StoryScenes

2001 - Cult is raided and broken up by FBI (2001) Isolated Compound in Santa Clara, CA A door is breached as FBI agents raid a cult compound. Some people run out to escape as others need to be dragged out kicking and screaming. They all have the same deliberate raised scar on their wrist, in the shape of a Omega with a line through it. The leader is carried out by his arms and legs, screaming "These are my children!!!!". A 7-year-old boy is brought out by a female agent and led to an area with other children. A child-protective-agent says "I don't know where we're gonna put all these kids. All facilities are already loaded"...... (news crews arrive at the scene)
(2023) Apartment in Seattle Sam is a loner. Sam is a big fan of a particular podcast. Sam is 28 with a frumpy physique, and an all-black metalhead fashion style. Sam is socially very guarded. Sam has a scar on his wrist in the shape of an Omega with a line through it. In a dark room, a casual conversation between three friends is unfolding with ribbing and jokes. The talking is coming from a cell phone playing a podcast. The phone screen shows a picture of the three hosts of the podcast huddled together as friends. Sam is listening to his favorite podcast in his dark, desolate apartment. Sam is alone and he has arranged things as if he is hanging out with other people. Sam is playing solitaire (a card game) as he listens. He sometimes responds to the podcast out loud, as if it was a two-way conversation. Sam is using podcasts as a parasocial relationship to solve the problem of loneliness. Sam takes medications when he wakes up and has medication he takes with him which he needs when anxiety spikes (Xanax). After the podcast episode ends, Sam lays down to go to sleep. As he lays in bed, his thoughts wander and his anxiety grows as his thoughts race. Finally Sam takes a Xanax and goes to sleep.

2023 - Northgate Seattle, WA, USA

The incoherent screaming of a man suffering from mental illness on the street could be heard inside Sam's third floor apartment in Northgate Seattle. Closed windows and noise-canceling headphones weren’t enough to block out the shrieks. "Awesome", Sam sarcastically muttered as he pulled his curtain after glancing out the window. Sam turned up the volume of his favorite podcast.

"... so I'm trying to hide this piss dribble on the front of my pants, I don't want this girl to think I'm retarded on our first date", said Jake, one of the 3 hosts of the Fart City podcast. "I'm trying to stay seated and keep my pants scrunched in the crotch area, so she wouldn’t notice the spot" Jake continued. "it's only a matter of time before she regrets taking a chance on you", Ben chimed in. "Shut up dude, maybe he did a NEW stupid thing we haven't heard before" said Karl. Jake went on "so I'm sitting there thinking, I'm good, we're sitting at this table, it'll probably be dry by time dinner is over. Then this old man comes in and he’s using a walker, and the hostess asks me to stand up to let the guy go by.".

"Busted! She sees the piss dribble!" exclaims Ben. "in record-time too, god damn" Ben laughs.

"NO. I stayed kinda hunched over, so I'm still good. but as the guy squeezes by, he rubs against me and for some reason, I get hard. Now the piss dribble on the front of my pants is on full display" said Jake.

The two other podcast hosts explode in laughter. "Yeah I know the reason! You wanted to have sex with the old man, hahaha" Teased Karl.

Ben did his best Sigmund Freud impression, "it probably reminded you of your childhood, when your grandpa fucked you in the ass". All three podcast hosts laughed.

A popular post on the podcast review website hot-cast.com described the Fart City podcast as “three friends calling each other gay for an hour”. The Middle School sensibility offered Sam a respite from the virtue signaling that permeated every corner of popular media. Sam found comfort in listening to the types of insults and constant badgering that was only possible when friends have real trust and understanding with each other. At least that’s what he assumed it was like. Sam gave up on finding that for himself long ago. “Who could I ever trust that much? Who would ever make me feel understood?” These questions were imprinted in Sam’s brain, long before he could remember. The podcast was a perfect solution. Making enough money to live alone was a perfect solution. For Sam, it was more than just audio coming from his phone. It was three friends hanging out … plus him … and the guy screaming downstairs.

The podcast abruptly stopped as Sam's phone lit up. A couple of seconds of silence passed, then Sam's speakers started buzzing in a stuttered pattern. The cell phone screen displayed "Incoming Call", shining light into an otherwise dark corner of the studio apartment. Sam sighed as he got up from his couch, regretting his earlier decision to leave his phone all the way across the room. Sam could certainly use the exercise but he wasn't in the "getting up mood" right now. Before reaching the phone, Sam could see the caller ID. It was the concert venue where Sam worked as a sound engineer. His boss hadn't called him since he was hired seven years ago and no one else there would have a reason to call “the sound guy” on a Wednesday.

“Talk to you tomorrow” Sam said out loud as he declined the call. The podcast automatically resumed.

“So what did your date say when she saw the piss dribble and your small boner? Did she cry?” Asked Ben.

“I saw her look down at my crotch, then she looked away and just pretended she didn’t see it.” said Jake.

“Wow, she sounds like a keeper” said Ben.

The podcast stopped as Sam’s phone lit up again. Sam knew that nobody important would be at the venue that night. They never had shows on Wednesdays and the stage manager always used texts. Sam answered the call without saying anything.

“Hello? Sam? This is Baz” said the nervous voice on the other end of the call.

“Why is this stupid kid calling me?” thought Sam. Sam allowed silence to trail as he waited for Baz to explain why he was bothering him.

“Hello?” asked Baz, thinking the call might have disconnected.

“I’m here,” said Sam. “What” Sam said flatly.

“Um, sound check tomorrow is pushed back an hour. Just wanted to let you know” said Baz.

“Ok Baz. The stage manager texts all of us the call-time on the day of the show” said Sam. “You don’t need to call me for this Baz”.

“Well, I heard Dan talking on the phone with the tour manager of tomorrow’s headliner …” said Baz.

“That’s fine Baz, you don’t need to call me for this. We have a system that works. You shouldn’t be listening in on the boss's phone calls” said Sam. He wondered for a second why Baz was at the venue on a closed day. Sam knew better than to ask. The fact that Baz was a pity-hire just for staying after a few shows to “help clean up” meant he was on the lowest rung of whatever ladder existed. Certainly not someone who should be taking it upon themselves to call REAL crew members.

“OK. Well, what mics should I grab for tomorrow?” asked Baz, ignoring the annoyed tone in Sam’s voice.

“You shouldn’t be touching any of the mics Baz. I’ve got it.” Sam sat up as he considered the possibility of the dumbest person at the venue touching his curated collection of microphones. “That fucking idiot better not touch any of my gear” Sam thought with disgust. Of all the people that worked at the venue, from all different walks of life, Sam was perfectly fine with everyone there… except Baz.

“Dan said I should ask you guys if you need any help so I just … you know?” Baz trailed off.

“Well … “ Sam wished he could use a Fart City reference and tell Baz to get fucked by his grandpa, but he knew Baz wouldn’t get the reference. Just another reason to not like Baz. He didn’t GET good comedy.

“I don’t want you to help me” said Sam. “And you shouldn’t call me for this type of thing. The stage manager takes care of that”.

“Ok, I just” Baz began explaining when Sam cut him off.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye” said Sam, ending the call. The podcast automatically started playing again.

Sam spent the next hour enjoying his bi-weekly social time with his three buds. When the episode ended, the apartment took on a different vibe. Without the talking and laughing to fill the space, an argument the neighbors were having was clearly audible. The man screaming downstairs now sounded like he was magically floating outside the third story window. Sam felt vulnerable to the outside disturbances and his chest began to tighten. The familiar feeling of rising anxiety reminded Sam to grab the Xanax that was prescribed to him and swallow two pills. A drink of water wasn’t needed for an experienced pill swallower like Sam, who had been taking some form of medication for anxiety and depression since he was 13 years old. Sam pinched a modest amount of weed from his stash and packed it into his small tri-color glass pipe. Sam opened the curtains and he was relieved to see that the screaming man wasn’t floating there after all. He opened the window to light the pipe and take a single toke before going to bed.
Sam DREAMS: Cult setup, childhood. Ends intensely, Flashes of the cult leaders face. Flashes of Sam as a child in a robe. Flash of hot brand with omega shape touching skin and burning…
Sam’s alarm goes off for 3pm. Time to go to work, the concert venue. Sam is in a fan club for his podcast which meets online and posts to a forum. The podcast hosts do not participate in the online fan club and refer to those guys as weirdos on the show. Sam bickers with a rival fan online (GapingFuckHole_69_420) who trolls / antagonizes Sam on the online forum. Sam’s username on the forum is CoolGuy666. Sam uses his smartphone at work to keep up on fanclub posts.
Concert Venue in Seattle - El Corazón (Medium-Sized Rock Club) - BEFORE THE SHOW Sam works as the sound guy at a concert venue, which gives him access to perks like free tickets. Sam keeps socializing with his fellow staff to a bare minimum. Co-workers occasionally invite Sam to parties but he always declines. His anxiety and past trauma make Sam reluctant to make real friends. Sam keeps his medications secret from his co workers but frequently takes his meds after basic/innocuous encounters. People take advantage of Sam for his access to concert tickets by pretending to be his friend in superficial ways. Before the show - Sam walks in on performers making fun of him. Performers are overly nice to Sam because he is controlling the sound board and they just want him to make them sound good. A performer will ingratiate themself to Sam, and Sam will be flattered that the performer is being cool to him, but when Sam is going backstage to hand them a mic and some cords, he overhears the performers making fun of the “Weird sound guy” and they say “but it’s cool because I buttered him up, so he’ll make us sound good” and the other guys say “Nice”. Sam feels let down, and this is not new to him. Sam enters the backstage room and announces that he’s brought the mic and cables they requested. The guitarist pretends that Sam is cool and offers a fist bump. [INSTANT FLASHBACK] Young Sam is teleported to a cult dorm room with his Dad who tells him “Sorry those boys were picking on you, but having bad friends is better than having no friends at all”. The cult leader is sitting in the room with Sam’s mother on his lap and says “He’s right”. Sam’s mother says “Your father is right, dear”, and begins making out with the cult leader. Sam’s father nervously smiles with a defeated look. The cult leader extends his hand and says “put it there bud” [BACK TO THE CONCERT VENUE] Sam fist bumps the guitarist and leaves the room….. Sam knows that these social situations might not be genuine, but having a group is more important and he doesn’t want to risk losing that. During sound check a performer is rude to staff. The performer continues being rude to people right up to show time. The performer makes comments that are disparaging to the fans waiting outside.
(hero meets friend) Sam is vaping outside before the show starts and sees a guy (Joe) arriving at the ticket booth late to learn that the show is sold out. Sam sees the back of Joe’s shirt, which is a merch shirt of the podcast he likes. As Joe is walking by, Sam mentions a reference to the podcast and Joe stops and chats with him. Sam feels like he can trust this guy since he likes his favorite podcast. Sam says "I can get you in, just follow me". Joe is stoked and enjoys the show and gives Sam his social media info. "I owe you one bro". Joe asks if Sam knows if his favorite band “Entrails” is coming to the venue. Sam says “not that I know of, and the schedule is booked out for 5 months”. Joe is 28, athletic with a contemporary style leaning towards casual rocker.
After the show, a young concert goer goes up to the rocker girl staff member and asks if there is any way she can let him meet the performer. The rocker girl staff member can see in the young concert goers eyes how much they idolize and look up to the performer, and having seen how much of an asshole the performer has been to everyone, she says “trust me kid, you don’t want to meet your heroes”
Another co-worker (Baz) at the venue is trying to convince the boss that he would be a better and cheaper replacement to Sam as the sound guy. Baz is 23 thin with a goofy style. Baz lacks maturity. The boss puts on an aura of being very chill and zen and prolific but it seems like a facade. Baz has a brand new lip piercing that he keeps catching on a straw as he tries to drink from a beverage cup. The boss asks him if it’s new. Baz says yeah. Baz says everyone in his band got new ink (points at new stupid tattoo) and new jewelry (Baz can’t say jewelry correctly because the new lip piercing affects his speech). Baz says the band is trying to make their image “co hee thiv” (spits trying to say ‘cohesive’). The boss nods and says “right. There was a saying back when I was your age .. “if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?” Baz says “If we put it on YouTube, it’s not a bad idea”. Boss says nods “OK”. Boss thinks the modern youth are completely lost.
Sam’s Apartment The podcast starts promoting a crypto scam as a sponsor. The fanclub members see this as the end of the podcast. The fanclub points to multiple known scams and questionable ad schemes from creators and mentions the glaring similarities to what the podcast is doing now. Sam is the only one that believes in the podcast and the integrity of the guys in the podcast. Sam is offended that the fan club thinks that the podcast guys would betray their fans with the crypto scam. Sam feels like he needs to prove to the fanclub that the podcast still has integrity. The fan club thinks Sam is crazy. The main scam put forth by the podcast guys requires buying an NFT of which there are only 300 and that will grant the holders admission to this special event where the “Secret is shared”. There will be no phones or cameras allowed in the event and the event will not be streamed online or recorded in any way. YOU NEED TO BE IN THE ROOM TO HEAR THE SECRET. Sam hopes the podcast guys will be validated, so things can continue as they are.
Sam doesn’t want to believe that his favorite podcast would promote a scam. the fan club people tell Sam that if he believes in the podcast so much why didn't he just go to the event. Sam says "that's ridiculous and I'm not going to spend that kind of money anyways we should just be reasonable. " Sam argues with the rival fan (GapingFuckHole_69_420) online about the integrity of the guys and the future of the podcast. GapingFuckHole_69_420 is a regular on the forum and is often antagonistic just for the sake of it. The fanclub wants to disband and Sam is trying to convince them they should keep it going. Sam thinks he could save the fanclub if he can just prove that the podcast guys don’t really support the scam and it’s all just a big misunderstanding. If Sam doesn’t do something, he can lose the podcast and fanclub which make up a big part of his “social life”. Sam looks at his podcast memorabilia Sam adds Joe to the podcast fanclub page and they communicate a little bit online.
Sam struggles to go to sleep that night. Sam takes a xanax and passes out. DREAM: Sam is a child in a cult and a strange man is in his face saying “Your tribe is most important” and behind the strange man stands Sam’s mother and father. The mother says “listen to him honey” and the father is branded and screams out in pain. The father says “He’s right, pal”. Sam wakes up in a sweat.

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Someone’s Apartment in Capitol Hill (Seattle) - A party Joe invites Sam to a “kick back” at a friend’s house. Sam goes but is mostly looking at his phone and engaging with the fanclub. There are 14 people in the apartment, socializing. Joe thinks that Sam should just forget about the podcast and move on and that it doesn’t matter, but Sam disagrees and is personally and emotionally invested in the podcast. A girl at the kick back is attracted to Sam but Sam doesn’t pick up on any signals. The girl offers Sam a drink. Sam declines and explains that he has a prescription for alprazolam. The girl doesn't recognize the name, and Sam says "Xanax". The girl perks up "You have Xanax, can I have one?". Sam takes out the bottle and takes one pill… "No. It's my medication. you're making me anxious". Sam takes the pill. The girl walks away but later apologizes to Sam and gives Sam her social media info. The crypto-event that the podcast guys are going to is on the same night as a big show at the concert venue. Sam would have to find someone to cover for him if he goes.
Sam decides to go to the event and that it’s worth it after “all he has invested” into the podcast. Sam wants to get to the bottom of the podcast guy’s scam and save the fan club and prove that his loyalty is not misplaced. Joe calls Sam to ask if Sam has reached out to that girl from the night before. Sam is stressed out. Sam can’t afford to buy the NFT and is complaining about it to Joe. Joe is disappointed but amused that Sam is more focused on this than the girl. Joe sees on Sam’s online profile that he owns some episode-specific memorabilia as he poses with it and is proud of it on his profile page. Joe thinks its sad that Sam spends money on this shit. Joe tells Sam to sell some of his memorabilia back to the community. Sam sees that there are less posts and activity on the fanclub. Constantly checking his phone for the fanclub activity has been a trained habit and now he’s seeing a ghostland with no activity except Gaping_Fuck_Hole making fun of Sam. Sam does not want to sell his prized memorabilia but there is no other way.
Sam decides to sell the memorabilia and buy the NFT. When Sam talks to Joe again he tells him that he got two of the NFT’s needed to get into the event. Joe asks how much he got for the memorabilia, Sam says two NFT’s and 200 podcoin. Joe asks what that is worth in real money. Sam says it’s complicated. Joe says “Ok, well, have fun out there”. Sam calls the boss to tell him that he can’t work the night of the event. Baz (co-worker) offers to do the audio because he is listening in on the call, Sam and Boss say “fine”. Baz sees this as his chance to prove his value.
The morning that Sam is intending to start the road trip, Sam’s car is giving him problems. He takes the car to the mechanic who tells him there is no way the car will make a 200 mile trip.
Sam reaches out to Joe on Social media and asks if he wants to go. Joe doesn't want to go. Sam tries to appeal that this podcast thing is serious, which doesn’t work, but then Sam lies and says that Joe’s favorite band “Entrails” is playing a secret show at the venue, and he can get Joe in. Joe agrees to go but does not agree that this podcast thing is serious.
Joe’s Apartment with Roommates Sam goes to Joe’s home and sees how Joe lives with his roommates. It’s a fun group of guys who are friends. Sam has an Omega shaped scar on his wrist and when he goes to pick up or meet with Joe to leave for the trip his roommates notice the Omega-shaped scar and ask him about it. Sam nervously says that he burned himself in an accident and the roommates are suspicious. one of the roommates says that he recognizes that mark from somewhere but can't place where. The roommates are weary of Sam. The roommates ask Sam if he grew up in the area and Sam lies and says yes and says he grew up next to a comic store that's currently there and that he used to go there all the time when he was a kid. The roommates know that the store has only been there for the last 5 years so Sam couldn't have grown up next to it. Joe’s roommates are a little scared for Joe because they don’t know Sam and he seems like a weirdo. They tell Joe that he shouldn’t go, but he assures them that he will be fine. Joe can tell that Sam isn’t a bad guy, he’s just a little weird.
On The Road to the Crypto-Event Sam and Joe disagree about what’s good about the podcast, even though they both like the podcast. The fanclub forum hasn’t had activity in days… except the rival fan GapingFuckHole_69_420 says online that he will be attending the same crypto-con event. GapingFuckHole_69_420 posts more memes making fun of Sam. Sam misses the regular activity of the fan club site. No updates. Not like before.
Meanwhile at the concert venue (Sam’s job), The co-worker (Baz) is giving away too many free tickets now that he has the ability to do so. Baz is showing his lack of experience and maturity.
Sam and Joe drive a long distance to get to a motel next to the podcast event. While on the road, Joe is talking to his roommates on the phone. The roommates had looked up information about the Omega scar on Sam's wrist and linked it to a cult in 2001 in Santa Clara, CA. It was a crazy cult that was broken up by the FBI. The roommates think that proves Sam is dangerous, but Joe thinks that even if it is true, it just explains why Sam is so guarded and his strange behavior. Sam seems harmless. Joe realizes that Sam has been through alot of bad stuff and that might explain Sam’s lack of good relationships. Sam doesn’t know that Joe knows this.
Motel near the Event Sam and Joe arrive at the motel and see other weird people that are in town for the Crypto Event . All the other fans are staying in rooms by themselves while Sam and Joe look like the only “buddies” there. Lots of fans are walking to their rooms alone while looking at their phones. It almost looks like a zombie movie, with every fan’s face glowing in the light of their mobile phones.
Sam and Joe devise a plan on how they will get direct access to the podcast guys. Joe barely cares and sees the whole thing as funny but Sam is very serious about it. An “Ocean’s 11” style elaborate white-board plan is devised to get to the podcast hosts. The plan doesn’t make clear sense. Meanwhile online, the fan club talks about Sam being a weird loser and how the meetings are better without him.
A small Bar in Clark County Sam goes with Joe to the bar. Sam recognizes Janet at the bar from the podcast. Joe tells Sam to go ask her for access to the show but Sam can't do it and begs Joe to help out instead. Joe ends up going up to Janet and hitting it off with her with his natural charisma and is able to get Janet to put their name on the “VIP after party” list. But after Janet sees Joe walk back to Sam and start talking to him, Janet says “oh hell no” and realizes that they're probably fan-club-dorks and not only removes their names from the list, but also alerts security to the “do not let in” list. It's the association to Sam and how Sam looks that makes Janet immediately write off both Joe and Sam. Sam gets a call from the boss telling him that he is giving half of his shifts to the co-worker (Baz). Sam realizes that Boss is not the “chill cool guy” that he puts on as. Joe tells Sam that he has lots of skills and should use that as leverage with the boss. Sam is mad that his boss has reduced his work / income, just for missing one night.
DREAM: Young Sam is talking to his Dad, who has a patch over his eye and a bandage on his head. The Dad says that the Mom escaped the cult because she said this whole thing is unhealthy and really wanted Sam and the Dad to leave too, but the Dad decided that the best thing to do was to stay. The Dad says “your tribe is all you got”. Suddenly the FBI breaks in and raids the cult’s compound. Many people are shot and Sam is swept away by officers. Sam is teleported to living with his aunt who says she’s glad that cult was finally broken up. The other kids at the house ignore Sam so Sam listens to talk radio all day. Sam wakes up.
Sam tries to login to the fanclub website portal and it shows “access revoked”. He contacts one of the members online and he says they disbanded. They don’t really care how the crypto event turns out. This is devastating to Sam because the WHOLE point of the trip was to try to keep the fan club together and keep things the way they were.
Clark County Event Center (the crypto event) The guys get to the event and try to get in with the passes that Janet from the bar gave Joe, but now security has a special note to NOT let them in. Security tells them to “Get lost” Sam loses his temper and kicks a display at the event, which breaks more than he thought it would and security flags the two guys as a threat. Sam is mad that Joe doesn’t take the situation as seriously as he does. Sam is mad that Joe was fooled by the girl.
Sam and Joe manage to sneak past the outdoor security and are now inside the venue. They find the exclusive event entrance and Sam uses his phone to show his NFT’s to get in. Sam and Joe get into the exclusive event and find seats. The podcast guys come in to say hi to the audience. The audience is expecting this event to be all about the podcast guys. Within the first 2 minutes, the podcast guys introduce their “friend” Chad Zomo, who is a crypto-bro entrepreneur and he takes over the presentation. The whole presentation is for a crypto pump and dump scheme. Half of the audience walks out. The presentation is very flashy and has LOTS of bells and whistles to make up for an otherwise stupid ponzi scheme. Lots of flashing lights, cool audio and production. The presentation includes imagery reminiscent of the cult presentations. The host does or says things similar to the cult leader. Sam is triggered and takes a xanax. Sam and Joe look at each other and acknowledge that this is obviously bullshit, and get up and walk out as well. Sam sees an unattended soundboard and uses his audio-mixing-skills to quickly make Chad Zomo sound bad through the speakers and create a harsh feedback ring. Sam is disappointed but fully accepts that this is in-fact a bullshit-scam. As they are walking out they are detected by security and are chased by security. During the chase they split up and Sam is apprehended by security and put into a room to wait for the police.
Sam doesn’t know what happened to Joe. He thinks if Joe got away, then he isn’t going to wait for him and probably abandoned him. He also considers that Joe was captured by security. Sam regrets trusting anyone. Sam regrets the whole plan, he is in over his head. Sam thinks it would have been best if he just stuck to his job and just hung out by himself in his apartment listening to his podcasts. dark night of the soul Sam wants to isolate and accept that this is why it’s better to be alone. He feels responsible for getting Joe in trouble. Sam wants to take all the blame when dealing with security so Joe doesn’t get in trouble.
Suddenly, the security is alerted to some other emergency incident and leaves the hero alone. Sam gets up and sneaks out of the room.
After some running, Sam is resting on a bench and a young attractive girl, Julie comes up to him and seems like she is trying to comfort him and tells him about an after party. Julie then asks if he could buy her beers, she is 16. Sam says no. Julie points to her dad standing away from them. The Dad is wearing army pants, black t-shirt and a hat that says “Sergeant”. Julie says if Sam doesn't buy her beer she will tell her dad that Sam tried to grope her. Just then another one of her friends comes up with some beers in a backpack, and says now they can go to the party. Girl says “bye loser” and leaves with her friend. Sam is shocked at the experience.
Sam sees other fans sitting by themselves and it’s depressing to see a bunch of people at an event not interacting and just looking at their phones. Sam just wants to find Joe and get out of there.
Sam is running down a hallway, trying to avoid security and runs right into one of the guys from the podcast (the podcast is 3 guys). Sam tries to confront the podcast guy about the crypto scam that they are promoting. The podcast guy says “it’s just a sponsor, we don’t care”, Sam says “what about the fans who might lose their money?”, podcast guy says “if they are stupid enough to put their money into that bullshit, then fuck ‘em”. Sam is taken aback because this doesn’t match his idea of who he thought the guys were. One of the podcast guy’s entourage comes up and tells podcast guy that he tricked a “fan” into getting him cocaine by telling the fan that he could hang out, but then ditched him after getting the coke. Sam witnesses their conversation and is learning that these guys are dicks. The young girl from earlier, Julie, goes up to the podcast guy and is flirting. The podcast guy puts a lanyard (VIP PASS) around Julie’s neck, puts his arm around her and leads Julie to the backstage area.
Sam says “fuck these guys” and tries to find Joe. Joe and Sam reunite. Sam is glad. Joe says he threw a trash can down the escalator to distract security. Sam is touched that someone stuck their neck out for him. Joe says “I owed you one”. Sam admits to Joe that he lied about the upcoming Entrails show. Joe brushes it off and says “just get me into the next show that I want”. Sam is surprised at how Joe doesn’t seem bothered by it. Joe says he knew there was no show coming up because Entrails are touring in Europe for the next 3 months. Joe simply decided to help Sam because it seemed like a fun thing to go do and the podcast thing seemed important to Sam
Meanwhile back at the concert venue a show is happening and the sound (audio mix) isn’t good. The co-worker (Baz) is doing a bad job. He doesn’t have enough experience. The band playing says they preferred the last weird guy (Sam). The venue owner is stressing that things are going poorly without Sam there.
Security spots Sam and Joe. A chase ensues. Sam and friend must get out of the event to escape Sam and Joe are running through the halls. A random fan notices the two trying to get away from security and decides to help. The random fan beckons the two into a maintenance room.
The random fan is a 51 year old man, dressed like a “lame dad”. While hiding, Sam mentions the fan club and the random fan says “are you CoolGuy666 ?”. Sam says yes and the random fan says “I’m GapingFuckHole_69_420”. The two bicker back and forth but finally hug and make up. Joe thinks it’s all weird. GapingFuckHole_69_420 offers the two cocaine and mentions that the podcast guys asked him to get it for them, then ditched him, so he’s decided that those guys are dicks. Sam and GapingFuckHole_69_420 commiserate on the podcast for a moment. Joe and Sam do cocaine and get very hyped and motivated. Security starts banging on the door, and GapingFuckHole_69_420 helps Sam and Joe climb up into a vent, and decides to “sacrifice himself” to the security so the two can get away.
Sam and Joe crawl through the vent into another room and it ends up being the lounge room where the podcast guys are hanging out. The podcast guys immediately call security. Sam argues with the podcast guys and the podcast guy says “we don’t even care and neither should you”. The podcast guy says to Sam “you should just work on having real friends”. Another one of the podcast guys says “that was kinda mean”. Everyone moves outside of the room into a hallway where security is blocking the way out. The young girl Julie is hanging on one of the podcast guys.
Sam spots Julie’s dad in the crowd and calls out to him … “Hey Sarge!”. The Dad turns around to see one of the podcast guys with his hand on Julie’s butt. The Dad rushes and knocks the security guards out of the way, easily overpowering them and charges for the podcast guys. Everyone scatters and Sam and Joe are able to get away. Sam and Joe wildly escape the convention center, still high on coke.
Sam and Joe drive back to town and reflect on the last 24 hours, high on coke.
The next day, back at the venue, Sam confronts the boss and the boss apologizes and says that he had to fire Baz for giving away free tickets and letting people backstage. Sam says no to the people who usually ask him for free tickets who were pretending to be his friend earlier. Sam is no longer just trying to be a passive part of the group, but to actually be an individual that stands for his own values.

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Sam is hanging out with Joe and some co-workers he has invited to his apartment. The space previously set up for listening to podcasts is now occupied by real people. He is engaging with the other real people in the room and he is happier, connecting with others.

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