The Rec Center #243
Hello all! This week we’re devoting the whole articles section of the newsletter to Chadwick Boseman and his fans, with some really powerful writing about how much his work meant to so many people. We’ve also got some gorgeous Dragon Age fanart, and in honor of the start of an extremely strange school year in many parts of the world, a multi-fandom rec list of college and high school AUs. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Chadwick Boseman Forever” by Tonja Renée Stidhum at The Root
“Then, something amazing happened. We started to see and share an influx of stories, memories and pictures—all related to Boseman and how his very existence impacted so many. It was in that moment we knew that not only is Wakanda forever...but Boseman is, too.”
“Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther’ Director Ryan Coogler Full Statement on the Legacy of Chadwick Boseman” at Marvel.com
A beautiful piece of writing about Chadwick Boseman’s creativity, drive, and friendship with Ryan Coogler.
“A Superhero Who Looks Like Us” by Carla Bruce-Eddings at The Cut
“I didn’t tell her the star of Black Panther was dead, not yet. I wasn’t ready to. The thrill of seeing a larger-than-life story of adventure, bravery, love, and pride, rendered so masterfully with characters who looked and felt like me—that’s what I wanted to share with her on Saturday.”
older stuff
“Photos from the First-Ever Wakandacon” by Pat Nabong at Chicago Magazine
Beautiful photos from Wakandacon in August 2018, which celebrated Afrofuturism—and especially Black Panther.
tumblr & beyond
Dragon Age fanart by stamatwins
“liking fucked up characters gives me evil serotonin”
“dobby was only there in the lord of the rings to cockblock sam and frodo”
Check out this beautiful Nightcrawler print!
“I am a simple person with simple wants,” I say, scrolling through AO3
fanfiction
Since people are heading back to school right now (in some format, anyway), we thought we’d run a list of college and high school AUs to start off the school year. Thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“If a Train Leaves the Station at 60 mph, How Fast will Bucky Barnes Fall in Love with Steve Rogers?” by jinlinli. 24K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Captain America; Ship: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes
Recced by: PettyBuckler
Backstory: Bucky is a geeky kid who dresses like a punk, Steve is a rebel who wears plaid and khakis. They fall in love during SAT tutoring.
Rec: Honestly, this is probably the best high school AU I’ve ever read. The art is sooo adorable and fits the fic perfectly, and there are so many cute Stucky scenes balanced with an amazingly well-plotted storyline. Even Pierce is an absolute knock-out as the villain. Definitely worth a read!
Content warnings: N/A
“In Defiance of all Geometry” by idiopathicsmile. 51K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Les Miserables; Ship: Combeferre/Enjolras/Grantaire
Recced by: aliassmith
Backstory: “In which there are secrets, pining, pancakes, and revelations…” Les Amis share house AU.
Rec: Diverse and super intersectional take on the modern day college AU. Realistic relationship build and wonderful, terrible puns.
Content warnings: N/A
“mad as the sea and the wind” by aholynight. 57K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Druck (SKAM Germany); Ship: Matteo Florenzi/David Schreibner
Recced by: Cody
Backstory: Druck is a web series following the lives of German teens in Berlin. This story is a college AU—set during their first year at university, rewriting the meeting of the central pairing in Druck season 3. Matteo accidentally signs up for the advanced acting workshop, David is directing the workshop’s production of Hamlet, they misunderstand each other’s intentions but manage to fall in LOVE! + canon trans character.
Rec: This story is immersive, beautifully written, thoughtful, funny, sensitive. The portrayal of these characters learning how to support & love each other through the complexity of dynamic identity is healing.
Content warnings: One central character deals with depression and recovery, one central character references past experiences with transphobia. + some drinking and drug use (weed)
“this is no bridget jones” by nicheinhischest. 54K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: One Direction; Ships: Niall Horan/Zayn Malik, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Recced by: fredfinch
Backstory: Zayn ends up getting into the same university as his best friend (and secret crush) Liam, where new friend Harry decides to help Zayn with his love life. Niall is a great friend, Harry and Louis might be dating, and everybody has a lot of feelings.
Rec: First time I read this, I didn’t realize the endgame pairing was not liam/zayn, so it was like a massive plot twist for me and had me kicking my feet and hiding under a pillow to shriek with delight. Zayn’s pining is so painful, and seeing Niall and Zayn start to hang out and get closer is a delight - but what a slow burn! All the boys’ friendship is a huge part of what makes me love this fic. They hang out, cuddle, and are so happy to be around one another. It’s really sweet.
Content warnings: Smoking weed, drinking alcohol
And we had two recs for this pair of GoT fics, one focusing on the Brienne POV, one about both stories in the series—so why not have both recs!
“two halves of a soul” by angel_Deux. 43K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Game of Thrones; Ship: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Recced by: faithlessone
Backstory: Modern High School AU. Cersei (cheerleader prom queen) starts behaving extra-awfully to Brienne after seeing her soulmark at a sleepover. But why?
Rec: It’s a really well-built high school AU, with a wonderful slow-ish burn romance. There is also a sequel, showing the story from Jaime’s POV.
Content warnings: Light violence and domestic abuse
“two halves of a sword” by angel_deux. 90K words over 2 works, rated Teen.
Fandom: Game of Thrones; Ship: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Recced by: anon
Backstory: High School Soulmark AU, first told from Brienne’s point of view and then Jaime’s.
Rec: This reads like a perfect YA novel. The Brienne POV is a little more light-hearted and has a lot of Stark hijinks, and the Jaime POV deals with his Lannister baggage in a really emotional and smart way.
Content warning: Sort of an anti-content warning that there’s no Cersei/Jaime incest in this.
FINAL THOUGHT
Have a relaxing weekend, everyone! We hope you enjoyed the recs! — Gav
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)