Elizabeth Minkel
@elizabethminkel.bsky.social
Writing about digital communities, books, and fandom. Co-host/editor of Fansplaining & co-curator of The Rec Center ✨
elizabethminkel.com // fansplaining.com // https://buttondown.email/the-rec-center
elizabethminkel.com // fansplaining.com // https://buttondown.email/the-rec-center
Pinned
Our November piece is live! ✨ @mossheadlives.bsky.social writes about text-based roleplaying in fandom—and about using these existing characters to explore their gender identity.
Read the piece or listen to an audio version (and check out the gorgeous art by @thebeanbaguette.bsky.social):
Read the piece or listen to an audio version (and check out the gorgeous art by @thebeanbaguette.bsky.social):
Alternate Universes — Fansplaining
Through fandom text-based roleplaying, I’ve lived so many other lives—and experienced so many other bodies.
www.fansplaining.com
I'm so excited that this piece is out!! I've always found fandom roleplaying to be weirdly under-discussed (in media, academia) considering how much crossover there is w/ fic spaces. And @mossheadlives.bsky.social took an initial sort of explainer draft to such a beautiful essay in the end—read it!
Thankful for @hellgatenyc.com every day of the year 🙏🏼 (also: lol)
Hell Gate’s 2025 Guide to Navigating Difficult Thanksgiving Conversations
Happy Zanksgiving!
hellgatenyc.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Thankful for @hellgatenyc.com every day of the year 🙏🏼 (also: lol)
As always with these supposed everyday use cases, I ask: Why are you even doing these things if something sincere from your own brain/heart doesn’t cut it? “We thank you for this food and the friends/family gathered here—“ Like, is someone tsking in the corner because this isn’t erudite enough??
This is so soulless, I can't stand it. We have BRAINS. We can USE THEM.
November 25, 2025 at 8:44 PM
As always with these supposed everyday use cases, I ask: Why are you even doing these things if something sincere from your own brain/heart doesn’t cut it? “We thank you for this food and the friends/family gathered here—“ Like, is someone tsking in the corner because this isn’t erudite enough??
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:58 AM
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
Man Who Thought Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ Was Over In For Thrill Of His Fucking Life https://theonion.com/man-who-thought-fleetwood-macs-the-chain-was-over-in-for-thrill-of-his-fucking-life/
November 24, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Man Who Thought Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ Was Over In For Thrill Of His Fucking Life https://theonion.com/man-who-thought-fleetwood-macs-the-chain-was-over-in-for-thrill-of-his-fucking-life/
Self-insert fic is deeply not for me but I do respect how...id-ish? it often feels. A person often clunkily sticking themselves in there and acting out their fantasies.
So as you can imagine, the idea of those fantasies being boiled down to generic nothingness and spoonfed to you via genAI is.... 🥴
So as you can imagine, the idea of those fantasies being boiled down to generic nothingness and spoonfed to you via genAI is.... 🥴
Y/n - Interactive Fanfiction
Y/n - Fanfiction but you're the main character. Play fics, write your own romance novels, or discover 1M+ interactive stories.
yn.app
November 24, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Self-insert fic is deeply not for me but I do respect how...id-ish? it often feels. A person often clunkily sticking themselves in there and acting out their fantasies.
So as you can imagine, the idea of those fantasies being boiled down to generic nothingness and spoonfed to you via genAI is.... 🥴
So as you can imagine, the idea of those fantasies being boiled down to generic nothingness and spoonfed to you via genAI is.... 🥴
At this point, I close the tab when I realize a link I clicked on is hosted on Substack. It's not worth reading. I certainly wouldn't share it (let alone subscribe/pay for it).
It baffles me that people are leaving readers and money on the table in favor of "discoverability" in...that ecosystem.
It baffles me that people are leaving readers and money on the table in favor of "discoverability" in...that ecosystem.
Let me (again) put this in the simplest possible terms:
If I subscribe or share a link to your substack, I'm supporting you, but I'm also complicit in funding Nazis.
I'd like to read your takes on music/animation/film/comics/culture/art/politics, but that's a hard line for me. Wish it was for you.
If I subscribe or share a link to your substack, I'm supporting you, but I'm also complicit in funding Nazis.
I'd like to read your takes on music/animation/film/comics/culture/art/politics, but that's a hard line for me. Wish it was for you.
November 24, 2025 at 4:58 PM
At this point, I close the tab when I realize a link I clicked on is hosted on Substack. It's not worth reading. I certainly wouldn't share it (let alone subscribe/pay for it).
It baffles me that people are leaving readers and money on the table in favor of "discoverability" in...that ecosystem.
It baffles me that people are leaving readers and money on the table in favor of "discoverability" in...that ecosystem.
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
Omg the cubs are PURRING right now and you can hear it 🐱
I just bookmarked the Cheetah Cub Cam, this is the fucking cutest
Cheetah Cub Cam
The Cheetah Cub Cam streams live from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.
nationalzoo.si.edu
November 24, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Omg the cubs are PURRING right now and you can hear it 🐱
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
Loved this piece - text RP reinvigorated my creative drive after I became a parent and introduced me to my writing partners! Highly recommend playing pretend as an adult.
Our November piece is live! ✨ @mossheadlives.bsky.social writes about text-based roleplaying in fandom—and about using these existing characters to explore their gender identity.
Read the piece or listen to an audio version (and check out the gorgeous art by @thebeanbaguette.bsky.social):
Read the piece or listen to an audio version (and check out the gorgeous art by @thebeanbaguette.bsky.social):
Alternate Universes — Fansplaining
Through fandom text-based roleplaying, I’ve lived so many other lives—and experienced so many other bodies.
www.fansplaining.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Loved this piece - text RP reinvigorated my creative drive after I became a parent and introduced me to my writing partners! Highly recommend playing pretend as an adult.
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
TRUMP [after spending 5 minutes with Zohran]: surplus value, it’s a very wonderful thing, very wonderful, and they’re stealing it. Can you believe that?
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
November 21, 2025 at 9:25 PM
TRUMP [after spending 5 minutes with Zohran]: surplus value, it’s a very wonderful thing, very wonderful, and they’re stealing it. Can you believe that?
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
Not going to read too much into it, obviously Trump is the worst man alive, and is going to revert to saying the most odious shit imaginable in like an hour, but it's funny that this is coming a couple hours after 90 democrat losers voted to say "socialism is bad" for no reason.
November 21, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Not going to read too much into it, obviously Trump is the worst man alive, and is going to revert to saying the most odious shit imaginable in like an hour, but it's funny that this is coming a couple hours after 90 democrat losers voted to say "socialism is bad" for no reason.
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
Remember: the only way to save New York City from Donald Trump’s wrath is electing Andrew Cuomo.
November 21, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Remember: the only way to save New York City from Donald Trump’s wrath is electing Andrew Cuomo.
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
Mamdani going in there calling Trump sir a couple times and singing the 1-800-588-EMPIRE jingle with him and effortlessly turning him into a committed socialist.
it's so funny to watch the far right White House press pool try to bait Trump to say something nasty about Mamdani and every time he's just like "nah this guy rocks"
November 21, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Mamdani going in there calling Trump sir a couple times and singing the 1-800-588-EMPIRE jingle with him and effortlessly turning him into a committed socialist.
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
loathe and resent how funny this is
A reporter asks if Mamdani stands by calling Trump a fascist. Mamdani starts to give a delicate answer.
Trump (smiles, pats Mamdani's arm): "That's OK, you can just say yes. It's easier. I don't mind."
Trump (smiles, pats Mamdani's arm): "That's OK, you can just say yes. It's easier. I don't mind."
November 21, 2025 at 9:07 PM
loathe and resent how funny this is
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
IT’S LIVE!!!!!!!
this piece means the world to me, it’s about connection and exploration, but it’s also about how old man yaoi can be a transformative thing. thank u to everyone who made this piece real!
this piece means the world to me, it’s about connection and exploration, but it’s also about how old man yaoi can be a transformative thing. thank u to everyone who made this piece real!
Our November piece is live! ✨ @mossheadlives.bsky.social writes about text-based roleplaying in fandom—and about using these existing characters to explore their gender identity.
Read the piece or listen to an audio version (and check out the gorgeous art by @thebeanbaguette.bsky.social):
Read the piece or listen to an audio version (and check out the gorgeous art by @thebeanbaguette.bsky.social):
Alternate Universes — Fansplaining
Through fandom text-based roleplaying, I’ve lived so many other lives—and experienced so many other bodies.
www.fansplaining.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:19 PM
IT’S LIVE!!!!!!!
this piece means the world to me, it’s about connection and exploration, but it’s also about how old man yaoi can be a transformative thing. thank u to everyone who made this piece real!
this piece means the world to me, it’s about connection and exploration, but it’s also about how old man yaoi can be a transformative thing. thank u to everyone who made this piece real!
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
Which reminds me of one of my favorite New Yorker corrections
November 21, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Which reminds me of one of my favorite New Yorker corrections
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
Sets for Batman Returns were kept very cold for the comfort of the real-life penguins involved. This meant that cast/crew repeatedly got sick during filming. The real-life penguins though would often fall in love with their animatronic counterparts or feel so settled that they began mating.
November 21, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Sets for Batman Returns were kept very cold for the comfort of the real-life penguins involved. This meant that cast/crew repeatedly got sick during filming. The real-life penguins though would often fall in love with their animatronic counterparts or feel so settled that they began mating.
Wonder if the other people on the subway saw what I was looking at that led me to make this face: 😧
November 20, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Wonder if the other people on the subway saw what I was looking at that led me to make this face: 😧
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
"Some people go to therapy, and some people write with their friends about semi-fictional pirates having sex. Some people do both!"
In our latest, @mossheadlives.bsky.social writes about text-based roleplaying in fandom. Read or listen to an audio version:
In our latest, @mossheadlives.bsky.social writes about text-based roleplaying in fandom. Read or listen to an audio version:
Alternate Universes — Fansplaining
Through fandom text-based roleplaying, I’ve lived so many other lives—and experienced so many other bodies.
www.fansplaining.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:47 PM
"Some people go to therapy, and some people write with their friends about semi-fictional pirates having sex. Some people do both!"
In our latest, @mossheadlives.bsky.social writes about text-based roleplaying in fandom. Read or listen to an audio version:
In our latest, @mossheadlives.bsky.social writes about text-based roleplaying in fandom. Read or listen to an audio version:
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
“Are the fae open source” is the kind of deranged sentence that keeps me addicted to microblogging. Beautiful poison Rappaccini flower.
Turning into my father one "the problem is no one reads enough books these days" grumble at a time
November 20, 2025 at 2:12 AM
“Are the fae open source” is the kind of deranged sentence that keeps me addicted to microblogging. Beautiful poison Rappaccini flower.
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
“Two weeks after the election the incoming administration is making no attempt to downplay expectations, if anything they are doubling down on them.”
November 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
“Two weeks after the election the incoming administration is making no attempt to downplay expectations, if anything they are doubling down on them.”
I'm so excited that this piece is out!! I've always found fandom roleplaying to be weirdly under-discussed (in media, academia) considering how much crossover there is w/ fic spaces. And @mossheadlives.bsky.social took an initial sort of explainer draft to such a beautiful essay in the end—read it!
Our November piece is live! ✨ @mossheadlives.bsky.social writes about text-based roleplaying in fandom—and about using these existing characters to explore their gender identity.
Read the piece or listen to an audio version (and check out the gorgeous art by @thebeanbaguette.bsky.social):
Read the piece or listen to an audio version (and check out the gorgeous art by @thebeanbaguette.bsky.social):
Alternate Universes — Fansplaining
Through fandom text-based roleplaying, I’ve lived so many other lives—and experienced so many other bodies.
www.fansplaining.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I'm so excited that this piece is out!! I've always found fandom roleplaying to be weirdly under-discussed (in media, academia) considering how much crossover there is w/ fic spaces. And @mossheadlives.bsky.social took an initial sort of explainer draft to such a beautiful essay in the end—read it!
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
This is an excellent story. We got similar pitches from the same writer at Defector and if they had not been entirely generated by someone plugging prompts into The Fabulism Device they really would've been cool.
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 4:23 PM
This is an excellent story. We got similar pitches from the same writer at Defector and if they had not been entirely generated by someone plugging prompts into The Fabulism Device they really would've been cool.
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
Zohran won for a lot of reasons but I think a really huge one is he actually likes NYC. Conservatives and liberals both act like I live in a war zone instead of the coolest place on the planet. But Zohran told the truth: that living in a city, but especially this city, just fuckin rocks.
November 18, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Zohran won for a lot of reasons but I think a really huge one is he actually likes NYC. Conservatives and liberals both act like I live in a war zone instead of the coolest place on the planet. But Zohran told the truth: that living in a city, but especially this city, just fuckin rocks.
Reposted by Elizabeth Minkel
This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it's actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu
November 18, 2025 at 9:44 AM
This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it's actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu