Waves Hi, Gives the State of the Elr
Jul. 4th, 2021 01:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elrhiarhodanIt's been a long fucking while...
Has much happened? Checks life? Yeah.
Do I want to go into it? Nope.
What I'm here to report is that I've fallen into a new fandom. Gods, one I've never, ever expected.
Star Wars.
You might ask, how in all the Sithhells did that happen? (see, I'm even using SW expletives).
Blame The Mandalorian. And specifically, the last five minutes of the last episode of the second season. Yeah, THAT scene. The one that redeems OUR HERO. The one who got so badly treated in The Sequels. I'd started casually looking at Mando fanfic while binge-watching the first two seasons, but because Mando steadily avoiding becoming the main character in his own story, there wasn't a lot there (just a lot of reader-insert fic that doesn't do it for me). Yeah, actually I need to correct myself, I found a lot of good-dad Mando fic, which was a rarity in the fandom, since Star Wars is littered with horrendous dads, starting with Qui-Gon and ending with Han Solo (and in between we've got inept but trying hard Obi-Wan and murderous Darth Vader, not to mention evil father-figure Sheeve, let's not even bother trying Yoda, and closed off and withholding Uncle Owen).
Those last moments spawned a whole new fandom - the Din/Luke ship. Which is the Clint/Coulson of the SW fandom. And that is fine. Lots of activity, lots of unique stories. I'm having fun with my own AU. And all would be well if I just kept to that one ship.
BUT NO. Of course not. I had to branch out. A friend mentioned she shipped Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, and at the time, I didn't see that. Qui-Gon had been an utter bastard to Obi-Wan in TPM and then had the bad taste to die. But then I read a story...
AND GOT HOOKED.
From there, I got in invite to the Qui/Obi Discord server and met a lovely bunch of people, many who had been in the ship fandom for years (or in some cases, decades). I have to confess, I'd lurked on the Din/Luke Discord server for months and never even said hello - the discourse there was extremely youth-focused and I felt very out of place.
But my SW journey doesn't end there.
I'm all over the place with rare pairs. And it seems the rarer, the better. Obi-Wan/Mace, Obi-Wan/Bail, Obi-Wan/Jango Fett. Yeah, Obi-Wan's my fandom bicycle.
Obi-Wan/Luke (if Obi's played by Ewan and not Alec).
And Luke - I've seen the light and will forever be a Luke/Han shipper (why is this a rare pair?). I'll also admit to Luke/Leia (and yes, even if they know they're sibs, and don't scream at me, 'kay?). Sith!Luke is popping up frequently. Sith!Leia, too. (I have a story in my head about Sith!Leia, Han, and an alternative way the Rebel Alliance got the plans for the Death Star).
Then there's Boba/Din/Luke. Boba/Cobb/Din. Boba/Fennec/Cobb. Boba and spit-roasting. /o\ Leave me alone.
I've got it so bad, I'm dreaming in Star Wars now. But it's either The Mandalorian or the Original Trilogy, or prequel fanfic only. I don't acknowledge the sequels beyond the most general ideas (what they did to my beloveds is inexcusable), and while the prequels are still pretty crappy, there are good ideas in them that can be rewritten - and have been by twenty years of dedicated fanfic writers.
And oh, there are some fantastic writers in the fandom. I honestly think I'm reading a lot of work by pro-fic writers - either early stuff, or fan-fic written on the down-low.
Bless AO3 for their OpenDoors project and all of the 'zines they've imported into the Archive over the last decade. Brilliant stuff - and yeah, some not-so-brilliant stuff, but still, it's wonderful to read fic that was written and published back in 1997 (looking at you, Elusive Lover, a Han/Luke 'zine). The stuff written back then? Really plot-focused - like everything had to be a mini-movie or novel. Less focused on the feels back then, more on the go-go-go of action and plot. Not necessarily bad, just very different. If anyone wants recs, let me know in a comment.
Ugh, I'm running out of steam here. Had other things I wanted to say, but I'm going to leave them for another (hopefully) more coherent post. Thanks for reading, hope you don't need the brain bleach.
Has much happened? Checks life? Yeah.
Do I want to go into it? Nope.
What I'm here to report is that I've fallen into a new fandom. Gods, one I've never, ever expected.
Star Wars.
You might ask, how in all the Sithhells did that happen? (see, I'm even using SW expletives).
Blame The Mandalorian. And specifically, the last five minutes of the last episode of the second season. Yeah, THAT scene. The one that redeems OUR HERO. The one who got so badly treated in The Sequels. I'd started casually looking at Mando fanfic while binge-watching the first two seasons, but because Mando steadily avoiding becoming the main character in his own story, there wasn't a lot there (just a lot of reader-insert fic that doesn't do it for me). Yeah, actually I need to correct myself, I found a lot of good-dad Mando fic, which was a rarity in the fandom, since Star Wars is littered with horrendous dads, starting with Qui-Gon and ending with Han Solo (and in between we've got inept but trying hard Obi-Wan and murderous Darth Vader, not to mention evil father-figure Sheeve, let's not even bother trying Yoda, and closed off and withholding Uncle Owen).
Those last moments spawned a whole new fandom - the Din/Luke ship. Which is the Clint/Coulson of the SW fandom. And that is fine. Lots of activity, lots of unique stories. I'm having fun with my own AU. And all would be well if I just kept to that one ship.
BUT NO. Of course not. I had to branch out. A friend mentioned she shipped Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, and at the time, I didn't see that. Qui-Gon had been an utter bastard to Obi-Wan in TPM and then had the bad taste to die. But then I read a story...
AND GOT HOOKED.
From there, I got in invite to the Qui/Obi Discord server and met a lovely bunch of people, many who had been in the ship fandom for years (or in some cases, decades). I have to confess, I'd lurked on the Din/Luke Discord server for months and never even said hello - the discourse there was extremely youth-focused and I felt very out of place.
But my SW journey doesn't end there.
I'm all over the place with rare pairs. And it seems the rarer, the better. Obi-Wan/Mace, Obi-Wan/Bail, Obi-Wan/Jango Fett. Yeah, Obi-Wan's my fandom bicycle.
Obi-Wan/Luke (if Obi's played by Ewan and not Alec).
And Luke - I've seen the light and will forever be a Luke/Han shipper (why is this a rare pair?). I'll also admit to Luke/Leia (and yes, even if they know they're sibs, and don't scream at me, 'kay?). Sith!Luke is popping up frequently. Sith!Leia, too. (I have a story in my head about Sith!Leia, Han, and an alternative way the Rebel Alliance got the plans for the Death Star).
Then there's Boba/Din/Luke. Boba/Cobb/Din. Boba/Fennec/Cobb. Boba and spit-roasting. /o\ Leave me alone.
I've got it so bad, I'm dreaming in Star Wars now. But it's either The Mandalorian or the Original Trilogy, or prequel fanfic only. I don't acknowledge the sequels beyond the most general ideas (what they did to my beloveds is inexcusable), and while the prequels are still pretty crappy, there are good ideas in them that can be rewritten - and have been by twenty years of dedicated fanfic writers.
And oh, there are some fantastic writers in the fandom. I honestly think I'm reading a lot of work by pro-fic writers - either early stuff, or fan-fic written on the down-low.
Bless AO3 for their OpenDoors project and all of the 'zines they've imported into the Archive over the last decade. Brilliant stuff - and yeah, some not-so-brilliant stuff, but still, it's wonderful to read fic that was written and published back in 1997 (looking at you, Elusive Lover, a Han/Luke 'zine). The stuff written back then? Really plot-focused - like everything had to be a mini-movie or novel. Less focused on the feels back then, more on the go-go-go of action and plot. Not necessarily bad, just very different. If anyone wants recs, let me know in a comment.
Ugh, I'm running out of steam here. Had other things I wanted to say, but I'm going to leave them for another (hopefully) more coherent post. Thanks for reading, hope you don't need the brain bleach.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 07:30 pm (UTC)And I just realized (to the surprise of no one who reads my tumblr) that I have a major Obi-Wan/Anakin situation.
And Din/Luke has so many possibilities.
Hi!
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 07:40 pm (UTC)Have I seen your tumblr? I don’t think so… Who are you there? I’m me everywhere so if you just want to![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
me so I can follow you, that’s fine.
If you want some serious quality Obikin, may I recommend Treescape on AO3 (unless you are Treescape and then I will bow down once again to your brilliance because, as I’ve said in my comments to those fics, I’m not an Obikin shipper, but I can’t stay away from them). If you’re not Treescape, you must read their work, it’s exceptional.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 07:46 pm (UTC)And no, I haven't posted anything Obi-Wan/Anakin (yet) except a piece of SW/Discworld gen.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 07:53 pm (UTC)I’m picky, too - since I honestly hate any ship with Anakin in it. So for me to actually read and enjoy a story with Anakin and my beloved Obi-Wan in it is something else.
Now, I do have to say that Treescape’s stories are mostly porn with feels. So if that’s NOT you thing, then you should avoid. But do check out their Din/Luke. Which has plot.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 08:25 pm (UTC)*eyes the other window, where she is co-writing porn with feelings to the tune of 30K and counting* Porn with feelings is good. It is also nice to get a spot of plot in the Din/Luke, since they have less pre-existing plot to hang the feelingsmut on.
Just in case you haven't found her yet, let me rec misskirby @ tumblr, whose SW meta is goddamn exquisite.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 10:50 pm (UTC)And another rec - Don't be afraid. by another favorite author who I found through the Din/Luke fandom. This one draws heavily on the mythos of the Jedi Apprentice books by Jude Watson and Dave Wolverton, but does a swap - Obi-Wan becomes Anakin's apprentice. It's honestly all hurt/comfort and feels and Obi-needs-a-hug and Anakin's Not An Asshole (but the Council Should Be Shot En Masse). I hadn't read any of the tags and at the time, hadn't even heard of the JA books and was very confused when I started reading, but was swiftly hooked.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 11:08 pm (UTC)If you're into Qui/Obi, and various rarer Obi pairings, and haven't already hit up the Master-Apprentice Archive, I must point you there immediately!
no subject
Date: 2021-07-04 11:18 pm (UTC)Hello there old friend!
And yes, I have found it. It's been imported into AO3 and I've been having so much fun digging through it. So much Q/O goodness to be found there. Did you write anything? Anything you'd particularly recommend?
And yes, I'm having fun but I'm also not knowing what to do about all the dystopian ugliness in canon. Like learning that frozen Ilum where all the little Jedi younglings went to to get their first Kyber crystals became Starkiller Base and is now the star named Solo. Nothng good remains good in SW canon, which kills me, tbh.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-05 02:26 am (UTC)It's been years, but honestly, the TPM section of fandom was great at selectively applying whatever parts of canon they wanted: Qui-Gon lives; these three Jedi Apprentice books apply but not the rest; none of the EU applies but the author has borrowed a character from a novelisation set fifty years after the fic's timeline; pretty much any combination of canon and quasi-canon bits goes. :D It was delightful, and probably also was used as a way to avoid some of the dystopian elements that a given author didn't want to engage with.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-05 02:34 am (UTC)I'm working my way through the JA fandom on AO3 because I'm in the mood for angst and H/C right now - so much whumped Obi-Wan, it's almost unbearable. And yet I keep on reading...
no subject
Date: 2021-07-05 04:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-07-05 10:40 am (UTC)