September 16, 2022

The Rec Center #350

Hi everyone! This week we have pieces on Elon Musk stans (lol) and solitary fandom, some beautiful Tolkien fanart, and a grab-bag of multifandom fic recs. — Elizabeth

new stuff

“Rocketland” by Loren Grush at The Verge
“Worshippers of Elon Musk have flocked to the middle of nowhere in Texas to watch SpaceX’s attempts to build a space-worthy rocket—and to find friends.”

“‘People’s Joker,’ Queer Movie Set in Batman Universe, Pulled From TIFF Over ‘Rights Issues’” by Manori Ravindran at Variety
An intriguing look at a Joker-inspired transformative work that by all accounts bears very little resemblance to a DC Comics copyrighted property. Hopefully it will be available to watch in due course!

“Harry Styles Fans Put On a Show” by Helen Rosner (words) and Dina Litovsky (photographs) at The New Yorker
A delightful series of photos/interviews with Harry Styles fans queuing outside his show in NYC.

older stuff

“Finding My Way Back to Solitary Fandom” by Keidra Chaney at Uncanny Magazine
“These days it’s harder than ever for me to truly lose myself in the pop culture I enjoy because I’m so hyper aware of what I consume and how it’s perceived by other people via social technology.”

tumblr & beyond

Ecthelion with his Two Trees penjing (from the Tolkien fanfic “What Pride Has Wrought”) by toastedbuckwheat

“i am always happy to see your posts about weird men on my dash”

Sulu texting

no-context batman tiktok

“Happy Anniversary to the most iconic mob psycho tweet”

fanfiction

Just an unthemed grab-bag this week! Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“Nose to the Grindrstone” by thievinghippo. 6.6K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: MDZS / The Untamed; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Recced by: Petirrojo57
Backstory: “When Wei Ying is bored, bad decisions seem to follow. He’s alone in a hotel room, and his mind is wondering what trouble he could potentially get into and the fun he could have tonight. A modern-AU grindr meet-cute.”
Rec: This smart, adult modern take very much plays with generally accepted headcanon re: wangxian enjoying “a good time.” The author (check out all works) is particularly adept with contemporary settings and a turn of phrase.
Content warnings: Dom/sub undertones

“Corpse” by Livengoo. 136K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The X-Files; Ship: Gen
Recced by: fernybranca
Backstory: Lawyer Emma Courtland discovers a body; it turns out to be the victim of a UFO-obsessed serial killer, whom Mulder and Scully are hunting, and who may have links to Mulder’s childhood. There are a few references to Livengoo’s other stories about Mulder’s cases, but nothing you can’t gloss over if you haven’t read them.
Rec: This story is from the POV of one of the best and most fully-realized OCs I’ve ever read in fanfiction—and her presence provides a necessary lever, peeling Mulder and Scully apart and letting us see into their relationship, and serving as an avatar for the town that’s been unsettled by violent crime. Also, the fic continues past “catching the bad guy” into the trial and recovery period—something that neither fanon nor canon usually touches, and which is really interesting and makes it feel real.
Content warnings: Serial killer mutilation and sexual abuse; child abuse; canon-typical government conspiracy and alien abduction

“The Thrice-Tenth Kingdom” by dance_at_bougival. 28K words (abandoned WIP), rated Mature.
Fandom: MCU; Ship: minor Natasha Romanov/Bucky Barnes
Recced by: Orangistae
Backstory: Red Room prequel about Natasha’s training and early missions, and her relationship with the Winter Soldier.
Rec: A haunting, beautifully-written fic exploring how Natasha was shaped by her experiences with the Red Room, it’s probably my favourite characterisation of her and one that I come back to again and again.
Content warnings: Violence, torture, brainwashing, dubcon

“the spaces between the stars” by indigostohelit. 50K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Generation Kill; Ship: Brad Colbert/Nate Fick
Recced by: CharCubed
Backstory: Lieutenant Nathaniel Fick of the USS Devil Dog is returning to Earth with the weight of the world on his shoulders. But on the journey, something in the ship goes terribly wrong—and Nate may have to bear far more than the weight of the world if he’s going to keep his men safe.
Rec: It doesn’t matter if you know nothing about Generation Kill (and the person recc’ing this doesn’t either!), because this is an incredible sci-fi story that’ll stick with you. It reads like an original novel, and it’s haunting, beautiful, and interesting, with suspense that’ll keep you from putting it down.
Content warnings: Major character death

“reddit.hieron/r/relationships” by MadHattie. 1.5K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Friends at the Table (podcast); Ship: Adaire Ducarte/Hella Varal
Recced by: mariusperkins
Backstory: Friends at the Table is an actual-play ttrpg podcast about critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends (highly, HIGHLY recommended). This fic is set in their Hieron seasons (a fantasy setting), which finished a few months ago.
Rec: This is a funny, cute look at one of the (canon!!) relationships in the show through the lens of a r/relationships post, and I love the characterisation of Adaire and Hella here, fumbling their way towards each other.
Content warnings: N/A

“oil and water” by blacksatinpointeshoes. 16K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Blaseball; Ship: Cornelius Games/Richardson Games
Recced by: anon
Backstory: It’s about the formation of the Charleston Shoe Thieves, a heist crew that doubles as a Blaseball team. Blaseball is a surrealist baseball simulator.
Rec: Poignant but funny that illustrates the struggles of a team hit by death and difficult trades and beautifully bringing home the wonderful themes. Also a fic that’s very lovingly written by a Black author about Black characters.
Content warnings: Canonical character deaths, off-screen automobile accident, troubled marriage, PTSD

“Love Is (Not) A Battlefield, Or: Gay Panic! At the BB Lounge” by WyvernQuill. 8.2K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: パリピ孔明 | Paripi Koumei | Ya Boy Kongming!; Ship: Owner Kobayashi/Zhuge Liang | Zhuge Kongming
Recced by: Westie
Backstory: Zhuge Liang/Kongming from the Three Kingdoms gets reincarnated as his younger self in modern-day Tokyo when he dies, and ends up becoming the manager for an upcoming singer. The owner of the bar they work at is a huge Three Kingdoms nerd.
Rec: It’s really well written, with the characters being super well in character! The writer also does a great job of writing it so you don’t feel lost if you don’t know the fandom.
Content warnings: N/A

FINAL THOUGHT

That’s all, folks! Have a nice weekend! — Gav