The Rec Center #467
Hello all! This week we have articles on K-pop in the current South Korean protests, AO3 censorship in China, and The Rec Center’s on-camera debut: a long video interview Gav & I did with the Electronic Frontier Foundation about fandom! Plus we’ve got some gorgeous Black Sails fanart and the first batch of our end-of-year seasonal recs. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“South Korea deploys K-pop light sticks and dance in protests against president” by Raphael Rashid at The Guardian
“‘This country is in chaos right now. We use light sticks at concerts, so why not here? I support K-pop, but I also support democracy.’” A fandom-oriented report from the protests in South Korea.
“How Fanfiction Communities in China Cope With Censorship” by Hailey Reissman at the Annenberg School for Communication
An interview with doctoral student Ran Wang about her new research paper on fan reactions to China’s 2020 AO3 ban, which you can read via the link in the article (for free, it’s open access!).
“Introducing EFF’s New Video Series: Gate Crashing” by Katharine Trendacosta at the Electronic Frontier Foundation
It’s The Rec Center…ON CAMERA! Earlier this year, we were interviewed for the EFF’s new series about the different creative paths the internet allows. The conversation is a bit about us but a lot about fandom, especially fandom in the current moment—so if you’ve ever wanted to see our faces, check it out!
I've just flown back from Silent Hill and boy are my arms legs
— Guy "like a Fawke's Guy" Kelly (like a bird's kelly) (@brainmage.bsky.social) December 2, 2024 at 8:58 AM
older stuff
“The Beatles Live!” by Allegra Rosenberg at Fansplaining
“Today’s young Beatles fans can consume every atom of sound and image from the 1960s, but … there’s a line of demarcation somewhere in the past which spiritually separates then from now. Real-time, ongoing celebrity pop culture can be full of anxieties, but an older band’s story can be more like reading a book that was already written.”
tumblr & beyond
Black Sails fanart by dweamdoodles
How to Hide / Warn Any Ao3 Work That Uses a Generative AI Tag
I explained the concept of “blorbo from my shows” to my 71 year old immigrant grandfather
“the moment Cas says I love you is Orpheus turning around.”
an incredible Animal Crossing fan theory.
fanfiction
Well, we put out the call for seasonal recs on social media and got a TON of submissions—probably more than we can run in just two weeks. (Always happy to have some ready for next year, though!) Here’s the first batch; thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“Eight Nights” by pirate_captains_captain_pirates. 22K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Our Flag Means Death (TV); Ship: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Our Flag Means Death is a queer historical romcom in which Stede Bonnet (aka The Gentleman Pirate) and Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) fall in love. In this modern AU, Stede encourages Ed to explore his submissive side by gifting him a sex toy for each night of Hanukkah.
Rec: I love how pirate_captains_captain_pirates writes Stede and Ed’s dom/sub dynamic. So hot and so sweet at the same time!
Content warnings: N/A
“Mission: Christmas” by Yuliares. 10K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Marvel; Ship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Clint Barton
Recced by: Rachael
Backstory: A blizzard hits during a post-mission extraction, leaving Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier stranded together in a remote cabin over Christmas.
Rec: This is an absolutely delightful romp through some favourite festive tropes—snowed in, mission fic but the mission is trying to enjoy the holidays, curling up in front of the fire, the gradual defrosting of secret feelings.
Content warnings: Drug use, concussion
“Carols By Candlelight” by aurora_australis, PhryneFicathon. 1.8K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries; Ship: Gen - Aunt Prudence & Mr Butler
Recced by: impatientseamstress
Backstory: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is about a flapper lady detective in 1920’s Melbourne, Australia. This fic is about her significantly more reserved and much older aunt and her butler meeting outside the first Carols by Candlelight.
Rec: It’s always nice seeing home traditions being given the spotlight, and gentle friendships between two characters who don’t interact often are a balm for the soul.
Content warnings: N/A
“In the bleak midwinter” by X_los. 32K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Blake’s 7; Ship: Blake/Avon
Recced by: cranialaccessory
Backstory: A year after their encounter on Gauda Prime, Blake and Avon are engaged in a war of attrition.
Rec: Set a year after the very dramatic events of the Blake’s 7 finale, Blake and Avon are trying to find a way to save their relationship, the rebellion, and also Christmas. A real classic Christmas story in that it starts devastatingly sad and ends with warm catharsis.
Content warnings: Depictions of and discussions of depression, suicide
“Miracles Here and There” by ElegantPi. 4K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Babylon 5; Ship: Gen
Recced by: thelittlestbird
Backstory: It’s December, and Commander Susan Ivanova has to deal with a family of Russian children who have stowed away on the station, which stirs up memories of her own childhood back home in Russia.
Rec: The banter between Ivanova and Marcus hits all the right notes, especially Ivanova’s dry humor. Ivanova is Jewish, and the title alludes to Chanukah themes, but mostly it’s about winter, and Ivanova’s reminiscences about winter with her family have a lovely poignant payoff.
Content warnings: N/A
“a real famous cat all dressed up in red” by orestesfasting, swordfishtrombones. 15K words (sequel/epilogue is 5K), rated Mature.
Fandom: It (Movies - Muschietti); Ship: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Recced by: hownowredclown
Backstory: This an AU(ish), so the relevant parts are that Eddie is an extremely repressed, fastidious little guy with a temper and mommy issues and Richie is a big loudmouth comedian who is also repressed but differently. They grow up together as best friends, but because of magic etc they forget each other.
Rec: This story and its incredible epistolary sequel are so incredibly funny and charming. Richie is a famous comedian who is a mall Santa for charity and Eddie’s been voluntold to be his Christmas elf—what’s not to love??
Content warnings: Extremely brief mention of canon-related violence/injury in the sequel, internalized and externalized homophobia (less than in canon)
“To New Family Traditions” by magnetarmadda. 1.3K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Hello From The Hallowoods (Podcast); Ship: Gen - Mort & Polly & Yaretzi
Recced by: Liam
Backstory: Hello From The Hallowoods is a queer horror podcast in which a cosmic narrator follows the increasingly connected stories of the residents of a forest at the end of the world. Polly, a demon, and Yaretzi, a starwolf, had a beautiful enemies-to-queerplatonic-partners arc and now run a hotel with Mort, a skull in a gigantic diving suit aka their adopted son. This fic is set in season 3.
Rec: Polly, Yaretzi and Mort are my favorite found family, and this story about their first Yule celebration is absolutely adorable!
Content warnings: N/A
“Deck the Haus Collection”. 26 works, rated Gen through Explicit.
Fandom: Check, Please!; Ship: Varies by fic
Recced by: Rachel
Backstory: Check, Please! is a webcomic following Eric Bittle, a college hockey player and avid baker through his years at Samwell University—making friends, playing hockey, baking too much, and falling in love with his grumpy captain. This collection is “inspired by that time of year when the Pond is frozen over.”
Rec: The collection is a really fun grab-bag of prompts, with both fic and podfics available for perusal.
Content warnings: In canon there is an OD from anxiety medication, and that’s referenced/talked about, not usually in an explicit way
Nothing beats the tiny dopamine hit from ao3 kudos on a fic you wrote years ago. Long tail of tiny notifications that someone read and enjoyed one of your things *chef’s kiss*
— Kiera Lesley (@kieralesley.bsky.social) December 10, 2024 at 6:04 AM
FINAL THOUGHT
That’s all, folks! Have a great weekend! — Gav