#SPIRK HOW COULD I FORGET SPIRK

[freakinhorse123]

Watching queer stranger things fans speculate over how byler will definitely be canon and just KNOWING theyre about to get their hearts broken by the writers.

[lesparis83]

oh hey related to “please help me move” stuff I am still very down to write short fics for commission 👉🏽👈🏽 pwp is like. easiest for me to do with a quick turnaround but if you have a short prompt for non-smut I can do that too!!

[thesirenqueenx]

That feeling when you read the best fic of your life and you go to bookmark and savour it forever and it says ‘edit bookmark’

[onekisstotakewithme]

20 questions for fic writers 💜

tagged by the lovely @mihrsuri (I think more than once, although the other time was some time ago... thank you for the tag! 🥰💜)

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 221, not counting unrevealed ones from exchanges

2. what's your total ao3 word count? 1,417,178 words

3. what fandoms do you write for? Right now, mostly M*A*S*H and The West Wing, though I do occasionally dabble in other fandoms (Star Trek TOS, For All Mankind, etc.)

4. top five fics by kudos? 1) Ties That Bind - Star Trek (Spirk) 2) a wild call and a clear call (that may not be denied) - Star Trek (Spirk) 3) Uncharted Territory - M*A*S*H (Beejhawk) 4) ye who are weary, come home - M*A*S*H (Punnihawk, Charles/Donna, canon pairings, etc.) 5) you were meant for me - M*A*S*H (Punnihawk)

5. do you respond to comments? Not usually. I feel pretty guilty about it and I do try and go for a thank you note in the A/N at the end of each story/chapter, but my spoons are pretty limited. I do however cherish each and every comment, and if I have regular commenters, your username is probably carved into my heart. 🥺

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Uhhh. That is a good question, because even if I write in angsty/bittersweet scenes, the endings are usually more hopeful or happy.

I guess my best answer to that is "let's do some living (after we die)" only because it's immediately followed by canonical character death. lmao.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? There are any number of stories you could pick for this one, haha. But I guess if I had to pick (twist my arm, why don't you!), then it's probably either "ye who are weary, come home" (OT3 Endgame!!!), OR "Make the Leap" (this one takes place on January 21st, 2007, so that and the title should make it self explanatory 😉)

8. do you get hate on fic? Not... really? Sometimes I'd get comments complaining that I should be writing a different pairing 🤷🏻‍♀️ (which..???) but I don't get much "engagement" to begin with usually, so I'm grateful that what I do get is for the most part positive. 🥰

9. do you write smut? Yep. Nothing super hardcore and not very often (because I am a self-conscious girlie haha) but I will write it. Posting it is another story. I want to do more, it's just getting over myself to do it. (if anyone has advice on how to proceed with getting over my self-consciousness, I'm ALL ears).

10. craziest cross over? I once, in my misspent youth, wrote a crossover between Downton Abbey and Titanic (it's still buried in the depths of my FFN page, alas it is unfinished.)

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? Not as far as I know, no.

12. have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! My one M*A*S*H Fic, "Here's Hoping We Meet Now and Then" (aka BJ puts the "GOODBYE" stones together with the help of the rest of the 4077) was translated into German by a dear friend of mine, Pat. And you can read that here.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? A few times in the distant past. Once recently (I'm sure you'll all see it soon enough!!) 😈... in general, I love the idea of getting to write with my fellow ficcers whom I cherish and admire, so I'd love to do more co-written fics.

14. all time favorite ship? I'm not picking one lmao. But if I had to? Probably CJ/Danny. They had everything. the chemistry. the will they/won't they. the yearnnnning. (Close runners-up are BJ/Peg/Hawkeye, Anna/Bates, Spirk... and Kate/Gibbs because I don't forget my roots).

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Triad Wedding. 😬 I got kinda burnt out and (at the time I finished it) went "eh no one will want to read this anyway" so now I have a 125k MASH draft on my desktop. It has... well, everything. Bisexual OT3 wedding. Mucho smut (more than I've ever published in one story before in my LIFE). Communication ✨. etc. It's been two years now, so even though there's a full draft, I don't want to promise that it'll ever be done. It needs a lot of work.

16. what are your writing strengths? Dialogue. I used to be terrified of writing dialogue, and now I think I'm decent at it. Staying in character, maybe?

17. what are your writing weaknesses? Pacing! Ask me why the 125k draft mentioned above is only seven days of in-universe time.

Also I could be better at worldbuilding. I know many authors who flesh out the whole universe and make it feel so breathable and lived in (Mia for example, she's a champ at that!) but that's still a work in progress for me. AND smut. I need to get better/more confident at that, but I've yet to learn how after six-odd years of writing it. 😐

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language? I don't speak enough languages for that. Other authors can do it and do it convincingly. Not me tho.

19. first fandom you wrote in? Lost (baby's first fanfic, still buried in the depths of my FFN page); but I really got into it with Downton Abbey.

20. favorite fic you've written? I could give one of my usual answers about "ye who are weary" (because of the technical achievement of covering so many characters in one story), or "Don't Bet Your Future" (probably my MOST self-indulgent) but instead...

I really enjoyed writing "None of Us Are More Than Caretakers", guys. The season 7 secret relationship is one of my favourite time periods to cover for CJ and Danny, and getting to write this little "missing episode" between Last Hurrah and Institutional Memory was so much fun, and a great technical challenge. Plus it WAS self-indulgent because I got to write all the post-coital scenes we were robbed of in canon AND build up to the events of IM.

thank you again!!! and I'll tag whoever is interested and has a few free hours to kill! 💜✨

[female-fogbank]

Made for @spirkme915 who asked for Spirk, I chose SNW hurt/comfort, I hope you like it 🙌

Thank you @startrekwintergiftexchange for organising this event💜

~ Secret Beginnings ~

The first time they met was years before they met on the Enterprise. It was a meeting neither would forget nor even in their weakest moments mention to another soul. It was the first of many secrets they would bond on and share to their graves. Underground fights were in the Federation’s top 5 of unapproved pass times.

Starfleet officers were supposed to behave accordingly and maintain the image of civility. The fights that occurred deep in the belly of certain starbases did not allow for any of that. It was dirty, brutal, bloody, almost animalistic, no bars fighting. If anyone knew Spock or Kirk had met in the ring, or that they had been engaging in said activities, their careers would go up in flames.

Maybe that was part of the appeal. For Spock, it had been an outlet for the deep seated rage inside that threatened to consume. He knew engaging in underground fighting was illegal and could lead to his expulsion from Starfleet but he couldn’t stop. 

It was cathartic, he spent most of his youth and adolescence suppressing his emotions, pushing all the pain, frustration, anger and anguish of being a hybrid in a society that idolized emotional disassociation and stoicism. The expectations placed on him by his father, to act and be a certain way. He couldn’t be like the other Vulcan children, he always had to be better. The bar to achieving excellence was forever moving and always out of his grasp. 

So, when he stepped into that ring, he could pour all those emotions out. No one judged him for it, no one thought less of him. They were all there for similar reasons.

Kirk fought because he was numb, no one would know it looking at him. No, he was the poster boy for the man with the perfect life. All the emotions he should be capable of feeling felt out of reach. It was almost like he existed inside his own shield. But when he stepped into that cage to fight, he could feel. He felt pain, with pain came adrenaline and euphoria. He felt the satisfaction of winning, the enjoyment in the camaraderie shared with the other fighters as they gave and took. Maybe their reasons were different but they came for the same reason, catharsis. 

It was their dirty little secret, their form of therapy and it worked. Spock felt the rage in him become easier to control. He found he could reconcile the past as he was no longer trapped in emotions that held him trapped in those moments. There was a clarity after one was temporarily purged of their inner demons. 

The people he fought with all taught him something about himself. Whether it was in the ring, or after the fight when they patched up their wounds and cleaned up the blood. Spock felt himself gravitate towards Kirk most out of all the fighters. Unlike the other humans who fought, he wasn’t fighting to pay off some debt or a sadist. There was something different about him, when one is stripped down, bloodied and bruised, in the quiet moments of being healed, people talked. They let their guard down and shared their pain and in Kirk’s case lack thereof. 

Spock didn’t miss the irony of their odd friendship borne in the bowels of that starbase. The Vulcan who felt too much and the human who struggled to feel. But there they were, learning from one another. Leaning on each other at times, baring their souls of their darkest secrets with full knowledge they were safe. That no judgement would be passed, no pity nor advice on how ‘fix’ themselves. They accepted each other for their flaws which was something very rare to find in their normal lives.

The only sad fact of it all was when they got cleaned up, donned their Starfleet uniforms and returned to their ships, they had to pretend none of it existed. That no history had passed between them. To acknowledge it, would bring them under the scrutiny of their leaders. Questions they didn’t want would be asked, neither wanted that to happen. Neither wanted to explain themselves or justify their actions in this regard.

So, when Spock ‘officially’ met James T. Kirk for the first time. Their eyes locked, a moment of recognition passed between them. No one would ever know by looking at them that they already had a long history. But after the moment they exchanged pleasantries, their relationship could finally see the light of day.

[fely-v]

I have a problem. I don't know.which pairs should I choose? like... they're all so cute. but I need to choose the main one among them in order to pay more attention to him. but at the same time, I would not like to forget about the others, because they are also very nice.

Spirk. The king of fandom. The main space husbands of the entire galaxy. But at the same time, I would like to imagine them really as brothers, rather than lovers. Although I sometimes want to see something like this, I probably would like there to be a holy bromance between them

Spones. This is where my heart specifically melts. These characters have the aesthetics of an old married couple with a "Love/Hate" sign attached. They have quite a lot of differences. In my opinion, there are even more of them than Spock and Kirk. But at the same time they complement each other. In general, I could joke about the fact that their. relationships can be described as Pride and Prejudice.

Spotty (Bones and Scotty) This is what could be happening in the background of the overall picture. Something that wouldn't be allowed as much time as Spock and Jim, and that's probably why it's so charming. So... Two guys fried by life who are not averse to drinking. They could support each other and do all sorts of nice things while all hell is going on around. As an example, helping a doctor when he is angry or upset. Or bring a drunk Scotty to his cabin because he is too drunk, and also treat his bruises after a stray bolt flew into him.

Mcspirk. Something that sounds so good that you doubt its existence. Agree, alliances with three people are not often found. But they apparently are. This combination seems to me perfect and at the same time too good to be true. On the other hand, I don't mind perceiving it as such a love triangle where everyone cares about each other.

Uhura/Kristina and Sulu/Chekhov. What is also happening in the background is also charming, but I would like it to be more.

Scotty and Uhura. Very nice. I don't mind. But I didn't track the moment a little bit how it happened. And I would like to.

Well, that's probably all. Of all the above, I probably give preference to Spones. But I appreciate all the other pairs no less.

[leonardcohenofficial]

20 questions for fic writers

i was tagged by @majorbaby to answer these—thank you so much!!!!!!!

i'll tag @draftdodgerag / @radioprune/ @sightofsea and anyone else who'd like to do this! answers below:

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? a grand total of five :D

2. What's your total Ao3 word count? 28,313 words!

3. What fandoms do you write for? currently have only published for mash, but i have fics for the man from uncle, star trek, star wars, doctor who, twin peaks, starsky and hutch, and black sails in drafts

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? i only have five fics on ao3 LOL

5. Do you respond to comments? i do my best to!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? i suppose it's (open your hands) given it takes place before "bottoms up" which is fairly angsty in the overall houlifield arc

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? between the two longform fics i've posted—someone is waiting and so this is the word—they both have happy endings! i suppose whatever is happier depends on if you're more of a fan of piercintyre or hunnihawk endgame

8. Do you get hate on fics? i've never received any direct hate, so none that i'm aware of.................... 

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes; not usually plain pwp because i like having somewhat of a story tied to the smut but every once in a while it's less plot-driven

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? i have not written any crossovers nor do i particularly feel any want to

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? nope/not to my knowledge, hope to keep it that way!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? no but would be honored and open to granting permission to do so!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? no, don't really have interest in doing so (LOL)

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? legitimately such a hard question lol; there are some ships that i don't even think about actively shipping because in my mind i nearly forget that they're not canon (see: spirk, skysolo, albert/dale, illya and napoleon, etc.) whereas there are certain relationship dynamics that continue to make me feel like the top of my head is being torn off and i think always will (twelveclara is absolutely insanity inducing, vanerackham also being a ship that really took over my brain and has not let go since, honorable mention to whatever barisi did to my psyche as a seventeen year old); not to mention all the relationships from non-fandom (for lack of a better term) media that i find extraordinarily emotionally impactful (tommy and axel in edge of the city, omar and johnny in my beautiful laundrette, whatever is happening between hamlet ophelia and horatio, same with karen joe and martha in these three, could name plenty of books and films and plays that this happens to me with)

all of this to say, it probably is piercintyre (still with a lot of love for hunnihawk) or spirk

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i have a few mash fic drafts that have been sitting in my notes app since literally 2019 so we will see if those ever see the light of day lmfao

16. What are your writing strengths? i think i'm very good at third person limited POV, which is how i write all of my fics (i don't like first person POV fics, despise omniscient, and find second person hardest to write); i also think that i'm pretty strong with narrative structure (comes with being a dramaturg lol) and internal dramaturgy and detail when it comes to researching for my writing

17. What are your writing weaknesses? i don't write linearly (this applies to my academic writing as well as fics) which i think does often make it harder on myself when piecing together a bunch of vignettes and trying to make them flow; i think that my understanding of narrative structure helps me get around this but i do wish i didn't always throw in an obstacle to my own writing. i also think i can be a bit too succinct (this is more a challenge with my academic writing than my fics imho but is a note that i get consistently from my committee haha)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? if the writer actually knows how to speak it and isn't just throwing text into google translate on a wing and a prayer, i don't always HATE it hate it; i've read a few good the man from uncle fics where if illya is speaking in ukranian or russian it's either mentioned in a character's POV or the text is put in italics which i think is a more effective device in communicating that the characters are speaking another language rather than the one the fic is written in

19. First fandom you wrote for? i wrote very bad doctor who and sherlock fanfiction when i was in middle school which i published on deviantart LMFAOOOOOOO

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? i think the honor has to go to someone is waiting—it was just such a labor of love and weaving in all of the sondheim references that have been so important to me with a longform exploration of hawkeye's takes on love was (as cheesy as it is to say) really special to me as a writer and it means so much that it resonated with so many people! (plus it has a very good soundtrack)

[spindash]

i was like why is star trek trending but how could i fucking forget its spirk day. happy birthday yaoi

[letteredlettered]

Hey :) One day, I would be very interested to know more about your attitude to shame as a theme in your writing, is this something that you're particularly interested in, how do you relate to characters who feel ashamed, how do you show them dealing with it. I feel like it's very present in most if not all of your drarry fics, without mentioning your latest spirk fic. Thanks!

Thanks for asking this insightful question.

Shame is present in most if not all of my fics in general, not just the H/D or Star Trek ones, and it's a subject I'm extremely interested in.

Let me start by saying that I have a pretty healthy relationship with shame, in my opinion. I have pretty difficult anxiety, especially social anxiety, which results in frequent bouts of utter mortification. Such bouts are related to shame, but those feelings disappear for me almost instantly after that mortifying interaction is over. For instance, I just went to the grocery store in a country where the primary language is not English; I could not get the check-out machine to work; the lady had to come help me; I could not apologize in the language she was obviously most familiar with; I forgot to weigh the bananas; I was in winter gear and sweating so hard that it prevented me from catching fire and dying on the spot, a healthy self-preservation tactic. But as soon as I got outside everything was okay; the end; nothing to see here.

Having experienced shame, I know that this mortification is basically what shame feels like, at least for me, albeit on a less acute but far more grand scale. As this mortification is something I struggle with, I am pretty interested in the feelings associated with it, but I have learned to manage my anxiety really well. While it has a huge impact on my life, it's part of who I am; it's my old friend, just like Mrs. Bennet's nerves are for Mr. Bennet, and I embrace that fact.

I also have a lot of guilt. According to Google, shame is different than guilt; guilt is the feeling that you did a thing that is wrong, whereas shame is a feeling that your whole self is wrong. I have trouble telling them apart, because my guilt, like my mortification, is extremely intense and overwhelming. Luckily, like Mr. Bennet's feelings of regret, my guilt passes soon enough, maybe even more quickly than it should. When I get guilty, I want to crawl out of my skin and die. I am a terrible, horrible person, and I can't stand it; this goes on and on until I can apologize and tell the truth and feel forgiven or work to make things right.

Also luckily, I'm pretty good at working through my guilt. I try really hard to acknowledge when I do something wrong, to accept the responsibility of not only fixing it but preventing it from happening in the future. I can't always fix everything about myself--just as I am always anxious, I'll also always be quick-tempered, forgetful, and sometimes thoughtless, but also like my anxiety, there are work-arounds for these things.

Guilt, in this way, is a good thing. It can be a useful signifier that you have hurt someone or acted irresponsibly; it can be a useful motivator for self-improvement. I don't think anyone should go around feeling guilty, but I do think that that this natural thing we humans feel is here to help us an guide us, and if we treat it like another friend, it can help us treat each other well, rather than hurt us.

As for shame, other than the guilt and mortification I have described above, I don't actually feel much of it. I am a very self-loving person. I am very good at thinking of myself as a human being who makes mistakes and fumbles but is also trying really hard. I'm really good at forgiving myself and trying to give myself the same understanding and compassion that I would to other human beings, and honestly, one reason I write about shame so much is the fact that not everyone is able to love themselves and forgive themselves and treat themselves with that sort of understanding just breaks my heart.

That is, because of my mortification and my guilt, I feel like I have a profound understanding of how shame can feel, but I move through it really quickly; it is not a profound emotion that haunts me, but one that touches me and helps me be who I am. But I see it hurting other people; I see so many people who don't understand that they are okay, that everything they are is okay. And one thing I have always wanted to do with my writing is to touch people, to say, "here I am; please understand me," and in so doing, show other people that they are understood.

So for me, writing about shame is in some sense writing about me--the guilt and moritication I struggle with so often. But I am often writing about people facing their shame, dealing with their shame, being loved in spite of their shame and realizing, hopefully, by the end, that they perhaps are worthy of love, and that for me is my own catharsis but also, hopefully, yours.

[august-anon]

Mind Melt

Tickletober 2022, Day 26: Favorite Spot [LATE]

This fic was actually written months ago so it shouldve been posted on time, but i got burnt out and busy so that did not happen lol. Also, i will not be finishing the rest of tickletober, alas, lol. Hope y'all enjoy though!

-----

Fandom: Star Trek

Ship(s): Spirk

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Spock/Ler!Jim

Word Count: 1116 words

Summary: It was a favorite pastime of Jim's, messing with Spock.

[ao3 link]

---------------

They coveted small moments like these. Moments where it could be just the two of them, locked away in the privacy of their quarters, lights dimmed and door locked. Intimate moments where they could curl together on the bed and not have to worry about the ship falling to pieces without their constant attention.

Jim’s fingers tangled with Spock’s, making his breath hitch and shudder. Spock shifted his hand so their fingers would continue to graze each other in the hold, getting pleasant zings of safe, love, joy, content from Jim’s mind through their touch. He used his free hand to wrap around Jim’s back and pull him closer, closer still, until he was practically straddling Spock on the bed. Spock felt a small blaze of amusement trail through Jim’s mind before it settled back into the calm contentment of the moment before.

Jim leaned in for his own human kiss, and Spock was more than happy to oblige. One kiss became two, two became three, and so on until Spock stopped bothering to keep count because that would only distract him from the sensation of Jim against him, and he had learned by now that it really wasn’t worth it. Then Jim took his other hand and he swore off coherent thought for the next several minutes, at least.

Spock savored the moment, surrounded by Jim in every way. The constant brush of their locked fingers, his increasingly ravenous kisses, his weight pressing down against Spock’s body as he clambered up to fully lay atop Spock. Jim’s emotions danced through his mind, twirling and gold and bright as a star. He could feel them ballooning in his own chest, bubbling up to where he felt like he may just burst with it. His own emotions, usually carefully regulated and controlled, were allowed a longer leash in these moments, and Spock allowed them to feed into the link for Jim to feel as well.

Jim’s kisses migrated away from his lips, dipping down his cheek and jaw until he was mouthing at Spock’s neck. Spock hummed, tipping his head up and back to give Jim more access. He was so full and overwhelmed by Jim, Jim, Jim, that he almost missed the spark of mischief flashing its way through along with everything else, Jim almost successfully burying it underneath the rest of his feedback through their bond.

But this song and dance was familiar, and Spock supposed it was bound to happen sooner or later. He knew all too well how fond Jim was of the game, and though he would never admit it with words, he figured even Jim’s untrained mind could have picked up that he didn’t exactly mind it through their bond. Even still, he sent the mental equivalent of a huffed sigh through their bond, feigning disinterest even in their own minds. It brought forth another blaze of amusement in Jim’s mind, but this time, the fire didn’t sputter out. Spock didn’t expect it to for a long while, but it would certainly make things harder on him, Jim’s bubble of contained laughter making its home in his own chest.

Jim’s kisses slowly trailed their way up to Spock’s ear, their target all along. They still felt nice, of course; Jim’s kisses always felt nice, whether they be with fingers or with lips, but that didn’t stop the fact that Spock’s ears tended to be a little sensitive – and not in the way most expected.

To put it bluntly, most people assumed his ears would make him moan, not giggle frantically.

But once Jim found it out, he refused to forget it.  Which led to where they were now,  Jim’s breath and lips starting to draw out stuttered breaths as Spock’s hands flexed in an attempt to keep from interfering. Jim’s fingers tightened against his own, holding his hands steadily in place, and Spock was left suppressing gasps for two reasons. As the kisses continued, the ticklish feeling only built, and combined with the shared giddiness running through both of their veins, it was only a matter of time before Spock broke.

The humming giggles built in his chest, released through tense exhales as Spock’s squirming got a little more pronounced. It was about this time that he started agonizing (did they lock the door? Did the crew have everything under control? What if someone came looking for them? No one else could see Spock like this, it simply could not happen, what if–), but over time, Jim had gotten better and better at muddling his way through reading things on his side of the link. It wasn’t as intuitive for him, seeing as he was no telepath, and could be quite overwhelming for him at times even still, but Jim was intelligent beyond words and a quick study.

So instead of letting Spock fight to build his defenses back up for countless what-if scenarios, he just put in more effort himself. He snuffled at Spock's ears, nuzzling in with stubbled cheeks, as he hadn’t shaved since the previous morning and his facial hair grew in rather quickly. 

Spock’s giggles finally burst free, and the joy that looped around from Jim to him and back again only made them more potent, more difficult to get back under control. Jim hummed in victory, a little giggle in the sound himself from all the feedback from Spock, and the puffs of air only served his purpose further. If his goal was to drive Spock absolutely mad, he was managing quite well. Spock squirmed more under his weight, feeling his face grow warm under Jim’s ministrations, and he was glad Jim was too close to see just how green he’d gone.

Spock could feel the answering flush on Jim’s face, Spock’s own… feelings drifting through their bond and drawing it out. It was reassuring, at least, that Jim was just as affected by the feedback loop as he was, bubbling and bursting and building, making everything bigger, brighter, sharper.

He had no brainpower left to focus with, no lingering traces of his what-ifs floating around between the two of them. Everything was just sweet, warm, cute, fun, happy, silly, ticklish, embarrassed, love, safe–

They coveted small moments like these. Moments where it could be just the two of them, locked away in their quarters, no worries of being disturbed. Moments where they could let themselves go and just be. Intimate moments where they could get lost in this loop between them, giggling and blushing and kissing like schoolboys. Moments that Spock never thought he’d have with anyone, much less a man he’d come to know as t’hy’la.

Hopefully, these moments would never have to end.

[mejomonster]

Rec List 2/28/2023

I said I’d start posting some fic recs because I miss those sorts of posts, and so here we are!

Tabula Rasa by xantissa. DMBJ, pingxie. Summary: Zhang Qiling forgets. Then he comes to some interesting conclusions regarding his relationship to the man named Wu Xie. This fic is has such a nice Zhang Qiling pov, it is funny and tender and in character. I loved it’s take on a “first time” they get close. Everything xantissa writes is gold. 

With a Twist of the Kaleidoscope by naye. Guardian, weilan. Summary: “Trust me,” Zhao Yunlan says.Shen Wei actually huffs at him, as if he is being so patently ridiculous that fear-tinged fury would be too dignified an answer. “How can I trust you?”Ye Zun tries a different tactic to defeat his brother, that may tear apart everything Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan have worked to build between them. This is one of my favorite fics I’ve ever read (most of these are honestly). Fantastic, phenomenal, I love this take on the universe and this story. I love Ye Zun, and everyone's, characterization in this to pieces. This fic inspired me so much it spurred me to end up writing multiple post canon fix it fics of my own. Everything naye writes is really beautiful, really in character, really well done. There is also a podfic version.

Divergence by 13empress. Star Trek AOS, spirk. Summary:  A single Romulan from Nero's crew survives, who is pulled through the forming singularity to approximately 13 years into the past. Aware that he could lose everything if he were to wait for his revenge, Nero decides to even the odds by kidnapping a young Spock and Kirk and deliberately sets about to change the time line. Meanwhile, scientists monitoring the anomaly that the artificial singularity left behind receive confirmation that a member of Nero's crew is alive and in the past. Uncertain of the impact upon their own time line or indeed upon the Federation of the (new) alternate time line, Starfleet Command issues orders for the Enterprise crew who are in their second year of serving together to investigate the matter by going through the anomaly. Pre-slash K/S, slash ending. Implied slash for young K/S. One of my favorite spirk stories and Star Trek AOS stories of all time. In retrospect it probably is the reason I love time travel and time loop stories so much. 

Monotone by seredemia. MDZS/The Untamed, wangxian. Summary: Wei Wuxian reincarnates, Lan Wangji lives on. In the modern world, they meet again. One of my favorite wangxian fics and an extremely in character and thoughtful take on a modern setting/reincarnated characters. (It inspired me to write the fic  over the moon by softcorevulcan just a short story similar modern setting for xiyao).

Observations by anon_j_anon. Star Trek AOS, spirk. Summary:  First Officer Spock comments on life aboard the Enterprise and his service under Captain James T. Kirk. This fic is on multiple sites, anon_j_anon made ebook download versions too. This is one of the best stories I’ve ever read, incredibly crafted. It focuses on the entire enterprise crew and it feels like a ‘tos’ style continuation of the mission to go where no one has gone before for the aos characters. 

Void by Alxina, xantissa. Love and Redemption, Luohou Jidu/Yu Sifeng, Chu Xuanji/Yu Sifeng. Summary:  What happened in the Demon Citadel when Luohou Jidou realized Yu Sifeng was a lot more injured than he let on. There is a desperate need for more lovely fanfic for this story, and this fic delivers. Lovely writing.

[katherinevalo]

extra dose of screenshots! just to make sure i don't forget why i made them because as you probably noticed the last batch didn't have many thoughts XD

we are going over eps 22 and 23, eventful eps if i may say so myself

1 - "what is personal space?" god i love how close zishu stands like, he could absolutely stand a little further and still block wkx, but instead he is almost bumping into his chest. seriously it gives me pure joy looking at them

2 - a beautiful scenery with our beautiful ah-xu. *sigh~ took that ss to potentially use it as my desktop wallpaper, because (i had this convo on discord) i can't use proper fandom wallpaper since i use my laptop at lectures.

3 - unwelcomed guest interjects. shenshen seriously, why didn't you just stay inside?

4 - i will never stop being in love with this scene. i love how zishu helps him to lay down safely. tho i gotta say that the ss doesn't do it justice and you simply must watch the original scene

5 - fierce look while protecting his shidi (look idk why my laptop doesn't have the holding back tears emoji, but if it did i'd have used it here)

6 - i said this before and i will say this again, but this is some proper spirk handholding right there uwu

7 - back to our regularly scheduled "heartbreaking expressions of wkx"

8 - look at cao weining! look at his silly happy face! what a sweet child! don't we all wish we had someone like that in our lives-- *sobs~

9 - i know OUCH but also i love this subtle way to remind us of the reality of things (i always appreciate when writers don't underestimate the audience's intelligence by overexplaining and this is the perfect example of how to remind us without doing that). ALSO the panic on ah-xu's face. also, i have a whole thing here, because a discord friend said that ah-xu here was trying to hide the symptoms which i don't fullly agree with. i think that it was sort of aha! moment for ah-xu when he realized how bad it has gotten. because when you live with declining senses they decline gradually and you barely notice (but then there is something that you kinda punches you and you realized how much your senses have declined - tho i'm milking this from my experience of worsening sight and can't really speak for taste) tho imo for tastes and smells of familiar things (like liquor here) your brain would sort supply what it remembers them to be like. so to cut it short, i think it's also that kind of a moment for ah-xu

[hummiscellanea]

My Unpopular Opinion(s)

putting my life into my hands and talking about my opinion on the Shipping Discourse in star trek. (specifically SNW) man i wish that means "which ship is the coolest" and not what it actually is about

I don't ship Kirk and Spock. (K/S, spirk, whatever you want to call it)

Hey, I love TOS more than the next guy! And yes I know and respect the ship's history. It was groundbreaking. It invented slash. I completely understand why people ship it, and why it's so important to so many people. I get the appeal; I'm definitely not saying that it's wrong to ship it. But I am a bit annoyed with the lack of other readings on here.

Like guys, Kirk has relationships with women. That doesn't preclude being attracted to men, mind you! But let's not forget that. Here's some examples: Edith Keeler, Miramanee, Carol Marcus. He had a child with two of those! (This isn't an argument against the K/S ship. It's just that I see people say that it's wrong for SNW Kirk to be attracted to women, which bothers me.) Also I happen to like La'an and Kirk in SNW; it's a rare romantic relationship that I found myself invested in. (La'an my beloved <3) I don't think it should be a long-term endgame thing, I just think it's cute.

Anyway. Spock. Spock, Spock, Spock. It seems that everyone (or at least every TOS girlie) has very charged, very personal feelings about Spock. Including me. (the blorbo of all time <3 <3 <3) He's a rare ace icon (with an asterisk of course). And that's canon (see TMP novelization, the famous Roddenberry Footnote). I also see him as an aro icon, though that one is definitely up for debate. My aro headcanon is the main reason I don't ship K/S, and it's not an uncommon take! I'll leave it at that for my Spock Opinions for now.

Kirk and Spock's dynamic is so so important to me. They are so (imagine a page full of heart emojis)!! It can be hard to put it into words. They're soulmates, besties for the ages. A bond that transcends space and time. Then your first best destiny is to be by my side! Let me help!! The Motion Picture, which is literally about the power of love!!! How could I ever be normal about them? And if you say that a romantic relationship is the only explanation for their closeness then I will vaporize you with my laser eyes.

Some of the SNW K/S discourse is just odd to me. Why do you want them to be together anyway (besides as a nod to the pairing's historical importance both in and out of Star Trek)? It's famously a slow burn! It takes many years and movies to develop it, which is part of what makes it so great in my opinion. Why would you want to undermine that to do a love-at-first-sight type story? That would only cheapen the characters. Do we really want a The Motion Picture type plot, but years earlier and not as good? (TMP my beloved <3)

As for the Spapel and T'pring discourse? yeeeeeeeah, still not touching that. I do have opinions, though.

One thing the K/S shippers are saying a lot about SNW is that not acknowledging K/S is queerbaiting, or at least being painfully straight. I'm not sure I'm qualified to decide if it is or not. I guess I can see that criticism, especially when compared to Discovery. Eh, but it could also be worse?

Man I hate shipping discourse. And shipping culture. To quote Sonic:

...besides, we all know who's the real love of James T. Kirk's life. She's a tall lady named Enterprise.

[universalcaffination]

There are many moments in Return to Tomorrow, this one is very sweet, even if it doesn't happen in the actual episode iirc. Unintentional parallel to Amok Time?

Sargon, the one speaking in italics, is also the one they reference here, who knows what "together forever" means... 😉

[melissonomos]

television should be two people whose love and commitment to one another transcend space, time, and language, tracking down fucked-up guys made of papier-mâché

[gar-trek]

found in a very angry review of The Price of the Phoenix (one of those iconically gay Star Trek novels). Imagine thinking that was a bad thing.