Nile/Booker
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Nile Freeman / Booker |
| Alternative name(s): | Book of Nile |
| Gender category: | |
| Fandom: | The Old Guard |
| Canonical?: | |
| Prevalence: | |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Nile Freeman/Booker is a rarepair in The Old Guard fandom between Nile Freeman and Sebastien le Livre. The primary basis for the ship comes from subtext.
Fandom History
Nile/Booker, also called Book of Nile, was a ship envisioned by some fans in the Old Guard fandom in August 2020, about a month after the movie was released.
A notable piece of meta is "The Book of Nile Manifesto" by spectral-seirios.
TLDR: shipping Book of Nile is an act of warfare against misogynoir and you are all legally required to do so.[1]
The key motivations given in the manifesto were to increase the number of Nile-centric fanfiction in the fandom overall; to recognize her place as the lead character; and to create a romantic pairing in the fandom which some fans considered non-competitive with other major ships, including Andy/Quynh. Justifications for the ship were provided by others, who contributed quotes included in the manifesto. There are also ties to Booker's story arc:
at its heart Book of Nile is about booker choosing to become a better person because nile helps him to realise that there are things in the world worth living for again, and it’s about nile having a place of refuge in someone who has no expectations of her and doesn’t need her to be put together to enjoy her company. nile is not fragile but she certainly is going to go through a lot in the first 80 years or so of her immortality and I think booker can help her with that, even if it’s by just sitting with her in silence. it’s a very beautiful ship when you give it the consideration it needs and deserves. and if you’ve been paying attention you’ll notice that not one of us enthusiasts have nile doing any fixing of booker!! he does all the work and she reaps the benefits!!
I will leave you with the Book of Nile server constitution (written by yours truly, although it was decreed by god, I am just the messenger):
rule 1: booker must be good in bed so that nile gets amazing sex for the rest of her life
rule 2: you must express how much you hate it here and that you were forced to ship it without consent
[1]
The ship appears to be partly humourous especially given the conclusion. However, it also has a more serious goal of drawing attention to Nile as the protagonist of the film and generating more content focused on her and her happiness as a woman of colour.
Based on works posted to Ao3, by 25 September 2020, the romantic pairing of Nile/Booker had become the most popular relationship for Nile, overtaking the femslash pairing Andy/Nile Freeman.[2] Between September and December 2020, the number of fanworks in this pairing more than doubled.[3] It remains the most popular pairing for Nile and the third most popular pairing in the fandom. There was also a considerable increase in gen fics featuring Nile and Booker during this time.[4]
Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Booker seeking to become a healthier person and redeem himself prior to initiating his relationship with Nile
Example Fanworks
Fanart
Fanfic
- Five Times Booker Broke His Exile and the One Time He Did Not by sphinx81 on AO3. A 6-chapter work where Booker crosses paths with his fellow Immortals during his exile.
- Gifted by The_Moon_When_I_Am_Lost on AO3. An early Book of Nile work cross-posted to Tumblr.
- everywhere on earth you go (you're gonna have me) by nondz (pinkjook) on AO3. "The inherent romance of the buddy system"; at 22k words this fic is among the longest works in the tag as of early September. The fic was crossposted by the author on Tumblr.
- In The Amber Of The Moment by d on AO3. Nile wanders the Earth in search of meaning, carrying on a romance of sorts with Booker.
Meta
- The Book of Nile Manifesto by spectral-seiros on Tumblr (Archived version). Considered the seminal meta work to explain the Book of Nile ship.
Archives & Links
- Nile/Booker at Archive of Our Own
- Book of Nile collection at Archive of our Own
References
- ^ a b The Book of Nile Manifesto by spectral-seiros on Tumblr (Archived version), August 24 2020, Accessed August 29 2020.
- ^ Archived page of Nile Freeman works on Ao3 as of 25 September 2020.
- ^ On Sept 25 2020, there were 71 Nile/Booker fics on Ao3. By Dec 15 2020, there were 199 fics.
- ^ 81 Nile & Booker fics on 25 September. This increased to 134 fics by 15 December 2020