#supernatural is an ongoing project

[kitewithfish]

Wednesday Reading Meme for March 29 2023

What I've Read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - Xing Book Club - I adored this - like Tamsyn Muir's Nona the Ninth, this is written from the POV of a character who has the least information about where he is and how he got there, and the novel is largely about him finding out what happened. This is about a haunted house, maybe, from the view point of the living man doing the haunting, or maybe a labyrinth from the view of the minotaur. The atmospheric descriptions of the vast and impossible structure put me in mind of descriptions of hikers talking about walking great swaths of a trail and getting to directly experience their own minds paying attention to minute details of the world around them. I have heard it compared to House of Leaves, which seems somewhat fair - they have both have an epistolary style and a focus on an impossible space - but Piranesi is far gentler. I really, really enjoyed it - read it in a day - and I'm a bit sad I can't sum it up better! The mere plot of the thing doesn't really live up to the experience.

A Gentleman and An Officer by Trudemaethien (Restricted) https://archiveofourown.org/works/46045405 -Star Wars Clone Wars AU bit of military fic, Cody/Rex

The Creche by Blue_Sunshine https://archiveofourown.org/works/36847618 - AU Star Wars fic with a bit of a series. Anakin/Obi-Wan. Anakin goes down to the Jedi Temple's creche for the first time, after being raised mostly by Qui-Gon Jinn, and meets the crechemaster.

the first church of the end of the world by withbloodstainedclothingon https://archiveofourown.org/works/4007173 - Supernatural - Dean and Lisa and Castiel, AU of The End

What I'm Reading True Colors - Karen Traviss - 23% - static - This is a Star Wars "Legends" novel that builds out a lot of the Mandalorian culture by focusing on the military fiction adventures of a subset of clone commandos who were raised and trained by one Mandalorian trainer in particular. There's a bunch of awkward stuff in this particular novel around a pregnancy and some real patriarchal BS, which is why I'm slow with it. But it's good background for my "Clones are Fun, Actually" reading.

A Restless Truth - Freya Marske - 55% - This is a fun fantasy with ship-board mystery and a sapphic romance that is both sweet and quite sexy. The first book in this trilogy was a delight and this is also adorable. I started this about three days ago and I have been blitzing thru.

Too Like The Lightning - Ada Palmer - A re-read bc a couple of my friends are starting it. It's a future mystery with a writing style like a 18th century novel, all breathless and Englightnment that I really enjoy.

Underline the Black by not_poignant https://archiveofourown.org/works/41396784 - Not_Poignant writes some really interesting fannish-feeling original work, and this seems like it's an Omegaverse AU of that - twisty and very hurt/moderate comfort.

On Earth as It Is in Heaven by samyazaz https://archiveofourown.org/works/833193 - Soulmate AU of Vikings - You don't need to know anything other than the first season or a vague sense of how history went down

What I'll Read Next Powers of Horror - Chapter 1 - For the Great Queer Supernatural Re-Watch. This is a nonfiction theory book that is referred to in many of the horror-focused sources that we have previously read. The Gothic A Very Short Introduction - After the last reading we did kind of didn't get into what The Gothic is in literature, I figured that this might be a good little supplemental piece.

The Calculating Stars - Xing Book Club

Mexican Gothic - Discord Book Club - A re-read for me, but I enjoyed the book the first time and I think it will be fun to get into again.

Babel - Looks like it will on the Hugos list eventually, I'm trying to get out ahead of things

Owned and need to read: California Bones, Raven Song by IA Ashcroft, Kraken's Sacrifice by Katee Robert, Even Though I Know the End by CL Polk, At The Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard, Tamryn Eradani's Enchanting Encounters Books 2 and 3, Like Real People Do by EL Massey, Tom Stoppard, invention of love. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty, "You Just Need to Lose Weight" and Other Myths about Fatness by Aubrey Gordon, Alisha Rai Partners in Crime, the Right Swipe, Aphorisms of Kerishdar

Owned and Read/Reading: Frey Marske's A Restless Truth, Susanna Clarke's Pirenesi,True Colors by Karen Traviss

[theladycarpathia]

Hey, guess who finished Nano! Did she do any work on her original fiction? No. Did she write a bunch of Hellcheer/Harringrove/Cherik instead? Uh...

Man, I have too many projects. Have an update of my current WIPs.

Pirate Hellcheer au: Drafting, close to editing. 10 chapters, currently 18,872 words.

Creel House au: Drafting, close to editing. 6 chapters, currently 13,450 words.

Scream au: Plotting/drafting. Six chapters, currently 2,212 words. 

Season 4 au: Drafting, ongoing. BIG project. Currently 11,546 words, not including previously written ficlets.

Magic S2 au: Plotted, drafting. Currently 1,266 words. 

A/B/O au: Plotting. 

Soulmate au: Currently plotting.

Superhero au: Plotted. Probably 3 chapters, low priority.

Supernatural au: Plotting. 

Hawkins academy Hellcheer au: Likely to be a full fic eventually.  Not yet plotted.

Buffy au: Likely to be a full fic, not yet plotted.

Random domestic Cherik fic: ...we’re not gonna talk about this one. This is what I get for watching all the X-men films again. 

[if-whats-new]

What's New In IF? Issue 13 (2024)

By Erika, Marjorie, Axelle, and Noi

Now Available!

Itch.io. - Keep Reading below

Due to Internal things, the June and July issues will only update on events and games. We hope to resume regular activities and include more pages by August. Note: while Axelle is mentioned, they are currently on a break.

~ ENDED ~

Ended just last week was the Bluebeard Jam! 16 pieces inspired by or adapted from the tale of the same name, which you should check out! Website: https://itch.io/jam/bluebeard-jam

~ ONGOING (VOTING) ~

The 17 entries of the ParserComp are ready to be played and judged! Until the end of July, you can cast your votes!

~ ONGOING (SUBMITTING) ~

Like every July, the IFComp has opened once more their website for intent of submission, a required step to submit your game! You have until August 1st for the intent, then August 28th for the game! They are also looking for an artist to design their yearly logo! (paid) And for prizes for entrants (physical or digital)!

Over on the IntFiction Forum, an initiative to get more reviews for games created outside of the major IF competitions has been started: the Review-a-thon. Check out this post by Tabitha for the rules and other information! This is also a sponsored event, aiming to raise funds for one of the Forum members.

Only a few days left to submit your interpretation of Anti-Romance for the Anti-Romance Jam! The deadline is the end of this weekend!

Only two more days to fix a VN and submit an entry to the Fix the Worst Visual Novels (Jam)!

The deadline for the O2A2 Jam is also coming up this weekend! Only 1.000 words and one asset for everything!

Did you submit an intent to the IntroComp? The deadline to submit your prototype is coming up! Don't forget, on July 31st!

For the francophones, the French IF community is organizing a summer-long camp to create parsers. Join the Confiture de Parser if you're interested!

Until the end of July, a chill IF (text-only) game jam is happening on itch, from the Interactive Fiction Club.

Do you understand or write Ukrainian? Until the end of the year, the Ukrainian IF Festival is happening on itch.io!

~ OTHER ~

The Interactive Fiction Showcase is still running! If you have completed an IF piece this year, consider submitting it! It is happening only on itch!

~ NEW RELEASE ~

We haven't noticed any full releases this week, outside of events we mentioned previously! So don't forget to check those entries!

~ NEW RELEASE (WIP) ~

In Dresburg-Hof (CScript) is a fantasy project where you play as a sergeant. @thetruearchmagos

An untitled pirate IF project, where you can vote for the next path to be written has started on Tumblr. @starrumstories

Ichor of the Last Lament (Twine) is a bronze-age inspired fantasy project. @ichorofthelastlament

The Haunting Shadows (Twine) is a supernatural mature project set in 1890s Louisiana. @thehauntingshadows-if

Heavy is the Crown (CScript) is a fantasy royal intrigue project, where you play a prince. @heavyisthecrown-if

Darkness Reborn (CScript) is a fantasy project inspired by Wildermyth.

Ice and Ember (CScript) is a fantasy project build around an arranged marriage trope.

~ GAMES UPDATES ~

Appt 102 (CScript) has had a massive update, with over 100k words added. @apt502-if

Anastasia - ROTTMNT (Twine) added Chapter 3 to the ongoing demo. @chaoticspeedrun

The Spirited: Origins (Twine) just released the re-written Chapter 1. @yuveim

Pillars of the Light (CScript) has completed Chapter 1 of the demo. @nothingherebutthefog

Two Moons (Twine) has completed its first chapter. @twomoons-if

Alpha, Beta, Omega (Twine) has had a short demo update. @dam-peace

Link Rot (Custom) added a new transmission to the project. @qrowscant-art

Eldritch Tale (CScript)'s demo now includes parts of Chapter 2. @darielivalyen

Broken Fables (CScript)'s demo now includes the first part of Chapter 3.

Heroes and Heretics (CScript) reworked its prologue and doubled the wordcount.

Wake to weep (CScript)'s demo has been updated with extra content.

Scale of Justice (CScript) has been accepted for publication, the demo only having Ch1-5. @myimaginedcorner

Eschaton: The Rebirth (CScript)'s demo now includes the full Chapter 2.

Prismatic (CScript) updated the demo with new content.

The Devil's Privilege (CScript) completed its first two chapters.

~ OTHER ~

If you are interested in critical looks into older IF games, you should read this article about Joe Mason's In the End. @golmac

Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder (Ren’Py) is looking for playtester for their expanded editions. @the-remainder

The Kickstarter for My Dear Love (VN) has just been launched! @h9o6

The Lonely Shores (CScript) is looking for beta-testers. @thelonelyshore-if

The third part of the Trinity-focused episodes on the Gold Machine podcast was released.

Seven's Deadly (Twine) as opened a call for VA for a podcast based on the game. @cova111 @sevensdeadly-if

Our Life (Ren’Py) is looking for guest artists. This is a paid commission. @gb-patch

We apologize if we missed an update or a release. We are but volunteers trying to find as much info as possible, but sometimes news pass through the cracks.

Please, let us know if something should have been added to the zine, and we will shout it out next week!

ERIKA, MARJORIE, AXELLE, AND NOI

WHAT'S NEW IN IF? 2024-ISSUE 13

[wellofdean]

So in my ongoing efforts to say nice things about Supernatural and, as @luckshiptoshore said yesterday, "reclaim this nice, gay show" together, and also probably because I listened to Bruce Springsteen earlier today while I was thinking: why is it that this particular love story has me like it does? Why can't I let this Destiel thing go? I mean... I watched all the recent queer love stories and as much as I enjoyed Good Omens and OFMD, they just don't take up real estate in my soul like Supernatural does -- and that's not a decision I made, it just is. I don't know about you guys, but my little rages choose me.

Anyway, I was thinking -- it's probably not just because of queer representation or whatever, and I don't think it's because I want to see dudes be tender -- I think I ran out of that form of interest in the life of dudes awhile ago, but yeah, Bruce Springsteen. Born to Run. He says "I want to know love is wild, I want to know love is real" and I felt like it pretty much hit the nail on the head for me, somehow.

It's been a long time since I have felt moved by a het romance story. I feel like I can no longer believe it when the roles are so pre-packaged in the tropes and trappings of what was sold to me as idealised love in my younger days. And, like, I am Gen X, so it was pretty gruesome out there when I was learning how to want love -- the power of compulsory heterosexuality was strong, and the shit that was sold to us all as ways to love and be loved were pretty gross, just watch any romantic comedy from the 80's or 90's.

I think I love Supernatural so much because of the way Dean plays the role of a standard issue dude, and postures like he is a stereotypical red-blooded American dude, but it's so transparent that it isn't him. I don't know if it's just Jensen things, or if it was consciously done, but I love how unconvincing Dean's act is, and how clear it is that he is a wounded child whose own real desires and needs have been beaten out of him somehow, and I just love the way the real Dean and what that guy wants slow rises out of him as the story goes on, until he's choking on it, and visibly swallowing it down. For me, the queerest thing about Dean is his pain, his aching loneliness, and his sense of failure at being what he thinks he is -- a violent man who only knows how to kill, and I love Dean's moments of clarity, moments when he speaks from his own soul -- when he tells Cas he's sorry, tells John he has a family, tells Chuck "that's not who I am" are just everything to me.

Both Dean and Cas are victims of conditioning and coersion -- Dean trying to be his Daddy's perfect son, and being manipulated by Chuck, and Cas horribly violated and brainwashed repeatedly for millennia in heaven -- and they love each other in defiance of conditioning, because love is wild, and it's the product of their freedom.

I feel like ALL actual love eschews force and arises out of freedom. All real love is specific and weird, and is co-created in the space between lovers from what is most real in them and in that sense, all real love is queer in some way in that it is not part of the big social project of subjugating what doesn't comply. I feel like a lot of people lead lives of mindless compliance and that a thing that's wonderful about queer people and queer community is that we work against the grain to honor what is truest in us, whatever that is.

I guess I just love that, on Supernatural, the kind of love that saves the day is the kind that grows wild, like a weed you can't kill, out of more than a decade of choosing each other, again and again, and choosing to fight coercion and conditioning. Love that just fucking refuses to comply, and in fact, cannot comply, because non-compliance is it's very nature. There's something so hopeful and beautiful about that to me. I want to believe in it, and I do.

It's also why, after ALL THIS, in the context of that narrative, Dean is incontrovertibly queered, and anything else is just straight up narrative malpractice.

[leounderthemoon]

A rant and theory

It’s really long, but I think I make some valid points.

Supernatural was on for 15 years. There have been interactions with the cast, some crew, some producers, directors, writers, etc. due to the ongoing conventions and the existence of social media. Writers will talk about changes to scripts, actors will talk about filming, directors will talk about why they chose a certain angle.

Given that most of the fans/stans do not personally know any of the people involved or personally know anything about the things that are/aren’t going on, it’s weird the way some fans/stans speak so confidently about what happened with SPN behind-the-scenes, production, writing, casting, you name it! 

Especially when it comes to PrequelGate. People will state with their whole chest, that their version of events is absolutely correct. One J is an asshole, and one J is an innocent baby. Which J is which depends on who is talking. It can be either or both. The only thing that all fans who have theories have in common is that there is a definite good guy and a bad guy.

But the Js are still friends. They say they got over it and forgave. Since no one has given any details, I thought I’d join the bandwagon and come up with a theory of my own. One where there is no good guy/bad guy. So here goes.

I fully believe that the story of The Winchesters was not meant to be an AU. It was supposed to take place between 15.19 and 15.20, with Dean and Sam finding out about their parents.  They had to switch it to the AU version because of the leak, a new timetable, and the fact that Jared was no longer available. There is also a recent podcast (I don't have a link) where a writer from The Winchesters said that Robbie Thompson, the writer and show runner for The Winchesters, kind of knew that they were only going to get 1 season because of all the mergers/sales of the networks and studios.

Robbie Thompson said in an interview (https://tvline.com/news/the-winchesters-recap-season-1-finale-dean-heaven-multiverse-jensen-ackles-1234942742/)  “There was the spot that takes place in between Episodes 19 and 20, when what happens to Dean happens to Dean… So there was an opportunity to tell stories there, but that just didn’t work for me because we wouldn’t have access to Sam in that way, in a way that we could easily explain or at least emotionally explain, and that just didn’t feel like it was a story that certainly I wanted to tell and none of us did.” (Underlining mine) They wouldn’t have access to Sam because Jared could not be involved. Not because no one wanted him, but because he just couldn’t.

The reason I believe this is because of the following.

It starts with Virtual Con (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADYwrZ787a0) held in March 2021. In the video, the question about Chaos Machine projects starts at around 23 minutes. Watch Jared’s face throughout Jensen’s whole answer. He’s nodding along, looking at his screen, and not even showing the slightest surprise in what Jensen is saying. He doesn’t because he already knows. To me, that is the face of someone who already knows what the other person is talking about. Jared already knows which projects Jensen is working on. He knows which alum he is talking about. So he just sits there and lets Jensen answer.  His quip at the end that he will also be acting in it is just that, a quip for the fans.  Because (supposedly) he is bound by a 5-year contract to CBS. He can not legally get involved in Jensen’s project with WB. He can acknowledge that he knows about it, but he has to show that he is absolutely not involved. 

Next is the announcement of The Winchesters in June 2021 by Deadline. There were tweets by Jared that said he was upset that he didn’t know about it and that he wasn’t involved. There was also a tweet directed at Robbie Thompson calling him a back stabber that was later deleted. And, silence from Jensen, because he was unable to come online and address anything because he was on set in Canada. 

Things were set in motion that were not meant to be put in motion for a while. I don’t think Chaos Machine was ready to start casting/filming yet. I think Jensen and Jared were trying to make it work with CBS so that Jared could be involved in the prequel. But those talks weren’t finished, or possibly even started yet. But the leak by Deadline, the WB/Discovery merger, and Mark Pedowitz leaving, combined to put pressure to do the show sooner, while Pedowitz was still in charge. If they waited, then nothing might come of Chaos Machine’s deal with WB once the new owners came in. Maybe they were waiting for Jensen to finish shooting The Boys to get together and talk about all this, but they still hadn't.

And this is what Jared was upset about. He thought there was time before the show would start, so was surprised that it was announced without him knowing. It also explains why he thought Robbie Thompson back-stabbed him. Because he was going to be a part of this show, and now he couldn’t. He couldn’t even say he had been part of the development from the beginning because it would be against his contract with CBS. He can’t even say wants to be a part of it now, because again, it would be against his contract with CBS. He’s upset, because he hasn’t had any communication from Jensen about this going through, and Jensen was also unreachable. So he vented online a little.

Once this narrative that Jared was never involved, and would not appear in it, spread, all of them had to run with it. Jensen apologized for not telling Jared. He said he was superstitious. He wanted to tell Jared, but he didn’t have his phone. That he was on set. That Jared couldn’t participate because he was busy. Etc. etc.

But, when Jared spoke with Jensen, and was (possibly) made aware that the news came out because it was leaked, and that they didn’t have time to clue Jared in, and (possibly) they were thinking of doing the show sooner because of WB, Pedowitz, Zaslav, etc., and that they were still in a holding phase, Jared forgave Jensen.

All of the above explains the inconsistencies and “lies” and “tantrums” and finally the forgiveness, and moving on. 

I choose to believe that neither Jared nor Jensen are entitled assholes. They do not owe the fans any BTS details.

I’m sure people can tear this apart, but their theories don’t hold up either. 

[fuckyeahaudiodrama]

🪸 JULY LISTENS 🪸

(ft. some lovely coral for those of us caught up on The Magnus Protocol😌)

this month, i’ve been working through some of the stuff that’s been languishing on my listen list for approximately a million years as well as revisiting some old favorites. here’s what i enjoyed most in my earholes:

G.O.B.L.I.N.S — (pilot, crowdfunding now!) for fans of Stellar Firma, the Meredith brothers have reunited with some other familiar voices to spin a story about an overly ambitious human office worker who gets dragged through the veil into the fae realm by a pair of chaotic goblins. the show is scripted but it’s marked by the same sense of humor that has characterized the Meredith’s other improvised works. 8 episodes projected if it funds.

Larkspur Underground — (11 eps, complete?) a fictional exposé about the sole survivor of a serial killer’s disturbing abduction and grooming. i was giddy to discover this one as an ardent fan of Showtime’s Dexter. it’s gory and glorious, and if you’re keen you might spot some clues; if not, the final episode is going to shock you. creator wants to make more, but it’s been a few years so who knows.

I Found A Wormhole — (5 eps, complete) a short yet existentially harrowing series. exactly what it says on the tin. mind the content warnings on the final episode but by the time you get there you’ll definitely know what’s coming tbh.

The Grotto — (10 eps, ongoing) a pull-no-punches exploration of messy grief with a supernatural twist. season two is here! this series has an absolutely killer soundtrack and immersive sound design. it has such a unique vibe. you’ll definitely like it if you like WOE.BEGONE.

Dear Bastard! — (16 eps, complete?) an epistolary comedy about a bunch of squabbling neighbors. i like to use this show as a palate cleanser when i’ve been listening to a lot of gruesome horror, because it’s just so light and fun.

Deviant — (10 eps, complete) a space pirate dramedy! i stumbled across this purely by accident and did a little binge. i love an absolute mess of a protagonist, so this was right up my alley. it’s a little abrasive at times but overall i enjoyed the narrative and it wrapped up nicely.

Murphy — (6 eps, s2 in production) a folkloric monster-of-the-week mystery with very charming characters. the first season is complete and although it is short, the episodes are long and make great use of their runtime. pleased to see their recent crowdfunder has been successful so there will be more!

Ghost Wax — (45+ eps, hiatus) a horror anthology facilitated by a “reclaimer” who can extract the final statements of the dead. this is similar to How i Died but the lore feels much more fantastically intricate. i don’t want to spoil too much of the meta plot but there’s a LOT going on, and i’m looking forward to s2.

Fulmar’s Folly — (12 eps, ongoing?) people on reddit love this series so i decided to give it a spin. fans of zombie survival like We’re Alive are most likely to eat this up. it can be a little overwrought at times, but the constant tension feels genuine in context. episodes are quite long but the length feels satisfying and necessary.

Nowhere, On Air — (46 eps, ongoing) another spooky small town radio show about a girl in a world she doesn’t belong to. this is one of my favorite genres of AD. fans of WTNV, King Falls AM, Tiny Terrors, and other shows of that ilk will probably enjoy this. it leans a little more surreal and introspective than comedic. IMHO, the host also just has a lovely voice. the meta plot is currently really hitting its stride.

All In My Head — (19 eps, ???) night terrors turn out to be something much more sinister. so intriguing, i was devastated to realize it may have been abandoned. i’m not going to completely give up hope for a final season though!

Zoinks! — (11 eps, complete?) a darkly comedic homage to scooby doo and other childrens detective fiction. i loved the way the narrative approached the subject of child neglect, while still maintaining a thread of silliness that saved it from complete bleakness. s2 has been mentioned but it’s projected release date has come and gone without a word, so it may or may not happen.

Trice Forgotten — (10 eps, ???) an aspiring cartographer gets accidentally mixed up with some pirates. i relistened to this series in honor of its anniversary and was just blown away by the sound design all over again. the setting is made so rich and alive by the effort put in by the production staff! and the character dynamics are so intricate and gorgeous. i am especially a fan of the tension between alestes and gammon. beautiful first season with SO much left to explore, i really hope to see this come back for a s2 someday.

[ghostflowerdreams]

Audio Drama Recommendations, Pt. II

For part one, click here. I went on another audio drama binge and I found some that were pretty fun to listen to. I usually tend to go after the ones that are completed because the longer the wait, the more likely I will forget the details, but this time I just went for anything that caught my attention. This also isn’t in any particular order.

The Magnus Archives – is a horror fiction anthology podcast written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall, and distributed by Rusty Quill.

The new Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, Jonathan Sims, attempts to bring a seemingly neglected collection of people’s testimonials of their encounters with the supernatural up to date, converting them to audio and supplementing them with follow-up work from his small but dedicated team. [COMPLETED]

It has five seasons, each 40 episodes long, as well as additional content such as Q&As, non-canon fan-submitted statements and one-off episodes that tie in with Rusty Quill's other podcasts.

It does start out slow and maybe at some point you’ll be wondering where is this going and what does some of these episodes have to do with the overall story, but it does all eventually connect. Your patience will pay off because once the build-up is done it picks up and things get really interesting!

Unwell – is a horror podcast starring Clarisa Cherie Rios and produced by Hartlife NFP.

The story follows Lillian Harper who has returned home to Mt. Absalom, Ohio to care for her estranged mother Dorothy after an injury. Living in the town's boarding house which has been run by her family for generations, she discovers conspiracies, ghosts, and a new family in the house's strange assortment of residents. [ONGOING]

This audio drama has five seasons which runs for 12 episodes. It currently has 54 episodes in total and each one is about 20-30 minutes long. New episodes are released fortnightly (biweekly) on Wednesdays. They take a mid-season break between episodes 6 and 7.

Bridgewater – is a supernatural thriller audio drama produced by Grim & Mild and by iHeartRadio, created by Aaron Mahnke and written/directed by Lauren Shippen.

Folklore professor Jeremy Bradshaw is pulled into the mysterious 1980 disappearance of his police officer father, Thomas, by new evidence that threatens to upend decades of certainty. Along the way, he’s helped by some unlikely partners who challenge everything he believes in, and ultimately tries to answer the question: can the past actually be rewritten?

Together with his father’s former partner, retired Detective Anne Becker, Jeremy must chase the clues that will tell him whether his father really did fall victim to a Satanic cult in the Bridgewater Triangle—or something much more dark and unexplainable. [ONGOING]

It has two seasons, the first consist of 10 episodes and the second has 12 episodes. Each one runs about 20-30 minutes long. Season three was put on hold when there was news of a possible television series. However, that fell through and by then everyone was working on other projects. So a season three, well, that’s pretty much up in the air.

It stars Misha Collins (Supernatural), Melissa Ponzio (Teen Wolf), Nathan Fillion (Firefly, The Rookie), Karan Soni (Deadpool), Kristin Bauer (True Blood), Hilarie Burton Morgan (The Walking Dead, One Tree Hill), Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Jonathan Joss (The Magnificent Seven, Parks and Rec) and Lori Alan (Spongebob Squarepants, Family Guy).

The Lovecraft Investigations -- is a mystery thriller/horror fiction podcast written and directed by Julian Simpson, based on several works of H.P. Lovecraft. It’s produced by Sweet Talk Productions for BBC Radio 4. It concluded with three seasons and each episode is about 25-30 minutes long. There might be a fourth season in the works, but even if there isn’t the series is considered to be finished.

The first season starts off with an investigation into the disappearance of a young man, Charles Dexter Ward from a locked room in an asylum. [COMPLETED]

It stars Barnaby Kay (Shakespeare in Love), Jana Carpenter (Doctor Who), Nicola Walker (MI-5, Unforgotten), Mark Bazeley (The Queen, The Bourne Ultimatum), Phoebe Fox (Eye in the Sky, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death), Steven Mackintosh (Rang De Basanti, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Samuel Barnett (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Penny Dreadful), Alun Armstrong (Sleepy Hollow, The Mummy Returns), Adam Godley (The Great, The Umbrella Academy), and so on.

Midnight Burger – is a monthly sci-fi audio drama about a diner at the end – and somehow the beginning – of the universe.

When Gloria took a waitressing job at Midnight Burger outside of Phoenix, she didn’t realize she was now an employee of a time-traveling, dimension-spanning diner. Every day Midnight Burger appears somewhere new in the cosmos along with its staff: a galactic drifter, a rogue theoretical physicist, a sentient old-timey radio, and some guy named Caspar.

No one knows who built Midnight Burger or how it works, but when it appears there's always someone around who could really use a cup of coffee. Come by any time, we open at six. [ONGOING]

The audio drama currently has three seasons and each episodes averages about 30 minutes to an hour or so.

Rex Rivetter: Private Eye – is a 1950s-style noir detective audio drama written by Greg McAfee, directed by Rhiannon McAfee, and produced in San Diego, CA by Downstairs Entertainment with editing and sound design by Steve Murdock. The Rex Rivetter theme “Nightmare” by the Artie Shaw Orchestra is used with permission of Music Sales Corp.

The year is 1955. Tinsel town. The land of make-believe. It's a time of growth in American prosperity. Especially in Los Angeles. Here, dreams are bought and sold.

But there's a seedier side to the City of Angels, the shadows where pimps and narcotics pushers live, where organized crime stands just around every corner with one hand out, and the other wrapped around a roscoe. It's a city full of fancy dames and slick cons, where bookies know the vig, so you better, too.

Some folks call it noir or pulp fiction. But for a private eye named Rex Rivetter, it's home. [ONGOING]

It has four seasons and each one runs about 20-30 minutes long. Due to the pandemic, it is still unknown if season five will ever come out and so far there hasn’t been any news about it either.

Mansfield Mysteries – is a satirical, cozy murder whodunit written by Amy Henson, directed by Nicholas Hoyt and produced by The QuaranTeam.

It follows the inquisitive, martini-loving socialite Dorinda Mansfield and is set in quiet, affluent Berkshire Bay. So far it only has one season, which contains nine hilarious episodes, each three-chapter story finds Dorinda wrapped up in a new murder. With the help of her devoted daughter, Stacey—as well as the occasional frenemy—Dorinda digs for clues, navigates Berkshire Bay’s elite social circles, and sifts through years’ worth of grudges and motives. In this company town, no one can be trusted, and everyone has something to hide.

Whether at the Labor Day Extravaganza, the Halloween Tennis Club Open, or secret karaoke night, Dorinda sets out to find the real killer before they get away with murder… Just as soon as she orders her martini! [COMPLETED]

If you’re looking for a bite-sized audio drama, this might be for you. It has three seasons (or chapters) and each one only takes three episodes to complete its tales, which is fun, amusing and will keep you entertained while you’re working on something or resting your eyes.

The Call of the Void – is an indie science fiction mystery audio drama created and written by Josie Eli Herman and Michael Alan Herman. It’s produced by Acorn Arts & Entertainment. It contains three seasons of 28 episodes and each one is about 25-30 minutes long with a cast of about 35 actors.

In the bustling streets of New Orleans, a tour guide and a palm-reading outcast team up to unravel the mystery behind cases of sudden insanity besetting the city. [COMPLETED]

Wolf 359 – is a science fiction audio drama created by Gabriel Urbina and produced by Gabriel Urbina and Zach Valenti under Kinda Evil Genius Productions. It consists of four seasons with 61 episodes in total and each one is about 25-40 minutes long.

It is set on board the U.S.S. Hephaestus space station orbiting the star Wolf 359 on a deep space survey mission. The dysfunctional crew deals with daily life-or-death emergencies, while searching for signs of alien life and discovering there might be more to their mission than they thought. [COMPLETED]

[youngersiblingstournament]

Younger Siblings Tournament Bracket Reveal

A few things I want to mention before I reveal the bracket (and make the post really long because all the matchups will be listed in text):

Seeding of fictional characters in tumblr polls is inherently subjective. I did try to make it so that more popular characters/media would (most likely) face off against each other in later rounds, but I may be overestimating or underestimating the popularity of some characters/media, especially ones I'm not familiar with. There are some round 1 matchups that are probably a closer match but none of them are between the strongest candidates... I think.

The more niche characters will probably get obliterated in the first round as per Squimbus' Law. This is a tumblr poll and I do fully expect more popular characters to sweep, but that doesn't mean you can't encourage your friends to give your niche faves a fighting chance.

Also there are some matchups I literally just thought would be funny. Please don't take this too seriously.

I'm sorry BNHA fans.

(Preliminary Patch Notes 3/14: Swapped brackets 2 and 3, and brackets 19 and 21.)

[Image description: A 64-person tournament bracket labeled "younger siblings tournament" with a smiley face. The top-left quarter is labeled "quarter A" and color-coded red, the bottom-left quarter is labeled "quarter B" and color-coded green, the top-right quarter is labeled "quarter C" and color-coded purple, and the bottom-right quarter is labeled "quarter D" and color-coded gold. The starting brackets are labeled 1-32 and are as listed below. End ID]

Quarter A:

Ritsu Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100) vs. Ame (Wolf Children)

Malo (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess) vs. Cat Valentine (Victorious)

Danny Fenton (Danny Phantom) vs. Fern (Adventure Time)

Skeletor (Masters of the Universe) vs. Shuri (Marvel)

Ryotaro Nogami (Kamen Rider Den-O) vs. Princess Luna (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

Lilo Pelekai (Lilo & Stitch) vs. Sir Agravain (Arthurian Legend)

Dewey Wilkerson (Malcolm in the Middle) vs. Siobhan "Shiv" Roy (Succession)

Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto) vs. Razputin Aquato (Psychonauts)

Quarter B:

(9) Maya Fey (Ace Attorney) vs. Louie Duck (DuckTales)

(10) Falin Touden (Dungeon Meshi) vs. Saburo Yamada (Hypnosis Mic)

(11) Noelle Holiday (Deltarune) vs. Krel Tarron (Tales of Arcadia)

(12) Melinoë (Hades) vs. Han Yoohyun (The S-Classes That I Raised)

(13) Abel (The Bible) vs. Hiro Hamada (Big Hero 6)

(14) Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons) vs. Greg (Over the Garden Wall)

(15) Dante (Devil May Cry) vs. Alisaie Leveilleur (Final Fantasy XIV)

(16) Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia) vs. Kofuku (Real Life)

Quarter C:

(17) Luigi (Super Mario) vs. Genji Shimada (Overwatch)

(18) Yukio Okumura (Blue Exorcist) vs. Saki Tenma (Project Sekai)

(19) Fleabag (Fleabag) vs. Emerald Haywood (Nope)

(20) Sam Winchester (Supernatural) vs. Jiang Cheng (The Untamed)

(21) Nico Di Angelo (Percy Jackson) vs. Gaz Membrane (Invader Zim)

(22) Manny Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) vs. Jimmy "Saul Goodman" McGill (Better Call Saul)

(23) Sunny Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events) vs. Sunny (Omori)

(24) Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs. Mugman (Cuphead)

Quarter D:

(25) Michelangelo Hamato (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs. The Knight (Hollow Knight)

(26) Vash the Stampede (Trigun) vs. Ruby Rose (RWBY)

(27) Sensei Wu (Lego Ninjago) vs. King Clawthorne (The Owl House)

(28) Dawn Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs. Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

(29) Jinx (Arcane) vs. Caduceus Clay (Critical Role)

(30) Damian Wayne (DC) vs. Alluka Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

(31) Hop (Pokémon Sword and Shield) vs. Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto)

(32) Rhyme Bito (The World Ends With You) vs. Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Round 1 is ongoing! Matchups are linked (or if you prefer to scroll through the matchup posts, go to the "younger siblings tournament" tag on my blog)

[qsmpficsarchive]

CHAPTER UPDATE!!!!!

Breaking Dawn by Anonymous-Dentist

Ongoing | M | 95,404

Modern With Magic | Werewolves | Sharing a Bed

Cellbit is a monster hunter.

That is to say: he is a conspiracy theorist trying to prove the existence of the supernatural. His current project is as such: werewolves. Werewolves are in the woods, and nobody cares except for him... and except for this one guy he met at his book club one week.

Turns out this Roier guy knows a lot about the supernatural, too. He says that he's a werewolf expert, and who is Cellbit to look a gift wolf in the mouth?

Or: Anti-Twilight werewolf romcom starring an ex-convict and a guy who definitely isn't a furry.

[ashes-in-a-jar]

In my head, you’re a Magnus Archives blog. I mean, I know you obviously listen to other things, but In my mind it’s things like Welcome to Nightvale, Malevolent, Hello from the Hallowoods, The Sheridan Tapes, things like that, horror and supernatural.

So I had to do a double-take when I saw a Dungeons and Daddies post from you, I really didn’t know you listened to it. Then I see you reblog a Fawx and Stallion post, and now I’m just wondering how many podcasts you’ve listened to that I’ve also listened to.

Hahaha yes this blog has been mainly for tma stuff for years now, I still feel like I'm new to the fandom but honestly I've been here through a lot of it since the beginning of season 5

Buuuuut in the past few months I've stopped going into the tma tag regularly and been feeling a little detached from it, at least as opposed to before. My listen to tmagp has been way less interactive and I hardly reblog content anymore (which is something I like doing but because of various bad experiences on the internet recently I have yet to recover from I feel safer posting my own original posts rather than reblogging)

And that freed up a space in my mind to realize I've actually been listening to a lot of podcasts besides tma and it's honestly a shame not to talk about them more with others

I do listen to a lot of horror fantasy supernatural and science fiction podcasts! I also love a lot of dnd and ttrpg podcasts, I also love everything dropout and wish I could get into critical role but it's so big I don't think I'll manage it

I put under the cut a (quite long) list of the podcasts I have listened to and/or have notifications turned on

Anyone following me, you're welcome to send me an ask about one of them if you like them as well or want to hear about them!

I also put a list of podcasts on my to listen to list. Feel free to drop a recommendation for which them to listen to first!

-------------

Podcasts I'm caught up on (the lists are long so it's alphabetical without "the")

Ongoing podcasts

The Amelia project

Ask your father

A voice from darkness

Black box

Brimstone valley mall

Camlann

The cellar letters

Death by dying

Derelict

Eeler's choice

Ethics town

Fawx and stallion

Hello from the Hallowoods

The hundred handed

Levian

Lost terminal

The Magnus protocol

Malevolent

Midnight burger

The mistholme museum of mystery morbidity and mortality

Neon inkwell

New years day

Not quite dead

Old gods of Appalachia

The penumbra podcast

The program

Red valley

The Sheridan Tapes

The silt verses

The sound museum

Super suits

Tell no tales

Tiny terrors

Traveling light

Unseen

The vesta clinic

Victoriocity

The white vault

Completed podcasts

Absolutely no adventures

Archive 81

Borrasca

The bright sessions

Camp here and there

Descendants

Give me away

I am in eskew

Monstrous agonies

Parkdale haunt

The Magnus archives

Re: dracula

The secret of st kilda

Spirit box radio

Steal the stars

Time:bombs

We know none

Wolf 359

Wooden overcoats

Ttrpgs

The adventure zone

Campaign skyjacks

Chapter and multiverse

Dark dice

Dice shame

Dimension 20 (not a podcast but I listen to it like one)

Dungeons and daddies

Not another d&d podcast

Rusty Quill gaming

Worlds beyond number

Podcast on my listen next list:

The Alexandria archives

Alice isn't dead

Ars paradoxica

Believer

The Black tapes

Blackwood

The box

The bridge

Carrier

Counterbalance

The cryptid keeper

Darkest night

The darkroom

The dark tome

The deca tapes

The deep vault

Dreamboy (this one is nsfw so it makes me nervous lol)

Duggan Hill

The earth collective

Either

The far meridian

The fountain road files

The glass canon

Jar of rebuke

Kings fall am (I started but heard not great things about it)

Knifepoint horror

Kollok 1991

Less is morgue

The leviathan chronicles

Liberty

Limetown

The lost cat

Mabel

Maeltopia

Marscorp

Mirrors

Mockery manor

Next stop

The no sleep podcast

The orphans

The Orpheus protocol

Out of place

Paired

Palimpsest

The phone booth

Point mystic

Pseudopod

Rabbits

The right left game

Shadows at the door

Spines

Stellar firma

The storage papers

Stories from among the stars

Super ordinary

Superstition

Tanis

Tides

Unwell

Vast horizon

Victoria's lift

Video palace

Welcome to night Vale (I listen to this one very sporadically lol)

We're alive

Within the wires

Woe begone (I started but got stuck on episode 20ish but want to continue)

Wrong station

Ttrpgs

BomBARDded

Critical role (it's sooo long tho)

Dames and dragons

Dragon friends

Join the party

The lucky die

Queens of adventure

Realms of pearl and glory

Rude tales of magic

Skyjacks courier call

Three black halflings

[onebizarrekai]

❓ FAQ ◇ 🎨 Art Tag ◇ ✏️ AO3

recurring fandoms ::: mcyt ◇ legend of zelda ◇ danganronpa ◇ …others WORKS ::: isaac beamer versus the supernatural ◇ kagehara cinematic universe inactive works ::: dreamswap ◇ greyscale ◇ dintis discontinued works ::: meme waker ◇ driftverse

Details:

🌟 Isaac Beamer Versus the Supernatural - Written work

A plot-heavy comedy. With a large cast of characters, IBVS is a mostly-original work that evolved from an idea for an Undertale Multiverse story conceptualized back in 2016. It centers around the unusual activity that occurs in the fictional city of Foxfield, California. Edward Quinton, the 'school king' of Foxfield High who secretly harbors mysterious powers, discovers a social outcast with his same supernatural predicament: the titular character, Isaac Beamer. Edward, motivated to form a secret club of others like them, goes down a path that changes their lives for the better or worse. The two of them make friends along the way… and enemies. Curiosity just may lead them straight to hell itself. Last updated June 8th 2024.

🔪 Kagehara Cinematic Universe - Written works, mostly

An incredibly niche fic series where I rip apart everyone’s derogatory favorite Danganronpa V3-inspired fan character, featuring lucid dreams, existential crises, depression and kissing your idiot hot inner demon. The character list has increased significantly since it started, featuring counterparts for other V3 characters as well. Last updated August 2022.

🗡 Dreamswap - Open Setting, No Ongoing Story

An ‘AU’ based on the UTMV outcodes. It originally got its name from being centered around Dream and Nightmare switching roles. Other other characters have also technically switched roles, but at this point, the swap thing is basically obsolete due to the convoluted nature of the lore. A comedy-heavy setting despite its themes. This was being adapted into a separate story called Fatal Flaws.

❤️  Greyscale - Comic (Stopped)

An Undertale comic about two humans with drastically different ideas on how problems should be solved who end up in the Underground at the same time and have to work together to make their way through it. Went on hiatus in 2019. Any comebacks would be a complete rework.

🌙 Darkness Is Nicer Than It Seems - No Ongoing Story

Forced into the role of a hero, Dark has been at odds with his power-hungry childhood companion Jet for a long time, but he decides that continuing to fight him is not worth it anymore. A Dreamtale alternate timeline. Its tag is #dintis.

❌  Meme Waker (Discontinued) - Comic

A parody of Zelda: Wind Waker featuring various Underverse characters as characters from the original game. Please note that the link may not work on mobile due to being set to a chronological tag. The last comic strip was in 2018.

🌓 Driftverse (Also Discontinued) - Comic

An interactive story dedicated to Nightmare and Dream, except they were combined into one person and they had no idea how. A post was released explaining the remainder of the story. The last comic strip was in 2019.

If you’re looking for some of my old works that are not on Ao3, feel free to check out the #fics tag. If you want anything older than what you can find in that tag, you'll have to dig for them yourself.

There are other projects that I don’t talk much about online, if you can call them that. I may as well note that when I say private projects, I really just mean characters and stories that I brainstorm them occasionally and I don’t actively work on. If you see something not listed here, it’s probably one of those.

[beanzwrites]

୨⎯ "𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭" ⎯୧

✎ Made: March 17th, 2024

🎙️Hello, I'm Beanz! I'm a writer with a busy brain! I daydream a lot, and I'll most likely write those daydreams into stories! All my fanfictions on this page are gender-neutral unless stated otherwise!

If you also like fanfiction unrelated to x reader, please consider checking out my other works on here too! I also post about my ocs and projects I'm working on! I'm hoping to start being more consistent, so stay tuned! 📻

🎷Also, I have a community server, where anyone and everyone can show off their works! Whether you are a writer, artist, or have any other creative hobbies, we welcome you to join!

Join server: Here!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

〣Upcoming Pieces〣

The Stag and The Heron (Human! Alastor x Reader): Chapter Two

TeyU (A Genshin College Au)

〣Ongoing Pieces〣

The Stag and The Heron (Human! Alastor x Reader):

(Y/n), forced to be confined by societal standards, wishes for someone to understand them. Everywhere they look, it seems as though the people they once knew have abandoned them. It's not until they are introduced to a well-known radio host that they realize their true potential.

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What I like:

⤷Supernatural

⤷Genshin Impact

⤷Resident Evil

⤷Creepypasta

⤷Hazbin Hotel

⤷Baldur's Gate 3

Here's what I can do:

⤷Fluff & Angst

⤷Platonic & Romance

⤷Child Reader/Teen Reader

⤷Gender Neutral Reader/Female Reader

⤷Head cannons & Blurbs

Requests are open!(0/3)✅

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〣Genshin Masterlist〣

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

〣Supernatural Masterlist〣

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❛Miscellaneous Oneshots❜

Chris McLean x Reader

“Get over yourself, McLean” - Chris McLean x reader: You and Chris used to be a thing, and despite the hurt he caused you; work is work. You aren't going to hide away just because of him.

Chris being a man baby head cannons

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

“Nice to meet you, Thomas” - Leatherface x Female! Reader: An AU where the Hewitt's are a normal family working in their worn down-town for a living. The reader's family moves in next store, wanting a new life for themselves and be friendly with the neighbors.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

Present Silence - Clockwork x Reader: Clockwork visits an old friend and is reminded of her past.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

The Comfort of a Partner - Leon Kennedy (Infinite Darkness) x Reader: Leon's partner subtly comforts him in the only way they know how.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

Humble Til Death - Ascended Astarion x Vampire! Reader: The war between vampires and humans has begun, and every duke and spawn a like look to the Vampire Ascendant to help in battle. As they discuss what needs to be transpired, a stranger outcasted by both sides joins the discussion with a humble approach, which catches Lord Ancunin's attention.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

Party For One - Vox x Idol! Reader: (Y/n) was once an overlord, dominating the music industry with their talent and the souls they captured along the way. Then Vox came into their life and stole their heart with his big dreams. Everything was great for the lovers at first, then Vox wanted to team up with other overlords for more power. Vox became obsessed over his work, and with also looking out for the other Vee's, (Y/n) begins to realize that maybe they were never part of Vox's plans. They decide that it is time to start again and leave Vox behind.

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❛Miscellaneous Series❜

The Stag & The Heron: Human! Alastor x Reader

Prologue - (Y/n), forced to be confined by societal standards, wishes for someone to understand them. Everywhere they look, it seems as though the people they once knew have abandoned them. It's not until they are introduced to a well-known radio host that they realize their true potential. Chapter One - Alastor offers (Y/n) a job, and though they are hesitant, they accept.

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❛Y/n Meets Resident Evil❜

Chris Redfield: Himbo Friend Edition Jill Valentine: Wife Edition Albert Wesker: Dad- OH

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〣 If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! My work is intended for entertainment purposes only. Please do not repost anything without my permission. Thank you! 〣

Last Updated: May 7th, 2024 ✎

[connorsnothereeither]

I know most people here on Tumblr follow me for Fable and my Fable fics, because… well, I’m in FableSMP and I mostly write Fable fics lol, BUT if y’all didn’t know, I also have a MerSMP fic!! 👀

The fic is ‘Lovely Bitter Water’ on AO3, and is a historical pirate AU!! At this stage the plan is to keep it mostly grounded but there’s room for some more supernatural elements because sometimes I can’t help myself-

The updates are a lot slower than my usual rate but it is still ongoing, and while it’s still only very early on in the story the plan is to (much like Brink for reference, if people have read that) expand it into a wider multi-POV narrative encompassing a broad chunk of the MerSMP stories and characters in this world, because I think they’re ✨neat✨

But yeah… that’s one of the things my brain is rotting about rn. If you want some gay not-mermaid pirates… that’s where I got ‘em!

[carmybears]

Movie Night

Just in time for Halloween - Here's to all of my fellow horror watching, Carmy lovers out there!

pairing: carmy berzatto X reader

summary: Even though Carmy isn't a fan of the genre, he braves watching a horror movie just for you. (mentions/possible spoilers for The Rental, because how could I pass up the opportunity to make Carmy & reader watch the actual horror movie JAW starred in?)

word count: 1.2k

“Never let it be said that I don’t do anything for you,” Carmy mumbles under his breath as you settle into the couch together.

“Don’t be so dramatic, it’s going to be fine,” you tell him as you open up Netflix, scrolling to the movie you had queued up. “It’s just a scary movie.”

Horror had been your favorite genre for as long as you could remember - ever since you watched your first horror movie as a teenager. This year, you had challenged yourself to watch a scary movie every day in October leading up to Halloween. You had been having a great time with the challenge - enjoying old favorites, new releases, and some movies that had been on your watch list for ages. Carmy, on the other hand, was perplexed by your ongoing marathon.

“I just don’t get it,” he had said to you a few nights ago when he came home to find you sitting in complete darkness, curled up underneath a soft fleece blanket while watching The Ring.

He listened patiently as you regaled him with an explanation about the catharsis of experiencing fear from the comfort and safety of your own living room and rattled off theories about Horror being an excellent vehicle to understand societal anxieties of the era.

As much as he appreciated your love for the genre and the surprising amount of thought that went into your favorite slashers and supernatural chillers, Carmy couldn't quite relate to your enthusiasm. He recalled being young — far, far too young — when Mikey had shown him The Blair Witch project and it terrified him for weeks afterward. Needless to say, the nightmares that plagued him as a child following the experience put him off the genre as a whole.

Somehow, through no shortage of sweet talking, you’d managed to convince him to watch a movie with you tonight. You’d prattled off several movie titles (many of which Carmy shot down for being “too Catholic” for his liking) before eventually deciding on a horror/thriller from a few years ago about two couples on vacation at a scenic, oceanside Airbnb who gradually come to realize they’re being watched by a killer.

Popcorn bowl in hand, you press play on the movie, tucking yourself under Carmy’s arm as the opening scene plays.

“You look a little bit like him, you know,” you tell him, several minutes into the movie.

He scoffs. “Who? The guy whose girlfriend is clearly sleeping with his brother? I don’t see it.”

“Are you kidding me? Look at him!” You point to the screen and back to Carmy. “He’s got the same strong nose and dreamy blue eyes. If you cut your hair, you’d be twins.”

"Dreamy blue eyes?" He sounds skeptical of you, pursing his lips for a moment before he relents.

“Ok, maybe we look a little alike. We’ll see how I feel about that at the end of the movie though.”

Some 50 minutes later, a dog is missing, there’s a man dead in a bathtub, and the four main characters are decidedly having a much worse weekend than they had bargained for. Your mind is racing as you try to piece together the mystery of the killer’s identity. You feel your pulse quicken just a little as one of the characters suddenly hears the sound of the shower running in a supposedly empty house and Carmy’s arm tightens around your shoulder almost imperceptibly.

“Scared?”

“Nah, I’m good,” he stammers, looking just a little dazed.

“Very convincing,” you chide, interlocking your fingers with his as the chilling scene unfolds onscreen.

The simmering sense of dread trickles through your veins as the story gradually builds to a climax. Despite the plot being a bit of a slow burn, the image of the masked killer lurking though shadows and and sprinting through the fog has you on the edge of your seat. Carmy’s grip on your hand tightens with each passing scene and you have to remind him not to crush your hand within his own.

When at last the credits start to roll, he lets out a deep breath and drops your hand, wiping his sweaty palms on his thighs.

“So what did you think?” You ask, turning to him expectantly. “Did you love it?”

“Nope.” He shakes his head at you swiftly, although you don’t miss the fond smile on his face. “Do you wanna go ahead and turn the lights on?”

You stand, laughing a little under your breath as you cross to the far side of the room and snap on the lights.

“Oh so you don’t wanna sit in the dark and plan a remote, oceanside weekend getaway?”

“It’s not on my list, no.” He presses a kiss to your cheek as you drop back down onto the couch beside him. “So, horror buff, what did you think of the movie?”

You take a beat to gather your thoughts, fiddling with the frayed edge of throw blanket you’d pulled over your lap. “It was alright, I suppose. The plot was a bit thin, but that killer was seriously creepy.”

Carmy nods in silent agreement and you reach out to him, twisting an errant curl around one finger before resting your hand on his jaw, drawing his bright blue eyes to meet yours.

“It means a lot to me that you did this by the way. I know you don’t really like or understand horror movies, but I really appreciate that you still watched one with me tonight.”

A faint tint of pink rises in Carmy’s cheeks and you recognize the way he sometimes balks at such outright expressions of your affection. Carmy’s love was a warm meal after a long day at work; it was carving out time for unglamorous dates and nights in at your apartment; it was tight embraces and whispered confessions when he was at his most vulnerable. It was a kind of love that was often shown and acted upon, but much more rarely verbalized.

“I love you, Carmy.”

He smiles briefly and turns his head to press a kiss into the center of your open palm. “Even though I’m afraid of scary movies?”

“Especially because you’re afraid of scary movies.”

“Good, because I love you too – scary movies and all.”

Your heart feels full and your skin feels warm as you stifle a yawn and check the time on your phone, only to see that it had gotten later than you realized.

“Oh damn, we should probably get ready for bed.”

You reach for the remote, intending to turn off the TV, but Carmy grabs it first, turning the device over in his hand as he looks at you sheepishly.

“You cool with watching a cooking show first? As a, uh, palette cleanser I guess.”

“Of course,” you chirp, settling back into the couch, draping an arm his middle. “Show me the spine tingling terrors of Iron Chef America.”

[artbyblastweave]

Recently I’ve had this sense that the endgame of Worm gets slapped with a sort of displaced antagonism towards other serialized works that also go all in on the serial endgame escalation but don’t integrate it into the themes and cosmology as effectively. 

The whole “At the end of Worm, when they fight The Worm,” line of jokes- stripped of context, I realized that to me those feel like the kind of intra-fandom joke you’d see in a series that ran way longer than intended and just kept pulling increasingly absurd antagonists and cosmological details out of a hat. You know the type. Dragon Ball, Supernatural, Riverdale. I see people complaining about Worm’s serial escalation, complaining that the book shouldn’t have moved past street level, complaining that it shouldn’t have explained the cosmology underpinning the powers, and after taking the obligatory slow blinks, I’m always put in mind of the same kind of complaints I’ve seen leveled at series that did things along those line but didn’t plan out where they were going in advance. 

Because the endgame is telegraphed! It’s a book about escalation, about how things escalating push people into a destructive spiral that invites more escalation! The mechanics underpinning the powers directly tie into the books themes of agency and trauma AND the book’s project of modelling a “classic” superhero status quo. The presence of a grand design is leaked into the narrative again and again as early as at least arc seven, the entities plan, struggle, and inept response to their situation perfectly mirrors the societal difficulties they create for their host species. The endgame demonstrates the terminal point of every dynamic shown earlier in the book, from Taylor’s self-destructive martyr complex and Lisa’s inability to anchor her, try as she might, to everyone’s inability to coordinate perfectly due to mutual suspicion and self-interest. And then it stops, too, upon reaching this decided-upon-in-advance terminal point. This was thought out!

I don’t think you can view Worm as having “jumped the Shark” or “run out of ideas” or whatever; it’s not useful to view it’s progression through the same lens you’d use to view an ongoing series. But I think that there’s a strong temptation to do so because it’s serialized. 

(And in fairness, there are definitely web serials that do deserve to be viewed and judged through that lens; I got burned on one recently that started strong but clearly ran afoul of a lack of pre-planning and petered out in the back half. Something to be said for ten years of preplanning.)

[journalofawinchester]

Welcome!

This is where I will share my ongoing progress in creating my own version of the Supernatural's John Winchester Journal - dedicated to and for my partner who is a die-hard fan of the show (She is only on her 5th run through of it's 15 seasons...or is it 6 now? I lose track sometimes...)

First off I think it is fair to say that I don't think I would have had the motivation to do this if it was not for the other blogs and content around the net that others have generously shared relating to their versions of the Journal.

I want to tag them here to give credit where credit is due, but not without permission first of course.

I have been working on the Journal for a little over two weeks now and I have surprisingly got together a fair amount over that time. I have taken pictures and will post the progress when I have some organisation and structure (I'm a little all over the place with projects I work on sometimes....)

I'm also happy to post about related Supernatural content, props etc. my partner has accumulated and continues with.

The reason behind sharing all this is motivated from other blogs/content online and I'm looking forward to sharing our personal world and journey of all related Supernatural content with you.

Well, for now... Watch this space...