#yes he's kind and young and hardworking and heartfelt

[undermine-the-instinct]

Imma say it right now---I think young Xie Lian is annoying

[eulerami]

37 and 49 for nacho, kres and batu Also the opinion of cheese

OC Questions: Thanks for the ask! I’m going to put this under a cut since it’s a bit long. I also accidentally hit tab and it clicked back so I lost this the first time. Anyway…

37. have they ever had a one-sided crush?

Nacho: Probably, in his grade school years. In the beginning of my fic he is convinced it is a one-sided crush situation, before it develops into something more serious.

Kres: Definitely, I think that’s the majority of his life regarding relationships. He’s convinced Cass doesn’t even know he exists for  pretty much the full extent of the game.

Batu: A one-sided crush, and the devastating guilt associated with it, is kind of the entire motivation for his current resolve in the story. So, yes.

49. what is(are) their love language(s)?

Nacho:

Primarily: Quality Time—This is really important to him. He seeks out fun and things to do all the time, whether it be outdoors, among people, or indoors with a movie. Anyone that can keep up with his sense of fun and compliment it accordingly is sure to bond with him quickly. His idea of a relationship is to be, basically, together as much as possible.    

Secondarily: Physical Touch—He is a very physical creature, lol. Definitely the “reserved in public, freak in private” type. He’s quite romantic and affectionate when he’s sure the other is receptive to it, and is pretty astute regarding these things…basically, he is able to read his loved one well. He’s young and hotheaded, but has a romantic side, which in alignment with his Scorpio horoscope...you get the idea, lol.

Kres:

Primarily: Acts of Service

Secondarily: Words of Affirmation—Both of these are flavors of the same thing. While he doesn’t seek outright validation, he does give assurance to others–in both his actions and his words. He typically does value doing things for others, while hearing them affirm that it was helpful is nice for him. It’s self-explanatory, I think. He comes from a place that is dangerous, where being resourceful determines whether or not he survives. He figures everyone else must feel the same. He’s a good talker, for the most part, but he’s not particularly good at putting his thoughts into words.

Batu:

Primarily: Acts of Service—My hardworking nomad. Doing work, taking care of his loved ones’ needs, and making sure they have today, tomorrow, or the season secured, is how he shows he cares. It’s the only way he knows how, and to him, the only way that has any damn authenticity or meaning. He is keen, and clever, and he does use his words–but that means little compared to these instilled values. He takes this very seriously–doing is how he shows he cares, but receiving help? It is such a jarring concept that even his salty ass can’t help but be charmed. He admires these qualities. Like Kres, it determines survival, but also hints at selflessness.

Secondarily: Physical Touch— He comes from a brutal world, where tomorrow is uncertain, and the possibility of death is close at hand. Physical intimacy is a reprieve that is invaluable, especially for him. He is an extremely guarded, unreachable man, but when he does open his heart and allows himself to remember his humanity, he is extremely devoted and affectionate–in a simple, heartfelt, genuine way. To say it means a lot to him is an understatement.

50. what is their opinion of cheese?

Nacho: He eats it all the time. 99% of the food he enjoys involves cheese. He’s probably got bags of it in his fridge, broke or not, he’ll find money to get it into his grocery haul.

Kres: I don’t think he’s ever had cheese. Do they have cheese in the wasteland? Knowing his luck, though, he’d be lactose intolerant, and would be spending his afternoon in the bushes while simultaneously sharpshooting raiders.

Batu: He’s a nomad from a culture inspired by Mongolia and, by extension, the Xiongnu. Cheese is part of his daily meals. Mongolian cheese has a simple flavor profile and is eaten rather quickly after making, which is a contrast to their generally fermented milk products. So, yes, Batu eats it constantly. Definitely a staple.

[fuckyeahwintershock]

Author Spotlight: Lara

We have another rec from @foreverdrunkatheart

I wanna rec ao3 user Lara (@agentpeggiecarter on tumblr) 

She writes wintershock so well. Her Darcy is spunky and funny and really relatable. The whole work is FUNNY AS HELL and it never fails to entertain me! Darcy’s like a lorelai (lorelei?) Gilmore with her pop culture references and coffee addiction, to Luke-ish bucky, with his deadpan humor and immense patience for her antics… AS LONG AS AQUA IS NOT PLAYED IN THE CAR

Traipsing across the room to the kitchen Darcy grabs a banana and then tries to turn the tap on. Nada. No water. Nothing. Not even brown water. Darcy twists it around in both directions, progressively more furious as her fear of not drinking coffee grows.

“Coffeeee.“ She whisper-moans. Squinting furiously she tries to evoke some sort of superpower that involves heat vision to unfreeze the tap.

He wakes up just as she’s decided that chewing Nestle can’t be all that bad. Her spoon is halfway to her mouth when Bucky begins moving.

"Everything is frozen,“ she says and inconspicuously drops the spoon, some things are just a little too humiliating for company. "And I’m not talking about the popular Disney movie merchandise being everywhere.“ And she means everywhere, it wouldn’t surprise her if Elsa chose to pop up in this cabin any moment now.

I was not kidding about the coffee addiction…

He blinks a few times.

"Coffee?”

“Oh now you’re catching on, young Padawan.”

“Young…what?“

"Padawan. It just means you’re catching onto my teachings,“ She plops down next to him and holds the coffee out to him. "There’s a spoon in there.“

(don’t worry, nobody eats the instant coffee)

I am lucky enough to be her beta and get to know exactly where her ongoing fic is heading, and I dont wanna spoil, but its gonna be good.

Honestly everything is funny like;

"Okay. You know what you’re doing.“ She says like it’s a mantra.

"Yes. I know what I’m doing.“ Which sounds about as convincing as Donald Trump saying anything. Ever.

"Okay, okay, okay.“ Another deep breath.

"Okay. Bye Janie.“ She ends the call before Jane decides to revoke that precarious trust.

"So,“ she says turning to the perpetually scowling Barnes, "red or blue?“

He ignores the question instead he holds out his one free hand.

"We need to destroy your phone.“

She clutches the phone to her chest, outraged. "What the fuck? No. This baby is untraceable. This baby is souped up to the max.“ An iPhone that got crossed with a Stark phone. Like a purebred dog. Not a pug though.

"We are on the run, doll,“ he reminds her. His hand shoots forward, and for a split second Darcy thinks she’s gonna meet her maker in the clothing department of the upstate New York Walmart. Except he reaches over her shoulder and rips down a piece of clothing from the rack behind her. A black hoodie, in her size. "No more Facebook.“ Well, he didn’t say no more pictures.

"Oh goodie,“ she says as he piles the hoodie into her loaded up arms. "We’ll match.“

"Just take it.“  

I was gonna send you some funny quotes from their scene at Wallmart, but I ended up almost sending the whole chapter, it’s GOLD. But she can also write the more serious themes, she just doesnt linger on them, which is good. Because her story is not an overly angsty story, but the serious breaks gives it a good pace and honestly, I feel like her darcy is the light Bucky needs.

A cold breeze-air-thing hits her and she can practically feel her lungs gear up to get pneumonia. Especially her sinuses are getting ready to empty themselves.  

After about five minutes Darcy feels Bucky’s shivering synchronize with hers.

When she turns to address it, make a joke, mouth already open she stops herself from saying anything because he’s starting to look a little pale. A little lost.

All that freezer talk had been fine apparently but actually being stuck in a cabin sized freezer? Not so funny.

Darcy wrestles for her words for a good minute, a rank feeling creeping in her stomach. Both from coffee-lessness and dread.

“Do you think maybe Sylvia Plath wasn’t crazy?” She says with a look to the inviting looking oven. Especially since it’s the exact opposite of a freezer.  

“Who?” He asks blinking to live. Cyborg activated, Darcy thinks hoping that this’ll bring them somewhat closer to some heat. The cold is really making her long for the absurdist sources of heat, like sticky, stuffy Subway station heating and the incredible insulation of sleeping bags.

“You know, she probably was just cold.”

“Again- who?”

“Twentieth century author put her head in the oven probably because she was cold.”

"Okay,“ he concedes, with a swift movement he drops the blanket from around his shoulders and gets up. Darcy admires him from her cocooned warmth and makes no move to get up too. "Let’s get going.“

She is honestly a great author and good friend and honsetly I know it might seem biased to send in one of these recs for my friend, but she deserves it!

Here’s what Lara had to say:

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

Honestly? I’ve always been a big sucker for the dog/cat person trope. I just enjoy big grump meets small happy (or big happy meets small grump -same diff). Bucky in this scenario, in my headcanon of course, is the big grumpy cat person while Darcy is the smaller (Not little, never little) dog person. The dynamic is unbeatable and gives me the tingles in my stomach area.

02. How did you first encounter the pairing?

I believe I found the pairing sometime in 2012, by chance, probably in the middle of the night while looking for stucky fanfics, yes I admit, I started it out with ot3 fics. I first started writing for darcyland on my flight to the us in 2014. It's been, save a few minor hiccups, a blast!

03. Do you have any specific Wintershock headcanons?

I wouldn't call them headcanons but I have a few ideas on how these two would get together and sadly it's gotten to the point where my no-good brain has decided any other way is unacceptable (sorry to all the au writers out there). They are certainly, to me, the friends to lovers type of people, friends with benefits? Not really, I don't see either Bucky or Darcy being really into that kind of arrangement, to me Bucky is a huge softie who doesn't get enough out of that arrangement. He's a commitment kinda guy and Darcy, while more open to it, just enjoys the unconditional cuddling of a person at night knowing they'll still be there in the morning. Bucky and darcy both have fun weak, soft spots for animals, if they were left to their own devices they'd surely end up on animal hoarders one day. Darcy has a healthy dose of respect for all kinds of dangerous situations but if something needs her special brand of help she's always the first to jump into the fray - at the expense of Bucky’s poor, geriatric heart. Also Bucky loves fresh pressed orange juice from Whole Foods.

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

I associate a whole lot of music with them but for easy listening purposes, I will stick to one song: parentheses by the blow.

Give it a listen, it's a cool song that I've been listening to for years.

Or, if you're into charts, a bunch of Halsey songs also remind me of Bucky. Other than that I'm in the process of compiling a wintershock playlist. I would link that with my next chapter if anyone is interested.

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

Of course per the rules of extended nepotism I recommend my friends first. Gingerlocks is one of those people who you admire for their creativity alone but when you really get to know her and see just how dedicated and hardworking she is it’s hard to resist the charm of her works. But this space would be wasted if I just mentioned people who have already been mentioned millions of times. SHIELD1 is one of those people who continuously inspires me to be funnier and more heartfelt with each chapter they post. Another person to mention is SarcasticFina who has been a pillar to fandom for as long as I can remember, both in writing and on tumblr.  Recommending just one story from any of them would be blasphemous. There are all kinds of people who inspire me with their writing and yet don’t get enough credit for all the work and creativity they put into their stories. For me it's all about quality over quantity.

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

I’ve been saying this for years and it’s not strictly Wintershock but I would love to have a post run-from-hydra Winterfalconshieldshock fic that centers around the four of them living on a farm having the time of their lives, chickens included. OR (this is one that I am planning on writing/am already writing) Wintershock plus a child. And not just any run of the mill, birthed/adopted child, nay, a child so special, that you could confuse it with an arachnid. Yes I am talking about either Peter or Natasha. Arachnid-esque children plus Bucky and Darcy taking care of one of them. Love me some good de-aging.

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

My favorite out of all the stories I have written are the ones I haven’t published yet (or worse won’t ever publish). But if I had to name one that is published it would certainly be my second installation for the Coffee Verse. Miracle on 48th Street (Ingenuity, plus courage, equals miracles). I love road trips. I love the never old on-the-run trope. And I enjoy writing Darcy as snarky as possible.

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

“Steal a car?” she whispers with a look to their taxi driver, who is blessedly distracted with God’s work by making rude gestures at pedestrians.

Why this short-ass snippet? Simple, two people quoted it back to me in the comment section of the chapter this was in and said they both lost it. All I want my fic to do, in this fandom, is to make me people laugh. So what better to quote than a passage that made people chuckled? I enjoy bringing joy. Especially in these dark times. I hope we as a fandom can continue doing that.

Thank you Lara!

As always, we’re looking for your recommendations for the spotlight, so if you think there’s an author who deserves it, you can submit here or here.