Broadcasting online 24-7. This is your station for the hits.
Good morning my beautiful friends. It is 9.32am and you're listening to me, Jack Henson,
with the morning muse. The skies are a little overcast here and it looks like it may start
raining later but it's impossible to dampen our spirits in the studio later today. Do
you know why? Because we have the launch of a brand new show. They made it big on their
college radio station because of their show's unique concept which is kind of like real
world new show mixed with a fantasy setting. It's great. It's weird but it's very very
good and we are so so lucky to have them. And I know you're just as excited as me if
that's even possible but for now you'll have to wait. You'll have to listen to me which
I know that none of you want to do but hopefully we can stave off that disappointment with
some music and some singing and some love and romance. So let us face the music and
dance to this song here. This is Live in My Head by Elder Kedem.
The radio crackles through speakers that struggle to carry the tune through the halls of an
old radio station. The halls art deco light fixtures flicker and hum in tune to the music.
Through an open door we see a sturdy tanker desk holding a modern mixing station near
a glass room with some well-loved microphones and padded soundproof panels failing to hide
the radio static bugs. The studio's happy hums are cut by a creak behind a locked door.
The sounds of the building hold their breath, waiting. Second creak makes the room go even
quieter. Even the room tone holds its breath. Nothing dares make a sound. Till a third gives
the all clear and the station starts singing again. Outside we see the station and the
hill that it sits atop. Large pine trees surround the station, beaten only by the signal tower
in its height and a settled fog that winds its way through the trees and obscures the
city below. A figure leans against the door of the station, keys in hand, playing a game
on their phone. In the distance we hear a car making its way up the hill on the only
road to the station.
So Vic pulls up in a blacked out Challenger. Pretty beat up, very loud, very kind of noisily
kind of revs into this parking lot. Not even going that fast, it's just a rough ass car.
Stick shift, they take their kind of spiked like heeled Doc Marten boot off of the pedal
and gather all of their stuff. They have a bunch of different bags that they bring in
with them. A backpack, like a large kind of briefcase looking thing. And I think they
kind of step up to the door. They are on the taller side, about 5'9". Pretty average build,
maybe a bit thicker on the bottom. They're wearing a pantsuit, like a wide leg pantsuit
on the bottom with a vest top and a plaid kind of back-bustled jacket over it. All of
it looks like it probably came from a secondhand shop, but in a really stylish way. She's got
a kind of cute little hat with a wide brim, sort of sloped over her forehead as she takes
out the keys. And her hands shake gently as she inserts the key into the lock for the
first time.
You spot as you get closer to the door, a masculine person in a slightly ruffled but
ultimately tidy suit. They come around the corner as they hear you, putting the key in.
They have sharp features, you might describe them as slightly fox-like if you were to use
like animal iconography. Oh, hey, you are for the new show, right? The name is...
Iflyn.
Oh, yes. Yeah, Al Iflyn Light. That's you, right?
Yeah. Hey, I'm Vic. Who are you?
Hi Vic. My name is Reed. It's nice to meet you. I was just here to make sure that you
got in okay to text the boss. But that's great. I'm glad you got here. You already got the
keys. We're all set up for today, right? Your show is in... They check a watch on them.
In like seven, eight hours is your first broadcast. So we have everything prepped for today?
Yeah. I mean, I don't think there's anything I need. Got some coolers in the back in case
people need snacks. Do you have vending machines inside or...?
Yeah. Yeah, we have some vending machines and coffee in the green room that you're welcome
to use. There's no one recording today. So it's literally just you four on your own.
Nice. Okay. Any deliveries or messages I got to look out for?
No, nothing. No, not today. It's purely just your station. Yeah, we're not expecting anyone.
Just booked you to plan and then perform. And then when you're done, or we just like
lock up because you already have the keys, lock up and then give me a text that you got
out and then that's it. That's all we need. Cool. All right. Thank you. Is your information
inside? Do you have a card? Yeah, I got a card. Right. Well, since you're
all situated, I'll be off. They walk past you to the only other car in the parking lot,
pass it and then they drive off. As your key is now in the door and after they drive, you
get a vvvvvvvvvvvvvv on your phone. Looking at it, you see that you have an email from
a huge fast food chain that you had some minor correspondence with, which is Food Bucket.
And this is Food Bucket's marketing manager. You just have a email saying, good luck on
today's episode. They would love to get the ball rolling on sponsorship since we are national now.
So if you could get just a small commercial endorsement spot said by any of the hosts,
that would be a great start. Thanks, Vicky.
Hmm. Well, I've moved mountains before. I think she pulls, um, like a really interesting looking
vape pen out of the pocket near her lapel and takes like a long pull as she opens the door
and like takes a really deep breath as she exhales. Her skin in the light is kind of like a really
deep kind of sienna color. She wears rings on all of her fingers. And she kind of jingles softly
as she walks in for the first time with her necklaces and her bracelets and things like that.
You walk in and the jingle that you naturally give off kind of echoes and bounces down the hall.
It's a nice building, old definitely, but pretty well looked after. There is, of course,
that smell of like slight must, but that's to be expected in places like this.
You are fully on your own save for the light hum of a large neon sign that says connections 95.8
and the low tin of someone else's show going on on the speakers. So, Sloan, you're arriving.
Sloan, you're arriving. What does your character's car look like?
Or do they even arrive in a car? Do they get an Uber? How do they get there?
So, my character is driving a 2004 Mercury Sable GS.
Just the color of dirt, if dirt was dusty and dust if dust was dirty.
There is a large crack in the front window that kind of goes from the center to the upper driver's
side, just in an arc, which like you could try and replace it or fill it, but like what's the
point? It's not going to go anywhere, you know, it's just there. It's got a bunch of dents and
scrapes on it, indications of perhaps poor spatial awareness or maybe a little bit of zoning out while
driving. And also it is covered in bumper stickers. There are so many bumper stickers on the back of
her car, namely ones that say things like, please don't honk at me, I'll cry, or a picture of Ted
Cruz that says this man ate my son, just like a rainbow with a Kermit the Frog adjacent character
without copyright. That's like the rainbow connection or something like that. Just a whole bunch
of bumper stickers going. I would say I'm going to put it at a humble 10 over the speed limit.
Will you get into the parking lot? You spot Vic's car already being there. You might have actually
passed Reed on the way in since there is truly only one road going in and out. So you passed
someone who you don't really know and then got in to see just Vic there. What does the inside of
her car look like? Pronoun? Absolutely fabulous question. Yes, she her pronouns. And the inside
of her car has a bunch of Gatorade bottles sort of like strewn about on the ground, a couple of red
bowls thrown in there. She at some point came upon a bolt of fuzzy pink fabric that she has stapled
to the roof of the car to cover it. And has also sort of put it on the backs of her headrest and
the passenger side headrest. There's like some scratches and random stains sort of all over the
inside of the car. It smells very much like somebody at one point smoked in this car quite a lot.
And then somebody drank coffee in this car quite a lot. And then somebody who shall remain nameless
tried to cover both of those scents and failed. And yeah, she's got about three scented trees hanging
from her rearview mirror. You know when you have like static on a lot and then the static stops
and your mind is just at that like, you're just feeling that very like calm buzz of you don't have
anything you need to do right now. You turn the car off and you open the door where there is no
responsibilities. It's just you and you're just sat here and it's like that moment just before
you fall asleep where everything is just perfect. But you know at some point you need to open the
door and you know that tonight's episode needs to be planned and scripted. Have you done anything
toward planning and scripting today's episode?
She has, she looks over to the passenger seat and to the I would say pile of papers
that have been just scribbled on front and back. Her notebook is actually probably two
of her notebooks are stacked on top of each other some with papers hanging out partially ripped
with just like notes and notes and notes. None of which really makes sense or are cohesive
because she was pushing her head against a brick wall trying to come up with ideas for this thing
and finally was just like I just need to write words on a piece of paper.
So effort has been made and she's got a few things that she's excited to especially bounce
off of other people and maybe get some input but she's feeling a little nervous about the fact that
she hasn't really come up with a solid idea and is really hoping that somehow
a miracle will happen and between the exit of her car and the threshold of the writer's room
a magical idea will appear to her like a message from the universe.
I do think however now it is time to open the door.
You don't know how long you've sat in the car with the engine off but it has been
some time. She tries to remember the calming techniques that she was told about in group therapy
and can't really bring any of them to mind so instead she just opens the car door.
When you open the car door there is a small clatter of
her license and registration. Her name lands face up toward us. Tell me the name of your character
or what do you do when your license and registration falls face up out of the car? What do they look at?
What is a name? What's a name? She opens the door and from where her ID has fallen in between the
door and the car seat because she does not have a wallet the ID just clatters to the ground and
lands face up and there is a picture of her with shorter hair and there is a little piece of duct
tape on it over where the name goes and that piece of duct tape says river. River lake.
You take what I can imagine is incredibly small steps toward the building.
Yeah she's shuffling. I mean she tends to have a pretty forward gait because she's always got
places to be but definitely today she's taken more of her time which is to say that she's moving
faster than most people but slow for her. River is I would say probably about 5'8". She is curvy.
She is wearing a flannel shirt underneath a sort of like overall dress with leggings underneath
and some sort of knockoff fuzzy UGG adjacent boot. She has sort of like a tasseled scarf around her
neck and has a bright green beanie on her head. Her hair is cut sort of like to a little bit above
shoulder length with bangs. It's a curly dark sort of mop. Her eyes are very dark and look out from
these like octagonally shaped glasses and she carries a really old ratty bag made out of canvas
that looks like one of those bags that grocery stores starting putting out in like the 2000,
2010s to be like we love recycling but she's just had it forever and she is shuffling, shufflingly
towards the door. Hello! Yo! Hey! Oh my god you already have everything set up. Fabulous! Wow!
Are we allowed to have that in here? And she points to the bottles of liquor that are on the table.
The only instructions I got were make sure we clean up before we leave and to lock the door.
So as far as I'm concerned we're gonna have a nice recording session today. Yeah?
I can't wait to hear what you've got. I don't know. Right now? No, no we can wait. We can
brief everybody together but you know I'm just saying you know I'm excited. Yeah I know I'm really
excited too. This is insane. Wow god it doesn't even feel real. Oh boy. How are you feeling
about everything? Great, great. Yeah when everybody gets here I have something I need to ask
hoping that... You know that immediately makes me feel so nervous. Yeah, yeah it's nothing to be
nervous about. It's just you know part of the part of the gig. You know you gotta have every
great radio station has ads you know. It'll be quick. Oh, oh, oh ads, ads, ads. Yeah ads, ads.
It's normal it's part of the gig. Great. Okay yeah. Yeah, yeah no big deal. Yeah let's wait for
everybody else to get here. I'm so excited. Hey, hey, hey, hey listen I've known you for a long time.
Are you... is this about DMC? Are you nervous? You're you're being kind of... I'm just excited.
You know I mean yeah obviously I'm really nervous too but I'm also really excited. It's like
excitement and nerves which all feels like panic most of the time. Yeah I feel that. I think they
sweep you up into like a surprise like a tack hug. Oh they... she for sure hugs back and just like
pats you lightly. She's like hugging you without touching you with her palms because her palms are
incredibly sweaty and she like just into your ears just like I'm sorry I smell like anxiety sweat.
It's okay it's all right. Honestly it's not a bad smell. You're good. They kind of like stand back
and look at you approvingly. She gives a big smile and puts her hands on her hips and just like
strikes a pose and is doing that thing where like you just pose awkwardly because you don't know how
to be normal in that situation. But like she and Vic have known each other for long enough and she
feels comfortable enough with Vic that like she knows that Vic understands that this is just her
being her. Yeah as she kind of like moves away back out of your personal space I think there's
like a lingering look. Like a are you sure you're okay my friend? But she doesn't press it. Like
they just move away and like give you your space but they definitely are like you're good you're
great you know. Thanks um you know what else is great? These Doritos. Excuse me. She's gonna go
for the bag and rip into it. Outside a third car pulls up. So Devin Michael Corris drives a Jeep.
A it is a it is a black Jeep that it's not it's not new it's not fancy but it is well taken care of.
DMC does has received this car from parents you know while he while he's saving up and he has
taken care of it. It's something that it taking care of it respects the the offer and gift that
his parents had given to him. And so he pulls in windows are all down he's listening to alt hits
from the early 2000s.
You are capable and deserving of love.
All right let's do this. As you open the door and you say this affirmation to yourself you get a
text. Your agent is very much in your corner is a like ride or die gives you huge opportunities
and tries constantly. It's like really very good for arguably what could be a first agent of yours.
The text that you get. Big opportunity tonight. I'm excited to hear the show. Everyone is going
to love you but remember your show got popular because of you. Their show got more popular
because of a gimmick. Make this your show now. Signed by Zeke. Thanks could not have done it
without you. Zeke catch you later. Thanks again. DMC. There's that weird hum that happens to the
world when it snows when everything is just incredibly quiet and it feels slightly like
unnatural but that same feeling also happens when it is very foggy. In the past few hours this very
large fog has rolled in and now you can barely see past like the second set of trees that surround
this radio station and there is that almost comforting buzz of all of the sound getting
soaked up in this uh in this tree line as you sit and you kind of absorb that feeling. It's broken by
a very unique carcophonous sound of heavy metal just loud enough to drown out like the screeching
mess of a car whose power steering and brake fluid and everything that you can imagine is
perpetually leaking and is not really being well maintained. In the car if you were to catch her
in your rear view mirror she is singing very loudly, arm like kind of hanging out the window
and then also like in the middle seat here there is just like a cardboard like thing that is sort
of like in the middle like coming up like resting on the other one of her arms and she's like sort
of stabilizing that. You will see that the front door is actually there's there's bungee cords that
have the front door held in place uh to the back door so she just sort of like hops out the front
window um and onto the ground is wearing big combat boots, black jeans, black t-shirt, black
fishnet stockings under the black t-shirt, smoky eye that's left the realm of smoky a little bit,
dyed black like very clearly dyed black curly hair um that blue toned black. She's gonna hop
out of the car then reach back in to turn off the music and then pull out the cardboard uh cutout.
DMC hears the heavy metal and like starts bobbing his head like he's enjoying it too and throws up
the international symbol for rock in Charlie's direction because he loves this vibe. Charlie
gets out the car sees DMC in uh what can only be described as a as a yearning for 90s grunge.
It is uh jeans that are slightly too tight, a slightly oversized flannel and a read band
books tee. He is a little bit on the shorter side about around five six five seven close cropped
hair and looks like he's from a country that was colonized by Spain.
Oh yeah yeah hey hey you um yeah see you uh
are you not going in? You changed your mind? Oh no I was uh just answering a text how you doing
Charbar? Uh yeah come again uh no no I can I can do something else. No no Char no Char Charbar
Oh you don't like it? No I just we'll workshop it. What is the what's the bar for?
Like is it is it is it is a reference?
No it kind of like your your name is Charlie taking the char part of Charlie rhyming it with
Char part of Charlie rhyming it with something bar I mean I mean I mean like candy bar your it's
pretty sweet you know right just Charbar no you don't like it? No I I think it's you know I think
it's I think it's you know you you're you're it you just kind of came up with that and that's kind
of that's great that's awesome that you kind of just like you're off the cuff I like that about
you yeah we should go inside let's head inside and we'll take the giant cardboard cut out of a
dragon wearing glasses sunglasses um and shouting hey do you help with that no
no I think I think when we when we enter DMC announces DMC and Charlie in the house hey
what's up hey we're down here yo hey yeah just oh down down the hall uh she sticks her head out
of the doorway and just like waves down the hallway uh does like a a gasp to Charlie and like waves
very obnoxiously to her hey hey hey as soon as Charlie is next her just like slings an arm over
her shoulder in the very familiar way that old friends do just like not even really thinking
about it just hug oh man you got the anxiety sweats you okay we don't need to say it out loud
like I maybe I could say it out loud but we don't all need to say we don't need to comment on it
we just well I mean do you do we need to take a 10 I'm I hey listen and she like shows you her
hand and is covered in Dorito dust and she's like I'm taking a 10 working on it okay okay
yeah I'm working on it right now when River like throws this very familiar arm around Charlie and
you know they walk in together chatting how how does DMC feel I think while that exchange is going
on DMC pushes past to see the dig see what the new equipment is see a vic is anywhere in the room or
like in the booth or something just so that I don't have to be an awkward presence around these two
friends Vic is leaning up against kind of the soundboard an area that doesn't have any buttons
on it so that their butt doesn't like mess with the tech and they're just kind of smoking their pen
they kind of nod to Charlie and on their way to kind of welcome DMC Charlie you feel like a low
low dab like their knuckles like looking for yours as they kind of pass you so Vic approaches you
they don't usually wear any kind of like makeup it's just usually like a black lip gloss she
kind of just smiles like a welcoming smile hey it's good to see you are you excited you too
this is awesome look where we are we're doing it right I got your favorite snacks I've got
sparkling water we've got tequila and whiskey for later on when we want to celebrate yo t-dubs
hell yeah let's go yeah so hey um you got nerves what's going on with you me you know just pre-show
nerves like like anything else but no we we got this this is the the show is is well tested
people like it we just you know got to do more of that right that's all just more there's more of
this listen you I picked you because you and river have fantastic chemistry you look good together
you sound good together that improv show that you dragged me to is great surprisingly um and I think
the best thing to come out of it you enjoyed it yeah this is the best thing to come out of it
now we have this whole new approach uh our higher-ups are pretty excited thrilled even um
um charlie is great great charlie is great charlie is great no yeah no I think honestly
I think charlie makes the show like just charlie doesn't make the special sauce but I also know
that charlie uh doesn't love change always and your change has it been any friction you I mean
we did the test together love river we got great chemistry I think uh we're just we just need to
get in there and start recording and just let you know let the magic fly you know yeah I agree
okay well we're gonna have a meeting in a couple minutes uh got some things to say I think river
wants to address everybody and go over their show notes and um I've got something small to ask that's
not a big deal cool okay all right charlie as uh river goes back to their snack Dorito pile
and DMC and Vic talk you get a small buzz on your on your phone you have a
reddit a subreddit for your show and there's a new there's a new post it's just people
being like oh I'm excited for tonight I'm looking forward to the the first like show after they get
picked up by this someone commented that it's a bit of a shame that you're not in in more of a
host seat because you were just so sweet you know you seem so nice there was an episode where you
asked if river was okay and comment just says it just seems like they're really good friends
I know a comment yeah but they're not in a lot of pictures together like it seems like
Vic doesn't take a lot of pictures so I don't actually think they're real friends but you know
I I'm sure I'm sure she's fine but um I don't know it then there might be something there
and then the comments start just slowly becoming this almost theorizing on your friendship
I find like a you know couch or whatever in this green room to to laze upon as I stare at this
and like it wouldn't be easy to tell this at first even knowing Charlie for very long
but there is after like a few minutes River would probably pick up on the familiar
like click clack of like a comment being typed and deleted typed and deleted and typed and deleted
she throws a Dorito over at Charlie and says stop doom scrolling through like a mouthful of chips
sure but would you say that we're friends enemies or a secret third thing what what
I'm just I'm just you know the the the crowd wants to know and I'm like are you on the reddit
that are Charlie no I'm just asking because I am doing a lie yeah okay yes very uh well you know
actually that is very believable but I fucking know you're on the reddit I really think that
you should think about deleting that app from your phone but like yeah who cares what they're
saying it just I mean I get it but like listen if you put a comment in there they're just gonna like
use that as fuel for their fire they're obsessing over something very minuscule
and it's honestly it's not really their business it's but if you were to ask me
I would say that we are friends enemies and also a secret third thing
good good that's the right answer it is the right answer you know I just I do think that my process
of typing and deleting is much like the ritualistic burning of of you know your your diary statements
at the um Charlie at the end of the year you know it's like yeah yeah it's therapeutic
I'm okay oh wait oh so do we want it we want to do this now we think like now so do we want to drag
this out huh we're gonna talk about talk about our coping mechanisms because we can talk about it
if you wanna you want to bring that out you don't need to talk about it all right oh what do you got
for today that was a cruel change of subject Charlie and I don't appreciate it at all and I
don't appreciate it at all and she's like smiling as she says it um kind of has an ever-present
smile is the kind of person that smiles uh when she is nervous and also angry and also happy and
also sad and she gives a little giggle and then sort of sighs and uh grabs like a handful of paper
towels and just starts like smearing the Dorito dust off of her hands I have had a little bit of
trouble coming up with stuff for today I think probably just because the nerves are getting in
the way um but I did write some stuff out and I shipped some things to Vic and they were into some
of those things and um I figured um actually I thought that uh before I settled on anything
I would bring it to the full table so that uh Devon could have some input that's that's like
you know I can't find any flaw in that plan yeah no that is that that's a good plan um
well you know just let me know how I can help I'll be around uh also
where do we want to put Charles um green room or recording booth do you think I feel like
recording booth like we gotta we gotta stare at him while we gotta we gotta we gotta also like
I feel like we should do some like BTS for this and everyone's gonna love it yeah if he's in there
with us yeah yeah I'll make TikToks it'll be it'll be good you talk about doing that like you're an
old man I gotta film some TikToks for the you know some TikToks grandpa for the youth
you do hear an alarm go off just a phone alarm like a phone buzz not like a big alarm from
Vic's phone as I imagine Vic has set a timer to when the meeting has to begin
meeting has to begin you have 10 minutes to 10 minutes to vibe the meeting is precisely
at this time just to give you a an idea of space in this place there are um several rooms there's
the main entrance that you all walked in the hallway of course there is the green room
recording booth there is a security office a regular like admin office and a writer's room
which is just like a it has like a large table and several other chairs around it some bean bags
mainly a place for people to go and gab and gossip it's a nice building it's like has that slight
smell of must but you know that almost comforting smell of must that you find in like antique stores
and when you go into like old church halls people have been there but it has that kind of musk smell
all the doors are open and they're nice all all of the equipment is like pretty pretty okay uh the
the computers aren't like the highest tech I think they probably capped out of like
Windows XP but I mean hey they work
so everyone meets in the writer's room there's a white board with pens you can write stuff on
yeah bringing in bringing in the snacks um the crinkle of snack bags and maybe the clunk of a
bottle of tequila um and I guess river probably just turns around is like well how's everybody
feeling ready go let's go feeling pretty good yeah this is this is great um first of all thanks uh
which is kind of silly but thank you for being here I don't know I just want to start this off
by just basking in it a little bit um Vic thank you so much for getting us this opportunity um you
work so hard for it and we work so hard for it and you especially work so hard for it I said that
already but um I just yeah clap and there's like the awkward sound of three people clapping while
Vic stands there um and uh Charlie uh you literally have been with me since the very very beginning and
obviously could not have done any of this without you and your hard work and your intelligence and
skill um and just like I appreciate you so much and I'm so glad that we get to bring you
get to stay together and be together um for this and um yeah and Devin so nice to have you on the
team um it's an honor really yeah yeah it's really really like I'm I'm so excited uh uh when
Vic told me that you were going to be joining our team I was just so thrilled um which you know
obviously because I've already told you would not be here with without any of you three this is this
is all I'm just I'm just here yeah yeah yeah yeah um but uh since since we've done all of that um
let's talk about run of show um I have a couple of notes and I left most of them in my car
but I do have my notebook here but I kind of wanted to throw out a couple of things and then
leave it open because I'd really like everyone to maybe have a bit of input on this first go around
um so you know I sent out that text saying like hey keep an eye out for fun news stories or
anything like that so if y'all want to like if you have a notes list you want to break that out let's
let's sit down and get to it let's brainstorm this thing
I definitely want to include something that's a little bit lighter so I found a couple of um
sort of like funny pieces that we can start with um there was this uh this story out of Florida
and there was this story out of Maine and I think maybe we can take them and sort of mix them
together so that instead of it being like either a bear breaking down somebody's front door or
a guy um like ripping off somebody's uh the back door of somebody's jeep it can be like a bear that
rips down the door of a wagon all of you hear the front door open nobody else is supposed to be here
today hello yo as I call that like just out the door into the main entrance hallway hold on I'll
I'll go check I'll uh pop my head out of the room Vic backs you up the front door is open
it's just like wide open maybe maybe the wind opened it I'll be right back I'm gonna go close it
isn't there a key card swipe I mean there's keys that I have that go in the lock but not a key card
swipe it's also one of those weighted doors that like every time you've opened it it just shuts
behind you I'll take a look and just as I as I'm approaching I'm just like hello anyone come in
um can you give me a brain's roll please first roll of the game oh I forgot we were playing
get your character sheet out chuckles I had the dice ready to go
those bones yeah let's do it nine because I rolled the d10 the fog has set in pretty heavy now
you previously when you couldn't see like past the second line of trees now you can barely see
past the first the any form of outside influence the city below is completely covered in fog
the road almost instantly like goes if you can barely see to the end of the car park
with your nine you see just next to a tree just before um the fog completely falls away
there is someone standing
just just before they get completely developed by the fog and they are facing toward the door
toward the door I stare until they disappear contemplate for a second and I
spooky another day in paradise and I close the door and make sure it just shuts door shuts there's
that satisfying of the door fully shutting you test it it's fine you walk back to the
writers room when you walk back in I'm in the middle of yeah so this there's this cat that got
elected mayor of a small city in Arizona so I feel like we could use that but like that's that
yes lay up lay up lay up I love it I love it um what if instead of a cat it's oh god um
who boy I think I really think we can bring this yeah bear cat yeah bear cat bear unless
that already exists in real life like there actually is a bear cat it's um also known as
a binturong uh they smell like popcorn the Philippines that's unrelated the Philippines
yeah oh you already knew you already knew that no no no I didn't even know they were called bear
cats I um yeah uh I did a report on them when I was in like elementary school what if what if
dire bear cat and we just let people just who know of the binturongs just just let them know that
shit that's a good idea that's a fucking good idea yeah um yes yes yes yes yes yes yes is the
mayor giant letters on the whiteboard dire bear cat the door opens again did you lock it what the
fuck hold on uh I got it no I got Charlie and I stick our heads out the door at the same time
you're busy you're busy I'll get it I'll get it I locked it in or latched it and Vick throws you
the keys can you can you make sure it's just we're all sewn up nobody else is supposed to be here
I don't know what kind of weird shit's happening but this is really stupid and I don't want to get
it we're on a strict schedule is all I'm saying okay let me we can't be going to the door every
five minutes right right right yes yeah yeah no no problem no problem yeah yeah you go to the door
it's it's wide open again and I'm assuming I see the same like thick fog and everything
like enveloping everywhere else um can you give me a brains I sure can
three take an adversary token adversity tokens I was wondering if we were going to use these
we did we got an adversity token I want diversity token it's just foggy out there's no one there um
okay uh I am gonna use my particular set of skills I'm gonna slam the door shut and I'm gonna uh just
go into like any room and find like any I don't know desk chair or whatever just like lodge it
underneath the door the the green room where you just were would be the easiest place to
find it when you and river left did you shut the door I feel like we left it open yeah
it's shut oh I would not notice yeah and I would just open it yeah um
um it's locked uh well Vic gave me keys so and you open it easy um yeah the smell of slight must is a
little okay it's it's that thing where it's like you know when you haven't smelt a room in a while
it's like that's strong yeah that's a room yeah yeah you get that and you grab a chair
yeah I'll shove it up under the door legal providers room I imagine yep I toss Vic the keys
back and uh yeah I think that should be handled um I don't know this place is pretty nice and
everything but uh apparently not nice enough to have doors that stay shut who might yeah also
like good air circulation it smells like mothballs in here maybe that's why they don't have locks on
any of the doors to keep keep the air flowing I'd rather have mothballs and whatever kind of weird
must then stale pizza boxes and rotten beer cans I don't know that's just me that's just me yeah no
cigarette smells in here it's supposed to be like a stout old environment better better a little musty
than like literally a black mold infestation literally that yeah arguably that was a fun
semester it was it was a great semester Vic uh stands up and looks at everybody um
their hair uh is in kind of thick locks down kind of one side of their faces their hats kind of
tilted back so you can see uh their eyes they're obviously trying to connect in this moment you
know um y'all should be really proud of yourselves I know you're saying thank you to me but I wouldn't
be here without any of you you work really really hard and it's taken a lot for us to get here but
you know I know it's less than perfect but it's better than I think any of us really thought it
could be back in our days and you know the studio on campus it's disgusting and like look what we've
graduated to and imagine where we could be just a year from now things blow up all the time we have
all the ingredients we need for success seriously this new person we have here I know that DMC you're
gonna do a great job Charlie there's nobody that I trust more than you you always just bring it and
you come with it every time and I know that it's going to be perfect 100% because of you and River
I mean this is your baby this is your baby and you finally get to see it grow up you got a little
toddler now I mean I don't know I'm not oh yeah getting a little bit um whatever this is embarrassing
um they kind of like wipe some phantom tears from their eyes it's cool it's cool um
anyway yeah so I was gonna say if you wouldn't mind in the spirit of togetherness our first show
together really kind of trying to you know in the spirit of unity there is maybe maybe there's a
food bucket in the town um you know we we're all about satire right social satire uh so maybe in
our new location uh there's a food bucket and um maybe I don't know Charlie you can be like a dragon
customer that like walks in and orders uh their double beefy burger from food bucket
yeah I mean you can we can call it like ye old food bucket like with an e you know like that
okay okay wait wait wait yeah let's see like what if that's funny right it's good it's good
right it's good it's good was a thing called the food bucket and it was just like you know
it was like a latrine you know it's like just like oh yeah it's like an outhouse right
yeah yeah I gotta hit the food bucket man
I like that actually I think that's really cute yeah and then we have food bucket in our world
which yeah yeah right except like the latrine is outside and the restaurant is inside and you can
get really delicious food for your family for under 25 dollars right Nick what is this
what I'm yeah I just well you're just talking like you know like on the Disney channel when like
they like talk about a soap and then they look directly into the camera you kind of did that
for a second it was like I don't know why do you care about food bucket so much yeah what what is
this no no I mean so um it's it's not no no no no I see what's going on like like we we're we
have this whole writing room set up and ideas and stuff and Vic just wants to be a part of it like
that's right that's yeah and I mean you know the people Pete Peach called um you know I got an
email from Peach uh we had had a discussion uh with the the corporation last week um and they
were really excited to have us on board they set us up with this as kind of like an introductory
experience uh plenty of growth potential as you know um and you know um we got a sponsorship so
maybe there's just you know like just casually there's like a like a food bucket I mean or
or or you know um Charlie you wanted to be more involved uh you could just do like a quick I think
they sent like a 30 second spot that you could just like do a live read as well that's also an
option um and add really quick uh you just kind of yeah like a fill you know I mean that's not
really we haven't really done that uh we we haven't no I mean we're the so it's time for first
today I thought like I thought we were you know we were doing doing new stuff today you know what
it's cool it's cool like that you know what you're right you're that's not punk rock um and I'm I can
take care of it I'll figure something I'm gonna take care of it well uh yeah yeah yeah I mean
is this gonna is this what is the what is the nature of of this because it it feels like maybe
there's something more than just like chill it doesn't I don't know I've never really known like
a business to be super cool and chill about something is this like an agreement
uh you know I mean part of our agreement like we had discussed when we took the deal
was that you know we would work with the other brands in the network when we would need to um
and yeah this is just it's just one of those times I mean there was like it's like manageable
growth right like we're right I got you Vic I got you I see I see maybe we can do something
like with the with like Bucky like like introducing Bucky the food bucket mascot you know
I mean I I think that that would be really funny you know we can't like make fun of it uh so to
speak but it can make fun of itself maybe maybe something that's like you know I'm so delicious
wait all right what are the Vic what are the parameters of of this because I it DMC
he seems to get it but I'm a little confused can we can you I think we should talk more about this
can you tell us more like what are the details yeah just that you you need to put food bucket
anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds in or around the podcast you know uh we can um I could try to work
something out where it is you know um our life sponsored by food bucket but I felt like maybe
that was a little ham-fisted so that's why I went with like in you know something like in more of
an insertion into the fiction you know um it's fine it's you know what maybe maybe hear me out
maybe what we do is like we go like real low-key with it and instead of food bucket it's like
I don't know oh snack basket I could see I could see if something like that would like maybe bridge
the gap maybe we don't have to like save them by you mentioned that there was an option for an ad
read and to be honest when I said that I wanted to be more involved I did not mean ad reads
not mean ad reads however I do really really care about like our universe so I think I would love
to do some ad reads um as long as they so that it stays separate from the show itself
yeah yeah totally totally Charlie is just looking at river like a little bit like so that we don't
have to have food bucket in our universe yeah yeah a team player okay yes Charlie I appreciate
that a lot um can't they just like send us a a clip that we can play during our our episode like
something we can play before we go to a music break like they can just they can send us something
that's pre-recorded you know I hear I hear hello fresh do it all the time they have like people
just stick it into the podcast and I guess it's like different I don't know well we years or
something but like we had stuff like this over at the radio station and certain you know some
people would buy an amount of time for the djs to plug their products this is something like that
right Vic yeah it's just part part of the professionalism of it all the you know like
we're we're here and we gotta we gotta pay to keep the lights on right so that I'm Vic I think
like like you're gonna talk to them back seat back pocket we got team player char bar Charlie
here um to do ad reads in case they need us to do it right I just think they should send us something
yeah and Vic will Vic will sort that out right like yeah convey our wants to the network and then
the problem with that though is that the data shows that it's not actually as successful
when you do it that way people know that they're being sold to um but if it's someone like one of
you that does the read they recognize your voice they recognize the world and um they're interested
in the content so I mean a whole I don't know I just feel like I just feel like that's kind of
why why do they even want to be in our world we pretty much explicitly make fun of places like
food bucket like what's what's the draw what's the desire I don't I don't I don't really get it I
feel like it would be awkward and weird I mean you know it's it's because we're cool and uh a brand
associating with a cool brand equals a cooler brand you know um it's it's cool it's cool don't
worry about it um I I am gonna go and uh you guys keep talking don't worry about food bucket we're
good um I have some ideas so I'm gonna go take care of that and I've got your backs and uh yeah
thanks Vic if we do go with the ad read um what I mean just I'm just thinking spitballing do you
think I should do it as me do you think or do you think maybe it should be chum or do you think it
should be uh George St. Rogers who does the yeah I mean chum is a chum is a fan for you I mean
chum is a chum is a fan favorite um here I um I have the script I printed it out to the liberty
if you don't mind uh and um you uh go ahead and make whatever edits you want to it if you want uh
you'd be doing us a huge favor and they kind of slide the paper I read for it okay
okay or at the very least she uh like crushes in close next to Charlie and is like two inches
away from the script just like looking at it yeah reading it yeah the script is very much like
chum bucket is the perfect place to come on a Friday night your whole family can eat for
25 with things like our salted fish fillet our amazing food bucket french fries three orders
of hamburger meals just for you and your kids we've got Bucky come on down he'll do a dance
like it's really it's super salesy like it's terrible it's atrocious um is it the full email
that Vic printed out or is it just the script it's just the script cool thanks Vic uh I
appreciate that can I take a look sure as I I raise my hand you don't have to raise your hand
push the script across the table to him I grab it and just I just I just look at it and like start
practicing it to myself like as I would back when I was DJ DJing at the radio station uh the the
campus radio station just very quietly okay and the other you Bucky will do it okay I don't know
if we do the ad read we like might still be able to do the food bucket latrine thing in the show
they're not gonna let us down no do you think they're gonna actually listen they'll like I
mean I think that it'll caught I you I don't know how any of this stuff works I do understand that
it's very complicated yeah and if we don't like follow whatever whatever contract exists
it's gonna be a lot of harm more harm than good yeah contracts or something I don't I
but Vic said that she would take care of it so I'm pretty sure we're covered they've got it sure
yeah yeah and we we also have other like we have most of the outline now we should probably finish
that before you know really diving into details of one yeah yeah and you know whatever like
if Vic didn't have it covered they wouldn't say that they had it covered so we're set we're good
sure so let's finish let's finish this um let's wrap this bad boy and she's gonna jump back into
planning did Vic leave the room yeah Vic kind of slinks to the back of the room and goes out into
the hallway and is just furiously emailing trying to find loopholes and way around that fucking door
that fucking door is open again the chair is halfway across the room hey guys I thought you
said you fucking secured the door I gave you my keys and everything wait I put it is it open again
steel it's open again chair that's not funny no I did seriously come over here come over here come
look at it come look at it because like I'm having I'm already anxious enough I don't need this so
can you just come in please I hold on I got this I am going to go to the fucking door
and I walk up to it and I first of all I like look through look into every room that I pass by
just trying to see shit all of the doors are like a jar or open and I don't see anything in the
rooms no I like I look down the corner of the hallway and then I just like stick my head out
the door and look in both directions out to like check and see if there's no one standing outside
or anything like that yeah there's no one standing outside no need for a roll you can look as hard or
as soft as you want and there's nothing is the fog still there the fog is still there very much
how cold is it it's pretty cold it's getting it's like yeah crossing into winterish so
okay it's cold uh well this door sucks um but I guess that's why it's so musty and here it's
so freaking humid and she like just grabs the door and is going to push it closed as soon as you
close it there's a every single door down the hallway slam shut and it's through the speakers
your show starts blaring incredibly loud like episodes that you have all recorded start echoing
through the the halls past the hall in the recording room which that door is still very
much open the door inside the recording room that is locked there is this like
like someone is like banging furiously at it trying to get in and it all kind of
raises the lights flicker everything dies immediately
and the door to the green room
opens just just slightly the hell that shit wasn't live was it i'm under enough pressure i don't
fucking need this today what the fuck what the fuck i don't need this today what the fuck
river just like immediately feeling incredibly alone at this end of the hallway is going to like
rush back towards everybody else um and sort of like everyone is standing out in the hole yes
is going to like cling to whichever body she comes upon first um and is just like what the
fuck what the shit what look i this place you know i i know it's an upgrade but you know they've
clearly got some sort of their own mess we should just call the i don't know owner or whatever oh
i've got a guy hey who the fuck is in here dmc is gonna i'm gonna grab the chair that was
you know and hold like start approaching the door to the green room with the chair in hand
for a wrestler style yeah yeah yeah call them i have the business card of a guy uh that i met
earlier i'm gonna call i'm gonna call is the door to the writing room closed everything is closed
except for the door to the groomer vic are you calling read i am as soon as you click call that
the number you've called has not been recognized please check and try again what the fuck i try
like two more times and if it still doesn't work i try to uh google read name of the studio see if
i can find social media you are able to get some form of 5g signal you google and this place has a
manager and it is read there is a picture of him i have pulled my phone out as well and i'm trying
to call the same number and then uh i think if it doesn't pick up she's gonna dial um her aunt call
your aunt and the same thing fuck uh there's a uh a guy she's been talking to that she was in a um
school uh study group with once and she clicks his name which is just like a tractor emoji and
then a bunch of uh clover leaves and an eggplant and then uh hits that name fuck my phone i can't
call anyone it's giving me the same same dial tone every single time what's going on i'm seeing
reid's face hold on maybe i can email social media anything can you dm him his email is also
on the back of the card oh great send an email what am i fucking 50 oh she's gonna open her gmail
account and type in the uh email address and just be just just what what do we what do we even say
what do we even say just ask him to come out uh that's what i'm gonna say and just tweet uh hey
read um uh something weird is happening with the lights and we think that there might be an intruder
in the studio uh please help or call 911 or both um because that would be helpful
river you send it and it goes you don't get a bounce back email or anything it fully sends
i send a similar dm it sends all right so we just you know we just wait to hear back
what if someone's here i feel like i'm gonna go check it out don't what that's like i have it i
have a chair by yourself this is literally exactly what you're not supposed to do is go and do it oh
be a hero river i'm not a hero just i we can't just sit here and wait i can't these are steel
toe boots just go i feel like it's very reasonable to sit here and wait i'm gonna go towards the
green room door and as i'm holding the the the steel chair and tap it open with my foot very
sheepishly and then it swings open like i'm gonna almost get like swing at nothing you know like
it just prepare like almost as if i was expecting a dude to be behind the door what do i see as you
kick open the door tap open the door you don't take a step as people take steps you are just
you just are in another room fog covers the walls and comes up to your chest you are still holding
the chair and then a single spotlight the metallic hum envelopes you hello there beautiful people
thank you so much for listening to episode one of frequencies and a special thank you to
all of the people who have supported us on patreon so far uh with an extra extra special
thank you to kalim parker lang and rodrigo thank you heroes