Hello all! This week we have articles on the return of BTS, the food in Alison Bechdel’s work, and a Ghost in the Shell exhibit in Tokyo. Plus: Goblin Emperor fanart and a multifandom list of slow burn fic. (And a timely reminder for Hugo voters! See Gav’s end note!) — Elizabeth

new stuff

“For BTS Fans, It Has Never Been Just About the Music” by Micah Barkley at Bloomberg
As BTS reunite after their hiatus, a reported piece on what’s been sustaining the fandom, and what it’s like for newer fans to see them in-person for the first time.

“Let’s Cook The Joke Vegetarian Food From Alison Bechdel’s Dykes To Watch Out For” by Riley MacLeod at Aftermath
The actual food that gets cooked here is hilarious (as a vegetarian since the 90s who went to college in the Pioneer Valley, I was literally laughing out loud throughout that section), but this is also a very thoughtful essay about the intersections of queerness and transness, food, and politics, all connecting back to Bechdel’s legendary comic strip.

“30 Years of Soul-Searching at Ghost in the Shell: The Exhibition” by Leah Thomas at Reactor Magazine
During a visit to a massive Ghost in the Shell exhibit in Tokyo, Leah Thomas ruminates on how animation technology has evolved over the course of the franchise—and how real-life AI relates to the themes of GitS.

Star Wars isn't about the Jedi or the Skywalkers or hope or mythology or any of that. Star Wars is about seeing a weird little space guy in the background of a scene when you're a kid and then obsessing over that weird little space guy for the rest of your life.

— Daniel Dockery (@dandock.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 8:21 AM

older stuff

“On Inventing a Romulan Language” by Diane Duane
A wonderful snapshot of both fandom and computing history: on her current website, the great Diane Duane (author of the Young Wizards series, some of the most beloved Star Trek novels, and much more) republished one of her blog posts from 1996 about using BASIC to create a version of the Romulan language.

tumblr & beyond

Goblin Emperor fanart by heyitsrink

bring back shakespearean star trek!!

a beautiful Louis/Lestat musical box animation!

“nothing makes me feel more alive than being insane about a little show”

much to consider in this Gollum dating scenario.

“Is this ship well supported by canon?” BZZZT

fanfiction

We’ve got slow burn fic this week! Thanks to everyone who sent in a rec. — Elizabeth

“there must have been a moment where we could have said no” by magdaliny. 155K words (full series: 9 works over 213K words), rated Mature.
Fandom: Captain America; Ship: Gen, then James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers
Recced by: Parlezkate
Backstory: A full-length novel starts a series largely from Bucky’s POV, more or less from when he woke up at the bottom of a ravine in Azzano. Spans multiple identities and decades with Hydra through the events of CA:TWS before diverging from canon. Paraphrasing but: “Bucky Barnes hit the ground but I’m the one who got up.”
Rec: The author didn’t shy away from writing Bucky—often written as having a very robust healing factor—as having multiple long-term visible disabilities, including a missing arm and a G-tube (feeding tube), as well as a devastating drug addiction and a host of PTSD symptoms. The interiority is incredible, unflinching, relentlessly painful, which makes his long road to recovery all the more poignant, and his connection to/with Steve so very moving. It’s mostly Gen (until subsequent Quiet Americans installments) and loaded with compelling original characters.
Content warnings: Body horror, drug addiction, period-typical homophobia, torture, gun violence, implied SA

“Fit For Pearls” by bomberqueen17. 148K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Wiedźmin | The Witcher; Ship: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon/Original Female Character(s)
Recced by: Daisy
Backstory: bomberqueen17 takes a little time out from writing about Morvran to explore Ciri’s relationships with other women, especially with a delightful OC who gets to grow and learn a lot during the course of the story. The author writes, “My intention had originally been like a 5k oneshot of some cute lesbians for Femslash February but then, as Witcher things tend to, it mutated.”
Rec: This story served as a heartwarming introduction to bomberqueen17’s sprawling landscape of Witcher fics (this fic is part 1 of their Fit For Pearls series but also part 24 of their 53-part (!) Meet Death Sitting series)—it opened the doors to a lot of further reading in a fandom I previously knew nearly nothing about.
Content warnings: Canon-typical violence covers much of it, see the work’s tags for more

“Slip the Surly Bonds” by Sol1056. 86K words, rated Teen.
Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender; Ship: Gen, but easily read as pre-Keith/Shiro
Recced by: Brig
Backstory: Canon doesn’t give us much info about the lives of our heroes before they went off to fight aliens in space, but speculative stories about the Galaxy Garrison military academy where everyone met (or almost met) are a VLD fandom staple. This is one of the best I’ve read.
Rec: Shiro is the center of Keith’s emotional universe, and this fic gives us the backstory for it. A beautiful, slow burn investigation of how the rule-abiding ace pilot and academy darling Shiro met (and domesticated) an angry, isolated, feral teenage Keith.
Content warnings: N/A

“A Dog’s Life” by ornategrip. 68K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: Daredevil (TV); Ship: Frank Castle/Franklin “Foggy” Nelson
Recced by: JJ
Backstory: Its the Punisher and Daredevil’s best friend.
Rec: Super rare pairing with a great dynamic between the characters, and justifies the paring pretty well regarding very different canon. Focuses on Foggy’s thoughts and his life after season 2 including his friendship with Matt Murdock. Super cute IMO. Content warnings: Canon-typical violence

“Please miss postman” by Shamelesscooper. 143K words, rated Explicit.
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù陈情令 | The Untamed (TV); Ship: Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan/Luo “Mian Mian” Qingyang
Recced by: kade
Backstory: Xianxia setting, Mianmian and Jin Zixuan are childhood friends while Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan are married. Mianmian is mildly disgraced from her original sect with JZX.
Rec: Slow, sweet, and hot.
Content warnings: N/A

“you’re not a religious person (but)” by isozyme. 20K words, rated Mature.
Fandom: Good Omens; Ship: Aziraphale/Crowley
Recced by: Fabular_Mr_Fox
Backstory: Post-canon Aziraphale and Crowley slow-burn that makes the ineffable...effable.
Rec: This story will make you feel a way about fresh figs that you’ve never felt before. It made spiritual and magical and holy things feel earthy and sensual, and it NAILED the Good Omens novel pastiche tone.
Content warnings: N/A

The game industry’s obsession with graphics is so funny because every other year there will be some breakout hit called “Stick Figure Mansion” or some shit that outsells 90% of the market and runs on a toaster

— Jiikae (@jiikae.com) March 17, 2026 at 11:16 AM

FINAL THOUGHT

As a final, last-minute reminder, Hugo Award nominations close (for real this time!!) on March 28, ie. tomorrow. If you’re planning to submit a nomination form, please consider the Rec Center in the Fanzine category! Fansplaining is also eligible for Best Semiprozine, and Overinvested is eligible for Best Fancast. Thank you for your consideration!!

Have a great weekend, everyone! — Gav