The Rec Center #57
HELLO. Perhaps this is how you are feeling?
The good news is that you have once again survived the week! And in other good news, Femslash February has begun! We’ve got multi-fandom recs this week with more in the queue for the rest of February. We’ve also got our usual mix of fandom articles and Tumblr posts, from the O.C. to Ms. Marvel to, as always, Yuri!!! on Ice. :-) — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Exploring the Cultural Impact of The O.C. & Male Fandom, Dismissal, and Shame” by Marianne Eloise at The Learned Fangirl
An essay exploring male fans—and anti-fans—of media perceived as feminine, focusing on “The O.C.”
“These Three Girls Dressed Up As “Hidden Figures” Characters Will Give You Life” by Terri Pous at Buzzfeed
CUTE!!!
“Muslim superhero Ms. Marvel emerges as a powerful symbol during protests” by Michelle Jaworski at The Daily Dot
Marvel’s Kamala Khan has started to pop up at protests across the US. (P.S. Remember that awesome fanart of Kamala punching Trump in the face last year? Surprisingly prescient!)
older stuff
“How Buffy Saved Me in 2016” by Amanda Brown at Medium
Juuuust barely edging into the “older” category (it’s from late December 2016), this piece talks about what a lot of us are struggling with: how to balance escaping in fiction with finding strength in fiction. Plus Buffy! Buffy Forever.
tumblr & beyond
Lady Loki tarot art by yeonbee.
John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats wrote a Star Wars song called “The Ultimate Jedi Who Wastes All The Other Jedi And Eats Their Bones” for The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson.
Some dude archived “1-10 million” fanfic.net pages omfg.
Gav and her podcast co-host Morgan recorded a VERY ENTHUSIASTIC podcast all about Yuri on Ice! The first half avoids major spoilers so you can listen if you haven’t seen/finished the show, while the second half delves deeper into some spoilery discussion. (Morgan is a lifelong figure skating fan but knows nothing about anime, so this made for an interesting ~balance with Gav’s obsession with YoI.)
fanfiction
It’s February! FEMSLASH February. As we announced last week, we’ll only be doing femslash recs this month. We have more multi-fandom lists coming your way, from one-off submissions as well as guest reccers, but if you want to join in with your favorite F/F, just write us (see the “Final Thought”). And as I wrote last week, since it’s also Black History Month, we’d love to see recs with Black characters, so this is a special call if you have any favorite fics. — Elizabeth
“Sowing Seeds (of health and hope)” by Katmarjade. 7.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Harry Potter; Ship: Hermione Granger/Millicent Bulstrode
Recced by: LaDonnaErrante
Backstory: Hermione’s mother hires Millicent to create a vegetable garden for her. After a rocky start, Millicent and Hermione work together to grow organic produce, a beautiful friendship, and eventually something even deeper.
Rec: Really sweet and well written. Hermione has a lot of healing to do, and Granola!Millicent is fabulous.
Content warnings: Post-war trauma
“A Game of Two Halves” by Crunchysunrises. 9.7K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Naruto; Ship: Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino
Recced by: bamfiruka
Backstory: Naruto is the story of a ninja village and covers the struggles of the ninja who live there after the devastation of the wild Nine Tails attack. Best friends from childhood, Sakura/Ino is one of the more popular F/F pairings in the fandom.
Rec: This fic dives into seal theory and chakra theory, and explores some ‘what ifs’ left hanging in the manga. A really good look at Sakura’s dynamics with the rest of the cast and her relationship with Ino.
Content warnings: N/A
“Wolves of Swift River” by waspabi. 18.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: RPF; Ship: Taylor Swift/Karlie Kloss
Recced by: Lizbethanne
Backstory: RPF, but instead of pop stars they're werewolves.
Rec: I really love the way this story takes the idea of a woman being attacked and turned into a monster and turns it into a heartwarming tale of found family/love. I’m not versed in any of these people’s real lives/RPF tropes (besides listening to Taylor Swift b/c I’m an American woman between 10 and 40) and I thought this was an amazing werewolf story.
Content warnings: Werewolf-story-typical violence, mention of past abusive relationships
“We Live in an In-Between Universe” by renquise. 5.4K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Mamamoo (K-pop); Ship: Kim Yongsun | Solar/Moon Byulyi | Moonbyul
Recced by: blindmouse
Backstory: Mamamoo are a Korean girl group known for power vocals, incredible stage presence and being super flirty with each other.
Rec: A Space AU, in which something goes wrong during a hyperdrive jump. Has just exactly enough plot to serve the emotional arc, which is believable and lovely.
Content warnings: N/A
“The Swan and The Dove” by trylonandperisphere. 56K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Orphan Black; Ship: Delphine Cormier/Cosima Niehaus
Recced by: oberon-and-puck
Backstory: A World War II spy AU. Cosima and Delphene’s relationship is canon, but in this fic they’re not exactly scientists. This characterisation of them was amazing.
Rec: Well written, interesting, with lots of different and exciting twists and turns.
Content warning: War
“A Story, A Tale” by maleficently. 27K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Once Upon A Time; Ship: Aurora/Mulan
Recced by: aiyesha
Backstory: OUAT is dominated by SwanQueen and Captain Swan, but back in the corners there are gems like this fic, which take the background relationship between Aurora and Mulan and bring it to the forefront. Brought together on a quest to save Prince Philip, the two of them grow closer as time goes on, and what's seen on screen is only the tip of the iceberg.
Rec: The main conceit of (at least the first season) of OUAT is that Emma Swan is the saviour, and only she can save the rest of the characters from the curse they’re under. This fic flips that burden to Mulan, and reimagines that story through the lens of Mulan and Aurora's relationship, both before the curse and after.
Content warnings: N/A
“Truth and Measure” by Telanu. 272K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada; Ship: Miranda/Andy
Recced by: Flourish
Backstory: Andrea Sachs is an aspiring journalist who hates fashion but takes a job as assistant to dictatorial Miranda Priestly, the editor of Runway Magazine. At the climax of the movie, Andy leaves her job—even though she's become extremely good at it—because she fears she's becoming as cold and work-obsessed as Miranda. This story reimagines what might have happened if Andy had decided to stay on at Runway.
Rec: A Mirandy epic about working womanhood—but not just that: about finding a balance between your career and your children; about forming an identity separate from the family of your birth; about bisexuality and its perceptions and realities; and also about having really hot sex with your ice queen boss.
Content warnings: Pregnancy, boss/assistant relationship
FINAL THOUGHT
Join us for more Femslash February next week! Remember, our submission box is always open to more recs from our readers. :)
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)