The Rec Center #456
Hello all! This week we have articles about a Muppet fandom harasser, archiving Netflix’s deleted shows, and vintage lesbian pulp fiction. Also some cute Archie Comics-inspired Wicked fanart, a grab bag of multifandom fic recs, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Muppet History was a bright spot online—now it’s embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal” by Mia Sato at The Verge
“You’ve got Kermit the Frog clout. Like, what makes you think that you can do this kind of thing?” In this week’s disappointing fandom news, the man who runs the beloved Muppet History account was revealed to be a serial harasser.
“The Unauthorized Effort to Archive Netflix’s Disappeared Interactive Shows” by Emanuel Maiberg at 404 Media
When Netflix announced it was deleting its two dozen interactive shows—and the entire component of the platform for which they were designed—fans got to work figuring out a way to preserve them and keep them publicly available for free.
“How Did Lesbian Pulp Fiction Thrive in the 1950s and ’60s?” by Mark Harris at The New York Times
Not strictly fandomy, but we suspect a lot of our readers will be interested in this deep dive into mid-century lesbian pulp novels!!
Star Wars needs to clarify if robot racism is a thing or if that one guy in the bar in the first movie was just an asshole
— pixelatedboat aka “mr christmas display name already” (@pixelatedboat.bsky.social) November 29, 2024 at 4:27 PM
older stuff
“‘You’re My Present This Year’: An Oral History of the Folgers Incest Ad” by Gabriella Paiella at GQ
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
tumblr & beyond
Wicked fanart by llamaalpacca
For the second anniversary of Goncharov, DestinationToast has crunched the numbers on the fanworks that have been created over the past two years.
"Me introducing one of my new favorite characters"
The origin story of the shovel talk trope.
“i think one thing that will really invariably get me to click out of a fic immediately... is He Would Not Fucking Say That’s hornier cousin ‘he would not fucking fuck that hard or that prolifically.’”
“everyone interprets characters differently”
fanfiction
You’ve been sending in lots of seasonal recs, so we’ll have a batches of those the next few weeks as we round out the year. But for this week, we’ve got a grab-bag; thanks so much to everyone who submitted a rec! — Elizabeth
“The Grand Vizier of Oz” by Sedri. 112,062K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Wicked (Musical); Ships: Elphaba Thropp & Galinda Upland, Elphaba Thropp/Fiyero Tigelaar, Galinda Upland & Fiyero Tigelaar
Recced by: thebookwyrm
Backstory: This is an exploration of what could have been if the Wizard of Oz had found out that the Wicked Witch of the West was his daughter right away, and how that could have changed.
Rec: Everything. It’s so, so good!! “‘Please come back—you’re my daughter, I’d do anything—’ She stopped, hand half-raised and ready to cast a spell. ‘Anything?’”
Content warnings: N/A
“My Witcher Isn’t Working, Can I Get a Refund?” by byronicmusings. 26K words (WIP, but reads like a short story collection), rated Gen.
Fandom: The Witcher; Ship: Geralt/Jaskier - Dandelion
Recced by: Eliza
Backstory: The Witcher is a series of fantasy novels, video games, and shows about a mutant who hunts monsters. This story features a Netflix Jaskier in the Witcher III world watching Geralt behave...strangely.
Rec: It’s a truly funny depiction of the game’s more puzzling quirks. Anyone familiar with TW3 will get at least a chuckle out of this one.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence
“throat, eye and knucklebone” by panthalassa. 25K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Agatha All Along; Ship: Agatha Harkness/Rio Vidal
Recced by: Sofia
Backstory: Agatha and Rio meet in Salem in 1693, and it changes everything that comes after.
Rec: This fic fills in the gaps in Agatha and Rio’s backstory in a beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking way. It really gets into WHY they are together and captures their voices so well. Plus the writing is gorgeous.
Content warnings: Canonical character deaths
“The One Body Problem” by metisket. 29K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: MDZS/The Untamed; Ship: Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji
Recced by: jennisaisquoi
Backstory: “The good news is that Lan Jingyi has found a mentor, friend, and constant companion through the difficulties in life. The bad news is that that’s because he’s been accidentally possessed by the Yiling Patriarch.”
Rec: This is so funny! And refreshing to see an outsider POV on the events of canon, and WWX called on his self-destructive thought patterns. And such a sweet story, as the least-Lannish Lan tries to set things right and the Yiling Lazou gets some love and acceptance.
Content warnings: N/A
“What The Thunder Said” by fluorescentgrey. 35K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: M*A*S*H (TV); Ship: B. J. Hunnicutt/Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce
Recced by: hownowredclown
Backstory: MASH, the TV show, is about army doctors in the Korean War (although the Korean War looks a lot like the Vietnam War, which was happening while it was airing) and became more and more explicitly anti-war as it aired. BJ and Hawkeye are doctor roommates and live out of each other’s pockets in this sitcom that ends with Hawkeye having a mental breakdown from PTSD (funny, right? I love comedy).
Rec: Just like how it feels impossible to summarize MASH in only a couple sentences, this fic feels too big for a quick rec. It’s about living through the sixties when you were written by people in the seventies, it’s about Maine, it’s about seeing wars repeat forever, it’s about Woodstock, it’s about queer awakenings, it’s about pining, it’s about living 3,000 miles away from the man you love, it’s about living 3 feet from the man you love, it’s about finding your place in a relationship without gender roles, it’s about love, it’s about war, it’s about everything (listen, just read the first few paragraphs and you’ll know if it’s for you or not).
Content warnings: War, alcoholism, 60s Woodstock drug use, period-typical homophobia, anything that’s canon-compliant
And a vid!
“Newspaper” (or on YouTube) by absternr. 4:02, rated Mature.
Fandom: Interview With The Vampire (2022); Ships: Claudia & Lestat & Louis, Claudia/Madeline
Recced by: Chronograph
Backstory: A fanvid about Claudia’s tangled, painful relationships over the course of the show.
Rec: It’s the perfect song for Claudia, and the editing is masterful. Absolutely heartbreaking.
Content warnings: Domestic violence, regular violence, referenced sexual violence, blood
‘Why are so many pro writers former members of X fandom’ This is a side effect of a large fandom having a lot of teenagers in it. In fifteen years we will be celebrating the literary work of people who right now are busy writing Minecraft streamer RPF. And that’s beautiful.
— Emily Tesh (@emilytesh.net) December 6, 2024 at 6:27 AM
FINAL THOUGHT
Have a great weekend, everyone! — Elizabeth