Tag: ritual horror

Illustration of a cruise ship with tentacles emerging, smoke cloud text reading “chthonic e6: garter.”
Garter | The Chthonic | S1E6 | GE6

Garter | The Chthonic | S1E6 | GE6

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The veil lifts, and the ceremony deepens. A garter coils and slithers.

Welcome to Episode 6 of Deep Dream State, where the rituals no longer pretend.

Episode Summary

Sarah follows a mysterious note into the stone corridors beneath the Chthonic complex, believing she is close to uncovering the truth behind the Institute’s rituals. She is met instead by Nikki and Fion, two insiders who claim to be acting on her behalf. They warn that her investigation has gone too far, that every riddle she has chased was planted to lure her deeper.

They offer her a glowing book hidden in the vault. A vaccine, they call it. A controlled dose of the power she has been chasing. Reluctant but intrigued, Sarah agrees to read a single page. The words seem harmless at first. The air shifts as if they carry intent.

What begins as an intervention becomes a conversion. Nikki and Fion fall into unison. The chamber becomes a mirror of the Chthonic’s larger seduction: clarity disguised as surrender, safety offered through submission. By the time Sarah kneels before the text she can no longer tell whether she is uncovering a secret or becoming one.

The spell breaks with Holly and Selene’s intervention, exposing the exploitation behind the ritual and revealing that the Chthonic’s dream technology is real and spreading. What seemed like a private awakening has been a performance staged for power and profit.

Garter stands as one of Deep Dream State‘s most haunting chapters. Intimacy becomes a conduit for control, and resistance takes the form of reclaiming one’s own mind. The episode closes with a reminder that in the Chthonic’s labyrinth, even freedom may be scripted.

Cast

Ship’s Crew

Guests

  • Alistair, CEO of Neuroplex – Jericho Caine
  • Holly, His Girlfriend – Dizzy Dollie
  • Emma, The Bride – Pipp
  • Brittany, Bridesmaid – Kitten Azazel
  • Kara, Bridesmaid – Tender Confusion
  • Sarah, Bridesmaid – Ring of Keys
  • Amanda, House Mother – Korrupted
  • Tiffany, Bridesmaid – Britt Reprogrammed

Production Credits

Deep Dream State is written, produced, and directed by Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns. Sound design, editing, and scoring by Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns.

Support the Show

New productions and the full catalog are available through Patreon. Your support sustains independent audio drama and the ongoing expansion of the Neuralverse.

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Content Advisory

This episode contains adult themes and ritualistic horror. Intended for mature audiences only.  This is a work of fiction, not a guide to real life phenomenona.

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Sticker-style text “Chthonic E4: Asunder” with fractured lettering, outlined in white.
Asunder | The Chthonic | S1E4 | GE4

Asunder | The Chthonic | S1E4 | GE4

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There is a world behind this world. You just need to look in the mirror.

The ceremony is not for any human bride. The midnight rite binds flesh and will in a covenant older than the ship or the civilization that built it. Emma stands at the altar, and the abyss has been waiting.

Cast & Crew

Written & Produced by: Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns
Co-Produced by: Bliss Blank

Ship’s Crew

Guests

Archive : A Note on The Dream Index

Deep Dream State uses an index system to give you more information about the show. We strive for clarity. /sincere

Each episode has a Global ID — its position in the Deep Dream State chronological sequence. Simple count. That’s the number you’d see on IMDb or in the MusicBrainz catalogue. It also corresponds to the episode numbering in the RSS feed and podcast apps — when Apple Podcasts or Spotify show you a number, that’s the Global ID.

Each episode also has a Local ID, which includes:

  • Arc — the season. This is the standard season designation you’d see on Apple Podcasts.
  • Cycle — the subject group of episodes within an arc, specific to Deep Dream State.
  • Episode — its number within the arc. This matches the episode numbering in RSS feeds and iTunes.

This episode is #4. That’s the Global ID.

This episode is also A1C2E4. It’s in the Chthonic arc (Arc 1), the Ceremony Cycle (Cycle 2). It’s episode 4 within that arc.

If you find the archive system confusing, you can just refer to the Global Number and it’ll be fine.

Episode Summary

Asunder unfolds at the height of the Chthonic cruise. The passengers are summoned to a midnight ceremony led by Captain Dyer and Olivia, the ship’s Cruise Director. The bride Emma stands trembling on the threshold of the ship’s altar, surrounded by bridesmaids who chant in voices no longer entirely their own.

The sea answers, and the wedding march becomes an invocation.

The crew call down forces from beneath the waves, binding flesh and will in a rite older than the ship or the civilization that built it. Tentacles, hymns, and deep harmonics mingle as devotion gives way to something that hasn’t got a human word at all.

Olivia and Holly guide the ritual with unsettling precision while Kara, a supernatural guest, warns of what lies deeper than the ceremony itself. Their exchange exposes the fault line the episode’s been building toward: a struggle between those who’d claim the abyss and those who’d dissolve within it. The Captain preaches that the old order’s made of sand. What rises from the deep obeys older laws entirely, and the crew respond in ecstatic unison.

Emma accepts the abyss within her, renouncing the boundaries of self for something vast and ancient and patient.

Within the Neuralverse, Asunder is a pivotal revelation. It exposes the dystopian vision at the heart of Deep Dream State and foreshadows the darker architectures of Incognitoh and Sitri Center. Every subsequent arc carries its fingerprints: ancient covenant, ecstatic surrender, the moment human ambition meets something that was never human at all.

Listen & Explore

Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns — IPI: 01346215566 | IPI: 01346215468

Human Made Art

Series artwork for this arc was created by Echo Doll in collaboration with Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns. Deep Dream State uses human art at every stage of the creative supply chain.

Content Warnings

Adult production. Cosmic horror, ritual transformation, devotional surrender, encounters with ancient non-human entities.

Consent Declaration

Deep Dream State is a desire horror audio drama written and produced by Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns. It explores psychological fiction at the boundaries of control, identity, and complicity. All performances are scripted works of fiction in which consent is clearly stated. ISNI 0000 0005 2877 6254

Chapters

 

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Sticker-style text “Chthonic E2: Cringetide” in bubbly blue font with frilled outline.
Cringetide | The Chthonic | S1E2 | GE2

Cringetide | The Chthonic | S1E2 | GE2

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The tide is rising. And shame makes a sound.

Mairead’s gambling debt has come due, and the Chthonic’s leadership has been watching the whole time. The captain’s mast isn’t just a disciplinary hearing. It’s a recruitment. Mairead gets her assignment and her uniform and her smile, and the bachelorette party decides karaoke is a crime against humanity and makes a break for it. The question’s always – what are they escaping INTO?

NNPP | Spotify | iHeart | IMDb | Listen Notes

Cast & Crew

Written & Produced by: Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns
Directed by: Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns
Co-Directed by: Bliss Blank

Ship’s Crew

Guests

Archive : A Note on The Dream Index

Deep Dream State uses an index system to give you more information about the show. We strive for clarity. /sincere

Each episode has a Global ID — its position in the Deep Dream State chronological sequence. Simple count. That’s the number you’d see on IMDb or in the MusicBrainz catalogue. It also corresponds to the episode numbering in the RSS feed and podcast apps — when Apple Podcasts or Spotify show you a number, that’s the Global ID.

Each episode also has a Local ID, which includes:

  • Arc — the season. This is the standard season designation you’d see on Apple Podcasts.
  • Cycle — the subject group of episodes within an arc, specific to Deep Dream State.
  • Episode — its number within the arc. This matches the episode numbering in RSS feeds and iTunes.

This episode is #2. That’s the Global ID.

This episode is also A1C1E2. It’s in the Chthonic arc (Arc 1), the Maiden Cycle (Cycle 1). It’s episode 2 within that arc.

If you find the archive system confusing, you can just refer to the Global Number and it’ll be fine.

Explanation

Maiden Voyage established that the ship is running a conspiracy. Cringetide shows how it sustains itself: through debt, surveillance, and the specific leverage that comes from watching someone in a moment they believed was private. The captain’s mast isn’t punitive. It’s onboarding. Mairead isn’t being punished for her indiscretions. She’s being converted into an asset, which is what the Chthonic does with every vulnerability it documents.

Fion’s opening confrontation is the episode’s most honest scene and its most painful. She names everything accurately – the addiction, the debt, the pattern. None of it changes anything. Mairead knows Fion is right. The system knows it too, and it has already factored in the part where people who know they have a problem still can’t stop. That’s not a flaw in the design. That’s the design.

Emma, Kara, and Sarah watching the Yo Ho Hos perform while the machinery of the ship closes around everyone. The comedy isn’t relief. It’s the tide coming in.

Full Plot Synopsis (Caution: Spoilers)

Fion walks in on Mairead onboarding Nikki at the spa and immediately detonates. The argument covers everything: the gambling debt, the lying, the pattern of dragging Fion into situations she didn’t choose, and the specific indignity of being broke in Alaska. Nikki absorbs this with the composure of someone taking useful notes. When Fion leaves, Nikki offers what she has: she hears things, nobody notices the maid, and she knows which of Alistair’s arrangements cost money and which ones don’t. The conversation is interrupted by Alistair and Holly arriving for their three o’clock.

Alistair’s session with Mairead and Nikki establishes the terms of Mairead’s debt repayment with the brisk efficiency of someone who has run this accounting before. He documents everything. He makes Mairead say what she needs. He puts the embarrassing moment on the big screen. Holly assists with the precision of a partner who knows her role in the operation. Olivia interrupts and removes Mairead from the room.

The captain’s mast is where the episode turns. The Chthonic has been recording everything – the spa, the arrangements, all of it – and the contract Mairead signed covers surveillance in any area of the ship including workstations. The captain isn’t interested in firing her. He’s interested in the excursion leaving tomorrow.

Mairead’s assignment is simple: guide the passengers and make sure they don’t find the things they’re not supposed to find. In exchange, the indiscretions disappear. Mairead agrees.

Olivia tells her to fix her attitude and get in uniform. It’s showtime.

Showtime is karaoke. Olivia introduces Mairead to the assembled passengers as May May, which Mairead visibly hates, and Mairead delivers an archaeological briefing about the Tunngavik site with the energy of someone who has just had the worst afternoon of her life. Olivia takes the mic back before she can finish. The Yo Ho Hos perform a pirate-themed number for Emma’s bachelorette party while Emma, Kara, and Sarah watch from the back of the room with increasing desperation. Kara knows a place. They leave.

Listen & Explore

Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns — IPI: 01346215566 | IPI: 01346215468

Human Made Art

Series artwork for this arc was created by Echo Doll in collaboration with Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns. Deep Dream State uses human art at every stage of the creative supply chain.

Consent Declaration

Deep Dream State is a desire horror audio drama written and produced by Neural Nets and Pretty Patterns. It explores psychological fiction at the boundaries of control, identity, and complicity. The elements depicted are fictional and intentional. All performances are works of fiction and take place within a consensual creative context. ISNI 0000 0005 2877 6254

Chapters

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download