Wednesday and the Shifter (short story)
Wednesday and the Shifter was a short story written by Bastian in 2023. A fan fiction, it crossed over Jenny Everywhere with the world of the Netflix series Wednesday as well as the Addams Family films of the 1990s and the Adult Wednesday Addams web series. It was the third story of a trilogy called Strange Encounters and the first of Bastian's Jenny Everywhere stories.
Contents
Plot
Wednesday Addams slips away from her parents' school reunion and runs into Jenny Everywhere. Jenny explains that she attended Nevermore Academy due to her ability to shift between universes. Wednesday mentions that she recently learned she has counterparts in other universes and Jenny takes her to meet some of them. After encountering both younger and older versions of herself, Wednesday asks Jenny to take her home. Jenny does so and they go their separate ways.
Worldbuilding
Jenny Everywhere
- Jenny is described as "a young woman wearing aviation goggles on her head and a scarf around her neck. The rest of her outfit consisted of a burgundy jacket and trousers with high-heeled leather boots." She attended Nevermore Academy as a teenager and was part of a secret society called the Nightshades. She shifts between universes by snapping her fingers and can take someone with her by holding their hand. She neither confirms nor denies that Jenny Everywhere is her actual name.
Wednesday Addams
- The main Wednesday is a student at Nevermore Academy. She encounters two other versions of herself. The first is a slightly younger Wednesday who still lives with her family. The second is an adult Wednesday who has moved to Los Angeles.
Other
- Enid Sinclair is Wednesday's roommate. She has just been accepted into the Nightshades and has been invited to join them on their midnight skinny dip.
Continuity
- Wednesday Addams mentions her encounter with the Doctor, whom Jenny Everywhere has also met. This encounter was depicted in PROSE: Wednesday and the Doctor, where the Nevermore Wednesday was first told about three of her other selves, including the two Jenny shows her.
Behind the scenes
Background
The author deliberately avoided reading any Jenny Everywhere stories before writing this story so he could give his own take on the character without being influenced by anyone else's. Jenny eating an everything bagel is a nod to the film Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The Wednesdays featured in this story are the ones played by Jenna Ortega, Christina Ricci and Melissa Hunter. Teenage Wednesday says that young Wednesday's face reminds her of one "she had recently beaten to a pulp." This refers to the fact that Ricci played the villain in the Netflix series. The scene with young Wednesday occurs immediately after the final scene from Addams Family Values. To avoid confusion, young Wednesday is referred to as “the girl” and adult Wednesday is referred to as “the woman”.
Read online
The story can be read online on ArchiveOfOurOwn.org.
