The Rec Center #210
Hi all! This week we have our second batch of multifandom Yuletide fic recs, along with posts about wannabe YouTube kidfluencers, Star Wars, Star Trek, and more. — Gav
new stuff
“A Brief History of Convention Ribbons” by Michael Lee at Twin Cities Geek
Ever wondered about those collectable ribbons at fan conventions? Well, here’s the answer!
“Meet the wannabe kidfluencers struggling for stardom” by Amelia Tait at the MIT Technology Review
When so much YouTube coverage focuses on the platform’s stars, this is a really interesting look at young hopeful vloggers who are struggling to gain a following.
“‘Release the JJ cut’: the Star Wars conspiracy that offers fans an impossible fantasy” by Aja Romano at Vox
#releasethejjcut is not the only fandom conspiracy theory that pits some part of the corporate art machine against another—and this is a great explainer on the broader trend.
older stuff
“Every Furby gets a home” by Kaitlyn Tiffany at Vox
If Uncut Gems has left you desperate for some furby content, this is an excellent deep dive into the furby collecting fandom on Tumblr.
tumblr & beyond
Some great advice on how to do research for a story, by someone who may have written one of your favorite fics, rageprufrock.
“Mastery of HTML”
“Marriage Story (HARD MODE)”
Ren Faire Mandalorian & Baby Yoda cosplay!!!
Important reminder to prepare yourself emotionally for the ~dark and gritty~ Star Trek: Picard TV series.
fanfiction
And here’s the second half of our 2019 Yuletide list! You can read part 1 here. Thank you to everyone who sent in a rec. <3 — Elizabeth
“a paler shade of white” by havisham. 1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Withnail & I; Ship: Marwood/Withnail
Recced by: Allegra
Backstory: Withnail & I is a cult black comedy film about a codependent relationship between the unstable Withnail and his flatmate Marwood, both struggling actors. The film ends with Marwood going off to bigger and better things, leaving Withnail behind.
Rec: This short post-canon fic features Withnail & Marwood reuniting when Withnail is cast in Marwood’s play. The acerbic banter is on-point and so in-character, and I loved the way they naturally fell back in together and took their relationship to the next level.
Content warnings: N/A
“Be Bold, but not Too Bold” by meguri_aite. 8K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: In Other Lands | The Turn of the Story - Sarah Rees Brennan; Ship: Elliot Schafer/Luke Sunborn
Recced by: alasse
Backstory: In Other Lands is an AMAZING book that deconstructs various fantasy tropes, beginning with a young boy discovering a magical other land on the other side of the wall—the issue is, Elliot is a committed pacifist, misses proper showers and pens, and doesn’t understand why the Other Lands just wants to go to war. He does love how Elven culture deconstructs traditional masculinity, though, and don’t get him started on mermaids...
Rec: This story is basically perfect. It’s a post-canon quest fic from Luke’s POV, and there are DRAGONS and perfectly Elliot-like ways of trying to integrate the dragons into the Other Lands and it’s funny and sweet and everything you need after you finish the book. Absolute STAND OUT for this Yule.
Content warnings: N/A
“Mother Bonesplitter’s Children” by Fontainebleau. 2K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: The Author of the Acacia Seeds - Ursula Le Guin; Ship: gen
Recced by: Rachel
Backstory: The Author of the Acacia Seeds by Ursula Le Guin is a short story which can be read online here. It’s a collection of academic articles about “theriolinguistics” or the literature of animals in a future where humans have learned to read other species’ languages.
Rec: It takes the original idea in a new direction in an "obvious now you mention it" way, and perfectly matches the academic tone of the original.
Content warnings: N/A
“American Notes on British Baking” by AirgiodSLV. 3K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Red, White and Royal Blue; Ship: Alex/Henry
Recced by: Roz
Backstory: Alex us the First Son of a Female POTUS and Henry is a Prince of England; they fell in love. Post-canon fic.
Rec: It’s epistolary fic and all talk is about food, Henry’s baking more specifically.
Content warnings: N/A
“What’s Real” by slightlykylie. 2.4K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Austin & Murry-O’Keefe Families - Madeleine L’Engle; Ship: Gen
Recced by: anon
Backstory: A post-novel fic for A Wind In The Door, as Meg copes with her grief for Proginoskes.
Rec: This feels like something L’Engle might have written herself, with deep compassion for Meg in her grief and deep wisdom from Proginoskes in response. Beautifully cathartic and beautifully written.
Content warnings: N/A
“All the Spinach You Can Eat” by Franzeska. 6K words, Unrated (Adult).
Fandom: Jeeves & Wooster; Ship: Jeeves/Wooster
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Wooster is a foolish 1920s aristocrat; Jeeves is his intelligent, manipulative butler.
Rec: The key conceit of Jeeves & Wooster is that Wooster is the world’s biggest well-meaning idiot, and this hilarious fic manages that while also constructing a scenario where Wooster (kind of) outwits Jeeves. Told in Wooster’s memorably silly style of internal monologue, it sees him stumble across some gay BDSM porn that leads into a more adult-rated version of the absurd hijinks and misunderstandings of a typical J&W story.
Content warnings: N/A
“Roman à Clef” by ellen_fremedon. 7K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Stardew Valley; Ship: Elliott/Harvey
Recced by: Heather
Backstory: A rare but charming Stardew Valley NPC/NPC pairing. Harvey agrees to help Leah run a sculpture class at the Community Centre, which Elliott begins to use as "inspiration" for his new novel.
Rec: I loved the mixed-media way the story is told—through letters, recordings, fliers and IM logs from across town. As well as the cute central romance, the story explores a lot of Stardew Valley’s secrets, and brings a lot of depth to the game’s setting and background characters.
Content warnings: N/A
And a double rec, presented with our patented “combining double recs” technique:
“where there’s smoke, there’s fire” by Lexie. 24K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV); Ship: Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Recced by: anon and Ang
Backstory: anon writes: 9-1-1 is a procedural show about Los Angeles first responders. Buck and Eddie, both firefighters with the LAFD 118, butted heads at first but quickly became inseparable. This story imagines what might happen if their secret romantic relationship was revealed.
Ang writes: Buck and Eddie are both firefighters with the LA 118th. In this story, they’re already in an established relationship and struggling with keeping it a secret from their friends, co-workers, and most importantly, Eddie’s son Christopher, but as always, nothing can be easy or simply.
Rec: anon writes: This story has everything I like in a fic—characters navigating emotionally precarious situations, families of choice, take-no-prisoners union reps, a satisfying and hopeful resolution. The best thing for me about this story was how the author was able to show different characters’ perspectives on being outed at work with empathy and grace.
Ang writes: I loved this story because it felt so natural to the storytelling in canon that I could see it becoming canon. One of my favorite things in 9-1-1 fics are a really close bond between Buck and Christopher, and this story really delivers on that front!
Content warnings: Blood and broken bones (first responder fic, after all), the relationship between bureaucracy and homophobia
FINAL THOUGHT
Last week we included a tumblr post that began: “A Star Trek idea: A comedy sitcom where instead of a Vulcan on a mostly human ship it is a human on a mostly Vulcan ship.” And because fandom is amazing, a reader sent in a rec with this very premise! Well, somewhat...as always, please heed the tags! — Elizabeth
“Physician, Heal Thyself” by WeirdLittleStories. 10.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Star Trek; Ship: Gen
Recced by: clevermanka
Backstory: I responded to that post about McCoy being on a Vulcan ship just today so I’ve got the link to that story handy! The story summary: “When McCoy is temporarily assigned to an all-Vulcan ship, he learns some things about himself, about Spock, and about Vulcans that enable him to grow and change and become an even better man.”
Rec: I love Leonard McCoy. A lot. He’s my second favorite character on the show, but there’s no denying the man is racist. I think the show did that intentionally, but it (and fandom) tends to gloss over that. This story doesn’t.
Content warnings: The Tumblr post that was linked in the newsletter is lighthearted, but the story is fairly serious
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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