The Rec Center #455
Hello all! This week we have articles about Palworld, Interview with the Vampire, and fanfic tagging, along with some atmospheric Rings of Power fanart, multifandom character study fanfic recs, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Palworld developer has no idea why Nintendo’s suing over its Pokémon-like game” by Ash Parrish at The Verge
Due to the extremely visible similarities between Pokemon and Palworld (an open-world videogame that launched in January), it was only a matter of time before Nintendo took some kind of legal action. Somewhat surprisingly, they’ve opted for patent infringement, which Palworld’s creators are denying.
“How to Tag Content Like a Fanfiction Author” by Connor Cantrell
A fantastic blog post by an information architect about how AO3 authors’ tagging practices can inform things like semantic metadata modeling.
“Anatomy of a Vampire’s Lair: Inside the exquisite production design of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire” by Gav at Popverse
Gavia published an in-depth analysis of Louis and Armand’s Dubai penthouse, delving into their art collection, the apartment’s unique architecture, and how it all plays into this couple’s fascinatingly twisted relationship.
Directing Shin Popeye and giving Popeye a really grounded and intense sense of reality. You will FEEL the spinach mutating his pliable body.
— Haus of Decline (@hausofdecline) August 16, 2024
older stuff
“Paramount Locks Phasers on Trek Fan Sites” by Steve Silberman at WIRED
When I was writing the speech I delivered at the EFF Awards last week, I revisited this piece from 1996, a bananas time capsule into the hyper-litigious era of early internet fandom (wait until you see some of the stuff Paramount was trying to get taken down). (A side note: Steve Silberman, longtime WIRED writer who was best known for his work furthering mainstream understanding of neurodiversity, sadly passed away a few weeks ago.) — Elizabeth
tumblr & beyond
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power fanart by niku30
Girl So Confusing — Amadeus (1984) edit
“i cannot emphasize how necessary it is to have a buddy to participate in fandom with.”
Much like The Lord of the Rings, the TV show Supernatural is merely a translation of the original and authentic Supernatural mythos.
an underappreciated element of Leia’s character.
“what does vash the stampede have today”
fanfiction
We’ve got character study fic this week—and btw, I’d love more character studies in the bank, since I think it’s a place where fanfiction as a practice really shines, so please continue to send in your favorites via the link at the bottom of the newsletter. And thanks so much to everyone who sent the recs in this batch! — Elizabeth
“take hold of the sun” by jojolightningfingers. 18K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Bleach; Ship: Grimmjow/Ichigo
Recced by: prophecydungeon
Backstory: This fic takes place just after the Aizen arc wraps up; Ichigo keeps his powers. Grimmjow recuperates in the meantime and tries to deal with the aftermath of their fight.
Rec: This is an INCREDIBLE exploration of the equal-and-opposite nature of Hollows and Soul Reapers, of Grimmjow as a character, and of what a Hollow is. Grimmjow’s acceptance of his feelings (and his own nature) is hard-won and deeply satisfying, and the prose along the way is stunning.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence
“Halo Effect” by Alex51324. 81K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Downton Abbey; Ship: Thomas Barrow/Original Male Character(s)
Recced by: Elorra
Backstory: Accurately described by the author as “A Season One AU diverging from canon in Episode 3, The One Where The Turkish Gentleman Dies in Mary’s Bed,” this story explores how Thomas’s situation could have improved with the ‘halo effect’ of a different outcome in one scene.
Rec: Thomas is my favorite character on Downton Abbey, and there are many fics that give him a happier time of it, but I absolutely love this fic because it’s so well written and well thought out as to HOW that could happen. He is able to both build better relationships with other canon characters (especially Anna) as well as the wonderful OCs the author has created to show how he might have fit into a queer community in this time period.
Content warnings: Period-typical homophobia, some discussion of relationship violence and exploitative sexual relationships, and war-related violence
“Foreign Object” by audreycritter. 86K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Batman (DC); Ship: Gen
Recced by: lurkinglurkerwholurks
Backstory: Bruce Wayne has brain cancer and his loved ones deal with that news in various ways.
Rec: An absolutely brilliant character study/family drama about a broken little found family family that’s doing its best and loves each other deeply despite their various flaws and hurts. It requires zero Batman knowledge and was my entry into the fandom.
Content warnings: Cancer (but no character death), surgery, profanity
“Midas” by The_Cavalier4. 6.7K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: The Mechanisms (Band), Ulysses Dies At Dawn - The Mechanisms (Album); Ships: Ashes O’Reilly/Original Character, Midas (Ashes O’Reilly persona)/Apollo (Ulysses Dies At Dawn)
Recced by: cobalt-knave
Backstory: The Mechanisms are a band of immortal space pirates who travel time and space, bringing their own brand of chaos, violence, and song. The crew found themselves for a long while in the City, a place where immortality can be bought by the rich and powerful and where there are so many layers that many have never even seen the sky. The City has a noir science fiction genre with Greek mythology backing.
Rec: Ashes O’Reilly can take over any place they take interest in with their sheer charisma and planning. This story shows that perfectly with their persona of Midas, draped in rich finery at their club The Golden Touch, drawing in Apollo thread by thread. The descriptions and writing are so rich.
Content warnings: Emotional manipulation, canon typical violence, some sexual content (non-explicit), implied parental abuse, smoking, temporary major character death
“And I’ll Love the World Like I Should” by micangel. 13K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: SK8 The Infinity (Anime); Ship: Kikuchi Tadashi/Shindo Ainosuke | Adam
Recced by: Westie
Backstory: “What if Ainosuke got himself arrested, using that to try and fix his life in some way?”
Rec: This is an amazing character study, all told from the eyes of Ainosuke. It’s so vivid, and shows what people will do to heal!
Content warnings: Implied past abuse
And a vid!
“Captain America | Soldier” by fleurie. 3:40, rated Gen.
Fandom: Captain America; Ship: Gen
Recced by: buddieboos
Backstory: A fanvid that I found in the end notes on a fic by bysines. Looks at the slog that is Steve Rogers’ life if you just stop for a moment and actually think about it and put it all together.
Rec: The music and pacing of the video match up so well and combined it just claws at my brain with an ache for everything Steve (or the wider world) puts himself through.
Content warnings: Flashing images, canon-typical violence
if you guys ever get fatigued from online you should just get really into a tv show from 20-30 years ago and then hang out on its subreddit. nothing like debating plot points that resolved when you were 2 with women who could be your mom to renew your faith in the world wide web.
— squeaky fromme the block (@averpee) August 17, 2024
FINAL THOUGHT
It’s that time of year again: sign-ups are open for the annual fanworks auction Marvel Trumps Hate. If you’re in/interested in any Marvel fandom and want to write, create visual art, or do a whole host of other fannish things in exchange for a bidder’s donation to charity, consider signing up! MTH has raised more than $200K over the past half-decade, and it’s a great way to create something fannish for a good cause. — Elizabeth