#captainkirkk

Illustration for aloneintherain (here on tumblr)’s fic When the dead are all living. Its title in my notes is “disaster Peter“, and I feel that tells you all it should about it. Plus a couple crops of the background. (art here on AO3)

YES I WAS WAITING FOR CASSANDRA TRUTH

Read on AO3

For @captainkirkk

“YOU’RE DANTE BASCO?!” The screech echoes throughout the palace. Servants and guards alike all pause momentarily. It lasts barely a second before they carry on, uncaring and used to it.

In the palace gardens, Sokka is 5 seconds away from screaming endlessly into the cruel, uncaring void of the universe. It is the only way he can think to process the information that has just been accidentally given to him.

Across from him, Zuko looks exactly 1 second away from running away. Zuko, who is a powerful bender, master swordsman, virtual ninja, leader of an entire nation, and. Sokka’s favourite fictional author. Apparently?

Life isn’t fair.

“Uh,” Aang’s expression is sheepish. “Sorry?” He looks between the two of them, obviously unsure of who he should be offering the apology to.

Toph, from her spot sitting and reclining under a tree near by, snorts. She’s grinning and very obviously enjoying Sokka’s suffering. Beside her, Suki at least has the grace to mostly mask her amusement.

Katara, who has never once spared Sokka feelings on anything, rolls her eyes and says, “It’s been years, Sokka. How are you just figuring this out?” She’s being gracious. ‘Figuring it out’. As if Sokka wasn’t just minding his business, reading the newest novel from his favourite author, when Aang—sweet, naïve, stupid Aang—just barreled in and said, “Hey did you get Zuko to sign that for you yet? I made him sign mine as soon as I got it.”

Sokka had furrowed his brows, confused. “Why would Zuko sign my book?” he’d asked. Then he’d caught sight of Zuko’s face; pinched and red up to the tips of his ears. He’d looked like he’d been caught in the act of doing something scandalous.

Then horror had spread throughout Sokka’s entire being. Pieces clicking together to form a terrible, awful picture. He’d shot up to his feet, finger pointed and shriek on his tongue.

And now here they were.

Sokka wheeled around to face his family. “You knew?” he whispered, soft and betrayed. Broken. “You all knew and let me continue to live this lie?”

Toph, indelicate and crass with not a single shred of hesitancy, says, “We had bets on how long it would take you to puzzle it out. My guess was Twinkle Toes spilling the beans.” Then she turns to Suki, “I win, by the way.” Suki rolls her eyes.

Zuko chokes. “You made bets?”

Aang looks hurt. “How come no one told there was a bet?”

Katara places a hand on his arm, comforting and sympathetic. “Well—” she starts.

“It’s ‘cause you can’t keep a secret for shit.” Toph interrupts. Katara’s eye twitches.

“I can too!” Aang immediately rebuffs. “I never told anyone that Zuko is the Blue Spirit!” It takes him a second for what he just said to catch up to him. Then he looks sheepish and apologetic again.

Sokka wheels back around to face Zuko. “YOU’RE THE BLUE SPIRIT?!”

(Off in the distant, the entirety of the palace pauses once again. They all collectively blink. That they hadn’t known).

“Huh,” Toph says.

Suki eyes Zuko for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Katara just looks stunned. Finally, someone else understands.

Zuko just looks constipated. “You’re going to kill me,” he says, tone grave and expression solemn, “You’re going to kill me and the Fire Nation will be left without a sovereign. Everything will plunge into anarchy and civil war and it will be all of your faults. Is that what you want? Is that what you assholes fucking want?”

Sokka sucks in a breath. A light of comprehension shines on him. The world keeps spinning and a wave of calm awareness washes over him.

“Oh, of course you’re Dante Basco,” he sighs, steepled fingers coming up to rest on his chin, “You’re a fucking theatre nerd.”

Zuko, the dramatic fucker, glowers and says, “I can declare you an enemy of state.”

“You’re the Blue Spirit?” Katara questions. Zuko lets out the longest, deepest sigh that Sokka has ever heard.

Not to long later, after they’ve all sat back down and calmed down a bit, Sokka drops his book again. There is a look of intense self-reflection on his face. “Tui and La,” he whispers, “How did I not figure it out sooner. All your main characters have daddy issues.”

There is a moment of pure, stunned silence following those words. No one moves, hardly even dares to breathe.

Then Suki chokes, hunching in on herself as she wheezes. “Oh my spirits, he fucking said it.”

Some of my favorite MCU fanfics. Admittedly, I’m biased towards Iron Man and Spider-Man fics. I decided to limit my list to include only at most 1 fic per author. But I ended up mentioning other works by the same author in my babble, anyway. These are sorted by published date (earliest first).

find warmth in the middle of the night by aloneintherain @captainkirkk​

Spider-Man | Gen

Everything this author writes is great! Combine that with my love for clothes-sharing, and this fic hits me right in the feels. This author writes amazing Gen fics so check out her other works, even outside the MCU fandom! Other MCU fics I like: Occupational Hazard <Peter Parker & Ned & Michelle> and A Different Kind of Mask <Matt Murdock & Peter Parker>.

and then redemption by spidermooned (softlyblue)

Spider-Man, The Avengers | Loki & Peter Parker

I’m always in for anything emotional. But especially when it’s about redemption and second chances and genuine friendship.

These Hands Could Hold The World (But It’ll Never Be Enough) by josywbu @josywbu

Spider-Man, Iron Man | Peter Parker & Tony Stark

This fic taught me the importance of always checking the tags before reading. I only read the summary, proceeded to enjoy all the fluff, and was devastated by the end. </3 (It was great, in case someone misunderstands.)

man vs food by tempestaurora @tempestaurora​

Spider-Man, Iron Man | Harley Keener & Peter Parker

This one is pure fluff! It belongs to a series called wayward sons and this is my favorite but the entire series is worth checking out. This author is my source for doses of Harley&Peter.

Five Times Bruce Banner is Not That Kind of DoctorTM + One Time He’s Perfect For the Job by awesomesockes and whumphoarder

The Avengers | Gen

Brilliant and humorous. After I finally resigned to the fact that people will not stop using Bruce as a medical doctor in their fanfics, this really made me smile.

how to win friends and influence people by Bundibird

Spider-Man, Iron Man | Harley Keener & Peter Parker

After reading this the first time, it endeared me to Harley and Peter’s possible friendship so much that I went digging for Harley and Peter friendship and/or brotherhood fics.

Born to Cherish by ironfamjam @ironfamjam​

Spider-Man, Iron Man | Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Platonic soulmates are my jam!!! There’s so few Peter&Tony platonic soulmate fics, but I’m just glad that amazing ones such as this exist. This author also has another awesome soulmate fic (Everything, All At Once). But who am I kidding, this author has a LOT of awesome Iron Man and Spider-Man fics so check them all out. The hardest part in this list was figuring out which one to include. I’m writing down my other favorites anyway because while Born to Cherish came out on top today, I probably change my favorite every day: Darling Boy, The Geographic Equation of Love, Apartment 43B.

Progress Report by sameuspegasus

Spider-Man | Gen

Definitely one of my favorites fic written from a minor character’s POV. It’s part of the Glowy Green Slime series, which I absolutely enjoy!

from your perspective, the world is flat by blueh @blu-eh​

Spider-Man | Gen

A delightful spider-man identity reveal fic. I just love the execution of that reveal moment, as well as how the revelation was handled afterwards.

The Reinvention of Tony Stark by losingmymindtonight

The Avengers | Gen

Set in an alternate post-Endgame timeline, it is a beautifully written piece on a glimpse of life for the Starks after the big battle.

Sigh No More by blondsak

The Avengers | Peter Parker & Tony Stark

The combination of angst and fluff in this one is amazing. All the little details throughout the fic make that ending just a little more beautiful and bittersweet.

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So I said this was a recommendation list. And it is! I do recommend those fics a lot. But well, my ulterior motive was to give whoever’s reading this an idea of what I like so I could, maybe, possibly, hopefully get fic suggestions in return? :D

Hahaha seriously, if you guys have MCU fics to suggest, I’d love to hear them!