MCU Wintershock Author Spotlight on Jadecharmer

Interviews by Fans
Title:	MCU Wintershock Author Spotlight on Jadecharmer
Interviewer:	MCU Wintershock
Interviewee:	Jadecharmer
Date(s):	March 6, 2015
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):	Marvel Cinematic Universe
External Links:	MCU Wintershock Author Spotlight on Jadecharmer, Archived version
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Part of a Series

See MCU Wintershock Spotlights.

Excerpts

"What about Wintershock as a pairing appeals to you?

Both characters are such strong characters on their own merit, for admittedly different reasons that, at the root, are actually very similar. While not much is known of the canon origins for Darcy, or even much about her life up until the point of interning with Jane, she’s a character with such a strong personality on screen. Personally, for me, I view Darcy as a character with intelligence and insight, though sometimes her personality can get a bit sharp and, as a result, can sometimes overshadow those attributes. However, I think, if anything, that adds to her as a character because it’s a very human flaw. It’s part of what makes her interesting and fun, both to explore in terms of personality in theory and to write.

Bucky, well, Bucky has always been a favorite for me. Even before the first Captain America movie, I liked his character in the comics. He’s a great foil for Steve, not just as the Winter Soldier but also as Bucky Barnes, childhood friend, Sergeant, Howling Commando.

At the heart of their characters, of the pairing, Darcy and Bucky are two people just trying to make their way through life, through the various hands they have been dealt. Post-Winter Soldier Bucky as a real person with autonomy and dealing with a lot of heavy issues regarding his past and what’s been done to him. What he’s done to others. He’s the character we’re fascinated by because of the sheer amount of trauma he’s undergone, but still keeps going. He’s the underdog we root for and the fighter we strive to be; while we, as readers and as writers, have absolutely no basis in the sort of life experience he’s gained, we can distill our own feelings of displacement (sourced from any number of reasons, big or small) in our own lives on a lesser level into something similar, or at least relateable to a point of understanding and kinship.

Meanwhile, Darcy is the every person; she’s fresh from college, trying to find her place in the world while still coming into her own. Much like Bucky, she’s on a path of self-discovery, though this one is much more personal and relatable to the reader as it is the standard(ish; Darcy still does live in a world with alien invasions) modern journey every twenty-something endures. Darcy is, for all intents and purposes, part of the graduating college class coming into the world with massive amounts of debt and no job prospects. She’s the sarcastic, if slightly pessimistic, world view brought up on John Stewart and a financial crisis that’s going to be biting at her heels.

I’ve read a lot of stories, not just Darcy/Bucky, where Darcy works with Jane post-college. I can see this being a logical step, to some degree, were Jane to make the offer. From Darcy’s perspective, it’s a job. And maybe she likes the excitement it brings, even if this isn’t what she thought she would ever end up doing for a job. But, possibly, she also doesn’t have any other job offers other than the Starbucks on the corner. Maybe she put out applications and resumes and didn’t hear back after an initial interview or two. But Darcy is one of those who seems to make the best of her circumstances and keeps pushing forward. No, she didn’t think she would be chasing stars in a beat up van with a college degree better used as a place mat. But would she change it? Nope, because this is where she needs to be.

Darcy and Bucky are both, in my opinion, more of the reactive than the proactive type when it comes to events and planning. In the comics, a Bucky plan basically consists of handing out guns to teammates (because everyone should have a gun, according to him) then bursting in on the bad guys. Sometimes falling off buildings. Meanwhile, Darcy is viewed in Thor 2 as the one holding everything together when Jane is away. She’s reacting to the situation, gathering resources, like Selvig, after said resource is seen running naked around the countryside.

That isn’t to say this is a bad trait because they’re both competent and strong individuals. Plus, there are times they can both take a proactive stance, coming up with plans and seeing little details and information that others might have missed (Darcy in Thor 1 with the anomaly in the data denoting Thor’s arrival, for example).

Either way, I think the way the both respond to situations, instead of clashing, would mesh well. Darcy excels well in a support role and working behind the scenes. Bucky, during his time as Steve’s sergeant in the war, would have had to use the same tactics to outfit the Commandos and to help prep for missions. In his role as Winter Soldier and later as Captain America, he takes the front command, but I think a part of him would always be concerned with logistics, which is where Darcy would come into play. Once she gets a system down, she can tweak it to perfection, then completely roll and own it. Something that Bucky would need, especially since his plans aren’t always well thought out (see a Bucky Plan) and, as a result, would need a support team able to respond quickly and efficiently.

Of course, that’s all in a professional atmosphere. What I like, though, is taking these personalities, these two individuals that are dynamic in their own ways, while still similar in other aspects, and seeing what happens. How are they going to meet this time? How is it going to play out? Who is going to flirt with whom? Who is going to pull the other one’s ass out of the fire? Who’s going to initiate the first kiss? Who’s going to grab the other one’s hand at the end of the first date on the walk home, lacing their fingers together because they just need to be able to touch this person, to share this connection that’s playing havoc on their heart?

This is why I love Darcy and Bucky."

"How did you first encounter it?

Initially, I read Darcy and Bucky separately, actually. I read the few Bucky/Natasha stories I could find and for Darcy, I checked out a lot of Darcy/Steve and Darcy/Bruce. For me, it was more about finding a good story and a good characterization at that point.

I did check out the Darcy/Bucky tag, on a whim, but, at the time, there were about twenty stories in total for the pairing; a third of them were actually Darcy/Steve, with Bucky as a past bad relationship, a third were Darcy/Steve/Bucky, and for the last third, most of them were less than 1,000 words, which, while good, isn’t enough to fill the craving sometimes.

Still, I read every single one of them. Some resonated more with me than others, but, overall, I was left wanting more, like there was so much potential in this pairing and I hadn’t found something that clicked. I wasn’t on tumblr at the time, but had seen a link in one of the author’s notes, on a Darcy/Steve story, I believe, so I checked it out (famous last words, of course). Through a lot of link hopping and searching, I came across the-yellow-ranger's (aka, nessismore) Naked Neighbors series. I loved it and came away craving more.

It wasn’t until Polexia_Aphrodite started posting “In the Blue Dark” that everything clicked. I was blown away. From the first chapter, I thought, yes, this, this is what Darcy and Bucky could be, this is all the potential for this pairing, bottled up and waiting to explode."

"Do you have any specific Wintershock headcanons? Are there any particular fic tropes you like concerning the pairing?

As for tropes, I don’t think it’s necessarily a trope, but I like a competent Darcy. I think she has a rather dry humor and that’s often overlooked for the appeal/desire to have a sassy personality, tossing off one-liners and putting people in their place. I’m not quite sure where that characterization came from, but I know I’ve seen it a lot in fic. My preference, my weakness, is always going to be the dry personality, which is definitely hard to write so when I see it well done, I’m on cloud nine. Especially since I think like calls to like in that manner because Bucky has that sort of dry wit, too, as we’ve seen in the films when dealing with a certain little sass named Steve.

I also like the mutual respect thing, where they can take care of the other, but it doesn’t overstep boundaries or make the other person seem weak or undermine their abilities or their personhood. I think there’s a good dynamic at play here, with Darcy having been underestimated a lot, given small things that are said either to her or about her in the movies, despite her ability to prove, time and time again, her resilience and intelligence under unusual circumstances. And Bucky, well, he’s definitely handled with a certain amount of caution, I’m sure, post-Winter Soldier where there’s going to be an adjustment period by everyone"

"Of the stories that you’ve written concerning them, which one is your favorite and why?

”I Have Seen Castles, Broken and Crumbling" is probably always going to be my favorite. It was the first story I wrote with this pairing, well, am still writing, I suppose would be the more accurate way to state this status. It’s one of the first stories that I actually have an extensive outline, though that’s constantly being revised as I continue through the story, but it’s one of the first that makes me feel like I have control over the story rather than just fudging my way through. It’s also the most extensive story I’ve attempted, both in terms of the length and the number of plot lines and interactions. It’s been a great challenge for me as a writer for a number of reasons; to make sure I’m doing justice to all the characters, to keep the story clean where everything makes sense to the reader, but it’s still engaging without giving away too much, and to make the story interesting.

I also have a big soft spot for “The Worst Loneliness.” While definitely more on the friendship, or potential friendship, side of things rather than the romantic relationship side of things, I really love the dynamic that was brought forth in that story. I love strong but still vulnerable Bucky and I have such a weakness for a Darcy that can be insightful, but still a little sarcastic. Plus, it was a challenge to try and write something that conveyed a lot of emotion by relying more on actions than on dialogue."