The Rec Center #249
Hi folks! This week we’ve got coverage of an intriguing new TikTok trend, some amazing Black Sails fanart, cosplay photos from 1967, and multifandom recs for epistolary fanfic! — Gav
new stuff
“The Women Who Invented Video Game Music” by Dia Lacina at Wired
An interesting piece on video game music and the foundational work of female composers like Eímear Noone and Manami Matsumae.
“‘Reality shifting’ TikTok puts a new spin on meditation” by Audra Schroeder at the Daily Dot
This new TikTok trend sounds a lot like video... meditation... fanfic... roleplaying...??
older stuff
“Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad at Uncanny Magazine
“During the wait for episode eight, Computron discovers a concept called ‘fanfiction.’”
tumblr & beyond
Black Sails fanart by chum-rum
“how is anakin a fascist”
Vulcans are such drama queens.
This Untamed/MDZS psychoanalysis... :(
“laughing very hard at chrissy moltisanti recklessly altering the sopranos canon via IG comments”
Amazing cosplay photos from the 1967 World Science Fiction Convention.
fanfiction
We put out a multi-fandom list of epistolary fic almost exactly a year ago, but we had more than enough submissions for a second list. Thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“social media” by notcaycepollard. 1.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Emily of New Moon - L. M. Montgomery; Ship: Ilse Burnley/Emily Byrd Starr
Recced by: Jenny Hamilton
Backstory: Emily of New Moon lived too soon to be the Queen of Tumblr, and all her love interests were drips or creeps or drippy creeps. Canon does not resolve these tragedies.
Rec: This fanfic resolves those tragedies. Anne Shirley is also there!
Content warnings: N/A
“The Fixed Stars of Heaven” by scarredsodeep. 25K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Fall Out Boy RPF; Ship: Patrick Stump/Pete Wentz
Recced by: Carbon
Backstory: Pete and Patrick are the bassist/lyricist and singer/composer of Fall Out Boy, aka the tropiest band in the universe. This is a no-band AU where all four members are astronauts.
Rec: Scarredsodeep’s writing is always so clever and yet deeply emotional, and this story is no exception, but the epistolary format makes it something really special. The story is told through the journals and the call logs of the crew of a space mission—something goes wrong, someone falls in love, everyone is so perfectly in character, and lyrics are seamlessly woven in throughout it all.
Content warning: Homophobia
“User Since” by rageprufrock. 3.8K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Marvel/Avengers; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Ralkana
Backstory: Epistolary fic from the POV of Phil Coulson’s online friends and fellow Captain America fans, after Phil goes missing in the Battle of New York. Forum posts, emails, letters, and text messages.
Rec: It’s outside POV, giving us insight into Phil’s life as a fan and friend and *person*, away from SHIELD and the Avengers, while still including those aspects of his life in a way that the reader understands but the characters don’t. And it resonates with everyone who starts to worry when an online friend suddenly goes silent.
Content warning: Major character death. He comes back in the sequel, but this is ultimately a fic about losing a friend.
“history has its eyes on you” by aloneintherain. 17K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: My Hero Academia; Ship: Mostly gen, but includes Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto and Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou
Recced by: Dansrusse
Backstory: MHA is a story about a bunch of kids at a superhero school. This fic is set way after the resolution of the still-ongoing series, when they are all professional superheroes or “pro-heros”.
Rec: This fic is told in brief fiction snapshots interspersed with media from the universe, complete with fans chattering, and interacting the way fans do. It also lets all the characters grow up in a way that feels real and believable.
Content warnings: N/A
“many the miles” by lulabo. 38K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Lizzie Bennet Diaries; Rec: Lizzie Bennet/William Darcy
Recced by: stars-inthe-sky
Backstory: LBD is a modern Pride & Prejudice adaptation, told through a vlog and accompanying social media channels. This story picks up after Darcy quietly intervenes with Lydia Bennet’s situation.
Rec: I love the idea that Lizzie and Darcy are forced to figure things out without actually getting to see each other face-to-face, I love the expressions of feelings by way of playlists and art, and I especially love all the friends and sisters scheming around our sometimes-clueless leads. Lulabo’s writing is fast, fun, and reads like the series’ own Twitter feeds, and it’s so engrossing that you might miss perfect little details like the timestamps on each text message.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
As you can tell from the subject line, this is Rec Center #249, meaning next week...is a big number! Milestones are arbitrary but still!
I asked Gav if she had thoughts about a theme and she suggested fic about older characters because the newsletter is “so old now” 😂. This immediately led to a discussion about what “old” meant: fic about characters we’d describe as “elderly” in real life? Or immortal characters who have lived for thousands of years?
The answer is yes—both! We’re putting out a double call for recs, for multiple lists:
Fic about older characters as we define that in the normal human lifespan (like in their 70s and older! If I see another fic that describes a 40-something as though they’re in their 80s it’ll be too soon, c’mon people………)
Fic about older characters in the fantastical sense—immortals, or characters who’ve lived thousands of years
Please specify which one you’re submitting for in the tropes/themes field of our submissions form! — 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.
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)