Realis 12: Conference on Clouded Dokine 04 Transcriber: logan Opening Recap 1 Heading to the Hotel [0:02:38] 3 Investigating Upstairs [0:19:10] 19 Donnie’s Reflection [0:41:00] 35 The Candid Mirror [0:59:39] 46 Departing Dokine [1:18:54] 60 Reprise [1:38:54] 73 Returning to the Mirror [1:55:40] 81 Opening Recap Ali: Let’s mingle! Aren’t we gonna mingle? We can mingle. This is a mingling — this is a brunch, right? Keith: I, I can’t mingle. [“Realis” by Jack de Quidt begins playing] Austin: An introduction to the truth of the many worlds thesis — something about a gravitational pressure on Realis and the shapeology of reality itself. - Keith (as Wellaway): [whispering] This guy just seems normal. Ali (as Hye): [quietly] Well yeah, they seemed interesting. Keith (as Wellaway): [whispering] This isn’t how those other guys seemed. Ali (as Hye): Well, it’s circus rules, right? You come out with your… [wheeze] Keith (as Wellaway): You think those guys are following circus rules? Art (as Donnie): [cross] What’s the circus rule? Keith (as Wellaway): Weird guy first. Art (as Donnie): You send out the weird guy to bring people in? That’s not how we do it. Ali (as Hye): [cross] Yeah, you get attention! Keith (as Wellaway): It’s not — wait, what about Weird Paul? Isn’t that why he goes out there? And hands out those flyers? Art (as Donnie): Weird Paul’s very talented. Austin (as Theatre Cultist): I’m sorry, if you’d like to have this conversation in private, we do have a lobby you can go into. I’m not trying to overhear you, it’s just, you are being very loud. Art (as Donnie): Look, you gotta meet our friend Paul. - Austin (as Doctor Phenomenon): What if I told you there are worlds other than this one? Art: Yeah, we came here on a spaceship. Austin (as Doctor Phenomenon): What if I told you there are moons other than the thousand you know? [Ali gasps] What if I told you that Realis itself was the only true norm? The only thing real? The only thing you can peg reality to? - Keith (as Wellaway): What’s gonna happen on the third day that’ll allow people to go somewhere? Austin (as Doctor Phenomenon): Well, when Final Day shows up, who’s the third, you know, keynote speaker, it’s just gonna be one of those situations where, uh, the road between here and there, as my understanding, gets — this is the language they use with me — it gets shorter, you know what I mean? It gets — Keith (as Wellaway): Final Day used this with you? Austin (as Doctor Phenomenon): No no no, Final Day’s not here yet. Keith (as Wellaway): Oh okay. Austin (as Doctor Phenomenon): We’re gonna help Final Day get here, and then, I don’t know, she’ll do her set, I guess? And it’s gonna open everyone’s mind, and then we’ll all arrive. - Keith: Yeah, is everybody not getting the apocalypse vibe of Final Day? I’m getting an apocalypse vibe. Ali: Oh, no… Austin: No? Art: No? Ali: Well… [music ends] Heading to the Hotel [0:02:38] Austin: So, leaving the black box theatre that’s been taken over by this nascent cult, are you headed back to the hotel? Are you gonna head to find Mr. Topaz or whatever? Keith: Yeah, let’s find Mr. Topaz. Ali: What an aesthetic name. Austin: [cross] It’s so true. Dr. Phenomenon, Mr. Topaz… Ali: I also think I do communicate to the rest of the party that like, oh I think Wellaway had, [laughs] I think maybe Wellaway was right about this. I think this might be sinister actually. Keith: Huh. That’s funny, I was actually changing my mind, I actually think it’s all fine. Austin: You think it’s apocalyptic now, would you say? Ali: Mhm. I do think, it’s not going well for Mr… Phantasmic? Art: [cross] Mr. Phantasmic, that’s who it was, yeah. Keith: Dr. Phenomenon. Austin: [cross] Dr. Phenomenon, yeah. Ali: [laughing] Dr. Phenomenon, sorry! Keith: Sorry, there is a guy named Mr. Fantastic, but we’re not, he’s not ours. Austin: [cross] He’s not involved. Ali: I said -mic, you know, different character. Keith: Oh, Phantasmic. Austin: Mick Fanta — oh, Phantasmic. Keith: Mick Phantasmic! [Keith, Austin, Ali laugh] Art: The Disney fireworks show. Keith: Honestly, jot Mick Phantasmic down. Austin: Oh! There’ll be a reason for it at some point. Um, alright. As you head back to the nice hotel you’ve been put up in across from the convention hall, I think we’re getting towards the end of the evening at this point, it’s quiet streets. The lobby, the front lobby of this place is effectively abandoned except for a receptionist who seems very bored, and some people at the hotel bar off to the side. Yeah, you can feel free to inquire about this guest. Keith: Someone else wanna take point on this one? Ali (as Hye): Um, hi. We’re staying in a room and I was wondering if we could call another one? I’m trying to establish dinner plans with a friend. Austin (as receptionist): Oh, of course. Wow, late dinner. Ali (as Hye): Oh, well we’re very busy, with the comedy festival and all. Austin (as receptionist): Totally, yeah totally. So what’s the um, what are you doing for dinner? What’s the dinner? Ali (as Hye): Well that’s the decision to make, isn’t it? Austin (as receptionist): Oh, yeah cool. Yeah, for sure. Ali (as Hye): Do you have any recommendations? You must be familiar with the area. Austin (as receptionist): No, I mostly eat pre-packaged meals. Ali (as Hye): Mm. Austin (as receptionist): They don’t really do, [whispering] they don’t really pay us a lot in reception. But they let us take out from the bar sometimes. Ali (as Hye): Oh, what a shame. You’re the cornerstone of this establishment. Austin (as receptionist): Cool. [Keith and Ali laugh] No one’s ever said that. Ali (as Hye): Well you’re the face point! You provide all the value, don’t you? Austin (as receptionist): No, that’s the rooms, mostly, I think. ‘Cause like, no one pays me for anything, they just come here for the rooms. Ali (as Hye): Well, well, sure, yes. They’re paying to stay, but you’re the one who gives them the experience! I’m just saying that, I’m, I’m sorry, I guess. Austin (as receptionist): Yeah, I get you. [Ali laughs] Anyway, they got like a mackerel they’ll put some hot sauce on, it’s pretty good. Keith (as Wellaway): Oh, I love mackerel. Austin (as receptionist): I get that sometimes. Ali (as Hye): Hm. Keith (as Wellaway): One of the underrated fish. Austin (as receptionist): Yeah, I haven’t really rated them, but I guess — Keith (as Wellaway): Well it’s others, others are rating them. And I’m rating the ratings. Austin (as receptionist): Cool. So who do you wanna call? Ali (as Hye): A Mr. Topaz? Austin (as receptionist): Mr. Topaz, alright, one second. Austin: Goes over and starts flipping through a book, like a registry. Austin (as receptionist): Uh, I don’t have a Mr. Topaz here. You sure this is the right hotel? Ali (as Hye): Oh, how strange. Um, yes, hmm. Ali: I glance to the other two. Keith (as Wellaway): Can you try Final Day? Austin (as receptionist): What? Keith (as Wellaway): Can you try the name Day, comma, Final. Austin (as receptionist): Yeah, sure, lemme, flip flip flip flip flip. Nothin’. That’s a weird name. That’s ominous. I guess it’s not Final’s fault — Keith (as Wellaway): That’s so funny, I never thought of that before. But yeah, I can see how — Austin (as receptionist): They didn’t name themselves, presumably. Ali (as Hye): I thought it was quite clever. Keith: Do we know anything else about this? We might have to roll here. Ali (as Hye): Could I ask you something in confidence? Keith (as Wellaway): Yes, you may. Ali (as Hye): I was speaking to the… [laughs] Keith (as Wellaway): Sorry, sorry. Austin (as receptionist): I mean, I can’t really tell you whether or not you’re confident enough to ask me something, but, you know? Ali (as Hye): Oh, that’s hilarious. Um, I — Austin (as receptionist): Huh? [Art, Keith, Ali laugh] Art: Oh, this is my favorite character. Let’s just… Ali (as Hye): Have you… [leaning in conspiratorially] Have you gotten any bad vibes from any guests? Austin: [laughing] He like, leans back away from you. [Ali laughs] Keith (as Wellaway): Worse than this. Austin (as receptionist): All the time. People are weird. Keith (as Wellaway): Anybody seem dangerous? Austin (as receptionist): Yeah, funny you say that, I had someone come in two weeks ago and they were like ‘here, can you hold onto this until later,’ and they just put a knife on the table. Keith (as Wellaway): Wow. Anybody that seems dangerous in an ominous way and not in a violent way? Austin (as receptionist): Well what do you mean, like — Keith (as Wellaway): Sinister? Like someone, you know how you got that vibe from Final Day right away? Someone who gives you that kind of vibe when you see ‘em. Austin: Looking at the three of you, (as receptionist): Well, not really. Keith (as Wellaway): No? Austin (as receptionist): There’s a lot of comedians around right now, so the vibe has kinda been, like… Keith (as Wellaway): Sad? Austin (as receptionist): No, I was gonna say like, cool. Keith (as Wellaway): Oh, okay. Austin (as receptionist): ‘Cause they all wear suits, and they all like, take themselves too seriously. Keith (as Wellaway): Hm. Day one-ers. Austin (as receptionist): What? Keith (as Wellaway): Nevermind. Ali (as Hye): Don’t engage him with this, he’ll get very upset. Keith (as Wellaway): I will not get upset! [Ali laughs] I’m not getting upset! Austin (as receptionist): I mean, if you don’t meet your friend, what are you gonna do for dinner? Keith (as Wellaway): Pre-packaged food, I guess. Austin (as receptionist): Cool. I got some ketchup packets that I keep back here if you need some. That’s kinda all I can offer you right now. Keith (as Wellaway): That’s a bad offer. I recommend not offering that to people. Ali (as Hye): Well it’s flavorful! Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah! It is! Austin (as receptionist): It’s tomatoes! It’s healthy. Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah! It is! I know about it. That’s how I know it’s not a good suggestion. Austin (as receptionist): Alright… Art (as Donnie): I mean, yeah. It’s not, it’s not dinner. Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah, it’s not dinner. That’s a condiment. Ali (as Hye): Well, in addition to — Austin (as receptionist): [cross] It’s supposed to supplement dinner. Ali (as Hye): Yes. Austin (as receptionist): ‘Cause if you eat pre-packaged food maybe it doesn’t taste good, and you add some ketchup and then it’s alright. Ali (as Hye): Mhm. Keith (as Wellaway): That’s fair. Yeah. I take it back. Art (as Donnie): I don’t. Austin: Wow, Digging in. Keith: Yeah, Ronald, get ‘im. Austin (as receptionist): Are you guests? Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah. Ali (as Hye): Mhm. Art (as Donnie): This is someone who is opening for the headliner — Keith (as Wellaway): [upset] I am the headliner! I’m headlining day two! Art (as Donnie): Well, but, that’s like opening for the headliner of the big night, night three. Keith (as Wellaway): It is not even like that if you squint. I’m in room 1414. Austin (as receptionist): Okay. Ali (as Hye): Tell me, if you were going to a show that was multiple days, which day would you go to? Austin (as receptionist): How many days is it? Ali (as Hye): [cross] Three. Keith (as Wellaway): Three days. Austin (as receptionist): Well I gotta be there for the finale. Ali (as Hye): [cross] Case closed. Keith (as Wellaway): The finale of which day? [Ali laughs] Austin (as receptionist): Days don’t have finales, they just have midnights. Art (as Donnie): Whoa… Keith (as Wellaway): No, because if it was one day, then it wouldn’t, it would be a finale at the end of that day. Ali (as Hye): I’d like to buy you a drink. [laughs] Austin (as receptionist): Yeah. Ali (as Hye): That was profound. Austin (as receptionist): Yeah, let’s, I mean I get outta here in like four or five hours, but I, probably — Keith (as Wellaway): It wasn’t profound, every finale that’s ever happened happened on a day. Austin (as receptionist): Right. That day’s, sure. But if it’s three days — Keith (as Wellaway): Right. Sorry, finish the sentence, what were you gonna say? That day’s what? Austin (as receptionist): That day’s over. Keith (as Wellaway): That day’s over… Austin (as receptionist): And then the next day starts, and then if it’s the three day event, the third day is the finale. Keith (as Wellaway): No. This is not how the event is set up. Ali (as Hye): I know! Is there any — well, I guess if you’re destroying the world you wouldn’t check out… Austin (as receptionist): Whoa! [Ali laughs] Keith (as Wellaway): Uh, yeah stranger, the stakes are high. Art (as Donnie): You’re being so mean to this stoned desk clerk. Ali: I was gonna ask, do you have anyone who’s checking out on the third day? But then I was like wait a minute, I don’t know that that makes sense. Austin: [laughing] Yeah, hundreds of people. [Ali, Keith, Art laugh] Ali: Everybody! Austin: Yeah, everybody. Keith: Almost as many people as are checking out on the second day. Austin: No, it’s way more people check out on the third day. Keith: Fucked up. Shut up. Austin: It’s true, mostly they check in on, (as receptionist): Mostly they check in on night zero, and then there’s day one, and that’s like the big check in moment. That’s like, you gotta be there on time ‘cause like, uhh, Harold, be there on time, people are gonna be checking in. Keith (as Wellaway): They got heralds? Austin (as Harold): No, I’m Harold. Keith (as Wellaway): Oh, you’re Harold. Ali (as Hye): [cross] Nice to meet you. Austin (as Harry): Thank you, you can call me Harry if you want. Um, and then day three, pow, everyone checks out at once, it’s a big mess, we run out of water and coffee and then, y’know. Ali (as Hye): All those people saying, ‘can I store my luggage?’ No! Austin (as Harry): No. Bring it with you. We only have limited storage space, and I’m using it. Keith (as Wellaway): For ketchup. Ali (as Hye): [cross] We’ve all been there. Art (as Donnie): What do you got back there? Austin (as Harry): I got my, heh. Do you wanna see? Art (as Donnie): Yeah! Austin (as Harry): Come on, come on. Austin: And there’s like, underneath the desk, there’s like a little tiny TV hooked up to — it’s not a TV, there’s not — oh right, this is Dokine, there’s a TV. There’s a TV hooked up to… it’s not a TV. It looks like a TV but it’s hollow. It looks like a box TV, you know what I mean? Keith: Right. Austin: Like not a flatscreen TV, like a classic television but it’s hollow and it has a holograph — It’s both hollow, with a W at the end, and holo, like H-O-L-O, like holographic, and he has like, a holographic PS1 hooked up to it and whatever the Realis equivalent of Tekken 2 is currently paused. And he’s like, (as Harry): I almost have all the endings for the characters. I’ve beat it with like seven out of ten people so far. Keith: The Realis equivalent of Tekken 2 is Tekken 3. Austin: That’s, well in this reality, in this version of Realis, uh huh. Keith: Right, yeah. Austin: And it’s just like, it’s on top of a little — Keith (as Wellaway): Did you unlock that little dragon guy? Austin (as Harry): The little dragon guy? Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah, the little dragon guy. He’s a secret character. Austin (as Harry): He’s a dinosaur. Isn’t it? Keith (as Wellaway): Uh, he breathes fire? Austin (as Harry): Whoa! How do you make him breathe fire? Keith (as Wellaway): It’s like a quarter-circle ranged attack button. Austin (as Harry): Try it, come back here and show me. Keith (as Wellaway): Okay, I’ll do it — Austin (as Harry): One sec, actually wait wait wait wait. I’m in the middle of story mode, I don’t wanna lose progress. Keith (as Wellaway): Okay. Austin (as Harry): But come by before you close or whatever, and we can hang out. Keith (as Wellaway): Sure. Austin (as Harry): What’s your name? Keith (as Wellaway): Wellaway. Austin (as Harry): Well away to you. [Art wheezes] Keith (as Wellaway): Okay. So you really don’t know anything? Austin (as Harry): Ominous people, let me try to think. Um, there’s this guy that keeps coming — You’re the picture! Ooh. There’s a guy who’s looking for you. Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah, I know him, yeah. Austin (as Harry): Are you a criminal? Keith (as Wellaway): No. He’s a criminal. Austin (as Harry): Oh! Well, what type of crime? Keith (as Wellaway): I don’t know, cowardice? Dereliction of duty? Betrayal? Austin (as Harry): Conceptual criminal. Keith (as Wellaway): He’s a traitor? Austin (as Harry): Well, I don’t know, he had a weird necklace and he was like, ‘have you seen this guy? Do you know where he is?’ Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah, he’s evil. Austin (as Harry): And I was like, I don’t have clue who that is. Keith (as Wellaway): Or he’s working for someone who’s evil. He’s kidnapped. Austin (as Harry): He’s kidnapped? So, is he a criminal or is he a victim? Keith (as Wellaway): Little bit of both. Austin (as Harry): Hm. Damn. Keith (as Wellaway): His crimes led him to being kidnapped. Austin (as Harry): Sometimes I think we’re all a little bit criminal, and a little bit victim. What do you do with that? Keith (as Wellaway): Just live your life. Austin (as Harry): [exhale] Anyway, um, yeah, we actually had to ask him to leave, but he keeps coming back so I’d be careful. Keith (as Wellaway): Does he have a room? Austin (as Harry): Not here. Keith (as Wellaway): Does he know someone with a room here? Austin (as Harry): I mean he must, because he was upstairs for a little while I guess? Keith (as Wellaway): And there’s no way to find out what room? Austin (as Harry): No yeah, he went to room 1416. Keith (as Wellaway): Oh that’s two over from me. Austin (as Harry): Okay. That’s not true actually, it’d be one over from you. ‘Cause 1415’s across from you. [cross] You don’t know much how hotels work. Keith (as Wellaway): Well it’s only, it’s across and over. Austin (as Harry): Well no, ‘cause you’re 1414, so to your left is 1412 and to your right is 1416. And across from you is 1415, and across and to the left is 1417, and across and to the right is 14, uh, 13. Do you need me to draw — Keith (as Wellaway): Fine. Austin (as Harry): Okay. Keith (as Wellaway): Who’s in 1415? Is it day one? Austin (as Harry): Who’s day one? Keith: Uh, remind me what that guy’s name was? Austin: Cartier, uh, Cartier Buff. Keith: Yeah, Cartier Buff. (as Wellaway): Hey what room is Cartier Buff in? Austin (as Harry): Um, 1412. Keith (as Wellaway): Okay. Okay, so yeah, they put the three in a row, alright. They put the three in a row. Austin (as Harry): Yeah. I guess. Keith (as Wellaway): Alright. Let’s go up there, let’s go there. It’s almost like going home anyway. Austin (as Harry): Cool. So… so no ketchup? Keith (as Wellaway): No. Ali (as Hye): We’ll come back for it. Keith (as Wellaway): We’ll come back for the ketchup. Austin (as Harry): Good luck with — Ali (as Hye): And that drink. Austin (as Harry): Yeah! Good luck with dinner. Keith (as Wellaway): Oh, hey. [mysteriously] We were never here. Ali (as Hye): Wink. Keith (as Wellaway): Big wink. Ali (as Hye): I’m Hye Malis, by the way. Austin (as Harry): Cool, you were never here. I’m Harold. Keith (as Wellaway): [cross] You were here. Art (as Donnie): Why would you introduce yourself as someone who was never here? Ali (as Hye): Well I thought, he said that funny thing about Wellaway, I thought Hye was kind of an open door. [cross] Alas… Austin (as Harry): Oh! Hi, Malis! [Keith laughs] Ali (as Hye): Well I’ll see you later. Austin (as Harry): Well away! [Art chuckles] Austin: And you head back upstairs to where they of course have booked the three headliners in rooms in a row because someone got on the phone and said we need three rooms and they said alright, we’ll book three rooms. Keith: By the way, three headliners, I just wanna say it’s out there. [Austin and Ali laugh] Austin: Yeah, okay. I believe it, Austin’s, y’know. Art: [cross] Yeah, there’s, there’s… Keith: It was established in fiction that they — Austin: Well, most importantly, they asked you which day you wanted. Keith: Right. Austin: So you could’ve had the final day. Keith: Which is when we had a whole in-universe discussion about which days were important, what they were important for and why. Austin: Mhm, mhm. It’s true. [Ali laughs] I mean, what if they, what if you’d taken the final day? Would this person even be called the Final Day? Would they be called the Second Day? That’s not as, that’s nothing. Keith: No. Austin: Yeah. Which kinda cements the importance of the final day. [Art laughs] Keith: It’s important apocalyptically, but it’s not important to the festival. Austin: Right. Art: Someone has to be on the final day. Keith: Someone has to be on the final day, and we pray for them and their families. Investigating Upstairs [0:19:10] Austin: You take an old-timey, uh, uh, um, what do you call it — Keith: Elevator? Austin: Elevator, thank you. My brain was saying refrigerator. Ali: Mm! Austin: Up to your floor — Keith: It’s fuckin’ cold in here. Austin: That’s right, brr. And as you step out, you are met with the sight of a friend. You see Candide in the hallway leaning up against the door to room 1416. Keith: Hmm… Austin: And trying to listen in with a glass to their ear and to the door. And they put a finger to their lips and go shh. Keith: I tiptoe over there like a cartoon character. Austin (as Candide): [whispering] I think something, I think something weird is going on here. Keith (as Wellaway): [whispering] You’re right. Ali: Can I cast a spell to… Austin: Oh, yeah. To do what? Ali: Um, eavesdrop better? [chuckles] In the same way that I put a seal on that door to like, whatever. Austin: Yeah. Ali: Can I like, open up a channel? Austin: You can certainly try to do this. How are you doing this? What is your, your intention is to learn what’s going on inside the room? Ali: Yes. Austin: Yes. Ali: Yes. Austin: You absolutely can try to do this, what is your means? Ali: My means is, ‘I always know how summonally power the rit — the power of the moons, so long as I have my equipment.’ Austin: So what’s it look like with your equipment? Or what is your equipment in this case, you have your staff, presumably? Ali: Yeah! Austin: You have your cards and stuff. What does it look like? Now that’s the way your sentence is written, it’s really important we have a visual understanding now. Ali: Right, yeah. And I actually wonder if this is worth the Reality two Ephemera hit? Which is ‘the driftwood staff always strengthens spells by creating a bond between two moons.’ Austin: Oh, true, yeah. Ali: Um, because this is — Austin: Which is nice and open, right? Like, you could just do whatever with that. Ali: Right, yeah. And this is final boss coded. This is big bad of the adventure, so maybe we’d want a plus two instead of a plus one? Austin: And you’re acting, you’re not countering, you are the actor, right? Ali: Uh huh. Austin: So a little more risky for sure. Ali: Am I getting a token here for responding to a mundane problem with magical means? Austin: Good question. You would be getting it after this, not before. Ali: Okay, right right. Okay. Austin: I think this is magical means, [Keith: Yeah.] And I do think this is… [Keith: Mundane?] again, mundane-ish, certainly. Ali: And we were looking at the mundane version of this, which is the cup. Austin: Yes, totally. [cross] This is true, this is true. Yeah, I’ll give it to you. Ali: And I’m trying to create like a magic cup that like, is a speaker actually. Austin: Uh huh. Ali: Okay, I’m just gonna mark it even though I’m not using it for this, and then, yeah. I, Reality plus two. I think the two moons are probably like, perception and a deeper word for listening, like… [chuckles] Austin: Mm, I see what you’re saying. In terms of trying to… In terms of what the moons, like, Impulses or meanings are that you’re drawing on their power, I see. Ali: Yeah yeah, mhm. Austin: Yes. What is the Reality of that Sentence? Ali: It is a plus two. Austin: Okay, let me figure out if someone’s trying to counter you. Ali: And then I mark it once, and then once I mark it three times I don’t have the Ephemera anymore, right? Austin: That is correct. Oh right, this is the Ephemera, right right right. I’m pretty sure this is gonna work, but let me just double check. Yeah, I don’t think anyone here is trying to counter this, this is not a thing that Dokine itself is getting in the way of, and so I think that this just works. What is the visual, like what’s the actual, how are you hearing it? Is this heard in your minds, is it just your minds, is it a speaker, you know what I mean? Ali: Yeah, I think like a spectral circle appears on the door and starts playing it to us as if it was a speaker. Austin: But not out loud? Or, like, I’m just gonna say, maybe only to you in your heads instead of it literally being a speaker that the people inside could hear. Ali: Yeah yeah yeah. Austin: So, inside right now, you hear three voices. Three voices? You hear two voices you’ve heard before. It is Entire Carousel, who is one of the people who has been chasing you, but not the magistrate with the necklace. And the kind of goofy werewolf-y one that has followed you around a little bit, Wellaway. And the more competent mercenary, both of whom you fought on the space station, Relia Centa, aka the fifty kill assassin, you hear them effectively being dressed down by a… Well, you hear them protesting. You hear them saying, y’know, listen, we’ve been on their heels the whole time, they’re not making a big splash hear, they’re not that easy to find, we think that their ship set down, or we think that their ship is under lock and key somewhere. They;re defending their inability ot have found you. And then there is another voice, that feels, there’s a sort of harmony, there’s a resonance inside of the voice as if it’s like, being spoken into or through almost like some sort of metallic, like a tube that’s making it bounce around. It’s as if it’s being, there’s something echoey about it that makes it feel inhuman somehow. It’s not robotic, but it is… Keith: Is it like the same voice but an octave up? Or does it sound weird, like echoey? Austin: No, it sounds like, echoey, but echoey in a sort of metallic room. Or speaking into a bowl, you know what I mean? And the sound is bouncing out, you know what I mean? And I think that voice is like, (as Echoing Voice): Enough excuses. We have pursued other options. They shouldn’t be a problem anymore. Austin: And the voice of the mercenary who can turn into a wolf is like, (as Entire Carousel): So you’re takin’ us off the job? Austin: And the voice says, (as Echoing Voice): It doesn’t matter anymore. We’ll pay you for your work, and if you’d like to finish it, that’s fine. If not, it’s as it’s fated. Your reputation of course will be reflected. People know you’ve been hired. Austin: And the other, the woman is like, (as Relia Centa): Carousel, let’s get outta here. This whole thing has smelled fishy the whole time. Austin: And you can hear them, they’re starting to walk towards the dorm towards you. And I think Candide immediately dips back into the other room, back into your bedroom, leaving the door open, but is quick, is like, gone, because that is the way of Candide. What do you do as these two mercenaries begin heading towards the door that you are standing in front of? Ali: This is a real jinkies moment, huh? Austin: Uh huh? Keith: This is a real jinkies moment, I was just thinkin’. [Ali laughs] Ali: I mean, hide, right? Are we hiding? Keith: Yeah. Austin: Are you just hopping back into 1414? Keith: I think so. Austin: Okay, yeah. Keith: We can get into a room. We can pick the lock. Austin: Well, and you know that a person, a weirdo is in there. Ali: Right, right. Keith: Well, do we know that they’re in there, or do we know that their voice is in there? Ali: [cross] Yeah, it sounded like a… Austin: You know that there’s a weird voice in there, yeah, mhm. Ali: Could be a Star Wars hologram situation. Austin: Could be. Keith: Okay, if I really wanted to, I would stick to the ceiling and when they left the room I would like, hold the door open with a finger to keep it from closing all the way. Austin: You can stick to the ceiling? Keith: Well I can be acrobatic. [cross (Austin: You’re always quick…)] Donnie could hold me to the ceiling. Art: Why don’t you just let me keep the door open? Keith: Yeah, I guess that skips a step. Austin: Right. Ali: [chuckling] Uh huh! Keith: Yeah, cut out the middleman. Cut out the meat-le man. [Ali wheezes, Keith laughs] Austin: Well you’re currently in, like, do you take off through the skies? Art: Well, I don’t think it would stop me from using spectral power to keep a door open. Austin: Oh I see, you’re gonna spectral power it from a distance. I see. Art: [cross] Assuming that’s still supporting myself and my allies. Austin: [cross] You’re gonna like, keep the lock from closing, in other words. Keith: Right, yeah. Austin: Yeah, I see what you’re saying. Yeah, I think that’s a thing you could do. [cross] You’re supporting yourself and your allies. Art: Or we could do the stick to the ceiling plan, I don’t wanna… [Ali laughs] Austin: Yeah, if you wanna stick to the ceiling, you could do that instead. Ali: Well I — Keith: Throw me up there like a little rubber hand you got out of a gacha machine. Ali: Okay, I… [chuckles] Austin: You could walk through the wall, also, just as a reminder of a thing Donnie can do. Keith: Oh yeah, you could even just stick your head through the wall. Austin: You could. Keith: The reason to stick the head through is to see, hey is there anybody even in there? Are we gonna get busted just from like, walking in because the guy that’s looking for us is just standing in there? The reason to go in is so that we can actually act in there with the door open. Art: Alright, I’m gonna try to get a little bit away from the door, of course, then I’m gonna stick my head through the wall. Austin: The rest of your body not being near the… sorry, I need you to paint me this picture a little more clearly. You’re gonna get away from the wall but stick your through it? Art: Get away form the door. Austin: Get away from the door, I see. Like off to the left or the right. I see, I see, I see. Art: Yeah, like, y’know how all hotel are sort of like, corridors? Austin: Yeah, totally. Art: Sort of by the window. Austin: There is a, uh… Sorry, you wait for the mercenaries to walk away, obviously, first? And then you’re doing this. So the mercenaries have left, you can hear them continuing to bicker near the elevators. You poke your head into the room and as, potentially expected, maybe, the room is empty. But it has also clearly been, there are signs that there were three people in it, one. There are three chairs laid out, there are, you know, maybe not three drinks but there is this sort of evidence that it’s been set up for three people. More importantly, it’s been set up for, kind of at the center of the room on the far wall is something that’s not in Wellaway’s room which is a mirror, a sort of gilded mirror, a tall, long, gilded mirror that is a freestanding one, you know what I’m talking about? Not like a hanging wall mirror, but one that’s like, it sits in the corner of your room or whatever? Keith: Teleportation mirror. This is a real zoinks moment. Austin: This is a real zoinks moment. That is in the room, and is, the glass itself, as you look at it through the window, or through the wall, is black. Is dark, it’s not black, but it’s like, there’s no light coming, there’s no reflection, you know? But it still has a glassy quality. It’s just dark. It’s like looking into tinted glass — Keith: So instead of mirroring — Austin: But it’s not mirroring anything, yeah. Keith: Right, it’s just taking the light into a dark place. Austin: That is right, yeah. Keith: Zoinks. [Ali snickers] Art: Zoinks. Austin: Oh my god. [Keith and Ali laugh] We didn’t even walk through this, we should’ve, you are using the Sentence ‘I am always intangible’ to get through the uncertainty of you being able to stick your head through the wall, right? Yeah. Keith: Now here’s a question, did you leave a big smear of paint on the wall where your makeup has now come off? Or can you make the stuff on you intangible? Austin: I guess that’s the question. Good question. I assumed you’d removed your costume, but I guess… Art: Yeah, I think, wouldn’t it just be when you make yourself intangible would the makeup just fall to the floor? Austin: Just fall to the floor. [Keith laughs] Keith: Yeah, I mean that’s the other… I was sort of thinking that as you move through it you become intangible, but if you go like, okay, intangible, it would just fall to the ground. It just depends when you become intangible. Austin: I think that exactly would happen. Yeah, so that’s what you see in there currently. Strange mirror. Art: Strange mirror, strange glass. Austin: Yeah, with strange glass. Empty room. Keith: Mirror mirror on the floor, what in the hell are you for? Austin: I don’t think that’s how it works. Keith: No, as long as you rhyme, it tells you. Austin: It just works. Yeah. Maybe. I don’t make the rules. Art: What? Austin: If you, fuckin’, there are Sentences you could use that could make that true, you know? Keith: I think in this case, you did literally make the rules. [Keith and Ali laugh] Austin: I mean yeah, but the rules allow you to make the thing you just said true if you were doing the right thing, y’know? Keith: [cross] Right, yes. Uh, ‘I always reveal the truth.’ Austin: Sure, yeah. Or, y’know, ‘I always know how ot ritually summon the power of the moons so long as I have my equipment.’ If that was still just ‘I always know how to ritually summon the moon,’ and Ali was like, well a thing that’s true in this world is if you do a rhyme in front of a mirror you can summon the power of the moons, I’d be like, well I guess you always know how to ritually summon the power of the moons, that’s how you do it. Keith: Yeah. There you go. Austin: I don’t know. Keith: Um… Austin: Are you doing any further investigation in there, Donnie? Art: No, I think in addition, I think now it’s time for everyone to go in there. Austin: Okay, yeah. You come back, you report what you said. Art: Yeah. Austin: Yeah. Keith: I politely knock on the door. Art: There’s no one in there. Keith: No, I’m outside. [chuckles] I’m just being annoying. Austin: You’re saying, you’re knocking for Donnie to come over and open the door. Keith: Right, as if Donnie didn’t know that I was there. Austin: Yeah, uh huh. Art: Oh, sure. I open the door. Keith (as Wellaway): Hi. Art (as Donnie): Hey, uh, there’s some weird stuff in here. Ali (as Hye): Hm? Keith (as Wellaway): There’s some weird stuff in there. Art (as Donnie): Come on in. Keith (as Wellaway): Okay, thank you. Keith: I go in. I look at the mirror. Try to stick my hand through it. Austin: Your hand touches the glass. Keith: Okay. Austin: But when you look at the mirror, what you actually see is, first of all like a subtle reflection of yourself, it doesn’t completely eclipse the light. It doesn’t completely block the ability for the glass to reflect. More importantly, you see what looks like, from here, it looks like a sort of screen that you can see through, kind of? Keith: Okay. Austin: So when you’re approaching it from an angle, for instance, you see a little red dot. It’s as if you’re looking into a room, but also it’s a screen. So like, when you reach out and touch it the stuff on the screen begins to move. So it’s like a 3D space that you’re looking into, imagine you’re looking into a room — Keith: It’s like a 3DS. Austin: It’s like a 3DS. It’s like a 3DS! Yeah. It’s like a 3DS. And when you touch it and move it, that little red dot moves over towards you a little bit. You’ve slid part of the screen, sort of. Keith: It does look like someone else was actually in here, though. Austin: It does. Keith: You know what kind of person could get through that screen? A Donnie. Austin: Sure. Ali: Hm… Art: Only if that’s how it works, I could just go through and be on the other side of the mirror. Keith: Do you wanna try? Art: Yeah sure. Austin: That’s what happens. You just go through and you’re on the other side of the mirror. Art: Yeah. Keith: Fuck! Austin: If what you’re doing is being intangible. Art: Yeah. Austin: Yeah. Keith: Well, is there anything else that you can do? Art: Um, I could wield spectral power at it, but I’m not really sure what we’re doing. Keith: Yeah, me either. Art: Like, am I trying to break it? Keith: Trying to go in. Trying to warp. Ali: Well is there any, I mean, back to my look through that guy’s briefcase thing, [Austin: Yeah, now we’re talkin’.] is there anything else in this room, perhaps? Besides a mirror? Austin: Sure. Yeah, one, you find a contract written out to the Tasker’s Menagerie for the apprehension of the, I guess it’s specifically, they want the special gem that you have put on your driftwood staff. That’s what the contract from those mercenaries was for, it was for the, it says ‘Skipping Stone - Ulled’ is what it says as like, the deliverable. Keith: And they didn’t deliver it. Austin: They sure didn’t. Keith: ‘Cause we have it. Austin: You have it. Well they were — Keith: Until hence. Austin: Until hence, exactly. Until hence, you have it. Exactly. As you may recall, the Judicious Boar put it in your trust, and so yes. They are looking for that, as one of the things that they are looking for. And there is a bonus, there’s an extra, secondary deliverable, an optional deliverable, that says ‘Skipping Stone - Dokine, if delivered early.’ You might recall this, it’s been a while since we first set this arc up, but I set up that there is another one of those gems — Keith: I do remember this. Austin: Do you remember where it is? Keith: Is it in the trophy for — Austin: It’s in the trophy, correct. Keith: For winning the event, for winning the comedy festival. Keith: For being the funniest. Austin: For being the funniest — Ali: Oh, four across four moons! Austin: Ohh! Keith: Yeah — Ali. Ali: What? Keith: That’s the first thing we said about this thing. Austin: It’s just been a while. Ali: [laughing] No! The evil poem! Keith: Yeah, that’s what I’m sayin’. The evil — that was the first thing I think we said about the evil poem. Austin: [cross] I don’t know that we said it. Ali: Oh, I didn’t know that the evil poem had anything to do with my jewel. Keith: Oh, I’m almost positive that I said it. Austin: Maybe, we’ll have to check the record. Keith: I swear to god, I was like well we got the one, ‘cause I remember being like, what planet were we on before? Ulled? We got that one, so there’s three more on the other three. And I think Austin, you were like, well we don’t know which moons they’re on. Or maybe that was Art that said that. Austin: I mean, yeah. There are the four moons this story is taking place on. [Ali laughs] Keith: Right, that was the first thing I thought about, was the four moons from the story that we’re telling. Austin: Yeah, yeah. It’s possible that I said some vaguely obscurantist shit to throw you off, but yeah. The poem is saying, hey! Get the fuckin’ four pieces of the Skipping Stone that are spread across the four moons, or, is that really so? Ali: Or, yeah. Austin: Hidden in plain sight, how would you ever know? Ali: Yeah, I dunno. Austin: Gather up the pieces, toss across the pond. Keith: I’ve had in my notes since the moment we read, ‘Four across four moons, one per moon, seems almost for sure.’ Ali: What the fuck does that mean? Seems almost for sure. That’s not information! Keith: Seems almost — what’s that? What I was saying is that it seems almost a hundred percent true that there’s gonna be one of the four stones on each moon and that we already have one. I swear to god I said this. Ali: [laughing] Okay! Keith: It’s been a while. Austin: It has been a while, also. Keith: It’s fine, Ali will edit these, and we’ll come across it in due time. [Austin chuckles] Ali: That’s true, and I will message you and make a big deal out of it. Donnie’s Reflection [0:41:00] Austin: It’s possible, we’ll see. Anyway, you were thinking about doing some sort of ghost magic to enter the mirror. Art: Yeah. But I’m not… what does it feel like to touch the mirror with ghost stuff? Austin: Are you using ghost powers to try to learn something about this mirror? Art: Yeah. Austin: You wield spectral power to support yourself and your allies… I think this is uncontested, but again it’s uncertain. So, it feels, there’s a chill when you touch it. As you start to touch it, first of all you can see — your reflection in this thing is shaky. It’s different. You have a reflection even though you’re in Donnie form. You look like, how old are you? You’ve been conscious for about fifty years? You look like a sixty something year old person. Kinda scrawny. Kinda mussy hair, there’s all these details that like you — it’s like looking at a reflection of a person that hasn’t done anything with their hair ever, because they didn’t know they had hair, you know? I guess you could probably feel that you have hair, right Donnie? Art: Yeah. Austin: Or do you even have hair? Do you even have ghost hair? Maybe you don’t, maybe this — Keith: Are you a Casper? Are you a ghostly… Austin: Can a ghost feel their own body? Their own, ‘cause I guess it’s — Art: No, I think it’s sort of different than that. Austin: Yeah, so you’re surprised to see, then, that there is a sort of humanoid figure in front of you. An older person, an older man, seemingly. Kind of has a beard and some, you know, I say an older man, I know that Donnie uses they/them pronouns, I’m not taking those away from Donnie, if you saw this person on the street you’d be like, that’s someone that’s presenting as an older man, you know? Has sort of a, there’s something in the quality of your eyes that looks frightened. And I don’t know if that is a thing that you’re feeling, but it’s a thing that’s in the quality of the eyes that you see in this moment. Keith: Damn, the mirror that makes you sad. Austin: It’s the sad mirror. The second thing that you’re feeling here is like, it’s like sitting in someone else’s car. Which is obviously a thing you’ve done before as a ghost. This is like sleeping in someone else’s bed. You can feel the contours of this mirror space that feel like, this is not digital technology even though I’ve been talking about it like it’s a screen, this is a magical thing. It’s like sleeping in someone else’s bed, or holding someone else’s cane that they’ve walked with, their walking stick for years and years. There are grooves to it from its use, and you can feel that it is not a new mirror. It is not a new, weird mirror space, and in fact there’s something sort of like, you’re breaching into someone’s private space by doing this. You can feel the intimate history of this thing. And, there is also a sense in touching it that you aren’t touching a thing, but you might be touching a person. There’s the sense that you have, like, your hand on someone’s cheek. Or your hand on their head. Keith: I’ve heard of the man in the mirror, but the man is the mirror? Austin: The man is the mirror. There’s something about it that is, not just the intimacy of being in someone else’s bed, but the sense that you have a hand on their shoulder suddenly. That it’s a little warm. And you actually feel for a brief second two things. One, it feels as if someone clenches your hand in a friendly way, for just a moment. And then, squeezes and then pushes you back away from the mirror. That’s the thing that you learned with your initial intent, which is I wanna learn what it feels like to touch this mirror. As a ghost, using ghost power. That’s not the end of what you could do with this mirror, but that’s your initial dipping a toe, except the toe is a ghostly finger. Keith: And there was no through, only on, correct? Austin: There’s a sense that you could go through using the right sort of ghostly power, but it would be a real breach. It would feel like laying in someone’s bed for real, you know what I mean? And there might be more… dipping the finger got you pushed away. Doing more might require more work or might end up being… This was uncertain but it wasn’t countered. I think you get the sense, Donnie, that to go in would potentially lead to some sort of stronger response than that. Which, maybe that’s fine, you know? But that is the sense that you’re getting. Keith: Hye, did you find anything? Austin: Yeah, what else were you looking for? I told you about the contracts and then we got sidetracked. Ali: I mean yeah, that is telling. Austin: Mhm. Ali: The fact that it’s called a Skipping Stone is interesting to me. Austin: Mhm. Ali: Um, boop boop boop… Is there more personal items? Austin: Um, you know, there’s a pair of cups, there’s like a coffee cup and a beer pint glass. The coffee cup is untouched, with cooling coffee, and the pint glass is empty but there’s still foam in the cup from someone who just kind of pounded it and left the foam, the remains of the head of the beer — Keith: That’s so them. Austin: That’s so them. Trying to think if there’s any other person — there’s not like, personal effects here. Not in plain sight, certainly. If you pushed me on this, I would invent something. If you used some sort of ability here, we would find something, I’d find some new piece of information to give you. But peeking around, looking in the cabinets, looking under the pillow, you don’t find anything here on first glance. Ali: Yeah, what’s the best Batman version of… Austin: Exactly, yeah, yeah. Ali: What do we as a group feel like we want more of here? To know what the Final Day stuff is? Keith: All of it. Austin: All of it. Uh huh. Ali: [chuckles] Yeah. Keith: For me, priorities are what’s going on on the final day, what’s going on with the mirror and how is it connected to Final Day, and there’s like, a general sort of like, how is it connected to the curse is maybe lowest on my list. Just ‘cause it feels the least immediate, I feel like I can deal with a curse but something really big might happen on day three that we should try and find out about. Ali: Yeah, it feels like the mirror just is our best lead, so continue poking at that instead of… Austin: Trying to find a secret — Ali: Like, doing a thing to make you make up a thing. Austin: Yep. You have this mirror. This mirror is clearly something in some way, right? Ali: Yeah. Art: Alright, so I wanna try to like, draw out the mirror? I’m trying to… Austin: I’m not sure. I mean, you tell me, you know? I’ve done my best to describe the strange situation you were in, but I understand it is an alien one. Keith: It’s an alien. Austin: Aren’t we all on the thousand moons? Keith: What does that even mean here? [laughs] Austin: There are some thing that are truly alien in Realis, you know. Keith: Right, well I think that this all, cards on the table, this feels like a mirror to another reality. Realis-y. Austin: Maybe. Keith: Realis-ity. [gasps] Realisity… Austin: Realisity. Art: Yeah, I try to like, draw out the power of the, I try to draw out the mirror. Austin: The being from it? Art: Yeah. Austin: The person shaped thing that I described, the sort of the mind they’re in? Art: Yeah. Austin: Okay, let me find where these are. You’re presumably using the spectral power that were using a second ago, right? Art: Yeah. Well, it’s to support myself and my allies, so maybe it’s not… Austin: Oh, yeah. I don’t know that that’s what this is. Do you have something else? Art: I always force others to confront the truth about themselves? Austin: Ho. Art: Hey mirror. You’re not a mirror. Austin: Interesting. Interesting interesting interesting. What’s your intent here? Is to pull a figure, pull the being out of this mirror? Art: To pull it out. Austin: Yeah, okay. Art: We’re here, I want it to be here too. Austin: Yes. And you’re using your magic, importantly. Are you using your token, is actually maybe a better question. It’s ghost — Art: Um… I would certainly, I struggle to, this is a me thing, to call it magic, you know? Austin: It’s a spectral power. Keith: Yeah, you’re just Donnie. Art: Yeah, yeah. Austin: Right, I understand. But in the colloquial sense — Art: I’m not a wizard, I don’t wear a hat. Austin: Sure, yeah, uh huh. Art: I have worn hats, but. Keith: Actually you recently just spent a long time wearing a hat. Austin: [cross] Will you wear hats. You have a whole — Art: Yeah, but like, not a wizard hat. Austin: Right, right right right. Art: Hat, comma, mundane. Austin: Sure. It’s not mundane power. Art: Yeah. I’ll spend a token here. Austin: Okay. Art: How is this — why is this Sentence… nevermind. Austin: What’s up, why is this Sentence… you good? Art: Why is it level one? Austin: Because you’ve Realized it. ‘Cause you — Art: What have I changed about it? Austin: You made it level one because — Keith: I think it was ‘I always force others to confront the truth.’ [cross] And now it’s ‘the truth about themselves.’ Austin: Yes, and now it’s ‘the truth about themselves.’ Yes. Exactly, exactly. Art: Got it, okay. Alright, so I’m unchecking token… Austin: Mhm. Art: And yeah, I’m puttin’ all my ghost stuff into this. Austin: Your ghost juice. Keith: Your ghost eggs. Art: Yeah, puttin’ my ghost back into it. [Ali chuckles] Austin: Yeah, I think you — Art: That’s a normal thing to say, everyone thinks so. [Keith laughs] Austin: I think this, there’s an attempt to counter you that fails. This mirror has a Sentence, ‘when touched with magical energy, I always reveal an inescapable truth.’ And you have a plus two Sentence, so it’s gonna beat that. So yeah, are you reaching in with your spectral hand, are you pulling as if with telekinesis, what’s this visually look like? Art: Yeah, I think, depending on how much we wanna keep in the Scooby Doo of it here, I think it looks a little bit like pulling a rope almost. Like, hand over hand, but of course the rope isn’t there. Austin: You’re pulling, you’re pulling, you’re pulling, and the door slams open as you pull a sort of reflection from the mirror, and it is the reflection of your young friend, Candide. Keith: Jinkies! Austin: Who looks at herself across the room, moves and the head moves with them, you know, the classic you’re looking at a reflection of yourself but its — Keith: So real Candide just showed up through the door, you’re saying? Austin: It’s as if they were pulled in by Donnie. Art: [cross] Oh, that’s weird. Keith: Okay. Austin: Yeah. But so is this living reflection. And Candide looks like she has seen something that you haven’t seen. Fear stricken. And obviously, maybe just looking at yourself as a living reflection will do that to you. Art: Yeah, I wouldn’t rule it out. Austin: But screams. And then turns and runs back out the door. Clearly had maybe been listening in from the outside side. I believe was not with you, I know was not with you, but was not like, alright I’ll be right here, you know? So clearly maybe tailing you even. Which is not out of character. Classic maneuver from the kid, y’know? But takes off in a burst of speed, like a bolt down the hallways of the hotel. And the reflection stands right there and looks at you. Keith: Okay, so they’re not necessarily connected, the two. Art: Yeah, we can’t like, pull on one… Austin: That does not seem to be the case. Art: That’s a shame. Keith: Now I’ve encountered some Realis happening in front of me, where I had the perfect move to stop Candide until I leveled it up and now it no longer helps. [Ali chuckles] Austin: Oh, what was the moon? Keith: It was ‘I am always quick in wit and bone’ and now it’s ‘I am always quick in wit and bone when avoiding detection.’ Austin: Yup, mhm. Ali: Oh no… Keith: That’s when Realis happens to you. Austin: You got Realis’d. Art: I mean, keep it under your hat because we might be about to be detected. [cross] Someone ran out of the room we’re not supposed to be in. Austin: I mean, this reflection — Keith: Now I do have ‘I always reveal the truth,’ which is fun because Donnie also has a truth move. Austin: Yeah, there’s many truth moves in play. And so does the mirror. Keith: Yeah, and — Austin: I guess the mirror doesn’t say the truth though, the mirror said, no, it is. It’s the one I just marked, ‘when touched with magical energy, the mirror always reveals an inescapable truth.’ Keith: Now what I wanna do is try to figure out what Candide saw or felt that we didn’t see or feel. Austin: Mhm. Keith: And I have that Sentence. What I don’t have is the way that I would make that happen. Austin: The sort of narrative explanation of what the fuck it is. Keith: Right. Austin: Yeah. You know, I think that there is this reflection here, looking up at you, this living… They’re like a glassy form, but they also still kind of look reflective. It’s almost like if a hologram could still be mirrored, you know? Keith: Mhm. Austin: Lightly mirrored, it’s not a very clean mirroring. It’s like when a metal is shiny, it’s not as — Keith: Like those old polished brass mirrors? Austin: Exactly, exactly. Not like, perfect chrome, you know? Keith: Yeah. I guess one way to reveal the truth would be to try to get it from Candide, who did just run away but presumably is not uncatchable. Austin: Mhm. Keith: Another way would be to look really closely at the thing, at the Candide. Austin: Mhm. Art: Yeah, could we solve this on this side, do you think? Austin: On this side of the mirror, you mean? Art: Or on this side of — Keith: This side of the door. Art: The door. This side of the chase. Austin: Right, right, I see. Ali: Well there’s, I mean, okay. We could split up. Austin: There are three of you. Ali: Someone could run after her, and then… Keith: Donnie seems pretty locked to the mirror. Ali: Uh huh! Keith: I could go after our Candide, or Ali, you can if you think that you have a way of dealing with it. Ali: Yeah, I mean, I don’t have a Sentence to catch up besides whatever, but I do have ‘I always sense which prediction someone needs to hear’ primed, and I feel like there’s like, there’s heart ot heart potential once I get to Candide. Keith: I think that I’m remembering that we know that Candide knows something about the curse that she wasn’t telling us. Austin: That is correct. Keith: We don’t know what that was. Ali: Right, and also — Keith: And this could very much have something to do with that. Ali: Yeah, uh huh. Keith: Or could be a second whole thing we don’t know. This could be its own thing. Ali: Well this curse thing is Candide’s whole deal anyway, because they received the package with the curse. Keith: Well, we don’t know that this mirror thing has to do with the curse. Ali: Sure sure sure, well besides the, yeah. Keith: I wanna talk to this, I want to inspect this thing. Austin: The mirrored Candide, yeah. Keith: Yeah. I want ot reveal the truth here, I wanna get an all-angles look at this thing, walk around it, look at it from the side, look at it through Donnie, does it change if I look through Donnie? [Ali chuckles] Austin: Okay. That’s fun. I think it just looks like how most things look when you look at them through Donnie. Keith: Okay. Austin: I like that though, that’s fun. Keith: Coulda been different. The Candid Mirror [0:59:39] Austin: Yeah. As far as you can tell, it just looks like the same mirror it’s been. Or sorry, you’re looking at the being. [“The Candid Mirror” by Jack de Quidt starts playing] Austin: Yeah, looks just like how I described it. Looks like the sort of mirrored hologram reflection. And it’s just kind of standing there with the affect of an object, not the affect of a person, you know? With the affect of an android on an average sci-fi show, you know? Waiting to be talked to, or… Like a mirror stands there. A mirror will reflect back when something passes in front of it, but if you don’t pass in front of it and look at it, it’s not doing. It’s just standing, it’s just being, and so is this. Keith (as Wellaway): Uh, excuse me? Austin: Turns and looks at you. Keith (as Wellaway): H-hello. Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Hi. Keith (as Wellaway): Who are you? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): I’m Candide. Keith (as Wellaway): In what way? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): In being. Keith (as Wellaway): What is this mirror? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): I can’t tell you. Keith (as Wellaway): Why not? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Because I don’t fully understand it yet. Keith (as Wellaway): Did you see the other Candide? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): I saw myself. Keith (as Wellaway): Why were you afraid? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Because I saw what comes in two days. And I saw what I would do when it arrived. Keith (as Wellaway): And what is that? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Betray you. Keith (as Wellaway): And what happens in two days? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): The final day. Keith (as Wellaway): That sounds apocalyptic. Art (as Donnie): Yeah. Why — hm. Why do you represent the future? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Because I represent all times. Though, I do not represent the future. The future merely is. And I am a reflection. Keith (as Wellaway): Why did you come out of the mirror and not someone else? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Because one day, Candide will see me again. You will not. Keith (as Wellaway): Can you be more specific about the final day? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): No. Keith (as Wellaway): Why? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Because Candide saw the final day, and I am a reflection. Keith (as Wellaway): Could the other Candide tell us more about the final day? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Yes. Keith (as Wellaway): Now? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Yes. [music ends] Art: Alright, we lost a lot of time on this chase, then. Ali: I’m not here. Austin: Yeah, you left. You went on the chase. Ali: I, yeah. I’m mother henning, so. Art: Yeah, but — I’ve seen cartoons, please. You need more than one person to chase someone. [Austin, Keith, Ali laugh] Keith: [cross] Who’s gonna go in and out of all those doors? Art: [cross] You’re gonna get in like, a hallway with a bunch of doors. And someone’s gonna run in one and come out another, and it’s not gonna be very consistent. Austin: Uh huh. Art: You needed more people. Ali: I — [laughs] Art: Zoinks. Keith: Jinkies. Ali: I mean, the idea of like, being the — Austin: Ruh roh. [Keith and Ali laugh] That was not a good Scooby-Doo, I was like scrambling, I was like wait, do they each have a thing they say? And I got to Scooby’s, and it was ruh roh, so. Ali: They each have a thing? Art: [cross] Yeah, you need more like a… I don’t wanna do an impression with Keith in the call. Austin: [cross] Zoinks. Keith: [cross] Do Daphne and Fred have a thing? Ali: Yeah. Austin: Jinkies is — is jinkies Velma? Keith: Velma is jinkies. Art: [cross] Jinkies is Velma. Austin: Zoinks is Fred, (Keith: Zoinks is Shaggy.) or Shaggy, rather. They must all have a thing, right? Maybe Daphne and Fred don’t. Art: I think Fred and Daphne might just be extraneous. Austin: Yeah you could get rid of them. You only need one of them, really. You need like — Keith: [cross] Okay, Fred has one. Fred has one. Art: [cross] You just need a Fraphne. Austin: What is it? Keith: It’s, let’s split up. [Ali laughs] Austin: [cross] Shut up. Art: Oh, it’s a let’s split up, gang. Yeah. Austin: Yeah, okay. That makes — Ali: Am I the Fraphne? {Austin and Keith laugh] Oh my god… Art: Oh no, I’m so sorry you had to find out like this. Keith: You hate to find out that you’re the Fraphne. Every group has a Fraphne. Ali: ‘Cause I, I was just thinking that like, the idea of the mystical circus Scooby Doo, y’know, expectation of this chase being broken by like, this long hotel hallway that is just a straight running after someone. Austin: She does have one. She says ‘jeepers!’ Ali: Mm! Keith: She does say jeepers. Austin: She’s the jeepers. Art: Mm, she’s the jeepers. Austin: So is it just Fred who doesn’t? I guess Fred says ‘let’s split up,’ which is not a great one. Art: [cross] Let’s split up, yeah. Ali: Does he not get scared? Austin: Yeah, great question. Art: I think it’s that the Fraphne, if we will — Ali: [wheezing] Stop! Keith: The Fraphne of it all. Art: — exists sort of separately from the monsters. Austin: Uh huh. Art: They don’t see the monsters, they’re the Abbott and Scooby and Shaggy are the Costello. [cross] And Velma is off to the side. Austin: Right. Keith: [cross] Right. Things can only happen when they’ve left. Austin: Wait, I thought Abbott and Costello were the Abbott and Costello of Scooby Doo. ‘Cause don’t they show up and some point? Art: They do, they do meet Abbott and Costello. Austin: Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah. Keith: Wait, I thought the Globetrotters were the Abbott and Costello of… Austin: They got a bunch of them. Art: There’s a whole series where they just meet other people. Keith: Yeah, they just meet famous people. Austin: I’ve got a list here of catch phrases of Scooby Doo. It says that Fred’s is ‘looks like we’ve got another mystery on our hands.’ Keith: I’m seeing one that says that Fred’s is ‘hold the phone’ or ‘hold the phone, gang.’ Austin: I mean, I also have one here that says Fred’s is ‘it’s trapping time.’ But that can’t be true. Keith: That can’t be, that can’t be it. [laughs] Ali: No, ‘cause he needs his own — I mean, like, it’s like — Austin: He needs a zoinks, he needs a jeepers. Ali: He needs a zoinks! He needs to be, he needs his own, I’ve encountered something and I’m… man, yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know that world. [chuckling] I’m sorry Scooby, I don’t know you. Austin: We’re just not from here. We’re really not. Keith: I watched a lot of Scooby Doo, just not in a while. I was a big Scooby Doo kid. Austin: Anyway, you were in a Scooby Doo chase. Ali: [laughs] I’m chasing after Candide, yes. I guess, y’know, it’s a challenge I have ot overcome, I suppose. So I should have a Sentence. Austin: Yeah, I will say, you are a little on the back foot here in the sense that you're the one who has to declare a dramatic intent because you’re the one changing the situation. The situation currently is Candide has fled into the night, you know? Ali: Mhm. Well, okay. So I have ‘I always know how to ritually summon the power of the moons, so long as I have my equipment.’ Austin: Which you do, right? You haven’t left it back in the room or something. Keith: To do moon tracking? Ali: Right, I have my staff, yeah yeah. There’s like, an argument to be made that, I don’t know. [laughs] Austin: Uh huh. Ali: If I’m like, being in tune to people’s fates or whatever I could try to find the moon Impulse that I most… Austin: Yeah, this is not a trap. You are the Syzygyist. You are a powerful augur. You can see the future. I think using summoning the power of the moons should allow you to do this. Reading a creature’s future in the stars should let you figure out where they’ve gone, you know? Both of those could give you the like, where are they part of this for sure. If it’s not countered. Ali: Indeed, true. And we know Candide’s Sentences. Austin: We do. Ali: It’s ‘I’m always smaller than I need to be.’ Austin: Yeah, that’s their bad one. Or rather, do you know all of them or do you know some of them? Let’s find out. You know two of them. Ali: We know four of them. Austin: Do you? I see two of them here on the sheet. Ali: You told us all four of them in the episode that released today. Austin: Okay, I gotcha. I mean, you have two of them written on your sheets. I’ll just drop in the other two then, because I have them in front of me. Ali: Okay. Keith: What page is she on? Oh there we go, circus. Austin: Yep. ‘I always have a trick up my sleeve,’ ‘I’m always smaller than I need to be,’ ‘I always see things differently than adults,’ and ‘When I get a head start, I always slip away unharmed.’ Ali: Which is a one Reality. Keith: Do you have a token, Ali? You could use your token. Austin: You do. Ali: Do I have a token? Oh sure, yes. This is a great token play. Keith: Yeah, ‘cause this is the only way. Good catch, thank god that episode came out today. [Ali laughs] Or you’d have failed, you really would probably have failed on this. Austin: You did have this one written down in the sheets, you could’ve checked them at any point. This one was not one I had not added, I think it’s one that had advanced potentially during play, I’m not sure. Ali: Yeah, that’s how it would be a Reality, (Austin: A plus one, yeah.) yeah yeah yeah. Austin: I mean, Candide’s an NPC, NPCs can have higher Sentences at start, but I’m pretty sure it did. Ali: Oh, okay. Yeah, I wonder where do I find… Austin: Yeah, so what’s the thing that you’re doing? What Sentence are you using, and what’s it look like when you try to divine where Candide has run off to? Ali: I was going with ‘I always know how to ritually summon the power of the moons so long as I have my equipment,’ and I think it’s a thing of like, I have those little cards that I give out to people, so maybe I do a three-spread for myself and depending on the positioning of the moons and the one that I would most associate with Candide in terms of Impulse, I’m like, oh, y’know, they went left. [laughs] Austin: Sure. I think you’ve got a pretty strong, like, the moon’s Impulse that you see, or the Impulse that you get drawn to is something like, see as much of the world as you can all at once. Which leads you to a high place. Candide has run off to a sort of big tower towards the middle of this floating city, this flying city, that has kind of like a space needle style room up top that’s like an observation deck that you can see everything, you can see in a circle all around you from. And so yeah, you find them on the top floor of this tower towards the center of this flying city. Looking out at the golden clouds of the rest of Dokine. And you know, it’s one of those situations where you don’t have to rush. You know where she is, you’re able to get there, you’re able to see her gazing out at the horizon. She’s alone, effectively. Maybe there’s some other people at the observation deck, but it’s the middle of the night, you know? So it’s like, security is here but it’s not bumpin’. And yeah, just gazing out at the clouds. Ali (as Hye): Candide, I… I’m glad I found you. Austin (as Candide): I’m sorry, I, I shouldn't have run like that. Ali (as Hye): No, no, I… You were startled, I assume. Austin (as Candide): Yeah. Ali (as Hye): Can you tell me of what you saw? Austin (as Candide): It’s bad. It’s, it’s bad. Um, whatever that group is doing here, they’re gonna, it all goes wrong. Ali (as Hye): The bridge, you mean? Austin (as Candide): The guy here doesn’t understand it. You know, it’s a bridge the way a fuse is a bridge. Carries a spark, and then everything blows up. Ali (as Hye): So the final day is… Austin (as Candide): Literal. And you know as much as I do, destiny’s destiny. What’s coming is what’s coming. So… it feels like I’m in the water and I don’t know how to swim. It’s just current. Ali (as Hye): Well, predeterminations are true ot a sense. Part of being able read the stars is to better move with them. Austin: Candide nods. (as Candide): I get it, but I’m not… I’m not a mark. [Ali laughs] Don’t act like I’m not part of the show, y’know? I know I don’t have an official job, but I see you work. I know how it… Ali (as Hye): I’m not in a circus to make money, Candide. Austin (as Candide): Well then why are you in a circus? Ali (as Hye): I’ve stayed with Wellaway and Donnie because of what they were going towards. And I know I give you a harder time than the others too, but I saw something in you as well. And… if this is a piece of you that you think is predetermined, then that doesn’t mean you can’t change what part of it that you see that isn’t yourself. Austin (as Candide): I saw something in myself too. And I have a better idea of where Wellaway, and Donnie, and you are headed. Austin: And I think she reaches down to pet Escrundillio, the big lizard, and beings to pick him up to wear him like a boa around her neck. Stands up and looks back at you, is now backlit by the golden clouds of Dokine, and says, (as Candide): I’m gonna say this, even though I know it won’t happen. You should leave. Ali (as Hye): Without you? Austin: Nods. Ali (as Hye): Is this something that you want, or something you think will keep us safe? Austin (as Candide): It’s something that I wish could happen. [echoed] Austin: And I think like, deep, real feeling in her voice and eyes, you know? A wish like a wish. Not absently throwing a coin in the wishing well. Desperately throwing the coin in the wishing well. Ali (as Hye): Well Candide, I guess if you want me to treat you as part of the crew, I’ll take your advice here. Austin (as Candide): Really? Ali (as Hye): I’ll let the others know that I spoke to you, and that we’re in danger, and we’ll have to gather everyone else, of course, and — Austin (as Candide): Y-yeah, everybody, everybody should go. Ali (as Hye): Should I wait for you? Austin (as Candide): No. No, I’ll um… Maybe we’ll meet again one day. You’ve all been so good to me, I just… Thank you. Ali (as Hye): [sighs] You’ve been a very good friend, Candide. We’ll see each other again one day. Austin (as Candide): Bye. Ali: And I guess I head back to Wellaway and Donnie. Austin: Yeah, are y’all, I’m just gonna, that scene is over. And that means that Candide of course gets back at this point, the countered kid Sentence, ‘when I get a head start, I always slip away unharmed.’ No one’s pursuing them anymore, they have disappeared into the night. Donnie and Wellaway, how do you take the news? Or I guess, how do you frame the news to them? What do you do? Are you leaving? How do you explain to them what happened? Ali: It’s tough, because Hye is not usually like, a straight talker, I guess? [Austin laughs] But I think that she’s one to solemnly say, like, Ali (as Hye): I trust Candide in these matters. Whatever she saw and fears for us is something real and if we’re in danger we have a responsibility to both ourselves and our fates — Keith (as Wellaway): Ourselves and our fates? Ali (as Hye): — and frankly, the rest of the circus, but… Keith (as Wellaway): She’s a kid, she cursed us! The mirror was like, very, I won’t say clear. The mirror was very confusing about what was going on! Art (as Donnie): Mm, that’s, yeah. Keith (as Wellaway): And so, I don’t know. To be like, Candide knows. Mirror Candide sure didn’t seem to know. Ali (as Hye): [sighs] Well, if it’s your belief that she’s the one who cursed us, this might be her attempt to make up for that. Austin: I mean, you said you were gonna protect the rest of the circus, is this something you’re telling the rest of the circus and not just Donnie and Wellaway? Ali (as Hye): I mean, I think it depends on how this conversation goes. [chuckes] Austin: Yeah, okay, fair. Ali: We gotta go back to — we don’t have the conch shell anymore, so we can’t be like yo, everybody come home. Krinsky’s Sentence is like, I always speak loud enough for people to hear me or whatever? Austin: ‘I always make myself heard,’ yeah. Ali: Yeah, not to be like, we gotta go tell our boss that the world is ending. Austin: No, but that is the way to do it, right? Yeah, wow, you’re gaming the game. [Ali laughs] But I guess, Wellaway, are you refusing this? Keith: I just mean, we did all the stuff and then we’re gonna go? Art: I mean, it seems pretty bad. Keith: I’ve been saying apocalyptic. Austin: Like, casually though. Keith: Causally I’ve been saying apocalyptic. Austin: Lowercase A. And Candide is saying it with a capital A. Keith: Okay. Ali (as Hye): And perhaps we should’ve heeded your warning earlier. This is… Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah! Perhaps! Ali (as Hye): Well Wellaway, you're right. We should leave. Art (as Donnie): If the world ends, we’ll never doubt you again. Keith (as Wellaway): So it’s a win-win. You’re saying it’s a win-win. [Austin laughs] Departing Dokine [1:18:54] Austin: And I guess, okay, what’s this look like? Do you go and wake up Curly to be like, hey bud. The stowaway we keep hiding from you told us… [Ali laughs] I guess you’re a seer, you don’t have to… Ali: Yeah, I think that I could massage this a little bit. Are they staying in the same nice hotel that we are? I thought, um — Austin: Oh, no. They’re not — Keith: No, they’re in the circus area. Austin: Yeah, they’re in the circus area. I think Curly stays on the train, generally. Stays on his front suite toward the front of the train. Ali: Yeah, then I think it’s just Hye sort of shaking him in bed, or like, knocking her staff on his door I guess? Austin: I was like damn, you got door access? Yeah, knocking the staff on the door. And he’s like, (as Curly Krinksy): Is it eggs already? Ali (as Hye): It’s danger! Art (as Donnie): When the door opens, start shaking. [Ali and Austin laugh] Austin (as Curly Krinksy): What are you, what are you… Hye, is that you? Ali (as Hye): Yes, sir, there’s, there’s, we have to leave. We have to get everybody — Austin (as Curly Krinksy): We gotta leave? Ali (as Hye): Yes, we have to leave! Austin (as Curly Krinksy): The show hasn’t happened yet, we’re only halfway through the week! Ali (as Hye): But there’s danger! Remember the big explosions that happened on the last two places we went to? Austin (as Curly Krinksy): Oh, not again… What is it with this month? I’m sick of it! Keith: I think you were gonna say what is it with us, and I don’t think we have anything to do with this. So thank you for self editing. Art: This is a set of loosely connected coincidences. Ali (as Hye): I feel as though something is following us. Austin (as Curly Krinksy): Can we un-hex ourselves, or put up some sort of camouflage mirage? Ali (as Hye): I don’t — Austin (as Curly Krinksy): We haven’t even seen Wellaway do the kitchen sink performance yet! Keith (as Wellaway): And I’ve got it down pat. Art (as Donnie): We’ll just bill that at the next stop. Austin: Bill it at the next stop — wait you’re not, is Donnie here? Did Donnie say that? Keith: I thought we — oh. Art: Well, no. Ali: It seemed like everybody was here, we’re all chatting. Austin: It did seem like that, yeah. Uh huh. No. that’s just the fuckin’ peanut gallery, Ali. Keith: [cross] No but Donnie’s a special case, I feel like. Austin: We always just gotta deal with these two commenting on our scene. Ali: I love the idea of like, Hye standing in front of the door and the door opens and Donnie and Wellaway are standing just behind her. Austin: Yeah, me too. Art: Or just at the end of the hall and just creeping closer. Keith: I had always thought I was here but Donnie talking to people that aren’t us is like, sort of a mixed bag of possible scenario. Austin: I see. Donnie is constantly doing Shakespearean asides to the audience, yeah. Art: But not to the audience, to ghosts. Austin: Oh, to other ghosts, yes. To the spectral audience. Yeah, fun. Art: Oh, can we go back and put that in? Too much of this has probably aired. Austin: What? Keith: [cross] Just add in, pepper in a spectral realm. Art: [cross] Just add in some… Austin: No! Keith: [cross] Can we do like twenty five hours worth of work to add in one minute of references to the spectral realm? Ali: [cross] Well, we did the director’s cut in a couple of them. Austin: Uh huh. We’ll go in and — Art: We’re almost done with Friends at the Table, then we’re gonna spend eleven years just redoing what we’ve already done a little different. Austin: Oh my god. Keith: It is 2025, so. Austin: Curly, who’s in the scene, says, he just said his thing, which is I wanna see the kitchen sink performance. That’s what it was, then you said I have it down pat, right? ‘Cause you’re here actually, Wellaway. Keith: I’m here. And I never thought that I wasn’t. Austin: Right, now I’m less confused. (as Curly Krinksy): We could do it at the next show, it’ll be a big draw because we didn’t do it here. You’re gonna be in the bad graces of the Clown Council. Keith (as Wellaway): They only have bad graces. Austin (as Curly Krinksy): Yeah well. Bunch o’ clowns. Art (as Donnie): Bunch of fuckin’ clowns! Austin (as Curly Krinksy): I’ll get the word out. It’s… fine. Ali (as Hye): Do you need assistance? Austin (as Curly Krinksy): Yeah, here, you go tell Crystal, you go tell Carlo, and I’ll get the rest. Ali (as Hye): Thank you, Curly. Austin (as Curly Krinksy): Yeah, yeah. You gotta make it up to me next time. Takin’ twice the cut. Ali (as Hye): For saving your life? Austin (as Curly Krinksy): We’ll see if I save my life! Maybe it was just indigestion! You don’t know! [grumbles] Ali (as Hye): We know these things. Austin: He leaves, he’s not happy about this. [Ali laughs] He doesn’t really have — Keith: Hey, but he’s doing it. Austin: Yeah, he’s doing it. He values his life, and when the syzygyist says, he listens. Keith: He values his laugh with an eye roll. Austin: Yeah, exactly. Which we all must do. Ali: [cross] Mhm. Been there. Austin: You leave in the night? What do you do? Ali: I think so, yeah. What does it look like to like, oh I have to get my ship. Austin: Yeah, do you get the Jubilant Jewel? Have you come up with a name for the Jubilant Jewel yet, a new one? Ali: No, I sort of felt like we would talk it out because, yeah it was the oomfie ship but then I wanna know their opinion on what they wanna be called. Austin: Mhm. Right right right, I see. Ali: I guess that’s the other thing, presumably Hye goes to this like, y’know, what is basically a spaceship animal shelter, is she not gonna tell that you have to get you and the animals out of here? Austin: I guess that’s a great question. Do you? Keith: So you’re kind of playing evacuator. Ali: I think so, yeah. Austin: That makes sense. Keith: I think that makes sense. Ali: I don’t know, I think the tough thing is this was Candide’s experience for us. Austin: Right. Ali: Especially since Hye wasn’t talking to the mirror, I think Hye actually has the least amount of information about what is going on that is leading this, just from sheer force of friendship I guess. Austin: I mean, have you considered feeling out your own future here at all? Does it feel right in this moment? The moons align such that you’re like yeah we gotta fuckin’ go. That, or — Keith: Is that a thing you can do? Can you do yourself? Can you do… Austin: I think so. Keith: Magic on you? Austin: I think that there is a Sentence — Ali: I mean, I can always read a creature’s future in the spheres. So I mean, I’m a creature. Keith: You’re a creature. Austin: You are a creature. Ali: [chuckles] And I do think a lot of how I’ve been playing Hye is sort of assuming she has this sort of like innate feeling of people’s destinies? Austin: Right. Ali: Not that she’s doing readings on Wellaway and Donnie and Candide everyday that she wakes up, but she hangs out with Wellaway because she thinks Wellaway has a fated glory, you know? Austin: Right, yes, this makes sense. Ali: [chuckling] This is the thing. Keith: That’s why I hang out with everyone I hang out with. Ali: So I think there’s this part of like, oh, Candide is actually acting in our best interest which is why she’s so willing to move in this way, yeah. Austin: That makes sense to me. So yeah, I guess yeah, you can go get the ship, the Orphan Vessel. Ali: The reason I ask this is because the idea of this shot of all of these ships sort of sneaking out in the night and breaking through Dokine’s shitty atmosphere. Austin: Getting it through the atmosphere, and leaving the city behind. I kind of like it, we don’t need to come up with a name yet for this thing. I think it’s something floral, the Red Rose, you know what I mean? Something like that. Ali: Oh yeah, that’s really cute. Hye Malis is actually the genic name for a type of flower. Austin: Interesting, okay. Keith: Sorry, the Red Rose, that’s, Austin, what you were saying about the Jubilant Jewel? Austin: Yeah, I think it wants a floral style name. Something like that, you know what I mean? (Keith: Ah, it’s nature’s jewel.) I know that the Red Rose is kind of simple, but, huh? Keith: It’s nature’s jewel. The humble flower. It’s nature’s jewel. Austin: It is nature’s jewel, there you go, yeah. Unlike jewels, which are not from nature. They are different. Yeah, cool. Keith: It’s a different, you know what I mean! Austin: I know what you mean, I’m not, y’know. They’re just different. Y’all take off, there is a stream of these ships that leave in the night. I think it’s worth saying, it’s weird that Candide isn’t here. Like, when’s the last time y’all went somewhere without Candide? Keith: Not on mic. Austin: Certainly not, yeah. And it seems like Candide was in with the crew by the time we got to the first session. So, yeah. Weird. Weird vibes. I think Curly is like, well then we’re ahead of schedule, and starts ot move you and the train towards the next moon on the schedule which is, I guess it’s either the Crux or it’s Principia. I think it’s probably the Crux. But, y’know, by the time you get up to orbit, these shuttles take a little while, the final day is coming right? The final day was coming on the third day, and you can, I guess I don’t know necessarily what the train ship has, but the Red Rose, no longer the Jubilant Jewel, has high powered optics and stuff. You you can kind of like look back at the moon you’re leaving, you can look back at Dokine. You can’t zoom in on the city or anything like that, but you do see that what was once this kind of yellow mist, this kind of acidic mist that was the corrosive atmosphere of the planet, the low clouds that the cities flew above, it’s like someone ignited it. A fire begins to emerge. And I think probably some reports get out. Final Day, whoever that was, whatever that was, emerged onstage and fire came soon after. And it seems like you’ve escaped it. But it’s still there, and it’s burning. What does setting up shop on a new moon feel like without Candide? You’ve not heard from her. Art: I think it feels bad. It’s on the tip of my tongue, what this feeling feels like. This is sort of dramatic, but the first holiday after a death in the family. Austin: I don’t think that feels dramatic. Art: Like, your aunt isn’t at Thanksgiving this year. Austin: Totally. Art: And you like this aunt, not like a bad aunt. [Keith chuckles] Austin: I gotcha, yeah. Keith: There’s two kinda aunts. Art: I mean… Keith: This is part of my bit, this is part of my kitchen sink thing. Austin: Oh that you didn’t get to do, of course, of course. Art: Yeah, people go apeshit for the two aunts. [Austin laughs] Keith: Yeah. I’m washin’ pans, being like there’s two kinda aunts. Art: Two kinda aunts, and people go wooo! Keith: And I’m like hold on hold on, lemme get this grease out. Austin: It’s good. The Crux is interesting, it is a place, Hye, you’re from here. Or you’re at least stationed here, generally. This is where your patrons are, right? Ali: Yeah, I mean I grew up here and learned syzygy here. Austin: Right, totally. So that you could help talk through bets and stuff, presumably. Ali: [laughs] Yeah, I mean — Austin: Maybe that’s not what you did, but that was, y’know. That’s what they liked from you. Ali: Right, that’s why it’s a profession here. Austin: Right, exactly. I’ve written here, ‘a dense world of blue and blood where life revolves around the Eternal Arena, where twisting streets and perplexing structures tower over winners and losers both and where the gravity of the Coliseum draws everyone to a life of betting, booking, or brawling.’ I actually think that the fires raging through Dokine have led a lot of people from Dokine to try to escape to the other three moons of the Quartenian, and before the circus can even set up shop people are like, hey, can that train ship get out of the Quartenian? Is that thing strong enough to get us to another moon? When’s the nearest alignment with a different kind of subsystem of moons that we might be passing by? And so similarly, the Red Rose, I almost said the Ruby Rose. No it’s Ruby Rod, that’s the guy from Fifth Element. The Red Rose similarly, I think y’all step off and you’re not even a few minutes into whatever the port is before someone is like, hey do you take passengers? Bets are down across the moon because people are afraid of what’s happening in the world, or in the neighborhood, the cosmic neighborhood. Do you set up shop like normal, you start to get ready for the next show? Curly’s like, I think we gotta try to run the circus and bring people some joy as whatever this disaster you helped us avoid rolls past us. Ali: Do we take passengers? Austin: Yeah, that’s the question, right? Do you just kinda keep — Keith: Well, there was two questions, I think. Austin: There are, one is do you take passengers, and then two, do you just try to keep living life as it is? Ali: I think that’s kind of the idea, right? Austin: Yeah, okay. I’m gonna zoom out a little bit, I don’t have the Cruzx prepped and I don’t wanna cut our recording off yet, but I do wanna zoom out because I wanna talk about the bigger stakes of life here. Do you start taking on passengers as you bounce from circus venue to circus venue? Art: How many, if we said yes how many people would come? Keith: On the Red Red Rose specifically? Austin: On the Red Red Rose, oh I like that. You said Red Red Rose. That’s not what I said before. [Ali laughs] The Red Red Rose is better. That’s a real name. Art: The Red Red Red Rose? Austin: The Red Red Red Rose. I think maybe two is right. The Red Red Rose. Art: Yeah I think three does sound like too many. Austin: Yeah. You can probably, it’s a big, it’s an Orphan Vessel, it’s a proper ship. Keith: It had like a whole dead crew when we found it. Austin: Yeah, exactly. You can probably fit a few dozen people on that ship. And would probably run better if you did have a crew. In fact, it might be the case that some of the other members of the circus want to start hanging with y’all, you know? And being on your ship because it could leave if something like what happened on Dokine happened here. You know? Ali: Mm… Yeah, I mean, that certainly makes sense, the idea that we have this big space train and then this Orphan Vessel tailing behind it is really fun. Austin: Yeah, totally. And then if you ever had to break out, you could, you know? But I think I have to ask immediately, because maybe going from one venue from another, maybe you’re not even leaving the Crux, but it’s a moon, so you take the ship from one part of the Crux to another part, flying over all these coliseums and arenas, Ulled has caught fire in the distance above you. I don’t what that means for one year hence, but — Ali: Oh my god. Keith: Oh no. Yeah, we’re meant to be there one year hence. Austin: There might not be a there one year hence. There might not be a there one hour hence. The final day is continuing to spread. Keith: What’s happening to your marble? What’s happening to the hence? Austin: Oh, great question. Ali: Oh man. Austin: Yeah. Oh. Read me that Ephemera Sentence again? Ali: Oh boy. I probably don’t wanna do this. It is, ‘the driftwood staff by creating a bond between two moons.’ Austin: Well. It doesn’t say only Ulled and another moon. Ali: Yeah, the idea was like, it wasn’t moving Ulled, it was just being a third moon. And the way I was doing that is like, making a new mark in the constellation to create new constellations. Keith: But the marble itself… Austin: I think it burns. And it doesn’t set the staff on fire, but it’s like… You know in a video game when you have a fire staff and it has a gem that’s burning and you’re like, I guess it just works like that. It’s like but bad, you know what I mean? Because you know what it means. It’s not burning the staff, it’s hot to touch, you know, but it’s a magical fire. And what’s left is a sort of ashen marble left behind. Ulled was already maybe not the most beautiful of the marbles, the marbled moons of the Quartenian, but it certainly looks worse now. Ali: Yeah, I’m just having this image of Hye in a tent or whatever doing a reading and then smoke starts coming from the staff. Austin: Yeah. Ali: And she’s like oh my gosh, this is so weird. And runs outside, and then looks up and there’s just this burning sun. Well it’s a moon, but it’s daytime, so it’s — [laughs] Keith: It looks like a burning sun. Austin: The person whose reading you're doing is like, is that bad for me? [Ali laughs] Is that not good? Keith: Did I do that? Ali: Should I break up with him? [Austin laughs] Austin: Yeah, I got a reading form Hye Malis, and her staff caught on fire right in the middle… Keith: Sorry, is Realis the thing where we were doing Urkel bits, or was that something else? Ali: [laughing] Unfortunately I think it is. Austin: Oh no… Keith: It is, it is? Austin: That’s a shame. Keith: Sorry, I can redo it in the joke that I did before. Ali, cut where I did the right way instead. [clears throat, Steve Urkel voice] Did I cause that? [Ali laughs] Austin: Wow, got a pocket Urkel. I love it. Keith: That had to be Realis, I swear to god it was. Austin: It seems likely. Urkel is sort of a Zani, you know what I mean? If you did a Family Matters game with Realis, I would play Urkel as the Zani, probably. Not The Kid. Anyway. Art: I don’t know… Keith: No, the Zani’s savvy. Austin: You’re right. And Urkel is not. Art: Stefan Urquelle is a Zani. Keith: Stefan Urquelle is a Zani, yes. Reprise [1:38:54] [“Reprise” by Jack de Quidt starts playing] Austin: You’re right, yeah. Anyway, I think in the night, you all wake up to the feeling of heat on your body. The mark is glowing. And it maybe strikes you that the Final Day was not just spreading a fire, but was burning particular places and particular people. And it’s not long until it comes for you. (as Candide): [faintly, audio de-centered] It’s something I wish could happen. It’s something I wish would happen. I wish — wish — wish — [music ends suddenly] [echoed] — it’s something I wish would [could] happen. Ali (as Hye): Why don’t you tell me in more specifics? And we can either convince the others to leave, or determine a way to face it together. Austin: I think reaches, wearing a big oversized coat, like kid wearing parent’s jacket, kind of late fall jacket, I think corduroy, nicely lined interior, reaches into one of the pockets and takes out a little letter and hands it to you. It’s a little note and it’s scrawled in handwriting that looks sort of like, I don’t know, have you seen Candide’s handwriting ever, do you think? Ali: Presumably? Austin: It looks sort of like theirs, or, y’know, maybe how they were taught so maybe it’s like their teacher’s. Not their teachers like their schoolteachers, their teachers like an older sibling who taught them, you know what I mean? Like it’s close in style. They write their A’s a certain way, et cetera. And it says, ‘Listen, kid. When you figure it out, keep it to yourself. That’s the only way this doesn’t break bad. And trust me, I’ve seen it break bad. With haste and grace, MC.’ (as Candide): This was in the package, and I should’ve known not to let you near the box. I should’ve known to leave it alone. I got you all cursed and that was only the start. I think it’s better that I don’t tell you anything anymore. Ali: Thinking I was gonna say, which is kind of mean, which is like, and trust this person instead? Austin: Did you say that? Ali: I think so, yeah. Austin (as Candide): You’re right. I shouldn’t trust myself. Austin: And tears start to well up and begins to make the motion to leave. Ali (as Hye): Candide, wait, wait. Austin: Is going to leave, y’know, without some sort of… Ali: Uh huh. Boy howdy. Austin: You know what actually, yeah, no, just starts to move on. Ali: Man, ummm. ‘I always sense which prediction someone needs to hear.’ [laughing] Yeah, but I also need to change it. Austin: You don’t have to, but it is plus zero right now. So you could Realize it. Ali: I forget, is there a bonus to using something the first time you…? Austin: No, the thing there is in the sense that if something’s been countered, you can Realize it and use it immediately. When you Realize it it gets uncountered, Ali: Oh, I see. I see I see. Okay. Keith: Oh, it gets un-countered. So if someone is opposing you and you Realize it, they no longer oppose it? Austin: No, it gets uncountered in the, when you crossed it out, yeah. Keith: [cross] Oh, sorry, countered when you crossed it out when you fail, got it. Austin: If it has failed in the scene but that failure primes it, you can Realize and uncross it and then use it immediately. Which has not been the case here, but, y’know. So as such, there is no special bonus, necessarily. Ali: Right, it just feels like the time to use it, but it means changing it and then also coming up with whatever the thing and it’s difficult in two different ways. Austin: There’s a bunch of different ways you could take it. You could really limit by changing ‘someone’ to ‘someone close to me,’ ‘a friend,’ ‘someone in danger,’ ‘someone in crisis.’ Which again is very limiting. Ali: Oh yeah… Austin: You could make it ‘I always sense the prediction that someone needs to hear when I’m one on one with them,’ or ‘when I have spent real time with them,’ or something like that. You know what I mean? Ali: Yeah. I guess the thing that, I mean, it’s dramatic intent, right? And I guess the thing I’m stumbling around is how much control would I have over the metaphysics of this show? Austin: Pretty high. Ali: What do I, I mean I don’t want Candide to leave. On a player sense, there’s, you know, how far can I get to Candide not taking this action? Austin: Right, I see what you’re saying. If it was another player, I would say we would be talking about the player character interaction rules that are in the book, right? So there are special rules for interacting with another player because player consent is a whole thing, we would wanna make sure that dadadada, the rules are the rules there. And also player characters are different. Candide is not a player character. I know they have a Sentence on the front cover of the thing, but Candide is an NPC, and is is not a protagonist of this story in the way that the Wordwrights who made the game believe protagonists exist, right? This is not Austin saying this, this is whatever Bendix, the co-author or the current caretaker of this game, effectively. And so Candide, you can absolutely declare a dramatic intent that’s like I’m going to convince Candide to stay. At least for the time being, or at least not leave right now, or declare a dramatic intent that is like, I convince Candide that there is a way forward. That whatever happens, we will solve it, you know what I mean? There are dramatic intents that aren’t this person takes this action, but are I get through to them in this other way, you know? That is about how Candide will see things. Or, you could say I want Candide to reveal more to me, or something like that. But whatever that intent is just needs a Sentence, or needs a means. Ali: Right, I was just trying to think through how I, what do I actually want out of this besides what seems like a happy ending or, you know. Austin: Right, because the thing you can’t do with this Sentence is like, I saw the future and so now it’s good. Now everything’s good. [Ali laughs] Talking about the metaphysics of the world, yes. Now, you could, but in the classic way of a prophecy. Which is, oh yeah, you saw that things were good? Okay. Let’s find out how we get to there. Ali: Uh huh, yeah. In my heart of hearts, would like the ability to let us have enough control over this that the Candide we know splinters off from whatever seems predetermined, that would be cool. But you know, I don’t know how much butterfly effect would… Austin: I mean, we are deep in the realm of butterfly effect shit right now. Or maybe not butterfly effect. I mean we are standing on the big back of a butterfly city, so I think the butterfly effect is in effect. [Ali laughs] Art: Oh, that must be really confusing here. Austin: Yeah, it’s very strange. Because they mean it in like a, almost like — Keith: There’s a practical and a metaphorical butterfly effect. Austin: Right, they mean it in the way that a ship captain is talking about wind resistance or whatever with a sail, you know? Keith: On the weather channel they talk about the butterfly effect. Ali: [laughs] I’m curious what Art and Keith’s interest in the immediate future are. Art: Yeah, I think we should have an immediate future. [Ali laughs] Keith: Yeah, I think that the immediate future should happen. Ali: Okay so, I’m creating an NPC named Immediate Future who’s gonna beat up Final Day. [Keith laughs] Art: I can’t believe we didn’t come up with this sooner! Austin: Yeah, so simple. So easy. I mean, listen. We know what the immediate future holds, actually. Because it’s Wellaway Piaster’s stage show, it’s Wellaway Piaster’s keynote. So we do know a little bit. So, Wellaway, maybe you could change your name for tomorrow, call yourself Immediate Future and do a sort of concept show. Ali: But then which name will they shout? Austin: That’s true, great point. Ali: Wow. There’s so much happening. Austin: There’s so much happening. Art: There’s so much happening. Keith: There’s so much happening. Art: Everyone on Earth is dying all the time. Ali: Okay, I’m going to change this to a plus one Reality Sentence which is ‘I always sense which prediction someone needs ot hear when we have time alone.’ And then, I don’t know the way to make it cute onscreen, so to speak. Austin: Do you call after? Do you say wait? Is this part of what you’ve already seen when you did your initial where is Candide reading? Is this something more intuitive? Interestingly, it’s ‘I always sense which prediction someone needs.’ It’s actually not like, when I do my reading, you know what I mean? There’s an almost more natural, innate element of the way that that’s written, you know? Ali: Yeah, in this moment I was thinking of grabbing Candide’s hand or the cuff on their oversized jacket and telling them to wait. But I don’t know that I can think of a heavy enough prediction to be like… Austin: Sorry, what is your intent? It’s to get them to stay with you as a group? It’s to… because we didn’t actually dig into what is you want here. Ali: I think it is to get them to stay with us. I feel like if I’m thinking about what I want out of this scene, it is to have Candide be willing to go back with us and figure out what we wanna do as a group. Austin: And this is a plus one Sentence now, all your Sentences are plus one, congrats. And you did spend your token before, right? Ali: I did, yeah. Austin: Alright. They are gonna try to counter you with ‘I always see things differently than adults,’ but they are going to fail. So that is now a primed Sentence for them. What’s the prediction that you’ve made? What do you say? Ali: Oh god, yeah this is the trouble. I think that it’s, is there something of like, we wouldn’t against you or something like that? In your future, you still have, you know what I mean? Like, affection? Art: I appreciate that you approach this with, what would a mob boss say? Ali: [laughing] No, I just mean like, what is the emotional truth of this, can it be like, you know, we’re not mad. I think it’s like, maybe there’s, in my head I’m still going through the kid filter of this of like, the reason you were shocked and upset is because you perceived — Austin: I mean, you were gone. You actually don’t know why. Ali: Yeah, I know, and I keep… I guess the thing that I know is that — Austin: You know that she’s blaming herself for cursing you with the box because it seems like it came with a warning from herself from the future, maybe? Saying — Keith: Which is fair, by the way. Austin: Which is what, what part is fair? Being mad at herself? Keith: The part where she blames herself? Austin: Yeah, a hundred percent. Sure. And is like, I shouldn't have gotten you involved in whatever that was, you know that part. And you know saw something scary in the reflection of the mirror. Ali: Right, saw that the world was gonna end, basically. Saw the literal day is literal. The Final Day is literal. Austin: Right, the Final Day is literal, uh huh. Ali: It seems like the way to be nice about this is to say that we’ll trust you? Like, if Candide is like, I want you to leave but I don’t think that you would do that, the way to be like well we’re a group, and we’re gonna get through this together, is to be like the other two and me, we can figure out something together, and we trust you. And the way to turn that into a prediction is, y’know… Austin: You don’t have to think about it like a prophecy necessarily, you know? Ali: I just keep going this path of like, the prediction that I see for you is that you’ll still have love in your life? But I don’t if that’s…[laughs] Austin: Yeah, I think you can be a little cheesy here, you know? The fortune teller will say sometimes that you’re going through a difficult time but you’ll always have your loved ones. The fortune teller is a long-cherished corny individual. Keith: Yeah, when I heard hours and hours of secondhand fortune teller from my sister after our dad died, was going to a fortune teller so someone would say that like, no no, everything’s fine, you’re fine, he likes you still. Art: Yikes. Keith: Yep. Austin: Whew! Ali: Yeah, I think I say that to Candide, (as Hye): I think that no matter what happens, the three of us will have been to know you. Glad to have had your help, and I can’t say if we’ll leave, we’ll need to speak to the other two. Whatever we do it’ll be something we all agree on. Austin: Candide nods and stops walking away. Puts a hand up to scritch Escrundillio’s little lizard head. Which is, it’s getting like, fuzzy. It’s getting fuzzy furry on the top of Escrundillio’s head, has a little bit of fuzz growing like hair. And says, (as Candide): [softly] Alright. Let’s go back. I was really worried I’d miss Wellaway’s performance. Ali (as Hye): Oh yeah, the whole sink thing. I’m very much looking forward. Austin (as Candide): No spoilers. [Ali chuckles] Returning to the Mirror [1:55:40] Austin: And comes back with you. Let’s see if the reflection is still there by the time we get back. Wellaway and Donnie, how are things going in the bedroom you broke into? Art: Well, first of all, rude. Austin: Uh huh? Art: I don’t know, how much do we really have to say to this? Austin: Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe it’s done. Art: I would of course prefer if it hung around. Keith: You would? Art: Yeah, you wouldn’t? Keith: I guess I’m neutral and sort of creeped out. Art: Yeah, we’re all creeped out, don’t… Keith: Yeah, okay. Let’s see, so you’ve asked it a bunch of questions, it said that Candide’s gonna betray us. Who knows if what Hye did has any impact there. My guess would be no. Oh, that’s a good question. (as Wellaway): How certain is this future? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): As certain as a dream made real. Art (as Donnie): [cross] Oh, that means nothing to me. Keith (as Wellaway): Okay, so no help, yeah. Hey, were you talking to someone in here earlier? Austin: Shakes her head. Keith (as Wellaway): Was someone else in the mirror talking to someone out here? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): I only arrived when I was pulled here. Keith (as Wellaway): Oh. And you don’t — Austin (as Mirrored Candide): There are other mes. Keith (as Wellaway): Other Candides? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Mm… Keith (as Wellaway): Are there any that are really pro-Final Day? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Not yet. Keith (as Wellaway): What does that mean? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Events can conspire to create anyone. Art (as Donnie): What?! Keith (as Wellaway): Um, she said ‘events can conspire to create anyone.’ Art (as Donnie): Yeah, does that…? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): The Final Day might become necessary. Keith (as Wellaway): What does that mean? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): One must cross a bridge to reach the shore. Keith (as Wellaway): What shore? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): The day after. Keith (as Wellaway): Hmm. The other Candide also talked about a bridge. I don’t know what to do with that. Art (as Donnie): It’s very challenging. Keith: I wanna know if this Candide might be the one that becomes pro-Final Day. Austin: How are you going to try to learn that? Keith: I don’t know. I guess I could just ask that. Austin: It seems pretty open at this point. Keith: But I will use the move ‘I always reveal the truth.’ Austin: I think that that clarifies any uncertainty. And says, (as Mirrored Candide): I am the Candide you see. Keith (as Wellaway): Okay, so — Art (as Donnie): Finally, the uncertainty is over. Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah, I was really concerned that after you said that I would still be uncertain, but. Austin (as Mirrored Candide): There are versions of me. I am not these. Keith (as Wellaway): What — Austin (as Mirrored Candide): I am a reflection from the moment I was drawn. Keith (as Wellaway): Okay. Art (as Donnie): Drawn from the mirror? Austin: Nods. Art (as Donnie): Like, five minutes ago? Austin: Nods. Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Which is why I cannot tell you what I saw when I looked at myself. I only saw myself. Art (as Donnie): But you weren’t in the room. Austin: Sorry, say that again? Art (as Donnie): You weren’t in the room. Austin: Nods, yeah. Austin (as Mirrored Candide): Correct. But I am that being. After and before. Keith (as Wellaway): So the version of you to come that is pro-Final Day is a reflection of a Candide out here that feels the same way. Austin: Shakes…their head. Keith (as Wellaway): From somewhere else, then? Austin (as Mirrored Candide): From time and place outside. A moon spins eternal. To have perspective on it, one must step beyond the rotation. Art (as Donnie): I hope Hye is having a better time. Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah. Austin: At that moment, Hye returns. You come back here, Hye, or you go back to the room you had with Wellaway, where are you going? Ali: Boy, do we have beepers? [laughing] I asked you already… Austin: No you have, you have — Keith: This comes up every session. We really need to get beepers. Austin: It comes up every session. You should get beepers! Ephemera plus zero, it’s a beeper, I’m always a beeper. Keith: [laughing] I’m always a beeper! Art: I’m always a beeper is weirdly sad. Keith: It’s also not true because it’ll have three uses, so really you could only ever be a beeper for three uses. Austin: Yeah, that’s right. Well then it just becomes a non-relevant narrative beeper. You can’t use it in a Sentence anymore. You still have the beeper. Keith: Right. Ali: Okay, I had an idea that has y’all leave the room, or could potentially have y’all leave the room, I guess. Does that feel like where you wanna be in this moment, or should I just go back to the room? ‘Cause I — Keith: How about we try to roll this, I’m taking this mirror. Ali and Art: You’re taking the mirror? Keith: Oh yeah, let’s leave it with these guys. What? Ali: Isn’t it big? Art: What, bring it with us? Keith: Yeah! Bring it with us! Throw a cloth over it, so whatever’s in there can’t see out, roll it back to our room. Ali: Is it a full-size mirror? Austin: It’s a full-size mirror. It’s a big mirror. Keith: It’s a full-size, yeah it’s a big mirror. Ali: Quick in wit and bone I guess, I don’t know. [laughs] I’m not gonna stop you from taking it. Keith: Is there an upside to leaving the spooky mirror with the bad guys? Ali: I just never thought of taking an evil mirror, I thought it was just, you know? [laughs] Keith: Look, I’m not leaving important stuff with the bad guys! Ali: My idea was to have the front desk call the room. Austin: Oh, that’s very funny. Ali: So if you guys were in there I would know you were in there, and if the evil guy was in I wouldn’t just be walking up to that room. [laughs] Austin: The phone rings while you’re still talking to the reflection, the phone in the room — Keith (as Wellaway): Hello? Austin: You just pick up the evil guy’s phone? Keith (as Wellaway): Hello. Austin (as Harry): Hey, um, this is the front desk, you have a guest. Keith (as Wellaway): Uh, name? Austin (as Harry): Name? Austin: Looking back at you, Hye. Ali: Oh, I want a fake name that you guys would know. Ali (as Hye): Um, Farewell East. Austin (as Harry): Farewell East. Keith (as Wellaway): Uh, one second. Keith: I put my hand over the receiver, Keith (as Wellaway): Farewell East? Is this like — Ali: No, it’s a codename you know! I’m saying in lore, you know that this is — Keith: Is it? Ali: This is my fake name, this is a fake name that I would use. Keith: Since when? Austin: [cross] That you check into the hotel with — Ali: Farewell instead of Hye? Like, come on, just —[wheeze] You know this is me! Art: What?! Austin: ‘Cause her name is Hye, like hi, like hello, like hi? So Farewell? Art: The opposite of hi is not farewell. Austin: It’s bye. Keith: Yeah, this could just be anyone. Ali: No! [laughing] We had a — Art: Bye. Be like, Bye Friendly. Austin: [laughing] No, that’s not it! Yeah, it would be Bye Friendly, Hye Malis… [laughs] Keith: I think it’s a big stretch to say that I definitely would know this is Hye. Austin: No, what Ali is saying is that — Ali: But we pull scams! I would have a name that I use that you know that I use. Austin: Ali is establishing the fictional truth that in the past, this is an alias that Hye has used that you’re familiar with. Keith: Okay. Then I say, like, Keith (as Wellaway): [indignantly] Yeah, fine. Send Farewell East up. Austin: Alright. Hangs up and says, Austin (as Harry): I’m sorry about… you can go right up, [pointedly] Farewell East. Austin: Trying to like, makes sure to pronounce the name right for you. Seemingly being corrected by Wellaway. Art: It’s pronounced Far-a-well. Austin: Ah, Far-a-well, of course. That’s kinda fun. Far-a-well. Ali: I go upstairs then. Austin: Alright, you head on up. And as the two of you enter the room, the reflection kind of recedes back into the mirror. Keith: Wait, why? Austin: Eyes locked on Candide as Candide arrives. Keith: Wait, so the reflection’s still there? Austin: No, the reflection recedes back into the mirror as Candide comes back in. Keith: Oh okay, it recedes back and it disappears. Austin: Yes, disappears, goes back in. And you don’t see the body anymore, you know what I mean? Keith (as Wellaway): Hey, what’d you see? Austin (as Candide): I can’t, ugh… Ali (as Hye): She saw something — Keith (as Wellaway): It said that it couldn’t tell us what you saw. Austin (as Candide): It’s gonna get really bad, and we should go. You should go. Ali (as Hye): Apparently the Final Day is uh, literal. Keith (as Wellaway): I mean. Ali (as Hye): Oh we all knew that, okay Wellaway. Keith (as Wellaway): I’ve been saying, I just, I’ve been saying. Is all. Art (as Donnie): No showmanship, it’s sad honestly. Keith: I throw a sheet over this thing and start wheeling it out of the room. Art: It’s on wheels? Austin: It’s not on wheels. Why would it be on wheels? Keith: Why wouldn’t it be on wheels? Ali: Because it’s a creepy mirror. Art: It’s mirror? And not a… Austin: What floor length mirror is on wheels? Keith: An evil one that people use for evil stuff or whatever! Spooky weird space mirrors. Austin: I’m looking at all the images of floor-length mirrors, none of them have wheels. Keith: Fine, this thing arbitrarily doesn’t have wheels. [Art and Ali laughs] Austin: Insane. Ali: Okay Keith. The way to get there is like, then how did they bring it in here? Because obviously — oh come on Keith, this Target shit? That is not evil! Austin: Get the fuck out of here. Keith: [shouting] There’s no evil mirrors in real life! I can’t just search for ‘real evil mirror’ to check if a real evil mirror would have wheels! Art: [cross] But this is really not it. Ali: Yeah, we know, you know that the vibe isn’t there, you know it. Keith: Fine, I grab a nearby dolly that they used to transport the mirror. I put the mirror without wheels — Austin: They didn’t use, there were two big, strong mercenaries that worked for these people until a couple of hours ago when you saw them get fired. Keith: Oh, mercenaries carry everything just ‘cause they can? Austin: Yes! ‘Cause they’re paid to! [cross] One of them is a wolf man, one of them is a super strong wolf man you were in a gunfight with! Keith: They’re paid to not use dollies, that’s what you’re saying? Austin: They didn’t fuckin’ leave it here if they used a dolly. Why would they leave the dolly here? Art: [cross] The think smarter, not harder argument from Keith. Austin: I described this as being sharply appointed when I described you coming into this place, I think. So it’s not sharply appointed and there’s a dolly in the corner. Keith: Fine, I pick up the mirror, which has arbitrarily decided to not be able to roll, as four people with full narrative control over this fake place with fake things, there’s no way to roll it, that would be insane. Austin: [cross] There’s a tone we’re going for, Keith! Keith: So I pick it up and I say out loud, I wish there was a fuckin’ dolly here or something so I could wheel this goddamn thing. And I start walking with it. Art: Can I like, float it out? Austin: Yeah, sure. Ali: Ooh! Keith: Sure! Art: Wielding spectral power to support myself and my allies, that sounds like it’s carrying a mirror. Austin: Yeah, do you wanna do that? Art: My allies really need some help with the mirror moving. [cross] Because some of them are in a bad mood about it. Austin: You’re lifting it with your spectral touch? Austin: ‘When touched with magical energy, I always reveal an inescapable truth.’ [Ali gasps] Art: Oh shit, I forgot about that. Well that’ll probably be fine. Austin: Can you counter it? You might be able to counter it. Its intent is to deliver something entirely different, its intent to deliver an inescapable truth about yourself. It’s going to reveal a reflection of you. Art: Oh, that’s, I don’t, hm. I would rather that not happen. Keith: Isn’t that what you’ve been angling for as a character? Art: Yeah, but like, right now? Keith: Sure. Sometimes it’s a bad time for — Art: On my way out of this room I’m not supposed to be in? Keith: I think you should unoppose it. Art: I can’t figure out what I would oppose it with. Like, I guess I could Realize ‘I always frighten those who perceive me,’ but I would have to do it in a really specific way that would probably be like, I always frighten ghost mirrors. Keith: It wants to reveal a truth about you, but the truth is too frightening to reveal so it chooses not to. Art: Yeah, see that’s really narrow. Austin: I’ll note that this is a plus one Sentence. Art: Oh, so even if I did it wouldn’t be enough. Austin: Yeah, you would need to have Realized ‘I always frighten those who perceive me’ because you don’t have a token. Art: Well but, if I Realize it right now it would get to a plus one. Austin: Yeah, that’s what I’m saying, you would have to Realize it and then counter with that. Which is fine, you can totally do that. Art: Yeah, but ‘I always frighten spooky things’ is… Austin: A little limited. Art: Yeah. ‘I always frighten those who frighten me’ is like, the broadest way… [Keith and Ali laugh] Austin: That’s very funny. Keith: [cross] I think it’s not bad… Austin: [cross] That’s very Casper the Friendly Ghost, you know? Art: Yeah. Keith: I think it also would help because ‘I always frighten those who perceive me’ has been a little bit of a hindrance to moving about normally because you’re scaring everybody in a radius. So if you’re only scared, as long as you’re a coward, this is really helpful here. Austin: [chuckling] Yeah! Art: [cross] I think I’m just gonna let it roll, though. I think — Keith: Unless you get really brave all of a sudden. Art: It sort of like, makes it, it requires to be scared the rest of the time. Ali: Not necessarily, I mean, yeah. Hm. Again, I’m thinking of when you used it against the pigs, for instance. Like, you would still get… Austin: Yeah, there’s useful times for it. But it’s also written such that you could do Illuminating Failure, or could do Tragic Success, right? But you could still do with it if you write it into something more slightly useful, but it would just be a harder thing to do to get that. Art: Yeah, for sure. No, I think I’m just gonna have to let this roll. Let’s see what the mirror’s got for me. Austin: Yeah. So as you lift it with the spectral ghost power, your eyes drawn towards the reflection of yourself in it, and you can kind of see into it, there’s like a depth to this mirror. And in this moment, you can see that there are other forms in there, other figures, other living beings. And I would say that there are three other beings in there that you can see, and you can’t make out the two on the left and right at the angle you’re looking into the weird mirror dimension, but looking back at you is a fuckin’ giant juggernaut of a person, a big fuckoff gladiator. I think staring back at you, kind of the opposite of you in many ways, right? Like, deeply a being of flesh and physical prowess. And I think it has deeply angry eyes. She kind of glares back at you in such a way that it’s like, I always frighten those who perceive me is happening but it’s the same, it’s a shared Sentence between you and this other fleshy version and vision of you. Frightened in a different way.Frightened not with spooky ghost stuff, frightened because this is someone who could break someone’s back like Bane, you know? Art: Yeah, mhm. Austin: And there’s a chance that you’ve seen this person before, not in person but maybe a drawing of them or something. Maybe a poster. This is one of the great champions of the Crux, which is the kind of Coliseum planet or moon. And this is a truth about you. In some way, you are her too. Art: That’s fascinating. Austin: Mhm. Art: That’s not… Austin: Yeah, it’s not useful, but I just wanted to give you a little, you know. Sometimes you stumble into a little truth about a thing, yeah. Art: Yeah. Great. Keith: Thank god this thing didn’t have wheels. Art: Thank god someone really didn’t want to carry a mirror. Austin: You’re able to bring it into your room, into Wellaway’s room, set it softly in a corner, presumably. Lay it down, I don’t know, where do you put it? Keith: Corner, standing up, sheet over it. Austin: Classic. That’ll keep whatever’s in there out. Keith: Tie it. Tie the sheet down. Ali: Hey, it’s a mirror, y’know. Art: I guess, yeah. Austin: Candide says, (as Candide): Just to say it again, you should all leave. Keith (as Wellaway): The mirror said you would betray us. Does that mean anything to you? Austin (as Candide): That’s why you should all leave. Keith (as Wellaway): Why would you do that? Austin (as Candide): I don’t know. Art (as Donnie): That’s not a very good answer. Austin (as Candide): Yeah, I know. I didn’t decide to do it, it’s a thing that already happened, but just not yet. Art (as Donnie): Nope. That’s not how time works. Keith (as Wellaway): Yeah, you’ve confused your… Austin (as Candide): Yeah, I’m very confused! I wish I could’ve seen more. Art (as Donnie): How do we know this isn’t the betrayal? Telling us to leave is isn’t? Austin (as Candide): You’re right, I don’t know! Ali (as Hye): How did you perceive the betrayal? Austin (as Candide): I saw myself leaving you behind as the whole city… it was chaos. People were turning into… they were freezing in place… the fire was spreading, the wings were burning up… the Empest were here. There was a creature in the smoke, in the clouds, and… the moons, were imploding. And I left you all behind. Keith (as Wellaway): That does seem bad. Ali (as Hye): Well, we can leave together. Keith (as Wellaway): Uh, we shouldn’t leave if the moons are imploding. Art (as Donnie): And the show must go on. Keith (as Wellaway): And the show must go on. Austin (as Candide): The show always goes on. Um, this is what I mean. There’s nothing I can say that maybe won’t reinforce what I saw already. Ali (as Hye): But, hm. We should have just as much impact in doing it as not doing it. Keith (as Wellaway): I think if the moons are imploding, that’s going to be a problem… Art (as Donnie): Yeah, I don’t know where we go to get away from that. Keith (as Wellaway): Right. Art (as Donnie): So we should stay. Keith (as Wellaway): Mhm. Art (as Donnie): Watch both Wellaway’s performance and the headlining performance. Keith (as Wellaway): Well, that might be… I feel like it’s gonna happen during, it feels like we’re giving up good stopping-this time. Ali (as Hye): The moons imploding… Art (as Donnie): You’re gonna give up on your dream? Keith (as Wellaway): Well no, not my thing. If it comes to that. But I’m saying, we shouldn't then just wait a whole day and watch Final Day. That part seems like… Art (as Donnie): No, we should like, be preparing. It’s gonna happen there, so we should be there. Keith (as Wellaway): Or before there. We don’t know when the flashpoint will be. Art (as Donnie): Well, it sort of seems like it’s gonna be at the thing. Ali (as Hye): We should tell us to our ship. Austin (as Candide): I think it’s already too late. Keith (as Wellaway): I asked the mirror about that, and it was slightly unhelpful on this point, but definitely not definitively too late. Austin (as Candide): Alright. Ali (as Hye): I think we’ll need guidance from the moons. Keith (as Wellaway): Never heard that before from you. That’s crazy. Art (as Donnie): Now we know it’s serious. [Ali wheezes, Keith laughs] Ali (as Hye): Well what I mean is that it, it… we aren’t the only observers of this truth, right? Keith (as Wellaway): I mean, look. You’ve got a different relationship to the moon than I do. But if the moons are gonna be imploding, they’ll certainly want to help not do that if they work like how I work. If I was going to implode, I’d not want to let it happen. Art (as Donnie): Oh, you would choose not to implode. Keith (as Wellaway): I would choose not to implode. Ali: I don’t have a save the world plan in my back pocket, but I’d really like one. Austin: Yeah. Ali: I like, yeah. How, how much can we stretch the domino and where? [music outro – “Realis” by Jack de Quidt]