The Rec Center #140
Hello all! This week we’ve got more poly fic, courtesy of the many, many submissions we got when we put out the call a few months back. We also have our usual mix of articles and tumblr posts, plus Gav’s in-depth exposé on Butterbeer. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Who hates Star Wars for its newfound diversity? Here are the numbers” by Bethany Lacina at the Washington Post
“Harassment is worse for women and POC” isn’t exactly news to Rec Center readers, but it’s interesting to see an outlet like WaPo do a serious statistics article examining something like Star Wars Twitter bigotry.
“Cosplaying While Fat Roundtable: Experiences With Community and Cosplay” by Samantha Puc at The Mary Sue
“A lot of people in the cosplay community really want inclusivity, but there’s an undercurrent of *accuracy* that’s really hard to fight against….It’s definitely an uphill battle.”
“Is Butterbeer Alcoholic?” by Gav at The Daily Dot
Apparently A LOT of Harry Potter fans assume that Butterbeer is a soft drink because it's served to teenagers, so Gav delved into the canon evidence that it’s probably alcoholic—and how that reflects upon wizarding culture, and British drinking culture in general.
older stuff
“Worldbuilding 101” by N. K. Jemisin
This presentation on worldbuilding was making the rounds fresh off Jemisin’s historic *third year in a row* winning best novel at the Hugos. Highly recommended whether you’re working on original fic, fanfic, or both!
tumblr & beyond
What We Do In Wallachia, a mashup of Netflix’s Castlevania and What We Do In the Shadows
edward texting bella about the snail he saw moodboard inspired by: x
How are people still spotting so many cool details in the background of Hannibal scenes.
Godsgrief started posting Star Trek: DS9 Garak/Bashir fanart and honestly, what a gift.
This zoomable, multi-layered galactic map is fantastic resource for Star Wars fans.
fanfiction
A few weeks back we asked for poly recs and you all legit FLOODED our submissions box, which was a) a delight b) a clear sign that we need to give the people what they want, specifically MORE POLY FIC. You can read that list (with links to a few fandom-specific OT3 lists we’ve run over the years) here, and there will be more of this to come, we promise. Thanks, as always, to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“Just Stay Alive” series by Dira Sudis. 85K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe; Ship: Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson
Recced by: Jenny @ Reading the End
Backstory: There are a zillion billion post CATWS Winter Soldier Comes in from the Cold fics, but this is one of my favorites, a fantastically slow-burn OT3.
Rec: I adore soft Sam Wilson and weird-because-trauma Bucky Barnes, and I love OT3 fics that are primarily about the three characters carefully and painfully figuring out how all their edges align with each other. That’s this series.
Content warnings: N/A
“Coming Up for Air” by kisahawklin. 8K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Stranger Things; Ship: Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler
Recced by: alpacapanache
Backstory: A couple of days after the climax of the second season; set before the epilogue (school dance). Nancy and Jonathan and Steve figure stuff out.
Rec: Nancy/Steve/Jonathan seemed like such an obvious OT3 and this story sets their relationship up in the most natural and believable way. The characterization is spot-on, and Joyce totally ships it.
Content warnings: mild homophobia (Steve realizes he was a dick with the “queer” insults)
“love a la françoise” by glitteration. 7K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Wynonna Earp; Ship: Xavier Dolls/Wynonna Earp/Doc Holliday
Recced by: vands88
Backstory: This ship is my JAM and I could rec you a hundred stories with these three.
Rec: This one is literally PWP but it’s so hot and the characterisation is spot on.
Content warnings: N/A
“Baba” by Crownofpins. 201K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Castlevania; Ship: Alucard/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Based off the new Castlevania Netflix show, this 200K+ story traps the three main characters in an seemingly abandoned village as winter sets in. As Alucard and Sypha try and convince Trevor that he’s worthy of kindness and love, Trevor also must fight off the attentions of the witch Baba Yaga, who wants to turn him into something inhuman.
Rec: This story has devastating characterization, and lags not at all, though it’s quite long. The author uses project management software to plot their stories, and the effects are magical.
Content warnings: Body horror, lots of violence, mentions of past sexual assault and child abuse
“Exeunt, Pursued By Heteronormativity” by psocoptera. 36K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Check Please!; Ship: Larissa “Lardo” Duan/Shitty Knight, Eric Bittle/Jack Zimmermann, eventually poly (OT4)
Recced by: eccentric_hat
Backstory: Right before the end of “Year 2” of Check Please!, two of the main characters (Jack and Shitty) decide to go on a road trip after graduating from college. Then they invite their best friends/love interests.
Rec: It’s an epic, moving, perceptive story about facing life after college and roadtripping all the way across the country. It's told from Shitty’s point of view and he’s characterized perfectly, and then the complicated romance sneaks into the story in an organic way.
Content warnings: Some mentions of menstruation, some figuring out of gender identity
“me and you and you and you” by verity. 1.4K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis; Ship: Ronon Dex/Teyla Emmagan/Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: The main characters are a space-traveling team, living on the alien city of Atlantis. McKay and Sheppard are from Earth, while Ronon and Teyla are humans from other planets.
Rec: A heartwarming story about alien/human cultural differences, where Ronon tries to point out that he and his three teammates should have been married ages ago.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
Thanks to the folks who answered last week’s call for video game fandom primers/rec lists! We’ve now got primers for Dragon Age and The Witcher on the way, but we’d still love to hear from fans of other popular games like Undertale, Detroit: Become Human and Tomb Raider, if you wanna introduce more people to your fandom! — 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, 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)