April 12, 2024

The Rec Center #432

Hi all! This week we have articles about physical media, Star Wars fans and (at Fansplaining) fannish journalism. Plus some lovely MDZS fanart, and a rec list of canon-divergent AUs. — Gav

 

new stuff

“The Fan-Journalist Tightrope” by Kayti Burt at Fansplaining
Longtime pop culture journalist (and longertime fan) Kayti Burt on what it’s like to cover the things you love in an increasingly precarious media industry. (This piece has a full audio version as well—and to hear/read more of Kayti, she was also Fansplaining’s most recent guest!

“The film fans who refuse to surrender to streaming: ‘One day you’ll barter bread for our DVDs’” by J Oliver Conroy at The Guardian
Physical media devotees are rightly worried about the instability of streaming, but this piece digs into an even wider range of reasons why film fans are collecting DVDs and Blu-rays.

“Creating an Inclusive Portrait of Star Wars fandom” by Miss Rosen at Huck
This profile introduces photographer Rhynna Santos’ project Fandom Unbound, celebrating the diversity of the Star Wars fan community.

 

 

older stuff

“Why do superheroes wear spandex?” by Becca Caddy at Inverse
“The story of this miracle material and its surprising intersection with the world of comics reveals how a seemingly innocuous invention changed the course of pop culture history.”

 

tumblr & beyond

MDZS femslash fanart by frroggy

“Sorry op. That's my friend the Salt Vampire from the Star Trek episode "The Man Trap" which first aired in 1966.”

honestly this is a pretty impressive mistake to make.

A fittingly indescribable House of Leaves fanwork.

“you will not guess where this ao3 summary is going”

This did indeed happen to my buddy Castiel.

yes, there is a very normal fanfiction reason to set a story in Calgary.

 

fanfiction

This week we have one of my all-time favorite things in fanfiction: the canon-divergent AU. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“Machines of Freedom” by Amal Nahurriyeh. 60K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The X-Files; Ship: Mulder/Scully (but really mostly gen)
Recced by: fernybranca
Backstory: Post-series and post-"The X-Files: I Want to Believe" (but pre-revival), this fic takes on the almost impossible-to-imagine job of taking every. single. canonical. element and making something GOOD out of them: what happens when, as promised throughout every X-Files media ever, the aliens FINALLY invade.
Rec: We can never quite get an alien invasion story in The X-Files, which makes the whole of X-Files canon kind of an exercise in edging, only in a very bad way. This story does the thing I love most: it deeply understands The X-Files’s themes and then fixes them and concludes them in a way that the series never could.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence

“Denial & Deception” by Bohemienne. 85K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses; Ship: Ferdinand Von Aegir/Hubert Von Vestra
Recced by: Remi
Backstory: Diverging from the Black Eagles route in the second half of the Fire Emblem: Three Houses, this story follows Hubert (a spymaster), and Ferdinand (the Prime Minister), as they infiltrate an opposing country in the war. Despite claiming to hate each other, they need to make sure everyone believes that they're madly in love so that it isn't found out that they're spies.
Rec: A wonderful exploration of two characters who are such opposites in canon and exploring how they might end up together. Additionally, it’s a way that provides a “good” ending to a war and a story that otherwise ends up in a massive amount of bloodshed and pain.
Content warnings: Kidnapping

“Missed You” series by just_another_tinker. 137K words over 4 works, rated Mature. Fandom: The Old Guard; Ship: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Recced by: stars-inthe-sky
Backstory: The Old Guard concerns a found family of extremely long-lived immortals, including Joe and Nicky, who have been a couple for 900+ years. This fic keeps everything we see in canon...except that Nicky never met any of the others.
Rec: This fic is an all-timer for me—it's just a brilliantly simple canon-divergent premise with a pitch-perfect execution. The POV switches work beautifully to tell the story in the fullest, most engaging way, really serving to bring the whole team into what's ultimately a romance between the main pairing.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence

“Legacy” by flamethrower. (Podfic by litrapod (litra)) 18K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy; Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008); Ship: Gen, background Anakin Skywalker/Padmé Amidala
Recced by: robynlynn
Backstory: Obi-Wan, after the events of the Phantom Menace, decides the Jedi Council is no match for a Sith Lord so he joins Count Dooku in becoming Darth Sidious’ secret apprentice, all the while keeping his promise to his late master to raise Anakin as a Jedi.
Rec: I love this story because Obi-Wan's doing all the worst things for the right reasons, straddling the line between Light and Dark, and the writing is snappy and engaging and even tugs at your heartstrings. There's a great podfic version by litrapod (litra).
Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, strong language

“Five Petals” by PrecariousSauce. 486K words over 4 works, rated Teen to Mature.
Fandom: Naruto; Ship: Sakura Haruno/Sasuke Uchiha
Recced by: narrative-causality
Backstory: A canon divergent AU from the moment Orochimaru gives Sakura the cursed seal by accident, and how everything spirals out of control and expectation.
Rec: A really sprawling AU, with phenomenal character work, exciting and well-written fight scenes, and intricate plotting. Whilst the final installment in the series is still a WIP, the author is actively working on it and just a stellar writer.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence and horror, trauma, child soldiers

“In A Strange Land” by MrsEvadneCake. 180K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Stranger Things; Ship: Gen, pre-Steve/Nancy/Jonathan, Steve & Dustin
Recced by: coldcomfortflowers
Backstory: At the end of Stranger Things s2 deposed king of Hawkins High Steve Harrington has a traumatic brain injury and his only friends are his ex and her new boyfriend and the group of kids he’s accidentally tied himself to.
Rec: This fic is so good and well plotted sometimes I forget that this isn’t canon!! It's got pitch perfect Steve & Nancy & Jonathan figuring out how they work together, and Steve & El friendship is so sweet, plus an amazing horror plot.
Content warnings: PTSD, canon-typical violence and horror, period-typical homophobia and racism

 

 

FINAL THOUGHT

Have a great weekend, everyone! — Elizabeth