The Rec Center #470
Happy New Year everyone! We’re back with articles on Star Trek technology, Chinese censorship, and 2024’s year in fanfiction. Plus some cool Mouthwashing fanart and multifandom fic recs from the Yuletide gift exchange! — Gav
new stuff
“The Endless Appetite for Fanfiction” by Elizabeth at Fansplaining
By a variety of measures, 2024 was Not A Great Year for fic. Elizabeth looked back at the for-profit binders, the AI grifters, the continuing P2P wave, and the rapidly growing number of readers who treat fic like any other pro-pubbed genre they read. What happens when fanfiction scales, but fan communities do not?
“This ‘Antiquated’ Star Trek Tech Could Actually Be The Future Of Space Travel” by Ryan Britt at Inverse
On the most recent season of Lower Decks, solar sails were referenced as a technology of the past—but they could be part of our space-travel future. This piece features real scientists on the tech alongside the places it shows up in science fiction.
“Chinese police target writers of gay erotica with prison terms and heavy fines” by Phoebe Zhang at South China Morning Post
Reporting on the recent crackdowns on danmei writers in Anhui, a province in eastern China, where dozens have been detained and investigated, and some have been sentenced to prison.
just had to watch Inside Out 2 for the 4th time Clockwork Orange-style and it's clear that Riley is a Connor McDavid-level talent. just ripping elite high schoolers apart as a pre-freshman, controlling the whole game… makes no sense she's worried about making the team. coach must be shitting herself
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich.bsky.social) December 28, 2024 at 10:52 PM
older stuff
“Battlestar Galactica showed fandom a better way” by Dylan Roth at Polygon
A fantastic analysis of our current franchise malaise, from the unsustainable pace at which studios and networks push out new ~content to the reactive, often fearful way they approach fans.
tumblr & beyond
Mouthwashing fanart by caveinevitable
“no piece of supernatural commentary will ever be as impactful as ‘what happened to all the pussy on supernatural’”
a deep dive into the controversy surrounding tay’lor spiff, the Star Wars universe’s answer to taylor swift.
“Is this Interview with the Vampire?”
a unique update from omegaverse tiktok.
we’ve all heard of people who fell in love via fandom, but this particular example is... quite something.
fanfiction
Yuletide 2024! This year’s crop of recs are extremely Yuletide-y imo—perhaps best articulated by our first reccer on the list, lareinenoire, who begins with, “I know this is niche as hell…” We have two longish lists for you, this week and next (though if anyone else has additional recs, send them in and we’ll do a third!). Thanks so much to all our reccers. — Elizabeth
“i shine only with the light you gave me” by strikethesun. 1.4K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Richard III - Shakespeare; The Lighthouse (movie); Ship: Richard III/Henry Stafford duke of Buckingham
Recced by: lareinenoire
Backstory: Richard III and the duke of Buckingham are reincarnated in a 19th-century lighthouse. Just go with it.
Rec: I know this is niche as hell, but what a brilliant, bonkers crossover that breaks my brain in the best possible way. It’s not just Shakespeare and Eggers, but there’s a huge influx of Tom Stoppard’s absurdism, and it’s just a brilliant pastiche. Exactly what I hope to find at Yuletide.
Content warnings: I mean, it’s Richard III and The Lighthouse. Be forewarned.
“to love ill things joined” by tabacoychanel. 3.6K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Long Live Evil — Sarah Reese Brennan; Ship: Rae/Key
Recced by: anon
Backstory: A transmigration story where cancer patient Rae wakes up as the villainess of her favorite fantasy series. She starts making changes.
Rec: This is exactly the sex scene I needed after I finished the book. Did somebody say loyalty kink? It is hot hot HOT.
Content warnings: N/A
“A Selection of Letters from the Desk of Duchess Sandrilene fa Toren” by Artifiction. 2.1K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: Emelan - Tamora Pierce; Ship: Gen
Recced by: dulosis
Backstory: Epistolary fic that envisions Sandry as the Duchess of Emelan engaging in some deft political maneuvers.
Rec: The variation in tone in the letters Sandry writes to various entities is pitch perfect, and the overall fic itself ends up being a tremendous character study.
Content warnings: N/A
“utterly strange doors” by lacksley. 2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Scavengers Reign; Ship: Azi &/ Ursula, Azi &/ Levi
Recced by: deadcowboy
Backstory: Scavengers Reign is an adult animated sci-fi show following survivors of a cargo spaceship stranded on a strange planet named Vesta. The story is a coda for Ursula, one of the main characters, and her life since the end of the show.
Rec: The atmosphere and unique alien fauna and flora of the show are transcribed wonderfully in this story! Ursula’s POV is very poignant and her casual intimacy with Azi is very tender.
Content warnings: N/A
“Clear Night” by achray. 1.9K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin; Ship: Du Cheng/Shen Yi
Recced by: lunarriviera
Backstory: Under the Skin is a Chinese procedural that first aired in 2022 and then managed something almost unprecedented in cdrama: it got a second season in late 2024. Shen Yi is a quietly gifted forensic sketch artist and police officer who works with the gruff Beijiang City precinct captain, Du Cheng, to solve major crimes.
Rec: This Yuletide coda is for a very recent episode and perfectly illustrates the new season’s sense of fragility and uncertainty between the two male leads, who at the end of season one were inseparable. It’s poignant, fraught, a little bittersweet, and the writer has embodied both difficult-to-write characters quite beautifully.
Content warnings: N/A
“Coping Mechanisms” by damnedscribblingwoman. 8.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Slow Horses; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Featherxquill
Backstory: Catherine Standish did not set out to blackmail Diana Taverner.
Rec: A very low-stakes premise given the full-on spy game treatment. Note-perfect characterization.
Content warnings: Mentions of alcoholism
“If our two loves be one” by Phoenixflight. 10K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Lord Peter Wimsey - Dorothy L Sayers; Ships: Harriet Vane/Peter Wimsey, Peter Wimsey/Mervyn Bunter, Mervyn Bunter/Harriet Vane/Peter Wimsey
Recced by: Toft
Backstory: Dorothy L Sayers’ detective series, set in the 1930s, follows the slow burn relationship between detective Lord Peter and author Harriet, culminating in their eventual marriage late in the series. Peter’s manservant, Bunter, is a hugely important person in Peter’s life, and plays a big role in nursing him through awful PTSD in the early books. Harriet’s tricky position when she marries into this relationship is a fascinating theme in Busman’s Honeymoon; this fic takes place during/after that book (but has no mystery spoilers).
Rec: This Harriet-POV fic is a really beautifully observed, sexy story about the early days of marriage as Harriet, Peter, and Bunter figure out an unconventional poly situation.
Content warnings: N/A
“‘God Damned Them All’? Documenting the Loss of the Privateer Antelope” by machiavellijr. 1.7K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: “Barrett’s Privateers” (Song); Ship: Gen
Recced by: Kitty Climpson
Backstory: Epistolary—a collection of historical documents around the events of the song.
Rec: Absolute work of art. Supreme Genius. This is what Yuletide is all about.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence I guess: war, naval battles, death, injuries, insurance fraud
The Ronald McDonald that we know and love today was largely the invention of the McDonald's corporation
— josh (auldfriend99) (@oldfriend99.bsky.social) January 3, 2025 at 11:00 AM
FINAL THOUGHT
He’s not on Twitter anymore and neither are we, but in this first newsletter of the new year, we must pay tribute to our beloved kfan:
This fateful New Year’s Day tweet NINE YEARS AGO led to the creation of this very newsletter. Happy Anniversary to us. 🥳 — Elizabeth