In Paradise

Fanfiction
Title:	In Paradise
Author(s):	Vivian Gates
Date(s):	1985
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:	In Paradise on AO3 In Paradise on the K/S Archive (offline)
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In Paradise is a K/S story written by Vivian Gates.

from As I Do Thee #3

It was published in the print zine As I Do Thee #3 and is also available online.

Summary

"Ensign Kirk is stranded while on a survival course and is found by Spock, a cadet also stranded 5 years earlier."

Reactions and Reviews

1990

This story is well-written and contains elements of originality, but I would have liked it better if we got to find out who was conspiring to strand top cadets. As things are, this conspiracy seems to be only a convenient plot device to bring Kirk and Spock together. This weakens the story as a whole.

1998

This story gave me nightmares, which I take to mean the imagery was so vivid as to seep into my subconscious. The scene where Kirk finds Spock where he has tied himself up, was icky and gory and very real. And I liked Spock telling Kirk absolutely everything and Kirk wishing he'd shut up, not realizing why Spock keeps talking. And Kirk wishing for a woman, then deciding that would be a bad idea (due to possible babies), but still wishing for it. Then getting it, in spades. Next time, though, I want to dream the sex, not the tied up scene. Please.

2008

This author always had an amazingly original take on K/S. Pick up anything with her name on it, and be assured you will have a unique reading experience. This one is a favorite of mine.

The story opens with a young Cadet Kirk on a survival mission. This is apparently a routine part of his Starfleet Academy training—only this time it has gone horribly awry. His capsule has opened days later than it should have, depositing him over a stretch of blue ocean and far from the planet that was to be his destination. He does reach land and needs to use all the knowledge he‘s acquired to stay alive. He has been implanted with a subcutaneous transponder that should lead rescuers to his site in two weeks. Only they don‘t show up.

Soon after he lands, he meets a young Vulcan who has a very similar story to tell. Spock has been living off the land for years. Only this Spock is as different from the taciturn first officer of the Enterprise as it is possible to be. Almost from their first meeting, Spock starts to spout information...on anything and everything that pertains to their environment barely pausing for breath. Just when Kirk thinks he can‘t take anymore, the Vulcan disappears.

The ―how and ―why of the mystery are excellently plotted and very well executed. The writing is superb! Trust me on this one, you‘ll love it.

2011

After the first fic is written in any fandom, traditional themes (cliche fic, tropes, archetypes – whatever you want to call them) quickly follow. It takes no time at all for any fandom to develop its favorite tropes (often the same tropes, no matter what the fandom).

Then there are authors like Vivian Gates, who can take a long-familiar trope and find an entirely different way to look at it. Vivian was a prolific K/S author in the 80s, and she recently consented to have her work posted on ksarchive.com. There are currently three stories up, with hopefully more to come. Many thanks to ladyguenievre for retyping these stories. :-)

I always found Vivian‘s work to be fresh and original ―back in the day, and I still do, all these years later. She had a knack for coming up with unique ideas and carrying them out beautifully.

Cadet Kirk is stranded on an alien world when his survival capsule malfunctions. He fully expects to be rescued within two weeks – the set time for the survival course he is participating in. To his surprise he finds another stranded cadet already there – a Vulcan named Spock. But Spock has been there much longer than two weeks - and there's enough that is hinky about the circumstances which stranded both of them there which leads Kirk to speculate on the possible reasons they might both have been deliberately abandoned. He quickly learns Spock has been there long enough to have learned every bit of information about surviving on this particular patch of land on this alien planet. Which he shares with Kirk in incessant, boring, excruciatingly detail. And then Spock disappears. I love the way she portrays the slow buildup of Kirk‘s feelings for Spock, taking place as it does alongside all the practical details of surviving as a castaway.

Quote: "Ghod, Vulcans..., Kirk thought with an internal sigh. It wasn't that it was boring, but Spock had now gone back to that almost-devoid-of-expression delivery. Ersatz conversation. He began to wonder if the Vulcan were capable of a natural verbal exchange at all. Spock had a mind. Kirk looked around—an incredible and versatile mind—to think up all of this. Couldn‟t he use it to communicate?"

If you haven‘t guessed which trope this story explores and you‘d like to be ―spoiled -- go here and read the story info: [cites online link].

2021

4.5/5: This was shorter than I expected it to be and didn't include any actual sex, which was kinda disappointing, but it was still very good. I liked the way the story was told. I don't really know how to describe that.