The Rec Center #229
Hi folks! This week Elizabeth has put together a rec list of fics with accompanying remixes. We also have some cute She-Ra fanart, some cosplay news coverage, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Cosplay Is a Business and It Is Suffering” by Beth Elderkin at io9
As nearly all in-person cons are cancelled, cosplayers are grappling with the loss of IRL community—and for some, with a loss of income as well.
“Freaky Twilight Doll May Actually Be Haunted” by Hazel Cills at Jezebel
So the original Renesmee mannequin from the last Twilight movie (AKA “Chuckesmee”) is now lurking in a Twilight tourist attraction in Forks, WA, and somehow it got EVEN CREEPIER. And appears to be, uh, “melting”?
“Why it’s so hard to read a book right now, explained by a neuroscientist” by Constance Grady at Vox
Not specifically fandom-related, but likely relevant to a lot of Rec Center readers. “We’re trying to resolve an uncertainty that is unresolvable.”
older stuff
“Finding Yourself in Fandom” by Michi Trota at Uncanny Magazine
“The irony is that despite (or perhaps because of) the many problems regarding representation in fandom and geek culture, it’s in large part because of my participation in fandom that I’ve at long last found my footing in exploring what it means for me to be Asian American, and reconnecting with my roots as a Filipina.”
tumblr & beyond
Catradora fanart by loopnoid
A perfect TikTok from a background extra in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
“How quick Jedi be switching sides for the stupidest reasons.”
Dylan O’Brien & Sarah Ramos lipsyncing that iconic “lawyer up, asshole” scene from The Social Network? [chef kiss]
Brace yourself for the best piece of fan-casting you’ll ever see.
Justin McElroy broke down the 18 types of Disney animated songs, and at the risk of sounding like 2010s-era clickbait, you HAVE to read this entire thread.
From Marvell Studios...
fanfiction
Many weeks back I put out a somewhat unusual call for recs: originals + remixes, where both stories enhance the other. While I’ve always loved remixes, I find this kind of relationship between the two pretty rare—so I was delighted when we got enough submissions for two separate lists! Here’s the first; thank you so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
Original: “If the Sun Goes Black” by pasdexcuses. 23K words, rated Teen.
Remix: “There is Always the Moon” by firethesound. 160K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Harry Potter; Ship: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Recced by: harryromper
Backstory: It’s hard to even know whether to recommend reading pasdexcuse’s original story first or the remix because they entwine around each other so beautifully. In the first, Harry wakes in St Mungo’s suffering from amnesia. He’s lost two years of his life, and doesn’t remember the fact that he’s apparently living with Draco now. As he tries to overcome his memory loss, he starts to realise there’s something much more complicated going on.
In firethesound’s extraordinary remix, we get to go back in time and see events unfold from Draco’s point of view, adding side characters and fleshing out both the terrifying mystery and the mythology.”
Rec: Most remixes easily fall into the categories of being worse or better than the original story. This is a genuine case of them being an incredible matched set.
Content warnings: N/A
Original: “O Lamentable Day!” by Sab. 1.3K words, rated Teen.
Remix: “The Brave Man With a Sword (La Petite Mort Remix)” by Epigone. 2.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Slings & Arrows; Ship: Gen (with obvious one-sided pining)
Recced by: kormantic
Backstory: Please enjoy the glorious blend of narcissism and THEATER that is auteur/director Darren Nichols. Practically perfect in every way, the Canadian series Slings & Arrows follows a troupe of theater folk at a Shakespearean performance company. Both stories chronicle the time Darren spent working in Poland after flouncing from the Canadian theater scene. Sab’s hilarious theater history lesson and pitch-perfect characterization continues on in Epigone’s epistolary story reporting Darren’s sojourn in Poland as a series of letters from Darren to his frustrated crush/imagined theatrical rival and bringing additional absurdist delight to Sab’s brilliant conceit of Darren staging Cats in Poland with a gang of disinterested teens.
Rec: Sab has a deft touch and is endlessly funny, really capturing Darren’s self-aggrandizing bluster. Epigone adds an additional layer of almost plaintive braggadocio, as Darren sends unanswered letter after letter.
Content warnings: Darren, while captivating, is a terrible person and sleeps with one of his students (who is 18, but still) and is fairly tone deaf (canonically!) when it comes to Nazi symbolism, no matter how he is taken to task by horrified onlookers.
Original: “Hurt by Disapprobation” by Highsmith. 2.7K words, rated Gen.
Remix: “Kitty and Georgy (The Healing Old Hurts Remix)” by Beatrice_Otter. 7.4K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Pride and Prejudice; Ship: Catherine (Kitty) Bennet/Georgiana Darcy
Recced by: seralica
Backstory: The first fic is set shortly after the events of Pride and Prejudice, and the second spans before, during, and after the novel. They both center around Kitty Bennet (the fourth Bennet sister), and explore what Kitty’s life might have been like with a chronic illness. They also chronicle the blossoming relationship between her and Georgiana Darcy, Mr Darcy’s shy sister. The remix is not a sequel, instead each is a slightly different exploration of these two central ideas.
Rec: I first read the remix fic, and found it a really compelling portrait of Kitty with a chronic illness: how it is to be frequently ill in a house with Mrs. Bennet, who absorbs everyone’s tolerance for illness; and subsequently how it is to feel considered and cared for after so long not. The original was originally titled “Five Times Kitty Bennet Coughed at the Wrong Time.” It’s a few snapshots instead of a narrative, and focuses more on how those outside the family might react to Kitty’s episodes of illness. I found that the original had these really fleshed out scenes that slotted neatly into the remix’s longer narrative, and that they complement each other remarkably. And both have really sweet f/f scenes!
Content warnings: N/A
Original: “Slow Show” by mia__ugly. 95K words, rated Explicit.
Remix: “some faith (the slow show fandom remix)” by attheborder & curtaincall. 7.1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Good Omens (TV); Ship: Aziraphale/Crowley
Recced by: estival
Backstory: I think we all still remember when Good Omens took fandom internet by storm last summer. This is a TV showmance AU of everyone’s favorite ineffable duo, in which human versions of them are actors on a Game of Thrones-esque TV show. attheborder and curtaincall then riffed on it with an even MORE meta fic—a total love letter to, and gentle poking fun of, RPF shippers and fandom in general.
Rec: For your remixes rec request! Every massive TV show fandom seems to get an epic modern AU showmance fic at some point. It’s a law of the universe. mia__ugly’s take on it for Good Omens is a hot, emotional af, angsty slow-burn marvel. If that isn’t meta enough for you, this INSPIRED remix is told in social media posts from fans of Aziraphale, Crowley, and their fictional TV show in-universe. It pokes fun at fandom but the call is so clearly coming from inside the house and full of so much love and joy, I defy you not to cry laughing while reading it.
Content warnings: alcohol issues/addiction, internalized & showbiz homophobia
Original: “Some Such Place” by baehj2915. 2.6K words, rated Mature.
Remix: “Some Such Place (The Big Screen Classics Remix)” by pocky_slash. 17K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: X-Men: First Class; Ship: Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr
Recced by: Elizabeth
Backstory: In the original, set in the few years after the film (1963-64), Erik accompanies Charles to the cinema despite not particularly enjoying movies, just to spend time with him. In the remix, set in contemporary times, Erik and Charles meet regularly to watch those same movies, now part of a classic film series, alongside eating meals together, sleeping together, and definitively Not Dating Each Other.
Rec: I recced the remix a few years ago on a list about one of my all-time favorite tropes, “friends with benefits”; it’s a gentle, beautiful story that can certainly stand on its own. But in this extremely AU-oriented fandom, I really love reading them as a pair—how characters can live in very different times and still feel the same, grounded by the same films and the same positioning of ~using going to the movies as a cover to spend time with each other~, or in the words of the original fic, “being alone and in public at the same time.”
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
While I’m very wary of the sort of “it’s time to open up the newsletter” vibe this sends lol, we’re ending the official lockdown section this week. Going forward, we’ll include stuff like virtual cons, lockdown-oriented fests, etc here in the final thought, so please continue to send those our way: elizabethandgav at gmail dot com. And speaking of which, for everyone currently attending the virtual WisCon, hope you’re all having a great time! — 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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