The Rec Center #160
Hi folks! This week we have some very cool Bulbasaur fanart, multifandom hurt/comfort recs, a look behind the scenes of vintage LiveJournal, and more. — Gav
new stuff
“The Linux of social media—How LiveJournal pioneered (then lost) blogging” by Steven T. Wright at Ars Technica
A nostalgic but informative look behind the scenes of the halcyon days of LiveJournal.
“Netflix, You, and the Hits No One Knows Are Hits” by Willa Paskin at Slate
Netflix has reported HUGE viewing numbers—that only they can confirm. Slate’s TV critic on the murky connections between ratings and broader cultural conversations.
“Overwatch Is No Longer My Third Place” by Cecilia D’Anastasio at Kotaku
“If games are to be both places and continuously appealing commodities, there will always be the risk that, at some point, they will become too molten to call home.”
older stuff
“The Gossip Mill” by Rebecca Mead at The New Yorker
This decade-old profile of the editorial team at Alloy Entertainment—who’ve created properties like Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and The 100—is a fascinating read.
tumblr & beyond
Bulbasaur cultivars by Angela Hsieh
The Last Jedi, grimy VHS edition.
Let’s face it, Bruce Wayne would basically wind up becoming Elon Musk if his parents hadn’t died.
“Loki Pretending He’s Read Infinite Jest And Lying About It For Internet Clout Moodboard”
A vintage interview clip of Star Trek: TOS actor DeForest Kelley describing his favorite fan letter.
fanfiction
Another classic trope this week: hurt/comfort. Since the “hurt” of h/c can often involve difficult themes, please heed the content warnings from both our reccers and the authors themselves. Thanks, as always, to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“Holden’s Friends” by lapsi. 7K (part 1 of a complete, 52K word 4-part series), rated Mature.
Fandom: Mindhunter; Ship: Holden Ford/Bill Tench
Recced by: lookslikeaquentinblakedrawing
Backstory: Mindhunter is set in the late ’70s and is about two FBI agents who interview imprisoned murderers to glean insight into why they committed their crimes. Holden is a young hotshot who has zero common sense and is far too interested in talking to these killers. Bill is older, wiser, and is gruffly protective of Holden while also thinking he’s an idiot.
Rec: This is the story I wanted to read the moment I finished watching the final episode. It has such excellent, spot-on characterisation with every POV it uses (including serial killer Ed Kemper’s), and it really feels exactly like the show in atmosphere and setting. The build-up between Holden and Bill is so breathlessly intense and addictive, I was literally at the edge of my seat while reading.
Content warnings: Based on true crime, period-typical homophobia, internalized homophobia, discussion of murders, threats of rape, PTSD, panic attacks
“Ransom in a Voice” by Kvikindi. 16K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: JSMN is the story of how two differently insufferable English magicians accidentally restore magic to England and (SPOILER) end up trapped in a persistent pillar of darkness together, which is probably for the greater good of everyone, including themselves, really.
Rec: This fic takes the humorous elements of Clarke’s story and weaves them through with a touching narrative of Mr Norrell slowly (s l o w l y) learning how to be a real human person. Because otherwise what IS the point of a hundred years of darkness? It’s funny and a little sweet and has great eldritch fairies. And FOOTNOTES.
Content warnings: N/A
“Losing Miranda” fictorium. 58K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada; Ship: Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs
Recced by: anon
Backstory: AU: Instead of Andrea Sachs becoming an assistant to a woman on top of the world, she becomes the nanny to Miranda’s children as Miranda recovers from serious injuries.
Rec: Including a fictorium story in the Supergirl round up reminded me of this. Mirandy was my first ship. [Ed. note—looks like that Supergirl story has been taken down, otherwise we’d link to it! But the author has dozens and dozens of other Supergirl stories, if you’re interested.]
Content warnings: N/A
“Return. Continue.” by Uncanny Cookie. 106K words over 6 stories so far, rated Gen.
Fandom: Mob Psycho 100; Ship: Teruki Hanazawa/Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama
Recced by: Raizel
Backstory: Mob’s brutal encounter with Mogami ended, Mogami passed on, and no one knows that Mob was ever in a dream state at all, so that means what happened to Mob didn’t really happen, right? So Mob shouldn’t care what he did or what was done to him there, right?
Rec: My go-to recovery!fic. Mob and Teru’s growing affection for each other allows them to be what the other needs as they deal with their respective issues. A slow and kind story.
Content warnings: Mental health issues, PTSD, dissociation, child neglect, referenced animal death
“An Apprehension of Imminent Harm” by Dira Sudis (dsudis). 2.4K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Teen Wolf; Ship: Allison Argent/Isaac Lahey/Scott McCall
Recced by: Ellie
Backstory: Teen Wolf follows Scott, a teen werewolf. This fic has established Isaac/Scott/Allison and focuses on abuse recovery and date night.
Rec: It’s sweet and explores issues the fandom had in a mature way. Although short, it is memorable.
Content warning: Abuse mention (not involving the pairing)
“Embers” by Vathara (but posted by Inkgirl, see notes). 704K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender; Ship: Gen
Recced by: KT
Backstory: Zuko, a traumatized teenager rejected by the Fire Nation, rediscovers a lost bending (elemental magic) technique, which may be the key to saving the world. Along the way, he learns how to make friends and influence people, bring balance to the world, stop chasing the Avatar, and that home is actually where the heart is.
Rec: Zuko can be a polarizing character, but this examination of his motives, the what-if of his bending technique, and the author’s well-constructed plot and dialogue make him sympathetic even at his least likable moments. This is a long, phenomenal, creative character study with exhaustively researched and detailed world-building.
Content warnings: Occasional non-graphic discussion of the realities of war, but the author does always warn in the chapter headings when it comes up.
FINAL THOUGHT
February is just around the corner, and as we’ve done in past years, every list next month will be F/F in honor of FEMSLASH FEBRUARY. While Femslash February is generally a delight, this is also part of my sneaky plan to encourage people to submit more F/F to the submissions bank—we always have more recs than we can use, and thus more F/F the other 11 months of the year. :-) If you’re interested in authoring a full list next month, please hit reply or write elizabethandgav at gmail dot com directly. And if you just have a favorite F/F story or two (or vids! comics! all fanworks!) please please please send it in. <3 — Elizabeth
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, zines, etc—are strongly encouraged as well. And if you have any interest in doing an entire rec list, explainer, or ship manifesto, please get in touch! elizabethandgav at gmail dot com.
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