syzygy-podfic-project

[syzygy-podfic-project]

Round 1 Side B

11. Janus Sanders and the Cassandra Fallacy - @/arealsword (ao3) vs. 37. A lesson in practicality - @/ResidentAnchor (ao3)

Propaganda:

Janus Sanders and the Cassandra Fallacy:

Image ID: A screenshot that reads: okay. listen. the cassandra fallacy is just straight up beautiful & also fucks really hard. it's a percy jackson au where canonverse thomas and co. go on a pjo-style quest & it sort of plays around with unreliable narrator janus and cassandra truth which is just INCREDIBLY fascinating. it does some really cool thing with that, none of which i can say because of spoilers, but just trust me when i say it is SO cool and i am insane about it.

The writing is witty & feels exactly like the original percy jackson books, but if, yknow, janus narrated them instead. i don't know what else to tell you, it's just funny and delightful and an all-around wonderful read.

even if the cassandra fallacy doesn't win, it is an absolutely fantastic fic!!! please do yourself a favour and read it!

End Image ID

A lesson in practicality:

Image ID: A screenshot that reads: submitting the most popular sasi fic on ao3, the practicality series, i love this au!!! im usually not that much into superpower aus but i really enjoyed this one. im pretty sure there's also multiple podfics and on that has been animated!

End Image ID

[syzygy-podfic-project]

LET'S DO THE TIME LOOP AGAIN!

[syzygy-podfic-project]

Looking at your art makes me really curious about what your fics would be like if you wrote about your sides instead of thomas's. They're similar but different, you get me?

loop twenty-one.

“You’re… taking notes,” says Dee, coming to a halt on the front-of-theatre pavement. “Goodness fucking gracious. All right. You do you, I suppose.”

Min has not bothered getting up from a face-down position on the ground after her usual trip down the theatre steps. Her forehead and nose took the worst of the collision, but she barely seems to care. She’s propped herself up on her elbows, has her phone out, is typing rapidly into it. “We got hit by lightning,” she says, visibly delighted.

“I know,” says Dee with a soulless smile, tucking her hands behind her back. “I was there.”

“Actual, proper lightning,” Min reiterates. “Like, with the… electricity. The thunder. The everything. It hurt so fucking bad! I’ve never felt anything like that before, Dee!” She looks up, eyes bright and beaming ear to ear. “And I’m in near-constant physical agony, 24/7! Do you understand what great writing fuel this makes?”

“No,” says Dee. She turns her gaze towards the other side of the darkening street. Predictable as clockwork, the same time it always happens: Passion bursts out of the bookstore on the opposite street corner, followed by a barrage of angry yelling and a fully furious storeowner. She dances like a thistle caught in the wind, giggling like a maniac, gathering twenty-or-so paperbacks close to her chest and trying not to drop them all at once.

“Don’t worry! Don’t worry, they’re going to a better home!” she says, dodges a furious swipe from the end of a broom, and pirouettes elegantly before taking off across the street at a dead sprint.

As usual, she catches sight of Dee and Min on the other side of the road and brightens like she’s been filled head-to-toe with sunlight. The shopkeeper’s too close on her tail for her to stop near them, though.

“Hi, Dee! Bye, Dee!” Pash shrieks at the top of her lungs, skipping and tripping backwards down the pavement, waving as best she can with her arms full of books. “Hi and bye, person I don’t know! See you tonight, Dee! Love you, Dee!”

“Love covers a multitude of sins!” Dee calls back wisely, raising a hand in acknowledgement. “But I refuse to cover yours! Do not get arrested, and I will see you tonight!”

“It’s fine! I’ll just fuck my way out!” Passion carols with a musical little cackle, and then she starts running. In less than a minute, she’s out of sight, and the early-evening street is quiet once more.

Min is still taking detailed notes on what it feels like to be spontaneously cooked by Zeus himself. “…Seriously, what’s wrong with her?”

Dee stands sentinel beside her on the sidewalk, smiling at any pedestrians who look like they’re going to try to walk right over Min. Unsurprisingly, most people give the two of them a wide, wide berth. She says, “Lord only knows. I’ve always suspected she’s more hollow than the rest of us. Our loving creator gave her immense fuckability, but neglected to give her any semblance of brain. Praise be. Really, are you done yet? This seems unnecessary.”

“…I’m an author,” Min says after a sulky few seconds of typing. “I know it sucks that we’re dying over and over, but… if I can’t get inspiration from getting hit by lightning, what can I get inspiration from?”

“Praise be to our gracious creator, who said, lo! Let there be light! And in accordance with his spoken word, a light from the heavens arrives hence and blasts us to screaming smithereens. Call it a miracle, a blessing of the muses, because surely what else could have you taking notes on your phone in the middle of a time loop?” Dee rolls her eyes, turns her ever-present bland grin onto Min, tilts her head in vague condescension. “You do realize, of course, that none of this is going to carry over. You will lose all of those notes.”

“Ah,” says Min, suddenly downtrodden. Slowly, she puts away her phone. Slowly, she rises to her feet. Awkwardly, she brushes herself down – brings up the collar of her loose T-shirt to try to smudge the blood on her face away. “Right. Shit. Okay, well – what were you thinking we should do this time around?”

“Rat ought to be in the clockwork.” Dee shrugs, makes the vaguest of gestures right the way downwards. “We haven’t told her that we’re all dying at once, yet. Perhaps she’ll have something new to say about all of this with added context. Or maybe she’ll have a panic attack again.”

“The panic attack was your fault,” Min says, with only the barest edge of accusation. “You made her have a panic attack.”

“I deny all charges,” Dee says, and keeps on smiling.

“Sure. Okay. I don’t know if I want to go down there again. We could find Pash. Or the painter on Ursa Street, she seemed to know a thing or two. Or your angry mean ghost,” Min says, after another second of contemplation. “…Who keeps saying that she hates me, and I should know why, and she hates me even more for not knowing.”

“She says that to everyone, love, don’t take it personally,” Dee smiles, and takes Min’s hand. “Ursa Street it is. Let’s see what that lovely street artist of yours has to say about getting hit by lightning.”

[syzygy-podfic-project]

Syzygy: Some Closing Thoughts

I'm writing this at 8pm on my backyard porch, under the wavering light of a distant full moon.  Hello, moon! Please don't kidnap me. I just wanted to hang out with you for a while as I collect my final thoughts. It's a pretty cloudy night tonight, so it's not properly visible, which I suppose is the cloud cover shielding me from a terrible lunar fate. It gives a deliciously hazy atmosphere for the absolute essay I'm about to write.

Apparently, the Farmer's Almanac says that tonight's full moon is a 'Pink Moon', which sounds like it'd be a very pleasant viewing experience. I imagine pastel frangipanis spontaneously sprouting all over the moon's surface, covering every inch of its rocks and crags until the soft pink glow is visible from all the way down here on Earth. Unfortunately it's not named 'Pink Moon' because of that; there's some American environmental factors, etc.

I think it's kind of charming that there's a list of names for every possible full moon, as if the moon's putting on different masks or incarnations every time it tilts just enough that we can see its full face. I'm looking at a list of them now instead of writing these final notes like I probably should. The names are so delightful. Strawberry Moon. Sturgeon Moon. Apparently last month's full moon was Worm Moon. WORM MOON. I could go on. I won't. Let's talk about Syzygy instead.

Syzygy is... Man, where do I even start with this? Let's try the beginning. I started writing Syzygy in February of 2021, after ruminating on it for probably a few months before that, as I often do. That's three years ago, so my memories of the reasons why are a bit fuzzy, but I think I did it for two reasons: one, a desire to have a long-form meaty slowburn fic for a beloved rarepair in the tag so other people could enjoy it, and two, a fascination with the idea of fractured identity, what it means to be a Side without a Centre. The whole thing with the alternate-history steampunk swapped-around Earth came about naturally from that.

Except that's actually kind of a lie, because that's not the beginning, this began in 2020, when I wrote a pitch for a local station that was accepting radio play submissions (rejected, of course) featuring a hardboiled noir detective in a starlit city whose latest client was a tiny shiny girl asking him to solve her father's murder. And that's also a lie, because I think it really began when I tried to write an original novel in high school where the protagonist's name was Avery Allen, because I liked the way the name tripped off my lips.

My stories are always built on each other, especially stories I never get to write. They all recycle into each other in a weird blend of concepts and characters. 2021 was when I sat down and told myself I was going to write the Thomceit time loop fic, and I dove into it with aplomb. I can't recall the exact timeline of events, but at some point I underwent some truly gnarly health problems that left me unable to use my hands for extended periods of time, and so the fic that was meant to be for a Big Bang ended up... Just sitting in a folder for a while. But me and my beta managed to pull it the fuck together, and after adding some extra bits and pieces (the cutaways were a LAST MINUTE ADDITION even though I think they're some of my favorite bits in the whole thing) I started putting it all up.

Okay, there we go, that's enough of an abridged history of this thing. Let's just say: I never expected as many people to like it as it turned out, I thought that it would be a niche little fic for a rarepair, and I was honestly pretty content with that. So it was delightful to see so many people getting so into it, I have enjoyed the FUCK out of all of your comments and theories and predictions. It's been delightful when people predicted a plot point correctly, and honestly even more delightful when they predicted incorrectly. I've had such a blast.

As for the writing... Suffice to say I have many notebooks full of notes and thoughts, more than one spreadsheet to keep track of time loops and lore, and a semi-complete list of all of Virgil's tarot cards, which one day I'll probably polish and share properly, because I think the concept is neat. But that's kind of how it always goes with my writing.

Naming every inspiration for this would take forever and I'd still miss a few, but I'll just throw out a key few ones, because I gotta:

17776: What Will Football Look Like In The Future, because when I first read it I got the wrong idea and thought that Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) was short for Betelgeuse (the star), and that sparked a whole thing about living stars in my brain. Also, just the general way that the worldbuilding and absurdity is handled in that world, it scratches my brain just right.

Welcome To Night Vale. I don't think I need to explain this one.

Madeleine L'Engle's writing, particularly A Wind In The Door, particularly-particularly the bit of it where Proginoskes explains why, precisely, he has to remember and Name every star in the universe. Fucking beautiful book.

A particular Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi fic I read years ago and haven't been able to track down again, which also features two people stuck in a time loop who are initially unaware that they're in it together AND dying at the same time. I believe they also meet on a bus? The details are fuzzy. The worldbuilding and descriptions of that fic were so stunning to me, it had me unable to read anything for a solid few weeks, it is definitely a superior work to mine in every respect. If anyone finds it, let me know, I don't think I finished reading it and want to know how it ends.

An unpublished fic that I had the privilege to read while it was being written, that changed my brain chemistry re: the Sides unknowingly existing without Thomas. The Flowerwall Cafe originally hails from this one, too, graciously borrowed and greatly beloved.

Both Ghibli films in general AND Dianna Wynne Jones books in general, and obviously the intersection between the two, Howl's Moving Castle, which is fascinating in how both mediums handle the setting.

The Doctor Who audio drama Scherzo, which is a wild ride, and there's a major plot point revolving around the two main characters holding hands and fusing gruesomely into each other - and another involving an in-story fairy tale.

There was no huge inspiration for the clockwork city and weird steampunk carriages, apart from (perhaps) Fallen London. Certainly, the idea of a background organization that wants to kill the sun, who also happens to be a sentient being, is cribbed from the Liberation of Night.

Syzygy also happens to be packed full of many obscure references to... like... personal projects of mine, some published and some unpublished, as well as a lot of my friends and co-writers, and some really REALLY niche stuff that only I will ever properly understand. I buried a lot of myself into this story, is what I'm saying. Juice hails from a completely different project (a TTRPG with my friends, of which she is a beloved and cherished NPC), the in-universe author for Avery Allen (and Mallory Wynn too) are named for a fictional TV author I created when the writing discord was making a nonexistent fandom, Logan's dumpling recipe is my favorite recipe of all time.

I have an apartment ghost, too. I talk to it regularly.

Final thank-yous, because I want to post this very very soon, I've been typing for too long and the mosquitoes are starting to get to me. Thank you to:

Everyone on the TSS writing server who listened to me complain while I was writing it the first time round, and has subsequently listened to me complain while editing it these past two years. So many people in there are responsible for little bits and pieces - phrasings, words, nicknames, jokes - and I couldn't begin to name everyone who helped.

Saphira and the rest of the people who are currently working on making a full-cast audio drama out of this fic (???) (???!!!!??) (!!!!). It is SO baffling to me that it's happening, I'm in complete disbelief whenever we talk about it or I see the script or I get asked logistics questions, I'm terrified and thrilled to see how it turns out, what the fuck! The very existence of that project has ended up influencing a few things about this fic's endgame, too.

Everyone who's commented extensively, commented entire academic analyses, commented numbered lists, commented laconically, left a single emoji in the comments, left kudos, bookmarked it, sent me asks on Tumblr, given me thumbs-ups on Discord, or even just silently read the fic without interacting at all. Your witness brings my words to existence. Love you love you love you.

And Len, who lives in my brain and my body and my heart and my throat, and who is honestly singlehandedly responsible for dragging this fic out of the depths of Google Docs and into the arms of AO3. They've already said I don't need to thank them, but come on, I totally do. Len is the best beta, and puts up with all sorts of deranged nonsense from me, because I have an unhinged writing process where I don't think about anything before I put it down on the page, and I use way too many connecting-dashes and not enough semicolons. Kisses kisses kisses. Thanks for doing this with me, and I can't wait to do it again.

Myself. I managed to write this and I managed to finish it. That makes me a pretty cool person, all things considered. I'm glad I did this.

What next? I've got to rest. Well, I need to get some things done... and then rest. I've been juggling a hellish amount of projects for a while now, and now Syzygy's finally cleared from my plate, I'm going to try to let the others get cleared too so I can take some time and be less stressed. The Locked Tomb AU will be ongoing, as I get through final edits of chapters, so keep an eye out for that - if you're interested in a fic that's rather less starry and shiny, but very much Thomceit and death themes, check it out  - and then....... Well, whatever comes next, whenever I have the energy to do it. I adore writing in this fandom. I'll be back with something weird soon enough.

Ad astra, baby! It's been a blast.

- Min (2024)

[syzygy-podfic-project]

EPILOGUE: REST

Thomas - The food in the cupboard will keep. The food in the fridge will not.

No warnings, just fluff, resolution, and the final act of a long-running play. It's been a long journey, guys - thanks for coming on it with me.

Overtly sentimental and rambling post to follow soon-ish.

[syzygy-podfic-project]

for the completion of syzygy i present,,,,,

a meme art

youre welcome

love ya min <3333 @sometimes-love-is-enough

@syzygy-podfic-project

[syzygy-podfic-project]

Round 1 Side A

32. Space and Everything In It - @/Greenninjagal (ao3) vs. 3. Syzygy - @/arealsword (ao3)

Propaganda:

Space and Everything In It:

Image ID: A screenshot that reads: Aliens/humans are space orcs au. Very soft anxceit.

End Image ID

Syzygy:

Image ID: A screenshot that reads: Urban fantasy c!Thomas-centric fic where Thomas gets trapped in a time loop. Amazing worldbuilding. Slowburn thomceit. Lots of temporary character death.

End Image ID

[syzygy-podfic-project]

Prelim Round Poll

50. A lesson in practicality - @/ResidentAnchor (ao3)

vs.

2. Chessboxing AU - @/arealsword (ao3)

Propaganda:

A lesson in practicality:

Image ID: A screenshot that reads: submitting the most popular sasi fic on ao3, the practicality series, i love this au!!! im usually not that much into superpower aus but i really enjoyed this one. im pretty sure there's also multiple podfics and one that has been animated!

End Image ID

Chessboxing AU:

Image ID: A screenshot that reads: literally the weirdest au that's ever come out of this fandom, i'm still so confused by why it exists and what it means but it's great and i love it

End Image ID

[syzygy-podfic-project]

Cast List Announcement!

Casting auditions are over and they were an absolute blast! I am so excited to get this project underway, and I know I have an awesome cast that I'll be working with! Without further ado, here is the official cast list!

Thomas - @always-anais

Janus - @dragonsaphirareads

Logan - @etherealseashores

Patton - @astrowillscreamintothevoid

Virgil - @sometimes-love-is-enough

Roman & Juice - @samathekittycat

Remus - @cashmeredragon

Mary-Lee - @kieraelieson

Joan & Lee - @silvermoon617

#syzygy podfic project #sanders sides #faq

[syzygy-podfic-project]

Prelim Round Poll

47. The Long Road Home - @/warcatscat (ao3)

vs.

64. Janus Sanders and the Cassandra Fallacy - @/arealsword (ao3)

Propaganda:

Janus Sanders and the Cassandra Fallacy:

Image ID: A screenshot that reads: okay. listen. the cassandra fallacy is just straight up beautiful & also fucks really hard. it's a percy jackson au where canonverse thomas and co. go on a pjo-style quest & it sort of plays around with unreliables narrator janus and cassandra truth which is just INCREDIBLY fascinating. it does some really cool things with that, none of which i can say because of spoilers, but just trust me when i say it is SO cool and i am insane about it.

the writing is witty & feels exactly like the original percy jackson books, but it, yknow, janus narrated them instead. i don't know what else to tell you, it's just funny and delightful and an all-around wonderful read.

even if the cassandra fallacy doesn't win, it is an absolutely fantastic fic!!! please do yourself a favour and read

End Image ID

[syzygy-podfic-project]

oh yeah, and: if syzygy wins that one AU bracket poll tournament thing, i WILL write the full avery allen script, all acts and all scenes, and post it somewhere.

[syzygy-podfic-project]

CHAPTER EIGHT: REUNION

Thomas Sanders has this to say on the topic of SEEING JANUS SANDERS AGAIN...

Chapter Warnings: one last round of identity crisis, and some fun body horror (it's romantic, though).

Welcome to what is (technically!) the final full chapter of this! It's been a long time coming, and I'm pleased to present to you 18k of conclusion to the main plot that also happens to contain one of my favorite jokes I've ever written in my life, see if you can spot it.

There is an epilogue (which will be long enough to be considered a chapter of its own, honestly) and hopefully that'll be out in a month or so! So I won't go making my triumphant victory lap just yet. But this feels good. It feels really, really good to get done.

Also OH MY GOD than you @lifewithoutrainydays SO SO much for holding my hand and helping me and prodding me and editing and yelling at me about semicolons. Guys. Len is a genius and a lifesaver. None of this fic, but ESPECIALLY this chapter would have happened without them. Holy goddamn shit. Oh my god.

Moon time, baby.

[syzygy-podfic-project]

I sent in my audition! I hope it went through.

I see it! Can't wait to move on to the callback/casting phase!

This is a final reminder that the audition deadline is today at 6pm CT, just over three hours from now! If you have any desire to be a part of a super fun voice acting project, make sure to get that audition in!

#syzygy podfic project #answered #faq

[syzygy-podfic-project]

Sanders Sides Audio Drama Auditions

Auditions for the Syzygy Audio Drama are now open! You can find the link to the audition information here!

Make sure to only submit the form once you are confident in your recording! Only the first submission will be accepted, so take your time and get the best take you can before submitting!

Tips for recording your audition:

Record in a small space that's insulated - a closet can work very well, as the clothes can minimize the echo and avoid too many outside sounds.

Make sure you are the proper distance from your microphone - this can take some testing and trial and error!

Have your microphone resting on a flat surface, don't attempt to move it while recording.

Don't be afraid to do multiple takes and only pick your favorite ones!

Audacity is a free audio recording software that is very intuitive for a beginner to use, if you're looking for a recording program.

Feel free to send an ask if you have any questions!

@tsseventhub @sanders-sides-events

[syzygy-podfic-project]

The deadline has been extended to Monday, February 19th at 6pm CT! If you missed the deadline before, you still have one more chance!

Sanders Sides Audio Drama Auditions

Auditions for the Syzygy Audio Drama are now open! You can find the link to the audition information here!

Make sure to only submit the form once you are confident in your recording! Only the first submission will be accepted, so take your time and get the best take you can before submitting!

Tips for recording your audition:

Record in a small space that's insulated - a closet can work very well, as the clothes can minimize the echo and avoid too many outside sounds.

Make sure you are the proper distance from your microphone - this can take some testing and trial and error!

Have your microphone resting on a flat surface, don't attempt to move it while recording.

Don't be afraid to do multiple takes and only pick your favorite ones!

Audacity is a free audio recording software that is very intuitive for a beginner to use, if you're looking for a recording program.

Feel free to send an ask if you have any questions!

@tsseventhub @sanders-sides-events

[syzygy-podfic-project]

I was gonna audition for this but I forgot! I don’t suppose there’s any chance of last-minute submissions?

Ive decided to keep the form open until Monday, so get those last minute submissions in!

#syzygy podfic project #answered #faq

[syzygy-podfic-project]

Last day to get your auditions in! If you're on the fence about auditioning, this is your sign to do it!

Sanders Sides Audio Drama Auditions

Auditions for the Syzygy Audio Drama are now open! You can find the link to the audition information here!

Make sure to only submit the form once you are confident in your recording! Only the first submission will be accepted, so take your time and get the best take you can before submitting!

Tips for recording your audition:

Record in a small space that's insulated - a closet can work very well, as the clothes can minimize the echo and avoid too many outside sounds.

Make sure you are the proper distance from your microphone - this can take some testing and trial and error!

Have your microphone resting on a flat surface, don't attempt to move it while recording.

Don't be afraid to do multiple takes and only pick your favorite ones!

Audacity is a free audio recording software that is very intuitive for a beginner to use, if you're looking for a recording program.

Feel free to send an ask if you have any questions!

@tsseventhub @sanders-sides-events

#there are not enough auditions to cover the main cast rn #if you audition #you are almost guaranteed a spot!