To be filed under the category of "oldie but goodie" is the grandmother of us all--the story that started hanfic as we know it. I may be completely unable to rattle off the string of numbers in its title these days, but I could probably quote verbatim passages from the infamous Victoria's Secret scene.

In the summer of 1997, hanfic was nothing more than a few scraggly Mary Sues, full of girls moving next door to Hanson, babysitting for a little sibling or two, ordering a pizza, and then marrying the Hanson of the narrator's choice. But then god said "let there be Tulsa 74132," and suddenly Ike was a manwhore. Taylor was a floaty darling of a boy. Zac was equal parts wildman and hopeful little brother. And for those of us who were there at the moment--whiling away sultry August days hitting refresh over and over again, hoping for a new chapter to appear magically out of the ether--nothing would ever be the same again.

But if you missed the revolution, don't fret: Tulsa 74132 is still online, and even though Taylor is a father, Zac is old enough to vote, and Ike actually is a manwhore, the story still holds up. A coming of age comedy, it was built around Hanson's homelife during 1997. The story held nothing to be sacred--it touched on everything from Taylor's voice change to Zac's first smoke and Ike kissing his virginity goodbye.

These plotlines and their rebellious rule breaking earned the hearts of many, but beyond the galvanizing is something that people forget: a well-told story. It's a little like reading the best WB show that's never actually been filmed, one that splits its time between slapstick-style laughs and sweet, fumbling moments of brotherhood and young love.

Even though it's nearly a decade old, I still think that Tulsa 74132 is the most intimate, influential, and wonderful work the hanfic world has ever seen.

So if you're in a mood to cast your mind back to Hanson's embryonic era, I absolutely recommend that you do it in Tulsa.

And don't forget to say hi to Gretchen for me ;)