This Week In Fandom History

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August 31, 2009: Disney Buys Marvel Studios, And We Enter the Endgame Sep 01, 2023

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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?

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August 1975: The August Party Becomes the First Fan Con Aug 22, 2023

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Live long and prosper! (Again!) This week, it's another Star Trek deep dive as Emily tells V the heartwarming, weep-inducing tale of the August Party, the first Star Trek fan con. With the cutest quotes and reminiscences in the world, and a wealth of people being NERDS to boot, this is a delightful event in fannish history and one we're glad to have gotten to learn about! Have you ever attended a fan con (as opposed to a commercial con)? Did you go to the August Party??

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August 15, 2013: "Crazy About 1D" Airs on Channel 4 & Pathologizes Fandom Aug 19, 2023

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Protect teenage girls at all costs! This week -- because it IS still this week, we got it in under the wire! -- V and Emily return to the scorched earth battleground of One Direction fandom, but this time, the missiles were launched by the national media of Great Britain. After an offensive, heinous "documentary" about One Direction fans aired on shock-doc specialist Channel 4, even fandoms dedicated to hating 1D (like Justin Bieber fans) backed up Directioners in trying to reclaim their dignity. Yes, it's another episode where V has big feelings about letting teenage girls love stuff messily, but this time we've got QUOTES and SOURCES and DOCTORAL THESIS ABSTRACTS to back up the rage. Do you think mainstream media can ever accurately portray fandom? Have you respected the fourth wall today?

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BONUS! This Place In Fandom History: LIVE @ FanExpo Chicago '23 Aug 16, 2023

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Helloooo, Chicago! This very special bonus episode was recorded LIVE at FanExpo Chicago '23 on the Creator Stage, and we're so excited to get to share it with you all! To celebrate and thank FXC for inviting us to perform, we decided to honor the Windy City and give a brief overview of a few fannish events in a fandom that owes it all to the Chi: due South. The heartwarming tale of a Canadian Mountie, a deaf wolfdog, some ghosts, and two gentlemen named Ray, due South is one of the hardiest fandoms of the '90s and boy, howdy, was its drama nutty, eh? From the Religious War of '96 to the still-ongoing Ray Wars, due South fans have seen, said, and done it all. And we salute them here, at the first episode we've gotten to record in the same room. Enjoy!

(The normal episode for this week is coming soon! COVID is delaying its release, boo.)

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August 1997: The 501st Legion Is Founded Aug 08, 2023

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Those aren't just stormtroopers! This week, Emily and V head back to 1997, when two guys who really loved Star Wars started a fannish endeavor that has grown to epic proportions. The illustrious 501st Legion, Vader's Fist, began as a cosplay club for stormtrooper fans and now spans the globe as an elite society of 10,000 Star Wars fans who delight in all manner of Star Wars villains as they do charity, volunteer work, and official jobs for Lucasfilm. These nerds make nerdery cool. Do you cosplay? Have you ever joined a fan society?

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August 2005: The First-Ever Big Bang Explodes the Fanfiction Universe Jul 31, 2023

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Bazinga! Just kidding. Not that kind of big bang (thank goodness). No, this week, Emily and V are talking about the origin of a fanfiction staple: the big bang challenge. Today, it's hard to throw a rock without hitting a fandom feverishly in the midst of a big bang. But in August 2005, the concept was new, novel-length, and named for Draco's passion for Harry. Have you ever participated in a big bang challenge? What's the longest fic you've ever written?

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July 25, 2010: Sherlock Premieres on the BBC Jul 25, 2023

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Elementary, my dears! This week, V and Emily visit one of the tentpoles of modern fandom: BBC Sherlock. Besides being the -lock of Superwholock, Sherlock birthed one of the biggest pairings on the internet (Sherlock/John), complete with its own far-fetched conspiracy theory, and continued on the century-old legacy of Sherlock Holmes fans being absolutely bananas for their fave detective and his nefarious foe, Moriarty. Will the breadth of Sherlock fandom best V? It's a mystery...

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July 15, 2016: Stranger Things Premieres Jul 17, 2023

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Those are our blorbos and they're crazy! This week, Emily and V take a trip to Hawkins, Indiana, and reminisce about the massive impact that Netflix's Stranger Things has had on the fandomsphere. (Is the Fandomsphere its own realm like the Upside-Down? Discuss.) From Mileven versus Byler to Steddie versus Hellcheer and Ronance versus -- well, no one's really against Ronance, Stranger Things exploded the shipping universe and takes fandometrics by storm week after week. And, of course, this show gave fandom potentially the most universal wet pathetic little meow-meow since Bucky Barnes: Eddie Munson. Do you Stranger Things? Are you a member of the Scoops Troop?

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A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE! July 11-13, 2014: DashCon, with Special Guest Lauren Shippen! Jul 11, 2023

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Do you want an extra hour in the ball pit? This week, for the first time, V and Emily are joined by a VERY SPECIAL GUEST, Lauren Shippen of the podcast Dashboard Diaries! They discuss the convention to end all conventions, the first (and only) DashCon. From its birth on the blue hellsite to its death in a Chicagoland hotel, DashCon was truly a lesson for the ages that just because sometimes fandom can pull off amazing and inspirational feats, sometimes it... cannot. Lauren brings her expertise in all things Tumblr to TWIFH with humor and grace. Did you go to DashCon? WOULD you go to a DashCon?

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July 1, 2005: Percy Jackson Takes Fandom By (Lightning) Storm Jul 04, 2023

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Troubled kids, unite! This week, V and Emily -- well, okay, this week, V basically recaps the Percy Jackson series for Emily, because eighteen years ago this week, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was released and fandom got a new fave (good riddance to a certain magical wizarding school). However, V and Emily do have some words for Rick about his complete inability to understand children's ages when creating, say, love triangles, or cool guys. Are you in the PJO fandom? Which Greek god is your parent?

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