The Rec Center #157
Happy New Year! We’re back with our annual tradition of multifandom Yuletide recs, mostly supplied by you guys because, well, some of those fandoms are pretty obscure. Among others, we’ve got Medieval manuscript fanfic, Squirrel Girl, and arctic explorer RPF. Plus some coverage of artistic works entering the public domain this year, and some cool She-Ra fanart. — Gav
new stuff
“How Zine Libraries Are Highlighting Marginalized Voices” by Rosie Knight at BuzzFeed
Fanzines are only a subset of broader zine culture, but we know a lot of our readers are interested in both zines and archives!
“Shifty I’s, ‘Ariel,’ and Fandom” by Rachel Mennies at The Millions
An essay on confessional poetry, Sylvia Plath, and the relationship between the writer and the things she loved.
“For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain” by Glenn Fleishman at Smithsonian
There’s been a lot of coverage about how all the works that have been trapped in copyright limbo for two decades entered the public domain on New Year’s Day. This is some background, but to dig into the truly abysmal state of U.S. copyright law—and how much harm it’s causing for cultural preservation—definitely check out this thread from Naomi Clark.
older stuff
“Not Everything Is a Side Hustle” by Ann Friedman at The Cut
Like the zine piece, this is more fandom-adjacent than anything else, but it’s a short and sweet celebration of doing “monetizable” things just for the love of it—something a lot of fans know intimately.
tumblr & beyond
She-Ra/Catra fanart by S0lelle
Little-known animagus problems: Is this our friend or is it literally just a deer?
“when i come across a fic with a long, lowercase title (perhaps with parentheses) that’s over 20k words and only one chapter”
A thread on the remix culture background of that super-viral Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez video.
fanfiction
Yuletide! The annual end-of-year fic exchange is all about small fandoms—or things you want to write fic about that might not even be considered “fandoms” at all. Once again we’ve got a list of Yuletide highlights—this year, mostly from readers, and thank you to everyone who submitted. If you would like more recs from Yuletides past, our lists for 2015, 2016, and 2017. — Elizabeth
“A-jobbing I will go” by Quillori. 2.7K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Medieval Manuscript Illustrations; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Kira
Backstory: A story based on the many bizarre things one finds in illustrations from medieval manuscripts! Sadly the author hasn’t included pictures of most of the influencing works, but if you’re familiar with the genre you’ll get the idea.
Rec: A very funny and silly epistolary tale about a young woman facing the job market, predatory housing contracts, and far too many cabbages.
Content warnings: N/A
“with the telling of it” by jan. 2.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Jess
Backstory: SGRS centers on the life of Yakumo, a traditional Japanese storyteller. The fic considers how he might reimagine the most tragic moments of his own life
Rec: Stories and how they’re told is such a crucial part of Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. This fic delicately captures the sadness of the original story and ends bittersweetly, but it also does such a wonderful job of imagining scenarios where the story could’ve ended differently
Content warning: references to suicide
“Parts Unknown: Bajor” by fresne. 7.6K words, rated Gen.
Fandoms: Star Trek DS9; Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Abbieprime
Backstory: An AU in which Bourdain and Parts Unknown exist in the 24th Century, and the show visits Bajor, with some lovely cameos from DS9 characters.
Rec: This story is exactly what it says on the tin, and it’s glorious. The characters that Bourdain visits illuminate all the uncomfortable, horrifying aspects of the Bajoran Occupation that the show only danced around, and in the process the Yuletide author shines that light onto the present-day as both the best of Trek and the best of Bourdain have done. It was a very cathartic read, and a beautiful tribute to Bourdain.
Content warnings: The aftermath of war and canon-compliant violence
“The Last Temptation of James Fitzjames, or, An Occurrence on King William Island” by hangingfire. 2.6K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The Terror; Ship: Crozier/Fitzjames
Recced by: Gybe
Backstory: *Spoilers through episode nine* Through his scurvy-induced delirium James reflects on his outsized life and the comfort he and Crozier have found in each other as he prepares for the end.
Rec: The author draws on some very fascinating details from the real Fitzjames’s life and blends past and present masterfully. You don’t have to ship Fitzjames and Crozier to appreciate the perseverance through grief that they’re experiencing here.
Content warnings: Suicide, cannibalism, canon-typical violence, homophobia
“Bakes to Die For” by Longpig. 6.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Great British Bake-Off RPF; Ship: Gen
Recced by: swords-and-spindles
Backstory: When you die, the stories go, you have a chance to come back to life if you beat Death itself in a game (usually of chess). Bettina Stroud, recently deceased, has challenged the Grim Reaper... to a bake-off.
Rec: If that premise alone isn’t enough: the execution is flawless and the contrast between the chipper atmosphere and fake drama of the TV show, and the hosts increasingly being faced with the maddening, unreal realm of, well, Death, makes for a hilarious read.
Content warnings: Dark humour, mentions and personal appearance of death
“Nat Geo” by neveralarch. 1.1K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl; Ship: Doreen Green/Kraven the Hunter
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Squirrel Girl is an intentionally silly Marvel superhero; Kraven the Hunter is an unintentionally silly Marvel supervillain/antihero. She has squirrel powers while he is a sort of 20th-century European wild game hunter.
Rec: A delightful and very in-character story about Kraven the Hunter asking Squirrel Girl to be his plus one to a National Geographic gala event.
Content warnings: N/A
And in a Rec Center first, a GAME rec!
“DILEMMA” by TheBigCat. Interactive text game (estimated play time: 20 minutes), rated Teen.
Fandom: Oxenfree; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Ponderosa
Backstory: Amazing Yuletide Treat that’s an interactive text-game (with sound!) for the game Oxenfree, a story-heavy indie game that mixes supernatural elements with mystery adventure.
Rec: It’s one of the most creative Yuletide submissions I’ve ever seen! Also very well-done, great characterization and storytelling.
Content warning: Canon-typical mild creepy?
FINAL THOUGHT
The Rec Center: YEAR FOUR. Kind of incredible to think that we’ve been doing this for three years. I just wanted to end with a little semi-regular appreciation for everyone who reads, shares, and contributes to the newsletter every week. And, as always, to kfan and his pivotal tweet from New Year’s Day 2016. — Elizabeth
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, zines, etc—are strongly encouraged as well. And if you have any interest in doing an entire rec list, explainer, or ship manifesto, 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)