Fic Clique

This special episode of Fic Clique treads familiar ground with new faces as your hosts welcome guests of the pod Isis, Morbane, and Pendrecarc! 

Yuletide is an annual exchange that is beloved not just to the pod but to fandom at large, and we were thrilled to chat with some of the mods and dig a little deeper into the event. This episode provides everything you need to know about Yuletide, from participation logistics to moderator insights to many wonderful fic recs. We even have the inside scoop on some news for 2026's event, but please; leave your questionably-real German novels at home. 

Works mentioned in this episode: 

- "The Marvels of Whitby" by Sath (Medieval Manuscript Illustrations)
- "Some Assembly Required" by Untherius (IKEA "Start the Car!" Commercial)
- "the ultimate test of cerebral fitness" by psychomachia (Chess Board Game)
- "Song of the Season" by feroxargentea (Northern Exposure)
- "The Yule Land" by raspberryhunter (The Waste Land)
- "Nectar of the Honeymen" by The_Midnight_Girl (Goblin Market)
- "A Lotus Flower, Flourishing in the Dark" by Rodo (The King's Affection)
- "The Opposite of Swarb" by Ankaret (Bellwether) 
- "Why one small American town won’t stop stoning its residents to death" by Charlotte_Stant (The Lottery, New Yorker RPF)

You can find the mods and other information about the event at yuletide-admin.dreamwidth.org.

In this not-so-mini two-host minisode, Brenna and Reid explore one of their most beloved corners of Ao3: Astolat's Geralt/Emhyr Witcher works! Using a rubric we created from the foundational elements of this ship we analyze how each work functions to help craft the narrative of this rarepair we love so much. 

Works discussed in this episode are all of Astolat's Geralt/Emhyr Witcher fics, which can be found in the compiled series on her Ao3 profile. 

Alternate titles for this episode include: "Lock In or Turn Off the Pod," "She’s Ciri, He’s Just Ken," and "Struck With Lustful Longing"

3...2...1...Liftoff. We're rounding out this year's birthday episodes with one of Reid's favorite genres: space opera! With themes of language, sacrifice, and human connection, the backdrop of space provides a rich setting for us to play in. 

Media discussed in this episode include: 
- "Protostellar" by ninamonday (BTS RPF) — fanfiction
- "A Memory Called Empire" by Arkady Martine — novel
- "Project Hail Mary" — movie
- "The Deep Humanity of Project Hail Mary" by Rachel Kessler — essay on Reactor Mag

Ficlets, we don't know about you, but your hosts are having a Greek God Summer. Join us in this episode for a sweeping discussion of mythmaking, why we tell stories, and which ones have the most staying power. And also a surprisingly high amount of chatter about Hadestown for an episode that doesn't feature a Hadestown fic.

Works discussed in this episode:

- "seventy-five perpetual deaths for the underworld’s prince" by anonymousAlchemist (Hades Game)
- "Kore" by oneiriad (Greek and Roman Mythology)
- "It's a No-Regret Life" by anistar_e (kaikamahine) (Percy Jackson)

Hot off of our omegaverse episode, we jumped into another classic fandom mainstay: the trio of fandoms known (perhaps only to us) as SuperWolfLock — Supernatural, Teen Wolf, and Sherlock. If that wasn't enough of a uniting theme for you, these fics also have something else in common, and the prognosis is not looking good.

Join your hosts as we dive into fic about harrowing (sometimes terminal) illness, romance in dark times, and three classic fandoms where fic writers have been cooking up stories for years upon years.

Works discussed in this episode:

- "Alone On the Water" by Mad_Lorie (Sherlock)
- "Unbroken" by Piscaria (Teen Wolf)
- "deeper than all the roses" by kekinkawaii (Supernatural)

What's the smell in the air? Is it fresh coffee grounds, or the earth after rain? No, it's something a little... wolfier? 

Ficlets, it's time to foray into the omegaverse! This episode looks at the trope from its inception to modern day, with our discussion examining the trope's worldbuilding, allegories of oppression, and lasting power in fanfiction spaces.

Works discussed in this episode: 
- "burning (like a tire fire)" by brushedbymelancholy (Formula One RPF) — fanfiction
- "HeavenScent" by an incompletelist (Red, White, and Royal Blue) — fanfiction
- "I ain't no lady, but you'd be the tramp" by tehdirtiestsock (Supernatural RPF) — fanfiction
- "Alphas, Betas, and Omegas: A Primer" by norabombay — meta
- "The nonnies made them do it!" by netweight — meta

Put your listening ears on because it's time to learn about the wide world of audio works! In this episode your hosts and special guest of the pod Kassie talk about podfic history, fandom, and what goes into making an audio work. We also celebrate the joys of podfic's ultra supportive community, and highlight some events that intrepid podficcers old and new alike can get involved in. If you have a potato and a dream, you too could join this world. 

Audio works discussed in this episode include:
- "Behind the Pod S1, Episode 4: New(ish) & Old(ish)," by Opalsong & arkadyevna
- "Here," by impersonal_villain & sallysparrow017 (The Raven Cycle)
- "Starting Playback," by blackglass, Cait_does_Podfics, coyotecrackers, edible_chemistry, olive2read, Ravin_Pods, & wjgravity (The Murderbot Diaries) 
- "FAQ: The Goose Fight Portion of Your Thesis Defense - A Radio Show," by Voiceteam 2025 (Snake Fight Thesis Defense & Untitled Goose Game)

The blanket permission extension can be found here: https://github.com/BrickGrass/Blanket-Permission-Highlighter

In this episode of Fic Clique, your hosts invite you to saddle up and buckle in for a thrilling discussion of recommendation culture in fandom, including three fics we found through curated rec lists!

Dive with us into the history of reccing and the impact of The Algorithm TM on modern rec culture, setting work wherein a setting can function as its own character, the many different forms an action hero can take, and our incredibly divisive feelings about women's wrongs.

Fics we discuss in this episode include: Benched by Speranza (Stargate Atlantis),  5 Times the Raptors Tried to Kill Miriam, and 1 Time They Didn’t by tardigradetardis (Jurassic Park), and Unbranded Air by suitesamba (BBC Sherlock).

In our second two-host episode of 2026, hosts Nic and Brenna join forces to discuss the current landscape of the fandom and fanfiction for hit HBO MAX medical drama The Pitt. From major ships to the fragmentation of fandom across different forms of social media to fandom-savvy actors and writers, our conversation covers a lot of ground, including touching on a wide variety of fics!

Some of the fics we discuss or just bring up/reference include:

- "2:00 AM" by orphan_account
- "and yet i fight, and yet i fight" by a_gathering_of_flowers
- "A Case of the Mondays" by SkiLift
- "new dog old tricks" by overnights
- "don't call it a comeback" by overnights
- "Two-Player" by avocadomoon

Rejected episode titles (since it IS a minisode and thus has a specific title format) include: Reid's Fired, The Hot Doctor Show, The People Want Blood and Bruises, Pitt Stop, and A Hell Yeah For Toxic Yuri.

In this episode of Fic Clique, your hosts discuss “and so my heart beats wildly,” by lily_winterwood (MDZS). 

You thought Olympics season was over? Think again. We're always ready to talk about sports narratives on the pod and boy do we dig into some meaty ones here. Are you interested in how sports can be akin to martyrdom, and how an athlete's responsibility is not to their body but to the game? What about how fiction allows for tidy narrative arcs of redemption that aren't possible with real people? Perhaps how a family's legacy in sport puts the burdensome expectation of perfect representation onto those who follow in its wake? All that and more awaits you in this episode.