The Rec Center #58
It may feel like it’s been a hundred years since our last newsletter. IT’S ONLY BEEN A WEEK. That being said, we made it through this week! We’ve got Chris Evans’s ascension to real-life Captain America, a Star Wars fanvid, and more Femslash February, including fics from The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Supernatural, Legend of Korra, and the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Chris Evans, Real-life Captain America, Battled White Nationalist David Duke on Twitter” by Hunter Harris at Vulture
We’re 100% here for this newly enraged and political iteration of noted Nice Boy Chris Evans.
Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Tom Hiddleston profile at GQ
We first heard about this profile when its author was mistaken for Tom Hiddleston’s new girlfriend by the tabloids. Well, it’s finally been published and it’s just as brilliant as we hoped. Essential if you enjoy that classic Tom Hiddleston feeling of affection combined with intense embarrassment.
older stuff
“The Depressing, Disappointing Maleness of Doctor Who’s New Time Lord” by Ted B. Kissell at The Atlantic
Speaking of Doctoresses! With Peter Capaldi’s announcement that he’s leaving DW, many people are lobbying for a non-white and/or non-male Doctor, which may call to mind the last time we did this. Even if you loved Capaldi’s Doctor, surely we can all agree: C’MON BBC DON’T LET US DOWN THIS TIME.
tumblr & beyond
“papaoutai,” a Star Wars fanvid by jonesandashes and pollyrepeat
Throughout the month Femslash Revolution has been posting perspectives from F/F readers and writers. Check out the whole tag, and be sure to check out this entry by havingbeenbreathedout.
Uh, this is one of the best IRL fanfic love stories we’ve ever heard.
The #28DaysOfBlackCosplay hashtag = joy.
Unearthed from the darkest depths of YouTube, here’s what appears to be a ’90s-era public access TV show (?) presented by Klingons, including a Klingon Food Kritic segment.
fanfiction
Femslash February continues! Here’s another batch of multi-fandom recs from our submissions form. We’ll have a guest reccer next week, but we’ll do one more grab-bag before February ends, so if you haven’t submitted your favorite F/F stories yet, please do! — Elizabeth
“Dance or Die (These Dreams are Forever)” by EllieMurasaki. 20K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Supernatural; Ships: Mary Winchester/Ellen Harvelle, past Mary/John
Recced by: AurumCalendula
Backstory: “Mary remembers. Mary lives. Everything changes. Everything stays the same.”
Rec: I’ve always had a fondness for AUs in which Mary lives. I ran across this a few years ago and have adored it ever since.
Content warnings: N/A
“Five Ridiculous Things That Never Happened to Nancy Whitehead (and one awesome thing that did)” by lilacsigil. 4.4K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl; Ship: Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl)/Nancy Whitehead
Recced by: Lizbethanne
Backstory: Squirrel Girl is the world’s most cheerful comic book. SG is a college student, and she and her randomly assigned roommate, Nancy (and Nancy’s cat Mew) become best friends and crime fighting pals.
Rec: This story feels like lost issues of the USG comics, without exaggeration. Nancy is a delightful character and doesn’t get enough attention—seeing multiple universes where she gets the spotlight is delightful, and it's perfect that the objectively best universe is where she and Doreen are together.
Content warnings: N/A
“give blood: play rugby” by anon. 2.7K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Hello Venus (K-pop); Ship: Kim Hyelim | Lime/Song Juhee | Alice
Recced by: blindmouse
Backstory: Hello Venus are a Korean girl group who, I’ll be honest, I’m only passingly familiar with. This fic doesn’t require any familiarity to super enjoy it, though.
Rec: This is my favourite kind of one-shot saffic—the sports AU setting is delightfully realised, it’s hot and the characterisation is so much fun. I love the way Hyelim’s fantasies about Juhee intersect with actual Juhee.
Content warnings: N/A
“Just Between” series by G.L.Dartt. (plus epub and mobi versions of the collected series) Reccer says the length of the ebook is 2 million words (!) “but also includes stories from a related series,” rated Explicit.
Fandom: Star Trek: Voyager; Ship: Janeway/Seven
Recced by: AurumCalendula
Backstory: Epic canon divergent series focusing on Janeway and Seven’s relationship. It consists of 50 stories and is divided into five virtual seasons.
Rec: I love watching Janeway and Seven’s relationship develop, and I love epic stories (which seems to more difficult to find with femslash).
Content warnings: N/A
“Effeullier la Marguerite” by arriviste. 22K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Les Mis; Ship: Enjolras/Grantaire (F/F)
Recced by: Ellie
Backstory: Genderbent modern AU E/R and LGBT rights protesting!
Rec: Militant political lesbians! My very favorite genderbent femslash! One of my favorite fanfics, period.
Content warnings: some internalized homophobia
“Adrift” by beifongnation/satomobile. 14.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Legend of Korra; Ships: Korra/Asami, Lin/OMC
Recced by: tarastarr1
Backstory: Korra struggles with the anxiety of coming out while traveling on an opulent ocean liner en route to do just that. Along the way she is surprised to find distraction and solace in new friends and old.
Rec: I found this fic because THE Makani drew amazing art for it. Korra and Asami are together but not yet public with their relationship, so Korra is having a lot of FEELINGS. Korra thinks about her own situation while watching Lin flirt in her grumpy old way with her new boyfriend. This fic is hilarious and was one of the first I read after Korrasami went canon.
Content warnings: N/A
“from the dark with you above” by cairophoenix. 21.7K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Lizzie Bennet Diaries; Ship: Lydia Bennet/Gigi Darcy
Recced by: Lena (plus her TinyLetter!)
Backstory: Lizzie Bennet Diaries (LBD) is a YouTube series that re-tells the story of Pride and Prejudice through vlogs made by Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet. Within LBD, Lydia’s storyline happens in much the same way as the book and Gigi's role has been greatly expanded from the text. A small yet mighty community of shippers formed around these two sisters, and all the fics about them are excellent!
Rec: I like this fic so much because it REALLY nails and expands upon the characterization of both ladies. It feels so real and it hits on some of my favorite tropes: friends-to-lovers and slow burn! Lydia and Gigi are precious here—I hope it inspires more people to ship these two ladies!
Content warnings: Alcohol, canon-compliant mention of past abuse by George Wickham.
FINAL THOUGHT
A call for participants! A PhD student doing a research project on kink memes and is looking for people to interview. “If you have previously participated or currently participate in (posted prompts or fills, moderated, or otherwise worked on or in) a kink meme, and would be willing to be interviewed about your experience, email me at genme@upenn.edu. You will not have to share your real name with me, nor will any of your usernames have be revealed in the final paper. Thanks for your help!”
Have a one-off rec? Please send it our way with our submission form! F/F recs are especially encouraged during Femslash February. :-)
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