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Stories Podcast: A Bedtime Show for Kids of All Ages
Stories RPG Crossover: Gigacity Guardians 8 Another Brick in the Wall
00:57:07
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- [00:01]
Jillian
Hello.
- [00:02]
Amanda Weldon
Welcome to Stories Podcast. I'm your host, Amanda Weldon. Today's story is a crossover episode from Stories rpg, our play at home, Listen and learn game that helps people of all ages tell amazing stories together. Tune in for a regular episode of Stories Podcast later this week. We have Stories Podcast merch, available@storiespodcast.com shop. We're also on cameo for all of your personalized video message needs. And don't forget to follow us on Instagram oriespodcast. If you send us a drawing of your favorite scene or character, we'll share it on our feed. Now, here's a word from our sponsors. Thanks. Enjoy the episode.
- [00:47]
Jillian
Hello and welcome back to Stories rpg, the podcast where we tell stories better today together. So if you would like to play along with us at home and learn the game that we use to tell stories together, check us out@patreon.com storiesrpg to download all of the games for Starsworn, Giga City and more. And with me, as always, are the Gigacity Guardians. Giga City Roll Call.
- [01:11]
Skitter
Ape, Canaveral, Ape, Canaveral and Firefly.
- [01:17]
Jillian
Champions of the city, Defenders of the peace, Heroes of justice, the Giga City Guardian. With no further ado, if you've come with us this far, you know what's up. I'm gonna give a quick recap from last session because we've got a lot of drama to get into, y'all.
- [02:01]
Skitter
Drama.
- [02:01]
Animus
I don't know if I'm ready for this. I wasn't prepared for this drama.
- [02:05]
Jillian
I'm ready for anything. You knew it was coming. Let's go.
- [02:09]
Animus
Yes, but I didn't know how it would look.
- [02:12]
Jillian
Well, to be fair, I know something's.
- [02:14]
Animus
Gonna be flying at my face from left field. I'd like to know, is it like a Frisbee or a ball or a pie?
- [02:22]
Jillian
Flying object, and it's a brick. It's a superhero story. I think you can really. You can guarantee that literally, there will be things flying at your faces? Probably. And, you know, metaphorically, since it's a story that I'm kind of helping guide, you probably know there are some things that are metaphorically going to come fly.
- [02:40]
Animus
I just know the animus needs some therapy.
- [02:42]
Jillian
I do like a curveball. Why throw it straight if you can give a nice twist? Okay, so let me set the scene. Y'all are down in Flipside, you have found out more than perhaps you realized. You needed to know about the bricks, where they live and how they live. You've met Gigagaia, which Seems to have the remaining consciousness of Scarlet King within it. Seems to be some sort of monstrous plant that is growing throughout the city. You've met Sister Rose, who appears to have some genetic connection to Jillian and is at least, if not a leader, a very honored figure who can gift non powered people with the spores. You've learned that Microbial who Animus rescued from TUS Corp is capable of shifting the microbiome of those who are infected with the spore to make them able to maintain the change. Which they cannot do without his help. Scarlet King was the one who used to withhold the microbial treatments. If someone disobeyed her, if one of her bricks disobeyed her. But now Sister Rose and Microbial are allowing people to choose to join their community. You've met a host of other bricks. You met E Electric Animus. You met E Electric back at the beginning. You've seen Skitter and Echolocat. Kentucky was in the the med room. I forgot to mention him last time, but he was getting bandaged up after his roughneck fight with two Ton. And you've. You've run into a few others Upcycle who does a lot of the gadgetry. And looks like they've based some of their designs on Firefly. Wearing some very elaborate junk based armor. That looks like it's taken some hints from Jillian's designs.
- [04:30]
Skitter
Yeah, we're going to have to file a copyright notice on that.
- [04:32]
Amanda Weldon
We'll come back.
- [04:33]
Jillian
Y'all have not monetized the Guardians halfway enough. That's half the reason that Giga City Gold has been so successful. You do not have a PR or marketing department. You should have, you know, action figures. What are y'all doing out there?
- [04:45]
Animus
Work.
- [04:48]
Jillian
Perfect answer. All right, so we've been doing work, getting things done. That's what. So when we last left, we had identified that. First off, Animus is the result of Tusk Corp experimentation with the spores. Though she never understood the origins of her power, it is becoming clear that she was one of the early experiments with the spores. Whether intentional or unintentional is unclear, but clearly her microbiome has somehow shifted. So seems like it's possible they've used whatever they've learned from their capture of microbial to effectively stabilize their modified version of the spore.
- [05:36]
Animus
I thought the salsa on Taco Tuesdays was just, you know, naturally spicy.
- [05:42]
Jillian
It's the special sauce Betrayal. It's a secret ingredient in the cafeteria.
- [05:47]
Animus
Animus is thinking that, like, how did they do it?
- [05:50]
Jillian
I think we mentioned a water Cooler last time. And I love that idea. Although I was thinking spores. You know, maybe through the vents. You know, they're just pumping the vents full of like, microbes and spores and seeing who it takes on.
- [06:02]
Amanda Weldon
That's so gross.
- [06:03]
Animus
I don't know. But I'm not going to look at tacos the same way again.
- [06:06]
Jillian
Don't blame tacos. Never blame tacos. Tacos are never at fault.
- [06:11]
Animus
Tacos are animus favorite food. It's canon now.
- [06:13]
Jillian
Okay, that's it. We've made a decision. Okay. So we had left with the startling revelation that both Werebear and Jillian have been injected with the Tusk Corp variant of the spores. Same as the individuals who were saved from the basement of Tusk Corporation, the ones who were victims in the Megapede attack. Which means microbial gave you a choice. He asked you if you wished to join them. You either decide to have your microbes shifted to accommodate for this spores effect on your genetic structure, or you decide to have it them reject it so that, that the spores cannot take root in your system and change you.
- [07:01]
Amanda Weldon
Okay, I feel like there are pros and cons. Could I hear a little bit more about what will happen? Like what kind of change is going to happen?
- [07:12]
Skitter
Yeah, that was my question as well.
- [07:14]
Jillian
Do you want to ask this in character of microbial or of or of Sister Rose or, you know, because they're all around Kentucky. By the way, has. Has gone over and found Ape. Like, he's getting, he's got a huge bandage on his side and he's. He, he, he sees you come in and he gives a sort of like, you know, a kind of sideways eye at the rest of you. But he immediately like kind of limps over to Ape and he sticks out a huge hand and says, I owe you one. Thank you for your help.
- [07:47]
Skitter
Oh, oh, no prob, bud. And if you want to pay me back, you can answer the question. If you were going to wear pants, would it be on just the front two legs or would it be on like all four with a big waistband kind of thing? Or like, how exactly.
- [08:01]
Jillian
He grins and he goes, I've never needed pants. And he like, shakes his hair back.
- [08:07]
Skitter
Oh, he said, me too, bud.
- [08:08]
Jillian
And you guys have a moment of pantslessness. You're like, yeah, pantsless kinship. We don't need those human, you know, pants. So meanwhile, you're having a. You've just had like a very intense moment where Microbial leaned over and he. The cap. It looks like he's wearing a hat, but you realize it's actually a mushroom cap. It's part of his body. And he sort of places you underneath the halo of his head and touches forehead to forehead. And then he pulls back a little and says, you have a choice to make. I cannot make it for you. But we do have those who can help with your decision.
- [08:46]
Amanda Weldon
Who can? Who can help with my decision?
- [08:48]
Jillian
So Sister Rose says, all of us are comfortable answering any questions you have, but we cannot help you make the decision. Apart from offering you knowledge. She says, there is one among us who can help you decide what matters most to you.
- [09:10]
Amanda Weldon
Who's that person?
- [09:12]
Jillian
Microbial says, we call her Clarity.
- [09:17]
Amanda Weldon
Oh, I like that. That's appropriate. Can I meet Clarity?
- [09:20]
Jillian
He says, certainly. He makes a gesture, and you see there's. She's actually in the room with you. She's been walking around and sitting with the different patients, monitoring them. Most of the patients from Tusk Tower are apparently in some kind of unconscious trance. There's a few of them who are up and like, clearly processing a lot of things. So Clarity is a. She looks like an older lady. She's kind of frumpy. She. She's wearing sort of a shapeless robe, and her hair is kind of wild. She's got a whole lot of jewelry on. She's brick red, but her hair has not changed color. It's stark white. And she's got a very kind aura about her. Otherwise, she looks human. Her skin's a little rough and it's reddish, but it's not dramatic. As you're watching, she sits down next to a patient and takes their hands, and they talk a little quietly. And then they look into each other's eyes. The patient, it's a young man. He looks like he's probably in his 20s. He's a little disheveled. Looks like he probably was going to work. He kind of opens his eyes a little, and he says, I need to go home. And she nods and she says, well, that's lovely. I think you should do that. And he kind of nods, and they kind of share like, a. Like a solid node. And then she sort of pats him on the back. And she says, for now, why don't you take a rest? She stands up and kind of catches Microbial's eye and comes over to you. She says, who are our new guests? Would you introduce me? Microbial says, well, certainly. This is Gillian. And he gestures animus. Sam Brody. He gestures at Riptide. Brody goes, hey, like, very chill. So what are y'all? What would you like to do?
- [11:27]
Amanda Weldon
Say, I would like to ask Sister Rose and Microbial before I make any decision, and I would like to hear more about what is going to happen to me if I were to say yes and I were to be a Brick. I have a lot of responsibilities in my life that I don't feel like I can walk away from. And especially, like, my mom and my family, I don't. I don't think I can not do those things and not be a high school student and all of that kind of stuff. So I'm. I'm curious about, like, what. What is going to happen to me both to, like, my body and then also, like, kind of functionally as a result of that, like, can I still be a person and, like, can I still live my regular life or.
- [12:07]
Animus
No.
- [12:08]
Jillian
Sister Rose and Microbial kind of share a look, and Microbial actually looks at you, Animus, and he says, perhaps you would be better to ask your friend. This is a new variant of the spore. It is modified from when they took Sister Rose.
- [12:30]
Animus
Honestly, I kind of just figured out or was told that what I can do might be a result of this. I didn't always do this. This. Whatever this is. And. And while I'm talking, I'm kind of messing with that bracelet a little bit that I. That I keep around my wrist. I'm trying to figure out, am I still me? Am I someone else? Is this different Sam?
- [12:57]
Jillian
He sits down next to Jillian and he says, look, I don't have the same thing you got or any of y'all, but I can say that, well, if you don't know how it's going to turn out, powers are going to change you one way or another. You can't keep living the same way because you're different. I don't know if I said that right, but that's kind of how I think about. Sure changed my life. He says, I don't. You ain't never had powers outside the suit. You get to take it off, you know, I can't take this off. And he kind of flexes his hands a little bit, and he says, and I know Animus can't neither. Sister Rose says, it is an adjustment, but we have a community of people who understand what it is like to live differently. Clarity interjects, here. She sits down on the other side of you, and she. She says, if you wish, it is my role here to help help in decision making. I cannot change what you think, but I can help you understand what you want. That is my gift.
- [14:16]
Amanda Weldon
And everyone has different gifts.
- [14:19]
Jillian
All of them kind of nod and, and, and like Sister Rose says, one cannot be certain of exactly how the spores will interact with your genetic material.
- [14:32]
Animus
Animus kind of sensing that she probably didn't help as much as she wanted to with her initial statements, because there's a lot going on in that brain, a lot going on in that mind with emotions and things and trying to untangle things and self doubt and questioning and probably a little bit of disassociation and trying to figure all of that out. Then takes a deep breath with Werebear's help, a little bit of like a. Like a solid grounding presence there and says, look, I'm not going to tell you that this isn't all a little bit scary. I'm not going to tell you that. Thinking back on it, whenever this may have happened to me, it was comfortable. But I think that whatever this turns into, whatever you decide, if you decide to go through with it, I also feel more like me than I somehow did before. Obviously, it affects people differently like this. I. I haven't met anyone else yet who's been through what I've. With these kind of abilities that I can do now with feeling these different things and projecting them. I hope I do find someone like that. And maybe I could ask them questions, but it seems like maybe that was how my body made it its own. And maybe yours might feel like that too.
- [15:50]
Jillian
When you say I feel more myself, a whole bunch of bricks say something under their breath, and they all nod. And the thing that they say is in imperfection, wholeness. Microbial says it under his breath. And you hear Sister Rose murmur it. Clarity murmurs it. And like all of you have this, like. Wait, what? Like something kind of ripples through the room. Like when you say that, there's this, like, little response from the bricks.
- [16:18]
Animus
Okay, so I won't lie. That was a little bit creepy. Everyone's saying it all at once, but I don't disagree.
- [16:23]
Amanda Weldon
A little culty, kind of.
- [16:25]
Animus
I wasn't gonna say it.
- [16:29]
Jillian
So the way it. The way it feels when they say it is like. It's almost like they're saying. They're saying amen to what you said.
- [16:36]
Animus
Oh, I've got tingles.
- [16:37]
Jillian
This is the thing for animus. What you feel from them is you feel like recognition and welcome. Like you feel this very strong. Like, you're here, you're with the right people. Like, yeah, that's us. You're sort of sitting there and you're thinking through all this, Gillian, and you feel a hand on yours and you look up, and it's Clarity. Her eyes are pink, but they're very, like, kind. And she says, I understand that this is a lot to think about. If you'd like, I can help with that. I won't know anything you don't want me to. It's not a two way street. I'll just help you sort through a little bit of how you're feeling.
- [17:20]
Amanda Weldon
I don't want to postpone this decision. I would like to. I feel like we have a lot of things to do, so I think we should kind of get on with it. And I think that Clarity. I would love to hear what Clarity has to say. So. Yes, please.
- [17:30]
Jillian
Clarity doesn't say anything. She just looks into your eyes and holds your hands. And all of a sudden, you feel all the noise in your head fall away. It's like all of those little voices telling you all the things you need to worry about. Oh, my gosh. I have tests coming up. And. Wait a minute. Jorge saw me going in here, and I don't have any way to explain all these other people who I was with and what happens if I get outed as Firefly. And I can't believe I did that to the bricks. And I feel so guilty for that. And is this my way that I have to use to pull all these ways in which you owe other people or feel indebted, all these stresses and anxieties that sort of are haunting you and really clouding your judgment, they all kind of fall away. And Clarity looks at you and says, now, what question do you want to answer? And you don't say anything. But the question that you. You immediately think of without any hesitation is, should I do this? And she says, good. What do you want to do? She sees it in your eyes. She sees the confirmation that you know what you want to know. And she says, what do you want to do? In that moment, you have completely forgotten to feel like you owe anyone. You're not worried about what you owe other people. The question is, what do you, Jillian J's want? And you feel uniquely able to answer that question. So there you go. If you'd like, you can roll for this answer, or you can decide based on your character what makes best sense. But this is unique. Clarity. You know what you want to say, and it's about you, not anyone else.
- [19:16]
Amanda Weldon
I want to. I want to say yes.
- [19:19]
Jillian
Okay, so you. You look at her and you say, yes. And you turn to microbial, and you say, I want this microbial. Like, there's a bunch of them who kind of like, there's like a. There's like an intake of breath. Sam is like. And he goes, whoa, crud. I guess I gotta go too, now, huh? Like. Like, you laugh when he says that. And he kind of grins at you, and he kind of scratches the back of his head. And he goes, I always been a weirdo. Ain't nothing new about being weird for me. Okay, Microbial says, please lie down. Within moments, he's simply touching you and, like, coming close to you and moving around your body, and you don't feel any different. There's no, like, distinct sensation because what he's doing is at the microbial level. He's seeding your body with all these tiny microbes, fungi, bacteria, viruses, that will help stabilize your body through the spores transition. And we will cut the scene there. All right, I will say that y'all have had enough rest. You've all had a chance to take a breath, to calm down, to get your bearings. Everyone can heal a heart.
- [20:37]
Skitter
Nice.
- [20:37]
Jillian
Yay.
- [20:38]
Amanda Weldon
Yay.
- [20:39]
Animus
Cause I was down one, too.
- [20:41]
Jillian
Yup. Everybody was a little bit roughed up, but you're all back into ragged. Yeah, fighting shape so that I can really, really lay the drama clock on you. I have to have you ready. You have to be healthy enough for me to really drama you. You do need a plan to figure out what you're going to do about Giga City Gold and Tusk Corporation, because you've got a deadline. Monday. This is, by the way, to be clear. You're on. This is Sunday. This is Sunday morning, bright and early. You guys have this. You've got one day left.
- [21:11]
Skitter
Sunday.
- [21:11]
Jillian
So Ellipsis gave you an ultimatum. He said you have to agree to stand down and step away by noon on Monday, or I'm releasing the details of who you are to the press. And he made it very clear that he would also help you with your little condition if you agreed to step down and step away. There are different ways we could play this. You guys could decide. All right, we're going after Giga City Gold. Let's get them before Monday. Remember, there's also a summit on Monday where Tusk and Gig City Gold are pushing the mayor and the chief of police, the commissioner, to issue a state of martial law to start arming citizens against the brick invasion. They want to try to revoke and change some of the weapon laws to allow for citizens to protect themselves from what seems to be an invading to them. Or this is the idea that they're promoting an invasion of. Of Bricks, who we all know are attached to Scarlet King and dangerous. Right? After all, we were so lucky Firefly defeated them last time. So that's the situation you are in. You have a decision to make. You have until Monday, high noon, before Gillian gets outed as Firefly. And the. The summit is going to be held. And Ellipsis told you he was going to release it then in his smarmy, smug way.
- [22:45]
Skitter
I don't think we can wait around. We get to go.
- [22:47]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah. We can't just. We're not just going to, like, step back. I don't care if he gave us a deadline. I don't think that that's the right thing to do. We're not just going to, like, step aside and let them do whatever. That's not a. You know, that's not a thing that we would do.
- [23:01]
Animus
I'm. I'm kind of thinking, though, because we could do. We could do all this planning. We could go back and forth, but I think for us in the current state, our better plans happen when we're coming up with them on the fly. We're not planners when there's stuff that we've got to deal with and respond to, because our best laid plans previously have all gone awry.
- [23:25]
Jillian
You didn't lay them. You just kind of ran out the door and were like, let's go mess with TUS Corp.
- [23:29]
Animus
It was still a plan. It was still a plan.
- [23:33]
Jillian
It was. Okay.
- [23:34]
Skitter
I think we got in here through the hole in the Tusk's tower floor, right? Isn't that how you escaped?
- [23:38]
Jillian
That's how Animus did.
- [23:40]
Skitter
Right. So I think, lead us back up through there. Let's bust in. Let's drag Ellipsis out into the daylight.
- [23:47]
Amanda Weldon
Well, do we know where Ellipsis is? I don't think we know where Ellipsis is. I think we have to figure out who Ellipsis is and also the connection to Tusk Corp and Gigacity Gold. I feel like there's a lot of, like, shady dealings that I think they're trying to keep secret. So we have to, like, expose those things and expose Ellipsis and what he's trying to do in order to make sure that the public is on our side.
- [24:07]
Jillian
I like how Abe's like, dude, let's go assault the tower. And you're like, wait, no, we need to know everything first. That is very true to both of your personalities.
- [24:16]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah.
- [24:17]
Animus
I think we use the drones against. And I know we tried to use the drones before, but that's because we didn't know who owned them. There's got to be some way to figure out where the drone's home is. Yeah, right.
- [24:28]
Skitter
Triangulate an attack.
- [24:29]
Animus
Exactly.
- [24:30]
Amanda Weldon
Sure, when you say it like that. I'm fine with it.
- [24:33]
Animus
There's gotta be a way.
- [24:35]
Skitter
I'm just gonna touch my ear, be like, specs, I know you're getting all this, right? Did we set up a relay successfully?
- [24:42]
Jillian
Yeah. So, Specs, by the way, is like. Okay, I'm having a really hard time keeping up with what's going on. What the heck are you doing down there, Specs?
- [24:51]
Skitter
I'm here with a Mushroom man. With a Catman dude. With a big plant that used to be a witch, I think. Listen, man, you don't have to name.
- [24:58]
Animus
They have names, Ape.
- [24:59]
Amanda Weldon
Come on.
- [25:00]
Skitter
Listen, listen. Specs, can you triangulate where the signal from Ellipsis was coming? We just need to know where Ellipsis is, even if you can only get it for a second.
- [25:09]
Jillian
He says. Actually, that's what I've been using the extra time to do. I've been monitoring all the social feeds, and I've also been trying to track the signal. He's bouncing it off of Tusk Tower, but it's not coming from Tusk Tower. That's not the origin.
- [25:24]
Skitter
See? Firefly. Good thing we didn't break in.
- [25:31]
Animus
That makes perfect sense, because they're shady. They try to hide their tracks. Of course, they wouldn't put everything in one place.
- [25:37]
Jillian
He goes. Also, I've been trying to look up public record appearances of Ellipsis. He only showed up visually on feeds, like, in the last couple months. I'm not even sure. Like, we've never seen him out. Like, did you guys ever run into him when he was, like, out there in the field?
- [25:58]
Amanda Weldon
No.
- [25:58]
Animus
Do you have a real name?
- [26:00]
Skitter
Do you have a location?
- [26:01]
Animus
Do you have anything that would suggest a name other than Ellipsis?
- [26:06]
Jillian
He says, that's asking for a lot. All I've got right now is, you know. Well, honestly, just like, a creeping sensation up my spine. But also, I do have a location.
- [26:19]
Amanda Weldon
Okay.
- [26:19]
Jillian
But he goes. It's weird. Jelly.
- [26:22]
Amanda Weldon
Where? Where is it?
- [26:25]
Jillian
Under the school.
- [26:27]
Skitter
Let's go to the school.
- [26:28]
Animus
Under the school. Can we get there from here?
- [26:29]
Skitter
Suit up first.
- [26:30]
Jillian
Yeah.
- [26:30]
Amanda Weldon
All right.
- [26:31]
Jillian
He goes. He goes. Well, you guys are already pretty deep. This signal is coming from deep. It's pinged off several relays. I don't think. Like, I'm not sure if you could actually get down there from the school, but it's got to have an entry level in, like, a sub basement or. I don't know.
- [26:49]
Animus
Maybe we can get there from here somehow. How far do these tunnels go?
- [26:53]
Skitter
We need to get Firefly in her armor, though. First we got to get you in the old tin can.
- [26:59]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah, I don't want to do that. While I'm still with all of the bricks, though, I want to wait. Let's figure out where we are in relation to this place in the school. Let's figure out who can get us there, because I think we'll need, like, a guide. And then let's get a little ways away, and then I can try to summon the suit. How does that work? I think we said that, like, call it to me.
- [27:17]
Skitter
Yeah, you probably have to roll for it.
- [27:19]
Jillian
Oh, yeah, definitely.
- [27:20]
Amanda Weldon
Sure.
- [27:21]
Jillian
It's going to be one of those little, like, you know, the launching little backpack that, like, drone style, like, flies around and finds you. I will say that as you're having your conversation on your earpiece, Ape, you feel a hand on your shoulder with, like, a few little claws coming out. And the cat comes in close, close next to you and says, did you think you shouldn't share that you brought someone else with you?
- [27:48]
Skitter
I didn't bring anybody with. What are you talking about?
- [27:50]
Jillian
She picks the earpiece out of your ear, holds it up to Sister Rose, and goes, apparently they've been talking to someone else this whole time.
- [27:59]
Skitter
They're not here. It's not like there's a little guy, and he's nice, like a radio.
- [28:03]
Amanda Weldon
Don't worry.
- [28:04]
Jillian
Echo looks down at you and goes, our secrecy is our only defense. There are those who would see us dead.
- [28:12]
Skitter
I'm the best defense there is. Don't even worry about it.
- [28:16]
Jillian
She rolls her eyes and she says, I saw you. I'm not impressed.
- [28:22]
Animus
Okay, well, here's the deal. We are all in a lot of trouble. At some point, we're going to have to trust each other. So are we going to get caught up around understandable. Understandable concerns and hesitation and walls that have been built up? What do we need to do to show you that we want to help and that we're serious about this?
- [28:44]
Skitter
Exactly. Because I've never punched a cat, but if I have to.
- [28:48]
Animus
Ape.
- [28:48]
Amanda Weldon
No, no, Ape.
- [28:50]
Jillian
Skitter's Skitter.
- [28:51]
Animus
You're gonna go back in the backpack.
- [28:57]
Jillian
So at this point, I'm gonna say Sister Rose puts a hand on echolocat's shoulder and says, echo is one of our most ferocious defenders. Most of us believe in nonviolence, but we also do not Limit anyone's choices. We are all individuals, and we must make our own decisions. This is why Echo and Skitter and Ken went above. They made that choice without any direction from the rest of us. Although they did tell us before they left Echo, I trust them. Lokat kind of looks at Sister Rose looks down at Ape, and then, like, just kind of nods. Skitter goes, yeah, no, the ape guy's cool.
- [29:47]
Skitter
Yeah, I'm cool. I take my earpiece back. Thank you. Just kind of brush off a lot of earwax that's accumulated. Pop it back in.
- [29:55]
Amanda Weldon
Ew. Gross.
- [29:56]
Animus
That's disgusting. It's perfect. For the record, I do want to say, if echolocat is one of your most ferocious and passionate people down here, I think we need your help. Specifically.
- [30:12]
Jillian
Skitter goes, dude, it's just like Fantasy Hunt. Come on. You love that game. Echo, like, gives him a look. Like, an eye roll look. Although, again, it's that expressionless cat face. It's really hard to read. And she kind of looks down at him, and she goes, easier to trust somebody if you're with them. And Skitter's like, I'm going, man, you can't stop me.
- [30:33]
Skitter
Skitter, do you have any powers, or are you just kind of a little bug dude?
- [30:37]
Jillian
He goes, are you kidding? He runs up the wall, and he's upside down, and he looks down at you, and he goes, and you should see what happens when I spit.
- [30:45]
Skitter
I want to see what happens when you spit.
- [30:47]
Animus
We are all very excited to see what happens when you spit.
- [30:50]
Jillian
Echo is like, spirit Skitter. And, like, he's like, what? He asked. And he. He goes, you gotta forgive my sister. She's, like, way overprotective.
- [30:59]
Amanda Weldon
Sister? Did we know that already?
- [31:02]
Jillian
Nope, you did not know that already. But you're finding things out.
- [31:06]
Skitter
How. How old are you, Skitter?
- [31:08]
Jillian
He goes, I'm 12. Like, almost 13.
- [31:11]
Skitter
No, no. Too dangerous for kids. We can't. We can't be bringing kids along. Sorry, Skitter. You gotta sit this one out, buddy.
- [31:17]
Jillian
Skinner looks down at you. He goes, kid. He jumps down and he flips, and he goes, I make my own decisions. And he goes, just like you. And he looks at you, and he goes, besides, I'm about as big as you. And he goes, how old do chimps get before they're, like, you know, full grown? Like, I don't know. I remember from school. It's like, I don't know, one year before they're, like, you know, having babies and stuff. He goes, what are you, like, five?
- [31:39]
Skitter
No, I've been through extensive military testing, civilian rocketry.
- [31:44]
Jillian
How long did that take? I'm just asking how old you are. Dude. I'm not asking for your whole, like, resume.
- [31:49]
Animus
Oh, I like this kid.
- [31:50]
Jillian
No pants, and maybe five. I don't know, dude, sounds like you should sit this one out. And he gives you a big grin.
- [31:57]
Skitter
No, I'm over 20 years old, little kid. And listen, he goes, how old is.
- [32:02]
Jillian
That in chimp years? Maybe you should sit this one out, Grandpa. And he, like, he grins again. And finally, Sister Rose goes, that's enough. She looks down and she says, we do not discriminate based on age or origin. Everyone is allowed to make their own decisions.
- [32:18]
Skitter
I just turned. I turned a Firefly. Like, look, Firefly. You're gonna bring a 12 year old with us into a very dangerous situation.
- [32:25]
Animus
Don't say firefly. Don't say firefly.
- [32:26]
Jillian
Oh, that's perfect. That's perfect.
- [32:28]
Animus
You want. You want to say firefly? Because we've been very careful not to say.
- [32:31]
Jillian
It's great. I think it's great.
- [32:33]
Skitter
Oh, yeah, yeah. Abe would say firefly.
- [32:35]
Jillian
Okay, so you said, like, yeah, firefly. Are we really gonna bring it? And, like, all of a sudden, it's like you could hear a pin drop. The whole room goes quiet, and Skitter goes, dude, you're Firefly. And there's like this long silence. And sister rolls, holds up her hands and says, this is a place of peace. And Kentucky is, like, backing up and, like, squaring up and looking scared. And, like, everybody's just staring. And there's this moment. You're going to have to say something, Jillian. Ape just threw you under the bus.
- [33:05]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah, Ape just threw me under the bus, which I'm mad about. I'm Jillian. I'm. I might be Firefly, but I am Jillian here right now. And also, I mean you no harm.
- [33:21]
Jillian
Somebody in the back goes, it's a little late for that. And there's like a murmur of ascent.
- [33:26]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah, I'm sorry. I thought that I could be stealthy because I didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. But I realized now it seems kind of like I was keeping a secret. And that probably is a little bit worse. So I apologize.
- [33:38]
Jillian
Ken goes, you've got a lot more to apologize for than that. And there's like, a sudden tension in the air.
- [33:46]
Skitter
Could you say that again? Your voice is a little hoarse.
- [33:51]
Amanda Weldon
Stop. It's now the right time.
- [33:53]
Jillian
Skitter cracks up. He's the only person in the room laughing. He, like, slaps you on the shoulder. And he goes, see? We're gonna have fun, dude. And he goes, awesome. I get to go on a mission with Firefly. This is so dope. Riptide pokes his head in the rooms, and he goes, dudes, you gotta come check this out. They got, like, a whole thing. Come on, Sister Rose is kind of like, yes, you should go and look at the docks. And, like, kind of like, shuffles you out of the room. You should go, Dear Clarity is, like, turning around and, like, kind of, like, trying to talk to people. Like, there's some discussion going on amongst the bricks. You think it's time to leave for now. Maybe you can talk deeply with the community later, but probably this is a lot to deal with in short order.
- [34:42]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah.
- [34:44]
Jillian
Echo and Skitter are coming with you. Ken is a little dinged up. Riptide is, like, so my new bro, Eel. Oh, like, dude, they got, like, the coolest sea critters I've ever seen. I mean, I guess, like, technically they're not sea critters. Some of them do, like, the saltwater thing, but mostly they're, like, freshwater. But they're, like, cool with a lot of the stuff that's in the freshwater in the sewers. Like, the sewer monsters. That's what they are. And, like, you get down to the docks, and you see e Electric, and he's waving. There at the dock is this massive globular mass. And as you're watching, he tosses something, and it snaps out a tentacle and grabs it, and then it absorbs it.
- [35:29]
Skitter
Ape picks up Skitter to throw him in.
- [35:32]
Jillian
No, when you pick up Skitter, Skitter flips and lands on your back, and he goes, cool, dude. All right, so run as fast as you can.
- [35:40]
Skitter
No, no. I want to roll to get Skitter off of me. It's not unacceptable.
- [35:44]
Amanda Weldon
No, go ahead.
- [35:45]
Jillian
Go ahead. What do you got?
- [35:46]
Skitter
Well, I was thinking ration. Cocky.
- [35:49]
Jillian
Okay. This is definitely a brash, cocky move. Yes.
- [35:51]
Skitter
Yeah. I'm the greatest one there is. I don't like him trying to upstage me.
- [35:57]
Jillian
If you pick him up, he's going to do some stuff. Skitter likes to mess around. He kind of. He kind of reminds you of you. Honestly.
- [36:04]
Skitter
No. Well, that's why I turned the firefly. I'm like, do you guys really want this small, annoying wisecracker around?
- [36:13]
Animus
We keep you around, don't we?
- [36:14]
Skitter
Hey. Hey. I am tall for a chimp. Very tall for a chimp.
- [36:20]
Animus
Yes, you are.
- [36:21]
Jillian
Right over the plate. And Animus just hit right out of the park. Nicely done, Scriv. Yeah.
- [36:26]
Animus
Animus is starting to feel more comfortable. Y'all haven't really seen the snarky side too much yet.
- [36:31]
Skitter
I think I'll just take two. I can do rash and cocky, and I can do great estate, but I don't know if King of the urban jungle. I don't know.
- [36:36]
Jillian
No, that's not going to help you here.
- [36:38]
Skitter
Yeah, I think I'll take two. Let me do me. Roll my two. So that is a three and a three. Unfortunately, Lovely.
- [36:47]
Jillian
You fail. He is on your back, and he's. You can't seem like you're having the hardest time reaching him. And he's stuck on there. Like, whatever kind of bug, like, stickiness he's got, he's definitely, like, grabbed on. He goes a. Hugs, and he goes, giddy up. And he digs his heels in.
- [37:05]
Skitter
I wanna. I think me and him both fall into the water.
- [37:09]
Animus
Oh.
- [37:09]
Jillian
Oh, I like that. Yeah. Okay, so a tentacle fishes you out, and Eel says, I see you've met Fido. He says, fido, say hello to the lovely people. And a couple of tentacles come out and they wave. He says he wasn't exactly expected, but he's turned out to be a lovely help to the community. Aren't you a good boy? Who's a good boy? And he kind of, like, leans down and, like, scratches him. And Fido kind of like, bubbles a little.
- [37:41]
Animus
Can I see if I feel any emotions from Fido? Yeah, just curiosity.
- [37:45]
Jillian
Oh, yeah. Fido feels like, you know when dogs are like, throw the stick.
- [37:50]
Animus
Like the wiggly butts.
- [37:51]
Jillian
Yeah, that's super wiggly.
- [37:53]
Animus
Like they're full of beans.
- [37:55]
Skitter
Speaking of dogs, ape 100%. Like, does the full body shake to get all the sewer water out of his hair.
- [38:02]
Animus
Does your hair, like, fluff up?
- [38:04]
Skitter
It fluffs up and just flips sore water all over everybody. Yeah.
- [38:07]
Jillian
Skitter. Like, dude, this jacket is down. He, like, gets the jacket off and he's like, do you know how hard it is to find something? And then, like, you know, poke extra armholes in it. He goes, I get it. You don't wear pants, but come on, man.
- [38:19]
Skitter
Just don't climb on me again and I'll get you a special jacket from the Guardians headquarters. What do you think?
- [38:23]
Jillian
He looks at you and he goes, okay, I dig yours. He's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- [38:28]
Skitter
This one's mine. This style is mine. We'll get you something different. Something a little more your speed, a little less cool, but something that fits.
- [38:36]
Animus
Premonition of the Future. He's going to try to be just like you.
- [38:41]
Jillian
Sam comes over, and he's like, so we doing this? And he goes, I don't know. And then he hits his little thing, and he goes, suspects Any luck? And Specs is like, well, I could tell you where the signal's coming from. Do you have a way to get there? Riptide grins at all of you, and he goes, come on. Can we do it? I totally want to surf on this bad boy.
- [39:05]
Skitter
So what does it look like exactly when it comes? Does it look like a squid mass, or is it. Look, I kind of. I'm having trouble picturing.
- [39:11]
Jillian
So it's. It's so think of, like, amoeba, like, pinkish red. You imagine that this thing might have been a slime mold or a fungus of some kind.
- [39:24]
Animus
I thought it was gonna be, like, a type of thing. Slime mold. Sounds weird.
- [39:29]
Jillian
Yeah.
- [39:29]
Amanda Weldon
Well, do the tentacles, like, get reabsorbed? Like, they come out and then come back?
- [39:33]
Jillian
Yeah, they seem to be able to form extra pseudopod. Yeah, exactly.
- [39:37]
Amanda Weldon
It's a blob. It's like a blob.
- [39:38]
Jillian
Can I tell you guys, if you really want to look this up, there's something in our garden called. And I'm not making this up. This is actually the name Dog Vomit Slime Mold.
- [39:47]
Amanda Weldon
Oh, I've seen that before.
- [39:49]
Animus
Perfect.
- [39:50]
Jillian
So it's like this weird, like, yellowish red. It does look like Dog Vomit. We had to look up what it was because we thought it was a fungus. Slime molds are their own, like. Like, wall of the prokaryotic animal tree. They can actually move. They can move three feet a day. This thing looks like a plant, but it can, like, ooze along the ground. Here's the crazy part. Ready? It can actually absorb, like, dangerous rare metals from the soil and process them.
- [40:19]
Amanda Weldon
Cool. It's, like, a good thing to have in your garden.
- [40:24]
Jillian
They're currently experimenting and trying to figure out how to, like, get it to be able to use it for, like, environmental cleanup, if they can modify it.
- [40:32]
Skitter
In the right way.
- [40:32]
Animus
Amazing.
- [40:33]
Jillian
So. So this is a giant slime mold of some kind with, like, a sentient slime. It's a sentient slime.
- [40:40]
Skitter
Wait, how big? Ape wants to know. He goes, how big is this squid man here?
- [40:45]
Amanda Weldon
Fido.
- [40:46]
Jillian
Eel goes, fido. And, like, Fido surges up onto the. Onto the, like, docks. This is like, an area. It's basically docks. And you can see there are some little. There's some little boat, like, things and little boards. You're not sure how all of them work. Some of them look like contraptions you're imagining. Upcycle has made some interesting vehicles for under the city. When it surges up like, this huge wave of sewer water comes, like, over the edge. And Fido is massive. He goes, this is only a little bit of him. There's a whole bunch more probably under the tunnel. He can really change his shape quite a bit, so it doesn't take him long to get from here to there. He just kind of shifts his mass. Are you all in need of a ride? Skitter goes, dude, totally. Let's go, let's go, let's go. Echoes.
- [41:35]
Animus
Echo's like, if you don't mind.
- [41:37]
Jillian
Ekko nods and kind of looks over at the rest of you and nods. And Werebear's like, all right, let's do this thing.
- [41:45]
Animus
Can confirm Fido does have feelings. Let's be nice.
- [41:48]
Jillian
Okay. Holds up a finger. It's like, Fido has feelings. Don't be mean. Does. Do you want to make this call? Do you want to call in. Phone a friend for your backpack of. Of awesome.
- [42:02]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah, let's. Specs, can I. Can you send me my suit? I want to. I want to have it before I'm getting on Fido, our slime mold friend, so that we. I have it when we're ready.
- [42:13]
Jillian
He goes, okay, can you ask somebody which sewer line you're on? Because I kind of have your position, but I'm not sure which tunnels to use.
- [42:23]
Amanda Weldon
Sure. Echolocat, do you know where. Which sewer line we're in?
- [42:27]
Jillian
Echo just turns her expressionless face to you and says, I don't need maps. She looks back at Eel, and Eel says, I think in the city. Watch our ways. He points at the wall. There's a sewer map that's been, like, clearly laid out on the wall, and it's got all the different sectors. And it says. He says, this is sewer line C. C46 in the city's layouts.
- [42:56]
Skitter
Cool.
- [42:57]
Jillian
And then he grins, and he goes, used to be an engineer.
- [43:00]
Amanda Weldon
Oh, neat.
- [43:02]
Jillian
When you say neat, he kind of, like. He, like, looks a little. He's like, thank you. All right, so you know where to send it? So you say this to Specs, and Specs is like, okay, I'll try, but it might get lost. He says, let's. Let's see what we could do. All right, what do you got that's going to. You can use for this? Let's go.
- [43:20]
Amanda Weldon
Well, I built the suit.
- [43:22]
Jillian
Boom.
- [43:22]
Amanda Weldon
And it's my power Specs is my wingman. This is true, best friend.
- [43:27]
Jillian
That's true.
- [43:28]
Amanda Weldon
Can I use my dream, which is I will make amends with those I've harmed. Because I think that this is part of that.
- [43:36]
Jillian
Yeah, because you are definitely doing this to help the bricks. If you don't get rid of Giga City Gold and especially Ellipsis, you're going to have some trouble. All right, here we go. Roll them, bones.
- [43:46]
Amanda Weldon
Okay.
- [43:50]
Jillian
Hyrule is a four.
- [43:53]
Amanda Weldon
All right.
- [43:54]
Jillian
Success.
- [43:55]
Amanda Weldon
So it's a success with a Trouble. But I could use my special power, my special abilities.
- [44:01]
Jillian
You could. To move it up to if you wish. Or you could save your special for when Drama clocks happen.
- [44:07]
Skitter
Is there any way I could take the damage for it? Like, say it comes in. It's coming in a little off center. An ape does like a diving catch, but it really kind of nails him.
- [44:18]
Jillian
You're invulnerable. I always imagine heart loss for ape has more to do with feeling embarrassed. Like, I almost imagine that you're. You were more. You. You. You took a heart of damage from Skitter just being able to completely elude your grasp and riding you like a pony. But I don't know. That's totally legit. If you would like to leap in front of it and. And take the hit. Totally. We could also say that your next move loses a die because you're kind of like your bell got rung by the. The hit. Or we could say that you lose a heart. Your call.
- [44:50]
Skitter
Yeah, let me take the lost die on my next roll. I think.
- [44:54]
Jillian
Okay.
- [44:54]
Skitter
I think it's coming in. Coming in real fast around the corner. And first everybody's excited and then kind of looks and it's like, oh, it's not slowing down. And Jill is just a. She's, you know, she's just a human without a suit right now. If it hits her, you know, it's a big hyper metal backpack. Like, well, worse.
- [45:10]
Jillian
Fido is getting really upset, and if you don't intercept, it might clobber Fido. And you don't know how Fido is going to react to that. So I like this as a. As a heroic ape moment. Ape, tell us how you do it. What does it look like? This thing is coming speeding in. It looks kind of like. It looks like an airpod lozenge, but it's backpack sized. You know, it's that perfect smooth oblong with a little bit of a narrowing at the tip. And it's. You know, it's jetting along with that firefly glow. Because it's using the Firefly engine, and you can see the light coming down the tunnel, and Fido's getting really upset. And Jillian's, like, steps out onto Fido and is, like, ready for it. And you see it's not slowing down.
- [45:52]
Skitter
First thing, I'm not mad at Skitter. I just think he's too young. But, you know, if he's going to come, he's going to come. Ape's not going to deny someone. But Abe's going to say, listen, if you got come, you're going to be safe. Reaches down into Fido and just, like, pulls out a tendril of amoeba and puts it across Skitter's lap like a seat belt. Like, just kind of buckles him in. It's safe.
- [46:10]
Jillian
Yep.
- [46:10]
Skitter
Just for safe.
- [46:11]
Animus
Keep the Buddies safe.
- [46:12]
Skitter
And then. Yeah. Turns around and says, I got this, Joe. Come on in a little hot hop to Molly and get to, like, a baseball catcher stance. Pounds the glove a couple times.
- [46:21]
Jillian
Sam looks at you and goes, you're a little small for the. And, like, that's when it hits.
- [46:27]
Skitter
Yeah, that's what it hits. And then just. Yeah, completely smashes me through the wall, through the second wall, big puff of concrete. But I do get it, and I kind of. Kind of stumble out a little crooked, and I say, here you go.
- [46:41]
Amanda Weldon
Thanks. Thank you.
- [46:43]
Jillian
Echo says, let's get a little further away from Central before you, and nods at the backpack.
- [46:50]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah, absolutely.
- [46:52]
Jillian
Okay, so you're on top of Fido, and he's sort of squelching his way through the sewer tunnel, and you are leaving the light of Flipside behind. That phosphorescent glow fades, and within a few turns, you're submerged into absolute pitch black. And that's when Gillian hits the button. The suit lights up, and suddenly, in the middle of Fido's back, bathed in this strange glow from the Firefly engine, the suit begins to emerge from the backpack like a flower blooming in fast motion, all these petals and intricate hinges all wrapping around her, until before you stands the most powerful superhero in all of history, Firefly. The voice, when it comes out, is powerful. What do you say, Jillian?
- [47:47]
Skitter
We're ready.
- [48:24]
Jillian
All right. So we have finally moved to what is closing in on the final arc of the Gigacity Guardians saga. At least this first one. And wow. I don't know. I had a lot of fun. It was cool watching y'all think about some of the choices you now have. And I'm super excited for what's happening next time. Let's Talk about some shout outs and some lines.
- [48:51]
Amanda Weldon
I would like to shout out Ape for being a great team player and catching the suit slash, taking the damage.
- [48:58]
Jillian
Amen.
- [48:59]
Animus
That was a hot tamale.
- [49:01]
Jillian
And I would also like to shout Ape out for always well timed, horrible puns. They were great. You're sounding like a little horse. That was great. I loved it.
- [49:10]
Skitter
But I gotta. I gotta give first shout out to Scriv for. I was trying to throw out. I. Ape thrilled. The annoying kind of little guy line, hoping somebody would put him in his place. And Scriv nailed it. So very happy for that.
- [49:23]
Jillian
That was so good. Keep you around.
- [49:25]
Animus
You prepped it perfectly, though.
- [49:27]
Jillian
Gotta.
- [49:27]
Skitter
Gotta shout out Skitter or Michael, I guess, for making Skitter just a good foil to Apex. Just kind of like Ape, but also just ratchet it up to the point where he even annoys Ape and just kind of break. Ape's cool a little bit. Is good to see.
- [49:41]
Jillian
He's a favorite of mine. He's. There's a version of Skitter. He's. He goes by different names in all of my games, but Skitter's my favorite guy. I wanted to shout out Amanda for wrestling with the big questions.
- [49:56]
Amanda Weldon
Thank you. I. Thank you very much.
- [49:58]
Jillian
No, it was. I mean, you. I watched you being like, oh, my God. Powers or no powers. It was great. Like, thank you for leaning in and embracing that plot line. I think, you know, I just. I don't know. I'm excited to see where it goes. I think it's exciting that you said yes.
- [50:13]
Amanda Weldon
I'm excited, too.
- [50:14]
Jillian
What's your mom gonna say?
- [50:15]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah.
- [50:15]
Jillian
Yeah.
- [50:16]
Amanda Weldon
I don't know yet, so we'll have to see. But I'm excited. I'm excited to do it.
- [50:20]
Jillian
Right on.
- [50:20]
Animus
I'm gonna echo that because I think that's gonna be a really, really cool storytelling thing. And I almost feel like having that is going to be so instrumental to rationalizing and kind of bringing together all those conflicting feelings and emotions that Firefly has been having. Because now there is a part of you that links you completely to, like, all of these different people as well. All of the people in the Flip side.
- [50:48]
Jillian
Yeah, Flip sides. Bricks, Animus, Werebear. About the only person who's not infected at this point is Abe and Riptide, who's enjoying candy.
- [50:57]
Skitter
And as far as Ape knows, he can't be infected. But, you know, there's always a first time for everything.
- [51:04]
Jillian
We don't know if it works on apes.
- [51:06]
Animus
I mean, you can talk, though. How do you know it hasn't already happened.
- [51:09]
Amanda Weldon
You're an ape that you can talk and you're indestructible.
- [51:11]
Animus
Like, I have a feeling you feel itchy. Do you have any weird.
- [51:16]
Skitter
That was a cool rocket accident. Not your weird mushrooms, I'm about to say.
- [51:22]
Jillian
Still, you're only, you know, probably about five. I think if you're 20, you're almost, you know, you're almost done. You're like middle aged. You're like, you know, that's equivalent to human 60.
- [51:30]
Skitter
Oh, no. I looked up ape age, length. Don't worry about that.
- [51:33]
Jillian
Okay, how about how long does a chimp last?
- [51:36]
Skitter
Chimps can live from 35 to 65 years.
- [51:39]
Jillian
So if you're 20, you're like, you know, 60. It's about. That's about right.
- [51:43]
Skitter
What is like a human 30?
- [51:44]
Jillian
No, not if you're only living 35 years. Tiger.
- [51:48]
Skitter
That's on the low end. That's on the low end.
- [51:50]
Animus
I like the idea of eight being older.
- [51:52]
Jillian
I like the idea of eight, but like, the cockiest.
- [51:55]
Amanda Weldon
I like. I like your toddler, Ape.
- [51:57]
Animus
Ye, yeah, toddler, Toddler.
- [52:00]
Skitter
Listen, ape thinks he's 20. I guess we can see as it goes how old Ape chimps are fully.
- [52:05]
Jillian
Mature by one year old. So it makes sense for him to be like, yeah, I'm five. It's got a toddler's energy. He's great.
- [52:12]
Animus
I feel like Ape would use that to his advantage, though. Like, look at everything I've accomplished at 5.
- [52:19]
Jillian
I'm only 5 years old and I'm one of the best superheroes in the world.
- [52:23]
Skitter
Like, yeah, he might admit that if he doesn't have to get, get one over on Skitter.
- [52:27]
Jillian
Well, that's actually. So this is the best part. I love that, Dan. Thank you. Because I've been trying to figure out some emotional hooks for, for Ape because Ape is so unflapped. Like, just like, yeah, everything's cool. I'm great. I'm the greatest. And I love that Skitter drove him nuts. Like, the minute he was like, yes. I thought it was first off funny that he was like, oh, you're too young, kid. And Skitter was immediately like, wait a minute, how old are you? Like, the fact that he didn't say, like, yeah, I'm five and I'm the best five. Like, instead he was like, well, I. I'm old. Like, that was great watching, watching Abe have to be like, I don't need to defend myself. I need to defend myself. Like, it was great. I loved it.
- [53:09]
Skitter
That's why I like Skitter as a character. It's good for Ape. It's good for Ape. To be honest, sometimes.
- [53:13]
Animus
That's wonderful.
- [53:14]
Jillian
All right, so any lines?
- [53:17]
Animus
I finally wrote some things down that I've been thinking about since last time.
- [53:21]
Jillian
Okay.
- [53:22]
Animus
So I'm not going to add more bonds.
- [53:25]
Jillian
Okay.
- [53:25]
Animus
I already have the bonds of Firefly, Werebear, and Josh Phillips. J Lips.
- [53:32]
Amanda Weldon
I forgot about J Lips.
- [53:33]
Animus
At some point, I wanna. If we were going to go up to the tower, I would have tried to say, like, tried to find him. It's like, hey, we're good. But I have a new drive.
- [53:44]
Jillian
Oh, you have a new drive?
- [53:45]
Animus
I've got a new drive. So what I've. What I've written down now. Previously, it was undoing the wrongs of Tusk Corp, but now I know it's a lot more complex, and Animus is getting that sense. And I now have written down in drive. Having now faced some unsettling truths and discoveries beneath the city, Animus is now learning what it means to be part of a community and how it feels to want to protect that community.
- [54:10]
Jillian
Okay.
- [54:12]
Animus
There are a lot of unanswered questions, but Animus definitely knows that Flipside needs to be safeguarded, and Animus feels very ready to do that.
- [54:24]
Jillian
I think you always want to keep it shorter and you want to keep it less goal. I love the idea. What about protect and build community?
- [54:32]
Animus
Yes.
- [54:33]
Jillian
Okay.
- [54:33]
Animus
Yep.
- [54:34]
Jillian
So a feeling of, like, you want to be. It's this desire to connect. You're no longer feeling revenge. Yeah.
- [54:41]
Animus
Yeah.
- [54:42]
Jillian
It's not about revenge.
- [54:43]
Animus
You know, disgruntled. Disgruntled office worker being really frustrated about a lot of different things, not really feeling the revenge, but now having something else to work towards.
- [54:51]
Jillian
It's a positive, positive drive. I like it. What do y'all think, Ape?
- [54:58]
Skitter
I feel like for Ape, Ape wants to. Wants to take the hit for his friends. Ape is starting to feel like if somebody's gonna get hurt, it might as well be him, since it's not gonna be last.
- [55:07]
Jillian
Oh, I love that. If somebody's get. If somebody's gonna get hurt, it might as well be me.
- [55:12]
Skitter
Would that be a bond or a quirk, you think?
- [55:14]
Jillian
What do you think that one feels like? That almost feels like a drive, right? Like, that's what motivates you. You're.
- [55:22]
Skitter
Do I add a second drive?
- [55:23]
Jillian
Yeah. You're gonna jump in front of whatever is coming for your friends. You're. You're. It's interesting. Y'all are really starting to sound like Guardians. Fancy that.
- [55:34]
Amanda Weldon
I wondered if. Because now. Because now I think I'm a brick, but we don't know what my power is gonna be. But that is something. But maybe because it's not revealed yet, we can't really use it. But maybe put it as a mystery Bond or something.
- [55:50]
Jillian
Mystery is one we haven't used yet, but it's a great one. Mystery. I am a brick. Now, who knows what that means?
- [55:59]
Amanda Weldon
Yeah, where do I put that?
- [56:01]
Skitter
Is there a word for the hybrid brick that has the powers and the spores, but not the brick skin?
- [56:07]
Animus
That's what I was wondering.
- [56:09]
Jillian
Do you want a name?
- [56:10]
Skitter
Let's. Do you have one? Or should we think of one?
- [56:12]
Jillian
I don't. I don't have one. You guys are the. I mean, Tusk would say you are a Tusk Corporation Series 1 modified human.
- [56:22]
Animus
Oh, hell, no.
- [56:23]
Skitter
That's something to think on for next episode.
- [56:25]
Jillian
Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, it sounds like y'all are prepared for next session. This has been an episode of Stories rpg. And please, if you'd like to play along with us, the finale is coming and it's in the game as well. You can find that on patreon.com storiesrpg. And we'd love to see you next time. Take care, everyone. Say bye.