Team Interviews: mirasol
Name: mirasol, also known as Claire
Team: Peace!
Let's talk about: mirasol!
How long have you been writing fan fiction?
Lots of things happened in 1982: I had a massive crush on Lee Curreri, I wore legwarmers and godawful skirts and I was still so traumatised by the ending of Blake's Seven (Torchwood had nothing on that devastation) that I wrote lots of make-it-right stories. Thankfully there's nothing tangible to prove this or I'd be so embarrassed now, I tell you.
All other evidence of cheesy Eighties/Nineties shows' fanfic has similarly been locked in a lead box, surrounded by concrete and dropped into a very active volcano.
As in writing fanfic that other people have read online? Since 2004.
Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
Dude. I'm almost 40 (yes, yes, far too old to say 'Dude') and I've been a scifi/fantasy fan since oldWho's The Ark In Space. Go to fanfiction.net and look at the list of fandoms; I've been fannishly involved with most of them to various degrees.
My other current or most recent fandoms are: BtVS, AtS, Firefly, Dr Who, Torchwood, Supernatural, Being Human, Merlin, Oz, Queer As Folk (UK and US), Rocky Horror, Ashes To Ashes and I'm going to stop there whilst I still can.
What fanwork are you most proud of?
My as yet unposted McShep epic that I was writing for SGA Big Bang. This thing has taken on a life of its own and if I tried to write it within the time limit I'd write a poorer story than (I hope) it's shaping up to be.
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?
Aha! This is my biggest problem. I'll get a flash of inspiration from the strangest things which quickly germinates into a story idea. Now, I can either start typing sans plan and possibly lose steam/track of the story which is frustrating for both me and anyone reading OR I get so caught up in world building and story planning that a flashfic idea turns into a(n unwritten) fantasy novel length story. Rarely is there any middle ground.
This is why I love to write drabbles and short shorts.
How are you so awesome?
Osmosis. I surround myself with people with a higher awesome potential and somehow it diffuses through the semi-permeable membrane of fandom. Currently we're 98.3% away from achieving equilibrium.
Let's talk about: SGA!
What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
Despite our innate insanity, most of the time this is one of the more mature fandoms I've been part of; I'm not talking us being decrepit old ladies with millions of cats here either. Whether there is going to be a SGA movie or not, we're basically now a fandom with closed canon yet there's lots of enthusiasm and it seems like natural fandom drift hasn't meant losing the SGA love.
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?
Why wouldn't I ship them? I've always shipped characters who have that bit of antagonistic friendship thing going and John and Rodney fit so nicely into that. They're different but they fit together so very well.
My favourite Rodney scene is not necessarily his best scene: the Chair scene in Tao Of Rodney. I'd liked him before then but that was the first time I'd thought 'wow, hot'. Likewise, my favourite John scene is his “I can't.” from Miller's Crossing - again, maybe not the best scene but the love he has there for Rodney is blinding.
I find it very hard to ship John with anyone other than Rodney, whereas Rodney is the little black dress of SGA slash - he goes well with everyone and I'm especially fond of Rodney/Radek and Rodney/Ronon.
Why did you choose to join Team Peace?
I love angst and strife, fighting impossible odds, but when I finish a story, I always want a happy ending. Being peaceful doesn't always have to be all about sparkly unicorns, rainbows and kittens, though, in this fandom, that certainly helps.
Also, have you seen who else is here? Awesome peoples. Awesome.
C'mon, you know you wanna! Just a bit of squee about your Match fic?
I'm loving that I'm writing something that's a little different for me.
What are your 'tells'? How can a fic of yours be spotted in the wild?
Not that it helps you much here but it's usually a drabble! I have a terrible weakness for puns and two-percenter jokes, geeky references, explicit sex and men telling other men they love them without using that L word. I also love semicolons.
Now with added questiony goodness!
What's your favorite dessert? (kassrachel)
If I'm being good with my diabetic control, strawberry flavoured sugar free jelly. If I'm being honest, crème brûlée.
Where do you do most of your writing? Do you have a desktop or do you take a laptop and just veg out in the living room and let it all out? (altyronsmaker)
I have a desktop, surrounded by fannish things, but sitting there often feels too much like work. Whilst I'm now a zillion times better following my op, radiotherapy and chemotherapy I still get tired far more easily than I'd like. Right now, I prefer to write sitting on my bed with my netbook perched on a draughtsman's drawing board resting on pillows on my knee.
I'm far too easily distracted to write downstairs with other people around and the television on.
also: what kind of beta reader are you? (altyronsmaker)
I'm probably not as critical as I should be but there's only ever been one fic that I wished my name wasn't associated with as beta - and it certainly wasn't by anyone on my flist (see above 'surrounds self with awesome people' statement).
I always enjoy reading through people's interests on their profile, especially when it's something no one else has listed. If you can tell us, what does "qing ri" mean? (or mean to you?) (hyperfocused)
Qing ri is one of those things that only fans understand, like “David Hewlett's heart-shaped ass”. It's from Firefly and it means “Blue Sun” and that's a whole 'nother post's worth to talk about. Basically, however, Firefly was an excellent show- cowboys in space, what's not to love? Above how cool I thought the show was, some of the actors take it to sub-zero when dealing with fans. This willingness to relate to their fans is something I also think is fantastic about certain SGA actors.
What's your favorite McShep cliché? (velocitygrass)
I'm taking the term cliché here as a positive one; I have a great fondness for genderswap that has a point, for telepathy/body sharing and pining!John/oblivious!Rodney - is it truly a cliché if it's canon? My absolute favourite, however, is domestic McShep.
What are three songs in your personal writing soundtrack--it could be songs that you write to, or songs that you hear and think of SGA characters. (pollitt)
Dido's “White Flag”
I know I left too much mess and destruction/To come back again/And I caused nothing but trouble/I understand if you can't talk to me again/I'm in love and always will be
is the perfect post-Trinity McShep lemon chicken song - and I don't now always immediately think of Angel when I hear it.
Goldfrapp's “Ooh La La”
Dial up my number now/Weaving it through the wire/Switch me on/Turn me up
makes me think what a slut Atlantis is for John. She's the only one he'd even consider throwing Rodney over for.
Queen's “You're My Best Friend”
My feelings are true/I really love you/Oh you're my best friend
is, well, they are best friends. And all the good and all the bad of that is what makes their relationship so great.
And... we're done. I'm happy to answer any additional questions you have, however random. I'm so looking forward to all the wonderful fic and art!
Be seeing you.
Team: Peace!
Let's talk about: mirasol!
How long have you been writing fan fiction?
Lots of things happened in 1982: I had a massive crush on Lee Curreri, I wore legwarmers and godawful skirts and I was still so traumatised by the ending of Blake's Seven (Torchwood had nothing on that devastation) that I wrote lots of make-it-right stories. Thankfully there's nothing tangible to prove this or I'd be so embarrassed now, I tell you.
All other evidence of cheesy Eighties/Nineties shows' fanfic has similarly been locked in a lead box, surrounded by concrete and dropped into a very active volcano.
As in writing fanfic that other people have read online? Since 2004.
Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
Dude. I'm almost 40 (yes, yes, far too old to say 'Dude') and I've been a scifi/fantasy fan since oldWho's The Ark In Space. Go to fanfiction.net and look at the list of fandoms; I've been fannishly involved with most of them to various degrees.
My other current or most recent fandoms are: BtVS, AtS, Firefly, Dr Who, Torchwood, Supernatural, Being Human, Merlin, Oz, Queer As Folk (UK and US), Rocky Horror, Ashes To Ashes and I'm going to stop there whilst I still can.
What fanwork are you most proud of?
My as yet unposted McShep epic that I was writing for SGA Big Bang. This thing has taken on a life of its own and if I tried to write it within the time limit I'd write a poorer story than (I hope) it's shaping up to be.
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?
Aha! This is my biggest problem. I'll get a flash of inspiration from the strangest things which quickly germinates into a story idea. Now, I can either start typing sans plan and possibly lose steam/track of the story which is frustrating for both me and anyone reading OR I get so caught up in world building and story planning that a flashfic idea turns into a(n unwritten) fantasy novel length story. Rarely is there any middle ground.
This is why I love to write drabbles and short shorts.
How are you so awesome?
Osmosis. I surround myself with people with a higher awesome potential and somehow it diffuses through the semi-permeable membrane of fandom. Currently we're 98.3% away from achieving equilibrium.
Let's talk about: SGA!
What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
Despite our innate insanity, most of the time this is one of the more mature fandoms I've been part of; I'm not talking us being decrepit old ladies with millions of cats here either. Whether there is going to be a SGA movie or not, we're basically now a fandom with closed canon yet there's lots of enthusiasm and it seems like natural fandom drift hasn't meant losing the SGA love.
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?
Why wouldn't I ship them? I've always shipped characters who have that bit of antagonistic friendship thing going and John and Rodney fit so nicely into that. They're different but they fit together so very well.
My favourite Rodney scene is not necessarily his best scene: the Chair scene in Tao Of Rodney. I'd liked him before then but that was the first time I'd thought 'wow, hot'. Likewise, my favourite John scene is his “I can't.” from Miller's Crossing - again, maybe not the best scene but the love he has there for Rodney is blinding.
I find it very hard to ship John with anyone other than Rodney, whereas Rodney is the little black dress of SGA slash - he goes well with everyone and I'm especially fond of Rodney/Radek and Rodney/Ronon.
Why did you choose to join Team Peace?
I love angst and strife, fighting impossible odds, but when I finish a story, I always want a happy ending. Being peaceful doesn't always have to be all about sparkly unicorns, rainbows and kittens, though, in this fandom, that certainly helps.
Also, have you seen who else is here? Awesome peoples. Awesome.
C'mon, you know you wanna! Just a bit of squee about your Match fic?
I'm loving that I'm writing something that's a little different for me.
What are your 'tells'? How can a fic of yours be spotted in the wild?
Not that it helps you much here but it's usually a drabble! I have a terrible weakness for puns and two-percenter jokes, geeky references, explicit sex and men telling other men they love them without using that L word. I also love semicolons.
Now with added questiony goodness!
What's your favorite dessert? (kassrachel)
If I'm being good with my diabetic control, strawberry flavoured sugar free jelly. If I'm being honest, crème brûlée.
Where do you do most of your writing? Do you have a desktop or do you take a laptop and just veg out in the living room and let it all out? (altyronsmaker)
I have a desktop, surrounded by fannish things, but sitting there often feels too much like work. Whilst I'm now a zillion times better following my op, radiotherapy and chemotherapy I still get tired far more easily than I'd like. Right now, I prefer to write sitting on my bed with my netbook perched on a draughtsman's drawing board resting on pillows on my knee.
I'm far too easily distracted to write downstairs with other people around and the television on.
also: what kind of beta reader are you? (altyronsmaker)
I'm probably not as critical as I should be but there's only ever been one fic that I wished my name wasn't associated with as beta - and it certainly wasn't by anyone on my flist (see above 'surrounds self with awesome people' statement).
I always enjoy reading through people's interests on their profile, especially when it's something no one else has listed. If you can tell us, what does "qing ri" mean? (or mean to you?) (hyperfocused)
Qing ri is one of those things that only fans understand, like “David Hewlett's heart-shaped ass”. It's from Firefly and it means “Blue Sun” and that's a whole 'nother post's worth to talk about. Basically, however, Firefly was an excellent show- cowboys in space, what's not to love? Above how cool I thought the show was, some of the actors take it to sub-zero when dealing with fans. This willingness to relate to their fans is something I also think is fantastic about certain SGA actors.
What's your favorite McShep cliché? (velocitygrass)
I'm taking the term cliché here as a positive one; I have a great fondness for genderswap that has a point, for telepathy/body sharing and pining!John/oblivious!Rodney - is it truly a cliché if it's canon? My absolute favourite, however, is domestic McShep.
What are three songs in your personal writing soundtrack--it could be songs that you write to, or songs that you hear and think of SGA characters. (pollitt)
Dido's “White Flag”
I know I left too much mess and destruction/To come back again/And I caused nothing but trouble/I understand if you can't talk to me again/I'm in love and always will be
is the perfect post-Trinity McShep lemon chicken song - and I don't now always immediately think of Angel when I hear it.
Goldfrapp's “Ooh La La”
Dial up my number now/Weaving it through the wire/Switch me on/Turn me up
makes me think what a slut Atlantis is for John. She's the only one he'd even consider throwing Rodney over for.
Queen's “You're My Best Friend”
My feelings are true/I really love you/Oh you're my best friend
is, well, they are best friends. And all the good and all the bad of that is what makes their relationship so great.
And... we're done. I'm happy to answer any additional questions you have, however random. I'm so looking forward to all the wonderful fic and art!
Be seeing you.