[00:00:00] Speaker A: So, Wren, you've created a group chat that has not been spoken in for like days, hours, whatever. And then suddenly Adam, you can like feel the like timid nature of his voice coming through, even just through text, and is like, I know there was still time, but like, I have like a day off today. Could we go to a thrift store?
[00:00:29] Speaker B: Ren looks at this and goes like, out loud. A thrift store? What?
What? And then she types out, what? And then she asks Arjun and is like, do you know what a thrift store is? Even though Adam is the one who said it.
[00:00:50] Speaker C: Arjun types them, yes, I know what a thrift store is. Ren.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Ryan's like, oh, okay, cool. Yeah, sure, let's go. And in a separate text message, texts Arjun and is like, I don't know if like, Adam knows what a thrift store is. Like, I know you know, but I don't know if he knows. You know what I mean?
[00:01:17] Speaker C: Well, I mean, if he doesn't, today's going to be a great day for him to find out.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: Okay, she sends sobbing emojis.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: What kind of thrift store do y'all take him to?
[00:01:35] Speaker C: Honestly, I want. I'm wondering if the. If the community center might have like a. Have something adjacent, something nearby.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: It totally. Yeah.
[00:01:44] Speaker C: Yeah. Might just be. Probably might just be one near there. Like a. Will good. We'll call it that.
[00:01:49] Speaker A: Will good. Jesus Christ.
[00:01:53] Speaker C: I feel like Arjun could probably text. The group was like, hey, going through some outfits and I could use all of you guys opinions. Mainly sent to like in the group chat with Halcyon and the others. Pretty much just a group chat with everyone. Not everyone has to respond. AKA Varun.
[00:02:11] Speaker D: Yeah. I think Chloe assumes that this is some spy shit and that it's actually a request for information. And so she is like, sure, I'll meet you there.
[00:02:21] Speaker E: Halcyon, I think, doesn't reply, but just shows up and is like, ready, ready to go.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: So Halcyon and Chloe, the two of you expecting something fully so formal, the two of you show up and Ren and Arjun and Ren's little brother is there and it's a thrift store.
[00:02:47] Speaker E: I am going to go out on a limb and say that this might actually be Halcyon's first time at a thrift store. I feel like they probably got a lot of their clothes just from like, you know, what's around, like, you know, like stuff just sitting around.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: Dead people's clothes.
[00:03:10] Speaker E: Yes, basically, like stuff that was like, donated and like is supposed to go through a thrift store but never actually made it there. And they're like, hey, if you want to look through it, this is stuff that we're donating. And so, like, Halcyon kind of just pulled from all of that. And so actually going to a clothing store and seeing all of the clothing, and it's also, you know, kidney candy shop type of a deal. So a house, I feel like, kind of immediately is like, okay, all right, we can do this.
I'm going to look at all of these, every single item, and I will choose the best ones for each of us. Yes.
[00:03:48] Speaker C: Go for it.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay.
[00:03:51] Speaker E: All right.
So Halcyon is going to go around searching through the aisles, but it basically is pulling the same thing for everyone, which amounts to, like, a hey, mama's lesbian type outfit.
[00:04:06] Speaker C: Oh, my God.
[00:04:08] Speaker E: But, like, forever everybody. Because that's kind of Halcyon style is like, so, like, there are individual outfits, but they all kind of look the same.
And that's what. That's what I'm going to be doing. So.
[00:04:25] Speaker C: I'm just wondering what Chloe thinks. Well, this, like. Yeah, thrift store information.
Wait.
Yeah.
[00:04:34] Speaker D: I think Chloe is sort of awkwardly tagging along because there's a chance that she knows Adam, but certainly not closely. And so she's kind of like an awkward fifth wheel in a way that just seems to go completely over Halcyon's head. So it's fine for them, but it is not fine for Chloe.
[00:04:56] Speaker C: Oh, dear God.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: Adam speaks up. Um, was it gonna be this many people from the beginning?
[00:05:08] Speaker C: Well, I mean, it never. I mean, I don't know. I don't know what your sister had in mind, but I always feel like you can. You can't really go wrong with having a bunch of different opinions from people. So I decided to call them here.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: Okay, where do we get started then?
[00:05:29] Speaker C: Okay, so remind me again what exactly you're looking to update about your wardrobe.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: Everything. Everything.
[00:05:37] Speaker A: I need to look younger.
[00:05:39] Speaker C: I just remember how he's dressed today. Like, gm.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: He's, like, dressed like his dad, like, still. To this. Like, he's still. It's like his frat is, like, everyone dresses up suits, like, every day sort of thing, which means that he doesn't have, like, casual wear. So when he's asked to wear something casual for, like, any particular event, he's still overdressed and looks like he's 40.
That's the problem.
[00:06:09] Speaker E: While people are kind of, like, looking up and down, Halcyon returns with, like, arms full of snapbacks and, like, just gently just putting one on each person's head to kind of get a vibe of what's working and what's not. This is like artists at work. Okay? Artists at work.
[00:06:28] Speaker C: Artists at work.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
See? See, Ren, I didn't actually, like, believe you when you texted me, but looking at it now. Yeah.
[00:06:43] Speaker B: Wait, you didn't believe me?
[00:06:45] Speaker C: Well, when. When you described it, I. I had a hard time believing it. But I mean, looking at it now, you. Yeah, you. You definitely put the. Put that into words.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, like, he's. He's here.
Yay.
But like, you know, he's. Look at him.
I just. I feel like, you know, he.
To be like, he's handsome. The bones are there, but like, everything else is just ridiculous looking.
[00:07:24] Speaker C: Okay, let's not go that far. But I do agree he does have the potential. So luckily.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: That'S what I said.
[00:07:35] Speaker C: Again. I'm just. Let's not go too far with all that again. Just.
Let's just, let's just.
[00:07:42] Speaker B: Let's just.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: Let's.
[00:07:43] Speaker C: Let's. Let me just do my little fairy God father magic here. So. Okay, so Arjun's gonna take Adam by the hand and basically just follow me.
[00:07:56] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: Ren is gonna be taking the snap back and just like to bring the bill around to her front and like, pretending she's like a hero in an action movie, just being like, yeah, it's a bad couple of days. And then putting it back and forth just in the mirror.
[00:08:18] Speaker C: Oh, my God.
So I guess as.
As we sort of. I guess peruse along the thrift. The thrift shop aisle, seeing what kind of catches Arjun's eye. He does.
Would I need to roll anything to see if I can catch. That would catch my eye for. For just for the funnies or anything or.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: No, only if you want to, but not necessarily. Definitely. You don't have to roll anything in particular.
[00:08:43] Speaker C: It's just.
[00:08:43] Speaker A: It's your taste.
[00:08:45] Speaker C: Okay.
I think. I think Arjun would notice a decent pair of chinos along with like. Yeah, decent pair of chinos. A. A nice turtleneck and a nice little pair of.
Nice little pair of Converse sneakers, actually.
So we'll grab those over, bring them over, and along the way, he'll grab it. We'll grab a. He actually just bought a denim jacket actually at the last part. So I'll grab that as well. So.
So head to the changing room, try these on.
Trust me, you're going to look so much younger.
[00:09:22] Speaker A: Okay, I'll. Yeah, I'll try.
While he is scurried off into the changing room.
What is Wren And Chloe looking at, I'm assuming Halcyon's maybe still on this.
[00:09:36] Speaker E: Like, yeah, I'm picking up jerseys now.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: So looking at jerseys, Ren and Chloe, what are you kind of busying yourself with?
[00:09:44] Speaker D: For the moment, Chloe has delicately found the exact spot that the snapback came from and has put it back.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: But.
[00:09:57] Speaker D: Is taking to this new quest a little bit and looking around for, you know, some things. For Adam, the problem, I think, is that Chloe dresses business casual most of the time, so. Oh, no, it's counterproductive.
She's finding like some nice, like, button downs and like a blazer and she's like, oh, well, he could dress this down. He doesn't have anything to dress this down with.
[00:10:23] Speaker A: So, yeah, he doesn't have essentials for casuals, which is hilarious.
[00:10:29] Speaker C: I think while. I think while Adams and the changing emerge is going to go look around for some more stuff to get, like, possibly carry like three or four other.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: Different outfits, basically, I think that Wren. So most of the times when Wren meets Adam on campus, she is dressed in a very ridiculous outfit that is, she's only wearing to purposefully embarrass her younger brother. So, like, for the majority of the, like, the time, like, the team will see her, like, in, you know, like, casual, minimalistic kind of baggy clothes, like regular street fashion. But when she meets her brother, she's like in gaudy mismatching patterns, mismatching colors, like meme T shirts that are like, you know, oh, a good day of fishing beats a day in anger management or something.
[00:11:21] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:11:22] Speaker B: And so she's searching for those T shirts because even though, like, she's not wearing those types of T shirts right now because she was aware that the entire team was coming and it wasn't just going to be her, Arjun and Adam, she is purposely looking for those T shirts to, like, just see her brother in them and then maybe take some photos of him wearing those shirts.
[00:11:48] Speaker C: Oh, my God.
[00:11:50] Speaker A: Adam has finally come out of the changing room after the first outfit and you can see it very clearly. Like, it has brightened up, like the color in his face and like his hairstyle and everything. Like, he doesn't have a very gel slicked back or like coiffed, like, thing. He's really just trying to, like, emulate from, like, older men or like even just some strange mimicking of his other peers. This looks like an 18, 19 year old proper boy. And Ren, I think seeing that in your younger brother, maybe for the first time in maybe a year or two is interesting or however you feel about it.
But he just kind of shrugs, kind of looks around.
I like it.
[00:12:38] Speaker B: Cool. Like, do you feel confident?
[00:12:41] Speaker A: I mean, I think you can see very clearly he doesn't know how to, like, stand in his body. But that's not like an outfit thing.
[00:12:48] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, that's definitely. That's definitely a confidence thing. So I think.
[00:12:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:54] Speaker B: Do you like. Do you say you like it? I mean, I like it. I think it looks great, dude.
[00:13:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, it's not too. It's not too big of, like, you know what you usually. I mean, it's not too big of a change, which is good. I think I can keep up with this.
[00:13:13] Speaker B: Yeah. I feel like, you know, just stand up a little straighter and, like, you know, be proud. You look great. Oh, my God, you look so good.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: Your one friend, Varun, he was talking about. He's the one that, like, told me about thrift stores, shops.
[00:13:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: And he had this.
I think it was like a flower, like a Hawaiian kind of shirt. Like kind of something floral. Like, it didn't. It felt like it was the only loud kind of part of the outfit, and it looked nice.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: Do you want, like, a statement piece maybe?
[00:14:00] Speaker A: Maybe. I don't know. Like, I don't know if I'll. I can pull off that kind of thing.
[00:14:05] Speaker C: Well, it doesn't necessarily have to be Hawaiian, but definitely a statement piece should be there for sure.
[00:14:10] Speaker B: And, like, pulling off is like a. It's like a mentality. It's not like a physical out thing. Like, it's. It's. It's your mental. Like, just get your mental in order. You know what I mean?
[00:14:22] Speaker C: Yeah. So the way I like to think about it is you wear the clothes. The clothes don't wear you. So don't think about it as having to, like, oh, I don't know if I can pull this off. Your confidence is what makes you pull this off. So as long as you feel good, you feel confident. And you were like, nah, you know what? I look good. Everyone's gonna be like, oh, you pulled that off so well. You look amazing in that outfit. No matter what outfit you wear, you could be wearing a clown outfit. And if you look confident, I'm like, ah, you pull off that clown outfit so well.
[00:14:51] Speaker B: Yeah, but, like, don't. Don't wear a clown outfit.
[00:14:54] Speaker C: Probably don't wear the clown outfit, but you get what I mean, right?
[00:14:59] Speaker A: I think so.
Okay. Yeah, I'm going to. I want to look around a little bit, maybe try some stuff and see if I can put Something together that maybe y'all like.
[00:15:15] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely.
[00:15:18] Speaker A: Okay. And Adam scurries off to, like, some of the other, like, aisles and, like, racks of clothing that he can kind of go through without. Like, not necessarily yalls watchful eyes, but even the very, like, suddenly, like, proud feeling of someone trying out new clothes makes him feel a little self conscious in, like, a fun, like, teenager way.
So the four of you kind of have this moment for now, just standing in the surf store with the weight of whatever yesterday was like for the four of you.
[00:16:02] Speaker D: This is a great idea for cover. Who came up with it, huh?
Like meeting at a thrift store. People won't, like, listen to us or think we're plotting. That is why we're here, right?
[00:16:17] Speaker B: No, we're here for my brother. Have you been paying attention?
[00:16:21] Speaker D: Chloe has not been paying attention.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: Does Chloe want to admit that?
[00:16:28] Speaker C: No.
[00:16:29] Speaker D: I mean, I thought that it was like a two birds with one stone type thing.
[00:16:34] Speaker B: Oh, okay. And the stone is a thrift store.
[00:16:38] Speaker D: Exactly.
[00:16:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
Sure.
[00:16:45] Speaker C: Wasn't exactly our intention when we. When that idea first got pitched, but sure, let's go with that.
[00:16:52] Speaker B: So, like, how did y'all go? Because I know, like, Varun went to talk to my brother.
How did Yalls little adventure go?
[00:17:07] Speaker D: I mean, the two from the funeral place that we saw stealing, they seemed pretty nervous about us being there, but I got their phone numbers. I don't know. It might be useful. And the professor pulled Halcyon out for some reason. What was that about?
[00:17:31] Speaker E: Uh, he wanted to know if I was doing all right, and I was like, yeah, I'm fine. And he asked if I was in danger, and I said, not right now, so.
[00:17:42] Speaker C: What do you mean, not right now?
[00:17:44] Speaker B: Wait.
[00:17:47] Speaker C: Why did you say that?
[00:17:49] Speaker E: Because we were in danger before, and I assume we'll be in danger again, but right now we're fine.
[00:17:57] Speaker B: I mean, they've got a point. Like, we're with.
[00:18:00] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:18:00] Speaker B: We're with Chloe. Like, right, right. We're always in danger.
[00:18:06] Speaker C: Right. That. Oh, my God.
You see Arjun pinching his just bridge of his nose. The whole point was to be incognito, not draw attention.
[00:18:17] Speaker B: Oh, then why did I say hi to Professor Sheridan?
[00:18:22] Speaker D: You did what?
[00:18:23] Speaker B: What?
[00:18:26] Speaker D: Why? Why?
[00:18:27] Speaker B: What do you mean, why?
[00:18:29] Speaker C: Well, you did the. You did that to, I don't know, part of it. I don't know if you were just being you, but I. I'm. I'm hoping that you'd also did that to help possibly, you know, not let her see me, but, you know, still wondering why exactly? Said hi to her in the first place?
[00:18:48] Speaker B: Well, she was there, right?
Shouldn't you go straight to the source to, like, ask questions and stuff?
[00:18:58] Speaker E: I think you did great.
[00:19:00] Speaker B: Aw.
You know what, Halcyon? I really liked all of the snapbacks that you got us.
[00:19:08] Speaker E: You did?
I thought it really suited everybody. And then also we could have a matching uniform, kind of.
[00:19:16] Speaker B: Oh, that's so great, Chloe. Where's your snapback?
[00:19:20] Speaker D: I mean, I figure if we're trying to be incognito, a uniform seems like a bad idea.
[00:19:26] Speaker B: I disagree.
[00:19:34] Speaker D: Do you have anything further? Like a reason for disagreeing or just sort of being contrary?
[00:19:42] Speaker B: I think you know the answer to that.
[00:19:45] Speaker D: Yeah. So uniforms are a bad idea, but the snapbacks look really cute on the rest. On you all.
[00:19:55] Speaker C: Where's yours?
[00:19:58] Speaker D: I can't be tied to you.
Vagrants.
[00:20:05] Speaker C: Oh, vagrant.
[00:20:08] Speaker D: Vagrants.
[00:20:10] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:20:13] Speaker C: He's like Arjun, like, steps back and like. And, like, mock like. Oh, you wound me.
[00:20:20] Speaker E: It's okay. I guess it wasn't really your style.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: Yeah, like, your style is what we're trying to push Adam away from, and so I think that's a good. That's correct. It wasn't your style.
Anyways, I feel like Professor Sheridan, or Natasha or whatever you want to call her, like, she just seems like, you know, you, like, hear about successful women in this town and then you, like, talk to them and you meet them and you're like, oh, you kind of.
And I feel like that's just really true. Here.
[00:21:10] Speaker C: Welcome to my world.
[00:21:12] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, I don't think that's a pattern with all successful women in this town. I think that it's just Natasha, but.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: Oh, that's. Of course.
Of course you would say that.
But, you know, she, like, only got to where she was because of, like, her money, so probably similar.
[00:21:36] Speaker D: Does she have money?
[00:21:39] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, she has oodles of money.
[00:21:41] Speaker C: Turns out she's pretty much funding the bulk, if not the entirety, of the. Of the university's journalism department.
[00:21:50] Speaker D: That feels like a conflict of interest or something.
[00:21:57] Speaker B: Yeah, duh.
[00:22:00] Speaker D: If she has all this money, why is she stealing from the dead people?
Is that how she got.
[00:22:07] Speaker E: Good question.
[00:22:09] Speaker C: That could be possibly it. She could also be just looking for. To use it to fill her scoops, maybe. Who knows?
[00:22:16] Speaker B: Isn't she, like, telling her students. So I feel like she's, like, telling her students to, like, steal for, like, extra credit and then, like, using the fact that they stole to, like, blackmail them or something, you know, like, oh, you do anything For a grade. Cause that's how, like, universities are. Like, they're like, oh, my God, your grades are everything. And then once you, like, do something you regret, you're like, oh, now my life is, like, forfeit and I need to obey. This woman's whimsical.
[00:22:48] Speaker C: That's actually terrifying. And that doesn't. And that wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, knowing Natasha.
[00:23:00] Speaker D: Is there any way to talk to find someone who, like, failed out of her class? Maybe they refused to steal and we could learn about what she's been asking them.
[00:23:11] Speaker B: Don't you guys have, like, those people's phone numbers? Like, couldn't you just, like, ask them, like, did somebody fail?
You know, failures.
[00:23:26] Speaker C: Well, there is. Well, there is that professor. We could. We could ask if any of their. If any of his students had failed out of. Out of Natasha's class.
[00:23:37] Speaker B: Oh, professor.
Yeah, that guy.
He was like.
He, like, hated Natasha.
He was. Yeah. And I don't think he has any friends either.
[00:23:54] Speaker C: He probably has friends.
[00:23:55] Speaker B: No, we asked him, right? We were like, do you and your, like, colleagues, like, chat after work? And he was like, no.
[00:24:03] Speaker E: Do we want to invite him into the group if he doesn't have any friends? I didn't have any friends for this.
[00:24:12] Speaker C: Let's. We probably shouldn't. Because he also mentioned he doesn't know exactly if Natasha could overhear it because she might be tapped into some information networks, knowing her.
[00:24:24] Speaker B: I mean, how soon? I'm gonna say this, like, in the nicest way possible. I feel like you have, like, a real soft spot for, like, corrupt or, like, people who have no friends, and you want to, like, invite them into this group, but you've done that once already, and I'm like, you gotta stop. Like, we can't.
[00:24:46] Speaker E: Yeah, but it worked out. Okay.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: For who?
[00:24:49] Speaker C: Oh, my God.
[00:24:50] Speaker D: I'm sorry, are you talking about me?
[00:24:52] Speaker B: Do you have friends?
[00:24:54] Speaker D: Of course I have friends. I have a fiance. Well, I almost have a fiance.
[00:24:59] Speaker B: Oh, fiance. I didn't realize that you guys progressed that far.
[00:25:03] Speaker C: Damn.
[00:25:04] Speaker B: Does Varu know that you have a fiance?
[00:25:09] Speaker D: I haven't talked to him about it yet.
[00:25:11] Speaker B: Oh, yikes.
[00:25:15] Speaker D: Why does it.
Why would that matter for him, do you think?
[00:25:22] Speaker B: Um, I don't know.
That's a great question. I feel like, you know, right? Because you're so close to his older brother. Fiance, boyfriend, life partner.
[00:25:40] Speaker D: I let them keep their family business where they need to keep it.
I'm not part of the family yet.
[00:25:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:53] Speaker C: Back on topic, if we would.
[00:25:58] Speaker B: Yeah, bring us back.
[00:26:01] Speaker C: Just. Okay, Just this question still stands. What are we going to do now? Because we have a couple options ahead of us. We could like, like was suggested, find one of his older student, find one of Natasha's older students who failed and get some information out of them.
Or we could just take the fight to her if we really want to. But I'd really not really rather not, considering the attention we've already probably attracted to ourselves.
God knows what she's writing now. Jesus.
[00:26:36] Speaker B: I mean, I don't think she's gonna be like writing anything, right? Like, it's her students that are writing, right? Like, didn't. Isn't that like what we saw in like the meltdown? It wasn't like her. It was like her students for her.
[00:26:54] Speaker C: That is true.
[00:26:56] Speaker B: Yeah. So.
[00:27:01] Speaker C: Maybe that's what she's using the blackmail leverage for. She's using them to steal. She gets them to steal for a grade, then uses the leverage to have to have her students write her articles for her.
[00:27:13] Speaker B: But then, like, where does she get the money?
I want to know.
[00:27:22] Speaker C: Could be sponsors. Could be old. Could be your family, maybe. I don't know.
[00:27:32] Speaker B: Well, okay, so we already talked with the professors, so what do you guys. Who like, talked to the students and like met those two and got their phone numbers? Like, what do you guys want to do?
[00:27:45] Speaker E: They don't really like us, so. Oh, I think if. If we want to use the professor, we could do that. We could also get them both in the same place, tell them to meet, make them compare stories and see if we can get more information that way.
[00:28:07] Speaker B: Oh my God. You know what we could do?
We could like put them into two separate rooms and then gaslight them into like thinking that the other person snitched and then see who confesses first.
[00:28:28] Speaker C: Like. Like a. Like a prisoner's dilemma.
[00:28:33] Speaker B: Yeah, right. Is that not the. Sorry. Is that not what we're doing?
I'm cool with anything.
[00:28:42] Speaker C: That's one extreme way to do that, honestly.
But I. I definitely think we should reach out to the professor. It's just we'll have to be careful about it because he did mention that he could. The Natasha's.
I guess Natasha could have feelers out and monitoring anyone in the department, so we're gonna have to be careful with it.
[00:29:06] Speaker B: Why don't we just visit him again? Like all four of us? Like, we'll have the alderman. Oh my God. And then we can like pretend we're there on like official business. Like if anybody reports back, we can just be like, oh, Chloe's doing her thing.
[00:29:25] Speaker D: I Mean, at this point, she must know that we're onto her, right?
[00:29:31] Speaker E: Yeah, I think so.
[00:29:32] Speaker C: Most likely, she wouldn't.
She probably. Someone's probably already told her something.
[00:29:40] Speaker B: Okay, then, like, there's no reason to, like, be sneaky. If she's, like, always looking out for us, we have to act otherwise. Like, then, like, if we just try to be sneaky all the time, she's gonna, like, block us. So we might as well just, like, do something big, get her attention, or get, like, all of her peoples and all her networks, like, attention on that. Something big. And then, like, the rest of us can scamper around and, like, you know, get information and then find somebody who maybe failed out of her class and then, like, get to the bottom of it.
[00:30:27] Speaker C: Fine. I guess if we have to just.
God, this is so not going to go well.
[00:30:36] Speaker B: Unless you guys have a better idea, which, like, I'll listen to, I guess.
[00:30:43] Speaker C: I mean, I unfortunately don't. As loath as I am to admit it, I don't have a better idea than that.
[00:30:51] Speaker D: The only thing that I have is I got some advice recently that the best way to deal with a problem is to make a bigger, different problem. So maybe we could distract her with Arjun. I mean, you already confronted her about being in your classroom, so you could confront her about that again and distract her, and she'll think that that's the only thing we know and that's the only thing we care about.
Meanwhile, we go and work on the other things.
Or we can work on the other things and pretend that the reason that we're there at all is because we care about her snooping around the classroom and we want to learn about journalistic ethics or something.
[00:31:45] Speaker C: Fine. All right. I can. If it's a distraction need, I can do that. I mean, I already want to get. Already want to give her a piece of my mind anyway. But that's. That's a whole different. That's a whole. Another can of worms.
[00:32:00] Speaker D: I mean, if you don't want to confront her, that's fine. I just.
No, I don't know. Maybe it's.
[00:32:10] Speaker C: Go ahead. Go ahead.
[00:32:12] Speaker D: We could have it in our back pocket when she catches us.
[00:32:17] Speaker C: Honestly, I think that might just be the easiest way for us to explain why we're there. So let's. Let's just do that.
Who knows? It might be. Might be slightly cathartic for me to actually confront her about it.
[00:32:32] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, like, she's not that, like, scary.
So, like, just give her a piece of your mind, and then we'll run around and boom, it'll be solved.
[00:32:48] Speaker C: You don't think she's star. You don't think she's scary now? Wait till she's followed you around and nearly stalked you home.
[00:32:54] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, like, that's, like, messed up, but I mean, like, you know, is she gonna tase you?
[00:33:09] Speaker C: I would hope not.
[00:33:10] Speaker B: Yeah, like, what actual harm? Like, I'm not trying to diminish. I guess I am coming off that way. But, like, if you think about it, there's no physical threat.
So the only thing she has on you is, like, the mental game.
And as long as you beat her at the mental game, she doesn't have anything.
[00:33:40] Speaker C: I have a point.
It's just.
God, I've put. I've just. I've avoided talking to her for so long because just.
Ugh. I can already tell there's gonna be no good. But I guess if.
If it's the best way to do it, I'll do it. Like, do this. I'll do it. But I'm gonna need to grab something to make. At least make it look convincing.
[00:34:07] Speaker B: Okay, and then what? So me or so Halcyon, Chloe and I will what, Talk to those two kids?
[00:34:22] Speaker C: You can either talk to those two kids. You can probably see if you can find Professor. The professor we talk to get some info out of him regarding that while I'm distracting Natasha.
[00:34:38] Speaker B: What do you guys want to do? Halia and Chloe?
[00:34:43] Speaker E: The kids are scared of me. I think it'll be effective.
[00:34:50] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:34:52] Speaker C: Fear is an effective tool.
[00:34:55] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:34:57] Speaker D: Did you want to try to just find them on campus, or should I try texting them and ordering them to meet us somewhere?
[00:35:04] Speaker E: Offer them a job. Right. That's why you said you wanted it.
[00:35:08] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:35:10] Speaker B: Oh, my God. You know what you could do?
You could do, like, I want to talk to you about something. Meet here and, like, let their brains scamper around about, like, what you're talking to them about.
[00:35:25] Speaker D: Do we want their brains scampering? If they're scampering too hard, they might scamper right to Natasha.
[00:35:32] Speaker B: Okay.
I guess I just feel like there needs to be, like, an uneven balance. You know what I mean?
[00:35:43] Speaker D: I mean, they are already is their children, and I'm a member of the city council.
[00:35:51] Speaker B: Oh, that's right. Like, you're old. Okay.
[00:35:54] Speaker C: Oh, my God.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: Right. Sorry. Forgot about that.
Okay. Yeah. Offer them a job. Work.
[00:36:05] Speaker C: You could say something. You could say we were. I'm calling to offer you about. I want to talk to you about the something that came up While I was reviewing your. I don't know. Information, I guess. I don't know.
[00:36:17] Speaker D: I mean, they didn't provide information, but who knows what they think I can do?
[00:36:22] Speaker C: You could. You could just. You could have said you did a background search on them.
[00:36:26] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:36:28] Speaker B: Oh, okay.
You can do that?
[00:36:32] Speaker D: I mean, you said we wanted them scared, right?
[00:36:36] Speaker B: Yeah, but, like, can you actually run background checks on people?
[00:36:40] Speaker D: If I'm hiring them for a government position, of course I can.
[00:36:43] Speaker B: Oh, okay, cool.
[00:36:45] Speaker C: Yep. They remember I had to get a clearance for one of my acting roles. Yeah, that was. That was fun.
[00:36:53] Speaker B: Okay, work then. Just do that.
[00:36:57] Speaker D: Okay. Where should we meet?
[00:37:00] Speaker B: Oh, you shouldn't take them to one of your favorite cafes, preferably.
[00:37:05] Speaker C: Probably. Some are quiet and isolated.
[00:37:06] Speaker B: Most likely no chairs.
[00:37:10] Speaker D: Well, those cafes are actually really popular, so it's probably not the best if we don't want to draw attention.
I mean, I feel like your type of place. Ren shouldn't have a lot of people around.
[00:37:25] Speaker B: My type? What's my type?
[00:37:28] Speaker D: You tell me.
[00:37:29] Speaker B: I'm waiting for you.
[00:37:32] Speaker D: Oh, you know, something cozy and affordable.
[00:37:37] Speaker B: Okay.
I don't think your chairless, soulless cinder block of a restaurant or whatever is popular, but I'll sure you can go to one of my cozy neighborhood, support local businesses places.
[00:38:06] Speaker D: Great. Give me the name and address.
[00:38:11] Speaker B: Wren looks like someone is pulling her teeth out as she pulls up. Like, her go to spot that is like, she knows the owner. She knows pretty much like everybody knows her order.
They know her by name. And she sends it to Chloe and she like, texts like a pin to Chloe and she's like, oh, my God.
[00:38:38] Speaker A: Adam shows up after a very long time at this point and looks like he is going to go golfing somewhere, like in Florida.
It's just like a bright pink visor and like, all the wrong, like, colors are getting hit all the wrong, like, size. And he's just like, how's this?
[00:39:03] Speaker B: Do you like it? Do you like it? Do you like it?
[00:39:08] Speaker A: I don't know. I don't know.
[00:39:11] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:39:12] Speaker C: I think RJ's going to guide me over to your mirror. So look at. I want you to look. Why don't you tell me what you think you don't like about it?
[00:39:21] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:39:23] Speaker A: Josephine at Scary Dog Friend plays the architecture and edits the show. The biggest thanks to Minerva mcjanda for creating our system Void Heart Symphony. You can find Josephine producing actual plays at Bat House, RPG and Nameless Domain. Other podcasts you can find her include someplace to be a system hopping actual play with an indie focus and Monster Anonymous rating and dating your favorite monsters everywhere you listen to your podcasts. Thanks again to Goblets and Gays for hosting us and all the music you hear today is from Epidemic.
[00:39:52] Speaker C: Abhishek Matange he him plays Arjun Kumar. You can find him voice acting as well as starring in other TTRPG APs such as Zenith over at Sword and Key premiering August 29, as well as Ironsworn the Valley season two over at Nerds with Dice premiering September 5. You can also find him being a huge tokusatsu Nerd
[email protected] Alyssa at a.
[00:40:17] Speaker D: Disaster Queer plays Penitent. You can find them here on Goblets and Gays for our Pathfinder series Tyrant of the Dark Star, as well as on An Unwavering Force, a Star wars actual play.
[00:40:29] Speaker B: Donna she her plays Ren Kong. You can find her voice acting, playing other TTRPGs and overall being a goofy gal at Shabro on twitter.com Leanna Albany's.
[00:40:39] Speaker E: Any Pronouns plays Halcyon. You can find them acting, producing and generally goofing around at Liana Albany's on all platforms.
[00:40:48] Speaker C: Valiant Dorian at Valiant Dorian or at otsospiritbear plays Varun Pillay. You can find him as a main cast member of transplant RPGs the Chaos Protocol, hosting his TTRPG talk show Dicey Banter and designing wild hearted monstrous games like his in development. TTRPG the Beast Within, a grungy action RPG with a werebeast twist.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: Adam comes out with the first outfit and it looks genuinely he has completely I almost said euthanized. That's not correct.
[00:41:31] Speaker C: Oh my God. He.
[00:41:36] Speaker A: I'm so sorry.
