August 6, 2021

The Rec Center #292

Hi folks! This week we’ve got articles about online anonymity and fanfic plagiarism, along with some cool Zelda fanart, a delightful interpretation of The Mandalorian, multifandom seasonal summer fanfic recs, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“You Anon” by John Herrman at The New York Times
Not specifically about fandom, but probably relevant to a lot of our readers: “Reconsidering pseudonymity and what it means to ‘be yourself’ online.”

“Prolific erotica author Romilly King accused of plagiarizing ‘Supernatural’ fanfic” by Gav at The Daily Dot
After a fanfic reader noticed that this M/M erotica author was lifting passages from Destiel fanfic on AO3, all hell broke loose.

older stuff

“The French Cartoon that Led Me to Fandom and Friendship” by Priyanka Bose at at Catapult
“It feels unreal, in a world filled with so much unkindness, that a French children’s show led me to such an incredible group of friends.”

tumblr & beyond

Legend of Zelda fanart by appol

Some very cute Sesame Street fanart!!

Love this interpretation of what Baby Yoda thinks the Mandalorian does for a living.

check out this Miles Morales edit!

The Green Knight director’s Dev Patel fanart.

PSA: Three novels by beloved Chinese author Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX) are now available to pre-order in English: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (adapted into The Untamed), The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System and Heaven Official’s Blessing. The first volumes arrive this December!

fanfiction

A few weeks back we asked for summer recs, and since it’s the start of the final month of summer (where both Gav and I are, that is!), it felt like a good time to run them. Thank you to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“in the heat of the summer (you’re so different from the rest)” by kaboomslang. 100K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: IT - Stephen King, IT (Movies - Muschietti); Ship: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Recced by: Meghan
Backstory: IT follows six friends as they battle an evil clown first as children and then again decades later as adults in their hometown of Derry, Maine. This fic is AU and post-canon in that Mostly Everyone Lives and also there are no more evil clowns, It is dead—there’s just a very long heat wave and a lot of sex and feelings and banter with Richie and Eddie.
Rec: This is exactly the type of fic I want to read, especially in the summer to set the mood—it’s horny AND it’s tender, which is my favorite combo. The heat wave is such a good backdrop, the writing is excellent, and I love how even though Richie and Eddie are very in character, they’re also allowed to grow so much throughout the story.
Content warnings: N/A

“Let’s take a ride round the curves of desire” by feyburner. 5.5K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù and 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV); Ship: (F/F) Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Recced by:
Backstory: Lan Zhan and Wei Ying have a tortured, angsty, magical love story spanning multiple decades in canon, but that’s completely irrelevant to this rule 63 take where they’re modern-day roommates in the US dealing with a hot day.
Rec: I love this pairing in any iteration and I love these juicy summer vibes! As feyburner says in their summary, “no plot just horny.”
Content warnings: Drug use

“right as things grow” by wit. 75K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Check, Please!; Ship: Eric ”Bitty” Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Recced by: cricketnationrise
Backstory: Check, Please follows Bitty through 4 years of college on a fictional college’s ice hockey team. He gets a huge crush on his captain, and on the day Jack graduates (end of Bitty’s second year, Jack runs across campus to kiss him and then has to leave, saying he’ll text. This is the story of the summer after that happens.
Rec: Such a great look at Jack’s character, a peek into good friends deciding to date, and healthy communication methods. Wit does a FANTASTIC job of getting into Jack’s mind and I reread it frequently. (Also the sex is really well written, and very sweet actually.)
Content warnings: N/A

“Bending Light” by scullymurphy. 147K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Harry Potter; Ship: Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger
Recced by: DontStopHerNow
Backstory: This story is set between books 6 & 7, in an AU where Draco accepted Dumbledore’s help during sixth year and no one died on the astronomy tower. Hermione, Draco, Theo, and Lavender are all hidden together in a muggle village in Italy while the Order determines what to do in the coming year.
Rec: It’s a slice of life set in the eye of the hurricane. In addition to the Dramione romance, Hermione and Lavender get to be actual friends, Hermione and Theo have some moments and become great friends, and Draco has some lovely moments of emotional growth. It feels like the perfect summer break.
Content warnings: Teenagers smoking

“Desiderata” by j_s_cavalcante. 14K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: due South; Ship: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Recced by: KingCookieCat
Backstory: During a heat wave in Chicago, Ray feels hot and frustrated, and Fraser tries to convince him that he is loved.
Rec: Ray and Fraser are both lovable disasters in this story: Ray with his fractured self-confidence, and Fraser with his painfully buttoned-up Canadian-ness. A short, hot, summer love-fest.
Content warnings: N/A

“this harbored deluge for you and i // 像我和你需要下一场雨” by gardencitymovements. 30K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: 山河令 | Word of Honor (TV 2021); Ship: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu
Recced by: Emmy
Backstory: [Modern AU] After Zhang Chengling’s family passes, Zhou Zishu offers to chaperone the kid to the States. Zhou Zishu only intends to stay three weeks but after meeting a certain line cook, he can’t bring himself to leave.
Rec: Breathtaking and hilarious at every turn. This story reads like a vibrant 90s film in the heat of summer.
Content warnings: Reference to minor character death (Zhang Chengling’s parents) and brief reference of neglect

FINAL THOUGHT

As I mentioned last week, our old fic submissions form got spammed to the point where it was unusable. Yesterday I did one final download of all those submissions and then deleted the form; going forward, please use our BEAUTIFUL NEW FORM (which is almost identical to the old one lol) to send in your one-off recs! — Elizabeth