Hello all! This week we have articles about an extremely intense controversy in Love and Deepspace fandom, and on the evolution of corporate rave culture. Also our weekly Fansplaining update (including my final TVL recap and an article about African K-pop fandom!), some atmospheric Witcher fanart, multifandom reality TV-themed fic recs, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“Hearts Continue To Break Over Love And Deepspace” by Nicole Carpenter at Aftermath
On the continued tensions between the creators of the hit game Love and Deepspace and its players/fans. “Where does Love and Deepspace go from here?”

“The Rise of the Corporate Rave” by Klana Mickles at Pitchfork
“The once underground and countercultural ‘rave’ has fully spread to the mainstream in the form of themed pop-ups and sponsored parties. For newbies, it can be a sanitized gateway into electronic music. For true ravers, it’s more complicated.”

“‘Interview With The Vampire’ Renewed for Season 4 With Rebrand to ’Queen of the Damned’” by Nicole Fell at The Hollywood Reporter
IWTV/TVL fans can rest easy in the knowledge that the show has officially been renewed, ushering in yet another new show acronym: QOTD! More news will presumably follow at SDCC this weekend.

based on the trailer alone I don't think Chris Nolan even played Mario Odyssey

— Rob DenBleyker @ SDCC Booth 1234 (@robdenbleyker.com) July 18, 2026 at 3:32 PM

new stuff: fansplaining

“African K-Pop Fans Are Building Their Own Spaces” by Tabby Kibugi
Like many other parts of the world, K-pop fandom has been blossoming in a lot of African countries in recent years—but despite demonstrable interest in the genre, the K-pop industry continues to bypass the continent. This deeply reported piece looks at K-pop fandom on the ground in Kenya, Nigeria, and other African nations, where without official events, fans are building K-pop communities and spaces for themselves.

“The Vampire Lestat: The Long Table” by Gav
Packed with fascinating details that may not become apparent until the second or third watch, episode 7 departs from book canon while cleverly wrapping up Lestat’s thematic arc. Meanwhile Louis and Armand reunite for a terrifically intense confrontation, leading into a final act that raises many, many questions about season 4.

P.S. Gav also interviewed two of the show’s lead actors for TV Guide this week: Sam Reid and Eric Bogosian, breaking down some of their thoughts on the season finale!

older stuff

“Who Cares About the Lore?” by Duncan Fyfe at Remap
“The language of lore is religious. The history of the world is written in bibles; if recognized, it becomes canon, a shorthand for truth. A story is true, or not, to its lore.”

tumblr & beyond

Witcher 3 fanart by celezart

world heritage Death Note post

“Declaring myself the number one defender of a character nobody thought was problematic in the first place”

a must-read thread on Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, by classicist Emily Wilson (translator of The Odyssey).

why everyone should try writing rarepairs.

a fascinating look back at celeb fandom and gender roles in 1920s america.

fanfiction

A few months back we ran a list of reality TV AUs, but we had too many to fit in a single list, so here’s another! (Honestly, we might have enough for a third—clearly this is a fun type of AU for folks, so if you have a favorite, please send it in!) Thanks very much to all of our guest reccers. — Elizabeth

“No Traitors Between Us” by PowerPlayPromise. 25K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Heated Rivalry (TV); Ship: Ilya Rozanov/Shane Hollander
Recced by: anon
Backstory: Hockey players Shane and Illya are on ‘Mafia’ style reality TV show The Traitors. Rec: How do you write a fic about a secret relationship where the couple has basically zero private time together, but it still feels like an incredible romance? Very true to both characters, hilarious, and with a twist that made me want to watch The Traitors!
Content warnings: N/A

“Have your Cake (and Eat it too)” by Carbon65. 137K words, rated Mature. Fandom: Newsies (All media types); Ships: Jack Kelly/David Jacobs, Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Pulitzer, Racetrack Higgins/Spot Conlon
Recced by: Shi
Backstory: What if the newsies from Newsies (or the amalgated fanonization of them, anyway) were all on a spoof of the Great British Bake Off together? Chaos ensues, obviously.
Rec: It’s a sweet modern AU with the right balance of fluff, angst, silly drama, real drama, technical baking knowledge, and easter eggs. OP clearly put a lot of thought into how the characters would translate into a modern AU.
Content warnings: Medical emergencies, needles, chronic pain, transphobia, recreational drug use

“tomorrow on every shore” by blueallthetime. 23K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Formula 1 RPF; Ship: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Recced by: buddieboos
Backstory: Extremely madcap combination of F1 and yachting culture that Shouldn’t work but Does: Formula 1 drivers as crew on an alternate universe version of Below Deck (the sailing show not the animated Star Trek one).
Rec: The format works surprisingly well to tease out different character traits and elements for the main guys as well as background crew, and adds needed levity to the occasional darker moments.
Content warnings: Parental neglect, emotional abuse

“Expect the Unexpected” by bri_ness. 80K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: SKAM (Norway); Ship: Even Bech Næsheim/Isak Valtersen
Recced by: macarmua
Backstory: SKAM is a Norwegian TV show about messy teenagers. You don’t need any context for this AU, in which they are all competitors in the world-famous reality TV show Big Brother.
Rec: This was SUCH a good read, and really well planned, too! Isak goes into BB with a plan, which doesn’t include falling in love with his co-competitor Even. I loved not actually knowing what or who you could trust, much like Isak in the story, it really kept you hanging.
Content warnings: N/A

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

“between the motion and the act” by Fahye. 16K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Captive Prince - C.S. Pacat; Ship: Damen/Laurent
Recced by: ramarama_bih and buddieboos
Backstory: ramarama_bih writes: The actual plot of the source material is irrelevant to this fic—instead, Laurent is the beleaguered producer of a failing Bachelor-style reality show, while corporate heir Damen has been strong-armed into being that season’s Bachelor for PR reasons. Unfortunately, he finds himself more interested in the spiky producer than any of his on-camera suitors.
Rec: ramarama_bih writes: Fahye is a legend in the fandom (this and many others). This fic - while sharing no plot or setting similarities to the source material—perfectly captures the reluctant alliance between Laurent and Damen, and the ensuing slow burn romance. It is also a fun perspective on the craft behind dating shows, a la Unreal. Come for the banter, stay for the final reveal. buddieboos writes: These characters are so well suited to the roles they’re cast in for this AU, and the author makes the most of playing them off each other.
Content warnings: N/A

And we got two recs for this one as well!

“Footage Not Found” by socksock. 70K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: One Piece; Ship: Roronoa Zoro/Sanji
Recced by: glassedplanets and Shi
Backstory: glassedplanets writes: Love is Blind AU! No knowledge of the actual reality TV show itself needed, the fic does a great job of making the setup very clear.
Shi writes: Nami, one of the few One Piece characters with consistent braincells, is producing a reality show. Zoro signs up and bonds with Sanji. Secret relationship shenanigans ensue.
Rec: glassedplanets writes: This was deeply hilarious at every turn, and I also loved how all of the twists were both reality-TV-tier dramatic and also just really fun to read. Zoro and Tashigi get to have a really, really lovely friendship here that unfolds just as wonderfully as the main relationship.
Shi writes: Laugh-out-loud funny. The relationship between Nami and Zoro here is particularly good.
Content warnings: N/A

by age 30 you should have at least one overly-hated female character that you get extremely defensive about

— jake zula (@critterisgrey.bsky.social) July 21, 2026 at 3:01 PM

FINAL THOUGHT

Have a great weekend, everyone! — Elizabeth