Unironically I think this story might be the author's escapist daydreams brought to prose. That's the only explanation I can think of for why this story is the way it is:
- Thomas is a one-dimensional protagonist whose only defining traits are that he simps for Rachel and he's unirconially fucking retarted, and who reads more as a spectator for the story to happen around than an actual character. And isn't so convenient that he's the super special guy that Rachel was talking to and could contain the magic tree nut?
- There's no conflict, and what might count for it is resolved immediately afterwards. Plot threads are introduced just as quickly as they're tossed away, and by the end the story's shifted so far it's no longer about some guy peeping on a girl for money.
- Even the whole part with the basement and the house reads like something I would come up with (only replace the deserted island with vast prairies). That's actually what tipped me off in the first place.
So, yeah, the story sucks because I don't think it's a real story. It had us hooked at the start with a cool mystery, but that was all a ruse. There's not even any horror, either, so why is it on nosleep?
Video was fun though, at least up until they realized what was going and just gave up. I'd even consider this an unofficial sequel to their The Thing in the Basement video.
E: Actually maybe I should have finished the video before making my write-up...
E2: Even the whole job thing seems like wish fulfillment now that I think about it, getting paid that much for so little work. Thomas could have just as easily gotten paid to do a long-term study and it wouldn't have changed the story at all.