Team interviews: velocitygrass
Name: velocitygrass
Team: Peace!
Let's talk about: velocitygrass!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
I think I have a few paragraphs of a hand-written Mary-Sue "The A-Team" fic somewhere from when I was a young teen about twenty years ago (and didn't know what fan fiction was). Actual participation in fandom came with BtVS in 1999. So ten years.
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
Most actively in BtVS, specifically Buffy/Giles fandom. There were also other more short-lived obsessions (Hermione/Snape, Mal/Simon, Winters/Nixon). I'm a single fandom kind of person, I notice.
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
I find it very hard to choose favorites (whether that's episodes or food or books...), but art wise there's my John/Rodney kiss manip which I like quite a bit despite its flaws. I couldn't really decide for a fic, but one thing I'm quite proud of is that mcsheplets's second anniversary is coming up :)
4. As far as creative processes go, what type of writer/artist are you? Do you create an outline/find photo references/make maps, etc., or do you jump in and go with the flow?
It took me until today to finally find an idea for my prompt that's actually doable in terms of source material. I do manips for the most part, trying to be as realistic as possible, but often fail in finding the fitting source material. The process is pretty much idea, then looking for sources, then doing a quick merge to check to see if things align okay before finally refining things, i.e. working on the masks and adding layers until everything is as perfect as I can make it.
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
Manips, Fanfiction (though that list is unfortunately not quite up to date as you can see).
6. Do you write original fiction (poetry, screenplays)? Do you create original art (comics, photographs, quilts, wedding cakes)? Care to share?
I used to write original screenplays/teleplays, but they're not online.
7. How are you so awesome?
How indeed?
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
SGA: John, John/Rodney, team, the rest. SGA fandom: that we make everything that can be made
9. Why do you ship McKay/Sheppard? What draws you to the pairing, what do you like and dislike? Favourite scenes or episodes? Quotes? Screencaps? What other SGA pairings do you ship?
I'm an OTPer and pretty focused on McShep. They have an amazing chemistry and there's hardly any squinting necessary to see John pining for Rodney in canon. Their relationship is so important for both of them that I really believe they could make each other happy. The "I can't" in Miller's Crossing is among my favorites, as is every McSheppy bit (i.e. most of) The Shrine. Another favorite is Adrift and how it portrayed their relationship as something that had matured into more than just the sexual tension and banter.
10. Why did you choose to join Team Peace?
Peace is what I want for John and Rodney and everyone else.
11. C'mon, you know you wanna! Just a bit of squee about your Match fic? [good example: 'very proud of my second scene' / bad example: 'When Rodney kisses John after they find out the butler did it'.]
I'm pretty happy with the idea that finally worked out.
12. What are your 'tells'? How can a fic of yours be spotted in the wild? (again, go ahead and make origami out of the truth!)
My manips (or icons or headers) aren't very artistic. It's pretty much straight-forward faking with a few coloring changes and maybe softening effects to make it look more pleasing (and cover up mistakes).
kassrachel asks "Tea or coffee? (And why?) :-)"
Neither! I prefer water (and occasionally juice).
altyronsmaker asks "If you could pick the brain of anyone in the SGA fandom, whose would you choose and why?"
I love cupidsbow's insights on writing. Actually, I generally love to talk about fic and fandom meta, because everyone has their own way of seeing things and even talking/writing yourself makes you reconsider and forces you to think more precisely about what you mean or why you feel a certain way.
deltacephei asks "Have you ever taken part in/are you taking part in the German-speaking corner of the fandom (any fandom)? Have you ever written fic in German?"
That's a very interesting question. I did write one Buffy/Giles fic in German and remember how terribly awkward I felt writing the sex was. I think I've read a German McShep fanfic and I will in the future if it comes across my very random reading. But I'm not on any German speaking boards or communities and I do not plan on writing John/Rodney in German. Actually, I'm not sure I could if I wanted to because I only ever saw the episodes in English. I remember wondering what the hell the "Antiker" were supposed to be ;) Just finding the right vocabulary would be a nightmare. I don't even know for sure if they still address each other with the formal "Sie" by the end of the series or have switched to "Du" at some point.
pollitt asks "If you could recast a movie with the SGA team, what movie would it be and who who would play whom?"
Just about every movie ever! What I love about SGA and McShep is that they are so versatile and work in a romantic comedy as well as in a thriller or drama or horror film. And I do think of John and Rodney nearly every time I watch a romance. (Like Wall-E was Rodney and Eva John.)
hyperfocused asks "In your default icon (at least right now, this will make no sense if you change it) it looks like John and Rodney are sharing a good laugh. What's so funny?"
They're happy because they're together :) Specifically, I made the icon to include not just John/Rodney, but Hewligan (and Joe/David) because they're so inspiring to me in all their versions.
Team: Peace!
Let's talk about: velocitygrass!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
I think I have a few paragraphs of a hand-written Mary-Sue "The A-Team" fic somewhere from when I was a young teen about twenty years ago (and didn't know what fan fiction was). Actual participation in fandom came with BtVS in 1999. So ten years.
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
Most actively in BtVS, specifically Buffy/Giles fandom. There were also other more short-lived obsessions (Hermione/Snape, Mal/Simon, Winters/Nixon). I'm a single fandom kind of person, I notice.
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
I find it very hard to choose favorites (whether that's episodes or food or books...), but art wise there's my John/Rodney kiss manip which I like quite a bit despite its flaws. I couldn't really decide for a fic, but one thing I'm quite proud of is that mcsheplets's second anniversary is coming up :)
4. As far as creative processes go, what type of writer/artist are you? Do you create an outline/find photo references/make maps, etc., or do you jump in and go with the flow?
It took me until today to finally find an idea for my prompt that's actually doable in terms of source material. I do manips for the most part, trying to be as realistic as possible, but often fail in finding the fitting source material. The process is pretty much idea, then looking for sources, then doing a quick merge to check to see if things align okay before finally refining things, i.e. working on the masks and adding layers until everything is as perfect as I can make it.
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
Manips, Fanfiction (though that list is unfortunately not quite up to date as you can see).
6. Do you write original fiction (poetry, screenplays)? Do you create original art (comics, photographs, quilts, wedding cakes)? Care to share?
I used to write original screenplays/teleplays, but they're not online.
7. How are you so awesome?
How indeed?
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
SGA: John, John/Rodney, team, the rest. SGA fandom: that we make everything that can be made
9. Why do you ship McKay/Sheppard? What draws you to the pairing, what do you like and dislike? Favourite scenes or episodes? Quotes? Screencaps? What other SGA pairings do you ship?
I'm an OTPer and pretty focused on McShep. They have an amazing chemistry and there's hardly any squinting necessary to see John pining for Rodney in canon. Their relationship is so important for both of them that I really believe they could make each other happy. The "I can't" in Miller's Crossing is among my favorites, as is every McSheppy bit (i.e. most of) The Shrine. Another favorite is Adrift and how it portrayed their relationship as something that had matured into more than just the sexual tension and banter.
10. Why did you choose to join Team Peace?
Peace is what I want for John and Rodney and everyone else.
11. C'mon, you know you wanna! Just a bit of squee about your Match fic? [good example: 'very proud of my second scene' / bad example: 'When Rodney kisses John after they find out the butler did it'.]
I'm pretty happy with the idea that finally worked out.
12. What are your 'tells'? How can a fic of yours be spotted in the wild? (again, go ahead and make origami out of the truth!)
My manips (or icons or headers) aren't very artistic. It's pretty much straight-forward faking with a few coloring changes and maybe softening effects to make it look more pleasing (and cover up mistakes).
kassrachel asks "Tea or coffee? (And why?) :-)"
Neither! I prefer water (and occasionally juice).
altyronsmaker asks "If you could pick the brain of anyone in the SGA fandom, whose would you choose and why?"
I love cupidsbow's insights on writing. Actually, I generally love to talk about fic and fandom meta, because everyone has their own way of seeing things and even talking/writing yourself makes you reconsider and forces you to think more precisely about what you mean or why you feel a certain way.
deltacephei asks "Have you ever taken part in/are you taking part in the German-speaking corner of the fandom (any fandom)? Have you ever written fic in German?"
That's a very interesting question. I did write one Buffy/Giles fic in German and remember how terribly awkward I felt writing the sex was. I think I've read a German McShep fanfic and I will in the future if it comes across my very random reading. But I'm not on any German speaking boards or communities and I do not plan on writing John/Rodney in German. Actually, I'm not sure I could if I wanted to because I only ever saw the episodes in English. I remember wondering what the hell the "Antiker" were supposed to be ;) Just finding the right vocabulary would be a nightmare. I don't even know for sure if they still address each other with the formal "Sie" by the end of the series or have switched to "Du" at some point.
pollitt asks "If you could recast a movie with the SGA team, what movie would it be and who who would play whom?"
Just about every movie ever! What I love about SGA and McShep is that they are so versatile and work in a romantic comedy as well as in a thriller or drama or horror film. And I do think of John and Rodney nearly every time I watch a romance. (Like Wall-E was Rodney and Eva John.)
hyperfocused asks "In your default icon (at least right now, this will make no sense if you change it) it looks like John and Rodney are sharing a good laugh. What's so funny?"
They're happy because they're together :) Specifically, I made the icon to include not just John/Rodney, but Hewligan (and Joe/David) because they're so inspiring to me in all their versions.