The Karnataka government lost the plot on malnutrition during the pandemic because anganwadi workers were deputed to vaccination-related activities especially in rural areas. “This diversion of anganwadi workers will take a toll on children in the years to come because many have been deprived for nearly one and a half years of proper nutritional support,” said a source from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). Another expert flagged the issue of immunisation being hit, which she said will lead to “aggravate” malnutrition. “During the pandemic, routine immunisation was affected. Increased incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases will in turn aggravate malnutrition. We are expecting a surge in kwashiorkor, marasmus, night blindness and rickets,” said Dr Sylvia Karpagam, a public health activist.
‘Thousands of malnourished kids in Karnataka, data shows’, Deccan Herald
Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.
Interview with Marasmus
Marasmus only has a handful of fics left at Gossamer, but you can find more X-Files fics at AO3 (as finisterre). Some of my favorites of her stories I've recced here before, including one of the most clever fics you could read, Cellphone (here at AO3), and the lovely, London-set A Candle for Katherine (here at AO3, bonus commentary at LJ). Big thanks to Marasmus for doing this 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)?
Mine, yes, older XF in general, no — some of that stuff is amazing. Though I wonder how well fandom operates now there is not a plethora of rec sites. I know of yours and one more Tumblr blog and that’s it. I find it really difficult to find good stories in any fandom unless someone whose taste maps to mine recommends something.
What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?
I look back on it fondly, but it was one of the first things that really hammered it home to me that every grouping throughout life follows the pattern of school.
A lot of people are really talented and funny and kind. Then there are absolute ego-rampaging nightmares who act like lady bountiful in public but do cruel things in private, or chuck their toys out of the pram at the least provocation.
And like school, fandom brings together a disparate group of people who you’re friendly with, but once you leave, the ones you stay in touch with are your friends.
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.)?
Thank God.
I watched the show pre-widespread internet and mostly when I had almost no money. I didn’t have regular internet access until the third season, and that was only at my incredibly conservative workplace. I didn’t get home internet access until midway through season six. You couldn’t download episodes easily, you couldn’t stream, you just had to wait until it aired overseas. I decided I didn’t care if I was spoiled and that worked for me. In fact for some particularly annoying episodes, I was glad.
I was a newsgroup and mailing list sort of person. Never really did message boards unless a newsgroup counts, though I had a Haven account.
What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?
Mostly, how talented people are. I know some are now professional writers, but so many people who didn’t do it as anything but a hobby were also amazing.
What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?
I always liked science fiction, oddness and urban legends, so it was kind of made for me. But it was the relationship between Mulder and Scully that kept me around, and after season six, it was the fandom that kept me around. I loved Scully in particular, cos let’s be honest, Mulder can be kind of a twerp at times.
What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?
I hung out on alt.tv.xfiles.analysis (a newsgroup), which was one of the smartest boards I’ve ever been on. The threads were full of well-read, erudite people. That led to a site which collated reviews of XF episodes. They mentioned alt.tv.xfiles.creative, and I got there the summer after Gethsemane, which was pretty optimal timing.
I’d take floppy disks into conservative workplace and quietly download the most gloriously filthy fanfic onto them for reading at home on my ancient second-hand Mac.
After that I joined Scullyfic, a mailing list, which was a lovely place to hang out for a while, and got stories through a couple of other mailing lists.
What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?
Like my relationship to ice hockey: glad that activity exists and that some people enjoy it, but not watching and not involved myself.
Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?
Reading, yes, and writing the odd bit of feedback, but any other fandom involvement didn’t really take. I’ve never found a bunch of people I liked as well as I liked some of the people in XF.
Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?
I am usually more interested in female characters than male ones (the Doctor, Mulder and Jack O’Neill notwithstanding), which is why I only read a bit of m/m slash. I usually develop a perverse dislike for any woobie the fandom loves.
Some favourites are: Samantha Carter and Jack O’Neill, Granny Weatherwax, Furiosa, everyone from The Good Place, Donna Noble, Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones and Yasmin Khan, Maia from The Goblin Emperor, Cordelia Naismith and Miles Vorkosigan, General Leia Organa, Rey and Finn, and lately all of The Old Guard, even Booker...
I like nerds, pining, best friends discovering feelings for each other, second chances, redemption narratives, people being sneaky for good ends and stoics who stay stoic through all kinds of misery, only to crack and start crying when they get a happy ending.
Basically, you know Eleanor at the end of the Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility? That.
Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?
No. I had about four years there where I made up stories about Mulder and Scully on any commute where I’d forgotten a book, but that’s gone now. I watched two episodes of the revival, but it wasn’t for me.
Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?
I occasionally wander in and read a bit on AO3, but nothing that deals with anything past season seven. Not interested in William, not interested in domestic fiction, not even interested in post-col any more, which was 100% my crack during XF fandom days. I did read By the Dim and Flaring Lamps [Lilydale note: by @sunflowerseedsandscience] earlier this year. Love a bit of AU historical.
I read lots of different fandoms, though I am between intense enthusiasms at the moment, which always feels a bit odd.
Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?
Yes, but they’re all about 20 years old. Is there such a thing as fandom classics any more? There used to be a litany of stories that ‘everyone should read’. I wonder how well they hold up now.
I think there are waves of writers who come into a fandom and then leave again: I think I was part of a second wave, with the first wave being Mustang Sally, RivkaT, Karen Rasch, Lydia Bower, Nascent etc.
Then there must’ve been a third wave for the revival (and mini-waves in between). I don’t know that group of writers, so I am probably leaving out people who are really good.
One of my favourite Scully voices is Five Years and One Night [Lilydale note: by Shalimar], because of the contrast between her inner monologue as written and how little she actually says.
I really like quieter, thoughtful authors like Michelle Kiefer, Cecily Sasserbaum, Scullysfan, Cofax, Anjou, Maria Nicole, Kipler. Love everything Kel ever wrote.
At one point there were also about three authors called Rachel who were knockout. I like to think Rachel Howard is writing professionally because it’s a waste of talent if she’s not. Rachel Anton had a crazy gift for pacing and wrote a good Krycek.
I really liked Branwell’s strange AU novels, which riff off The Field Where I Died (a wretched episode but so much good writing came from it.) [Lilydale note: Condemned to Repeat It by Branwell is a really long story involving The Field Where I Died.]
Everyone who is reccing other people’s stuff here is also a good writer. (and their taste in recs is — mostly — excellent):
http://www.thebasementoffice.com/museaxfnet/museans/TitlesAF.html
What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?
I like The Flexible Concept of Tomorrow. I loved trying to work out the timelines. I like the one about airships and cross-dressing which only exists on my iPhone and in my imagination right now.
Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?
Only an AU, if ever. I am completely at sea with canon.
Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?
In my head. Mostly AUs. Everyone has daemons! It’s an airship! They’re exploring space! It’s mediaeval Slovenia!
Most of my creativity is sucked away by work. Which is good I suppose, as writing fanfic never paid my Netflix subscription.
Where do you get ideas for stories?
Reading long-form journalism and non-fiction books.
What's the story behind your pen name?
Well, I changed mine. The first one was picked out of a magazine article about Branwell Bronte, and I liked the shape of the word. Then I got to feel uncomfortable with it because it was a real illness that made people suffer. The current one comes from the shipping forecast when I was a kid.
Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?
No, and also absolutely not. Over my dead body. Over YOUR dead body.
Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?
I took my stories off Gossamer but I don’t remember why. They’re on AO3 now and there are probably stray copies on some archives out there.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?
I have made all of these mistakes. All of ‘em.
— On no account offer unsolicited concrit. In fact, do not provide concrit EVEN IF THE PERSON ASKS FOR IT, unless you know them reasonably well and it’s in private.
— Avoid the wank. If you have the perfect riposte to something awful, write it and file it to drafts for two days. If you still want to send it after that, godspeed.
— Write anything you want, and when you start keep going. You can edit later.
— Never put any story into the public sphere unless you’ve had a second pair of eyes on it, preferably the eyes of someone who is willing to say “are you SURE about that?”
Finally, just have fun. Being in the grip of love of story is a wonderful thing, and you never know how long it will last.
If you think so, then Vader without Anakin is an empty mechanical doll that has the beginnings of the past, mentioned in passing. A villain turned villain for no reason. The dark side is what the Original Trilogy talk about and explains all of Vader's atrocities. A superficial villain who has depth, but comparable to a small pond. Anakin expands Vader's depth to the scale of a huge lake. Makes his sacrifice more valuable, reveals his personality, gives an understanding of why Vader became such. Expands knowledge about his injuries and mental throwing, his character. And I hate (I will repeat myself more than once) those people who are cool Vader - Anakin bullshit! Having a mind the size of a puddle ... Oh, fuck off, to be honest. What insane clinic were they released from? For ridiculous, far-fetched reasons, they ruined a good character and an actor with good potential (((Nothing will raise them in my eyes ... Nothing.
