Please note that if Bluesky is hiding “graphic media” for you here, they are denying you a picture of the most beautiful man in the world, Jacob Anderson, characteristically covered in blood.

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 5h ago

You've read @gavia.bsky.social 's Vampire Lestat recaps. Now that the season has wrapped up, she's going deep behind the scenes, talking to production designer Andres Cubillan about a range of setpieces, from the tour bus to Lestat's childhood home to the Fang Gang's hideout. 🩸✨ Read or listen:

You've read @gavia.bsky.social 's Vampire Lestat recaps. Now that the season has wrapped up, she's going deep behind the scenes, talking to production designer Andres Cubillan about a range of setpieces, from the tour bus to Lestat's childhood home to the Fang Gang's hideout. 🩸✨ Read or listen:

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

"They want me. I can tell. I flush with pleasure. ... The Bachelor is nothing if not the height of normcore, and the producers letting me into the club is thrilling." In our latest, an excerpt from @ilanaslightly.bsky.social's "Here for All the Reasons: Why We Watch The Bachelor." 🌹

The Bachelor and the Fantasy of Performance

In Here for All the Reasons: Why We Watch The Bachelor, Ilana Masad imagines competing on the show, imaginary straightness and all.

fansplaining.com

So excited to be publishing book excerpts—starting with @ilanaslightly.bsky.social’s fantastic writing on The Bachelor! 😍

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 2d ago

Today 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":

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 · 2d ago

Today 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":

Today 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":

The Bachelor and the Fantasy of Performance

In Here for All the Reasons: Why We Watch The Bachelor, Ilana Masad imagines competing on the show as her straightest, most impossible self.

fansplaining.com

I never know if any stuff like this is gonna work until it’s out there so it’s cool to know that it is for some folks

Joshua Rivera@jmrivera.bsky.social · last wk.

a 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-...

"If this is the last time I write about Spider-Man, you should know what it meant to me, and that it is different from what it did as a child: This power, this responsibility? It’s something I need to embrace until the wheels come off." — @jmrivera.bsky.social

What Spider-Man Can’t Save

In which our hero contemplates a career writing about superheroes and pop culture—and imagines an ending.

fansplaining.com

"If this is the last time I write about Spider-Man, you should know what it meant to me, and that it is different from what it did as a child: This power, this responsibility? It’s something I need to embrace until the wheels come off." @jmrivera.bsky.social on covering pop culture is a must-read:

What Spider-Man Can’t Save

In which our hero contemplates a career writing about superheroes and pop culture—and imagines an ending.

fansplaining.com

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 · last wk.

Our 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:

a 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-...

What Spider-Man Can’t Save

In which our hero contemplates a career writing about superheroes and pop culture—and imagines an ending.

fansplaining.com

Our 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:

What Spider-Man Can’t Save

In which our hero contemplates a career writing about superheroes and pop culture—and imagines an ending.

fansplaining.com

I was not aware that today would be such a robust Odyssey Discourse Day when I slotted this onto our editorial calendar lol, but it was a total delight to have an in-depth conversation about the film—as an adaptation specifically—with to Nolanhead + Pedantic Classics Person @flourishklink.com.

Special Episode 38: The Odyssey

“Wet and normal”—just two of many descriptors for Christopher Nolan’s epic.

fansplaining.com

I NO LONGER NEED SUPPRESS MY TAKES! HOORAY!

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · last wk.

Want some more Takes™️ on The Odyssey? 😉 Our latest special episode is live! Featuring the return of @flourishklink.com—self-avowed Nolanhead *and* pedantic Classics major. Special eps include human-written transcripts alongside audio—pledge at the Benefactor tier or higher, or buy one-off access!

Want some more Takes™️ on The Odyssey? 😉 Our latest special episode is live! Featuring the return of @flourishklink.com—self-avowed Nolanhead *and* pedantic Classics major. Special eps include human-written transcripts alongside audio—pledge at the Benefactor tier or higher, or buy one-off access!

Special Episode 38: The Odyssey

“Wet and normal”—just two of many descriptors for Christopher Nolan’s epic.

fansplaining.com

It's getting hard to hold my takes on The Odyssey but we do have a @fansplaining.bsky.social special ep coming out about it aa

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.

“The fan base and the community is getting bigger and bigger in Africa, but every year we don’t get listed for concerts. We don’t really know the reason behind it.” @tabbykibugiwriter.bsky.social reports on African fans' frustrations about being continually overlooked by the K-pop industry:

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

"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 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

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

I was surprised to find @gavia.bsky.social had directly quoted me here when I first read the draft and I stand by it: this finale was "extremely written by playwrights." I spotted the bird callbacks in real time when watching, but I'm sure a rewatch or two will yield like 9,000 other allusions.

The Vampire Lestat: The Long Table

In episode 7, “The Failures,” Louis has a gruesome reunion with Armand, while Lestat faces judgment from specters of his past.

fansplaining.com

Here's my recap for episode 7 of The Vampire Lestat! A fascinating, complicated conclusion to the season, featuring the most disturbing horror sequence in the show's entire run.

The Vampire Lestat: The Long Table

In episode 7, “The Failures,” Louis has a gruesome reunion with Armand, while Lestat faces judgment from specters of his past.

fansplaining.com

It's here: the season finale of The Vampire Lestat. 🩸✨ In what she describes as the show's "weirdest episode to date," @gavia.bsky.social fittingly writes her longest recap of the season, culminating in Lestat's existential crisis on the astral plane. Read or listen to an audio version:

The Vampire Lestat: The Long Table

In episode 7, “The Failures,” Louis has a gruesome reunion with Armand, while Lestat faces judgment from specters of his past.

fansplaining.com

In our latest, Maria Temming reports on fictional constructed language—aka conlang—communities, and the ways those languages can bring fans closer to the source material. Read or listen to an audio version: fansplaining.com/how-fans-mak...

I also think anyone curious about what reporting on fans looks like should read this and Maria's other work, e.g., her first feature for us on fans of whump and hurt/comfort. Real fandom reporting involves getting in there and talking to folks rather simply browsing public commentary!

The Pain Fandom

How whump—one of fandom’s oldest and most divisive genres—gained a fanbase of its own.

fansplaining.com

Maria is SUCH a good reporter, and this piece was a real joy to edit. My conlang assumptions (as a pure extension of canon *or* just about language learning and not the source material) were upended by this—it's a mix of that whole spectrum, and very community-oriented. Highly recommend this piece!

How Fans Make Fictional Languages Real

Na’vi, Klingon, and other conlangs get more use IRL than they ever have onscreen.

fansplaining.com

I've been in the 'Cameron's Avatar left no cultural footprint' camp forever and now I have to shift to the 'okay, maybe a small imprint' camp because of Maria's fascinating, joyous piece on conlangs! It's seriously so good. Also I need the last guy to write a cultural guide to Dothraki 🙏

Fansplaining@fansplaining.bsky.social · 3w ago

Our latest is live! ✨ Maria Temming reports on the worlds of fictional constructed language (aka conglang) speakers. For fans gathering around Na'vi, Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki, or High Valyrian, it's about more than a connection to canon—it's about community. Read or listen to an audio version:

Our latest is live! ✨ Maria Temming reports on the worlds of fictional constructed language (aka conglang) speakers. For fans gathering around Na'vi, Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki, or High Valyrian, it's about more than a connection to canon—it's about community. Read or listen to an audio version:

How Fans Make Fictional Languages Real

Na’vi, Klingon, and other conlangs get more use IRL than they ever have onscreen.

fansplaining.com

In her analysis of The Vampire Lestat episode 6, @gavia.bsky.social writes about how when we finally hear Claudia's own words in the seance scene, she obliterates Louis and Lestat's self-centered perceptions of her life and death. Read or listen to an audio version: