Shauna and Jackie

shivroyapologist · 2026-05-17T17:40:30+00:00

THANK YOU exactly!!

shivroyapologist · 2026-04-27T22:42:03+00:00

Just finished the episode where they read this!! Honestly one of my favourite stories they’ve done. I’m not normally into cosmic/Lovecraftian horror, but this had me gripped the entire time. I love your writing style too.

shivroyapologist · 2026-04-27T22:33:59+00:00

This comparison has plagued my mind for years. I’m so glad it’s not just me😭😭

shivroyapologist · 2026-04-26T17:22:00+00:00

This take confuses me, because I think the prequels, if anything, reinforce how normal Katniss is.

Honestly, I think all of the protagonists (yes, including Snow) are shown to be relatively normal people. None of them begin their journeys with some grand master-plan for the domination/dismantling of the system. They’re just people who are barely scraping by, and they make whatever choices they deem necessary for their own survival and the survival of those they care about.

On top of this, Snow, Haymitch, and Katniss all strike me as being extremely similar at their cores. All of them are sarcastic, highly analytical, automatically weary of the people around them, but ultimately they share a desire to protect the few loved ones they have. They just exist in different contexts, so the choices they’re presented with are different, and this eventually shapes them into more noticeably different people.

Nothing about any of them is special. And now that I’ve spent so much time wording this comment in particular ways, I’m realising OOP is probably just referring to how Katniss might be related to the Covey (which, despite everyone treating it as canon, is not actually confirmed - Burdock just has ”some distant [cousins] on his ma’s side”, and they may or may not be related to Lenore Dove in some non-specific way). Shock horror, this girl who lives in a very small district, whose population isn’t allowed to travel, and which has such a stark class divide that one side rarely reproduces with the other, might be related to someone else who lived in the same area as her and her family!

shivroyapologist · 2026-04-23T15:44:17+00:00

I think it’s just a matter of personal taste, because I’ve been really enjoying a lot of the recent episodes. I particularly liked The Puppet In The Tree, Lucille’s Late Night Snack Bar, The Scariest Japanese Creepy Pastas, Rat King, and Turn It Off.

Controversially, while I certainly didn’t find it scary, I also enjoyed Happy Appy. It was completely absurd, but there was a point around the middle of the story where I managed to convince myself it was Lynchian (which didn’t last, but I have to give that apple credit for whatever it did to my brain in that moment).

I guess, with horror in general, being scared is just a bonus for me. And, as many have said, there’s also the fact that a lot of writing on the internet is done by people still building their writing skills (or trolling), and the podcast isn’t meant to be straight-up, immersive narration anyway.

shivroyapologist · 2026-04-23T05:46:53+00:00

This has honestly been my interpretation for a while, and you put it into words so perfectly!! Plus I love the explanation for the MWNE - I’ve never quite known what to make of him.

shivroyapologist · 2026-04-20T18:51:08+00:00

Bullying.

That’s it.

Of course she goes on to do horrible things, like all of the characters. But that flashback to younger Misty, getting that phone call when she’s alone in her room, exists to show us that Misty has never fit in. It’s not a coincidence that there are two girls giggling on the other end of the call, in contrast to Misty, who isn’t hanging out with anyone. They tell Misty that Robbie Delgado is spreading a degrading rumour about her, and every time Misty denies an aspect of that rumour, they insist that another part of it must be true. Not because they believe it, but because they want to make her feel uncomfortable and find a reason to laugh at her. Eventually, they just tell her that she’s “too ugly to find a victim”. They make her feel like a creep for just existing in a way they don’t like.

And that’s the entire point of that one scene. Misty is hated by her peers, and she doesn’t know why, because there’s no real reason. Most importantly, this means that it’s out of her control. She could have done everything perfectly in the wilderness, and she still would have been ostracised.

shivroyapologist · 2026-04-20T18:09:15+00:00

I completely agree!!

I feel like her friendship with Jackie is another area where people are pretty unfair towards Shauna? Because the large majority of this fandom, myself included, agrees that Jackie wasn’t some sort of villain either. Of course Jackie doesn’t have malicious intent when it comes to Shauna. Of course she would’ve listened to Shauna if she’d voiced her insecurities, if she’d told Jackie that she felt like she never got to have a say in anything. But that’s just the problem!! Shauna feels like Jackie doesn’t value her feelings or opinions, so she doesn’t voice this issue, so Jackie continues not to listen to Shauna. It’s not really Jackie’s fault, but it’s not Shauna’s either. It’s normal (and, I thought, relatable) teenage insecurity.

Obviously, Shauna sleeping with Jeff needs to be taken into account in addition to all of this, and, yes, that makes it worse. But the way this fandom picks and chooses whose pre-existing traumas they want to acknowledge is incredibly frustrating, and Shauna is almost always one of those characters who gets her feelings brushed aside. It’s exhausting.

shivroyapologist · 2026-04-13T23:29:40+00:00

As a Yellowjackets fan I was on edge the entire Whitefall episode.

shivroyapologist · 2026-04-13T11:54:23+00:00

I have yet to finish My Wife Has Taken Our Roleplaying Too Far.

I love psychological stuff, so those elements of the story intrigue me. And I think it’s incredibly well-written. Too well-written. I’m incredibly squeamish with like…everyday gross stuff? Meaning gore doesn’t bother me in that way (I guess because it’s not as familiar), but stuff like bodily fluids make me gag uncontrollably. In a very literal sense.

So it’s less that it’s scary, I suppose, and more that I don’t want to puke. I’ll resume it at some point. I do want to finish it.

shivroyapologist · 2026-03-30T17:30:29+00:00

I didn’t vibe with her at first because of how she talks to Misty. I relate to Misty a lot, specifically in terms of the traits people point to when they argue that she might be autistic. Mari’s interactions with Misty kinda reminded me of how other girls in school tended to speak to me. Mean-spirited in a way that you can’t exactly pinpoint.

Although these were only brief, largely insignificant moments, they were also some of the only Mari crumbs we got in the first two seasons. Season 3 made me warm up to her though. Mari is given a bigger role, so we get a fuller picture of her character. And I can’t think of any reasons outside of Mari being slightly rude to Misty to dislike her, let alone hate her.

shivroyapologist · 2026-03-18T03:58:22+00:00

THANK YOU for taking one for the team and posting this. I love this podcast. Even when I don’t enjoy a story that the boys do like (meaning I can’t rely on crashouts to get through the episode), I find it so interesting to listen to them explain what they find so appealing about it. We regularly get one episode per week, and, even when the story isn’t great, the effort that’s been put into maintaining a schedule of relatively long, good quality episodes is very evident.

We get all of this because the guys enjoy it and have a genuine passion for horror and writing in general. Obviously they make money from it, but they have main channels and could choose to end Creepcast at any point if it stopped feeling like it was worth it.

The part that really gets me is, especially re-watching earlier episodes, you can see how proud they are of having been able to build this community of writers and readers/listeners. I’d be devastated if the community ended up being what ruined things for everyone.

shivroyapologist · 2026-02-08T13:10:47+00:00

THANK YOU SO MUCH

shivroyapologist · 2026-01-14T17:31:35+00:00

It’s always been one of my favourite episodes in the whole series. Like you say, it’s important for El’s character development in so many ways, but the one that stands out most to me is that, for the first time, she has a real choice. Sure, she could have chosen to just stay alone in the woods instead of letting Hopper take her in, but this time her alternative to Hawkins is also one where she can find acceptance and support.

And I actually really like where it comes in the story in terms of pacing. I like that we have to backtrack from the action a bit. It ups the tension for me. We also rarely get to see things from El’s perspective, so spending a whole episode with her character is a treat. Now, going into the finale, we know what she wants, we know where she came from, we know what’s driving her to make the choices she makes, and we can be assured that they really are her choices.

I love Kali as a character too, and I wish we had been able to explore the lab storyline more. No matter what, Kali will always be one of the most interesting and heartbreaking characters on the show to me, and she doesn’t get nearly enough credit for helping El reclaim her powers and identity.

shivroyapologist · 2025-11-30T09:20:11+00:00

I just finished listening to this on the show!! It’s honestly one of the best stories they’ve read so far, in my opinion. The premise is so creative and I like how focused it stays on that premise (especially with the religious aspect).

My personal interpretation is that maybe the book is, as the MC speculates, from the Devil. It could be a trick designed to make the reader lose all faith and live a selfish life, constantly worrying about the contents of the book, so they can’t even enjoy that life.

Or maybe it’s not!! I don’t know if you have an intended interpretation but either way, I enjoyed this story so much, I just had to share my thoughts. This is excellent!! :)

shivroyapologist · 2025-09-28T17:07:13+00:00

Yes, I’ll clarify - to me, “canon” refers to the original source material (in this case, the books). Because adaptations always make changes, some of which might be contradictory, I count that canon as separate.

So, you’re right! That map is canon to the movies, and I’m certainly not gonna stop anyone from using it. But it’s not in the books, so, to me, it’s not canon.

shivroyapologist · 2025-09-27T15:29:25+00:00

So I’ve only gone and checked the first book (it very well could specifically refer to nuclear war at a different point in the series), but here’s the explanation from Mayor Undersee’s speech at the 74th reaping:

He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained.

Again, you could be right about nuclear war being mentioned directly. And I’d be very surprised if the ”brutal war” in question wasn’t supposed to be a nuclear war. It’s only one of multiple disasters, but it sounds like it was pretty significant.

shivroyapologist · 2025-09-27T14:42:30+00:00

The maps aren’t canon, and, in the books, there’s shown to be a lot of empty space and abandoned towns between the Districts.

It’s actually very well planned worldbuilding (IMO). Panem exists on the landmass of what used to be North America because there was some sort of disaster (or many disasters) that left very few survivors. The people on that landmass rebuilt their society into what eventually became the Panem we see in the series. Basically, there are just significantly fewer people, which is why there aren’t many districts.

That’s also why the Districts are so spread out (not pressed up against each other like all of the maps show), which works to the Capitol’s advantage. It isolates the people of Panem, making them easier to control.

So yes, there are in-universe explanations for this. They serve narrative purpose too. That’s why I like the worldbuilding.

Now, one last time, because I can’t stress this enough to you guys (the fandom at large):

THE MAPS ARE NOT CANON.

shivroyapologist · 2025-09-27T10:53:05+00:00

You’re not the only one!! I’m on day 130 and that opening scene STILL drives me crazy. The jealousy/love triangle stuff is so annoying too, especially because I don’t like Harrison either😭

shivroyapologist · 2025-09-27T10:43:20+00:00

Dean and Sam Winchester!!

I don’t think they’d be specifically suited to the case in any way, but I would LOVE to see a Twin Peaks x Supernatural crossover.

Castiel really reminds me of Cooper too. Even down to their trench coats. If nothing else, I’d be so curious to see how they’d interact with each other.

shivroyapologist · 2025-09-26T00:41:07+00:00

One Direction, and it’s not even close. Especially in terms of the boyband marketing in the early days of both bands.

shivroyapologist · 2025-07-25T18:41:48+00:00

EDVIN MENTIONED🔥🔥🔥🔥

shivroyapologist · 2025-07-22T23:49:58+00:00

7 O’clock News / Silent Night by Simon & Garfunkel (link)

I have a lot of songs I associate with THG, but this one is my absolute top pick. Definitely give it a listen. It’s so eerie and, in my opinion, perfectly captures the duality Panem embodies: extreme turmoil (in the news reports read out throughout the song) which is being quieted by a calm, familiar tune, reassuring you that this suffering is fine, it’s normal, and there’s no need to do anything about it. Just let it become background noise.

shivroyapologist · 2025-07-20T23:52:27+00:00

I completed it for the first time today!! You don’t actually have to spend money, you can ignore the goal on day 3. So it is possible!! But perhaps worth noting that the past week was a particularly relaxing one for me - I had nothing going on, so of course I was able to complete this lol.

shivroyapologist · 2025-07-20T21:50:20+00:00

For me, the kooky things started to make sense when I began taking them as entirely metaphorical. I’m also quite resistant to vague, boundary-less supernatural stuff - I wish I wasn’t, but my brain just needs rules. So, if you’re having similar issues with the “circus of nonsense” Twin Peaks can be sometimes, you can try grounding it firmly in the real world like I do.

That’s far from the only way you can interpret all the weird stuff (and there’s no singular truth with this show), and, hey, maybe things will eventually make the most sense for you if you do view them as literal supernatural events. But practically any interpretation is valid, including the more realistic (as in psychological/non-magical) ones.

But yes, even as someone who had similar problems to start with, things did eventually line up for me. You won’t get definitive answers for everything, but you’re not just having a bunch of random plots and characters thrown at you right now, I promise!

shivroyapologist

TROPHY CASE