| open | A cold wind was blowing from the north

[readytocomply]

Who: Bucky and anyone
Where: Ski resort and mansion
When: The event and the day after
Rating: Event death
Summary: All things snowy and cold
The Story:

one: there's no such thing as too much snow

[Bucky doesn't like the cold. It's something he adjusts to, when he has to, but he's not a fan. So he stays inside for the first part of the event, rummaging through the kitchen to make his own version of hot cocoa. Cinnamon to spice it up. He'll make a couple mugs and take them with him as he curls up with Sugar by the fire. After that, he'll find his way outside, looking around to see what everyone is doing with their surprise vacation.

He can be pulled into a snowball fight or help someone who wants to ski or snowboard (though he won't actually do that himself) or can be persuaded to head inside for cards or something similar.]

two: there's too much snow

[It was the day after the event that Bucky woke up again or came back to life. He was huddled up against the wall, legs drawn up under his knees, staring at nothing. He'd died yesterday. There was a girl in the snow, lost, and he'd been out making sure nobody was hurt or caught in the storm. Steve was rubbing off on him. It hadn't been smart to go out, but he was strong and figured that if he could help people, he should.

She'd been hurt and as unpredictable as snow could be, they'd toppled over a steep incline and he'd twisted to take the brunt of it. He could tell he was injured, more than the serum could keep up with, something even it couldn't heal. Bucky had managed to get her closer to the inn before everything had gone black.

But that was yesterday and today he was trying to figure out why he wasn't relieved that he was magically alive. He didn't want to be dead, but he didn't feel good about the whole thing. Bucky lifts his head when he hears someone approaching. He's visibly upset but doesn't say anything at first.]

three: wildcard

[Bucky is available for any of the event shenanigans. If either of the options above (one is during event and one is post) don’t fit with your character, feel free to pick something. I’m super flexible and would love to get Bucky out and about. I can be messaged through my journal or through barebone.]

Comments

two;

[thecourier]

[More people had died.

It was bound to happen, and he felt it eating in a corner of his mind - the fact he didn't try to stop people from going outside. Even if he wasn't accustomed to snow, he knew what a storm looked like when it was coming... After all this time, Wonderland could still catch him out.

He hasn't quite been able to warm up since, and has it in his mind to head to the kitchen for a hot drink when he passes by the young man huddled up to the wall. There may have been no words said, had they not made eye contact.]

... y' okay there? [Obviously, he isn't, and the question sounds more like 'what's wrong' than the unnecessary query that the words form.]

[readytocomply]

[His eyes narrow as if he's considering the question and looking through Dan at the same time. Bucky tips his head to the side, frowning.]

What's the point?

[Bucky waves a hand around them. He's confused and is struggling to make sense of why. Not what or how, but why.] These events come along and people die in them, but they bring us back.

I don't get it. If they're so powerful that they can bring us here, hurt us, and then bring us back to life - why not spare us all the trouble. Do they want us to go through all of it? The pain and all that follows.

[thecourier]

[Ah, so that's how it is. Dan considers, just for a moment, then moves to take a seat on the floor beside him. He draws one knee up and wraps his arm around it, leaning his head back.]

Couldn't tell y' that, bud.

[He's thought about it, himself. They're needed, for their memories, for what they bring into Wonderland, but why torment them so? What's the point of it all?]

I don't think... [A sigh.] We ain't people t' them, I reckon.

[readytocomply]

[Bucky keeps as relaxed as he can considering the conversation they're having, tries not to worry too much about anything else while they're talking.]

That doesn't make any damn sense.

[He's not mad at Dan, not even really raising his voice. Just.. he's a little messed up about it and hasn't had time to shove it down and try to forget about it yet.]

None of this does. This is one big cage and we're the lab rats.

[thecourier]

[He gets it. As much as he can get it without the dubious privilege of having died here. 'Nearly died' doesn't pack quite the same punch when you get right down to it.

But he nods, because... there's no lack of truth in what Bucky's saying.]

Reminds me a' some folks I met back home, but... at least they had the excuse a' being completely outta their minds.

[And honestly, he's not sure if that's actually the case here. Every time he's seen the denizens of Wonderland appear on the network they have always been alarmingly certain of what they're doing.. even if what they're doing makes no sense.]

You set on sittin' here, or do you wanna get a drink?

1

[mr_englishguy]

[Much as with the space station, Newt has thrown himself into this event. Much to Andy's chagrin. The pyjak definitely didn't like the snow, and he's hidden away in the warmest spot he can find. Newt has done no such thing.

Luckily it is the first day and he's still in one piece. His jacket is wet from snow, his cheeks red, but he is lit up from excitement as he makes his way to the kitchen, seeking out a snack and finding out something else entirely.]

Bucky! How are you?

[readytocomply]

[Newt. Bucky had known when they'd met that they'd get along. He didn't set off any of the typical warning bells, didn't make Bucky worry about ulterior motives. He wasn't a threat, simply put, and Bucky really wanted to make friends.]

I'm good. How 'bout yourself?

[He lifts a mug, offering it to the other man.]

You thirsty?

[mr_englishguy]

A bit frozen to the core, but only myself to blame.

[And not sounding the least bit upset by that either. He is obviously having a good time.]

Oh, oh that would be wonderful. Thank you so much. Have you been out trying the things we have here? I know I should be worried, but its so much fun.

[readytocomply]

I've been lookin' around.

[Bucky'd scoped out the place, looking for threats as was usual. When he couldn't find anything unusual, he'd come back in and made himself a drink. Bucky hands the cup over. Newt relaxed him.]

Keep waiting for the shoe to drop. Something bad to happen cause that's what usually does. [He rolls a shoulder.] Trying not to focus on that when everyone's having so much fun.

one »

[mucked]

[ tea. she wants tea -- a piping hot cuppa, something worth clinging to between her hands to fight back the frigid air just beyond the inn's walls. so she finds her way to the inn's sweet little kitchen.

she's got one foot through the door she sees his face. barnes. not at all as she'd expected to see him -- especially after that conversation over the devices when she'd arrived. poor soul, she doesn't yet realize that was his mirror. ]

-- Oh. [ so poised! so graceful! she sputters a moment. ] I was wondering when I might run into you. Proper-like.

[readytocomply]

Miss Carter.

[Bucky knew Peggy was here now, Steve told him about it. He doesn't know she spoke to his mirror as he'd been on the other side for that and his mirror wasn't the sharing type, it seemed. His brow furrows and he sets the cup down on the counter.]

Steve or one of the others tell you I was here too?

[That was probably it. Steve. ( He can't imagine what it'd be like for them seeing one another. Not with everything that had happened. ) Or someone else.]

Bet it was Fitz, right? [Bucky's mouth pinches.] That guy went around telling everyone I was the Winter Soldier and would kill 'em all when I arrived.

Told them to hide or else.

[Bucky rolls his eyes, shrugging. Wasn't anything he could do about it now.]

[mucked]

Sergeant.

[ -- and maybe that's the first tell. she crosses to the far counter, eyeing the little (and not so little) differences made all too readily apparent from the man she'd known and the man standing here.

she reaches for a mug. ]

You told me.

[ look, she's a sharp tack. the moment the words are said aloud she quickly realizes something's amiss. she frowns. ] Or I thought you had.

[ well, crumbs. ]

[readytocomply]

Bucky, please. I haven't been a sergeant for a long time.

[Technically, he'd always be one. It's who he'd been and he couldn't make that go away, not that he wanted to necessarily. It just reminded him of a time he lost.]

That wasn't me. If you spoke to someone who looked like me, it was my mirror. [Her arrival time made sense. There was an event then.] There's a couple ways to tell us apart.

[He lifts his hand, showing her his arm and then he points to his hair.]

I'm bigger, have longer hair, and my arm is metal.

Two!

[mettatonvevo]

[Mettaton hadn't seen Bucky during the event, which had been a shame since it had been so sweet for everyone. When the snowstorm had hit he had been locked up with Sans and Alphys which had been...

It had been wonderful, honestly. He truly didn't deserve the friends he has.

When he spies Bucky his face lights up instantly. He walks over to him to ask how the event was for him, and maybe tentatively inquire about how he spent it. He knows he probably curled up with Steve a lot but he's slowly getting over that. Maybe, with time, the latent envy will be gone.

The expression on Bucky's face causes all of his questions to die on his tongue instantly.]

Bucky, darling... are you all right?

[readytocomply]

[Bucky looks away quickly. If anyone would know he wasn't okay, it'd be Mettaton or Steve. They knew him better than anyone. He clears his throat, straightening out his face.]

Course. [He pats the ground beside him.] Got time to spare for an old man?

[He tries to smile but it falls short of anything genuine.]

Were you safe? During the snow storm. Please tell me you were.

[mettatonvevo]

Don't lie to me, James Barnes. You don't look all right at all.

[He, of course, takes the invitation to sit next to him promptly, settling down next to Bucky with an air of grace and slight offense.]

Yes, I was safe. I ended up waiting out the entire storm in my shared bedroom with Alphys and Sans.

[He gives Bucky another intense look of concern, searching his face for any signs of lying.]

Were you safe?

[readytocomply]

[Bucky glances away, swallowing roughly. He was usually better at lying. He could be damn good at dishonesty, but Mettaton could see right through him.]

No, damn it. I wasn't.

[He'd tried to be, he had, but someone else's life was on the line, he'd had to help.]

It was a rookie move, but we fell. Had to take the brunt of it. She was small but it was gravity that did me in. [Bucky draws his knee to his chest.] All that ice and snow, the way the wind sounds around your ears when your falling - I spend so much time trying to block it out and now I gotta remember it twice.

[Bucky feels the edges of panic attack coming on, but Mettaton's beside him and he knows he's got to stay calm.]

I'm so tired.

June 2nd

[circlejerked]

<sub>[He's no stranger to mountain strongholds, air so crisp it seems to steal your breath instead of replenish it, cold toes aching no matter how insulated the boots. On one of his many escape attempts from the Circle, he'd fled into the mountain and hated every minute of it, numbed by the cold and unchanging palette of grey stone and white snow.

Waking up to a winter regime change is a surprise, but the sprinkle of pine trees over the gently rolling slopes outside his window seem less severe than the craggy Frostbacks. It's still damn chilly, though, jeez.

He has to put on thicker socks before he shuffles down the inn's creaky wooden stairs. Another lodge of some kind? It, too, looks a bit more nicely appointed than the Mystery Shack they'd stayed in that one time.]</sub>

What's the verdict? Are we visiting a secluded monastery this time? A mountain retreat?

[readytocomply]

[Bucky had woken up to a room filled with cats, a dog, and two other men. Steve and Anders. At least he knew them both. He'd thrown a blanket over Steve and left to see why the room was so cold and different - and plus an extra person and animals. An event probably, but the extent of which isn't always immediately known.

By the time he makes it down the stairs, he realizes they aren't in the mansion anymore. The place didn't change, it's not the same place at all.]

Both, neither.

[He glances over at Anders, rolling a shoulder.]

Small wooden building, looks like an inn judging by all of that. [There were people in the common area, a front desk.] It'd be nice if this was all it was.

[circlejerked]

That's too bad. I'd have settled for a lavish chateau with a hot pool out back.

_{[Anders, you live in a lavish mansion with a hot tub, that's no different than every other day...]}

Alas, Wonderland seems to have a fondness for drafts and threadbare rugs.

<sub>[He doesn't see a point in getting worked up about these things. If he had a sovereign for every time he woke up next to strange men, he'd be rich. He'd be even richer if he had one for every time Wonderland inexplicably did something.

Crossing to a window, he pulls the curtain to see what there is to see from the ground floor. Something moves in the distance. A... cable? Pulling a line of some kind of chair-shaped devices.]</sub>

Odd.

[readytocomply]

You know somethin', pal, I like the sound of that a whole lot better.

[Bucky didn't like the ice and snow - the cold. Give him a hot pool and Anders' lavish chateau any day.]

That?

[He points in the direction Anders is looking, frowning.]

Never been on one?

[Now that Bucky thinks about it, he's never a ski lift. He knows what they are but never taken one up the side of a snowy mountain.]

day two

[agentxthirteen]

[ Sharon's headed back to her room, mentally reviewing her to-do list when she sees a familiar figure sitting against the wall.

She stops to look more closely and confirm that yes, that is indeed Bucky Barnes. Worse, he's not moving. He's alive, or at least she's mostly certain he is, but he's not moving.

For a second, a cruel thought whispers that he's waiting for orders.

But this isn't back home. The Winter Soldier's handlers aren't here.

She turns her feet to walk nearer to him and check on him, and as startled as she is when he turns his head to look at her, she's also relieved.

She musters a weak grin and shoves her hands in her pockets, sliding down the wall to sit beside him. ]

You okay? [ She turns her head toward him. ] And before you lie to me, remember that I have eyes. That can see.

[readytocomply]

[Bucky rolls his eyes, amused, but then shrugs a shoulder. He could lie or change the subject or simply tell her that he didn't want to talk about it, but he kind of did.]

I died yesterday.

[He wraps his arm around a knee as he pulls it to his chest.]

Ice and snow and gravity. [He glances over, then away.] Like replaying one of the worst things that's ever happened to you.

[But he was alive again somehow.]

Woke up here.

[agentxthirteen]

[ Whatever she'd been expecting, it hadn't been that. The event this time had been so mild, so non-aggressive. How had he died? Really, the only thing close to dangerous was the snow storm.

The snow storm, she realizes. She had spent the bulk of it in her room with Leia, but they had noticed it through the windows, noticed how bad it was getting.

She should have known - if anything remotely bad happened during a Wonderland event, someone was going to die.

She looks at Bucky side-long. Ice and snow and gravity. She understands almost immediately what he's talking about without him having to say - everyone knows how Bucky Barnes fell to his supposed death.

She keeps her tone neutral, tries not to sound pitying or upset. ]

First time dying here?

[readytocomply]

Yeah.

[Bucky appreciates that Sharon doesn't sugarcoat the situation or offer up any pity. He doesn't need that right now. He needs facts and intel, information that makes this all a little easier to understand and cope with.]

You ever die here?

[It might be personal, but if she has, she might know more about it than someone who hasn't.]

Did you die before coming here? [He's heard that's sometimes a thing, too.]