Fic Clique

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:

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

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. 

Happy Valentine's Day ficlets! Love is in the air, but perhaps the journey to a happily ever after isn't as straightforward as it seems. As we put some beloved characters through twists and turns on classic tropes, we also examine what it means to bridge the distance between your perception of someone and the reality of them, how sense of place can connect to moments of tension, and our lack of knowledge about the court system.

Fics discussed in this episode: "One Last Time," by ElAurian (Ace Attorney), "No Retreat, Baby, No Surrender," by itsnotbleak (Captain America Movies), and "loving this body" by beetlesandstars & kryptonian (Heated Rivalry). 

H/N (Host note): Reid's mic was experiencing some difficulties this episode, we apologize for the occasional impact that had on the audio quality.

Fic Clique goes TTRPG in Nic's 2026 birthday episode! Join us as our GM (Nic) leads two intrepid warriors (played by Brenna and Reid) through a variety of settings and tropes on a quest to save AO3 from bad actors and maintain the integrity of fanfiction as a vehicle for even the most unlikely characters to fall in love.

We're playing a system so simple it feels wrong to say it's heavily adapted from D&D, but that's technically what's happening here! So whether you're a seasoned TTRPG fan or dipping your toe in for the first time, anyone should be able to jump in, get oriented, and enjoy the hijinks.

All roads lead back to Sidney Crosby in host Brenna's 2026 birthday episode, where we discuss all things hockey! Guest of the pod Em joins us and provides vital information about the current state of hockey — thank you, Em! — as we dive into: material-discursive analysis of masculinity in men's hockey, internalized homophobia, relative degrees of emotional safety as a fan engaging with different iterations on the same sport, generational talent and failure, and what gives rpf the sauce. It's a meaty one, y'all.

Fics discussed in this episode: Yekaterinburg Standard Time by sevenfists (Hockey RPF), the art of staying by nightswatch (Check Please!), and love takes miles by corsi (Game Changers Series / Heated Rivalry)

We also reference the academic article "What a bust": Character selection and the possibilities of failure in hockey RPF, by Júlia Zen Dariva  and Natália Brauns Cazelgrandi Ferreira, which is open source on the OTW's journal of transformative works and cultures.

Another journey around the sun is coming to a close, and that means Fic Clique is taking a look at the year on a grand scale. Join us as we make predictions for hot 2026 fandoms, list some of our "best of"s, and manifest greatness for the pod in the year to come.

Alternate titles for this episode include: "Paid Dust but the Dust Is Delicious," "My Crying Levels Are on the Decline," and "Your Algorithm Terrifies Me."

In 2025's last full-length episode, your hosts brought some hot fics and even hotter takes to the table as we discussed our perspective on what fandoms "hit (or remained in) the zeitgeist" this year. From The Pitt to Arcane to Interview With the Vampire, our conversation led us to discuss topics such as:

The fics we discussed this episode were the fifth element (series) by copycat_punisher (The Pitt), love, letting go by theroyalsavage (Arcane), and Cunk on Fangs by beemovieerotica (Cunk on Earth, Interview With the Vampire).

Welcome one and all to a rousing discussion of a long awaited topic: reader insert fanfiction! In our first ever two-host minisode, Nic and Reid get into the beautiful weeds of different fanfic traditions, degrees of closeness and how POV can mediate your self-concept as a reader, fantasy and (dis)comfort, and communal fic reading experiences that will have you gathering hands with your friends and declaring: We are All Y/N.

Alternate titles for this episode include: