Old School X Interview: Slippin’ Mickeys
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Old School X Interview: Slippin’ Mickeys |
| Interviewer: | Lilydale |
| Interviewee: | Slippin’ Mickeys |
| Date(s): | August 11, 2020 |
| Medium: | online, Tumblr |
| Fandom(s): | The X-Files |
| External Links: | at lilydalexf; archive link |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Old School X Interview: Slippin’ Mickeys was conducted by Lilydale as part of the series Old School X Interview Series.
Some Topics Discussed
- X-Files and the internet, two things that were intertwined early on
- being a paid moderator at Television Without Pity
- history of her pseud
From the Interview
Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?
I would say that it does and doesn’t surprise me. It surprises me that anyone would want to read something I wrote all those years ago, (only in that I was an actual teenager at the time, and had no chops at all – I’ve grown a lot as a writer, and honestly have trouble reading my old stuff because I would have made much different creative decisions now). But the fanfiction that came out of the original run of the show – from almost day one – was so rich and varied and a lot of it so well written that I am not the least bit surprised that people want to read it today. I go back and read old favorites often, and am always thrilled to find something that’s new-to-me, even if it’s 27 years old.
[...]
Social media didn’t really exist during the show’s original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?
I first got into the show’s online community on some random message board that I think I probably found through a Yahoo search one day in a computer lab on my university’s campus. I connected with one woman from Greece named Fay that day, who invited me to join a group of women that chatted about the show after it aired on Monday nights. After the first time I hooked up with them, we talked almost daily via ICQ. Later, in the early aughts, I found the forums on Mighty Big TV/Television Without Pity, where some of the most intelligent discussion was going on. The forums were heavily moderated, and so they were always on topic, and it was just a smart, funny, great place to be.
Eventually, I started working for TWoP as both a writer and moderator (surprise! A lot of people don’t know this because TWoP protected the identities of their mods so well, but I was the X-Files board mod after Jessica left!). It was my first paid writing gig and opened doors for me both professionally and personally. Two TWoP recappers were in my wedding!
What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?
Fanfiction opened my eyes to storytelling as a medium. I’d obviously gone to school and read books, but it opened my eyes to words to could do and be. It was a heady time. There were stories of every stripe. Short, long, canon-compliant, AU, experimental, you name it. We had such gifted writers, too. To this day, I’d almost rather read a piece of well written fanfic than a good book. Fanfic made me want to be a storyteller myself.
What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?
It was the ‘ship. God bless the ship. My first episode was Never Again, but I didn’t watch again until I was sitting with my college roommate freshman year and she was like “sorry, but I have to watch The X-Files on Sunday nights.” That first episode was Redux. The next week was Redux II, and by then it was all over for me. The lengths Mulder and Scully would go to for each other? And the relationship wasn’t even sexual? Here were two people who loved each other. Really loved each other. Selflessly. I was SO IN.
[...]
Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?
My husband knows and is supportive. He’s a working writer, so he supports my endeavors, though I know he wishes I were doing something I could monetize. But it makes me happy, and ultimately: happy wife, happy life and all that jazz.
The friends of mine that I’ve made through the fandom all know and are super supportive.
As for the rest, well… I have a nom de plume on purpose!