Through extensive abuse of psychedelic drugs, Ryan is being contacted by a fourth-dimensional "entity," that he believes is guiding him to success, and a "higher path in life." Ryan's relationship to this entity begins to isolate him from his friends and family, before he begins to see a disturbingly sinister side to his new discovery.

COMP. Edmond (2005), Red Rocket (2021) Midsommar (2019)

SYNOPSIS:

This story starts off at the end of 2017, and Ryan Ryan feels above the need to struggle and grow into adulthood. He's getting high on all kinds of substances constantly, he's disgustingly dismissive of all social plight, a giant misogynist, and a zealot for crypto-currency. Everyone knows a young man in their early 20's like him.

He's taking two friends, Steven and John to pick up his date Terry and her friend Lonnie, so that they can all take mushrooms in the woods together, before the rest of them start their next semester of college. Lonnie was recently sexually assaulted at a party all five of them had attended, and to his friends, Ryan blames Lonnie for what happened. He's very sure to hide these feelings from Terry, as he's trying to really woo her.

On this trip everyone is having fun, but Ryan seems despondent. He's clearly taken too much, and in his stupor, he hears a voice in his head, and can see a Blue smiling face when he closes his eyes. This voice tells him that he can experience this because he is special, and destined for a higher path, and that if he lets Blue help him along that path, the two will flourish together. By the end of the night, this voice has helped Ryan talk himself into a relationship with Terry. Afterwards, Blue then helps Ryan convince his parents not to kick him out of their house. Ryan had been lying to them (as well as his friends) about maintaining employment, which was conditional for him to stay at home after dropping out. Blue has Ryan tell his family that he's discovered a new passion for financial technology, and will re-enroll for the new semester. When they're alone, Blue tells Ryan that college wont be necessary for them, but pleasing his parents will be. He outlines a scheme to have Steven create a fake website to accept his parent's tuition money, that he can then invest into crypto-currency. Ryan assures himself that faking online enrollment will be no challenge.

Ryan's plans really all come together, and he's fully accepted Blue's presence in his life. His relationships with Terry, his parents, and friends are all going better than they should due to Ryan's enhanced ability of manipulation, due to Blue's advice. Ryan is riding an emotional high, and has vivid dreams of flying across Blue mandalas. One day when the group is together again, Ryan gets angry and outright accuses Lonnie, to their face, of being responsible for their own attack. Everyone is understandably upset and leaves. Ryan is unbothered by this, believing that Terry wont leave him.

That night Ryan has a dream of Blue raping him. It takes Ryan a little while to confront Blue, telling him that he knows what's been happening, and can't believe Blue is acting as if nothing had occurred. Blue tells Ryan that isn't what was happening. He elaborates that his kind has very complicated ways of interacting with the human soul, an if he perceives it wrong, that's on him. This is what all drugs are, a process of giving up part of yourself to something higher, in exchange for being liberated from the conscious world, and that this why Ryan has been so comfortable with their use his entire life.

The key to the story, is that Ryan's now being confronted by the same gaslighting he's subjected everyone in his life to.

From here we see Ryan crumple in normal social situations, now being burdened by this new perspective. He does believe that Blue has and will continue to assault him, but he can't fight against the abuse in any meaningful way. His relationship with Terry is irreparably damaged, and he can't let go of it.

While trying to deal with all of this, his parents discover his scam to fake his enrollment, and his "investments" have halved in value.

His parents want to call the police, and Blue wants Ryan to strike his father and assert dominance, and torn between these two wills, Ryan panics, and runs into the snowy woods in only his pajamas and bathrobe, like a crazy person.

In trying to come clean to his friends and family, and break free from Blue's toxic relationship, he will continuously fail in increasingly absurd and pathetic ways, before spectacularly burning every shred of sanity, credibility, and bridge in such a fun manner I really can't spoil it here.

He will end up in a padded cell, unable to hear Blue's voice, and driven into hysterics, reminiscent of his past trauma, at the mere sight of a smile.