The K/S Press/Issues 061-070

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The K/S Press 61 (September 2001)

• contains 44 pages
• has LoCs for fiction Another Side of the Mirror, Debriefing, From Choice, Interview with a Vulcan, Jury Duty, Once and Again, One So Close to You, Paradise?, Ravage, Personal Devil, "Report from the Rim", Ritual, Something Deep Inside, Sweet Surrender, A Web of Twos, Thicker Than Blood, Tirizandi, The Word Withheld, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, The Blessing, Chrysalis, The Heart Has Reasons, The Last Word, Magic Heart, The Quality of Command, A Sickbay Story, The Terran Teaser Meets the Double Whammy, The Lover Within, Animal Passion, A Matter of Trust, Hour of Gold, Bed of Silence, A Ride to Yesteryear, Is This Paradise, Or What?, Just the Way the Story Goes, Present Tense, Future Perfect, From the Dark into the Light, The Author, Desires, To Protect and to Serve, Terrible Threshold, When Lovers Say Goodbye, For Friendship's Sake, Like a Tear Cast in Stone, Tangled Webs in the zines Within the Mirror #1, #5, #14, Beyond Dreams #3, Greater California K/S, The KiScon Zine 2001, First Time #51, #52, #53, Legends, Festival, T'hy'la #1, #11, Naked Times #1, Nome #2, Out of Bounds, Duet #1, As I Do Thee #1, Matter/Antimatter #3, The Way of the Warrior #1, Daring Attempt #1, Counterpoint #1, Charisma #1, Scattered Stars #1, In the Wilderness #1, KaleidoScope #1, see those pages
• a reader thanks another "for sharing the KiScon cake story in the July issue. I laughed out loud through the entire story... about you arguing with the baker about the color of Spock's penis, and why it must be green!."
• there are many thank yous, congrats on running for five years, and "what The KSP means to me" letters from readers
• discussion about how fiction in the last ten years seems to portray Spock as frail and incapable
• discussion how fans tend to start out liking Kirk or Spock (almost always Spock) more, and how they "mature" and grow to like them both, as both half of a whole
• a fan writes of the difficulty in finding other fans at the hotel during a con as she didn't know anyone's real names
• a note about the passing of Warren Oddsson
• a keychain was included with this month's letterzine
• from the editors: "One of the best features of this issue is Jenna's presentation of the first issue of each zine series... a fascinating look at the beginnings of K/S zines."
• a reader notes:

  Looking back in retrospect, I think perhaps K/S was on the wane in the mid-ninties, zine sales down, etc... but slash in general and K/S slash in particular is vibrant and alive and in a resurgence. A very great deal of that is to you [The K/S Press]. Here in the pages of The KSP, we introduced our net sisters and welcomed them to print zines, making both the net and print zines richer for the sharing. Here in the pages of The KSP, we can speak our minds, leam what is happening in our fandom, and most of all make the connections between people that are among the best joys of Fife.

• a reader comments:

  I found your comment in the August issue about hiding your K/S interest from people not just because of the sex, but because of the 'weirdness' of so much deep emotional investment in a sixties space adventure to be very true for me as well. For example, I'm pretty sure my two best friends would be fine with the homoerotic nature of the stories, but what makes me reluctant to tell them about my new-found interest is that I don't think they will understand how I can feel so intensely about fictional characters from a SF TV show that's 35 years old.

• a fan has this warning:

  Found this in a piece about the SirCam worm in the August 13 issue of The New Yorker (in the Talk of the Town" section): "With each new conquest, SirCam selected a random document from the victim's hard drive and forwarded that file to all the E-mail addresses it discovered. The result was as much a case of public humiliation as one of info- terrorism: SirCam might randomly select something from your Star Trek-erotica collection or the first draft of your Backstreet Boys fan letter and send it out to everyone in your address book."

• a fan is grateful to this letterzine, and to K/S fandom:

  Five Years-That's fantastic! This is just to say thank you, really. Firstly to Jenna and Shelley for the truly excellent KSP, which I have enjoyed every issue of during the three years I have subscribed. Thank you also to all the people I have met both directly and indirectly through the KSP, you have all been great. I am amazed at the diversity among K/S fans, we come in all shapes, sizes, ages, nationalities and from all walks of life, it is really something special when all these people can get together and have a great time united, as it were, by a common interest in Kirkand Spock. Without the communication the KSP provides I am sure there would be many more lonely K/S folks out there... [She adds:] To all my e-mail and internet K/S buddies: Hello and thanks for all the chats!

• Spock's her favorite:

  Couldn't resist finally joining in on the "fascinating" discussion regarding the change so many seem to go through in regards to who of the boys is your favorite. My first thought was "Kirk? Uncomplicatedr I don't think I ever saw him that way, and that's been a big reason why Spock has remained my one and only. As a young girt, I was thirteen when the show started, I was immediately drawn to Spock. Even then, he was a lot easier to understand than Kirk. There was, however, a more compelling reason for preferring Spock. I knew Kirk was good looking. I thought Spock was, too. But for me, Spock's intellect was the deciding factor. I can't help it. Smart is sexy! As I got older, that sexiness just seemed to intensify. I know I'm in the small minority that doesn't see Spock as an innocent. There's too much smoldering underneath. Inexperienced, yes, but I don't feel that experience necessarily has anything to do with the basic sensuousness of a person. The way Spock petted the tribble and Isis, his fingers as he strokes the strings of his lyre, shows, at least to me, that he has a appreciation for things that gratify the senses. I can't see that not being part of any sexuality, and sex not becoming VERY important to him once he does experience it. And as much as we might like to tie sex to an emotion, it's not. It's a biological imperative. Spock's lack in dealing with emotions wouldn't stand in the way of his being sexual. Kirk, on the other hand, showed too many qualities that I just couldn't get by... There were times, especially during the first run, that I almost disliked Kirk, mainly because of the way he sometimes treated Spock. His jumping from woman to woman wasn't all that endearing, either. It was when I discovered K/S that I began to see him in a different light. I finally took the time to really look at Kirk, to try and understand the way he is, and why. I began to understand why he's so important to Spock, and why a love affair between them made so much sense. I can now say I love Kirk, but mostly because Spock does. I see more of his better qualities, the reason why Spock would love him. I admit, I don't know Kirk, not really. A lot of what he is, how he sees things is so far off of how I see things that it's sometimes hard to get a real hold on him. I'm not comfortable with the whole leader persona, and it's not something I would ever look for in a companion, mainly because I dont like being told what to do. But he's what Spock wants, so that's all I need to know.

• a fan talks about her favorite character, and tells how Star Trek: DS9 brought her to K/S:

  I noticed the conversation in the July KSP about whether we're Kirkophiles or Spockophiles, and figured I'd join in. I have a deep, all encompassing love for the pointed-eared one. A passion that goes far beyond pointed ears or slanted eyebrows. It's funny, but those aren't the characteristics I love most about Spock. The truth is that I've always been fascinated (!) by outsiders, odd personas and Spock certainly falls in that category. And I certainly do find him attractive, (phew!) but what I find most appealing about Spock is his sensitivity, intelligence and his loyalty. As far as physical characteristics go, my favourite is his wonderful voice. Oh, that voice. I mourn the fact that Nimoy's voice has changed so much over the years. Smoking be damned! As for James T. Kirk...I never really liked him much before becoming a K/S-er. Ithought he was egotistical and full of himself, and I didnt find him particularly attractive, but then...the first K/S story I ever read was Surrender by Killashandra, and I was floored, amazed and totally captivated. I found myself liking Kirk, and falling hard for his smile. My opinion that that a sexual/romantic relationship between Kirk and Spock made more sense than anything else I'd read in the slash fandom was formed, and is now very strong. Back then I was a huge fan of the DS9 characters Garak and Julian Bashir, but after reading Surrender, I found myself expanding my interest in slash to other Trek series, and mostly to Kirk and Spock. And the more I read, the more intrigued and attracted I became to Spock. I'd never really been a TOS fan before that, but now I watched my TOS tapes with renewed interest. I still found Kirk a bit of a bore. I even do that now at times, even though I've grown to love him by 'seeing him through Spock's eyes'.

• more on character favorites:

  It wasn't until I had the courage to move into K/S (bless the day!) eleven years ago that I was able to see a new Kirk, undoubtedly enhanced by movie eyes. My journey through K/S has also been a journey to understand and appreciate Kirk, and I believe I do now. I think I have always understood Spock, he calls to the misunderstood adolescent rebel in me, but Kirk, I agree, is perhaps more complicated than Spock is. (It also depends on the characterization you want to impose on him. You can pretty easily make him shallow and ruled by the senses if you want to, but I refuse to believe that the man whom Spock could love could be like that.) I have a tendency not to see either man's vices, bad habits or deficiencies...I'm not sure I want to! I ponder instead Spock's understated courage and Kirk's sense of honor. I'd like to somehow write a story that adequately conveys each of those. While my forties have been a time when I have grown to appreciate and love James T. Kirk more, I would like to think that it hasn't been at the expense of my appreciation and love for Spock. Which is a good reason for me to be in K/S, as I get to write and read about both of them.

• fans start to become interested in online fiction and the ability to sort stories by reading preferences:

  The Trekiverse story archive I mentioned has recently been updated, and now has a search function. A lot of stories can be found this way that aren't listed in the various pairings. So if my description of how unorganized this site was discouraged you from checking it out, you might want to take a look at it now.

The K/S Press 62 (October 2001)

• contains 36 pages
• has LoCs for fiction The Decision, Fire Hearts, Gambler's Luck, Learning to Touch, Once and Again, One Year Later, Pooka, Prism, "Report from the Rim", Rerun Fantasy, Something Deep Inside, Something Special, Sweet Surrender, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Yesteryear in the zines Act Five Fantasies, Charisma #17, Scattered Stars #8, First Time #52, #53, Within the Mirror #9, #14, see those pages
• a fan encourages others to go to Escapade and offers a lengthy, down-to-earth description of the past five Escapades she has been to, she notes that not as many people are selling zines there
• an ad for song tape #5 available to The K/S Press subscribers only, $7 for NTSC version, ten pounds for the PALS version
• a submission request from Angel Wings Press for “Always Shall Be Yours,” a zine that didn't make it off the ground, at least under this title
• some Creation Con con reports
• regarding the September 11 attacks in the United States:

  A terrible tragedy has befallen the world. It was not just New York, it was not just America… We are all in this together. Your K/S Press is a place for all of us to share our feelings about K/S… because of that love, we are able to transcend the tragedy. Not ignore it. Not pretend it didn’t happen, but rise above it.

• more on this tragedy:

  One of the things I’ve been thinking is that from the very beginning, Star Trek has offered hope to people. So many Trekkies, or Trekkers, if you prefer, are dreamers, and somehow Star Trek gives life to the dream. How many stories have we heard over the years about how interest in the show helped save a person’s sanity, gave them needed strength during difficult times, gave them hope?

• and more:

  And my sympathies to everyone in New York, America, and the democratic worid. I'm sure we are all equally horrified by what happened. And equally mystified that a small group of men could be capable of such great evil. One part of me says these comments have no place in a fandom newsletter, but the KSP is more than just a newsletter—it is a community. And I just feel that our little distinct community has been shaken as well as the real worid has been shaken.

• a fan encourages people to track down older zines, if nothing else, for the art:

  I’m a believer in print zines with real art. I still don’t consider computer art or manipulated pictures to be real art, although they do take talent. I even have manipulated computer photos on canvas myself, hanging on my bedroom wall, but I don’t consider them art. I call them photos. I would urge any new fan with persistence, lots of space, and some money to hunt down some of these dd print zines which are no longer in reprint simply because some of the early art is very nice. And some of the early stories are quite delightful, too. Or to try to get some of the zines which are still in reprint in their original first print form through used sales because some of the reprinted zines are minus all or some of the art. That is not true of the T'hy'las, however. T'hy'la reprints are as good as the first printings. But for Merry Men Press, it is true. The reprints are not as nice as the first printings art-wise. For instance, you cannot get that wonderful [Gayle F] First Time 1 front cover artwork in its original glory if you get a reprinted First Time 1. To me, art has always been extremely important and that's probably a big reason why I am not a net person. I need my words or text on paper, and I need my art or images which have been drawn by a human hand on paper—not a monitor.

The K/S Press 63 (November 2001)

• contains 40 pages
• has LoCs for fiction Acquainted with the Night, After Vulcan, And Everything Is, All the Right Moves, The Date, Eat Your Heart Out, Ansel Adams, Dragonslayer, The End of the Old, Duet for One Voice, End Game, A Few Laurel Leaves, Getting to Know, Lending a Hand, Lotions and Potions, The Little Things, The Lover Within, “None So Blind”, Patterns, Quirk of Fate, One So Close to You, Overheard at Arecibo, Rainy Day, Resting Place, Thicker Than Blood, Second Star to the Right, Transparent, What Can I Offer?, When Rain Comes in the zines First Time #6, #21, #31, #36, #45, #49, #52, #53, T'hy'la #3, #6, KiScon 2001, Beside Myself #1, Shades of Grey #5, Act Five #1, Festival, Beyond Dreams #3, Kaleidoscope #5, #6, Within the Mirror #14, Morpheus Rising, Another K/S Zine, Trilogy, To Catch a Unicorn, see those pages
• the Contest Zine has had the deadline extended to February. The editor felt that everyone was completely checked out during September 2001 due to 9/11.
• the editors beg for LoCs
• announcement of the Passing of the Torch—from Jenna:

  The good news is that Shelley and I remain committed to The K/S Press. The bad news… Wait a minute, there really isn’t any bad news, is there, given the above? But there is going to be a change. Shelley and I both need a break. Publishing the KSP has been absolutely one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life, and I don’t regret a minute of the time I’ve spent on it the past five years. But five years at any one stretch is perhaps a reasonable amount of time to devote to this project… This is what Shelley and I would like to do. We’d like to turn the responsibility for the KSP over to two, three, four people. Two is a minimum… We will give you everything you will need to continue the KSP at its current high standards, so much more than what we ad we started. Shelley and I still occasionally reminisce about those first frantic months together, when we didn’t know how to keep records, how we could increase the subscriber base that was sagging horribly, didn’t know how to send the letterzine by email… Oh boy, the list of what we didn’t know, the systems and programs and bank accounts that we didn’t have, is a long one!

• Shelley also comments—an excerpt:

  A K/S newsletter has become vital to our fandom, I believe. It connects us and keeps us all together in K/S — not to mention the integral buying and reading of zines.

• there are many comments by fans about how the recent events in New York (911) has made them all the more happy to be fans and have a community that offers support in trying times, that the optimistic world of Star Trek help sustain hope:

  During these difficult times, K/S can be such a wonderful solace. Hold the love of Kirk and Spock in your hearts.

• a fan wonders:

  Do we, when we write K/S stories, give both Kirk and Spock a mixture of traditionally masculine and feminine traits? If so, do you think it is done with both characters equally? Do you think we tend to portray Kirk and Spock as being more feminine than most ‘real’ men (Tupper Trek aside)? Does this have anything to do with the fact that we are sometimes writing the characters as homosexual? Does it have anything to do with the fact that most of us are women?

The K/S Press 64 (December 2001)

• contains 35 pages,
• has LoCs for fiction All This Sweet Work, Beside Myself III, Brothers in Time, But Where Is Home?, The Healing, By Dawn's Light, A Flash of Red, Lines of Communication, Home Again, The Lover Within, Listen and Learn, The Measure of Success, Remember Me, The Necessary Meld, Small Packages, Tango, Standing Watch, Together in the Afternoon, Star God, Phoenix Rising, When the Cat's Away, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow in the zines Against All Odds, Amazing Grace #3, #4, As I Do Thee #3, Beside Myself #3, Beyond Dreams #3, Consort #2, Counterpoint #8, Encore, First Time #13, #14, #15, Legends, Matter/Antimatter #10, The Prince, T’hy’la #19, #20, #21, Within the Mirror #14, see those pages
• songtape #6 is available, includes “Dante’s Prayer”
• a review of “Music Video #5” by Karen P
• a lengthy excerpt from The Prince
• a fan offers the Starsky and Hutch “songtape with the almost-kiss on it” for sale
• many thank you letters of appreciation to Shelley and Jenna for their years as editors
• fan comments on a question in the last issue about masculinity and Kirk and Spock’s roles. She sees two kinds of K/S stories, one where the two are equals, and one where they seem to be forced in to traditionally male and female roles with one strong and the rescuer and the other weepy and in need of rescue:

  Attempts to force Kirk and Spock into traditional gender roles violate what is for me one of the main attractions of K/S – the opportunity to envision a world and a relationship in which stereotypical roles are just not important any more. Interestingly, when I thought about K/S art, I realized that there are many cases in which hyper-masculinity seems to be combined with feminine characteristics. There are a lot of portraits that show both Kirk and Spock with extremely muscular, idealized male physiques, while their facial features and expressions are very soft and almost pretty in a traditionally feminine sort of way. Maybe this is just the visual version of the written depiction in which each character has a mixture of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ traits. Or it might be a case of creating a ‘dream man’ in whom hyper-masculine good looks are combined with a ‘feminine’ temperament which is cuddly-warm and emotionally accessible. Or many it’s a way of saying that the ideals embodied in these characters are for everyone, male and female alike. Or, hey, maybe it’s just that it’s fun to draw them that way… and to look at the results!

• a fan comments:

  When I first discovered K/S, I had a very strong vision of a feminine Kirk (sensitivity, inherent willingness to submit sexually and even prettiness) and a masculine Spock (smoldering passion, sexually dominate, and physically strong). I even imbued their sexual relations with Kirk being the ‘woman’ and Spock being the ‘man.’ This vision has certainly changed dramatically, but it took a long time for me to see things like Kirk penetrating Spock. In fact, I had a difficult time visualizing the first time I wrote about it. I remember the whole thing made a big impact on me, and I felt amazed that I was able to write it. At the time, this was very important. Another aspect of that vision also changed dramatically from when I first started drawing them. I remember being fascinated with showing two masculine and muscular bodies embracing – it was part of the essence of K/S for me – Kirk and Spock were men and they were in love with each other.

• a fan writes:

  I don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that most don’t share my interest in master/slave K/S stories, but I’ve always loved the idea of the feminine Kirk submitting to the masculine Spock….The dynamics of dominance and submission. Two loaded words, I know, but the way that I see Kirk and Spock in relation to them is not what you might think. I feel that submission is not necessarily weakness and dominance not necessarily meanness. There’s so much more to all this – about femininity and masculinity not meaning female and male – rather traits we all share to varying degrees.

The K/S Press 65 (January 2002)

• contains 21 pages
• has LoCs for fiction All This Time, The Green Machine, Duet for One Voice, Hour of Freedom, Personal Devil, A Shot in the Dark, Sweet Surrender, Talking, The Vulcan Survivor, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, What Has Always Been Between Us in the zines KisCon Zine 2001, First Time #52, #53, Worlds Apart, Within the Mirror #14, California K/S, songtape #5, Charisma #17, Nome #8, see those pages
• the editors note that no one has:

  ... come forward to take over this publication, so we must decide what the future of the newsletter will be. Just so you know, this is a very difficult decision. We do not want to just drop it, but on the other hand, continuing in this endeavor remains a doubtful choice. Our final decision will involve a lot of soul searching. We love doing this newsletter and we love K/S and we wish to see the fandom continue...

• an artist talks some more about masculine/feminine types and her art:

  Last month, I talked a little about my portrayals of them in my artwork and how it’s changed over the years along with my perception of them. I have to say I’m a little sad that I don’t see them the same way I once did… at the time of my first flush of romance with K/S. I adored drawing a big, muscular Spock, because that’s how I saw him, he was the master, the commanding Vulcan, and it seems odd to me now. I can see him much more realistically, he has strengths and weakness, so his is not the Super Vulcan, nor is the painfully shy, painfully tearful, or painfully skinny Vulcan of some fan literature. I also adored drawing Kirk, usually feminized with that errant lock, dimples and those eyelashes! I swoon before those eyelashes and especially when I found out he really had then, they were not just the invention of K/S, there was proof positive in the photographs where the eyelashes literally case shadows on his cheeks. I can see now, too, how Kirk and Spock are opposites in some ways and a perfect pair in others, I mean, you have the dark and the light, the tall and the compact, the intellect and the strength, the commander and lieutenant… I could go on. And what’s wonderful is that all these things make for a whole, they complete each other. Although as I’ve always said before, I think that Kirk completes Spock more than the other way around. Of course, drawing their bodies was always fu because their masculine features and accoutrements are great and their feminine features such as Kirk’s ass are definitely great.

The K/S Press 66 (March 2002)

• contains 27 pages
• has LoCs from fiction Atlantis Stars, Debriefing, Deep Water, Fire and Rain, Golden Silences, Hour of Freedom, Destiny's Way, The Interview, Keeping Secrets, Interview with a Vulcan, The Little Things, One Damn Lucky Bastard, “Parted from Me”, Ritual, Things That Go Bump, Secrets, Tomorrow Never Comes, Travelog, Welcome Home, What Can I Offer?, see those pages
• there are two long con reports for Slanted Fedora
• the editors write:

  As you all know by now, there was no February 2002 issue. We needed to regroup, relax and take deep cleansing breaths. Which we have done and now we bring you a slightly different KSP, but a KSP nonetheless! Do not panic. Remain calm. There are some changes in the formatting in order to make a smaller page count. Sadly, the huge issues that we have brought to you in the past broke our bank account! So Jenna has ruthlessly and mercilessly (we begged, we pleaded, but those blue velvet poodles just kept coming) cut back on the library and the Current Delights section. With various edits here and there, our postage should be reasonable. But you should have seen the complete calculations that Jenna so brilliantly figured! Also, boo hoo—we must raise our subscription rates. Please note the new improved rates above and as always, please, please, please renew as early before the date of your last issue as possible. We cannot stress enough how important this is for our bookkeeping and our emotional harmony. New starting this month is the inimitable Robin Hood performing the tasks of printing and mailing the KSP to you. This woman is our K/S treasure and we should erect some sort of monument to her, don’t you think? All suggestions as to what sort of monument will be accepted. But in large part due to her selfless efforts, we can continue bringing the KSP to you! All subscriptions will be extended by one month because of our hiatus in February.

• a fan is grateful for the fannish connections:

  [It’s] so fulfilling to read about why other persons like K/S, how they became in contact with it, any theme you or the readers decide to analyze in a particular month, all the wonderful (and I mean ALL, even if they have one sentence) LOC’s of the K/S stories, zines and art, because they are what make me buy the zines (specially if the story focus on my lovely Captain!!!). And most of all, to know that out there, in countries as far as Belgium or England exist people that love K/S as I love them, and to know that we are all together united thanks to a letterzine as yours and Shelley published...well, I can only say that's magic for me! And so, it was with very sadness that I read in those old issues of the KS PRESS that you and Shelley are going to stop publishing it. I feel very sad because, personally, I think when you 2 left this big family you had created, the KS PRESS will die. I've been a K/S lover for 15 years. I was subscribed to the other K/S letterzines like DATAZINE, ON THE DOUBLE, THE LOC CONNECTION (unfortunately, I was...a “little young” when NOT TONIGHT SPOCK was published and I couldn’t subscribe to it but, thanks to USED ZINES SALES later on in my life I have the chance to buy some old issues and read that letterzine also) and in any of those letterzines I have this feeling of being part of a big and lovable family as you created with the KS PRESS.

• a fan describes the visceral pleasure of the mail and of a print zine:

  I wake up one regular Monday morning and go about my business, eating some breakfast, checking my email, waiting to start work. After a couple of hours of writing, the mail arrives. I hear the engine of the post(wo)man's car and the slamming noise as she puts the mail into our boxes. It's the one point of the day I feel some kind of anticipation, so I walk outside into a very gray, very humid and chilly winter morning... I open the mailbox, and see one of those priority mail envelopes in my mailbox. And my heart skips a beat. I feel that 'I don't care about anything' feeling lift slightly and I pull the mail out of my box. The envelope is still warm, as though it’s been lying on something hot inside the mail(wo)man's car and I press it to my breast and walk inside, opening the envelope as soon as I can. It's still warm in my hand and I smile. The cover of Beyond Dreams 4 looks really nice and I spend the next half hour just leafing through it without reading anything, enjoying the feel of seeing a whole bunch of new K/S that I haven’t read. It’s been a while since I’ve read anything completely new and it’s a wonderful feeling. I enjoy the wonderful art and the sensation of pride when seeing something of my own being printed.

• a fan comments on a story, one written by someone with on obvious pseud, and ponders pen names:

  I know I've had some trouble with that both in RL and in the fan fic world. In RL I write with other people and we had to find a name that we could all agree on, so that's all well and good, but then, writing for several publishers, we realized that they want to have you as a unique writer, so we couldn't use the same pen-name for several publisher’s. Which is stupid, I mean—if I’d been alone and used my own name, they couldn’t expect me to change it when writing for someone else, could they? Hrmpfh. Anyway, that’s beside the point. What I was wondering about was those of you who use pen-names—how did you come up with yours and why did you choose it/them? Mine is very simple and quite boring. I use kira-nerys, because I started out writing fan fiction in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine fandom about 4,5 years ago, and I was a big fan of Major Kira and Gul Dukat. So more than slightly Mary Sue-ish I guess, but it stuck with me and now it would make little sense to change it even though I’m not really happy with it. That’s why I chose Ingela as my artname, but now, I wish I hadn’t because it only makes things even more complicated. Life’s tough, wouldn’t you say.

The K/S Press 67 (April 2002)

• contains 28 pages
• has LoCs from the fiction Cover of Night, Debriefing, Dearest Blood, Freely Given, From the Mouth of a Predator, Here on Earth, Heart's Delight, Lematya Lessons, The Compleat Alternative, Lending a Hand, One Night, Shadow Touch, Shall We?, Whatever Thou Wouldst Crave, Where Angels Fear to Tread, To End is to Make a Beginning, see those pages
• there is the second part of the long con report for Slanted Fedora that was published in the previous issue
• a fan comments on aging, both her own and of Kirk and Spock:

  Did you ever consider whether you enjoy the Kirk and Spock of the movies as much as the Original Series fellows, or why? As I had reason to consider this recently, I thought I’d share a few of my observations. Take note, I would never give up either version without a fight! I think it's pretty much equal to me in lots of ways. But if I had to give up one or the other, I might just opt to keep the mature Kirk and Spock. Could be because these are characters that I have loved from the beginning, and with whom I have had the rare opportunity to age alongside. How often do we have the ability to do this with fictional characters? In books, perhaps, if the author has seen fit to write an epic. But rarely in other media. Unlike some of you who are "catching up", I was 23 in 1966 and these enormously attractive men were very appealing to me. At the age of (censored) I still enjoy looking at Brad Pitt, but to lust after him would be almost criminal! Yet here are the two guys who most occupied my dreams in the Sixties still as virile as ever and I can drool all I want without feeling like crib robber!

• a fan comments on the slashy parts of the fifth Star Trek movie:

  The great expressions of affection and scenes where familiarity between the two is nothing less than intimate simply abound. We have a wonderful chance to see Kirk’s expression of love, pride and possessiveness while Spock makes his speech to Sybok, declaring to his half-brother that “I am not the boy you once knew.” Absolutely not. He is saying, “I belong to another”, and Kirk knows it and shows it. Another scene I love is in the shuttle as Spock declares his knowledge of who authored "Sea Fever" and Kirk simply beams at him -- another "look" clipped from all but the widescreen version. How much more familiar can you get than in the lift, when Kirk comments he needs a shower and Spock responds, deadpan, "Yes". Woe to those who don't get that little hint. Shower with whom? There's the scene at the viewer when Spock first recognizes Sybok. Kirk lovingly, protectively leans over him and says "you look as if you've see a ghost, love." Can't you almost hear the word? Is it logical to reach out a hand to help the Captain to his feet in the brig? He's a pretty healthy man. Even I can get up off the floor without assistance. And there's the "look" again. Oh, I love these scenes. I wouldn't part with the movies for anything. And the classic "Please, Captain. Not in front of the Klingons." Not "Please do not react in that manner, Captain". Just "not in front of the enemy". Clear as the spark in Kirk's eyes it said, "...when we are alone, Captain." And, of course, “You were never alone.” Never and always, touching and touched.

The K/S Press 68 (May 2002)

• part three of a very long con report for Slanted Fedora
• unknown content

The K/S Press 69 (June 2002)

• contains 25 pages
• has LoCs from the fiction Animal Magnetism, Mirrors, A Flash of Red, Moments to Remember, Flesh and Blood, The Passing of Time, Save Water, Rain, Tango, "Report from the Rim", They are Immortal, All Those Stars, Turning Point, Full Circle, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Portraits, as well as the whole zine First Time #54, see those pages
• the editors announce their new website for Beyond Dreams Press, and they describe in detail its contents
• fan is a fan of kissing:

  I spent my day yesterday drawing. I do draw from time to time, and while I’m no DaVinci – or even Shelley Butler - it gives me great pleasure do draw. I used to draw a lot more when I was younger. Today, the inspiration and drive to do so strike me seldom. But for some reason I started drawing Kirk/Spock the other day and while doing so, I browsed through old fanzines just to check out techniques and how other artists deal with their craft. And as I perused my zines and watched drawings I realized that my absolute favorite artwork of Kirk and Spock isn’t the explicit ones, though those are of course very nice as well. No, I realized that the drawings that really get to me are the ones where Spock and Kirk are kissing. Like Marianne Mueller’s drawing in First Time 51 on page 99. It’s absolutely gorgeous! And although they are fully dressed it’s probably one of the most erotic drawings I know of. I went in search for more kissing images, and lo and behold, there aren’t that many of them that I could find.

• a fan writes of the "same" story and the "same" art:

  To continue the comparison between food- gathering and story-telling, we go in search of K/S in all its forms; we gobble up each zine that comes out; we consume every K/S story with gusto; we even hoard for the winter (our zine collections?); and we find K/S very satisfying. What a great analogy! Anyway, for the most part we don’t get tired of the same K/S plots—you know, “Kirk and Spock get trapped in a cave and are forced to sleep together to stay warm” or “Spock goes into pon farr and must find a mate...fast”. I mean, these can be written over and over and we don’t really get tired of them. Of course, there are extenuating circumstances like that different authors have completely different perspectives on the same plot, but still it’s story-telling that we love to hear. I was in a discussion with other K/Sers recently about drawing and writing the same subjects. The question was raised if there was a problem, for example, with drawing the same pose with Kirk and Spock. I adamantly said no because first of all, a K/Ser doesn’t get tired of seeing Kirk and Spock together, and second of all, each artist interprets the same pose according to their own personal perspective and artistic style. It’s the same with writing, isn’t it? Each author writes so differently, I’d bet no one would notice it’s a similar plot. A few times I have drawn Kirk and Spock using the same source material as another artist. Hardly anyone noticed and those who noticed only noticed because it was brought to their attention. They were a different fandom, but still it’s a good example of how writers, too, can write the same basic K/S plot, but no one would notice or care because there’s no such thing as too much K/S.

• a fan's comments on the difference between "gay" and "slash":

  Part of the attraction of K/S to me is the concept that they are not two "gay" men getting together. I mean to me that would be no big deal then. Gay men get together all the time—it's the two straight men (or maybe in Spock's case knowing he's bisexual) and that struggle and the forbidden nature, too maybe? And the angst about them feeling this way toward each other that attracts me (and I dare say other women too?) as that is/was the premise of slash from the beginning. That's why it's called "slash" fan fic not "gay" fan fic. Two different things totally. Part of what I love in a good K/S story is Kirk coming to terms with his growing realization that he wants Spock, a male. I see it as very realistic for a man like Kirk... Anyway, "gay" fanfic, or gay erotica is specific to homosexuality and the gay life style. But slash was named so because of the "/" mark that implied the story is/was about two men in a sexual and emotional relationship. But not men considered to be "gay." In actuality two men that were coming from heterosexuality. In this case K/S which is/was the first slash pairing in fandom as we know it. The premise was that they (K&S) fell in love "in spite" of gender not because of gender as one is typically drawn to a certain gender (unless one believes everyone is bisexual, which to be honest gets old IMO in order to explain away the attraction between the fellows). So that is what slash is. It's about m/m and or f/f but with the parties involved not necessarily being "gay." And more in actuality the premise is/was that they are coming from heterosexuality. However this is 2002 and many stray now from this premise in the strictest sense of it's original intention. Hence “Starsky and Hutch” and “Man From Uncle” which are the other two long time slash pairings that followed suite with K/S. They were considered, like K&S, to be coming from heterosexuality in the beginnings of slash's birth. I really think it's what gives slash fic its appeal or at least did at first. To simply read about two gay men has no appeal to me really. I mean it's no big deal. It's no surprise. I knew about it all these years before K/S and never chose to indulge in gay erotica. But the idea of two men like K&S has a definite appeal as it was not really expected. Well it wasn't to me when I read my first K/S story!

The K/S Press 70 (July 2002)

• contains 28 pages
• has LoCs for the fiction All That I Have to Give, And Yet Afraid, All That I Have to Give, Animal Magnetism, Field of Screams, Dearest Blood, Freely Given, Gorgeous, Here on Earth, In the Name of Love, Kobayashi Maru, Loss of Innocence, Nome, Moments to Remember, A Second Chance, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Small Packages, A Day in the City, The Letter, Backrub, Sadness, Loss and Love, Ravage, Tirizandi, see those pages
• a fan comments on the newly created Beyond Dreams Press website:

  your website is wonderful, and amazing, and astounding, and incredible, and just fantastic! What a wonderful resource for K/S fans. I loved all the various pages you have. What a great idea to include samples of the stories from your zines, and you picked some great scenes. I think your website is the only place that has complete info on all zine editors with email addresses. The zine prices table at the bottom of the ordering page is a good idea and nicely summarizes the info. I loved reading the short history of early K/S—I learned something! And what a great idea to include the K/S zine database—the mind boggles at the amount of work involved. Congratulations to you, Kira-nerys and Dusky for a job very well done!

• a fan enjoys the zine database on the Beyond Dreams Press webpage:

  I thought the K/S zine data base was great—just great. I printed it out and had hours of fun marking of the zines I own or have read. I was relieved to see I have still read less than half, I live in fear of running out of new zines to read! I also happen to think this site is a great resource for fandom and something that will be of great use to new fans, I know I would have felt like I’d won the lottery If I’d found that in my fumbling ‘where do I buy zines from’ days!

• a fan is appreciative:

  Thanks to everyone for the LOC’s on both older stories as well as the newer ones. I appreciate them both. The LOC’s on the new stories are fun, to see what other people’s views are on stories I’ve just read. But I love the LOC’s on the older stories, too. When I first discovered zines, I read so much K/S at warp speed, staying up very late at night, and reading hundreds of stories in just a few months. As a result, I don’t remember too many details about a lot of the stories. So the LOC’s on the older stories remind me of some good stories I should go back and reread.

• a fan has discovered screencaps in a new format:

  I have discovered DVD’s. Not a new concept, I know. I have every episode on audio tape (made years ago to listen to while driving) every episode on commercial VHS, every episode from the Sci-Fi broadcasts. And now I am assailed by the latest creation: DVD. Naw, I said. Got ‘em all. Don’t need ‘em. I read articles that warned there were flaws exposed when the episodes were transferred to high definition, such as a string attached to Gary Mitchell’s flying water glass. Why would I subject myself to that? Because, dear friends, there is more here than ever met the eye before! Someone with a DVD player on their computer told me a little trick. Maybe I’m the last to learn it, but I thought it worth passing on. You see, one can capture stills from DVD as easy as the click of a mouse... Are you one of those people who has spent hours at conventions rifling through folders of 8 x 10 glossies for just the right image? Have you been as frustrated as I that while there are endless times that Spock and Kirk share touches that make us tingle and smiles that make us teary-eyed, there are always the same old pictures? Imagine this. You’ve plopped a DVD into your computer and you’re watching a favorite episode or movie. Oh my, you think. There’s the place where Kirk stands so unbelievably close to Spock at his station, it’s almost intimate the way they are looking at each other! You pause the picture and stare. What you wouldn’t give to have “that” look for your collection, your bulletin board, wallpaper on your monitor. You reach for the mouse and “click”. Having previously selected where you want captured pictures to be stored, you are finished. Cautiously, you close the DVD player and go to your file titled, perhaps, “temptations”. Will it be there? You find a file that says something strange like Pdvd_001. You open it. There in all their glory are Kirk and Spock, just as you wanted them. As you can tell, I’m pretty impressed with this technology. I email myself captures to use on my dreary monitor at work. I print some out and put them on my bulletin board. These are excellent quality, and it is like the whole K/S phenomenon has been reinvented. Maybe the rest of you don’t need printouts to prove that Kirk and Spock have loved each other from the beginning, but I find it a very exciting prospect that I can have any scene I’ve ever viewed captured for whatever I’d like. T-shirts, even!

• a fan, Joyce B, examines her publishing history, and she compares Blake's 7 fiction with K/S fiction:

  I just had my last five Blake's 7 stories published in two of Kathy Resch's zines that came out at MediaWest. Fire & Ice 7 and No Holds Barred 26. I still have 2 B7 stories written, but no heart to ever have them published. The B7 fire is gone. One thing I will say—I think in K/S I am at the bottom of the rung as far as writers go. (And I only wrote three K/S stories anyway!!) In B7 I am in the middle somewhere, and very few other people write Blake stories. (And in case you are interested, I wrote about 23 B7 stories, 6 of which never saw zine print. Of those, two are on the web at a permanent site. Two of the remaining appeared in an APA. And 2 will just be seen by no one but me. At 23 stories in 9 years, I am obviously not prolific.) In B7 I had a special little niche. I wrote a lot of BUARB stories and few others do that. (That's Beat Up and Rape Blake stories) In K/S, I didn't have a special niche and I think there are tons of talented writers. And something that hit me when I was reading First Time 54 and Beyond Dreams 4 is that I think there are many more talented writers in K/S than in B7 any day. There were a lot of good things in the two zines I read. And even the stories I really didn't like for whatever reasons were well written and showed a bunch of thought and work. I didn't read any story where I thought, "Well, that's a bunch of crap." And in B7, I not only think that at times, but often times the subject matter is so far off what I want that I can't even force myself to read the story in the first place. Now, it is true that K/S has it over B7 because everyone who writes K/S writes K/S. The problem with B7 is that there are too many pairings and people who like one pairing often dislike the characters in the other pairings and sometimes even dislike the writers who do those pairings. So K/S just by nature is a more unified fandom. But seriously, I do believe there are a lot of quality writers in K/S. It's still a strong fandom zine-wise. And B7 is rather struggling. If it weren't for slash and for the net, B7 as a fandom would be gasping its last breaths. Kathy Resch is one of the few American zine publishers holding up B7. And she probably wouldn't be publishing B7 if she didn't have a strong publishing base in K/S and other fandoms. She's very diversified. I think my love of K/S has been a little rekindled recently. I'm still not going to do a new zine collection. My house is filled with B7 stuff, and that's the way it's a gonna be. And after all, B7 needs all the fans it can get and keep. K/S doesn't need me to support it—but I will.... Oh, and about art in K/S: As long as all the great artists are doing K/S art, there is no competition at all in B7. All the old time artists like Suzan Lovett have quit doing B7. There are maybe only 5-6 artists left in the entire B7 fandom itself. The B7 artists left are competent—and sometimes inspired, but the inspiration is very sporadic.

• on fandom:

  There is something in fandom that, I think, keeps us all young, no matter our age. And I think that is the commitment to a fandom, silly as that may seem. In the case of K/S, I think it is the glorification of both sexuality and tolerance. IDIC at its finest. In the case of B7, I think it is the old lesson that one should always have hope, even in the darkest of hours. And that while other people who collect stamps, coins, and dolls, may think we fandom people are nutso for liking TV shows that are decades old, we print zine collectors, we old and young "dinosaurs" alike, know that to preserve and nourish amateur creativity in women is a very worthwhile hobby. Everyone in fandom does it for the love of it. It's like loving chocolate. It never gets old. I think everyone who admires Kirk and Spock or their favorite slash pairs in other fandoms such as Blake and Avon or Tarrant are very special people.