The Rec Center #41
Please take a moment to picture your 90s-era self (or if you’re too young, try to imagine it), because this week we’ve got a classic pre-millennial fandom on our hands: the Animorphs series. This weird-ass series of children’s sci-fi novels were a must-read for nerdy kids in the late 90s, and guest reccer Poetry is here to introduce us to Animorphs fanfic. (Plus, we’ve got our usual selection of fandom articles, art, and ~ephemera!) — Gav
new stuff
“Awesome: When This 8-Year-Old Girl Told J.K. Rowling That She Liked ‘Harry Potter,’ The Author Said ‘Yeah, No Shit’” at Clickhole
This reminds me of Maggie Smith talking about a time when a kid asked her if she really turned into a cat in the Harry Potter movies, and she replied, “Just pull yourself together.” — Gav
“U.N. Picks Powerful Feminist (Wonder Woman) for Visible Job (Mascot)” by Somini Sengupta at The New York Times
“The United Nations just rejected seven female candidates vying to lead the global organization. Now, to promote women and girls, it is picking a cartoon character as its mascot: Wonder Woman.”
“The Hillary Fandom” by Elizabeth at Fansplaining
A meditation on the intersection of fandom and politics, Hillary Clinton’s bad narrative, and problem of fans—like one I met at NYCC last weekend—who “don’t do real politics.”
old(er) stuff
“How Fanzines Helped Put Doctor Who Fans in Charge of Doctor Who” by Nolan Feeney at The Atlantic
Don’t worry, despite the title, this is not really about Moffat and mostly about the historical interplay between fans, fanzines, and the show.
tumblr & beyond
“Labyrinth: The Royal Waltz” by janey-jane.
“can we stop shipping real people” (NOT an anti-RPF rant, just FYI lol)
Jedi Master Maggie Smith fanart by hollyoakhill.
“Prompt-based fandom events are when you really learn everyone’s colors”
This Steven Universe fashion/makeup cosplay by Phillicia Deanell is SO GORGEOUS OMG??
fanfiction
Poetry writes an unhealthy amount of Animorphs fic on AO3 and blogs about Animorphs and other fandoms on tumblr. Her favorite Animorph is Marco.
If you’re like me, you may treasure the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate as one of your favorite science fiction series from the 90s. Or you may remember them just as some books with psychedelic covers at your school’s Scholastic book fair. If you haven’t read them, I encourage you to download the ebooks (don’t worry, the books are out of print and K.A. Applegate gave her blessing for fans to download them free).
Animorphs is a series of short chapter books aimed at 8–12 year olds written by a husband and wife team, Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. There are 54 books in the main series plus 10 side books. The series bears a superficial similarity to a lot of fiction about superpowered teens in the 90s: a racially diverse group of six teenagers goes to school and fights a secret war against the Yeerks, a species of parasitic brain slugs, with the help of technology from their enemies, the Andalites, which lets the teenagers morph into any animal they can touch. But that’s where the resemblance ends. The Animorphs are child soldiers in a terrible war, and the books never let you forget that. War is never simple; the Yeerks aren’t evil vermin, and the Andalites aren’t saviors.
The Animorphs are led by Jake, a dorky dad friend who becomes a hard-bitten general; Marco, who’s a class clown by day and a cold-blooded tactician by night; Cassie, an animal lover who fights for the Animorphs to keep their souls in a terrible war; Tobias, a neglected child who traps himself in hawk morph to escape his human life; Rachel, a popular fashion queen who becomes the Animorphs’ strongest fighter and terrifyingly consumed by bloodlust; and Ax, a young Andalite stranded on Earth after the crash of his spaceship in a heated battle.
Animorphs is still an active fandom, with fics posted regularly on AO3 and a tag on tumblr with a great little community. — Poetry
“I’ve Got Four Voices on the Line (the only one I hear is mine)” by Senri. 3.7K words, rated Teen.
I love this fic so much I recorded a podfic of it! It’s a character study of Tobias, everyone’s favorite angsty hawk, in the early series, exploring his relationships with the most important people in his life: his leader, Jake, his girlfriend, Rachel, and his best friend, Ax.
“The Facade” by bucketmouse. 10K words, rated Teen.
Set late in the series, this fic makes great use of Marco’s sardonic point of view, and brings in two of my favorite minor characters from the series, Gafinilan-Estrif-Valad and Mertil-Iscar-Elmand, known fondly by the fandom as the gay Andalites. This fic is funny, plotty, and explores the common fanon that Marco is bisexual.
“Just Below the Surface” by embergryphon. 6K words, rated PG-13.
Read this fic if you’ve read the whole Animorphs series and you’re ready to cry even more. This is a series of four AU endings for the series, all in Rachel POV, each one more devastating than the last.
“Portraits from the Revolution” by BrotherG. 12K words, rated Teen.
This is a series of vignettes set after the series, focusing on what might happen to the Yeerks after the war, when they are still hated and feared by most but still trying to live their lives however they can. Each vignette features a Yeerk pursuing a different possible life on Earth after the Animorphs’ victory.
Bonus Star Wars: TFA rec by Gav:
“At the Ready” by atrata. 3K words, rated Teen.
I was lowkey screaming allllll the way through this hilarious fic about Poe Dameron hopelessly crushing on Leia, and agreeing to go undercover as her boytoy on a diplomatic mission.
FINAL THOUGHT
I JUST REALLY LOVE BEN WYATT, OK?
But actually can I just put in a plug for re-watching Parks & Rec right now? I’m sure every last one of you has already seen it? I started on S3 a few weeks ago so I didn’t have to deal with whats-his-name and didn’t have to wait for Ben Wyatt to show up and I can’t tell you how cathartic it’s been watching the Bobby Newport storyline, and now the City Council stuff. Not so much because Hillary = Leslie (true tho) but because you think the people of Pawnee (read: American people) are going to let you down until they DON’T. And something about that is deeply comforting at this...particular moment in history. <3 — Elizabeth
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