Feed Drop: Game Master Monday- UST: Unresolved Sapphic Tension

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Sam. [00:00:29] Speaker B: Greetings and salutations, friends and lovers. Welcome to an extra special episode of Game Master Monday, the podcast that plays a new one shot in a new system with a new cast every episode. This week we are playing ust Unresolved Sapphic Tension by a disasterqueer. Tonight, you'll be hearing three individual vignettes using an abbreviated version of the game's mechanics. You shall be meeting the individual cast members just before their scene begins. But to begin, let me tell you about unresolved Sapphic Tension. Unresolved Sapphic Tension is a game about oblivious women loving women, characters who both have feelings for one another. Throughout the course of our scenes, our players will be using rock, paper, scissors mechanics to determine what approach they will be taking to drop hints to their true feelings. These approaches processing or turning inward to better understand your hearts, revealing or laying yourself bare before them and teasing or whatever it takes to earn a place under their skin. Processing beats revealing. Revealing beats teasing, and teasing beats processing. Whomever wins the rock, paper, scissors will give the other player a clue and become the initiator of that scene. It will be that player who decides where they are, how they meet, and how they drop a hint to their true feelings. The first player to receive three clues becomes the initiator of the final scene, where all truths are revealed. However, players also have the option to enter a dark night once per game. Each player can disrupt the cycle of interactions by using this move, causing them to brood, ponder, and initiate a scene away from their partner. When the scene concludes, they must decide if they've grown closer together, in which case both players gain a clue. Or drifted further apart, in which case both players lose a clue. This is the game. Now, allow me to introduce our first scene. A pair of princesses from rival nations, previously engaged but no longer reuniting at a ball. And after a long and brutal war, our players are hi, I'm, Mia. [00:03:14] Speaker C: Pronouns are she, her, and today I'm playing Aurelia Sandelier. [00:03:20] Speaker D: Hi, I'm Sadie Passley. I am she, they, I am playing Brynia. Aerithvest she, her pronouns. [00:03:30] Speaker B: And so, without further ado, I bring you to scene one of unresolved Sapphic tension. [00:03:50] Speaker D: Brynia has taken very few moments to herself, but in the flurry of preparing for this courtship ball, she has found herself tucked away in the garden, finding a quiet moment. Her hair has been pulled back nicely, it's very short, dark green, her makeup has been made up a little bit too heavy for her taste, and she is wearing a very, very well Tailored coat and trousers. She looks around, tries to see if anyone might be around, because she really doesn't want to be found just yet. [00:04:47] Speaker C: Aurelia is heading to the ball in a carriage, accompanied by her parents, the King and Queen of Astrania and only one servant who helmed the horses. And she sits, hands placed in her lap, stoic, quiet. As moonlight pours in through the window of the carriage, we can see that she has a dark silver line gown, long sleeves, and a very tasteful splash of glitter across the sides and across her chest. She has a very almost somber sort of look on her face. Smoky makeup, a dark lip. And while her parents discuss and chat strategy, planning intent for the upcoming evening, she listens. And she can't help but think back. [00:06:09] Speaker E: To. [00:06:14] Speaker C: The years apart, the time before someone she thought she knew and someone she hopes to see. [00:06:26] Speaker B: I can think of no better place on where to start then. So we're going to go ahead and go into the first round of our game. You all should have tokens in front of you and. And you're going to choose which approach that you would like to speak to the other person with. Whoever wins the approach will set the scene and initiate the conversation. The other player will gain one clue as a reminder. Three clues means that they will figure out your whole deal. Aurelia has chosen to tease, and Brinia's chosen to process, which means, Mia, you win this round. Teasing beats processing. So we will give a clue to Brynia's character. How does Aurelia approach this other princess? [00:07:22] Speaker C: I imagine that the ball has just started, so no grand act or performances just yet. Everyone's still kind of funneling in. And just like her counterpart, Aurelia is drawn to places of seclusion, of isolation, just for a little bit before everything kicks off. And she stumbles into the garden to see a certain silhouette there in the moonlight. And on Aurelia Orrea approaches. It is a bit stuffy in there. [00:08:16] Speaker D: No more stuffy than any of these things. [00:08:21] Speaker A: Really. [00:08:22] Speaker C: I'm surprised that the host of the event saying such things. Are you not enjoying yourself, Prince? [00:08:31] Speaker D: Of course. Of course I'm enjoying myself. The wine is nice. The food is lovely. The music is divine. [00:08:46] Speaker C: Are you asking me? Are you telling me I don't know. [00:08:49] Speaker D: A thing about music? You know me. [00:08:53] Speaker A: It's. [00:08:54] Speaker D: It's fine. What about you? [00:08:59] Speaker C: I was hoping to see and finally meet the hero of the war. Of course. [00:09:08] Speaker D: Not a hero. I just did my duty, did what needed to be done. It's not as glamorous as I thought it would be when we were children. [00:09:24] Speaker C: Yes, I'm finding very few things are nowadays. But come. Your subject should see you. [00:09:34] Speaker D: Of course. [00:09:37] Speaker A: And. [00:09:37] Speaker D: And you. You should dance. Do you still dance? [00:09:45] Speaker C: Why don't we find out? [00:09:46] Speaker D: You know what? Let's. [00:09:48] Speaker C: She'll offer her hand, if the prince would take it, to guide her back into. [00:09:57] Speaker A: The ball. [00:09:59] Speaker E: And. [00:10:03] Speaker C: Once the music switched up, she would set down her glass and go. Okay, well, lead the way. [00:10:14] Speaker D: You know what? I never was much of a dancer here. How about I go find someone who is much better to dance with you? I'm sure that the lovely ladies of any number of kingdoms would be more than happy to dance. I'm going to check on my father. [00:10:49] Speaker C: Whatever the prince wishes. [00:10:54] Speaker B: You part ways for this scene now, going about your individual lives and continuing your stories as we go into round two. So, for this round, Mia, you are now the instigator, the initiator. So if there's a tie that will favor you. We have teasing and processing in the other direction this time. Well, we know this one. Teasing beats processing. And of course, with teasing, what we're doing, saying here that whatever it takes to earn a place under their skin. So you are now the initiator, Sadie. You give a clue to Mia's character. So we cut back to Brinia. Where are we? Where do we find ourselves? And how do you approach your partner? [00:11:53] Speaker D: Brynia has been standing at the edge of the ball, watching as Rhea has been dancing with several other women. And Brynia thinks to herself, how is it that she let Rhea get. Get under her skin? She used to be able to dish out just about as much as she could take, you know. And so she finishes a glass of wine and decides to. To approach. She is not going to be best just yet. Rhea, how have you found your dance partners? [00:13:00] Speaker C: Oh, you, Highness, they have been lovely. Of course, this is a wonderful ceremony that you and your family have put together. [00:13:15] Speaker A: I. [00:13:17] Speaker C: I'm very lucky to be here. [00:13:20] Speaker D: And yet, I think maybe I would like a dance. Although perhaps more of a sort like we used to. And I kind of make a motion towards a blade at my side for old time's sake. [00:13:48] Speaker C: Here in. [00:13:49] Speaker D: No, the courtyard. [00:13:51] Speaker A: Not here. [00:13:53] Speaker C: Right. You can see that Rhea is very flustered. I think in the time they had spent away from each other during this. [00:14:06] Speaker E: Ball. [00:14:08] Speaker C: A few of the other nobles in court have been sort of whispering about her and her kingdom, and those have traced their way back to her ears. And she seems to be feeling a little more insecure than she was when she originally arrived. But she'll go and follow you. Kind of taking this as a sympathy perhaps. [00:14:42] Speaker D: Vernia leads you out to the courtyard and setting aside her blade, she takes in a deep breath and sighs. It really is stuffy in there. [00:14:59] Speaker C: Yes, I. I suppose I've forgotten. [00:15:05] Speaker D: Well, I. I did promise a. A dance of a sort. [00:15:10] Speaker A: So. [00:15:13] Speaker C: Do you feel up to it now? [00:15:16] Speaker D: As long as you don't mind. [00:15:20] Speaker A: The. [00:15:20] Speaker D: Chance of tripping over your lovely dress. I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're in a dress. [00:15:34] Speaker C: I would never dream of it. [00:15:36] Speaker D: Nor because I'm better than you with a sword. [00:15:40] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:15:43] Speaker C: And Rhea will take out, I think, a thin, elongated dagger. [00:15:50] Speaker D: Brynia also pulls out a dagger of similar size. While I won't go easy on you, it wouldn't be fair with a. With a full sword. She takes her position and begins to dance with the sword. How does. How does Rhea respond in motion? Is she nervous? Or like, does she fall into swordplay like when they were teenagers? [00:16:34] Speaker C: I think there's definitely a few missteps at first. [00:16:42] Speaker A: Even. [00:16:43] Speaker C: Even though they did that as children. She was never as skilled as Brynia. But after a few rounds, she seems to get back into the step, enjoying probably Brynn's teasing and encouragement. And she eventually she just like bunches up her dress and maybe pulls out a piece of ribbon and ties it so that she has a little more room to sidestep and dodge. [00:17:20] Speaker D: After a few rounds, Perennia stops. She's breathing a little bit heavy, even though this level of swordplay is not too difficult for her. Well, Rhea, this has been nice. [00:17:47] Speaker C: Oh, are you done already? I'm sorry. Did I tire you out? [00:17:54] Speaker D: You know what? [00:17:54] Speaker A: Fair. [00:17:57] Speaker B: You hear a voice calling from the castle and there you are. Everyone is still waiting for you. This. This is for you, after all. Are you going to return to your guests or not? [00:18:10] Speaker D: Yes. Yes. Could you get Rhea some water, please? Sure. [00:18:19] Speaker B: There's plenty of water inside the ballroom. Yes, yes, I'll be more than happy. [00:18:24] Speaker D: To provide I a towelette, something. [00:18:29] Speaker B: Of course. [00:18:31] Speaker C: It's fine. [00:18:33] Speaker D: Thank you. Thank you, Rhea, for indulging me. I must go see to the guests. [00:18:43] Speaker B: I'll probably towel you off as well. I mean, this is unseemly. [00:18:48] Speaker D: It's fine. I have a handkerchief right here. [00:18:52] Speaker B: Well, great. [00:18:53] Speaker D: I quickly dab my face and rush in, avoiding eye contact with either of them. [00:19:06] Speaker B: And then we'll go into our third round. So we have processing for Aurelia and revealing for Britia. Which means Aurelia will win this round because processing beats revealing. And Britia will pick up her second clue. So the initiator goes back to you, Mia. Where do we find ourselves now? [00:19:30] Speaker A: After. [00:19:32] Speaker C: More drinking and some dancing, Rhea heads upstairs to. I imagine it to be like a second level that has, like, a balcony where you can see into the lower main floor. And she. She finds that Brin almost hidden amongst the shelves, maybe looking at some books or already with an open book in hand. [00:20:02] Speaker A: And. [00:20:05] Speaker C: She'Ll casually come up randomly picks up another book and goes. [00:20:15] Speaker A: I don't. [00:20:15] Speaker C: Really like this author, do you? [00:20:19] Speaker D: He's very intelligent, he has many good things to say, good advice, and yet his ego ruins it all. [00:20:35] Speaker C: I agree. So many words and no substance. [00:20:41] Speaker D: You know, despite it all, I missed you. [00:20:48] Speaker C: I'm sorry. Truly. [00:20:53] Speaker D: You know, the Trovians have not found another mine. I don't think they ever will. [00:21:02] Speaker C: No believe that would make sense. It is now under your family's jurisdiction. [00:21:16] Speaker D: Sometimes I wonder if things would have been different if I hadn't killed Beau. [00:21:28] Speaker C: If you hadn't, I likely would not be here. [00:21:38] Speaker D: Landrick loved him, you know. I remember my sweet, kind brother loved that. I don't know if Beau actually was as hateful and as greedy as the rest of them, but I will never forgive the Trovian family for what they took from me. [00:22:19] Speaker C: And that's your right. I barely saw the war. I only saw what was left of it. And I can't imagine what your people had to survive through. [00:22:43] Speaker D: We've always been strong. The Trovians were never going to win. But it did last longer than any of us had ever hoped. [00:22:58] Speaker C: It ended because of you. [00:23:01] Speaker A: And I'm not. [00:23:04] Speaker C: I'm not trying to poke fun. I know that it was hard. And maybe in a different life. It didn't have to be, Bo. It could have ended much more peacefully. But we'll never know. What we have is now. And now. [00:23:35] Speaker D: Now I have dozens of marriage offers, dances, drinks. All I ever wanted to do was fight. I looked up to my brother, but I didn't. I didn't want his crown. And yet, here I am. Anyway. I'm sorry to put such a heavy conversation on you. [00:24:20] Speaker C: It's much better than small talk or politely veiled insults, so. [00:24:29] Speaker D: I'm learning how to do those a little bit. [00:24:35] Speaker C: Let's just hope it's better than your dancing. [00:24:38] Speaker D: A knife to my spleen. Why don't you? They'll notice I'm missing yet again. [00:24:49] Speaker C: But of course, I'll leave first. So no one Thinks anything nefarious is going on. [00:25:06] Speaker B: Heavy conversation in the library will bring us into the fourth scene with Sadie holding two clues and Mia holding one. So you'll choose whichever approach you feel is appropriate. Oh, dark night of the soul for Raya. So that means we're not going to give out any clues just yet. We are now in the Dark Knight phase of the game. Mia, you will take over a scene here. You are now by yourself, away from your partner, the implication being you are brooding something that you are pondering to yourself. And Sadie, when you are character finds a window, you will find them, describe how you found them and why you were looking for them, and then whatever happens in that scene will decide if you both get a clue or if you both lose a clue. [00:26:13] Speaker C: After the conversation with Brynn, Rhea feels adrift. She tries to slip back into the party mood of the ball and can't seem to fake it anymore and unintentionally indulges too much in her drink. And she wanders the halls singing loudly to herself until she stumbles upon probably one of the very lavish many guest rooms. She pushes open the glass paneled doors that lead out into a balcony that oversees the gardens. She looks out in the moonlight. She starts tearing at her dress for more comfortability. And she kind of slumps up on the railing as she finishes a bottle that she actually just took from one of the servants instead of the glass. [00:27:35] Speaker D: Brynia is down in the garden taking out some frustration on some poor unfortunate hedges. Looks up and sees Rhea on the balcony and recognizes. [00:28:01] Speaker A: The. [00:28:01] Speaker D: The distraught body language. It's been such a long time. And yet. And yet Rhea just looks exactly the same when she is upset. And Brinea can't help herself. She runs over to the wall and using some. Some plants, some vines, the crevices in the wall, she. She scales it up to the balcony. What are you doing here? Why. Why aren't you enjoying the ball? [00:28:50] Speaker C: What do you mean? I am enjoying the ball. [00:28:53] Speaker A: See? Ah. [00:28:59] Speaker D: I see. [00:29:01] Speaker A: You know what? [00:29:02] Speaker E: That's. [00:29:03] Speaker D: That's an awfully big bottle. I'm gonna go get you some water and I will be right back. [00:29:14] Speaker C: Oh, no, it's okay. I have another one. And she pulls out a smaller flask. [00:29:19] Speaker D: Is that water? [00:29:23] Speaker C: Yes, of course. And then she'll fling the empty bottle over the. The ledge, shattering on the stone. Even after all this time. You are so dashing and so chivalrous. It's like no time has passed at all. That's not true, is it? [00:29:50] Speaker D: No, no, it's. It's not true. [00:29:56] Speaker A: Chivalrous. [00:30:00] Speaker D: Don't. Don't ever say that about me. Not when I didn't come for you. [00:30:10] Speaker C: I'll admit I dreamt many nights that it would be you to open those doors. But I never blamed you for it. I mean, how could I? You and your people and your brother and all my family could do is fall in line out of fear. Sure, they wanted to save me and protect me, but I helped make those weapons. [00:30:51] Speaker A: I. [00:30:54] Speaker C: Sure they weren't going to last very long. But that doesn't mean that the death toll wasn't high. And I suppose I got in this pretty dress, did all this makeup. And for what? [00:31:16] Speaker D: You know what. [00:31:16] Speaker A: I. [00:31:19] Speaker D: I don't know what to say. I should. I should have come for you. Anyway. You had no choice. But you did. And I hate that. I'm not sure if I care. [00:31:49] Speaker C: I definitely had a choice behind those bars as they were threatening my people. And who'd expect you to? You wanted to be a fighter. You wanted to be a hero. So as soon as the opportunity arose. No wonder you didn't think of me. I'm glad you got what you wanted. [00:32:16] Speaker D: Got what I wanted? Rhea, we were children. I mean, teenagers, but we were children. And children dream of war and valor. Honor. Glory. At least I did as a child. I'm not a child anymore. Rhea. [00:32:50] Speaker C: If things are different now. Why do you still look at me like that? I can't bear it. To look at you and. And see reflected in your eyes someone I don't see anymore. [00:33:09] Speaker D: What don't you? I'm still me. Even if I can't seem to forgive myself. Even if I still blame you just a little bit. Please tell me I didn't change all that much. [00:33:47] Speaker C: It was a problem. You didn't. [00:33:53] Speaker A: Just as. [00:33:56] Speaker C: Sweet and pigheaded and brave as I knew you. And it's in your right not to. I mean, how could you? How could anyone? I think Rhea walks off. [00:34:24] Speaker B: Rhea, do you feel that you grew closer to Brynia? [00:34:33] Speaker C: Yes. I think having that moment of passion together, even with the exchange of hurtful words. Rhea kind of sulks out in one of the many hallways and is remembering the good times that they had. And is also though considering how tough it would have been. Not just in losing her brother and her. Her soldiers, but also the mental toll that it would have been to not only survive that, but suddenly become the heir. And she realizes that even though their situations were very different, they were both still isolated in a way that. Like before, when they were teens, the one who knows them most is the other. [00:35:46] Speaker D: Brynia slumps down on the balcony and pulls out a pocket mirror to wipe her tears. Because she realizes that she has begun crying. And she realizes that talking with Rhea about the war and about everything that went on was like looking into a mirror. And that they each have their own guilt and their own grudges regarding what has happened. They are both victims of unfortunate political machinations from an outsider country. And they both want desperately to be seen to be understood. They want to be the children that they once were. And while they can never go back to how things were, there's definitely a possibility for a future forward. [00:37:21] Speaker B: Let's see what that future holds for us then, shall we? Since you have agreed that you've grown closer together as a result of hashing everything out there, that will bring Erinia to her third clue and Aurelia to her second. Which means, Sadie, you are the final instigator. You have received all the clues somewhere in that thinking of a path forward together. It clicks. She also wants that path forward together. And she wants it with me. And since once this whole story has taken place over the course of a single ball, what do you do? As the evening starts to wind down. [00:38:12] Speaker D: The guests have started leaving the ball. And Brynia, realizing that she may lose her chance to connect with Rhea, starts frantically running out into the drive, trying to find Rhea's carriage. She sees carriage after carriage peeling out and she's not sure exactly which one is Rhea's. And then she storms back into the ball. And instead of finding Rhea among the guests leaving, she finds Rhea loitering among the servants who are cleaning up. Rhea has not left just yet. Oh goodness. I thought you might have left already. You're here. [00:39:34] Speaker C: Yes, it would seem so. [00:39:35] Speaker A: I. [00:39:38] Speaker C: Thought I should get some after my embarrassment. [00:39:48] Speaker D: Rhea, you have a towel? But here, let me get you some water. Because even if it's an excuse, you do still need some water. Raya, I, I, I'm sorry. I think that. You know what. I. I've been so cagey with you tonight and I. I've acted like I. Like I haven't forgiven you. And yet the truth is, I just. I haven't forgiven myself. I know. I know how we were. [00:40:48] Speaker A: And. [00:40:52] Speaker D: I know what I would like. And I would like to be the person that. You know what? [00:41:04] Speaker A: No. [00:41:04] Speaker D: No. I don't want to be the person that you knew when we were children. I want to be a better. A better person than her. I want you by my side. [00:41:22] Speaker C: You're not joking. [00:41:24] Speaker A: No. [00:41:25] Speaker D: No, of course not. But if you want me to joke, I could mention something about how you'd have the Trovian land as recompense for the time that you spent with them. [00:41:48] Speaker C: The time I spent with them? [00:41:52] Speaker A: Please. [00:41:56] Speaker C: Rin. [00:41:58] Speaker A: I. [00:42:01] Speaker C: I want to be a better person, too. And I can't think of anyone better to be by my side to make that happen. But I. I want you to be sure. [00:42:20] Speaker A: I. [00:42:23] Speaker C: You know what this would cause amongst the court. [00:42:32] Speaker D: Rhea, Truth be told, my parents have been hoping that we would get back together after all this time. And I was hoping, too, but. [00:42:54] Speaker A: I. [00:42:56] Speaker D: I guess I just thought that you'd never forgive me. And I thought that maybe I was just. [00:43:07] Speaker E: Too. [00:43:07] Speaker A: Too. [00:43:09] Speaker D: Too broken, too. Too cynical for someone like you. I thought that maybe I'd just settle for someone who was a pragmatist and not worry about it. But that's not what I wanted. [00:43:33] Speaker C: Are you sure? I can be serious if you want me to. [00:43:40] Speaker D: Rhea, you can't be serious for too long. Who would doodle in my notebooks? [00:43:52] Speaker C: That is a good point. I will admit my artistry has sort of declined in the. Well with the war and all, but. [00:44:03] Speaker D: How hard is it to draw two circles at an oval? [00:44:08] Speaker C: I suppose that's fair. But, you know, we're adults now, so I'm going to make sure it's anatomically correct. At the very least, respectable. [00:44:19] Speaker A: Well. [00:44:21] Speaker D: To doodles in notebooks. [00:44:26] Speaker A: To pad. [00:44:27] Speaker C: Dances and sword fighting in the garden. [00:44:35] Speaker D: I'd like that. I'd like that very much. [00:44:44] Speaker B: We pan out of this ballroom scene. Two royals from opposing kingdoms who have a lot to figure out. But I. But I'm rooting for them. I think they'll do it. [00:45:00] Speaker C: Lots of therapy, Lots of therapy. [00:45:03] Speaker B: Lots of medieval therapy. And that's unresolved Sapphic tension. [00:45:21] Speaker A: Ah. [00:45:21] Speaker B: A wonderful tale, if I do say so myself. We must move on to our next story, but first, I'm here to briefly introduce you to an ad. Please enjoy this message from our friends over at Mythcraft the Podcast. Welcome back to Mythcraft the Podcast. The ties that bind. Catch you in on the action. Bribe, extort, threaten. It doesn't matter. Just make sure they're on our side. Finding informants to report back to you. We need someone inside. Got a long road ahead of us. It's gonna be a bloody one. But blood runs thicker than water. [00:46:07] Speaker E: Nyx is going on a fishing expedition. [00:46:10] Speaker A: I won't tell anyone that you gave me this poison. [00:46:13] Speaker E: It's a remarkably simple process of feigning a slight stumble and placing this thorned earring. [00:46:20] Speaker A: That's unbelievably dangerous. [00:46:23] Speaker E: Yes. [00:46:23] Speaker F: This is a test. [00:46:24] Speaker A: I'll deal with them. She's going to. Nia's gonna get up. Oh, no. Nia's gonna walk across the room. Nia's gonna stab one of them in the shoulder. Oh. [00:46:32] Speaker B: Whoa. [00:46:33] Speaker E: Cover me. What? Cover. Just cover me. [00:46:36] Speaker A: How? [00:46:36] Speaker E: I'm gonna load the gun. [00:46:37] Speaker C: Rendo starts snarling so all of his yellow beans teeth can be seen. [00:46:42] Speaker B: I'm gonna hold out both of my hands as lightning begins to form. [00:46:45] Speaker C: Going over to the car with the. [00:46:47] Speaker D: Gun and saying, you better get out. [00:46:48] Speaker E: Of this vehicle right now. I don't know how I got to this wake, but I'm happy to be here. [00:46:57] Speaker B: Thank you to Mythcraft for assisting in sponsoring our show. Now let's continue to the unresolved Sapphic tale. Attention. Our next story takes us farther into the future, the far flung time where space travel is common and Sapphic tension is high. We will meet two star crossed lovers, one working at toll booth, one driving among the stars as they have their now seemingly daily encounters. [00:47:28] Speaker E: Our players are hello, I am Mistress Winter. My pronouns are she, her, and I will be playing Valeria, Val, Xavier, also she, her. [00:47:43] Speaker G: Hey, I'm Taz. I use she, they pronouns. And I'm playing Cass, who uses she her pronouns. [00:47:51] Speaker B: And so, without further awaiting, let us go into our second vignette of unresolved sapphic tension. [00:48:10] Speaker E: What is there to say about Val? She hopes that you don't say a lot. She is a long hauler in space. Essentially, she drives a shipping trip truck here to there, planet to planet, delivering goods. She's relatively new at it, but has settled into the role after a couple of trips. There may or may not be some sketchy things that she is transporting on behalf of some unsavory people, but Val is a very colorful, flamboyant spirit. Loves a lot of color, despite living in a world of steel gray in her cockpit. I would challenge anybody to think of Kaylee from Firefly if you've ever seen it. You know, the. The whole mechanical jump mechanics jumpsuit and. But like pops of color everywhere. She has this blonde hair that she's got pulled into two messy pigtails, and they look like they've just been dipped in a color. Currently it's a blue that is kind of fading into green as it does. And the dashboard of her cockpit has been littered with romance novels that she's read through several times and little tchotchkes that she's picked up from her she's collected from her stops. [00:49:57] Speaker G: Cass is a toll booth worker at the Achilles Interstellar Space Station. She not only works at the tower booth, she lives in a little dorm room attached to the toll booth. She lives a pretty mundane, boring life. She would describe it as such. But Cass herself is a mid-20s girl with golden skin, dark, curly hair. She loves comic books, reading them, writing them, making her own. She doesn't do a lot outside of the toll booth, so you can usually find her just chilling in her big bean bag chair in her room, scribbling and doodling and doing whatever she can to keep herself occupied between spacecrafts. [00:50:44] Speaker B: Coming through with that, with your characters established, we're going to start crushing. So you're going to pick an approach for your upcoming interaction and then act out that interaction. The winner of the round reveals something of their true feelings for your scene partner, and you grant your partner a clue. We have processing for Cass and revealing for Val, which means, Taz, you win this round. Processing beats revealing, so you will approach this as follows. With processing, you are turning inward to better understand your hearts. VAL is laying yourself bare before them. So you're going to set the scene here. Taz, where are we? When we see your two characters meet for the first time, you probably already have a history together because you already have the crush. And you're going to just guide us through that and instigate your conversation with val. [00:51:53] Speaker G: I'm sitting alone in the toll booth at the Achilles Interstellar Space Station. And I'm sitting between my walls of holographic screens and monitors, and it's been a pretty slow day so far. I haven't had too many spacecrafts come through when suddenly the alarm goes off that lets me know that someone has entered the queue. And I look at the monitor and it shows me an image of a cargo hauler. And I can tell immediately that this cargo hauler has string lights up against its front window. And I see a lot of vehicles come through this toll booth, but I know immediately that they that vehicle belongs to Val because she's the only one who has those string lights up. So I get really excited. I crumple up the little doodle that I was working on and I toss it into my trash can. And I see the cargo hauler pull up to the window. Without even taking a break. I roll down my window and just put my hands on the desk and lean out with the biggest smile, just excited to see Val again. [00:53:17] Speaker E: Val rolls down the proverbial window into her cockpit, and it looks like she's been crying. She has in her hand one of her romance books that she's just finished up and. SNIFFLES hi, Cass. I'm sorry. I am, like, such a mess right now. [00:53:55] Speaker G: Cass is immediately concerned, which maybe she shouldn't be, and she starts to overthink that this is just some girl who's come through her tollbooth a couple of times. But she's crying and I'm really worried about her. So I'm going to grab my little box of tissues and hold it out and be like, are you okay? What happened? [00:54:16] Speaker E: Oh, no, I'm fine, really. I just. I get into these moods on occasion. I close the. The book and kind of hug it to my chest for a moment. This. This one was just so sad. And it corresponded with Crater's Edge's new ballad, which just was heartbreaking. And it. I don't know, it. Is it too much to say that it kind of reminded me of you? [00:54:57] Speaker G: Time freezes. I stand still. I don't know how to react to that. And my heart begins to flutter a little bit thinking about Val, thinking about me. And I go to the only place that brings me comfort and that is saying, wait. Crater's Edge has a new ballad. [00:55:21] Speaker E: Oh, right. Yeah. [00:55:24] Speaker A: You. [00:55:25] Speaker E: You said last time that you. It hadn't been airing on your. Your planet's radio or the kill. [00:55:34] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:55:36] Speaker E: Yeah, this. This. Yeah, it's really great ballad. It's called Lost in the Nebula and it is absolute comet. I just absolutely love it. But you'd have to listen to it. And you totally know why. You know, you kind of came to mind. [00:56:01] Speaker G: But could I listen to it? [00:56:04] Speaker A: Oh. [00:56:07] Speaker E: Sure, kind of. Val, like, sticks her head out the window and looks past her trawler to see if anybody's really waiting. Slow day. So nobody's waiting. I can afford a few. Few minutes. So press on my console to play the song again, which has been on repeat for at least 10 rounds so far, and crank it up a little bit. And it is this, like, heart cheering, melodic pop ballad that makes her start crying all over again. [00:57:01] Speaker G: She listens to some of the lyrics about stars in her eyes and traveling across galaxies to see each other. And Cass is like, this makes you think of me? [00:57:20] Speaker E: Well, I. I mean, like Cas Cassiopeia, the. The, you know, the star constellation from the Milky Way galaxy. [00:57:34] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:57:35] Speaker E: Wow. Yeah, she. Well, yeah, she just references Cassidy. The stars, like, it's awkward and so. [00:57:43] Speaker G: It makes you think of me and it makes you cry. [00:57:47] Speaker E: I mean, not the thinking about you makes me Cry. I was mostly crying over my book. [00:57:57] Speaker A: Right. [00:58:00] Speaker E: Right. [00:58:02] Speaker G: I think the song is beautiful and I really like that it makes you think of me. [00:58:09] Speaker A: Oh. [00:58:10] Speaker G: And as soon as I say that, I feel in my heart that it is the truth. I know that I thought about Val, but I never thought that Val thought of me back. [00:58:24] Speaker E: Val kind of twists a finger through one of her pigtails anxiously. Just totally lost as to how to respond. She lets the song finish playing out and stops it. And how's your solar week been? [00:58:53] Speaker G: It's been pretty much like this. I've been pretty slow. I drew a couple new comic strips. [00:59:01] Speaker F: Oh, really? [00:59:02] Speaker G: Yeah. Nothing crazy. I kind of glanced at one where there is a girl featured that has pigtails. And if you look at it close enough, maybe it looks a little bit familiar. But I'm never going to say that. [00:59:18] Speaker E: Val kind of checks out some of your new artwork. Anything as good as that. And she points to the sketch of the band members of Crater's Edge, the piece of art that you gave her. Her the first time that she came through your lane, that she has magnet. A magnet holding up on her bulkhead. And it hasn't moved. [00:59:48] Speaker A: The. [00:59:48] Speaker E: This. You can see that, like the dust has kind of created a little window around it as long as it's been there. [01:00:01] Speaker G: I mean, you kept that. [01:00:05] Speaker E: Well, of course. I mean, one. It's my favorite band. You know that. And you know you're good. I like. I like your stuff. [01:00:19] Speaker G: I like that you like my stuff. [01:00:22] Speaker B: I think that's a great spot for a. Another shuttle to come pulling up behind yours, Val. And it becomes apparent how long you have spent talking to this. The station worker. Essentially an intergalactic toll booth, if you will. And yeah, you see the headlights of another trucker behind you, essentially. [01:00:47] Speaker G: Yeah. My alarm goes off again. That once again signifies that someone's in the queue. So I pull out the scanner and I say, I need your point card. [01:00:57] Speaker E: Val will offer it for the quick scan, almost unable to take her eyes off Cass for a long, long moment, but then forces her. Forces herself away to tuck away her card. [01:01:17] Speaker G: Safe travel. And I let out like this long sigh that's a little bit disappointed because that interaction did not last as long as I would have liked it to. But I know that I have work to do. [01:01:30] Speaker E: Yeah, I'll see you soon. It rolls up the window, ignites the engines and pulls out of the station, headed for whatever drop point has been assigned to her this time. [01:01:45] Speaker B: And off we go into the next scene. We have teasing for Val and for Cass revealing. Now, you will once again be the one dropping the clue to Val. And since you started revealing, your approach will be laying yourself bare before them, saying something true. And of course, Val, you will be teasing. Whatever it takes to earn a place under her skin. [01:02:18] Speaker G: It's probably been a week, week and a half since the last time I saw Val. But same situation where I'm just sitting in my toll booth. Let's say this time I have a little ball like the kind you use for juggling, and I'm just throwing it up into the air, catching it, throwing it up into the air, catching it. Cause I've got nothing else to do in this tiny little space. But then, before I even hear the alarm go off in my toll booth, I hear loud, blaring pop rock music coming from the distance. And my heart just starts jumping. I'm like, oh, shit, I hope that's foul. And I stick my head out the window, and lo and behold, there is the cargo hauler. And I tidy up my hair a little bit and make my space look a little bit nicer and put up a new little drawing in the background for Val to see. And I wait for her to arrive to me. [01:03:18] Speaker E: The Kyrene drifts into place next to the toll booth. The window is already down, already safe within the space station's little atmosphere, artificial atmosphere. And Val is leaning on the window, just all grins and sly smiles. [01:03:47] Speaker G: I am so fidgety, because what the fuck? That sounds cute. But, yeah, I see Val, and I can't help myself. I just have to say, hey, Val, you look really cute today. [01:04:10] Speaker A: Really. [01:04:10] Speaker E: I mean, under all this. This grease and. And. And dirt. [01:04:16] Speaker G: Maybe it was just that your head was laying and the fact that you. You're playing my favorite band and that you're just generally adorable. But, yeah. Hi. Welcome to the Achilles Space Station again. [01:04:31] Speaker E: You know, you are just so adorable when you get all flustered. Like, it's the highlight of my trip every time, and it's gonna make this next part, like, super easy. So I've made enough of these routes that I might be able to afford some tickets to the next Thrice Moon Music Festival. [01:05:03] Speaker A: And. [01:05:06] Speaker E: I don't know if a certain person would want to go with me. [01:05:10] Speaker G: But you say a certain person, and her demeanor falls. She's like, oh, oh, do you. [01:05:19] Speaker A: You. [01:05:20] Speaker G: You have a good friend that you're thinking about taking? [01:05:27] Speaker E: No. No, I don't. I don't have anybody else. Like, this girl is totally friendless. [01:05:34] Speaker G: Like, wait, then who are you talking about? [01:05:40] Speaker E: Oh, I Was, I was going to ask you, but you seem not to be interested. [01:05:47] Speaker G: Wait, you were going to ask me? [01:05:48] Speaker E: Take these. I mean, I could totally keep these. These tickets. I could scalp them. I could get a lot of money for them, right? [01:05:55] Speaker G: I've never been to Moon Thrice. I've never been to a concert. I've never seen Crater's Edge. [01:06:00] Speaker A: Are you serious? [01:06:05] Speaker E: Yeah. I mean, yeah, yeah. [01:06:07] Speaker G: I'm shaking. I'm so excited. But then I look around and I'm like, I, I would totally love to, and that's so stellar, and I, I really appreciate you asking me, but I can't leave because there's no one else to do this. [01:06:29] Speaker E: Like, her brain glitches a little bit as she tries to process this. Wait, wait, you don't, do you ever leave? [01:06:41] Speaker G: I don't ever leave. I, I, they, they found me on a different planet, and they specifically brought me here to work, and they pay for my, my housing, so I am full time, round the clock. [01:07:06] Speaker E: She is really having a hard time processing this. [01:07:09] Speaker G: Well, when is min race? I mean, maybe I could figure something out. [01:07:16] Speaker E: Well, I mean, if there's nobody else to do this. This. How, how are you going to do that? I mean, you're, you know, you're, you're, you're not just a little robot in a box. [01:07:31] Speaker G: But, but when is it? [01:07:35] Speaker E: Oh, it's in three solar months. [01:07:43] Speaker G: I mean, that gives us plenty of time to figure it out. I would, I would actually love to go with you. [01:07:49] Speaker E: Okay, cool. I mean, you know, if you still want to. [01:07:53] Speaker G: No, I totally want to. Me and you and Crater's Edge. Are you, like, serious? [01:08:02] Speaker E: Yes. It's gonna be totally common. Like, it's gonna be great. [01:08:10] Speaker G: I look at, at Val adoringly. Like, not only have I never seen any music live or been off of this space station since I got here, but no one's ever given me anything before, especially just one of my passerbys. And it makes me think that maybe she could be more than that. [01:08:35] Speaker E: We've synced up our, our calendar for it, and there is definitely a halting. Oh, man, my engines won't go. Oh, no. Oh, but I don't want to hold people up so gonna linger malinger as long as I can before rolls out the window and takes off getting a call from my handler. [01:09:14] Speaker B: Then we'll go into our third scene. Val has chosen to do the Dark Knight, which means the clues are left in limbo for now. So what we'll be doing here is you will be describing what you're doing. Instead of interacting with Cass this route. [01:09:46] Speaker E: Val has been briefed that the contraband that she is shipping is high visibility, so people are on the lookout for, if not her specifically, then whatever she's, she's hauling is on people's radar in this particular way. Through the toll booth, she's going to run it for the first time and land on a. An inhabited asteroid nearby to make the drop. And the entire time that she's there trying to get whoever is supposed to pick it up with whatever universal mob is claiming the goods, Val is constantly glancing toward the station, both concerned for the authorities and also concerned and wondering about her, the object of her affections. [01:11:12] Speaker G: When the cargo hauler speeds past me, I'm kind of caught off guard at first. That's not something that happens very often, and it's a little bit scary when it does happen, but at first I just think, oh, another person trying to get out of paying their tolls. But then I, I look at it as it drives past, and I see the dented door and a little flip of the string lights, and I realize that's Val's holler. And I'm terrified. Like, did something happen to her? Is she okay? Did someone invade her ship? So the Space patrol is already on their way following the hauler, because that's what their job is. But I'm gonna radio them and ask them to let me know what happened. Me and Bob the patrol guy are pretty close, so. I mean, there's pretty much just the two of us here. [01:12:27] Speaker E: You know what? But I, I was totally on a call and just totally blew past. Didn't mean to. Didn't see it. [01:12:38] Speaker B: I mean, yeah, sure, okay. Everyone tells me that every time. You still have to come back and pay the toll for toll. Fine. [01:12:46] Speaker A: Toll. [01:12:47] Speaker B: You still have to come back and pay. [01:12:50] Speaker E: Oh, yeah, of course. I will do that right now. [01:12:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I, I, there's not a lot that I can do about it, but I do have to give you this. And he hands you, like, a green piece of paper that. All right? You have to display that in your, like your, your front. You know, shield the glass for the next couple of weeks. So we can note that you previously ran. As long as there's no further infractions for a month, you can take it down. But for now, we just have to mark that you did that. [01:13:21] Speaker E: Come on, Bob. [01:13:23] Speaker B: What? It's my job. I get to do two things, and this is one of them. [01:13:31] Speaker E: Know what? You've been so nice, Bob. All right? I Will put it in. And she puts it in the. The front windscreen among a gaggle of her baubles and stuff so that it is not visible, like, at all. And she climbs in. And. So I'll meet you back at the station then? Yes. [01:14:02] Speaker B: You gotta follow my car back to the station. [01:14:04] Speaker E: Oh, okay, sure. [01:14:09] Speaker B: If you feel important, let's just go along with it. Would you? [01:14:14] Speaker E: She will follow Bob back and pull into the lane. She'll come around, like, the wrong way, so she has to roll down the opposite window and lean across her console. [01:14:32] Speaker G: For the first time ever, Cass leaves her booth and she runs out the back door and then around the front. And when Cass. When Val leans through the window, she, like, pulls her into this big hug. And you can see, like, her face is red and she's been kind of sweating. She's like, oh, my gosh. Are you okay? I was so worried about you. What happened? [01:14:54] Speaker E: Oh, Val is very surprised at this sudden display of affection and care. It is something that she has not had a lot of before, and she doesn't know what to do with it, but she's not going to turn it down either, so she. She returns the hug somewhat awkwardly. [01:15:27] Speaker A: And. [01:15:30] Speaker E: Kind of pats Cass's back. No, I'm. I'm okay. I just. I was being totally oblivious. I was lost in one of my books and just kind of missed the toll. [01:15:46] Speaker G: Oh, my gosh. So you didn't get hijacked? [01:15:49] Speaker E: No, no, no. Nothing. Nothing sinister like that, no. Who wants to go after my collection of Ambassador Cabos bobbleheads? [01:16:07] Speaker G: Pointing back to her, I glance at the bobbleheads. I don't know what that's about, but, yeah, I'll release my hug. [01:16:18] Speaker D: Do you. [01:16:20] Speaker G: Are you. Are you okay now? Do you want to pull over and take a minute? [01:16:25] Speaker E: Actually, I should probably get going. But we're still on for Crater's Edge, though, right? We're still on for. [01:16:37] Speaker G: I hope so. [01:16:37] Speaker E: The moon thrice. [01:16:40] Speaker G: Yeah. As long as you still want to. But you don't seem okay right now. [01:16:45] Speaker E: Oh, I'm totally fine. Just, you know, getting pulled over kind of shakes you up a bit, so. [01:16:52] Speaker A: Yeah, totally. [01:16:53] Speaker E: Yeah. Yeah. Tell. Tell. Tell Bob to, you know, chill out sometimes. But, Yeah, I. I should. I should really get going. I'm sorry. But it's really good to see you. [01:17:10] Speaker A: Okay. [01:17:13] Speaker G: See you next time. [01:17:16] Speaker A: Okay. [01:17:19] Speaker E: See you soon. And she'll kind of blow a kiss and a wink and reverse out after having scanned her card this time. [01:17:32] Speaker G: Yeah. After you leave, Cass is actually pretty devastated that you were so into a book that you forgot to stop at her toll booth because you guys have been hitting it off so great. How could you just not even think about her when you enter into her galaxy? [01:17:52] Speaker B: And I think based on that reaction, we can say the result of this Dark Knight is a loss of a clue. So we'll go into your next scene. Feel free to choose your approaches for when you encounter each other after that really awkward day. Val has chosen processing, and Cass has chosen revealing, which, as we know, processing beats revealing. So we're going to give a clue to Cas. And that means, Val, you may now set this next scene. You are processing, which means you are turning inward to better understand your hearts. And you may begin your scene and drop your clue. [01:18:42] Speaker E: The Kyrani drifts into Q. This one a little bit busier this time. So Val has a long time to think about this next interaction. And the idea of Cass brings this just flood of emotions. She doesn't feel good at all about having lied to her last time. She wonders if she's ruined what they had been building and is. Is really hoping that it's not unrepairable. So she. Her mood's a little bit somber as she glides into place this time around and lowers the window very. And gives a very cautious look to Cass, not wanting to initiate and wait for how to see how Cass is feeling. [01:20:14] Speaker G: So Cass is not. She definitely recognized the holler again. I mean, she knows that thing like the back of her hand. But she wasn't as bouncy this time. When opening the window, she's a little bit more standoffish. She doesn't want to put vibes out there that are not reciprocated. So she is very professional this time. And she opens. She says, welcome back to the space station, Val. How are you doing today? [01:20:49] Speaker E: I'm. I'm doing good. You know, this one's a short one, I think. [01:20:57] Speaker A: How are you? [01:21:00] Speaker G: Oh, you know, I actually had a little bit of excitement today. That's always fun. Learned a new trick on my Yo Yo. [01:21:11] Speaker E: Would you. Would you want to show me? [01:21:15] Speaker G: Do you want. Do you actually want to see? [01:21:19] Speaker E: Why not? [01:21:21] Speaker A: Sure. [01:21:22] Speaker G: Yeah. I bring out my hot pink light up yo yo, and I show you how I swing it through a triangle. And it's very cool. [01:21:36] Speaker E: First of all, I absolutely love the Yo Yo. Totally my style. That was totally common. [01:21:44] Speaker G: I think you're being nice with. Thanks. [01:21:48] Speaker E: No, not at all. Like, I can't believe that you're not like some tournament grandmaster or something. [01:22:02] Speaker G: I have A lot of time on my hands. But honestly, I don't think I could go to a tournament if I wanted to because somebody's got a man. The booth. So how's that book coming along? Did you finish it? Was it worth. [01:22:27] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:22:28] Speaker E: Would you. Do you want it? [01:22:32] Speaker G: Yeah. Yeah. I would love a new book. [01:22:35] Speaker A: There's. [01:22:35] Speaker G: I've read every book I have, like, three times already. [01:22:39] Speaker E: She'll pass it over. It. It gets. You gotta kind of work your way through the beginning, but it gets really good. The. The knight falls in love with the princess. And they have this beautiful scene by a lake. [01:23:06] Speaker G: When I take the book, our fingers brush. And I feel like a jolt of electricity rush through me. And everything that I had lost suddenly comes rushing back into. Into me. And I am suddenly really excited again. [01:23:24] Speaker A: The. [01:23:26] Speaker E: The. The night. She kind of reminds me of you. [01:23:35] Speaker G: So is it like that ballad? [01:23:39] Speaker E: Yeah, kind of. [01:23:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:23:42] Speaker E: Well, see you next time. [01:23:48] Speaker G: Definitely. [01:23:51] Speaker A: Okay. [01:23:51] Speaker E: Let me know what you think when I. When I come by. [01:23:54] Speaker A: I will. [01:23:56] Speaker E: Window goes up and she kind of waves through the. The dirty glass before she takes off into the universe again. [01:24:08] Speaker G: And I sit back and watch my chair, and I grab hair from both sides of my head and do this, like, fake quiet scream into the air like, what the. Is happening right now? Because I cannot get a grasp on this girl. [01:24:33] Speaker B: All right, we're going to choose our approaches here for the next scene. And we'll see who figures who out. So we have revealing for Val and for you, Cass. [01:24:46] Speaker G: Teasing. [01:24:47] Speaker B: Teasing. Okay. So revealing, of course, beats teasing. So that's going to be a clue given to Cass. [01:25:01] Speaker E: Once again. [01:25:04] Speaker A: The. [01:25:04] Speaker E: This one. This one. This time through the. It's pretty quiet, you know, in terms of solar time, it's dead of the night. Not a lot of other ships floating around out there. And she'll pull in, let the system do its scanning or whatever, and lower the window. And she steals her Val. Val steals herself. For this next encounter with the woman that has somehow become a keystone in her life. This week's been particularly hard for her. There's been some family drama that she's got on her mind. Hey, Cass. It's good to see you again. [01:26:29] Speaker G: So, since it's the dead of the night this time, Cass was in her room. And when the hauler entered the line, the flashing red lights went off, waking up Cass. So when you see her this time, she's a little bit more disheveled than you. She's not wearing her hat. Her polo looks like it was just thrown on. And it looks a Little bit messy, and she comes out yawning. And when you say, hey, Cass, she does notice that you're a little off, but she's still excited to see you. And she says, am I dreaming or what is happening here? [01:27:16] Speaker E: I don't. I can't think that I'm anyone's dream. Even though Val will stare at Cass's disheveled look and just think how endearing it is and how she wishes is that she was in that same. That bed with. [01:27:41] Speaker A: Yes. [01:27:43] Speaker E: Yeah. No, no, no. Dream. Never. Never been anyone's dream. [01:27:50] Speaker G: Hey, you're not allowed to tell me what I think about at night. [01:27:58] Speaker E: I mean, fair. I. I wouldn't want somebody telling me what I can dream. [01:28:04] Speaker G: So how are you? You look upset. [01:28:09] Speaker E: Oh, well, I've. I've been dealing with some. Some family stuff. My. My dad is the one who got kind of got me into trucking. And. [01:28:28] Speaker A: It'S. [01:28:29] Speaker E: It's hard to feel like there's somebody who depends on you, but yet they don't appreciate it. And, I don't know. I. With you, I feel appreciated. Even if it's just for my point card. [01:28:52] Speaker G: I appreciate that you. You braid up my day and I guess my nights now, too. But wait. Actually, I have something that could cheer you up. I'm gonna run back into my room really quick, and I'm gonna grab the book that Val lent to me and bring it back out, and I'm gonna open it to the last page, which, you know, if you've ever read a book, the last two pages are you usually blank, but they're not blank because I. I drew a cartoon for you, and it's the Princess and the Knight, and I am the princess, and you are the knight, and it's really cute. I was bored the other night, and I thought you said it made you think of me. And as I was reading it, I guess I kind of thought of you, too. So this is for you. [01:29:51] Speaker E: Val accepts it very delicately, like it might fracture in her hands. And she looks at the artwork and what she had imagined while she was reading this book and. And how the thought of Cass and the story of this book melding together in visual form just sends her spiraling over the emotional edge. And she will practically leap out of the window, throwing her arms around Cass's neck in. Pull her into a tight hug. [01:30:40] Speaker G: I was gonna make myself the night, but I kind of feel like I'm stuck in a tower sometimes in this toll booth, so. Just made sense. [01:30:50] Speaker E: It's still perfect. Thank you. [01:30:56] Speaker A: You're welcome. [01:30:59] Speaker E: And she'll pull back and wipe away away some tears, smearing grease across her face even more. [01:31:07] Speaker G: I'll help you wipe away a couple of the tears that you missed. [01:31:10] Speaker E: And her eyes will just be glittering not only with her eyeshadow, but with grateful tears. And she'll pull back, realizing that she's really exposed emotionally here. So she rewinded a little bit, but not enough to completely disconnect. [01:31:37] Speaker G: You know, you're really talented, and I can tell that you're a hard worker because you're always working. You know, you don't have to do anything that makes you feel unappreciated. [01:31:50] Speaker E: Just as much as you're stuck in this tower. I think I'm kind of stuck in this job. Well. [01:32:05] Speaker G: I guess if you ever need to escape, you know where to find me. [01:32:13] Speaker E: I. I do, and I'm grateful for that. [01:32:22] Speaker G: Now, I'm gonna need you to scan your point card. [01:32:29] Speaker E: How many times through do I have to go before I get a free one? [01:32:33] Speaker G: The trick is actually pulling into the space station and spending a night. Then you don't have to pay the toll. And you know, I like the hotel at, like the hotel. There's a hotel for long distance travelers. [01:32:51] Speaker E: It doesn't matter. What's been said has been said. Her face turns bright red as she realizes that in some way you just propositioned her. And she doesn't know what to do with that. [01:33:04] Speaker G: I'm sorry. That was very unprofessional of me and it was an accident and I. I didn't mean it. And I think I'm just really tired and should go back to bed. [01:33:15] Speaker E: Yeah, I should probably get going. Thanks again. And she holds the book to her chest one more time before she places it in a kind of place of honor on her dashboard. See you next time. [01:33:33] Speaker G: I'll be here. [01:33:36] Speaker E: Have a good sleep. Thanks. [01:33:42] Speaker B: So, with things said, clues given our current points, here are Cass with two clues and Val with one. When you are ready, begin your approach. [01:33:56] Speaker G: Teasing for mine was revealing. [01:33:58] Speaker B: Look at that. Revealing does but be teasing. So no matter what happens after this round, we will learn something true after this one. But in the meantime, we go to ucas. [01:34:17] Speaker G: Just another day at the toll booth. In one hand, I'm throwing a ball up in the air and I'm catching it. In the other hand, I've got a yo, yo going up and down. And lo and behold, that cargo hauler that I recognize. It comes right back through, and I am dying a little bit inside because I don't really Remember what I said? I was exhausted and tired, and sometimes in the middle of the night, you don't process the words that are coming out of your mouth. So when you pull up to my window, before even greeting you, I, I am so sorry about what I said the other night. I don't want to say that I didn't mean it, but it was really forward of me and I'm so embarrassed. [01:35:12] Speaker E: Hey, it is all good, babe. Like, this is, this is just fun. And you looked absolutely adorable last time. How do you just get out of bed and look as fabulous as you do? [01:35:39] Speaker G: I guess, you know, bed head just works on me. [01:35:46] Speaker E: It really does. Like, I don't think there's any way that you could look bad. [01:35:56] Speaker G: Oh, yeah? [01:35:59] Speaker E: Yeah. Like, I cannot imagine you in any look. That would be a bad look for you. [01:36:09] Speaker G: That's really funny. I was thinking the same, same thing about you. How are you doing? [01:36:20] Speaker E: Better than last time. I'm, I've, I've made some headway on dealing with some of that family drama, so you know that maybe the end is in sight. A little more than I thought it would be. But at the same time, I want to just keep doing this. I, I mean, like, coming to see you and scanning that point card. [01:36:55] Speaker G: Oh, yeah. I, I, I want you to keep coming by and scanning your point card. And Cass is fidgeting a little bit and twirling her ponytail in her hand, and she doesn't know what to say. She feels really awkward, but doesn't want this to stop. It's like a good awkward, like an awkward that she never really thought that she would experience. I really like it every time you come by. It is really the highlight of the time period since the last time you came by. [01:37:40] Speaker E: Well, good, because, you know, the feeling's mutual and, you know, you just. I almost have to come through here. It doesn't even matter if I, you know, if the planet that I'm headed to is on this side. I kind of want to just come through, to come through and see that pretty face. [01:38:01] Speaker G: Cass just starts laughing and, like, covering her face in a little bit of a fluster. Well, I appreciate that. Any good books lately? [01:38:14] Speaker E: I've got, like, access to one of the Andromeda libraries. [01:38:21] Speaker G: I'll definitely have to check that out sometime. [01:38:26] Speaker E: Oh, definitely do. Though the subscriptions can be kind of. [01:38:30] Speaker G: Pricey, so I was thinking, like, I could check out yours, but. Yeah. [01:38:35] Speaker E: Oh, oh, right. Duh. Yeah. I, I didn't. [01:38:45] Speaker G: I me get you the point card. [01:38:47] Speaker E: Right? Yes. Okay. Here. Scan and all right, next time, Safety. [01:38:55] Speaker G: Travels. [01:38:59] Speaker B: Well to set the scene for our final scene. I think anyone with eyes and ears can tell that these two are into each other, and maybe they both realize it at this point. But let's see who's going to do something about it. So you're going to choose your final approaches, and whoever receives the clue so that is loses in this instance will be the one who sets the scene, puts all the pieces together, and is the one who initiates the truth. So we'll see who that will be processing beats revealing, Cass. That means you get the third clue at some point during your sitting in that booth. Or maybe there's something coming up in the near future. It just hits you all at once like an intergalactic semi truck. Oh, Val likes me. And what you do with that information is now completely up to you. Where do we find when the alarm. [01:40:07] Speaker G: Goes off this time and I see the holler, I am going to exit the booth, and I'm gonna go stand outside of it on the little road track where the ships fly through. So when she gets to my window, she's not gonna see me there. But if you just look right out the front, you'll see that I'm standing there and I'm awkwardly waving to you and trying to get you to pull in beside the booth. [01:40:41] Speaker E: Val will look very confused for a moment, but maneuver the Kyrone into dock at the station, still kind of sticking out into the lane, so other ships will have to skirt around and lower the window. Is everything all right, Cass? [01:41:14] Speaker G: Yes and no. Do you feel comfortable coming and talking to me for. [01:41:22] Speaker E: For a second? Sure. Yeah. I mean, I'm not in a hurry this time, thankfully, so. And she'll turn off the ignition and set everything to float and steps out onto the dock. [01:41:49] Speaker G: Um, this is. This is. Listen, there's no way that our paths crossed and brought this light into my life just to throw me back into darkness. Every time you drive away from me, every interaction we have brightens my day. And I can't. I can't wait for the next one. I find myself staring at the monitor, hoping it's you coming through. And in three years at this space station, I've never once recognized anyone else's spacecraft just by the dent in their door. And I just. I don't want you to just be another passenger passing through my life. I don't want this to be. Just be a blip. I feel like the stars aligned so that we could meet, and I don't want to let you go Again, without telling you how I feel about you, which is that I don't want you to go. I want you to stay. And maybe not. Not. Not, like, forever. Well, maybe, but I want. I want you to hang out. And I want you to come in and listen to a whole album with me. And I want you to sit so that I can draw your eyes without having to remember what they look like just from the image in my head. And I want you to read a book at my desk and tell me how you felt about it when it's done. Done without having to wait three days after you've read it. And whatever this has been, I. I want it to be so much more than what we've been given so far. [01:43:48] Speaker E: Val takes all of this in. [01:43:53] Speaker A: Her. [01:43:54] Speaker E: Face, reacting to the various admissions and dreams of things that you'd want to do together. And all of it is a mirrored desire and want to do those things, but there's this undercurrent, increasing sadness that. That it's something that she can't have. I'm not. I'm not gonna be coming back, Cass. [01:44:44] Speaker G: Oh, yeah? Yeah. That's also another version of how thought this would go. Totally. [01:44:52] Speaker E: No, it's. It's not. [01:44:53] Speaker A: You. [01:44:54] Speaker E: Like, if I had my way, if I was completely free, I want all. I would want all those things. I. I would want you to draw me because you're amazing. I. I would want to be right at your side every day. I. Last time, I wanted to be in your bed with you, looking all disheveled and cute. I just. I. I've been put on a new route, and it's. It's. I'm going to be gone for much, much longer. And I won't need to come through here anymore. [01:45:44] Speaker A: No. [01:45:48] Speaker G: But I don't. I don't think so. [01:45:55] Speaker A: What? [01:45:55] Speaker G: I don't like that that's not the ending that we're supposed to have. [01:46:05] Speaker E: So. So what? What would you propose? [01:46:11] Speaker G: Something different. Stay here with me. Let me come with you. [01:46:22] Speaker E: You would want to come with me? [01:46:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:46:28] Speaker G: There's a whole universe out there, and I would love to. [01:46:31] Speaker A: To explore it with you. [01:46:34] Speaker E: I would love to take you. [01:46:37] Speaker G: So take me. [01:46:38] Speaker E: Okay. Get your stuff then, I guess. [01:46:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:46:44] Speaker G: I go and I grab my comic books and my yo yo and I jump into your arms so you can carry me into your cargo hauler. [01:46:54] Speaker E: I carry you bright bridal style across the dock and help you up into the cabin into the cockpit. And I will shout back at everybody who's waiting still in line to get checked through Tolls are free. Pulling Cass into her lap and pulling her into the first kiss that they share, saying something very corny, very cheesy, like, I guess I've rescued my princess. [01:47:43] Speaker G: Then I kiss Val back, which I've been wanting to do for a really long time now. And as she speeds us out into the galaxies, I lower the window and shout, sorry, Bob. [01:48:05] Speaker B: A very busy Bob looks up from the space station, watching ship after ship blow past the toll booth. Just takes his boat badge off quietly. I was like, I'm going to do anything else but this. This sucks. Quit. I'm out of here. And with you flying off into the galaxy, that is unresolved sapphic tension. Ah, a joy to see see such young love flourish in the stars. And now, my friends, we bring you to our final vignette, a tale of two rival time travelers finding each other throughout all of history. [01:48:57] Speaker F: Our players are, hi, I'm Tori. Pronouns, she, her, and I will be playing Max. Pronouns, also she, her. [01:49:05] Speaker A: Hello, everyone. This is Yuri. Pronouns, she, they, and I will be playing Elena pronounced she, her. [01:49:12] Speaker B: And so with our introductions out of the way, our hearts all set. Let us see the conclusion to unresolved sapphic tension. [01:49:30] Speaker F: Okay, so Max, short for Maxine. [01:49:35] Speaker A: Very. [01:49:36] Speaker F: Much gives the kind of butch mechanic vibe. Always wearing a different set of overalls, however. Immaculately clean overalls, dark skin, dark hair, shaved at the sides with the intricate kind of cutout of a clock with different times. Hands, again, shaved on the side of the head. Hands are clean. There's always some kind of smudge of oil or grease or something on her cheek. A pocket watch in the front pocket of her overalls. And she is kind of like the. The muscle, if you will, of building a time machine that might have somehow worked. And that is how she knows our next character. [01:50:36] Speaker A: So Elena is in many ways very, very different from Max. She is definitely shorter than Max, though her presence tends to make people overlook that often. She is Hispanic, has this sandy skin, though it's very obvious she doesn't spend a lot of time outside. She has long brown hair that is usually put up in a very messy bun that looks like it was just very rushed or without care to how it actually looks, more just to get it out of her face. She's very average build, just always hidden by this very long coat. Now, the coats are always different. Every day she has a lot of coats, but there is always a coat. She has glasses that she needs to see, unfortunately, and always has a small notepad and a pen in the pocket of her coat tends to have some hard candy in another pocket. She wears a wristwatch that has entirely too many little dials and hands on it. [01:51:54] Speaker D: She's very. [01:51:55] Speaker A: No nonsense for the most part. And it is very obvious from the way that she carries herself. Elena is your numbers girl. She is always looking at Max, put things together. And then once we attempt to turn it on, she's the one running numbers and telling Max, okay, loosen it a little bit here. Let's try. Maybe if we can move it to the other side, the current will be better. [01:52:28] Speaker F: And it was just all the other side grunts, picks it up, moves it to the other side of the room. [01:52:35] Speaker A: Much like when a married couple is attempting to place a couch in their living room. And it's just every time just a couple of inches off. That is sort of the vibe for the most part of them building this time machine. As Elena's just walking around and staring, not noticing her face is entirely too close because she's so just focused on the thing in front of them with her little notepad and a pen. And if you look at it over her shoulder, you can. You don't even know how she understands any of the scribbles on there. [01:53:16] Speaker B: And before we go into our first move, I'm going to give this to. To you, Max, to react here. You, you're the muscle. You're the thing that makes the math function, the one who translates it from page to operation. And one day, of course it works. [01:53:35] Speaker F: Every time Elena throws out a new solution, a new thing to try, there's a little bit of a admiration in Max's eyes at like, ah, how did her brain think of that? With a little bit of playful annoyance that I gotta move this piece piece another centimeter. Is it really going to make a difference, Elena? But okay, anything for you. And then one moment, it almost works. And we almost have that success and that great big hurrah until it didn't. [01:54:07] Speaker B: Let's get into the first scene. So Max chose processing. Elena chose revealing. Processing beats revealing. So we're going to hand the scene over to Max. Yuri, you can fill one of your hearts on your character sheet. You will now receive a clue from time traveler Max. Max, where are we? [01:54:38] Speaker F: We are in the lab where Max and Elena spent many hours together working on their time machine. It's a year prior from machine working, let's say a year prior from present day where we started. You see a year younger Max storming out of the door angry, and a year younger Elena sitting at the desk and Current Max sees the scene, has a moment of sadness at what is happening and a kind of strong look in her eyes while seeing the scene. As if she wants to take hints and notes from it to make it better. [01:55:45] Speaker A: This is the day, the last time we spoke and the day that our partnership are working together ceased both sort of officially. It had been a big fight. Elena doesn't usually fight. You know, emotions aren't her thing. She doesn't get fired up over much. But this time we did. And it made Max walk out. Elena is present day Elena is standing a couple feet away where the past versions of themselves clearly cannot see. And she would know because, well, she was there. And she knows what they do after. So you know it's easy enough to place you in a spot where they won't see you. Does. I suppose Max would have been the first present day Max would have been the first to spot present day Elena as she's just staring at a year ago, Max Dormothy. [01:57:21] Speaker F: I think in that moment, if you were to look up, you would see Max having a very excited, happy smile on her face. Knowing you being here means you did it. You were able to time jump and also hope in there being a reason you chose to come here for the. [01:57:41] Speaker A: Same reason that she did. [01:57:46] Speaker F: And then it's quickly hidden on her face. [01:57:49] Speaker A: Elena hears a rustle that she knows wasn't there when this all happened. She has a very good memory. She looks up and sees Max. And her first reaction, Max, as you're looking at her, is surprised. [01:58:15] Speaker G: She. [01:58:20] Speaker A: Is surprised. And then realizes what that must mean. And you also finding a way to finish the machine by yourself. And the surprise changes into another emotion that is quickly hidden. She sort of seems to clear her throat a little bit and looks at you in the ice and motions for the both of you to, you know, step outside. Have the purview of. Of your past selves. [01:59:06] Speaker F: You did it. [01:59:08] Speaker A: We did it. [01:59:09] Speaker F: And I'll follow you. It's going outside. I'm glad you're here. Why. Why did you choose to come back this time? [01:59:32] Speaker A: I wasn't expecting to see you here. You did it as well. Finished it on your own. That's pretty incredible. And she's just avoiding your queen question entirely. [01:59:58] Speaker F: I. I mean, I wouldn't. I wouldn't have gone this far without you. I'm just. I'm happy you're here. [02:00:09] Speaker A: I think that, you know, the way we parted and all that would have stopped me from attempting to complete our project. Did you? Oh. [02:00:22] Speaker F: Oh, no. And with a Brain like yours. I knew you wouldn't stop until you did. I. I am not shocked that you figured it out. I am just shocked that you decided to come back here to this time and place, as I did. [02:00:43] Speaker A: Yes, well, it was something that we did mostly together. So it seemed sort of wrong, I guess, to take my first trip into time without some sort of of you in there. I suppose so. I came here. [02:01:17] Speaker F: So you were thinking about me. [02:01:21] Speaker A: And she kind of just sort of isn't looking at you or facing you. Right on. She's kind of like, oh, wow, look, a tree. [02:01:30] Speaker F: Max will move herself so she's right in front of. Of your eyesight. You know this lab. I know you're not looking out for any certain reason. There's nothing up there. [02:01:42] Speaker A: Yes, well, you're making it a little hard to look at you right now. I suppose. You look a tad bit too smug. I don't know how I feel about that. [02:01:56] Speaker F: If I recall, you liked my smugness when we were partners back in the day. Work partners back in the day. [02:02:04] Speaker A: Right. Right. [02:02:06] Speaker B: Max, how do you know when your allotted time in a specific year is running out? [02:02:15] Speaker F: I think it's the pocket watch I have. And I'm assuming it'd probably be, like, similar for Elena's wristwatch. Yeah, it'll be a. I guess, like an alarm clock. A little charm starts going off in. [02:02:30] Speaker A: The front of my pocket as Max's. There is something beeping from inside one of Max's pockets, I think as she brings it out to look at it, Elena sort of struck at the choice. Like it's a pocket watch and it's somehow beeping. And, you know, Max has a certain aesthetic, and I'm sure they did that on purpose. And also, they probably thought it was funny. And Elena sort of snapped back into herself as her wristwatch begins a similar leap. [02:03:18] Speaker F: Oh, man, I. No, not. Not. Not yet. We just met. [02:03:28] Speaker A: Maybe it's for the best. This was interesting. [02:03:36] Speaker F: Smug smile. Maybe see you soon. [02:03:42] Speaker A: Ah, I doubt it. And she turns around and walks away. Just kind of disappears. [02:03:55] Speaker B: All right, let's go into our second scene, shall we? We have teasing and processing. Teasing does beat processing. So another clue is given to Elena, bringing her to two. And Max has chosen teasing. Elena's chosen processing. So, Max, you are again the initiator. Where in time are we now? [02:04:28] Speaker F: All right, we're in the middle of a dance floor. It's a club scene. There's a disco ball hanging from the top. There's a jukebox playing some tune that Sounds like it's coming from the 70s. And Max is starting to bust a move and is wearing still overalls, but now they have a funky, like yellow color color with some flowers painted over them and she's rocking an afro. [02:05:05] Speaker A: In this timeline, Elena had spent a lot of time, a lot of time to her sort of sitting back in her. Their original time in her home, just thinking about the. That first encounter and sort of all of the implication behind it, and decides to. That she spent a lot of time thinking and brooding and needs something different. And unfortunately for her, the only. The most different thing she can think of is this one thing that Max used to tell her about how she wishes that she could go and be in that era and experience, like the discotheques in that area and how much fun it is. And so Elena thinks, yeah, I could. I could have fun. I need fun. Sure. Let's give that a shot. As she puts on what she's attempting to make an outfit out of things that she owns, which is very hard. So she wears a skirt that's more like a pencil skirt. Some heels I could. The only pair of heels she owns. Like, yeah, totally. As she clicks on her watch and is transported. She obviously has a coat on, but this one is very colorful and very fashionable. Very. Not her usual self. She wanted to try something different. She enters this disco and is immediately regretting all of her decisions that brought her up to this point. Oh, my gosh. That is so many people. That is very loud. I should have played Rods earplugs. I should have thought this through. I usually think things through. And as she is trying to make her way across the dance floor to where she assumes the bar area is, because she definitely needs a drink. It'll help with the noise. Right? That's what. That's. That's how this works. It'll make it more bearable. That's what I've heard. And as she's walking through the dance floor, she spots a girl that looks a lot like Max. [02:07:43] Speaker F: Well, well, well. You spent a year avoiding me and now you keep chasing me across time and space. [02:07:54] Speaker A: Hey. Hey, Elena. [02:07:55] Speaker F: No, don't look away. I know you saw me. [02:07:59] Speaker A: Oh, hello. I can. I had no idea it was you. I could barely hear you. It's so loud in here. I just wanted to do something different. Obviously has nothing to do with you. Right. Just something I remembered that you mentioned, and I thought it would be good for me to try it out. Though I am entirely regretting that decision. [02:08:34] Speaker F: I'll give, like a gentle Little hand on your shoulder. Hey, I'm proud of you. [02:08:40] Speaker E: Do you want. [02:08:42] Speaker F: I saw you looking at the bar. Do you want to go somewhere quote unquote, quieter? [02:08:48] Speaker A: I would get. There's a place away from this very loud noise you call music. Yes, yes, absolutely. [02:09:00] Speaker F: I will go up to the bartender who I am already friends with, and going to. Going to get myself a drink, and I want to get like a. Something like a hot toddy, like a spiked tea, and bring it back for Elena. [02:09:26] Speaker A: The. [02:09:26] Speaker B: The bartender. Also afroed. It's just like looking back at you. Very like, very 70s outfit, like black dress shirt, silver vest, sh. Huge pants, and is just staring back. You like. This is like a regular bar. But I can see if we can make tea back there. Sure. [02:09:52] Speaker F: I don't know. She just really likes tea. I. We didn't go out dancing a lot. Is there something tea adjacent you could make with alcohol? [02:09:59] Speaker B: Oh, I mean, yeah, I could make like. Okay, so I have like tea leaves back there. I could do something with, like, I don't know, like I could do a whiskey sour, but in few. Oh, I have a lot of ideas. He could run to the back of the bar. [02:10:15] Speaker F: Thanks, Grant. Liam. [02:10:16] Speaker B: Turn back to my name. My parents couldn't choose. He comes back with a concoction. There's like a steam off of it, but it's not hot. And he goes, I think this will work. I don't know what it is about your vibe specifically, but it made me really want to try. So I think this will work. [02:10:41] Speaker F: I'll just take it and pass it off to Elena. [02:10:45] Speaker A: Okay. You're not trying to poison me, are you? [02:10:53] Speaker F: Do you want me to try it first? [02:10:55] Speaker A: Yeah, no, no, it's fine. That's fine. You wouldn't try that anyways. Not your vibe. I suppose this has alcohol in it, right? Right. [02:11:10] Speaker F: Alina, have. Have you never had a drink. [02:11:14] Speaker A: Have before? Usually wine. And under very specific circumstances, like. Yeah, this is fine. And she. She begins to sip on it. It's not. It's a little strong. Stronger than my usual. Not half bad, though. And she. She just keeps sipping on it. [02:11:40] Speaker F: Look at that. You create a time machine and suddenly you loosen up a little bit. [02:11:48] Speaker A: As I've mentioned, I have had wine before, and that was entirely before we even had the idea of the time machine. Okay. [02:12:00] Speaker F: Look at you, trying new things. Okay, here's one for you. Have you ever tried the Hustle? [02:12:09] Speaker A: Like, the Hustle? Yeah. Like, are you time traveling, trying to make money? Is that why you finished? [02:12:16] Speaker F: No, no, no, no. [02:12:17] Speaker A: That is the dance. Quite preposterous, actually. [02:12:21] Speaker F: The. The dance. They're playing the song right now. [02:12:27] Speaker A: A dance called the Hustle. [02:12:29] Speaker F: Yeah. Have you tried it? You're trying new things now. You seem to be following me. [02:12:36] Speaker A: I am most certainly not following you, but I did come here to attempt to try new things. So I suppose you can teach me this hustle. [02:12:50] Speaker F: Keep it up, keep it going, and I will extend my hand and see if you'll come with me to the dance floor. [02:12:57] Speaker A: She looks at your hand, looks at her drink, chugs the rest of the drink, and that takes your hand because there's no way in the head how she's gonna do this entirely sober. [02:13:12] Speaker F: My God. I didn't know you had it in you. [02:13:16] Speaker A: Yes, there's a lot of things you don't know, actually. [02:13:22] Speaker F: I think you would see Max still teasing, but in a way that is gentle. If you would know her, like, gently teaching Elena to make sure she's still comfortable, but trying to teach her the little moves to this dance under the disco ball. [02:13:45] Speaker A: She looks absolutely ridiculous, by the way. I want to make that very clear. [02:13:51] Speaker F: Does she smile at all? Because Max would be looking out for any sense of enjoyment. [02:14:00] Speaker A: I. I think it would probably be towards the end when she starts actually getting the hang of it. Eventually she's like, oh, you just repeat it. That makes sense. I like that makes sense. And she does it again. And she's like, look, I did it. But, like, in her head. So she smiles to herself because she did the dance. [02:14:26] Speaker F: I knew those are all just brains. I knew those two left feet could do something. [02:14:34] Speaker A: And I think as she's, you know, dancing definitely for the first time ever in a. In a place like this, I think that is when probably it would probably have been Max's watch to rank first, because she had been here for a little longer. Oh, fuck. And as Max is watching Elena sort of smug with herself at having gotten the dance moves right. You need the beat. [02:15:22] Speaker F: Why is it always at the most inopportune time? I thought we were just, like. We were just. And then Max blips out on the dance floor. [02:15:32] Speaker A: And this timeline, the song ends with Elena not realizing that she had been dancing by herself for the last maybe half a minute. And the song ends, and she turns around to look for Max, like, see, it wasn't that hard. And realizes that Max isn't there. Then she goes back to the bar, orders another one of whatever the hell that was, and is almost done drinking it when her wristwatch beeps as well. She just sighs, chugs the rest of it to the horror of the bartender, and flips out of time. [02:16:21] Speaker B: Did I have too many? Did she fucking vanish? So we, we blip out of the discotheque. That will bring us into our third scene. Elena a bit more clued in to Max's feelings than Max is to Elena's. Okay, so Max has chosen to reveal, but Elena has chosen to process. And processing beats revealing. So that means we're going to take it to you, Elena. Where are we in time where you are choosing to process. [02:17:10] Speaker A: Elena would find herself on top of what looks like a hill that's actually pretty dark outside, and you can see a lot of the city down underneath. She looks behind her and there is this great white structure with a dome on one of its towers, so to speak. She is standing outside and she looks behind her to this very large white building, like a domed roof on one of its towers, and the city sprawled out at the bottom of this hill where the building sits. She is standing outside of the Griffith Observatory. And as opposed to much of the places where Elena likes to visit, there is actually a small hustle and bustle here tonight. The stars are out and there are some people with telescopes out on the lawn in front of the observatory. I guess there was supposed to be some aligning of the plants, planets or something and what looks like a university class sitting on the lawn listening to a man with a telescope talk about sort of the cosmos and the possibility and all of the things that we don't know. As Elena leads sort of a small ways away from, from this congregation of young adults leaning on the edge of sort of this barrier that is the only thing standing between her and the rest of the city down below as she watches them and looks up the sky and then looks back in front of her to the city, as there are a very much younger than the first time we encountered our past selves. Probably four or five years ago. Elena and Max sitting in for a class field trip to the Griffith Observatory. [02:19:56] Speaker F: You hear familiar bootstraps walking behind you, coming up behind you. We really can't keep meeting up like this. And I'll sit down next to you. [02:20:09] Speaker A: She takes a big sigh. She was sort of sitting on the bench with her sort of her body overlooking the city. Had her back to the lawn and the students. She hears you and you sit down and she, in her head is sort of like, I'm not looking at her. If I don't look at her, she's not here. She realizes how silly that sounds. And turns and sort of meets your eyes, you know, I. Do you remember this? [02:21:03] Speaker F: Yeah, how could I forget it? You always were the smartest one in our class. You really showed it off that day. [02:21:12] Speaker A: I mean, yes, but not that he was quite inspiring that day. I think, sort of. I think this was when we decided we wanted to do something. Honestly, I. I wanted to say that I'll not apologize of sorts, because I didn't do anything wrong, but I didn't think you would complete it without me, and I was. Well, you did a very good job to have been able to finish it, and I think you deserve to hear that. [02:22:30] Speaker F: Wow. Not you complimenting my brain. [02:22:38] Speaker A: And so it does happen. [02:22:39] Speaker F: I did it without you. [02:22:43] Speaker A: Oh, I know we did. We did most of it together, but it's still a feat to have, you know, finished it on your own. You didn't have the rest of my notes, and I. I took all of that with me when I left, so you did a good job. And, no, I am not following you, as you can clearly see by me having arrived here first. [02:23:21] Speaker F: And yet we still keep managing to find each other, same place at the same time, regardless of who gets there first. [02:23:32] Speaker A: But thank you. [02:23:33] Speaker F: I don't take your compliments lightly. And even if I didn't have your notes, I did have your voice in the back of my head the whole. [02:23:42] Speaker E: Time. [02:23:44] Speaker F: Moving that piece a little bit to the left, wrenching that screw twice tighter than it should have been. [02:23:59] Speaker A: I. This was a good day, I think, for both of us. And she looks back at the twin of the little congregation of people on the grass. [02:24:20] Speaker F: It was simpler back then. [02:24:24] Speaker A: Yes. Things. Things were easier, weren't they? A lot more straightforward. And, yeah, I suppose simpler is the right word. But that class, this class, I think, was the first time we really started talking to each other. So if we. If they hadn't run out of the later classes and you hadn't been forced to take this early class, we wouldn't have met. It's kind of crazy to think of looking back at it all and what we've managed to accomplish. You do realize what this means, the making of these time machines? [02:25:26] Speaker F: What does it mean to you? [02:25:30] Speaker A: Well, I mean, sort of for the world and, you know, it's like chance brought us together and we managed to do this in about four or five years, give or take. [02:25:52] Speaker F: But, yeah, I try not to think too hard of the implications. I was just here for the fun and passion of it all. I guess when it kind of had more of that pressure, it might have Became a little too much for me. [02:26:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I guess I can understand that. But you know, I've seen us. I have told you that you're doing. Did a great job. I think I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go tour the facilities now before I leave. But yes, I'm proud of you, I suppose. And she turns away just very often. [02:26:45] Speaker F: Wait, you're what? Say that again. [02:26:48] Speaker A: Just very awkwardly walks into the building this time without even waiting for her. [02:26:53] Speaker F: No, no, you don't say it again. I'm chasing. [02:27:02] Speaker A: I think you would. Yeah. You catch up to her and it's as if that conversation didn't happen as she's just pointing things out inside of the building and sort of has resolved to give you a little tour again before her watch beeps first. Thankfully, when you almost have reached the end of the museum inside. [02:27:32] Speaker F: Before I blip out, you hear Max say, I'm proud of you too. Gone. [02:27:40] Speaker B: So we leave the Griffith Observatory and we'll go into our next scene. Wow. Both picked revealing in the event of a tie, the initiator is the one who wins that round. And Elena, that's you tying up the clues. So where do we find ourselves now? When you encounter Max. [02:28:10] Speaker A: We find Elena standing outside what looks to be an open garage. It's not a home garage. It looks like university facilities. This is a very decked out garage. Very long. Takes up the entire bottom of a building almost. And there is a hustle and a bustle as a couple of different groups of people are working on different things. And you can see on one side being a lot more quiet than the other groups are past Elena and Max. This one is obviously less recent than their fight in our first scene, but a little newer than that university trip where they had first became friends. This is when they had already had some sort of blueprints. And Max is showing Elena the first iteration of their blueprints. There is this small machine that looks almost nothing like what they actually ended up with two years later. And they're both huddled over it very excitedly motioning with her hands at where everything is as she's explaining all of these things. And from where Elena, current Elena is standing is across the way from that. Those garages that always have their doors open when there are people there for ventilation. You know, of all the sorts of things that they're building in there. But she is close enough to still be able to hear Max very excitedly explaining everything. [02:30:50] Speaker F: Max is probably doing likewise, maybe sitting on a bench a few feet away or across the street. Not having noticed Elena yet, but is also focused on what's going on in the garage. Scribbling in a notebook with a more serious face, I think, than you usually see her with. [02:31:20] Speaker A: I think this time Elena notices Max first. She was looking out there past selves and looks down at her wrist watch. She. It felt like she was sitting here for longer than she actually had. But she stands up anyways, having sort of had enough for herself and giving herself some more things to think about, and turns to walk away when she notices Max sitting on another bench. And she walks up to her. As you hear Elena sit down next to you on the bench and go, well, well, well. So who. Who's following who now? [02:32:27] Speaker F: Well, you're the one who sat down next to me, so I think it's still you. [02:32:32] Speaker A: No, no, that is not. That is not how that works. I am pretty sure I arrived here first. [02:32:43] Speaker F: I cannot tell if you are teasing me or if you're serious. [02:32:48] Speaker A: I'm being perfectly serious. I'm pretty sure I arrived here first, not at this particular bench, but, like, in this point in time, whatever. [02:33:02] Speaker F: And Max is also closing the notebook she was scribbling in and kind of pushing it out of your view. [02:33:09] Speaker A: You were right about. About what you said last time we met. These were certainly easier at times, simpler. Honestly, it was quite fun, I think the first couple of iterations of our machine. Just coming up with it, I think is definitely more fun than. And, you know, just all the minute centimeter tweakings at the end. It was exciting building something new. [02:33:50] Speaker F: It was. I missed that fun. And I'm looking up kind of like wistfully at the scene in front of. [02:33:58] Speaker A: Us, and I know I was very. Not. Probably not the next nicest lap partner, but it. I enjoyed my time working on it with you, and you listen quite well, which helps, you know. So, of course. [02:34:26] Speaker F: Elena, I am so impressed. You build a time machine, and suddenly you're. You're just opening up a little more. [02:34:35] Speaker A: I do not think, well, yes, it might be the time machine. It's just the fact that I keep finding myself at times and places like this, and I suppose it's more looking on the past than anything. Things are so of complicated now. And looking back on the simpleness and the fun and all of that does. You know, it tends to make people a little more, I don't know, open to their feelings or something. I'm pretty sure there's a paper about it somewhere about reminiscent and its effects on the brain. [02:35:27] Speaker F: And, you know, that's All I ever wanted from you. It could be simple again. It could be fun again. [02:35:38] Speaker A: I don't know about that. I. Honestly, I. I thought you hated me after we parted ways. [02:35:53] Speaker F: No, not hated, just frustrated. Because you kept to yourself as much as you kept to that notebook. I thought you hated me. This is the most. Most you've ever communicated and smiled and like, danced under a disco ball. However many years, whatever, first and the. [02:36:26] Speaker A: Last time I'm doing that, so I hope you enjoyed it. [02:36:32] Speaker F: Do you have fun? [02:36:35] Speaker A: It was interesting. I did not hate you. I think I was also frustrated. It was stressful. Getting so close to our deadline, not being done and just everything, I suppose got a little much. It feels different now that it's done, I think. [02:37:10] Speaker F: And for what it's worth, I never completed it without you. And I'm a slide over my notebook to you. And on the first page, it's just like a photo of us back. I probably have my arm around you in a cheesy grin, and you have a little smile. And on the back are some notes that you might have post its you might have left around that I put on the back of that photo. [02:37:40] Speaker A: Clever. Very clever. I think you always were. I made it easy to pick you as a partner for this project. [02:38:00] Speaker F: Smoke smiles back. [02:38:06] Speaker A: Yes, well, I did arrive here first, so just give it a second. And we sit in silence for about three to four seconds. And you hear the beeping come from Elena's wristwatch. [02:38:28] Speaker F: God damn it. Not again. [02:38:31] Speaker A: Well, everything has its limitations. [02:38:36] Speaker F: Max leans back in the bench, lets out a giant groan, and then blips out. [02:38:49] Speaker B: Well, one way or another, that's going to bring us to our final scene. So go ahead and choose your final approach for me. Teasing and processing. So Max chose to tease and Elena chose to process, which means Max wins. Elena gets the last clue somewhere in the wormholes and transports of time. Alone, with her thoughts continuously bumping into Max. Elena puts two and two together and realizes that Max feels the same way about her that she feels about Max. [02:39:37] Speaker A: Elena has, after sort of realizing what's going on, has thought about this entirely too hard. There are notes, there are some tables with some numbers on them where she attempts to math this out and make it make sense, because feelings for her tend to be a little complicated and not as easy and straightforward as numbers are. But out of all the people and how complicated everyone is, she feels Max has always been relatively simple for her to figure out. And so she puts her math down because she wasn't able to make an equation make sense out of that. Can't put numbers on feelings necessarily. And after some brooding and some thinking, wisps herself to a cafe. This was a place where they had actually only ever been there once. They spent a lot of times at cafes around the university, of course, but this particular cafe they had, I think, traveled a little bit bit at Max's behest that they see something else besides the prim white buildings and the stuffy books and all the people telling them what to do. They needed a weekend away. And so we see past Max and past Elena sitting at this cafe in the middle of nowhere, writing on some napkins, and obviously Elena's little notepad with scribbles and pages torn out and set up all over the table. There is barely enough room for their actual coffee as a waitress comes by and looks at the table and attempts to set down their little mugs in the most unobtrusive place. And having a very hard time about it, Max obviously notices, moves some papers aside for the waitress to set everything down as Elena is just too wrapped up. And the thing in front of her on these papers doesn't even notice the waitress on the coffee. We see current Elena sitting a couple of tables away, staring at the two of them, their past selves, the day that they decided that they were going to build a time machine. [02:43:04] Speaker F: You heard here behind you. Is a seat taken? [02:43:11] Speaker A: There's a small smile. No, that's not taken. Well, now it is. By you, I suppose. And she waves down the. The waitress, the same one that had just dropped off the drinks for their past selves. Can. Can we add mocha to my table, please? [02:43:40] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, for sure. That's not a problem at all. [02:43:44] Speaker F: Oh, and refill her tea as well. [02:43:46] Speaker C: Sure. [02:43:47] Speaker B: I think we have some extra tea leaves in the back. I could do something with the tea leaves, I think. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I can do that. [02:43:55] Speaker F: Well, I. I can't say I'm surprised to meet you here, but let's pretend fancy meeting you here. [02:44:03] Speaker A: Oh, yes, Quite surprising. We keep bumping into each other at places like this. [02:44:13] Speaker E: Where. [02:44:16] Speaker F: We really started it all kind of looking back behind, have passed us. So how many more timelines are we going to have to keep bumping into each other before something is laid out on the table? And I'm not talking time portal plans. [02:44:49] Speaker A: Could say that today. Well, back then, this day that we're in did change a lot of things. [02:45:04] Speaker F: It was the start of, yes, a job. The most successful job, I'd say. And also the start of the Best days of my life, I'd also say. [02:45:22] Speaker A: Really? [02:45:25] Speaker F: Would you say differently? [02:45:29] Speaker A: I. I don't know. Things certainly got more stressful and more calm, complicated. And there's. I feel like there is a tension that wasn't there at the beginning as we went on. [02:45:57] Speaker F: Do me a favor. Turn off that smart brain, stop thinking about the past and the future and just give me right now. I'm gonna kind of like put my hand on your hand. [02:46:14] Speaker A: She doesn't pull away from your hand. You know, you can't actually turn your brain off. You know that, right? Vatig gets here and you feel her hand move a little, like she was gonna grab the tea with the hand that was holding yours. And so you feel it like it's gonna pull away, but she thinks about it and grabs the mug with her other hand. Well, if I burn myself, it's entirely your fault. As she's using her non dominant hand to drink her tea just for the sake of not removing her dominant hand from yours. [02:46:59] Speaker E: Yeah, it's. [02:47:00] Speaker F: It's okay. I know I'm hot. Take your time. [02:47:03] Speaker A: She splutters her tea a little bit. She goes, ah, damn it, that is hot. The tea is hot. I told you if I burned myself, it would be on you. Well, it's technically on me because I burnt bites. You know what? Yes, you are very attractive, I suppose. [02:47:27] Speaker F: Shock on Max's face at Elena actually admitting something plainly. [02:47:37] Speaker A: But you know, as she sets the tea down very softly in an attempt not to burn herself anymore. I sat for some time after our last meeting thinking about where I could go that had the most probability of finding you there as well. [02:48:09] Speaker F: I am not surprised at all, Elena. No one knows me better than you do. [02:48:14] Speaker A: I just thought about sort of, where would Max go and found myself here. And here you are. And I was thinking that if you did appear here, I was gonna do something. And if you didn't, I was gonna give up on it. And yet here you are. And now I am rambling. [02:48:39] Speaker F: I just start rubbing your hand. You're doing great. Take your time. [02:48:44] Speaker A: She takes her hand away and just sort of sits up a little straighter and takes a big breath. That is all to say, Max, how would you like to be partners again? For either scientifically or non scientific purposes? I will leave that up to you. [02:49:19] Speaker F: Elena, would you shut up and kiss me already? [02:49:25] Speaker A: I think in her panic, like her first panic thought is the panic of oh, no, I it up. It wasn't supposed to go like this, but I can't just take it back and do it again. And when Max asks that, she looks at her, sort of surprised that you. A little surprised that, that. That you feel the same way. Because she was 100% expecting to probably get rejected. She ran the numbers on it and it was like a probability thing. And it wasn't, you know, it wasn't great. And she sort of looks at you and she goes, you do it. I'm too nervous. [02:50:23] Speaker F: How about you meet me halfway and I'll lean over halfway at the table. [02:50:27] Speaker A: She sort of bends forward as well and kisses you. [02:50:33] Speaker F: And I would like to say at that same time, you see the past us shake hands to make the deal of their partnership. And you hear Max present Max say it's about time. And then takes her pocket watch that's beeping and like, chucks it as far as she can. [02:50:56] Speaker A: You know, that won't stop you from going back. [02:50:59] Speaker F: Elena. Shut up. And I kiss you again. [02:51:05] Speaker B: Eventually, this scene fades. There's a lot of ways you can agree to something. Eventually you blip out of this scene. Maybe after enough recalibration, you do find that way to get back to the same time and do this the right way. But for now, in agreement. And that is unresolved Sapphic tension. We hope you've enjoyed our trio of vignettes. Unresolved Sapphic tension is by a disasterqueer. A link to purchase the game is in the description. We are large fans of their products and you should support them today. Now, where can you hear more of our wonderful cast? Well, allow them to tell you. Mia, thank you for playing. Where can we find more of you? [02:52:12] Speaker C: Ah, you can check out my card. You can go to Eosha Card co Iotia is E O T I A. If you're looking for some art, I do some commissions. But if you're looking to play, just. [02:52:26] Speaker A: Reach out to me through my contact information there. [02:52:31] Speaker B: Stoked to have you. I was a big fan of you on Monsters and other childish things. So thanks for crashing our show. Sadie. Where can we find more of you? [02:52:40] Speaker D: Hi, you can find me at Oakleaf Insignia at all the social media places. You can also find my website, oakleafinsignia Games, where you can find out more about what I'm doing, games that I'm writing, etc. Etc. [02:52:56] Speaker B: One of my faves. One of my absolute, absolute faves. Thank you for playing here, Winter. Where can we find more of you? [02:53:02] Speaker E: As I said, I'm Mistress Winter. You can find me on threads, Instagram and Blue sky at gmistress. Winter, you can Also, hear me every other week on All Our Faults, a Monster Hearts 2 actual play podcast by the Tabletop Talespinners Network, as well as as in the cast of Magnificence as Suda, Also from the Tabletop Tail Spinners Network. Also every other week on Fridays, two. [02:53:35] Speaker B: Of my very favorite shows. I love all Our Faults. I love magnificence. [02:53:39] Speaker E: Thank you. [02:53:40] Speaker B: People should be binging those. I'm just saying. Taz, where can we find more of you? [02:53:46] Speaker A: Hey. [02:53:46] Speaker G: Hey, I'm Taz. Once again, you can catch me on my screen socials. EaterAndRogue. I have a lot of projects coming up. They are all secrets. So if you'd like to know where I'm at and what I'm doing, you have to follow me and interact with me and watch my Instagram stories, because that's where I'm gonna share all my deal. Once again, that's Eaderandrogue spelled the way it's said. [02:54:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I. I'm part of one of those secrets. I'm gming one of those secrets. [02:54:17] Speaker G: You're actually. I feel like you're a part of a couple of those secrets. Actually, I'm probably. [02:54:21] Speaker B: I. I'm all over the place. Tori, where can we find more of you? [02:54:27] Speaker F: Oh, Grant, thanks for having me. I have a podcast called the Silly Merillion where I go over nerdy Lord of the Rings chapter by chapter with my co host. And then I also have a podcast called After Play where we do a TTRPG set in Middle Earth. And then you can find me on socials. [02:54:50] Speaker B: Toriello, After Play, one of my favorite APs that I got to discover this year and I'm super stoked to have had you on the show here today. [02:54:59] Speaker F: Thank you, Grant. It was so much fun. Thanks for having me. [02:55:02] Speaker B: Yuri, where can we find more of you? [02:55:04] Speaker A: Yes. So y' all can go ahead and catch up with me at Yudi and the Beast. Absolutely. Everywhere on the Internet, I am a part of a whole bunch of different shows going on and a whole bunch of different channels. But for the most part, you can find me over at Somebody's Heroes as Morwen Sanatore in this super epic three table mega campaign set in a homebrew world. You could also go ahead and and find me doing vampire things over at Philly by night as Grabula Cisneros. She's a bitch. Don't listen to anything she says. I am also going to be a part of a lot of things that are in redacted, redacted, redacted. So just stay up on my socials to see where I'm going to be at next, because we do have a lot of. Of exciting things being set up. [02:56:03] Speaker B: Oh, I know about some of those redacted things. Anyway, listen, I'm a simple man. If I see Yuri's doing something, I go check it out, because she's fucking great. And as always, thank you for listening. Good night. [02:56:24] Speaker A: Sam. [02:56:53] Speaker F: Also, Yuri, thank you for letting me fall in love with Elena. It was a joy. [02:56:58] Speaker A: No, thank you. It was great. Thank you, Grant, for having us, for choosing this wonderful game. And, yeah, you do a great job at casting. This was great. [02:57:09] Speaker B: Oh, my God. The table's got turned on me. I don't get faint on my own. What the hell's happening? This is crazy.