The Rec Center #507
Hello all! This week we’ve got articles about the political impact of One Piece’s pirate flag, the legacy of the iconic Lofi Beats Girl, and the recent wave of media censorship in the U.S. Also some cool Dungeon Meshi fanart, a grab-bag of multifandom fic recs, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“Of Course One Piece’s Pirate Flag Is The Symbol Of A Real-Life Youth Revolution” by Isaiah Colbert at Aftermath
We previously shared reporting on the use of the One Piece flag as an Indonesian protest symbol—and in the past few weeks, it was also used in the mass youth-led protests in Nepal.
“How Lofi Girl Became a Chill Beats Empire” by Nicole Carpenter at 404 Media
A great deep dive into the history of YouTube’s beloved “Lofi Girl” (her name is Jade!) and her always-streaming chill beats.
“In Defense Of Mass Censorship” at The Onion
“What, indeed, is the purpose of the Fourth Estate if not to shepherd the simple-minded throng into blindly following a single unquestionable narrative? To this ideal, we remain dedicated.”
jokes about the confederacy are always funny, but you gotta think about it in terms of "Supernatural lasted 5x longer than the Confederacy", which is absolutely hysterical
— that's my secret cap I'm always in mugatu mode (@1001cranes.bsky.social) September 14, 2025 at 7:32 PM
older stuff
“The History Of The Future” by Matthew Cressler at Contingent Magazine
“Rather than a naive and romantic appraisal of human nature, Star Trek represents hope against hope that our better angels might fly from the ashes of our own self-destruction like Zephram Cochrane’s inaugural warp ship, The Phoenix.”
tumblr & beyond
Dungeon Meshi fanart by sutexii
“wait sentinel aus are based on an actual show???”
Postal Service fanfic titles Part II.
ok ska punk Animorphs rules, actually.
“I can’t wait until I’m an adult and I can stay up reading without any consequences!”
for some reason we have two animorphs posts this week but whatever.
“My father was a tailor. In Leeds.”
fanfiction
We’ve got another grab-bag this week! Thanks to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“The Heart, Like the Universe, Expands Indefinitely” by what_alchemy. 24K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Ted Lasso; Ship: Trent Crimm (The Independent)/Ted Lasso
Recced by: confused_android
Backstory: Trent Crimm sees the author blurb of The Richmond Way and can’t handle it anymore—the name under the picture, being listed as a man at all—and something snaps. She realizes that she can’t live like this anymore, and something has to change. Ted comes along for the ride, and to show her what it can look like to be so loved.
Rec: This is a gorgeous set of snapshots of what it can look like to transition in middle age, from difficult interactions to the most joyful unfurling of a true self.
Content warnings: N/A
“Lunch and Other Obscenities” by Rheanna. 10K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Star Trek; Ship: Background Spock/Uhura
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Warm-hearted Uhura-POV one-shot about her growing friendship with Gaila (minus a few major culture clashes) and her time at Starfleet Academy.
Rec: This is one of the best explorations I’ve seen of exploring a younger Nyota grappling with culture shock as a communications student--the roots of the polished, diplomatic Nyota we know are there, but it’s great to see her competence as a professional and the playful, genuine friendship between her and Gaila slowly developing.
Content warnings: One of the main themes is a big Orion cultural taboo around eating, so if that’s a tough subject for you watch out.
“Base Fee” by ezlebe. 14K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Star Wars; Ship: Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Recced by: emily neal
Backstory: Kylo gets a job as an assassin-for-hire for the very sketchy Knights of Ren. He keeps it entirely separate from his real life as artist and husband to Armitage Hux, the CEO of a weapons manufacturer—until he’s hired to kill himself.
Rec: There’s Angst with a capital A here, for both Kylo and Hux, and the build up is incredibly well-written. The world is so well-established in the first chapter that this fic almost reads like a slice of life.
Content warnings: Mild bloodplay
“Closed Loop System” by One_of_Them (greenbean_paste). 1.5K words/a 10-minute game of Minesweeper, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells; Ship: Gen
Recced by: stormsbreadth
Backstory: Murderbot is a rogue security cyborg (or ‘SecUnit’) that really just wants to watch television but keeps having to rescue humans instead. This fic takes the world’s corporate dystopian premise to look at a different set of SecUnits trying to do their job—told through the medium of Minesweeper.
Rec: It’s a really fantastic and innovative use of the medium to tell a frankly heartbreaking story.
Content warnings: Insects, insect swarms, themes of dehumanisation, possible major character death
“The Hidden Flower 隐花 (Yǐn huā)” by demoniqt. 373K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù; Ships: Original Shěn Qīngqiū/Yuè Qīngyuán, Mù Qīngfāng/Original Shěn Qīngqiū, Liǔ Qīnggē/Original Shěn Qīngqiū, Original Shěn Qīngqiū/Zhúzhī-láng
Recced by: anon
Backstory: The original SQQ, scum villain, reincarnates back into the beginning of Proud Immortal Demon Demon Way after having ALSO reincarnated previously into Shen Yuan’s family as SY’s elder brother. He then resolves to have nothing to do with his original fate, running away and establishing his own sect under a pseudonym.
Rec: The SQQ/YQY fixit!!! Really, this entire fic is a long fixit for SQQ after he’s grown as a character, and I love that for him.
Content warnings: Sexual abuse, abuse, slavery
“AITA for disapproving of my brother’s high sex drive?” by birdsofthesoul, PlaidIsTheBestPattern. 3.9K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Supernatural; Ships: Gen with background Dean/Castiel, Dean/Benny, Dean/Crowley
Recced by: Bumblewyn
Backstory: After realising he’s accidentally been micro-aggressing his brother for the last 20 years of his life, Sam Winchester takes to /r/AITA to ask the public for their opinion.
Rec: This story is formatted as a brilliant Reddit thread, and it is the actual most hilarious thing I have ever read. Bless the internet and pop culture for evolving in a way that made this masterpiece possible.
Content warnings: Discussion of biphobia, homophobia, sexism, and toxic masculinity
Man if Butch and Sundance hit NOW, there wouldnt be room for anything else on AO3
— Dilettante Potato (@taterpie.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 8:50 PM
FINAL THOUGHT
As we’ve shared in years past, sign-ups for the Marvel Trumps Hate fanworks auction are open! If you’re unfamiliar with this sort of event, creators can sign up currently to make fanworks, and in a few weeks, folks can bid on them, with winning bids being donated to charity. (Last year they raised $47,000!) “Marvel” is wide-ranging (not just the MCU), so if you’re in any of these fandoms, check it out and sign up!
FINAL FINAL THOUGHT
Aaaand since we’re somehow halfway through September already, it’s also time for another annual tradition: we are once again hoping to do ~spooky recs throughout the month of October. As a reminder, this is a wide-ranging call for recs, including:
- Canons and AUs featuring supernatural creatures like vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, zombies, etc.
- Horror fics (or fics based on horror source material) and stuff with eerie vibes
- Anything related to Halloween (including fluffy stuff!)
Please send in recs using our one-off submissions form, and please specifically label your rec in the themes/tropes field—it’s nice to get a good balance of vampires vs werewolves vs ghosts etc. in a list, and sometimes I can’t tell from the rec alone! — Elizabeth