The Rec Center #24
So. It’s obviously been an incredibly hard week. If you’re looking for a little distraction as we go into the weekend, you’ve come to the right place: we’ve got catfights at the Brontë Society, birds’ affinity for Falcon, and a guest rec list by Marina, who brings us multifandom fic that was so impactful that it changed her mind about the source material. And we wrap things up with our first-ever Rec Center survey! If you have a moment, please fill it out? We’ll be eternally grateful. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Infighting mars Brontë Society a.g.m.” by Katherine Cowdrey at The Bookseller
Fandom infighting: it’s the same everywhere! This story has everything. Year-long feuds between Brontë fans, someone comparing a fan club rule book to the Stasi, and even a cameo role for Dame Judi Dench. Proof that fans don’t need to be in Tumblr wankstorms to behave like this, basically. Isn’t humanity wonderful?
“Reading ‘X-Men’ as a Queer Text” by Sarah Mirk at Bitch Magazine
An interview with comic book scholar Ramzi Fawaz about his new book and queer readings of comics, specifically the X-Men. “It was really about how comic books represented alternative ways of being in the world, queer ways of living, family, intimacy, kinship, connection.”
“Lonelygirl15: how one mysterious vlogger changed the internet” by Elena Cresci at The Guardian
Ten years on, a deep dive into the saga of the YouTuber (or rather, the team of writers and actors that pretended to be a YouTuber) that started everything.
If you don’t spend much time on Twitter, you might have missed one of the brightest spots there this week, the #queerselflove hashtag started by Dylan Marron (Carlos from “Welcome to Nightvale” and the creator of “Every Single Word”). Scroll through the tag, because it’s a beautiful collection of tweets.
old(er) stuff
“Black Widow, Scarce Resources And High-Stakes Stories” by Linda Holmes at NPR’s Monkey See
Elizabeth references this piece at least once a week in casual conversation, and while that might be hyperbole, it was literally true this week, so she thought it might be time to include it. On the storytelling pressures placed on the lone marginalized character in the room.
tumblr and beyond
Sam Wilson fanart by quercusrubra
P.S. After seeing that, we just had to share this post of Sam Wilson screencaps + Birds Rights Activist tweets.
“Explain Death Note to me please.”
Our modern-day Nostradamus, the person who predicted #Hiddleswift. (Or #Swiffleston.)
Speaking of Taylor Swift, violace’s Maleficent fanvid to “Shake It Off” is SO FUCKING GOOD.
fanfiction
You can find Marina on tumblr as raliegh, where she mostly talks about hockey. She loves all of these fics with a passion, so she encourages you to drop by and talk about them with her.
While these fics may not have that much in common with each other on the surface, they all ended up changing my mind about the source material. I now accept some of them as indisputable canon (such as “In Our Line of Work”), and while others still fall under the banner of “close canon AU” to me, they have given me a new perspective on the canon material (such as “Concession”). — Marina
“Dust in the Wind” (+ podfic) by lyra_wing. 4K words.
A Supernatural and American Gods crossover. Excerpt: “They are the gods of the open road and the hunt, of classic rock and stupid luck, of truck stops and greasy diners, of dollar beers and pool halls.”
“Precious Things” by lightningmouse. 11K words, rated Gen.
In a few stand-alone chapters, this Star Trek fic explores the ramifications of the destruction of Vulcan better than some 100K fics.
“In Our Line of Work” by enjambament. 16K words, rated Teen.
(+ gorgeous duel-voice podfic. Use this download link since the audio archive is down right now.)
An “it was all a dream” Inception fic seems kind of ironic. However, this fic completely turns that trope onto it’s head with it’s superb execution and thoughtfulness.
“Play it Again” (+ podfic) by Metisket. 63K words, rated Teen.
Pretty much the only thing in the world that would make me ever watch Teen Wolf would be if they used this fic as a script—I am very apathetic about the show and this fic is very, very good.
“National Service” series (+ podfic) by burntcopper. 64K words.
This series follows the Pevensie children as they branch out in their lives post Narnia. The 6th fic in the series is also a fabulous Torchwood crossover, though it can be passed over without ill effects.
“Concession” by obsession_inc. 26K words, rated Mature.
This Iron Man fic is an exquisite mystery, where you’re fitting the puzzle pieces together at the same time as Christine is unearthing them. There are some dark themes that the author chooses not to warn, so please keep that in mind.
FINAL THOUGHT
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