The Rec Center #493
Hello all! This week we have articles about Murderbot, Andor’s production design, and the surreal experience of juggling an “entertainment” career while participating in the LA protests. Also: some cool Dungeon Meshi fanart, a grab-bag of multifandom fic recs, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Do Androids Dream of Anything at All?” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus at The New Yorker
Murderbot fans! There’s a great new profile of Martha Wells.
“The Real-World Places Behind ‘Andor’ Season 2’s Architectural Marvels” by Toussaint Egan at iO9
On the real-world locations that inspired the settings of Andor, featuring interviews with the show’s production and costume designers.
“The Summer (Game Fest) Before The Fall (Of America)” by Nathan Grayson at Aftermath
A long, thoughtful piece about the surreality of going back and forth between protesting on the streets of LA and attending Summer Game Fest’s Play Days, where the video game industry demos their new titles. Even outside of video games, we suspect this dissonance will resonate with a lot of folks right now.
(spoilers) my favorite part of andor s2 is the episode where cassian and dedre play against each other in a charity softball game
— Matt Negrin still host of Hardball on MSNBC (@mattnegrin.bsky.social) June 12, 2025 at 11:33 AM
older stuff
“Why Are So Many Horror Movies Set at Summer Camp?” by Gav at Atlas Obscura
In honor of Friday the 13th, here’s a piece on the cultural history of summer camp horror movies.
tumblr & beyond
Dungeon Meshi fanart by artdoingdan
“Caught a comment section on tiktok in which one user recommended my book and another, totally separate user recommended my fic”
A useful post explaining some simple tools to improve your AO3 experience.
BEWITCHED by this stunning cover art for an Estonian publication of Interview with the Vampire.
“some of you need to realize that your faves would be having unsafe bdsm sex”
the two types of tumblr user.
fanfiction
We’ve got a grab-bag this week! Thanks to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“down by the water” by astrolesbian. 60K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed, Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Recced by: Annerb
Backstory: Modern AU set in a beach town where Wei Ying and Lan Zhan grew up surfing during the summers. After a dangerous accident, Wei Ying disappears. Years later, he’s back, and Lan Zhan is just as drawn to him as ever.
Rec: The real star here is the Lan Zhan POV, with just achingly lovely reflections on his relationship with his brother, the people around him, his body, and his own loneliness. And an acknowledgement of Lan Zhan as not a deeply ambitious person, but more just someone trying to find a space to exist in the world that works best for him and the noise and confusion in his head.
Content warnings: N/A
“Unstrung” by tehta. 2.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Silmarillion; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Warflower
Backstory: After the third kinslaying, Maglor reflects on his brothers, both dead and living.
Rec: Fandom tends to paint Maglor as “the nice one,” which does not match his canonical actions. This fic doesn’t, here he’s an enabler.
Content warnings: Lots of character death mentioned, slightest implications of incest
“when i die i’ll sacrifice (more than enough for the afterlife)” by notcaycepollard. 41K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe; Ships: Natasha Romanova/Maria Hill, background Steve/Bucky
Recced by: stormwarnings_
Backstory: After Vormir, Natasha wakes up in the Red Room twenty years earlier, and tries to build a different life for herself and her sisters.
Rec: A compellingly written do-over fic giving Natasha and her story the serious consideration they deserve. Wonderfully characterized, including all the ensemble cast members (both invented sisters and the mainstays). Serious and funny at turns.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence
“i’m like a shadow that hides under the things you see” by minnabird. 7.5K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: ทำไมมันยาก- เจฟ ซาเตอร์| Complicated - Jeff Satur (Music Video), Ride or Die - เจฟซาเตอร์ | Jeff Satur (Music Video), แค่เงา - Hide | Jeff Satur (Music Video), Jeff Satur - Works & Related Fandoms - All Media Types; Ships: Kay (Complicated - Jeff Satur)/Ride (Ride or Die - Jeff Satur), Kay (Complicated - Jeff Satur)/Hide (Hide - Jeff Satur)
Recced by: AirgiodSLV
Backstory: Ride, the god of thieves, can take possession of his mortal avatar Kay in order to interact with the physical world. When his god goes missing one night with no explanation, Kay tries to piece together what happened.
Rec: This is an incredible exploration of love, trust, and what it means when your heart belongs to someone who can only manifest in the world by sharing your body. The narrative twists and emotions in this story are beautifully done and kept me on the edge of my seat.
Content warnings: Consent issues around hidden identity
“Secrets” by PeniG. 15K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Murderbot; Ship: Murderbot & Gurathin
Recced by: KittyClimpson
Backstory: Post canon, the Perihelion is docked at Preservation, and ART, SecUnit and the crew (those who are in on the secret of ART’s existence) are working through some stuff that they ask Gurathin to help with. Many things surface in the process.
Rec: PeniG is an incredible writer, everything they publish absolutely sings, and this is no exception. All the characters’ voices are captured perfectly. The story is gen but is actually quite shippy imo, Gurathin is extremely gone on SecUnit and there is a lot of pining, delicious if you like that sort of thing (which I do).
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, parental abuse, capitalism is a death cult
“transpires” by familiar. 20.5K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Interview with the Vampire (2022); Ship: Lestat de Lioncourt/Louis de Pointe du Lac
Recced by: queerofcups
Backstory: Interview with The Vampire is an adaptation of the Anne Rice classic following Louis de Pointe du Lac recounting his past and tumultuous relationship with the vampire Lestat.
Rec: Familiar’s transpires series manages to maintain and expand on the lush Gothic tone of the show while also exploring questions about what it means when a person (or a lover) has all the time in the world but might be incapable of change, whether physically or emotionally. The whole series engages deeply with ideas of queerness, transness, sexuality and immortality in a way that honestly, Anne Rice would probably be pretty into.
Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, transphobia
And a vid!
“is it casual now?” by abby. 4:09, Not Rated.
Fandom: 9-1-1; Ships: Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan “Buck” Buckley/Tommy Kinard, Evan “Buck” Buckley/Taylor Kelly, Evan “Buck” Buckley/Abby Clark
Recced by: izzy
Backstory: This exceptionally edited vid chronicles Buck’s love life, with an emphasis on Buck and Eddie’s relationship.
Rec: abby seamlessly weaves Chappell Roan’s lyrics with moments from the show, creating an equally heartbreaking and captivating video.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence
I was told during my work appraisal that the quality of my recent written work is testament to how much I've developed in my role. The truth is, writing erotic fanfiction and having a beta reader who gives thorough and constructive feedback is what's really made the difference.
— fesshole 🧻 (@fesshole.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
FINAL THOUGHT
Since we always have new folks joining the newsletter readership each week, we’re probably overdue for a reminder that in addition to running these compiled lists of individual readers’ recs, we also run guest lists written by a single person (or collaborations by a small group of people).
These guest sections include:
- Fic rec lists: 5-7 recs linked in some way, e.g., your favorites about a character/ship/fandom, a trope you love, a theme that resonates across stories.
- Other fanwork rec lists: We’d love more podfic rec lists, for example, or vid rec lists!
- Explainer: Sometimes fic rec lists have accompanying explainers, but if you just want to write us 300-500 words about some pro media you love, it doesn’t need to include fanwork recs!
- Letter of Recommendation: A single fanwork or grouping of fanworks you’d like to recommend at length—basically the “Explainer” with fan-created art. We’d especially love to see more of these about less-common fanwork forms (fan comics, multimedia projects, etc.).
- Ship Manifesto: A beloved form that blossomed in the LJ era, we’d love more of these. Sell us on your ship—who they are and why they work together!
If you have interest in writing something—or even just questions about doing so—hit reply or contact us at elizabethandgav at gmail. And as always, if we were corresponding about a guest list at one point and I dropped the ball, my apologies—please nudge me!! — Elizabeth