The Rec Center #99
Hi there! We’re here with a grab-bag of fic recs, a chat with a fandom historian, a cute Doctor Who fan comic, and more. — Gav
new stuff
“A Hannibal Thanksgiving with Food Stylist Janice Poon” by Tom Sveen at Film Independent
What better way to wrap up Thanksgiving than thinking about cannibalism? Hannibal’s food stylist talks about the holiday and her work on the show.
“OTW Guest Post: Catherine Coker” at the Organization for Transformative Works
A great conversation on fanfic, book history, and more with “a genre historian with a background in fan history, women’s writing and publishing, and print history.”
“Parsec Podcast interview: Talking fencing and fandom with the creators of Fence” by Gav at the Daily Dot
Fence is a new comic from author CS Pacat (The Captive Prince) and fanartist/illustrator Johanna the Mad, inspired by sports anime tropes. It’s a queer romance drama about rival fencers at an elite boarding school, and if you’re a fan of Yuri on Ice or Check, Please!, there’s a good chance you’ll love it. This week, Gav interviewed Fence’s creators on the Parsec Podcast, for a spoiler-free chat about fandom, fencing, and the first issue of their comic.
older stuff
“Decolonising Fan Studies: A Bibliography-In-Progress” by Rukmini Pande
Catherine Coker’s interview pointed us towards this fantastic resource: a collection of works on race/racism and colonialism in fan studies and related fields. Highly recommended for everyone in fandom, not just acafans!
tumblr & beyond
Cover art by granpappy-winchester, for the Hannibal daemon AU One Way Out Of Many. Thanks to @snazdoll for commissioning this for Gav’s birthday!!
This AO3 fic summary is inconceivably powerful.
A delightful Doctor Who fan comic where Ten meets Twelve and Bill Potts.
This anime quality rating scale is a work of art.
The four types of college AU
fanfiction
A grab-bag from our submissions this week! Thanks to everyone who sent in a rec. :-) If you’re still in a Thanksgiving mood, make sure to check out last week’s list. Or if you are like me, and are now looking forward to DECEMBER, THE FINEST MONTH OF THE YEAR, check out our winter holiday rec lists from 2016: part 1 and part 2. — Elizabeth
“Like Rebel Diamonds” by Abby_S. 6K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Supernatural; Ship: Krissy Chambers/Claire Novak, Castiel/Dean Winchester (side pairing)
Recced by: Kitty August
Backstory: Krissy Chambers is a hunter’s daughter turned hunter herself, Claire Novak is the daughter of Castiel’s vessel (it’s a long story) but what you need to know is that both these women were girls when they were dumped into the dark of the Supernatural universe and left in the Winchester brothers’ wake.;
Rec: This fic does more justice to these characters than their canon ever has and the romantic tension is palpable.
Content warnings: N/A
“A Most Unexpected Object” by Astardanced77. 14K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Harry Potter; Ship: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Recced by: Rachel
Backstory: EWE. Harry: representative to the International Confederation of Wizards; Draco: Deputy head, Magical Maintenance.
Rec: Such a fantastic choice of jobs for the boys, plus Draco interacting with his co-workers is A+.
Content warnings: N/A
“Resistance is Built on Hope” by ChronicOlicity. 162K words (WIP), rated Teen.
Fandom: Star Wars: Rogue One; Ship: Jyn/Cassian
Recced by: vands88
Backstory: WWII AU: “The year is 1940, and Europe is at war. Jyn Erso keeps her head down, apart from the occasional brushes with the law. She doesn’t care about flags or countries or sides or allegiances. She’s been on her own for a good, long time, and she won’t fight for anyone except herself.”
Rec: This AU works so well; it’s very plotty, the characters are spot-on, and the slow-burn is beautiful torture.
Content warnings: It’s a war story, so there’s a fair bit of gore and violence in there.
“What An Icebox Heart I’ve Been Given” by HowCleverOfYou. 12K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Downton Abbey; Ship: Thomas Barrow/Edward Courtenay
Recced by: Lizara
Backstory: One of the few Thomas/Edward I like. Modern AU, but very anchored in the past, it’s hard to explain.
Rec: It’s sad and heartwarming at the same time, and there are ghosts (even more perfect!), and it’s beautifully written.
Content warnings: N/A
“in the territory of the dragon king” by curledupkitten. 121K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: EXO; Ship: Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo
Recced by: madshark
Backstory: EXO is a 9 (formerly 12)-member K-pop boy group, and one of the most successful in the industry. Byun Baekhyun and Do Kyungsoo are two of the vocalists. Their close friendship despite seemingly incompatible personalities is perfect fic inspiration. This story sets Baekhyun as an inn owner on Jeju who gets a surprise arrival from overworked suit Kyungsoo.
Rec: I think about this—and all of curledupkitten’s fics—regularly because they leave such a deep impression. Her pacing is superb, dialogue natural, and imagery consuming. The setting is truly a third MC, a lovingly detailed picture of the island of Jeju and its history, and though I’ve never been to Jeju I could almost feel like I have after this fic. The characters are layered and varied and their problems feel as real as the scenery. How do you hold on to the people you love when we all move and change at different paces?
Content warnings: N/A
“And I Alone Have Escaped To Tell You” by astolat. 58K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Transformers; Ship: Cyclonus/Megatron
Recced by: Gav
Backstory: Did I have to google a bunch of Transformers knowledge to read this fic? Yes. Was it worth it? HELL YES. Cyclonus is a Decepticon (the ~baddies), built to serve as second-in-command to the Decepticon leader Galvatron. He’s passionately loyal to Galvatron, who was built/upgraded from the remains of the original Decepticon leader, Megatron. Everyone in this fic is a giant space robot. It takes place during a war between the Decepticons and the Autobots (the ~goodies, led by Optimus Prime).
Rec: Despite my lack of interest in Transformers, I LOVED this wartime epic about grief, strategy, and leadership. Thrown back in time from a dystopian future, Cyclonus must make sure the Decepticons are ready for war. After seeing Galvatron die in his own timeline, he’s also determined to see Galvatron reborn from Megatron. If you’re into ~intense chivalric loyalty~ you’ll love this fic, which positions Cyclonus as an obsessively dedicated military commander. (The dialogue is also very fun, because while the story itself is pretty mature and complex, some of the robots intentionally speak like they’re characters in a 90s cartoon.) (Also, I’m a die-hard Cyclonus/Megatron shipper now! Galvatron didn’t deserve him!!)
Content warnings: N/A
FINAL THOUGHT
You may have noticed this is issue #99, which means next week is OUR HUNDREDTH NEWSLETTER!! I know, I know, it’s an arbitrary milestone, but why not do something special for it? So Gav has proposed an excellent theme: fic from fandoms/source material that are 100+ years old. That’s right—the source needs to be created in 1917 or before. We’re not sure what this will look like in practice, but we’ll see hahaha. Please use our submissions form and add “#100” or something in the themes section to help me sort through things, and let us know if you have any questions! — Elizabeth
FINAL FINAL THOUGHT
If you use screencaps or video clips in your fic, the OTW wants to hear from you! They’re gathering stories to help petition the Copyright Office to extend the DMCA to protect fanworks further. If you want to help out, be sure to submit your comments by December 4th!
Have a favorite one-off rec? Please send it our way! We’ll use it in a future list. Other fanworks—comics, vids, etc—are strongly encouraged as well.
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)