The Rec Center #205
Hi folks! This week week we have a She-ra explainer and fanfic recs from guest reccer sparrow, along with our now-typical glut of Baby Yoda content, some cute Magnus Archives fanart, a very helpful post about soulmate AUs, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“D.C. Fontana, First Female ‘Star Trek’ Writer, Dies at 80” by Liam Stack at The New York Times
Dorothy Fontana was an icon of the Star Trek franchise, writing on the Original Series, the Animated Series, and the pilot for The Next Generation. If you love Spock, you probably have her to thank. RIP to a true legend.
“Confessions of an Adjacent Geek” by Keidra Chaney at Uncanny Magazine
A fantastic essay about “geek culture” and the boundaries we place around it—including the ones we self-impose.
“Three Lactation Consultants on Breastfeeding Baby Yoda” by Brian VanHooker at Mel Magazine
Read the headline, you must. Click the link, you will.
older stuff
“Star Wars, queer representation and the mainstreaming of slash” by Elizabeth at the New Statesman
Pretty sure you can guess why this one is relevant four years after I wrote it! But in all seriousness, as I was saying on Twitter yesterday, I in no way want to diminish anyone’s disappointment over this week’s StormPilot news. The media conversation around shipping v representation has gotten sliiiiightly better in the intervening years, but only slightly. (Also for v smart commentary on that , please see this conversation with Drs Rukmini Pande and Lori Morimoto on an earlyish episode of Fansplaining). — Elizabeth
tumblr & beyond
Magnus Archives fanart by cardamines
“rey is a friggin’ animorph”
Attn: Martin Scorcese: It’s not not fanart for The Irishman…
OK but have we thought enough about the LOGISTICS of soulmate AUs?
These guys recorded a Baby Yoda song to the tune of Dear Theodosia from Hamilton???
Comics publisher Zainab Akhtar is seeking fanart/illustration submissions for a Lupin III zine.
fanfiction + explainer: she-ra
This week’s guest reccer is sparrow, who writes: “I’m sparrow, and the end of season 4 was a whole lot. I wrote some fic and rejoined tumblr to scream about it.”
Hey, fandom.
Are you ready for a lesbian space fantasy Drarry with a prom episode?
Are you looking for a new ship resembling CATWS-era Stucky but girlier and weepier?
Have I got the children’s television program about magical princesses for you!
Netflix and Dreamworks have released a remake of the 1980’s She-Ra cartoon, called She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Adora, a young woman raised by the Evil Horde, discovers a magic sword, gains an eight-foot-tall warrior-lady alter-ego with a sparkly transformation sequence, and uses the Power of Friendship to fight evil.
By “evil,” I mean Adora primarily fights her childhood best friend, Catra, a snarky young woman who is increasingly obviously traumatized and making destructive choices. Catradora (Adora/Catra) is the emotional and narrative core of the show, and it starts looking like a compelling ship in the first five minutes or so.
The fandom’s second big ship doesn’t hit its stride for three seasons, but once it does, oh, my cyborg heart is so far gone. In season 1, Lord Hordak is a shouty one-dimensional evil overlord. Entrapta is a princess of engineering and an enthusiastic morally-gray hacker. She’s introduced with a Frankenstein-esque castle full of murder robots. Through seasons 2, 3, and 4, we learn more of his secrets, and they build a touching, fragile connection to each other. Entrapdak (Entrapta/Hordak) echoes Catradora in its themes about recovery, imperfection, and kindness, but adds notes about disability and neurodiversity.
Content note: The first several episodes are vague about what needs to be recovered from. Beginning with “Shadows of Mystacor” (Season 1, Episode 7), She-Ra includes non-graphic, sensitive portrayals of trauma and abusive families of origin. This Entrapdak ship manifesto (spoilers for all four seasons) calls it “she-ra and the children of narcissistic parents.”
Fic recs
“this is what it’s like when we collide (this is how you bring me back to life)” by wingsoutforshin (7daysoftorture). 5K words, Not Rated.
Ship: Adora/Catra
Backstory: Catra and Adora are on opposite sides of the war. Hordak gives Catra a magic stone that grants wishes. Published before Season 2 was released.
Rec: These two acknowledging their feelings for each other never gets old, and this iteration is among the first and the cutest.
Content warnings: references to abuse
“That Which We Want” by VillainIHaveDoneThyMother. 3.5K words, rated Mature.
Ship: Entrapta/Hordak
Backstory: It’s season 3, they’re lab partners planning to conquer the world. Hordak asks Entrapta some questions about sexuality.
Rec: A powerful, short narrative about intimacy in the context of dysphoria (that doesn’t use that word).
Content warnings: Internalized ableism, past trauma (ft. reproductive coercion), vague sex
“A New Weird” by corantus. 2.7K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Adora/Catra
Backstory: Adora and Catra share a bunk in the Horde, pre-canon, and are physically affectionate with each other.
Rec: Sweet, fluffy snuggles.
Content warnings: N/A
“fix you” by squiirby. 6.7K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Entrapta/Hordak
Backstory: Entrapta finds Hordak, shortly after the end of season 4.
Rec: One of many season 4 fix-it fics, beautiful and satisfying.
Content warnings: Canon-typical abuse
“Where the Lonely Ones Roam” by glimmerglanger. 19K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Adora/Catra
Backstory: Written before season 2 was released. Adora defeats Hordak, but is wounded in the process. Catra rescues her.
Rec: A brilliant love story about aftermaths, recovery, and caring about other people.
Content warnings: Past trauma, past abuse, past violence
“His Wiggles” by MinaAffairs. 1.4K words, rated Gen.
Ships: Entrapta/Hordak, Adora/Catra (mentioned)
Backstory: Adora figures out Hordak and Entrapta while trying to attack the Horde.
Rec: A silly and extremely cute bit of fluff.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
Tumblr has put out their annual year in review analysis, and it’s a very interesting snapshot of some parts of fandom in 2019. Even if you aren’t on Tumblr these days (or were never on Tumblr!), it’s definitely worth exploring, especially if you study culture more broadly. — 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)