#director’s commentary ask game

[avatarskywalker78]

⭐star⭐

From a young age, Ganondorf had always been interested in studying history. Of his own people, certainly, given everything they’d gone through, but also of the various Hyrulean races, of their myths and legends and in particular the history of the Triforce’s Chosen. He’d done much research over the years, knew that there’d been a great many heroes – in fact, a great many wielders – of varying backgrounds and genders, and when he’d gone deeper even found the accounts of the failed heroes, the ones quietly erased from the history books. He knew that not all heroes were called Link, not all royalty called Zelda (and not all Zeldas were royalty, because the name tended to get a boost in popularity every few generations or so), knew the roles had ‘swapped’ as it were, in a number of Cycles, knew that not all those named Ganon or Ganondorf were evil – that sometimes the evil took a very different form indeed. [...] Names didn’t signify anything and neither did blood – being descended or named after a Hero didn’t automatically make one a Hero. That just wasn’t how it worked.

So not how it (usually) goes was a fun one to write for several reasons - the idea of a complete role reversal for Zelda was too interesting not to - and I love it very much, but I really wanted to talk about this section here because it's one of my favourites - a chance to showcase more of my world-building and delve into the Zelda mythos, and there were a number of reasons I did this outside of 'of course it's going to have had variations across the millenia'.

The first, of course, was addressing the fact that as of yet we haven't had a female Link in a canon game yet and to me that's shocking. I'm aware of the many, many headcanons within fandom regarding Link's gender identity, especially given his androgynous looks and, in BOTW, the clothes he gets to wear, but I remember the very first trailer for Breath of the Wild and being very excited because it looked like Link was going to be a woman...and being extremely disappointed when it turned out he wasn't, so I wanted to establish that there have been Heroes (along with other Triforce Wielders) of many genders across many Cycles.

Similarly with not only having Zelda be the Hero in this fic but establishing that this isn't the first time there's been a 'swap' - it remains immensely frustrating that Zelda is often sidelined in the series that bears her name, and that even when she does get to take a more action-y role (like with Tetra and Sheik), most of that is offscreen, and any badass-ness seems to vanish the moment she turns into a Princess again (like when she's immediately kidnapped post-reveal in Ocarina of Time, like what was that all about?)

The part about the failed heroes being erased from the history books was actually inspired by the answer you gave from when I asked about why another Hero didn't show up in the Adult Timeline, given that it was clearly decades between OOT!Link being sent back to his own time and Ganondorf returning. The idea that there was one who was defeated and then forgotten about was haunting, and then I thought that again, across the millenia, there's...probably been a few of those, statistically. Which is a very sad thought, but also interesting - and of course the Ganondorf in this fic has put enough pieces together to work out when these were, so they're not entirely forgotten.

The part about names was from a quote from Hyrule Historia (one of the best books I own), specfically the page introducing the Chronology section:

The heroes of these chronicles all share the name Link. These Links might have been the same person, a series of familial descendants, or a number of heroes with different names entirely. The Links of certain eras might have been named after the legendary hero. Hylian princess bearing the name Zelda have also appeared throughout the history of Hyrule. It is likely that the name was handed down through the generations.

I myself have had quite the journey with names, going from naming Link after myself, to thinking 'wait, I can't give him a girl's name' and sticking with Link for many years, and only in the last few going back to my name, or any name that sticks. And this quote stuck with me, the idea that not all Heroes were called Link, and I though 'I could use that!' because surely they can't all have been. The part about not all royalty being Zelda was something I changed slightly - in Zelda II it was established that all female descendants of the first Zelda were given that name in her honour, and that's something I've tended to stick with, but of course that was only in one timeline. Plus again, who knows what the unseen adventures were - and a gender-swapped Zelda wouldn't be called that. And of course it natrually follows that not everyone with the name Ganon/Ganondorf would've been power-hungry and evil - and Vaati was the main villain of Minish Cap and it's sequels.

The part about names and blood lineage not being any guarantee of becoming a hero was something I'd carried over from my Twilight Princess fic what a hero is made of (beyond destiny), where Link was worried that he was only the hero because he was descended from the Hero of Time and wielded the Triforce of Courage, but Midna points out that if he wasn't already courageous he wouldn't be it's wielder, and that there's plenty of other people fighting the good fight out there. The question of free will in the Zelda-verse is an interesting one and something I've seen brought up on this site before, but I do think that Destiny isn't this all powerful thing - all the games I've played there's always high stakes and a lot of danger and nothing at all saying 'you're gonna win this because you're the hero'. Link and Zelda have to fight with everything they've got to save the day - and when you've got one timeline that only comes about as a result of Link being defeated in OOT, and the implied failed hero in the Adult Timeline, it's clear this isn't always enough. Sometimes shit happens.

And of course you have Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks - yes, the former is Wind Waker Link, but he's in a parallel universe and has to go on a whole new quest and outside of the Goddess's symbols appearing every so often (plus the Fairies of Power, Wisdom, and Courage) Link has to go by this world's rules, and faces a completely different threat - and wouldn't have been here at all if not for the Ghost Ship. And in the latter we have a new Link in a new land whose guardians are the Spirits and the Lokomos - no sign of the Goddesses at all. Even the traditional green garb is a stolen guard's uniform. So yes, I think Free Will has it's place in this universe.

(And of course this sets up the fact that Commander Link isn't suspected to be a villain by the Hylians because most of them do buy into the 'he's descended from a hero therefore he must be Good', despite the proof he's a descendant being practically non-existent).

Director's Commentary Ask Game

[shrinkthisviolet]

How about director's commentary on 'we'll give the world to you (and you'll blow us all away?'

Ooh gladly! Below the cut for length:

So this fic was written as part of Maiko "Halloweek" (so called because it was the week leading up to Halloween), aka Fall Maiko Week, back in 2020. Maiko was, and still is, one of my favorite ATLA ships, and writing this prompt also endeared me to Izumi too—I don't believe I'd seen LOK yet, though she's barely in it anyway.

One of the important aspects to me while writing this was implementing one of my headcanons: they got married relatively early, but waited a while to have kids. And part of that means they dealt with pressure about having an heir as soon as possible...mostly from the Fire Sages, who are worried that Zuko might die before conceiving an heir. And it's not that the worry is unfounded, but it's the persistence.

It was a nice chance, also, to highlight the Gaang's closeness. This is one of my favorite snippets of that:

…Zuko had the full force of the chi-blocking Kyoshi Warriors, a master waterbender, the Avatar, a master swordsman, a master earth- and metalbender, and a master knife-thrower behind him. Anyone who dared oppose him would fail, of that the Gaang (Sokka’s name for them, expanded to include the Kyoshi Warriors) was certain.

And also this, showcasing a little Maitara friendship:

... Mai found out from a furious Katara that they’d been approaching members of Team Avatar in an attempt to circumvent the royals.

“What’d you do?”

“Threatened to freeze them if they tried it again. But I’d keep my eyes peeled, just in case they didn't get the memo.”

The worst part is that even when they finally get the hint and back off in the pestering...the rumors don't stop:

The Fire Sages no longer brought up the need to have an heir, but Zuko and Mai had endeared themselves to the palace staff enough to know about the whispers. The sneers that perhaps the marriage was not as happy as presumed, that perhaps the Fire Lady had already been pregnant when they wed (apparently, some in the Fire Nation were praying that this was true, and Zuko had never felt like committing murder more than in that moment).

Of course, as stated later, the Fire Sages are spreading the rumors. The palace staff are too endeared to Mai and Zuko by this point...and the Fire Sages intend to force their hand however possible.

Also, this adorable Maiko moment, with a little Maiaang friendship:

“Since when are you into proverbs?” Zuko teased.

“I’ve been befriended by a certain Air Nomad,” she replied with a smirk. “It turns out, he and your uncle speak the same language.”

“And you’ve picked it up?”

“Unfortunately.”

And this one:

...he focused his efforts on the creation of the United Republic of Nations and enlisted Toph and Mai’s help in replacing the gossiping Fire Sages. When the Fire Sages protested, he simply said, “If you wanted my ear, you shouldn’t have insulted my wife.”

I love them 🥰 I will go down with this ship fr (that last line in particular...one of my favorites I've ever written)

Also...Mai telling Zuko she's pregnant under Yue's light (right after Zuko tells her Yue's story) is intentional, given that Izumi is born at the moon's peak—which itself is also intentional!

But back to that in a bit. For now...Mai and Zuko's shared anxiety was important for me to convey:

He looked at Mai very seriously and said, “Do you want this? Really, and truly, do you want to have this child?”

She looked back at him, first startled, then serious like him, and nodded firmly. “I do. But I also want to do it right. I want our child to know they’re loved, always, and that they never have to earn it.”

They both want their child, they want to do right by them, but they're scared too. And of course they'll do their level best and even beyond that, but that anxiety can be hard to shake. It takes time!

But now, back to Izumi:

Princess Izumi was born in late spring, at the moon’s peak, with a quick but steady breath in her lungs. It had been a difficult birth for her mother, and a stressful event for her father, and the fact that she had even lived to breathe was a miracle in itself.

As mentioned prior, Izumi being born at the moon's peak would likely be unusual for a firebender. Late spring itself probably isn't too strange, even if summer would likely be more auspicious.

Izumi has a little asthma at birth too! Nothing too serious, but she is the first (and only) child. I've never liked the hc that Mai dies in childbirth, or that she and Zuko stop having kids because of pregnancy complications...but as someone who's the eldest child, yeah, we are usually pretty difficult births (one of my baby cousins was too).

And then, of course...it gets worse, because Izumi doesn't have the Spark.

So here's the thing about the Spark: I've admittedly never been totally sure what it is, I've always imagined it as the sun hitting a baby's eyes in a specific way...but I also think it's superstition more than it's legit. Zuko didn't have a Spark either, and he's a formidable bender. It's probably an old wive's tale, and it rightfully Zuko off:

“You cannot have a nonbender heir,” another Sage snapped. “It has never been done!”

“I was presumed to be a nonbender upon my birth,” Zuko retorted sharply, “and I ask you to mind your tone. I am your Fire Lord and this child’s father. If you’d like to try appealing to my wife, I assure you, my feelings toward this pale in comparison."

...

“Believe me, she means it,” Zuko said coldly from the door, startling the Sages. “And so do I. One more step towards my wife or daughter, and I will not hesitate to incinerate you.”

Another fun part was writing Mai getting pissed too:

Unbelievably, they tried just that, not even giving Mai the courtesy of sleep before approaching her. Mai, being both sleep-deprived and furious that they would propose infanticide, warned,

“Get away from my daughter or she won’t be the one disposed of today.”

Any time I get to write her emotions, it's really fun for me, because she's usually such a reserved character, while I am very much not 😅 she's so unlike me, so it's always fun to dig into why she's like that (which I've done in other fics), and show her being more emotional as she marries Zuko and grows older, to show how she's grown and changed 💞

Zuko being protective of Mai was fun to write too...and him being protective of Izumi!! He loves her so much already 🥰 and speaking of which...I loved writing this first moment of him holding her:

“Getting sappy on me? Save that for Izzy.”

Zuko smiled at his daughter. “Hello, my little turtleduck. Don’t mind your mother. She loves us, really.”

Loved it so much that it ended up as the preview in the summary 😂

Also ofc, this scene with him and Izumi later:

“And this is the turtleduck pond, where the turtleducks live! Except you, of course, little one.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re my little turtleduck, and you’re actually human, so you get to live in the palace with me and your mom!”

But Izumi caught sight of the turtleducks, who were squawking happily at her, and seemingly out of nowhere, she burst out crying.

“Oh! Oh, um..what’s wrong, Turtleduck?” The name only made Izumi cry harder, and Zuko winced. “Um...Izzy? Izumi? What’s wrong, sweetie?” Her crying didn’t abate, and Zuko flipped her on her stomach and over his shoulder, patting her back firmly in an attempt to burp her.

He gets so worried here, it's adorable 🥺 remember what I said earlier about how Maiko both want Izumi but they're scared/anxious, and both things coexist? This demonstrates that. Zuko's a little out of his depth, and it shows, and I loved writing this. No parents are perfect to start off, especially not parents like Mai and Zuko who are flying...mostly blind (with help ofc, but even so...they're the full-time parents). But they're determined to do right by Izumi no matter what.

Mai says something to that effect here:

“Look, Zuko. What you did, when she was crying? The way you panicked and tried to soothe her in any way you could? That’s the mark of a great father. That’s the mark of a father who cares, who might not have all the answers but still wants to try.” She smiled softly. “It’s leagues better than either of our fathers, I’ll tell you that.”

As Mai says, she's “full of good points”, and I’m quite inclined to agree 🥰

(Also, as a bonus, I got to throw a little shade at parts of the ATLA comics. Aang refuses to even consider killing Zuko, and Kei Lo is Mai’s ex, not her boyfriend. Ahh how I love throwing shade at the comics 💞)

director’s commentary ask game!

[kitkatt0430]

Director's commentary on 'The Curious Case of Harrison Wells' please!

Ah, one of my unfinished multi-chapters (it will get there). I started this one for a FlashVibe week event, though the final intent for the fic is Barry/Cisco/Hartley.

It's super AU while still having a very similar starting premise to the show and I had a lot of fun coming up with the backstory on this one.

So, much like on the show, the Reverse Flash killed Nora Allen and Henry was arrested for her murder and sent to jail. Barry goes to the Wests and spends his junior high (middle school? it's one or the other depending on the school district) and high school years with them. Unlike in canon, Barry's crush on Iris turns into a much more sibling-esque relationship. They're besties and not quite brother and sister and there's definitely no romantic interest there. Also, Joe was there the night Henry was arrested, but was otherwise not involved in the case against Henry because it was a conflict of interest for him. Especially with him fighting for custody of Barry.

During Barry's senior year, the case against Henry is reopened due to the officers who were in charge of Henry's case being revealed as dirty cops. Turns out they suppressed evidence that there was indeed a third party in the house that night and since, unlike in canon, Barry edited the events that night to make the man in the lightning a more believable man dressed in yellow... Barry's testimony about the night holds more weight with even Joe believing him from the start. Henry ends up released from jail and Barry spends his college years living with his dad.

Barry still goes into forensic science and gets a master's degree so he can work for the city because... well, he doesn't trust the police to police themselves so he'll do it himself.

During Barry's college years, Henry meets Tina McGee and the two fall in love and get married. Barry and Tina get along excellently and Henry is Tina's second love too, as her first husband died some years earlier.

As a CSI Barry get a bit of a reputation about being a hardass about evidence handling - but the thing with Ralph doesn't happen. I've got plans for him but he's actually a good cop here. Instead when Barry sees that a murder case involving the DeVoes is being grievously mishandled, he investigates himself and is promptly framed for the murder of Clifford DeVoe by Clifford himself. His innocence is proven fairly swiftly but some of his things are stolen by cops and though he gets most of it back... his mistrust in the police has basically been proven to be entirely right and Barry just can't bring himself to work there anymore. He does, however, have the right degrees + experience to get a PI's license and that brings him to where he's at when the fic begins.

Meanwhile, Eobard's plot with STAR Labs has seen numerous setbacks. While Eobard still has access to the Negative Speed Force (still intended to be an artificially created speed force here), he's unable to time travel on his own since it's not the real deal. He's been bolstering his portfolio by stealing the innovations of others and using his lawyers to keep it quiet. But things finally fall apart when Hartley - backed by his parents who were quietly reconciling with him - is able to prove that Harrison Wells was covering up dangerous flaws in the accelerator. The final blow that Eobard is unable to dodge. So instead he's gone to ground, leaving behind a trail of evidence that will eventually tie him to Nora Allen's murder. And he knows it'll come out eventually, his obsession with Barry is simply too strong.

For Eobard, Barry is the Flash whether he has powers or not and being powerless puts Barry at the disadvantage. He may need Barry to get those powers in order to go home, but he's torn by his hatred of the Flash too. Hence the taunting message left when Barry investigates Ferris Air and nearly stumbles across Eobard who'd been hiding out there.

Eobard is definitely intended to be creepy in a silent, ominous presence in the background sort of way here while Barry, Cisco, Hartley, Caitlin, and Ronnie slowly unravel the lies of Harrison Wells to discover the true identity hiding underneath. Though eventually he'll get tired of waiting and finally show his face. Will it be Harrison Wells face or his original one? That... I actually haven't decided yet.

I do intend to make this a two-part series. The first fic dealing with Eobard Thawne and the second one swinging back around to deal with the supposedly dead Clifford DeVoe in what is intended to be titled "The Curious Case of Clifford DeVoe".

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

director's commentary on Trophy please 👀👀

Trophy

Oh gods where do I even start-- my magnum opus, my beloved, the every-horrible-thing-I-could-think-of-happens-because-no-one-stopped-me (and boy did my best friend try) fic

This was so long I'm sorry-- as you can see, I always want to talk about this fic but have ✨anxiety✨. When asked about it though-- it's what my brain needs to allow it lmao. I do hope you enjoy :)

The first line was originally (as a thought) "I deserve this" , this was scrapped because the concept became irrelevant in later drafts (and now it may become relevant again-- who knows). The first bit before it cuts back to the race was originally the first of a back and forth kind of flashback thing. ex. chapter 2 would have taken place in the present with hints as to what happened, and chapter 3 would directly follow the events of chapter 1. If the way I explained that didn't make much sense-- that should be enough to show why this has since been changed💀

A single step away– but in the corner of his eye; a flash, a blur— and Zoom tackled him off the magnetar.

This was very intentional. I specifically wanted to mention just how close Barry was to winning as he did in canon. Makes everything that happens next all the sweeter, to me :)

There are many parts and lines that are going to hit so much harder later on and that's all I'll say about that matter for the moment.

“You really thought you could defeat me?” His low whine turned into a howl as Zoom pressed harder on an evidently broken rib. “Forgotten I’m the fastest man alive?” Zoom leaned further down and Barry bit his cheek to prevent a shriek. “Don’t worry.” Tone laced with venom, he wrapped a hand around Barry’s windpipe. Zoom’s mask was inches from his face, blocking the breach. “You’ll have plenty of time to remember.” He clawed at the hand desperately, struggling for air. 

This is one of my favorite scenes ngl. I wrote this whole excerpt after rewatching the Enter Zoom scene and wrote nothing else for the rest of that night lmao. Tis where you get the parallels between those first two lines and ones in that episode "You really thought you could defeat me?" is just slightly changed from "{Harrison Wells}, you thought you could defeat me {with this}?" And as I type this, I have discovered another layer to that parallel that is extremely relevant to the story. Holy shit this is awesome (I will not be saying. spoilers.) ANYWAYS; the other parallel line. "Forgotten I'm the fastest man alive?" comes from "Never forget, I am the fastest man alive." I love parallels. Let's just say that Zoom is very irritated and a little offended that Barry seems to think he {Zoom}'s less powerful than he is. May need a couple more reminders...

Knew I needed another really bad injury besides the broken rib to both bring the Enter Zoom parallels to a climax, and to make the next scene/s work. I thought "Hey! Speedsters can't run if their leg is broken!" and that was that.

“Now you can watch your precious multiverse die. Knowing you’re the one who destroyed it.”

This might be my favorite line and it is the only anything from the first draft of chapter 1 that made it to the final draft. Also I wrote it at 5 am because of course I did.

Somewhere behind the two speedsters, there was a scream

The person who screamed will not be revealed in this fic but I do know who it was and there is an in-universe reason for it besides simply directing the attention away from Barry. I wrote a companion piece off of that reason-- may post it if I feel like cleaning it up a little. But for now, feel free to theorize :)

And finally, to round out the chapter 1 fun facts and commentary-- something I've wanted to say since that fateful day it was posted.

Around 50% of chapter 1 was written on March 14th from 5-11 pm with no food, no water, and no bathroom breaks. I had the power of whump and the speedforce on my side and I was DETERMINED to post it on Barry's birthday and it fucking worked.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR ASKING AND ENABLING ME BECAUSE I HAVE PUT WAY TO MUCH THOUGHT INTO THIS FIC AND AM DELIGHTED TO SHARE IT!!!

Fanfic Writers: Director's Cut

[pauls1967moustache]

Hellooo!!! Could we have your dvd commentary on this snippet from my beloved ‘tomorrow I’ll miss you’ please?! (even though you already did such a good job at showing their feelings)

"You know, he didn't want me to come today," Paul tells him. He says it as a joke—to demonstrate the state of George's protective paranoia—but John doesn't laugh. A perplexed, little frown creases between his brows, instead.

"What do you mean?"

Paul feels embarrassed for a moment, his cheeks warming starkly against the cool autumn air around them. He's realises it might have sounded like a bigger deal than it really is, what with John going all serious on him.

"George thinks it's this whole thing like—" he stutters out, trying not to go too obviously red. He takes a breath, focusing on the burning end of his cigarette instead of John. "Well, he has this daft idea in his head like it's going to be Hamburg all over again or summat, you know. Like we're going to become best mates in an afternoon, and then you'll disappear, and he'll have to deal with me."

It's not exactly what George said, but Paul can tell it was what he meant.

Do you want me to come with you? George asked him, in that same conversation about the book event.

I dunno if I'm going, yet. I'll probably have to work, anyway, but if you want to see him you should go, Paul had told him.

And then George said: I'll go if you wanna go—his voice all gentle, like he was trying to reassure Paul of something.

George always fucking did that—talked about John like he was only ever Paul's friend. It frustrates Paul. Makes him feel embarrassed for bringing John up in conversation, when it isn't that he's desperate to talk about John, or whatever George seems to think. John's a thing they share. Paul brings him up because he figures George might like to talk about him, too, from time to time. But then George always turns sarcastic, or wary, and it ruins the mood of whatever story Paul wanted to reminisce about in the first place.

And really, Paul doesn't always want to deal with it; so he didn't say anything else about the book event, and he didn't say anything this morning, when he decided he was going to go.

"Why would he have to deal with you?" John asks, his voice even enough that Paul figures he—thankfully—hasn't noticed Paul's unplanned embarrassment about his flub.

"I don't know," Paul shrugs, taking another drag of his smoke. "He's not my bloody keeper."

He notices John watching him carefully, out of the corner of his eye. He holds out the cigarette in offering, not sure what it is John expects.

For the DVD commentary game

Ooh, I actually have lots to say about this one! For starters, when I was outlining this fic I was very precise about the reveal of information. I knew this scene was going to be the reveal of their relationships: first Paul's wife, then John's lover, then what happened in Hamburg with each other.

But I didn't originally have an introduction to that yet, they just went straight into talking about Paul's wife. I wanted it to be a bit more fo a shock than that though, and I didn't feel like the fic had addressed George enough up to that point (something I felt like John would've asked about, but didn't fit in anywhere else). So I wrote that they start by talking about George, and once Paul accidentally hints that maybe what happened in Hamburg had more of a significant effect on him than John believes, John gets curious/desperate enough to bring up the wife Paul hasn't mentioned at all.

The other thing is that later on in the fic, we learn just how devastated Paul actually was by what happened after Hamburg when we get that flashback to Paul crying when he realises that John's genuinely never coming back, and George finds him. This is like one of the first scenes I had for the fic, and again - I planned this very precisely - so I couldn't really get into just how upset he was yet, because it's going to come up later. I could only hint at it.

The good thing about this fic is that Paul is the denial king, so his POV is tailor-made for that kind of unreliable narrator nonsense. Paul never really acknowledges his feelings, but I could give an idea that they were there by using George's protectiveness. Paul says George had to deal with him, but we don't yet know what that really means.

And then, bringing George into it created this whole backstory of George as the one who had to put Paul back together after the heartbreak John caused him. Like, my brain went into detail about this. There's a whole mini-fic of George's post-Hamburg POV in my head. So George knows what seeing John again will mean to Paul, and he is rightfully concerned about how that will turn out given that from his POV John ditched them both and then Paul was so devastated he almost quit music entirely.

George kind of doesn't like John anymore because of this, which is why he doesn't join in on Paul's John stories the way Paul likes. But Paul doesn't like to feel judged, so naturally, he doesn't want to actually be honest about his desire to see John - even if George sees right through it. George is trying to leave space for Paul to be vulnerable about all the John-related feelings this is surely bringing up to the surface and Paul is going, no thanks! because he knows George won't approve, (and he just doesn't like talking about his feelings).

John is obviously not aware of any of this and is just trying to figure out what the fuck he'll have to deal with me is supposed to mean.

[krirebr]

Sorry this ask is coming late (I had mid terms) but would love some director’s cut commentary on “What You Can Do for Your Country”. What was your inspo, what was most fun to write, anything you wanna talk about! 💜

Aqua!! I hope your midterms went well! 💜

Thanks for sending this! I had so much fun writing WYCDFYC and I can't wait to talk about it!

Ok, so it came from two ideas that had been in my head for a long time. The first was a very basic fantasy that it must be hard to go Captain America and always have to be good and kind and right all the time. You'd need some sort of, like pressure valve. And maybe that valve was a person. 😈

Then, separately, I had this little bit of dialogue pop into my head

"Please don't hurt me." "Oh sweetheart, what else do you think you're for?"

It lived in my head for months. And I wasn't writing fic yet, so I thought about slipping it into the ask box of someone else, cause I just like it so much!

But then one morning I woke up and like sat straight up and realized they were both part of the same idea. And once those two puzzle pieces were together, the rest flowed out really quickly and I posted it just a few days later.

The most fun bit? I think it was probably Steve's whole speech, the way he kind of gleefully justified himself. "I'm not a fucking bald eagle," definitely made me laugh when I wrote it. But I just loved how unhinged he was and I had such a good time really digging into it.

Finally, I'm just really proud of it. It was so fun to do, but also kind of scary, cause it was my first fic, I'd never done reader insert or second-person or any of it. And I had literally 10 followers at the time, so I had no idea if anyone was going to read it at all. But the fact that people did and they liked it and they told me was just so great and gave me so much confidence and made me realize that I really wanted to keep doing it and filled me with so many other ideas. I very much would not be here without that story. So I'll always love it. 💜

Send me a "director's cut" ask!

[hauntedpearl]

Doe Doe Doe!! For the fic directors commentary: I would love to hear your insight about this collection of lines from ttwoat

The path they cut through The Son's kingdom with silver ichor remains untrodden for too long. 

Somewhere, Balthazar screams as ephemeral claws tear through his left flank, adding to the cacophony, and Castiel shifts his form, turning serpentine, weaving towards his Brother.  

'We fall fast,' he prays to Heaven, splitting his sword in two, fending off a new wave of demons. 'We cannot hold the line for much longer.'

Revelation remains scarce. 

Castiel grows restless. 

They may have been 'canon fodder' to Zachariah, but he does not intend to die in the Pit.  

He does not intend to lose this battle. 

Or his garrison.  

For all the sin it harbors, Hell still has its rules —

A claimed soul would leave unscathed, as would the one laying the claim.  

And an angel's claim can kill a star. 

Or make one.

If you feel so inclined!! Ty <3333

hellooo vinny my dear!

okay SO. this whole sequence from ttwoat was actually super fun to write. I was mostly playing, but it also took me a ridiculous amount of time because there was this vision in my head and i just wanted it to be as close to it as possible.

A whole "battle" sequence was pretty heavily inspired by the fantasy stories i've read over the years. like i know im not good in any way yet, but i LOVE a good high fantasy magic battle, and it's a part of supernatural that often gets lost in the urban fantasy americana vibe of the show. So i really just wanted to play with it here. the intention was to invoke an image that's like part epic battle part abstract creature fantasy.

which.

that was also something i was thinking about. like we don't know anything about angel or demon trueforms, beyond the fact that humans cant see them. and they in some way reflect the divinity or the evil that these beings possess right. now im not christian, and i don't really know anything about christian mythology beyond the things in pop culture tbh so i decided to play with the idea of trueforms, pulling from this piecemeal knowledge of western mythology and just stuff i know from my own culture. (it's getting long so im putting the rest under the cut oop im so sorry!!!!)

so demons are more "monstrous" looking in the traditional sense and they're these masses with no definition and theyre hunger and teeth and claw and fire and smoke.

I had a little more fun with the angel trueforms. to start off, i wanted them to just be pure energy at their core. they're basically like stars in my head. just this dense ball of light and power, that's all an angel is to me. but you can't do battle with just a ball of light, because that's too abstract to serve the purposes of this action scene. and like they can't really have human vessels because this is a corporeal battle, but it's still a realm where human bodies cannot really survive. so i figured it could be like the angels are always in a false skin, unless it's like a very dire situation. this false skin is part of them, but it helps them channel their power in a way that's easier to direct and control. so like a scene like this where cas is able to point a sword - which is also part of his grace btw - at a demon

'We fall fast,' he prays to Heaven, splitting his sword in two, fending off a new wave of demons. 'We cannot hold the line for much longer.'

v/s the scene later in the fic where he just like breathes destruction when he's shed his false skin.

The very touch of his divine light is corrosive to the children of Lucifer. It is barely a battle, this time. The wave disappears in one burst — a single, blinding pulse of his grace that echoes off the walls of Hell.

you know? like this pure grace warfare is clearly more effective but it would just straight up decimate everything around it and that's like not helpful if you have people on your side also. also even this little pulse leaves cas "winded" which is like how i wanted to show that this is like a significantly taxing thing to do also and not sustainable for like a long battle.

and because it was fun, i decided that the false skin is pretty much malleable as long as the angel is in control, and not hurt too badly. which is why cas shapeshifts throughout the battle into a form that better serves him in the scuffle with his current opponent. i don't think i was thinking much beyond look they're like so powerful what's the point if they can't do cool shit! ( this is also why there's sword splitting. i just really liked the visual of the magic grace sword splitting in two because it's just. SO COOL. and im a sucker for a sick image!!!) despite all this, the stakes are still high, because the demons are just as powerful, or even if they're less powerful, they make up for it in numbers. and that like balances things out.

from a character perspective, this scene did a lot of heavylifting for me. like it's not the best done but ttwoat is mostly just a cas character study. it's about cas' ability for kindness and love, and his impulsive behaviours and his struggle to do the right thing, his justifications for choosing his paths, the inevitable fallout because he really DOES NOT THINK IT THROUGH. and like what this turns him into in the end, because he's almost too scared to reach for the things he wants because he's learned time and time again that his wants tend to result in terrible things. in the first section, raphael protects him in some capacity. here, there's no one around to do it. he is in fact responsible for other angels also.

i didn't do a lot of research for this fic because it was really just an impulsive writing thing, so i don't know if this is how military actually did battle, and if this makes any proper sense for someone who would know the mechanics of like warfare, but in MY HEAD, i was thinking this is sort of like how it is in the movies? like the armies send in their foot soldiers and then there's the cavalry, and the king's pretty much not joining the fray unless he absolutely has to. so that's what's heaven's doing here, essentially. they know where dean's soul is, and they could probably reach it if michael and raphael like came down from the heavens, but it's demeaning to fight a small battle with lower order demons? i guess? they're just sending in these garrisons before to basically just clear a path through the mess of hell. in this fic, uriel is fully right. they *are* canon fodder. they're just here until the next wave shows up and the one after that and so on until hell is retreating and michael can come pick his prize up.

and like they don't tell the angels this because they want no doubts and full devotion and they just expect them to do what it takes. if they beat the demons, great. if they die, well. they were gonna die in the apocalypse anyway. i don't think they're abandoned, i just think heaven is disinterested in their safety or in expending more than it has to at once. which is why when cas is getting worried about the overwhelming forces in battle and he prays, there's no answer. and the thing about cas is like. he is IMPATIENT.

Revelation remains scarce.  Castiel grows restless.  They may have been 'canon fodder' to Zachariah, but he does not intend to die in the Pit.   He does not intend to lose this battle.  Or his garrison.

he doesn't take well to being out of control, and he has terrible short sight, and he'll do anything for a cause he believes in. which in this case is saving his immediate garrison. and himself. mostly. he just does not want to die. it really is as simple as that in the moment. and he's willing to do god level stupid shit to avoid that one consequence. which is very cas of him honestly.

so he decides to just be like. well. why are we here? for the human soul right? fine. i'll go get it and we can stop this! (also i generally love the idea that cas was NOT supposed to be the one to reach dean. he just, like, did. because he made a stupid harebrained choice. <3)

also again. just love the idea that humans and angels are all just like very dense little balls of energy at their core. and this energy is something that can be corrosive to hell. so his in-moment justification for like, claiming a soul -- which in this fic, my idea was like, michael was supposed to claim dean's soul because then they'll be bonded and then the human body that'll be forged for dean will accept michael even better and like when it comes down to it, he'll be reinforced because of their bond etc etc like the profound bond is very much a thing that was supposed to be manufactured between dean and michael and cas was just like no. <3 i'll take that. <3 -- is basically that it is a huge exothermic reaction. and he thinks he can create enough of a break in the battle and enough destruction in hell in general for him and his garrison to retreat, AND they would also have dean with them it's a foolproof plan!

(except for the part where he isn't supposed to do that and he might not know that michael was planning on doing it for a reason like by being told about it but he's not stupid he's just choosing to ignore it because he's crazyyyyy love and light.)

and so he's like. well. let me go get the michael sword! and he falls in love!!! <33333

PS: added the bit about his form being serpentine, and also there is a small line later in the fic about him being the first angel to be so deep in hell only after lucifer because even though i don't talk about it all that much i am always thinking about the parallels between lucifer and cas' arc and it is all FASCINATING to me like he IS a little serpentine ykwimmmmmm

ooof okay omg this got so long im so sorry but it's so fun to talk about ttwoat!! thanks so much for the ask, hope you had a little fun with it too!! <333

[turbo-toast]

⭐star⭐

Tell us about a part of your fic that you’re proud of!

Spoilers for Servare Solem, my Skyrim fic below!

There is a part in Servare Solem where Helreca, our bounty hunter protagonist, accepts a bounty to track down a miller's missing son. While investigating where he disappeared to, she learns that he has been made addicted to Skooma, a highly addictive drug, by a gang of vampires holed up in a den not far from the mill, and encounters armed resistance there.

A fight ensues during which she's bitten and stabbed through the back, and if Hermaeus Mora, a daedric prince, didn't show up, that would've been the end for her.

Instead, she is transported to Apocrypha, Mora's plane of Oblivion, and left to figure out how to get out of there.

I'm really proud of that sequence because Apocrypha is a creepy, gross and otherworldly place full of eldritch monsters and slimy muck and I think I really nailed the vibe there. On top of having to find a way out of there, Helreca's body is also changing during all of that, turning her into a vampire, which I've peppered in little hints towards. Think your tongue snagging on your canines all the time suddenly, your wounds healing abnormally quickly, heightened vision and hearing - but not being able to investigate any of it because Apocrypha is constantly keeping you on your toes.

At the end, after fighting off Apocrypha's horrors, she finds a Black Book that transports her back to the vampire's skooma den, in the middle of a group of her attackers. As a newborn vampire, she is *hungry*. And she snaps, slaughtering them all. When all the fighting is done and she can finally leave the den again, she catches her reflection in the nearby lake and *then* it sinks in for her what she's become.

I had a ton of fun writing that part. The frantic action, the horrors of Apocrypha, the changes to her body creeping in, a first demonstration of the sort of power she's been given and what it demands - and then her shock and despair of becoming the very thing she was fighting.

[theminecraftbee]

BTS ask for free angel of carrows, if no one’s done that yet!

OKAY SO. one of my favorite passages is from chapter 11. so lets talk a little about pearl's house! there are meant to be a lot of signs in last days as you get to know pearl that A) her home/family life was probably not particularly great and B) pearl doesn't really understand that her home/family life was not particularly great. in addition, there are meant to be a lot of hints as to why her and grian's relationship is the way that it is.

pearls extremely haunted house is a hint at both of these things. by this point in the story we've established several times that spirits are caused by strong emotions, usually negative, that come from someone with a potential for magic. we've even already talked about wels, and how one of the atsign agency's first jobs is to get him out of a place that was bad for him that had created a particularly powerful curse/spirit as a result. so when we get to pearl's house, you're at least hopefully, as an audience, able to pick up that Something Is Wrong With The Moon Family. (or, well, more than you've obviously picked up by that point, lol.)

it's also, however, one of the first times the story slows down, and a good place to put in joe and cleo's thoughts on all this. so, we have the conversation between joe and cleo, where cleo had met the spirit in the house and they talk about whether they know what they're doing. i just think the scene in general, where joe and cleo talk about how they know something is wrong with pearl and it's not a thing they can fix, is important to joe and cleo's characterization, but also to establishing pearl a bit! it's important that we know joe and cleo are able to pick up that part of why they're sticking with pearl is because they've realized she's hiding things but is also hurting, but it's also important that we just... get that they know that not all of this will be fixed at the end of the job. plus, cleo explaining that the spirit asked "when grian is coming home" says a lot about everyone there: about pearl, about her relationship with grian, about some of the things that might have happened in this house, and about cleo, in that this is what shakes her so badly.

however i also think that the scene ending the way it does - with joe offering to do first aid, cleo pointing out that he can't fully heal her, and joe saying that it's better than nothing, then with the narrative agreeing it's better than nothing. well, that says something about the story, too. you could even argue that's the way the story ends.

anyway i just. really like that scene at the start of chapter 11 it's probably my favorite thing i wrote in that fic

[acorrespondence]

*grabby hands* gimme all the heavy heart secrets pls pls pls

Did I already tell you that heavy heart had a different working title? I feel like I did, which means it’s no longer a secret. If not, it was “i’ve sent your saddle home,” after a line in the Hank Williams Sr. Song “Dear John.” I think the overall vibe of Heirloom by sleeping at last (where the posted title comes from) fits the vibe of the fic way more, so I’m very happy to have settled on it.

Another secret, I suppose, is that I had an extremely difficult time coming up with Pemberley’s name. I don’t even generally like regency romance as a genre, at least in its traditional structure with its common tropes, and found Pride and Prejudice a bit of a slog when I read it in high school. But I was trying to think of names inspired by literature and came to it kind of randomly. I guess the thought process was thus: I was considering the tradition in the American South of giving children the mother’s maiden name (or other family name that disappeared through marriage) irrespective of gender, and it didn’t seem too much of a leap from literary surnames to literary place names (it fits the same theme of reclaiming lost inheritance, particularly the kind of inheritance that’s traditionally barred to women, as an overwritten surname being reclaimed in what’s by necessity a roundabout/bastardized way, that being the only way available; plus, inheritance in a less tangible sense—inheritance of trauma, inheritance of a place and its ghosts and memories—is very much one of the story’s central themes). I also thought it was pretty recognizable as a Name Inspired By Literature, from a very popular set of books, and therefore something that a) Pem’s mother might have thought of if Boyd suggested Literary Names despite maybe being less well-read (at least when it comes to the “classics”) and b) is unique and pretentious enough Boyd would have agreed to it.

In the vein of names, another secret: Pemberley’s middle name, Anne, was inspired by Anne of Green Gables. Felicity’s was originally going to be Jo after Jo March, but then I decided that since Felicity isn’t literature-inspired, they probably made a conscious decision to let that be Pemberley’s Thing. So, I switched it to Joan after Joan of Arc (not-so-coincidentally, I think this warrior’s name fits her personality just as well. Plus, I like the symmetry of Felicity Joan and Pemberley Anne.)

(Ask game here)

[avatarskywalker78]

⭐star⭐ 

The timeline’s in danger , he thinks frantically, the timeline’s in danger – Eobard Thawne is attempting to break time and he’s using Nora West-Allen to do so. Help me get there so I can prevent that. Help me get there in a way that won’t do more damage. The silence stretches on for an eternity as he runs. The silence lasts barely a second as he runs. Then a voice, familiar and yet not, answers. The timeline is on the brink and the multiverse is under threat. Trust your instincts, Theodore Edward Thawne, child of the Speed Force – focus on Nora West-Allen… and run. When , he wonders, when? You know when. And somehow he does and he runs and he runs and he runs and—

I knew almost from the start that one of the trickiest parts of to live with (the echoes of the past) would be writing the Speed Force itself, particularly from the point of view of another character. This is an multi-dimensional force of nature with blue and orange morality and Theodore is having to try and connect with it to run back in time, and I wasn't confident in trying to get across his experiences - after all, it's not like this is a problem in real life.

Then I was wondering whether it would show up as someone or not, or at least be the voice of someone, but I couldn't figure out who - Eddie wouldn't make any sense because (as of yet) he hasn't met the man, and yet there weren't exactly many other candidates, and I wasn't sure how Theodore would talk to the Speed Force...

But then I remembered that speedsters are seen as children of the SF so they're going to have an easier time in doing so - the exact details I've left vague, but it gets the point across, especially with the SF willing to help him. The voice is familiar to him and yet he can't place it, and I was able to show how weird time is within the SF by having it feel like ages and yet not very long between Theodore's pleading and the SF's answer, and then his instincts, boosted by the SF, lead him to where he wants to go...

I'll probably not do that many time-travel scenes like this, but I'll also never say never, and of course the more I write the better and more confident I'll get - and the SF will manifest itself to Theodore at some point. I think this is a pretty good introduction.

Director's Commentary Ask Game

Tagging (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @shrinkthisviolet @starstruckpurpledragon @vexic929 @negative-speedforce @daughter-of-melpomene

[shrinkthisviolet]

⭐️

Ooh I'll go with my s9 finale Savitar fic for this one (which is almost a year old! How time flies):

So for starters...I didn't plan to write this fic at first. I was pretty determined not to write any fics post-s6...although I'd already broken that rule once, and I was so upset about how Savitar was misused in the s9 finale, so I decided to break it a second time 😅

Specifically, I zeroed in on the two dynamics I found more underused and fascinating: Savitar & Thawne...and Savitar & Nora

...also a little Savitar & Zoom, but I mostly focused on the two mentioned before, with the Zoom stuff as merely a mention. As intriguing as it was...this kept the focus more narrowed, more focused on Savitar's internal struggle, which Zoom wouldn't be able to coax out as effectively as Thawne (who is connected to Barry in a way Zoom could never be)

Thawne and Nora here act as his "devil" and "angel" respectively, so to speak. Thawne reminds him over and over again that he's Barry, to taunt him and his weakness:

“But you do. Because you’re still Barry, under all that armor. You still feel guilty for what happened…you still blame yourself.”

…

“Although, if we’re being technical…it is your fault, isn’t it? For trusting my word and then breaking your own end of the bargain.”

…

“I’m the reason you even became the Flash, Barry. Don’t forget that.”

…

“...never,” he added sharply, “make the mistake of thinking I don’t know you, Barry. I know you better than anyone in the world. Never forget that.”

(The last two are nearly the same sentiment, but you get the idea)

He also rubs Zoom in Savitar's face, and we get to see a peek of Barry's PTSD in Savitar:

“I hear Zoom gave you a run for your money the first time you fought.” Thawne laughed. “Is Barry Allen still afraid of the big, bad wolf?”

“I’m not afraid of Zoom,” Savitar hissed, “I just know my priorities.”

I healed from that. I’ve moved on from it. The nightmares are gone. It’s fine. It’s fine.

Villains don’t get nightmares. Villains aren’t afraid.

Not-so-deep-down, he's Barry. And guess who else knows it? Nora West-Allen. Not connected to Savitar in any way—in his time loop, she never existed. He's not her father, she's not his daughter. And yet:

“Savitar.” Her face flitted between fear and…and something else. “Or should I call you Dad?”

…

“No. Talk to you. Savitar—Barry—”

“Don’t call me that, XS. It’s not my name.”

“It was, once,” she insisted, every bit as stubborn as Iris.

She sees him as her father 🥺 as another version of him, but no less him. And, clearly, Barry and Iris feel the same way. Nora's father is not the same Barry who shunned Savitar...we saw in 3x23 that he tried to avert that, and even after Savitar's defeat, Barry's still haunted by him: the version of him that he couldn't save. Or, as Nora puts it:

“The villain that never should have been…that’s what the Flash Museum calls you too.”

Ofc Savitar takes this badly, but Nora explains that the moniker is one of compassion and guilt. See, unlike their fight in canon, we actually get an exploration of the Barry attributes inside Savitar, Nora's love for him because of how much she loves her dad (all versions of him, no matter what)...and also this:

But Nora just smiled and looked down…and Savitar suppressed a laugh as he followed her gaze. Nora West-Allen was phasing through his blade, cheating death as speedsters tended to do.

Barry’s clever girl. His clever girl. Nora couldn’t possibly have any other father with that smile.

And Savitar, no matter how much he wished it, could never truly escape his name, his past…his family.

He was Barry Allen, and he always would be. Looking at Nora only confirmed that.

…

She scoffed. “You’re terrible at this.”

“Watch your tone, young lady,” he scolded, the words automatic.

Nora grinned. “Schway. See you around…Dad.”

Hmm...seems something else of Barry carried over into Savitar 👀 just because Nora's not technically his daughter doesn't mean he can't love her like she is anyway. Half of her is from him...and they're connected in the Speed Force. On some level...he looks at her and thinks, "my daughter. She's my daughter too."

And of course, Anakin & Luke style…almost killing Nora is what gets Savitar to realize he's Barry and he can't deny it 🥰 he still meets the same fate of being…absorbed by Eddie or something (…don’t ask me to explain, I couldn’t if I tried), but it’s on a happier/bittersweet note than canon.

Mind you, he's wearing his suit throughout this entire scene with Nora in this fic. This is a scene the writers could've easily written, even with their restriction of not being able to unmask Savitar (due to Grant apparently getting COVID).

Instead, what we got is a brief few seconds in which they fight, Savitar says she'll die like her mother nearly did, and then she legitimately defeats him and smiles. That's...no. I hate that.

So I challenged myself to write that same scene but to expand it (with Savitar & Thawne as a “devil” prelude to lead into the “angel” segment with Nora). And I think it turned out really well 🥰 and it sparked my love for Savitar & Nora...which I intend to write more of one day 👀

(Also, as a comedic bonus:

He laughed. “And the serrated pizza face too. You look ridiculous.”

This is a callback to 5x8, when Thawne describes Savitar’s face that way)

director’s commentary ask game!

[kitkatt0430]

Director's Commentary: ⭐️

Throwing Away the Plan - the last of the Thaw trilogy. I'm so pleased with the final product, but wow was it a pain in the butt to get finished. Years in re-writes.

The first part actually flowed very nicely. I was expecting more Barry PoV, but trying to limit the fic to just Barry and Len's point of view was part of what was initially blocking me. So I got it written through to the fight with Zoom and Len icing him to the floor and then... so many revisions before I finally brought in Mick's point of view.

I should have done it sooner, I love writing Mick's point of view. He'd rather not be the person in charge if he can avoid the responsibility, but he can and will do it when he has to. He was perfect for keeping Harry in line - I've come to love Harry but I know he would have absolutely screwed himself over if not being managed. He's too angry and desperate over his daughter at that point not to shoot himself in the foot. I did want a little more Linda in there, but it just wasn't working so the grocery shopping itself was cut.

I also wanted more Iris but she was about ready to strangle Joe for putting his dislike of Len over his concern for Barry and that really wasn't the direction I wanted the fic to go into, so that turned into Henry and Joe's conversation instead.

Len calling Joe a dirty cop was another part that took sooo many revisions. I was trying to hit the right note in there and while I still like that scene... it's still the scene that I worry over the most. I do think Joe is someone who is constantly trying to be a good man who does the right thing. Does that actually make him a good cop though? Well...

While that scene was getting worried over, I still had to figure out how they were going to find out where Zoom's lair was located so they could save Jesse. Which... initially I was just going to have Cisco vibe off Zoom or his cowl or something. But then I remembered... Cisco is dating Hartley and Lisa did go call her qpp's boyfriend earlier... and Hartley really should have a flute right? The Pied Piper deserves a flute. ^_^ And a mind controlling flute from the comics would be perfect for compelling Zoom to tell the truth about where Jesse and the real Jay Garrick are being held.

Past me setting up the Hartley/Cisco ~ Lisa ship made slightly less past me's job so much easier. ^_^ Go past me!!

Since Barry couldn't go to Earth-2 while recovering from a broken back and there was no way Len was going to Earth-2 when Barry's back was broken... I decided instead to have the final scene - discounting the epilogue - be Barry getting to confront Zoom face to face one last time. It felt like a good way to give Barry some closure and kickstart his healing process - his mental/emotional healing process something the show just kind of... glosses over with a Grodd episode. (No one is gonna be pushing Barry to go back to heroing until he's actually ready, not with Len backing him up.)

It took forever to come together but sometimes a fic is worth it in the end and this was definitely one of those.

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

Ok. Now I gotta get the director’s cut on your fic “12 Hours”

Was it a result of another sudden hyper focus? Or were you planning it and letting it marinate in your brain awhile?

12 hours

Ah yes, thank you for asking!

It’s funny you ask that specifically because it’s kind of— both? I initially only wrote the last 2 hours and the style was very different than what ended up in the final draft. Either way, at some point after writing the first 2; my brain was like “Hey! How about we write ALL TWELVE HOURS LIKE THE TITLE SAYS! WON’T THAT BE FUN!?” And I cried because yes, it would be fun but it would also take wayyyy more time to finish. Alas, at some point I wrote the first six hours before getting stuck on the break. So at that point, it had been marinating for a while. And then Flash day rolls around and I really wanted to post something for it— wrote the entire break and then some, also editing parts of the last two hours. I wrote it from 12-4 am and did not sleep that night. But it was worth it because I posted something for Flash day. So now that that’s been answered— onto the commentary!

I wrote this entire fic in my notes app, there’s an outline in my docs somewhere but it really wasn’t followed at all.

The hour by hour format was my genius way to simultaneously get into Barry’s current headspace AND gave me a set amount of writing needed for each one which was extremely helpful.

His kidnapper had attached each of his wrists to the front bar of a cosmic treadmill and given him one command in a monstrous voice: “Run.”

Some background: in this universe, instead of training and motivating Barry to get faster, Zoom decides the most efficient way is to make him run all day every day. This concept is somewhat adapted from my age old idea of season 1 Thawne putting Barry in a hamster wheel and just forcing him to get faster whether he wants to or not. Obviously the hamster wheel, while funny, isn’t really the right vibe but the premise is similar.

And it’s never mentioned in the fic; but he is getting faster. Zoom’s plan is working and Barry may as well be a dead man running because once Zoom gets what he needs from him; there’ll be no need to keep him alive this time around.

Originally, Jesse and Jay weren’t going to be there because there was no reason for it. Both narratively and in-universe but both of those changed in a way. Narratively, it’s fun to play with Barry’s guilt and self sacrificing tendencies. In-universe, it’s just one more way to keep him trapped. He’s not going to run away if he knows innocent people would be hurt because of it.

But even when this weak and close to powerless, he could still protect them. No matter how exhausted he was, something inside Barry gave him the courage and energy —anytime Zoom made so much as a move toward the other two— to direct their captor’s attention to him. It always left him worse off, bruises and sometimes cuts littering his body. It didn’t matter, he could heal even if it still hurt. Always better me than them.

I’ll admit. This was, in part, my whump gremlin ass hijacking a little bit. BUT it’s those self sacrificing tendencies I mentioned. It’s honestly a huge part of his character so I’m very glad I put it in. Also, that innate need to protect people which is arguably the most prominent trait of his character. Ah poor Barry.

A wave of weakness came over him as the dampeners took effect. It slowed him down just enough to prevent phasing.

Although hostages are an excellent way for Zoom to keep Barry trapped; he’s not stupid enough to just leave him to his running. I knew I needed something that could both prevent his escape and keep him at the treadmill— while allowing him his speed. Lightbulb moment as I remembered the cuffs Thawne used in 1x17 that appeared to do exactly that.

02:59:00

Help me.

02:55:59

Please. Someone come find me, please—

02:54:59

I have to keep going. I can’t. I don’t have a choice.

This was a fun little tidbit I decided to add in to emphasize that Barry is really Not Ok right now. These kind of thoughts happen extremely often and are similar in wording each time. He’s tired, he’s done, he’s been waiting on a rescue for who-knows how long and has pretty much lost hope on that miracle. He’s not quite accepted his fate but that makes the lack of choice so much worse.

Get up or he’ll hurt them. Legs shaking so violently, he got to both feet, began to run, and caught up with the treadmill.

Another very intentional choice. Not sure if it’s canon that did it or maybe it was another fanfiction not sure (or hell— maybe I’m projecting. Who knows)— but I love making Barry’s main motivation protecting others. Perhaps it’s the general lack of self preservation he seems to have. Sparing himself of more pain wasn’t enough, his companions would pay for it if Zoom caught him not running (it happened before and that was the one time he couldn’t protect them. Well, Jesse in this case.) and that’s what he needed to keep going.

There was one last rule. If he stopped on the first run, he wasn’t allowed to feed himself. If he stopped on the second run, as he just had— Zoom would leave him cuffed overnight, and Barry had to sleep like this.

Just some more comfortability motivation for him to keep running because Zoom’s a dick and so am I

With that reminder, he released a dry sob between pants, with energy he most certainly didn’t possess. Sobbed because he’d been here for so long, and he was so tired, and he just wanted to go home.

Crying would have been a waste of energy before now, Barry doesn’t let himself do it until the 12 hours is up.

The penny landed on heads for unhappy ending sorry (jk, it was just the vibe)

Last thing I’ll leave you with is I was this 🤏 close to adding a rescue. And I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about writing another chapter with just that…

Fanfic Writers: Director’s Cut

[exhuastedpigeon]

director's commentary for your buddie healing road trip? i love that fic so much ❤️

ANON THIS FIC IS SO NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART!!! Here's some 'director's commentary' for there ain't no turning back! I'm going to just give you 10 random facts about it because I could talk about it for hours and it would be as long as the fic itself.

The idea for this fic appeared in my head fully formed at like 1am on a random Tuesday.

I created a playlist for the fic and listened to certain songs on repeat while writing scenes where the songs were playing.

An example of that is when they listened to Lay All Your Love On Me in the car and Eddie sang along I listened to Lay All Your Love On Me probably twenty times.

All the Buck facts are actual facts. The Great Lake facts were pulled directly from my brain because I am a Great Lakes Kid™ and remember way too many facts from grade 3 social studies apparently.

There's a cut scene where Buck made Eddie listen to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald during the Great Lakes section.

I had a full map of their trip and was really careful to make sure they could actually do the drive in the time I was saying they could. I know it's fiction, but it was really important to me to be accurate on this fic for some reason.

In that same vein - I really wanted to have them fuck on the trip, but realistically they just didn't have the time/energy/supplies and one of them would have probably been uncomfortable driving the next day.

The first scene I wrote was actually the four corners kissing scene and it was inspired by me making my friend high five me in all 4 states when we road tripped across the country.

At first I had them skipping the Grand Canyon to get married in Vegas but they wouldn't do that without Chris.

Writing 'adult' Chris was so fun. I love trying to figure out how a character will act a few years down the road.

Send me a fic, scene, line, etc about a certain fic and I'll give you director's commentary!

[alexagirlie]

Director’s cut for you as well @alexagirlie !

I freaking LOVE Figure You Out Part 1 and 2, if you could tell us about that one!

And of course the ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the post as well!

Okay so I will start with the fact that I am not exactly known for my reader fics 🤣 what with 4 out of 124 works and all haha but

I've been reading more and more of it and wanted to give it a whirl! Of course that means writing Sihtric! Then I had to add in Finan because I can't seem to keep the m/m content out of my fics 🤣

The idea for Figure You Out seemed like something that could reasonably happen in canon while still ticking my own boxes for what I like to read/write the most.

I won't lie and say the fact that it's now my most popular work on tumblr isnt a wee bit of the motivation to continue writing them. I admit to enjoying it haha

Part 3 will come eventually and I have a part 4 planned as well.