The Rec Center #371
Hello all! This week we’ve got articles on TV preservation and “fantilect” plus some beautiful fanart from The Bear. And as Femslash February continues, we have what might be our first group-authored guest segment: an explainer, fanart, and F/F fic recs for Star Trek: Lower Decks. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“In The Age Of Streaming, TV Preservation Matters More Than Ever” by Valerie Ettenhofer at /Film
“There’s something disorienting and alienating about the fact that viewers who once had the ability to act as at-home archivists now go to sleep one day unaware that their favorite show could disappear entirely the next.”
“Quoting Taylor Swift Lyrics Is an Actual Linguistic Thing” by Pia Ceres at Wired
“Invoking a fanilect effectively can foster feelings of intimacy, shared memories, and collective appreciation. But it can come with social risks.”
“Inside the Implosion of Justin Roiland’s Animation Empire” by Lacey Rose and Katie Kilkenny at The Hollywood Reporter
“To legions of ‘Rick and Morty’ fans, co-creator Roiland was a quirky genius whose career was suddenly derailed by allegations of domestic violence. But to colleagues, his behavior has been troubling for years.”
I’m concerned kids aren’t seeing the same episode of TV 75 times. Nickelodeon made like 14 episodes of Salute Your Shorts to play during the entire 1990s and instead of switching the channel, you simply announced “Oh good, it’s a Pinsky one” and your siblings would gather.
— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) February 4, 2023
older stuff
“Proudly Black, Fat, Queer and Making a Home for Myself in Cosplay” by Briana Lawrence at Autostraddle
“It’s OK to question the things you love. It’s OK to point out the problems and ask for folks to do better by you. It doesn’t mean you love it any less, it just means that you know that you deserve better.”
tumblr & beyond
The Bear fanart by seancefemme
“I am here for the Gritty/Uncle O’Grimacey shipping”
Shatner’s Toupee: The Definitive Oracle
so how DOES bruce wayne hide the batcave from his household staff?
“what is the funniest fic tag on ao3 and why is it ,workplace injuries’ for HBO’s Chernobyl”
fanfiction + explainer: lower decks
Rod is a veteran fandom lurker and occasional fanartist. En has nothing to plug, just watch Lower Decks <3
Daly is a queer Star Trek artist focused on Lower Decks. He can be found collecting action figures, comics, and drawing starfleet officers kissing. Follow him at brbdaly on twt/tumblr/insta.
Jenny is a Trek nerd with a fondness for wlw ships, rarepairs, and DS9 and Lower Decks. She can be found on tumblr and AO3.
Star Trek: Lower Decks is a funny and charming animated sitcom set in the Star Trek universe, featuring a group of four junior officers on the USS Cerritos trying to move up in Starfleet: the rebellious, troubled Beckett Mariner (command) and her consummately geeky group of friends: Brad Boimler (command), D’Vana Tendi (medical) and Sam Rutherford (engineering). The characters have great chemistry together, and it’s fun to watch their daily foibles. It’s a great blend of slice of life and adventure.
Art by Daly
There are a wealth of references to other trek shows, but you don’t need to understand the Easter eggs to have a good time. Though I’d watched some Trek before, I primarily came to the show as a cartoon fan and appreciate it as a part of that genre. The show takes transparent inspiration from Rick and Morty, but quickly finds its own, much gentler, voice. If the Rick and Morty influence is a big turnoff I would suggest skipping the first episode, or even starting on the second season. I started on s3 e2, The Least Dangerous Game, which is still one of my favorites.
Tendi, Rutherford, Mariner, and Boimler in s3 e1
Lower Decks is also one of the best fandoms I’ve been in for femslash. I attribute this almost entirely to the character of Beckett. Her character takes a lot from fanon Kirk, and she is, in her own words, “always dating bad boys, bad girls, bad gender nonbinary babes, ruthless alien masterminds, [and] bad Bynars” Behind her tough exterior, she has her share of pathos and a nerdy streak that matches her friends’. She’s a wonderful character and great fun to bounce off other personalities. There’s fanwork of her with her canonical girlfriend Jennifer, her friend Tendi, her bff/“protege” Boimler(transfemme headcanon), her childhood friend Ramsey, the rogue archaeologist Petra, and more.
Jennifer and Mariner in s3 e6
Finally, considering that Femslash February is, well, in February, I’d be remiss not to also mention that Mariner is Black! Her voice actor, Tawny Newsome, is a veteran trekkie who has written and spoken extensively about the treatment of Black actors and characters in Trek. One of the driving forces of the plot is Mariner’s conflict with her mother/captain (!) Carol Freeman, and it’s nice to see a family relationship between two Black women be so central to the story.
Lower Decks is available to watch on Paramount+. It currently has three seasons, with a fourth scheduled for next fall. My experience in this fandom is more on the fanart side, so I asked some other fans to recommend fanfics. If you want to see more, join us on the Lower Decks Discord! — Rod
Art by Daly. (Sexy holodeck duels incoming! — Rod)
“Structural Integrity” by AlwaysBlue. 1K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Beckett Mariner/Jennifer Sh’reyan
Recced by: Daly
Backstory: Jennifer and Beckett have a contentious relationship that comes to a head in s2e10, First First Contact. This fic takes place immediately after that episode.
Rec: I enjoy how the author followed up on the conversations between these characters that we saw in First First Contact, giving them more space to talk and build tension, and to give more insight into Mariner’s feelings and character.
Content warnings: N/A
“Pinned” by bijadzia. 1K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Beckett Mariner/Jennifer Sh’reyan
Recced by: Daly
Backstory: Another post-First First Contact fic, this one references the events of the episode a bit less and focuses more on flirty holodeck banter.
Rec: Mariner has a sexy duel with an alien babe on the holodeck. What more do you want?
Content warnings: N/A
“Will you meet me up there in the stars?” by InvisibleArmour. 10K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Beckett Mariner/Amina Ramsey
Recced by: Daly
Backstory: Mariner and Amina, her friend from Starfleet Academy, are both hinted at having fought in the Star Trek’s Dominion War as very young adults.
Rec: This is half a Mariner/Ramsey fic and half a character study of Beckett’s journey from the Academy to the Cerritos, as told through her relationship with Amina. The final chapter leaves off right at LWD 1x07, when Amina is introduced to the show.
Content warnings: Wartime violence, PTSD
“Confessions” by WotanAnubis. 1.3K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Beckett Mariner/T’Lyn
Recced by: Jenny
Backstory: T’lyn is a fan-favorite vulcan character who was introduced in s2e9 as a counterpart to Mariner and joined the Cerritos crew at the end of season 3.
Rec: In this rarepair fic, Mariner tells an incredulous Boimler about her new relationship with T’lyn. The dialogue is cute and funny and showcases the personalities of all three characters.
Content warnings: N/A
“T’lyn overthinks it” by Gregrox. 2.5K words, rated Teen.
Ship: T’lyn/D’vana Tendi
Recced by: Lyle
Backstory: This fic plays with two pieces of trek lore: that Vulcans have touch telepathy and experience hand holding as very intimate, and that (most) Orion females have powerful sex pheromones.
Rec: The story follows T’lyn as she deals with her growing feelings for Tendi, an Orion, after Tendi casually holds her hand in s3e10. Raised to repress her emotions, she tries to blame her crush on Orion pheromones, something Tendi doesn’t even have. It’s a sweet story of emotional growth.
Content warnings: N/A
had a coworker who told me he wanted to get the final fight from Avengers: Endgame tattooed on his back “but it would have some X-Men on it”
— Matthew Ferrari (@MatthewFerrari) February 2, 2023
FINAL THOUGHT
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And on that note—have a good weekend! — Gav