#some fics of the list didn't have thAT much tk in them like i would like i added just a tk fic for you ; ; hope you enjoy! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

heartstringsduet · 1 month ago

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ao3 wrapped but i just make up the question because i don't know what you've been asked and i'm late:

#3982749823: what's one writing lesson you have learned this year (if any)?

#5487839: name something (could be category, type of fic, fandom, universe) that you want to try and write next year, that you haven't written before?

#43985348: what was your biggest writing challenge in 2024?

#4098539485: is there anything you wished you wrote in 2024 that you didn't get to or decided not to write?

MWAH BIG KISS FOR U

Hi Lola-lein ♥️ Love you pulling questions straight from a future list that really escalated 😂 Thank you!! #3982749823: what's one writing lesson you have learned this year (if any)? I think i learned tons as a writer this year. I'm not 100% sure it shows in my works, but it definitely shows in my writing for me. I feel a lot more confident in pacing, don't doubt myself too much when writing dialogue tags like I used to. I fear messing up less because I enjoy editing anyway. I think the lessons I take are from writers I admire, like you and what I admire about them. Like your dialogue is tightly knit, meaning you don't break it up much with large chunks of inner monologue which I tended to do a lot. Or writers like Coco Mellors who is such an expert at making me kow a character in a single sentence because her metaphors are SPOT ON. Will never get on that level, but I strive to at least be more punchy sometimes. #5487839: name something (could be category, type of fic, fandom, universe) that you want to try and write next year, that you haven't written before? Oh no. Oh no now I see you asked me same thing I asked you on discord. And NOW I have to answer it huh. The thing is, you saw my WIP list. If I have an idea I'd like to explore, I do it. And the see if I actually want to write more for it. So I don't have any unexplored subjects that I can think of rn. I will for sure remember something later though. 😂

#43985348: what was your biggest writing challenge in 2024? Finishing First Aid. ♥️But also my big big problem child , the fics from the Let Me series. Who thought it would be a GREAT idea to mix canon events in? Me. Make life harder, I thought. Make remembering their kinks and no gos and progresses harder, I thought. Welllll. Silly little kink fics they're not. I delete like half I write ngl #4098539485: is there anything you wished you wrote in 2024 that you didn't get to or decided not to write?

Looks over at the 40k fantasy fic with Carlos, the elemental, on his path to revenge, TK the healer on his way to actually healing, and both of them being each other's literal soulmates.... More like something I didn't continue. And then I think it was this stupid post I made about writing a/b/o one day and scaring my readers off. And the 13yo in me demanded wolfs too, and one fantasy fic replaced the other. I actually think the first fantasy fic has some of my better writing, while this new one is...unpolished for now. So definitely regret never going back to that one and being scared by the time I will, fandom will be a graveyard. But also, writing is joy to me. Genuinely my favorite hobby, so no time is wasted doing it whenever I get to it. MWAHs you back !

#michelle answers #ao3 wrapped game

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yoonminficsrecs · 4 years ago

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Hi~ Do you by chance have any fics that have Taekook in them, where Yoongi & Jungkook are brothers and Jimin & Taehyung are soulmates? I just read Sgraffito by May_Belle at that was incredible so i'm looking for more stuff with those relationships-Yoonmin heavy with a dash of Taekook but make it bro Yoonkook and bff Vimin 😅 P.S I remember an old fic "First Love" that had these relationships, but it seems as it was deleted;I can't find it! P.S.S I love your blog, Thank you for your hard work 💕

hello there lovely! sorry it took me forever to get to you :c. i never read sgraffito, i’m going to add it to my ‘mark for later’ c: hmmm, idk what first love fic you’re talking about, but is it this one: First Love by Superbly_Annoyed?

annnd some yoonmin with a bit of taekook dose for you with vmin and yoonkook friendships, hope you enjoy:

The Feud of AgustD Tattoos and Park Jimin [tattoo parlor!au, humor, 14k]

Carry Me Home [abo!au, enemies to lovers!au, action, romance, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, slow burn, 109k]

red string of fate [soulmate!au, romance, action, angst, fluff, slow burn, 67k, warning: minor character death]

I Promise I’ll Do Better [abo!au, university!au, mpreg!au, romance, fluff, 81k-on going]

that’s gay [university!au, text!au, fake relationship!au, angst, fluff, 59k]

The Boy in the Music Box [university!au, fantasy!au, romance, fluff, light angst, 52k]

taekook is the main relationship, with yoonmin on the side:

Fall Asleep (Fall For You) [university!au, enemies to lovers!au, slow burn, fluff, rated m, 149k]

#i hope i choose the good ones who you are looking for!#some fics of the list didn't have thAT much tk in them like i would like i added just a tk fic for you ; ; hope you enjoy!#if you need more let me know c:

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justapoet · 2 years ago

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about stars we can’t fit in constellations (and hearts under snowstorms)

TK is a reclusive champion figure skater that takes the world in like patterns on ice ― sharp, decisive and gracious. After more than two years, going back to New York wasn't exactly in his plans, but he was going to make the most of it, set to get back the life he'd lost to just a few minutes of hopelessness, years before.

Carlos is a professor who knows everything about words ― except how to use them, ironically. Brilliant, dedicated and addicted to work, he's pretty convinced he can ignore the longing for something else other than his academic success on lonely nights by smiling and making sure no one noticed anything bothering him. He's fine. He's successful, he has good friends, and the loneliness only catches up a few nights a week. Nothing bigger than the silence it which he hides it all.

When they meet, it happens under misunderstandings and being swept off one's feet by gravity's graceful and irrevocable presence. The city lights are bright, Carlos doesn't have any ballance and TK couldn't be less bothered about it.

And while Carlos might teach TK how to take things more gently than lightweight, he migh as well learn how to make sentences filled with meaning ― and not necessarily sense.

Ao3

My dear @strandnreyes, hey! It's surely been a while. Last year, I wrote you a fic for the 9-1-1 gift exhange, and it was a 37k words oneshot that didn't turn out to be what I had in mind. I did say I'd rewrite it and add some new things, so here I am! I turned it into a multi-chapter fic, and I hope you'll give it another chance.

I hope you're having an amazing year!

Chapter 1

There was just so much he knew about New York.

Nothing more than that it was loud and crowded and that it was named after James, the Duke of York, back when it was still called New Amsterdam. Or that it had the third largest library in the world, had been the country's capital for five years in the past, and had far too many lights on every single corner. He also knew, of course, that Walt Whitman was born there, just like J. D. Salinger, Henry James, and Edna St. Vincent Millay ― which made him a little more curious about the anthill with neon lights.

Other than that, sincerely, Carlos didn't care about knowing much.

It wasn't something personal, and although he loved history, New York sounded more chaotic than anything on his ears ― chaos that, although sometimes welcomed, didn't need to take more place than what was strictly necessary.

He knew a few places here and there ― a good pizzeria, drugstore, libraries, and four or five restaurants, also the Central Park and a list of colleges ― but Carlos would for sure get lost if anyone asked anything else about the city. Streets? He'd be ashamed to tell he didn't know how to name more than seven. Neighborhoods? Honestly, if he knew three, it would be an evolution. Avenues and park names? Nope, not a hint.

And, in his defense, Carlos didn't really need to know much more than that ― he would rarely wander farther than that small perimeter he actually knew. Whatever he needed to do would be around the same buildings, the same sidewalks, and crowds; knowing more than that would be more of a waste of time than anything if he wouldn't use it anyway.

Therefore, that was just so much he knew about New York.

But there was just so much he didn't know about the library around him, for that matter.

The Elmer Holmes Bobst library ― NYU Bobst library, for practical reasons ― was an imponent building taking place in Greenwich Village, New York. The whole building comes up in brick color, and the black, broad windows match the gigantic sign with the name of the place close to the entry doors. The inside, much clearer than the outside itself, expands in a gallery, leading to staircases, long hallways, tables, and uncountable shelves filled with books edge-to-edge.

For those who were stepping into the building for the first time, it was, indeed, a massive, breathtaking view.

For Carlos, it was simply familiar.

He'd been there enough that all of the concierges already knew his name, and everyone who knew him would know which table to search ― the one on the corner, hidden between two shelves, with a floor lamp right over his head, on the tenth floor. Sure, he could stay on the eight where most of the books he needed would be found ― but it would rarely be crowded, and it had a better view than the other floors.

Not to mention, Carlos was well-aware that the staff liked him a bit more than the other people to show up around the library, and they knew that the man would always put everything he took out of place back to it. Perhaps because he was older than the students, the staff liked talking to him, or maybe because he actually did take his time to wish everyone a good morning, a good week, or ask them how they had been, other than just walking around and pretending they weren't even there.

Either way, the trust was something Carlos was glad to enjoy, mainly because it was nice to be alone and relish the quietness that came with emptiness and not only the one that came with the rules. Just him and the ruffle of the books and the ticking of the clock, harmonizing perfectly with some sighs that escaped his mouth and the typing on his notebook; it was far better than anything else, any noise he could find in New York City.

That evening, when the sun had already hidden behind the tall skyscrapers, the typing sound still echoed around the nearly empty floor of the library, as it had done since the sun had greeted the morning. A tired pair of brown eyes was, over the screen, as quick at the long fingers on the keyboard, and the pile of books was slightly smaller than usual. Some sighs wandered around the walls after a deep breath, and then some grumbling, just followed by the tapping of a shoe against the floor — something as familiar as the building was under Carlos' eyes.

There were still people around the building, though it wasn't crowded by any means. Some tired students were leaving the library after hours; some others, who had just gotten off work, were coming in with exhausted faces and backpacks over their shoulders. On the tenth floor, there were only Carlos, by the corner, a tired student who he thought that fallen asleep over the table and an old lady who, apparently, couldn't wait to go home.

There was also a young lady who left silently, as another woman came in in heels and office-like clothes, in a pencil skirt, a black social shirt, and suitcase and a bag in her hands. The woman's hair was held tight on the top of her head in a bun, and her light eyes analyzed the broad space for a minute or two, her shoes echoing around the silence.

When she found what she meant to, then, the woman walked fiercely towards it, though as quietly as she could so no one would be bothered ― or waken up ― by the click of the heels. The woman's movements were graceful, although she rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath while crossing the room towards a table.

"I still have thirty-four minutes before being late," the man's voice announced, not taking his eyes off the screen as a figure approached his own. "And that, considering I am always ten minutes early."

The woman scoffed beside him. He still didn't take his eyes off the screen.

"You've been here for hours," she said. "And I wouldn't have complained if you hadn't been here since after breakfast. At eight in the morning," she stated, placing her suitcase over one of the free chairs and her coat over the table. "Did you even have lunch?"

"I did eat a burger, thank you very much," Carlos replied, switching his attention to an open book by his side. "Did you?"

"Eat a burger? No, no. I did eat like a normal person, you know? Food and nutrients and proteins," she answered, and Carlos smiled little.

"Well, it all goes through the same tube, so I don't think your healthier choices count much," the man joked, now taking a pencil, and bringing a notebook closer.

"I want you to repeat that when you're in a hospital bed after a heart failure," she said, arching an eyebrow. "Are you done for today?" she asked, tilting her head towards the laptop over the wooden surface.

"I suppose that the truth won't get me alone again," Carlos said, then he sighed. "So, yeah. I think I am," he concluded, turning his head, and smiling quite playfully at his friend.

The woman rolled her eyes.

"You are, by all means, pathetic," she said. "Really, I don't even know why I talk to you still."

"Because, my dear Lily, you love me," he said. "And you miss me to pieces whenever I leave New York, too," he concluded, moving to get up and closing the notebook he had been writing on.

"Yeah, and whenever you come to New York, I wonder why that happens," she grumbled, though affectionately. "Can't you go back to Austin already?"

Carlos chuckled.

"When I do go back, I bet you're going to cry. And ask me when I can come back again, which, I will tell you, probably won't happen soon," Carlos said, not closing his laptop and reaching for his own suitcase over another empty chair. "I think it is unlikely that NYU will invite me again in the next few years."

"Why, though?" the woman asked, taking the laptops' charger in her hands, and starting to fold it properly to fit in the suitcase. "You're one of the most influential experts in literature out there nowadays, after all. I mean, you've been literally paid to study for years, now, in and out of the country. It's not like NYU would lose any chance to have you back," she said, and Carlos could only chuckle again. "Or any university, actually."

"Yeah, but it's not like I plan on coming back so soon," he said. "I've told you about it, remember?"

The woman frowned for a second, and then her face lit up with acknowledgment. She offered the folded wire to her friend, who thanked her silently.

"Oh, of course," she said, then. "That university in Brazil. For a second, I forgot about it," she continued. "It is a great opportunity, indeed. I mean, for you, who somehow loves Brazilian literature just because," she said, a hint of false annoyance in her voice.

Carlos rolled his eyes softly.

"Not 'just because,' Delilah," he corrected her, then, and the satisfied smile on her face gave away that her intentions had been accomplished. "It's fascinating! Hard to read, sure, but still fascinating. You'd think so, too, if you gave it a shot."

She tilted her head a bit.

"That's how I know that you love me," Carlos dramatically said, pretending to sniff. "I've read all the Russian books you wanted me to, and that's what you give me back. Unadulterated disdain," he said within a loud whisper, and Delilah bit her tongue not to laugh inside of a library.

"God, gifting you with a Shakespeare book set was a mistake," she replied, shaking her head slowly. "And one: I recommended you Russian literature because it is excellent and because finding out that you're a polyglot was a highlight in life. Two: I don't have a single thing against Brazilian literature; my problem with the idea is that you work far too much, Carlos, and changing the language you work in won’t change this fact," her tone was solemn after a second, and Carlos sighed briefly, knowing where the conversation would lead.

He didn't turn to face her, though, and kept putting his things back in place so they could leave together for dinner as they had planned the day before and let his friend speak whatever she had to say.

"I mean it, Carlos," she said again. "You've been hopping from project to project for years now. Man, you're twenty-nine and is one of the most influential names in literary studies and philology. That isn't normal, my friend. Impressive, yes, but not normal," Delilah went on. "How many countries have you visited so you could learn? Two per year since you've graduated at twenty-one?”

Carlos tilted his head a few times to the sides, almost answering her rhetorical question. Delilah sighed again, and her tone came back much softer than before.

"I know how much you love your job, and I know how much you love learning, dear. And I am not telling you to reject every opportunity they offer you because you deserve each one of them, and I'd beat you up if you dared to leave them aside, but that's all I've seen you do these past years. Work yourself to exhaustion," she voiced. "Maybe you should slow down a bit, uh?"

Carlos took his closed suitcase in his hand, then, after putting on his coat, and turned around, waiting for his friend to copy his movements. Silently, she did, and he gestured for them to start walking, Delilah smiling thankfully at that.

"I don't know," he said, then, about what she had said before. "I like my life the way it is, Lily."

"I know that, too," she said. "You love learning, you love knowing things ― but that's absolutely everything you do. I see it, and we live half a world and an ocean apart from each other, Carlos," Delilah continued as they walked side by side, both of them nodding respectfully at those who passed them by. "Look, I'm not saying that you need to change your whole life and plans and schedule," she highlighted, and he nodded. "I'm saying that... I don't know― you could find a hobby?"

Carlos turned at her, scoffing and arching one of his brows. There was a half-smile on his face, and he held back a peal of laughter, looking around for a minute.

"A hobby?" he asked, almost in disbelief. "Reading and writing are a hobby, Lily," Carlos argued, and she arched a brow herself while accepting his hand by the end of one of the staircases.

"Not if they're what get your bills paid, Carlos," she argued back. "You do that for a living. Just like movies are a kill-time, but those who make it are working when doing so," Delilah explained, waiting for him to offer his hand one more time when another set of stairs finished.

"And what is your suggestion?" he asked, then, nodding and smiling when another person of the staff, Omar, passed them on his way upstairs. "Movies?"

She shrugged.

"Painting?" she offered. "Sewing? Knitting? Running a marathon? Hiking?" the woman listed it down. "I don't know, Lou. Something that takes you out of this―" she gestured towards him with a hand, making circles in the air. "Work-mode you always leave on. If I didn't think you're brilliant, I'd find it absolutely annoying."

"Well, don't limit yourself. Particularly, I think you're both brilliant and annoying," Carlos said with a far-too-innocent smile on his face for it to be genuine. Delilah only side-eyed him, her mouth twisting in exasperation, and Carlos didn't let his smile fall at that.

"I shouldn't even worry about you," she grumbled, rolling her eyes again and then accepting the hand he offered one more time. "You're a complete freak."

"Yet, you're taking me out for dinner," he retorted, his tone always cheerful and provoking. "Doesn't it sound lovely?"

Read it on Ao3!

#tarlos #911 lone star #my writing #carlos reyes #tk strand #carlos reyes x tk strand #911ls #tarlos fic #911ls fic

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tarlos-spain · 3 years ago

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I'd never ask for anything again

This is fic is part of the @tarlosweeklyprompts.

For this week it was "TK and Carlos are happy and have been for three yeas. the've settled into their life together and have a routine that allows them both to thrive. What happens when Alex comes to town and tries to upset that balance?

I have to say I wanted something nice becuase I've write bad Alex a few times now.

So this is it.

Summary: It's been five years since TK and Alex have seen each other.... not after what happened. Now a photo posted by TK to celebrate Tomas' second birthday makes Alex think it's time to make things right with him or at least talk to each other again and maybe... just maybe, apologize for what happened.

"Our beautiful Tomas is 2."

TK never thought an Instagram post with a photo of his oldest son's birthday could help him close one of the most important chapters of his life.

When Alex saw it, among photos of his friends, family and a few landscape photographers, he stopped. Since the night TK had asked him to marry him and he had confessed to having a relationship with his personal trainer they hadn't seen each other.

He knew from mutual friends that TK had given them a scare with an overdose of pills.

He had considered stopping by the hospital to see him, but knew Owen would be there and thinking he was to blame for breaking his son's heart, he decided to stay away. He thought for days about stopping by TK's apartment and talking to him, but the truth was he didn't know what to say to him.

And so, he soon learned that TK had moved with his father to Austin...dragged away, some of the friends he left behind in New York said, and he hadn't heard from him since.

TK deleted him from his list of all social networks, so Alex never heard from hud ex again, and he certainly didn't blame him for it.

And suddenly, five years later, he came across that photo. TK was smiling, there was a light in his eyes that he had never seen when they had been together. Next to him was another man, his boyfriend he thought at first, but the rings on both of their hands gave away his husband's identity. Carlos Reyes-Strand was tagged in the photo. Plus, there were the kids.

TK had children, a two-year-old birthday boy, green-eyed like TK's tousled eyes, who giggled as his father hugged him, and two baby girls, maybe six months old, twins, whom Carlos held and did his best to sit on his lap.

Unlike the boy, who was a small version of TK, the girls were very much like the other man: they had Latin features, black eyes and hair that was also completely black and curly.

The family was completed by a dog, a West Highland mongrel.

He stared at the photo for a moment longer, he couldn't deny that TK had achieved what he would never have been able to offer him.

But he felt something was missing. TK seemed to look at him in that photo and he felt an intense pain in his chest for all the time lost, for having been a coward and not having made that decision much sooner.

"So, what do we do?" asked TK as he put Tomas sitting on his shoulders. "Shall we go eat at your parents' house and then stop by my father's house, or shall we get them all together and have fun with your father and my father's arguments about who organizes better, the police or the firemen?"

"Not together, please. That then they end up challenging each other to a game of trivia and by the time we want to leave, the kids have fallen asleep and you know the twins are very rude to wake up."

TK walked over to Carlos, gave him a kiss then reached the half-eaten ice cream cone over his son's head. He just hoped he didn't end up showered in chocolate and mango.

"Okay, so we owe my dad a coffee at his house."

"How about we invite him over for dinner at home? The last few hints about needing bathroom renovations and that I'd be happy to do it to him tell me it would save us a lot of money."

Both Gabriella and Gwyn joined in the car each on their own side, because already at just six months old they were very clear about each other's personal space. They both tried to get Carlos' attention at the same time. Although they were very different, when it came to getting daddy's games and cuddles, they had the same timing.

But Carlos had become an expert at holding each girl with one arm and giving them the attention they needed. Like any child, the twins loved the sand pool in the park where they ended up bouncing like croquettes between Carlos' legs. However, Tomas was much more attentive to cleanliness, in that he was much like Carlos himself, he hated to get dirty and, if he could avoid touching the sand without a very specific reason, he stayed well away.

Keep reading on AO3

#9 1 1 lone star #tarlos #lonestar #911 #9-1-1 lone star #carlos reyes #tk strand #family #kids #Alex

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noxsoulmate · 3 years ago

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👀👀👀 okay, but like you know which one I want to ask about! Even though it’s mine. Mwahahahhaa!

Okay- but if you consider that cheating, I’ll ask about… cut scenes and persuasion au

Pretty pretty please?

Lol, you dork 😂 you know everything about the neighbor AU. But okay:

It's based on prompt #24 from @actuallysara's list of Tarlos AU's. I don't have much yet but here's a little snippet:

“Hey, so please don’t freak out–”

In the next moment, he could hear a thud, followed by a curse, and he was pretty sure the guy had just hit his head somehow. Carlos winced in sympathy.

“Sorry! Sorry, it’s just your neighbor here…”

“Dude,” came the reply, the voice sounding rough, probably from all the crying. “Way to give a person a heart attack. Also… creepy much?”

“My apologies. The walls here are basically paper with some paint on them.”

There was a long moment of silence and Carlos thought about just going ahead and asking if he was okay, but the guy beat him to it.

“So you’re saying… you’ve basically been listening to me crying myself to sleep two nights in a row but decided a third night would be too much?”

There was a little sniffle and a hiccup and Carlos’ heart went out for his neighbor before he realized that he’d been asked a question. Shaking his head, he quickly clarified.

“No, sorry, of course not. It’s the first night in a week that I’m home.” He thought for a moment about adding that he worked night shifts and that he was a cop but all that seemed a bit too much information for a conversation like this. Instead, he said, “I just heard you cry and… I kinda just wanna ask if you’re okay. I mean, clearly, you’re not okay okay but… yeah. Just making sure you’re physically okay, I guess.”

Closing his eyes, he leaned his head against the wall. God, that had sounded more terrible than he’d thought it would. Like a creepy stalker. The guy would probably file a complaint against him or just move out again. To his surprise, he got a reply instead.

“No, to be honest… I guess I’m not okay.”

“Wanna… wanna talk about it?”

So, the cut scenes... I honestly had to open the doc to see what they even were 😅 it's scenes I took out of my fic Goodnight My Love. That fic was originally supposed to be an entry to the 911 Begins week but that never happened. So to be part of that week, it originally had some flashbacks to TK's life in NY - stuff that didn't even really fit the fic. Once it was no longer an entry to that week, I cut out those flashbacks and posted the version it was actually supposed to be. Thing is, I also liked the flashbacks in their own right, just not for that fic... so I didn't just delete them 🤷‍♀️ who knows, maybe I'll use them someday for a TK begins story or something like that.

As for the Persuasion AU... I was trying to come up with an idea for Day 4 of the AU Weekend (free choice), so I was talking to @tailoredshirt and somehow we ended up raving about Jane Austen and how amazing a Persuasion AU with Tarlos would be. Naturally, me being me, it didn't happen for that day 😅 but I'm still determined to write that one day...

Come and play the WIP game with me, ask me about any WIP that catches your interest 😊

#wip game #tarlos wip #tarlos #tk strand #carlos reyes #noxy writes

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grittyreadsfic · 4 years ago

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hello my friends, one singular person asked for this weeks ago so i’m here with my most unhinged rec list yet: tk and nolan.

now, this one was hard to reign in, so i really didn’t. this pairing had maybe 230 fics in the tag when i first started reading hockey fic, and it’s now over 900, and i’ve read far too many of them, and that makes it so hard to parse it down. so i just...didn't!

so with that said, please enjoy so you want to get into tknp: a beginners guide to a classic case of idiots to lovers

i told myself that i couldn’t rec an author’s entire body of work but then i remembered this is my blog and i do what i want, so i did some consolidating. here’s a list of the quintessential authors for this pairing, you can start at any of their profiles and pick any of their fics at random, and it’ll be one of the best ones for the pairing, hands down.

therainbowsedge: i’d start with the summer camp fic, or the sex toys one, as both beautifully capture the true idiots to lovers nature of this pairing, but just top tier writing all around

manybumblebees: the wedding fic is so tender and port stanley is a classic, but literally pick any single fic and you’ll have a perfect tknp fic. i’m not kidding

jamesvanriemsdick: their tknp fics in their series are some of the hidden gems of this pairing (the tk heartbeat fic makes me LOSE it) but the delaware fic or the seattle fic…..there’s really something for every mood

catchascatchcan: start with era of gods because i could write literal essays on how it’s some of the best fantasy worldbuilding i’ve ever read, but then just read everything else on their account, including non tknp fics. you won’t regret it

hackysack: ao3 user hackysack has written one of two timeloop fics that i absolutely adore, and i thought about just calling that one out in particular, but all of their work deserves the attention

canary: nothing to prove was the first tknp fic i ever read and i was immediately hooked. all of their fics are a good starting place for the pairing, and just really give you a feeling for the pairing

and now, for the fic recs!

to be, despite it all by smudgedfreckles

summary: or, nolan patrick’s gender thesis, by travis konecny.

why i love it: there’s not a lot ofo nonbinary characters in media, even in fic, but this fic’s treatment of nolan and their path to figuring out their gender just feels so real and made me feel so seen. tk’s characterization is also just top notch, and it’s just a super sweet story about two people who love each other

last ones standing by makeit_takeit

summary: If you’re committed to finding your future spouse, reads the last line of the ad, and are ready to look at yourself and your love life in a whole new way, apply now.

At the bottom of the ad there’s a link, and Travis finds his finger hovering over the screen, lip still caught between his teeth.

“I mean,” he says very reasonably, speaking out loud to his empty apartment like some sort of possibly-crazy person, “just applying doesn’t mean anything. Maybe I just fill it out, and see what happens. It’s not like I’m really gonna get picked to be on TV, come on.”

He snorts out loud, just to show his apartment he hasn’t lost his grip on reality or anything; he fully understands how ludicrous that would be.

Then he clicks the link anyway, because yolo or whatever.

why i love it: what part of a married at first sight fic doesn’t make you want to immediately dive right in? the concept is fun, the execution is absolutely flawless, and it captures their dynamic so well while letting it develop naturally

motivation by connectknee

summary: Kevin knows when to back off, the article said. He knows just when to shut up and leave Patty alone, something Travis has never known how to do.

why i love it: the thing i love about this pairing is that tk is loud and in your face, and nolan’s more reserved, a little quieter, a little harder to read. this fic does a really great job of exploring how tk could feel like maybe he’s just a bit too much and is one of my favorites in terms of miscommunication

a tenderness grows by rusesdeguerre

summary: Nolan wouldn’t say that landing a job as the Philadelphia Flyers’ psychotic and probably clinically insane mascot was a childhood dream of his. Maybe tangentially: playing pond hockey in –30°C weather and pretending to be Sidney Crosby is practically a rite of passage when you grow up in Manitoba. That, and experiencing the distinct displeasure that is thousands of mosquitoes sucking your blood out when your father drags you on a father-son camping trip into the backwoods of the northern Canadian Prairies.

why i love it: this was the first fic i recced on this blog, and i stand by that decision. a fic where nolan is not only not a hockey player, but is in fact the person in the gritty suit? absolutely perfect, and so charming from start to finish

meet me at my window by springsteen

summary: Travis has lived in Philadelphia for a few years now, long enough to know there isn’t a major city in America where superheroes don’t destroy an entire city block trying to save humanity or whatever. He can deal with all the super-shit, but Travis did not sign up for getting woken up from a deep sleep because some fucker’s trying to break in through his window.

(5 times the super-villain known as "The Cat" breaks into Travis's apartment, plus 1 time Travis invites him in.)

why i love it: there’s a lot of things to love here, but the concept is just absolutely one of my all time favorite aus ever. it’s fun and charming and the perfect glimpse into a world where heroes and villains exist, and what it’s like just to be a run of the mill kind of guy existing in it. tk and nolan’s back and forth in this make it so engaging, and it’s such a top tier fic

body’s in trouble by cloudsandpassingevents

summary: “Oh, sorry,” someone says. “Didn’t know anyone else was here.”

Nolan freezes, then turns around very slowly. When he looks up, Nicklas fucking Backstrom is standing behind him in a hoodie and baggy sweats, holding the biggest bag of Swedish Fish Nolan’s ever seen in his life in one hand.

“Uh,” Nolan says around the pop tart between his teeth. “Yeah.”

What the fuck, his brain helpfully supplies.

why i love it: from nolan’s inner voice, to the way the author explores all the dynamics within the team, to the way they write the unexpected but actually, it kind of makes sense friendship between nolan and backstrom, is just absolutely fantastic. there’s a lot of moments that circle back and build on each other in a way that really just makes it super compelling

rhizomatic foundations by lighthousetowers

summary: Twenty days after he moves in with Kevin Hayes, twenty days – three months, five months, depending on how you look at it – after not talking to TK, TK shows up at the front door with a plant the size of a basketball in his hands.

TK grins. "Patty, meet Reginald." He lifts up the plant. "Reggie, meet Patty. He's going to be your new - caretaker."

"What the fuck," says Nolan, not moving a single muscle.

Or: That Nolan can hear the plant talk might as well just happen.

why i love it: this is probably my favorite magical realism fic just about ever. it’s fun and charming and a little weird, but in the best possible way. there’s such a wonderful narrative in it, and lighthousetowers always has such beautiful writing, and it really shines in this one. the dialogue and nolan’s characterization are also part of what set it apart for me as one of the best tknp fics

in the dark of any town by mengetpegged

summary: If the voice has an accent at all, it’s a flat prairie Canadian, with none of G’s French-Canadian softness at the edges. But mostly, the accent is just ‘pissed off,’ which TK believes is a default setting for ghosts.

“Who are you?” TK asks, and he doesn’t like how strained his voice sounds, doesn’t like the tinge of anxiety tinting the rise of his question. He tries to regulate his breaths—in through his nose, hold, out through his mouth—but it feels like he’s not getting enough oxygen, which makes him panic even more.

“Someone with a fucking migraine, dickhead,” the voice says. “So keep the lights off and shut the hell up.”

(or: Nolan Patrick, Hotel X Ghost)

why i love it: i’m usually not super into ghost fics, both the spooky kind and the nonspooky kind, but this one is a rare exception. it’s charming and fun and tender and it’s got some of, in my opinion, the best characterization of tk and nolan in any fic. the way the author writes their dynamic and their dialogue is just unmatched

lets_make_this_moment_a_crime.mp3 by honeydripping

summary: Travis meets Nolan at a Midtown show in 2002 when he punches Nolan in the face. He can’t help it, “Like A Movie” just goes off.

But he does feel guilty about it.

TK and Patty work at a bakery together. They go to punk shows to pass the time.

why i love it: idk if anyone asked for an early 2000s emo/punk/alt au but wow! i sure am glad it exists! really the vibes of this fic, as silly as that sounds, are absolutely unmatched. i love the structure with the music, the development of their relationship, and just everything about how the author wrote the setting (there’s this whole thing with tattoos in it that makes me feel absolutely insane)

you’re ripped at every edge by you’re a masterpiece by conformityissuicide

summary: “Ugh, look, this yoga teacher has it out for me, man. And I can’t go back there without at least having some of the basics down. I’ve got to win this battle.”

“Yoga isn’t really something you win at,” Hartsy starts.

Travis cuts him off, “You can win at anything if you try hard enough.”

+++

OR that time Nolan's a grumpy yoga teacher and Travis realizes he wants to bone him and prove him wrong about Travis' non-existent yoga abilities.

why i love it: listen, if you want tknp, at least one of them has to be an idiot, and this tk absolutely captures the obliviousness i love to see in him in fic. it’s such a great characterization of them both and such a great concept (and even better execution)

you form a terror pack (and i’m aware of that) by dalmatienne

summary: “Can I help you?” TK snarks, both eyebrows hiked up in a way that has earned her many elbow checks to the ribs.

The chick looks down her nose, long thick eyelashes fluttering. Red-bitten lips part to blow a florid pink bubble and TK can smell the chemical sweetness when it pops.

“Yeah,” she says in this monotonous voice that seems almost at odds with her bubble gum and neon skates. She jams her stopper into TK’s thigh again, literally inches away from where it’d really hurt. “Tie ‘em.”

why i love it: to be honest, i generally don’t read rule 63 within hrpf, but this one is just absolutely knocks it out of the park. the concept (i fuckin’ love roller derby), the characterization of nolan, the pacing, the rituals, the tone of the entire fic, it’s just all around a perfect read from start to finish

thrills and grills by bitter_leaf

summary: Travis can’t even begin to wonder what he did in a previous life to incur the wrath of this fucking cook. Travis thinks he’s a nice person, doesn’t conduct himself in any way that could be considered particularly dickish, and unless this guy has some sort of issue with hockey bros or people from the boonies, he’s not sure how he started shit without even knowing.

Patty has a vendetta. Travis just wants to eat his eggs in peace.

why i love it: honestly this is the enemies to lovers fic i’ve been waiting for. i remember seeing the reddit post when it first went viral and thinking it would make such a great fic premise, so stumbling across this one was just so wonderful. super engaging and fun and so hilarious to read!

nothing but room for you by fightingfuries

summary: When his agent tells him he’s going to be traded to the Devils, Nolan isn't sure how he feels about it. Might be easier if he was going somewhere farther away, like California or fucking Florida. Somewhere sun-soaked and foreign. Someplace so different from Philadelphia that he can forget he ever played for the Flyers, forget everything that happened there.

Or Nolan fucks up, gets traded, gets his shit together and falls in love. Not necessarily in that order.

why i love it: i cannot stress to you how much i love trade fics, and this one is one of my absolute favorites. the trade to the devils-so close to philly, still, but there’s more to distance than physical miles-was such an excellent choice and the split timeline adds so much to the narrative, and the emotions are real and messy and complicated in the best way

a couple of runaways (i’m glad you stayed) by overturnedgoal

summary: The person in the video he’s watching is super annoying. Some obnoxious holier than thou granola type who keeps talking about their environmental impact as if they aren’t driving a gas guzzler around, but the basic idea of living in a van, driving around wherever, camping all the time, just going hiking and swimming and seeing the whole country? It sounds pretty dope, honestly.

why i love it: i like to watch tours and conversions of vans/buses into tiny homes as a self soothing method, and this fic has the same impact that watching those do. it’s such a fun concept, and it’s so fuckin’ soft, and the dialouge between tk and nolan is just *chef’s kiss*

all candor and style in the crook of your smile by p3trichor

summary: It’s a photo of Nolan on his knees with someones’ fingers in his mouth, lips slick with spit. Travis flicks by it almost too fast and he’s only got seconds to decide if he wants to screenshot it, if he wants to just give up the ghost right then and there. Except Travis’s phone freezes momentarily and then the group refreshes, sidcros87, Bert59 and 14 others took a screenshot!

It’s gone before Travis even has time to process it and he already wasted his replay of the day on a stupid video of a stupid fish that Hayes caught.

Can you send me that screenshot Travis texts Bertuzzi before he can overthink it, his dick already stirring in his sweats. Tuzzi sends back the cry-laughing emoji and then the screenshot before Travis can be too annoyed at him.

Or, Nolan is being weird about Travis's break-up and TK is maybe not straight.

why i love it: i genuinely don’t think i have words for the amount i love this fic. it took me forever to actually read, but it’s absolutely one of my favorite fics, and it’s an absolutely riot to read. carter’s meddling and the presence of tyler bertuzzi both make it extra fun, in my humble opinion

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marjansmarwani · 3 years ago

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Any or all of the questions you can answer on “taken by the tide of the morning light”

It feels like it's been so long since I wrote this one (turns out it's been almost exactly a year, who knew), but I will give all the questions a try.

taken by the tide of morning light

How long did it take you to write this fic?

I don't think it took me all that long once I had an idea, but it was for a bthb square and getting an idea to fill the square/request took a lot longer than writing the fic did

What program did you use to write this fic (Word, Google Docs, etc)? Is that the program you use for all your fics?

Google Docs, and yes. I can't believe I ever functioned without it.

Where did you write this fic? Is that your favorite spot to write?

I vaguely recall writing a good chunk of this one on the patio of the coffee shop by my apartment because the weather was too nice to stay inside. But I do enjoy writing there, so sure!

What do you need to write? Is there anything special you need to do/have to help your creative flow?

Silence. It's unfortunate but I cannot focus with any TV or too many other distractions. Music sometimes is okay, it really depends. Mostly silence and solitude help the most.

What inspired the idea for the plot?

@morganaspendragonss requested this bthb square and I know she asked for TK whump, but beyond that probably just talking to friends and a desire to see Carlos and Gabriel working together.

What inspired the title for this fic? Is that usually how you choose titles?

It's a lyric from "Solitary Sparks" by Fortunate Ones and yes, I'd say 98% of my fic titles come from lyrics. I have a doc that is a running list of lines from songs I think would make good titles and when I can't think of a title (aka every fic) I scroll through it to pick one. Best thing I have ever done as a writer honestly.

Was there anything from canon that you pulled for this fic?

Probably? I can't think of anything specific but I'm sure there is.

Share a screenshot of the original outline (if you dareee😈)

I don't have it or I would! I start my outlines in the docs I end up writing in and then delete bullet points as I complete them, so my outlines are self-destructing.

Was there a scene that you hadn’t originally planned to include? Why did you decide to fit it in?

I can't remember exactly, but I am pretty sure I added one more TK in captivity scene than I meant to because I needed it to be balanced when I split one of Carlos's scenes into two. But a fic like this with alternating povs, I tend to stick pretty close to my original outline.

Was there a scene you wished you could have included? Why didn’t it fit in?

I would have liked to do some firefam scenes when we find out TK is missing and after he's found, but it just didn't fit with the story I wanted to tell.

Was there anything you had to research for this fic? Do you usually do a lot of research?

I always research for fics (my google search history is interesting, to say the least), but for this one I think I was researching arteries to figure out where it would be bad for TK to be stabbed but would also make sense for his situation.

What was the easiest scene to write?

The scene with Nancy and Carlos where they discover TK is missing. I do not know why but I do remember it being the first one.

What was the hardest scene to write?

Probably the last scene because I always struggle with endings.

Is this one of your personal favorite fics? Why or why not?

I don't dislike it, but it's definitely not in my top 10. But that's the problem when you've written 121 fics for a fandom, not all of them can be your favorites.

What is something you wish more people noticed about this fic?

How meticulously planned out it all was. And by that, I mean the kidnapping and resulting rescue. I put a ton of thought into it.

What is something you didn’t expect people to notice or gravitate towards in this fic?

Maybe how much everyone seemed to enjoy the way I wrote Gabriel? I think it was my first time writing him and I was really pleased by the reception of that, but surprised too.

Does personal experience ever inspire your fics? What about this particular fic?

It does, often (not just with the teacher au but definitely with the teacher AU), but I can't think of a way in which it applies here. Thankfully I have little experience with being kidnapped and/or tortured.

Did you have a beta reader(s) for this fic? How did they help you during the writing process?

Again it was a year ago, but according to the tumblr post Jamie beta'd it and chances are I talked through a lot of the plot points with them too, because that's how just about every fic I used to write went.

Did you write every scene in order? What was the first scene you wrote, and what was the last?

I never write in order. I think I've written from start to finish maybe twice.

I know the Carlos and Nancy scene was the first scene I wrote, but I think for this one the end may have actually been what I wrote last.

Is there anything you would change now about this fic? Why or why not?

I think it is solid and it tells a good story, but if I tried it again I might expand on some parts a little more. But that's how I keep ending up with massive fics, so maybe not.

(I skipped a few questions, but that is most of them Anon!)

behind the scenes fic asks

#ask games #anonymous #anymore that come in I'll answer at some point tomorrow #because I have a long day (of pride!) tomorrow #and need to sleep #but I will answer them!

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