Season 5 Episode 7: Monarch
Art by Chris DiSalvatore and James Curcio
Monarch
We are all just costumes death wears for a season.
Johny is losing time. His thoughts jump tracks, his memories come back twisted and tangled, and the “Op” starts to feel less like a joke and more like a trap he agreed to without noticing. He replays conversations with Bradley and starts to question his sanity. Stella should be safety, but even her silence feels loaded. Then a detail he’s ignored for years becomes impossible to unsee: Stella’s monarch tattoo.
The nights turn into fragments and dreams bleed into waking. Faces shift, names don’t stick, and Bradley’s voice keeps showing up where it shouldn’t. Johny wakes to a phone call that starts as nonsense and snaps into a single instruction. When he looks outside, the sky has turned the color of an apocalypse.
Art by Chris DiSalvatore and James Curcio
Audio Edition Credits
This podcast is also available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, PodBean, Podchaser, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, and of course RSS.
Cycle 1: “Tales From When I Had A Face” (Seasons 1-4) was written by James Curcio, and edited by Brian Johnson. B&W print edition available on Amazon.
Cycle 2: “Party At The World’s End” (Seasons 5-6) was written by James Curcio, with special thanks to JF Stackhouse and Nate Sampsel for collaboration on earlier editions.
The soundtrack was produced by James Curcio, with special thanks to collaborators new and old including Jenn E, Dave Bessell, Scott Landes, Bradley the Buyer, Sarah and Rahul Iyer, Marz 233, P. Emerson Williams, Martine DellaRufa, and all the others who sat in on the subQtaneous sessions.
“Cut the Sky’s Throat,” an album selected from this feature’s soundtrack by Lilith & The Bacchae is available on various streaming platforms.
This podcast is Creative Commons 3.0, allowing for Attribution, Share Alike, and Non-commercial use, and features adult themes.
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A mythpunk universe combining elements of speculative fiction, magical realism, fantasy and near-future noir.
Perhaps you've been having prophetic dreams that won't stop, or hear the spirits of the trees demanding a blood sacrifice every time you leave your apartment. But those are just dreams... right?
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