October 18, 2024

The Rec Center #459

Hello all. We know it’s been a hard week for a lot of fandom folks as they process the death of Liam Payne. We’ve got some initial coverage, and we’ll likely include more in the coming weeks as fans continue to process.

Plus: we’ve got a look back at a pivotal music streaming lawsuit, some lovely Sherlock Holmes fanart, and more spooky seasonal fic recs (this week: creatures). — Elizabeth

 

new stuff

“Fans are reeling from Liam Payne’s death—and disturbing online discourse” by Janay Kingsberry and Samantha Chery at the Washington Post
By now most people have likely heard that former One Direction member Liam Payne died suddenly on Wednesday evening. This piece was a good overview of the past two days, as fans grappled with exploitative media coverage, conspiracy theories on social media, and complicated feelings of grief.

“The Year of the Musical Licensing Legal Wars” by Sarah Jeong at The Verge
Part of The Verge’s fantastic package on the digital world of 2004, a deep dive into the U.S. Supreme Court case MGM v. Grokster at a pivotal moment in the history of music online.

“Heroes Don’t Do That!” by Lyvie Scott at Inverse
“Across his 80-year history, fans, critics, and creators have asked the same questions. Does Batman have sex? Or, better yet, should he? Like so much else in modern pop culture, the answer is defined by a complex tug-of-war between fans, artists, and corporate America.”

 

 

older stuff

“The Copyright Battle That Gave Cinematic Life to Dracula” by Olivia Rutigliano at Crime Reads
More from the annals of copyright history—but nearly a century before the Grokster case. An interesting longread about Dracula, Nosferatu, and the legacy for vampires onscreen.

 

tumblr & beyond

Sherlock Holmes fanart by sygneth

a brutal take on the ships of Death Note.

meet the ultimate fan fan.

Lestat recreated in the WWE24 videogame... we’re dazzled???

“you know what verily i deserv’d this”

 

fanfiction

It’s creature week: vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. Thank you to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“Baekhyun’s Boardinghouse for Male Monsters” by GinForInk. 63K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Super M (K-pop); Ship: Kim Jongin (Kai)/Mark Lee
Recced by: halotolerant
Backstory: SuperM were billed as the ‘Avengers of Kpop’, a multi-universe crossover event of different bands on the SM label, and brought together EXO’s Kai and NCT’s Mark Lee. This is an AU and you don’t need any prior knowledge to enjoy it.
Rec: Just before Halloween, trainee witch Mark Lee moves into a college share house that just happens to be a ~creepy mansion, with an assortment of werewolves, vampires and, uh, some guy called Kai who isn’t aware the rest of them are supernatural, and is inconveniently hot. Fun college slowburn romcom & vampire!Taemin with his boys is immaculate.
Content warnings: This fic was written in 2019 and so contains a SuperM member who later went on an ongoing hiatus after a series of allegations regarding his behaviour.

“Base instincts” by Kangoo. 2.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Temeraire - Naomi Novik; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Chimaerakitten
Backstory: Naomi Novik’s Temeraire is a 9-book series featuring an alternate universe Napoleonic Wars in which dragons exist and form a sort of airforce. This is a werewolf AU for the protagonist Laurence.
Rec: A delightful fun and ever so slightly spooky story that just perfectlyfits with the character. Laurence is an extremely buttoned-up and repressed regency man at the start of the series, so making him a werewolf and forcing him to cope with a dangerous beast within is just [chef’s kiss].
Content warnings: Werewolf-typical blood and gore

“Choke On Your Sorrow” by Lydia_Eve. 2.9K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Interview With The Vampire (TV); Ship: Lestat de Lioncourt/Louis de Pointe du Lac
Recced by: Dame Lazarus
Backstory: The 120-year-long, stormy romance between Louis de Pointe de Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt, the vampire who made him, is the emotional center of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire television adaptation. Even in their 80-year separation from 1940 to 2022, they cannot stop thinking about each other, and in this missing scene fic, Louis returns to his childhood home on the eve of Y2K in New Orleans to contemplate the end of the world, imagining Lestat is there too--or is it really in his imagination?
Rec: The show used a hallucination of Lestat to show how deeply Louis missed Lestat (and to keep their actors both busy even when the narrative separated them.) This fic does a great job of adapting that to fiction, while also showing, through the characters’ realization of what is really happening, the difference between fantasy and reality in the relationship they have and want.
Content warnings: Suicidal ideation

“the night is coming down” by marcel. 162K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Magicians; Ship: Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Recced by: anon
Backstory: “When their pack is killed by a lone alpha known only as the Beast, Quentin and Julia are taken in by a pack of city wolves who have a much different approach to things than they’re used to. Reluctant as Quentin is to let his guard down, he can’t help being curious about his new packmates—especially Eliot, who seems determined to make him wonder if the chance to belong somewhere maybe isn’t as far out of reach as he thought. But Quentin knows that what he lost once he could lose again, and the Beast has never left survivors before…”
Rec: Such an in-depth AU with beautiful world building and lore that stays true to the characters and relationships in a really novel way. Content warnings: Involves knotting but not omegaverse

“drop dead (gorgeous)” by lovebug (starryboy). 32K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: NCT (Band); Ship: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Recced by: crzyworlddreams
Backstory: This is an AU, so they aren’t K-pop stars—instead they are supernatural creatures, who don’t always get along until they do.
Rec: I love the characters in this story, even though they’re all supernatural creatures, it feels so wholesome and I enjoyed the playful dynamics between all the characters.
Content warnings: N/A

“Better Natures” by Ataraxiom. 38K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Daredevil (TV); Ship: Frank Castle/Karen Page
Recced by: anon
Backstory: For a brief moment in pop-culture history, The Punisher didn’t belong to angry fanboys or cops, but to fandom—and during that time he was sensitive and sweet and head over heels for Karen Page, who he met and had exceptional chemistry with in season 2 of Netflix’s Daredevil. Only a very surface-level understanding of the characters is needed for this, not a full background or knowledge of the show.
Rec: A Zombie Apocalypse AU taking place after the events of Daredevil season 2. Frank and Karen team up to escape New York city and find somewhere safe to make a new life. A sweet relationship study as Frank and Karen work through past and present trauma, their own and shared, and find a new normal amid what remains of human civilization.
Content warnings: Zombies and associated horror, mentions of SA and rape, mentions of human trafficking, graphic violence

“In All the Corners of Your Heart” by rsadelle. 15K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Hockey RPF; Ship: Jeff Carter/Mike Richards
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Mike Richards is a wolf and Jeff is his sole (human) pack member.
Rec: Carts/Richie fics are some of the saddest, hurtiest HRPF fics around. This one is relatively angst-free but still Richie is prickly and Jeff is a get-along kind of guy, smarter than he looks and oh so devoted. I wasn’t watching hockey when this ship was at its most active, but I recently re-read all my faves and this one is good for Hallowe’en.
Content warnings: N/A

And a vid!

“Claudia // Nobody” by Viv. 3:17, rated Teen.
Fandom: Interview with the Vampire; Ship: Gen
Recced by: kingstoken
Backstory: Claudia is a vampire that was turned as a young teen, and never quite feels like she fits within her new life.
Rec: This vid is a great character study of Claudia, focusing on her loneliness and yearning for a companion of her own. The song choice and sequence of clips is very well done.
Content warnings: Canon-typical vampire violence

 

 

FINAL THOUGHT

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