Attention! This week, a very special guest joins V and Emily to help tackle one of the biggest shows ever on American TV and, further, one of the biggest shock character deaths of all time. We're so excited to have Lily, AKA @dearmash1975project, join us to talk about the M*A*S*H season 3 closer, "Abyssinia Henry," and how it inspired her to embark on the coolest fan project of all time. We talk about the Dear Mash 1975 project, shocking character deaths, fan entitlement and how it's changed over the decades, the lawlessness of the 1970s, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Alan Alda fangirls, Klinger, #conformitygate, and so much more. Lily was an amazing interview, and she made us want to watch M*A*S*H!

Who was the character death that shocked you the most? Tell us in a reblog on Tumblr or in the comments on Instagram or Spotify!

Sources

@dearmash1975project on Tumblr and Substack

Promo Codes

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• Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
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Dangerous love! This week, V and Emily return to the world of kpop for a tale that is truly too wild to be believed. There's badfic. There's a fanfiction contest that should NOT have happened. There's fanservice. Emily learns the word "skinshipping" and hates it. There's a ghost kidnapping boy banders in the woods and it doesn't even matter because there's fanfic on television. In 2006. There's compulsory military service. There's rival fansites at war. There's a tramp stamp. There's a meet-cute-via-street-fight. There's exploitative contracts and industry blacklisting. This story has all the things.

Sources

yunjaestory.carrd.co

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!

Wotcher! This week, Emily and V look at a massively, massively popular and influential fanfiction that blew up during the long winter of COVID lockdowns thanks to... long sigh... #FicTok. Unfortunately, it is a Harry Potter fic. We once again condemn every single goddamn thing JKR says, does, and stands for; however, we must discuss the Wizarding World because we are a fandom history podcast and those books changed, and continue to change, fandom. That said, "All the Young Dudes" by MsKingBean89 is as much about 1970s British queerness as it is about a magical wizarding school, and many of its ardent fans eschew JKR's version of Hogwarts in favor of ATYD's Marauders Era model, claiming that its gay, more nuanced Wizarding World is the "real" magic. Regardless of the politics behind it, this fic draws enough Numbers that it is, undeniably, a force and fandom of its own at this point, and we're gonna talk about it.

Sources

All the Young Dudes on AO3
Fanlore
Deep Dive on YouTube

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!

It is a soulmate AU, and you are a horrible goose! This week, Emily and V explore Emily's deep-seated Goose Trauma and look at the only Soulmate AU they like: the Soulmate Goose of Enforcement, a trope that originated in OMG Check Please fandom. What is it? It's what it sounds like. Why is it? Well, you'd have to ask @shitty-check-please-aus. It's a silly one, folks.

Sources

Fanlore
shitty-check-please-aus on Tumblr

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!

Did I say something gay at the femslash convention?! This week, a very special LIVE episode of This Week In Fandom History, recorded at the 10th anniversary TGIF/F (TGI Femslash) con in San Pedro, CA! Emily was not able to attend, so V is joined for the recording by wonderful cohost-in-law Mia from Fan Girl Film Club.

The last 40 minutes are shares from TGIF/F attendees about what the con has meant to them over the years, and they are truly not to be missed. So special, so vulnerable, so queer, so fandom. If nothing else, listen to these -- and start saving to come to TGIF/F in 2027. It's a place like none other.

Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts to TGIF/F core and support staff, especially John, for inviting us and letting us be the Friday Night Spotlight in 2026!

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!

God must have spent a little more time on Flesh Mechanic! (Actually, Kel and Lise did.) This week, V and Emily FREAK THE FUCK OUT over the single best fanfiction they've ever read, probably, and it is NOT what you would expect. No spoiling. Click the first source link, read the story, and then join us to FREAK THE FUCK OUT. Huge thank you to Lise for speaking with V about the writing and design process of this story, and a huge thank you to lovely Patron Nevanna for pointing it our way!

TW: Mentions of suicide, car accidents, murder, manipulative behavior.

Sources

Flesh Mechanic: Not An AU
Flesh Mechanic: Authors' Commentary Track
A Twist of Lemon Review, 2003
Fanfic and Resistance: Appropriation, Casey Burton and Mike Edwards (Link has died in the month since we recorded, sadly)

We'll be attending TGIF/F aka TGI Femslash, which is a small femslash fan con in southern California over Valentine's Day weekend in February. It'll be the con's ten-year anniversary, and they've asked us to do a special, live podcast episode about the history of the con as their special highlighted programming. If you love femslash and want to come meet us and be a part of this wonderful, small event, you should register! A 3-day pass starts at $120. You can register for the con and find lots more details at tgifemslash.com!

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!

+1! This week, Emily and V look at everyone's favorite fic format, the 5+1 fic. This humble story structure seems like it's always been a part of fandom, or just a part of human storytelling, but no! It all started with a little Clark/Lex story in Smallville fandom back in 2002, and boy, are we grateful. Come along with us as we talk about which fandoms grow these babies like lemons on trees, which stories have devastated us the most, and more Times than you can count.

Sources

Basinke on Tumblr
Fanlore

We'll be attending TGIF/F aka TGI Femslash, which is a small femslash fan con in southern California over Valentine's Day weekend in February. It'll be the con's ten-year anniversary, and they've asked us to do a special, live podcast episode about the history of the con as their special highlighted programming. If you love femslash and want to come meet us and be a part of this wonderful, small event, you should register! A 3-day pass starts at $120. You can register for the con and find lots more details at tgifemslash.com!

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!

Well, this happened. This week, V and Emily take a look at two simultaneous fandom events in a fandom neither knows well: The Legend of Korra. And really, both events are the same event: the ending of the show. On the one hand, we have Makorras ready to pop biggest bottles when their ship becomes canon. On the other, we have a different (and queer!) ship becoming canon instead, a first for Western children's animation. The majority of sources for this episode were V actually interviewing people who participated in the LOK fandom and getting their takes, because every written source is, um, biased, and not how she remembered seeing it all go down on her dash back in 2014... So buckle in, bend some water(?), and join us in feeling conflicted about avatars!

Sources

KnowYourMeme
Fanlore

And thank you to the people who allowed themselves to be interviewed and chose to remain anonymous!

We'll be attending TGIF/F aka TGI Femslash, which is a small femslash fan con in southern California over Valentine's Day weekend in February. It'll be the con's ten-year anniversary, and they've asked us to do a special, live podcast episode about the history of the con as their special highlighted programming. If you love femslash and want to come meet us and be a part of this wonderful, small event, you should register! A 3-day pass starts at $120. You can register for the con and find lots more details at tgifemslash.com!

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!