The team lays low while the heat dies down. TK visits a His Name™ branch, and catches up with an old friend.
Support the show at http://patreon.com/funcityventures
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--
@funcityventures is the show on twitter
@funcityventures is the show on instagram
@bijanstephen is TK
@randwiches is Viv
@nicholasguercio is Luxe
and @shodell is Lash
@taylordotbiz is the bad boys and
@mikerugnetta is everything else
--
Recorded at Fortunate Horse in Greenpoint BK
Produced, edited and sound designed by Mike Rugnetta
Pixlriffs is an expert door planer.
Our music is by Sam Tyndall - https://pileofsecrets.bandcamp.com
Our art is by Tess Stone - http://notdrunkenough.com/
Our Discord mods are Olivia Gulin, Kestrel and Kit
The voice of Artemis is Molly Templeton
--
CC-BY Licensed SFX and music used in this Episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CluNOlRGPHE
EPISODE 20.3
[00:00:00] [ Ominous intro music plays ]
> Mike Rugnetta / G.M.: You guys are alone in the mess hall of The Mrs. Egg, what do you want to do with your day?
[ Ominous intro music fades out ] [ Lofi Chill Beats begin playing ]
> Bijan Stephen / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, so I think the first thing T.K. does is hop in Henley, he says - y’know - goes back to his room, puts down his book, says goodbye to everybody, puts on some lofi chill beats ‘cause he’s trying to chill out today, gets into Henley and puts in the supply store that he goes to which is in the Lower East Side.
[ Lofi Chill Beats fade out ]
> Mike / G.M.: So yeah you head down south. It’s a - it’s like a cluttered showroom, it’s just piles of things, it sort of looks like an old Army Navy store. It’s like it’s been there for a - y’know - a hundred years, and it looks like the man who is behind the counter has also been there for a hundred years. Everything is covered in a fine layer of dust, but, yeah whatever you want they would tend to have it. You’re not gonna buy anything too weird -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] No -
> Mike / G.M.: - yeah, you’re not buying anything off the beaten path? Yeah, whatever you
wanna get, he’ll sell it to you, brusquely, and with very little small talk.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Ay Phil-ay!
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC as Supply Store Owner ] [ With a gruff voice ] Yo, what’s up?
> Bijan / “T.K”: [ IC ] I’m back, I need some canisters - some fuel canisters.
> Mike / G.M.: He comes out from the door behind the desk and he’s holding a take out tray, and you can see that he’s, like, shoveling rice into his mouth.
> Bijan / “T.K”: [ OOC ] Ugh, a man after my own heart.
> Mike / G.M.: It smells really good. > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mmm.
> Mike / G.M.: With a full mouth he goes - [ IC ] [ incomprehensible mouth sounds ] [ Shannon Odell, Mike, and Bijan all laugh ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Uh, yeah, can I get a - I need a canister for this mini welder, I want a chainsaw and a -
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Uh, yea, if you, uh, go -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] - a Data Tap, where do I get those?
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] - go look, uh, ya see that pile of canisters over there in the corner? Yea you should be able to find what you need over there. [ Shannon laughs ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Uh-huh, right. And the other stuff? Yeah? Can I get that chainsaw? The mono-filament one?
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] The chainsaw, yea -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Thought I ordered that last week.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Uh, hold on - [ OOC ] and he taps on a - he, like, taps on a little screen that’s set into the desk [ electronic button pressing sounds ] [ IC ] yea, gi - gimme a sec - [ OOC ] and he sort of rustles around in a pile of cardboard boxes that’s behind the desk, [ rustling sounds ] nothing is in order, he’s toppling things over, things are falling. He reaches into one box and he pulls out - in a spray of packing peanuts - just a small thin box, and he plops it down on the counter and he says, [ IC ] yea you got ya chainsaw.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Ah thank you - thank you Phil.
> Mike / G.M.: It’s got a picture of a car on it, except the car is being sawed in half by the
chainsaw [ Bijan laughs ] and the car has a word bubble on it that says “Ouch”. > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Perfect.
> Mike / G.M.: There’s no exclamation mark. [ Nick Guercio laughs ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mmm hmm, mmm hmm.
> Taylor Moore / “The Bad Boys”: Ah aha ha. Ouch. [ Mike laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] This is exactly what T.K. ordered, he’s delighted -
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You ever - uh - you ever use one of these before?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] It doesn’t matter, man, I need it.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] All right, I didn’t mean to -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Don’t ask.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Okay.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Can I also get a Data Tap? I wanna... skim some data.
> Mike / G.M.: Roll a D6. If you roll high, this is something that he has.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Five, let’s go! [ Nick echoes the “let’s go” in the background ]
> Mike / G.M.: Nice! [ IC ] Yea, actually, my - uh - my cousin just brought me in one of these, I ain’t never seen one before. What do you - how do you use this?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] You just, plug it in.
> Mike / G.M.: He goes and he opens up a filing cabinet, and pulls out a small doohickey that kind of looks like a wireless mic pack, except out of the bottom there’s something that looks like an ice pick, it’s got like a little sheath on it, and he pulls the sheath off and you just see a long copper antenna, or arm, with a point on the end, and he says [ IC ] I dunno, looks complicated. [ OOC ] And he sets it down on your small pile of things.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Great, I’ll take all of it, thank you. > Mike / G.M.: Yeah, I mean you -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] You wanna put it on my tab?
> Mike / G.M.: [ laughing ] Do you have a tab?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] He’s got a tab, I mean he pays it, [ Shannon laughs ] he’s got a tab
though.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, I mean, you just transfer the amount of money that you - it sounds like you’ve looked at these things that you know how much they cost -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, it’s not like more than five hundred Nuyen in total. > Mike / G.M.: Yeah, he gestures at it all, he’s like [ IC ] Get it outta here.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Thank you, Phil. [ OOC ] And he transfers the money, then - y’know - puts the boxes under his arm, throws them in the back of Henley, and drives off.
[ Lofi Chill Beats fade back in ]
[00:05:15]
> Mike / G.M.: Nice.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, I think he’s headed - so, T.K. he’s - y’know - he’s listening to lofi beats because he’s distressed. He’s really been thinking a lot about the stuff with Sunshine, and that whole fight when he lost control, because he’s still figuring out how to process it, so, what he does when he needs to deal with stuff like this is he goes where he used to go, which is a church up in West Harlem, which is the place where he has his earliest memory. Somebody took him there, he doesn’t remember who, but it’s near where he grew up, it’s where he returns to when he’s distressed, because there’s usually no one there. No one bothers him. He can - he’s not religious - he can just sit down, think about things.
> Mike / G.M.: Should we - this is an honest question - should we take this opportunity to talk about how it is Religion works in New York City, in 2101 -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Sure.
> Mike / G.M.: - or do we just want to go to the church?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] I mean, is there a way it works?
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, there is a very specific way that it works.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Hmm. I mean I guess there’s magic now and like Shamans and Gods
and stuff, so -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Yeah. [ Lofi Chill Beats fade out ]
[ Soft expository music fades in ]
> Mike / G.M.: So by the, like, 2030s, all of the major Abrahamic religions figured out that they were basically gonna fold, like they were gonna fail financially, in the wake of corporate ascendancy and, like, a changing tax code. And so they all actually banded together, and this is very much a United Canadian American States thing, this is not like a worldwide phenomenon, this is very much like this region of the world this had happened. And so a lot of the local archdiocese of Christian religions, many local Jewish and Islamic communities all kind of like banded together and they formed a corporate conglomerate that is named - with no hint of irony - His Name Incorporated.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Uh huh...
> Jenn de la Vega / “Vivian Lakewood”: [ OOC ] Wow.
> Mike / G.M.: It is a large, like, faith based conglomerate that is based in the United Canadian American States, its headquarters are in Washington D.C.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] We love it.
> Mike / G.M.: So over the last seventy years or so, His Name has become something like yoga or meditation, it’s like, they’re not entirely bad, but they’re also divorced from their tradition and their traditional meaning and also in a lot of ways, the, sort of, more seedy elements of it prey on people’s insecurities. But, also, some of those things are legitimately good, and good for people, and bring people joy. And so, like, His Name is a very, sort of, complicated, very strange organization. It’s sort of like a multi-theistic consumer experience that is in the vestments of religious tradition. Let me make sure if it’s -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Say that again. > Mike / G.M.: Huh?
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Say that again.
> Mike / G.M.: Is a multi-theistic experience in the vestments of tradition.
> Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Wow.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: That’s very good. Very well said Mike. [ Mike and Shannon both laugh]
> Mike / G.M.: Y’know, it’s an artifact of immense greed, this kind -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Mike, I think this is actually the first detail of this world that has bummed me out. [ Entire cast laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: It’s - uh -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: That just made me so sad to hear that phrase.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: Yeah, multi-th -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: I mean I’m being moved by your art, that’s good - > Mike / G.M.: Okay, good -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: - but wow.
> Mike / G.M.: It’s not all bad, um -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Shut the fuck up. [ Entire cast laughs again ]
> Mike / G.M.: I said it’s com- I was up front about this, it’s not - it’s a complicated thing because it was born of greed, right? Like all of the leaders of these local religions figured out that corporate ascendancy meant that they were not going to be able to sway the tax code, they weren’t gonna be able to get the donations that they wanted, and so they banded together in order to play the corporate game, and so this is something that is - something that exists in order to prey on people’s insecurities. But, His Name also does have branches, and even some small kiosks all across the city that provide life coaching services; therapy sessions; many of the churches preach a vaguely Abrahamic code of ethics at weekly “community meetings” that you
can go into after paying a small fee; there is often a financial counselor on staff and there is also a twenty-four hour helpline that most of them run at the cost of one Nuyen per minute. Most churches are also sanctuaries, both legally and practically. They are open to all, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, as long as they’re not having a community meeting or a class. And when you go in you are free to basically take advantage of the things that are out, like, y’know, like if there’s food, if there’s resources, if there’s hobby materials, you’re allowed to basically just use whatever you want. But also, thanks to corporate sovereignty and extra-territoriality, the NYPD Incorporated and, in theory, all other corporate security forces are not allowed to step foot into any His Name branches unless they have a warrant that is issued by a judge that sits on the New York Supreme Court, and this makes His Name a very - it’s an organization that courts a lot of controversy, and they kind of dig it, and it’s part of their advertising and PR campaign, that they, sort of, cast themselves in this vaguely libertarian language. Like they’re a sanctuary, y’know, if you’re in trouble you can come here, you’re gonna be safe, there’s a lot of language about freedom and about community and about helping one another, and about like - but also like, being your own person, and staying, y’know, getting from the long arm of the law and authority and all this other stuff.
[00:11:15]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mm-hmm.
> Mike / G.M.: The largest branches are in Midtown but there are ones all over the place, there is a His Name branch that is in Harlem. It is not in an old church, it’s in a building that is new construction, but like many other things in New York, it was built to high specifications, high detail, to just look like an old 19th century sanctuary. And if that’s where you’re gonna head -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, I think so.
[ Soft organ music plays with faded workshop sounds in the background ]
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah. You go in, it is mostly empty, you see some people at the far end of the sanctuary, you hear the dull sounds of, like, hand tools? And if you look, you can see a couple people in long dark smocks using hand planes and planing what look like doors. There are a couple other people standing around looking somewhat confused, like, maybe like they’re learning something, like this is a class. But no one says anything to you when you enter, most of the pews are completely empty, it’s very calm, it’s dimly lit except for the far end, where there are more lights.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Cool. Uh, yeah, T.K. just sits in the last row and he takes off his comm and puts down his deck and just sort of sits there and watches the people use their hand tools.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, you hear - it’s, like, the distant, slightly reverberant sounds of a hand plane. There’s, like, dull murmuring as one of the people in one of those dark smocks - they also have a very long beard - points at something and then someone who looks much more modern, someone who just looks like they walked in off the street, mouths a couple words, you can’t hear what they’re saying.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, but I mean - T.K.’s just sitting there, sort of, taking it in. He’s, um, trying to still himself and - it’s like this is the closest he gets to meditation. I think he’s waiting for something but he doesn’t know exactly what it is, so I think he’s just sitting there thinking about the fight, he’s thinking through, like, the images from the beginning all the way through the end. And I think, you know, he’s thinking about - there’s a blank spot in his memory, and he’s, y’know, he’s trying to remember what happened before he came to and saw Luxe. So, he’s just sitting there and I think he just sits there for, like, an hour, just watching this stuff happen.
[ Quiet moment with no dialogue, just soft organ music and hand planing sounds ]
> Mike / G.M.: At one point after you’ve been there for a long time, one of the older men in the long brown smocks with a big beard, no hair on his head, comes over and he says, [ IC as old church worker gentleman ] [ With a gentle voice ] Would you like to join the workshop?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] What are you guys doin’?
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mmm, just planin’ some doors. It’s a very meditative activity.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Sure, why not.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Straight’nin’ out some wood. [ Shannon laughs ] Makin’ it flat.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Yeah, let’s - let’s do it. [ OOC ] T.K.’s not very familiar with wood, but he does like learning.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It is - ooh, these are good ones, pine boards. > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Where did you get pine? It’s 2101.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh, you know, we come from a small community up north. We grow our own trees, it’s - uh - nice [ OOC ] and he starts telling you all of these details about their genetically modified pine trees -
> Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] So cute!
> Mike / G.M.: - as he walks away from you, you look down and you see that he’s not wearing any shoes, and, yeah, you go over and there are a bunch of wood shavings on the ground and there are all of these large, y’know, door shapes being made ever - being made slightly smaller bit by bit by bit. Yeah, there’s two other people who are there. There is - there - y’know, looks like a young couple just hanging out, like, watching these three older men that are just planing things and talking about the tools and talking about the wood. And there’s - yeah - big pieces of board up on saw horses and he just hands you a hand plane.
[00:15:26]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, I think T.K. rolls up his sleeves and just starts planin’.
> Mike / G.M.: It comes - I mean - yeah, roll agility.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] All right.
> Mike / G.M.: When he hands you the hand plane it has that feeling of, like, you know a tool that is exactly the right weight?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Indeed.
> Mike / G.M.: And, like, has been used so much that it - you, like, know immediately how to
hold it.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah.
> Mike / G.M.: You know what I’m talking about, right? > Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Yeah, uh -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] T.K. just glitched the roll.
[ Players all laugh and make exasperated noises ]
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Look, no - I mean - I don’t wanna jump ahead but I suspect all is forgiven. [ Taylor and Mike both laugh ]
> Mike / G.M.: You, like, really put some force into it.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mmm-hmm.
> Mike / G.M.: You kinda shoulder in really hard and push down and you gouge a huge hole -
> Shannon / “Lash Goodbog”: [ OOC ] Oh, no.
> Mike / G.M.: - in the very fine and flat surface of the door and you cut out a chunk from the face of it.
> Bijan / “T.K”: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
> Mike / G.M.: And the guy who led you over says, [ IC ] Now that’s not a problem, just needs
more planin’.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, T.K. tries again.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You’ll get it. [ Nick, Shannon, and Jenn laugh ]
> Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Awww.
> Mike / G.M.: He looks outside and he goes, [ IC ] Warm, today.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] T.K. doesn’t answer, this time he got one hit.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Warm, yesterday.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] So, I think he’s just taking it slower.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Using less of the metal arm, he’s kinda settling into it.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, you get - some very thin little wood shavings issue from the hand plane and you feel like with dozens of hours of practice, this is something that would come - that
would come to you, you could learn how to do this. And then the guy says, [ IC ] Probably warm tomorrow.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] T.K. just nods. He’s planin’, he’s in the zone, loves to - he’s - he loves learning a new skill that isn’t digital.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You come to the church to plane? [ Mike laughs out of character ] > Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] This is so wholesome and adorable. [ Entire cast laughs ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Came to think.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It’s a good place for it.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Yeah, most days. Don’t see many people planing wood. > Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Oh that’s ‘cause there aren’t many.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Well, guess there’s not a lot of wood here.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Mmm. And a lot of machines around, do the planin’ for ya. > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Just back n’ forth. [ Bijan laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: Many minutes pass.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah. Ugh god, have you ever planed wood? Any of you?
> Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] No, never.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Ah, it’s so nice. It’s so meditative, you just - [ Shannon laughs ] > Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Wow.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Man learns a lot about himself, planin’ a door. [ Shannon laughs ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] It’s what I’m here for -
> Mike / G.M.: He says this to no one in particular.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, T.K.’s just - he’s in the zone. I think he stays for, like, another hour just planing wood.
> Mike / G.M.: All right.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Planin’ wood.
> Mike / G.M.: I mean this man will not pry into your personal business unless you offer anything, y’know, he will ask vaguely friendly questions forever.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, no, I can tell. [ Bijan laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: Do you wanna have a meaningful conversation in this room? Or - [ Taylor
laughs ]
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Press ‘F’ to have a meaningful conversation. [ Entire cast laughs ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] It’s - first of all ‘F’ is to pay respects, ‘E’ is to have a meaningful conversation.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Aw, geez -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Shoulda known, shoulda known. No, I think T.K. is - he’s got an
appointment later to talk to one of his older friends.
> Mike / G.M.: I ask only just because I wanna be sure you’re getting what you want out of this. > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
> Mike / G.M.: I -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] I think he just wants to plane some wood.
> Mike / G.M.: I love this, this is gre-
> Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] It’s very calm and nice -
> Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] Yes.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] He’s tryna -
> Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] - compared to what just happened.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] He’s just tryna -
> Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] Right, it’s like the polar opposite.
> Mike / G.M.: The man reaches into one of the pockets on his long brown smock and pulls out a stick, and he puts the stick in his mouth and he begins to chew it, and he walks around to all of the doors and admires them. The young couple that was here has left, one of the older men has sat down in one of the pews and is kind of, like, lightly nodding off. It’s just you, this man chewing on a stick, and one other older gentleman who is planing a door in this giant corporate church.
[00:19:40]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mmm-hmm. I’m just imagining it’s the afternoon, sort of, some, like, light filtering in.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Little dust motes.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, I think he’s just planing, I think after a while he sends a message to, um, - god, what was her name.
> Mike / G.M.: Oh your girlfriend? > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Ex.
> Mike / G.M.: Your ex-girlfriend. > Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Ohh?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Ex / old flame. > Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] Oooooh!
> Mike / G.M.: You send a message to Cinnamon Billions.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mm-hmm.
> Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] Wow.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] So the backstory to this is, Mike and I did a one off, like, a while ago. > Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Whoa.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] And so she gave me a job, but I was like, she seems like a character we should keep in.
> Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] Oh, interesting!
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mmm-hmmm.
> Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] What a name.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, I don’t know where that came from but that’s - > Nick / “Luxe Scythe”: [ OOC ] I love it.
> Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] I do too.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] - it’s all Rugnetta, baby. [ Bijan laughs ]
> Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] Wow.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Straight off the dome.
> Mike / G.M.: So -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] So, I think T.K. just sends her a message and says “Hey, do you have some time to talk later?”
[ Fun City transition music plays ]
[00:20:42]
> Mike / G.M.: So, you get a message back [ chime ] from Cinnamon Billions that says: “MITTS?” And then: “3?”
[ Fun City transition music fades out ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] T.K. sends back a thumbs up.
> Mike / G.M.: ‘Kay.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] I think in the meantime he’s gonna go find something to eat. I also think - sorry - I also think he takes the chunk of wood that he fucked up with him.
> Mike / G.M.: It’s - you have it - it is very easy to find, it is the biggest piece of wood in the pile by an order of magnitude.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Great, he’s reminding himself of his failures.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Dude, you’re literally bearing a cross. [ Entire cast laughs ]
> Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Woooooow.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah! I’m telling you, I’m trying to express that he’s, like, sad about this. Like he’s, like, fucked up about it.
> Mike / G.M.: I think you - lemme think about this for a sec, hold on. [ Mike pauses for a moment ] I think in this meditative moment, while you’re planing the door, you realize something about yourself -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mm-hmm.
> Mike / G.M.: - or rather, like, there is something about you that you realize will be the case
from this point forward. I’m going to assign you a quality - > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Uh-oh. Okay, go on.
> Mike / G.M.: - and I’m going to assign you a quality that is called “Better to be feared than loved.”
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] I’ll look this up.
> Mike / G.M.: We are not doing - we are not using the text, like - it’s not gonna be the same as it is in the core rulebook. But basically, your reputation has increased, not just that people know who you are, but that they know you for a specific thing now. And that, like, basically, word travelled and you realize that, like, the team let Kitkat go, Dragonfly left, y’know, you love your teammates, you have - I think - an abiding respect for Gabe, at least, but, like, people talk about stuff, so it seems likely that people will talk about what you have done regarding Sunshina.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: I mean, that’s a hell of a story. Like, assaulted by a bunch of shooters, then one of them gets beaten to death with bare hands.
> Mike / G.M.: And it’s like the kind of stuff that, in Runner bars, people fucking love talking about. This is like the currency of this job, these kinds of stories. So, here’s what I’m gonna say the result of this is.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mm-hmm.
> Mike / G.M.: You can increase the loyalty of all of your contacts, with the exception of Dev,
by two.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Shit, okay.
> Mike / G.M.: Because they are terrified of you.
[ Jenn & Shannon say wow simultaneously, then Shannon laughs ]
> Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Shannon and I are, like, staring. [ Nick is making some “lalala” sounds in the background ]
> Mike / G.M.: In the future -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] He has three contacts, so - [ Bijan laughs ] > Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Nice.
> Mike / G.M.: - when you meet new people, especially people who work in organized crime, they’re gonna roll memory and logic to see if they remember or recognize you. If they do, they’re gonna roll to see how they feel about what they’ve heard which is probably a version of the truth. So it’ll be slightly different for different people, y’know, some people will have heard a much worse version of the story, some people will have heard one that makes you seem like you were absolutely totally in the right.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mm-hmm.
> Mike / G.M.: But basically, yeah, you have a reputation. You can - if you ever want to get rid
of this -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mm-hmm.
> Mike / G.M.: - will cost you five Karma.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Fuck. That’s so many Karma.
> Mike / G.M.: So this is like, as you’re planing wood, you’re kinda, like, thinking - you start thinking within yourself, but then you end thinking outside of yourself. And the kind of, like - you’re doing the calculus of the social interactions that you will have now and later, and this is the thing that dawns on you. You go and get some food?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah.
> Mike / G.M.: With your piece of wood?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] With my piece of wood.
> Mike / G.M.: As you leave the man chewing on the stick says, [ IC ] You have a nice day.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Thanks.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] You keep at that planin’, you come back, we’re here every third Saturday.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Yup. [ OOC ] Yeah and I think he just goes and finds, like, a - I don’t know - like, an empty restaurant.
> Mike / G.M.: Street soy meat?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] No, I think he’s gonna find, like, an empty Chinese restaurant
somewhere.
> Mike / G.M.: Sure, you have, like, a perfectly passable Chinese food meal - > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah.
> Mike / G.M.: - remove twelve Nuyen from your... bank account?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] I’m gonna add this up in a minute. [ Entire cast laughs ] I think also
during his meal he’s - sort of - whittling his little piece of wood. > Mike / G.M.: All right.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Just tryna plane at it.
> Nick / “Luxe”: [ OOC ] How much did the sheep cost? Ten? > Mike / G.M.: Sure.
> Nick / “Luxe”: [ OOC ] Sure. [ Jenn laughs ] Just the bag of sheep - > Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Let’s -
> Nick / “Luxe”: [ OOC ] Sorry, gotta write that down.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, get that in there.
> Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] How much did the fairy dog cost ‘cause you gotta subtract that too. [ Jenn laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: Oh yeah, did you get one? Or did you get, like, twenty?
> Shannon / “Lash”: [ OOC ] Y’know I got one but I bought the whole line. [ Entire cast
laughs ] [ IC ] It’s on Luxe!
> Mike / G.M.: That is seventeen Nuyen.
> Nick / “Luxe”: [ OOC ] I’ll take that out as well. > Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Poor Luxe.
[ Different Fun City transition music plays ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Luxe is so generous.Yeah all right, so he’s - so yeah, no - I think he goes to the bar.
[ 00:24:48 ]
> Mike / G.M.: All right, yeah, so MITTS is also in Harlem, it’s not too far from where you are. It is on the third floor of a building that has been very recently renovated, it’s a very high class looking, detailed renovation. There’s been a lot of facade-work to make it look like it is an old, very, like, high class, almost, tenement building - sort of, like, historical revival -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mm-hmm.
> Mike / G.M.: - except for the third floor, where MITTS is, he’s, like, somehow managed to find a loophole where they didn’t touch any of the square footage that he owns, and so there’s, like, beautiful brickwork that abuts, like, old, crumbling, needs-to-be-repointed brick with these crumbling white windows. You can see it from the street, there’s, like, a big old neon sign that just says “MITTS” and it’s blinking, M-I-T-T-S. And you go up - you walk up the stairs and when you get in, MITTS is this cavernous bar, the ceilings are very high, it’s very long and wide, and there’s a bar to the left hand side, and the bar is low. It is probably, like, waist-height? If not slightly shorter, and standing behind it is Mitts, who is a dwarf. He is standing comfortably behind it, wiping it down with a rag, and there are short little stools in front of it. You can see in the far, far, back of the bar there is a boxing ring, and one side of the boxing ring has had the ropes removed, and there’s a small staircase that leads up to it, and on the ring there are a couple old chairs and tables and - it’s mostly empty, there are a couple people sitting at tables off to the right, looking at their comms, reading a book, taking notes, just sort of, like, sitting there. And sitting at one of the small, squat, stools you also see a very familiar figure, a big round pouf of curly red hair, the back of a black blazer, and long - sort of, like - it’s not pleather, but, like, what is that shiny pant fabric?
> Nick / “Luxe”: [ OOC ] Vinyl?
> Mike / G.M.: Vinyl? Yeah, like, long vinyl pants, and, like, long, tall, bright white high heels. And you would know that this is your ex-partner, Cinnamon Billions. She’s got a tall, very pale, soy brew in front of her, and she does not turn around when you walk in. But Mitts is there, and he sees you walk in.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, I think -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: [ IC as Mitts ] Oho! Ay, slugger! Come’ere, come’ere! [ OOC ] And he comes down from behind the bar, he’s got, like, a perfectly round, flat, squashed nose, cauliflower ears, and a Charles Darwin forehead -
> Jenn / “Viv”: [ OOC ] Yes!
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: - and, like, eyebrow ridge.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Love it.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: This is a head if you punched it, would shatter your forearm. [ Mike laughs ] And he kind of shadow boxes up to you - [ Taylor laughs gruffly in character ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Ay, Mitt.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: [ IC ] Good to see ya, buddy!
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC] Mitt, it’s good to see you too.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: [ IC ] Hey, guess - we gotta drinks special today, you wanna guess what it is?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] No, just give it to me.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: [ IC ] PUNCH! [ Taylor wheezes and Shannon laughs ] You get it?
> Bijan / “T.K”: [ IC ] I wish I didn’t.
> Mike / G.M.: The shelves behind the bar are mostly empty, and the bottles that you can see are some of the cheapest liquor that you can possibly buy -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Perfect.
> Mike / G.M.: - the menu has two items: Beer - 2 Nuyen, Not Beer - 4 Nuyen.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: [ IC ] Ya, I was kiddin’ about the Punch, that’s just for the joke. > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] It’s a good joke, thank you Mitt. It’s good to see you too, buddy.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: [ IC ] Ahhhh!
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Ahhhh! [ Shannon laughs ]
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: [ IC ] Aaaaaahhhh!! [ Shannon and Mike laugh ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] T.K. walks over and sits down by Cinnamon.
> Mike / G.M.: She has not turned around, though she has heard this entire interaction, and she just says, sort of, like, side-eyeing you a bit, [ IC as Cinnamon ] [ With a soft spoken voice ] What’s up?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Ay, Mitt, can I get, uh, not beer?
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: [ IC ] Ah, yeh, you know it. [ Bijan laughs ]
> Mike / G.M.: He walks over to some of the bottles.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: That was implied, y’know.
> Mike / G.M.: Okay.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] I -
[ Wood knocking sound imitating movement, along with some metal and glass sounds ]
> Mike / G.M.: That’s him walking over to the bottles -
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Ice - ice cubes [ Taylor and Shannon both laugh ]
> Mike / G.M.: I’m gonna use this.
[ More glass rattling sounds ]
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: [ Slurping sounds ] He’s drinking. [ Bijan and Shannon both laugh ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] This is good foley work.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: Uh oh, he’s opening a can. [ Can opening sound ] [ Entire cast
laughs ] He’s licking a salt lamp. [ 00:30:08 ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] I’m having a - having a hard time. Thought I’d say hi. > Mike / G.M.: [ IC as Cinnamon ] What kind of hard time you having?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] I’m glad you didn’t hear.
> Mike / G.M.: Hold on, she’s gonna search her memory, [ dice rolling sounds ] I mean, yeah, she’s got a great memory but, like, she - I don’t think she would have heard about this. I don’t know why I rolled, yeah. [ IC ] You know I don’t hang out with those people.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] I’m glad you don’t, um, we were in a fight. Somebody didn’t make it. It was my fault.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] One of yours?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] No, no, no, no, no, we’re all good. [ Mike sighs in relief in character ]
But, uh -
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I mean, isn’t this what you do? [ OOC ] And she, like, turns and she looks at you, her eyelashes are very long. [ Bijan laughs ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] I love that we’re in a noir right now. It’s great.
> Mike / G.M.: She’s, like, fully leaning on the bar - like, full - her forearms are, yeah -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Mm-hmm.
> Mike / G.M.: - like, encircling her beer, she’s, like, looking to her left, kind of staring you in the eyes.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, and I think he’s, y’know, waiting on that Not Beer. > Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: It arrives.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, and so he just -
> Mike / G.M.: What does it look like?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, what is it?
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: It is from, like, an unmarked bottle. A lot of the bottles are unmarked, in various shades of grey, green, and gold. And this has got a little green to it.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Okay. Yeah, T.K. just takes a large chug.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: It tastes like rotgut whiskey and menthol.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] He grimaces -
> Mike / G.M.: This is - it tastes the way self-destructive drinking tastes.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Yeah, I think this is exactly what he’s in the mood for. [ Mike laughs ] He’s having a hard time. So -
> Mike / G.M.: Cinnamon looks at you and goes, [ IC ] Whoa, slow down.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Yeah, maybe later. No I - uh - I beat a woman to death.
> Taylor / “The Bad Boys”: He brings another drink over, [ Mike laughs ] and puts it in front of you and pours it, and then leaves the bottle and walks away. Around the corner, you don’t see him.
> Mike / G.M.: Cinnamon finishes the rest of her beer and pours some of the bottle into her mug.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Yeah, you get it.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Uh...
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] She shot me, if that helps.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I mean, you’re gonna have to tell me if it does.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] It does.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Okay.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] I - uh - I lost control again. Just... out of my mind. I don’t remember.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Only one this time?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Only one.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Well, thank heavens for small blessings.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] I’ve been thinking about it, I don’t know what to say. > Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Well -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] But I figured you might know.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] What have you been thinking about?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Y’know, just - uh - I woke up and I saw my friend and I looked over and I saw just a pool of blood. And a guy was yelling in a shipping container for some reason. It was - uh - I don’t know how to feel about it. I don’t know how I should feel about it.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] How do you wanna feel about it?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Well, I don’t want it to - [ Bijan sighs ] I don’t want it to not matter.
Because I know it does. I - uh - I guess I just needed to tell someone that it’s hard.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] It sounds hard.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] T.K. takes another drink, and finishes his drink this time.
> Mike / G.M.: A long silence passes. Cinnamon drinks some of the liquor that’s in her beer mug, and she pours a little bit more in, and she looks at you, and she asks, [ IC ] I mean, are you still... trying to get it under control?
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Yeah, I was. I just saw this other guy who was pointing a gun at us, I saw him kill his partner. And it just - y’know - it was raining, it was loud, it just set me off. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t prepared. I hadn’t been sitting with myself for long enough. I think - uh - I’m not sure what I’m gonna do next. But, I heard that people know now. They’ve heard.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] I mean, you’re - y’know, your crew is - is just like the dancers in the city. One thing happens, two days later, everybody knows about it. It’s funny how much the people that you hang out with and the people that I hang out with have in common. Even though it’s two
very different lines of work. But, you can’t - don’t let them turn you into that person. Because you are not that person.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Thanks, Cinnamon. I needed to hear that.
> Mike / G.M.: The whole time, she’s had this kind of, like - not irritated, but, like, stern look on her face, and, like, in this moment she kind of, like, breaks a little bit and she gives you, like - I don’t know how to describe this face. [ Entire cast laughs at the face Mike makes ]
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] That face.
> Mike / G.M.: I don’t know that face - I don’t know what words you use to - > Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] It’s extreme pity.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, pathos? Like -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] Extreme pity and empathy.
> Mike / G.M.: Yeah, and she, like - y’know - swivels her stool very awkwardly, her legs are very long and she’s jammed up against this bar, and it’s like a very strange side hug. But she - like, y’know - gives you a hug and she puts her giant pouf of hair on your shoulder and you can feel her head, like, through it, and she kind of, like, puts her hand on your knee and she says, [ IC ] I know you’re trying your best.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] It gets harder every day. [ OOC ] And I think he pays his tab, takes the bottle, and says, [ IC ] see you later...
> Mike / G.M.: You -
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ OOC ] - and he walks out.
> Mike / G.M.: [ IC ] Don’t give me a call if you need anything, but, give me a call when you don’t.
> Bijan / “T.K.”: [ IC ] Okay. [ OOC ] Yeah, and he leaves. [ 00:35:42 ] [ Ominous music from intro plays again ]
[ Ominous music fades out ]
[ Main Theme begins ]
> Mike / G.M.: You are now leaving Fun City. The team’s Day Off will continue tomorrow morning with Viv. Thanks for listening. If you want to support the show, get access to bonus one-off episodes, our bi-weekly post episode chat show Fun Chatty, and our Discord, head on over to patreon.com/FunCityVentures. And of course, thanks to all of our current patrons for help keeping this ship afloat. We’d also love it if you told your pals about the show, shared it on social media, drew us some fanart, gave us a rating on iTunes, or just came by to say hey on Twitter.
[ Main Theme fades out ] [ Outro Theme begins ]
> Bijan: I am Bijan Stephen, and I am T.K. You can find me online @bijanstephen on Twitter, which is B-I-J-A-N S-T-E-P-H-E-N. Or on Instagram, and you should just google that.
> Jenn: I'm Jenn de la Vega! I am Viv. You can find me online @randwiches, that's the word sandwiches but just replace the S with an R.
> Nick: This is Nick Guercio; I play Luxe Scythe. You can find me on Twitter @nguersh and Instagram @nguercio, G-U-E-R-C-I-O.
> Shannon: This is Shannon Odell, I play Lash Goodbog. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter @shodell, S-H-O-D-E-L-L.
> Taylor: This is Taylor Moore and I play all the Bad Boys. I'm @taylordotbiz.
> Mike: My name is Mike Rugnetta, I am your G.M. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @mikerugnetta. You can find the show on Twitter and Instagram @FunCityVentures. Fun City was recorded at Fortunate Horse in beautiful Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It was produced, edited, and sound designed by me, Mike Rugnetta. Pixlriffs is an expert door planer. Fun City’s music is by Sam Tyndall, except for the lofi beats this episode, those were CC BY licensed from Aruka Beats. Our art is by Tess Stone, our Discord mods are Olivia Gulin, Kit, and Kestrel, and the voice of Artemis is Molly Templeton.
[ 00:39:27 ] [ Outro Theme ends ]
[ Transcription by Juno Winter, @CapnMochi on Twitter ]