ximilia | video | un: eleven, un: barnes

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video | un: eleven, un: barnes

[ Eleven's room is easy to identify on camera - a collection of soft fabrics, stacks of books, pens and paper everywhere, and walls decorated lovingly with colorful drawings - no rainbows, though. The two figures sitting cross legged on the bed are equally recognizable. That's Eleven herself of course, snorting an undignified laugh right at the beginning of the video, clearly because of something related to her current company. Next to her is Bucky Barnes - uncharacteristically with his metal arm on full display.

Except the black and gold vibranium has completely disappeared. Eleven beams into the camera. For once, the girl looks more carefree than she usually does, not weighed down by all she carries on any given day. For once, she looks her age, instead of painfully younger or older, as she wriggles her fingers to call attention to Bucky's arm.

It... is no longer black and gold. Instead, his arm is a monstrosity of clashing colors, paint applied generously... along with glitter, stickers, shimmers, sequins, and other bedazzlements. ]

Tada!

[ Eleven glances up at Bucky, then down at the arm. ]

I made Bucky pretty. [ A sheepish look. ] Pretti-er. Look!

[ Yeah. Feast your eyes on this iridescent neon glitter monstrosity, a true eyesore that Eleven looks uniquely proud of.

There is also, notably, a small neon pink handprint generously covering half of Bucky's face. ]

I know we're all... sad or mad. Maybe both. I know things are difficult, because I can see more than some of you think. [ She hesitates, then puts a hand on Bucky's arm and takes a deep breath, steels herself to speak about something she doesn't like voicing, and has kept hush hush so far. ] I haven't gotten to do things like this... a lot. I grew up in... I grew up in the rainbow room. It's in a lab. [ Perhaps you've heard her say it before. No rainbows. She can go from cheerful to cold and hardened in seconds when doctors and labs and rainbows are brought up. And even here, now, it becomes immediately apparent that the fluency of her speech regresses, voice becoming more halting, pronounciations just a little less sure. ] I was allowed... just one picture, on the wall. Crayons. It wasn't happy. But... But Alina paints the walls, and there are... crafts. At movie nights. Everyone enjoys crafts. I bedazzled oreo... origamis. So... I thought. Maybe I could also paint things. Here. To help. Doors. Walls. My... [ A hard swallow. ] Hopper. My... dad. He made a cabin our home with... [ She quotes, clearly: ] "A little paint and a lot of love". We all hurt, sometimes, but... for now this is home. So maybe... we can do more. To make 'here' pretty. So even when you're upset, it's nicer here.

[ She falls silent, as if in doubt. Whispers to Bucky - but loud enough that the entire network will here. ]

Is that stupid? You're... less sad now. Right?

[ At the question, Bucky gives her an entirely too soft smile. Something that's completely at odds with the usual expression he wears here. ]

Nothing stupid about it. And I told you I ain't sad.

[ The fluorescent monstrosity that is his arm becomes a blur of color as he reaches up to sling an arm around Eleven's shoulders, tugging her in to a half hug. Eleven smiles, soft and calmed. ]

Anyone else here that needs some cheering up, let her know. The kid could do with some new canvases.

[ It goes without saying that he's looking for some volunteers here to give Eleven the distraction she so clearly needs. A chance to actually be a child, for once. ]

[ ooc: Feel free to interact with Eleven, Bucky, both, neither. Threadjack to your heart's content! ]

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( well this is utterly delightful and heartwarming, bless them both. )

Why, this is a treat. Thank you for sharing, Barnes does make a lovely canvas.

I have some art supplies for you, Elle. Jim... he would have wanted you to have them.

( hell yeah, making it through mentioning his husband without a stutter. much of one. Jim never did stop teasing him over 'Len, Bones, that's so cute', and had only been too happy to let her borrow his supplies. )

[No, he has no idea about the username change. Thank a certain pain in the ass partner of his.]

...you sure you want to give them up?

[Considering who they belonged to before.]

( ......does he know? and, also importantly, does McCoy tell him? )

I got a few things I'm holdin' onto, but Jim was the artist. I'm just here to be cantankerous and look pretty.

And speakin' of pretty, ( look, he's gotta give him some crap, ) She might be onto something with those sequins.

I've been told they're all the rage.

[He's just going to quietly make a mental note to stop by for a drink later and have a proper check in.]

Maybe the kid can give your lab coat a makeover. Wouldn't want you to miss out.

[ All the... Eleven looks up at Bucky, brows immediately coming together in a small frown. ]

No. You're not supposed to be mad.

[ Make 'all the rage' her new 'bitchin', Bucky. ]

( that's a sincere little chuckle. )

Jambalaya there means it's popular, it's in fashion now. Everyone'll want sequins.

[ More squinting. ]

Rage means popular?

[ And what does food have to do with it - yes she knows jambalaya. Bucky introduced her, because apparently being with Sam means he's developed taste buds since the great depression. Who knew. ]

Am I... a trendsetter?

When it's "all the rage", yes. It's slang, like... like "bitchin'".

( He's 99.999% sure he's heard her utter that a few times. )

A damn good one.

[ She gets it, 100%. After all, she misses her boyfriend, too.

(That is to say, she does not get it, she is a child, she just thinks she knows all about this.) ]

I can make you some art.

[ Nevermind he can't take it with him. But for whatever time he has left here... she can give him something made with Jim's art supplies. And maybe that's something, and maybe something's better than nothing at all. ]

You know... I'd like that very much, Elle. Thank you.

( hey, random little stab of missing Joanna, what's new? )

I'll have to frame it and put it up. Got a whole empty wall in here that could use some more art.

[ Oh you sweet summer child. ]

I can put it on the wall. Like on mine. That way you don't have to use nails and hit your thumb.

[ Hopper may have experienced a struggle or two there. ]

Oh, I don't use nails, I use super-fancy futuristic stuff.

( he's teasing her; they're command strips that show up in the supply drop, scavenged like a raccoon digging for something shiny. )

What do you recommend?

[ Super fancy futuristic stuff? ]

Like... on infomercials?

[ Yeah, that's her scope of that. Never mind the worlds she's seen and their tech levels, she still judges 'fancy' and 'futuristic' by what she's seen on TV back home, okay.

Still, she thinks for a moment. Then, softly: ]

Stars. Some shooting stars, too. Lots of blue. All kinds of blue. Maybe flowers, too. Spring flowers.

[Natasha doesn't respond to the message until she's sure she can do it without laughing. She doesn't want Eleven to think she's laughing at her.

She is definitely laughing at Bucky.]

I wouldn't say I was sad before, but you're right. That certainly does lighten the mood.

[She can thank Sam for the change in username. Not that Bucky has any idea.]

You can say you're jealous. Nobody will judge you.

[Clearing her throat because Natasha absolutely does notice the username. She's also pretty sure it wasn't Bucky's pick.]

Jealous is not the word I'd use.

[More like planning to lock her door in case Eleven gets any ideas about somewhere else to decorate.]

I know better than to try to be prettier than you.

With this arm you've got no chance.

[Why yes, he is proud of what she did. Even though it does mean he's going to lose his entire evening to cleaning out the gaps between the plates.]

Eleven could give you a good shot at coming second though.

Oh, I'm sure she could, but you know, I'm not feeling to competitive about it.

[She prefers to stay away from all of that glitter, thank you.]

Though maybe I should commission her to bedazzle a jacket for Yelena.

[ Has Natasha considered that Yelena will get a glittery jacket and just hug her with it? Because maybe Natasha should consider that. ]

Yes. I will make Yelena so bedazzled. She will be so pretty.

[ You're creating an absolute monster, Natasha. The station will thank you. ]

[Natasha will handle Yelena. She might lose, but she'll cross that bridge when they get to it.

It's not like the two of them are especially huggy.]

Personally, I think Yelena is already pretty. But she'd look good with a new jacket. I'll find you something to work on.

She is. So are you.

[ She glances at Bucky. Makes a face that can best be described as 'meh'. ]

Thank you for helping. Yelena is lucky to have you as her sister.

Oh, I don't know. I think the sequins really add to his old Hollywood good looks.

[Teasing. She can't not make fun of Bucky right now.

But she does make sure it's not making fun of Eleven's handiwork.]

You can tell Yelena that. See what she says.

She can disagree. Mike says it's a rule. Always pretend the big sister is annoying. But I know he loves Nancy very much.

[ She picks at one of the sequins on Bucky's arm a little, contemplative. ]

I love Kali, too. I think. Still left her. Siblings are... complicated.

Siblings are very complicated.

[Especially when they're siblings through shared trauma rather than birth or choice.

That doesn't make them less siblings.]

But sometimes they're the only ones who know what you've been through.

Yes. They can understand.

[ That's not always a good thing - but very, very often it is.

After a moment, she offers - in part because Bucky is also there and hearing it, so she doesn't mind clarifying for the both of them: ]

Kali was Eight. But... she ran away. A long time ago. I found her, outside.

[ Kali never came back for Eleven, either. And she doesn't remember when and how Kali escaped, exactly. Much of her time from before, when there was other children, is a blur that Eleven can't quite recall. ]

[There's a familiar story.

Not one that needs too much unpacking. None if this needs to be about Natasha.

She's aware of Bucky listening in too.]

I'm glad both of you were able to get out.

You want to talk about it?

[About Kali. Another piece to the puzzle that is Eleven. He's not about to start pushing her for answers if she doesn't. But he's long since learned by now that sometimes talking helps.]

Your sister.

[ Finn can't say he knows Bucky, but he's seen the serious scowl around enough to know that he's wrapped around Eleven's little fingers. And as for her- Well, Finn's pretty sure she doesn't like him and thinks he's crazy but- ]

I've got canvases. Walls, a door... My back's a little weird if you want to try making that pretty, too.

[ He also might want to get to know her better, seeing as they have more in common than he thought. And... well, he's not sure anything will cheer him up, but being upset while surrounded by nice things does sound better. ]

[Sam strikes again with another username change. Meanwhile, Bucky is oblivious.]

Give her all four and you'll never be rid of her.

[He gives Eleven a grin to go with the words though. Something to make it clear it's only a joke.]

[ Barnacle... Oh, ha, he gets it. Bucky's a funny guy, looks like! ]

That doesn't sound too bad. [ Until she starts bullying him again. ]

[ To be fair, she barely likes any adults and thinks everyone here on the station is various stages of crazy. Except for Natasha and Alina and Yelena and Clara. Those four are not crazy, just pretty.

Everyone else... oof. That's rough. ]

I can make your room pretty. And your... back?

[ She looks a touch puzzled at that one. ]

[ Finn doesn't know Natasha well, but he does agree that the other three are both pretty and not crazy. ]

Got a pretty bad scar on my back. It's... you know, different. Weird lines and everything. That's if you're still looking for people to paint on, though.

But my room hasn't had anything new in it for a few months. Could use something new. [ And colorful. Never mind that his room is already a bright abomination of color and texture as it is. But he likes that sort of thing. ]

[ While watching this video, Peter goes through a journey of emotion. The way Eleven speaks about her past is utterly heartbreaking. He is glad that she's found someone to trust here at the station. Bucky, no less, whom Peter has never seen smile like that before. It's very sweet.

Of course, there's also the fact that his arms look like an art and craft wonder. Peter had a good laugh at that and then took some deep breaths before answering. He doesn't want Eleven to think he's laughing at her masterpiece. ]

That is a work of art. Congratulations.

I'd like to see your bedazzled origami creations, one day. That sounds amazing.

[ 🔒 Locked to Bucky - text ]

Please, tell me you ll be keeping the arm like that. I'd pay legit money to see you go on a mission looking like Rainbow Brite puked all over your arm.

[Can you guess who managed to gain control over Bucky's usernames without him knowing?

And no, there's no lock in return. Because he's sat right next to Eleven, so he has no way of getting a message back without dictating it. So voice it is.]

The hell is rainbow brite?

[ It's a thing of beauty, truly. Bless Bucky's bf.

Oh well...Peter changes his replies to audio too, lock be dammed. ]

It was an experience. Also a very popular tv show for kids when I was little. It made want to have a pet horse.

And don't curse in front of the kid.

[ Isn't that what Bucky told him once??? Peter has learned to behave...sort of. ]

Lovely username, by the way. I didn't think he was your style.

[ Her tone is flat and unimpressed. She's right there. ]

The kid is really fucking badass.

[ And can pick up on passive aggressive stuff on occasion. She does remember the coffee and alcohol debacle after all. ]

We don't like rainbows.

[ She includes Bucky in that now because... well. He has is own versions of rainbows, too. ]

[ Peter knows. His first comment had been directed at her. ]

I see you.

[ At least this time he can't br blammed for Eleven cursing. ]

Got it. [ No talk of rainbows, then. ] Do you like cartoons?

Edited (Grammar, plz) 2022-08-02 06:04 (UTC)

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video | un: eleven, un: barnes

audio;

un: jambalaya

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action but still on camera

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audio. un: butterfish

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action. (takes place offline only, once she's done with the conversation)

audio; un: finn

un: barnacle

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