The Rec Center #259
Hi folks! We’ve got holiday-themed fanfic recs for you this week, along with coverage of the Cyberpunk 2077 debacle, fanfic during the pandemic, an alarming Hannibal Twitter trend, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“To Fandom, With Love” by Rebecca Epstein-Levi at Bitch Media
A lovely essay about coming back to fanfiction during lockdown.
“What was 2020? For me, it was video games.” by Alanna Okun at Vox
“1,200 hours later, I regret nothing.”
“The Cyberpunk 2077 review drama” by John Walker at Kotaku
One week on, this coverage of Cyberpunk 2077’s disastrous launch is already slightly out-of-date due to recent developments. However it still provides some very useful commentary on the game’s controversial reception, and how it ties into the evolution of games criticism and fandom.
older stuff
“The Year of Loving Things Again” by Elizabeth at Fansplaining
At the end of 2017, Elizabeth wrote this piece about giving yourself permission to engage with fandom stuff when the world’s on fire (literally and figuratively). At the end of 2020, it feels just as relevant.
tumblr & beyond
Nyx fanart by yuramoonbow
Happy birthday to the phrase “tongues battling for dominance.” (Probably. We have NOT fact-checked this.)
Luv this Megan Thee Stallion/Powerpuff Girls crossover vid.
those actors should be writing fanartists a thankyou note.
Some v cute Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fanart.
yeah i think a lot of us have gone through this Supernatural journey over the past few weeks.
Important new fanart of a classic holiday ship, Grinch x Tony the Tiger
“the hannibal fandom jokingly made #consensualcannibalism trend on twitter”
fanfiction
We put out a call for holiday and/or winter fic last week and got a ton of submissions! So we’ll run the first batch this week, and next week, we’ll run the rest. Thank you to everyone who sent in a rec. <3 — Elizabeth
“I Don’t Want a Lot for Solstice” by aeriallon. 23K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Supernatural; Ship: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Recced by: ExpatGirl
Backstory: In which Dean drives out to Palo Alto to stay with Sam over winter break, and meets Sam’s new co-op housemates, including comparative literature PhD candidate, fundamentalist cult survivor, and practicing witch Castiel Milton—which would all be confusing enough, if Cas weren’t also unfairly gorgeous, especially in cowboy boots.
Rec: I am so picky about AU fics in this fandom, but Cas as a cult survivor who is coming to terms with what he wants? Great!
Content warning: Recreational drug use
“Winter Spice and Memories” by Avianscribe. 2.5K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Final Fantasy XV; Ship: Gen
Recced by: MathClassWarfare
Backstory: A holiday-themed story of Amicitia sibling bonding during the World of Ruin.
Rec: It’s really sweet and heartfelt and not at all sappy. It focuses on a bright moment of community and love during a really rough time during the canon story.
Content warning: Remembering lost loved ones
“table for three” by pocky_slash. 5.8K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: X-Men First Class; Ship: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Recced by: Lara
Backstory: Erik shares a table with Kitty Pryde and her mother at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve.
Rec: In 6K the author examines returning to traditions after a loss, community, and being a minority religion in America. Overall it’s a fic that makes me happy to be Jewish.
Content warnings: N/A
“why don’t we get together and call ourselves an institute” by leupagus. 4.2K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Person of Interest; Ship: Harold Finch/John Reese
Recced by: fredfinch
Backstory: Finch and Reese hang out a lot while undercover in offices, everyone assumes they’re dating, and they go to an office holiday party. Told mostly from the outside perspective of Finch and Reese’s coworkers through emails and texts.
Rec: It’s hilarious and cute as hell! I love the emails back and forth between the OCs, the chemistry between Finch and Reese is great, and I will never get the phrase ‘blowies in the bathroom’ out of my head.
Content warnings: N/A
“Trade Me” by ratherunnecessary. 61K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: BTS; Ships: Namjoon/Seokjin, Yoongi/Jimin
Recced by: @fictionality
Backstory: Seokjin is an athlete recovering from a career ending injury and Namjoon is a burnt-out record executive. They decide to trade lives for three months, hoping the change will give them a new perspective on their respective issues.
Rec: I love the setting (winter sports!), the characterizations, and the eventual OT7 friendship. What sets this story apart for me is the way it explores having to move on from a dream and all of the mourning and grief that are part of that process.
Content warnings: Injury recovery (nothing graphic), mentions of anxiety/mental health issues
“how long to stay and when to go” by Sister. 6K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Batman (comics); Ship: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Recced by: SJ
Backstory: This fic is situated in the pre-52 era of DC Comics, and begins with Jason and Tim in an established relationship. It follows Jason as he freaks out when he realizes he’s more committed than he thought.
Rec: This author is certainly a favorite for me in the fandom, but this fic in particular is really something. The characters in this fic are so tangible and alive. The prose here is also incredible—it’s different, but not in a way you should be scared of.
Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence
“The Sith Who Brought Life Day” by Ophelia_interrupted. 13K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Star Wars (classic): Ship: Gen
Recced by: Cranialaccessory
Backstory: Set in between A New Hope and Empire, this very funny fic follows the attempts of a no-name stormtrooper to get Darth Vader a present for Life Day.
Rec: A clever, fun read that fills a minor canonical gap and really captures the panic of having to gift shop for your boss.
Content warnings: War, stormtrooper culture
FINAL THOUGHT
Just a heads up: we’re approaching TinyLetter’s subscriber cap, which is exciting, because that means a lot of people have signed up for this newsletter, but it’s mostly annoying, because we have to move. We haven’t decided where to go yet, but we’re hoping to be switched over for the first regular issue in 2021 on January 8th. When we move, subscribers likely won’t have to do anything, and even though it might not look exactly the same, we’re going to keep the same format, and, of course, it will remain free to everyone. — Elizabeth
P.S. Uh also, just in time lol? Because strangely, TinyLetter wouldn’t let us embed links to our screenshotted tweets this week. (I actually suspect this is Twitter’s fault, not TinyLetter’s, but still.) If you would like to fave or retweet them, here’s #1 and #2.
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://buttondown.email/the-rec-center. And find us on social media: Gav (twitter/tumblr) & Elizabeth (twitter/tumblr)