Date: 29 May 2012 19:44 Title: Silence
Wow. This was so very insightful and poignant. You truly got to the heart of this relationship, and that means the world to me. Sometimes the problem between these two is that they insist on sacrificing so much for each other--if one would be selfish for half a second, they might make more progress! But they couldn't do that and be themselves, so it won't happen, and your story bears that out beautifully.
Author's Response:
Thank you so much! I think one really has to have a deep understanding of these two men and the complex relationship that binds them one to the other to 'get' this piece. And you so 'got' it. :D It's so nice to be understood. :D
[Report This]Date: 10 Dec 2011 13:36 Title: Silence
Spock, Spock, Spock...What are you thinking? Yeah, okay, you told me, but this is Jim. And where is your logic? Communication before such a big decision.
LBD, this is a wonderful fic, full of the emotion inherent in these two men. And their definite male tendency to not communicate about emotional subjects. Beautifully written, I love it.
Thanks so much for writing. I know I'll get a good fic when I see your name...and I've got a lot of catching up to do.
Nutty
(wandering through the fandom again)
Author's Response:
Nutty!!! So good to see you back! I was starting to wonder if you got trapped in a transporter buffer or something...;-)
Thanks ever-so-much for the praise, but more importantly, is this a quick meander through the fandom or are you writing again? Might we see more to 'It Went Bang'? A girl can only hope...:DDD
Date: 06 Dec 2011 21:18 Title: Silence
Man oh LBD. You really up the dynamics between this pair. I love your handling of the bond between Kirk and Spock. I'm afriad I can't ship them as Slash but some of the finest nuances of their relationship are so complex, weaved and intricate it is no wonder that many others do. However, you sell on the basis of friendship, professional respect and of course on firm trust and belief in the other. Which all serves to strengthen their bond but also, as explored so effectively here, to put a gulf between them. The closeness forces them apart artifically and of course conjures up all manner of crossed thoughts and feelings on the matter. Nothing is ever straightforward between this pair when it involves the other. They are too alike and too different to approach their brotherhood with one another in any kind of mature and sensible way. But hey they are blokes and that's a blokey thing to do, fudge such emotional matters and change the subject. A fascinating exploration of the challenge theme - as much about communication and friendship as silence - but then friends are those people you cna be silent with. Good stuff.
Author's Response:
Wow MF - it's like you can see inside my head and perfectly grasp how I view the relationship between these two. Your analysis is spot on, from nothing being straightforward between them, to just acting like 'two blokes,' and glossing over all the heavy, emotional stuff. As usual, I'm speechless - and tickled pink - after reading one of your reviews. Thanks so much for the vote of confidence. :D
Date: 04 Dec 2011 03:48 Title: Silence
My goodness, these two are causing themselves such pain by making all sorts of assumptions about what the other must be thinking and feeling. It's hard to tell whether maybe the illogic of both their thoughts is being exacerbated by the shutting off of the bond, or it's simply a matter of the humanity in both of them.
I found myself almost yelling at them to just put aside their assumptions and talk to each other, and wanting to knock their heads together. And if your intention was to cause such frustration in the reader, then you definitely succeeded.
For all of Spock's logic, he comes off as being avoidant in a very human way; to me, it was quite telling when he said, "as fate would have it," this would be easier for him. I think that's where he tipped his hand as to why he really made his decision: because he was afraid.
The only difficulty I had was that since I am not a TOS fan, I had some trouble telling what was your personal canon and what was official canon, and recalling the meaning of all the references. Thankfully, those references were not that necessary to get the point, but it did halt my reading progress as I had to work to figure it out.
Overall, though, I liked it.
Author's Response:
Hey Nerys! Glad to see the frustration I was feeling with them came through loud and clear - good to know their stubborn refusal to simply talk about things resonated with the reader. Thank goodness for McCoy - he tends to be my go-to-guy when I want to 'yell at them and knock their heads together' for being ridiculously stupid. ;-)
I think for me, this frustration stems from viewing TMP when I was 19. I remember leaving the theater feeling such a sense of profound sadness that things had gotten so distant between these two, and to a lesser extent between them and McCoy. In many of my pieces toward the latter portion of the 5-yr mission I try to lay the groundwork for what could possibly have led to such a momentous rift between them. This falls into that category.
As my writing has become more prolific, I have tried to weave my own 'canon' into established canon, while making individual stories accessible to those who may be unfamiliar with my other works. As I said before, that was definitely a concern with this piece, and something I'll have to consciously strive to improve in the future.
As always, thanks for the thoughtful, helpful feedback. :D
Date: 03 Dec 2011 04:35 Title: Silence
This was lovely :). I like the idea that Kirk and Spock have a mental bond, because it works just so perfectly. Not even as a slash thing (tbh I've never liked the K/S ship, I know, blasphemy!), but as an example of a Perfect Friendship. I actually groaned aloud a little when Spock cut off the bond, but it makes such perfect sense that he would do that, and I think having him do anything else would take him completely out of character. So bittersweet...
Author's Response:
Thank you. :) And I believe we’re on the same page concerning K/S slash. Sometimes I feel like I’m the lone hold-out against this ship. ;) I have always maintained that the ties that bind them, one to the other, are utterly transcendent of the merely physical. For me, it goes way beyond something as simple and mundane as that. This bond I envision between them is brother-to-brother, not lover-to-lover. ;)
This may be bittersweet, but leave it to McCoy to finally get the two knuckleheads to talk to one another about it in my story ‘Learning Curve.’ It makes up for all the hurt and misunderstandings between them in this piece. :)
[Report This]Date: 27 Nov 2011 17:58 Title: Silence
I can but add little to what I've already said in correspondence and say that this is an indepth, complex and intense story true to Kirk and Spock. The various emotional tussles that they have and have as a consequence of the episodes listed above. It's right up there in terms of a classic episode.
Author's Response:
Thanks, Mac, for shoring up the confidence of a gal who was doubting herself - it was so very much appreciated! :D
Date: 27 Nov 2011 01:00 Title: Silence
In all honesty I've read this story, and I didn't grasp the significance or point to this story. So there is this link between them (Spock and Kirk), sort of sensory and feeling sort of link. But what I don't get is why Spock just didn't close it down in the first place. Spock said it himself; he was being selfish, but that doesn't seem Vulcan-like or in character.
Spock being a half Vulcan (and exhibiting the full discipline of a Vulcan) why did he engage in this link for so much time when he knew it was wrong, and he was prying into his best friend's (or more like companion)privacy? It's just so illogical, and I think it is a big plot hole.
Having not seen that much of TOS, I still thought the bond between Kirk and Spock (as you described it) seemed too deep. Like meanings within meanings, subtleness within subtleness. I dunno how to describe it; it's a bit like over-egging the pudding, the importance of certain aspects are overemphasised too much.
It was a good brain-teaser, I'll give you that, and it made me think, but at times it got to subtle and I think from there the story lost some of its meaning.
Author's Response:
Gosh Ln X, sorry it didn’t work for you. The only bit of advice I can offer than won’t contain spoilers for other readers is to carefully read Kirk’s portion again – it explains all the reasons why Spock would choose not to terminate the link with regard to Kirk’s feelings.
As for Spock, he finds himself on the horns of a dilemma – no matter what solution he ultimately employs, Kirk will be hurt by his actions in some way. The fact that the two of them are not known for their sterling interpersonal skills when it comes to dealing with issues of a personal nature between them is a recurring theme in TOS.
As for the link itself, while it was not mentioned in TOS, Gene Roddenberry’s novelization of ‘The Motion Picture’ explores the idea of a mental connection between them, on several fronts. For me, this explained several of Spock’s more ‘emotional’ decisions in various third season episodes.
As always, thanks for the feedback and for taking the time to read and review – it means everything. :D
Date: 20 Nov 2011 04:27 Title: Silence
The bond between Kirk and Spock could explain a lot of things. The lack of logic and being stubborn in the Tholian space could raise a lot of questions, but your story shows that there was logic to Spocks decisions: he knew Kirk was alive and acted accordingly. He just didn't share that one detail with anyone, so they thought he was behaving emotionally.
It was a great move to first present us with Kirk's thoughts. We know as little as he does and we have to guess what is actually happening to him and Spock. And then were get everything explained and all our questions are answered in Spock's part.
That is actually a shame that they don't talk about it, because it could spare them a lot of difficult feelings, but it is very much in character. Conversations about emotional states were not their cup of tea.
Author's Response:
Thank you, Gul Rejal. This bond was never mentioned in TOS, but was alluded to in Roddenberry's novelization of TMP. Looking back over third season episodes, it can certainly explain why Spock did some of the things he did that to us seemed overly emotional. I just took that idea and ran with it. ;-)
As I mentioned, this piece is a bridge of sorts to 'Learning Curve,' and the two finally (albeit reluctantly) discuss this link between them in that story.
I debated whether or not to include Spock's thoughts as part of this story, but was afraid if I didn't it would leave the reader frustrated; with too many unanswered questions.
Date: 16 Nov 2011 23:15 Title: Silence
I confess I had to read up about Turnabout Intruder, an episode whose details I had forgotten. It strikes me as - and I realize I am using 2011 values to judge a work from 1967 or 1968 - the anti-feminist TOS episode.
I love the fact that there is no dialogue in this piece. It adds to the mood well.
The idea of a psychic link - and then a severing of that link - is chilling. For Kirk, it's almost a death, and he's, essentially, experiencing a form of bereavement.
For Spock, it's his desire to give Jim his privacy, and to kind of protect him - a sort of Berlin Wall to keep from spying on Kirk's inner turmoil. I think Spock is kidding himself, and that Spock's true motivation is more likely his own, inner, discomfort (I tend to come down on the side of McCoy when there's a Spock-McCoy conflict). Spock's gotten a peek from behind the curtain, I feel, and he wishes he could put it all back and, in a way, unsee what he's seen.
But you just can't unring that bell.
Thank you for an intriguing story.
Author's Response:
Yeah, definitely not one of TOS' shining moments in terms of women's rights. I can overlook that, given the time at which it was written, and tend to focus instead on how it must have felt for Kirk to be trapped in an unfamiliar body - the fear, the insecurity, the surrealness of it all. The writers certainly could have found a better way to handle the premise of having him locked in a female body, but the emotional impact would be the same.
Glad you enjoyed the story in spite of that, and as always, thanks for reading and reviewing. :D