May 31, 2024

The Rec Center #439

Hello all! This week we have articles about disability representation and (from Elizabeth!) the history of fandom community names. Plus some cool Fallout fanart and multifandom identity porn fics! (Which is, for the uninitiated, not necessarily anything NSFW.) - Gav]

 

new stuff

“Before ‘Fans,’ There Were ‘Kranks,’ ‘Longhairs,’ and ‘Lions’” by Elizabeth at Atlas Obscura
Elizabeth’s newest AO column is an interview with fandom scholar Daniel Cavicchi, who’s collecting names/terms people used for fans and fandom-like groups before the 20th century. There are so many interesting parallels with modern fandom history!

“The monsters that made me: Growing up disabled, all of my heroes were villains” by Matt Lee at Polygon
“I reject the notion that horror merely co-opts disability as a cheap scare tactic. When I watch a scary movie, I do not see exploitation—I see exaltation, the disabled not as demonic but as divine.”

“The Failed Promise of Binge TV” by Phillip Maciak at The New Republic
Not specifically about fandom, but a great analysis of the streamer “dump all the episodes at once” model, which has been widely (and often negatively) discussed in television fandoms over the past decade.

 

 

older stuff

“The Gamification of Reading Is Changing How We Approach Books” by Greta Rainbow at Shondaland
A fantastic piece on the ways that Goodreads has shaped so many readers’ behaviors today, like prioritizing volume and extremely high yearly book goals, or reading just to mark something as read and/or to write a review.

 

tumblr & beyond

Fallout fanart by pirate-cashoo

An all-time great in the realm of publicity tie-in products: Interview with the Vampire-branded tampons, aka vampons.

“I would still use my turn signals in the Mad Max Wasteland.”

“#drop your ao3 handle armand”

"coming up with an au were a dead character lives but shaking my head while i do it"

Disney’s decision to rebrand the new season of Doctor Who as “season 1” is causing untold problems in fandom database land.

 

fanfiction

Identity porn! As Gav points out, not necessarily porn, but about characters with secret identities. I knew it was big in DC fandom and unsurprisingly, we got a number of Batman & Superman recs, so if you’re into DC, enjoy—and if you’re not, we’ve got other fandoms, too! Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“Third Wheel” by Unpretty. 24K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: DC; Ships: Clark Kent/Lois Lane; Bruce Wayne/Lois Lane; pre-Bruce Wayne/Lois Lane/Clark Kent
Recced by: Nicole
Backstory: Though a fantastic reporter, Lois Lane has yet to figure out that her mild-mannered partner is actually Superman, or that the often-bruised billionaire Bruce Wayne is actually Batman.
Rec: This story does a delightful job with dramatic irony—Lois doesn’t know that the tension between her partner and the charming billionaire visiting town are connected to the fights Batman and Superman are having across Metropolis. Read for badass reporters and lots of identity porn.
Content warnings: N/A

“Blackbird” by emungere. 89K words, rated Explicit .
Fandom: Hannibal; Ship: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Recced by: Orangistae
Backstory: Will and Hannibal start dating and discover a mutual affinity for BDSM. Meanwhile, the Chesapeake Ripper has started killing again, and it’s Will’s job to try to understand him.
Rec: I love the slowburn tension of this fic, as Will gets closer to the Ripper in parallel with his deepening relationship with Hannibal, before it all comes to a head in spectacular fashion. The BDSM element is used in an interesting way, as the trust, vulnerability, and negotiation of their sexual relationship take on new layers once Will realises just who he’s been sleeping with (and also, it’s very hot).
Content warnings: Hannibal-typical everything, knifeplay/bloodplay

“Records of the Land of Xiang” by kitsunealyc. 19K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Nirvana in Fire; Ship: Mei Changsu/Xiao Jingyan
Recced by: Minna
Backstory: In canon, Mei Changsu is a former intimate of the princes of Da Liang who hides his identity for many years in order to bring about a revenge plot/clear the name of Prince Qi and the Chiyan Army, which Mei Changsu’s father led. Xiao Jingyan is a prince with little political capital who is still angry and grieving when Mei Changsu arrives to try to make him crown prince; this AU makes his disgrace even more exaggerated and gives him a secret identity too to bring them together in a different way.
Rec: The layers of truth and deception and the things deep below both that keep pulling them towards each other are so compelling. It also has some very well-done plot that ratchets up the tension and reveals them more to each other.
Content warnings: References to canonical terminal illness in one of the main characters

“The Long Hangover” by Coffiocake. 55K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: DCU; Ship: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, past Lex Luthor/Clark Kent
Recced by: Akoyfish
Backstory: Superman’s powers are on the fritz after kryptonite poisoning but that doesn’t mean Clark Kent can’t use his investigation skills to find out what’s going on. Incorporates canon from the animated Justice League and Smallville.
Rec: This fic delivers when it comes to the delightful mess of attraction and yearning between superheroes who don’t know each other’s civilian identities. Also I love how we get to see Clark’s humanity and how he struggles with living a double life. Content warnings: Discussion of a past toxic relationship with significant age difference

“fighting vainly the old ennui” by Fahye. 13K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries; Ship: Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson
Recced by: Orangistae
Backstory: AU in which Jack meets Phryne while investigating an elusive jewel thief who begins leaving oddly personal notes for him at their crime scenes.
Rec: Recasting the mischievous Phryne as a thief instead of a lady detective is totally believable and adds a delightful twist to her relationship with Jack, who is equal parts charmed and frustrated by their one-sided correspondence. There’s a lot of nice Jack characterisation in general, and in particular it’s interesting to see him and Mac as drinking buddies without Phryne to link them.
Content warnings: N/A

“ship-to-ship combat” by pomeloquat. 77K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Superman - All Media Types, Batman - All Media Types; Ship: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Batman/Bruce Wayne
Recced by: KC_sunshine
Backstory: Clark Kent, aka Superman, is convinced by shipper compiled evidence showing that Batman is in a relationship with Bruce Wayne. He decides to join the Bruceman fandom to earn some cash writing story commissions and as a way to get over his hopeless, unrequited crush on his best friend & Justice League teammate Batman.
Rec: There are levels upon levels of identity porn in this one, with Clark falling for both halves of his OTP, there’s like a love hexagon, but with only 2 people involved. There’s beautiful angst and humor and fun fandom AU aspects, like in universe fanfic snippets and ship wars.
Content warnings: N/A​​

And we got two recs for this fic, so as we’ve done in the past, we’ve combined them:

“Double Agent Vader” series by Fialleril. 90K words over 20 works, rated Gen to Teen.
Fandom: Star Wars; Ship: Gen
Recced by: saltkettle and Blythe
Backstory: saltkettle writes: Star Wars is a popular movie series that is set in a fantastic world, which becomes horrifying if thought about too deeply.
Blythe writes: Mostly gen, some Han/Leia Several years after the events of the Prequel Trilogy, Anakin realizes that he’s on the wrong side and becomes a double agent. Young Leia Organa becomes curious about her mysterious contact.
Rec: saltkettle writes: The author has built an entire folkloric history for the Tatooine Slaves. This is a series of one shots that explores Darth Vader as Anakin who remembers what it is to be a slave, and more importantly, how a slave resists.
Blythe writes: I like Anakin way more than I should, so having him secretly be a good guy makes me happy. Also, dramatic irony!
Content warnings: Implied torture, planetary homicide, implied suicide attempts, medical abuse, slavery, drugs & addiction, canon deaths

 

 

FINAL THOUGHT

If you enjoyed the “Merlin: Class Traitor” tweet last week, you’re in luck—you can actually watch this entire set from comedian Nat Silverman!! (Who is also the author of the legendary McSweeney’s article “Excerpts from My Upcoming Novel, Ready Player Two: Girl Stuff.”) — Elizabeth