Fic Clique

Minisode: Host Rec Exchange 2024

In this episode-turned-minisode-turned new format, your hosts revisit their annual rec exchange with a new twist. Focusing in on the tropes of our respective gifted fics, we examined the optics of being a professional shipper, keeping your cards close to your chest, and the inevitability of fanfiction itself. 

Alternate titles include: "The Chef's Special," "The Plate Tectonics of Fandom," and "I Only Know the Way of the Chalant" 

Minisode: Mapping Fannish Migrations (Geek Girl Con 2024 Panel)

In this minisode, your hosts reprise their award-winning (citation needed) panel at Geek Girl Con 2024, wherein they discussed patterns of fannish migration and many of the factors that cause, influence, and direct these migratory paths. Come for the semiotics and reflections on what makes certain fandoms so compelling, stay for the discussions of Young Sheldon and the close encounters with various squares on the 2024 Fic Clique bingo card.

99: “We Knew Each Other in That Kudos Section”

In this episode of Fic Clique, your hosts discuss “kintsukuroi,” by tomorrowsrain (Naruto) @21:55, “freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose,” by synecdochic (Stargate Atlantis) @53:00, and “The Fisher-Prince,” by roachpatrol & urbanAnchorite (Homestuck) @1:22:49. 

It's No Knowledge November! This themed episode your hosts forayed into three popular fandoms we all were unfamiliar with it. Through this uncertain territory we found familiar themes of mentoring the next generation, holding grief for your past life, and navigating foreign ways of relating to one another.  

Horror Special II

In this episode of Fic Clique, it's once again Halloween! For this horror special, we've decided to mix things up, so prepare to expect the unexpected and navigate some treacherous, touching, and nightmarish stories alongside your hosts.

Join us for a thrilling chat that covers topics such as: where to find custom embroidered robes, how to muster the courage to ask about the contents of a punch bowl, and when it's a bad idea to kick rocks.

Sfx sourced from Pixabay. "Baroque Noble Party" music is by @MichaelGhelfiStudios 

98: “Retroactive Catfishing”

In this episode, your hosts discuss "You have [1] New Message," by torikabori (Star Trek AOS).

Happy fifth anniversary to you all and to us, ficlets! Thank you as ever for joining us on this journey. This anniversary episode contains both fic discussion and reflections on the state of the show, as well as a dad of the pod lore drop, pitch for a new fannish term, and return to our roots.

Minisode: Books & Fanfiction

In this minisode, your fearless hosts reflect on our own personal reading trends, books that may have started as fics, and offer some bespoke book recommendations for lovers of certain fics we've brought to the pod! Let's read, baby!

97: “Schrodinger's Happiness”

In this episode of Fic Clique, your hosts discuss "Upside Down," by redbrickrose (Inside Out) @16:07, "Thick as Thieves," by robotboy (Black Sails) @42:21, and "sinking/synching," by radicchio (SVT RPF) @1:07:40.

Reflections on personhood are at the core of this episode, with fics that consider what it means to be at the wheel of your own identity, how far you can or cannot stray from a predestined narrative, and refractions of ambition as a means of character work. 

96: “Two Flesh, One End”

In this episode of Fic Clique, your hosts discuss "the goosekeeper game," by offlight (The Untamed) @18:19, "Mercy and Augustine's Cake Simulator!," by reconditarmonia (The Locked Tomb) @47:39, and "suppose you are returning," by desmodus (Fire Emblem Three Houses) @1:16:18.

Grab your controllers and get ready to lock in because Reid's birthday episode this year is all about video games. In the intersection of interactive fiction and video game canon itself, we found rich narratives that traverse genres and create potential for some true magic.

95: “The Connections are Connecting”

In this episode of Fic Clique, your hosts discuss "Wittenberg Days," by norah (Hamlet) @14:08, "bend and sway," by tciddaemina (Legend of Zelda) @41:33, and "Empress of Sand and Water," by Sheeana (Dune) @1:09:17.

Ficlets, we heard your delight at our previous Dune June episode and your clamors for more, and we are here to deliver! This time around we tried to pick fics a little more connected to our source material, with overlapping themes of destiny, power, and the role of fate.

94: “We Understand Media in a Way You Never Could”

In this episode of Fic Clique, your hosts discuss "And Harder Still to Make Noise," by sophiahelix (The Office) @18:13, "Death Insurance," by Nimori (Discworld) @47:45, and "a romantic fool," by spqr (Challengers Movie) @1:11:09.

The sun is out, summer is here, and Fic Clique pod is bringing you three hot and fresh fic discussions to enjoy. The relationships in these stories encompass a wide array of dynamics; from quiet loneliness, to mutually beneficial gain, to something both sexy and a little messed up.