manchxriancandidate

[manchxriancandidate]

I just wanted to know how the new you reacts to the old words.

[manchxriancandidate]

“barnes! barnes! barnes!” bucky could barely hear the chants, blood now pumping painfully in his ears as he came down from his adrenaline rush. the referee raises his arm in the air, the non-mechanical one, and allows him a couple of seconds to bask in the praise before he is ushered off the stage. it was a tough one, bucky’s got the cuts and bruises to show for it, but a win nonetheless. yet, he refuses the offer to send a nurse to his quarters - he’s looked worse - instead, he pulls his shirt over his head and wraps it around the ice pack that had been waiting for him in the freezer. 

he grunts softly as he holds the ice pack against his nose, shuffling closer to the mirror to inspect the damage. it’s then that his gaze falls on the blonde woman ( @softlybrutal​ ) hovering in the doorway. “i’m not interested in an interview.” bucky warns her before she can even open her mouth. he’s seen her linger around the halls of the killiseum before with her pen and her little notebook. he knows what she’s here for. “so i wouldn’t stay around too long if i were you. the streets get ugly once these people had a few to drink.”

[manchxriancandidate]

ofstarspangledman​:

Tag: Bucky Barnes, @manchxriancandidate​

Doom had centered Latverion around the Killiseum and fighters had to battle for their lives. There were always the favorites among the crowds, though even the lesser names drew people to wager money. Steve hated the idea of fighting just for fighting sake, he’s always had a cause and the whole thing of Battleworld, it placed the emperor as just another bully. It was bullies that Steve Rogers had always stood up against. It was slow going work on a planet where people were pulled from multiverses where timelines didn’t match up. A part of it had allowed for anonymity among the world’s first superheroes, he didn’t need it getting back to Doom quite yet that he wasn’t playing by the rules. 

But the evening events had pulled a much riskier move for the former Captain America, something much more public then he had done before. That evening, after another successful Killiseum fight, a group had put together a celebration of one of Killiseum’s Battle Champions…it was that champion that brought him there that evening. People wanted to mingle with the man who had won so many fights in the arena; it was none other than Bucky Barnes himself.

Waiting for a moment till the other was alone, getting them both caught wouldn’t help matters, but finally the steady flow of people to the arena’s battle champion seemed to dull for a moment. Steve stepped out of the shadows, making sure he was in the direct line of sight for the former assassin. Tilting his head in the direction to his right, Steve signaled an area where the two of them could talk in private for a few moments before the other would be missed.

bucky had never been one to revel in his victories - not that he had ever gotten the chance to. see, as a soldier he hadn’t lived long enough to see his nation win the war and as the winter soldier… well, bucky wouldn’t exactly call those victories. 

and yet he just can’t seem to let go of that part of himself. he is no longer the winter soldier, sure, but he isn’t just james ‘bucky’ barnes anymore either. the red on his ledger is permanent and so bucky searches for whatever way he can find to cope with it. now, he is more surprised than anyone to learn that sense of relief lies in the killiseum, doing exactly that what he had been trying so hard to distance himself from.

as hard as it is to admit, he needs it. though, bucky figures that it’s more about feeling in control than the fighting itself. not that that matters much to the people that surround him and leave celebratory pats on his back before buying him a drink with the money he’s just made them that night. all they see is a cold blooded warrior. a winner. a champion. 

it’s just for a couple of hours, he reminds himself as he fights the urge to roll his eyes and shrug off the groping hands. they get tired of it eventually. yet before bucky can make a quiet escape, his eyes lock with a pair he knows all too well. he nods shortly, allowing his gaze to scan the square once more before he follows the man into the dark alleyway. 

“steve,’ bucky greets the other with another nod of his head, “i was already wondering when you were finally going to show up.”

[manchxriancandidate]

offollies​:

she’d known he was here - a part of her wondered what he remembered - what he didn’t - if he was the same james she knew, or another. a multiverse of it’s own in memories and decisions swirled inside her mind as she approached him at the bar. a quick and easy move of sliding her coat off and setting it down - an understanding of the drink he’d ordered - and the decision on his part to see what she was going to order. a quick but curt smile was sent in the way of the bartender as she responded a “i’ll have the same, thanks” before taking her seat next to him. she kept her expression neutral, her eyes looking into the mirror before them and watching him as he directly looked to her. slowly, her head tilted and she spoke. “i was thinking the charcuterie board - ” are you stable? without a beat she cleared her throat and turned to finally face him, a decisive act as she carefully took in his features. “or maybe just skip to a dessert?” why did you want to see me, james?

his head tilts slightly as he takes in her response. sure, they might be speaking the same language but that was no guarantee that they were from the same world. just very similar ones at best. features stoic and unchanged as he shifts his gaze back down, turns over the menu card and pretends to look at the dining options. of course that was the first question she’d ask him. he wouldn’t have expected anything else. but they had to make it look and sound believable, right? “i could go for some charcuterie,” he answers. stable? yes. okay? that was a whole other question - one she hadn’t asked. yet. “i don’t think this place serves dessert, though.” he just wants to talk. just not here. and not before he figures out what stable in her world means. “small or large?” he then asks, in relation to the charcuterie board any bystander would probably assume. but really he’s asking: how close are we?

[manchxriancandidate]

a small grunt escaped bucky’s lips as he hauled the trash bag off his shoulder and into the container hidden away in the alleyway behind the building. funny, really, how their great emperor doom was able to create entire worlds from scratch, yet couldn’t seem to figure out how to create a building with a trash chute. not that bucky would have minded the trip, if only it hadn’t been for the white cat that nuzzled his leg each and every time he came down. “shoo!” he said, shaking his leg slightly to get it off, but it wouldn’t budge. instead, it purred and mewed happily as it circled through his legs. “i don’t understand what you want from me.”

@numyths​

[manchxriancandidate]

if there is anything bucky’s learnt since he got to latverion, it’s not to assume. he doesn’t quite understand the technicalities of it all; of this new world they are living in, of the fact that you could be a complete stranger to a set of features you know all too well. yet he learns quickly, not a glimpse of familiarity detectable in his eyes as he watches the redhead ( @offollies​ ) walk into the bar in the mirror that hangs behind the bar. instead, he sits back and awaits her next move. natasha heads straight toward him, draping her coat carefully over the back of her seat as bucky signals down the bartender. “whiskey, neat, and whatever the lady is having.” he says, finally looking up at the woman to measure her reaction. it’s how they communicate, or at least how they used to. whiskey to warn her that he’s armed and neat to indicate that he assumes she is too.

[manchxriancandidate]

( the smell of leather gloves, vodka in a water bottle and manbuns )▸ welcome to latverion, james “bucky” barnes (the winter soldier). it’s time to be gracious, for in this vast multiverse, you have been saved by emperor doom. according to records you are 103 (looks 35) and use he/him pronouns. emperor doom expects you’ll enjoy your career as a battle champion, or else. excellent. we look forward to your contribution.

ABOUT BASICS

FULL NAME: james ‘bucky’ barnes ALIAS: the winter soldier AGE: 103 (looks 35) AFFILIATIONS: hydra (former), avengers (former) GENDER AND PRONOUNS: he/him FACE CLAIM: sebastian stan

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

POINT OF ORIGIN: 100% the mcu since i’m not too familiar with the captain america comics. i’d say he is mcu canon up until the first few episodes of tfatws. i’m kind of winging it after that. ABILITIES/SKILLS: master of hand-to-hand combat, infiltration, espionage, and marksmanship, equipped with ad advanced cybernetic arm, granting a degree of superhuman strength. the arm also houses a variety of hidden tools, including an EMP generator and holographic camouflage unit. HAVE THEY BROUGHT ANY FAMILY OR PETS WITH THEM: nope, unfortunately he is a lonely grandpa. ANY HEADCANONS YOU WANT OTHERS TO KNOW: once again, this will probably be up tomorrow just know that he is definitely not doing as well as he was at the end of tfatws.

QUESTIONNAIRE

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER FEEL ABOUT EMPEROR DOOM?

to be completely honest, bucky does not have the time and energy to care. he knows men like emporer doom; he’s seen and fought them personally. but he is not looking to get involved in another war. at least not until he’s got his own head figure out. he just wants to get his life back on track first. sure, shuri gave him his free will back but he’s not the old bucky just yet. he wonders if he ever will be again.

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER FEEL ABOUT THE BATTLES? ARE THEY TRYING TO AVOID THEM? OR ARE THEY EAGER TO JUMP IN?

bucky is actively volunteering in the fights. it gnaws at him a little bit that some of them are being forced to fight, knowing all too well what that is like, but he tries to subdue that part of him by telling himself that whatever they did, they probably deserved it.

WHY HAS YOUR CHARACTER ACCEPTED THEIR JOB POSITION? WILL THEY USE IT TO GET CLOSER TO DOOM? OR WILL THEY USE IT EXPLOIT HIM? OR DO THEY SIMPLY LIKE THEIR JOB?

as mentioned above, bucky doesn’t necessarily care for doom. he is not trying to get anything out of this other than to feel normal, even if it’s just for a couple of minutes. it sounds contradictory, ungrateful almost, considering the things certain people had to sacrifice to get him to this point but fighting is the only thing that makes him feel semi-normal. it’s the only thing he knows, the only thing he is good at. frankly, he is feeling incredibly lost and he wonders if he will ever find his place in this ever changing world.

[manchxriancandidate]

Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier + feral

[manchxriancandidate]

SEBASTIAN STAN as THE WINTER SOLDIER in

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014)