Oh, Captain, my Captain…

Leigh Ann Hussey is dead. Singer, fiddler, song-writer, mead-maker, bold woman. And a friend. So in honor of her passing, I post here the Lyrics of “Make It So” from one of her bands, Annwn (Album: The Charwoman’s Shadow).

For those who miss the reference, this is slashfilk referencing Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Make It So
by Mark Ungar, 1992

Boots of leather on your leg,
insignia on your breast,
captain, do I have to beg?
Put me to the test,
oh, put me to the test.
You put the whip into my hand
and fixed me with your eye.
Your desire is my law;
I cannot answer why,
no, I cannot answer why.

Through magic lands of danger
I travel with my lord
to unlock the captive maiden,
to draw the holy sword.
I’d walk upon the world’s edge
for you, my captain bold:
I’m ready when you tell me,
“Make it so, Number One.”
I obey when you say “Make it so.”

You recruited in your service
my strong and tender hands,
and bid me place them firmly
on the seat of your command,
the seat of your command.
When there’s no one on the bridge
and the lights have burned down low,
if I press you hard against the rail,
there’s none but you will know;
there’s none but you will know.

Through magic lands of danger (&c)

There’s a spot upon my uniform
for which you are to blame:
my gun was cocked, the powder spilled;
too near you struck a flame,
too near you struck a flame.
You put the whip into my hand
and fixed me with your eye.
Your desire is my law;
I cannot answer why,
no, cannot answer why.

Through magic lands of danger (&c)

Comments by had me thinking about my earliest exposure to fan fiction.

I sort of grew up a fan. I watched the premiere of Star Trek in 1966 with my mom. I was four. I avidly watched any television or movies that were science fiction or fantasy. Not so many back then. I began writing my own science fiction (some of it fan fiction) by the time I was eleven. I wrote my first novel at twelve. At thirteen, I discovered Star Trek clubs and science fiction conventions. At fourteen, I started my own Star Trek club. I was the only girl in that midwestern club, but I was the Captain and wore the male Star Trek uniform. In my teens, I traveled all over the midwest and some eastern states to attend conventions.

Fanzines. Before there was the internet, before there was email, before desktop computers — when computers still took up entire rooms in big buildings — we had fanzines. We typed our stories with a typewriter and mailed them to each other in evelopes with stamps. Then folks would collect those into memographed or xeroxed books, staple them together and sell them to each other.

Some of my early fiction was published in fanzines. I even ran and edited my own semi-prozine in the late 70s. I received my journalism scholarship to college in part because of that work and was later hired as a Managing Editor of a magazine because of it.

I have a box of 70s era fanzines in my attic and was amused to find that many of the ones I kept were the “adult” fanzines. Such collections as ” R&R” and “Delta Triad” had racey Star Trek and other adult science fiction stories. The early slash was primarily Kirk/Spock stories. I am amused to read the publication date of “R&R VI & VII” was 1976. That dates me at 14 when I bought it. 190 pages of stories and illustrations and a simple warning on the Table of Contents page that some of the material is “sexually explicit material, and may be offensive to some.” Spock non-con, alien sex and Kirk as sexy hero. Even McCoy gets laid.

I guess my sexuality and fandom have always been entwined. I read my first girl lover “Planet of the Apes” aloud. I met my first boy lovers at SF clubs & conventions. I met my two life-partners through fan related activity – D&D gaming and a SF club.

So it shouldn’t be too surprising that I am reading “adult” fan fiction now. Much easier to find now. I like the way technology has given us fans another way to express (and arouse) ourselves.

Okay, so I am a deprived (or is that depraved) Yank, who is only now getting to watch the new Doctor Who series on the SciFic channel. We just saw the second episode of the two-parter where Captain Jack is introduced. Hot damn! Sexy as hell and bi as well. The banter and the looks on the Doctor’s face when he talked about Jack’s possible choices of dance partner. Yum.

And also, very yummy, watching this with two hot bi men and watching their faces light up. So it was clear that T was hot for the Doctor already since he favors tall, dark, handsome and quirky. And L would just about like to shag anyone who is has a high “snark” quotent and is a long time Doctor Who fan. This made it an especially fun episode for all involved. L’s delighted laughter was loud enough that I am surprised he didn’t scare the neighbors.

[Sidenote: I also wonder why no one has called the SPCA when my girlfriend is over, as it does sound like someone is torturing a kitten. Maybe they just don't like cats. Of course, by now, the neighbors should be use to it and all sorts of other strange noises from our house.]

But I digress, needless to say, being into smut and scifi, the first thing I did (well, after the guys were asleep at least) was search for Doctor/Jack slash. Of course, this meant I have had a hard time concentrating on “real life” this weekend. But, damn if I haven’t had the most amazing dreams.