August 23, 2024

The Rec Center #451

Hi everyone! This week we have an EXCITING EDITORIAL CROSSOVER: Gav wrote a fantastic piece for me/Fansplaining on the cancellation of The Acolyte and the Star Wars fandom. We’ve also got articles on indie streamers like Dropout and the rise of the specialty popcorn bucket, plus Alien Resurrection fanart and a multifandom list of fake dating fic! — Elizabeth

 

new stuff

“The Acolyte’s Squandered Potential” by Gav at Fansplaining
This week Disney+ canceled the Star Wars TV series The Acolyte, just five weeks after its season 1 finale. Here, Gavia explains why this was such a bad PR move, alienating an entire subset of fans and signaling that the franchise isn’t interested in new stories.

“Small Streamers, Big Business: Inside Fandom-Backed Growth and Industry Infiltration at Dropout, Nebula and Critical Role’s Beacon” by Jennifer Maas at Variety
If you've been wondering about the recent boom in indie geek culture streaming shows like Critical Role and Game Changer, this article explains what’s up.

“The unexpected rise of the specialty popcorn bucket” by Kelsey Weekman at Yahoo Entertainment
As the ~summer blockbuster season~ comes to a close, a look at the collectible popcorn buckets theaters have been selling in recent years, including how they get made.

 

 

older stuff

“There’s No Such Thing as a Guilty Pleasure” by Katharine Coldiron at the Los Angeles Review of Books
“Why we like what we like is such an impossibly complex equation that there’s no solving it. We can’t break down the molecules of what we enjoy because it’s got aesthetic value versus what we enjoy because the main character looks a little like our mom when she laughs versus what we enjoy because we watched Top Gun (1986) too many times as children.”

 

tumblr & beyond

Alien Resurrection fanart by jurassicass

“do y’all wanna see the funniest comment i have seen on a rpf fic”

the magneto/xavier movie dynamic is such a rich text...

ok we found the girl who got sold to one direction

“Vulcan teen on Vulcan tiktok saying…”

“i think it would be cool if there was an omegaverse but for salmon instead of wolves.”

 

fanfiction

A perennial favorite: fake relationship fic. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“What All This Time Was For” by lady_ragnell. 14K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Daredevil (TV); Ship: Matt Murdock/Franklin “Foggy” Nelson
Recced by: FuzzyHairedFreak
Backstory: Matt offers to go to Foggy’s ten year high school reunion with him for moral support. Fake dating ensues.
Rec: I once went through the entire fake dating tag on ao3 and read anything I had even vague knowledge of. This is the only one I bookmarked and reread from a fandom I’m not even in.
Content warnings: N/A

“It’s Not Rocket Science But it Might be Chemistry” by phonecallfromgod. 70K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Mean Girls (Broadway); Ship: Cady Heron/Kevin Gnapoor
Recced by: stars-hollow-sewers
Backstory: Cady Heron (after the events of Mean Girls) gets unceremoniously dumped by Aaron, and she starts fake dating fellow mathlete Keving Gnapoor to make Aaron jealous.
Rec: When asked, “What Mean Girls ship would have the most chemistry?” I NEVER would have guessed Cady/Kevin G. But Rocket Science had me hooked from the start. As I’ve told the many, many I’ve recommended this to over the years: “Just trust me.”
Content warnings: N/A

“A Wicked Game” by Tierfal. 60K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist; Ship: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Recced by: Kate
Backstory: This is a modern AU where Ed and Roy are more similar in age than in canon—they’re both in their 20s, broke grad students working in the same lab. Ed gets invited on an all-expense paid vacation that is couples-only and Roy jumps at the chance for free vacation via fake dating, even though they’re just lab acquaintances. Vacation fun and awkward relationship development ensues!
Rec: The story is such an amazing exploration of each of their characters and mindset. They really break down and get to know each other because of how they’re thrown together and the things they have to reveal (because Ed’s closest friend is there, too, and can see through him). There are also a few moments that are so hilarious I actually laughed uncontrollably.
Content warnings: Frank discussions of mental health, depression, and suicide/suicidal thoughts; one character almost drowns (but is saved)

“In Want of a Wife” by creativityobsessed. 12K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Cherry Magic; Ship: Urabe Kengo/Original Character
Recced by: dontbesoevil
Backstory: Takes place in the Cherry Magic universe where people get mind-reading powers after they turn 30. Urabe is the boss of the main character who also got those powers.
Rec: I do love a fake relationship (especially an invented one at first), but also I relate to the annoyance of being asked if you have someone. I also love that there is a whole cast of aro-ace-spectrum characters and not just one.
Content warnings: N/A

“World Ain’t Ready” by idiopathicsmile. 186K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Les Misérables - All Media Types; Ship: Enjolras/Grantaire
Recced by: Shadaras
Backstory: Les Mis is a brick of a historical novel. This fic centers on the revolutionary group, as much fic of this canon does, and sets them in high school. Again, as much fic does. In this story, Enjolras is the president of the school’s GSA and Grantaire is a closeted student who does a lot of art and generally doesn’t talk to people, and the fic’s about how they fake date their way into real bonds.
Rec: I love Enjolras’ drive towards justice, and desire to fake date Grantaire so that his friends don’t need to take the brunt of being the first out couple at school. I adore Grantaire’s slow relaxation into friendship as he realises that these are his friends too. But mostly, I’m here for how both of them are willing to do anything their friends need them to do, and the way they slowly realise that they might like each other for real (and don’t know what to do about it, until they finally do).
Content warnings: Homophobia (internalized and external), child neglect (backgrounded subplot, generally not described in detail), general high school dickishness

 

 

FINAL THOUGHT

That’s all, folks! Have a relaxing weekend! — Gav