Comment on Hysteria

  1. fannishliss Mon 22 Dec 2014 12:10PM UTC

    motel beer eat

    These stories are SO AMAZING. I love your idea of exploring Bucky's deep triggers. I really love his dry humor and Steve's incredible compassion and love for Bucky as they suffer through all this. It's funny and touching and intellectually intriguing all at once.

    And of course i can't wait to hear what the *infinite string of expletives* MILK does. D:

    In the story where Bucky examines Steve's face, is it because of the resemblance to Pierce?? I actually think the resemblance is mostly generic, but it's a cool thing to ponder. I think, as well as I can tell the difference between Chris Evans and Robert Redford, which is pretty easily, I think Bucky would be able to tell a hell of a lot more easily, considering that he'd spent thousands of hours staring at actual Steve while actually living with him. :D Plus the fact of Pierce being such a galactic A**HOLE. Chris Evans makes certain beautifully idiosyncratic (and also very Italian!) enormous expressions that Redford just doesn't make. ... Maybe part of Bucky's conditioning would be like, why Pierce's face is so mean and blank and why it cares about the Soldier so much less than Steve's did.

    Some of my favorite expressions on Steve's face:
    -His eyebrows come together tightly and go up in the middle, wrinkling his forehead when he is amused.
    -His mouth drops open and his eyes get sad when he is shocked or horrified when something bad was done to Bucky.
    -When he is angry his eyes get very dark and he lowers his chin so that his eyes are shadowed by his brows in a threatening and masculine way.
    -His lower lip gets all plump and luscious and his eyes get big and open when he is flirting and/or cajoling, which is often. Sometimes he ducks his chin as well when he is really milking it.
    -He blushes when he grins and throws his head back when he laughs, like he is searching the heavens for why he is being put on the spot with humor.

    I've been on kind of a Chris Evans watching rampage... so I've noticed these things.
    Redford is a handsome guy, but like some goodlooking people, he doesn't make big expressions -- which are Evans's stock in trade. So I think Bucky would notice that.

    Anyway, I really look forward to more of these stories. It's a fantastic idea and I really love your style.

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    1. birdbrains Mon 22 Dec 2014 04:59PM UTC

      Thanks for commenting and so much! No, I wasn't thinking that Bucky thought Steve was Pierce--it's kind of become fanon that they look EXACTLY alike and Bucky can't tell them apart, and I agree they don't. I like a lot of stories that use that trope but I feel like it's become overused and taken for granted in fic, when they don't really look that alike, and like you said, Bucky and Steve lived together, and the mannerisms are really different. I like your Steve expression list! I'm not a big expressions person but I like when Steve smiles while talking about how sad he is, and also when he looks huffy.

      Basically, Bucky just wanted to orient himself in reality as much as possible. He wanted the light on so he could see where he was and who he was with, and he wanted to look at and smell Steve for the same reason. He's not intellectually confused about thinking he's still with Hydra, but he's so used to being there that he often FEELS like he is, and especially because he was so upset, he just really wanted to check and prove to himself that it was over.

      I hadn't thought about milk--I'm not sure if it would make sense as a trigger or not. It would definitely change the meaning of the scene in the movie because Pierce would be offering a skill or a restraint or a mental state.

      I was thinking there were a lot of deep conditioning triggers that involved making the Soldier less talkative, because even after they got rid of his memories and identity, Hydra had trouble getting rid of his mannerisms (he tended to be friendly and joke with people). In their opinion it compromised his effectiveness by making him less mysterious and it was a symbol that they didn't have total control over him. Anyway, if milk was one of the silence triggers, it makes sense in that context--Pierce is asking if Bucky needs to be forced to be silent; Bucky answers "no" by not answering. But I think milk is probably just milk. Also, it would be easier for Hydra to make the triggers be things that are easier to travel with like apples and hard candies.

      Last Edited Mon 22 Dec 2014 05:01PM UTC

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