How do we feel hitting 50 episodes of Verda Stello? Who is responsible for inventing Troy’s intense little sister? And do we sound smarter recording from a hotel bed? All that and more on this Afterparty!
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Cast & Crew
- Game Master, Co-Producer: Eric Silver
- Co-Host (Umbi), Co-Producer, Sound Designer, Composer: Brandon Grugle
- Co-Host (Chamomile Cassis), Co-Producer: Julia Schifini
- Co-Host (Troy Riptide), Co-Producer: Amanda McLoughlin
- Theme Song: Lyrics by Eric Silver, music by Brandon Grugle. Vocals by Brandon Grugle, Lauren Shippen, Julia Schifini, Roux Bedrosian, Eric Silver, Tyler Silver, and Amanda McLoughlin. Available for purchase here.
- Artwork: Allyson Wakeman
- Multitude: https://multitude.productions
About Us
Join the Party is an actual play podcast with tangible worlds, genre-pushing storytelling, and collaborators who make each other laugh each week. We welcome everyone to the table, from longtime players to folks who’ve never touched a roleplaying game before. Hop into our current campaign, a pirate story set in a world of plant- and bug-folk, or marathon our completed stories with the Camp-Paign, a MOTW game set in a weird summer camp, Campaign 2 for a modern superhero game, and Campaign 1 for a high fantasy story. And once a month we release the Afterparty, where we answer your questions about the show and how we play the game. New episodes every Tuesday.
Transcript
Amanda: Hey, hi, hello, and welcome to the Afterparty where I am so excited to chase the wheel of cheese through this conversation, to learn as much as we can about this— the heart of the cards in the compost facility. How you doing players? How you doing, Eric?
Brandon: The heart of the cheese.
Julia: Heart of the cheese.
Amanda: That's right.
Eric: Damn. That's like—
Brandon: Damn.
Eric: Damn. Damn, dude. I'm just trying to draw— imagine Yu-Gi-Oh! was like, "Alright. Now, wheel of cheese." And it saved his grandpa from going into the danger zone. That would be crazy.
Julia: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
Brandon: Wheel of cheese in defense mode.
Amanda: I'm sure you've all seen the Italian meddling gymnast from the women's gymnastics who has a parmesan cheese sponsorship and has taken lots of glamor shots with wheels of cheese.
Julia: Amanda—
Amanda: Hmm.
Julia: —I'm so mad about that tweet, because she's not sponsored by Parmesan, she's sponsored by Parmigiano-Reggiano, which is—
Amanda: Ah.
Julia: —so much better than just the average Parmesan. Please.
Amanda: I was like, damn, did the parmesan lobby just like select this girly as their favorite? But no, that makes more sense.
Julia: Parmigiano-Reggiano only comes from one region, has to be aged under certain specifications for a certain amount of time. Anything can call itself Parmesan, it has to be Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Brandon: Uh-hmm. I saw that, and I was like, this is the only thing I ever want to be sponsored by, I think.
Julia: Yes. Correct.
Brandon: Like, one of those wheels that she's with is, like, worth, like, a couple grand.
Julia: Uh-hmm. And they're like, 75 pounds, and she's holding it like a stuffed animal. It's amazing.
Brandon: Uh-hmm.
Eric: I don't know. Unless American healthcare gets it together, I feel uncomfortable being sponsored by Big Parma.
Julia: Stupid.
Eric: Like, you could just get CVS brand for like $5. Come on.
Brandon: You could just get generic cheese. Eric, that was really good.
Eric: You could use good RX and get parm for like $50 a bottle.
Brandon: Can I tell you a cheese story that I've never— I don't think I've shared with y'all?
Eric: Always.
Julia: Oh, God.
Brandon: It's— there was a time— it's not that crazy, but there was a time in New York when I was living there, that my brother texted me. You guys might remember this? And he was like, "Hey, heads up, this truck is giving away wheels of cheese."
Julia: The dream.
Amanda: I don't remember that.
Brandon: And I was like, "Seth, what the fuck are you talking about?" There was a truck somewhere up— up North in Manhattan that was, like, either going out of business or something, and it was like a grilled cheese truck or something. And so they were literally, like, giving away wheels of cheese.
Julia: Brandon, what kind?
Brandon: Any kind you fucking want, Julia. It was incredible.
Eric: Was it like a getting out of dairy sale? Like, what—what was the— why?
Brandon: I don't— Eric—
Julia: The truck was going out of business.
Brandon: I don't know, man.
Julia: No more grilled cheeses for that truck.
Eric: I know it's not the case, but I do like the idea that they're like, "Why are we spending so much money on gas?" "Oh, it's probably all the wheels of cheese we've been driving around the streets of Manhattan."
Amanda: You know, so true. I have a— I have a feeling that after— like, whatever was left after the going out of business giveaway, probably that quality of cheese and under is what we were chasing down the hill—
Brandon: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: —with Captain Graft and Strunge—
Eric: Wow.
Amanda: —in Episode 48, Legends of the Compost IV.
Eric: Wow.
Julia: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
Brandon: You were not chasing that segue either, though you nailed it.
Julia: No.
Brandon: You got first place in that segue race.
Amanda: Thank you so much.
Julia: You didn't even have to cheat.
Brandon: Didn't even have to cheat.
Amanda: Incredible. SavedMan97 wants to know, “Per the usual, very curious what the dice rolls were for the cheese wheel chase. I assume it was a table, but what were the options, Eric?”
Brandon: Yeah, Eric, what were the options?
Eric: Baby, you know it's a table. I got you. I'm tabling all over the place. So—
Amanda: Is he a carpenter? Because he makes tables on the rig. Sorry, I— I could not stop it.
Brandon: Who are you, Jesus Christ?
Amanda: Give myself 3 out of 10 on that one.
Eric: Yes, yes. Brandon, I'm Jesus Christ, table carpenter.
Julia: Only carpenter that ever existed. Jeezy crazy.
Eric: Jeezy crazy, sponsored by Big Parma. If we were—if we were a different type of podcast, that would be the title of this episode.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: It sure is good to be the real.
Eric: Oh, I sure hope so. Okay. So the main thing I wanted to do here was that I wanted this game to be very straightforward and simple, because these are prisoners thrown into prison, may or may not have had a reason to do so, and maybe it was just kind of the World Government flexing or not being let out of World Government prison when you fall into the trap, right? That's what Captain Graft said. He oopsied his way in there, and then he's doing this. So they're just like, they're doing this, the whole thing that we figured out in this episode, is that they get the food that comes in before the blackberry dragon comes out, is just like in a big pile. You know how they always called the beginning of The Hunger Games, the Cornucopia?
Brandon: Uh-hmm.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: I do, I do.
Eric: Yeah. So I always thought like, what if that happened twice a day? It was just food, and there's not, like, arrows in there. So I thought it would be funny to, like, take— they had this makeshift chest that maybe they made out of a big crate, that is kind of the— the guards drop, and then they have to pull out some types of fruit or veggies or cheese that they're going to be chasing down. So it was just like strength checks as— as you saw, you know? Just like whoever can run down the hill the fastest. So I— I have a table here, you— you roll a D10, one through six is cheese, and then I had some— I think I had, like, size— sizes on a smaller one. I think I already had you rolled 1D4 for sizes. If you rolled a 7, you pulled out a watermelon, and it's slow.
Julia: Ooh.
Eric: So it would have been like— you could have overran it, and that would have been a big problem. So it would have been more like boxing out and trying to grab it. The 8, it was a giant banana.
Julia: Nice.
Brandon: That one was really fast, though, actually.
Eric: Yeah, it was the fastest. It's— that it curve towards the competitor and like it might—
Amanda: Oh. Sure.
Eric: I would roll for which way it actually curved, and then it might've just like—
Brandon: That's fun.
Eric: —ended up—
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: —in someone's hands. And the nine was a coconut, which obviously is demonic, because it's the devil's fruit.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Sure.
Eric: If God, she, in her infinite feminine wisdom, wanted us to get into the coconut, then she wouldn't have made it so hard to crack, obviously. And then 10 would have been a crab.
Julia: Excellent.
Amanda: Hell yeah.
Eric: It would have been a coconut— it would have been a coconut crab, so you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Yeah.
Julia: Aw.
Amanda: Incredible.
Julia: Amazing.
Brandon: That's so cute.
Eric: Yeah. So, yeah, it was fun, I'm glad we— it's— it's almost like worthwhile that whatever we got was what we got, like it didn't matter. And there's a reason why. It's like one through six are cheese and the other ones are sillier, but I think it's just kind of— I'm trying to have the game mechanics reflect the narrative situation that's happening here.
Julia: Sure.
Amanda: Incredibly fun. And actually consequential, where we learn some things about the environment, we learned some stuff about magic, about our competitor. Guys, how bad do we want to kill Captain Graft after this obvious and blatant cheating?
Julia: I don't know if I necessarily want to kill him. I am a competitive person, but I don't think Cammie is. So I don't think Cammie is like—
Julia (as Cammie): Yeah, he cheated, we have to murder him.
Brandon: I mean, I think, like, Umbi obviously, like, respects the game, you know? Like, they're all pirates. They always cheat. Whatever, man.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: That doesn't mean he's not going to call you out for it, so he can try to get the advantage when he gets you— kicks you out of the race, you know? And then cheats itself, but better.
Julia: Yes. As Umbi always says, don't hate the player, hate the game.
Brandon: That's what he says. And he has a fucking sweatshirt that says that, Julia.
Julia: Uh-hmm. Famously.
Amanda: I— I really hoped you were gonna say chest tattoo, Brandon, and that would have just like opened a whole lot—
Julia: Also good.
Amanda: —of possibilities for my Umbi fandom.
Brandon: Nip to nip, that's where it goes.
Eric: It's like in the Sailor Jerry style, like real classic.
Amanda: Uh-huh.
Eric: There's an anchor—
Julia: Yeah?
Eric: Surrounded by “don't hate the player, hate the game.” Yeah.
Brandon: Uh-hmm.
Julia: It's on the rope of the anchor.
Eric: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Amanda: Yeah. But of course, nothing's ever as simple as just a— a nice game for us to play in this underwater prison with our compatriots, because we have a— a pretty unexpected visitor at the end of this episode.
Julia: Oh, Strunge?
Eric: Oh, Strunge. We're going to talk about Strunge?
Amanda: No, guys. I told you I was really self-conscious about the fact that I fucked up Strunge's only dream of winning that one race one time.
Eric: I do want to talk about this really quickly. There is a move that I love so deeply that I've been using since the first arc of Campaign Two. There's like— I don't know where I found this, but there was like a goblin boss monster that I found and there was a mo— a reaction move, where if the goblin boss gets hit, it can switch spots with one of their allies. I think if you remember all the way back with, like—
Julia: Oh, cool.
Eric: —the crawfish boys.
Brandon: Oh, yeah.
Eric: —that, like, one of them switched spots whenever you tried to hit them.
Amanda: In the boathouse for rich people.
Eric: Yes, in the boathouse for rich people, not for scumbags. You're absolutely right.
Julia: Right, right, right.
Eric: Right.
Brandon: It's a second house.
Eric: It's not. it's a community spa—
Amanda: It's a garage, it's a garage.
Julia: It's a house for the boat.
Eric: It's a community space to tell dirty jokes and get high, Brandon.
Julia: Yeah, Brandon.
Eric: And it's— and it's filled with mold, it's disgusting.
Brandon: Oh, wow. Some people have attached garages. Oh such a-- so rich.
Julia: I think it's distinctly a detached garage—
Brandon: Detached garage.
Julia: —for a boat.
Brandon: You're right, you're right. "They— I don't park on a hill down the block, whatever."
Eric: Imagine parking your boat up a hill and you got to put the parking brake on. So it was really funny for me—
Julia: That's what an anchor is.
Eric: Yeah, yes. Good— yeah, good point, Julia, good point. That's why you got to hit the P button to lower your— lower your anchor. So, yeah, I really wanted to make just, like, some fun NPCs to be competing here. So it was really fun for me to come up with, like, the wolf's vein, the poppy field, the Brussel sprouts, the murder hornet, and— and my— and our good friend, Strunge. Was Strunge the murder hornet? I forget.
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: Of course, he was.
Eric: Oh, he was the— I had the name Strunge, and I forget who I assigned it to, so that's why I was wo— I was wondering.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: And of— and the murder hornet, Strunge, who— who I love. So it was fun coming up with, like, who are the most nefarious vegetables and bugs I can think of? So I really wanted to make it clear that Captain Graft was cheating, and I figured that doing something— while it felt like a little bit of me putting my hand on the weight there, it was an action, which is what I wanted you to see, is like Captain Graft is doing something, and you should see it in the most obvious way possible.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: Makes sense to me.
Brandon: Did you— you said you had the name Strunge already picked out?
Eric: Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to name somebody Strunge. My mom, ever so often, sends me names that she— she's been doing this for a long time. She sends me names of people because she used to work at the Y in Nashville, and now she, like—
Brandon: Uh-huh.
Eric: —does health coaching and stuff. So she sends me names that she thinks are funny, and I got the name Tempest Strunge and I'm like, "That's the funniest thing I've ever seen."
Julia: That's a great name.
Brandon: That's the coolest name I've ever heard. Holy shit. I would have bet a 100 American human dollars that you made that up on the spot.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: No, Brandon, that's a real human name for a real human person.
Julia: Impressive. Shout out to that person's mom.
Amanda: We need more infants named Tempest. You know what I mean?
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: Like, you can think of—
Julia: Agreed.
Amanda: —an old lady named Tempest. I need a baby. I need a fresh, fresh baby and be like, "Yes, this is—"
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: "—my darling, Tempest. And I'll be like, I don't know—
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: —"This baby's gonna lead the world one day.
Brandon: It works, because, like, when you're a baby and you're named Tempest, it's like, "Oh, man, this— this kid is chaos," because all kids are chaos, right? But then as you get older, like, you know, just— it works, it works— as opposed to, like, naming a baby, like, Jack or whatever or—
Amanda: Right.
Brandon: Yeah.
Julia: I would say it is possible for a schoolyard bully to then call that child Pest, and that's not great.
Brandon: That's pretty weak, though.
Amanda: Yeah, and then— and then she'll say, "Here's Tem and Pest holding up her two fists." And then they'll make a knuckle sandwich.
Julia: I like that, Amanda, went a girl name, I definitely thought boy when I heard it.
Brandon: Hmm.
Julia: Interesting, interesting.
Amanda: Incredible.
Brandon: I think it's gender neutral, baby. I think you can name a baby anything.
Julia: It is gender neutral. I'm just curious to see, you know, who's using it for what.
Amanda: It's— it's not even gender neutral, it's gender transcendent, okay?
Julia: Hmm.
Brandon: Hmm.
Amanda: Gender is too— is too restrictive for a baby named Temperance.
Brandon: It's a force of nature at that point.
Amanda: Just like DiAnnalyse, Brandon, Troy Riptide's little sister, who came in like a wrecking ball on—
Brandon: I think Amanda's cheating. She's cheating to get these segues. I think she's using a spell.
Julia: Amanda, we're still talking about Strunge. Hold on, hold on.
Amanda: You're right, you're right, you're right.
Brandon: No, no, no. Keep going, keep going.
Eric: No, I think it's important that the creators of DiAnnalyse talk about this. So Amanda, Julia, how did you feel about DiAnnalyse coming— coming into the frame here.
Julia: Did I help create DiAnnalyse?
Eric: You definitely contributed world-building once Amanda— I— I think that you guys were like bouncing back and forth, the idea that there is— that Troy has this, like, super intense little sister at some point. So I wanted to give you credit, considering how I steal all of your other NPCs for other things.
Julia: I truly thought the credit was to you, Eric, because I think the first time she got mentioned was in the second Legends of the Past episode.
Brandon: Hmm.
Julia: I might be misremembering, and if credit is due to me, then I— I will take it. But I also want to give credit where credit is due here.
Brandon: What we can all agree on is that I don't have any credit.
Julia: Yes. We can agree on that, Brandon.
Eric: That's definitely where it started. I think Amanda— Amanda seeded that when we were starting to flesh out Troy's family a little bit more in the second—
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: —Legends of the Past. But I distinctly remember Julia saying that, like she was embedded in the— in the— the Separatist forest, and was doing, like, covert visions there, and that I— I definitely did come up with that one on my own.
Julia: If I did say that, shout out to past me. That was great.
Brandon: Wouldn't it be wild if you didn't say that, and Eric just like— like, mementoed himself into, like, coming up with a badass character?
Julia: It's very impossible.
Eric: It's so cool.
Amanda: But what folks may not know— and I mean, I hopefully came across in the edit, is that this was a complete shock to me. You know, I had no input on, you know, her name apart from, again, that one, you know, thought and sort of conversation in Legends of the Past Part Two that, you know, what Troy's other siblings are doing. But I was absolutely shocked. I was so delighted. I was so ready to get to know my new little sister. And Eric, what was it like thinking about giving one of my PCs another energetic and chaotic younger sister?
Eric: It's my favorite thing. We still point out that Amanda's sister Bailey does Quinn stuff regularly.
Amanda: Okay, guys.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: Here's a text from yesterday.
Eric: Yes.
Amanda: Bailey is growing up and says, excuse me, "Amanda, this is 12:40 AM. Amanda, can you look at my bad big toe and tell me what the hell is going on?"
Julia: Now, you would think that she would message your sibling, that is an EMT, about that?
Brandon: You're not even close to a doctor.
Amanda: Well, then, she sent a picture of a— of a toe with some kind of toe problem. And I said, "I have no idea."
Eric: My favorite thing about this—
Brandon: What did she do to you?
Eric: — is that she does live quite a number of time zones away.
Amanda: Yes.
Eric: So it was like, "No, no, no, I need to send you a photo of my toe now." And you responded 12 hours later after—
Amanda: That's right.
Eric: — finishing sleeping.
Amanda: Yep.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: That's right.
Brandon: That's incredible. That's so funny.
Amanda: So which of my relatives did you take DiAnnalyse inspiration from?
Eric: Well, since this is a JRPG, DiAnnalyse is a little bit more of an archetype here. I thought it was a little more fun to have like an extra competent sister, especially when she was saying that she was your older sister, because you're a big doofus. And it— it was so fun. I— you know, I say this a lot that I do have trouble starting episodes of Join the Party regularly, and I've been trying to lean as much as possible into, like, really, really trope-esque anime and, like, video game cutscene stuff. So being able to start all the way back with my bad French accents, and then coming in and doing something that already happened in the previous episode of the dive, I was, like, sitting there for five minutes being like, "Well, how am I gonna start this episode?" And then I was able to do it like that, which is nice.
Amanda: So good. I— I love the scenes. And having never played a JRPG, I'm still really into it, and it's making me want to play them now.
Brandon: You play Pokemon, is that technically a JRPG?
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: Oh, very true.
Julia: I don't think so.
Eric: It's out there. Yeah.
Amanda: Very true. Brandon and Julia, what was it like hearing Troy and Di converse under the little, very convenient tent of silence and privacy as we— you know, you have no input as to what is actually happening in that conversation and what Troy, known doofus, can get from this actual source of intelligence?
Brandon: You know, there are times when it's really enjoyable for me to, like, lean back in my lawn chair with a lemonade and just watch Troy go.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Brandon: And that was one of those times.
Julia: It was interesting to finally have, like, a character who seems like they have answers for us.
Amanda: Uh-hmm,
Julia: Like, I love Kidd Cervantes, but not a fount of information in this arc.
Brandon: Hey.
Amanda: Not this character.
Eric: No, no, no.
Brandon: Bite your tongue.
Julia: Not a fount of information in this arc. Sorry, he's not.
Eric: You know who probably bit his tongue? Kidd Cervantes, because he has no mouth.
Julia: Uh-hmm. So it was really interesting to see Troy be the one that is potentially getting information, because, like, as a player, I'm confident that Amanda will ask the right questions, but I'm not confident that Troy Riptide will ask the right questions.
Amanda: Listen, I'm— I'm just trying to get so far into character that I forget my own name. You know what I mean? So I— I would not be confident in— in my Amanda's ability to ask the right questions. But in that moment, Troy really wanted to know how to get the hell out of this prison, and Di was not very forthcoming. So Eric, there were a number of opportunities where it seemed like you were either rolling or choosing kind of how much Di wanted to give away in that given moment. There was a well-placed NAT 20, et cetera. So how do you approach, generally, bringing NPCs to us that have information we need and trying to, like, reward us for trying without just, like, giving information out because we ask for it?
Eric: Yeah. I think the thing I have to do is imagine that this character is real, that they have wants and needs and values and obligations, and there's only so much they can do. So like the thing that we realized here is that since Troy's been walking around with his wings out for the last four episodes pretty much, like now Di is here and is like, "Hey, your brother told you to stop it. Please stop it. I know you're a pirate prince, but I literally got taken out of CIA cover in the Big Woods to come and do this." Right?
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: Uh-hmm.
Eric: So it's, like, based on that, there's only so much I can do, and how she was so much more interested in telling you, you were stupid than giving you information, whether that's her obligation as a sister or her taking information from your brother more than delivering information. And, like, that's the thing of how you guys need to extract informa— I'm like, I will put this person in front of you, but you do need to extract the information you need out of them, especially because this is a point and click mystery game as we've been referring to this particular arc.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Brandon: I will say as— I think the only youngest child here is that correct? I know we have an only child and a twin.
Amanda: That's correct.
Brandon: And Amanda's is the oldest, right?
Amanda: Uh-hmm.
Eric: And twin.
Julia: Yeah, twin.
Eric: Sorry, I— I have a sponsorship with Coors, where I have to say that.
Brandon: And you're technically the older one, right, Eric?
Eric: Yes, yes, yes..
Brandon: Yeah? Okay. So as the only youngest child here, if I have information that makes me more informed than my elder siblings, I ain't giving that shit up.
Eric: Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
Julia: That's your one power move.
Eric: And Brandon's not even in the CIA.
Amanda: No.
Julia: Brandon got weirdly quiet when we said he isn't in the CIA. Just want to point that out real quick.
Eric: Yeah, a 100%.
Brandon: I would be the worst CIA person alive.
Julia: I think there'd be worse, Brandon.
Brandon: That's true.
Amanda: There would definitely be worse. Such as most— most of the historical CIA.
Eric: The bigger difference that I wanted to get here is like we're not doing, like, whatever was going on with Aggie in Campaign Two, with all of her siblings.
Amanda: Uh-hmm.
Eric: Like something that's a little bit more comic booky or at lea— or not like Brady Bunchy, but maybe more sitcom family. This was—
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: —like Succession.
Amanda: Yes.
Eric: And the fact that she was Di, I was trying to make those references to that, is like there's power involved, and people don't want to tell each other— yes, as Brandon said, like siblings want to dunk on each other with their literal power structures. But even so, Di is like— this is— I'm going to tell you the maximum amount I can tell you without everyone—without people thinking that I sold out the power structures.
Brandon: Hmm.
Eric: And it's up to you three to debate whether or not that was helpful or how much she actually told you. And like, that's my responsibility versus like how much I'm giving you. It's almost like hints, too. Like, that's an— that's another thing I've been trying to deal with, is like if an NPC parachutes out of nowhere and tells you information, is that a hint? Did you earn that? I think you did earn it because of— maybe not earn but at least, like, kick the domino over where that would make sense. But, you know, it's a really tough balance between wanting to give you information and then feeling like I'm just trying to— not that you are doing this, but see— seeming like I'm moving things along, because you guys didn't get it yet.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: Here's a question, were you intending on having Di interact with the underwater prison, regardless of whether or not Troy sort of came out of incognito mode?
Eric: No. This was an idea I had after stuff that happened. Like, you guys put in my head that this woman existed, and then I'm like, "Oh, that would be really funny if she got called in because Troy has been leading with his wings for the last three episodes."
Brandon: Leading with his wings.
Julia: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
Amanda: So true.
Brandon: That's really funny.
Amanda: Well, there's even a bigger reveal in this episode, in Episode 49, than the fact that Diana, Troy's sister, has a lot of answers in a dossier that she will not give out. Which is the padlock that is buried near under around the blackberry dragon, inscribed with words that are very familiar to all of us about how the water will slow to fall. Brandon, Julia, thoughts, reactions.
Julia: It was a really nice moment for us to figure that out after very nearly dying. It felt like, you know, a reward for surviving, and that was nice.
Brandon: Yeah. I mean, it really felt like a— like a checkpoint, you know? Like a third act, or whatever third act turn, or whatever you want to call that. Like it— I— I don't know what's gonna—I mean, I do know, because we played it. But I don't know what's gonna happen next. And I'm excited to see because it's— it seems, obviously, like something that is going to change the game.
Eric: I do want to say, as well as like, you could have found that on your own, but Di, instead, decided to help you.
Brandon: Eric, we're very dumb. I don't know—
Amanda: Yeah, we didn't dig at— at all in the ground.
Eric: Well, you didn't go over there yet. That's the— but the thing is you didn't go over to the— to the—
Julia: To the danger zone.
Eric: —to the danger zone, yeah. Right, exactly. So she just kind of moved some stuff forward that you could have done on your own, but instead, she decided to help you. But you would have played that game anyway. She was like, "You need to go here right now, because if you wait any longer, the blackberry dragon is going to come out." And then you would have had to find a time when the blackberry dragon wasn't coming out to, like, really investigate around that area, and you're being watched the whole time. You know who hates it when you investigate where their cool dragon comes out of? The people who run the prison.
Amanda: Uh-hmm.
Brandon: Cops.
Julia: True.
Eric: Yeah, the cops. So yeah, it's like she— she was kind of rewarding you with this, because she couldn't tell you much else.
Amanda: Absolutely. And the listeners rewarded us with compliments about that scene, specifically SavedMan97 says, “I don't often post, and Eric, what the fuck? But in regards to the end of Compost V, specifically the chain and the writing, WTF. Great episode. Great addition to the lore. Love it.”
Eric: Thanks.
Amanda: And then BenThereAloha said, "I would love to specifically commend Brandon's incredible music and sound choices recently, especially in the moment that the writing was revealed." And Ben asks, "Brandon, am I tripping, or is it the same synth, key, and chords as the OG Join the Party theme? It made that moment feel extra important TM, and was such a good emotional boost to an already emotional ep.”
Brandon: I think the only thing I can say here is death of the author, baby. Whatever— whatever it means to you.
Amanda: Incredible.
Brandon: 'Cause I didn't make that music. I don't think it is, but I like that— it could be the same key. I don't know. I— I'd have to go back and look, but— yeah.
Amanda: It's still Brandon's mind curating the music, and it's definitely possible that there's like a, you know, familiar, you know, beat, key, something like that.
Brandon: Yeah, true.
Julia: He might have subconsciously—
Amanda: Exactly.
Julia: —chosen it.
Amanda: Exactly. Side note. There's someone called Lisa on Big Brother, who's a vibe curator as her job, which means chef—
Brandon: No, it's not.
Julia: That means nothing.
Amanda: Yep. Yes, it means chef to celebrities.
Brandon: No. Amanda, no.
Amanda: That's what she says. And—
Julia: Oh, she's the glitter girl?
Amanda: She's the glitter girl, and everyone hates her, and they're voting her out tonight because her vibes are so rancid.
Julia: Good.
Eric: I want to point out something about Big Brother, which almost— I— I— I don't know how I feel about this, but like, there was, like, a white woman who had some problems with some of the black contestants on Big Brother.
Julia: Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
Eric: And she's not getting voted out because Lisa sucks so much.
Amanda: Yep.
Eric: Like that—
Julia: Wow. That's saying something.
Eric: I don't know what that says about America or Big Brother has a microcosm for America, but it says something.
Julia: Vibe's so rancid, we're keeping the racists for one more week.
Eric: Yeah, we're keeping the white woman who stepped on people's feelings or who microaggressed at everybody instead.
Amanda: Yeah, very true. Alright, folks, that brings us to Episode 50, Compost VI. This is Bramble's house, and God, I'm so glad we finally made it. It was so worth it.
Eric: Hey, it's Bramble. Julia and Brandon almost died.
Julia: I— I felt like a little bit of a bummer when we got to Bramble's and I said, "I go to sleep immediately," because I was like— I want to interact with Bramble in his house and stuff, but if I don't get my full eight hours, I will probably die next episode."
Amanda: But, Julia, that time was not wasted, first because you were able to recover and you really had to, but second, because you— you were able to dial the Baba Rutabaga hotline.
Julia: Yeah, yeah. 8675309.
Brandon: Baba Rutabaga.
Eric: 8675, she's a witch.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: I like yours, Brandon. That was good.
Amanda: That answers Sebolicious' question as to what Baba Rutabaga phone number is.
Julia: Oh, there we go.
Amanda: But Julia, my question is, can you feel it like a migraine when a Baba Rutabaga cut scene is about to happen in Join the Party?
Julia: No. It's more like deja vu, where you're sitting somewhere and you're like, "Oop, something's about to happen. Something's about to happen."
Eric: Yeah. That was dream Baba Rutabaga. That wasn't real Baba Rutabaga.
Julia: Oh.
Eric: I feel like in the anime or in the JRPG, like she— all of her characteristics are more exaggerated, you know?
Julia: Okay. Interesting.
Eric: Like her chick— her chicken feet are, like, even bigger than you remember and, like, her face is, like, really, really big. So—
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: Or she— you know, she looks like the witch from Spirited Away more— more so than usually.
Amanda: Uh-hmm.
Julia: Okay. Interesting. Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah. And—
Julia: But also a Rutabaga.
Eric: Yeah, and also a Rutabaga. And that's why she ends up sounding like Joe Pesci at the end.
Julia: Oh, that make sense.
Eric: Because I feel like you're, like, dreaming harder and harder, and she gets weirder and weirder.
Julia: Cammie's like—
Julia (as Cammie): I didn't even know I knew this reference.
Brandon: Both Cammie and Julia, as you dream harder and harder, you do sound more like Joe Pesci.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: Real.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: That's real.
Amanda: Very true. And Brandon, are you so excited to be able to bring real-life science Brandon to Bear in Umbi's incredible, genuine scientific breakthrough?
Brandon: Yeah. I know, I'm a genius, so we don't need to make a big deal out of it, but I'm a genius.
Julia: You are.
Eric: Yeah, we're not going to talk about Brandon reading Google me— reading my firstchemistry.com pages to me while doing— while doing this.
Julia: Hey, man, the fact that you even thought, "Oh, I can use science to make—"
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: —"oxygen, I think, is a real win, even if you did have to read my firstchemistryset.com.
Brandon: I knew you could. Like, obviously knew, because there's a lot of talk about on the moon or Mars, if— if we were to able find water somewhere, frozen water, you could separate it into Hydrogen and Oxygen, and then you can just—
Eric: Oh, sure.
Brandon: —use fuel— or rocket fuel. So I knew that it's possible, but I just— I just didn't know how you could do it. And then I was like, "How— can you do this easily?" And then there was, like, 10 homemade ways to separate hydrogen and oxygen.
Julia: You did it.
Amanda: You're like, "Uh-oh. Should this be free on the internet?"
Julia: Another reason I'm super glad that I long rested is because now I could use spells with—
Brandon: Uh-hmm.
Eric: Yeah.
Julia: —with Umbi's incredible invention.
Brandon: And we didn't even have to, like, swim up to the surface, which we definitely would have been shot at or something, you know?
Julia: Yeah, something would have happened.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: For sure. Yeah, there were a bunch of ways to figure this one out. This was kind of the main puzzle of this particular arc, was like, why can't I do magic? And it's because the vinegar-pickling liquid is inhibiting it. And how do we— how do we not do it? You make an air bubble. There are a few different ways to do it. You figured it out in the most scientific way, I would say. But there— I am very happy to do it, especially because you went to Bramble's house last. You didn't understand why he was doing pottery.
Amanda: No. Just thought it was fun.
Eric: I said that in the first—
Julia: Yeah, just thought it was a fun, little character thing.
Eric: I said it was— that was like the first thing I said about Bramble when he introduced himself.
Julia: And we were like, "Okay."
Brandon: No, I—
Eric: You're like, "Alright, dawg."
Brandon: If you recall, Eric, the first thing I wanted to do was go to Bramble's house because I knew something was up with that pottery, but I— we decided it was better to stay together, so—
Julia: We— but we wouldn't have had all the clues—
Brandon: We wouldn't have had all the clues.
Julia: —if we had gone to Bramble's house first.
Brandon: It wasn't that— yeah.
Julia: We just would have been like, "Oh, cool, this guy's just doing pottery here."
Brandon: A 100% yeah. I would have ghosted and then it would have been weird, and we would have had to leave.
Eric: Yeah, I feel you— you got kind of lucky with that. I feel like it's one of those things where you got to come back because there is like— it's like— this— there's not a lot happening at this location. I have to come back when I know more information.
Amanda: Hmm, right.
Eric: Yeah, you might have just been like, "Yeah, they don't like it when we have cups, so I have to make my own cups out of my own pottery and hide them."
Julia: And we would have been like, "Oh, weird."
Eric: You're like, "Alright, okay."
Amanda: Yeah. That's, in retrospect, such an amazing, like, breadcrumb toward the solution. But I have no doubt that in the moment, I would have been like, "Weird. Okay, moving on."
Brandon: Amanda, do you want to tell us about your book diving adventure and how you felt about it?
Julia: And your beautiful, beautiful Nat 20?
Eric: Oh, God.
Amanda: Oh, it was the— the— such a well-placed roll. I do want to point out, one of the reasons why I chose the gunslinger from Mage Hand Press, is that you auto crit not just a 20, but at 19 as a gunslinger. And then as I'm leveling up, I now auto crit at 18 as well. I have never fucking once rolled an 18, 19, or 20 to hit when making an attack. So that was—
Julia: Are your dice okay?
Amanda: I don't think so, Julia, but I did roll a very well-placed NAT 20 in this case, which I was extremely proud of. But no, it was just so much fun. Getting to read the book was amazing, and I feel like the— the Modeling Our Nation's game that we played gave me such— such an appreciation for the fact that I was in a meeting, trying to be like, "Hey, could you restate the premise for the record and— and all of that?" It was so fun. And damn, seeing a younger Gloria, like I freaked out. So cool.
Brandon: She was hot.
Julia: Yeah
Eric: Yeah. She was hot.
Amanda: Now, now, you think characters are hot. Okay, okay.
Julia: Oh. No, I think, I think Umbi was always kind of into Gloria—
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: —because they were like, around the same age.
Brandon: No, that's not true Julia.
Amanda: She's like 800—
Julia: No?
Amanda: —or something, right?
Julia: Yeah, but she was in a sleep, like a divine sleep for a long a time.
Amanda: Yes, that's true.
Eric: Yeah she— yeah, she was divine sleeping. Yeah.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: I just think it's funny to call a worm hot.
Amanda: Yeah, no, it is.
Julia: She is though, Brandon. She is. She's the hottest worm you've ever seen.
Eric: I real— I— sorry, I got derailed with Julia saying that was the hottest worm I've ever seen. I would be like, "A worm, for real?"
Amanda: Is she slimy, though?
Eric: Yeah, how slimy is she? Does she glow in the dark, though?
Amanda: You cut her in the middle and she regenerates her tail, though?
Eric: Oh, my God.
Amanda: Listen, that's not my flavor of romance novel, but power to you.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Brandon: Where people get torn in half and then regrow their limbs?
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah, dude. My favorite part about people getting torn in half is when they get a little baby arm and like the— or like, a ba—
Brandon: Like in Deadpool.
Eric: Yeah. Like in Deadpool. I kind of— that's my favorite self-regeneration trope. I think it's— I think it's really funny.
Amanda: Uh-hmm.
Eric: I love, like, just it happening immediately, sort of thing that Wolverine and Kimmy Co from The Boys does, but I really like it when they have to have, like, little baby parts first. I— I find them funny.
Julia: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
Amanda: So Eric, is this a thing that you knew could happen at Bramble's house, or was this more in the moment when you mentioned that there were books and Troy ran over there?
Brandon: Yeah, did you make this up on the spot?
Eric: I did know the book was in the house when I came up with the session before. There's stuff I knew you were gonna find out about Gloria at some point, and that's all I'm gonna say about that.
Amanda: Hmm.
Brandon: Okay.
Eric: But I did know this book existed, and I did kind of write out— let me check my notes here. I had written down, "Bramble has an ancient text on his bookshelf next to his pottery wheel." And then I wrote out some stuff about lichen-thropy. But that's pretty much it. I also knew that Gloria was there. I knew that Gloria, like, was at— in South Kompos City, and I was trying to think of a way to put that in, but I had to come up with that scene on the spot.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Brandon: So you had the pun ready, but nothing else?
Eric: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brandon: Hell yeah. Hell yeah, dude.
Julia: You knew what the background was gonna be.
Eric: Yeah. I knew that it was going to be— like I wanted it to be a meeting. I think I was really proud of myself for dripping out clues like I did. I really was trying to do it like a CW show. I'm like, "I'm gonna drip out clues, I don't care if it's lucky. I don't care that there's"— yeah, I'm going for the big twist at the end, like I wanted— I would be like— it's like, "Boy, bring us lunch. What are you doing here outside of the curfew?" And I'm like— and then Amanda is gonna have to sit with that. We're gonna come back to it at some point. And then finally, I wanted Gloria to— Gloria to stand up and the whole lichen-thropy thing to happen.
Amanda: Extraordinary.
Brandon: And because it was the CW, she is super-hot.
Eric: Yeah, super-hot.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: Very true. And Lyle says, “My only question is, Eric, who do you think you are coming in here with puns like Lichen-thropy? Do you think being the best GM in podcasting gives you cart blanche to be that unashamedly funny with no warning?”
Brandon: That's a good fucking question.
Amanda: I could not take the tonal 180 between serious meeting where Troy might get found out, getting urgent information about the place we are, and then this fucking pun.
Julia: Monster attack, and then pun.
Brandon: And then pun.
Eric: The monster attack was clutch. I knew— like I was often running. Like, usually, I have to disguise my face when I'm about to set up a stupid joke like that. But I didn't have to, because I was too busy describing the monster turn.
Brandon: Hmm. Uh-hmm.
Eric: Which I thought— which I thought was fun.
Julia: Big spooky, yes.
Eric: Yeah. Big spooky into pun, Julia. You know— you know that— you know that combo.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: And Julia, I really applaud you for making what just, like, reminds us that, you know, this is sort of like a silly game at the end of the day, or on a base level before we add meaning to it, which is like, did I notice any boulders? Are there, like, a lot of boulders here? Like, can I do a boulder check? Which is, like, completely true and also completely absurd.
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: Uh-hmm.
Julia: Well, if we learn something new about the world, I gotta make sure that it checks in with what I have already understood to be the world.
Brandon: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
Julia: So if Eric says lichen-thropy turns you into a monster, and then a boulder in the space that we currently are, I want—
Amanda: Uh-huh.
Julia: —to see, are there boulders around?
Eric: Being a DM, being a— being a— a Game Master is having to tell— is having to tell one of your players there are boulders but not enough that you would have noticed it before this moment.
Amanda: Like an average amount.
Julia: That's fair.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: That's fair.
Amanda: Like an average amount.
Julia: You wouldn't think to look for boulders until the moment I mentioned that a disease turns people into monsters and then boulders.
Eric: Right, exactly.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: Alright, folks. Lots more to say and answer about Verda Stello and our podcast. But first, let me just run back into the kitchen. I have some more mini croissants for us.
Julia: Mini croissants?
Eric: Oh.
Julia: Are they filled with chocolat?
Amanda: Half-plain, half-chocolate. Be right back.
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Amanda: Hey, it's Amanda. And welcome to the mid-roll. Welcome especially to our newest patron, and I'm just gonna say one of the better usernames I've ever seen on Patreon, No hugs, just bugs. Nothing but respect for you. No hugs, just bugs. Welcome as well and thank you to Catherine F. who just upgraded their pledge. A thing you can do, by the way, if you decide that stuff like ad-free episodes, video versions of Party Planning and more, are your bag. Go on ahead to patreon.com/jointhepartypod and join or upgrade your pledge today. By the way, if adding another monthly subscription to your life is not your fave, totally get it. You can pay for a full year of Patreon support and get two months free on your membership while you do it. All of that at patreon.com/jointhepartypod. This week at Multitude, wouldn't you like to bring like a spooky, chilly, little breeze to your summer? That worked in my head, not so much in reality. If you're going on any road trips this year, a show that I highly recommend listening to after you've, of course, caught up on all of Join the Party, is Spirits, the show that Julia and I have been making together since 2015. That's right, coming up on 10 years of us owning spiritspodcast.com, which is insane. This is, of course, the history and comedy podcast where we talk about everything folklore, mythology and the occult. And often touch on topics like feminism, queerness, mortality, and modern adulthood. Found family is especially a— a favorite topic of ours. Basically, every week, Julia brings me a story from mythology and folklore around the world and teaches me about it, and I get to learn and make silly references, and it's a ton of fun. You can start listening to any of the almost 400 episodes that we have released over the last seven years. Episode 400 going out tomorrow as you listen to this. There is just so much to enjoy, and you can dive in anywhere. You don't have to listen in any particular order. So go on ahead, search Spirits in your podcast app, or go to spiritspodcast.com. We're sponsored this week by Volante Design. If you just came from Gen Con, hope you're well, hope you're recovering. We are on vacation in Canada instead, and you want to, you know, bring something, feeling like a fan convention to your everyday life, a great way to do that is incredible outer wear, like vest and jackets and dusters made by Volante Design. They have both inspired design that they make themselves, that make you feel kind of like Cyberpunk or like Rogue, it's really fun. Or also, they have, no big deal, officially licensed lines of apparel from series like Assassin's Creed, Devil May Cry, and Star Trek. Absolutely incredible. I've been lusting after Star Trek, like, command jackets for probably 15 years at this point. So just go to volantedesign.us and you can use the code jointheparty for 10% off your entire order. That's a pretty big deal when their products are made ethically and well, and they back their products in case they are, like, you know, damaged or you need help with them. So it's a big deal. Thank you, Volante, for doing it. Once more, that is volantedesign.us and use code jointheparty for 10% off your entire order. We are also sponsored this week by Tab for a Cause. This is, of course, the browser extension that lets you raise money for charity while just doing your thing and browsing the internet. Whenever you open a new tab on your laptop or desktop, you'll see a beautiful photo and a small ad. It's very unobtrusive. It's very classy. And what that does is raise money for charity while you are just hanging out online. You don't have to put any money into it. You don't have to do anything, except download a browser extension. And you also get to see a very pretty photo of somewhere in the world. And then you get to also allocate where the money you raise for charity goes. You can join Team Join the Party, which has raised thousands and thousands of dollars for charity over the years at tabforacause.org/jointheparty. One more time, that's tabforacause.org/jointheparty. And now, let's get back to the show.
[theme]
Amanda: Alright, folks. We're back. I hope that the croissants and the jam bar are to your liking.
Brandon: Oh, they're so good.
Julia: They're so good, Amanda. Great job.
Brandon: I can't believe you got fig, pear marmalade. It's so good.
Julia: That's the best kind.
Eric: That's a good combo.
Amanda: Only the best for you.
Eric: Yeah. We haven't talked about this, but Amanda and I are recording this from a hotel room, and we're doing this on—on our hotel bed.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: And this is what podcast rich looks like, folks.
Julia: Yeah. Not any other kind of rich, just podcast rich.
Eric: Just podcast rich.
Brandon: What Joe Rogan does every episode.
Eric: Yeah. He— he records—
Julia: No, Joe Rogan is supplement rich.
Brandon: Oh, that's true.
Amanda: It's true, it's true.
Eric: It's funny to think that, like, his studio is like the penthouse of a hotel in Austin, Texas. And like a bellhop comes and brings him like gold-plated aux cords.
Amanda: Real— yeah, real gold. Good for connections.
Brandon: Your Mogami, sir.
Amanda: Uh-hmm.
Eric: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: Alright. But, folks, we got a ton of fascinating and lovely questions from the beautiful Join the Party community about the game characters and Verda Stello. Beginning with— this one is from Sebolicious. “Does Troy have a sibling called like Olivides? And are they some kind of healer? Because then we would have the assassin sibling Di and the healer sibling Liv.”
Eric: Hmm.
Brandon: Oh, that's fun.
Julia: I love that.
Eric: Oh, probably.
Julia: Well, all women are doctors, so that would make sense—
Eric: That's right.
Amanda: That's true.
Julia: —if Troy had another sister who was a healer or a doctor.
Amanda: Love that.
Eric: That's fair.
Amanda: Lulu wants to know, “Which of his siblings is Troy closest to, and why?” I think he'd probably say Hyperion, and Hyperion would just sort of, like, pass out further into his bed, thrown from exhaustion upon hearing that.
Julia: Uh-hmm. That makes sense. That checks out.
Eric: My favorite thing about Hyperion is that he's the—haggard and always sleepy.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: And it's my— I'm thinking about like the pointy Game of Thrones throne. And not even the one that we saw on TV, but like the one that George R.R. Martin described is, like, infinitely larger and has infinitely more swords and pointy parts on it.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: And I just love the idea of him putting, like, airport pillows all over the— all over it.
Amanda: Yeah, ergonomic.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: Exactly.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: Poor Hi. Mell wants to know, “Has Troy ever looked at the barrel book with glasses on?” I don't think he can handle it, frankly. I think I'd be, too.
Julia: He'd just be surrounded by barrels.
Amanda: Surrounded, exactly. It'd be too much, it'd be too much.
Julia: It's like the— the video of the drunk girl when she gets the puppies crying. She's like, "I can't take care of them."
Eric: But imagine he's— like, Troy is now transported into, like, a History Channel documentary on barrels.
Amanda: Listen, I—
Julia: He'd never leave. We would never see him again.
Amanda: No, he would never would. He would just— he would just like plug in permanently to the book.
Brandon: Do you think eventually he would sort of turn into the history channels, Ancient Aliens guys, about barrels? Like the—
Julia: Barrels.
Brandon: —hardcore conspiracy guy about barrels, like, 30 years down the line?
Eric: How did the Egyptians even come up with barrels?
Amanda: Yeah, right?
Eric: It's impossible. Aliens had to do it.
Amanda: Amazing. Oh, that'd be so much fun. Helen asks, “Do greenfolk change with the seasons at all? Like, do the leafy plant folk get orange leaves in the autumn, et cetera?”
Eric: Oh.
Brandon: I always seems— assumed so.
Julia: Yeah, I like the idea of it, for sure.
Amanda: It'd be cool if they kind of changed through the life cycle of the plant as the greenfolk got older.
Julia: Oh.
Amanda: And, you know, like, moved— moved, kind of through, like, what we would see as one season in two— because for many plants like that is their life cycle. And I think that'd be kind of beautiful to be like, "Oh, yeah, like, I'm embracing my, you know, my gray hair and my, you know, beautiful, like, autumnal maple leaves."
Brandon: Yeah, I like that.
Eric: Oh.
Brandon: That's great.
Julia: I also really like the idea of it being a regional thing. Like, for example, when I played Sir Dune in the One Shots, I pictured Sir Dune as, like, always being in winter mode, because she lived in, like, a part of the Crags that was always snowy, you know?
Brandon: Hmm. Uh-hmm.
Eric: Yeah. In regionality and age makes more sense to me than seasons, because, you know, we haven't figured out exactly how the whole, like, sun works. I'm like, there's one sun, shut up. But—
Julia: Fair enough.
Eric: But other than that, is like— it wouldn't work with having, like, a bialy shaped world like that. Don't tell Dr. Moiya McTier that I'm not thinking about this, but you know, the whole—
Brandon: Eric, tell that to the Flat Earthers.
Amanda: I know, seriously.
Eric: Yeah, right. But the whole middle, I mean, it's that, like— is that it almost feels— it feels like it has to be a little bit tropical, because it's a pirate thing. But, you know, One Piece rule says I can do whatever weather at any point, so—
Julia: Fair.
Eric: I like the two things that we came up with instead of the other thing, just so that I don't need to, like, think about the vernal equinox. If that's okay with you guys?
Julia: It's a shame—
Brandon: It is.
Julia: I guess.
Brandon: It's a shame that the pawpaw tree or fruit, whatever it is, not evergreen, because that would make sense why he was so old, then.
Amanda: Hmm.
Eric: Sure.
Julia: Well, he's a fruit, so he's as old as, you know, a fruit can be, I suppose.
Amanda: Do you think the greenfolk version of toupees is like clipping or gluing your foliage on, or like sourcing foliage from younger greenfolk?
Julia: Very possible.
Amanda: Or maybe they're unburdened by ageism. Hopefully that.
Julia: Yeah. Yeah. We all treat Umbi with so much respect, so I don't think we're encumbered by ageism at all.
Brandon: This is what you call respect, Julia?
Julia: Hmm.
Brandon: That's what you call respect?
Julia: Huh?
Brandon: Huh?
Julia: Hmm?
Eric: I'm just trying to think of, like, what kind of slang terms they would use for a toupee. You know how they call toupee a rug. Like, you'd probably call it a thatch or something like that.
Julia: A lawn.
Eric: Yeah. Oh, it's a lawn.
Brandon: A lawn.
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: Oh, that's good, that's good.
Brandon: That's really good.
Amanda: Jeff (TattooedNTall) said, “Can we all agree that Umbi's time bombs are painted with a little black coat, white shoes and a black hat?”
Brandon: Only when they have to blow up a fancy like, you know— what do you call those things where people—rich people give money to the—
Julia: Gala.
Eric: Yeah, gala.
Brandon: A gala. Only when you have to blow up a gala, yeah.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: Umbi blowing at the gala—
Julia: Like the Riddler.
Eric: —at the boathouse, yeah.
Brandon: I was about to make that joke, Eric.
Eric: I'm sorry. Brandon, I have to commend myself, and also Brandon for rolling with this, of my favorite joke of these three episodes was when you took the time bomb and gave it to someone else, and they said, "Thanks," and put it in their armpit.
Brandon: That was great.
Julia: That was good.
Brandon: And gross.
Eric: 'Cause— yeah. Now, that— I mean, now that we can talk about it, I've been thinking about what works in the vinegar solution and what doesn't.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: And something that's more natural, like the Bramble bomb worked, but the other things couldn't— like the flames wouldn't light because it was in a liquid. So that's what I was thinking while that was happening. I was like, "I knew that, and I've been waiting on it for the last few episodes, because I let you have the Bramble bomb." And I'm like, "Okay."
Amanda: Uh-hmm.
Eric: "I wonder if Brandon is going to try to do something else here." And then it just— setting that up for that guy to just take it and stick it in his vest was so funny.
Brandon: It was really good.
Amanda: Great follow up from Dominique, “Julia, after what happened in South Kompos, will Cammie consider multiclassing in case they're, again, in a situation where their magic doesn't work?”
Brandon: Oh.
Julia: I don't think so. I have multiclassed at least once now, because I love spell casting. I— and I talked about this when we first got into this arc. It's scary as a spell caster to not be able to spell cast. However, I think it was an interesting limitation by Eric to say, "Oh well, your tea witch class stuff works, but your witch spells don't work." I think that was a really interesting, like, caveat to put on the limit of like, what essentially is an anti-magic field.
Eric: Yeah. For sure.
Julia: So I don't think it would make Cammie think, "Oh, I have to go ahead and, like, make sure I can wield the sword or whatever. in the future. I think it's more like Cammie is like—
Julia (as Cammie): Oh, well, my beautiful magic works even when other people are limited, and that's beautiful and amazing.
Eric (as Baba Rutabaga): Yeah. aren't you happy you got cursed? [laughs]
Julia (as Cammie): Sure.
Brandon: Get out of here, Joe Pesci.
Julia: Get out of here, Joe Pesci.
Amanda: Or as Amnotagoldfish put it, “Even if magic isn't an option, the crew always has the power of friendship.” Sparkle emoji.
Julia: That's true.
Brandon: That's true.
Amanda: Very true.
Julia: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
Eric: Wow.
Brandon: Wow.
Julia: Wow.
Brandon: Wow.
Julia: Wow. Wow.
Amanda: Alright. Dominique also wants to know, “Brandon, what type of genius do you think Umbi is? Is it more like Albert Einstein, Dr. Frankenstein, or Dr. Drakken from Kim Possible, or another genius that you can think of?”
Brandon: I saw this, and I was thinking about it, and I think I have the answer, but I'm curious to see if Eric will get it. Eric, what do you think I'm gonna say?
Eric: Oh, that's a good question. I don't— I was more thinking about like the madness scale that Umbi was on from— from Einstein to Oppenheimer.
Brandon: Julia, what do you think I'm gonna say?
Julia: I think it's the guy from Futurama.
Brandon: No.
Eric: Ooh.
Julia: "Good news, everyone."
Eric: Yeah. Dr. Farnsworth is a good one.
Brandon: No.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: Who?
Brandon: Hold on, I'm gonna make sure I have it right.
Julia: He has to Google what the person is.
Brandon: It's, of course, Bunsen and Beaker from the Muppets.
Eric: Oh.
Julia: Ah. Is he the Bunsen, or is he the beaker?
Brandon: I think he's Beaker, but he can talk, obviously.
Eric: Umbi is the perfect combination of both Dr. Honeydew and Beaker, I think—
Brandon: Right, yeah.
Eric: —so that's good— that's good stuff.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: Adorable. And then Eric, a— a final question from Dominique to you specifically, “Would you in the future sing to me the happy birthday song a la Marilyn Monroe when I turn 50? Pretty please?” And I'm fairly certain Dominique has about half their life, if not, slightly more until 50.
Julia: That's fair. That is fair.
Eric: Yeah, absolutely. That would be pretty fun. Yeah.
Amanda: It's pretty good, pretty good.
Julia: Time capsule it now.
Eric: I'll dress up like Megan Hilty from Smash.
Amanda: Love it. So here's a— a fascinating prompt from EepyFella. "Now, this isn't a board game, but Troy and Umbi have to play Bingo, right?" And I— I just was so amused thinking about what would happen if you taught Troy about Bingo, and how seeing, I think, just like three to five things in a row at any point in any context, would have him just shouting Bingo. Like five— five sun gulls in the sky, Bingo. You got like, five blorps of algae on a rock, Bingo. Like it's— and then you just be like, "I— I regret— I regret teaching him this."
Julia: Now, Amanda, I might have misheard you, because I heard you say three things in a row first.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: And I love the idea that Troy is so excited about—
Amanda: Exactly.
Julia: —almost Bingo.
Amanda: Exactly. Exactly.
Brandon: That's really funny.
Amanda: Like, it's— it's four in a free space, right?
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Or— or just five if you don't get the free space one.
Brandon: Why do you people know how to play Dominoes.
Julia: Bingo.
Eric: Bingo.
Brandon: Bingo, whatever the fuck.
Julia: Because I go to Drag Bingo, like, once a month, Brandon.
Amanda: Because I— because I grew up a human child.
Julia: You— did you not do Bingo when you were a kid?
Brandon: Oh, I'm thinking— okay. I was thinking of— I was thinking—
Amanda: Is that for the rich as well?
Brandon: Yeah. I'm not a fucking wealthy Northeasterner, you fuckin'— I play with— with hoops and sticks like good poor people do.
Julia: As we all know, Bingo, a thing for rich people.
Eric: I'm starting to think that when Brandon doesn't know something, he says it's for rich people and lashes out.
Amanda: It's pretty good, pretty good.
Brandon: Eric.
Julia: Chaos.
Brandon: I'm afraid that over time, it would start to evolve from Bingo into Bazinga and that is un—
Amanda: Oh, sure.
Brandon: —untenable. Untenable.
Amanda: Yeah, that's a— that's a IP crossover that our lawyers have not cleared.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Brandon: Although I would watch young Troy, the show.
Julia: I also would watch young Troy, the show. I think that's just what the campaign is.
Amanda: You know the funny thing—
Brandon: That's true.
Amanda: — is that the actor who played young Sheldon, but now plays medium Sheldon, like teen Sheldon, is a big fan of Survivor, and so he crosses over with my podcast sometimes, and be like, "Oh, yeah, medium Sheldon is on the show." And I'm like, I can't—I simply can't.
Julia: Oh, no. Oh, no.
Amanda: Anyway—
Brandon: Now that kid is gotta be so fucking rich now.
Amanda: I know, right?
Eric: Oh, sure.
Amanda: Moss asks a very sweet and timely question, “What are each of our characters most likely to be a gold medalist Olympic sport categories?”
Brandon: Oh.
Julia: Ooh.
Brandon: I think Umbay— Umbis does—
Julia: Umbay.
Brandon: Umbay.
Eric: Umbay.
Brandon: I think Umbus does— it's not uneven bars. What are the ones where you— the ha— the gymnastics where you hang down from the ropes with the hoop— hoops—
Julia: The rings.
Brandon: The rings. That's what it's called, the rings?
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: I think it's— I think I would like to see Umbi do the rings.
Eric: That's cool.
Amanda: I think it'd be very sweet to watch Troy do a floor routine. Like, archery is the easy answer, sharp shooting, you know, an— an easy answer. And we've all seen incredible memes of that Turkish guy who just, like, rolled out of bed and— and got a silver medal.
Brandon: That was so incredible.
Amanda: He's also a cat dad, adorable.
Eric: Yes, I saw this. But in compared to the, I think, South Korean woman—
Amanda: Yes.
Eric: —who ha— who was all teched out, like she was in Cyberpunk 2077.
Amanda: Yes. Yes, gun mommy.
Brandon: Uh-hmm.
Eric: Oh, yeah, yeah. But Troy could be those, that would— could be you. I want to see Troy just, like, hold the crossbow in one hand, and then put his hand in his pocket, and his other hand on his hip.
Amanda: The fact that the hand is in the pocket is my favorite part.
Brandon: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: But no, that'd be really fun.
Julia: Ooh, I don't know for Cammie. I don't think it would be like a water sport, necessarily.
Amanda: We all know greenfolk can't swim.
Julia: I feel like Cammie might be secretly really good at beach volleyball.
Brandon: That is cool.
Amanda: Hey.
Brandon: I love that.
Eric: Yeah. I was gonna say Cammie could compete in the E-Sports that recently got brought into the Olympics.
Julia: Oh, yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Julia: Yeah, yeah.
Eric: She's really good at League of Legends.
Amanda: Ooh.
Julia: Cammie goes to Tahiti, but not to surf.
Eric: Just to— just to help Colin Jost, whatever the fuck is going on with him. The gangrene he has on his toes.
Brandon: Amanda's right when you said that greenfolk can't swim, but I'm pretty sure in the past, I have said that Umbi was a swimmer in college, so—
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Oh, Umbis was a— Umbi was a diver, and I think that diving is a thing, but you got to get them out of the pool immediately.
Amanda: There's a rescue effort every time.
Brandon: With a net? I love that.
Eric: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Amanda: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brandon: I love that.
Eric: Yeah. You know how— how there's like spotters in gymnastics always, I think it's very similar for diving, yeah.
Julia: Uh-hmm
Brandon: I love that. That's tight. Okay.
Julia: Uh-hmm
Amanda: Julia, is it possible Cammie and Nonny do synchronized diving, but one of them is very small?0
Julia: Yes.
Brandon: Which one is up to you.
Julia: It's Cammie.
Amanda: So cute.
Eric: Oh, my God.
Amanda: Here is a great question from Rayne Storms the Beach Boi, “When we get some of those sweet, sweet sound effects on the pod, what does the original cut of those moments sound like? Does Eric describe the sound or is there a secret JTP cut with all analog sound effects by Eric? #ReleaseTheSilverCut.”
Julia: I think a lot of the analog sound effects make it to the final cut.
Eric: Yeah, real.
Brandon: So this is— I— I'm curious what you mean by sound effects, because there are no sound effects on the podcast. So anything you hear Eric is making, unless you're hearing, like, music maybe, but yeah, yeah, it's— I— at some point, I was like, "Eric, continue and do more sound effects with your voice, because I ain't gonna do it, so—"
Eric: Real.
Amanda: Well, there was the muffling effect on Eric's and my voices when we were in the sort of like tent of silence, that's the only recent one that comes to mind.
Brandon: Hmm. Hmm.
Amanda: And then, plus, from the very beginning, Brandon has panned character voices into one side of the headphones or the other, so that you can more easily distinguish when we're in character and not.
Brandon: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Brandon: I think of those things as mixing things, but yeah.
Eric: Yeah. Brandon's strengths lie in his manipulation of Pro Tools, which is saying— which is certain— which is saying something that's very powerful and— and necessary. So it's like, I would always love to— you know, like, we don't have a foley department, so, like, I want to do the thing and then Brandon can make that sound exactly the way that we want it to sound.
Amanda: Brandon doesn't introduce—
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: sound that wasn't in the original recording session, except for music. Is that fair to say?
Brandon: Yes.
Amanda: Almost all the time?
Brandon: But now that you— yes. Yes. But now that you say about the mixing thing, Amanda, yeah, sometimes, like, if— if Eric makes a monster voice or whatever, I'll do an effect on that. But Eric's always making those noises, I just affect them—
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: —with plugins.
Amanda: Okay.
Brandon: Yeah.
Julia: I mean, you also do atmospheric stuff.
Brandon: Yeah.
Julia: But you're never like— and then this thing makes a splashing noise, and you don't, like, add a splash to it.
Amanda: Sploosh.
Eric: That's the actual play sheet of the whole thing. It's like if we weren't recording, maybe I would have a sound board, but I think the whole point of actual play is like enhancing something that is at the table that we would all do or do do, I said do do, with your own imagination, but we do have post-production, so we are making it like— we're trying to kind of splitting the distance here for—
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: —people to get there, because we can do that with sound change.
Brandon: It is— yes. It's simply— and I've said this before, but it's simply not possible to have this show come out weekly, and also actually full— do full sound design, so—
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: —it has to be the middle ground there that Eric's describing. Yeah.
Amanda: Yeah. I've always described the show as, like, enhanced reality. Like, we're trying to get at the feeling of being at a table and somebody describing to you what's happening, and you're, like, so effing in it, because you're, like, in the room and plugged in, like it matters and it affects you. And I think all the things that Brandon does to enhance what Eric is already doing in the room. Like, I don't feel as if I'm missing anything because I'm listening to the analog real-life cut, because, like, I'm in it. I'm controlling the character. I'm sitting right there. You know, it's me in the room on the Zoom call. That all— that really matters to me, and we're hoping to get you guys to the same level of investment and buy in, and, like, immersion in the world.
Brandon: Yeah, totally.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: Cute. BentoCatto wants to know, “Will there be merch for season three of Join the Party? I still wear my Camp Di shirt and my time shark pin all the time, and I'd love to have a cute Verda Stello merch.”
Brandon: Oh. Is this a who can say?
Eric: We are working—
Julia: Hmm.
Eric: We're working on stuff.
Amanda: Working on it.
Eric: We are working on stuff.
Amanda: It's taking a little while, because we're gonna make it real good for you guys. So, yes, there is a tight as hell Campaign Three merch on the way.
Eric: Yeah. That you will be able to purchase by the end of this year—
Amanda: By the end of this year?
Eric: —definitely.
Amanda: By the end of this year?
Julia: Hopefully?
Amanda: Hopefully sooner. It’s gonna be great.
Brandon: We— we sort of— our philosophy of— of merchandise has sort of flipped where it's— we want to make less, really high-quality stuff that we know you guys will be stoked about.
Eric: Hmm.
Amanda: Yeah.
Brandon: Than more or fewer, right? Like, you know, just pump out more different options, you know?
Eric: I can think of, like, three things that we're working on right now that are going to be purchasable within the year, if not, like by the beginning of 2025. Like, you're gonna get it. It's just taking a while to do— to do this— this hot shit.
Amanda: Yeah. To do it right, yeah. I know, I'm not interested in like, offering a ton of, like, print-on demand T-shirts that, like, won't hold up super well, you know? But you guys do enjoy, because the stuff that sells that you're excited about, that we're excited about, are stuff like, you know, incredibly dope pins, hats that really matter, the dice that, you know, y'all roll every single week at your tables. So we're working on the stuff that we think you're going to be incredibly stoked by.
Eric: Yeah.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: Mage wants to know, “Eric, how much has your vision updated as the campaign went on? I remember you saying super early in the season that when you guys were coming up with the setting, you were inspired by the hunger stones in parts of Europe that have warnings on them about a bad growing season that will follow if the river gets below a certain point. And that whole reveal of the padlock with the blackberry dragon definitely had that sort of feeling to it. So I'm curious, is this what you've been imagining since the beginning, or if you've changed it but kept the kind of vibes based on new ideas, growth of the characters, and a resolving picture of the diamond knot?”
Eric: Yeah. You know, it's funny and— I'm always so inspired by One Piece, is that, like, you know, sometimes I see a meme where, like, they have four of the, you know, popular anime boys there, like Naruto is there, and it's like, friendship, and learn how to be a ninja, and rely on each other's family. And, like, Haikyuu is like, "Volleyball is great." And then—
Julia: It's true.
Eric: And then— and you see Luffy, and it's like, police only exists to be— like, to be the personal armies of the rich and powerful will do everything— will do everything to protect them. And, like, I think about that a lot, because I love the beginning, the kicking off of One Piece. It's like this guy, Gol D. Roger was the pirate, and he hid all of his treasure in one place, and he changed the way that everyone interacted here. Like it became—
Brandon: Hmm.
Eric: In a very sort of, like, Ready Player One sort of way. It's like, there was a— there's a gambit, and we're gonna— and then everyone's gonna start trying to run towards the gambit, and everything changes accordingly. And I did want to start, like, 50 years after that happened to make sure that, like, pirates and being pirates was established. However, there was always that kind of, like, looming worry that we're all spending so much time being pirates, we're not addressing the key issue. I think we've touched on this a lot when Umbi— with Umbi's Legends of the Past. So it's like I'm always thinking that, like— the thing that I've been doing since Campaign Two is like things are happening somewhere else. And if you're having fun fucking around and being a pirate, someone might be doing something somewhere else. And I've been trying to get that across with— with, like, the Legends Across the Sea and with the Model Our Nation's game that we played, because it does— this world does move and does do things a different direction. So as much as I feel like the collision of the fun, silly, wild, anything can happen action of this campaign has finally started colliding with the underlying premise that Verda Stello is in trouble, and a lot of people are going to do something about that for their own personal gain. This arc, I think, is starting the collision of that as we are flying down towards the end of this story.
Brandon: Please, Eric, chasing the cheese down the slope to the end of the story.
Eric: As we are running— as we're—
Julia: Of course, of course.
Eric: —we're finally— we're going to the final part where everyone's reaching out their hands to grab the cheese down the hill. You're right, Brandon.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: And also, you didn't ask, but that's the Olympic sport I'd be best at.
Julia: There you go.
Amanda: Ooh. You would be good at that.
Brandon: I'm sorry, you're right.
Amanda: Relatedly, EepyFella wants to know, “Y'all seem vaguely surprised that you hit 50 episodes. Eric, did you plan for less roadblocks or general shenanigans? Is it because episodes are getting longer, so it's more hours, yay, or just a general celebration of the milestone?” Tell me about how you feel about hitting 50.
Eric: Happy birthday to you. No. The— the thing is, is that the— I think about this a lot, how the original campaign of the adventure zone hit 69-ish episodes. There were a lot of multiple part episodes there at the end. And, like, the first campaign of Bahumia for Not Another D&D Podcast hit a 100. Yeah, I just know that shit off the top of my head, my brain is broken. So I've always been thinking about, like, how long this is, and we've always continued to be a campaign-focused show as more shows, I think, have pivoted towards more anthologic stuff, because I think, I don't know, announcements are more— about new stuff is more exciting than, like, playing out whole games, but that's just not how we do. And also, because we're still playing Dungeons & Dragons, which I don't know is gonna happen, just as everyone's at Gen Con right now, and a lot of things are changing with the new version of D&D they're putting out, which seems to be turning everything into, what, World of Warcraft, but that's a whole other podcast episode.
Amanda: Subscribe to the Patreon—
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: —and we can talk about that.
Eric: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think it's more that I was surprised that we've done 50 episodes in a world that I came up with, which is something that was new and always a challenge for this campaign. Campaign One was 57 episodes with the Epilogue, and Campaign Two was 58.
Amanda: Ooh.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Amanda: Am I seeing a trend?
Eric: I don't know, we'll see. There's— I feel like— we— we spend more time doing other stuff in this campaign, like with the—
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: —with the One Shots. And I think we're including the One Shots with those episodes. We did three One Shots, we did Model Our— we did a Model Our Nation game, that's four, and then we did two Legends of the Past. It's like six in world episodes that didn't move the plot forward, right? And then, of course, we have the— the beach episode— we have the beach episodes. Alright, we have—
Julia: That counts.
Eric: —we have—we have the Growing Our Skill— Skill Tree episodes, because—
Amanda: Those definitely count, yeah.
Eric: They count, but like, they're different. So I don't know, like, there's definitely, like, a few things we need to do that we haven't done yet, in my head, and I just don't know how long that's going to take. If it's going to take an arc, if it's going to take, like, a mini arc, if it's going to take like, two or three episodes. But—
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: — where we're— where we're going, I mean, the— the brakes are off. We are— we are charg— charging towards the end of this story. A lot of action is going to happen in a short amount of time, which is great. I just, like, want to see where we end up here, and it's taking a little bit longer to get here, because there's definitely a shorter— there is— there's probably a shorter version of this where, like, maybe you found the salmon in 30 episodes, and then we would have played out what happened after that, is— is a— is a different version of this.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: But I really like and appreciate that all of us want to, you know, tell the story in the way it has to be told. We influence it as we go on. So, like, Eric could come in with an outline or a sense of, you know, "I think we'll go, you know, 50 to 60-ish." And then our actions and our preferences impact what it is that we do. You're not, like, hurrying us out the door because, like, you know, it went a little long and you're—
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: —not like dragging things out because we're going faster than you expected.
Eric: No, I don't want to rush it.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: I don't want to rush it just because we're—just because we're here. I mean, what's the po— what, I'm going to rush the last few episodes just so I can hit 59? Like, no. We're gonna— we're gonna see. I'm— I'm really hoping not to hit 69. I think that that was, like, the boundaries of what a— what a campaign can be, and, you know, I think NaddPod loved Bahumia so much, they never wanted to leave. So, yeah, I— I'm— hopefully, we're gonna hit around 60— 60 something. But again, I don't know. I— I really don't know.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: Stuffs happening.
Brandon: I did just have the thought of a— a prequel, little mini campaign at the start of the Tides, like year one where, like, the pirates are new, and they're fighting the—
Amanda: Inventing piracy. Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah, and they're fighting the British or whatever, you know? Like, the British.
Julia: Yeah, fighting the British.
Amanda: Sounds like a fun live show. I don't know.
Eric: Sounds good.
Amanda: I don't know.
Julia: Hmm.
Amanda: Could be fun. Alright, folks. Well, I am so excited to see what's next. We have a lot of folks who are excited and anxious to know about, like, how DiAnnalyse got into the prison, what she's doing behind the scenes as she's talking to all of the guards, how we are going to potentially get out, if the guards believe this is the real Troy Riptide, why exactly vessels are— are banned if it's just the air pocket thing, and what exactly is going to happen if and when we reveal more of that blackberry dragon padlock apparatus. So—
Brandon: Will Umbi die in his sleep?
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Will Umbi die in his sleep?
Amanda: Every day, that's a question I ask. But I have just one more question for Spoil the Plank from J Powers, giving me some ideas. “Is the dragon porthole just a door to another room or a teleportation situation?”
Julia: Ooh.
Eric: Ooh.
Julia: Who can say?
Brandon: I like teleportation situation as like the—
Amanda: Just as a phrase?
Brandon: A phrase, and maybe, like, a band name?
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: I was gonna say, that'd be a pretty cool band name.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: Pretty good. Well, a—
Brandon: Pretty good.
Amanda: —a lot to come. We've played the next one or two episodes, I think, from here and all I can tell you, there is so much more to come, and I'm so excited for y'all to hear it.
Julia: The next episode, I think, is my favorite record in a really long time, so I'm really excited for everyone to hear it.
Eric: True. Very, very true. I'm— I'm really excited to record. Yeah, we recorded one episode, and now I'm like, "Oh, I really wanna see what happens next." I gotta come up with what happens next, but I wanna see what happens next. At this point, it's just like, yeah, who's— we're— the inevitability is just gonna start happening. Things I thought of 50 episodes ago are gonna start happening and I think that's kind of crazy.
Julia: They're coming to fruition.
Brandon: Yeah. Coming to fruition.
Amanda: Ooh. Exactly.
Eric: It's coming to fruit jam mission.
Amanda: It's the remix to fruitmission.
Brandon: Alright, we have to leave now.
Julia: Alright, we have to go.
Amanda: Alright, everybody. Thank you so much for your support, your enthusiasm. I— I am so grateful that we get to do this as a job in community with all of you. And—
Eric: It's— it's extra funny when we're doing this in a hotel bed. You're like, "Here is my gold-plated microphone. Thank you for supporting this community."
Amanda: On the other hand, we can't afford to not record when we're on vacation, but—
Eric: Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, that's a good point.
Brandon: Eric, do you think hotels are for rich people?
Amanda: Yes.
Eric: Yeah, like boathouses.
Julia: Uh-hmm.
Eric: And Bingo, Brandon.
Amanda: Incredible. Well, folks, thank you again for listening. We are excited to bring you a— an excellent episode next Tuesday, but in the meantime, we'll be hanging out with you on social media @JoinThePartyPod on Twitter, on Instagram. Multitude shows on TikTok, where you can see fun clips from our recording sessions, and, of course, the hip-hoppingness place on the internet, the patron-only Discord. So we'll be seeing you ,then.
Brandon: Byeee.
Julia: Later.
Eric: Oh, I fell asleep. I'm in— I'm in a bed. I'm recording in bed.
Amanda: May your rolls turn ever upward.
[theme]
Eric: Brandon, put in a sound effect of me snoring.
Brandon: Alright. Eric, can you give me a sound of, like, you snoring?
Eric: [snores]
Brandon: Thank you.
Eric: [snores] But, like, make me sound really cute while I'm snoring.
Amanda: Oh, yeah. Like—
Brandon: Okay, cool.
Amanda: —like, pitch him up a few octaves.
Eric: Yeah, put— put that cute factor on.
Brandon: Okay, cool. Let me ask Julia if she can do it. Julia—
Julia: I'm gonna stop recording.