The Rec Center #489
Hello all! This week we have a memorial for Polygon, Doctor Who in Nigeria, and, if you can believe it, the first time we’ve included a piece from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. Plus Superwoman fanart and a multifandom rec list of hurt/comfort fic. — Elizabeth
new stuff
“A Fond Farewell To Polygon, From The People Who Worked There” by Nathan Grayson at Aftermath
A few weeks ago, the long-running gaming and geek culture website Polygon—which we’ve shared a lot of pieces from over the years—was acquired and essentially gutted. This remembrance features former writers and editors on the site’s legacy and their work there.
“‘I screamed’: Nigerian Doctor Who fan thrilled show is coming to Lagos” by Wedaeli Chibelushi at the BBC
“Ncuti Gatwa being an actor of African descent means that we can tell new stories with the Doctor and negotiate in different spaces because of his appearance. And this is the brilliance of the show—every Doctor creates new opportunities to tell new stories in different ways.”
“What Tom Holland’s historic lip-sync showcase taught us about stormwater management” by Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Service journalism!!!
What George Lucas got right about the original trilogy, but has never managed to replicate since, is that I was a little kid when those came out
— Mike Dawson (@mikedawson.bsky.social) 2025-05-10T20:52:45.245Z
older stuff
“Murderbot, She Wrote” by Meghan Herbst at WIRED
With the Murderbot show out today on Apple, it seems like the perfect time to re-share this great profile of the series’ author, Martha Wells.
tumblr & beyond
Superwoman fanart by bixels
A beautiful edition of Dinosaur Comics this week. (A sequel to this one?)
“sometimes your mutual gets into some batshit insane rarepair that they’re a little embarrassed about and it becomes your sworn duty to put on your jester bells and jingle jangle proudly by their side for moral support"
“Absolutely nothing worse than finding out that you share interests with someone you hate.”
i’m sure if tumblr works hard we can soon come up with a reason why eels are a problematic fandom actually.
fanfiction
We’ve got one of our most-frequently submitted themes, hurt/comfort—plus a few tagged “whump” for good measure! Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth
“Volo ut sis” by Piersanti. 140K words over 2 works, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Conclave (2024); Ship: Vincent Benítez/Thomas Lawrence
Recced by: anon
Backstory: AU where Tremblay is elected Pope and Thomas Lawrence finds himself working at a refugee camp in Jordan alongside Cardinal Vincent Benítez. Living together brings the two men closer and closer to each other, but how will their new relationship cope when their faith separates them?
Rec: A truly heartfelt series about love, community, grief, activism, and two middle-aged priests eventually getting the happy ending they deserve. It’s beloved in Conclave fandom for all the right reasons, and has some of the best OCs I’ve ever encountered in a fic series.
Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, mentions of real-world events
“Message To The World” by IcyPanther. 20K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Legend of Korra; Ship: Bolin & Mako, minor Bolin/Opal
Recced by: Rosemarycat5
Backstory: Bolin is kidnapped by a group of escaped members from one of her enslaved camps to provide an ultimatum to Kuvira: free their town and their families or Bolin will pay the price for her crimes with his blood and, eventually, his life.
Rec: This is top-tier whump. The characterization for Bolin is on point, and the way his relationship with Mako comes up is excellent.
Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence
“The Lotus Eaters” by aldora89. 94K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Star Trek AOS; Ship: Kirk/Spock
Recced by: Sarah
Backstory: Jim and Spock fight for survival on an alien planet and against a native plant species which has Jim tight in its deadly grip.
Rec: Novel-like narrative and incredible world-building with a satisfying ending.
Content warnings: Minor character death
“Summer” by Tierfal. 12K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist; Ship: Gen
Recced by: L3abb3
Backstory: Edward feels defensive and uncomfortable about everyone’s preoccupation with sex and eventually gets a talk with the adults explaining he isn’t broken, and asexuality/demisexuality is a thing.
Rec: It really resonates with me, the feeling of alienation, and the terrifying relief that there are others who are like you. That you’re not broken, but ace or demi, and it’s OK.
Content warnings: Swearing
“Something Borrowed” by weakspots. 13K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: ER; Ship: John Carter/Luka Kovac
Recced by: tattooedbuddhas
Backstory: What if John Carter was a transman and the writers didn’t treat his “losing his virginity” at 11 like a big joke. What if he managed to find some healing in a situationship with Luka.
Rec: This version of Carter is prickly and guarded and so much more interesting than the version on the show. The acceptance and sanctuary he finds with Luka feels so lovely, and the author does an amazing job showing without telling.
Content warnings: A big one for child sexual abuse, also some parental transphobia and discussion of previous addiction and disordered eating
“Jabberwocky” by Stealth Dragon. 158K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis; Ship: Gen
Recced by: lostinawrittenworld
Backstory: John Sheppard whump and genetic impossibilities.
Rec: The Sheppard whump is so well done and interesting. I’ve read this probably 4-5 times.
Content warnings: N/A
“no men but animals” by whalersandsailors. 60K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Terror; Ship: Thomas Jopson/Lt Edward Little/Sgt Solomon Tozer
Recced by: dogeared-euclid
Backstory: Doomed Arctic explorers & narrative foils reimagined as not-quite-human creatures building a life in the Alaska wilderness.
Rec: Atmospherically detailed spooky setting and slow building tension among the leading lads!
Content warnings: Body horror, minor character death
Gotham City gotta be nuts because why were 80% of the villains created by LOOSE ACID? You don’t need Batman, YOU NEED OSHA.
— rome. (@romewithadot.com) 2025-02-04T16:27:37.962Z
FINAL THOUGHT
Now Andor is over (the end of an era!!), I thought I’d share some links to my coverage this season! After my pre-release review, I published a piece about Cassian’s people skills and an article about the undocumented labor storyline in eps 1-3, followed by an analysis of the visual and linguistic worldbuilding on Ghorman, and finally an interview with actor Kyle Soller, who had some fascinating thoughts on his role as Syril Karn.
Over at the Overinvested Patreon, my co-host Morgan and I also released a podcast review including spoilers up to ep 9, and we plan to cover the final batch of episodes soon! — Gav