The Rec Center #392
Hello all! This week we have articles on the MCU (Mattel Cinematic Universe) and extremely bleak developments in the media’s ~pivot to AI, Trigun fanart, and a multifandom list of found family fic. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“After ‘Barbie,’ Mattel Is Raiding Its Entire Toybox” by Alex Barasch at The New Yorker
“The brand immersion is the everything moment.” A fantastically written piece about Mattel’s cinematic ambitions—with 13 films announced and 45 more in development, including, yes, an “A24-type” Barney the Dinosaur.
“A Fandom of One: Loving the Books No One Else Knows About” by Molly Templeton at Tor.com
“The lost books, the ones no one seems to remember or never read, the authors that never reached the peak of commonality, at least in one’s own corner of the world—those feel ever more lonesome. It’s like they occupy space differently or vibrate at a different frequency in my mind.”
“Gizmodo’s io9 Published an AI-Generated Star Wars Article That Was Filled With Errors” by Todd Spangler at Variety
A succinct test case on why AI-generated content sucks. Full sympathy for the io9 editorial staff who had this sprung on them just minutes before publication.
older stuff
“What I Did for (Strange) Love” by Laura Bond at Longreads
An essay about early teenage fandom (of, in this case, Depeche Mode) and friendship, and the ways they intersect.
tumblr & beyond
Vash the Stampede fanart by ceejindeed
“my favorite part about x files...”
useful new WIP slang just dropped.
some top-tier Bananas In Pyjamas lore.
andrew robinson of garak/ds9, you will always be famous.
fanfiction
This week’s list is around the theme of “found family.” Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“heart of the lion (fear of the hunter)” by winged_mapleleaf (mermlerl). 30K words, Not Rated.
Fandom: The Adventure Zone: Ethersea; Ship: Gen: Amber Gris & Devo La Main & Zoox
Recced by: Rosemarycat5
Backstory: After Devo is badly hurt deep in the Ethersea, Amber and Zoox are frantic to find help. But when that help appears in the form of a Benevolent Parish research ship, Devo may need saving from more than his injuries.
Rec: This was exactly the sort of fic I was looking for after binging the 40 hours of Ethersea in one week. it perfectly captures the dynamic of the characters, expanding my understanding of Amber and Zoox’s POVs, and having a wonderful dose of whump to top it all off.
Content warnings: Injury, graphic violence, religious trauma, forced medical treatment, manipulation and threats of violence from a doctor, deadnaming
“Elder, an Aesthetic” by MarbleGlove. 8.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: MDZS/CQL (Untamed); Ship: Gen (pre-WangXian if LWJ has anything to say about it)
Recced by: kimboo-york
Backstory: “Wei Wuxian always enjoyed picking an aesthetic and really leaning into it. As an adolescent, he was joyous, entitled and high-born; during the war, he was dangerous and threatening. After the war, he was lost. But then he found his new aesthetic: Elder of the Jiang Sect.” Pretty much as it says on the tin: Wei Wuxian decides to deal with being disabled by leaning into it.
Rec: Wei Wuxian losing his magical “core” of power is shown in canon as him becoming permanently disabled, and he tries to hide that fact and find workarounds (with catastrophic results, it must be said). In this story he instead is struck by the idea of becoming an “elder” even though he’s barely 20, allowing him to use a mobility aid (cane), acknowledge and treat his near-constant chronic pain, and be provided personal assistants to help him get around and do things. It’s a comedic story but I’ve rarely seen a more sympathetic and realistic approach to a character coming to terms with adjusting to living with significant disabilities. As I and my friends find ourselves getting older and dealing more with chronic health issues, it was great to see the subject treated in such a fun and positive way in fic!
Content warnings: Character dealing with depression and disability
“This, You Protect” by Owlet. 64K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Captain America (movies), MCU; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Ashleigh
Backstory: Set in the immediate aftermath of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Soldier entered the Triskelion with a mission: Kill. By the time he wades out of the Potomac, the mission has abruptly reset: Protect. Steve Rogers, bless him, isn’t about to make this mission any easier than the first (failed) one was.
Rec: I love to read this story when everything feels like it’s going to shit, especially in my internal world. Bucky/the Soldier’s gradual growth from mission-achieving automaton to almost-self-actualised-human is open and joyful and raw, and never fails to bring hope and comfort.
Content warnings: Dehumanisation, canon-typical violence (with which the Soldier is unconcerned), past torture
“Muted Melancholy” by Reltic. 132K words (WIP), rated Explicit.
Fandom: Stray Kids, K-pop; Ship: poly ot8
Recced by: tinystreetlamp
Backstory: Omegaverse AU, main character Felix is a mute male omega struggling to live alone.
Rec: The way the writer writes about feelings is MAGNIFICENT, it’s immersive and heart-wrenching and beautiful.
Content warnings: Past abuse, past relationship abuse, panic attacks, anxiety
“Blackbird” series by celebros. 265K words over 9 works, rated Gen through Explicit.
Fandom: The Goblin Emperor series - Katherine Addison; Ship: Thara Celehar/Iäna Pel-Thenhior
Recced by: anon
Backstory: This series takes off where Witness for the Dead ends. Thara Celehar is a reserved ex-cleric who can speak to the dead and Iäna Pel-Thenhior is the extroverted director of a local Opera; they have an obvious attraction in canon and this series assumes they act on it post-story.
Rec: I turned directly from the end of the book to AO3 and this series did not disappoint. This series feels like a couple of additional novels in canon (I haven’t read The Grief of Stones, the next book, yet and wonder if I will find it as satisfying as this story arc tbh). The author has the complex diction of the books completely nailed and Thara’s deep sense of his own inadequacy and stubborn adherence to his calling are respected and developed in an achingly perceptive way. Iäna is a delight. There is clothes shopping and tea drinking and the Emperor and his circle show up in one of the later works.
Content warnings: Exploration of trauma, canon-typical homophobia
And a vid!
“Children’s Work // Life” by LithiumDoll. 3:12, Not Rated.
Fandom: Life (TV Show); Ship: Gen
Recced by: not-a-tardis
Backstory: A vid about Dani and Reese’s relationship.
Rec: This is one of my favorite vids I’ve seen in my ~18 years in fandom. It’s the perfect combination of music, lyrics, editing, and source material to tell a story in the length of a song.
Content warnings: Alcohol, drugs (you can’t really tell it from the vid unless you know the context), some violence
FINAL THOUGHT
We’re both now active on Bluesky, so if you have an invite code, you can find us there under @gavia and @elizabethminkel. (And @fansplaining is now there too!) Not necessarily a rec—we’re aware of the current issues—but if you’re also checking it out, come and find us!
But we do recommend not joining Threads. Not just due to Facebook’s heinous data collection strategies and the fact you can’t delete your account without also deleting Instagram, but because it’s a singularly bad platform for fandom. The algorithmic feed will show your posts to random strangers, and it’s very hard to separate anonymous/pseudonymous accounts from your IRL identity. Threads bad!! — Gav