Transcribed by Michelle Kelly.
[howling wind transitions into theme music]
Josie: Welcome back to Miami. We open exactly where we last left our three wayward demons: in a recently bought-out underground music venue, the walls covered in graffiti and posters and murals of decades of punk history, with a huge hole punched into the concrete ground revealing a sickening dead tree root from which they have removed a shard of Babel, a piece of glass reflecting a prior image of the Tower of Babel. Julia, Remy and Luz have just subdued Ethan Lyons, aka Pahalia, The Twister of Names, an old friend of Remy’s who was seeking to claim the shard, even risking getting violent to do it. But now that he’s defeated and frightened, he seems distraught. Although luz took some time to comfort him. And also, later tonight, there is the relocated punk show that some of you want to go to.
Kris: I think Remy had the shard last, right?
Josie: Yes.
Fabby: I think you’re correct, yeah.
Kris: Does it look like I could, you know, if I still have that blazer from my car— could I like, wrap it in the blazer so at least I don’t have to hold it, no one has to hold it directly in their hands? Cause it’s hot.
Josie: Yeah, you can do that.
Kris: Great. I’m gonna. I’m gonna do that and like, set it down, I think by Julia. Cause she’s the furthest away from Ethan at this point.
Josie and Minna: [laugh]
Kris: Cause I did want to get closer to him to talk to him without being like, “And here’s a shard in your face, neener-neener.” But yeah, I think they leave the shard with Julia and then like, you know, walk up slowly in a sort of as non-threating a way as they can. Probably crouch down so it’s not like I am towering over you now, and be like:
Kris (as Remy): You said there’s more of these around the city, right?
Josie (as Ethan): Yeah. Yeah. Supposedly. A bunch. I don’t know how many.
Kris (as Remy): [sighs] Think it’s gonna be like this every time?
Kris: Looking around the building and the crater of floor we’re in.
Josie (as Ethan): I mean, I wasn’t hoping it would need to be like that this time.
Kris (as Remy): Yeah, that’s fair. Look, do you think you can talk to Abaddon about, I don’t know, setting it up so we can all sit down and figure this out? Cause I think we’d all like to avoid this happening again.
Josie (as Ethan): You’re gonna call me a fucking idiot, but I don’t know where Abaddon is. They only communicated with me remotely. And I’m not 100% sure it’s them. They seemed different when their voice came to me. But I can try. You know they’re not exactly the diplomacy type.
Kris (as Remy): [sighs] Well… okay. Reach out to them anyway and we can try to help you track them down?
Kris: Looks at, uh— I think Remy looks at Luz like,
Kris (as Remy): Luz is pretty good at finding people online.
Josie: [laughs]
Kris (as Remy): I don’t know if that’s how they got in touch with you, but it’s how she found us.
Fabby: Luz is on the floor taking pictures of the tree in the hole, but without going in. She’s like:
Fabby (as Luz): Uh yeah, no. I’m sorry. Inspiration for a painting.
Kris: [laughs]
Josie (as Ethan): Wait. Hold on. Is that subreddit you guys?
Fabby: Oh yeah! I set that up.
Josie (as Ethan): What the fuck? Here I am trying to keep it covert and secret and shit and you’re just posting it on reddit.
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby (as Luz): Are we supposed—
Fabby: She looks at the other two.
Fabby (as Luz): Are we supposed to— are—
Josie (as Ethan): I mean—
Fabby (as Luz): Are we supposed to keep it secret?!
Josie (as Ethan): I mean, I don’t know. I mean, Abaddon wants to restore Babel on Earth, so it obviously can’t be that secret. But…
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah.
Josie (as Ethan): I don’t know.
Fabby (as Luz): As far as I can tell, like, first of all, no one will believe us. Second of all, the only people who will actually believe us are other demons, so… it’s a win-win situation.
Fabby: Click, click, click.
Minna (as Julia): Everyone else just thinks it’s an elaborate LARP.
Kris: Remy’s just sort of nodding along with all of this like, ‘No, yeah.’
Josie (as Ethan): I mean, I guess that makes sense. I was just going off the instincts from all the vampire movies and shit.
Fabby (as Luz): We’re not vamp—
Fabby: She stops and looks at the other two.
Minna: [laughs]
Fabby: We’re not vampires, are we?
Minna: [laughs] The number of times we’re gonna lampshade The Masquerade in this—
Josie: [laughs] I mean, technically this game originated in the same universe, so…
Minna: No, I know, it’s just very funny. [laughs]
Fabby (as Luz): I don’t know. Maybe there’s vampires running around, but as far as I’m concerned no one has told me, one, if there are vampires, two, if they’re related to us.
Fabby: I think she says, looking up,
Fabby (as Luz): Wasn’t there that one movie about like, how Judas was the first vampire? That didn’t really have anything to do with demons. Anyway, what were we talking about?
Fabby: Click, click, click.
Kris: [laughs]
Josie (as Ethan): Um, yeah. I mean, I guess no one has told us to do that. And the generals have been gone for a long time, so…
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah.
Josie (as Ethan): I guess they would be the ones?
Fabby (as Luz): I honestly believe that unless we’re like, full-on war fighting people, I don’t think anyone will care. It’s Florida. No one will believe anything that happens here anyways.
Josie (as Ethan): I mean, I guess that’s true. They don’t even report Florida Man Getting Possessed in the headlines anymore.
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah. Florida Man does a little nice dance. From the possession.
Fabby: She says, as if that explains it.
Josie: [laughs]
Josie (as Ethan): Um, okay. But seriously, y’all are down to help me collect these? Then what was this fight all about?
Fabby (as Luz): Lack of information? I think that was the problem.
Minna (as Julia): I’m still not chill with resurrecting Babel here.
Fabby (as Luz): Uh, I mean, I—
Kris (as Remy): There’s also that.
Fabby (as Luz): Don’t care one way or another? But you are welcome in the forum and in our weekly meetups. Do you know how to use reddit?
Josie (as Ethan): Yes, I know how to use reddit.
Fabby (as Luz): Okay, then we will see you there.
Minna (as Julia): r/DemonsOfMiami.
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah, I’m uh, LuzObscura69?
Fabby: No, she wouldn’t go for that… um…
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: Uh… fuck, what’s a trendy username? Yeah, I think it’s just, she’s like,
Fabby (as Luz): I’m just LuzObscura. You can just send me— I’m like, one of the mods, main mod, creator. I run the thing. But you can just send me like, a message, and I’ll grant you access to all the stuff.
Josie (as Ethan): [doubtfully] Sure…
Fabby (as Luz): Cool!
Fabby: She says all happy and bubbly. Like we didn’t just fight.
Kris: I think Remy stands up and sorta like, brushes off, you know, any dust off them or whatever, offers Ethan a hand up.
Kris (as Remy): Sorry about all of this but, you know. Can’t just go around shutting down places people love. I mean, I guess you can, cause it’s your job, but it’s not a great look.
Josie (as Ethan): I mean—
Kris (as Remy): It got some people pretty pissed off.
Josie (as Ethan): I mean, I woke up managing a real estate company. I never claimed to be a good person.
Josie: He takes Remy’s hand and stands up.
Josie (as Ethan): I’m not gonna lie, the few encounters I’ve had with other demons have not been— have not ended so well as this one.
Kris (as Remy): Well, let’s see if we can get this one off on a better foot than it started.
Kris: [laughs] She’s looking around and like, just kinda like kicks some rubble back into the hole.
Fabby (as Luz): No, it’s okay. He has money. He can probably get all this fixed.
Fabby: Click, click, click.
Kris: [laughs]
Josie (as Ethan): Yeah, I mean, now that we’ve got the shard I don’t really care about this place. So we can start doing stuff here again if we want. I’ll patch up the hole.
Kris (as Remy): Great. In the meantime, you try to get in touch with Abaddon again and, I don’t know, let us know if we can help? I know like five people in this city and two of them are here.
Josie (as Ethan): Sure. It’s good to have you back, Orea.
Kris (as Remy): Yeah, getting used to being back. Thanks.
Josie (as Ethan): And I’m not sure who Luz is and…
Fabby (as Luz): I’m Luz!
Josie (as Ethan): Aigron, you’re as terrifying as usual.
Minna (as Julia): Thank you.
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby (as Luz): Aw, that’s nice.
Josie: He blanches a little bit, but… [laughs]
Josie (as Ethan): I take it y’all are heading out?
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah. Apparently, uh, there’s a concert in an abandoned factory I helped a little bit set up. So I should go and see that I don’t end up bankrupt because the place burned down!
Fabby: She does like, finger guns as she says these words.
Kris: Remy just looks at Luz with like, genuine concern with like, ‘Wait, was that on the line? Hang on. What?’
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby (as Luz): Eh, you know. It happens.
Kris (as Remy): Okay… listen, this has… this has been enough evening for me. I’m gonna… oh, I need so much sleep.
Fabby (as Luz): Okay. You have my number in case you wake up in the middle of the night and are like “I really wish I could be in a warehouse listening to some music.”
Josie: A strange urge, but it happens.
Fabby: Yeah, you never know.
Kris (as Remy): If that happens, yes, you will be the first person I call, Luz.
Fabby (as Luz): Hell yeah.
Kris (as Remy): [laughs] You two both headed that way?
Minna (as Julia): Yeah.
Kris (as Remy): Alrighty then.
Josie: Speaking of the concert, now’s a good time to go over downtime, because I didn’t include that in episode one. For the listeners, downtimes are largely the same as in Blades in the Dark, but there’s a couple new ones. There’s one to manage your Torment and one to regain Faith back. Just to explain things out a little bit, demons gather Faith from just the collective belief of humanity. They can believe in things, but that sort intangible tangible stuff of faith that creates things, it has to come from somewhere else. And to that end, demons on Earth form pacts with humans by revealing a little bit of themselves or deceiving them or having some sort of exchange that allows them to draw on their belief in exchange for a smidgeon of power. This is where the legends of making deals with devils comes from.
They can Reap Faith from the general populace, but in terms of mechanics it’s a little more scattershot. You get a random amount. Whereas the Reap Faith action gives you— it always gives you 2, plus 1 for every pact you have beyond the first. Remy has a pact, the other two don’t, so we’ll see that develop over the course of the podcast. Fabby, what are your two downtime actions?
Fabby: That’s me. So, I’m going to the party and my first downtime action’s going to be to regain some Faith.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Fabby: I figure that it’s a combination of the crowd and also try to find someone, and then if I don’t, just like, the crowd and the energy there. And my second downtime is maybe someone that I fed on that’s part of the crowd, try to zero in on them and do a, uh, long-term project on making a pact with them.
Josie: Sure thing.
Fabby: Because I currently do not have any pacts.
Josie: Remy, what are your two downtime actions?
Kris: I’m going to heal, because I’ve got some level 1 harm, and I’m going to Reap Faith.
Minna: I am also going to Reap Faith and then I’m going to start a long-term project to investigate the shard.
Josie: Excellent. The other thing I wanted to get to was XP, because there’s a couple common XP triggers, but each House and Faction gives their own unique XP trigger. It otherwise works the same as Blades in the Dark. Let’s go backwards this time, let’s start with Julia. I don’t think you rolled any desperate actions last time. Did you struggle with issues related to your Torments?
Minna: Mm. oh, this is me. [laughs]
Josie: Yeah. [laughs]
Minna: [laughs] I think I heard, I think you— you probably said Julia and I was like, ‘Who’s Julia?’ [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: Don’t know her.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: Sees sign with your character on it. ‘That couldn’t be me’.
Minna: [laughs] Okay, so struggled with issues related to your Torments. I don’t think so, unless taking something on your Torment clock counts? But I don’t think it does.
Josie: Um, I think it does? Although the torment point fills in a box of your Faith track.
Minna: Oh, the Torment clock is for healing that.
Josie: Yes.
Minna: Sorry.
Josie: It blocks out a box on your Faith track and you can’t fill that box as long as the Torment is there.
Kris: Oh…
Minna: Alright, thank you for that notification.
Josie: Yeah. Although you gained that Torment point from assuming your apocalyptic form.
Minna: Yes, I did, not from Torments.
Josie: And I wouldn’t say you engaged with either of your Torments last session.
Minna: Yeah. Acted on your primal instincts to solve a problem, though.
Josie: Definitely did that.
Kris: Mm hmm. [laughs]
Minna: Yeah. And I destroyed something. I mean, maybe not to make way for something new. [laughs] Unless that something new was us finding things out.
Josie: What did you really destroy?
Minna: I mean, we did kinda fuck up a plan.
Kris: You did destroy that plan.
Josie: I mean, you did reconcile things with Ethan, so I’d say that counts. You got 2 XP.
Minna: Okay.
Josie: And you can put those in any of your…
Minna: Any of my many XP tracks.
Josie: I tried to make sure that you don’t run out of things to level up with by the end of the show, so… [laughs]
Minna: What does putting XP into your Influence track do? Does— if you fill it up, do you get another Influence?
Josie: Yeah, you just get another Influence.
Minna: Okay.
Josie: And bonds don’t have XP, those are just done naturally. Influences, I might let you change them out if something changes about your character, but otherwise you gotta spend XP to get more of them. Remy.
Kris: Hello.
Josie: I don’t think you rolled a desperate action.
Kris: Did not, no.
Josie: You struggled with issues related to your Torments, right? You had to deal with letting others down.
Kris: I sure did.
Josie: You resisted taking a Torment point.
Kris: Mm hmm, but I did because Pahalia was there and it was like, ‘Oh hey bud. Oh dear.’
Minna: [laughs]
Kris: But it was fine.
Josie: Did you rally other fallen around a common cause?
Kris: I don’t think so? Unless being like, ‘Hey can you—’ like, finding and talking to Abaddon, but like, I don’t know— that’s the closest thing I can think of and I don’t know that I would count that.
Josie: And now for your unaligned faction. Did you assert your independence when someone else tried to control or manipulate you? I’d say kind of, because Ethan was trying to get you to do what he wanted and you were like, ‘Nope.’
Kris: Yeah. It was very much, ‘Gimme the shard.’ ‘No.’
Josie: [laughs]
Kris: ‘I won’t’. So yeah, I will take 2 XP.
Josie: Cool beans. Let’s go to Luz.
Fabby: Hewwo.
Josie: I believe you rolled a desperate action last session. Did you struggle with issues related to your Torments? You did. Because we had the deal with you feeling abandoned, which is your demon Torment.
Fabby: Yeah. I managed to roll a 6 on that and get no Faith damage. Yeah, I did struggle with that.
Josie: So gain an XP from that. Did you inspire or manipulate the emotions of mortals to your benefit?
Fabby: Maybe? I manipulated those— the mortals that were around when I first came in?
Josie: I’d say that counts.
Fabby: Okay.
Josie: It was more on the manipulate side.
Fabby: And I did not liberate someone from a force that was suppressing or limiting them, as far as I know.
Josie: Yeah. That’s the Luciferan XP trigger. And you didn’t really do that yet. So, 3 XP for you.
Fabby: Cool.
Josie: Let’s go through some downtimes.
##Midroll [00.16.17]
Josie: Hi everyone, it’s me again. I’m slightly sick as I’m recording this, so I’m gonna make it quick. First off, I want to thank everyone for the amazing response to episode one. It definitely surpassed my expectations for the first day and the first week, really. And I really love hearing from people about what they liked and didn’t. The point is I like attention, so share the podcast and your comments wherever you can. Don’t forget to rate us on Apple and other podcasting thingies. We’re really putting the Love in Love and Hellfire, here.
Secondly, we split our recordings up into multiple episodes, with the exception of episode one, so starting from this episode on, episodes won’t be two fucking hours long. Some people are into that, including me, but this is way easier to edit. Actually, episodes two and three are slightly shorter than I was aiming for. Again, this is the first podcast I’ve run, so I’m still zeroing in on what works best for us. Thank you for bearing with me.
I’m still doing the featured charity this month, so take it away, me.
Fund Texas Choice is a non-profit organization dedicated to getting travel and funds for that travel to Texans seeking abortions, even going so far as to help them travel out of state. If you’re listening to this, we just did a whole big livestream to raise money for Fund Texas Choice, but that doesn’t mean you can’t donate. And especially in the coming times, fuck SCOTUS, lots of people in lots of places are gonna need this help. Everyone who can get abortions is entitled to them for any reason. And fuck anyone who tells you otherwise. And we at Clever Corvids believe strongly in affordable healthcare for all, of any sort.
Speaking of Fund Texas Choice, I want to thank everyone again for participating and donating to the Marathon For Choice. We raised $3100 and I’m already brainstorming how to make the next livestream even better thanks to all of you. Again, fuck SCOTUS, abortion is a human right.
This recording went some places. You’ll hear some of it and see what I mean, but if you wanna hear the whole long aside, stick around for the bloopers at the very end. Now, let’s get back to the show.
##Story continues [00.18.31]
Josie: I think it makes sense to start with the concert scene. So, with Luz’s help, the concert got moved to a warehouse. It’s very improv at this point. The openers didn’t really make it and it got pushed back pretty late into the night, going to the early morning. Julia and Jen, I imagine, are pretty used to being up late for this sort of thing. It’s a warehouse, so it sounds pretty rough, but Jen’s band Dead Beaches, they play really intense. Even though things are a little bit off, it’s not their usual environment or acoustic set-up, they’re kind of used to playing in some off places and they’re still riding off the anger of the venue getting bought out, so they just belt it. And it’s 202X in this show, so classic punk stuff is a little outdated at this point, but it’s very— I don’t know, they’re very like early Against Me!-style music.
How is Luz enjoying the show?
Fabby: Uh, Luz I think is, uh, kinda is used to doing shows in places like this. So she knows, like, okay, she went in a scouted the place out, she found like— I can’t remember what they’re called, they’re these big plastic containers with wheels that someone had left there. She asked a couple people, she’s like, ‘Hey can you help me clean the—’ like, this was when she got there, ‘Can we clean this up real quick?’ and then went and grabbed a bunch of ice and some cheap beer from the local, like, gas station or bodega or whatever’s closest and just filled it up there to keep people like, with cold beer, because who knows if this place has AC. So just like, cold beer and that was well— even if the first band doesn’t show up, it’s cool, we’re talking. I think that’s just how she’s approaching the situation. She’s just, she’s by there, she’s having a beer, she’s talking to people, she’s going around. She’s kind of treating it like if it were, like, an art show that she was hosting. She’s like, ‘Oh hey, how are you doing? Oh, how do you know Jen? How do you know the band? Oh!’ and so-and-so, doing like her schmooze thing as she goes around. And I think that’s how she— at the beginning of the night, how she starts getting that, and like, flirting with people and getting that back and finding, like, the right energies.
Josie: Mm hmm. So this sort of thing is energizing to her.
Fabby: Yeah.
Josie: She doesn’t get drained putting on the schmooze for people.
Fabby: No, she recovers by this. No, no, this recovers her. Like, she’s having— if she could, she would do this 24/7, but she needs to paint and other stuff. But she loves doing this, she loves talking to people and just like, hanging out in a party. Like, that type of energy and atmosphere of like, ‘Oh we’re just listening to music, we’re—’, like, she doesn’t know any of these bands, she doesn’t listen to punk, she doesn’t care. She’s like, jumping around, she jumps into, if there’s a mosh pit she jumps in there. Sees someone throw elbows, she starts throwing elbows, she is a social chameleon in not a terrible way and just like, ‘Oh, this is what people are—’ she’s more like a sponge. In a good way?
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: Of like, ‘Oh, this is what we’re doing here? Hell yeah. Fucking love this. I love— is this music? I fucking love music.’ Like, that’s the energy she has to these type of social situations.
Josie: Yeah. And I think that totally makes sense with you as a Defiler, aka a Lamassu. Because emotion and art, those are things you help bring into the world. And like the water that is also your domain, Luz just flows easily into new social situations and is enriched by it. To you, I think you kind of feel… you feel like it’s sunrise even though it’s 2am. Just that kind of feeling.
Fabby: Hell yeah.
Josie: To Reap Faith without having a pact, you would roll your lowest Name and gain half the result back.
Fabby: Okay. Oof.
Josie: So, there are some Names you don’t have dots in, so roll two dice and take the lower.
Fabby: Yeah. My Fallen Epithet I have nothing in. Uh, that’s… I rolled the same number in both of them. 3.
Josie: 3. Given the description, let’s round up.
Fabby: Cool.
Josie: You get 2 Faith back.
Fabby: Hell yeah.
Josie: Does Luz go home with anyone after tonight? [laughs]
Fabby: Oh yeah, for sure. Whoever she had, like, the best connection with.
Josie: Sure. But just one person? [laughs]
Fabby: [stammers] Who did she have the— I— you’re the GM! Did she have the best connection with a group of people? Then… whoever she had the best connection with.
Josie: Hmm. Okay.
Fabby: It could be a person, a couple. [shrugs] She’s not judgey.
Josie: I think Luz ends up— she ends up home with two people she didn’t know were dating until after the fact.
Fabby: [amused] Uh huh?
Josie: But I feel like that’s fine.
Fabby: That— you can cut this if you want. That has happened to me, Fabby.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: I’m leaving that in unless you want me to cut it.
Fabby: No, you can leave that in. Listen, I don’t know… yeah, no. [laughs] I’m like laughing and blushing over here, cause like, yeah, uh huh. Been there.
Josie: I mean, I’m… in college I’ve… I’ve never gone home with two people at once, but I have gone home with people individually from separate parties and then finding out after the fact that they were all connected somehow. [laughs]
Fabby: Yeah.
Josie: Tango Club was wild at UC Santa Cruz.
Fabby: God.
Josie: So we’ll come back to that in a second. Minna, how does Julia enjoy the show and rejuvenate herself?
Minna: I think the first thing she does is she finds, like, the group of people that she often finds here. And it’s probably like a group that’s close to the stage and like, screaming along with the lyrics. And I think she just kinda loses herself in that.
Josie: What about that energy speaks to Julia? She is a Ravener and a Devourer, so anger and energy are kind of part of her being, I imagine.
Minna: Yeah. And I think these are people who like, even if they’re not directly making music themselves, they’re like really— they’re the kind of people who really engage in like, the feeling behind the music that Jen especially is making. There’s like, there’s a real belief there that she is feeding off of.
Josie: Sure, yeah. That makes sense. Roll me your lowest Name, which I still think is a Name with no dots in it.
Minna: It is.
Josie: And take the lower to see how much Faith you get back.
Minna: That’s a 1. So I gain…
Josie: I’ll still let you get 1 Faith back.
Minna: Yeah.
Josie: But— so what about this makes things a little not as rejuvenating for Julia as it could have been?
Minna: I think she got there at the part of the night where things got messy and like, the group was starting to go separate directions and not… like, somebody fought with somebody else and like, somebody else had to go home so there’s this like, kind of sense of it splintering apart almost, before she gets there. That like— if she’s feeding off their energy, they don’t have the same energy that they do when it’s like, focused.
Josie: I think basically as soon as the set is over, Jen in her leather jacket and side-shave barely gets done unplugging her guitar and calls out:
Josie (as Jen): Julia!
Josie (as Echo): And hops down off the stage and rushes over.
Minna (as Julia): Jen!
Josie (as Jen): How’d it go? Are things fine?
Minna: Yeah, I think she’s just gonna say:
Minna (as Julia): Well, I got in touch with the current owner, so… I’ll try and talk him around.
Josie (as Jen): I mean, I guess… I guess that’s something. Heh. I wouldn’t have been able to keep my cool long enough to do that.
Minna (as Julia): [laughs] I can uh, I can be pretty persuasive.
Josie: Real quick question. Julia’s bicep got grazed by a bullet earlier in the night. How has she handled that?
Minna: Oh my gosh. [laughs] Have they had the chance to get to a first aid kit?
Josie: Uh yeah, I mean, in transit you could have treated it somewhat, but I just wanted to ask whether Julia cares or not.
Minna: I think it’s funniest if it’s, like, clean but not bandaged right now. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs] Yeah, I think she’s laughing at that and is clearly happy that there’s some hope for the venue and then catches a glance at Julia’s arm.
Josie (as Jen): Okay, what did you have to do to get in touch with the guy?
Kris: [laughs]
Josie (as Jen): Is it a mob thing?
Kris: I love… [laughs]
Josie (as Jen): What the fuck happened?
Minna (as Julia): Oh, no, nah, this is… this is a different thing. It’s fine.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie (as Jen): Are… are you sure? Are you super duper sure, Julia?
Minna: She puts her hand— both hands on Julia’s shoulders.
Minna (as Julia): Jen, I promise you that this is not a mob thing.
Josie (as Jen): Okay. I appreciate how specific that was. But it leaves a lot of things open.
Fabby: One could say demons are like the mob.
Minna: [laughs]
Kris: Contract stuff, yeah, yeah.
Minna: Does Luz say that for real?
Fabby: The first— the original mob, one could call it.
Josie: I mean, I’m imagining that Luz is outright rambling about demon stuff with her two dates.
Fabby: [laughs] Oh yeah.
Josie: We just cut away to—
Fabby: Cut away to the other side of the empty— talking to these two people she’s gonna end up going home with:
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah, you know, demons are kinda like the original mob. You know? They offered protection, they just need to get something in return. Mm hmm. To give, to give people what they needed. Whether that was, you know, some protection or some pleasure…
Fabby: And she winks. And now I’ll give you the scene back.
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: Just like, stepping all on it.
Josie: [laughs] No, I like to let people ramble, it’s great.
Kris: Never apologize for anything.
Minna: It was very good. [laughs] I like you comparing the hierarchy of demons to a protection racket.
Fabby: Lucifer, the real mob boss.
Josie: [laughs] Well no, Lucifer wanted to get rid of the hierarchy of demons.
Fabby: Eh, I mean. You know. Okay, they were more like a Cake Boss, then.
Josie: [laughs]
Kris: [laughs]
Josie: I don’t know how, but sure.
Fabby: Lucifer has a great ass.
Josie: That is definitely true. That is divine ass.
Fabby: Mm hmm. That’s the one thing she remembers.
Josie: It’s the ass of the cosmos.
Fabby: [laughs] They called it the Morning Star for a reason.
Minna: No…
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: Fabby…
Fabby: I’m sorry!
Josie: No, that would be the Mooning Star.
Fabby: Hey-o.
Josie: That’s all getting left in, everyone.
Fabby: I’m sorry for ruining this show.
Minna: You’re not ruining it, I just have a low tolerance for sex jokes. [laughs]
Josie: Remember I picked you for this show specifically, you’re not ruining shit.
Fabby: [laughs]
Josie: So Jen smirks a bit.
Josie (as Jen): Okay. That’s good. Though I was kinda imagining you going all John Wick on some motherfuckers to get the venue back and that would have been pretty metal.
Minna (as Julia): Well, no one’s dead and no one’s getting arrested. So it should be fine.
Josie (as Jen): Yeah. Yeah. Should be fine. That’s… this is a lot better than how I was thinking this night was gonna end. Jesus Christ.
Minna (as Julia): How was the show before I got here?
Josie (as Jen): Yeah, I mean it was a rough start, pretty angry, but once I got into it we were all kind of in the groove.
Minna (as Julia): That’s great, I’m glad to hear that. We’re gonna figure this out.
Josie (as Jen): I don’t know about you, but me and the group are gonna go and get waffles. Cause that’s the only thing open right now. But you want some?
Minna (as Julia): Yeah, waffles sounds great.
Minna: I know exactly where they’re going, because it’s the same place I would be going at this time of night. [laughs]
Josie: Is it Waffle House?
Kris: I have heard of the fabled Waffle House. It has not reached these northern climes.
Minna: Yes, it’s Waffle House. [laughs]
Josie: Yeah, okay. I don’t know, I don’t have those over here. We have like, Dennys.
Minna: You don’t have Waffle House? [laughs]
Josie: Not really?
Kris: I think it’s largely in the US south.
Minna: I did— did not occur to me that that was not what you were proposing, Josie.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: Where does Waffle House exist? [laughs]
Josie: I mean… yeah, like, I don’t think they’re absent from California, but I’ve never seen one where I’m at.
Fabby: There’s some here in Texas.
Josie: Like, for us it’s Dennys and IHOP and that’s kinda what we got.
Minna: Oh, there are none in California, according to Wikipedia at least.
Fabby: Wow.
Josie: Okay then.
Minna: Wow.
Josie: Oh, we also have Black Bear Diners for NorCal. So those are a thing.
Minna: It’s the south— yeah, it’s a southern— okay. Things I learned. Today I learned. [laughs] Anyway…
Josie: Pulling back the curtain a little bit, Minna is the only actual resident of Florida on this podcast, so she’s our expert.
Minna: And I have been to many a 2am Waffle House. I just need you to know that Waffle Houses are like, kind of a gauge of how fucked things are after a natural disaster in the south.
Kris: Mm hmm. That’s a— that’s great.
Fabby: “The Waffle House closed. Oh fuck.”
Kris: “Oh no, things are bad.”
Josie: Oh no. [laughs]
Kris: That’s an incredible measure of disaster.
Fabby: Ah yes, the Waffle House index.
Kris: Oh damn.
Josie: So Luz goes home with a couple. [laughs]
Kris: [laughs] We’re back.
Fabby: Oh yeah.
Josie: I need that break for a second. [laughs] I think it’s a T4T couple.
Fabby: Yeah, makes sense.
Josie: A trans girl named Iris and a trans guy named Ace.
Fabby: Good names.
Josie: And if you want to figure out further details about them you can. I want your bonds to be people you jive with.
Fabby: Yeah.
Josie: But Iris is a programmer, but she’s kind of down with what you’re about. She’s not trans girl stereotype programmer. She’s— their place actually has a lot of plants around it. More than the apartment can really kind of fit. She’s really into gardening and kind of holistic living. Ace doesn’t have a particular profession. He’s just flitting between retail. And he’s kind of the gamer of the two. But they’re both down with what Luz is about.
Fabby: No, yeah. They sound perfect.
Josie: I think Ace is a bit more skeptical, but Iris is super down for all the rambling demon talk. [laughs]
Fabby: Yes. Incredibly so.
Josie: [laughs] So, this can be the start of your long-term project to find a pact.
Fabby: Yeah!
Josie: I’d say you’re kind of using your human Name for this. Or— hmm. Are you mostly relying on your human stuff to make the connection with them, or are you kind of being open about things right away? Not just in a rambly—
Fabby: I think at least for now, I’m using my human stuff. I’m mentioning demon stuff, but I’m using my human stuff, I’m talking also about the art I make and what inspires me and I’m talking about the things I like.
Josie: Okay.
Fabby: So I think it’s definitely a Human Name roll.
Josie: Alright. So make a note that you have finding a pact at zero of eight ticks on the clock and mark down that you’re using your Human Name for it. And then give me a Human Name roll.
Fabby: Cool. I have two dice in this. [rolls dice] That’s a 3 and 2, so 3?
Josie: Okay. So you are going to fill it in by two ticks.
Fabby: Cool. Boop.
Josie: So once that fills up, you’ll have found someone to maybe make a connection with.
Fabby: Yeah.
Josie: Meanwhile…
“So, this is where they’re hanging out. Pretty tasteless.” Ethan commented as he entered the church. “Alright, I need to speak to them.”
Father John turned away from unplugging the audio equipment on the gaudy stage.
“I take it you have it?”
“No. Didn’t help that the good ol’ boys that you sent crapped their pants and left immediately. Now left me speak to Abaddon—”
“So, you haven’t gotten it? I’m not certain you’re worthy.”
“Cut the crap! I don’t even know who you are!” He turns to face the rest of the stage. “Besides, it’s just Orea and the others. They’re open to talk.”
The speakers crackle to life and the entire auditorium is filed with overwhelming static.
“[distorted voice] No. They are not.” Father John speaks, though the words are not his. “They are fools who still believe that the strong do not have the right to rule the weak. You seem to have forgotten as well. Let us instruct you.”
##Credits [00.36.18]
Josie: Demon: Love and Hellfire is a Clever Corvids production. Find the show on Twitter @Love_Hellfire and follow @Clever_Corvids on Twitter for updates on the network and City That Never Dies. We also have a website, CleverCorvids.net.
Don’t forget to support the Clever Corvids Patreon. It supports all our shows, and you get some extra goodies each month if you do. I have a few more shows planned, so if we can get enough patrons to afford them, we can keep expanding our network.
Luz, aka Penumbra, is played by Fabby Garza. Fabby is a Mexican-American queer trans woman and you can find her voice in other Actual Play podcasts such as Eidolon Playtest, Moon Harbor Heroes, and Don’t Cast, Don’t Tell. You can find her and all of her work @Fabby_Garza on Twitter.
Remy, aka Orea, is played by Kris Allison. Kris is black, ace and tired. You can also hear them having anti-capitalist gay space adventures in the podcast Breathing Space: Fading Frontier. You can also find them on Twitter @knalliso, where they frequently retweet other people and sometimes draw swords.
Julia, aka Aigron, is played by Minna Reilly. Minna is an aro-ace Florida woman who doesn’t do anything wild enough to end up in a headline. You can, however, hear her elsewhere on Clever Corvids in The City That Never Dies. You can also find her on Twitter @mynaminnarr, where she is almost certainly talking about fanfiction.
The GM is Josie S. Josie is a literal, actual dragon and thirsty trans lesbian. Hear her elsewhere on Clever Corvids in The City That Never Dies, or guesting on a bunch of other podcasts like Moon Harbor. You can find her on Twitter @DragonGirlJosie, where she is extremely gay all the time.
All music on the show is from Pixabay, used under their license, unless otherwise noted. Pixabay’s license grants the irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive and royalty free right to use, download, copy, modify or adapt their content for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Attribution of the artists is not required, but we have a page on our website, CleverCorvids.net, to credit the artists anyway.
Thank you for listening!
##Blooper [00.38.40]
Fabby: I’m Texas. Close enough.
Josie: Yeah.
Fabby: I literally grew at the southernmost point of Texas. The point closest to Florida if you go by water.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: Ah yes, the Florida of Texas.
Fabby: Uh huh. Brownsville, Texas.
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: 100%.
Josie: Oh, you’re an alien, that makes sense.
Minna: What? Oh Roswell, Texas?
Fabby: I said Brownsville. [laughs]
Josie: Oh, Brownsville. Okay. Sorry, I thought you said Roswell.
Fabby: [laughs] You’re funny—
Minna: Oh, Brownsville. I know where that is.
Josie: I don’t think that’s even in Texas. Okay, cool. [laughs]
Fabby: You’re very funny.
Josie: Kris says, “Texas, aka Dry Florida”
Fabby: Yeah!
Minna: Is Texas drier than Florida along the gulf coast?
Kris: I don’t know, this is my…
Fabby: No…
Kris: I’m in Canada. This is my very basic understanding of the United States.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: I feel like Brownsville is like the opposite side of the gulf from where I was. [laughs] Well, probably further south.
Fabby: No, it’s right there. Anyway. Same coast.
Minna: Anyway.
[pause]
Josie: Uh… real quick, I just need to generate some numbers real quick…
Minna: Waffle House, that’s where we were. [laughs]
Fabby: Like, okay. If the map of the United States of America, if Florida was one arm, the pointy bit of Texas was the other arm, Brownsville is like the finger of the pointy bit of Texas.
Minna: Mm hmm.
Kris: That is real far south.
Fabby: Yeah. Like hugging. Florida and Texas wanna hug you. And Louisiana is the mouth, I guess.
Minna: [laughs]
Fabby: What are we doing here? Is this a podcast?
Minna: We got here via Waffle House. [laughs]
Josie: Sorry, I need to generate some numbers real quick so I’m just letting this ride and I’ll pick out pieces to leave in. [laughs]
Kris: [laughs]
Fabby: Oh, huh, interesting. I was looking at my local, uh, local… what’s it called? Diner franchise over here and was like, ‘Oh are they just in Texas?’ and no, they’re originally just in San Antonio and they have 16 there, so there’s why it felt to me like an IHOP because they were everywhere. But there’s only three in Austin. Anyway. Jim’s is alright. If you’re ever in San Antonio or Austin and don’t feel like going to IHOP, I guess.
Josie: Sure.
Minna: Is IHOP open late? Or is this not related to 2am diner adventures?
Fabby: In San Antonio, yes. In Austin, no. Everything closes in Austin by 9, I hate it.
Minna: Wow, IHOP’s open for 24 hours in some places here. Damn.
Fabby: Yeah. In San Antonio they were open 24 hours. There was a really good taco place near where I lived in San Antonio that was 24 hours.
Minna: Yeah, unfortunately the closest…
Fabby: And I miss it.
Minna: The closest option now if I wanted something at 2am would be Taco Bell. [laughs]
Fabby: Yeah. Like, where I’m at in Austin, even the fast food closes by like, 10.
Kris: That’s so early.
Fabby: Some places close by 12. It’s like, if I want something at 2am, we have to drive down a street that is basically just Mexican food. And I’m like, yes, okay, I’m back in San Antonio basically. My people are open.
Minna: [laughs]
Fabby: We can’t go to sleep, we want a 2am taco. There’s places here.
Kris: There are three IHOPs in Canada and they are all in Niagara Falls.
Minna: So basically in America. [laughs]
Kris: Yeah. Yeah.
Minna: Or basically in the US is what I mean.
Kris: Mm hmm. No, you’re not wrong.
Fabby: You can jump from the IHOPs in Niagara Falls to America.