The Rec Center #303
Hi folks! This week we’ve got articles about supervillainry and the morality of darkfic, posts about omegaverse worldbuilding and rarepair shipping, a multifandom rec list of vampire fanfic, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“In Defense of Supervillains” by Jill Louise Busby at at Inverse
“The villain is usually more honest about what they want and what they’ll do to get it. Living in a deceitful world as the many things I am, I find this level of honesty refreshing, far more refreshing than a white man with an enemy.”
“On ‘Dark Fic,’ Morality, and Why Critical Thinking Is Vital” by Stitch at Teen Vogue
A nuanced examination of some of the conversations around the (very broad) term “dark fic,” including extended quotes from Milena Popova, author of the recently published book Dubcon: Fanfiction, Power, and Sexual Consent.
If this new Batman is, like Robert Pattinson, 35 years old and Bruce Wayne was 8 when his parents were killed, it’s entirely possible that the movie Thomas and Martha Wayne saw just before their death was CITY SLICKERS II: THE LEGEND OF CURLY’S GOLD
— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) October 16, 2021
older stuff
“The Tamagotchi Hacking Community’s Quest to Cheat Death” by Melanie Ehrenkranz at OneZero
“Most Tama hackers aren’t trying to game the corporation by evading costs, tainting the toy’s gameplay, or causing havoc. They just adore their little pets, and they’re simply trying to give them the best—and longest—lives they can.”
tumblr & beyond
Castlevania fanart by chaoticcomposition
I can resist anything except temptation.
Incredible mashup fanvid: Austin Powers in Mass Effect.
“In conclusion the omegaverse economy IS in shambles.”
“But what can you actually DO with a degree in [insert subject here]?!”
fanfiction
Our paranormal October continues with VAMPIRE WEEK. If you’ve missed any of the previous installments, we’ve run two general lists (#300, #302) as well as one about ghosts. Thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“a game of survival ” by taecheeks. 190K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: BTS; Ship: Taehyung/Jungkook
Recced by: sallylockharts
Backstory: AU where vampire hunter Jungkook is captured by a group of vampires led by his presumed-dead best friend (who he was in love with), Taehyung. Slowly, Taehyung tries to convince him that being a vampire doesn’t change who you are, or who you love.
Rec: A lovely slow burn, with the exquisite angsty drama of Jungkook being convinced Taehyung is just a monster wearing the face of the love of his life, so lots of pining while he’s right there. Also fun vampire AU tropes like ‘blood drinking makes you horny’ and other faves.
Content warnings: Temporary character death (’cause vampires)
“The Greatest of These” by Peasant. 5K words, rated Gen.
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel: the Series; Ship: Gen (Darla-focused)
Recced by: lareinedesviolettes
Backstory: Darla is a vampire who has existed since the 1600s, giving both canon and fic writers delicious opportunities to imagine her doings in different historical eras.
Rec: A ghoulish little horror story set in the Victorian era, played perfectly straight from the POV of the vampire. What do moral choices look like from the point of view of a vampire? Hint: they’re not like yours and mine. The combination of pitch-perfect voices and historical detail with dark-mirror morality make this story both a trick and a treat.
Content warnings: Off-screen harm to a child, horror genre
“the least he could do” by Prim_the_Amazing. 15K words, Not Rated (est. Teen).
Fandom: The Magnus Archives; Ship: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims
Recced by: Martin is relatively new to this whole vampire thing. Jon forgot to eat today. What follows is really the least Martin could do.
Backstory: anon
Rec: This AU is just so well written, every time I reread it I wish it were three times as long. The characterization is spot on, the art included is gorgeous, and the vampire stuff is described sensually without necessarily becoming sexual (ace Jon rights!).
Content warnings: Lack of self care, blood, fainting, paranoia
“Unfamiliar Territory” by madelgard. 10K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: What We Do In The Shadows (TV Series); Ship: Guillermo de la Cruz/Nandor the Relentless
Recced by: Mia
Backstory: Nandor is an ancient vampire, Guillermo is his loyal familiar of ten-plus years who is somehow both oblivious to and resigned to the fact that he’s in love with him. In this fic, Guillermo discovers that Nandor has been sexually involved with previous familiars and begins to wonder why he’s an exception.
Rec: This story captures the essence of Guillermo’s longing for Nandor so perfectly and the tension between them is ridiculous. The author very clearly understands everything that is so compelling about this dynamic and delivers on every point, while still maintaining a lot of the humour of the source material.
Content warnings: Uneven power dynamics, blood-drinking
“I’m Not A Vampire (Unless You’re Into That)” by Madame_Hatter. 3.1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: My Hero Academia; Ship: Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto
Recced by: Bee
Backstory: In which Todoroki learns Bakugou only dates vampires, so he convinces his siblings to pretend to be vampires when he invites Bakugou over. (Little does he know Bakugou is a vampire.)
Rec: I love the humour of this, Todoroki doesn’t actually know very much about vampires, so seeing him pretend to be one in front of an actual vampire is amazing.
Content warnings: N/A
“Thicker Than Water” by lynchy8. 85K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Captain America; Ships: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers/Peggy Carter/Bucky Barnes
Recced by: Sarah
Backstory: Steve Rogers was turned into a vampire before he was ever given the serum. Because he’s incapable of doing anything normally.
Rec: There’s an entire fascinating mythology surrounding vampires, and it adds a glorious creepiness to the Captain America story.
Content warnings: N/A
WHO WROTE THIS LIBELOUS FANFICTION? I WILL HAVE YOU DESTROYED.
— “THE BEEG M̺̤͍͓̮̼̟̂ͯ̽͒͐̋ͧA͈͋C͕̥̘̬̊̇ͪ͂E̳̽” (@MACEtheWRESTLER) August 25, 2021
I WOULD NEVER EAT A TURKEY SANDWICH. pic.twitter.com/dpkxX5D1CC
FINAL THOUGHT
This week one of my favorite artists, Maia Kobabe, shared images of one of the tiny zines e drew for Fansplaining patrons last year. The text is by me—my fandom origin story—and coincidentally for VAMPIRE WEEK, it’s about Buffy.
I continue to be amazed and totally delighted by all of these illustrations, from the precision of the late-90s web & fashion aesthetics to the *perfect* drawing of s3-era Giles. You can read the whole thing on Instagram or on Tumblr! — Elizabeth