The Rec Center #262
Hello and welcome to the Rec Center: Substack Edition! This week we've got a very cool list of multifandom Yuletide fic recs, along with an article about sci-fi worldbuilding, some fanart for the novel Piranesi, a fascinating piece of cosplay history, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Who did J. K. Rowling become?” by Molly Fischer at Vulture
In case you missed it last month, this wide-ranging article digs into the history of an author whose personal life largely remains a mystery. It tracks her descent into radical transphobia, along with her personal myth-making and relationship with fandom.
“How online communities are leading Black music discourse in the pandemic” by Makua Adimora at gal-dem
On Black music fans in digital spaces like Clubhouse, Verzuz, No Signal when live concerts and other IRL fan gatherings are off the table.
“What I learned playing 30+ years’ worth of Jeopardy! video games” by Kyle Orland at Ars Technica
“From the Apple II to PS4, digital Jeopardy! spans 40+ games and traces the medium's history.”
“‘If the aliens lay eggs, how does that affect architecture?’: sci-fi writers on how they build their worlds” at The Guardian
Interesting interviews on worldbuilding with sci-fi authors including Nnedi Okorafor, Ann Leckie, and Kim Stanley Robinson.
older stuff
“Fan is A Tool-Using Animal” by Maciej Cegłowski
This presentation about fans, platforms, and user experience by the founder of Pinboard is a fandom classic—if you’ve never encountered it before, it’s definitely worth a read.
tumblr & beyond
Piranesi fan-comic by mellific
The history of a legendarily influential cosplayer and their DIY armor tutorial.
fake dating is OUT, fake hating is IN.
MDZS/Untamed characters as Bath and Body Works products, an alarmingly detailed thread.
Star Trek fans taunt Star Wars fans queueing for Phantom Menace tickets in 1999, a highly amusing news segment.
“fiction doesnt affect reality” then WHY did i buy that black v neck top a couple of weeks ago??
get vored by Gengar in this astounding new Pokemon merch.
fanfiction
We got an unprecedented number of Yuletide recs this year! So we’re running two very long lists, this week and next. If you want even *more* fic from obscure fandoms, check out our lists fo Yuletide 2019: part 1 and part 2. And thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“un mir zenen ale shvester” by Ryfkah. 7.8K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Fiddler on the Roof (2018 Folksbiene Production) (That is, the Yiddish one); Ships: Minor pairings only
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: Behind Jerome Robbins’ musical, which I’m sure many are familiar with, is a fantastic set of tales by Bashevis Singer that this Yiddish-language production draws on heavily—Yiddishkeit, collective politics, and the addition of a female Fiddler!
Rec: Tradition! The long-standing Jewish tradition of socialist activism, that is. In which Shprintzeleh is all grown up and a red journalist and goes back to Russia to see what’s up with that revolution, Fiddler in tow. This is a delight in all directions, especially the thinky thoughts about mameloshn and callings.
Content warning: Relatively mild period-typical antisemitism
“Alexander Versus Fandom” by galaxysoup. 9.7K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Galaxy Quest; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Galaxy Quest is a satirical comedy movie about the cast of a Star Trek-style TV show who accidentally become embroiled in a dispute between real-life aliens.
Rec: Told from the perspective of Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), this v funny fic follows Alexander's interactions with Galaxy Quest fandom from the start of the show's run, up to the time of the movie. This includes some great little tidbits from different eras of fan culture (zines, messageboards, LJ, etc), with a charming look at Galaxy Quest’s very dedicated fandom vs Alexander’s misanthropic confusion.
Content warning: N/A
“Take That Look Out of Here” by scioscribe. 5.4K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Ship: Butch Cassidy/Sundance Kid/Etta Place
Recced by: Orangistae
Backstory: Slightly canon-divergent AU that explores the changing dynamics between Butch, Sundance and Etta as they get together in various combinations.
Rec: Funny and tender, this fic perfectly captures the characters’ voices and does a wonderful job of showing how the three of them fit together. It's everything I’ve ever wanted for these characters.
Content warnings: N/A
“True Love’s (Gen) Kiss” by firth_in_thorns. 1.1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV); Ship: Gen
Recced by: qkat
Backstory: The Lost Tomb Reboot is a recent TV reboot of a series focused around the tomb raiding adventures of the Iron Triangle, a trio of men with a very close friendship. This fic is a short scene set in one of their adventures.
Rec: Asexual Wu Xie! I love it when people headcanon characters as asexual, and this was a great take. Also there is fun banter.
Content warnings: N/A
“The Space Garden” by Edonohana. 9.3K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: The Secret Garden; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: The Secret Garden sees sour little Mary Lennox arrive an orphan in Yorkshire and discover nature, kindness, and family through caring for a locked-away garden and a locked-away cousin.
Rec: It’s also a book with ISSUES. This lovely space AU reframes the metropole/colony relationship as one of space colonies, the ableism in Colin’s story as a question of questionable scientific ethics, and throws out the strange class dynamics entirely. What is left is equally as enchanting as the novel, as three odd children care for the land and each other.
Content warnings: N/A
“The More Loving One” by DaisyNinjaGirl. 5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen; Ship: Elinor Dashwood/Colonel Brandon/Edward Ferrars
Recced by: tabacoychanel
Backstory: Canon-divergence AU where Edward marries Lucy Steele and Elinor marries Colonel Brandon and Marianne is off in Scotland living her best life as a piano teacher.
Rec: Dw there is no cheating! It's tagged “polyamory negotiations” and never has a fic deserved a tag more. It’s a very *generous* fic, in the sense that your soul will feel enlarged upon reading it.
Content warnings: N/A
“If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;” by Chillydow.1.7K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Piranesi; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Grace
Backstory: Piranesi is the story of a scientist trying to use rational methods to understand the mysterious house of statues in which he lives. This story takes place about two years after the end of the book and I would recommend reading that first - this contains lots of spoilers.
Rec: The story has all the charm and optimism of the original, and gives a little glimpse of what happens next for the protagonist. It's set at Christmas in 2020, so there's some elegant exploration of the boundaries of solitude which is beautifully thematically appropriate.
Content warnings: References to (canonical) skeletons including one child; passing reference to canonical character death; contextual references to the coronavirus pandemic.
“A Day Without Death” by furiosity. 1.8K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Hades; Ship: Zagreus/Thanatos
Recced by: Lauren
Backstory: Hades is a video game inspired by Greek mythology and specifically the underworld, and it is no surprise to me that a game about an unescapable hell is resonating with tons of people right now. You play as Zagreus, Prince of Hell, and occasionally run into Thanatos, whom you can choose to pursue romantically.
Rec: This is a short but sweet Yuletide fic that nails this couple's oil-and-water relationship: Zagreus's boyish exuberance and Thanatos's denial but ever-weakening resolve.
Content warning: Vague spoilers for the end of the game
“Roll To Hit It” by Stratisphyre. 3.5K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: What We Do in the Shadows; Ship: Jenna/Nadja
Recced by: Dee
Backstory: Jenna has a plan to seduce Nadja and that plan is playing D&D. To Guillermo’s horror she wants ALL the vampires in the household to play.
Rec: The humour and dialogue in this fic are fantastic and all the characterizations are on fire but Colin Robinson as a nit picky, rules lawyer with a home brew character is too perfect for words.
Content warnings: N/A
“Publish and/or Perish” by Primeideal. 5.5K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: FAQ: The “Snake Fight” Portion Of Your Thesis Defense (McSweeney’s Post) - Luke Burns; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: “Uh oh, you didn’t realize you had to defeat a snake in single combat during the questions portion of your defense? Well, you’ll be okay—the better your thesis, the smaller the snake. And I’m sure it’s great, right?”
Rec: Speaking as a PhD student, this makes me want to die. But in a funny, affirming way.
Content warning: Snakes
“Ars cantus mensurabilis” by Beltenebra. 4.8K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: This is How You Lose the Time War; Ship: Blue/Red
Recced by: mlraven and dcbrierton
Backstory: mlraven writes: In the original, Blue and Red chase each other through realities, rearranging events for their employers and leaving messages for each other in seeds and glacier melt.
dcbrierton writes: Red and Blue are agents on opposing sides of a time war—enemies to lovers with a lush, fantastic flavor. The story picks up after they’re together, but still sending messages through the time stream.
Rec: mlraven writes: This is a beautiful, lyrical epistolary/narrative mix like the original, but happily post-canon with an established relationship. I love that their messages are all encoded with music, which the author made identifiable to readers for an extra game :D
dcbrierton writes: The writing is spot on for a very challenging canon to write! And while the original is full of Red and Blue’s puzzles for one another, this adds a puzzle for the reader.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
Substack! Here we are! So: I did not realize when I moved us over that we’d have the one thing people have consistently asked for—search functionality! All our back issues are at https://thereccenter.substack.com/. THAT BEING SAID, while I’ve been dutifully cleaning up back issues this past week in an attempt to distract myself from *gestures at all things*, I’m not quite done; by this time next week, everything should be fully updated! Thanks to everyone for their patience during the migration process. <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.
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)