The Rec Center #323
Hello all! This week we have a new “letter of recommendation” (our occasional explainers/endorsements of fanworks & fan communities) about Grand Theft Auto roleplay by guest reccer Booksblanketsandtea! We also have our usual mix of articles and posts, some delightful Euphoria fanart, and a grab-bag of multifandom fic. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“They are fans of Euphoria, but not of its creator, Sam Levinson” by Marc Tracy at the New York Times
Euphoria fans are grappling with their mixed feelings about showrunner Sam Levinson, who has been criticized both for incoherent and/or sexist storytelling choices onscreen, and problematic behavior behind the scenes.
“A gripping yarn: inside the Knitting.com drama” by Chris Stokel-Walker at Input
Is the knitting community technically “a fandom”? Okay, probably not. But if you read this piece, you’ll understand why we included it. A couple of finance guys are attempting to ~revolutionize the online knitting marketplace without any real knowledge of knitting, and the response from knitters was... understandably negative.
“The creativity and community behind fanfiction” by Cecilia Aragon at TED
We’ve included coverage of University of Washington Professor Cecilia Aragon’s v interesting research (mostly focusing on FFN) before. This talk has a fair bit of fic 101, which makes sense given the audience, but it also dives into some of the same fascinating research around younger fic writers and distributed mentorship.
https://twitter.com/Ygrene/status/1501158492694093827
older stuff
“Queer readings of The Lord of the Rings are not accidents” by Molly Ostertag at Polygon
“Following breadcrumbs to find ourselves, in Tolkien’s history and his fiction.”
tumblr & beyond
Euphoria fanart by hanavbara
“I recently discovered that a fan letter my mum sent Tolkien when she was 15 is cited regularly in Tolkien scholarship, due to him answering her question about whether Aragorn canonically has a beard or not”
A celebration of obscure vintage Star Wars aliens.
Yes, Javert WOULD be an AITA post king.
Speaking of Star Wars aliens... we have some news about Kaud, aka the star of the Live Slug Reaction meme.
“Reminder that the original sex pollen flower was just a spray painted artichoke”
letter of recommendation
Booksblanketsandtea has been active in a number of different fandoms on different platforms for many years. She discovered GTA RP in early 2021 and has been addicted ever since—it’s even rekindled her old fanfic-writing spark. You can find them on AO3, the very occasional stream on Twitch, and (when she remembers they exist and has something to say) she’ll post on Twitter and Tumblr as well.
Over the past couple of years, Grand Theft Auto roleplay (or GTA RP) has grown into one of the most popular forms of content on Twitch and other streaming platforms. Using the 2013 game Grand Theft Auto V as the base, GTA RP takes place on modded servers where hundreds of people can be playing online all at once. One of the most popular servers is NoPixel, which has a strong foundation of roleplay and storytelling, but has also added a more ‘content focused’ lens in the last few years as the server grows, with the devs occasionally putting on group specific or server-wide events.
GTA RP on NoPixel (currently version 3.0) combines improvised voice acting and storytelling with a huge variety of video-game mechanics such as racing, shooting, mini-games, riddles, and even farming simulation. Those on the server create a character (or multiple characters) and then live out that character’s life. Everyone has their own story to tell, and because many of those who play on the NoPixel server stream, the server has essentially become a 24/7 television show that spans just about any genre you can think of and hundreds of characters.
As well as storytelling, there is also artistic creativity happening within the server itself through mediums like digital art and songs created by and for characters in the city (both improvised and spotify ready). The NoPixel fandom is not the largest fandom out there, but it is incredibly creative with fanworks (whether songs, fanfic, fanart or even archives) being created regularly. Though, as with any fandom, it’s more active for some characters and groups than it is for others—everyone has their favourites, after all.
[Dark Rhodes ship history—clip compilation from NoPixel 2.0]
And that is actually part of the true joy of this kind of media—you’re not stuck sitting through characters or storylines or genres that don’t interest you at all: you can follow your favourite any time they’re on the server and streaming. And because this is happening in the same place, often at the same time, it’s not unusual for character stories to overlap and develop into new arcs for individuals and groups alike.
[BBMC season 3&4 fanart by Vylla]
So how do you get started? Some people stream on other platforms (such as Facebook gaming) but the majority of the community is based on Twitch. And the community is a large one—there are a lot of characters in Los Santos, so it can be hard to know where to even begin and who to start watching first. I’ve written up a quick recommendation list for some of my favourite different characters and the streamers who play them—but by watching one stream, you’ll naturally be introduced to other characters in the city and be able to start finding your own favourites to follow.
[Fanvid: Consequences—Barry Benson, TJ Walker, and the BBMC by CC]
If there is one thing I can confidently say about GTA RP, it is that it is a genuine buffet of unique characters and interesting storylines, with talented roleplayers working to create some of the most unusual, interesting, and heartfelt entertainment I’ve seen in years. If you haven’t already, I invite you to go try it out. In a medium this inherently varied, I can almost guarantee that there’s something out there for everyone.
fanfiction
Just a grab-bag of multifandom recs this week! Thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec. <3 — Elizabeth
“Your Last Serving Daughter” by damalur. 16K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: Dragon Age, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition; Ship: Female Hawke/Varric Tethras
Recced by: liarof
Backstory: Hawke walks out of the Fade. She wanders back to the Inquisition, where a dashing dwarf storyteller happens to be holding residence, and copes just magnificently with what happened to her, thank you very much.
Rec: My favourite interpretation of Hawke ever. Witty and boisterous and constantly trying to hide anything important; a semi-tragic end only sweetens the depth of the romance.
Content warnings: N/A
“He Who Must Not Be Normal” by lettered. 41K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Harry Potter; Ship: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Recced by: Monica
Backstory: After the war, Draco’s working as a shop clerk and just trying to get by. Harry’s more than a little unstable and won’t leave Draco alone.
Rec: This is the most compelling depiction of Harry and Draco working through their emotional trauma that I’ve ever read (although lettered’s other work in this vein is also exceptional). So funny and tragic and kinky and profound all at once—really compassionate and beautiful.
Content warnings: PTSD, reference to self-harm, mental instability, substance abuse
“The Parent Trap” by thingswithwings. 1.2K words, rated Gen.
Fandoms: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Jane the Virgin (crossover); Ship: Alicia/Rosa Diaz
Recced by: mlraven
Backstory: The original prompt was (in short) “if Gina Rodriguez the Uber Driver of B99’s dad was also Rogelio de la Vega, he’d be a complete PFLAG parent in the best way.”
Rec: Rogelio is so enthusiastic and sincere, and Rosa is 100% in-character and overwhelmed and charmed. Comfort fic!
Content warnings: N/A
“a cup of vinegar, a spoon of sugar” by shamelesscooper. 26K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù; Ship: Mòběi-jūn/Shàng Qīnghuá
Recced by: anon
Backstory: In both canon and this fic, Mobei-Jun is a demonic ice king, while his servant Shang Qinghua is simultaneously a hack novelist, a capital-G God, and a cowardly weasel.
Rec: A sweet fic, and you don’t really need to read Scum Villain to understand! Lots of pining and a badass fight scene (necromancy! birds!!).
Content warnings: N/A
“Your Pretty Little Heart” by Ever-So-Reylo. 64K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Star Wars - Sequel Trilogy; Ship: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Recced by: Jake
Backstory: This is an “enemy doctors who are very attracted to each other and decide the only thing to do is bone until these pesky Feelings go away but they don’t and everyone’s emotional constipation gets in the way of having a Relationship (TM) outside of the bedroom” story.
Rec: I love Rey’s POV in this story—she’s smart, capable, and aware of what she wants, but never sure how to ask those things of others. I regularly revisit this fic because I love when two idiots have problems communicating their feelings! Also the sex is, like, *chefs kiss*.
Content warning: Canon-typical violence
“you’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be” by roserelease. 203K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Yuri!!! On Ice; Ship: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Recced by: Cricket
Backstory: Yuuri is in a cosplay group with several of his friends. They catch the attention of their cosplay hero, Viktor. An online friendship is born!
Rec: The writing is exquisite, and the way this fic shows Viktor and Yuuri slowly falling in love and discovering themselves is *so* wonderful. There’s also an incredible amount of love for cons and cosplay in here that is delightful to read! This fic is a fantastic exploration into a nonbinary experience, and it’s full of excellent supportive friends! I honestly can’t say enough about this fic :)))
Content warnings: Internalised transphobia, minimal mentions of past transphobia, minimal internalised acephobia
https://twitter.com/boners/status/1497454385802088448
FINAL THOUGHT
This year’s Hugo Award nominations close on March 15, so I figured we should remind everyone that the Rec Center is eligible for Best Fanzine! Please consider us when nominating! — Gav