Hello everyone! This week we have articles on the now-dead Buffy revival and the art of making fanmixes about characters, plus a podcast episode in which I complain at length about the publishing industry strip-mining fanfiction. 🥲 Plus hockey fanart and a multifandom list of character studies! — Elizabeth

new stuff

“WTF is up with ATYD and other hot takes with Elizabeth Minkel” at Mind the Tags
Elizabeth returned to the Mind the Tags podcast this week to discuss the seven-figure publishing deal for the AO3’s most-read fic (the 500K-word Remus/Sirius story All The Young Dudes) and the glut of horrible “why slash” articles since Heated Rivalry premiered, plus MANY OTHER GRIPES about our current (bleak!) moment in fandom mainstreaming.

“The Art Of The Fanmix” by Isaiah Colbert and Gita Jackson at Aftermath
“I think it comes from the desire to feel close to a character in the same way looking at a pattern in a carpet would bring back childhood memories.” Two of Aftermath’s writer/editors discuss their love of fanmixes, and share the songs they associate with favorite anime characters.

“Inside Chloé Zhao’s Failed ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Reboot—and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Shockingly Small Screen Time” by Kate Aurthur at Variety
The fallout around the recently-cancelled Buffy reboot has been messy, with Sarah Michelle Gellar blaming its cancellation on a specific Hulu executive. This piece goes into detail about why the show’s pilot episode didn’t work out—and why fans probably shouldn’t hold their breath for a new revival.

TIRED: Timothée Chalamet's heel-turn stunt promotional tour for Marty Supreme backfired by convincing the public to start rooting against him WIRED: Timothée Chalamet's heel-turn stunt promotional tour for Marty Supreme paid off by convincing the public to start rooting against Paul Atreides

— Tom Scocca (@tomscocca.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 1:22 PM

older stuff

“The ‘Sinners’ Movie Syllabus” by Jemar Tisby and Keisha N. Blain at Black Perspectives
This fantastic resource was recirculating in light of Sinners’ various Oscar wins this past weekend: a wide-ranging collection of academic writing, music, films, and more to understand the historical and cultural context of the film.

tumblr & beyond

Pro hockey fanart by zejeni

is captain picard gay

vey beautiful that tumblr’s latest fiasco managed to wrap up within one calendar week between Rec Center issues.

someone made a Dune font logo generator!

“tom nook is NOT a landlord!!!”

Have you received those spammy “artwork commission” comments on AO3? They’re not just annoying—they’re against the TOS. Here’s a simple guide to reporting the sender.

fanfiction

We’ve got character studies this week! (And as a side note, I’d love to see way more of these in our submissions—if you’ve got a favorite, please send it in!) Thanks to everyone for these recs. — Elizabeth

“love, and be silent” by nichromefire. 5.5K words, rated Teen.
Fandoms: DCU (Comics), Batman (Comics); Ship: Gen
Recced by: Rosemarycat5
Backstory: Jason Todd, the second Robin, was famously killed off before being brought back as an anti-villain twenty years later, leaving him an in-universe rocky relationship with his family and a real-world slew of writers unsure what exactly to do with him. This fic explores all of that through an absurdist metafiction character study.
Rec: It is immaculately bizarre, poignant, and a great study of Jason’s narrative role. Its heart-wrenching at times and yet the role of Batman is played by a sexy lamp. Essential reading for an understanding of how Jason is treated as a character in and out of world with a unique semi-script format, the embodiment of theatrical tragedy, and a dozen references to doomed Shakespeare heroines.
Content warnings: Violence, references to past rape/noncon

“the composition of their undoing” by TheDameJudiWench. 1.9K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born (K-drama); Ship: Moon Okgyeong/Yoon Jeongnyeon
Recced by: goodbyeproductivity
Backstory: Jeongnyeon is a drama about an all-women’s theater troupe in 1950s South Korea, based on a webtoon that is explicitly queer but the main female love interest was written out for the show. The drama still has some great ship potential and plays with gender in fun ways as the leads compete to become the next “prince” or top star playing male roles.
Rec: Okgyeong is the well established and hugely popular prince, bored of always performing the same kinds of stories, who takes interest in diamond-in-the-rough Jeongnyeon and mentors her hoping she’ll become the next prince for their troupe. This fic is a character study of a burned out artist trying to feel something again by teaching her inexperienced protegee about her body.
Content warnings: Light dubcon, mentor/mentee, brief reference to homophobia

“A Good Year” by xaara. 20K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Breakfast with Scot (2007); Ship: Eric McNally/Sam Miller Eric McNally/Other(s)
Recced by: melon
Backstory: This fic is about a movie from 2007 about a sports announcer and former hockey player raising an eleven year old orphan. This fic is what happens... in the years before that.
Rec: This is a beautiful character study of a character from a movie I never actually watched before reading this (and I don’t think you need to either). It follows a character from age five to early adulthood in what feels like the most honest and achingly realistic exploration of hockey culture I’ve ever read. It’s also extraordinarily hopeful.
Content warnings: References to all the bad things that come with a realistic-feeling fic about hockey, unfortunately. Read the warnings on the fic!

“gossamer” by rheaitis. 1.2K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Black Sails; Ship: Past Max/Eleanor Guthrie
Recced by: lunch
Backstory: Max is a sex worker turned business owner in 1715’s Nassau and her ex Eleanor was the last governor’s daughter and de facto trade boss of the island before getting arrested at the end of s2.
Rec: A beautiful character study of Max and an exploration of her feelings about Eleanor in the gap between s2 and s3 as she goes through her morning routine.
Content warnings: Mentions of past slavery, past sexual assault, and canon-level violence

“You Don’t Have To (Say Yes)” by luminousbeings. 190K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Star Trek; Ship: Jim/Spock
Recced by: Nicole
Backstory: Jim Kirk barely survived his time on the famine-struck moon Tarsus IV, and the abusive attention of the Tarsus General Kodos. This is the story of how that trauma impacted his entire life, up through the first film and beyond.
Rec: This is a fantastic study of both Jim Kirk and the long-term effects of trauma--and the ways people can slowly, slowly heal. Please note the content warnings.
Content warnings: Underage, rape/non-con

And a vid!

“Never Better” by renenet. 3:07, rated Teen.
Fandom: The Wire; Ship: Gen
Recced by: Chronograph
Backstory: A character study of Stringer Bell, focusing on his nonstop work ethic.
Rec: It’s a good character study that distills one of the central themes of the show and Stringer’s arc: how institutions chew up and spit out the people trying hardest to improve them.
Content warnings: Some physical violence

nothing worse than having a fic that u start writing for fun and then u start taking it too seriously and now writing the fic is too hard so u have to start writing a different fic for fun that u will start taking too seriously and then

— crimes (@relationshipcrimes.bsky.social) March 16, 2026 at 3:47 PM

FINAL THOUGHT

That’s all, folks! Have a relaxing weekend! — Gav