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 story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23027782?view_full_work=true
Jan 31, 2022•57 min•Ep. 144
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: https://anchor.fm/sytycfanon Link to the story: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1026376/1/The-Wheel...
Jan 17, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 143
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. Link to the story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/685537
Jan 03, 2022•50 min•Ep. 142
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 toxic masculinity.) Link to the story: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5807/1/Peace-On-Earth-Goodwill-To-T...
Dec 20, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 141
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
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 140
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 permanently seared into Brian's memory. Link to the Atomic Robo website: https://www.atomic-robo.com/ Lin...
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 139
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 what she's doing and we're definitely here for it. Link to the fanfic: http://www.c4vct.com/kym/numbs...
Nov 08, 2021•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 138
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://archiveofourown.org/works/1152583/chapters/2337081
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 137
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-archive/?archive_year=2001 Link to our Discord channel: bit.ly/rfrdiscordserver...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 136
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://windowofopportunity.libsyn.com/website Link to the story: bit.ly/rfrripples...
Sep 27, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 135
(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/rfrdiscordserver
Sep 13, 2021•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 134
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 that they'd love to have more show set in Rider's world, that just looks badass. Retro fanfic discus...
Aug 30, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 133
(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-off. B.A. has a very high tolerance for fools. The Fanfic Maverick podcast: https://fanficmaverickp...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 132
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 the story: http://https://archiveofourown.org/works/3180 Link to Talkin' Fanfic: https://talkinfanfic.po...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 131
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 animal hybrids. Amado is definitely going to loot the Caterpillar's hookah. Link to the modules (...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 130
Chris completes our trio of divine fanfic readers as we tackle the classic O!MG/Hellblazer crossover, Dire Fates. A bevy of goddesses and demons suddenly gain an interest in John Constantine (the Hellblazer who blazes in Hell), leading to the Constantine/Skuld team-up we didn't know we wanted. The Norns are not the most responsible sysadmins. It is perhaps a LITTLE too easy to bluff archangels. Link to the fanfic: bit.ly/rfrdirefates Swing by our Discord channel! bit.ly/rfrdiscordserver...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 129
Special guest Victoria of the Sailor Moon Fan Club podcast joins us to read a whole novel worth of fanfiction! Welcome to Crystal Tokyo, where you can take a standardized test to become a magical warrior of love and justice for the definitely 100% praiseworthy immortal monarchy. The story jumps from school to space. The queer romance is completely happy and angst-free. Link to the story: http://www.lethesbanks.com/BestFanfiction/mi_orion.txt Link to the Sailor Moon Fan Club podcast: https://www....
Jun 21, 2021•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 128
Special guest Rache joins us to discuss the fandom of Robin of Sherwood, an acclaimed fantasy TV series that Tory and Amado missed out on because they are practically babies. She's full of information about the Major Oak fanfiction awards that she ran, and amazing anecdotes from decades of conventions. Also, Tory tries to catch up on the show while podcasting, with limited success.
Jun 07, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 127
Dom and Tory discuss "J'ai perdu mon corps," the award-winning animated movie about a hand in search of a body. It's incredible, although officially not as good as Toy Story 4. Dom gets to exercise her French. Tory describes the plot in terms of short stories, but the episode runs rather long. C'est la vie.
May 24, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 126
Dom(-ald Duck) completes our trio to discuss a Duck Tales 2017 fanfic that's a series of fluffy, characterful vignettes. Donald has his nephews' backs, the triplets have each others' backs, and they also have Webby's back. Basically, everyone's got each others' backs. It feels like your heart is nestled in duck down. Link to the fanfic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16979757 Swing by our Discord channel! bit.ly/rfrdiscordserver...
May 10, 2021•57 min•Ep. 125
Special guest Anika Dane takes the command chair to lead us through this even more depressing version of the episode Timeless. Shockingly, a desperate plan in Star Trek doesn't work. Janeway keeps her shit together for an impressively long time. Children are the future except when their future is retroactively taken from them. Sorry, children! Link to the story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2401565 Link to Anika's website: https://www.manicpixiedust.com/ Come chat fanfiction at our new Disc...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 124
We wave our sacred baton to call upon Rosie, author of a Wind Waker novelization that took years and years to complete. Link is a little chattier than in the game. The King of Red Lions is kind of a jerk. Amado tries to contribute to the conversation despite neither having played the game nor finished the fanfic. Link to the story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/942435/chapters/1838259 Come chat fanfiction at our new Discord channel! bit.ly/rfrdiscordserver...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 123
Katie & Britt of the "Is it an X-Man?" podcast return to the show, ready to rag on Cyclops and enthuse about X-Men: Evolution. In the fanfic, a grown Kurt and young Kurt switch places in what you might call a... cross-time caper? This results in temporal angst, fun character work, and an obligatory fight against Magneto. Amado is almost as enthusiastic about Nightcrawler as the author is. Link to the story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5224844...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 121
It's turtles all the way down as Chris joins us to discuss a crisis on finite turtle-earths. Renet Tilley has a very bad day, but the Mighty Mutanimals have an even worse one. A lot of turtles are not very good ninjas. Amado gets passionate about methods of mutant turtle propagation. Link to the story: http://www.thegreenlanterncorps.com/tmnt/transcension.html We read old fanfiction that they think might be good. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes they are not. Check out our website at https://...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 122
We call forth Taran from his itty-bitty living space, to join us in reading a follow-up to Aladdin and the King of Thieves. Life in Agrabah is quiet enough for Aladdin to get bored, for about fifteen seconds. Cassim and Iago plunder ancient tombs because why not. You can't throw a rock in the Seven Deserts without hitting an evil sorcerer. bit.ly/rfraladdin
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 120
Sequoia of the podcast Fanatical Fics and Where to Find Them joins us to educate us about Muggle Quiddich (and also discuss a Harry Potter fanfic). Lily Potter, Professor of Charms, gets involved in some continuity-crossing time travel shenanigans. Harry has an impressive number of super-powers. Two Ginnys is awkward, but it's impossible to have too many Lunas. Fanantical Fics: https://www.fanaticalfics.com/ Link to the story: bit.ly/rfrlily
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 119
We're joined by Nick and Victor of the MEGASheen podcast, who bring their impressive Jem knowledge to bear on a post-series continuation. Jerrica has a whole lot on her plate, such as the illicit affair that she's having with her own boyfriend. Pizzazz seizes creative control. Eric acts truly outrageous, even for Eric. And Riot also exists. MEGASheen: https://www.podofthesheen.com/ Link to the fanfic: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/960902/1/Our-Time-Is-Now...
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 118
We drag special guest Fire Princess Lily of the One Half Podcast into the deep end of the cursed waters of Ranma 1/2 fanfiction. In this post-manga continuation, Ranma tries to pull his shit together and be a better person, and so does practically every other character in the series. Obviously this is going to take a lot of work. I'm looking at you, P-chan. Link to the fanfic: bit.ly/rfrinward Three friends read old fanfiction that they think might be good. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes th...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 117
Dom takes a break from terrorizing the sprites and binomes in our editing software to chat about ReBoot with Tory and Amado. We witness the end of the series from the perspective of the incongruously-named Key Tool, Glitch. Turns out he's the host of a party inside Bob, and all the Key Tools are invited! It's all a very accurate representation of how computers work. Link to the story: bit.ly/rfrglitch Three friends read old fanfiction that they think might be good. Sometimes they are right. Some...
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 116
Sue of the Women at Warp podcast leads us where we've hardly gone before - Star Trek: The Next Generation fanfiction! In the wake of the Enterprise's destruction, Jean-Luc and Beverly finally have the free time to address twenty years of built-up sexual tension. It's going to take quite a lot of addressing. At least they'll be relaxed for that Starfleet court-martial! Link to the PG story: bit.ly/rfraipg Link to the NC-17 story: bit.ly/rfrAINC17 Three friends read old fanfiction that they think ...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 115