I Met You On LJ

Get out the tissues, at least if you're V! This is the final episode of I Met You On LJ. Maggie and V mark the occasion with a deep discussion about discourse and then count down their respective top five episodes of the show. We love you.

Polish your lance! (Heh.) In ye olde penultimate episode of IMYOLJ, Maggie and V discuss all things knight-in-shining-armor, especially Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale, Dev Patel and his fancy chest in The Green Knight, and the travesty that is the DCOM Avalon High. Plus, why knights are totally relevant to fandom and fanfiction, and Maggie sings an original song from high school that totally doesn't rip off Enrique Iglesias' "Hero."

Words have meanings! This week, Maggie and V have a chat with the delightful four-time Hugo Award nominee Foz Meadows. They discuss Dune, BTS, Call Me By Your Name, and the ravages of purity culture on fannish spaces. Foz brings their well-known thoughtful consideration and love of words to a heavy discussion with, of course, some spots of ridiculousness. Plus, the phrase "Twinks Unwrangled."

Waaaaalt! In this episode, Maggie and V take a trip further back down memory lane than they've ever gone before and talk about fandoms they participated in before they really got into internet fandom (or before there was an internet at all). V waxes poetic about American Girl, and Maggie tells stories about Lost viewing parties. Plus, spoiler-free excitement over Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections.

Someone sat on us again! This week, after our unplanned mini-break, Maggie and V are back with four tales of New York City girls who are some stripe of American royalty and experience miracles to great soundtracks. V is bringing you The Princess Diaries book series and 1999's Annie, while Maggie reps A Little Princess and the 1982 Annie. Plus, Paul Rudd is the sexiest man alive, Maggie's love Jon Bernthal was lighthearted in King Richard, and V does not spoil Eternals or Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Pause before posting that meta! This week, Maggie and V are joined by Violeta @morethanonepage​, winner of 2021′s Fandom March Madness, to talk about coding. Why do so many Black characters in scifi have purple or blue skin? What’s the difference between queerbaiting and queer-coding? Is Kylo Ren really a femme? Does Loki represent white supremacy or transracial adoption narratives? Plus, Violeta joins in on “What Are You Into This Week” with a rec of her own!

Hello, Donnie! Join your sestras Maggie and V for a deep-dive into Orphan Black (2013-2017), because they finally finished the entire show. Maggie weighs in on Sarah Manning’s parenting skills, V has feelings about the Castor clones, and unfortunately both of them are probably the most like Alison. Plus, the fandoms of the week are on theme as both Maggie and V recommend some talented lady DIYers.

Think before you tweet! This week, Maggie and V are joined by Stitch of Teen Vogue and Stitch's Media Mix to discuss the current state of fandom, cyberbullying and harassment in fandom spaces, Loki, A/B/O, BTS, and so much more. It's an episode that's been requested by more than just our Patrons, and we're so excited to be able to share it with you!

Watch your eBay bids! This week, Maggie and V answer a fan-picked question: what is the deal with curatorial fandom, and how is it different from transformative fandom? Since Maggie and V are both fanfic writers, they turned to the biggest collector and non-fanfic-person they know to speak to curatorial fandom: V's dad. Plus, two adults in their 30s lose their whole minds over Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez in The Sandlot.

Tag your posts! This week, Maggie and V are joined by the illustrious Meme Librarian Amanda Brennan to discuss all things Tumblr, tagging, metadata, and fandoms-by-proxy. But before they get to the interview, Maggie and V discuss what fandoms they've had by-proxy and V gets Supernatural and The Punisher very, very wrong. Or right. You be the judge.

Celebrate good times, come on! I Met You On LJ is a year old, so join Maggie and V on a journey back in time to the forgotten mega-fandom: Twilight. After discussing the vampire saga's racist, misogynistic origins, they get into the weeds over the franchise's 150,000+ fanfictions, why people like Edward Cullen, and the strange appeal of Bella Swan. Hold on tight, spidermonkeys!

Fire up the grill! This week, Maggie and V explore the wondrous topic of great father figures and surrogate-dad characters in the media they love: Jim Hopper, Frank Castle, Dr. Alan Grant, Sirius Black, and Din Djarin/Mandalorian (with some honorary special mentions like Tony Stark, Mr. Feeny, and Geralt of Rivia). They tell bad jokes! They make cheeseburgers! They fix your problems, kind of! Hats off to the father figures who make our favorite characters' lives brighter. Plus, Maggie has an existential crisis and V loves television.

Keep your friends close and your mutuals closer! This week, Maggie and V delve deep into the world of parasocial relationships and their impact on fandom. From the Aubrey Plaza/Elizabeth Olsen stalker film Ingrid Goes West to the differing cultures of LiveJournal, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter, parasocial relationships are all around us and we all have them -- whether we like it or not. Plus, Maggie found a new TV show in The White Lotus, and V has a parasocial relationship to Paul Rudd lately.

Embrace accessibility! This week, Maggie and V are joined by Queerty writer and former Grey's Anatomy superfan Josh Galassi to discuss disability and fandom, whether it's the positive way that fandom fosters open community or the negative effects of Hollywood's ableism. Plus, frank discussion of how disability intersects with queerness on the dating and love scene -- even in our own imaginations with fanfiction.

Filter your AO3 search! This week, Maggie and V return to the panoply of fave fanfiction tropes and how they work for different types of canons. From bed sharing to dead dove do not eat, the world of fanfiction really runs the gamut. Plus, a scathing critique of Tumblr's new Post+, and V shares a humiliating story.

Why the hell is there an alligator in here?! Join Maggie & V for a special bonus episode featuring their friend, certified Loki Girl(™) @dracosollicitus, for a trip through the Jeremy Bearimy of the MCU’s newborn multiverse with Loki (Disney+). They wonder where Time Criminal Steve Rogers is now, ponder the moral implications of self-cest versus queerness, and applaud the spellbinding Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. Plus, do Maggie and/or V like Loki (the character) now?

Boo! Join Maggie and V for a creep through some very different haunted houses as they discuss BBC’s Ghosts, the movie Ghost (1990), and Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House. What makes ghosts horrifying? Why are women never believed? What was up with Demi Moore’s hair? What’s making that bump in the night?

Plus, Maggie gets her dream interior decorator by proxy on, and V recommends a spooky summer read with Maureen Johnson’s The Box in the Woods.

You're such a poser! Join Maggie and V for a special bonus episode that heads into the wild past of Natasha Romanov with Marvel's Black Widow (2021). They discuss how belated this entry to the MCU canon really is, the horror of the Red Room, and Maggie's crush on David Harbour. Plus, some iffy but fun Russian accents.

And they were actually just roommates! In this fan pick episode, Maggie and V talk about platonic relationships, the ways they are and aren’t represented in fandom, and how they’re represented in the 90s TV sitcom sensation, Friends. And because it’s Maggie and V, there’s also a fair amount of romance. In the intro, Maggie talks at length about Sarah Wilson, and V got to stand in front of Captain America’s costume!

Cheers to enthusiastic consent! This week, Maggie and V interview sex and culture critic Ella Dawson about erotica, bad boys, and STIs. From the effects of loving Draco Malfoy on her college dating life to the lack of positive STI+ representation in media and fanfiction, Ella shares her expertise on writing with personal bravery and the consequences of being extremely online. Plus, V tried a TV musical and Maggie watched Monday just to see Sebastian Stan’s weiner.