The Rec Center #296
The Rec Center #296 3 September 2021
Hi folks! This week we’ve got coverage of queer Sopranos fandom and the Disney lifestyle community, along with some cute X-Files fanart, multifandom historical AU fic recs, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“The Sopranos belongs to the gays now” by Chingy Nea at Mel Magazine
Despite its reputation as a Straight Guy show, The Sopranos is now gaining a queer fan-following.
“Meet The Women Who Live In Real-Life Disney Houses” by Amelia Tait at Refinery 29
“‘To each their own,’ she says. ‘Disney is more than a corporation. Disney is magical and it brings happiness.’”
“China bans celebrity rankings in bid to ‘rectify chaos in the fan community’” by Helen Davidson at the Guardian
If you’re involved in any Chinese fandoms right now, you’ve probably heard about this already. If not, this article is a simple explainer for some fairly drastic events in Chinese pop-culture, including several high-profile celebrities being scrubbed from the internet. As of yesterday, the government is also cracking down on “effeminate men” in the public eye.
https://twitter.com/nwalks/status/1432438825758961664
older stuff
“Inside the Cult of Carol, the Internet’s Most Unlikely Fandom” by Angela Watercutter at Wired
OK, we don’t necessarily think the Carol fandom is “unlikely,” but an interesting piece tries to parse the divide between fandom and cult following.
tumblr & beyond
X-Files fanart by Victoria Evans
“this is what any given episode of succession feels like”
“How I defeated England with the power of love, by Captain J. Flint.”
“Star Trek fans are both incredibly difficult to please and extremely easy to please.”
“when i was 12 i made flyers for my fanfiction and handed them out a train station”
Comedian Phil Wang made an incredible remix of the “Tom Hiddleston makes your breakfast” commercial.
fanfiction
Since we did modern AUs last week, it felt like a good time to do historical AUs this week! Thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec. <3 — Elizabeth
“Plain and Tall” by destielpasta, mtothedestiel. 70K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Supernatural; Ship: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Recced by: poisedtoleap
Backstory: Castiel is a drifter who finds his way to Dean’s farm and into his heart. Dean is a struggling single father trying to hold it together.
Rec: I love the slow burn here and the quiet domesticity. It’s a story about finding your family and opening yourself back up to life after terrible disappointments.
Content warnings: Internalized homophobia, some discussion of the U.S. Civil War
“Mi Chamocha (Who Is Like You)” by Ampithoe. 32K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Carry On; Ship: Baz/Simon
Recced by: anon
Backstory: A carefully researched and empathic retelling of the exodus story (with a rabbi as a beta reader who checked the Jewish content) as experienced by Baz as an Egyptian and Simon as a Hebrew, but you don’t need to know the fandom at all to appreciate it. There’s even a non-fic sequel with the author’s research notes for those who enjoy that sort of thing (like me!).
Rec: It filled me with fannish glee to see the exodus story explored so carefully but still completely and unashamedly written as fanfic. The romance is so sweet and innocent that I could recommend it to even a young teenager (and it would probably hold their attention better than most retellings for Passover). The author deftly avoids most slave fic issues and makes it more a journey of cultural understanding (possibly for modern readers as well).
Content warnings: Minor character death, violence typical to the exodus/Passover story, slave fic in a biblical/exodus context
“The Wise Man’s Tree” by CurrieBelle. 161K words (WIP), rated Teen.
Fandom: Critical Role; Ship: Percival “Percy” Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III/Vex’ahlia
Recced by: Isabel
Backstory: A Victorian era AU where Percy invites the members of Vox Machina to Whitestone to help him find and unlock a vault hidden in his family’s mansion.
Rec: The plot is so good and the characterizations in this fic are so spot on even with the change in setting, especially those of Vex and Vax. As well all of the character relationships are so well developed, especially Percy and Vex’s.
Content warnings: Canon events (focuses heavily on Percy’s backstory and elements of the Briarwood arc) and for past torture in later chapters (warnings are provided in chapter notes)
“How the Mouth Changes Its Shape” by breathedout. 133K words rated Explicit.
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes; Ship: Sherlock/John(nie) Watson
Recced by: rhea
Backstory: Gender-swap, lesbian 1950s AU (what more could you want?). A murder takes place in London’s most notorious lesbian club and it’s up to Sherlock, struggling private detective and mistress of disguise, and Johnnie, daredevil ambulance driver turned mechanic, to save the day.
Rec: Impeccably researched and fantastically written, this story is a rollercoaster from start to finish. The plot is interesting and the characters suit their new world so well I sometimes forget this isn’t canon.
Content warnings: Period typical homophobia, racism and antisemitism (all dealt with sensitively by the author)
“Folie à quatre” by Ark. 3K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Captain America (MCU), Les Misérables; Ships: Enjolras/Grantaire, Steve/Bucky
Recced by: Brig
Backstory: A historical AU that’s actually set in the future for Les Mis, propelling Enjolras and Grantaire into WWII as French Resistance. Also the Howlies are there, and Grantaire has some advice for their sergeant regarding fire-eating blond idealists.
Rec: Mirror images!!!! I love the idea of E/R being a sort of precursor to Steve and Bucky and their perspective of America as a ~young nation,~ following in the footsteps of the French Revolution.
Content warnings: N/A
https://twitter.com/Hello_Tailor/status/1432029210764271621
FINAL THOUGHT
Reading a few different things about monsterfucking this past week (lol as one does), I started to think about how I couldn’t recall us ever running a paranormal list in the newsletter—either a general one, or around specific creatures like vampires or whatever. So! This is an official call for recs for:
- Fic based on paranormal source material (vampires, werewolves, zombies, sea creatures, etc.)
- Paranormal AUs
- General spooky vibes, Halloween-oriented, etc.
As you can tell from the last item on the list, I’m hoping we can run at least a few batches of these recs in October. Please use the tags field of the submission form to mark exactly what you’re sending the rec in for, so it’s easier for me to sort. (And please note that this isn’t specifically a call for monsterfucking, though that is more than welcome! But if you love any sort of story with paranormal creatures, please send it in. :-)) — Elizabeth