#I just have a stupidly high standard for Star Trek at this point

[spidypool]

Do any of you understand how disappointed I am in Star Trek Discovery. I LOVE this show. When I realized they where doing the mirror verse I was like okay never been a fan of it in any Star Trek but it’s usually only like one episode long. I can deal. Not only is it probably going to be the rest of this season they are fucking destroying the show.

First they killed Culber like really your going to join the kill the gays group REALLY Discovery??? When Gene Roddenberry was such an advocate for inclussion? His ideal universe, his ideal ship, would have men, women, different species, working together, side by side as a family. They would be interracial couples, inter-species couples, FUCKING GAY COUPLES. And you killed the Gay POC. Like Fucking seriously? I’m disappointed.

But hey the fun doesn’t stop there we all knew by the mid-season finally that Tyler was totally a Klingon (or suspected). That could have been an awesome plot. But nope they destroyed that too. Frankly I would have been much happier with what I originally thought they where going was a PTSD ridden, torture and rape MALE survivor. Shows rarely go there with men as rape victims. And with female perps. I was impressed. I would love to have seen him deal with the trauma, heal and overcome. Instead they went the lets hook him up with our main female character (who hey is a VIRGIN) and then have him be a Klingon so it destroys Michael’s trust and making it almost impossible for her to have a healthy relationship. She was dealing with enough shit as it was why did we have to throw a relationship into everything she had to deal with?

Do I even need to go into all the problems with Lorca? I mean I love the actor he’s amazing and a really fucking nice guy (I met him once besides the point but seriously great dude great actor).

And lets talk about all the problems with the mirror verse or what they added. Like really? Some of these things where not necessary. And frankly gross. Like Lorca and Michael. Do we really need another father figure turned into Daddy!Kink? Like older man sleeps with his young female prodigy? When really we all know that being this is Lorca in any universe we really was just seducing Michael to get her to turn against her mother (I know Phillipa is not actually her mother but she totally is). They could have been more creative then the repetitive old white guy sleeps with young hot girl. And the Kelpien scene. I’m still gagging. We didn’t need it. It didn’t add to the plot. The only added effect is that it shows how truly cruel this verse is and we already know that. Most people watch are Star Trek fans already so we know all about the Mirror Verse and how evil they are. They pretty much made it so it was like Michael eating a member of her family. Because her and Saru are family. The joys of cannibalism, So this scene was not needed, not wanted, and it turned my stomach. Sonequa Martin’s acting in that scene was breathtaking though I will give you that.

At this point I just want Michael, Saru, Tilly, and Stament to get on Discovery and fucking GO anywhere. Just leave all the rest of them behind. Cause I only care about them anymore.

Okay I’m done bitching and I’m honestly not going to watch it anymore until the Mirror Verse is over then I’ll probably bing through the episodes in one go and just get it over with.

[beaniegender]

Fandom Fic Rec Days - My Personal Favorites Fic Rec List!

In honor of #ficrecdays (happening Feb. 10th, 11th, and 12th), and my stupidly long ao3 bookmarks page which is a pain to go through, I want to make this list of the best of the the best of my favorite fics - the ones that make me gasp or laugh or cry and just generally ache at their beauty each time I read them. I hope you’ll read and enjoy them too! I encourage you to try something even outside a fandom you know well because all of these works are great fiction in their own right.

This list includes a total of 24 fics or series from nine fandoms: James Bond (3 works), The Martian (1 work), Marvel which is mostly Captain America (5 works/series), Soccer RPF which is all FC Barcelona RPF (4 works/series), Star Trek (2 works), Star Wars (1 work), Supernatural (2 works/series), True Blood (1 work), and The West Wing (5 works).

Some of these fics are already wildly popular, but in order to promote less popular fic a bit more, within a fandom works are sorted from least to most ao3 kudos. Read on and discover my absolute favorite fanfics!

James Bond

Search and Seizure by @kryptaria00q and @stephrc79 (16670 words, James Bond/Q/Alec Trevelyan) - After two assassination attempts on MI6 executives, the British Secret Service now requires self-defence training for all high level employees. Bond and Alec have taken it upon themselves to help keep their lover safe, no matter how much Q might hate them for it. Too bad they never seem to be able to stay on track. (a.k.a. frisking porn with plot)

basically trust porn along with being real porn. everyone’s POV gets shown off and it’s just so much fun watching these boys interact when they so obviously care for each other!

Treasons, Traitors, and Treachery by kryptaria and @zooeyscigar (63245 words, James Bond/Q) - All James Bond wanted was a quiet holiday on his luxury motoryacht on the Costa del Sol. Time to recuperate and think about his future with MI6. But his plans get hijacked when a traitor to the crown returns, bringing news of an even greater threat to MI6. And the traitor isn’t working alone. Thankfully, neither is James.

every single character in here is written flawlessly, and the OC is one of the BEST OCs to ever OC. There’s sass and hilarity, believably written government intrigue, and a very realistic level of depth in all the characters.

so you were never a saint. by @paperclipbitch (12319 words, gen) - “I think Bond’s trying to be your friend,” Eve tells him. “…well,” Q says slowly, “this is a new and disturbing development.”

the asexual!Q epic that defined a lot of my Q headcanons. also a lot of my MONEYPENNY IS AMAZING headcanons! it’s sort of an ensemble fic and sort of a character study and it just makes me like MI6 so much.

The Martian

You Know You Have a Permanent Piece of My Medium-Sized American Heart by tricatular [on tumblr but I’m not able to tag them, sorry!] (9151 words, gen) - “Hey Hermes!” The ambient suspicion level in the Rec ratcheted up significantly. Kapoor was disturbingly cheerful. “We’ve sent you some mission updates in the data dump, but Mitch and I wanted to personally let you know—” Mitch visibly rolled his eyes in the background. “—That thanks to some…strong suggestions from the White House, and on Annie and Director Sanders’ recommendation, we’ve started releasing Watney’s Mars logs to the public.”

deftly mixes standard narration, transcripts of recordings, and social media posts to show what Mark’s journal back to Earth would have been like both for him and for everyone who cared about his story (ie. the whole planet).

Marvel / Captain America

Walking Far From Home by TaleWorthTelling (6222 words, various Sam-centric pairings) - Sam’s relationship with birds starts early and inexplicably.

basically, Sam Wilson’s whole life. as the author’s note says, “Sam is the only person with his shit together, but he got there the hard way.” and then we’re treated to 6000 words of what that path was like, including stellar input from Sam’s OC family and the familiar MCU favorites. and Sam can talk to birds!

The Murder Ballads by BetteNoire (160839 words, 3 works, Steve/Bucky) - Something wicked is coming for Steve Rogers. Luckily for him, something even more wicked stands in its way: the unrepentant, unbroken Bucky Barnes. A murder-mystery/action thriller with violence, magic, and several big MCU guest stars.

like most CA fans I’ve read a stupid amount of post-winter soldier fic, so the first praise for this series is that it has a completely original take on that subject. and that take - the plot complexity, the multi-layered characterizations, the sequel - made me fall in love with Bucky all over again and permanently changed the way I think of him.

your blue-eyed boys by Feather (123233 words, 4 works, Steve/Bucky with sides of Pepper/Tony, Bruce/Betty, and Clint/Natasha) - Steve has no plan. Not because he hadn’t tried to make one. He’d tried to make lots of plans. Plan, adapt, plan again, tried to think of every contingency. And then he’d thrown them away, because there wasn’t much point. What could you plan for? He couldn’t guess the possible contingencies, the situations, the potentials. And he sure as sure hadn’t figured on what’s happened now, on coming back to his place and finding Bucky here. He hadn’t even hoped for that. He hadn’t realized he could. [post-Winter Soldier recovery fic]

if you’d like a slightly more typically-plotted approach to your post-WS fic than “The Murder Ballads” you absolutely can’t go wrong with “your blue-eyed boys”. it’s the most realistic version of Bucky’s recovery that I can imagine - heartbreaking and sickening and real. and the love between Steve and him and the team as a whole is obvious. DON’T MISS the associated verse, which is 450000 words (and growing) of shortfic in the same timeline, and which incidentally has the best OCs in the entire fandom.

Hollow Your Bones Like a Bird’s by @scifigrl47 (95514 words, Clint/Phil) - In the wake of the Chitauri invasion, Clint Barton wakes up in a world that he very nearly had a hand in destroying. And confronting a loss he might not be able to cope with. The Avengers always needed something to avenge, but once the crisis is past, what keeps them together?

I have yet to see a better representation of grief in fanfic, and that’s only maybe half of Clint’s problems in this fic. maybe you’ve noticed I like realism when fic deals with hard topics, and this shies away from nothing - and Clint will treat you to excellent analyses of his friends, as well as many bird facts, along the way!

Ain’t No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) by spitandvinegar [on tumblr but I’m not able to tag them, sorry!] (107076 words, Steve/Bucky) - It’s six in the morning, and Steve is heading out on a run when he nearly trips over a bouquet of sunflowers on the front steps of his brownstone. For a second paranoia takes over, and he kicks the flowers a little, waiting for them to explode. They don’t. They also came with a card, which he picks up. The front of the card has a tasteful picture of the Brooklyn bridge at sunset. It’s very nice and sedate, like the kind of card you would buy to give to your boss. On the inside someone has written a short message in big, shaky block letters. I AM SORRY FOR SHOOTING YOU. Steve sits down hard on the steps.

ok yet more wonderfully detailed post-ws Bucky trying to recover fic, except in this one Bucky is homeless and a drug addict and ADOPTS THE BEST OCS with the BEST POVS EVER, oh my GOD. also Steve is smart and kind, Sam is long-suffering (and smart and kind), and the whole thing is hilarious.

Soccer / FC Barcelona RPF

only the children (know what they’re looking for) by therestisdetail (7253 words, gen) - I drew a picture of him, later, but I shall not show it to you for it is a sad demonstration of what will happen if you stop drawing when you are six, and certainly much less charming than its model. He wore a shirt that was too large and had soft dark eyes hiding beneath dark, indecisive hair; it did not seem to know if it was short or long, or what shape it wanted to be. He was very pale, very slight, had no shoes, and held a battered football beneath one arm with an air of pride. (Le Petit Prince redone feat. FC Barcelona)

a young Andrés Iniesta meets an even younger Leo Messi, and they quite simply tear my heart in two. no knowledge of The Little Prince required, but the fic is just as understatedly beautiful as the original.

Like a Hand Grenade by @meretricula (20430 words, 2 works, Cesc/Messi) - Cesc Fabregas is born a girl. She still loves football.

full disclosure, I do not care about Cesc Fabregas. I didn’t care about Cesc Fabregas even before his career got, frankly, weird and dispiriting. but BY GOD these works make me care about genderbent!Cesc and everything she could have been. the sequel is particularly nice for some cameos from other well-loved players!

Go Gentle by @ferritin4​ (20977 words, eventually Xaviesta) - Things change, but only some things. In which Barça is indeed més que un club, no one stays on top forever, and it all comes back to Andrés in the end.

hands down my favorite football rpf. uses the A/B/O trope and the idea of pack dynamics to tell the story of the last decade of Barcelona football, which makes a hell of a lot of sense, and although Andrés is quietly the star, the different POVs let a lot of people shine.

It’s Going to Take a Lot to Drag Me Away from You by meretricula (31296 words, 10 works, Xaviesta, Fabregas/Messi/Pique, and Messilla) -  Everybody knows Barcelona’s midfielders are psychic anyway. (Soulbonding AU)

try to tell me that a soulbonding AU isn’t the most logical thing in the world for Xavi and Iniesta, just try to tell me that! there’s also a good look at how the politics of this system could get messy quick, which, let’s be real, just makes sense for barça-centric fic.

Star Trek

How Many Roads? or, 27 Times Jim Kirk hit on Nyota Uhura by Deastar (8806 words, Uhura/Spock) - After the bar fight, Nyota thinks to herself that if this is what being hit on by Jim Kirk leads to, she’s very glad she’s never going to have to see him again.

Uhura and Kirk’s relationship goes from the dumpster fire it was in Iowa to the professional respect we get throughout the movies, but we never really see how it happens. this fic shows all of that and much more, and oh my god, I just like these characters so much.

Counteractive Measures by rikke_leonhart (9159 words, loosely Kirk/Spock) - The thing is – giving Jim Kirk a dare will never ever work. “Enlist,” she repeats to herself as Pike’s back disappears out the door. She snorts. It’s one of those things that just keep getting funnier.

Jim Kirk’s whole life - if Jim Kirk were a girl, and slightly less cliche about her motivations and psychology. and if Spock and especially McCoy were just as awesome as ever, because of course they are!

Star Wars

The Last Poem of Jedha by @schweinsty (15486 words, gen) - How Bodhi Rook temporarily misplaced the two most important things in the galaxy, and how he found them again (with a little help).

literally every fic on this list is amazing, I promise, but this one is my favorite out of them all. if you’ve ever cared about star wars for five seconds, please read this. the world-building, the characterizations, the plot structure, the family and team relationships: all stellar!

Supernatural

In His Image by @whitmerule (153067 words, Gabriel/Sam and Castiel/Dean) - Kali can breathe life back into a corpse, but what exactly is Gabriel now? Gabriel flits around various centuries trying to work that out, Dean has another powered-down angel and a little brother to look out for, Castiel has forgotten how to trust, and someone keeps sending Sam annoying little notes on his laptop. Oh, and Bobby would like to remind you all that there’s an Apocalypse still going on. Covers season 5 from Gabriel’s death to the finale.

half season 5 AU, half historical fiction, it feels like one story thread should distract from the other but instead it all works together to make the definitive Gabriel-centric story!

Sammyverse by shangrilada (249230 words, 42 works, gen) - It’s an AU, but not a deep one, until season 4 or thereabouts, where it starts to get kind of weird. Basically, Sam has really hideous asthma, and the boys are both pretty excellent at dealing with it and each other. They’re [not] all from Dean’s POV, and even though I’m branching now into later stuff, I’m going to keep doing pre-Stanford–Season 2 for a long time because that makes me happy. Honestly it’s a lot of H/C porn of the boys just being friendly and affectionate towards each other, because that’s how I like them. It is, to put it simply, gen. To put it more honestly, it’s as fucked up as I see it in canon and not a bit more or less. You can read into it as much or as little as you like.

it’s just like the show, except Sam is chronically ill and also the boys like each other. based on the show you might think the boys already like each other, but my friends, this ‘verse will show you just how much was missing. Dean’s internal monologues are things of beauty, and I love how much Jess is featured in the Stanford-era fics. (note: this master list includes most but not all of the fic in the verse, so if you’d like the rest be sure to check the author’s page or ask me for links!)

True Blood

We Who Are Alive And Remain by @branwyn-says (10448 words, Sookie/Eric) - Terrified by changes she witnesses in herself, Sookie hides from the world and everyone in it. When Eric finds out her secret, she will either find that he is worthy of her trust-or she’ll be dead.

the non-linear timeline makes this fic shine, and from the very beginning the plot is intriguing. before the plot is resolved we get to see a lot about who Sookie is who Eric is to her, and the dynamics between Sookie and nearly everyone in her life.

The West Wing

We Don’t Notice Time Pass by pene (1304 words, gen) -  “I’d no idea you’d even met her.” It’s friendship and it’s women.

focusing on female friendship within The West Wing is annoyingly difficult, but this story focuses on what relationships among women can be. Mrs. Landingham acts as a bit of a mentor to Ainsley, and Ainsley’s relationship with her childhood best friend is achingly and heartwarmingly true to life.

Define Your Terms by candle_beck (4443 words, Josh/Sam) -  It’s very complicated inside Josh’s head.

Josh is manic and about five conversations ahead of Sam. it works out because these two idiots care about each other very, very strongly. I love Josh’s mental voice in this one!

Vidui by Marguerite (7358 words, gen) - In the fall of 2001, Toby went to shul. In past years he had carried sins enough to confess, sins both petty and great, transgressions against God’s ordinances and those of men.

a beautiful meditation on Toby’s relationship with the people he works with/calls his family, through an explicitly Jewish lense. Toby is the person, and the Jew, that I wish I could be <3</p>

The Thinner the Skin by Jane St Clair (2149 words, Josh/Sam) - Of couches and expensive suits, with some mention of madness.

if you’re going to write a Josh/Sam post-Noel fic, this is unquestionably the way to do it! nothing is shied away from but there’s all the best kind of comfort that h/c can offer, and nice backstory details that make the characters seem realer.

highways and byways and roads in between by @greatestheights​ (10456 words, Josh/Donna) - “Maps are for losers. Maps are for people with no sense of adventure, like you, and…I don’t know. Toby, probably.” Josh, Donna, the open road, five states, and some of the things they said while they were driving.

Josh and Donna and, just, everything that they are (that is, a well-meaning idiot and better than you, respectively), with a healthy dose of Donna/career. everyone is characterized spotlessly, the dialogue is episode-caliber, and there’s fun local geography/culture!