The Rec Center #75
Phew! It’s been a long 24 hours. I stayed up very late following the UK election results and am now a reanimated corpse, which is unfortunate because I’m helping to host a party tonight. BUT! We have lots of cool stuff this week, which will hopefully be a panacea to anyone else feeling Dead From Election. Steven Universe! Wonder Woman! Slow burn fanfics! We got it all. — Gav
new stuff
“‘Steven Universe’: How Rebecca Sugar Turned TV’s Most Empathetic Cartoon Into an Empire” by Eric Thurm in Rolling Stone
An insightful profile of Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar, discussing the show, its fandom, and Rebecca’s reaction to its massive popularity.
“Crowdsourced definitions of ‘fan fiction’ hint at a sprawling, formless genre” by Kaitlyn Tiffany at The Verge
Elizabeth apologizes for the self-promotion, but this interview with her podcast partner, Flourish Klink, goes in deep on the fanfiction definitions survey and ideas about fic on a whole.
“Wonder Woman: How real-life athletes united to populate the film's badass Amazon nation” by Devan Coggan at EW
A look into the very cool women who played the Amazons in Wonder Woman.
older stuff
“Shut The Fuck Up, Marvel” by Colin Spacetwinks
It’s only a few months old, so we’re kind of pushing the definition of “older stuff,” but this 30K deep dive into Marvel’s sales (and their claim that diversity was to blame for the downturn) is a *masterpiece*.
tumblr & beyond
Delightful Wonder Woman/Captain America crossover fanart by @L_Strikes.
a fan theory explaining why everyone is a fucking idiot in the alien prequels
You HAVE to check out this beautiful series of Harry Potter moving portraits.
Comics and TV cartoon writer Dwayne McDuffie wrote this amazing letter to Marvel in 1989, satirizing their depiction of black teens during the height of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles era.
fanfiction
We’re trying not to do any repeat themes too soon, but—to literally no one’s surprise—“slow burn” turns up in the tags of our submissions like 50,000 times more than any other. So we thought we’d do another batch of them, because who doesn’t love a good slow burn? — Elizabeth
“Supernatural Entanglements” by flakedice. “Very long,” most parts rated PG, some Mature.
Fandom: xxxholic; Ship: Douwata
Recced by: Sainatsukino
Backstory: xxxholic is a manga about a boy who attracts the supernatural and works for a witch at a shop that grants wishes. His school rival is a natural exorcist, and so his boss has them working together all the time, to his great chagrin.
Rec: Now a book! The plot is very deep and complex, the world building is sublime, the slow burn to die for. Possibly the best fic that I have ever read, ever.
Content warning: creepy ghost stuff
“communion” by adieu_sweetamaryllis. 156K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Supergirl; Ship: Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer
Recced by: cairophoenix
Backstory: Alex Danvers is Supergirl’s sister, and she had a really fantastic coming-out storyline in the first part of the second season where she met and fell for Maggie. This is a college AU with extensive flashbacks to high school.
Rec: I don’t usually go in for high school AUs, but the college frame to the flashbacks helps, and so does the fact that this utterly, wrenchingly nails what it feels like to be a queer high school girl falling in love with your best friend and not really knowing how or why or what to do next. It also has great characterization and the writing is lovely.
Content warnings: Both internalized homophobia (Alex) and mostly-offscreen verbally abusive parents (Maggie) in the high school flashbacks
“Escape Artistry” by David Hines (hradzka). 24K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: DCU, DC Comics, DC Animated Universe; Ship: Batman/Wonder Woman
Recced by: Maddie
Backstory: The Justice League cartoon (2001-2004) gave Batman and Wonder Woman some good will-they-won’t-they tension. This story, first posted in 2004, takes that relationship and runs with it while exploring some of Wonder Woman’s Golden Age bdsm roots (though there is no sexual content).
Rec: This fic has everything! Teamwork, giant robots, Batgirl threatening Robin with wedgies, a compelling mystery, James Bond-style improbable escapes from watery doom, and TRUCKASAURUS!
Content warnings: N/A
“Objects in Motion” by pyes. 92K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Teen Wolf (Inception AU); Ship: Sterek
Recced by: thejessbeast
Backstory: Written pre-season 3, so fandom was at peak with excitement and possibility for the evolution of these characters. Sterek fandom has changed since that time, but the base archetypes of smartmouth and stoic grump have fuel so many fic.
Rec: Non-linear Teen Wolf based fic with Inception world elements and flavor, it builds an intense story about the characters and their dynamics.
Content warnings: Mentions of previous underage sexual abuse to one character (canon compliant). Dream heist with dubious sexual consent components (warned for).
“Odd One Out” by thingswithwings. 28K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Leverage; Ship: Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer
Recced by: theleanansidhe
Backstory: Leverage ended in a way that pretty much set Hardison/Parker/Eliot as a possibility. A lot of the long fic I’ve come across have been about those three.
Rec: It’s written in a way that lets you see the different characters' perspectives, which really lets you see how they all eventually grow closer to each other.
Content warnings: N/A
“Stately Homes of Wiltshire” by waspabi. 57K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Harry Potter; Ship: Harry/Draco
Recced by: Kelly
Backstory: Malfoy Manor is falling apart, and Draco is being haunted by ghosts-which-aren’t-ghosts, and after three obliviating incidents, the aurors are called in. Harry finds that having Draco duty is surprisingly nice.
Rec: This fic hits all of my favourite Harry Potter beats: weird wizarding history—specifically wizarding house history—sharp Harry/Draco banter, and Harry realizing that the dream of being an auror does not match the reality. Plus POC Harry and Hermione, and the character voices are superb.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
If you’ve been thinking, “God, what is this goddamn pirate thing that they keep talking about,” GET READY. We’ll be doing a Black Sails explainer and hopefully an fic rec list in the coming weeks to encourage all of you to join us on this soul-destroying journey. If you’re already there, please feel free to message us! (I’m finished, Gav is embarking on season 4). Because we have A Lot of Feelings. — Elizabeth
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, etc—are strongly encouraged as well. Also a note: we hope to catch up on correspondence in the next few days. Thank you so much for your patience!
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)