The Rec Center #224
Hi folks! This week we’ve got an amusingly specific fanfic rec list for you (stories where characters get magically transformed into pets) along with more lockdown content, an article about Cameo, some multifandom fanart, and more! — Gav
lockdown stuff
As we’ve done for the past few weeks, we’re collecting fandom-oriented lockdown stuff like online cons, fests, etc. Send us anything you’d like us to boost at elizabethandgav at gmail dot com. — Elizabeth
The folks who run the Glasgow Fanfic Open Mic are doing online events for lockdown. They write: “It’s people bringing their fanfic to read to a supportive audience, basically.” The next one is on May 19, from 6-10pm UK time, and you can register and get more info here! (Plus! They’re also running a watch-along of The Witcher starting this coming Monday.)
Doctor Who: Lockdown! On the off chance that you’re a Doctor Who fan who hasn’t stumbled across it this year, a bunch of DW actors and creators are getting together several times a week to release new DW content and livetweet old episodes. So far that’s included short stories from DW writers, a vlog minisode, and commentary from several of the lead actors.
Holocon: A livestreamed LGBTQIA+ sci-fi convention on April 25 and May 2, featuring panels, drag performances, cosplay, and celebrity guests including Star Trek actors.
new stuff
“Cameo Was Made for the Coronavirus” by Madison Malone Kircher at Vulture
Cameo, the weirdly fascinating platform that lets you pay celebrities (“celebrities”) to record messages for you, is shining in the era of social distancing.
“For the Love of Footnotes: When Fantasy Gets Extra Nerdy” by Elyse Martin at Tor
An exploration of the (relatively rare) use of footnotes in fantasy literature.
older stuff
“Teen Idols” by Apoorva Bisht, Vartika Sharma, and Vatsala Manan at Rookie
Delightful scans of the fannish scrapbooks the authors made in the early-to-mid 2000s.
tumblr & beyond
Multifandom fanart by Myrthena
Some very poetic Untamed fanart about grocery shopping.
“the beginning of every call / zoom / email for the past week”
“Safe to say that searching for The Magnus Archives playlist in spotify was a good idea”
Ah yes... early-2000s DeviantArt was... a more innocent time?
fanfiction
When we were brainstorming about this week’s fic theme, Gav said something like, “A lot of people have been adopting pets, do we have fic about that?” And I said, “WHAT ABOUT WHEN CHARACTERS TURN INTO PETS?” This trope is generally ridiculous in the best possible way, and I was anticipating a couple of submissions, hopefully enough to make a proper list...and then we got so many we had to split it into two lists. This is the first—more to come in probably a few weeks’ time. Thank you to all of our guest reccers. <3 — Elizabeth
“Tales From Bunny Mountain” by Telarna. 6K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ship: Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji (but mostly gen)
Recced by: yunitsa
Backstory: A post-canon fic with a deeply cracky premise (all of the staid, virtuous Lan sect transform into bunnies; Wei Wuxian and a visiting Jin Ling have to deal with it) that is somehow both heartfelt and hilarious. The bunnies are canonical though the transformation is not.
Rec: The reason this works is that it’s somehow deeply in-character: of *course* the Lan wouldn’t allow themselves to enjoy being bunnies! Of course LWJ would bite someone and then want to snuggle! Also, “Hanguang-Bun” brings me great delight.
Content warnings: N/A
“To fill it up with something” by caughtinanocean. 21K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Captain America; Ship: Steve/Bucky
Recced by: epicstuckyficrecs
Backstory: A fateful encounter with Dr. Strange leaves the Winter Soldier transformed, and Bucky Barnes reunites with Steve Rogers in a most unexpected way.
Rec: Cute puppy Bucky, pining Steve, a bit of the Winter Soldier plot, what’s not to like? :P
Content warnings: N/A
“You’re Rabbit, Louis” by sunsetmog. 5.6K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: One Direction / Radio 1 RPF; Ships: Nick Grimshaw/Harry Styles, Nick Grimshaw/Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Recced by: 1degosuperego
Backstory: sunsetmog is a master of both Gryles and Tomlinshaw. Her renditions of Nick, Harry, and Louis are so good that without thinking about it, they’ve become my fanon standards.
Rec: Either the prospect of bone-dry crackfic about Louis Tomlinson as an absolutely furious rabbit who protests being fed “posh lettuce” (like watercress and rocket) appeals to you, or it doesn’t—but you should try it anyway.
Content warnings: N/A
“Take a Bite of my Heart Tonight” by lady_ragnell. 2.4K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Leverage; Ship: It’s tagged Hardison/Eliot/Parker b/c of their chemistry (even as animals), but content-wise, is gen
Recced by: casapazzo
Backstory: The title of this when it first appeared on Tumblr was: “the one with the anti-theft curse that turns them into animals,” or, Hardison adopts a couple of shelter pets. They’re really weird.
Rec: A lot of fun in a short package, and lady_ragnell does a good job mapping how human moods/gestures would map onto animal behaviors.
Content warnings: N/A
“Unfamiliars” by themarmalade. 27K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: BTS; Ship: SUGA/Jhope, (Yoongi/Hoseok)
Recced by: hoggy
Backstory: Yoongi (SUGA) and Hoseok (Jhope) of BTS are well-known for having a particularly close friendship and balancing each other’s personalities really well. It makes them a popular pairing to write, a classic tsundere-and-their-bubbly-opposite dynamic. In this non-famous AU, Yoongi is magically transformed into a cat, and is rescued by Hoseok. Yoongi helps Hoseok with his anxiety and depression while sharing their life together.
Rec: Told from Yoongi the cat’s perspective, this is such a lovely reveal of how people let their guard down around their pets, and how important animals are to our mental health. Yoongi’s personality really comes through in his cat behaviour, and it’s adorable to see how invested he gets in his friend (and later, as a human, boyfriend) Hoseok’s happiness.
Content warning: Injured animals are mentioned, nothing serious
And two reccers sent in this one (which Elizabeth was also thinking of reccing 😹):
“Humane Society” smilebackwards. 10K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: X-Men: First Class; Ship: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Recced by: jordansbrock and Edel
Backstory: Edel writes: Modern, but with powers AU. Erik is transformed into a kitten due to pissing off someone, gets adopted by a non-mutant Charles and angrily falls head over heels for him.
Rec: jordansbrock writes: Adorable and sweet setup, with a hint of seriousness in how Erik learns to deal with his rabid anti-human stance after falling in love with Charles, who (in this story) has no mutation at all.
Edel writes: It’s ridiculous, funny and I can’t help laughing at the mental image of Erik the homicidal kitten.
Content warning: Some allusions to Mystique being mistreated as a child
FINAL THOUGHT
A call for recs that’s...significantly different from “one half of my ship turned into a dog”: spurred by recent conversations and listener letters on Fansplaining, I’d like to run a list of fic that people might label “cathartic.” This is a pretty amorphous one—and a pretty personal one, too. But it’s likely that if you found a fic cathartic, someone else might, too. Please use our submission form, include “catharsis” in the tags, and because this is likely to touch on some hard subject matter, please please please make sure to fill in the content warnings field. — 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)