The Rec Center #512
Hello all! This week we have coverage of fans reckoning with the new Taylor Swift album, Hollywood hiring TikTok fan creators, and the grim state of games journalism in 2025. Plus Cookie Run fanart and our next batch of October recs (ghosts and witches!). — Elizabeth
new stuff
“Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl Is So Polarizing, Swifties Are Reevaluating Their Fandom” by Abby Monteil at Teen Vogue
“This person who really raised me in many ways is now someone that I can no longer see myself in.” A well-reported piece on Taylor Swift fans, particularly women in their 20s, whose dislike of the new album is leading them to reevaluate their fandom—and themselves.
“Why Lionsgate Hired TikTok Fan Editors to Market Movies” by Ethan Shanfield at Variety
After years of Hollywood marketers putting out bad gifs and clunky video edits, some studios and networks are hiring fan creators to produce the same sort of things they were already making for free. Here, Lionsgate has done so in advance of the rerelease of the Twilight films.
“More than 1,200 games journalists have left the media in the last two years” by Andy Robinson at Video Games Chronicle
A bleak quantification of all the layoffs in games journalism over the past few years (and note: the article says that including part-time and freelance writers, the number is more like 4,000).
The only excuse Lois Lane has for why her interviewing Superman isn't unethical, despite their romantic entanglement, is that it would be even more unethical for the paper's other top reporter, who is Superman, to interview himself, yet she cannot say this. This dilemma should be taught in J-school.
— Emily "Babe" St. James (@emilystjams.bsky.social) October 19, 2025 at 9:12 PM
older stuff
“How Friendships Onscreen and Off Fueled Half a Century of Fandom” by Jay Castello at Fansplaining
“Flamingo was keen to keep the fandom alive—which meant new people had to get involved, made more difficult since the show had finished airing. Thinking the internet might be a new way to do that, she and several of her friends established the Starsky & Hutch Fiction Archive, and it’s been running ever since.’”
tumblr & beyond
Cookie Run fanart by gatoburr0
the most effective way to show your love for a movie...
“i went to mt fujoshi and everyone there knew you”
hypnotized by these terrible Discworld novel covers.
Official Crash (1996) Kinktober Prompt List
turns out that this show actually has over 11,700 fics on AO3, who knew?
“The concept of modern AU Jaime Lannister is too absurd to exist with any fidelity.”
fanfiction
Our seasonal October recs continue! I’ve titled this week: “Ghosts, Witches, and Other Supernatural Activity.” (If you missed any of the other lists this month, we’ve had 1) vampires 2) horror and 3) werewolves.) Thank you to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth
“Midsummer” by Skara_Brae. 32K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Suits (TV); Ship: Mike Ross/Harvey Specter
Recced by: Grace
Backstory: Mike Ross, a witch who has long turned his back on his magical roots, goes to a Summer Solstice festival where he meets a mysterious stranger…
Rec: I’m fond of an urban fantasy AU and Skara_Brae does a great job with this one.
Content warnings: There is a fair bit of explicit sex magic.
“Pareidolia” by hal_incandenza. 101K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Pacific Rim, The Black Tapes (Podcast) (you don’t need to know Black Tapes at all to enjoy!); Ship: Newt Geiszler/Hermann Gotlieb
Recced by: winterlady1967
Backstory: Newt as a reporter/podcaster and Hermann as a paranormal investigator. The pair start growing closer as Newt gets drawn into Hermann’s world of debunking paranormal activity and ghost hunting.
Rec: It’s got ghosts! X-Files vibes! One of the most complete & satisfying things ever; the format rocks and the character writing is so true to their voices it’s like reading from Guillermo del Toro’s mind directly (probably.) ALSO!!! REALLY GOOD GHOST STUFF.
Content warnings: Descriptions of graphic violence
“Like Any Unloved Thing” by HMSLusitania. 18K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: 9-1-1 TV; Ship: Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Recced by: buddieboos
Backstory: A combo different first meeting + magical AU. Eddie is a noir private eye in a world filled with magical realism, and Buck is his next case.
Rec: The connection between them is so real here, heightened by the magic happening all around them the two of them are extremely grounded.
Content warnings: See author notes for details
“The Tutor” by 27dragons, tisfan. 55K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Marvel (Comics); Ship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Tony Stark
Recced by: Grace
Backstory: When a scandal drives a disinherited Tony Stark from his family and home, he takes a position as a tutor to the children of a far-off boyar.
Rec: The gothic romance vibes are immaculate—ghosts, mental illness, and enormous old country houses.
Content warnings: Ghosts, mental illness, kidnapping, Victorian-era attitudes
“Anatomy of a Shotgun” by bifurcatederos. 10K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Our Share of Night; Ship: Gen (Eddie/Encarnación and Stephen/Gaspar if you squint)
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Pouring one out for obscure fandoms: Our Share of Night is Mariana Enriquez’s literary horror masterpiece about a father and son, both mediums, trying to flee a cult in post-dictatorship Argentina. The fic is a character study of the mediums that were held captive by the cult.
Rec: I’ve been dying for more fanworks for this book, and this fic fulfilled a lot of my cravings. Stephen’s relationship with his brother Eddie is incredibly touching.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, past rape/non-con
“rubbing ghost on ghost” by queerofcups. 2.3K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022); Ships: Louis de Pointe du Lac/Paul de Pointe du Lac; Lestat de Lioncourt/Louis de Pointe du Lac
Recced by: sekrit
Backstory: Shortly after losing his brother, Louis de Pointe du Lac chooses to become a vampire and live forever. The ghosts of his past haunt him into the present day, more than a century later.
Rec: Even the (un)living characters are ghosts from time to time in IWTV, but this fic digs into Louis’ past and shows how he’s haunted by it in the present. Never mind the vampires of it all; a shock at the end jars the contrast between life and death, further earning the fic’s eerie tone.
Content warnings: Incest, mild dubcon
And a comic!
“Haunt Me” by Disterra (lonelyorchidman). 12-page comic, rated Teen.
Fandom: Stray Kids; Ship: Bang Chan/Seungmin
Recced by: Maeve_west
Backstory: It’s a one part story that’s a “meet scary” instead of “meet cute” comic, and a playlist in the last chapter.
Rec: The likeness of the characters are good, the use of scrolling and chat messages are cleverly woven into a short story. The story doesn’t need a lot of set up or knowledge of Stray Kids to be enjoyed, but it adds depth to the story.
Content warnings: Character death, ghosts
Fund-raising for the Oceans 11 Reylo heist of The Hunt for Ben Solo script.
— dani & the hunt for Ben Solo (@cardiganvixen.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 9:16 PM
FINAL THOUGHT
A few weeks back we shared the Marvel Trumps Hate call for creators, and now, the bidding is open! For as little as a $5-10 donation to charity, someone will create a fanwork for you (or beta read for you, or a number of other fandomy things). There are 181 creators offering 306 auctions; check them out here!
FINAL FINAL THOUGHT
For the IWTV fans in the audience: Here’s my review of the new Anne Rice TV show Talamasca: The Secret Order! Definitely rein in your expectations for this one—it’s a somewhat underwhelming attempt to insert a conventional crime/spy procedural drama into the same universe as IWTV, and there isn’t much crossover appeal IMO. — Gav