Category: fandom

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Highlights of Star Wars April Fools: We’re all mad here

viii-tweets-mh-aprilfoolApril Fools was not particularly fruitful for Star Wars fans this year, but there were a few highlights. The champion’s crown goes to Mark Hamill, who led fans on about an Episode VIII “plot point” in his quest for a “#HAMILLION followers.” Whatever, it was dad joke adorable. See the collected tweets.

Also on Twitter, Charles de Lauzirika faked up a shockingly on-brand cover for a big J.W. Rinzler The Making of the Star Wars Holiday Special, which we all almost wish was real.

Then there’s Tor.com, which played it almost straight with a nice Han Solo obituary.

I can’t say I’m particularly enthralled with it, but IGN got a lot of play for their fanboy-baiting trailer for Star Wars: Fury of Maul.

And yes, Club Hux was indeed a joke. (It started on Twitter, and was so well-received I took it to Tumblr and Facebook as well. Sorry about anyone who saw it on all three.) So yes, we will remain Club Jade, and the fic archive won’t be reopening for Kylux. Anyone who fell for it can expect a visit from Millicent.

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Fanfic in the mainstream: The Atlantic discovers Reylo

tfa-kylo-rey

In a post-50 Shades of Gray world, it seems like mainstream coverage of fan fiction is all but inevitable. And sure enough, here comes the Atlantic with a look at the fic prompted by The Force Awakens, with a focus on perhaps the most controversial ‘ship of all: Reylo.

For those who have remained blissfully unaware, Reylo is the portmanteau (ahh, modern fandom) for Rey/Kylo Ren. It’s by far the most popular new heterosexual pairing for The Force Awakens on the major fandom fic archive, Archive of Our Own (aka AO3,) with 1330 works. Finnrey (Finn/Rey) may have more canon support, but less than 500 fics. (Just over 500 is Jedistormpilot, aka Rey/Finn/Poe.)

The Atlantic article is, as these things go, not bad. It at least touches on most of the major ships that are flooding AO3, and it’s pretty clear of the ‘teehee, girls writing gay sex’ subtext that we frequently saw back at the height of Harry Potter fandom.

That said, slash (male/male pairings) still rules modern fandom, and The Force Awakens is no different. Both major slash pairings for the film top Reylo and Finnrey combined, with tags for Stormpilot (Finn/Poe) and Kylux (Kylo/Hux) both hosting over 2000 works. These numbers aren’t scientific, of course – AO3 writers can and do tag multiple ships for the same works, and not all fics are even about ‘ships. But it gives you a general idea.

However, Star Wars has rarely followed general fandom trends, and a lot of what we’re seeing here on AO3 is a post-movie flood that’s likely to die down as other films (Captain America: Civil War is a likely candidate) divert attention. What will the fanfic landscape look like a year from now? Or by the time Episode VIII is launching trailers? Who knows.

In the interest of, um, science or something, feel free to recommend your favorite The Force Awakens fics in the comments. All pairings and ratings are welcome, just be clear with your labeling. (Yes, basic HTML works.)

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Wear Star Wars Every Day: Week 12 & a Plea!

#WearStarWarsEveryDay completes Week 12! I get a bit goofy with another week full of shirts, all lent again by Brian! This update covers March 18 to March 24 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope! I would really love your help! Right now, the total of per-day pledges is a sad $3.95/per day. That seems like a silly number. It would be really nice to have a nice round dollar amount, like $4 or even $5. So help me out, and make a per-day pledge! If you can spare a dime each day or a quarter each day or even more, I would really appreciate it, and I bet Collateral Repair Project and the refugees they provide assistance to would also appreciate it. And if you sign up for a pledge now, before April 15, I will let you start your donation at April 1, instead of going all the way back to January 1, when I started this effort. So please, please, please, help Collateral Repair Project out! If I continue to the end of the year, a dime a day for the last 9 months will only be $27.70.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!

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Wear Star Wars Every Day: Week 11


Recapping week eleven of #WearStarWarsEveryDay! It’s a week full of shirts, most of them lent by Brian, with one shirt donated by Tricia of Fangirls Going Rogue! Plus, I go out side for a St. Patrick’s Day picture with a friend! This update covers March 11 to March 17 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!

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TheForce.Net shuts down flagship ForceCast podcast

ForceCastTheForce.net shut down their flagship podcast, the ForceCast, yesterday. The actual announcement from TFN content manager Dustin Roberts is brief, but almost all the background on what led up to it has played out on Twitter and Facebook, with the relevant bits helpfully gathered up by Brian over at Tosche Station.

UPDATE: Ex-manager/host Erik Blythe gave his side of the story in a live Q&A last night. You can listen to that here.

The whole situation is pretty odd, to say the least. The ForceCast had long since ceased to be the podcast for the fandom, but it is certainly the end of an era.

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Wear Star Wars Every Day: Weeks Nine & Ten


We got a double dose of a recap for weeks nine and ten of #WearStarWarsEveryDay! More shirts and other apparel items from Tom, Ryan, and Beth, as well as a Day 66 – Order 66 costume. This recap covers February 26 to March 10 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!

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Wear Star Wars Every Day: Week Eight


For the eighth week of #WearStarWarsEveryDay, I wear a full seven days of shirts lent by my friend Tom. Is he a fan of the Empire? Perhaps so! This recap covers February 19 – 25 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees. Sadly no donations this week, but if you want to make next week better, how about a Leap Day challenge: just chip in a dollar for each day in February, and you’ll be providing more than one month of food for one refugee!

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!