The Rec Center #458
Hello all! This week we have articles about Snoopy fandom drama, the Black Film Archive, and boundary-crossing music stans, along with some cute Dungeon Meshi fanart, creepy multifandom fic recs for Halloween, and much more! — Gav
new stuff
“A Snoopy Fan Account Endorsed Trump. The Snoopy Community Revolted” by Miles Klee at Rolling Stone
Drama in the Snoopy Twitter community!
“This Digital Archivist Believes Hollywood’s ‘Competition Era’ Is Over” by Jason Parham at WIRED
A great interview with Maya Cade, founder of the Black Film Archive, on the genesis of the project, the recent Internet Archive lawsuit ruling, and the current (bleak) state of Hollywood.
“‘It’s like, wow. I was really deranged’: stars and repentant stans on the terror of toxic fandom” by Alim Kheraj at The Guardian
There have been a gazillion “the problem with stans” pieces over the past few weeks following Chappell Roan’s posts about problematic fan behavior (some insightful; most basic). This one also talks to artists who’ve struggled with similar boundary-crossing fans, and handles the topic with nuance.
In Mission Impossible 3, Ethan’s cover job is working for the Department of Transportation so that when he talks about how “traffic has a memory” people get bored and stop asking questions, but that wouldn’t work on me. I would ask him so many questions he would have to kill me.
— Noah Garfinkel (@NoahGarfinkel) October 5, 2024
older stuff
“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.”
tumblr & beyond
Dungeon Meshi fanart by istarling
“Us in the Ikea showrooms acting out the loumand argument from 2x05.”
“His personality is a burning truck of chemicals without a driver rolling at 220 km/h down the hill towards the daycare.”
Stan Lee’s LA mansion is up for sale!
Star Trek TNG’s most authentic depiction of the medical profession.
Check out this gorgeously detailed miniature model of Giles’ house from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
fanfiction
We’ve got the first of our October ~spooky recs~ lists this week, and this one has fics marked as horror, creepy, ghostly, etc. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“Bones Adrift” by Skrifores. 42K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Our Flag Means Death; Ship: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet
Recced by: Jenn
Backstory: The crew of the Revenge encounter a spooky ghost ship that keeps following them—so of course these idiots go investigate (and also fall in love). Set during the lovely ‘co-captains’ era of season one.
Rec: Intriguing supernatural mystery with a clever resolution and happy ending, wonderful characterisation, and genuinely brilliant writing and dialogue. Feels exactly like an episode in the most complimentary way possible.
Content warnings: Supernatural phenomena, descriptions of burning and drowning (no major character death), high spooks as an excuse for high romance
“In a Mirrored Room, Talking to Myself” by entanglednow. 65K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Stranger Things; Ship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson
Recced by: Tafadhali
Backstory: A ghost hunter AU where Eddie and his crew come in to help Steve with his incredibly haunted house.
Rec: This story has an incredibly spooky atmosphere and some really scary sequences. A very effective horror story!
Content warnings: N/A
“Panting like a dog at the edge of your bed” by bloodletter. 64K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Tian Guan Ci Fu/Heaven Officials Blessing; Ship: He Xuan/Shi Qingxuan, He Xuan/Hua Cheng
Recced by: Kitty Climpson
Backstory: He Xuan is a ghost haunting the world in pursuit of revenge for the fate that was stolen from him. Shi Qingxuan is the unwitting beneficiary of that theft.
Rec: Tagged by the author as “1/3 dour he xuan biopic, 1/3 beefleaf slow burn, 1/3 supremes buddy comedy.” Fantastically well written character study with a happy ending (??!?) of sorts (??) for beefleaf. Thoroughly weird, freakish, and gender nonconforming, i.e. a perfect characterisation of all these traumatised little blorbos.
Content warnings: Multiple, see author’s note
“Nest” by emmbrancsxx0. 36K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Supernatural; Ship: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Recced by: bluishorange
Backstory: After returning from Purgatory in season 15, Dean and Castiel work a Florida case involving a drowned woman whose killer is seemingly in two places at once. A mystery uncoils that threatens to split their burgeoning relationship in two.
Rec: The mood of this one is so creepy, I read it several years ago and I still think about it a lot.
Content warnings: Maybe dubious or non consent as part of the identity mystery
“Cracked” by Mad_Maudlin. 5.1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Doctor Who; Ship: Amy Pond/Rory Williams, but that’s not the focus
Recced by: notsanguineatall
Backstory: Amelia “Amy” Pond first met the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor when she was a child and he was investigating a crack in her bedroom wall (and possibly the universe). He promised to return in his TARDIS in five minutes, but missed the mark by twelve years.
Rec: This story uses an outsider POV to explore the possibility of Amy becoming the Doctor’s traveling companion when she is still a child. Given that the Doctor and his companions routinely face threats to the universe that are frightening on screen, the possibility of those adventures happening to a little girl and just slightly out of the line of sight of the girl’s caretaker is thoroughly creepy!
Content warnings: Child endangerment
“you were raised by wolves and voices; every night I hear them howling” by Helpneedmorefanfics. 11K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Helluva Boss; Ship: Blitzo/Stolas Goetia
Recced by: Marith
Backstory: Blitz finally has a happy relationship with Stolas. But the demon prince lives in a palace brimming with magic and bad memories.
Rec: A genuinely spooky haunted house story, for a show that’s normally a comedy/relationship drama despite being set in Hell.
Content warnings: Past domestic violence (flashbacks), PTSD, mental health issues, childhood trauma
“Kiss Me Now, You’ll Catch Your Death” by dear_monday. 3.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: My Chemical Romance, Bandom; Ship: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Recced by: anon
Backstory: There’s no need for any fandom understanding to read the work as it’s a historical-ish AU. Seriously, swap the names and it’s a beautiful original story. That said, Frank Iero/Gerard Way is the non-canonical pairing of My Chemical Romance’s rhythm guitarist and vocalist based on fan speculation and onstage shenanigans the pair engaged in in the early aughts.
Rec: It’s creepy and dark and beautifully written. A lot of story and sadness is squeezed into this short piece. It’s one of those things you’ll carry with you for a long time.
Content warnings: References to suicidal ideation and substance abuse (alcoholism) as well as major character death prior to and during the story
will and hannibal chose the most boring fucking hobbies thats why they want to kill people so bad. because their other option is fishing or wine tasting. if they wrote fanfiction or listened to kpop they would be more normal.
— jesse (@bloodyshrike) October 10, 2024
FINAL THOUGHT
A reminder: Fansplaining (Flourish & me) will be giving a talk called “Studying Fans Outside the Academy” at the Fan Studies North America conference next Friday, October 18th at 2 pm ET. The four-day conference is virtual (you can read the whole (great-looking!) lineup here), and tickets are just $10 for students and independent scholars. (I know there are many readers of this newsletter who have an academic interest in fandom…) — Elizabeth