September 29, 2023

The Rec Center #404

Hi all! This week we have articles about coffee shop AUs, the end of the writers’ strike, and Star Trek: Deep Space 9, along with some wonderful Harrowhark fanart, multifandom fic recs, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“The Hollywood Writers AI Deal Sure Puts a Lot of Trust in Studios to Do the Right Thing” by Alex Winter at WIRED
We’re sure everyone’s seen by now that the WGA strike was resolved this week with a big win for the writers (congrats to any WGA members reading this!!!). With SAG-AFTRA still on strike, this piece (by, among many other roles, Bill of Bill & Ted) talks about the very large concerns still looming around AI and the entertainment industry.

“TikTok has transformed the concert experience” by Aja Romano at Vox
“From buying tickets (good luck) to prepping for the big night by carefully planning the perfect concert outfit, these fans do it all—and many of them do it on camera, sharing the whole experience with other die-hards online.”

“Love and Lattes ” by Alexandra Lange at Dirt
A delightful piece on coffee shop AUs and the way they engage with public space, featuring references to Gav’s 2018 piece on the trope and quotes from Elizabeth, who represents the “when you spend a lot of time working in service roles, coffee shop AUs might be way less enjoyable” stance. :-))

older stuff

“O Captain, My Captain: On the Importance of Ben Sisko ” by Kendra James at StarTrek.com
A thoughtful celebration of Benjamin Sisko’s role as Star Trek’s first Black captain—and actor Avery Brooks’ impressive legacy.

tumblr & beyond

Harrowhark fanart by namespara

don’t be alarmed, the realm of naked men is an entirely normal element of game design.”

tumblr potluck.

“finding out Anakin was 23 years old when he became Vader was so crazy to me.”

“Pippin to Frodo when they’re back home in the Shire”

an iconic example of “he would not fucking say that.”

fanfiction

A grab-bag this week! Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“The Downsides to a Secret Identity” by Steals_Thyme. 42K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: DCEU; Ship: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne
Recced by: Orangistae
Backstory: Bruce Wayne flirts with Clark Kent, who’s more interested in the Bat of Gotham, who’s determined to take down the Superman.
Rec: This fic takes the grimdark antagonism of BvS and uses it as fuel for some delightful identity porn shenanigans. Strong characterisation and great writing, just lots of fun.
Content warnings: N/A

“Dare to Bake a Peach” by akaVertigo. 4K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Labyrinth (1986 movie); Ship: Jareth/Sarah Williams
Recced by: Tara
Backstory: “She’ll muddle through recipes untold and burns unnumbered, fight her way out of every castle fantasy supper to guard what he’s out to steal. Sarah cooks, and Sarah wins.”
Rec: My childhood heroine—Sarah, from the 1980’s movie Labyrinth—embraces her own kind of magical powers through some of the most lovely food descriptions I’ve ever read. Also, the overly dramatic Goblin King is overly dramatic. As usual.
Content warnings: N/A

“The Flock” by museaway. 11K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Supernatural; Ship: Gen
Recced by: grey-sleipnir
Backstory: Supernatural casefic, where Sam, Dean and Castiel end up on an unsettling case. Summary: “A two-story structure stands out against a yellowed field. He didn’t notice it before.”
Rec: Truly creepy and unsettling gen fic, the author uses suspense expertly to just increase the feeling of creepiness and uncertainty.
Content warnings: N/A

“Well-Behaved Women” by ehmazing. 39K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga; Ship: Maria Ross/Sheska | Sciezka
Recced by: ellielouise_d
Backstory: The fic takes two minor female characters from the main series and uses them to explore the world of FMA after the main story ended. The fic is a vessel for the author’s post-canon worldbuilding, but the relationship does not suffer due to this.
Rec: It’s incredibly tightly written and brilliantly researched. Each character is believable and the story is just the right length. A very heartwarming fic to read.
Content warnings: Past abusive relationship (not too graphic)

“Early Returns” by rageprufrock. 16K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Inception; Ship: Arthur/Eames
Recced by: laiqualaurelote
Backstory: In the heist dream team of Inception, Arthur is the point man and Eames is the forger. This translates marvellously into this journalism AU, where Arthur runs the copy desk and Eames is the star investigative journalist he has history with, and it all comes to a head on election night.
Rec: Devastatingly funny, perfect grasp of the constant chaos that is the state of a newsroom, a stunning Arthur—professionally competent, personally disastrous—gems like “At which point Mal had proven her worth as a friend and hurled Dom’s ASNE award out of his office window, shattering the glass and making such a fantastic racket that all attempts at having feelings in other corners in the newsroom screeched to a halt."
Content warnings: Newsroom-typical political incorrectness

And a vid!

“Thousand Eyes” by thuviaptarth. 3:58, Not Rated.
Fandom: 琅琊榜 | Nirvana in Fire (TV); Ship: Gen
Recced by: AirgiodSLV
Backstory: Nirvana in Fire is a Chinese historical drama that follows protagonist Mei Changsu as he travels to the capital and becomes heavily involved with court politics. Mei Changsu’s schemes become more complicated as others in the capital learn about his plans and his true identity.
Rec: This does an amazing job of setting up/summarizing the drama through specific frames of the characters’ expressions and movements, and the scenes resonate beautifully with the emotion of the music. This show has incredible dramatic tension and very high stakes, and it’s so easy to feel that as the music and emotion build.
Content warnings: Non-graphic violence

FINAL THOUGHT

Calling anyone who makes Marvel fanworks: sign-ups close tomorrow evening (Saturday, September 30th) for Marvel Trumps Hate, a charity fanworks auction we’ve mentioned here in past years. Like the broader-focused Fandom Trumps Hate, MTH lets you sign up to create fic/art/etc for the fandom(s) of your choosing, people place bids on you, and the winner donates an amount to a charity in exchange for you creating a fanwork. Note: Marvel means any Marvel characters in any iteration, not just comics and not just one set of films—if that includes you, consider signing up! — Elizabeth

FINAL FINAL THOUGHT

Following last week’s layoff news, I’ve published my first freelance piece elsewhere. You can read my review of Our Flag Means Death season 2 here at TV Guide! — Gav