Only 3 days left to sign up for Pod-Together! If you're still thinking about signing up, now’s the time!
As long as it’s June 13th somewhere in the world, you can submit your sign-up form.
Sign-up instructions, rules, and FAQ can all be found on our Dreamwidth
Pod-together is a fandom fest where writers and podficcers create together—the writer creating text specifically intended for audio, and the podficcer creating the audio. If that sounds fun to you, sign-ups are open until June 13th!
Sign-ups come in two flavors. If you would like the mods to match you with someone with similar fandom interests, sign up for Matchmaker Sign-Ups. If you would like to sign up with a partner, we also have Group Sign-Ups.
The minimum length for pod-together projects is 1000 words or 10 minutes of audio. Writing is due July 26th, and podfic is due August 23rd.
This is our 16th year running this challenge, and participants usually have a ton of fun and create amazing stuff, with everything from the typical style of fanfics to submissions with filk, poetry, sound effects, massive multi-voice collaborations, immersive soundscapes, playable games, radio broadcasts, and full-cast musicals.
If you’re on the fence and have questions, or want to try to scout a group before signing up, we have a section of our Discord open just for that. You can find an link to the Discord in the sign-up post on our Dreamwidth!
To celebrate the fact that we are a little over a week from the start of this year's AU Roulette, have a post detailing the 36 AUs included in this year's challenge!
Like in previous years, this year's AUs have been curated to be intentionally broad, in the hopes that they will encourage unique takes on each prompt and the creativity of the authors participating. You are welcome to write anything that falls under the umbrella of your assigned AUs, whether it's an original universe, a fusion inspired by another fandom, or something else entirely.
(What's AU Roulette, some of you might be asking? An explanation can be found here, and the link to sign up for this year's challenge is here)
Without further ado -- the AU list, under a cut:
Roleswap - Maybe you want to switch two characters' places, do a class-swap for a D&D fandom, try your hand at an age-swap fic, or you have another idea.
Gothic Horror -- Castles. Ghosts. Vampires. Drama. Love that conquers Death. Take your inspiration from classic literature or a newer entry in the genre, like The Locked Tomb books. But be sure to make things spooky.
Post-Apocalypse -- Will the world end in fire or in ice? Or maybe economic collapse, war, zombies, or one of many other options? You write what happens next!
Fairy-Tale -- Pick a classic tale from the Grimms, Hans Christian Andersen, Asbjørnsen & Moe, Charles Perrault, or another favorite author to inspire your AU, try out a more modern re-telling, or use fairy-tale elements to craft your own story.
Time Travel -- For fixing mistakes, making things worse, or time loops. Or maybe you want to write a fusion inspired by a piece of popular time travel media, like Doctor Who.
Coffee Shop -- A classic everyone knows and has strong feelings about. Play it straight or add a twist, whichever suits your fancy! After all, no one said where the coffee shop has to be...
Paranormal Investigators -- Maybe you want to write a story starring the next Scooby-Doo crew, or maybe there really is something strange in the neighborhood. Or maybe it'll never be clear what really happened -- it's your choice!
High Fantasy -- Elves and dwarves and gnomes, oh my! This AU could encompass everything from Middle Earth to D&D AUs to your favorite high fantasy books you read over and over as a kid. Or maybe you have your own spell to weave.
Theater -- Are your characters famous stage actors? Putting on a community theater performance? A musical? Whatever the case, the show must go on....
Band/Musicians -- Whether you decide to make the characters in your AU famous pop stars, part of an orchestra, students at a conservatory, jamming together in their garage, or otherwise musically-inclined, have fun with it!
Cosmic Horror -- You don't have to love Lovecraft to get creative with this AU. Make characters comprehend the incomprehensible, send them messages from beyond the stars, and get a little creepy.
Sports/Athletics -- Pick a sport, any sport -- whether a team game like hockey, an individual one like archery, a paired one like figure skating, or something a little unconventional, like roller derby or HEMA. Then it's ready, set, write!
Historical Era -- An AU type absolutely bursting with potential, from medieval romances to 1920s Prohibition AUs, to ones inspired by historical fiction like Les Miserables. Whatever era of history strikes your fancy, you can write it.
Space Travel -- A science fiction classic with endless possibilities. Whether you want to write modern-day astronauts, a futuristic Star Trek AU, or something even more out there in a setting brimming with galactic empires or undiscovered alien species, the sky isn't even the limit with this AU!
Urban Fantasy -- For all your modern-with-magic settings. Write an AU inspired by something like Teen Wolf, Artemis Fowl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Rivers of London, or invent your own world where witches and websites coexist.
Library/Archives -- What secrets are hiding in the stacks? Whether it's some kind of ancient evil or just some mis-shelved books, a librarian's work is never done so long as there are materials to catalog and patrons to assist.
Wilderness Survival -- Strand your characters on a deserted island, or maybe deep in the woods somewhere. Or up a mountain, in the Arctic, or somewhere else unsuited for human life!
Shapeshifter -- Can the characters in this AU turn into anything they want? Or maybe they're more limited, like selkies -- even unable to control their shapeshifting at all (can I get an "awoo" from the werewolf fans?)
Classic Literature -- An AU somewhat more dependent on fusion ideas, but still very flexible! Pick a favorite classic book or play and let it inspire your writing!
Dystopian -- Create your own awful society or let a favorite piece of media guide you, like writing a Hunger Games AU. Will the characters break the cycle, or end up trapped in it?
Scientist -- Write characters as normal biologists, physicists, chemists, or even the next Victor Frankenstein!
Mecha -- Giant fighting robots, what's better than this? Opt for a classic Pacific Rim AU, one based off your favorite anime, or something of your own creation.
Medical/Hospital -- Are the characters working there, or the victims of some unfortunate accident? Or maybe it's a bit of both. Take it wherever you feel like.
Mystery/Detective -- Whether you're writing the world's greatest detective or some meddling kids, play up the mystery! Use a classic locale like 221B Baker Street, or invent your own.
Archaeologist -- Send your characters to work at a dig or a museum, or possibly toss in a little extra adventure, Indiana Jones style. Or maybe you just want to nerd out about pot sherds.
Heist -- Will you write a story about master thieves? Vigilantes righting some wrong? What's being stolen and why? Try a Leverage AU, or a caper of your own making.
Mythology/Folklore -- Write a story inspired by your favorite myths and legends, from a whole host of different cultures. Or maybe you'd like to try your hand at writing some epic poetry?
Seafaring -- Including but not limited to Pirate AUs and other Age of Sail adventures. Try out something more historical, or throw in as many fantasy elements as you'd like -- or a bit of both.
Canon Divergence -- Have you ever wondered what would happen if one little (or big!) thing had been different? Butterfly effect fans rejoice -- it's time to figure it out.
On-the-Run -- Are the characters in this AU escaped experiments? Hiding from the government? On the run from the law -- and did they really do it, or were they wrongfully accused?
Superpowers -- Invent an original universe or do a fusion with one of the many popular big-screen superhero stories. Play it straight and give your favorite characters cool powers, or try a deconstruction of the genre. With great AUs comes great responsibility
College/Academia -- Are the characters in your AU students? Professors? Weary adjunct? Throwing hands at a conference? Some mix of the above?
Journalist - For everything from local anchors and newspaper staff to big-league investigative reporters. Write characters who'll do anything to get a scoop or with a strong sense of justice -- it's your call!
Alien Encounter - Write a peaceful first contact, a SETI researcher having a wild day at work, a dubious alien abduction, or a full on invasion of Earth. What is out there?
Greenhouse/Flower Shop - How does your garden grow? A great opportunity to write characters as coworkers and/or customers -- as well as to decide if they have a green thumb or not...
Ghost/Haunting - Not necessarily a horror trope, though it's your choice! There are plenty of other ways to haunt the narrative though.
Hello, everyone! I apologize for the silence on this blog. We received loads of great prompt suggestions, but still need to go through and finalize a list. I wanted to have them out around the end of April/beginning of May, but I’ve been too sick to be able to focus on it. So, I can’t give any official date for when the prompt list will be released, but know that it hasn’t been forgotten.
The prompt suggestion form is now closed. Thank you to everyone who responded! I will work on having the event prompt list ready by mid April or early May, along with event rules.
The prompt suggestion form will be open until the end of the month, so that means it will be closing on April 1st. Make sure to get your suggestions in before then if you have any, and to spread the word!
Submit your suggestions for prompts for Reverse Fluff Month. The more generalized, the better, because then more people can pull inspiration
We received an anon ask about how making the final prompt list will go, but I thought I accidentally responded using the wrong blog, so I'll be copying the response here:
As of right now, the prompt suggestion form has received 22 responses. I have to comb through and record them and get rid of any duplicates on the list.
We're looking for 31 prompts in total to span the month of August, and will also be making a list of alternate/bonus prompts.
If there are more than 31 prompts suggested, then a poll will be held to vote for which ones are most popular. If it's less than or exactly at 31, there won't be need for a poll.
Here's the prompt suggestion form for those who haven't seen it:
Submit your suggestions for prompts for Reverse Fluff Month. The more generalized, the better, because then more people can pull inspiration
