The Rec Center #293
Hello everyone! This week we have articles about fan/creator interaction and RPF, some extremely charming Deep Space Nine fanart, and multifandom friends to lovers fic recs! — Elizabeth
new stuff
“From ‘Loki’ to ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ Fans Are Calling the Shots” by Annalee Newitz at The New York Times
“As online fandom transforms storytelling, it is also revealing a fundamental truth: The lone writer in a garret, disconnected from the world, was always a myth. No one creates in a vacuum, untouched by the demands of the marketplace and the cultural conversation of the moment.”
“On RPF and Why People Love to Write Stories About Public Figures” by Stitch at Teen Vogue
“For me, writing fic in my notebook about Halsey in some outlandish but fun scenario is a way that I can express my feelings about them beyond screaming whenever they post a selfie or tweet.”
“The bizarre Minecraft meme Penis SMP has spawned a world of its own” by Ryan Broderick at Polygon
An eye-opening dive into Penis SMP, a fan-created collective narrative that emerged from Minecraft YouTube fandom.
https://twitter.com/FORM_DESTROYER/status/1382440129369886723
older stuff
“The Empowered Stan” by Keidra Chaney at Fansplaining
“Fandom can be both identity and liberation—but how do we keep our joys from being co-opted by corporate interests?”
tumblr & beyond
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fanart by Pati Cmak
Nestflix: a streaming service for fictional movies-within-movies.
Commander Data goes on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
“I love the x-men so much because that’s just what leftist infighting is like!”
Deeply alarmed to discover that this is how the nails work in Word of Honor.
fanfiction
This week we have a perennial fandom favorite: friends to lovers. Thank you so much to everyone who sent in a rec. And if you want more friends to lovers fic, check out our list from issue #196. — Elizabeth
“The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Con Men” by OnYourMark. 12K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: White Collar; Ship: Neal/Elizabeth/Peter
Recced by: Nirali
Backstory: This is such a lovely ship involving a married het couple and the white collar con-man who’s in love with them both. In this story, our con-man decides to lay down roots and prove he’s not going to run away.
Rec: This is a soft 5+1 style fic where Neal works through learning how to be a real person and create a home for himself, and in the process is able to admit his love for Peter and Elizabeth.
Content warnings: N/A
“wherever you go, there you are” by helvetica_upstart. 10K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Schitt’s Creek; Ship: Stevie Budd/Twyla Sands
Recced by: kiranerys42
Backstory: Schitt’s Creek already has great canonical content about realizing you’re queer later in life; this fic explores what that journey might look like for Stevie. “Journey,” in this case, is literal—after the motel burns down, Stevie and Twyla go on a road trip.
Rec: This is a fun road trip fic that is also an incredibly moving and heartfelt story about loss, and loneliness, and figuring out who you are and what you want from life. helvetica_upstart captures Stevie’s voice and sense of humor ridiculously well, and her growing relationship with Twyla feels like a natural progression for both of them.
Content warnings: N/A
“Your Heart, My Table” by Spodumene. 31K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ship: Wei Ying/Lan Zhan
Recced by: Kitty Climpson
Backstory: You need to know literally nothing about The Untamed/MDZS to appreciate this story. It’s a modern AU set in Vancouver on Chinese New Year 2021, with Lan Zhan and Wei Ying friends (who are obviously secretly in love with each other) in their mid-twenties, invited to WY’s adoptive sister's house for the holiday dinner.
Rec: An unbelievably warm, evocative fic, melancholy but just full of affection and promise. It’s all about food, and therefore all about family, love and belonging; the pain of losing those things and the labour (and joy) of trying to regain them. Man, it’s just so beautiful!
Content warnings: Parental death is the big one.
“Five Times Kasumi Misused Her Tactical Cloak (And One Time Shepard Did)” by madamebadger. 6.8K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Mass Effect; Ship: Kasumi Goto/Female Shepard
Recced by: anon
Backstory: What it says on the tin, in the best possible way. The story spans both Mass Effect 2 and 3, and plays a little bit fast and loose with the timeline. Spoilers for both and for the Citadel DLC.
Rec: The characterization is great and the scenarios are fun.
Content warnings: N/A
“And like the cycle of the year, we begin again” by katherynefromphilly. 208K words (plus other works totaling 315K words), rated Mature.
Fandom: Merlin (BBC); Ship: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Recced by: SquidgiePDX
Backstory: Set post series, this fic picks up with Merlin leaving Camelot waiting for Arthur to return. Arthur returns, and Merlin’s world rights itself.
Rec: This is the definitive post-series fic, because canon told us “Arthur will return”. This fandoms hold many good fics, but not many that explore original Merlin and Arthur in a non-AU, modern setting, and the author melds the worlds with perfection.
Content warnings: N/A
And we have two recs for the same fic, both by anonymous reccers, so we’ve combined them into one!
“Warm Foothills” by Verbaepulchellae. 15K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The 100; Ship: Bellamy Blake/ Clarke Griffin
Recced by: anon & anon
Backstory: Bellamy/Clarke is a classic slow-burn enemies to friends to lovers ship. This is a tender modern AU focusing on an established relationship where Bellamy is trans, and there's lots of love and navigating healthy boundaries.
Rec: It’s a beautiful look at a trans experience in a fluffy scenario, using the lens of a very popular ship that's often friends to lovers. It uses this classic ship dynamic to portray a slowly developing, sensitive, sexy relationship between a cis woman and a trans man. It’s incredibly well done
Content warnings: Body dysmorphia
https://twitter.com/torigates/status/1371832966758998020
FINAL THOUGHT
That’s all, folks! Have a great weekend! — Gav