The Rec Center #20
This week we have Parks & Rec recs from guest reccer stars_inthe_sky, some cute Magical Girl MCU fanart, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“The Importance Of Fanfiction For Queer Youth” by Jane Hu at The Establishment
“Fandoms combine the undeniably awesome power of fiction with the unflaggable support of a community; in fact, science says this heady amalgamation actually make writers happier and better adjusted.”
“Racism in Fandom Pairing Preferences” by Traci-Anne at Buzzfeed
“Fandom applauds itself for its progressive stances on sexuality, but often at the expense of race.” This post was inspired by Traci-Anne’s participation in the new episode of Elizabeth’s podcast on race and fandom! (See the final note!)
“The strange story of how internet superfans reclaimed the insult ‘trash’” by Lillian Min at Fusion
A fantastic deep dive into the use of the word “trash” in fandom, featuring commentary from our favorite “internet linguist who’s written about fandom extensively,” Gretchen McCulloch, as well as one of Elizabeth’s favorite episodes of her own podcast, which she promises to stop talking about after today.
“DC Entertainment responds to turmoil over sexual harassment claims” by Gav at The Daily Dot
Sexual harassment is a major topic of conversation in comics fandom right now, with several well-known writers/publishers accused of harassment or assault at conventions and workplaces. This article is an overview some recent cases, culminating in DC Comics releasing a public response last week, after months of outcry on social media.
old(er) stuff
“The Boy Who Lived Forever” by Lev Grossman at TIME
It’s likely everyone’s already read this piece, but I (Elizabeth) see it quoted anew so often on Tumblr that it’s possible you haven’t! When I read it, it was the first time I realized we were *allowed* to talk about fanfiction in the mainstream media in a way that matched up with how I felt about it—with respect, with intellectual curiosity, and with deep appreciation.
fandom psa
Are you watching Person of Interest? And if not, are you aware that the current (and final) season features a canon queer lady couple enacting the Winter Soldier storyline? If this sounds interesting to you, please message us or shoot us an email and maybe Gav will write a primer next week.
[gif via x]
tumblr and beyond
Fanartist theyoungdoyley has been posting a wonderful series of Magical Girl AU pics for the MCU heroes. Steve as a Magical Girl! Bucky as a Magical Girl! And Tony, and Peter, and Sam!
LOVE this collection of videogame fanboy comments theorizing about why two male characters might kiss. “IT’S A RUSSIAN TAUNT.”
The song choice for this fanvid is almost too perfect: My Chemical Romance’s “Na na na,” for Mad Max: Fury Road. Reblog from here.
fanfiction
This week’s guest reccer is stars_inthe_sky. Stars fell into fandom way back in 2001 thanks to Harry Potter; these days, she co-moderates Het Reccers and Incorrect Avengers Quotes and stays active on Tumblr and AO3, where she thinks a lot about ex-Soviet ex-assassins and time-traveling killer robots. She just returned from the second-annual unofficial “Parkscon” with other fans of the show, so she’s fired up to rec the fandom’s best!
In seven beautiful seasons, Parks and Recreation nominally followed the adventures of a team of city employees. But the show itself was so much more than that—it was a paean to public service, a hilarious and heartfelt character study, a feminist masterpiece, and the world’s introduction to Galentines’ Day and one very special miniature horse. Parks fic and fandom have proven as funny, clever, thoughtful, and rich as the canon—and while the show itself ended its run in early 2015, the internet’s Pawnee Goddesses troop is doing just fine. — stars_inthe_sky
“Safety Zone” by saucydiva. 5.4K words, rated PG.
Ship: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
This is LIT-RALLY one of my all-time favorite Parks fics ever—no exaggeration—featuring the whole gang, water balloons, hilarious hijinks, and a hefty dose of Leslie/Ben sexual tension. saucydiva (better known as diaphenia on Tumblr/AO3) is one of the fandom’s best authors—she has a loving, pitch-perfect grasp of the characters and an ability to make even the most mundane moments laugh-out-loud funny. (See also: The Day the Kinkmeme Came to Pawnee)
“Neighbors” by c00kie. 24K words, rated Mature.
Ships: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt, April Ludgate/Andy Dwyer
If you’re going to read one Parks high school AU, this is hands-down the one to read. The author, generally a master of AU settings, does a beautiful job of translating all of the characters into the new mien—and the scenario where teenage Ben and Leslie have been longtime (platonic) friends works perfectly.
“the 50 greatest seduction songs of all time” by ohtempora. 1.1K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
I have read so much fic in this fandom, and just when I thought I couldn’t read something new and surprising, suddenly there’s this wonderful short story, which is as much about Leslie and Ann’s friendship (and Ann’s attempts to help her friend be happy) as it is a shippy tale. Honestly, it’s everything you love about Parks in one delightful little package.
“Brandi Maxxxx’s Masterpiece” by stillscape. 7.9K words, rated Explicit.
Ships: Various
If you’re new to Parks, you may not have met Pawnee’s resident porn star or come to understand her feelings of sisterhood. Inspired by a crack theory about Brandi’s run for City Council, this fic is easily the most hilarious and well-thought-out exploration of the adult film industry, method acting, and actual Parks canon that I can imagine, from start to finish. If you don’t think that the debate speech “Leelee” makes is pretty much the best thing ever, I don’t know what do you with you. That this premise basically became canon in the Season 5 episode “Bailout” is just icing on a very, very sexy cake. (See also: Dear Friend and Seven Slices)
“IndiANNa” by tomatocages. 1.4K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Gen
Ann Perkins gets a bad rap sometimes, mostly because the writers never seemed quite sure what to do with her (besides using her as half of one of the best Bechdel-passing friendships on network TV, of course). Here, we explore a bit of Ann’s backstory, rendered in a deft and frankly honest hand, and—aside from the lack of Michigan—who’s to say it isn’t canon?
“I know I’m going to be” by torigates. 2.6K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Gen
Though bits of this fic (written in 2013) no longer quite jive with canon, the piece has stuck with me over the years for its smart, insightful, and beautifully rendered look at a minor character—grade-school student Lauren Burkiss—and her relationship with Ron Swanson over the years. In a fandom flooded by every kind of het fic for its main characters, this story is one of the best gen entries I’ve read, and it underscores the canon’s deep respect for unconventional and non-romantic friendships. (See also: E! True Hollywood Story: Janet Snakehole)
BONUS RANDOM FIC REC BY GAV (THAT MADE ELIZABETH CRY)
“Cousin Harry” by Nicnac. 2.8K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Thoughtful and heartfelt futurefic from the perspective of Dudley Dursley’s wife, showing how Dudley tries to grow beyond the damage done by his parents.
FINAL THOUGHT (FROM ELIZABETH)
So: there’s been a BIG conversation about race and racism in parts of fanfic/tumblr fandom in the past few weeks, with the results of DestinationToast’s Star Wars fandom stats as one of the starting points. But it’s a conversation that’s far larger than Star Wars or any one ship or character—and it’s by no means a particularly new conversation, either.
I wrote a few weeks back that I was interrogating myself and the characters (ie white dudes) I’ve chosen to read and write about over my years in fanfic land. But mostly what I’ve been trying to do over the past couple of weeks is listen (not least because me rambling on about those aforementioned white dude ships accomplishes literally nothing). After we talked with Toast about the stats on my podcast (she’s a regular contributor), Flourish and I asked if any fans of color wanted to come on and talk about their experiences with race and fandom over the years. And TEN PEOPLE volunteered—so many we had to split it into two episodes! Part one is here; part two is here.
I’m wary of plugging my podcast in this space too often, so I apologize for that! But since so many different people talked to us—and shared their writing in the show notes for the episodes (part 1 and part 2)—I really wanted to link to it here. Our ten guests have a variety of backgrounds and perspectives—and they don’t always agree, which is part of what makes this discussion really interesting. As always, I’d love your feedback; we’re hoping to to link to any responses we might get, so if you listen and have thoughts, please get in touch with Flourish and me, on tumblr, Twitter, or email. — Elizabeth
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