The Upcountry Keepers may have won the retweeting battle, but they have not won the retweeting war. Milo gets timed. Val wonders where they were tagged. Aggie breaks down her siblings.
Housekeeping
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Cast & Crew
- Dungeon Master, Co-Producer: Eric Silver
- Co-Host (Milo Lane), Co-Producer, Editor, Sound Designer, Composer: Brandon Grugle
- Co-Host (Aggie O’Hare), Co-Producer: Amanda McLoughlin
- Co-Host (Val Vesuvio), Co-Producer, Editor: Julia Schifini
- Multitude: multitude.productions
About Us
Join the Party is a collaborative storytelling and roleplaying podcast, powered by the rules of Dungeons and Dragons. That means a group of friends create a story together, chapter by chapter, that takes us beyond the tabletop to parts unknown. In the first campaign, we explored fantasy adventure, intrigue, magic, and drama. In the newest story, we tackle science, superpowers, a better future, and the responsibility to help others.
Every month, we sit down for the Afterparty, where we break down our game and answer your questions about how to play D&D and other roleplaying games at home. We also have segments at the beginning of each campaign to teach people how to play the game themselves. It’s a party, and you’re invited! Find out more at jointhepartypod.com.
Transcript
Amanda: Last time on Join the Party...
Eric: Our massive mobster melee has materialized, avoiding certain gangland violence, Kilonova slipped out of the dangerous graupel that held him, Preserver tricked Aunt Min and snagged the painting narrowly escaping on the Knight of Mirrors' bike, and Val in street clothes, deleted the Instagram of Bones Botti and erased all the tape on his camera. After the fracus, Preserver found more strange mushrooms, this time in mini form, and stored in stylish test tubes and kept the Knight of Mirrors from trying it for themselves. With the mobsters cleared out and Aunt Min nowhere to be found, the LT3 can go back to the important drudgery of building their brand. But Aunt Min has to be out there setting phase two in motion. Man, what if the Knight of Mirrors just tried it like what it would have grown out of by now and now we have to like, wait a few episodes to figure it out. Oh, well, let's get the party started!
[Theme music]
[Hopeful subtle 80's music]
Eric: If this episode was a comic book, I think that we would start with kind of like a full page panel of Val sitting in the back of what was it? Morrow-Ride?
Julia: Morrow-Ride!
Eric: Morrow-Ride sitting in the back with like the occasional street lights streaming in as the Morrow-Ride takes them back to Little Italy, where you could only assume that the majority of the LTC mobsters are also going back. So I feel like we pull back and there's like on the top part of the panel, we see Val considering what the fuck just happened with like streetlights streaming in. And then it pulls back and you see, like the Toyota Camry that Val is riding in and then like five, six, seven, eight different models of Cadillac are also all driving back from out of town into Little Italy on Highway one in the Lake Town City. And there's like one exit and it's like, "welcome to Lake Town City, where today's tomorrow already happened. Forget about it!"
Julia: I like the Little Italy has their own "forget about it" underneath their welcome sign.
Eric: Yes, that and that's the exit going to Little Italy. So we see all of those cars driving on the highway. And then the next one, you see the Knight of Mirrors streaking through the highway, almost like a fluorescent Tron line going behind them. So we see how fast and furious they're going, darting within the late night traffic. What does Aggie do with the painting?
Brandon: How big is the painting, Eric?
Eric: Oh, you know, I was just going to say painting size, but like, it's pretty big, but it does fit like in the back of the truck or wherever you want to put it. It's also a landscape. So it's five feet long, three feet tall and pretty stark and beautiful.
Amanda: I think I would have dropped Milo off, probably not talking a lot. What do you think bud?
Brandon: Yeah, he's pretty sleepy. He gets really sleepy after fights. It's a thing that happens.
Amanda: Fair. Yeah. I think I'll double park. See you up to your apartment. Make sure you or tuna don't fall asleep on the stairs and then head home to my bungalow, and slide the painting under my couch so the dust ruffle obscures it and put the mushrooms one in like a old fashioned like stone crock full of rice. And then I'm going to double Ziploc, bag the test tube and put it in my toilet cistern, which is pristine, by the way.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: No, I like that. Do you take it to the side?
Amanda: Yes.
Eric: Wonderful.
Amanda: I think Aggie has a lot of experience hiding things that she buys with her own money from her brothers and sisters.
[Everyone laughing]
Brandon: Fair!
[Music begins to fade out]
Amanda: It's like, You think Quinn is sticking her hand in a crock of rice? No. You think Ryan is going to unclog a toilet? No.
Eric: Do you think Ryan knows how to take the top off of the toilet? Absolutely not. His toilet has been running for three years.
Amanda: Yeah. Yeah.
Eric: His water bill is SO expensive.
Amanda: Reagan would sell her house before she figured out how to stop a toilet from running.
Eric: Wonderful. Hey, you know, because Milo sacrificed himself and used his spells in a great way even while recovering from brain damage. Hey, Brandon, take yourself a level up!
Brandon: Hey!! Thanks!!
Eric: I just want to reward my players for doing smart and good things. That was nice!
Amanda: Welcome to the level eight club.
Brandon: [Laughs] Thank you. Do I get any sort of like smoking jacket or like like an executive bathroom key.
Eric: Yes. I'm sending you the decorative bathroom key right now.
Amanda: I send you a text that says G r 8.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: Anything special happen to you at level eight?
Brandon: Not much. I got some abilities for improvements, so I am up to 20 on my wisdom. I'm maxed out.
Eric: Yeah!!
Brandon: And then I upped my constitution to 14, which means it is now +2 and I get some HP boosts there.
Eric: Nice!
Brandon: And then I got a wild shape improvement. But for the way that we have done with Tuna, it's not much of anything.
Eric: Tuna becomes a chonkier cat.
Amanda: Aww!
Brandon: And then I got one extra fourth level special slot.
Eric: Yeah bud!
Brandon: Yeah!
Eric: Right. Okay, yeah. Let's go to the next day on your schedule. Once again, you're meeting Dr. Morrow at 12:15 and then she'll show up at 12:30 to go over the brand manager stuff. And Dr. Morrow writes Another slip to Mr. Brewpot being like
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Milo has space flu. Don't ask me about it.
Eric: Mr. Brewpot texts you like
Eric: (as Mr. Brewpot): Milo, I'm sorry you have space flu, I don't know anything about space flu, but I do know things about regular flu and uh... Drink soup?
[Eric laughing]
Julia: Drink soup.
Amanda: What a dad.
Eric (as Mr. Brewpot): Don't come in!
Brandon: Milo sends back gif of the alien exploding from the chest.
Eric: Nice, very fair fair fair. All three of you get a text from a number that you don't recognize. This group text also has January on it and it goes,
Eric (as text): Hey! It's Emily. So my second favorite crime fighters doing?
[Amanda gasps]
Julia: How did - I don't like the January's involved in this.
Julia: I immediately sidebar with the two of you in January and I'm like,
Amanda (as Aggie): January how did Emily get your number?
Eric (as January): Oh, hey, yeah. So Emily wanted more communication with Dr. Morrow. And then Dr. Morrow said, "I never had a cell phone" and jumped out the window. So I offered not actually but kind of actually she had a jetpack on and just went right through the chimney.
Julia (as Val): I kind of figured, to be honest, I didn't think she just would jump out of the window without, like, a parachute backpack or something like that.
Eric (as January): Oh, yeah. We didn't know she had the jetpack on, but she was wearing a Jansport and it turned into a jetpack.
Julia (as Val): I mean, like, that would just be my assumption, you know?
Amanda (as Aggie): Why doesn't she share these with us?
Eric (as January): I think we would lose a lot of the prestige if you everyone could do it. Think it's more about the like - you have the pledge. You have the reveal.
Julia (as Val): It's very showy. We get it.
Eric (as January): I watched The Prestige last night.
Julia (as Val): Was it good?
Eric (as January): It was pretty good. It was really good. So, yeah, I'm like, I, I she - Emily kind of assumed I was Dr. Morrow'sassistant, so I guess I gave her my number. So I'm the go between there.
Amanda (as Aggie): Rude, 'kay thanks.
Amanda: Can I roll investigation or insight on Emily's tone or motives. Like what kind of discerned from her emoji choice.
Eric: Do an insight check, that's fine.
[Dice rolls]
Amanda: Nat 20.
Eric: Jesus Christ!!
Julia: Oh hell yeah!!
Amanda: That's a 25 if you needed the modifier.
[Julia laughs]
Eric: God damn. As someone practiced in the art of texting jujitsu,
Brandon: Yeah, you know, Aggie's so good with texting
Eric: As communicating with people who know less than you, but you don't want to communicate to them that you know more than them. Yeah. You know, Emily knows something. You've also been looking into your own context with a nat 20. I'll give this to you. Emily has her own set of contacts as well. Like she also seems pretty plugged in, but she goes through more traditional channels, like this whole thing about her theoretically being stamped by the police commissioner,
Amanda: Of course Emily loves cops.
[Eric and Brandon laughing]
Eric: She has her own network where she finds that information because she is she's doing a lot of the heavy lifting on behalf of the Upcountry Keepers
Amanda: Sure.
Eric: She is the brains and the leader and the money and like she has a bunch of guys who can turn into shit.
Amanda: Yeah. I assume that she knows something, which is why she's reaching out, I guess. Specifically, do I get the sense that this is like too soon after last night? And that's probably what she's referring to.
Eric: It is not suspicious. If she texted you last night, that would be really, really quick. But she'd probably be able to figure out that like there was a firefight out at a warehouse and someone heard about it. But like, you don't know who it came from. Did the cops tell her? Are the cops probably on the take from organized crime, from the mob? That's confusing. Probably like someone was out there, like doing swamp stuff because that's their Friday night. They heard something like a hyper local place might have reported on it. There's a constellation of things that could have told her this, and she's following up with you the day, but that morning. So it is traditional and regular, but not like incredibly fast.
Amanda: Alright. I think I'll respond to the text with Emily
Amanda (as Aggie): Nm, you?
Brandon: Amanda is a real life face was very proud of that.
Julia: Passive aggressive. I love it.
Amanda: And then in parentheses,
Amanda (as Aggie): I've been studying abbreviations
Eric: And Emily says,
Eric (as Emily): So did you hear anything about what went on out in the swamps? I heard it was wild. And I heard scuttlebutt that Kilonva and Preserver were out there.
Julia: Val just texts back
Julia (as Val): What is scuttlebutt?
Brandon: And Milo hearts Val's text.
Amanda: I think I'm going to say
Amanda (as Aggie): I'm not sure this is a secure channel. Do you want to meet up tomorrow?
Eric (as Emily): Yeah, I know that sounds great. Do you have time today, I give you a call.
Amanda (as Aggie): Maybe in the evening? I don't think phones are good. Tell me where to meet you.
Brandon and Julia: [Laughing] I don't think phones are good.
Eric (as Emily): Listen, I have some stuff today, but tonight, there's uh - we get a drink somewhere. I know this great place. I'll send you - I'll send you a pin!
Amanda (as Aggie): I'll see you there.
Eric (as Emily): Hey, January, you think Dr. Morrow could join us too?
Amanda: I'm going to side bar and say "NO!" in all capitals,
Eric: [Laughing] I was rolling deception for January to see if they would lie. I rolled a 2.
Amanda: Oh, no.
Eric: So January is like.
[Beat of silence]
Eric (as January): No.
Eric: With a period.
Julia: Honestly good.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: And Emily says,
Eric (as Emily): Alright, just Preserver it and listen, you can feel free to wear your costume, uncostumed, whatever. I'm going as me. You'll see me, I'll have the sword. But however you want to come on, just anticipate both types. Both flavors, both sides of the same coin.
Julia: I"'m going as me, I'll have a sword" is such a power move.
[Everyone laughing]
Amanda: I think Aggie will respond:
Amanda (as Aggie): I also just learned about incognito mode. So I'll be doing that.
Eric: Wonderful.
Amanda: I just wanted you to know that I been driving up to Dr. Morrow's place this whole time, and has been like signaling and pulling over and putting her hazards on every time there's a new message.
[Eric and Brandon laughing]
Julia: Oh my god Aggie.
Amanda: Aggie loves safety.
Eric: Incredible. Wonderful. So we'll speed up to Dr. Morrow place. We're back in the conference room as Dez, and January are there waiting for all of you. You do your usual office, small talk where Dez talks about Walking Dead again and
Brandon (as Milo): Dez, it's been like 15 seasons. And they're all the same season. They're terrible. It's a bad show. They just kill off actors so they can keep their costs low. It's you need to watch some better media.
Julia (as Val): But but Milo don't they have to, like, have stakes in a in a postapocalyptic television series, like you got to kill off characters or else there's no stakes.
Brandon (as Milo): Not when there is no stakes. When you kill off characters as a matter of practice, then it's just, "oh, I have no I don't want to I don't want to get attached to anyone because they're all going to die!"
Eric (as Dez): You know, the wild thing is, is that it's kind of like it's routine, like in the way that my favorite sitcoms, like, you know, like girlfriends, you know, the same thing happens every single time. And I can rewatch that. I've rewatched all of it. But like, the chaos is actually routine, so what?
Julia (as Val): Right, like it it's almost like satisfying because of that, right?
Eric (as Dez):Yeah!
Julia (as Val): I have never seen Walking Dead. This is just an assumption that I am making.
Eric (as Dez): Yeah, it's fine.
Brandon (as Milo): Dez, have you watched Breaking Bad yet you just watch Breaking Bad instead.
Eric (as Dez): I mean, I gotta finish- I gotta finish Walking Dead-
Julia (as Val): Girlfriends!
Eric (as Dez): And the spin off. And I got to watch Airlfriends again. Yeah. You know, those were produced by Kelsey Grammer? Wild.
Brandon (as Milo): Was it really?
Eric (as Dez): Yeah.
Eric: Dr. Morrow whooshes in holding two iced coffees and it seems like both are for her.
Julia (as Val): Right on time for being late. You know, like, like the lateness seems calculated?
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): I told you, January, didn't I say what was going to happen? That everyone should show up 15 minutes early and I would be there on time at the time that I said I would.
Eric (as January): Yeah, we established that. I do think that we could get them a little bit closer just for everybody.
Julia (as Val): We could just show up later. That's all I'm saying, you know.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): NO! I need everyone to be here. So we're on time because we're doing things! Like we're doing today!
Julia (as Val): What is we showed up like five minutes before you're scheduled to show up, instead of fifteen minutes before -
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): [Yelling] It's ruining my patterns!!! What about doing science?!
Julia (as Val): Sorry.
Amanda (as Aggie): Does of the one of your cups say doctor and one of them says Mayor?
Eric: [Laughing] Yes, it does. A hundred percent.
Amanda (as Aggie): I respect it.
Eric: Behind Dr. Morrow as she whooshed in and yelled at you about science. You see that there is a woman in her mid twenties, a Latina woman in my head, she'd fit in on the Freeform show, The Bold Type.
Amanda: Mhm, mhm, mhm.
Julia: Okay, okay, I know what you're talkin' about.
Eric: Thank you yeah.
Amanda: Like big blazers?
Eric: Yeah, yeah yeah yeah. She's wearing a black t shirt with the logo for the LTC mountain lobster's the one that we have in our merch store, but instead of Lake Town City it says Break Town City. She's also wearing grey slacks with like a black and white check on them and incredibly, incredibly white converse. She also has like a big black loose curls, but most noticeably she's holding it is very, very large silver camper canteen, that she has now just opened up and poured into the cap where she is poured coffee and immediately just down it as Dr. Morrow is yelling at all of you about science.
Amanda (as Aggie): The thermos is so large and the cup is so dainty.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: And Dr. Morrow says,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): So I reached out to my contacts at the Office of Technology Assessment and they put together some people here. But it turns out that Carmen is the perfect person for us to work with. They've already been certified and recertified and background checked, so we know that they're not a supervillain in disguise. I realized the way that I said that did not instill confidence. But it is. That is true. That is kind of like what it said on the briefing that I got. She is not - you're not you're not a supervillain in disguise.
Eric: Carmen has poured another cup of coffee into the top. It is just drinking it and she shakes her head.
Eric (as Carmen): Uh, no.
Brandon (as Milo): Do you not do your own independent research Dr. Morrow?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh, no, I do. But sometimes you're splitting atoms and you don't have time!
Julia (as Val): Milo.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): And you have to - and sometimes I offload that and I - listen, I trust the people at the Office of Technology Assessment. Don't worry, they are the best in the business and we have a very close relationship.
Brandon (as Milo): Doctor, that's a bomb. You just made a bomb.
Julia (as Val): That's what happens when you split atoms. Just makes bombs, even I know that.
Amanda (as Aggie): Hey, Carmen, I'm Preserver. How are you?
Eric: Carmen swallows the rest of her coffee and cues up the slide show. She goes,
Eric (as Carmen): [Sighs heavily, blows a raspberry] Ooof, okay. Hmm.
Brandon (as Milo): It is early for you or? I was just kidding.
Julia (as Val): What time is this meeting at?
Amanda (as Aggie): It's 12:30.
Eric (as Carmen): I know. I just um, I'm just kinda tired...
Brandon (as Milo): I'm here, and awake!
Eric (as Carmen): No, listen, we're all. Listen, I know -
Brandon (as Milo): You must be catatonic!
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah, I just, you know, on some level, we all wish we were dead, so it's fine.
Julia (as Val): Valid.
Brandon (as Milo): Don't I know it!
Brandon: And then I wink.
Julia: Boo.
Eric (as Carmen): that's all that's relevant. That's relevant for your brand. That's actually really, really good. Thank you. Okay, let's get started.
Eric: She clicks. It's her name.
Eric (as Carmen): Hello. Hello, I am Carmen De La Paz, De La Paz. All three different words, P A Z at the end. Um so I just wanted to know before we get everything going, I just want to run through some quick things. I realize that you might not be the same, but this is something I've been working on the Office of Technological Assessment for me to introduce myself. So this is what we're going to do.
Eric: This she clicks to another slide that has so many bullets on it.
Amanda: Aggie already amazed that her remote works.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah so I was named after the opera. No, I haven't seen it. Yes, I have seen Carmen Sandiego. Is it like my last name? No, that's from Mexico where my dad is from. But he and my mom and their respective new husbands, they all live in Minnesota. But I moved here for college and I never left. Yes, I speak Spanish at home. No, not for you here. Yes, there is a different Carmen De La Paz. I don't watch HDTV, but I do know she's a lesbian, which I think is very cool. But that's really it. That's the extent that I know about her. She's from Puerto Rico, which is not where my family is from, because once again, they're from Minnesota. So just like everyone, just please keep up. And that's everything you need to know about me.
Amanda (as Aggie): Do people ask you these invasive questions?
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah, that's why I to put it on a slide, that's, you know.
Amanda (as Aggie): I get it. I'm sorry. People are terrible. If you wan me to beat anybody up like I'm a superhero, so.
Eric (as Carmen): No, I really it's like it's like that thing, you know, when you look at a sign and you're like, "oh, that sign tells a story" just like this, this slide also tells tells a story.
Amanda (as Aggie): No, I get it.
Eric (as Carmen): I once saw a sign when I was vacationing. I went with my parents to Hawaii. Well, with my mom and my dad and their respective husbands. And we went to Hawaii and there was a sign that said "high winds watch out for bees!" And that that's and I told a story. Well, it's like this slide.
[Everyone laughing]
Amanda (as Aggie): Well, you're good at storytelling, I'm I'm transported.
Brandon (as Milo): Is this the danger fun room?! Is this is this a test?!
Julia (as Val): Milo. Shut up. I want this to be real.
Eric: She clicks on that slide, where it's a photo of her at various times, like someone across the street taking photos of her walking out of Thornhill Coffee's all over Lake Town City.
Amanda: Oh my God.
Eric (as Carmen): You might also recognize me as someone who gets a macchiato. with six shots in it from Thornhill. I can expense it. It's great. No, I don't care if you're behind me. I need these six shots. Obviously, I have a lot to do. No. And now we'll get into specific things. So!
Eric: And she clicks the next slide,
Eric (as Carmen): What is a brand manager? A brand manager is someone who helps you be your best self on the Internet. No, I can't get you followed by anybody else that's on how it works. Unless Dr. Morrow has a free will machine, which I hope that she doesn't because that has really bad implications for larger things. But I can get you other free stuff if that's what you want. But we have to go on to get the thing going. So like, I don't know if Vulcani wanted fire things or if the Preserver wanted to tree things?
Amanda (as Aggie): Uh?
Eric (as Carmen): Or, you know, Kilonova wanted space things, we could we could figure that out.
Julia (as Val): Cool.
Eric (as Carmen): Oh, hold on.
Eric: And she pours more coffee through the cup, takes it like a shot. She's like,
Eric (as Carmen): Alright, here we go.
Julia (as Val): Do you own an espresso machine?
Eric (as Carmen): I do, but I have not figured out how to use it.
Brandon (as Milo): I don't think anyone has.
Julia (as Val): Do you want help with that? Because I could help with that. I know how-
Eric (as Carmen): They're so confusing,
Julia (as Val): My people invented that.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric (as Carmen): I have so many - I just have so many things to do. And it's -
Julia (as Val): Okay.
Eric (as Carmen): I'm just going to - I'll take care of it. Well, I can do you I can get you out there. I'll run the socials and make the strategy, get people to spell your names right. Because Vulcani has a you and Kilonova is like the metric system and Preserver doesn't have a "the" at the beginning and people should really just fucking know that. So we can definitely make sure that all that stuff comes together and we'll make sure to keep it away from your actual IRL socials, I realize that's an Internet thing that would usually be for IRL, in real life as opposed to the real life and the Internet life. But you have three you have an Internet life, you have your regular enough life, and you have your IRL. Your IRL is everything that you do as a regular person. So your real life, not your your powered life. So you're your IPL, your empowered life.
Julia (as Val): Wow. I never thought of it like that.
Eric (as Carmen): Mmm I know, I'm pretty - I'm pretty. I thought of it and I wrote it down.
Eric: And she takes another shot of coffee.
Amanda: Aggie is tearing up a little bit. This is she feels very seen.
Brandon: Milo feels like he's back in fucking seventh or eighth grade algebra. And it's just like.
Brandon (as Milo): Yeah, Mr. Mr. Powell, I totally get what you're talking about. This makes sense. Math.
Eric: She then goes to the next slide and it just says, "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT" in big letters.
Julia (as Val): I love this slide.
Brandon (as Milo): Is that the Douglas Adams reference? That's that's pretty good. We're bonding.
Eric (as Carmen): What?
Brandon (as Milo): Cool!
Eric (as Carmen): Oh, in the most def movie?
Brandon (as Milo): Yep, uh huh.
[Eric laughs]
Brandon: And then Milo goes back to pushing the piece of paper in front of him.
Eric (as Carmen): So I can see how some people here are thinking about or really it's it's a little hard for you to think. The best part about the whole thing is that this is my job and not your job. So as long as you just, like, do what I tell you to do, this will all go kind of better and then you won't have to think about it.
Amanda (as Aggie): Is this the part where we can ask questions?
Eric (as Carmen): Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah! Just give me one second,
Eric: And she goes the next slide. And it's a big graphic of David S. Pumpkins that says "any questions?"
Amanda (as Aggie): Thank you. Yeah, I'm sorry to anticipate sorry.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah now it's temporary. It's alright. Remember, questions need to be questions. They can't just be you saying things.
Julia: Val is silent.
[Eric and Brandon laugh]
Amanda (as Aggie): So how do we become more popular and better than the Upcountry Keepers without looking like we are trying to be more popular and better than them because they suck.
Eric (as Carmen): Mmmmm, yeah yeah yeah.
Brandon (as Milo): Is it murder?
Eric (as Carmen): No, that would be bad. I don't like that you said that in a professional setting.
Brandon (as Milo): I said it out loud?
Eric (as Carmen): You did.
Brandon (as Milo): Oh,
Eric (as Carmen): You shouldn't have said that in a professional setting.
Eric: January also looks at you strangely.
Amanda: Dez is shaking his head slowly in the background.
[Eric and Brandon laugh]
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah, well, we yeah, we can definitely we can definitely work on a lot of this stuff. I think that the main thing is that you don't - don't acknowledge anyone else who you hate on the internet because it's a real like - let the haters - so you can generally talk about the haters. I think that's totally that's totally fine. But, um, yeah, I just don't don't acknowledge them. If they tag you in something, don't like it. People follow that like you're real. The closest people who do who knows much about social as I do. Like yeah. They'd be able to really break that stuff down and they'll see that like "oh you don't follow each other. Oh my God!" So yeah. Just don't engage I think is the main thing. But I do have, I have plans for all of you. I would - is this a I didn't start by saying this. Is this a "we say IRL names here?" Are we just say PL names here? Like how should I?
Julia (as Val): Well you already know, our our IRL name correct?
Eric (as Carmen): I do know both. It was more of a question like, are we a place that should I call you that? Or how would you like to be called?
Julia (as Val): Well, I mean, Dr. Morrow, and Dez, and January all know our real names, so I'm fine with you calling us our real names.
Eric (as Carmen): Cool. Cool, cool. Cool, cool.
Brandon (as Milo): Yeah!
Eric (as Carmen): Great. Yeah. Cool.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah. I actually have a I just have a I'm sorry to cause problems for you at work, but I've kind of like a maybe a thing you should know about.
Eric (as Carmen): Oh no, no I - we will. I have individual. I mean questions and answers also, I have questions for you.
Amanda (as Aggie): Oh! Okay.
Eric (as Carmen): Well, I know what you're going to say. We'll get - we'll get there.
Amanda (as Aggie): Wow, okay. Do you have powers?
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah, I'm really, I'm pretty good. I'm actually no, I'm just like really good at my job. And I run on coffee.
Brandon (as Milo): Dunkin?
Eric: And she drinks more.
Eric (as Carmen): NO! That that is swill! I don't need that Boston shit anywhere close to me!! Thornhill until I die! And Thornhill isn't even that good. It's just like the baseline of my shit.
[Brandon laughing]
Eric (as Carmen): Oh, God.
Julia (as Val): Are you like into that coffee where it's like the monkey eats that certain kind of coffee and then it poops it out and then they make the coffee out of that?
Eric (as Carmen): Oh fuck. Yeah, dude, if it wasn't like a thousand dollars and I didn't already try to expense it once like I would. Oh they're actually they're civets so.
Julia (as Val): Oh ok.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah. Yeah, so I have gotten all of you social handles.
Eric: Carmen has gotten you whatever social handles you'd like! Players, what would your socials for your superhero thing. What would you like it to be?
Julia (as Val): Vulcani.
Julia: Val is not creative.
Amanda: Val's quite creative. I think just not with social.
Eric: I think @Vulcani is a one hundred percent thing. Julia, could I posit to you that Vulcani was already taken? So it's _Vulcani.
Amanda: The underscore is the queerest punctuation mark.
Julia: You know what, I'm going to go for Vulcani_ rather than _Vulcani.
Eric: Bang. DM says Yes, I love that.
Julia: Great.
Amanda: And I think mine is PreserverLTC and if they could have gotten Preserver, I really want LTC in there.
Eric: Well PreserverLTC is good. We'll get that.
Brandon: Should I just be like @WhenNeutronStarsCollide.
[Amanda laughing]
Eric: Too long! Unfortunately, too long.
Brandon: Too long, too long? I think it would be at Kilonova, but all the O's are 0's.
Julia: Oh so LEET.
Eric: Bang bang bang! We have a goddamn winner. Ding, ding, ding!
[Transition note]
Amanda: Hey, it's Amanda this week, I want to package up all of the warm fuzzies that the midroll brings me and you each week, and give it as a birthday present to listener Eva. We're so happy you're part of our community and we hope you have a very, very good 10th birthday. I want to thank each and every one of our supporters on Patreon, and the people who joined this week: StaciaAnn, Joe, Barry, Lisa, Paula, and ForstVarg. And special thanks to InPursuitofTea and Claire who became annual patrons! If you sign up for an annual plan, you get a 15% discount, and we really appreciate it. But no matter what plan you’re on, your support helps us keep making this show. We’re so grateful to everyone who makes it a priority each month to support creators. If you want to be part of our patreon family, we are always looking for more people to come in! You get our discord, NPC stories, and ALL THE STUFF THAT’S BEEN THERE FOR FOUR YEARS OF PATREON. So if you’re able, please do join us for as little as $5 at patreon.com/jointhepartypod.
Okay, people, it's time after months of planning, years of hoping and dozens and dozens of your suggestions prompts reminders, please, we finally made Join the Party dice. That's right. I'm pausing here for you to scream and cry and get really excited. I sure did when I held them for the first time. They are also not just dice for Join the Party, they're dice for humans, based on our favorite human Chad. Get your bright green. Join the Party font, our logo on a nat20 dice set at Join the Party pod . Com / chad. My favorite URL I've ever made for the show. It also has a little a little Chad smiley face that says "Oh no" in it on the on the ones. And I cannot tell you how happy it makes me now when I roll nat ones, I giggle instead of crying, I giggle and then cry. You know. You are buying them also at a staggering rate. So if we sell out, we will put up preorder for the second round. But if you definitely want dice as soon as the warehouse can ship them, you will want to act on that now. It's Join the Party pod . com / chad and you get a discount if you buy a Chad pin at the same time, it's the Chad bundle. You're welcome. Oh, and speaking of our dice! the live show was amazing. It was so fun. We all use our Chad days and I think we rolled pretty well. Thank you to everybody who came out. We have an exclusive sticker as well based on the live show Big Bad in the merch store. So if you missed it, don't worry, you can still grab the VOD copy and catch up on all the excitement. Get that copy at Join the Party pod . Com / live.
This episode is brought to you by Magic Spoon. I was not a huge cereal eater growing up, but now if it's like late at night, I don't really feel like eating, but I should eat and I'm hungry, cereal is absolutely my go to, particularly now that non-dairy milks are so good and Magic Spoon is a keto friendly, gluten free, grain free, soy free, low carb, GMO free cereal. It also taste very good! Each serving is zero sugar, eleven grams of protein and three net grams of carbs. Mixing cocoa with peanut butter, by the way, it tastes exactly like a peanut butter cup and doubles as my dessert/dinner. So go to Magic Spoon . com / Join the Party to grab a variety pack and try it today. Be sure to use our promo code, Join the Party at checkout and you will get free shipping Magic Spoon is so confident in their product it's back with a 100 percent happiness guarantee. So if you don't like it for any reason at all, they'll refund your money. No questions asked. That's at Magic Spoon . com / join the party and use the code Join the Party to get free shipping.
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[Transition note]
Amanda: Was Carmen able to get LT3 for us?
Eric: Yes, she was!
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, so I got you all these socials
Eric: And we throw we have the socials up there that already has like a poster, too, and like some shots of like taken from newspapers that have taken photos of you or stuff that she found online as your profile pictures.
Eric (as Carmen): So we're just going to start with Instagram here. I think that we just really need to convey you on social on like in images. I think that's the best way to get across the whole powered thing. We don't need you to - I don't want to say we don't need you to speak, but like Twitter is where all the fucking nerds talk about how sick you are. But we just got to put photos of you.
Julia (as Val): I'm told I'm very popular on Tumblr.
Eric (as Carmen): Mmmm, yeah, I saw that. I definitely saw that. It definitely is. It's a little narrow - it's a little narrowcast. It is bi, lesbian, and queer folk in Little Italy who have come out to their parents and they're accepting of it. So bigger than you think it would be. But also, nah, it's it's very narrow, very narrowcast.
Julia (as Val): I'd say a pretty good demographic I'm not going to complain.
Eric (as Carmen): It's a hundred percent your core demographic. I'm just saying it's a little narrow so we can go from there. But that is a very good, we will push we'll push them to the to the Instagram for sure.
Amanda (as Aggie): I haven't a Reddit identity that cannot be compromised.
[Brandon laughing]
Eric (as Carmen): Also like kind of a strange thing to say, in a professional business. But okay, let's keep going.
Brandon: What was more strange? Murder or the Reddit identity.
Eric: Equal. Equal definitely. No, it was murder Brandon!
[Brandon laughs]
Eric (as Carmen): We also we got an Instagram for all of you. It's @ElTeeThree, all spelled out. So e-l t-e-e three the full word.
Brandon (as Milo): Wonderful.
Eric (as Carmen): I thought that was just kind of that was just kind of fun.
Brandon (as Milo): Do we have like a URL or anything?
Eric (as Carmen): Oh yeah. There's links, it links back to that. In general, I mean, like, you know, Instagram, does that have the URL. And I'll run all that stuff we have will, you know, as people take photos of you, it's interesting. It's a lot like we're scraping with things people are already doing. We could do it like a lot of reposting and just kind of like we are the own hub for this stuff. And then we'll give them some exclusive stuff if you want to, as you're training and all that good stuff.
Amanda (as Aggie): Um... Are we doing anything wrong that we should stop doing get out and about?
Julia: Uh oh.
Amanda (as Aggie): Oh, sorry. I just I want feedback. I'm I'm kind of my own boss and I don't really get any feedback.
Eric (as Carmen): I mean, I guess it's just like between you and Jesus. But...
[Everyone laughs]
Eric (as Carmen): I just I'm super I'm super kidding. No, it's totally fine. I think that the thing, you know, the the word is absolutely not. We're actually kind of off and running because Quinn O'Hare shared the thing that you did in the thing you did around winter, saving that that guy. The guy the diner restaurant thing that was really that was actually really great, so we're off and running. So no, I think that it's more about we have to do something. Doing nothing is the wrong thing. We have to do something about your superhero things, especially because the stuff that the UpCountry Keepers is doing is so tacky. So. No, it's good. Okay, so I have some questions for you here, let's start, we'll start there. Aggie so like, what's up with your siblings?
Amanda: Hang on, I'm going to do the thing with Eric rolls a die without saying what it is.
Brandon: Haha!! Hah!
Eric: Damn, roasted.
Brandon: Can you go "hee hee hee hee"
Amanda: Hee hee hee hee.
[Brandon laughing]
Amanda: Yeah. I just wondered if I could be honest about Danny and she is! So
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah. All my siblings have powers, all of them are famous, most of them don't actually use their powers to do the thing that they're famous for. But yeah I actually Dez could you,
Amanda: And then Dez helps me carry in the painting. I had it stowed off to the side in the pantry.
Amanda (as Aggie): My brother Danny is a very famous artist and he exerts sort of an emotional mental influence over people who see his paintings in person, imbues them with like an impulse or a thought or feeling that people walk away with. It's not mind control. It is making someone disposed towards something they might have already wanted to do or just giving doubt in their head. It's fucked up and I don't like it. And we recovered this last night, Dr. Morrow from a warehouse in the marshes.
Julia: Now Eric, Val didn't have this information until this exact moment...
Eric: Correct, correct.
Julia: Is there a roll or something that I should make where Val might realize that this happened to them? Or should Val go under the assumption that, "oh, that didn't happen to me. This is just a group my aunt showed me."
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: Yes, that's a great question. Make an insight check, this like you're con saving against yourself.
[Dice rolls]
Julia: 10.
Eric: 10, yeah, I can. That explains why Aunt Min wanted that.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah. I want you to be very honest with me Amanda. Please, was there a sheet or something over the painting?
Amanda: Yes, there was. I was getting Aggie definitely wrapped it in a bed sheet before she put it under the couch to protect it, but also to protect other people from the influence.
Eric: Great, wonderful Dr. Morrow immediately like stands up and is ready to, like, grab it and go test it.
Amanda (as Aggie): Uh Dez, can you help me with a pop culture reference? It only affects you if you look at it with your own eyes, not like through a mirror or through a phone or a picture or something like that.
Eric (as Dez): Oh yeah. It's like modern Medusa rules. I think that's pretty good.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, that's the one.
Eric: Dr. Morrow says.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh yeah, absolutely. I have special mirrored glasses that point out and then come back just for things like this is like the way that prisms you look forward!
Eric: And she explains about prisms for like ten minutes. And then she said, she says,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): I guess I'm going to definitely analyze this. Absolutely.
Amanda (as Aggie): I don't actually know what the effect of this one is. So let's just be really careful until we know otherwise.
Eric: Carmen says.
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, brother, that's a good painter, things with emotion and feeling okay. What are the other ones? Are they - do they know you're doing this?
Amanda (as Aggie): No, they don't know that I'm doing it, except for my sister Quinn, who has sticky hands. I say that to embarrass her. She yeah, she can like, make a elemental kind of connection, chemical connection with other other substances and stick to them. And she was obviously photographed doing stuff with us, but she is otherwise just a famous actor. My sister Cassie lives in Berlin most of the time she's a tattoo artist, famous on Instagram, kind of imbues powers in people when she, uh, she tattoos them.
Brandon (as Milo): What?!
Eric (as Carmen): Ahhh yeah, yeah.
Julia (as Val): So like you can use this to tattoo me? That a we can make happen? That's sounds cool as shit.
Amanda (as Aggie): Her waiting list is four years long, but I will put in a good word.
Eric: Dr. Morrow says,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): I assume that's a secret. That's a secret thing that she gives powers to people.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yes. Yes.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): And they don't know, they're just kind of like stoked on it?
Amanda (as Aggie): Yep. Mhmm!
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yeah, let's not, yeah, that should - hmm.
Julia (as Val): We should control that, huh?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Hmm, it's not great, it's not great. No, it's not great.
Eric: [Laughing] Dr. Morrow like uncomfortably sits in a chair, like both of her feet are up.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Not great! Not great! Not great!
Amanda (as Aggie): My my sister Regan... Ummm we just we just called her the vibrator as kids. We didn't really realize what that meant.
Julia (as Val): Oh no!
[Eric and Brandon laugh]
Amanda (as Aggie): She - she uh she can move matter with sound waves and she's a musician! Which makes sense. So how much she might move people backward or forward or up to jump, I don't really know. I've never asked or have asked and she hasn't told me. Ryan -gills pretty straight forward.
Brandon: Clap your hands! [Forceful] No, seriously, clap your hands!
Eric: Ahhh! I can't stop! Jump with the beat! Jump.
[Brandon laughing]
Amanda (as Aggie): Ryan Gill's pretty straightforward. And Kelly. Uhhhhhhh. [Quickly] Kelly starts a lot of fires.
Brandon and Julia: What?
Amanda (as Aggie): But in a in a controlled way and just heat and stuff. Yeah, that one I don't really know as much about stuff with fire. So um uhhh that's her.
Eric (as Carmen): Mmm, um. Oh, okay, I'll take that all under consideration. Sounds good. They're all, I was more asking like, would they be cool about you doing this and then maybe, like, post some stuff like, no, that's actually really important to know. Thank you.
Amanda (as Aggie): Oh uhh...
Eric (as Carmen): No, no, no. It's cool. It's cool. I uh, then I can you know, I love knowing secrets. It's like so good. I love it. I'm addicted to it. I love them. Addicted to secrets. I love drama. I love secrets. And thank you. I really appreciate them.
Brandon (as Milo): And coffee, am I right? High five!
Eric (as Carmen): Alright, Milo let's go to you now. Okay.
Amanda (as Aggie): It just occurred to me that Kelly can always have beverages, the exact temperature she wants them and I'm pretty jealous now.
Brandon (as Milo): That's delightful.
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, so Kilonova. I guess my main question is, where do you go when they're doing the when they're doing cool shit?
Brandon (as Milo): Are you saying that I don't do cool shit?
Eric (as Carmen): No, it's okay. Well, according to the way that perception is reality and theoretically you are like a ghost out there. So I'm not saying that it's more of the public record is. So here just some examples, I guess, to respond to
Eric: Skip to another one of someone taking a photo of Preserver and Vulcani outside of the museum fighting the gigabear.
Eric (as Carmen): So where - where were you? Where were you?
Brandon (as Milo): I was saving the citizen that was inside of the museum.
Amanda (as Aggie): My sister Quinn.
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, well, there was just some guy named Milo Lane there. Kilonova wasn't there.
Brandon (as Milo): Right, yeah, because Milo was saving the guy in the citizen.
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, that's fine. We'll go to the next one.
Brandon (as Milo): You know that's where I work, right?
Eric: There's there's a photo of Preserver fighting the cowboy on the bear, Jeff. And then there's another one of Vulcani outside of the Thornhill Roasters, like dealing with the guy who's who eats tons of shit.
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, so then what? We have some - what were you doing? In there in - during the winter when they were doing these things, what were you doing?
Brandon (as Milo): I was helping Dr. Morrow with her, with her own problem.
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, yeah.
Eric: Dr. Morrow's like,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Turns out I'm never going to die! It's wonderful. Thank you, Milo.
Brandon (as Milo): You're welcome! You are never going - you are immortal.
Julia (as Val): Milo. Milo you - you can't tell her that! That's irresponsible.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yes, I. I knew it! I knew it!
Brandon (as Milo): Look, if there's any person that's immortal it's going to be Dr. Morrow.
Eric (as Carmen): This isn't supposed to make - listen, this isn't meant to make you feel bad or anything. It's more like just. I know that you're part of the team, this is the best superhero team in the city, if not the entire eastern seaboard, I, you know, do more than just like get get out there, do stuff with the powers on that all. That's my main that's my homework to you. Okay? Just do - do some stuff that mmmm I don't know or a bunch of people are there and take a photo of you and everyone will cheer, and cheer your name and make you feel better and make your social media feel better. All of that.
Brandon (as Milo): Okay.
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, let's go to Val.
Julia (as Val): Hey.
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, so I think the only thing we have here is that especially because your fashion thing is... That we might need to separate you and Vulcani's look a little bit right now. Here's a photo of you.
Eric: She said she takes a photo of you and casts it on the screen. It's just what you're wearing currently. And the next slide is
Eric (as Carmen): And here's a photo of Vulcani.
Eric: And it literally just like looks like you with gauntlets on.
Julia (as Val): Okay, to be fair, it's a different colored jacket. And I got those sunglasses on.
Eric (as Carmen): Listen, we can decide on either side if you want to do it or Vulcani wants to do it. Just uhhhhh, one of you needs to change. I don't know I else to say that, like, imagine both of you went out or are going out and you're wearing the same thing one of you needs to change.
Amanda: Julia looks so sad.
Julia: Val's just staring blankly at the screen like.
Julia (as Val): But I don't wanna...
Eric (as Carmen): Just like little bit just something I don't, you know, they make leather jackets and different colors. Different color -
Julia (as Val): The leather jackets are already different colors!
[Brandon laughs]
Eric (as Carmen): You know, don't wear flannel when you're when you're fighting, you know, that's it.
Julia (as Val): I'm trying not to I mean, like, it's cold out there. You know, you got a layer.
Eric (as Carmen): Listen, I have. Listen, this is just my job. I'm here to tell you things.
Julia (as Val): No I understand and I appreciate what you're doing. And if you have recommendations as to what I could do to make, I guess, Vulcani's outfits different, I, I am willing to listen.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah just like -
Julia (as Val): But I'm not going to personally change my own style.
Eric (as Carmen): No, that's fine. It was whichever you want to do, whichever you were more attached to.
Julia (as Val): Okay, Vulcani?
Eric (as Carmen): Maybe Vulcani shouldn't wear flannel. Let's try that.
Julia (as Val): Okay, maybe I could put like flames on the leather jacket to make it more distinguished.
Eric (as Carmen): Mmmm... No... No just go to two layers. Let's just start with two layers and go from there. There's a little bit of leverage.
Julia (as Val): Okay, can I just zip the jacket up so you can't see the flannel?
Eric (as Carmen): Great, sounds great, no flannel also zip up the jacket.
Julia (as Val): Okay...
Eric (as Carmen): So we were it's we're not I don't we don't have to decide it out here. [Sighs] It's just, mmm, working with super - working with super heroes. I thought it would be fun. I thought it'd be like being in a comic book.
Brandon (as Milo): Do you need more coffee? It seems like you're falling asleep -
Eric (as Carmen): I'm fine with the amount of coffee I have!
Eric: She takes another - a full slug from the full canteen.
Amanda: Aggie texts Val under the table.
Amanda (as Aggie): I am in awe of her digestive system.
Julia (as Val): I don't know what's happening.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia (as Val): Listen, I am just like solutions oriented, so I want to solve the problem now rather than figure it out later, you know?
Eric (as Carmen): No, that's fine. We'll figure. We'll definitely figure it out. The last thing. Is there a Dezmond here?
Eric: Dez raises and be like
Eric (as Dez): Yeah, you can you can just call me Dez.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah, hi, I know that you're the inventor around here, could you make some just like could you just make some tight shit-
[Amanda laughs]
Eric (as Carmen): Dor them?
Eric (as Dez): Do you want uhhh? You want. Tight? Tight shit?
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah, just like some just some really cool, tight things that look really cool and help them and do things like that, just let your mind go whatever you want to do, that's fine.
Eric (as Dez): Okay.
Eric: And Dez you see Dez pulls out a yellow pad and writes "tight shit" really big with a Sharpie.
Eric (as Carmen): Anyway, that was my presentation. I'm going to uhh unless anyone else have any questions, I think that that's it and we'll come back together in a week for a check in as I run all of when I get the social media strategies up and running. So. Oooookay, later.
Eric: Dr. Morrow kind of like ends the meeting and you can all do kind of whatever you want to do.
Amanda (as Aggie): Thank you.
Julia (as Val): Yes, thank you, Carmen. It's good. It's good stuff.
Eric: She waves as she packs up her stuff and goes to leave.
Julia: Oh, actually, you know what? I had one more thing for Carmen that I just remembered that I want to ask about.
Eric: Yeah. Carmen is finishing the canteen of coffee in the corner.
Julia: Cool. I think Val goes over and is like
Julia (as Val): Carmen so hi, I great advice about the flannel, I appreciated it. So there are these guys that have a YouTube series.
Eric (as Carmen): Okay, you're going to have to be more specific than guys with YouTube series.
Julia (as Val): Oh, they will investigate the weird shit. One of the guys names is Bones, I think?
Eric (as Carmen): Ahhh mhm, mhm, mhm.
Julia (as Val): Yeah, you know which ones I'm talking about.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah. Bones Botti. Yeah, he's. He does nothing, nothing, right, and yet so popular.
Julia (as Val): Well, he did issue a very heartfelt apology last night about his practices.
Eric (as Carmen): I did, yeah, I did see - I did see that. That was strange. Did you have something to do with that?
Julia (as Val): A little bit.
Eric (as Carmen): Cool. Nice, cool.
Julia (as Val): Cool. Did I do a good job with that? Is that good. Was good for you.
Eric (as Carmen): No it was it. Yeah. The only thing about that, you know, it's great that you stopped me. I did want to ask you about this.
Eric: And she digs out her phone. There are some screenshots of people who took screenshots of the Instagram live session with the photo of you looking like you're caught, obviously, in the middle of doing something. So you're looking like "bleeeh" you're yelling at them, but you are outlined definitively in purple. And I think that there is sort of like "what's going on with this person. What is this?" But I think the screenshots also have like some weird, like abusive commenters that are just like the bullshit powered stuff that some of the commenters were saying before. So, like, they are equally focused on who is this person and where - because they also don't know where Bones is, because they turned off their location services, as a tease, and then you destroyed all of their shit. So no one necessarily knows where they are or who you are. And they're also like focused on the terrible commenters that kind of like popped in, in and out being like, "I guess they have power? They have powers. Do people have powers? That's why why are they purple?" It's like a lot of a lot of screenshots like that and like the laughing, crying emoji.
Julia: Mhm.
Eric (as Carmen): So I did want to talk to you about that. Now that I saw you in face. I do know you and that person and you and the things are the same.
Julia (as Val): Right. I did put on the sunglasses in hopes that it would obscure my face a bit more.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah, no, for sure, it totally did.
Julia (as Val): And make it less obvious who I am as a person.
Eric (as Carmen): It extremely did. I do not I do not know who you were.
Julia (as Val): Tight. That makes me feel better about the situation.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah. I mean, listen, I don't know how many people in your regular life watch have follow Bones Botti on Instagram?
Julia (as Val): I assume not a lot?
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah. But you know, it could be random or anything. I think that. Since all of a sudden that Instagram was shut down and this is kind of the only proof of this, you should be fine. If someone says something, I bet you can just be like "ey nobody messes with me like that ey, badda boom" and they leave you alone.
Julia (as Val): That is what I would say. Yes.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah. But like don't. Yeah. But be. Yeah. But like, I don't know. I think you should be fine, but this was definitely a close call, if there was any other evidence or it was still up there, something you would have been it would have been bad.
Julia (as Val): Alright. Well, I'm glad I checked in with you. I wanted to make sure that, like, if there was a thing that we could do to make it better, we would do that. But you seem to think it's okay for the time being. So I am okay with it being. For the time being.
Eric (as Carmen): Mhm. Yes. I think. Yeah.
Julia (as Val): I trust your judgment, Carmen.
Eric (as Carmen): Yeah listen, I'm trying my best, you know people think that they know, they know more just because it's social media but you know, real job. So okay, I hope it works out. I'll, I'll put some cool shots of you on the Instagram. Tell you you look really good from the left side.
Julia (as Val): Thank you.
Eric (as Carmen): That was a fun thing. I found out from looking at photos. Okay.
Julia (as Val): That's the side. My hair flops to, so that's usually my better side.
Eric (as Carmen): Well, you figured it out. You figured out all my secrets.
Julia (as Val): It solves the problem. Solved the puzzle.
Eric (as Carmen): Oh, no. One of my secrets they escaped. I like having all of the secrets. No.
Julia (as Val): Sorry. I apologize. Do you want to hear another secret to make up for that?
Eric (as Carmen): No, it's fine, I need to earn the secrets they need to be mine. Okay I'll see you later.
Julia (as Val): Okay.
Eric: And Carmen bounces, she gets on a moped and rides - just kidding. She's a regular person and you would see her walk off and get out of the sky tram like a regular person. Wonderful. Okay, so you've dropped off the painting. Dr. Morrow takes the painting. And is like
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): So I'm going to go analyze this. Do you have anything, any other science things you need to do?
Julia (as Val): No, no pressing science things for me, but thank you.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Mmm, okay.
Brandon (as Milo): Do you know anything about the People's River and or this mafia thing? Like what's their endgame? Why do they have a painting? Do we know any research?
Amanda (as Aggie): That reminds me. I also recovered two samples of things that I think they are trafficking.
Amanda: And I hand over the mushroom in the Ziploc baggie from the Knight of Mirrors and the test tube that I picked up. I have unbagged the test tube from its external Ziploc bag from the toilet.
[Brandon laughs]
Brandon: Is it still wet?
Amanda: No it is not.
Eric: Smart smart. God I hope not. Yeah Dr. Morrow says,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh, one thing to analyze, okay!
Eric: She grabs it and she looks at them and she's like.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): These are a truffle, and what looked to be, drug mushrooms.
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda (as Aggie): I think it's worth analyzing, so I certainly don't need either of them, and I thought it would be best if you looked into it, because this is something we found. And the Knight of Mirrors who was there yesterday wanted to, you know, in a show of collaboration, give us the sample so we could help track stuff down as well.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Hmm.
Brandon (as Milo): They're just like normal? Like they're not, you know, super mushrooms or anything like that?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh, no, they probably are. I was just at first glance, that's what they looked like. I mean, you can see that there's like that purple outline around it.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, I figured, um no, I can tell you I'll take a moment and I can look into these absolutely. Wonderful. If you really - you can just take one of these mushrooms, I'm sure will be cool.
[Brandon laughing]
Amanda (as Aggie): NO! Why am I the only one here who doesn't want to take mushrooms? Oh, my God!
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Experimentation. You know, experimentation is the is the way it is the way of life.
Julia (as Val): Aggie does not speak for all of us on this issue.
[Eric and Brandon laughing]
Eric: Wonderful. Okay, yeah. So I think Dr. Morrow is going to take some time to analyze this stuff unless you want to do that stuff. But yeah, that's all that's happening with the brand manager. Preserver, you have your interview with Average Bear today.
Amanda: Oh, great!
Julia: Fuuuun!
Eric: So you get a follow up email to that chain and now it is just directly to you. It is a tegan.murphy@averagebear.com and it says,
Eric (as Tegan): [Via email] Hey, Preserver, I listen, I'm doing a story on Lake Town City, and the LT3. I really want to talk to you today. I know that our teams have both corresponded on this place that you like to hang out or defend? I don't know, I've never interviewed a superhero before. So like wherever you want, I'll meet you there.
Eric: - Tegan below that, as their email signature says, "you'll see me, I'm the one with the teal."
[Everyone laughs]
Julia: I love that.
Amanda: They/them, Average Bear in the leather jacket.
Eric: Yes, exactly.
Amanda: Aggie panics and suggests a gas station in Company Town.
[Eric laughs]
Julia: Aggie why?!
Amanda: She panics.
Eric: Tegan replies:
[Bright synth music fades in]
Eric (as Tegan): The Gas and Go? In Company Town? Okay, do they have like secret great chicken sandwiches? Did you fight a fire baddie there?
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda (as Aggie): I just like it as a rendezvous point.
Amanda: And then Aggie immediately, Googles like interesting and places that are around there that she could ostensibly drive to and pretend that that was her plan all along.
Eric: Okay, cool, wonderful.
Julia: Oh my god.
Eric: I will give you some time to think about that thing. Milo you get a text from Lucas where Lucas says,
Eric (as Lucas): MILO, HELP ME, CALL ME NOW!
Eric: All in caps.
Brandon: Milo almost like drops his phone as he tries to go to contacts and call Lucas.
Eric: Nice. I like that you went your contacts with text. You're like, no, this is the only way I could get him! I had to go through my contacts! That's how you know, it's a good phone call. Yeah. You call Lucas and Lucas says
Eric (as Lucas): Annnnd time! Alright. So like ten seconds, that's good enough.
[Amand and Julia laughing]
Eric (as Lucas): I mean, I guess some some villains might have might have killed me by then, but I think that's pretty - that's fine.
Amanda: Oh my God, Lucas.
Eric (as Lucas): Well, we'll we'll get your reaction time faster.
Brandon (as Milo): Lucas -
Eric (as Lucas): I have an incredible idea,
Brandon (as Milo): Lucas. Just real fast. That was very funny. I enjoyed it a lot. Don't do it again unless you're actually in trouble, please.
Eric (as Lucas): Yes. Yes. No, I'm going to keep testing you. That's - you need it.
Brandon (as Milo): Well, you can keep texting me -
Eric (as Lucas): I'm going to keep testing you but you'll never know when it's coming.
Brandon (as Milo): Oh testing! Great. Cool.
Eric (as Lucas): So here's something really fun that we could do. Let's prank Apple and Zach Rose!
Brandon (as Milo): Okay.
Eric (as Lucas): Skay, so here's what we do. I'm going to go to Astros, and I'm going to fly them there and they're going to be like, "oh, where's Milo" and I'll be like "Oh I don't know, maybe still work." And then Kilonoca shows up and they fucking like lose it! Wouldn't that be sick. They'd be fucking sick. Right?
Brandon (as Milo): Okay, can I. Yes and this?
Eric (as Lucas): Yeah. Yeah.
Brandon (as Milo): What if: yes and we don't do that.
Eric (as Lucas): That's not yes anding at all.
Brandon (as Milo): What if: yes and -
Eric (as Lucas): Okay....
Brandon (as Milo): We what if we
Eric (as Lucas): Milo come onnnnnnuhhhh.
Brandon (as Milo): Okay, look look look -
Eric (as Lucas): What is the point - what is the point of having a superhero costume and name if you can't prank your friends!
Brandon (as Milo): What if Kilonova does a celebrity bowling tournament and we don't tell Apple and Rose and they show up and then they poop themselves. But you know, you would have to act, pretend that you didn't know too. And you also have to poop yourself.
Eric (as Lucas): Mmm, less fun. Okay, no. We'll, think of something. I'm gonna crack you.
Brandon (as Milo): Okay.
Eric (as Lucas): Okay, but you know, if you decided to do it, so happens we're going to go to we're going to - go to Astros' and I'm going to be there with Zach Rose and Apple.
Brandon (as Milo): Okay,
Eric (as Lucas): Okay.
Brandon (as Milo): Alright, XO XO, love you Gossip Girl. Bye.
Eric (as Lucas): Mmm, bye.
Eric: Alright, wonderful. So I think that evening Val, Val what are you up to?
Julia: Um hmm. What is Val up to? I think Val is just like staying around town. Maybe they've texted Hitomi to see what she's up to but I think just like a chill "yesterday was weird. Today should be a chill day at home." Maybe go get dinner at some place that isn't Dom's.
Eric: Yeah. No probably for the best. Hitomi's texting you and was like
Eric (as Hitomi): Oh yeah I found that the Sweet Tooth is doing an emo night!
Julia (as Val): Oh yeah.
Eric (as Hitomi): Yeah there's this guy, there's this guy who does it every single week. He's incredible, like he and his band they just fuckin shred. And we just need to go see them at some point.
Julia (as Val): Oh my God. Incredible. What are they called?
Eric (as Hitomi): It's like Alex and the Mountains? I think his name is Alex Mountain. It's like him and his brothers. It's weird.
Julia (as Val): That's actually cool as hell, I'm into that.
Eric (as Hitomi): They fucking shred, it's so sick!
Julia (as Val): Hell yeah, let's do it.
Eric: And Val that's when you get a call from your Aunt Min.
Amanda: NO! Let Val be happy to 2K2X!
Julia: Alright. Yeah. Val's going to answer.
Eric: Okay!
Eric (as Aunt Min): Oh, hold on. Sorry, I'm getting a - hold on sorry, I'm having some people move some things around.
Julia (as Val): You called me.
[Brandon and Amanda laughing]
Eric (as Aunt Min): Can you go to stay? Well, move to the right. Thank you. Oh, hello, Val. Oh, hello. I didn't know -
Julia (as Val): You called me.
Eric (as Aunt Min): That's right. Hello. How are you doing Val?
Julia (as Val): I'm doing alright. You kind of disappeared last night, huh?
Eric (as Aunt Min): Yes. You know, I learned from the Emily Post's, great granddaughter, who also a princess. Fun fact. She said that the best thing to do was to make both a wonderful entrance and a unknowable exit.
Julia (as Val): I actually really like that that sounds like really good advice.
Eric (as Aunt Min): That's good. That's why she's Princess Emily Post.
Julia (as Val): Okay, I don't know who that is.
Eric (as Aunt Min): Of course. Of course. Youth is wasted on the young. Okay, so -
[Brandon and Amanda laughing]
Julia: I have a -1 in history, I don't know who the fuck that is.
Eric (as Aunt Min): I wanted to know if you had some, had taken some time to think about what I had said.
Julia (as Val): Well, it has been approximately less than 24 hours, so I was hoping I could have a little bit more time to think about things.
Eric (as Aunt Min): No, you know, things move quickly. So if it is, I thought I would I thought I would call and ask. And I just want to know.
Julia (as Val): Well, I think that in terms of, you know, I - I love and want what's best for our neighborhood. That's kind of all I got for you so far, Aunt Min.
Eric (as Aunt Min): Okay, that's fine. I will say to you that I think maybe you should think about it a little faster.
Julia (as Val): Is there a like upcoming deadline that you are trying to work against that I should know about?
Eric (as Aunt Min): Oh, no, no, I'm just I don't like having loose threads out there.
Julia (as Val): Am I a loose thread to you?
Eric (as Aunt Min): From the weavers of the Amazon - weave together and make the most beautiful clothing and furniture. It's something I just don't like having them out there. If you know a little bit more incentive, if it helps, I'll tell you that there is a carrot here, which is join your family, have riches and wealth and whatever you want, have incredible power, grow the Vesuvio name as much as you so choose. Continue to live in the city that you love and with your friends and family blah blah blah.
[Music begins getting distorted]
Eric (as Aunt Min): Or there is a stake here if you value the safety of your good friend Preserver and the neighborhood as you love Little Italy, the neighborhood that Kilonova holds most dear and whatever. I don't know. You maybe see what your mother is doing tonight. Call me back. You have an hour.
Eric: Click.
[Music fades out]
[Theme music]