The Rec Center #89
Hello! This week we have articles on Homestuck, One Direction, and Mary Sues, plus some beautiful Avatar: The Last Airbender fanart. Next week we’ll have a long-requested Black Sails fic rec list (in case you’re curious what that will entail, let it be known that I have literally exhausted the “Thomas Hamilton” tag on AO3), but this week we’ve got a grab-bag fic rec list from our trusty reader submissions form. (THANK YOU FOR COLLABORATING WITH US, READERS.) — Elizabeth
new stuff
“What Homestuck Was” by Gita Jackson at Kotaku
“There was a sense that Homestuck was inescapable; the phrase ‘let me tell you about Homestuck’ became memeified across fandoms.”
“The Business of Fandom: How Teenage Girls Predict the Future of Culture” by Adrienne Gaffney at Billboard
“I think they are really good at finding the interesting story in a band, in an act, not just in terms of the quality of the music but seeing the whole package or recognizing that there’s a kind of interesting narrative to engage.” Dr. Francesca Coppa talks about how teen girls in fandom interact with and organize around pop acts.
“Dyke Direction” by Marygrace Schumann at Shredded
On loving boy bands—and One Direction in particular—as a lesbian.
older stuff
“Mary Sue” by Elizabeth at Fansplaining
There has been *a lot* of Mary Sue talk on Twitter in the past week, so Elizabeth though it might be time to pull up this piece on Mary Sues, self-inserts, imagines, and the way young women center themselves in narratives.
tumblr & beyond
Fanart: Appa and Aang by JAF.
“Here it is, straight-up: The Hobbit economy makes no fucking sense unless Hobbits are running a secret drug empire spanning Middle Earth.”
Congratulations to one of the best URL-owners on Tumblr.
Fashion sketches of what the Harry Potter characters would’ve looked like during their canonical historical periods.
Can we please get to the bottom of this rollercoaster tycoon anecdote??
The degrees of secondhand fandom.
fanfiction
This week we have another grab-bag list from our submissions! Thanks, as always, to everyone who sent in recs. We have a few guest lists in the queue in the coming weeks, but if you want to write one of your own, whether it’s a single ship and/or fandom or a multi-fandom list around a theme, please get in touch! — Elizabeth
“Love and Honor” by DKNC. 89K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones; Ship: Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark Recced by: Allegra
Backstory: Follows the canon of Game of Thrones/ASoIaF but Ned and Catelyn survive.
Rec: Ned and Cat are the ultimate power couple, and watching them both kick ass, take names, and get their family back together is so satisfying. And how the author handles Dany and Ned meeting and working together is great, she also doesn't follow the typical path of many other authors and make Dany immediately into a conniving, unhinged ruler like her father.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, character deaths, one incident of sexual violence
“Signal Fire” by Raven. 1.7K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space 9; Ship: Jadzia Dax/Kira Nerys
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Dax and Kira are officers on the space station DS9. Dax is a Starfleet officer, while Kira is a former rebel from the nearby planet Bajor.
Rec: A sweet, canon-friendly look at Dax and Kira's relationship, combining an episode-style adventure with scenes from their friendship.
Content warnings: N/A
“i think you need a shotgun blast” by postcardmystery. 3K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Elementary, Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Ship: Joan Watson/Sherlock Holmes
Recced by: Astrid
Backstory: Elementary is a modern version of Sherlock Holmes set in New York City. In this fic, Joan and Sherlock fall into the rolls of Slayer and Watcher. This fic has two of my favourite things: women kicking ass, and a great setting. Less of a romance fic, more of an apocalyptic setting.
Rec: Dark and almost apocalyptic in setting, this fic does an excellent lead up to the main pairing. Demons, a badass Joan, and a sense of doom throughout.
Content warnings: Blood, violence, mental illness, drug addiction, and suicide.
“Worst-Laid Plans” by Cavaticarose. 130K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Mass Effect; Ship: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Fast-paced retelling of Mass Effect 2 with some changes to canon.
Rec: This story fills in the gaps that Mass Effect 2 had with the character interactions and the choices the protagonist makes. It captures all of the angst and humor the franchise was going for, but with enough twists to feel fresh.
Content warnings: N/A
“the small” by dirgewithoutmusic. 7K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Protector of the Small (Tortall); Ship: Lalasa/Tianine
Recced by: Chestnut_filly
Backstory: Tamora Pierce’s Tortall is a world on the cusp of greater gender equality—at least for nobles like Keladry of Mindelan, protagonist of the POTS books. Kel has a maid, Lalasa, who over the course of the series overcomes abuse, poverty, and internalized hatred to become a successful dressmaker with a cute girlfriend.
Rec: This story retells the first two books of POTS from Lalasa’s perspective and in Dirgewithoutmusic’s distinctive style. Honestly, it's just so sweet and uplifting.
Content warnings: Attempted sexual assault, references to past abuse
And a vid rec!
“Good Life” by yunitsa. 3:46, rated Mature.
Fandom: Black Sails; Ship: Max/Anne/Jack
Recced by: Clever Manka
Backstory: A fanvid that follows the storylines and relationships of Max, Anne, and Jack through the entire series.
Rec: I really don’t know what to say except this is one of the best fanvids I’ve ever seen in my life.
Content warnings: Canon-typical instances of nudity and violence
FINAL THOUGHT
The second episode of my new fandom podcast is up! It’s convention-style panel with three people who worked on large-scale fan projects, and they’re all very cool:
Captain America and Hannibal fanzine editor Aimee Fleck,
Mae from the Hannibal musical (which they’re currently making into a short film!),
and Chelsea Monroe-Cassel, who recreated every recipe from Game of Thrones—including a grilled rattlesnake.
These panelists all have unique perspectives on the ambition and creativity of fandom, and it was really interesting to interview them. You can find the Parsec Podcast on iTunes and on Android! — Gav
FINAL FINAL THOUGHT
If you’re a fan of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, you’ve almost certainly already heard, but they are Kickstarting a movie!
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, etc—are strongly encouraged as well.
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)