Retro Fanfic Retrospective

Post-series Buffy needs a vacation, and what better way to relax than to spend some quality time with your erstwhile enemy who totally stole your body at one point? Well, beggars can't be choosers.   Link to the story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35958

We continue our ongoing series discussing the fundamentals of fanfiction.  This week we discuss crossovers, what we ourselves look for in a good crossover and elements we found in some not so good crossovers.

Taran, also known as the deadly Podcaster X, joins us to talk Rurouni Kenshin. The guys fall in a freezing lake and it's up to Kaoru to nurse them back to health. Sano is about as good a patient as you'd expect. Kenshin/Battousai overcomes his psychological trauma through fever-induced therapeutic roleplaying with edged weapons.   Link to the story: http://www.sekiharatae.com/Akabeko/fanfic/fever/...

As a break from our usual routine, we sit down to hash out what the definition of fanfiction is, once and for all. Della's community-based theory sounds like too much work for Amado. On the other hand, Amado accidentally talks himself into categorizing Disney's Snow White as fanfic. RPF continues to stress us out.

Taran joins us to do the same thing we do every night: read an old fanfic and talk about it. Classic anime movie Akira is smashed together with Animaniacs... and long story short, Akira wins. Brain's friendship with Pinky is front-and-center, while Pinky's friendship with Crow T. Robot is sadly secondary.   Wayback Machine link to the first chapter: bit.ly/rfrakatie

Annie of the Fangirls Library and Audio Fanfic Podcasts leaps temporarily into our recording room to discuss a post-series-ish Quantum Leap story. Ziggy is breaking down and Sam is losing his self-identity, so Al is willing to do whatever it takes to bring him back home ASAP... and the best way to do that is definitely lying to him about them being in a long-term sexual-romantic relationship. It's...

We set a course for pirate shenanigans with this collegiate radio adaptation of LucasArts' classic adventure game, The Curse of Monkey Island. They've got one banger of a script to wrestle down to size, and a limited number of thespians to cover the roles. You work with what you have, even if what you have is a rubber chicken with a pulley through the middle.   Link to the audio files: bit.ly/comi...

Pop culture chronicler Aja Romano introduces us to a story about two kids who really love Go... and each other. Hikaru has the most wholesome sexual awakening a queer himbo could ask for. Waya has to put up with a lot, but not as much as Hikaru's mom does. Sai's absence haunts the story. (See what I did there?)   Aja Romano's website: https://www.ajaromano.com/ Link to the story: https://archiveof...

We summon Chris from across the dimensional void to help us tackle one small corner of the expansive Undocumented Features universe. Exiled from her home world of Cephiro, post-series Utena Tenjou needs to make a new life in the 25th Century. Luckily, she'll have the support of author-avatar-offspring roommate Kaitlyn Hutchins, Kaitlyn's friends and family, and a steady trickle of familiar Ohtori...

Special guest Brihana joins us on a trip to the future Seattle of the Dark Angel TV series. It's dark, but probably not as dark as our actual present. When Alec's tryptophan run goes south, he's forced to take refuge at Logan's place, and we've all read enough fanfiction to know where this is headed. (Towards some thoughtful characterization, obviously.)   Link to the story: https://archiveofourow...

Someone must have stolen one of the Podcasting Fairy's magic objects, because we need to fill a last-minute gap in our recording schedule. Serena and Amado discuss a hefty Rainbow Magic sequel from someone who has lots to say about fairy bureaucracy, goblin revolution, and the differences between Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker. (For example, Kirsty is brunette while Rachel is blonde.)   Link to the...

Sergio and Kai of the So You Think You Can Fanon podcast join us as we head over to the Fanfiction Scholastic Book Fair and pick up a lovingly-written Animorphs pastiche. Between us, we are vaguely-qualified to talk about it! Having a friend who you think might be a Yeerk is very stressful. Robot doubles are very convenient for maintaining your secret identity.   Link to So You Think You Can Fanon...

We ring in the new year by reading an Adventure Time fanfic that's so new, it's not even old enough to drive. Also, it's a monologue by entropic demigod The Lich - perfect for welcoming in another year of global pandemic! But even as our bile-filled bodies crawl screaming toward oblivion, at least we can take comfort in the fact that the Lich has a really sweet character design and voice acting.  ...

Do not adjust your television set: Christmas magic has returned us to our youth of three years ago, and we are once again discussing Blue's festive Ninja Turtles story. "Festive" here means, of course, that it's full of awkward family tensions and simmering resentments. Not to mention love, cookies, cute puppies, toxic masculinity, and Lutheranism. (Just like every year, Casey Jones brings the tox...

We venture far off the beaten path with Steven Shaviro's mid-90s "theoretical fiction" named after Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol, which is absolutely not fiction but was definitely written by a fan. Amado struggles with the definition of postmodernism, Tory struggles to stay positive, and Dom is along for the ride.   Link to the essay: http://www.dhalgren.com/Doom/index.html

We're delighted to have erstwhile 8-Bit Theater author Brian Clevinger join us to discuss his college independent project that got slightly out of hand. It's an improvement over our previous 8-Bit Theater discussion, in that he's actually re-read the whole comic recently! The conversation touches on author-artist collaborations, Cecil Turtle, and the Street Fighter combos that are apparently perma...

Regular guest Chris brings more (he-)manpower to our table as we discuss the first three chapters in a Masters of the Universe saga. A collection of extradimensional floating visitors come to Eternia to romance Orko, mentor Orko, and/or manipulate Orko . He-man is mostly irrelevent. Skeletor is mostly bored out of his skull. We're not 100% sure what Evil-Lyn's game plan is, but she seems to know w...

The short-lived TV show Wonderfalls might have only squeaked out one season, but you can always count on fanfiction to continue the story. A fire in Jaye's trailer leaves her scrambling for a place to live, and eventually leads to Tyler siblings' romantic lives being outed to their parents. But honestly, with dialogue as fun as this, who cares what the plot is?   Link to the story: https://archive...

Taran joins us to revisit the most popular fanfic webcomic of our youth, which retells the original Final Fantasy as a tabletop RPG-influenced bizarro comedy. In an example of life emulating art, we talk in circles and take forever to get anywhere in the discussion. To our credit, however, none of us attempt to murder each other.   Link to the story: https://www.nuklearpower.com/8-bit-theater-arch...

Kerri of the Stargate SG-1 rewatch podcast Window of Opportunity joins us to compensate for Amado's complete lack of Stargate knowledge. Following "Shades of Gray," Daniel is kidnapped and Jack, unsurprisingly, doesn't take it well. Villains of the day recieve their inevitable comeuppance. The depiction of trauma is pretty astute for a fanfic from circa 2001.   Window of Opportunity podcast: https...

(TW: child abuse) The cycle begins again, as special guest Mar joins Amado and Tory to scratch futilely at the surface of Sailor Moon 4200 chapters nine through fifteen. We see Crystal Tokyo fall, up-close and personal. Sailors Moon die, and are (re?)born. The Church of Serenity makes some sound theological points.   Link to the story: bit.ly/rfrsm4200 Link to our Discord channel: bit.ly/rfrdiscor...

Schedule blip means Tory and Dom get a chance to talk about the newly released season 1 of Centaurworld. Tory ends up enjoying themselves after the characters stop personifying their farts and start supporting each other, and Dom gets overwhelmed trying to list all the Broadway credentials of the cast while restraining herself from talking too much about how much she enjoyed the songs. Both agree...

(Trigger warning: sexual assault & abuse)   ChaosBlue of the Fanfic Maverick Podcast joins us for an A-Team story that goes some places we did not expect. A long-term undercover mission led by Face absolutely requires him to pretend to be married to Hancock, and also for Hancock to pursue a career in design. Then things start going south, and they keep going south. Hannibal is surprisingly hands-o...

Sara of Talkin' Fanfic carefully curates a fanfic for us from the early Smallville fan scene. Like, pre-season-two early. Clark is lying low in his professional life at the Daily Planet, when a sudden loss of powers brings Lex Luthor back into his life. Lois Lane is awesome even when she's petty and unhelpful. There's nothing more punkish than thoughtful attention to characterization.   Link to th...

Resident Lewis Carroll enthusiast Julia returns to help us tackle two Advanced Dungeons & Dragons modules written by D&D codifier Gary Gygax. He's more in his "Tomb of Horrors" mode than his "Keep on the Borderlands" mode. Roleplaying is a realm of limitless possibility, but you absolutely can't cut through the thick garden hedge. The White Rabbit needs to stop polymorphing people into weird anima...