The Rec Center #285
Hi folks! This week we’ve got articles about Knicks fandom and Marvel’s Loki, some beautiful Breath of the Wild fanart, multifandom fic recs starring nonbinary & genderqueer characters, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Knicks Fans Are Together Again, for Better and Worse” by Vinson Cunningham at The New Yorker
“It feels good to be part of a crowd, but there is a desperate edge to that feeling after a year apart.” On returning to IRL sports fandom, via a recent Knicks game at MSG.
“The Clinch” by Kate Mingle at 99 Percent Invisible
Not strictly about fandom, but since there’s a lot of crossover between romance and fic fandom, this podcast ep is a potentially interesting listen for Rec Center readers! On the history and current state of romance covers, featuring Alyssa Cole, Sarah MacLean, and Nichole Perkins, amongst others.
“How Loki became a genderfluid icon in Marvel fandom” by Gav at the Daily Dot
Gav wrote a deep dive into Loki’s role as a genderfluid character, interviewing academic experts in Viking gender roles and sexuality, delving into Loki’s Marvel backstory, and discussing Loki’s importance within Marvel fandom.
https://twitter.com/DanielleNicki/status/1404619342399037440
older stuff
“Gaming Made Me: Fallout 2” by Patricia Hernandez at Rock Paper Shotgun
Writer Patricia Hernandez looks back at how Fallout 2 upended her childhood view of the American Dream, and opened her eyes to the possibility of queerness.
tumblr & beyond
Breath of the Wild fanart by bloominflowers
Someone is recoloring the recent X-Men comic House of X in vintage coloring styles and it looks amazing!
“this is what a hobbit would mug you with”
TikTok: an amazing fanmade Lil Nas X animation!
An incredible summary of The Untamed/MDZS.
“It’s time to explore the fandom backstory of South Park’s canon gay couple.”
https://twitter.com/English_Channel/status/1404922341486964739
fanfiction
A while back we asked for fics that center nonbinary/genderqueer characters, and we got a fantastic batch of submissions—including what I believe is our first-ever fic rec for Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, my cat’s namesake!!! Thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“does it feel like a trial?” by too_much_in_the_sun. 1.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Welcome to Night Vale; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: WTNV takes the form of a community radio program for a deeply, deeply weird community. Even so, it’s a community in which “your existence is not impossible.”
Rec: This is a quiet, compassionate little meditation about what it might be like to be genderqueer and depressed in Night Vale. For one thing, escitalopram can interfere with the proper functioning of a bloodstone circle—you think they’d tell you these things!
Content warnings: Depiction of depression
“Trust series” by bomberqueen17. 202K words over 10 works (series is WIP but individual stories are complete), rated from Teen to Explicit.
Fandom: The Witcher; Ships: Lambert/Keira Metz, Aiden/Lambert, some Keira/Yennefer
Recced by: Resonant
Backstory: Author describes canon Keira as “a pretty blonde bimbo-presenting nerd of a sorceress who has never worn a whole shirt in her life.” She’s a little more complex than that here.
Rec: Complex relationships, much negotiation, intense emotion, humor. One character nonbinary, one intersex.
Content warnings: “Very Dark Magic” has a character being rescued from very dark (torture) magic. Keira has panic attacks and vivid visions of her own torture death. Eye trauma like woah.
“And the Heart Lies Deeper Still Than Bones” by Isagel. 13K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Inception; Ship: Arthur/Eames
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: Inception is a heist movie in which a bunch of snappily dressed mostly men commit financial fraud in dreams. Some of the heist team have particularly deft reality-shaping abilities within the dreamscape, including one character, Eames, who can change their physical appearance.
Rec: This story, the second in a series, takes a throwaway moment in which Eames physically transforms into a cis woman, and spins out a quiet meditation on genderqueerness, the mind-body relationship, and trans dreaming—though I don’t think the character would call it that. It’s at least 300% deeper than the movie, and the clothes are just as good.
Content warnings: Physical violence, discussion of gender dysphoria
“Carve Your Own Shape” by halfeatenmoon. 5.7K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Yuri on Ice; Ship: Gen, background Yuuri K/Victor
Recced by: ExpatGirl
Backstory: Yuri Plisetsky doesn’t mind his body now, while it’s small and androgynous. But he can see the future rushing towards him with increasing dread, in the bodies of the taller, muscular, adult skaters he competes against, and he doesn’t know who to talk to or even how to explain it.
Rec: An in-depth look at a non-binary character (Yuri K) who’s struggling with puberty, and a character (Victor) who had a different experience with it.
Content warnings: Gender dysphoria
“The Space Between” by magem. 4.4K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: BTS; Ship: Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Kim Namjoon | RM/Min Yoongi | Suga
Recced by: ninamonday
Backstory: Rapline, or BTS’ three rappers, is one of the most popular OT3s in the fandom.
Rec: This science fiction story in which Yoongi is a sentient spaceship is a delicate, lovely meditation on loneliness, connection, and humanity.
Content warnings: N/A
“The Wretch Takes to Writing” by newredshoes. 1.6K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Orlando (Woolf); Ship: Gen (Orlando & their biographer)
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: Orlando is Virginia Woolf’s great novel about a seemingly immortal person who begins their life as a Tudor nobleman and, some 300 years later, walks out of their story as a woman who has written at least one poem.
Rec: First off, this is wonderful Woolf pastiche and impressive for the turn of phrase alone. It’s also a lovely meditation on place and a very fun opportunity to see the characterful narrator/biographer on their home turf.
Content warnings: N/A
https://twitter.com/amyis_trying/status/1404808242656591885
FINAL THOUGHT
Have a wonderful & safe weekend, everyone! — Elizabeth