The V22 Podcast

Original- https://youtu.be/aeSRntsVX-w “A little,” he said. “People work harder without realizing it. But it’s not the main issue.” He said the main issue was planning assumptions. Models that looked fine on paper. Margins that disappeared when multiplied by time and task load. He talked about gas management failures, navigation errors, and missed decision points. None of it sounded dramatic. I as...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XftulJjxQ8U&list=PL75dyacAwbXwRiE6KXCNSBVMJsRVisXdN&index=1&t=633s   He was the kind of guy who could make you say yes to things without trying that hard. Not in a manipulative way. More like… he’d already decided it was going to be fun, and you didn’t want to be the person who wasn’t fun. Also, if I’m being honest, I’d had a rough month. Too m...

Original- https://youtu.be/66eUp_hehIk The intercom came on again and the sound of it crackling to life made me feel sick and filled me with terror: "Attention passengers, we are not going to be okay...we are not going to make it...so fragile we are...nothing in the face of the gods..." My Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wXzsnnDVBpe3i00aL253p   A HUGE thank you to all my patreons and membe...

The vibration was immediate. Not a visible tremor, but an internal response, muted, that climbed up my forearm and lodged itself in my chest. I pulled my hand away and pressed it again, this time with more force. The wall gave way just slightly, enough for the body to understand something before the mind found words. Behind that corner there was no weight. There was passage. My Spotify: https://op...

He sat propped against the frozen juice pallets, a hollowed-out husk of a man. His chest cavity was splayed wide, the ribs forced open like the slats of a discarded crate. The cold had been his only embalmer, flash-freezing the wound into a jagged, purple bloom of ice. No blood. No mess. ➤Original Story Written By: DaL0ngEgg - https://pastebin.com/EyYyDWjU   Story Music By Repulsive: https://www.y...

“The hatch!” she exclaimed, eyes widening. Grabbing my hand, she yanked me along to the steel trapdoor, which was now wide open. Stairs led down to a sterile and spotless hallway lit by white lights. It looked like a laboratory or a hospital corridor. She looked up at me with those wide, adrenaline-drunk eyes again, begging me to come with her. I should’ve stopped her. God, I should’ve. My Spotify...

It started with a rash on Eli’s arm. Red, angry, like poison ivy but wetter. We tried calamine. Then antibiotics from the urgent care. The skin broke open anyway. It smelled wrong. Sweet and sour at the same time. Karen got a spot on her neck two days later. Then Caleb’s ankle. People around town started showing up with bandages, with scarves in warm weather. The ER filled up. The state called in...

Original-  I’d vaguely recalled seeing a tour video from guests visiting one such hotel online. It’d looked so pretty and mesmerizing, like a magical glass room on the ocean floor. It had also looked intimidating to my child mind, like the ocean could envelop you from all sides. All it would take was the glass breaking to instantly drown you. Even my older siblings were a bit frightened. But my pa...

Original-  Despite the fact that I was raised by two adults that were involved in these witchcraft and spiritual practices, I’ve never really been one to believe in things like evil spirits or setting a bowl of rice out for good luck. Of course, I never argued with them when they did these things. I would simply sit back and let them line doorways and windows with black salt to stop evil spirits f...

Original- https://youtu.be/OTiJ9l84FKg There are over 2.2 million species of fungi out in the world. A form of Fungi we all know is mold. Of which over 100,000 types have been identified. There's the harmless molds you find growing on your bread and cheese that most say you can just cut off and that’s the end of it, but that’s not how mold works, because if you’re seeing it, it’s already crawled t...

Original- https://youtu.be/rVMwYYw2LLk A lot has happened since I last wrote. All of it is bad, but if I have my way tonight, it will all be over soon. I used to think growing up was realizing that monsters weren’t real, but now I understand that growing up is recognizing that those monsters are real and facing them head-on. My Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wXzsnnDVBpe3i00aL253p   A HUGE...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSiRsz1LZok When I was old enough to understand words like 'cirrhosis’, the damage was already written in the yellowing of his eyes, as the holiday smell of alcohol had stuck to him for years aplenty. The final time I saw him on his feet was under the glow of the market tree lights, sweating and shivering, insisting via slurred jokes that he was fine while...

Original- https://youtu.be/sEouj6mGd0k The truth is blinding even to those who are ready to receive it. Others are sightless merely because they refuse to gaze past the surface. Prophecy often begs for blood to be spilled, and no matter who carries out the vision, the price will always be innocence. Purity. Faith in the good of man. The endless temple is where the jury becomes the judge, and the e...

Original- https://youtu.be/Dygln_pSyH8 She taught me everything. How to read sheet music. Where to loosen tension and where to hold it. How posture shapes sound and how patience shapes art. She played with this delicate, deliberate grace. It was like her fingers didn’t just press the keys, but also understood them. Music wasn’t just something she made, it was something she was. I thought we would...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAzei9WM2dI Yup, you read that title right—I’m a fully certified demon hunter, government issue and all. Most people think demons are all some paranormal bullshit, just straight instances of possession of the human soul. You know, some real Exorcist/Conjuring movie type stuff. But actually, our own government is using “demon” as a blanket term for all the...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l96YmWkfffI I was on my third beer in a local bar. She must’ve noticed me before I noticed her, because when my eyes fell on her, she was already looking my way. There was passion in her eyes. She wore a short black dress, and her crimson hair complemented her emerald-colored eyes. A tattoo of a snake stretched across her arm. As soon as we made eye contac...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b76qSmKsbjY When I was a little boy, I was fascinated with the unknown ever since my father told me stories about my great-grandfather, who always swore up and down that he saw Bigfoot. The way he told it, the story sounded genuine, tangible, like it could've happened. It wasn't the ordinary tale of 'I heard this sound' followed by a strange noise that cou...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvdZpPJi4s4 I regretfully stumbled off into my office, dreading the work I had to do. After a few hours, I quietly stepped into the bedroom. The room felt brisk as I inched closer to the bed. Isabel lay stiff on her back, letting out subtle snores. I climbed into bed carefully, not wanting to wake her. As I adjusted myself, I turned toward her, observing e...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuHfeKYwayk When I didn’t respond, he blocked my path, eyes wide, pupils blown. He was sweating. Bad. I should’ve felt guilty for making him not just an addict, but completely dependent on me.  On her deathbed, Mom had warned me, “You like fixing broken things.” My Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wXzsnnDVBpe3i00aL253p   A HUGE thank you to all my p...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24SFmtpL4gw First question - Do you know who you are? “My name is Carlos Ortega, and wherever I go, there I still am.” He paused, a moment, considering. “Until I’m not.” Second question - Do you know where you are? Carlos knew the answer. This time, anyway. He’d chosen the narrow alley behind Marty’s Corner Store — the only place in his childhood town that...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i0ohG0Vdzs Legends need some grain of truth, right? As the sheriff's daughter, Ebony had every resource and privilege any eager sixteen-year-old could need to hunt local myths. But, for as keen as she was, her father still set borders. Go dig up the beach and explore the woods, that's fine. But don't go too far out, don't go at night; don't go alone if it...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6iNkyOsZuE The revolver disappeared. My left arm was almost dislocated as the object I was pulling on stopped existing. I blinked. I raised my empty right hand. I stared at it. I slowly opened and closed it a few times. Silence. "What the hell—" My Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wXzsnnDVBpe3i00aL253p   A HUGE thank you to all my patreons and memb...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4BveCqrTBw I don’t remember when or where my sister found the Contract. I suppose these details don’t matter. What matters is that its discovery changed everything, and that it unleashed something into our lives that we would never be able to put back into the metaphorical tube. God how I wish we could. My Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wXzsnnDVB...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSAM7a6y2XQ “When your father and I left the woods, it wasn’t just because we were poor...” I made a noncommittal hum of acknowledgement and pulled my hand away to inspect the jewel, only half-listening. “There’s things in the forest we wanted to protect you from…” She gripped my forearm painfully tight to get my attention, and I startled. “Listen to me. I...

Original- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjt_nXJgZdk I was in a pit. The size of it was impossible to discern amid the crushing darkness, but the shape was easily surmised from the angle at which the walls were set. When finally I could see my fingers, I felt a rush of panicked horror boil throughout my being. The ground here was comprised entirely of bone. Discarded femurs and ribcages intertwin...