The Rec Center #170
Happy Friday, and for those (like me) who care about that sort of thing, happy fifth birthday to Captain America: The Winter Soldier! This week we’ve got some cool K-pop coverage, an interview with the viral Taylor Swift fan who went to jail for her political beliefs, and an explainer/rec list for the roleplaying YouTube series Critical Role from guest reccer Isabel. — Gav
new stuff
“AO3 Nominated for Hugo Award” by Janita Burgess at OTW News
If you somehow missed it, the Archive of Our Own has been nominated for the Hugo—the SFF awards handed out at Worldcon every year—in the “best related work” category. :-))
“A Deep Dive Into the Weird World Of K-Pop Prediction Accounts” by Biju Belinky at Vice
“What do you do when your favourite artist reveals absolutely nothing about their private lives? You turn to other, more prophetic means.”
“Where We Belong” by Alejandra Carles-Torla at the Washington Post
One of the winners of a Washington Post photo essay contest, photographer Alejandra Carles-Torla explored, in her words, “themes of belonging, femininity and escapism through a portrayal of Jane Austen devotees.”
“An Interview With the Taylor Swift Stan Who Went to Prison for Refusing to Join the IDF” by Caitlin Schneider at Splinter
THE story on Fandom Twitter this week was this Israeli Taylor Swift fan who went to jail instead of serving in the IDF. Her viral tweets are hilarious (including this dynamite story about the person who snuck One Direction fanfic into prison) but it’s also great example of how frivolous teen fandom doesn’t preclude serious business IRL. This interview goes into why she decided to opt for a prison term instead of joining the IDF, and what it was like to become an overnight internet sensation.
older stuff
“An Archive of Their Own: A Case Study of Feminist HCI and Values in Design” by Casey Fiesler
In honor of AO3’s nomination this week, we’re re-sharing information science professor Casey Fiesler’s study of the architecture of the platform, and how the needs of its users built and continue to shape its structures.
tumblr & beyond
In place of fanart this week: A beautiful gif of the Winter Soldier’s tragic, vulnerable face.
This week marked the fifth anniversary of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so Gavia and her podcast co-host Morgan celebrated with an in-depth episode of Overinvested, discussing what makes this movie so great, and why it inspired such a phenomenal fandom.
Rey and Kylo Ren’s canon relationships, summarized perfectly.
Ant-man bathing in hot sauce for bonus damage (2019)
Harry and Ron come to an important realization about the Yule Ball.
fanfiction
Isabel spends her days trying to make it through her linguistics undergrad and her nights thinking way too much about fictional characters. She can be found at beetsnbees on tumblr.
Since the last explainer, a lot has changed with Critical Role. In late 2017, they wrapped up their long-running D&D campaign and in January 2018, they started a new one. The folks at Critical Role have also launched a bunch of new shows, including Pub Draw (learn how to draw with artist Babs Tarr!), Handbooker Helper (learn the basics of D&D!) and Travis Willingham’s Yee-Haw Game Ranch—yes, that’s the real name of the show.
They’re also halfway through a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign to make an animated special based on their first campaign. The Kickstarter met their $750 000 goal within the first hour and then proceeded to meet all of their stretch goals within the first day.With two weeks left in their Kickstarter, they’ve raised over $8.8 million dollars, hitting all of their stretch goals, and funded 10 episodes of an animated series.
I got into Critical Role this summer, as something to listen to while at work, and quickly made my way through the backlog of episodes. What started as something to pass the time at my job quickly became something of an obsession as I raced to get caught up and watch the episodes live. Now, I look forward to watching the new episodes live on Thursday nights.
What really draws me most to Critical Role (and all of their spin-off shows) is the heart that gets put into everything they make. This is a group of friends juggling their own careers, their family lives, and all of the work that goes into running a company, and you still get the impression that they’re having a great time making all of their shows and hanging out together. Even when things go terribly wrong in the story, you can see that the cast are clearly having a great time. It’s so clear that everyone involved in the production cares deeply about the show and their characters. It’s also a show that doesn’t shy away from dealing with difficult subjects and emotions while still remaining super funny.
For people who want to start watching the second campaign of Critical Role without going through the backlog of 50+ episodes, you can start here with Critical Recap, which recaps each episode of the new campaign in a few minutes. Or, for people who aren’t sure if they want to dive in right away, you can watch these two clips to get a sense of what craziness happens during the show. — Isabel
The Fic
“Everything (Anything) True” by eponymous_rose. 3.1K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Gen
Backstory: Scanlan is a very good liar.
Rec: Eponymous_rose writes lovely character driven pieces and I had to include one in this list. I especially love this one because Scanlan is such a hard character to pin down. He rarely reveals how he’s feeling in canon until it’s much too late. This fic does such a good job of staying true to the character played on the show while developing a believable look inside his brain. It also avoids most story spoilers and can be read without watching the show.
Content warning: Brief descriptions of violence
“Stuck on You” by Griftings. 43K words (WIP), rated Mature.
Ship: Percival “Percy” Frederickstein Von Mussel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex’ahlia
Backstory: AU where Percy and Vex are arranged to be married and Vex comes to Whitestone with her brother to work out the details of her engagement. Hijinxs ensue.
Rec: This is one of my all time favourite fics in this fandom. I am such a sucker for arranged marriage AUs for this pairing, and it’s one of the few depictions of Percy’s family that I like in fic. It really pins down why Percy and Vex make such a great couple (the pining! the banter! giving gifts as a sign of affection!) and fleshes out the supporting characters in ways that don’t happen in canon. It sadly hasn’t been updated in several years, but it’s funny and great and has a satisfying ending even if it still feels unfinished.
Content warnings: N/A
“Just the Endless Frozen Pines” by isyotm. 1.6K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Gen
Backstory: Keyleth, as the Voice of the Tempest will outlive everyone she knows by a thousand years. She looks after the legacies her friends have left behind.
Rec: A canon-divergent AU set after the end of the campaign (with no spoilers!), this fic is beautifully written and bittersweet. Keyleth is one of my very favourite characters and this fic deals so well with her sense of duty to her friends and how the weight of her lifespan affects her.
Content warning: Major character death (offscreen)
“This Sudden Burst of Sunlight” by Attila. 44K words, rated Teen.
Ships: Shaun Gilmore/Vax’ildan, Keyleth/Kashaw Vesh, Vex’ahlia/Zahra
Backstory: Vax and Kash get drunk, pretend to date, and ignore their feelings. Too bad no one else is in on the joke.
Rec: This fic is a lot of fun. It really captures the chaotic spirit of the show without going off the rails, and really highlights how funny these characters are in their own separate ways. It’s also one of the only fics I’ve read where the couple in a fake relationship actively Do Not want to date each other—it’s great.
Content warning: Mentions of (temporary) canon character death
“some sun has got to rise” by allapplesfall. 23K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Gen
Backstory: Pike tries to deal with her grief after losing a family member
Rec: Pike is another of my favourite characters from this show. Due to scheduling conflicts with the actress who plays her (Ashley Johnson), she often gets left behind while her friends go off to save the world. This fic beautifully illustrates Pike and her sense of abandonment as she deals with the loss of a family member. Like many of the fics set after the first campaign, it’s bittersweet and digs deep into the process of grief and healing. As someone who went through the grieving process this past year, this fic really struck me as something very warm and genuine.
Content warnings: Parent death, canon character death
“A Civilized Discussion” by CurrieBelle. 5.1K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Percival “Percy” Frederickstein Von Mussel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex’ahlia
Backstory: Two conversations with Trinket the bear.
Rec: This is the fic in the Critical Role fandom for me. It was one of the first fics I ever read and still remains so full of warmth and humour. And the narrator is a bear! It’s delightful! It’s set around episode 59 but you really don’t need to have watched the show at all to read it (I don’t think I had watched any of the first campaign before reading this for the first time). All you really need to know is that Trinket is Vex’ahlia’s pet bear and that he means more to her than anyone in the world (except maybe her twin brother).
Content warnings: N/A
“tick tick tick” by mnemememory. 2.3K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Gen
Backstory: Set in the nebulous future of the second campaign after Caleb uses time travel to go back in time and fix all his mistakes. His first (second?) time meeting his friends doesn’t go as planned.
Rec: Another really fun fic that has such great characterization for everyone. It’s a time-travel fix-it without focusing too much on plot! It’s fun! What more is there to say?
Content warnings: N/A
“Nooses” by Margo_Kim. 1.5K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Gen
Background: Caleb in the aftermath of the attack on the Iron Shepherds
Rec: This is a great look into the head of Caleb (who up until recently was the winner of the most tragic backstory award) in the wake of losing a friend on a mission to rescue the rest of their kidnapped party. This follows canon very closely and is set right after episode 29 so beware of major spoilers up until that point.
Content warnings: Suicidal thoughts, canonical character death
Congratulations to Cowboy Bebop fans on the amazing casting of the new live-action adaptation:
FINAL THOUGHT
Do you have thoughts & feelings about SHIPPING? Fansplaining would like to hear from you. This week we launched our latest survey! We’ve had more than 5,000 respondents in the first three days (!), but we want MANY MORE hahaha. It’s designed to be taken by shippers and non-shippers alike, so please share it with your friends, regardless of whether they’re in fandom or not. — 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.
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)