Slash = view of life???

<Mal> Especially since there wasn't a lot of humor around then. I thought people would say, you know, who the hell do
you think you are? How dare you make fun of Skinner?
<Caroline> how can you not make fun of Skinner, that's my question
<Mal> Mine, too. Look at the guy.
<diana_w> But that's what makes those stories so much fun to read
<Mal> I love baiting serious people.
<frogdoggi> Skinner can be the brunt of a good joke.
<WSkinner> Mal, your stories were fun in a good way... like Monthy Python is good fun:-)
<deb> And the characters so much fun to play with!
<frogdoggi> He invites it IMHO.
<filesphil> people Should lighten up
<diana_w> Exactly
<deb> I firmly believe that parodies are a Good Thing.
<Caroline> the way he stands there, with his nostrils flaring... you just know he's waiting for someone to unclench his
asshole
<Mal> I used to have all these Skinner WAV's, and, like, 90% of them were him saying these serious, intense things,
like, "Is that answer worth your lives?"
<frogdoggi> Blue Mohairbear wrote a wonderfully funny story called "Fucking Las Vegas" that makes wonderful fun of
M/SK/K
<CJK> I'm constantly amazed at how seriously ppl take slash, fanfiction and entertainment in general
<virg> we have no lives CJK
<Mal> You don't want to fuck with the fans, CJK.
<Caroline> well... I say that too, CJ... and then I attack anyone who says anything mean about Josh Charles or Alan
Cumming
<CJK> I don't, I'm an archivist
<frogdoggi> I think you have to poke some fun at it sometimes so to speak.
<SubRosa> though I have no problem saying mean things about Alan Cumming well, less mean than honest <g>
SubRosa wanders seriously off topic

QUESTION: You never got into RayK (DueSouth)?

<Mal> Egad! No.
<Caroline> ooh, good question.
<virg> type faster Mulder
<SubRosa> hee! guess that answers that
<Mal> I love RayV too, too much.
<SubRosa> did you watch the show as it aired?
<Mal> It would be like if they got rid of Skinner and brought in a smaller guy with hair.
<SubRosa> rather than falling into it much later, like I did and right in the middle of third season <SubRosa> <nod>
Mal. I can see it.
<deb> Mal: Like Jack McFarland? eg
<Mal> Nooooo!
<Mal> Uh, I caught it on Showcase a couple of years later. Before RayK, though.
<Mal> Actually, I didn't have a TV when I wrote XF and my first DS.
<Caroline> still, Mal, it seems like RayK could be so much fun to fuck with.  He's holding on by a very fine thread, it
seems
<Mal> I caught them in five-minute bursts when I should've been working.
<SubRosa> did you write from taped eps? Or from other fic?
<WSkinner> Mal, under which name did you write Due South?
<Mal> I wrote "One Man's Kink" from taped eps.

drifting off to flaming....

<CJK> OMG, I just got my first flame, and I'm not even an author!
<virg> yay a flame!
<Mal> Oh! The first DS was an Ethan story, and the second was Mallory.
<virg> I finally got my first one a few weeks ago.  They're so much fun. <g>
<diana_w> Congrat, CJ.
<Mal> I've never been flamed. I live in hope.
<SubRosa> there's always hope
<frogdoggi> Welcome to our world, CJK. I've gotten flamed so many times my balls are singed. ROFL.
<mitsou> LOL!
<diana_w> I have a file where I keep my favorite flames - whenever I want a good laugh.
<SubRosa> ouch
<Mal> You love it.
<frogdoggi> No little soft hairs left at all.
<SubRosa> what the hell have you been flamed for, diana?
<virg> No kidding Jay?  I never found anything subversive in your writing... not like say, poisoned doughnuts.

style of writing.....

<Caroline> I remember reading Free Parking, not seeing the byline for some reason.  But I immediately knew it was
by "Ethan Nelson"
<Mal> It's a problem.
<frogdoggi> Mal...the doughnuts were a stroke of genius...you know that man, don't you? ROFL
<Mal> I totally got nailed when I wrote my first TS as Mallory.
<Mal> My mother's donuts are a saint!
<GriffG{LZ> How quickly did people figure out it was you?
<Caroline> it's good to have a distinctive style
<frogdoggi> Well virg...thank you. Others find things they don't like all the time...and sometimes it's hilarious.
<virg> Mal it's so funny 'cause a bunch of people on Senad started a thread saying this chick writes just like Ethan
Nelson.
<Mal> People guessed right away.
<SubRosa> <<When I reformatted them for this page, I noticed that I mentioned the ethereal beauty of Mulder's
eyes in nine separate stories.>> that kills me
<virg> So I had to run off and read your XF stuff right away.
<GriffG{LZ> Did you try to change or hide your style?
<Mal> No. I told you before, I suck. It never crossed my mind that people would notice. I'm lost in my own little
world.
<Caroline> the thing is, though, even with that very characteristic style, you still manage to get exactly the right
voice for a particular fandom
<Caroline> I mean, in Free Parking, with the little anecdote about haggis-throwing...
<frogdoggi> I tend to stay in my own corner too I guess. I just focus on the work and it's like I'm some kind of
hedonistic monk sometimes. My wife has to knock on the studio door an remind me to eat. ROFL.
<Mal> I loved that haggis thing, man. That was my favorite line.
<Caroline> and you had me buying Benny as a total slut while Ray was saving himself for him. It was great.
<frogdoggi> I feel so out of it...I know jack about Due South. ROFL.
<GriffG{LZ> Was the whole thing you said about moving to another state, when you disappeared from XF, true? Of
course, if that's too personal...
<Mal> I was happier with "One Man's Kink" as far as the characterization went, but then, I had actually seen the
show when I wrote it.
<Mal> I moved to another province, actually. I'm Canadian, eh.
<Caroline> One Man's Kink had fantastic dialogue
<Caroline> I was cracking up at the being struck down by lightning part
<Mal> Thanks, Caroline. There was a crucial difference in that story.
<Mal> I like to call it "editing".
Cedara thinks: mmmh, 'nother tasty Canadian...
<Mal> Canada kicks ass!
<Caroline> ohhh, that.  You're one of those "writers" who likes to "edit"
Riticulan waves his little maple leaf at Mal!
<Caroline> ahem.  "Blame Canada" got nominated for an Academy Award.  That is all I will say.
<Mal> I didn't, before. I never wrote a second draft of any of my XF... obviously.
<filesphil> Rit, is that what they're calling it now?
<Caroline> You know how to spell Canada?  "C, eh?  N, eh?  D, eh?"
<Riticulan> Rev Phelps calls it the "Fag Flag", but I digress.
<Mal> Caroline: marry me!
<Caroline> I will, too.
<Caroline> We can go off and raise perverted children together
<Mal> Of course, SubRosa already said I could live with her...
<Caroline> we'll have an open relationship
<Mal> I did live in the frozen wastelands. Now... I don't.
<Caroline> what, I'm not going to be responsible for the kids.
<Mal> We'll stake the kids out in the back yard.
<Caroline> we could just have goats, how's that sound?

QUESTION: Did  you and AnneZo write together?  There is a fun similarity in your work.

<Mal> No, no. Anne still claims she was emulating me in her early stuff, but her stuff is a lot better, so I figured she
was lying to spare my feelings.
Caroline whacks Mal with the self-esteem stick
<Mal> When we went to Vegas, we ended up with a room with mustard on the ceiling, and we called it the Mulder Room
thereafter.I always said that she and I were like the big dog and the little dog from those old Looney Toons shows,
you know, with the big, cool dog and the little, annoying, yappy dog..?
<Caroline> or maybe Longhorn Bighorn and the chicken hawk?
<Mal> Totally.
diana_w rolling on the floor and laughing
<Mal> Of course, then Anne started writing M/K.
<Caroline> you have to realize, though... as you talk on a channel with people hanging on your every word... you have
become, yourself... Longhorn Bighorn
<Caroline> Krycek doesn't do it for you?  I think he's so marvelously twisted.
<Mal> We have a lot in common: we're both loudmouther blowhards who keep repeating ourselves. I don't mind
Krycek, but I just can't see Mulder going for him outside of A/U.
<Caroline> I say, I say, it's a joke, son.
<Mal> Which is how the "Rogaine" stories came about, damn my eyes.
<Caroline> see, I think Mulder's so fucked up he'd go for Krycek before he'd go for something approaching healthy
like Skinner
<Mal> Well, there's always been a gigantic difference of opinion in the two camps, it's true.
<virg> I find the idea of M/K without it being M/Sk/K such a disfunctional relationship it doesn't work for me.
<SubRosa> I love the intro on the web page
<WSkinner> Yes... and you can also see it the other way: because Mulder is so fucked up, the goes for healthy.. or
healthy for him.
<Caroline> how do you mean? He realizes he's fucked up, so wants to latch on to something healthy?
<Mal> I just see him as so self-righteous that he wouldn't go for Krycek. And not especially ruled by his dick, besides.
<Caroline> oh.  Well, he could also see it as punishment in that sense, too.
<SubRosa> I see both, read both. Just depends on how well it's written
<WSkinner> Not as realizing it... but needing it, thus doing it. Not as a conscious act...
<SubRosa> slash sluts r us
<Mal> Totally. Like Jane Mortimer.
<Caroline> yeah, that's the main thing, Rosa
<virg> I sort of like Mulder the slut myself, non canon as it is.
<Caroline> Sluts are fun, true.  Again, if they're done well, so to speak. Well, he was awfully slutty in that vampire
chick episode
<Mal> But that episode wasn't very good.
<diana_w> I like Mulder-slut myself <BG>
<Caroline> I don't especially like Krycek as too much of a slut... where you're left wondering, "well, how can he still
be alive if he's that dependent on his libido"

QUESTION: Did you do any research for your stories, and if yes, what were they?

<Mal> Oh, dear god. Uh, no. I mean, I went to Vegas that time.
SubRosa gets out the grading papers
<Mal> And obviously "Cyanide and Astroglide" came out of my extensive collection of porn videos.
<Caroline> I can see Mal on askjeeves.com ... "Is it possible to really make a velvet Elvis painting play a song?"
<SubRosa> is that a no, Mal? <laughs>
<Mal> Actually, Caroline, it is possible, if you got a little music box and stuck it on the back...
<SubRosa> or if you're Bill Gates
<Mal> It's so a no that it defies ordinary human logic, SubRosa.
<mitsou> That would be too scary!
<Mal> That's like asking me how I came up with my "plot".
<SubRosa> wasn't my question, since research makes my skin crawl
<Mal> We don't do plot at my house!
<SubRosa> but I"m always impressed with people who do it
<Caroline> "Well, they were at Denny's."  "mm-hmm."  "No, that's it."
<Mal> I've done research for other things, but as you may have noticed, my slash is generally pretty half-assed.
<Caroline> but such a pretty half-ass it is
<Mal> Thangyavurrymuch. I had mail from people complimenting me on the tight plotting for "It's Not Unusual", and I
nearly peed my pants. I was all, "So, did you read it?"
<SubRosa> I've noticed that authors' opinions of their ability to plot can be...suspect
<Mal> I can plot. I just never have in slash.
<Mal> Hey, you know, I got an LOC from someone a while ago, and I asked her if she wrote, and it turned out she'd
written, like, 50 stories.
<Mal> It was you, wasn't it?
<Caroline> no, no.  Cos I've written, like, 3 stories.
<Mal> I live for humiliation.
<Caroline> and, like I said, I'm too much of a bad person to have sent a LoC
<Caroline> enjoying humilation is the only way I can continue to ride my bike. That sumbitch tries to buck me at every
other turn
<Mal> I had a bike once.
<Riticulan> I used to do LOCs when I read the stories on the monitor, but now I print everything out now before I
read, now I'm too lazy to remember the author and write feedback <g>
<Mal> It didn't work out.
<Caroline> well, at least you have an excuse, Rit
<Riticulan> At least a justification <G>
<Caroline> snicker.  The front wheel of mine stopped suddenly as I was zooming down a steep hill.
<filesphil> same here, printed out stories make it difficult for feedback

QUESTION: Do you have a particular topic that you would like to try out in writing?

<Mal> You mean, like, An Issue?
<Mulder>  yep. Favorite field you might want to explore
<Mal> I'm more about fun, slashwise. I found out a while ago that I can't write meaningful to save my life.I like
certain themes, say. Bingo. Bowling. Trailer parks. The backbone of Western Civilization. I wouldn't write a Very
Special Episode.
<virg> You've left out beauty parlors and Tastee freeze
<Mal> I love angst, but I'm always in there with the one-liners. I can't help it. I have things I feel strongly about, but
I couldn't do them justice in fic.
<virg> I'm an angst slut at heart, but humor always does it for me too. I meant to mention Tastee Freeze.
<Caroline> I can't even thing of anything I feel strongly about.
<filesphil> Mulder is the king of one-liners, you do him well
<virg> You really do, he's such a snarky ass hole, you have him down cold.
<Caroline> yeah, a lot of people seem to forget how much of a smart-ass Mulder is when they write him
<Mal> Thanks, filesphil. Will you marry me if it doesn't work out with Caroline?
<Caroline> she can get married to us too, if that's what you want, Mal
<filesphil> only if you keep writting more Mulder
<Mal> Aw, crap. Think of it this way: all my snarky characters are mainly interchangeable anyway.
Clean up my RayV grammar ever so slightly, and you've got another Mulder. Give Blair a haircut, you've got another
Mulder. You know it's true.
<Caroline> well, not really, though.  Maybe it's the frame of the story, but they still have some different personality
stuff going on.  Blair's more exuberant, for example
<Mal> Only Ben stands apart. He's not all that much like Jim or Skinner, although my Jim and Skinner are very much
alike.
<filesphil> haven't caught on to TS and only watch DS as an after thought but I like it
<Caroline> and your Jim has a better sense of humor
<SubRosa> Mallory, I don't know if it's entirely true. But it's funny, which is pretty much as good, imo
<Mal> I think in some cases, I play off the familiarity of the fans with the characters. It's the ultimate shorthand.
<Caroline> well, that is part of the point
<virg> Mal, this may sound stupid and simplistic, but have you thought about writing more XF as Mal?
<Mal> Sure. I miss Mulder and Skinner.
<filesphil> goody!
<virg> We miss your M/Sk too. :)
<Mal> I didn't say I would do it, you notice.

QUESTION: You said you love angst -- what kinds of slash do you love to read?

<Mal> I'm really rigid in my reading. I only like certain pairings, I don't like threesomes...
<Caroline> none at all?  Huh.
<Cedara> give an example of pairings, please
<Mal> I don't much care for crossovers or A/U, but I'll read a recommendation.
<filesphil> isn't it difficult to juggle three characters anyway?
<Mal> I don't read death stories at all, but I'll read a rape story if it's by someone I like.
<filesphil> character death stories really bother me
<Mal> Uh, pairings: always the leads. I like M/Sk, but not M/anybody else. I like J/B, Ben/RayV, Bodie/Doyle.
<SubRosa> what other fandoms?
<Mal> Writing three characters is a problem. I can't even write three-character dialogue, let alone smut.
<Mal> I don't read any other fandoms, really. I used to read a lot more slash than I do now. Now my fear of Bad Fic is
significant.
<filesphil> the Lone Gun Man show will just beg for being slashed
<Caroline> "Oh, Ray, that's not the same gum you bought when--"  LOL
<Mal> I have no comment. I was almost eviscerated by someone when I suggested that CancerMan was not the
hottest. To each his own, I say now.
virg is creeped out
<SubRosa> lol Mal!
<Caroline> I just don't see why slash characters have to be all that hot.  But I'm a slut, though, so...
<Mal> It's true! I lied before about never being flamed, I remember now. I got scorched by that CancerMan chick.
<filesphil> aren't people in general amazing.
<Caroline> "that CancerMan chick."  That's such a good epithet to have, too
<Mal> It's a shame, because in my effort to be a better person, I find that I offer my opinion with fear, these days.
<Caroline> ah, just spew it.  Life's short.
<virg> somehow I don't think CancerMan chick is going to get a whole lot of support.
<Mal> My memory is bad, but I seem to recall that the CancerMan chick is the same one who got cheesed off for my
making fun of country music.
<Cedara> Well, they killed her on the show, right?
<Mal> Why not ask me to stop breathing?
<Caroline> I'm willing to support her.  Well, not if she's some crazy, flaming chick, but I like weird slash
<filesphil> you made fun of country music??? <g>
<Mal> Oh, great.
virg hides from the twangers
<Mal> Country music: The Music of Pain.
<virg> that was soooo freakin good.
<filesphil> lol
<Caroline> okay, that's a little weird to bitch about.  You can't like country music and not expect to have it be made
fun of.  It's part of what draws someone to the genre--both the lyrics and everyone else's reaction to them heighten
your sense of alienation
<Mal> You can't like anything and not expect it to be made fun of.
<Caroline> that's true.  But country music's right at the top of that list
<Mal> I don't remember who said it, but they said we all think we have good taste, and man, we just don't.
<Caroline> besides, you clearly put warnings at the beginnings of the stories <g>

QUESTION: What was your favorite scene you ever wrote?

<Mal> Okay, in XF, probably the Meaty Boy scene in "Cyanide and Astroglide".
<Mal> In TS, I don't really have anything I'm excited about.
<virg> really? :/
<Caroline> yeah, and Mulder enjoying it
<SubRosa> Mal, the bed head thing kills me
<Mal> "Cyanide and Astroglide" and "One Man's Kink" are my favorites.
<Caroline> in TS, I still love the beginning of the story with Blair trying to snap Jim out of a zone
<filesphil> that smacks of Mulder's sense of humor
<Mal> Okay, the bed head thing wasn't bad. Told you.
<SubRosa> loved the zone thing, the "what ever happened to.." comment
<Mal> I liked Mulder and Skinner Jeepin' outside the donut place. And I liked it when Skinner said, "Why can't we
fuck like normal people?"
<Caroline> yeah, Skinner's constant sense of quiet horror at what he's doing is great
<virg> frankly, the idea of having sex in a Denny's bathroom is right up there on the top of my list of things I wish I
had done when I was younger.
<Mal> He loves it, though.
<filesphil> i didn't get to the donut stories, I'm still playing catch up

Do we still dine at Denny's???....

<Mal> Have you ever been in a Denny's bathroom?
<Caroline> I've had sex on the 50-yard-line of a football stadium...
<Mal> I had an experience on a combine once.
<GriffG{LZ> god, every time I'm in a Denny's...
<virg> yes Mal I have.
SubRosa shakes her head at virg
<Mal> Okay, never mind.
<filesphil> i'll never look at a Denny's the same again
<Mal> Bunch a wiseguys, man. How the hell were you looking at Denny's before?
<Caroline> a haven of bad food and racism
<GriffG{LZ> Not as a romantic landmark, that's for sure!
<Mal> Ah.
<GriffG{LZ> Not as a mecca to literary greatness! <g>
<Mal> Well, nothing's changed, then.
<SubRosa> ,heh
<Caroline> now it's a haven of bad food, racism, and budding fuck-buddy relationships
<Mal> "Hey, look at those two construction guys in the smoking section, picking their teeth. They're doin' it."
<SubRosa> oh god, Mallory. That's not what I need to be thinking about in Denny's
<filesphil> Mal, you've invented a new game, thanks
<Mal> My pleasure. Vegetarians have no business at Denny's anyway.

QUESTION: What projects do you have in the works right now?

<Mal> Well, I have three slash stories going, but I sort of set them aside to work on my book, because I kept coming
up with new slash to avoid writing my book... - One DS, two TS.
<Caroline> yay! what book are you working on?
<virg> yahoo!
<Caroline> I'm supposed to be writing a book right now too. It's something I actually get paid to do.
<Mal> What kind of book?
<Caroline> teaching senior citizens how to use the Internet.  What's yours about?
<Mal> Mine is fiction. And as you might expect, it has no plot to speak of.
<Caroline> cool.  Sounds like fun.
<Mal> Someone gave me $12 for something I wrote once.
<virg> you'll have to let us know when it's published. :)
<Mal> It's fun. It's agonizing.
<mitsou> yep! so we can hit amazon.com
<Mal> I've aged tremendously since I started writing it.
<Caroline> yeah, I've just started writing slash, in order to avoid my paying job.  And then I started writing PWPs to
avoid the harder stories I was in the middle of
<filesphil> is writing a chore for you or relaxing?
<Mal> I was doing the same thing. And I had this web site, and so I was always working on this recreational writing...
<Caroline> pretty soon I'll just be sitting at the monitor "kkkkk kkkk kkkkk"  "No, I'm just procastinating!  I have
many, many stories in the works."
<Mal> It's relaxing and a chore. The slash is always relaxing, because I'm just fuckin' around.
<Caroline> but then you're obliged to finish it and polish it up
<Mal> I need to write, though. I've noticed I get bitchy if I haven't done it in a while.
<filesphil> slash, works for me
<Caroline> or not obliged, but you can feel that way
<Mal> No, I'm obsessive about revision now. I've been working on this book for two years, almost.
<virg> good lord.
<SubRosa> where are you at with the book, Mal?
<Mal> I know people work on books for much longer than that, sometimes, but they're not writing pseudofluff.
<filesphil> do you have anyone beta it before a revision?
<Mal> I'm about half done, I think.
<virg> sneaky question
<Mal> No, I rely on ruthless self-criticism.

Question: When you watch a series or a movie what makes the characters slashable, writable for you?

<Mal> Sure, if I fell for it. Appeal, mainly.
<Caroline> do you actually watch and like The Sentinel?
<Caroline> Cos I love a lot of the fic, but I can't watch the show
<Mal> LOL! Allow me to apologize in advance for saying this: The Sentinel, the show, sucks donkey balls. But the guys
are cute...

<Mulder>  Folks - the Official Part of the MAL-BBQ is over. Please stay in and have fun, it's PARTAY now............
<Caroline> I'll spell it that way if I'm trying to transcribe how South Park's Eric Cartman speaks.  Otherwise, no way
<SubRosa> we were supposed to be barbequeing her?
<Mulder> Thank you,  Ethan!!!  We had a splendid time "grilling" you <bg>
<diana_w> Okay, break out the drinkin' stuff!
<SubRosa> damn, I always miss the point!
<Mulder>   Dear ETHAN:  From all of us here at the Office, thank you for sharing your time with us.  Dear
AUDIENCE : We are looking forward to seeing you here again soon :)
SubRosa cheers wildly <g>
<Mal> Thanks again.
mitsou claps and whoops!
<diana_w> This was cool, Mal.  Thanks for coming to talk to us.