The Rec Center #153
Hello, welcome, and congratulations on surviving Tumblr Hell Week! And if you don’t use Tumblr, double congratulations because it turns out you dodged a bullet! There’s a lot of misinformation going round at the moment so we’ve included a bunch of Tumblr coverage untangling the fallout. Plus, on a more relaxing note, we have multifandom AU recs and your usual batch of memes and art. — Gav
new stuff: tumblr edition
“Tumblr is banning adult content. It’s about so much more than porn.” by Aja Romano at Vox
Aja has been one of the web’s best reporters on Tumblr for years, so we recommend starting here, to dig into the nuances of the platform’s communities, and what Tumblr means to the broader web.
“When Tumblr bans porn, who loses?” by Kaitlyn Tiffany at Vox
It’s rare that we recommend two pieces from the same publication in a given week, but Kaitlyn’s reporting is also vital here, especially for context from the business side.
“Apple Sucked Tumblr Into Its Walled Garden, Where Sex Is Bad” by Jason Koebler and Samantha Cole at Motherboard
And for further context, Tumblr (and the rest of the social web) vs Apple.
“Tumblr’s porn ban could be its downfall - after all, it happened to Livejournal” by Bijan Stephen at The Verge
Elizabeth is quoted in this piece! On fandom, platforms, LJ, Strikethrough, and more. Also featuring information science professor Casey Fiesler, which leads us to, finally….
“Fandom’s Fate Is Not Tied to Tumblr’s” by Casey Fiesler and Brianna Dym at Slate
Casey and her colleague, Brianna Dym, have studied fannish migration, and go into detail about how this kind of move affects fan communities—and the platforms they live on.
And if you don’t want to think about Tumblr at all:
“Cap’s Beard: Gone But Not Forgotten” by Preeti Chhibber at SyFy Wire
“This is our message to you, Beard. O BEARD, O BRISTLES OF BEAUTY.”
older stuff
“The Subversive Sexual Power Found in Erotic Fandom Forums” by Rebecca Liu at Broadly
From June of this year, centering on Tumblr: “For young women on fandom forums, the freedom to profess subversive attractions online means becoming agents of their own sexual journeys.”
tumblr (heh) & beyond
“i was so inspired by you to write a fanfic that I opened up a google doc and then did nothing with it for six hours.”
“REALLY HOPE BRYAN FULLER UPDATES HIS FANFIC SOON”
An interesting graph showing fandom usage of social media platforms over time, including Livejournal, Tumblr, email lists, etc.
A short and sweet Hanukkah comic starring Bucky Barnes and... the Punisher?
The worst Lord of the Rings personality test you will ever take.
fanfiction
AUs! Generally of the “X is a ___ and Y is a ___” variety, rather than canon-divergent, and including two space AUs, because WHY NOT. Thank you to all our guest reccers! — Elizabeth
“Mercy is the Mighties’ Jewel” by akathecentimetre. 17K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Star Wars (Prequels/Clone Wars TV show); Ship: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Asajj Ventress
Recced by: Shadaras
Backstory: Obi-Wan/Asajj is a ship predicated on banter and respect between foes who might have, in another universe, been friends.
Rec: A modern-day spy AU that’s presented from Asajj’s POV, about how she and Obi-Wan keep running into each other. Excellent ambiguous relationship that’s totally not about anything other than good and rather violent sex.
Content warnings: Torture and the aftermath of injuries
“The Ceiling of our Day” by Dirtybinary. 6.4K words (sequel is 4.8K), rated Teen.
Fandom: Ancient History RPF; Ship: Hannibal/Scipio
Recced by: Alex
Backstory: Dirtybinary writes RPF about the Phoenecian general Hannibal (he of the elephants) and the Roman general who fought him, Scipio, and it’s the best thing I’ve read in a long time. This particular fic is a space AU of the Second Punic War, with semi-sentient elephant warships, handsome, pining generals, and intergalactic war. Look, just trust me.
Rec: You know that thing where you see some fanart on tumblr of the blond one gazing adoringly at the brunette one and frankly it could be any one of about eight of your ships? This is that, but with words. Hot, well-written, entertaining, and so imaginative. And you don’t need to know any history. All DB’s Ancient History RPF/Hannibal-Scipio stuff is worth a read, but this is my fave.
Content warnings: N/A
“Attaque Composée” by neveralarch. 37K words over 4 works (series is WIP), rated Gen.
Fandom: The Transformers (IDW Generation One); Ship: Mostly gen, with past Megatron/Starscream
Recced by: fossore
Backstory: Fencing AU where Starscream’s the coach of the fledgling/being revived Metroplex fencing club and coping (badly) with the dissolution of the Decepticon club and his past relationship with Megatron.
Rec: Starscream’s a mess and also kind of a dick and so painfully clearly fronting as being fine, and you learn all of that about him while feeling immersed in this au where all of the Transformers battles took place not as actual fights but as bouts on the fencing strip. It’s not a fandom or sport I’m particularly familiar with, but neveralarch makes it all feel not just accessible but familiar.
Content warnings: Physical violence between a coach and athlete, anxiety, poor anger management, dysfunctional relationships, poor coping mechanisms, discussion of prejudice
“Anything Goes” by cherishiskisa. 79K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Triple H; Ship: E’Dawn/Hyuna/Hui
Recced by: goodbyeproductivity
Backstory: Triple H is a co-ed k-pop trio whose whole concept was first described to me as “disaster ot3.” Their music video “365 Fresh” is wonderfully wacky and probably gives you all the intro you need to their personas (cw for some violence and suicide attempts in the mv)
Rec: Fantastic slow burn in a pretty unique AU setting (Hyuna and E’Dawn leave their crappy jobs in Orlando, FL to help Hui sail his yacht to Brazil).
Content warnings: N/A
“by which we see ourselves” by elegantstupidity. 4.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Pride & Prejudice; Ship: Catherine Bennet/Georgiana Darcy
Recced by: penna.nomen
Backstory: This is an AU set at a space station in the distant future.
Rec: I’ve read many P&P variations, and this was the first one set in space. It’s also meta: the character inspired by Catherine watched a P&P movie and realized how much the Bennets have in common with her own family.
Content warnings: N/A
“The Feel-Good Hit of the Summer” by disco_vendetta (brinn). 7.6K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The 100; Ship: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Recced by: Mandy
Backstory: It’s a rock band AU written through the lens of a Rolling Stone magazine article. Bellamy’s the lead singer of a rock band, and Clarke’s a pop star; they’re forced together—in a new group called The 100—by their record label.
Rec: The setting, plot, and characters of The 100 translate perfectly to a story about a rock band on tour. disco_vendetta nails the characters, and the enemy-to-more than friends relationship of Bellamy and Clarke. It’s the best Bellarke fic I’ve read, and I’ve done deep dives into that pairing.
Content warnings: N/A
“Everything you know is wrong” by asec and pocky_slash. 62K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: X-Men: First Class; Ship: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier (side ship: Moira MacTaggert/Nick Fury, who is gloriously dubbed “Mr. Romance,” as he should be at all times)
Recced by: Elizabeth
Backstory: A modern, still-powered (uh, for some) AU. Charles is a mutant-friendly human grad student; Erik, some sort of mutant rights vigilante working for SHIELD because their goals align, breaks into Charles’s apartment to let him know that his life is in danger. Classic snarky, gruff bodyguard who secretly cares more than the body...guarded can tell.
Rec: ALWAYS here for a novel-length plot + slow reveal of feelings fic, and this one has some deliciously satisfying elements, from the unfurling reveal of the title—“everything you know is wrong”—to the subtle unreliability of the narration when...well, you’ll see. I love both these authors individually and, like, I have no idea how any given partnership works so this is pure conjecture, but based on their other work, I really think they both bring a lot of their individual strengths to this fic.
Content warnings: References to what I’d classify as child abuse, experimentation, genetic engineering, memory loss, non-graphic violence
FINAL THOUGHT
We are still soliciting winter holiday recs—including things that are just wintry, and not about any specific holiday. Please use our submissions form!
FINAL THOUGHT DOT TUMBLR DOT COM
OK, so I don’t want to get *too* deep in here, but I do want to say a few things about Tumblr and fandom. Many of my initial thoughts remain unchanged, from “fandom ≠ Tumblr” (for that matter “fandom” on Tumblr does not mean one thing), commercial social media companies are not archives, yada yada yada. But rather than sit here and say “what did anyone expect,” there are a few things people can do while they wait to see how all of this is going to shake out.
You may have seen this post circulating; it’s got a list of resources for how to backup or archive your Tumblr. No matter what happens on December 17th (aside from me celebrating MY BIRTH please won’t you think of me and also the current Pope, the only famous person I share a birthday with, while you curse the 17th of December) it doesn’t hurt to think about what you want to save. Like, any social media company could shut down? Even Facebook, in my fantasies where the government, any government, finally understands what they’ve been doing and takes action.
That post also has a list of “alternatives,” and some of them are...nothing like Tumblr in any way. THAT BEING SAID, lots of fandom people I’ve spoken to over the years are only using Tumblr grudgingly, so as I say in my own post, it’s a good opportunity to think about what you actually want out of your online fannish experience. There are many other places to meet other fans, or engage with art, or whatever you want to do.
A reminder that the OTW owns the AO3’s servers because of a long history of fandom purges on corporate social media sites! Those servers are funded by fans like you. If you have some cash kicking around….
And speaking of the OTW, reminders that: a) Fanlore, the fandom wiki, exists! It’s there, ready for communal input, to record fandom history. FAQ here. b) AO3 is not just for fanfiction! Prompt fills, drabbles, headcanons, imagines, as well as all sorts of audio and visual fanworks, are VERY welcome. More info here.
Pinboard’s Maciej Cegłowski asked Pearlwaldorf what kinds of features fans would want to see in a social media platform. This is obviously just a starting point, but the document that fans have been collaborating on over the last few days is pretty extraordinary.
We’ll likely have more to say about Tumblr in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, all Tumblrites should watch this GLORIOUS VID which truly celebrates the platform and its users while everything comes crashing down. — Elizabeth
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, zines, 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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