June 23, 2023

The Rec Center #390

Hi all! This week we have articles about a sexy Star Wars droid and Ted Lasso, some more cute Spider-Verse fanart, another multifandom rec list of queer-themed fic for Pride Month, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“How Did Star Wars Outlaws Make a Droid So Hot?” by James Whitbrook at Gizmodo
A droid character in this upcoming Star Wars videogame became a sex symbol within hours of the trailer’s release. This piece starts out with some amusing interviews discussing why fans find ND-5 attractive, shifting into a deeper examination of droid personhood in the SW universe.

“The Underbelly of Stan Culture: The Psychology, Legality, of the Stan Experience” by Daric L. Cottingham at Essence
A reported piece on stan culture, featuring interviews with current and ex-stans as well as an attorney with advice for anyone who has been doxxed or otherwise harassed within these communities.

“America Is Waking Up From a Dream” by Tressie McMillan Cottom at The New York Times
Ted Lasso started out as an optimistic portrayal of non-toxic masculinity, but ended up... not being that. A grim post-mortem on the relationship between American politics and this increasingly problematic show.

older stuff

“Christopher Reeve interview” by Henry Schipper at Playgirl
A tremendous interview published between the second and third Superman movies, harking back to a time when movie stars were asked questions with real intellectual rigor, and were able to give answers that matched. Reeve had strong opinions about the relationship between politics, art and personal integrity, making this an infuriating read in the context of his posthumous “role” in The Flash.

tumblr & beyond

Spider-Verse fanart by stil-lindigo

destiel vanity plate car convention when?

“So funny to see someone call a m/m/f pairing ‘het.’”

lumguzzling you say?

ok there are (confirmed!) multiple variants of Across the Spider-Verse currently in theaters?

one for the kendall roy stans.

fanfiction

To close out Pride Month, we have a second list of fics that center queer and trans characters/experiences (the first is here). Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec—and if we didn’t run yours this month, we’ll include it in a future list! — Elizabeth

“mes beaux amis” by woodenpicador. 54K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Yellowjackets; Ships: Shauna/Jackie, Shauna/everybody
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Set in the pre-crash timeline. Shauna is struggling with her sexuality and keeps making out with her teammates at parties. Some of them are more helpful than others.
Rec: This fic leans into the inherent queerness of a women’s soccer team mixed with a teen coming of age story. It’s such a lovely character study of Shauna and the author does a great job building relationships among the team.
Content warnings: Period-typical homophobia

“Self Made” by aceaceaceace. 23K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Ateez; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Frankie
Backstory: Ateez is an 8-member K-pop boy group, and Jongho is their main vocalist. This canon-divergent, trans!Jongho fic follows Jongho as he deals with the threat of being publicly outed while the group prepares for their next album release.
Rec: Most trans fics are about coming out to one’s self as transgender, so it is refreshing to read a fic about someone already beyond that point in their journey. I also liked that the fic dealt with learning to let go of the strict gender expectations for oneself that many trans people consciously or unconsciously maintain to ward against scrutiny.
Content warnings: Threat of being outed

“coming out to the party (better late than never)” by MilesbyMicah. 10K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick; Ship: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw/Pete “Maverick” Mitchell
Recced by: anon
Backstory: In canon, Maverick was best friends and flying partners with Rooster’s father, callsign “Goose” before Goose died. The whole of Maverick/Rooster’s relationship in Top Gun: Maverick is about exploring their estrangement and reconciliation. In this AU, that was not the case, and both Maverick and Rooster are strangers to each other meeting for the first time.
Rec: This feels very real, and it’s a respectful look at somebody coming out at a fairly old age after being closeted in the military. Both characterizations are recognizably rooted in the source material despite having different backstories.
Content warnings: Mentions/discussion of the AIDS crisis, implied/referenced homophobia

“feet on the ground, reaching for the stars” by ProfessorSpork. 30K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Stranger Things; Ship: Gen, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington
Recced by: procrastinatingplatypus
Backstory: This is a story about Robin and her life as a young lesbian in the 80s.
Rec: This is a lovely work that fills in Robin’s backstory without totally ignoring prominent queer issues in the 80s (love the fics that do decide not to deal with AIDs at all but I do love when fics strive not to totally divorce themselves from the time period) and examines her friendship with Steve.
Content warnings: Homophobia, AIDs crisis, original character death, drug use, depression

“storge” by bluejayblueskies. 3.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast); Ship: Gen, Tim Stoker & Danny Stoker
Recced by: Rosemarycat5
Backstory: Exploring an aroace Danny and sex favorable ace Tim through the lens of Tim being absolutely bloody awful at gift giving.
Rec: This is truly one of my favorite Magnus fics. The Stokers dynamic is top tier, the gift is so sincere, and the aspec feels are perfect.
Content warnings: Referenced arophobia (brief), internalized aro/acephobia (ongoing), character forcing himself to stay in a romantic situation even after he becomes uncomfortable, character mentioning the possibility of forcing himself to have sex with someone (doesn’t actually occur)

“New Tricks” by softcombat. 6.7K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: SK8 The Infinity (Anime); Ship: Kikuchi Tadashi/Shindo Ainosuke
Recced by: Westie
Backstory: To love, and let yourself be loved, is perhaps the greatest contentment there is. Tadashi and Ainosuke both finally get to learn that.
Rec: This is one of my favourite fics! It’s very queer-focused, and even has a lovely part about a gay politician in Japan coming out. Very on brand for pride month!
Content warnings: Implied past abuse, implied homophobia

“boys like me need girls like you to kiss me” by dexdefyingstunts. 1.9K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Batman - All Media Types; Ship: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Recced by: JasmineDragon
Backstory: Some background: in the DC comics canon Tim Drake (robin #3) will go undercover as female for a mission. Caroline Hill is the alias used most often by fans. Author summary: “What if we kissed in a dive bar in Gotham (and we were both trans)?”
Rec: Basically what it says on the tin, I love this story because there is no character dead naming, or confusion over pronouns, even in the thoughts of the pov character. Just a sweet little t4t drabble.
Content warnings: N/A

“I Get to Be the Other Half Of You” by Chash. 4.4K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The 100; Ship: Bellamy/Clarke
Recced by: jordanpelavin
Backstory: This is a modern AU of The 100 where Clarke is figuring herself out—and in that process figures out she falls somewhere on the spectrum of asexuality, and her relationship with Bellamy, who also identifies as Ace. It’s a really interesting and honest look at what that means, from an author who also identifies as being on that spectrum.
Rec: The conversations feel honest and open, but also sweet and romantic! I appreciate the author bringing an authentic perspective, while still allowing for characterization that rings true.
Content warnings: N/A

FINAL THOUGHT

This week Fansplaining put out a Patreon-only episode on fake relationships, which has put me in the mood for fake relationship fic of all sorts. (Discussed in the episode: married for a case, date to a wedding/reunion, meeting the parents, married for [alien] ~diplomacy~, woke up married, bets, amnesia, time travel, and probably some others I’m forgetting.) Please send us your favorites and we’ll run a list or two of them in the coming month! You can use our one-off submissions form; just be sure to mention the trope in the themes & tropes field.

And a call for participants: fandom researcher Rebecca Milton (who you might have heard/read on our “Disability and Fandom” double episode last fall) is conducting a survey about fanfiction and mental illness. If you want to participate (should take 5-15 minutes), it closes this Sunday, June 25th! — Elizabeth