It's the 6th already?
Name: altyronsmaker, also known as Chelle, not to be confused with mmmchelle. Different chickas. ;)
Team: Peace!
Let's talk about: altyronsmaker!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
My mom and I used to have ‘rewrite’ fests about ST:TNG and DS9, and movies we watched, but it was always just talk. And I remember her doing that with M*A*S*H and Barney Miller when I was little, so for as long as I can remember there’s been transformative creativity going on in my house.
As for actually writing? Well, I started during college in the jossverse around 2002, I think, on Yahoo and FF.net - even though I’d been watching the show from the first season. I joined LJ in December ‘04 to do the Giles ficathon. When Buffy and Angel ended, I still wrote the fic, but I’d fallen in lust with yin_again and ladycat777’s John and Rodney stories and I was all, “Who are John and Rodney?” Turned out to be SGA, and I found the show and have been hooked ever since. That was around ’05.
I also do icons, have been making icons since about 2006, thanks to mirasol. So, fic, icons, and beta reading, for about…7 years.
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
My main fandoms right now are SGA and Supernatural, and depending on the week or what’s going on online, either one or the other is primary. I still do Buffy, Angel, Firefly (a little bit), Bones (very little), and Leverage. I’ve even written some Eureka fic. My participation in each one depends on who wants to see what from me.
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
Yesterday’s Broken Faces was a labor of love. I still find stuff I’d like to change in that story, but I love it. I love the way Angel was fragmented in that story. I love the way Dawn comes into the situation and just tackles it head on. I like the atmosphere that presented itself to me, even though I struggled with recreating it in words. After Midnight has been nom’d several times in different award comms, but Yesterday’s Broken Faces is just a much better story - it’s the one I’m PROUDEST of. A close second would have to be My Xander Table of 100 ficlets. Hee! Just that I finished that one makes me proud!
My favorite of my stories? Not Like This For Long (SPN, J2) After Dean’s big reveal of Season 4, Jensen is an emotional wreck and Jared is just…there. It’s angsty, but comfortable and then turns smokin’ hot with the sexiness. I LOVED writing that story. Loved it.
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?
Oh, that depends. For shorter stories, I just sort of start from an idea and build words around it until it’s concluded, then I go in and edit the hell out of it. I cut stuff that detracts from the main idea. I don’t have a ‘regular’ beta, and when I post for one, I don’t get a lot of responses, so I end up doing a lot of the editing work myself. I’d still like to have someone to chat with, to go over ideas with and what not.
For chaptered stories, I try hard to have an outline, or at least some idea of where things are headed. Sometimes I get derailed, and end up in different places and have to tilt my head at it to get back to where I was going. So it’s very free form, but also slightly guided. For this particular endeavor, I struggled with my own concept, so I had to outline each part, jot down some ideas about what John REALLY wants and now I’ve got to make the fic deliver. It’s going to be hard, but easy is never really satisfying when I’m done. Don’t feel like I really did any work, when it comes easy.
I’m also doing Big Bang this year, and that? Has an outline, a plot map, character traits - because it’s AU and the characters are just half a bubble off plumb and I have to keep them straight. So I have a reference guide for that one, definitely.
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
It’s all over the place. I used to have a website that I was putting it all on, but umm. Nope. It’s all tagged I think, though, with ‘fic’ at least. I’m very unorganized that way. My SGA stuff is here on Wraithbait, though!
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 poetry, some of it was…alright. I have written some original fiction, but it is SOOO not for public consumption. I have a story I’d LIKE to work on; started it, or got the very bare bones of it from a writing exercise a couple of years ago. Short answer: I’d like to.
7. How are you so awesome?
I have good genes. *smile* My Momma and Daddy are terrific people and they raised me to be aware, to keep my eyes open to the world around me and to know that I’m not the center of the universe, and they taught me that hard work is its own pay off. Unfortunately, they also taught me to be a mouthy bitch, and that gets me into trouble. But I’m absolutely the first to admit when I’m wrong and apologize for it. I listen and keep an open mind about most things, doesn’t mean I’m going to change my own mind, but I’m a tolerant person. And I love what I do.
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
I love that you can find something for every taste you may have in this fandom. The show lends itself spectacularly to send ups of tropes. John and Rodney can be ANYTHING in the physical world and it’s NOT an AU (Thanks Ancient Tech!) Everybody can be screwing everybody else, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility (Thanks alien sex pollen/sex ritual/trading custom!) I love that there’s not a hell of a lot of wank with SGA (unlike Buffy, SPN and HP [not that I’m into HP, but if you’re on LJ, you’ve seen the HP wank]). I love how fuckin’ SMART these people are. How they recognize deficits in characterization and treatment and I love how vocal they are when the characters are treated badly.
I love that the ACTORS, if not the writers, acknowledge the possible queerness of the characters. I do now and always will believe that the secret Joe keeps about how he played John Sheppard is that HE thought John was a repressed homosexual. Not that he didn’t know he was gay, but that he CHOSE to put it aside, to hide it, to ignore it so he could fly. And I think that Joe recognized John’s foil in Rodney and snuck little moments and gestures out as hints to the audience. There’s nothing that will make me question that. I LOVE the respect the actors have for the fans - and that’s not something you see all the time.
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?
John and Rodney are perfect foils for each other. John pushes Rodney to BE more than what he thinks he is, and Rodney makes John comfortable in his own skin. Rodney doesn’t so much push John to be himself, as he just gives him that cushion of safety, and that’s not even consciously. Rodney just is who he is, and John finds that…relaxing. Rodney’s not ever going to belittle John for being a dork - in fact he’s going to admire that. Rodney’s not going to call John a smarty pants for showing his own big ole brain. John will never call Rodney weak or cowardly, and he’ll NEVER leave him behind or exile him. Even after Doranda, Rodney was STILL team, ya know?
What I dislike? That as much as Rodney GETS John, he’s still missing the point. John’s NOT Kirk. He’s NOT chasing alien tail. He’s just not into that. And Rodney doesn’t see how it pains John to watch Rodney in relationships.
Favorites:
Rising part two: Rodney: “Do you have any idea how many combinations of -?” John: “720.” Then Rodney’s face. *sigh* love that. McKay and Mrs. Miller, Miller’s Crossing. The Shrine. Tao of Rodney, Search and Rescue, Sateda, The Game, Brotherhood, Echoes, and Epiphany (OMG, how HARD Rodney works and how scared he is that they’ll be too late!).
Other pairings: Lorne/Zelenka, Elizabeth/Caldwell (sometimes, I swear it looks like Mitch Pillegi wants to NAIL Torri, and that is HOT.), Ronon/Keller, Carson/Teyla, Michael/Teyla (he’s crazy, insane, and is exactly what his experiences at the hands of the Lanteans have made him, but he LOVES Teyla - even if he doesn’t know how to.), Lorne/Novak, and, umm, since the Shrine: Ronon/Jeannie. I’d love to see Jeannie divorce Kaleb, move to Atlantis and hook up with Ronon. God. Hot. Wow. These are mostly het pairings. Hmm.
10. Why did you choose to join Team Peace?
Because I like the idea of John and Rodney just resting. Of them fighting through a hard mission and finding solace and peace in themselves. Of them working together to forge a peace for Pegasus. Of them being each others’ peace.
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 love my idea! There are some issues with it, but overall, it’s unique, it’s cool and it gives John a chance to recognize a few things about himself and what he wants, what he HAS, and what he’s willing to do to keep it.
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 fics are emotional, and not always happy. I like the angst, but I like to resolve the angst too. I don’t like keeping the boys apart because of misunderstandings. I like them telling the truth. Conflict comes from outside the relationship - not because of it. My stuff is wordy, but I work on being precise. And sometimes, there’s a dreamlike quality to it, a surreality that reads as skewed, and I don’t know how to fix that.
Reader’s Questions
13. kassrachel - What is your favorite beverage?
Hahah! Non-alcoholic: tie: Orange juice or Coke. Alcoholic: tequila. Straight, mixed with OJ and grenadine, in a margarita…Love me some tequila. And it loves me right back. Heee.
14. velocitygrass - What's your favorite feeling when reading McShep? And what do you like to evoke the most when writing them?
Oooh. Good one! My favorite McShep feeling to read is that first time wonder and amazement. I love the moments when either one of them takes the other and just kisses the hell out of him. There that second or two of total frozen shock, then that oh my god, he’s kissing me and I like it and I never want it to end and I must taste him now! I LOVE that feeling. I get the tingles deep in my guts with that, and my face flushes - like I’m overly identifying with the kissee. *sigh* The thing I like to evoke when I’m writing is the companionship. I love making them kiss and bringing them together and making them, or watching them, fall in love because I know, underneath all that - and this is the thing I strive to convey - underneath the love and the sex and the kissing and that all consuming passion is their friendship. Even if the relationship crashes and burns, they’ll always go back to being friends. That’s the thing at their core.
15. pollit - What song, when you hear it, makes you just want to close your eyes and start writing in your mind (and possibly moves you to your computer or notebook to physically write.)
Hot and Cold by Katy Perry makes me want to do bad things with or to Steve Carlson. Don’t ask me why, but when I hear that song, I just picture him naked with, well, whoever I want and my fingers ITCH to get the scene down.
Come a Little Closer by Dierks Bentley makes me want to write sexy sexy sex.
Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Allison Krause drives me to explore John Winchester; I don’t know why.
Adaggio for Strings arr. By Schubert makes me want to break someone and put them back together again.
And all my classic rock stuff makes me want to write SPN fic.
Dr. Hook’s Last Mornin’, Carry Me, Carrie, and I Can’t Touch the Sun are all John/Rodney songs.
16. perspi - What kind of fic do you most love to read? What about a fic header will make you click the link to read it--a great title, interesting author notes, summary, word count?
I love first times, AUs, earth fics, and team fics. Hmm. If it’s got Jeannie in it, I’m THERE! If it’s got Lorne in it - not attached to Sheppard, I’ll read it. I love both of those characters. I have my favorite authors, too, so I’ll trust just about anything from them and read it. The longer the better! But, I LOVE LOVE LOVE mcsmooch. If it’s a mcsmooch fic, I do not care who wrote it, what it’s about, where it’s set. There’s kissin’ and it’s sweet sweet love b/t John and Rodney.
Team: Peace!
Let's talk about: altyronsmaker!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
My mom and I used to have ‘rewrite’ fests about ST:TNG and DS9, and movies we watched, but it was always just talk. And I remember her doing that with M*A*S*H and Barney Miller when I was little, so for as long as I can remember there’s been transformative creativity going on in my house.
As for actually writing? Well, I started during college in the jossverse around 2002, I think, on Yahoo and FF.net - even though I’d been watching the show from the first season. I joined LJ in December ‘04 to do the Giles ficathon. When Buffy and Angel ended, I still wrote the fic, but I’d fallen in lust with yin_again and ladycat777’s John and Rodney stories and I was all, “Who are John and Rodney?” Turned out to be SGA, and I found the show and have been hooked ever since. That was around ’05.
I also do icons, have been making icons since about 2006, thanks to mirasol. So, fic, icons, and beta reading, for about…7 years.
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
My main fandoms right now are SGA and Supernatural, and depending on the week or what’s going on online, either one or the other is primary. I still do Buffy, Angel, Firefly (a little bit), Bones (very little), and Leverage. I’ve even written some Eureka fic. My participation in each one depends on who wants to see what from me.
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
Yesterday’s Broken Faces was a labor of love. I still find stuff I’d like to change in that story, but I love it. I love the way Angel was fragmented in that story. I love the way Dawn comes into the situation and just tackles it head on. I like the atmosphere that presented itself to me, even though I struggled with recreating it in words. After Midnight has been nom’d several times in different award comms, but Yesterday’s Broken Faces is just a much better story - it’s the one I’m PROUDEST of. A close second would have to be My Xander Table of 100 ficlets. Hee! Just that I finished that one makes me proud!
My favorite of my stories? Not Like This For Long (SPN, J2) After Dean’s big reveal of Season 4, Jensen is an emotional wreck and Jared is just…there. It’s angsty, but comfortable and then turns smokin’ hot with the sexiness. I LOVED writing that story. Loved it.
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?
Oh, that depends. For shorter stories, I just sort of start from an idea and build words around it until it’s concluded, then I go in and edit the hell out of it. I cut stuff that detracts from the main idea. I don’t have a ‘regular’ beta, and when I post for one, I don’t get a lot of responses, so I end up doing a lot of the editing work myself. I’d still like to have someone to chat with, to go over ideas with and what not.
For chaptered stories, I try hard to have an outline, or at least some idea of where things are headed. Sometimes I get derailed, and end up in different places and have to tilt my head at it to get back to where I was going. So it’s very free form, but also slightly guided. For this particular endeavor, I struggled with my own concept, so I had to outline each part, jot down some ideas about what John REALLY wants and now I’ve got to make the fic deliver. It’s going to be hard, but easy is never really satisfying when I’m done. Don’t feel like I really did any work, when it comes easy.
I’m also doing Big Bang this year, and that? Has an outline, a plot map, character traits - because it’s AU and the characters are just half a bubble off plumb and I have to keep them straight. So I have a reference guide for that one, definitely.
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
It’s all over the place. I used to have a website that I was putting it all on, but umm. Nope. It’s all tagged I think, though, with ‘fic’ at least. I’m very unorganized that way. My SGA stuff is here on Wraithbait, though!
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 poetry, some of it was…alright. I have written some original fiction, but it is SOOO not for public consumption. I have a story I’d LIKE to work on; started it, or got the very bare bones of it from a writing exercise a couple of years ago. Short answer: I’d like to.
7. How are you so awesome?
I have good genes. *smile* My Momma and Daddy are terrific people and they raised me to be aware, to keep my eyes open to the world around me and to know that I’m not the center of the universe, and they taught me that hard work is its own pay off. Unfortunately, they also taught me to be a mouthy bitch, and that gets me into trouble. But I’m absolutely the first to admit when I’m wrong and apologize for it. I listen and keep an open mind about most things, doesn’t mean I’m going to change my own mind, but I’m a tolerant person. And I love what I do.
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
I love that you can find something for every taste you may have in this fandom. The show lends itself spectacularly to send ups of tropes. John and Rodney can be ANYTHING in the physical world and it’s NOT an AU (Thanks Ancient Tech!) Everybody can be screwing everybody else, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility (Thanks alien sex pollen/sex ritual/trading custom!) I love that there’s not a hell of a lot of wank with SGA (unlike Buffy, SPN and HP [not that I’m into HP, but if you’re on LJ, you’ve seen the HP wank]). I love how fuckin’ SMART these people are. How they recognize deficits in characterization and treatment and I love how vocal they are when the characters are treated badly.
I love that the ACTORS, if not the writers, acknowledge the possible queerness of the characters. I do now and always will believe that the secret Joe keeps about how he played John Sheppard is that HE thought John was a repressed homosexual. Not that he didn’t know he was gay, but that he CHOSE to put it aside, to hide it, to ignore it so he could fly. And I think that Joe recognized John’s foil in Rodney and snuck little moments and gestures out as hints to the audience. There’s nothing that will make me question that. I LOVE the respect the actors have for the fans - and that’s not something you see all the time.
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?
John and Rodney are perfect foils for each other. John pushes Rodney to BE more than what he thinks he is, and Rodney makes John comfortable in his own skin. Rodney doesn’t so much push John to be himself, as he just gives him that cushion of safety, and that’s not even consciously. Rodney just is who he is, and John finds that…relaxing. Rodney’s not ever going to belittle John for being a dork - in fact he’s going to admire that. Rodney’s not going to call John a smarty pants for showing his own big ole brain. John will never call Rodney weak or cowardly, and he’ll NEVER leave him behind or exile him. Even after Doranda, Rodney was STILL team, ya know?
What I dislike? That as much as Rodney GETS John, he’s still missing the point. John’s NOT Kirk. He’s NOT chasing alien tail. He’s just not into that. And Rodney doesn’t see how it pains John to watch Rodney in relationships.
Favorites:
Rising part two: Rodney: “Do you have any idea how many combinations of -?” John: “720.” Then Rodney’s face. *sigh* love that. McKay and Mrs. Miller, Miller’s Crossing. The Shrine. Tao of Rodney, Search and Rescue, Sateda, The Game, Brotherhood, Echoes, and Epiphany (OMG, how HARD Rodney works and how scared he is that they’ll be too late!).
Other pairings: Lorne/Zelenka, Elizabeth/Caldwell (sometimes, I swear it looks like Mitch Pillegi wants to NAIL Torri, and that is HOT.), Ronon/Keller, Carson/Teyla, Michael/Teyla (he’s crazy, insane, and is exactly what his experiences at the hands of the Lanteans have made him, but he LOVES Teyla - even if he doesn’t know how to.), Lorne/Novak, and, umm, since the Shrine: Ronon/Jeannie. I’d love to see Jeannie divorce Kaleb, move to Atlantis and hook up with Ronon. God. Hot. Wow. These are mostly het pairings. Hmm.
10. Why did you choose to join Team Peace?
Because I like the idea of John and Rodney just resting. Of them fighting through a hard mission and finding solace and peace in themselves. Of them working together to forge a peace for Pegasus. Of them being each others’ peace.
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 love my idea! There are some issues with it, but overall, it’s unique, it’s cool and it gives John a chance to recognize a few things about himself and what he wants, what he HAS, and what he’s willing to do to keep it.
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 fics are emotional, and not always happy. I like the angst, but I like to resolve the angst too. I don’t like keeping the boys apart because of misunderstandings. I like them telling the truth. Conflict comes from outside the relationship - not because of it. My stuff is wordy, but I work on being precise. And sometimes, there’s a dreamlike quality to it, a surreality that reads as skewed, and I don’t know how to fix that.
Reader’s Questions
13. kassrachel - What is your favorite beverage?
Hahah! Non-alcoholic: tie: Orange juice or Coke. Alcoholic: tequila. Straight, mixed with OJ and grenadine, in a margarita…Love me some tequila. And it loves me right back. Heee.
14. velocitygrass - What's your favorite feeling when reading McShep? And what do you like to evoke the most when writing them?
Oooh. Good one! My favorite McShep feeling to read is that first time wonder and amazement. I love the moments when either one of them takes the other and just kisses the hell out of him. There that second or two of total frozen shock, then that oh my god, he’s kissing me and I like it and I never want it to end and I must taste him now! I LOVE that feeling. I get the tingles deep in my guts with that, and my face flushes - like I’m overly identifying with the kissee. *sigh* The thing I like to evoke when I’m writing is the companionship. I love making them kiss and bringing them together and making them, or watching them, fall in love because I know, underneath all that - and this is the thing I strive to convey - underneath the love and the sex and the kissing and that all consuming passion is their friendship. Even if the relationship crashes and burns, they’ll always go back to being friends. That’s the thing at their core.
15. pollit - What song, when you hear it, makes you just want to close your eyes and start writing in your mind (and possibly moves you to your computer or notebook to physically write.)
Hot and Cold by Katy Perry makes me want to do bad things with or to Steve Carlson. Don’t ask me why, but when I hear that song, I just picture him naked with, well, whoever I want and my fingers ITCH to get the scene down.
Come a Little Closer by Dierks Bentley makes me want to write sexy sexy sex.
Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Allison Krause drives me to explore John Winchester; I don’t know why.
Adaggio for Strings arr. By Schubert makes me want to break someone and put them back together again.
And all my classic rock stuff makes me want to write SPN fic.
Dr. Hook’s Last Mornin’, Carry Me, Carrie, and I Can’t Touch the Sun are all John/Rodney songs.
16. perspi - What kind of fic do you most love to read? What about a fic header will make you click the link to read it--a great title, interesting author notes, summary, word count?
I love first times, AUs, earth fics, and team fics. Hmm. If it’s got Jeannie in it, I’m THERE! If it’s got Lorne in it - not attached to Sheppard, I’ll read it. I love both of those characters. I have my favorite authors, too, so I’ll trust just about anything from them and read it. The longer the better! But, I LOVE LOVE LOVE mcsmooch. If it’s a mcsmooch fic, I do not care who wrote it, what it’s about, where it’s set. There’s kissin’ and it’s sweet sweet love b/t John and Rodney.