The Rec Center #484
Hi everyone! This week we have articles on AI in romance publishing, soap opera fandom, and movie theater etiquette. Plus Star Wars fanart, and your submissions to our call for springtime fic recs! — Elizabeth
new stuff
“The A.I. Romance Factory” by Vauhini Vara at Bloomberg
Your bleak longread of the week! On an AI startup trying to flood the word with a bazillion romance novels. “Imagine if hundreds of thousands of authors could just spitball a few bullet points, and then that bullet point turns into a book. And then they write another bullet point, and that turns out another book. And then suddenly each author is writing 1,000 books.”
“The short-lived Disneyland attraction that fans still mourn today” by Carly Caramanna at SFGate
A look back at the short-lived ABC Soap Opera Bistro at Disneyland, themed around All My Children and General Hospital. “It was a little odd to be eating a meal surrounded by X-rays and gauze on the table, but you definitely felt like you were really there.”
“A Minecraft Movie’s ‘Chicken jockey!’ meme makes me miss GentleMinions” by Tasha Robinson at Polygon
The Minecraft movie is a huge hit, and this week a lot of the related coverage has focused on the audience participation elements, with young Minecraft fans applauding and yelling meme references at the screen, often filming themselves in the theater. This piece goes into the recent history of disruptive movie memes, and the resulting discourse about theater etiquette.
Silver Surfer was a good character because he seemed very important but he was also a muscular nude man made of chrome airboarding with his ass cheeks out. it's good to have characters who are just nude for no reason, even if they're very shiny.
— 𝙒𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙠 (@winterk.bsky.social) 2025-04-05T09:11:49.905Z
older stuff
“Tumblr Is Always Dying” by Elizabeth at WIRED
If you’re active on Tumblr, you’re likely aware that last week their parent company, Automattic, did a round of layoffs that seems to have cut Tumblr down to a true skeleton crew. Elizabeth wrote this piece about the site’s culture during the last Death of Tumblr about 18 months ago. Is the current one actually the final nail in the coffin, or yet another entry in a now decade-long cycle? Either way, we’re posting through it!
tumblr & beyond
Star Wars fanart by fresh-orange-whispers
Who are we to judge?
“You wouldn’t believe the stupid bullshit some of my fics have to include because of canon.”
“Thinking about how Anakin canonically both touched grass and got laid and was still Like That.”
Best Picture nominees ranked by their AO3 output.
“is that really old man yaoi or are they thirty”
fanfiction
Spring fics! We asked for fics set in spring, fics with springy themes like growth and renewal, and fics that tap into mythology about spring. You delivered all three! Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“Waiting for Spring” by thievinghippo. 131K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Untamed/魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭| Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù; Ship: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian
Recced by: kisahawklin
Backstory: This is a baseball AU for the fandom, so while it follows some of the canon ups and downs, it does it in baseball terms, so no fandom knowledge necessary.
Rec: A brilliant AU that infuses so many fandom feels into baseball. Has both great relationship ups and downs and wider baseball and family plots. Well-written and tightly plotted. Also, there’s a brilliantly soundscaped podfic by mulberry_graceful.
Content warnings: N/A
“And For a Breath of Ecstasy” by Imaginary_golux. 22K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Wonder Woman movies (Patty Jenkins); Ship: Diana Prince/Steve Trevor
Recced by: Seralica
Backstory: Post-WW2017, 2 stories in parallel: Diana moving on, and Steve journeying with Antiope though the underworld to eventually take up the mantle of Persephone and Hades.
Rec: Including Antiope is a lovely twist on the “Steve Trevor lives” sub-genre; she and Steve have a lovely rapport. Plus, Hades and Persephone, but not quite the way you’d think!
Content warnings: N/A
“Smoke Sapphire” by Thorinsmut (FormlessVoidBeast). 48K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies); Ship: Bilbo/Bofur
Recced by: halotolerant
Backstory: The Hobbit movies chronicle the adventures of homebody Bilbo Baggins when he falls in with a company of dwarves including King-in-Exile Thorin who are questing to reclaim their homeland under the Misty Mountains from a dragon. Ultimately they succeed, but no one is left unchanged by the adventure. This fic is set post-canon, and supposes a past Bilbo/Thorin relationship that took a turn for darkness towards the end of the movie events.
Rec: This is a story about healing and regrowth and regeneration, about second chances at love after an abusive relationship, about complex feelings for an abuser, about tenderness and caretaking and finding someone is a safe space for you. It’s also funny and hot and the worldbuilding is gorgeous, and the theme of gardening and growing plants (an important hobbit culture) is woven throughout, as Bofur helps Bilbo rediscover himself.
Content warnings: Past abusive relationship, non-explicit mention of rape/non-con
“Clockwork” by Eledae. 76K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Ateez; Ships: Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, other background ships
Recced by: duckgirlie
Backstory: Ateez is a K-pop group; Yunho and Mingi are two members who have been close friends since before either of them were in the group. This fic blends Greek mythology and steampunk into a story where blacksmith to the gods Mingi helps god of spring Yunho escape from Hades (both god and realm).
Rec: Eledae has a real skill for combining multiple tropes/concepts into a single fic without it feeling overstuffed or unwieldy. I love the world building in this, and the development of the antagonistic strangers to lovers relationship is great.
Content warnings: N/A
“Stormy Weather” by dr_girlfriend. 4.7K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: Marvel Comics, DC Comics; Ship: Pre-slash, Bucky Barnes/Jason Todd /Clint Barton
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Comic-based Clint Barton with Bucky Barnes and Jason Todd in a small-town no-powers AU. Deputy Sheriff!Bucky, Petty Criminal!Jason, and Local Dumbass!Clint have been eying each other for awhile, but it takes a minor natural disaster for them to reach an understanding.
Rec: I like the small-town characterization. It’s a little bit of action and a little bit of fluff with really likeable characters.
Content warnings: References to sex work in the story as well as references to drug use/overdose and domestic violence in Jason’s canon backstory. There’s an animal in danger who gets rescued.
Hate when I'm a patient in Grey's Anatomy and the whimsical music plays over my complaints. I'm upset and my issues are real
— Blue sky nice guy (@rajandelman.bsky.social) 2025-04-05T23:39:31.204Z
FINAL THOUGHT
That’s all, folks! Have a great weekend! — Gav