Going Through the Motions

Fanfiction
Title:	Going Through the Motions
Author(s):	Anne Elliot
Date(s):	2007
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Going Through the Motions is a Kirk/Spock story by Anne Elliot.

It was published in the print zine The Legacy #1.

Summary

"Kirk is hoping the command seminar he and Spock are ordered to attend will get the pressure off of them concerning the plans for their upcoming bonding ceremony."

Reactions and Reviews

What a delight! Anne is one of my very favorite authors, and I began to smile as soon as I saw her name in the table of contents. Before reading the very first word of this story, I knew I would love it. Needless to say, I did.

Because Legacy has just made its appearance, I will have to more circumspect than I usually am in my reviews. All right, a lot more circumspect than I usually am in my reviews. I wouldn’t want to spoil this reading experience for anyone else.

Kirk and Spock are in the midst of planning their bonding ceremony when they are summoned to attend a command seminar—and that’s about all you’re going to get. (Having planned a wedding for my daughter less than two years ago—not nearly enough time has passed to make the experience fade to a comfortable and fondly sentimental glow—I unfortunately remember when the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses took on the importance of Earth-Shattering-Decision.) It seems Starfleet Command still holds some surprises for our intrepid duo. We know the exceptional men Kirk and Spock are and watching them prove it is a treat. And yet Anne doesn’t make the mistake of imbuing them with super-human (or in Spock’s case, super-Vulcan,) powers. These characters are “real.” They have virtues and faults we can identify with.

Thanks, Anne, for this one. The small bit about the invitations made me laugh out loud, and I sorely needed it. Your writing talent, intelligence, and sense of humor have graced our fandom.

There is a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor here and a lot of truth! Kirk and Spock making wedding plans. Well, actually Spock is making the plans – or Amanda is and Spock is relaying them to a most unreceptive Kirk. In between the lines of dialogue and the touches that make you smile in recognition resides that pure and unrelenting love these two men hold for each other. There are all the elements that make my K/S loving heart go pitty-pat. I haven’t made a lot of wedding plans, but I have attended more than what I consider to be my share of boring and seemingly pointless seminars – so I could readily identify with the frustrations Kirk and Spock share as the planning of their nuptials is delayed by mandatory participation in a series of Starfleet training courses. The author has given us a look at their lives behind the scenes, in less glorious times, and shown us the stuff that makes them heroes works very well in everyday life. An interesting and different read in which, of course, love triumphs!

Here’s an author with the extraordinary ability to write K/S humor, from light and whimsical to downright funny. Going Through the Motions is about, of all things, Kirk and Spock planning their bonding. It seems by strict tradition the bonding couple has to plan everything, even the tiniest detail, themselves, and Spock is going for tradition. Kirk, on the other hand, really has no interest, but had decided to go along with it all for Spock. Added to this is Starfleet’s timing to pull command teams from their ships and test their compatibility.

Through their interactions and conversations this writer really captured Kirk and Spock’s characters through all their amusing problems, and that special closeness that they share is very obvious.

A really nice, light-hearted story that just gives you good feeling when you read it.

The last piece of fiction is ‘Going through the Motions’ by Anne Elliot. This is absolutely charming. I find the characterization is just perfect despite the implausibility of the thought that Spock would be caught up in ‘wedding plans’. Anne provided a believable plot with both men forced to attend a seminar and are sent on repetitious exercises. A wonderful scene has both men arguing about Starfleet’s expectations while up to their waist in quicksand. Spock is so ...Spock and Kirk is excellent as a tactician who has reasoned out the purpose of the meaningless exercises. The wonderful part to this lighthearted story with a solid theme interwoven through is the gems of dialogue between the two men. Kirk is trying to reason out the goal of command and Spock keeps adding wry comments, Kirk finally says: “Shut up, Spock, you’re ruining my flow.” Spock: “My apologies.” Very cute and perfect. And then there’s the amusing conversation where Kirk is asking if another part of the ceremony is that he has to carry Spock over the threshold. Wonderful interaction. I enjoyed this story on many levels as I usually do with any of Anne’s stories.

I have to say that I think the most difficult K/S stories to write, and sometimes read, are those that rely rather heavily on humor. After all, in TOS, while there were humorous moments, those moments were careful never to overstep a certain line. As one of the original producers once said about the subject, ―We were always careful how we used humor in the series – that‘s why we never had Kirk and Spock dressed in drag or slipping on banana peels. It was important that, no matter what, we always preserved their dignity.‖ And I think that same philosophy has to apply to K/S stories, as well. Which is probably why there aren‘t a lot of K/S stories out there where humor is the main focus. This particular author, however, excels in penning such stories and this one is no exception.

Here we find Kirk and Spock still in the ―engagement‖ stage of their relationship, busy making plans for their bonding on Vulcan. Well, at least Spock is busy making plans, but for Kirk, all he really wants is to be bonded to his Vulcan and he really doesn‘t care how that happens, as long as it happens soon. But he soon comes to realize, much to his dismay, that when it comes to their version of a wedding, Vulcans have more, many more, traditions than humans do. Worse, Spock is determined to keep each and every one of those traditions, so much so that it is beginning to drive Kirk crazy. Especially since many of those traditions seem rather trivial to Kirk. Still, Spock persists in seeking out his opinion and Kirk soon begins to dread the phrase, ―Jim, I need to talk to you about something.‖ Just as it seems he is about to lose his mind, a training course on Starbase 22 provides a lucky break from all those wedding plans. Or so he thinks. In between taking survival tests both he and Spock passed when they were still cadets and Spock‘s insistence on getting his opinion on every minute detail of their wedding, Kirk is convinced it can‘t get any worse. But he is proven wrong again when, during a meeting with the commodore of the base, he discovers that Starfleet has learned of their upcoming nuptials and in the interest of public relations, threatens to turn what was supposed to be a quiet celebration on Vulcan into an international media circus. Even Spock is taken aback, but still insists on pressing on with the planning of the wedding. But one more ill-timed ―Jim, I need to talk to you about something‖ finally sends Kirk over the edge and he lets Spock know, in no uncertain terms, just exactly how he feels about all this endless planning. Much to his surprise (and relief), however, what Spock wants to talk to him about turns out to be the perfect solution for their upcoming nuptials and both can at last look forward to a ceremony that will guarantee they will live ―happily ever after.‖

A well-written, wonderfully funny, refreshing tale that will have you chuckling right from beginning to end.