January 14, 2022

The Rec Center #315

Hi folks! We’re back with week 2 of Yuletide fic recs, along with a cool K-pop fanzine, an article about Blorbo From My Shows, some awesome Succession fanart, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“When Joss Whedon Was Our Master” by Gita Jackson at Motherboard
“This was part of the reason why people would wear shirts declaring him to be their master—here was a nerd so devoted to his nerdom that he was out here making nerd shit.” A lengthy critique of Joss Whedon’s work—and the fans who helped to elevate him.

“Kpop in the Time of Covid” by Maia Kobabe
A delightful comic (specifically, a zine!) about finding solace in Kpop fandom during the pandemic.

“The rise of ‘Blorbo From My Shows,’ the new mascot of Tumblr fandom” by Gav at The Daily Dot
Blorbo: Explained.

older stuff

“Wikipedia Star Trek Into Darkness controversy”
Back in 2012, a group of Wikipedia editors had an extensive feud over whether to capitalize the word “into” in the title of Star Trek Into Darkness. This is their story.

tumblr & beyond

Gerri/Roman Succession fanart by gregorytheeggory

“ok i’ll bite, what is pride and prejudice about?”

an extremely abridged look at the Fallout: New Vegas/My Little Pony crossover fanfic phenomenon Fallout: Equestria.

a poem about Dean Winchester.

what IS Succession fandom, anyway??

Fanart: If Ikea made horror movies.

fanfiction

This week we have the second half of our Yuletide 2021 recs! For the first half, see last week’s list. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“Man Carrying Thing” by yeats. 3.5K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Oklahoma!; Ship: Jud Fry/Curly McLain
Recced by: reserve
Backstory: Based on the 2018 production of the classic musical—and commonly known as “the Oklahoma! that fucks”—this is a fic about its two rivals, Jud and Curly.
Rec: For a short fic, this story is absurdly well researched, in-character, and packs a hard emotional punch. It’s also VERY hot. The dialogue sizzles and I’m in love with the set-up—Jud’s shack, under feet and feet of snow.
Content warnings: Breath play

“Training Data” by kalirush. 3.2K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Robots Series - Issac Asimov; Ship: Gen
Recced by: glymrs
Backstory: A very clever, natural extrapolation of Asimov’s robot’s universe, but with an ending that I doubt Asimov would ever have come up with.
Rec: This is a fantastic short piece that will make any woman who has ever worked with condescending men in a business, academic, or really any setting nod in recognition. The ending will make you smile grimly.
Content warnings: Sexism

“i’ve got a feeling (everybody had a good year)” by heartofwinterfell. 21K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Ted Lasso; Ships: Ted Lasso/Trent Crimm
Recced by: laiqualaurelote
Backstory: AU in which Ted, instead of being the American coach of AFC Richmond, is the American teacher of Trent’s daughter at Welton Primary, Rebecca’s primary school where Keeley, Sam and others are teachers. Trent is still a sports journalist for The Independent; Roy and Colin are still Richmond players.
Rec: Superbly crafted, perfectly arch AU that’s like the world of the show, but at a slant. Author makes an unusual choice to depict Trent as widowed, not divorced, and handles it with nuance—their Trent is simultaneously a complete goner for Ted and constantly reminded of this to his chagrin, and yet still in need of time to grieve.
Content warnings: Mentions of loss and grieving

“Mayhem: The Chitauri Invasion” by Gement. 2.6K words, rated Gen.
Fandoms: Alllstate Insurance “Mayhem” Commercials, The Avengers (Marvel Movies); Ship: Gen
Recced by: maribou
Backstory: Mayhem is a commercial character who threatens to visit physical mayhem upon unsuspecting victims in order to advertise for insurance. In this collection of vignettes, he advertises the more unusual offerings available in the Marvel Comic Universe (ie a world with superheroes and weird science).
Rec: It’s extremely funny and creative. I also really enjoy thinking about what it would actually be like to live in a superhero-populated world if you are an average person. Shades of Astro City (in the best way).
Content warnings: N/A

“The Jaws That Snatch” by Linsky. 5.7K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Scholomance - Naomi Novik; Ship: El Higgins/Orion Lake
Recced by: Orangistae
Backstory: Picking up from the end of The Last Graduate, El is desperate to find a way back to the Scholomance to rescue Orion, and goes to New York to learn more about enclave-building.
Rec: This fic legitimately reads like the first chapter of the next book; it perfectly captures El’s voice, has spot-on characterisation all around, and builds up to a brilliant twist that I’m now dying to see become canon.
Content warnings: Mild canon-typical horror

“The Beautiful Year (+ 5 Demon Days)” by fresne. 7K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Ancient Egyptian Mythology; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Chestnut_pod
Backstory: Sekhmet is a fierce goddess of Egyptian mythology, a protector and destroyer and god of both disease and healing. Bast is most famous as the goddess of cats, but is also charged with Lower Egypt, pleasure, protection, and childbirth. She and Sekhmet shared sun and lion aspects, among others.
Rec: This is a beautifully lyrical exploration of the ways in which these two goddesses are similar and different—and I do love any writing that understands the point of Festival. Also, footnotes.
Content warnings: Drinking

“this is a hellsite” by marginaliana. 3.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Sotherans (Twitter); Ship: Gen
Recced by: penna_nomen
Backstory: Sotherans is a bookstore selling rare and unusual books, and employee Oliver tweets from the perspective of someone who would rather be left alone with the books, thank you very much. He’s the perfect anti-social social media manager.
Rec: This story captures the tone of the source Twitter feed, which you should follow if you don’t already. Oliver discovers a cursed book that wants to make a deal with him, and he tweets about it.
Content warnings: N/A

FINAL THOUGHT

Somehow we’re already halfway through January, so of course that means….GET READY FOR FEMSLASH FEBRUARY!! As always, we’ll be running f/f recs for the entirety of February, so please start sending in your favorites. We’d love any and all one-off recs—use our regular submissions form, and please include “femslash february” in the themes section so it’s easier for me to find. But we’re also up for running whole lists from guest reccers, either a multifandom selection or about one particular ship; if you’re interested, please email us at elizabethandgav at gmail. <3 — Elizabeth