The Rec Center #264
Hello all! This week we have a first for The Rec Center: FOUR guest reccers, a group of friends who all came into hockey fandom within the past year, and who collaborated on a list of their favorite relatively recent men’s hockey fic. (If you and three of your friends ever want to do a guest list, email us at elizabethandgav at gmail dot com!) We also have the big news about Wattpad’s acquisition, our usual mix of tweets & tumblr posts, and info about this year’s Hugo nominations! — Elizabeth
new stuff
“When Will Comic Cons Return? Industry Experts Weigh In” by Mike Avila at IGN
“The one thing this pandemic shift has given us is time to rethink everything that we knew.”
“Finn Deserved Better—and So Did Black ‘Star Wars’ Fans” by Zaron Burnett III at MEL
“‘Disney better not screw this up,’ I thought. We all know what happened next. Of course, there was an easy fix all along.”
“Wattpad to be sold to South Korean internet giant for $600M US” at the CBC
Wattpad was bought this week by South Korean web conglomerate Naver. While there’s no word yet on what the sale might mean for Wattpad’s users or content, if you or someone you know has published fic there, it’s a good idea to make sure it’s backed up, just in case.
older stuff
“How Writing Fanfic Introduced Me To Myself” by Karen Onojaife at Buzzfeed
“Pacey and Joey and LiveJournal and me—a foursome for the ages.”
tumblr & beyond
Diane Doniol-Valcroze @ddoniolvalcroze
Milla Jovovich answers fans' questions online in an AOL chat. February 13, 1995
“I highly recommend looking up entries for completely mundane things like ‘History of the United Kingdom’ but on fandom wikis”
“ao3′s orphaning option is cool and a good idea but mostly very fucking funny.”
an innovative new method for coming up with fanfic titles.
“AU where Padme is a Jedi and Ahsoka is her padawan.”
ok this is a salient point about Supernatural fandom’s relationship with the show’s writers.
fanfiction
La, Sacha, Catie, and 1degosuperego met in Harry Styles fandom in 2017 before taking a sharp left turn into Hockey RPF fandom almost exactly three years later, in the early days of lockdown. It was months before we watched our first live game from the playoff bubble, but fortunately fanfiction was there for us in the meantime. Here are some of our favorites dating from the last couple of years.
Geno Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, by Julien Jones
“save your first and last dance for me” by manybumblebees. 21K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF; Ship: Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick
Backstory: Travis and Nolan (TK and Patty in hockey handle-ese) were drafted two years apart to the Philadelphia Flyers, a team seemingly composed entirely of feral raccoons who play accordingly feral-but-good hockey. TK and Patty are best friends, and their “bromance” is famous even outside of RPF circles. Amazingly, this fic was started before they went to their captain’s wedding together in 2018.
Rec: This fic, which follows Patty and TK through a season peppered with the weddings of teammates and family, is the perfect introduction to the dualities of banter vs silence, vulnerability vs guardedness, and homosocial vs romantic teasing (or chirping, in hockey!) that form this ship, but also to the sport as a whole—the scene where Nolan buries a puck seconds before a game ends still gives me chills. ― 1degosuperego
Content warnings: N/A
“check yes or no” by gareth. 23K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF; Ship: Carter Hart/Nick Suzuki
Backstory: In game five of the 2020 playoff series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Montreal Canadiens, babyfaced Montreal center Nick Suzuki condescendingly patted Philadelphia good boy goalie Carter Hart on the head after Nick’s team scored on him.
Rec: The Flyers tumblr fanbase immediately and passionately hated Nick after the headpat incident. Then gareth used it as the basis for a rivals-to-idiots-to-lovers fic, with characterizations of Carter’s obliviousness and Nick’s earnestness that turned it into a beloved pairing. Even better, it’s the first in a series! ―La
Content warnings: N/A
“Growing Into Someone” by ratcrimes. 46K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF; Ship: Leon Draisaitl/Matthew Tkachuk
Backstory: The Battle of Alberta rivalry between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames is one of hockey’s fiercest. It was delightfully enhanced when Oiler star forward Leon Draisaitl was asked what he’d do if he had to play with noted Calgary pest Matthew Tkachuk at the All-Star Game, and answered, “I would probably get off the ice.” Fandom immediately screamed enemies-to-lovers.
Rec: Both players sign with the same German team during a fictional future NHL lockout and an unlikely romance results. The individual character arcs and the well-developed dynamics of each family (especially the Tkachuk siblings) are as good as the main relationship. ―La
Content warnings: N/A
“My Unicycle Has One Wheel” by McSpot. 14K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF; Ship: Brock Boeser/Elias Pettersson
Backstory: Fate and the Vancouver Canucks united Elias Pettersson (an icy Swedish hipster) and Brock Boeser (a sensitive Minnesotan golden retriever) in one of hockey’s best bromances.
Rec: Petey is a member of the Wiggles, an excellent use of his canonical ability to juggle while riding a unicycle. Brock descends into internet Wiggles fandom, joining the hilariously depicted Thirsty Wiggles Moms Facebook page. This fic is laugh-out-loud funny and encapsulates the himbo joys of hockey fandom so well. ―La
Content warnings: N/A
“Once More With Feeling” by SpiritsFlame. 55K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF; Ship: Jamie Benn/Tyler Seguin
Backstory: Tyler Seguin, flashy young forward who posed naked for ESPN, won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins and then was immediately exiled to Dallas because he partied too much. Fans expected him to spiral, but he met stoic team-player Jamie Benn who calmed him down and turned their partnership into one of the most effective—and devoted—offensive pairings in the NHL.
Rec: Long before the movie Palm Springs, fic was already exploring the idea of time loops. In this story, when you meet your soulmate you enter a loop where you repeat that same day over and over until the two of you kiss. Tyler arrives in Dallas, meets a ton of people on his first day, wakes up the next day to realise he’s in his loop but has no idea who with. Cue Jamie meeting him at the airport over and over again, as Tyler struggles to figure out what is going on. ―Sacha
Content warnings: N/A
“The Next Next One” by yourblues. 46K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF; Ship: Connor McDavid/Dylan Strome
Backstory: As teenagers, Connor McDavid and Dylan Strome were championship-winning juniors linemates and inseparable best friends. Since entering the NHL, Connor has been widely regarded as the best hockey player to come along in recent years, while Dylan has struggled to live up to expectations.
Rec: This fic, set in the future, imagines a time when Connor has quit hockey after a serious injury. He writes a memoir and reconnects with Dylan, now the captain of his own team. Dylan and Connor are both lost in different ways, and spend this gorgeous, affecting fic struggling to make sense of themselves, their careers, and what they really mean to each other. ―Catie
Content warnings: description of career-ending injuries, mental health issues (depression)
“Past the Threshold” by sevenfists. 3.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF; Ship: Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin
Backstory: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been playing together for fifteen seasons, so we’re absolutely spoiled for choice with fic in this pairing, covering every conceivable way the world’s most ritual-bound perfectionist winds up with a half-man, half-bear who gently and constantly bullies him from a place of love.
Rec: This fic from the recent Spookfest is creepy and angsty and unsettling in all the best ways. All of sevenfists’ stories are masterpieces and this latest entry is no exception. ―Sacha
Content warnings: Major Character Death
“dream team” by jolach. 25K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Men’s Hockey RPF; Ship: Nico Hischier/Travis Konecny, Nolan Patrick/Nico Hischier (past), Nolan Patrick/Travis Konecny (unresolved)
Backstory: At his first All-Star Game in January 2020, TK told the press he was looking forward to meeting Nico Hischier, the New Jersey Devils forward who went #1 in the draft the year his buddy Nolan Patrick was picked #2, “’cause me and Patty get along pretty good, so.”
Rec: TK starts the All-Star Game bewildered in a hotel ballroom looking for a buddy to get through the weekend with, spends it with Nico, and ends it (maybe) having figured out who he’s in love with. In between, he eats barbecue, “trails around after handsome men,” gets life advice from LA Kings forward Anže Kopitar, and manages to have a threesome composed—somehow, incredibly—of only two people. When we all read this back in July, La described the experience of reading it as “maximum devastation”; we’ve been doling out our rereads so the joy of it doesn't dull. ― 1degosuperego
Content warnings: N/A
BONUS:
“you could pass for a desert bloom” by screamlet. 46K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Check Please!; Ship: Kent Parson/OMC
Backstory: When IRL hockey players inevitably let us down with their real-life politics and personalities, we turn to fictional characters who can never truly disappoint us. Kent Parson is a minor—but cult-beloved—character in the Check Please! universe. This fic is almost entirely original characters, and you don’t really need to know anything about CP to enjoy.
Rec: Kent, a few years into his Las Vegas Aces career, is outgrowing his hard partying days, a lifestyle change he cements by moving to the suburbs where he third-wheels his teammates’ families... until an old flame moves back in next door. This fic is scorchingly funny and devastatingly tender, and I find myself coming back to it over and over again. ―Catie
Content warnings: Homophobia
FINAL THOUGHT
It’s awards season again!! Last year we were thrilled to make the Hugo Awards shortlist in the Best Fanzine category, and this year we’re putting ourselves forward again. So if you’re able to nominate for the Hugos (ie. if you’re a Worldcon member or attendee for 2020 or 2021), then please consider nominating The Rec Center!
xoxo Gavia
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)