The Rec Center #136
Hello everyone! Gav is, I believe, now halfway through her 100,000 panels at Nine Worlds (JEALOUS OF EVERYONE THERE) while I have been at home, completing my Magnum Opus, the hilariously long X-Men: First Class fic rec list that Morgan and I collaborated on this week. If you aren’t up for X-Men fic we also have our usual mix of articles and Tumblr posts, but why would you deny yourself a story that Morgan describes with the sentence: “Nothing else so profoundly captures the exquisite and venal dickishness of both our heroes.” — Elizabeth
new stuff
“A 50-year Trekkie bestows Star Trek history upon the next generation: How fandom and fanfiction sparked the galaxy’s most controversial romance” by Alissa Smith at the Colorado Springs Independent
A beautiful longread about an original Star Trek “fandom grandma” (who recently passed away) and the early days (and evolution) of media fandom and fanfiction communities.
“The Television Canon is Based on What We Bothered to Preserve” by Ann-Derrick Gaillot at The Outline
“Untold numbers of important television programs have been lost to time.”
“Dungeons & Walk-Ons” by Liam Patrick Hainey at Kotaku
Adventurers Wanted is a D&D game running through the length of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in which audience members buy a “player ticket” to join in for a four-hour session. “Aspects of nerd culture are rife with gate-keeping, D&D can be no exception, but this show is about throwing them open and inviting everyone to the party.”
older stuff
“The Plight of the Female Baseball Fan” by Kendra James at Shondaland
“I have questions: Why are men so focused on figuring out if women are here for the right reasons? Were they all kicked out their ‘Bachelor’ fantasy leagues? The fragile male ego is a mystery to me.”
tumblr & beyond
au where thor is king and loki is co-king but all he does is write plays
Always here for the ‘Legolas has a weird regional accent’ meme.
“Meeping Angel”: perfection.
“full offense but none of you would have ever survived fanfiction.net in 2009”
fanfiction
A few months ago I watched X-Men: Days of Future Past on a cross-country flight, and within 48 hours I was opening up AO3 and cursing myself until the end of time. Lucky for me—and really, for all of us—a lot of fantastic fic authors drifted towards the X-Men film fandom with the 2011 release of First Class, a movie I’d summarize by saying “this relationship was already pretty fucking shippy but then you spent 132 minutes Intensely Gazing At Each Other and doing shit like this”:
Sorting by kudos, I read a few enjoyable Charles/Erik (don’t make me smush the ship name, I beg of you) fics until I came upon a oneshot that I felt captured the true essence of the glorious obnoxiousness of Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr (to be clear: this is what makes this ship appealing to me; they are terrible and I love them both, a true “two absolute nightmares” pairing). The next day I emailed Gav to see if she had any XMFC recs, and once Morgan was looped in, I learned the identity of “M_Leigh,” the author of said oneshot. WHAT A REVELATION.
If you don’t know Morgan, she co-hosts the pop culture podcast Overinvested with Gav. We have similar tastes in XMFC fic (the shorthand often used for the McAvoy-Fassbender iteration of the franchise, though plenty of the fic liberally tosses in both the Stewart-McKellan-era stuff, the comics, the 90s animated series, anything X-related, why the hell not, do what you want, everyone!!) so it made sense to collaborate on a list. Neither of us are generally into AUs (aside from good old “canon-divergent”), but this fandom is an exception for both of us, so much that the entire main list is AUs.
Finally: partly because he is the greatest character in the current franchise and partly because I’d like to rec Morgan’s fic about him, I’ve done a separate mini-section with Quicksilver-focused fic, because Peter Maximoff is the gift that keeps on giving. — Elizabeth
“i guess i should say thanks or some shit” by orphan_account. 18K words, rated Mature.
Recced by: Morgan
Backstory: A contemporary AU (well, c. 2011) in which Charles and Erik act like douchebags in Amsterdam, contemplate moral philosophy, and fall into a canal.
Rec: This stone-cold masterpiece may be my (second) favorite work of fanfiction of all time. Nothing else so profoundly captures the exquisite and venal dickishness of both our heroes. Though their ethical positions do bear some resemblance to the grand moral stances their characters take in canon—Charles thinks he should limit the use of his powers, and Erik thinks he should use his to commit petty theft—the stakes have been lowered so drastically and rendered so specifically that their circumstances quickly become alarmingly relatable, even to a straight-edge teetotaler like me. (Also, Erik is in a band called The Sex Dwarves for a hot minute, and if that’s not enough to convince you to read this fic, I don’t know what is.)
Content warnings: “Moral dubiousness, bullshit philosophy,” and copious alcohol and drug use
“Limited Release” by rageprufrock. 63K words, rated Mature.
Additional ship: Alex Summers/Hank McCoy
Recced by: Elizabeth
Backstory: “When Alex Summers broke out of supermax to rescue his stupid kid brother, he had no idea it was going to be so fucking complicated.” Modern, still-powered AU in which Agent Lehnsherr and the FBI’s mutant division work with criminal informant Alex Summers to help rescue his brother, Scott, and take down mutant supremacist Sebastian Shaw.
Rec: If I had to recommend one and only one fic in this fandom, this would be it, which feels only slightly lazy, since rageprufrock is a multi-fandom legend (for good reason). But it’s rare that a story works on so many levels: tightly plotted, laugh-out-loud funny, a true ensemble piece with distinct narrative voices (including beautifully subtle differences in narrative reliability, as the same facts are told from different perspectives), and simultaneously hits the “everybody is a lovable asshole” notes so many of these stories do, while genuinely digging in emotionally. Plus! An Erik who has gotten his shit together pseudo-mentoring an Alex who does not have his shit together, one of my favorite XMFC sub-tropes.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, trauma, kidnapping, references to abuse
“Not So Much the Teacup” by thehoyden. 9K words, rated Explicit.
Recced by: Morgan
Backstory: Charles is a wedding planner, tasked with planning the wedding of Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost at the Temple of Dendur in the Metropolitan Museum of Art—which happens to be under construction, under the supervision of one Erik Lehnsherr.
Rec: In general, my fanfic tastes run a little darker than this fic—even when I’m reading something that’s just funny, I tend to dislike too much schmaltz or sentiment. And this pairing in particular, though melodramatic in the extreme, has quite a few good fics that manage to be funny without being sappy (see my final rec below). But this fic is just so unimpeachably delightful that its core of sappiness is irresistible even to my cold, dead heart. As always, thehoyden’s writing is superb, the Temple of Dendur setting is great fun for anyone who has spent time there, and Erik and Charles’ repartee is a true delight.
Content warnings: N/A
“If You Liked The Book, You’ll Hate The Movie” by paperclipbitch. 58K words, rated Teen.
Additional ships: Alex Summers/Hank McCoy, Raven/Sean Cassidy, Armando Muñoz/Angel Salvadore
Recced by: Elizabeth
Backstory: Yes, hell has surely frozen over, because despite my loud and repeated assertions that high school AUs are Just Not For Me, I am now reccing one. Not only that, it’s a non-powered AU—no mutants, just a bunch of plain old humans, fucked up in their own special ways. The POV is split between three teens—Hank (awkward nerd), Raven (social connector), Alex (fresh out of juvie)—and two adults, Charles (borderline alcoholic/general mess) and Erik (gloriously, either the worst or the greatest guidance counsellor in the history of the world).
Rec: I’m not sure if I need to say anything beyond “Erik Lehnsherr is a guidance counsellor” but I truly loved this story. Much of what worked for me is the same as in “Limited Release,” from the ensemble elements to the cross-generational perspectives to the idea that maybe you can never really change yourself, but you can learn to live with who you are. (If you have struggled with mental health stuff, perhaps this message is both familiar and relatable!) I’m generally not a fan of non-powered AUs—I think their powers are integral to their perspectives on the world, no matter the circumstance—but this hit a lot of characterization notes really well for me, something that plenty of still-powered or canonical stuff doesn’t do.
Content warnings: Substance abuse, struggles with mental health
“The Masked Man (Who Has Everything)” by Traincat. 8K words, rated Mature.
Recced by: Morgan
Backstory: Erik is Batman, Alex is Robin, and Charles keeps getting kidnapped all over the goddamn place.
Rec: There are many, many excellent serious fics I could have chosen to occupy this slot… but I didn’t, because to me the archetypal X-Men fic is comedic nonsense. This story has no right to be as good as it is: On top of being genuinely hilarious, it’s a decent little action story, and every character is written perfectly. It may be a bit of a stretch to imagine Erik growing up in Bruce Wayne-esque conditions, but his self-righteousness is immediately recognizable, as is Charles’ blithe amusement at the proceedings. Read it when you’re feeling blue.
Content warnings: Kidnapping, mild to moderate instances of violence
QUICKSILVER!
Pietro Maximoff aka Quicksilver, rebranded as “Peter” in the current X-Men franchise (sidenote: I find the legal stuff driving the character decisions in these films weirdly hilarious). Peter is an utter delight and obviously the standout character in Days of Future Past, despite being in the film for maybe 20 minutes. Fic authors have had a field day writing him, and he provides a delightful vehicle for background Charles/Erik via one of my all-time favorite shippy tropes, OUTSIDER POV. Most importantly, he’s one half of what might be my top tag on AO3 at the moment: Peter Maximoff & Erik Lehnsherr, because if there’s anything better than an emotionally constipated Erik, it’s an emotionally constipated Erik trying to say literally anything at all to the (ridiculous) teenage son that he’s only just learned about.
A note, if you’re the sort of person who reads fic without knowing the source material: I really think you need to see Peter in action to truly contextualize the way he’s written in all three of these, especially the last one, which...well, you’ll see. :-)
“fathers and sons” by M_Leigh. 6K words, rated Gen.
Additional ship: lowkey Alex Summers/Hank McCoy
Backstory: Peter’s offhand “my mother knew a guy who could control metal” line in DoFP is the perfect set-up for an “Erik has to tell Peter he is his father” story, and thus, here it is, the platonic ideal of said story, an utter joy from start to finish. Please note the beauty of the tags: “assholes in love”; “shitdouche charles xavier”; “magneto attempts to be a parent”.
Rec: THE FIC THAT STARTED IT ALL. It’s probably a massive conflict of interest to rec Morgan’s fic in a rec list half-written by her but a) once again, I didn’t know the author when I read it because I am dim apparently and b) to deny you all this story would be a literal crime.
Content warnings: N/A
“Come Together” verse by blarfkey. 60K words across 4 stories, rated Teen.
Backstory: When Peter gets arrested for breaking Erik out of the Pentagon, Erik returns the favor and breaks Peter out in turn—and takes him to live with Charles. Beautifully awkward father-son bonding coupled with bitter, stubborn exes pining: *chef’s kiss*. The verse spans five years, with really believable character growth, which is really saying something, based on the emotionally-stunted starting point for all parties involved.
Rec: Peter is the POV character here, so a+++, and the close third-person narration plays with the spaces between what he feels and what he says while capturing his voice beautifully. This means 50% dragging people and 50% feeling like an idiot, which is a total joy. A lot of X-Men stuff, canonically or...fanonically...sorry...is about found family, and I mean, this one is about finding your literal blood relations, but it’s also about building a true family, and I think the author gives that enough space to really sell it.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, torture, ableism, the unenlightened thoughts about women’s bodies that preoccupy heterosexual teenage boys
“The Building of the House” by kvikindi. 23K words, rated Teen.
Backstory: Set immediately post-X-Men: Apocalypse, the 2016 third installment in the current franchise that you’ll note we have yet to mention, because there is literally no reason to ever bring it up except to despair. It might be hyperbolic to say this story is one of the only good things to come out of that movie, Charles Xavier’s mauve sweater aside, but. Well.
Rec: kvikindi begins with the note: “I apologize for everything this fic chooses to formally be.” Click through and you’ll get a sense of what that means. If you’re interested in structural experimentation, read this asap. If you find the look of it intimidating, as I did, I still honestly can’t recommend it enough—when you’re reading, you’ll fall into the rhythm of it before long. It’s both masterfully written and totally gorgeous—and by the end, it made me cry. Recommended paired with the companion story in the verse, the quiet, spare “Tehillim,” which is equally moving, especially in contrast.
Content warnings: Discussion of the Holocaust, particularly in the companion story (obviously this is a key element of the films, but I think this is the sole story on our list that takes the source material more seriously than the films do themselves)
FINAL THOUGHT
Here’s Gav’s Nine Worlds convention schedule for Saturday—including a Black Sails panel at 5pm, with very special surprise guest LUKE ARNOLD. (This is not a joke!!)
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.
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