the space husbands space opera: an ongoing rec list
I recently applied for the position of filthy enabler in Stef's life without her acknowledgement so this post is supposed to serve as an awakening of the 'hello I am actively trying to ruin your life, but subtly' kind.
Exhibit A: The Kirk/Spock Fic Rec List (aka the fics you see when you sort the K/S tag on AO3 by kudos)
leave no soul behind by whochick (258951 words, non-starfleet au, mature)
If you're Starfleet, you spend your whole life wishing you never see an EPAS uniform right up until the moment they become your only hope. Whether you're dying a slow, cold death in space, or a long painful one on some godforsaken planet, they're going to come for you. So count your last breaths, son, and hold on tight. They leave no soul behind.
This fic physically hurts my soul. Granted, I also say that when I see Chris Pine, but it's still true. It hurts my soul in the best possible way. I feel that inexplicable sense of loss and ache while I'm still reading and it left me in this mess of feelings by the end. It has the perfect amount of everything: a well-woven plot with great action scenes, absolutely brilliant characterization, excellent dialogue, and the slowest most satisfying build up ever. The pacing might be slow for some at first, but you will soon realize that it's actually really perfect. You get to see the development of Kirk and Spock's relationship from beginning to end; from co-workers to friends to something neither can live without. I was overcome by such a violent wave of emotion at some point that I shut down and had to take a break from it. That happened during my second, slower read through. I can't recommend this enough. This is epic space opera at its best. Go forth and receive enlightenment.
I wish I can be more articulate about how much I love this and why it's so brilliant, but I'm afraid that's all I've got. Personally, I think this is perfect. To have read this is to be blessed. Whatever, I can totally say that. I have been truly blessed to have been able to read this. My general reaction towards this fic:
THE REBOOT SERIES by seperis [masterpost]
you'll get there in the end (it just takes a while) (33463 words, pon-farr aos canon, explicit)
"Spock. Just say 'I don't trust Starfleet not to mess up the only captain in the fleet who I can train up to my expectations and enjoys running into danger wearing a blindfold as much as I do'."
war games (109105 words, same as above, explicit)
Sequel to You'll Get There in the End (It Just Takes a While). The Federation and the Romulan Empire have been on the verge of war for what sometimes feels like forever; this is the place where what passes for peace might end.
Seperis has nonlinear narrative down to an art. This series and LNSB has helped define so many of my K/S headcanons and the relationship between them in this was depicted in a such a flawless and believable way that it works perfectly as a follow up to the 2009 movie. This has everything 'Leave No Soul Behind' had, including unrequited love, which is like my favourite thing in the whole world. I know I didn't touch upon this when I was gushing over LNSB, but both series features excellent original characters. In this series you don't see these characters until the sequel but they play important roles in the plot and it's refreshing to see new additions to the Kirk and Spock show that also happens to help define Kirk's characterization in particular. This fic should come with a warning for intense action scenes, in which Kirk is brilliant and gets hurt a lot. I like it when Kirk gets hurt. I like it way too much. Actually, now that I think about it, Kirk gets hurt a lot in every single one of these fics (series, whatever). I'm sure this says something about me. IT'S GOOD, PLEASE READ IT AND FEEL STRONG EMOTIONS AND CRY.
You also get space pirate!Jim, which can be an argument by itself, tbh:
art by girlnamedpixley
ILLOGICAL (√π233/hy7) SERIES by waldorph (148214 words, au set in canon verse, various ratings)
If Kirk was a maths genius, and never took Pike up on the dare to do better, but still managed to get to Starfleet? This is what that would look like.
This series is brilliant to me because it features narratives from everyone and we get to be a part of their lives too, not just Kirk and Spock's. I admit when I first started reading K/S I wasn't interested enough in the other characters's narrative to be able to appreciate them, but that changed after I've read my fair share of fic and it was definitely the right thing to do. It's such a complete story that when it's time to say goodbye, it's hard to do so without feeling lost. The general reaction I had for this series is hurt and pain, which means it's awesome and totally well-written.
Surprisingly, my favourites for this series (of 23 fics) are not K/S centric. Eye of a Hurricane, part 11 of 23, holds a special place in my heart because it's told from Uhura's point of view and we get to see how Scotty and Uhura get together. Then there's The Wanting and the Having, part 12 of 23, featuring T'Pring. Fuck, this hurt. It hurt so much because we grew up with her and we're right there at the end of her world. It's brilliant and absolutely heartbreaking. It's also my favourite headcanon and characterization of T'Pring. Be a Monster, part 22 of 23, is the Tarsus VI backstory and it's so great, you guys. Just go, go forth and be blessed.
(A note: I skipped parts 18, 19, and 20 of this series so I can't vouch for them.)
strive seek find yield by waldorph (68199 words, royalty au with starfleet, explicit)
Spock is heir to the Federation throne, Jim is Prince of America because his fucking brother abdicated, and the Klingons are on the verge of blowing shit up--a love story.
I made the mistake of browsing through the other fics while I relive their brilliance so by now I'm emotionally exhausted so I'll keep this brief (that doesn't mean it's any less awesome): I think it's pretty obvious by now that I love AOS!Jim Kirk, especially the fanon representation of him for the first movie. This fic has everything I love; hilarity, Kirk getting hurt like, all the time, which significantly improves my enjoyment of the fic, Spock being royalty and the fact that technically, he can kill you, hilarious dialogue, and my space husbands being super awesome and stupidly, madly in love. The characterization for Spock is slightly different in this, but not in a bad way.
All in all, yet another excellent read. ONCE AGAIN I FEEL THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WHILE THE OTHER FICS MADE ME CRY, A LOT, THIS FIC MADE ME LAUGH. A LOT. One scene in particular in this is my favourite K/S scenes ever. (Spoiler: Kirk gets hurt. Terribly. And when he wakes up he calls Spock baby. It's my favourite because Kirk gets hurt and they both have realizations following it, but the pet name is totally a bonus.)
so wise we grow by deastar (81248 words, aos canon, mature)
"Commander Spock, we have located your son," the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock's face that he's never heard of this kid before in his life. "If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week."
Once you've read a decent amount of fics in this fandom, you start to realize that not everyone captures Spock's speech pattern well. Deastar does, though, and it really shows in the dialogue. It's brilliant. In this Spock deals with jealousy in a totally rude way, which after I've stopped wincing at it, is pretty damn funny. Jim is human and awesome and has a crush on Spock, and it's so great. I'd categorize this as a feel good fic but it makes you feel so much more than that. IT'S REALLY, REALLY GOOD. KIRK AND SPOCK TOTALLY HAS A KID BEFORE THEY BECOME HUSBANDS. Whatever. They don't need to play by the rules anyway.
Exhibit B: The Pine/Quinto Rec List (or it would have been if I wasn't so tired)(to be cont.)
Meanwhile, have this picture:
Exhibit A: The Kirk/Spock Fic Rec List (aka the fics you see when you sort the K/S tag on AO3 by kudos)
leave no soul behind by whochick (258951 words, non-starfleet au, mature)
If you're Starfleet, you spend your whole life wishing you never see an EPAS uniform right up until the moment they become your only hope. Whether you're dying a slow, cold death in space, or a long painful one on some godforsaken planet, they're going to come for you. So count your last breaths, son, and hold on tight. They leave no soul behind.
This fic physically hurts my soul. Granted, I also say that when I see Chris Pine, but it's still true. It hurts my soul in the best possible way. I feel that inexplicable sense of loss and ache while I'm still reading and it left me in this mess of feelings by the end. It has the perfect amount of everything: a well-woven plot with great action scenes, absolutely brilliant characterization, excellent dialogue, and the slowest most satisfying build up ever. The pacing might be slow for some at first, but you will soon realize that it's actually really perfect. You get to see the development of Kirk and Spock's relationship from beginning to end; from co-workers to friends to something neither can live without. I was overcome by such a violent wave of emotion at some point that I shut down and had to take a break from it. That happened during my second, slower read through. I can't recommend this enough. This is epic space opera at its best. Go forth and receive enlightenment.
I wish I can be more articulate about how much I love this and why it's so brilliant, but I'm afraid that's all I've got. Personally, I think this is perfect. To have read this is to be blessed. Whatever, I can totally say that. I have been truly blessed to have been able to read this. My general reaction towards this fic:
THE REBOOT SERIES by seperis [masterpost]
you'll get there in the end (it just takes a while) (33463 words, pon-farr aos canon, explicit)
"Spock. Just say 'I don't trust Starfleet not to mess up the only captain in the fleet who I can train up to my expectations and enjoys running into danger wearing a blindfold as much as I do'."
war games (109105 words, same as above, explicit)
Sequel to You'll Get There in the End (It Just Takes a While). The Federation and the Romulan Empire have been on the verge of war for what sometimes feels like forever; this is the place where what passes for peace might end.
Seperis has nonlinear narrative down to an art. This series and LNSB has helped define so many of my K/S headcanons and the relationship between them in this was depicted in a such a flawless and believable way that it works perfectly as a follow up to the 2009 movie. This has everything 'Leave No Soul Behind' had, including unrequited love, which is like my favourite thing in the whole world. I know I didn't touch upon this when I was gushing over LNSB, but both series features excellent original characters. In this series you don't see these characters until the sequel but they play important roles in the plot and it's refreshing to see new additions to the Kirk and Spock show that also happens to help define Kirk's characterization in particular. This fic should come with a warning for intense action scenes, in which Kirk is brilliant and gets hurt a lot. I like it when Kirk gets hurt. I like it way too much. Actually, now that I think about it, Kirk gets hurt a lot in every single one of these fics (series, whatever). I'm sure this says something about me. IT'S GOOD, PLEASE READ IT AND FEEL STRONG EMOTIONS AND CRY.
You also get space pirate!Jim, which can be an argument by itself, tbh:
art by girlnamedpixley
ILLOGICAL (√π233/hy7) SERIES by waldorph (148214 words, au set in canon verse, various ratings)
If Kirk was a maths genius, and never took Pike up on the dare to do better, but still managed to get to Starfleet? This is what that would look like.
This series is brilliant to me because it features narratives from everyone and we get to be a part of their lives too, not just Kirk and Spock's. I admit when I first started reading K/S I wasn't interested enough in the other characters's narrative to be able to appreciate them, but that changed after I've read my fair share of fic and it was definitely the right thing to do. It's such a complete story that when it's time to say goodbye, it's hard to do so without feeling lost. The general reaction I had for this series is hurt and pain, which means it's awesome and totally well-written.
Surprisingly, my favourites for this series (of 23 fics) are not K/S centric. Eye of a Hurricane, part 11 of 23, holds a special place in my heart because it's told from Uhura's point of view and we get to see how Scotty and Uhura get together. Then there's The Wanting and the Having, part 12 of 23, featuring T'Pring. Fuck, this hurt. It hurt so much because we grew up with her and we're right there at the end of her world. It's brilliant and absolutely heartbreaking. It's also my favourite headcanon and characterization of T'Pring. Be a Monster, part 22 of 23, is the Tarsus VI backstory and it's so great, you guys. Just go, go forth and be blessed.
(A note: I skipped parts 18, 19, and 20 of this series so I can't vouch for them.)
strive seek find yield by waldorph (68199 words, royalty au with starfleet, explicit)
Spock is heir to the Federation throne, Jim is Prince of America because his fucking brother abdicated, and the Klingons are on the verge of blowing shit up--a love story.
I made the mistake of browsing through the other fics while I relive their brilliance so by now I'm emotionally exhausted so I'll keep this brief (that doesn't mean it's any less awesome): I think it's pretty obvious by now that I love AOS!Jim Kirk, especially the fanon representation of him for the first movie. This fic has everything I love; hilarity, Kirk getting hurt like, all the time, which significantly improves my enjoyment of the fic, Spock being royalty and the fact that technically, he can kill you, hilarious dialogue, and my space husbands being super awesome and stupidly, madly in love. The characterization for Spock is slightly different in this, but not in a bad way.
All in all, yet another excellent read. ONCE AGAIN I FEEL THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WHILE THE OTHER FICS MADE ME CRY, A LOT, THIS FIC MADE ME LAUGH. A LOT. One scene in particular in this is my favourite K/S scenes ever. (Spoiler: Kirk gets hurt. Terribly. And when he wakes up he calls Spock baby. It's my favourite because Kirk gets hurt and they both have realizations following it, but the pet name is totally a bonus.)
so wise we grow by deastar (81248 words, aos canon, mature)
"Commander Spock, we have located your son," the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock's face that he's never heard of this kid before in his life. "If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week."
Once you've read a decent amount of fics in this fandom, you start to realize that not everyone captures Spock's speech pattern well. Deastar does, though, and it really shows in the dialogue. It's brilliant. In this Spock deals with jealousy in a totally rude way, which after I've stopped wincing at it, is pretty damn funny. Jim is human and awesome and has a crush on Spock, and it's so great. I'd categorize this as a feel good fic but it makes you feel so much more than that. IT'S REALLY, REALLY GOOD. KIRK AND SPOCK TOTALLY HAS A KID BEFORE THEY BECOME HUSBANDS. Whatever. They don't need to play by the rules anyway.
Exhibit B: The Pine/Quinto Rec List (or it would have been if I wasn't so tired)(to be cont.)
Meanwhile, have this picture: