When It Alteration Finds

Fanfiction
Title:	When It Alteration Finds
Author(s):	Islaofhope
Date(s):	2002
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

When It Alteration Finds is a Kirk/Spock story by Islaofhope.

"Forever" by Ingela for "When It Alteration Finds"

It was published in the print zine Beyond Dreams #4.

Summary

"After VʼGer, Kirk and Spock have trouble recapturing their relationship from before Spockʼs flight to Gol, and then Spock feels himself entering pon farr."

Reactions and Reviews

"When It Alteration Finds" is the longest story in the zine, weighing in at 60 pages. And unfortunately, I couldn't get into this story. I have read other stories by this author, the titles of which I have forgotten, but I can remember liking some of them. Frankly, I have absolutely zilch interest in any subplot involving the sons or daughters of either Kirk or Spock.The very idea frankly turns me off. And it made no sense to me that Kirk should be so adamant about getting custody of Spock's son.

And although there is nothing wrong with the subplot of Kirk's health problem, it really wasn't something that I enjoyed reading about. My main problem with this story with its three or four subplots intertwining together is that there seems to me to be a lot of unnecessary angst and needless unhappiness. If both Kirk and Spock had sat down and had a good old-fashioned honest talk about themselves at the beginning of the story, the story could have been 20 or 30 pages long. Most of the problems occur because they simply misunderstand each other or lie to each other by not telling the other person facts the other person should know. And the problems and despair are unrelenting. It was just damn depressing to read this story. Even the ending didn't make up for everything that had gone before. There was just too much hurt that had gone on before, so I really was too tired to enjoy the comfort part. And now you know that I am not into a great deal of hurt even though I love h/c as a rule. However, the story is nicely written, and the writer has a smooth style. This story shows a lot of thought and effort. I could never write anything this long and this good. And I'm sure there are people who enjoy long angsty K/S pieces who will like this story for some of the very same reasons I didn't care for it.

Oh, I do recommend NOT reading this story last in your reading session. I would suggest making sure that you either read "Shall We?" or "Word Play," both humorous pieces, afterward so you can brighten your mood. Either that or make sure you have a full bottle of wine and/or a box of chocolates with you when you read this story. You definitely need something to cheer you up. I definitely think a box of See's would have improved my impression of this story—the orgasm too!

Strictly speaking this one is a follow-up to the previous story “Whatever Thou Would'st Crave” but it can be read quite easily on its own with no knowledge of the previous installment. The Orions have just been admitted to the Federation, but a fleet of renegade Orion ships attack the Enterprise and Kirk ends up giving orders to fire on them. As a result of this, he is summoned to Earth to defend his actions. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he gets embroiled in a highly emotional custody battle back on Earth. On top of that, his relationship with Spock is experiencing a rough patch which is exacerbated by the onset of Spock’s pon farr. The story of how all these issues get resolved is very well written and absorbing.

There are some particularly good character depictions here, especially Kirk who keeps on battling onwards in spite of the obstacles he faces, and Spock’s father Sarek who seems a lot more sympathetic than he has been shown elsewhere, but then I always thought his was an interesting character and more understanding too of his son’s problems, after all he did marry a human himself so has first hand experience of what is must be like, trying to forge a lifetime relationship with one! It would appear that he has accepted Spock’s choice of Kirk as bondmate and welcomes Kirk into his family as shown by their conversation when Kirk first arrives on Vulcan looking for Spock, when he manoeuvres Kirk into meeting the Orion ambassador, although he knows such a meeting will be painful for Kirk.

It was also interesting to see how this author sees Admiral Nogura as a much more pleasant character than he has been portrayed in other stories, not someone totally wrapped up in Starfleet, but also genuinely concerned about Kirk if a little exasperated with his actions!