The Rec Center #510
Hello all! This week we have articles on Taylor Swift and AI, the alarming fallout from the recent Discord hack, and Netflix’s expanding influence on popular culture. Also some cute Amadeus fanart, and our latest list of Halloween fic recs! — Gav
new stuff
“Fans Call on Taylor Swift to ‘Do Better’ After Accusations of Using AI for Promo Videos” by Kat Tenbarge at WIRED
As she is wont to do, Taylor Swift put out a scavenger hunt as part of the promotion for her new album, and “fans, haters, and AI researchers” (the great triumvirate lol) noticed something fishy about the images…
“It’s Not Just Netflix—It’s Your Entire Life” by Shirley Li at The Atlantic
Netflix doesn’t just want to be a content platform—they want to create some version of Disney adults that really love their brand. Unfortunately for them, a host of things are keeping that from happening, including their predilection for canceling beloved shows after 1-2 seasons.
“The Discord Hack is Every User’s Worst Nightmare” by Joseph Cox at 404 Media
We know a lot of folks use Discord for fandom purposes; FYI, this is pretty bad! (The hack, specifically, was of users’ official government IDs from the age-verification appeals process, which is especially relevant if you live in a country that’s implemented age-based restrictions on social media/web platforms recently—just one of many reasons these laws are Not Great.)
CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors. ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart. ISILDUR: true
— Sean T. Collins (@seantcollins.com) October 6, 2025 at 9:58 AM
older stuff
“In 2005, games started rewiring our brains” by William Hughes at The AV Club
“When Microsoft debuted the Xbox 360 and its Achievements system, nobody could have predicted how deep into our brains it’d go.” On the gamification of... games.
tumblr & beyond
Amadeus fanart by its-always-sunny-in-city17
"i love playing this game where i like a fictional guy and then i go into his tag and disagree with every single post there"
A handwritten 7th grade project on Star Trek: TNG, from 1990.
Favorite movie in the Pronouns Cinematic Universe? We’ve got IT, we’ve got Her, we’ve got Us...
another beautiful addition to the annals of Star Wars names.
"Never research horse travel speeds and limitations for your fan fiction; it is cursed knowledge."
We’re probably preaching to the choir here, but just as a reminder: There’s no official AO3 app, and if you’re currently browsing the archive in app form, you’re using a potentially dangerous knockoff.
fanfiction
Week two of our October recs: Horror! It probably goes without saying, but please heed the tags on these. (If you missed last week’s list—vampires—that’s here.) Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“Tongues” by Mimispearmint. 23K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: Modao Zushi, Lockwood & Co.; Ship: Lan Zhan/Wei Ying
Recced by: MSmith
Backstory: Lan Zhan and Wei Ying solve a haunting. Wei Ying has been keeping secrets about his powers.
Rec: Absolutely amazingly well done localisation of two horror/fantasy worlds in modern New Zealand. The details are perfect and I can hear the accents. But it’s still distinctly drawing on the cultures of the original works.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence and horror
“Full Fathom Five” by cyranonic. 26K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses; Ship: Edelgard/Hubert
Recced by: featherquillpen
Backstory: Years after the events of the Crimson Flower route, Edelgard and Hubert go to explore an Agarthan ruin.
Rec: Genuinely a very scary read, the horror helps expose the vulnerabilities of these two very stoic characters, and the Agarthan worldbuilding is intriguing.
Content warnings: Body horror, self-harm, dissociation, rats, panic attacks, drowning, claustrophobia
“Spark a thought” by singtome. 18K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts; Ship: Riku/Sora
Recced by: hartknyx
Backstory: Kingdom Hearts is a game series that blends Disney, Final Fantasy, and original characters into a story about friendship and light and darkness. At the beginning of the first game, friends Sora, Riku, and Kairi are torn from their island home as it is consumed by the darkness.
Rec: I love the uncanny atmosphere the author builds while exploring the boundaries of a world that may or may not make sense, and the bystander perspective they do it from. A haunting read, in the best way.
Content warnings: Themes of mental instability and reality distortion
“Lunacy” by snae_b. 57K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Good Omens; Ship: Aziraphale/Crowley
Recced by: kingstoken
Backstory: In canon Aziraphale and Crowley are an angel and a demon that are on opposite sides but form a friendship anyways, but none of that is necessary to know for this human AU that can be read canon-blind.
Rec: I read this story a few years ago and I still think about it sometimes. Aziraphale and Crowley are essentially space miners on an isolated moon where an unknown entity starts killing everyone off. They must do all they can to stay alive in their isolated space station until transport arrives in a few days time.
Content warnings: Death of minor secondary characters
“ghosting” by theredtailedhawkwithjewelsforeyes. 6K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The Witcher; Ship: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Recced by: mjr
Backstory: Set post- mountain top fallout between Jaskier and Geralt with Jaskier dying violently in the interim. In this story (the first of a two-fic series), Jaskier haunts Geralt, and Geralt asks Yennifer for help.
Rec: It is a DOOZY of a story; everyone’s Suffering with that Uppercase S in neon lights even. The story presses on the fault lines and pressure points of the bonds between Geralt, Jaskier, and Yennifer and examines how far someone will go for love and grief.
Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, graphic depictions of the appearance of someone who died violently, major character death (resurrected via blood magic) horror, haunting, whump
“Better in the Morning” by 1K words, rated Mature. ghostsandmermaids.
Fandom: Our Flag Means Death; Ship: Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet
Recced by: Noah
Backstory: This is an Our Flag Means Death AU based on a story from a horror fiction podcast called “Hello From The Hallowoods.”
Rec: I love nautical horror and it works so well with OFMD! The Kraken is an actual creature in this fic, not just a metaphor, and there’s also an interesting twist at the end.
Content warnings: Horror, body horror
“The good rain knows its season” by raitala. 153K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi; Ship: Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian
Recced by: KittyClimpson
Backstory: This is a modern with magic AU, set in a Beijing where much of the old cultivation knowledge has been lost and (many times reincarnated) Lan Wangji fights alongside a ragtag bunch of street cultivators to keep an epidemic of demonic happenings at bay. When Wei Ying’s soul gets summoned into the body of a boy dabbling in exactly these demonic practices, he learns to live in the modern city with the help of Wen Ning, who has persisted all these years as a ghost. Lan Zhan doesn’t remember their first life together, but nonetheless feels himself irresistibly drawn to Wei Ying when the latter joins the struggle.
Rec: This is an incredibly satisfying story: enormously well written, full of gentle humour and tender feelings, and populated by a cast of carefully drawn, engaging OCs (Wangxian and Wen Ning are the only characters from the original property, everyone else is new). The plot is genuinely interesting, the sense of place is palpable and shows the author’s excellent research. I would never normally recc a WIP, but there are already >140 k of beautiful words, it updates regularly and I have faith in raitala to finish it :)
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, necromancy, trauma
Waiting for Godot: The Hunt for Godot is the recently announced newest installment of the Godotverse. The long awaited sidequel follows Godot's adventures during the events of the original play.
— Pavel (@spavel.bsky.social) September 25, 2025 at 11:57 PM
FINAL THOUGHT
UK-based Conclave fans! We’ve got a very interesting event from artist and actor (and Rec Center reader, of course!) Arden Fitzroy:
We’re running a queer(er) [Conclave for All Saints Day/Halloween](https://cptheatre.co.uk/whatson/Enter-the-Conclave) (yes, you read that right) on 1st November 9PM @ Camden People’s Theatre, London—you'll probably never attend an event like it if you're not in the 60+ Vatican-based demographic.
Applications are also still open for trans+ artists who’d like to perform a rapid response to the film as part of the night. DL for apps: **12 Oct 23:59**. Full information available in the link. Acts would not need to be anywhere near polished—it’s about encouraging artists to share, have a good time, and ‘come as they are.’
Arden also adds that if you haven’t seen Conclave (or if you want to see it again—WHO WOULDN’T—the selected performers will get a private screening of the film on Thursday 16 October. And if you have any other questions, check out Arden’s instagram!
FINAL FINAL THOUGHT
Headed to New York Comic-Con this weekend? (Perhaps you are there right now?) I’m going to be on a panel on Sunday, and you should come!
The Fandom Effect: How Fans Shape Pop Culture
Featuring Alessandra Ferreri, Head of Content at Wattpad; Allegra Rosenberg, fandom expert and journalist; Elizabeth Minkel, co-host of Fansplaining; Mi-Anne Chan, Founding Editor of mixed feelings; Claire Dodson, Associate Director of Culture, Teen Vogue. Moderated by Jenna Wrenn, host of Femsplaining and Portrait of a Fangirl.
Logistical details:
- Sunday, October 12
- 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
- Room 409
Hope to see you there! — Elizabeth