Tell No Tales

They say dead men tell no tales, but what if someone gave them a voice? (Season 2 now complete) if you’d like to support my work you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/leonegan

[tellnotalespod]

Google Doc: [Queer Creatives to Support this Pride Month and Beyond]

If you haven’t seen my original post about this, I’ve been taking contributions and compiling a list of queer creatives and artists you can support financially, as an alternative to buying corporate Pride merch. I originally intended for this to be a one-off post, but thanks to all the wonderful contributions, the list grew far beyond my expectations. So I decided to make it available indefinitely, in a format that can be continually updated and expanded.

It’s a little down to the wire for Pride Month, but that’s okay, because the emphasis really is on ‘and beyond’ for this one. Let’s keep supporting queer creatives year-round!

So what do we need from you?

Send in more suggestions! - There’s a formalised process for doing this, using the contact form on my website, but while this post is circulating, please feel free to add your suggestions in the reblogs, tags and replies. I’ll be keeping track of it and adding any contributions I see.

Add reviews! - Same as above, if there’s a creator you love on the list, vouch for them! Share a short note about why you love their work – especially if they haven’t already been vouched for, but we can include multiple if they have.

Share! - Spread the word, and help get this out as widely as possible. Share the post, send the document to your friends, tag creators you love or people who you think might benefit from it.

Support! - If you have the funds and you find an artist on the list that you’d love to support, do so! That’s what it's all about, after all.

And as a final note, while I've been working on this list over the past month, a few friends did point out that I am, in fact, also a queer creator who is in pretty dire financial straits at the moment, and should probably be including myself here. there is absolutely no pressure to do so, but if you have the funds to spare and would like to support my work, I have now set up a Buy Me a Coffee page.

[tellnotalespod]

Happy end of the Pride Month Curse to me and to everyone else who’s had the most homophobic pride month in living memory. While unemployed and broke, I managed to break my phone and glasses (two of the most expensive things to break) within the first WEEK, and then spent the rest of the month getting got knocked back from seemingly very promising job interviews/assessments. Just in time to catch a nasty summer cold right at the end there.

Here’s to quietly slipping back into the universe’s blind spot in July to continue being gay in peace 🙏😔

[tellnotalespod]

Google Doc: [Queer Creatives to Support this Pride Month and Beyond]

If you haven’t seen my original post about this, I’ve been taking contributions and compiling a list of queer creatives and artists you can support financially, as an alternative to buying corporate Pride merch. I originally intended for this to be a one-off post, but thanks to all the wonderful contributions, the list grew far beyond my expectations. So I decided to make it available indefinitely, in a format that can be continually updated and expanded.

It’s a little down to the wire for Pride Month, but that’s okay, because the emphasis really is on ‘and beyond’ for this one. Let’s keep supporting queer creatives year-round!

So what do we need from you?

Send in more suggestions! - There’s a formalised process for doing this, using the contact form on my website, but while this post is circulating, please feel free to add your suggestions in the reblogs, tags and replies. I’ll be keeping track of it and adding any contributions I see.

Add reviews! - Same as above, if there’s a creator you love on the list, vouch for them! Share a short note about why you love their work – especially if they haven’t already been vouched for, but we can include multiple if they have.

Share! - Spread the word, and help get this out as widely as possible. Share the post, send the document to your friends, tag creators you love or people who you think might benefit from it.

Support! - If you have the funds and you find an artist on the list that you’d love to support, do so! That’s what it's all about, after all.

And as a final note, while I've been working on this list over the past month, a few friends did point out that I am, in fact, also a queer creator who is in pretty dire financial straits at the moment, and should probably be including myself here. there is absolutely no pressure to do so, but if you have the funds to spare and would like to support my work, I have now set up a Buy Me a Coffee page.

[tellnotalespod]

I just listened to the intro to S2E23, and I had to come say, DO NOT APOLOGIZE! CONGRATULATIONS! Also, don't think some of us didn't catch the name change when you came back, and congrats on that too.

Oh, thank you!!

I wasn’t trying to be sneaky with the name change, I think I mentioned it in an announcement ep (way back in 2025) but I’m aware that:

a lot of people don’t listen to those, especially when they get to it later down the line after the announcement has probably stopped being relevant

it was about a year ago now, and even people who did listen might have forgotten

But I also thought… eh, the name is very similar, people can probably do the maths on that one pretty easily 😂

But thank you for the congratulations 💜 feeling more at home in my voice has made recording a lot more fun, and I’m very excited to explore Leo’s voice change more in canon in series three

[tellnotalespod]

Audio Drama Sunday!

Eeler’s Choice @eelerschoice

I caught up with the first three episodes of S2 recently and I’m having a GREAT time. I made some notes in my notes app while I was listening that aren’t very comprehensive, but my favourites are “the ddaaanncceee!!!” and “have a kipper and maybe then you’ll calm down.”

I also thoroughly enjoyed that scene with Sawbones and Acaster. I had the absolute joy of being in that recording session, and Mike and Rhys are both so fantastically talented but also absolutely terrible (affectionate). The way they riff off each other is so fun and I get the feeling there’s plenty more of that to look forward to this season.

The Twelvelms Conspiracy @twelvelms

Oooooh this show is the absolute highlight of my month and god did this episode come with intrigue. I am VERY worried about our favourite Tortured Boy, but at least glad to get confirmation that he’s still out there. Also I’ll be thinking about that forehead touch all month. Just so you know.

I have some THEORIES about what’s happening but I’m gonna keep 🤐 in case I’m so wrong it’s embarrassing.

I also started giggling to myself at one point in the midst of this very serious and emotional episode, and in my notes app I’ve just written “cyan? I hardly know ‘im!” as an explanation.

Dominus @dominuspod

I know I’m late to this but my GOD this pilot was everything it was promised to be. Anyone who’s listened to any Tell No Tales knows I’m WEAK for a bit of Catholicism in my storytelling, so I was predisposed to enjoy this, but it still managed to surpass expectations. The voice acting is phenomenal (I did actually get a bit jumpscared by some of the voices, for reasons that ranged from ‘hey that’s my friend!’ to ‘hey that’s… disco Elysium??”, but everyone’s so talented that it didn’t bring me out of the story for long) and the soundscaping is gorgeous and eerie.

I somehow completely missed the crowdfund for this, which I’m kicking myself about, but I’ll be following along eagerly with the rest of the season.

[dominuspod]

Did you know that you can still do late pledges on our Kickstarter for digital rewards? ;)

(and we're planning to release merch soon)

Either way, thank you for listening and sharing your thoughts! Really excited to get all the episodes out when the time comes!

[tellnotalespod]

👀👀👀this is very good to know, I am unfortunately desperately poor at the moment, but if I do manage to get a job in the near future I know what I'll be treating myself to.

And for anyone who like me was not aware of this, but who unlike me has some cash to spare, the link to their Kickstarter is here:

DOMINUS: A Catholic Horror Audio Drama

Catholic folk horror from the Rusty Quill Network featuring voice actors from Disco Elysium, The Magnus Archives & The Magnus Protocol.

[bekabloodhound]

I finished up my re-listen of the second part of S2 of @tellnotalespod in anticipation of today's season finale (I know it's already in my feed but now it's very late so I'll have wait until morning!) and I have some thoughts — placed below the cut for spoilers!

Slightly irrational fears going into the final episode:

Gilbert somehow managed to latch on to Frank, and now Frank is possessed. Can that even happen? Would that just make Frank stronger? Would they be warring over the amalgamation that is Frank? Okay, seeing it written out, it may be not as likely to happen as I had initially feared...

Something goes wrong with the banishing and now Gilbert is unleashed on the world.

Something goes wrong with the banishing and Gilbert possesses Leo or Julia.

Something goes wrong with the banishing and Frank somehow gets banished too.

Thoughts on S3 based on Leon's comments about revisiting spirits + my own musings:

Everything goes fine with the banishing and now the team are set on getting through the backlog of spirits and helping them move on.

This means we get to revisit previous spirits who were removed by better place (like the Little Sea Monster ep) but never moved on.

Maybe also those who Leo didn't actually get to speak with like in the first few episodes.

How are they going to find an object of sentimental value to burn for each one? Some of those spirits have been there for ages! People think they've already been moved on and now BP are going to come slinking back like "hey, so I know I said I did what I said I'd do, but I didn't actually, so can you give me an object to burn and also let me in to your house which is a place of emotional significance to the ghost I said I'd already moved on?" That's definitely not going to raise any questions or bring up again trauma...

Speaking of trauma...is Leo going to help move their brother on? Will they have to go back to their family home, where he'd manifested? Are we going to meet Leo's parents and hear the whole family have a breakdown?

Speculating that we'll follow along with Arthur's human rights case, the fallout of which could be incredible and world changing.

Just as importantly, they need to figure out a more permanent tether or how to transfer/move tethers because STEPHEN AND ARTHUR MUST BE REUNITED.

[tellnotalespod]

I’m keeping 🤐 but I will say I can’t wait to revisit this post during S3

[tellnotalespod]

Happy Monday! Our S2 finale, Be Guided, Be Free, Be at Rest, is out now! You can find it haunting your local podcatcher, or you could try breaking into an old church to speak with this week’s ghost — voiced once more by the incredible Ty Von — but after the events of this episode, we’re not sure you’d have much luck.

So this is the final episode of S2 (at long last), but if you’re the kind of person who listens to the credits, you’ll know we’re not going anywhere just yet. Even while we prepare for season three, we’ll be back on your feed soon — with a Q&A, bloopers, some exciting announcements, and eventually some bonus episodes to keep you haunted during the break.

I want to thank everyone one final time for being so patient with us (mainly me) during the unexpected (and unexpectedly lengthy) S2 hiatus. I’ll have more to say about my hopes for S3 during our Q&A, but I have plans to avoid this happening again. While making a new season is a time-consuming process, I want to reassure you all that I’m already working on the scripts, and that S3 is going to happen as soon as possible. I’ve had the ending of this show mapped out since day one, and I’m so incredibly excited to share it with you all.

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 28th June ✨

I’ve listened to so much good audio drama this week! 🎧😌

👻 @tellnotalespod (S2E24) They did it!!!! What a beautiful, crazy, fucked up roller coaster of an episode. I knew the power of friendship was going to win in the end, Nathaniel didn’t stand a chance! I did giggle so much at them realising Leo was under the influence when they started talking about Julia’s eyes. Totally platonically…. I can’t believe the season is coming to an end so soon! 

📖 @storiesfromylelmore (108-112) Ahh, the end of season one has such a strong stretch of episodes!  I love these three so much, but Keryth’s ‘I think it might be difficult for his family to recognise him without his face’ was so sweet and so funny🥹😂 I’m such a fan of Elas’s growing awareness of their own puce-ness. And I felt like a proud parent listening to Rion’s first transformation!!! Wolf-puppy!!!!

🦭 @twelvelms (11) I loved this new episode so much, I listened to it three times. I KNEW they’d bonded somehow. What the fuck, lads!!?! The minute I think I couldn’t be more invested in these characters, a new episode comes out! It’s so interesting to see this dramatic shift in Riley’s behaviour towards Cyan, I also thought she would be far more ride or die. Maybe I’ve underestimated her too. God, everything about that conversation in the baths was so perfect. These idiots finally starting to untangle their misconceptions about each other. And I just love the way that Felix says Cyan’s name. I’m so glad that Cyan is finally able to reveal his full truth to someone, and glad it’s Felix. Who else could better understand what he went through as a child? There is so much more I want to say about the episode but I’ll just leave it at: having to trust someone for your survival is NOT the same as trusting them. Let’s all bear that in mind. I actually don’t know how I’m going to wait a month for the next one! 

🦋 @remnantspod (52) I love remnants where you have to really wait for the link back to the apprentice. So much heaviness in this story, but the scene with the ‘hunter’ absolutely broke my heart exactly as intended. I really thought that the Apprentice was onto something with his theory at the start of the episode but maybe not?? I remain, as always, very excited for the next episode! 

🚚  Don’t Tell Alice (1,6) Oof. Somehow, the ?imagined horrors are just as scary as the real ones. I have fallen off the night vale bandwagon for a while, but this episode reminded me just how well this team do Weird American Suburbs. Alice’s ‘don’t treat me like I’m stupid’ made my heart very sad. I am happy to have Keisha back on the road though, I need to understand this Other America!                                     

👣 @dustwalkerpod (5) Yay, more Dustwalker! This episode was huge!! I love how much teenage girl energy Kove has. I want to protect her from everything ever. I feel like I need to listen again to get all the lore down! I want to trust Arius so badly, and I feel like I’m going to get hurt by that feeling! 

👩🏾‍❤️‍👨🏻 I started listening to Life With LEO(h) @atypicalartists this week and I’m so glad I did! What a crazy world I’ve created for myself where it feels novel and fun to listen to a heterosexual rom com 🤭  LEO(h) and Janine are such fun characters and it’s so nice to listen to something heart warming on my commutes instead of some of my other audio dramas that make me feel like I’ve died 500 times before even clocking in! The ethical questions of consent and the wider treatment of non-human sentience is SUCH an interesting backdrop to this burgeoning romance. Also, Michael might have a nice voice, but he needs to step up or BACK OFF. I love Janine’s sister and SIL, I feel like I’m them, watching this drama unfold from my happy wlw relationship! 

Have a wonderful week!  I’ll be listening to Twelvelms again! I suggest you do the same! ✨

[tellnotalespod]

Audio Drama Sunday!

Eeler’s Choice @eelerschoice

I caught up with the first three episodes of S2 recently and I’m having a GREAT time. I made some notes in my notes app while I was listening that aren’t very comprehensive, but my favourites are “the ddaaanncceee!!!” and “have a kipper and maybe then you’ll calm down.”

I also thoroughly enjoyed that scene with Sawbones and Acaster. I had the absolute joy of being in that recording session, and Mike and Rhys are both so fantastically talented but also absolutely terrible (affectionate). The way they riff off each other is so fun and I get the feeling there’s plenty more of that to look forward to this season.

The Twelvelms Conspiracy @twelvelms

Oooooh this show is the absolute highlight of my month and god did this episode come with intrigue. I am VERY worried about our favourite Tortured Boy, but at least glad to get confirmation that he’s still out there. Also I’ll be thinking about that forehead touch all month. Just so you know.

I have some THEORIES about what’s happening but I’m gonna keep 🤐 in case I’m so wrong it’s embarrassing.

I also started giggling to myself at one point in the midst of this very serious and emotional episode, and in my notes app I’ve just written “cyan? I hardly know ‘im!” as an explanation.

Dominus @dominuspod

I know I’m late to this but my GOD this pilot was everything it was promised to be. Anyone who’s listened to any Tell No Tales knows I’m WEAK for a bit of Catholicism in my storytelling, so I was predisposed to enjoy this, but it still managed to surpass expectations. The voice acting is phenomenal (I did actually get a bit jumpscared by some of the voices, for reasons that ranged from ‘hey that’s my friend!’ to ‘hey that’s… disco Elysium??”, but everyone’s so talented that it didn’t bring me out of the story for long) and the soundscaping is gorgeous and eerie.

I somehow completely missed the crowdfund for this, which I’m kicking myself about, but I’ll be following along eagerly with the rest of the season.

[hephaestuscrew]

I'm a big fan of how Tell No Tales Season 2 uses the division between episode and mini-episode to highlight the rift between characters. Not only are these characters no longer working together and therefore no longer sharing scenes, they can no longer even occupy the same episode - or even the same kind of episode. The distance between them is highlighted by the episode numbering, by the difference between (for example) S2 E1 versus S2 E1.5, by the week between episode release dates. It's such a simple effective way to use the actual structure of the medium to emphasise the sense of division and isolation...

[tellnotalespod]

Ooooooh I’m several months late to seeing this post but thank you!! You’ve done a better and more eloquent job of explaining this effect than I’ve ever been able to.

I don’t know if I was consciously doing this at first, I just knew that sticking those characters’ scenes at the beginning or end of a main episode felt Wrong somehow. But the way you’ve phrased this (in the post and the original tags) explains that sense of ‘wrongness’ beautifully — they were too distant to fit together in the same episodes. Their timelines were parallel, but even when they did interact briefly (in phone calls) they were never quite able to cross paths completely. Not until one or both sides were willing to go out of their way to intentionally breach the gap.

Thank you for this, it’s a really gorgeous and thoughtful analysis 💜

[tellnotalespod]

Nobody let me forget to make an audio drama Sunday post this week because I’ve been listening!! And I have thoughts!! But Sundays are liminal spaces and they exist outside of normal rules of time and space

This is a group effort now, if we get to Sunday afternoon and I haven’t made a post I need to be yelled at or lightly sprayed with a mister like a misbehaving cat

[tellnotalespod]

It’s been over three years, but this snippet of @thenightpost’s S3 Q&A stays with me on an almost daily basis.

It’s the delivery too, it’s been a WHILE since I listened to this ep but I can still hear the delivery crystal clear. The absolute fear in Elizabeth’s voice and then the total confidence but audible thousand yard stare in Rae’s answer.

If someone asks me about my writing process, especially at an author panel or event, I have often resorted to just saying: “I have two answers to this depending on the day, but there’s this podcast Q&A that sums up both of them better than I ever could” and then quoting it word for word.

[system-of-cells-interlinked]

i am very weak for the “ruthless person who develops one (1) ounce of ethics because the person they are obsessed with wouldn’t approve of murder” thing.

[tellnotalespod]

Do I even need to say why I’m reblogging this…

[tellnotalespod]

is there official character art/descriptions of the characters somewhere? i was thinking i really wanted to draw leo and i realized i have no idea what they look like haha

Oooh so we do have character art that I commissioned from Ana, our cover artist, for the S2 crowdfund:

The Fool = Leo, Death = Frank, Temperance = Riley, Strength = Julia

BUT these aren’t canon, or even necessarily 100% accurate to my own personal interpretations of the characters, so nothing is set in stone (though I am very attached to Riley having a little undercut ponytail for no good reason whatsoever, I just feel it in my soul).

The only things mentioned in script that I can remember off the top of my head are that Leo is ginger and short, Frank is mentioned in a recent episode as being pale, and Julia has, somewhere on her person, a stick and poke tattoo from Miruna (the airport ghost) that has not yet been (and may never be) described.

But also absolutely yesssss I LIVE for fan art!! we don’t have tons but I’ve treasured every single piece I’ve seen, for sure put your own spin on them I’d love to see how other people envision them.

[cookiethebirddoll]

its important to idolize one or more girls so much that it becomes scary to talk to them

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 21st June ✨

👻 @tellnotalespod (S2E23) The team are inching closer to having all the pieces together before the full moon and hopefully in time to free our best boy from the WORST MAN. I’m absolutely obsessed with Leo bumping himself multiple times in the loft, what a fantastic way of bringing the environment into the story. Absolutely loved it. Everybody fasten your seatbelts tight. I know tomorrow’s episode is going to be the WILDEST ride. 

🇦🇶 The Harbingers by @gabrielurbinatm (16) Ooohhhh, what an amazing season ending. After all the tension and action of the last few episodes, this final one felt like releasing a breath you’ve been holding until your lungs burn. I knew it was going to be amazing, but GOD it’s so amazing!! I love how the reason for Amy and Adam’s narrative discrepancies finally being revealed. And, oh my god, Julian not answering his phone in the heart episode was f u c k i n g foreshadowing?!? I’m so glad that there isn’t a long wait between seasons! Great job, Harbingers team!!! 

⚓️ @eelerschoice (9) I am also very much team: Never In My Life Did I Think The Laureate Was Coming to Eskmouth! Merry and Prin have truly cast themselves in a net of lies now! Lovely to have Aderyn popping up again, though I can definitely appreciate Pugill’s opinion of the bone creatures over their academic enthusiasm! 

🌲 @hellofromthehallowoods (209) Oh, Nikignik ☹️ I’ve been waiting for Noptilnopt to show back up! I feel like they’re so evenly matched as a pair and it’s such an interesting combination of skills and personalities! Verryyy interesting that Noptilnopt has been listening in to the dreams, Nik deserves a being who cares about his interests!!! . . . Even if his interests are mainly watching over his deceased boyfriend’s tiny creations. 

🦭 @twelvelms (10) I already knew that I wasn’t going to have time to listen to the new episode today so I treated myself to a relisten of Hollow Sleepers. I keep pondering on what Tassio did to that poor little baby! And Cyan’s tired ‘He knows. . .  he knows.’ I’m sooo excited for the new episode. Twelvelms day truly is the best day of the month!!!

🧋 @hinaypod (83-86) I love saving up my Hi Nay eps so I have a few to listen to at once. I feel like the narrative reveals things in such interesting ways, I always need to be vigilant in case a vital piece of lore that links together multiple previous episodes is about to drop! I’m always such a sucker for a DJ in the Dark segment and I really enjoyed these ones! Particularly because Pocket was involved 🐈‍⬛💛

🌵 @desertskiespodcast (23) C.A.S.H is back! And with a mysterious request! What a great set up to a new season of adventures. And, Mac’s ‘Just when you think you’ve stopped grieving’ . . . buddy! 🫂

💀 Our Wars Have Ended by @thesiltverses (4) HOW does this show keep getting better when it’s already so amazing? Caul Serrikane is already set to become one of my most beloved characters of all time! I’m obsessed that the alliteration that makes 'dead diving' so powerful a term carries across into 'necronautics'. Amazing wordplay. And, god, the sound design of the transition into the Neth, I’m awed every time! What I love so much about what this team does is that the idea of dead diving could inspire enough story to fill an entire series of novels, but Caul and her talents are only a slice of this world, it’s so expansive! Listen to this show!!! 

Have a wonderful week! Stay safe out there! ☀️

[tellnotalespod]

Happy Monday! S2 E24, Riley F*cking Matkins, is out now! You can find it haunting your local podcatcher, or you could try taking a lethal dose of venom (don't though) to confront this week's ghost, who doesn't have a voice this episode, because he's too busy haunting the narrative.