T'hy'la: brother, friend, lover... 'soulmate'
| Meta | |
|---|---|
| Title: | |
| Creator: | Farfalla and others |
| Date(s): | 2003 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | T'hy'la: brother, friend, lover... 'soulmate' |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
T'hy'la: brother, friend, lover... 'soulmate' is posted at All-Ages Kirk/Spock Archive, a fiction and non-fiction website for fans of non-explicit K/S, or fans who saw a very, very close relationship between the two characters that did not involve sexual intimacy.
This short 2003 essay discusses the use of the term "T'hy'la" as it first appeared in Gene Roddenberry's novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and then extrapolates on this from a non-sexual standpoint.
For further discussion of this topic, see The Footnote.
Excerpt
A Discussion of Kirk's Statement
We feel that Kirk's statement is a bit... open. By the 1979, K/S zines were a recognized phenomenon and Roddenberry felt no need to alienate this small but devoted group of fans by an outright dismissal of their interpretation. But he obviously did feel it necessary to deal with the question for the greater population of fans.
Notice that nowhere in the entire paragraph does Kirk explicitly ~deny~ anything. Read each sentence carefully. It reminds me, personally, of a situation in which a man asks his new girlfriend if she's slept with anyone before and she says, "What kind of girl do you think I am?!" indignantly. That's not a denial either, but an evasion designed to discourage further questioning.
Here's what Kirk might have said if things were a bit more clear in the no-slash direction:
- "No, Spock and I are extremely close friends, and I love him like a brother. Our friendship is infinitely more satisfying than any sexual relationship I've had in the past or could have now.
Instead, we get, "I was never aware of this rumor". That's not exactly illuminating. Spock's reaction of annoyance doesn't clash with slash either -- from what we know of Vulcans, they're extremely private beings. They 'kiss' in public only by touching fingertips (source: "Journey to Babel"), and in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Spock won't even let Kirk, uh, hug him on the bridge of the Klingon ship. As for disbelief -- he can *look* like he's reacting however he wants! It would be a very effective way of fooling people. And Kirk does say "usually connoted". Usually.
Kirk states that he has always found his best gratification in women. Best? Best compared to what? That sounds like an outright admission of Kirk's bisexual exploration. And the last sentence makes it sound like he's more concerned with the way people *percieve* [sic] him than the actual reality. "I would dislike being thought of as being so foolish," is what he says. He never actually says that *Spock* comes into heat only once in seven years. He seems like he knows people are thinking that about most Vulcans, but Spock's half Human, and that might not even be true for Vulcans.
He talks in circles. None of this means that they're definitely sleeping together, of course; it just allows for the possibility of conjecture. And technically, by Paramount's rules, the book isn't considered canon (even though Roddenberry wrote it himself).
Fan writers have adopted the word for affectionate use between Spock and Jim both in gen stories and in slash. What we all do agree on is the exceptionally deep nature of their love, whether it be brotherly or romantic. They are the most important people in each other's lives, and their devotion has inspired the wealth of creative output on this website.