<Mulder>  Welcome to today's Feature BBQ of no one less than:  Ethan Nelson  We have been trying to locate our
Honorary Guest for months and one cold and chilly winter day the happy news was presented on a golden slashy plate
"Website found!!!".
<Mulder>  Big thanks to our slashketeer member mitsou who has touched base right away.  Ethan Nelson  has brought
us some of the most hilarious and gorgeous slash fiction and probably influenced a few people's attitude towards a
certain restaurant chain <g>.
<SubRosa> <G>
diana_w claps loudly and cheers
<Mulder>  Before we move on to Q & A, a few introductory words from our Guest... Please welcome Ethan Nelson aka
Mallory Klohn aka Mal:
deb whistles
SubRosa joins in the applause
<Mal> Thanks for giving up some of your Saturday for me, you guys.
AgentRose whistles and claps!
<WSkinner> Yeah!!!
Mulder applauds
<frogdoggi> Welcome Ethan
<Mal> I made a sacrifice too. I got dressed.
<deb> Wooo hooo!
mitsou claps and whoops!
<CJK> wow!
<SubRosa> we're very impressed
<virg> Yay!! Mal!!
<frogdoggi> ROFL Mal
deb snorks water out her nose
<Mulder> Mal, there really was no need <g>
<virg> Guess who broke the news about the website?  It pays to follow SXF. <g>
SubRosa pats virg and mitsou onna back
<Mal> I've been out of XF for an age. I'm baffled by the whole process.
<mitsou> Yes thanks virg :)
<Mal> We didn't have Lone Gunmen slash when I was a kid!
<deb> lolol! You haven't looked hard enough. ;-)
<AgentRose> ;D
<Mal> I left just when people were starting to use Krycek's stump in a, er, romantic sense.
<WSkinner> Ouch!
<deb> snork
<frogdoggi> You left at the right time. ROFL.
<AgentRose> Er...I missed that one...
<frogdoggi> I mean...Krycek's stump! Yikes. ROFL
<Mal> AgentRose: keep missing it.
<Mal> Taking fisting to a whole new level...
<CJK> Mal: what exactly do yo mean?
<WSkinner> Wouldn't that be stumping then?
<frogdoggi> Exactly Mal...that was my first thought. ROFL.
<Mulder> I think I was introduced to that piece of written art <ironic g>
<frogdoggi> ROFL. Walt
<virg> ewww! Walt.
AgentRose faints!
<frogdoggi> Stumping for election. ROFL
<deb> I dunno, there's something about the phrase 'written art' in that context that just doesn't jive...
<SubRosa> um, ouch
<Mal> Actually, I read a book called "Different Loving" recently, and a whole section was devoted to people with an
amputee kink. I do try to be openminded.
<frogdoggi> That's quite common, Mal. As is cutting and people who get into scars and such.
<SubRosa> I've seen that addressed in a couple of M/Ks
<Mal> Well, there you go. I've already failed you people!

QUESTION: What made you want to write XF slash in the first place, what was the trigger, so to speak?

<Mal> Well... I mean, I started out reading MSR, believe it or not. And then I found slash on the Gossamer archive,
which led to the Chances stories.
<Mal> And then I saw... "Tunguska".
<filesphil> isn't that the way it always goes, msr, I mean
<frogdoggi> I started out writing MSR
<Mal> I should tell you that I haven't watched XF since season 4. So "Tunguska" was totally my first solid Beavis &
Butthead thing, you know, 'Huh-huh. They're doing it." I never did cotton to Krycek, but I was into Skinner right
away. Even with the tighty-whiteys.
deb ::::thuds::::
<Mulder> so burly-surly <sigh>
<mitsou> yum
<filesphil> zero sum did get MY attention
AgentRose grins and gets all misty eyed...
<frogdoggi> ROFL...hey...tighty-whiteys are fine by me. I wear 'em. ROFL.
<Mal> He's the man who made Fruit o' the Looms socially acceptable again.
<deb> I go into a lusttrance every time I think of WS in those briefs. sigh
<Mal> God help us all if he starts smoking crack.
<deb> lolo!
<frogdoggi> Even if they did strap him in for that scene, hey? ROFL
<CJK> ok, what are you talking about?
<deb> Strap him in and shotgun it, you mean? ;-)
<frogdoggi> ROFL. There you go Deb'
deb bows
<AgentRose> What is strapping and shotgunning, please?
<deb> Shotgunning is if I took a hit of smoke, and then blew it in your mouth.
<Mal> Like snowballing, with reefer.
<deb> Oooo! better explanation!
<frogdoggi> When a guy does an underwear scene they strap his dick and balls in so he won't offend anyone's
sensibilities. ROFL.
<SubRosa> like Walter Skinner is going to offend anyone's sensibilities
<frogdoggi> Shotgunning has been explained. ROFL.
<filesphil> Offend me, offend me!
<SubRosa> exactly
<deb> Bend over!
<AgentRose> offend?!?! Please Sir offend me until I faint!!!!!!
<frogdoggi> Well...someone might see his naughty bits and faint or something I guess.
<virg> No kidding Jay?
<frogdoggi> No kidding.

QUESTION: Do you plan to write more XF?

<Mal> I don't know. I've been, like, monumentallyblocked XF-wise. I wrote one extremely mean parody that you can
never, ever read, but other than that... Probably not. I'm leaving it to the big kids now.
<virg> awww! Parodies are so much fun.
<SubRosa> teasing us with evil parodies...no fair
<virg> The meaner the better. <g>
AgentRose loves the Denny's series and Cyanide...
<frogdoggi> Oh parodies are great though.
<Mal> Well, yes they are, but I would so burn in hell if I let people read it.
<filesphil> Mal, do you have a new pet genre?
<Mal> Thanks, AgentRose.
<AgentRose> As long as it is a well done parody why not?
<frogdoggi> Burn in hell...it's warming at least. ROFL.
<Mal> It's really cruel, and it mocks a specific writer in an identifiable way. It's just wrong. Even if it felt so right
when I did it.
<WSkinner> Mal, it would be great if you'd post it...
<Mal> I say it's okay as long as you don't go showing it to everyone.
<CJK> well, there was a published parody to Baccarat, wasn't there?
<AgentRose> Ah... then it's probably better not to then...  but it is a good way to blow off steam.
<Mal> Yeah. I got a lot of mail from a friend of mine complaining about this person.
<CJK> the Baccarat parody author?
<virg> Much fun as I have giggling over Baccarat, parodying a particular writer is pretty mean.
<CJK> true
<Mal> No, the complaint was about a writer of regular slash. Sean Spencer probably didn't think it was funny.
<frogdoggi> If nothing else...Sean does paint a picture of one type of gay subculture that's on target...whether we
enjoy it or not or agree with it or not.
<Mal> Okay.
<diana_w> Very true
<CJK> I enjoy Sean's photo manips immensely but not the fiction
<Mal> I read some.
<frogdoggi> I don't get into the DaddyTop idea either but let's face it...it's out there. Personally I'd rather see the
guys as more equal.
<Mal> But then I heard he hates my stuff.
<frogdoggi> M/SK
<Shaya> I read it and I really didn't like it.
CJK sees Skinner as the sub anyway <blush and hide>
<Mal> "Philistine!" I said.
<frogdoggi> Spank me Daddy Skinner gets boring after a while. - Well yeah, CJK, why not?
<deb> Oh.... I don't know about that, Frogdoggi. ;-)
<<SubRosa> how could he ;)
<AgentRose> Hell, he can spank me all he wants, but I like a conversation once in a while.
<frogdoggi> Oh come on...ROFL. Use your imagination. Do you think he wants to be in control 24/7?
<Mal> You can communicate a lot with grunting.
<AgentRose> LOL! No one does.
deb spits on the monitor
<CJK> jay: no, he needs TLC as well

QUESTION: Have you wandered into any new fandoms lately?

<Mal> Not lately lately. But I've been writing Sentinel and Due South for a while.
<frogdoggi> Right...and Skinner is ripe for some spoiling...so to speak...as well as some pleasure from pain. ROFL.
<Mal> I don't care what you say, I'm scared of the Phantom Menace people.
<SubRosa> <snert> no argument here
<diana_w> Why?
<frogdoggi> ROFL. Mal. No kidding!
<CJK> it's spreading
<SubRosa> sorry Diana! <g>
<AgentRose> Oh yeah... jeez some of that stuff is just awful...
virg sticks another pin into the TPM dolls
<Mal> It's just the idea of someone shouting "Fuck me, Obi-Wan Kenobi!"
<CJK> Kassandra caught it, and look what happened
<frogdoggi> Phantom Menace as a film was an abortion of a fine series.
<SubRosa> you're my only hope!
deb gags
<deb> You have GOT to be kidding!
<diana_w> That's okay Rosa.  Some of it is horrible, but some is pretty good
<Mal> SubRosa: You understand!
<frogdoggi> The slashing of it is ridiculous. Sorry. Just my opinion.
<deb> frog: Amen!
<SubRosa> not enough Darth Maul slash, that's all I have to say
<SubRosa> yep Mal
<Mal> I speak as someone who has never read any. The idea makes me squirm, and not for a fun reason.
<diana_w> You haven't checked the Sith Academy site, Rosa <BG>
<CJK> I rather enjoy Virgin!Qui stories <g>
<virg> I love that you're writing TS now Mal!
<SubRosa> I have, Diana. Though not lately. Some very funny stuff.
<filesphil> i can't keep up w/ x files slash as it is, no cross overs
<diana_w> Xanthe did a Skinner/Young Obi-Wan crossover
<Mal> It's too late. I have a theory that as soon as someone mentions a bad slash idea, the idea is out in the cosmos
and someone writes it.
<Mal> Hence, in Sentinel, "Blair is Amish".
<virg> Better Amish than in diapers, though.
<Mal> There was nothing holy about it.
<diana_w> Amen to that, Virg!
<deb> I dunno, I like Yoda as the 4th LGM.... He could give Fro a run for  his money on the short and scraggly look.

QUESTION: Why did you basically dropped off the face of the earth for so long?  Did you have a bad experience with readers or something?

<Mal> No, no, nothing like that. It was the Ethan Nelson thing. I was a total newbie when I started writing slash. New
to the net, new to fandom, new to slash. And by the time I realized that some people really cared whether or not
Ethan was a guy, it had snowballed.
<filesphil> pretty good for a newbie!
<Mal> I was mental at the time.
<AgentRose> Great for a newbie!
<virg> It was wonderful writing.  Did you realize you had such a huge following?
<SubRosa> ah, that never occurred to me, Mal
<diana_w> Why should it matter if "Ethan" was a guy or not?
<Mal> So eventually, instead of just coming clean, I vanished. - I suck. -
<Mal> Diana: some people really cared.
<filesphil> people are still finding your work today
<Mal> I still feel incredibly guilty about it, and I'm pretty sure this is part of the reason I can't write XF anymore.
<frogdoggi> I can tell you it's not always easy being male and writing out here.
<diana_w> To me, it doesn't matter who is writing, just the writing itself.  I read stories by people I can't stand in
RL.
<virg> You created this wonderful mystery that way.
<Mal> I can just imagine.
<AgentRose> If they did then that is their hangup, your stuff rocks!
<frogdoggi> Not everyone feels that way Diana...but your attitude is to be commended.
<SubRosa> I can see how some people might have been stressed about it. I mean, I'm not, but I can see it
<mitsou> Well we spent a lot of time looking for you:) and were just glad you were still around!
<frogdoggi> Sometimes it's lucky I have a thick skin.
<Mal> I don't care either. And I told myself, you know, if someone else I knew on the net told me they weren't who
they said they were, I wouldn't care.
<GriffG{LZ> we just wish you'd go back to XF, Mal!
<Mal> But that's me. I can't just make these sweeping decisions based on me. I'm a weirdo.
<CJK> what was the problem? reading stories by a female author was bad, or was it the idea of a male slasher?
<frogdoggi> It's the idea you're male - period. In my experience anyway.
<virg> I have to admit, I really like that there are guys writing slash in XF.  Keeps it fresh and from smothering us in
schmoop.
<filesphil> i thought we all used aliases
<Mal> It was the male slasher thing. I've spoken to people since who said there wasn't really anybody male writing
slash at the time, and it had an impact on people.
<CJK> jay: 'cause it's mainly a female domain?
<diana_w> Not everyone, Filesphil
<virg> Yeah, like Virginia Vaugh just rolls of the tip of your tongue. <bwahaha!>
SubRosa swats virg and grins
<Mal> The funny thing is, I also know people who said I "wrote like a man", so they never wondered.
<frogdoggi> Right CJK...and unfortunately there is a segment of that population who...for lack of a better word...
dislike men amongst it.
<filesphil> that's filesphile, don't want anyone to think i'm a guy
<Mal> Wrote like a man. Like, you have to write sap to write like a woman.
<Mulder> which only prooves how great your fantasy/creativity works, Mal, imo
<virg> There will always be the kretins out there to give you grief.
<SubRosa> Mal, you macho thing, you
<Mal> Nobody is ever satisfied with their stuff, AgentRose. I bet it's keen.
<virg> no kidding jay?  What morons
<CJK> but that's... weird, imo. I mean, we like to write and read m/m, but we don't like real men? huh? what am I missing?
<Shaya> Who knows how many men write under a female alias? I don't understand why anyone would care.
<frogdoggi> Interesting point CJK...I've asked myself that too.
<diana_w> Women have been writing under male names in RL for years.
<Mal> M/M is nonthreatening, maybe.
<Cedara> and guys writing romance novels under female names
<diana_w> Exactly, Ced
<Shaya> Okay, I don't really like men in general (their attitudes and so) but I have some male friends I really love.
Where's the problem, then?
<virg> And then there's Fabio. <snerk>
<SubRosa> any you want to share?
<CJK> or is it the idea that you can write a man more accessible, more female that he'd be in RL?
<frogdoggi> Bingo CJK. That's part of the situation.

Feminization of men in slash fiction.....

<Mal> It could be. A lot of slash feminizes men.
<CJK> it's the thing Gwyn ranted about
<Mal> I mean, do you ever read Pros.?
<Caroline> what happens in Pros?  I've only read a bit of it
<SubRosa> yes mal?
<frogdoggi> Writing m/m is a safe way to deal with their version of men...what they would like a male love to be like...
<filesphil> i still don't get why anyone would care, male or female writer
<virg> Is there a lot of feminization in Pros?
<Mal> How many times have you read slash where some hard-hearted bastard cries his eyes out?
<frogdoggi> which is to say...like a feminized man.
<Caroline> the ones I've read it's pretty much a guy thing.  Buddy-fucking.
<Mal> I don't even cry as much as Bodie and Doyle.
<SubRosa> lol! I don't find that to be overwhelming in Pros.
<Caroline> heh, guess I've missed those ones.
<SubRosa> but I've seen it
<CJK> who said "like men, only better"?
<AgentRose> But neither one is feminine... they are both male but in different fashions.
<frogdoggi> When they deal with men in real life...it's a bit different and they're quick to tell you how you're being
non-PC or whatever.
<Caroline> CJK: that's Francesca
<virg> Someone cries more than Mulder and Blair?
<diana_w> LOL Virg!
<Cedara> Blair doesn't cry
Shaya giggles
<SubRosa> Blair cries
<Caroline> Blair just collapses
Mulder laughs his ass off
<frogdoggi> I read some stories where I don't even recognize the men as men I'm afraid to say.
<Shaya> A Lot, Ced.
<Mal> Blair sobs, man.
<Cedara> Blair gets angry
<Caroline> in a snivelling heap
<CJK> but then, Francesca doesn't feminize Jim and Blair
<SubRosa> and he has long slender golden legs
<virg> oops!  I'd have to throw in Paris there too.  They all snot up a storm.
<Cedara> Blair even
<Mal> Well, that's because Francesca rocks.
<virg> But you're pretty hot stuff too!
<Caroline> say, Mal.  The only reason I haven't sent you feedback is because I'm a bad person.  It's not because I
don't love your stories.
<Mal> I never send feedback either.
<Shaya> I found out that even women don't cry as much as they used to. Sometimes I watch a teary movie just to get
a good cry. <G>
<frogdoggi> Men can be romantic and "sensitive" and I do put some of that in my stories...but...there is a difference
between male romanticism and feminizing the men IMHO.

Musings of feedback........

<Mal> Somebody told me a long time ago, and we should all remember this, that for every one person that writes to
you, there are at least 25 people who read you and liked you but never said anything.
AgentRose is guilty of that too...
<SubRosa> I suck at feedback
<Mal> I worry about people who beg for feedback.
<SubRosa> though easy feedback is one of the perks of net posting
<diana_w> I think the begging is counterproductive - just turns people off
<Mal> Or the people who say, "I'm quitting writing and leaving the fandom if I don't get some LOL's."
<CJK> I only 3 LoC's in my life: to jay, diana and Xanthe
<Shaya> I hardly have time to read everything I like to read, not to mention feedback!
<Caroline> I was forlorn because I didn't get a response from Te after I sent her feedback... but then realized it
was better that way, cos I probably would've asked her to marry me if she'd replied
<frogdoggi> As far as feedback goes...I'm alway amazed when I get it to be honest. ROFL. It's very flattering.
<Mal> I think so, too.
<diana_w> Re: feedback - I know that if I don't immediately email someone after reading their story, I get swamped
and never get back to it.
<frogdoggi> I try to answer it all but sometimes it's hard.
<Caroline> so I'm thinking it would probably be in poor form to just start quoting great lines from your stories.  Still,
there are some great lines.
<Mal> Remember when I said I was a slash newbie? I didn't know people send feedback, then. I was all, "Holy crap!"
<frogdoggi> Then I started getting all this mail and it was like....holy shit! ROFL
<Mal> Yeah, me too. I didn't think anybody would care.
<SubRosa> that would be a trip
<CJK> If I like an author I try to bribe her/him... I bribed Debra
<SubRosa> I'm sure I gushed
<Cedara> I bribed someone by sending her a copy of something she wanted to see
<SubRosa> I think it's the reason I don't LoC very often. They're pathetic and embarrassing. <g>
<virg> I'm with you Rosa.  I can't save them in my sent file, 'cause I'd be mortified to read them later.

Still with us?  I hope you're enjoying the wit and wisdom of Ethan Nelson. Why don't you refill your glass, mug, or lovin cup and join us for part two of the chat log.  Click Here