The Internet: Online K/S Awards

Meta
Title:	The Internet: Online K/S Awards
Creator:	Lyrastar
Date(s):	2007
Medium:	print, CD
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Topic:	Kirk/Spock, Awards
External Links:
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The Internet: Online K/S Awards is an article by Lyrastar in Legacy #5.

The topic: the Golden Orgasms and the ASC Awards.

The article lists the winners from 1997-2005 of the Golden Orgasms and the winners from 1995-2005 of the ASC Awards.

Excerpts

Since 1997, readers have been able to vote for their favorite stories submitted to the alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated (ASCEM) newsgroup for the Golden Orgasm or “Golden O” Awards. Here’s a summary of the results as related to K/S. All the winners in the Kirk/Spock categories through the years are given, plus K/S and K/Sish stories that won in broader categories. Note that as the years went by and more people acquired easier Internet access, the number of stories posted increased, and so did the categories. Not everything makes intuitive sense (“Short” vs. “short story?” Or how many words does it take to make a novel?), and not all of the classifications are consistent either internally or from year to year. But hey, I’m just reporting how it went down.

You might be surprised at the content of some of the stories in the Kirk/Spock category and some others in the listing here. Not all of them would pass the guidelines for submission to a K/S zine. What is and what isn’t K/S is a perennial discussion that has been around for about as long as the genre itself. The stories eligible for these awards were categorized by the authors alone, and online the term “K/S” has often been applied somewhat differently than traditionally.

With the emergence of the first unequivocal K/S stories in print, there was a need to distinguish this group from the Kirk and Spock relationship stories that showcase intense love and commitment—perhaps even an exclusive bond—but have a line drawn in the sand at the edge of sexuality. K/S online evolved differently: in a world of multiple Trek series and in forums where readers were looking for stories about any of the possible permutations of couples. Hence, in these listings—and often in other net stories—“K/S” is often used to mean “content about Kirk and Spock that fits within the belief that Kirk and Spock have/could have/should have a sexual relationship.” Initially needing to distinguish the story from ones about Picard/Q or Spock/McCoy, and with the practice in place of advising in advance whether a story had adult content, making a clear separation from Kirk & Spock relationship stories was of secondary importance, especially when posted in forums intended for K/S and/or other slash.

And so some stories that grip the K/S emotions—for example “The Game”—are labeled K/S by the author although they could just as easily be read as the love of friendship. There may be gen pre-K/S stories such as “Captain, Do You Play?” or even pre-K/S stories with much focus on the preceding relationship such as “At My Most Beautiful.” Or the K/S may be in the emotions portrayed, but sadly unconsummated as in “Blame it On Midnight” or “The Strangest Thing.” Others are K/S that ends unhappily, like “In the Autumn Mist.”