Title: A Hell of His Making
Fandom: Star Trek XI
Pairing: Kirk/Spock
Categories: Soul Bonding, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, First Time
Length: Medium (12,533 words)
Warnings: None

Author on LJ: (This author does not appear to be on LJ.)
Author Website: ObsidianEmbrace

Author's Summary:
To harm one's t'hy'la is an unforgivable offense.

Review:
As much as I like the Kirk/Spock pairing — and it’s one of my favorite pairings across all fandoms — I didn’t really get into it until Star Trek XI came out in 2009. (William Shatner just doesn’t do anything for me, unfortunately.) For that reason, I don’t have an extensive knowledge of original series canon and I don’t know how much the concept of t’hy’la is really covered there. I do know how prevalent it is in Star Trek fan works, and that it is often used to great effect as it is in this story.

The author offers an interesting take on the possible repercussions of the scene in Star Trek XI where Kirk provokes Spock into attacking him to demonstrate that Spock is emotionally compromised so that Kirk can take command of the Enterprise. Spock became aware of the connection between them the moment they touched, and his life thereafter became (as in the title), a hell of his own making.

Spock and Kirk are each hurting in their own ways — Kirk, of course, is recovering from the events at the end of Star Trek: Into Darkness, and Spock is dealing with the intense remorse and self-hatred engendered by strangling Kirk nearly to death only a few months before. These emotions, the pain, the need — they are portrayed so clearly.

Both characters are written perfectly, and the author does a brilliant job of showing just how much they need each other. There is hurt/comfort, angst, misunderstandings, and a Kirk who won’t take “no” for an answer. Spock is stubborn and determined to pursue the course of action he thinks is best…until Kirk turns the tables on him in a way that is just so perfectly “Jim Kirk.” (And very, very hot.)

The voices (including those of the supporting characters such as McCoy and Uhura) in this are perfect; it’s a great example of the use of the soul bonding trope — one of my favorite tropes, too! — and everything feels very in-character and just really well done. It’s the perfect coda to Star Trek: Into Darkness and gives the Kirk/Spock ending I wanted so much. Highly recommended!

A Hell of His Making