S4 E15: A Summer Comes to an End

Kenzie Tartaglione:

Last time on Roseville Beach…

Alexander Christopher (GM):

And we see Hurricane Hallie growing sgrong and stronger.

Gabriela on the motorcycle, driving it, and jumps in front of the lightning bolt, and Oh Shit, jumps right out, absorbing the lighting.

And he catches the sword.

Alex (Oliver):

Here, you take it! You’re - this is your world. You take it.

Valiant Dorian (Arion):

I am mortal now!

Kenzie:

Like they’re piping, she grabs two, one in each hand.

Alex (GM):

this has never been done before. This is permanently altering to Roseville Beach, Lou.

Alex (September Brown):

Now that’s how you do it. Go get ‘em, hon.

Alex (GM):

September Brown.

Kenzie:

As long as Roseville Beach is here, Lou is here.

Dan Pyxel:

On one side of the coin there will be an etching of her own face. On the other side of the coin will be an etching of Estelle’s. They’re seperated and they can never touch. Its a constant, endless compulsion to be together.

Cai K:

And with every lap of the waves, the water and the sand flowing over their feet, the fur getting wet, we see that divinity climb back up.

Everything does have to change. Sometimes its about being somehwere new. And sometimes vacation ends and you do have to go home.

[“queeRPG’s Moonlight on Roseville Beach Theme” plays]

Alex (GM):

We are going to begin about a month after the events of the hurricane. Roseville Beach has recovered and some time has passed. Life, thanks to you, has returned to normal. Roseville Beach still has its ordinary problems, but they are mundane. They are trivial, not of the supernatural variety. Thanks to the efforts of Lou and Alyx and Arion, Compulsion has been once again trapped underneath the bottom of the ocean, and at least for now, does not threaten Roseville Beach.

We are going to begin at a little coffee shop. The three of you are enjoying a drink, chatting, and you are interrupted by a single falling leaf that lands on the table, equidistant from each of you. It's turned orange, slowly curling at its edges. And you realize that summer has coming to an end. Whether or not you stay here or you go back home or return to the ocean, you have to wrap up your time here.

Kenzie:

Lou, as it has been said in brief moments, has a brother, Scottie, that she's been relatively taken care of fully, financially, for years. And they don't have a perfect relationship. She sends him more letters than he ever sends back to her, but she's been on a journey of figuring out what is important to her and what is right to continue to do. And there are some things and some conversations that she needs to have with her brother in order to go forward with her life. She doesn't want to separate from him, but to go forward and live her own life. And so this letter has been super hard for her to get on paper. She has spent many a night pacing her room. Even though the events of our climactic battle really solidified some other things for her, and she knows what she wants to convey to him. But that's always easier thought than said.

So finally one night, probably a little later, the house is a bit quiet. She finally sits down, she pens a letter, and she just writes her thoughts. When she is done with it, she closes it up. And I'd like to almost think, if I can take the camera for a second, is that we're following her walking down the street by their house towards the post office of Roseville Beach. It's a grand sunny day. It's early morning. Birds are chirping, the waves are splashing. People are riding past on bikes or walking and calling and saying hi as she goes. And there's just like kind of a monologue of what this letter said going through her head. And what she had written was - no introduction to who this is for, because it'll be addressed to him. But she begins by saying,

Kenzie (Lou Wells):

I’ve written and rewritten this one so many times. And I know you don't really care what any of it says, but I care. I don't know if you even read these or you just take the rent money, but I hope you read this one specifically. College isn't working out, bud. I am running myself ragged trying to get these payments in every semester. And no nice way to say this, the return on my investment is not happening. I thought it'd be great. I thought it's what you needed to get out from under that house and mom and all of it, but I think I was wrong. So if you're amenable to it, how about we stop that charade entirely? I have another proposition for you.

Come to Roseville. It saved me once. Maybe it'll do the same for you. You can't call it that queer place when you get here though, okay? You have to be nice and you have to be clean and I'll get you a job and you won't ruin my reputation and you'll live down the hall and it will be entirely normal. It'll be terribly normal, but it'll be good. And you can meet Annie. She's gonna hate you, but she'll put up with you because she loves me.

You need to slow down, Scott. You need to take a minute and you need to breathe. And maybe ten years on Roseville Beach will let you figure out who you are and what you want. It did for me. And if you say no, I'll stop paying your rent. But I don't wanna do that because I don't want you to disappear on me. So please. Love, as much as you can, Lou.”

Kenzie:

Her hand is kind of hovering there, ready to slot it in and there's a lot of hope, because when she felt wayward, she just needed somebody to show her a path. And that is what her boss at the hotel did. Gave her her first job, and that set her on a path. And so what she's hoping to do is to offer that same option to Scottie. And she's hopeful because he's not entirely lost, even though he's dealing with some rough stuff, they both did, and she got out of it a lot sooner than he did, she hasn't ever given up hope on him. So in this moment, all she's thinking of is, I'm gonna get the best letter I've ever gotten in a week. And she puts it in.

Lou has always been about fixing things and sometimes that overextended her abilities and when it came to paying for her own life and then paying for paying Scottie's rent, paying his tuition every semester, paying for his groceries, she just simply doesn't have the energy anymore to keep that up and she's realized that if she tries to keep that up, she will lose people who have been in her life and have been trying to be here for her that she has simply taken for granted because she was so focused on somebody who wasn’t. And so she's hoping Scottie will take her up on the offer. But if he doesn't, he's an adult and that's his choice. And she has people waiting for her to make hers.

Alex (GM):

And there's a gust of ocean breeze that blows past you, but not harsh, not forceful, almost invigorating. And as if saying, we're here to support you now.

Valiant:

I think in the lead up to the summer solstice, he had been panicked about the dwindling of life. One of the major scares we left him with in the last episode was mortality. That hasn't changed. He's still this slightly eldritch monstrosity and upon his return to Roseville Beach and after his conversation with his mother, Calypso, who had endeared him to this idea that if you're not done, then you're not done. If you want something for yourself, then maybe you'll have to carve that out for yourself.

And it's been, I want to say maybe a week and a half until you like see Arion again. And when he arrives and returns back to Roseville Beach, throughout that journey, he was waiting to turn into seafoam. He was waiting for the bargain to end, but it didn't. He arrives in Roseville Beach. He goes to our lovely cabin in Roseville Beach, our beach house, crawls his way up the beach towards the back of the patio.

Arion like soaks himself in the tub and turns on the tap and settles in the water to keep his Siren form and to keep himself alive, but he doesn't have his necklace attached. And he thinks to himself, “Okay, this is it. I'm going to turn to seafoam at any point.” And he doesn't. And he looks around and he thinks, “I should be turning to seafoam. I don't have the answer. I don't know if Oliver likes me, let alone love me as the tenants of the spell. Did I find love at the end of summer?”

Kenzie:

I think Lou has like, has heard this and has stuck her head out of her door and is like looking to see if Alyx has heard this arrival.

Dan:

We will open on Alyx in her room in front of her mirror. Her dress is like a little bit different than normal. She's wearing like the same kind of like overly baggy pants, but they're more like capris. They like come to her calf and there's still a billion pockets on them because of course there are. But instead of like the normal tank that she's wearing, she's wearing a bikini top and she's looking at a scar on her chest. There are like three sort of claw marks on like right here below her clavicle. And she just keeps looking at them in the mirror right now because less than like six inches from each other are memories of the first time that she met Estelle and one of the last times she saw her. The choker is gone and there is that jagged line across her throat. And she's been standing here for some time, you can tell and she just hears the sound of wet flopping. And she breaks away from the mirror finally and she grabs one of her flannels and kind of throws it over her shoulders, but doesn't really button it and just sort of walks out, visually acknowledges Lou and then leaves the house.

Valiant:

Lou, when you step into the room, the bathroom, our beloved shared bathroom, you see Arion, but Arion looks different. You've seen Arion's Siren form. I believe you were the first one maybe among the housemates who've seen Arion's Siren form.

Kenzie:

In the same bathroom, in the same tub.

Valiant:

In the same tub, in the same bathroom. But he looks so different. The spines and flowy tail are rigid, almost bone-like in their appearance. You see that his gills flare out larger than they used to be. His face, it's Arion's face and there are aspects of it that are still handsome, if you were to think about it, but it's different now. He has fangs and his eyes are a, instead of a bright, amberish gold, it’s now a more sinister yellow. You enter into the gap in the door and he's hovering in the water and then turns to you.

Valiant (Arion):

Hi.

Kenzie (Lou):

Hey, you're back! You didn't say goodbye and I thought maybe I'd never see you again and now you came back and that's great!

Valiant (Arion):

I wouldn't do that to you. I would at least say goodbye, but I just needed to check something. Like, if I had an imminent death coming.

Kenzie (Lou):

Oh, we’ve undergone a transformation here that I was unaware of.

Valiant (Arion):

Yeah.

Kenzie (Lou):

(laughs) Your voice is a little funny.

Valiant (Arion):

I know. I know. I'm not used to it myself. I hope it's not too grating.

Kenzie (Lou):

No, not at all. Just different.

Valiant:

He like peers out of the tub and you see like his wet hair and his glowing eyes as they slowly blink at you like a cat watching you from a distance and he kind of like lifts himself up and perches his head against his hands and he says,

Valiant (Arion):

I had to go check on my mother whether or not she might have answers for what I am, for what I could be. I thought that I would be seafoam by now. I made so many bargains and deals, I thought they would all catch up on me.

Kenzie (Lou):

Yeah, I think maybe going forward, you should take a step back from doing that.

Valiant (Arion):

We kept being put in those positions. It's not really... Atticus made me try to, like, asked me to solve the source of all the problems in Roseville Beach.

Kenzie (Lou):

That was… That was a deal I agree with. That was an appropriate one.

Valiant (Arion):

If I didn't make that deal with Hallie, I didn't know if I would have bought enough time for us.

Kenzie (Lou):

No, no, no. All valid points. All valid points. Do you have to stay in the bathtub from now on?

Valiant (Arion):

Alyx has my necklace.

Kenzie (Lou):

Oh, I see. Well, she did just leave, so I don't think she's really interested in returning it at this exact moment. I don't know what's going on, okay? I don't know what's going on between you guys. I heard some stuff outside of a window, but then a ghost attacked me. So I don't have the full story and I don't need it. It's okay. I don't need the full story.

Valiant (Arion):

We’re good if that's your question. I think.

Kenzie (Lou):

Oh, okay. Now you're good now. Okay.

Valiant (Arion):

I mean, obviously there's like, how do you mortals call it… complications? I think.

Kenzie (Lou):

Do you not have that word? Are there no complications in the ocean? Because your entire life feels like a complication.

Valiant (Arion):

But that's the that's the drama of it all, right? You either do something about it or you don't. And most people do something about it. And it ultimately gets resolved, usually tragically. So that's usually -

Kenzie (Lou):

Hey, Arion, I'm really glad you're back.

Valiant (Arion):

I’m glad to be back. I don't know how long I'm back, though. But, I really love being here and I love being in this house and hanging out with my favorite lesbians and I want to, I still don't know about all the different things you have at amusement parks and I don't know how cars work because you don't have a car and I don't know what things are like beyond Roseville Beach and I want to know.

Kenzie (Lou):

You know, Roseville Beach is kind of like a utopia in a sense. Now, most people who visit Roseville Beach are only here for a few months. And I didn't even- I haven't been here my whole life, but I've been here for a long time now. And I think sometimes places outside of here are pretty scary because they're not here and they're different and they're bigger and there's some things that happen in those places that don't necessarily happen here and while I felt like we dealt with a lot of problems this summer, they were all of a supernatural effect that I have never dealt with literally anywhere else. And so I think that... I think you should. I think you should stay here, make sure that you're not gonna turn into seafoam as you say, and then I think you should go, and I think you should see the world because it's big and it's maybe not as big as the ocean but it's big.

Valiant:

I think Arion hears everything that Lou is saying and nods and there's even in this small moment, there's that glimmer again of that extremely dramatic, flamboyant Siren, that is blooming from within this sort eldritchy form who like lifts himself up as the water splashes around him. As he looks to you, Lou and says,

Valiant (Arion):

The first thing I wanna do with you and Alyx is have a picnic.

Kenzie (Lou):

(chuckles) Yeah, I think we could easily have a picnic. I've got a blanket already.

Valiant (Arion):

Yes!

Valiant:

And he like, leans back, splashes into the tub again, and water goes everywhere because this is a human-sized man with a massive tail swishing around a human-sized bathtub.

Dan:

I think she kind of meanders a little bit. And that's kind of been the way she's been for the last month. Like I think everyone's probably been used to her sort of being brusque in in her stoicism, but now it's just sort of more like - it feels like no one's home, in a way. Like she's there and she responds and she'll smile at things and have a cigarette and have conversation but it's like, there’s something there's some kind of bite that you're used to with her that just isn't there.

She wanders as she makes her way past some of the wreckage of the bank, or I guess it's repairs. And then she goes down that street all the way to the corner to the little bodega. She goes in, she doesn't say anything, just kind of like waves a high auntie and then grabs a pack of cigarettes. And I think she really does just feel like a whiskey girl and she's gonna get something cheap, but like a fairly large sized bottle and she just puts it on the counter, goes to pay and doesn't really say anything. She'll look at Auntie for a second to just try and see like where her vibe is.

Alex (GM):

It’s strange to you. You know, you've known Auntie for a long time, but Auntie’s life has changed so quickly in the past month? Month and a half? Two months? You see kinda tucked behind the counter boxes. And she is beginning to pack. She is beginning to pack up her life and move on to the next thing.

Dan (Alyx Cho):

You going somewhere?

Alex (GM):

She stops for just a moment. She thinks. She looks back up at you.

Alex (Auntie):

You always were the smartest one here. You know that, Alyx?

Dan (Alyx):

There’s boxes right there.. You don't have to be an ass about it.

Alex (Auntie):

No, no, no, no, no. It's very secretive. It would be very difficult to tell. You're the smartest one on the beach.

Dan (Alyx):

(snorts )If you say so.

Alex (GM):

There’s almost like a hesitancy in her breath. And she lets it out on a very vocal sigh as she kind of just like laughs to herself.

Alex (Auntie):

What are you - where are you going next, Alyx?

Dan (Alyx):

I don’t know. I haven't given him much thought.

Alex (Auntie):

Do you like Roosevelt Beach?

Dan (Alyx):

Of course I do.

Alex (Auntie):

Do you like the town?

Dan (Alyx):

Yeah.

Alex (GM):

She looks back down. She looks back up at you.

Alex (Auntie):

I'm gonna be away for a while. And I was wondering maybe if you'd want to look after the shop. You know, keep it up. Keep the lights on. I'll give you a discount, 20%.

Dan (Alyx):

I mean, you don't gotta do that. You know I'm good for it.

Alex (Auntie):

All right, 10%.

Dan (Alyx):

I wouldn't wanna cheat you. That seems fair. What would this place be without this one, you know? Yeah, yeah, can do that for you.

Alex (GM):

She just takes the keys out, she places them on the counter and she gives you a knowing nod as she steps out from behind it and leaves the door open, like the little gate open.

Dan (Alyx):

We’re you -? Did you mean now because I had a plan to go out to the beach and drink? Quite a bit, actually.

Alex (GM):

And the gate slams quite loudly as she laughs and says,

Alex (Auntie):

You’re not getting ahold of the store that fast, that early.

Dan (Alyx):

Oh, thank god.

Alex (Auntie):

Hold yourself, Alyx. Don't, don't, I'm not out yet. I'm still kicking.

Dan (Alyx):

I, I, - you got me. You got me. It's going to be... I mean, it would be different without you here.

Alex (Auntie):

Mmmm, I suppose. But, I think that's the right thing. We have to continue to grow and live. When we stay in one place for too long, when we stay unchanged, when it's always the same, you stop living your life.

Dan (Alyx):

Wonder what that's like.

Alex (GM):

And she ushers you out as she locks the door and gives you a spare set of keys. And she walks into the forest up to her little fucked dog camp.

Dan (Alyx):

I’m not - you got someone taking care of the - you know what? It's not - that's a tomorrow problem.

Dan:

And she's gonna go and she's gonna walk away. She's gonna make her way back. Again, sort of taking a meandering route through the side streets. So she walks by the bookstore where everything started.

Alex (GM):

Will you tell us three signs of the absence of witches that you see from the bookstore?

Dan:

b It’s just quiet, no lights on. It's past hours, so like nobody's there. I think she was used to sort of like a murmur at this time from there. But now it's not populated. Now there's no reason for them to be there. And from there she goes past the tattoo parlor, which has been open for business, but right now is closed and it feels different too. And she stares at that shop front for a little bit. There are still birds, right? There's still the sounds of animal life. Just sounds a little quieter. And Alyx doesn't know whether that's her own ears or if something is really different here.

And finally she makes her way down, past the beach house. She doesn't go in, just goes down to the waterfront. And goes all the way down and plants in the sand. She piles up a little sand in like a little cup next to her, squishes it into the sand so it stays upright. She uncorks the whiskey, takes a cigarette out and lights it. And she just kind of holds it in her hand. She's not like smoking it, she's just holding it in her hand and staring out at the waves for a little bit.

I don't know when Arion would come down to the beach from the tub, but Alyx basically is there as it is still like dusk into twilight. There's that small little cup and there's several ashed cigarette butts in that cup of sand. But you can see that she's like, takes another one out and she lights it and she just doesn't, she doesn't put it to her mouth. It's just there in her fingers. And she's holding an open bottle of basically full whiskey, just staring out at the tide.

Valiant:

You hear the telltale sounds of dragging through sand, as you hear a familiar yet unfamiliar voice call out to you from the shadows that are now forming on the beach.

Valiant (Arion):

I was looking everywhere for you.

Dan (Alyx):

You ever just like sit out here and look at the sunset?

Valiant (Arion):

Yeah, I do.

Valiant:

And Arion like drags himself like, I think a little lower to the beach so that the tide can like lap against him. So he can feel that tether to the ocean. He doesn't dry out on land. He would be if he were in his human form, have his knees close to his chest, looking out into the beach. But instead it is just the curl of his fin and tail leading up to where his lower abdomen and chest would be. As he sits and looks out to the sunset with you.

Valiant (Arion):

I do come here on occasion.

Dan:

She doesn't say anything for a bit after that, she just kind of like... breathes a little. After like a moment she holds out the bottle to you.

Valiant:

Holds the bottle and looks at it.

Valiant (Arion):

You need a drink?

Dan (Alyx):

It would be impolite not to offer first. Human manners. I don't know if that's a Siren thing as well. Do you all drink? I don't really - I’ve never asked you that.

Valiant (Arion):

I’ve never drank in Siren form. Let’s try.

Valiant:

Arion uncorks the whiskey and takes a swig.

Dan:

It was not like good whiskey.

Valiant:

You see Arion's gills flare and the weird like bony spines all over him kind of like tense and then relax after he takes a swig of the whiskey and say,

Valiant (Arion):

That’s a new sensation. I've picked up little containers of wine from the ocean but never drank it.

Dan:

She’ll like hold out her hand for the bottle back and she's like,

Dan (Alyx):

Yeah, this one's not one of our finest works, I'll be honest.

Dan:

And she like just takes a slug from the bottle.

Valiant (Arion):

I don't think people need the finest ones. From whenever I've watched, the mortals make merry, it’s always just the people there that really make a party. Do not tell Cayo, I said that.

Dan (Alyx):

Never. No, I mean, sometimes for celebrations people will get really nice ones, like things they've spent time and money and have aged for a really long time and… didn’t feel like it was a celebrating time, honestly.

Valiant:

Arion’s eyebrows furrow a bit more as he like turns more of his body toward you.

Dan:

As you do that, the cigarette that's been burning in her fingers that she hasn't pulled from yet. She's been just sort of reflexively ashing it. The lit part is getting close to her fingers. And as it like hits against her skin, there's this flash of like blue spark around it and you see her kind of squeeze her fingers a little bit around them and the cigarette kind of like crumples around it. Like there's a lot of pressure on her fingers when it happens.

Valiant (Arion):

What happened on the beach, Alyx?

Dan (Alyx):

I told you that magic and deal making comes with a price. Mine wasn't something I had to give away in the normal sense. It was something I had to take. After about eight years, Estelle asked me, begged, demanded, that I take her life. That I was the only one who could.

Valiant (Arion):

Why? What purpose?

Dan (Alyx):

I don't know. I never asked. Because the second she asked it of me, I refused out of hand. I thought she was joking. She said, “It has to be you. It can only be done by someone who loves me.” I've thought why, I just didn't want to know.

She got desperate, she screamed at me, she showed me the knife that needed to be done.

Dan:

And she now reaches over with her hand with the cigarette in it and touches the tattoo on her forearm. And again, not really paying attention to it, she doesn't look at it, it's a reflexive motion. But as the cigarette touches against her skin, there's that same kind of blue sparking. And her skin is not harmed.

Dan (Alyx):

She got angry, we yelled and screamed and she freaked and she didn't mean to. She was afraid.

Valiant:

There’s a flash of protectiveness and as soon as you said that, all the spines that had raised, like the hackles of a cat, like lower.

Dan (Alyx):

By the time she'd realized that she'd done it, she didn't know what to say and she ran. I took that as my cue. That was two years ago, and I ran until she found me.

Valiant (Arion):

At the beach.

Dan (Alyx):

At the beach. And ever since that, I can't stop thinking. Not about having done it. But that before doing it, I didn't kiss her again. I said goodbye and I didn’t… We spent two years apart. I ran from her as far as I could and I didn’t… And now…

Dan:

And she like takes the cigarette this time and she holds up her palm and she presses it into her palm. And there's an explosion of blue sparks this time. Like not even just like it's an accident, you see.

Dan (Alyx):

See it feels like her, but it's not... It's not her.

Valiant (Arion):

Oh, Alyx, its not your fault.

Dan (Alyx):

It doesn't. It doesn't think. It doesn’t - it doesn’t have her voice. It doesn't have her warmth. It just… it does it. Like I'm supposed to know that she's here, but she's not here.

Valiant:

Arion’s body slowly slithers up to you and his webbed hands go around your each of your shoulders and leans against yours. Like a cat curling up in one's lap, he holds himself against you.

Dan:

She doesn't recoil, but she is still like stiff and locked.

Valiant (Arion):

I’m sorry I had to make that choice.

Dan (Alyx):

Do you know why I made that choice this time?

Valiant:

He looks to you.

Dan (Alyx):

It’s not - It’s not because she begged me to do it. It was trying to take her away. That thing was trying to take her away and I didn't know that I could stop it. Because I - I would have abandoned all of you if it would have kept her safe. I'm sorry.

Valiant:

He nods and he looks at you.

Valiant (Arion):

Why do you apologize?

Dan (Alyx):

I would have... I would have let you die.

Valiant (Arion):

And I might be angry if you didn't, if that was the choice you had to make. Does the lioness get blamed for abandoning her pride to save her cub?

Dan (Alyx):

How the fuck do you know what lions are?

Valiant (Arion):

They had plenty of them in Greece.

Dan:

And she starts sobbing. She just is like sob laughing. She is crying through laughter. Like she thinks it's funny, but she's also like, this is the straw that broke - and she just like buries her face into your shoulder and is openly sobbing.

Valiant:

And Arion squeezes you and through stifled chuckles that betray a sense of reciprocal and empathetic grief, a new emotion for the Siren as he holds you close and says,

Valiant (Arion):

Would you believe me if I said that the Greeks had very strange pastimes?

Dan (Alyx):

I know I've read some of them.

Valiant:

He tilts his head to look at your face.

Dan (Alyx):

I don't know who I am without her. Even when I was running, I knew who I was and what I was running from. I don’t- I don't know what I am now.

Valiant (Arion):

You are everything, Alyx. You are you. You are this aspect of yourself combined with her.

Valiant:

And like you see that as his little webbed hands hover above your skin, that like blue sparks begin to emerge.

Valiant (Arion):

You are the culmination of everything you have experienced and everything you will experience. I know she is gone. In the sense of death. Thanatos comes for all of us eventually. But, you speak of her as if her influence, her touch, her legacy upon your life is no longer there. It's there. You are not without her, Alyx. That's one of the, one of the things that we from beyond envy about you humans. You carry these stories, memories, grief within your bones for as long as memory takes you. She will always be with you. I don't think you can ever run away from that, Alyx. As to what else you are beyond this, only you can chart that.

Dan (Alyx):

I’m really sorry that I called you a child.

Valiant (Arion):

But you were right. I am. I am a child in the ways of this place. If you were ever to come see my home, maybe you would be the child in my eyes. You haven't met my mother.

Dan (Alyx):

Oh, god. Yeah, I'm sure I'd be, you know, belle of the ball in Siren court, right?

Valiant:

You see Arion nods.

Valiant (Arion):

We have many a lesbian sea witch who would enjoy your company.

Dan (Alyx):

(laughs)

Dan:

She puts the now completely burnt out cigarette into the sand pile. She offers you the whiskey bottle again. She sits up.

Valiant:

He takes another swig and you see all the scales rattle around him and it's just like,

Valiant (Arion):

The sensation doesn't change.

Valiant:

And hands it back to you.

Dan (Alyx):

Never does.

Valiant:

After conversing with the two roommates and retrieving the necklace from Alyx, we find Arion on the beach. As he sits on a boulder where the waves lap against the shore, we hear that rhythmic crashing and pulling from the water. And Arion is writing something in a bit of parchment. The script is a little clumsy, but earnest and sincere. He writes,

Valiant (Arion):

To whichever kin finds this. Hello. I am called Arion, the son of Calypso. I am a Siren, likely like you. Well, I was a Siren. I still am a Siren. I'm a complicated mess of things, which is another funny way of saying that I am kind of like the mortals up here. I have spent a summer looking for a man who had saved my life to give him a boon that he honestly deserved. But something else boomed from that. Love, I think, is what they call it up here. And I believe that is true.

But, kin, I need you to know that that wasn't the first time that feeling bloomed in me. There were small sparks of it when I first saw his face. Those red ringlets and bright eyes, dark eyes watching me from beyond the net which he had captured me in. No, I believe the first time I felt this was when I watched my two favorite lesbians argue in the kitchen over something or other, something about the things that mortals eat up here. Food up here is complicated. You might learn that soon.

I didn't know it then. But love found me before I found it. It's not something you find, own, or keep or take. It is something that blooms, like the flowers here. It is as natural as the push and pull of the current. And it is undeniable and demands to be felt. That is what I've learned in my excursions up here in Roseville Beach after eons of staring at humanity from beyond the coil, from within the waves. And now I get to be a part of it. Now do not mistake me here, friend. I am, as much as it can be said, kind of human. But I'm still a Siren. I'm still the stranger on these lands that will never change. And the next time the waters lap against my feet, I can take to the currents again. But for now, I want to be here with my friends, with a man who I want to know more about, who I wish to know more about. I want to know the depths of these feelings, the ones that can make someone cry in laughter. The ones that make someone wait for ten long years before finding their answer. I want to know what that's like.

So this is a lesson to you, my friend. If this is something you wish to do, if you want to know the truth beyond the ways that you call home, ask for me, and maybe we can talk.

Alex (GM):

Please open up your character sheet. Find something on there, that you are passing on to the next Siren and remove it from your character sheet. It is no longer part of you.

Kenzie:

The thing that Arion parts to this future Siren, whomever they may be, is a boon. Boon that might find them the thing that they're searching for, a blessing, a bit of courage to see a world far beyond one that they know, or even just a little bit of love, like the one that we all residents of Roseville Beach can feel or understand. Just a small little blessing so they can make that choice for themselves. Arion feels more complicated. Having the power to grant boons is one of the many things that makes Arion mythical, that makes Arion feel otherworldly. And by imparting that to the sea, he is a little bit more human and a little bit more complicated, a mess of monstrosity, beauty, serene, like mythical, grace, and human. All wrapped into one beautiful complicated package.

Arian sits on this boulder. He plays with his mother's necklace around his neck and begins to roll the scroll up and picks up a whiskey bottle, an emptied whiskey bottle, stuffs it to the mouth and I think he hears voices calling or laughing and turns over and sees three of his favorite people, his roommates and also Oliver who's probably watching from a distance. Puts the cap onto this whiskey bottle.

As we now finally look at Arion's face, he looks the same, just with a few differences. There are these little raised edges on his skin that makes him look a little wrong. Bits of teeth that are a little sharper than they ought to be. He holds this whiskey bottle up to his lips, presses a kiss, and then tosses it from the neck onwards so that it falls directly on its base and sinks to the bottom of the ocean.

Dan:

We’re back in Alyx's room and she has pulled out like a suitcase. And she's opened it after like a moment, she like stares at it and she just sort of like takes a deep breath.

Dan (Alyx):

(deep breath)

Dan:

And finally just throws it open. There's a bunch of random things inside that aren't important. What is important is a fairly large old leather book. And she pulls it out and wipes some, not dust, it's been inside of a suitcase for the last couple of years, but pulls it open. And it is a collection of magical knowledge of creatures and spells, herbs, spirits. curses, hexes, leyline charts, things like that. It is the grimoire, that non-magical grimoire, just a collection, it's a tome, it's knowledge. And she was given it by Estelle to study almost a decade ago. It's all handwritten, but there's so many different handwritings.

Towards the middle section of the book is where she starts seeing handwriting she recognizes. It's Estelle's. It's neat and a little loopy, but somehow even along the bottom line. And she keeps slipping and finally she comes to what she was looking for, which is the set or the start of blank pages. And she takes a pen and she floats it in the air and begins dictating.

Dan (Alyx):

I am Alyx Cho, the last witch of Roseville Beach. And if you're reading this, this is your chance. I hope that if you have this, I'm still here to guide you. If not know that all of us here, kept alive in these pages, will be with you forever.

Dan:

And she will go on and quickly detail the things that she has encountered here. The salamander, the phoenix. She will make a note on the government G-men and put question marks by it because she has no idea what the fuck they were doing. Never did get a resolution to that. And also just a general be aware, one or two of them might be dead. So that could be a problem you might have to face hopefully while Alyx is still here and alive. It makes note of the former bank operator no longer present. It notes the leyline, the way it was sealed. There is an entry on September Brown and a longer entry on Estelle Queen. That one's harder to write. Because there's still so many question marks that she never wanted to know the answer to or never asked because she thought she'd have time for Estelle to tell her when she was ready.

She gets towards the end of the entry. Or rather, she finishes what she needs to write, but in the beginning of the entry, she has to go back. And she writes, “This was Estelle Queen and I loved her.”

And at that, she stops. She takes the pen into her own hand again. And I think seeing everything she's written and I think she was zoned there for so long. I think she was doing this for like a couple hours. Wipes her eyes and sets the pen on the table and gently closes the book, but doesn't put it back in the chest. She puts it up on the nightstand.

Alex (GM):

With the grimoire now out living with you rather than hidden away, rather than somewhere you must keep it out of sight because it is something that you are burying. How does it change your life?

Dan:

There were aspects of the magical world that she just, like she perceived them around Roseville Beach, like it was impossible not to when she came here. Beyond just the obvious witches. There's non-mundane wildlife everywhere, and there's spirits haunting her own home and many of the other places around here. And before it was kind of like, Alyx would spend time being like, not my circus, not my monkeys and just kind of walk away from it. And I think now, it’s like she makes a point to choose against that. I think she leaves oranges is out for ghosts. She directs Granny towards any temporarily suspicious wildlife. And I think in the time since our conversation with Arion and this, there’s a noticeable shift in her. She still smokes, she still drinks, she still makes way too dry quips and stares when you do something absolutely stupid, but I think she's a little quicker to smile. And she doesn't wear the choker anymore. Her scars are on display for all to see.

Kenzie:

Lou is a little bit late. That is that is just Lou sometimes but she has a meeting an official meeting to go to and so she is - it’s probably after sunset at this point. I think what's cool about Lou now is that when the moon is out specifically. And it's not all the time, it's just like when the light hits her a specific way, there’s a strange sort of glow underneath her skin. And it's been there ever since she touched the leylines. It weirds to her out a little bit, I think, because that's for Arion to deal with. That's for Alyx to deal with. And now she has been physically altered by her own choices. And so she's still getting used to this strange glow that she has.

And she is walking along the beach close to the shore out to the billboard that her and Annie usually meet at. And even from this distance, she looks up and she can see that there's a figure already sitting there and she knows that there needs to be an apology about her lateness.

Alex (GM):

Lou, you see them before they see you.

Kenzie:

I’d like to think that on this billboard there is obviously a railing where you can sit and I think, in this moment, that Annie is sitting there, hair down in a normal summer outfit for her, which is usually a bright sundress of sorts. At this point, she has most likely taken her sandals off and sat them next to her up on top and is just dangling her legs over the edge. I think arms up on that railing a bit as she sits there and not looking for Lou at all, just kind of looking out at the ocean watching how the waves move with the moonlight. And I think Lou kind of stops and stares and is so, so happy with the decision that she's made. And is just hoping that Annie will be too.

And so she continues on.

As she gets closer, Annie notices her and Lou gives like an awkward little wave and Annie doesn't say anything. And then Lou goes,

Kenzie (Lou):

Hey, so I know - we can talk about time later - but I know we usually meet up there. I'm gonna really need you to come down on the ground for this.

Alex (GM):

She says something, but it's too quiet for you to hear. And after a bit of back and forth, she finally takes her head, rested on the railing off, and she picks up her sandals. And I don't think she's put them back on. She sort of just tucks them underneath her, her arm as she climbs down the ladder. And there's always a bit of an awkward phase because the ladder doesn't go all the way to the ground and you have to kind of jump up to it. But Annie gracefully lands as she looks up at you.

Kenzie (Lou):

Hey.

Alex (Annie):

Hey.

Kenzie (Lou):

Okay, so I have something to say and I am just gonna word vomit it at you if that's okay.

Alex (Annie):

(chuckles) Okay, go ahead.

Kenzie (Lou):

I mean you - you can - obviously feel free to jump in but If I don't just keep going I may never go to begin with.

Alex (Annie):

(chuckles) Go then.

Kenzie (Lou):

Okay, okay, okay, First off, I know we have briefly talked about this, but I just want to say it again. I’m sorry that that night felt a little weird. And I do mean aside from the literal almost destruction of Roseville Beach part of it, I'm not talking about that part, I'm talking about the Samira part of that. I just need to make it once more clear to you, I'm not into her like that. She's a friend and she needs friends, but frankly, I cannot be a rebound for a woman who is grieving someone who literally sacrificed himself to save her and honestly to save Roseville and is the only reason we're all even here at this moment, okay? But that's honestly, that's kind of besides the point. I just need to get that out.

The point is that I've been doing a lot of thinking as you can probably tell by the energy that I'm bringing to this. And this summer has been helpful, I guess.

Kenzie (Lou):

And I think she reaches out and grabs Annie's hands.

Alex (GM):

You grab her hands and she kinda is pulled toward you in a way that was unexpected. And she's caught off her footing a little bit and she sort of leans onto you to support her weight.

Kenzie (Lou):

I’m not gonna cry because number one, I just like physically can't do that right now, but also because I'm not crying. You are possibly the most patient person I've ever met. Anyone else would have left. And they did, really. But you need me to show up. And I'm here. I mean, I know this -

Kenzie:

And she kind of jesters at just her normal getup.

Kenzie (Lou):

- isn’t the best example. I'm not fancy, but you know what I mean.

I'm gonna say something that's terrifying to me. And it's not because I don't want it, but it's because I've never let my future solidify before. You know that I didn't have the most steady of youths, but I've never had to run from Roseville. And more importantly, I've never needed to run from you.

Kenzie:

And she kind of squeezes Annie’s hands.

Kenzie (Lou):

I want (exasperated sigh). I want to do this forever. And I know you said that to me like nine years ago and I didn't listen so I'm the fool. Ha ha, very funny. Always am I guess. I'm just sorry that it took me ten years.

Alex (Annie):

What’s different about now?

Kenzie (Lou):

What I want matters. What I want is you.

Alex (GM):

She takes the slightest breath of a step towards you. Not fully, just one foot as she inched closer and she says,

Alex (Annie):

Where do we go from here?

Kenzie (Lou):

Forward together.

Alex (GM):

Lou, she gets a little bit closer to you again. She is illuminated in a way that you have never seen before. Her features are brought out by the glow from you. And as she is basked in this light, you feel a bit of that magic. But not an incantation, not a ritual or a rune. It's something more primal. It's something very honest and true. And exists right here in this moment between the two of you. You have felt this once before. It was when September gave herself for Samira.

I mean it. And I think that this is how it was always gonna be. I don't know if you can feel that, but I think someone else knows that too. Someone who knows a little bit more about Roseville Beach now than any of us.

Alex (Annie):

I’ve never left. I was just waiting for you to realize you were ready.

Kenzie (Lou):

I’m so far beyond that now.

Kenzie:

Lou, closes the distance between them, takes Annie's face in her hands, and kisses her.

Alex (GM):

Even though it was so telegraphed, Lou. So telegraphed. It was as if the billboard behind you had the spelled the words, “I'm in love with you and I'm about to kiss youm,” and it had giant flashing lights on it. Annie’s still surprised. She welcomes it in a way that you would welcome a new chapter of your life.

Kenzie:

I think that's very interesting. Because to Lou, this kiss feels so familiar. It feels like coming home. It feels like they never stopped doing this, even though it's been so many years. She knows exactly how they fit together. She knows exactly how Annie likes to be kissed. And so there's none of that - while she was a little bit afraid of there being a moment where they had to relearn each other. The fear is quickly dissipated because it simply does not exist. Because despite the fact that they may not have been intimate in this way with each other, they have known each other and have been with each other even without a name for a decade. And I think in the overwhelming joy of it, because Lou is so unused to having the ability to pull at any sort of magic, that those words of power, of Love and Protect, almost animate by themselves in this moment, just radiating off of Lou. And I think she glows brighter for a moment until actually the glow fades and dims and just Lou becomes Lou again because there's a piece in this that she hasn't had in a long time.

I think she puts her hands around Annie and pulls her even closer, deepening the moment and the kiss and just has a singular moment of, “How dumb have I been,” before that is completely erased from her mind and the only thought that she has is I'm going to make up for the years that she put her life on hold for me and I will never stop doing that.

Valiant (Arion):

I think Arion had invited Oliver to a remote section of the beach in Roseville Beach. This is not where any of the tourists are. This is, if anything, close to where the industrial sort of like aspect of Roseville Beach is. This is where sailors are, fishermen, all these folks work there. And this is the site where all those months ago, Arion was captured in a net and subsequently saved. And I think he like brings and invites Oliverhere. There's a like a bit of confu - like in terms of the vibes, there's a bit of a confusion because this is beyond a romantic getaway, that this isn't a confession scene that is laden with like bright lights that glitter like sparkles and halos. This is a raw, very real confession that is not beautiful. It is not romanticized. This is a confession as if a sinner were at the foot of a god confessing their sins.

And I think Arion skips ahead of Oliver a little bit and looks at the beach and looks at everything and goes,

Valiant (Arion):

Wow, this has changed and yet looked the same. It's been a while.

Valiant:

And then sits over to an empty, sparse place on the beach. And as he sits down, he pats the area of sand next to him to get Oliver to sit by him.

Alex (GM):

And Oliver gladly sits next to you, as he takes your hand and rests it between the two of you.

Valiant:

There’s a hitching of breath before Arion exhales and like just stares at that connection and says,

Valiant (Arion):

There is many things I need to tell you and many things I need to... How did Lou say it again? There are many things I have to be real about with you.

Alex (Oliver):

(chuckles)

Valiant (Arion):

And it's not all going to be pretty. It's not all going to make sense. But I think it's important.

Valiant:

And Arion will gesture to the part of the ocean where the ship used to be, where the net fell down and caught him.

Valiant (Arion):

Several months ago, you and your fishing vessel, you caught something. Well, several somethings. You had fish, you had other aquatic creatures. But you also caught me. I don't know if you knew at that point that I was struggling within an iron net, unable to leave, feeling that that would have been my end. Death by the hands of humans, like many kin that come before me. But you did something that day, Oliver. You let me go. Again, I don't know if you knew or saw. But you saved my life that day.

Alex (Oliver):

I can't say that I knew you were in there, Arion, but I felt like I had to do something. I saw... I guess I saw you struggling and in so much pain and I just thought such a majestic creature shouldn't be trapped this way. I felt so guilty for - I don't even know what I felt guilty for, I just did.

Valiant (Arion):

Majestic? That's a compliment I will certainly take.

Alex (Oliver):

I felt called to action.

Alex (GM):

And I think the word called strikes you, Arion. Will you tell us how you feel about that action possibly having been connected to your Siren? Call.

Valiant:

It’s complicated, I think. Like as soon as Oliver says that, Arion himself runs that scene back in his own head and he makes the realization that he was screaming. He was screaming for his life, but that scream was song. It was a desperate whale song hoping that something, anything, might pull him from this. It was a hymn begging the powers that be to release him from this prison. And that frightens Arion for a moment, thinking that what Alyx said is true, perhaps, that this is an infatuation that is not real in the truest sense.

As the fears take over in Arion's mind, there's a moment where he kind of like his left hand that's not touching like Oliver's hand, plays with the sand. And there's a moment where his finger clips against something and he glances off to the side and it is a shell. And it makes him think of Hallie and Hallie’s prison and how despite all of his desperate attempts to use the Siren abilities in the bar, the screaming, the utilizing of his magics, nothing worked. But regardless, Oliver heard him out. Regardless, Oliver trusted him.

And there's this exhale of relief that just probably doesn't make much sense to Oliver at this moment, but it just seeps out of Arion's bones at this moment as he exhales.

Valiant (Arion):

Thank, Poseidon. Sorry, I had something to say to you.

Valiant:

And Arion turns back to Oliver.

Valiant (Arion):

Look, you felt called. And that makes me think of Atticus and how he felt called. And maybe that's just the... That's just maybe the boon that humans get. They get the call to be a hero one day and you become one by your choices that you make. But after that day, I couldn't stop thinking about you, which is odd because why would a Siren think about mortals? It's been a long time since we had severed that connection between Siren and humanity. But I couldn’t.

Alex (GM):

He pulls you in, actually. Not in a romantic way, but with your hand, he drags it across the sand so that you are drawn closer to him and he braces you with his other hand.

Alex (Oliver):

Arion, I've known you for a very short time. And in that time, you (chuckles), well, truthfully, you talk a lot about how you're so different than a human. How Sirens and mortals, as you put us, are different. But I have to tell you. This feeling you're experiencing, you're telling me that it's unnatural, it's strange, it's unheard of and that you severed that tie and that you shouldn't think this way. I don't know how you haven't heard this this entire summer, Arion, but you're kind of on the right island for that.

Valiant:

Arion chuckles and smiles.

Valiant (Arion):

And you're right. You're right. That's true. There's no other place I can imagine now this time that we're in that this could happen. And this was a combination of me begging my sea witch of a mother, not knowing your name for most of this summer, I must confess, I chose a name that my mother was particularly affectionate of. I called you Odysseus for the longest time.

Alex (GM):

There is a sharp expression on his face.

Alex (Oliver):

Odysseus? Really?

Valiant (Arion):

My mother always said his name so softly and sweetly And you were sailor?

Alex (Oliver):

Sure.

Valiant (Arion):

How does the saying go? If the slipper fits?

Alex (Oliver):

Yeah. If the slipper fits.

Valiant (Arion):

Regardless of my misgivings aside of who you are, yes, we said all these things. If this could happen anywhere, it would be Roseville Beach. But it is important that I say this. I am drawn to you, Oliver. I feel bound to you. Not in a way that means that I have a mythical grander boon to grant you. That's left me now. But it's something I want. It's something I choose. And should you have me, I would wish to walk these beaches with you for as long as you would have me. But I would...

Valiant:

And he like raises his finger because he expects the response from Oliver almost immediately and he like presses his finger against Oliver's lips.

Valiant (Arion):

But before you make that choice, as I have, you must see me again for what I am. Because I'm not just this beautiful human face that sits before you. I am also a Siren. Those are all truths of me that I cannot bargain or barter away.

Valiant:

And Arion stands up as the tide laps, it's lapping against us, the final dregs of the high tide in the daytime before the low tide takes in and he steps into the tide and we see that eldritch form again in the shallows of the water, the spines, the darker scales, the rigid tail, the far more monstrous face, something eldritch and indescribable. A horror story probably in some eyes, but this is who Arion is at present. And he looks from above the shallows at Oliver and says,

Valiant (Arion):

This is it. The other half of me that I can't bargain away.

Valiant:

I think there is a level of realization and reckoning that does have to happen because before, Oliver took it in stride in the moment of danger and panic like the hero he is, this is real. We see Oliver's eyes take in the entirety of it. And this is a person who is frightening to mortal senses. That is true. To say otherwise is to lie. But Oliver reckons with that, I think. Looks at Arion for maybe longer than Arion might hope. There is a fear that lingers in Arion's eyes the longer the heartbeats go on. And Oliver stands up, walks towards the shallows of the water, wetting his feet and trousers into the water as he wades in right by Arion's side.

And I think it's a silent, it is just communicated through a gaze of, I care about you, maybe even love you. Not because of, not in spite of, but alongside the strangeness that you are. And I think that's where it is. This is a quiet confession that these two men care about each other very deeply. And this isn't a romantic story where every truth is will out here. This is a start of a journey for the two of them to know each other, to care about each other, to love each other. And it's likely to be a good story that is reciprocated and ends with with honey on everyone's tongues but it's about the journey that they get to embark together to learn that.

Alex (GM):

Oliver puts out his hand to you, but we never get to see what happens next. We just know that he has accepted you for who you are as the docks creak above you, and we hear the sound of waves, and we just see the water against the sand.

Kenzie:

Lou, nd I think everyone in the house gets this understanding this specific day that Lou is super antsy and very high strung and isn't like prepping the house, like she's not like a mom who's cleaning before company comes. She just simply will not sit still, is checking the clock every minute until finally there's just a slamming of the screen door onto the back porch, a slamming of boots downstairs and she's gone. And she arrives on the dock probably about fifteen minutes early. And probably about ten minutes into that, Luis shows up by her side. And she's just arms crossed staring out at the boat that's slowly coming towards them.

Alex (GM):

And Luis's arms crossed right next to you staring at the boat coming towards you.

Kenzie (Lou):

Okay, yikes. Wow, I haven't lived with him since he was like 11. What if he's not on the boat, Luis?

Alex (Luis):

He said he was gonna be, I read the letter. We were on the phone with him. He said he was coming.

Kenzie (Lou):

There's a thing about the Wells… don't necessarily... I'm the enigma. Everyone else, you can't necessarily take them out their word.

Alex (GM):

And he puts a hand on your shoulder. Not looking at you. He's looking out at the boat. It's coming up to the docks.

Alex (Luis):

You’ve done good by him. And if he chooses not to come, then I'd say it's good he's finally making his own choices.

Kenzie (Lou):

Yeah, you're right. I think I… I think I want him to come, and I think that I will be upset if he doesn't, and I think I don't like that.

Kenzie:

As was mentioned at the very beginning of this episode, Lou has always been about fixing things. And the one thing that she has never successfully fixed was her family. And while it is definitely misguided in that sense of looking at her family like this, making sure Scotty chooses what she thinks he should choose, even though she does think it will actually be what's best for him, is her last ditch attempt at fixing what she grew up with. And if he doesn't show up on that boat, Lou will renege on what she wrote in that letter and she will continue to send him rent money and she will continue to work her ass off. She will kind of go backwards in growth a bit.

Alex (GM):

As this is going across, in your mind, as you're experiencing these emotions. What does Luis witness?

Kenzie:

A shame because she knows that about herself and so she kind of digs her hands very deep into the pockets of her cargo shorts and haunches her shoulders and is almost trying to not be noticeable even though that's just impossible because everybody here knows Lou and a very deep concern on her face, not only for her brother, but for what that would mean for her, and that she is afraid of him not coming because she's afraid of going backwards.

Alex (GM):

The boat docks, people start to exit. At first a large crowd and then it gets thinner. And you're waiting and waiting and waiting until it looks like everybody's off the boat. But there is still one person left. Is it your brother?

Kenzie:

Stepping off the boat is a very skinny in a very unhealthy fashion twenty-ish, twenty-one-ish year old man who still looks like a boy to Lou. Lou's hair is cut into a mullet but it's curly and he just has like very short shaved curls on his head. Same color eyes, brown, rich. And that's kind of where the similarities end. He is dressed like a Midwestern farm boy in jeans, work boots and a almost completely buttoned up the top flannel except it's open one button you see like a white undershirt underneath and he has a duffel slung over his shoulder. And I think he walks down and he looks unsteady. He is very clearly either just recently sober or in the works of becoming sober and is a bit in withdrawal. Kind of like really gaunt cheeks, stubble that is just very unattractive.

And he walks down on the beach, and I think for a moment that it's been so long that he almost looks through Lou and doesn't recognize her at first. And I think she has reached out and she has grabbed Luis's arm so tight and is just squeezing it.

Kenzie (Lou):

Okay, he's here. I guess it starts now.

Kenzie:

Lou walks over and takes his duffel bag from him. And they don't touch, they don't hug, they don't do anything like that. She slings the duffel bag over her back and she goes,

Kenzie (Lou):

Alright, well... I mean... You're gonna be sleeping with a ghost, but I think it's at least a place to lay your head. Let's go.

Kenzie:

And just turns around and starts walking towards the beach house.

Alex (GM):

It stays on your brother as you walk past the camera and he just says,

Alex (Scottie):

A ghost.

Alex (GM):

And he walks past the camera as well.

In our sunken living room. with a bittersweet hesitation in the air as tomorrow is the last day of summer. Lou, I'm gonna let you open this up because you've seen this before. You've done this before and it's always the same.

Kenzie:

The beach house on Roseville Beach in which Lou has resided, this specific beach house, because she wasn't always here but she has been here for a few years now, has always looked the same. Since she moved in, there has been no renovations. It has just been what it was. And the only change were the people that passed through it.

And Lou is very well aware that many individuals who come to Roseville Beach do only stay through the summer. She's one of the odd ones who didn't grow up here, who didn't grow up near here, but who stayed. And so there was a little bit of selfishness there bringing her brother in. Because now, even if the normal renters leave, Scottie will be right upstairs. It's not a big issue. I've got someone here. And so on this last day of summer, on this day when the house will be empty again, she treats it as any other day. She's tired of trying to get people to stay. If they want to, they will. If they don't, they won't, and they weren't meant to. And that is their path in their life.

And so she's downstairs at about 7 a.m. with a bowl of batter mixing up pancakes and this time not using the grill but using the actual stove, just waiting for Arion and Alyx to show their faces.

Alex (GM):

The first to come downstairs is your brother, who grabs a pancake and runs out the door.

Valiant:

Arion, as usual, every morning appears like a tempestuous storm as he rushes down the steps and yells out in a far too chirpy voice that anyone is really prepared for,

Valiant (Arion):

Good morning.

Valiant:

Like slides near towards the kitchen. You see that he has something in, like a large something in his hands as he like sits on one of the kitchen tables, chairs, and like you see this massive costume that he seems to be working on. And he sits down and you see him kind of like messing about with it with a needle, seems to be fixing something. And he looks at you making pancakes and goes,

Valiant (Arion):

Pancakes, I love those. I have to- sorry, I would- I will definitely help in a- just a second. I just need to fix this before my performance tomorrow. But it turns out Miss Sherry's heel dug into my flared trouser and now there is a hole that I need to mend. And I'm not very good at mending, but I am making it work- ow.

Valiant:

He says he like pokes himself on the needle and then like continues mending it.

Valiant (Arion):

You’re coming, right?

Kenzie (Lou):

Yeah, yes, I, yes, I'm coming. Can we eat breakfast first?

Valiant (Arion):

Right.

Valiant:

And then he like, he like just tucks the item away, puts it onto the sofa in the sunken living room, and then rushes back and sits down and smiles at you.

Kenzie (Lou):

Actually, this is great. I have a big question for you. Do you not need to eat breakfast?

Valiant (Arion):

I like breakfast.

Kenzie (Lou):

Okay, well you just you were just ignoring it and not having it and I'm making it so I just wanted to make sure.

Valiant (Arion):

No, I like breakfast. I think I need to eat it now because you know -

Valiant:

Gesture to the entirety of his of his personage of like handsome man but a little strange looking and is like,

Valiant (Arion):

I am very excited for breakfast I am looking forward to more breakfast. I thought I was gonna finally have a conversation with your brother Scottie and every time I'm down here he's already gone.

Kenzie (Lou):

Honestly a good thing. He’s still gaining his bearings and it's rough.

Valiant (Arion):

Okay, this is your sibling.

Kenzie (Lou):

Thank you for letting him just like come in and stay. I just wasn't sure what what the situation was going to be going forward. So I thought it was gonna be fine for him to come to stay. Should we go talk to Mr. Man- Man Ray, what's his name?

Valiant (Arion):

Oh, Manny? Well, Manny's back in the ocean now.

Kenzie (Lou):

Yeah, who's our landlord?

Valiant (Arion):

Don’t know what that is.

Kenzie (Lou):

Do I have to talk to Tim?

Valiant (Arion):

Oh, you mean Manny's little familiar?

Kenzie (Lou):

Do I own this place now that he went back to the ocean?

Valiant (Arion):

That would be a very nice gift.

Kenzie (Lou):

I would love that because I've lived here. I feel like I've lived here for the amount of years it would take to be to have like squatters rights.

Valiant (Arion):

I also do not know what that is.

Alex (GM):

If you want to, the answer is yes. If you don't want to, the answer is no. And there are a stack of bills on the desk underneath which is a letter from a Mr. War.

Kenzie:

All the bills on this table are gonna be paid soon and while Arion is talking Lou kind of goes over and looks through all of them and like she's seen them all before so she just kind of throwing, throwing, throwing, seeing if there's anything new. And then she comes to this letter that she saw when it came it she saw when it arrived and she thought it was a joke but now like fully taking in that Mr. War went back into the ocean, she realizes that maybe it's not a joke. She realizes that this is maybe the most security she's ever had. And so she looks at it and she goes,

Kenzie (Lou):

Well, Arion, you got to let me know if you're staying because I'm your landlord now.

Valiant (Arion):

Where else would I go?

Kenzie (Lou):

Oh, I thought you might want to go back to the ocean.

Valiant (Arion):

I can go back whenever I want, but I want to be here right now. And I want to hang out with you and and Alyx. And I still need to get to know Oliver because I don't know, we're being closer now. And I - I want to be here. Do you not want me here?

Kenzie:

Lou is trying not to smile the biggest smile that she has ever smiled before, but it's very difficult.

Valiant (Arion):

I’ll take more of the cooking slots.

Kenzie (Lou):

You have- you can- you don't have to do anything.

Valiant (Arion):

Okay.

Kenzie (Lou):

You don't have to do anything at all. You just have to come home at night and sleep in that bed.

Valiant (Arion):

Done! I do that every night.

Kenzie (Lou):

Maybe we'll figure out a way to help pay for the bills, but that's a different story. I am - You're staying! You're here! You're here now! You're here!

Valiant (Arion):

Yes! Yes, I'm not turning into seafoam! Yes!




Kenzie (Lou):

Well, that was my biggest concern. Was the seafoam.

Dan:

You all see like the most aggressively sleepy Alyx like staggering down the stairs in sweatpants and a tank top and you just watch like she hasn't, her eyes are like barely open. You see her just like conjure a pancake into her hand from the plate.

Valiant (Arion):

Morning!

Dan:

Starts munching on it and is like,

Dan (Alyx):

Do you know what time it is? It's so early.

Valiant (Arion):

I still can't read the clock.

Kenzie (Lou):

It’s 7.39.

Valiant (Arion):

That.

Dan (Alyx):

That is awfully specific of an answer. The answer was fucking early.

Kenzie (Lou):

Well, sure. Early is relative. What are you - what are you?

Kenzie (Lou):

I own this house now.

Dan (Alyx):

What - what are you - what…?

Dan (Alyx):

What?

Valiant (Arion):

Yes, we need to celebrate. Lou's now a landlord. I assume that's really important. You're a lord now.

Kenzie (Lou):

So here's the here so ooh ooh I'd like to take a step back for a second. I do own the house so technically, ooh, I am the landlord, but that's not the vibe I'm going for if you understand me.

Valiant (Arion):

You don't want to be a lord?

Kenzie (Lou):

I don't want to be a landlord that's for sure.

Dan (Alyx):

Okay. Good morning.

Kenzie (Lou):

Hey, Alyx.

Dan (Alyx):

I will just have it remembered that I have covered your rent like eleven times in the last two years. So just gonna...

Kenzie (Lou):

Have I not made it clear that that issue is solved? You don't have to cover my rent anymore.

Dan (Alyx):

b I’m totally cool with that. I just want you to remember that as the new landlord and when things get-

Kenzie (Lou):

I don't know what it entails, so I'm not gonna ask you guys for rent. We just have to split the cost that I get every- Am I just gonna- I'm just gonna get like one bill every month, right?

Dan (Alyx):

We’re gonna solve that after coffee. Good, good, yes. We're gonna get to that after coffee. I'm very happy for you, Lou.

Kenzie (Lou):

I’ve never owned a house.

Dan (Alyx):

I know.

Dan:

Alyx is going to like, must her hair a little bit and just sort of like shuffle up to you one pancake in hand and she like throws her arm around your shoulders.

Dan (Alyx):

Listen, you’re gonna be fine, okay?

Kenzie (Lou):

I have a question for you.

Dan (Alyx):

Yeah.

Kenzie (Lou):

Are you leaving?

Dan (Alyx):

What?

Kenzie (Lou):

Okay, because Arion came in hot this morning to tell me that he was staying and living in the house.

Valiant (Arion):

Again, where else will I go?

Dan (Alyx):

Well, I'm not gonna go sleep at the bodega.

Kenzie (Lou):

Oh, yeah. Well, there is that back room and I didn't know. You know, I could make it a bedroom if you wanted.

Dan (Alyx):

That’s so sweet. I'm not going anywhere, Lou.

Kenzie (Lou):

This is the greatest day of my life. Let me tell you something, there has not been a single tenant of this house aside from me who is not left when fall has come to Roseville Beach. And let me tell you something, fall on Roseville Beach is great. You are all gonna have an incredible time. You don't even know it yet.

Dan:

She’s just gonna like look at you sideways. She's gonna kiss you on the cheek and be like,

Dan (Alyx):

I love you, you big idiot.

Alex (GM):

The last day of summer. So would say almost the first day of the best season of Roseville Beach: autumn. I think there is a spot very few people know about because it is not featured on any brochure. It's not a spot you would want to go to if the beach was available. But because fall is almost here, the beach has become less enticing and west of here in the forest, there’s a little clearing. There's a grove of trees and almost a perfect circle, a meadow carved out in the middle of this forest where the sun shines down and you can feel the warmth sort of radiate from here. It has a small little spot for a picnic. There's a table. But it's like one of those wooden tables that has the benches connected to them, so it's always a little bit too too close. Your knees are always a little bit - they're smashing against each other. You never really know how to sit in this thing comfortably, but it has an endearing coziness to it. Like a charcoal grill next to it. And there are probably like a basket with a few games and activities that the few people who go here sort of leave.

Valiant:

b Arion has for most of his life eaten aquatic animals. And as such, when arrived on Roseville Beach, has a particular fondness for canned fish. He is currently making a tuna sandwich, but this isn't just like your typical canned tuna. This is the Asian style canned fish, which are often flavored. This is his earliest loves here in Roseville Beach of having a spiced tuna in a can on toasted bread, which I think he learned from either Alyx or Lou of making like an actual sandwich. So that is what Arion is currently preparing. We see this beautiful bright colored can, and he begins to like spread the contents and add some level of foliage onto it so that it's a robust meal. And he sets it on a plate and he's excitable. The second we arrived on the picnic ground, he has been bouncing around even more so than typical Arion level of energy and excitement. And he got the ingredients from our beloved bodega, as she sources all the important, wonderful and delicious Asian goods.

Dan:

I think she's like picking at what Arion is prepared. Like I don't think she rejects that outright. Like I think she's like, okay, this is weird, but fuck it. I think she thinks a little bit about like the person she was before she was a witch. Just for a second because that person seems so long ago and doesn't even sound or feel like her. And she's looking at this moment with her friends and just thinks like, she never would have thought this was a place she'd be. She’s gonna sit with them and she just kind of gently lights a cigarette and sits and enjoys the table and the food and the company.

Alex (GM):

Lou, there is a radio here that you turn on and as you do there's a headline that sort of catches your ear.

Kenzie:

The radio announcement is one for like a new big hardware store popping up in places. Lou is entranced by what is going on just at this picnic in general but is briefly brought to this moment of this ad and listens to the whole thing. And then I think her thought is as she looks back at the picnic where like Arion, Alyx, Oliver, Annie, like all these people that they love have shown up whether or not they were invited are here and she goes,

Kenzie (Lou):

Ugh, that sounds great. But I can find all I need in Roseville Beach.

Alex (GM):

As you are surrounded by loved ones, you laugh and we enjoy the fleeting breath that is summer. The camera frames the three of you sitting together and someone has just told a joke.

I want to know what about this summer you will never forget.

Kenzie:

This is a summer she never expected. She did not expect these people to come into her life. She did not expect to be thrown into a battle for the longevity of Roseville Beach. She came into this summer and was like, great, two new roommates. Gonna go to work and pay the rent. And that's what it was. Until it wasn't.

And think what she learned here and what she will take away, and I think it's already been stated but should be stated again, is that she this summer specifically learned her own worth. She realized what was important to her and she'll never she'll never go back to not taking what she deserves.

Valiant:

This is a summer that Arion will never forget because this is the summer that he got to experience the breadth of humanity. He got a speed run through every new emotion, every new relationship, the bright moments and honestly the difficulties that come with with humanity, with sharing a space with another person, the fights and disagreements. And there are many things that we will not forget about being here on Roseville Beach and about this particular summer. But I think the thing that will really stay with him is that the wonderful, beautiful, tragic complexity of what it is like to be with other people. The disagreements, the fears, the undo or do amounts of projection, but overall the love that comes from that. We see him laughing as he immediately like makes a off-rule move in a board game that they're playing and is immediately reprimanded by the others that are there and he like explains himself. And that's what really will stay with him is all these people.

Dan:

Alyx has spent such a long time running. And it's not the case that she was stuck. It's not like she didn't know what to do or where to go or who she was, but she had to run from it. And she can't run anymore because it's already happened. Running is over. And that distance that she ran, she didn't think about it while she was running it, but now here she is, so far away from the person she was when she arrived here.

And she thinks about September and she thinks about that thought that September had when she stepped into the rift. She thinks that that's something. that she might have been willing to do. Or she might not have. Because of her own selfishness. And either way, as she's like seeing the people around her now, it's like she ran all that distance to be among them and now it's not a place that she wants to leave. That is something that I think she knows she could make that choice for, for them. And then she reaches over and stops Arion from eating one of the board game pieces.

Valiant (Arion):

But you said that this means it's consumed!

Dan (Alyx):

No. No. Not... Not... Not literally.

Kenzie:

This is fiction, not reality, Arion.

Valiant (Arion):

I did wonder how you keep replenishing the pieces.

Valiant:

And he puts it back.

Alex (GM):

The camera zooms out as the three of you bicker about whether or not the semantics of board games should be the way they are. As we zoom out further and further, we can see the forest and now the village and now just the crest of the west end of the island quickly followed by the east. And a surge of magic sparks from the leyline as it crests over Roseville Beach down to a point and back up from Lou's redirection, forming a little heart around the island. And we fade to black.