The Rec Center #363
Hi folks! This week we have articles about vintage fanzine conservation and horrible new developments in streaming TV, along with some lovely Andor femslash fanart, multifandom fic recs, and more! — Gav
new stuff
“TV Has Always Disappeared. This Feels Different.” by Kathryn VanArendonk at Vulture
A grim summation of the situation at Warner Bros./HBO Max, where shows and movies are being pulled from streaming for no good reason.
“Fanfiction Enthusiasts Are Digitally Preserving Decades Worth of Zines” by Claire Woodcock at Vice
Many of these zines are being converted from PDF image files into digital text, and/or will be available through AO3 and the Internet Archive. Cool stuff!
https://twitter.com/i_zzzzzz/status/1602745845111173120
older stuff
“The Death of Paper Tickets and the Stories They Leave Behind” by Steve Rushin at Sports Illustrated
“Say you’re 10 and you go to a game with your dad; you give [the ticket] to the attendant, the attendant tears it and—boom—that stub is your memory.”
tumblr & beyond
Andor fanart by artseamoni
happy holidays from... Interview with the Vampire’s his-and-his coffins, apparently?
“do you ever think about how a series of tiny choices like ‘I guess I’ll watch that show’ can like totally and entirely change huge aspects of your life”
“supernatural is like dunkin’ donuts.”
“Trying to kill each other is a reason to START shipping characters.”
fanfiction
Just an unthemed grab-bag this week! Thank you very much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“i’m already just a skeleton” by littledata. 5.1K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: A League of Their Own (2022); Ship: Jess/Greta
Recced by: anon
Backstory: On the show, Greta is the high femme first baseman and her roommate Jess is the team’s shortstop/heartthrob. In this fic, Jess is trans.
Rec: This is a lovely and thoughtful look at Jess’s gender and sexuality. The author has such a good take on Jess and the Greta/Jess dynamic is simply perfection.
Content warnings: Gender dysphoria
“the weakness of falling in love” by roquen. 108K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed/ Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù; Ship: Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao
Recced by: C
Backstory: A canon divergence where Jin Guangyao is prevented from marrying, and he and Lan Xichen begin a secret relationship which creates a ripple effect. Mostly MDZS rather than Untamed canon.
Rec: Jin Guangyao is a fascinating if difficult character and this is far and away the best longform canonverse depiction of him I’ve ever seen. All the characterisation is thoughtful, the writing is excellent, and the eventual fix feels natural and true to canon.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, canon-typical mentions of sexual violence
“ten thousand cuts” by Nagia. 3.7K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Labyrinth (1986); Ship: Jareth/Sarah Williams
Recced by: PacificSiren
Backstory: Sarah grows into her role as the Goblin Queen.
Rec: This story interrupts the naive girl/scary Goblin King dynamic to ask: what if Sarah was the more ruthless ruler?
Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence
“The music, the transgression of the spheres” by Sovin. 5.8K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Les Miserables; Ship: Enjolras/Grantaire
Recced by: Sarah
Backstory: Enjolras and Grantaire are student revolutionaries, members of Les Amis de l’ABC, speaking out for the downtrodden. In this fic they’re women, members of a private women’s club in 1870s Boston.
Rec: Perfect for anyone who loves historical fashion and women’s rights and a nice dash of smut—Enjolras and Grantaire are now women, but they’re still passionate and righteous and surrounded by glorious friends.
Content warnings: N/A
“Acclimating” by justira. 31K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: One Piece; Ship: Luffy/Law
Recced by: Jenny Hamilton
Backstory: One Piece is a phenomenally epic manga and anime about pirate crew found families who do adventures and acquire magical powers. Luffy and Law are captains of two different crews who team up.
Rec: In this fic, Law is aro but not ace, and Luffy is ace but not aro. They figure it out. This is the first part of a WIP series, but it works very well as a standalone!
Content warnings: N/A
“And is there Honey still for Tea?” by JayTryFanStone (TryFanStone). 19K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Winnie-the-Pooh - A. A. Milne, Navigation and Actions; Ship: Gen
Recced by: peacioneGC
Backstory: This is a beloved tale of our friend Winnie-the-Pooh and the not-so-great day. It may be well known but it’s a short apocalyptic tale that takes place in the Hundred-Acre-Wood.
Rec: The story sucks you in immediately in that it is different than other tales of our favorite childhood friends in that they retain their voice. It’s not modernised.
Content warnings: Character death
“Evil Overlord, Inc.” by Footloose, mushroomtale. 138K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Merlin; Ships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Leon/Morgana
Recced by: cupidsbow
Backstory: A modern-day AU, in which Merlin is still magic, magic is still illegal, and the realm is in peril.
Rec: This is my favourite Merlin fic. It’s set modern-day, but has magic being corporatised while still being illegal, and that leads to some fantastic humour and world-building, but also to a really satisfying climax as Merlin faces off against the villains. Also a feature—Arthur’s deepest desire is to be an Evil Overlord. It makes me cackle every time.
Content warnings: N/A
https://twitter.com/joshcarlosjosh/status/1601304983617404928
FINAL THOUGHT
A few weeks back we put out a call for holiday & wintry fic, but we have yet to receive enough submissions to do a full list (which we’re still hoping to do next week!). If you have a favorite fic that falls in this broader realm (and especially stories that center Jewish and other non-Christian/Christmas-celebrating characters) please send it our way via our handy form. — Elizabeth