After returning to the social internet for podcasting, MJ decides to tell her own story. That of a digital friend she lost to time: Aishi. Whoever she was…
Do you know who you are? That was the question the game, known to a select few as The Funhouse Hallway was asking its players to answer, but Aishi, MJ, and The Forum were never able to complete it.
That was in the early days of the internet. Aishi and MJ grew up together as the internet came into its own. But suddenly, Aishi was gone, leaving MJ to make sense of a person who didn’t give her much if anything to work off of. After all, you can be anyone online.
In light of certain experiences during her podcasting efforts, MJ has decided to tell the story of the friend she didn’t quite know. But whose to say who she’ll find… After all, you can be anyone online.
A Production of Miscellany Media Studios
Written, Produced, and Performed by MJ Bailey
With Music from the Sounds Like an Earful Music Supply
Press Kit
Episode 1 - The Pilot
I spent hours on something that no longer exists.... The Funhouse Hallway. The Game. Whatever you call it.
What does that say about me?
———————————
Episode 2 - Meet Aishi
The first conversation I had with Aishi was forced: the product of a common line...
What does that say about me?
———————————
Episode 3 - Metaphors
Some things were hard to understand.
I might have trusted far too much.
———————————
Episode 4 - Turns
[TW: Discussion on the potential for misgendering = 9:25 - 11:28]
Consequences and new developments.
———————————
Episode 5 - Changes
When things aren't what you remember.... Hey, everything has to change, after all. But there are only so many we can talk about.
———————————
Episode 6 - Interlude
A taste of what Aishi knew. The details aren't for you, though.
———————————
Episode 7 - Unmasking
Deception can only be unmasked when you see past the surface.
———————————
Episode 8 - Storms
People came and went on the Forum, even Aishi, but I think I pushed them away. When royalty came.
———————————
Episode 9 - Barriers
An absence and a gift. Break-throughs take a lot of forms, do they not?
———————————
Episode 12 - Sounds
Back to the game, because what else could I do? What else could protect the Watchmaker?
———————————
Episode 13 - Doubt
You think you know what to expect. You think you know how the story goes and what it has always been. But simplicity doesn't offer the promises you might be expecting.
There are things I can't confess, that I probably should.
———————————
Episode 14 - Stories
Paths diverge. Variables prove to be unpredictable. And that can make storytelling difficult.
But it may have saved the Watchman.
———————————
Episode 15 - An Abrupt Ending
I went back and forth on how to do this. But there's no ending I can offer that will truly satisfy. I'm not ready to say what needs to be said. Still. After all these years.
I'm sorry, Your Majesty.
———————————
Season 2 Announcement
Not ready to be direct yet, season 2 might look a little different. I was always a writer at heart after all.
Follow @AishiOnlinePod and retweet the pinned link to get a sticker mailed to you! (Also be patient... Especially everyone not in the US.)
———————————
Episode 16 Revival
I'm back now. Whether or not I should be is a different question. But the talk about the Funhouse Hallway is over. There's nothing more I can say about that. However, I'm now in a new place with old pieces of myself found. Those are the stories I can tell you now. If you are interested.
———————————
Episode 17 - Details
No matter how many times you tell a story. The details are never quite right.
I try to fill in some of the details around the Symbolic Myst writing site. And a potential princess makes a sudden appearance in the small kingdom.
———————————
Episode 18 - Words
Sometimes how we say what we can say is the most important part.
I introduce you to one of the moderators of Symbolic Myst that I grew quite close to. And joy disappears in the small kingdom, leaving everyone to ask--though they knew--what was left in its place.
———————————
Episode 19 - Disappearances
Sometimes we can't say the most relevant thing.
The GiftedDuckling and I got along better than expected considering... Things. All under Aishi's eyes. The prince knows why his bride is gone. Everyone knows. And yet, nothing happened.
———————————
Episode 20 - Meaning
Silence is what you make of it...
The GiftedDuckling wanted my voice. The princess wanted everything.
———————————
Episode 21 - Allegiance
People stray. Choices are made.
Symbolic Myst wasn't forever. The queen, the princess, and the mirror: a breaking point bound to happen.
———————————
Episode 22 - APProach
New Eras. Old Problems
The GiftedDuckling finds the secret The Queen of the Forum already knew. The Queen of the small kingdom must arrange another marriage.
———————————
Episode 23 - Cast
I always struggled with characters in a story. There's a lot too them. Like making sure you know where they all are.
The GiftedDuckling knows she does not know. Confidence sends royalty awry.
———————————
Episode 24 - Reveal
I keep reminding you the details matter. Perhaps this is especially true when things don't line up.
The GiftedDuckling receives a visit, several from what I heard. The princess begins to see with her own eyes.
———————————
EPISODE 25 - Mothers
A detour... Necessitated by the season. Of Mothers. And the way they have failed.
———————————
EPISODE 26 - Loyalty
[CW: Dysfunctional, borderline-abusive mother/daughter relationships]
Family is something I don't think I fully understand. I just never knew it. But loyalty, as a concept, can be unwound if you think too hard about it.
My mother makes a bad discovery. The princess finds an unexpected rescue.
———————————
EPISODE 27 - Anticipation
[CW: Implied sexual assault - 6:45 - 6:55]
New beginnings too often looked like the same old thing. So what was I to do?
My aunt had one of her many weddings on New Year's Eve. Royalty leans into the familiar.
———————————
EPISODE 28 - Destiny
Frameworks are set. The pieces just need to fall into place.
Reflections on the past. After the GiftedDuckling, but events she would have wanted to know about. The princess looks forward or in the direction she assumes is forward.
———————————
EPISODE 29 - Wants
[Cw: for child death, the entire episode but particularly 13:15 - 15:15]
The season 2 finale that could have come out a while ago. But this is a difficult story to tell
The Gifted Duckling is abandoned. And a child with royal blood dies.
———————————
Season 3 Trailer
Season 3 is, in fact, coming. Even if it isn’t what you would expect
———————————
Episode 31 - Reflections
[Cw: for child death]
It's been a while. Hopefully it's good to be back, but there's only so much I can say about myself.
Meanwhile, there's a reckoning to be had in the palace. And a few others postponed.
———————————
Episode 32 - Reluctant Alliances
I know this podcast isn't going well... Or that's what I suspect.
Meanwhile, there's the prince to think about. And other men.
———————————
Episode 33 - Parallel
[CW for Dissociation and death]
I never pretended I wasn't broken, but should I have clarified what I meant?
Meanwhile, a bridge is crossed, as the expression goes. How else can you politely speak of death.
———————————
Episode 34 - Patterns
Maybe I am broken. It might depend what your definition is. Fractured? Yes. Chipped? Definitely. There are things to fix, however.
Meanwhile, change may not mean what one thinks. There are things that cannot be fixed.
———————————
Episode 35 - Corrections
Maybe I should try to be better.
Meanwhile, breaks continue. Someone falls through.
———————————
Episode 36 - Groups
I finally gave up Tiktok, but maybe the scars remain?
Meanwhile, consequences abound not just irl but in the palace as well.
———————————
Episode 37 - Dependence
The question about why lingers. In so many ways.
Meanwhile, much the same.
———————————
Episode 38 - Impending
Something is about to happen. The warnings may be clear as day, but that does not mean everyone can see them.
———————————
Episode 39 - Turn Back
There are lines we cannot come back from. Unfortunately they are hard to see.
———————————
Episode 40 - Next
Sometimes, the only way out is through, but that does not mean we can take it.
———————————
Episode 41 - Next
These stories aren't as cut and dry as you let yourself think.
———————————
Episode 42 - Present
Things come together. Things break. Sometimes it is the same thing.
———————————
Episode 43 - Turned Corners
[CW/TW: Parental abuse/assault in the story section from 8:43 to 11:15. The actual incident is at 11:00 to 11:15]
What comes next is both predictable and not. There are always things that could set the plan awry. It just takes a moment.
———————————
Episode 46 - A Relevant Interlude
This episode was always going to happen. Or that is what I tell myself.
———————————
Episode 48 - Demise Part 2
The details matter. Even the small ones. Take notice.
———————————
Episode 49 - Demise Part 3
I haven't forgotten about you. Or myself. But I'm sure it must feel like it.
———————————
Episode 52 - Despair (Un)Realized
Here comes the end of a story. For all that it is and is not.