Kult: Divinity Lost - Downfall, Episode 2

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hello friends, and welcome to another single serving tabletop adventure from Queen's court games. My name is Aaron, and tonight I return as your game master as we pierce the illusion in M. Marshall's Downfall, a story of love, lust, greed, and entitlement from the screams and whispers collection for cult divinity lost. This will be the second episode in this series, so if you're just joining us and you don't want spoilers, feel free to pause this. We'll be here when you get back, head on over to YouTube or to our podcast one shots and other mischief. You can catch up with the story and join us as we continue. As always, you can find links to this scenario in assorted social media by typing exclamation point scenario or exclamation point cast. If you're joining us live on Twitch, else scroll down to the show notes if you're joining us later via the aforementioned podcast, apps or YouTube. Now, tonight I will be joined on this erotic journey of crossroads and moral choices by a delightfully talented group of performers. I have introduced them previously, but they deserve to be introduced again. First as the girlfriend Kendall, art director at Queen's court games. I swear she had that outfit in her closet. Did not need to buy it for costuming VlOC I sure did. [00:01:10] Speaker B: Hi. [00:01:13] Speaker A: Next, as the twin sister Aisha, QCG's social media guru and stand in, catholic maven Laura Tutu. [00:01:21] Speaker C: Hello. [00:01:23] Speaker A: Also as the classmate, Aiden. He is genuinely a nice human being and it pleases me to see him playing a sociopath because this man has range returning to our table from Nat 20 Productions, it is PJ McGaugh. [00:01:36] Speaker D: Hi everyone. Great to be here. [00:01:39] Speaker A: And finally, of course, our very special guest as Professor Francis. He's the founder of Sidekick Productions, recently guested on the NBC series Poker Face. Liked us enough to come back and do a second episode. So, I mean, if he's working in that kind of environment and still wants to hang out with us, I'm taking that as a huge compliment. Welcome, Joshua Pengborn. [00:02:00] Speaker E: You couldn't keep me away. [00:02:04] Speaker A: We'll see if that feeling changes at the end of this episode, because cult divinity Lost is an adult horror game and as such will contain topics that some viewers find uncomfortable or objectionable. That includes blood and gore, body horror, drug and alcohol abuse, pornography, sexual content, self harm and torture. Please consult the full list of content warnings before continuing, either by using the chat command exclamation point safety, or looking in the show notes. Now, the cast and I have completed a thorough safety and consent questionnaire. We've discussed these issues in our session. Zero. Previously, we've had sessions to talk in between episodes to make sure that we're all staying on the right pace. And we've agreed to hold ourselves accountable to a code of conduct that will ensure our table remains a safe and respectful environment. All of that said, I will ask one final check in just to make sure everyone is where they need to be. V, are you in a mentally safe place to continue with this scenario? Do you understand how to use r safety tools and are you committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment? [00:03:06] Speaker B: I am. [00:03:08] Speaker A: Laura, are you in a mentally safe place to continue with this scenario? Do you understand how to use r safety tools and are you committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment? Yes, I am. PJ, are you in a mentally safe place to continue with this scenario? Do you understand how to use our available safety tools and are you committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment? Yep. And Josh, are you in a mentally safe place to continue with this scenario? Do you understand how to use our safety tools and are you committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment? [00:03:40] Speaker E: I am. I do, and I am. [00:03:43] Speaker A: Well, excellent. And with all of that said, let us return to the story. Our story resumes with four strangers slowly getting to know one another over the course of the last few hours. Currently located just outside Goddard hall, adjacent Washington Square park in New York City, it's not as early in the afternoon as at one middle last left you. The sun hangs slightly lower in the sky. And despite the fact that there's no post lunch fatigue, the four of you nevertheless have been hit with a wave of psychological and mental stressors that no doubt make you resemble the stressed students more than the jubilant tourists or headstrong New Yorkers who flow across the sidewalk in either direction from you. We discovered some of Noah's belongings in the lost and found a journal and accessories that reveal more about the journey he was descending on. The professor found a transcript leading to another intellectual dimension, writing so powerful that you cannot help but feel the effect it has on your skin, on your breath. And as some of you witnessed elsewhere, and Aidan's normally cheery demeanor, that every man smile that can disarm stadiums is a little less bright as his eyes scan the crowd for a familiar janitor with a familiar tattoo. Based on the information we've acquired so far, there are yet a few leads to follow. Aiden was present at the last party where Noah was seen before he began his descent into something else. And you know the person who hosted that party if you're looking for the people who set Noah on this adventure, that would be a good place to start. Additionally, inside the suitcase, Kendall, you would have found a receipt, perhaps, or maybe you just know the store that Noah kept sneaking off to and returning with. Toys. Hesitate to use the word toys because toys are for children and toys are for fun. And neither one of those things applies to the way they were used, but more on that later. So as a to, I said taxi, and honks at the same time. So as a taxi honks as a vendor hollers as music blares out of a Bluetooth speaker on someone's backpack, we return. [00:06:45] Speaker B: Uh, well, um, I don't know if anybody else has any bright ideas, but can always do a little shopping. [00:07:09] Speaker D: Suggesting going shopping as a means of getting more information, maybe trying to chase some trails. [00:07:16] Speaker B: Right. You weren't there. Yeah, there's a, there's a shop that I know that Noah was, was frequenting over the last six weeks or so. Went there an awful lot. And based on what we found inside, uh, stuff they pulled out of his dorm room, he went there a lot. I think he probably went there more than he, like, went to the grocery store, because that man pretty much had bananas and beer in his fridge and nothing else, so, but, yeah, I don't know. Maybe, maybe the folks that work there can recognize him, remember. I mean, surely if you've gone to the same store as many times as I'm sure, I mean, there's, there's no way that he bought all of this in one go. I mean, I get, I mean, maybe, but somebody would remember somebody coming in and spending that much in one go, or as much as he did over a period of time. [00:08:34] Speaker D: All right. Sounds logical to me. I just want to check in with, of course. Aisha, I see the way you clutch that crucifix. I just want to make sure that you're going to be in a place that you feel safe at. Are you going to be okay going there? [00:08:53] Speaker C: To be perfectly honest, I kind of feel like I'm going to drop Kendall. Do you think you could let me into your place? I think I just need to lay down for a bit. [00:09:03] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, of course. No, I, yeah, it, it's probably a lot for you, so, yeah, yeah, I can, I can take you back, get you situated. Thank you. Yeah, of course. [00:09:25] Speaker E: I glanced at the time on my phone, and I see what time it is. It sounds like we might be splitting up right now, everyone, for a little bit. It's probably for the best because I do have some professorial things to do. I do have responsibilities. And as much as I care about Noah right now, I also have to take care of all the other students that are in my charge. So maybe we can agree to meet up later. [00:10:00] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, I guess I'll, you know, take out my phone and I'll hand it to Professor Wilmot so he can put his number in it. Just. I'll text you when I'm done and I look over at Aiden. I guess I should have your number too, so I can get some group chat started or some such. [00:10:24] Speaker D: Of course. Here, why don't you give me your phone? I'll put in there for you. No problem. [00:10:29] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:32] Speaker D: Taking the phone, I put my phone number in there, or at least a way to contact me, and I immediately save it as Aiden. Save it and close the screen, hand it over to them and say, okay, you have access. Congratulations. Some of the few, some of the proud. [00:10:53] Speaker B: Hoorah. [00:10:57] Speaker D: Good enough. [00:10:59] Speaker A: Good enough. [00:11:01] Speaker E: Aiden, do you have anything that you think you can do while we're dispersing? [00:11:10] Speaker D: I mean, I have a contact to the parties that Noah and I used to go to. I've been texting them all day. I figure. Hold on here. Yeah, I got. I got a time in locale whenever you already. We can just go to that bad boy. Just make sure you're dressed to whatever you want to do. I don't care. It's your choice. We just got to be there tonight, have a good time and ask smart questions. Everything else I leave to your investigation. [00:11:42] Speaker B: Hold on, so you're just gonna what? [00:11:48] Speaker D: Just go to what, the important area with you, of course. But like the other party? Yes, I'm gonna be going to that as well. There's no reason not to. [00:12:02] Speaker B: Okay. Sorry, for a moment it sounded like you had done your due and you were just going to, I don't know, go get a bagel or whatever it is you do. I don't know what you do, but a bagel seems right for that. [00:12:17] Speaker E: It's a. [00:12:18] Speaker D: Okay. We all can be wrong on occasion. No, no, trust me, I'm gonna be going with you. Two heads are better than one. Although I trust your head is probably a lot more astute than my will be there, but. Yeah, no, I mean, I've contributed, but I'm still here to help. [00:12:33] Speaker A: That makes sense. [00:12:33] Speaker B: Okay, sure. [00:12:43] Speaker A: So it seems to me that Professor Wilmot will be departing for professorial business. Yes, and at least in the immediate midterm. Midterm? Professor, the three of you will be heading over to Kendall's apartment. Is that correct? [00:12:57] Speaker E: Yes. [00:12:57] Speaker B: Yes. [00:12:59] Speaker A: Very well. Kendall, is this the place to keep? Is this the kind of place you could walk to from here, or are we taking the subway? [00:13:07] Speaker B: Uh, yeah, it's. I mean, it had to be close. Uh, you know, wanted to find. I mean, I don't go here, but I didn't want to be super far away. So, uh, yeah, we can. We can walk. I mean, we can always catch a cab, I guess, if we really wanted to. But it's only a few blocks. [00:13:26] Speaker A: No, the weather is wonderful. Great. Say nothing else. I don't think you have cab money rattling around in your pocket. [00:13:37] Speaker B: No, it all goes to pay for the apartment. [00:13:40] Speaker A: Mm hmm. Well, then let us continue on that journey. The day is wonderful, but I imagine if you were a real life New Yorker who's been there long enough, there is a distinction between the 1990s New York City and then the 2010 York City. At least in the popular perception, there is something a lot cleaner and safer about the second one. Amazing things can happen when Rudy Giuliani ships all the homeless people to New Jersey. And, professor, you've been in this park 100 times. You've held class out here when you want to earn some more cool professor points. This neighborhood is not only heavily policed for tourists sake, but New York University has its own police force that patrols the area. And that makes it strange for the others because, Kendall, you've been here before. Classmate Aidan, you've been here before. There's never been a time when you've seen something like this happening in an alleyway. Because whatever light chatter, if any, exists, or whatever solitary contemplation exists as you cross past the next street, over the giant arch of Washington Square park, disappearing behind you, chatting to one, looking across the group, and you see a figure. And I use the word figure because the limbs, at first glance don't quite make sense. This is coming from someone who has abnormally long limbs, and they are abnormally longer. He or she or they, it's hard to tell, are hunched up over a dumpster. It's difficult to put a specific word to the act. It has a vernier of something masturbatory. But even if you tried to focus your eyes in that direction on purpose, assuming you would not want to, but even if they glanced, there's something blurry about it, like in real life, you're trying to catch those frames of the scrambled channels back in a childhood home. I'd like you all to roll, to see through the illusion. Not good at that sometimes that's a blessing. [00:16:29] Speaker E: Have I walked with them or am I separated at this point? [00:16:33] Speaker A: So it's up to you. Is your appointment or your office on the way? [00:16:38] Speaker E: It's probably on the way with them, so. [00:16:41] Speaker A: Very well. So all four of you are there. [00:16:45] Speaker B: Uh, so that's zero for me. [00:16:50] Speaker A: You rolled? [00:16:51] Speaker B: I rolled. Two ones, minus two. [00:16:55] Speaker A: Astounding. Keep that in your pocket. [00:17:01] Speaker C: Um, 13 for me. [00:17:04] Speaker E: Also for me, an eleven. [00:17:08] Speaker A: Okay, so I have one complete and total failure, and then three that are in the middle. Well, Kendall, that's actually a bit good news for you. This is revolting and shocking, but not any different than some of the other worst New York City moments you've seen. You are able to turn your head immediately and just. Oh, God. And, you know, maybe there's a text line that you can send a tip to, like, nyu might have one, and there's somebody doing over by the. Over the library. Can you? But while you do that, the other three of you are having a different experience. I mean that in a sense that it is different from Kendall. And I mean that in a sense that it is different from one another. Because, Aidan, when you look down, I want you to imagine a moment. A magician with a bouquet of flowers. And no matter how many times this caped, top hatted figure pulls out another flower, the bouquet always stays the same size. But he's not gripping a flower, is he? And the number of phalluses that sprout up from this thing's groin as it turns to look at you, making a leering, not sadistic, more smug, proud icon. A kind of posture that just says, behold me. And then starts to giggle. As the culmination of that experience spatters across the dumpster from each of a forest of genitalia. Francis, you see something different. It's a student. Not Noah, but another one. And I think you know exactly which one I'm talking about. And when they turn to you, it's not proud. They have that same look that they did the first time they were in your office after hours, when it was flirty but uncertain, and they required guidance from someone they respected. They required trust from someone who knew the rules. And the look of betrayal on this emaciated figure as they look in your direction and then rapidly away, can call to mind that exact moment in the faculty council when the complaint was being read. All of that being horrible to each of you, and understanding what you know so far about this scene, I think Aisha can guess the vision that unfolds in front of her I don't think in your mental state, given the situation you find yourself in, it's only been a few hours since this adventure started. Adventure? I don't think you can stop yourself from blurting out his name. No. [00:20:56] Speaker B: What? [00:20:58] Speaker A: And those first lurching footsteps you take in that direction is enough for the noise to spook this character away. They turn and in again, a transformative, a blur, a bubbling across your eyes like staring through a soap bubble. Something washes away. And each of you now see what Kendall has seen the whole time. Someone down on their luck, unemployed since the pandemic, God knows, having been caught dumpster diving and now skittering out, running away, having been spotted. Aisha. Aidan, Francis. Will you lose one stability for me? [00:21:55] Speaker B: Aisha, are you okay? That wasn't Noah. [00:22:10] Speaker C: I'm sorry. I am so sorry. [00:22:17] Speaker B: You know, you're probably just tired. We should. We should get you back so you can take that nap. [00:22:26] Speaker C: Yeah, no, I'm. I'm exhausted. [00:22:32] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Can I see what's going on with everybody else? [00:22:41] Speaker A: I don't think they're doing an especially good job of hiding their reaction. None of them passed the role such that that would be the case. I don't think you're going to be able to discern much between them. They've all seen something disturbing. But absent some kind of magical telepathy power that definitely does not exist in this world, I don't think you'd be able to see why. [00:23:05] Speaker B: Okay. As I see everybody looking this way, feeling this way, looking horribly disturbed, I just saw somebody down on their luck. And I look at everybody and I say, what's the big deal, guys? You've never seen somebody hanging around, hanging around a dumpster before? Like Aisha, she. She's missing, Noah. And that's. I can excuse that. But now look both Aiden and the professor up and down and just say, I kind of expected better from both of you, I guess. [00:23:51] Speaker D: I think to each their own allowed. But that. That wasn't. Certainly wasn't Noah. Certainly wasn't the transient you. You didn't see. You know what? I'm. We're just going to call this agree to disagree, and I am not going farther. [00:24:12] Speaker B: Okay. [00:24:19] Speaker E: But you saw. You didn't see the transient. Then what? Who did you see? Was it a classmate of ours? Yours? [00:24:32] Speaker A: What, me? Yes. [00:24:33] Speaker D: What I saw. I don't like to be made to look like a fool, so I'm just going to stop right there. I know talking is the easiest way to self and criminalize, case in point, so I'm just going to stop right there. Let's just say what I saw, what I thought I saw, is the most absurd thing in the world. Um, and I. I don't want to bring it back up. [00:25:00] Speaker B: It's just. [00:25:00] Speaker D: It's just too much. What? Did you. Did you see a student? Because if you saw a student. I want to shake. I don't want to shake their hand. But I have a lot of questions for you, mister. Wilmot. Professor Wilmot. [00:25:15] Speaker E: I. I. It's clearly just, as Kendall said, a transient. That's. That's all it was. It looked vaguely familiar. As all transients do. I think when you live in New York City for long enough, they all just sort of have that same sad look on their face, right, where they all just sort of blend into one another. All say wearing the same dingy, drab, muted colors. It's clearly all that was. And that's all that I saw. Of course. [00:25:53] Speaker A: Well, we all know that we're lying to one another. That much is true. But I also think that no one's going to make a scene of it here on the sidewalk. The only thing worse than seeing what you saw would be having a loud and elaborate discussion or argument about it in front of countless passing strangers. Besides, Professor Wilmot, you have somewhere to be? [00:26:23] Speaker E: Well, I have to get going. I have, as I said, duties and responsibilities and whatnot. Aiden, please text me the address and time for the event or party, whatever it is we're meeting at, and I will see you all there. And good luck at the store that you're going to. And then I head off on my way. [00:26:54] Speaker A: We will give the trio some time to finish the walk and return to you in a moment. Fast forwarding ten or 15 minutes through the day. Professor Wilmot, it's just you and me now. You want to be honest about where we're going. [00:27:16] Speaker E: We're going to therapy. Because for some reason, the school seems to think I need it. I am of a disagreement there, but I also can't really afford to have my priorities and respond respect them at this moment. So I have agreed to follow the first of many requirements that they have laid out as part of my rehabilitation. [00:27:57] Speaker A: That's what they kept calling it. Well, describe for me this therapist. [00:28:05] Speaker E: Um, well, uh, the therapist that I'm attending is about 45, 46 years old. Um, you know therapists, they're not very open with you about their themselves. Although this one oddly gets a little too chatty at times. Um, Doctor Dan, he likes to call himself. Call me Doctor Dan. He's very friendly, overly chipper for my taste. I was able to select him myself. That was part of the agreement when it came to the rehabilitation. We'll call it again and repeat that. And he, I picked him because he had his photo in the list of people on Zocdoc. And he was the one that I was most attracted to. I'm not gonna lie about that. But, I mean, if I'm gonna spend all my time with somebody in a room, I might as well be able to look at them and enjoy it, right? That's sort of how I feel about the whole situation. He wears a very nice snug button down shirt and always a snug button down shirt. He seems to only have snug button down shirts in his wardrobe, which is another plus on my book. But clean shaven, always clean shaven with a pair of oval glasses. [00:29:41] Speaker A: I'm imagining someone closer to dad BoD with a little extra if you. [00:29:49] Speaker E: I am. If you think of Winnie the pooh. But as a human, that's probably who Doctor Dan is. [00:29:55] Speaker A: Explains the cheery demeanor. [00:29:57] Speaker E: Yeah. And he's fun. He's fun to be. He's nice. He's a nice guy. If I have to spend time with somebody, it's at least I enjoy looking and talking to him. [00:30:10] Speaker A: It makes the mandatory number of sessions more enjoyable. [00:30:14] Speaker E: Makes them go by faster too. [00:30:17] Speaker A: Well, then we arrive in the office building where he keeps his private office, like the 13th or 14th floor. He makes good money because he attends to wealthy clientele, but not so wealthy that he gets to be up in the twenties and the thirties, right? Mm hmm. I think when you started seeing him, the office was a bit more spartan. He's done some work putting a thicker rug over the plain office carpeting. When you first came in, the walls were just white. And he had the two diplomas and then a bookcase with a few things. But it's grown to be more homey over the time. Talked about the need to make his patients feel more comfortable, more at home. And then he giggled, gesturing at the walls. There's no receptionist. No need for that kind of overhead in this economy. You just know that at a certain time, you'll go into the small waiting room outside of his office. There are always two chairs. And when your appointment is up, he'll open the door. And so Doctor Dan appears. The door spills open, and this delightful honey bear of a man comes out. Big palm, I'm guessing. Probably Harrier in the hands, right? [00:31:36] Speaker E: Not on palms, but yeah. [00:31:38] Speaker A: Well, of course because that's a myth. Reaches out, clasps your hand between his and both, and says, hey, professor, glad to see you. Come on in, come on in, come on in. [00:31:50] Speaker E: It's good to see you too, Doctor Dan. I hope I'm not late. [00:31:55] Speaker A: No, don't worry about it. You know this city and he's just being his cheery, enthusiastic self as he circles the desk and grabs what you assume is your chart. Big legal pad, other papers stuffed under it says, we're doing the couch today, or the chair. You know, dealer's choice. [00:32:12] Speaker E: I. After the day I've had, I think I'll. I think I could use the couch. [00:32:17] Speaker A: Hey, yeah, yeah, no problem. Go ahead, make, you know, make yourself at home. Kick back. And he sinks into his chair. And then. And there it is. It's that posture. They must fucking teach that in graduate school. One leg crossed over, the other leaning back, legal pad kind of tucked across the arm and pen in a place where they can chew on it if they need to look thoughtful, or they could point it at you if they need to. You know, all the normal therapist tricks. We've all been there. Once he has settled in, radiating that quiet authority of his position, he says, all right, so where do you want to start today? You know, anything. Anything special on your mind? Anything happening recently that you need to feel like you want to talk about? [00:33:06] Speaker E: I've been helping. I don't know if. Probably not friend is the right word, but I've been helping someone look for her brother. Brother. That's sort of how my morning was right now, actually, today. [00:33:22] Speaker A: I'm sorry. Misses missing persons thing or just, you know, lost in the Big Apple? [00:33:28] Speaker E: I'm hoping it's lost in the Big Apple. It. I'm hoping that's what it is, yeah. [00:33:35] Speaker A: How do you know this guy? [00:33:37] Speaker E: He was. He's one of my students. He's been missing for a few, few classes now. In fact, it's something that was brought up, I think, with the school, but nothing again. You know how it is. Students get lost in the Big Apple all the time, they say. [00:33:58] Speaker A: So one of your students, and you see him writing? [00:34:06] Speaker E: Yes, he's a very talented writer. We've. He's probably one of the best writers that are in my classes, actually. [00:34:16] Speaker A: I'm hoping you're going to be able to help. What are, what's the person asking you to do? How are you involved? [00:34:24] Speaker E: I am probably one of the people who's closest to the student. I think he was some. Somebody that I met with a great deal after hours. I was doing a lot of tutoring with him because he has so much promise. He is so gifted, Dan. He is. I know that you might not be as artistic as you are scientific, but when I tell you that this person is beyond what you have ever encountered as a writer, then trust me, I don't say that lightly. [00:35:13] Speaker A: I mean, I don't want to. I don't want to take it here, professor, but, you know, I have to ask this question. It's part of why you're here is this student. And I'm reminding you that everything you say here is confidential. I'm not going to tell the university anything that you tell me. But is this the kind of relationship that. This sounds familiar. [00:35:35] Speaker E: It's not like that this time. It's not like that at all. This is. This is just a student who I. He has so much to offer me. The world. He has so much to offer the world. And that's. That's why he's matters so much to me. [00:36:03] Speaker A: Okay, again, not trying to pry. And I believe you, because this is an environment of trust. And, I mean, we've come a really long way in the first sessions, if you remember the way you were when you first got here. I hope we've demonstrated this is the kind of place where you can build upon yourself and you can heal. Yeah. [00:36:20] Speaker E: Yes. [00:36:22] Speaker A: Do you ever imagine what his cock looks like? [00:36:30] Speaker E: I, um. I. Yes. [00:36:42] Speaker A: Mm hmm. [00:36:44] Speaker E: Goes back to scribbling, but it's not like that. [00:36:51] Speaker A: It's not like what? [00:36:53] Speaker E: It's. [00:36:54] Speaker A: It's. [00:36:55] Speaker E: It's more. It's not. [00:36:59] Speaker A: It's. [00:37:01] Speaker E: It's not like that. [00:37:05] Speaker A: I'm sorry, Frances. We were. I asked you what your relationship with the faculty was like. [00:37:13] Speaker E: Um. It's, uh. My. My what? [00:37:20] Speaker A: Yeah. No, I said it's. It's good that we've been making this progress, and I was hoping it wasn't just confined to this room. Have things been going better with the faculty? I. I know you talked about feeling isolated from you, from your colleagues. [00:37:34] Speaker E: Oh, that's. [00:37:38] Speaker A: That's. [00:37:38] Speaker E: That hasn't changed much. They're just not the kind of people that. So many of them grew up in places that. They're not like me. They are so privileged, and they come with all of that background from them. [00:38:06] Speaker A: I understand. I mean, try getting a job as a New York therapist when you got a degree from Syracuse. Right. [00:38:15] Speaker E: It's just not fair how they touch me for who I am and what I do. And they didn't have to go through what I did to get to this, where I am at. [00:38:34] Speaker A: Do you think that might be why you have the kind of relationships you do with your students? That, absent any kind of camaraderie from the faculty, you reach out instead to these young, vulnerable people who trust you and then use the authority of your resume to take advantage of them. [00:38:59] Speaker E: I don't. I never did anything that wasn't consensual. [00:39:11] Speaker A: Well, and thank God for that, or else we'd be having a completely different conversation. Are you thinking about it now? And at this point, Dan has put the pen down. He's not holding the legal pad or any of the paperwork. Just leaning forward, fingers folded together. Are you thinking about Joseph? Are you thinking about Tyler? Are you thinking about Sam or Joshua? I'm gonna need you to roll to keep it together as your therapist rattles off names. You know, no one else knows about. [00:40:01] Speaker E: 17. [00:40:03] Speaker A: Okay. Sure. Wow. I don't know who else he's been talking to or who else the inquest made in contact with, but. So the shock is there. You're not gonna lose any more stability. But it is still a gut punch as these accusations come. And you can see a little bit of surprise creeping up into his lip. I really thought that would have. Gotcha. [00:40:38] Speaker E: What did you say? What? [00:40:39] Speaker A: Oh, Francis. Francis. Francis. Francis. And the room starts to slide open like a takeout box. The walls falling down. And this window that has New York City, it just flies off into the distance. You can see that twinkle. And deep amaranthine. A black pearl. Purpley blue spires coming up all around you. There's a rumble underneath as the couch bursting up from underneath it. So many hands reaching up from the blackness, taking what you're sitting on, turning it around. Gravity starts to bend for a moment because you're laying on the couch, but then you're vertical, and it swings up like a hospital bed. And you find yourself staring face to face with Dan. But Dan's teeth were never that long, and his mouth never curled in that direction. And his eyes were never that yellow. And this long, forked, serpentine tongue comes to lick around his lips as his hands come up to your shoulders. And then his second set of hands come to touch up on the side of your rib cage. And his third set of hands comes to find on your hips. I've missed you. You don't remember me, but I remember every inch of you. And the way that you tasted. And the way that you scream. Does it help if I do this? And you feel these hands wheeling you around. And he shoves you forward and where there was no wall before, the gritty, splintering, plywood feel of that room. And beneath your feet, that springy, broken mattress. And he's got a hand reaching at the back of the. I'm assuming khakis or some kind of professional trousers. And he hitches into the belt, and he starts to pull while the other finds the nape of your neck and pushes it forward. And he says, I think you called me sweetie. Or had I made you call me sir? It's been so long, Francis. I really don't remember. But I remember the rest. [00:43:43] Speaker E: I'm. It would have. Would have been sir. [00:43:50] Speaker A: You're right. Right. The other one was. I don't mean to be rude. No, we're here to focus on you. No, I have to. Sorry, you're not Noah. Francis, I have to say, you've gotten yourself into a fear fair amount of trouble with this whole Noah situation. I'm here on behalf of a friend to deliver a message. You're not allowed to let them find what they're looking for. It's very important that Noah be left to fulfill the destiny that he has reached out for and grabbed hold of. You understand? Now, I'm not here to threaten you. I would never hurt you. And one hand reaches up to stroke at the side of your cheek, followed by another. By another as they all come in turn. And I already know what you like. Which is why, if you cooperate, I'm willing to give you more of it. You'd like that. Some kind of pleasure. Some kind of power? And now the creature steps back and unfolds. You are witnessing the raw, demonic glory of this thing, radiating with a power that makes your heart flutter as you can feel. Just like electromagnetic energy grabbing hold of your heart and speeding it up. So you name your price. Name your price and fulfill my bargain, and I'll make sure no one ever says no to you again. Or I'll make sure that next book ends in the history books. I will make you a God among authors, or I will make you fuck like a king. All you have to do is make sure they don't find what they're looking for. [00:46:13] Speaker E: Do I have to hurt anyone? [00:46:17] Speaker A: Well, you know, Francis, we're not in the business of particulars here. We're more results oriented people. However, you decide to prevent them from achieving that goal, and I tell you what. It should only take about three days. Keep them from finding Noah for three days, and I will let you feel this. Good. And at that point, he reaches square forward, grabbing between your legs, and it's not the pleasure. Although the pleasure is immense. It is the power. The confidence that Aiden has when he walks in a room. The clarity of rage and vision that Kendall felt, feels, the purity of faith that Aisha feels. Those are all powerful human emotions. And it is a drop in a reservoir compared to what bursts forth out of you. Then you can have this. [00:47:30] Speaker E: Three days. That's it. [00:47:32] Speaker A: Only three days. [00:47:47] Speaker E: And all of this. All of this shit will go away with this war, everything. I'll get what I want. [00:47:56] Speaker A: You'll get exactly what you want. [00:48:02] Speaker E: I think we can do that. [00:48:06] Speaker A: You hear the sound of a legal pad slamming shut? Well, excellent. No, I'm glad to hear that you're making that kind of progress. I think it's so good that. I mean, you're being really honest with yourself about these things, Professor Wilmot. And, I mean, I. Look, I know Doctor Dan, always friendly, right? But I mean, sincerely, I think you're doing a lot better. And I hope you find this kid. I think maybe this is the kind of thing you need to do to heal yourself. You know, give back, replace something that you feel like you might have taken away. Does that. That sound fair? [00:48:40] Speaker E: Yes, Doctor Dan. That sounds very fair to me. [00:48:45] Speaker A: Oh, well, hey, excellent. My least favorite part of the day, buddy. But, you know, it's your time, you know, to call the number and we'll make an appointment for next month. [00:48:55] Speaker E: Yeah, sounds good to me. [00:48:57] Speaker A: Excellent. Excellent. And there's that handshake again. And a smile that's just a little too big. Elsewhere in the city, another pair of hands groping, this time for a set of keys and a door. Kendall, your apartment building is not so fancy as the multi story commercial enterprise that Francis has visited. But it's still fairly nice. At least as nice as New York can be on your income. I have a lot of memories of Noah here. Some good, some bad. Over the last few days, you've shared them with one stranger, Aisha, having to create something resembling a respectful place out of this. And now another stranger. Aiden. I don't think the two of you have gotten along super well. Does it feel strange? I will go so far as to say, given the kind of person you are, I don't think Aiden is the kind of person you'd invite back to your apartment under other circumstances. [00:50:08] Speaker B: No. Typically not. [00:50:13] Speaker A: Then what's going through your head? There'll be that microsecond of hesitation when you turn the key and there's a flash in your brain. Like I could just say, no. We could do something else. But you open the door anyway. [00:50:31] Speaker B: It's weird, because out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Aisha, who just. Just the way that the light comes in and just hits her skin. It's the same sort of glow that I'd get from Noah. And there's. It's kind of uncomfortable because I don't. I want to say no. And then I realize it's Aisha and no. I need to make sure that she's comfortable for now. I wish Aiden wasn't here, admittedly, because I can only imagine the kind of things that a man with his amount of money is going to say once we get inside. But here we are. [00:51:18] Speaker A: Well, this will be an excellent opportunity. I'm sure Kendall finds this place homey. Aiden. What's wrong with it? What's the first glaring problem? What's the first obvious display of lack of wealth that catches your eye? [00:51:40] Speaker D: The telltale sign of any place that's lacking wealth is always in the quality that is the abundance of Ikea and fast furniture. It's quaint, it's cute, but it looks plastic and brazilian. Breakable. But, hey, I get it. I was there once. Do what you can to get by. [00:52:01] Speaker A: Well, what have you done to get by? Kendall, fill out the rest of the picture for me. We know we have cheap furniture. What else fills up this tiny space? I'm imagining maybe 450 sqft, right? [00:52:17] Speaker B: Yeah, if you open the windows and put your arm outside. Yeah, it's a very, very small space. But, you know, you have to get creative when you don't have a lot of room. And things cost as much as they do per square foot here. So, you know, the bed is up against the wall, which is not ideal. And, you know, everything is just placed just so furniture serves multiple purposes. Like the Ottoman, you can lift it up, and there's a. There's blankets and books and things in there. It's a storage ottoman. It's very handy. But, you know, there is this really nice bookshelf that I managed to pick up. It was when one of the local bookstores was closing down and they were kind of having, like, a pay what you want sale. And I was able to talk the guy into giving it to me for, like, $15 because, you know, I'm there a lot. And it's a really. I mean, it's probably the nicest thing in here, and it's beat to hell, but, man, it has so much character. And there are fairy lights everywhere because I just. I love that look, and I just. I try and make it feel as homey as possible with what I'm working with. [00:53:28] Speaker A: Which is not a lot. [00:53:31] Speaker B: No. [00:53:33] Speaker A: Well, we know that you and I believe Aidan has volunteered at this point, have plans at a. A shop of ill repute. But Aisha, you are being allowed to rest. It's a strange thing to share a bed with Kendall and the people Kendall has shared a bed with. [00:53:59] Speaker C: I suppose. I mean, it's either that or the couch. Um, it's got that thing where like, if you sit down on the wrong spot, the bar. Kind of really uncomfortable. [00:54:16] Speaker A: I suppose. [00:54:17] Speaker C: I imagine what would be like to sleep on that. [00:54:18] Speaker A: I suppose one has to choose at a certain point between sleeping in the bed where Kendall fucked your brother, or long term neck pain. [00:54:29] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:54:32] Speaker B: In fairness, I also fucked him on the couch, so pick your poison. Really? [00:54:40] Speaker A: In that case, the choice is now between neck pain or no neck pain. I suppose that makes it easier. [00:54:47] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm gonna make sure that I can, you know, get up and walk around later. So we're gonna go with the lack of neck pain. [00:54:56] Speaker A: Kendall, will you do me a favor and roll to observe the situation? [00:55:02] Speaker B: Sure thing, that is. [00:55:11] Speaker A: Ooh. [00:55:12] Speaker B: It's only an eight. [00:55:15] Speaker A: If it were me, and I don't mean this to be judgmental, because I understand you have a lot going on in your life, but if it were me, and somebody's missing twin was going to be staying in my apartment for a protracted amount of time, I probably would have worked harder to make sure there were none of his things lying around. Kendall, you did not clean up the extra clothing laying around. So when Aisha proceeds into your bedroom, she knows that hoodie. She's got one that matches. I recall the story. Noah bought that last paycheck that he'd earned in the town. You come from a nice little hokey homie reminder. That probably came with a CW ready speech about how the two of you can always be connected. [00:56:19] Speaker C: Sure, it's hokey, but. I mean, up until that point, we'd spent our whole lives together in some way or another. It was. It was a big step for both of us. [00:56:33] Speaker A: And now she has it. Yeah. Will you roll your jealousy disadvantage for me? [00:57:02] Speaker C: I think that's a nine. [00:57:05] Speaker A: Okay. Well, at a certain point, Kendall's going to leave with Aidan. And that's when I'm going to ask you, what do you destroy in this room to get back at her? She's taken something from you. What will you take from her? But you don't have to do that now. Kendall. I'm assuming you are not following Aisha into the room. It's not that big, right? [00:57:36] Speaker B: It's a pretty small room. But, yeah, I'll call out to her because I definitely think I have an extra blanket around if she needs one. So while she's doing whatever it is that she's doing in the other room, she'll just hear, hey, do you like a bunch of blankets, or are you a pretty light sleeper? [00:58:01] Speaker C: No, I'll be fine. Thanks, Kendall. [00:58:04] Speaker B: Okay. Okay. Well, if you need them, check the ottoman. They're right in here. Can I. Can I get you a cup of tea or anything? I think. I think I got. I think I have some chamomile or. [00:58:23] Speaker A: She's being so fake fucking nice. How much effort did she put into taking Noah away from you? And it cannot be for the warmth of her soul. She has that fake fucking server smile on. She's doing that fake fucking server voice, and you just know it. So afterwards, she can talk about how gracious she was and how even in the face of the horrible situation and everything that Noah did, she was still the bigger person. You cannot fucking stand it. Well, there is something obviously going on, unspoken between Kendall and Aisha. And if there's one thing I know about Aiden is that he is calm, cool, and collected, in charge of every room he enters. If there are two things I know about Aiden, it is that, and he doesn't want to be anywhere near what is happening or may continue to happen in Kendall's apartment. This seems like a good opportunity for you to step outside. [00:59:33] Speaker D: You are very, very right. I'm getting a phone call. It's about the thing. I'm just gonna go outside and take it. You know, just. I'll give you some details in a bit. [00:59:45] Speaker A: I gotta go. [00:59:47] Speaker B: Okay. [00:59:48] Speaker D: I proceed to leave. [00:59:51] Speaker A: Is that the kind of phone call that you. Is that the kind of phone call that you faked the beginning of and then go make an actual phone call, or is there actually someone on your phone? [01:00:05] Speaker D: Well, between my friends that are threatening my livelihood and the friends that I've been texting all day about the kind of parties, at this point, it could very well be a real phone call. And if not, well, then I'll take this opportunity to make one. Leave that up to you. [01:00:25] Speaker A: We'll say the other way works nicely. You are making an excuse to leave the room, but now you have the time. You're calling your party contact? Yeah. [01:00:37] Speaker D: I want to make sure if we go out tonight, we don't go blind and we get some details and. And forewarned is forearmed. Always. [01:00:50] Speaker A: It rings longer than you probably want it to before a very exhausted voice picks up. Aiden. Oh, fuck. What time? You can hear the rustle of sheets, pillows, something. There's a scratching sound, a very loud, sticky yawn. Oh, God. Sorry. This is real rager last night. Um. What's up, friend? [01:01:28] Speaker D: Hey, friend. Yeah, yeah. What's up with you? You just got up? [01:01:32] Speaker A: Oh, man. Like, you know that place down on 17th? [01:01:37] Speaker D: Yeah, I do. In fact, I was. I was calling about that. Some friends of mine and I are gonna be going there tonight, actually. [01:01:46] Speaker A: Oh, my God, man. You have got to be ready. Like, I tell you, man, I took, like, I took all the right pills and, like, even did that weird, like, iv shit they keep talking about. And I am still just, like. I swear to God, like, right now, I'm just thinking about it hurts. But, like, if I. If I tried to, you know, like, just like dust, man, I am flattened. [01:02:15] Speaker D: Living the life, king. Living the life, you know? And I love that for you. [01:02:19] Speaker A: I really do. [01:02:20] Speaker D: And, you know, hopefully me and my three friends, two of them are delightful women. Can't wait to bring them out tonight. We're looking to have a great time, a lot like that. And I was just wondering if you guys. I miss him so much. I wonder if you'd help me find Lee, too. Oh, lean. I can party a little bit, too. It's been a while. Really, forever. [01:02:50] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, like, I. I think he's gonna be there. I mean, he wasn't there last night, and I mean, maybe just making excuses. I don't know. He's been. Fuck. I think I'm in bad shape. He has been on some other shit. Like, I don't know what's going on there, but your boy is not getting his. His necessary vitamins and minerals by the look of things. I can. I mean, I can shoot him, text, and see what's what. I mean, he told me he was going. I don't know if that was just an excuse to, like, not get out, you know, to get out of this thing or whatever, but. [01:03:24] Speaker D: That'S okay. That's okay. I can. I could reach out, no problem. Are you gonna be there, too? Or, like, I gotta know my boys there, you know what I mean? [01:03:32] Speaker A: No, man. Are you kidding me? Like, I'm not gonna send you a picture because, like, you know, like, we're not. We're not like that. I am. Dude, there are just, like, these. These two women and, like, okay, whatever. Like, pretend for a moment that that's not something that happens to everybody. Because, like, I know you're aiden, right? But, like, these two women just, like, ruined me, dude. Good, good. [01:04:00] Speaker D: You just, you know, like I said, you deserve that. Everyone deserves that once in a while, right? Be spoiled. Be pampered. Approve, man. [01:04:07] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. I mean, well, I heard the rumor, right? Like, they fucked the brakes off of Noah, and I'm like, okay, well, maybe that's something. And then. [01:04:16] Speaker D: Wait, dude, no way. Wait, dude, no way. When. When did it happen? When did Noah get so lucky? What happened? [01:04:22] Speaker A: You were at that party, man. How were you fucking out of it? Do you remember the two, like, the blonde? And you were like, that's european model. And her, like, sister who thinks she's less attractive, but is also a ten. And we were just like, oh, my God, Noah. [01:04:34] Speaker D: And then, I mean, king, who are you talking to? Okay, you think. You think I was cognizant? No, no, no. Give me the play by play. Give me the deets. That way, when I see Noah, I can make sure he doesn't forget either. You know what I mean? I'll make sure he absolutely doesn't forget. [01:04:49] Speaker A: Oh, my God, man, the story was fucking. I only remembered because I was so goddamn jealous. So, like, yeah, we're all there, I think. I mean, if you were Sarah, Stacy, Samantha. I don't know, you were one of the s names who. You're like, you know, you were off maybe getting a thing with her. And then, like, I was like, all right, well, I can't go bother Aiden because he's about to get his dick wet. So I'm looking around for Noah because, like, no, don't want to be alone at this party. So I'm walking over to see him, and then he's, like, right at the edge of the. Of, like, the. The dance floor. And there are these. These two women. I mean, I'm talking about, like. Like, I know heroin chic isn't really a thing now, but they were really pulling it off. Like, maybe 250 pounds if you weigh them together. But, like, most of that was just, like, tits and. And. And want. Because they. They were just, like, all the fuck over him. And, like, I made eye contact with my dude, trying to be like, are you okay? And he just making this, like, can you believe this shit? Facing me, my guy. So, like, I mean, on the one hand, super happy for my bro, but on the other hand, like, I know I'm not gonna try to get in on that, right? So he just shoots me a thumbs up and then before, like, even he can look away or whatever. It starts with, like, the making out, and then there's some groping and, like, he is, like, gone after, like, immediately after. Like, who wouldn't, man? Like, a fucking Looney Tunes cartoon, man. Guy left the dance floor. His shoes were still spinning because, I mean, who wouldn't? [01:06:11] Speaker D: Absolutely. God, I know I would be. Oh, my God. Well, hey, you know, when I see him, I'll remind about the two heroin chic girls that were all over him. I'm sure you might want their numbers. You know what I mean? [01:06:21] Speaker A: Uh. [01:06:21] Speaker D: All right, man. Great, great, great. Yeah, we're gonna be there. It's good to know. Lead's gonna be there. We need to catch up. It's been forever. And I'll make sure to find these ladies there. There, too. Maybe I can get. Maybe I can get their numbers. Maybe I can get, you know, get a good shot in with them. Um, also, I get, like I said, I got some, dude, stunning, amazing women that I'm bringing with me, and I just want to make sure that I can, you know, kind of bring things that make them feel safe. Is there anything you can tell me that I should look out for? Like, any kind of creeps or weirdos beyond the usual that I should look at just to make sure that they're. [01:06:54] Speaker A: Going to be a no, man. I mean, like, I know, like, normally it's not the kind of party where everyone shows up, but, like, they're doing some kind of theme thing. I mean, like, post pandemic, they got to open up to every audience, right? So, like, they putting it in, and it's like. That's like a bondage leather kind of situation going on. [01:07:13] Speaker D: Dude, a quote. Rel Julia. I call it Tuesday. Let's fucking go. My guy. Am I right? [01:07:18] Speaker A: Chafing up like that? Have a good time. Remember that if you're going to find those two of you. Know what you know best for you, my good sir. But I'm gonna leave my shit unchafed and not smelling like my grandma's furniture. [01:07:32] Speaker D: Absolutely. Vaseline will stop you from screaming. Go ahead and have a good night, and I'll talk to you later, man. [01:07:37] Speaker A: Sounds good, dude. [01:07:38] Speaker D: All right. In, out to heroin chic ladies consenting to engage with Noah in these activities. That theme is bdsm. It's a start. It's not great, but it's a fucking start. [01:07:57] Speaker A: Oh, God, I hope they're done in there. [01:08:01] Speaker D: Let's see what's happening in angry birds. [01:08:08] Speaker A: Kendall, Aisha, feel like you've wrapped things up. [01:08:17] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't know anybody who gets so angry when I offer them tea, much less multiple kinds of tea. But, you know, whatever. We've all got a. We've all got a little bit of rage inside of us, so I can't fault her for that. [01:08:39] Speaker A: Well, then it sounds like Aiden is off the phone at just the right moment for you to exit the apartment. [01:08:48] Speaker B: I'm gonna lock up as I go, Aisha, so, you know, don't go anywhere. Cause then my place will be unlocked and woo. Can't have that. [01:08:58] Speaker C: Certainly not. Okay, Kendall. [01:09:03] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Text me if you need anything, okay? Okay. Okay. Okay. [01:09:13] Speaker A: Every time she says okay, you are looking around the room for one more thing you could maybe burn. [01:09:19] Speaker C: Yeah, no, that ugly fucking macrame plant holder is top of the list right now. [01:09:26] Speaker A: Yeah. Looks homemade. Well, then we will send Kendall and Aiden off to a particular their store, and we will send Aisha to sleep. There was something a little awkward about that. Maybe it's just small town energy that says I don't need your hospitality. Might be the kind of thing you'd want to interrogate more, but that's just more time. Aidan would have to dissect your lifestyle. I don't think either one of those things feels good. Inside the suitcase, there was a receipt. It has the name of the shop. And a little bit of cell phone searchery will tell you where you need to go. [01:10:15] Speaker B: I hope it's close. I mean, I assume it's close. [01:10:18] Speaker A: Maybe not, but I've never been to New York City. But I imagine you're never that far away from a nice little hidden porn store. [01:10:31] Speaker B: Great. [01:10:33] Speaker A: So we exit, descending back to street level and making our trip. This one does require a subway. There might be a cute little magazine store, something with a couple of cubicles for videos nearby you. But the kind of gear that Noah was buying required requires a certain kind of inventory. A boutique, if you will. And after stepping onto the A line heading north, a few stops peeking out. Well, before you get to Central park, we're not having to go that far north. There's a little door stuck in between a perfectly normal looking deli and a place that alleges to sell mattresses. But like. Like, do they. How would they stay in business all this time? What is it about mattress doors? The door has the label. Big Johns. It's in faded yellow paint. You imagine one fingernail would be enough to scratch it. There's a window in the door, but it's been blacked out. Looks like a trash bag from this side of the street. [01:11:56] Speaker B: Classy. I take a moment staring at this building. I know what's in the suitcase. I saw what was in the suitcase. I experienced a lot of what was in the suitcase. And if the rest of Big John's is, uh. Well, I'm not eager to potentially relive certain moments. [01:12:44] Speaker A: No. And there are still people around. Not sure what kind of deviant needs to go buy these kind of things in the middle of the day, but New York City knows. New York City judges, Kendall, just the way you are. They might understand. Aidan, you tend to keep a slightly cleaner cut company. [01:13:10] Speaker D: Kendall, if you're trying to keep a low profile, it's better to just go in the building than hang around outside of it. You may want to pick up the pace a bit. [01:13:22] Speaker B: After you then, Aiden. [01:13:26] Speaker A: Fine. [01:13:27] Speaker D: Don't mind if I do. I open the door, walk right inside, and like someone waiting for someone to follow them, I just gesture. [01:13:41] Speaker B: I feel my heart just kind of racing. And I'm going to try my best to hide that from Aiden, because what I don't need is his judgment right now. But my heart wants to leap out of my chest right now. [01:14:02] Speaker A: The doorway opens to reveal a staircase. It is dark. The walls, the ceiling, the stairs themselves painted black. There's a series of black lights, long tube fluorescent style, along the ceiling, obviously not installed by code. They hang off their own little wires and illuminate on the sides, stuck to the wall hundreds of flyers for events that tickle certain fancies. Some of them are your run of the mill porn star coming into town to do a few shifts at a strip club. Others are scrawled by hand, inviting people to very particular kinds of parties. And elsewhere, little sheets with phone numbers. If you're into such and such. Text this number, Kendall, you will descend first. Aidan coming in behind one last little glance outside the doorway. Will you roll to observe the situation for me. [01:15:25] Speaker D: That'S a four. [01:15:28] Speaker A: Then. You are blissfully unaware of the gentleman with a familiar tattoo, the telephoto lens pretending to be a tourist, snapping pictures of you as you look gormlessly out into the streets. The two of you proceed down the stairwell. It feels like you've gone further than one story below. Is it that the stairs are steep? Is the building long? There's something unsettling. Perhaps it's just the light. The hallway lurches hard to the left at an l shaped intersection. It's just wide enough for two people to walk side by side and set into cages. There are countless tv monitors just stuck one on top of another. You've been to a carnival or a fun house at some point, you know the tunnel where it spins around you in creatures, that very beautiful optical illusion. It's a similar vibe. It's a similar vibe. The pictures aren't moving, of course, but it's built to disorient you with what is on screen. So much pornography, ranging from tepid to scandalous, amateur, professional, all the different genres that it comes in. They haven't bothered separating the sound tracks. It is a cacophonous overmixture of moaning, skin slapping, grunting, so many soundtracks, you can't pick any one piece of it out. It's like trying to grasp at a figment of something blowing in the breeze. Imagine a dandelion blowing along, and you're trying to pluck the each individual seeds. Your choice is to enjoy, we'll say, the soundscape holistically or have your brain peppered with individual phrases. You're not the pizza boy. Is there any other way that I can pay for this? I don't know, professor. If I get an f, my parents are gonna kill me. No, it's okay, Kendall. It's just for us. [01:18:27] Speaker D: I stop in my tracks. [01:18:32] Speaker A: Wait a minute. [01:18:34] Speaker D: That sounds genuine. It sounds like there's a real human emotion to that, not some doped out, mile, yard wide stair in the middle distance. No, this is. [01:18:48] Speaker A: This is. This is real. [01:18:50] Speaker D: And I trace that to where it's coming from. With that kind of slow turn of my head, what do I see in that moment? [01:19:02] Speaker A: Let me answer that question with a question, Kendall. What was Noah's favorite position? [01:19:14] Speaker B: He really. He had a few favorites, but he really enjoyed a good doggy style because he said he got to feel the momentum from the front and enjoy the view from the back. [01:19:31] Speaker A: Wisdom, in those words. The camera, in this case, is set on the dresser in front of the bed that you saw not too many moments ago. You see Kendall in various states of bliss. You see Noah in one continuous and then one incredibly pointed moment of bliss, and then it loops if you wait long enough. [01:20:02] Speaker D: And, of course, wait however long it needs to, to make sure that it loops, not cutting into something different, but it's the same video over and over again. And I should state this for the record. I'm not smiling. I'm not laughing. [01:20:18] Speaker A: Yeah, Kendall, how long did it usually take? [01:20:23] Speaker B: A while. Not like a suspicious amount, just. He wasn't a two pump jump. [01:20:37] Speaker A: What changes about halfway through? Starts out tame, but around the six or seven minute mark he introduced something. Wondered if you'd be willing to try it. [01:20:57] Speaker B: We're just really putting it all on display. Play, aren't we? For Aiden right now? This is great. This is great. [01:21:17] Speaker A: It's embarrassing. You can just tell me. [01:21:27] Speaker B: I wish I could say it was just one thing. There are many little things that get introduced, but the one new thing was this pretty little hook with a rounded ball on the end, and it has a little loop on the other end that you can attach ropes to. [01:22:09] Speaker A: For example. I'm not explicitly familiar with how this device works, but. Aiden, if you'd like an instructional video, there is one playing on the screen. [01:22:20] Speaker D: I'm learning a lot, actually. And I'm ingesting a lot, which is why I'm not smiling, I'm not making a judgment, nothing. I'm storing data and information. [01:22:37] Speaker A: The movie. [01:22:39] Speaker D: As I turn slowly look at Kendall, I just say. I am so sorry. This must be humiliating for you. [01:22:53] Speaker B: Aiden, I'm gonna need you to act like your hairline and take a few steps back right now, motherfucker. And I'm gonna walk up and I'm gonna try and rip the tv off the wall. Or if it's behind glass, break the glass. I need to get at that tv to stop it from playing right now. [01:23:14] Speaker A: Well, aside from the legal. Aside from the legal complications of property destruction, it's in a cage. This is theft proof New York City. It's not even thin bars like rebar, but in little inch grid over all of this. Besides, you would be here forever. Because as the first one finishes looping, a second one pops up. This one's faster. It was just part of, let's call it his masterpiece climax collection. And then that one stops. It continues to loop two more, and then doubling across all these different screens. The whole Kendall experience. You thought there were a lot of land before time movies. Gonna need a whole new DVD shelf for this collection. They begin tame enough, they get worse. [01:24:52] Speaker B: My mouth opens and shuts and I try and say words, but there are no words. There's only so many sounds you can make before you just start sounding pathetic. And I'm pretty sure I'm sounding really fucking pathetic right now, because all I want to do is fucking break every fucking tv in here. [01:25:19] Speaker A: No, I believe you. So Aiden is watching as these tvs blink on with an apparently infinite amount of homemade pornography. And Kendall is in a fit of rage. Banging, grabbing, clawing at the cages. [01:25:38] Speaker D: Kendall, may I approach you? [01:25:44] Speaker B: In what universe do you think that this is an acceptable question to ask me? Right now. Aidan, are you. Are you fucking stupid? [01:25:52] Speaker D: I understand. That's why I'm asking you. You're upset and that's fine. [01:25:57] Speaker B: Yeah, no fucking shit I'm upset, Aidan. [01:26:00] Speaker D: Yeah? [01:26:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:26:02] Speaker B: Listen, are you. You fucking see this shit, don't you? You fucking see this shit. You see what this fucking asshole did? [01:26:11] Speaker D: I do. And you know what I see? I see someone who deserves your wrath. But we cannot give that to them. We cannot give that to him until we find him. [01:26:23] Speaker B: If I find him and he's not dead, he will be. Because this. This shit. This shit. [01:26:32] Speaker D: Was not usable. [01:26:34] Speaker B: Yeah, no fucking shit. And he never would have done this if he hadn't met you. [01:26:40] Speaker D: Regardless, it doesn't matter whose fault it is. What matters is whose responsibility it was. It was his responsibility to keep these. And he failed you on that big fucking time. And what we can do about this is talk to the proprietor, figure out what we need to figure out. And then when we find Noah. When you find Noah, then those will be comeuppances that he has earned. But we cannot do that if we waste our energy rallying against gates. Remember this day. Hold on to it, because I guarantee you it's going to be a gift for later. We need to get there. [01:27:36] Speaker B: Can I roll to read a person? [01:27:39] Speaker A: Sure. [01:27:47] Speaker B: 14. [01:27:49] Speaker A: Okay. I'm assuming you are reading our mutual friend here. [01:27:53] Speaker B: Yes. [01:27:54] Speaker A: Okay. On a 14, you may ask one of the following questions. Are you lying? How do you feel right now? What are you about to do? What do you wish I would do? Or how can I get you to something? [01:28:12] Speaker B: Are you lying? Specifically looking for whether or not he's bullshitting me right now? If he's just trying to say things, or if this is genuinely a thing that he feels. [01:28:27] Speaker D: I genuinely feel that your wrath is valid and that there is a time and a place for it. Would you like me to go on? [01:28:51] Speaker B: I just. I turn and I just punch the wall, which is going to hurt. And I'm. It's fine. I don't care. [01:29:01] Speaker A: Well, take a wound. That's not going to feel great. I do not think you are punching it in a dainty way. I think this is the fist through the wall kind of energy. Yeah. [01:29:16] Speaker B: Oh, 100%. Absolutely. [01:29:20] Speaker A: Ugly knuckles that. That might scar. [01:29:28] Speaker B: Fine. Let's go. [01:29:31] Speaker A: Okay. Aidan, your wristwatch beeps on the hour. That's strange. You haven't been here that long. Watch says two minutes. But you've watched how much of Kendall being violated? Hmm. [01:30:01] Speaker D: Kendall. Now that we are ourselves, we need to stay on task here all right. Missing persons always say you have, what, 48 hours, 72 hours before there is a potential lethal answer for losing time. Let's find the proprietor, let's get this next step, and then let's get ready for the party. [01:30:23] Speaker B: Okay, just for the record, he's definitely been gone more than 72 hours at this point. [01:30:29] Speaker D: All the more reason to hurry, right? [01:30:36] Speaker B: Fine. [01:30:38] Speaker A: Okay. You approach the end of the hallway. Shorter than it felt a minute ago. There were so many tvs, so many angles. Seems weird that they all fit on a few dozen screens. You reach the end of the hallway. There's not a door. It's more like a beaded curtain. And above it, a, I believe, intended to be comical. Now serving little red led light. It's not until Kendall watches. Sorry. It's not until Kendall walks under it that the number stretches out into the millions. But then you're inside a dark, grimy, dingy lit. It's. You can smell the room. A melange of sweat, ejaculate, loneliness. Of course. Also the plastic. Not the kind that comes from a reputable source, but the kind you use a heat gun with homemade packaging. In the center of the room, along ten or 15 a frame racks. If you've ever been to a blockbuster, this should come. And to mind are videos, DVD's. On the walls, around a bit, looking like a perverted medieval armory, are various implements, accoutrements ranging from baby's first bondage steps to something several feet long enough. Double fisted behind the counter, septuagenarian man, sagging skin over very narrow features. When he smiles, there's something immeasurably crooked about it. The nose slightly turned up. Even from a distance, you can tell it's not someone you want to get too close to. Radiating an energy that says, in an earlier day, when this man entered the room, women covered their drinks. He gives you a polite nod. [01:33:32] Speaker D: Hold on, Kendall, 1 second. Stay right here. Be a few minutes. I'm going to duck out really fast. Go back to the hallway with the tvs waiting for the Kendall live experience. And once it comes on, I'm going to take out my phone, go to camera, video, get as close as I can, hit record, give me about 30 45 seconds, stop my phone unrest and come back in. Sorry, I got a very important text. Let's talk with this business professional, shall we? You want to start? Should I want to play good cop, bad cop? I think you. I think you can be a really good bad copy. [01:34:27] Speaker A: You have no idea. [01:34:31] Speaker B: Uh, yeah, yeah. The sooner we can get out of here, the better. [01:34:42] Speaker A: Great. [01:34:43] Speaker D: Lead the way and I will follow. I guess I'll be, uh, good copy. [01:34:52] Speaker B: Walk up to the man. Pull out my phone. Pull up a photo of Noah. Most recent selfie he'd posted on Facebook at the coffee shop down the street. They had these giant bear claws, and he thought they were hilarious because of how big they were. And I say, hey, this is gonna be a strange question, and I'm sure in and I gesture to the room line of business. Secrecy is incredibly important, and I totally value that. But our friend has gone missing, and I know that he shopped here a lot, and I was wondering if you could tell me when you last saw him. [01:35:41] Speaker A: Going to need you to roll to influence a person. [01:35:45] Speaker B: I'm terrible at this. [01:35:49] Speaker A: Aiden, you can do this if you'd like. [01:35:52] Speaker B: It's not gonna matter, okay? Because I rolled a seven with my bonus. It's a six. [01:36:04] Speaker A: Yeah, it's gonna be tough. Yeah, obviously. Stranger walks into his room. Honest to God, it's not really you. You look like the kind of person who, in the right mood, might go for something. Perhaps not that thick, but double fisted Aiden looks too clean cut. So he looks up the both of you and says, I've been in this business way too long to fall for a vice trap. [01:36:32] Speaker D: Hmm. [01:36:33] Speaker B: What? No. Like I'm trying to find my boyfriend? [01:36:41] Speaker A: No, I think you are trying to find a reason to get me to admit something so that he can pull out his badge and his handcuffs and write a citation if it's something small. Or just take me out back and put me in the car for something not. [01:36:59] Speaker D: Hmm. Well, since we're talking about putting cards on the table. Hi, my name is Aiden. I'm a student at a local university. If you'd like to see my student id. Hey, I get it. We all have to prove who we are these days. Here, I'm gonna take out this id. Does this look. Does this id look familiar to you? Does it? [01:37:21] Speaker A: Sir, you squint sat it without getting any closer. Mm hmm. [01:37:27] Speaker D: Okay, so it looks like a student id, right? [01:37:29] Speaker E: Okay. [01:37:29] Speaker D: Put back my wallet. Put it in there. All right. Now, so I don't look familiar. Does she look familiar to you? [01:37:39] Speaker A: Sir? [01:37:40] Speaker D: I point to Kendall. Does she look familiar to you? [01:37:44] Speaker A: Seen lots of girls come in like that. Normally on the screens outside. [01:37:50] Speaker D: Well, see, it's funny you mention that, because you have seen her before. I show my phone the video 45 seconds. Not only have you seen her, but I know for a fact that she did not consent for you to see her. I also know for a fact that in the court of law, this is a serious issue. I also happen to know a lot of rich and powerful people that work with the law. I am, of course, not the law. As I proved earlier. I'm just a college student. And this is a friend of mine, and we're trying to find her boyfriend, who's been missing for quite some time, who has. We have actual proof. Been here on many occasions. We can cite this location, we can slight this address, we can cite previous purchases, and, believe me, prolific amount. So what I need from you, sir, and lean in, is your full cooperation, or I will not hesitate to obliterate. [01:38:53] Speaker A: Your way of life. [01:38:55] Speaker D: You see, thing is, no one goes looking into the trash for light, but they go looking to take it out, don't they? Please. Help us help you help us, and we will never darken your doorstep again. We guarantee it. [01:39:16] Speaker A: Son. And I mean this in no. No judgment or disrespect, but, um. You on something? [01:39:24] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm on at least three medications right now, and not a lot of time. [01:39:31] Speaker A: All right, I I need you to maybe go over this again. You think she was in that video? [01:39:49] Speaker D: I know so. And here's the thing. Here's. Here's what really matters. We have evidence. We have attorneys. We have a lot of money. We have enough credible doubt to make sure that this defense doesn't work. Now, please, I'm trying to tell you what I would like you to do. And the leverage about what happens if we do or don't. I just want to get in and get out, sir. Get out of your hair. So, please, if you can just let us know what you can about this individual whose receipts we have, we'll get out of your hair. [01:40:29] Speaker A: Okay? [01:40:30] Speaker D: And I should say this is, technically speaking, related to a missing. Missing persons case. So this can also come back on your doorstep if we don't leave with what we need. Please, I'm just trying to. Trying to influence this whole situation. [01:40:44] Speaker A: Help two people out. Yeah, I understand that you're. You're really into something pretty deep, judging by the emotional level. But, um, what I need you to understand is that I've seen my first anal spring break about 400 times, and I know she's not in it. [01:41:08] Speaker D: Yeah, that's not what we were watching. [01:41:11] Speaker A: Pull your phone out, kid. [01:41:14] Speaker D: What? [01:41:17] Speaker A: Push the play button. It's a charming scene of someone who alleges to be 18, but in no universe is convincing in that fact. There's a delightful cheery marimba tune playing in the background as she pulls up her shirt and says, I never do this. And then puts it back down. And then it cuts forward to her demonstrating evidence that, oh, no, she does this quite a lot, judging by how easily certain things lock together. Can you go throw to keep it together for me? Yes. [01:41:53] Speaker D: 20 went rogue on me. Okay, well, on the dive face, that's an 18. [01:42:03] Speaker A: You'll be safe regardless. Kendall. [01:42:05] Speaker B: 14. [01:42:08] Speaker A: Okay, so Kendall, you will slide once more. Stability wise. Aiden, I think you're on the right side of it, because this is the second time in as many hours that you have seen something that was and that wasn't. There is. You can look at your phone. What you have is a grainy recording of semi professional, vaguely legal, quote, amateur anal porn. [01:42:46] Speaker D: Take a second, bring the phone and put it next to Kendall's face. No, you're not a redhead. [01:42:53] Speaker A: Kendall's also at least 15 years younger than the person in that video. The proprietor puts his hands down flat on the desk. Okay, so there's obviously something pretty weird going on here. And I'm not usually the kind of guy who asks questions, but I am also the kind of guy who, whatever you two are into, doesn't want to come back to my store. So how's about this whatever weird role playing thing that you're doing, or whatever enhanced experience you're trying to get, I can just forget all about that. And then if you show me the receipt, I can tell you, I don't know, I'll say you're making a return. [01:43:47] Speaker D: Well, sir, I'd like to thank you for your cooperation in this matter. And I think we will move forward with that and information. To find this lost individual is really important to us. Kendall, could you please go ahead and show him the receipt? [01:44:06] Speaker B: Yeah. I reach into my bag, pull out the receipt, and I just like, swat at Aiden's phone to knock it on the floor as I hand it to him. [01:44:20] Speaker A: I wouldn't knock on the floor. If that thing touches the floor, Aiden's going to leave it there. He knows what's down there. [01:44:28] Speaker B: I don't think Aiden would ever leave his phone. He's attached to that thing. [01:44:32] Speaker A: God willing, we will not have to come to the point where Aiden has to decide between lose my phone or touch decades of leftover filth. But all of that said, the proprietor gets the is immediately aware of the receipt because that is a pretty big order. Order. Most newbies, they come in, they buy something small, they come back, they buy something slightly larger. If you are a hobbyist, then you already have most things you only come in to grab a certain piece to expand the collection. It's very rare that someone comes jumping in off the deep end as he explains. Based on the description, he is able to say, no, that was probably Noah. But there was nothing coercive or dangerous or threatening about it. He was exceptionally enthusiastic, asking all kinds of questions. He jokes at one point that Noah said, does it come with an instruction manual? If anything, the weirdest part was that he was a little too into it. But, like, not the first person that I've seen come in with sub frenzy. You know, you get one initial experience in a ball gag, and the next thing you know, you're just diving in without any sense of self preservation. You don't see it too often, but now and again. [01:46:09] Speaker B: Was he in here after the last time he bought anything? Just to look around or to ask questions or anything? [01:46:19] Speaker A: I don't think so. I mean, I'm the only one who works here. We don't keep great hours. I feel like I would have seen that face coming again. Besides, based on that receipt, I think he's going to be set for a good long while. [01:46:34] Speaker B: Yeah, well, returning to the part where he's missing, so. [01:46:40] Speaker A: Look, I'm sorry I couldn't be more help, but best I can tell, your missing friend just got really into some hard shit. [01:47:02] Speaker B: Okay, I, um. I need a minute. Um, I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna go outside, I think. Um. Thanks for your help, um, mister. John. [01:47:28] Speaker A: The big John. [01:47:31] Speaker B: Of course you are. And I'm gonna turn and then just walk out of here. [01:47:40] Speaker A: Back into the tunnel. Every single screen is black. It's dark. Before, there was enough illumination coming off the lcd screens to let you walk through this tunnel. And now it peters out into darkness at the far end. [01:48:13] Speaker B: Pull out my phone. Turn on the flashlight, just in case. Start walking down the hall, happy that the tvs are off. [01:48:28] Speaker A: To begin to walk down. I need to know, first of all, Aidan, are you also traveling at this point? [01:48:36] Speaker D: Yes. Shortly after Kendall would leave, I would give a very frustrated, angry, judging stare at Big John and then follow Kendall out. [01:48:48] Speaker A: So the two of you walk, not necessarily side by side, but close enough for the purposes of this scene. The hallway stretches out in front of you. So many screens. And they're off until you walk up to the first one. And when you cross that threshold, it's. It's not you. It's someone you've never seen. They're engaged with themselves. Leaning in towards the screen. Can't see anything happening, but you can hear what you hear. Take another step, the next screen comes on, and with every single step, you see another stranger with any of these people in a panoply of ages, genders, locations, dorm rooms, bedrooms, subway, state. At one point, you're pretty sure that is a courtroom. And each of them just staring into the camera in a furious fit of self pleasure. Aiden, from your perspective, you can see that it's only the tvs that Kendall is between. When she steps forward, it turns off. [01:50:22] Speaker D: Hey, Kendall, stop. Stop moving for a second. If you could just, just humor me for a second. [01:50:28] Speaker B: What? I don't want to be in this filth tunnel for any longer than we have to be. [01:50:35] Speaker D: Aiden, understandable and fine, but just humor me for a split second here. [01:50:46] Speaker B: Fine. And I will stop and make a very animated spin to fail face him. [01:50:57] Speaker D: Kind of put my hand up and start trying to look around her at the giant wall of tvs and their response. What am I seeing? [01:51:06] Speaker A: Why don't you roll to observe the situation? [01:51:14] Speaker D: That is a, it's a six. [01:51:19] Speaker A: It's not gonna be there for you. Honest to God, nothing even coming to mind except for perhaps the world's most awkward Zoom meeting. As best you can tell, this is just a greatest hits of the worst things about omegle or chat roulette. If we want to go back a little bit further, Kendall, how about you? [01:51:52] Speaker B: Sorry, V was having the realization of what was happening. [01:51:57] Speaker A: Oh, would you like to share with the rest of the class? [01:52:02] Speaker B: Well, sure. That's also a 17, so I think Kendall also gets it. [01:52:15] Speaker A: Then. Aiden is looking around, making no connection with anything whatsoever. And then you say. [01:52:26] Speaker B: They'Re looking at me right now, right now. And I take a step forward so the next turns on. [01:52:39] Speaker A: You can see it in the eyeglasses. The next person is wearing the web browser, reflecting off the lens showing the video. Young goth slut takes inches. [01:53:01] Speaker B: It is a combination of shame, a little bit, and rage, a lot of it, because this was never, never supposed to go out. This was never supposed to be something that was shared anywhere, much less on the Internet's favorite orange and black themed webpage. Nobody was supposed to see this. It was just supposed to be for fun. It was just supposed to be something that he wanted to do so he could revisit it later. And I believed him because I was in love with him, and I wanted to try and make him happy. And now it's just, it's out there. It's out there. It's out there. And millions of people have seen this. Millions of people know what my ass looks like. And if I. Mmm. They know what my ass looks like more than I know what my ass looks like. They've seen angles of me that I've never seen. And I still don't know why he did it. He never gave me a good answer, at least not one that I was willing to accept. But this asshole. [01:54:57] Speaker A: Why don't, Kendall, you rule your disadvantage. [01:55:03] Speaker B: That makes sense. 16. [01:55:15] Speaker A: You're under control. Weird rage that is inside of you, you can keep nice and packaged away where Aiden is none the wiser. He understands that you're angry. Doesn't understand how angry. He understands. Understands you want to find Noah. He doesn't need to know why. [01:55:43] Speaker B: No. No, he doesn't. [01:55:53] Speaker A: With the realization dawning, the curtain is drawn back. And whatever horrors have been leaking into your world from somewhere else in ways that you do not understand but have begun to experience, that curtain will close when you proceed through the tunnel. It's just a flicker. Power surge. Maybe. The lights come back on and big John's favorite movies begin to play, none of them featuring Kendall. You've never thought that New York City street air smells sweet, but there is something nice and refreshing about not being in the claustrophobic shame fugue of big johns. But Kendall and Aiden are not the only ones facing adversity in this moment. Some of us just don't know it yet. As we return to Aisha soon to fall asleep, Ayesha, it has been exhausting. And no amount of rage, adrenaline bubbling up from your interactions with Kendall is going to be able to overpower your body's sudden clamoring for rest. We've all been there. When you're operating on pure physical momentum, from the second you stop moving to sit down in front of the television or you crawl into bed with your kindle, whatever it happens to be, be. Then everything just comes to a screeching halt. Your eyes and your limbs feel so heavy. I know that you are a religious woman. It's one of the things that distinguished you from your brother, one of the few things that distinguished you from your brother. There have always been those dreams. Just a little bit. If you prayed about someone, they could show up. Or at the very least, you'd dream about them. I should say that better. I don't want to give the game away, right? But if you prayed about someone, whatever psychological process kicks off, you'd sometimes be able to have a dream about them, see them. Has there been a lot of that since Noah's gone missing? [01:58:30] Speaker C: I mean, I'm going to pray for his safe return? Any chance I get. [01:58:47] Speaker A: Who knows if the universe is listening? They say God works in mysterious ways. On the other side of the illusion. They laugh because many gods work in mysterious ways. I don't know that you understand the power that you have, you can attribute to faith, which is something quite literally divine, not from the skies above, but from inside you. Will you roll your dreamer advantage for me. [01:59:37] Speaker C: 14? [01:59:44] Speaker A: Uh, for me. Did you add your plus soul bonus to that? I did. Cool. You drift off to slumber. It's weird how we never remember how a dream begins, right? The brain seems incapable of anything but end media res storytelling. So I'll ask you that. Before Noah left, there was a place in your hometown that was uniquely yours. Not exclusively yours, of course, but it had a special meaning to the two of you. Might have been the place where he first told you that he was planning to go to the big city, the place that he took you to console you after your first breakup when you're 14. And, my God, they're the one. Where is that? [02:00:46] Speaker C: There's a jungle gym outside the elementary school, just one of the those big domes of intercrossed metal bars. And when no one's around, when you can crawl under and just kind of sit, if it's late enough, especially, it's kind of a great place to see the sky and the stars. [02:01:24] Speaker A: The night sky does look beautiful. You can smell that gentle autumn scent rolling across the crisp breeze that always made marching bend practice a little too chilly in the mornings. There's that creaking sound of a swing set every time the wind comes along, blowing those little rubber seats around. That is where you used to sit. That is where you're sitting now. There's a crunch in the gravel. [02:02:13] Speaker C: Where's it coming from? [02:02:15] Speaker A: Behind you, maybe ten or 15ft away. [02:02:23] Speaker C: Well, I'll stand up and look, because more often than not, I'll be able to see Noah. [02:02:34] Speaker A: In a matter of speaking. The thing about footsteps is they have a particular rhythm to them. Right. You hear left foot and then right foot. If you're really familiar with someone, you can hear the specific punctuation of their gait. But what you hear and what you see soon after is not the quiet stroll of a handsome and talented young man. It's someone jumping little bunny hops forward. Because it's extremely difficult to walk when your ankles are bound in leather cuffs, when your wrists are tied behind you with that rope that burns, but in a good way. And it's extremely difficult to announce your presence with a ball gag in your mouth. That is Noah. He looks too thin, sweaty, his hair messy. There's something a little. A little sickly about him. The yellow, jaundiced look in his eyes. And then you can see the bruising. But not like a punch or a fight. It comes in little rectangle shapes, maybe the size of a cassette tape, a few the size of a VCR around his body. He's murmuring something behind this ball of orange rubber. Thankfully, at least, he appears to have the most sensitive of his parts covered. Although you don't remember him being into latex. You're muted. [02:05:07] Speaker C: It's not real. It's not real. It's not real. I saw what I saw in the suitcase. I saw what I saw in the suitcase, and it's. [02:05:17] Speaker A: It. [02:05:20] Speaker C: It's not real. It's not real. It's not real. [02:05:24] Speaker A: Would it not be real? Sickly as they are? You know, those eyes, if for no other reason than because they are perfect mirrors of your own. The same gold flecked brown. [02:05:51] Speaker C: I have to help him. I have to. I don't know if I quite have control of my body. As I try to clamor my way out of the jungle gym and. [02:06:13] Speaker A: Try. [02:06:13] Speaker C: To unbind his wrists. [02:06:18] Speaker A: Begs the question, do you have the key? [02:06:28] Speaker C: Fine. Fine. It's a dream. It's a dream. You have what you need in the dreams, right? [02:06:34] Speaker A: So they say. [02:06:38] Speaker C: And I need a key. [02:06:43] Speaker A: It's your dream. Sorry. Go ahead. [02:06:45] Speaker C: I look down at my hands, and I look down at my hands, and I see a small silver key, the. [02:07:05] Speaker A: Kind you'd use to open your luggage. [02:07:14] Speaker C: And I will use that key to unbind his wrists. [02:07:21] Speaker A: There's. Oh, it's. It's so hard to tell. What is relief versus. Versus what is a continuation of pain. There's moaning, but not positive, not. It's so confusing. But you take him out of these cuffs, obviously the kind for recreation, no matter your upbringing, you know what these are. And his arms unfold with his ankles likewise secured. He wobbles a bit, trying to find his balance with his arms freed. And that's how he ends up tumbling into you with an embrace that takes you back to 25 years of childhood. Not much of what comes out of his mouth is intelligible, because, as established, it can't come out of his mouth. But even then, you know what your name sounds like. And you know especially what it sounds like on his lips. [02:08:50] Speaker C: And I will pull that God forsaken thing out of his mouth. [02:08:59] Speaker A: There is relief. It's difficult to describe unless you've really experienced it. The sensation of having your jaw held open that long is something fairly unique. Isn't that right, Josh? And V? But he's smiling. Taking the first of a well earned deep breath, he says, thanks. I. Wow. I definitely should not have trusted the person who said they were gonna keep that in the corner. How you doing? [02:09:51] Speaker C: I don't understand. [02:09:57] Speaker A: What do you mean? [02:10:02] Speaker C: What is this? What is all of this? You don't. This isn't. [02:10:11] Speaker A: This is. Well, I mean, it's. It's embarrassing, for one. I never thought you'd see me like this, but this is. This is growth. It's. It's liberation. It's experimentation. And finding where you think your boundaries are versus where they actually are. It's. It's opening your eyes to new sensations. It's finding creativity in places you didn't know it existed. [02:10:58] Speaker C: No, you. You don't look well. Beer too thin? [02:11:07] Speaker A: Oh, it am. He feels genuinely confused by that question. There's a lack of recognition in his eyes as he looks down to his body. You are, of course, objectively correct. He looks hurt, to say nothing of malnourished, at the very least, dehydrated. This is, by your estimation, the body of someone who has been, God, 50 50, locked in a depression cocoon, subsisting on nothing but diet sprite. Or the way marathon runners look after they finished the race and all the calories have gone to moving. It's. His cheeks, they were always full, rosy. He would joke about. That was the first thing that women noticed about him, was that big, full smile. But he looks so hollow now, but he doesn't see it. [02:12:25] Speaker B: Where are you? [02:12:29] Speaker A: I'm, you know, around. It's a big city. It's easy to get lost in. Look, I'm not trying to be evasive. It's not like that. I'm just that. You know how mom raised us, and you took to that more than I did, and I'm. It's a new thing. I'm changing, Aisha. I'm discovering these things about myself, and. [02:13:15] Speaker D: I. [02:13:20] Speaker A: Mean, look at you, how you're reacting. You don't. How. How could I explain this or show this to you? I. I don't. [02:13:33] Speaker C: I don't care what you're into. I don't care what you decide to do to discover yourself. I just care about whether or not you're safe. [02:13:48] Speaker A: I can't. I know you're not gonna believe me, but I've never felt better. There's just so much of me, I didn't know existed. So many feelings I'd never felt and thoughts I'd never thought. And the door just opened and I. It's like. Do you remember? You would always sleep in for practice. And mom, she just. After the first couple times about the alarm clock, but then she would just rip the curtains down from the room. And I could always tell when it happened because, like, I could hear, like, the screaming and the kicking as the light. It's like that. I moved to New York and say what you will about the skyline of the weather, but it's like I've just now seen what the sun actually looks like. To be able to feel that warmth and that freedom, not on my skin, but inside it. To be who I didn't know I could be. I'm not trying to hide it from you, Aisha. I just. You've always been you. And. I mean, I'm not. I'm not the only brother in the world who wouldn't want to see his sister like this, right? It's not that I. I'm not hiding from you. Me. I'm hiding this from you. [02:16:07] Speaker C: I understand change and growth and coming into your own. What I don't understand is you leaving me behind to do it. [02:16:43] Speaker A: I don't have an answer. You can say that I was selfish and you'd be right. And you could say that I lost hold of my roots, and you'd be right. You could say that I'd forgotten my family, and you'd be right. But I need you. I need you to understand how important it is to have this. I mean, you're leading the life you do, and it's great. But have you ever wondered, I mean, what is outside of our town? What is bigger than the world that mom and dad carved out for us? I mean, I went to New York to find that, and I found so much more. I met so many people. A professional professor who just loved and believed in my work. And this charismatic, just people pleasing mega person who could help get me out of my skin. And I met Kendall, and we explored so much together. And then he goes to say a name, but every time he gets closer, you can see the way the tongue just stops frozen when he goes to purse his mouth to form a syllable. It's like someone is reaching into his face and holding them shut, like vocal cords suddenly cast in resin instead of flesh. And you can see the confusion on his face, the rising panic as his face starts to paralyze the closer he gets to explaining. I. There was the party and then I met. I met who, Noah. [02:19:25] Speaker E: Who? [02:19:27] Speaker A: That is when a figure just appears at the slightest edge of your vision, a shadow on top of a shadow. It's feminine, but I it's impossible to tell whether that's something you can actually see or just a vibe coming off of it. She's dragging something beside her. It's narrow and, and supple. And with the other hand, she reaches out and she raises her palm. You won't remember this, but it calls to mind in every kung fu movie that come here gesture. Except when Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan did it, they didn't have so many fingers. And with a lurch, Noah is pulled back, his ankles dragging through the gravel. And again, but this time further, first six inches, then a feet, and he's still trying to say the name. And you can see the panic on his face. His body is beginning to change. Fills up the shoulders that you remember his chest with all, oh, he worked so hard on that chest for that summer. You remember. But then it's bubbling up more. There's a rolling underneath his skin. You can see his stomach starting to bulge and then folding in half. He's ripped into the shadows. You lurch forward, awake in your bed, a sheen of sweat across your body. There's a tremble, but it's terror and it's something else. It's. It's an empathetic reaction. These emotions aren't yours, but they're touching you. [02:21:57] Speaker C: And then, full of grace, the Lord is with you. [02:22:01] Speaker A: And then there's a thud. You can feel the headboard banging into the wall behind you. The bed is starting to shake. And from your toes it wraps itself like ivy around your ankles, this sensation. And then up across your thighs and up under your rib cage where it starts to sinew around your lungs and your heart. And suddenly your body is throbbing with base urges your waking mind fails to comprehend. Crawling under your skin, growing inside you. Something wants to break free. And on the other side of that, you feel this freedom, this beckoning promise, as if you let this out, the world will explode into a brilliant starlight. And that's when you realize that you're not on the bed anymore. There's a black plane of existence that spreads out around you. Everything shimmering except for the few square inches around your hands. It's hot. It's so oppressive. Furnace like heat as the room, as this space, begins to glow red around you. And you see these twisted phallic towers in the distance. And you realize now your hands, it's sand. It's this red, crimson, rusty iron sand. And you're crawling forward. You know the bed is somewhere this can't be real, but your joints are refusing to cooperate. You're on your hands and your knees, but the angles are wrong. You open your mouth to scream and nothing but dust emerges. And then you come lurching out of the bed. You're back in Kendall's apartment now. You've kicked off all of the sheets. The pillows have been thrown. The bed is sitting in the center of the room and no longer against the wall. You feel nauseous, dizzy, and there's a fullness in your stomach just above the diaphragm a little bit. There's a gravity and await. It will be after these sensations carry you to the bathroom, void yourself of these waves of undulating, weird feelings. And that's about when you notice a curious little spot on the shirt you were wearing, right about the belly button. Just a little drip of something yellow, something sticky that smells like hot iron. [02:26:48] Speaker C: Somewhere back in the bedroom that's destroyed my rosary. My rosary. Where is it? [02:26:56] Speaker A: Would you have hung it from the edge of the bed or put it on the nightstand? [02:27:00] Speaker C: On the edge of the bed? [02:27:02] Speaker A: It probably fell off when things were moving, but it's there on the floor. It's fallen into an interesting shape. It's something like it's a v, the bottom part, but then it's kind of looped around itself into two kind of horizontal ovals, each one sitting on top of one of the sides of this bottom shape. I wouldn't think about it too much if for no other reason than there are going to be plenty of other things to worry about. This has been a story of secrets revealed, sometimes to each other and sometimes to ourselves. Bargains offered sometimes by the demons directly in front of us and other times by the demons in our dreams. We have a party to go to if things are to be believed. The same kind of party that sent Noah off to a place Ayesha can't comprehend and that Kendall is desperate to escape. A place that has haunted Professor Wilmot and may come to face Aiden if he can't deliver. This has been episode two of Downfall, a scenario for cult divinity lost by M. Marshall, available in the screams and Whispers campaign book for cult divinity lost I am Aaron. I have been your storyteller. I have been enjoying my time, tormenting consensually our delightful cast as recently introduced to demons and the plane of limbo. Professor Wilmot. Joshua Pengborn. How are you enjoying the game so far, sir? [02:29:21] Speaker E: I am having a dastardly good time. [02:29:25] Speaker A: And if people want to see how you enjoy yourself in other forms of media, where can they go? [02:29:31] Speaker E: You can find me on Instagram productions on Twitter at Kick prod, and most importantly, on YouTube and Patreon at, well, [email protected]. Psychicproductions and [email protected]. [02:29:46] Speaker A: Sidekickproductions for, um, I presume, more of the facial expressions you made while a six armed demon availed himself, um, of your body. [02:29:57] Speaker E: And oddly, not the first time that you can see those facial expressions on any of those shows that I make there. [02:30:03] Speaker B: So. [02:30:05] Speaker A: If you like good facial expressions, but maybe with slightly less of a central air, you can find PJ McGaw, who played Aidan, coming at us live from Nat 20. Tell them how to get there, PJ. [02:30:17] Speaker D: Sure thing. First of all, hi, everyone. Thank you so much. Hope you liked the show. My name is PJ. You can find me all of the Internet at PJ McGaw. You can also find Nat 20 productions on Twitch for Nat 20 Productions official, as well as YouTube at Nat 20 Prods and our Twitter Nat 20 production, I believe without the s there. But if you ever see the green D 20 with the laurels, that's us. And we hope you like our great, fun show. And we're gonna be having a lot of fun things planned for us this year, so come over. See you then. And I love you. [02:30:49] Speaker A: How are you handling the revelation on the Kendall into the sphere? [02:30:56] Speaker D: It's all data to me, man. [02:30:59] Speaker A: Putting in the book, deciding who's gonna have the most points at the end of the episode. So you know who to turn over. Well, one of those people who might be turned over has already been turned over, depending on which movies you've been watching on the Internet. As the girlfriend, Kendall, it is our art czar, art aficionado. If you watched the opening video to this, which you should have that nice, awesome little introduction that is coming from v lock. [02:31:26] Speaker B: Hi, that's me. I'm Vy. Uh, yeah. Is this where you're gonna ask me? Because you always ask me the question, and it's weird if you don't ask it. [02:31:38] Speaker A: Oh, that's right. Because this is like, I've trained you. [02:31:41] Speaker B: In a good way, like a weird pavlovian thing. Let's not read into it. [02:31:47] Speaker A: V. Where can they find you on the Internet? [02:31:52] Speaker B: Hi, folks. You can find me on Twitter Vegas for vampire because my name is Vy and I like vampires. You can also find me doing all manner of things over here at Queens court games, as Aaron said, I do all the art videos, things like that. All that fun stuff. You can find me doing art on Patreon. I think soon tm, you can hear me doing some voiceover work with sidekick productions over there. So there's a little bit of fun stuff. Stuff in the works. Gosh, yeah. There's. There's too much on my plate to actually think about. It's all just kind of piled on right now, so. Yeah. But that's me. [02:32:37] Speaker A: And we're delighted v is speed running the show up on more screens than Kendall checklist. [02:32:45] Speaker B: Jesus titty fucking Christ, Aaron. [02:32:48] Speaker A: I know. I've got. I've got a whole rack of these behind me. I can. I. Sometimes when I don't know what to write about the actual scenario, I just come up with things like that to throw out at all of you. [02:32:59] Speaker D: You know who also is a big rack of all these? Big John. [02:33:02] Speaker A: Big John definitely does Big John inspired by every creepy shopkeeper in every Stephen King movie. In a different movie, he would be cast as the harbinger. So, you know, small role, gets his hours in, has his card, but mostly just creepy shopkeeper and guy who says, I wouldn't go to those cabins this time of year if I were you. Right? [02:33:25] Speaker B: Sure. [02:33:27] Speaker A: With significantly more range. Much better to look at, and more fun to have at your parties. Playing the twin sister Aisha, it is Laura Tutu who, despite having that dream, I think is actually still doing the best out of our group of characters. [02:33:43] Speaker C: Let's see how long that lasts, shall we? Uh, yeah. I give it. I give it another, like, I don't know, half an episode, to be perfectly honest. Um, anyway. Hi. [02:33:54] Speaker B: Hello. [02:33:55] Speaker C: I. Erin, I feel like you need to ask me the thing, too. It's weird. [02:33:59] Speaker A: Well, now if we're gonna make it a thing, it gets weird. I don't know. [02:34:03] Speaker B: It has been a thing. It has been a thing in every single game that we have ever played together. You cannot just all of a sudden change it up. You have a script, Aaron. Stick to your fucking script, please. [02:34:14] Speaker A: I know, but then I'm told that, like, my PJ has the catchphrase, and I don't want to copy his catchphrase. So I just have to say, well, where can people find you? And it doesn't feel as good. So I'm trying to improvise my way through it until I land at something, but then I'm just like, I'll let you introduce and take some initiative because you're all agentic, powerful people who can, you know, like, fill your own scene. And I wasn't ready for this kind of pressure. And now. Now look what you made me do in front of the audience, Laura, if you wanted to worry less about what I'm doing. Desperate for something to put into the browser window so they can stop watching this show. My display, not this show. Where should they go? [02:34:50] Speaker C: Well, you can usually find me screaming into the void on Twitter as Laura, 22. Honestly, it's probably where I'm funniest, which that's ain't a lot. You can also find me on Instagram as underscore Laura underscore tutu. Underscore. Same thing on the TikToks because, well, someone just took Laura underscore tutu right up under my nose, because that's just how shit works for the most part. I'm gonna be here hanging out with the folks at Queen's court games. Sometimes, if you find something funny on the Twitter or the Facebook or the Instagram, it might have been me, who knows? But, yeah, I'll be here, um, with the folks doing tans and doing, um, some potential call of Cthulhu and some potential, uh, five e, all femme, uh, fabulousness. There's a lot going on, so you're just gonna want to stay tuned. [02:35:49] Speaker A: All the more reason. And I know that this part of the show, people like, yeah, whatever. Follow them on Twitter. I don't give a shit. Like, do the raid thing. Give me the channel points. I'm gonna get out of here. But there is so much going on from many talented people that I do implore, like, put exclamation point cast. It'll be there. You can just copy paste it and throw out some follows because these folks deserve it. I don't. But I'm going to tell you my follow information anyway. You can find Merrin in words on Twitter and nowhere else because I promised and was guaranteed by these people that I only have to do one social media. Aside from that, if you want to find out what I am doing, you can go to court, RPG on Twitter, Queenscourt Games, literally everywhere else and keep track of the different games that we're bringing up, including ones that these folks are going to be on, continuing their streak of amazing performances. The amazing performances for downfall will continue next week, same time but 3 hours ago on this channel. Else. For more information, like I said, pop over to our socials and see what's coming on down the pike. Special thanks, because this episode was brought to you by our Duke Tier patrons, Callie, Ben, and Mark. We have some new ones coming too. You can check them out on the graphics. If you would like to get your name on a graphic, in addition to many more substantial benefits, you can do so by going to patreon.com.com queenscourtgames in the meantime, bye for now.