Hello all! This week we have articles on the ethical necessity of boycotting Harry Potter, Skibidi Toilet fandom backlash (the toilet sold out!!), and a disastrous Barbie event. Also some cool Project Hail Mary fanart, multifandom fic recs, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series” by Charles Pulliam-Moore at The Verge
An incisive piece that lays out the specific ways that engaging with the new show will directly fund JKR’s transphobic crusade. This might not be new info to Rec Center readers, but it will be a very useful resource for friends and family who mistakenly believe JKR only has “problematic views.”

“Skibidi Toilet Community Goodwill Circling The Drain After Hollywood Studio Takes Over” by Steven Asarch at Aftermath
The rights to the surreal Gen Z/Alpha YouTube sensation Skibidi Toilet were bought a few years ago—but since then, the IP’s owners have been torching the fan creator community. An interesting report on the current state of the Skibidi empire.

“The Barbie Dream Fest Turned Out to Be a Nightmare” by Olivia Craighead at The Cut
A new entrant has joined the legendary company of DashCon, Fyre Fest, and the Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience—and this time, it’s pink.

Gosford Park (2001) Gosford World (2015) Gosford World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

— Mike.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ (@dumbmike.bsky.social) March 29, 2026 at 2:51 PM

older stuff

“The Success of Heated Rivalry Should Not Be a Surprise” by Gav at Fansplaining
“Romance is a huge money-spinner, and if you deliver it in an accessible format, audiences will show up in droves. So the real question here isn’t why Heated Rivalry is a hit—it’s why this kind of romance series is so rare in the first place.”

tumblr & beyond

Project Hail Mary fanart by skapediem, also on Instagram

a gorgeous art deco invitation to an Interview with the Vampire movie night!

AO3 did a truly inspired April Fool this year

the ultimate Heated Rivalry/Black Sails crossover event.

they should do this with a baby ent in the LOTR prequel show

why Joy is the undisputed hero of The Pitt season 2.

Very happy for this NASA employee in particular!!

fanfiction

We’ve got a grab-bag this week! Thanks to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“Heart in Atrophy” by igrockspock. 5K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery; Ship: Keyla Detmer/Joann Owosekun
Recced by: fly_to_dawn
Backstory: A pre-canon getting-together fic where Keyla deals with the loss of her eye.
Rec: I love so many of the minor characters in Disco, especially Detmer and Owosekun, and this fic is a wonderful piece of relationship-building, so soft and loving.
Content warnings: PTSD

“they keep the phoenix in a bamboo cage” by Kieron_ODuibhir. 42K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV); Ships: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian & Wen Ning | Wen Qionglin
Recced by: BlackSkyFan15
Backstory: In which an amnesiac Wei Wuxian concludes from the available evidence that he’s been forced into a sham marriage, and acts accordingly.
Rec: I really like the outsider POV of WangXian’s relationship and how in character Wei Wuxian is.
Content warnings: N/A

“The Tale of Bigwig and the Black Rabbit of Inlé” by AvengingMariner. 3.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Watership Down - Richard Adam; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Jamjar
Backstory: What if the tale of Orpheus, but Watership Down?
Rec: Just as full of realism and myth, tenderness and unforgiving, as the canon.
Content warnings: Major character death (canonical)

“It’s Got a Groove, It’s Got a Meaning” by lady_ragnell. 23K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Les Misérables; Ship: F/F Enjolras/Grantaire
Recced by: Genevieve
Backstory: Enjolras and Grantaire are a classic idealist/pessimist pairing often deployed in enemies-to-lovers fics. Here, the set-up is essentially: what if Sandy from Grease ditched Danny and fell in love with Rizzo instead?
Rec: Enjolras and Grantaire were originally doomed French revolutionaries and always end up arguing the politics of whatever setting they’re placed in. In this 1950s setting, they get to debate mid-century American feminism—and both sides are compelling!
Content warnings: Sexism, misogyny, unplanned pregnancy, abortion

“Hulkasaurus” by feldman, Thassalia. 88K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: The Avengers; Ship: Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov
Recced by: Tinpantithesis
Backstory: That cozy MCU contemporary romance novel you didn’t know you needed. In a small town on the coast of Lake Michigan, a hacker and an artist fall in love.
Rec: This is a reread for me every winter since I discovered it. I love the lived-in feeling of the AU—discovering various MCU cameos was a nice surprise each time, and Natasha and Bruce are both soft and spiky grownups.
Content warnings: Extensive discussion of domestic violence (past) and mental illness (past and present), food insecurity, wartime injuries, dangerous winter weather

“clear to a hedgehog” by magneticwave. 12K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Heated Rivalry (TV); Ship: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov
Recced by: AirgiodSLV
Backstory: This is an AU in which Shane works as a doctor in Montreal, where he meets Ilya smoking outside the hospital. A series of meet cutes, hookups, and feelings results.
Rec: This story feels like canon in the best way, with spot-on-characterizations and recognizable references, while exploring a fresh and different setting. The characters are endearing, their chemistry and relationship is believable, and the writing is sharp and incredibly funny.
Content warnings: N/A

Love looking at the Recently Added of a streaming platform and being like "oh, okay, that's why i have been seeing so many gifsets of this 30yo tv show i have never before heard of this week"

— Johannes T. Evans (@johannestevans.co.uk) March 30, 2026 at 3:12 PM

FINAL THOUGHT

We’ve got a few exciting guest lists coming up in the next few weeks (Devil Wears Prada! BBC Robin Hood! The Pitt!) (now everyone who’s promised me a list has to deliver 😉) but we’d also like to collect some specific tropes/elements for future multifandom lists:

• Outsider POV (an OC looking at the characters we know, a character we know looking at a ship/individual, etc.)
• Time shenanigans (e.g., time travel, time loops, a Sliding Doors-type situation)
• Reality TV AUs (we have a few in our bank, but not enough for a full list! Putting non-reality show characters in any sort of reality TV, whether it’s a competition or just following characters’ lives...)
• Established relationships (there are so many great getting-together stories, but the beauty of having a ship is you can enjoy them at any stage!)
• Poly fic (we always want more)
• Gen fic (ditto!)

Please send any and all favorite stories in through our submission form, and help me by mentioning which call they’re for in the themes/tropes field. — Elizabeth