#i am having feelings about my wtnv relisten

[edgarallennope]

Cecil Gershwin Palmer, character of all time. He's gay. He has lyme disease. He's a PTA uncle. He's terrified of mirrors and for good reason. He's a cat dad. He's a DAD dad. He fell in love with his husband the first time he laid eyes on him. He got a barber run out of town. He regularly leaks classified police and government information on his radio show but kept his adopted son secret for ages. He has a complicated and tumultuous relationship with his mother. He's a gossipy bitch. He's in love with the job he was destined and cursed to have. He wears fanny packs. He's cried on air as many times as he's laughed. He has a true crime podcast. He calls his husband Kittycake. He has been a my fictional friend for over ten years.

[shadecrux]

About/RP Info

~~Short About~~   This is a mixed blog!  You’ll find RP, fandom posts, my art and writing, memes, informational posts... really all kinds of things, I apologize to anyone who follows me for only one kind of content - you’re not gonna get that.  I don’t have any sideblogs, so everything all gets dumped here babeyy.  .  

I am selectively open to new RPs either on here or via discord!  

Looking to begin publishing my fics here on tumblr as well as branch out with my writing.  I’m not ready to open for requests yet, but in the future I would like to give it a shot!! 

If doing character asks, please specify which muse! 

------------------ Current Hyperfixations:  

Bucky Barnes lord help me. Loki, Sylvie, Sylki, yes.  WTNV - currently relistening to all of itttt.  ~disclaimer~ I suffer from a handful of mental and physical illnesses that can sometimes make functioning difficult. Some of these conditions incur chronic pain, and flare ups, bad days, mood shifts and so on can mess me up a lot.   So if I’m ever slow to reply, or miss a fic request or comment, or come off in some unintended way in a post I promise, it’s not you - it’s just my brain. I am find with being poked and reminded about things as long as it’s not excessive.

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Characters

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Muses: 

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Ariadne Hart (OC): 

https://www.tumblr.com/shadecrux/720088100795236352/rp-bio-ariadne-hart?source=share

Sylvie Laufeydottir: 

https://www.tumblr.com/shadecrux/720088070497697792/rp-bio-sylvie-laufeydottir?source=share

Fandral The Dashing: 

https://www.tumblr.com/shadecrux/720088127999508480/name-fandral-the-dashing-sex-male-gender-cis?source=share

In the past I’ve written as Loki and The Grandmaster as well but those muses have been weak lately. 

Other Characters

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RP Side Characters I’ve written as:

The Grandmaster, Thor, Volstaag, Hogun, Kang, Frigga, Odin, Laufey, Freyja, Freyr. 

Characters I would like to RP as: 

Rocket, Wanda, Natasha Romanoff, Bucky Barnes

For purposes of fic writing or roleplay side characters, I will write anyone and everyone~! 

For RP mains I only like to write as ones I feel a bit confident in, but I am willing to experiment with the caveat that I might fail at them. 

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RP Basics

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1. I am open for canon, canon-divergent and AU RPs with canon characters or OCs! 

2. I am 33 and I require RP partners to be over the age of 18. Age MUST be in bio.  

3.  Open to RPs of all ratings and ships as determined by plot and chemistry.

4. Any adult writings will be tagged as such and beneath a page break.

5. I’m very adaptable with my roleplay replies! If you want multi-paragraph RP with all the trimmings I can do that! If you prefer shorter form, I can do that too. All I really need is for replies to at least be a couple of sentences and i am happy to adapt within that scope. 

6. I typically write third person, past tense, but I am willing to adjust if a partner prefers something different.

7.  If we are writing with longer replies, I am okay with minor things being written for my character if it fits!  Such as being led somewhere, the continuation of some action from the previous reply, and so on. If something goes too far I’ll be sure to let you know - I’m quite easygoing but I don’t want to be god-modded either.

8.  I  can be a little shy/awkward but I can promise I’ll always be kind!

9. I like to talk plot in ooc. Check in with how people are feeling about things, talk about replies or upcoming plot points to be on the same page, clarify things, etc.  I encourage my RP partners to do the same - I am very happy to hash things out, plot together or make corrections and clarifications if need be. 

10. I do have some triggers and limits when it comes to RP but I would rather discuss those privately as opposed to posting them up out here. I have very few hard limits overall though. 

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Will and Won’t  Writing and RP 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wil write: Most things to be honest.  I can do fluff, I can do angst, I can do smut and any combination of those. I am comfortable with most adult and difficult topics. I LOVE writing combat, and I really should do more whump. Most kinks are alright. Will mess with incest and certain flavors of dubcon/noncon.  Won’t write: Underage NSFW, Kinks involving scat or vomit or other very dirty sorts of kinks.  Might write: Darker noncon scenes (in fics, I can’t handle it in a RP) , kinks/characters I am not familiar with, really if anything isn’t on one of these lists just ask. I can write about a character throwing up or being sick but would prefer not to go into great detail as it can be a trigger for me.

[charleslovemustdie]

i understand now why people call the magnus archives "welcome to night vale but for when you want to torture yourself"

[realbigpodcastslut]

Should You Listen to King Falls AM?

(Update at the bottom) 

Lately, I’ve seen a lot people looking to start KFAM and conflicting views on if you should listen. Being a fan for a long time, I’d like to put in my two-cents. I’m not going to tell you if you should listen or not, but I’ll present the facts so you can make your own choice.

Overall:

King Falls AM is a podcast, and out of the hundred+ I’ve listened to, it is definitely my favorite one and I always seem to be relistening to it. Taking place in the small town of King Falls, late-night radio hosts Sammy and Ben have to tackle the weird and whacky. It’s funny, the characters are amazing, and I just love the overall idea of love (platonic and romantic) conquering all. The music is also amazing. While the background music is to die for, this is really shown in their musical episode (which is done right).

Now, while it is my favorite podcast, there are a lot of faults. Representation is mishandled, there are problematic parts, and the creators and actors have had some not-so-great reactions to valid criticism. Also, the story is unfinished and there is no word if they’re coming back after COVID-19.

Characters:

I can’t deny, I love the characters (especially Lily Wright). The characters will worm their way into your heart until you fall in-love. Whether it’s the main characters of Sammy, Ben, (Emily, Troy, and Lily), or the townspeople, you’ll most likely end up loving them. And if you don’t love them, then you will hate them so much you love hating them. I’m going to avoid spoilers, but you will love these characters and feel for them. Even I, the stone-cold bitch that brags about not crying that much over media, ended up crying over them. 

On the other hand, the characters are not the stellar representation that a lot of podcasts have. There are plenty of LGBT characters later on, but a lot of them are stereotypes. Archie, a gay man, is overly camp, and Jacob, a bisexual man, is sex-crazed. Though, I should point out that almost every non-main character is a stereotype, but this can be off-putting to a lot of people. Women are also not represented great. They’re pretty one-dimensional and while they grow, they’re sort of looked-down upon and hated. This changes around episode 90 where it is specifically called out on and episodes 75+ start to change this poor representation somewhat. Though the representation of POC is just bad, with Walt being a stereotypical Native American man and Storm Sanders an alcoholic. There is also a racist witch, while hated by everyone, is still suspicious. 

Comedy:

King Falls AM is also extremely funny. There are several jokes they actually made me laugh out loud (hard to do) and in my relistens I still laugh. The character’s banter is hilarious and I just can’t state how funny some of the stuff is. While some stuff aren’t direct jokes, the absurdity of events are funny. For example, there is a vigilante named the Dirt who is basically a dimestore Batman in BDSM gear. Another thing is that there is a murderous Elf of the Shelf that says some things that are comedy gold. Even later on, they don’t sacrifice much of the comedy for arcs that will tear your heart out.

While the jokes are funny, there are many jokes that miss the mark and are not politically correct. One that sticks out is “Don’t assume my gender.” There are a lot of race jokes (ew) and quite a few on the holocaust. There are also a lot of gay jokes, which while sometimes done right, can make LGBT people uncomfortable. Especially when two characters (Archie and Lily) are made out to be too gay to function and make a lot of sexual jokes. This missing-the-mark is made clear as it is written by straight white men, which really can’t joke about stuff they don’t experience.

Themes:

The themes of KFAM are also good and you can’t ever go wrong with found-family. Love is the main aspect surrounding the show and whether platonic or romantic love, it’s embraced. I really enjoy how Sammy and Ben are able to say “I love you” to each other without it being seen as creepy or “gay.” Characters also grow for the better and are always pushing to be better. They even talk about mental health struggles and pushing each other up to be the best they can be. Lastly, the main storyline is compelling and it opens up for a lot of theorizing and trying to figure out what is going to happen (or what happened).

The themes of found family can be criticized over the fact that several characters already experienced found family due to being gay and already being a family, though I think this one is a little weak (but I included it). Some of the storylines may get boring and it can be a sort of slow-burn as things come to fruition. There are also plot holes (but not that noticeable).

Creators, Actors and Community:

This is the final point and the thing that has made many die-hard fans dislike KFAM and be ashamed for listening to it. Starting at episode 34, there was an episode on Helen Keller and it was essentially making fun of her. Obviously, fans did not like this episode and told the creators so. They did not apologize and basically said, “Sorry you didn’t like it.” Around April or March of 2020, one of the creators retweeted NSFW fan works and people told them how they needed to tag it, etc. They reacted poorly, only for a person to say “Death of the Author” (a literary idea where you ignore the author’s influence on a work), and then the creator freaked out, thinking this was a death threat. These were not the only events, so if you’d like to find out more, I have archived (with my friend) a decent amount on the blog @kfam-tea.

The community is also toxic. There have been a lot of times where die-hard fans will delete any criticism from the subreddit (though this has seemed to stop). These fans also started “attacking” WTNV after Cecil Baldwin (voice of Cecil) made a jab at other radio podcasts. The discord server is also closed off from everyone except those already on it, and they’ve deleted a lot of channels and such. Overall, the community is not the best and it’s quite divided.

Lastly, we don’t know if KFAM is coming back. While they said it was going to start after COVID-19, there’s reason to believe that isn’t the case. The creators unfollowed each other on Instagram and Twitter. There was a Reddit threat where people asked if it was coming back only for Kyle (co-creator) to call them entitled (yikes, I know). So far, there is another podcast made by everyone but Kyle and Trent (the actor for about half of the town).

Conclusion:

The choice to listen is up to you. You may or may not like it, but I’m not going to say this is strictly a terrible or amazing podcast. I think it is both. I fell in love with the story and while it has many, many, terrible warts, I think people should know what they are heading into. I see too many people either praising or hating KFAM completely, and it’s not fair. This story isn’t for everyone and has it’s bad moments, but it also has it’s wonderful moments. To listen, that is a personal decision for you to make.

UPDATE:

KFAM isn’t coming back and it left on a big cliffhanger so maybe don’t listen.

[spacetrashpile]

6, 7, 9, 14, 23, 32, and 43 for the fiction podcasts asks! sorry this is so many there are so many interesting questions on there

do NOT apologize I love this

6. choose one podcast trope: gays in space, gays on earth, or gays on alien planets

Hmmmm based on the shows I actually listen to it’s probably gonna have to be gays in space. I listen to a lot of space shows.

7. what podcast(s) are you currently listening to?

I’m relistening to EOS 10 and a bit of NADDPOD rn, and I’m about to start Heaven Heist, which is like. A part of the Story Break podcast but I don’t know if I’ll be listening to the rest of it. Definitely Heaven Heist though.

9. who is your favorite podcast character?

God what an IMPOSSIBLE question. There’s really a million but the first who came to mind was Moonshine Cybin of NADDPOD fame and well. She is the Character Of All Time so she feels like a good answer. Isabel Lovelace, Duck Newton, and Renné Minkowski are close favorites too though.

14. what was the last podcast you finished listening to?

Hmmm I think the last one I caught up with entirely was The Haunted Hour or WTNV I think (god it’s been too long), but the last completed show I finished was probably Whirlwind for Hire? MAN I need to listen to podcasts more often again that’s what I’m learning.

23. what was your “gateway drug” podcast?

EOS 10 I’m pretty sure! I remember I followed an artist for some musical fan art back in 2018 and then they started posting EOS 10 art and I got intrigued and now I am. A very different person lol.

32. do you support any podcasters on Patreon (if so, which ones)?

I would if I had money 😔 if I was able to financially support podcasts I like it’d probably go to Talking Fish Co. and Procyon Podcasts first cause Sir Rodney the Root and The Strange Case of Starship Iris are some of my underrated faves.

43. what is a favorite podcast quote?

Considering I have an. Entire note full of NADDPOD quotes that hit me to the bone. It’s probably gonna be one of them. Hold on let me look. Ok so I cannot decide between. Any of the quotes from the Divine Heart scene with Melora but here’s my two favorites from that scene:

“The world should have protected you, but you have been asked to protect it. What an honor, what an injustice.”

“You are not a queen in an ivory tower, you are an alpha wolf leading her pack. Lead your people to a better future, Moonshine Cybin, pull the fabric of time so it flows in your favor if you have to, you have that power”

[carbootsoul]

Top 5 podcasts?

asdakjlaf omg my last remaining podcast mutual.. tania ik we’ve like never(?) talked but. i appreciate u a lot. 

top five podcasts: 1. the penumbra!! it’s the only one i’m actively trying to be caught up on anymore which. :( but also my attention span DISAPPEARED after w359 and season 2 of tpp ended so there we go. 2. wtnv because it will always be my comfort media and honestly. it’s just. warm. i care about all of them and i have my three episodes that i relisten to whenever i feel shitty and there’s just something irreplicable about it. also the most recent plot arc with the space war and (i think?) kellogs cereal?? insane. i loved every moment of it except bachelor cecil made me SO sad 3. wolf 359.. lovelace if ur out there... 💕💞💘💗 4. the magnus archives. i’m not caught up on it and i doubt i’ll ever finish it (read: i like horror until i starts to impact characters i care about, so i will sit happily in like.. mid season three or wherever i am and learn the plot through tumblr osmosis) but it IS good. 5. alice isn’t dead!! i really need to start listening to this again. i listened to it as season 1 was coming out and then stopped in the hiatus after the season and then tried again but forgot the plot and overall. a mess. but GOD truck lesbians.. the omelette man is scarier than ANYTHING tma has up their sleeve

ask me my top five/ten anythings!!

[etraytin]

Quarantine, Day 112

July 1

Is it just me, or was June like seventeen seconds long? It feels like maybe a week ago that I had to figure out how to remember what day I was on because May 31 screwed up my clever system. On the other hand, FIL passed away on June 3, and that feels like a very long time ago now. I guess it has to do with how busy I was, especially in the early part of the month, with so much to do and paperwork and the attorney and all that. And then when we came home the month was already more than half over, and I dropped right into a deep, still pool of Time Isn't Real. And now it's July, and my sister is getting married in four weeks, which means we are going to Illinois in three weeks (she's having a very small ceremony and celebration with a big party to be had later on), and I will take the MPRE in five and a half weeks. It's good to be busy, I guess! 

Today was grocery day, the most wonderful time of the week or ten days or whatever. My husband took the kiddo out to a river beach near here that was not too crowded and I had several glorious hours all to myself before I had to pick up the groceries. I love my guys, but time alone is a precious commodity to be savored, even if I savored it mostly by lazing in my pajamas and turning the podcast up loud. I'm currently relistening to Welcome to Night Vale, which I was very into for a lot of its initial run but started to fall away from a couple years ago. Now seems like the perfect time to catch up, but the story is so deep I needed to start from the beginning. It's pretty great, and Cecil has the very best voice. Listening to WTNV makes me want to reread my favorite fanfic series about it, Republic of Heaven Community Radio (it's a shockingly good crossover with His Dark Materials), but that's like 550k words so it's a big commitment. 

Okay, that was a long walk to talk about grocery day, but it turned out that the guys got back just in time to help me carry things up, so it worked out well. The kiddo was super excited about his new fan and got it set up right away. I am still trying to find places for all my new groceries, since both the pantry and the emergency pantry are pretty full at this point. My squirrel brain can finally settle itself the hell down. We also got a package from MIL today, who sent more stuff that we forgot, some of FIL's papers, and more masks. MIL got onto buying masks pretty early on, but not so early that they weren't super backordered by the time she got there. As a result, her mask purchases have been trickling in one at a time and she is now well supplied. The ones she sent today are nice, sleek and plain black, just right for Professor Husband if they make him teach classes in person in the fall. 

Today was a big day for kittens, too, as it was Outside Play day for Bixby! Not outside-outside, obviously, Bixby is well on his way to an indoor-only life, but he got to get out of the playpen and explore the kitten room. This required several hours of cleaning and moving things around on my part, and the little stinker still found a dozen places to hide. He was nervous in such a big space, but then he discovered Barry's playpen and proceeded to be an absolute little shit about taunting his confined brother. They were wrestling and chasing each other through the mesh of the playpen, and a couple of times Bixby actually managed to get on top of the roof, just to lord it over him. He had a great time and I was able to clean his playpen thoroughly and fully change out his litter, wash his dishes, the whole deal. 

Once that was done, I opened the other playpen to deal with Prince Hissypants the Misanthrope, who needed to be scruffed slightly to be picked up but again allowed me to hold him with no struggling or fighting. This was aided by the fact that among my groceries were a box of lickable cat treats, little packets of pureed food the consistency of thick gravy that most cats are very fond of. Barry was no exception. He licked up that entire treat, including the drips that spilled on my arm, then licked my arm for awhile because apparently I am too filthy to be allowed. When he got restless, I deposited him in Bixby's clean playpen, then cleaned out the other playpen too. I put Bixby back in Barry’s playpen, and gave them both some new toys. Bixby, having suddenly realized that Out is an option, is no longer satisfied with his lot in life and proceeded to tell me so with expressions of loud woe. I will be glad when the big playpen arrives! I also realized that I don’t have as many toys as I’m going to need for kittens this big, so I bought a few and added some to my fostering wishlist on Amazon.

Not too much else to report; I signed up to deliver food for the foodbank next week and I need to arrange to give blood soon. For so many weeks in North Carolina I fretted about all the things I couldn't do, so now it's time to get off the dime and actually do them! Today was also the last day of my antibiotic, so I just better not get bitten by any more kittens. 

[polaris-australis]

6 Horror Podcast Recommendations For Quarantine

I’m bored, you’re bored. If you’re interested in looking for new audio dramas to listen to (because I’m bad at the nonfiction ones, sorry), especially if you’re a fan of scaring the shit out of yourself like I somehow am, then I have a few I’ve been meaning to talk about. Note that I will either give warnings for each one or they can be found in the descriptions of the episodes themselves. These are all my opinions on them, though I will try to stick to basic summaries. I just think these are good content. 

I’m also willing to make a part 2 for this people are interested, because there are so many more and I haven’t even touched on most of the more popular ones (namely Magnus Archives which I’m not going to talk about because literally everyone is so it’s not hard to find a summary about it). 

2 Short Podcasts

1. The Hyacinth Disaster: This is the shortest show on this list, being only seven episodes long, each being about 20 minutes long, but it’s amazing and I love it. It centers around a group of asteroid miners trying to strike it rich on an asteroid in order to bargain for the life and safe return of their friend, who is being held hostage by a rival company who claims the ship was in their territory. However, it turns out the asteroid is kind of sentient, and over the course of the show, every single character dies. This isn’t really a spoiler, so I feel like I can say it. It’s masterfully done, being very character focused and emotional. I can’t think of any major warnings here besides death (which aren’t explicit or particularly gruesome), but there should be some in the episode descriptions as needed.

2. Limetown: We’re only counting season one of Limetown because season two is absolutely garbage and hardly anyone I have seen actually considers it canonical. This one is also one of the major ones on this list, as it was one of the early audio dramas that really showed what the medium could do and brought in new listeners the way WTNV did for many people (including me). It surrounds a journalist named Lia Haddock who is investigating the mystery behind Limetown, a fictional research town for the top scientists in the country where, within a single day it seems, every single resident vanished. When she begins her investigation, a survivors start to come out of their hiding places, revealing exactly what was going on and some of them dying in the process. It’s six episodes total with mini “announcements” in between that are part of the show, though are usually about 3-5 minutes. Episodes average out around 30 minutes, sometimes more or less. It’s interesting and in-depth and I did enjoy it - however there are major trigger warnings that I wish someone had given me. At the end of episode 2, there is a man who people refer to as “The Manic Man” who is very much unstable and frankly pretty ableist and gross, but I won’t get into that here. He basically bangs his head on Lia’s door screaming her name and that she needs to stop investigating Limetown. He appears again at the end of episode 3, having broken into her parents’ house and is ominously saying her name into the phone. He is not heard from for the rest of the season, nor in season two if you listen to that disaster. Episode 3 also involves animal death, and in “The 911 Call” there are gunshot noises. Again, it’s an enjoyable podcast, but please be careful is any of these things are triggering for you.

3 Medium-ish Podcasts

3. Academicasaurus : This one is a bit different from the others, but I’m considering it horror because a) someone is listening in to all the phone conversations, which is how we’re hearing them, b) it does end up surrounding the supernatural, and c) it just has a creepy vibe to it. This one surrounds two English literature professors and the head librarian, who help run Academicasaurus, the school arts journal that combines older aspects and elements of literature with modern pop culture. It begins when they begin getting wildly inaccurate articles dropped at their office doors, and then strange things begin happening around the school, including a fire in the library and a missing person case. In season 2, the supernatural aspect to the school starts to unveil. Episodes are about 12-20 minutes for season one, which is 7 episodes, then start hitting the 20-25 marks in season 2, which is 8 episodes. Season 3 is starting May 25, 2020, so I’m probably going to relisten before then. It’s fun content, and yes goes along with the grey academia aesthetic.

4. Janus Descending:  Listen. Listen. This was so close to being my jam. The twist just ended up screwing me over and I hate so much that it was ruined for me. It’s another space podcast where two xenoanthropologists head to an unknown planet where there were signs of an ancient civilization and things go terribly wrong. It’s told through alternating perspectives and audio logs, but the real kick is that Chel’s tapes go in normal chronological order and Peter’s go backwards. So you get the sheer whiplash of going from “everything is going to be amazing!” to “sobbing because one is dead and the other is about to die.” I personally just didn’t enjoy the main twist at the end but that was just me. Episodes are about 20-30 minutes, there are 13 total. The main warnings are for lots of paranoia, crying, and major character death/some violence. Not bad horror wise overall.

2 Longer Podcasts

5. What’s the Frequency?: This is a much weirder one that I have found is a hit or miss with most people. It’s set in 1950s LA and at first surrounds two private investigators searching for a missing typewriter, but then expands into a world descending into madness due to a strange radio show. It’s a bit gorey but there are trigger warnings, and the aesthetic is honestly terrifying. The audio effects are amazing, distorting and making it sound like an old radio. Episodes are around 20-30 minutes except for the finale I think which is longer. Only the first season is out for now but season two is supposed to be out soon, which is why this is going here instead of above. Regardless, this is a good time to listen.

6. The White Vault: This is a podcast I’ve referenced before on my main blog. It’s an isolation horror podcast about a team sent up to a research outpost in Svalbard to fix a transmission issue, but they become stranded by an unnaturally brutal snowstorm. They discover a vault (literally) in the bunker that leads into a cave system that isn’t as abandoned as they thought. This one is honestly terrifying, it’s just the anticipation and slow build up that then becomes actual horror as the monster hunts them down one by one. Three seasons are up right now, and the final season comes out in October, so this is a good time to catch up if you like. Episodes can be from thirty minutes to almost an hour, each being told through the “found footage” format with a separate narrator putting the pieces together. Each season has about 10 episodes. I adore it to bits.

Feel free to tell me if you try any of these shows and your thoughts on them! Again, I’m totally willing to make more posts like this touching on other horror podcasts or nonhorror ones, but I felt like making this one first. Hope you’re all having a good day, and, if not, that it gets better soon < 3

[sazandorable]

magnus archives end of the decade ask meme which im just gonna answer entirely bc it’s really cool!!

the archivist: when and how did you get into tma?

June 2018, so I’m at about 18 months of obsession now (and have literally been thinking about it at least once a day every day since). MAG104 Sneak Preview was the first episode that I had to wait for after being all caught up; it dropped right on my birthday, and gosh what an episode!

sasha: which episode you were most afraid of on your first time listening?

MAG018 The Man Upstairs and MAG024 Strange Music were the ones that most scared me, though others have unsettled or fucked me up more. 024 is now one of my favourites and does nothing to me anymore, but 018 still holds the title of most unpleasant, I think. I hate neighbours.

tim: at which part of the decade do you think tma would've scared you most and/or which part would it have scared you least?

I AM REALLY GLAD I ONLY HEARD THE MAN UPSTAIRS AND CONTAMINANT AFTER I MANAGED TO MOVE OUT FROM THE MOULD-RIDDEN FLAT I LIVED IN IN 2016-2017

For some reason though I think I’d have been completely immune to the scary elements while I was studying abroad in London in 2010. 18-19 yo Aza was an unwisely fearless idiot.

martin: which entity(s) would you have been an avatar of at the beginning of the decade? at the end?

Probs would have been a big fan of the Spiral or Stranger

basira: did you meet any new friends through tma?

Yes!! Basically 80% of my twitter friends and all of my discord friends are from TMA(/RQ). I’ve met up with quite a few IRL once or more and had a great time. (... I also dragged quite a few old friends into TMA, including some of my oldest best friends who are not big in fandom.)

melanie: out of the podcasts you've listened to over the past decade, how does tma compare among them?

Best overall, on all accounts, be it writing, plot, worldbuilding, natural-sounding dialogue, voice acting, editing, pacing, character development, handling of exposition, soundscaping, representation, humour...

to note, i’m not a huge listener of podcasts, but I’ve listened to WTNV, TPP-Juno Steel, Wooden Overcoats, and last week I binged the first two seasons of The Bright Sessions and was really enjoying it... and then it blindsided me with straightness I just absolutely couldn’t swallow, instantly dropped it and haven’t picked it back up x’’D Anyway, imo TMA beats all these shows on most if not all accounts; it also (imo) avoided losing steam and turning into a repetitive rehash of itself after a season or two, and doesn’t ever feel too fanservicey (to note, i’m fucking thrilled at no one being straight on Mars, TPP just happens to be just a little too campy for me). It also has a fantastic feeling of everything tying together and making you work and engage with the content, which I haven’t yet encountered in other podcasts.

(I also feel like RQG is better on all accounts than TAZ-Balance, the only other actual-play podcast I’ve listened to yet, although I really enjoyed it too.)

elias: did any episodes remind you particularly of any memories you made over the decade, whether scary or not?

MAG048 Lost in the Crowd, as well as the S3 mini arc of Jon travelling the world, reminded me of my own travels, although I had never gone on an entire vacation alone — it inspired me to start doing it, though, so now relistening to MAG048 reminds me of specific memories of travelling alone!

MAG053 Crusader and MAG064 Burial Rites reminded me of my time studying Egyptology and archaeology in uni >w< I came very close...

and MAG081 always reminds me of my own childhood curled up in public libraries.

georgie: what did you do while listening to tma? did you listen with friends or other people?

I usually listen to podcasts while doing chores or cooking, playing video games, or in public transport. In the case of TMA i also binged it at work. Consequently, I have specific memories of:

cooking meat while first listening to MAG018 The Man Upstairs

while cooking, cutting my finger deeply while listening to MAG034 Anatomy Class

my face lighting up while walking in the middle of the street as Melanie described the giant fucking thing in space in MAG106 A Matter of Perspective

reshelving books alone at work while relistening to the same episode an hour later and bursting into tears upon catching that holy shit is Jon ace

and I associate TMA with Stardew Valley and Breath of the Wild.

daisy: over the past decade, did you visit any of the locations featured in the statements?

I’d already been to London a lot. I’ve been to some places mentioned in passing like Lyon, Oxford, Edinburgh and Florence.

Post listening to TMA, I’ve made a point of going to the Tate Britain and see the Panopticon whenever I’m in London, and last time I was in Paris, for the francophone meet-up, we went to see the Rue Lagarde from MAG134! (Also Oscar Wilde’s grave for the RQG fans)

leitner: did you do anything this decade you wished you'd listened to tma before doing? likewise, did you do anything that you wish you'd listened to tma after?

God I’d have liked to have TMA while I was staying in London in 2010. Also wish I’d already found RQ in general and “had” it to help me through 2015.

Otoh it’s probably good I only found it after I was done with my librarian studies because it would probably have influenced me to stick to my original desire to go into archivistics or museum sciences, and I’m not sure I would actually have liked that as much as I enjoy being a public librarian instead.

michael: did the "influence" of any entities feature prominently throughout your decade? which ones?

Lonely, but in a positive way! Well, I’ve fucked a few people over, but that was self-defense, toxic relationships I had to cut off. Overall I’ve grown into my independence and am very happy about it!

[helen-richardson]

Stellar Firma and Kaleidotrope??

Stellar Firma: Do you like overarching plot lines, or one-shot episodes?

overarching plots, definitely. i am very bad at getting into stories if they’re short---the way my focus on things works, i generally need a lot of time to get to know characters and the universe before i end up attached. short things i can get through, then promptly forget about them.

with podcasts, especially, my ability to remember voices is bad enough that chances are i still won’t have figured out who’s who by the time it’s over. like with rqg it took me maybe 60 hours before i figured out which was ben and which was brynn. campaign also took me ages to consistently tell apart james, johnny, and jpc when talking ooc. i am not good at this!

Kaleidotrope: Do you have a ‘comfort podcast’?

not really? i’m not big on relistening/rereading/rewatching things in general, which seems to be the basic idea of comfort media. too much new stuff to consume!

but campaign podcast is probably the closest. i’ve been keeping up with it for three+ years now and still look forward to every episode. wtnv as well, to a certain extent. i definitely do not keep up with it, but every year or so i’ll binge everything i missed and it always feels very cozy

[brittlebutch]

doesn't cecil semi-canonically have chronic lyme disease?

possibly; i was nowhere near caught up with wtnv when i started relistening and am currently on episode 13, BUT i have definitely at the very least read several fics about this concept which lends credibility to the fact that this is true, but even if it isn’t, who’s stopping me from saying it is from here on out? 

edit: yes! he’s said it on air twice, the first being in Station Management (ep3) so the Real Lesson we’ve learned is that i can’t listen for shit. but you were right! he’s also part of the small night vale population that Is capable of feeling pain, which makes my endeavor to draw him visibly disabled twice as valid

[litches-get-stitches]

i’m partly glad i found your taz blog bc i love your main and have followed you for like two years now but i’m also so upset i found this blog bc now i’m overwhelmed with taz emotions and trying not to cry at work but it’s really really hard and i’m definitely about to cry bc you reblog so many amazing but heartbreaking posts and agghhh yep i’m crying 😭

Hahaha, thank you! There was waaaay too much good content in the TAZ fandom to not make a side blog for it, I was totally spamming everyone on my main, so I decided to make this side blog instead. Sometimes I’m listening to the TAZ soundtrack and I get hit with a wave of emotions and just feel like crying. T^T I think it’s about time that I relisten to the Balance Arc, but I have to catch up on Wolf359, WTNV and The Bright Sessions first. I’m better at keeping up with TAZ then I am the other ones, haha.

[pitchblackkoi]

20-30 (you dont have to do all 10 tho if u dont want xoxo)

20. how do you listen to your podcasts (what app, website, or feed)?I have an iphone so I just use the apple podcasting app.21. what’s your favorite podcast genre?sci-fi for sure. I just generally love sci-fi and there’s so many good ass gays in space podcasts.22.what’s one thing that you’d change in a podcast?generally its romance stuff? I am extremely specific about that kinda shit as a writer and overall Hopeless Romantic. so like addition of a relationship or, if I feel a relationship is progressing more fast than is realistic, making it more slowburn. usually though the writers are good at writing the chemistry and I have no complaints!23. what was your “gateway drug” podcast?okay so in like 2012/2013 I got super into welcome to night vale but then I fell off the wagon and never looked into other podcasts. then like end of 2016 I started finding mbmbam clips on tumblr and youtube and then fell into the adventure zone and it all snowballed from there.24. what podcast have you never gotten into?I have several I started and meant to continue and never did and others I didn’t even start but meant to. in the first category (that are still downloaded on my phone) are the orphans and hello from the magic tavern and in the second is king falls am.25. what’s your favorite Night Vale Presents podcast?haha so I have only listened to wtnv and I haven’t in literal years so. listen I literally have within the wires downloaded on my phone but I just. haven’t yet. I keep relistening to shit instead of starting new ones. 26.where do you like to listen to podcasts?usually in my room! then I don’t have to plug headphones in and I can listen out loud. otherwise basically wherever.27. who is your favorite voice actor?fuckfuckfuck thats a hard fucking question. like? literally the entire penumbra team but especially Noah Simes and Joshua Ilon. I would personally Give My Life for Zach Valenti. Justin McLachlan is a talented ass VA and writer who has made me cry. this is just scratching the surface of the well known people I love and appreciate every VA! if you’re in an emotional show the chances your performance has made me cry are high! 28. have you ever made fan art or written a fanfic for a podcast?oh boy howdy I sure have! most of it is just absolutely shameless self insert that will never see the light of day but I have published a singular penumbra fic that can be seen here. if anyone wanted to throw a prompt at me or ask about headcanons they can feel free!29. podcast otp?OH JUNO AND PETER HANDS FUCKING DOWN30. podcast brotp?this one is. much harder. I am going to say Ryan Dalias and Jane Johns from eos 10. like listen those kids are family. they may argue and insult each other sometimes but they are ride or die.

[apieceot-blog]

podcast recs

yo what’s up homeslices it’s my 100th post so I figured I’d do a list of podcast recommendations because I listen to a lot of em. I’m going to do it in the (approximate) order of when I first started listening to them. The first podcast I ever listened to was some Sword Art Online podcast but I don’t count that so the first podcast I ever listened to was:

Wolf 359

Wolf 359 is a podcast about a crew of astronauts onboard the USS Hepheastus. It stars communications officer Doug Eiffel, and it’s told through his audio logs. It starts off as a comedy, but quickly transitions into something else. Worry not, though, there’s plenty of comedy throughout the entire story. It has really amazing audio quality at the end which I always love (it’s seirously asmr worthy) and uh yeah space podcasts are my jam

Welcome To Night Vale

WTNV is a lot of people’s gateway into podcasts and chances are you’ve already heard of it but here we go anyway. It’s told in the format of a local radio station set in the town of Night Vale where lots of spooky things happen. To the host of the show and to most of the town, these spooky things are considered normal, and it’s fun to hear our host speak about Glow Clouds (all hail) and floating pyramids in a matter-of-fact tone which is usually pretty funny. There’s a backlog of over 100 episodes, which makes it great to binge. You could also start it wherever you want. I’d suggest looking up a list of plot specific episodes and listening to those first if you don’t want to listen to all of them in order.

The Bright Sessions

This podcast is about a therapist who helps people with superpowers (atypicals) adjust to and control their powers. There’s a few different main characters, and each episode is one of their therapy sessions. At first, they each have their own individual stories, but they intersect fairly soon into it. It’s ending soon (cri cri) so this is one that you might want to start with.

Alice Isn’t Dead

From the same creators of WTNV! This one’s more focused on horror than comedy, and it’s about a woman who’s wife has died, only, as it turns out, she isn’t dead. The only thing she has to go off of is a company: Bay and Creek Shipping, and so she becomes a trucker. The podcast is about her various trips and the things she sees along the way. It’s fairly short, and is currently in it’s third and final (!!!!!) sesson. There’s also a book coming out soon if you don’t want to listen to a podcast.

The Penumbra Podcast

If you’re looking for LGBTQ+ content, this is the podcast for you. It tells a variety of different stories featuring minorities that don't get enough rep in the media. There are two main stories that they’re currently doing. One is Juno Steel, which is about a detective named Juno (and it's on Mars!) He runs into a guy named Rex Glass who… let’s just say he isn’t what he seems. It’s very good but prepare to feel many emotions as we go on adventures with Juno and learn about his past and who he is as a person. The other recurring storyline is The Second Citadel which tells stories from the points of view of many different people all living in the fictional world of The Second Citadel. I’d recommend listening to the Juno Steel episodes and then going back and listening to the rest. There are two horror stories at the beginning which I’d recommend you listen with caution because there are some potentially sensitive topics. They don't impact your listening experience at all though, because they're standalone stories.

Conversations With People Who Hate Me

This one’s another Night Vale Presents podcast. This time it’s a nonfiction podcast where Dylan Marron (a fav and the voice of Carlos on WTNV) calls people who have said negative things about him online, and has a conversation with them. He also monitors conversations between two people sometimes. It’s really great and is something we all need nowadays.

Within the Wires

Last Night Vale Presents one, I swear. I haven’t finished this one yet (last episode yeet) but it tells stories through (first season) relaxation cassettes and (second season) museum tour guides. It’s set in the same world and it connects at the very end. It’s really relaxing because there’s only one voice, and both of the voices (1st and 2nd season) are very nice to listen to.

The Adventure Zone

It took me a very long time to finish this, but trust me, it’s worth it. It’s in its second season now so you’ve got many hours of quality content ahead of you. It’s a dnd campaign (that doesn’t 100% follow the dnd rules) but that doesn’t matter because the storytelling is *chef’s kiss*. It follows the Très Horny Boys (which is not a porn thing @my friends) on their adventures. Anyone who knows me (both here and irl) knows that I have an unhealthy obsession with the McElroy brothers, and this podcast stars them and their dad.

The Far Meridian

TFM is about an agoraphobic woman who lives in a lighthouse that suddenly starts moving to new places every day. It’s all about her learning to deal with her agoraphobia, and her search for her missing brother. It’s a really calming podcast to listen to, and tells a really interesting story. Even if you don’t think that this podcast is one for you, I strongly suggest following their tumblr. They post Gentle Encouragement Monday, which is a cool thing to look at if you aren’t feeling the best, or if you’re just bored one day.

ars PARADOXICA

This one also took me a while to get through, but it’s very interesting and definitely worth the listen. It’s about a woman who accidentally goes back in time to 1943. It’s definitely a more serious podcast, but there are plenty of funny moments, too. It’s ending soon, so now would probably be the time to start. The main character is canonically asexual which is very cool, and there are plenty of characters that address the hardships that minorities faced in the 20th century, as well as the struggles they still face today. There’s also plenty of history (and rewritten history) and it all makes a very interesting podcast.

Inkwyrm

This one’s about the AI caretaker of a fashion magazine and her adventures. It’s another Gay Space Podcast™ and is done by high schoolers (!!) which is EXTREMELY impressive and definitely something that I could probably not do. It’s in its second season right now, I believe, and although the audio quality isn’t for everyone, the story is still good and worth the listen.

OAKPODCAST

This is one that I’m going to relisten to soon because I forget a lot of what happens. It’s about a spy named Holly who gets stranded somewhere and it's told through her audio posts. If you donate to her funding accounts (I forget which ones), the donations are transferred into items that she buys to help keep herself alive. I really liked that part of the podcast! I definitely recommend this, but can’t really give an accurate summary because, as I said, I forget a lot of the things that happen.

EOS 10

There sure is an abundance of space podcasts. It’s pretty much its own genre at this point. Anyway this one follows Doctor Ryan Dalias and the rest of the crew of EOS 10, which is a space station. It’s currently in hiatus, but they’re starting work on season 3, which is exciting. A lot of people describe it as “Scrubs but in space” which I’m sure is accurate but I’ve never seen Scrubs so I wouldn’t know. Make sure to look up the content warnings, though because there was something that I didn’t expect in episode 4 and it didn’t bother me too much, but there might be other people for whom it does bother.

King Falls AM

This one’s another podcast told through radio broadcasts, but it’s set in this day and age. It’s a comedy that also delves into paranormal stuff (apparitions, the void, and more). It, like so many before it, starts off very lighthearted and quickly turns more serious. There’s still plenty o’ laughs, though. Featuring the world’s longest slowburn relationship (besides Blupjeans Adventure Zone of course). There’s quite a few LGBTQ+ characters, and more than quite a few emotions to be felt over the course of this podcast. It just went on hiatus, so now is the perfect time to catch up!

My Brother, My Brother, and Me

This one’s an advice podcast that was actually my first podcast, now that I think about it, but I stopped midway through the first episode because I wanted to listen to Wolf 359 instead. My goal is to finish all 400+ episodes by the end of the year, but that’s probably not going to happen. It’s an advice podcast where the McElroy brothers usually don’t give good advice, but there are a lot of good goofs to be had. A fair amount of what I say on a regular basis is actually a McElroy quote, but because none of my friends listen to this, (yet), I’m safe.

The McElroys Will Be In Trolls 2

It’s exactly what the title says.

Wonderful!

This one is just Griffin and Rachel McElroy  talking about things that they love! It’s a really great podcast to listen to when you aren’t feeling great, or if you just need some time to yourself. Not only is it a great podcast, but Griffin and Rachel love each other so much? Like you can hear it in their voices? And it’s just a really happy podcast? Honestly I’ve felt very emotional more than a few times just because this is such a lovely podcast and adsfhjlkldasfhgf

Shmanners

Travis McElroy and his wife Teresa teach us about the history of good etiquette, and how it applies to us in everyday situations! Are you out of episodes of Wonderful! to listen to? This one’s a pretty good second option, and you learn new things each week!

Sawbones

Justin and Sydnee McElroy talk about the history of medicine, and things that have gone wrong with it in the past. It’s really interesting to hear about these medical things because it’s an area that I know very little about, but probably should know more about, seeing that I should learn to take care of this flesh prison that I currently reside in.

I think that’s it! If there’s any more I guess I’ll have to make another list some other time. Congrats if you’re still reading this, by the way. I hope I’ve given you some new stuff to listen to! I’m always down to talk about podcasts (or anything else, for that matter), so uhh hit me up I guess. Also feel free to recommend me more podcasts, because I’m always in need of some new ones!