The Rec Center #269
Hi folks! Welcome to our fourth and final week of Femslash February recs, along with an update on the most-hated fic on AO3, an article about Katy Perry fandom, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“The internet’s most beloved fanfiction site is undergoing a reckoning” by Aja Romano at Vox
A look at what went down with AO3’s most-discussed fic in recent weeks, “Sexy Times With Wangxian.” Updating daily, this fic drew fandom’s ire by using hundreds of tags, making AO3 harder to navigate. This piece doesn’t go into all the issues people had with this author (namely some alleged trolling and threats in now-deleted comments), but it’s a good overview of accessibility issues on AO3, and ties back to the site’s ongoing discussions about free speech, racism and content moderation.
“Katy Perry brought me friends—and undue power as a 10-year-old forum moderator” by Pedro João Santos in The Guardian
“While Perry brought us together, the forum transcended her.” From The Guardian’s “The fandom that made me” series, where writers “delve into their formative musical loves and look at how they shaped who they became.”
“Lead Designer of Hogwarts Legacy Used to Be an Anti-Social Justice YouTuber” by Natalie Flores at Fanbyte
It seems that Warner Bros. games was fully aware of this creator’s support of Gamergate when they hired him, which invites the question... what kind of workplace is that, and what does it say about the kind of game they’re trying to make?
older stuff
“Spider-Man Taught Me How to Live, Comics Taught Me How to Write” by Nikesh Shukla at LitHub
“Spider-Man was the perfect superhero for the child of immigrants from London in the 1990s. He understood shame and guilt like I did.”
tumblr & beyond
Wang Lingjiao/Wen Qing fanart from The Untamed by Tasha Neva
a mesmerizing diagram of all the relationships in Black Sails.
Old Guard gif fanart!
please enjoy this unique video, “Mads Mikkelsen waiting for his microwave pizza to be done.”
a note from Star Trek’s creator on how fan feedback effects (or doesn’t effect) the content of the show.
“What’s in your bag?” meme fanart for Fullmetal Alchemist characters. Well, why not!
fanfiction
It’s the final week of Femslash February, but luckily my sneaky plan to get more f/f into our rec bank worked, and we wound up with more recs than we could fit in a single month. Thank you to everyone who submitted a rec—if we haven’t run yours yet, you’ll likely see it later this year! And if you missed any of our Femslash February 2021 installments, see week 1, week 2, and week 3. — Elizabeth
“The Book of the Queens of Old Earth in Exile” by raspberryhunter. 14K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Megillat Esther; Ship: Esther/Vashti
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: In the original megillah, Vashti is queen of Persia, banished by her fuckboy husband the king and replaced by the young, secretly Jewish Hadassah/Esther. Esther must save her people from genocide at the hands of the king's advisor, Haman (boo), and gains the power and influence to do so at least partially by helping foil a plot against the king’s life by Vashti's embittered relatives.
Rec: This fic retells the story with a scifi femslash twist, which is cool enough already! I also enjoy that it humanizes and grants depth to Vashti’s character, which has been at the center of competing rabbinic interpretations for centuries. Excellent aliens, fun plot, and politicking wlw of color—what more could you want?
Content warnings: Insect stuff, canon-level references to genocide
“the derry catholic gays club” by wafflesofdoom. 4.5K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Derry Girls; Ship: Dee/Erin Quinn
Recced by: E
Backstory: Main focus on ensemble cast friendship, but includes ship between main character and side character (femslash).
Rec: It plays into that lovely thing where gays find each other even before they're out/know they're identity themselves.
Content warnings: N/A
“Gun, With Occasional Hella” by GeneralIrritation. 61K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Life Is Strange; Ship: Maxine Caulfield/Chloe Price
Recced by: Jenna
Backstory: Everyone’s favorite f/f video game ship—shy time traveler Max Caulfield and nihilist punk Chloe Price. Set 5 years after the events of the game, when Max and Chloe have been broken up for years and Chloe finds herself unwittingly playing the role of detective in a murder case.
Rec: Even if I didn’t already love this fandom/ship, this is just a super solid, well-written, witty noir mystery in the vein of “Veronica Mars.” Also, the banter between Max and Chloe as exes pining for each other is DELICIOUS. A slow burn romance with a plot that actually gets you totally hooked, and that sweet, sweet Chloe Price angst I live for.
Content warning: Some violence
“Yearn” by Gaifu. 5.9K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Ace Attorney; Ship: Maya Fey/Franziska Von Karma
Recced by: Infinite calm
Backstory: Maya Fey and Franziska Von Karma are the determined younger sibling-figures of the main attorneys in the Ace Attorney franchise. Maya is the master of the Kurain Spirit-Channelling technique, and Franziska is a world-renowned, whip-wielding prosecutor.
Rec: The characters are fun and vital, and Franziska in particular is written so well, without sacrificing the humour and warmth she deserves <3.
Content warnings: N/A
“The Holiday Girls” by SteelLily. 18K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Wonder Woman (2017); Ship: Etta Candy/Diana (Wonder Woman)
Recced by: Cherub
Backstory: The Great War is over and Etta Candy has been approached by the newly formed British Royal Air Force to train and oversee a group of “lady spies.” Her friend and actual goddess, Diana, has agreed to help train the recruits.
Rec: I love that this fic allows Etta and Diana to interact without a male buffer and we see Etta struggle to explain why the world works the way it does. I love how both women learn from one another in unexpected ways and the mini stories of their class of “lady spies” that totally see their teachers crushes on each other.
Content warnings: N/A
“A Keen Rabbit Lover” by ericacea. 34K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The Untamed/MDZS; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Canon is a historical Chinese fantasy drama where the lead characters are star-crossed lovers, but this is a modern cisswap AU. The only relevant detail is that rabbits are a recurring motif in the original.
Rec: A hilarious and sexy comedy-of-errors, beginning with BFFs Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian discussing their shared love of rabbits. Lan Wangji is referring to her pet rabbits, while Wei Wuxian thinks she's talking about... vibrators. This leads to an extended misunderstanding where Wei Wuxian sends Lan Wangji a vibrator as a (totally platonic! so platonic!) gift, sending both women into a romantic tailspin.
Content warnings: N/A
And finally, we got two recs for this fic, so we combined them into one:
“Heavy-Loaded Fruit Tree” by Peevee. 2K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Schitt’s Creek; Ship: Stevie Budd/Alexis Rose
Recced by: breathedout and elainasaunt
Backstory: breathedout writes: Schitt’s Creek is a show about the formerly-stinking-rich Rose family, which takes refuge in a small Canadian town when they're reduced to penury. Alexis is the bubbly, self-involved Rose daughter, and Stevie Budd is the sarcastic, down-to-earth owner of the motel where they settle in. Eventually Alexis’s brother David befriends Stevie and marries townie Patrick Brewer, and all the young folks become something of a unit.
Rec: breathedout writes: Super funny, super hot. Both Peevee’s Alexis and Stevie voices are absolutely spot-on. I left the final season of the show wanting a million Alexis/Stevie stories, and this really delivers, along with a side helping of delicious clothing porn.
elainasaunt writes: It’s hot AF. Really, peevee writes solid gold smut. There might be a tiny bit of little character development.
Content warnings: Alcohol use, matrimony, abuse of expensive silk
FINAL THOUGHT
If you haven’t already encountered it on social media, my podcast, Fansplaining, is running a new mini-survey (12 questions) that’s particularly relevant to the readers of this newsletter: on the fic you read and your relationship to the fic’s source material. The survey will remain open until this coming Monday, March 1st at 11:59 PM EST, so if you’ve been meaning to take it but haven’t yet, please do so soon! We’ll share the full results and discuss them in the next episode of the podcast. — 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.
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