We’re back in historic Laketown. Sometimes the beginning is the only place to begin the end. Val needs protein. Milo grabs too many treats. Aggie walks in on her parents.
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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: Julia Schifini
- Multitude: multitude.productions
About Us
Join the Party is a D&D actual play podcast with tangible worlds, genre-pushing storytelling, and collaborators who make each other laugh each week. We welcome everyone to the table, from longtime players to folks who’ve never touched a roleplaying game before. Begin with Campaign 2 (The Join Campaign) for a modern, sci-fi superhero game, or marathon all of Campaign 1 (The Party Campaign) for a high fantasy story. And once a month we release the Afterparty, where we answer your questions about the show and how we play the game. New episodes every Tuesday.
Transcript
Amanda: Last time on Join the Party.
Eric: Now that the massive mountain lobster is under control, and Dr. Morrow is safe and sound the LT3 dig into what the hell is going on Hard Body and Taxonomy were pixels Sour Anthony only had powers because he had 1-up snacks Emily Slaughter is having a full-on breakdown. Oh, there's a lot going on. But the rest of the answers are back in Historic Laketown which is the last place Dr. Morrow remembers seeing after she was kidnapped. [sings] Closing time every new beginning comes from some [mumbles Closing Time lyrics]. Let's get the party started
Eric: So Amanda, how does Pizza react when you have Milo slung over one shoulder and you're leading a cut and bleeding Val up the steps of your bungalow.
Amanda: Pizza is very excited for visitors and sits near his treat bin in the kitchen waiting for us to reward him, thumping his tail on the floor.
Brandon: Milo digs his entire hand into the treat bin and goes to give them all.
[Julia sighs]
Julia (as Val): Okay.
Julia: It's a full like bowl worth of treats in the treat bowl now.
Eric (as Pizza): Aw-aw-aw-wow-wowow!
Eric: And then immediately flop on belly, give me those belly rubs.
Julia: Yes, belly rubs!
Eric: Give it to me! The topping is belly rubs!
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: -on the pizza.
Amanda: Adorable.
Eric: Hell yes. All right, so where we last ended up, Dr. Morrow has given you a clue that she remembers that Gutenberg brought her somewhere in Laketown. And I know that Val and Milo are a little bumped and bruised so let's do-- Let's do a do a little short resty!
Brandon: Yay.
Julia: Hell yeah!
Amanda: Totally.
Julia: I want to clarify, Val, like, that needs a nap. Val's not doing too bad. But Val would like a nap before facing Gutenberg.
Brandon: Yeah, Milo, too. Just a quick man nap.
Eric: I do like the idea that like you guys, you fought a giant kaiju mountain lobster, and Val's like-
Eric (as Val): Oh, I just got to stretch. Like, I'm fine.
Julia (as Val): I'm fine, just like a quick power nap, a little bit of protein. You got lasagna?
Eric: You know, Italian protein?
Julia: There's meat in lasagna! Lasagna has protein!
Eric: No, I thought that was wonderful. I thought that was incredible. The first thing I thought of was like jerky lasagna. And I'm like, how would you even do that?
Julia: That's not...
Brandon: Valfield? Garval. You're Garfield, that's what I was trying to get out.
Julia: Yeah, no, I got it.
Eric: Val also hates Mondays.
[Brandon laughing]
Julia: It's a Monday, so Val is just pissed off.
Eric (as Val): I'm fucking pissed off with Mondays!
Amanda: Auto rage, auto rage auto crit.
Eric: Oh, yeah. You auto crit on Mondays.
Julia: Animal characters we've compared Val to in the past two episodes: Garfield, Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles, maybe?
Eric: Yeah, you're somewhere in between Sonic and Knuckles. 100%. Alright, so Val is going to regular short rest. I think you should roll your dice just in case. But I think you're gonna go back up to full health.
Julia: Sure. I need 28 hit points and I have 12 D12s, so I think I should be okay.
Eric: Yeah, you should be alright.
Amanda: Yeah, I point you over to my big stuffed armchair and put, like, a bowl of nuts and also a couple of bananas and also a smoothie next to you.
Julia: Okay, I got them back in five rolls.
Eric: Nice. Wonderful. Perfect.
Amanda: Nice.
Brandon: Aggie does that and Val puts a slice of lasagna in the smoothie?
Julia: Yeah. Yeah. For the protein.
Eric: You take pocket pizza out of and throw it in a blender.
Brandon: Pocket pizza.
Julia: It's pizza bagels, you know? When pizza's on a bagel, you can eat pizza anytime, especially after fighting a Kaiju.
Amanda: That's why I zip Pizza the dog up in my windbreaker and take them on a hike.
Julia: I love that.
Eric: And Brandon, you're going to, we're gonna do a similar thing that we did right after the fight at the big gala is that we're going to use some other druid stuff here that you can recover some spell slots that are, the number of level slots quote-unquote, "is equal to half of your druid level". So you can retain up to six quote-unquote "levels of spell".
Brandon: Gotcha. I think I'll just do a fifth-level spell cuz I have all of my level one and four. I've only used one of my two and three. So...
Eric: Great.
Brandon: Yeah, I'll be good there. But Milo does lay down on the cold tile like a dog next to Pizza and he short rests, recovers by having Pizza lick his face.
Amanda: Yeah, Pizza drips a soggy treat on your face.
Brandon (as Milo): Yay!
Eric: Anubis also, like, phases through and holds up like their iPhone, or like an iPad to you as you just watched, like, another bloody action movie for like an hour.
Brandon: That's good.
Amanda: I feel like you should tell Anubis that the girl from Ozark is Anna Delvey now.
Eric (as Anubis): I've already watched that, I love scammers!
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: Incredible.
Brandon: Is that because Anubis is a scammer?
Eric (as Anubis): The biggest scam is coming back to life.
Eric: Incredible. Alright. So all the law Val is making a pizza smoothie, and my Milo's lying on the floor watching. Oh my god, something with Dolph Lundgren in it. I can only imagine John Claude Van Damme. Aggie, you're not gonna you're not going to short rest?
Amanda: No, I'm actually okay. And I want to make sure I verify that my parents aren't Gutenberg constructs before we go take him down.
Julia: I'm sorry that we put that idea in your head. I feel bad about that.
Amanda: No, it's okay. It's important that if they're not, I'll ask them a little reconnaissance question about Laketown, but I'm gonna pluck the sunglasses out of whoever's pocket has them right now and walk over to my parent's house.
Brandon: Have we checked Hitomi?
Amanda: My logic here is that my parents arrived so suddenly, unexpectedly, while Gutenberg was like doing his shit.
Eric: Correct
Amanda: And Hitomi, we did meet part way through but very early. So I think that's less of a concern for me.
Eric: I would say that I wouldn't have done this over the phone. I feel like I would have let you do this. I'll give this to you for free, Hitomi is not. Because Hitomi called Val to give them the scoop that was a part of the whole Knight of Mirrors thing?
Julia: Right.
Eric: But I only did that- I don't want you to think that I was burying the lead on that. Hitomi could have done that in front of you. I just chose to call.
Julia: Okay.
Eric: So don’t, you don't have to worry about that one.
Amanda: Gotcha.
Brandon: But Lucas has been an okapi this entire time!
Eric: That's true.
Julia: Fuck yeah.
Eric: That's true. Okapi. [laughing] I remember Lucas got turned into an okapi, that was pretty fucked up.
Amanda: Yeah, it was good.
Eric: That was good shit.
Julia: Really good.
Brandon: Oh, this episode is a clip show.
Eric: [sings] Dududut-Dududut-Dududut-Dududut. Yeah, go ahead, Amanda.
Amanda: Yeah, I'll put the sunglasses on and walk over the two or three doors down toward my parents' cottage is.
Eric: Sure. Can you give me an investigation check, please? Or perception, whichever you'd like.
Amanda: I'm better at perception. [dice rolls] That is a 13 + 6 for 19
Brandon: That's pretty good!
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Alright, with a 19. I think that you couldn't hear your parents inside but as you walk up to the front door, the door is locked, which is kind of odd for the kind of village community thing that you usually have going on in Laketown.
Amanda: Hmm, what do I hear then? Are they? Like, do I hear anything in particular?
Eric: No, I don't think so. I think that they're kind of just- the thing that you hear is the radio is on, they of course refuse to use any sort of streaming service. They still use an AM FM radio that your dad pulled out of a car and then rigged up to a speaker because he thinks that that's the best way to get it. So you hear like-
Eric (as radio DJ): This is 104.3 Classic Rock, but not what classic rock means now with classic rock meant 30 years ago!
Brandon: Oh, Eric, hang on, let me turn my radio down. I think I was playing over what you were doing, so if you want to just retake that I'll let you.
Amanda: I hate when both Christian radio and local shock jocks get into my microphone.
[Brandon laughing]
Eric (as radio DJ): 60s, 70s, and 80s nothing later than that, because that's not really classic rock.
Amanda: I'm going to bend down, take the key from under the welcome mat and just let myself in. How many times have I told them not to keep the key there? Everyday. Everyday.
Julia: Then how would Val get into any building?
Brandon: Exactly.
Eric: Straight roll? Just roll a D20 for me.
[dice rolls]
Amanda: How does 19 feel?
Eric: Yeah
Amanda: How's that go down?
Eric: Yeah, that goes down real smooth.
Amanda: Get fucked, Eric!
[Brandon laughing]
Amanda: Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I didn't sleep well. I was really excited.
Brandon: Aggro Amanda for this episode.
Eric: What's wild is that I was gonna say, yeah, anything above a 3 would have done it because see, that's definitely true. But, yes-
Amanda: I'm sorry, I also for the first time this campaign, just peaked my mic tracks. So, I'm gonna...
Brandon: Whoa!
Julia: Oooh!
Eric: Yeah, they're the there's a key, there's 100% the key under the mat.
Amanda: I'm gonna just put it in the doorknob and walk in.
Eric: Cool. You, you walk inside and the- the radio is on. You see the radio still blasting
Eric (as radio DJ): anything after 1990 really isn't classic rock, it should be a different genre.
Eric: But your parents are not there. Actually, the faucet is still on.
Amanda: I'm going to immediately, like, flatten my back against the wall and kind of like start rotating around like the perimeter of the room and like looking around and trying to see if there is anyone hidden or violent here. There's also like a 10% chance my parents having sex in their room. So, I'm going to first make sure that there's no intruders and then approach their bedroom?
Eric: Incredible.
Julia: That's an incredibly smart move, Amanda but also a fucking hilarious image of you just getting real flat and scooting around the room.
Amanda: Oh yeah.
Eric: Make a dexterity saving throw with disadvantage, please.
Amanda: Ugh!! [dice roll]
Julia: Uh-oh.
Brandon: It's a sex-sexer... it's a sex- sexterity roll.
Julia: Gross
Amanda: That was actually an 18 and then a 17 plus eight for 25.
Brandon: Damn!
Julia: Ooh!
Amanda: Somehow I saved all my rolls for this episode, hopefully.
Eric: You're looking around anticipating you're gonna walk in and your parents having sex.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: So I think that is the thing that is most on your mind. So you don't notice when you trip over something as you're walking through the kitchen and you stumble and the glasses are slipping off your face. But I think, like, you slap the back on your face, like a big hands. You stretch your hand out big-
Amanda: Umm, Eric, one finger stretches.
Eric: Just one one big finger-
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: -keeping glasses on your face. And you look down and you see that a trapdoor has just opened up beneath your feet.
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): Oh, honey, you gotta call before you come over. We could have been, you know, together.
Amanda (as Aggie): MOM!
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): What?
Amanda (as Aggie): What is this? This isn't on the building plans. What is that?
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): Oh, fine. Okay, but don't tell any of your siblings, please.
Amanda (as Aggie): Oh my god. The number of things I have not told my siblings over the years. Why do you even have to say that?
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): I don't-- it's it's ingrained in me. It's something I keep secrets. I'm sorry. Just come on down.
Amanda: Can I look down before I climbed down?
Eric: Yeah, absolutely.
Amanda: Do I see her?
Eric: Yeah, your mom is kind of, her little face is kind of poked out from the trapdoor. Because it like nudged you from the back. So like she didn't get it open all that much. So it's just like, you just see her little face poking out from the trapdoor.
Amanda: And she's a person?
Eric: Yeah, you look down while wearing the sunglasses and your mom is a person.
Amanda: Okay, phew. I'll keep them on until I see my dad. But I'll- I'll open the trapdoor and look down.
Eric: Yeah, you stretch your head down truly literally. And there's kind of just like a little den down there, it's like homey and really warm, a lot of warm lights down there. There's like a lot of blankets and a couch, like a little loveseat just for the two of them. And there's a big chair that your dad's currently sitting in with a very large TV, and he's watching the Giants game from 12 years ago. You know, he's watching the Super Bowl where the Giants beat the Patriots, because your dad hates Tom Brady. And it's mostly because he, one looks like a pretty boy and two hates tomatoes, which are two things that are just he has a strong feeling against.
Amanda: My dad can forgive a lot of things but not hating tomatoes.
Eric: No, absolutely not. There's also kind of like out of place, there's like an official office file cabinet in here as well. Like it's like really like cozy den, lots of blankets and seems like your mom's just like-
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): Oh, this is just 'cause of when we don't want people looking in on us. You know how, pretty small town living.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, I wish you'd kind of consider that before you move back right next door to me. But who- who built this for you? When?
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): We got some guys, contractors.
Amanda (as Aggie): From what company? There's some bad people out there mom, they’re scamming folks in their golden years like you.
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): I know the Hendersons, their son married a lovely boy and he, his brother is in- is a really wonderful contractor. So we went with, we went with him.
Amanda (as Aggie): What was his last name?
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): Oh, I don't know.
Amanda (as Aggie): They have a business card? They have a license?
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): [in an annoyed tone] You want you want to look in, you want to look at my receipts, Aggie?
Amanda (as Aggie): I come home to my parents' house where I knock furiously and then have to let myself in thinking that my parents in their golden years have like had a stroke or something and then I come in and your faucet is running. And you guys are nowhere to be found. So yes, I was pretty terrified.
Eric: Your mom like lightly hits your dad like with the back of her back your head just in the shoulder and be like-
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): You left the faucet on again.
Amanda (as Aggie): Okay, what's this filing cabinet doing down here?
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): Oh, Hank, Hank wanted us to hold on to it.
Amanda (as Aggie): Oh, what? What's in it?
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): His things, I don't look inside.
Amanda: I'm gonna walk over and open it.
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): Don't Aggie, don't!
Amanda (as Aggie): I work with Hank!
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): Margaret Mary Josephina O'Hare!
Amanda (as Aggie): Not one of my names.
Amanda: And then I like reach my arm out to kind of like put it in her face like-
Amanda (as Aggie): Mom? Mom? Stop?
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): I'm sorry that I can't remember the name you were confirmed under.
Amanda (as Aggie): I know. I know.
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): You chose the patron saint of helping animals. I don't even know if that's the real one. I think Father- Father Priestly just made it up for you. Yes, his name was Father Priestly, I know we all think that's funny.
Julia: Father Priestly is an extremely funny name.
Eric: Thank you, I appreciate that.
Amanda: Is it unlocked, can I open it?
Eric: Yeah, it's just a file cabinet.
Amanda: What's in it?
Eric: There are similar types of files that you saw from the OTA.
Amanda: About every person that I or Hank know?
Eric: Yes. The ones that you could not find in the OTA were in there specifically, there is Milo's file and Hank's like employment files are also in there. There's also some other any the other ones you didn't find in there are also in there. There's also, like, an entire like there are binders about Dr. Morrow in here.
Amanda: Are there anything about John Press or any of his aliases?
Eric: Make an investigation check.
Brandon: Everyone knows if you don't hire Jake as your contractor in Laketown, you're fucking up.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: That's a natural 20.
Amanda: It is.
Brandon: Oh, shit!
Julia: Oh my God!
Eric: What do you want? What do you want, Amanda?
Amanda: So, Julia and Brandon, as of this recording you have not heard what I did-
Brandon: Nope!
Julia: Super haven't.
Amanda: -during our time away, and something I learned when I went to Delaware with a Sommelier-
Julia: You went to Delaware, why?
Amanda: -was-
Eric: Because it's a tax haven, Julia.
Julia: Oh, right. That makes sense.
Amanda: Gutenberg hates heat.
Julia: Heat?
Brandon: HUH!?
Amanda: He doesn't do well with heat. Like a computer, he needs to be in cold environments at all times. That's what I learned.
Julia: Huh.
Amanda: So I would like to know if there is anything else, if there are any files about him, his aliases, Triplicate anybody that we know to be a known alias with an eye toward what their weakness is, how can we defeat them once and for all?
Eric: Wonderful. I to be honest with you the weakness that weakness was just corroborated by the files in here-
Amanda: Okay.
Eric: -was that John Press from what they've understood in Gutenberg from his study. It's about this is more about Gutenberg's powers. I'll tell you, Julia and Brandon is that the sommelier gave Amanda a flash drive that had like, you know, when fin-- when very rich people hire detectives for like really wild shit, like the most wild and mundane things, is like they kind of had just like a report on John Press, the person and like his likes and dislikes, like, you know, rich people doing a deep dive on that. And that's where they found out that he was-- he does not like being sweaty at all, this was kind of corroborated in more of a clinical OTA examining powers sort of thing that they have figured out as they've seen him and observed him that if he gets very hot, he's unable to hold on to control of his creations. They're not sure exactly what goes wrong when that happens but it is that. That thing that you do find is a family tree on John Press. And here's the thing, I will summarize this because it's written in very, like corporate-ese from the 1960s. John Press is not his real name. He changed it because he hated his dad, his dad lived in Laketown all the way back, he was the one who ran for like, Town Council, as we talked about, all the way a long time ago. And he was a real dick, like, no one liked him and he also owned the country club that was nearby before Laketown was incorporated. It was kind of just like a very, really big country club slash golf course, and some out cabins and stuff. And then he changed his name and started emulating Gutenberg. And as he discovered his powers and worked on them, there's like an analysis portion kind of at the end of this document. And it's like, we think that because of his deep father issues and the neglect that his father gave to him and the rest of his siblings trying to take the control of, of Laketown for all those years ago, and before in the upstate New York area, his powers manifested that he used as an outlet for his emotions, but he never got full control over it. He seemed more interested in making money, then that being his main power.
Julia: Is there like an ice skating rink or something at the country club?
Eric: That's interesting. Why do you ask?
Julia: Because if his dad owned the country club, it was probably left to him and it's probably his base of operations now and if it has a particular place that is cold, that would be the first place that I would look.
Amanda: Or a commercial kitchen?
Julia: Or a commercial kitchen.
Eric: Yeah, the country club I said, I also want to point out that you saw it in the document, was that the country club no longer exists once Laketown was incorporated, they built-- they wanted to build housing and the country club was everywhere. So they kind of converted some of the old out cabins into the bungalows you see now, but the main buildings like the main country club place where the golf courses were, all that stuff is no longer there. And I think Aggie maybe you have a good sense of that, just from general like, Oh, I did know there was a country club. I don't know where it is. I didn't know where it is, but it kind of makes sense, I guess.
Amanda: Yeah, there's some old photos with like the lake and there's like the big building that you know, now something else is there and all of these little bungalows that you could rent are now the houses that people live in.
Eric: Here's something interesting, with the nat 20 I will also say that you know what building is still there? Is the boat house.
Julia: Oh, yeah, that was gonna be my next thought. Which was hey, remember those tunnels under Laketown?
Amanda: Yep.
Julia: Where the ice cream lady was?
Amanda: Oh, boy. Great. Okay.
Brandon: Hmm.
Amanda: I'm gonna be like-
Amanda (as Aggie): Thank you, mom. Thank you, dad. Next time you come down here please leave a trapdoor open that way in case something happens. You can call for help. Okay?
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): Aggie, I would like it if you respected our privacy that we don't need to keep the door open for you-
Amanda (as Aggie): What?!
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): -all time?
Amanda (as Aggie): Okay.
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare): Thank you. I really, I just need to set boundaries.
Amanda (as Aggie): Love you, daddy. Bye, mom.
Eric (as Mr. O'Hare): Love you, Margaret.
Eric (as Mrs. O'Hare) Bye, honey!
Amanda: I'm going to like roll my eyes vociferously once my back is turned.
Eric: And then it's just like-
Eric (as Mr. O'Hare): OOOH! Tom Brady, get it!
Amanda: That's the first time we've heard my dad talk on this podcast.
Brandon: They might not be pixels, but they may be some other kind of evil doer.
Eric: Yeah, he's made out of pure dad energy.
Amanda: Incredible.
Eric: There you go.
Amanda: Cool. I'll walk back to the cottage. I'll sit at the kitchen table and kind of scratch Pizza with one hand as I call up Google Street View and just start kind of looking at the boathouse and Main Street and refreshing my memory on that stuff as I wait for these guys to wake up.
Eric: For sure you kind of got confirmation on that, the boathouse was still around.
Brandon: For further color, it is important to note that Pizza is lying next to me or I should say Milo was lying next to Pizza. So it's almost as if you're also scratching Milo.
Eric: Pizza is on top of Milo but then Tuna is on top of Pizza.
Julia: Awww! Val is up by the time you get back and Val is like-
Julia (as Val): Aggie, I hope you don't mind. I used a lot of the things in your fridge and also your pantry and now I made ragu, is that cool? You want some?
Amanda: (as Aggie): I would love some, thank you.
Julia (as Val): Hell yeah.
Julia: I just made myself hungry thinking about ragu. Ugh.
Amanda (as Aggie): I'm happy to report my parents are not constructs, but I did walk in on what I thought was going to be them together, but instead it was them in a little den that they made watching football, which is almost kind of worse.
Julia (as Val): Huh.
Brandon (as Milo): Were they not together? Were they separated? What do you mean?
Amanda (as Aggie): Okay.
Julia: You're asleep.
Amanda: Yes, please.
Julia: Bowl of ragu and penne [Brandon laughing] rigatoni actually not not penne, rigatoni. Nice, thick rigatoni.
Eric: Here's the suggestion for me as the head writer of Join the Party. Do any of you three feel like you're resolved with your interpersonal issues?
[Julia giggling]
Amanda: Among the three of us?
Eric: No, I'm serious. That's why I'm saying like it like I'm--
Julia: I'm just laughing at the idea of anyone ever being resolved in all of their interpersonal issues.
Eric: In this particular interpersonal issue, I just didn't know if you want to-- if anyone wants to resolve that.
Julia: I think Val like, serves out bowls of ragu and rigatoni for everyone.
Brandon (as Milo): Is there food?
Julia (as Val): There's 100%-- Come sit down.
Brandon (as Milo): I'm gonna eat that food. Can I have that food?
Julia (as Val): Yeah, yes, you can come sit down at the table.
Brandon (as Milo): Wonderful, thank you.
Amanda (as Aggie): No one gives Pizza anything, that was like his week's worth of treats, okay?
[Pizza whimpers]
Julia (as Val): Okay, fine. He gets a little bowl of just the ragu.
[Pizza eating noises]
Julia: And I think Val sits down at the table after serving everyone because that's who they are as a person. And then is like-
Julia (as Val): So uhh... do you want to talk about the like, interdimensional trip that Aggie and I went on where we found out things about Milo and also ourselves?
Brandon (as Milo): What?
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah.
Julia (as Val): Yeah, I remember when we went into that mirror, and then you said nope. And then you didn't go in the mirror?
Brandon (as Milo): Yeah, Val, I remember that.
Julia (as Val): Okay. You asked what? So I just wanted to clarify what I was talking about.
Brandon (as Milo): My good friend and the only deity, Anubis, kind of a-- you know like a baby monitors work? It's kind of like that. It was a little like a little bit of a breach of privacy. So I apologize, but it was Anubis inspired. So, you know, take it up with him, I guess.
Julia (as Val): Oh, okay. So you do know all about that. Because I had, like, some weird internal conflict about like, knowing something truly personal about your past. And-
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah.
Julia (as Val): -you not knowing it.
Amanda (as Aggie): Now, that saves us a lot of, like, awkward explaining about things.
Brandon (as Milo): Oh, no. Yeah, I got all that. I appreciate y'all. allowing me the opportunity to discover that on a personal level as opposed to just being told, you know, approps of nothing.
Julia (as Val): Cool.
Brandon (as Milo): But yeah, I think I just heard, like, stuff mostly about me. I don't know what did y'all learn.
Julia (as Val): Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
Julia: Then Val looks at Aggie.
Amanda (as Aggie): Other me sucks. So it seems like something happened when we went through time. And in this other version or timeline, I was terrible. No, I mean, I was me. I had different powers. I was a lot more strict and also sad because Dr. Morrow kind of died.
[Brandon laughing]
Brandon: Sorry that's Brandon laughing not Milo.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, and January had to go after her cuz she was fucking around with black holes and it was just really sad. And also that Vulcani was evil. Don't think that'll happen to you.
Brandon (as Milo): Ah. That seems right.
Julia (as Val): Hey, what?
Brandon (as Milo): In this universe or no?
Julia (as Val): [in an annoyed tone] No, Milo, not in this universe.
[Eric laughing]
Amanda: Wow.
Julia (as Val): [sarcastically] Shockingly, I'm not a mass murderer in this universe.
Amanda (as Aggie): Milo I was prepared to afford you like three to four weeks of a lot of sympathy because you learned that you can't reunite with your birth parents with is just like a fraught thing to be and with. I'm just gonna tell you that that clock’ss running down a little bit.
Brandon (as Milo): Yeah, that's fair. Oh, Val, you murdered this bowl of ragu, though.
Julia (as Val): Thank you.
Amanda (as Aggie): Oh!
Julia (as Val): I know, I did
Eric: Damn.
Amanda: Nice.
Julia (as Val): Yeah, I've been feeling a lot of internal conflict also about the fact that I am a mass murderer in another timeline. I don't feel good about that.
Brandon (as Milo): Were y'all able to get through the mirror just fine. Like, did you feel okay? Like, could y'all go back and murder the murderer?
Julia (as Val): No. Also, I feel weird about murdering myself in another timeline?
Brandon (as Milo): That's fair, I get that.
Julia (as Val): That seems weird.
Brandon (as Milo): I didn't consider that before, that makes sense.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, I just... Listen, I think that in another timeline, Another World, whatever you want to call it. You probably had good reasons for whatever you needed to do. So I don't know how any of that stuff works. I also don't know if I'm emotionally prepared to tell Dez that we talked to Jiday again. So I don't know if I want to open that whole thing. But I think the important thing to know is that this is the one we're in and we're on each other's team. And I'm glad this is the timeline I'm in.
Julia (as Val): Yeah, this seems like a better timeline. Milo's here.
Brandon (as Milo): Hey, thanks. Genuinely. I mean, who knows? Maybe the other Val murdered 10,000 Sommeliers, and then that would make sense.
Amanda (as Aggie): Okay, let's talk about that, too. Are you like, how... how much of that is a joke?
Brandon (as Milo): I can't put numbers on it. I'm still very mad at Sommelier for hurting Lou.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah.
Brandon (as Milo): I'm not going to actually murder someone because I don't want to go to superhero prison.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah.
Brandon (as Milo): But if I'm honest, feel like murdering her. This is how my internals are feeling, you know?
Amanda (as Aggie): Did I tell you I punched her in the face?
Brandon (as Milo): No.
Julia (as Val): Tight.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, It felt great.
Julia (as Val): Oh, I was there for that. Nevermind.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, yeah and listen, I'm I'm sorry we weren't there to help you protect Lou. I don't know how I would have felt if I had to watch that happen. So I know you did all you could for her.
Brandon (as Milo): No, I mean, we were split up. We were doing that we, you're doing your thing. You don't have to apologize for that. I just- yeah, I just feel a little bit useless that I can't protect, you know, the people that I care about. So, you know?
Amanda (as Aggie): We should- we should fully murder Gutenberg though. Like, I'm fine with that.
Julia (as Val): I mean, again, I am a mass murderer in another timeline. So I am going to like hold my hand back a little bit in the like, Yeah, let's murder this guy.
Amanda (as Aggie): Okay, okay.
Julia (as Val): Or murder anyone. So...
Amanda (as Aggie): You're right. We need all his password so we can make him rebuild a new high school. So...
Julia (as Val): Yes.
Brandon (as Milo): Yes.
Julia (as Val): Gaga needs to live again.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah. On that note, my- apparently, Hank and my parents are friends because he gave them a filing cabinet with all of the files on us and all of the people we couldn't find in that room. They're just in my parents basement over there. Which isn't smart because-
Julia (as Val): Yeah.
Amanda (as Aggie): Again the water table is so high and getting Brian Roper fired is going to be my first priority after all this shit's sorted out.
Julia (as Val): Yeah.
Brandon (as Milo): I was gonna say maybe like, you know having classified information in a random citizen's household is maybe not smart but the water table definitely also is a problem.
[Eric snickering]
Julia (as Val): That's gonna flood but there's a reason they don't build bungalows with basements.
Eric: You know, they literally like dug it, right?
[General agreement]
Eric: Like, they just- someone went in and like ruined your mom and dad's house and to like dig for like five days.
Julia: That's bad.
Amanda (as Aggie): [eagerly] The concrete is already wet. It's wet now. It's wet right now.
Julia (as Val): I have feeling that like-
Amanda (as Aggie): It was never dry.
Julia (as Val): -a certain building inspector in Laketown City would be very pissed about that.
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah, no, I'll text Jake after all this is done. Yeah, I but one of the the file in there, John Press thing. He's like a son of Laketown. Like we kind of knew this. But his dad used to own the country club. Which-
Brandon (as Milo): Makes sense.
Amanda (as Aggie): Makes sense. And definite rich kid energy. And I think we got to return to the boathouse, right? That's the- that's the one structure that's left. We know that Ma was using all of those tunnels. We know there's some kind of hidden network, and if Dr. Morrow had a good view of the lake, what better view is there than the boathouse?
Julia (as Val): Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. I mean, we're returning to our origins isn't that fucking cool?
Amanda (as Aggie): Yeah.
Eric (as Random Citizen): Yeah, it's pretty Yeah, it's pretty neat that that happened.
Julia (as Val): Hey, there's a random citizen that is spying on us!
Eric (as Random Citizen/Invisible Guy): Hey, sorry, sorry I'm the Invisible Guy. I felt really weird, I was gone for a bit.
Julia (as Val): God dammit! I knew you weren't evil, guy. Do we have to punch you?
Amanda: Is this Derrick the Bard?
Eric (as Random Citizen/Invisible Guy): No, I would definitely Invisible Guy. I was there I was on the bad guys team, but then I decided not to. I'm sorry.
Julia (as Val): Good.
Brandon (as Milo): Go away.
Eric (as Invisible Guy): Okay, fine. See later. [Crash]
Brandon: Can I pitch a hero's journey where we go get Gutenberg and travel to the Super Fun Dome practice thing and then throw him into the volcano? ala Gollum and the ring.
Eric: It's pretty funny.
Amanda: That would be satisfying.
Brandon: Great, thanks.
Eric: If only you had a walking volcano with you. Wait a second!
Brandon: But I need the journey, you know?
Eric: No, I know you guys... no, Val just like does a lap.
Amanda (as Aggie): There and back again! There and back again!
Julia: I'll just leave after we defeat him. I'll just leave and go across the lake and then you guys can walk to me.
Brandon: Yeah, like that. Yeah, I'll fly out of the eagle over to you.
Amanda: Do you guys get that I said the subtitle of the Hobbit?
[Everyone excitedly agreeing]
Eric: I got all of your references. I-I heard all of them. I'm sure everyone will get your reference, they're really good. Hell yes. All right. I feel better. Just glad. I'm so glad all of you resolved that. Is there anything you want to do? Or you want to head out?
Julia: I think we should go defeat Gutenberg.
[Midroll]
Eric: Hey, it's Eric. I know I'm kind of behind on this trend, because everyone is wearing soft pants now. But I now have a really nice pair of sweatpants from Champion that’s kind of like a dusky red and I've been wearing them a lot lately. But I haven't just been wearing them inside the apartment going out, especially now they're just getting warmer. I'm walking around with them. I'm going to work with them. It's really really fun. So like, buy yourself some nice sweatpants. That's nice. Wearable outside sweatpants are the future. I don't see that changing anytime soon. Welcome to the midroll. It also has, like, little cool pockets like real pockets, which is nice and I'm really enjoying it. First and foremost, thank you to our newest patrons Joel and Francine. We're so thankful for your support. Did you know that Join the Party patron Discord is the happiest place on the internet? It is 100% true! We had four out of five dentists say so. And the fifth dentist did not know what Discord was so we're kind of discounting him. We have so many friends in there, especially after we hit our goals last month. We are over 600 and baby, we just keep on growing. There are lots of people to meet, lots of pets to see. And we're seeing the development of the poster that Sarah Bear is doing. It looks really good. So go to patreon.com/jointhepartypod and become a patron today to support the show. As a reminder, this is our housekeeping. There are only two weeks left of Campaign 2. I know I can't believe it either. This episode is happening right now. Next week is our last story episode of the campaign, get ready for that. And the week after that is a special After Party at the end of the book, where we talk about everything from Laketown City from episode one all the way to Episode wherever we are. I think it's 58? I did that off the dome. But when we said no bad Tuesday's, we meant it. We're also going to announce what we're doing after this very, very soon. So you're gonna get content continuously. We have much, much more coming your way. It is a wonderful day to check out another show that is a part of Multitude. This week, I'm going to recommend EXOLORE. Have you ever wondered what life would be like on a planet different from your own? Or how writers create your favorite fictional worlds? Well wonder no more because we have the facts and figures and stories for you. Every other week, astrophysicist and folklorist Dr. Moiya McTier explores fictional worlds by building them with a panel of expert guests. Interviewing professional world builders are reviewing the merits of worlds that have already been built. You'll learn, You'll laugh, and you'll gain an appreciation for how special our planet really is. Subscribe today by searching for EXOLORE, EXO, meaning like exoskeleton and LORE like story, EXOLORE, put together in your podcast app or go to EXOLOREpod.com. We are sponsored this week by Skillshare. If you're thinking to yourself, hmm, I wish I could make more fan art of Join the Party, but I really need a level of my drawing skills before I do it. I have great news. Skillshare has so many classes on web comics, illustration, sketching and character creation. Not only graphic design and other stuff if you don't want to draw but you still want to put stuff together. Whether you are diving deep into a hobby, learning professional skills or leveling up your RPG campaign planning. You got to check it out. Explore your creativity at skillshare.com/jointheparty where our listeners get a free trial of premium membership that is skillshare.com/jointheparty. We are also sponsored by Squarespace. Ah. The prodigal son comes home to roost. Squarespace is a super easy and beautiful tool for building your brand and growing your business online by making a beautiful website we've been using Squarespace for years to run Join the Party's and Multitude's websites. And maybe a new show that I'm launching soon? Maybe? Maybe? But making that shows website on Squarespace is part of the launching the podcast process that really makes it all feel real and it is so easy to do. I can tell you I've been in those minds like yesterday, and it actually is all coming together. I love the beautiful custom templates, I love the very easy to use SEO tools, and I love the fact that you can just set up an online store to sell physical and digital products. Whether you're launching a podcast, a brand or a business, let Squarespace be your toolkit, go to squarespace.com/jointheparty for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code JOINTHEPARTY, all one word to save 10% off on your first purchase of a website or domain. Finally, this podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Stress shows up in all kinds of ways. And in a world that's telling you to do more, sleep less and grind all the time, I'm not talking about grinding a bones or poultices that you use for magic. I'm talking about, like, grind like working perpetually. Here is your reminder to take care of yourself, do less and maybe try some therapy instead of, you know, bones or poultices. BetterHelp is customized online therapy that offers video phone and even live chat sessions with your therapist. So you don't have to see anyone on camera if you don't want to. It is much more affordable than in person therapy. It just got to give it a try and see if online therapy can help lower your stress and you can have someone to talk to, it's nice. Join the Party listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com/jointheparty that is b e t t e r h el p.com/jointheparty and now back to the show.
[End of midroll]
Amanda: Can I compose a text message to all of our I don't know if we have like an encrypted superhero communication app-
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: -or we just have kind of everybody's phone numbers and stuff but-
Eric: Yeah, it's called Carmen.
Amanda: Yeah, okay. So I will-
Brandon (as Milo): Don't invite, don't invite Sommelier, please. Just don't I don't want to, don't.
Amanda (as Aggie): What I want to do is prepare for once we have Gutenberg in our sights, if we need the backup I want to prepare it so that we can call them SOS to everybody who just helped us out including the Sommelier because she is useful in a fight.
Brandon (as Milo): But I'm asking, I'm asking as one team to another team. Don't invite Sommelier, I will be distracted.
Amanda (as Aggie): I won't include her on the list.
Brandon (as Milo): Yay. Thank you, Aggie.
Amanda (as Aggie): So I'll just compose a group text message everybody except Sommelier. And write it but not send it to say, "SOS. Help needed ASAP. Gutenberg located. Come help us." and then I'll drop a pin whenever, if ever I decide to send it.
Eric: Sounds good.
Amanda: Okay.
Julia: I like that the Sommelier is 100% going to be the big bad if we ever do a Season 2.
Brandon: That's literally exactly what I was thinking.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Cool. Alright. Yeah. Y'all walk out of Aggie's. Y'all walk out of Aggie's house. I think you want to head down towards the boathouse?
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Cool.
Julia: Like a casual stroll just before we go defeat the big bad.
Brandon (as Milo): Oh, by the way guys, I got some cool shit in the basement when I was mad at you and I didn't want to tell you about it.
Amanda (as Aggie): Oh!
Julia (as Val): Mi-Milo
Brandon (as Milo): Do you want some cool shit?
Amanda (as Aggie): Sure. That would have been helpful with kaiju
Julia (as Val): Yes, I want cool shit but we'll talk about maturity later, I guess?
Eric: Brandon make a dexterity saving throw with disadvantage.
Amanda: Oh no.
Julia: Oh no. Can I give the help action?
Eric: No.
Brandon: My first roll, first roll with the January dice natural one, baby.
Julia: Oh, no!
Eric: Incredible. You sneeze and you drop the Infinity ring and the bottle of mercury off the grounds.
Brandon (as Milo): Yeah it was sorry guys it was these things- I don't think I sneezed on them.
Julia (as Val): God, I hope not.
Brandon (as Milo): So, I would like to keep the ring. One, it's cool and Lord of the Rings-y and it gives me good luck, I think.
Amanda (as Aggie): You need that, bud.
Brandon (as Milo): This one is a literal bottle of mercury. I think you just, like, rub it on yourself and it makes you more resistant.
Julia: I think Val goes-
Julia (as Val): Aggie, why don't you take this then? The other thing that fell out of Milo's pocket earlier today.
Brandon (as Milo): Yeah.
Amanda (as Aggie): Wow! I guess I'm the only one that doesn't have stuff from Milo's pocket. Okay.
Brandon (as Milo): I have some gum.
Amanda (as Aggie): I don't want it.
Brandon (as Aggie): Okay.
Amanda (as Milo): I have so many pockets, Milo! It's about- it's about the your pocket, not about my pocket.
Julia (as Val): Really, Aggie should be having anything to do with pockets.
Amanda (as Aggie): I know.
Brandon (as Milo): Do you want my pockets?
Amanda (as Aggie): No.
Brandon (as Milo): Okay.
Eric: For absolutely no reason because this is obviously the episode after you guys discovered these magic items. Here's just a quick recap of how they work. The bottle of mercury, if you anoint it to your clothes and stuff, you get +1 AC. And if someone attacks you and they fail by 7 or more, you can retaliate with an action.
Julia: Cool.
Eric: The Infinity Ring, when if you roll an eight on the dice, you automatically hit or succeed as if you just got the AC or DC. For AC, it's kind of straightforward. It's attack or not. But for DCs, it's also like, you just get it in the way that you know, other types of games, where you have like, successes with conditions or you mildly succeed, it's kind of like that.
Brandon: So if- if the DC was a 15, then I would essentially roll with 15?
Eric: Exactly. Also, though, if something was a DC5, and you roll an 8 on the dice is if you got to 5. So there's a little bit of a pullback, but it only happens every so often. And then the Tuning Fork. The Tuning Fork is one D10 piercing, one D8 sonic damage, where you can do a free extra attack, or you can switch places with, like, a sonic version of yourself 15 feet away. It currently has two charges, if you can figure out a way to retune it, like get it vibrating again, you can get those charges back.
Brandon: Oh, cool.
Julia: I have a question about the mercury very quickly. Is that a permanent effect?
Eric: Yes, it is.
Julia: Great. I'm gonna do that immediately!
Brandon: Nice.
Brandon (as Milo): Aggie, I have been calling that one the tuna fork. So if you could carry on that tradition, that would be great. I know I've asked a lot of you in these recent times.
[Nature sound]
Eric: So the three of you head out into Laketown, I think it's about sunset. Remember it is still fall now. And you did have a big day of fighting a Kaiju for the majority of today. So I think you're walking out into the cool fall air with the sun setting on the lake. And again, you're back where this all started. For Aggie, truly where it all began. But for Val and for Milo as well. This was where your first big fights that were not Emily Slaughter related went down.
Brandon (as Milo): I can still smell the beautiful, luxurious sense of my clothes on fire.
Julia (as Val): And ice cream in the air.
Eric: You've got them all. I think y'all are walking towards the boathouse, but something catches your eye, Aggie.
Amanda (as Aggie): It's the fucking River Greens in the woods again.
Eric (as River Greens): Hey, man! Leave me alone! I just love hiking. Stop!
Julia (as Val): He knows better now, we had a talk.
Eric (as River Greens): I got my credits in LCC, it's fine.
Eric: As you're walking over the boathouse, but you see that there is a very large stump over to your left near the boathouse. And you remember that this is also the stump that leads into Ma's secret hideout. There's also a keypad on it with the numeral pad as well as you remember.
Amanda: I type, boobs.
[opening vault sounds]
Eric: It opens up.
Julia (as Val): I'm glad we all remember.
Amanda (as Aggie): Do they even change your passwords? What the fuck?
Brandon (as Milo): Was it boobs or boobies because you know?
Amanda: Whatever it was, yeah.
Eric: Whatever it was, that's what it is. But you also notice that attached to the stump are three envelopes, they're like cream colored have like a heavy stock weight, and each one is addressed to your names to Milo, Aggie and Vul? like it's short orl Vulcani?
Brandon: V U L?
Eric: V U L Yeah.
Julia: Okay.
Amanda (as Aggie): Guys, I don't take this lightly. But seeing these fucking envelopes makes me want to litter.
Julia (as Val): Damn, Aggie, that's hardcore.
[Aggie grunts, annoyed]
Brandon (as Milo): You're, you're fucked up on the inside, Aggie.
Amanda (as Aggie): [yelling] God, I'm so mad. My mom told me about boundaries, she didn’t know that word TWO MONTHS AGO!
Brandon: I opened mine up.
Eric: Milo, you open yours up and inside our two pieces of paper. One has a series of names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. You don't recognize any of the names. But as you scan through and maybe you Google some, you realize that these are like heads of companies, rich folk, like community leaders from various places around Laketown City. You see them from all over the neighborhoods. You also see that there is a receipt for a political pac that says Hank Lane for Mayor with the number 4 and he says the money it has a million dollars in the pac.
Julia: What?
Brandon: So is this a, is this a threat of exposure or more of a, like, a gesture of like a bribe?
Eric: The second one. It's a receipt. This is like someone printed out, like, contact information for important people in the city. And there is a pac that has a million dollars at its disposal. Your dad does not have a pac. You did not know where it is.
Amanda: Well candidates, Eric can't ever have pack, why would you say that?
Eric: Exactly, exactly.
Brandon: Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and create bonfire on this motherfucker and burn it down.
Eric: Sure.
Brandon (as Milo): The Lanes cannot be bought!
Amanda: Can I look at mine?
Eric: Sure. Inside yours is actually only one piece of paper. It is a letter from the forestry department of the United States, offering Aggie O'Hare a job as the local caretaker of the Verdant Zone Forest, which is the hidden United States National Forest.
Julia: It's hidden like it's a secret National Park?
Eric: Secret national park.
Julia (as Val): That's cool shit, Aggie. I don't know, maybe you should take it.
Eric: It's a job offering for you is like the head custodian of the secret park plus a deed for the custodian's cabin in the woods, that there's like a photo in there of the cabin. It's like three stories. It's an A frame. It has a really large porch that stretches out looking out at the most emerald green forest you've ever seen in your entire life.
Amanda (as Aggie): I can't do it. Val, take it away.
Julia: Val uses Ignite and lights it on fire.
Amanda (as Aggie): Thank you.
Brandon (as Milo): God. That's cool. Can I- are you sure? Can you transfer that to someone? I'll take it.
Amanda (as Aggie): [clearly heartbroken] No, no. It’s too beautiful.
Julia: All right, hit me. Hit me with it.
Eric: Sure, actually, your Vul’s is very large. It's actually like if you made a manila envelope out of cream colored like cardstock. It's, actually really very large. And you pull it out and it's like really, really long document. It's like 100 pages long and you're flipping through it and it is a draft from the New York State like lawmakers desk for a bill that as you flip through you realize that they are going to move a ton of money, rehabilitation and revitalization to Laketown City's Little Italy neighborhood.
Julia: That's dope.
Eric: It is like it has been drafted. You would have known if it has been put into the state government or not. But it seems like the offices of a few state senators or whatever have put this together and are looking to enter it in the-- it is like ready to go to be brought in front of folks. Yeah. European listeners. That is how fucking American governments work, it's wild.
Julia: Bad.
Julia (as Val): God, this is so pretty. This is so nice. Ugh.
Brandon (as Milo): Think of all the Italian food restaurants I could eat at.
Julia (as Val): There'd be so many more cannolis in the neighborhood.
Julia: I burn it.
Eric: Goes up in flames. The stump trapdoor is open for you to go on in if you'd like.
Brandon: I'm going to lay my hand on Aggie's shoulder and cast guidance as like a readied action for Aggie.
Amanda: Thank you.
Eric: Hello, yes, I think that you all jump inside again you there's the same like little divots for the ladder. That's where you walk, you're walking down in there. And you're back where you first started in Ma’s secret hideouts. I do want to note that this place looks gutted. Like the Property Brothers were here and they're about to finish flipping it. Like everything has kind of been ripped out I don't know if you remember from all the way, all the way back in the first few episodes. But there was like a narrow hallway that led all the way down and then there was like and then it took like a hard right, and then there was another- there was kind of like a cupboard for, like a closet with a bunch of weapons and shields and, and all their munitions and stuff. But like you look around, and like they kind of I guess they had covered up a lot of stuff. There were people needed like ripped out walls and stuff. There's like sheetrock kind of everywhere, maybe they dug out some stuff because it's underground. They dug out more things under the lake here so it is bigger, right? Like there are some, what I can only describe to be conference rooms, have been kind of set up there, then they haven't set anything up like the doors aren't there. Maybe there's like one picture on the wall but there's no furniture. You can see that thing where there's like the glue on the wall for maybe there used to be wallpaper. Maybe like there's some imprints of furniture or things that were hung on the wall that kind of like leave that imprint where it like looks a little bit darker when everything else has been like bleached by the lights. It looks hollowed out here which is kind of which is really kind of kind of a bummer.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: It also has like the thing that you see in all apartments now that like all fucking apartments look the same and all have that same like really badly put together thing that's like- Oh...
Amanda: Whatever like, nickel plated hardware was on sale that week at the supply store.
Eric: Yeah, exactly. So I think as you're walking through how do you all feel about this being back in and Ma's place that’s gutted.
[nostalgic background music]
Julia (as Val): Look Milo, that's where you caught on fire. They got rid of the scorch marks.
Brandon (as Milo): I can still smell it. It's horrible.
Julia (as Val): It's gross.
Brandon: Milo's feeling cautiously optimistic like I think he's nervous to be back in a space where he knows like, not only is something bad going to happen, but something has happened. But for the first time I think he's like feels genuinely like prepared to tackle whatever he finds. But he's not a fool, you know, he's kind of like watching everyone's six, turning his head left and right you know,
Eric: Now I have listened to 60 episodes of Join the Party, are you saying Milo's not a fool? Is this a character change here you're doing.
Brandon: Oh, no!
Julia: It's weird. Seems out of character.
Brandon: Let you see on my character sheet. Oh yeah, it says abilities, your DM is a jerk.
[Everyone laughs]
Amanda: I think Aggie is so ready to take this guy down. He is not just a threat to Laketown City. He's a threat to her friends, her family, her life, her hobbies. She has a life to get back to, she is not in her same old routine anymore. She has a partner, a family, siblings that she is friends with and not just a caretaker of. She has to get Brian Roper fired. There's a lot on Aggie’s to do list and it all begins with getting Gutenberg the fuck out of her city.
Eric: Does Val- Val just wants to punch?
Julia: Val's feeling confident. Val has been wanting to punch for quite a while now, has punched but only copies and now it's time for no more pixels, only man.
Eric: Incredible no pixels. No men. Only punch.
Julia: Yes, no pixels. No men. Only punch
Eric: Incredible. Alright, you kind of just like poking around using like Oh yeah, that is where Milo was on fire. Oh yeah, that's where we punched all those guys in mountain lobster masks and that- you also look in like the closet that had all that stuff. It is just totally empty. Maybe there's like a can of beans on the ground. You're like ooh! Why did they have beans and why did they leave it?
Julia (as Val): There was like swords and shields in here before, now there's beans?
Eric: There's one can o’ beans like also why are they using the shelf space? Like there's there if I remember correctly, there was a pegboard in here and like they're not even using the pegboard. It's just like they're empty.
Julia: Didn't even remove the pegboard.
Eric: No, it's just like you see the outline of, like, a gun. And you're like, at least clean that, do something with it, please.
Amanda: Like a horror movie trailer. Can I hauntingly sing a children's song?
Eric: Yes, sure. Yeah.
Amanda: Thank you. It pulls the tuning fork out of her thigh pocket. And it's kind of like slapping it against her hand as they walk down the hallway. And she's gonna sing a song her grandfather sang to her on her last day of school in elementary school.
Amanda (as Aggie): [singing] No more pencils. No more books. No more dirty copies of pixels. Fuck you, Gutenberg.
Brandon: I'm going to make this even creepier and turn this to our advantage even more by casting muffled celerity so we– you can't hear any footfalls or like sounds of equipment or the swish of fabric. So all you hear in this cave right now is a disembodied voice-
Amanda: Yeah!
Brandon: -singing scary children's song.
Amanda: Excellent.
Eric: Was that a spell? Or you were just fucking around?
Brandon: No, I do want to cast it. I just was adding it onto it
Eric: Oh, no, that's fine. I just didn't know that. Yeah, fuck it. It doesn't have to be your spell-- Spirit surgeon. You're allowed to use magic for funsies. Cool, never mind me.
Brandon: Are you sure?
Eric: You want to? You want to?
Brandon: Are you sure? Because I rolled a 2.
Eric: Does that? Is that it?
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: Alright. Give me, give me D10.
Julia: For a joke, Brandon!
Brandon: It wasn't a joke. I really didn't want to cast it because I don't want him to know where we're coming from. I just was adding on to Amanda's thing.
Amanda: Thank you.
Brandon: I was Yes And-ing.
Amanda: And everything is fine. If I Yes And
Brandon: It's true. It's a 9.
Eric: Okay, here's what happens. You're looking through and just trying to make this as creepy as possible. And then all of a sudden it just goes totally dark. But you can't see anything in front of you. Because what you did was you cast magical darkness around you before you cast muffled celerity so it's just like-
Amanda: [in a high-pitched voice] That's not bad! That's not bad!
Eric: -you're still just in the hallways. You're just banging around in there [laughter] like to turn off the lights.
Julia: Val was-
Julia (as Val): Milo, What the fuck? I can't see shit!
Brandon: He just plays into it. He's like-
Brandon (as Milo): Guys, guys I really wanted us to be really sneaky, we're gonna get the advantage now.
Julia: Does light do anything? Can I lead the way with a glowing gauntlet or no?
Eric: It's yeah, it's magical darkness though, so you’re just banging around in this hallway.
Julia (as Val): [exasperated] MILO!
Brandon: But even if we are begging around, we don't make noise. So...
Amanda (as Aggie): That's fine. That's fine. That's better. Guys-
Julia: Oh, my god.
Amanda (as Aggie): -we have our groove back. Okay, we have our groove back.
Brandon (as Milo): We're fine. Guys, we have the advantage, we're so sneaky now we're gonna be good.
Eric: Oh, my god!
Amanda (as Aggie): Why don’t we do this every time?
Julia (as Val): Milo, you can't see the look that I'm giving you because there is pitch black darkness surrounding us but just know it's see SEETHING.
Eric: Incredible.
Brandon: I don't even think I have dark vision.
Julia: No one has dark vision. We’re all human!
Eric: No, I'll say you can't use dark vision in magical darkness.
Brandon: Oh, yeah.
Julia: Oh, my God.
Eric: That's incredible as you all bang around in this hallway, like-
Brandon: SILENTLY!
Eric: -silently you all are just banging around in here. I think eventually you hear a like a very large door slam. Like it's very, very heavy. Kind of like around the corner to the right.
Julia: I put my hand on the wall like we teach you to escape from mazes. And I just follow that.
Eric: Incredible. Yeah, I think you all make it out of the magical darkness eventually. And then Val, you see that there is a very large, this is the door to Ma's freezer. And it's a very large freezer door that has been slammed shut.
Julia: Okay. Can I try to open the door?
Eric: Sure. Do your regular strength stuf. Yeah.
Julia: Sure.
Amanda: Can I help them?
Julia: With athletics? It is a 12 plus 9 for 21.
Eric: Cool. Yeah, and Aggie, you can help if you'd like.
Amanda: Yeah. I--
Julia: Steak and eggs, baby steak and eggs!
Amanda: Steak and eggs. Yeah, no, I stretch long that way Val can use me like a lever.
Eric: Great. Yeah, I think with a 21 you put some pressure on and you realize it's locked and you're like, Oh, I'm just gonna keep putting pressure on it and it just like snaps.
Julia (as Val): Oh, great. It's not locked. It's just stuck.
Brandon: The character arc of strength to keys to back to strength.
Julia: Listen, if it didn't work, I would have looked for a key.
Eric: Because this is a comic book. I do want to show I guess what happened from the other side. Gutenberg and Triplicate are in there. And Gutenberg is like-
Eric (as Gutenberg): Do you think we should close the door? Do you think keeping the door open is too presumptuous? Like any one thing?
Eric: And then Triplicate is like-
Eric (as Triplicate): Oh, I don't know. We'll just have someone close the door. When they're ready. It's just the riff raff.
Eric (as Gutenberg): No, Triplicate, why don't you go close the door? It will make more sense for our presentation. It's fine.
Eric: While you're all banging around in the hallway-
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: Falling on top of each other, and then Triplicate has slammed the door.
Brandon: SILENTLY!
Eric: And then Triplicate- yeah, no, they don't hear you. It's like there's the panel of Triplicate, closing the big vault door, being like-
Eric (as Triplicate): Oh, I've never done this much exertion in my life.
Eric: While you're all, like, running into each other. There's like an insert panel of the darkness. And then of course, you throw the door open, that opens with a resounding *CREEK!* And you are back in Ma's freezer. However, this is not Ma's freezer anymore. Everything about it has kind of been ripped out. There are kind of the tiles around that symbolizes something that could have water in it and frozen ice cream. So maybe there are still some sticky puddles everywhere. But once again, they have dug out quite a lot of space, this area is huge. It is very similar to the size of the warehouse, maybe when you walked in the warehouse for the first time where you met Emily Slaughter. It is really just like open space in there. And it needs to be considering all the stuff that is in here, including one very, very large sphere. You can see that there is a matte black sphere that's kind of like, vaguely hovering in the air. It also has, like, a touch screen that has been grafted onto the side, like someone just kind of glued an iPad to the side of this matte black sphere. It's not shiny, I want to point out and Amanda hates it when appliances are matte black, because it just looks like no lights is just like touching it at all.
Amanda: Fingerprints! Fingerprints!
[Brandon laughing]
Eric: But I don't think that you notice it all that much because the top and the bottom of the sphere are open. And you can see that something is roiling inside of it that is popping up. It is this nice fluorescent green, I guess wireframes? I don't know if you've seen like when someone is working on a computer game for the first time, or like getting jacked into the matrix. You just kind of see the wireframe of the person, of the thing first. And it's just these wireframes of shapes that are like bouncing and roiling inside of the sphere. There's, some are geometric like circles, and they're 2D shapes like circles and rhombuses. Some are almost humanoid, some are almost scribbles like if someone is just like kind of scribbled with a grid of bright green marker and it keeps popping up. They chaotically bounce in and out of the top and bottom and then back in at different angles. It's fast and fluid and random. And sometimes they knock into each other but it's not violent. It's like when an image is bouncing around a screensaver. And we see it's like Oh, I love it when the screensaver image bounces into the corner, but it seems more incidental than anything else. It just happens. So all of these green, these bright green things, these objects, these creations are kind of just roiling inside of the sphere. You also see that there are some very large wires that lead from the sphere to Gutenberg who is sitting at his very- the well known very large leather chair that he had behind his desk when you'd seen him in videos. But he had kind of been set up at the end of this modified freezer strapped to his head like there are diodes, you know? Like he has one on one side of his head and the other on the other side of his head he's still wearing his, like, business casual, white button down shirt no tie slacks outfit that you have seen before and his head he seems pretty tired. His hair is a little grayer than you remember, there's a little more salt than there is pepper. And he looks worn out standing to his side in just, oh in an impeccable sweat suit. Like you know this sweat suit was like $10,000, is Triplicate who seemed to have changed since you last saw them on top of a massive mountain lobster kaiju. It is like so, it looks like wine almost, like I don't know how they made it look like it was a liquid. They-- I don't know what they turned a terry cloth into to make this as liquidy as possible of a god damn it just looks like the reddest wine. Also in here, the wires that connects Gutenberg to the sphere, the matte black sphere with the stuff inside are a bunch of his drones. They are holding it up so that these wires don't touch the ground. It is pretty long. It is like 50 feet of wire connected from his- his head to the sphere with like, there's probably four or five drones on each one. Remember, they're like the circular Bob-bomb-style things with the very intricate dragon wings. As the door busts open, Gutenberg gets up from his chair. I think we see the inside from Gutenberg's perspective of the door and just Val throwing the door open and be like-
[game show music]
Eric (as Gutenberg): Congratulations. You figured it out. After me leaving letters for you. And letting Cassandra know where this was coming. You found my secret hideout. You did it and I'm proud of all of you. But unfortunately, I have to tell you, you're just too late. It just doesn't matter.
Brandon (as Milo): I'm gonna fucking kill you!
[Eric giggles]
Eric: Let's do it!
[THEME]
Transcriptionist: KM
Editor: JM