September 22, 2023

The Rec Center #403

Hello everyone! This week we have articles about Ticketmaster woes and fictional brands, Baldur’s Gate fanart, and a rec list of “post-canon” fic. Plus read to the end for an Important Announcement from Gav (which you will already know about if you follow her on social media) (still ridiculous!!!). Especially read that bit if you’re an editor who commissions culture writing. :-)) — Elizabeth

new stuff

“Why Scalpers Can Get Olivia Rodrigo Tickets and You Can’t” by Jason Koebler at 404 Media
The Olivia Rodrigo tour is the latest example to illustrate the fundamental brokenness of Ticketmaster’s “Verified Fan” system, and this piece explains why.

“How Comic Books Became Classics” by Stephanie Burt at The New Yorker
“By publishing Marvel comics like Black Panther, X-Men, and The Avengers, Penguin Classics is pushing the literary canon into new, contested territory.”

“I’m a fake brand, in a fake world: The secrets behind designing a great fictional brand for TV and film” by Ayla Angelos at It’s Nice That
An extremely interesting—and visually compelling!—deep dive into fictional brands, including interviews with designers who’ve worked on Barbie, Wes Anderson’s films, and more.

older stuff

“In The Age Of Streaming, TV Preservation Matters More Than Ever” by Valerie Ettenhofer at /Film
“There’s something disorienting and alienating about the fact that viewers who once had the ability to act as at-home archivists now go to sleep one day unaware that their favorite show could disappear entirely the next.”

tumblr & beyond

Baldur’s Gate 3 fanart by varoness

bisexuality is a spectrum

hobbit polyandry worldbuilding, anyone?

“if kirk and spock hadn’t fucked in the sands of vulcan...”

pouring one out for the guys panicking about getting pegged in baldur’s gate 3.

we simply love Art.

fanfiction

“What happens next?” is one of the hallmarks of fanfiction, so this week we’ve got a list of fic described or tagged as “post-canon” Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“Drowning From the Inside Out” by audreyskdramablog. 4.7K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Final Fantasy XV; Ship: Gen, with past Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Recced by: MathClassWarfare
Backstory: A canon-compliant, post-canon one-shot that focuses on Prompto’s grief after the events of the game. Spoilers for FFXV ahead: Noctis, the main character, sacrifices himself to save the world. This fic takes place on the anniversary of his death, which the people are commemorating. Prompto and Noctis are best friends in canon and make a great friends-to-lovers pairing (they’re my OTP.)
Rec: It’s a really lovely and powerful look at how people deal with grief, how friends can hurt each other as they are each individually processing their shared grief, and in the end, how they can support one another. Also, I love Audrey’s writing. She captures the emotions really well and her characterization is excellent.
Content warnings: Grief/mourning, heavy angst, alcohol, spoilers

“The Account Book” by Ankaret. 19K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith; Ship: Simon Cotton/Cassandra Mortmain
Recced by: Eccentric Hat
Backstory: A post-canon, World-War-II-era sequel to the novel.
Rec: This story does deliberate, beautiful work to explore how much growing up and learning would be necessary for the main characters to end up together. And the narrative voice is flawless.
Content warnings: N/A

“my joy, my fate, my destiny” by threerings. 8.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Recced by: cubeit
Backstory: The Untamed is a Chinese TV series based on a boys’ love story, but in China gay relationships cannot be shown on TV. This means the canon relationship between the two main characters—Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian—is intense but not explicitly coded as romantic or sexual, and also remains kind of unresolved at the end.
Rec: This post-canon story runs with that vibe and interprets both characters as ace (while relationships in which all participants are ace are still quite rare to find). It’s a beautiful take on the relationship and feels very in-character for the show.
Content warnings: N/A

“Honey and Wounds” by earlybloomingparentheses. 7.1K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle; Ships: Sherlock Holmes/Original Male Character, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Recced by: Philipa_Moss
Backstory: After Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson solve every single one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s canonical mysteries, Holmes retires to Sussex to keep bees. This story picks up in 1907, when Watson comes to visit Holmes in Sussex and finds him in a relatively new relationship.
Rec: When the weather starts to get crisp, I start to crave ACD Sherlock Holmes fic. While Holmes/Watson is the OTP of the heart, this post-canon story does a wonderful job pairing Holmes with someone else and showing us all the ways that relationship has saved him. Bonus points for Watson’s bittersweet recognition of that fact.
Content warnings: N/A

“To Meet Again As Equals” by Luzula. 8.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Jill - E. A. Dillwyn; Ship: Kitty Mervyn/Gilbertina Trecastle
Recced by: Orangistae
Backstory: Jill is a Victorian novel about the adventures of Gilbertina Trecastle, aka Jill, a baronet’s daughter who runs away from home and works as a maid before eventually reclaiming her original identity and position. This fic is a sequel covering her readjustment to upper-class life and reunion with her former mistress Kitty, for whom she canonically has unrequited feelings.
Rec: Jill is a delightful narrator and it’s very fun and satisfying to see how she is influenced by her past experiences and gets her happily ever after, even if you haven’t read the novel.
Content warnings: N/A

“A Story is True / A Story is Untrue” by FletcherHonorama. 214K words, ratd Mature.
Fandom: Black Sails; Ship: James Flint/Thomas Hamilton
Recced by: Caitlin
Backstory: At the end of Black Sails, Silver tells Madi he unmade Flint and turned him back into James McGraw. Through alternating chapters, this fic tells two stories of James and Thomas’ reunion spanning years; one in which James is more McGraw again and one where he is still very much Flint.
Rec: If this was just one of the two stories it would still be a favorite of mine but with both it’s an all-time great. The scope of this fic was a huge undertaking for the author and it was executed to perfection. Not only do they capture the Black Sails characters incredibly but also have some of the most well-rounded OCs I’ve ever seen. It’s fascinating to see the differences that play out based on James’ mindset and the way the James/Thomas relationship redevelops in both parts. I don’t have enough positive words for this fic.
Content warnings: Canon-typical themes of slavery, less than canon-typical violence

FINAL THOUGHT

As some of you already know, I was laid off from my longtime staff job at the Daily Dot this week. They eliminated the entire entertainment/culture department, ie. the home of my fandom coverage, film/TV reviews, pop culture commentary, etc.

So I’m now available for freelance work! If any editors happen to be reading this, I have extensive experience in film and TV criticism, geek culture reporting, and general news coverage. Over the past decade I’ve amassed a very broad skillset from breaking news to reported features to SEO-friendly explainers and video scripting. Crucially, I’ve been reliably informed I am very easy to edit.

If you want to hire me (or are just open to story pitches in general), please get in touch at g.baker.whitelaw(@)gmail.com.

Also, thanks to everyone who expressed their sympathy this week! People have been lovely, and my situation isn’t too bad—although if you have a burning desire to support my ongoing work, the Overinvested Patreon page is always open for business. (P.S. Elizabeth says please don’t email the Rec Center about this because she’s the one manning the account lol.)

All the best, and I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend! — Gav