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presidenthades · 3 months

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Thoughts on HOtD s2 ep 1 🎤?

Oh boy do I! Thanks for asking, I love having an opportunity to shout into the void on the internet.

I might do a rewatch later this week to try to pick up on additional details, but I’ll start with my initial reactions from last night.

Spoilers for S2E1, obviously.

Love the new intro. The bloodline intro was important in S1 which was setting up the different claims/factions, but there won’t be much more of that in S2. The tapestry is very medieval, and I’m here for it. I suspect they’ll change the intro every episode to reflect events as they occur. Makes me wonder if the E2 intro will have Blood and Cheese. 😬

The scenes at Winterfell/the Wall not only introduce Cregan, but also offer some fan-service for OG Stark fans. It also reminds us of the prophecy aspect that the show is taking. Cregan and Jace had a great dynamic, but I wonder if they’ll have any opportunity to get together again. In F&B, Jace never returns North again, and Cregan doesn’t come south until the fighting is over. But the show might have Cregan participate in battles earlier so they don’t waste his actor.

Speaking of Jace: I’m really impressed with Harry so far! His scene with Rhaenyra made me want to cry, because you can sense how hard Jace was trying to hold it together. 😢 On a more lighthearted note, I like that Harry listened to the feedback about his bad posture in S1. 😅 He was holding himself really tall and regally this episode.

Omigod, Rhaenyra. Emma only had four words of dialogue this episode and they KILLED all their scenes. The scene where Rhaenyra finds the wing and cloak made me want to cry too. And that look she gave Jace when he returned to Dragonstone, like she wanted to comfort him while she’s trying not to break down… 😭

The Daemon and Rhaenys argument foreshadows how Daemon chafes against 100% listening to Rhaenyra as his queen. Spoilers, leaks, and trailers indicate that he and Rhaenyra are going to have a lot of friction, and soon. As a fic writer, I appreciate this scene for validating my headcanon that Rhaenys is the older cousin who does not let Daemon brattily boss her around.

Corlys and Alyn. I’m not entirely sure what the show is doing with the Hull boys. Their interaction was ambiguous: is Corlys their father or not? Or is Alyn just a random sailor who saved Corlys? He’s definitely too old to pass for Laenor’s supposed son.

I was very touched by how deeply Corlys cared for Luke. It contrasts with Rhaenys, who didn’t treat the boys as her grandkids; Corlys seems to have actually adopted them in his heart. I wonder if Corlys will turn his attention toward Joffrey, or if his affection was for Luke specifically. In the book, Corlys passes over Joffrey as heir in favor of the Hull boys, but show!Corlys is very different from book!Corlys.

Speaking of Joffrey, I miss S1 Joffrey’s adorable curls. But S2 Joffrey is also very cute, and he might actually get speaking lines this season. But the moment when he threw the toy (which might have been Luke’s) into the pyre… 😭

Alicole is…interesting. There was setup in S1 implying they had underlying feelings, and I don’t think it’s crazy they eventually acted on those feelings. But I question the writing/directing decision to insert the Alicole scenes for what seems to be comedic effect. The second scene, during B&C, is the more egregious one. The first scene felt very sudden.

I’m also side-eyeing the director’s commentary in the “House that Dragons Built” documentary where he described Alicent’s marriage as “loving but not romantic or physical for a long time.”

LOVING? 🤨 Really not the best word. Sure, there was some kind of affection between Alicent and Viserys, and she took her caretaking duties seriously. But “loving”? Nah.

Aegon got a huge character/writing upgrade from S1. “Good dad Aegon” girlies win (so far). I loved TGC’s BTS commentary about how Aegon enables his kids and competes with them to cause mischief. Again, the fic writer in me feels validated. I just wish we actually got to see Tyland give Jaehaerys a pony ride. 🤭

The brief glimpse of Aegon and Helaena’s marriage is interesting. He cares about her (tries to reassure her about the dragons) but there’s no romantic spark at all. And like everyone else, Aegon doesn’t really know what to do about Helaena’s prophecies, which sound like insane mutterings to people in-universe. We the audience are shouting for him to listen to her, but TBH most of us wouldn’t listen to an IRL Helaena either.

Aegon on the throne was a surprisingly comedic scene with more character development. He’s not very good at politicking (I would’ve told him to give the blacksmiths partial payment upfront, not the whole thing), but he’s trying, and he is willing to stand up to Otto. Again, I feel validated with my depiction of Lavender!Aegon.

Also…HUGH? 👀👀👀 Sympathetic Hugh Hammer will be interesting.

Oh boy, Larys is going to be fun this season. He’s already starting to try digging his claws into Aegon, but based on cast interviews, he might not be as successful as he hopes. And even though people are joking about it, I don’t think he’s going the feet route with Aegon.

Mysaria is getting much less culpability in B&C than in the book, but I’m fine with it. It’s consistent with her S1 character. She’s fed up with the royals (mostly Daemon, now Otto too) and just wants to do her own thing with social justice while making some money.

Alright, now for the B&C analysis.

They don’t have Daemon explicitly say it, but it’s strongly implied he wants B&C to kill “a son” even if they can’t get Aemond. It’s a departure from the book where B&C explicitly target Helaena’s kids and have a more methodical plan where they watch her routine for several days so they can set a trap. In the show, I think B&C repeat the phrase “a son for a son,” so that was probably part of Daemon’s orders. But the only sons that are possible targets are Aemond, Aegon, and Jaehaerys. Aemond is explicitly the primary target. B&C walk past Aegon without even discussing or trying anything, though to be fair he has friends and guards. So by process of elimination, it seems B&C’s backup plan/directive was always to kill Jaehaerys if they can’t kill Aemond.

(Speaking of Aemond, he didn’t leave a huge impression on me this episode. 🙁 He just didn’t get that much screentime, I guess. But I did like that Aegon advocated for Aemond having a seat at Small Council. #Targbros)

B&C have a comedic bit going on while they sneak through the castle, which seems not entirely appropriate. I also think they could’ve cut down a lot of their sneaking sequence in favor of more Helaena & kids screentime, which would’ve made the scene more impactful.

The bit with the dog was totally unnecessary. Someone who kicks a dog is automatically evil, but we would’ve gotten that message anyway when B&C kill Jaehaerys. Again, the dog seems to have been inserted for a sort of comedic effect, which doesn’t really belong here.

I read an article where Ryan Condal said they cut Maelor (for now?) because all the little kids have to be younger in this timeline. TBH they could’ve made it work with an infant Maelor who was offscreen in S1 because, you know, he’s a baby busy napping and stuff. They could’ve adapted B&C much closer to the book with a baby Maelor.

The choice Helaena makes in the show just doesn’t feel high stakes like in the book. I think Phia did a great job acting with what she was given—my quibble is what she was given. I think she was given direction to make Helaena dissociate and suppress her reaction, which contributes to the scene not feeling as impactful as it could have been. Helaena has been characterized as “spacey” and “not there” so far, so I think they were continuing that route. But having her suddenly erupt with emotion in B&C, to contrast with her previous seeming lack of emotion, would have elevated the scene to another level.

The ending Alicole scene really deflates a lot of the emotional heft that did build up during B&C. Again, it feels like it was inserted for comedy. It reminded me of when Jaime’s hand was cut off in GOT, and it immediately cut to the end credits with a heavy metal song that felt inappropriate next to the scene that just happened.

Helaena’s final line, “They killed the boy,” was odd wording. It feels very distant and passive. Even if they insisted on having Helaena dissociate during B&C, this moment when she escaped with Jaehaera and was “safe” could’ve been an opportunity for her to break down and show what she’s really feeling inside.

Overall, 90% of the episode was great. B&C, gruesome as it was, was kind of disappointing. But the teasers and leaks tell us Aegon will at least have a very strong reaction next episode, which should be wondrous to watch.

#ask me anything #house of the dragon #hotd #hotd s2 #hotd season 2 #hotd spoilers #house of the dragon season 2

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merakiui · 10 months

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For the fanfic writers directors cut:

Could you give some commentary on sea glass? Particularly, why azul and the tweels had such an obsession with the main character and not her brother as well?

Thank you for asking!!! I will gladly give Sea Glass commentary.

(ask game)

To begin, the man who was keeping Reader captive is not their brother. The two figures from the man's diary are himself and his (presently deceased) sister; they aren't blood-related to Reader. Reader is just the unfortunate soul who happened to become entangled in this years-long scheme.

In the story, this is noted:

And that was how it began. Grand wishes were to be granted with grand payment. It was decided that every two years the house would provide the trio with a human and in return they would grant the boy’s wish regardless of how outlandish it might have been. He could have anything he wanted—riches, health, or power—and all it took was one person’s sacrifice.

The deal Azul arranged with the man is, essentially, one in which the man benefits at the cost of a human life. Azul needs humans because he's experimenting [redacted for Moonbroch spoilers] (which he cryptically touches upon in the fic when he says his research has concluded), and the most feasible way to attain humans is to get them from another human (i.e. the man). The man keeps one human within his home for two years, caring for and conditioning them according to what Azul instructs, and by the end of the two year period he must relinquish them to Azul and the twins no matter what, as per the terms of the contract. In exchange, Azul grants the man's wish.

Normally, the exchange is emotionless, but this time the trio took special interest in Reader. Most of the reasoning for this will be explained in Moonbroch (the sequel), but I will note that they have all grown obsessively fond of Reader after a few very important events in the story's plot prior to the murder and what follows in Sea Glass. The trio have something of a business partnership with the man; they never cared much for him (or his sister) to begin with, but they do care a lot for Reader. >:)

Additionally, for further context, the story (and hints of the deal) are told from Jade's pov in these tiny snippets, which may just provide more background into the situation from an objective perspective:

i. the house on the hilltop is curious. two bipedal creatures enter, but only one ever leaves. as for us, we are confined to the shadowy depths of the sea, bearing silent witness to the tale of unwilling coexistence. ii. every other year we receive a gift from that peculiar house on the hilltop. when the debt collector makes his biennial trip to the surface and collects what’s owed, we are permitted to relish in the scraps of what’s left behind. as per the agreement, we grant a single wish to those who can pay the steep price. iii. humans often throw coins into wells and fountains, but such beliefs are rooted in false hope. the house on the hilltop is devoid of such hope, yet its human comes to us with materialistic wishes every two years. perhaps his own fruitless ‘hope’ began when the price for a single wish became the life of his kin. iv. the house on the hilltop is blood-stained. a caged angel exists within, hiding claws and fangs. we are not strangers to the food chain, but the carnivorous nature of a once domesticated angel is certainly a curiosity to behold. v. the house on the hilltop sits serene and abandoned. there is no business to be found inside and we no longer watch from a distance. having freed the angelfish from devious clutches, there is no reason to regard an empty, hopeless place.

#twisted chit chat

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yabagofmilfs · 3 months

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directors commentary for "of use" please! obsessed with the all the little details of the universe/society in that fic!

of use is one of those situations as a writer where things just kind of happened without me putting a lot of thought into it. so this commentary will be mostly reverse engineering as i made very few conscious decisions in the writing process lol.

when i first started thinking about the story that became the rabbit heart series, it was much grimier and i had one particular scene in mind that i really wanted to write. the rabbit heart series became something much different in tone as i started writing it, and though the scene i had in mind will live on in a different context, i still thought about the grimier version all the time. so here we are. :)

as far as world-building—lol, idk man. as i said in the notes, this was truly a vibes only operation. i think the pack/team hierarchy is a bit like a reverse clownfish situation, where the most dominant player becomes the alpha/captain and develops a knot, and the team drafts a compatible omega for the alpha who can be shared with the team to promote bonding / as a reward. i think some of this can dovetail into the breeding program concepts i've talked about.

sid is OOC in some pretty significant ways haha, but there are aspects of him i drew on for this characterization—he's very team oriented, the poster boy for logo on the front > name on the back, and he has a deep need to belong and develop close-knit relationships with his teammates. those qualities were pretty easy to transmute into a character who'd been groomed from birth to be a tool / resource for a team, both with his body and his skill on the ice.

and his obsession with geno helps too.

Geno smiles at him and dips his head, and Sid lets his mouth go soft and open, sighing happily when Geno licks into him. Despite the pack scent still warm on his skin, the taste of captain and alpha is all he can register. He closes his eyes and lets it wash over him, feeling the adrenaline of the game drain away and going sleepy and lax in Geno’s hold.

geno's scent has a drugging effect on sid that the rest of the team's doesn't. the others smell like pack, safe and almost familial, but geno smells like alpha. because of this, geno's kept his distance from sid.

Sid shrugs and rubs his face against Geno’s chest. His scent is always so strong after a game, even across the room, but Sid’s never gotten to experience it with his nose tucked into his alpha’s sweaty base layers. It makes it hard to concentrate on anything else.

he's not as tactile as the rest of the team—he'll rub his wrists over sid's neck before a game to scent mark him, but he makes sure to keep a clear boundary between them for several reasons: 1) they need sid lucid enough to play on a regular basis, 2) he's the captain of a team mid-rebuild and he's doing what he can to take care of and motivate his pack

But Geno is a good alpha; he makes sure the rest of the pack is taken care of first–gives them Sid as a reward for a good game, or a motivation if they’re in a slump, or sometimes just because Sid needs it.

and 3) i think because he needs sid to keep playing for them, and if he has him too often he might not be able to fight the urge to breed him. there's also a possessive streak that geno probably has to be careful about. sid is his, and he's chosen to share him with the team but when he decides to keep sid for himself he makes sure that no one else will be able to touch him until geno's done.

Geno makes a pleased rumbling sound and sinks his teeth into the thin skin over Sid’s jugular in one decisive movement. Not deep enough to cut a bond into his neck, only to claim.

It makes all the air in Sid’s lungs rush out on a jagged whimper, turns his knees to water to know that even if the mark will fade in a few days, while he wears it no one else will touch him. He belongs only to Geno.

sharing with the team/pack is very different than sharing with outsiders. geno is very protective of sid, from a physical standpoint

[...]the most Geno’s ever done is suck an angry bruise high on his throat above his neck guard if a game is getting chippy or he’s being targeted.

“Wow, that’s quite a mark,” one of the press guys says. “I assume that’s yours?” Geno makes a displeased growl and cups his big hand over Sid’s throat, blocking it from view.

and also when it comes to the way people talk about him. he's not pushing back on societal norms—he doesn't think of sid or omegas any differently than the press (and neither does sid)—but he wants to make it clear that sid's worked very hard for his achievements and he's important to the team.

“He’s work hard, you know. Always stay after practice if no one need him, always think about game, you know, like how to get better. Sometimes annoying, the guys like trying to get dick wet and Sid is talk about power play.” Geno laughs and the press laughs with him, and Sid feels a kernel of warmth kindle in his belly.

i like having this conversation from sid's POV—he's an outsider in the conversation, they're talking around him, and he's most reacting to geno. he feels warm because geno is laughing about something he did. sid is totally accepting of his role on the team. he wants to play hockey, it's important to him to work hard and be the best at it, but being the team and geno's omega is of equal importance. he tries just as hard to be good for them.

“What would you say is the best quality he brings to the team?” a woman asks. Whits yells from across the room, “His mouth!” They all laugh again, and Sid preens. It’s easy to let someone fuck his hole, but sucking cock takes skill. He’s worked hard to be good at it.

He doesn’t remember much of the last knotting, it’d happened so abruptly and had been so shocking he’d immediately lost his grip on time. He wants to savor every moment of this one, commit it to memory and hold it inside him until he earns it again.

sid wants to earn geno's knot, and by extension his pups, just as much as he wants to earn the cup.

“Win me a Cup, I breed you on center ice in front of everyone,” Geno says, his voice full of promise. “Okay,” Sid says. He can do that. That’s an achievable goal. He thinks in two, maybe three years he can have what he wants.

someday i'd love to write a prequel about the draft and a sequel of sid getting bred, but it took me two weeks just to do this so. let's not set expectations too high lol.

#director's commentary #thank you for asking anon and sorry it took me so long!#sorry if this is rambling and incoherent!#of use #my writing #hrpf

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altraviolet · 4 months

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mini director's commentary on TEG: Ch 24

a new reader left a really nice comment on Ch 24 so I went back to read it and thought it'd be fun to share a few 'behind the scenes' facts about it!

Soundwave swirled the flask as Ambulon and Anode fought each other. After Ambulon finally wrestled Anode down and hooked her back up to the monitors, he rounded on Soundwave.

I have a very clear visual of this scene. It's SO funny to me xD I laughed when I wrote it and I laugh internally now rereading it. In my mind (if we think of this being framed like a comic panel or a movie) I see SW on the left, looking down at the flask he's holding in his tendrils, which he's swirling. Behind him is a very cartoony dust cloud of Ambulon and Anode fighting each other on the med bed, haha. You know when the characters are drawn super simplified, and you see little stick arms and hands darting around a dust cloud and you know they're fighting? That's what's happening at this moment and Soundwave is COMPLETELY ignoring the chaos behind him 😄 Lug is, of course, watching all this in a distressed state.

The montage continued, footage of a memorial service... Any crew member who wanted to say a few words was allowed to. The ceremony went on for seven hours, as evidenced by the timestamp in the corner of the clips... Aquafend gave a short, but surprisingly passionate, eulogy.

Two notes about this truncated excerpt:

1- the memorial ceremony is lengthened by people paying respects. this was directly inspired by a funeral I attended once. the lady in charge of the funeral was supposed to limit the time to one hour for memory sharing/storytelling. anyone could come up and share a memory of the deceased, but it couldn't be longer than an hour. we were there for much longer than an hour

2- I put Aquafend's euology in here not knowing what I was doing with him in the future, but knowing I wanted to be able to refer back to this moment as a touchstone of him Caring About People. I felt bad about how Aquafend's character was treated early in the fic and wanted to give him a 'redemption arc' in the eyes of the reader and Soundwave. I got my chance to refer back to this eulogy during the Irradion arc. I think this deepened Aquafend's character, made him less one dimensional than just "hurr hurr fuck u Soundwave I hate u." good for characterization and more interesting for the reader, hopefully :)

Soundwave found he was crouched forward on the couch. The snack tray in his lap had cracked. He unwound his tendrils from it.

this is after the Scavenger's memorial video concludes. I'm throwing this in as an example of show don't tell. we see SW's visceral reaction: I didn't tell you how he feels, I showed you what his body did without him even realizing. it's a small detail but I've always liked it. bonus: I got to use that tray in a future chapter. Cyclonus uses it to confront Soundwave about his past actions. Cyclonus confirms that SW is a changed mech, because SW says if he could go back knowing what he knows now, he wouldn't do what he did to the Scavengers

“Pff. These are an officer's quarters. They're supposed to look dignifi-” Rodimus stopped himself. “Oh my god. I sound like Magnus.” He shook his head.

Rodimus has this "omg I sound like Magnus" revelation because I, the writer, wrote Rodimus saying the officer's qtrs are supposed to be dignified, paused, & was like "wait, that sounds like a Magnus thing to say, not a Rodimus thing." lol. but I wanted to leave it in. and, why not? after a couple thousand years together, there's no reason Rodimus wouldn't absorb a tiny bit of Magnus, especially if he's seeing evidence that SW has disobeyed one of the few rules Rodimus has directly given him xD cheating? mayyyyyyybe... but fun

that's all! if you're ever reading TEG and have a question about a paragraph or something, feel free to hit my inbox. it's fun to think/remember back to the chapters... Ch 24 was posted in Oct of 2021 but I still remember these little details ^u^

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angst-is-love-angst-is-life · 4 months

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TROPHY TROPHY TROPHY CH 2 pls :) - Flash anon

YES YES YES THANK YOU FLASH ANON!!! And tagging @practically-an-x-man @fezwearingjellybananas and @shrinkthisviolet who asked for this as well!

Dear gods this got so long; putting it under a cut.

Not again. When the blue lightning reappeared; Zoom had Joe in a headlock not even ten feet from him. Not again. “Zoom— Jay—“

You probably noticed the repeating 'not again' s before Joe died; this is of course because Zoom killed Barry's dad a week ago and he's about to lose his other father figure :) . So 'not again' was just some narrative haunting and a way to reference that without making it too on-the-nose. I think it worked well. Barry also calls Zoom 'Jay' as he did with Henry's death in an attempt to appeal to his humanity (but that may just be a headcanon of mine).

“No, I don’t have to.” Barry looked to Zoom with a speck of hope. “When we first met as Zoom and The Flash; you asked me what I wanted from you.” Apprehension built with each word. “I told you: everything.” Fear gripped his heart as that hope crumbled to dust.

Yes indeed, I repurposed the 'everything' line from Enter Zoom for my own evil deeds. It's obvious at this point but right now Barry is desperate. He's too injured too even move, let alone save Joe; so when Zoom says that first line, he's hoping against all odds and reason that Zoom may choose to spare Joe. But of course.

“Then kill me !” His voice blended to desperation around the final word.

I took a lot of inspiration from Henry's death scene for how Barry would act with Joe's. And of course he's going to beg for Zoom to kill him instead because 1. he's always going to sacrifice himself for others (as we see in chapter 1 when he really does try) and 2. he cannot lose anyone else; especially right now and oh boy...

“Barr, Barr look at me.” In that moment, he did as Joe asked, tears in both of their eyes as they locked gazes. “It’s gonna be ok, son. You’re going to be ok.” Barry shook his head. “Tell Iris—” Joe stared past him, towards the team. “—And Wally, tell them I love them, and that they can get through this. All of you will.” His voice trembled but Joe was resolute.

This hurt me. I knew there was a few things to accomplish with Joe's last words and I think I hit all of them. First off, his priority was to comfort Barry as best he could, tell him he'll get through this but there's another layer to that. This entire fic came from a line in the season 2 finale that Zoom says to Joe while they're in Zoom's lair: "You know what's gonna be great, Detective? After I beat Barry in the race and prove that I'm the fastest man alive on any Earth, he's gonna rot in a cage just like the one Jay's in now." Since Joe knows what's going to happen to Barry (and I hc that Zoom told him a bit more in this universe) ; he's not just reassuring Barry that he'll get through him dying, but that he'll get through whatever happens next. And in turn; Joe is also telling himself that Barry can get out of Zoom's plan for him; that he'll be ok. And of course; he doesn't think Zoom's going to kill anyone else....

Barry didn’t respond, couldn’t respond— instead speaking again to Zoom. “Please don’t do this. Jay, please, please—” An attempt to get to his feet sent him crashing into the concrete and his eyes closed for a millisecond in pain before darting back up. “I’ll do whatever you want, just let him go.”

One last desperate attempt; Barry tries to sell his soul to save Joe. He really doesn't care what happens to himself in this situation and I think this was a good way to emphasize that. Also; wouldn't that be an interesting AU if Zoom took him up on that offer?

The world stopped. Barry’s scream was the only sound in existence as Joe fell, almost in slow motion. He reached out, straining himself to get to him. “Joe!” Joe seized on the ground and Barry’s shouts increased. A few plea filled seconds; then Joe’s chest rose, fell, and his body stilled. “No, no, Joe!” Cold air entered Barry’s lungs. “Get up—” A crack in his voice. “Joe!” but Joe lay unmoving, glazed eyes toward the night sky. “No, no, not again—” not again, not again—

After rewatching Henry's death, I discovered he didn't die right away and had an almost-seizure on the ground for a few seconds first. Since Joe died the same way (Zoom's an asshole for that and it was very intentional); that carried over nicely. Oh man, poor Barry; a few of these lines are taken directly from Henry's death and I think they worked well. Also-- did you notice the callback to the first scene of chapter 1? " Cold air entered Barry’s lungs. " I will abuse temperature symbolism till the day I die and you will see it again.

“I don’t think you realized, Barry—” That voice cut through his pain and he tore his eyes away from Joe, to Zoom, who was grinning over his fallen form. “Just how much you have to lose.”

Some of my favorite Zoom characterization from this, actually. Zoom is having a great time, everyone Barry loves is right here; metaphorically lined up for slaughter. Barry has so much and To Zoom (in this AU at least), it just gives him more to take. I've thought about this a lot actually; Zoom doesn't care about anyone. Caitlin briefly, but as we've seen in this and canon; not enough. He doesn't have anyone in his life because he just sees that kind of attachment as a weakness. (I could probably poke around and figure out where this connects to his childhood trauma but I'd need more braincells for that. Either way; that's just my interpretation.) So he sees Barry with all of these people he cares about so much-- and is just amused because Barry doesn't see it.

Iris struggled in Zoom’s hold, crying and trying to reach her father. “Dad! Dad no! Barry—” She finally whirled to him and he couldn’t find words.

So; the order of deaths. Tbh, this was the order in draft 1 and I didn't really want to change it BUT there is another reason. Joe was killed first because he's the one Zoom initially threatened so it seemed fitting; plus I didn't want to make him watch Iris die. I'm not a monster. Iris on the other hand... well, in the first draft she ran after Joe when Zoom took him so she was already nearby (changed this for a couple reasons). But in this draft the reason more boils down to killing the people closest to Barry. Start with his Henry; his last biological family member, then the people he grew up with, then his friends. And this also worked well with my method for this chapter. The intent was to give both Barry and the readers less and less time to process after each death; so Iris with the second most time seemed fitting.

“Iris— I’m sorry, I’m sorry—” Barry made eye contact with Zoom, desperate. “Please don’t hurt her, Jay please—” His eyes darted between Zoom, Iris, and Joe rapidly; tears still falling. “I’m begging you, please. Please, don’t do this.” Iris struggled more but Zoom’s hold on her was stronger. “Kill me instead!” Forcing her to face him, Zoom placed his hands on either side of Iris’ head as Barry shook his own. “Jay! Don’t! Please!” He made the mistake of meeting Iris’ terrified gaze. “Iris—” He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t.

For Iris' death; I rewatched her death in 3x22 a bunch of times and took inspiration from that. A lot of the Barry dialogue was quite similar to when Joe/Henry died; something I noticed is that those canon scenes actually did have some overlap. And oh man, poor Barry.

My thought with how Iris acted in this scene is that she's kind of in that grief shock; similar to when she didn't want to leave Eddie even when the singularity is getting rapidly stronger right next to them. By the time she processes the danger; it's too late.

“Iris?” She stilled immediately at Zoom’s feet, landing with the back of her head facing Barry. “Iris, Iris please look at me, please?” She’s not dead, she can’t be— “Iris!” But she didn’t move. Pressure built in his heaving chest, suffocating him. “Iris!” Tears fell with new meaning. Zoom, hand dripping blood, crouched into his blurred vision and Barry’s shaking fists clenched as he pushed himself up. The smirking face of their killer replaced grief with pure, unfiltered fury.

I knew Barry's reaction to be different enough from Joe's death and I think this worked really well (I tear up everytime). Really wanted to bring in that 'losing your childhood and current best friend AND someone you love' feeling all at once. He's really in that denial stage until he sees Zoom.

Cisco was on the ground and Caitlin kneeled beside him— Cisco was seizing. In his mix of emotions, he almost missed Harry being grabbed and deposited next to Iris and Joe. Barry whirled toward Harry but a scream— Caitlin’s— brought him back around. From a distance, he could make out Caitlin reaching for her left ankle, Zoom standing on it and saying something he couldn’t hear. No— no, this wasn’t happening—

SO. The question no one asked nor needed to know the answer to-- who screamed at the end of chapter 1? Cisco! Let's just say the multiverse being destroyed doesn't feel very great when you have dimensional powers... This part is also when it truly hits Barry that he's going to lose everyone. Zoom moves Harry to where he killed Iris and Joe, and injures Caitlin so she can't get away. And that's where this line comes in

“Jay, come on, please—” Something inside him already knew, knew that he couldn’t save any of his friends— I have to try.

My favorite Flash line; arguably a core of Barry himself; "I have to try". Knew I wanted to use that at some point and I hope this hit right.

And trailing back a second-- for Harry's last words; Jesse is his priority. He wanted to tell Barry that he's gratefully for everything he's done for her, and if Barry lives long enough to see her again; to tell her he loves her. This in part comes from Escape from Earth-2 when Harry tried to sacrifice himself to keep Zoom off Earth-1.

“Let go of me—” Caitlin struggled despite her injury, but to no avail. “Jay please—”

For Caitlin, I thought it would make sense for her to plead with Zoom, like she has in the show before.

Barry pleaded at the same time. “Jay, stop! Just stop! You’ve done enough!” Hoarse but powerful anger found his voice. Barry looked from Caitlin, to the others, and back to Zoom. “Please, please, please stop—” Zoom fixed him with a wordless stare, his arms moved and Barry already knew what came next. “Caitlin—” The snap echoed in the air for a third time. She fell, to join the others.

This is still Barry, so of course he's still going to plead but in the moments before her death; he's truly lost hope. But again-- he has to try. He can't even find the words to say to her so like Iris; he just says her name before the end.

And gods, the idea to have the bodies just pile up in the same place; probably my most painful of all.

Barry turned, just in time to see the last remnants of a breach vanish— Cisco gone along with it. He’s ok. Even as Zoom zipped to the spot and stared at where his friend had just been, that one thought fueled him. Cisco’s ok.

Ah. So originally; I was just going to kill everyone. But then I thought this would be more fun. Fun fact: I did consider having both Cisco and Iris survive because frankly; they're my favorites. But once I planned more I realized there was only one way for this to go. Plus, Cisco surviving was a matter of chance, in a way. It wasn't "who do I want to live" but "who the fuck could escape" and Cisco happened to have the powers to do so. You'll see how this ends up going...

All his injuries came back into awareness at once, grief charging each one. Caitlin— The back of her head faced him. Her limbs splayed out unnaturally and left foot bent at the wrong angle. Harry— only the top of his head could be seen past Caitlin, leaving Barry a brief, horrible moment to remember a man with his friend’s face. He doubled over but each breath sent a dagger to his rib, the movement josling a broken leg, and fueling a compelling urge to vomit. Iris— Her head had rolled to face him; eyes remained open, horribly blank, and her mouth slightly agape. All wrong — Joe— In a pool of his own blood, positioned the same as before. Grief seeped through everything from the injuries to his mind, where sorrow took over in floods as the weight of his loss finally took its full effect— Until he was left sobbing and gasping on the ground from the sheer pain of it all.

Oh poor poor Barry. Throughout this chapter, it's been one death onto the next and I've given him hardly anytime to process it-- but in this moment, the dust settles and he just falls apart. It hurts me and will only hurt more as things get worse.

He didn’t notice Zoom appear in front of him, couldn’t even acknowledge the presence of their killer. “And now you’re all mine.” The words had no time to register before a black blur and burst of pain sent him tumbling into darkness. As a last thought in a mind muddled by grief, Barry could only hope it would consume him entirely.

I am in love with this part because it works so perfectly to set up everything that is to come in multiple different ways. I shant say anything else about it because spoilers.

I hope you enjoyed my very very very very long breakdown of the painfest™️! :D

#asks #flash anon #anon asks #trophy fic #fic writer director's commentary #ask game answers #long post

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fractualized · 4 months

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For the fanfic writer's director's cut thing. I'm obsessed with this exchange from Line in the sand:

Any thoughts about it are welcome, I pretty much just want you to know it lives in my brain rent free (and that I'd still give you my firstborn for a sequel).

Oh god, what do you say about the conversation that you knew the whole fic hinged on and knew you would revise fifty thousand times so it sounded like thoughts Bruce would brood over instead of… too writerly and whatnot? Case in point, the fourth paragraph in that excerpt was originally going to be somewhat longer, with at least one more version of "you ______, but ______" until I realized, duh, shorter works fine. The rule of threes is not obligatory.

But yeah, I wanted this bit to be Bruce's l'esprit d'escalier of sorts. Just stuff he's wanted to yell at Joker but hasn't because it didn't come to him at the time or previous moments didn't allow it or it seemed pointless. Including letting Joker know that he doesn't think it's foolish to reach out even if Joker will only bite back.

In this story's infancy, the final line of Bruce's speech was meant to really disarm Joker, and his kiss would be in earnest, which would disarm Bruce and result in them sleeping together. But that's the kind of idea that you realize does not work while writing it. 😂 So then the kiss turned into its own form of pushback.

It was also while writing this that I started thinking I've gone to the well of The Killing Joke too much? LOL That seems stupid to say because it's such a key moment in Bruce and Joker's relationship. There's often no avoiding it, especially in a fic that finally pulls them together. But writing about TKJ enough can start to feel like you're rehashing instead of making a point. Of course it was key for this story, so it's all still in, and I did reference TKJ again for "No Apologies." But it is a minor reason I want to focus on the mpreg comedy, so the story pivots on something else.

(ask game- fanfic director's commentary)

#ask #batjokes #fanfic director's cut #my fic

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justapalspal · 2 months

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10 Questions for Fic Writers

thanks for the tag @quoththemaiden !! tagging @ninjam117 & @millenniumringg too because why not <3 + feel free to snag it @ everyone else if you wanna!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? Six! But one of them is a collection of artwork that I don’t particularly count as an ao3 work in my head anymore lmao. So five written works!!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 12,979 words <3

3. What fandoms do you write for? ygo dm bay beee (is bakurae enjoyer a sub-fandom? do we count as our own little sub-fandom lmao)

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes!! I love a good comment discussion and love getting to give director’s commentary on my fics about things ppl commented about!! I try to get to every comment eventually <3

5. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of lmfao (aside from ao3 getting mirrored with “pay the app dev” stuff every so often)

6. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Me and my siblings when we were younger co-wrote ridiculous amounts of self-insert fanfiction together. What a lovely time that was

7. What's your all-time favourite ship? tendies owns my heart forever <33 I used to periodically come back to it every few years before coming back to ygo permanently and now it’s like ahhh we’re almost at ten years of consistent bakurae goodness <33

8. What are your writing strengths? I like to think I have strengths in comedy and dialogue because those are pretty fun and easy for me to churn out… but at the same time perhaps like. Minute details could be a strength of mine. I definitely used to think unusual and innovative prose/emotional descriptions were a strength of mine but I’ve kind of let that skill atrophy so I definitely need to work to regain that skill lmao <33

otherwise I do like my plot bunnies (when I’m able to cultivate them) I like to think developing plot bunnies is also a strength of mine!

9. What are your writing weaknesses? Consistency lmaoooo but nah if we’re gonna like talk real weaknesses it might be like… pacing and connecting scenes together! And also not rambling endlessly. Like. Rambling has its place but often I would find in my work I went on just a tad too long in areas and the pacing would suffer minutely for it. With yami b’s got a crush I really strove to be clear and concise, and I think it paid off so far <3

otherwise also like. choosing a point at which to start the action of a story is hard hard hard for me to do haha. that might also count as a weakness!!

10. First fandom you wrote for? oh gosh. It’s gotta be code lyoko because code lyoko was one of the first two if not first fandoms I ever read fanfic for. The other was I am legend (yes the will smith movie) and I never ended up writing for I am legend so. LMAO

first fandom I ever created stories for and didn’t post tho? idk I cannot remember that far back to what me and my sibs first did as kids lmaoo (we did write a lot of self insert for Narnia and Marvel, tho)

#ramble #tag game #tag games #behind the scenes #long post #just in case!

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cha-melodius · 3 months

Note

hii!! for the director's commentary asks, i'd love to hear bout the celebrities' bakeoff au 'All The Old Showstoppers', the cheese shop worker!Henry AU 'Will You Brie Mine?; and lastly, 'Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood'!! ⭐Feel free to talk about any sections you'd like!⭐

Ooh ok tidbits for each:

All the Old Showstoppers: I’d always wanted to write a Bake Off AU but a FULL Bake Off season was gonna really require a long multichap to do it justice. I realized that I could do a Celebrity Bake Off AU and that’d be only two days of actual Bake Off. Of course it still took me 20k but that was a lot more manageable when I was just coming off a 66k fic. I loved the idea of Alex and Henry coming together a little later, having had a few more years to mellow out. A lot of people assume Alex has already had his bi awakening in this fic based on how he flirts with Henry, but I’m honestly agnostic on that front; tbh I feel like he might have started having thoughts but never really completed that journey until Henry (kinda like movie Alex I guess, though this was written before!). Also keep an eye out for more ATOS trivia later lol, I have another ask for this one.

Will You Brie Mine?: written for a prompt for ‘Harrods food hall’ by @tintagel-or-cockleshells, I considered Henry at a few different counters (pastry, chocolate), but ultimately decided cheese because of Henry’s canonical cheese recs in Paris. I did a bunch of research like “most unusual cheeses” to find ones that’d be lots of fun and also romantic. I took a while picking out the right fancy Mexican cheese, but my faves are probably the tete de moine and the story behind the Neufchâtel, because I got to have Alex call it ‘occupier cheese’.

And oh goodness, Please Don’t Let Me Be So Understood: god I was terrified to post this fic because it was SO difficult to write all those therapy sessions and I wasn’t sure people were gonna want to read 20k of therapy?? And it performed beyond my wildest dreams tbh. I wrote the initial setup for this and then almost abandoned it when I started doing research about couple’s therapy because I was convinced I couldn’t pull it off. I didn’t want it to be a caricature of therapy, I wanted it to be real. But I posted a snippet of it and @celeritas2997 came into my dms to yell at me about it and also to offer her professional assistance, which made me feel a lot better. She’s the entire reason it got written, so everyone say “thank you, Cee!”

My favorite therapy session to write was the ‘sex talk’ one for obvious reasons lol, but also because it features Alex ‘coming out’ in therapy before he’s fully realized that he’s bisexual, and I just loved that moment so much. Another fun fact is that this is the second time I’ve written a Coney Island date into a fic (the other is a different fandom). I guess I just love a Coney Island date. 😂

(Fanfic Writers: Director’s Cut)

#about my fics #pdlmbsu #all the old showstoppers

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senditcolton · 5 months

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Health & Happiness Celebration

if you didn't see my latest post, I am going on a brief hiatus. but I want to hold this little celebration as a thank you for 1.2k followers and as a sort of farewell for now. so below are some emojis with corresponding asks that you can send in. I'll post all of them over the weekend and then I will be departing. but don't worry, I will be back, I promise. I love you every single one of you and thank you for the support! 🤍

🐝 Busy Bee: I will share something about one of my WIPs, be it a general idea, a sentence, etc. You can be specific about the WIP if you want!

🍦 Creative Confections: Send me a player and a concept / song / fic / etc. and I'll make a moodboard for you!

💡 Dwell in Daydreams: Send me a player and a concept and I'll write a short headcanon for you!

☀️ Radiant Recs: Ask me for book recs, music recs, movies recs, fic recs, anything! I would love if you sent me some of yours as well!

🍋 Sweet or Sour: Send me any 'sleepover' games. Top 5, FMK, This or That, Would You Rather, etc!

🌻 Talking Titles: Send me a title and I'll tell you want fic I'd write to go along with it!

💫 Writer Revealed: Ask me about a fic of mine and I'll give you the 'directors commentary' on it! Be as specific as you want!

tagging a few peeps to spread the word so my hiatus doesn't catch you all completely off-guard: @wyattjohnston @laurenairay @matthewtkachuk @comphy-and-cozy @smileysvech @fallinallincurls @barzysunflower @jostystyles @cellythefloshie @tkachvkmatthew @thewintersoldierdisaster

#nicole talks #health & happiness celly

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blainesebastian · 2 years

Text

set opportunities (ccg universe)

words: 4,063 ship: austin butler x reader summary: ( @stylesmendeshearted requested) “Austin and CCG’s little girl on a movie set” notes: obviously this follows some of the fics in the ccg universe, probably best to at least read ‘little family’ if you haven’t! warnings: none tag list: @killerqueenfan, @karamelcoveredolicity, @elizabethrosecresswell, @gigisworldsstuff, @stylesmendeshearted, @rairaielv, @purejasmine

Ironically, this is something you weren’t prepared for—landing a movie of your own to star in after you’d had a family. You’d written two films, sure, and they were relatively successful but the last thing you considered is that your agent would be telling you about a film to be in. You never thought about being an actress and honestly you’re still waiting for the other shoe to drop that tells you this is going to be a complete waste of your time. But you also know that you’ll regret if you don’t try.

You remember making jokes to Jillian in the makeup trailer about how every actor out there is suddenly a singer, a producer, a director—a candle stick-maker. And now here you are, a writer, a coffee cart set girl and now an actress. Oh the turn tables.

You’re attempting not to take yourself too seriously, you expect to wake up from a dream or have the rug yanked out from underneath you, and when your agent even presents you with the offer, you sit on it for about two weeks.

Then Austin finds out.

“So you weren’t gonna tell me?” He asks, raising his eyebrows as he stands in the kitchen. There’s no ire in his voice, more like soft amusement, and you roll your eyes because this has Jillian printed all over it.

You can literally picture your best friend texting your husband to move you along in terms of making a decision.

Running a hand through your hair, you shake your head as Luci settles herself in a booster seat at the kitchen table, grabbing pancakes you’ve made and sopping them in syrup. The girl definitely knows how to enjoy breakfast and make a mess.

“I was…totally…eventually…probably gonna tell you.” You smile brightly in his direction to disarm him and he hums, moving to press a kiss to your lips.

“Daddy patates.” Luci announces, like it might be the most important thing in the world and honestly you’d rather talk about that than this actress thing.

Austin smiles as he grabs a mug to pour some coffee, wandering over to look at her breakfast plate mess, “I can see that. You’re gettin’ syrup everywhere.” There’s a definite fondness in his voice that makes your heart flutter in your chest. He attempts to push some of her hair back, “Gonna need a bath after this or you’ll stick to everythin’.”

A soft laugh leaves your lips and you cut up some of your own pancakes to take a bite of. The kitchen is a comfortable quiet for a few moments, Luci enjoying her breakfast as Austin eventually joins you at the table. He grabs some pancakes for himself and spreads butter and you watch him because you enjoy the look of him just waking up. His hair is slightly wild, especially near his forehead, a small amount of scruff growing along his jawline. Luci is very skeptical about that—she reaches her hands out and touches his face sometimes, her nose crinkling in this adorable way when she feels it.

Personally, you’re a fan, but then again Austin is basically handsome no matter what he does. You’re definitely bias.

Despite that everyone is eating breakfast, you know why Austin isn’t currently pressing about this acting thing—he’s giving you time to mull over commentary in your head, allowing you the space to flip it back and forth before you’re actually ready to talk about it.

“I was going to tell you,” You begin, turning a little in your seat so you can face him better. “It’s just…you know, with both of us between projects, I’ve been enjoying this time together. Here.” And realistically you know that won’t last forever of course, both of you have passions that aren’t being stashed away just because you have a daughter.

And—lingers in the air. Austin waits for you to continue but when you hesitate, he stands from his chair to help Luci down when she declares she’s very much done with her pancakes.

“Go wash your hands,” He tells her and she dutifully runs off towards the bathroom to find her stepping stool to do just that. Austin’s right though, she’ll probably need a bath.

You rub the back of your neck, swallowing down a thick emotion. Austin can tell you’re conflicted, reaching for your wrist to wrap his fingers around so you’ll stop fidgeting. A soft smile tugs the corners of your mouth as you shake your head.

“You’re scared everythin’ will change.”

A relieved breath slips from your lips because of course he understands without having to explain it. You nod, leaning back in your chair, hearing the water run in the bathroom. This is only the first handful of times that Luci has been following two-step instructions so, bound to be water on the floor, or she leaves the faucet running.

“I know change doesn’t automatically mean something is bad,” You reply, pushing your plate back once you’ve finished. “It’s just a lot to think about, a lot for Luci.” Not only will schedules change, but obviously that will impact how Luci is taken care of.

You and Austin have talked about co-parenting, about flip-flopping what it might look like if one of you were filming and you know that Austin has no trouble or concerns stepping fully into that role if you would want to act in this movie. There’s nothing decided for him right now, even though his agent is always discussing plans of the future.

“It’ll be different for her, but she can adapt,” And then he presses right on a nerve, what you’re really concerned about. He knows you far too well—“Wanting to do this doesn’t make you a bad mom, you know that, right?”

You swallow over what feels like gravel in your throat and turn to look at him, your eyes shining with unspoken fears and insecurities. Austin’s eyebrows pinch together in empathy and he shakes his head, moving to stand so he can wrap his arms around you. You let out a soft sigh as you remain seated, your face pressed into his torso, his hands working along your shoulders and through your hair.

“You can’t think like that, alright?” Austin soothes, tipping your chin back so that his fingers can wipe tear tracks from your cheeks, “I know how much you love Luci and you know how much I love you.” A soft smile pulls at your lips, “Wantin’ this does not make you a bad mother, you understand me?”

You sniffle and grab a napkin from the table to blow your nose, nodding as Austin takes a step back. You can hear the pitter-patter of Luci’s bare feet on the wood floor, making a run back into the living room and then kitchen as she comes back from her hand-washing adventure.

“How’d we do?” Austin asks, picking her up and settling her on his hip.

She preens at him, like she’s hung the moon, her one hand holding onto one of her favorite stuffed animals which is a black dinosaur Austin got her when she turned two. She’s definitely got syrup still on at least one hand, her cheeks and…her hair? You crinkle your nose and laugh, Austin shaking his head fondly.

“Alright, bath time. We’ll give your dino a good run in the washing machine too.”

“Here, let me—” You begin, standing from the table to help or take over. Something. Austin shakes his head, leaning over to press a kiss to your lips. It definitely stops you in your tracks, something lingering and warm against your lips and fluttering in your belly.

“I got it,” He says, pecking the corner of your mouth as he pulls back. “You finish up here,” He raises his eyebrows pointedly, “And call your agent.”

You hold his gaze for a long moment and nod because…he’s right, you do want to give this a chance. Wherever it may lead.

“Give mommy a kiss.” Austin tells Luci and before you can even turn your head, Luci plants a big wet, syrupy kiss on your cheek, kinda getting it on your nose.

You laugh as Austin begins to leave the kitchen, amusement on his face. “Thanks for that.”

He says a few things to Luci as he walks down the hall, her laughter echoing. Pulling your phone out of your joggers, you take in a soft breath before drawing up your agent’s number and tapping it.

Well, here it goes.

So you really decide to do this thing and after about a month in, you’re somehow completely overwhelmed and grateful all at the same time. It’s definitely nothing like you’ve experienced before, which you figure makes sense. Delivering coffee to trailers and being on set as a writer is completely different than being the, for the lack of a better word, star. It feels like a warped sense of déjà vu, for someone to bring you a coffee order, a girl named Dez who’s young and bright and has a crush in on your husband (in the most wholesome of ways). She’s sweet, but everyone on set is, and on some days you try your hardest not to struggle with imposter syndrome because a lot of people are depending on you.

Set is about three hours away from home so you drive back as often as you can but a lot of the time with the late hours and early starts, you sleep in your trailer. You desperately miss Austin, Luci, the comfort your home and little family bring. It feels like there’s two parts to you, something that was whole and complete before starting to sever, being yanked apart by distance and time.

Austin is understanding, supportive and comforting and sometimes being reminded of how proud he is of you really makes everything worth it. It reminds you that you deserve to be proud of yourself.

Letting out a soft sigh, you let yourself into your trailer after a long night…even though it’s only nine o’clock. Feels a lot later. There’s talk about there being an eleven PM shoot but nothing is set into stone yet. You figure it’s best to go back and lay down to get as much sleep as possible. But as you eventually crawl into bed, you’ve got one thing on your mind, and you tap Austin’s name and open up FaceTime.

He answers after the second ring, his face coming into view. Your stomach does a full swoop, a smile instantly pulling at your face. From what you can tell, he’s on the couch in the living room, a blue and white hued glow playing with shadows along his cheekbones and jawline, indicating that he’s muted the TV.

“Hey stranger,” He greets, that familiar drawl making your cheeks kiss pink.

“Hi,” You reply, voice relieved. “You are a sight for sore eyes.”

“Know the feelin’,” He smiles at you, tilting his head, “You in bed?”

You nod, propping up a few pillows so it’s more comfortable to talk to him. “Yeah, just finished shooting.”

“You rememberin’ to eat?” He asks and you can’t help but let out a soft laugh, touched that he’s worried but—

“This is very reminiscent of when you were on Elvis, you know, me always wondering if you found time to make sure you’re eating.”

Austin hums a little, running a hand through his blonde curls, “Glad I could figure out a way to give it right back to you.”

There’s a comfortable silence for a few moments in which you’re just kinda breathing with one another. And when you close your eyes, turning in bed to lie on your side and adjusting your phone to lean horizontally, it almost feels like he’s there with you.

“How’s Luc?” You ask, opening your eyes to look at him.

You can tell he was looking at you in a similar manner, this sort of intimate gaze reserved only for you.

“She’s good,” Austin nods, “I wouldn’t say that she’s one hundred percent sure on you not bein’ home every night but I think she’s startin’ to get that you’re at work.” He pauses, a soft breath leaving his lips, “Though she was lookin’ for you in your closet today, so.”

Your hand settles over your heart as your mouth opens slightly because ouch, “Aw, poor thing.” You shake your head, trying to blink away very sudden tears because you hate that Luci’s at home, wondering where you are, looking for you in places she’s seen you in before.

“Hey don’t,” Austin says gently, “Can’t stand seein’ you cry.”

A soft laugh flutters out of your lips and you quickly wipe underneath your eyes because you’re definitely not doing it on purpose. You blame it on long nights, not enough sleep, and missing them.

“Kinda your fault,” You tease, letting your hand rest over your face for a moment as you take in a long breath to center yourself.

You’re about to come up with this elaborate plan in which you decide to come home tomorrow night, regardless of what time you finish filming, regardless of what time you have to be up the next day. Even if it’s just for an hour of seeing Austin, of being in bed with him, of having your little girl wake up to you being home—it’ll be worth it.

Before you get the words out, there’s a knock at your trailer door, “Ms. Y/L/N?” One of the hair and makeup girls calls out, “I dunno if you saw but we’re gonna do one more scene in an hour.”

Closing your eyes, you turn a little to call over your shoulder, “Thanks, be out soon.”

The trailer door closes and you run a hand over your face, sitting up a bit and looking back your husband. He gives you a small, warm smile, something that reaches directly into your chest and squeezes pleasantly. There are no words to really describe how much you love him, how much you appreciate him being there for you.

“I gotta go but I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

Austin nods, “Yeah, call me whenever you need.”

You’ll definitely be holding him to that. The trailer feels extra quiet when you hang up the call.

You know that this is the first film you’ve starred in, so maybe you’re a bit bias, but you’re definitely enjoying the process so far and everything that comes with it. Not only does the movie feel like a fresh take on a psychological thriller, but you’re just kinda soaking up absolutely everything that comes from the experience. You might learn something from this for next time, or this film might be a one-off and you never place yourself in movies again. Either way? You’re not taking this for granted…even if you’re a little distracted today from missing your family.

You keep that to yourself even though in hair and makeup this morning you show the girls working on you pictures of Austin and Luci. They know who your husband is already, of course, but they’re definitely enjoying some of the behind-the-scenes at him being a father. It’s not that you’re embarrassed or anything about your emotions, it’s just…you want to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward when it comes to concentration and dedication of craft. You’ve got plenty to learn.

Taking a small sip of water, you hum as a fifteen minute break is called. Perfect amount of time for you to walk back to your trailer and call Austin, see if Luci wants to take a break from playing for FaceTime. You pull the skirt up a little to the long, flowing ruby red dress you’re wearing—matching high-heeled shoes and lipstick. They’ve been filming the ‘charity ball’ scene since this morning so, while you’re definitely loving the dress, your feet are starting to hurt.

Toeing them off, you leave them on set to put them back on when break is called, walking in the direction of your trailer. Not two steps before you hear,

“Mommeee!”

And you’d know that voice anywhere—you turn sharply and gasp a little, grinning as you see Luci running towards you at breakneck speed, arms wide open. You laugh lightly, leaning down to scoop her into your arms when she gets close enough.

“Oh my gosh!” You grin down at her, pressing kisses all over her face and definitely getting lipstick on her. She doesn’t seem to care as she giggles, moving to hug you tightly around your neck.

You glance in the direction she’s come from and not far behind is Austin, walking to you with a wide smile and a visitor’s badge on. You know you’re technically not that far from home, but it feels so good to see him. You let out a warm sigh as he reaches you, Austin leaning down to press a kiss on your lips and smirking at how smudged your makeup has gotten.

“Surprise.”

You smile, nuzzling your nose against his for a moment, “Best surprise.”

Austin hums and runs his fingers through Luci’s wild curls, “Will have to remember that with your birthday comin’ up.”

A soft laugh mixed with an eyeroll, your free hand gently smacking his chest. “Hush.”

This is probably the perfect time to visit the makeup trailer really quick to fix your lipstick, bringing Austin and Luci along for the walk. Luci is talkative in so many ways, telling you about all the things you’ve been missing at home. Austin’s made blanket forts, taken her to the park, made pancakes and ice cream sandwiches, watched Moana three times—

“Wow, blanket forts and ice cream sandwiches,” You shake your head at Austin. “That doesn’t seem fair that I’m not gettin’ any of that.”

He smirks and presses a kiss to your temple before you walk up the steps to the makeup trailer, “I saved you a sandwich in the freezer, I know where my husband points come from.”

You grin over your shoulder before greeting the lovely makeup women and make your introductions. Both of them have wonderful things to say to Austin and Luci and your cheeks definitely turn pink when they throw compliments your way too about how hard you’ve been working on set.

Austin looks proud but unsurprised.

Ally takes Luci and places her in her chair, asking her if she wants her hair braided and some pink lipstick. You grin as you sit down in Rachel’s chair so she can fix you up for the scene, watching Luci every so often get treated like a princess. She’s definitely having a great time.

There’s a knock on the trailer door and Dez opens up, getting her notepad out to take coffee orders. She takes one look at the chairs before the corner of the large mirrors near the door and her eyes grow as big as saucers upon seeing Austin.

A soft chuckle leaves your lips, “Dez, I’m sure Austin needs no introduction but,” You motion towards your husband, “Austin, this is Dez, she keeps me caffeinated and sane on set and she’s a big fan of yours.”

Austin nods in understanding before smiling, his eyes glancing towards you as he has a similar thought that you’re definitely sharing about coffee cart girls and coming full circle. He leans up off the counter and offers his hand for Dez to shake,

“Really nice meeting you.”

Her cheeks turn pink as she squeezes his hand, “Are you kidding? It’s so nice to meet you, I—” She’s definitely trying to figure out how to complete full sentences. You smirk lightly as your lipstick is finished, “I will—I will get you anything you’d like, coffee wise, what—what can I get you?”

Austin chuckles warmly, “Just black, sugar. Thank you.”

You know that he’s made this girl’s day, especially when she comes back with everyone’s coffee orders and he poses for a selfie with her. With break time winding down and your makeup touched up, you scoop Luci up into your arms and wander out of the trailer, putting her on the ground. She’s got braid pigtails and light pink lipstick on.

“Look how pretty you are.”

She gives you a big, cheesy smile and begins fluffing out the bottom of your dress just because she can and she must enjoy the fluffiness of the red mesh. Glancing at the time, you know you’re gonna have to get back to set but before you go, you turn your attention towards Austin. Both of your hands automatically find his as he steps closer to you, your fingers lacing.

“I’m so happy you’re here.”

He hums in agreement, “We’ll set up in your trailer—see you later.”

“Okay, make sure you grab dinner at the food tent.”

“I know how this works,” He teases with a grin, leaning down to kiss you.

Unfortunately, you have to side step a little with a soft huff, “Don’t mess up my makeup or Rachel will have some words for you.”

Austin chews on his lower lip, smiling as he leans in and manages a few kisses in haphazard places, causing laughs to leave your lips—one to the temple, the cheek, jawline.

You pull back as Austin scoops up your daughter, heading to set feeling automatically rejuvenated.

Wrapping the night off strong, you finally make it back to your trailer to see Austin and Luci. You’ve changed back into a pair of leggings and one of Austin’s sweatshirts in wardrobe, leaving the flowing red dress behind. As you walk up the steps and gently push open the door with your elbow, you finish using a makeup wipe to take the remnants of lipstick and mascara off.

Smiling softly, you toss the wipe into a nearby trashcan as you see Austin lounging on your couch, waiting for you. He sets his phone down, sitting up a bit,

“How’d it go?”

You hum lightly, glancing into your bedroom to see that Luci is passed out on your bed, laying face down in a few coloring books. A small smirk tugs the corners of your mouth that Austin’s just left her there like that but…seems like all the markers have caps on, so, it’s a good trade off.

“Good, I think.” You sigh, tired, but in a good fulfilled way. You perch yourself on the solid coffee table to sit across from him. “It’s one of those things where I won’t…quite know how I’m doing until it’s all over with.” You crinkle your nose, your hands settling on his knees, “Your wife might end up being a terrible actress.”

He smirks, leaning forward to plant a soft kiss on your lips, “I doubt that.”

A soft pink blush blooms on your cheeks, “And good here?”

Austin nods, glancing into the other room at Luci on the bed, “Passed out colorin’ you a picture for your fridge in here,” He smiles, “M’sure you’ll have plenty to pick from.”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

He gently tugs on your hand, encouraging you up and off the coffee table. Austin spreads himself out on the couch, his long body barely contained on the cushions. You wait until he’s comfortable, a few pillows pressed against the arm of the couch before you lay down on him. Ridiculous how perfect you fit against his body. You’re aware both of you could go to bed but that’d mean disrupting Luci and…knowing her, it’d take forever to get her asleep again. So this will do, not like you haven’t tackled a trailer couch before and made it work.

You fit directly underneath his chin, pressing your nose and lips into his shoulder, breathing him in as your eyes close. Austin threads his fingers through your hair, creating a pattern of his hands massaging circles into your spine.

“M’proud of you.” He says, mostly against your temple.

You smile, tilting your head up to look at him. You press a kiss to his jawline and Austin tips his chin down further to steal a kiss, “I love you.” You whisper against his lips.

Even though you know it’s late, all that matters is that you get to unwind from a long work day with you feeling like you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be: with your family.

#austin butler #austin butler x reader #austin butler imagine #austin butler fic #elvis 2022 #mccall writes things #ccg

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