The Real Thing (Star Trek: TOS story by Jean Gabriel)

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Jean Gabriel
Author(s):	Gena Moretti
Date(s):	1991
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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The Real Thing is a Kirk/Spock story by Jean Gabriel.

It was published in the print zine Counterpoint #5.

Summary

"After rejecting Kirk as a lover, Spock must turn to him after being given a powerful aphrodisiac and is unable to tolerate anyone else."

Reactions and Reviews

This story stretched my belief in small ways: the almost mechanical dialogue between Kirk and Spock in the earlier scenes (i.e., though both used all the proper words and said all the right things, their conversations seemed devoid of much feeling); the idea that a drug could be so powerful that a few drops on the skin caused immediate and all-consuming arousal; McCoy's no-nonsense and hardly-a-protest assistance. I felt this story could have used more foreshadowing, instead of telling the reader so much ahead of time. Kirk tells of his feelings for Spock on the first page while recording his personal log, and it may have been more effective if those feelings would have been revealed to the reader during his conversations with Spock. The narrator tells the reader all about Anthony's obsession with the idea of sex with a Vulcan in one paragraph, and I felt it would have been more interesting to let the reader discover it through Anthony's actions. Too-quickiy-revealed details such as these can take some of the fun out of the reading. Also, I thought the ending -- after Spock turns to Kirk for help -- was too rushed. While the development of the K/S relationship in this story was rather unoriginal, I liked the characters of Anthony and Ambassador Martin, especially the latter. I sympathized with her situation and had she piayed a larger part I think she could have given the story more depth. Nevertheless, I thought the plot developed nicely to the climatic scene of Spock being given the drug. I also enjoyed Kirk's absolute love for Spock, which was made clear via his actions and words.