The Rec Center #280
Hello all! This week we have an article about sci-fi worldbuilding, Shadow & Bone fanart, and a guest list from JSA Lowe featuring her favorite fic from The Untamed! — Elizabeth
new stuff
“The pitfalls of inventing an alien civilization” by Charlie Jane Anders at Polygon
“The ‘Vulcan-Ferengi dichotomy’ exposes the challenge of sci-fi world-building.”
“Editing Made The Video Star” at Vulture
Not strictly fandomy, but Vulture has been running a very interesting series about online video editing this week—definitely a relevant subject to a lot of fan creators.
https://twitter.com/commentsooc/status/1391158858362589185
older stuff
“Spockanalia—The First Star Trek Fanzine” by Maria Jose and John Tenuto at StarTrek.com
Along with including the kind of fanmade content you’d expect, this classic 1960s fanzine published letters written in character by members of the show’s cast.
tumblr & beyond
Shadow & Bone fanart by sleepingbadgerart
A perfect illustration of SPN’s continual attempts to kill off Castiel.
“Everything wrong with the SHL subs.” If you’ve been watching Word of Honor on Youku with English subtitles, this is a helpful thread offering some more nuanced translations.
A truly masterful TikTok summary of the Venom/Eddie ship.
“(hears a song lyric) this would make a great all-lower case fanfiction title”
Someone created a beautiful Animal Crossing island inspired by settings from Mo Dao Zu Shi and Tian Guan Ci Fu.
fanfiction
JSA Lowe/lunarriviera used to handwrite Kirk/Spock in a spiral notebook with a ballpoint pen. Now she types Chinese actor RPF into Google Docs so nothing has changed really. You can find her on Twitter or Tumblr.
If you’ve been holding out on The Untamed, this is a perfect time to give in—you need this show in your life. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll go back to the pilot after a thirty-episode flashback arc and you will gasp. If you’re not familiar with the xianxia genre, terms like cultivation and golden core will acquire meaning. Within one (1) month you will be a desperate fan of all things wuxia/xianxia, including the original danmei, or BL novel, on which The Untamed was based (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by the pseudonymous Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, available online in translation)—as well as probably both male lead actors (who are also pop stars). The fandom is vast and international—as a white North American I hesitated to join in, but with the goal of respectful collaboration and appreciation, there’s really room for everyone.
This spoiler-free fanvid by giraffeter gives you the idea of what kind of romance we’re talking about here, as impish flyboy Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan) falls hard for ice princess Lan Wangji (Wang Yibo)—but is he as standoffish as he seems, or do still waters run deep? Their love affair will span fifty episodes over a decade, and this story has it all—loyalty kink, pining, hurt/comfort, kidfic, sibling rivalry, family drama, battle couple scenes, a wealth of side ships (some of which are super knifey), a passel of beloved characters, and bunny rabbits. Add in gorgeous sets, lush scenery, and a theme song that’ll make you choke up by the end every time you hear it. Thanks to Chinese censorship there’s nothing physically overt, but wow do they get away with a shocking amount nonetheless. Please make room in your life for The Untamed and its now more than 27,000 fics on AO3 (a serious number of which are absolutely brilliant—and the fandom got here all the way from Yuletide in 2019!); you will be so glad you did. — lunarriviera
“speeding up my heartbeat” by plonk. 25K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Backstory: Wei Ying is the hot guy in basketball shorts. Lan Zhan is the wildly beautiful yoga man. Are these two gym rats compatible?
Rec: I found this modern AU both raunchy and hilarious, as the two leads eye each other and try to figure out who will make the first move. And Jiang Cheng would absolutely run a basketball league.
Content warnings: N/A
“Keep Track of Losing Days” by giraffeter. 75K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ships: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue
Backstory: Lan Wangji is a Seattle police detective rapidly falling in love with his antifa activist neighbor—until Wei Ying disappears, and he and his partner are assigned the Missing Persons case.
Rec: I was hesitant to read a police detective AU, but the author notes these are “TV cops” and that irl ACAB (“…and Lan Wangji is increasingly inclined to agree”). Meticulously woven details.
Content warnings: Cops, guns, nonfatal car accident
“how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat)” by anon. 55K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ships: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan
Backstory: College student Wei Wuxian, luckless in love, is being messaged on Tinder by, he’s convinced, a catfish, because no way would famous Chinese actor Lan Wangji be interested in him.
Rec: The title explains everything but the fact that this fic is hysterically funny and also offers a sweetly realistic glimpse of Chinese diaspora family dynamics. Also, there are rabbits. And a turtle.
Content warnings: Alcohol use
“Twilight of Our World, Dawn of Our Lives” by Naamah_Beherit. 20K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: MDZS; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Backstory: Lan Wangji falls in love with a boy whose smile is brighter than the sun. Wei Wuxian fails to understand his own heart until it’s nearly too late. In the background of it all, the cultivation world falls apart and in its ruins, a new one rises.
Rec: Episodic and evanescently lyrical. You don’t have to have read the novel yet to follow along.
Content warnings: N/A
“tripped at every step” by brooklinegirl. 29K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Backstory: Post-canon, Wei Wuxian tries to figure out just how much Lan Wangji really likes him.
Rec: There are roughly a squillion post-canon fics, but one of the eerily magical things about this fandom is that you will love them all. This one is no exception: poignant, wrenching, and scorching.
Content warnings: N/A
“But the rose was awake all night for your sake/Knowing your promise to me” by x_los. 8K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Backstory: Canon-divergent fic in which Wei Wuxian’s mastery of demonic cultivation is, well, perhaps not as disciplined as he had thought.
Rec: Everything by x_los is scintillating and fabulous, including this canon story featuring resentful energy tentacles (resentacles?) and influences ranging from Lil Nas X to Brecht, Wilde, and Tennyson.
Content warnings: Tentacle porn!
https://twitter.com/rougecherries/status/1391133785601814530
FINAL THOUGHT
That’s all, folks! Have a great weekend! — Gav