The Rec Center #183
Hi folks! This week we have more (!) Good Omens recs, an article about one fan’s obsession with Britney, a look back at the movie Carol, a very intriguing theory about Doctor Who, and more. — Gav
new stuff
“Love in the Time of Britney” by Alison Fensterstock at Topic
“One British man spent his adult life devoted to his favorite star. His personal collection tells us a lot about fandom—and about the life cycles of music ephemera.”
[Side note: we’re pretty unhappy to hear that Topic’s funder is shutting the publication, because they do incredible work. After you read this piece, be sure to check out their archives.]
“Disneyland review: the iconic theme park in the age of Star Wars and Marvel” by Chris Plante at Polygon
An interesting piece about Disney park fandom, contextualized within the broader scope of the massive franchise-gobbling corporation.
older stuff
“Inside the cult of Carol, the internet’s most unlikely fandom” by Angela Watercutter at Wired
Carol (ie. the historical romance film of “Harold, they’re lesbians!” meme fame) is a rare indie drama to inspire the kind of cult following you usually see with obscure sci-fi/fantasy movies. This article tries to explain Carol’s enduring fandom—topical this week because Gav’s podcast, Overinvested, just posted an episode about the movie.
tumblr & beyond
Please treasure this horrifying LOTR greetings card.
Peter Parker comes face-to-face with accidental true-crime star Peter Quill.
When we say “creators should listen to fandom,” this... is not... what we meant...
A cuneiform letter from Crowley to Aziraphale.
Someone just blew the story wide open on the canon connection between Doctor Who and The Bachelor.
“when you find someone who ships your same obscure ship”
fanfiction
Good Omens fandom has exploded with creativity over the past couple of months, so I decided to rec some of my recent faves. For further info, check out our fandom primer by Kira. — Gav
Untitled Warlock fic. ~2K words.
Rec: A therapy session with the adult Warlock, looking back on his truly bizarre childhood.
Content warnings: N/A
“A Thousand Sandwiches” by apliddell. 2K words, rated Teen.
Rec: A charming day-in-the-life A/C fic that combines TV canon with the funny, conversational tone of the book.
Content warnings: N/A
“Eden House” series by DictionaryWrites. 19K words in total, ratings vary.
Rec: Neil Gaiman says that after the TV show ends, Aziraphale & Crowley retire to a cottage in the English countryside. This fic series explores that idea, particularly how their new neighbors view their arrival. My particular favorite in the series is “Blessed/Cursed Retirement,” which echoes the vintage children’s novel pastiche sections of Good Omens by using a local boy as the POV character.
Content warnings: N/A
“i’d like for you and i to go romancing” by dollsome. 7K words, rated Teen.
Rec: Everyone thinks Aziraphale & Crowley are a couple, and eventually they stop bothering to correct people. I love this fic because it leans into the idea of A & C changing due to prolonged exposure to humanity. Obviously they love each other, but the idea of being “a couple” only makes itself known once they start spending more time with their human friends.
Content warnings: N/A
“Lie Back and Think of Dinner” by jessthereckless. 11K words, rated Mature.
Rec: Like many Good Omens fics written after the show came out, this one takes Aziraphale’s love of food and runs with it. There’s mutual pining, lunch dates, and seduction-via-food as Aziraphale & Crowley try to figure out the logistics of an angel/demon relationship—all written in same affectionately mocking tone as the book.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
If you are San Diego Comic-Con-bound, please mark your schedules for Friday, July 19th at 7 p.m., because my podcast, Fansplaining, is hosting a panel! While Flourish & I met on an SDCC panel years back, we’ve never hosted one, and we’re pretty excited about this topic in particular.
What happens to a fandom when the show ends, or a particular iteration of a franchise wraps up? All of our panelists sit somewhere on the fan-to-pro spectrum, and we’ll be looking at this question from a lot of different angles.
We are also all pegged to a specific property—Star Wars, Supernatural, etc etc—and while I thought I was just going to be talking about transformative fandom, this has also now turned into me representing the end of the X-Men film franchise, so I’ve told Flourish to be prepared for my annotated powerpoint of the best Cherik AUs. :-)) (If you legit want that, start here lol) — 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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