Killa

Fan
Name:	Killa
Alias(es):	Killashandra, killabeez, Killashdra, Rose Singer, one of the three authors in The Krell
Type:	vidder, writer, illustrator, artist, archivist
Fandoms:	Star Trek:TOS, Supernatural, Jeremiah, Highlander, Hustle, Wild Palms, Witchblade, Alias, Horatio Hornblower
Communities:	The WOAD Society
Other:
URL:	Killa's Adventures in Melodrama, at AO3, on Dreamwidth, on Livejournal, Google Sheet of Killa's vids
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Killa is well known in many fandoms for her work as an illustrator, fanwriter, and vidder, as well as for her work as an archivist in Star Trek fandom.

Interviews

• An Interview with Killashandra (1999)

• COCO CHANNEL Interview with Killashandra (1999)
• The Best of Trek Fanfic Interview with Killa (2002)
• the opposite of vanilla: a talk with killa, interview by nrrrdy_grrrl (journal purged and deleted) (November 27, 2011)

In 1999, she participated in an ongoing interview series on the COCO CHANNEL: "I first became aware of the existence of fandom in late 1994, when I found the Trek boards on AOL and learned about zines and fanfic. It was tough going in the beginning though, because I was only interested in Classic Trek, and at that time there wasn't much to be found online. I had no idea how to go about meeting other fans. I knew only that there existed some vague nebulous group of people I wanted to meet... sort of like a secret society and I didn't yet have the password."

Some 17 years later, she was interviewed by nrrrdy_grrrl and had this to say about fandom: "But I think that's one of my favorite things about fandom—the nature of the fannish experience is that though we drift from one fandom to another, there's a constant give and take with other fans that builds on the past relationships we've had."

Influence in Star Trek TOS Fiction

As a writer, Killa was influential in the revitalization of ST:TOS fandom online in the mid-1990s. From a LoC to The K/S Press #29 in 1999, one which cites Turning Point and Full Circle:

I don't know if print K/S fans realise how defining an effect Killashandra's work has had on the web. Turning Point, originally published on the 'Net in 1995, and Full Circle, copyright 1997, have had an effect on web Treksmut fandom that is difficult to overestimate. I guess that the majority of people who got interested in K/S via the web are here because reading "Turning Point" was a conversion experience. It's not just the "Oh my gosh, I'm not the only one who sees their relationship that way" feeling. What Killa did is prove, by demonstration, that there is no limit to how good K/S (or fan fiction) can get. She has raised the bar all the way. We can no longer say: "It's only fan fiction," or "It's only Star Trek."

[snipped]

On the web "Turning Point" and its sequel have set the standards. The things Killa does are things we all, on some level, try to do. Killa's use of language is without peer, but her example at least gives us something to aim at. And a whole generation has been infected with her goal: unflinching emotional truth. It's a style that allows, sometimes wallows in, angst, but I don't think of it as h/c because the hurts do not come from external sources. All wounds are self- inflicted.

Some specific things Killa does have become part of web K/S convention. For instance, much of "Full Circle" is interstitial to "ST:TMP," and I know I am not the only person who now has great difficulty seeing that movie except through Killa's eyes. In a sense, her interpretation has near canonical force: to do a different interstitial version of "ST:TMP" involves pushing against the weight of "Full Circle," and so is rarely attempted.

Killa also has the habit of taking her titles from popular songs and using them as epigraphs, which has become a common practice on the web.

There are also things Killa does not do that have influenced web K/S. In none of her stories are the words "I love you" the turning point. The feelings, oh definitely yes, but the words tend to be used, if at all, long after the first time they have sex. She also never uses adjectives of size to describe genitals, which I find a boon -- there's nothing like a 9.6 inch erection to spoil the mood for me (stay away from me with that thing!).

And if there is a happy ending, it's not unadulterated. Kirk and Spock come to their relationship from pain and grief, and they know that there will be pain and grief in their future. Their happiness, their love, is mortal, and so is both bitter and sweet. It gives the story a weight, a heft: like life.

Another fan writes of becoming a fan of Spock when she was a pre-teen:

Then, in the late 70's (I think) I saw a letter to the editor in a Best of Trek (?) complaining that some people were perverting ST by writing slash. What an idea! But boy, did it catch hold in my mind... I didn't find anyone else who was interested for 20 years... Then I found the web and ST stories including Killashandra's story 'Turning Point'. Wow, what an introduction! ^{[citation needed]}

Influence as a Vidder

As a vidder, Killa has been noted for the cleanness and crispness of her visuals, the precision of her cutting, and her use of color. She has moderated several influential panels at Vividcon.

She was a member of The WOAD Society a vidder collective that raised the bar, more than once, on how polished a vid collection could be.

At least two of her vids have gone viral, including Closer and Knights of the Round Table.

Influential Stories

• Bitter Glass (Star Trek: TOS/Star Trek: TNG)
• Turning Point (Star Trek: TOS)
• Full Circle (Star Trek: TOS)
• Cover of Night
• The Seduction of the Desert Prince, as one-third of The Krell
• Darkest Hour
• Sharing the Risk
• Live Wire

Influential Vids

• Dante's Prayer
• Closer (with TJonesy)
• Knights of the Round Table (with TJonesy)
• Razzle Dazzle (with TJonesy and the WOAD Society)
• Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
• All Along The Watchtower
• Coming Up From Behind
• Woodstock
• This Girl is Taking Bets
• Bleed to Love Her
• These Two Arms (XWP - Xena/Gabrielle)
• I Want

Influential Art

• 

  cover Duet #1

• 

  interior Duet #1

• 

  cover Duet #2

• 

  cover of Futures Without End #2

• 

  interior art from Futures Without End #2

• 

  interior art from Futures Without End #2

• 

  interior art T'hy'la #17

• 

  cover of Wounded Heroes

• 

  from Wounded Heroes - Blair (The Sentinel)

• 

  from Wounded Heroes - Walter Skinner (X-Files)

• 

  from Wounded Heroes - Jim and Blair (The Sentinel)

Meta

• Where No One Had Slashed Before (2004)
• If you love us, you'll archive your fic/reference link, page 1/reference link, page 2, posted 6 April 2011 (during the politically motivated DNS attacks on LiveJournal), plea for archiving fic in multiple places to keep it accessible.
• Killa writes about her discovery of slash and Star Trek