#pragmatic optimist

[welcometololaland]

Whats the ALTA fic? 👀 it sounds fun and i really wanna read it

This ask snuck in with the fic ask game and I'm so sorry I missed it!

I consulted @pragmatic-optimist for this and she said:

A spin on the second chance trope with a side of murder mystery.

Nothing brings a couple back together faster than one of them being accused of murder and the other one trying to prove they didn’t do it.

It features: TK and Carlos as high school/college sweethearts, Carlos as an (unofficial) private investigator, a very corrupt APD, a runaway ex-boyfriend back for reasonsTM, the iconic best friend duo of Paul and Marjan, PINING (so much pining), actor!Owen who is also highly chaotic, dual timelines, a lot of very shady people, some interesting mental gymnastics, getting back together and solving a crime 💜

[sunshinestrand]

Paige!! 🥰

Can you please tell us more about #13: Wedding Planner Carlos/Best Man TK? 👀🙌🏾

Sonia!! Of course, thank you, love <3

Nevermind me having to find this in my folder and that's why it took me so long. This one is fairly new to my list but I've always loved the idea of finding love at a wedding. It's also kind of a set up type fic as well because why not. So, TK is still a paramedic and Carlos is obviously a wedding planner. When TK first arrived in Austin, they had met (in a way that still needs to be determined lmao). Now their mutual friend is getting married (probably Paul, let's be real, we know who I am) and TK had once told him all about Carlos and how he was immediately drawn to him.

So naturally, Paul, in conspiracy with the rest of the gang, hires Carlos to plan the wedding and of course it's because he is one of the highest rating wedding planners in all of Austin and not all because he's trying to set the two of them up or anything. Cue TK and Carlos being equally flustered as they attempt to work with one another to pull off the wedding while also hardcore pining over each other. I aim for this one to just be a whole bunch of fluff and softness.

[kiwiana-writes]

Hi MJ, it truly makes my day when I happen to open the Tumblr app, and you’re playing the AU fun facts ask game. The folks sending you ideas are brilliant, and in equal measure, so are your responses. It’s all just so much fun, thanks for bringing that energy to my Tumblr dashboard! 💕

If it’s not too late to participate in the game, I had an AU idea come to me early this morning—

Medical/Arthur Lives AU - perhaps a universe where Alex is somehow involved in Arthur’s treatment/recovery, trying very hard (yet failing lol) not to be distracted by his patient's annoyingly handsome son. 👀

This is such a lovely, lovely thing to say, my friend, thank you. I genuinely wasn't expecting people to get quite so into this one but I've had a BLAST churning through these for the last day and a half, so your beautiful message seems like the perfect one to end on.

ONE: Alex spent three years working in hospice before he burnt out—not because of all the death. It was hard, of course, getting attached to patients and then losing them, but making their final weeks more comfortable was a privilege Alex didn't take lightly. What he burned out on was the way some families would spend those last precious few days sniping and dragging up old hurts and yelling at each other over their loved one's literal deathbed.

TWO: Naively, he thought cancer recovery would mean no more bad feelings—that people would be relieved about their second chance and would face their recovery plan with the optimism of reprieve. He's soon disabused of this; almost all his patients have a mix of positive and negative feelings, and some spent so long preparing themselves for their treatment to fail that it throws them off-course when it's successful.

THREE: Arthur Fox is not one of those people. He has, according to his notes, gone through a gruelling chemo/radiation regimen with the unbridled confidence of an upper-class white man who's never been denied anything he wants in his life (okay, that part might not be in his notes; Alex is annotating a little). He simply decided, no matter the prognosis, that he wasn't going to die, and so he didn't. Alex is honestly kind of obsessed with him.

FOUR: He meets Catherine early on, but doesn't get a chance to meet Arthur's children until three and a half weeks into their treatment plan, and Alex is sure he's not imagining the way Arthur spends so much more time introducing Henry to Alex than any of his other kids.

FIVE: Alex has always had a vested interest in his patients getting well and not needing him anymore, but every time he sees Henry during one of his visits to Arthur's home—chatting with him about the novel he's writing, lavishing attention on his dog—Alex has another reason to count down the days until Arthur is free and clear so that Alex can give Henry his number in a decidedly non-professional context.

[Send me a potential AU and I’ll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story.]

[silvermoon424]

I love horror/thriller/survival manga, but reading them can be so frustrating because there's always that one fuck who acts as a comically evil antagonist who makes things harder for everyone else. This is especially the case in death game/survival manga, which are like contractually obligated to have someone who is unrepentantly evil and fucks over everyone else.

But the protagonists are always like "Noooo, we need to work together with them! If we kill them we'll be just as bad as them!!!" No bitch, gang up on them and fucking murder them lmao. Stop pissing me off.

[missshame]

I hate how my parents talk to each other I hate how loud and aggressive they are :)) I know I'm lucky to have grew up in an overall loving and stable environment so I feel like I'm faking having problems when I complain about my parents but! Imagine living in a place where people don't get angry 20 times a day!! Imagine no screaming!! Imagine hearing people say words and these words are kind and gentle!!!!

[mistmarauder]

My dearest Jess, it’s nice ask weekend and I meant to send this sooner but adulting. Here to say that you’re one of my favorite people on this planet and I love how we can always pick up our conversations seamlessly even if it’s been a few days/weeks because again—adulting lol. Thank you for being my friend, you’re a real gem. 💕

A few random asks for you:

What’s something you only do when you’re bored?

What character from a movie/book/show do you relate to the most and why?

It having been nice ask weekend explains the ask that Lola sent me. 😂 Also, adulting is a whole mood, and I hate it, thanks.

But you're one of MY favorite people on the planet, and I'm the one who's grateful to have YOU. Don't go twisting everything around like this! [squishes you in a hug]

I nap when I'm bored. 😂 I never nap because I'm tired. There's just nothing else I feel like doing, so I'm like "Time to sleep." 🤣

And it's Maddie from 9-1-1. I know I keep picking 9-1-1 characters for y'all's questions, but it's not my fault! They're the answer! But the way they handled and portrayed her depression is something that's so personal to me (which anyone who listened to my podcast episode already knows because I cried about it, but I digress). I've just never felt so seen by a mental health portrayal in my life despite the fact that her depression was postpartum depression, and my depressive episodes are a result of bipolar disorder. It meant so much to me, and I cried uncontrollably after Boston because of it.

Anyhow, Ilysm, Sonia bby! You're the BEST!

Mwah, mwah, mwah!!! 😘😘😘😘😘😘

[reyesstrand]

Hi Maddie! I love the list of fics you recommended today. So many of my favorites were on there, too! 😁 This fandom truly has some phenomenal writers. You mentioned that if you forgot anyone, folks could add on, so I hope you don't mind me doing that here.

There is a fantastic writer whose stories always resonate emotionally. Her writing is beautiful and full of heart, and she’s written some of my absolute favorite AUs in the fandom...and that writer is YOU! 🙌🏾

I know it can feel weird and self-indulgent to hype up your own stories, but your name was a glaring omission on that list tbh. You’ve been writing for our fandom since the very beginning!

So, here are my top 5 fics written by you (in no particular order). A Maddie/stormss starter pack, if you will. 😂💖

Keep Falling Into You (Bakery AU): Folks should read this for the bakery's name alone—quality pun. 👌🏽I loved this one a lot! 🍰 🧁

Could See For Miles, Miles, Miles (Fake Dating/Holiday AU): Fake dating AND a Holiday fic? YES. This fic checked all of the boxes for me, and my rom-com trope-loving heart was bursting with cheer.🎄

Chasing After Our Ends (Grace/Carlos 2x03 fic): Canon really held out on giving us CRACE, and as someone who adores Carlos and Grace (and believes they have been friends ALL ALONG), I was so grateful for writers like you who shared stories like this one early on. The comfort and support in this story is 🥺😍!

Take This Wildness Away (2x06 fix it): I will never understand the decision not to have Carlos standing on the sidelines with the 126, watching the love of his life jump around a minefield. 🤷🏽‍♀️ We will be in season 8 and I’ll still be baffled by this writing choice 😂. So, thank you for this!! It was gold.

Lit The Spark (That Set The Fire) (Firefighter Carlos AU): 20K of Firefighter Carlos Reyes. That's it. That's the tweet. A fic that makes me wish canon had gone this route tbh. Incredible from beginning to end. 👏🏽

This is just a short list because this ask is already rather lengthy 😆. But it should go without saying that everything you’ve shared with us is top tier. 🏆 THANK YOU SO MUCH!

sonia 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭😭😭 you’re the sweetest ever i don’t even have a coherent response to this!!! thank you for your continued kindness and support, it means the world <3

[an-undercover-bi]

Being disabled in academia is awful.

[evanzbuck]

Thai!!! 💜 Here I am in your ask box with Spotify asks as if we haven’t been dissecting our Spotify Wrapped all day lol. 😂

Spotify wrapped: 9, 16, 27, 34, 43, 55, 68, 73, 86, 98?

Lolol spotify wrapped is *the* event of the year we could talk about it for daaays and I'd be okay with it 🤣 Thank you Sonia!! <33

9. Gone - Blake Rose 16. Questions - James Arthur, Lost Frequencies 27. Cover Me In Sunshine - Pink, Willow Sage Hart 34. Me, Myself & I - 5sos 43. I Like You (A Happier Song) - Post Malone, Doja Cat 55. Figure It Out - Anthony Ramos 68. This Is Why - Paramore 73. This Is How You Fall In Love - Jeremy Zucker, Chelsea Cutler 86. goosebumps - Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar 98. For Tonight - Giveon

[shokuto]

Maybe I need to brush on her comics but I feel the way Kamala was put into the leader role for Champions didn’t do her more human, “negative” traits any justice. She’s occasionally grumpy, indecisive and impatient but I can’t say it’s ever influenced her leadership

[jddryder]

Julia, I hope you’ve had a beautiful day! I’m sorry we have to wait another week for the Ryders to be back in our lives, but look at this way, you get to close out your birthday week with their return! 😁

Grateful for you! This fandom is very lucky to have you and your talent! I look forward to spiraling together about the Ryders (and with @mistmarauder) this season lol. 💖

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🥳

Thank you so much Sonia !🥺💖 Not gonna lie, I’m still pretty salty about the wait. 😤 We’re so close now, but at the same time the premiere seems so far away. I really hope we’ll get a ryders scene or good judd and/or grace scenes in the first ep at least. 🤞 

This is so sweet !! I can’t wait to spirale with you and jess about the Ryders. ✨ Our time to shine is getting closer and closer ✨ I can’t believe we’re finally getting new content.

[welcometololaland]

34, 40 and 41 for the ask game :)

thanks for the ask!

34. What aspects of your writing are inspired by/taken from your real life?

god...way too much. i mean there's a reason so many of my fics feature lawyers, oblivious idiots, characters doing awkward and extremely specific things. if characters in my fics hate a particular thing, chances are I also dislike it. one fun fact is that i actually can't play tennis very well at all, despite writing Love Game. I have been to Hawaii though. I love Hawaii, and I've now sent characters from two different fandoms there in fics.

One extremely specific thing I often write is characters going out for a jog and treating it as if they're in an Olympic track event. That is me. 100% I don't care if you're an 85 year old or an 8 year old I will race you without your knowledge or consent.

40 - I answered here.

41. A fic I read that made me think, "wow I want to write like that"

Quite a few! Recently, I read Wings are Frayed by @iboatedhere with a serving of @pragmatic-optimist and it made me wish I could develop that level of understanding of the characters. The characterisation in this fic is truly something to behold.

The characterisation in this fic by @liminalmemories21 (and a lot of her other canon fics) is also fantastic and inspires me to do better with Tarlos.

I also frequently lurk around @clottedcreamfudge fics wishing I could be as funny and creative as her. She is my muse to make Alex Claremont-Diaz even more unhinged.

The smut that @rmd-writes (and CCF) hauls out my GOD - that's my E rated inspo right there.

There's so many more! But that's just a little taste :)

[marchingatmidnight]

Hi! 🙂 Spotify wrapped: 9, 16, 27, 34, 43, 55, 68, 73, 86, 98?

Ooooh so many! I have links to spotify and my quick notes after the link.

9. Sanity for Summer by City Mouth - A jam with nonsensical lyrics that do make sense 16. Once More For The Ocean by Slothrust - A banger to headbang to in the car. 27. Six Feet by Patent Pending - The anthem for any made a workaholic by the need to pay rent. 34. On A Turntable by The Interrupters - A banger for any who uses music to CopeTM 43. Sober by Letdown. - This is my song for TK in season one when he's like oh shit I might have feelings for Carlos time to get in a bar fight about that. 55. Summerland by halfalive - I love this song because it's great and also because it shares its name with one of the best baseball novels of all time. 68. Over Again by Cloudland - On my driving to work playlist and it absolutely deserves to be there. 73. Alaska by Little Hurt - My wife and I refer to this song exclusively as "The Neil Josten song". 86. Renegade by Big Red Machine ft. Taylor Swift - A great song that is once again a S1 Tarlos song, this time Carlos @ TK. 98. Helena by My Chemical Romance - Surprised it took us this long to get an MCR song. Absolutely one of the highlights of my year was seeing them live.

[kiwiana-writes]

Hi! If you’re still accepting prompts for the first sentence ask game: “Hunter must have a fucking death wish.”

Safe travels! 💜

Hunter must have a fucking death wish.

The microaggressions and the oblivious bullshit that comes out of his mouth at any given opportunity Alex can deal with. He's been hearing that sort of thing his entire life, and on an unprecedented scale since his mom's first presidential campaign. He can ignore whiny entitled white boys like he's being paid to do it.

Swiping the last of the coffee from right under Alex's nose, though? Alex needs to check and see whether he has diplomatic fucking immunity.

[Send me an ask with the first sentence of a fic and I’ll write you the next five.]

[oatmealaddiction]

Hi! No.6 question, if you don’t mind: does either the manga or the novels explain what was going on with Shion with the violence towards those who insulted/hurt Nezumi?

I mean all of the versions address it, the novels and manga a little bit more explicitly, but basically Shion's violent outbursts are a symptom of a lot of emotional repression. In his life in No. 6 he's never really been defensive or righteously angry before because so much of the injustice in his system has been kept from him (also I might be wrong on this but I think it's also cannon that the parasitic wasp was being used on lots of No.6 citizens as an emotional suppressant; Shion included). After he meets Nezumi and is outside of the bubble of No. 6 for the first time his emotions become extremely heightened and he isn't used to managing them so they tend to hit him in these weird waves. That's why he goes immediately from beating the crap out of Rikiga to crying to suddenly fine again. Basically Shion has never had to emotionally regulate before and he's doing it for the first time. Also some of this is just to show that even someone as kind and gentle as Shion when pushed to the brink can absolutely lose it and become violent and aggressive, which is a foil to Nezumi's arc as Nezumi overtime becomes more empathetic and self-sacrificing as he is extended better circumstances.

[zoldyckd]

oh. no wonder I’ve been craving human intimacy today…