The Rec Center #36
Happy belated Star Trek anniversary! We don’t have a Star Trek rec list this week because we did one recently, and also I’m obsessed so we’ll definitely do more in future. Instead we have multi-pairing Musketeers recs from guest reccer reginalds! And, uh, some Star Trek stuff also. — Gav
new stuff: star trek edition
“Interview: D.C. Fontana, writer and story editor on Star Trek’s original series” by Gav at the Daily Dot
Dorothy “D.C.” Fontana has been with Star Trek since the beginning, and had a huge influence on the Star Trek universe—especially Spock’s characterization and part-Vulcan heritage. She wrote ten episodes of the original series (including the ~sex pollen~ one, you’re welcome fanfic writers) and was instrumental in the early development stages of The Next Generation.
It was a real treat to interview her about her career, especially since the role of women—both in fandom and behind the scenes of the show—is often downplayed in Star Trek’s history, in favor of more prominent figures like Gene Roddenberry, Shatner and Nimoy. — Gav
“Women who love ‘Star Trek’ are the reason that modern fandom exists” by Victoria McNally at Revelist
Speaking of women who’ve been downplayed in the fandom, a great deep dive into the history of women in Star Trek fandom (and beyond).
“Star Trek novel reading order” by 8of5 and Thrawn at The Trek Collective
A truly mindboggling flowchart illustrating how all of the Star Trek tie-in novels are collected.
“New Star Trek Manuscripts Collection” at the Bowling Green State University Libraries
We are VERY excited to hear about the “Alice J. Mills Kirk/Spock (K/S) Fanzine Collection” at BGSU.
old(er) stuff
“Getting Star Trek on the air was impossible” at Letters of Note
A letter from Star Trek creator to Isaac Asimov in 1966, in response to an article criticizing sci-fi on TV.
tumblr & beyond
Click through for drawingoddities’s full series here, which came from the prompt, “finn and bb-8 speaking binary together while poe and rey watch on in amusement/adoration/awe/etc.”
Full-time professional douchebag and alleged “MMA fighter in training” Martin Shkreli tried to challenge Chris Evans to a fight via Twitter, and was roundly ignored (which is just as well because Chris Evans is simultaneously too nice to fight him, AND would crush him like a bug.)
“Finding comments written before Hannibal aired is pretty hilarious.”
Fanvid: “Kirk Fu,” showcasing Captain Kirk’s truly stunning fight choreography during Star Trek’s original series.
fanfiction
This week’s guest reccer can be found as reginalds on AO3, where she gleefully writes AUs for every fandom she dips her toes into, from Spartacus to Star Wars.
The final episode of BBC’s The Musketeers aired recently, which is sad news for the fandom, but means you should give it some love if you haven’t already! It’s a rowdy retelling of the original, including men with artfully sculpted facial hair and women in corsets with revolvers and swords. It’s one of those ignore-how-all-these-French-people-have-English-accents period dramas, and it’s a whole lot of fun.
Here’s a quick rundown of who’s who: Athos is the leader, a drunkard with a tragic and deadly (literally; she’s an assassin) romantic past. Aramis is the romantic: a flirt and a mustache-twirler who falls in love with all the wrong people. Porthos is played by a mixed-race actor (an explicit nod to Dumas’ own background), and he’s a Musketeer despite discrimination and a rough upbringing. Sometimes he gets drunk and shoots fruit off Aramis’ head. D’Artagnan, the youngest of the lot, kicks off their relationship by striding into the barracks and challenging everyone to a duel.
What I love most about the show is their bond, and what I love most about the fandom is the flexible pairings: there are OTPs, OT3s, and OT4s. I’m reccing some fantastic AUs below, because I’ve always been a sucker for a modern interpretation of a modern interpretation. Enjoy! — reginalds
“Borne Like a Vapor” by mellyflori. 27K words, rated Teen.
Ship: D’Artagnan/Athos, Aramis/Porthos
The conceit here is that Athos is a genie and D’Artagnan finds his lamp, which I know is a little out there, but read it, it’s the greatest. Athos is the grumpiest genie in the world (at one point he makes a sign reading ‘GENIE’ so he doesn’t have to waste time explaining how he’s both omniscient and omnipotent), but he’s a genie with principles, and he refuses to let D’Artagnan make bad wishes. Aramis and Porthos are there too, as friends and fellow genies/wish-makers, and this story is lush and wonderfully romantic.
“And a Bit With a Dog” by mellyflori. 23K words, rated Mature.
Ship: Porthos/Aramis/Athos
It was a struggle to not rec everything mellyflori has written, but I’ve restrained myself to these two. This is the story I wish I had written, about a life I wish I was living. Porthos is a construction worker, in a relationship with Aramis, a touring author, and with a crush on the gorgeous businessman next door, who’s got an incredibly friendly dog. This is part epistolary romance, part meet-cute and all wonderful.
“The Glitter On and Under Skin” by FunkyinFishnet. 10K words, rated Mature.
Ship: D’Artagnan/Athos
This story starts with a bet (Aramis and Porthos dare D’Artagnan to attend the office holiday party in drag), and ends with a heartfelt exploration of alternative gender expressions. Each of the characters react positively to how D’Artagnan chooses to express himself, and I love the way his friendship with Constance and her husband Jacques is depicted. Jacques is terrible in the show, but he’s more than redeemed here, as the tailor who makes D’Artagnan the clothes of his dreams.
“The Sweetest Thing” by uena. 200K words, rated Gen to Explicit.
Ships: Porthos/Aramis, Porthos/Athos/Aramis
Last I checked, this series had 43 parts, with more (hopefully) to come. Each part is approximately 4K of domestic bliss and slow but steady relationship building. There’s an achingly beautiful transition from Porthos/Aramis to Porthos/Athos/Aramis, and each time I reread it, I appreciate the kindness the author shows their characters, as they struggle with past traumas, and welcome love into their lives in a wholly believable way. The series is currently over 200,000 words long, so read it slowly, and enjoy.
“Portrait of the Artist” by Suzie_Shooter. 38K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Porthos/Athos
I’m always interested in the way authors negotiate characters’ canon addictions, and loved this one, where Athos is waylaid by Porthos on his way to an AA meeting, and ends up in a life drawing class, where Porthos is (of course) the nude model. It’s a perfect meet-cute set-up, and Athos is brittle and barely sober, in contrast to Porthos, who is gregarious and charming and incredibly supportive.
“One in Ten Thousand” by breathtaken. 92K words, rated Explicit.
Ship: Aramis/Athos
Soulbond AU where no one in Athos’ family has ever had a soulmate, so he assumed he didn’t have one either, until Aramis walked in on Porthos’ arm, sending Athos into a spiral of denial over his feelings, the fact that he apparently has a male soulmate, and the difficult business of letting someone into his life. This sentence always hits me right in the heart:
“You see?” Aramis says, “there’s no mistake,” his joy still burning undeniable behind Athos’ left temple, where it doesn’t belong—and all he wants to do is reach into his mind somehow and cut it out, tear it out if he has to, anything to get this stranger out of his head.
BONUS RECS FROM GAV
“Find It And Keep It” by shinyjenni. 2K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Star Trek Beyond; Ship: Gen.
Another excellent post-movie fic about Jaylah befriending the Enterprise crew. I’m so glad Star Trek fandom has embraced this character as a protagonist!
“stranger things than polyamory” by trepan. 3.5K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Stranger Things; Ship: Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler
A simple getting-together epilogue for season 1, executed very well. Each of the POVs feel very in-character and teenagery, which to me is essential for a show that did such a great job of creating authentic teens and children.
P.S. As a pre-emptive ship manifesto for this OT3, I offer up a thread of tweets from a reliable source:
FINAL THOUGHT
In my travels through fandom talking to people who read and write fanfic differently, I’ve found that opinions about the relationship between sexuality, sex, gender, and fanfiction vary WIDELY. Luckily the good people of the Three Patch Podcast, which Sherlock fans are surely familiar with, are undertaking a massive survey to find out more about this stuff: http://three-patch.com/sexsurvey/
I know the organizers of this are hoping to expand their reach far beyond people who primarily read M/M on AO3 (guilty), and I know from our own surveys that you guys read all sorts of fic! (In all sorts of places? IDK about that one, actually.) So if you don’t mind taking this and sharing this to expand the reach….? I for one am very eager to see the results. — Elizabeth
FINAL FINAL THOUGHT
We have a few Imzy invites left, so come on down! A few people have been chatting about our letters in the comments, and we would love to see more dialogue on the page, so please feel free to chime in!
As always, we’re soliciting one-off recs! If there’s a story you love, please fill out this form. We’ve built up a good stock so far, so our first themed list culled from here is on its way!
If you liked this, please share it with your friends! https://thereccenter.substack.com/. And find us on social media: Gav (twitter/tumblr) & Elizabeth (twitter/tumblr)