The Rec Center #391
Hello everyone! This week we have articles on the potential actors’ strike and Star Trek: Prodigy, fanart from The Bear, and a multifandom rec list featuring fake relationships of all sorts. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“How the Unexpected A-List Strike Letter Came Together” by Katie Kilkenny and Tyler Coates at The Hollywood Reporter
As the WGA strike enters its third month, actors are on the cusp of striking, too. This week some of SAG-AFTRA’s most famous members sent a letter to their leadership urging them to make a “transformative” deal or call a strike; this reporting details how it came into existence.
“I Think I’m Going to Be Sick” by Emily Latimer at Longreads
“The ride technology at amusement parks has become more sophisticated. For ride-goers prone to motion sickness, the outcome can be messy.” An interesting theme-park deep dive—though emetophobes should not click!!
“Captain Janeway Didn’t Deserve This” by James Whitbrook at Gizmodo
It’s always a disgrace when streamers summarily delete shows from their platform, but Star Trek: Prodigy is a particularly wild choice given the tenacity of Trek fandom. As James Whitbrook writes here, “the thing I keep thinking about is just how rude it is to the legacy of one of Trek’s finest,” Kate Mulgrew, aka Captain Janeway.
https://twitter.com/karenyhan/status/1673833049598070784
older stuff
“The NBA Is Horny. No Wonder the Fanfic Is So Good” by Kylie Cheung at Jezebel
“Our version of NBA fandom looks different. Instead of broadcasting our devotion through hypermasculine displays of rage—riots, looting, bonfires of disloyal players’ jerseys—we’re rewriting reality altogether, not just so our favorite teams and players can win somewhere out there in the multiverse, but to fulfill any number of earnest fantasies.”
tumblr & beyond
The Bear fanart by seiroz
v important that Gillian Anderson knows her legacy.
This website will help you calculate historically accurate travel times across the Roman Empire, factoring in details like road vs river travel, season, budget, etc.
a world-class Interview with the Vampire sex dream thread.
editorial note: we don’t know enough about Sasuke to make any judgment on this one way or the other.
“realistically, jacob should also have been in love with edward”
fanfiction
Last week we put out a call for fake relationship fic in conjunction with Fansplaining’s recent special episode on the trope. We got a delightful mix of submissions, from bodyguards posing as partners to the classic ~alien diplomacy~ excuse to what one reccer just calls “Reasons.” Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec, and if we didn’t use yours here, it’ll be in a future list! — Elizabeth
“marry me a little” by susiecarter. 7.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Ship: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak
Recced by: Orangistae
Backstory: To prevent Garak’s extradition to Cardassia, Julian offers to marry him so that he can become a Federation citizen, and then has to deal with having a crush on his husband.
Rec: I love the mix of protectiveness and scheming in this fic, and the contrast between Julian’s rational justifications and his actual feelings when faced with the reality of marrying Garak.
Content warnings: N/A
“the moon which is always here” by facingthenorthwind (spacegandalf). 17K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Star Wars (Prequel Trilogy); Ship: Padmé Amidala/Aayla Secura
Recced by: Dissent-in-the-hivemind
Backstory: Set between Episodes I and II, Padmé requests Aayla as a Jedi bodyguard for a Banking Clan party, and to avoid an unpleasant ex, to pose as her girlfriend.
Rec: It features two beautiful badass women, trashy tabloid headlines, and meticulously researched details that help immerse the story in the universe of Star Wars. It also is very understanding and positive towards the Jedi way and the no-attachment rule, which I really appreciate in stories that ship Jedi characters.
Content warnings: Mentions of both slavery and possible domestic violence by an ex-lover
“Pretending to be yours” by Lisamc21. 38K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Schitt’s Creek; Ship: David Rose/Patrick Brewer
Recced by: Vee
Backstory: David/Patrick get together pretty early in the show Schitt’s Creek, but this is an exploration of how it might have gone if they continued to be just friends/coworkers with heart eyes at each other. ‘Reasons’ lead to them faking the relationship.
Rec: It’s super cute pining with only the slightest of angst, but mostly fluff. I’d also recommend reading all of these author’s works with the same vein of fic!
Content warnings: Slightest of dubcon (drunk sex), but intended to be consensual
“The words I’m leaving out” by Solshine. 34K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Dragon Age Games/Dragon Age II; Ship: Female Hawke/Varric Tethras
Recced by: Kate
Backstory: In the game, Hawke is the champion/hero of Kirkwall (big city) and Varric is her companion and bard (basically) but he isn’t a romance option, even though they have amazing chemistry! This fic takes place after the game, as Hawke accompanies Varric as his date to a gathering of the merchant’s guild (surface dwarf society). These two tell each other everything, but Varric’s ex that he refuses to talk about is there, too. Intrigue, romance, confusing alliances, performative combat, and misunderstandings over meals ensue!
Rec: Look, I’m a sucker for fic where Hawke and Varric both don’t realize the other is into them. These two are so in love and so in denial. And this fic explores what the society of surface dwarves in DA could be like, which is amazing!
Content warnings: Cursing, some mild gore
“between the sheets” by daswarschonkaputt. 70K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Kinnporsche (Thai TV Show); Ship: Kinn/Porsche
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Kinnporsche is a Thai BL show focussed on a fictional mafia family, this is an AU where the main couple start of in a fake relationship “bodyguard hired to act as a boyfriend” setting.
Rec: I find that fake relationships are often more on the sweet and fun end of things, but daswarschonkaputt takes a much more serious look at the complications concerning autonomy and agency. On top of that the pacing and emotional development is absolutely stellar.
Content warnings: Dubious consent verging on non-con (sex under the influence of non-consensual drugging), violence
“mission parameters” by shipyrds. 33K words, rated Explicit.
Fandoms: DCU/Superman/Batman; Ship: Superman/Batman
Recced by: DontStopHerNow
Backstory: In this story, Batman and Superman are sent on a mission on another planet to save Earth through diplomacy, and they have to pretend to be married for the mission to succeed. Obviously they fall (more) in love through the course of the mission and then have to deal with their feelings when they return to life on Earth.
Rec: The best part of any SuperBat fic is how they handle their many identities, and this one is especially interesting for those aspects because during their fake marriage, they learn a lot from each other about how their many personas work. I also love how the author didn’t just pour everything into the mission and fake relationship, but made them deal with the aftermath in many extremely Bruce and Clark ways.
Content warnings: Alien caste system, minor torture
https://twitter.com/BigJDubz/status/1242887378135650304
FINAL THOUGHT
Have a relaxing weekend, everyone! — Gav