The Rec Center #193
Hi everyone! This week we’ve got an article on stan culture, a comparison between fandom and political campaigning, some delightful Korrasami fanart, and the second half of our multifandom hopeful fic rec list. — Gav
new stuff
“The Empowered Stan” by Keidra Chaney at Fansplaining
“Fandom can be both identity and liberation—but how do we keep our joys from being co-opted by corporate interests?” On stan culture and its complicated intersections with criticism, identity, empowerment, and capitalism.
“Can I have a selfie, minister?” by Penny Andrews at Tortoise Media
Fandom-as-politics & politics-as-fandom is not just political memes! Luckily this great piece on politicians’ fandoms was published this week (featuring the vital distincting: fandom ≠ fan base).
“Six Young Women and Their Book Collections” at The Paris Review
All of the winners of this prize for younger female book collectors are a delight, but we want to highlight the winner, Emily Forster, and her essay on her “almost five hundred original fan-made comics, from photocopied zines to hardcover anthologies, primarily the self-published comics known in Japan as dōjinshi.”
older stuff
“A guide to fanfiction for people who can’t stop getting it wrong” by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw and Aja Romano at the Daily Dot
Given the recent couple of bad articles about fandom, we thought we’d link back to this vintage instruction manual on How Not To Do It.
tumblr & beyond
Yurio’s bedroom from Yuri on Ice by Heejin Park
Delightful Korrasami fanart based on those viral TikToks starring Chinese fashion designer Loora Wang.
AO3 wordcounts vs essay wordcounts.
Gorgeous Wiccan/Hulkling fanart zine by pro comics artist Aud Koch.
Luv this headcanon on Amethyst finally being allowed to say “fuck” in Steve Universe.
fanfiction
Hopeful fic, part 2! If you missed last week’s part 1, check it out here. Thanks, as always, to our guest reccers. — Elizabeth
“Sweet as Apple Pie” by aloneintherain. 4K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Spider-Man (general); Ship: Gen (May Parker & Peter Parker)
Recced by: ellie
Backstory: Peter and Aunt May’s relationship through the years with cake/cooking shows as the constant.
Rec: For the prompt “hopeful.” Excellent short fic that feels longer than it is (in a good way!) feels comforting and changes pov smoothly. The background scenes leave you wanting more but are also just long enough to develop the main theme of the fic—the familial bond between Peter and May.
Content warnings: N/A
“there’s a feeling you give me, an everglow” by PotofCoffee. 43K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Star Wars; Ship: Amilyn Holdo/Leia Organa
Recced by: Mary
Backstory: Post The Last Jedi, Leia and a (still living) Amilyn Holdo have to spend some time fake!married at a couples retreat. For the sake of the galaxy, naturally.
Rec: I’ve read fic for *counts fingers* many years... but every now and again one comes along that bleeds into your real life a little. There’s a great deal here about Leia trying to get over Han’s death, allow herself to move on with her life and love someone else without ‘getting over’ him. I read this not long after the death of a close friend and honestly I still revisit it sometimes; I found its approach to grieving so profoundly helpful and hopeful.
Content warning: Mention of significant character death (canon)
“should’ve left my phone at home (’cause this is a disaster)” by shinealightonme. 4K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater; Ship: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Recced by: penna_nomen
Backstory: Ronan and Adam are a canon pairing in a set of YA novels. Adam is focused on his goals and follows the rules. Ronan is chaos.
Rec: This is an adorable customer service AU, where Adam is an Apple Genius and Ronan keeps returning broken phones. It has the perfect level of snark and sarcasm to be true to the canon Adam and Ronan, and it’s fun to see them meet and awkwardly fumble their way into a relationship. I picked it for the “hopeful” theme because of the happy ending in spite of themselves.
Content warnings: N/A
“How to Hookup on Vacation by Leslie Knope” by bookworm03. 52K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Parks and Recreation; Ship: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Recced by: Mary
Backstory: Leslie Knope’s not that great at casual sex, but she’s got a plan in place to ensure success this time around. There’s a binder, after all.
Rec: Almost everything written for this pairing is dorky and uplifting, and this isn’t much different. AU where Leslie meets Ben not long after her one-night stand with Mark.
Content warnings: N/A
“Proof that the spirit has not died” by kawuli. 40K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Hunger Games; Ship: Gen
Recced by: anon
Backstory: This is a Hunger Games fic almost wholly about the rebellion itself, and virtually all the characters are OCs. It focuses on one of the districts that rose up against the Capitol, and the on-the-ground bravery from ordinary people that made it happen.
Rec: Even if you haven’t read Hunger Games or don’t have fond feelings toward its characters, this is a sober, mature, and beautifully hopeful exploration of what it looks like for regular people to resist oppression.
Content warnings: Violence, dystopian themes, minor character death
FINAL THOUGHT
A signal boost for anyone interested in fandom history! Filmmaker Hansi Oppenheimer has a lot of footage for her Squee! Project documentary and is looking for help and suggestions about transcription, storage, and more. Check out the details here, and if you’re interested in helping out or have any tips, email squeeprojects at gmail dot com. — 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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