Old School X Interview: Tabula Rasa
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Old School X Interview: Tabula Rasa |
| Interviewer: | Lilydale |
| Interviewee: | Tabula Rasa |
| Date(s): | March 30, 2021 |
| 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: Tabula Rasa was conducted by Lilydale as part of the series Old School X Interview Series.
Some Topics Discussed
- being inspired by Dana Scully in career
- the difficulties of posting and finding fiction in the old days
From the Interview
What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?
XF was my first fandom, definitely my first online fandom, and so it will always have a special place in my heart. Also… I had a great time! I stumbled upon and joined the Scullyfic email list by accident, but it was the best thing I could have done. I learned a lot about how to be a writer and how to be in fandom, and those lessons are still important to me. Foundational. Also, in terms of modern fandom drama, XF was more low-key on the drama (although it didn’t seem like it at the time!). But I learned something that’s always served me well: find like-minded people, and hang out with them. Don’t worry about the rest.
Also… you can’t control the show, but you kind of can control the canon.
Because of Scully, I ended up taking a forensic anthropology class in university– and now I have a Master’s in a forensic science! Part of the Scully Effect, and proud of it!
[...]
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.)?
Definitely mostly email list! I never really got the hang of message boards. Posting fic was exhausting, and tbh I never figured out how to work Ephemeral. I checked it every day, though! I loved, after a new episode, everyone sending in their thoughts and reading everyone’s experiences together. Fandom was a lot more work back then, tbh!
What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?
That fic can be just as good, or better, than traditionally published works. There are works of XF fic that have stuck with me for years now, far more than some books I’ve read. That fan writers can know the characters better than the show writers. The fandom in general was really smart, and mostly more adult than me (I joined fandom when I went away to college, so I always felt at the younger end of the scale. That was good though!).
Also, my first time reading and writing porn. Not gonna lie, I was shocked the first time I accidentally read smut. But I adjusted fast. lol
[...]
What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?
I tend to not go back to a fandom once I have a new fandom, so I wouldn’t say I’m in it. I did hang around the edges for the revival, of course, because I wanted to experience that with the same people, but since the revival was mostly not that great (with a few exceptions), I didn’t get pulled back into it. But I still think of the people I knew in the fandom a lot, and always hope they’re doing well.
[...]
Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?
As you can tell from the above, my family knows (my family being my parents and sister). They are supportive! I think my mom read a couple stories? But obviously she has to know the fandom to get it… I got my sister into fic, and we even wrote a couple fics together (in Gundam Wing). She’s a lot more selective about fandoms, but she’s joined fandoms on her own, too. She’s just not in one constantly, like me. :p
I tend not to tell not-online friends unless I have felt them out and know they’re super fannish, or they bring it up first.