The Rec Center #146
Hi folks! This week we’ve got Black Panther fanfic recs, a piece on toxic fandom (and how not to do it), a hilarious It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia fanvid, and more. — Gav
new stuff
“Gritty Became a Leftist Meme Because Philly Loves a Righteous Hooligan” by Bijan Stephen at The Verge
The Gritty fandom: one of the only things that could redeem 2018.
“Harnessing Internet Fandom for Good: A Crash Course on How Not To be ‘That Person’” by Elizabeth Rayne at SyFy Wire
Elizabeth (Minkel, not the author of this piece!) wound up crashing a New York Comic-Con panel on toxic fandom (to be clear: she was invited! Just...on-the-spot) and talked afterwards—alongside Jay Edidin!—about fan/creator interaction, modeling behavior, and more.
older stuff
“The Vidder” by Logan Hill at New York Magazine
A decade-old interview with vidder Luminosity, interesting not least because of the discussion of the legal climate at the time.
tumblr & beyond
Doctor Who fanart by Hayden Powell
A vital post for all procedural crime drama fans.
“You’re new here, aren’t you.”
A tremendous It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia fanvid over here.
Someone has really thought through Crowley and Aziraphale’s respective computer skills.
Some thoughts on the social politics of the Pokemon universe, and whether Ash Ketchum is secretly a little shitbag.
fanfiction
Black Panther recs by Gav!
“Citation Flirtation” by scioscribe. 3.1K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Shuri/OFC
Backstory: Shuri is the Princess of Wakanda, and a tech genius.
Rec: Love this look at Shuri being a HUGE NERD and finding a girlfriend by striking up a rivalry through academic papers.
Content warnings: N/A
“Wolves and Women” by onethingconstant. 3.9K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Gen
Backstory: Bucky Barnes is a tragic supersoldier from the Captain America movies, recuperating in Wakanda after decades of brainwashing at the hands of supervillains.
Rec: A really fun and well-characterized story about Shuri and Bucky accidentally becoming friends.
Content warnings: N/A
“The Favor of the King” by thingswithwings. 18K words, rated Explicit.
Ship: T’Challa/Sam Wilson
Backstory: Takes place after Black Panther, so T’Challa is already the king of Wakanda. Sam Wilson is a non-superpowered superhero from the Captain America movies, an Air Force veteran who flies using a sort of winged jetpack thing.
Rec: A ~royal courtship romance~ starring a very serious epic hero and... a guy who really doesn’t have much patience for melodrama. (Sam Wilson finds himself in the highly unexpected position of dating the King of Wakanda, and it’s awesome.)
Content warnings: N/A
“home training” by theformerone. 3.7K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Gen
Backstory: Erik Killmonger is the main villain in Black Panther; this is an alternate history where he grows up in Wakanda instead of America.
Rec: This fic does a really great job of retaining elements of Erik’s personality from the movie, but sending him on a very different path as an official member of the Wakandan royal family.
Content warnings: N/A
“moonstone” by jesspava. 3.2K words, rated Gen.
Ship: T’Challa/M’Baku
Backstory: M’Baku is one of Wakanda’s other political/military leaders, and is kind of Black Panther’s... frenemy.
Rec: A v charming outsider-POV look at T’Challa and M’Baku’s often dorky flirtations. (This pairing is so great—the characters have wonderful chemistry in the movie, and T’Challa needs someone who doesn’t take him too seriously, but still understands the responsibility of the crown.)
Content warnings: N/A
“A Hashtag is Born” by Siria. 1.6K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Bucky Barnes/Ramonda
Backstory: Ramonda is the dowager queen of Wakanda, T’Challa’s mom. See also: This tweet.
Rec: This is the rarest possible rarepair and it is A DELIGHT.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
AO3 surpassed their donation-drive goal last weekend by a great deal, but the volunteer-run organization (with very transparent finances that go mostly to servers and maintenance) would still appreciate your donation if you’d meant to give and didn’t get a chance. Also a reminder: if you don’t have any cash to spare but do have a bit of time, more volunteers are always welcome! — Elizabeth
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)