Clowns

Fanfiction
Title:	Clowns
Author(s):	Elizabeth Scott
Date(s):	1993
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Clowns is a Kirk/Spock story by Elizabeth Scott.

It was published in the print zine KaleidoScope #1.

Summary

"Spock returns to Vulcan after a mate bond is created between him and Kirk during a meld to keep a poisoned Kirk alive until an antidote can be found."

Reactions and Reviews

1994

"Clowns" depends on an old K/S cliche for all its interest. Spock thinks Kirk doesn't really want him. Kirk thinks Spock doesn't really want him. If an author is going to depend on such a well-used convention from the genre, she'd better come up with something really different to make the story interesting.

Unfortunately, the only new aspect of this scenario I saw was the presence of Amanda. She was definitely a breath of fresh air. I liked the way Scott portrayed her as being relentlessly cheerful in the beginning; for example "'Ready," Amanda chirped." and "She wondered how long she could tolerate her own gay one-sided conversation.'

But Spock's character really suffered. He seemed so far from the competent first officer of the Enterprise, moping about the house, replying monosyllabically to Amanda, pretty much like a teenager disappointed in love and determined to act out the tragic scene by moping for the rest of her/his life. I understand what the author was trying to do here- After all, Spock's very life is endangered because of the shorn bond, and he is in great emotional turmoil, but we have to ask ourselves how real adults deal with pain, how our supremely competent Vulcan would handle it. I really resisted this particular image of Spock.

Elizabeth Scott is capable of writing extraordinarily interesting, fresh stories, but unfortunately "Clowns" doesn't measure up to her best.

Spock is back home on Vulcan with Amanda after an attempt to bond in order to save Kirk's life. The bond has not been broken or properly disconnected and is causing problems for both. Kirk finally comes to Vulcan and they declare their love and the need to restore the interrupted bond.

Nicely written with some good imagery. Overall, a good solid premise, but there were a couple of problems. One is that Spock is so affected by the breaking of the bond that he becomes practically catatonic, but then rather easily recovers the minute Kirk professes his love. Also, neither could tell the other that they loved, allowing all sorts of difficulties, including Spock going into 10 days of stasis. These things can be totally acceptable if they are set up as massive dilemmas in the first place, such as Spock could die or Kirk finds it impossible to express his feelings to Spock. But here, it felt like there was no good reason for them to do these things.

Nevertheless, this author has a nice style of writing in a frequently insightful story.

1995

This title is from a Judy Collins song. I never really got the significance of why "there ought to be clowns" anyway, and it seemed rather far-fetched that Kirk would find significance in this. Although the other line quoted, "I thought that you'd want what I want," is really fine, and appropriate, for a story about Kirkand Spock misunderstanding each other's intentions. Kirk had taken a poison dart and Spock had had to meld with him for two days, and a bond developed, which had then been unskillfully severed. Now Spock is at home, depressed. He had not revealed to Kirk his physical desire; Kirk had not made it clear he would have wanted the bond. Gladly, it's bigger than the both of them. We find out Kirk had been unconsciously keeping the bond from dissolving. So we arrive at that wonderful time of finally admitting their feelings to each other, in this story powerful and wonderful love and sex, and the bond reknitting....

An insightful look at the bond; good details of how it works.

1999

A brooding and lonely Spock. Ahhh, a magnet that draws me relentlessly to the next page and the next. And what a gorgeous forlorn creature Elizabeth concocts for us. He’s on Vulcan alone in the big house with Amanda and for days he’s eaten only bites, spoken but few words. His arms hang listlessly at his sides, his eyes stare blankly out onto the horizon.

A small response is gained when Amanda tells him how handsome he is in his dark green robe—a robe whose sleeve he unconsciously caresses as he replies, “It was a present”. Tortuously Spock tells of the bonding that grew from his healing meld with his Captain, and the botched attempt to sever it. I liked the dark portrayal of the backwater healer—like a greasy back-alley abortionist. As a result of the malpractice, he and Kirk must remain forever apart to allow the tattered bond to dissolve through distance.

Oh, I wish this had been a much longer story. I wanted to be tortured by loneliness for chapters, not mere sentences. I wanted to suffer all the desperate pangs of loneliness. I wanted to become inconsolable before Kirk and Spock found that a love as strong as theirs could never be quenched. It was just too darn SHORT!