The Rec Center #102
Why yes, it is Star Wars Week, how did you guess? We’ve got multi-ship Star Wars fic recs this week, plus Gav will give us some of her (spoiler-free) thoughts on The Last Jedi in the outro! — Elizabeth
new stuff
“2017 Reading Trend Report From Canada’s Wattpad: Diversity, Gender Issues, TV Fan Fiction” by Porter Anderson at Publishing Perspectives
A really interesting breakdown of some of the trends and stats from Wattpad this past year.
“The Multiplicity and Diversity of Fandom: An Interview with Fansplaining’s Flourish Klink and Elizabeth Minkel (Part Three)” by Henry Jenkins
Last week we shared parts one and two of Flourish and Elizabeth’s conversation with fan studies scholar Henry Jenkins. The final part, on slash, fandom history, and the multiplicity of fandom, is up!
“‘Hagrid Traded 400 Shares Of Apple Stock For His Hunk-Of-Shit Motorcycle And Then Had To Live In A Barn’: 5 Questions With Daniel Radcliffe” at Clickhole
“In my audition, I told J.K. Rowling that I thought that after Harry saves the wizarding universe he should work at a bank. I said I didn’t care about the other characters’ fates, let them fuck and die like mice.”
older stuff
“Star Wars, queer representation and the mainstreaming of slash” by Elizabeth at the New Statesman
When TFA came out there was a really persistent media narrative that I felt...warranted some commentary. I’ve already seen a bit of it again, and though the landscape around both shipping and representation has changed a fair bit over the past two years, a lot of this holds. As does my subtweet of JKR’s treatment of Remus/Sirius in the final bit—I will take that resentment to the grave. 🙃 — Elizabeth
tumblr & beyond
We don’t have art this week, so please enjoy this gif of Poe Dameron, embodying Art Itself.
You don’t need to know or like Rick & Morty to appreciate this Rick & Morty thread.
This person imagined a fake Star Wars news article in a dream and it is... truly a delight.
“Pretending that Age of Ultron never happened.”
Bullet-guns exist in the Star Wars universe, and they’re metal as hell.
Imagine if someone tattooed your 14-year-old self’s Invader Zim fanart onto their real human chest.
fanfiction
Come on, what else were we gonna do this week? This week’s stories from our submissions run the full Star Wars spectrum, from the prequels to TFA. Thanks, as always, to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“let us come back whole” by girlmarauders. 8K words, rated Mature.
Ship: Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso/Bodhi Rook
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Rogue One is the prequel to A New Hope that explains how the Death Star plans were stolen. Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor and Bodhi Rook all come from very different experiences, but are thrown together in the mission, and form a bond as they pursue this impossible mission.
Rec: “let us come back whole” is a really lovely story that lets all the characters live and integrate into the star wars canon. The ease that the characters fall in feels like it builds off the intense experiences of the film really well.
Content warnings: N/A
“Re-Entry” by Flamethrower. 568K words, rated Mature.
Ships: Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin/Padme
Recced by: SainaTsukino
Backstory: The ship of Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon started when the Phantom Menace (episode 1) came out, and had been a pretty strong slash ship in the prequels fandom since. It's basically a teacher/student ship.
Rec: Re-Entry is a huge story with incredibly compelling characters, a complex storyline that will keep you wanting more, and a perfect balance of emotional arcs, action, romance, and magic. Plus it’s got time travel.
Content warnings: Violence, torture, sex
“have you heard” by peradi. 42K words, rated Mature.
Ship: Poe/Finn/Rey
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Finn sparks a revolution of Stormtroopers.
Rec: This reads as a cross between a fairy tale and a breathtakingly well-done study of what it takes to spark rebellions (it takes hearts as well as minds).
Content warnings: [Full disclosure: we ran this rec, from another reccer, more than a year ago. We wanted to include it again since a large number of you have subscribed since then. This anon reccer left no warnings, but last year’s reccer did, so we definitely wanted to include them. As a reminder, please please please leave content warnings with your recs, for the benefit of your fellow readers!] Canon-typical violence, injury, and death (though no major character death). There is also an OC whose backstory includes sexual assault, although this is only referred to and not graphically depicted.
“Queen of Peace” by bratanimus and mrstater. 118K words, rated Mature.
Ship: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Sabe
Recced by: glorious_clio
Backstory: Obi-Wan Kenobi teams up with Padme Amidala’s most trusted handmaiden to raise the Space Twins after Anakin’s turn and Padme's death. It’s a study in coping with unimaginable grief, it’s babyfic without begin obnoxious, it’s smutty, and it’s full of feels and more than a little danger.
Rec: I love it because though it leans hard on the Rey is a Kenobi theory, it doesn’t feel radically out of character of Obi-Wan Kenobi to accidentally form an attachment to a person he was once stuck in a Naboo cruiser with—and now shares a tiny apartment with. The relationship develops in a nice way, and the feels at the end left me gutted.
Content warnings: Star Wars-level violence
“The Bearer of Good Food” by Anonymous. 14K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Finn/Poe
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Post-TFA
Rec: “The last thing the Resistance thought they were getting in Finn was a decent chef.” I love this for the same reason I love Marvel fic where Bucky Barnes decides to do non-military work instead of joining the Avengers as the Winter Soldier. This fic sees Finn find a new home with the Resistance, using the cooking skills he developed in the First Order.
Content warnings: N/A
“Elementary, My Dear ObiWan” by Frostfyre7. 62K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes crossover; Ship: Gen
Recced by: knowallthethings
Backstory: Told from Watson’s point of view as a traditional Holmes story, guest starring Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, pre-Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon become embroiled in Moriarty's latest scheme, and it's up to Holmes and Watson to get ahead of him and save the day. You don’t need any specialized knowledge for either fandom beyond knowing that Obi-Wan is Qui-Gon’s apprentice and that Moriarty is the Big Bad of the Holmes canon.
Rec: This fic combines two of my oldest and dearest fandoms in a seamless, not-contrived way, all in authentically ACD-esque prose that doesn’t sound stilted. The characterizations are spot on, the mystery hooks the reader quickly and doesn't let go, and there's an excellent balance of serious business detective work and the shenanigans one would expect to accompany Sherlock Holmes dealing with a couple of humanoid aliens.
Content warnings: N/A
Plus a vid!
“It’s Quiet Uptown” by Abigail. 4:17, not rated.
Ship: Han/Leia
Recced by: mypantsflewoff
Backstory: What it says on the package: a HanxLeia vid that spans the original trilogy and TFA.
Rec: Hits you right in the feels and twists the lightsaber for good measure.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
Good news: The Last Jedi rules! It’s hilarious right from the get-go, and satisfyingly unpredictable (even a little weird). I don’t want to say more because I know people are are avoiding spoilers, so here’s a link to my spoiler-free review. To everyone planning to see this movie over the weekend: have fun!! — Gav
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, etc—are strongly encouraged as well. And if you have any interest in doing an entire rec list or explainer, please get in touch! elizabethandgav at gmail dot com.
If you liked this, please share it with your friends! https://thereccenter.substack.com/. And find us on social media: Gav (twitter/tumblr) & Elizabeth (twitter/tumblr)