Dear Podficcer letter ITPE 2024

[obstinatecondolement]

Jump to: Likes
Jump to: Do Not Wants
Jump to: Requests, Fandom Specific Likes and Fandom Specific Do Not Wants

Dear podficcer,

I’m SweetPollyOliver/unmanlygrief/obstinatecondolement/obstinatecondolement. Thank you so much for offering one of my fandoms! I’m very excited to see what you make.

I don’t have a preference regarding podfics with or without effects and music, so feel free to do whatever you would prefer. I generally take a long time listening to podfics longer than 10–30 minutes, because I get antsy and lose focus unless I have something to do with my hands—I don’t want to discourage you from making something longer if you want to, but I thought I’d just let you know about this upfront, so that if you did make a longer podfic for me, you weren’t worried that I didn't like it if it took me a while to listen to it in full and let you know how much I liked it. Regarding other preferences, everything I’ve said in this letter is extremely optional and I’ve only included what I have to give people who like a jumping off point some guidance into things I enjoy. Feel free to ignore whatever you don’t vibe with and read as much or as little of this as you like.

Likes

SFW likes (mostly—anything with additional elements that are NSFW is behind a spoiler tag and clearly marked as NSFW)

I went into a lot of detail for some of these, so I have added spoiler tags to cut for length where appropriate.

• Fic that is largely canon compliant. Canon divergent AUs are great, fic that re-interprets or re-examines canon events with a different lens is also great. I am not especially reverent towards canon and non-canon compliant fic is not a problem, but I do really like fic that rattles the bars of its canonical confines while remaining within them (or stays within them for the most part). See also:
• Post-canon fic and prequel fic—especially ones that are:
• Character studies, especially of characters who are sparsely characterised or underutilised in canon.
• Missing scene fic.
• Fic with a strong ensemble cast.
• AUs that are a completely different setting to canon, especially fusions with other canons such as Pacific Rim AUs or The Last Unicorn AUs (see DNWs for exceptions).
• Dramatic irony, especially when it’s comedic.
  • That said, I love sincerity that is entirely unembarrassed of itself and does not try to deflate itself with irony.
• Witty or otherwise humorous dialogue.
• As you can probably tell from the last two listed likes, I prefer fics with a comedic tone, or at least a comedic tinge (which can be ironic and/or bitter, in fics that skew more towards the dramatic side of the comedy-drama spectrum). I like pretty dry and understated humour, but I am also just a fan of Funny more generally.
• Bittersweet or melancholy fics are also wonderful. I am always a sucker for regret and missed opportunities/wasted time.
• Quiet, domestic stories that have a sense of contentment about them.
• Exciting, dynamic stories that have a sense of uncertainty about them. I particularly really love stuff where I don’t know what’s going on for 85% of the fic and then it all clicks into place in the last 15% as reveals that were set up earlier start to fall like dominoes.
• Found family.
• Queer platonic partnerships.
• References to queer culture and history. This can be in conjunction with one or more queer ships, but can also be in a gen fic featuring one or more queer characters.
• Pining.
• Rarepairs.
• Polyamory/non-monogamy, very much including forms of non-monogamy other than polyfidelitous triads, such as vee arrangements, polycules or open relationships etc.
• Emotionally intense and tempestuous co-dependent relationships, which can either get healthier over the course of the narrative or remain very much a "don’t try this at home" kind of depiction.
• Kid fic.
• Knitting or other kinds of crafts, especially from authors who are crafters and especially-especially when it includes technical or jargon-y details.
• Speaking of jargon, I love STEM-y things being featured in fic.
• I also love wildly unrealistic and campy fake science escapades. Basically, if a bubbling, neon green liquid housed in a beaker that is smoking profusely appears at some point then you are on the right track!
• Things relating to ageing.
• Stuff about (wanted) pregnancy.

NSFW likes

• Getting together and/or stuff with a first kiss (I know, how NSFW, lol) or first time having sex. I particularly like if first time sex scenes (and sex scenes generally) aren’t Perfect™ and things are a little awkward in a way that the characters can laugh about.
  • First time bottoming and, more generally, first time doing X sex act or kink and/or characters realising that something they hadn’t given much thought to, or had assumed they wouldn’t be into, is something they’re really into. I’d prefer they go into it with a “Sure, I’ll try anything once” attitude rather than an “I’ll suffer through it for you 😥” attitude.
• Friends with benefits/platonic sex. This can turn into fuckbuddies-to-lovers, but it doesn’t have to. I am particularly partial to a character who wingmans for their fuckbuddy and gets them together with another love interest (whether or not the two friends continue to have platonic sex afterwards is fine either way).
• Non-penetrative sex.
  • Intercrural sex specifically. This can transition into penetrative sex or not.
  • Oral sex of all varieties.
• Virginity kink, especially if the fic itself doesn’t buy into the social construction of virginity as a concept.

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DNWs

I don’t mean to imply any judgement with any of my DNWs and some of them are things that I do enjoy from time to time in some contexts, but aren’t things that I’d like as part of a gift work/that I’m in a headspace for right now.

SFW DNWs

• First or second person narration, unless that is canon typical.
• Mundane/modern AUs (e.g. college or coffee shop AUs, etc.), Harry Potter AUs/fusions, AUs or pre-canon fic where the characters are aged down.
• Dark fic. I’m fine with angsty or bittersweet fic or with stories that are framed as tragedies, but I do not want something that is primary intended to be disturbing, or that is unrelentingly miserable with no reprieve and no catharsis at the end.
• More than passing depictions of bigotry. You do not have to engage in historical revisionism or erase bigotry that exists in canon or the real world and I do enjoy fic that engages with the broader social contexts of various fandom settings, but I do not want a fic that is centred primarily around experiences of bigotry.

NSFW DNWs

• Kink related DNWs:
  • Consensual non-consent or other rape fantasies.
  • 24–7 D/s relationships.
  • Master/slave relationships.
  • Humiliation kink. Non-kinky humiliation is fine.
  • Desperation kink.
  • Edging.
  • Chastity belts/cages, etc.
  • Degrading or insulting language in a kink context.
  • Erotic asphyxiation.
  • Heavy pain play. Light impact kink or discomfort from restraints is fine.
  • Sadism.
  • Sounding.
  • Things likely to edge near a hygiene squick.
• Characters consenting to sex they think they won’t like, whether they turn out to be right about this or not.
• Detailed descriptions of sex that is painful or unpleasant.

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Requests

Requested Fandoms (be wary of spoilers!)

Beetlejuice (movies)

I recently saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) and am extremely invested in this universe again. I do ship Beetlejuice/Lydia, but you don't have to pod something shippy if that's not your bag. I'd prefer fic where Lydia was not a teenager and not something that's just flat out non-con, but you don't have to shy away from Beetlejuice being skeevy and gross.

Discworld

I have been a fan of the Discworld novels since I was about 10 and I love them to distraction. I am especially fond of the witches books, but I also really like the characters in The Truth (I tend to ship Otto Chriek/Sacharissa Cripslocke/William de Worde fwiw) and Monstrous Regiment. I prefer Maladict from Monstrous Regiment to be interpreted as transmasc or non-binary as opposed to a cis female character. I'm not a big Vimes/Vetinari fan, and I'd prefer not to get podfic where that was the main thrust of the story.

Sense8

I’m possibly in the minority in that I really loved how Amor Vincit Omnia fit so much plot into the runtime of a single movie. I don’t love that it was necessary, but I really enjoyed the implications of the result, where the various sensates loved ones had to be looped in (often offscreen) and were immediately ride or die. Love that! Devotion is never not going to get me. Along with what seems like the majority of the fandom, I am obsessed with Kala Dandekar/Rajan Rasal/Wolfgang Bogdanow and I really, really love how neat Rajan and Wolfgang think the other is when they meet. All those scenes where Kala is having a crisis about how she could possibly choose between them and the sad necessity of breaking the heart of a good man no matter what she does and Rajan and Wolfgang are staring dreamily into each other’s eyes in the background and skimming stones across a lake while holding hands are just *chef’s kiss*

Star Trek: Lower Decks

I'm behind on or have not watched any of all of the new Star Trek shows except for Lower Decks. I feel like it's such a loving entry into the canon with such great respect for the franchise, for all that it has a very comedic tone and is quite different from everything that's come before it. I love how Mariner cares So Much and masks it with cavalier devil-may-care attitude but that she can't help but be earnest. I love how the characters are genuinely such good friends and they love each other so much! I have said before that I think Lower Decks is the horniest and also the least romantic Star Trek, in the sense that you could very plausibly imagine nearly any two characters having a friends with benefits thing, but it's not particularly hung up on romantic relationships and the focus is more on friends and family (and found family).

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

This is another thing that I feel is very silly and comedic, but deeply earnest and sincere in how it respects its source material. I really love the ensemble cast in this movie and something about any of them would be amazing. My only caveat is that I don't ship Simon/Doric (althought I'd be fine with something where they tried to date and it didn't work out because they worked better as friends).

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I've been a fan of the radio show and books since I was a child. I am a fan of Ford/Arthur, if that's something you'd be interested in, but something gen would also be great. I am an And Another Thing refusnik, so I'd prefer not to have something that had references to events in that novel.

Kaos

I felt like this was such a fresh take on a lot of the Greek myths they were drawing on, which is increasingly hard to do given how widely adapted and homaged the classics are. In particular, Riddy not being in love with Orpheus anymore was such an interesting and bold choice! I also really like how it didn't shy away from elements of mythology that often get elided for modern sensibilities, like Hera being Zeus's sister, or casual infanticide, etc. I haven't read any fic as of yet, but I really like Riddy/Caenis in the show, and I love Kaos' take on Ariadne (and the Minotaur!) and I think an Ari/Dionysus thing could be great (loved the nod to their potential future relationship in the show too). Something with general worldbuilding of the show's interpretation of Krete, or the Trojan War, or something else, would also be great.

Only Murders in the Building

I love this intergenerational crime fighting friend group so damn much. I haven’t read a lot of fic, so I don’t know what is out there to pod, but I really ship Mabel Mora/Theo Dimas, Charles Hayden Savage/Oliver Putnam (I can really see them both being closeted up til now with varying degrees of self awareness about it, from Charles being like “Well, I’ll just not think about that” to Oliver never really thinking twice about it because he thinks everyone is a bit bi). I also like Mabel/any of her canonical love interests. I think this is a great fandom for a gen fic though, because it’s a mystery show about friendship. It would also be a fun one to pod, potentially, since it’s centred around the character’s creating a podcast!

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To anyone else reading letters to look for people to treat, hi there! I have gifts enabled on my AO3 account, so treat away if you so desire, and thank you for the kind thought.