Hello all! This week we have articles about fake TikTok fan accounts, Fortnite’s bewildering Pride & Prejudice tie-in, and the new Avatar series Seven Havens. And from Fansplaining, the final instalment of my Lanterns recap series, all of which are now free to read! Plus some cool Bloodborne fanart, multifandom vampire fic recs, and more. — Gav

new stuff

“The insidious rise of fake TikTok fan accounts” by Lucy Harbron at Dazed
Does that fan account always seem to be at the right place at the right time? On artists/brands creating their own “fan” accounts—and the resulting breakdown of trust among actual fans. “People are really scared that they are not sure what's real or not anymore.”

“Fortnite Will Give Kids What They've Always Wanted: AI Pride And Prejudice Fan Fic” by Riley MacLeod at Aftermath
“What the fuck is this and who is it for?” Took the words right out of our mouths.

“Avatar: Seven Havens Review: A Triumphant Return for the Animated Last Airbender Franchise” by Gav at TV Guide
Gav is a big fan of Avatar: Seven Havens, a post-apocalyptic story that takes place about 200 years after Legend of Korra, introducing a very different version of the Avatar world.

Netflix adaptation called Surf Dracula: Nocturne that coyly plays with the original lore of the Surf Dracula franchise but is mostly penned by playwrights and is about the expulsion of the Acadians from maritime Canada.

— Chris Person (@papapishu.bsky.social) October 7, 2026 at 6:45 PM

new stuff: fansplaining

“Lanterns: The Oath” by Gav
Concluding John Stewart’s origin story, the season finale of Lanterns wraps up most of its subplots in a satisfying manner. However, Gav’s postmortem homes in on her frustrations with the show’s approach as a grounded superhero adaptation—and how that vision fits into HBO’s ill-fated pivot to franchise IP media.

Note: All of Gav’s Lanterns recaps are now free to read! You can catch up here.

Also! Fansplaining is celebrating six months since the relaunch with a BIG SALE. If you’ve been thinking about subscribing, now’s a great time: you can get 50% off your first six months for either the all-articles tier or the articles + special episodes tier. Help get more smart fan culture writing out into the world!

My satirical woodcut of your station in life has taken the parish by storm

— lolt64 (@lolt64.bsky.social) October 4, 2026 at 2:20 PM

older stuff

“The End of This Day’s Business—or, My Life as Repetitive Epic” by Una McCormack at Uncanny Magazine
“In the twenty-second episode of the second season of Star Trek: Deep Space 9, ‘The Wire’ (which is a holy text), we learn of the existence of a genre of Cardassian literature called ‘the repetitive epic.’”

tumblr & beyond

Bloodborne fanart by herheim731

that beautiful Twilight aesthetic

“Vitamin designers discovering Fred Flintstone”

Check out this homemade card catalog of Star Trek episodes!

“I love the Star Wars fandom's dedication to making Obi-Wan fuck a mandalorian.”

fanfiction

You know I’m excited: it’s VAMPIRE WEEK. A range of vampire AUs, plus a few Buffy-related fics. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“Stop Visiting My Grave” by gayhandshake. 2K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Stranger Things; Ship: Gen, but you can read Steddie into it if you want
Recced by: ianthe
Backstory: Steve is the Slayer in this Buffy AU, and Eddie is not especially adept at evil magic.
Rec: Gonzo aka gayhandshake is one of the funniest writers I know, and this is an extremely well-written, smart, hilarious snippet of a verse I would read 500k in. Happy Halloween!
Content warnings: N/A

“A Warm Life” by derekstilinski. 106K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Detroit: Become Human; Ship: Hank Anderson/Connor
Recced by: Tardy
Backstory: Hank Anderson wins an old mansion in an auction—it’s creepy in a fun way. Until he uncovers secrets the mysterious Stern family left behind.
Rec: Sometimes loving someone Other who has lost everything will net you a doting vampire boyfriend, who’s also a time traveler on a technicality. Content warnings: N/A

“scent and taste and take” by marginaliana. 13K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Critical Role RPF; Ship: Taliesin Jaffe/Matt Mercer
Recced by: bumblewyn Backstory: This fic is set in our world, except vampires are real, and everyone knows it. Taliesin is a vampire and he wants Matt in more ways than one, but he doesn't think he can have him in any way other than as a friend.
Rec: The worldbuilding of vampires being commonly known in this fic is very interesting, especially since the vampires are able to emotionally bond to humans, which leads to some delicious mutual pining. This is the perfect amount of tragic, yearning, and idiots in love with a delicious pay-off at the end.
Content warnings: Blood

“What Big Teeth” by Idiopathicsmile. 5.8K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Les Mis; Ship: Enjolras/Grantaire
Recced by: anon
Backstory: College AU where Grantaire is a member of a monster-themed novelty band and Enjolras is an actual vampire.
Rec: A hilarious and wonderful execution of a thoroughly cracky concept!
Content warnings: N/A

“Everything in Vein” by minarenny. 82K words (WIP), rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by Mòxiāng Tóngxiù; Ship: Luo Binghe/Shen Yuan | Shen Qingqiu
Recced by: Mysana
Backstory: A Jinlan City AU where Shen Qingqiu becomes a vampire and Luo Binghe doesn't hesitate to take advantage.
Rec: Shen Qingqiu is a very different person internally vs externally and seeing that through the effects of his vampirism is super fun, as is getting a longer closer look at the effects of Xin Mo on Luo Binghe. I'm also definitely here for the sexy blood drinking contrasted with the emotional slow burn reconciliation.
Content warnings: N/A

“Strangeness in the Proportion” by ada frogg (anomieow). 18K (WIP chapter 5/6 posted. Does not affect reading experience. The author seems to update once a year), rated Explicit.
Fandom: The Terror (TV); Ships: Thomas Jopson/Edward Little, George Henry Hodgson/Thomas Jopson/Edward Little, George Henry Hodgson/John Irving, Thomas Armitage/Solomon Tozer
Recced by: anon
Backstory: A Dracula-esque gothic AU. Featuring vampires, seduction, sensual horror, oh and repressed Victorian lovers. Can be read fandom blind. Some of the characters are better introduced in this fic than they were in the show (they were Victorian Arctic explorers if you must know).
Rec: Brilliantly hot and disturbing. A perfect balance of hot vampire smut and a repressed love affair between two human characters, with a good dose of period typical internalised homophobia and religious trauma. And the horror side of it... like a good vampire hypnosis I cannot get this fic out of my head so you will have to suffer with me.
Content warnings: Non-con, mind control, eating disorder, vomiting (not as a kink), bloodplay, body horror, period typical internalised homophobia, religious imagery & symbolism, bugs and insects

“much more to life than dying” by JustGail. 6.8K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, DCU (Comics), Batman; Ships: Jason Todd &/Buffy Summers (romantic elements but not as an endgame), Buffy Summers & Dawn Summers, Spike & Jason Todd, Spike/Buffy Summers
Recced by: Rosemarycat5
Backstory: Set after Jason's resurrection but before Under The Red Hood and after Once More With Feeling in BTVS, Jason Todd finds himself in a Sunnydale graveyard. A different Earth but one with familiar elements. Buffy offers a hand. Rec: This is such a fun crossover. Buffy and Jason are always in my head for characters returning to the dead, so it's great to see them interact here. All the characters' voices are on point. “‘Seriously,’ Jason said. “You really put in the ultimate sacrifice. You straight up went to heaven?’ ‘Straight-up,’ Buffy echoed.”
Content warnings: N/A

My favorite Star Wars fact is that the galaxy doesn’t have a name. That’s good worldbuilding BECAUSE it’s bad worldbuilding! Sometimes you forget to name something or the first person who gets there names it something stupid!! Anyway ours is called the Milky Way and who the fuck allowed that

— ND Stevenson (@gingerhaze.bsky.social) June 2, 2026 at 2:49 AM

FINAL THOUGHT

Have a great weekend, everyone! — Elizabeth