The Rec Center #47
Happy “you survived a meal with your extended family” to some of our American readers! And kudos to the rest of you for putting up with our complaining about it. If you’re currently holed up in your childhood bedroom trying to avoid everyone, we’ve got a lot of great stuff this week: pieces about the Harry Potter fandom and franchise, Star Wars fanart, and a collection of Sherlock Holmes fic from various adaptations compiled by Gav, me, and some of our readers! — Elizabeth
new stuff
“The Harry Potter Fandom Is At A Crossroads” by Alanna Bennett at Buzzfeed
A fantastic deep dive into the current ambivalent state of the Harry Potter fandom. “As the franchise struggles to evolve with the times and live up to the tenets of the original series, the devotion of its legendary fandom is showing major signs of fatigue.”
An oral history of Homestuck fandom by a selection of Tumblr users
Even if (or especially if) you weren’t in Homestuck fandom, this is a fascinating retrospective of the intensity of this community’s creativity at conventions and online.
All the professional figure skaters who are fans of Yuri on Ice by Aaron Magulick at GoBoiano and seiyuna on Tumblr
Gav watched all eight episodes of Yuri On Ice this week and is now OBSESSED with every detail.
“Gay subtext and queer-coded villains in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” by Gav at the Daily Dot
With Dumbledore tipped to be a main character in later movies, the Fantastic Beasts franchise is set to be the first mainstream Hollywood franchise with a queer lead character. This article explores the (rather troubling) queer subtext in the first movie, and what it might mean for the sequels.
old(er) stuff
“The Endless Harry Potter” by Elizabeth at The New Yorker
When Alanna was researching for her piece, she asked people to send over what they wrote at the end of the (proper) Harry Potter films. I (Elizabeth) dug this up, and despite the “SORRY I HAVE TO TELL YOU I AM A FAN” bit (this are the things one feels compelled to do as a New Yorker blogger), much of what I wrote still resonates with me, especially as I dig deeper into HP fanfic as the franchise grows ever louder and more complicated.
tumblr & beyond
Rey by thatdaggerstar
Did you know Ravenclaw’s motto is literally a dick joke?
Vine star Thomas Sanders’ videos with the Steven Universe voice cast are NOT TO BE MISSED.
TOASTYSTATS: Did the US election influence fanfic production?
Partly inspired by Fansplaining’s “I can’t really care about fandom rn” message (SORRY GUYS) Toast set out to see if many people felt the same way as us, or if more people were using fanfic as an escape.
fanfiction
This week we’ve got a collection of stories from within the Sherlock Holmes universe of adaptations from both of us and a few guest submissions. The original ACD stories, BBC Sherlock, and Elementary—plus one about penguins. :-) —E & G
“The Conductor of Light” by Katie Forsythe, 8.5K words, Unrated.
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes books/stories; Ship: Holmes/Watson
Recced by: Gav
Backstory/Rec: I usually shy away from labeling anyone “the best,” but Katie Forsythe is absolutely my favorite fanfic writer as a fan of the classic Holmes stories. I’m reccing this one because I reread it recently, but I’m sure I’ll rec more of her work in future! This one is an established relationship fic where Holmes and Watson are clearly in a committed relationship, but through miscommunication, we discover that they still hide a lot of insecurities. Katie’s characterization and Victorian voice are always wonderfully accurate, while still maintaining a lot of humor and emotional intensity.
Content warnings: Period-typical homophobia, character injury
“Level 65 Paladin Looking for Group” by etothepii. 10K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: BBC Sherlock: Ship: Gen
Recced by: Goodwin
Backstory: Alternate meeting. John and Sherlock meet through an online RPG and John explains it to his therapist, Ella, by saying “we party together.” Aaaawkward.
Rec: Great alternate meeting but still very in character. Use of colored text and formatting brings immediacy to the experience. Can be understood even without much gaming background—I have none.
Content warnings: N/A
“Team The Best Team” by neveralarch. 5.7K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Elementary; Ship: Marcus Bell/Ms. Hudson/Alfredo Llamosa
Recced by: Gav
Backstory/Rec: Written for Yuletide 2013, this cute and funny fic features the rarest of rarepairs: a threesome between Detective Bell, Ms. Hudson, and Alfredo, who meet for the first time at a party at Joan and Sherlock’s house.
Content warnings: N/A
“Emperor Tales of the Frozen South” by cwb. 160K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: BBC Sherlock; Ship: Sherlock/John
Recced by: bandersnatchmycummerbund
Backstory/Rec: OK look it's an AU in which everyone is a penguin but listen to me—IT IS NOT CRACK. Seriously. It’s beautiful, there’s a fantastic depth of world building, and you will be filled with feelings you never thought you could have for pengs. Also-- it's frequently hilarious and there are pictures. It's technically a WIP but you won't be left with cliffhangery feelings if you catch up now.
Content warnings: um, peng sexytimes? And some scary seal encounters
“Staircase Wit” by splix. 37K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: BBC Sherlock; Ship: Mostly gen, Sherlock/John in the final chapter
Recced by: Elizabeth
Backstory: OK guys I kind of recoil at 5+1s for reasons I genuinely cannot articulate, but…! The title is the English translation of the phrase “espirt d’escalier,” defined as “the predicament of thinking of the perfect reply too late.” The summary reads: “L’esprit de l'escalier—Sherlock never suffers from it, which isn't to say he doesn’t suffer for it. Five times he took a beating, and one time he got away.”
Rec: So most of you probably know that I retreated from the Sherlock fandom a few years ago, but sometimes I think back to what pulled me in so hard, and a lot of it comes down to Sherlock himself—not any ship, but the character as an individual, and all his painful, relatable (to me) flaws. This story, full of Sherlock saying all the wrong things, stands out in my memory from the time when I was falling deep into the fandom.
Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, homophobia
FINAL THOUGHT
We’re hoping to put together a massive end-of-year holiday fic list, just like we did at the end of the summer, and we need your help! If you have a favorite story that invokes the final weeks of the year, please send it in! Use our regular form or email us, and please indicate that it’s for our holiday list. And, as always, thank you so much for all of your recs. <3
PS I owe a few of you responses in email and our inbox. I promise they’re coming! — Elizabeth
If you liked this, please share it with your friends! https://thereccenter.substack.com/. And find us on social media: Gav (twitter/tumblr) & Elizabeth (twitter/tumblr)