November 1, 2024

The Rec Center 461

Hello all! This week we have articles about the Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest, Call of Duty’s government connections, and the rise and fall of the Disney Channel. Also, a fantastic fandom explainer on “Jeffcest”—the multiverse created by the music videos of Jeff Satur, who you might know from the Thai BL KinnPorsche—by guest reccer AirgiodSLV. — Gav

 

new stuff

“A Chaotic Sunday With the Timothées” by E.J. Dickson at The Cut
The prize was $50 and a Party City trophy. The real Timmy showed up—and so did the NYPD. An on-the-ground report from last weekend’s Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest.

“Call of Duty: Pentagon Ops” by Jesse Robertson at The Nation
“Inside the weird synergies that launched the videogaming industry—and made the Pentagon fantasies in Call of Duty its stock in trade.”

“From Hilary to Demi: Inside the ‘rise and fall’ of Disney Channel” by Scarlett Harris at the LA Times
The Disney Channel once played a huge role in youthful pop culture—and spawned many current pop stars—but it’s been in steady decline in recent years. This article digs into what’s been going wrong.

 

 

older stuff

“The horny history of Marvel’s Venom” by Gav at the Daily Dot
Back in 2021, Gav wrote about the homoerotic subtext of Marvel’s Venom comics—which are, in fact, much more overt than the movies.

 

tumblr & beyond

“wait so you like problematic yaoi?”

please don’t discount the inherent romance of the torture cube.

“me every single time i’m on the edge of going fully insane about a new fandom”

congrats to this person who was shipping galadriel/sauron all the way back in 2002... we hope you’re still around to enjoy the amazon show and its press tour.

“PeterMJ enemies to lovers OnlyFans au” ok your MIND, op!!!

honestly would love to know the stats for misha collins voters registration.

 

fanworks + explainer: Jeffcest

AirgiodSLV is a multifandom writer, podficcer, Yuletide enthusiast, and founder of the multimedia/interactive fiction collective The Sentient Hive. You can find her fanworks on AO3, and her recs on the Tumblr she recently created to vent her feelings about Jeff Satur.

“If you ever have a creative block just know that all your creativity went to Jeff Satur and he used it to do the coolest, most wild shit”

Like many recent fans, I discovered Thai singer and actor Jeff Satur through KinnPorsche: The Series. Jeff plays Kim, who left his mafia family to pursue a music career, and the soundtrack features Jeff’s song ‘Why Don’t You Stay?’

“Dum Dum” was my first glimpse of the Jeff Satur Cinematic Universe—or, as it’s commonly known, Jeffcest. It introduced Sunshine, whose dyed hair, wide smile, and sideways looks made him instantly recognizable, and Moonshine, a near-mirror image, who embarked on a revenge killing spree while Sunshine danced on the rooftops.

Jeff also played multiple characters in subsequent MVs, and teased in interviews that they were all somehow connected. “Black Tie”’s protagonist appeared in black and white when alone, and in color when among others...including his own reflection in mirrors. “Ghost” and “Yellow Leaf” were a two-part storyline where Jeff played both a military astronaut and a rural farmer.

In the Space Shuttle No. 8 Asia Tour trailer, we met The Writer on a train, and saw things that were familiar and out of place. These included a flower crown from “Lucid,” a vinyl record from “Fade,” a bloody hammer from “Complicated,” and the phrase “love die” on a journal—words last seen tattooed on Sunshine & Moonshine. Sunshine himself reappeared, holding a newspaper with the protagonist from “Black Tie” on the front cover.

Sunshine then showed up on the SS8 tour, both in projections and played onstage by a body double. Finally, the Space Shuttle No. 8 album debuted with “The Journey Book”: a short story tying all of the MVs together into one sprawling, intriguing, sci-fi multiverse.

Fan creators also incorporate characters from Jeff’s other projects, such as Rain God who visits dreams, Passion who corresponds with Reason, and knife-wielding Damon.

The beauty of this fandom is that there's something for nearly everyone. Cottagecore farm life? Check. Zombie apocalypse? Easy. Military cloning conspiracy? Absolutely. Faerie bargains and dreamscapes? Got you covered. And when you start to cross over between those realities, the whole universe becomes a creative playground.

 
fanart

“Sacrifice” by dr-lemurr

Rain and Ghost (with storyboard) by TheCookieOfDoom

Black and Sunshine by jakoloredart

“8 to 10, passing the reins | presenting to you, Ghost” by acekimagenda

 

fanfiction

“a need to abide ’til the end of time” by bisexualbard. 9K words, rated Explicit.
Ships: Ghost/Lucid, Ghost/Lucid/Rain
Backstory: This picks up in the aftermath of Yellow Leaf. Ghost is left alone to grapple with immortality and looks for purpose. He meets a wild, fey man who can manipulate plants and has a complicated relationship with the rain.
Rec: The writing is beautifully atmospheric, spooky and haunting and hopeful. It makes clever use of things we know as readers, which the protagonist does not—specifically the nature and name wordplay of characters like Lucid (Dream), Rain, and Sunshine.
Content warnings: Bondage, monsterfucking, electricity play, worship

“into the black light (i’m on the other side)” by shubaka. 5K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Gen
Backstory: This plays with fiction and reality, blurring our perception of what’s happening through an unreliable narrator.
Rec: I love the way this reminds us that for all the ways we distinguish them, these characters originate with a single creator. The mirrors and portals play into the multiverse concept, and it has a beautiful, creepy, speculative horror feel that perfectly complements canon.
Content warnings: N/A

“morning warms your skin” by IsleofSolitude (with podfic by Annapods). 1K words, rated Gen. Ship: Husband/Wife/Clone
Backstory: The Ghost & Yellow Leaf storyline is a complicated, messy tangle of relationships. This is told in three parts, one from the perspective of each character.
Rec: I deeply respect the way this shows every character’s viewpoint fairly, without turning anyone into a villain. It’s a gorgeous character study. The writing is lyrical and poetic, and the podfic reading gives the lines space and time to breathe.
Content warnings: N/A

“Penumbra” by TheCookieOfDoom. 8K words (WIP), rated Teen.
Ship: Rain/Sunshine
Backstory: This is set in an abandoned, post-apocalyptic city. The non-linear narrative provides flashbacks and hints of who the protagonist is, and how he might have arrived where he is now.
Rec: The worldbuilding in this is incredible, and the imagery is vivid and poetic. The sci-fi and horror elements make this an interesting, compelling world to explore.
Content warnings: Temporary amnesia, isolation, manipulation

And a vid!

“Chk chk boom” by eebedits7. 00:32, rated Teen.
Ship: Gen
Backstory: The “Complicated” and “Dum Dum” MVs feature themes of escalating violence and revenge. This video combines them with clips from a pilot Jeff wrote for his upcoming series “Happy Ending.”
Rec: This has such great energy to it, lingering on some shots while others flash past almost too quickly to process. It’s a creative mashup of three videos that have very different looks, stitched together into one narrative.
Content warnings: Violence

 

 

FINAL THOUGHT

I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here, but if you are eligible to vote in Tuesday’s U.S. elections, I’m using the largest platform I have to encourage you to do so!! And likely surprising zero people reading this newsletter, I’m specifically encouraging you to vote for Kamala Harris, and for Democrats in down-ballot races, especially the House. (Bonus for New Yorkers: Don’t forget to flip over your ballot and vote yes on prop 1!)

I have nothing productive to add to this conversation and I assume we are all just counting down the minutes until Wednesday so………🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼 — Elizabeth