Hello all! This week we have articles on the remaining Hollywood giants, wicker-man sex advice, and a real-life Lord of the Rings scenario. In the Fansplaining corner, our latest feature is on danmei translation, and we’ve unlocked a few more pieces to celebrate our big sale. Plus: Over the Garden Wall fanart, and our penultimate week of October recs featuring a variety of supernatural creatures. — Elizabeth

new stuff

“Electronic Arts Closing BioWare, Laying Off Hundreds” by Nicole Carpenter at Aftermath
You have likely seen the news by now, but this week, EA announced it was shutting down BioWare, the studio that made many beloved fan-favorite games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Baldur’s Gate.

“What Would Happen If You Had Sex With a Wicker Dick?” by Rachel Handler at Vulture
Just in time for the romance movie of the season, here’s an interview with a gynaecologist, exploring the logistics of what might happen if someone actually had sex with a wicker man.

“Three Italian ‘hobbits’ flew to Ireland to return this man’s ring — and it was precious” by Catherine Zhu at the CBC
An extremely charming story about an Irish man who lost his wedding ring in a stream while vacationing in Italy, and the three Italian men who made their attempts to find and return it into a literal LOTR-themed quest.

Video games has decided to discontinue its once leading product, the video game

— rowan kaiser (@rowan.monster) October 21, 2026 at 1:41 PM

new stuff: fansplaining

“The Growing Pains of Global Danmei Fandom” by Kalai Chik
As many readers of this newsletter know, interest in danmei outside China has exploded in recent years. While publishers rush to meet the demand, translators find themselves on the front lines around clashes with fans. A deeply reported piece with extensive interviews from translators, many of whom wished to remain anonymous for their safety.

Plus! A few more pieces have been unlocked to celebrate Fansplaining’s six-month anniversary:

“What Spider-Man Can’t Save” by Joshua Rivera
“In which our hero contemplates a career writing about superheroes and pop culture—and imagines an ending.”

“Putting Away Childish Things” by Morgan Leigh Davies
“In The Book of Dust trilogy, Philip Pullman does what few authors for young readers ever attempt: he lets his protagonist grow up.”

As a reminder, the corresponding anniversary sale (50% off subscriptions for the first six months) runs through the end of the month!

ironically, by everybody thinking biddy blas is a glup shitto and loving him as a result, i'd argue this disqualifies him from being a glup shitto due to his current widespread popularity. we call this "shitto's paradox"

— Mad Dog Henderson (@paulsrockinbluesky.bsky.social) October 18, 2026 at 10:44 PM

older stuff

“How Fans Saved Sexypedia From Being Erased From the Internet” by Adam Bumas at WIRED
“After a fan craze dies down, it can vanish like it was never there. Thousands of creative works, dozens of developing ideas and entire trends can be lost to history. The internet hasn’t changed this: A Pew Research Center study earlier this year found 38 percent of webpages from a decade ago are no longer accessible.”

tumblr & beyond

Over the Garden Wall fanart by jullssaa

a bold question for someone to aim at tumblr user willgrahamscock...

the stages of writing fanfiction

“it’s so funny to read ‘and there was just one bed :O’ fanfiction set in time periods where sharing a bed was entirely normal.”

Fortnite x Obsession, the IP tie-in that nobody asked for

nothing but respect for the Predator franchise’s alien worldbuilding.

fanfiction

We’ve done vampires. We’ve done werewolves. This week, we have a variety of other supernatural creatures, including ghosts, zombies, and the Devil. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in a rec! — Elizabeth

“Hauntings and Wantings” by sarcasmandships. 18K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus (Rick Riordan); Ship: Will Solace/Nico di Angelo
Recced by: gem
Backstory: Will is an overworked medical resident whose house is haunted. Nico is the paranormal consultant Will calls for help. The ghosts ship them.
Rec: I love the specific trope of ghosts that are benevolent or just, like, cause mild inconvenience to the person being haunted, and that trope is impeccably employed here. Also, this fic is laugh-out-loud funny. No canon knowledge needed!
Content warnings: N/A

“oh well, I guess we’re gonna find out!” by angel_deux. 96K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Heated Rivalry; Ship: Ilya Rozanov/Shane Hollander
Recced by: wambsgangs Backstory: Ilya and Shane hook up in a Vegas hotel room after the 2014 MLH Awards. A zombie apocalypse ensues.
Rec: Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I could be genuinely moved to tears by a Heated Rivalry zombie apocalypse AU—but here we are. The author expertly captures Ilya and Shane here in all their tortured hookup era glory, and the zombie apocalypse is genuinely terrifying (but maybe not quite as terrifying as Ilya and Shane negotiating their dangerous feelings for each other at the literal end of the world).
Content warnings: Implied/referenced suicidal thoughts, internalized homophobia

“Ghost with the Most” by TRASHCAKE. 8.3K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Stray Kids; Ships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know; Bang Chan/Lee Felix
Recced by: Izzy
Backstory: Jisung and Minho are members of the kpop group Stray Kids. Here, they’re Beetlejuice. They do some matchmaking, and some falling in love.
Rec: I don’t ship this pairing and I’ve never even seen Beetlejuice but this is so good and so funny I reread it every year!
Content warnings: Main character death (technically)

“Strange Tales” by eosofthedawn. 13K words over 4 works, rated Teen.
Fandoms: Magnus Archives, Lord Huron; Ship: Gen
Recced by: oscarisaacasimov
Backstory: The archivist of the Magnus Institute investigates the paranormal events covered in the Strange Trails album.
Rec: A perfect spooky crossover for October featuring people who come back from the dead. Works as a standalone for anyone, but there’s tons of more to explore with both the podcast and the album.
Content warnings: Graphic violence, major character death

“time is moving, with situations i’m not choosing” by sargeantwoof. 8.1K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Game Changers | Heated Rivalry; Ships: Boston Bears | Boston Raiders Team Ensemble & Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov Recced by: AirgiodSLV
Backstory: This is an AU in which the Boston hockey team’s rookie hazing ritual involves a ghost party and a ouija board, and no one really wants to run the risk of being haunted but they still like the thrill of it. Ilya knows better and goes along with it anyway.
Rec: This has the fun dynamic of a protagonist who knows and believes in the occult, and a whole team of well-meaning goofs who don’t take it seriously enough. The magical realism and atmosphere drew me into this, and the ensemble care and support made me love it.
Content warnings: N/A

“Better Natures” by Ataraxiom. 38K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Daredevil (TV); Ship: Frank Castle/Karen Page
Recced by: burntheedges
Backstory: You don’t need to know much about canon—in this fic, Frank realizes something is wrong and whisks Karen out of NYC before the zombie apocalypse fully sets in. And then they have to deal in the aftermath.
Rec: I love their dynamic here, and how this fic showcases Karen’s and Frank’s strengths and weaknesses and what they would need to do and choose to do to survive. The original characters in this fic are also amazing, I love them all, and the worldbuilding is sooooo good.
Content warnings: Rape mention (side characters), typical zombie stuff, mentions of human trafficking, canon-typical violence

“A Cornstalk Fiddle” by notbecauseofvictories. 33K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Devil Went Down to Georgia (song); Ship: The Devil/Johnny (Devil Went Down To Georgia)
Recced by: Hellion
Backstory: Johnny beats the Devil in a fiddling contest, winning a fiddle made of gold. He’s the best there’s ever been, but the Devil isn’t done with him yet!
Rec: The way it explores concepts like the nature of the soul really struck me; memorable and profound and rich with meaning.
Content warnings: Body horror, religious themes, sexual references, implied/referenced racism

the sheep detectives 2: ewe can see everything

— Ariel Edwards-Levy (@aedwardslevy.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 7:32 AM

FINAL THOUGHT

That’s all, folks! Have a great weekend! — Gav