November 24, 2023

The Rec Center #412

Hi all! This week we have articles about vintage TV renewal campaigns, Beyoncé fandom and a political controversy in the Scream franchise, along with some cool Blue Eye Samurai fanart and multifandom longfic recs for American Thanksgiving weekend. — Gav

new stuff

“Fans vow to boycott ‘Scream VII’ after Melissa Barrera is dropped over Israel-Hamas war post” by Adam Starkey at NME
One of several alarming stories coming out of the entertainment industry right now, where actors and creators are facing professional consequences for speaking out against the genocide in Palestine.

“Before the internet, one housewife was there to save your favorite show from cancellation” by Allegra Rosenberg at Business Insider
On the creation of Viewers for Quality Television, a group of TV fans who organized campaigns to keep shows on the air in the 80s and 90s.

“The Strange $55 Million Saga of a Netflix Series You’ll Never See” by John Carreyrou at The New York Times
An absolutely wild story about Netflix giving a relatively unknown (and apparently unhinged) director a ton of money to make a sci-fi show and getting zero finished episodes in return.

older stuff

“I Paid To See Beyoncé In Three Different Cities On The Renaissance Tour. Here’s Why” by Malaika Jabali at Essence
“Could my 30-something knees handle standing up all night? I saw her twice already, what am I doing? What if the resale was a scam? What if I miss the flight? ... What if, what if, what if? Everything could go wrong. But everything could also go right. And it did.”

tumblr & beyond

Blue Eye Samurai fanart by Devon Rubin

hockey is poetry actually.

“Live theater in the His Dark Materials universe must be wild.”

priorities.

“He looks like he’s just resigned as prime minister of Belgium”

crucial OFMD logistical insight

“It’s 2009 and you’re an advertiser who just got assigned this sweet job for a holiday commercial.”

fanfiction

Since many in the U.S. have a long weekend (sympathies to everyone working today!!), we’ve got a long list of long fic (defined here as “100K words or (many) more”). Thanks to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“He, Dreamless” by nizzuto. 127K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The Old Guard; Ship: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Recced by: stars-inthe-sky
Backstory: The Old Guard features a found family of extremely long-lived immortals, including Joe and Nicky, who have been a couple for more than 900 years.
Rec: This story hit the fandom over the head with a collective wallop when it premiered—it’s so thoroughly imagined, deeply felt, and beautifully written. You feel every single one of the hundred years its tragic, painful timeline covers, which makes the inevitable conclusion (and other stories in the series) all the sweeter.
Content warnings: Imprisonment, torture, character deaths

“crossfire” by kittebasu. 523K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Daiya no A/Ace of Diamond; Ship: Miyuki Kazuya/Sawamura Eijun
Recced by: procrastinatingplatypus
Backstory: Ace of Diamond is a sports (baseball) anime about a bunch of boys in high school. This fic takes place post canon as some of the main characters attend university and play baseball together again. In doing so feelings that were not acted upon or acknowledged during their high school years bubble up again and the two main characters navigate starting a relationship in a career field where being with another man is a death knell to their dreams (should the relationship be known).
Rec: This fic is like 500K words of slice of life and romance and yet somehow it was so gripping I read it all in less than a week. I have only watched a few episodes of the anime so there’s not really a need to be familiar with canon to enjoy it and it paints a compelling picture of both main characters, their romance, and their journey to realizing their dreams of being professional baseball players.
Content warnings: Mental health issues, homophobia, unplanned pregnancy (minor characters)

“Don’t argue with your own nature”(CaPri Daemonverse) by flightinflame. 390K words over 6 works, rated Mature.
Fandom: Captive Prince; Ships: Laurent/Damen, Ancel/Berenger, Nikandros/Jord/Aimeric
Recced by: queuest
Backstory: This series is a retelling of the Captive Prince trilogy with the addition of Daemons to the universe, and some plot tweaks—including Nicaise lives, Jord and Aimeric are sent to live with Nikandros, and there is extensive focus on Berenger and Ancel. Daemons are a manifestation of the soul taking the form of an animal, originally from His Dark Materials.
Rec: I read this series as it was updating, and what’s so enjoyable is that the stories all overlap and connect and fill in the gaps and tell the story from different perspectives as it unfolds. And I’m a sucker for a daemon AU to see what animal form the characters souls will take.
Content warnings: Canon-typical bondage, canon-typical slavery, references to sex slavery, references to rape, pedophilia

“Iolokus” series by RivkaT and MustangSally. 272K words over 7 works, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The X-Files; Ship: Mulder/Scully
Recced by: fernybranca
Backstory: Set shortly after The X-Files’s Season 5, in which Scully has to confront the fact that a shadowy government conspiracy has stolen her ova and is producing experimental alien-human hybrid children with them...and in this story, oh boy, is she ANGRY, and ready to burn the world down. It also assumes an ongoing Mulder/Scully sexual relationship that one can hardly categorize as “romantic.”
Rec: I have never seen a fanfic series do so much character work, ever. In the first installment Scully is a modern Medea. The final installment is kids-and-curtainfic. It also tackles the wildly fucked-up world of “la familia Mulder.” It manages to do all this, with a feminist sensibility, and while ringing true to the characters. There’s also a truly staggering number of hot sex scenes, mostly Mulder/Scully but also memorably Scully/Marita Covarrubias.
Content warnings: Extreme violence, including the death of children (actually beyond “canon-typical”), rape, serial murder, incest, child abuse. If it’s horrible, it’s probably in this fic. Also, issues of infertility and childbirth.

“Hat Trick Hearts” series by SomewheresSword. 463K words over 16 works, rated Teen to Explicit.
Fandom: Check Please!; Ship: Eric “Bitty” Bittle/Kent “Parse” Parson/Jack Zimmermann
Recced by: Pat
Backstory: A small change resulting in Bitty actually knowing Kent before he knows Jack means that they don’t talk until Kent is sober—as Jack and Kent work on rebuilding their friendship, the three of them figure out how to start a triad relationship (and what that means for their futures and the rest of their lives).
Rec: This is THE BEST depiction of a polyamorous relationship I’ve ever read, and I’ve gone back to read it at least twice a year since it was finished. Amazing communication, great characters but also a fantastic exploration of how a relationship like that would hold up when the boys are under so much scrutiny as famous hockey players.
Content warnings: Homophobia/transphobia (brief descriptions), sports injuries

“Imagine the Ocean” by Damkianna. 118K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender; Ship: Sokka/Suki
Recced by: Sosostris
Backstory: Aang died in the iceberg. Katara is the Avatar. Don’t worry, Aang’s ghost sticks around.
Rec: It’s a complete retelling of ATLA, but everything feels warm and familiar and just like the canon, except with bonus Southeast Asian representation.
Content warnings: N/A

“Seeds of the White Tree” by GreenScholar. 204K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Lord of the Rings; Ships: Aragorn/Arwen, Eowyn/Faramir, Eomer/Lothiriel
Recced by: abbieprime
Backstory: An epic telling of the history of Gondor and Rohan in the years following the War of the Ring through the eyes of Aragorn, Eomer, Faramir, Arwen, Eowyn, Lothiriel, and their children.
Rec: The epic scope of this story was well plotted and told, and the characterizations for both familiar and new friends were beautifully written. Seeing the children of the houses of Gondor and Rohan grow into their own was a joy. GreenScholar introduced Harad and Rhun without needing tired stereotypes, and made me long for more. This was a perfect read for a long winter weekend.
Content warnings: Canonical violence, scenes of war and battle

And a podfic!

“Blue as cut sapphires, shining like gold” (plus podfic) by Suchgreatheights. 312K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Our Flag Means Death; Ship: Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet
Recced by: Ghostalservice
Backstory: OFMD tells the story of two real-life pirates but makes it funny, full of passion, heartfelt, and queer(er). A modern professors AU, this fic dropped as a Big Bang and took the fandom by storm! The multivoice podfic is an amazing team effort, too.
Rec: This story is not only superbly written and extremely hot, but it also does an extraordinary job of showing how two men with very different trauma can find each other, love each other, hurt each other, and heal together.
Content warnings: N/A

FINAL THOUGHT

We’re still soliciting holiday fic for December, especially anything around the upcoming holidays set in warm places. (Please send your recs in via this form!) And speaking of the upcoming holidays, this year we’re once again highlighting the Panfandom Hanukkah Bingo, which runs (as does actual Hanukkah) from December 7-15, in which participants create fic or art about Jewish (or “Jew-ish”) characters. — Elizabeth