Obsczine

YOU MAY BE LOOKING FOR THE AMERICAN ZINE SERIES, Obsc'zine.

Zine
Title:	Obsczine
Publisher:
Editor(s):
Date(s):	undated, though a review below suspects between 1975-1977. It is certainly in 1977 or before as one story was reprinted in King Grope (1978). Another reviewer suggests that a story in Grope #1 was a rewritten version of something in "Obsczine," making "Obsczine's" date closer to 1975 or 1976." In Twil-Ddu Issue 6 (1977), there is a reference on page 3 as part of the Top Quote of '76 paragraph indicating 1975 is the likely option.
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:	12.5 X 9
Genre:	gen, femslash, het
Fandom:	Star Trek:TOS
Language:	English
External Links:
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inside back cover, poem by Jinx, art by peeper!

front cover by peeper!

Obsczine is a 45-page gen, het, and femslash Star Trek: TOS anthology published in England in the mid to late 1970s. The zine is a slightly larger size, 12.5 X 9.

On the cover: "Dic. Def. Obscene: (Adj.) Offense to modesty, indecent, filthy, disgusting. (L. Obscenus)."

On the title page: "OBSCZINE: An obscene 'Zine. Dedication: To the Broad-minded, without whose help Star Trek would have never reached the screen."

The zine is mostly known for the story, "The End by Sei Aiy Khey." One fan described this as "that strange little zine from England, called OBSCZINE, which doubtless contains the world's worst "hurt" story (no "comfort" in this one!)."

Contents

• Aphrodisia [sic] by Spectre (1) (Spock drinks some alien water, and he beds a willing Christine Chapel, fade-to-black sex)
• Demon, poem by Ann (6)
• The End by Sei Aiy Khey (a gruesome deathfic where the entire crew is captured, and tortured to death by aliens; ends with Kirk’s suicide) (7)
• Sore Leave by Jinx (An h/c tale, while on a shore leave to an alien planet, Kirk, Bones and Spock run into trouble.) (10)
• Maniac by Thetis (The Enterprise’s entire crew is murdered, until it is just Spock and the killer left, a sexually aroused Christine Chapel, some fade-to-black sex ensues.) (19)
• Sargon’s Companions, poem by Jane Martel (20)
• Star Trek Bonking Script by Koloth (21)
• One Man's Mate by Jinx (Kirk’s casual bed-mate turns out to be a Klingon spy, and Spock comes to arrest her; Kirk is embarrassed and insults Spock; Spock’s feelings are hurt. Later, Kirk allows suggests Spock accompany a Vulcan trader back to Vulcan for the trader’s pon farr and this causes Spock to forgive the captain for the earlier sharp words.) (reprinted in 1978 in King Grope) (28)
• Overheard in Passing, poem by Pavela Andreivich (31)
• Reverie by Thetis (A sparse tale of Romulan intrigue: Spock and Christine go under cover (have some PG-rated sex), their ship crash lands and Christine is mortally injured; Spock kills her out of mercy and lives to return to the Enterprise.) (32)
• Pon Farr, vignette by Sie Aiy Khey (34)
• A Surfeit of Ecstasy by Martyn Samuelson (Some strange pebbles, which only affect the female crewmembers cause them all to retire to their cabins and, well, it is very, very subtle, but it appears this story is about masturbation, the main clues being the women are confined to their quarters and Kirk's face gets really red when McCoy explains why…) (35)
• Port Farewell, poem by Ann (37)
• He, poem by CK (38)
• And Then... by C.M. (A tale of femslash lust and love aboard a Klingon ship.") (40)
• Pon Farr Day, poem by Jinx, art by peeper! (inside back cover)

Reactions and Reviews

See reactions and reviews for The End.

See reactions and reviews for Sore Leave.

See reactions and reviews for One Man's Mate.

See reactions and reviews for Reverie.

See reactions and reviews for A Surfeit of Ecstasy.

See reactions and reviews for And Then....

Please - don't go into too many details about that little horror in the UK OBSCZINE. I can't remember anything about the rest of the zine (I got rid of it) but that one was so nasty it stunk, and I still shudder whenever I'm reminded of it. The writer told me when the zine came out that she had wanted to write something that was really obscene - and boy, she did! The only thing worse was that hellishly well done poem (from a US zine) where Kirk and Spock are captured and Spock is hung up on a meat hook to make Kirk talk - and they're rescued too late to save him.

OBSCZINE (no apostrophe in the title), a thin, British mimeozine, is one of those rare, curious zines I love to collect. It has a thin, gray cover, with an illo of a masked, high-booted female with breasts uncovered, together with the dictionary definition of "obscene". There is no date of publication (perhaps 1976, 77, or 78??), nor is the editor's name mentioned. Almost all the authors listed are obvious pseudonyms. There are six short stories, three vignettes, a humorous "script", four poems, and one illo/cartoon. Disappointingly, there is no K/S. And here I must issue a warning: The "obscene" in this zine is often of the violent and sickening sort, rather than the sensual and passionate kind.

The mimeo printing in parts of my copy is so bad that part of the index is totally unreadable, as is the title of the second story, by "Sei Aiy Khey" on page 7. However, this is the one that particularly needs a warning: DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE! It contains certain strong images and unpleasant concepts that will stay with you and haunt you, even though you are forewarned. Stated baldly, it is bad enough, but it may allay your curiosity. Kirk relaxes his guard momentarily, and in that moment of inattention vicious aliens destroy the Enterprise and most of its crew. The rest are left to die, or are painfully tested and experimented upon, then vivisected — as is Spock. Kirk breaks free, mercifully kills Spock, then himself, that is the End.

And if you think that that is bad, you have never read the story! "Sore Leave", by "Jinx", is a simple adventure on an alien planet, with Kirk and Spock being injured, pursued and almost killed by the deaf-mute, but telepathic natives with whom they eventually make friends. There is too much stress placed on their painful injuries, without enough leavening of "comfort" in this one for my taste.

"One Man's Mate", by Jinx, on the other hand, is a well-written, gentle story. It was later reprinted in another zine (not "Standing Orders", as I incorrectly reported in the last NTS). Kirk, on shore leave, picks up Slea in a bar, and takes her back to his hotel. After listening in on them all night, Spock intrudes on them, arrests her — she is a Klingon agent — and takes her away. In his embarrassment, Kirk is furious at Spock for not at least warning him. When Spock points out that Kirk did accompany Slea voluntarily, Kirk blurts out that he is glad he is Human: "At least we don t go through all the fun and games the Vulcans do!" Spock is hurt, humiliated and offended. He does not understand Kirk's embarrassment about being found in bed. Kirk s reference to pon farr seems to indicate that he finds Vulcan ways ludicrous and distasteful. Spock contemplates asking for a transfer, but decides to wait. The Enterprise leaves; Kirk forgets about the situation and what he said in anger. Spock remains cold to him; he is hurt and lonely, and thinks Spock just wants to return to Vulcan for awhile. Spock, meanwhile, trains a replacement for himself. Later, on a planetary assignment on Hylos, Kirk helps defend a Vulcan merchant named Shaun, when he is attacked by hostile locals. He becomes aware that Shaun is in pon farr, and knows he can't make it back to Vulcan on time by himself. And there is no one on Hylos to help Shaun. Kirk returns to the ship to enlist Spock's aid, but is afraid to offend him. Spock arrives, transfer tape in hand. Kirk carefully describes the problem, and grants Spock 15 days of leave to pilot Shaun to Vulcan. Spock thanks him for his assistance to a fellow Vulcan, removes the tape before Kirk can see it, and offers a game of chess that evening. Kirk promptly accepts, and offers to polish up his game for Spock's return. "'I shall look forward to returning, sir,' was Spock's only answer, but somehow, it was enough..."

"Reverie" by "Thetis" is mostly written like a summary or report — which it is — or Spock's espionage mission on a Romulan dominated world. He falls in love with his guide and aid, one of the Freedom Fighters. They are captured, then escape, but she is fatally injured. Spock must go on, must escape, so she points the way, then points a phaser to her head, but Spock takes it from her and does it himself, while she smiles bravely at him. He sadly returns to the ship and McCoy's unknowing jibes. This would have been far better had it been written like a story, more fleshed out, the woman kept strong and independent, not "mary-sued".

"A Surfeit of Ecstasy", by Martyn Samuelson, is just what is given by some strange, vibrating crystals taken aboard the ship and kept as souvenirs by the female crew.

In "And..., And Then", by CM., inhabitants of an alternate universe wish, for reasons unexplained, to delay the arrival of a Klingon ship (in "our" universe) to its next port of call. To do this, they send H'Ellen as saboteuse, promising as a reward for her help, to arrange something "concerning those charges of gross immorality. She succeeds in her mission by seducing and thoroughly exhausting practically everyone on board, ending with Kali, a female lieutenant. When H'Ellen is brought back to her own universe, she is still eager for action and fun. A slight, but charming, story; I wanted more.

In "Aphrodisia" by "Spectre", some water from an alien planet is ingested by Kirk and Spock, but it only affects Spock-strangely. He seduces Chapel, to her flight.

In the vignette, "Maniac", by "Thetis", everyone on the Enterprise is systematically killed off, first by accidents, then murdered one by one. Finally, only Kirk and Spock are left alive. They look at each other... and wonder.... Then Kirk is murdered. Spock takes care of the burial as best he can, then sits and waits for the assassin. He is attacked with a hypo and sleeps. He awakens naked and strapped to his own bed. The door opens; the murderer comes in, sits by his side, and caresses his face. "Alone at last", said Nurse Christine Chapel.

The unsigned "Star Trek Bonking Script" is one of those things that brings in every thing including Supergirl, the BBC, Roddenberry, D. Fontana, Bill Theiss, Nimoy's stolen bicycles problem. It has no "bonking" (what we'd call "get-Kirk" stories), no plot, a very few good lines, and is heavy-handed.

Also included in OBSCZINE are a long poem, not very good, which concerns Miramanee, and a few other poems and vignettes too slight to mention.

Obsczine - Star Trek fan fiction (especially "slash fiction") fanzine. Printed sometime around 1977 based on my research. This is the one-off UK "Obsczine", not the multi-issue USA fanzine of the same name (named Obsc'zine" with an apostrophe) but has similar content. Mimeographed, staple bound with 3 staples. 45 pages, 11 1/2" x 8 1/4". Mostly text with just a few illustrations.

Filled with risque, bizarre and in some cases rather dark fan fiction. There is no name or address inside, just the name of contributors which are surely pseudonyms. A pretty interesting view into the mind of some of the more fringe Star Trek fandom that existed at the time.

This is fan produced and was cheaply mimeographed; some of the pages have faint/poor printing because of this, though everything is still legible. One page cuts off part of the last line on the page, as shown. All known copies of this zine have poor printing/copying issues.