March 31, 2023

The Rec Center #378

Hi all! This week we have articles on the Amazon show Swarm and an extremely corrupt-sounding tabletop game company, along with some cute Superboy fanart, a grab-bag of multifandom fanfic recs, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“‘Everything Is a Story’ Inside Wyrmwood Gaming’s Narcissistic Funhouse” by Linda Codega at Gizmodo
An extensive and disturbing look at a wide swathe of scandals (sexual harassment, workplace safety, nepotism, bullying...) at Wyrmwood Gaming, a company that produces tabletop gaming products like dice, tables, etc. Feels very relevant to the gaming side of fandom, as Wyrmwood’s owners relied heavily on crowdfunding and a YouTube reality series (!) that attempted to present the brand in a fun, personable light—even when incriminating themselves onscreen.

“Donald Glover’s Swarm Is Another Piece of Fandom Media That Dehumanizes Black Women” by Stitch at Teen Vogue
“If you’ve ever been in a fandom space—yes, even stan Twitter—the last thing a Black woman gets away with is even the hint of violence or anger.”

“‘Succession’ and the F-word, by the Numbers” by Austin Gayle at The Ringer
*Vital* data-driven journalism here. Especially delighted to learn that the phrase “Little Lord Fuckleroy” has been uttered on Succession three separate times?

older stuff

“The Rise and Fall of the Pop Star Purity Ring” by Hazel Cills at Jezebel
An interesting deep dive into the intersections of celebrity culture and Evangelical American politics in the 2000s.

tumblr & beyond

Superboy fanart by litta-jpg

“Weird Al fandom history tidbits for new(er) fans.” (For typographical clarity purposes: this is Weird Al Yankovic, not Weird Artificial Intelligence.)

“if you had to work a fanfic job,” what would it be and why?

“jesse don’t touch that that’s the growth potion i’ve been synthesi—no jesse DON’T”

AO3 Social Media AU work skins.

Someone tried to get an AI to write a certain kind of Scumvillain fanfic, and the AI rejected it on the grounds that it was too problematic??

“why is the poetry society. registered charity no. 303334. sending me destiel content via their mailing list”

fanfiction

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

“By Definition” by idiopathicsmile. 3K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Good Omens (TV); Ship: Aziraphale/Crowley
Recced by: Shadaras
Backstory: Aziraphale is an angel, Crowley is a demon, and they’ve been tangled up in each other’s lives since the beginning of time. Recently, they averted the apocalypse together. Now that they’ve dealt with that, they can perhaps do something about their feelings for each other too.
Rec: I love fic that discusses how asexual people can want and enjoy sex, and I love the way Aziraphale and Crowley’s desires (for food and sex, respectively, two things angels/demons don’t necessarily need to care about) are matter-of-factly equal in this fic. It’s very sweet and full of love and canon-typical bantering/bickering.
Content warnings: N/A

“lonely for words unspoken” by dirtybackroad. 1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Supernatural; Ship: Mary Winchester/Ellen Harvelle
Recced by: solarfemm
Backstory: Mary Winchester was a hunter before she met John, and Ellen became a hunter when she met Bill. They meet up between hunts.
Rec: dirtybackroad is one of the groundbreakers in the supernatural femslash fandom and this short and sweet fic paints a picture of what Mary’s life could have been.
Content warnings: Infidelity

“Turn up the Radio” by Sellodi. 16K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: BTS; Ship: Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin
Recced by: Amorphine
Backstory: BTS rpf, non-famous AU. Yoongi is a late night radio host and Jimin is his fan boy who writes him letters.
Rec: It is, as the tags say “softsoftsoft”, but not fluffy. It’s perfect to read late at night with some hot cocoa.
Content warnings:

“Known Associates” by thingswithwings. 295K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Avengers / Captain America; Ships: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes, Steve Rodgers/Jim Rhodes, Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson
Recced by: Galia
Backstory: This fic begins with pre-serum Steve as a femme gay man in the 1940s, and his exploration of gender, queerness, love, and political expression. It follows him through the events of CA:TWS, as he discovers what it means to be queer in the future, and how to explore love and honesty.
Rec: It’s heartbreaking and gorgeous—thingswithwings did such incredible research into gay culture in the 40s, and watching Steve slowly realize all of the things that have changed while he was frozen, learning how to adapt and how to change the world to adapt to him, is just staggering in its solemnity and humor and beauty.
Content warnings: Character death, homophobia, gender dysphoria, trauma

“Your Heart Sweats, Your Teeth Grind” by giraffeter. 18K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: 山河令 | Word of Honor (TV 2021); Ships: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu, Wen Kexing/Ye Baiyi, Wen Kexing/Ye Baiyi/Zhou Zishu
Recced by: AirgiodSLV
Backstory: The three characters featured in this story are Wen Kexing, who has been surrounded by and connected to the important women in the drama, Zhou Zishu, who has been largely surrounded by men, and and Ye Baiyi, who has been isolated for a very long time, and whose views are slightly out-of-sync with the modern world. It creates a very interesting dynamic for worldbuilding with this trope [omegaverse] in particular, which is so heavily related to gender roles in society.
Rec: I deeply appreciate how this situation is framed; it requires everyone involved to adapt, and deals explicitly with a lot of tricky subjects, such as informed consent, gender roles and expectations, sexual discovery, and reproduction. The trust, care, and respect between all three characters heightens the intimacy in the story, and their shared experience.
Content warnings: Mildly dubious consent, omegaverse-typical consent issues, knotting, erectile dysfunction

And a vid!

“take over” by Winterevanesce. 2:54, Not Rated.
Fandom: The Craft; Ship: Can be seen as Nancy/Sarah but basically gen
Recced by: Clever Manka
Backstory: A study of Nancy and Sarah’s relationship.
Rec: The vid does a great job of showing Nancy’s rise and descent, then the shift when Sarah fights back. Perfect lyrics for this dynamic.
Content warnings: N/A

FINAL THOUGHT

Have a great weekend, everyone! — Elizabeth