The Rec Center #125
Hello! You may still be working way through our longest list ever, last week’s collection of royal AUs, so this week to balance things out we have a single VITALLY IMPORTANT rec from Gav. We also have bunch of Star Wars commentary, from pansexual Lando to lesbian Boba Fett.
And a quick note on GDPR Day, out of an abundance of caution (since one of us is based in the EU): we just want to reaffirm that the only data we have from everyone here is an email address, and we’ll only ever use that email address to do what we said we would when you signed up for this newsletter: send you things like sexy human/robot fanfiction. :-)) — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Almost no one in Star Wars is ‘canonically’ straight’” by Gav at the Daily Dot
Actor Donald Glover and screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan both say Lando is pansexual in Solo: A Star Wars Story, but the film itself remains ambiguous. Is this another case of J.K. Rowling and the Invisibly Gay Dumbledore? To examine that question, here are some thoughts on the malleability of canon, and what actually counts as queer representation.
“Hando: A brief history of Star Wars fanfic and a universe’s beloved, queer ’ship” by Julia Alexander at Polygon
While we’re on the subject of queer Star Wars content! A history of Han/Lando, from the pre-digital era to the present day.
“What Deadpool 2’s fridging controversy says about comics culture’s gender gap” by Aja Romano at Vox
“We relate to the threat of gendered violence that plays out against the women in these stories; through them, we are too often taught that our social role is that of the disposable lover with no agency over her own story.”
older stuff
“What Lesbian Boba Fett teaches us about fandom’s gift for subversion” by Aja Romano at The Daily Dot
Yes, yes, two pieces by Aja in a single newsletter. BUT the announcement of a Boba Fett movie means we need to revisit her roundup of the most important Boba Fett fan content of all time: “Boba Fett is a lesbian 2K16.”
tumblr & beyond
“People really need to start using their critical thinking skills about which superheroes are and are not furries.”
Overwatch rollerblade cosplay!!
A little fandom history on indicating character traits with exclamation points, like Dark!Steve.
Allyson Gross’s One Direction newsletter, “better than words,” is highly recommended for any 1D/boy band fans and/or people interested in celebrity fandom. This week, she writes about randomly meeting Harry Styles—“and the surreality of being confronted with your own projections.”
fanfiction
For the long weekend, we bring you one (1) truly epic new fic rec. Before we go any further, I’ll acknowledge that many readers will not know the original canon. That DOES NOT matter. You can read it as a total newbie!
I’ve never seen Stargate: Universe, but author kvikindi provides a succinct guide to the characters and setting. It’s everything you need to know. (In general, Stargate is a rather corny sci-fi TV franchise about teams of scientists and U.S. military officers traveling through wormholes and encountering aliens. SG:U is grittier than the other spinoffs, and it’s set on a spaceship stranded billions of lightyears from Earth.)
“A Change in Energy (The Force over Distance Remix Project)” by kvikindi. 456K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Stargate: Universe; Ship: Nicholas Rush/Everett Young
Content warnings: N/A
Backstory: Everett Young is the ranking officer onboard the starship Destiny, which was originally built by a race of ancient aliens. Nick Rush leads the science team. He’s an extremely paranoid and often unpleasant person, always thinking ten steps ahead of everyone else. The fic begins with Rush psychically merging with the ship’s AI, a process that requires a human anchor to prevent Rush from being absorbed into the ship’s brain. That anchor is Young, who forms a telepathic link with Rush as well. They gradually learn to tolerate each other despite their differences, all while facing near-constant mortal peril.
Rec: This fic is longer than Lord of the Rings, and it’s INCREDIBLE. Reading it has been my main hobby for the past week or so, immersed in utter emotional turmoil. It’s a smart and experimental story dealing with some pretty bold concepts (the author highlights “queerness, posthumanism and trauma” in her FAQ post) while still being accessible. You just get an overall feeling that it’s written by someone very clever who understands what she’s talking about, without an iota of smugness or, for example, a need for the reader to understand quantum physics.
I wouldn’t categorize this as darkfic, although the main characters are miserable for significant portions of the story. If anything, it’s a blend of hard sci-fi and slow burn hurt/comfort romance. Young’s job involves keeping Rush alive and healthy while Rush compulsively self-destructs and struggles with blending his mind with a sentient spaceship. Somehow kvikindi maintains a devastating level of emotional intensity for 450 thousand fucking words. Also, the supporting cast are all wonderfully characterized and funny and recognizably Stargate-ish, even to someone who hasn’t seen this particular show. If you have any further doubts about trying this fic, please dispel them now and give it a go. It’s a must-read. — Gav
FINAL THOUGHT
If you’re in the U.S. or the U.K. (or, uh, anywhere else with a holiday on Monday), enjoy the long weekend!
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, explainer, or ship manifesto, 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)