The Rec Center #477
Hello all! This week we have articles about preserving Captain America’s early history, transphobia in the videogame industry, and an unexpected George R.R. Martin project. Also some cute Adventure Time fanart, multifandom fic recs for Femslash February, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Game Developers Fear Anti-Trans Measures Could Hit Their Industry Next” by Megan Farokhmanesh at WIRED
“When a marginalized dev is harassed, they’re on their own.” Very troubling reporting on the threats that trans and genderqueer game developers are facing right now.
“Saving Captain America” by Heather Wanser at the Library of Congress
A paper conservator at the LoC discusses the challenges of working on Joe Simon’s original concept drawing for Captain America from 1940.
“George R.R. Martin has co-authored a physics paper” by Jennifer Ouellette at Ars Technica
While this is obviously prompting “why did he write this instead of The Winds of Winter” jokes, this paper might appeal to folks interested in the idea of real physics in fictional worlds.
Flintstones hypothetical: if you were starving would you kill and eat the animal you use as a toilet?
— little lamb (@puddleofbrain.bsky.social) 2025-02-12T08:07:05.249Z
older stuff
“The Emerging Art of ‘Fanbinding’” by Elizabeth at Atlas Obscura
Elizabeth reported this story on fanbinding and the Renegade Bindery last February, and this February, they’re once again running Binderary, a month of free workshops or classes for fanbinders of all levels (including total beginners). You can check out the rest of the month’s offerings on their website.
tumblr & beyond
Adventure Time fanart by steemyart
“your outie thinks rpf is fine.”
a quick taxonomy of fantasy subgenres
“what if someone who knows more about Philadelphia's timeline to move from gas to electric streetlamps reads my fanfiction and laughs at me”
in case you missed it...... the tumblr poll on who tops between R2-D2 and C-3PO.
“As far as Pokemon trainers go I’m basically a huge badass.”
fanfiction
Femslash February 2025: Week 3. If you missed the first two installments, we had another multifandom list plus a list for The Wheel of Time’s Moiraine/Siuan. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in these recs! — Elizabeth
“Incognito” by Mardia. 5.7K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Killing Eve; Ship: Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Recced by: Fays
Backstory: An MI-5 agent catches the interest of the assassin she's trying to apprehend, leading to mutual obsession.
Rec: The change in inflection point allows for a deeper more immediate development to their mutual fascination, even when only one of them is aware they’re in the same room. This is also the story where I learned to love the pet sociopath tag.
Content warnings: Non-graphic descriptions of murder, stalking
“Peppercorn” by reconditarmonia. 1.2K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Fiddler on the Roof/Tevye the Dairyman; Ship: Hodel/f!Perchik
Recced by: Chocolatepot
Backstory: In this take on Fiddler on the Roof, Perchik (the scholar who marries Tevye’s second eldest daughter) is female.
Rec: It’s written as a letter to a Yiddish newspaper, the fictional writer remembering having known Hodel and Perchik back in Russia, which is a fantastic framing device.
Content warnings: Description of a marital spat
“saint of ongoingness” by greatunironic. 13K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Stranger Things; Ships: Heather Holloway/Robin Buckley, Heather Holloway & Steve Harrington
Recced by: MJ
Backstory: This is an AU where Heather survives Billy and the mindflayer. This fic starts right after season 3 and continues to the end of season 4, with Heather growing closer to Steve and Robin and healing from her trauma.
Rec: This fic is funny, sad, and really beautifully written. I loved Heather’s characterization (her POV is great), especially the way her relationships to Robin and Steve change as she recovers.
Content warnings: Descriptions of medical issues, parental loss
“Salt Hours” by deepcreek. 1.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: スキップとローファー | Skip to Loafer; Ship: Kurume Makoto/Murashige Yuzuki
Recced by: jess
Backstory: Skip & Loafer is a slice of life high school story that centers on Mitsumi, a teenager from out in the sticks, and her school friends in Tokyo. Makoto and Yuzuki, both part of Mitsumi’s friend circle, have a rocky start to their relationship because of their seeming personality differences, but the more time they spend together alongside Mitsumi (and, soon, without Mitsumi), the closer they get.
Rec: This story really captures the vibe of Skip & Loafer, lighthearted while still full of the awkwardness of being a teenager, and particularly Makoto’s own ever-evolving feelings about someone she thought was completely different from her. It’s such a sweet look at how Makoto's comfort with Yuzu could turn romantic.
Content warnings: N/A
“on a silver platter (serve me a disaster)” by niuserre. 2.3K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Justified; Ship: Ava Crowder/Katherine Hale
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Katherine Hale is such a badass baddie, and here she gets to show that off.
Rec: Not only is it hot, but it just feels so in tune with who Katherine and Ava are as characters.
Content warning: Past implied/referenced sexual assault
“Near–Far Problem” by heliocharis. 2.8K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Locked Tomb Series; Ship: We Suffer/Juno Zeta
Recced by: Sam
Backstory: The trials and tribulations of Commander We Suffer obtaining proof of life for the Sixth House. Along the way, she becomes intrigued by the voice of Juno Zeta…
Rec: Hysterically funny writing that captures all the characters’ voices perfectly. Plus, Grade A old woman yuri!
Content warnings: N/A
“(My Name) Always In That Mouth” by impertinence. 4.4K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Hip Hop RPF; Ship: Cardi B/Megan Thee Stallion
Recced by: ninamonday
Backstory: Megan and Cardi are very famous rappers! This fic weaves in many elements of their lives and careers, but you are not required to be familiar with them, as it is an AU where Cardi is a werewolf and Megan is a vampire.
Rec: This is just incredibly fun and sexy and cool, with fascinating supernatural world building.
Content warnings: N/A
men writing erotica: John was attending Sex University, where all of the students and teachers are horny for sex women writing erotica: John was attending Sex University, where sex is strictly forbidden… yet John yearns for his fellow student Douglas, who is also a secret monster man
— merritt k (@merrittk.com) 2025-02-18T03:39:51.861Z
FINAL THOUGHT
As we approach the end of Femslash February, we wanted to put out a fresh call for a recs for lists in the coming months. We’re especially interested in a few really “fanfiction-y” categories, for lack of a better descriptor:
- Character studies
- Missing scenes
- Changed perspective and/or outsider POV
- Canon-divergent AUs
- Stories that experiment with form (e.g., multimedia)
You can submit your faves here, and please mark whatever category in the themes/tropes field so it’s easy for me to spot! — Elizabeth