#academy era mckirk

[affixjoy]

[lokilenchen]

The exam phase at the Academy has it‘s toll on Bones

[existentialcrisistime]

New fic time! My first fic of 2024!

In From the Cold

Chapters: 1/1

Words: 3905

Fandom: Star Trek AOS

Rating: Teen

Relationships: James T. Kirk/Leonard “Bones” McCoy

Additional Tags: Academy Era, Pre-Relationship, Miscommunication, Arguments, Hypothermia, Huddling For Warmth, Sharing a Bed, Hurt James T Kirk, Sick James T Kirk, Jim is a bedraggled wet cat of a man

He’d just closed his eyes again when he heard it – a faint knock on the door. Who the hell could it be this late? Cursing under his breath, Leonard got to his feet and opened the door to see –  Jim, bedraggled and cold, looking the picture of patheticness in his doorway.

After an argument between them, Jim arrives at Leonard’s dorm room sick and afraid he won’t be let in. Leonard, of course, takes care of him anyway.

READ IT ON AO3

[ghostextremist]

I say I love aos mckirk as if we as a fandom did not collectively fill in the miles long blanks in their relationship because jj abrams refuses to give them the screen time together that they deserve

[numinousnumbat]

if you'll be my star, i'll be your sky Fandom: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)

Relationships:

Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Christopher Pike

Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Spock

James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy

Additional Tags:

Starfleet Academy Era

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics

Words: 71,738

Chapters: 9/9

Leonard McCoy is an alpha who doesn’t want to deal with the hassle and hierarchy of being an alpha. Jim Kirk is an omega who dreams of being a starship captain.

(Or Leonard McCoy is aching for a home he can’t return to. Jim Kirk never had a home. A story of finding your home in a person.)

[4th-make-quail]

Mannn I need to not be going in the bones and mckirk tags lmao, it's giving me the intense urges to go and read a bunch of fic!!! But I just got myself back into my bingo card books so I can't do another fic break fkfkcjcj

[twinkboimler]

June Fic Recs

It's been a while since I put one of these together! Under the cut are a selection of great spirk, mckirk, spones, and mcspirk fics I've read in the past few months with a brief description of what I liked about them. Enjoy!

SPIRK

Tomorrow’s Circus by Borealisblue. TOS. Explicit, 56,084 words (as of 6/20/24). Work in progress. Circus au, 1930s, everyone’s human. The friends-to-lovers and pining in this is SO GOOD and I really think that everyone needs to be reading this fic. I haven’t been this invested in a fic in a long time; getting that subscription email letting me know this fic has updated can literally fix me when I’m having a bad day. Cannot rec this fic enough if you’re in the mood for a slowburn, plus the art in it is phenomenal.

A Perfect Fit by ThereBeWhalesHere. TOS. Teen and Up Audiences, 7,097 words. Role swap: Captain Spock and First Officer Kirk. Spock’s POV, admittance of feelings, first kiss. This fic is so lovely, I love a fic where I get to just watch these two get to know each other and fall in love.

Time After Time by spaceisgay (ChancellorGriffin). SNW and Disco. Explicit, 138,921 words. I loved this fic. The pining and sexual tension is so good, and this fic has a good balance of humorous fluffy scenes and angst and incredibly hot smut. It’s a spirk fic, yes, but it really dives into sibling dynamics as it explores the Kirk brothers’ relationship as Spock continues to process the Michael-shaped hole in his life. I love this take on this era’s Spock, there’s so much he doesn’t know about himself yet. I also really adore how this fic writes all the characters—you really get a sense of everyone’s personalities in this fic, the entire crew feels so ALIVE. Just fantastic characterizations of everyone!

Big Me (But It's You I Fell Into) by waketosleep. AOS. Mature, 38,728 words. This is the fic that got me to care about golf. I wish I was kidding—now I join my in-laws when they’re watching it on the TV. This fic has a scene between McCoy and Kirk during Kirk’s first tournament with him that had me laughing my ass off. Never not thinking about this fic; the dangerous part about reading a sports au is suddenly you care about that sport. Don’t think it can happen to you? Give this fic a try. 

Consume by the_moonmoth. AOS. Explicit, 1,139 words. Must be logged in to read. Very hot smut. Dirty talk, mind melds, Bottom!Kirk and Top!Spock. This fic just hits.

You Could Call It Love by lurikko. TOS. Mature, 45,791 words. Fake marriage, slowburn, getting together. This fic is SO good, just a whole bunch of tropes that I adore.

SPONES

That Which Lingers by stanzas. TOS Movies. Teen and Up Audiences, 1,008 words. Takes place after The Search for Spock. Established relationship with some very sweet moments as they deal with the lingering side effects of the fal-tor-pan. This fic is just everything to me, it absolutely melted my heart.

So Hold Me Close and Say Three Words by Rusoe. TOS. Mature, 1,103 words. Omegaverse. Nesting, Omega!McCoy and Alpha!Spock. I absolutely wasn’t expecting this fic to dive into insecurities about aging when I clicked on it. Loved this!

Stop Making Sense by therev. TOS. General Audiences, 13,775 words. Spock is severely injured as a result of a decision McCoy had to make in order to save the lives of others. McCoy carries a lot of guilt over his actions, even as Spock recovers from his injuries. Very good.

it’s all downhill from here by strangenewwords. AOS. Teen and Up Audiences, 2,082 words. McCoy takes Joanna sledding. Joanna gets overtired, and McCoy gets overwhelmed and panicky. Love this fic’s take on Dad!McCoy, and the spones in this is so damn sweet.

MCKIRK

and i can lend you broken parts that might fit (like this) by jeyhawk. AOS. Explicit, 17,461 words. Academy era, first they hookup, then get to know each other, and then their relationship grows from there. I’m a sucker for fics with this setup. 

Resistless is your charm by fangirlandiknowit. AOS. Explicit, 6,031 words. After hearing about Uhura’s awful first date with Kirk, McCoy decides to text him. Includes some mini-golfing and a very good car hookup scene. Loved this.

MCSPIRK

Tex-Mex Eggrolls and Spinach Dip by Ncc1701ohno. TOS. Explicit, 3,746 words. Smut, light bondage. The setup for this fic is that Spock, McCoy, and Kirk find themselves stuck in the 21st century and work at the Cheesecake Factory in order to make ends meet. I desperately want this fic to become a multi-part series, because the concept is endlessly amusing to me (which is pretty obvious since I partially inspired the idea). A very funny and very hot fic.

Everything That Disappears by sagesiren. AOS. Mature, 19,748 words. Academy era, kid fic, Trans!McCoy, fluff and emotional hurt/comfort. Absolutely loved this, McCoy being a single dad is everything to me. A very entertaining get-together fic for the three of them while exploring parenthood and being trans.

Approximation by liadan14. AOS. Explicit, 15,167 words. Mutual pining, hot smut, and a really interesting plot told non-chronologically. I especially enjoyed Spock’s characterization in this fic, but I love how all three of them are written!

[fruitsboots]

hey mckirk girlies i need help.

so back in The Day (and by The Day I mean between Nov 2010 and prob April 2011) I read an AOS Kirk/McCoy fic on LiveJournal that I think about occasionally but I've been unable to find it.

it was AOS Academy-era. I think there were two chapters? Maybe? And in it Kirk keeps getting like...beat up and kind of brings it upon himself and realizes he gets a thrill out of it. And then Bones is like "you're an idiot and you're going to get hurt you need to do this in a safe way" and then doms him and it's gr8 but if i remember correctly there's no like Sex it's all BDSM stuff and I remember it being really well written

ANYWAYS does anyone else remember or know of this fic?? i've found similar fics but never this exact one. ;-;

[strawberrys-starship]

I was reading through my Star Trek headcanons note in my notes app and came across this and figured I'd post it here cuz why not

So here's my personal ponderings on how I think AOS mcspirk got together, or well, more like how they realized their feelings for each other

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ok so I'm trying to figure you who fell in love first in this whole mcspirk dynamic

So obviously, Kirk and McCoy was a thing before Spock came along, but who made the first move? Or, did they even get together before they met Spock? Like, they were both definitely in love, but all three of these bastards are stubborn as hell so I'm not sure if they would have even confessed to eachother before the events of the first movie

Ok, but who fell first? That's the question we're asking

So in this, McCoy is still demiromantic (editors note; I headcanon TOS McCoy as demiromantic, but usually I headcanon AOS mccoy as some form of asexual, so that's why I make special note of it here) so my first thought was that Kirk fell first, but we cant forget that that poor boy's been through hell and back already, so he's real slow to trust people

That doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't fall first, it might have just taken him longer to realize he had, honestly he might have not even realized it till McCoy confessed (if I decide to have McCoy confess first)

For McCoy, it was definitely the "A fell first, but B fell harder" situation, like im imagining that McCoy and Kirk were just eating lunch or something, or hell maybe he was just minding his own business at work and then just all the sudden he's hit with "OH FUCK IM IN LOVE WITH HIM" and then he realized that yep, he's very deeply in love with Kirk. And ofc he's fucking terrified of that after the shit with his ex wife, so he just goes "repress feelings: activated" bc he knows Kirk does like to have casual sex and all that, and he probably also knows that committed relationships also scare the shit out of Kirk. McCoy probably thinks there's no way that kirks even attracted to him either bc he's a dingus

And on the flipside, kirk knows that McCoy is demiromantic and has somehow convinced himself that they aren't close enough for McCoy to even consider them anything more then casual friends (keep in mind that this is all academy era) and not to mention Kirk is polyamorous and he's only ever seen or heard about McCoy being in monogamous relationships so he thinks that even if there was a chance, that it still wouldn't work

Little does he know that McCoy is also polyamorous, just not actively practicing bc he's also scared of commitment

Honestly I don't think they managed to figure their shit out till Spock came along and was like "I want to date both of u" and then McCoy and Kirk are like "I love that idea but Jim/Bones would never be attracted to me :(" and then Spocks like "ur a dumbass he's also in love with u" and then there's some emotional confession between the two and then they're all happy

Anywho! I've been contemplating writing some AOS McKirk turned mcspirk but I can't think of a good enough story to actually get the motivation so this is me getting that energy out, but honestly who knows this might just make me actually go and write it 🤷🏻‍♂️

[lenievi]

pre-TWOK era mckirk where they both retire and buy a house and a dog and live a quiet life for a while, but then something brings them back to Starfleet and then they both end up teaching at the Academy.

Accepting a promotion was a mistake for Kirk, but not the retirement. He needed it. His mind and body needed it. When he was called for this one mission, he knew he wanted to go back into space again even after the mission ended. But they only allowed him to teach at the Academy and occasionally evaluate training voyages. And it was stultifying and undid some of the mental work he'd done during the retirement.

[affixjoy]

I’ve read a few fics lately with some great timey wimey premises so if that’s your jam you might also enjoy them!

If I missed your fav please share in the comments! I love this sort of thing and will always want to read more.

Some Version Of You by @ncc1701ohno

Summary: Bones is stuck in a time loop and stuck in his room. With Jim. He's forced to admit how intense this thing between them has gotten, how much he feels for Jim, even as he's been falling in love with Spock.

Does what happens in a time loop stay in a time loop?

Thoughts: I’m a sucker for time loops and this is just such a great short look at it with academy era McKirk.

Highlights: the angst! The longing! THE END!

It Ends Or It Doesn’t by @muirmarie

Summary: McCoy dies, and Kirk breaks his hand on a wall. Kirk dies to save McCoy, and McCoy breaks his hand on Spock's face for not stopping him. Spock dies, and he doesn't have to see what happens next, because the day resets. The day keeps resetting. McCoy keeps dying.

Thoughts: these self sacrificing idiots just love each other so much and I love THEM!

Highlights: there’s a loop towards the end where they accept what is happening and it’s probably my favorite part of this fic.

Grief As A Four Dimensional Figure by @jennelikejennay (moreta1848)

Summary: "One might arguably say it is not fully logical to care whether I cannot return to Vulcan because it no longer exists or because it is separated from me permanently in five-dimensional space.”

“No, I think I get it,” said Jim. “Like, I haven’t gone back to the old house in Iowa in years, but I do like knowing it’s there. If my mom sold it and it got knocked down, it would make a difference to me.”

The ambassador nodded. “Likewise, even in four-dimensional space, we are separated from the things we have lost only by distance—by the fact that we cannot easily travel along the timeline.” He marked out a section of his timeline, then a dot further back in the bottom timeline—Jim’s timeline. “My marriage is here. I am here, in a different timeline and at a different time. But my marriage exists. It is a figure in four-dimensional space which will continue to exist, in that sense, eternally. So long as the timeline does not collapse, it is a permanent part of history. So although I do not have my spouse with me, I know that he existed. That somewhere, in a time and a dimension I cannot go, we are meeting for the first time. That somewhere, I am asleep in his arms.”

Thoughts: I rarely like aos as much as tos fics, but this one worked so so well for me.

Highlights: every reference to the one with the whales, all the feelings about Amanda, all of Spirk’s big feelings about each other.

Way From Within by @gunstreet and @justveeing

Summary: Jim and Spock are assigned together for a rescue mission, and in the exhilarating aftermath, their attraction to each other comes bubbling to the surface. But the next day Spock is surprisingly distant, and the rest of the morning starts to seem eerily familiar to Jim...

Written by gunstreet and illustrated by lorvee, this is a K/S timeloop story in the vein of Palm Springs or Groundhog Day.

Thoughts: pretty sure we all collectively lost our minds about this one when it came out a few months ago, but if you haven’t read it yet it is GREAT. All the fun time loop tropes I love with Kirk and Spock at the center.

Highlights: the art is so good! I love seeing these scenes illustrated!

Happy reading everyone! 🖖

[captainofthestrangestship]

Long (15k+) McKirk Recs

AOS McKirk

Do you like mission fics where things go terribly wrong? Protective Bones? Bones looking after his crew? These two stories are for you.

What happens when Jim books a beach house but oops there was a mix up and now Jim, Bones, Uhura and Spock all have to share. Academy era.

Oh no the Admiralty don't think Jim is stable enough to be Captain and he needs to get married or else he'll be grounded, who ever will marry him???

What if Bones found out he had a kid part way through his time at the academy? How does that change his relationship with Jim? Do you like cool OC's and open relationships? If so this is the series for you.

What happens if Jim disappears and Bones ends up raising his kid?

Want more of Bones raising Jim's Kid???

Want even more kid fic but this time with a teenage Joanna??

Want to read a story where Jim and Bones start messaging each other without knowing who is on the other side?? Academy era.

[voidcat-senket]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @hxhhasmysoul and @subdee!! <3 <3 <3 who are both v lovely go like. look at their blogs. anyway

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

.161

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

520,484 - 27% of that is one fic looool

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now just HxH and SW:Fallen Order series. Sherlock and Star Trek AOS were big ones too

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Closing the Space (Between Us) - again its 27% of my wordcount! It deserves it! the Hunter x Hunter Killugon Reunion fic of my dreams. I am SO PROUD of this one I have handed it to irl friends! On purpose! My partner got me a physical copy for Xmas 2021!

2. Crying Over Yuuri - a Kyou Kara Maou! fic, which is a fandom I am amazed is still being read. It's a Wolfram POV fic where he, you got it, cries over Yuuri. Pretty fluffy ending. I credit the numbers to the fact that not a lot of fic gets written for KKM anymore so it doesn't disappear under all the new stuff

3. Not Unusual - A ST:AO3 Academy Era McKirk. Bones gets a bunch of clues to something going on with Jim... he gets it a little wrong, Jim freaks out because this man has Issues, but it resolves in the end. I wrote this one as a pinch-hit for an exchange back when I was still RPing Jim Kirk @thewinningscenario

4. 5+1: Are They Or Aren't They? - Somehow my Mystrade (Sherlock BBC) still gets hits with fair regularity and I'll never understand why. It's definitely not my best work but it's cute! 5 times people weren't sure if Mycroft and Lestrade are dating, and the time they know (because they receive a wedding invitation!!)

5. One Flew East, One Flew West - a Killugon Modern AU in which Killua and Gon meet at a Psychiatric Recovery Center, with Kurapika as another patient and Leorio as a therapist. written for HxHBB2020. I'm very fond of this one. It makes me cry <3 I'm so happy there's so much fandom diversity in these! (The next 11 are all either HxH or Sherlock, l o l )

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I wish I could say I did! I mean to! Sometimes I am not in a good place so I mean to do it later and then I forget..... whoof. I am so thankful for each and every review, and I want to repay that!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I wrote a LOT of fics in my teens where people died (not all of them are on A03, it didn't exist at the time. I'm not giving you my ff.net ;) ) Surely, one of them! More recently, I wrote a Dragon Age: Inquisition Lavellan/Dorian in response to Dorian preemptively breaking up with me (rude!) that is Pretty Hecking Angsty. It's tagged "hurt no comfort"

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Closing the Space (Between Us) did so much work to get where it was, and they ended up with Everything! My boys <3 (And Alluka)

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Very rarely! I'm pretty lucky in life that I don't get hate generally. Maybe it's because I'm not Out There enough but- who cares! People are nice and sweet and lovely mostly, and I love writing fanfic for/with them :3

9. Do you write smut?

Sometimes it will appear in other fics. I don't really do PWPs, and smut itself is pretty rare because I don't include it unless it's... necessary? Kinda? Like if the story demands it. I personally only read smut in certain moods, so when smut's included I make it easy to skip, but it certainly exists

10. Do you write crossovers?

It depends! In my Sherlock days I had a Sherlock/Stargate Atlantis crossover series and a Sherlock in the HP universe series, but I haven't done any recently.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of! I heard people copy fics over to Wattpad sometimes but I've never looked. I'm not usually in MegaFandoms anyway, so I don't think I'm in any real danger.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

YES!! A few different Sherlock ones! (I guess I was pretty well known in the Mystrade sphere?? IDK that was back on livejournal. Anyone else miss KinkMemes?) I think one got translated to Russian and one to Chinese. Both reached out to me and asked for permission first, which I of course granted! It's very flattering <3

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Way way way back in my teen years I cowrote a few times- one in YuGiOh and one in Fruits Basket with a high school friend. Recently I am technically cowriting a fic with @spyscrapper atm- I say technically because its really an rp l o l (Star Wars: Jedi Survivor Canon Divergent Spyscrapper, it's pretty hecking cool! And painful! :D ) I once cowrote a fic where the other author just like. eliminated my plotline. so. It's not always good, but it's still fun to try!

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I refuse to pick One. Killugon (HxH), McShep (Stargate Atlantis), Seishirou/Subaru (Tokyo Babylon & X/1999) and any combination of McSpirk (Star Trek) have probably had the most long-lasting impact on me. And

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

I often feel like I should finish Pulling The Trigger because it's an interesting casefic and I like the thought of a mystery, but... it's 12 years old at this point, so...

16. What are your writing strengths?

Nature-themed metaphors and descriptions! And I feel like I have pretty strong character points of view! Oh, and angst. I'm good at angst. >:)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Planning 🙃 oops what's that. And I use adverbs too much! (but it's fun so I'll keep doing it)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It depends why! If a fic is from the POV of Character A and Character B is talking in a language they don't understand, for example, it's fine to use it (though please provide a translation for your reader!) The language switch has to be for a specific reason, and if the character understands it the reader should too. (In One Flew, Gon and Killua sometimes swap to Japanese to disguise their conversations from everyone else- I show that by changing their conversation to italics in most cases.) I definitely wrote a fic as a teen that had all Japanese because I was a weeb and... lol don't do that.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Yugioh, 2001!! It was probably two paragraphs long hahaha

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Closing the Space (Between Us) for sure! God it's so good. I am begging people to read it. If you're going to read One Thing I have written in my entire life-so-far, please let it be that!!

"Tag 20 people:" that seems like a lot hahaha uuhh @spyscrapper @avtorsola @mmuffncakes @nightingalesighs @etoiline @iwishtocountthestars @unicorncoalition @shalnarkonice @missinkylace @thefledglingdm 10 is a reasonable number. but tbh if you wanna do it, do it, I wanna read ur response!

[rosignoelle]

mckirk rec list

Some of my favourites from this pairing, in order of increasing word count. All of the fics listed here are aos inspired (i’m a total spirk shipper when it comes to tos but mckirk has my heart for the aos).

where i lay my hat

Rating: G

Word Count: 5k

“If Bones wants to spend a ridiculous amount of his own salary keeping an empty apartment, then by all means.”

Jim accidentally moves in with Bones over the course of several shore leaves. The relationship progression is lovely.

and i can lend you all my broken parts that might fit (like this)

Rating: E

Word Count: 17k

“Academy Era. First they fall into bed. Then they fall in love”

A study in intimacy.

blueshift

Rating: E

Word Count: 22k

“When Leonard shows up at Starfleet Academy, he wonders just how drunk he was when he met with the recruiter. He has no friends, misses his kid, and if drowning his sorrows doesn't kill him, PT will. Then he meets Jim Kirk again.”

This is probably one of my favourite depictions of a character with depression. A little rushed towards the end, but very well written overall.

Better Strangers

Rating: E

Word Count: 23k

“When Leonard McCoy moves to San Francisco it's to start a new life. Something different from his old life. That means putting up with Starfleet policies, combat classes, idiot hospital employees and Jim Kirk.”

Major focus on Bones working as a doctor, which I love, and the characterizations feel spot on! The ending is a little abrupt.

Denial

Raring: E (teen until the last chapter)

Word Count: 26k

“Denial or, 5 times Bones touched Jim when he wouldn't know, and one time he did. When Leo bumped into the kid at the bar, he never knew that he'd met the one who would save him from his loneliness.”

This is written in a stream of consciousness style which plays out very well. A very sensual piece.

Old Man and the Enterprise

Rating: M

Word Count: not listed but probably ~30k

“The life and times of James T. Kirk and Leonard H. McCoy; a series of short scenes which start on shore leave and end in the indefinable future.”

This is not a sad fic by any means, but it feels mournful and yearning and lovely. gorgeous allusions to literature throughout.

This Business of Art

Rating: M (maybe T+)

Word Count: 46k

“Art culture modern AU mystery --- “Listen, Jim, I don’t know what you’re trying to do. Whether it’s taking the skeletons out of your closet or resurrecting some lost essence your father possessed…it’s not going to work.” He leveled his gaze upon Jim’s own, “It will only bring about more pain and upset everyone you love while you’re at it.” – the problem was, Jim thought, in this world of art and business who did he love, friend or foe?”

It’s a murder mystery and and art AU all in in one! I adore how this author adapted canon tidbits to their AU. Great use of foreshadowing.

Touch and Go (Right in Front is You)

Rating: M

Word Count: 48k

“Four days. That's now long Leonard had known Jim. Four days and eight train rides, during which they'd shared three thermoses of tea, several pints of beer, a handful of snacks and texts, and a red and white tin of mints that started the whole fucking thing.”

This is a great story— the author lived in the area where the story is set, which contributes to the gorgeous world building. It also has a nice focus on friendship and an ensemble cast!

the violence of comets

Rating: T

Word Count: 57k

“Jim has never once, in his life, believed in love. He wears his bare skin with only his own tattoo circling his ankle as a badge of honor. He meets a man named Leonard McCoy on a shuttle in Riverside, Iowa who believes exactly the opposite.”

A very cute AU with a nice focus on building trust.

Love, Like Ghosts

Rating: E

Word Count: 64k

“This is several stories, not just the story of Jim & Bones' epic romance.

Jim's story. "Most would think defeating the Narada was my greatest triumph, but those closest to me know the truth. The Narada was a distant third. My last Kobayashi Maru comes in second-- and not for the reasons you'd think. The first, well..."

Chris's story. "I reached a certain age and thought I knew exactly who I was and what I wanted out of life. Then I walked into an Iowa bar and realized I wasn't the person I thought I knew. Not even close..."

Leonard's story. "You know that story? the one where Pike meets Kirk and there's mentoring and bonding and they tiptoe through the tulips into happily ever? Well, this ain't it. Dipshit."”

The characters are so wonderfully flawed in this fic, it feels like a psychological piece in the best way.

visions

Rating: M

Word Count: 65k

“Jim and Bones met in high school. music was something they shared from the start. Over the years after they parted ways, they find each other again and again, and wonder if there will ever be some version of the future where the two of them can be together”

This is tagged as a high school au, but is primarily set during adulthood. A great example of non-linear storytelling, and a happy ending guaranteed!

Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe

Rating: E

Word Count: 70k

“From Variety, June 2008:

Pavel Chekov ("Charlie X") and Gaila ("Bread and Circuses") have joined the cast of small budget drama "That Which Survives," funded by Fleet's indie arm Academy and supervised by Nyota Uhura.The debut feature from longtime script doctor Leonard McCoy, former show runner on sitcom "Three to Tango," centers on a college student coping with his father's terminal cancer. Chekov plays the son, Gaila the nurse. The father is yet to be cast. Also attached are director James T. Kirk and producer Spock, the team behind the blockbuster spy-girl franchise starring Carol Marcus, the latest of which, "A Taste of Armageddon," opened last month. (A modern-day Hollywood AU.)”

The romance definitely takes the back burner here, which suits the realistic vibe of the fic. the storytelling is really well done.

En Promenade

Rating: E

Word Count: 73k

“After three months of weekend bar-hopping and a slow process of elimination -- with finding the right bar, that was, and tragically not discovering who Bones was into -- Jim was starting to narrow it down. Bones was actively scowling less, which seemed like a good sign, but Jim still didn’t quite have it right, and lo, he was determined.”

It’s the dancing fic. One of my all-time favourites, this is an excellent academy-era fic with a plot that manages to be both absolutely insane but incredibly compelling.

Friends with all my Demons

Rating: E

Word Count: 93k

“Someone has to teach Jim Kirk how to take care of himself, ‘cause he sure as hell isn’t picking it up on his own.”

A gorgeous academy-era slow burn, strong focus on medicine and how bones balances being jim’s doctor and his friend which was really nice to read.

Catching Fire (The Firehouse AU)

Rating: E

Word Count: 137k

“21st Century fire department AU. Paramedic Leonard McCoy flees a disastrous break-up in Savannah and ends up working at a fire department in Iowa.”

The character development in this fic is exquisite, and Bones makes for a great unreliable narrator which allows for some great set ups.

Two Men and a Motorbike

Rating: E

Word Count: 150k

Alternate Link AO3 Link

“One of the few constants in James Kirk's life the last three years has been his best friend, Leonard McCoy. After saving Earth from a bunch of crazy time-traveling Romulans, Jim & Bones find out what happens when best friends cross the line between friendship and something more after a late night ride on Jim's motorbike. There are good times and bad times, and times that are just plain complicated.”

A post-Narada academy fic that’s simultaneously a total romp and wonderfully endearing. Also has a 60k sequel with an emotionally mature depiction of two (admittedly fucked up) individuals navigating a romantic relationship.

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Rating: E

Word Count: 230k

“The life and times of Leonard H. McCoy MD/PhD … If Leonard McCoy's life could get any fucking weirder, it would be … Jesus, he didn't even want to think what that could possibly mean, because it's already been too fucking weird to make any kind of rational sense. A Starfleet Academy story, set in the ST:XI universe.”

For me this is THE mckirk fic. The storytelling is so seductive. It’s beautifully written and the characters are deeply compelling.