A Child of Two Worlds, and Other Binaries

[kitausu]

Fandom: Star Trek XI
Pairing/Characters: Kirk/Spock, Gaila, Sarek
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Written for an LGBTfest prompt: Human/Vulcan, gay/straight, male/female: Spock has been dealing with binaries all his life.
A/N:  Cut text from a quote by Judith Butler.

Comments

[what_alchemy]

Sad and lovely and somehow so true. Thanks for posting.

[cicero_drayon]

I like this so much--lately I have begun to realize that yes, sexuality is a much more fluid thing than the majority of people make it out to be, and I think you expressed that very well here with a character who would most certainly have those problems. I like the way you phrased things:

“If people ask, I tell them I’m bisexual. It doesn’t really cover everything, of course, but it helps people understand.”

Which is definitely the easiest thing to do.

[jane_potter]

Oh my goodness that is beautiful. The Gaila+Spock made the platonic!fangirl part of my heart go all a-quiver, so bless you, dear. :) The idea that binaries might make up such a solid and intractable part of Vulcan culture goes a surprising way to making them quite alien. And I can't help but love you even more for tackling social issues along with bittersweet, heart-wrenching, in-character fic. The last line? Broke me. It was like a punch to the gut that I wasn't expecting, and you didn't do anything sappy or sweet afterwards to moderate it. Kind of left me hanging on the bitter end of bittersweet, and I... kind of like it. It's sometimes nice to see not everything gets fixed perfect, you know? Of course I am firm in my belief that sometime in the vague future there is healing and self-confidence and all that. But just... not yet, which was refreshing. :)

[jouissant]

Squee, this was my prompt!

I LOVE the Spock & Gaila interaction, and the way you ended this- with Jim still sort of missing the point, much as he's trying to be there for Spock- rang very true to me. Great work! :)

[lizzie_marie_23]

Oh this is so great. I love his confusion and the way you address these social issues. Each of these sections mixes the bittersweet so well, and then when they're all together it makes it so powerful. I really like the Gaila + Spock section because it reminds me that platonic relationships are just as important as sexual ones, and your Gaila is so terrific.

[kitausu]

platonic relationships are just as important as sexual ones

YES. A HUNDRED TIMES, YES.

I love my Kirk/Spock, more than is probably healthy, but there is something to be said for strictly platonic relationships (doesn't mean I can't have Gaila flirt with him a little, though). I AM SO GLAD YOU LIKED.

[lizzie_marie_23]

Yeah, it's taken me a while to realize that, and it goes for real life too. I've had a few times where I love someone, really love them, but not in the traditional sense of the word and that can be so hard, so I totally get what Spock is going through here.

And Gaila can flirt with him, no problem! It's like another dimension of their relationship, that's just as necessary as the talking and being there for each other.