Hello all! This week we have articles on Pokémon cards, Hollywood creepypasta adaptations, and Usenet history. In the Fansplaining corner, we have reporting on the increasing inaccessibility of artist alley, as well as Gav’s recap of Lanterns episode 5. Plus: Heated Rivalry fanart and a multifandom rec list of found family fic! — Elizabeth

new stuff

“Pokémon Cards Became a Billion-Dollar Industry. Then Came the Armed Robberies” by Nicole Carpenter at Teen Vogue
An interesting dive into the history and current (bananas) state of the Pokémon card world. Really, the title says it all!

“A24 somehow making an SCP movie without anybody from The SCP Foundation involved” by William Hughes at The AV Club
Following the success of Backrooms, Hollywood studios are hungry for more creepypasta content to adapt. This update from the SCP Foundation feels depressingly predictable, pushing back against the idea that SCP’s Creative Commons license leaves it open to becoming a for-profit franchise.

“alt.time-capsule.reopened” by Ernie Smith at Tedium
One for the old-school fans (though we suspect at least a few of our readers are even older-school and were around for the analog era!): a new tool makes it easier to search the more than 1 billion Usenet messages dating back to the early 80s. Do you want to revisit your fandom exchanges from decades ago?

ME: See you later, Spock. SPOCK: Prosper. ME (turning around): Hey wait a minute- SPOCK: You heard me.

— Gourmet Spud (@gourmetspud.bsky.social) March 27, 2026 at 8:09 AM

new stuff: fansplaining

“The Death of the Artist Alley?” by Masha Zhdanova
Fansplaining’s longread this week is by indie comics artist Masha Zhdanova, who draws on her own experiences alongside interviewing a range of other indie artists to chronicle the dire state of the artist alley today. Skyrocketing tabling and ticket costs, demand for certain types of merch you cannot make by hand, and an expectation of elaborate “design-maxxed” booths mean smaller artists are increasingly being shut out of selling their work at conventions.

“Lanterns: Was It Worth It?” by Gav
Lanterns’ Rushville storyline comes to a head in episode 5, foregrounding the destructive impact of John and Hal’s competition over the ring. At the same time, the show is struggling on several fronts due to its lack of psychological depth, failing to flesh out its supporting characters or explore a convincing relationship between Zoe and John.

An underrated fandom experience is having a friend you can privately complain about your least favorite ships or headcanons with so you can have your petty bitch time without ever insulting or offending anyone in the fandom, and I think more people need to learn to do this

— Vi7id (@ultra-vi7id.bsky.social) May 12, 2025 at 6:22 PM

older stuff

“Trouble Sleeping? Meet the Legion of Fans Who Drift Off Every Night Watching ‘Frasier’” by Claire McNear at The Ringer
“‘Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and fumble around for the controller, so that I can tell Netflix to keep on playing,’ a user replied. ‘Just like the sound of a babbling brook surging through your condo.’”

tumblr & beyond

Heated Rivalry fanart by semoyed

“i hate to break it to you but every fandom is annoying.”

yuri fans

it’s important to be self-aware

trying to write a fic but i get frustrated bc i dont write like a 50+ years of experience in writing nobel in literature winner writer

wishing k/s fandom a very happy anniversary

want to include images of text exchanges in your fic? here’s a great resource!

fanfiction

This week we’ve got found family fic, as labeled by our reccers. Thanks to everyone who send in a rec! — Elizabeth

“Stark Hearts in Multiple Parts” series by crushing83. 425K words over 2 works, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Iron Man, MCU, Teen Wolf, Criminal Minds & others; Ships: Tony/Pepper, Stiles/Derek, Spencer Reid/Remy Lebeau
Recced by: Goddess47
Backstory: Tony Stark finds out that Claudia Stilinski and Spencer Reid are half siblings. Howard may have ignored them, but Tony was desperate for family. A creative retelling of the MCU and TW and CM stories with these relationships (and more!).
Rec: Crushing83 has lovingly mashed together these disparate fandoms with Tony Stark, Stiles Stilinski, and Spencer Reid as the hearts of the story. And, thankfully, crushing83 gave us the happy ending all these characters deserved.
Content warnings: Temporary death (the Snap), angst, xenophobia, not Steve Rogers friendly

“the heart its own rough animal” by orphan_account. 22K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Stranger Things, His Dark Materials; Ships: Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Joyce Byers/Jim “Chief” Hopper
Recced by: Alana
Backstory: An AU loosely following the events of S1 in which all the characters have daemons like in the His Dark Materials universe. Except Eleven, who is the only person alive to survive without a daemon. 2 POVs, the Eleven POV is gen and the Jonathan POV is Stoncy.
Rec: The two universes are woven together really well in this story, with the daemons adding emotional depth and even plot twists to the narrative.
Content warnings: Period-typical homophobia, canon-typical violence

“Pocketful of Soul” by Jenrose. 182K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù; Ship: Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian
Recced by: Chalionkat
Backstory: The Untamed is a wuxia Chinese drama adaptation of a danmei novel. It’s an epic tragedy, a romance, a parable of trying to do the right thing at all costs.
Rec: Mo Xuanyu is a tragic character in canon, one with very little time onscreen. Here he gets multiple tries at fixing the narrative, going further and further back in time and failing in different ways until he succeeds.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, canon-typical death and resurrection, mentions of domestic violence and abuse

“straight on ’til morning” by merils. 102K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: DC Comics, Superboy; Ship: Conner Kent/Tim Drake
Recced by: Neceros
Backstory: Conner Kent had a tumultuous and traumatic start to his career. Several years later, he realizes just how bad things really were.
Rec: This story gives a spotlight to one of my favorite characters who doesn’t get a lot of attention in DC fandom, absolutely showering him with hurt, comfort, and good characterization.
Content warnings: Past underage and abusive relationships, traumatic reactions including panic attacks and flashbacks

“No Home Should Be Shrouded in Darkness” series by rekishi. 166K words over 3 works, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Hobbit (Movies); Ship: Bard/Thranduil
Recced by: Morgan
Backstory: The story of the kingdom of Dale from Thranduil’s perspective, how it grows after the movies and develops during the decades with the help of Elves and Dwarves. It also gives a backstory to Thranduil’s family life and the kingdom in Mirkwood.
Rec: So much of Hobbit Barduil fic is centering on Thranduil thinking about or dealing with Bard’s death and it always flummoxed me, because Thranduil knew from the start Bard was mortal. In this series, the relationship is secondary to the plot, and it is stable and mature (in the sense of being grown-up) and doesn’t hinge on artificial drama or despair over what the future inevitably brings.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, aftermath of violence, some blood

And a podfic!

“[Podfic] when i die i’ll sacrifice (more than enough for the afterlife)” written by notcaycepollard and read by quietnight. 4.5 hours/41K words, rated Mature.
Fandoms: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe; Ships Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes
Recced by: sinéad
Backstory: As the author notcaycepollard says, “the Russos did my girl wrong.” This story is futurefic that picks up at the crucial moment on Vormir and changes that history. To go into more detail would spoil it. I also recommend the written work and notcaycepollard’s series that it’s part of, but I’m reccing quietnight’s podfic here.
Rec: If you’re a fan of Natasha, and not really satisfied with what happened to her in Avengers: Endgame, it’s intensely satisfying: both moving and at times lighthearted. Natasha and Maria’s relationship is one part of the web of friends and found family that the story creates. The podfic is beautifully read—quietnight has a great voice—and is one I have listened to many times.
Content warnings: Some canon-typical violence, offscreen animal harm, discussion of Red Room violence against minors. There is a brief m/f relationship that is part of the story.

You do not choose the blorbo. The blorbo chooses you. You have no say in the matter.

— Twiggie THE ROACH 🔞 (@twiggietime.bsky.social) May 30, 2026 at 8:19 PM

FINAL THOUGHT

For any Christopher Nolan fans (or haters!) among our readership: This week’s Overinvested episode is on The Odyssey, featuring the long-awaited return of my original co-host Morgan! As a longtime fan of the original text, she was the perfect person to discuss this film, digging into Nolan’s adaptational choices and the resulting discourse from critics and classicists like Emily Wilson.

Have a great weekend, everyone! — Gav