#fic: rathands

[rat-hand]

I love using ♥️ at the end of every ao3 comment like it’s my signature

[natesmack]

hi i love u and ur natejo posting do u happen to have any fic recs for them u would like to share?

hello! thank you so much!! :) i'm so happy to be able to contribute to this natejo renaissance and im glad you enjoyed my part!

there's some really amazing fic for them too that i've been collecting over the years lol

i would recommend anything and everything by bruinss (@droumack on here) (i know she's cooking up some good stuff so i'd keep an eye out for it 👀)

all of creamsicle_melt work

habits are hard to break (when you don't want to) by carolion

new ways to fall apart by rathands

lemme whisper in ya ear by rathands 

This Modern Love by sethjonesy (mymnemosyne) (one of the first natejo fics I ever read. also a great almost mini primer in the end notes!)

Story Time by mriaow (cute little fic from early natejo days. super nostalgic for me!)

take me back to the start by rathands 

this is all the stuff i can think of right now and after a brief search of my bookmarks. enjoy!

[redjacketficrecs]

and i saw stars

Rathands

Summary: Nico grins at him, quiet happiness in his eyes, and god he is so fucking eager to please. They always are. Taylor used to be, too.

“They’re gonna eat you alive, kiddo,” Taylor doesn’t say.

Maybe, maybe not. New Jersey isn’t Edmonton.

(or: Five first overall picks)

Recommendation: Do you want to get depressed about a bunch of players and particularly Taylor Hall? This is about the unbearable optimism of youth in a league where there is one (1) winner each year in a sport where so much is down to luck. And about learning that, and learning what happens when the shine starts to wear off. Man, I just want them to get to be bright eyed rookies forever. Nico is absolutely fucking adorable in this. And Taylor just. Tries really hard and somehow still ends up floundering. The fic has a nice resolution and ends well. But like. In the context of it, it’s even more heartbreaking that Hall is off to play mentor to ANOTHER number one draft pick.

[grittyreadsfic]

haha welcome to my newest rec list, what a run we had tho, a collection of all of my favorite nate bastian/mikey mcleod fics. rip superbuddies, they're not dead, nate's just in fuckin SEATTLE

the only hard part of making this list was not just listing out every fic ao3 user lotts has for the pairing which i did consider doing. so.

all that by lotts

summary: If Mikey gets a soulmate soon, he’ll have to explain the whole Nate situation.

Not– not that there's a real Nate situation, per se, but it’s just– Mikey has Nate, and it’s kind of a thing.

(Or: there very much is a Nate situation. There's also a Mikey situation. Eventually, they realize this.)

why i love it: to me, this is the superbuddies fic-it’s got the perfect pacing from friends to lovers with just the right around of blurred lines between what’s normal for friends and what’s something more, and their characterizations are just *chef’s kiss* it’s also such a great take on soulmates, and it really covers the different ways people can feel about their soulmates/the concept in general

kiss the night air by clementiae

summary: Jersey, Jersey. Whispered into the warmth of their laced fingers like a prayer.

It was a stupid dream. Mikey wanted it to last.

why i love it: never has under 1.3k words made me want to cry as much as this fic has. the way talking about their dream of playing together evolved, the narrative structure that builds? absolutely hits, very good if you want to cry about the expansion draft

sure thing by bitter_leaf

summary: In the history of hockey, there’s no way something like Nate suggested has never happened before and Mikey feels out of control following that thought down the rabbit hole, how he’d be powerless to stop it if it did, and that’s if he’d even want to stop it. The terrifying thing is that even though he can’t see it happening—they’re both straight, this whole fucking thing is just a thought experiment, pretend—now that Nate’s painted the picture for him, he can’t stop thinking about it—whether he’d even notice the signs until it was too late.

__

Sick of their teammates chirping them, Mikey and Nate pretend to date.

why i love it: i’m SUCH a sucker for fake dating aus, and this one does it so well. It really leans into the messy and complicated feelings part of fake relationships that i don’t think gets explored enough, and it handles it so, so, so well.

you let him wonder but you never let him sink in his teeth by anonymous

summary: Mikey didn’t really pay attention much in biology— didn’t have to, not really— but he vaguely remembers something about doing heat by yourself in a pinch. There were lots of warnings about it.

“You can’t just be alone,” he says and Nate lets out something that sounds like laughing.

Mikey is just trying to be helpful, and Nate is just trying to get through it.

why i love it: i really love omegaverse fics that invert the usual takes on the tropes (and this is one of them!) and it just really is a great look at their dynamic. i really like this take on mikey and nate as a whole, as well

though far away, we’re still the same by rathands

summary: Mikey wishes he wasn’t in love with Nate, because everyone knows that juniors shit—it doesn’t work out. Like Dylan and Mitch.

why i love it: lots of fun bad communication between nate and mikey, and i think this one really handles the emotion of it all so well. absolutely peak idiots to lovers, and i really love that it gives us both of their point of views

so i don’t have to keep imagining by preciousthings

summary: “It was a mistake. That’s— I didn’t mean that, and that’s it.” Mikey says, but he can’t quite meet Nate’s eyes. “That’s where I’m at, I guess.”

“That’s what I thought. So, we’re on the same page.” Nate nods.

(or: lost gold medals, ill-advised snapchats, love confessions, meddling teammates, and a whole lot of miscommunication.)

why i love it: i just think the premise of this works so, so, so well for them-it’s another great idiots to lovers vibe for nate and mikey, and the whole concept of drunkenly telling your crush you love them via snapchap? yes, good, correct

there is a bridge over a river, and some days it is lovely by lotts

summary: “What are you doing here?” Mikey asks, trying and failing not to stare, but Nate’s staring right back, like he’s also not sure what’s going on.

“I figured I’d meet you here,” Nate says. “Put a familiar face on the Binghamton welcoming committee.”

Mikey looks around. “There’s no one else here.”

“Well, it was either a familiar face or no face,” Nate says with an uncertain smile, like he’s not quite sure he’s allowed to make a joke.

why i love it: perhaps i love it because i like to hurt my own feelings, but this is really just a well done fic that really just hits. it’s honest and emotional and you can feel the weight of that throughout it, but it does have a pretty light hearted ending that is good and hopeful. bonus points for being one of my favorite break up make up fics ever and currently my most read fic of 2021

a catch in the curse by aliquis

summary: Mikey McLeod is gifted — or cursed — with the power of psychic persuasion. With the ability to bend people’s ears to his will, Mikey is well aware of how dangerous a power he wields, and the responsibility he bears to not abuse it.

Though he rarely uses his gifts, new developments in his friendship with Nate Bastian may threaten his control. Mikey would do anything to protect his best friend, including finding a way to get rid of his powers for good. Luckily, Newark’s own witch in the woods may be able to help.

why i love it: magic au!!!! i cannot stress how fantastic the world building is in this series (you don’t have to read the tknp fic that’s first to follow what’s happening, but it is worth the read) and mikey’s feelings towards nate and his own struggle is just!!!! honestly i’m just a series of exclamation points about it all

Invisible string by philatoi

summary: Mikey has known he’s liked guys since the first time Nathan Bastian smiled at him. That’s the thing, almost everything about Mikey’s sexuality has involved Nate — which isn’t necessarily bad. In Mikey’s humble opinion, Nate is the perfect person to fall in love with. Highly recommended. Mikey doesn’t regret putting all his eggs in that basket for the last six years.

why i love it: the pining in this, the emotions of it all-just absolutely top notch all the way around, and really just what i wanted out of a superbuddies fic. it really just feels so right for nate and mikey, and i just love it

you are a diamond and i’m just coal by hannah_baker

summary: When Mikey learns his roommate Nate isn't going home for Christmas, he drags Nate back home with him for break.

Or, the one where Mikey thinks all of his feelings for his roommate are platonic, and everyone laughs at him for it.

why i love it: me picking between this and hannah_baker’s other christmas centric superbuddies fic was like picking a favorite child. this is one of my all time favorite takes on mikey in any fic, and i always love a good college roommates au. just such a wonderful fic

turn the lights off, i’m in love by awoogah123

summary: “I can’t go to sleep yet,” Mikey murmured against Nate’s mouth, “I’m not tired.”

Nate knew this couldn’t be true, his and Mikey’s season had just finished and they were both exhausted. Still, Nate knew what Mikey meant when he said he couldn’t go to sleep yet, that he was too wired up, because he felt exactly the same way.

“I think I’ve got a way to make you more relaxed,” Nate said, mouth curving into a smirk as he brushed a hand over Mikey’s cheek. Mikey’s mouth smiled against his own.

***

Nate and Mikey are there for each other when the Devils don't make the playoffs.

why i love it: do you ever just need some soft comfort to cope? yeah me too! this fic is that and i was very 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 about it when i read it

[tulakhord]

How about ... Vintage hockey fics.. like from the era of fedorov etc perchance?

hi anon! i do have some of those, not very many though. 

fandom history time: back in 2001, which was a little before my time in fanfic land (i posted my first fic in 2004 lol), fanfiction.net banned all rpf, so a lot of things were lost across rpf fandoms in general. after that, rpf fandom moved to livejournal, private forums, and mailing lists, none of which were very conducive to long-term archiving. most of this fic never made it to ao3... god knows i never bothered to import my lj-era work lol. and then after the whole k*ne thing went down, a lot of what was on ao3 got deleted anyway. so, rpf that was written before ao3 went live in late 2009 is extremely hard to track down, and few people are writing throwback pairings for obvious reasons.

anyway, (ao3) recs under the cut:

his name, a refrain by penaltyboxed (yzerman/fedorov, arranged marriage, 13k, ~1990)

since my goodbye to you by rathands (yzerman/fedorov, 14k, post-retirement)

future imperfect by hkafterdark (kariya/selanne, 5k, ~1995)

no-look drop pass by soniavice (kariya/selanne, 4k, post-retirement)

winter closing in by opheliarising (lindros/leclair, injury recovery, 4k, ~1999)

[redjacketficrecs]

lightning before the thunder

rathands

Summary: Steven accepted long ago that there’s something a little weird about Victor. Something about the way it storms whenever he’s in a bad mood, about the way the room feels charged with electricity when he walks in. Something about the way the scent of rain follows him everywhere, the smell of a summer storm. Even the way he’s a little obsessive about Thursdays, which is kind of cute.

Victor is a little weird, maybe in ways that aren’t completely human.

Recommendation: This is super well written and a really interesting concept and I liked it even though I'm really not a Lightning fan. Steven Stamkos has always loved thunderstorms. Victor Hedman may be something more than human. Loved the depth this gave Stamkos and how fun Hedman is in this but also I just really like the idea and the world of this fic. Also, it's been thunderstorming for like three days here and will be for three more so it felt appropriate. Just under 7K.

[grittyreadsfic]

hello my friends, I am back with may stats, and i am rushing to get this posted before my plans for this afternoon, so sorry if i'm a lil brief. almost no tknp this month (rec list for them coming this week, however) but a whole bunch of devils fic. i've been clearing out my marked for later, so all of the long fics for other fandoms finally got read and i'm obsessed with them all.

three must reads from this month:

-your eyes close with my dreams by ilikemybooksthick is a very fun take on a soulmate au for sebastian aho/teuvo teravainen. i like the world building around soulmates and the growth and development felt so well earned despite the fact the fic is on the shorter side, which is so hard to do

-always borrowed, always you by rathands is a magical realism william karlsson/alexander wennberg fic that is such a great exploration of the trope. lots of pining, lots of misunderstandings, and a resolution that just warmed my heart (pun very much intended)

-fortress by trueneutral is a historical jack hughes/ty smith au that has just some truly wonderful prose. the whole thing is incredibly heartbreaking (mind the tags) but i love the way both jack and ty are written

[grittyreadsfic]

not to be in my feelings about taylor hall in the year 2022 but this hallsy/rico fic by rathands....i don't have the words to describe the emotions i experienced with this

[grittyreadsfic]

some recent reads youve enjoyed?

okay i'm gonna be real with you i've been ignoring hockey fic lately (i've been working through my marked for later/rereading this one check please series) so approximately a quarter of my reading so far this month (by word count) has been hockey

but!

i do have some!

obviously my last ask got a bunch of recents but

always borrowed always you by rathands is a super fun magical realism au (uhhh pairing is william karlsson/alexander wennberg) that's super fun

i've reread a bunch of lotts fics and have been working through the flyers rec exchange as previously mentioned/linked

cover to cover and unbound by lighthousetowers will get it's own rec soon but i'm literally obsessed with it

a little drop for me by dizzzylu is an uhhhhh spicy vamp taylor/nico fic that was super fun

this mcstrome fic by hannah_baker is a top tier fic fo me and will probably end up with a proper rec

i feel like i recced this polyam avs fic by bluejays141519 on here but i don't remember but it is rly fun