#my 911 ls fic

[maxbegone]

etched in gold

Husband makes his heart race. His breath catches in his throat, his smile grows on its own accord, and the world comes to a pinpoint of focus, slows, because he has a husband.

TK’s head falls back, revealing the beautiful line of his neck as he laughs at whatever someone said in the circle of their friends he’s standing in. He’s golden in this warm light, catching on the ring that he slid onto his finger mere hours ago, a symbol of forever, through anything — not that they need one. It’s been proven, and their love is more than enough.

Most of their guests have gone home, leaving just their family, immediate and found, to enjoy the extra time they opted for at the venue, their conversations merely accompanying the soft music playing from a speaker somewhere, a glorious hum of people who came together for them.

Carlos finds himself unable to look away, like so many times before. It always catches him off guard, those moments of this is mine, this is my life and I get to have it, that make him practically pinch himself so he knows he’s not dreaming.

“Carlitos,” he hears. It’s a feat to pull his gaze away from TK, only to find Luisa leaning gently toward him. She has his niece in her lap, fast asleep against her chest as she strokes her hair. “You should be with your husband.”

“In a minute,” he replies. He’s enjoying this moment from afar.

His sister clearly isn’t having it, nudging his ankle with her foot under the table, laughing when he gives her an amused look. “Go,” she says again. “It’s your wedding day, you don’t have to entertain us so much.”

And she’s correct. “Alright, alright.” Carlos gets to his feet, but not before leaning over to kiss his niece’s curls.

He sighs contentedly as he crosses over, catching TK by the waist and pulling him in to kiss his cheek from behind. TK startles a laugh, only to fall comfortably back into Carlos’ arms as he leans up to kiss him back, lips just hitting his jawline.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” He asks the circle, though it’s mostly directed at TK, whose arm is linked with his own as he runs his thumb in little swipes over his sleeve.

“Not at all, baby,” TK replies with a grin,

“We’re just hounding your husband a bit,” Paul laughs, and Carlos eyes him curiously.

“About what?”

“Last names, mostly,” Nancy says, leaning into Mateo. “And how one hyphen sounds better than the other.”

“Just let them do their thing,” TK says to him.“They’ve been at it all night.”

“And they know we’re keeping our own?”

Marjan holds up a finger. “Uh, for now. That’s what TK said.”

Carlos hums. “Okay, well, you all start placing your bets, I’m going to steal my husband.”

A series of teasing and childish ooohs follow them as they make their way down a cobblestone path that winds down to the lower level.

They walk in slow, happy silence for a little while, hand-in-hand, until they reach the area their ceremony was earlier in the evening. TK sighs happily as they take a seat on the stone wall at the back of the aisle. The chairs have since been put away, the flower petals swept up, leaving an open and empty space for another couple to tour someday soon and fall in love with, a place to showcase their love to the world just as they did today.

TK rests his head on Carlos' shoulder, and Carlos leans his head on his. In the distance, music thrums softly as laughter is carried throughout the venue. It's perfect, in this charming and private moment of theirs.

"What are you thinking?" TK asks him quietly, as if speaking any louder will break the spell that's fallen on them.

"That this really is the best day of my life."

TK lifts his head up and smiles. "Mine, too. I'd say it's almost perfect."

"Yeah..." Carlos breathes out shakily as he tries to stave off the tears for what feels like the hundredth time today, and he does it, but barely. "Almost."

"Baby." TK shifts to kiss him, letting go of Carlos' hand where it sits in his lap to hold the side of his face.

The kiss is tender enough to make him melt, and Carlos finds himself putting his entire being into it. He pulls away with barely any space between them, foreheads touching and noses bumping as TK sneaks in one last one.

"They're here," Carlos hears him whisper, fingers toying with the lobe of his ear, a comforting gesture. "They're here. Nothing could have stopped them."

He doesn't want the bittersweetness to show, but he knows he can let it out with TK. He's his safe space, his lifeline, someone he's vowed to love and fiercely hold onto until the end of his days. So he lets it out, a choked shudder, then shakes himself. Carlos sits up tall as he catches TK's eye and knocks his finger gently under his chin.

"Did you check your ring?" Carlos' eyes drop down momentarily to the band that rests on TK's finger.

He smiles. "No," he says with a laugh, "I haven't. I told you I wouldn't until we could look together, and when I tell you that was one of the hardest things I've had to refrain from doing..."

Carlos raises a brow. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Almost as hard as not shoving cake in your face initially."

"Well, you did in the end."

TK laughs again. "Only after you did it to me," he points out. "Did you look at yours?"

"Nope. We made a promise."

"That we did." He moves a little closer. "You first."

Carefully, Carlos slides his ring off his finger and holds it up so he can see. The lighting isn't bright, but it's enough to make out a line of Hebrew characters inside the gold band.

"Ani l'dodi v'dodi li," TK recites beautifully, watching as Carlos squints as he thinks. "I am my beloved's..."

"And my beloved is mine," he finishes, watching as TK's eyes light up.

"You remembered?"

"Of course I did. It's beautiful."

TK beams. "You're beautiful."

He holds up his ring next, and Carlos watches carefully for his reaction. It goes from curious to realization in less than a second, and TK's eyes are shiny when he turns back to him.

His mouth hangs open. "I—is this...?"

He nods. "Now I'll always be there to hold you, no matter what."

TK lets out an audible breath, shaking his head as if he cannot believe what he's looking at. "Baby, this...this is amazing."

Carlos pulls the ring a little closer so he can take a look himself, trailing over the whorls of his very own fingerprint etched on the inside of TK's wedding band.

"I didn't even know this was an option."

"Neither did I," Carlos tells him, "but I did my research."

TK's shoulders drop as he leans into him, pressing a kiss against his jaw. "I love you so much."

"I love you." He pulls TK in for a proper kiss, holding his face in his hands. "Thank you for marrying me," he says with a gentle laugh. He knows it sounds ridiculous, but he needs to say it.

TK hums. "Thank you for saying yes."

They kiss again, longer this time, more drawn-out, before TK goes to slide his ring back on. Carlos stops him.

"Let me."

TK returns the gesture, and for a little while they sit there in complete, contented silence, comforted by each other's presence and peace.

There's a whole life ahead of them waiting to be discovered. Carlos has plans, and he knows TK has plans of his own. He can't wait to see what's in store. But, for now, Carlos needs nothing else — just his husband, who is his entire heart, and the promise of forever.

[alrightbuckaroo]

a pretty good team

a 5x09 coda inspired by this post brought to us by the big beautiful brains of @strandnreyes and @tellmegoodbye <3

"What are you trying to hide?" TK asks as Carlos slows the truck down, stopping at a red light. TK goes to adjust the volume but Carlos grabs his hand in his, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

"What do you mean trying?" Carlos asks after pulling his lips away, rubbing his thumb over the ridges. 

"So you are hiding something," TK points out and his heart flutters as a flush spreads throughout his husband.

Carlos smiles to himself. He's been caught. "How about we grab a bite?"

--

"Boba is barely a bite," TK jokes before dodging Carlos' straw wrapper. "Though, I can't help but notice you brought us back to where we sat down and first talked about, "us "."

"You remember that?" Carlos asks, despite already knowing the answer. He knows this relationship has been a mix of give and take, push and pull; but he loves the moments where he learns TK was crazy about him during the early days too.  

"I remember everything about you," TK explains, reaching out a hand and rubbing his thumb against the back of Carlos’ large, doting hand. Carlos wants the whorls of TK's fingertips stitched onto him. "For a moment, the memories were all I could come home to."

TK’s voice trails off at the recollection before he’s holding a steady gaze with Carlos’ brown eyes. Big, brown and beautiful, just like the night they first met and fell in love. He reminds himself, the man in front of him is coming home. He’s coming home again, and again, and again, and again. 

"TK," Carlos starts, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry. There's a tremble in his heart; but it's a good one. One that he didn't place there himself, but one that's so organically innate. It's the same one he felt when he started reading his vows.

"The last time we were here, all those years ago, even then, all I could think about was how I had all of these feelings." He continues, starting to recount the day like it's not imprinted on his mind. "Feelings for you, for what I wanted us to be, for what we could have been."

For a brief moment, TK allows the past to eclipse the present. He allows himself to remember how he first felt during Carlos' confession. How he wanted to fold in on himself because he didn't think he'd earned such unadulterated adoration.

Carlos clears his throat, and reaches across the table for TK's left hand. He runs his thumb over his ring, absentmindedly. TK smiles to himself, remembering that he is worthy. Carlos always reassures him of that, even when he doesn't realize it.

"It's been years, but baby," Carlos squeezes his hand, just slightly. His eyes are cast downwards. "I still have all of these feelings. For you, for what we are," He looks up. "For what we will be."

"Baby," TK croons, squeezing Carlos' hand back. His voice is tender, affectionate, and knowing. Carlos falls back in his seat, though keeps his fingers interlocked with TK's.

"You already know what I'm going to say, don't you?" He asks with a chuckle.

"Maybe," TK teases, his plush lips pulling apart to show the gleam of his smile. "But act like I don't anyways."

Carlos smiles before it slightly dims, his thumb still rubbing over the ring; reminding him he’s real. "During my time in the hospital, I kept thinking about the day my dad died," He begins, blinking away a muted burn. "For so long, all I could think about was the day I lost him."

"It wasn't until my third cherry jello that I realized he wasn't the only one I lost that day. I lost myself, and eventually parts of us," Carlos can feel that burn return, feeling ten times stronger. "For the first time in my life, something was missing and I had to reconcile with the fact that it wasn't just you."

"Though this isn't the way I wanted to go about it," He continues. "I finally know what it feels like to have a relationship with my father; to understand what it means to be his son."

With red-rimmed eyes and watery smile, he says, "I don't want to rob Jonah of something like that."

"Oh baby," TK ushers the pet name through a loving, and devoted sigh.

"I, I know I was scared before," Carlos offers, wanting to acknowledge how they last left this. "a-and I can't fully promise that I'm not a bit scared now, but this really smart, sexy guy I know said that might just be the risk of letting love in."

"Hm, tell me more about this smart, sexy guy," TK flirtatiously jokes as he leans across the table and plants a kiss on his husband's lips.

"Oh he's the best," Carlos continues, brown eyes shining. "Kind, funny, patient, understanding."

"Sounds like he's a keeper," TK rallies, falling back into a rhythm that he's missed the sound of.

"He is," Carlos agrees with haste. He grabs both of TK's hands into his, Boba forgotten and feelings flushing through. "I know there's a lot that goes into a big change like this, but I want to make this change with you, for him."

TK is silent for a beat, but his eyes give him away. They're dancing with joy and brimming with pride. Pride for his husband, but pride for himself. For giving himself a future he never thought would be possible.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," TK offers. "You know that right?"

"Maybe," Carlos teases back. "But I'll always pretend like I don't if it means I get to hear you say it."

"Baby I'll tell you as many times as you want to hear it," TK promises and God, it sounds like a promise. One that's unbreakable.

Carlos smiles and kisses TK once more. He frees both of their hands and takes a sip of his drink, pushing out a sigh before saying, "We're about to be in over our heads, aren't we?"

"Oh yeah," TK agrees. "It's okay though, we make a pretty good team."

[whatsintheboxmh]

Art for "When Soulmates Swim"@carlos-in-glasses

Thank you for the amazing fic, cig♡

[tailoredshirt]

Detritus (Tarlos, PG)

Two days after TK breaks up with him, Carlos goes to the house to pick up his things.

AO3 / 1k words

—

Thank you to @reyesstrand for encouraging me and reading over this! <3

I haven’t finished anything in forever, but I’m trying to push through! Please have a slice of breakup angst while I try to finish a (separate) longer, sexier breakup fic.

[rangersoup]

Where the Fear Comes From

We learn about where Carlos’s fear and disdain for lizards comes from.

***

It’s early, or maybe late, TK can never decide which word to use to describe the morning after a sleepless shift. Never the less, the sun is barely peeking over the hills outside Austin, its golden rays just starting to kiss the city, when he finally makes his way to his car, eye lids heavy and feet dragging.

When he finally makes it home, he steps inside to discover that every light in the loft is still on, and the place is an utter disaster. He finds Carlos passed out on the couch, head lolled back, glasses still on his face, one hand rested on a book lying idly at his side, and the other wrapped around a very awake Jonah who is sitting contently on his lap. Sitting in Jonah’s lap, is Lou 2. The lizard looks as content as a lizard possibly can with Jonah running one little pointer finger down his back, starting just behind his head and moving down to his tail.

TK lets out a long sigh and rubs his tired eyes. He’s exhausted. By all rights, Jonah should still be sound asleep in bed and the lizard should be his cage. Also asleep. Neither of them should be up. And the house not looking like a tornado had blown through would also be a plus. But despite his exhaustion and nothing being in its rightful place, he still can’t help the fond smile that spreads across his face.

“Lou got out,” Jonah explains matter of factly, answering TK’s unasked question.

“And Carlos said he wouldn’t go to bed until he found him?” TK asks. His husband is still softly snoring away.

Jonah nods his head. “He fell asleep reading. Then Lou found us!”

TK smiles but still heaves a heavy sigh. “Well, I think we should put Lou back in his cage before he wakes up.”

“I think so too,” Jonah agrees, and very carefully scoops the lizard up before sliding off of Carlos’s lap. He meets TK at Lou’s cage, but isn’t tall enough to reach, so TK takes the lizard from him and carefully returns him to his rightful place.

“Now I think it’s your bed time.”

“But the sun is coming up!”

“I still think it’s your bed time,” TK says, scooping Jonah up and taking him to his room. “It’s about to be mine too.”

“That’s silly,” Jonah giggles.

TK chuckles a little, “maybe, but I’m very tired.”

“Okay,” Jonah says agreeably, as TK lets him slide out of his arms and into bed. “If you’re tired, I guess I can be too.”

TK finishes tucking Jonah in for what will probably turn out to be more of a morning nap, and then returns to the living room and his sleeping husband. He eases himself down on the couch next to Carlos, and slides his hand into his. Carlos sniffles once, and then very abruptly becomes very awake, sitting up quickly.

“The lizard!” He exclaims, looking around frantically until his gaze finds TK’s. “He got out…”

“He’s back in his cage now. Jonah caught him while you were sleeping.”

“Oh,” Carlos says, letting out a relieved sigh and running a tired hand through his curls. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s okay Babe. Lou’s put up, and I just put Jonah to bed.”

“I’m sorry,” Carlos says, sounding a little defeated, his shoulders slumping. “I wanted to get all that done before you got home.”

“Baby, it’s okay,” TK promises, cupping his hands around his husband’s cheeks and kissing him gently. “I do have to know, though, why are you so scared of Lou 2?”

Carlos blinks once and stares into the middle distance.

Austin TX, 2002

“What do you guys have?” Carlos asks, running up to his sisters. They are both perched on the top rail of the fence giggling. They have something with them, cupped between their hands that they seem very excited about.

“Nothing, go away,” Ana says looking up briefly, and making a shooing motion with her hand.

“No it’s not! If it was nothing you’d let me see!” Carlos argues, stomping his foot on the dusty ground and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Go away Carlitos!” Louisa adds, glaring at him.

“If you don’t let me see I’ll tell mama you’re not being fair!”

His sisters roll their eyes in unison and let out long groans. “You’re so annoying!”

“I just wanna see!”

“Fine.” Louisa says, annoyance brimming in her voice and produces the lizard she and Ana have captured. She holds the little creature up by its tail out over Carlos’s face.

“See—“ Ana starts to say when the lizard suddenly drops, detaching itself from its thin tail. It lands directly on Carlos’s face. He screams. The little creature doesn’t stay there long, it scurries down the side of his face and before he can swat it away it’s crawling down his back under his shirt. It’s little feet tickling his spine the whole way down. He’s shrieking now, tears streaming down his face as he flails his arms and legs swatting at his back trying to catch the lizard as it crawls around under his shirt. He can hear his sister’s laughing as he keeps crying. Finally the lizard drops to the ground and scampers away. Louisa laughs so hard she falls over backwards off the fence, which only makes them both laugh harder. Carlos turns and runs crying back to the house. He still feels like there’s something crawling around him.

“Carlos?”

“Huh?” Carlos blinks and looks at TK.

“You spaced out,” TK says. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

“What question?”

“What’s your problem with lizards? Why are you so scared of them?” TK repeats, studying his husband’s face.

“Oh,” Carlos says, shaking his head a little as he shrugs. “I’m not scared of lizards.”

[three-drink-amy]

Teach You How Forever Feels

Updating every Monday

Alone and struggling in New York after the death of his mother, TK is left with custody of his five-year-old brother, Jonah. With Owen's encouragement, TK moves to Austin for a fresh start, questioning every move he makes as he's thrust into the role of parenthood. But it all leads him to Jonah's new school where he meets Carlos Reyes, the kindergarten teacher. Between pick up and school meetings and chance run ins, TK can't help but feel something for him, even though he knows it can't happen.

chapter one | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four | chapter five | chapter six | chapter seven | chapter eight | chapter nine | chapter ten | chapter eleven | chapter twelve | chapter thirteen | chapter fourteen | chapter fifteen | chapter sixteen | chapter seventeen | chapter eighteen | chapter nineteen | chapter twenty

chapter twenty-one

[thebumblecee]

Me and @mooshkat are happy to announced:

Our co written assassin enemies to lovers AU, set in the world of John Wick, is ready.

Chapter one Chapter six Chapter eleven

Chapter two Chapter seven Chapter twelve

Chapter three Chapter eight Chapter 13

Chapter four Chapter nine Chapter 14

Chapter five Chapter ten Chapter 15

The Epilogue

[laylawatermelon]

Now all we need is a queer club scene a la lone Star.

Buck would absolutely flourish, henren would be flirting, Eddie would be sitting at the bar doing a beer watching Buck like a hawk and sometimes smiling, Tommy would be in the void floating (sorry babe I'm a Buddie 4 lifer), and for a lil pizzazz Maddie and Chimney also go.

(it evolved into a tiny fic 🥺if you wanna read you can🥺)

ao3 link :

Ravi is probably there somewhere with someone in the VIP section looking down at them both happy but also a bit worried to see them.

(he's been working with them for a while now he knows the rumors of that many collective jinx powers they hold)

He sends them drinks periodically and they all wonder if someone is about to get a sugar daddy and then realize they're all couples so who's the couple who's getting a third?

Hen has her hands permanently glued to her wife's side and her head in her neck. She's murmuring sweet nothings and Karen giggles it away as she rubs any part of her that's closest to her and sips her drink.

Chimney and Maddie chat as they become a two-headed, four-limbed creation that smells of tequila, love, and laughter.

Maddie is constantly getting compliments on her shiny outfit and nails and ends up beside Buck periodically through the night, both of them like radiant sunlight to others.

Chimney also magically appears next to her almost instantaneously but vanishes and returns with drinks for his friends eventually chatting up the biggest guys he can on their gym regimen and suggesting they buy a calendar to support the new Asian Sex Symbol.

Of course, they sell a few copies.

Buck is the crown Jewel of the drag queens who are all shapes, sizes, and identities getting off of a show to have a nice night out.

He's marvelous and praises their outfits before quickly getting sucked into impromptu makeup and drag lessons, cards for shows, drunken histories, sexuality stories, and good ole fun lip-syncing.

And of course, since he's a bright star who everyone loves, many people begin their hunt.

A quick wink, a lingering smile, a hand on his lower back that lingers as long as a guy slides past him.

Okay, that's it.

Eddie orders another two beers, checking his phone for the babysitter's update before pocketing it.

He slides up behind Buck sliding a beer in his hand and resting his head on his shoulder his hand coming up to his waist.

The girls immediately gush about the two saying there are Two Hot Firefighters ready to put out their fire and Eddie bursts out in laughter.

They begin to fawn over him next complimenting his jawline and face suggesting he go into modelling or movies.

One of them says it's a waste but they'd be all fired up if they see him covered in soot. Another asks if he's on the same calendar as the sexy Asian guy.

Buck pouts telling them no and he's the focus again.

The drag queens then launch into a spiel about fire safety and if they could do a lecture at a show or help them.

Buck ends up video calling Bobby at the request and he and Athena are laying in bed amused as they watch him stumble through his words before a crowd of colorful queens squeeze into the frame.

He assumes them he'll think about it and the comment on Athena's beauty before the call is cut.

Bobby turns to Athena after the call and she laughs. "Your boy is always getting into trouble." He kisses her forehead softly. "We should go next time." "Let's."

Later that night as Christopher's finally dozing off, his phone slipping out of his hand he jolts at the sound of the front door bursting open.

Harry and Denny freeze on the phone, their faces both lit up by their computer screen, "What was that?"

Chris reaches for his glasses and slips them on staying quiet.

He listens again and relaxes as he hears giggles and shushes.

He rolls his eyes and pulls his covers over his head. "It's my dads."

The shuffling gets louder and he groans softly as his door is knocked on before it's pushed open.

Eddie grins down at his son's lying form and stumbles over as gracefully as he can. Buck is in the kitchen filling two (plastic) cups with water and shakily walking to his room.

Eddie walks to the left of his bed and kneels down resting his head on his arm.

He pats his head suddenly emotional, "I love you so much you know that?"

Chris frowns at his distressed tone but also notices the softness in his touch.

They watch him and Buck tiptoe in to hand Eddie a cup and rest his on a nightstand.

"We should probably let him sleep, okay babe?"

Eddie drinks from his cup smiling and pats Chris' head one last time. "Okay. Night son."

As they're leaving Buck sticks his head back in, "By the way your phone light is still asking through the blanket. Go to bed, Chris."

Harry and Denny burst out laughing and Chris promptly hangs up. He closes his eyes with a smile on his face as his dads fall into bed sloppily in the next room, leaving their problems for themselves tomorrow. 

[boasamishipper]

tagged by @film-in-my-soul and @icemankazansky - thanks guys!! ❤️❤️❤️

Everyone deserves to toot their own horn and be proud of their work! So, this tag game is fairly simple.

Promote 5 works that you're really proud of and share a little about why you're so proud of them! Then tag as many people as you like. You can reblog this post and add on to it (why not create a giant reclist to throw around?) or steal this header (and border if you like) and make your own post.

tagging @bornforastorm @lookforanewangle @apartmentsmoke @maverickcalf @saltyfilmmajor @hacash @academicgangster @onekisstotakewithme and anyone else who sees this and wants to do it

Make A Wrong One Right

Top Gun, Iceman Kazansky/Maverick Mitchell, Goose Bradshaw & Maverick Mitchell

Maverick makes a wish and wakes up thirty years in the past. He reacts accordingly.

I've written a lot of Top Gun fics (sixty-three, to be precise, which is insane all on its own) but this fic is far and away the one I'm most proud of. Not only did I get to throw in all my favorite things (angst with a happy ending!! time travel!! magical realism!! back to the future references!!), I got the chance to explore in a more subtle way just how much Mav loves Ice, and tackle fun existential questions like, Would you change the past if it meant you might lose the future you love? And I feel like I balanced all of the above and stuck the landing really well! (Honestly, the whole story was worth writing just for the bit in chapter three where Mav calls Ice 'baby' without thinking and Ice bluescreens so hard he drops what he's holding.)

there's a raging fire in my heart tonight

Top Gun&MCU, Iceman Kazansky/Maverick Mitchell, Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau, Carol Danvers & Iceman Kazansky, Iceman Kazansky & Tony Stark, MCU/Coherent Storytelling

“Carol, you can’t bring a civilian into this—” “Civilian?” The temperature in the room seems to drop twenty degrees as Ice steps forward, flinty-eyed and deadly serious. “I’m a captain. And I earned my rank, which is more than I can say for you, Rogers. Thanos killed my husband. You want to stop me from helping you out, you’re going to have to shoot me.” Silence stretches out, long and fraught with tension. Then Stark laughs out loud, and everyone turns to look at him. “What?” he says. “I like this guy.”

This was the first Top Gun fic I ever published, and the first Top Gun fic I wrote on my own. (At the time, I was working on baby, baby, i'd get down on my knees for you with the fantastic @academicgangster, without whom I never would have gotten into Top Gun or on the Tom Cruise train at all.) Naturally my first foray into this fandom ended up being this chaotic, complicated beast of a fic, where I wrote my faves Iceman Kazansky and Tony Stark and Carol Danvers side by side, fixed all my issues with Avengers: Endgame, and gave everyone the happy ending they deserved (especially after all the additional angst I put them through). I had a blast writing this fic and rambling about all the details with Cain (without her support this fic would never have left our tumblr DMs). There were a lot of plot points to juggle, and I managed to juggle them all. So though I've definitely grown as a writer in the (oh god) five years since, I still look back on this fic very fondly, and very proudly. And who knows, maybe someday I'll go back to this series and write more of Ice accidentally acquiring a son in Tony Stark and a granddaughter in Morgan. (Famous last words, I know.)

Judge Leon AU

Night Court (1984) / Night Court (2023), Dan Fielding/Harry Stone, Dan Fielding & Leon, Olivia Moore/Donna "Gurgs" Gurganous, Neil Valluri/Gabby

When his court-assigned public defender quits on his first night as an arraignment judge at Manhattan Criminal Court, Leon decides to reach out to his old foster father, Harry Stone, for advice. He finds Harry's widower, Dan Fielding, instead.

shot:

chaser:

I could not tell you for the life of me why the hands down angstiest fics I've ever written ended up being for an 80s sitcom whose plotlines include a ventriloquist's dummy committing suicide and my blorbo getting so horny he had to fuck a firehose about it, but here we are!! Over sixty-four thousand words later!!

In all seriousness, though, I'm extremely proud of this series. I have a lot of issues with New Night Court (I have a post in my drafts about that), namely that it lacks the edge and darkness that made the original so good, and this series gave me the opportunity to restore that edge and really make us feel Harry's loss, as well as the loss of almost all the other main cast members. I get to be goofy (a man holds the gang hostage on the advice of members of his favorite subreddit) and I get to be angsty (delve deeply into Dan's low self-worth and depression and grief post-Harry's death) and in all the spaces between, I get to write about how much Harry and Dan loved each other (and develop Leon and Dan's growing bond), and I do it all very, very well. (Certainly better than the NNC writers. Let me into the writers' room, guys!! Help me help you!!)

Austin Alone

9-1-1 Lone Star, Billy Tyson/Owen Strand

After the reopening of the 126, Billy and Owen give being friends with benefits a try. Inconvenient feelings ensue. / Season 3 AU, Owen-centric.

I co-wrote this fic with the lovely @lilalbatross while season 3 was still airing, and not only were we so in tune with the characters and the show that our fic accidentally predicted the future (exploration of Owen's abandonment issues! Owen getting trapped in a collapsed building!), but this fic set my standards so high that now the show can no longer reach it. (To be fair, this is largely because Lone Star decided to become the Tarlos and Wyatt Show above all else, but that's a rant for another day.) I'm proud as hell of this fic for a lot of reasons - I got Billy and Owen's voices down pat, put them in mortal peril that was realistic to the show, and wrote some banger lines of dialogue and prose that made me take honest to god victory laps around my house. The entirety of (the very long) chapter 6 might be some of my best work of all time.

For A Minute There I Lost Myself

Ted Lasso, Nathan Shelley & Original Male Character(s), Nathan Shelley & Ted Lasso, Nathan Shelley & Rupert Mannion

Nathan Shelley and the road to redemption.

[sigh] Really it's such a shame that Ted Lasso never got a season three and so we never got to see Nate grow and thrive at West Ham and bond with his players and stand up to Rupert and become more confident in himself and his ability as a coach and apologize to Ted and just in general have a redemption arc that was not centered on some random one-dimensional mean waitress or his ability to play the violin. But at least we have this fic!

I wrote FAMTILM for Yuletide in 2021. I'd never written Nate's POV before - all my Ted Lasso fics up to this point were about Sam and Dani - so I'm proud of myself for being able to capture the nuances of Nate's voice and write the slow growth of Nate's self-esteem and realization that he was in the wrong and his affection for his players (particularly Višnjić and Roubeni, who are in my top ten favorite OCs I've ever created). I'm also very proud of myself for taking what could have been a 30k word story and telling it just as well in under 8k, and writing a full Natedemption arc in less than a month that turned out to be ten times better than what Sudeikis and co accomplished in twelve bloated episodes.

[lonestardust]

Ronen Rubinstein via Instagram | April 5, 2023.

[maxbegone]

where the empty space is a saving grace

based off this post by @watmalik

“G-Gwyn?”

She peers over at him again. “Carlos?” She asks teasingly.

“What are we—what are you doing here? Where am I?”

“We are getting dim-sum,” she tells him as if it’s obvious.

“We are?”

“Yes.” She turns back to the menu. “And you’re figuring out what to bring back home to TK. When you’re ready.”

Carlos feels landlocked, rooted to the spot with no ability to move. He nearly knocks over the glass of water in front of him as he looks around, his eyes darting from one end of the room to the other.

This is not their usual Chinese takeout. It’s unfamiliar, a hole-in-the-wall sort of place with tables and chairs that probably haven’t been changed out in a good fifteen years or so, and Hana, who he swears he was talking to just a moment ago, is now Gwyneth Morgan.

“You’re…Gwyn, you’re dead.”

[alrightbuckaroo]

culture around fanfiction has just gotten so...weird? not necessarily on the writer's side, but it seems to really be showing on the passive reader's side. not every writer is writing something to be the "next big thing" in a fandom, and hoping it's seen as a "staple" of fandom culture.

they're not writing it with the hope it going the way of "the love hypothesis" and becoming a published piece of work. they're not writing to compete with other writers, especially those that they're genuinely friends with.

most of us, in my opinion, are writing because, well, we just love to write and have a story we want to share! we care about these characters just as much as you do and just want to tell a certain type of story with that same amount of care; no matter how many kudos, hits or shares it gets.

we don't see stories as "content" that need to a reach certain metric; we see them as a way to celebrate something we all love.

[chaotictarlos]

I had to gif this for science okay....

[tailoredshirt]

FIC: Now, and in the hour of our death (911 Lone Star)

—

Carlos couldn’t see TK, but he could hear him gasping for air. Trudie was looking down at him with genuine anguish on her face.

“I really wish you hadn’t done that,” she told him.

—

(How 4x04 could have gone if TK had gotten suspicious of Trudie and sweet-talked himself into the house, namely everyone getting head injuries from common household items.)

For @whenshereads for the 2023 Tarlos Secret Santa exchange. Thank you to @tarlos-santa and @whenshereads for your incredible patience with me.

AO3 link / PG-13 / 3k

[rangersoup]

The amount of horse related Carlos head canons me and my sister come up with on a daily basis is unreal.

[fallout-mars]

thank you for tagging me @carlos-in-glasses @nancygillianmvp @sznofthesticks @bonheur-cafe @paperstorm @thisbuildinghasfeelings @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @whatsintheboxmh @lemonlyman-dotcom <33 here’s a little bit of the last and final chapter of so good right now!

TK smiles at his reflection in the mirror as he buttons up his work shirt for the day. He scrapes a nail over a mark Carlos left just below his collarbone, letting out a breath at the sensation, then presses harder as he remembers the feeling of Carlos’ lips all over his body.

God, he misses him. It’s been a grand total of two days, less than, since he’s seen Carlos, but he misses him, misses the way he makes him feel, misses the soft way Carlos kisses him with everything he’s got. He just misses being around him, really, but within the next thirty minutes, they’ll be together again.

TK can’t wait.

For now, he finishes buttoning up his shirt, somewhat disappointed that he had to cover his new mark—which is a turnout, really; he’s been grateful to be covering his scar for so long, but now Carlos has kissed over the skin there, he finds he doesn’t want to as much—and grabs his tie from where it’s hanging on the doorknob.

A few minutes later, he’s padding out of his room, far earlier than he would normally on a Monday morning, even since Carlos, and heads downstairs.

is this the calm before the storm? oh, i wouldn’t know

open tag! <3