The Rec Center #54
It’s taken us a while, but this week we’re sharing our first set of Rogue One fanfic recs! They’re mostly about Baze & Chirrut. Elsewhere on the internet, we’ve found a hilarious Yuri on Ice fan comic, some interesting coverage of how crowdfunding changed the game for queer and POC creators in geek culture, and more. — Gav
new stuff
“A guide to Tumblr’s favorite contemporary art feud: Stuart Semple vs. Anish Kapoor” by Gav at the Daily Dot
The Kapoor/Semple art feud (a.k.a. KAPOOPLE!) is all over Tumblr at the moment, and WE LOVE IT. Basically, a very rich artist (Kapoor) bought the rights to use the “blackest black substance in the world,” and another artist (Semple) decided to wreak his revenge by creating new art supplies that everyone else in the world can use except Kapoor. This story has everything: nanotechnology, pigment heists, surreal fanfiction, and extremely petty Instagram fights.
“OTW Guest Post: Smitha Milli” at the Organization for Transformative Works
A student researching artificial intelligence and cognitive science describes her work on “using natural language processing to reveal patterns in fanfiction.” SUPER interesting if you (like Elizabeth) are into exploring quantitative analyses of literature. :-)
“How Crowdfunding Changed the Game for Queer and PoC Creators In Geek Culture” by ihobbs at Blavity
“Both using our voices to raise their visibility and our dollars to breathe life into their vision feels more like an act of personal fulfilment than sponsorship.”
older stuff
“Why The Hell Dennis Hopper Did That Mario Movie” by Brian Ashcraft at Kotaku
Dennis Hopper’s explanation for why his role in the infamous 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie.
tumblr & beyond
A hilarious and very fake “oral history” of the making of Final Fantasy 7. (Editor’s note: neither of us know anything about Final Fantasy, yet somehow this is still funny? Here’s a link to the real oral history over at Polygon.)
A fanart comic of season 1 of Yuri on Ice from Yakov’s perspective, by madelezabeth. (DELIGHTFUL!)
“Is Shrek a Vulcan name?”
A vintage fan-letter complaining about Aquaman continuity to a very unimpressed DC Comics editor.
fanfiction
Baze & Chirrut fanart by endrae
Baze Malbus and Chirrut Imwe are the power couple of Rogue One, a mercenary and a Force-sensitive monk who became freedom fighters after the Empire occupied their home planet, Jedha. Their backstory is a little unclear, but we do know Baze used to be a monk like Chirrut, another Guardian of the Temple of the Whills on Jedha. For a more in-depth ship primer, click here! — Gav
“Between the shores of your souls” by imperfectcicle. 13.9K words, rated Teen.
Rec: A journey through Baze and Chirrut’s life together, from their childhood training as Guardians of the Whills, to their survival of the Empire occupation on Jedha. The characterization and dialogue in this fic are very on-point, and I found it to be a really heartfelt and interesting take on their backstory, especially the way the characters mature from childhood. My one point of confusion was the author describing them as “Jedi,” which I interpreted in the sense that they’re followers of the Jedi faith as Guardians, but not actual Jedi knights. Either way: easily my favorite Rogue One fic to date.
Content warnings: Major character death
“your carbon makes a star, and after that it’s all we are” by wolfhalls. 5K words, rated Explicit.
Rec: Another backstory fic, flashing forward from Baze and Chirrut’s youth to their final night together during the events of Rogue One. Romantic but melancholy, as you’d expect from the content of the movie.
Content warnings: N/A
“They Have Taken Photographs of Our Footprints in the Dust” by dharmaavocado. 4.5K words, rated Teen.
Rec: Baze and Chirrut lying to the Rogue One team how they got married, before flashing back to what actually happened. This fic has a really cute take on Baze & Chirrut’s banter, without detracting from the darker tones of the setting.
Content warnings: Major character death
“Hand in Hand” by inlovewithnight. 2.7K words, rated Teen.
Rec: I loved this backstory fic because it literally has Baze and Chirrut going on a date, but in a way that fits perfectly with the Jedha/Star Wars setting. Inlovewithnight chose to depict the characters meeting when Baze is a mercenary and Chirrut is already a monk, unlike some fics where they grow up together as acolytes in the Temple. There’s such a great range of backstory options for these characters!
Content warnings: N/A
Bonus fic:
“wrong place, wrong time” by hellotailor. 5.4K words, rated Teen.
Rec: Not strictly a rec, because... I wrote it. But I’m quite proud of how it turned out, and I hope people like it!
Summary: Baze and Chirrut meet for the first time on an Imperial prison ship, a long way from home.
‘You’re not a doctor, are you.’
‘I’m a monk,’ said Chirrut, and patted him on the chest. ‘So if you die from your wounds, I’ll know what to do with your spirit.’
Content warnings: N/A
Bonus fic #2:
Since this fic is about Cassian Andor and K-2SO, I’m including it here because I doubt we’ll ever share a rec list for this pairing alone. (It’s kind of a rarepair.)
“I am a Pilot of Precision” by lurrel. 3.3K words, rated Explicit.
Ship: Cassian Andor/K-2SO
Rec: Continuing on from the scene where K-2SO slaps Cassian in the face, this is a very well-characterized droid/human S&M story that really hones in on Cassian’s sense of misery and desperation throughout the film. K-2SO isn’t exactly attracted to him in a sexual sense (because... he’s a droid) but lurrel still manages to make the sex scene work in an interesting and compelling way.
Content Warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
During creator sign-ups we wrote about Fandom Trumps Hate, a charity fanworks auction to raise money for organizations that will be on the front lines fighting the new American administration. Those sign-ups are closed—but bidding on their work is open! Just a quick glance through the list of participating creators and the fandoms they work in is extraordinary—there’s such a huge variety. It’s not just fic and art: there are vidders and crafters and beta readers and Britpickers. So if you’d like to donate to organizations like the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the NRDC, TransLifeline and more, why not get some amazing fic in the process? — Elizabeth
New year, new call for fic recs! Our submission form is still open if you have a one-off rec. And if you’re interested in doing a full list or an explainer, please get in touch: hit reply, write elizabethandgav at gmail, or message one of us on social media. <3
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