unchallenged: (pic#12102322)
[personal profile] unchallenged




t'challa.
son of t'chaka.
king of wakanda.
the black panther.

hello darkness my old friend

Date: 2018-02-22 02:22 am (UTC)
owies: literally. pardon the dust. (you are literally blowing my mind.)
From: [personal profile] owies
[ the winter soldier carried out operations in every corner of the world. this is a matter of public record by now, but bucky doesn't need to read about his past to know the truth of it anymore. he's been on every inhabited continent for one reason or another, in and out of hundreds of cities without leaving so much as a footprint. the things he's seen, the places he's been -

nothing compares to this. nothing. not even the sunrise over brooklyn, the memories he cherishes most now that they're his to claim; absolutely nothing in the world can hold a candle to golden rays of light that shine down on wakanda.

it stills something inside of him, quiets the static noise of the darker thoughts that stalk around his mind. part of it is the princess' treatment, he knows this and there aren't enough words to express gratitude for everything they've done for him here - but much as she might declare it for herself, he can't give shuri all the credit.

it's in the land itself. something honest, solid and firm; something beautiful that sets his heart at ease. he spends most of his time alone out here, just sitting. he's not one for meditation or prayer or any of the things james buchanan barnes might've done given boundless freedom and an open sky. he just ... sits. watches. breathes.

and for the first time in a long time - possibly ever - he's at peace. god help him, but he could stay here forever even knowing every reason why he can't. who would ever choose to leave this golden utopia? #wakandaforever my dudes where can he sign the fuck up ]

Date: 2018-02-22 04:33 am (UTC)
owies: (pic#12104511)
From: [personal profile] owies
[ if it were any other person in any other place, tension would wind its way into his shoulders the moment they approached him in his reverie. but bucky knows the swift and silent steps of the black panther while he’s hunting, as well as the difference between him and the man beside him now. everything he has right now - his mind, his body, his freedom - was given to him by t’challa. bringing him here to wakanda, into his home that so few outsiders even know exists, is a kindness he can never repay.

there’s nothing else he could possibly want from the king, and he is most certainly not looking for an apology. bucky might not be the one that killed his father, but there are sons that will never stop grieving for the people taken by the winter soldier. it takes a better man to see past that and admit his own mistakes; no, t’challa owes him nothing and bucky owes him everything.

so he smiles openly to the king, inclining his head respectfully by way of greeting before looking back to the wonder of his kingdom before them. ]


I’ve been a lab rat for a lot of different people. Can’t really say I mind being hers - she always looks like she’s having fun.

[ his voice is fond, soft-spoken as he may always be. this place is good for him; these people are even better. ]

But she told me the true beauty of Wakanda isn’t just out there, it’s here in the city too. It’s orobably just a different kind of test, but -

[ he pauses, watching the movement of all the lives bustling through their days below them. even from this distance, he can see how vibrant and alive everything is. he looks back up to the king with another muted smile. ]

- I think I get it.

Date: 2018-02-22 05:11 am (UTC)
owies: (pic#12104502)
From: [personal profile] owies
Bucky.

[ he corrects gently, habit more than anything at this point. he isn’t a soldier anymore, and the name barnes doesn’t belong to him yet, if it ever will again. but he ponders t’challa’s question for a moment, staring out into the distance with the foggy gaze of a man who has seen too much and not enough all at once. ]

Peace. [ he says finally, then shakes his head. ] But not the fairytale kind, y’know, the crap they sell people to make them believe the crimes we commit are worth it. This?

[ another pause as he considers his thoughts carefully. the hidden heart of africa. that seems apt. he thinks of new york’s dirty and crowded streets, of hong kong’s murky skies, of russia’s ice cold emptiness. everything mankind does is in search of something better than what they have now. the things they take from each other and themselves seem justified if they stay ignorant to the holes they leave behind.

wakanda is different. nature and technology coexist here, advancement without the exploitation of life and beauty. it’s unlike anywhere else on earth, and bucky honestly can’t blame them for hiding from the world for so long. he’s seen what men do when they want something, and how far they’ll go to get it. when he looks at this city, for the first time, he sees what life could be like if it wasn’t a fucking competition. ]


Yeah. This is what it’s supposed to be like.

Date: 2018-02-22 05:59 am (UTC)
owies: (pic#12104505)
From: [personal profile] owies
[ bucky snorts in amusement and rubs at his left shoulder absentmindedly. tony stark. there’s a complication in his life that may never be straightened. grieving sons all around the world; it’s what one does with that grief that defines them. bucky hid in his, and would’ve been content to do so for the rest of his life before vienna.

yet here’s a man that’s ready to expose his grief to the world as kindness and charity. righting wrongs instead of making more of them. bucky’s only met one other man that made him see the world in a different light, a brighter one, and it gives him something like hope to find another beside him. ]


Think you’ll do just fine without ‘em. [ which reminds him, and he frowns slightly - ] I heard you had to fight for it recently, though. Dunno how much help I would’ve been gimping around like this, but I’m sorry I wasn’t here for it.

[ even if he isn’t a soldier, some things are worth fighting for, and bucky owes a lot to this country and its people. you have my axe, t’challa. ]

Date: 2018-02-22 10:01 pm (UTC)
owies: (pic#12104504)
From: [personal profile] owies
[ at that, bucky actually does laugh. it's not a mean thing; hell, it's such an odd sound to come from him that it almost forces its way out like a breath of fresh air. two good men, the only genuinely good men in the world as far as he's concerned, and they're so goddamn alike in their own ways. bucky thinks of a scrawny little punk crumpled on the ground, still muttering 'i can do this all day' with blood on his face.

he's seen enough bad things to know the good ones when they're presented to him. t'challa is honest, forthright, noble without naivety. it's hard to have ideals like that in a world that doesn't bend so easily, but ... maybe that's the point of holding on to them.

at least, he knows that's what steve would say. ]


You're a good man, T'Challa. Can't say I know a whole lot of kings - [ although he may have killed one or two; he sighs a little and nods his head towards the city. ] - but you'll probably be pretty good at that too.

[ he thinks so. he hopes so. for one so thoroughly rooted in the darkness, he wants to have faith that someone will be able to carry the light for everyone else. it's why he followed steve into every dumb fight, why he wouldn't mind following t'challa into the next one. ]

Date: 2018-02-27 02:12 am (UTC)
umenzeli: (Default)
From: [personal profile] umenzeli


Date: 2018-09-22 01:12 pm (UTC)
umenzeli: (Default)
From: [personal profile] umenzeli
[ he is lucky that she heard the rattling of the fire escape, and therefore had the warning and preparation to pull herself from her bed and find her spear, hidden expertly near the side of her bed. there is a distant part of her that is thrilled by the idea that someone would be daft enough to try and sneak in her home, and that same part of her is entertained by what will come of this poor thief.

but then a much closer, much more specific part reminds her that they had to get through her security, to know how to disarm the mechanics of it and enter her home. she moves silently from her bedroom down the hall, listening to each creak of the glass, each soft, careful step.

she is prepared, slinking around just behind the intruder, the room still dark and therefore still unsure of who it is until she hears her name. ]


T'challa?

[ she would recognize that voice anywhere, and it is the only reason she lowers her spear, mere seconds away from driving its tip directly through his gut. the shock of the moment is the only reason behind her second's worth of shock, before she is setting the spear against the wall and stepping over to him, frustration clear in her tone. ]

You did not tell me you were coming to America. Why are you here? What's going on?
Edited Date: 2018-09-22 01:15 pm (UTC)

Profile

unchallenged: (Default)
ᴛ'ᴄʜᴀʟʟᴀ

February 2018

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
11121314151617
181920 21222324
25262728   

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 10th, 2025 02:14 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios