The Rec Center #245
Hi folks! This week we’ve got articles about Sailor Moon fashion and D&D TikTok, along with some Twin Peaks fanart, some thoughts on Pon Farr, and multifandom time travel fic recs. — Gav
new stuff
“The Haute Couture History of Sailor Moon” by Angelica Frey at Jezebel
A fascinating piece about the connections between Sailor Moon and the designer fashion world.
“Dungeons & Dragons TikTok Is Gen Z at Its Most Wholesome” by Cecelia D’Anastasio at Wired
“A growing community of D&D fans on the platform have no time for the gatekeeping of previous generations.”
“Alexander Siddig’s Social Club is One of 2020’s Few Bright Spots” by Kate Gardner at Startrek.com
An interview with the delightful Alexander Siddig about an online gathering of his fans.
older stuff
“What I learned from studying billions of words of online fan fiction” by Cecilia Aragon at MIT Technology Review
On the very interesting work researchers at the University of Washington have been doing around writers and community norms on fanfiction.net.
tumblr & beyond
“this is fine... this is damn fine”
some true poetry from thestanconfessions.
“imagine the supernatural season one aesthetic if they were boppin around in a prius”
Why do Vulcans keep pon farr a secret? WELL.
*leaves a pile of assorted jorts in the woods*
Zuko is canonically a cosplayer!!!
fanfiction
This week’s theme is playing with time: time travel, time loops, and crossing into alternate universes. Thanks to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“It is a serious thing just to be alive” by Itgoeson. 58K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed/MDZS; Ship: Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are soulmates, a pair of magic-wielding heroes in a xianxia setting; historical fantasy China. In this AU, Wei Wuxian is trans.
Rec: As a canon with plenty of built-in tragedy and pining, The Untamed is an unsurprisingly popular choice for time travel fix-its. This is a lovely example, with Wei Ying and Lan Wangji returning to their teenage lives to fix some past mistakes.
Content warnings: Graphic violence
“A Hero” by bioweapon155. 27K words (WIP), rated Teen.
Fandoms: Doctor Who, Madoka; Ship: Gen
Recced by: sainatsukino
Backstory: Doctor Who is a time travel sci-fi show and Madoka is a magical girl anime with occasional nightmare fuel deconstruction of the genre’s tropes. This isn’t a crossover you would expect.
Rec: Every season of DW has a “Dalek with human emotions” storyline, and every time it dies and that’s the end of it. This fic is an hilarious take on such a dalek thrown into the disturbing world of Madoka.
Content warnings: N/A
“A Duel With Fate” by psocoptera. 21K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Star Wars; Ship: Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Qui-Gon Jinn is Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Jedi mentor in the (chronologically) first Star Wars movie, where Qui-Gon Jin dies.
Rec: This is a wonderfully smart and original take on the time loop trope, imagining a Groundhog Day scenario as a recognizable phenomenon in Jedi mythology. Every Jedi experiences one at some point in their lives, as a kind of meditational exercise. In Obi-Wan’s case, he winds up repeatedly reliving a 10-day period around Qui-Gon’s death in The Phantom Menace, which becomes a life-changing experience for both men.
Content warnings: Graphic violence, major character death
“tomorrow isn’t always another day” by suitablyskippy. 18K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Mob Psycho 100; Ship: Gen
Recced by: fredfinch
Backstory: Mob Psycho 100 is about a boy with strong psychic powers who trains under Reigen, an exorcist who doesn’t actually have any powers. In this fic, Reigen and Mob are trapped in a time loop, dealing with the same haunted printer day after day.
Rec: This fic is so funny and cute! Mob’s friends are so great, and the dialogue really feels like something from an episode of the show. I love that Mob is so easy-going that he doesn’t even realize that it’s a time loop until about a week in.
Content warnings: N/A
“Lucid Dreaming” by listerinezero. 29K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: X-Men: First Class; Ship: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Recced by: Elizabeth
Backstory: In the film—after diverting the Cuban Missile Crisis—Erik gives a little speech about mutant supremacy and then inadvertently deflects a bullet into Charles’s back, thus kicking off their lifelong not-great-at-being-enemies-because-they-clearly-love-each-other schtick. In this fic, a 70-year-old Erik wakes up in his 1962 body the morning they’re supposed to fly to Cuba.
Rec: I have long been a fan of this kind of fic—accidental time travel, body swapping, “woke up in an alternate universe,” etc etc—and this one is delightful, as an extremely churlish Magneto slowly learns that the resentments he’s been sitting on for the past 40 years might not have been based in reality.
Content warnings: Dubcon—at the start of the story, Charles does not know he’s having sex with an alternate version of Erik
“Wearing Down Every Bone” by CSHfic and VSfic. 31K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed/MDZS; Ship: Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are soulmates, a pair of magic-wielding heroes in a xianxia setting; historical fantasy China.
Rec: An excellent time loop fic starring Wei Ying, taking place after canon while he and Lan Wangji are still pining for each other.
Content warnings: Graphic violence
FINAL THOUGHT
Have a great weekend, everyone! — 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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