logic is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell bad
So in the last six weeks, Star Trek has moved up to become the second most popular fandom in my delicious tags, edging past Torchwood and FNL, blowing past everything else, and trailing only behind SPN, which, let's be honest, I doubt any fandom will ever catch.
In honor of this, have some more recs! Gen, unless otherwise indicated.
Discovered Check by waketosleep@DW. Chess fic, in which Spock discovers that Kirk has not been entirely honest with him. I ♥ smart!Kirk. Especially the way he's only smart when he wants to be, but most of the time he has better things to do. And I really enjoy Spock's consternation when he starts to figure Kirk out.
I'm Just a Jealous Guy by londondrowning. Kirk/McCoy. Jim Kirk is the defining friendship of Leonard McCoy's life. Apparently it's too much to ask for him to be likewise. Another popular fic that truly deserves to be popular. The thing I love about this ship is that it doesn't matter whether they're having sex or not, the dynamic is the same. They're totally epic BFFs, despite their numerous personal flaws and emotional problems. ♥
People Who Repair Quantums, or Five Planets The Enterprise Never Visited by ignipes. A set of crossovers that are funny and awesome and end with one hell of a sucker punch. I don't want to give anything away, but I love the way that Kirk is a total audience surrogate here - this is totally the way we'd react if confronted with these fictional worlds.
Joanna by ethrosdemon. Kirk and McCoy have an alien space baby! I love this take on daddy!Kirk, although really James T. Kirk is probably the last person you would ever want to trust with a child.
The One with the Romulan Ale by dancinbutterfly. Kirk/McCoy. A classic Vegas story, updated for the 23rd century and James T. Kirk. This is really hot, but the best part is the characterization - so good that I am left wanting to draw ridiculous sparkly hearts around both of them. I also love, in a really geeky way, the way the author incorporates speculation about how social mores will have changed in 200 years, because isn't that what Trek is all about?
Break by yahtzee63. ( Part 2 and Part 3) Spock/Uhura. If you have any interest whatsoever in Spock/Uhura and you haven't read this fic yet, I have no idea what you're doing with yourself. A wonderfully nuanced, exquisitely detailed view of the evolution of their relationship. With bonus Amanda, which I consider an asset to any fic.
Two Sides by circadienne@DW. Two lives Nyota Uhura leads. I love the way this fic acknowledges that Uhura is a strong, capable woman, whatever universe she's in. ♥
At a Window by magstopia. Spock/Uhura, in the aftermath. I love Uhura here, so exhausted but not numb with it, still trying to reach out and do what she came to do. Apparently I am a total sucker for good Uhura characterization.
The Cheat by mrstater. Spock/Uhura. Spock discovers he was wrong - you can cheat death. This is a Spock who is having his worldview rocked by the realization that there are emotional truths, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Past Sorrows, Present Joy, Future Bliss and Out of Time by kagedtiger. Kirk/Spock. Accidental bonding, pon farr. I've come to the unfortunate realization that I can't read this pairing without wanting to cover my eyes. Emotional intimacy, I'm all over, but the second it gets the least bit sexual I'm like 'AHHH! MY EYES! PAGE DOWN, PAGE DOWN!' It's kind of like trying to imagine your parents having sex. Needless to say, this makes reading fic problematic. However, it also means that when I say that I ♥ the Kirk/Spock here, you can be assured that I really really ♥ the Kirk/Spock here.
Skinned Knees and Second Chances by taraljc. Pike/Number One. I love Pike here, and Number One, and the way that they're friends in an almost tangible way. And I love the way that the author uses their eyes to consider what's different in the universe and where things might go from here. See also Mission Accomplished and Context for more of their awesome.
Common Bond by florahart. Sarek/Winona Kirk. I really like this view of Winona Kirk, who knows that Jimmy's stubbornness and tendency to raise hell didn't come from his father (or his charm, at least, not all of it). I also really like the perspective here of what it must be like to be Sarek or Winona Kirk while Kirk and Spock are out rampaging across the galaxy and nearly getting killed every other minute. Although apparently I'm too OTP about Sarek/Amanda to really enjoy reading him with someone else. Even though he has another wife in canon. I embrace my crazy, I really do. (There is also bonus!Gaila, which is always a plus).
I Love You Like I Love Pizza by igrockspock. Gaila loves Jim Kirk like she loves pizza: more than everything else but not to the exclusion of everything else. Another fic that is sort of classically Trek in that it asks us to consider a cultural understanding of love that is fundamentally different from our own - and challenges us to consider whether it is any less valid because it is alien. Also, Gaila, who is awesome :D
Untitled by sloth@DW. Tarsus IV fic. Ouch ouch ouch, but in a good way. A really excellent integration of TOS canon with reboot!Kirk. There are some sequel-ish pieces at the kink meme here.
You'll Get There In the End (It Just Takes Awhile) by seperis. Kirk/Spock. This is a fic about Kirk and Spock and their awesome. Also, the not-quite-Cold-War with the Romulans, what's really going on with the Kobayashi Maru, the aftereffects of the meld with Spock Prime and heaps of other stuff besides. If you are one of the few people who has not read this fic, get on that. It is a seriously awesome fic. SO awesome, that I was able to read the sex parts without paging down EVEN ONCE. \o/ This is like a personal best for me with Kirk/Spock fic! It is THAT good.
PTSD As a Way of Life by ethrosdemon. The adventures of the Enterprise's ship psychologist. A really awesome outsider!POV of the Enterprise crew we know and love, from an awesome original character. I should just give up and rec everything ethrosdemon has written in this fandom - it's all that good.
Lunch and Other Obscenities by rheanna27. Gaila and Uhura bond despite (and because of) their cultural differences. Uhura and Spock eat lunch. Which is not a euphemism for anything, except maybe it is. Aside from the awesomeness of the characterization of both Uhura and Gaila here, this is another fic that deals with what it means to interact with a culture that is literally alien. Oh Trek. You suck me in with your awesome characters and all the crackfic cliches that you invented and then you hold me with your actually profound philosophizing. How am I supposed to quit you?
Seven Moments by barrowjane. Sandman crossover wherein the crew of the Enterprise meet the Endless. It is my considered opinion that Sandman is the ultimate little black dress fandom - there is no fandom that it does not look awesome crossed with. The sections with Destiny and Delirium are my favorite.
I Know I'll Often Stop and Think About Them by hawkmoth. Jim Kirk changes. I will never grow tired of 'Kirk grows into being Captain of the Enterprise' fics. I loved the details of this fic - shuttles in the missing man formation at the memorial service, the unspoken toast to the fallen, the lasers off the ice of Delta Vega like fireworks - but I also love the acknowledgement that what Kirk carries is not just the burden of those lost, but also the burden of the entire universe that never was. Really well done.
The People He Sees (WIP) by estelwolfe. This is technically a WIP, but each of the completed sections stands alone: Puri, Scotty, Spock, Chekov, Sulu and Uhura. Basically, it's a set of stories about McCoy being a doctor on the Enterprise. It's a great look at McCoy, his patients, the growing unity of the Enterprise crew, and the progress of their five year mission, with bonus glimpses of Federation politics and meditations on the nature of leadership. I get excited every time I see a new piece pop up.
I think that's going to have to be enough for the moment, since we're now two hours into the month of July and I should really go to bed. How did it get to be July already?
In honor of this, have some more recs! Gen, unless otherwise indicated.
Discovered Check by waketosleep@DW. Chess fic, in which Spock discovers that Kirk has not been entirely honest with him. I ♥ smart!Kirk. Especially the way he's only smart when he wants to be, but most of the time he has better things to do. And I really enjoy Spock's consternation when he starts to figure Kirk out.
I'm Just a Jealous Guy by londondrowning. Kirk/McCoy. Jim Kirk is the defining friendship of Leonard McCoy's life. Apparently it's too much to ask for him to be likewise. Another popular fic that truly deserves to be popular. The thing I love about this ship is that it doesn't matter whether they're having sex or not, the dynamic is the same. They're totally epic BFFs, despite their numerous personal flaws and emotional problems. ♥
People Who Repair Quantums, or Five Planets The Enterprise Never Visited by ignipes. A set of crossovers that are funny and awesome and end with one hell of a sucker punch. I don't want to give anything away, but I love the way that Kirk is a total audience surrogate here - this is totally the way we'd react if confronted with these fictional worlds.
Joanna by ethrosdemon. Kirk and McCoy have an alien space baby! I love this take on daddy!Kirk, although really James T. Kirk is probably the last person you would ever want to trust with a child.
The One with the Romulan Ale by dancinbutterfly. Kirk/McCoy. A classic Vegas story, updated for the 23rd century and James T. Kirk. This is really hot, but the best part is the characterization - so good that I am left wanting to draw ridiculous sparkly hearts around both of them. I also love, in a really geeky way, the way the author incorporates speculation about how social mores will have changed in 200 years, because isn't that what Trek is all about?
Break by yahtzee63. ( Part 2 and Part 3) Spock/Uhura. If you have any interest whatsoever in Spock/Uhura and you haven't read this fic yet, I have no idea what you're doing with yourself. A wonderfully nuanced, exquisitely detailed view of the evolution of their relationship. With bonus Amanda, which I consider an asset to any fic.
Two Sides by circadienne@DW. Two lives Nyota Uhura leads. I love the way this fic acknowledges that Uhura is a strong, capable woman, whatever universe she's in. ♥
At a Window by magstopia. Spock/Uhura, in the aftermath. I love Uhura here, so exhausted but not numb with it, still trying to reach out and do what she came to do. Apparently I am a total sucker for good Uhura characterization.
The Cheat by mrstater. Spock/Uhura. Spock discovers he was wrong - you can cheat death. This is a Spock who is having his worldview rocked by the realization that there are emotional truths, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Past Sorrows, Present Joy, Future Bliss and Out of Time by kagedtiger. Kirk/Spock. Accidental bonding, pon farr. I've come to the unfortunate realization that I can't read this pairing without wanting to cover my eyes. Emotional intimacy, I'm all over, but the second it gets the least bit sexual I'm like 'AHHH! MY EYES! PAGE DOWN, PAGE DOWN!' It's kind of like trying to imagine your parents having sex. Needless to say, this makes reading fic problematic. However, it also means that when I say that I ♥ the Kirk/Spock here, you can be assured that I really really ♥ the Kirk/Spock here.
Skinned Knees and Second Chances by taraljc. Pike/Number One. I love Pike here, and Number One, and the way that they're friends in an almost tangible way. And I love the way that the author uses their eyes to consider what's different in the universe and where things might go from here. See also Mission Accomplished and Context for more of their awesome.
Common Bond by florahart. Sarek/Winona Kirk. I really like this view of Winona Kirk, who knows that Jimmy's stubbornness and tendency to raise hell didn't come from his father (or his charm, at least, not all of it). I also really like the perspective here of what it must be like to be Sarek or Winona Kirk while Kirk and Spock are out rampaging across the galaxy and nearly getting killed every other minute. Although apparently I'm too OTP about Sarek/Amanda to really enjoy reading him with someone else. Even though he has another wife in canon. I embrace my crazy, I really do. (There is also bonus!Gaila, which is always a plus).
I Love You Like I Love Pizza by igrockspock. Gaila loves Jim Kirk like she loves pizza: more than everything else but not to the exclusion of everything else. Another fic that is sort of classically Trek in that it asks us to consider a cultural understanding of love that is fundamentally different from our own - and challenges us to consider whether it is any less valid because it is alien. Also, Gaila, who is awesome :D
Untitled by sloth@DW. Tarsus IV fic. Ouch ouch ouch, but in a good way. A really excellent integration of TOS canon with reboot!Kirk. There are some sequel-ish pieces at the kink meme here.
You'll Get There In the End (It Just Takes Awhile) by seperis. Kirk/Spock. This is a fic about Kirk and Spock and their awesome. Also, the not-quite-Cold-War with the Romulans, what's really going on with the Kobayashi Maru, the aftereffects of the meld with Spock Prime and heaps of other stuff besides. If you are one of the few people who has not read this fic, get on that. It is a seriously awesome fic. SO awesome, that I was able to read the sex parts without paging down EVEN ONCE. \o/ This is like a personal best for me with Kirk/Spock fic! It is THAT good.
PTSD As a Way of Life by ethrosdemon. The adventures of the Enterprise's ship psychologist. A really awesome outsider!POV of the Enterprise crew we know and love, from an awesome original character. I should just give up and rec everything ethrosdemon has written in this fandom - it's all that good.
Lunch and Other Obscenities by rheanna27. Gaila and Uhura bond despite (and because of) their cultural differences. Uhura and Spock eat lunch. Which is not a euphemism for anything, except maybe it is. Aside from the awesomeness of the characterization of both Uhura and Gaila here, this is another fic that deals with what it means to interact with a culture that is literally alien. Oh Trek. You suck me in with your awesome characters and all the crackfic cliches that you invented and then you hold me with your actually profound philosophizing. How am I supposed to quit you?
Seven Moments by barrowjane. Sandman crossover wherein the crew of the Enterprise meet the Endless. It is my considered opinion that Sandman is the ultimate little black dress fandom - there is no fandom that it does not look awesome crossed with. The sections with Destiny and Delirium are my favorite.
I Know I'll Often Stop and Think About Them by hawkmoth. Jim Kirk changes. I will never grow tired of 'Kirk grows into being Captain of the Enterprise' fics. I loved the details of this fic - shuttles in the missing man formation at the memorial service, the unspoken toast to the fallen, the lasers off the ice of Delta Vega like fireworks - but I also love the acknowledgement that what Kirk carries is not just the burden of those lost, but also the burden of the entire universe that never was. Really well done.
The People He Sees (WIP) by estelwolfe. This is technically a WIP, but each of the completed sections stands alone: Puri, Scotty, Spock, Chekov, Sulu and Uhura. Basically, it's a set of stories about McCoy being a doctor on the Enterprise. It's a great look at McCoy, his patients, the growing unity of the Enterprise crew, and the progress of their five year mission, with bonus glimpses of Federation politics and meditations on the nature of leadership. I get excited every time I see a new piece pop up.
I think that's going to have to be enough for the moment, since we're now two hours into the month of July and I should really go to bed. How did it get to be July already?