The Rec Center #413
Hello everyone! This week we have articles on copyright law, Doctor Who, and Twilight, plus some beautiful Sandman fanart and a multifandom grab-bag of fic. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“How U.S. Copyright Law Fails Fan Creators” by EarlGreyTea68 at Fansplaining
“Fans know that creativity isn’t a finite resource that needs to be kept behind lock and key.” Copyright expert (and prolific fic writer) EarlGreyTea68 breaks down the fundamental clashes between fandom and intellectual property law (p.s. she came on the podcast to discuss this topic, too!).
“Doctor Who Invented a Brilliant Storytelling Trick—And Turned Itself Into a Phenomenon” by Ryan Britt and Hoai-Tran Bui at Inverse
How the Doctor Who novels—which were first published in 1973—shaped the modern television show.
“Every niche question we have about Twilight, answered by director Catherine Hardwicke” by Lucy Ford at GQ
Happy 15th birthday to... a unique film.
i was into the hunger games before people had figured out the ship name should be everlark so everyone on fanfiction dot net was awkwardly dancing around calling it peeniss
— grace (@agneswickfields) November 26, 2023
older stuff
“How Park Jimin of BTS Helped Me Feel Seen in My Brown, Queer Body” by Padya Paramita at them
“Jimin reminded me of myself—I was born 75 days before him, 2500 miles away. Yet both of us had tried hard to please society and performed gender in a way we weren’t meant to put on.”
tumblr & beyond
Sandman fanart by nynevefromthelake
Xavier school teacher application process.
“the spotify programmer telling everyone to move to burlington”
“I know intellectually that it’s been 50 years now since Goncharov came out, but I could swear it’s only been one.”
“my neural pathways are a lost cause”
fanfiction
Just a grab-bag this week! Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“wanna fly away (i don’t know where my soul is)” by ghostalservice, petrichorca. 177K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Our Flag Means Death (Animorphs AU); Ship: Ed/Stede
Recced by: zombee
Backstory: Stede is an Andalite, the crew are the animorphs, Ed has been tracking alien stuff for most of his life (bc his mom got yeerked it turns out, which is not really a big part of the story but anyway). *slams roof of car* this monsterfucking can fit so much gender in it!!!!
Rec: Unfortunately i already said “this monsterfucking can fit so much gender in it” BUT also some of my favorite bits are the action/plot!!! and the porn is...... pretty transcendent, yall.
Content warnings: N/A
“A Scrap of Velvet” by scioscribe. 7.8K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Cuckoo Song (Frances Hardinge); Ship: Trista & Triss & Violet & Pen (gen)
Recced by: chestnut_pod
Backstory: A take on the changeling myth set in the drearier side of 1920s England, with all of Hardinge’s characteristic twistiness, darkness, and hardscrabble young girls.
Rec: This is a perfect post-canon follow-up story, which takes a snapshot of the complicated, strained, but present relationships between the four young women at the heart of the novel. It feels like it could fit right in as an epilogue.
Content warnings: Immediate and comprehensive spoilers for the whole book! Mild body horror, canon-typical.
“Lithophytes” by ailuridae (abigailnicole). 186K words over 3 works, rated Mature to Explicit.
Fandom: BTS; Ship: Eventual poly (vminkook)
Recced by: tismabel
Backstory: A three-part story set in an intriguing future dystopia, the first part follows Jimin, a plant witch, as he escapes an abusive magic/military institute after the mysterious disappearance of his soulmate. In a mostly abandoned valley he meets Jungkook and begins to heal from his traumatic past. In part two we meet the rest of the boys as they race against the clock to save their world.
Rec: Sometimes you discover a hidden gem that is so insanely good that it boggles your mind it’s not more well-known. This story is a masterclass of exposition, world-building and character development. It really has everything: witches, dystopia, (ruined) cottagecore, time loops, necromancy, magical academia, oh my!
Content warnings: Mentioned child abuse, death of nice old people, temporary main character death, violence, war
“On Some Journey” by SilverDagger. 1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Claymore (manga); Ship: Clare/Jean
Recced by: shen
Backstory: Claymore is set in a brutal world where girls are implanted with demon flesh and become monsters in order to fight monsters. This fic captures a moment of rare vulnerability for two women for whom many choices have been stripped away, but not one another.
Rec: Claymore is a fantastic, though extremely dark, manga, not least for its focus on female relationships of all sorts. Clare/Jean has everything—rescue, devotion, and, of course, sacrifice and tragedy, and this fic does a lovely job at capturing both Clare’s POV and not letting us forget how fleeting this moment is.
Content warnings: None, though the source manga is quite gory and violent.
“therefore, dark past,” by Lady Charity. 12K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Ted Lasso; Ship: Gen
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Ted Lasso has an impressively snappy, tidy, and inspiring first season (it does start to go downhill fast after). While it is nominally a show about an American trying to coach a British football team, its undercurrents of family/father-son relationships really tie the story together.
Rec: Jamie is one of the most interesting characters in the show, and this fic really captures his character. This story is relatable, deep, and still sticks in my head months after first reading it; anyone with a complex relationship with their parents may find it eye opening.
Content warnings: Implied child abuse, intergenerational trauma/abuse, death of original character
“lay with me, stay with me” by folaigh. 4.1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Attack on Titan; Ship: Levi/Eren Yeager
Recced by: anon
Backstory: The characters are soldiers sharing a tent while exploring the countryside after eradicating the monsters plaguing it. Eren is a soldier but also has the ability to transform into one of the monsters.
Rec: This fic shows that even before ace folks had the language to describe themselves, they still found each other. It’s quiet and contemplative and heart-breakingly hopeful—the ending author’s note hits me every time.
Content warnings: N/A
And a vid!
“Vegas Theerapanyakul || The Devil Is a Gentleman || KinnPorsche FMV ” by daltoneering. 3:39, rated PG13.
Fandom: KinnPorsche; Ship: Gen/Vegas centric with VegasPorsche/Tawan/Pete
Recced by: juliedrifting
Backstory: KinnPorsche is a Thai BL tv show about a guy who gets roped into being the bodyguard for a mafia prince. Vegas is one of the main an(&pro?)tagonists, and arguably one of the more interesting characters on the show.
Rec: A pitch-perfect Vegas-centric fanvid, capturing all his characters’ many both twisted and sympathetic facets as portrayed throughout the show.
Content warnings: Blood, violence, KinnPorsche-typical stuff
(texting my marxist friends) how are people confused about this movie’s politics lmao? the character all but looks into the camera and says “capitalism is bad” 😂
— katie kadue (@kukukadoo) November 23, 2023
(texting my deconstructionist friends) it’s so sad when people think a text could ever be reduced to one meaning 😔
FINAL THOUGHT
For any Hunger Games fans out there, this week’s episode of my podcast Overinvested was an in-depth review of the new prequel movie, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes! Check it out here (and on all major podcast platforms)!
Have a relaxing weekend! — Gav