Aja Romano
@bookshop.bsky.social
Longtime culture writer, formerly of Vox. Member, WGAE, ATCA. They/them or she/her. http://ajaromano.com - I am NOT @bookshop.org lol.
Via tumblr: The Midwest Immigration Bond Fund, which pays immigrant bond fees to get people out of ICE Custody, has run so low on funds they've had to put a hold on their work. They have a donor matching funds through $50,000 or until August 21st, so please consider donating. www.mibfc.org/donate
Donate — Midwest Immigration Bond Fund
mibfc.org
We've had over 20 hot car deaths in the US this year. If you have kids or caretake kids, *please* take precautions when traveling with them. One great trick is to take one shoe off and place it in the back seat with your child before you start driving. Something that forces you to look.
I'm scared and embarrassed to ask for donations again, but I don't know what else to do. I still haven't found a new place to live nor am I currently able to afford it, as I wasn't expecting that I would have to move this month. I would be very grateful for literally any help boosty.to/weaverhawk/
Alex - stuff and things
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boosty.to
Alex 🏳️🌈@weaverhawk.bsky.social · 2w agoMy landlord called me today and told me I'm moving out because his kid will be going to college and living in this apartment starting from September ✌️
Just noting that we have fully repeated the process of our response to the climate crisis: not only ignoring urgent warnings and actual research from experts, but deliberately exacerbating the harms and accelerating the industry around the collapse. just did that again, but to our brains this time
Julian Sanchez@normative.bsky.social · 5d agoWe are very gradually going to start realizing with horror how completely we have fucked the brains of an entire generation.
Fansplaining continues to delight me all the time. I had SUCH a good time copy-editing this piece, which involved stopping midway through and going "wait, this music is actually fun?! what do you MEAN this guy went to Berklee and their manager has six Grammys???" etc. You can't stop the throb! 🔥🔥🔥
Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 6d agoOur latest is live! 💞 @kaytiburt.bsky.social writes about Boy Throb, who rose to fame partly via a quest to get member Darshan Magdum a U.S. visa. (Spoiler: he just got it!) For many fans, the immigration angle has been a core part of their Boy Throb fandom. Read or listen to an audio version:
I don't even go here (copy-editing this piece was the first time I actually stopped and went and watched a TVL clip, so i could see the BLOOD SHOWER lol) but I adored this interview. It's so clear this crew had an absolute ball on set. fansplaining.com/inside-the-v... @fansplaining.bsky.social
Inside The Vampire Lestat’s Brilliant Production Design
Blood farms and custom guitars: TVL production designer Andres Cubillan shares insights into the season’s most memorable setpieces.
fansplaining.com
I am so freaking stoked to have @fansplaining.bsky.social publish my essay from HERE FOR ALL THE REASONS, a book my co-editor and I have truly spent years, a ton of labor, and so much love on. We're so proud of it, and so proud to be part of this incredible site dedicated to taking fandom seriously!
Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 2w agoToday we're thrilled to publish our first book excerpt! An essay on gender, performance, and Bachelor fandom from critic and novelist @ilanaslightly.bsky.social, the co-editor of "Here for All the Reasons: Why We Watch The Bachelor":
Does anyone on this butterfly app do digital transcription for music notation? Can you DM me your rates/info please 🙏🙏🙏 thank you!
Every post and article headline about climate extremes: Wow this is so shocking ah yes. who could have predicted that the thing scientists predicted for decades is happening just as predicted. shocking. quelle surprise. this is so unexpected. what can be going on here. what could it possibly be.
My beloved aunt's memorial service is tomorrow. In my tribute I wrote about how loving and supportive she was when I came out to her in college. My family has basically edited out this part without my consent and is refusing to just not read the sanitized homophobic version and I'm so heartbroken.
This piece rips—sparked a lot for me. Maybe to Joshua’s point, this year I’ve been looking for ways to turn the page on nihilism, and words like these, held together with grit and hope, feel like a good reason to. And to get to writing, too!
Joshua Rivera@jmrivera.bsky.social · 3w agoa little bit of personal lore: my culture writing career began with a cranky blog about spider-man. for Fansplaining, I imagine the end of that career, with another blog about spider-man fansplaining.com/what-spider-...
The world of fanfiction has changed a lot since our 2017 episode, Fanfiction (Don’t Judge.) I talk with Fansplaining editor Elizabeth Minkel about the controversial fanfiction-to-media pipeline and how that’s changing the relationship between fanfiction writers and readers.
Is Money Ruining Fanfiction? — Imaginary Worlds
The world of fanfiction has changed a lot since we covered it on the show in 2017. I talk with Fansplaining editor Elizabeth Minkel about the controversial fanfiction-to-media pipeline and how that’s ...
imaginaryworldspodcast.org
Joshua knocked it out of the park with this piece! I'm so happy we got to work with him on this thoughtful, poignant musing on Spider-Man, power and responsibility, and what it means to leave nostalgia behind.
Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 3w agoOur latest is live! 🕷️ @jmrivera.bsky.social looks back on the first time he wrote about Spider-Man—and wonders if this will be his last. "The world has coarsened, and I’m not sure that stories that presume we care about one another carry the same weight anymore." Read & listen to an audio version:
Good for them. Until the Grammys stop making whiteness the default, it will never improve and more acts like BTS should refuse to participate. K-pop & J-pop may be distinct categories but lumping them into a generic “Asian acts” like a Panda Express is bullshit. deadline.com/2026/07/bts-...
BTS Withdraws From Grammy Consideration In Over New Asian Pop Category
BTS will not submit its music for Grammy consideration this year, apparently in protest over a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.
deadline.com
This is the TERF equivalent of planting one (1) tree every time you generate a billion carbon emissions
Seanan McGuire@seananmcguire.bsky.social · 3w ago"Every purchase unlocks a 5% donation to GLAAD at checkout, the world's largest LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization. Our LGBTQ+ community has always been part of this brand and always will be. 💛"
"We are donating 5% of proceeds to charity whenever we sell a thing that benefits a woman that is actively killing you" is basically stabbing someone with a knife and then saying it's okay because you also gave them a bandaid.
Seanan McGuire@seananmcguire.bsky.social · 3w ago"Every purchase unlocks a 5% donation to GLAAD at checkout, the world's largest LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization. Our LGBTQ+ community has always been part of this brand and always will be. 💛"
If anyone's belonging is conditional and can be revoked because of WHO THEY ARE, then EVERYONE'S belonging is conditional. The excuses and "reasons" do not hold.
people who champion gen AI don't seem to understand that for millions of us the 'boring, time-wasting tasks' are non-negotiable. Reading, writing, research, creating–we *want* to do this! It's fun! We learn stuff! Why would we cede them to any machine, let alone one that spits out a false reality?
Brendan Keogh@brkeogh.bsky.social · 3w agoSurely the solution here is just *don't use AI tools* for your writing and research and continue to do your writing and research in ALL the ways you were doing it before you started using AI instead of doing the work??
We're hiring! 📣 Join Buffalo's Fire as a General Assignment Reporter. 📍 Bismarck, ND or Remote (U.S.) 💰 $40,000–$65,000/year 📅 Apply by Aug. 1 📧 tori@imfreedomalliance.org #NowHiring #BuffalosFire
Are you a student or educator, or are you un/underemployed and/or have a lower income? You might not be aware that we have an affordable discount tier for anyone who needs it, no questions asked! Just email info@fansplaining.com and we'll happily share the codes.
"Being a K-pop fan in an African country isn’t the same as being a fan anywhere else." I love @tabbykibugiwriter.bsky.social's latest for Fansplaining—so well-reported. Amidst hurdles these fans face (e.g., the K-pop industry treating them like an afterthought) they're finding so much joy in fandom:
African K-Pop Fans Are Building Their Own Spaces
While the K-pop industry largely ignores them, fans in Kenya and Nigeria create K-pop communities for themselves.
fansplaining.com
This era has shown us over and over that a whole lot of ostensibly left-leaning people are extremely quick to suspend their practice of leftist principles so that they can 1) get ahead in a fight and 2) feel really smug about it
Hillary Monahan@hillarymonahan.bsky.social · 4w agoPerpetual reminder that making fun of "bad" fat people means that "good" fat people are one infraction away from you being an asshole at them about their bodies and it is completely at your whim and mercy. It's not a good look.
Our latest is live! 💞 @tabbykibugiwriter.bsky.social reports on the blossoming K-pop scene in Kenya and Nigeria. As the industry continues to largely ignore the continent, fans are left to build K-pop spaces for themselves—and they're thriving. Read or listen to an audio version:
African K-Pop Fans Are Building Their Own Spaces
While the K-pop industry largely ignores them, fans in Kenya and Nigeria create K-pop communities for themselves.
fansplaining.com
This week's Fansplaining longread explores the steady rise of K-pop communities in Kenya, Nigeria, and other regions of Africa—even as the industry and broader global fandom pass them by. A joyous piece with fantastic reporting from @tabbykibugiwriter.bsky.social! fansplaining.com/african-k-po...
African K-Pop Fans Are Building Their Own Spaces
While the K-pop industry largely ignores them, fans in Kenya and Nigeria create K-pop communities for themselves.
fansplaining.com
yelling "ARE THE SHADES OF PEMBERLEY TO BE THUS POLLUTED" like i'm at a pep rally
five pennies in a trenchcoat@snickettes.bsky.social · 4w agoOMG HE JUST STARTED READING IT! I GET TO EXPERIENCE THIS IN REAL TIME!!! ... IS THIS WHAT SPORTS FANDOM IS LIKE
Imagine if, in 2026, people were pouring billions into trying to convince people they weren't really left-handed, and the richest writer on earth was funding leftie eradication, and SCOTUS said lefties couldn't play sports, and the NYT opined that drs erred in letting teens write w/their left hands
Madisyn Parisi (they/them)@madisyn-writes.bsky.social · last mo.AI has reached a new frontier: conversion therapy for trans kids. Detrans AI‘s site claims it helps users explore their gender dysphoria. Instead, it cites conspiracy theories and seeks to invalidate trans people — even if it risks their lives. Read my original reporting @rewirenewsgroup.com
