August 18, 2023

The Rec Center #398

Hi all! This week we have articles about hip-hop history, fandom and gender identity, and Hot Wheels collecting, along with some cute Untamed fanart, multifandom character study fic recs, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“‘Zepotha’: Why this fake 1980s horror movie is all over TikTok” by Gav at the Daily Dot
This week TikTok developed its own version of Goncharov—although as this post explains, the Zepotha meme mostly serves to highlight the differences between self-generated fandoms on Tumblr and TikTok. Beginning with the fact that this meme is almost certainly a viral marketing stunt.

“Star Wars & Its Fandom Made Me Question My Gender” by Sofia Viera at Refinery 29
“After hours of reading about my comfort characters going through this experience, I tested the gender euphoria waters by tweeting on my Star Wars stan account to ask people to use ‘she/they’ for me in the replies—just as I had seen so many Star Wars stans do.”

“The Hip Hop Historians Who Are Racing to Preserve Its Story” by Angela Watercutter at WIRED
Amidst a lot of great coverage for the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, an interesting piece on fans/historians trying to archive its subcultures. “‘I think, sometimes, academia being the repository for a bunch of stuff creates an invisible gate’... It’s antithetical to a culture that began with block parties open to everyone.”

older stuff

“Inside the heartwarming world of Hot Wheels collecting” by Alex Wong at SBNation
Surveying the world of Hot Wheels collectors and customizers: “‘I had the details right down to how I wired the sparkplugs,’ Abbey says. ‘I put in the gas tanks. You could see all the details. I roughed up all the tires so it looked like it had been doing burnouts.’”

tumblr & beyond

Nie brothers modern AU fanart by kikki-art

A vintage Trek fan showing off 47 years of fandom.

Apparently hockey RPF writers are notorious cross-fandom literary masters?

yes, what could possibly go wrong at the fanfic writers’ retreat.

pouring one out for this person trying to watch the Red, White and Royal Blue movie.

fanfiction

Character study fic this week! Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“First (Third) Meetings ” by DrJLecter. 3.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Star Trek Discovery; Ship: Adira Tal & Charles Vance, past Senna Tal/Charles Vance
Recced by: Bee
Backstory: Set some time after season 3, Adira Tal visits Admiral Vance to come to terms with the strong feelings their Trill symbiont still harbors towards the Admiral.
Rec: It’s a rare and beautiful occasion when such a short fic manages to give you so many feels. The author paints a spot-on picture of Adira’s emotional landscape and composes a scene that feels so authentic, canonical, and *necessary*, that I’m surprised that it has not been included in the show.
Content warnings: N/A

“Learning to Make Fire” by stellahibernis. 13K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe; Ship: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes
Recced by: EmTee
Backstory: Set in a post-Captain America: Civil War world where everyone is friends again and the political stuff all worked out, this is half a character study of Steve Rogers and half a gentle, slow-burn, friends-to-lovers Steve/Bucky story. Bucky’s built a real life in the 21st century and Steve’s beginning to realize he needs to do the same, but after a lifetime of just surviving, that’s not so easy.
Rec: I’m recommending this for Ace Week [ed. note: this was sent in a while back! Ace/aro fic week 1 & week 2] because it has a very natural exploration of Steve as a demisexual character. It’s also just a wonderful, thoughtful portrayal of one of my favorite characters from this fandom.
Content warnings: Some vague references to canon PTSD but nothing worse than you’d get in the movies

“the fourteenth winter” by lucky arrow. 1.8K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Recced by: petirrojo57
Backstory: Winter’s cold is painful for Lan Wangji, but for the first winter in 14 years he has hope and the company of his husband Wei Wuxian to find comfort.
Rec: This post-canon story acknowledges the chronic pain from physical trauma and emotional damage as well that both Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian suffer, and somehow winter’s cold grip makes it worse (until they make things better for themselves).
Content warnings: Chronic pain

“like chipped paint” by plutosweetheart. 6K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: LE SSERAFIM (Band); Ship: Huh Yunjin/Kim Chaewon
Recced by: Judsie
Backstory: Yunjin and Chaewon are both members of K-pop girl group Le Sserafim. This canon compliant fic explores their relationship from the early days of Le Sserafim to present time (pining! so much pining!), and also touches on Chaewon coming to terms with her bisexuality and with her feelings for her groupmate/good friend.
Rec: This is a lovely character study of Chaewon (I ADORE this Chaewon)—perfect if you’re looking for something (relatively) short, cute/sweet, and angst-free to read.
Content warnings: N/A

“The End of the World & Its Beginning” by cwildairs. 15K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Chestnut_pod
Backstory: JS&MN is doorstopper fantasy novel and a postmodern pastiche of several Romantic-era genres. It follows the reintroduction of magic to England during an alternate Napoleonic war, during which process several people connected to magicians become trapped in Fairy, an odd, equalizing connection across marginalizations.
Rec: This story follows Stephen, Emma, and, to a lesser degree, Arabella during their imprisonment, and deftly outlines the many pressures the outside world brings to bear on them despite their entrapment in Fairy. It’s an incredible joint character study.
Content warnings: Racism directed at Stephen, the horrors of the fairy world

“The Ashes of District 12” [orphaned]. 180K words over 6 works, rated Teen to Explicit.
Fandom: Hunger Games; Ship: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark; background Gale Hawthorne/Johanna Mason, Rory Hawthorne/Primrose Everdeen, Effie Trinket/Haymitch Abernathy
Recced by: zjofierose
Backstory: This series is an extended exploration of the post-canon trauma, recovery, and coming together of Katniss and Peeta. It extends from the initial years after the abolition of the games many decades into the future, including the development of their shared life and the recovery of District 12.
Rec: This story does such an excellent job of showing what healing from such profound trauma might be like, and how difficult it can be to help others heal when you’re trying to heal yourself. It’s also a tremendously well-done character study of everyone in it, but maybe especially of Haymitch, who in this series is fascinating and deeply compelling.
Content warnings: Everything you’d expect from a post-canon Hunger Games story; trauma, anger, flashbacks, mistrust, angst, alcoholism, grief, mentions of torture and violence, etc.

FINAL THOUGHT

In light of our run of character study fic this week, I wanted to put out a call for more (we’re running low!), not least because it’s a theme that reliably brings in different characters from the ones who show up in juggernaut ships (though, as you can see from this list, juggernaut ship character study fic is also welcome :-)). You can use our submissions form, or if you have an idea for a whole list, email us at elizabethandgav at gmail. — Elizabeth