Hello all! I have now departed Scotland (we did, in fact, see a hockey game together over the weekend, but sadly, the Glasgow Clan lost). Thanks to everyone who offered us well wishes on our ten-year anniversary! This week, we’ve got articles on the Avatar “cultural impact” conversation, quitting streaming apps, and Swiftie dads. Plus Dispatch fanart and our second batch of Yuletide fic recs. — Elizabeth

new stuff

“The New Avatar Has Revived the Oldest, Dumbest Debate About These Movies” by Sam Adams at Slate
As the third Avatar film passes the billion-dollar box-office milestone, an assessment of the “no cultural impact” meme that just won’t seem to die.

“Why I Quit Streaming And Got Back Into Cassettes” by Janus Rose at 404 Media
“Physical media reminds us that nothing good is possible if we refuse to take risks. You might find the most mediocre indie band imaginable. Or you might discover something that changes you forever. Nothing will happen if you play it safe and outsource all of your experiences to a content machine designed to make rich people richer.”

“I Talked To 50 Dads At The Eras Tour” by Paul Scheer
A very charming mini-documentary (~18 minutes) about the fathers who chaperone their daughters to Taylor Swift concerts. H/t to reader Alex, who found this via Tom Scott’s newsletter.

guy who’s learning Latin but only so he can understand the lyrics of the songs that the choirs sing during video game boss fights

— thicc husband and father (@lukeisamazing.bsky.social) January 7, 2026 at 3:46 PM

older stuff

“The Game Is Played With Great Feeling” by Joseph Earl Thomas at Virginia Quarterly Review
“What is it in this gaming community that inspires such obsession, such comfort, such willingness among Black nerds in particular to venture outdoors as we are told in every way, and by everyone, not to? I guess there’s only so much basketball a body can take anyway.”

tumblr & beyond

Dispatch fanart by zira-draws

someone made an illuminated manuscript skin for AO3!?

a fandom mashup we never expected to see

"if i ever become a showrunner i will actually do the fake series finale followed by the true ending where the popular gay ship is confirmed just so i can forever poison fandom with the idea that it can happen for real"

yet another gem from the treasure trove of tumblr functionality.

a galaxy brain Tuvix take

fanfiction

Yuletide 2025: Week Two! (You can check out Week One here.) As I mentioned last week, we wound up getting way more submissions than we could fit in two lists, so we’ll run the remainder at other times throughout the year. Thanks to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“What I Wouldn’t Do For That Man” by Dorinda. 11K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The Sting (1973); Ship: Henry Gondorff/Johnny Hooker
Recced by: whetherwoman
Backstory: The Sting is a classic heist movie set in the 1930s where aging and cynical Henry Gondorff and naive and energetic Johnny Hooker run a con on the mob. This fic is about what their next post-canon con might be... at a gay bar.
Rec: I love how Henry tries to protect Johnny and Johnny tries to protect him right back. Add in a lot of whump, pining, and banter, and it’s everything I want from a Sting fic.
Content warnings: Violence

“The Princess Murdered” by TheMangosity. 2.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: Columbo, The Princess Bride; Ship: Gen
Recced by: lady_alys
Backstory: A sequel to The Princess Bride, where Prince Humperdinck makes a second attempt at starting a war between Florin and Guilder through the murder of Princess Daffodil. But Constable Columbo is on the case…
Rec: Despite Prince Humperdinck being the only POV character, the author NAILS the Columbo voice: the questions that poke holes in the suspect’s story, the deference to the suspect’s perceived authority, the way he drives the suspect absolutely bonkers by always turning up when least expected. The only thing missing is that he never says, “Just one more thing…”
Content warnings: Princess Daffodil is murdered, but it happens off-screen.

“General Inspection” by Nomad (nomadicwriter). 2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Blackadder; Ship: Edmund Blackadder/Kevin Darling
Recced by: Toft
Backstory: Set in the Blackadder Goes Forth, WWI era of this classic British sitcom, Blackadder deals with the idiocy of his superiors and inferiors, and the bleak comedy of the front. Darling is his immediate commanding officer and they hate each other.
Rec: This story nails the style, tone, and humor of the source, while setting up, very economically, an absurd but plausible reason for Blackadder and Darling to make out while sending up military homophobia.
Content warnings: Impending death in the trenches looms over everything.

“built for this” by PrettyThief. 3.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Mythic Quest (TV 2020); Ship: Poppy Li/Ian Grimm
Recced by: sdwolfpup
Backstory: Mythic Quest is an office comedy about the worst, most talented, failboat game designers you’ve ever met. Ian and Poppy are codependent work partners who made the titular MMORPG, Mythic Quest. In the last season, Poppy got pregnant by someone else and by the end of the series she turned a whole plane around to come back to Ian.
Rec: This story is very funny and sweet and captures their unique back-and-forth so well. The author’s Poppy voice is particularly good. The set-up is simple (Ian helps her build a crib for the baby) yet it’s such a fun peek into the way these two are going to complement and contradict each other for the rest of their lives. I smiled through the whole thing.
Content warnings: None unless a character being hugely pregnant is a concern

“In case I need it when I’m older” by Philipa_Moss. 6.3K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Billy Elliot; Ship: Billy Elliot/Michael Caffrey
Recced by: syllic
Backstory: Billy Elliot is a 2000 film about a boy in County Durham during the mid-1980s mining strikes: he discovers he loves ballet, learns to dance (with the support of his teacher and grandmother, his friend Michael, and his brother and father, who are conservative but ultimately love him more), and eventually becomes a successful dancer. This doesn't do it justice; it is WONDERFUL.
Rec: This fic does something genuinely lovely and meaningful with the best thing about the film--its exploration of the ways in which people can grow and change as the result of loving one another and being loved. The way in which Michael plays with gender is a wonderful continuation from the film, and the relationship between Michael and Billy (easy, loving, absolutely accepting, funny) is beautifully captured. Delightful!
Content warnings: N/A

“Les immortels au service de la petite mort” by loveandrockmusic. 1.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: France’s language watchdog has told government officials to use French fetish terms... (News Satire) ; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Grace
Backstory: The esteemed members of the Académie Française confront kink.
Rec: It’s funny! The esteemed members are shocked! shocked! to find English in the kink bedroom.
Content warnings: Brief uses of kink terms

We got two recs for this one, so we’ve combined them:

“Rotational Freedom” by Jessica Jones. 1.2K words, rated Gen.
Fandom: For All Mankind; Ship: Gen
Recced by: tiltedsyllogism and gem
Backstory: tiltedsyllogism writes For All Mankind is an alt-history show that begins (and diverges from our own timeline) in 1969, when the Soviets are the first to land a man on the moon. It’s also a family drama, technologically grounded sci-fi, a workplace drama (about NASA!) and an exploration of how much better the world would be if it were more inclusive.
gem writes This show is set in an alternate universe where the US-Soviet space race never ended. The fic is a quick character study of Molly Cobb in the final moments of season 3.
Rec: tiltedsyllogism writes One of FAM’s most iconic characters (which is saying something) is the unstoppable Molly Cobb, who is hellbent on making it to the moon even though NASA (initially) only hires men as astronauts. This story blends a canon event with some historical backstory to offer an elegant and compelling portrait of Molly.
gem writes Molly is such a fascinating character and this fic captures her voice so perfectly. Just a lovely and moving bookend to her story throughout the show.
Content warnings: Major character death; CW canon compliance (it’s that kind of show) through the S3 finale.

And we combined this pair of recs as well!

“#footscraygoose” by facingthenorthwind (spacegandalf). 4K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Soulmate Goose AU; Ship: Mostly Gen, with an F/F couple Recced by: whetherwoman and Chronograph
Backstory: whetherwoman writes This fic is based on the Soulmate Goose of Enforcement trope, which is the idea that if two people are soulmates, a goose will chase them until they get together.
Chronograph writes In a world where magic birds chivvy you to your soulmate, an unidentified bird in Footscray Park causes an uproar among birders and the Australian government.
Rec: whetherwoman writes Australia is famously strict about not allowing non-native fauna without going through proper procedures—so how would that work for the soulmate goose? This fic answers that vital question through social media posts, government press releases, and a lot of hilarity.
Chronograph writes Absolutely meticulous and hilarious depiction of birding and Australian biosecurity regulations.
Content warnings: Non-permanent animal death

oh, that character there is genocide guy, he's kind of a fan favorite. the one next to him, though, that's the one everyone hates, she was rude once.

— Aria Winningson (@aria.labeledrude.online) December 9, 2025 at 12:59 AM

FINAL THOUGHT

Wishing everyone a safe weekend. — Gavia