Hello everyone! This week we have pieces about the dominance of English in fanfiction spaces, the Michael Jackson movie, and Kickstarter’s adult content ban. Plus Heated Rivalry fanart and a multifandom list of outsider POV fic! — Elizabeth

new stuff

“The Elation and Anxiety of Reading Fic in Your Native Tongue” by Soila Kenya at Fansplaining
Fansplaining’s latest longread goes deep on the prevalence of English in fanfiction—how colonialism has created a system of linguistic capital that affects how fans feel fic should be written. Featuring interviews with fic writers/readers from Kenya, Nigeria, and Burundi!

“The Michael Jackson Movie Wants To Sell You A Smaller, Meaner World” by Joshua Rivera at Aftermath
“There is a lot of money to be made in maintaining a status quo, or returning it to a less equitable one.” A sharp critique of Michael and the structures that drove the shape of the film.

“Kickstarter Is The Latest Platform Seemingly Forced To Ban Adult Content By Payment Processors” by Lewis Parker at Kotaku
“The choice to limit NSFW content on Kickstarter feels especially sudden, considering the platform launched its ‘Kickstarter After Dark’ newsletter in September 2025, which aims to showcase “the best adult-oriented projects across” featured on the website.”

There should be a Star Trek movie every two years and they should have indie film budgets and no explosions and almost everyone should hate them.

— Hank Green (@hankgreen.bsky.social) May 14, 2026 at 8:53 PM

older stuff

“Man Prefers Comic Books That Don’t Insert Politics Into Stories About Government-Engineered Agents Of War” at The Onion
“At press time, Land was posting on a subreddit that he wished comics didn’t force him to identify with gay or black superheroes when all he wanted was stories about oppressive governments rounding up mutants whose only crime was to be born different.”

tumblr & beyond

Heated Rivalry fanart by wingsseni

an extremely good question for all the communists out there.

Dracula Daily is now in its time loop era.

“trying to undress ms frizzle but when you pull off her dress there’s a second, ‘lingerie-patterned’ dress underneath”

tumblr continues to be a flourishing ecosystem for new Heated Rivalry takes.

fanfiction

We’ve got a fanfiction staple this week: Outsider POV. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“Friendship In Retrospect” by HH_Arrow. 14K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series; Ship: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Cliff Marlow & Ilya Rozanov
Recced by: teaspoonsandwaves
Backstory: Cliff Marlow and Ilya Rozanov are professional hockey players on the Boston team; Ilya has been in a secret relationship with his rival on the Montreal team, Shane Hollander, since before their Rookie year. Cliff Marlow reflects on his friendship with Ilya.
Rec: I love the fumbling friendship Cliff has with Ilya, and how he’s reflecting on Ilya’s emotions, and feral cat state and how Cliff managed to build rapport with Ilya, and how he’s able to do the necessary repair work to give a speech at their wedding.
Content warnings: Internalized and referenced homophobia/biphobia, implied/referenced alcohol abuse

“New River” by aWhaleOfATale. 134K words WIP), rated Explicit.
Fandoms: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Record of Ragnarok (Manga), Record of Ragnarok (Anime); Ship: Gen
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Record of Ragnarok Loki is punished for a prank by being turned mortal for a decade. Newly mortal Loki finds themself in the Percy Jackson universe. Newly mortal Loki, disguised as Sally Jackson, has an affair with the local Poseidon and gives birth to Percy.
Rec: I really like RoR Loki’s outsider POV and perception of the PJO world.
Content warnings: [Ed note: The reccer didn’t leave any warnings or contact info, but this fic has three major archive warnings—graphic depictions of violence, major character death, and rape/non-con—alongside other tags worth reviewing.]

“Before the Night Fades” by MilenaDaniels. 8.6K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 9-1-1; Ship: Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Recced by: buddieboos
Backstory: During the period in canon where both Buck and Eddie had actual real-life legitimate girlfriends (Taylor and Ana respectively). They go on a double date, and there’s a mix up with a proposal taking place that evening. Shenanigans ensue. POV is the waitress who doesn’t get paid enough to deal with all of this.
Rec: The original character created for the POV has a really quick and dry wit (that I imagine mirrors the author’s). Relatable for anyone who’s worked hospitality and its corresponding nonsense, while also teasing out the various relationships in play.
Content warnings: N/A

“Red Rabbits” by bloodydamnit, Jeni182, SeaBear13, windeavesdrops. 292K words (series: 725K words over 3 works), rated Mature.
Fandom: All For The Game; Ships: Andrew Minyard/Neil Josten, Matt Boyd/Danielle Wilds
Recced by: rainingingeorgia
Backstory: All For The Game is a book series about Neil Josten who has been on the run from his murderer father and an organized crime ring since he was a child. He is constantly changing appearances and aliases, until one of his aliases is recruited as a college athlete putting him in the public eye and giving him a team of people who make him want to stick around. The series mentions child abuse, and child sexual abuse, and features rape, torture, scars and self-harm and violence. The key themes of the series are about growing through trauma and learning to trust and love others despite your own struggles.
Rec: This story is a podcast AU, with Andrew Minyard creating his own podcast to try and find Nathaniel Wesninski (Neil Josten). We see Andrew pulling at strings and leads, investigative podcast style, and like his listeners, we often don’t know everything he knows. At the same time, Neil is trying anything he can to outrun the podcasts’ popularity and Andrew’s determination to find him. This story is gripping and addicting and executed perfectly. The huge word count feels way faster than it sounds.
Content warnings: Most of the warnings from the original series apply, specifically child abuse, referenced child sexual abuse, torture, serial killing, scars, referenced self-harm and abusive parenting

“The One-Body Problem” by metisket. 28K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Untamed; Ship: Lan Jingyi & Wei Wuxian
Recced by: fredfinch
Backstory: I haven’t watched this show and don’t plan to, but as far as I can tell, it’s like... ancient Chinese wizards? This story starts with student-wizard(?) Lan Jingyi accidentally becoming possessed by the ghost of Wei Wuxian, supposedly a terrifying mass murderer but in reality more of a morose ghost.
Rec: I love sharing-a-body/possession stories. The secondary relationship is romantic, but doesn’t involve Lan Jingyi, the POV character, so we get a really funny outsider perspective on this weird old ghost and his crush.
Content warnings: N/A

BAD John Constantine comic: Oi Zatanna me love, If we're gonna defeat Trigon we're gonna need all of our mystical energy cor blimey *starts shooting magic lasers* GOOD John Constantine comic: Chas mate, need you to open this non-cursed jar for me. The one with the skulls, yeah

— Jorge Rodríguez (@jorgertg98.bsky.social) April 23, 2026 at 3:59 AM

FINAL THOUGHT

For any Rec Center readers in Glasgow (or thereabouts), I’m hosting a PowerPoint party at Glasgow Zine Fest on the evening of May 24! Definitely a fandom-adjacent event, with a lineup of experts presenting PowerPoints on their niche special interests. Book a ticket before they sell out!

And for everyone else around the globe: Have a great weekend! — Gav