punched_hitler | ☆ 6 ☆ (VIDEO)

So I know it's only been two days, but anyone who's made it through two days of Basic so far - trust me. It could be worse. [He cocks a wry grin. Bucky's not the worst drill sergeant Steve's seen, and besides:] You could have asthma.

[Yeah, he's pretty sure he almost died at least ten times during Basic. And he got the much abbreviated version.

Anyway.]

If anyone's got any questions, or just wants to get in some extra practice with a different face, let me know. But, [he raises one finger,] I'm not your Drill Sergeant, and I'm not about to contradict anything he says just because you want to hear he's wrong - because he's not. [So just keep that in mind. Steve might be helping Bucky, but Bucky's in charge here.]

[PRIVATE TO MINDY MACREADY]
Hey. Just because I'm not your temporary warden anymore doesn't mean we need to ignore each other, right? Remember, I'm right down the hall if you need anything - whether it's a couch or a punching bag. [Literally or figuratively.

Still, he doesn't want to push. She doesn't seem like she'd respond well to that. He can only offer, she's got to take him up on it. So.] Otherwise... I'm sure I'll see you in the gym.

[PRIVATE TO VEX]
[He's seen Vex on the network, but they've never spoken. Now, though, it looks like that's going to have to change.] I guess I should introduce myself - I'm Captain Rogers. Or you can call me Steve. I admit, I don't know much about you - but I'd like to think I'm a pretty good listener.

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[It speaks to Allison's state of mind at the moment when the mention of a favor has her sobering, posture straightening out just a little, gaze sparking with a fresh chip of flint...when she doesn't nod and smile and eagerly agree to help, but becomes the head of the Argent family instead, unconsciously preparing herself for a fight as she nods just a little.]

Of course I will, what do you need?

[That's honestly a good sign, that she's taking any favor anyone would ask seriously. And he appreciates that. Thankfully, this really is something he hopes she might not even consider a favor, because it might be something she's inclined to do anyway.]

Mindy Macready. Give her a chance - and let her know it's a chance she deserves. She's kind of gotten the short end of the stick with wardens.

[And it's something he's been thinking about a lot. Something he might even do something about. But not this month - he's got a responsibility to Vex, and Allison has one to Mindy, at the moment.]

I mean, I'm... [He kind of gestures to himself, smiling a little helplessly.] A guy twice her age from the wrong century. I think a couple of things I tried to tell her, she needs to hear from someone like you, you know?

[The request is met with an immediate change in her expression: fondness and relief as a little surge of warmth rises in her chest and then clamps down.

Because she really likes Mindy, and she's really worried about her. Really worried.]

Don't even worry, Steve: Mindy and I met during the pillow fort flood thing, and she's awesome. I just...I'm not sure how to convince her of that.

[She makes a face, and her concern is more clear as it sort of bubbles to the surface and she can't stop herself from blurting out everything that's been running through her head.]

Steve, she won't listen to me. It's like a switch flipped when I became her temp warden and now she won't even believe I want to help her! And I really do, I mean, I like her a lot, but I don't want to say or do the wrong thing to make her hate me and I'm scared I'll screw up and I can't screw up with her seriously my first temp inmate was kind of all blue blood-y but at least he would talk to me and Steve what if I only make this worse--

[The change in her expression is reassuring - so is the way that Allison says Mindy is awesome - at least, until she makes that face and starts going on.]

Hey - hey, calm down. It's okay.

[Look, he doesn't know what he's doing either. He's just trying to trust his instincts and treat his inmate like he'd treat anyone else - he figures that's what they deserve, right?] You won't make it worse. I think... look, if I learned anything about Mindy, it's that she doesn't want to be flat-out told things. I can't blame her - I mean, would you? I think it's more about being supportive. Telling her, maybe not quite in words, that she's worth a lot more than she thinks.

Look at it this way - if you treat someone like a criminal, they'll keep acting like a criminal. If you treat them like the person you know they can be, maybe they'll respond to that, right?

[It's not a perfect formula, and it sure as hell doesn't apply to everyone. But he thinks that in this case, it definitely applies to Mindy.] She's a good person who's gotten a lot of bad hands. I think she needs to believe that those hands aren't her fault, and that they shouldn't rule who she is. I think if you're genuine about it, then there's no way you can screw this up. Just take it one step at a time.

[He considers a moment.] Honestly, if you can convince her to get a real bed, I think that'd be a major accomplishment.

[Allison's mouth snaps instantly shut at his reassurance. She's babbling, she knows it, and it gives her a reason to stop and listen and breathe.

And listening is good. Listening makes sense...hearing her own thoughts and desires sort of echoed back at her makes her feel a little bit better. So she nods mutely, still working on the whole breathing thing and not verbally vomiting on Captain America again.]

...I'm good at picking furniture?

[Nailed it, Argent. Let's see if we can keep up the streak.]

I just...kind of relate to her. The hand she got dealt, I mean. I could easily be in her place right now if I'd gotten killed just a few months earlier, you know?

[Before Jackson was stopped. Before Scott saved all of them. Before she'd gone far enough to get Erica killed.]

[Hey, it's okay. Better than bottling it all up, right? LIKE SOME PEOPLE DO.]

A lot better than me, I'll bet. [Especially for a teenage girl. Because have you seen his cabin? It's about as generic as you can get. So that's definitely something going for her. And it's something "harmless" that might get Mindy to open up a little and have it a little easier around here.

Although it's honestly a little sad to hear that Allison relates to her so well, in some ways.] That's - I'm sorry to hear that. I wouldn't wish that on you any more than I'd wish it on her.

[Maybe this month could be good for you both? You never know.]

[Allison smiles sheepishly, and it's almost a little embarrassed.] Well, I used to sort of...fantasy decorate. My family moved a lot, so I never really got to stay one place long enough to make it my own, you know? So I would look at home design magazines and put together my perfect room...just being goofy, you know?

[Steve's sympathy comes with a shrug of her shoulders that's more habitual than anything.] There's no reason to be sorry. I mean...you're a soldier. You know the drill.

[At the end of the day, someone has to be there to pull the trigger. That's what soldiers do.]

[He grins - okay, so he never did anything like that, but every kid played pretend. It's like that, right?] Hey, that's not a bad idea, you know. Pretty creative.

[Still. He doesn't want her to shrug something like that off.] I know the drill, sure. But I've never liked it. Wars - any kind of wars, the big ones and the small ones - all have casualties that shouldn't have happened. Most people just write 'em off. I think they're important to remember.

[Allison focuses on Steve's observation about wars more than her creativity, because...well, he's doing that thing. The thing that a lot of people she meets tend to do, trying to convince her that what she is, what she's allowed herself to become, is some form of damage. It's not malicious or spiteful, it's what they believe because they're civilians.

Steve's coming at it from a slightly different angle, and in a weird way Allison appreciates it, enough that his words hold some weight with her.]

The casualties agree with you on that. [And yes, Steve, that is her way of admitting she knows something pretty grim about her future without making a huge fuss about it.] But what side a soldier is on determines how they're remembered. Their comrades will remember the best of them...their enemies will remember the worst.

How the world remembers them...well, that depends on who wins the war, and if the world even realizes that the war's been fought in the first place.

[It's not even so much that he thinks it's damage, as he thinks the world has been particularly cruel to yet another person who doesn't deserve it, and that always sits pretty poorly with him.

He won't ask her to change, but he does wish she'd see that she still has people that care about her, and that hasn't changed.]

Yes and no. I know the victors always write the history books, but... honestly? Most soldiers I know aren't really doing it because they care how they'll be remembered.

[He has a feeling she might feel that way, too.

And, unfortunately,] Memories can be pretty short.

[He runs into a lot of guys who fought in his war, but fewer every month. And he runs into more people that think his war might as well be as "ancient" as George Washington's.]

☆ 6 ☆ (VIDEO)

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