Space Husbands!

The term Space Husbands really took off after Rogue One exploded into our psyches and took root to create new Star Wars mythos for fans tired of the lack of diversity in science fiction movies, indeed of the entire genre. To the immense delight of fans everywhere, Baze Malbus and Chirrut Îmwe appeared and the ship literally grew until it had fanfiction, fan art, fan mixes and other transformative works.

Kudos to Wen Jiang and Donny Yen who really fleshed out the personalities and characters of these two men. I feel emotional writing this because it is so rare to see such a loving and lovable relationship between the two. They also play off each other very well: Baze the strong and silent type, Chirrut the idealist and ever-optimistic. Likewise, the fact that they are Asian is a tremendous boost.

I am not embarrassed to say that I read fanfiction (and write it too). So, imagine my joy when I find the amount of Baze/Chirrut fanfic and fanart. It was…is… simply amazing. People are totally in love with the idea of Space Husbands who are loving partners who share their lives together in almost telepathic sync, thank the Force. Perhaps we all want to find a partner who is just as loving as Baze or Chirrut. Reading the stories are a delicious Turkish-delight sweetness for me. I believe, even in fandom and the sff community, we want to read and watch about individuals whom we care about deeply, but are also ideal partners we would want in real life. Book boyfriends and girlfriends fall into the same category. Only that for space husbands, space wives, space spouses, book boyfriends and girlfriends, they don’t leave the toilet seat up or piles of clothing on the floor. Or leave dishes unwashed in the kitchen sink. Our ideal partners would always help out in the household chores, rub our backs when we hurt or are sad, carry the groceries for us, and are great with kids. They might not argue back or sulk when we win an argument. They are eye candy and dream material.

I have to confess I have strange tastes in space husbands. People who know me will say that I have a certain interest in Warhammer 40K’s infamous inquisitor, Gregor Eisenhorn. But… I can dream on and imagine he’s the best, only that in the Imperium, the galaxy is always at war and there are no actual heroes. He’s not exactly tall, dark and handsome (Well, in Pixel Hero Games’s Eisenhorn: Xenos, he does look the part)… I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who would carry the bags of groceries for you or is super-intuitive to your every need. Inquisitors, as far as canon goes, can be and are ruthless as hell. I can’t just imagine an inquisitor with a bunch of freshly cut arum lilies or roses. Maybe a nice candle-lit dinner… You get the idea. Ahem.

So, let me throw this out to you gentle readers. Who are your space husbands, space wives, book boyfriends and girlfriends?