Contributor Spotlight: AERIALWORMS
Above is a sneak preview of @aerialworms' contribution to TZD, our print K/S fanzine. Ordering begins soon, so don't miss out: Follow @the-zine-directive for updates!
@aerialworms (they/them, it/its) hails from England 🍵 and the zine is so much better for having them aboard! Not only did we get some fantastic mcspirk representation, but you can find little touches and details from them all around the zine <3
✴︎ Most important question: Kirk, Spock, or Bones?
How dare you make me choose!? I love them all equally and I could never separate them, they're three parts of a whole and they're all wonderful in their own ways! ....... That said, it's Bones for sure 😁
✴︎ What is your “specialty,” or favorite thing to draw?
My fave thing to draw is comics or like. Narrative pictures. I always want there to be something more going on in the things I draw, so there's always a story or a joke in my head when I do art.
✴︎ What is something you've made that you're particularly proud of and why?
I am incredibly proud of Lifespans [LINK] because it was a simple idea that grabbed my mind and I wasn't expecting it to resonate with so many people. I put a lot of my heart into it, not only my grief over Jim's death in Generations, but also my personal feelings about living longer than my loved ones. I'm so touched that people reacted so strongly to it, too, and I go back and read the comments on it all the time. I share my art because I want to connect with people, and I never feel as connected to my fellow fans as when I see us all crying in the tags together :') If that one post is my legacy in this fandom, I'll be happy.
Although I think the original post stands on its own, I did also write out a meta addition [LINK] with my reasoning and working out of the maths (and feelings about it all), which I'm also very proud of.
✴︎ How has it felt to be a contributor in a fanzine?
Incredible! This is my first ever zine and I was a late addition to the team. I'd seen posts about it going around and wanted desperately to join, but I was too shy to ask. I was over the moon when I was asked to join, and I got so excited and filled with ideas that I couldn't sleep at all the first night! I'm so excited to see my art printed alongside so many other artists and writers' (and the wonderful editors') work, and to contribute to a tradition and fandom that is in its sixtieth year!
✴︎ What does K/S mean to you?
Trust, love, and commitment. I love their dedication to each other and the close relationship they share. It's clear that they love each other deeply, whatever type of love it is and however they express it. I adore that about them.
Besides that, "K/S" specifically reminds me of our fandom forebears who laid the path for all of us back in the 60s and 70s. The ones who would type up their fanfics on typewriters, and share fanart by mail, and have to speak in coded language to find like-minded fans. It's incredible to me that this fandom is still going strong to this day. I love learning about fandom history and looking at old zines. I thank those original fans for everything they've contributed to today!
✴︎ Any other information you would like to provide or be included?
I have so many hobbies! I collect crafts like a magpie. Off the top of my head, there's art (drawing, painting with ink, watercolours, collage, clay sculpture, all sorts!), writing (fics and originals, comics, and I've written a few twine games, too!), crochet, swimming, puppetry (both making and performing), gaming (Hollow Knight is my most recent obsession!), and those are just my most frequent ones! I also enjoy pestering my 19 year old cat (she is very long suffering) and infodumping to my friends about my latest hyperfixation (currently TOS, but Supernatural makes regular appearances, too!) I'd love to get into cosplay again, since I've been doing casual closet cosplay of Jim for a while now but I love costuming and sewing and want to make a screen-accurate cosplay to wear to cons and movie screenings!
Fun fact: The first Trek show I watched was actually Lower Decks! I was intimidated by the size of the franchise and thought the 20 minute format would be easy to get into, but three episodes in I realised I did not get most of the jokes and would have to go back to the roots. I watched some TOS, got bored, watched 5ish seasons of TNG, caught Wrath of Khan randomly while it was on TV, and *that* is what finally got me into TOS proper. That was summer of 2022, iirc, and I've been obsessed with TOS ever since!
Another fun fact: I'd seen the AOS movies with my cousin back when they came out, but didn't really get into them. Funnily enough, despite him being my absolute favourite guy now, the only character I didn't remember from AOS when I started watching TOS was Bones!
One more fun fact: Although I only did art for this zine, I do also write fic! I have several Trek fics in the works, the majority of which are McSpirk (and also the majority of which are explicit ;)
✴︎ Where can people find you?
Main blog | Art blog | Explicit art blog (18+)
+ Ao3 (check out my explicit fics!)
Thank you so much, Aeri! See more of our contributor spotlights here!
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