Hello all! This week we have articles on fan tourism, the Disney/OpenAI deal, and Gav on the sex scenes of Heated Rivalry. Plus Dispatch fanart and our first batch of December seasonal fic recs! — Elizabeth

new stuff

“Can Fandom Make Us Better Tourists?” by Kayti Burt at Fansplaining
Fannish enthusiasm can make us entitled, extractive tourists—or respectful, collaborative ones. In Fansplaining’s final piece of 2025, Kayti Burt digs into fan tourism, via a trip to South Korea’s Jeju Island for an event that connects Korean pop-culture fans with traditional Korean culture.

“Disney wants to drag you into the slop” by Charles Pulliam-Moore at The Verge
Yesterday, Disney and ChatGPT maker OpenAI announced a giant partnership that’s bleak from start to finish: Disney will be able to use OpenAI’s models in their production, and Disney IP will be available for all your slop-creation needs in tools like AI video generator Sora. The great Charles Pulliam-Moore breaks down why this move is even worse than it seems on the surface.

“On Heated Rivalry, Sex Scenes Do the Talking” by Gav at TV Guide
Gav wrote about the narrative importance of the sex scenes in Heated Rivalry, how this show taps into the magic of romance novel storytelling, and how its plot is fuelled by a genuinely bleak view of homophobia in hockey culture.

imagining an all night diner in a redwall world. little rat smoking while cooking on a flaptop. burned coffee in an acorn mug. the whole thing is inside a pumpkin

— good hyuck, babe! (@markpopham.bsky.social) December 8, 2025 at 10:36 PM

older stuff

“The Digital Packrat Manifesto” by Janus Rose at 404 Media
“As large corporations and algorithms tighten their grip to a clenched fist, I think we’re long past due for a second DIY Media Renaissance. But in order for that to happen, we first need to change our habits and expectations around media consumption—starting with deprogramming this idea that media is something that should be unlimited and available at all times through a digital faucet.”

tumblr & beyond

Dispatch fanart by shigeoreum

"Genuinely one of my favorite things about TNG is how often they’re just doing art for fun."

in praise of rarepairs

an incredible summation of what allegedly happens in the historical horror drama The Terror.

galaxy brain take on what a lesbian version of Heated Rivalry should actually look like.

why “drift compatible” was such a crucial addition to the fandom lexicon.

fanfiction

With a lot of calls for recs, we wind up with more than we can use—and after several years of doing seasonal recs for December (from the various holidays to secular wintry vibes), we had a fair number in our submissions bank. This is the first batch, with a second coming next week. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“my true love gave to me” by perennial. 29K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Much Ado About Nothing; Ship: Hero/Don John, background Beatrice/Benedick
Recced by: impatientseamstress
Backstory: Hero and Don John both work in the same office, and when the office-wide Secret Santa begins and Hero is forced to select gifts for Don John instead of her beloved Claudio, she finds herself intrigued by the challenge...and the man.
Rec: I must admit I’ve never watched the 1993 Much Ado about Nothing (can confirm substituting the Tate/Tennant cast works a treat) but this fic is one of my absolute favourites. It’s a fantastically comforting and enjoyable read.
Content warnings: N/A

“Little Aurora” by onawingandaswear. 32K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Check, Please!; Ship: Eric Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Recced by: PorcupineGirl
Backstory: Jack ran away when the pressures of being a teenaged hockey phenom got to be too much for him and has been hiding in a small Alaskan town. Eric dropped out of college to be a vlogger and gets stranded by a snowstorm while traveling there for his vlog.
Rec: It’s canon divergence that diverged long before canon started, but they find each other anyhow. Love the dramatic irony of Eric slowly figuring out what’s up with Laurent/Jack while readers can guess from his canon backstory, and how Jack is so at peace.
Content warnings: N/A

“The Chrismukkah Carol” by kevo. 23K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The OC; Ship: Ryan Atwood/Seth Cohen
Recced by: hownowredclown
Backstory: Ryan, a kid from the wrong side of the tracks (Chino! Gasp!) is adopted by Seth Cohen’s ultra-wealthy family after his whole family is either jailed or skips out on him at 15. Ryan falls for the troubled girl-next-door who, (spoilers) dies tragically young, although his bromance with Seth is just as much of a focus for the show.
Rec: I read this fic for the first time when the show was still airing and it encapsulated exactly the feelings I got from thinking about Ryan and Seth alone in my room, and somehow it has become a yearly tradition for me to re-read every Christmas. I think it holds up, but obviously I’m not objective—read it if you are interested in a post-canon exploration of an estranged Ryan finding his way back to the Cohens via three Christmas ghosts.
Content warnings: All canon-typical violence, spookiness, alcoholism, character death etc of both A Christmas Carol and The OC, period-typical homophobia, homophobic language, etc for The OC, most likely some cringe elements because it’s from 2006

“an eternity before midnight” by writevale. 12K words, Teen.
Fandom: Hello From The Hallowoods (Podcast); Ships: Diggory Graves/Percy Reed, Polly & Yaretzi (Hello From The Hallowoods)
Recced by: Liam
Backstory: Hello From The Hallowoods is a queer horror podcast in which a cosmic narrator follows the increasingly connected stories of the residents of a forest at the end of the world. This fic is a Cinderella AU set at a Yule ball and centers around Percy and Diggory, with Polly as Percy’s “Fairy Devil-Father.”
Rec: This fic feels just like a fairytale. It takes everything I love about the Hallowoods and adds a wintery magic to it that makes it one of the most beautiful and emotional stories I’ve ever read.
Content warnings: Misgendering, deadnaming

“Chinese Food and a Movie” by NotQuiteHydePark. 2.8K words, rated Gen.
Fandoms: X-Men Comics, Fantastic Four Comics; Ship: Gen
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Kitty Pryde (aka Shadowcat) is the youngest member of the X-Men, and the only Jewish person on the team. During the holiday season, she gets support from Ben Grimm (Fantastic Four’s The Thing).
Rec: This is such a cute look inside the diary of a teenaged Kate Pryde, who’s dealing with the general drama that comes from being a teenage superhero remarkably well, but is understandably a little isolated from the adult team members, especially around the holiday. Ben Grimm is definitely a great influence for her to have, and he takes her on a fun adventure to the movies and a narrowly averted superhero fight.
Content warnings: N/A

“Between Snow Storms and Mulled Wine (something precious started to bloom)” by Nemo_Nihilo. 14K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS; Ship: Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin
Recced by: anon
Backstory: It is an “all the lovely trope-y things about snow” story: Singer!Seokjin and his Manager!Namjoon get snowed in somewhere in the mountains and have to navigate the lingering tension and feelings between them while staying warm (oh, and there is only one bed, of course).
Rec: Despite being set in the cold, this story feels so warm and sweet. I especially love how this story mixes tropey snow things with worries Seokjin is dealing with due his profession as a Singer and public figure. Also, a big personal plus for me is that this story is not explicit about Christmas and instead is about winter time in general.
Content warnings: Alcohol consumption

“It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Arson” by bittercape. 5K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: MCU; Ship: Gen
Recced by: mightymightygnomepriest
Backstory: Over the last 50 years, a new tradition has developed in the Swedish town of Gävle. In this wintry fic, bittercape suggests an alternative history of straw-goat-burning.
Rec: The author takes the actual (hysterical) facts and cleverly weaves in some favourite characters from the MCU to create this fun AU. Also, there’s a lot of arson.
Content warnings: Fire

With Hockey RPF the fanfic was for the romance and the sex, the things canon didn't provide. But in Heated Rivalry canon does provide. So logic dictates that the fanfic is there to make them actually play hockey.

— bingeling (@bingel.ing) December 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM

FINAL THOUGHT

That’s all, folks! Have a great weekend! — Gav