January 5, 2024

The Rec Center #418

Hi all! This week we have articles about Goodreads and the inescapable Taylor Swift fandom, along with some cool fanart for The Boy and the Heron, and multifandom fic recs from 2023’s Yuletide gift exchange! — Gav

new stuff

“Let’s Rescue Book Lovers From This Online Hellscape” by Maris Kreizman at the New York Times
A fantastic op-ed on the squandered promise of the trash fire that is Goodreads—including actual concrete ways to fix it.

“Mexican politicians are harnessing Swiftie fandom on TikTok” by Daniela Dib at Rest of World
This week in the intersections of global fandom and politics, an interesting read on the way Mexican political consultants are trying to leverage fans of Taylor Swift and BTS.

“Battlestar Galactica showed fandom a better way” by Dylan Roth at Polygon
When Ron Moore brought back BSG in the early 2000s, the original fans of the 70s show hated it—and he famously ignored them. This piece reflects on that tension two decades later, with smart thoughts on reboots, franchise fatigue, and balancing old and new audiences.

older stuff

“Meet the Superusers Behind IMDb, the Internet’s Favorite Movie Site” by Stephen Lurie at WIRED
“Powered by obsessed film buffs, it’s a crowdsourced juggernaut that’s older than Google and Wikipedia. Now AI is threatening to steal the starring role.”

tumblr & beyond

The Boy and the Heron fanart by aksiris

“all of us are facets on the infinite gem of god’s earth. personally i can’t see ringo domming”

today in Fire Emblem Takes.

today in Star Wars takes.

Good Omens-inspired matchbox label fanart.

“Boromir, the ring is toxic and asking to use it is super problematic.”

fanfiction

Happy New Year, and Happy Yuletide! We got a great and varied batch of Yuletide recs; part 1 is this week and part 2 will be next week. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“An Occasion On Which Yudah Cohen Was, Shockingly, Not Required To Meddle” by whetherwoman. 1.6K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Yudah Cohen Series - Rebecca Fraimow; Ship: Bluma/Yudah (gen vibes, though)
Recced by: Shadaras
Backstory: Yudah Cohen is the titular protagonist of a series of short stories that queer Jewish folklore and have a fabulous sense of humour. Yudah always manages to get into trouble by sticking his nose into things, and then talk his way out again with cleverness and wit.
Rec: This is such a fun glimpse into this universe! The story does Yudah’s voice delightfully well, there’s lovely domesticity and casual magic, and also references to other escapades brushed off as nothing of importance at all.
Content warnings: N/A

“more mundane and magical” by stifledlaughter. 13K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Love and Leashes; Ship: Jiwoo/Jihoo
Recced by: kpopwinemom
Backstory: Love and Leashes is a Korean film about two coworkers who fall into a dom/sub relationship with each other that culminates in their becoming a couple—as well as their outing at work. This fic takes place after the movie ends, and has the main couple taking a bigger step into the kink community.
Rec: This was a case where the author clearly brought their own life experiences and it showed. I loved the thought and compassion that went into this fic. I’ve never been involved in the kink community, but the details here could only come from someone who’s experienced it in real life. It was equal parts funny and tender, and I adored reading it.
Content warnings: BDSM scenes, exploring the kink community, various kinks are talked about though no sex occurs

“Hero’s Journey” by SirenOfTitan. 1.6K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Legend of the Galactic Heroes; Ship: Gen (Yang Wen-li character study)
Recced by: Shadaras
Backstory: LoGH is a space opera about an endless war between two space empires (one’s a democracy, though). Yang Wen-li is the genius general who commands the democratic faction, but his true passion is studying history.
Rec: This is an introspective character study of Yang Wen-li through the lens of classical music (and includes a link to the specific piece of classical music at the end)! It’s gorgeous, very insightful about both Yang himself and the general philosophy of the show, and highlights aspects of musical performance in a way I think is delightful.
Content warnings: N/A

“pull up if i pull up” by Wildgoosery. 6.5K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Tenet (2020); Ship: The Protagonist/Neil
Recced by: AirgiodSLV
Backstory: Tenet is a speculative fiction film with the premise that some people have technology that moves them backward through time. The characters in this fic are at different points in their relationship in the film, and that gap is explored more in this story.
Rec: This story is beautifully written, has incredible worldbuilding, and really digs into the details and logistics of a large-scale time travel operation. It feels very timely as well, with characters in extended isolation, dealing with loneliness and human connection.
Content warnings: N/A

“A Winter Wood Warming” by Terrantalen. 9K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke; Ship: Emma Pole/Arabella Strange
Recced by: voxnoxsox
Backstory: Jonathan Strange is set in an alternative 19th-century England, with magic returning to England. The fic is set post-canon, and is a mix of letters and diary entries from Emma and Arabella about an offer from a king in Faerie that crystallises their relationship to each other.
Rec: A perfect canon follow-on that nails the characters’ voices while also giving some of the descriptive flavour of Faerie from the books, and some hapless John Segundus. And the first chapter is from a future biographer and includes footnotes!
Content warnings: N/A

“Komorebi” by syllic. 3.1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい | Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! (TV); Ship: Adachi Kiyoshi/Kurosawa Yuichi
Recced by: Sophia
Backstory: Cherry Magic is a Japanese live-action adaptation of a manga in which the main character, Adachi, wakes up at 30 to find that his virginity up until then makes him a “wizard”: he can read people’s minds! This highly anxious cinnamon roll goes to work only to touch confident superstar work colleague Kurosawa in the elevator: he discovers that Kurosawa is super into him!
Rec: This canon is hard to write for because the source material is so understated and reserved, and the main character so defined by his anxiety, at least in the early days: this story does that justice while showing us what a happy future could look like for these two.
Content warnings: N/A

“Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Goncharov” by berlincorpography. 6K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Goncharov (1973) dir. Martin Scorsese - beelzeebub; Ship: OFC/OFC
Recced by: ppyajunebug
Backstory: Two film studies professors can’t stop fighting via published papers about the lesbian subtext in “Goncharov.” Two Katya/Sofia stans bounce ideas for smut back and forth in the AO3 comments.
Rec: As a former academic and current lover of all the meta Yuletide content, this shit is exactly what I want: academic parody + fanfic meet cutes.
Content warnings: N/A

FINAL THOUGHT

Even though January literally began four days ago, we want to remind everyone that…Femslash February is just around the corner! Please start sending in your one-off recs—and if you’re interested in doing a full list, whether it’s around a single ship or fandom, a trope or theme, or just your favorite collection of ~5-7 f/f fics, please get in touch! elizabethandgav at gmail. — Elizabeth