The Rec Center #379
Hello everyone! This week we have articles on K-pop fan meetups, Pokémon, and platforms, some lovely Portal fanart, and a multifandom rec list of slow burn fic. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Every weekend, the internet’s biggest K-pop fans swarm L.A. cafes ” by Kayti Burt at the Los Angeles Times
“Cupsleeve” events—IRL K-pop fan meetups in coffee shops—began in Seoul and other Asian cities; now they’re expanding to other parts of the world, and to other fandoms, too.
“Forget the Pokédex, our brains contain a ‘rich cognitive map’ of Pokémon” by Ana Diaz at Polygon
Intrigued by this (small!) scientific study comparing brain scans of longtime Pokemon fans to people with no childhood exposure to Pokemon.
“There’s No Such Thing as a One-Size-Fits-All Web” by Elizabeth at WIRED
Elizabeth’s latest piece isn’t specifically about fans, but “platform malaise” and “making imperfect digital tools sort of work to create/communicate” are directly relevant to online fandom right now.
https://twitter.com/TheoGermaine/status/1643329015531581440
older stuff
“Finding Star Trek at the Seder Table” by Spider B. Perry at StarTrek.com
“Much of Trek’s deep ethical underpinnings either root themselves in Judaism (beginning with that famous hand gesture, explicitly derived by Leonard Nimoy from Rosh Hashanah’s priestly benediction) or run parallel to those ideals.”
tumblr & beyond
Portal fanart by najsigt
“listen hobbit pussy could be mediocre (doubtful) but even if it was it’s still followed by a 17 course homecooked meal”
“have we talked about the supernatural themed restaurant in ohio called the bunker?”
a thread of times The X-Files is mentioned in the Official Clinton Administration Presidential Records Archive
[handshake meme] people hearing Izzie Hands’ voice for the first time vs people hearing Castiel’s voice for the first time.
“the most ominous tweet I’ve seen in months”
on the topic of the glue trap fanart meme.
fanfiction
As I say every time we run a slow burn list, this remains the most popular trope in our submissions (by far). Thank you to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“Worldwide Lonesome” by loindexter. 40K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: BTS; Ship: Jin/Yoongi
Recced by: goodbyeproductivity
Backstory: “After the Billboard Music Awards Yoongi starts bringing guys back to the house.”
Rec: An interesting exploration of coming out (or trying to) when basically the whole world is watching, and the way she writes Jin hiding his pain with humor is heartbreaking in the best way. The group dynamics are fun too!
Content warnings: N/A
“The Loyalty of a Traitor” by DeathBelle. 77K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Haikyuu!; Ship: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Recced by: Lin
Backstory: This piece is a dual-timeline AU following undercover police officer Iwaizumi as he infiltrates the Seijoh Yazuka gang and why he returns three years later. Iwa/Oi is a big ship in the fandom, and this reimagining leans into the worst parts of every character.
Rec: It’s incredibly well put together, and this is one of the few fics I’ve read where Oikawa is actually as mean as he is in the show. The tension is simmering below the surface in every chapter, and the split timeline is incredibly effective.
Content warnings: Gang violence, torture, drug use
“Quiet, Quiet: or, Beauregard’s epic, cunning plan to fuck Yasha Nydoorin into a coma so she stops running away” by Transformatron. 128K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Critical Role (Campaign 2); Ship: Beau/Yasha
Recced by: abigail
Backstory: Beau, reckless asshole human monk constantly trying to prove (to others, to herself) that she’s worth something meets Yasha, quiet and awkward with a past that won’t stop haunting her, who is also a little bit monstrous. The fic starts out following the canon of Critical Role’s campaign 2 adventuring party, with the only major changes being that Beau and Yasha are hooking up the whole time, but it becomes so much more than that.
Rec: This fic has EVERYTHING: size difference, found family, violence, horror (actually a LOT of horror, especially in the beginning, so be aware), lines that will make you laugh out loud, lesbian sex (also a lot of that *sunglasses emoji*), and just a really compelling story and a group of people who care about and love and support each other against all odds.
Content warnings: Graphic violence, body horror, gore, PTSD—definitely be sure to look at the tags before reading!
“Anastrophe” by kittykatthetacodemon. 38K words, Not Rated.
Fandom: Hobbs & Shaw (2019), Fast and the Furious Series; Ships: Luke Hobbs/Deckard Shaw, Brixton Lore/Deckard Shaw (past/implied)
Recced by: robynlynn
Backstory: After the events of Hobbs & Shaw, our two action heroes keep running into each other (with a little help from their respective families) and develop feelings along the way.
Rec: This fic is super cute and is exactly what I wanted after watching all the macho manliness that is the film. The characterizations are spot on and the author doesn’t have to woobify Hobbs are Shaw to get them together—they’re still strong manly men, but allowed to show vulnerabilities. Their eventual relationship feels not only realistic, but super sweet, and acknowledges the cast of characters and the crazy world it's set in.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence
“here's a story” by mimilamp. 46K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ship: (F/F) Lan Zhan/Wei Ying
Recced by: kwontent
Backstory: Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are juuuuust best friends. Lan Zhan even has a girlfriend, that’s how much they’re just friends—until Lan Zhan is dumped right before a couples retreat and Wei Ying offers to go with her instead.
Rec: Mimilamp’s writing is incredibly alive and her characters are fantastic. This story has stuck with me for weeks now because it’s just so lived-in and special and sweet.
Content warnings: Jealousy
“The Honor System” by Snapjack. 111K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Marvel/The Avengers; Ships: Clint Barton/ Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Recced by: Helah
Backstory: Clint Barton’s journey from kid archer to SHIELD’s worst nightmare to the Black Widow’s partner, to an Avenger.
Rec: This fic does such a good job at depicting personal growth between Natasha and Clint and Coulson and Maria Hill—it’s one of those stories that feels only incidentally about superheroes, when really it’s about becoming yourself and finding family. It’s also hilarious.
Content warnings: Grief, rape and child abuse. It’s well tagged in ao3 so check those for more detail.
https://twitter.com/serpentinerose/status/1641125531860209664
FINAL THOUGHT
That’s all, folks! Have a relaxing weekend! — Gav