the Dept of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio

A queer psychedelic sci-fi horror audio drama set in a messed up building in the midwest. twitter & cohost Created by Rat Grimes (tumblr, cohost)

[somewhereohio]

Psychedelic Sci-fi Horror!

The Department of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio

is a sci-fi horror audio drama set in the midwest.

A shady governmental group that deals with the supernatural experiences a containment breach at its main office. One new hire and one mid-level employee--Jasmine Control and Scarlet Jaunt--are stuck on different floors when the lockdown begins. They will have to communicate and get to the bottom of the skyscraper however they can. Not all is as it seems in the Department, however…

Very queer, both in the story and behind the scenes. About sound, identity, and memory. From the same creator as the Dead Letter Office of Somewhere, Ohio!

More information available at somewhereohio.com. All of season 1 available now! Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

art by @nerdvolutionkurisu

[totcoc0a]

This week's blog post is in honor of rewards going out to those who backed the 'Triangle Agency' crowdfunding campaign! I love this game and you can hear me beta test it with the @somewhereohio crew anywhere you can listen to podcasts!

Read my full review below!

Triangle Agency – A New Tabletop Role-Playing Game

In honor of the ‘Triangle Agency’ backer rewards arriving on the doorsteps of supporters (namely me), now seems like the perfect time to sho

[bekaterrier]

Happy Audio Drama Sunday! This week definitely had me feeling some feels...

@hinaypod Episode 45 - Paghahanda (Preparation) Part 1: More Mari and Sauvard bonding time! The music box is interesting, I can only imagine one of those tunes playing creepily in the background of a scene... More vague clues from J, the man cannot just outright say something. Also starting to see some of the consequences of Murphy's decision after dealing with Bolton.

@desertskiespodcast Chapter 17 - The Accident: I said it earlier this week and I'll say it again, phew, that was an episode. I was so frustrated like Nonny and Mac, wondering why Tendy wasn't doing more about this terrible traveller. Tendy's breakdown at the end was so raw and heartbreaking (serious kudos to Jared for the acting on this one). I'm glad Nonny and Mac are there and hopefully they can start helping him out of this hole.

@storiesfromylelmore Episode 202 - Chess: Rion, sweetheart, let someone hug you! I felt this episode to my core; the trying to please everyone all the time, taking on too much, and then Rion also had to deal with that awful secretary's bigotry? I'm glad there was an adult who was able to recognize at least some of what was going on and hopefully make things easier (even of Rion didn't want them to). I can't wait to see how well Keryth's charmed rings work!

Case Study IREC-A59 Episode 3 - So Here's The THING: I really like the little clues we've been getting to give us an image of what humans look like compared to the alien crew (ex: "sit down so you're not towering over it"). Like Ineke, I am also very curious about the initial report about humans and what the reported first contact was.

@midnightburgr - Welcome to the Horizon Part 5 - Trinkett's Trip: Can you feel the vibes? I definitely feel the vibes because Tina and Cat are killing it as Deidre and Verge! I love that Frank is teaching Verge how to be part of the community. But also, Frank? Are...are you gonna be okay? Clementine, what did you do?!

The Department of Variance of @somewhereohio Season 2: I have to stop trying to predict where this story will go because I am never anywhere NEAR what actually happens - and I love that! The world is so rich and complex, the characters are so compelling, and I cannot wait to hear Jasmine and Scarlett kick some ass in season 3.

[somewhereohio]

oh I started work on the DoV final season outline btw. won't be out for a whiiiiile, but it's happening

[somewhereohio]

in the Dead Letter Office of Somewhere, Ohio, I posited "what if the act of writing is evil, and capital subsumes all art and renders it false," and in the Department of Variance I ask the important question, "What if God was a car that sucked"

[micro-usb-deactivated20230625]

[inthefallofasparrow]

[curls-cat]

@somewhereohio

[somewhereohio]

People have probably already posted about it since I've been off tumblr for a while BUT just in case

If you don't want your content scraped to train AI models you may want to go into Settings, Visibility, and turn this on because it's off by default

[hellofromthehallowoods]

Just listened to the Somewhere Ohio series, in absolute tears over your performance great job 👍🏻

Green Plot and Sterling Proof occupy a special place in my heart. Rat Grimes did a wonderful job with those two

[thefringespod]

Been in a haze all day post Lunar New Year activities but its #AudioDramaSunday once again! Starting with The Magnus Protocol which had me wanting to reach into the podcast and shake the person the story was about. Jamie Petronis of The CellarLetters wrote one hell of an episode!

Leanne Egan has once again made me cry at work with @tellnotalespod How am I meant to cope with ghost dad, Leanne?? How am I supposed to feel normal after that?? It was beautifully written but also how dare

Public release of @souloperatorpod ep 3 was this week and I am shaking Tot for what she's done. Each episode Tot manages to take the paranoia up another notch and it always turns out so spectacularly that I can hardly believe I get to work with them on 2 shows Tot's too talented

The @somewhereohio season finale was marvelous in every imaginable way. Rat Grimes took this season places that I never expected but absolutely adored every step of the way and I can't wait for the eventual next season that's to come

My beloved @woebegonepod returned for the start of season 13 this week! It hurt me in ways I didn't know were possible given the episode framework. Dylan has once again done something different in wbg in the most fantastic of ways and im so worried about Mikey (my default state)

New @kingmakerpod answered the question "what if Jonny Sims got lost in a magically confusing forest for 25 years" in the best way possible. They fully get that Jonny's typecasts are either men named Jon or cannibals. A brilliant brilliant episode as always

I listened to The @Grotto again this week because I love feeling pain (and it takes less time to relisten than woe.begone does). Athan has also released an album of the music from the show so far! Its amazing! Go check it out! Tay and Lyssa are on it!

Listen to episodes 20-25 of The Storage Papers which were phenomenal as always! Slowly but surely i am making my way through this show and enjoying every step of the way

Here on the Fringes we returned with episodes! This was one of my favorite as I love my silly little moss character. On the writing side, only 1.5 episodes left to go! And if you want access to this week's episode RIGHT NOW you can support the show at patreon.com/PineTreePods

And over on @forgedbondspod I've taken a bit of a break to focus in on finishing up the Fringes, but I have received a bit of test audio from some of my cast and im already in love with their portrayals

That's all for this week! It was a bit of a rough one mental health wise but I'm picking myself back up and continuing to work on the things that I love

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 11th February ✨

Here’s what I’ve been listening to this week 🎧

Spoilers ahead!

👻 @tellnotalespod (S2E3) I don’t get Frank’s game here. I don’t trust for a single second that he’s stopped doing those awful experiments. Constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop with Mr Williamson 🤨 And, yes, Leo 😭 continue choosing kindness in the face of stress and grief!! It’s all we can do!!!! 

🧳 Travelling Light @monstrousproductions (11) sometimes I see so much of myself represented in The Traveller, it’s uncanny. I love singing little songs on the way home from a night out. If someone gave me a lovely little drum, you best believe I’m about to be the biggest menace in the star system!!! My heart swelled to three times its size upon hearing that Óli chose to join them for the evening! Love is stored in the haughty alien companion!! 💓

🏛 @the-mistholme-museum (MUNDANE) This episode had me cackling at Belinda and has had me looking at my toaster a little differently 👀 I loved the complex emotions at play here between ATG and the Beast. If you’re waiting for proof that you can trust the Beast, you’re gonna be waiting a looong time!!  

🌨️ @thewhitevault (7) Iffy!!! Trust your gut!!!!!! All is not as it seems!!! This season is shaping up to be just as gut wrenching as the others and I’m enjoying the ride immensely!

🏢 @somewhereohio (S2E10) I can’t believe it’s over! What a weird, wild and wormy ride this season has been. Roll on the final season! 

🍾 @ameliapodcast “A MAI TAI IS AN INTERNATIONAL DELIGHT!” Had me CREASED. I’m very much enjoying season three so far! 

🌫️ @souloperatorpod (3) Soul Operator is getting creepier by the episode and I’m so here for it! What happened at the end there?! Who’s going around sending bear traps in the post?!! 

🖥️ The Magnus Protocol (5) oooh I think this one was my favourite story yet. I love the shift into what seems to be entirely digital “statements” in this show and they nailed the secondhand embarrassment from those early blog posts. 

🍎 I finished season one of the dazzling Not Quite Dead (@notquitedeadpod) and have started season two. I can’t quite express how much I love this show. The acting is so natural and it makes the whole thing so much more believable. I don’t quite understand why Eira isn’t in absolutely every audio drama ever? He’s amazing. ALFIE, though, GOD. MY SWEET BOY. WHO, EXACTLY, DO YOU THINK CASPER WAS TELLING YOU TO RUN FROM? This show makes me sick, I love it. 

So excited for more Camlann next week, and to dive deeper into the mess that is Not Quite Dead this week!! What is everyone else enjoying? 👀

[hellofromthehallowoods]

We made an odd little collection of Hallowoods short stories and printable Valentines! There's, uh, too many beetles. Now up in the shop:

[My Love From the Moormire, A Collection of Regretful Valentines]

[somewhereohio]

Here it is, the end of season two!

Olivia takes the long road back home. Yellow convinces Lapis that this is all completely normal. Violet leaves the Department while Jasmine and Scarlet prepare for what's to come.

Listen to Episode 10: Gold Beyond the Stars now!

S2E10: Gold Beyond the Stars | horror podcasts set in the midwest

Here it is, the end of season two! Olivia takes the long road back home. Yellow convinces Lapis that this is all completely normal. Violet

[thefringespod]

Finally got smart enough to make my #AudioDramaSunday list ahead of time so I wouldn't forget anything for once! We're gonna start today with the newest Magus Protocol episode which was phenomenal. Cole Weavers wrote this one and I just adore his writing. Also: Augustus is here 👀

Early access for the newest ep of @souloperatorpod was this week and y'all have a TREAT waiting for you tomorrow. Tot continues to astound me with her many talents and we also get to meet a new character who I'm already in love with

@tellnotalespod has brought us back to Julia and Riley who are overworking themselves (especially Riley. Let them sleep.) I love getting to hear from them in these mini eps but they DO make me want to shake Leo even harder Leo please talk to your friends please

@camlannpod episode 2 released this week and my gods it was so much fun. A blend of deep and emotional scenes and comedy (I'm still thinking about "The CW lied to me") I love every character with my whole heart and have been loving all the theories on tumblr about the show

New @innbetween was so sweet I love hearing the Lowlifes become actual friends. Phoebe thinking that everyone wanted her to leave squeezed my heart so hard and everyone insisting she stay because she was the one that they wanted for the quest??? Just so so good

@somewhereohio has once again knocked me flat with this episode. The worldbuilding around Jasmine and what's going on with her memories is incredible! I am an Orange Splice stan 1st and person 2nd. Also the Nadia/Alex scene breaks my heart because I know how they end 😭.

New Technomancy Project was SO GOOD!! And I was FUCKING RIGHT!!! I said this before but I love having all of them play Belial's game this time around and I don't think there's a single EPO agent who didn't make me cry this ep. The Technomancy Project continues to kick ass

Caught up on last weeks @thesiltverses and gods it fucked me up (affectionate) B Narr does such a fantastic job with Faulkner. I love him. I hate him. I want him to get whats coming to him & I want to protect him from it at the same time. B's performance knocks me flat every time

There was another special episode of @wakeofcorrosion this week featuring the Fringes' very own @totcoc0a and @taytayheyhey! I will never forgive them for what they did to my heart <3 Shaun Pellington wrote a killer script and deserves none of the blame even if it did break me

Continuing to make my way through the Storage Papers this week and episodes 13-19 were VERY good. I said "Nope, don't like that" out loud multiple times while listening to 19 which is the exact reaction you want from a horror pod.

This isn't a new episode listen but @wpwcpod has announced their existence and cast and im SO FUCKING EXCITED!! Not only do I love CL Hendry's writing but it will also feature the Fringes' very own Ollie Bannerman and @chainofbeing Cai Gwilym Pritchard I'm so hyped

Also not a new episode listen but Athan (creator of The Grotto) has announced that his album is coming out on March 29! If you've listened to The Grotto then you know Athan writes killer music. And if you dont listen to the Grotto: DO IT GO LISTEN RIGHT NOW ITS SO GOOD

Here on the Fringes we're preparing for the second half of the season! Episode 19 is available RIGHT NOW at patreon.com/PineTreePods and will be available to the public this Wednesday! Also gearing up to finish the last 3 episodes of season 3 which I'm super excited for

And over on @forgedbondspod the first half of the show is written! The cast has been thrown into a discord and has access to scripts now which is super exciting, I can't wait for yall to hear what's going to come from the first 24 eps

And that's all for this week! It's a long audiodrama Sunday post but there's just. So much good stuff going on. Every day I'm so grateful to exist in this audiodrama space and to share my work with yall <3

[somewhereohio]

Episode 9: We Shall All Be Worms is out now!

Orange and Olivia finally meet, and the crew teams up to take down the Great Wurm. Only one more to go.

S02E09: We Shall All Be Worms | horror podcasts set in the midwest

Orange and Olivia finally meet, and the crew teams up to take down the Great Wurm. (CWs: worms, goo/slime, high pitched noises, discussion

[somewhereohio]

vibrating out of my mind listening to olivia comfort alex regarding nadia knowing scarlet and violet will date and break up all the while jasmine has a date planned with scarlet

yes haha YES. I love the mess. This is my first time writing any kind of romance so i hope folks enjoy it and look forward to seeing weirder messier romances in future projects

[somewhereohio]

Looks like libsyn went ahead and published ep 9 now instead of at midnight tonight! I'm gonna promo etc tomorrow as usual but go enjoy now if you want!

[somewhereohio]

Episode 8: The Writhing is out now!

Olivia figures out where she is. Orange has a vision of the future and follows Nya into the dark.

S02E08: The Writhing | horror podcasts set in the midwest

Olivia figures out where she is. Orange has a vision of the future, and follows Nya into the dark. (CWs: Blood, body horror, worms, squishi