bionicstaringmachine

"Bad" and "good" is sometimes just a matter of perspective though. [ Her father is definitely not bad. Just misunderstood. ] You sound like a good guy.

But I might need to let Garmr give you a sniff test to be sure.

[ Now she is being funny. He seems to get it. Even if she doesn't get the "old" jokes... yet. ]

Where is the Smithsonian? I've never traveled outside of the woods. [ Except Asgard, but even then that's not official. She'd snuck over there when her father had been drunk out of his mind, but nobody's supposed to know so she doesn't talk about it. ]

And if he bites me? That could mean he thinks I'm "bad" or just that he's lookin' for his next meal, after you said you had to threaten him with a steak knife.

[ His is a joke as well, even if she can't see the slight upturn to his lips into a smirk. And he won't argue about the "good" and "bad" labels that get thrown around because he's slowly coming to terms with the fact that people might actually view him as a little heroic but then he waits for the other shoe to drop and for them to look at him in horror when they realize what he used to do. It's a daily struggle, but it's getting better the more he tries to integrate himself into the world. ]

Sounds like you need to leave the woods, see some things. It's in D.C. - Washington. I don't know where these woods are you're at, but it's about five hours from here in Brooklyn.

Guess we'll have to find out which of that you are. If you're a bad guy or you just smell nice.

[ Wait, is this flirting? ]

I think I can ask my brother for my address, he goes out into the world more. But I don't think he or my other brothers or my parents will allow me to leave. [ It's a long story. ] Do you have transportation?

I think I smell nice enough, but I don't get a lot of people close enough to me to tell me otherwise. I'll have to hope he doesn't go and rip my other arm off, I don't think the Wakandans will gimme another one right now.

[ The comment about him smelling nice, it kind of gets away from him and he's reminded of how out of practice he is when it comes to flirting, even if that had been the aim. He really does hope her dog doesn't decide to make a meal out of him though. He's sure that will only give Sam more ammunition to give him shit, probably stating that his people skills are so terrible that even a dog doesn't wanna deal with him. ]

I have a motorcycle. But I could probably rent a car or borrow something. [ He actually means borrow, not liberate a vehicle from somewhere with the intent to return it later. ] They couldn't be convinced to give you a temporary discharge? Or would this be like breaking you outta jail?

You only have one arm? [ And he's like, an Avenger? Fighting and all that? ] That's so cool.

[ Oh no, he's offering to break her out. He sounds perfect. ]

More like rescuing a princess from a tower guarded by a dragon in a forest in the middle of nowhere. [ While all that is true, to a certain degree, she hastily adds so he doesn't get some inflated idea about her: ] But an ugly, scary princess.

[ Yes, she's normally this self-deprecating. ]

I have two arms, just one of 'em is a prosthetic.

[ That's the simplest way to explain his vibranium arm without getting too far into it. If they actually meet in person, maybe he'll give up more of the tale then or maybe she won't care. So far it's just nice to talk to someone where it feels kind of normal in spite of the both of them being not all that normal themselves. ]

Sounds like something I've read in a book. You've gotta be shitting me about the dragon, unless these woods are far enough out of the way people haven't noticed it yet.

You don't sound like an ugly, scary princess.

[ She actually has to take a moment to text her brother how she could look things up on her phone because she's not familiar with prosthetics. Then she gently starts to pry him about museums, in a careful, roundabout way to determine where her location is in reference to the Smithsonian. She's stubborn like that when she wants to get something done.

In the meantime: ] That's weird. I like it.

[ Hey, normal is boring! ]

Okay, fine. He's actually a giant snake, and he doesn't breathe fire, but he likes to pretend he does because that scares humans. His venom is more lethal than fire though. Thor's afraid of him because there's some prophecy that he's going to kill him someday.

[ Has she mentioned that the giant snake is also her brother? Not the one who gave her the phone, but another one. And their eldest is a horse. ]

I look like a scary, ugly princess. But I'll wear a disguise when we go out, so I don't make it weird.

Thanks. This one's a lot nicer than the ones I had before.

[ It's easier to say that, than the self deprecating thing about how she might not like it so much if she saw it in person. Sometimes people thought it was cool, other times not. He'll let her reserve her final judgment when ( if? ) they actually meet face to face. ]

Good thing I'm not scared of snakes.

Is the snake part of what's keeping you in the woods?

[ This was a jailbreak after all, so he wonders if that is just part of the measures to keep her from venturing out or if it was just something that was living in the woods. ]

Doubt you'd make it weird. Most people are paying attention to what's going on in their own world to notice other people that are around 'em anyway.

Ha, no. I can outsmart them all if I wanted to. [ The giant snake, the giant wolf, the giants, the wolves, even her parents. Even Odin. ] I just...

[ There's a long pause. Just those dots. Typing... ]

I'm human shaped, but I don't look like you. I'm marked by death. And humans hate ugly things.

[ She's never really admitted that to anyone. Even to herself, she'd always chalked it up to her parents not permitting her to leave because her presence might anger Odin. But deep down, this is the reason why she's never left the woods. She's not sure she can take being rejected by the world. ]

[ Bucky's used to not talking a lot, being the guy who sits there and stares, listening. Texting isn't any different. So he lets the typing dots do what they need to because so far Hel's one of the only people outside of those he knows through Steve, been court mandated to talk to or been on a list for him to set things right with ( there's probably others, but those are the main categories he has to go with ), that he's talked to and he's finding that he...enjoys talking to her? Even if it's through text and not even face to face. ]

I've noticed not a lot has changed in the past several decades that people can be assholes sometimes, but I dunno, some of 'em surprise you from time to time.

And some can have a little bit of "ugly" that they hide from everyone else too.

[ A beat, a pause, since he doesn't really know what "marked by death" means but he knows what can get people looking: ]

If I keep my vibranium arm uncovered they'll pay more attention to that than they would you.

You would do that?

I mean, you don't have to, I have magic and I can hide my face. But that's really kind of you.

[ Maybe he's lying? There's no way for her to tell. This texting thing is so limited. But if he is, truly, Captain America's best friend, then he must at least be a decent human. He certainly sounds like one. ]

Yeah. I'm used to people staring if they realize who I am or if they notice the arm. It stands out a lot.

[ When what he used to do relied heavily on him being quick, efficient, gone as unnoticed as possible - blending in isn't difficult for him but he also knows the ways to bring attention to himself all the same. Someone expressing gratitude to him is still different, even if he isn't as dazed by it as he was before. While she's unaware of it, he nods a little because he doesn't want to call attention to it and instead decides to make it sound like she has options now. ]

Now you can decide if you wanna use your magic or not.

Are you famous because of your arm or because you're an Avenger?

[ What? He'd just so casually said that people recognize him enough that he can shield her from unwanted attention.

Which he's continuously being so kind about. Now she really wants to meet him. ]

Okay. What else will we need? Aside from knives. Snacks?

I’m not an Avenger. [ He stands by this, that he’ll get involved and do things if it turns out Sam ( or other Avengers adjacent persons ) needs him or he gets wind of something going on near him but he’s not an Avenger. ] And I’m not famous but sometimes I get recognized.

[ People who spent a lot of time looking at that display in the Smithsonian or pay attention to history, mostly but he’s not trying to get into all that right now. ]

What kind of snacks do you like?

[ Not an Avenger is... good? Her father might be less opposed to her hanging out with him. Although leaving the Ironwoods to go on a roadtrip with him doesn't make a very good first impression. Should she tell him her father might turn him into a frog if they get caught?? ]

Just a funny man with a funny arm then.

Chocolate and berries. Mostly berries, it's easy to get a lot of that around here. But there must be all kinds of snacks out there.

You think I'm funny? Or do you mean different?

[ He doesn't really need the answer, she's still talking to him and that means she's not put off by him yet. He can see if meeting her in person does the trick on that or not. ]

Those aren't bad choices. I guess it depends on the chocolate, since there's a lot out there. Meat, cheese and chips are easy to get for snacks.

I think you're funny. And nice. And different, but that's okay. I'm different.

[ She's thinking that too, so they're even? ]

Even human meat?

[ SHE'S JOKING she doesn't eat human meat but okay she can mess with him a little, she can't help it. ]

What?

[ He's squinting at his phone again, fairly certain she isn't being serious but they did just meet. ]

You're shitting me, right?

I don't think the place down the street from me has long pig.

[ See, he's funny! ]

Okay, I'm shitting you. I mean, if I was really planning to kill and eat you I wouldn't tell you, that's just dumb. And rude.

I know we just met and all, but you don’t strike me as either.

But I’m gonna wonder if your dog starts sniffing at me like he’s ready to eat me.

[ If humans are this nice, why does everyone in her family say to be wary of them? ]

I try not to be rude. But I will fight back if anyone tries anything funny.

Make sure you don't smell like steak then!

That's not rude, that's just being smart. Like what I said about the knives, having 'em nearby if you need it - you're just sticking up for yourself.

[ He knows a lot about that, between going in and resolving some of Steve's fights ( and seeing him after he'd gotten a decent throttling ) and just generally finding it hard to put his guard down in most cases because he was ready for a fight. ]

Guess I won't shower with some steak before I meet him.

I'll make sure you're properly introduced so he doesn't try to eat you.

Okay my brother says our coordinates are 66.3937° N, 22.5727° W. [ Otherwise known to Midgardians as the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve in Iceland, second in a list of most remote places on the planet. ] Is that anywhere near the Smithsonian?

Not even close.

You're on a whole other continent. This jail break's gotten a little more difficult. We'll need more snacks.

[ And it's not so much appropriating - no, borrowing - a vehicle to get to her and now it involves more plane travel. Unless: ]

Do you know how to make portals?

[ He knows her dad and uncle are gods ( or something like that ) and the sorcerers can travel through portals ( having done it himself ) so it's worth an ask, just in case. ]

I haven't tried. But Father has a portal he uses to get here from Asgard and back. Maybe I can make it take me elsewhere.

[ At the risk of alerting her family to her departure. But what's life without a little danger? ]

Can you pick a place that's close enough to you and tell me all about it? I need to be able to picture it clearly in my mind. [ Or, you know, send her a picture. Sorry, she's new at texting. ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject