ever marching as to war
Bucky hadn't been anywhere near Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. In fact, he'd been on the other side of the world, escorting Winston Churchill on a transatlantic flight to D.C. to meet with President Roosevelt the next morning. But Bucky'd seen action that day regardless; the Axis had planned a two-front attack, with the Japanese expected to make a move on troops stationed somewhere in Hawaii while the Nazis and a faction of Atlanteans took on Washington. The Torches, though, they were the ones who'd been saddled with the real surprise, finding a wave of nearly two hundred Japanese bombers high up in the clouds where they'd been expecting only a small cluster. They'd done what they could, but it hadn't been enough, a fact that had haunted them both for years. Theirs, though, had been a public battle, one that had ended in national tragedy, while Bucky's -- and Cap and Namor's, for that matter -- had been fought in secret, much like the rest of his more important missions.
In that case, Steve hadn't wanted to diminish the sacrifice of the men who'd died that day, the ones who hadn't had science on their side, and it was a sentiment Bucky'd only agreed with at the time. To this day, his mind hasn't changed, and in spite of the fact that he's pretty sure he's not even on Earth on anymore, not even on the same planet that's been ravaged by war since time immemorial, the significance of the date doesn't pass him by.
It spurred the official beginning of America's involvement in the War, but I'd already been training for years at that point, both at home and overseas. That's not the kind of story that's easy to sell, though... Not back then, and definitely not now. People... They don't want to hear about what it takes to turn a kid into a soldier, they just want the fantasy of it all... The tale of Cap's errant boy wonder, the naïve teenager who stumbled into a world of secret identities and fighting for the American dream.
The Rec Room isn't a place he finds himself all that often, least of all in this weather. It's been a while since he's seen a Christmas season so festive, so he's taken advantage of all the snow, having been repeatedly assured that it won't last much longer than the month. Even so, he was nostalgic for something more familiar than the weather when he woke up that morning, and while he held off for the better part of the day, by the time evening rolls around, he's given in to his temptation to try his luck with the bookshelf, see if he can't stumble across one of the old newsreels they used to show the folks back home of the war effort. To his surprise, it doesn't take that long, only a few minutes at most, and once he's set up the projector, a task that eats up about the same amount of time, he collapses back into a strangely impractical blue arm chair.
The tinny swell of an orchestra plays in the background as the picture comes into focus. Captain America, looking bigger than life even in fuzzy black and white, stands up amidst a small group soldiers; Bucky himself is among them, in his old mask and costume, looking so young as to be almost unrecognizable. An explosion detonates in the background, and the voice of an overly enthusiastic reporter cuts in with the narrative, "--as America's super-soldier, Captain America, with his sure-shootin' partner, Bucky, keeps the Krauts on the run! So take that, Hitler!"
We showed him, alright. Those guys who cut this footage together sure did a bang up job at making that battle look like a walk in the park for Cap and the boys. The reality was more brutal, more calculated, but... I played my part in the government's propaganda machine, and I played it well -- enjoyed it, even. Sure, these reels and those comics they used to have left a little something to be desired, but I still kept track of 'em all... When I had the chance. There's a saying that the military's a whole lot of hurry up and wait, but that was rarely my experience. I was sent where I was needed, right up until that last mission in '45. But what happened after that... is a whole other story. One that's only now making the rounds of the modern newsreels, the latest hot topic of the 24 hour news cycle. God only knows what sort of media shitstorm's waiting for me when I leave this place, but for now... It's just nice to remember the good old days, strange as it is to call them that.
No tag-in limit and open through Friday. Timed to the evening of December 7th, the anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Comic aficionados may want to check Bucky's wiki for pertinent details. As noted in the post, the picture is in black and white. Furthermore, while it has obviously been heavily edited, the footage is not staged.
In that case, Steve hadn't wanted to diminish the sacrifice of the men who'd died that day, the ones who hadn't had science on their side, and it was a sentiment Bucky'd only agreed with at the time. To this day, his mind hasn't changed, and in spite of the fact that he's pretty sure he's not even on Earth on anymore, not even on the same planet that's been ravaged by war since time immemorial, the significance of the date doesn't pass him by.
It spurred the official beginning of America's involvement in the War, but I'd already been training for years at that point, both at home and overseas. That's not the kind of story that's easy to sell, though... Not back then, and definitely not now. People... They don't want to hear about what it takes to turn a kid into a soldier, they just want the fantasy of it all... The tale of Cap's errant boy wonder, the naïve teenager who stumbled into a world of secret identities and fighting for the American dream.
The Rec Room isn't a place he finds himself all that often, least of all in this weather. It's been a while since he's seen a Christmas season so festive, so he's taken advantage of all the snow, having been repeatedly assured that it won't last much longer than the month. Even so, he was nostalgic for something more familiar than the weather when he woke up that morning, and while he held off for the better part of the day, by the time evening rolls around, he's given in to his temptation to try his luck with the bookshelf, see if he can't stumble across one of the old newsreels they used to show the folks back home of the war effort. To his surprise, it doesn't take that long, only a few minutes at most, and once he's set up the projector, a task that eats up about the same amount of time, he collapses back into a strangely impractical blue arm chair.
The tinny swell of an orchestra plays in the background as the picture comes into focus. Captain America, looking bigger than life even in fuzzy black and white, stands up amidst a small group soldiers; Bucky himself is among them, in his old mask and costume, looking so young as to be almost unrecognizable. An explosion detonates in the background, and the voice of an overly enthusiastic reporter cuts in with the narrative, "--as America's super-soldier, Captain America, with his sure-shootin' partner, Bucky, keeps the Krauts on the run! So take that, Hitler!"
We showed him, alright. Those guys who cut this footage together sure did a bang up job at making that battle look like a walk in the park for Cap and the boys. The reality was more brutal, more calculated, but... I played my part in the government's propaganda machine, and I played it well -- enjoyed it, even. Sure, these reels and those comics they used to have left a little something to be desired, but I still kept track of 'em all... When I had the chance. There's a saying that the military's a whole lot of hurry up and wait, but that was rarely my experience. I was sent where I was needed, right up until that last mission in '45. But what happened after that... is a whole other story. One that's only now making the rounds of the modern newsreels, the latest hot topic of the 24 hour news cycle. God only knows what sort of media shitstorm's waiting for me when I leave this place, but for now... It's just nice to remember the good old days, strange as it is to call them that.
No tag-in limit and open through Friday. Timed to the evening of December 7th, the anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Comic aficionados may want to check Bucky's wiki for pertinent details. As noted in the post, the picture is in black and white. Furthermore, while it has obviously been heavily edited, the footage is not staged.