Hello all! This week we have articles about fandom curatorship, DC Comics’ relationship with Black-led titles, and fictional depictions of the tech industry. Also some cool SVSSS fanart, a grab-bag of multifandom fanfic recs, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“Behold! Nina Simone’s chewing gum! Inside the show celebrating extreme pop fandom” by Alexis Petridis at The Guardian
Don’t be turned off by the title: this is a thoughtful and interesting look at a new exhibit at Somerset House in London showcasing fans’ collections. “Museums haven’t collected this stuff. The curators are no longer experts: the fans are citizen curators. They’ve done us a service by keeping things and being encyclopaedic.”

“DC Comics, Blinded by Whiteness” by James Portis III at The Beat
“In 2009, nearly every publisher I pitched to told me, ‘Black comics don’t sell.’ So I started Stranger Comics. Seventeen years later, here we are creating comics—where the love of story, depth of character, and great art are nurtured, cared for, and prioritized above all else. I can tell you—Black comics do sell.”

“Too Big To Fail (On Television)” by Elizabeth at Fansplaining
Do we actually want to watch fictional tech people given the current climate around Big Tech? Elizabeth wrote about tech on TV—especially Halt and Catch Fire, Silicon Valley, and the new AMC drama The Audacity, whose showrunner wrote on Succession, and which wraps up S1 this weekend—and the broader context in which we view these characters.

I like the idea that Hutts are like any immigrant family and Jabba refuses to speak anything but Huttese at home and his kids are like jacked zoomers that are a full foot taller than him and only speak Huttese specifically when explaining how the Samsung remote works on the phone.

— Chris Person (@papapishu.bsky.social) May 26, 2026 at 10:02 AM

older stuff

“Read Palestinian Speculative Fiction Reading List” by Sonia Sulaiman
A fantastic (and still-growing) list of Palestinian speculative fiction, including novels, anthologies, and individual short stories.

tumblr & beyond

SVSSS fanart by remieil

another huge win for generative AI

anakin skywalker canonically trapped in his own personal hell.

a bold suggestion to reach new frontiers of fandom infighting

we saw this pun so now you have to see it too.

thrilling time for insufferable people!!!!

fanfiction

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

“Sit Tight, Take Hold” by nieded. 150K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Good Omens; Ship: Aziraphale/Crowley
Recced by: pyracantha
Backstory: The OG Good Omens ship if they were F1 drivers.
Rec: The characterizations of Ezira & Crowley in this story are so complex and well written. It’s a fantastic exploration of the sports genre as well as this pair and their epic love story on the track.
Content warnings: Sport-typical homophobia, mental health issues, some alcohol/drug content

“If I’m going down, I guess I’ll take you with me” by bitterred. 5.5K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Supernatural; Ship: F/F Ruby/Sam Winchester
Recced by: Androids
Backstory: At the end of the third season of Supernatural, Sam Winchester’s brother Dean goes to Hell. In the gap between seasons three and four, Sam completely implodes from grief, falls in love with the demon Ruby, and becomes addicted to drinking her blood for his psychic powers; Ruby eventually turns out to have been manipulating and betraying him the whole time, but this fic is set way before that point.
Rec: The chilling contrast between the text of the story where Ruby seems just as lost as Sam, and the fact that you the reader know that Ruby is actually manipulating her and totally playing her like a fiddle, is so awesome and well executed. Ruby tells Sam that demons don’t go into heat, and then she goes into heat: that's the only hint you get, but it’s a clear one.
Content warnings: Sex pollen (in the form of omegaverse heat/rut stuff), drug use

“Vigil Strange” by snagov. 4.2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Magnus Archives; Ship: Jon Sims/Martin Blackwood
Recced by: Yav
Backstory: It offers a missing scene before the S3 finale that adds another layer of angst to the tumult of Jon and Martin’s relationship in S4.
Rec: The writing is phenomenal and really digs into Jon’s personal struggles and pains that are present mostly implicitly in canon.
Content warnings: N/A

“The Advantage of Choice” by StoryTilly. 19K words (WIP), rated Teen.
Fandom: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen; Ships: Charles Bingley/Fitzwilliam Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Bingley/Jane Bennet, Anne de Bourgh/Charlotte Lucas, Charlotte Lucas/William Collins
Recced by: greysleipnir
Backstory: Darcy and Bingley are an established couple when they arrive at Netherfield, each with their own vision of the future, but their long-term desires are incompatible. Jane Bennet, her brother Eli, and their friend Charlotte Lucas, bound together by distinct natures and common feeling, are all convinced that they are too strange in the eyes of the world to ever marry. Yet they each yearn for something more than the life they have.
Rec: What if all main characters in Pride and Prejudice were queer? This delightful story explores the possibilities and consequences of their queerness, in a world where they still must hide their nature from society at large but where they also have unexpected support (and a promised happy ending).
Content warnings: Very mild period-typical homophobia

“old game (new rules)” by carolinaa. 28K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia; Ships: Jirou Kyouka/Yaoyorozu Momo, Jirou Kyouka & Everyone
Recced by: beatrice-babe
Backstory: Kyoka is a student with strict standards for herself. Because of extenuating circumstances that are sort of her own fault, these standards include not getting emotionally attached to anybody in her new class. Any of them could be the one to turn against her. And she’s decided that none of them will convince her otherwise.
Rec: Character who built up walls because of trauma learns that it’s safe to take down the walls <3 Kyoka has a slow journey of learning to trust her new classmates and that she’s not alone.
Content warnings: Ear piercing, past bullying, past homophobia, alcohol

“Games” by MaryPSue. 1.6K words, rated Gen.
Fandoms: Sandman, Discworld; Ship: Gen
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Death of the Endless and DEATH of Discworld chatting over games and cats. A short, (bitter)sweet fic about death, Death(s), and love.
Rec: This is written with such love for the characters and their worlds, and for Terry Pratchett. It is very much the bittersweet hope of life in a world where death exists. Plus, there is a cat.
Content warnings: Grief

As Jabba the Hutt's son I'm often gatekept from progressive spaces due to preconceived notions about my family. At the same time, I acknowledge the reasonable concerns my presence would raise, and I'm working every day to unlearn the harmful attitudes instilled in me on my father's pleasure barge.

— Michael Chasin (@chasin.bsky.social) May 26, 2026 at 3:41 PM

FINAL THOUGHT

Today, Fansplaining is celebrating one month since our relaunch! 🎉 For everyone who’s supported us so far, THANK YOU. Early subscription revenue has been incredibly helpful as we get off the ground. (If you’ve been considering subscribing, now is the perfect time—Gav is just about ready to file her Vampire Lestat episode 1 recap…..)

A bit of Fansplaining business: there are still about 100 folks listed as active paid patrons on our soon-to-be-defunct Patreon. Is this you? I’ve emailed everyone directly, but just in case people aren’t using those email addresses or haven’t seen the messages directly from/on Patreon, I just want to make sure all patrons get a chance to use their thank-you discount codes before I shut everything Patreon-related at the end of next week! If you’re a patron and interested in continuing your support, please take a minute to sort this out over the weekend, so you don’t have to pay full price later on! — Elizabeth