The Rec Center #107
Hello! This week we’ve got our second “that one fic” multi-fandom rec list, fanzines new and old, a comic about trans themes in The Matrix, and more! — Elizabeth
new stuff
“How Supernatural’s All-Female Spinoff, Wayward Sisters, Was Born” by Emily Tannenbaum at Elle
“From fandom to canon: six characters and thousands of fans willed a new show into existence.”
“Constructs” by Ashanti Fortson
A beautiful fan comic depicting a trans reading of The Matrix.
And not exactly fandom-related unless, like us and a number of you we have forcibly converted, your fandom is Black Sails:
“Pirates: Hard, Violent, Unpredictable” by Rebecca Simon at History Today
“Pirates captured by an increasingly powerful British state were routinely executed. But what happened to the families they left behind?” A great dive into the domestic lives of pirates and their loved ones.
“Woman fed up with searching for perfect man marries GHOST of 300-year-old pirate” at the Daily Mirror
“Amanda Teague, 45, has married a Haitian pirate named Jack who died in the 1700s, and the fact he’s dead doesn’t bother her.” LEGITIMATE HERO.
older stuff
“10,000 zines and counting: a library’s quest to save the history of fandom” by Adi Robertson at The Verge
The University of Iowa’s fan culture preservation work is VITAL (and if you’re at all interested in archives and you aren’t already following the University of Iowa’s Special Collections tumblr, quick, go now!)
tumblr & beyond
Fans of The 100 are crowdfunding an awesome-looking Clexa comic.
A satirical breakdown of Star Wars ships.
“Watching a Super Mario 64 120 Stars TAS speedrun but I’m currently more interested in this fucking saga in the comments section”
A v interesting thread about philosophy in the Wonder Woman movie.
fanfiction
It’s week 2 of our “that one fic” call for recs: readers sent in the one fic they’d rec to someone who wanted to get into a given fandom. We got a ton of these—enough for, like, four separate lists—and I really enjoy it as a theme, because, as I said when we put out the call for recs, I think people hesitate to rec some of this stuff since they feel like everyone’s read it. So this call is ongoing—just include “that one fic” in the themes & tropes section of the form—and we’ll put together a few more of these lists in the future. Thanks again to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“Hanged Man” by Speranza. 33K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: due South; Ship: Fraser/RayK
Recced by: Clever Manka
Backstory: After suffering through the annual police department banquet, Ray decides to take Dewey’s mocking suggestion that he and Fraser “get a room.” Because neither he or Fraser can ever do things the easy way, things get tough before they can get better. The sex sure is good, though.
Rec: A first-time story with show-appropriate angst but a happy ending—my fave combination, especially for this pairing. I think anything from Speranza’s due South writings could be filed under “that one fic” but this is the one I most often return to when I need a comfort read.
Content warnings: Homophobic slur at the beginning, some issues with internalized homophobia
“Pizzaverse” by Closer. 66K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Suits; Ship: Harvey/Mike
Recced by: christycorr
Backstory: In the show, Mike is a genius dropout type guy who sort of accidentally cons his way into working for a hardass boss at a top law firm. In this, he’s a pizza delivery guy who gets slowly entangled into that world—and of course, in love with said hardass lawyer.
Rec: A fandom classic, and frankly somewhat more likeable dynamics/characters than the show itself. The multiple POVs make it extra delightful.
Content warnings: N/A
“Lunch and Other Obscenities” by Rheanna. 9.7K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Star Trek (2009); Ship: Mostly gen, with some Spock/Uhura
Recced by: Flourish
Backstory: People of all species study together at Starfleet Academy. When Uhura arrived, she was excited about having a roommate and interested to meet people with different backgrounds...but she wasn’t prepared for someone as culturally different as Gaila.
Rec: This is one of the most-discussed fics in academic work in recent years, but it’s also one of the best Star Trek gen fics of all time. It manages to show off a lot of what’s so great about Trek—Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination and its problems—and also gently critique the reboot movies for their treatment of Gaila.
Content warnings: N/A
“They Have Taken Photographs of Our Footprints in the Dust” by dharmaavocado. 4K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Ship: Chirrut Îmwe/Baze Malbus
Recced by: IrishMumbles
Backstory: If you’ve seen the film you may have thought to yourself, "Wow, Baze and Chirrut really act like an old married couple." This fic bounces through the scenes of the film, but with Chirrut telling the other characters different versions of how he and Baze met and came to be married.
Rec: This is THE Baze/Chirrut old marrieds fic. If I could have articulated everything I wanted out of a Baze/Chirrut-centric story after seeing the film, this would encapsulate ALL OF IT.
Content warnings: Character death, non-graphic and in line with the movie.
“A Curious Carriage of Crystal and Cold” by Etharei. 114K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: X-Men: First Class; Ship: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Recced by: Gryvon
Backstory: Charles, a miner from a poor village in the countryside, saves the life of Erik Lehnsherr, scion of a successful business family and the richest man on the planet Eisen. Charles is a telepath and somewhat anxious about it, while Erik abstains from relationships because the lights flicker and doors open and electronics vibrate when he gets too excited.
Rec: This is a detailed and descriptive AU that manages to keep the characters whole in a completely new setting.
Content warnings: N/A
“Truth and Measure” by Telanu. 272K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada; Ship: Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Miranda Priestly is a fashion magazine editor and the boss from hell. Andrea Sachs is an inexperienced writer who becomes her personal assistant and climbs the ranks before finally escaping their toxic relationship. Despite this rather dubious starting-point, the movie is extremely shippy.
Rec: Telanu wrote several incredible fics in DWP fandom, but this is probably the most ~essential. It’s a sequel to the movie, wherein Miranda unexpectedly gets pregnant and Andrea helps her with the pregnancy, leading to an even more unexpected romance. It’s very long, as you’d expect from a story that has to sort out a lot of issues between the two lead characters, and while I haven’t read it in several years, I remember it being brilliant. As someone who doesn’t read many pregnancy/baby stories, this fic is a rare exception for me.
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
Black Sails fans! A queer Black Sails fanzine is seeking submissions! Possible Here is seeking nonfiction subs of all kinds, due in just about a month, and when they release it in April, it’ll be free with an option to donate, with all proceeds going to Trans Lifeline. (I am very excited to read this!) — Elizabeth
FINAL FINAL THOUGHT
Are you a writer and/or diehard fan of coffeeshop AUs? If so, I’d love to chat with you for an article I’m working on! I’d like to quote some opinions on why the genre is so popular. You can get in touch with me via my email gavia@thedailydot.com or on Twitter/Tumblr.
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. And if you have any interest in doing an entire rec list or explainer, please get in touch! elizabethandgav at gmail dot com.
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)