Diabolical Plots #139, September 2026

“Everyone Wants to be a Part of Sasha” by J.N. Bilse

“One Heart” by Annika Browne

Reviewed by Mina

“Everyone Wants to be a Part of Sasha” by J.N. Bilse is just “ick.” The teenage narrator dreams of losing body parts to become part of Sasha. One class mate has lost their eyes, another their finger tips and her best friend becomes the face of Sasha. Who Sasha is exactly is never explained, only that they regularly need replacement body parts. A comment on society’s obsession with building the perfect body?

“One Heart” by Annika Browne is a story about grief. It’s well written as we flit back and forth in the mind of the grieving woman. Nobody understands her loss because “her other person” was a little-known alien creature. Everyone assumes that she was traumatised by an unexplained accident leaving her stranded as the only human on an empty ship, along with a furry alien. They cannot fathom her loss of a companionship that she would trade everything for to get it back. Haunting.