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[heartstringsduet]

Seven Sentence Sunday

Thank you for the tag, @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @carlos-in-glasses 💝

This is from the upcoming two chapters of my TK and Sophie fic- the second part-

2011

Sophie blinked her eyes, trying to clear the tears. She was not going to cry. She was handling this.

Her brother’s eyes fluttered open and closed on the gurney in front of her.

She had just learned that word — gurney.

The thing that looks like an ironing board with wheels attached.

She hadn’t known what that was called before.

She had never been in an ambulance before.

TK closed his eyes. Sophie squeezed his hand when they didn’t open back up right away. She didn’t exhale until she felt him squeeze her hand back.

“He’s lucky,” Emma, the paramedic who had [redacted]said. “He has a caring sister who knew what to do”.

Sophie just nodded. She was not going to cry.

“Sophie,” Tanya, paramedic who hooked up the IV, said, “is there someone we can call?”

Sophie sniffled. Not crying. “Can—can you call our mom, please?”

No pressure tagging - I tag @anewkindofme @sznofthesticks @heartstringsduet @actualalligator

@reyestrandd @firstprince-history-huh @liminalmemories21 @bonheur-cafe

@honeybee-taskforce @thisbuildinghasfeelings @dandelioncasey @chaotictarlos

@safeaswrites @doublel27 @reeeallygood @reasonandfaithinharmony

@lemonlyman-dotcom @paperstorm @carlos-tk @herefortarlos

@chicgeekgirl89 @literateowl @thebumblecee @welcometololaland

@jesuisici33 @snowviolettwhite @lochnesswriter @kiwichaeng

@mikibwrites @birdclowns @just-inside-her @fallout-mars

@vineofroses @ladytessa74 @alltheprettyplaces @theghostofashton

@tailoredshirt @eclectic-sassycoweyes @freneticfloetry @goodways

@inkweedandlizards @lightningboltreader @decafdino @nisbanisba

@actual-sleeping-beauty @kiloskywalker

and anyone else who wants to do it - open tag 🫶

[heartstringsduet]

Never get out of the car, Vanscapes by Alison Turner

[heartstringsduet]

Seven Sentence Sunday

tagged by @your-catfish-friend, @carlos-in-glasses, @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad, @freneticfloetry, @lemonlyman-dotcom

and @ladytessa74.

Thank you!

This is from work published (yesterday!) - The Knave of Clubs . . . he swears he'll take her part. From the beginning of Knave 4, now that I'm no longer trying to keep anything spoilery underwraps.

She gives him a dry look. "Detective Reyes, this will be a lot easier if we both agree that neither one of us is stupid.”  He considers that; borrows some of TK’s lazy confidence and relaxes back in the chair.  He tilts his head.  "Feels a little one-sided if you know my name but I don't know yours, Mrs?” She smiles, and it’s disconcertingly motherly.  "My son’s friends call me Miss Trudie.” 

tagging @rmd-writes, @vineofroses, @paperstorm, @welcometololaland, and @iboatedhere

[heartstringsduet]

[heartstringsduet]

What I should be doing: cleaning, laundry, wrapping up esta noche es de alegría.

What I'm actually doing: leaving @liminalmemories21 unhinged comments on every chapter of Knave 4. (Join me, won't you?)

But in the meantime, have this mystery snippet from best i never had, the little fic that never ceases to make me smile (and which I'll desperately need after the particular angst of the TiMER fic). Thanks to @carlos-in-glasses, @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut, @sznofthesticks, @strandnreyes, and @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad for the tags today.

“Carlos, we watched that movie together, remember? [Redacted] was naked on a [redacted] with a [redacted]?” He hadn’t been, actually, but TK's particular brand of selective memory tends to skew towards nudity once a certain skin-to-shot ratio has been reached. “I remember. You snickered every time anyone said the word ‘bangs’.” TK hums. “And then you decided that I’m never allowed to eat that much caramel corn again.”

Tagging in @never-blooms, @paperstorm, @lemonlyman-dotcom, @rmd-writes, @reyesstrand, @herefortarlos , @ladytessa74 , @orchidscript , @heartstringsduet , @alrightbuckaroo , @walkinginland , @whatsintheboxmh , @welcometololaland , and of course @liminalmemories21 for being such a damn distraction (in fic form).

[heartstringsduet]

thanks for the tag - @your-catfish-friend @carlos-in-glasses @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @sugdenlovesdingle you're all queued :)

have some sentences from my latest fic i posted? i apologize for being annoying but i really really love this one :) (also check out this gorgeous art to go along with it by @whatsintheboxmh here 🧡)

“Hi, sweetheart, how was your day?” Carlos kissed his husband’s cheek.

TK shrugged, “It was all right. I’m just tired.”

“Are you hungry? Do you want dinner?” Carlos asked.

“Eh, not yet. I just want to relax with you.” TK placed a hand on each of Carlos’s cheeks and brought him in for a kiss. “I missed you.” TK smiled, sleepily.

“You saw me this morning, but I missed you too.” Carlos took TK's hand and intertwined their fingers and led him to the couch. Carlos laid down first and TK crawled on top of him, laid his head on Carlos’s bare chest, and nuzzled in, and shortly faded into slumber.

read the rest on AO3

no pressure tagging: @tellmegoodbye @literateowl @reyesstrand

@reyestrandd @chicgeekgirl89 @lemonlyman-dotcom @ladytessa74 @thisbuildinghasfeelings

@laelipoo @bonheur-cafe @nancygillianmvp @vineofroses @alidravana

@my-little-tilly @fallout-mars @heartstringsduet @reasonandfaithinharmony

@freneticfloetry @terramous @strandnreyes @safeaswrites @zitasempri

@honeybee-taskforce @welcometololaland @actualalligator @alrightbuckaroo @herefortarlos

@carlos-tk @jeysbvck @inkweedandlizards

@mikibwrites @paperstorm @lightningboltreader @sanjuwrites and open tag :)

[heartstringsduet]

the scariest part about being a writer? pouring your heart and soul into this one fic that has taken literal months to piece together only to have this sick feeling in your stomach like it isn’t going to be a hit. not because it isn’t good, no, it’s worthy of a pulitzer, but just because readers won’t interact.

this is my message to my readers and all the readers out there: interact with your writer’s fics. someone can leave a seven word compliment along with a reblog on one of my stories and i’ll think about it for days. writers, good writers, have stopped writing because of the lack of feedback they get. nobody should get the amount of support to the point where they feel it’s worthless to do the thing they’re doing. 

readers. like. reblog. leave a comment.

[heartstringsduet]

thanks @heartstringsduet @carlos-in-glasses @janto4ev @orchidscript @sznofthesticks @lemonlyman-dotcom @alrightbuckaroo @vineofroses :)

“You can stay as long as you need today. It’s not like I’m going anywhere,” Carlos tells him when TK’s attention is away from his phone again. “Everyone else can too. Or Paul’s place still has power. It must just be the north side that’s out.”

“That’s the only reason I get to stay? Power?” TK questions, just so he can get Carlos to say something sweet to him.

It works, and Carlos wanders over to TK’s side of the bed, placing one knee on the mattress and ducking down to kiss him sweetly. “Yup.”

Or maybe it didn’t. TK frowns and jabs his shoulder. “Jerk.”

Carlos chuckles as he slips away, not going far before he bends down, reappearing a moment later with the octopus.

“Left him on the floor all night,” Carlos chastises. “If this is how you treat him, maybe I should keep him.”

“No,” TK argues as he snatches the animal. “You won him for me. He’s mine.”

Carlos smiles, bending over to kiss TK again. This one drags out longer before Carlos murmurs, “Stay because I want you to.”

tagging @basilsunrise @bonheur-cafe @chicgeekgirl89 @carlos-tk

@freneticfloetry @lightningboltreader @paperstorm @safeaswrites @reyesstrand

@three-drink-amy @theghostofashton @welcometololaland @rmd-writes + open tag

[heartstringsduet]

As usual way more than Seven Sentence Sunday

thanks for the tag @carlos-in-glasses and @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut

Here's a little more of the Nancy/Marjan & Tarlos & kind of mentioned bucktommy *thing* i started last week

---

"We need to help them." TK told Carlos who fought the urge to throw his husband over his shoulder and take him home so he'd stay out of their friends' business.

"No, no we do not. If there's anything between them, we should absolutely let them figure things out themselves." He insisted. "How would you have felt if they'd done that to us when we first got together?"

"Nancy did. More than once. During our break up." TK pointed out. "We didn't really have anything to do between calls at Paragon so she kept asking me about you and why we broke up."

"Did you ever tell her?"

TK snorted.

"No." he said and noticed Nancy looking at Marjan with a longing look on her face. "Which is why I am going to help them to make up for that." He kissed Carlos and walked over to Marjan. "Heyyy Marj."

Marjan frowned.

"Hey... what's up?"

"Nothing. I mean... I... Carlos and I were just talking."

"Ok?"

"Do you remember Buck? The firefighter from LA that was here to help with the wildfires?"

"The one you think was hitting on you?"

"Yeah, well, he just posted a picture of him and his new boyfriend. So looks like I was right after all."

"Right. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No. Yes. Kind of. I was just thinking. He's in his 30s and he just figured out he's also into guys."

Marjan shrugged.

"So?"

"It's interesting isn't it? How you can just not realise this huge thing about yourself until the right person comes along."

"It happens, I guess." Marjan shrugged again. "Not everyone has their whole life figured out as a teenager."

"Good point." TK sat down on the rig she was working on. "I mean I've known since I was about 13. Came out to my parents at 15 and everything was fine. They've always supported me..." He trailed off and Marjan made a sound to show him she was listening. "But then Carlos had an entirely different experience. His parents didn't know how to deal with a gay son, so they just ignored it."

Marjan put her tools down.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't know. I was just wondering..." TK said, pretending to get lost in thought. "What would your parents say if you'd tell them you were dating a woman? Or bring her home to meet your family? Humour me." he added the last part before she could say anything about that never happening.

Marjan rolled her eyes but sat down next to him.

"I think.... they would be happy I was happy. Especially after everything with Salim. Surprised, probably, because I've never mentioned liking girls in that way... but I like to think they'd be happy."

----

I have no idea who's done this already some i'm just tagging some people @sznofthesticks @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @bonheur-cafe @lemonlyman-dotcom @sanjuwrites

@chicgeekgirl89 @your-catfish-friend @welcometololaland @oldfangirl81 @chaotictarlos

and open tag for whoever else wants to share something!

[heartstringsduet]

I think I’ve got ahead of the rewatch as I just finished 3x12 and I gotta say I don’t think Carlos has ever looked as good in two successive episodes as he does in 3x11 with the punching bag and Grace and 3x12 on the floor with Sadie. Honestly, two of his absolute hottest looks, and some of his best non-Tarlos scenes.

AGREED those two episodes are absolutely top tier for him. The softness of the curls is unmatched in any other episodes to date. He looks so beautiful and snuggly. (Also yes the acting is flawless but how am I supposed to concentrate on that when there are curls to imagine lovingly stroking)

[heartstringsduet]

*about to call mutual by name* *checks their bio* *i remembered their name correctly* *starts writing the post* *deletes it and checks the url again* *stares at url telling myself i know their name* *checks their bio again and i was still right* *writes post* *drafts it so i can check one more time before posting*

[heartstringsduet]

me: completely forgot about the new ridiculous way to tag people. sorry peeps. I tried to tag youuuu (also sorry if I forgot anyone)

[heartstringsduet]

seven sentence sunday

i have no idea how many sentences this actually is. oh well. thank you to @alrightbuckaroo @sznofthesticks @strandnreyes @carlos-in-glasses @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut and @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad for tagging me!

Carlos looks down at the gun, sweaty between his hands. He almost forgot he was holding it. It’s getting hard to think in here; thoughts form slowly and most fade to black before they’re fully formed. It’s possible that he’s making everything worse. Still, Carlos feels surprisingly calm, although it could just be that the heat has him lightheaded. He’s still picturing his would-be morning with TK. Playing hooky in their big, sweaty bed, in their big, beautiful loft where the A/C is still just as useless as it is here. No air, no matter where he goes. “I’ll drop it if you will,” he says, only halfway joking. “Ha. Not happening, man.” “Maybe you could just put him down, then.” TK is slumped in Dennis’s arms, his eyes half-lidded as though he’s about to doze off, sticky and f*cked-out in an alternate universe where Carlos is petting his bedroom hair. “He’s innocent in all this. And you know how it is. I have to make sure nothing happens to him.”

i haven't edited this so if you see any errors NO YOU DON'T!!! tagging @reyesstrand and @tailoredshirt <33

[heartstringsduet]

Seven Six Sentence Sunday

Thank you for tagging me @ladytessa74 @lemonlyman-dotcom @sznofthesticks @carlos-in-glasses @janto4ev and

@im-overstimulated-and-im-sad 💜

I actually have sentences to share this week!! Here are 6 stitched sentences in which TK calls Carlos babe or baby (5 of which happen during the proposal 🥺):

3 lines done, 17 to go 😂

No pressure tagging @paperstorm @literateowl @vineofroses @alrightbuckaroo @bonheur-cafe

@nancygillianmvp @strandnreyes @reyestrandd @reyesstrand @doublel27 and anyone else who has something to share!!

[heartstringsduet]

seven sentence sunday

thank you to @heartstringsduet @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @carlos-in-glasses @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @strandnreyes

@lemonlyman-dotcom @alrightbuckaroo for the tags<3

Iris had visited him in the hospital right after the surgery, and then come again as soon as he was released. Carlos barely remembers the first couple of days, hazy and pain-laden, but he remembers her. He remembers the way she gingerly climbed into bed beside him, how she laid next to him on his uninjured side. She slid her hand into his and told him to squeeze when the pain got bad. He tried to refuse, but as the nerve block wore off and he neared his next dose of pain meds, his grip on her hand was the only thing he could get his agony-soaked brain to focus on. You got this, she used to repeat in a soft voice, her free hand stroking his hair as he clenched his teeth and tried to hold tears back. He didn’t believe it but he clung to the way she said it, the same way she did before they separated for competitions, whispered in his ear like it was only something for them to know. Constant. He didn’t have much of anything, at that point. He wouldn’t be going to the Olympics. He wouldn’t even be doing gymnastics for the foreseeable future. His life as he knew it was gone, those three words maybe being the only thing that remained. But he had them, and he had her. The only thing left to do was figure out how that could be enough.

open tag!

[heartstringsduet]

House in Hayashisaki Matsue Beach by Akio Isshiki Architects

[heartstringsduet]

I Was Thinking About Your Mouth

Read on Ao3

Whole fic written, 30k, 5 chapters, rated E. Updating Sundays.

In the early hours of a mellow May night, TK Strand wakes Carlos Reyes and proposes to him. A baffled Carlos initially starts to talk TK down – as if assuming he might not mean it. This is the story of why.

Or, 4 times TK accidentally proposed because Carlos is spectacular with his mouth, +1 time he genuinely proposed because Carlos is spectacular with his heart.

____________________________________________________

He’s smug when he enters him. He gets to be. No finger-stretch is quite enough for Carlos’ thickness, and TK grits his teeth at the exquisite burn – so familiar, yet always a shock. Carlos catches TK’s mouth with his as he opens wide, his head tipping back. Carlos licks at TK’s lips, his tongue, his teeth. He loves the way he can make TK’s mouth open with words or make it open with silence. He can make TK’s mouth open like he can’t open it wide enough to get all the air he needs, or to let out the moan trapped around his heart. He loves TK’s mouth so much, he just has to kiss it, even if TK’s mind has bent sideways and he doesn’t have the wherewithal to kiss him back right now. On his desk at work, Carlos keeps a picture of TK grinning beautifully. It’s his favourite thing. That smile, that mouth. He thinks about it all the time.

Chapter 1: What Are you Thinking? - It’s fall 2020, TK Strand and Carlos Reyes are now boyfriends officially. And TK is maybe a little bit too excited about it.

Chapter 2: It's Our Dining Room Now, TK - In 2021, TK is very happy with his new roomie. A confused Carlos finds the people he can turn to. Or maybe they find him.

Chapter 3: Kiss Your Head - Valentine’s Day 2022. TK is recovering from a coma and he and Carlos are finding their way back together after their four-month split. When Carlos drops into the hospital for a visit, certain words are exchanged.

Chapter 4: I'm Not a Very Good Talker - April 2022. Carlos is jealous that TK is spending so much time with his sponsor. However, there is something Carlos can do for TK that nobody else can, even if it causes TK to say something he shouldn’t.

Read on Ao3

Thank you fabulous @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut for the beta and @lemonlyman-dotcom for being my emotional support American.