Episodes

  • Episode 1: Green Country Calcination

    Episode 1: Green Country Calcination
    Feb 10 2024
    Four young adult strangers are stuck in a closed "observation ward" after they all had bizarre incidents. A mysterious visitor is coming to make an assessment for unclear purposes. What happens if you become too interesting? And why does the staff make them take so many pills?-----------Episode Transcript:Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.Tabletop characters make decisions ranging from questionable to horrific in pursuit of their goals especially when a table values going for the interesting route in roleplay. It becomes trashfires all the way down.My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]Episode 1: Green Country CalcinationThe story starts on the first Wednesday in March, 2021. In this chronicle, the pandemic never happened – it was our escape from it, after all.The chronicle started in the new observation ward of Hillcrest Hospital in Pryor, Oklahoma. It’s in what’s called the “Green Country” of Oklahoma, and about an hour away from Tulsa.None of the cohort, or what would become the cohort anyway, have been in the observation ward for more than a few short weeks at this point. They’re among the newer arrivals. Some of the patients who’ve been around longer, though, they’ve been spreading rumors that today’s a special day, because a special Visitor would stop by.The Visitor? A mysterious woman named Camille Mason, supposedly an “insurance agent," who’s been making even more frequent visits since a patient might have escaped. Maybe. That’s what the rumors guess, anyway, though they have no idea how.The observation ward was much like a psych ward at first glance. It had a common area the patients could gather for meals and some vaguely supervised free-time. All of the patients were on some kind of pills, and all wore scrubs provided by the ward. There were therapy times with a psychiatrist.Unlike a normal psych ward, it suffered frequent bizarre blackouts. And then there were the patients themselves…Alexander Joseph “AJ” Werner-Holt – A talkative, friendly, even class-clown type in his early 20s. AJ seems to be able to make friends with just about everyone, from patients to ward staff. He has a large bandage over part of the back of his neck covering what’s apparently an unseemly infection of some kind. He’s got a mop of curly, honeyed-brown hair and a short goatee. He’s lightly tanned, like he’s seen sun sometimes.Geraldine Wayfield – or Geri as she prefers, is almost sickly pale, 5-foot-nothing, slender, with an unnaturally bright red dyed curly mane of hair, strawberry blonde roots starting to show, and has an unsettlingly intense stare. She’s also in her early 20s. She’s the kind of person who would challenge God to a fight in a Waffle House parking lot. She can’t throw a punch but that wouldn’t stop her from trying anyway. Her scrubs are often mysteriously singed.Robert Johnson – Robert is a reasonably attractive businessman type: tall, toned, strong jaw, and dark hair that’s nearly black. He was a manager onsite the HR department for a company in the Industrial Park before his accident. Otherwise he’s… weirdly average in a lot of ways. He’s a little above average in attractiveness, but he could be replaced physically by a cookie-cutter corpo type and hardly anyone would notice on first glance. His less-than-average traits and quirks take longer to pick up on. He seems probably older than Geri and AJ.Madison McKenzie – A tall and slender athletic girl at 5’10, she’s just barely turned 18. She’s a senior in high school and was meant to graduate in a couple months. She has a cheerleader and ballerina’s physique, because she is one – good enough to have interviews lined up at Jacquard for college. She’s ...
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    22 mins
  • Episode 2: The Fellowship of the Ward

    Episode 2: The Fellowship of the Ward
    Feb 17 2024
    The cohort follow the lead Dr. Werner gave them and come face-to-face with something truly bizarre. Will they leave with more questions than answers?--------Episode Transcript:Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.Tabletop characters make decisions ranging from questionable to horrific in pursuit of their goals especially when a table values going for the interesting route in roleplay. It becomes trashfires all the way down.My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]Green Country Calcination Episode 2: The Fellowship of the WardThe new cohort only had a week before Camille was going to come back to take them to the next stage of experiments and, if Patty was correct, no matter what happened to them there, they’d never be seen again.During the past few days, they’d gotten to work on various forms of information-gathering to plan their escape. Madison took point on the plan to break into room 164 that Dr. Werner told them ‘totally definitely don’t break into WINK’. She’d observed it was, despite seeming to be some sort of supply closet, the most guarded spot in the ward. She’d managed to figure out when the hall the room’s on had barely any activity and gathered the nascent cohort for their mission.Because they were on their last week on the ward, they were able to convince the staff to get them some special items. Madison got a pair of her ballet shoes sent to her from her friend and Geri got a deck of tarot cards and a book to interpret them. They finally let her have paper.They meet at the couches in the common area to not draw suspicion. It’s just after dinner and the orderlies are busy packing up the cafeteria carts, too busy to be patrolling the hall with the strange supply closet.Unlike Madison’s spying and playing around with security cameras with electrokinesis, Geri had decided to spend her time reading minds of staff picking up rumors. She also tried to read Patty’s mind, got driven off by the discomfort of feeling the influx of Patty’s enhanced senses and maaaaybe not quite all there thoughts, and decided she hated Patty for thwarting her telepathy. As one does.AJ gets a little uncomfortable about the idea that not only can Geri read minds, but she's so casual about it, but calms down when she says she hasn’t read his mind because she doesn’t want to be subjected to more bad puns. Madi’s also distressed by the idea initially, but mostly by the idea that Geri may have accidentally seen disturbing things Madi couldn’t put up content warnings for (but Geri says she’s not read her mind, either).Once that’s settled, AJ declares it’s ‘go time’ and the cohort head off to the location. Robert is supposed to be keeping watch the whole time (his player wasn’t available). AJ has his scrub shirt tucked into his pants and has something hidden under the back of his shirt, it’s discreetly lumpy when he moves and stretches.The trio head off together, as if they’re headed to their rooms for some of the allowed private time before the next round of tests. They blend in rather well and turn a corner down a different, empty hall. They keep quiet and pretend they’re totally definitely supposed to be there.Madison shocks the other two - though not literally this time – by using her electrokinesis to sap the power from the security cameras nearby. AJ is quite a bit more shocked than Geri and accidentally risks getting the group caught by yelping in surprise. Geri gives him a friendly-not-so-friendly weak punch to the shoulder and reminds him to shut the fuck up.The yelp thankfully didn’t seem to draw attention, so the group keeps on sneaking toward the “supply room,” where they encounter a door with a manual lock and a keypad to the side.AJ...
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    28 mins
  • Episode 3: Interlude: Escape Planning

    Episode 3: Interlude: Escape Planning
    Feb 24 2024
    Between meetings, Geri's had some time to investigate with telepathy. Then, the nascent cohort catches Robert up on what they've learned and plans their daring escape.---------Episode Transcript:Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.Tabletop characters make decisions ranging from questionable to horrific in pursuit of their goals especially when a table values going for the interesting route in roleplay. It becomes trashfires all the way down.My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]Green Country Calcination Episode 3: Interlude: Escape PlanningBetween the last meeting and next, the group decides they need to work on getting more information and supplies to make their escape possible. Geri gleans a rumor from an orderly’s mind that the Church of Charismatic Virtues – the church she grew up in, has been calling, but the orderly doesn’t know much. She decides to dig deeper, mostly for personal gossip in case she needs blackmail material.She’s able to rip from him that his name’s Caleb, the call came directly to the ward, which is odd. Gabe took the call himself after the caller identified themselves but a nurse named Beth initially answered. Caleb’s hiding that he’s got a crush on Beth but doesn’t want to make her uncomfortable by telling her since they work together. She also finds out that Caleb has a suspended license from a second DUI and carpools to work with Dr. Werner.Geri later goes to Beth for more info. Beth tries to comfort her, but as Geri’s connected to her mind, she can sense that Beth is somehow attuned to Geri’s emotions on a deeper level than normal empathy, which skeeves Geri out and makes her suspicious as hell. Mind you, as she’s actively trying to read Beth’s mind.Geri is, however, able to tell after her initial suspicion from her culty upbringing of having to be able to (mundanely) be clued in to people’s emotions and motives that Beth’s actually pretty genuine, and even a bit guilty about the suffering the patients are going through. But she cares, in any case.She still works at the ward, though, so there’s that.Geri decides to dig deeper with telepathy. She wants to know what Beth knows about the call to the ward, what she’s hiding, and what Beth fears most. Because Geri has incredibly normal, perfectly hinged motives that may involve “winning” social interactions.All Beth knows about the call beyond what Caleb knows is that Dr. Werner sounded Unhappy-T-M. She also knows that it was a follow-up call. She’s hiding that she has an emotional and aura-sensing power that (previously) only Dr. Werner knew about... until Geri started peeking in. She’s most afraid that Camille will learn about her power and take her away like the cohort, and the others.Geri finds the information about Beth troubling and opts not to cause problems for her or push further.She connects to Zuse next from the safety of her room. His surface thoughts are scrolls of binary like before, but Geri’s put a little effort in to link to him again and be able to have a conversation. He tells her he’s been amusing himself watching the staff be increasingly paranoid because of the prank AJ pulled to aid the cohort’s getaway from the room the other day.Geri tells him that the Church of Charismatic Virtues called AGAIN, and Zuse explains that Geri’s father and his associates have been persistent in trying to “reclaim ownership of their work.” He also says that Dr. Werner has no intention of giving in to them, greatly frustrating Geri’s father.Geri, begrudgingly admits that maybe Dr. Werner is kind of alright if he’s keeping her father from getting her, and asks if that’s the reason she can’t file a police report like she’s been pestering staff ...
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    29 mins
  • Episode 4: “The Great Escape”

    Episode 4: “The Great Escape”
    Mar 3 2024
    The cohort puts their plan into action and attempts their escape before Camille can take them somewhere never to be seen again.Now including music and SFX from Ovani Sound.--------Episode Transcript:Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]Episode 4: The Great EscapeIt was lunchtime on Saint Patrick’s Day of 2021. The ward staff had decided to be festive for the patients by making some concerningly-green-dyed food - including green buns for hamburgers that they had to assure over and over again were not moldy and definitely not from whatever was growing on AJ’s neck. Despite the attempts at a little celebration, the staff’s tension was palpable. As soon as they cleared all the lunch things away and let the patients have their limited free time, the staff got to busying themselves in preparation for Ms. Mason’s impending arrival.They all seemed terrified of her, afraid to even be seen if it was possible to avoid it.Geri had linked the cohort in her telepathic network, that she nicknamed the “MINDcraft server,” the last the group was in range of each other for lunch. And then they separated to get into positions.AJ and Robert use a side door to go down a corridor around the offices toward the main doors. AJ’s wearing his scrubs plus a purple baseball cap and a backpack. Robert’s got his scrubs and, as usual, is barefoot and has his huge blanket wrapped around him.Madison gets ready to activate her electrokinesis, but it fluctuates wildly on any given day. Today, it fluctuates so powerfully, it flickers all the power in the hospital off for a moment just from her attempt to wrangle it and makes the backup generators kick on. Sparks fly over her skin from where she’s hiding with Geri near the elevators.AJ and Robert were good at sneaking, but the surprise from the sudden light flickering (even though this is a fairly common occurrence on this ward) distracts the guards just long enough to not see AJ and Robert right away. But the guards get on alert that something is afoot. Four guards in the common area glance to each other, two at the door stand straighter and one whispers over a radio.Out of his backpack, AJ pulls the shittiest-looking, most McGuyvered RC car with clockwork for wheels to exist and sets it on its rickety path toward the main doors. He silently signals Robert to put his face mask on.AJ whispers to Robert to keep the guards busy once the smoke starts until he gets the signal.Meanwhile, the guards notice the approaching little RC contraption. When one goes to investigate it after calling in the disturbance over the radio, it starts sparking and spraying smoke everywhere. The guards yell to lock the ward down. Two of the common area guards head for the main door and the other two head back toward the fire exit.Robert ambles through the smoke and pretends to be a bumbling, confused patient. He loudly asks the guards what’s going on, what’s happening to the electricity, why is there smoke?Over the mindcraft, he gives Madi and Geri the green light to head to Zuse’s room.Two guards pull tasers on Robert and tell him to return to his room. There’s a potential breach in security. As if on cue, a robotic voice begins announcing a similar command over the loudspeaker to the entire ward. Steel grates slam down to seal the wide, sunny windows and blanket the ward in darkness other than the eerie, flickering fluorescent lights.AJ, in the chaos and smoke, sneaks over to a janitor’s cart in the common room. Robert continues to stall, raising his hands and innocently claiming the elevator was taken and he was looking for personnel to help him.Meanwhile, on the other side of the ward, Madison makes lightbulbs explode ...
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    21 mins
  • Episode 5: Meeting Zuse (Again)

    Episode 5: Meeting Zuse (Again)
    Mar 9 2024
    The cohort finally gets a chance to have a long conversation with their new friend (captive?) outside the Ward. They find he's knowledgeable and also that after however long living in the server, he's the living embodiment of the phrase "please touch grass."--------Episode Transcript:Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.Additional content warnings this episode for binge-eating and cancer mention.I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]Green Country Calcination Episode 5: Meeting Zuse (Again)Shortly after the cohort escaped, they found they'd made the news. All the local news outlets. The supposed St. Patrick's Day terrorist attack on the Hillcrest Hospital Psychiatric Observation Ward was on all the front pages. Thankfully, police hadn't released any suspect names or motives. There weren't any reported deaths, though two National Guardsmen were severely burned - the story claimed they'd been visiting relatives at the time. The ward was closed for repairs and all patients transferred to another location. One patient consented to interview, a Patricia Gold. She claimed it wasn't a terror attack at all, but a daring escape from, quote "some psycho patients." No patients were reported missing. Another video of the Ward evacuation goes viral with Patty singing a story-song about crazy terrorists who escaped the hold of god. She gets a ton of attention but no one seems to believe her since she also claimed she's 24.Their first night outside the hospital, sleeping in their cabin beds in Madison's family's previously empty summer cabin, the whole cohort has the same bizarre dream. They all dream of storms. Terrible storms. They dream of lightning and crushing waves.... suffocating waves. There's darkness as they sink. They're gripped by an overwhelming dread, certain doom. In the dream, the world's deprived of color. There's mist, pale sunlight. They look in the water and see their reflection but with bright, green eyes. And then they wake up.In the couple days since their escape, Geri's been settling into the new cabin but also investigating the Long Man Society from afar.She uses telepathy and a bit of sheer audacity to connect to Beth from wherever it is they moved the ward to. She finds it difficult and draining at her current power level.She catches flickers of surface thoughts about missing the sunlight and wondering where the doctor has been. She can tell wherever the new Ward is, it's underground. Beth doesn't seem to be a prisoner, at least from her surface thoughts.Geri searches deeper. She looks for what Beth knows about the ward relocation, learning it's temporary while the Society decides whether to leave Gabriel in charge. The staff's also being housed there. She then searches for Beth's current greatest fear - it's that Gabriel will be removed and Camille will take over. Last, Geri looks for how the cohort's breakout was framed to the ward staff. Beth knows that the breakout is being framed as Gabriel's negligence since this is the second time his patients escaped. There's even rumors he helped them to keep his nephew away from Camille.The next thing she did, was take some time to check in with the Church. Mundanely this time - she went to a little internet cafe in the park for campers with Madison's phone, and did her best to cover her digital tracks.She finds on the church's public communications that things seem business as usual. They have a potluck coming up, but also — Geri's been put on the prayer list. The details given say she's been moved to a private mental health and faith rehabilitation center. They're asking for prayers and donations toward her recovery. Notably, it was posted after the breakout.And then, there's a small afterthought of an article about the ...
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    39 mins
  • Episode 6: The Spirit of the Lake

    Episode 6: The Spirit of the Lake
    Mar 16 2024
    The cohort rushes to try to rescue Lucas... but they run into something far stranger than a rich teen jock.Note: AJ still hasn't showered since the previous episode.----------Episode Transcript:Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]Green Country Calcination Episode 6: The Spirit of the LakeWhere we left off, Madison was gathering supplies in a panic to go find her boyfriend, Lucas, after Geri revealed that not only was he alive and nearby, but likely lost and maybe suffering from amnesia (or some form of confusion).In the intervening time, a few more hours, she's gathered the rest of the cohort to go with her - except for Zuse, he's still hiding in the fridge. It's now late evening on the gorgeous lake in early-mid March, with only a few visitors wandering the trails. For the most part, no one's paying the cohort any mind except the odd small child pointing and staring at Robert's weird outfit - a heavy raincoat, long pants, gloves, and balaclava so every inch of him's covered while the sun's still out.The cohort hears whispers from the kid's mom, 'this is why you don't do drugs.'AJ's uncharacteristically quiet for the trip out, even sullen. He starts to get random itches the further away they get from the cabin and can't seem to get comfortable out in the wilderness.The cohort wanders for a while with Geri leading the way from images in her dreams. Madison's ready to jump out of her skin from anxiety, but as the sun begins to set, Madison notices something. She reluctantly kneels down at a tree to pick something up, hiding it from the others' view, then calls out for Lucas.They approach a park area, mostly empty other than just a couple families still out after work. Robert's outfit, yet again, draws some attention from a couple of the kids but if the adults notice, they're pretending not to.Madison takes the lead and brings the cohort past the park and into the woods, through brambles, down a hill, toward a stream. She uses a marker stump and carefully placed, old smooth stones to cross.Robert tells Madi and everyone to wait, the energy of the area doesn't feel right - worse than the pills at the Ward. He admits he's assuming that means it's dangerous, but he also doesn't have another frame of reference for what the energy is or means.Madi tells him if he's scared, he's free to stay behind, but she's going ahead to find Lucas. Robert replies he's still going, he's just warning that something doesn't feel right and the cohort should be on alert.AJ, still scratching at miscellaneous itches and looking pathetic and miserable, confirms Madi's not gonna do this alone.Geri, as they keep walking along, tries to find Lucas by 'pinging' telepathy off him, like radar. She figures if she has a range normally without pushing herself, getting a hit at all will at least let them know when he's close. She's hoping it'll let her get a clue on direction as well, but not counting on it.When she initiates her ping, deep in the woods, she senses the three people near her, and something else - another sort of presence that's somehow all around them. When she connects, it shouts in her mind, frightened and addled. It wants to know if anyone can hear it.Geri holds her head in pain. She calls out, out loud, 'where are you?'The strange voice calls out for Madison, begging for the girl to notice him. Only Geri can hear him. Out loud, she yells out that she can't pinpoint him if he's in so many directions at once.Robert pries Geri's hands from her temples to stop her from digging her nails into her own skin. Madison's more interested in running deeper into the woods to find Lucas, with AJ following behind. He warns her, the group's being watched.The voice screams ...
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    26 mins
  • Episode 7: Madison and Booze

    Episode 7: Madison and Booze
    Mar 30 2024
    In a world where shadowy organizations make living weapons out of cheerleaders, Robert combats his true nemesis - underage drinking.The cohort also does their best to plan for an upcoming rescue mission.---------Episode Transcript:Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]Green Country Calcination Episode 7: Madison and BoozeAfter the visit with Lucas, the cohort had their work cut out for them starting preparations to rescue Cassidy. One of the first things on Geri's list of things to do was give the cohort a non-telepathic means of group communications in the cabin.She totally wasn't annoyed with AJ still being upset with her at all. And definitely didn't have to rewrite her first entry in the extremely low-tech shared pen and journal set several times to scratch out such phrases as 'Since AJ's being a pissbaby...'The end result of the notice is rather short and direct, simply informing the others the journal is to share messages and gathered information for when their schedules didn't line up to always meet face-to-face.Geri also decided she wanted that argument with AJ to stop, but wasn't sure how to be positive it would stop. So naturally, she attempted to solve the issue of non-consensual telepathy with... more non-consensual telepathy. Instead of just talking to literally anyone.Because talking about your problems out loud makes you look stupid. You can't just admit you don't know things you by all accounts should.She decided, since Beth has an innate understanding of emotions and was at least somewhat close to AJ while they were at the ward, to Reconnect to her again and - instead of initiating a private conversation - to poke around in Beth's brain for the information she wanted.She looked for what Beth knew about AJ's emotional state while they were at the ward, what Beth might know about how to smooth things over with AJ, and what Beth knows about how to (mundanely) get people to not be upset, generally.Beth knew that things were very delicate for AJ - his whole world had just been shattered when he learned his beloved uncle Gabriel had kept secrets from him. Especially secrets like this.Beth believed the best way to smooth things over with AJ was for honesty to be the best policy. And for general knowledge on making people less upset? She believed truthfulness, mutual respect, and clear learning from mistakes usually work best.Most of those were things Geri didn't want to hear. She put off settling the issues with AJ she caused until she could hopefully find an approach she didn't hate.We start our scene shortly after dusk in the cohort's cabin. It's been a couple short days since meeting Lucas. During the past days AJ's been making a ruckus at all hours in the garage he's claimed as his bedroom, holing up in there except for supply runs.Geri's in the kitchen cooking dinner for the whole cohort - home-style mac n' cheese. She's readily taken on several domestic tasks for cohort functioning and is actually good at them. She doesn't tend to venture outside the cabin as much as the others for her research and other conspiracy-fighting tasks.Robert's actually awake, starting his evening casually sipping on a glass of dark spirits.AJ finally slinks out of the garage, wearing a flannel button-up, jeans, and an apron with a hula dancer's body on it. He watches Geri cooking for a moment before conspicuously rummaging for frozen foods instead.Geri tries to offer him some of the food she's making, letting him know it's for everyone, but just then, the door slams open and shut again.It's Madison. The girl's frazzled, clinging to the door wide-eyed, locking it. Peeking out the peephole. She takes a few breaths but it doesn't do much to calm her. ...
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    38 mins
  • Episode 8: Rescuing Cassidy

    Episode 8: Rescuing Cassidy
    Apr 8 2024
    The cohort enacts their plan to rescue Madison's childhood best friend Cassidy from where she's being held underground the Church of Charismatic Virtues. Geri seduces a gullible security guard who has a crush on her. She also learns brand new things about her powers everyone wishes she didn't.But she's not the only one who learns things about powers...Sorry for the late update, I hadn't realized how long this game session was before starting.---------Episode Transcript:Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]Green Country Calcination Episode 8: Rescuing CassidyThe night after the cohort had their planning session to rescue Madison's childhood friend, Geri has another dream: looking for hints about the church's secret basement.She dreams she's passing through a door in the church, one she remembers leads underground... where she wasn't allowed. She walks with bare feet down the dark, stone staircase. Before her is a labyrinthine maze of tunnels with truly illogical or perhaps arcane design.She hears something, a chorus of voices echoing down the hall. She follows the sound of the chanting until she winds up in a large, open ritual room. The chanting is coming from thirteen black-robed figures with hoods that obscure their faces.They're surrounding the central stone altar, at the head of which is Serena leading the ritual wearing billowing grey robes. She stands over her victim on the altar, the young woman wearing pristine white robes who matches Cassidy's description. Serena has her hands at the girl's temples, concentrating.Geri can tell, somehow, in the dream as she watches, Serena's doing something even more invasive, violating than telepathy, like she's taking something.But then Serena pauses, lifts her head, and smiles widely. She looks up to the ceiling and says, "I see you."The words echo in Geri's head as she wakes up screaming.It's still morning but not ungodly early when Geri wakes up. She's not yet come out of her room a little while after the screaming, so Madison comes to check on her - bringing gifts of fresh coffee.While Madison's bright eyed, bushy-tailed, already had a morning workout and showered, Geri shuffles out of her room wearing yesterday's clothes and her mane of curly hair in wild tangles.Geri invites her in and they sit on Geri's bed. She's taken down all the decorations since moving in and put them in the closet. The sheets have small burn holes and singe marks. The room smells faintly of smoke.They sit for a while together in silence while Geri has her coffee, before Madison finally gently prompts Geri to get breakfast.By then, AJ's crawled out his dwelling in the garage, in a bleary-eyed haze from staying up all night making the requested gadgets. He's wearing a black hoodie, neon pink yoga pants, and his rubber apron. The girls walk into a scene of him pouring black coffee into a glass already half-full of sugar-free grape monster. He's so groggy, he goes to take a drink of his concoction, but nearly drinks from the coffee pot instead.Geri's suddenly too awake from the sight of the yoga pants. Madison's traumatized from the whole situation, but especially the crimes against coffee.They tell him good morning, and AJ doesn't seem to notice the stares as he asks Madi if they could maybe extend the central heating to the garage. AJ in his un-caffeinated state doesn't at all catch the sarcasm when Madi says she'll get her dad to call the builders.AJ downs his unholy creation as they really start the conversation. Geri doesn't flinch, but is trying to not stare at the yoga pants. Madi's looking at AJ like he's lost his mind and watches him with a fascination as if he's the current feature of an internet drama deep ...
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    51 mins