01x08 - Tiny Trash

[bunniefuu]

- [narrator] From the moment beings emerge,
- [crying]

they begin to celebrate their emergence.

First, every week for four weeks,

then every month for twelve months.

And then every revolution
for the rest of their days.

On their 21st revolution,

beings celebrate in a raucous
and carefree manner.

But starting sometime around
the 25th revolution,

beings go from celebrating freely

to assessing the status
of their entire existence.

Joyful emergence day, offspring.

I remember turning 25 revolutions.

That was when I got my big promotion
at work,

and we entered into our lifelong
partnership and traveled the planet.

Then you emerged.

[Lifegiver 2 moans]
We all see how much of a rut you're in.

So we wanted to get you a little
something to help you get off the couch.

We know you don't like the outdoors,
or going to a gym, or gardening,

or anything like that.

But we thought it could be nice for you
to get back out there.

Maybe eventually give us some
super offspring of our own.

Okay. Enjoy your gift.
We gotta go. Love you.

[groans]

[device]
To begin, select your voice preference.

My voice preference?

I heard you say, "My voice."

- What? No. That's not what I...
- Greetings. I have replicated your voice.

[groans] Is that what I sound like?

It is. Would you like me
to begin counting your steps?

[sighs] Sure. I guess.

You have taken zero steps.

[sighs]

[singer] ♪ Here's our orb
It's slightly leaning ♪

♪ Orbiting a star ♪

- ♪ We find ways to give life meaning ♪
- [cheering, shouting]

♪ Some might seem bizarre ♪

- ♪ All we know is that we exist ♪
- [harmonizing]

♪ And it won't be for long
So it helps to put some foot tubes on ♪

♪ Joy and sadness, courage and fear ♪

♪ Curiosity and anger
On a planet full of danger ♪

♪ And it's only getting stranger
From here ♪

[gym employee] Smile for your picture.

I see it's your emergence day.

Yeah.

Joyful emergence day.

Just a few more questions
for the application. Occupation?

I'm k...
Kind of figuring that out right now.

Would you like an extra key fob
for your partner?

I have recently been uninvited
from my relationship.

Aw, just before your emergence day.
That's brutal.

How would you describe
your current level of activity?

Oh. I just got this device
to answer that very question.

[clears throat] How am I doing, device?

Not very active. Sedentary. Inert.

Okay. Gratitude.

Slothful. Stationary.
Idle. Motionless. Does not apply.

[sighs]

[beings chattering, whispering]

[beings] We deceived you! [chuckling]

[playing upbeat dance music]

That's exactly how you should say it
when our guest of honor arrives.

I want this to be
the best deception party ever.

If we succeed at this,
then our friend will feel loved,

which might reduce their pain.

My super offspring is in pain?

Their pain is, eh, e-existential.

Uh, does everyone know
what they're doing when that door opens?

We start with...

Tiny trash.

After which you will begin playing...

♪ Revolutions are great
If you like them, that's great ♪

♪ If you don't then we're sorry ♪

♪ But we're here, it's too late ♪

♪ We just like you, here's cake ♪

[barking]

[moans] Perfect.

[dance music playing]

We ask our members to clean themselves
prior to sweating all over the machines.

That... That make sense.

Oh. [chuckles]
I forgot the last application question.

What made you decide
on a membership here at Hoist?

Oh. Hmm.

Uh, I guess because it's my emergence day,
and that's making me reassess some things.

My health, my life path.

I've been around our star 25 times,
but... [stammers] ...I haven't done much.

[chuckles, inhales deeply]

I guess I'm wondering
if I'm going anywhere,

or if I'm just stuck. [breathing heavily]

Aw, cool. [chuckles]

I'll check the box for New Revolution's
resolution. Same idea.

Sensing unusually high activity.

You may feel like perishing, but this
is actually a standard pace for most.

[panting]

[beings chattering]

[gasps]
Wait. Where's the giant sweet spiller?

Here it is.

You can hear the sweets
waiting to be spilled.

Ah. That's not big enough.

Our friend's blood pump
was recently fractured,

and fracturing a blood-pump-shaped sweet
spiller could be very cathartic for them.

Smashing a blood pump to pieces
is cathartic?

I don't know. It's a metaphor. [chuckles]

- I don't get it.
- Well,

once we have the larger sweet spiller,
it'll all make sense, hopefully.

I will attempt this mission,

but I'm going to eat all the sweets
inside this one.

Okay. I need quiet. I'm about to start
phase one of our deception.

[ringing]

Greets.

Joyful emergence day.

[Pedometer] Gratitude. I think
you're the only being who remembered.

- [beings] Aw. [chuckling, shushing]
- [shushing]

I'm sure no one has forgotten. [chuckles]

Are you dressed?
Our table at Careful Now should be ready.

[Pedometer]
Sure. [sighs] I'll see you there.

[chuckles] They clearly have no idea
we all care about them.

- [beings chuckles]
- Deception! [chuckles]

I'm worried about them.

I am too. But don't worry. I have a plan.

[sighs]

[slurping]
It's really nice of you to take me here.

Of course. It's your special day.

I got a little promotion at my vocation,
so my treat.

Oh. You did.

That's great. Many congratulations.

Oh, gratitude. It's... It's very small
but headed in the right direction.

[sighs]

Hey, you're headed
in the right direction too.

[device]
You are not headed in any direction.

I'm tired of feeling stuck
and doing the same old things.

I want to go outside
and have different experiences.

[stutters] What? W... Where are you going?

To live.

Whoo-hoo! [chuckles] It's fun, right?

- [chuckles]
- Oh, yes. Whee. But, um...

I just love the wind in my face.
[chuckling] Ooh.

Yes, but we should probably head...

[gasps] Wow.

- Have we...
- [shushing]

Okay. Have we lived yet?

Whee! [shrieks]

And that should do it. [chuckles]

Surely we have now lived.

Not yet.

[shrieking] Not yet.

[chuckles] Can't wait.
It's gonna look so good. [chuckles]

[stutters] No, don't touch me.
I changed my mind.

[panting]

It's not easy, is it? [panting]

[Pedometer] Loving it, though. [pants]

I feel like we're going in circles.
Do you?

What an emergence day.

Maybe we go back to my apartment now.
[chuckles]

- [panting, yells] Whoa.
- [stutters, gasps]

Not yet. I...

Hey, look.
One of those, uh, old call booths.

You haven't truly lived
until you've been inside one.

Okay. Whoa.

Okay, did you just see someone
go by carrying a giant blood pump?

No. [chuckles] Uh, this reminds me
of my first apartment.

Reminds me of my current apartment.

Shall we call it a day?

Not yet.
There's one more thing I wanna do.

I've always been afraid
to ride on one of these things.

- Thank you for indulging me.
- Uh-huh.

[sighs] You can see the whole city
from up here.

[chuckles] Being this high
is equally beautiful and terrifying,

and, um, there's cute music playing.
And... And, um...

[Tween] It makes me want to vom.

- [yells] Ooh.
- [grunts, shrieks]

I think we're stuck.

Great. [chuckles]

Stuck with no real employment,
stuck without a partner,

stuck on a group dangle machine.

No amount of getting back out there
can change this.

It's vital to say calm.
It's probably just a glomrock outage.

Are you okay?

Yes. This is all really nice.

I just don't feel like I have a lot
to celebrate this revolution.

We are celebrating you.

Yes, but who am I?

You are my best friend.

Your best friend who is 25 revolutions
and has nothing to show for it.

No need to be so hard on yourself.

Twenty-five revolutions
is still a small amount of revolutions.

You have so many more revolutions
ahead of you.

I texted my lifegivers
and they said it was a glomrock outage.

They say it's not dangerous
and we'll be moving soon.

They asked if you were creepy.

I said yes,
but that it's your emergence day.

- Oh.
- They said, "Joyful emergence day."

Both of them said it.

- Gratitude.
- We're not creepy.

[ringing]

[gasps]

Yes. Hello, dangle machine operator.
[chuckles]

Huh. Lucky they had your number
and knew we were stuck. What are the odds?

Thanks for calling me
for some reason. Weird.

Yes, we are stuck in the air. What's that?

Oh. Good. [stutters]
We will be moving soon.

Sorry. I'll explain later.

Oh, my. Are you okay?

Should we all come to your rescue instead
of spilling mild poison on your couch?

Which couch? What mild poison?

Wait, just...

If beings start getting restless,
can you make sure they don't leave?

[chuckles] I can't use force,
but I'll call my friends.

They always liven things up.

[ringing]

- Where are you? It's joyful hour.
- [being chuckles]

When did joyful hour begin?

The day I retired. [chuckles]

The whole g*ng is here.

Great. Why don't you bring them all here?

There's a deception party
for my super offspring.

Oh. Send me the details.

Uh, joyful hour is on the move.

- Yeah.
- [yells]

What are you looking at?

My neighborhood, my apartment.

It all looks so small.

Yes, uh, that is because of distance.
[chuckles]

By the time they were my age,
my lifegivers traveled the planet.

Well, we know what they're like.

Their standards don't make sense. [scoffs]

I'm sorry they gave you
such an obnoxious gift.

I bet you accrue a normal amount of steps.

- [device] Would you like to know?
- Yeah, that's not necessary.

Your current number of
steps is 90% below the regional average.

That can't be right. Look, you live there,

and there is where you get
your jitter liquid,

and then back aga... again.

I can fling your device
from this gap in the window.

Thanks. That's okay.

It is a good reminder
that I have nothing going for me.

When we get off this thing,

let's salvage the day
with a quiet night back at my apartment.

Yes. Thank you.

[humming]

Are we moving? [chuckles] We're moving.

Oh, thank orb.

- Whoo! [chuckling]
- Yes. [chuckles]

[scoffs] Joyful emergence day.

This time from me, not just my lifegivers.

Turns out being stuck
in a group dangle machine

with two creeps isn't that bad after all.

Gratitude.

- Wait. That should not be your takeaway.
- Stop calling us creeps.

Ah. Finally, we made it to my apartment.

I think I'm just gonna go home.

Thank you for an eventful emergence day.

Um, I think you should come in.

I appreciate you
trying to make me feel better.

But it seems the orb is trying to tell me
today isn't the day I become unstuck.

But I got you fondue.

Okay, fine.

- [shushing] We deceived you! [cheers]
- [screams]

Hip, hip, tiny trash.

What's going on?

It's a deception party
for your emergence day.

[beings] Deception!

Whoa! You all had me convinced
that you did not care about me.

- Hooray!
- Then we succeeded.

- I told you I was out of town for work.
- That felt very possible.

I told you last week
that I was feeling sick.

I sent you soup.

I told you I broke my limb.

- [strains, yells]
- [beings groaning]

There was no reason
to think that wasn't true.

All this lack of caring is
so thoughtful. Gratitude.

[sighs]

Let us clink mild poisons
to acknowledge your special day.

- [beings cheers] Yeah! Whoo! All right.
- [Tween] Festive.

- Okay. I... [sighs] I made this for you.
- [chuckles]

I invited them when your head was turned.
I thought you'd find it funny.

- Didn't think they'd come, though.
- Wow.

[Tween] It was a picture of me,
but I zoomed in on you.

- Aw. This is very kind. [chuckles]
- Aw.

I'm going to handpat this creature,
because it's perfect.

Hey, I think you will like
another surprise I have for you.

[gasps] Super Lifegiver.

Tiny trash. Hi, honey.

Oh. [moans]

I thought you forgot my emergence day.

Are you kidding me?
My memory isn't that bad yet.

I'm just a great deceiver.

Uh, if you need me,
I'll be putting out fires.

Hopefully, not literal ones.

You seem a little down
for someone having a big celebration.

I have no idea
what I'm doing with my life.

Can I share with you
a little lesson I learned?

Sure.

The challenging moments
in your life are just that.

Challenging?

Moments, sweetie.

They are moments in time that will pass,

and eventually
you'll barely remember them.

The bad moments will pass.

- Even the good moments will pass.
- [chuckles]

But everything you do and experience,
that's what our existence is all about.

I just feel so stuck.

Hey, you there. Have you ever felt stuck?

Stuck? Well, sure.
I've been stuck, many times. [chuckles]

I designed machinery for so long,

I started to believe
I may be a machine myself.

I was stuck in a job
and felt like I lost a part of myself.

I was stuck on an island once.

Took folks a few days to discover
that my ship was wrecked in a storm.

Once I was stuck in a ship.
A relationship.

- Huh? [chuckles]
- [chuckles]

When I feel stuck,
I like to dance until I feel free again.

Come on.
Why don't we go slice up a floor covering?

[upbeat dance music playing]

[device] You are limbshaking. Go, go.

Wave your hands in the air, without
regard for what others are thinking.

[straining]

[chuckles] The giant sweet spiller.

I figured we could destroy it to mend
your broken blood pump metaphorically.

You really are my best friend.

- [cyclist] Oh. Whoa.
- [gasps]

[beings cheering]
Ooh. They're tartnoggins.

- [being 1] Tartnoggins.
- [being 2] Grab me a perpcorn.

I think you should look around this room
at all these friends who love you

if you want to see how far you've come.

Still feeling stuck?

The solidarity in this room
makes me hopeful.

Well, there you go.

Anytime you need that
hopeful feeling recharged, I'll be here.

Um, at... attention, beings.

I've been feeling down lately
about my life circumstances.

It led me to a spiral of mild
to moderate despair.

Seeing your faces tonight was genuinely
unexpected and unexpectedly inspiring.

I'd been pining for something unknown
and intangible,

but your presence reminded me
that I've had all I've ever truly needed.

Because of how supportive you've been,

I know that being honest with you

and sharing my true feelings
will be received kindly.

This isn't a normal emergence day speech,
I guess,

but I just wanted to say how grateful I am
for all of our friendships.

Thank you,
from the bottom of my blood pump.

[beings cheering]

Tiny fires.

Joyful emergence day, super offspring.

Gratitude.

And gratitude to you.

No one could have thrown a better party.

It's always great to hear that. [chuckles]

Please say it again.
Like, five more times.

- [beings] Extinguish! Extinguish!
- [inhales deeply, blows]

[beings cheering, chuckling]

- Twenty-five revolutions.
- [chewing]

How are you feeling?

I'm doing great.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Blood pump rate increasing.

- [barking]
- Whoa! You're really moving now.

Good job.
Blood pump rate rapidly increasing.

I knew you could do it.