The Rec Center #382
Hello everyone! This week we have pieces on the bananas WotC news and grief in fandom, some beautiful Succession fanart, and our first batch of “trapped together” fic. Plus a reminder for any Hugo voters! :-)) — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Magic ‘Raid’ Wasn’t the First Time Wizards of the Coast Hired Pinkertons” by Linda Codega at Gizmodo
A positively eye-popping story about Wizards of the Coast, the parent company behind games like D&D and Magic the Gathering. After a YouTuber revealed some Magic cards ahead of schedule, WotC apparently hired the Pinkertons (Wikipedia them if you don’t know!) to harass the guy at home, threatening him with jail time and a massive fine. What!!
“Why TV Can’t Quite Take a Stand on Stan Culture” by Tomi Obaro at The New York Times
On depictions of fans in Dave and Swarm: “There’s an odd uncertainty at their cores, a sense that even the writers don’t quite know where to land on the fierce relationships people have with celebrity.”
“Navigating Grief In Fandom” at The Learned Fangirl
In light of the death of K-pop artist Moonbin, the editors of TLF have put together a really thoughtful piece with practical advice that touches on the different ways people grieve.
out with friends and just learned one of them didnt know baby yoda was from a show. she thought he was a meme who got popular. she said she thought someone just made him up to see “what yoda would be like as a baby, like how they made young sheldon.” i wish i was living her life
— zach silberberg (@zachsilberberg) April 20, 2023
older stuff
“How the Star Wars Fandom Turned an Iconic Weapon into Competitive Sport” by Emma Beutel at Inverse
“If learning to wield a lightsaber is one of the most thrilling accomplishments in the Star Wars universe, learning to compete with an LED saber comes tantalizingly close.”
tumblr & beyond
Succession fanart by slullwaydraws
an INCREDIBLE artifact from a very fresh and beautiful era of Star Trek fandom.
“playing a new game where i talk about fandom using words that belong on corporate powerpoint slides”
wildly impressed by the metrics on this thread ranking the homemade team jackets worn by hockey WAGs.
read it and weep, bandom oldheads.
but where DOES the baby come out.
fanfiction
I recently went to the Met (if you’re in New York this summer, go see the Berenice Abbott exhibit!!!), which prompted me to re-read one of my X-Men favorites, in which Charles and Erik wind up locked in a sound booth in the Temple of Dendur. This inspired our “trapped together” call for fic last week, and you all over-delivered—we now have enough for multiple lists! The first includes snowstorms, caves, sheltering from zombies, and, of course, the Temple of Dendur.
A blanket content warning for claustrophobia (as a moderate-to-severe claustrophobe, I gotta say, my love for this trope is sometimes…a challenge lol), and thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“Swallowing Smoke” by diggingupthegrave. 10K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen; Ship: Inumaki Toge/Okkotsu Yuuta
Recced by: Finch
Backstory: Yuuta, Toge, and the rest of their year at Jujutsu High get snowed in at a resort after a mission exorcising a curse. Toge takes this opportunity to open up to Yuuta about his childhood and what brought him to the school, Yuuta doesn’t know how to respond, and they both contend with their pasts and how they feel about each other.
Rec: I’m a huge Yuuta/Toge fan, and this fic is one of my favorites#&8212;it’s a wonderfully insightful and creative look at what Toge might have gone through growing up and how it affects his time at Jujutsu High. The characterizations for everyone (particularly Yuuta, Toge and Gojo) are so, so lovely and it genuinely makes me tear up every time I read it.
Content warnings: Mentions of child abuse
“How You Were Diverted” by candle_beck. 4.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Beatles RPF; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Chestnut_pod
Backstory: I assume everyone knows who the Beatles are. This is a George-centric story set just when the situation with the fans was truly beginning to cut the band off from normal life and their past as normal people, a one-shot with all four trapped in a hotel room.
Rec: I really felt the claustrophobia and tension, and the mystifyingness of why people are behaving like this when you feel just the same as ever. Candle_beck’s portrayal of young George is very sweet, and the bit of comfort at the end is deeply satisfying in that ideal h/c way.
Content warnings: N/A
“Shelter in Place” by IncognitaJones. 10K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Star Wars: Rogue One; Ship: Cassian/Jyn
Recced by:
Backstory: Alternative universe—different first meeting, a younger Cassian and Jyn are trapped together for the night, what could possibly happen?!? ;)
Rec: I love the way this author writes these characters and their trauma and their sexual tension. Also a sucker for these tropes.
Content warnings: N/A
“In The Dark Right Now” by phnelt. 11K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Untamed, Modai Zushi; Ships: Gen, Jiang Cheng & Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng & Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji
Recced by: procrastinatingplatypus
Backstory: Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian are stuck in a cave following the collapse of a portion of the cave wall. Wei Wuxian is injured and Jiang Cheng must work with Lan Wangji (over radio) to get them out of there.
Rec: This is a modern AU where the three characters involved are scientists studying bat behaviours. The author uses the trapped together trope to explore the relationships between the three characters along with some good old fashioned hurt/comfort.
Content warnings: Near death, injury, fatalistic thinking
“#TEOTWAWKI” by htbthomas. 10K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Selfie (TV); Ship: Eliza Dooley/Henry Higgs
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Set after Selfie’s tragically truncated first and only season, Eliza and Henry struggle to untangle their relationship while hunkered down during a zombie apocalypse (and while staying in character and true to the breezy tone of the series).
Rec: Anyone who loved Selfie is desperate for a resolution and although sheltering from the undead is probably not the way you imagined these two working stuff out, this fic is full of revelation, bonding and heaps of charm.
Content warnings: Minor character death and undeath, some offscreen violence
“Not So Much the Teacup” by thehoyden. 9.1K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies); Ship: Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr
Recced by: Elizabeth
Backstory: A non-powered AU (one of the v small handful I love!) in which Charles is a wedding planner (“Charles is basically the bride whisperer. It’s like he can read their minds.”) hired to put together a 700-person wedding in a wing of the Met that’s under renovation. Erik is the chief architect overseeing said renovation—and he is not a fan of this turn of events.
Rec: A perfect little one-shot, utterly charming from start to finish, from the quick character work to Charles steadily wearing down Erik’s gruff exterior to the clever callbacks to canonical details, an extra challenge in a non-powered AU! And in a very AU-heavy fandom, I particularly admire the sharp sense of place here—and not just because I feel like I’m in on some inside joke whenever I see the Temple of Dendur IRL. By coincidence, the Met Gala is next week! What better excuse to read this story?
Content warnings: N/A
HANNIBAL: in traditional yaoi, the seme is the one who gives. He cares for his uke, provides for him and fulfills him. Tell me, Will. Would you be a seme... Or a uke?
— Rowan | bearer of the hole (@villainoxs) April 21, 2023
WILL: it seems like you have my role in your head already
JACK: great potatoes tonight, Doctor Lecter
FINAL THOUGHT
This is your annual reminder that The Rec Center is eligible for a Hugo Award! If you’re able to nominate, please consider us on your ballot in the Fanzine category. The more noms we receive, the more likely we are to be shortlisted—which has happened once in the past!
As ever, have a great weekend everyone! — Gav