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rynne.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crack_van2011-08-18 08:03 pm
rynne.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2011-08-18 08:03 pm
Entry tags:
Faultlines by what_alchemy (NC-17)
Fandom: STAR TREK: REBOOT
Pairing: Kirk/Spock, Sulu/Chekov
Length: 14,452
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
what_alchemy
Author Website: At AO3
Why this must be read:
Star Trek seems to have a lot of genderswap, where random things turn people into the opposite sex. Sometimes I read them, but rarely do I find one that does what I want with the genre, which is to explore gender identity. This one does it magnificently.
Spock, Sulu, and two others have their genders swapped by conveniently-placed flowers. In a move that is (sadly) refreshing,what_alchemy continues to refer to them by their original pronouns, because the people involved still feel like their original genders.
And it's hard. They don't just want to play with their new equipment and that's it -- for most people, whether you're cisgender or transgender, your gender identity is an important part of who you are, so how do you feel when you're just suddenly, randomly switched? Does your concept of your self change? Do your relationships with others, particularly your significant other, change? Can you come to some sort of balance with who you are, even feeling like an alien in your own skin?
what_alchemy really deals with these issues in a fic that is everything I want out of this trope.
Also, definitely check out the rest ofwhat_alchemy's fic. I chose Faultlines to rec, but what_alchemy writes a lot of fic with some equally thoughtful themes, plus a lot of smoking hot porn.
Spock’s thoughts are jumbled. It seems as though they exist outside his jurisdiction, and they hurry to rush out of his mouth. He barely takes a breath before they tumble out without semblance of order, without care to his Vulcan reserve.
“I find… I find that I do not wish to appear vulnerable, and I feel vulnerable in this body at all times. Not in terms of strength — I may be weaker than a Vulcan male, but I am still more physically powerful than a human male. I feel vulnerable in that I do not know how to move inside it. I fear even looking at it, because it is so alien to me. I believe that I require a brassiere, because I find myself sore and chafed by mid-day, but I cannot bring myself to be fitted for one because the quartermaster would see, and I would see also. I fear how others will perceive and treat me. I have noted the occasional lascivious look from male crew members, and I fear I would face more of them among strangers. I fear a loss of respect for my person, or that I will face dismissal in the company of others because I appear female and many societies value females less than males. Vulcan is, was such a society, despite its emphasis on logic. New Vulcan is much the same, I speculate.
“And the captain. I have much conflict about him, and our association. I do not have intimate working knowledge of female anatomy, and I fear what the captain will want from me should I remain female indefinitely. I fear that he will… leave me should I not give that to him. I feared when I had my male body that he would leave me for a female, and now that I have a female body, I fear that I will be inadequate because I am not female. I also fear… I fear that if I do lie with him, he will grow very attached to this body, and should I be returned to my rightful one as is my hope, his affections would no longer remain with me but with this body.”
There is a stretch of silence. The frown Sulu wears seems so delicate now that Spock has seen it on his feminine moon face. Once the same expression would have inspired a sense of foreboding, but now Sulu seems only thoughtful and sympathetic. Spock fears this as well: that he will not be taken seriously; that from a female, his words and actions will not carry weight. Even Spock, who is in the exact position in which Sulu finds himself, struggles to reconcile the fact of Sulu’s masculinity with the soft, small woman beside him. It does not bode well.
Faultlines
Pairing: Kirk/Spock, Sulu/Chekov
Length: 14,452
Author on LJ:
what_alchemyAuthor Website: At AO3
Why this must be read:
Star Trek seems to have a lot of genderswap, where random things turn people into the opposite sex. Sometimes I read them, but rarely do I find one that does what I want with the genre, which is to explore gender identity. This one does it magnificently.
Spock, Sulu, and two others have their genders swapped by conveniently-placed flowers. In a move that is (sadly) refreshing,
what_alchemy continues to refer to them by their original pronouns, because the people involved still feel like their original genders.And it's hard. They don't just want to play with their new equipment and that's it -- for most people, whether you're cisgender or transgender, your gender identity is an important part of who you are, so how do you feel when you're just suddenly, randomly switched? Does your concept of your self change? Do your relationships with others, particularly your significant other, change? Can you come to some sort of balance with who you are, even feeling like an alien in your own skin?
what_alchemy really deals with these issues in a fic that is everything I want out of this trope.Also, definitely check out the rest of
what_alchemy's fic. I chose Faultlines to rec, but what_alchemy writes a lot of fic with some equally thoughtful themes, plus a lot of smoking hot porn.Spock’s thoughts are jumbled. It seems as though they exist outside his jurisdiction, and they hurry to rush out of his mouth. He barely takes a breath before they tumble out without semblance of order, without care to his Vulcan reserve.
“I find… I find that I do not wish to appear vulnerable, and I feel vulnerable in this body at all times. Not in terms of strength — I may be weaker than a Vulcan male, but I am still more physically powerful than a human male. I feel vulnerable in that I do not know how to move inside it. I fear even looking at it, because it is so alien to me. I believe that I require a brassiere, because I find myself sore and chafed by mid-day, but I cannot bring myself to be fitted for one because the quartermaster would see, and I would see also. I fear how others will perceive and treat me. I have noted the occasional lascivious look from male crew members, and I fear I would face more of them among strangers. I fear a loss of respect for my person, or that I will face dismissal in the company of others because I appear female and many societies value females less than males. Vulcan is, was such a society, despite its emphasis on logic. New Vulcan is much the same, I speculate.
“And the captain. I have much conflict about him, and our association. I do not have intimate working knowledge of female anatomy, and I fear what the captain will want from me should I remain female indefinitely. I fear that he will… leave me should I not give that to him. I feared when I had my male body that he would leave me for a female, and now that I have a female body, I fear that I will be inadequate because I am not female. I also fear… I fear that if I do lie with him, he will grow very attached to this body, and should I be returned to my rightful one as is my hope, his affections would no longer remain with me but with this body.”
There is a stretch of silence. The frown Sulu wears seems so delicate now that Spock has seen it on his feminine moon face. Once the same expression would have inspired a sense of foreboding, but now Sulu seems only thoughtful and sympathetic. Spock fears this as well: that he will not be taken seriously; that from a female, his words and actions will not carry weight. Even Spock, who is in the exact position in which Sulu finds himself, struggles to reconcile the fact of Sulu’s masculinity with the soft, small woman beside him. It does not bode well.
Faultlines