This Week In Fandom History – Détails, épisodes et analyse

We don't know enough about this fandom to have a silly exclamation at the start of this summary, tbh! This week, V and Emily stumble along in the dark as they try desperately to fulfill a request from @thesilverstarling: the posting of the massive, massive MCYT Dream SMP RPF, "Heat Waves." We do our best. Truly. But we're so very old and uncool. That said, there are some genuinely fascinating aspects of RPF culture at play here, and we're happy to wade through these waters even if they are much too deep for us!

Sources

Fanlore
ABC Triple J

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• Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
• You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory. 
• If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
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They're on a boat! This week, Emily and V finally tackle a topic requested by one of our wonderful Patreon supporters, @elismor, who also wrote up an AMAZING primer about the fandom and the event. We're venturing back to the wonderful, weird world wide web of the late '90s to see a mailing list [WAR!] -- a round-robin, not-technically-roleplaying-but-it-kinda-is, fanfiction extravaganza. But delightfully, more than being about producing more #content, it was about... making friends. And fandoming together. And we think that's beautiful.

Sources

elismor's Primer

Promo Codes

Aim High Brooch Designs - For 25% off any order on Aim High Brooch Designs on Etsy, including a custom brooch, bag charm, keychain, or magnet design, use the promo code TWIFH.

• Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
• You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory. 
• If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
• Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

Grab your towel and your hard-boiled egg, nerds! This week, Emily and V look at a double holiday once again, because May 25 is a big day for two big fandoms: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy celebrates Towel Day, while Discworld remembers Sir Terry Pratchett and celebrates the Glorious 25 of May. Both of these hugely influential, beloved book series have spanned decades, genres, and all manner of fans, becoming tentpoles in the worlds of scifi and fantasy. Whether you're hopping from planet to planet with Arthur Dent or patrolling the streets of Ankh-Morpork, there is something about the universe to find joy and connection about on May 25. Would you rather have a towel or an egg??

This episode was edited by our lovely listener @s0apb0xst0ries!

Sources

Towel Day
Glorious 25 of May
Terry Pratchett gave us a million dollars for Alzheimer's research – here's what we did with it.

• Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
• You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory. 
• If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
• Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

Not the popslash! This week, V and Emily revisit one of their favorite topics -- "let teenage girls create bad art because it deserves to exist" -- as they recall one of several big Fanfiction.net content purges. This time, it was the total destruction of the RPF section, a loss of tens of thousands of stories in one fell swoop. Yes, V talks about Dream Street again. Yes, Emily talks about Backstreet Boys. Yes, there's a list of all of the fandoms that were murdered, and it's a total time capsule to the autumn of 2002. 

Live long and prosper! It's another Star Trek episode as this week, Emily and V venture into an alien cave to learn about "Shelter" by Leslie Fish and Joanne Agostino, AKA, the first Kirk/Spock slash fic. Fellas, is it gay to confess your love to your commanding officer in an alien cave and consummate your relationship with tender, tender sex? And fellas, is it problematic that Bones was also there?

(Side note, apologies for the late releases of episodes this month. We're working hard to get back on track. Life happened.)

It's just a jump to the left, and a step to the ri-i-i-ght... into fandom history! This week, thanks to a timely fan suggestion from Tumblr, V and Emily delve into the surprisingly adorable and totes emosh world of Rocky Horror Picture Show fandom. With tons of recollections from in-person fans of the '70s and '80s, this OG cosplay fandom surprised and delighted us with its creative, devoted following and super fun sense of camaraderie. Have you done a midnight showing? What movie would you "Rocky Horrorize"?

TEARFULLY: We love you.

STOICALLY: This week's episode is about the introduction of Castiel and the birth of Destiel (plus the 2007 WGA strike).

POW! This week, V and Emily venture to the DC side of comics fandom as they learn about "A Death in the Family" and the poll to kill off, or save, Batman's Robin at the time, Jason Todd. From the involvement of grandmothers trying to soothe weeping children who loved Robin to utterly bananas racism in the comic itself, "A Death in the Family" changed the course of Batman comics for decades and still affects stories today as Jason Todd has had a resurgence of popularity as the Red Hood (voiced, because of course he is, by one Jensen Ackles). This episode goes out to TWIFH supporter Jess, who schooled V in all things Jason Todd! Do you Batman fandom? Would you have voted to kill or save Robin?

All hail (but thoughtfully)! This week, Emily's fluffy episode praising the OTW took a slight detour as this summer revealed some very ugly spots on the underbelly of the Org we all love, support, and depend on. She and V talk through their feelings about some of the things we've all learned about the OTW that are less than utopian in an episode that is... pretty fucking heavy, actually. But we still DO LOVE AND SUPPORT THE OTW AND AO3, AND SO SHOULD YOU. There are just cracks in the foundation that *must* be patched to protect fan culture and fannish lives. 

NOTE: We recorded this episode in July 2023, and some of the issues mentioned may have evolved or been solved since recording. Neither of us are Volunteers with the Org, but we support Volunteers and the aims of the OTW. Please support the OTW with your dollars and use the opportunity that being a donor gives you to VOTE to help create a Board that aligns with fannish ideals and protection for Volunteers.

Welcome, true believers! This week, V and Emily take a turn towards becoming an economics podcast -- no, wait! Don't go away! It's still interesting and we get to be li'l haters! This week in fandom history, Disney bought Marvel, and V tells Emily all about the absolutely terrible shitbag dude who's been behind most of the worst MCU decisions (and it's NOT Feige!). Also the amount of money that Disney paid for Marvel is obscene. For better or worse, this is an event that shaped at least the next decade of fandom. What would you do with billions of dollars and a movie franchise you had final control over?