Rotten Work
Project Overview
Rotten Work is a 30 episode fan podcast featuring brand new original statements alongside reimaginings of canon statements from the original series. The story follows the Archivist, his Assistants, and his Intern as they start their work in the Archives, and start finding mysterious mold and Rot throughout their workplace. The series explores horror, trauma, grief, and the importance of friendship and trust in equal measures.
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Annie is Clarke’s mother… or at least, she used to be. She’s also supposed to be dead, but that’s just as far from the truth. Something strange is keeping her alive. Something terrifying… Perhaps it’s the black and rotten “blood” pumping through her veins. She and John Amherst work together, but they don’t exactly see eye to eye.
Annie is the embodiment of the Crawling Rot in two primary ways. She is the mold itself, creeping unseen below the surface until it’s too late… And she is the personification of what holding onto grief, in isolation of other feelings, can do to you. Grief is an infection if its own variety, and that is the infection that first attached itself to Annie, before the Corruption ever got to her.
By the time we hear Annie’s voice in this show, she is truly and completely inhuman. Although she remembers her time as a person, as Clarke’s mother, she does NOT remember what it felt like. She no longer has any understanding of what it means to be a person. She has no humanity left. Annie Gallegos is dead, and the thing we hear is something else entirely. It should be dripping and creepy and entirely unsettling to hear.
Her Scottish accent should really emphasize the lilting inhumanity in her voice, especially when she sings. Speaking of the singing; the goal is not to sound pretty… the goal is to instill a deep-rooted sense that something is very, very wrong.
- female adult
- scottish
I’m here because of you, pet. I’ve waited years for you to come home to me. And now the filth is inside you. I’ve never been prouder.
You forget, dear, I have been watching your every move ever since my Rot first entered here. So tell me, if I don’t know what you want, then what do you?
It will never be enough, archivist. Don’t you understand? Her fear fuels me. Fuels the filth I serve. And so does yours. And his.
Stewart Charles Perkins is stubborn, curious, and honest. With a Masters degree in history and a mark from the Spiral thanks to a Leitner, he’s an ideal replacement for missing-and-possibly-dead Judith Montgomery. He’s a heavy-set but somewhat short stealth trans man with a penchant for second-hand tweed and old jumpers.
Charles is named after Charlotte Perkins Gilman, author of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and the lead investigator in Hugh Whitemore’s play “Pack of Lies.”
(Budding) Avatar of the Eye, Marked by the Spiral
- english
- british
- male adult
I used to collect things, keep them on my shelves and desk… every single one had a little label I made, an index card explaining what it was, where I found it, why I decided it was important…
I’m not—I’m not okay, Clarke. I’m rotting just the same as these bloody Archives and I don’t know what to do because every person I’ve tried to show it to hasn’t seen anything. The only friends I’ve had since I lost Robin, and I’ve managed to put all of you in danger, lost you your homes… Just let me die of this. Maybe then you’ll at least be safe.
A whole archive of stuff like this! These moments of people’s lives… miracles, really. I mean, shitty miracles. But things that shouldn’t be possible are. It gives you hope that good impossible things might happen, too. You know?
Freddie K. Lovecraft is smart and surprisingly extroverted. A holdover from the last Archivist’s team, he’s a bit of a loner, but his new coworkers are starting to change that. He lets people make their own assumptions, and usually doesn’t bother to correct them. He tends to wear muted colors, and can usually be found in the same old pair of converse–covered in doodles and falling apart.
Freddie is named after Freddy Krueger and H. P. Lovecraft.
Currently affiliated with the Eye, has tendencies toward the Lonely.
TRANSMASC ACTORS WILL BE PRIORITIZED WHEN CASTING THIS ROLE (FREDDIE K. LOVECRAFT).
- english
- male adult
- british
- trans man
It’s not your fault. Don’t apologize. I should’ve been more careful. That Amherst guy did something, and I didn’t notice. So my entire flat is just kind of… Rotting? I think, I haven’t been there in around two weeks now.
I have absolutely no idea. If Judith knew about these, she didn't tell me, or if she did I wasn't paying attention - she would ramble a lot.
Why shouldn’t you? Just cause--the thing between you guys that only you know and definitely need to talk about doesn’t mean you can’t still be friends. It would probably be strange if you didn’t invite him.
Clarke Gallegos is analytical, witty, and loyal. She grew up in Scotland until she was 12, when she moved to London to live with her grandparents. Before working in the Archives, Clarke worked in the Institute library–her work history is a bit muddy before then. Clarke is a tall woman, with a frame many would describe as “gaunt.”
Currently affiliated with the Eye, Marked by the Corruption, has some tendencies toward the Desolation.
- english
- female adult
- scottish
- british
My bedroom was my sanctuary. I kept it very clean and spent most of my time locked inside, meticulously straightening and making sure no mold crept its way under my doorway. When mum’s friends came over I listened to them guffaw and gorge themselves on fast food as I laid in bed trying to get rid of the crawling sensation up my back and down my legs. It felt like…like every part of my life was covered in a layer of filth, and I couldn’t escape it.
No. No, no. What we are not going to do is start blaming ourselves for the creepy supernatural Rot that’s infiltrated our Archives. We’re not going to do that. What we are going to do is figure it out together. Because, like it or not, we’re a team now. Like Freddie said, we chose this.
I’m feeling like today has turned into some kind of people pleasing intervention. I promise I get enough of those from my shrink, Charlie.
John Amherst is tall, almost unnaturally so, and his skin has a sickly pallor to it. He moves as though he doesn’t belong in his body. He is sinister and slimy, both literally and metaphorically.
John Amherst is an Avatar of the Corruption taken from the original canon of The Magnus Archives.
People get sick. It’s a care home. They’re old, and often sick already. It’s simply our job to help. Say, can I ask you a question?
So it is. Did you find what I left you downstairs? I told you, you ought to keep a closer eye on your assistants.
What a show! I’m impressed. But stubbornness won’t help. Nothing in the world is as stubborn as the Crawling Rot.
Judith Montgomery is a sharp, calculating woman with a love for cigarettes, always trying to understand the unknown. Where once she was the Head Archivist of The Magnus Institute, Judith has fallen into a different role. Now living blind in the tunnels beneath the Institute, she has escaped the Fears... but she herself has become something to fear, these days.
Previously an Avatar of the Eye, currently affiliated with the Buried.
- english
- british
- female senior
Well. That didn't take Elias very long, did it? Oh my goodness. My dear, you are in for quite the ride.
That's a fancy trick, Archivist. Tell me, how long have you been able to Ask such direct questions and receive such precise answers? Hmm? I freed myself, Charles Perkins. Something I'm sure you won't be brave enough to do when the opportunity presents itself.
Again with the deflection. If you must know, I cut them out. But don't worry, I keep them on hand. Just in case I ever need them again.
Anna Proun is quiet, proud, and fiercely protective of those she loves. She’s 15, and has lost every member of her family. She comes to the Institute with her new guardian, Margaret, to give a statement about the murder of her older sibling, who raised her. She is trying very hard to be strong… she’s not sure if she’s capable of it.
Marked by the Slaughter, with tendencies toward the End and the Lonely.
TRANSFEM ACTORS WILL BE PRIORITIZED WHEN CASTING THIS ROLE (ANNA PROUN).
- english
- female teen
- british
- Trans Girl
It all happened really fast. Blade pushed me and told me to run, and I did. They stopped chasing me when I got far enough from Blade, and I stopped. I turned around, and he had a knife in his gut. There was… God, there was so much blood. It was all over him and it was splattered on her and on the others closest to her. The rest of them closed in and it got… worse. I ran at them. I… Everything was red.
I'm fine, Margaret. I... I can do this. I need to do this. He was my brother. He IS my brother. What they did doesn't change that.
Robert Ackroyd is inquisitive and ambitious. Orphaned at 15 and often alienated for his transness, Robbie decided that he couldn’t stand being at home any longer, and worked hard to be accepted to Goldsmiths and study abroad. He started working at the Institute as soon as he finished his Bachelor’s degree, and desperately wants to transfer into the Archives. He puts himself before anyone else, and will do whatever he can to get ahead. He’s not unkind, but he will be cruel if it serves him better. He’s in his mid-twenties at the start of the story.
Robbie is named after a bastardization of the titular character in Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Avatar of the Web, affiliated with the Eye, Marked by the Desolation.
TRANSMASC ACTORS WILL BE PRIORITIZED WHEN CASTING THIS ROLE (ROBBIE ACKROYD).
- english
- american
- male adult
- trans man
Not exactly…? I… Followed the spiderwebs. Not—not the smartest thing to do when you’re already being haunted, I know, but… Well, when a house burns down, you don’t necessarily expect to find spiderwebs all over the ruins of what used to be your bedroom, you know? So I came back at night, snuck out past the neighbor who had agreed to let me stay until the red tape cleared up enough to get me in the system, and followed the webs. I expected to hear the voice—to hear Owen’s voice. I was there in the dark, after all. After sunset. He was always there when it was dark. But he didn’t say anything. And when I got to the place where the webs were heaviest… I found three things.
Hey, are you okay? I… Sorry, that probably didn’t need to be part of this, did it? I’m sorry.
I have to say, I thought it would be running more smoothly down here, given how picky Elias is about who works in the Archives.
Jackson O’Connor is strong, independent, and optimistic. He was a member of the Dublin police force before losing his partner to a strange case. He moved to London in the aftermath, trying to get away from the whole situation and start over. He started studying Chemistry, and applied for an internship at the Institute believing it to be a lab research position. He ended up in the Archives.
Jackson is named after authors Shirley Jackson and Flannery O’Connor.
Currently affiliated with the Eye, Marked by the Flesh and the Dark.
- english
- male adult
- irish
Fuck! What--what are we supposed to do? How do we stop it?!
I… Physically? Yeah, I’m good. Confused as hell, but I’m fine.
I, ah. Not particularly. We shouldn’t stay here. You never want to stay at the site of a cave in. Or go deeper once there’s been one, really, but… do we know which way is deeper?
Bailey Bram has always been a little odd. Their fascination with dolls didn’t end with childhood, instead growing into an obsession with horror and the uncanny. Fresh out of uni, with a degree in Gothic Lit, they stumbled across a job listing for the Archives and, after learning what they do, decided to apply. They hope to learn more about the supernatural and confirm certain beliefs they’ve held for a while.
Bailey is named after Bram Stoker.
Currently affiliated with the Eye, with some tendencies toward the Stranger.
- english
- british
- nonbinary
Hey, boss, I wanted to ask— ... What is that?
Hi, I'm from the Magnus Institute? I'm here to follow up on a statement we got about this place. Ivy Meadows Care Home. Would you mind answering some questions?
I'm sorry, what? Is- is this a job interview now? What's going on?
Naomi Herne is an introverted person by nature, who comes to the Institute to give a statement about her experiences after her fiance’s death. She is quiet and uncertain about the situation she’s in, but she’s very certain about the story she’s telling–and she has the evidence to prove it to others.
Marked by the Lonely.
Please listen MAG 13 - Alone for reference. Naomi is a canon TMA character.
- english
- female adult
No, I… I guess this shows how desperate I am, huh? The last people I talked to just laughed at me, so… You’re my last ditch. You have to believe me, right?
Fine. My name is Naomi Herne. I’m making a statement about the events… following the funeral of my fiance. E-Evan Lukas. It’s… The date is February 23, 2016. It’s… It’s a Tuesday, if that matters.
… I could’ve sworn I heard Evan’s voice call to me. He said, “turn left.” That’s it—that’s all he said. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s what he told me to do. And I did it. I turned sharply to the left and kept on running. And then… nothing.
Margaret Greene is an English Literature teacher who’s very fond of her cat. She’s no-nonsense and all logic, and does her very best to reason her way through every situation and emotion. She’s having a very hard time processing the thing she’s at the Institute to talk about with her ward, Anna.
Marked by the Slaughter, with tendencies toward the Eye.
- english
- british
- female adult
Take your time, alright? This isn't going to be easy.
I didn't know him well when it happened. But I used to. He was... Blade was my best friend, for a long time. He didn't deserve what happened to him. No one does.
Birdie Hyre is a soft-spoken and creative person. She is sensitive to other people’s emotions and incredibly observant. Birdie has a unique style, sporting bright pink hair and usually wearing some form of eyewear with tinted lenses. Some people might describe her as “spacey” or “not all there.
Birdie is named after Mary Hyre, a news reporter affiliated with “The Athens Messenger” in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Birdie is affiliated with both the Vast and the Stranger.
- british
- female young adult
- female adult
I never understood how someone could put their life and reputation so far below telling some far fetched story, even if it was true. Unfortunately I can now say that I do understand. Every moment that I don’t tell someone about what I saw…what I felt...there’s this indescribable itching. Like I’m somehow betraying a part of my very nature in not telling.
I, Birdie Hyre, was abducted by aliens two weeks after my initial sighting of the disc.
I might have laughed, then, but now that feels entirely inappropriate given the events that followed. Like cracking a joke at a funeral, it might provide some comfort in the moment but once you’ve made it to the punchline it just hangs in the air like cigar smoke. It chokes out any laughter one might have had and only serves to emphasize the grief of it all.
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