#firewatch au

[exit-the-king]

🌼

[elleviral]

Is there anybody out there? (Clegan Firewatch AU)

I told myself I'd finish this first before posting any of it, but I have poor impulse control. I think I'll probably write the rest and post on AO3 but here's the intro

Mid-May 1989

Gale reaches the trailhead around midday, the tires of his truck crunching over the gravel in the lot. It’s not peak season yet, but he’s still surprised that there aren't any other cars.

He’s familiar with the area, this section of Shoshone National Forest isn’t even a four hour drive from where he grew up in Casper, but it’s still beautiful in a way he wasn’t fully expecting. The sun overhead filters through the tall trees and the air is buzzing with the sound of insects as he grabs his pack from the bed of his truck. 

He hasn’t backpacked since he was a teenager, but the earthy scent of the air and the warmth on his skin, not yet too hot at this time of year, make him feel home in a way he hasn’t in quite some time. He can feel some of the tension he’s been carrying in his shoulders leak out and a part of him wonders why he hadn’t applied for this job sooner. Sitting in a fire lookout alone for three months is something that seems perfectly suited to him. No one to talk to, no one to make him think about things he’d rather not think about. Just him and the tower. And hopefully not a fire. 

There’s nothing else in the lot other than a little information board with a roof, the kind you see at almost every trailhead. Aside from confirming that this is, in fact, Thorofare Trailhead, it’s also plastered in flyers making absolutely sure that anyone passing knows that fireworks and campfires are illegal. The fliers, crooked and peeling at the edges, completely cover the standard trail map and he wonders about the type of person that would sit here and pin all of these to the board. He notices that they’ve also clearly gone out of their way to avoid covering a notice tucked into the corner warning about grizzlies as well as the Smokey Bear fire danger meter. 

The sight makes him laugh to himself, a little. He knows people well enough to be certain that the warnings will be ignored, despite this person’s best efforts, but the frantic attempt is kind of endearing.

Feeling good about his decision to take this job, he shoulders his pack and sets off down the trail. It’s supposed to be a two day hike to his tower, but he thinks he can get there by nightfall tomorrow if he hurries. 

His good feeling lasts until he remembers that he hasn’t hiked with this much weight in a long time. His back is aching and he’s absolutely drenched in sweat despite the relatively mild temperature, but a part of him knows that in a day or so he’ll be craving this again. Type 2 fun, Marge had called it. She’d once told him that she didn’t think he could enjoy himself like a regular person. That everything had to be a challenge. At the time she’d been joking, would tease him with laughter in her voice. Now, he wonders what she would think about this. 

—

“You’re not happy,” she’d said. “You’re not happy and I can’t stand to be the cause of it anymore.” So gentle with him, even when he didn’t deserve it. 

She wasn’t entirely wrong. He wasn’t happy but he wasn’t unhappy either. It wasn’t because of her, though; it was just how he was built. He’d never quite figured out how to shake off the cold shell he lived inside. It’d been a part of him for so long that he wasn’t sure when he had built it, maybe he’d been born with it. 

Whatever the cause, she was right and it wasn’t fair to her, to have a husband that couldn’t be ecstatic to be with her. That wasn’t what she deserved. And so he’d let her go. 

—

The sun is setting by the time he reaches a mile marker sign for Two Forks Tower - 18 miles to go. He sets up camp, just a sleeping bag under the stars, and looks up. The night sky is so intense in places like this, dark zones with no light pollution to dim the milky way. He stares and stares, trying to soak it in and press the sight into memory, and eventually he falls asleep. 

—

It’s dark when he reaches Two Forks the next day, the area illuminated only by the moon and the light attached to the top of the tower looming overhead. The crickets seem so loud in the quiet but he finds the sound soothing. 

The hike had taken a lot more out of him than he’d been expecting and the stairs wrapping the tower seem intimidating right now. They loop the entire structure, ending at a full wraparound balcony and a single square room entirely bordered with enormous glass windows. 

He spots a generator at the base of the stairs and flips it on before heading up. The stairs are rough on his tired knees and all that keeps him going is the thought of dropping down on the bed and passing out. His hopes are dashed the moment he walks through the door. 

He hasn’t even had a chance to put his pack down before the radio on the desk is crackling to life, a jaunty voice saying, “Hello Two Forks Tower!” 

He doesn’t answer right away, taking a second to situate himself. There’s no way the voice on the other end knows he’s here, he reasons, and anyway he wants to look around. The room is one large square, a bed in the corner with a desk holding a typewriter and the radio, apparently left on, next to the door. There’s also the fire finder in the middle of the room, and a small kitchen setup along the other side. 

He drops his bag next to the bed and is about to start unpacking when the radio comes to life again, “Two Forks Tower this is Thorofare Tower, come in.”

A little annoyed, he walks over to the desk and grabs the receiver. “Uh, hello?”

“Gale, right? I’m John, but everyone calls me Bucky.”

He’d been told during his intake that his supervisor’s name was John. He was stationed in a sector a few miles away and was responsible for coordinating with the other four towers in the area. 

“Oh yeah, the rangers told me you were over in Thorofare.” He thinks maybe he’s being a little rude, but he’s so tired. Maybe that’ll be enough and John won’t want to have a whole conversation at this time of night. 

“Yep, that's me! So, what’s wrong with you?” 

Well, so much for John not wanting a conversation. “Excuse me?”

“Well,” he draws the word out, like he’s deliberately trying to get under Gale’s skin. “No one just decides to sit around alone in a tower without a real bathroom for three months, right? Everyone’s looking to get away from something. So?”

Unbelievable. 

“What’s wrong with you, then?” he counters. He gets a loud barking laugh, obviously deliberate as John would need to hold down the button for that to come through. “Good question!” he says when he quiets down, but he doesn’t give an actual answer. 

He’s not in the mood to deal with whatever the hell this is so he says, “Look, I just hiked for two days and I haven’t had a chance to look around yet. What is it you want?” Still too rude, he thinks. But he’s still too tired to care. 

“You could take a stab at what’s wrong with me, eh? C’mon, whaddaya think, Buck?”

He doesn’t know anything about John but he can already tell this man is utterly ridiculous.  “Well, I don’t know what it is exactly, but somethin’s definitely wrong with you. You forgot my name already.”

Laughter again. “You look like a guy I used to work with, went by Buck. You’re much prettier though.”

The offhand comment startles him so much that it takes him a second to process what’s weird about that response. “Wha— how do you even know what I look like?”

“Binoculars, Buck. Watching for fires, it’s my job y’know.”

Gale whips his head toward the direction of Thorofare Tower, as if he’d be able to see John from this distance. John laughs through the radio and Gale’s sure he’s not lying about looking.

“Damn it, John. That’s creepy as hell. You sure you’re not a serial killer?” He pauses for a second holding the button down so John can’t cut him off, then continues, “That’s my guess, serial killer. You’re just out here to throw off the police until you can kill again.”

“I like you, Buck," is all he gets in response.

He thinks there’s maybe more than one something wrong with John. “Can I sleep now?”

“Wait, don’t I get to guess what’s wrong with you?”

“No. Goodbye.” He turns off the radio before John can answer. If he’s still got his binoculars out, he’ll see that Gale’s walked away from the radio. He’s so tired he doesn’t even bother to unpack. Just turns off the lights, drops down onto the bed, and passes out almost instantly. 

[thesemortals]

we go on walks

teen and up | chapter 6/11 | 3.5k

tags: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander & Rose Landry, Shane Hollander, Hayden Pike, Ilya Rozanov, Rose Landry, Alternate Universe - Firewatch Fusion, Firewatch Shane, Coming Out, Shane needs a break, Introspection and Citation Writing, Good Friend Hayden Pike, Old God Ilya Rozanov, dream-related weirdness, spooky vibes, all-around uncomfy shane hollander, prophetic dream smearing, shane's brain is melting and his bestie is just sort of vibing about an hour away, Red String of Fate, Soulmates

Worst case scenario, he only has a few days, so he’s going to make the best of them and at least make one final trip. He’s so close to cracking the case, he can feel it right at the edge of his grasp. If he can go explore one last time, he knows for a fact he can put the pieces together in perfect alignment. He has to know what it all means. What Ilya means. What Ilya is.

chapter 6 is posted now! it's a little shorter than the others, but i promise there's a reason. :]

[crazypercheron]

Yay, I finally drew something! And surprise-surprise, it's more fanart of my ConVex Recursive fic "I Waved Goodbye to the End of Beginning" (which is a recursive fic of @quaranmine 's amazing yet tragic fic "The Incandescence of a Dying Light")

If you haven't read "Incandescence" you definitely should. It's a Firewatch x Hermitcraft au story. (Especially before slchecking my fic out, my story takes place a year after the events of "Incandescence" and it's told from Cub's pov)

Media used: Carano D'Ache nonphoto blue, Sakura micron felt tip markers, Ohuhu Art markers

Cut below is a compilation video of me colouring the above picture

[theartsharki]

Time to reread the reddie fic "Two Falling Sparks" from back in 2020… It’s been too long since I’ve read it.

Here’s the fic by zach_stone on AO3!

[sincerelylancelot]

Chicago had been Daniel’s dream. The townhouse, the fancy gym, the firm, the dinner parties. Max just lived inside it all. A curated life built like a set. And when the divorce came, Daniel kept the city like a souvenir. Now he’s here. Miles of wilderness, a cheap cot in a fire tower, and the occasional bears for company.

seven clicks from solitude || lestappen, explicit, one-shot

Tags: inspired by firewatch (video game), misuse of official government radio equipment, ambigious former lawyer max, hurt/comfort, phone sex, kinda it's actually radio sex, charles leclerc is a menace

[artistsfuneral]

Ever since he was old enough to do so, Jaskier spends his summers at Kaedwen's firewatch towers. Just him, his journals and his guitar. Surrounded by nothing but nature, he does weather logs, goes on long hikes, surveys the area, writes songs and chats with his fellow fire watchers over radio.

He's certainly not the only one who loves the solitude of the job and over the years Eskel Geralt and Lambert have become his closest friends. Even though he has never met them in person.

Then some fucking idiot decides to set off fireworks by the lake....

[literallyranger]

Day 1

CLAIRE’S POV:

“What are you doing…?” I thought to myself as I hiked up towards the lookout tower. “A two day hike…for what? A job you don't even want?” I thought. “I mean…who the fuck even wants to be a firewatcher?” My thoughts grew more pessimistic as I walked.

Soon enough, I approached the tower. It looked…okay? It was definitely old, but sturdy. I slowly walked up the stairs to the tower and walked into the cabin part. It was also okay. Not good, not bad, but okay.

I quickly pressed the flashing power button and the lights came on. Before I could sit down and relax, someone's voice rang out into the cabin. “Hello, Two Forks tower!” I turned around and saw a radio on the desk. I walked over to the desk and picked up the radio, looking at it for a second.

“Hello, Two Forks Tower. This is Thorofare tower. Come in.” The voice sounded slightly more…Agitated? Concerned? I couldn't tell as I pressed the side button and spoke into the radio. “Uh- Hello? Whoever you are.”

The voice quickly responded. “You're Claire, right? Claire Greene?” I tried to keep my responses short, trying to end this conversation as quickly as I could. “Yup…” I almost mumbled “I’m Ranger.” “Ranger? Who on earth is named Ranger?” I thought about the dumb name that Ranger had told me. “Ranger? Your name is Ranger?” I said sarcastically. “Well, no. Not really. I used to be a forest ranger. It became a nickname after I switched to being a firewatch and it stuck. You already know what my name is, but you can call me whatever you want.” Ranger explained. “Okay, Ranger.”

There was a short pause as I looked around the barin cabin. “So what’s wrong with you?” Ranger asked. I felt slightly offended at the question. “Excuse me?” I questioned them. “People always take this job to get away from something. So what's wrong?” Ranger pushed to know the answer to why I took this job.

“What's wrong with you?” I shot back. “That's a great idea. Go ahead.” Ranger replied sarcastically. “Look, I just hiked for two days straight, so I'm not really getting whatever you're trying to do.” I sighed out. “You take a stab at what's wrong with me and I'll do the same.” Ranger spoke. “Fine, then can I sleep…?” I grumbled. “Sure, wolfie. Now go on, guess.” My face scrunched in annoyance at the nickname.

“Okay, you're probably out here because no one back home can stand you. Which after this short introduction would not be surprising.” I said. “Ouch, I'll chalk that comment up to being tired and grumpy.” Ranger responded. “Well, then I'm sure some sleep would do me wonders.” I tried to end the conversation there, but Ranger spoke up again. “Hold your horses. It's my turn now.” “Okay, goodnight. Bye.” I put my radio in the charger before setting my bag on the floor and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Let's see…” Ranger kept talking. “I really don't know anything about you, but I do know that nine times out of ten, folks that come out here simply got dumped. Was I close?” There was a long pause as Ranger waited for a response but I didn't give them one. “Ah, giving me the silent treatment, huh? That's fine I won't push. For now.” The room fell silent. Nothing but my own breathing and the sounds of the outside. “What am I doing?”

RANGER’S POV:

“Another summer, another person. Let's hope she’s more interesting than the last one.” I thought as I sat at my desk, bottle in hand. I was only a little tipsy, for now. I kept my eyes on Two Forks Tower. Waiting to see the lights come on so I can radio in and check on…Claire?…was that her name? I couldn't remember.

I kept a careful eye on the tower and eventually the lights came on. I reached for the radio on the side of my desk, pressing the button on the side before speaking. “Hello, Two Forks Tower!” I waited for a response before speaking again. “Hello, Two Forks Tower. This is Thorofare Tower, come in.” I spoke more curtly this time.

Finally, a voice other than my own rang out into the room. “Uh- Hello? Whoever you are.” The voice was…nice. She sounded absolutely exhausted, but she had a good voice to listen to. “You're Claire, right? Claire Greene?” I asked. “Yup…” Was all Claire said. “Wow, so poetic.” I thought to myself.

“I'm Ranger.” There was a short pause before Claire spoke up. “Ranger? Your name is Ranger?” She said sarcastically. “Well, no. Not really. I used to be a forest ranger. It became a nickname after I switched to be a firewatch and it stuck. You already know what my name is, but you can call me whatever you want.” I explained to her. “Okay, Ranger.” Claire responded, putting emphasis on my nickname.

There was another pause before I spoke up again. “So what's wrong with you?” I asked her the same question I asked everyone before her. “Excuse me?” She sounded offended as she answered. Most people did. “People always take this job to get away from something. So what's wrong?” I asked again wanting to know the backstory to why this random woman with no experience in this field wanted this job.

“What’s wrong with you?” I should've expected that response. “That's a great idea! Go ahead.” I responded. “Look, I just hiked for two days straight, so I’m not really getting whatever you're trying to do.” She sighed. Clearly exhausted from the long treacherous hike she had to do. “You take a stab at what's wrong with me and I'll do the same.” I said to her, trying to get her to loosen up a little. “Fine,” She agreed. “Then can I sleep…?” She grumbled clearly annoyed at the small talk. “Sure wolfie. Now go on, guess.”

“Okay, you're probably out here because no one back home can stand you. Which after this short introduction would not be surprising.” “Jeez, that hit a little close to home.” I thought. “Ouch, I'll chalk that comment up to you being tired and grumpy.” I replied. She wasn't wrong though. “Well, then I'm sure some sleep would do me wonders.” It was really just one sarcastic comment after another with her. “Hold your horses. It's my turn now.”

“Let's see…” I wondered before stating the obvious. “I really don't know anything about you,” I continued. “But I do know that nine times out of ten, folks that come out here simply got dumped. Was I close?” I asked and waited for a response that didn't come. “Ah, giving me the silent treatment, huh? That's fine I won't push. For now.”

I let my finger off the button and put the radio back on the charger. Looking back out the window in front of me at Claire’s tower. The lights stayed on for a couple minutes before going. I was left in the calm quiet dark as I took another swig from the bottle of God knows what that was still in my hand.

“I'll get her to loosen up.” I thought. “I have too, or else it's gonna be a really boring three months.”