The Rec Center #419
Hi all! After a wonderful few days together in person, we’re back with our second batch of 2023 Yuletide fanfic recs, along with articles about OFMD’s cancellation and (unrelatedly!) a Chinese streaming service, plus some lovely Princess Mononoke fanart. — Gav
new stuff
“Our Flag Means Death May Be Cancelled But Fans Are Campaigning to Save It” by Ryan Leston at IGN
If you are in fandom and have had access to the internet this week, you are surely aware of OMFD’s cancellation. This piece highlights some of the initial save-our-show responses.
“Forget Quibi. Chinese streamers are hooking Americans with werewolf love triangles” by Viola Zhou at Rest of World
An interesting piece on ReelShort, a Chinese platform that’s been finding a lot of international success recently with its ultra-short, vertical, and extremely tropey programming—e.g., “a love triangle between billionaire werewolves.”
“One of the Most Underrated Sci-Fi Shows of the 2000s Marked an Important Fandom Milestone” by Gav at Inverse
Celebrating the 15-year anniversary of Stargate: Atlantis’s final episode, a look back at the end of an era for LiveJournal fandom.
(looking at ao3 top 100 from inside my glass house) some of yall have got to get better taste
— chips eater (@sanlanglovemail) January 2, 2024
older stuff
“A Fandom of One: Loving the Books No One Else Knows About” by Molly Templeton at Tor.com
“The lost books, the ones no one seems to remember or never read, the authors that never reached the peak of commonality, at least in one’s own corner of the world—those feel ever more lonesome. It’s like they occupy space differently or vibrate at a different frequency in my mind.”
tumblr & beyond
Princess Mononoke fanart by skelinor
“So my boyfriend and I have a longstanding joke that Sarek would write at least One pulpy Vulcan-Human romance novel”
“i’m literally so obsessed w how doctor who keeps finding new ways to multiply david tennant”
“not the omegaverse patient zero getting involved”
a regrettably accurate burn on both Doctor Who and social media usage.
fanfiction
Last week we ran the first batch of Yuletide 2023 fics; this week, we have the second! Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“Expecting to Fly” by misantlery. 3K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: In Other Lands | The Turn of the Story - Sarah Rees Brennan; Ship: Elliot Schafer/Luke Sunborn
Recced by: AirgiodSLV
Backstory: In Other Lands is a portal fantasy novel that takes place in a magical world full of elves, harpies, and other familiar creatures that might not behave in expected ways. The protagonist of the book is Elliot, who constantly questions why this world and society are the way they are.
Rec: This is a gorgeous character and relationship study, focused on the idea of someone with strong opinions and morals standing up for what they believe is right, even at great cost.
Content warnings: N/A
“tell me what the universe knows (or: something to believe in)” by Kindness. 14K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: Beetlejuice, Stranger Things (tangentially); Ship: Gen
Recced by: Jessica
Backstory: Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice) goes to college and happens to meet and befriend Will Byers (Stranger Things). The story is less a crossover fic and more an exploration of Lydia’s first year at college, growing up, and the grief one feels when becoming someone your (dead) parent will never know.
Rec: I feel like I got a totally different story than "Beetlejuice/Stranger Things crossover" led me to believe I’d be walking into, but the function of Will Byers as a character here is surprisingly effective. Also, Lydia is queer in this fic and reckoning with sapphic feelings past and present.
Content warnings: Grief, past death of a parent
“Lucky Like That” by spacewitchbot. 2..4K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: SNSD/Girl’s Generation; Ship: Tiffany Young/Taeyeon
Recced by: kpopwinemom
Backstory: SNSD is a second-gen girl group. Tiffany and Taeyeon are two members with a long history together. Tiffany is no longer with their company, though still affiliated with the group and Taeyeon has debuted as one of their more popular solo artists.
Rec: This was my Yuletide gift, so of course I am biased! This fic is about a Tiffany and Taeyeon as they are now: grown women, established and competent in their careers, who’ve finally worked out what they want from each other. I loved seeing this moment for them, in their career and in their relationship. It felt so real and tactile!
Content warnings: N/A
“take back all my regrets” by jan. 3.6K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 时光代理人 | Link Click (Donghua); Ship: Cheng Xiaoshi/Lu Guang
Recced by: Shadaras
Backstory: Link Click is an animated show about two young men whose powers allow them to dive into photos. This takes that basic set-up and turns it into a Puella Magi Madoka Magica AU where regrets can turn into deadly (and potentially world-ending!) demons that our protagonists work to defeat.
Rec: I love clever AUs. This doesn’t copy Madoka’s plot and worldbuilding precisely, but it takes all of its themes about time loops and not being able to let go and forgiveness and plants them firmly onto Link Click’s characters. The parallels are obvious if you know both canons, but even if you only know one it’ll be enjoyable for the depth of emotion and vivid imagery in this fic.
Content warnings: Non-graphic violence, death (reversed via time loop), grief
“A Few Saints” by enjambament. 2.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Half Life of Valery K; Ship: Valery Kolkhanov/Konstantin Shenkov
Recced by: jess
Backstory: A scientist is pulled out of a Soviet labor camp to work in an irradiated city, only to realize that the radiation is dangerously higher than the government is willing to admit, and together he and the KGB agent he’s grown close to have to decide what to do, even though the consequences could be fatal for them.
Rec: This story does a fantastic job of expanding on the book’s happy but uncertain ending, giving Valery and Shenkov some much needed moments of relief and happiness together, while also capturing Valery’s ever so slightly cynical narrative voice so well.
Content warnings: N/A
“The Half-Seen Door” by Selden. 1K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Piranesi - Susanna Clarke /The Green Knight (2021); Ship: Gen
Recced by: Shadaras
Backstory: Piranesi is a story about an endless house and the man who lives there. The Green Knight is a retelling of an Arthurian myth about a man who doesn’t die and the man who tried to kill him. This asks: What are the parallels? What if Gawain walked into the House?
Rec: I adore this because it’s 1K of fannish poetry (linked sonnets!). It’s gorgeous to read aloud, has a wonderful rhythm to it, and the back-and-forth between the canons is an utter delight. If you like poetry and interesting crossovers that work far better than you would have dreamed, this is absolutely a fanwork for you!
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
Greetings from a train heading south from Glasgow, where I’ve just said goodbye to Gav after, as she said above, we had a wonderful few days together—she and the rest of her household have been extremely kind hosts!! <333 Please enjoy some of the photos of our first IRL hang in like five (?) years which involved fandom-adjacent things like BOATS and ICE RINKS (and please admire the magnificent coat that she loaned me because I failed to read the weather forecast properly). — Elizabeth
