#it’s obviously fine to dislike the plot of 03

[syl-stormblessed]

probably the main reason i prefer fma 03 to brotherhood is that brotherhood sacrificed character for plot and as a result none of the themes hit properly and the storylines in general were much less compelling so even though the plot was more cohesive none of it made an impact on me anyways that’s just my two cents have a good day everyone

[fuckyeahwintershock]

Author Spotlight: IAmKateBishop

Hola, friends! It’s time for another author spotlight, this week coming from @bloomsoftly. She’s nominated @iamkatebishop​ aka CuddliestCactus on AO3. Here’s what our blushing author had to say:

01. What about Wintershock as a pairing appeals to you?  

The biggest thing is that both Bucky and Darcy are caretakers. Even though we aren’t given much in canon about Darcy, her biggest trait that shines through for me is that she is totally committed to taking care of Jane. She was just a college intern getting credits to graduate when we first saw her, but then Darcy puts her own life on hold and sticks with Jane after that like glue. You can see that it’s not just because the two bonded in a life or death situation, but that Darcy genuinely cares and worries about Jane. I love that about Darcy.

It parallels nicely with Bucky taking care of Steve. Steve and Jane are a lot alike in terms of fearless determination and zero survival skills. They both just happen to have best friends who are there to make sure they don’t, you know, die. The idea that both Bucky and Darcy’s biggest canon trait is taking care of their best friends makes Wintershock work like gangbusters for me. It also adds a dynamic of how she or he deals with being taken care of when they are both so used to being the caregiver. That’s a tension that can be fleshed out into something interesting and worth reading.

02. How did you first encounter the pairing?

I had to double check this in my bookmarks because it’s been years (isn’t that a bizarre thought?), but it was through a nessismore fic called Don’t Look Back in Anger. That fic was Shieldshock which was my first Darcyland ship, but it had past Wintershock and was from Bucky’s POV. I remember reading it and going, “Huh, Bucky and Darcy could really work.”  It was before Winter Soldier had come out, but a lot of fandom knew how the movie would likely play out because of the comics. I started looking into the Wintershock tag (except it was called Ducky back then), and quickly made my way through most of what was there.

Winter Soldier came out not long after that, and the tag boomed. With so many stories going up, I got an itch to add my own twist to the pairing but didn’t want to write anything until I was sure I could add something new. I came across a book of mythological creatures in a bookstore, flipped to a page about Banshees, and the rest was history.

03. Do you have any specific Wintershock headcanons?

I don’t think I have general ones, just ones specific to my fic. For instance, Bucky has about 748 times the amount of beauty products that Darcy has, and his hoard is causing real problems in their bathroom. Whenever Darcy complains about having no where to put her makeup or facewash, Bucky just sniffs about how it’s a lot of work to rescue skin and hair that’s been suffering from frostbite for the better part of a century.

Darcy stops complaining once she realizes that Bucky hardly notices when she uses his La Mer.

04. Do you associate any particular songs with Wintershock? If so, which one? 

I have two playlists for Wintershock on my 8tracks page (cuddliestcactus). The songs that I associate most with them are The Paper Kites’ Bloom, Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You, and the National’s Conversation 16.

Also, in terms of overall tone, Banks’ entire Goddess album is so Wintershock to me. Angsty Wintershock, but Wintershock nonetheless.

05. What Wintershock fic by someone else would you recommend to others to read? What about this fic appeals to you?

This was so hard because there are literally TONS of great Wintershock fics. If we’re just going for all time favorites, then it’s Words I Can’t Say by Morning_Glory. Admittedly, I normally dislike miscommunication as plot conflict, but this story makes it seem so plausible and also heartbreaking. I also don’t normally go for angst because it is often needlessly thrown in, but again, Morning_Glory just nails emotional turmoil in such an organic way here and works the turmoil through to the end so it satisfies the reader. I guess the main appeal of this fic is that it gets emotions down so well and takes you along the rollercoaster of those emotions. You end the fic kind of worn out, but in the best way.

06. What kind of Wintershock story would you love to read that hasn’t been written yet by you or others?  

I don’t read as much fic as I used to because of real life so I don’t know if this has been written, but I’m a total sucker for good cross-overs with other big fandoms. Is there a Wintershock Harry Potter AU? If that has already been written, someone PLEASE send it to me.

God, now I kind of want to write that.

P.S. Bucky is clearly Hufflepuff and Darcy is clearly Slytherin. OBVIOUSLY.

07. Out of the Wintershock stories you’ve written, which is your favourite, and why?  

Well, I only have the one so In The End, She Appears wins by default. In my defense, that story is hella long and still has a long way to go. It’s kind of like I wrote a bunch of little Wintershock stories??

In all seriousness, In The End, She Appears is the piece of writing that I am most proud of in my entire writing career, not just in fanfiction. It’s definitely the piece on which I have worked the hardest. Even though I obviously borrowed these characters, I’m incredibly proud of my Darcy and my Jane. Their friendship is my favorite part of the whole story, and I’ve been so particular about how I portray their relationship in the story. Female friendships are often given the shaft in media, and it’s made me hyper aware about how I present them in my own work.

08. Quote a favourite extract from one of your stories. What is it that you like about it?

Agh, one quote? Probably, it’s “It was fine to break down so long as you got back up.” I think that encapsulates my Darcy really well, but also I think it’s a good life rule in general. A healthy rule, at least.

A favorite scene of mine is from Chapter 13 (Thor and Darcy rescue Jane from HYDRA + aftermath) where Thor, Darcy, and Jane are all in the bathroom, sick over the horrific things HYDRA had been doing and then their silent vigil afterwards for all of HYDRA’s victims. It’s a favorite because I think it’s really indicative of the strong familial bonds the three have formed with each other. They’re family, together forever, no matter what. I loved that.

Thanks so much for choosing me! This was a lot of fun!

Thank to you too! Alright now...*turns on the Sarah McLachlan*

Things are desperate. Without your help, dear reader, we have no new Author Spotlights to post. I have run the well dry. Please, please send me (@latessitrice) names of people *you* want to see with their name on here! Otherwise, this feature will come to an end :(