Mike DelGaudio

About control.

About the systems we build for ourselves to make sense of the world.

And what happens when something inside those systems isn't quite right.

Sometimes it's a relationship that feels a little off, or sometimes it's your own thoughts turning in directions you didn't expect.

Sometimes it's the sense that you're being watched, or misunderstood, or slowly losing your grip on something you thought was stable.

These are the kinds of stories where the horror doesn't come from a single moment.

It builds quietly.

Gradually.

Until you realize that whatever's wrong has been wrong for a while.

And by then it's usually too late to do anything about it.

In our first tale, we meet a couple who have settled into a very comfortable routine.

The kind where you know exactly how your partner walks through the door, what they say, how they breathe.

When something small changes, something that's almost unnoticeable, it's hard to ignore.

Because once you start paying attention like that, you tend to see more than you meant to.

Performing this tale by Nicholas Hinchey are Mary Murphy, David Cummings, and Sarah Thomas.

And when keeping things in order starts to matter more than keeping things right, you may find yourself practicing a little forbearance.

In our second tale, we follow a writer who's stuck, which is frustrating until it becomes something else.

Because when you care enough about the work, you'll try just about anything to get past that wall, even if it means handing over a little control.

And once you do that, it's not always clear where the idea ends and you begin.

Performing this tale, written by Michael Fallon, are Graham Rowett, Lindsay Rousseau, Ella Boone, and Wafia White.