The Rec Center #220
Hi folks! This week we’ve got a Harry Potter larping scandal, some (inevitable) coverage of fanfic in the age of coronavirus, some cute fanart for MDZS/The Untamed, another rec list for super-long fanfic series, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“How fanfic writers are reacting to coronavirus” by Gav at the Daily Dot
Gav interviewed some fanfic writers and readers about their fic habits during the current crisis, ranging from the need for escapist fiction, to a writer who posted a fanfic based on her own experience of the outbreak in China.
Related! If you’re curious about the results of the Fansplaining mini-survey on fiction during times of crisis, the episode analyzing them (with transcript) is here, and snazzy visualizations of the data by verity are here.
“The Tamagotchi Hacking Community’s Quest to Cheat Death” by Melanie Ehrenkranz at OneZero
People have been sharing Tamagotchi cheats since the 90s. Decades later, people are still helping each other keep these little guys “alive.”
“Poor Pay, Abuse, And Harassment: How The World’s Biggest Wizard School Lost Its Magic” by Elizabeth Ballou at Kotaku
A longread about a glossy Harry Potter-inspired larp and the abuses that led to it being shut down last year. (CW—the title says it all, abuse and sexual harassment)
older stuff
“How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds” by Sarah Laskow at Atlas Obscura
“Imaginary places can offer us new kinds of discovery.” On fictional maps—including many fictional maps!
tumblr & beyond
Modern-day fanart for The Untamed by choripan
If only this fake Frankenstein broadway musical really existed.
Fanfiction: You’re gonna suffer, but you’re gonna be happy about it.
Okay this is a truly astounding fan/creator interaction For The Ages.
Actually, The Author can stay alive just this once.
fanfiction
One more week of series for ~maximum content~. Perhaps you have time to read 400,000 words right now? If you want more series recs, see here, here, here, and here. Thank you to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“And So It Goes” by Chash. 88K words across 8 works, rated Explicit.
Fandoms: The 100 / Persuasion fusion; Ships: Bellamy/Clarke, Monty/Miller
Recced by: Samantha
Backstory: Clarke moves to the middle of nowhere, falls head over heels for Bellamy, then reconnects with him years after the fact and falls all over again.
Rec: Chash writes this pairing with such breathtaking perfection, particularly in this AU, which embodies all the best parts about them.
Content warnings: N/A
“The secret language of plants” by Endrina. 373K words over 4 works, rated Mature.
Fandom: Harry Potter; Ships: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape/Remus Lupin
Recced by: Amalthia
Backstory: Severus kidnaps Harry from the Dursleys and ends up raising Harry with Remus until the wizarding world finds Harry.
Rec: I felt so many emotions reading this series, I cried at least twice, laughed more than once, and I was on the edge of my seat often. I loved the plot, character voices, I couldn’t stop reading once I started. This kept me up until 4am reading.
Content warnings: N/A
“An Elegant, Lively Vintage” by TheDamselfly. 19K words over 3 works, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Kingsmen; Ship: Roxy/Merlin
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Kingsmen is a movie about well-dressed secret agents with a delightful propensity for violence. Roxy and Merlin are both secondary characters who get to have some marvelous fun in being fully fleshed out in this series.
Rec: Roxy gets to be so confident and incredible at communicating; Merlin is responsive and delightfully sexual. It’s pure smut, but it’s elegant and enviable.
Content warning: Referenced off-screen dub-con
“Message Traffic” by Skitzofreak. 89K words over 3 works, rated Gen-Teen.
Fandom: Star Wars: Rogue One; Ships: Cassian/Jyn, Chirrut/Baze, Leila/Han
Recced by: Onlyevey
Backstory: Canon-divergent where the cast of Rogue One lives. Narrative is built on stored and captured messages from members of the rebel alliance adjacent to the original trilogy.
Rec: It’s bittersweet, ephemeral, formally innovative, and ends up being about a droid revolution, as all Star Wars stories should be.
Content warnings: War, ptsd, minor character death, violence, profanity
“Imagine the Ocean” by Damkianna. 364K words over 5 works, rated Teen.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender; Ship: Gen
Recced by: anon
Backstory: A looooong AU that starts off with the notion that Aang died when the iceberg thawed, and Katara was the next Avatar. Retelling of the series. Mild spoiler: Aang hangs around, all spirit-y.
Rec: The initial concept is so creative, and it opens the author up to amazing imaginative feats in thinking about how the narrative of the TV series would be different if the protagonist was changed. Also, as a Southeast Asian who was disappointed by the minimal representation in the original series, having the equivalent of Southeast Asia included in this AU made me so happy!
Content warnings: N/A
“Still The Walls Do Not Fall” by lbmisscharlie. 152K words over 6 works, rated Teen-Explicit.
Fandom: Captain America (MCU); Ship: Steve/Bucky (F/F)
Recced by: cyborgtopus
Backstory: This is a long, gorgeous and very well thought out genderswap that covers a lot of pre-freezing Stucky feelings. It’s SO GOOD.
Rec: WLW that write F/F are gifts, and she is such an incredible writer. I couldn’t put this down.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
So! We’re putting out a call for fandom-related digital community-oriented stuff that we can share with readers in the coming weeks. Chat groups, streaming events, and similar resources for everyone self-isolating (please tell me everyone who is able to self-isolate is currently doing so!). Please email us at elizabethandgav at gmail dot com.
To start us off, here are a few:
From the folks at Fandom Trumps Hate (which, btw, raised $32K for a host of nonprofits this year, AND none of you outbid me so I won my auction, thank you very much): the “Fandom CDC,” or the Central Directory of Creators, which is organizing people who sell things like fanart, crafts, etc, in a time when their income will take a serious hit with cons being cancelled. Check it out, and put your name on the list if you fall in that category.
For fic writers, the Lock Down Fest, a “non-anon, self-posting, multi-ship and multi-fandom mini fest focusing on a twofold theme: a. Isolated Together, and b. Quarantine/Covid-19 related.” (ymmv with (b), I know for many, myself included, this hits too close to home at the moment, but “isolated together” is a fanfic stalwart). It just opened and already has more than two dozen works, and remains open through the end of the month.
Send us more and we’ll share with the list! — 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)