Bad Moon Season One

Episode One: Bad Moon Rising

Sunday, Sept 23rd - Monday, Sept 24th

Session One: 06/25/2014

The Unnamed Parking Lot Girl

Uncle Volk

Linda Dennison

Sunday, Sept 23rd

• The episode opens in Warner Pelt's loft, where he's chilling with his developing posse. The early bird heads to bed while his friends continue gaming and spots movement on the roof of the Athletic Center across the way. After a moment, he spots an almost silhouette again. His exclamation draws Thomas Michael Craig's attention, and they kill the lights in the loft for a better view. They decide to investigate in case someone needs help. Danny Marin joins them.
• Outside the Center, they are debating how to reach the roof when Thomas notices an impact on a nearby window that leaves it cracked and smeared with blood. This spurs them to action (but Danny heads back to his dorm), and the resourceful students pull out a flashlight and lockpicks and break into the Center. After a bit of slinking, the pair are startled when Thomas's cell phone breaks the silence with an incoming text message, but nothing untoward happens. They do hear, however, an impact deeper in the building as loud as a car hitting a wall.
• The pair make their way to the weight room, noticing that the window in its door seems to be blacked out. Warner's flashlight reveals that the window is coated in blood, and a slight nudge knocks the damaged door down. Beyond is a scene of bloody horror. The room is trashed and spilled blood (not strawberry jam) is everywhere. The two flee.
• Warner deals with the horror by cooking an early breakfast, while Thomas answers Teresa Cantu's text to meet her at Crossroads. There, he finds her mooning over Jace Evans and marveling at his leather pants. Thomas drags her over to Jace at the bar, but she quickly flees. Jace notes that Thomas seems off, but his attention is drawn by Aedia Randall's arrival with her sorority gaggle. Jace draws Thomas to the dance floor to display himself for Aedia's benefit, making even more of a spectacle when Teresa joins them.
• When Aedia makes her way to the dance floor and suggests that Thomas should buy drinks for herself and her girls, Jace knocks him aside and announces that he has the money, starting a new type of display. He's unable to say anything interesting once at the bar with her, though, so she moves on to some jock for the night. Jace switches tactics to loudly and aggressively picking up one of her girls, whose name is unimportant and thus never revealed. Fade from Jace about to receive a handjob in the parking lot and already being over it.

Monday, Sept 24th, First Day of Classes

• Henry Mulgrew enters the ATO bathroom to find Reese Tavis shaving in just a towel, which is sufficiently distracting that he fails to notice a plot point. Deacon Alders gathers them up to tell them that the two are responsible for planning and implementing ATO's traditional Bonfire Party in the woods. Stella Jalo is there to help them as necessary. Stella notices that Reese's leg appears to be injured, and he explains that he fell in the woods while running and says he'll have it looked at.
• After the students have left for classes, a mysterious man who resembles George Clooney with an undefinable but surely sexy (but maybe spotty) accent appears at ATO with a large box in tow. He explains that he is Volk, Reese's uncle, and he's here to drop Reese's possessions off, as his nephew stayed with him for the summer, but now Volk is headed out of town for a while. Stella takes the box (it probably doesn't have severed heads in it) and a kiss on the hand, and she recovers her composure with a glass of ice water.
• Later that day, Henry and Warner attend a meeting at the Queer Resource Center, sponsored by Dr. Elaine Litchfield. The talk initially centers around how the resource center was clearly designed by straights but shifts to how homophobic ATO is. Henry is caught off guard and makes a weak defense of his brothers, but he is accused of being too intimidating and able to pass to encounter trouble at the fraternity. Elaine promises the group that if there are any incidents with ATO, the appropriate authority will be brought to bear. There is also gossip about the vandalism at the athletic center and some rumbles of similar incidents in the dorms.
• Elaine is approached by sophomore Linda Dennison, who wishes to transfer to her class. Elaine misinterprets the nubile student's intentions and signs the add/drop sheet, bringing Linda one step closer to bedding her new professor.
• Henry realizes he needs help to pull off the Bonfire Party, so he asks Warner, a noted (former) boy scout, to scout locations. Henry has no idea how many attendees to plan for, and his hastily printed flyers for the party fail to include a location. Warner is able to find a good spot later that afternoon, and Henry adds the GPS coordinates (and hopefully the link to a good navigation app) to the flyers. He also mobilizes the University's frat network to publicize the event. Despite the rumors of ATO's homophobia, Elaine agrees to be the faculty sponsor for the party, and she attempts to get approval from the administration for the frat to build a giant fire in the woods with an unknown number of students in attendance. She is met with some resistance. Fade from Elaine circling the planned date of the party in her date book (because she can use a date book if Warner can use a flip phone), a perfect full moon night to help students find their way through the woods.

Tuesday, September 25th - Thursday, September 27th

Session Two: 07/09/2014

Avery Wendley, Student Advisor

Davis

Desmond Lancaster, Head of Campus Security

Reese

Victor

Alice

Tuesday, September 25th

• Dr. Elaine Litchfield awakens spooked from vivid dreams of skeletons who seem familiar if only she would look more closely at them. She doesn't. She drags herself to Kaffe to meet Stella Jalo for some badly needed coffee, but before the women can say too much, Thomas Michael Craig and Teresa Cantu enter. Lack of seating brings the two to their table, where Teresa and Stella greet each other warmly and introductions are made. Soon after, Avery Wendley also enters. He greets Elaine (very) warmly but is taken aback upon realizing that Thomas is also at their table. Nevertheless, he crowds in with them, too. The Kaffe staff take note to save some money to annex one their neighbors for more room.
• Avery is eager to discuss the odd plague of vandalism at the school as well as pet Elaine, who doesn't seem to mind the attention at all. Clearly suspecting that Thomas might have been involved or at least know something, he mentions the odd details of the gym incident, including heavy weights embedded in the walls. Shifty Thomas, however, successfully feigns ignorance, even tricking Avery into trusting him more than he should. Avery asks him to keep an ear out for any information about who is responsible for the vandalism.
• Evidently, Elaine and Stella compare notes about homoeroticism in frats, bisexuality, and bears as the scene fades out.
• Over at the Athletic Center in question, a disgruntled Jace Evans is finishing a shower in the locker room after finding the weight room closed for repairs and spending the morning doing cardio. Warner Pelt is also there after some cross country training, and Henry Mulgrew enters along with the rest of the wrestling team. Their coach, Bernard Atterly, gives a rousing speech about needing a team captain who is not just a good wrestler but also a leader, and it's not going to be Greenberg.
• As the wrestling team strips to shower, Jace questions Coach Atterly about the status of the weight room repairs, making it known he expects them to be completed quickly. The coach answers that the room should be in operation soon. The wrestlers chatter about potential team captains, chief among them Henry and Carter Smythe. Warner backs Carter the Eagle Scout, revealing that he is a former Boy Scout himself, but Jace notes that Henry really knows his holds. Henry flees to the showers while his teammates wonder how Jace knows this. The wrestling team claims that the showers are broken, but since Jace and Warner just used them, Jace begins to question the competence of the team.
• Davis Monk enters the locker room on an unsteady prosthetic leg, and, after reaching a bench, asks if anyone can get a screwdriver so he can fix his leg. Warner immediately produces a multi-tool even though he is only wearing gym shorts; in fact, nearly everyone and most especially Jace has been shirtless throughout this entire scene. Davis thanks Warner while Henry and Jace are instantly convinced of the veracity of Warner's Boy Scout past.
• As Henry and Jace get dressed and leave the locker room, Jace questions whether Henry texted him yesterday asking for booze. He learns in the process that Henry's name is not Harry. Henry confirms that he needs someone to acquire some for ATO's Bonfire Party. Jace is initially wary of why Henry is asking him and how he has his number, but since it doesn't seem to be a stalkery motive, and because last year's Bonfire Party was a good one, he agrees to help on the condition that this year's party be just as good.
• Meanwhile, Elaine, still pursuing approval for the Bonfire Party, uses her feminine wiles to practically enslave Avery into helping her. That's some Sookie-level vagina magic.
• Warner, who has been spending time scouting the woods around the University, has already located the perfect spot for the party and is on the way to also finding the perfect place for a gear stash, which might include a safe sex kit.
• Jace and Henry find out that they are Physics lab partners for the term, and later that night meet at ATO to study. Jace is still a little too wary of Henry to let him know where his dorm room is. Stella, happy to see evidence that some of her boys do study, offers to make them sandwiches, and Jace realizes that he has seen a photo of teenaged Stella at his drug dealer Dane Ryerman's place. While they're studying, all the lights in the ATO house suddenly go out. Henry asks Jace if he has a flashlight, earning the first side eye of the session as Jace proclaims that of course he doesn't have a flashlight. Who carries flashlights around with them all the time? He does, however, download a flashlight app for his phone.
• Stella goes down to the basement to check the breaker box, stopping by Deacon Alders' room to tell him of the power outage and earning only scorn for her efforts. In the basement, Stella catches a glimpse of a larger student sneaking up the stairs, but assuming it's just one of her boys, she continues to the breaker box. There, she finds that the lock on it has been forced open and something like nails driven into the box itself. Jace and Henry join her in the basement, also hearing someone moving around on the first floor as they descend. Jace notices that the basement door that leads outside has also been forced open and surmises that this must be some frat prank.
• The trio head back upstairs in pursuit of whoever it was that was in the basement earlier, rousing Deacon once again so he can corral the other frat brothers in case there is an intruder. After he heads up to the second floor, there is a loud thump, which Henry and Jace quickly investigate while Stella calls the police. They find Deacon slumped unconscious against a wall with an impact crater where his head hit it. They also hear the sound of a door being slammed open in the back end of the floor, near Henry's room. They grab a lamp and hockey stick and investigate. Don't worry, Henry's robot cat R2 is frightened but safe in Henry's room.
• It is Reese Tavis's room that has been broken into, but by the time the two of them get there, the intruder has fled down the back stairs and broken out through the kitchen door, leaving the crew at the frat to finish the night giving police statements.

Wednesday, September 26th

• The frat prank at ATO is the talk of the campus, forcing the University President to issue a statement condemning such extreme behavior. The incident also provides Elaine with the final leverage she needs to get the Bonfire Party approved, presenting it as a chance for the frats to blow off some steam and cut off any further rivalry before it escalates.
• Desmond Lancaster, the University of Oregon head of campus security, makes himself invaluable the next day at the ATO frat house, even going so far as to insist that Stella catch some sleep, offering to act as liaison with maintenance while she does so.
• Thomas receives a call from an L.A. friend, DJ Prometheus, who asks if he can crash with Thomas for the weekend. He'll be in town to DJ the ATO Bonfire Party at Reese's request, and he also asks Thomas to make sure everything is arranged with some Henry guy, since Reese's contact has been spotty.

Thursday, September 27th

• Finally, everyone is gathered in one place! Namely, the Wet Dog Cafe to finalize plans for the party. Reese is late, and the group starts to go over details. Warner produces exquisite photos of the party site, even having gone so far as to use "something called Google Maps" to print up directions to the site. He earns his own side eye from Jace.
• When accident-prone Reese finally arrives, he seems harried and nervous. He's also sporting a split lip, but he passes it all off as a wrestling injury, not convincing anyone at the table. He is followed shortly by the arrival of Victor Sutherland, a frat brother at PSN. Reese seems even more agitated, and Victor pays close attention to Reese and his company, even surreptitiously taking photos of the group. Thomas notices this and approaches Victor with a flyer to the party, in the process trying to lift Victor's phone. Victor, without even really looking, prevents him, however.
• As the group continues to wonder at the oddity of the situation, Reese finally confesses that he had a one time hook up with Victor last year, his only with a man, and the two have had a rocky relationship since. This prompts Stella to wonder if everyone is gay, Elaine to assure Reese that it's okay to be bi, and Jace to question if Reese's split lip actually came from Victor, which Reese denies.
• The tension finally ends when a mysterious but beautiful hippy red head named Alice arrives. She has all kinds of side eye for Victor, putting Jace to shame, and Reese announces he has to leave with her. Everyone is relieved that the situation is about to be over, and Jace slips Reese a joint and an offer to help if Victor gives him any more trouble.
• Later that night, Elaine awakens in her office from a dream about a bonfire surrounded by corpses, carrion crows, and something lurking in the woods. Renee McDonnall is there to ask about a future in Anthropology, eventually drawing the parallel to Bones. Suppressing the urge to grit her teeth, Elaine offers Renee a book by Kathy Reichs, the basis for the show.
• Just after Renee leaves, Elaine hears her scream from down the dark hall outside her office. Quickly pursuing, Elaine finds herself on the edge of the dark hall with the feeling of being watched. Steeling herself, she creeps into the shadows, only to notice something large move in the darkness. She backs to the light, but when nothing immediate happens, she again ventures into the darkness. This time, she sees a large, clearly not humanoid shape just ahead. She pushes onward only to be confronted with a low, powerful growl and the sound of something clicking on the floor. Showing a Warner level of preparedness, she flips on a recorder she keeps in her pocket to try to capture the sounds. The figure scrapes a clawed hand against the wall. Abandoning her pumps, Elaine flees. The figure gives chase, but she manages to get out of the building.
• Elaine runs to the nearby ATO house, where Stella calls campus security and helps comfort her. Elaine tells her of the incident and her suspicions that this same figure might have been the ATO intruder. She examines the broken door knobs still in Stella's possession but is unable to determine anything from them. She also plays her recording for Stella, but the device failed to capture anything substantive. When the police arrive, they say they found nothing of interest at the science building, but Renee is safe in her dorm, having run from something that terrified her. Cut to credits as an unsettled Elaine prepares to head home, definitely not by her usual route through the woods.

Episode Two: Bonfire

Friday, Sept 28th - Saturday, Sept 29th

Session Three: 07/23/2014

Friday, September 28th

• The episode opens with Dr. Elaine Litchfield still dealing with the fallout of her terrifying encounter last night. When she returns to her office for work, she notices some subtle damage to the wall nearby. Further examination reveals they are something like scratch marks, and their particular pattern sparks recognition.
• Elaine returns home to examine a creepy, inhuman skeletal arm that she has somehow managed to keep in her home and still sleep every night. It does make her problem with nightmares more understandable. She determines that the claw marks on campus were almost certainly made by the same sort of creature and, descending one step further into Lovecraftian madness, spends the rest of the afternoon setting up a personal lab with which to peer deeper into the abyss. She also buys a camera to tote around with her. It's too bad she wasn't in the Girl Scouts, or she would probably already have one.
• Henry Mulgrew awakens to a series of texts from the least dependable of his frat brothers, Reese Tavis. Very predictably, Reese has to bail on the party and dumps the remaining responsibilities for the party in Henry's lap. Fortunately, there isn't much remaining save for the news that DJ Prometheus has broken down in what could be a set up for a late series crossover event when ratings are flagging: Eureka, CA. Still, Reese promises that Prometheus should still arrive in time for the party. No amount of emoticons can make up for Reese's character flaws, sorry.
• Happily for Stella Jalo, however, Reese's absence is explained when his uncle Volk arrives at ATO with the offhand intel that he and Reese are going out of town for the weekend, but first, Volk simply must take Stella out on a date. Shocked and stuttering, Stella agrees to be taken out to Astoria's heretofore unknown Bosnian restaurant. Deacon Alders is absolutely unimpressed that this will be Stella's first date since she was a teenager.
• Elaine is pulled from her lab set up by a text from cross country coach Vanya Simonson wondering if she'll attend practice today. She does, and Henry and Warner Pelt are on hand to witness Linda Dennison display herself on the running course for Elaine's benefit. In the locker room after practice, Linda asks Elaine out to the Bonfire Party, and, finally sniffing what Linda is laying down, Elaine tells the girl that she intends to go with Avery Wendley. Not certain what to make of this, Linda simply says she'll see Elaine at the party.
• Jace Evans is studying with Harris Clayton when Tommy Halloran emerges from Jace's shower clad only in a towel, much to Harris's disdain. Tommy asks Jace if tonight's session met expectations and also if he can get paid a little early to get ready for the great Bonfire Party he's heard of this weekend. Jace affirms that the session was good and scolds Tommy that forward pay is against policy. In the end, though, he agrees to pay a little cash up front as long as it's not expected regularly.
• Teresa Cantu asks for Thomas Michael Craig's coaching in breaking into Phi Kappa Alpha's basement to lift some booze for the Bonfire Party. Proving an able teacher in the illicit arts, Thomas gets them through the heist with no complications.
• An anxious Stella phones Elaine for help with her date tonight, and finding the frat house wardrobe of no particular help, the two raid Stella's little seen house for an 80's wardrobe that can pass as acceptable by today's standards. In the process, they affirm that only about half of our main characters own much of anything from this century.
• Speaking of old fashioned, Uncle Volk proves to be a relic from a bygone age as well, playing the suave gentleman of the evening. The date goes well, especially since Stella's Scandinavian heritage (more on that later) more than steels her for any pitfalls Bosnian food has to offer. Stella's night ends with a chaste but smoldering kiss.
• The night really ends with Thomas finally checking in on DJ Prometheus and his situation in Eureka. Prometheus is holed up in a motel room with two others from Thomas's crew: Thomas's ex-girlfriend Trip and her current girlfriend Trisha. Thomas proves to be an inconstant Switzerland when he advises Prometheus to give the girls what they want, namely a bed to themselves.
• Thomas asks Warner if he can host the trio once they get into town, also confessing that the trio is likely to at least triple in size. Warner reluctantly agrees as long as they steer clear of the developing chemicals (!!) under his sink, but he offers to provide more veggie trays (!!!) as host. Behind Thomas's back, Warner also redecorates the loft with a spiritual surprise (!!!!) for his weekend guests.
• Mad Chemist + Vegetarian Diet + Passive Aggressive Proselytizing = Serial Killer