The author we’re spotlighting this week is one with nearly 100 fics on AO3, the awesome Tanya (@magneticdice / @ghostofgallavich) aka magneticdice. Her most famous fics include Home, a/s/l, Company Man and Classified.
GT: Tell me about your nickname, magneticdice. Where does it come from?
T: Back in the days of AOL and instant messenger (showing my true age here!), I wanted a screen name that was made of actual words so that it’d be easy to remember. Dice are random, like life, but they are almost always in pairs... so I think of it like, even though there’s this randomness in life, you are still drawn “magnetically” to your perfect pair... I know it’s lame/corny, but I’ve married my soulmate who was from a different country than me so why can’t I believe in fate within all of life’s chaos?
GT: Ok, now tell me a bit about yourself.
T: I don’t think much of myself. I’ve dealt with depression and weight issues for 25 years, pretty serious health problems for the last 10 years... I’m just tired. I want a loooooong vacation. I want to quit my job and write a novel. I had this fantastic Gallavich fic in the works but about a quarter of the way through, my little brother passed away from cancer and suddenly I lost the will to write. For the last 2 years, I’ve had an office job, giving me the perfect environment to write, but nothing comes out. Work, family, life... everything is exhausting.
Other than that, I have two adorable kids. I swear they are really cute, despite my husband and I not being that good looking. Somehow our kids came out beautiful! They’re 7 and 5 now, and growing so quickly. I joined the Gallavich fandom about 4 months before my first kid was born, so that puts things into perspective! I remember being in the delivery room and writing a fic on my phone! 😂
GT: I remember you had your daughter in a onesie I think? And it said Gallavich or something like that?
T: Noel Fisher fan in training!
GT: Tell me about fanfiction. Do you remember when you started reading it?
T: I remember exactly the moment I read it for the first time. I watched episode 3x666 and my heart broke. I couldn’t wait until the following week—I needed to fill the void. I did a search on google for Ian and Mickey, found a story on fanfiction.net by themintsauce, and then I fell deep down that rabbit hole... That was literally the first fic I ever read.
GT: Was it The Halfway House?
T: YES. And there was one more, the one where Mickey loses his memory but he remembers that Offspring song “so dance fucker dance, you never had a chance…”. It is my all-time fave fic.
GT: Is it Amnesia?
T: hahahahahahahahahaha. Thank you. Yes, that’s it. I’m gonna read it again tomorrow
GT: Ok, so you told me about the first fic you ever read. What about writing? What made you want to start writing fics?
T: Thinking about Ian and Mickey being in such a shitty situation, I thought to myself... what if they could escape the south side? How would they all change? Would Mickey even be the same person? And because I couldn’t read a fic about something like that, I decided to write it myself. So my first fic ever (Home) was an AU with Mickey and Mandy leaving Chicago and finding someplace new to call home. It was insanely long for a first fic and kept switching points of view. I would have done things very differently if I could go back, but people still read it and like it (according to their comments) so maybe it wasn’t as cringe-worthy as I think it was!
GT: What's the most fun thing about writing Gallavich? What's the most difficult thing?
T: The most fun thing about writing Gallavich fanfiction is that I get to constantly give happy endings to these characters that I am so invested in. I don't need them to constantly suffer or deal with hardships like they do on the show. I feel like the writers don’t even respect them. They just want a laugh, no matter how bad or unbelievable the hijinx are. I can only think of two fics I've ever written that I didn't give a happy ending in. Out of [almost] 100, that’s not a bad fail-rate. The most difficult thing is the hate. I guess I don’t need to elaborate on that. I wish people could separate it from constructive criticism, which I would actually welcome.
GT: Have you ever written for other fandoms?
T: Ummmmmm, i want to say no; technically no. I've written two crossover fics that used elements from another ‘verse. “the dresden files” was one of them [for Club Zero], and I believe it was for a crossover challenge YOU set up! lol. [It was Gallavich Week 2013] I remember that I borrowed some elements from “Dead Like Me” for my fic “Company Man” (which is by far the fic I am the moooost proud of).
GT: It's my favorite of yours too. So good!!
T: One time I also tried writing a crossover with the Tortall universe by Tamora Pierce, but I stopped after a few chapters. - it felt like copying so I stopped.
GT: Would you ever consider it or are you done with fanfiction in general?
T: I like reading fics from a couple of other fandoms, but I would never write for any other ship. Gallavich moves my heart like no other. But I used to like reading Sterek fics, Thor/Loki omegaverse (I know, SO taboo!) and now the only thing other fandom I read is Captain America/Winter Soldier - romanticalgirl writes some amazing stuff that i just inhale within a matter of hours. I still want to write. I want to finish my 100 ways to say I love you series, and the sequel to Company Man.
GT: I will be excited to read both, whenever that happens. Do you prefer writing Ian or Mickey?
T: Mickey. 100%. He is my love and needs to be protected at all costs.
GT: Who are your favorite characters aside from Ian and Mickey? Do you write them too?
T: The only other character I enjoy writing for is Mandy.
GT: What kind of fics do you write the most?
T: I enjoy writing multi chapter AUs the most, but they usually include fluff, smut AND angst in them! The only thing I suck at is canon! I tried writing a long canon fic for one of the Shameless Big Bangs one year, but I deleted it a week in and started another AU from scratch. That’s more my comfort zone.
GT: What does your writing process look like? Do you outline? Do you post as soon as the chapter is done or do you accumulate chapters before you start posting?
T: I neverrrrrrrr write without a plan. The inspiration for a fic hits and I already know the setting and the ending, as well as key plot points. Then I outline it and fill in the gaps to get me from one plot point to the next. I try as hard as I can to wait until a fic is done before I post anything because I can't handle the pressure to finish with people depending on me. But you know what? I feel like part of the reason I stopped writing is also because I lost touch with some of my fandom friends. Without the daily chat about writing for these characters (and without my beta), it kind of got less exciting. It is muuuuuch more difficult to write when you’re alone. For like 2 years, I used to chat about Gallavich on a daily basis, not exaggerating.
GT: How much research do you typically do before or during writing?
T: Never any research beforehand! But usually it’s about recreational drug use and stuff like that (which i do not have any experience with) or mobs/murder/prostitution and that only pops up mid-writing when I realize i have NO idea what i’m trying to say. I jump in and flounder. I had to look up the gods of the underworld for Company Man and I read up on tarot cards for another short fic.
GT: What are your favorite type of comments to receive?
T: Dude, anything. Just knowing that someone read what I wrote and took the time to write a comment is exciting enough! So one thing that is kiiind of annoying is when people comment after every chapter and ask questions. Like, I wrote it so long ago that I don’t remember what happened in chapter 3?! haha sorry but without more context I can not help youuuu! But I still love that you’re excited by the fic ❤ Lately any comment for Company Man makes me happy. So many readers asked for the sequel.
GT: You said CM is your favorite that you've written too. Is it your favorite because of the response it got or is there another reason?
T: It’s my favorite because I took a whole 2 months to plan it out and get it written. I was extra motivated because of the amazing art that accompanied it by @theunforgivngminute! The positive reception also helped. But yeah, it was one of the last things I wrote and I like to believe my writing was better at that point than when i had first begun.
GT: Ugh, I love theunforgivngminute's manips! They're perfect! Aside from Amnesia, what are some of your favourite fics in the fandom? Do you have any favourite authors?
T: We mentioned amnesia and halfway house. there’s also shitw. Meganface, stitchandrepair, romanticalgirl… There was one fic where [redacted] ended up being a serial killer or something?
GT: Teenagers scare the living thing out of me.
GT: I know I've read this one, but I can't remember the name of it.
T: YES. That’s it. That was a classic. There is also the fic where Mickey moves to NY (I think?) and he has these awesome friends and then ian comes to visit as Mandy’s boyfriend but he and Mickey hook up, but Mickey is oblivious to the fact that Mandy is just Ian's beard? Then Ian also moves there and becomes a personal trainer and they bond more and eventually they hook up at the gym in the locker room and there’s so much drama but it all works out in the end. I mean, I know that is a terrible summary, but those were the highlights I remember.
[EDIT: It's A Move Too Far]
T: Okay also another favorite of mine is a fic that I co-wrote, because the half that I didn’t write myself still gives me all the feels. It’s called When one closes, another one opens and all that shit.
GT:I've never co-written a fic. Always been curious about it though. How does that work?
T: This was one of the best writing experiences ever. I had this idea, but I wasn’t feeling confident enough to write it. There were a lot of dark parts. and my friend who wrote it with me was SO good at writing those. So we talked it out, came up with the format (many flashbacks) and wrote it in a shared google doc. I could see what she added and vice-versa. We just wrote each bit as we went along. She is in the UK and I’m on the east coast so it worked out that we took turns. Paragraph by paragraph, always building on what the other wrote. I wish I could do it again. And it didn’t seem like two distinct voices in the fic — at least i hope not! It meshed very well. Also, it’s a kid!fic so that was new for me too! Just so much fun overall, being excited about making something with such a talented writer as Billie is.
GT: What are your favorite tropes? Friends to lovers, enemy to lovers, meet cute, meet ugly, bed sharing, soulmates...
T: Okay okay, all of those. I love it all. Gimme all the fics. Soulmate fics are a guilty pleasure when done right, like the one where they saw color once they met. Enemy to lovers.... isn’t that canon for us? hahaha
GT: What's a fanfic pet peeve of yours?
T: Using the same expressions over and over, Ian being called firecrotch, anyone referring to Mickey as an ex-con can gtfo... talking about Ian’s “shit-eating grin” — who came up with that?? I hate it. I hate when people write “the brunet/the redhead” over and over and over. I know I was guilty of this in the beginning but I tried to stop as soon as I was called out on it. :) Also, I know I am probably alone on this one, but any fics that include Frank just annoy the crap out of me. Annnnnnd I to this day think Lip is an asshole and hate reading fics where he isn’t portrayed as the dick he is, it gets on my nerves.
Can we go back to an earlier question? Hardest thing about writing: not to sound repetitive when writing smut.
GT: What’s your favorite season of Shameless? Do you have a favorite episode?
T: I loved the vibes of the beginning of season 5. Like the first 2 episodes of that season, this idyllic modern family, before the mental health issues and jealousy kicked in. But really season 3 was my fave because it was the most gripping for me, and brought me to the fandom.
GT: Do you have a favorite Gallavich scene?
T: Mickey saying sorry it took so long and hugging Ian in bed and kissing his forehead. Or when he called Ian his boyfriend. Actually, when Mickey kissed Ian for the first time, I pick that. The little peck in the van - it was so genuine, so carefree.
GT: If you could go back and change one thing in canon, what would it be?
T: When mickey said “don’t”. I would make him finish his thought and tell Iian his true feelings. Or maybe 3x6, don’t let Terry catch them?
GT: You mentioned you'd like to finish your 100 ways to say I love you drabbles and the sequel to Company Man. Is there anything else you'd like to write someday?
T: hahaha I have another AU in mind but I will most probably make it into a regular fiction novel! Just need to create a new Mickey and Ian, somehow!
GT: Ok, that was it! Thank you so much for doing this!
