#this was written with the background knowledge of other fics i've read and only a season and a half of the show

[fireinmoonshot]

death wish love | tyler owens x fem!reader

Pairing: Tyler Owens x Fem!Reader Summary: As members of rival storm chasing groups, you and Tyler Owens have hated each other since the start – well, you were supposed to. Little do you know, Tyler has been head over heels for you for months, and it's only when he nearly loses you that he realises he's done with pretending to hate you. Warnings: Descriptions of injuries, mentions of blood, tornadoes (of course), Tyler is actually painfully obvious with his crush but thinks he's not at all. Word Count: 6.7k (I don't know how that happened) A/N: I had this idea for a fic a few days ago and when I was listening to the Twisters soundtrack as I wrote, I realised that the song Death Wish Love fits it perfectly. I did not intend for this to be so long, but it somehow just happened. It's probably one of the longest things I've written on this blog, so I hope anyone that reads it really enjoys it. I had so much fun writing it and playing around in the Twisters universe! I will definitely be writing more for Tyler.

One of these days, Tyler Owens was going to get his shit together and ask you out. There were, however, several things in the way. The most pressing being the fact that your storm chasing groups were rivals and had been for years.

The fact that you hated his guts would be the second. 

He was unaware that you didn’t hate him quite as much as you made out to, though. It was just that you had a reputation to uphold. Being the unofficial leader of The Thunder Team, your friends and fellow storm chasers all expected you to dislike the Tornado Wranglers just as much as they did.

And you had – in the start. 

You were just beginning your PhD, fairly fresh in the world of storm chasing and the rivalry between your teams had been there from the very beginning. To your team, the Tornado Wranglers were nothing more than a bunch of stupid kids who didn’t even have the correct knowledge to be chasing these tornadoes.

To you, they had slowly become something of a wonder. You didn’t think it was necessary to have a PhD or education under your belt in order to storm chase. As long as you loved it, that was enough. And you never doubted the love that the Tornado Wranglers had for it. 

But still, the rivalry continued. It was always a competition. Who could get to the tornado first? Who could get closer? Who had better instincts when it came to choosing which one to chase? Who could get more attention on social media with their photos and videos?

The Tornado Wranglers had an advantage on that one.

That never stopped your team trying, though. Which is exactly what they’re doing as you walk towards them from where you’ve just parked your car. They’re all crowded around the van in the motel parking lot. Robbie, one of your closest friends, is filming Ally talking about something, probably regarding the EF1 tornado you’d chased today. 

You stop far enough away that you aren’t going to end up in the background of the video, and that’s when Tyler Owens sidles up beside you, arms crossed over his chest.

“Not interested in going viral?”

You glance up at him and notice he’s already looking at you with a cocky grin on his irritatingly handsome face. “No, figured I’d leave that to you and your team. Shoot any fireworks up a tornado today? I didn’t see you out there.”

“I didn’t realise you were looking.” 

There’s something strange in his tone of voice, but when you look at him again, there’s nothing in his face to give away the reason. 

“I wasn’t,” you huff. “It’s just that I see your giant red truck everywhere when I’m trying to get good photos of the tornadoes and it’s quite obvious when you’re not there.” 

Tyler smiles to himself. “Why don’t you come chasing with us one day, then? My truck won’t end up in your photos if you’re taking photos from inside it.”

You laugh. “That is the last thing I would want to do.” A lie. You’ve thought about it several times in the past.

“Sure, sure. You keep telling yourself that and one day you might actually believe it.”

You narrow your eyes at him but make no move to walk away from him. Your team are still filming and you’d rather stay away until they’re finished, even if it means standing with Tyler Owens until they are. 

“You guys gonna stop by the rodeo tomorrow night?” Tyler breaks the silence. 

You shrug your shoulders. “Depends on how tomorrow goes. You?”

He nods. “Yeah, we probably will, even if tomorrow doesn’t go to plan. You know my team. We love a night out.”

The weather tomorrow was predicted to be a good one for storm chasers – thunderstorms with heavy rain and likely a tornado as well, if the conditions were good enough. You were all hoping that they were. 

“My guys are less likely to go if they know your team is going, you know?” You look at Tyler, noticing the way that he’s watching your team, who are now laughing at something that Ally had said for the video. “We are still rivals.” 

“Did you think I needed a reminder?” He chuckles.

“Why? Am I being too nice to you?”

Tyler grins, one of those ones that makes you feel a little funny in your stomach. Like butterflies – but you don’t get butterflies from people you dislike. 

“Oh, darlin', you’re always a delight.”

You roll your eyes. “Want me to get you a shovel so you can start digging yourself a hole?” 

He holds up his hands in mock surrender and laughs. “Sorry, sorry,” he grins. “You wanna grab one for yourself so you can help me? I’d love the company.”

You open your mouth to reply about how much you’d love to help just as you catch Robbie’s eye. He’s quick to call out your name, beckoning you over, and you have no choice but to listen to him and leave Tyler. You’ve already stood here talking to him long enough and the last thing you want is your team thinking that you’re colluding with the Tornado Wranglers. 

“Gotta go,” you nod your head towards your group. “Good luck tomorrow.”

Tyler bids you good luck as well and watches as you head over towards your group, all of them eyeing him as you reach them. He tips his hat at Robbie, who is watching him with judging eyes, and turns on his heel, heading back to his own team to get a well needed beer.

—

When Tyler gets back to his team, he realises that they were all watching him. They all give him questioning looks as he grabs a beer out of the cooler. 

“What? I got something on my face?”

“Yeah, it sure is written all over your face,” Boone says.

Tyler frowns. “What is?”

“Oh, don’t try and lie to us, Ty,” Dani adds.

He shakes his head and takes a seat on one of the fold up chairs beside his truck. He’s smart enough to see what they’re getting at – the way he’d been there talking with you for so long. His friends are smart too. But hopefully not smart enough to see through the facade Tyler puts up to try and convince them that he still dislikes you. 

“Her, Ty? Really? She’s from the Thunder Team.” Boone stares Tyler down.

Tyler has no choice. “Okay, no,” he sighs and takes a long swig of his beer. “We were just talking, and I was just messing around with her.” He was also trying to get the courage to ask you to the rodeo, just the two of you, but he’d chickened out at the last second. “She definitely still hates us, judging by her reaction.”

Truth is, Tyler Owens has been harbouring a secret crush on you for the better part of a year now. It had snuck up on him. He’d hated you at first, thought you were just another stuck up storm chasing student, especially when he found out you were studying for your PhD. But after spending so much time around you, something had changed and all of a sudden, you had a hold over him that you didn’t even realise you had. 

It drives Tyler insane. 

The way he feels when he looks at you is definitely not the way he should be feeling about anyone, letalone the leader of a rival storm chasing team. But here he is. 

The passion he’d seen in your eyes when you’d been chasing storms. The way you talked about them in your captions on social media when you posted photos you’d taken. Even the way you made time to learn more about them through school while being on the road so often.

He was well aware that he was supposed to hate you. And yet, he couldn’t find it in himself to do it anymore.

“You sure that’s all it was?” 

“A hundred percent, Boone.”

He’s thankful when the conversation moves away from you and the Thunder Team. It lets him sit in his own thoughts for a few minutes until he’ll undoubtedly be brought back into the conversation for one reason or another. 

He’s unable to stop his eyes from drifting over to you and your team. You’ve taken a seat on the back of a truck, watching safely from behind the camera as Robbie films Ally again. He tries hard not to smile at the look on your face as you watch your friends, laughing along with the others. The last thing he needs right now is for one of his team to catch him grinning at you like an idiot, especially after convincing them that there’s nothing going on.  

He realises, then, that he’s already in way too deep.

—

The last thing you expect when you wake up the next morning is to find out that your team made a bet with the Tornado Wranglers when you had gone to bed. 

It’d been raining for most of the night, the ground covered in mud and puddles. The sky was dark and you could just feel that the conditions were perfect for a tornado. You had a good feeling that today would be the day.

Until you learnt about the bet.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left you guys alone.”

Robbie laughs, nearly choking on the piece of bacon he’d been eating. You’ve all come to a nearby diner to fuel up on both food and gas for your cars before what was supposed to be a long day of storm chasing. You have a feeling that it won’t be now that the bet exists.

“Okay, technically it was their fault,” Ally offers.

“Explain.”

“So, we’d had a few drinks, and they had clearly also been drinking, and Harry and I were heading over to the bathrooms to clean up before going to bed – because dental hygiene is important!” Ally begins, forgetting all about her half eaten plate of food. “We were almost there when they called out to us – I forget their names. The blond guy and the one with the mustache, the cute one. Anyway, they suggested a bet. Whoever could hold their liquor the best gets to choose which direction the other team chases in today.”

You stare at Ally. “And you said yes.”

She winces, and then shovels a fork full of eggs into her mouth, nodding so she doesn’t have to give you a proper answer. 

Your team is usually quite well behaved. But even the best of people could get taken advantage of, and you’ve seen it many times first hand with the Tornado Wranglers.  They can hold their liquor very well and wake up the next day with very little consequences from doing so. You’re honestly surprised Ally is even functioning. Harry, on the other hand, you haven’t seen all morning. Unsurprisingly, your team had obviously lost.

“Which direction are we going, then?”

“That’s the catch,” Robbie interjects. “They choose for us before we go. They get to look at the radar first and decide which way is going to be best. And naturally, they’re going to send us in the direction far away from the best chance.” 

You groan and let your head fall into your hands, beginning to ponder your options. You can either deal with the bet and get sent in the entirely wrong direction, or…

Without a second thought, you’re pushing yourself up from the table and heading towards the door of the diner.

“Where are you going!?” Robbie calls after you.

“I’m going to fix this mess!” 

—

Tyler greets you with a smile that is way too cheerful for both the time of the morning that it is and the situation.

“To what do I owe the pleasure on this fine morning, darlin'?” He asks, leaning up against his truck. He’s holding a coffee in one hand. Good to know he’s human. You’re not surprised that he doesn’t look hungover at all. The man practically resembles a God. 

“Wouldn’t call it a pleasure, honey,” you sigh, deciding to use a nickname just like he always uses for you. You cross your arms over your chest as you stop in front of him. “This bet you made with my team last night. I want it called off.”

Tyler’s breath catches in his throat at the sound of the word honey coming out of your mouth, directed at him. He clears his throat, trying to ignore the way it feels to hear you calling him that. “No can do, I’m afraid. We Tornado Wranglers don’t back down on bets.” 

You narrow your eyes at him. “I’m asking nicely.”

“I think you can ask a little nicer. Maybe throw a please in there,” he says. “You know it wouldn’t look good for your team, though, right? Half the other teams know about the bet.”

For a few moments, you simply just stare at him, hoping he’ll budge. He doesn’t. He stands there staring at you, too, leaning against his truck in an effortlessly attractive way, smiling at you in that same way he always does. It’s like he reserves this specific smile just for you. 

You take a step towards him, testing the waters, and notice the way his breath hitches this time at your close proximity. Did he dislike you that much that you getting this close to him set him on edge? Or was it something else?

“Nothing can change your mind?”

Tyler shakes his head. “I already told you. We don’t back down on our bets.”

“Tyler.” It’s a rare occasion where you call him by his first name, but you figure it can’t hurt to try it. You can see his eyes soften a little at the sound of it. “If you do this, you’re going to send us right off the trail and ruin our chase.”

“Who said I’d send you in the wrong direction?” 

“I’m smarter than you give me credit for.”

“I don’t know, darlin'. I give you a fair bit of credit for being a genius,” he took a sip of his coffee. “You’re the one with the PhD. I didn’t study that much.”

Something about hearing those words sets off that feeling inside your stomach again. You push it down. “I don’t have my PhD yet.”

“No,” Tyler shakes his head. “But you’re close, aren’t you? That’s more than most people around here can say regarding their education on these things.” He points a finger towards the sky, which is rapidly darkening. 

You sigh. He’s right about that. You are close to finishing your PhD, and not many of the other storm chasers around you could say the same. 

“Just tell me which direction we’re going in, Owens.”

He looks at you for a moment. “I’ll give you a choice,” he says, and for a moment hope sparks in your chest that you’ll get to choose your direction – until he continues speaking. “I’ll let this bet go if you make another one with me.”

“What sort of bet?” You cross your arms over your chest.

“Not regarding our teams. Just you and me.”

You’re about to respond when you hear the sound of the van, playing music rather loudly – Harry’s choice – pulling into the motel parking lot behind you. You sigh and turn around to look at them, irritated that this is the second time in less than 24 hours that they’ve interrupted you and Tyler. 

“No luck?” Ally calls out from the passenger seat. 

Behind them, Robbie pulls up in his truck. 

You shake your head and turn back around to face Tyler. There’s no time to make another bet with him now that your team is here and they’re all ready to go. 

“East or west, Owens?”

Tyler turns around and looks at the sky around you. You figure he’s already done his research on the conditions in every direction and that he’s just messing with you, pretending to decide on the spot. Any good storm chaser would have been watching the radars all morning – which you had been, before you found out about the bet. 

“East.” He says, turning back around to face you. “There are two possible formations, so let’s see which one develops. Or, you can ditch your team and come join us for the day. My passenger seat practically has your name on it, darlin’.” 

A small part of you finds yourself wanting to say yes to him. To tell him that you’d love nothing more than to get in his truck and see what a day with the Tornado Wranglers is like. But the reasonable part of you wins out. 

“You’re going to regret making this bet with my team, Owens,” you take a step back from him, giving him his space again. 

“I gave you the choice of another option, but you didn’t take it.”

You ignore him and turn around, heading towards the passenger side of Robbie’s truck – your usual spot when storm chasing. Tyler laughs at your reaction and then gets into his own truck before pressing his hand to the horn, making you jump at the sound, obviously using it to call his team from inside. You shoot him a look over your shoulder and in return, he sends a wink your way.

“May the best team win,” Tyler flashes a grin.

“Oh, we will!”

—

As much as Tyler hates to admit it, he had sent you in the wrong direction. There were two possible formations, that was true. But it looked very clear that the one to the east wasn’t actually going to develop into anything, and he was sure you would’ve figured that out once you got on the road and actually checked the conditions yourself.

He hates disappointing you. He saw the look on your face as you tried to convince him to call off the bet, the way you wanted to make sure today was a good one for your team. But it isn’t entirely out of competition that he sent you in the wrong direction.

Subconsciously, he did it to try and keep you safe.

If you’re out of the way of the tornado, then it’s a weight off of Tyler’s chest. He wouldn’t admit that to his team, but it felt good to think about himself. That you’d be safe. Besides, he had tried to get you out of it by making another bet with you, but he knew that you wouldn’t humour him the second he saw your team arrive. 

He presses his foot down on the accelerator, watching the clouds ahead of them. Something is going to form. He knows it. He just hopes it’s a good one, something worth chasing. 

In the passenger seat, Boone is keeping a good eye on the clouds to the east. He’s filming as well, live streaming as usual. 

“You were right, Ty,” Boone says, pointing the camera out the window towards the east. “That one’s gonna give us nothing. It’s already disappearing.”

Tyler lets out a breath of relief. You’re out of harms way and even though he knows you’d be annoyed at him if you ever found out, he can’t seem to find it in himself to feel bad about the fact. He had felt bad about the bet when you’d been talking to him, but now he realises that keeping the bet was a good idea.

“This one’s gonna be a good one, I can feel it,” he says, eyeing the clouds above them. 

Then, it happens – the tornado forms right in front of them. It’s already huge, bigger than any tornado Tyler has seen in the past few months.

Boone whoops in the seat beside him, moving the camera to film the tornado through the windshield. 

“Just look at that beauty!” He exclaims. 

Tyler can’t keep the smile off of his face as they drive closer to it. He stops the car once they get close enough, anchoring it to the ground as usual, watching as it gets closer and closer to the truck. 

“Oh, this is gonna be fun,” Tyler yells, straight to the camera that Boone is holding in his face. “Let’s do this!”

It’s only a split second later that his heart drops to his stomach. He watches as the tornado, once coming right towards them, veers off course. It’s heading east. And it’s growing in size. 

He looks out of the passenger window and in the distance, he can see your truck. It’s white, so bright under the dark sky. You’re going to be right in its path.

He sent you in the wrong direction to try and get you out of harms way, and instead he’s sent you in the exact direction the tornado is heading. There’s no way you can get out of its path in time. 

Tyler suddenly feels like he can barely breathe.

“Turn the camera off, Boone,” he commands, and then he’s removing the anchors from the ground and pressing his foot down onto the accelerator before he can even really think about it, even though there’s no way he can reach you in time with how quickly the tornado is moving towards you.

Boone, thankfully, listens, ending the stream, putting the camera down and picking up the radio to try and reach you. He’s realised what’s happening. Tyler tries to ignore the panic he feels when there’s no answer.

He can’t lose you like this. Not now. Not when he never really even had you. Not when you didn’t even know the way he felt about you. He’d been an asshole, a fool, making that bet. If he hadn’t, none of this would have happened.

“Please be okay, please be okay.” He mutters it under his breath like it’s a mantra. He doesn’t care what Boone thinks. If he says it enough, maybe he can make it come true.

—

You’ve seen tornadoes before. You’ve been close to them before. But you’ve never had one quite this size coming straight at you. You hadn’t expected this. 

When Tyler sent you east, Robbie had checked the radar and noticed that the cells out here were much less likely to form a tornado compared to the ones west. You’d gone anyway, figuring you’d try your chances, leaving Ally, Harry and the rest of your team a little further back, trying to get as close as you could before you realised your tornado was going to amount to nothing at all.

You and Robbie had been watching the tornado forming west of you, wishing you had been able to chase that one rather than do what the Tornado Wranglers told you. 

And then, it changed course.

“Get out of the car! We need to run!” Robbie undoes his seatbelt as he speaks and it doesn’t take you long to follow suit, undoing your own and jumping out of the truck.

He takes off at a run ahead of you just as the rain begins.

Your heart is beating faster in your chest than you think it ever has before. Your legs burn at the pace you’re running, your feet sinking into and skidding through the muddy paddock thanks to the heavy rain last night and the rain growing even heavier now. It slows you down, but your adrenaline pushes you faster. You can’t stop, not now. Not when there’s a possible EF4 on your tail, getting closer to you with every breath you take.

You make a mistake, then, deciding to look back at it. 

The sight of it only makes you run faster, but when you turn back, fear strikes through your system as you realise you can’t see Robbie anymore. 

The wind isn’t strong enough to have pulled him back into it, not when he was running ahead of you, but you can’t help but think of the worst possible scenario as your gaze narrows in on a gully just ahead of you. Maybe he made it there before you and now he’s just waiting.

The wind from the tornado picks up trees and branches and other debris, sending things spinning through the air. You feel something slice across your leg and cry out at the sudden pain, but there’s no time to inspect the damage as you slide down the small hill into the gully, the mud going everywhere as you hit the bottom. 

You don’t even have time to scan for Robbie as you press yourself down onto the ground of the gully, covering your head with your hands and pressing your face into the ground. You try to ignore the feeling of the mud and dirt on your skin, the throbbing pain in your leg, the rain pelting down on your back, soaking you to the bone, and try to keep breathing steadily despite being out of breath from the run and the adrenaline. 

You can’t panic now. If you panic now, you’re dead. 

The tornado gets closer and you can hear it. Hear the wind rushing through the air, hear the sound of trees being ripped out of the ground. Hear the crashing sound of the truck being picked up and thrown by it. 

Everything is okay,  you tell yourself, like a mantra. Everything is going to be okay. Because if you tell yourself enough, maybe it will come true.

—

By the time Tyler gets to the place where your truck had been, the tornado is gone and so is your truck. He barely even has time to put his own truck into park before he’s jumping out of it and calling your name. 

Boone is quick to follow him.

Tyler’s eyes narrow in on something in the distance – the remnants of your truck. It’s sitting upside down, the cab crushed in and all the glass broken. Even some of the wheels are missing. His heart almost stops.

No, you would have been smart enough to get out. You wouldn’t have stayed in the truck. He knows that. He believes that. It was one of the first things any storm chaser learnt – never stay in your car, it’s better to take your chances outside of it.

He stops in the middle of the field and takes a long, deep breath to try and calm himself down when he hears the sound of someone yelling out.

“Hey, I need some help over here!”

It’s a male voice, not belonging to you, which is the first sign that makes Tyler realise something is wrong. He recognises Robbie immediately, even though he’s drenched in rain and covered in mud and blood.

Boone runs off towards him and Tyler follows.

“Where is she?” He cuts in as Boone begins asking Robbie where he’s been hurt. “Were you with her? Where is she?” 

He knows he’s being a little irrational. He should be kinder, especially when he’s the reason Robbie was even in this tornado in the first place, but his mind is narrowed in on you, on making sure you’re okay. He’s never been more terrified that he’s lost you in his life.

“I don’t know,” Robbie shakes his head. “She was behind me, and then I jumped down into this little dam and she never came in after me.” 

Tyler doesn’t let him say anything else before he takes off running. He knows Boone can handle Robbie. His only concern is finding you. He calls out your name again and again and again, willing you to respond to just one of them.

He only hears silence.

—

The second you wake up, you push yourself up, getting your face out of the mud and opening your eyes, trying to adjust them to the sudden brightness now that the tornado has disappeared. 

You’re vaguely aware of the sound of someone calling out your name, but it sounds fuzzy, far away. Your head is spinning and you’re pretty sure you could be imagining it.

You put a hand up to the side of your face, feeling the sticky sensation of blood on your hands. Something must have hit your head and knocked you out during the tornado. You can only remember something hitting your leg as you’d slid down into the gully. How long have you been lying here? Minutes? Hours? Days, even?

Looking around, you can see the devastation caused by the tornado. There are trees and branches everywhere, and with the rain, it’s made it even muddier – and probably impossible to climb out of, especially with your injuries. You finally allow yourself to inspect your leg, noticing a deep cut across your shin, ripping your jeans. Your leg starts to throb as you finally allow yourself to recognise the pain. 

With a deep breath, you try and push yourself to your feet. It’s slippery down here thanks to all the mud and rain, and you manage to stand for just a second before your leg buckles and sends you crashing back down. At least it’s a fairly soft landing.

You curse under your breath just as you hear movement above you. Your eyes flicker towards the direction of the sound, and when you see Tyler Owens appear at the edge of the gully just to the right of you, you nearly feel like you could cry.

“Tyler!” You manage to call out to him, though your voice is weak.

His head spins towards your voice, eyes widening as he sees you. You must look like a mess, covered in all the blood and dirt, but you knows he doesn’t care. Especially with the way he slides down into the gully and stumbles towards you, getting covered in mud himself in the process.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He falls to his knees in front of you, his hands moving to cup your cheeks and move your head from side to side. He’s quick to check the wound on your head where the blood is coming from. “You’re okay, darlin’, it doesn’t look too deep.”

You can see the panic in his eyes as he scans you, scans your whole body looking for injuries. You can also tell from the look on his face when he looks at your shin that your injury there is worrisome. 

“It’s my fault,” Tyler shakes his head, refusing to move his hands from your cheeks. It’s as if you’ll fade away if he lets go. “I shouldn’t have told you to go east. I was just trying to get you out of the way of the tornado cause I felt that yours wasn’t gonna develop, but then ours changed course and it was heading straight towards you and I couldn’t get here fast enough and god, the idea of losing you, of never seeing you again, of never asking–”

“Tyler!” 

He stops talking, having not even realised that he had let the situation get the better of him and had been rambling on. When he meets your eyes, you’re shocked to see that there are tears in his. 

“You never call me by my first name.”

“I didn’t think I’d be able to get your attention if I didn’t.”

Your reach up and take one of his hands off of your face and weave your fingers between his. You don’t really know what you’re doing, exactly, but all you know is you need to comfort him. That and you’re shaking like a leaf and the feeling of holding his hand is like an anchor to the world. A reminder that you’re alive. 

“I’m still here, Tyler. I’m all right.”

“You’re not,” he shakes his head. “You’re hurt, and it’s because of me–”

You take him by surprise as you reach up and place your own hand on his cheek. It’s only when you touch his face that you remember your hand is covered in blood and mud, but when you try and take it away, Tyler places his hand over the top of it. His eyes flutter closed and he lets out a long breath that feels to you that it’s something like relief.

The two of you stay there like that for what feels like an eternity but is really just a few minutes, soaking in the feeling of each others skin and coming to terms with the realisation that you’re alive. 

“It’s not your fault, Tyler,” you mutter softly. “You couldn’t have known that tornado was going to change course and head straight for us. Just because that bet ended up landing us in the path of a probable EF4 doesn’t mean you’re the one to blame for it. I don’t blame you.”

He blinks his eyes open and stares at yours for a moment. 

“Now, what were you saying about asking me something?” You try to change the subject.

There’s a look of something in Tyler’s eyes that you can’t quite place, but it drops off of his face instantly at your words and he lets out an awkward laugh. “I don’t think now’s the right time, darlin’,” he says. “Some other time, when you’re not bleeding and injured. We need to get you out of here and to a hospital.”

You shake your head, ignoring the fact that the movement makes you a little dizzy. “I could have just died and I would have never known what it is you wanted to ask me. So I want to know what it is right now.” You’re surprised at how strong your voice sounds, even though you don’t feel strong at all right now.

Tyler sighs and you can see by the look on his face that he’s giving in to you. “I was trying to get the courage to ask you out, was trying last night actually but I chickened out. You can be quite intimidating sometimes, you know that?”

For a moment, you just stare at Tyler. 

“I thought I was the one who hit my head. Did you hit yours too?”

He lets out a soft laugh. “Something like that.”

“You need another reminder that we’re supposed to hate each other?”

Tyler shakes his head. “I think I’ve had enough reminders to last me a lifetime. But I’m done with pretending to hate you. With trying to convince my team that I dislike you so much. I know they know the truth. It doesn’t matter, even though you can’t stand me.” 

You meet Tyler’s eyes and in them, you can see that he’s telling the truth. He doesn’t hate you, nor dislike you, nor anything similar. With the way he’s looking at you, the way he was calling your name, the way he panicked so much when he thought you were seriously hurt… he really was trying to ask you out. Just the thought of it makes that feeling rise in your stomach again, and for the first time you recognise the feeling for what it truly is – butterflies. You don’t get butterflies from people you hate.

“I don’t hate you, Tyler.”

You can see the surprise flash across his eyes.

“You don’t hate me?”

“You annoy the hell out of me and you drive me insane sometimes. But no. You fascinate me, and you make me laugh, and even though every member of my team hates you and your stupid red truck, I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to be in the passenger seat with you, driving head first into a tornado, and I nearly said yes when you asked me earlier.”

Tyler chuckles. “My truck is not stupid.”

“Does your passenger seat really have my name on it?”

“Embroidered it myself.”

You laugh, then, a real, full laugh, and Tyler can’t help but laugh as well at the absurdity of the situation. You’ve just survived a devastating tornado, you’re injured in more ways than one, Tyler Owens has just told you he likes you and you’ve come to the realisation that you like the fact that he does. And maybe, you like him a little bit too.

“We’re not gonna make it to that rodeo tonight, are we?” You ask, once the laughs subside.

Tyler shakes his head. “Rain check for the next one?”

“That’s how you’re asking me out?”

He doesn’t get a chance to reply before you both hear your names being called and look up just as Boone and Robbie appear at the top of the gully. Tyler turns around to look at them. They look relieved to have found you both, and you feel just as relieved to see that Robbie is alive and well, only a little battered just like you are. Even if you’re a little disappointed that your moment with Tyler was interrupted. It seems that happens more often than not lately.

“Is she okay?” Boone asks Tyler.

He nods. “Yeah, but she’s injured. We’re gonna need a hand out of here.”

“We got you,” Boone says.

—

“So, when are you asking me out properly, Owens?” You ask.

It’s been a week since the tornado and a week since you found out that Tyler Owens had been wanting to ask you out for months. Boone had stayed true to his word that day, using a rope and Tyler’s truck to pull you both up out of the gully.

Tyler had barely left your side since – even in the truck ride to the hospital. He usually hated letting anyone drive his truck other than himself, but that day he’d thrown the keys to Boone so he didn’t have to take any of his attention off of you. He’d stayed with you in the hospital as well, even when the rest of your team turned up to check on you and Robbie.

You were surprised at how quickly your teams had dropped their rivalry after the tornado. They’d clearly seen the way you and Tyler acted around each other, how things had changed after the tornado, even though both of you refused to give them details on what had happened when Tyler had found you in the gully. 

It was something both of you were glad for.

“You can’t just ask me that,” Tyler says, kicking his legs up on the desk in the small motel room. Luckily, he’d taken off his muddy boots when he’d come inside to check on you. He had insisted you go back home to recover from your leg injury, but you’d refused. 

“I can’t?” You ask from your spot on the bed, resting your leg up on some pillows. It had luckily not been too bad of an injury, just a reasonably deep cut that needed stitching and wrapping. You still had to be careful not to rip the stitches, which meant no storm chasing and only resting for the time being. 

Tyler nods. “You made me admit the truth to you while we were both covered in mud and blood in the bottom of a wet, muddy gully. I’m not going to ask you out while you’re sitting on a motel room bed with an injured leg and stitches in your forehead. I’m classier than that.”

You snort. “You, classy?”

“From time to time,” he shrugs a shoulder.

You jokingly roll your eyes at him. “I’ll believe it when I see it. You know, you never actually explained what the other bet you wanted to make with me that day was. Was that something to do with asking me out as well?”

Tyler’s face broke out into a grin. “Maybe.”

“Of course,” you can’t help but laugh at the silly look on his face. “Are you at least going to ask me before I get swept up in another tornado?”

“Darlin’,” Tyler stands up and crosses the room until he’s standing right beside you. One of his hands reaches down and picks up yours, weaving his fingers in-between yours. “If you get swept up in a tornado, I’m going to be right beside you. I’m gonna be beside you for as long as you let me. For as long as I get. As long as I get, okay?”

He repeats it like a mantra. Because if he says it enough, he’s certain it will come true.

[death-at-20k-volts]

Hai, I saw ur post on generative AI and couldn’t agree more. Ty for sharing ur knowledge!!!!

Seeing ur background in CS,,, I wanna ask how do u think V1 and other machines operate? My HC is that they have a main CPU that does like OS management and stuff, some human brain chunks (grown or extracted) as neural networks kinda as we know it now as learning/exploration modules, and normal processors for precise computation cores. The blood and additional organs are to keep the brain cells alive. And they have blood to energy converters for the rest of the whatevers. I might be nerding out but I really want to see what another CS person would think on this.

Btw ur such a good artist!!!! I look up to u so much as a CS student and beginner drawer. Please never stop being so epic <3

okay okay okAY OKAY- I'll note I'm still ironing out more solid headcanons as I've only just really started to dip my toes into writing about the Ultrakill universe, so this is gonna be more 'speculative spitballing' than anything

I'll also put the full lot under a read more 'cause I'll probably get rambly with this one

So with regards to machines - particularly V1 - in fic I've kinda been taking a 'grounded in reality but taking some fictional liberties all the same' kind of approach -- as much as I do have an understanding and manner-of-thinking rooted in real-world technical knowledge, the reality is AI just Does Not work in the ways necessary for 'sentience'. A certain amount of 'suspension of disbelief' is required, I think.

Further to add, there also comes a point where you do have to consider the readability of it, too -- as you say, stuff like this might be our bread and butter, but there's a lot of people who don't have that technical background. On one hand, writing a very specific niche for people also in that specific niche sounds fun -- on the other, I'd like the work to still be enjoyable for those not 'in the know' as it were. Ultimately while some wild misrepresentations of tech does make me cringe a bit on a kneejerk reaction -- I ought to temper my expectations a little. Plus, if I'm being honest, I mix up my terminology a lot and I have a degree in this shit LMFAO

Anyway -- stuff that I have written so far in my drafts definitely tilts more towards 'total synthesis even of organic systems'; at their core, V1 is a machine, and their behaviors reflect that reality accordingly. They have a manner of processing things in absolutes, logic-driven and fairly rigid in nature, even when you account for the fact that they likely have multitudes of algorithmic processes dedicated to knowledge acquisition and learning. Machine Learning algorithms are less able to account for anomalies, less able to demonstrate adaptive pattern prediction when a dataset is smaller -- V1 hasn't been in Hell very long at all, and a consequence will be limited data to work with. Thus -- mistakes are bound to happen. Incorrect predictions are bound to happen. Less so with the more data they accumulate over time, admittedly, but still.

However, given they're in possession of organic bits (synthesized or not), as well as the fact that the updated death screen basically confirms a legitimate fear of dying, there's opportunity for internal conflict -- as well as something that can make up for that rigidity in data processing.

The widely-accepted idea is that y'know, blood gave the machines sentience. I went a bit further with the idea, that when V1 was created, their fear of death was a feature and not a side-effect. The bits that could be considered organic are used for things such as hormone synthesis: adrenaline, cortisol, endorphins, oxycotin. Recipes for human instinct of survival, translated along artificial neural pathways into a language a machine can understand and interpret. Fear of dying is very efficient at keeping one alive: it transforms what's otherwise a mathematical calculation into incentive. AI by itself won't care for mistakes - it can't, there's nothing actually 'intelligent' about artificial intelligence - so in a really twisted, fucked up way, it pays to instil an understanding of consequence for those mistakes.

(These same incentive systems are also what drive V1 to do crazier and crazier stunts -- it feels awesome, so hell yeah they're gonna backflip through Hell while shooting coins to nail husks and demons and shit in the face.)

The above is a very specific idea I've had clattering around in my head, now I'll get to the more generalized techy shit.

Definitely some form of overarching operating system holding it all together, naturally (I have to wonder if it's the same SmileOS the Terminals use? Would V1's be a beta build, or on par with the Terminals, or a slightly outdated but still-stable version? Or do they have their own proprietary OS more suited to what they were made for and the kinds of processes they operate?)

They'd also have a few different kinds of ML/AI algorithms for different purposes -- for example, combat analysis could be relegated to a Support Vector Machine (SVM) ML algorithm (or multiple) -- something that's useful for data classification (e.g, categorizing different enemies) and regression (i.e predicting continuous values -- perhaps behavioral analysis?). SVMs are fairly versatile on both fronts of classification and regression, so I'd wager a fair chunk of their processing is done by this.

SVMs can be used in natural language processing (NLP) but given the implied complexity of language understanding we see ingame (i.e comprehending bossfight monologues, reading books, etc) there's probably a dedicated Large Language Model (LLM) of some kind; earlier and more rudimentary language processing ML models couldn't do things as complex as relationship and context recognition between words, but multi-dimensional vectors like you'd find in an LLM can.

Of course if you go the technical route instead of the 'this is a result of the blood-sentience thing', that does leave the question of why their makers would give a war machine something as presumably useless as language processing. I mean, if V1 was built to counter Earthmovers solo, I highly doubt 'collaborative effort' was on the cards. Or maybe it was; that's the fun in headcanons~

As I've said, I'm still kinda at the stage of figuring out what I want my own HCs to be, so this is the only concrete musings I can offer at the minute -- though I really enjoyed this opportunity to think about it, so thank you!

Best of luck with your studies and your art, anon. <3

[openphrase123]

hey hi hi i've read everything of curtain call (except, obviously, what hasn't been posted yet) and i HAVE to ask you to share your lost country/skywatcher language thoughts so i can devour them immediately please.

hiiiiiiii so like 90% of the language worldbuilding i did for curtain call was like. very simple sentences and words since i didn't want to make an entire conlang for this fanfiction. what i have written in-fic would fall apart in two seconds if i tried to expand it to any of the lines outside of what i wrote. HOWEVER i have a lot of thoughts about how it WOULD work if it had the capacity to expand outward

putting under a readmore both for curtain call spoilers and because this is going to get long and insufferable for anyone except ME

also if you're not reading curtain call. this is still a fun little analysis about how siffrin's native language influences their behavior. you might have fun with it wheeeee just know that the actual language i'm talking about is not canon. i made it up.

disclaimer: i speak a couple of languages but my knowledge of languages is VERY limited to what i know. so you're going to see a lot of instances of me calling back to japanese or other english dialects. other languages exist and also have these features but i'm just not gonna say anything if i'm not sure of what i'm saying. if you are interested in these concepts in a more academic setting i am NOT the place to find that

second disclaimer: in curtain call, the name for qilaksut comes from greenlandic/kalaalisut which is an endangered indigenous language. this is an open invitation to go learn who, historically, lived in and supported the land you're living on. consider supporting them whatever way you can.

number ONE. dude is it that serious??

nah.

again, i built this for like ten sentences out of a 100k+ fic. so like. there's some inconsistencies, there's some weird stuff. and i know i could have just written all of the curtain call qilaksut in english but italicized, there would have been nothing wrong with that. but i did not because i thought it would be a good exercise in character exploration

because the language you speak has some measure of how you act and carry yourself in the world. (sorry elizabeth if you're reading this. i'm not going full noam chomsky i swear i don't believe in linguistic determinism i'm using this as a literary device) and since siffrin is the only speaker of the forgotten language we see (loop never engages with that in-game as much) and i was a little bit like. okay. why is he like that. how much of that is siffrin and how much of that is the home they don't know

in odile's friendquest she remarks that she only finds similarity in herself within vaugarde because vaugarde is so welcoming to travelers. however odile never went to vaugarde until she was an adult - siffrin presumably lived on the island until he was a teenager, and your personality is fairly Formed by then (at least enough for people to put iterations on it in adulthood) so as much as i could have gone the route of "siffrin it's okay that you don't see yourself in your past" i thought for the themes of this fic it made more sense to go "oh THAT'S why siffrin is Like That"

so as you're reading through this: yes i'm worldbuilding language. but MOSTLY as a siffrin character study. okay! okay.

number TWO. situational meanings.

so ✦‧₊ is "you" and ✧‧₊ is "me/i". but "hello" is ❇✧ which - hang on, isn't that the word for universe and me? no, actually, there's no pronoun suffix (‧₊ denotes when a person is being talked about) so in this context ✧ means "inside". which means ✦ means "outside" in some contexts.

(but harrie, why does "hello" mean "inside universe"?? well i imagine it's the difference between older medieval greetings and the modern "hi". languages morph and drift. this kind of just suggests that without me having to write an Entire Language Family Background. probably a shortening of some corny shit like "within the universe i find you" or whatever. semantic drift.)

and part of the reason i did that was for unicode constraints - there are only unicode characters that look like stars. but the other half is because in japanese and i THINK also in chinese each character has a few different meanings. take 本, in japanese. it has a lot of meanings on its own but let's look at it in situational context. 本棚 is bookshelf. 本物 means real. 本土 is mainland.

so in qilaksut i think these kinds of multi-use words are common. ERGO. why siffrin has trouble thinking of very situational words in vaugardian. if your native language is built up of tangential mnemonic connections, of course you're going to have trouble remembering the word kiln!!

number THREE. reduplication and repetition

take the phrase "✦‧₊ »»⟢" from ch10. in my head, » means "fast" and doubling it gives you "really fast". this happens in AAVE (e.g. "he's RICH rich") and japanese (there is an entire kanji expressly used as a repetition mark so that you don't have to draw complicated kanji twice, it's 々(noma) and as an example, person is 人 but people is 人々)

reduplication is slightly different from this but i think it shows up for words like »», where you're not literally saying the word twice but the vowels double themselves. kind of in a trilling way. i actually say this in inutile and not curtain call but i think the Siffrin Accent wavers a lot and feels like a twinkling star. because i think it's cute

alsooo repetition. wish craft. do u see the vision

number FOUR. pronouns and clusivity

i don't get into the he/she/they or any other third person pronouns in the fic because. well i think the lost country would go so hard on pronouns. there are child pronouns. adult pronouns. pronouns denoting somebody's job or status. hell loop is SO casual about offering to use the "royal we" i genuinely think pronoun usage in the lost country is more tied to interpersonal relationships than gender. but of course that plays a role too

because i think there's a huge amount of gender concoction you could brew in there. i think it would be really fun if siffrin uses he/they because in qilaksut siffrin is mainly referred to as the neutral pronoun mashed together with the masculine one. i think that would be fun.

and then for funsies. clusivity. i definitely think there is a difference between "we" (me+one other person, excluding you) and "we" (me+others+you) in qilaksut. would be fun if this is why siffrin automatically assumes they're getting excluded from things. "where is the vaugardian inclusive we and why has nobody said it to me???"

number FIVE. structure

i don't have a lot of Full Sentences in qilaksut in the fic but in general it follows the pattern place - > noun - > adjective - > verb. and you might be going "harrie, you weeb, that's japanese again" well. i didn't want it to be like french or english. and that's the one i know. so. shut up!!!!

"well why can't it be the same syntax as vaugardian then?" i'm glad you asked. i wanted it to feed again more into the idea that siffrin is more susceptible to getting "lost" in a conversation. hard to focus when your normal syntax anchors are not there!!

but at the same time. i write siffrin as a polyglot in curtain call. they're pretty equipped to learn and absorb new languages. once you learn a second language, in general, your third/fourth/fifth gets easier

number SIX. things i can't do in the fic except for once or twice because of unicode restrictions

well i could do it ONCE. with two sentences that are coming up in tomorrow's chapter: but i think in qilaksut writing, changing the rotation/orientation of the word also changes the meaning. slight spoilers for tomorrow's chapter but siffrin has two ways of saying "love you" for two different people - for odile, it's ❥✦‧₊ and for isabeau it's ❤✦‧₊

this isn't for any particular reason, i just think it's neat in the context of how i do names and titles for the rest of the fic. getting called different names based on your relationship to somebody, using altered terms of endearment for someone. two extra rotations of the heart could exist in theory so one of them is probably "loving your kid" and the other issss i dunno. maybe a closer platonic love nearer to a qpr or something. or what you use for your parents/guardians or your betters. i didn't think that far!!

also word opposites. ✷ doesn't have another version with just the lines, but that means "yes" and i think a hollowed out version of that would mean "no." obviously the ✦/✧ shift goes here too. and i think the inverse of ✪ (little) would mean big. but i couldn't find those in unicode so they do not exist in this fic oops

if you made it this far into the post. hi. thank you for reading :) that was probably a lot more than you were asking for. i won't apologize. anyway this post doesn't even TOUCH how i do name stuff in the fic but that also feeds into this. (and the name stuff was something i took out of an old dnd campaign anyway) (of which i have a DIFFERENT altered version for my original fiction but shhhh)

[stellacartography]

Thanks to @lisbeth-kk for tagging me.

Fic Writer's Meme

How many works do you have on ao3?

I have 28! 18 in Sherlock, 6 in Star Trek: Voyager, and 4 Good Omens.

What’s your total word count?

182,614, a majority of which is Kinesis, but as a person who has always struggled with completing things, the 100,000+ words that aren't Kinesis are a real victory in my head.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kinesis (Mystrade), The Interrogation of Anthony Crowley, Witch (Ineffable husbands co-written with @mevima), Avast Ye Merry Gentlemen (Johnlock Christmas), The Bold and the Bruised (Mystrade 360MG), Atonement (Janeway/Chakotay post-series reconciliation).

Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

Absolutely! I love comments. If I haven't responded to a comment it's only because life has been eating my brain and I will get to it once I've recovered.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Probably All the Time it Takes to Wait, which is titled after a song I played obsessively at the time while I was dreaming up the scenario of Chakotay actually getting to have feelings about the whole Fair Haven disaster. Nothing is resolved but they have it out. The song is angsty and so is the fic.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

It's gotta be Kinesis. Not to overhype, but the ending is pretty satisfying and joyful.

Do you write crossovers?

I have the outline of a Sherlock/Star Trek crossover in my WIP pile.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, but I can't wait. Bring it on, internet. I love an argument. I love to analyze the fears and insecurities of people who start fights on the internet over free content lovingly created and bravely posted. I am unhinged and ruthless.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Hell yes. Smut has been an essential part of my recovery from religion, both the reading and writing of. Smut is so revealing of a character's motivations, their vulnerabilitites, their desires. I think it's a marvellous thing.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge. If so, I'd rather not know.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, the aforementioned The Interrogation of Anthony Crowley, Witch was so much fun to write with @mevima. It was way outside my comfort zone, kinkier and darker than anything else I've written.

What's your all-time favourite ship?

Johnlock and Mystrade are forever duking it out in my head. I also love Ed and Stede's speedrun enemies-to-besties-to-lovers dynamic in OFMD.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Never say never, right? I have another long one that could be a Good Omens AU set in Toronto in the early 90s. Because it's last on my list of long fics, I don't know when I'm going to get to it. Also all the garbage behaviour of a certain writer/creator has really sapped my enthusiasm for writing in the fandom right now. I had a thought to turn it into an OFMD fic but I'm not sure if or when I'll get around to it.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue is my friend. If I get stuck in a scene, I just make the characters talk and it helps me move on. Comes from a background in writing plays.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Endings! Spare me from having to finish anything. I get burnt out and distracted easily but I'm learning to manage it. I look forward to the times when the story really flows, but since most days are not like that, it's about finding ways to write the next 5, 10, 500 words.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Like so many things, I don't think there should be hard and fast rules about what writers can and cannot do. For me, I'd be inclined to check with a native speaker if I can find one, but keeping in mind that this is not a professional venture, I think foreign dialogue in fic is a "do your best and be forgiving" venture.

That said, if a writer chooses not to get a native speaker to weigh in on their usage and they get comments like "Hey you bum. Don't use google translate for this!" we have to be willing to take our lumps and seize the opportunity: "My hero! Will you look at the rest of my dialogue for me?" Fandom is about connection building.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

My first creative writing project in first grade was an origin story for a talking boot puppet in a horrifying Canadian children's program called Readalong. But I had no idea what a fanfic was at the time.

My first intentional fanfic might have been an unpublished Sailor Moon or Mulder/Scully fic that may live on in a hard drive somewhere.

First fic on AO3 is actually poetry called Not a Romance about what Kathryn Janeway was thinking after the episode Resolutions.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Our Flag Means Death. Probably Ed/Stede but there are so many great characters, it might be hard to choose.

What's your favourite fic you've written?

Kinesis. It's the fic I've always wanted to write. It has some of my favourite vibes. And I derived great joy from firing Mycroft Holmes.

Tagging @hubblegleeflower @may-shepard @the-toad-in-your-piano @copperplatebeech @blogstandbygo @fearlessdiva930 @cirquedereve @antheiasilva if you feel like answering and haven't already been tagged. I tag anyone who sees this and wants to answer (please @ me in your response and I will reblog).

If you see this and you're more of a reader, tag your favourite writers in a reblog or the notes. Seriously, this goes for anything. If you tag me on your original posts, I will gladly reblog and hype your content.

[linskywords]

Is there a ship you like but wouldn’t write about?

Ooooooh this is interesting!! There are ships I find vaguely compelling but don't have any current plans for. Like, there are just so MANY ships out there at this point, it's hard to load them all into my active database of players I'm thinking about stories for. But that's pretty different from saying I wouldn't write about them -- I just haven't gotten interested yet.

There are some I'll read because they're popular, but I don't like quite enough to write -- MattDrai is what comes to mind. They have a fun dynamic, but I'm so much more interested in pairings where they see each other every day and become entwined in each other's lives before the romance happens. I still don't know that I absolutely wouldn't write them (though my feelings towards Matthew as a character have unfortunately been influenced by recent reality...), but so far I've only been interested enough when Connor was involved in the relationship as well.

SidGeno is another one that's never quite spoken to me as much as it does to other people. I don't have a good explanation for this -- I like them both as characters, I think their relationship is super sweet, and yet I've never quite gotten on board. Maybe because the language barrier makes banter challenging? Unclear, but while I have written them, I wouldn't consider them a ship that I write in an active sense.

Mostly I guess what I'm saying is that I'll write ships in proportion to how much I like them. The only context in which I might like a ship but not write them is other fandoms, I think, where I feel like I lack the background knowledge to do a story justice (e.g. I got into Gen Kill a while back, but I definitely didn't absorb enough from the fic I read to credibly write the setting). For hockey, I think if I like it, there's no reason I wouldn't write it!

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Do you have any shuggy fanfic recommendations? I already read and rearead (and reread) yours one piece ff…

i can certainly give you some recs!

everything's hosted on ao3 and set in the one piece universe; i do read modern/mundane AUs but i'm always really picky about how an author adapts a ship's canon history into an AU, so i've yet to find one that really grabs me except that one college AU i forgot to save a link to… i hope i'll find you again someday…

for all my life i’ve watched from afar, i’m too afraid to try by Badopportunities - complete, 18k

this is probably my favorite shuggy fic i've read so far. a canon divergence in which shanks hunts down ace instead of whitebeard to warn him off the blackbeard hunt directly, and just so happens to find ace while he's hanging out with buggy's crew. love the outside POVs on shanks & buggy before their history was common knowledge, love their dynamic while trying to keep that history secret, love the optimistic way the story ends.

uncharted waters by vestigialmoods - complete, 41k

a long, multi-POV sorta kinda get-together—this one written after we knew the warlord system was being dissolved but before we learned about cross guild. buggy tries to figure out what to do now that he's lost government protection; shanks is encouraged to go for what he wants for once, instead of passively letting fate decide his path. features very fun characterization for both crews, and a really well-crafted scene that deals with phantom limb pain and sexual tension simultaneously.

in the deepest depths i lost myself, i see myself through someone else by Badopportunities - WIP, 36k

it may be gauche to rec multiple fics by the same author but Badopportunities has yet to steer me wrong! this is set during the timeskip, while buggy is searching for an island to claim as his warlord base of operations and shanks is trying to look after former whitebeard territories. they clash. uses one of my favorite lines for a childhood friends-to-lovers ship: one of them says he's single because he's having trouble finding a partner with “similar life experiences.” iykyk

currently incomplete at 4/5 chapters, last updated in 2022… but they just posted a new chapter of their other shuggy wip (which i also recommend, buggy time travels and saves ace & uta) this week, so it feels like anything's possible!

I'll See You in My Dreams by doublejoint - complete, 4k

shanks keeps dreaming of being older, on a ship with only buggy for company, wearing matching rings and sailing for who knows where. i love how efficiently and effectively this fic explores his thoughts on these dreams over the years—are they visions of the future, his secret desires, bad gas? the ending is very sweet.

We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together (and other lies Buggy tells himself) by Transformatron - complete, 11k, explicit

i am not much for smut (being ♠️🏳️‍🌈 and all), but occasionally one gets in the mood, and this fic has some intense emotions to go along with the intense, kinda kinky smut. shanks has found out about cross guild and comes to see buggy, not convinced that this is a safe, sane, and consensual situation buggy's found himself in. they fight about it, and then… 😳

there is background established buggy/crocodile/mihawk, but crocodile and mihawk aren't present for the explicit portion of the fic.

i like lipstick on my neck by kiriya - complete, 20k, explicit

if i'm recommending smut-with-feelings, i have to rec this fic. genderbent butch/femme shanks and buggy run into each other in east blue, post-roguetown and pre-canon, and spend three chapters bickering, drinking, and… you know. absolutely fantastic characterization, buggy is an awful little gremlin and shanks likes her very much despite herself.

i don't know if the fic was inspired by this art or if the art was inspired by this fic, but either way… if you read the fic you should look at the art. that butch shanks is just. absolutely inspired.

[skyrim-forever]

Hi!! Okay, so the bald Ondolemar ask intrigued me. What order should I read your fics to get the complete story?

Hi! I'm glad to have intrigued you and thanks for asking this because I've been meaning to make a post of the Timeline™ Some background notes I'll give is they meet in 4E 204, Theodora spends three years in Skyrim running away from responsibility via Thieves Guild and only after doing the Dawnguard does she face destiny. They meet right after the Forsworn Conspiracy. And a lot of this has smut, like 90% because in addition to be something I enjoy writing as a vehicle to explore character, they also begin as "enemies with benefits" that evolves into something more. if you aren't into smut this probably not the fics for you. No had feelings if it's not :) I've also tried to write each fic so that it still makes sense if you haven't read any of the other ones. Any of fic referenced, the reference is explained and not taking for common knowledge.

So here's the order:

First Meeting: Wine makes a mer act funny -3,715 words

These next few are generally just horny smut, there's some background plot and feelings developing but very much in denial on their parts: Search and Seizure(and Smut) -4126 words (Ogmund's Quest) We shouldn't be doing this -3188 (Castle Dour closet shenanigans) Do you think yourself a god? -2271 words (being weird and horny about religion) Beg for me -1666 words (First fic I wrote for them, I have seen solidfied their characters and improved as this was the 2nd fic I ever wrote, read at your own risk because I think it's garbo <3)

They admit they have feelings!!! Big if true: The Book of Love -4665 words (much less smut focused, involves the Book of Love Temple of Mara quest, backstory from both of them and they both admit they are in love to themselves but don't *consciously* verbalize it) I'm only happy when I'm with you -3848 words (set in Windhelm right after an Imperial Civil War victory, they say I love you!)

Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed: You want to do what? -4917 words (horny Thalmor Embassy moment, a part 1 to series, I just wanted to be a more depraved in all honesty but I'm proud of it) If I came dying at your door -12868 words (a three chapter fic, get a lot of backstory from Ondolemar, nursing back to health, discuss the elephant in the room that is the Great War) An unfortunate encounter -10929 words (part 2 of the Thalmor Embassy fic, much darker direction, heed the tags) We will find a way -10338 words (wrote for tesfest24 as a way to navigate their happy ending that they work very hard for, there is pregnancy trope, also epilogue at the end needs to have a small part changed as I've adjusted the timeline on a certain event, but like fine to read now, not the man focus)

Post-Happy Ending: A life finally lived together -11720 words (ongoing oneshot collection involving them figuring out a life together and manage the political situation, Barbie and Ken will be happy goddamnit)

This is the order! I write this way so I have more freedom to insert more fics in the timeline, whether that be just wanting some fwb smut or something like a specific wip I have that's mentioned at the end of If I came dying at your door. I'll probably make a separate post of this in case anyone else is interested and update it as new pieces are written <3 Thank you so much for your ask again!

[shmowder]

It's 5 am (.... don't even ask, this certainly isn't the first time and it won't be the last 😅) so there isn't going to be a lot of substance here but PLAGUE DOCTOR READER HELL YES I am once again saying your knowledge of herbs is immense and your beak is huge. Even orderly reader could be something. They'd still get the cool bird costume!

"The herbbride x reader was because I wanted to smooch a herb bride pls let pls :"(((" Pathologic dating sim when!!!!

I think you have a point about detailed readers, and I'm not just saying that ^^ Especially in a longer fic, having a specific job and/or background can definitely help build the story and anchor the reader to the universe. The real problem for me arises when the reader's personality is well-defined for no reason (for instance, if the prompt is specifically about shy reader or bratty reader). Like I was once reading this random set of general headcanons and the reader was bold and sassy and rebellious and I was like who tf is this person. The more I attempt to describe this issue the more I realize it might just be a me problem :o)

Stopppp no bc I also thought the Big Vlad comment was kinda 👀 Then again, he called me a gullible kid in the same breath. Which is kind of accurate so I don't really mind.

Man that concept art of the Stamatins is cool. Andrey's animal being a shark is perfect; so is Capella+butterfly and Maria+cobra.

-

It makes me really happy to hear that these conversations are making the game more fun! I feel lucky to have found your blog, too. <3

Some random stuff I've been thinking about your BG3 blog for a few days, since I had another look at it recently. First of all the drabbles masterlist?? Holy shit you've written so much, it's amazing! I had only checked out your "my works" link before. Crybaby Tav my kindred spirit. And I'm obsessed with how organized everything is.

Your OC Sol is stunning!! I think it's so cute that you even have a section dedicated to other people's OCs. I've been trying on and off for a while to perfect my OC using the Sims 4. My favorite thing about the Sims 4 is as soon as I open the game I immediately forget what a human face is supposed to look like. Still, it's fun even though I'm not 100% satisfied yet.

🐿️ anon

or

Plague doctor Reader after some surgeon's grass potions are more effective at combating the plague than the leeches you've been administrating to the sick:

(they were expensive leeches) (it was your last jar too)

The fun a plague doctor reader would have in pathologic, it is literally plague utopia, isn't it? Daniil having to come to terms that someone like you holds the same authority and prestigious standing as someone like his will never not be hilarious.

Also, the mental image of plague-doctor!reader being"I'm a healer.... but" *relaods shotgun*

would the leeches work? theoretically they should since it was the earth blood which cured the illness. Which annoys Daniil even more that your barbaric and outdated methods are more effective than his pharmaceutical antibiotics but they're still less effective than Artemy's tinctures.

The executors or orderlies follow after the reader instead of the bachelor, akin to a bunch of small chicks trailing after their mother hen.

Daniil is mean and yells a lot. You're nice. They'd rather follow your orders instead.

Also the whole gothic look? The long beak, the anonymity of the mask, the black coat and gloves. It's just so intriguing, rumours about how you must look like under the mask keep spreading through out the town and people are getting more and more curious.

you're like a doctor doctor, not a philosophy doctor like Daniil or a priest surgeon like Artemy. You aren't afraid to go to extreme measures to cure this plague which is clearly the work of the devil. Carrying viles of acid around and managing to makeshift a small lab to conduct your experiments in, making various concoctions and trying them out on the helpless paitents. Some work, others melt their eyes off, it's still a work in progress.

-

About the Bg3 blog. lmao yeah I wrote so much, i even made some original characters like the loser high elf for the human kink thing. It was an amazing time, I hope i stay in the pathologic fandom for just as long and leave a similar legacy behind.

Thank you so much! Sol is my first ever OC, i love them more than the sun <3 I wanted to make an irredeemable unlovable character and shower them with absolute love and adoration.

Oh god crybaby!tav. Those were the good times. Like sure I enjoy being a strong and capable reader, but sometimes a reader who's helpless as a kitten and constantly tears up at the slightest misfortune is just so fun to write!

Clinging to whoever comes to save you, relying on them to solve your problems. Continously making bad choices or tripping, endangering yourself without realising it because you're just so oblivious and they need to rush in and immediately whisk you away because you just can't function on your own.

Keeping you under watch constantly. You're too air headed to realise how dire the situation is, too naive and trusting.

A reader like that would make Daniil's hair sprout grey, frustrating him endlessly as he has to urgently drop his responsibilities and run across the town because you wandered too far into the steppe to pick pretty flowers and now you're lost, cold and confused and sleezy men won't stop eyeing you.

Or an Artemy that doesn't believe it when you actually sat on his lap after he threw a teasing remark that you look like a lost pet sitting alone at the bar. Who is concerned that you're so willing to trust this hulking gaint surgeon who could break you in half. Who's brain can't function because you keep fidgeting on his lap, unawarly pressing yourself against him.

Alexander Saburov might just be the most fun out of these bunch to have a crybaby reader running to him at every minor problem or inconvenience. He's cooing at you while wiping your tears, asking what's wrong? He'll make it right, you're safe with him. His ego tiples in size the more you cling to his arm when walking in dangerous areas, his back straightness more as you refuse the help from any other person but him, even telling Victor Kain himself to not get near you because he scares you while hugging Alexander instead.

You'd send Yulia into an early grave, everyday is an almost heart attack with that woman who's trying her best. No matter how many lectures on safety or being independent she gives you, her words are too big for your brain and you zone out halfway through. Thinking that the worried expression on her face is super adorable, interrupting her speech with a kiss and making a fuse blow in her brain as she immediately forgets what she was speaking about. The usually collected Yulia, flustered and stuttering as you ask for more kisses.

-

Your comment about playing the sims made me actually choke with laughter I cannot coahxoqjkdkq I feel you. God I do.

[flamedraco]

Welcome To The Blog

Hi. My name is Flame Draco. I write fanfiction.

That's it. That's my thing. I write fanfiction, usually about silly gay birds that happened to be named Quackity and Wilbur (THE CHARACTER, THE CONTENT CREATOR CAN FUCK OFF).

I swear a lot. I have opinions about things. I usually stay in my own little corner of the fandom playing with Q and Wil like they're dolls that I dress up in different outfits and make kiss for my amusement. My fics are usually dark in nature, I've said it once I'll say it again: READ THE TAGS ON MY FICS.

Here are some fics I've written:

You Were Never Meant to be a Hero

A TNT Duo centric superhero fic featuring the Fallen Hero trope. It's a completed fic with a series of oneshots, spinoffs, and requests attached. It was intended to have a sequel but I decided to scrap the project. YWNTMBAH is my baby and the main thing I'm known for.

Shadows and Ice

Another TNT Duo centric story, this time it's fae flavored. It's a revenge story that follows Wilbur as he's sacrificed to the fae but strikes a deal with the Unseelie King, Quackity to save himself. This one is still ongoing.

Blood Smeared on My Coffee Cup, Red Like Your Eyes

A coffee shop/mafia AU for TNT Duo with mafia boss Quackity and barista Wilbur (who may or may not be a murderous info broker). This one is a fic the has some pretty graphic violence as a common theme, but is also pretty fluffy because Coffee Shop. Still ongoing (I PROMISE I'M WORKING ON IT).

Aurelia

A spinoff of YWNTMBAH, an AU where Wilbur is not a hero but rather a supernatural changeling who's made his home in the world of the Perspectiverse. Again, TNT Duo. You don't really need background Perspectiverse knowledge to read this, technically. It would help for certain character outfits and their relationships but it'll read like a superhero AU if you don't. Completed fic.

Rewrite The Stars

Another YWNTMBAH spinoff, this time an alternate timeline where Quackity and Wilbur got together way before Wilbur fell into villainy. This is still ongoing and probably going to take a while to complete.

The Solar Flare Series

A (mostly) Quackity centric series where the man completely lost his marbles. Becoming the villain Solar Flare, who has a very unhealthy obsession with Wilbur. I try to divide the oneshots between Wilbur and Quackity but it really does read as something more Q centric since he's kinda the main deal of the AU with his...tendencies. It's a darker series that will probably end tragically. Ongoing.

Pythia

My oracle Wilbur series, featuring Karlburnapity and more specifically Wilbur who plays with tarot cards and sees the future. He causes a lot of problems for certain green teletubbies. Ongoing.

Blackout

A series of oneshots and drabbles for elytrian TNT Duo and their courting shenanigans. Superhero AU with villain Q and hero Wilbur. Ongoing.

My Ficlets and Oneshots

This is an ongoing series for ships involving Wilbur, Quackity, Sally, Sapnap, and Karl (ONLY THE CHARACTERS). It's mostly TNT Duo but I do other things sometimes for a pallet cleanser. There are 37 fics in the series but I also have more oneshots scattered around my profile not reflected here. Ongoing, basically a file for all my stuff based around prompts I get. You can make request. I can't promise I'll do every request I get and I have rules which are listed in the first fic in the series.

I have other stuff on my profile, this is just the main and more recent stuff. Technically. Or at least the stuff I think about that's on my profile more often.

This is what I do. If you're interested at all, feel free to visit my profile as a whole.

Thanks for reading and welcome to my personal little corner of fandom! DISCLAIMER:

I, Flame Draco, hereby officially issue the statement that I do NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES consent to my work being used for Generative AI. Do not use my versions of characters for chat bots such as c.ai (character ai), poly ai, or other sources like them. Do not use AI to generate images based on my fics. Do not use my fics for AI as a whole. If you do so it directly goes against my wishes as the author. I do not approve of AI use in fandom spaces and neither should you. AI is soulless plagiarism and is harmful to artists, writers, and anyone who enjoys creative expression. If you see my work being used for AI or my versions of the characters as a chat bot, I request that you report it immediately or otherwise do what you can to take it down. I do not consent to my work being used for chat bots, AI images, or anything of the like. So do not upload or use my versions of the characters for such things.

[snkyou]

For this fic writer ask game:

#4, #8, #12, #17, #19

Sorry for sending so many! I’m a curious person, lol.

Hey <3 It's okay! I wouldn't reblog those games if I didn't want people sending many of these. ALSO SORRY THIS GOT OUT OF HAND---

4.a story idea you haven’t written yet

i think I have around of 3 semi-started multi-chaptered fics, and exactly 2 ideas I haven't written anything for yet: one because it's fairly recently it popped up in my head and the other one... I know it's gonna be a lot harder to write: I have only read 1 fic where Levi is Kuchel's caretaker at the end of whatever illness takes her. I want to give it a try and focus on that 'reverse' parent-child dynamic (with a bit of eruri in the background, of course lmao); so far, all I have in mind are random important scenes here and there, Kuchel's illness being something similar to Alzheimer's, maybe? It does have to be terminal enough for Levi to stretch himself thin to keep them both afloat. I still don't know if I want this to be from Levi's pov or Erwin's. That would shift the tone of the story a lot. What's been stopping me, partially, is the amount of research I have to do for this type of story, I've had first-hand experience of witnessing Alzheimer's develop and at a scarily rapid pace, but I also sort of blocked those memories. I could never write something this heavy on a whim.

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

<- going back to that Caretaker Levi, I can totally see it being a two-part fic where the first is about Levi and Kuchel and the second about Eruri getting/being together after her passing.

A fic that I've posted and want to write a sequel for is Coffee & Tea, this fic focused on Gabi and Levi, so I want to spotlight Falco in the next one!! <3 if Gabi and Levi were having their morning gossip (lmao), I imagine Falco and Levi can have a little treat in the evening.. (also set in this same universe, I do have plans of Levi being asked to be the godfather to one of the 104th's kiddos. I just love the idea of Levi being so present in their minds that he ends up being some sort of grandpa figure to their kids lol.)

12.a trope you’re really into right now

Let me take a look at my ao3 tracker---

My tracker tells me I'm a lot into first-times right now lmao. Honestly, other than that, I don't see any patterns repeating throughout many stories. Hmmm I guess the other trope I've been reading is a lot of Parent Eruri, be it single dads/married. Also... threesomes... I was in a miche rut at the beginning of the month and read like 6 fics of eruri/miche 🙂‍↕️. No tropes in specific tho.

17. talk about your writing and editing process

Hmm, I usually only write when I have an idea of what I want to cover in the fic/chapter. I'm not good at outlining my stories, I just go with the flow and hope the mood I inteded for the fic comes across. I have scenes/dialogues and I kind of build toward them. Because I don't write just because, most of the time I always end up with something that's 80-90% ready and not much editing needed. My editing consists of checking formatting and maybe word order here and there since I do tend to yap endlessly. I don't have a beta. The thought of sharing my wips gives me cold feet haha. I have a friend watching over my current wip and it's been nerve-wrecking but also really nice! (I accepted his checking it because it would be my first time writing a trans character and I am not confident enough of my knowledge of trans experiences to write about it).

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

Admittedly, doing research is my least favourite part of writing, only because I get side-tracked and tend to research stuff I want to know and not necessarily need. The most interesting and recent one is pregnancy! I am ignorant of lots of medical and biological processes (like... i know they exist and happen, but I've never questioned the biology of it, yk). More specifically I read a bunch of research articles on trans male pregnancy (since that's what my current wip deals with). And it's been very interesting to read those experiences! In my writing, I focus on feelings and experiences rather than the hmm physical aspect of things. I'm not trans and I can't say I have experienced anything similar to gender dysphoria and I have never been pregnant so it's two topics I'm fairly oblivious to haha and I want to get them right. If this was an omegaverse fic, I wouldn't worry with all this I think. But for this fic, I want the reader to feel pregnant hahaha 😂 that's my goal. And also just putting a mpreg fic out there that focuses on the journey of carrying instead of jumping into delivery.

[lies-unfurl]

hi! I think you’ve mentioned on your blog before that you read marvel comics, so as a sambucky fan can I ask you which comics in particular one should read for sam and bucky? I know there’s only one comic book for them, I think - the Cut Of One Head collection. I’ve read that, but I want moore. and I just don’t know where to start. (do you pirate them or do you have the Marvel Unlimited subscription?)

and I saw Mackenzie Lee wrote a Winter Soldier book, have you read it? I’m tempted to check it out. I am mostly asking all of this bc I want to be writing sambucky fic but I struggle with coming up with "villains" and you've come up with so many good villains in your sambucky fics, and just in general you get the mcu vibes just right

Hi anon, thanks for the question and the kind words! I have read some comics and am actively trying to read more, but I have a tendency to get sidetracked. The Falcon and Winter Soldier series is probably peak SamBucky. I've also read some of the Death of Captain America arc and enjoyed that, though it's been a little while and I don't recall how heavy on the SamBucky stuff it was. Sam's most recent Cap series, Symbol of Truth, does have a little bit of Bucky, but you'd have to also read Steve!Cap's Sentinel of Liberty arc to understand it.

The best resource I've found for comics is Comic Book Herald's reading order lists -- Sam and Bucky. Take a look and see where they overlap, and you should find at least some SamBucky content to satisfy you. I'll also tag this post in the hopes that more knowledgeable people might be able to help.

As for your other questions -- yes, I use Marvel Unlimited. I have mixed feelings; it's convenient, but I find the website annoying to navigate and lacking in some features, to the point where you pretty much have to use the app. If you don't mind reading on your phone, or if you have a tablet, I'd say it's worth it. Pretty much all of the older series will be out in trade paperbacks though, so if you have access to a library you may be able to get them for free.

And YES, I did read the Mackenzie Lee Winter Soldier book. It's absolutely like if a Bucky whump fic got published; he's suffering in like every chapter lol. There's no Sam due to the timeframe, and it actually gave me Steve/Bucky* vibes in a few spots. I'll put the specifics under the read since they're (mild) spoilers. But Steve doesn't actually have a huge part in it. I'd say it's worth checking out if you're interested in WWII/early Winter Soldier Bucky. It's comics-adjacent, but not actually part of the main 616 comicsverse, so you can read it without any background.

(And if you're interested in writing villains -- do you want more serious ones, or just sort of like... background plot devices to set up the story? The first one is harder, but if you're interested in the latter, I wouldn't stress it! There's so much weird shit in the comics, if you're going for a lighter tone, you can basically just make up Some Guy, give them a grievance, and let your imagination go.)

*When Bucky and Steve meet for the first time, Bucky thinks about Steve's "thick quads that strained the seams" of his pants, and his "chiseled face." A female friend of Bucky's has a line about wanting to marry Captain America, and then says she isn't sure if Bucky is more possessive over her or Steve. And Bucky flashes back to him and Steve snuggling in a foxhole for warmth, and a different time when he had pneumonia and Steve wrapped them both in a jacket and held him until his fever broke??? Like Steve genuinely isn't a huge part of the story and I wouldn't let that put you off of it if you're otherwise interested in the novel, but I did come away thinking that Mackenzie Lee had probably written Stucky fanfiction at one point.

[practically-an-x-man]

questions for fic writers #s 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 23, 26, and 30 :)

Thank you so much!!

Questions for fic writers

What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

Honestly... Taking Flight. It's in by far the smallest fandom I've written for, but that almost works in its favor because it means the fic is able to stand largely on its own without requiring any background knowledge into the Fablehaven universe. And it's my most recent longfic, so it best reflects my current level of skill and writing style from the first chapter. Plus... I'm just really proud of it, and I wish more people would read it

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

Angst, Fluff, and Hurt/Comfort are the top three. Makes a lot of sense, most of my fics include a blend of all three at some point

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

References to birds, references to music, devoted couples facing the horrors of life at each other's side, and romance alongside fast-paced action or angst

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

Hanahaki! I didn't enjoy the idea that only requited love would cure the disease, since it basically put the weight of a person's life on the other reciprocating feelings that they really can't control. But I've seen a version of Hanahaki that's based on the confession, not the love itself, and I like that a lot more

13. Are there any tropes you used to like but don’t anymore?

I don't know about particular tropes, but I think my characters have become a lot stronger and more self-possessed than they used to be (we're talking like... when I was 14-15 and just getting into fanfic here). I don't think it was full "damsel in distress", but there were definitely a lot more OCs in need of rescue rather than working together to rescue themselves. Idk

14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer?

I mean... I've only ever read Twilight/vampire fics as written by @nebulousfishgills, and I had to look at a wiki just to know who the Volturi were, if that tells you anything. I don't like Twilight at all, but I really like Nebby's writing style and characters

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

Hm... I've had a few ideas for a soulmate AU, but I've never put one down on the page. The closest is Heartstrings, but that doesn't quite count.

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?

No dialogue. I explained this in more depth in a previous ask, but I feel like building a scene would get stilted and awkward if it relied on only dialogue.

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

I mean... I feel like I'm always a little bit out of my comfort zone in some way or another. Writing is an exercise for me, so I try to pick at least one character detail or writing style that I need to practice and research so that I'll always be engaged in the story.

I will say that writing Desert Song has definitely stretched me in a lot of ways - there are some darker characters, more intense moments, and a few slightly racier scenes than I usually write, and working myself through those moments I feel has made me more well-rounded as a writer in general. The spicy scenes especially... I still don't write smut, but I've gotten a lot more comfortable with spicier scenes in general, and that's also made me better at other types of emotional intensity in scenes I think

[sanguinarysanguinity]

Tagged by @verecunda, thank you! I've lost track of who has been tagged, so please jump in if you'd like to play!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

176, give or take a few that are in currently anonymous collections.

2. What's your total AO3 wordcount?

737,590

3. What fandoms do you write for?

My current main fandoms are the Hornblower novels and The Flight of the Heron. But I also write one-offs as please me, either for exchange assignments or pinch-hits, or because I got bit by a plot bunny. (Yes, plot-bunnies are carnivorous!) This year, I've written for Hornblower (novels and TV), The Flight of the Heron, Vokosigan Saga, Elementary, ACD Holmes, Leverage, A Rip Through Time, and Wild Things (1998).

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Sincerity of Dust (Mycroft/Lestrade - Sherlock TV) Etta Candy's Last Stand (Etta Candy/Wonder Woman) Three Continents and Many Nations (Elementary gen; Joan Watson has broken hearts around the world) Baker Street Papas (Holmes/Watson, kidfic) Foundations (Elementary gen; Bell-centric fixit AU)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, because I was taught to write thank you notes. Also, because sometimes I can lure a commenter into a conversation, which is always fun -- and sometimes they even become a friend.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Heh. *rubs hands gleefully* I have a little sideline in fics that made people cry. Let me show you some of my favorites!

The Golden Sand Bush/Hornblower Once again a prisoner of the French, Hornblower awaits his execution.

Cock on the Right background Bush/Hornblower/Maria For as long as he bears them, Bush's tattoos protect him faithfully.

Telling the Bees Elementary gen Sherlock returns from Switzerland, but Watson does not.

Brandy and Soda Holmes & Watson; Mary/Watson (7 Per-Cent Solution) Holmes returns to Baker Street.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oh, fuck if I know. I've been accused more than once of writing only bittersweetly happy endings. But here, have a story in which Horatio Hornblower, that sad wet miserable bastard, is simply happy for a day:

Nothing So Much Worth Doing

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not often. Earlier this year a commenter objected to a pwp being a pwp. Which. Dude. As a later commenter replied (so I didn't have to! blessings on their house!), the story was exactly what it said in the tags and summary, so take some personal responsibility and don't click on what you don't want to read.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. Slash, femslash, threesomes; vanilla and kinky; realistic and fantastical; first times and well-seasoned olds. I haven't yet written anything that would bring the antis after me, but that's the kind of thing that I'd put under a different pseud anyway.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Absolutely. Probably Elementary x Bee-Man Comics: THE BEST BEE FIC ON MARS.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I had a couple requests this year for permission to translate a story (both granted), but I don't know the current status of either project.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

@phoenixfalls and I have a story we've been co-writing; every once in a while we talk about finishing it. I'd very much like to; I think it's great fun.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Pass.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have a Twin Peaks x Buffy crossover that I quite like, but which I am extremely unlikely to ever finish. Every now and then I think of it wistfully, though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Well-organized and precise prose, and strong characterizations.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Inelegant prose, and wobbly characterizations.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

An insidious trap, if your characters speak the other language better than you do. (With the exception of William Bush in French, they always do! Why do I write all these classically-educated assholes?)

My usual solution is to paraphrase the dialogue through my pov character, at whatever their level of comprehension is. After all, that's what the reader needs to know: what the pov character understands. Paraphrasing also circumvents the wild card that some of my readers will know the language and some won't -- this way, no reader has an advantage and no reader is left scrambling for a translation.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ask Dr. Eldritch! a webcomic written by the talented evannichols.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Whichever one someone just left a lovely comment on.

[macawritesupdates]

Aww, modern a/b/o fic is so good. Yuuji's kind heart is lovely to read about. I want to know who hurt Sukuna, and am I allowed to attempt murder on his behalf? I'll fight, I won't win, but I'll fight damn it. Pack dynamics when written well are a favorite or mine I remember when I first read a/b/o and getting super disappointed by the way most authors wrote an animalistic society with complex non verbal communication and scent markings without actually doing anything at all with the concept. I like the trope best when people explore the deeper world building aspects instead of just going for the sex. The sex is fun to read, of course, but come on, there's so much more to explore here. For long fics at least, one shots don't have to go in depth. I just feel like a lot of the coolest concepts get shoved aside and ignored, so it's really nice to read your work and get some fun world building and a look into social dynamics and the like. It's interesting to see Sukuna trying to hide his dynamic a bit like someone has tried to make him ashamed. looks to me like someone has treated him awfully and he's internalized some sexism because of that. poor guy I wonder if he might be projecting on Yuuji a bit when he accused him of stalking, guilty conscience perhaps or is Yuuji living rent free in his head causing him to pay way more attention to him than a normal person which makes him feel like he's seeing Yuuji more than he really is. … ok I might be trying to dig too far into this man's head. we're only on chapter two, lol. The bullies were kinda funny to me obviously I hate that Yuuji's going through that shit but knowing he's so much stronger than them and that this fic is about him ending up with the world's toughest omega makes their comments kinda hilarious. That cute baby faced alpha is ten times the alpha you are, and the only reason you don't know that yet is he just so happens to have incredible self-control. I'm so proud of his self-control. Yuuji holding on to his convictions because he's a good person with morals, not a hormonal beast makes me happy. I kinda wonder how Sukuna must feel watching Yuuji not react with violence if he's used to awful alphas who throw their weight around and bully others for dominance. How must it feel to meet an alpha who could be top dog but chooses not to because he's a kind person. Yuuji does not equate the ability to hurt and rule over others with a person's value, which must seem so strange to Sukuna. Maybe at first it'll make him dislike Yuuji even as it draws him closer. How long before Yuuji's kind heart starts to make Sukuna feel safe, how long before he's willing to accept that safety? It takes strength to reach out a hand to someone who's hurting, but it also takes strength for someone in a bad situation to grab on to the offered hand and accept that life can be better. I hope Sukuna finds that strength within himself. It's a very different type of strength than what he's used to, but it's no less important even if society doesn't recognize it as such. Again, the little pack moments were very sweet, and Yuuji's family time was beautiful. I love my grandparents so much. I'm happy Yuuji gets time with his grandfather even though his health is failing. There's that love but the dark knowledge that you might not have much time left together hanging in the background like a spiritual bruise. I'm glad Choso is there so that Yuuji doesn't have to go through things alone. … I feel like I've typed out Yuuji's name fifty times today good lord haha. Ah man, well, thanks for the new chapter it was lovely. I can tell already that this will be a new favorite fic of mine!

I'm glad you are enjoying this fic! I also like when the world has more depths and uses the scents/marking/behavior in the concept of a society and world c: Just being super animalistic can be fun, but it would make it hard for individuals I think to fit in ; w ;

I love writing time for friendships too! This fic focuses a lot on not just the romance, but also the family relations and friendships as I have more cute family moments planned, especially in the next chapter! Part of the comfort in this is showing Yuuji has all theses good supports in his life....

Which is going to contrast more as it is revealed what type of situation Sukuna is in as the behaviors you are noting are all intentional little gives! Want to be subtle until the revela for sure!

Thank you for the long comment! It is much appreciated!

[piedoesnotequalpi]

🍉🍒🍊🥝🥭 for the fruit asks!

So many! Thank you :) Also I've never heard the turn of phrase cheese grater memory before but I think it's very funny

🍉 (Do you prefer to write short fics or long fics? Multichaptered works or single ones? Why?):

So, funny story: before I got the idea for Not till a hot January, which turned out to be ~25k words, I didn't think I was really capable of writing long things in general, and my writing strengths mostly lay (I just had to google the correct form for that) in short comedy pieces that made my love of Terry Pratchett books incredibly obvious (I'm still proud of those pieces, and might post them here someday!) as well as the occasional very gay short story.

All this to say, short fics are definitely a lot less stressful--I don't need to plan as much, I can write in a way that's closer to the comedic style I used to use more, and I will probably not question my ability to finish. But with long fics, it's really fun to build towards stuff over several chapters, and it's very satisfying to be like wow I wrote all that. So I'm not really sure which one I like better!

🍒 (What's your favorite character dynamic to write?):

I think I've given Spot and Race the most interesting (but wildly different) dynamics across everything I've written, so they've been really fun to write. I also like writing group dynamics, partially because the result is usually entertaining and partially because it's easier to move the conversation forward when there's more than two people.

🍊 (Who's a character you don't write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more?):

Crutchie's role in HIWB actually came in part from me realizing I hadn't incorporated him nearly enough into the other big AU I wrote! But now I think I should write more about Specs, because he's a fun guy but definitely a bit more in the background of HIWB.

🥝 (What's your favorite trope/AO3 tag to write?):

Enemies to lovers and Only One Bed/bedsharing in general have been the most fun, I think. This might be a little outside the scope of the question, but I absolutely love writing anything that has dramatic irony involved.

🍍 (What kind of AUs do you like? Are there any AUs you hate or just generally have beef with?):

I've read so many different types of AUs; I haven't written nearly as many. I tend to like writing things that give me a chance to use some of the random knowledge I've picked up over the years, because it makes the world/activities feel more real (and I'm not great at worldbuilding) and also because a major pet peeve of mine is when people butcher, say, rock climbing in a piece of media (I have a grudge against the movie Princess Diaries for this reason). Nothing I've written really falls into this category, but AUs where the authors ask weird, going-down-the-rabbit-hole questions about a common trope or variety of AU are really fun (I've seen this with soulmate AUs a few times, for example).

As for AUs I hate...well, the main thing that comes to mind is the omegaverse. I'm also not a big fan of student/teacher or anything with a similarly uneven power dynamic, but I haven't encountered that as much.

[tuulikannel]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

So I already got this twice so I guess I should try to get an answer out ^^;; It's... really a tough task though, but here we go! I can’t really pick a clear favorite of them all, so they’re just in random order. (Or actually, I guess they're in the order in which they've last been updated/posted.)

1. Caught Between, my Hikaru no Go fic where Sai's a real kid with dreams of turning go pro, an intersex condition, and not... the greatest parents in the world, I guess. (His mom has grown on me though.) I've talked about this fic a lot before, so I'll just say that I'm so glad I finally started posting it and that I've managed to nearly reach the end - still need to wrap things up, but at Sai's finally where he wants to be in live, so in that regard, all's fine.

2. blind alley, Assassination Classroom fic which, as usual for me, is basically about Shuu's relationship with his dad. The summary is rather short: "One day, Gakushuu decides to end it all. Just, all does not end that easily." I've said it before, I don't even know why I like this fic so much. Maybe I'm just a sucker for sad things? I don't think I've ever said anything about the title, have I? Cause this is a rare case where I didn't have to struggle to come up with a title only to end up with something mediocre. I was originally going to name this Dead End, cause stupid puns & Shuu being in a sense stuck in one, but then realized that blind alley refers to the same thing, plus it has the word "blind" in it... and you could say Shuu is blind to the truth for a good while there. (why I decided not to capitalize it, I don't know. Sometimes things just look better like that to me.)

3. oneironautics, AssClass & The Sandman crossover (no knowledge of Sandman required.) Again, Shuu and his dad are in the spotlight. It's just that I like Gakushuu, I found Gakuhou simply... intriguing. What's going on his brain? How did he really go so crazy? I've never felt like Ikeda's death would have been quite enough for that. They hadn't even been in touch for years! So, yeah, I guess one goal for me in this fic was to create him one potential background where all the problems have their roots. Also, writing dreams is fun. ^^

4. Ok, those first three were clear, but now it's getting hard. I've two random Hikaru no Go fics in mind here... maybe I'll pick the one that showcases my fic-naming abilities, It’s the Zombie Apocalypse! XD Its birth was absolute randomness, once upon a time in the hikago community on Dreamwidth people were playing Let’s Five on Hikago Day. Someone asked who'd be the five characters who'd survive the zombie apocalypse, and reading the answers I was attacked by a rabid plotbunny. This fic... it was just so fun to write. And I like how it's got a true ending and a bad ending (the reader's choice determines which you get.) (And, dammit, I'll mention the other fic I was just considering too: Chika-go, the Hikago & Dresden Filess crossover. Another fic that was really fun to write. And it has my first ever battle scenes. XD Also, I like the title for various reasons. ^^)

5. Then, finally: The End of Silence (The All Paths Lead to God of Go Remix), yet one more Hikago fic. This is perhaps a bit surprising choice, but I can’t help it… there’s something about this little fic I really like. It’s a remix, as you see (tho in all honesty it’s more like a sequel than a real remix, I feel), of Flonnebonne’s drabble The Silent Path where Akari, not Hikaru, was the one to end up with Sai. I had always wanted to write about Akari more, but somehow never had any inspiration. This (though I'm sure it's not exactly what anyone expects XD) fixed that.