The Rec Center #97
Hello! This week, aside from our regular mix of articles and Tumblr/Twitter stuff, we have a multi-fandom collection of modern AUs, ie source material set in some other time and/or place recast in the present day. Plus a call for recs for a special list next week! See Gav’s final thought for more details. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Fandom for Robots” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad at Uncanny Magazine
“During the wait for episode eight, Computron discovers a concept called ‘fanfiction.’”
“At Indigenous Comic Con, Native American Geeks Have a Con to Call Their Own” by Debra Krol at SyfyWire
“Indigenous nerd culture is steeped in our existence as Native people, our tradition, our creativity. We know how to share our narratives and stories in a respectful way, without appropriation.”
“An Underwater Cult—How Fiona Became an Internet Sensation” by Evette Dionne at Bitch Magazine
On Fiona the hippo, and how fandom grows around specific animals online.
older stuff
“This Crazy Fan Theory About ‘Jeopardy!’ Actually Makes Total Sense” at Clickhole
“Okay, so the three contestants on each episode of Jeopardy! embody the conflicting forces of Past, Present, and Future, who are waging an eternal war for dominance over the universe’s matter and energy...”
tumblr & beyond
Stranger Things/Logan fanart by Lightning Strikes
Whoever writes Star Trek: DS9’s Netflix summaries is totally a Garak/Bashir shipper.
“seriously though the life of Ada Lovelace is some next level Mary Sue bullshit”
The Medieval Fantasy City Generator
fanfiction
This week we have a collection of modern AUs from our submissions. Full disclosure: as always, we base these on how people have chosen to tag as they fill out the form, so “modern AU” might mean different things depending on the fandom or the reccer. Thank you to everyone who sent in a rec! (And thank you to everyone who answered my call for recs on Twitter yesterday—this made the list longer than I intended, but I think everyone likes more variety, right? :-)) — Elizabeth
“here we are millionaires” by mellyflori. 117K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Musketeers (BBC); Ship: Aramis/Porthos
Recced by: Charlotte
Backstory: The Musketeers was a nonsense BBC show, ostensibly set in 17th-century Paris. Aramis and Porthos were two of the main Musketeers, and fics for their pairing often focus on polyamory and friends-to-lovers, as they’re best friends and Aramis in particular sleeps around a fair amount on the show. Modern AUs are v popular for this pairing.
Rec: this is a gorgeous long slow-burn of a friends-to-lovers-and-then-more fic. I’ve not read anything else like it. It’s very generous and loving. essentially it’s about Aramis and Porthos meeting as teenagers and growing up together and falling in love, while dating other people, joining the military...they’re so often at such a long distance from each other for various reasons and it only makes the rest of it more satisfying.
Content warnings: military violence, under-negotiated kink
“let’s make a mess, lioness” by rillrill. 1.9K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire; Ship: Cersei Lannister/Margaery Tyrell
Recced by: libraralien
Backstory: One of a series of an A Song of Ice and Fire modern American politics AU; Cersei is First Lady and Margaery is a young philanthropist dating her son. Cersei corners Margaery in the bathroom of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Rec: Does what the best AUs do: the characters read like themselves, while the setting is fresh. A delicious sexually tense moment between rivals.
Content warning: dubcon
“i'll write you in harmony c” by magneticwave. 32K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Jane Austen; Ships: Mary Bennet/Henry Crawford, Mary Bennet/Colonel Fitzwilliam
Recced by: Alyssa
Backstory: A modern Pride & Prejudice AU from Mary's POV that showcases the Bennet family in all their messy glory, but also pulls in characters from every other Austen title, Mansfield Park in particular. Mary’s in med school, Lydia’s pregnant, Jane and Lizzy are engaged to their respective guys, Kitty’s around. Henry Crawford’s a posh, annoying classmate and Fitzwilliam’s a perfect doctor.
Rec: This is one of those updates that feels totally seamless to me, even though on the surface there isn't much in common with the original. I love Mary’s voice here, she’s funny and driven and a little mean, and she pretends like she doesn’t but she loves her family fiercely. Also, top-notch banter, hair dyeing, and the kind of feelings that sneak up on you.
Content warnings: N/A
“Skywalker’s Garden Center and Landscaping” by kaikamahine. 20K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Star Wars; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Isa
Backstory: AU for Star Wars: Episode VII where the Skywalkers own a garden center and the First Order is the Home Hardware down the street. I was able to enjoy it with my only knowledge of the movie coming from gifsets on tumblr.
Rec: I love the characters and how the author imagines them as humans. It’s very sweet and funny and also transforms scenes from the movie to fit the AU and somehow it works really really well.
Content warnings: N/A
“World Ain’t Ready” by idiopathicsmile. 188K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Les Miserables; Ship: Enjolras/Grantaire
Recced by: Cate
Backstory: Les Mis fandom spans the Victor Hugo novel (referred to, affectionately or otherwise, as The Brick), various musical productions and the 2012 film. Fandom shipping tends to focus on the members of a student revolutionary group (especially Enjolras/Grantaire) as well as Valjean/Javert and a smattering of lovely rare-pairs.
Rec: This story is one of my perennial favourites—I’ve read and re-read it, and it never fails to both cheer me up immensely and offer a new joke, pun or observation that I’d missed on all previous readings. The writing is spectacular, and the depiction of the characters in their high-school setting is spot-on.
Content warnings: Discussions of mental health issues, references to drug use
“social media” by notcaycepollard. 1.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Emily of New Moon, Anne of Green Gables; Ship: Ilse Burnley/Emily Byrd Starr
Recced by: Jenny
Backstory: All the girls from the LM Montgomery novels are in fandom. (It’s really more gen than shippy, sadly.)
Rec: Just an assortment of delightful-as-hell Tumblr/Twitter convos between Emily Starr and Ilse Burnley and Anne Shirley. Includes some superfluous shade for Dean Priest, worst person in all of fiction.
Content warnings: N/A
“Falser Than Vows Made In Wine” by queenofchildren. 79K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Still Star-Crossed; Ship: Rosaline/Benvolio
Recced by: ReLynn
Backstory: Modern AU. When Rosaline and Benvolio tag along on Romeo and Juliet’s Elopement, the last thing they expect is to wake up married. Or like it.
Rec: So many feels. The author brings out the antagonist to lovers of the original source characters and makes it fit beautifully in a story of two broken people forming a marriage of
Content warnings: N/A
“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like” by Chash. 6.5K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: The 100; Ship: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Recced by: Kay
Backstory: Modern AU in which Bellamy and Clarke are regular cast members for Christmas films at a Hallmark-type tv network.
Rec: Chash writes my favorite modern AUs in The 100 fandom, and this fic about Bellamy and Clarke teaming up to blackmail their network into diversifying their content (Clarke will play a bisexual female lead and there will be a background f/f couple in the same film) is hilarious and heartwarming. (There’s also very background Monty/Miller!)
Content Warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
We’re doing a Thanksgiving-themed list next week, so if you have any recs about families, holidays, and feasts, please send them our way! (And please mention this theme when you submit, to make it easier for us to find.) The “found family” trope is especially encouraged, and they don’t have to be Thanksgiving-specific. (After all, one of this newsletter’s editors isn’t even American.) — Gav
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)