January 27, 2023

The Rec Center #369

Hi folks! This week we have articles about Real Housewives fandom and George RR Martin, an intriguing math story, some multifandom genfic recs, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“‘The ladies themselves bought into it’: How ‘Housewives’ fans upended the franchise” by Yvonne Villarreal at the Los Angeles Times
A deep dive into the cyclical relationship between the Real Housewives franchise and their fans.

“The Lore of the Rings” by Austin Gilkeson at The New York Review of Books
“J.R.R. Tolkien’s fiction is suffused with the pleasures of scholarship and study. Amazon’s new franchise The Rings of Power can’t sit still.“

“If you ever want to read The Winds of Winter, pray for the New York Giants” by Joshua Rivera at Polygon
“New York football playoff wins don’t happen that often. You know what else doesn’t happen that often? The publication of a new A Song of Ice and Fire book. And my data suggests that might not be a coincidence.” An intriguing theory! [ed. note: Elizabeth is a lifelong Bills fan and doesn’t think anyone should pray for the Giants to win for any reason SORRY]

older stuff

“How an Anonymous 4chan Post Helped Solve a 25-Year-Old Math Puzzle” by Maciej Rebisz at Wired
“A debate over the most efficient way to watch a cult classic TV series’ episodes, in every possible order, lies at the heart of this mathematical breakthrough.”

tumblr & beyond

HOTD fanart by irlplasticlamb

alan rickman in galaxy quest “has the tragic bearing of a man aware that there’s a fanlore page devoted entirely to his character’s dick”

Amtrak wyd.

it’s never too late to stan.

pouring one out for whatever the fuck happened in the teen wolf movie.

we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: it’s time to reduce the number of fandom eddies. someone’s gotta go!!

fanfiction

This week we have a variety of genfic—thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“The Skin Beneath the Skin” by jibrailis. 2.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Little Mermaid (1989)
Recced by: anon
Backstory: A look at Ariel’s life as a human after the 1989 Little Mermaid Disney movie, as she seeks out a witch who lives on land.
Rec: A beautifully poignant look at what might happen after the “happily ever after” of the Disney movie. I love the rich layers of this short story and how it deals with, subverts, and mirrors themes in the film.
Content warnings: Instances of illness, death, brief mention of blood

“Heart, Humble” by Betty. 7.8K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Batman
Recced by: ratherbeatspacecamp
Backstory: At one point, Tim Drake had to quit being Robin after his Dad found out and threatened Batman. This is a story set during his brief retirement.
Rec: An outsider POV on Tim that does an incredible job of really exploring what it means for him to be Robin.
Content warnings: Non-graphic attempted sexual assault, references to rape

“Charioteer” by petrichoral. 14K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: The Queen’s Thief
Recced by: kormantic
Backstory: Eugenides is the King of Attolia; he is also the Thief of Eddis. He becomes king after losing his right hand—at the behest of the woman he later marries. In the third book of the series, we meet Costis: a loyal soldier in the Queen’s Guard. His forthrightness gets him in heaps of trouble, and also earns him the amused affection of the king. So steadfast is his love for his friend, the king goes undercover… as a gladiator! With only one hand! in order to steal Costis out of the coliseum.
Rec: This is everything fanfic should be: superb, funny and thrilling—and absolutely recognizable as something that could have happened in canon. Full of brilliant plots and ridiculous plans, Gen succeeds against odds that would trounce lesser men—and he does it all with one hand behind his back.
Content warnings: N/A

“Oklahoma” by Amperage, Livengoo. 160K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The X-Files
Recced by: fernybranca
Backstory: This story is a prequel to the events of The X-Files. Mulder, working as a criminal profiler, has always been “spooky” in the way he understands the minds of serial killers, but now he faces a case that also triggers his complex PTSD around his sister’s abduction and his own childhood physical abuse. The stresses of the situation nearly kill him; ultimately, the case drives him out of VICAP and into the X-Files.
Rec: The X-Files has always implied more psychological depth than it was properly able to portray in its monster-of-the-week format, and has hinted at Mulder’s dysfunctional past at the FBI. This story takes a deep breath and dives into those waters. It also resists the temptation to shoehorn Scully in, instead providing us with some great and believable original characters. You almost pity Scully by the end—there’s just so much that she doesn’t know when she walks into the X-Files office.
Content warnings: Physical and sexual abuse of children, serial murder of children, depictions of C-PTSD, ineffective psychiatric care, a person in serious mental breakdown.

“For What It’s Worth” by lammermoorian. 3.4K words, Not Rated (est. Teen).
Fandoms: Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Recced by: glorious_clio
Backstory: Hera Syndulla and her son fight in the battle at Exegol.
Rec: I love Rebels so much, and was hoping for a cameo in TROS (beyond Hera’s ship, the Ghost). Because the Ghost was def. at the battle, lammermoorian went ahead and filled in the blanks. It’s so good and fun!
Content warnings: N/A

And a vid!

“Jin Guangyao Apology” by Glinda Chen. 1:58, Not Rated (est. Teen).
Fandom: CQL/The Untamed
Recced by: Micky
Backstory: The Untamed/CQL, YouTube creator AU. JGY makes an apology video after being cancelled/called out.
Rec: I cannot believe how lovingly crafted this is. the cosplay, the acting, the detail—right down to the auto translate subtitles and sidebar videos—this is IMPECCABLE fan content.
Content warnings: Spoilers, mentions of canon typical violence, (very fake) blood

FINAL THOUGHT

February is nearly here, and we could definitely use more F/F submissions for our upcoming Femslash February lists. As always, we’d especially love recs that center characters of color, trans/genderqueer characters, ace characters, etc. Please use our submission form and make sure to put “Femslash February” in the themes & tropes field so I know to look for it!

AND SPEAKING OF RECCING, yesterday I wrote a mini-essay about making rec lists, and this seemed like the prime audience to share it with. :-)) I’m excited about the guest-authored F/F lists we have coming up next month, but we’d love to run more guest-authored rec lists generally—if you’re interested, please write us at elizabethandgav at gmail dot com. — Elizabeth