The Rec Center #246
Hi folks! This week we’ve got articles about celebrity cosplay and fanfic rec culture, along with some ~incredible vintage Buffy fanzines, Magicians fanart, and a rec list of Regency-era fanfic! — Gav
new stuff
“A Black Fan Club Sought to Diversify N.H.L. Stands. Now They’re Aiming at Its C-Suites.” by Gary Santaniello at The New York Times
“‘I can’t say I saw our community growing to this magnitude, but our country is in crisis and Black women have historically led the way toward social change,’ [Black Girl Hockey Club founder Renee] Hess said. ‘I believe we can lead the way in hockey, too.’”
“Reccing as Critical Practice” by forestofglory at Lady Businessss
A piece that will definitely be of interest to readers of The *Rec* Center: on the art of reccing and its critical function in both pro publishing spaces and the fanfic world.
“W TV Portfolio: Who’s Watching Who?” at W Magazine
W Magazine asked a bunch of actors what TV shows they’re watching—and, crucially, asked them to cosplay as their favorite characters. Excellent Lockdown Content; Dan Levy is the MVP.
older stuff
“For disabled and other marginalized fans, online events aren’t a compromise—they’re a lifeline” by Katie Rife, Annie Zaleski, and Shannon Miller at The A.V. Club
A roundtable discussion about the pandemic-driven shift to online events, and how valuable these have been for fans who weren’t usually able to attend in-person events before.
tumblr & beyond
The Magicians fanart by evelyn
This person found the Buffy fanzines they made at the age of 10, and they are... honestly a delight.
“Cordelia: the poster not the movie” should absolutely be a Yuletide fandom this year! (ICYMI, here’s a quick explainer on why this seemingly-kinky movie poster went viral this week.)
Why did this Palpatine figurine have to look Like That...
A truly top-tier example of the screencap/lyrics Tumblr post genre.
fanfiction
Loosely inspired by Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer novels, Regency AUs range from delightfully formulaic romances to surprisingly experimental riffs on that familiar 19th-century English setting. Thank you to the guest reccers who contributed to this list! And if you want more Regency fic, here’s last year’s list as well. — Gav
“Longing and Belonging” by enjambament. 45K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Witcher; Ship: Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Set in a European medieval fantasy world, The Witcher is about Geralt (a superpowered hero-for-hire) riding around the countryside fighting monsters. In Netflix TV canon, Jaskier is his cute-but-annoying sidekick (a bard) while Yennefer is Geralt’s love-interest/frenemy, and Cirilla is his young protege.
Rec: This fic does a great job of combining The Witcher’s fantasy canon with a Regency-inspired setting, casting Jaskier (very believably) as Cirilla’s new tutor: A classic “governess moves into the big house” romance. Both a satisfyingly tropey love story, and a thoughtful balance of roles for the other characters and supernatural subplots.
Content warnings: Graphic violence
“A Lady of Value” by Eienvine. 148K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Agent Carter; Ship: Peggy Carter/Daniel Souza
Recced by: Esther M
Backstory: A Regency AU that very loosely follows the main plot of the show’s first season but also includes a fake engagement and all of the confusion and pining that go with it.
Rec: The story manages to be well-researched and grounded in the period, while still letting Peggy be her extremely badass self, and is overall just a really charming romance-adventure.
Content warnings: N/A
“Quadrille” by dasyatidae. 22K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Inception; Ships: Arthur/Eames, background Ariadne/Yusuf
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Arthur is a country gentleman engaged to be married to the lovely Ariadne. Eames is Ariadne’s brother, who rides down from town to meet Arthur and help prepare for the wedding. Sparks fly!
Rec: Dasyatidae uses Regency tropes beautifully, with everything from atmospheric storms to letter-writing to a dramatic scene at a dance. I swooned on multiple occasions, which seems pretty period-appropriate.
Content warnings: Some period-typical homophobia, chronic pain
“The Duchess’s Deception: An Account of Adventure, Intrigue, and Romance” by plalligator. 21K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Queen’s Thief - Megan Whalen Turner; Ships: Attolia/Eugenides, Eddis/Sophos
Recced by: Blythe
Backstory: This is a historical fantasy canon actually kinda being pulled forward in time to be a Regency AU.
Rec: It’s fun seeing these characters in a similar-yet-very-different setting like this. Also, hey, I found an M/F one!
Content warning: The explicit sequel has under-negotiated kink stuff
“The Subtle Approach” by Survivah. 16K words, rated Teen
Fandom: The Old Guard; Ship: Joe/Nicky
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: The Old Guard is an action movie about a team of immortal warriors. Joe (Yusuf) and Nicky (Nicolo) are a longstanding couple who originally met while fighting on opposite sides of the Crusades.
Rec: The great thing about The Old Guard is you have centuries of backstory to flesh out. This fic sees the team (Joe, Nicky, Andy and Booker) go undercover at a country house during the Regency era, trying to take down a wealthy crime boss. There’s plenty of fun detail as they try (rather incompetently) to maintain their aliases, and Nicky gets into hot water when their host decides he’d make a good match for his teenage daughter. Very fun!
Content warnings: Graphic violence
FINAL THOUGHT
Charity fanworks auction Marvel Trumps Hate is back, and creator signups are open for another week. If you’re in the broader Marvel sphere and interested in offering up your works (or services), check out their site for full details and instructions on how to sign up! — 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)