Dr. Morrow’s analysis on the weird mushrooms is finally finished. Time for an episode of Cassandra Morrow, Science Goro. (It almost works!) Aggie keeps her hands to herself. Milo stays drug-free. Val tries to head home.
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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: Oh, nothing really.
[Record scratch]
Eric: Okay, fine, a lot happened. Aunt Min flexed her mob muscle and threatened everything the LT3 held dear. Val watch their dog friends, their jobs and their favorite music venue get taken away. Kilonova had the Thornhill neighborhood snatched up by a super powered vape wielding greaser, and Preserver had her interview/will they or won't they date with Tegan Murphy blown up by a rocket launcher wielding Salimony. But the LT3 doesn't take that lying down. No! Kilonova cleaned the clock of Cottonmouth, Preserver outwitted Salimony and threw herself off a building. But like in a good way how she didn't actually get hurt. And Val and their mom had a heart to heart about courage and fear as Aunt Min menaced them from afar. Hooo okay, a lot did happen. Let me catch my breath for a second. [Breathes on] Oh, who knows what's going to happen next? Let's get the party started.
[Theme music]
[Theme music fades out]
[Rhythmic ethereal music fades in]
Eric: I know that I just did the last time on, but now here's a artistic last time on, there's like three different comic book panels. One Milo in your Kilonova garb drinking at Astros' with tons of hipsters and your friends surrounding you. Like blue dappled lights over Aggie in her Preserver costume driving. So I just like the idea of someone having to draw Preserver with her big hat with a seatbelt on.
Amanda: Yeah. You got to remove the headrest sometimes.
Eric: Yeah. And Tegan like still animatedly explaining like how wild what just happened was. And then Val dressed just as Val sitting on their mom's kitchen chairs with their elbows on their knees and Val's mom sitting next to them, maybe knitting something with this ice blue Tommy gun also resting on her lap. Julia: You know, when you when you frame it like that, I really think Milo kind of came out of all these situations.
Amanda: I think Aggie check social media once per night of just the three of us, as she is wanting to do and sees Milo's night and is like,
Amanda (as Aggie): What the fuck? Mother fucker.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: But yes, let's round this up. Brandon, I will just ask you about what kind of a hangover Milo has in the morning. But yeah. Is there anything Aggie and Val want to mop up here?
Julia: Yeah, my mine is going to be like a serious conversation with my mother, so. Eric: I think your mother puts down her knitting for a second and says.
Eric (as Rosa): They don't have great, you know, like Italian olive skin yarn at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I've been asking them for a while. And, you know, I mean, it needs to be different because, you know, they have plenty of pinks and whatever areola, whatever type of areola you have, I have things for that. [Brandon laughing]
Julia (as Val): Uh huh, did you try the Rumpelstiltskin yarns? Because maybe they would do like a custom blend for you?
Eric (as Rosa): Oh, you know, I don't I don't have the time to special order yarn. I wouldn't even how to start.
Julia (as Val): I'm just saying, they probably would have it if you- if you... Listen, mom, can we talk about something serious for a second?
[Brandon laughs]
Eric (as Rosa): Yeah, no, that's fine.
Eric: As she puts down both her knitting and the Tommy gun on the ground and she gets up and starts to move her chair back to the table, she says,
Eric (as Rosa): Oh, did uh did Min end with something like, "oh, you're going to you're you're going to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life, congrats, good luck!"
Julia (as Val): Yeah, it was something like that.
Eric (as Rosa): She should have said that that would have been a good line.
Julia (as Val): Yeah, Mom, you got it better than her, to be quite honest.
Eric (as Rosa): Absolutely.
Julia (as Val): Listen, I don't do a lot of apologizing for things because I am the kind of person who just kind of does things and then feels pretty confident about those decisions, you know what I mean? Eric (as Rosa): Yeah.
Julia (as Val): But I I think I didn't realize, like, until right now that when, like. I think I didn't realize until, like, right now that you've probably been through all this before and not because, like, people were looking out for you, but rather because they wanted to keep you in the dark and that that's bullshit. Mom, I shouldn't have done that to you. So I'm sorry.
Eric (as Rosa): Thank you, I appreciate that. Oh, no that's
Julia (as Val): I don't want to be like dad.
Eric (as Rosa): Good, agreed.
Eric: Yeah, she does the sign of the - she does the sign of the cross and says
Eric (as Rosa): Absolutely, absolutely. I told you not to get involved and you didn't. That's what it seems like. I could have told you I could have helped you along the way, maybe given you a little bit more experience, you wouldn't have had to do this by yourself, but. I think. Part of the thing about being a parent and also, giving super powers to someone who didn't ask for it in the first place is that you got to hope that the things you did before. Will help that. So you did the right thing, so. Make it easier on yourself next time.
Julia (as Val): Yeah, well, I did the right thing because I was raised right.
Eric (as Rosa): Mmm. And you know what your mom likes to hear, I love that. That's good.
Julia (as Val): Here's here's a question that my mother probably won't want to hear. Where you get the weird science gun from?
Eric (as Rosa): I you know. Every. You know, I said. Let's give you one of two answers, I can tell you where if you need to get one if you do want one, but I feel like you don't because I don't have big punchy fists, or I can tell you generally the reason why I would need one, and so which answer are you looking for?
Julia (as Val): I mean, to be quite honest, a little bit of both.
Eric (as Rosa): You know, when you need to
Julia (as Val): I don't know. That is why I am asking.
Eric (as Rosa): When you need to defend yourself, you get your hands on the stuff that's around in people in the neighborhood know where to get them. So I got one and I'm a pretty alright shot. There's a lot of uh frozen cans and pop bottles in the woods that would say watch out for your mom.
[Brandon and Amanda laughing]
Julia (as Val): It's really fucking cute, Ma. But the only reason I am concerned, I am not concerned with you trying to defend yourself because I know the lifestyle that you come from.
Eric (as Rosa): Sure.
Julia (as Val): The only reason I'm concerned is because I'm pretty sure Aunt Min is dealing in the same type of firearm or I guess in this case ice arm, and that causes me some alarm.
Eric (as Rosa): No, no, no, I understand. I feel like once it's out there. You know. I can't stop her, I just need to work with what's out there. Unfortunately, the other thing about putting expectations on someone who didn't ask for them. It's not my problem. I can't deal with the expectations you do so if you feel like shutting that down, cool. I got to - I have a, you know... I can't I don't have the answer to that one. Julia (as Val): Alright, well, I'll take that as your blessing, I guess?
Eric (as Rosa): If - it's not my job, it's not my job to figure it out, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry it's yours. But at the same time, I'm happy there is a hero policing in the streets of Little Italy. Julia (as Val): That's very sweet, Ma.
Eric (as Rosa): I say sweet things.
[Amanda laughs]
Eric (as Rosa): Also, I need you to know. I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it. Julia (as Val): You know what? That's fair. I'm going to go to Rumpelstiltskin's Yarns and I'm going to see if I can get you that custom olive skin blend of yarn. How about that?
Eric (as Rosa): That's a oh! You know, I have a I have a comparison swatch.
Eric: And she goes like into her into her library and pulls out, like, the most vintage Playboys you've ever seen.
Julia (as Val): Oh, no, Ma, Ma please.
Eric (as Rosa): Can it look like Miss. January 1976?
Julia (as Val): Ma, please, I beg of you. Oh, please don't do this.
Eric (as Rosa): Fine, I'll take photos and send them to your phone.
Julia (as Val): Great. Just zoom in very, very, very, very, very close. So I have to see no details. Eric (as Rosa): No, that's fine. They'll be a little bit of pink in this - this and the skin I'm looking. Julia (as Val): Jesus H. Christ.
Eric (as Rosa): Listen, Mary, sex positive. No one will tell you that.
Julia (as Val): No one is saying that maybe wasn't extremely sex positive.
[Everyone laughing]
Eric: Oh, alright. Aggie. So you're driving Tegan home. I think Tegan has a place in Lake Town City. I think that Tegan is like a reporter at large covering Lake Town City stuff. So they have an apartment in New York City, but I'm sure that they have one in LTC as well, probably like in a hip neighborhood, but a bad apartment, in Thornhill. So you pull up in front of, you know, like a building that looks really hip on the outside, but probably has, like, really no heat in December.
Amanda: And like, particleboard furniture. Oh I can sense it.
Eric: Yeah, it is like it came with furniture and stuff.
Amanda: Yeah, yeah.
Eric: So Tegan says when you pull up being like
Eric (as Tegan): Oh yeah. Hey yeah. This is where I need to, I need to get off. Thank you. I - I didn't think superheros could drive.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, they don't really show them in comic books, that's true. [Brandon laughing]
Eric (as Tegan): Like other than Batman I wouldn't have known who can drive. Like can the Flash- you wouldn't need to know how to drive you if you could run fast.
Amanda (as Aggie): The the the the lady archer from the Queer Hawkeye series drives and it's it's nice. Eric (as Tegan): Oh yeah. I got to pick that up.
Brandon: Spider man takes the subway. I mean like yeah, yeah he can't drive.
Eric (as Tegan): Right. But he lives in New York City and he doesn't drive. That's also New York City bias. To me I just assume no one drives like you drive it is a super power. So this all makes sense to me. Honestly, I'm talking too much. Am I in shock? I'm talking too much.
[Brandon and Julia laugh]
Amanda (as Aggie): We we talked about it. You know what to do. Little snack, some water, put another snack by the bed, go to sleep right away and plan to be asleep for a long time.
Eric (as Tegan): Absolutely. Okay, I got it. Thank you. Preserver. Okay, I'm gonna Amanda (as Aggie): Just preserving... Your safety. I'm trying things out.
Julia: Oh my god.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric (as Tegan): No, it's good! That's good. That's good. Listen, if you need me to be Lois Lane... No, I'm in shock. Oh okay.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: I'm on a roll to see if the door is locked.
[Brandon laughs]
[Dice rolling]
Eric: I rolled a 16. What I want is for the door to be locked so the door is locked and try to open the door like a raccoon stuck in a garage.
Amanda: I'm like
Amanda (as Aggie): Mx. Murphy, Mx. Murphy. Okay, yes. Just one second -
Amanda: Press unlock.
Amanda (as Aggie): Have a great night. It was a pleasure to be interviewed by you and not get you hurt in an explosion.
Eric: Now Tegan is still talking to you but is trying to do it while going to their door. So it's like Eric (as Tegan): Oh yeah, I'll send you a
Eric: Door slam
Eric (as Tegan): [Muffled through the car window] When the article comes out, I'll email you - Eric: The key is coming out like,
Eric (as Tegan): Oh no, I'll see you, I'll see you around.
Eric: The door closes.
Amanda: Incredible.
Eric: So, yeah, there you go. So now you can check social media, if you like.
Amanda: Yeah, I think Aggie just kind of pulls to the end of the block and parks safely with her hazards on and then just like completely collapses and like head to the steering wheel like oh my God, what just happened over the last few hours. And this is definitely where I will check my texts and then also social media to see what the others were up to in case there is like a, you know, something immediate that I need to do and see Kilonova's photos and be like, what. The. Fuck?
Brandon: Maybe he sent you a couple of drunk texts, who can say?
[Eric and Julia laughing]
Eric: Oh, yeah, you see you see a bunch of photos of Kilonova, both of the fight and then of drinking at Astros'. Actually, there's a lot of bowling photos.
Brandon: Milo gets better bowling when he drinks, it's weird.
Eric: Absolutely. That's why Apple is trying to take drinks away from you, because when you drink, Apple tries to make you sober.
Julia: Is there a shot of the ghost hand coming out of killing of this chest with a bowling ball? Eric: 5000 percent.
Brandon: Absolutely.
Eric: You also see a few of you like they're not as pretty, but they're definitely like someone dropped their phone and it was trying to record it. So it looks pretty epic as well. Your Instagram the LT3 Instagram has pulled a lot of these together. There was one killing over one and there was one of Preserver saving everyone. So it seems like Carmen has been working overtime to make sure y'all look good. There was also, you can scroll back and you see that maybe if you pop over to Reddit, you see that like those Reddit threads that just take screenshots from Tumblr, maybe like r/LT3Tumblr, the ones of the fashionistas and the queer Italian folk who love Vulanci so much, that's also getting shared a lot. So now it's like on a bunch of different - it's like a screenshot of Twitter, which was a screenshot of Tumblr, which is now on Reddit. So now Vulkani is getting some things are getting stirred up around there.
Julia: Oh, hell, yeah.
Amanda: Cool, I think Carmen set me up with like alerts and saved searches so I can kind of flip through those in a way I wasn't able to before.
Eric: Yeah, y'all did good. And the last thing it could have been a lot worse, especially there's like some people also we're talking about like Cottonmouth destroying other places at Thornhill like a cupcake place, like I had their whole bakery area, like fucked up, like a flower shop that only sells pothos also had all of their plants destroyed. So Cottonmouth, although Kilonova kicked the shit out of them. Vape and Cottonmouth, the greaser was definitely someone who was not fun to be around.
Amanda: Aggie also looks in her back seat and realizes that the Air Jorbans have been under her seat the whole time.
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: And plonks her head on the steering wheel again because that jump distance being doubled would have been really helpful. So she immediately switches over.
Eric: Wonderful, good.
Julia: Smart, like a good pair of sneakers. They fit with whatever outfit you're wearing. Aggie as you're about to start the car to drive home. You get a text from Emily Slaughter who says,
Eric (as Emily Slaughter): Hey, hey, girl, sorry, something came up. I'm gonna have to reschedule. Like, let's go get your drink somewhere. Wherever you want. I'll be there. Leader of a superhero team, to leader of a superhero team.
Amanda (as Aggie): I don't if I'm a leader, but I think the same thing came up tonight quite a lot and quite a long distance down. Anyway, I'll let you know when I figure out my plan.
Eric (as Emily): Oh shit. Lots going down?
Eric: Hand on face O! Like Kevin McCallister the scream face emoji.
Eric (as Emily): Listen, we've been needing this for a long time, I'll rent out like a back of a bar and we can just like chop it up and no one will know.
Amanda (as Aggie): How do you do that.
Eric (as Emily): It goes just save money by you know.
Amanda (as Aggie): No I respect it, fair enough.
Eric: There's a gif of Paul Giamatti on Billions. They just fill it in for whichever one you want, just fill it in. Amanda: Aggie's like "who's that dapper man?!"
Eric: Wonderful, alright, let's go. Does anyone know how to do anything else?
Amanda: I'm going to sleep, man.
Eric: Hell, yes.
Julia: Yeah. I mean, Val is going to go back to their apartment where Hitomi should be probably crying her eyes out because of the Sweet Tooth.
Eric: Yeah, absolutely you go - you come in pretty late, but I think Hitomi is lost in like just a reverie of crying and listening to tapes that she recorded of shows that happened at the Sweet Tooth. Be like, Eric (as Hitomi): [Choked up] We - we met here! I was trying to steal stuff. I got so many free drinks. Julia (as Val): I know.
Eric: That's what happens.
Brandon: I think at the end of the night, Milo leads the entire crew down the block to the Poutine restaurant and buys everyone poutine.
Eric: Oh, hell yes.
Julia: Sauce!
Eric: Hell yes. Yeah, the Sauce Output, they've gotten enough money. They now have a Thornhill pop up.
Julia: Hell yeah.
Eric: They like, only work from like 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. out of like a restaurant that was there and. Yeah. A hundred percent when when you to wake up in the morning. Carmen has picked this up at 5 a.m. and it's like sent it and, it'd be like, alright, we got more and is now pushing that as well. It's like another thing there was Kilonova, and then Kilonova Nights.
Julia: With a Z.
Eric: Yeah. So yeah, you three all wake up in your respective places. I think Aggie you wake up sore under a bunch of wool blankets that you need to turn over sooner rather than later.
Amanda: I do need to look of the height of the building I fell from like using city planning intranet because I've never fallen from a height like that. It was pretty cool. It's pretty cool.
[Eric and Brandon laughing]
Eric: Yeah. Milo you wake up covered in gravy.
Brandon: Yeah. That's the only way to wake up.
Eric: Yeah absolutely.
Julia: [Singing] Best part of waking up, is been covered in gravy!
Eric: And Val, you wake up with like Hitomi who'd roll over on top of you in the night and it's like using you as a pillow.
Julia: That's totally fair.
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: And also it's covered in gravy? Weird.
Eric: Hitomi - no, totally different reason, don't worry about it, but it's Italian gravy, it's red sauce. Val - I just like to think that in the middle of the night, Hitomi's like "I need to eat something." and just drinks like a pint of red sauce that you have in your fridge.
Julia: We've all been there.
Eric (as Hitomi): I don't want to make pasta! It takes too long!
Eric: Just chugging red sauce. Alright, so all of you, you're all going to head to Dr. Morrow place. Who's done some analysis on the vial of mushrooms in the painting since the last time that you all were there. Let's star wipe away from all of you waking up and we're at Dr. Morrow place.
Amanda: I brought like a twenty four pack of donuts and like a to go catering carrier of coffee. Brandon (as Milo): Oh, thank God!
Julia: Excellent.
Brandon: And Milo is chowing down. He's eaten four donuts already.
Julia: Oh yeah. Val Val is ripping into those as well. Carbo load baby!
Eric: Dez takes one and wraps it in a napkin and puts it in his pocket.
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda (as Aggie): Dez, I just every time we have a meeting I, I grow my respect for you. Julia (as Val):I have so many questions about your, your food choices.
Brandon (as Milo): Shhh, guys, guys, guys.
Amanda (as Aggie): You know Milo I have a lot of questions about how you had your night happen, and stayed on the ground and had an enjoyable time with friends of yours socializing. Julia (as Val): Yeah, remember how my mom almost got killed? And my favorite bar/music venue got shut down, but Milo got to drink, so that's cool.
Amanda (as Aggie): Wait what?
Amanda: And then I think
Amanda (as Aggie): You can fill us in on what happened to you because that wasn't on social media. Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: Can I cast absorb elements to absorb some like sound energy coming to my ear? Eric: Milo make a constitution saving throw for me.
Brandon: First roll on the Chad dice! 16 +2 for 18!
Eric: Nice. Nice. Yeah. You get a donut and you and you're feeling a little better. But as everyone is talking about the respective nights, two cymbals smash together and Milo you don't fall on the ground startled because January has like two very small cymbals being like
Julia: Adorable.
Eric (as January): We're doing something different today!
Julia (as Val): Okay!
Brandon (as Milo): [Distressed] JANUARY!
Amanda (as Aggie): Hello.
Eric (as January): Listen, we're - we're - we're going to meet in the lab. We're not going to meet in the - we're not going to do it in the conference room. So let's let's head let's sit down.
Amanda (as Aggie): The lab?
Julia (as Val): Alright.
Eric: So you guys usually meet on the first floor, which has the kitchen in the conference room. And Dr. Morrow study is all the way on the top. But the lab, which you haven't been to, is on the bottom. So you go over to that spiral staircase and you stand on the spiral staircase. And once again, it goes escalator's down.
Amanda: Nice.
Julia: Very cool. Like the ski lift, right?
Eric: Yeah, yeah, but I just like but it's I can't envision it because a ski lift goes up, something like imagine going down.
Julia: It also goes down I feel like? For the people who get afraid at the top and are like "oh no, no, no, no!" Like me!
Amanda: Or the kid gets the top and then we'll move and then the older sister has to go up there and take the kid on to the ski lift screaming and crying.
Eric: Brandon can you cut out the ten minutes a fugue state Amanda just went into? Amanda: And you drop the ski on the way down, I need to go back up and then come back down to get it!
Eric: [Singing] All around me are familiar faces, worn out places.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Okay, so yeah. You're going down to the lab -
Brandon: Late one night. Sorry.
Eric: Very good. I want to ask you three, much like we did with the kitchen, what do you think Dr. Morrow's lab looks like?
Julia: I think it has one of those very big Tesla coil balls.
Eric: Yeah.
Julia: That does nothing. It's just there for aesthetic.
Brandon: Dr. Morrow is like "this is my coffee in the morning!"
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): If you just cut out caffeine, it's pure energy!
Eric: And she puts her hands on it, and her hair goes out like a bride of Frankenstein. It comes back. Yeah, she definitely has a Tesla coil 100 percent.
Brandon: It's definitely like an organized mess, right?
Amanda: Oh yeah. I thought the exact same thing. Like, it looks like a disaster, but there is a place for everything in her mind except for a corner that is as if there is a forcefield there and that's Dez area. And they have come to over their working relationship, a workable compromise where Dr. Morrow cuts off immediately. Maybe there's masking tape there. I don't know. And then Dez has an extremely organized high tech, like one of those tool organizer's with like dozens of drawers, like the craftsman thing. Yeah.
Eric: Yeah. Like one corner is like minimalist porn and the rest looks like like a goblin artificer. Yeah, a hundred percent. I love that.
Brandon: I think Dr. Morrow has a like chair stool at every necessary height and she might need like not an adjustable one. She has like forty different chair stools for any task that she may need.
Eric: I like that. I like the idea that all of them Dez tried to make a pegboard for them. So there are some that are on the wall like the tallest one and the shortest one, and maybe some of them between, but there's also like seven in the room because she didn't put any back. Yeah, I love that. That's very funny.
Amanda: Compromise: as long as there is a path to Dez area, Dez does not get to move the rest of the stuff.
Julia: This is big ADHD energy and I appreciate it.
Eric: Yeah. So before I was thinking like, oh, maybe this is like Dr. Frankenstein's place like very gothic, but I like the idea of like the other side. It's like a hobbit hole, like it's warm and there are warm tones everywhere, like lots of browns and golds. But of course it's just like from tons and tons and tons of wood and shelving and wood and different types of shelves of stools and stuff. But of course. And then there's like a massive monitor. And then Dez's one minimalist porn corner I love that. That's perfect.
Amanda: I'm imagining like my grandma's basement craft room, which has, you know, drawers of fabric and samples and like drawings from me as a kid and like different organizers of beads. And I think Dr. Morrow would be a big proponent of the thing, unexpected connections drives creativity. So I imagine that, you know, there is not just an order that she understands to what's going on, but also it can be good to have, you know, your spatula from the eggs you had for breakfast lying next to some electronics experiment. And then you're like, "oh, wait, what if the switch was shaped like that?"
Eric: Mhm.
Brandon: I also assume that January, like, made it his mission to, like, warm up the space without Dr. Morrow noticing. So every now and again, it's like, oh, here's a nice photo. Or like, oh, nice little trinket. Eric: Yeah. I think that there's some like deep I mean, like, you know how humans have lizard brain. He has like deep rabbit brain or he's like, I need to make a burrow here and organize it. Yes. I was literally just going to say that like clusters of things like try not actually organizing but putting them in areas is enough to like, keep that together. So I love that this thing's bursting out of everything. And of course, sticky notes on top of this massive, massive like one whole wall is a screen, which I like the contrast. I was trying to look this up. The difference between the Cerebro room from the X-Men movies and this. I was like, yeah, fucking Professor X needs to be just a dome. Well, Dr. Morrow need shit everywhere because that's the difference between an American scientist and a British scientist. [Brandon laughs]
Julia: Can I "yes, and" one more thing?
Eric: Please.
Julia: There. Are. Dirty. Mugs. Everywhere.
[Everyone cheers]
Amanda: Spoons on spoons on spoons.
Brandon: I also assume that she has a particle accelerator, like around the whole room. Amanda: Yeah yeah yeah.
Eric: Yeah, but she also hung like stuff from it.
Amanda: And a choo choo train.
[Brandon laughing]
Brandon: Yeah. There's a teacher train riding on top.
Julia: It's extremely cute.
Eric: Like we're in FAO Schwarz or something.
Julia: It's a model of the high speed rail.
Eric: Yeah. But you also you can split an atom underneath it.
Amanda: Or put it in a little decorations!
Brandon: It's not dangerous if it's cute.
Eric: Oh, Jesus Christ.
[Transition note]
Eric: Hey, it's Eric, I would like to take a second and talk to you about my favorite liquid in the entire world. No, it is not printer ink or gasoline or blood. If I was a vampire. No, no, no. It is coffee. I love coffee. I am the kind of person who drinks iced coffee no matter what kind of temperature it is outside. But like, I'll drink any coffee, like bodega or grocery store or gas station coffee. I'll drink like fancy coffee. Whether the barista knows its place of origin. I'll drink Starbucks coffee, Dunkin Donuts coffee. I really love the concentrated coffee from Grady's that you can just get. It's like you need to do equal amounts of milk or that it's like drinking pure adrenaline in a cup. I just really love coffee and I want to shout out to it because as we all get older [laughs] and as time doesn't really mean anything, we do need these traditions and these little things that remind us something that we need to do for ourselves during the day. So welcome to the Midroll. This is from the [snobby voice] sub region of the- NAH! Just give me the coffee. I want it. First and foremost. Thank you and welcome to Sonia and Kayla, who joined our Patreon this week. We are so grateful to everyone who makes it a priority every single month to support creators. We could not make the show without you and your support. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If you want to be part of our Patreon family, we're always looking for more people to come on in. You get our discord or NBC stories, all the stuff that's been there for four years of Patreon. And I'm thinking about doing more playlists. Would you guys like playlists? I'm thinking about doing more playlists. Also, you have that exclusive three part side story that I did with a bunch of my friends with a game that I made with Mischa Stanton, about like some kids in LTC who really just want to play football. That's exclusive all on the Patreon. So if you're able, please join us for as little as five dollars a month and patron . com / join the party pod, pause the podcast right now and do it, I'll wait for you. [Singing] Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba. And we're back.
It's very important that you're back because I need to talk to you about the new splort that is taking on the nation. It is BlaseBall. Oh, man. Blaseball is such a wonderful spot in my heart for something that I found during quarantine and that has caught on across the land. It's like if fantasy baseball was actually more fantasy than baseball and that you instead of just picking players, you could actually change the way that the game is played. It's like a community game based on like horror and sci fi and like just weirdness. There's some twin peaks thrown in there, but also it's fantasy baseball. It is wild. I actually have a note here from the commissioner who might be able to tell you more about it here. Here we go. "Blaseball is baseball at your mercy, baseball perfected, our players are inhuman, they play day and night rain or shine. They never grow sick, they never tire. Each week you The Fans, capital T, Capital F fans vote to remake the league in your own image. Everything from rules to rosters is in your hands. But of course, votes aren't free. Cash is king. So do what you do best. Gamble betting is allowed and encouraged, but
fear not. Your currencies and credit cards have no value here. Blaseball deals with its own dollar. Seasons run Monday to Friday. Postseason runs on Saturday. On Sunday we rest. The fate of the league is on you. Rejoice and play ball at blaseball . com. That's baseball. But then it goes. B L blaseball, blaseball, . com. Catch the fever. Let's go Mills.
This podcast is also sponsored by Better Help, a secure online counseling service. Look to the left. To the right. Okay, know witches is here.
[Crashing noise]
Eric (as Bone Witch): It's I the Bone Witch! I've been here the whole time and I took over Eric's body. That's why I kind of sound like Eric a little bit. What is this? I said that you could just talk to me and I can just roll bones and you don't have to go to therapy. You just talk to me instead. And I found like I had fish bones before, but now I found jellyfish bones they're squishier. And they definitely tell your future. Ah, okay, well, I guess I should probably, I need to figure out what the competition here is against my jellyfish bones. Let's see what it is. Better help they connect you with licensed counselors through their secure app, letting you message through their therapist and schedule live phone video sessions. I could do that. Just come to my hut and you'll never leave. That's the same, right? Oh, okay. You can also message your counselor in between sessions if you're worried about something, (obviously always worried about something) or think of a topic you want to cover in your next call because better help wants you to find the best therapeutic match possible. It's easy and free to switch counselors if need be on the other hand, I as the Bone Witch, again, you'll never leave. You can't switch. I realize that BetterHelp have the upper hand on me there. Well I seem really maybe I am a little outflanked here. I need to find new bones. Huh. Well you maybe you should probably join Better Help and Join the Party listeners get 10% off their first month at better help . com / join the party that is better h-e-l-p . com join the party for 10% off your first month. I the Bone Witch maybe I need to - maybe I need to figure out things for myself. Maybe it's something that bones can't solve. Okay, I'll give back Eric soul, hold on.
[Crashing noise]
Eric: Huh? Oh, my God, what happened? Did it happen again?! Jesus. Alright, let's just get to Hello Fresh. Finally, we're sponsored by Hello Fresh. They cut out stressful meal planning and grocery store trips so that you can get dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less with 23 plus recipes each week. You can try a range of flavors and cuisines and ingredients. When I get home from work after a long day in the content mines, it's so helpful to be able to make a Hello Fresh meal in just half an hour. Everything proportioned, packaged together in one easy bag. So everything you need is in one place. We recently made Parmesan crusted chicken and by we I mean, I did because I ate everything from Amanda, which you remind me she can't eat parmesan or crusted or chicken. And it reminded me of my grandma's chicken cutlets, which I love so much, and I was able to do that myself. You can go to Hello fresh . com / jointheparty12 and use code. Join the party 12 for 12 free meals, including free shipping, that is hello fresh . com. Join the party 12 one two. And use code join the party 12. One, two, four, 12 one, two. Free meals, including free shipping. And now back to the show.
[Transition note]
Eric: Okay, so, yeah, you head down there and Dr. Morrow is like poking at the big mushroom that the Knight of Mirrors gave you and it's still like poking and prodding in and then like zaps it with like a really, really small cattle prod. And they still just kind of tinkering and like,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh, you just come, come and grab it. Any of the stools, whatever stools!
Eric: And Dez walks over and sits in his corner that has like an ergonomic chair and Dez is like Eric (as Dez): I'm set.
Eric: And like opens a drawer and puts the donut in it and then immediately closes it again. Amanda: Yeah!
Brandon: Milo grabs a stool next to Aggie and sort of like puts his head over to Aggie. And it's like,
Brandon (as Milo): Aggie, can you do the can you do the thing, please? I'm dying here, please.
Amanda: Aggie stands up and chooses a stool elsewhere.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia (as Val): This is what you get when we're getting blasted with rocket launches and shit.
Eric: Lay hands on my head, please. Alright. Yeah. So everyone collects and then Dr. Morrow takes off, she has protective goggles like jeweler specs, you know what I'm talking about. But they're very steampunky and they all, like all of the different lenses, go in And I'm like,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Okay, let's learn some science! Everybody ready?
Julia (as Val): [Hesitantly] Okay.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Alright, okay! Great.
Julia (as Val): Science. Yay.
Eric: Dr. Morrow then gestures everyone to gather around the mushroom and also pulls out the vial with the tiny mushrooms, says,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Okay well, where to start, where where to start?
Julia (as Val): I have a question,
Julia: Val raises their hand.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Perfect, wonderful Socratic method. I love it. Hit me.
Julia (as Val): Are the other mushroom's drugs? Like, can we get high on the mushrooms? Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Mmm... Okay, we need a well, uh
Eric: January says,
Eric (as January): NO!
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): It's like, well, it's more complicated than that, we have to go back
Eric: It's like those Tumblr posts that are seated in front, like gives context. One moving out is like
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): In order to talk about the mushrooms, we have to create the universe. Julia (as Val): Oh no, that is not what I wanted to know.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Okay, so, so, so, so. Hey, do you remember. Oh do you remember Chernobyl? Any of you alive for that?
Brandon (as Milo): I wasn't there, but I know what you're talking about.
Julia (as Val): I was I was very young.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Okay, okay.
Julia (as Val): I think and did not live in Russia.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): You know, you just have to check you got to read the room. Okay, so in Chernobyl. You know, the nuclear reactor had a big explosion, a big oopsie. How? Please tell me. I don't know how. Sometimes they go too detailed and not detailed enough. So just keep me on that. Yeah. Big oopsie at nuclear reactor. And then it was very radioactive
Julia: [Laughing] Sorry, I can't over "big oopsie"
Brandon: That was the official Russian government statement.
Julia: If you translated it directly, it was "big oopsie"
Eric: [In a Russian accent] The the Kremlin says sorry big oopsie.
Julia: It was a terrible tragedy.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Okay, so then and then all that was unlivable and the radioactivity was there because of the nuclear reactor. Right. And the radioactivity comes from although they were taking energy from it and when it broke and all that stuff. And radioactivity is bad because, you know, the rays and everything that comes out of it. Right?
Brandon (as Milo): I mean, technically it's the particles and the particles
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Well, Milo we know we - we're on the same page again, you gotta doing with the thing. Okay, have any of you heard of something called mycoremediation mediation?
Brandon (as Milo): No.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): No, no. You haven't heard of that?
Amanda (as Aggie): Is that like a meeting technique? Because I swear to God, no one more council meeting is about freakin' "collaborative meeting strategies" and no one gets to talk except for Burdock. I'm going to crush a coffee cup.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): No, I promise it is not like that. It actually comes from the ancient Greek - Brandon (as Milo): It's a mushroom thing, right?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yes. If you mykes, my ancient Greek is rusty, but it means fungus in ancient Greek and then the suffix of remidem, which is Latin for restoring balance. So mushrooms are restoring balance. Basically, mushrooms have the ability to decontaminate parts of the environment and turn it from like terrible stuff to a good a good place, like a place where people can live again, like you can.
Julia (as Val): So to clarify, the mushrooms pulled the bad stuff out of the ground and then the mushrooms are bad, but the ground is good.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Right, exactly. So, you know, you can use mushrooms if you like - Amanda (as Aggie): Like that powder on vomit.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Right! Very similar. Yeah. When you throw sawdust on vomit, it's just like that. But the sawdust imagine it's made of mushrooms.
Amanda (as Aggie): No.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): You can make anything in anything. It's not just milks like it's not mushroom milk, but like you can make mushroom straw. And then if you put that straw into a hay bale, you throw it on oil and stuff, it gets sucked up. You can throw them in any sort of the if you put mushrooms in there or mushroom products or mushroom materials, then it becomes a place that humans can live again. Right. So I was looking at this. I was poking around, figure out what one of these why are these mushrooms like this? I typed in a Google weird mushrooms, and that was not what I was looking for. So I started digging more and more and turns out so because of Chernobyl, scientists have found these mushrooms that grew. They went in recently and they found mushrooms that are growing in Chernobyl. That's the area around it are less radiated and they're just like fucking hanging out. Like, it's they're just like growing. They're they're living there. And no one planted them. No one went in there and planted the mushrooms. They started growing and they started testing them. And these mushrooms have are something special. These particular mushrooms have melanin in them, like in in in our skin. That makes our skin darker. And
because of that, they can take the radiation and ionize it and turn it into some sort of food, like turn it into energy, like it's like photosynthesis, but with radiation, with terrible stuff the humans can't live it. Right? Amanda (as Aggie): That's pretty amazing.
Brandon (as Milo): That's dope as hell.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): It is incredible. So like, imagine there's like a tiny engine inside of this mushroom because of the melanin that takes the radiation. It makes it slowly turns it into easier and easier to digest energy that then they can eat and it becomes good. So that also, you know, that also might be some of the reasons why some other black mushrooms exist and like like truffles have that black mold around it. That might be like how why it works like that, which is wild. I went into such a deep dove, I, I lost myself for 24 hours just looking up truffles. It's wild. You know, they also in France, their organized mob sells those? Wild. I read that book that was that was wild. I loved that.
Brandon (as Milo): Damn, mushrooms are metal as hell!
Brandon: And then Milo elbow's Val a little bit.
Brandon (as Milo): Right?
Julia: Val just looks at him like "what?"
Amanda (as Aggie): [Timidly] They're kind of the - they're kind of the janitors of nature, if you think about it.
[Brandon and Julia laughing]
Julia: Val just pats Aggie on the back slowly.
Julia (as Val): There, there.
Eric: That's alright.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): So what I was thinking was, okay, here's here's a paragraph January, will you read that paragraph that I told you?
Eric: January takes out a phone and says
Eric (as January): More study is needed to confirm whether fungi will be able to add the ability to grow by harvesting radiation to their list of seeming super powers. But it does raise the question of whether edible fungi like mushrooms have been harboring this function undiscovered for years. Eric: And Dr. Morrow is like gesturing at you like,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Ahh! Ahh!
Brandon (as Milo): Wow, that's really cool.
Julia (as Val): That is very cool. I am concerned that we're talking about radiation. While also talking about the mushrooms that we brought you -
Amanda (as Aggie): And diapharam and this city.
Julia (as Val): Yeah.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Mmm, right. Okay, wait, I didn't emphasize - okay, so that was like a writer's floor, so they said they said seeming superhero powers of mushrooms, and I'm going what? Mushrooms don't have superpowers. And then I thought about these mushrooms. And the thing that is special about diapharam, that has this is that it radiates a different type of energy than alpha and beta radiation that comes off of like what we understand to be nuclear, right. Like that was the whole discovery was that a created Delta radiation, which was able we could harness it and turn it into energy and is good. But that also might have been the reason why everyone in Laketon got powers in the first place.
Amanda (as Aggie): Sure, sure.
Julia (as Val): Sure.
Brandon (as Milo): Right.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah uh huh!
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): So so these mushrooms -
[Players collectively oooh]
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): That are growing here now in the swamp, that those mushrooms have just grown. And they're growing and maybe they're eating the Delta radiation -
Amanda (as Aggie): The largest producer and origin of diapharam.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Exactly. There you go. Everyone gets 100 points.
Julia (as Val): Cool. So they're their super power mushrooms.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Okay, so we have to do some testing on that. But -
Amanda (as Aggie): How are you testing that?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yes, that's true. Yeah.
Julia (as Val): Does it involve the cattle prod?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yeah, well, that's part of it.
Brandon (as Milo): Okay, so wait, so if you somehow were able to like... Process this mushroom, could it take away powers to then at least temporarily?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): I mean, I think I might be the maybe maybe Milo, I know you're a science communicator, but, you know, we haven't even gotten there yet. Like maybe if possibly if someone had the ability to do that or giving - the thing that I'm more concerned about is is the thing that I think these do now is to here is what is happening right now is one, remember that the book I read about the mushrooms in the in the France and people selling and killing each other. I do
Julia (as Val): With the mob.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): With the mob. That sounds similar to what we're having here. And, you know, truffles, you know, New York City, best diet, best food city in the world or I that could be happening if people want truffles and mushrooms that do - which is tied to the second thing is I think these are additive now. They give them. They are... hmmm.
Amanda (as Aggie): Do they do they give powers where none existed or do they simply amplify powers that do exist?
Julia (as Val): Both of those are bad. Maybe bad.
Amanda (as Aggie): Maybe particularly for billionaires who eat at the New York City restaurants that import truffles, I'm just saying.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Uhhh, maybe both. Okay, well, let's let me let's show one thing.
Eric: And then she throws a video on the screen and it's like she set up a tripod and it's filming herself. Eric (as Dr. Morrow): [In the video] Hello, this is Dr. Morrow Cassandra Morrow, M.D., Ph.D.. This is the first trial I'm going to see what happens.
Brandon: Is M.D. standing for Morrow Doctor?
Eric: Yes. Yes, it does.
Amanda: Is it her now?
Eric: This is a video, it's time stamped last night.
Amanda: Oh okay.
Eric: And she cut off a sliver like a very she took out like a like a very, very sharp knife. She cut off a very, very, very small sliver of the mushroom, though, the weird purple mushroom that the Knight of Mirrors gave you.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Alright. Well, I should get a cracker and then she leaves for a second. Amanda (as Aggie): Why does everyone want to eat the mushroom?!
Eric: She leaves, she's, like, looking for crackers and she gets like a tea cracker. She puts. Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Alright, bottoms up. Let's see what happens.
Eric: And she eats it, she says.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Hmm.
Eric: And as she pauses it and is like,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Okay, but here's what happened a few hours later.
Eric: As she plays that video and it's just like she has pulled out a whiteboard on wheels and like the white board is just covered in equations going up and down and left and right and sideways. And like there's color, there's like red and then blue and then black, all stacked on top of each other. And she's like flipping through. She's like wearing different colors, specs to see the different markers. It's like Eric (as Dr. Morrow): So I think what it does is,
Eric: Dr. Morrow pauses it
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): I think it enhances something you're already good at, or at least for people who don't have powers like you three, it just makes you better at something. I think this might be tied to also what you have all seen with your parents in that I don't know whether there's some some element of stacking, but if this is the first level, it just kind of improves on a certain amount as your body metabolizes. It makes you better at the thing that you maybe it makes you if you were going to eat it, it makes you happier. It makes you a little bit more limber. It makes you - it juiced my brain. So it enhanced the the thing I was best at, which was science.
Eric: And the Tesla coil sparks for a second.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): So that's what I think this this this is happening.
Brandon (as Milo): As anyone else tried it? Like is it a placebo thing going on? Eric: January and Dez look at the ground and Dr. Morrow says,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): No, no one else just I wanted to try it.
[Players laughing]
Julia (as Val): So that means I assume that you haven't tried it on a powered person yet? Eric (as Dr. Morrow): We have not, no.
Julia (as Val): Do you want to?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): If I... Yes, the answer is yes to that, I would want to, but I'm not going to make anyone do it, obviously.
Julia (as Val): Well, you're not making anyone do it.
Julia: Val's already taken off their jacket.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Alright. Okay, let's try it. Let's um
Julia (as Val): Hook me up with the mushrooms, doc.
Eric: Dr. Morrow shakes out one of the mushrooms from the vial. And says
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): I think that these are the same just different sizes, so I think that you're- you should be okay with that.
Julia (as Val): Sorry, you think they're the same?!
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): They are. Hmm... You know. And you know how - scie- gravity is barely something we can depend on.
[Brandon laughing]
Julia (as Val): Okay,
Amanda (as Aggie): Huh?!
Julia (as Val): I'm going to be a little anxious, but let's do this.
Brandon (as Milo): Are you just reading my t shirt Dr. Morrow?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Those t-shirt websites stole that from me! I said that at MIT 20 years ago!
Eric: Yeah, Val. So you have a tiny little mushroom. It's looks like a very miniaturized version of the truffle size mushroom that Dr. Morrow cut a sliver off of. And yeah, she shakes it in her hand. You take a look at it and now you realize it does look a little bit more like a truffle. There's like this crust around the outside that's like that striping. It's like a little dark, but also maybe like a deep purple. But it does have that, like holy paint, dust, purple thing around it.
Julia: I think Val asks Dr. Morrow,
Julia (as Val): How long did this last on you when you did it?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh uhhh. A few hours?
Julia (as Val): It's just so I know.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): This If I'm only giving you a little bit of this, this should be only only a few, only a few seconds as your body metabolizes it.
Amanda (as Aggie): See this is why I don't do drugs. They don't tell you how much to take. They don't tell you how long it takes. They don't they don't tell you the recommended serving size.
Brandon (as Milo): Preach, preach.
Eric (as January): And that's why I'm a one rabbit chill out type man. Got me some lemonade, you're fine.
Julia (as Val): Alright, well.
Julia: Val takes the mushroom.
Amanda: Aggie has to put her head between her knees and breathe.
Eric: What is the spiciest thing that Val has ever eaten?
Julia: Oh, Val is definitely done, those ridiculous waiting challenges before.
Eric: Yeah, yeah, yeah, like the one that's like scorpion pepper and reefer and like the sauce as you eat the wings. Yeah. And you remember, it builds, you know, it's like you eat and you're like, oh, it's okay. And then like you feel it come up from your feet and just like build and it gets hot as like and then what happened with the wings was that like it turns your mouth on fire. Right. But you feel like it's just it's building through you and just moving like waves of heat and and something is just moving through you. And Dez is like,
Eric (as Dez): Hold on, I got something.
Eric: And Dez runs out for a second and like throws open door and rummages through and then pulls out like a heavy bag, like a full punching bag like
Eric (as Dez): Alright, hit me.
Eric: And he stands there like holding the heavy bag right in front of you, Val.
Julia: Val just like bounces a little bit like a boxer and throws a punch.
Eric: Yeah, just one punch. It like reverberates through the room with, like, boom. And you can almost see, like, the sound waves moving through the room and like like a sonic boom. It's silent for a millisecond and then it's like a crash as Dez and the punching bag like hit the back and hit a shelving unit and a bunch of stuff tumbled on top of them.
Julia (as Val): Ah shit Dez, sorry!
Brandon (as Milo): Holy shit.
Eric (as Dez): I mean, it's for science. It's fine.
Julia (as Val): This is an extremely cool mushroom guys.
Brandon (as Milo): Val, I think, just as importantly, can I try to fix this on you? I want to see if we have a way to defend against this.
Julia (as Val): Bring it on. Come on.
Brandon: Alright. I'm going to cast lesser restoration on Val.
Eric: Interesting.
Brandon: It's a touch creature.
Brandon (as Milo): Val is it okay if I touch you?
Julia (as Val): Yeah,
Brandon (as Milo): Just like on the shoulder.
Julia (as Val): Thank you for asking.
Brandon: I touch a creature and can either and one disease or one condition afflicting it. Amanda: Interesting.
Brandon: The condition can be blinded, deafened, paralyzed or poisoned.
Amanda: I can do the same thing with my healing hands so I can try that next if it doesn't work. Brandon: Yeah, for sure.
Eric: Okay, so you do the lesser restoration Val you get cold for like a second, like taking off a jacket and then all of a sudden you're back to being hot.
Julia (as Val): Oh hell yes. Okay, that didn't work.
Brandon (as Milo): That is not good.
Amanda: I'm going to try healing hands and do the same thing, kind of hover my hands over Val shoulder and try to cure them of a disease or poison, which I can do with one healing die.
Eric: I think the same thing happens Val you once again go cold and then it's just back to hot baby.
Julia (as Val): Also, it does not work. Val Val standing there like in constant movement, like when a video game character is in rest mode and not moving.
Eric: I think also you're vibrating like when you go into a rage you're like low key vibrating maybe. And you weren't even aware, you turned it on and Milo and Aggie make either arcana or medicine checks for me. Depend on, whichever one you would you would like.
[Dice rolling]
Brandon: I also cast a spell do you want me to roll that Eric?
Eric: Yes please.
Amanda: 14.
Brandon: I got 7 on my spiritual search so I'm up to 3.
Eric: Great.
Brandon: Medicine. I got a 16 +5 for 21.
Eric: So with medicine checks you're checking this out and maybe this could be like adrenaline or something. You maybe you've seen like, you know, YouTube videos of people disproving things that happen in movies. And there was one of Pulp Fiction where Uma Thurman's character gets hit with the adrenaline and they're like, you know, that's not exactly how adrenaline works, but it's actually pretty good. You get shot through it and you're just your body is super charged. You know, you've seen that thing going around like science. I keep pulling from Tumblr during this episode, but it's perfect! Is that there was proven that when electricity goes through your whole body, when your body springs back, when humans get electrocuted, it's not because the electricity does anything. It's that your muscles are so super charged that your muscles actually have have yeeted yourself across the room with a 21 Brandon, I'm just going to tell you, lesser restoration isn't going to do it. But if you were to do greater restoration, which is a fifth level spell, maybe that would do the trick if you rolled right.
Amanda: Do I get the sense that a number of healing die would actually move the needle? I just used one.
Eric: Oo, Aggie with yours right now. I'm just going to say the greater restoration thing that Milo has done is the only thing that you've gotten. But like maybe!
Julia: Would something like Aggie counterspell spray work?
Eric: Maybe!
Amanda: In seeing how Val is reacting to this with such glee and abandon? Can I roll history or something to see if I remember anybody else in my life being like this?
Eric: Yeah, absolutely. I think all three of you can do that. Also, while this is happening, after you've been touched, Val, this is all happened within like thirty seconds and now the waves are stopping like going into low tide and you're going back to where you are. You stop bouncing from foot to foot and you stop vibrating.
[Dice rolling]
Julia: Cool. I got a 6 on history.
Eric: Dr. Morrow like hits a timer and she's like,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Alright, twenty nine point five seconds. We'll write that down. Julia (as Val): Pretty good.
Amanda: I got a 12 history.
Brandon: Ya boy got a nat 20!
[Everyone cheers]
Eric! Let's go.
Brandon: Chad dice are good!
Julia: Milo all of your friends have done drugs.
Brandon: [Laughing] I mean, probably!
Amanda: Jointhepartypod.com/chad!
Eric: jointhepartypod.com/chad We need to have a direct link that
Amanda: takes you to the Chad bundle.
Eric: Absolutely. Umm. Nat 20 from Milo. I think the thing Milo you think that this is drugs, but then you think, no wait, it wouldn't have been like that, adrenaline is different. This isn't like taking PCP and then all
of a sudden all of your pain receptors are turned off and you can do superhero things. It's more like something's actually happening, the body's getting overcharged. And maybe Milo you think about maybe when Aggie was telling you about their siblings, when you guys first got to know each other, maybe you saw some photos of Aggie's parents. Aggie's parents how old are Aggie's parents again?
Amanda: Like in their mid 50s.
Eric: Yeah, their mid 50s. But they look like they're they're like twenty eight. And Aggie was talking about like, "yeah, they sometimes they travel around and they do bike, they go, they ride bikes like through the Himalayas and they just love that, they just love doing it." And maybe you think more about Aggie parents, how they are just doing what seems like incredible shape, but maybe their bodies are - have been juiced in this way, this low key juice, maybe. I don't know if they were taking it or not because they obviously with all of the O'Hares they got passed on, but this seems like you're making a direct correlation to what is what happened to Dr. Morrow, to what happened to Aggie's parents, and then Val is the second level. When you when you supercharge something that already has a charge.
Amanda: Got it.
Brandon: Yeah. And I obviously explain all of that to my colleagues.
Eric: Oh, interesting.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, I know. It's like they are regular humans, but with a lot of the problems taken away and we are regular with some, you know, odd abilities as well.
Eric: Yeah, I think Val as Milo says this, because of Nat 20 I'll build on top of it, your mom also she makes art super fast. Like she's cranking stuff out all the time. You've never remember a time that she's ever had, not writer's block. But like artists block, she doesn't know what to make. She's like, "oh, no, I'm going to do this I'm gonna do this! This is inspired by Eros. It's inspired by and Cupid and Venus and how they're all related to each other." And she just churns stuff out and it takes her a second to pick up a new artistic medium. Like when did she learn how to knit? You think about that and you're like, "my mom doesn't know how to knit from yesterday. And then she she must have picked up knitting? I don't know. What did she do that?" Your mom is great and she's always been an artistic person, but she got better at it. And Aggie's parents have always been athletic and they got better at it.
Julia: Right. But I don't think my mother is doing mushrooms. No, no, no. It's not that the regular person doing a mushroom levels them up, but that's the same thing that happened with the the - yeah.
Julia: So if a regular person who wasn't in Laketon took the mushroom, they would appear like our parents.
Eric: Yes. As they metabolize the mushroom their best quality would be enhanced. Julia: Cool.
Amanda (as Aggie): So it's like this is a slice temporarily of the environment in which all of us were born, where if you were not born with abilities like our parents weren't, they were still affected by the environment at that time and a lasting way. But we were affected like that from the moment we started developing. So now as adults, we have stuff that's above and beyond because our our parents were affected, then we were doubly affected. So when we take this, I suppose we get to a tertiary level. Our parents, would get to a double level. So I - no one, no one give this to my mom, please. I don't know what she'd be able to fly or some shit. And then when people who are not diapharam exposed at all take it, they get a brief enhancement.
Eric: Yeah. Dr. Morrow nods and says
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Exactly.
Brandon (as Milo): Maybe Fly Boy would be able to do something other than hover. GOT 'EM! Julia (as Val): Sucks.
Eric (as January): Yeah, fuck that guy!
Julia (as Val): Uh quick question, Aggie, I know that you do not have any children or that you have made us aware of. Do any of your siblings have have kids?
Amanda (as Aggie): Yes, Danny has kids, but his wife is she's from Chicago. She isn't from Lake Town City. So I, I don't believe she is like us in any way. So what effect that has on their children? You know, if it's a one mildly powered person and one not powered person, I don't know. But their kids are three and in a science fair, if that helps.
Julia (as Val): Well, that also just sounds like some O'Hare shit.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah.
Julia (as Val): But like thinking about tertiary third level powers, that's, you know, most of our generation doesn't have kids yet, so.
Eric: Ryan was going to be on a Wheaties box, but he wanted to say, is that O'Hare shit? But they didn't let him so he wasn't on a Wheaties Box.
Julia: This for the children, Ryan!
Eric: Yeah. Dr. Morrow nods and says,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yes, that's what I - those are my assumptions, and I've been I've been putting together.
Brandon (as Milo): Dr. Morrow, you got to - you got to ban this this mushroom, you got to make this public.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh, I uhhh...
Brandon (as Milo): You're the mayor, you can do it.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh do uhhhh.
Amanda (as Aggie): On the other hand, for medical research, this might have a therapeutic use, maybe in some form?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Well, yeah.
Julia (as Val): Might be able to, like, help people feel real good. Made me feel great for about 30 seconds.
Eric: January hops down and pulls out the same whiteboard, but it's been flipped over and on the other side has a massive T chart with one with "tell people" and "don't tell people" and tons of things on it. So January's like,
Eric (as January): Yeah, yeah, yeah. We don't, we don't know.
Amanda: Weirdly, leave the T chart is permanent, but the items are in marker and Aggie's like, Amanda (as Aggie): What other decisions have you made?
Eric: Everyone looks at the ground.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Dr. Morrow says,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): You know, let's hold off on this, just let's try to get it off the street. I think part of the something that I've been - where did you get the where? Let's confirm where did we get this? These? Julia (as Val): A warehouse down by the mashes.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Mmmm.
Amanda (as Aggie): With like an organized crime distribution set up in the middle of distributing them. Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brandon (as Milo): If this gets in the if the mob sells us to the villains that we already face, we're not going to be able to win.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yes, uhh. Yes, yes, yep, yes.
Julia (as Val): They're also doing this at JUICE!!!!! Or like that's where we got one of the samples from.
Brandon (as Milo): You got to tell people
Julia (as Val): The big one.
Brandon (as Milo): If this is going to the general population, it's it's not going to go well.
Amanda (as Aggie): Well, wouldn't telling them make them want it more?
Brandon (as Milo): Well you have - at least you could control the you can control it at that point, you know.
Eric: January hops up and like, slaps what Aggie said on the "don't tell people" and then slaps what Milo said on the "tell people" like
Eric (as January): We, we wrote that one down!
Brandon (as Milo): I guess you don't need a specific substance to prosecute the mob. You can just use like a RICO thing, but. We've got to stop the restaurants from buying them.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yeah, well, the the net will cut off. Let's cut. Let's do that. Well, let's do we'll start on that first is keeping it from getting distributed. People don't know about it. They if where do they get a juice place? Oh perfect place to disguise this, you put it down in powder. People think it's like, oak pollen or something and they get a little pep in their step. Great. It's still like the people don't know. And let's keep it that way for the time being until we need to tell people and then it becomes a bigger issue. But let's tell people if we need to let it stay at the table. Let's see. Tabled for now. Yeah?
Amanda (as Aggie): I mean, they only grow here, right? So can we can we formalize or improve the protections on the marshes? Like they're a protected area from development. But can we I don't know, like make it a carry in/carry out policy and I don't know, just have more rangers there to patrol and help people direct them away from picking fungi?
Brandon (as Milo): I like that.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): No, that's that's good. Yeah, that's good. I can get we can get that going. Aggie we can get that going for sure. Yeah, we'll take some steps to try to get this stuff off the streets, keeping it from the people's hands and those things before we need to tell everyone that there's a cool - before someone figures out what this has been doing before anyone puts us together, if they still don't know, they can't put it together so it won't juice anyone else.
Brandon (as Milo): What if we start a rumor that mushrooms are really gross?
Julia (as Val): That's just untrue, though.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Milo, I've been banging the drum for so long, people don't listen. [Brandon and Julia laugh]
Eric: So, yeah, that's like new objective is it goes across the screen is like figure out what to do about the super mushroom problem. Dr. Morrow says though,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): You can have the vial if you'd like.
Julia (as Val): Yes, please.
Julia: Val takes it.
Eric: Yeah, Dr. Morrow says, okay, so there's only enough in here for a little bit of time. I think this is why it's sold in this one particular vial. So you three share it. Just - just share it, okay? I only -
Brandon (as Milo): Val, I don't think you should be taking this. We don't know what the long term effects are.
Julia (as Val): It's probably fine.
Brandon (as Milo): Look, you're an adult. You can do whatever you want to do. But for me, Dr. Morrow, can you continue to to study the effects of this and - in the lab, not in January or Dez please.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Absolutely I will.
Eric: And she's going to hold on to the the mushroom she like hits a button and like a glass dome goes over the mushroom, the big truffle, super truffle mushroom and says
Amanda: Beauty and the Beast rose style.
Brandon: I was just thinking that!
Eric: So here's what this mechanically does that you all picked up this juices your class abilities. So if you were to take the full, you know, we're going to have to revolve around initiative in this way. But like if someone were to take the entire thing, it would be like one full initiative, one full fight. But you saw one Val took one or a little bit of it. Like I would say, there are three charges in this thing that would make you do like one particular class action. But if you took the whole thing, it would be like the whole fight. But all of you will share it and like, you can pull it out of your - your respective pockets. It's like in your shared inventory. And I can't tell you anything more than that because that's all the research. But it juices things that have to do with your class.
Julia: Okay.
Eric: So barbarian stuff, druid stuff/magic stuff for Milo and then monk stuff for Aggie. Brandon: Cool!
Eric: Wonderful. Okay -
Brandon: Player Brandon is very excited. Character Milo is very skittish.
Eric: That sounds good. That sounds good to me. So I have a little bit of stuff this is DM Eric just in terms of the time I have.
Amanda: Hi!
Brandon: Hello!
Julia: Hey!
Amanda: You wouldn't believe what happened in D&D today!
Eric: Wild. Friggin' wild yeah.
Brandon: Eric did you hear about these mushroom stuff? It's so cool!
Amanda: Eric, I heard drugs are cool.
Eric: I hope that Dr. Morrow pronounced that mushroom thing correctly or people are going to yell at Dr. Morrow on the internet. Julia because Val listens to their mother and didn't punch you get the end of your XP, you now level up to 8 like everybody else is!
Amanda: Ayyy!!
Eric: Woo woo woo woo!
Julia: I don't get any exciting class features at level 8, but I did bump my strength up to 18. Eric: Hell yeah.
Amanda: Wow.
Eric: Nice.
Julia: I'm so strong.
Eric: At this point, Dez also takes it like when Dr. Morrow puts the mushroom around Dez is like Eric (as Dez): Do we have time for me to do a thing?
Julia (as Val): Oh hell yeah Dez!
Amanda (as Aggie): Of course, Dez.
Eric (as Dez): Alright so um, I was told -
Brandon (as Milo): Can you say it's Dez time please.
Julia (as Val): Please.
Eric (as Dez): Listen, if you have to say it's Dez time, you gotta be Dez time.
Julia (as Val): Dez please! Please Dez!
Amanda: He said it! He said it!
Eric (as Dez): It's always Dez time. You don't have to get ready. You always stay ready. [Everyone laughs]
Eric (as Dez): I saw that at MTV's The Challenge, is that a thing people say?
Julia (as Val): No.
Eric (as Dez): So I was told to give you guys some things that were hot shit. So I think I think I did here. Eric: He takes out a glasses case and he holds it out to Val. Oh hell yeah. Actually it's a Warby Parker glass case.
[Everyone laughs]
Julia: Oh okay!
Eric (as Dez): Like I just had this. I have to recycle it. I didn't have a glasses case. These are for my readers. But you can you can have it.
Julia (as Val): I've never had to wear glasses before, so I don't know. Okay.
Eric (as Dez): It's a sunglasses. They're sunglasses.
Julia (as Val): Oh okay. I've worn those before.
Eric (as Dez): Yeah, no I figured. These are better than the Oakley's that you picked up in 2005 in Panama City.
Julia (as Val): Hey!
Eric (as Dez): Oh no. I love Panama City. I'm just saying it's temporal.
Julia (as Val): Just saying, I don't need your judgment, Dez. I love you.
Eric (as Dez): I had a great time in Panama City in 2005, so.
Eric: Yeah, you open it up and they look like regular Raybans Wayfarers.
Julia (as Val): Oh sweet.
Eric (as Dez): They - put put them, I put them on.
Julia: Val puts them on.
Eric (as Dez): So Val why don't you look at the door, and focus on it.
Julia (as Val): Oh ok.
Julia: Val looks at the door and goes HNNN!
[Everyone laughing]
Eric: Yeah. So you look at the door and then you can look clear through the door and you see all of the mess from that closet, the Dez opened where he keeps like his gym bag and like sneakers and stuff and it all kind of spilled out.
Julia (as Val): Dez you live like this?
Eric (as Dez): I listen, I had to go get the heavy bag really quickly. Everything went everywhere.
Eric: And yeah, so these are the unknown glasses or the unglasses. You get two charges per long rest. You can use that to see through a regular wall or door.
Julia: Cool.
Eric: Or you can identify if something is an illusion or secretly a robot or something fun.
Brandon: Do not look at me with those glasses Julia.
Eric: So you only get two charges per long arrest though, and you have to use a charge for each one of those individual things. I will also say because they're sunglasses and they're wayfarers, the lenses are rather narrow. So you can't like, whip your head around and look at everything. You have to look at one thing and you have kind of like a narrow band in which you're looking at.
Amanda: The autofocus only has two charges on it in this battery.
Eric: Yes, exactly.
Julia: Cool. Gotcha.
Eric: Yeah!
Amanda: That's awesome.
Eric: Dez picks up the heavy bag and also takes something out of his back pocket and hands them to Aggie. And they're like - they're a type of gloves. What type of gloves would Aggie like to wear? Amanda: I think I think sort of like old fashioned driving gloves or like, I don't know exactly what to call them? But like they're kind of like cut out on the back of the hand. The fingers only go up halfway. Julia: Yeah, those are driving gloves.
Amanda: Leather. Yeah. Cool. Thank you. Because I think the having fingertips free is important for healing, but just kind of improving grip in like general coolness I think is is the word here.
Eric: Yeah, absolutely. I think they're also in like the green and Browns that your costume is in. Amanda: Very L.L. Bean Land's End.
Eric: So you pull them on and you're - it's like your hands feel more dexterous in a little in a little bit of way. They feel a little like like, oh I want to, I want to go do something.
Amanda: I wanna grab stuff.
Eric: So Dez holds up the heavy bag again, which is in like a crater on the other side of the room is like, okay,
Julia: Still smoking.
Eric (as Dez): So what are you going to do is do one, two and then uppercut. Okay? Amanda (as Aggie): Sure.
Amanda: And then I do.
Eric: Alright. So you do one, two and then you do as you do the third one, the uppercut. You hit the bag and like you hit it on an angle to the side, like you don't you would do an uppercut like diagonally. So up into the left and then Dez moves like slides holding the heavy bag ten feet to the left, like all the way clear across the room.
Amanda: Oh?
Eric (as Dez): That's why they call it a c-c-c-c-combo.
Eric: So these are the c-c-c-c-combo gloves. So Aggie, if you hit twice in a row, you can use two ki points to automatically hit. But instead of doing damage, you can push ten feet in any direction, even up. Brandon: That's dope!
Julia: That's really cool.
Amanda: So I land both attacks are stunning strike or something, and then I can use the ki points and just auto hit and move them, right?
Eric: Yes. But you auto hit, you get a free push of 10 feet, but you can also go up if you want to do more damage and then they're 10 feet in the air and then will automatically take falling damage on their turn. They'll hit the ground.
Amanda: That's awesome.
Eric: Yeah.
Julia: Extremely cool.
Eric: Milo, where's your costume right now?
Brandon: I mean, it's always within reach, right. So like it's probably in my car or something. Eric: Yeah. For sure. Dez says
Eric (as Dez): Go get when you go get your costume.
Brandon: And I walk exceedingly slowly because I'm still hung over and come back.
Eric: So 20 minutes later, I would just like talking about the hockey team while you come back and Dez grabs it, and goes over to his area, and, you know, there's that thing in the center of the cowl that has this space for the ghost hand to go into Dez like science hot glues, something into that space. And there's like you look at it and there is like a metal ring around it now.
Brandon (as Milo): Oh, dope. What what does this do?
Eric (as Dez): Put it on and like to get ready for magic stuff.
Brandon (as Milo): I'm always ready for magic stuff Dez!
Eric: Nice.
Brandon: I put it on.
Eric: Nice, so what usually happens when you put your costume on the ghost hand goes through the middle engine just like waggles around. Right? But now the ghost hand tries to go through the center and it's like then it gets rerouted like it's in pipes, like it's the sewer pipes or something like immediately like takes a left and right and then comes out on your left arm.
Brandon: Ohh okay.
Eric: And like so your whole left arm is now like a ghost arm.
Brandon: Hell yeah!
Eric: It's like it slowly covers the whole thing, but now it's like a little bulkier because there's like ghostly phantasm stuff, ghost biz, now on top of this arm and Dez says,
Eric (as Dez): Yeah, I think this should be able to help you. The ghost will then help you with body stuff and also to go stuff.
Eric: Dez calls this the Fantasmaduct. It's like an aqueduct but phantasm. And so you have this cosmetic thing. You have a ghost arm now instead of coming out of your chest. But once for a long rest, you can replace a dexterity or strength check or saving throw with wisdom.
Julia: Ooooo.
Brandon (as Milo): Dez, this. Is. Dope. As. Hell.
Brandon: And I shake Dez's hand with the ghost hand.
Eric: Dez responds, and why don't you do a strength check for me, my man.
Brandon: Okay,
Eric: and you use your wisdom mod.
Brandon: 9 +5 for 14.
Eric: Wonderful. Okay, so Dez is pretty strong because you know he moves metal and he's like an artificer in that way, like he has to pick up big wrenches and stuff. But he gives you like the Arnold Schwarzenegger like action movie handshake and the Ghost Hand just like crushes Dez's hand. Eric (as Dez): Well you got a big grip there bud.
Amanda (as Aggie): Thank you so much. These are so cool. And I hope you have a bath with Epsom salts. I'm sorry about the sliding.
Eric (as Dez): That's alright. No problem.
Brandon (as Milo): Sorry about that arm crushing.
Julia (as Val): Sorry about the big punch earlier.
Eric (as Dez): You all have things to apologize for. Thank you, I was waiting for it. You've all hurt me today.
Amanda (as Aggie): I also - the leftover donuts are still upstairs, so, you know. Brandon (as Milo): No, Aggie, Aggie, Aggie.
Julia (as Val): Aggie they're super not. We ate them all. We ate them all.
Amanda: Aggie is just has that longsuffering older sibling look like "I can't believe these people." [Everyone laughs]
Eric: Incredible. Dr. Morrow says.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Okay, so now that you of all had wonderful things to Dez has put you together and remember I have come up with a scientific breakthrough, and January is doing January things and just looking super cute. I want to show you something, just one more thing before you go. So don't worry about it.
Brandon (as Milo): Why would you say don't worry about it?
Julia (as Val): What a weird thing to say!
Eric: She types and stuff on a keyboard and pulls up a screen of what looks to be like a pantry, like a totally bare pantry, like very small. But there's like a camera is looking down on it and you see that Bones Botti, Jacked O'Lantern and Brett, the camera guy, are all in the pantry. And the Bones is slamming on the door, trying and shaking it, trying to get out like
Eric (as Bones): WE'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED! WE'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED!
Eric: And Jacked O'Lantern, just like leaning there. And Brett is like looking at a can of corn. Julia (as Val): Hey, hey, Dr. Morrow. Hey, Dr. Morrow.
Brandon (as Milo): What the fuck?
Amanda (as Aggie): Where are they?!
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh, they're in the pantry here. Yeah.
Julia and Amanda (as Val and Aggie): WHY!?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): You know, you are all so busy with your other super - I wanted to help and I knew that they were doing -
Julia (as Val): By kidnaping three men listen, not my choice but alright.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yeah. I felt that they were being big jerks, and
Brandon (as Milo): You're the mayor.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yeah.
Julia (as Val): You are the mayor. You can't go around kidnaping people.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Well...
Eric: And all three of them look at the ground for a second.
Julia (as Val): GUYS!
Amanda (as Aggie): You can't just kidnap people. They weren't they weren't a problem! Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Okay. They don't know where they are.
Brandon (as Milo): Did they do a crime?! You're not even an officer of the law, you cannot arrest people. Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh, okay, okay. If we all - we could just let them go, it's fine. They should be on their way to Montreal anyway.
Brandon (as Milo): Did they see you? Are they going to press charges on anyone here? Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh no, no.
Eric: And Dez is like,
Eric (as Dez): Absolutely there's no way.
Julia (as Val): So how did you get them here if they didn't see you guys?
Amanda (as Aggie): What are you going to tell them what happened? Like they were being auditioned for an escape room and failed.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Yes- OO! Yes! That's very good.
Eric: And Dr. Morrow hits like a button and a speaker comes on is like,
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): [Over the speaker] Oh, fellas are so, so well, we love your audition for - [whispering off mic] oh, give me a name? Give me a name. An escape room?
Julia (as Val): Escape the place!
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): [Over the speaker] Escape the Place! You -we'll get back in touch with you. We have your socials, don't worry!
Eric: The bottom drops out of the pantry and they go
[Muffled screaming]
Eric: And it is like sliding out somewhere.
Amanda (as Aggie): Is that actually a pantry? What is that for?
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): It is - it's a yes it is a pantry. I don't - that's why I left my corn in there. Brandon (as Milo): Did you install that floor in case someone tried to steal your sweets or cookies or Oreos or whatever?
Amanda (as Aggie): Or if one of the cans exploded, then it'd be very easy cleanup. I'm taking back my outrage now.
Julia: Valid, valid, valid.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): All of the- all of the reasons. Absolutely.
Amanda: wCan I roll perception on whether or not these guys believe the lie?
Eric: Yeah. Roll roll in everyone roll insight.
[Dice rolling]
Amanda: Okay, a 16 +5 12.
Julia: I got a 17.
Brandon: I got 11 +8 for 19.
Amanda: Wow family, good job!
Eric: 8 to insight? Jesus.
Brandon: Fuck yeah I got 8 to insight.
Eric: As Dr. Morrow is kind of like clearing the meeting as you're finished like.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Alright think listen I shouldn't have done that. Want to just give you all and it's I overstepped my boundaries, it's fine.
Eric: And Dez is like
Eric (as Dez): So-sorry about it.
Eric: And January goes
Eric (as January): I thought it was pretty sick.
Brandon (as Milo): January you're not supposed to have morals. Come on!
Eric (as January): Listen man! Lawful good means a lot of things you got to follow the law! If the law comes down on you, bang bang.
Amanda: Oh my.
Eric (as January): I said hammer of justice baybee!
[Julia laughing]
Eric: Yeah. As you, as you're leaving you check on Instagram and Bones has had to make a new Instagram. It's called BonesBotti_ Underscore and Bones has just been like,
Eric (as Bones): Hey, just had a really great audition for a new TV show. Thank God things are going well. We're off to Montreal to figure out some haunted poutine. Can't be that good. Also, there's some kid who's super fast up there fucking weird.
Eric: And it goes off. Yeah, he bought it.
Julia (as Val): Oh, that that man. I hate him.
Brandon (as Milo): Sweet, sweet summerchild.
Amanda (as Aggie): He's going to Canada. Like not that far but far enough.
Amanda: Aggie love these gloves and asks
Amanda (as Aggie): Hey Val would you come with me to the danger fun room just so I can like try this out a little bit?
Julia (as Val): Oh hell yeah.
Amanda (as Aggie): Okay, cool!
Julia (as Val): Let's go beat up some raptors.
Amanda: and I want to go practice a little bit.
Brandon: Milo is like
Brandon (as Milo): Yeah I'm going to, I'm going to do a little tweaking here with, with Dez on this, on this here Fantas-fantasticduct if you know what I mean. It's awesome. Alright. I'll catch you guys in a bit. I'll come down there and fight with y'all.
Julia (as Val): Okay.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, no don't worry.
Brandon: And Milo is going to head to the bathroom real quick. Dial Aggie on the burner phone. Julia: Ah yes, the unbreakable-
Eric: Unhackable burner phone. Yeah.
Brandon: And slip it into like the folds of his cloak and then go back into the lab with Dr. Morrow. Eric: Okay.
Brandon (as Milo): Um. Hey Doc.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh, Milo, I thought you went to the danger room, I could do you need me to set it up is I'll just be a second you just hold on.
Brandon (as Milo): No, I think it's good in there. Okay. I mean, it's dangerous. I don't think it's great. But uh -
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Do you want it more dangerous? I could make it more dangerous. Brandon (as Milo): I mean. Yeah, let's do that.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): But I'll do that. Yeah. Yeah. What's on your mind?
Brandon (as Milo): I had a question that I want to ask you. Not in front of everyone else. Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Oh, okay.
Brandon (as Milo): You fuck my dad?
Amanda: I have this phone on speaker in the control room with Val and it's too shitty to have a mute function, so my hand is just like clapped over my mouth.
[Brandon laughing]
Julia: Val is just giving Aggie look like "what? What? What?!"
Amanda (as Aggie): What is happening?!
Brandon: Milo thinks the only way to get Dr. Morrow attention is to, like, be audacious, you know.
Eric: No, this is a great Dr. Morrow her mouth is just open and then she turns her head to the side for a second and like thinks about it and says.
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): Hold on... Milo, this is a secure conversation. Hold on, she goes over to keyboard and type some stuff in and hits enter Brandon remember when you told me that these phones were unhackable?
Brandon: Yeah, because they're unhackable. So I rolled and then I said, I'm rolling to see if they're unhackable.
Brandon: Right. And you got, you got a nat 20 because they aren't hackable.
Eric: Right. I rolled a 12. So Dr. Morrow if you're going to have secure location conversation in her lab, she has some sort of like spy electronic cloaking device. Okay?
Brandon: It's like a Faraday cage.
Eric: Yes, absolutely. So I'm going to roll to see if this beats the unhackable burner phones. Dr. Morrow has very high arcana because she's going to tech and this thing is made pretty well. I'm going to say it's +4, I need to roll a or 9 or above to knock out your unhackable burner phones. Okay?
Brandon: Okay. No whammy, no whammy, no whammy, no whammy, no whammy.
Eric: I wrote a 14.
Brandon: FUCK!
Eric: Aggie, you hear this and you almost dropped the phone for a second and then you hear Dr. Morrow say
Eric (as Dr. Morrow): This needs to be a secure conversation and then it just goes [static noise] the - you just can't hear anything like a call still going. But now I just like it fizzled out and it's silent.
Amanda (as Aggie): Oh.
Julia (as Val): I've never met anyone who's sex life was like a matter of national security. This is interesting to me.
Amanda (as Aggie): I know. Like, what does Milo's dad do?
[High paced techno riff starts]
Eric: We're going to do one last scene here and I want to end on something with Val. This is later on in the day. You've all trained, Aggie, you've gotten in your truck. Milo, we're not sure what happened with Milo just yet, but we'll figure that out.
Amanda: Cliffhanger more like a biff hanger because he kind of biffed that interaction. [Eric laughs]
Eric: Val How are you getting home?
Julia: Skytram.
Eric: Skytram, okay.
Julia: Always skytram.
Eric: Okay, you're walking to the sky tram because Dr. Morrow house is a little bit into the forest. So you got to like walk to like highway. There's a sky tram nearby for Highway one, but it's a little bit of a walk, you know, like walking to any sort of subway. And you see, Brett, the cameraman, is trying to figure something out on his phone.
Julia: I think Val just kind of comes up behind him is like, what you got there?
Eric (as Brett): Oh. Oh. Don't please don't please don't walk up behind people and scare them, it's it's bad. It's a bad thing to do.
Eric: Make an insight check for me, Val.
[Dice roll]
Julia: 14.
Eric: You get a good look at Brett and he's wearing like it's like someone dressed him as a roadie, it's like he's wearing like a Metallica T-shirt and like his jeans have like lots of rips in them. And he's wearing like, you know, it's like, oh, he doesn't give him a car, like, oh, we can't afford car hard, we need to get him. Like, we'll just get him some sort of like working jacket. And like, they put this outfit together from a thrift store. And you look at him, he's like 45. He's graying a salt and pepper stuff in his in his beard and his hair. He's balding a little bit. He he says,
Eric (as Brett): Oh, yeah, I'm just waiting, you know, waiting for for a car to pick me up. Yeah, don't don't scare people like that, don't don't I don't like being surprised like that.
Julia (as Val): I was just trying to help you, you look a little lost.
Eric (as Brett): Oh, yeah. You know, when you get fired from a job like that. Oh, yeah, I'm not going to Montreal with the guys.
Julia (as Val): Oh, it's that's brutal, man, I hear Montreal's real, real good.
Eric (as Brett): Yeah.
Julia (as Val): Good, good. French food up there.
Eric (as Brett): Yeah, no, absolutely. I loved being in Lake Town City though, you know, there's so much to do, so much to see. And, you know, all these you see superpowered folk around just making everything so exciting.
Julia (as Val): Yeah, yeah, yeah, it'd be a shame if something were to threaten those superhero people and they weren't able to be as public as they like to be and because because of people making videos that are bad and against those people.
Eric (as Brett): Yeah, yeah. No, I understand. You know, I just think that also, you know, maybe these superpowered folk need to be challenged. Like maybe Dr. Mayor Morrow isn't what's best for them. They should be doing really just going out there and fighting. They're fighting their best, just really like, you know, Kilonova, he has ghost powers, he should be so much- he'd be better than that! Preserver, like when you when you fall through a thing in the ceiling, and you fall through a skylight in a ceiling and you do a roll like that, you should roll and say like a cool thing at the end, it seems like Dr. Morrow was holding them back and, you know, Vulcani's thing is all over the place with, you know, the mob connection and and maybe Vulcani needs to get out of Little Italy. I don't know. They should they should probably be better. I had higher expectations for that.
Julia: Oh, Val is fuming. FUH UM ING.
Eric (as Brett): Yeah, but, you know. Maybe, hopefully someone will well, it will push them to be better, better someone better than Dr. Morrow.
Julia (as Val): I think that someone should not get too big for their britches, if you know what I mean. Eric (as Brett): You know, maybe I'm not explaining myself, I should I said draw you a picture.
Eric: And he opens up his jacket and inside are the dragon winged drones that you saw in the museum. Four of them fly at you and they're just attacking, they're on top of you immediately. Make a strength saving throw.
[Brandon gasps]
[Dice rolls]
Julia: Uh sure.
Amanda: I've never seen Brandon look more shocked.
Julia: I got a 22.
Eric: Okay, so these these like dragon wing drones are on top of you. They're trying to topple you over. You don't fall over, you like fight them off after a few seconds you hear.
Eric (as Brett): You know what? Tell Dr. Morrow that Gutenberg needs her to try harder.
Eric: And he takes out like something out of another thing, out of his jacket, and then a door appears in front of him. You see him open the door, walk through it, and then he's gone.
[Music fades out]
Brandon: Holy shit, shit, shit, shit. Holy shit. BRETT?!
[Julia groans]
[Theme music]