August 26, 2022

The Rec Center #347

Hi folks! This week we’ve got articles about fan theories and video game guides, some amazing animated Tintin fanart, multifandom summertime fic recs, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“The Powerful, Unlikely Force Shaping Modern TV” by Shirley Li at The Atlantic
“In a Hollywood-worthy plot twist, television writers are embracing fan theorists who try to ‘solve’ their shows.”

“On Celebrity Deaths, Fandom Friends, and How to Grieve Online” by Stitch at Teen Vogue
On death in fandom, from mourning a creator or celebrity to grieving the loss of a fellow fan.

“Video Game Guide Writers Help Keep the Lights On But Get No Respect” by Patrick Klepek at Vice
A look at the labor and expertise that goes into writing video game play-through guides—and the resulting plagiarism scandals between rival gaming sites.

older stuff

“How Conquering the Disney Cosplay Universe Helped Me Finally Love My Body” by Tabitha Blankenbiller at Narratively
“As a kid, I thought I was too fat to dress up as my favorite cartoon characters. As an adult, I discovered a subculture that became one of the greatest joys of my life.”

tumblr & beyond

Tintin gif art by professorcalculusstanaccount

how are these supernatural gifs STILL so effective

“Concept: detransformative fiction.”

apologies to the she-hulk fans, but they have a point.

“putting a popular playlist song onto your playlist is so humiliating”

fanfiction

As summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) is coming to a close, we’ve got a two-part list of summer-themed fics, and this is the first half. Thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“epiphyte” by feenwitch. 28K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed (TV) RPF; Ship: Wang Yibo/Xiao Zhan
Recced by: jam
Backstory: Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan are two extremely famous stars in China, who starred in The Untamed. Set in the future when Yibo has largely left the industry and Xiao Zhan is being crushed under the weight of it, Yibo offers him an escape.
Rec: The summer is palpable in this fic. Hot, muggy nights, typhoons, the burning beach sand, and the way salt sticks to your skin from sweat and ocean water—you can feel it all! The emotions run deep as the heat and make you want to cry and also turn on a fan.
Content warnings: N/A

“The Exquisite Barometer” by Vehemently. 9.5K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: His Dark Materials; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Esther M.
Backstory: Will Parry joins a summer research project in Oklahoma, meets some interesting people, and experiences some severe weather.
Rec: It’s a very hard story to summarize—it’s a really thoughtful, almost meditative character study of Will via his interactions with some wonderful original characters, and it really captures that very particular feeling of summer when you’re in college and you’re really starting to have to plan for the future, how it’s simultaneously infinite and terribly short.
Content warnings: N/A

“Home Is Wherever I’m With You (a.k.a. Avengers Bonding Time Adventure)” by Sunche. 27K words, rated Explicit.
Fandoms: The Avengers, Captain America; Ship: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes
Recced by: buddieboos
Backstory: From that golden age just after Winter Soldier was released comes this fic where the six Avengers band together and wind down at a music festival. It’s v low key and heavy on shenanigans, with Stucky as the main focus and Bucky POV.
Rec: I like seeing the characters in a non-action or plot-heavy context where they can just vibe—especially because the author gets the character dynamics right without being scared of some silliness.
Content warnings: N/A

“your street, in june and august” by astronicht. 14K words, rated Explicit.
Fandoms: 山河令 | Word of Honor (TV 2021), 天涯客 | Faraway Wanderers - priest ; Ship: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu (genderbend f/f)
Recced by: templetonsweb
Backstory: In 天涯客/Faraway Wanderers, the main characters sort of just take a break from the plot to play house for a year, and this year has (understandably) been a ripe setting for lots of fic. This one is both genderbent and in a modern setting, and features Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu learning how to be with each other and how to be a family with their adoptive children during their year out of time.
Rec: The author called this fic ‘a love letter to taking a year’, and it really is. I first read it during a very cold November, and it wrapped me in the warmth of the setting—you can practically feel the heat and humidity—and in the idea that it’s okay sometimes to just exist in the world; to be a person with the people who love you.
Content warnings: N/A

“A Very Long Summer” by Calathea. 37K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: I Want To Go Home by Gordon Korman; Ship: Rudy Miller/Mike Webster
Recced by: not-a-tardis
Backstory: The original book is a children’s book about two teenage boys who meet in summer camp. One of them has main-character-level skills at most things, and chooses to use those skills to create as much chaos as possible, the other is along for the ride as a mostly-enthusiastic, sometimes gobsmacked accomplice.
Rec: Two two main characters come back to the summer camp as counsellors once they’re in university. The author does a great job of navigating the awkwardness of navigating romance in a friendship, the awkwardness of growing up and worrying if you and your friends will grow apart, and also this fic jump started my obsession with perfectly roasted marshmallows so it felt fitting for the theme.
Content warnings: N/A

“(you make me feel so) Summer Fling” by earlgreytea68. 29K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Fall Out Boy; Ship: Patrick Stump/Pete Wentz
Recced by: Ingwer
Backstory: Fall Out Boy is a real life rock band from the U.S. Their songs and public personas are ripe for fics—I think, earlgreytea68 (recced author) herself called them “the tropiest band ever” (or similar). The four of them are kind, funny and strong-willed. Pete and Patrick are the fandom’s OTP.
Rec: It is so much what I hate about summer, it’s amazing. The meet-cute is fear of sunburn on the beach. It’s funny, it’s sexy, it’s heartfelt and full of wonderful summer atmosphere—hot summer days, hot summer crushes, and having no chill about music and none whatsoever weather related as well.
Content warnings: Underage (high school students)

FINAL THOUGHT

Speaking of summery recs! We are soliciting even more of them to round out the second half of the list, so please send us your favorites via our handy form. — Elizabeth