than that? Well. He gets by as best he can, and in his off hours, he tries to teach himself anything he can about cars and motorcycles.

Besides that, he tries to keep to a routine that allows him to maintain his false life while trying to learn more about the town and its inhabitants. (Prisoners?) Wake up early. Eat light. Go for a run. Get ready for work. Eat again. Stop by the coffee shop. Head to S&D Automotive. Pretend to know what he's doing. Eat lunch. Keep working. Then visit the shops and chat with 'friends' and 'neighbors.' If nothing else, Between the sPines is usually a safe bet; he's got a thing for pulpy action, adventure and sci-fi books... and the occasional romance novel. Don't give him that look.

After that, he's equally likely to go to a bar for a drink (because that's the normal thing to do-- and it helps that he can't get drunk, so drinking doesn't compromise him, anyway) or return home to Steve and Natasha.

II: DATE NIGHT [CLOSED]
So, he's not certain, but he's pretty sure this is his first date since 1940-something. And while he wouldn't be comfortable agreeing to a blind date under normal circumstances, very little about this place is normal, anyway. Even the quaint, too-normal small-town aesthetic doesn't sit right with him. But: what would the Bucky Barnes of Wayward Pines do?

He'd take advantage of the free dinner and movie, obviously.

(Besides, it could be fun! Meet a girl, show her a good time... Thanks, Ghost of Bucky Barnes Past.)

His date for the evening turns out to be Emily Grey. Dr. Grey? Chronic overachiever, that's what he remembers from that life he's pretty sure he never lived. At least she's friendly, and he's pretty sure he's doing a good job of seeming relaxed and casual in return, despite how awkward he finds this entire date. It doesn't help that there were issues with the movie they were supposed to see, so they were stuck watching some romantic comedy about two neurotic people flip flopping between love and hate for 90 minutes.

And now, here they are, at one of Wayward Pines's more... romantic restaurants, specially decorated just for Valentine's Day. Time for more small-talk while they wait for their food to arrive.

"So, that movie, huh?" Look at him, he's quirking that charming half-grin of his and everything. "That ending sure was something. I almost thought she was gonna marry the cheating boyfriend near the end." Yeah, right. Even if he doesn't remember much, he knows a cliche when he sees it.

III: WILDCARD
UHHH choose your own adventure if you want to do something not mentioned in the starter!
greyaria: (040)

[personal profile] greyaria 2017-02-21 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
It's not like Bucky isn't easy on the eyes, but cute guys are everywhere and sophisticated prosthetics seem to exist only on him and inside Emily's head. Who could blame her for being interested? Maybe he'll let her scan him, or is that more of a third date kind of thing? So many unwritten dating rules!

"Apparently baristas in Manhattan can afford 2,000 square foot apartments despite never actually going to work, so she probably won't miss a hundred thousand here or there." Emily likes an escapist fantasy and a happy ending as much as--okay, way more than--the next girl, but some things just strain credibility.

Giving up on her plate, she sets down her fork and reaches for her wine glass instead. Dessert is more important than the entree, always, and she needs to plan for that. "Her investment portfolio must be amazing. Is New York a community property state? I hope she signs a pre-nup with the new guy."