![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
out_thereI got asked on Tumblr for a Director's Commentary on Every Love Song a Secret to be Shared
This was cowritten withmisbegotten and was so much fun to write. So much fun. Clint/Coulson is my favourite pairing in the MCU, snark and competence at it's best, and I love writing them as slightly ridiculous people who happen to be amazing in the field.
So, thoughts as I read. I love the opening section because "Don't Get Me Wrong" is a wonderful song about that first flush of infatuation, the excitement and wonder of having a crush. I love the idea of Clint air-drumming in the quinjet and not caring in the least what everyone else thinks of him. (He's happy to keep those expectations low. Being underestimated is useful.)
I do love how sort and punchy Clint's internal monologue is -- I can clearly see the influence of Matt Fraction's Hawkeye in some of these phrases.
The younglings have learned the hard way not to piss off Clint, lest they find Lucky Charms in their Wheaties or springy snakes leaping out of their lockers.
I love Clint being the bane of baby agents' lives, someone who can make deadly, well-trained agents jump in surprise. (And someone who can teach them not to take themselves too seriously and the importance of being able to respond to the unexpected.)
If it was Tony, Clint would suspect some secret Wikipedia checking, but Phil avoids Wikipedia like the plague. Or like someone who has repeatedly edited the Captain America entry, only to discover the same fallacies keep getting re-entered.
This is an example of Phil both being a huge nerd -- huge, huge nerd -- and also having the experience and wisdom to know that you will never stop people being wrong on the internet. Sometimes, you have to choose your battles.
Phil gives him a look. One of those "you're an idiot" looks that are common enough they should no longer make Clint's stomach flip-flop. Clint's stomach flip-flops anyway.
I really like the tone of this story. That Clint likes Phil, still has those flipflops, but it's not a super romantic tale. It's very everyday and settled, even though they're only friends. But there's sthis very understated sense of how much they genuinely like each other (and that Phil finds Clint "funny-ha-ha as opposed to funny-peculiar".)
There's the pre-mission meeting where "I Want You To Want Me" gets stuck on a loop in his head. It's annoying, but a really catchy chorus. It's also how he memorizes the essentials of Phil's plan: "I want you to be there" and "I need you to shoot him."
That song is ridiculously catchy, and every time I read that line I have to pause so I can internal sing "I want you to be there" to the beat of the song.
"Some days I pray for silence," Phil quotes, deadpan and fantastically dry.
I love this. That there's a common musical reference, a shared sense of humour -- that Phil seems boring and conservative but he's totally the type to make deadpan jokes in the middle of a mission and that's what Clint loves about him.
I like the little touches of the rest of the team in this, Steve guilting everyone into staying for lunch, Tony's very confident world-view, and Nat's no-nonsense approach to solving problems. It's very much a story about Clint and Phil, but I like those background touches.
"Help as in a ride to the vet, or help dealing with an international crime syndicate you accidentally annoyed?"
I love that line. That Phil both knows the kind of trouble Clint ends up involved in and accepts it. He is willing to help whatever the situation, even if -- in this case -- it's something as fraught as a first kiss. I love that vibe, that Phil is right there beside Clint, willing to figure this out together.
This was cowritten with
misbegotten and was so much fun to write. So much fun. Clint/Coulson is my favourite pairing in the MCU, snark and competence at it's best, and I love writing them as slightly ridiculous people who happen to be amazing in the field.So, thoughts as I read. I love the opening section because "Don't Get Me Wrong" is a wonderful song about that first flush of infatuation, the excitement and wonder of having a crush. I love the idea of Clint air-drumming in the quinjet and not caring in the least what everyone else thinks of him. (He's happy to keep those expectations low. Being underestimated is useful.)
I do love how sort and punchy Clint's internal monologue is -- I can clearly see the influence of Matt Fraction's Hawkeye in some of these phrases.
The younglings have learned the hard way not to piss off Clint, lest they find Lucky Charms in their Wheaties or springy snakes leaping out of their lockers.
I love Clint being the bane of baby agents' lives, someone who can make deadly, well-trained agents jump in surprise. (And someone who can teach them not to take themselves too seriously and the importance of being able to respond to the unexpected.)
If it was Tony, Clint would suspect some secret Wikipedia checking, but Phil avoids Wikipedia like the plague. Or like someone who has repeatedly edited the Captain America entry, only to discover the same fallacies keep getting re-entered.
This is an example of Phil both being a huge nerd -- huge, huge nerd -- and also having the experience and wisdom to know that you will never stop people being wrong on the internet. Sometimes, you have to choose your battles.
Phil gives him a look. One of those "you're an idiot" looks that are common enough they should no longer make Clint's stomach flip-flop. Clint's stomach flip-flops anyway.
I really like the tone of this story. That Clint likes Phil, still has those flipflops, but it's not a super romantic tale. It's very everyday and settled, even though they're only friends. But there's sthis very understated sense of how much they genuinely like each other (and that Phil finds Clint "funny-ha-ha as opposed to funny-peculiar".)
There's the pre-mission meeting where "I Want You To Want Me" gets stuck on a loop in his head. It's annoying, but a really catchy chorus. It's also how he memorizes the essentials of Phil's plan: "I want you to be there" and "I need you to shoot him."
That song is ridiculously catchy, and every time I read that line I have to pause so I can internal sing "I want you to be there" to the beat of the song.
"Some days I pray for silence," Phil quotes, deadpan and fantastically dry.
I love this. That there's a common musical reference, a shared sense of humour -- that Phil seems boring and conservative but he's totally the type to make deadpan jokes in the middle of a mission and that's what Clint loves about him.
I like the little touches of the rest of the team in this, Steve guilting everyone into staying for lunch, Tony's very confident world-view, and Nat's no-nonsense approach to solving problems. It's very much a story about Clint and Phil, but I like those background touches.
"Help as in a ride to the vet, or help dealing with an international crime syndicate you accidentally annoyed?"
I love that line. That Phil both knows the kind of trouble Clint ends up involved in and accepts it. He is willing to help whatever the situation, even if -- in this case -- it's something as fraught as a first kiss. I love that vibe, that Phil is right there beside Clint, willing to figure this out together.
