The Rec Center #195
Hi everyone! This week we’ve got multifandom fic recs, a DELIGHTFUL piece of fanart for the universally-beloved Untitled Goose Game, and more. — Gav
new stuff
“‘Thirst Aid Kit’ Duo on Slate Podcast Relaunch, #MeToo Era Impact” by Kristen Chuba at The Hollywood Reporter
A conversation with Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins about their very fannish podcast, which has a new home at Slate! Their first episode there focuses on Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy.
“Disney Opens 200-Acre Sadomasochism Theme Park After Purchasing Rights To Hellraiser Franchise” at The Onion
The Onion strikes again.
older stuff
“Fanfiction: The Infinite Free Buffet” by Alexandra Rowland
“Respectable is the very last thing that fanfiction should ever be. Respectable would be the death of fanfiction.”
tumblr & beyond
Untitled Goose Game fanart by Jess
Absolutely here for this xeroxed X-Men dance party flier.
This chart of relationships within the Fellowship of the Ring? A masterpiece.
“I can’t believe home depot literally produced a wildly successful science fiction musical”
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah: AO3 edition.
“why isn’t there a short film based on the thing where diana wynne jones refused to drop out of tolkien’s college class.”
fanfiction
No theme this week, just a grab-bag of fics from our guest submissions! Thank you to everyone who sent in a rec. :-) — Elizabeth
“Preferred Stock” by Chickwriter. 131K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Downton Abbey; Ship: Mary/Matthew
Recced by: thelaureno
Backstory: Modern-day high-powered banking descendants AU (just go with it). Matthew is the executive brought in to ‘save’ the Crawley bank. Mary is at first resentful, then slowly grows to be supportive as they grow closer. Of course, it doesn’t help that they’re both fighting a violent attraction to each other the whole time...
Rec: The side characters/OCs are wonderful (Don’t even get me started on how much I love the two executive assistants! Or how wonderfully Edith is written!), the UST & eventual resolution is delightfully well-written, and the central mystery is completely enthralling.
Content warnings: References to past violence, PTSD, car accidents, murder
“syzygy” by beastofthesky. 21K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Naruto; Ship: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Recced by: key
Backstory: This is a post-series fic that ignores the epilogue, more or less, and it’s about Sasuke coming home.
Rec: Naruto is kind of an old fandom for me that I don’t revisit often, but the way this fic wraps up Naruto’s and Sasuke’s relationship is very comforting. Just a really feel-good fic.
Content warnings: N/A
“JARVIS” series by icarus_chained. 30K words over 10 works, rated Mature.
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe; Ship: Gen
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Overarching story dealing with Tony and JARVIS’ (and the other AIs) relationship, and how it expands out to the rest of the Avengers over time.
Rec: On an emotional level, this hits every button on exploring trust, loyalty, and love when given freely—but also, what it means to be a person without sharing a human experience. Emotionally & philosophically deep.
Content warnings: N/A
“The Place Between” by PsiCygni. 308K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies); Ship: Spock/Nyota Uhura
Recced by: Galia
Backstory: Starfleet Academy era. Spock needs to be in a relationship in order to be seen as trustworthy to an alien ambassador. Nyota needs a mentor for a research publication. A fake relationship seems the natural solution...
Rec: It’s so, so slow and wonderfully maddening in how they develop an emotional attachment, and it spends such loving detail on how Nyota deals with her problems, both academic and interpersonal.
Content warnings: N/A
“the sublime physical manifestation of divine love” by deputychairman. 2.6K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Good Omens; Ship: Aziraphale/Crowley
Recced by: Clever Manka
Backstory: In Deputy’s (perfect) words: “a post credits scene of hereditary enemies having spiritually uplifting, life-affirming sex in a very nice hotel room.”
Rec: Deputy never disappoints, and this story is everything I love about her writing: excellent characterizations and voice, convincing set-up, and super-hot lovin’. Extra bonus points for Aziraphale being the initiator.
Content warnings: N/A
“Signature Color” by scioscribe. 5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Legally Blonde; Ship: Vivian Kensington/Elle Woods
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: This fun and unique fusion AU transfers the characters of Legally Blonde into the world of Star Trek, with Elle Woods as a Starfleet captain.
Rec: A super fun and well-characterized look at how Elle Woods’ skills would work in Starfleet, using her bubbly social skills and fashion knowledge to handle alien diplomacy.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
Fanworks auction alert! Creator signups are open for Marvel Trumps Hate, which is modeled after Fandom Trumps Hate, where fanworks creators offer their services and bidders pledge to donate to charities in exchange for the fanwork being created. If you’re interested in creating any Marvel fanworks, you have until next weekend to sign up, and the auction will open on October 19th. — 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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