The Rec Center #345
Hi folks! This week we’ve got articles about intergenerational Pokémon fandom and the unauthorized Bridgerton musical, along with an incredible Star Wars cosplay TikToker, some multifandom fic recs, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Netflix’s lawsuit against the ‘Bridgerton Musical’ could change online fandom” by Amanda Silberling at Techcrunch
The Grammy-winning “Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” is currently the subject of a lawsuit that could have consequences for all kinds of fanworks in the future. This piece features helpful commentary on the subject from fair-use experts Casey Fiesler and Rebecca Tushnet.
“The kids who grew up on Pokémon are raising trainers of their own” by Teddy Amenabar at the Washington Post
One for the elder millennials, lol.
“The NBA Is Horny. No Wonder the Fanfic Is So Good.” by Kylie Cheung at Jezebel
“Our version of NBA fandom looks different. Instead of broadcasting our devotion through hypermasculine displays of rage—riots, looting, bonfires of disloyal players’ jerseys—we’re rewriting reality altogether, not just so our favorite teams and players can win somewhere out there in the multiverse, but to fulfill any number of earnest fantasies.”
https://twitter.com/itsbedtime_/status/1556684526591557632
older stuff
“Confessions of a former Legolas fangirl” by Kendra James at Polygon
“Which is in part why, when Bloom did respond a few months later, I was titillated, of course. What teen girl wouldn’t have been? But also? I was kind of extremely freaked out.”
tumblr & beyond
ok well it’s actually hard to argue with this one.
This person’s ENTIRE TIKTOK PRESENCE is dedicated to larping as an HR manager for the Galactic Empire.
A useful chart for selecting the perfect cdrama based on your mood and genre tastes.
A unique take on why The Witcher should recast Henry Cavill.
https://twitter.com/Clarknova1/status/1557226762035159042
fanfiction
Just an unthemed grab-bag this week! Thanks to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“No Fixed Ropes” by lyricl. 25K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Our Flag Means Death; Ships: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet, Israel Hands/Lucius Spriggs, Israel Hands/Lucius Spriggs/Black Pete/Jim Jimenez/Oluwande Boodhari, Oluwande Boodhari/Jim Jimenez
Recced by: starcityrebels
Backstory: Golden Age of Piracy meets “The Golden Age of Yosemite Climbing”—an early 1970s AU where the whole crew are a motley band of rock climbers and drop-out hangers-on.
Rec: This is a really fresh AU which is so ingenious—it brings to light whole new interesting parallels and possibilities for the characters we love. The characters are extremely well written and the sex is delicious.
Content warnings: Characters discuss if a character is suicidal but they aren’t.
“An algorithm for mistakes” by Fleete. 27K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Teen Wolf; Ship: Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinksi
Recced by: anon
Backstory: This fic takes place after the pack goes to college (written early on in the series so think early pack make-up). It’s also about the pack settling into each other as found family, particularly the human members learning werewolf etiquette.
Rec: This is listed as Lydia/Stiles but I always think of it as the story of Lydia Martin learning how to be awesome. What I love about it is her learning to embrace her academic intelligence, but also learning to be open to others.
Content warnings: N/A
“Make No Mistake” by tucuxi. 8.2K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù; Ship: Fēng Xìn/Mù Qíng (Tiān Guān Cì Fú)
Recced by: Bideroo
Backstory: TGCF is a xianxia novel, set in a world with parallels to ancient China. Feng Xin/Mu Qing (or fengqing) is not a canon ship, but is second-most popular (on AO3) behind the main canon pairing.
Rec: This fic takes a rare approach to a ‘fuck or die’ premise involving an asexual character; rather than have the situation ‘cure’ the asexuality, it explores how these characters--who care about each other more than they realize--work through the situation together, while respecting Mu Qing’s asexuality.
Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, typical distress associated with ‘sex pollen’ scenarios
“Future Horizons” by XMagicalX. 35K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: The X-Files; Ship: Gen
Recced by: fernybranca
Backstory: This story was written sometime during the 4th season of The X-Files, and branches off from there to an alternate universe. It starts in medias res years in the future: everyone knows about aliens, and the X-Files are now a highly respected department of the FBI...but only Mulder is in evidence, not Scully.
Rec: Most of this story is about younger, original-character X-Files agents trying to figure out what happened in Mulder’s past, creating some really delicious ironic tension: we know what happened before a certain date, and the characters in the story know what happened after, but what happened in between? Where did Scully go, and will she come back? It’s highly satisfying to watch everything slot into place.
Content warnings: Canon-typical alien abduction, etc—but actually much less violent than most of canon.
“The Lady Gardener” by jessthereckless. 81K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Good Omens; Ship: Aziraphale/Crowley
Recced by: Kitty Climpson
Backstory: “Set mainly during Aziraphale and Crowley’s time undercover at the American ambassador’s place, raising the supposed antichrist. Both breaking hearts left right and centre (including each other’s) in their femme forms. Romance, shenanigans, and Ferrero Rocher :)”
Rec: It’s super well written, funny and very sexy.
Content warnings: N/A
“Of Wood Wits, Bisimbi Bi Masa and Speculating Frogs” by Gehayi. 6.7K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Zahrah the Windseeker/From the Lost Diary of Treefrog7; Ship: Nkoririko89/OrchidVenom3
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: Zahrah the Windseeker is a YA novel by Nnedi Okorafor about a young girl who can fly, who goes off on an adventure in the Forbidden Greeny Jungle, relying on the irreverent amateur field guide compiled by a set of earlier explorers.
Rec: This fic is about some of those explorers, and it is chock-full of the wry wit, linguistic creativity, amazing animals, and utterly distinctive style of the original book and story. It’s SO GOOD.
Content warnings: Maybe slight body horror? But it’s not really framed that way
And a vid!
“Industry Baby” by Anime Anthem. 3:32, not rated.
Fandom: Haikyuu!!; Ship: Gen
Recced by: glassedplanets
Backstory: Haikyuu!! is a series about volleyball, which is all you need to know to enjoy this video.
Rec: This AMV is a serious work of art—the editing is incredible, and in particular the way the creator has picked out similar shots and overlaid them is amazing. The way the lyrics match the clips in the context of the series is SO well done too, but even if you haven’t watched the series, this is an amazingly fun AMV that catches how high-energy Haikyuu!! is, *and* it’s set to Industry Baby.
Content warnings: N/A
https://twitter.com/lizzzzzielogan/status/1557509851097419776
FINAL THOUGHT
As we’ve done in a few summers past, we’re soliciting summer-themed recs to run before the (Northern Hemisphere) season is up. Please use our submissions form, and be sure to mention summer in the themes/tropes field! — Elizabeth