Monday, 19 December, 2011, Slash
Kirk/Spock
How We Are by alpha_hydra (Kirk/Spock, NC-17, 35,000 words)
Summary: Even when they hate each other, they're still sort of falling in love.
Notes: I liked the premise of this fic -- that Kirk and Spock are having major problems getting along in the early days of their first mission because they don't seem to speak the same language. At McCoy's suggestion, they decide to try counseling. The author writes the tension and misunderstandings between the two very well, as well as the vulnerabilities and insecurities that trigger them.
Kirk/McCoy
Nowhere With You by canis_takahari (Kirk/McCoy, NC-17, 7,100 words)
Summary: Jim’s annual Hannukah traditions include ice fishing with his brother Sam in Iowa, growing a beard, spending the holiday with his entire family at the farmhouse, and eating his weight in latkes. This year, he’s also bringing Bones to meet his mother for the first time. It’s a challenge to keep Bones from imploding in a ball of anxiety. Luckily, Jim is a fan of challenges.
Notes: This is a modern-day AU (a follow-up to Run (I'm a Natural Disaster), which you should also read) featuring Bones meeting Jim's mom, a yearly ice fishing tradition between Jim and Sam, and Bones getting beard burn in strange places. It's pretty much guaranteed to brighten your day.
where i lay my hat by romancandles (Kirk/McCoy, PG-13, 5,900 words)
Summary: If Bones wants to spend a ridiculous amount of his own salary keeping an empty apartment, then by all means.
Notes: This fic is about the apartment that Bones keeps in San Francisco for when he's on leave from the Enterprise, and about how he and Jim slowly make it a home. That description makes it sound sentimental, but it's wonderfully not so -- it's funny and real and just sweet enough.
Other
Make Me Believe by circ_bamboo (Pike/McCoy, NC-17, 23,000 words)
Summary: Pike, after the events of the Narada, must put himself back together before he can fall for McCoy.
Notes: This fic hits on a ton of things that I'm predisposed to like in fic -- Pike/McCoy, post-Narada Pike, imperfect sex, healing and H/C -- but then it partners all of that with some wonderfully understated writing that truly makes the story shine. It's an unsparing look at what Pike may have gone through after being captured by Nero, and I like how the author presents some really heavy emotions without melodrama. I also love the way she writes Pike's relationships with his friends and eventually McCoy (who is lovely in this).
April Is Over by jlh (Rand/Chapel, background Kirk/McCoy, NC-17, 28,000 words)
Summary: An AU set among American expats in 1920s Paris. In Janice Rand’s experience, lesbians don't fall in love, so she puts her passion into her paintings and finds physical comforts where she can. Christine Chapel, a recently divorced socialite and accomplished hostess, hopes to recapture the magic of her first love without its problems. When their best friends become a couple, bringing them much together, the two are forced to confront their assumptions about romance, which leads them to a conclusion neither had anticipated.
Notes: I don't read much femslash, but this author never disappoints (and I was also lured by the Kirk/McCoy, which may not be the main focus of the fic but is quite romantic and well characterized). I loved the way the author writes the friendships among the main core of characters. Janice and Christine are strong, sexy, well-rounded female characters that you can't help but root for. Also, don't miss the art and the mix that go along with this -- both are fantastic and add to the atmosphere of the fic.
Shining On The Quay by topaz119 (Pike/Kirk, NC-17, 23,000 words)
Summary: When Captain Christopher Pike left the bridge of the USS Enterprise over Vulcan, he went with the full knowledge that he was a dead man walking. The team he left in command had a different idea, one that they managed to pull off; and so, in the weeks and months after, Chris found himself putting his life back together. He was more than a little surprised to find Jim Kirk a part of it.
Notes: I liked this look at Pike in the aftermath of his capture by Nero. This author writes an amazing Jim Kirk, and I enjoyed the use of minor/original characters as well. And it's sexy as hell.
Winged Desires and Veiled Persuasions by imachar (Pike/Boyce/McCoy, NC-17, 13,000 words)
Summary: McCoy is feeling a little neglected at Spock and Uhura’s wedding reception, the Admirals make him feel much better. Almost unrelieved porn, seriously - a little conversation here and there - but pretty much just porn.
Notes: Yes, this story consists mostly of smut, but it's not only hot like burning but also mature and intimate and intelligent. I love how comfortable Pike and Boyce are in their relationship and in who they are -- this author excels at demonstrating how competence, life experience and a few gray hairs are just as sexy as flashy, youthful good looks. And I love how she reveals the little hints of vulnerability that the characters trust each other enough to show.
How We Are by alpha_hydra (Kirk/Spock, NC-17, 35,000 words)
Summary: Even when they hate each other, they're still sort of falling in love.
Notes: I liked the premise of this fic -- that Kirk and Spock are having major problems getting along in the early days of their first mission because they don't seem to speak the same language. At McCoy's suggestion, they decide to try counseling. The author writes the tension and misunderstandings between the two very well, as well as the vulnerabilities and insecurities that trigger them.
Kirk/McCoy
Nowhere With You by canis_takahari (Kirk/McCoy, NC-17, 7,100 words)
Summary: Jim’s annual Hannukah traditions include ice fishing with his brother Sam in Iowa, growing a beard, spending the holiday with his entire family at the farmhouse, and eating his weight in latkes. This year, he’s also bringing Bones to meet his mother for the first time. It’s a challenge to keep Bones from imploding in a ball of anxiety. Luckily, Jim is a fan of challenges.
Notes: This is a modern-day AU (a follow-up to Run (I'm a Natural Disaster), which you should also read) featuring Bones meeting Jim's mom, a yearly ice fishing tradition between Jim and Sam, and Bones getting beard burn in strange places. It's pretty much guaranteed to brighten your day.
where i lay my hat by romancandles (Kirk/McCoy, PG-13, 5,900 words)
Summary: If Bones wants to spend a ridiculous amount of his own salary keeping an empty apartment, then by all means.
Notes: This fic is about the apartment that Bones keeps in San Francisco for when he's on leave from the Enterprise, and about how he and Jim slowly make it a home. That description makes it sound sentimental, but it's wonderfully not so -- it's funny and real and just sweet enough.
Other
Make Me Believe by circ_bamboo (Pike/McCoy, NC-17, 23,000 words)
Summary: Pike, after the events of the Narada, must put himself back together before he can fall for McCoy.
Notes: This fic hits on a ton of things that I'm predisposed to like in fic -- Pike/McCoy, post-Narada Pike, imperfect sex, healing and H/C -- but then it partners all of that with some wonderfully understated writing that truly makes the story shine. It's an unsparing look at what Pike may have gone through after being captured by Nero, and I like how the author presents some really heavy emotions without melodrama. I also love the way she writes Pike's relationships with his friends and eventually McCoy (who is lovely in this).
April Is Over by jlh (Rand/Chapel, background Kirk/McCoy, NC-17, 28,000 words)
Summary: An AU set among American expats in 1920s Paris. In Janice Rand’s experience, lesbians don't fall in love, so she puts her passion into her paintings and finds physical comforts where she can. Christine Chapel, a recently divorced socialite and accomplished hostess, hopes to recapture the magic of her first love without its problems. When their best friends become a couple, bringing them much together, the two are forced to confront their assumptions about romance, which leads them to a conclusion neither had anticipated.
Notes: I don't read much femslash, but this author never disappoints (and I was also lured by the Kirk/McCoy, which may not be the main focus of the fic but is quite romantic and well characterized). I loved the way the author writes the friendships among the main core of characters. Janice and Christine are strong, sexy, well-rounded female characters that you can't help but root for. Also, don't miss the art and the mix that go along with this -- both are fantastic and add to the atmosphere of the fic.
Shining On The Quay by topaz119 (Pike/Kirk, NC-17, 23,000 words)
Summary: When Captain Christopher Pike left the bridge of the USS Enterprise over Vulcan, he went with the full knowledge that he was a dead man walking. The team he left in command had a different idea, one that they managed to pull off; and so, in the weeks and months after, Chris found himself putting his life back together. He was more than a little surprised to find Jim Kirk a part of it.
Notes: I liked this look at Pike in the aftermath of his capture by Nero. This author writes an amazing Jim Kirk, and I enjoyed the use of minor/original characters as well. And it's sexy as hell.
Winged Desires and Veiled Persuasions by imachar (Pike/Boyce/McCoy, NC-17, 13,000 words)
Summary: McCoy is feeling a little neglected at Spock and Uhura’s wedding reception, the Admirals make him feel much better. Almost unrelieved porn, seriously - a little conversation here and there - but pretty much just porn.
Notes: Yes, this story consists mostly of smut, but it's not only hot like burning but also mature and intimate and intelligent. I love how comfortable Pike and Boyce are in their relationship and in who they are -- this author excels at demonstrating how competence, life experience and a few gray hairs are just as sexy as flashy, youthful good looks. And I love how she reveals the little hints of vulnerability that the characters trust each other enough to show.