McShep Match Team War 2009 Interview with busaikko
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | McShep Match Team War 2009 Interview with busaikko |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | busaikko |
| Date(s): | August 19, 2009 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Stargate Atlantis |
| External Links: | posted at mcshep_war, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
busaikko was interviewed in 2009 for McShep Match.
It is part of this series: McShep Match Interview Series.
Excerpts
How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
I started watching Star Trek when I was in kindergarten, and got into anime in elementary school (I wrote an epic fanfic in elementary school back before I even knew that people *did* that.). In junior high I transcripted A-Team episodes, in high school I was involved with local SFF groups, when I moved to Japan I had one suitcase of clothes -- and all the Valdemar and CJ Cherryh books I could carry. I discovered online fandom in 2005 when searching, as one does, for Discworld Vetinari/Vimes stories, which led to copperbadge and his Harry Potter stories. I was in HP fandom writing Remus/Sirius and Remus/Severus for years. . . until Book 7 *curses Book 7*. Then I got mixed up in TV fandoms, reading in dueSouth, SG1, SGA, The Sentinel, Starsky & Hutch, Supernatural, etc. I currently write in SGA, though I've started on SPN, and I have vids for SGA, SG1, dueSouth, Twitch City, SPN, and Hard Core Logo. So. . . I started fannish behaviour about 34 years ago; fanwriting, 29 or so years ago; and online fandom about 4 years ago.
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?
The main pairing I wrote before this was antagonistic (shipping canon enemies) so writing people who are good friends in canon was an interesting change. I like that right from the beginning McKay and Sheppard slotted together, bonding with geekery and glee. I love that they play games together. My favourite scenes tend to involve McKay looking stricken and Sheppard either angry or dead (The Siege, Common Ground, Midway, The Last Man) but I agree that Echoes was the ultimate date episode ('Hey, wanna go for a drive and whale watch?'). . . and the opening of Tracker, with Sheppard watching McKay primp for his date in the mirror, made my heart break.
I usually write from the POV of the character I understand better (generally McKay); I have trouble writing John's POV. But I'm kind of fascinated by Sheppard, and I ship him with Woolsey and Parrish as well. I've written McKay/Keller: it's a pairing with potential that got screwed over by canon.
What are your 'tells'? How can a fic of yours be spotted in the wild?
John Sheppard eats Fritos. Or Cheetos. He hoards snack foods. (I was trying to create fanon. . . and I think it's starting to take root.) My stories tend to have three main parts: the narrative/plot, the theme, and some dorky self-challenge (for example, writing a novel-length romance without using the phrase 'I love you' (HP); or writing a story without using pronouns (SPN) to describe a character; or turning a fanon cliché like 'they know instinctively what each other needs' on its head (SGA); and so on). I don't like war or find it romantic; I don't write gratuitous violence; even in my darker stories I like to have hope left (I have a very hard time writing stories with no hope). Oh, and my OCs aren't Caucasian: they tend to be African or Asian (I've been doing this for ages, and no one's caught on yet *shrugs*).
You've done some really interesting things with the characters and gender, so I'm curious, what do you like about writing those kinds of fic?
I love exploring identity, what it means to be a character: what's essential, and what's mutable. One of the main comments I've read from people who dislike genderfuck is that by making a character male/female/trans/intersex 'you might as well be writing an OC'; that it somehow changes the character so much to have a dick or clit or both or neither that they lose their essential nature. I express my disagreement with fic. I want my readers not to think of characters' genders as their destiny, but rather that gender can be part of how a character evolves into his/herself (or doesn't...). *expresses thoughts badly: please refer to last question re my weakness in writing*