The K/S Press/Issues 021-030

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The K/S Press 21 (May 1998)

contains 42 pages
has LoCs for All Forms of Love, Babes in the Woods, Before I Die, Before the Dawn, "The Birthday Two-Step", Echoes, Call Me Master, Epilogue, The Flavor of Gold, From the Heart, From Rags to Riches, Getting What You Wished For, In His Image, Heroes, House of One Thousand Jewels, In the Beginning, In the Nick of Time, In Paradise, Many a Tear Has to Fall, A Moment's Surrender, Northern Star, One Night's Compromise, The Prodigal Vulcan, Out of the Rock, The Perfect Day, Song of the Lea, Stay Till Morning, Unfinished Business, What We Have Written in the zines As I Do Thee #3, #9, KaleidoScope #7, Matter/Antimatter #7, Scattered Stars, First Time #34, #37, #47, Otherwhere/Otherwhen #1, Charisma #17, T'hy'la #8, Year of the Ram, see those pages
winners of the second Philon Award were announced
a fan posts a copy of a very lengthy and informative "letter" she sends to her online newsgroup, ASCEM; it explains what zines are, how to write for them, and how to order them
a fan writes of some discussions she's had with other fans about men and the world of K/S: would they be welcome at the K/S party at Shore Leave, that would the presence of even one change the dynamics, would it make a difference if the man were gay, should K/S remain a woman-centered space, what sort of energy would men bring to the conversation and did women even want to know what it was?
a fan writes of Revelcon, notes that while it's not officially slash, it's very slash friendly, and that lots of male Klingons always show up. She writes of buying lots of zines at the Orphan Zine Table for five dollars or less. The fan donates them to The K/S Library. All in all, she procured 26 zines and was ecstatic.
a fan writes that when she moved, she hired carpenters to build her a closet with shelves. She then took all her zines out of the trunk of her car in the dead of night where she hid them from the prying eyes of those she lived with. Then, the next day, the carpenters sought her out and said if she was going to "load those shelves up like that, we need to reinforce 'em. You're going to have to move all that stuff out." She moved all the zines again back to her car in the dead of night.
many fans write that they didn't know about zines, or other K/S fans, or Trek erotica until they had online access, echoing fans in an earlier era who found out about many of the same things when Star Trek Lives! was released over twenty years ago
a fan defines "publish" as both in print zines and when one of her stories "makes it into the ASC archive." Another fan says fiction posted to the internet is not published, and another fan disagrees and states that things in the public domain were considered "published."
a fan says she feels that it's not printed zines that are elitist, but computers, citing the cost of buying a machine, getting internet access and paying for all the other things computers entail
a fan writes that he went through 27 years thinking he is the only K/S fan on the planet (yet still quite unsure what K/S meant), got internet access and found alt.startrek.creative:
I prick up my ears and investigate more closely. Some interesting stories here; some like the ones I used to make up as a kid, some that are so good they move me to tears. And then, lo and behold, I find a Genuine Treasure: Killashandra's gorgeously lyrical piece Turning Point... The rest, as we say on the Net, is DejaNews... and then [a fan] loans me some zines to read. And that's when I find out that all of YOU are out there, and have been right there all along...
a zine publisher writes:
If I owe you anything, or haven't answered you, or you didn't get your zine within a month, then YELL! Please don't wait! This isn't the old days, there is communication, even if you have to use the snail mail. To wit: I've gotten two zines in one order back without an address that was mailed last January and the buyer hasn't said a word. I have no idea who the package belongs to. Please step up and tell me what you're missing.
a fan bemuses:
It always amazes me how close Star Trek came to dying in its infancy. The first pilot didn't sell, the network almost canceled it after three months, and here we are some thirty years later!
a German fan reminisces:
1998 is a special year for me, because I celebrate my very own anniversary: 10 years K/S! So I'm not one of the first generation, but I'm neither a new fan. It was a wonderful, adventurous time when I discovered zines! I had a lot of pen-pals and we were all starving for this stuff — only one aim in mind: getting as much as possible. We exchanged zine-lists, addresses, flyers.... We wrote pages and pages discussing stories. We had no e-mail and no net. We wrote real letters on real paper and our mailboxes were stuffed with all these thick envelopes either with copies from friends (no, I'm no saint, I have xeroxes, too!) or with the latest issues from the various zine editors. This was the time when Bill Hupe's zine-empire still existed (remember his terrific postage calculation? I still use it to calculate US postage!) and Pon Farr Press, Mkashef, Jean Hinson and all the others were not legend, but daily life. We had "The LOC Connection," our K/S meeting place and I still have [fan's name] short notes, which she used to attach to the newsletters. They were sacred to me, because "Charlotte Frost" was at this time one of my most favorite writers and to have handwritten things from her was for me as a new fan simply great! Yes, being a K/S fan meant dedication!... Are today's new K/S fans really still the same as people ten or twenty years ago? People today surf in the net, discover something new and exiting and join in. How long? Without knowing the tradition and history of our fandom this is like jumping onto a train and ... leaving at the next station? Right now, with all this talk about the net, I remember a letter written in 1996, when my beloved British IDIC Star Trek Club closed down after so many years: 'I think the major loss to fandom when IDIC ceases will be the loss of one of the last written records of cast news, fandom, new merchandise, zine reviews, etc. E-mail and the Internet are fine in their place, but ephemeral. I can go back and read...(she mentions several newsletters)... if I want to remember how things were. Yes, the net is ephemeral. I get e-mail — short thoughts — and erase them. In former time I got letters on beautiful stationary and I still keep and treasure them. As I keep and treasure my zines. They will exist even in many, many years from now. Made with love and dedication, with beautiful art and poetry and ever-memorable stories. I can go back and read — from ALTERNATIVE up to the latest FIRST TIME. No erase button can take them from me! But what about all these net stories? Where will they be in ten or twenty years? Ephemera... long forgotten... erased by a pressure of the finger.... Or perhaps saved on a disk, so you can watch the glowing letters on the screen.... Remember CHARLIE X, when he cried, 'I can't even touch them!'...?
a fan writes:
I just want to reply to [another fan] about question of K or S being too feminine when they get down to it. I totally agree with you. It makes me roll my eyeballs whenever I come across something like that. I'm reading a really good story then it gets down to sex and it only takes a couple of words or lines just to ruin the whole scene with the slap and tickle bedroom talk. I can't imagine a grown man giggling, chuckling yes, giggling no, or having Kirk and Spock call each other before or after sex some type of fuzzy names, mostly coming from Kirk "Silly Vulcan" comes to mind, and the big NO NO is crying at a drop of a hat. I could imagine an adult male grieving privately if it's a death in the family or close friends, tears started to well, but doesn't fall from their eyes. Not the great tragedies by the buckets full, which tends define the individual as weak and can't handle the situation no matter how bad it is. One, they are men, and two, trained Starfleet personnel. Last, but, not least one or the other as female, gets knock up and all that female stuff. Why? These types of histrionic only detracts a good story. I just see Kirk or Spock as two guys who love each other nothing more nothing less.
a fan discusses feedback:
I think it might be useful for zine readers to understand the appeal of the web from a writer's point of view. In my experience, a web writer who's just starting out usually gets a lot of encouragement. I'm not saying a new writer won't be welcome in the zines, because the zine editors I've contacted have been very kind and encouraging. And I don't mean to imply that the web is he place for stories that aren't good enough for zines. I'm just saying that many newbies (myself included) have found their writing wings through the feedback of the net readers. And when you're new, there's a certain comfort in the anonymity of the net. You may feel uncertain about sending your first efforts off to a more 'official' media like a zine. You may fear being told that your story isn't 'good enough.' The web is a little less intimidating that way. And because of the immediacy of the response and the possibility of discussion, you can get a lot of help and insight from both readers and writers. Which brings us to the feedback issue. The personal satisfaction of completing a creative effort and the reader response are the only 'payment' fanfic writers receive for their efforts. I've corresponded with a number of writers about this, and they all say the same thing: You get more feedback from an online story than a zine story. I believe that if the zines are to remain an important venue for K/S, it's up to the readers to keep it going. Yes, the readers. Because zines are not the only game in town anymore, and the writers know it. So if you're really sold on print, speak up... Remember-- just because K/S zines have been around for a long time doesn't mean they always will be. The zines cannot exist without the writers, and it's quite possible that the writers will not continue to publish in a given format if it doesn't result in 'payment.' Not when there's some other forum where they can practically count on it... the reality is this: zines are no longer the exclusive source of K/S. Both print and online have a lot to offer, and neither should dismiss the other.
a fan writes:
And finally, here's the main reason why I love the web. If you write and read a lot (as I do), there simply aren't enough zines, and they don't come out often enough. I really doubt that people want to see three or more stories by the same writer in every issue of every K/S zine. And I don't know how K/S fans who are entirely dependent on zines survive between fixes.
a fan writes:
Stories in zines also have a longer shelf-life. What a thrill it must be to receive feedback on a story you wrote ages ago, that appeared in a zine months ago. Knowing that your story was a part of someone's life long after it ceased to be an active part of yours. Ahhhh...
a fan contemplates the internet:
I am worried about the possibility that the pressure to make K/S conform to some set “definition” will result, ultimately, in predictable, boring stories, so I was intrigued by your assertion that there is less “faultfinding of the ‘this doesn’t fit my definition of K/S’ variety” online... I agree that the “sheer number and diversity of opinions and perspectives among fellow K/S fans online” may lead to an atmosphere in which authors are more willing to push the envelope. And I hope that really is what is happening online. However, I would like to point out that, since online K/S is a relatively new phenomenon, it’s possible that a lot of the net readers have not formulated their own K/S definitions simply because they have not had as much time as the print readers to develop preferences for certain types of K/S. On a more cynical note, I also wonder if some readers are less likely to become upset about a story they consider disappointing when they have not had to pay to see the story... But let’s assume the cynical explanation is wrong and that diversity on the net is having and will continue to have a wonderful effect on online K/S conversation and fiction. Even in that case, I don’t think we can really conclude that the net is no threat to the print zines. I would like to suggest that if the internet did not exist, at least some of those online K/S fans would have discovered traditional published zines and would now be expressing themselves in print... Of course, the net does exist, it isn’t likely to disappear any time soon, and I don’t think we should want it to disappear. All in all, it’s probably a good thing that K/S fandom now exists in this new medium. But if it’s true that “if K/S fiction continues to be posted on the net at its present rate, the volume of new K/S on the net will outstrip the volume in zines this year by any measure,” then those of us who love the print zines are going to have to make an extra effort to see that they do not disappear as online K/S lures readers and writers away from print in much the same way that TV lured people away from the old radio plays. Making that extra effort means writing for and buying print zines and encouraging online users to do the same.
a fan writes:
It’s great if online users aren’t trying to impose their own definitions of K/S on other readers and authors, but it seems that the online medium is imposing its definition of K/S on the fans—a definition in which shorter stories are preferred, artwork is excluded, and poetry is rare. Maybe future technology will help with these problems. But even if the technology someday allows broader definition of online K/S, it’s possible that by the time that happens no one will be particularly interested in artwork or longer stories or poetry because they are no longer considered to be “real” K/S.
a fan writes:
I want to share a little daydream I had. Imagine a day long after we are all gone. A young woman climbs the stairs to the attic of an old house. Up in the attic she finds a dusty old trunk. It’s locked. She picks the lock. She throws back the lid of the trunk. Inside, she finds...zines!!!! Print zines, with beautiful portraits of Kirk and Spock on the covers. She’s intrigued (to put it mildly), so she starts to read. A couple of weeks later, she starts to write. A few weeks after that, she shows her own story and the trunk of zines to a friend. The friend draws illustrations to go with the new story and then tells two more people about the old zines and the new one being created. Pretty soon those people start to write.... Okay. Now imagine a day in the future, long after we are all gone. A young woman climbs the stairs to the attic of her old house. She finds a dusty old trunk. She picks the trunk’s lock, flings back the lid, and finds a lot of little boxes full of really, really, really old computer disks. She picks one up. Its label says “K/S from the Net, April, 1998.” She thinks, "Too bad trying to recover information from these antiques would be such a pain: even if I had the right equipment, the data are probably so degraded by now it wouldn’t be worth it. Then she tosses the disk back into the trunk and closes the lid. Of course, paper doesn’t last forever either, and maybe some form of online K/S will still be around in the new young fan’s time. Maybe, because of the net, the young woman will already be writing her own K/S stories even before she goes up into the attic. Or maybe some worldwide disaster will have made current conveniences like computers and readily available electricity a thing of the past and the young woman won’t even know what the computer disks are. Or maybe the net will still exist but all traces of K/S will have been eradicated from it by evil censors. Who knows? Call me a hopeless romantic (or even an old fogy), but I feel better having the trunk of print zines around, complete with artwork, editorials, poetry, and stories.
a fan comments:
Online K/S is a very nice supplement to my K/S print zines. I've downloaded quite a few K/S stories in recent months, and it's nice to have that little stash of stories on a floppy disk. There are some wonderful writers on ASCEM. But I still enjoy my print zines more. There's nothing quite like holding a new zine in your hands (in my opinion of course.) And in spite of being an avid ASCEM fan, I'm working very hard at getting more print zines for my collection. Going online provided me with the opportunity to locate zine publishers and to meet other people who had the same interests. I'm glad to say things worked out quite nicely, because here I am! The only problem I have with online K/S is that when I buy a print zine, I don't want to find any stories inside that were previously posted online. The reverse is true also, because I'm not too happy when I discover a story online that was printed in a paper zine first.
a fan has done some research:
There were 8 new zines published in 1997, 10 in 1996, 9 in 1995, 17 in 1994, 19 in 1993, 30 in 1992, 31 in 1991, and 31 in 1990. I got the numbers from The LOC Connection, Come Together, and The K/S Press.
a fan writes:
I read K/S because I want the K/S, first and foremost, so if a story is lacking in the literary, grammatical, spelling or structure department, it’s not as important as the amount or quality of K/S... posted to the net... if the story was poorly written but the author imbued the story with all the love, emotions and attention between Kirk and Spock, I’m okay.
a zined thanks another fan:
... who helped me ake a rather explicit drawing to my printer so that I wouldn’t stand there alone and blush furiously as all the printers and assistant printers perused Kirk and Spock making love in the grass.
a fan writes:
As someone with my feet firmly planted in both the zine world and the online world, I would like to make a comment on the issue of net and zine K/S. I really believe that in a short while, there will not be "a zine world" and "an online world". There will only be the K/S community, and it will have its electronic incarnation and its paper incarnation. Fans will read stories in both formats, and writers will write stories for both formats. And we will all be LOC'ing in both places. There has been a longstanding concern that online K/S will supplant paper based K/S. But no one seems concerned that the larger and older zine culture will drag K/S people away from online. The underlying assumption seems to be that the net is in some way "better," and therefore a threat... However, both "worlds" have positive and negative aspects. For instance, in my opinion, the online K/S world is too scattered and too shallow. And the zine based K/S world is too slow. But, the zine based K/S world has gorgeous art, lengthy LOCs and a fascinating 20 year history. The online world has spontaneity, fresh ideas and more diversity. They are both very different, and one will never completely replace the other. However, in order for the One K/S community to develop, the two worlds must become more integrated. I think it's important to educate "online" people about the zine world. And it's equally important to educate "zine" people about net K/S.
a fan comments on print vs online K/S:
The trepidation of the print community is understandable. Our small, very guarded world has exploded, and we have absolutely no control over its expansion anymore. It used to be that only K/S fans read K/S stories. Now, we know that K/S is being read online by anybody who finds their way to the newsgroup, and of course by all the regular fans there who are addicts of Deep Space Nine, and Next Gen, and Voyager adult and slash stories... I personally think the more genuine K/S fans the merrier, generally speaking, but the opposite view is apparent to me, too. So, what is the answer? It’s hard to say, since we probably don’t even know what the question is! One of them is: Can the online and the print world find a way to co-exist? We must! I want us to! This is a great challenge to all of us, to reach out and understand someone, something that might be alien to our way of thinking. Something we might not like. Something we don’t agree with, perhaps. There will probably be folks who will always only read zines, and just won’t get into the swing of things online. There will probably be folks who will only log onto the newsgroups each night, and never pick up a zine. I’m hoping that there will also be a larger third group, with feet in both communities, who have knowledge of and understand the value of both. Above all, I think it’s important that we all respect one another, our opinions, what we bring to contribute.

The K/S Press 22 (June 1998)

contains 44 pages
has LoCs about Alexi, Baby, A Priori, Carnival Night, Contribution, Domestic Affections, From the Heart, Getting What You Wished For, From Rags to Riches, Hunter's Way, Handball, The Human Factor, Jealousy, Male Bonding, Joseph's Brother, Mission Impossible, Night Rose, On Which to Build, Prism, Quirk of Fate, When Rain Comes, When You Leave Home, Remembering, Screw You, Resting Place in the zines Captives, First Time #6, #45, #47, Out Of Bounds: Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, Command Decision, As I Do Thee #18, Golden Oldies and New Delights, The Price of Freedom, Scattered Stars #8, Consort #2, and Another K/S Zine, see those pages
a fan comments on the article Another Addict Raves About K/S, see that page
a fan comments on NASA/Trek, see that page
a fan writes extensively of the "Las Vegas and Star Trek the Experience"
a fan brings up the current lawsuit against the book The Joy of Trek, see that page
the editors remind fans of subscription options:
To review a few of the basics for the new subscribers, and to remind the older, er, mature, er, well-established ones, too: We take contributions in just about any form you can imagine, and you can add something to any section of the letterzine. Send us your hand-written letters (we have recently installed the new Universal Translator... your disks (we use Word 6 and 7 on Windows 95, but we translate pretty well — sending your thoughts ASCII is usually the safest way), or you can use email, too. We’d love to hear from you! (Shelley is also working on her telepathic receiving skills — we’ll let you know when you really can send your thoughts!) Most months the deadline for submissions is the 25th.
a fan estimates that:
There must be close to 1000 K/S zines that have been done since the first story in 1974. ^[1] [She writes a second letter in this issue and revises this number] ... I started thinking about my claim that I owned at one time 700 K/S zines and guess there to be about 1000 K/S zines. Exactly how many K/S zines are there? ^[2] The bad thing about K/S is that no one ever kept a detailed history. In 1989, when I started to ask questions, often there were no answers. I remember later discussing some of Gayle F stories and art with her, and I had things of hers she had forgotten about. Things have improved, but the history of K/S is still hazy in areas. I did a short history several years ago, but when I showed it to the woman whose research I had partially used, she sarcastically tore it apart and made me feel so awful that I just scrapped the project.... At one time, I had three bankers boxes or more... of newsletters, notes, adzines, people's sell lists and various items which I was intending to save because I wanted to own it all and, also, use this as a basis for a complete history/listing, I had, also, xeroxed many essays/articles, significant illos, and special stories for my use as reference. I've had to trash all this. A former computer when it self-destructed took with it the detailed list of my original entire collection as well as other fandom data. After that, I only made a sketchy list of my current zines. For those who wonder why I would destroy items, I'll say it's hard enough to sell original classic zines for dirt cheap prices. I would never go to the bother of trying to sell thousands of old n/l and adzines. So Regina's five year n/l The LOC Connection as well as ancient Datazines, Treklink adult supplements, the long running Zine Connection, many of the On The Doubles, and lots of neat stuff became landfill. That's probably what has happened with most everyone. You have to have acres of space just to store the materials — besides being physically healthy and in possession of a good memory to be able to work with it I lack all three. [But] computers aren't the answer to the space problem. Who would want to scan everything to store in a computer or on disks? Computer hardware/software systems become obsolete quckly. Systems are not interchangeable. What you used three years ago on one setup is often useless today on a new setup. Now an old newsletter will start smelling and the silverfish may attack it, but its yours until you decide to get rid of it. Another part of the history problem is that some zines are rare... </ref> Often, people can't agree on a definition of K/S so one zine is labeled various ways. Some zines are a mix of gen, adult, pre-K/S, h/c, slish ^[3] and/or varying degrees of K/S from the platonic to actual anal penetration... Since I wanted it ALL, any zine where the emphasis was on Kirk and Spock and their relationship was a part of my KS collection whether it actually was K/S or not. So I guess that's why I think there are so many K/S zines. Maybe, I should have said there are over 1000 K/S and K-S zines. Now, no one would dispute that.
a fan admits that she lied on age statements:
I was 16 years old and the lady sold these zines only to 18 years old. I had to fill an age statement saying that I was 18. I lied to her and filled that age statement (now you understand why I won't say her name!!) I know what I did was wrong, but try to understand I was sooooo... curious to know what this K/S zines were all about!!!
a fan writes of K/S:
Here in Puerto Rico, I don't know any other person that likes K/S. There must be many of them but maybe they are hiding. The only person I talk about my K/S vice is my best friend. He's gay and we talk about what he thinks of women writing gay fiction. I even lend him some of the zines (the latest was Kaleidoscope 6). He told me some of the stories aren't very accurate, in others he told me: "Wow, how a woman could know what we feel when we are doing this and that?" (you know, the sexual stuff.) But what he likes about some of the stories are that the love between Kirk and Spock is the "ideal love" that not only gay people but all the people in the world wish to find in a mate. I hope, some day I will find someone that loves me as much as Kirk and Spock love each other. But in the meantime, I'm going to buy as many K/S zines as my salary can afford and wait each month for the letterzine to arrive.
some discussion on the impact of the Internet:
The inevitability of change brings me to a different subject: K/S on the internet. I was pleased to read [M S'] caution that not everyone can afford in-home internet access. That is certainly true of myself for the time being. The fact is that if print zines were to disappear tomorrow, I would have read my last new K/S story. I hardly need to say what a disaster that would be! I also believe that the increased visibility which comes with posting K/S fiction on the internet is beneficial in exactly the degree to which it enables our fandom to flourish, as opposed to exposing it to ridicule. Yes. this is fear of the unknown coming from a longtime reader of zines who is comfortable with the original "underground" nature of K/S. But to return to my original point, I can't comment on the actual state of K/S on the internet because I've never seen it. Maybe I'd love it but I'm not likely to find out any time soon. The internet may be a revolution in communications, but I think it's a mistake to assume that it's already available to everyone.
a fan responds to another's assertion of what make's a K/Ser:
I do feel I need to take exception to one of [S'] comments in her Roundtable. ie. "I do not believe you can call yourself a K/Ser unless you have purchased and read at least some of that collection. " Isn't a person a K/Ser if she believes in Kirk and Spock's love for each other? Isnl a K/Ser someone who sees the death scene in The Wrath of Khan or the resurrection scene in The Search for Spock and says "Paramount be damned, I KNOW those two men love each other? Your criteria for K/Serhood doesn't take into account differing financial positions - not everyone can fork over $22 US or more for per zine. It could be argued that anyone who can find the money for the internet could find the money for zines too. Not so, as the net could be available to them because of a home business or as a family expense. Zines wouldn't fell into either category. Nor do your parameters take into account that zines are not always as available to some as they are to others - a case in point being [I's] situation. Who is and who is not a K/Ser needs to be as open to personal interpretation as what stories are or are not K/S.
a fan writes of letting her mom in on her love of K/S:
My mother not only knows but as she puts it "whatever makes you happy.' As [R H] can attest, I have a rather extensive art collection, over half of which must remain behind not only closed but locked doors in my library. The rest are "safe" and adorn the walls throughout the rest of the house. When my mother moved in with me a year ago — because of her health problems — I offered to take the "safe" art down from the walls in the halls and living room, but she said she liked them where they were and so they stay. I even brought her to the K/S party last year — she's going again this year — and I've never seen her laugh as much as she did at the dancing penises! (Somehow I keep replaying that scene in my mind but I keep substituting the music with Dance of the Mushrooms from Fantasia.) I wish every one of us could have such an understanding mother.
more about the Internet:
As a person who has owned a computer for four years and can play Solitaire with the best of them, I fully admit I'm a computer idiot. I'm also a purist — I like to touch, hold. feel, browse, and drool through a zine (although [J] says I devour them) and if I ever do master the beast, I'll probably still keep writing with pen and paper — because I liked the feel of working with it. Since K/S is on-line more power to them, but please, please everyone remember back to the first time you held your first K/S zine. The thrill of touching a Chris Soto picture, a moving poem that made you weep. Not everyone is on-line and at the rate I'm going it will be long into the next millennium! So I, and many others, depend on the wonderful beauty of ripping open a package from our favorite editor, much to the shock of the postman. (I've been told it really is polite to let him put it in the box first, leaving his fingers intact).
about zines and the internet:
It is said that print is endangered because we won't buy it if the Net is free. But for me. and many other netfen, we have no money. We never knew y'all were out there, not at all. Hell, for 27 years I figured I was the only one in the universe who saw K & S as mates. If the Net went tits-up tomorrow, I would not be suddenly buying a bunch of zines; I would simply be deprived of much of what I like to read, because I would still be just as poor as I am now. If not for the Library, and the KSP, and some lovely folks who've sent me this n' that via snail-mail, the Net would be all I have. That said, I like hardcopy as much as anyone. Specially here, where in winter electricity is a privilege and not a right. Grin, I have a lot of stories printed out, and it really isn't hard to punch holes in 'em and put 'em in a cover of some sort. I think [K A] got it right on the head. There will be only one K/S world in the end; it will be both in print and online, and both aspects are of value and both must be cherished. It's a mean nasty world out there fulla killjoys who think we're all a bunch of nutty pervos. Let we not do their dirty work for them by sniping back and forth. Rather let we stand together against all oddsf that the thing we love best may prosper and flourish forevermore!!!
is posting on the Internet publishing?:
You asked if net stories are considered published. I work as a technical publishing consultant, and all my clients regard material distributed on the web, corporate intranet, CD or other electronic media as published. Copyrighted material on the web is easily accessed by the public, but it is not and should not be considered public domain. Thanks for making the point about the net introducing people to K/S, I'm certain that I would not be involved in this at all if not for the net. Prior to diving headfirst into this community, I knew it existed and I had lots of ideas running around in my head. But the one convention I attended (in the early 1990s) did nothing to spark my interest. I'm a little wary of hearing the actors speak (and none of the TOS people were there anyway), and I don't collect the toys, dolls, etc. I found only one person selling adult zines, and he was unfriendly and suspicious of people with questions. The net provided an easy, comfortable, and anonymous "in."
a male fan comments on what he felt to be anti-male statements in the previous issue:
Well, if any of you were wondering just why the Wolf is so very reclusive, here once more was confirmed one of my main reasons. Online like this (for I am an online subscriber to KSP) I am free. You know of me only what I choose to show you. and vice versa. I am not uncomfortable, no-one leaves the room when I come in, conversations do not suddenly stop because I have walked nearby. Folks. I spent most of my first 20 years living with that crap. Why on earth would I want to go to a con, if that was to be the way of it? Have you any idea how that feels? To be thinking to myself, ah, finally, I have found a group of folks with whom I feel at home, one which shares my interest and does not think I'm weird for it - and then I see something about how K/S is really a by women/for women thing and the writer would not be comfortable with a man at a K/S gathering, and that the writer does not feel this is unfair because men still have all the advantages Out There. Yes. I am paraphrasing, but that's about what it amounted to. Well, shit fire and save matches, honey! Ladies, trust me - straight men may have all the advantages. Gay men most definitely do not. We cannot marry our mates. We lose our commissions in the military if it becomes known we are gay. We are forbidden to give blood even if we are monogamous and have tested HIV negative since the test first came out. Most churches do not welcome openly gay parishioners. Only in a very few places can an openly gay candidate be elected. 'Nuff said, this isn't the place for that rant - but please, think about what yer sayin' a little more deeply!! Has it escaped the writer's notice that Kirk and Spock themselves are male? Ah, to hell with it. That one hurt, ok? I'll live. I'll get over it. But it wasn't what I was expecting to read, here of all places. No indeed it was not.
a fan comments on "welcoming" men into K/S:
Personally, I'd love to see more mate K/Sers around. They can only broaden our perspective, I don't feel the least threatened by them because I never thought of K/S as being a female only thing and I'm very glad [G] joined us.
more on the male thing:
I don't believe that K/S fandom is the appropriate cultural place to provide "women-ony space." I think it's only by weird circumstance that K/S fandom has previously been all female. And now that's changing. ^[4] My own personal feeling is that if you're a K/S fan you're welcome - and that includes gay men and straight ment (if there is such a thing). It may be different from the way it's always been, but I believe including male fans will bring it's own rewards. But thanks for bringing up an interesting subject, and taking the time to examine and share your feelings about this matter.
more on internet access:
While reading the KSP, I thought about something in relation to the ongoing discussion of KS on line. What about those who don't own a computer for a various reasons and hence haven't the possibility to access Internet? They can buy the publicized zines. but they are barred from any KS work on the net. unless it's being published in a zine as well. On a more personal note, I'd prefer zines any time. A zine is substantial, real, personal. It colors the day and brightens the night. It is alive in a way a computer can't imitate. I prefer to have the real thing in my hands. Besides I'd miss those drawings too much.
more:
The main reason I'm concerned that net-based K/S will supplant paper-based K/S is that, in some ways, the net-based K/S world is much more convenient. It's faster and more immediate and less bother than a potentially embarrassing conversation with the unenlightened folks at the printer. And if you're suffering from insomnia, it's right there at three in the morning. Add to all of that the fact that, on the whole, younger people are probably more likely to enter the K/S world via the net, and I hope you can see why some of the print zine fans are worried. If new writers (and readers) think of the net as their one and only home. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before the print zines become extinct. I think it is possible and even desirable for the two media to co-exist and complement one another, but I also think that in order for that to happen, everyone involved is going to have to make a special effort to keep the print zines alive.
more cohabitation:
Most of you know me as a member of an arrested culture (one who isn't on the net and who has expressed concern about K/S on the net). Groused too long. Preached IDIC and didn't hear myself. Thought it was "up to us" to keep this from happening , but it isn't just "us" is it? There's a whole new culture out there and more people to supoort K/S, OK. I'll quit grousing — can't promise I'll stop worrying.
and:
As with the on-line thing, the issues are too broad and deep, and we're not going to "solve" them. We can, though, make them non-issues; we can certainly all get along. The on-line thing is here to stay and evolve. I don't feel I can even express all my reservations about the new ways of the internet, etc., for being thought of as anti-K/S-online. I personally am into the middle path. On-line people can seem to be zealots about it, as if new ways are automatically better. I'm on-line, too, but I'm not so enamored that I can't see all sides of these changes happening to our society. I don't care about instant gratification; and the on-line mentality seems to have its roots in catering to the short-attention span in a 24-hour and global society based on speed... and I don't necessarily think this is good without reservation. But movements usually do go to extremes before they even out... I want there to be more zines every year, not less. That being said. I welcome all the new K/S writers from the net I think they are a wonderful and dynamic addition to K/S fandom. And I also hope that they feel welcome in zine fandom and embrace it as I have. I think [M S] hit the crux of the problem in her Roundtable last month: "...the good news is that there are lots of new fans on the net; the bad news (for those of us who like print zines) is that some of those new fans are online instead of being in print, or are in print less frequently than they would be if they were not splitting their time between two media." So, that's the challenge before us. To welcome net writers into the community, and incorporate net fandom as part of K/S fandom. And to have more K/S zines than we've ever had in the past even though there's another media available for stories now. I've been trying to do this by educating net people about how to write for and buy zines. Any other positive and constructive suggestions on how this can be accomplished?

The K/S Press 23 (July 1998)

contains 33 pages
has LoCs about After So Long, Anniversary Waltz, “A Brief Encounter”, Chameleon, Control, The Diver, Family Secrets, From the Dark into the Light, Hello Earth, I Told You So, The Last Wave, Kalifee, Lessons, Love Instructor, Night of the Le-Matya, Parallel Courses, The Prodigal Vulcan, The Rasputin Effect, PR, The Rumor, Second Chance, For the Man Who Has Everything, Time Passage, Coming of Age, Penetration, Angel Unaware, In Spite of Consequences, We Learn by Doing, Joseph's Brother, Replay, The Heart Has Its Logic, This Simple Feeling, Resting Place from the zines First Time #6, #15, #42, As I Do Thee #1, #2, #5, #19, T‘hy’la #11, Out of Bounds, Too, No Greater Love, Nightmare Road, Scattered Stars #3, Naked Times #12, Speed of Light... & other K/S stories, Out of Bounds Overflow, Nome #6, Another K/S Zine, see those pages
this issue has a con report for Philadelphia Creation Con and four con reports for Shore Leave
a fan writes:
I have never considered myself as writing only for women. Maybe the sex doesn't quite ring true (and I have tried to conduct proper research among those who would know) but if that disqualifies a writer from venturing outside her/his own orientation, then a heck of a lot of major classic authors wouldn't have written anything, including E.M. Forster and Henry James. Perhaps if the K/S hadn't been labeled women's writing, we might have been able to secure a place in the main stream of fan writing. Maybe we could have done something towards altering people's perceptions in the 'real world.' Maybe (and this is only my own red hot thought) it would have opened up our whole way of writing: made us look beyond the first time story, however good; caused us to give the characters greater development, to relate a few more stories to current issues as TOS did and generally come a little way out of the closet. But somewhere between the inception (whenever exactly that was) and the 80s development, things somehow got stalled and to my mind sidetracked. Hopefully, they are getting unstuck but whereas much gay fiction is read (in this country) with respect, just try saying you write K/S at a con! (In the early days we felt almost as isolated as [male name redacted] at cons as K/S writers/readers, gay or not. I used to wear my Fans Upholding the Concept of K/S just above my How Dare You Presume I'm Heterosexual badge.
a fan writes:
On the subject of the net v. the printed page — a thought; migraine sufferers can't deal with the screen at all on bad days. I loved the analogy from Mary Sweeney of the young girl of the future finding a trunkful of zines or a box of old computer disks. Give me the zine trunk any day. You can hold a zine in your two hands and give it to a stranger and say, “That is K/S.” Material on the net is more ephemeral. But the net isn't going to go away. What about zine eds putting sections of stories, or chapters of novels on screen saying," If you want more you have to buy the zine." Is this already being done?
a fan comments on a male K/S fan's comments in an earlier issue:
I guess you had no idea that K/S outside of the on-line scene was a women's thing. Well, imagine my feelings, thinking I was in a women-only space then finding it was not so, and further, that so many of the women weren't placing value on K/S even being a women's thing in the first place. I was always open to reading K/S written by men (except there wasn't any) and tried on occasion to interest a gay man friend or two in K/S (except they didn't seem particularly interested), and I can't say that K/S shouldn't include men; but especially in a newsletter such as this where the discussions are often deeply personal, there might be some changes in the level of openness. Of real value would be to engender the same honest, equal freedom in a mixed group. So I guess that's our mission, should we choose to accept it. I've always felt K/S is where we can express our very real selves, not a place like on-line, as you said, where people see only what you want to say to them. Maybe you meant just that you aren't judged by appearances on-line. Well, you're not here, either. I understand how you could read your own stuff into what I said, but I was not talking about men and “advantages” in this society and implying you were one of “them.” And probably more than you are, I am plenty familiar with the disadvantages of being a not-“straight” person in this society. I wasn’t really talking about men anyway, I was talking about women.
a fan comments:
I don't believe it was coincidence that K/S (and all of slash fandom) was a women’s-thing all these years. Generally speaking, if men came across it, they were not interested in it (other than some straight men, to malign it). That it is changing now seems more the quirk, and such a sign of the times. Men on-line are finding K/S and other slash now, are apparently interested and have quick and easy access. They might not have been willing to get involved if it wasn't so easy. Same for women, of course. The old ways weren't a problem for devoted Star Trek types, but now people are coming to K/S from different places, not from the pre-internet ST fan network.
about some vids:
It took me some time to watch all of the Chris Soto, etc. music video — naturally it was a week before I was alone and could do more than stare at the box! When it finally made it to the screen, there were parts that took my breath away, other parts made me want to cry. And in spite of the fact there was no one to hear me, the contagious laughter from the Pink and Green dance team made me chortle aloud. What a wonderful time you must all have been having! As I knew I would when I first heard the videos described, I will cherish it as long as I cherish Kirk and Spock. What's the technique for getting a sound track from one source and picture from another? Every time I hear a love song now, I start adding film clips from that library in my head!! Chris Soto could never be topped, but maybe if we knew how, some of the rest of us could take a shot at setting some scenes to music. I can't watch these without wondering what Chris was like and how great it would have been to know her. One can imagine the triumph she felt when each piece came together so beautifully. Some small part of her must have known she wouldn't always be here to enjoy Kirk and Spock so she had to capture their love in every conceivable way — art, music and word — while she was here. She left us such a legacy through her many talents. I don’t know what I believe, sometimes, about the hereafter. But surely a soul as rich with love and compassion as Chris’s lives on. I hope so.

The K/S Press 24 (August 1998)

contains 35 pages
has LoCs for Another Alternate World Rip-Off Fairy Tale, "Babes in the Woods", A Beach to Walk On, Carnival Night, Down and Out and Under the Table, Clueless, Control, The Diver, Don Juan Kirk, From Rags to Riches, From the Heart, Games, Outsiders, Getting What You Wished For, Paradise Regained, Mission Impossible, The Picnic, Requital, Risk Worth Taking, Song of the Lea, Say My Name, Soul Keeper, Stay Till Morning, To Be Human, The Ultimate Vulcan, The Topic, Unfinished Business, The Watcher, Cave of the Heart, Endings in the zines First Time #42, #47, #48, Kaleidoscope #7, Naked Times #32, Scattered Stars #11, KSX, Still Out of Bounds, Old Friend, see those pages
there are four con reports for the 1998 Shore Leave
there is announcement of The Chris Soto Memorial Fund
a fan is worried about the new pro book, Get a Life!:
Something's activated my "uh-oh" button again. This time William Shatner interview in the Star Trek Communicator, number 117. The/re asking about his books, namely a non-fiction one about Star Trek fans and conventions. He replies its title is "Get A Life!" and it will be out in about 6 months. "It isn't just humorous incidents that have happened at conventions but the history of them: how they started, when they started, who was there, who goes to them, what happens at them and what things happen thai nobody speaks about, etc." The interviewer asks what sparked W.S.'s interest in writing a book like this. "I think it was an oblique remark from somebody at a convention regarding the underground that goes on at conventions. I suddenly realized that, given the complexity of human nature, you can't have 4,000 or 5,000 people meeting with some regularity without all kinds of drama going on and I thought it would be interesting to examine that closer.' Italics mine. Anyone else out there read something into this that is close to our heart? Of course. I'm put off by the title. As hard as I've tried to find the Saturday Night Live skit funny, it's never worked for me. Obviously we all do have a life, it's just that most of our lives consist of jobs that aren't always as rewarding as they could be and personal relationships that don't quite live up to our expectations. Therefore we take solace in a hobby that has made Mr, Shatner an icon and Paramount richer than a Ferengi. Perhaps I'm a little more touchy than most because when I hear "get a life" I see in my mind's eye the sneer that my significant other dons when he says the words Star Trek. David Gerrold probably gave K/S a little boost with his offhand remark years ago, but I hope this doesn't turn out to be a damaging expose. The K/S Press has been the vehicle for so much progress lately, I'd hate to see something draw Paramount's attention to us in such a fashion that they could no longer pretend we don't exist.
a fan says that she is not a fan of Spock/McCoy (TOS) stories:
I just do not see this relationship... My reasons, briefly, are this: first on a purely personal note, I just don't fancy De Kelley (sorry, De), although I gather that he is a very nice person, and I find it hard to enjoy a sexy story where I can't appreciate both participants; second, the undertones of Kirk's teasing of Spock always seems to be affectionate, whereas I can often detect real animosity in McCoy (and who can forget or forgive his savage treatment of Spock in The Tholian Web"? OK, maybe he was mad... I realise the old adage is that opposites attract, but sometimes people disagree vehemently because they really do have opposing personalities/philosophies/lifestyles. Then there is the question of rank. Spock is McCoy's line manager, and I would be willing to bet Starfleet would soon stamp on that one. In fact I can see that as about the only legitimate objection ST fans could have to K/S in general, though special exceptions might be made in the case of Captains and Firsts, or they might have a serious morale problem on their hands!
a fan writes a long letter about how there is still much anti-gay religious conservatism in the United States, but that there are also churches that are welcoming to all:
I do not mean to diminish in any way the conflicts and tensions experienced by K/S fans who live and worship in communities whose members have not yet come to accept the spiritual legitimacy of gay sexual expression. It is distressing to know that religious conservatism prevents any K/S fan from being open about her passion for the K/S relationship. However, I am not nearly as pessimistic as some readers who have written in these pages. All around me, I see religious institutions changing to become more and more open toward gay sexuality. And more and more, I see that openness manifested in wonderful and inspiring ways.
a fan comments that she'd like to see a broader discussion and acceptance of K/S:
Many people have pointed out that what people saw in Star Trek was optimism. We made it to the future and the stars, and we all have a good time doing it! Under this category of optimism, I would include the Kirk/Spock relationship. We see two beings who are deeply connected, so much so that they will risk everything for each other. They understand each other, and they share with each other in ways they do with no one else. I think most people would love to have a friend like that, whether or not romance or sex was involved. It's something that I feel our society is especially reluctant to allow men. In Kirk, we see a shining example of a passionate man who is comfortable with his emotions, and is willing to examine his doubts and fears—all no-no's for 20th Century men. Yet he does not appear weak. It is truly a step forward, and reason to hope for the future. And in the Kirk/Spock relationship, we see a connection that is genuinely awe-inspiring. They learn from each other, give to each other, and aren't ashamed of those things. This is one of the reasons I would love to see more stories that deal with their relationship outside of sexual/romantic context. I feel that if you see Kirk and Spock only in that context, you're almost shortchanging them and perhaps yourself. In a way, it's like saying that such a connection cannot exist outside of romantic love.
a fan comments on the recent influx of new K/S fans:
Sometimes I feel like I did when I first discovered K/S—with that same enthusiasm and excitement. I know the feelings ebb and flow over the years, I think it does for all who have been into K/S for any length of time, but right now there's so much interest in K/S from new people as well as those long-timers that it can't help but be infectious.
one fan writes that one of her favorite Shore Leave memory was of filking:
The first thing was [J] and [J] singing so beautifully together at the party. They sang original filks they each had written. The lyrics were so gorgeously K/S and to have the freedom to sing them without censorship or nasty looks is wonderful.
a new fan from the Netherlands says when she discovered fan fiction, specifically K/S fiction, she was disappointed on the lack of it on the Internet:
... I was disappointed that there were so few TOS stories. Stories about DS9, Voyager and TNG were numerous, and I thought there are only a few real TOS fans left. [She also comments that] Reading and buying zines didn't stop me for reading the newsgroup for stories. I need the zines as well as the Net. The stories on the Net are a bit different: sometimes a bit shorter, answering a challenge has created beautiful stories and contact between writers and readers can be very intense, and the pace with which the stories and feedback pass the screen is high. My only problem is that I seem not to have time to comment on stories on the Newsgroups. When I have read them there is another story already, and another.... Please writers on the Net who read this... please go on writing. Your stories are wanted and longed for and I cherish many of those little Net-jewels. For us living in Europe zines are very expensive, so I need the Net to give me my daily dose of K/S medicine. On the other hand, I don't want to miss the zines, either. There is nothing beyond a real printed and illustrated zine, and I try to collect as many as possible. I hope the Net and the zines will be able to exist together.
a fan writes:
I tried starting writing in Dutch, my native language, but that just doesn't work! Kirk and Spock and slash and English belong together.

The K/S Press 25 (September 1998)

contains 37 pages
has LoCs for After Effects, Alien, Appointment on Vulcan, The Bridesmaid, The Awakening, Carnival Night, The Bare Truth, Case Closed, The Confession, Control, Cover of Night, Details, Down and Out and Under the Table, Don Juan Kirk, Double Trouble, From Rags to Riches, From the Heart, Getting What You Wished For, Heartlights,

"The Image of Perfection", Love Letters, A Meditation on Leaving, Kaliffee, “Mirror Valentine”, Mission Impossible, Private Dancer, A Mission's End, The Need for Stars, The Portrait, the Sandals, and the Secret, The Prodigal Vulcan, From Rags to Riches, Risk Worth Taking, Solo Contendere, Those Who Favor Fire, Starscraper Soul, This Deadly Innocence, Such a Little Thing, Six K/S stories by Katy Young, To Catch a Unicorn, When Dreams Come True, Second Chance in the zines Naked Singularity, Kaleidoscope #2, #3, #4, #8 First Time #6, #25, #36, #47, #48, As I Do Thee #3, #6, Amazing Grace (Special Edition), No Greater Love, T'hy'la #10, Scattered Stars #11, Nome #5, The Scandals of Shikahr, Sharing the Sunlight, Out of Bounds, Time Out of Mind, Mahko Root #2, To Catch a Unicorn, Naked Times #3, see those pages

the editors write:
We still love doing this K and S thing! Words alone cannot describe what an experience this has been. We started with a dream…a mere twinkle in our minds’ eye…Jenna and Shelley sitting on the shores of that beach we walked on, fantasizing about Master Spock and Slave Kirk—oh, okay, fantasizing about Kirk and Spock in a long-term established relationship (but no housekeeping) — wondering what we could do to spread our love of K/S. And The K/S Press was conceived (without benefit of touching a single body part on each other except maybe the fingers but only in the Vulcan manner of expressing platonic friendship). Doing this newsletter has definitely changed our lives. And the response from most everyone has been so positive and loving — we embrace all of you — group hug, group hug!
many fans write in about their opinions regarding threesomes and McCoy paired with Kirk or Spock:
The Spock/McCoy pairing doesn't appeal to me, either, at least not without darn good extenuating circumstances. I have seen it used effectively in scenarios where McCoy must substitute for Kirk due to one disaster or another, and also in some slave/master A/U's. Much of “In Triplicate” even works for me because the relationship is believably motivated by an incomplete separation following the fal tor pan. But Spock/McCoy just for its own sake? I don't think so. I agree that they have real philosophical and personality differences which seem to preclude that sort of attraction. I do think that at heart they care about each other, which is why so many fan writers portray their relationship as more positive than the one often seen in aired Trek. Or maybe it's not so much that they care about each other as that they both care about Kirk. (Which reminds me: I dislike Kirk/McCoy even more than Spock/McCoy! Ugggh!
another fan writes:
On the subject of Spock/McCoy stories. I find that I must agree with [M E], because I don't care for them at all. I certainly read my share of them when I first got into K/S, stumbling forward without realizing what I was getting into, and then stumbling out as quickly as I possibly could. Part of my active dislike for such stories is that I also don't find the character of McCoy to be attractive. Except in a fatherly sort of way. But there's more than that going on. I read K/S because I am fascinated by the attraction between James Kirk and Spock of Vulcan. Period. I tolerate Mirror stories, but to me they are about two different characters. I can often find a lot to like in a/u stories if the parallels with our-universe characters are strong enough. I really dislike stories that pair either Kirk or Spock from our universe with a Kirk or Spock from another universe, be it the Mirror universe or another. Hence the fact that I am one of the privileged few who don't care for Broken Images by Beverly Sutherland, or Chris Soto's (writing as Ciana Sepulveda) The Eagle and the Hawk from Within the Mirror 3, nor Gayle F's Dancing on the Edge from KSX 1.
a fan writes:
As you said, too, I don't fancy De Kelley in the 3rd party sexual role with Jim and Spock. For all the reasons you gave and because I simply don't like threesomes, no matter who the third person is. Your reasoning is logical; I saw the same underlying hostility in the McCoy/Spock relationship that you did. That subtle nuance under McCoy's tone with Spock in "The Tholian Web". I think you're right, it has nothing to do with Jim and Spock's affectionate teasing and unconditional friendship we saw in aired Trek. In my humble opinion, that and the jealousy I've sensed from McCoy at times (one example that stands out is the scene in Kirk's cabin in "And The Children Shall Lead") makes the CMO a highly unlikely candidate. Unlike you, though, I thoroughly enjoy the doctor, even when he's annoying.
and:
I was quite comfortable with K/S straight away, but am very careful to respect other people's opinions on the subject. (The situation with the net worries me somewhat, with stories possibly "falling into the wrong hands", but I won't go into that right now!). I must admit that I personally view "aired" (TV) Trek and K/S as occupying two subtly different universes, the latter being a sort of "what if off shoot. (And a lovely one, at that!) Certainly, there is a lot of affection in TV Trek, particularly between K & S, but at that stage I see it as love manifesting itself in deep friendship, or even "shield-brothers" to coin a zine-ism. The zine world to me takes that premise and that love a step or two further, to say "what if...". Like a lot of us, I don't see K/S as the only interest in Trek, there's so much more to enjoys—but it's a delectable addition I wouldn't be without! I see the relationship growing inexorably during the TV series, with a confused Spock running to Gol, and the return, "this simple feeling", Spock's death and rebirth, etc. I don't deny that a lot can be read into various TV episodes, but so much of the original Trek themes can be missed by only viewing them from the K/S viewpoint. (I'm not immune....)

The K/S Press 26 (October 1998)

contains 36 pages
has LoCs for "Babes in the Woods", Carnival Night, Cover of Night, Earthbound, Enterprising Tours, The Eye That Saw, From the Heart, Fair Exchange, Homecoming, Fairy Tale Dreams, Iowa, Fancy's Hot Fire, From Rags to Riches, Impasse, In Trust, Irresistible Force, One More Door, Phlod, The Price, Pursuing Hyacinths, Rites, A Rare Storm, Say My Name, Reflections on a Lunar Landscape, Sea Change, The Sweetest Sound, Song of the Lea, Things That Go Bump in the Night, Stay Till Morning, The Topic, A Very Private Fire, Trick or Treat, The Watcher, Private Dancer, Outsiders, Dream Lover, To Be Human, DiscrePANcy, Dying Words, He Was He And I Was I, These Things I Would Do, Thin Ice from the zines Kaleidoscope #2, #3, #4, #7, First Time #18, #19, #46, #47, Amazing Grace (Special Edition), Nome #5, #8, #10, California K/S, As I Do Thee #6, #7, Mirrors of Mind and Flesh, Between Friends, Scattered Stars #3, #11, The Price and the Prize, T'hy'la #12, Counterpoint #7, Naked Times #16, #21, To Catch a Unicorn, Speed of Light... & other K/S stories, see those pages
this issue contains some tributes to Emily Adams
a Canadian fan who is living in Indonesia writes that she didn't bring any of her K/S zines with her, nor can she have any sent to her, due to the laws of that country - but she does have computer access and says:
I have to say the biggest high of my life was the response I got from posting two K/S stories on the net. I can remember sitting before the computer with everything set to send, my finger resting on the mouse—to click or not to click...then. WOW! If there's anyone out there who has an idea, or something already written...GO FOR IT! This crowd is the most gracious, responsive, enthusiastic, positive, helpful. I could go on. DO IT!
a fan gives others some practical tips for recording images for pleasure and for use in drawing:
Since the series and movies contain countless scenes that have enkindled the fires of K/S within us, I thought some of you might like to hear more about how to take a successful photo from the TV screen. That's where the three "mature" views on the cover came from. If you have a camera that allows you to set the shutter speed, you can avoid those strange black bands that often come across snapshots off the TV. They've got something to do with movement of electron beams—Scotty would understand. No room lights, please, they may cause a reflection. No flash. It takes 1/301" of a second for said beam to cross the screen, so the shutter speed needs to be that or slower. Steady the camera with a tripod or beanbag and fill the frame with the TV screen. For 200 speed film, try 1/8 second and f/8; for 400 speed film, 1/8 second atf/11. It's really fun to watch the tape roll while looking through the viewfinder waiting for that special moment. Not all of 'em are great, but you get some nice quality surprises, too. By the way, this works with the picture-tube type TV, I haven't tried it with the big-screen which is rear projection.
about the aired series:
K/S can be found in the episodes, etc. On the K/S List last month, we got started by talking about various K/S filmed moments. My all time favorite will always be the ending scene from 'Requiem for Methuselah', when McCoy talks about love, then leaves Kirk's quarters, and then Spock melds with the sleeping Kirk to make him "forget." I remember watching that as a young teenager and getting so excited, so stirred up, that I had to jump up and walk around the room. I didn't know what to do with myself, and I kept saying to my mother, "What did that mean? Huh?" Of course, it was all about deep, powerful, self-sacrificing love, although my reaction to it was probably sexual, though I didn't know it at the time. That's how we human females usually react, translating the deep feelings into the physical, which is why K/S seems to make so much sense to me. But what else could that scene have possibly been intended to convey, except to tell viewers that Spock was willing to do just about anything for Kirk, and that the love that McCoy was talking about, which was not platonic love, not brotherly love, but a distinctly sexual love, was the same love that Spock felt for his captain? I mean, what other reasonable explanation can be made for that scene?
and more on the aired series and K/S:
Each and every episode has something K/S, if you ask me. Besides seeing the beginnings and growth of their commitment to each other or the overt flirting that you can see if you're looking from that slant...besides that, at the least, there's the lovely friendship, which everyone else in the family can see and enjoy also, while we glue our eyes to the screen and fingers to the rewind buttons to watch those particularly close moments.... As for this undeniably sweet friendship, I enjoy seeing Kirk making inroads into getting past Spock's facade. He clearly has made Spock feel he likes him exactly as he is, and wants a special friendship. He also respects Spock's privacy and there are all sorts of little moments when Kirk knows very well that Spock feels, but he keeps it just between them.
some erection moments:
Alright, here's another one of my super-intelligent observations that show me to be the truly sophisticated and discerning woman that I am. In "Where No Man...", what's-his-name, the hapless lieutenant who is down at the dilithium tracking (cracking? whatever) station (this must show you how carefully I pay attention to details outside of Kirk and Spock), who Gary strangles with a cord, sports one of the biggest hard-ons ever—one that possibly puts KinVs to shame if his wasn't so continual. You don't even need to freeze-frame it—it's like so obvious. I guess they thought no one would notice. How could you miss it? Goodness. After reporting this and last issue talking about KinVs large happiness in "The Apple", I feel like the Erection Patrol or something.

The K/S Press 27 (November 1998)

contains 33 pages
has LoCs for Beside the Wells, Child of the Empire, Child of Vulcan, Call from the Past, The Contract, Cover of Night, Convalescing, Dark Star, Firewalker, Demon in My View, Golden Boy, How Late I Came to Love You, Homeless Hearts, The K/S Scrolls, Misplaced in Purgatory, Nothing to Light the Darkness, Pan, One Possibilty, Retrospect, Setting Sun, Rising Star, Small Packages, Spare the Rod, Your Name is Jim in the zines T'hy'la #18, #20, Naked Times #23, As I Do Thee #8, #13, Amazing Grace #3, (Special Edition), Broken Images, Scattered Stars #10, KaleidoScope #8, Counterpoint #7, Heroes in the Wilderness, To Catch a Unicorn, To Invite the Night, T'zad'u, see those pages
contains this reminder of an age statement:
Just a reminder that the Censorship Subcommittee of the United Federation of Planets’ Decency in Publications Board has informed us that in order to receive and read this letterzine: YOU MUST BE EIGHTEEN! Over eighteen is also acceptable, although we do not force you to admit to such a harrowing state. But under eighteen is a big no-no, and the Horta’s 27th-great grandmother will eat a hole through your door and give you warts if you persist in reading before you hit the big one-eight.
a fan comments:
Every now and then, I like to think about why so many of us have decided that K & S should be lovers. I know K/Sers have thought about and discussed this a lot, but I thought it might be interesting to present some of my own ideas... I think that most of us would agree that the most important factor in the K/S sexual relationship is the K/S friendship, which transcends all sorts of cultural and personal differences and is so intense that Kirk and Spock are willing to die for each other. But the sad fact is that our culture is still far from comfortable with homosexuality and was even less comfortable with same-sex relationships in the 60's when the show first aired. So why did it seem so obvious to so many of us (even to those of us who are heterosexual) that Kirk and Spock should take that extra step and become lovers as well as friends? Well, there are probably a number of reasons, but I think part of what's going on is that the Kirk and Spock characters break many of the tired gender stereotypes which so many TV characters still fit to this day. At first glance... both Kirk and Spock are almost exaggeratedly masculine.... Ah, but things are more complicated than that. Super hero Kirk has soft, almost pretty, facial features. As soon as he stands next to Spock (or McCoy, for that matter), it's clear that he isn't very tall. And he has that nicely curved posterior. In fact, when he adopts some "feminine" mannerisms while his body is possessed by Janice Lester, it isn't particularly jarring... And there's more. Kirk knows he's pretty. He uses it. Sure, the women on the Enterprise may have to wear those dumb miniskirts, but guess who appears now and then in that clinging, low-cut tunic (sort of reminds me of Troi and her "special" uniforms). When it comes to sex, Kirk may be the aggressor, but he also knows how to use his body to get what he wants. Kirk is smart, but intuitive. For the most part, he leaves the reasoned, methodical approach to problem-solving to Spock. Perhaps most importantly, Kirk is wiling to display his emotions—in fact they're an integral part of his persona, an important part of the engine driving his charisma. And what about Spock? Well, as I already mentioned, physically, he's tall, but slender, and not particularly muscular And anyone who watches him for any length of time realizes that he may control his emotions, but he still has them. In fact he feels things very deeply. He seems much more concerned about his relationship to his parents than Kirk does (in fact, we hear very little about Kirk's family at all), Spock clearly empathizes with Kirk when Edith Keeler dies. And he's nurturing. He might complain about how useless tribbles are, but he can't seem to hold a tribble (or a cat, for that matter) without stroking it He has, as McCoy points out, a "good bedside manner." He's even capable of an impassioned speech when it's called for. And he has an artistic, emotional side which comes through in his music. Spock is also content to let Kirk lead. On more than one occasion, he lets Kirk take the lion's share of the credit for saving the universe, even though Kirk couldn't possibly have done it without him. Don't you just love it when Kirk blithely manipulates Spock into creating a mnemonic memory circuit using 20th century technology or orders him to come up with the correct intermix formula in a matter of minutes? It's the Star Trek version of "Hi honey, I'm bringing home an important client and twenty guests for dinner. We'll be there in forty-five minutes. I'm counting on you to dazzle us. Bye.

The K/S Press 28 (December 1998)

contains 32 pages
has LoCs for Dear Diary, The Doctor's Indiscretion, Full Circle, Down and Out and Under the Table, Games, Golden Boy, Dying Words, Fancy's Hot Fire, Iowa, The Next Step, The Power of Suggestion, Real Men, Small Packages, Turnaround, To Face the Truth, The Ultimate Vulcan, To Be Human, Private Dancer, Outsiders, Dream Lover from the zines Command Decision, Counterproint #5, Kaleidoscope #8, T'hy'la #20, First Time #44, #46, #48, Amazing Grace, Within the Mirror #8, #12, Sharing the Sunlight, The Price and the Prize, Scattered Stars #11, see those pages
fans discuss whether there would have been trouble with Spock and Kirk having an intimate relationship seeing how one is a subordinate of the other
there is an announcement of Fal Tor Pan ("a classic ST con"), February 26-28, 1999 in Birmingham, England at the Britannia Hotel
an announcement of KiScon, March 26-28, 1999 near Dallas, Texas
a fan says "I see Kirk and Spock as all genders"
the editor says the letterzine needs more LoCs and is "contemplating punishing all recalcitrant reviewers with a firm administration of blue velvet poodles. The line starts to the left."
a BNF fan writes:
Even after all these years, I get enormous pleasure from seeing some of my old K/S stories LoCed in this letterzine. I'm glad that fans are still reading them and still enjoying them. And I am particularly glad that some even make the effort to comment. I hope readers don't ever reach the point where they feel fan stories are an automatic gift due them merely because they are fans. Those stories exist only because someone made the effort to write them and someone else made the effort to publish them. And I hope writers never reach the point where they feel that comments on their work are automatically due.
a fan writes of her long-time love for Star Trek:
Before Spock, I'd never known that it could actually be a plus to be smart. That people could value you for it, even like you for it. That you could be different, and still have friends. That you could even take pride in being different. That there might be a reality where a handsome, heroic guy like Captain Kirk could see something to love in a nerdy, awkward, shy Vulcan first officer. Then I started noticing other things. Women who would take the front line right alongside their captain. Creatures that were ugly on the outside but beautiful on the inside... Acceptance of difference... The idea of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations is only one of the many cool, powerful messages Star Trek has for us. But it's the one that's maybe hardest to learn, and needs the most practice—and the one that we, as K/S fen, perhaps ought to take most to heart.
a fan talks of Kirk and Spock's probable manly roughhousing in fanfic:
Some of our writers temper the rough stuff—again, as woman may be prone to do—using phrases such as "playful half-nelson," "mildly rough handling," but I think Kirk and Spock could let go and get as rough with each other as they'd like... And at the same time, most of us are creating K/S absolutely do not get enjoyment in any way from fictional violence; and so we are also just as free to temper the rough stuff as not to. The world certainly needs a lot of tempering.
a fan writes about how her tastes have changed:
Talk about imprinting! You know like the duckling who goes to the first thing it sees when it’s born! That was me way back when. The first zines I ever read were from Pon Farr Press and they were loaded with stories usually by Della showing a super-masculine, dominating (in a good way, thank you), powerful, dark, mysterious Spock (oh, and don’t forget the very long hair) and a stubborn, willful, pretty-boy, submissive (in a good way, okay?) Kirk who continually became entrapped in this sexy Vulcan’s snares and despite his efforts at resisting, eventually gave in to the truth. This scenario still gets me all atwitter. I was so imprinted with this perception, that any stories that had Kirk be the strong, forceful type (in bed, mind you) and Spock be the timid virgin made me shake my head at the folly of the writers. But gradually, the balance shifted and now I have a much more open view of them. In fact, I like all the different ways they’re portrayed. Give me anything—powerful Spock, meek Kirk; confused Spock, masterful Kirk; super-Vulcan, weak human—I love all of it. Except…naah, I won’t say it. It begins with an “h” and ends with a“k” and has “ousewor” in the middle.^[5]

a fan chortles:
Unbelievable! I was idly turning the pages of the Star Trek Fotonovel “All Our Yesterdays” when I came across the pictures of Spock and Zarabeth in the cave together. Zarabeth says “Please…have something to eat.” Spock comments that it looks like animal flesh, she says there isn’t anything else around, he says he’ll try to create a greenhouse using hot springs, and then he picks up a hunk of something and sticks it in his mouth. And the little blurb at the top of the page says: 'For the first time, meat enters the body of the Vulcan.' I died laughing. Somebody, use that line in a story, please!

a fan speculates:
I have long toyed with the opinion that certain portions of the Star Trek operation are playing to the K/S element. Not necessarily the K/S community, as I do believe it is way too insignificant in terms of number to make a difference, but to the K/S idea, which is probably interesting on a subliminal level to lots of people, only they don’t know it’s operating in their brains.
the second K/S songtape is for sale:
It is one hour and forty-four minutes long, with 28 terrific videos. At the last minute we were able to add four more. The reproduction quality on most of this tape is good to excellent, certainly a lot better than most of us have been watching for many years. The final 8 songs are really, really old, goodness knows what generation copy we had to use, but they are still watchable (barely!) and sound good... Artists included are Elizabeth Scott, Roberta Haga, Cybel Harper, Stacy Doyle, Patricia Frazer Lamb, Janice Silverstein, and Katharine Scarritt. There are two erotic selections in the middle of the tape with explicit (very explicit) footage from pornographic films. (The two are basically repeats of one another in the erotic footage, it’s the framing scenes from Star Trek that are different. While some might be shocked and offended, I found them— somewhat—tasteful. Somewhat.) Because of the obscenity laws, we won’t be sending these two songs overseas. And if there are any of our domestic folks who don’t want them, we ask that you tape over those two songs yourself.

The K/S Press 29 (January 1999)

contains 49 pages
has LoCs for Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Forged in Fire, Full Circle, Gentleness, The Price, Small Packages, Soap and Water, Sweet Sorrow, The Sword Bonding, Tight Spaces, When Rain Comes, Turning Point from the zines T'hy'la #18, #20, Within the Mirror #12, Naked Times #12, The Price and The Prize, Duet #6, As I Do Thee #8, First Time #45, see those pages
a reminder to vote in Philon
a extensive ad for the con, Fal Tor Pan: The Rebirth of Classic Cons February 26-28, 1999 in Birmingham, England
reminder to register for KiScon
the zine library got a big bunch of zine donations from a Canadian fan, as well as others
the European Branch Library has been open for six months
Philon Award Possibilities for 1998 and ballot
folks joke about the Fotonovel of 'All Our Yesterdays' and the line about "the first time meat ever entered the Vulcan’s body."
an essay by a fan on What Star Trek Means to Me
a fan writes of getting her K/S stuff past customs overseas, and of the scrutiny it faced:
I got to thinking: what if others 'found out' and 'made public' our obsession? Would that be a bad thing? A good thing? I rather like the way it is now, coming across gems, seeking more through exclusive connections made in this new genre of literature. Yes K/S has been written about, but in non-mainstream treatises (and that one little blurb in Utne Reader years back, anybody see that one?). Would the magic go if too many knew about us?
Don't ask, don't tell?:
Because the issue never really came up overtly, it’s hard to comment on bias against homosexuality in the universe of TOS. But, given the emphasis on diversity, as well as the fact that sex between humans and sentient aliens does not seem to be a problem, one would suppose that homosexuality would not be a problem either. It would seem, then, that much of the cultural baggage contributing to the “power struggle” problems would not exist in the TOS universe. I do not mean to imply that this would automatically solve all problems related to intra- crew sexual relationships, but I think it would make the situation far less potentially explosive than it is in our own world.
about LoCs:
I just loved what you said about readers doing LOC's. So true, so true. Somehow the idea of doing LOC's was instilled in me when I first came into K/S. Remember that little book The Absolute...Guide to Fandom (something like that)? I read every word and took it very seriously.

The K/S Press 30 (February 1999)

contains 28 pages
has LoCs for Angel's Tongues, Beloved Relatives, The Burning, Clueless, Convalescing, The Confession, Full Circle, The Life That Lies Before, Grand Canyon Sweet, “The Need for Stars”, The Next Step, One Great Use of Words, One Man, Soul Keeper, Thy Brother's Keeper, The Wedding Gift, Wishing in the Mirror, Yesterday and Tomorrow in the zines Within the Mirror #12, As I Do Thee #8, #15, #17, Broken Images, First Time #36, #48, T'hy'la #16, #20, Inevitable Love, Taking Command, Tangled Web, Twisted Labyrinth, Bittersweet Resolve, Setting Course, see those pages
for sale: a Star Trek mailbox that features Kirk and Spock in their uniforms on one side, and the Enterprise being held by a giant hand on the other
information about the upcoming KiScon
new additions to "The Chris Soto Memorial Library"
Star Trek Alien Beanie Babies for sale
fans discuss the first episodes and stories that imprinted on them
someone was selling zines from Emily Adams' estate, with proceeds going to her family
the editors write they regret some letters run in previous issues, especially #29, and that:
... they have made the difficult decision not to print any further contributions on the transgender issue and the comments that followed. The issue and its aftermath got out of control and became quite a mess, and it was hard for folks to express themselves in a calm, temperate manner. It looked as if further chewing on it would accomplish nothing but heightened animosity. We don’t think “taking sides with swords drawn” is what this publication should be all about... We certainly don’t want reading the letterzine to be a source of pain for any of our readers! We want everybody to feel welcome in these pages.
discussion about is K/S for women?:
Nor does the analysis of K/S fan fiction by Joanna Russ and others as women’s writing, writing by women for women, suggest that K/S fandom should not include men. In my opinion, those are two different issues. My own experience in K/S fandom has been that the relative rarity of men in our midst has made men all the more welcome.
a thank you to Charlotte Frost:
...who was our lifeline to K/S before Jenna & Shelley took over and at the same time gave us some of the most loving and sensitive K/S ever written. I'll always be drawn to a story with [her] pseudonym. ^[6]
What is K/S? A writer says:
I have seen this question posed a few different times, so here's my shot at an answer. Some folks claim that if it doesn't have explicit hot sex in it it's not a K/S story. Me, I must respectfully disagree. Some stories, in order to adhere to artistic integrity, require that such things occur off-camera. And sometimes, the two of them simply haven't gotten around to it yet, even though it is obvious to everyone around them that it is inevitable.
a new song tape is available:
This second tape is now available for all our subscribers. Artists included are Elizabeth Scott, Roberta Haga, Cybel Harper, Stacy Doyle, Patricia Frazer Lamb, Janice Silverstein, and Katharine Scarritt. There are two erotic selections in the middle of the tape with explicit (very explicit) footage from pornographic films. (The two are basically repeats of one another in the erotic footage, it’s the framing scenes from Star Trek that are different. While some might be shocked and offended, I found them— somewhat—tasteful. Somewhat.) Because of the obscenity laws, we won’t be sending these two songs overseas. And if there are any of our domestic folks who don’t want them, we ask that you tape over those two songs yourself.
art for sale by Marilyn Cole:
Many long-time K/Sers know of this lady’s gorgeous artwork that has graced many zine covers over the years, including those of T’hy’la and First Time. The lucky people at The K/S Press Party at Shore Leave got to see and buy some beautiful prints by this extraordinary artist. Now you can too!

References

^ She is off with the date by six years.
^ The editor of the letterzine adds in a later letter: "I think the count of “more than 450 but fewer than 500 K/S zines” is accurate.
^ she defines this as "a story where Spock and Kirk are lovers, but it's not important to the story. The story is gen."
^ this comment, along with similar ones in this issue, appears to be in response to a male writer who wrote a bio in the previous issue of this letterzine
^ housework! -- this fan has made it known she hates two kinds of stories, ones with K and S doing housework, and ones where they die.
^ A reference to the letterzine, The LOC Connection.

[1] She is off with the date by six years.

[2] The editor of the letterzine adds in a later letter: "I think the count of “more than 450 but fewer than 500 K/S zines” is accurate.

[3] she defines this as "a story where Spock and Kirk are lovers, but it's not important to the story. The story is gen."

[4] this comment, along with similar ones in this issue, appears to be in response to a male writer who wrote a bio in the previous issue of this letterzine

[5] usework! -- this fan has made it known she hates two kinds of stories, ones with K and S doing housework, and ones where they die.

[6] A reference to the letterzine, The LOC Connection.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

The K/S Press/Issues 021-030

Contents

The K/S Press 21 (May 1998)

The K/S Press 22 (June 1998)

The K/S Press 23 (July 1998)

The K/S Press 24 (August 1998)

The K/S Press 25 (September 1998)

The K/S Press 26 (October 1998)

The K/S Press 27 (November 1998)

The K/S Press 28 (December 1998)

The K/S Press 29 (January 1999)

The K/S Press 30 (February 1999)

References

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