The Rec Center #239
Hi folks! This week we’ve got an article about the fanfic reader/writer relationship, some adorable Legend of Korra fanart, multifandom “character study” fic recs, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Atrophy of the Author: In Fanfiction, Writers and Readers Are on More Equal Ground” by Emilia Copeland Titus at Catapult
“I cannot help but feel apologetic for the enthusiasm that informs my practice as both a reader and a writer, because it feels shameful to love anything so fervently. To outsiders, fanfiction embodies that shame to the fullest extent. Indifference is easy, but love—the kind of love that runs so deep and so clear that it threatens to burst the dam of your heart—is difficult.”
older stuff
“Thank you daddy: The psychosexual intimacy of Taskmaster” by Allegra Rosenberg at the Niche Blog
A... let’s call it a fandom guide... to the fascinating power dynamics on display in the British TV game show Taskmaster. "A dark horse of psychosexual, BDSM-flavored absurdity."
tumblr & beyond
Adorable Korrasami fanart by 5hi0
“All I’ve been drawing this week is Diane Keaton as Batman.”
A delightful tale about an OG Star Trek shipper.
We’re not usually onboard with “everything wrong about [X franchise]”-style criticism, but this TikToker... makes some very good points about the Star Wars movie titles!!
“dont miss this auction for the rotting skin of a ninja turtle”
HANNIBAL... CROSSING...
K-pop stans put BTS’s names on NASA’s new Mars rover.
fanfiction
This week we have a multifandom list of fics people have labeled “character study,” a general category I love (especially because how people interpret it varies wildly). Thank you very much to all our guest reccers. <3 — Elizabeth
“As N Approaches Infinity” by Corisanna. 21K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: Bleach, Puella Magi Madoka Magica; Ship: Gen
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Homura gets accidental backup against Kyubey.
Rec: Incredibly well written and is readable even if you don’t watch Bleach (like me!). In the desperate fight of the underdog, every joy is hard won—but feels all the better for it.
Content warnings: Temporary character death, canon-typical violence
“a girl in the forest of moss and bone” by theformerone. 65K words (part 2 of a long series, but can be read as a standalone), rated Teen.
Fandom: Naruto: Ship: Gen
Recced by: Fanny
Backstory: An AU where Sakura isn’t denied character development and becomes a sage as powerful as the likes of Sasuke and Naruto. Takes place in Shikkotsu forest, where she has to survive, adapt, and prove herself to the slugs who she wants to enter a sage contract with.
Rec: THE WORLDBUILDING IS INCREDIBLE! The author runs with minor in-universe concepts and makes something entirely whole and mesmerizing that is both like and unlike anything in canon. Plus, Sakura only interacts with literal slugs and it’s great.
Content warnings: Fairly graphic depictions of violence, lots of talk of slug slime
“An algorithm for mistakes” by Fleete. 27K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Teen Wolf; Ship: Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinksi
Recced by: anon
Backstory: This fic takes place after the pack goes to college (written early on in the series so think early pack make-up). It’s also about the pack settling into each other as found family, particularly the human members learning werewolf etiquette
Rec: This is listed as Lydia/Stiles but I always think of it as the story of Lydia Martin learning how to be awesome. What I love about it is her learning to embrace her academic intelligence, but also learning to be open to others.
Content warnings: N/A
“To be of use” by Erisette. 53K words, Not Rated.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ship: Gen, Lan Wangji-centric
Recced by: lemmnpie
Backstory: Set in the years between the death and resurrection of Wei Wuxian.
Rec: Gen fics where characters have a lot of meaningful conversations are my personal favourite. What I love about this one is that you can see how Lan Zhan’s past and present relationships help shape him and his moral compass into the character that we see later in the show. I also love that for a story so heavily marked by loss, it happens to be delightfully non-angsty most of the time. The children are also amazing.
Content warnings: N/A
“the space your name makes” by anthropologicalhands. 9K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; Ships: Rebecca Bunch & Paula Proctor, Rebecca Bunch/Josh Chan, Rebecca Bunch/Nathaniel Plimpton, Rebecca, Bunch/Greg Serrano
Recced by: anon
Backstory: A character study of Rebecca Bunch and her desire for a romantic soulmate. An AU of the TV show where she moves across the country for her camp crush.
Rec: It’s a different type of soulmark story and really highlights how living in a world with those kinds of marks could shape you while being relatively canon compliant.
Content warnings: N/A
And a vid!
“What It Means” by Kilia93. 2:58, rated Gen.
Fandom: Star Trek AOS (reboot); Ship: Gen
Recced by: Ashley
Backstory: Answers the question “what does it mean to be a part of the Enterprise crew” with an emphasis on a Kirk character study. Headphones/HD recommended.
Rec: Impeccable editing, both audio and video. Spine-tingling, introspective, and emotional, defining how the crew of the Enterprise are family.
Content warning: Canon-typical space gun violence
FINAL THOUGHT
Alongside Worldcon in ~virtual New Zealand~ right now, ConZealand Fringe is an unaffiliated alternate track of programming at “European-friendly times.” Earlier this week Gav appeared on “Fanzines Online: Fan publications in the age of social media” (you can watch the full panel here!) and on Sunday, I’ll be on “And There Was Only One Panel: The Joy of Fanfic, or Squeeing About Our Favourite Tropes.”
The details:
Sunday, August 2nd
5-6AM NZST (NEXT DAY) • 6-7PM BST • 1-2PM EDT • 10-11AM PDT
The link will be at the ConZealand Fringe site
Panel summary:
Transformative fandom loves tropes: we love to see our favourite characters in familiar situations; the predictability is a feature, not a bug. The panelists discuss some of their favourite tropes: why do they work so well? What about these tropes resonates with us? And why do they work across so many fandoms?
Come and watch me deliver my Strong Opinions on fic. :-))) — 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)