Worlds Beyond Number - Fireside Chat for Chapter 1 of The Wizard the Witch and the Wild One

Episode Date: October 10, 2023

The cast gathers to answer questions and look back at Chapter One of The Wizard, The Witch and the Wild One. If you want to taste this chatty magic for every single episode, and even more "bone cone," subscribe to the Fireside Feed by joining us on Patreon!  Transcript coming soon here!

Hello, everybody, and welcome to the fireside chat for The Wizards, The Witch and the Wild One, Ark One. That's right. We are going to be covering everything, everything in the first 14 episodes. Wait, Erica, what the heck is a fireside chat? Well, I'm glad you asked, Brennan, because a fireside chat is what we call the little episodes that we record after our show airs and put onto our fireside. which is what we call the Patreon so that the algorithms on social media don't kick us off. A little peek behind the curtain.

That's very funny. Gosh, didn't know. That and because it's a lot cuter. Come on, come on, come on. How to use branding to trick the machine over mine. Brought to you by Erica Ishii. All these little tips. If you would like to talk about your only fins,

that's what you call it. Or you put a little at symbol. or something instead of the A. What if I want an actual spicy accountant? I mean, you can do that, but just know that the algorithm might bury your request for one. Just go to H&R block and just rub pure capcassin all over. Yeah, I want a guy who's like,

your 1099s are all over the place. For your only fan? Oh, you want what? What? What? There's a, there's a term that is used by some only fans creators where they call themselves a spicy. Oh, spicy accounting. Yes, that's right. That's right. And I was saying I want a literal version of that. I mean, you say accountant is like definitely been a term for any. Anyway, I'm Erica Ishii. I'm here today joined by Abria Eindgar. A hoo-hoo and crackle crackle to you all. Now what is a hoo-hoo and crackle crackle? If you were part of this beautiful fireside, you would know that we have. have a bunch, honestly, too many sign-ons.

These are some of them. And now you can say them and act like you've been in the know the whole time. Brennan. That's me. I'm Brennan. Hi, gang. Thanks so much for coming by the fireside. We're so happy to have you. I'm so excited to jump into a big old breakdown recap, answer some awesome questions from fans over by the fireside for chapter one.

the first 14 episodes of the Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One. And the last person on Mike here in the room with us is... So something you have to understand is that the actor and voice actor Lou Wilson, who normally voices Ursula on during the podcast, does not attend most of the firesides because he is walking, he is circumventing the Americas. He's currently... Circumnavigating, perhaps?

He's circumventing, no, he's dodging them. He's dodging them. Left and right. He is circumventing the United. He is circumventing him. navigating the Americas so I am here in his stead I will be chatting I understand a lot of what he was going through while playing Ursula so I will be explaining to that I explaining that and speaking on his behalf and my name is Jonathan Venus yeah Jonathan Venus might sound a lot like

Lou Wilson I sound a lot like it which is part of the reason yeah I want you guys to know that this that that you are hearing mr. Venus Brennan Lee Mulligan has his hands. You could just call it John. Massaging the orbital of his eye sockets. And is there a hefty chance that after listening to the preludes in the first 14 episodes, this is the first time

you're hearing an episode of just the four of us talking about the four of us. I of course mean a Brea, Erica, myself and Jonathan Venus. Yeah. Not Lou Wilson. Yeah, for sure. It's probably your first time doing that. But the important thing is Jonathan is here in Lou's stead. And if it feels confusing,

you gotta get by that fireside. Let me tell you, for $5, this all makes a lot of sense. But we're excited to come out here and introduce the public to what it's like to be by the fireside. I mean, this plus even more unhinged nonsense. We stay on our bullshit on the Patreon. Oh, it's so good. It's good. It's good.

We're doing, we're here for more than just an advertisement for our incredible. redible deal of a pageant that only costs you $5 a month to be by the fireside. I think we could cross it off. All right. Okay, we cross that off. All right. Put it on the board. You can't see this.

We are all wearing houndstooth jackets. Yes. Like 1980s car dealership. Like being like, crazy eddies. Come on down right now. Everything's got to go. Room is filled with those inflatable. Wacky, wetting inflatable arm guys.

If you listen, you can hear them. there they go there they go it's a beautiful sound my mom said she wants to have one of those at her funeral amazing to point people

to the venue does she want it like a jet black one like in morning like a sad one I think she just wants one to point people to her also a sad one

is just one that's not inflated right just one that is laying yeah you could do one that kind of is like puffs so it's sort of like flails and flops

and like someone like wailing in mourning Oh, that's pretty good. Save that for your independent film. I want one just in case, like, so I can know when an alien gets close. Oh, nope is so good. It's so good. I had a full moment of being like, what the fuck do you mean? Kiki Palmer!

Kiki! But on this fireside episode, it's just completely on the rails. We're going to answer all of the questions that you asked us. All of them. Yeah. That's good. Well, actually, first of all, how we doing, gang? Hi.

Hey, how are we doing? After our first arc, and actually we have completed the second arc and our planning on our third. But now that we've actually heard, because we don't hear all of the episodes much more than maybe a day before. Seconds. Yeah, a day, two seconds before you all get it. Two seconds before you all get it. And it's our first time sometimes hearing the full mix and the sounds and the songs. Now that we've heard and revisited Umora and these characters in our first arc, how we're feeling, Agriya?

I just, I'm so deeply in love with this world. And like our little troika of troublemakers. the ways in which it doesn't quite feel right to call them a party yet, but there are people that are like tied together by something that, and they're like discovering what they love and who they are to each other and to the world in real time. It's just such a beautiful way to start a story that feels like we're going to be here and we're going to see so much from these people. So like let's see a good and exciting beginning. I'm just feeling really grateful. I think you guys are just The absolute best.

Oh, there's a really good question from Zach Turner. Thank you so much, Zach. What is your favorite moment of someone else's from Arc 1? Ooh. Oh, they provided. He provided examples. Example. Abria, what's your favorite?

Lou moment. Oh, my gosh. Well, it feels really easy to say that the level up of, like, Ursulaan embracing himself and his power. and like the thing that he knows in his heart that he has to do. It was just the coolest thing. I think I was actually like a little misty in the studio. Like, please, this is so good.

And it was so powerful. And to praise Lou specifically, Jonathan, please pass this on. Of course. I take copious notes. Thank you. I just, there's just a moment after everything begins with his level up where you hear what, what this deeply internal character,

like what all of this means to him, and it's just one of my favorite monologues I've ever heard in a story period, not actual play or narrative play. It was just gorgeous. Wow, I can't wait to tell Lou that. Yeah, and Mr. Venus, did you, you got a chance to listen.

Oh, I'm by the fireside. I listen to every episode. I'm all the way in. Oh, so how are you feeling about the conclusion of this arc? Good. I think this, I mean, it was, I, you, I, you, it's, it's one of those things where when you start something, you can't, you can have a bunch of thoughts about what it'll be, and you can have a bunch of thoughts about what it'll feel like. And I think when it, it asks as much of you and you are excited to give as much of yourself and the people who are participating in it are excited to give as much of themselves as was given in this space. in this setting, I think it like really went above and beyond in terms of like depth and breath from like what I ever expected this to be. I think it was way, you know, I think there's a big

part of me that's like, I thought we were just going to play D&D and we did we did some else. It's just undeniably we did something just that I don't have a precedent for. in my head. I never, you know, 14 episodes in, it's like, I'm sorry,

this is how we start. It took us 14 episodes to get to level one. I mean, that alone, you know, I think there's just so much, there's so much here

that I can't, I can't wait to continue to dig into. Hey, or go ahead. I was going to say, and arc two feels, like, that's the funny thing

is we're doing this arc one wrap on, wrap up, with the second chapter right around the corner. And we know the exponential amount of how the world grows and expands. So it's like, oh yeah. It's like a whole, we go full tesseract.

Yeah. Four-dimensional cube, baby, let's go. And I think, just to throw it back to you and Briar real quick, when I think one of those moments, those touchstone moments when I realized how deep we were going to go is when you killed Captain Emeless, I think it's to the, it's like. Like, there was a full, like, I don't know, we like had, the campaign had been so fun and at times, like, sad, but then everyone was supported. And that was just a cutthroat, dirty, nasty moment. That was like, oh, okay.

So we're in the mud. Like, there's no, we are not afraid to have our characters be to experience everything. And I think Brennan has said it many times. Like, it's, we're not afraid to, like, do something nasty and then figure out. how we're going to clean it up and put it all back together. Ham, how are we going to clean up all this? Help. Exactly.

Bit janitor, help, help. There you go. The bit janitor is something that you can find on our picture. No, we check the box. Yeah. Brennan, there are a lot of questions here for you. Including from May, what were your favorite things to plan for in this art? because Lou is talking about how we planned for things

and how man plans and God laughs. And you're in many worlds of Mora's God. Yeah. What made you laugh? Yeah. What made you? What were you excited to plan? And what were you excited to laugh at?

I don't know if that expression means that God is the man laughing at his own plans where he's like, God, you're crazy for this. God, you're wild. Damn God. I'll tell you what. That's very funny. They can only see a little bit of the light. Come to give the rest of the spectrum to shrimp.

Shrimp. You go. That's how God says shrimp. Yeah. Framp. Shrimp. God, in his infiniteness. Tramp.

Do crawd at these also? No. Dang, y'all, I'm he's called I am. No. Look at that. We made God creal. All this and more. You know when there was only one set of footprints,

that's because I got in my fan boat. Oh, God. By you Christ. By you Christ. Listen, here, Sha. Father of the son and a big plate of gumbo. I just, now I'm on this. This is just this.

I mean, that's, you get, I'll tell you. When you find a lane so beautiful, it's the clarity of it right it's just like by you christ is like oh there you go there you go that's what the bc in dates means uh here yeah i immediately just started thinking about okay so 25 by you christ 25 by you christ uh well gang lese le bon ton roulete hey hey now um my favorite thing to plan in arc one. Well, I think that there is a the coming together of the group

at Ursulon's fair. Don't start this because we will fight again. It's funny. It was going to be funny. When we talked about it in the supermarket at our first camp, it was going to be funny. This is a this is a, this is a amazing part of the process where it really is like, like to discover after the fact that you were like,

this is going to be hilarious. When you pitched the character, I was like, wow, the most tragic man of all. We're just, this is, we're now rehashing things. Now you're watching a married couple fight yet again. I paid $5 for it. I didn't leave the ditches in the dishwasher. Daddy and Daddy are fighting at the table. Well, someone think of us. Well, I think the thing to the favorite part of sort of my favorite thing to plan is probably number one, knowing that we were going to see our three heroes in their disparate worlds and watching them come back together and rejoin.

That was very fun to plan. And then I think also a lot, basically, you know, chapter one is sort of going to be carved into two halves. The first half of which is an introduction, I think, to the deeply personal worlds of the main three characters. And then there's sort of the first place they adventure to, which is the second half of that chapter revolves around Port Talon. Planning Port Talon was very, very fun. And kind of being like, what is our landing pad for an area of the world that has witchcraft wizardry and the world of spirits commingling and touching and then an indication of what normalcy is and also how things are changing so you have port tallon you have will gallows you have the crime

you have what's going with the wizards and the imperium and then also seeing a world that exists in time like like there's there's a a world building thing that I love is always to come to a place where something is different than it used to be I feel like you get more text when you get to Port Talon with the wizard walls and the kudzu and the witch fires. And you go like, yeah, we're going through something right now. Like you didn't arrive

in our neutral state. You can infer our neutral state by how we're reacting to the presence of something new. And I think it's also a good thing for PCs and storytelling in general for PCs to, I think it feels a little bit weird when I'm playing a game and the world, especially when I'm playing

low-level character if the world is like, oh my God, well, you're the biggest deal thing happening here. It's like being at a party where everyone turns to look at you and you don't know anyone there. You're like, this is not a good feeling. I don't want the whole, I'm first level. I don't want the whole town to look at me. It should be normal for someone with a cloak to walk into a tavern. Please don't all stare at me. So the idea of getting to Port Talon and having big things happening with the Derek and the Harbor, the broken stone face, the Ace of Wands, Finley's shop, the witch fires. There's something that I think is what I look for in those fantasy

world that was fun to plan for of you get to a place and you are the agency and the point of view rather than the focus of all these NPCs. You get to go exploring. It's not the setting exploring you.

Everyone wasn't waiting for you to show up in town and go oh shit. Wait, things could be different. I mean, we talked about it a lot in the formation of the world and the stories we wanted to tell about how do you prevent an adventuring party from feeling like colonizers pretty much like to put a kind of fine point on it. Yeah, because the idea that you come in and suddenly you can be the hero that will save this town,

like, well, why wouldn't they, the people who live here no best? Yes. You know, and I think you did an incredible job of giving us each little anchor points that gave us either history in the town, like with Ursulaan or, you know, status in the town, like with Suvi, or just like a reason to be there and like a unique skill that is useful in just exactly this instant with Amme. Yeah. That's a very, like, just shout out to you. That's a really hard, like needle to thread of having the. world care a little bit that you're there. Like, it's important that this group was here at exactly

this time. Like, the events unfolded the way they were because we were the exact, like, catalyst for a lot of things popping off. But yeah, it's very hard to do. Like, it's easy to say this world exists for you and therefore will care about you above everything else. But to make a world that's like, it's very much that feeling of like you arrive as an adventurer and the entire setting is just like, uh-huh, you're here. Great. Uh, file in. We're doing shit. Like, you're a part of what's happening. And we kind of do have steel as the universe telling us that of being like, why did you go run off on your own? Like, this is a supremely stupid thing that you did. Like we, I told you like not to, yeah, just truly being the voice of.

reason against adventuring in general. The Empire hates adventuring. Like, honestly, yeah. Steele hates that she's in a D&D game. And that's the funniest thing in the world. She's the only one that sort of knows it. Sometimes it's like, you know, sometimes I feel like people are acting in their own self-interest,

not because they're selfish, but because they, there's some sort of story they want to be telling. Yeah. There's, well, I think that there's like, first of all, I deeply appreciate that. And I think, too, that there's something that I always think about of the stories that really matter to me that are from this fantasy kind of genre. It is that, like, there are elements of gaming that create the groove that the marble is supposed to go down. So you play a video game or you run a D&D module.

and there is a slot left for adventurers. Like, here's a tavern that has a table open for people that we don't know who they are, but they're going to come in, they're going to be violent, they're going to have weapons, they're going to have magic. And there's a problem that nobody here can solve. And it's like no one's responsible for it and no one's solving it, but ambiguous X-shaped strangers will show up and solve it. and you can feel the absence of that.

But when you're consuming a story, like a movie or a book or something like that, often the world is represented as like, you know, you watch old like Ghibli Miyazaki things. And it's like, you know, before Sen shows up and spirited away, the bathhouse is working fine.

She shows up and her problems are her own. And it's not, it's like, hey, you just happens to be there. You happen to be there. So the idea of if you three were not there, what would have happened, right? Morrow would have Naram under the Derek. Orima would continue to try to break down the walls. The empire would find out or not find out, right?

Like, Morrow would get attention or not get attention. Or, you know, Naram also, we discover, has the ability to break out, but not without hurting the people of poor talent. And in all of this stuff, it's like, if you don't arrive, it's like something, like, the steam would break out of a valve maybe, maybe a year later or 10 years or something else. You know, like something would happen, right?

Arthur's moving out for sure. Arthur. Go through liquor, stay chilling. Yeah. Oh, Arthur. I think he's doing great. I think the gold pieces were huge. And because you won byproduct of the actions you took is that they don't have to put the

witch fires back because Orima retreats because Naram is free, which means that they can reopen the gate and they, those villages can, you know, there's big. Public Works project of getting the Kudzu out of those villages. And... Make rope. Make rope. Love you. But I think that the...

Looking at all of that, the world building there, it's like, the Empire does its thing without you guys there. The spirits do their thing without you guys there. And from what we've seen of witches, you know, we have Amé, who basically the only, like, like we see grandmother Wren and it's like this one person who seems to be dedicated to almost like a form of heroism

and interesting like a sort of witchy form of it of like we speak for both worlds and we try to mediate and bridge the gap and so like you doing your thing is like going to the city and being like oh there's conflict here let's see if we can ameliorate it yeah it was

beautiful I loved it so much it's just so fun because I think the big power fantasy in D&D. For me and for all of us, you know, I mean, we're here to tell a story. We're here to sort of have fun with their friends. But it feels good to have agency in a world and to be able to affect it in positive ways and happen to feel that weight.

And it's really hard to do that without being like, well, the world. is the center, you are the center of the world. Because then it just, it's a different power fantasy when it's that, I think. There is that like, and there's a lot of great tropes and genre things that do express the kind of like, oh, here's your connection to the core problem of the world and why you're supposed to solve it. And what I love about a lot of the media that we used as the inspiration for this world and story is specifically that it can start reasonable and small, where it's like, well, you solved the problem.

Like you're saying, it's like, what was the problem that Ame was trying to solve? It's like, you discovered that there was a problem with this, but you had the vision in front of the Ace of Wands, something was wrong. There was, you learned about Narama and Orima and Wavebreaker was the sword and you found that in the library. And so you go, it's, in other words, it's not like the fucking. It's not like the never-ending story where someone's like, the boy, the boy, the boy to save our world. You're like, I'm the only witch I see here.

And I found out that this is going on. So I guess it's on me. And every character had those moments of, for Suvi, it's very much like, like, what was Suvie? Sufi's arc was, I needed to say goodbye to grandmother Wren. When I got there, her passing had this incredible magic ramification. My method of communication broke. we needed to find this sword and the first chance I get

I'm finding these guild mages and that could have been where I could have rested except that I saw a fucking wild one pinned to the bottom of the ocean and then my friends ran into the Kuzzi. Quest fever. See he's just like, can we just check things off on like a list? I feel like you're starting a new thing

but we haven't finished the other thing and maybe this is, I think I need to go therapy. And then for Ursula too, like the Quest fever of all is fun to Like, to me, there's something about the idea of telling an epic story. Like, you know, I know I always go back to it, but like, Frodo is supposed to bring the ring to Rivendell. I don't understand what you're saying. What is any of these words?

Okay, okay. All right. You've seen the first two. Have I? Yes. I don't remember anymore. I love that Frodo is not a chosen one. I love that Frodo is the ring.

Your uncle found the ring and then he retired and left. And a wizard told you hang on to this. I don't know exactly what it is. And then the fate of the world popped off. And it wasn't that you have the secret shard of whatever in your chest and you're the golden boy. It's just like, shit, man, it's you or it's nobody. Yeah. And I think that that is a beautiful thing that all of you have done expertly well of having heroics.

And not just choosing to do heroic things, but choosing to resists. resist doing heroic things, which has made this first arc so relatable and human and awesome. Thanks. What about you, Ame? Erica. Wow. Wow. We can't escape it.

Dang it. Gosh. I, I mean, this character is something that has been knocking around in my head, I guess, and just sort of like percolating for so long, I think. not specifically Amé and how she is, but just, I mean, the whole reason that Brennan, you know, built this class with the designers and sort of collaborating was I kind of made a wish list of things that I wanted. And I at first I was like, I want to be able to do this. Oh my God. Yeah, there was like the Scheherazade thing where I was like, the idea of telling stories and shit like and that sort of like has a magical effect. maybe.

And then we thought that would be too self-congratulatory, unlike this podcast, what we're talking about of storytelling. It's true. It's about LA, maybe. It's true. But, you know, the idea of which

crafting and consequences is the thing that I always said that I have written in the front of my notebook. And I loved the idea because I love D&D. I've been playing it since I was 14, I want to say. And I have always wanted to play with the group that is just completely story forward

and not about that sort of power fantasy because that's well and good and I love home games with that. But I wanted to tell this story where, you know, it's so easy to become a murder hobo. We talked about this in one episode about. being a murder hobo. And that's because you don't have an attachment to the world and you don't feel like there are consequences and you don't have to live with them. And I think there are some other characters that have played in other worlds where having to balance all of those idea of consequences and care for community was like, well, that's a difficult thing. And that's

something that I struggle with in real life. So what, how can I explore that? And it just was like, oh, witches are about consequences. You do not want to cross a witch, otherwise you will be cursed in ironic and sometimes funny punishment commensurate to your wrongdoing. And they are part of a community. And we said that witches don't,

witches live in a little village, you know? And they're, I was like, oh, the witch. She lives in that cottage or she lives in that tower and they have these what became sanctums. she's there and she's part of the community what would make that's why you don't see witches adventuring really they're not very mobile most of them

yeah I think it's very like yeah the sanctum thing is really fun it was very fun to explain how witches are geared towards being an NPC class that you want to see them they're not the like and again to me adventure means the most

in a world that's not made for it. It's the idea, like, like the greatest hero is the one that is not walking down the paved highway to adventure, right? It's like, no, this, the brambles in this forest do not want me to venture here, and yet here I venture.

Wait, I want to answer Zach's question because I have favorite moments for all of you. I'll whip through it. I'll whip through it really quick. Okay. Abria, it's really, it's really easy. lightning fucking speed, heartbreaking,

heart-shattering. My dad. My dad was so, so good. It's a, because it was so fitting that it was one of Suve's last moments, given where she starts in the preludes. Yeah. Because so much of the arc was this incredible lift from a brie of

the kid we saw in the preludes, and who exists, by the way, in the children's adventure, which we have an eight-episode character creation miniseries that exists on the Patreon so you can hear, and we actually recorded it chronologically first. You can go hear us make up these characters as little kids. I love them as kids so much.

I love them so much. I still like think about like Tiny Suv. So seeing Tiny Suvi in the preludes and then seeing the person that fucking Merck's Captain Emlis and keeps the crew safe and scares off Adelaide and whips out this. staff, calls to order, gets people into the chantry, finds you all safety, and that, you know, gets the innkeeper. And then at the very end, it just ends on this very soft, like, who are you

talking to, my dad? And it's heartbraith. Adult Suvie doesn't show you that soft nougatty center a lot, and it's very meaningful in that moment that it came so quickly. That's the soft nuggety center. So has something about it. Yeah. I'm a Milky Way. Ursulan. Hilarious Carnival. What's that? Hilarious. Wait, I didn't like a finish that sentence.

You're going to say hilarious. Hilarious Carnival. Yeah, the carnival where your dream of being a knight sees you opposite some actor playing a night while you play the monster while wearing your true form. See, but you're saying it in a way that's not as hilarious as it could have been. Anyway, what are you going to say? We'll fight about this off-might.

The best part was, I think the reaction that Ursulaan had to seeing Amay and Suvi was actually, like, Lou seeing Erica and Abraya be like, what? That was just one-to-one. Just like, is this your thing? Jesus. That's also a brilliant move from Erica and Abria as the two of them. Because there's a little like Minmax or brain where you know, the part of you is like, oh, I. I know that if my character is judging Ursuline, because I'm also, I'm reading the story.

That's the weirdest thing about actual play, right? Yeah, God, yeah. All of us, we're all, just like you listening right now, every time we sit down to play, I'm excited to hear another chapter of my favorite story. I don't know what's going to happen. You can just sit and listen to the rest of you guys. Yeah, I got the best seat in the fucking house watching the three of you.

So it's a, but that moment where you could, because there's a part of you that goes, if I am judgmental of Ursula in this moment, it's going to hurt him. But then both of you go, no, no. This is my character. You set them up, too. It's absolutely vicious.

You go, what does Ursulaan see on Abe and Tsubi's faces? And then you both proceed to say the worst possible scenario. Pity and contempt. Yeah. Is that what you wanted? It's literally, it's like, that's the two flavors of the energy drink of these two, of the pity from the witch and contempt. The wizard is like, what the fuck is this?

And the witch is like, oh no. Oh, no, you're being taken advantage of you. You're not big and strong. You're the victim. Oh, God, hell. Fucking hell. Bottled, concentrated hell. I think it was, and it was too.

It was like we were supposed to be just watching. And you said if you had completed the rest of the play, it would be funny. But of course, we interrupted. where like the kids are booed, like in a pantomime, the kids are booing Ursuland and almost like, boo yourself. Yeah, you yells like,

oh, a guy thinks you're heckling. He doesn't like understand the current. Oh, but the learned yokel. The learned yokel. Strongest MPC. Strongest MPC. We'll find that learned yokel. He's coming back.

That learned yokel is actually Arthur's nephew and he helps him run the end because there's so much business. My favorite Lou moment is post Derek. Favorite Ursula Mom was post-Daric where Sufi has started to compartmentalize and rationalize. Amme has arrived at this is what's got to happen next and totally shocked me. But in the best way of shocking where I'm like, oh, that's inevitable, right?

Like a shock that you go, of course, which was Ursulaan being like, what the fuck can we do? Yeah. What can we do? And seeing the difference that as different as I'm, Amay and Suvi are, each of them had the benefit of an institution. Ames institution was a single grandma, but what a grandma. Yeah. A brick shit house.

An absolute unit. The platonic ideal of a grandma. And then Suvie has the citadel, the most institution-y institution that ever institution. And you see Ursulaan being like, that's the moment where all the things Ursula has said. Like they talk about show don't tell, right? Like, we have the inferred characteristic that Ursulans had a hard time. That's showing us that Ursuline had a hard time. Because if you've actually had a hard time, you don't go, yeah, let's take a huge risk that we have no idea if we're even capable of.

Well, and it's crazy because he even says, like, I'm scared. I'm scared of losing the little bit of happiness that I have. And that's the thing that in real life, nobody is willing to admit to themselves when they get angry. And also the idea, too, of like, there's a certain moment where if you're, if you're being heroic and you're like, wait, like, we're talking about saving people from Godzilla. I'm one of the people running and screaming on the street. Like, I am very much the kind of people that need saving. So this idea of, like, the life I've led and I've been, like, hiding in barns and fucking hedge mages are trying to run down and capture me and, like, you know, Pete's dragon style, find out what of my organs are magical. Like, this is a fucking nightmare out here.

Like, I don't want to, like, I need help. And the idea of that coming from someone who then has that moment under the Derek with the sword. Like, that moment hits so much harder from a guy who said, I don't think I can do this. It's like, oof. Hey, that's because we got time, baby. You know? It's crazy. And then my Ame moment that I truly love so much is the entire.

scene with Orima in the chapel. Oh my God. Which I think is one of the most expert, clever, like every step on a two-inch ledge, 40 stories up, choosing your words carefully without any hesitation. Because in that scene, I was trying as hard as I could to find a reason to come down like a ton of bricks. And really, as Brennan was like, if you say anything that provokes me or insults me. I am

I'm like, I'm like hanging by a thread. And you gave me no surface. There was no surface area I could touch. It was a perfect Nausica, jibbley heroin fucking beat for beat

scene of the kind of victory that you had said mattered to you in this story of we are going to avoid destruction, understand everybody, and even the moment, especially that moment where you're talking to her

and you are like, I am here to represent you and help you and I cannot abandon the people of Port Talon who I also represent. And you're like, oh, that's the character. And you walking out of that being a true witch and no longer an apprentice, it was like, that fucking...

It's incredible. Also, everyone, Eric is crying and should because you fucking killed it. That was so great. So good. I like story telling us so much. It's just so fun. like, cannot belabor this point enough that for $5 a week of money, God, see what?

A weeping Patreon pitch. It never stops. Experience some of the magic that we talk about. I promise you there is a visible tear on Erica's face. I'm not fucking with you. It's not a bit. For $5, you can see a bad picture of Erica crying. God, it's just such a privilege.

Can I just say, too, the fox was one of the fox. One of the most surprising things. Originally, I thought that the fox would be, you know, a silent, a silent familiar, you know, and that it was going to be like an excuse to talk out loud, and I would be piloting him in combat and such. And instead, he's the little guy of all fucking time. He's the little guy. Damn. I love him so much.

I love him so much. And it's so uncanny to me how, you just play him. He's so perfect. Like, he's so perfect. Like, he's just a little guy. And he cares so much. He just doesn't understand.

And also, originally, like, original concept for Amme, too, was like, oh, she's a trickster. Oh, she's fun. And you see that a little bit more. in the kids campaign because like immediately right off the bat, when you meet Ame, she has,

okay, calm down, cockering. Okay, well, like 10 minutes after you meet Ame, she is burdened with great responsibility and having to, like, show up. But, you know, in the Children's Avengers, you see, like, how sort of wild and mischievous she is. We were like, oh, well, we need that to counteract the sad boy. The fox exists just for you

No, it was originally supposed to be Amay but then like Amet in some ways The Fox coming in and being the mischief of Amme Was incredible because sometimes the fox will say things Where it's like oh I mean even the part in Port Talon Where the Fox runs away because that's what Amay wanted to do Yeah The Fox is we said which is familiar as turns out

Are the thing that they need to work on Yeah well it feels like there's something sort of fascinating about the idea of like I knew that I wanted which is familiar is to be more than like you have a mechanical animal that helps you right like like like hey check it out I have a help action with two hitters you know like I didn't want that like to me the idea of like what is the actual narrative of this in the world and my favorite types of familiars have been those that have a very delineated relationship where for example like in his dark materials,

it's literally like understood that the demons are your soul. That is your soul. And it takes a certain form. Like after you hit puberty, it fixes in a static form. There's something about witches familiar is in this world as an element of your personality

that you put into an external thing based on some kind of relationship. It's like a type of compartmentalization, almost like a hand, you're carrying too many bags and you're like, here, you carry this. Yeah. Right. So you're like, you're like, I don't, because, you know, Amé is the little girl who put

Be Kind on her wall. And so it feels like there's a mission she, like her version of like Ursulaan's Quest or like Suve's Citadel legacy, like her parents, is this little thing of Be Kind on the wall. And that's what Amet has sort of given herself. and it feels like which is whole deal is this liminal space being between two worlds. So you're like, I am going to take be kind onto myself. And that's my project.

And here's this other thing that I'm giving away to make room for be kind. And the fox is going to carry all of the mischief, which is a cool way of thinking of like a dual purpose soul, of the relationship you have to you're familiar. And it begs the question, what the fuck was Tarot? And the idea of like, Grandmother Wren's, like, mischief and her playfulness. Yeah.

Like the thing she had to put away when she's so many things for so many people and stretched so thin. And that's why Taro like runs around and lets us try to catch him and then shows up somewhere else and fucks up like fucks around with Ami in the morning. Like he's all the ways in which like Grandmother Wren, which wished she could be more playful with Amme. Yeah. And it's just so sweet. It's so good. I love it. I love it.

It's important to have a nemesis. Oh, my God. It's so important to have a nemesis. That's so cute. The kids say things. The kids say things. So cute. Just a shout out to the children's adventure because it becomes this beautiful well of like,

here's a thing that I can reference in my character later that like people can point at. That's like, uh-oh, this is a thing that like stuck a little too hard. Like, did Suvee remember it's important to have a nemesis a little too hard for the rest of our life? That's the thing we might find out later. I learned a lesson and I don't remember where I learned it, but I'm just walking around with a paradigm in my head that I don't remember how I got. Oh my God, right. Of the, you know, if you cry, you, it'll, what was it?

Oh, if you're good, the adults will treat you more kindly. Yeah, no, no, no. But there's also from like when she's crying with Ursula and Grandma Ryan is like, oh, don't, don't, you couldn't, you shouldn't cry on him. Or something you're like, oh. Yeah, was that like, was that like not trying to wash you? I don't remember. That I, that I also, I feel like I have thoughts.

Like, I, like, I have a memory of that moment. Don't cry on Ursula. Yeah, that's the thing. I was like, I'm sorry, don't get eye stuff on you. I don't know why. Maybe you'll die. I don't know. Somebody will let us know.

But in any event, yeah, there's still so many more questions. So many more questions to, to. respond to we don't necessarily all have have all the time for work. What are we looking forward to in Arc 2 without giving anything away? What are we looking forward to for our characters or for the world or for you know what are our hopes and dreams for the future? Unless I don't want anything bad to happen as Suvie ever again. Oh yeah I think we I'm hoping we kind of wrap this all up in Arc 2 you know Oh, yeah, yeah.

Like everyone just gets like a two-bedroom condo. Yeah. Like a fun dog or, you know, always already got the fox. I got a cool dog. And like a middle-class job. And we all just kind of make all. I still want 100 more episodes, but I want them to be utterly conflictfully. That's the funniest thing.

You honestly, you and the whole internet. Yeah, right. Just blam out there. This is like comfort media. Please do not challenge. Yeah, Wizard of the Wild One, the farming sim. You're not going to be out here mining bells or whatever the hell you people do. I'm clicking cookies, bitch.

Don't worry about me. I am clicking septendicillion cookies right now. Are you still doing it? Let me just open up. No. Septendouselian? Hold on. Right now, I am currently baking 22.991 6 decillion cookies per second.

That's very fun. That's very fun. I never got in a cookie clicker. Adventure capitalist was always mine. Adventure capitalist? Yeah, it's just lemonade. It's the same thing, but dollars. And you're just clicking, and then you buy things that make more money,

and then you reset. It just feels good to watch a thing happen. And you're like, I'm the part of that, kind of. I actually run around in Ghost of Tsushima. Like, sometimes if there's a thing that needs doing, I'll do it, but mostly just me running through fields. Yeah, just vibes. Yeah.

Just vibes. Blood Moon, cooking sim. Yeah. That's all the experience. Yeah, that was, yeah, I spent like 40 hours cooking. Anyway, anyway, like I, actually, this just bring me to my point of, like, it is nice just to have cozy moments. And I think that's a thing that I enjoy the most in this and look forward. I do look forward to it in the future, like the little moments, you know, yeah, all of the burning questions we have about, about the curse on Amme and on.

about, you know, Suve's parents and about will Ursula never get a chance to return home? Will Fox get a good rubbish heap? All these good questions, but then also it's just the little moments of like a little, I guess, sleeping on the potatoes. Like folding laundry in the little peasant's cottage. I like that part. I'm just better with a task. I have a question I want to pose here. We're talking a little bit about the children's adventure, which again.

No! Jules asks, thanks, Jules for the question. If the young versions of our heroes from the children's adventure met their adult selves at the end of chapter one, what would they think of them? Someone else go first. Gosh. I mean, Ursula, I think, would be, I mean, now at the end of chapter one, at the end, right, with Wavebreaker, with his friends. I mean, I think that there's a lot that young Ursula would admire about current Ursula. I do think mine would be mostly positive.

Like, there is something to, I mean, I'm not a knight. I don't have a horse. I'm not Sir Curran. but I have a sick sword and I'm still with my best friends so I do think young Ursulaan would be like pretty tight dude I love that I love that

I also think Ursulaan has pretty low expectations I guess maybe if anything there's like whoa we're still here maybe there's a little bit of that but I think like coming to accept that we are still here then it's like oh okay well we have a sword we're with our friends.

Not bad. I think this question would be, yeah, this is, the operative point here is comparing, like, the Chorids of Adventure, or like, as Jules, the way the question is actually worded, at the end of arc one. Yeah.

The end of arc one, beginning of arc one. Woo! I think he'd think he's hilarious. That performance is incredible. It's funny. It's funny. I think Amé, little Amé, and Ame currently

would just be two absolute firecrackers. Like it would be bad and explosive. Like they would cause so much mayhem. Like if little Ame had the fox

like I just like can you imagine because little Ame has the time and the wherewithal to have as much mischief in her body as the fox has. And so if the two of them get together. Oh, double barrel shenanigans.

Yeah. And then, because, like, you still see it in arc one, even at especially, well, Arc one. Oh, me is like, cool. Yeah. At the end, it's like, oh, no. I'm asleep.

That's really funny. That's actually really funny. Damn, wake up, Amme? Yeah. I'm trying to see what's going on. Oh, God. Okay, you go next. That's really funny.

I'll throw, I'll throw, This is like my little like, uh, this is me like doing my like, like, I'm trying to insight check your guys characters. I think Ursulaan meeting end of Arc Ursalon, exactly as Lou described it. I think Little Ursulaan meeting beginning of Arc Ursalon.

Who? Really rough for Little Ursula. Oh, yeah. Terrifying. Terrifying. I think Amay beginning or end of, And she is asleep. End or beginning of arc one,

Ame, I think is rough for adult Amme. I think adult Ame is, because I think looking and seeing precocious, firecracker, little, like, yeah, I'm running around, I made a friend, here we go, we go, we're going to the woods. And then you have adult Amme that's like, I'm taking care of the world.

Like I think there's a It's true It's true I was yeah that's true Because I feel like Little Amay would be like Oh my God

We're taking care of the whole world We're a full witch Like we've got a little fox guy And he's the best And we eat raw fish together Like We just be very cute But yeah

Adult Amme Is like damn Why can't I go run around In the woods with those two But also like What a little What a trauma I think looking and being like, oh, this kid, I don't know, like the idea of like looking back at your past self and being like, hey, there are some haymakers on your way. Look, look out.

Like, some stuff's coming. Like that idea of. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well. What about pursuit? I like this pointing in both directions. I think little CV looks at adult CV. learns in that moment, hey, your parents died, the Citadel and Steele raised you. You found your friends again and they led you in an adventure

that's leading to your court martial. You're going back under bad terms. I think Little Suvie would be like, this all went wrong and that's crazy. And then I think adult Suvie would look back at Little Suvie and go, I do not recognize you. I think there's something really important

in the things you have to put away in order to be who you need to be. Like, that's just a small child. Like, I think she would treat that the same way you meet, like, your cousin's kid that you're like, I guess I know you. We have a passing resemblance, but I don't feel anything important about that. Yeah. Got him, big. Got him.

Hey, Lou, is that funny or sad? Now, that's hilarious. Capital H. hilarious. I'm glad this period of Lou has possessed. That's a full L.O. friend Jonathan. Also, I am, my name is Jonathan Venus. I'll respond to Lou to keep up with everything.

That's okay. It's called acting. I understand. I understand. I don't want to ruin the flow. So, you know. Oh, sorry, Mr. Venus. Again, you can call me John. What about Johnny? What about J.B? Absolutely fucking not. Okay, okay. Fair. Okay. So I think we got to wrap it up.

No. But, uh. Wait, there's one question that we really got it. I would really see how it's a lot if we do. This one's from Ogre salad. Thank you. I was going to, that's what that was... Oh, sorry, go for you. No, no, no, no. I want to hear you say it.

Ogr salad. Ask, thank you, Ogre Salad. So far in all of Arc 1, which character or NPC canonically has the juiciest dumper, the fattest booty, the widest trunk, which may or may not be full of junk.

I was, I, here's the thing. So, so which character or an NPC canonically has the juicest dumper? Do you, I know who it is? Do you guys... Do you actually, you are morrow? It's a hundred- It's actually.

Obviously, obviously. Obviously. Obviously. Who has the juiciest dumper? Morrow? Wearing robes you can see it from the front. Marl's double fucking cakeed up. Yeah.

Just fucking on the side. Bro, when Morrow bops up and down with excitement, you're just here. Oh, my God. It's great. Now that you've gotten here, before Arc 2 comes up, go home. Re-listen to the Morrow episodes. And just listen. Because Taylor has, they're in there.

Taylor put those little claps in there. You just missed it. Yeah, 100%. Wait, why is the answer not, like, human glamour to ROM? Because he hates us. Yeah, because he is against the monster fucker agenda. Wait, who are the top three dumpers?

Yeah, top three. Also, I fucking hate the word dumpers. Yeah, I do too. What are the top three boutets? Boatis. Top three bootets that we've seen. thus far. Yeah.

We haven't seen them. Okay. We haven't seen, you know, like, you know what I'm saying? It's like, clocked. We haven't seen, though. Yeah. Okay. Top three.

Morrow number one. Yeah. I feel like steel's tight. She keeps it tight. I don't know how caked up we are in the Citadel. Yeah, I think she's just got a good, a well-shaped cast. Yeah. But not a, not a boutet.

No, it's not a boutet. Yeah. It's not a boutette. Bounce a boutette. I'm going to say Maro number one. Number two. Willie Gallows, Willie Gallows. Willie Gallows is a sickly.

See, now I'm really, I'm like spinning out, putting too much thought into it. Okay, here's the top, here are the top four. I'm going to let you put them in our order. Got it. In the order you want. But unequivocally, number one is Moro. Morrow. Maro is number one.

So basically we're going, we're going two, three, four. Yes. And it is, it is Galani. Oh! Oh! I think it goes like this. I think it's Galani. And then I think up there is also the moustachioed bartender from the Ace of

Law. He's got ass. He's got ass. And then I think, stealth, stealth, Arly Price. Arly. Okay. Now, if I can just make a quick brief request for anyone who's an animator out there, if you could draw Morrow or animate Morrow just twerking on top of the Derek.

Yes. That nothing I don't think anything would make me happier. A hundred percent. Just a full, like, you know, feet on the... the wall just twerk over the ROM trapped below. Exactly. That's all I want. Yes.

All wizards do that. It's our excessive display. We're just like, yeah, this is how you establish dominant. Exactly, yes. That really threw me off. I really had never thought about Maro's butt. I think that there's a thing where people go like,

because the question presupposes this like, oh, who's got a, who's got the thickest rear end? And you're thinking of attractiveness, but it's like, well, if you're compartmentalizing to these individual body, like, you don't conceptualize of Morrow as an attractive character. But that's not the question. The question, you pinpointed it and it's a roll of the dice. And Morrow, he's got some shorts that say juicy on the back. Let's fucking go.

It must be your ass because it's not your face. That it is. Brendan, who's got the biggest ass? The juiciest dumper. Juiciest Dumpur. In Arc 2. In Arc 2. Okay, this is a little flash forward.

Wow. This is the best quite rich. The slimmest tease. Nobody talk about what they're excited about an Art 2, but who's got a good ass? In Arc 2. Oh, oh, I know exactly who it is. Really? Mr. Roccomanti.

Wow. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Can't wait. Yeah. Can't wait for you all to meet that ass.

All right, everybody, for this and more asses, please continue to listen to Worlds Beyond Number or join us on the fireside. Thank you. I love you all so much. And folks at the table, an absolute honor, an absolute honor. I'm Erica Eiji, crackle, crackle, and a hoo-hoo. Hey, it's your boy, JV. It's been a pleasure meeting you guys on the public.

I hope to see more of you by the fireside. Crackle, crackle, is that what we said? Yeah, let's crackle crackle. Crackle and a hoo-hoo. I'm a Brea Iongar. This is just my favorite thing in the whole world. Thank you all so much. Crackle, crackle.

Hey, it's Brennan. What a joy, an honor, and a privilege to be by the fireside with you all. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for, uh, enjoy. the pod. And coming up very shortly, chapter two of the wizard, the witch and the wild one. Only here on worlds beyond number. Crackle, crackle, a hoo-hooo!