04x01 - Boundaries

[bunniefuu]

[applauding]

Love the enthusiasm. Yeah. Thank
you. You know, in the past few years,

we've had some highs and some
lows here at Mythic Quest.

Highs like the wild success
of our newly integrated,

user-generated content
platform, Playpen.

I say, "Play." You
say, "Pen." Play!

- Pen!
- [David] Play!

Pen.

Yes! That's how we do
in Pasadena. [chuckles]

Playpen turns the
players into creators,

giving them the tools they need to
make their own innovative games.

Games like Cozy Galaxy,
brainchild of our own Dana Bryant.

Dana Studios in the house.

[all] Mm-mmm. Mm-mmm.

[chuckles] No?

[clears throat] Uh, we've also
had some lows, like COVID...

ending.

When the pandemic lifted and
life went back to normal,

the video game
industry took a hit.

And we felt it here at home.

Mythic Quest lost a lot of
good people when we fired them.

Uh, but we are bouncing back

with the help of our Head of
Monetization, Rachel Meyee.

She is gonna make this company more
money than that virus ever did.

- Ain't that right, Rache?
- No, no, no.

Now, even though Playpen is the
shiny, new toy in the MQ ecosystem,

nothing hits like the classics.

Our fearless leaders, Ian and
Poppy, returned from GrimPop

and instantly reclaimed their throne. Uh,
they also reclaimed my office. [chuckles]

But I am beyond excited to hear
their plan for our next expansion,

so please, everyone,
give your full attention

to our brilliant co-creative
directors, Ian Grimm and Poppy Li!

[applauding]

Guys.

[dramatic music plays]

[employee] Whoa.

What the hell are they doing?

[music continues]

[gasps, breathes deeply]

Poppy! [chuckles] I had the
craziest dream last night.

It's still last night.

Yes, I recognize that it's
two o'clock in the morning.

- And per our new partnership agreement...
- [sighs]

that we have
restricted the sharing

of late-night dreams,
visions, and epiphanies.

Also paradigm shifts.

Also paradigm shifts, which is exactly
why I'm not crossing the threshold

of your apartment unless
you invite me in...

Gotcha. Boundary respected.

My paradigm-shifting idea will
just wait until you get in.

- Okay.
- Whenever you get in.

Great.

When will you be in?

- Just bloody say it.
- Okay. [chuckles]

I have an idea for
our next expansion.

I wanna build MQ's
version of heaven.

We can call it Elysium.

But the only way that the
player can access the new map

is by dying valiantly
in the game.

You want me to code
courage into the game?

Yes.

That is a highly ambitious,

almost delusional idea that
may be impossible to execute.

Yes.

- I love it. It's cool.
- Yes. Yes, I thought you would.

- [chuckles]
- Okay. Okay, but do you really like it?

Because the foundation of our
new and improved partnership

is open and clear communication.

Mm-hmm. I clearly and openly communicate
that I really, really like it.

Fantastic. So we should
get to w-work on it then...

Yeah, tomorrow, at work.

Right, but technically
it... Tomorrow is today.

Okay, so, yeah, I'll see
you tomorrow. Good night.

[sighs]

So that was him, huh?

Yeah, emphasis on the was.

Lucky me.

[moaning]

- Get back in there.
- Okay. Yes, ma'am.

[chuckles]

[breathing heavily]

On the b*ttlefield, a warrior
must give it all for glory.

To the victor, the spoils.

But for those willing to lay down
their lives for a noble cause,

a far greater reward.

Immortality.

For only the most courageous few

shall be welcomed through
the gates of Elysium!

- Ooh.
- Mmm.

Do you... Do you like it?

Yeah. Uh, he loves
it. Look at his face.

[imitates expl*si*n] Mind blown.

Really great. Yeah. Super fun.

Yeah, is Dana in yet?

What? Uh... [stammers]
Yeah... Well, no,

- her... her car broke down on the way in.
- [David] Hmm.

Sorry, David, did you say fun?

- [chuckling]
- [chuckles] Yeah. It's...

- f*ck fun.
- [Ian] Yeah.

I-I mean, this expansion
is revolutionary.

Yeah, totally. Yeah, absolutely.

Uh, does she need a ride?

'Cause I could give her
a ride if she needs one.

He's not even listening. I-I-I feel
like ever since Playpen launched,

he doesn't care about us at all.

It's Dana this, Dana that.
Everything's Dana, Dana, Dana.

- Brady Bunch reference?
- Yes. Yes. Yes... [squeals]

Guys, guys, hey, that...
It's not true, okay?

It's not that I don't care.
It's that Montreal doesn't care.

Look, the amount of users
flocking to Playpen is exploding.

I mean, Dana's game alone just
cracked one million users per day.

One million?

[chuckles] For real?

- Hmm.
- Oh, my God. I have to text her.

After the morning she had,
she could use some good news.

[screams] What the hell, man?

If you text her so
much as an emoji,

I will fire you faster than
you can say "microaggression."

These are company secrets,
not couple secrets.

- But we work for the same company.
- Same company, different sides.

You're management, she's
creative. So zip it.

- Zip it. Stop talking.
- If you could zip it...

- You're always talking.
- That would help.

I barely talked this
meeting... Whatever.

Okay, I'm sorry, I just thought
we should give her something.

Oh, don't worry. I'll be
giving her something later.

- [chuckles]
- Ew. What?

Sorry, that came off way too sexual.
Uh, no, I-I just meant a trophy.

See, a trophy shows that
we value our creators

without showing our
creators their actual value.

I call this the "Platinum
Performer." Hmm?

Yeah, I was thinking more
that we could, like, pay her

since she creates the content
that we all profit from,

- and we would be nothing without her.
- Uh, no... [chuckles]

we provide the platform, and
she will be nothing without us.

No, you would be nothing without us.
We're the ones who are underappreciated.

David, I need your enthusiastic and
undivided attention or I'm gonna scream.

Oh, my God. You guys, look, this
i... this is a good thing, okay?

I mean, you're always
asking for more time, right?

There's no pressure
on the expansion,

so you can have all the time in
the world to, you know, noodle.

Oh, here she comes. I gotta
go. How's my hair look?

- Uh, super f*cking weird.
- It's too long.

Aren't you a little bit old to be
having a midlife crisis, David?

A midlife crisis, me?

- This man is wearing diamond earrings.
- Oh, I didn't notice those before.

- Those are nice.
- Oh, thanks.

He looks like a wide
receiver for the LA Rams.

- Hey. [chuckles]
- Thanks.

- No, that's not a compliment.
- Awesome.

Whatever. I'm pulling it off.

He's not pulling it off.

- ["My Lovin'" playing]
- May I help you?

I need to speak to Dana.

Uh, Ms. Bryant's very busy.

Is she?

Ms. Bryant is in flow,

which you wouldn't understand
'cause you're not an artist.

The only thing that flows on
you is that ridiculous hair.

Okay. Jo, look, I-I know
you work for Dana now,

but... [sighs] ...come on,
we have history. Hook me up.

I wanna give Dana
this trophy, huh?

Unfortunately, Ms.
Bryant is busy all day,

but I'd be happy to pass along
your cheap bauble to her.

Uh, excuse me, it's a very
high-end platinum alloy.

- Hmm.
- Give it to me.

- Let go.
- You let go.

[grunting] How
are you so strong?

- David.
- [grunts] Brad.

Come on. Give it to
me. Let go. [grunts]

Jo... [sighs] ...please.

David, I work for Dana now,

and though I'm fond of you as a
person and I respect you as an elder,

I would push you down a well if I
thought it would put a smile on her face.

Jesus. All right. Fine.

["My Lovin'" plays, ends]

[sighs] What did
David want this time?

Corporate blowhard wanted to award you
a trophy, but I eliminated the threat.

A trophy?

- That's good.
- Not good.

I don't need a trophy, I
need a working transmission.

My car broke down, and I don't
have the money to fix it.

How can I have the number one
game on Playpen and no money?

It's 'cause you're locked
into a rookie contract.

So get me out. You
are my money guy.

I'm working on it. I just
needed the right leverage.

This trophy is a good sign.

We must have hit a significant
player milestone of some kind.

I'll ask Rachel.

He... Dude.

Don't text Rachel.

She is not on our side. She is
management, you are creative.

You're not supposed to
care about the data.

You're supposed to be mysterious,
quixotic, impossible to please.

Let me handle it. [inhales deeply]
This is more of a Brad-David situation.

[sighs]

Actually...

it's more of a
predator-prey situation

where I sneak up on David
when he least expects it.

The last thing he thinks
is, "Was that a twig snap?"

[sighs] It's not
even a challenge.

Just make it quick and painless.

Actually, I do not care
about the painless part,

just get me out of the contract.

[dramatic music playing]

What is he talking about?
"Take all the time you need"?

[stammers] How could
David say that to us?

How am I supposed to fight
against boundaries if I have none?

Yeah, he... he doesn't
tell us when we noodle.

We say when we noodle.

That's good. That's good, Pop,
you should say that to him.

- You know what? I'm gonna text it to him.
- No, no, no, no, no.

- [exclaiming]
- Whoa.

- Damn it. [exclaiming]
- What are you doing?

I'm just trying to slap
the phone out of your hand.

- Why?
- Because we should let our work

do the smack-talking for us.

Let's make Elysium so good
he can't ignore it anymore.

Yeah. Let's remind that
stringy-haired b*tch

that we are not to
be underestimated.

Just because Playpen
is doing well

doesn't mean MQ Original can't
be just as relevant as ever.

We're gonna deliver
on time and on budget,

and David Brittlesbee
is gonna rue the day

that he gave us the exact working
conditions we've been asking for,

- for the last 15 to 20 years.
- [chuckles] Yeah.

- [both chuckling]
- Did you wanna smack it again?

- I kinda feel like the moment's passed.
- Yeah, me too. I'll just...

- Cool.
- [chuckles] Thanks.

- You are such a good partner.
- Thank you. Thank you.

- I'm working on it. Let's get to work.
- Okay. All right.

I'm gonna get working on a heuristic
that tracks courageous behavior.

[gasps] That's great.
Great idea. You know, I...

I feel like I'm... I'm
tapped into the muse

and I've... I've got so many ideas.
I'm just, like, bursting at the seams.

I say we work all night,
obviously. Let's start now.

- Um...
- Yes, let's go.

No.

Uh, actually, no,
I-I can't tonight.

Oh, okay. Fine.

Uh, do you have... you
have plans with somebody?

No.

No, I... I just... I-I-I'm working on
having a better work work-life balance.

A better work work-life balance?
You just said work twice.

- Mm-hmm.
- That's okay.

I'm trying to be a better
partner, which means embracing

even your most delusional ideas,

like you having a personal life,
but I love that lie for you.

Thank you. Thank you.

You know, I'm just trying
to listen to my body more

and what it needs because, uh...

[chuckles] ...my body has needs.

Okay.

But you know, I'm still... I'm still
totally committed to the expansion.

And I... And I can still
grind when I need to.

Believe me... [chuckles]

I can grind all night...

Poppy's got a boyfriend.

Really?

Oh, is that why she's been doing all
those obnoxious double entendres lately?

Yeah, it's been
going on for a while

and I've known about it
from the very beginning,

but she keeps lying
to me about it.

I feel like our partnership is
the strongest it's ever been,

but clearly, I'm wrong.

Mmm. Know that look.

Yeah, nothing hurts like the pangs
of jealousy from a cheating lover.

We are not lovers,
and I am not jealous.

I am not attracted to
her, nor will I ever be.

You don't have to be attracted to
someone to have sex with them...

- [chuckles] ...just ask my ex-wife.
- Jesus Christ,

why would I talk
to you about women?

Look, you gotta catch
her in the act, okay?

Tail her and nail her. Sneak up on
her when she least expects it...

- Twig snap.
- [yelps]

Jesus, Brad. You almost
made me drop my trophy.

I thought it was Dana's trophy.

Was this all part of your desperate
attempt to make her happy?

No, I don't need to make her
happy, she's already happy.

Why wouldn't she be
happy? [chuckles]

All right. How do
I make her happy?

Three words: Profit
sharing, duh.

[chuckles] A profit share?

Yeah, um, little news flash, Brad,
Dana's under contract with MQ, okay?

She's waived her rights
to profit sharing, so...

Yeah, he's right.

- We paid for her school...
- Yeah.

And that contract is ironclad,

which you should know
because you wrote it.

See, when you worked for corporate
you screwed over the artist,

but now you work for an artist,
so you kinda screwed yourself.

Mmm.

So, I'm not hunting David...

I'm hunting myself.

{\an8}The most dangerous game.

Did he say he was hunting me?

That guy's weird.

[toilet flushes]

- What up, girlfriend?
- Jesus Christ.

- How long have you been standing there?
- A while.

I didn't want to bother you while
you were in flow. [chuckles]

- Ew.
- [chuckles, sighs]

It's so fun to have
inside jokes with friends.

[chuckles] Well,
enough chitchat.

- Let's go.
- Ow! Ow! What are you doing?

My boss has requested
your presence

- for a clandestine meeting.
- [groans]

Jo, I can walk myself.

Ms. Bryant instructed me to
use force whenever necessary.

- [sighing]
- Thanks, Jo.

You bet.

- Sorry. Hi.
- [sighs] Hi. What's happening?

Everything's fine. I just
realized we haven't really talked

about where we're drawing the line
between work stuff and personal stuff.

So, I thought we should do that.

Oh, okay.

Uh, you wanna have
that conversation now?

I want to draw the line here.

- Oh.
- Whatever happens at the office

stays on that side of the line,

and we do not bring our
personal problems to work.

Okay. Yeah. Boundaries.

Sure. Totally.

We should definitely have those,
otherwise, stuff gets messy.

So messy.

Sorry... [chuckles]

why is it messy for you?

Because I'm caught between
my boss and my best friend.

- Ooh. Best?
- Jo... [chuckles]

could you give us a minute?

- You got it, boss.
- [chuckles]

- You okay?
- I'm fine.

- Okay.
- Thanks.

We don't wanna put each other
in a compromising situation.

- Right?
- Right. Yeah. Uh-huh.

Like, say, you had
information about my game.

Mm-hmm.

I would never expect you to
share that information with me

just because I'm your
girlfriend and I love you.

Mmm. That's good. [chuckles]

Mm-hmm. Good.

Is it good?

Which? The information I'm
not supposed to talk about,

or the boundaries
we're establishing,

or love?

All of them?

Yes, it's all good.

- It's really good.
- I knew it.

- Yes.
- Yeah!

- Oh. We gotta celebrate.
- Yes. Ooh, we should go to dinner.

There's this new French place I've
been wanting to try. My treat.

Rache, I'm glad you're
flush from your job,

but I cannot handle
another tasting menu.

They finish at like 1:00 in the morning,
and I think you getting the gout, girl.

I am not getting the gout.

I just love duck liver mousse...

and my toe hurts.

- [car horn honks]
- [Poppy] g*dd*mn, car. Too low.

- [groans]
- Poppy. What the hell are you doing?

[chuckles] Just popping
on some fresh undies.

[chuckles] I got a date
tonight. Don't tell Ian.

I'm trying to keep work
and private life separate.

Not that you two gal pals
would understand that.

- Is that your Porsche?
- Yep,

I never really learned
how to drive it properly,

but-but it is great for
holding all my stuff.

Wow. I can't afford a car,
and you get a $100,000 closet.

Going to an art show tonight
with the bloke I'm banging.

Of course, the real
show will be afterwards

in the bedroom
when we're banging.

- [horn honking, alarm blaring]
- Pop...

Uh, are you...

- Oh, sh*t.
- It's that... It's that button.

Hold on.

- It's the same button that you...
- It's the same one.

- I just pressed it.
- I know. Press it again.

- The same button that you hit.
- Oh! I got it. It's my car.

- Hey.
- Oh, hey, Pop,

I learned how to use
the shovel as a guitar,

and I think it would be,
like, a cute homage to us.

That is cute.

All right, I'm
going to head off.

- Oh, you're taking off?
- Yeah.

Oh, okay.

Um... [stammers] ...you said
you were gonna leave early,

but that usually
means like 10:00 p.m.

Yes, but I have to go and
celebrate my mum's birthday.

It's tomorrow. But because
of the time difference,

that-that means that it's today.

So, technically I'm
late for the future.

Okay. You know, you could tell me
the truth about where you're going.

You don't have to, of course,
you know, boundaries and all.

But, you know, if you
wanted to, you could.

Boundaries, boundaries.

- Okay. See ya. [chuckles]
- Oh.

Oh!

For my feet. [chuckles]

You have deodorant
for your feet.

Yeah.

Boundaries.

Boundaries.

- [bag crinkling]
- [crunching]

Ooh, Poppy's
leaving early today.

I wonder if she and Ian
are having problems.

Hey, I can't open this
door. Is this a bug?

[grunts] Open... Oh.

Oh, never mind. Just
hit this button here.

[chuckles] These
games are so complex.

Oh, you want complexity? You should
check these people's lives out.

The way they intertwine
and clash with each other.

It's like a great soap opera.

I'm addicted to it.

Better be careful.
You are an addict.

- That I am.
- Yeah.

Thanks, Mikey, for the
accountability check.

- Yeah.
- [chuckles]

Check in with yourself. I'm
sure it's just harmless fun.

- Yeah.
- [chuckles]

It's not like I'm gonna
wipe out my retirement fund,

you know, buying one too
many rounds of office drama.

[chuckling] Can't wipe
out what you don't have.

- [chuckling]
- [chuckles] Hey, careful, careful.

I, uh, I got nothing,
either. [chuckles]

- Zip.
- Oh! Door doesn't open. New bug.

- No. Press A.
- [door opens]

- Hey.
- I know, right?

Where's Dana?

My employer has left for the
evening with my best friend

without need for my
assistance or friendship.

[sighs] Oh, what a
tangled web I've weaved.

[sighs] Ever feel like
your own worst enemy?

No.

[groans]

Hey, how you holding up, bud?

Go away. I'm working.

You wanna get a
drink? Talk about it?

[sighs] There's
nothing to talk about.

Okay.

Well, we could talk
about the expansion.

Yeah, you got my enthusiastic
and undivided attention.

Come on.

[sighs] Okay. Maybe
just one drink.

But...

it's gotta be whiskey.

Oh. Okay. Yeah. That's...

And...

Japanese.

Sure.

- Pre-w*r.
- All right.

You got to tell the bartender
all this stuff though, okay?

[both] Date night!

[chuckling]

- Oh, damn. Look at that.
- [gasps]

[gasps] I know. They have pâté.

- [gasps] Oh, my God.
- You gotta chill

on the organ meats, honey.

Okay.

I just... One bite.

Look, I was talking
about Poppy's man.

- [Poppy laughs]
- [Dana] He is fine.

Yeah, he's like kind
of masc, kind of femme.

But he's, like,
totally nailing both.

Mmm. Speaking of
masc and femme...

This isn't a bar.

No, no, this is where Poppy's
meeting up with her lover.

We followed her?

No, no. Well, I
mean, not physically.

She uses the company card to
Uber, so she's easy to track.

Tailed and nailed.

You lied to me.

Mmm. You're lying to yourself.

Look, if you want to
snap out of your funk,

you gotta confront your partner.

Go get your girl...

Or, sorry, woman.

[groans] Still
struggling with that one.

[coughing]

- Damn it.
- [coughing continues]

You all right?

Hmm. Oh, Dana's here.

I should have
brought the trophy.

- We should've brought Jo.
- Yeah.

- Oh, fancy meeting you two here.
- [Dana clears throat, chuckles]

- [chuckles]
- Did you follow me?

No, no... [stammers]
...I love art.

[chuckles] I love artists.

I mean, you know me, I
back creative, right?

Said that many times.
But this is great.

Um, a lot of great pieces.
Anything you're liking?

I could buy it for you if-if
that would make you happy.

I don't know. Seems
like a rip-off.

Gallery takes 50% for what?

Providing walls?

Well, yeah, but the walls
provide a platform, I think.

Which is important, you know?
Because that allows the art

to be displayed and enjoyed.

And otherwise, you know, an
artist could-could starve, right?

Well, maybe it's about
finding the right gallery.

One that takes less
from the artist.

After all, this isn't the
only place in town with walls.

Thanks a lot.

I mean, how... how
do I make her happy?

Uh, David, that's a couple
secret, not a company secret.

What are you doing here?

Poppy, I didn't mean to cross a
boundary, but David tricked me.

Look, it's okay.

I already knew that
you have a boyfriend.

- You did?
- Yes.

And I don't care
about any of that.

I just don't understand
why you wouldn't tell me.

I don't know. I-I
didn't want you to...

I didn't want it to be weird.

Weird. Why... Why
would it be weird?

Poppy, I'm not in love
with you for your body.

It's the body of
a 14-year-old boy.

I mean, you got no hips

and I'm pretty sure you're
developing a hunchback.

The point is I love
you for your mind.

You give me your
big, beautiful mind.

That's what I love about you.

We work together, that's our partnership
and no boyfriend can ever take that away.

Thank you.

Yeah.

So, uh, that's him, huh?

Yeah.

- Nice. You hitting that?
- Yeah.

He's got sort of like a
masculine, feminine energy.

I know. It's like f*cking
two people at once.

- Ian, right?
- Hi.

- Hey. [chuckles]
- Hi.

Um, Ian, this is Storm.

Storm. Awesome name.

Well, thank you. Yes, it's-it's
great to finally meet,

and, uh, Poppy had told me
that she forgot to invite you,

but somehow you
showed up anyway.

And I guess that is the universe's way
of conspiring to bring us all together.

The universe. I love that you think
in cosmic terms. That is awesome.

Um, unfortunately, this
case, it was a kidnapping.

- [chuckles] That's...
- [chuckles]

- That's good.
- No, seriously,

it was like a
kidnapping situation.

- But, um...
- Well, um...

[clicks tongue] ...either way, uh, I am
so glad you could make it to my show.

- Your show?
- Yeah.

Oh, are you an artist?

I am. Yeah. Well, I
do mixed media, uh,

so I play around with
traditional and digital forms.

- Awesome.
- Thanks.

Uh, this is actually
the signature piece.

Right here.

[Ian] Wow.

Yeah, we call it The Mechanic.

- Uh, we?
- [clicks tongue] Yeah.

Um, actually, Poppy came
up with the whole concept,

and I-I just sort of helped
bring it all to life...

That's not true.

[stammers] He did way more than
that. You built the whole thing.

I know, but you coded it, and, uh...
Just really, we make a good team.

- [chuckles] So...
- [chuckles]

Oh.

- Storm.
- Oh, yes. Okay. I'm sorry.

Uh, gotta go
introduce the piece.

Um, I'll see you later.

- Yeah.
- Okay.

- Good seeing you. Thank you.
- Yeah.

You guys are, uh,
working together?

Sorry, I didn't know how
to... [inhales sharply]

[stammers] Hey, Pop.

We'll... I'll...

Uh, thank you all so
much for being here.

Uh, but before we
really celebrate,

I'd like to take a second to honor
this amazing woman standing beside me.

I could not have done
this without her.

She is my creative
confidant, my-my partner.

Everybody, a big round
of applause for Poppy Li.

[cheers, applause]

["I'm Confident that
I'm Insecure" playing]