#TSCOSI season 2

[iffeelscouldkill]

Fic: Glass Shard

Fandom: The Strange Case of Starship Iris Wordcount: 100 Summary: Sara carries a glass shard in her pocket.

(Or: Sana and the Rumor, early season 2).

Sana carries a glass shard in her pocket.

It's part of the Rumor, although she doesn't know which part. It could be from any of the times she pulled the ship back together with bare hands and ingenuity and stubbornness.

She doesn't want to give it up. It's the last piece she has.

But it's not in the Rumor's nature to be static.

So, Sana pulls it out, files the edges smooth. She's weaving a brightly-coloured hanging to decorate the mess; the glass glitters in its centre.

Sana might be running, but she can still bring their home with her.

---

(A/N: So, one of my friends gave me the prompt "glass shard" for the Small Fandoms Drabblethon, and initially I didn't have a clear idea for it. Then, it suddenly came to me that I could marry this with an idea I've had for ages about Sana and the Rumor - drawing on her speech about how she's never had a place where every single piece of her belongs, and the closest she has is a ship she'd built herself from scraps.

There is so much to explore with Sana and the loss of the Rumor, and this is just a tiny piece (a shard, if you will ;P) but it was good to dig into. I particularly like the idea of Sana working part of the Rumor into something else, because I think that's very fitting to her hands-on, creative and resourceful approach to things.)

[quisters]

My favorite genre is weird space found family

[glassfullofsass]

Sana gets SO excited about the museum heist

[grifff17]

hi I've heard you do podcast recommendations

I've just finished Desert Skies after relistening to Midnight Burger for the third time, but there's still a burger-shaped hole in my heart that Welcome To The Horizon just doesn't seem to fill.

do you maybe know of any podcasts with a similar vibe? for me it's very about "outcasts in a very surreal scenario with a dash of comedy and strong characterisation"

if so, much appreciated ❤️

I decided to break down you request into "outcasts in situations", "surreal", "comedy", and "strong characters", and recommend some shows that have multiple of these traits. I've roughly listed the traits in order of how prevalent they are.

SCP: Find Us Alive (strong characters, surreal, outcasts in situations, comedy): This show might be the closest thing to Midnight Burger out there, but it's still very different. It's set in the SCP universe, where a covert foundation studies and hides things that break the laws of the universe. The show is set in a Foundation research site that gets transported into a pocket dimension, and focuses on the characters adapting to their weird situation and attempting to escape. It's also in some ways a workplace comedy. You will get more out of this show if you are already familiar with the SCP universe, but since the show is entirely contained within a pocket dimension you don't miss too much.

Wolf 359 (strong characters, outcasts in situations, comedy, surreal): Wolf 359 is an absolute classic audiodrama, a good percentage of modern audiodramas are inspired by it. The main characters are the crew of Hephaestus Station, a deep space outpost looking for signals from alien life. For the first 10 episodes or so it's a comedy, but after that the plot really picks up. Fairly similar vibes to Midnight Burger, though the way the characters are written is very different.

Girl in Space (outcasts in situations, strong characters): A girl has spent her entire life alone on a spaceship orbiting a star. The only people she has ever talked to were her parents and a dysfunctional AI. All she wants to do is do science and rewatch Jurassic Park. Of course, other people have to come along and ruin it. This show is a lot like (and probably inspired by) Wolf 359, in the "set on a remote space station with lots of weird hidden secrets in it" sense.

Midst (surreal, strong characters, outcasts in situations): Midst is hard to describe. It's somewhat similar to Midnight Burger, but only in that both of them are so different from everything else out there. Midst is a surreal space western with very unique worldbuilding, and, in favor of a full voice cast, three narrators who narrate together, like people sitting around a fire telling a story. If you aren't sure about this one, listen to the first 2 minutes of the first episode, it stats off with a bang, literally.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris (outcasts in situations, strong characters): Think the tv show Firefly, but its super queer. That's basically TSCOSI. In a sci-fi setting where the human government is evil, the main characters are a group of smugglers being gay and doing crimes on their ramshackle spaceship. It also has a little bit of comedy, but less than Midnight Burger.

Mission Rejected (comedy, outcasts in situations, strong characters): "This is your mission, should you choose to accept it." What happens when the superspy declines a mission? The backups are called in, of course! A pencil pusher, an intern, a failed actor, and a hacker on work release are brought together to take on the spy missions that superspy Chet Philips declines. This show is a parody of spy tropes, with surprisingly strong character writing for such a silly comedy. Hope you like volcano lairs, silly accents, and villains that refuse to stay dead!

Fall of the House of Sunshine (surreal, comedy, strong characters, outcasts in situations(in the later seasons) ): This show is as surreal as it gets! A terrible noir detective investigates the murder of a kids tv show host via a bullet fired through a rift in space time, and gets sucked into a secret war between a cult of dentists and living puppets. Oh yeah, and its a musical! If you like the sound of that, this show is for you. Every season is an escalation of the previous one. Like Mission Rejected, I care about the characters shockingly much for how thoroughly ridiculous this show is.

If you want some more recommendations, I can find you some more, but these ones are the closest I found. I'll admit that the last couple are a stretch, but I just really like those shows and take every opportunity to recommend them.

[iriscasefiles]

if you don't mind me asking, about how much does it cost to produce a single episode of TSCOSI?

good question, let me check my spreadsheets!

okay, looks like an average episode in season 2 cost around $670. some episodes with fewer characters cost less. some episodes with original commissioned music cost more.

that said, the pricetag on an individual episode for season 3 will definitely go up. i'm finally at a position where i can afford to pay, say, the sound team something closer to what their labor is really worth (thanks, Patreon backers!)

[iffeelscouldkill]

Sign-ups for the TSCOSI season 2 hiatus mini-bang are closing today (at 12pm Central Standard Time), so if you’d like to join in, now is a great time!

(I’m not a mod or anyone involved in the running of the challenge, just an enthusiastic participant :D)

Maybe @tscosi-week​ or @fyeahstarshipiris​ could reblog if they see this in time, to help get the word out? 💖

Sign-ups are open for the TSCOSI minibang 2021!

Are you a writer who'd love to work with other fancreators?

An artist who wants to depict your favs in new and interesting situations?

A reader who wants early access to the going-ons of fandom, and to support your favorite authors?

The TSCOSI minibang is the place for you.

Signs ups are open NOW. Here!

Be sure to read the rules on our account, and if you have questions, asks are open!

Fear for the storm,

Fear for the storm

[aro-oak]

Omg omg omg omg tscosi is explicitly queer in so many ways and they don't use gross kissing noises for the kisses. I'm so excited

[oranglesswrld]

fiction podcasts introduce you to the coolest songs and then they’re only on bandcamp

[cosmicpines]

Sometimes, a crew shows affection by constantly telling each other to go to sleep. And that’s just beautiful.

[swiftwyll]

“Look, you have a lot of questions right now. You can die with answers to none of them, or you can-” 

“Step into the goddamn unknown?”

“And reach for a little understanding.”

[iffeelscouldkill]

Starship Iris, season 1, episode 2:

BRIAN: Why? Oh, because of the whole--Frankenship thing? Trust me, the Rumor looks a lot better from the outside.

Starship Iris, season 1, episode 10:

SEIDERS: That’s the Rumor? Doesn’t look like much from the outside, does it?

...I guess it's relative xD

[pensivespacepirate]

love the vibes for fear for the storm,,,,

[glassfullofsass]

Do you like Tamora Pierce? Do you like horror?

I've convinced Leverage watchers to listen to TSCoSI (and vice versa), now let's see if I can convince my Tortall babes to listen to The Harrowing of Minerva Damson.

Prepare for: Lady knights! Magic! Powerful cat-shaped creatures! Monsters!

Did you read In the Hand of the Goddess and think "but what if it was only the bits where they fight the Tusaines over the River Dell? What if the monsters were here already? What if Roger was only a shape in the mist but still as evil and powerful?" Did you get to Lady Knight and say "Yes, more death. More unkillable creatures. More terror."?

Listen to S1, The Knight of the Unquiet Dead. Trench warfare. Vampires. Sorcerers. Ghouls. A magical cat. Made up magical spells that work by the power of friendship and sheer necessity. A Lady Knight (Minerva) who Is The Authority Here, Thank You, and also is So Tired (TM). Alanna's personality facing Kel's war.

Not quite ready to commit, but horror is your flavor?

Try the first inter-season arc, Chevalier, which features the same setting but different characters. One necromancer, two Lady Knights, three magical horses, four (?) vampires (and some nauseating gore), and healing from your grief by learning to survive. Still a lot of those Alanna and Kel vibes, but also giving Bekka Cooper: gritty, dark, bare-knuckled and bloody. Cat not included.

Missing the cat?

It's back in S2, Black as Knight. It's smug, dangerous, and clever, but so is our returning heroine Minerva. Also my TMA girlies will feel right at home in the cave episodes (Buried babes can I get an amen?). A friendly (and dilf-able) werewolf garwalf, binding terms and conditions, gargoyles tearing the absolute shit out of some soldiers. Again, giving Alanna in her Rides era, but put that attitude in the plot of Rampant. Also giving Kel's willingness to sacrifice just about anything to save people.

Need a different pace?

Inter-season arc 2, Goliad Gabby is all Verlidaine (just Daine) Sarrasri. The plot is literally country bumpkin sharpshooter slays the big bad monster with help from her trusty animal companions. There's even a real rom-com shaped happily-ever-after for this one! (for real though. The gore? a little icky. The Big Romantic Speech? I couldn't make it through.) Gabriella Gabby is just your average Texas Trickshot, until the Order of Joan recruits her personally to put her skills to use. Also reminded of Bekka's grit here too. No isn't really an answer when there's work to be done.

Now, I have read Circle, but I don't have those stories soaked into my bones well enough to pull comparisons out as readily... I will say the very grim and horrific realities of war that Pierce digs her pen into in Melting Stones and Battle Magic are very present throughout the podcast. It's labeled horror for a reason. Check the CWs and take care of yourselves <3

Also, did I mention, the premise of the universe is based on Joan of Arc inspiring a cloister of nuns to become knights and fight monsters?

The production team has more projects in the works, and hopefully the third Minerva season will be released in the next few months (early 2024). They have a website, patreon, instagram, a rather defunct tumblr (@the-joaniverse), and all the usual podcast platforms.

[beecreates]

get a space plant for your botanist girlfriend

[teacup-crow]

there was a guy singing whiskey in the jar in the trad pub the other night and all I could think of was Violet and Arkady

[queenangst]

here we go