Transcribed by Michelle Kelly.
##Intro
Josie: Hi everyone. Thank you for sticking with us through the hiatus. I’m sorry this episode took so long to get out. I was originally gonna send it out all as one thing, but I have to divide in two after all, and if you aren’t on Twitter, the external hard drive that I edit Love & Hellfire on died this past month. So, I basically lost this whole episode and had to do it again. Hence the long delay. Fortunately, I saved everything else, I just lost this file. So, we’re back on schedule. There will be another episode in two weeks. And yeah, thank you for sticking with it, it means a lot. I’ve put a lot of work into Demon: Love & Hellfire, and I really want to have a good run of it with you all. Thank you!
[theme music plays]
##Recap [00.01.05]
Josie: Welcome back to Miami. Last time, our demons turned humans turned demons again got themselves in a bit of trouble after investigating a distressing message from Ethan and found that he had gotten into what must have been a big fight in the church where he was speaking to Abaddon from. After rescuing him, they investigated the church and found Derek, our designated Florida Man, and Father John, a conservative religious fundamentalist priest of the Guiding Hand Church and amateur politician in a bid for city council as a servant of Abaddon, who seems to have changed his mind towards conquest rather than rebellion. And after fighting a variety of vines and audio equipment, Luz took her apocalyptic form for the first time, and that was very distressing for her and everyone involved, including Father John. But they all got beat up pretty bad, so they had to pull back after subduing him and didn’t get too many more answers, except to know that Abaddon is almost certainly their enemy at this point and is not looking to do anything good with the Shards of Babel. They made it back to La Casita past closing hours and seems a bit distraught after everything that happened tonight. And we’re gonna move into downtimes.
##Story continues [00.02.33]
Josie: I think Luz had a downtime ready to go?
Fabby: I think Luz immediately once she gets to La Casita is like… looks at her phone and her fingers go to contacts, go through people she knows, she stops at Iris and Ace and sends— I assume they have like, a group chat or something?
Josie: Yeah.
Fabby: And she sends them a message like,
Fabby (as Luz via text): Hey, had a really bad night. Don’t want to be alone. Can I come over?
Josie: It takes a minute, but Iris sends a message back like,
Josie (as Iris via text): Ace needs to be up early tomorrow, but come on over.
Fabby (as Luz via text): Understood.
Fabby: And then the heart emoji.
Josie: Aww.
Fabby: And then she makes her way over there.
Josie: Remy. What did you have sights on for downtime?
Kris: Uh, I was going to reap Faith, I’m gonna reap Faith first. Uh and train, I think. Train XP. Um, I can—
Josie: Train XP in what?
Kris: Uh, in my Lores XP track. Cause that one is the closest to filling.
Josie: Okey dokey. And Julia? What you got?
Minna: Julia’s going to go ahead and, um, well first thing, she’s going to be researching the Shards.
Josie: [pause] Okay. And your other action was healing?
Minna: Yes, my other action was healing. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: I had a moment where I was lie, ‘Are we doing both of them?’
Josie: [laughs] Uh, Luz, you get over to Iris and Ace’s place, which is like a second-floor apartment, It’s not very big, but the living room is kind of a gamer den and then the small, small patio they had outside a sliding door is covered in potted plants. And they have another room that’s kind of a designated office for them both. They seem to have compartmentalized pretty well in what little space they have. Do you have an idea what Iris looks like?
Fabby: I imagine her… I think she has blonde hair, I think she’s shorter than Luz. She’s a little bit stockier in like— I imagine she’s like, well-built, like she works out. I think both of them work out, they probably have a bunch of, like, dumbbells and stuff around the apartment. But yeah, I think she like… she’s kinda like a little bit shorter, uh, big shoulders, also big muscles, big arms. Stacked. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: And I think she has, like, a bob cut or like… she has like, not too long hair, but long enough that she gets angry if you misgender her. Like, she’s like, ‘Come on! Look at my hair!’
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: Um, yeah.
Josie: So what you’re describing is a slightly more femme me.
Fabby: Listen—
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: If uh, if the Iris fits. I don’t know what you want form me.
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: A slightly shorter you, cause you’re tall.
Josie: That’s true, I am 6’1. Ladies. [laughs]
Fabby: You know, listen.
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: And very soft. It is incredibly soft. My girlfriend will attest to that. Anyways.
Josie: Why are you putting me on blast on air?
Fabby: You brought it up, I don’t know what you want from me.
Josie: Moving on now!
Kris: [snickers]
Josie: It’s not my fault whatsoever. [laughs]
Fabby: Uh huh. I imagine Iris is like, maybe like 5’5. 5’4?
Josie: Gotcha.
Fabby: Like, she was always short even pre-transition and now she’s just short?
Josie: Kris says Iris sounds like she plays roller derby and yes. That is how she works out.
Fabby: Yeah, 100%.
Josie: She gets big for roller derby. [laughs]
Kris: Full body workout, mm hmm.
Josie: So, the door opens, and Iris was at first gonna be fairly calm, because she thought this was just an emotional thing. But you’re clearly a little bit beat up and she says a little louder than she means to,
Josie (as Iris): Oh my God, Luz, what happened?
Fabby (as Luz): It… it was a long night.
Josie (as Iris): Okay, come inside, come on, come on.
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah. I can explain.
Josie: She kind of rushes you inside to the couch. You can hear the light, scratchy snoring of Ace in the other room. There’s just one light on, so it’s still a little dim in here. It looks like she was just scrolling Twitter or something and couldn’t sleep.
Josie (as Iris): Are you okay?
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah. I’ll be fine. Just… I didn’t want to be alone tonight and you two were the only people that I wanted to be around. I hope that’s not too weird.
Josie (as Iris): Nah, no, I think I get it. I mean, I know we just— I know we just met, but, I don’t know, in my experience every trans person gets attached easily, so I’m fine with it.
Fabby: She laughs and puts her head on top of Iris’s head, just resting it.
Josie: Aww.
Fabby (as Luz): Thank you.
Josie: She kind of puts an arm around your shoulders form her shorter position and is like,
Josie (as Iris): Do you need to talk about it or…?
Fabby (as Luz): No, I… if you don’t mind, I can tell you in the morning. I can tell both of you so that— you know. Or tomorrow after work or whenever. Once Ace wakes up? So I don’t have to do it twice. But if you don’t mind, I would like to just… can we just cuddle? Or something? Watch TV maybe? Or just, just cuddle would be fine.
Josie (as Iris): Yeah, sure. I’ll, uh, yeah. I’ll put something on.
Fabby (as Luz): Thank you.
Josie: She just cuddles you for the night and puts on something streaming. And I think you probably both nod off to that. Give me a Human Name roll.
Fabby: Hell yeah. [rolls dice] That’s a 5 and a 2.
Josie: Okay. So, a 5, tick two more up on that clock. Kris, which of Remy’s actions did you want to tackle first?
Kris: What day was it? What day is coming to an end, what day of the week is this?
Josie: Hmm. It wasn’t Saturday.
Kris: Well, that’s good.
Josie: I don’t think.
Kris: Cause—
Josie: I think… crap, I forget the timescale we established, because we discussed it last time.
Kris: [laughs]
Josie: I forget what it was. Because we haven’t done the lunch with Wes yet, for Julia. Okay, so executive decision, retconning it, this was Monday night. So now it’s Tuesday.
Kris: Okay, cool. So in that case, I think I will do the reap Faith first, which is Remy goes home. They fall asleep immediately. Wakes up at the crack of dawn, because they can’t not. They’re a morning person. Can’t relate. Um, but I think the reaping Faith comes in like, a little later in the day, cause I think they are Isaiah’s show and tell for today.
Fabby: Aww.
Josie: Aww!
Kris: But Isaiah wanted to keep it a secret from Jade, who is his mom and also his teacher. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Kris: So Remy’s just showing up at this school like, knocks on the classroom door, you know they got the little window in the door, uh, and Jade just looking very confused through it. Remy just like, ‘Hello’, opens door.
Josie: [laughs]
Kris (as Remy): I was told today was show and tell, so I’m showing up and I’m not exactly sure what I’m meant to tell you now.
Kris: Right? But there’s just like a class of seven-year-olds and Isaiah’s just in there just like,
Kris (as Isaiah): Yeah, yeah! I did it! Okay, so this is our neighbor…
Kris: And then, I dunno, and then tells some fun stories.
Josie: Yeah, Isaiah goes off rambling on some storis and says some things about you that aren’t quite true. Like, I think he thinks you are a singer because you sing really good.
Kris: [laughs]
Fabby: Aww!
Josie: And it’s a little hard to follow at points, because Isaiah’s young, but he’s clearly very excited.
Kris: And the other seven-year-olds can probably keep up with him, but like, yeah, Remy’s just nodding along like,
Kris (as Remy): I… uh huh. Okay.
Kris: Did not know you have this many words in you. Great.
Josie: And Jade, like, at certain wild claims Jade looks over at you like, ‘Yeah? You remember that? That was a fun day.’ [laughs]
Kris: Mm hmm. But yeah, I think the reaping Faith, because my pact is with Jade, not Isaiah. But I think that is like, sort of roping Jade into some of the stories and stuff, because you know, in a bid and attempt to buy her some cool with this class of seven-year-olds, because if I know anything about seven-year-olds it’s that they don’t give a shit about anybody, um—[laughs]
Josie: Uh huh. [laughs]
Kris: They’ve very sweet, but also just the worst people in the best way.
Josie: [laughs]
Kris: So yeah.
Josie: Seven-year-olds are complicated.
Kris: They contain multitudes, truly.
Josie: [laughs]
Kris: And like, a whole classroom full of them, I do not have the strength. But yeah.
Josie: So, go ahead and get three Faith back.
Kris: Oh, it’s three? I thought it was two?
Josie: Yeah. I misread. It was two Faith, +1 for every pact you have.
Kris: Oh! Delightful. Alright.
Josie: One day, I will remember my own rules. Because turns out past Josie is really smart. I really wish present Josie was as smart as she is.
Kris: [laughs]
Fabby: Be nice to present Josie.
Josie: [laughs] I’m just doing my best to make a good future Josie.
Fabby: Aww.
Kris: Yeah. But yeah, that’s— and it’s just like a fun, like, here’s 20 minutes or something. Here’s 20 minutes to a half hour of like, uh, I get to hang out with Isaiah on a school day in the middle of the day, afternoon, which I wouldn’t usually get to. Gets to like, big up Jade some in front of her class. And it’s a fun time and a nice way to not think about, like, my wrists hurt.
Josie: [laughs] That’s adorable and I love everything about it. Julia? I just want to touch on real quick, does Julia do anything for her wounds, or is the part of her that is Aigron just gonna tough it out?
Minna: I feel like it’s a mixture. Like, I feel like she has a decent first aid kit in her bathroom or whatever, so she’s, you know, doing that. But then she jus kind of lets Aigron take over from there.
Josie: The nice thing about being a demon is that you still have some of that resilience. You’re fallen angels, you were created to be whole and complete for what you were. You rejected that some, but some of that transfers to your human side, and a lot of your wounds start healing a lot faster than they normally would. So I’m gonna roll that. [rolls die] Go ahead and tick 1 on that healing clock, unfortunately. [laughs]
Minna: Oh boy.
Kris: [sympathetic noise]
Josie: I am sorry. It’s my fault.
Minna: [amused] No! It is not your fault. It is the dice’s fault.
Josie: [laughs] Everything is my fault.
Kris and Minna: No!
Fabby: Josie, no!
Minna: Incorrect.
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby: The only thing that’s your fault is blaming Josie. No! Stop it.
Minna: So, I think that actually we’re kinda just seeing normal healing for now. [laughs]
Josie: Uh huh. It’s taking a little bit to kick in. So, Luz. You wake up still kind of snuggled against Iris on their couch. There’s the Netflix screen like, ‘Are you— do you want to keep playing? I haven’t heard anything in a while.’
Fabby: [laughs]
Josie: And I think you’re woken up, Iris is still out cold, she’s a heavy sleeper, by Ace getting ready for work. He’s just kind of got a button-up and he’s grabbed an apron. I think he works at a Starbucks or something. Did you have an idea what Ace looked like?
Fabby: Uh, my only idea of him is like, he’s like the same height as Iris, or maybe like slightly taller? And then he has like, a big bushy beard.
Josie: Nice.
Fabby: And also similar build, a little bit more built.
Josie: Gotcha. He seems to notice you wake up and says,
Josie (as Ace): Uh, hey Luz.
Fabby (as Luz): Hey, Ace. Sorry for crashing last night. Really needed… really needed not to be alone.
Josie (as Ace): Yeah, I mean, it’s not like we don’t have a little bit of space. I don’t have a lot of time, but what happened?
Fabby (as Luz): [sighs] I… I was doing this… you know, outreach. You know, for people like me. And this church, someone had hurt someone in this church and we went in to see what the problem was and there were a bunch of them in there and… [sighs] honestly, most of it’s kind of a blur. I think I attacked a priest? And the whole— the whole struggle and then I ran as soon as I could.
Josie (as Ace): I— hold on. Hold on a second. You attacked a priest?
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah. I think he was attacking us first?
Josie (as Ace): [pause] I mean, I’m not gonna cry about that, but…
Josie: He opens his phone and shows you a post on Twitter that is a link to a new article about a church being attacked last night [laughs]
Minna: Eee…
Fabby (as Luz): [sighs] That’s… they’re exaggerating. Ugh.
Josie (as Ace): I… I mean… I thought it was just— I thought it was just a fake-out, because you know how they do. But…
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah… there’s… there’s something more going on. I wanna tell both of you but, that would have to be— I would rather tell you together.
Josie (as Ace): Luz, I’m not a snitch, but are the cops after you?
Fabby (as Luz): No. This has nothing to do with the cops. Weirdly enough this is—
Josie (as Ace): [exhales hard]
Fabby (as Luz): Beyond their jurisdiction.
Kris: [giggles]
Josie: He sort of blinks a little bit.
Josie (as Ace): Okay. Since you’re here.
Fabby (as Luz): Yeah?
Josie (as Ace): Probably not a good idea to leave. I’m gonna go to work,
Fabby (as Luz): Uh huh?
Josie (as Ace): Try not to think about this much,
Fabby (as Luz): I’m sorry, Ace…
Josie (as Ace): And the three of us will talk a bit afterward.
Fabby (as Luz): We will. I promise. I’ll tell you all everything.
Josie (as Ace): Yeah, you better.
Fabby: She like, goes up to— she gets off the couch and goes up slowly walking closer to him.
Josie: He doesn’t, like, pull away or anything but [laughs] he’s a little bit like, ‘Really?’
Fabby: She just like, hugs him, like,
Fabby (as Luz): I promise. I won’t… you all deserve to know what— you all deserve to know.
Josie: He wraps a big arm around you and pats your shoulder like,
Josie (as Ace): [sighs] It’s never just a normal hook-up, is it? It’s never that. There’s always feelings or something else that happens.
Fabby: She laughs and then she looks at him and says,
Fabby (as Luz): Do you really wish it would have just been a normal hook-up?
Josie (as Ace): Well no, but I guess we’ll see whatever the fuck this is tonight.
Fabby (as Luz): We will. I’ll let— I’ll let Iris know.
Josie (as Ace): Yeah.
Josie: And after that, he goes to work. Um, what’s the rest of your day look like? Because I think Iris can work remotely if she wants to, because she’s a programmer, but—
Fabby: Yeah, I spend some time with Iris, I probably offer to make lunch and dinner and to help clean around the house and stuff.
Josie: Okay.
Fabby: And like, whenever she has like, she has downtime, we cuddle or spend time together or, you know.
Josie: Yeah. I think at one point she suggests that you turn on one of Ace’s games and put his character in a weird spot.
Fabby (as Luz): Okay, but that’s mean.
Josie (as Iris): It’s not mean, I’m not saying kill him, just put him in a weird spot.
Fabby (as Luz): It’ll make him hate me, bully.
Fabby: But she’s doing it.
Josie: [laughs] Perfect.
Fabby: Like, clipping him to be like, on top of the nose of a ship.
Josie: Perfect. [laughs] Remy, what does your training of your Lores look like, and what Lore are you training?
Kris: So I’m going for a dot in the Lore of Paths, which is as people might guess at that, travel and places and direction and stuff. So, I think that is, you know, being fairly new to Miami, Remy hasn’t lived here for long, so I think they, like, go out for a bunch of walks, but like, you know, just sort of wandering around, taking photos as they go, just like, getting accustomed to this place they live in now. But this time it’s not just like, ‘Okay, I’m not just going for a casual stroll. I’m like, trying to get to places and check on people,’ being like, you know, catching up with Luz, making sure she’s okay, catching up with Julia, making sure she’s okay, maybe going to visit Ethan in the hospital, because he was shot.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Kris: Maybe even going to talk to Taira.
Josie: Ooh. Okay. Well that’s a lot, so we’ll hit those beats in turn. Notably, Lore of Paths is not normally something that devils can learn. But Remy has been around and known a lot of people. So they’ve been able to learn the Lores that were outside of their station designated by God. Which was common back in the day, but makes it harder to remember.
Kris: Mm hmm.
Josie: Do we want a little bit of say, a texted conversation between the three of you while Remy goes out walking?
Minna: Yeah, I think that sounds nice.
Kris: Yeah, I think before— yeah, maybe before Remy leaves, in our group chat. You know, just sort of send a message like how is— now that it’s a new day,
Kris (as Remy via text): How is everyone doing? Yesterday got, um, it was a lot? Does anybody need anything? Did everybody get home safe? How are you two?
Fabby: I think, yeah, is like,
Fabby (as Luz via text): I’m safe. I’m with friends. I think I’m gonna tell them about me.
Minna (as Julia via text): Oh, wow. Is that something you’ve done before? Or is this the first time?
Fabby (as Luz via text): Yeah, not really, no. This, yeah. First time. It feels important.
Minna: Julia sends the fingers crossed emoji. [laughs]
Kris: Remy just says,
Kris (as Remy via text): I’m happy you found people you trust enough for that. That’s a… that’s a tough thing to tell people. I hope they react well.
Minna (as Julia via text): Yeah, good luck.
Kris (as Remy via text): Let us know how it goes.
Fabby (as Luz via text): I will do. I’ll call you if I need an emergency lift.
Kris: [laughs]
Kris (as Remy via text): Let me know.
Kris: I feel like Remy misuses emojis slightly.
Fabby: [laughs] ‘Let me know, crying face’
Minna and Josie: [laugh]
Kris: ‘Let me know, sob emoji.’ Like, what?
Josie: [laughs]
Fabby (as Luz via text): Thank you, Remy.
Minna: [laughs] Is Remy the one who uses the normal smiley that looks very weird when you use it as a normal smiley?
Kris: Yeah, yeah. One that’s just like, a little smile. Like, ‘Oh, what do you mean by that? Are you mad at me?’
Minna: Yeah, just the faint smile. [laughs]
Kris: ‘Why are you mad at me?’ [laughs]
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: Big parent vibes. [laughs]
Kris: Meanwhile, Remy’s just like, ‘But I’m smiling. Why— it’s a smile. Why does that mean mad? Hang on.’ [laughs]
Minna: See, this smile doesn’t smile enough. [laughs]
Kris: Remy just puts down their phone at that like, okay. That’s enough. I’m good, actually.
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: So, where does Remy end up walking? Is it sort of in the city, is it along the water? Is it somewhere else?
Kris: I think they, like, every time they go out for a walk they just pick a different direction and then go that way for a while, until either like, you know, it’s like, ‘Okay, there’s no sidewalks here anymore,’ or just like, ‘Oh, there’s an interesting landmark that I’d actually like to spend some time at,’ and then they do and then spend some time there and realize, ‘Gah, I gotta do other stuff now,’ and then leave.
Josie: Yeah. So, Remy just picks a direction and goes. And I think as you kind of just take in the sights and kind of get into that meditative walking state, talking with the other two, suddenly it’s not even like a memory resurfacing, it’s just a thought is in your head now. ‘Oh, a few blocks down, the sidewalk’s getting torn up.’ For like, construction. You haven’t seen it yet, you haven’t been there yet. So how would you know it? But I think… well, does Remy keep walking that way?
Kris: Mm… I think yes, just to like, maybe the training is having that, kind of, intuition and being like, ‘Did I read that somewhere?’ Can’t remember having done so, and like, goes there just to confirm it. And then sees it and is like, ‘Huh. Okay.’
Josie: Yeah.
Kris: ‘Good job intuition, I guess,’ and then turns around cause there’s no more sidewalk.
Josie: Uh huh. And you were going mostly a straight line, so having a sense of your way back is not especially hard to do, but you can feel like you know that a couple windier side-street paths would lead you back to your apartment.
Kris: Yeah. Maybe instead of like, doing a 180 and going exactly the way they came, they’re just like, ‘Okay, well, I went like north to get here. So long as I vaguely run south,’ right? Like, looking at a map of Miami, it’s like, okay, the water is to the east of me, so knowing that I can have a rough idea which direction I’m going, or at least orient myself via that.
Josie: Mm hmm.
Kris: So, you know, just being like, okay so as long as the water is on my left I’m going south for most of this and yeah, I’ll just wander this way and I’ll end up at home eventually.
Josie: Yeah.
Kris: Takes some of those side-streets and goes off the route that they used to get up here.
Josie: Yeah. So, the Lore of Paths is shaking loose in your mind. Were you gonna do the thing where you spend a Faith for another downtime action?
Kris: Um… I’m torn, because I wanted to ask Minna, uh, you said Julia was going to research the Shard, right?
Minna: Yes.
Kris: I wanted to ask, is there a way to help with that?
Minna: That’s a good question, I don’t remember what Josie’s… I don’t know what Josie’s plan was for that. If there’s a way, that would be fun.
Josie: You know, how about this? It would be you each roll and we take the higher result. So it’s kinda like a group action for a long-term project.
Kris: Hell yeah.
Josie: How about?
Kris: I dig that.
Josie: And then how you go about researching is entirely up to you two.
Kris: Cool. But yeah, I think after that, like, Remy, you know, sees the— looks at the time or something and is just like, oh yeah, I could get to Julia’s, I could go and check in on Julia. Luz is at other people’s, but Julia didn’t say she was out. I can pop by. I can ask if that’s okay.
Josie: [laughs]
Kris: And then like, go and see how she’s doing.
Minna: Yeah, I love that.
Josie: So let’s cut over to Julia’s place. What is Julia’s place like?
Minna: [laughs] I think it’s like, very small and cramped. Lie, she keeps it clean but it’s, you know, it’s a place you rent for cheap. [laughs]
Josie: It’s like a tiny studio type thing?
Minna: Yeah, yeah. Linoleum counters, that kind of thing.
Josie: Gotcha. Is it kind of an Aigron doesn’t care about human stuff all that much, so they keep it simple? [laughs]
Minna: I think it’s more just, uh, Julia/Aigron needed some space on her own. [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: Cause I think it’s possible she maybe like, lived with family for a while, but then the whole demon stuff happened and it was like, ehh, maybe not now.
Josie: So, Remy arrives. What do the two of you do?
Kris: I think Remy did bring flowers.
Josie: Aww.
Minna: Aww!
Kris: Just passed a florist on the way and was just like, yeah.
Minna: [delighted laughter]
Kris: Aigron is plants. Good.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: I love that. I don’t think she has like, a vase, so she quickly finds a tall glass, arranges them as best she can.
Kris: It’s not like a huge bouquet or anything, it’s like here is some flowers that like, oh, I had enough money in my pocket for these.
Minna (as Julia): Thank you, these are lovely.
Kris (as Remy): Yeah. Just… I don’t know. Just seemed like your kinda thing. If— I just hope you’re not allergic to them.
Minna (as Julia): [laughs] I’m not. Can you imagine if I was allergic?
Kris (as Remy): Of all the people, that would be—[laughs] that would be ironic in the worst way. But you’re doing alright? You got pretty beat up yesterday.
Minna (as Julia): Yeah, I’m trying to rest up while I’ve got time.
Kris (as Remy): Yeah. That is an annoyingly large part of healing. Very frustrating.
Minna (as Julia): Yeah, it’d be nicer if I didn’t remember not having to do this.
Kris (as Remy): Oh, yeah. Memories are frustrating that way, huh? So, you been up to anything, you know, aside from rest, with all this free time?
Minna (as Julia): Well, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to try and look into this Shard thing.
Kris: This— where does Julia keep the Shard? Is it just like, out, or is it hidden somewhere? It’s just like, put away?
Minna: Oh, I think it’s put away, but she just, she wants to find out about them. [laughs]
Kris: Yeah. Remy— I feel like you say that and Remy just sorta like nods and is like,
Kris (as Remy): Yeah, you’re really big on memories, huh?
Minna (as Julia): I mean, I have them. Hard to not think about them.
Kris (as Remy): Mm… yeah. Do you… need a hand with— I’m not the memories person, but… do you need a hand with that?
Minna (as Julia): I kinda ran into some problem— like, I didn’t get what I needed from trying to search through my memories, so I think probably I could use some help with other legwork. Other investigation. So, if you can think of any connections or any way you can investigate, that would actually be a huge help.
Kris: I have no idea how the hell we would be like, ‘Yep,’ cause Remy absolutely is just like, ‘Oh, delving into memories? I would rather die.’ Um…
Minna: Well, I think she’s actually suggesting like, if Remy knows people or if Remy’s particularly good at internet searching, any other way that…
Kris: Oh, okay. Internet searching, no. Um… probably not.
Minna: I was gonna say. [laughs] Neither of these people are good at internet searches.
Kris: [laughs]
Minna: That’s what you get Luz for.
Kris: Exactly. We still don’t use Reddit. None of us.
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: I mean…
Fabby: I— Luz has made you all accounts.
Minna: [laughs] Julia has an account, because clearly she found DemonsOfMiami.
Kris: I just feel as though it is one thing to have an account and one thing to use it. [laughs]
Minna: Yeah, yeah. [laughs]
Kris: A different thing to be like, ‘Yeah, I’m on Reddit.’ Just like, ‘I have on of those, I have a Reddit.’ No you don’t. Um… yeah, uh, cause I feel like the most— I don’t know, in terms of like knowing people? The person who kind of like suggested to Remy, like, ‘Hey, why don’t you to come to Miami, you can talk to other demons there,’ was Tyra, so maybe Remy’s like, oh I think he’s still around, what if… what if we asked Tyra. ‘Hey Tyra, you’re also a demon. What do you know about— don’t freak out about it, but what do you know about this?’
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: Sure. Do both of you wanna go meet Tyra?
Minna: Sure.
Kris: Yeah, I can suggest it.
Minna: I don’t know why I was picturing just putting him on speaker phone on the coffee table. [laughs]
Kris: That’s true, we can FaceTime. FaceTime is an option.
Josie: Sure. [laughs]
Kris: Or some equivalent thereof. Maybe he’s busy.
Josie: I like the idea of you three discussing these topics with just a phone on the coffee table.
Minna: [laughs]
Kris: Love to have, you know, ancient relics and then also just a phone.
Josie: Uh huh. [laughs] Yeah, so on the coffee table we have this jagged glass Shard depicting an ancient tower of organic stone from the age of wonder before time began, and next to it we have a little iPhone on speaker.
Kris: Mm hmm. Has a little ringtone. [hums Skype ringtone]
Minna: [laughs]
Josie: I think Tyra answers,
Josie (as Tyra): Oh hey, Remy. You out already?
Kris (as Remy): Out of… what? Out of where?
Josie: Have I yet established who Tyra is?
Minna: [laughs]
Kris: Uh, I don’t think he’s come up in this game yet. He’s in the ‘here are many NPCs’ document, but I don’t think we’ve brought him up yet.
Josie: So, Tyra was a— as demons, they’re known as Slayers. As angels, they were known as Halaku, and they were the angels of death. Who, you know, take souls to the afterlife and kinda manage things beyond the world. He was an angel whose name has sort of filtered throughout history, but has resurfaced as Okuninushi in Japan. He’s a dealer in Miami.
Kris: When you said ‘out’ I took that as opposed to being in, not as opposed to being in stock. Okay.
Josie: Yeah. [laughs]
Kris: Uh, I mean, that confusion might just be in-character. Just like, ‘Wait, out of where?’
Minna: [laughs]
Kris: ‘Where was I supposed to be?’ [laughs]
Josie (as Tyra): You never cease to amaze me, Remy.
Kris (as Remy): Oh! No, look, no I told you, I— that does not seem like a good idea with my track record so… uh, I am out and that’s good. We’re gonna keep it that way, thank you. No, I called for other reasons. First of all,
Kris: Turns phone slightly so that Julia is more in frame now,
Kris (as Remy): This is my friend Julia. Julia, Tyra.
Minna (as Julia): Hi.
Josie (as Tyra): Hey?
Josie: And he kind of— his eyes kind of, uh— speaking of, Tyra kind of has a small beard and kind of has his hair pulled back, but it’s pretty long so it’s kind of over his shoulder as well. And his eyes slide over to Remy like, ‘Is she safe to talk about the thing?’
Minna: I think she sees this and is kinda like,
Minna (as Julia): You can talk about weird shit in front of me.
Josie (as Tyra): Cool. I’m good at keeping my business secret. I’m bad at keeping that secret. So I’m glad that’s out in the open.
Kris (as Remy): Mm hmm. We are all of a kind here. Um, so—
Josie (as Tyra): Anyway, nice to meet you, Julia. Actually… do I know you already?
Minna (as Julia): Yeah, I don’t think so. But nice to meet you now.
Josie (as Tyra): Okay, cool. Yeah. Always nice to meet more of us. What… what you got?
Kris (as Remy): Okay, the second part of this call.
Kris: Just slides the Shard into frame.
Josie: He kind of gets a little closer to the phone, like, to see it better.
Josie (as Tyra): Is that what I think it is?
Kris (as Remy): Yeah. Mm hmm. One of apparently several to many. We’re not entirely sure, but uh…
Minna (as Julia): We’re trying to gather all the information we can.
Kris (as Remy): Yup. What she said.
Josie (as Tyra): Uh, both of you roll me your Demon Name.
Kris: Ooh… one d6…
Josie: And between the two of you, the higher result will be what it is.
Kris: Ha, that’s a 5.
Minna: 4. So it’s a 5.
Josie: Okay. So, a fair amount of information. He’s like,
Josie (as Tyra): Oh shit. I didn’t think those were real. Thought that was just what got passed around in the Abyss to keep hope up.
Kris (as Remy): Well, they appear to be very real and uh… other people are after them. Trying to figure out what they can do.
Josie (as Tyra): Well, if I recall right, the original Babel was capable of drawing energy from lots of places, including where me and my friends worked, on the other side. I can’t get back there anymore, but I wonder if Babel had something to do with it. I don’t know what, you know, Lucifer was up to with it, but I think they were gonna try and siphon something off God? Either that or siphon something to throw at God, which I don’t think that was gonna go super well, but hey, what did, right?
Kris: I think Remy just like, looks at Julia with a sort of like, that kind of scans with what we, you know, having met Abaddon. Like, hmm.
Minna: Julia just has a look on her face like, ‘Nothing good happened during that era, did it?’ [laughs]
Josie: [laughs]
Minna: No, no, no, she’s just like, thoroughly unimpressed though. [laughs] She was having a bad time and she’s having a bad time with the remnants happening now.
Josie (as Tyra): So yeah, I don’t know if those can build the actual Tower, but they probably do something similar to whatever the Tower did. And that’s probably not great for the world? I mean, they might be worth gathering if they could actually do what Lucifer probably thought they did, but…
Kris (as Remy): But where are they taking— if they’re siphoning, they gotta be siphoning from something, and… ugh.
Josie (as Tyra): Yeah. And I don’t know what the afterlife looks like right now, but… [sighs] I don’t know. The biggest thing that’s left in the world really is just like, you know, belief?
Kris (as Remy): Yeah.
Josie (as Tyra): There’s not a whole lot of magic or any shit like that left.
Kris (as Remy): There’s a whole lot of people, though.
Josie (as Tyra): Yeah.
Kris (as Remy): Oof.
Josie (as Tyra): Where’d you find that?
Minna (as Julia): Buried in the earth underneath a building.
Josie (as Tyra): Just chilling out down there, huh?
Minna (as Julia): Guess so. We didn’t go looking for it, so I don’t know what the process was of finding out it existed.
Josie (as Tyra): Wait, then how’d you find it?
Minna (as Julia): Now, that one is a long story. Let’s say we stumbled on…
Kris (as Remy): Yeah.
Minna (as Julia): People who decided they wanted to dig up a piece of Babel.
Josie (as Tyra): And so, there’s people after it?
Minna (as Julia): Sure are. We’re gonna keep looking for these things too, so if you’re… [sighs] if you think there is bad in these, as I do, then keep an eye out if you don’t mind.
Josie (as Tyra): Yeah, I will. I do wanna know the story, but it sounds like something we shouldn’t do over the phone.
Minna (as Julia): I mean, it does involve some breaking and entering.
Josie (as Tyra): Wh— d— I said not over the phone.
Minna (as Julia): [laughs]
Kris (as Remy): [laughs] Maybe coffee instead.
Josie (as Tyra): Yeah.
Kris (as Remy): It’s good to catch up with you, though. I’m sorry I’ve been kinda quiet.
Josie (as Tyra): Yeah, you too. And nice to—
Minna (as Julia): It really was nice to meet you.
Josie (as Tyra): —meet you, Julia. Is… a shot in the dark, is Naz still around?
Kris: I think Remy just gets a big smile on their face. Like,
Kris (as Remy): Yeah, you should— wait, hang on.
Kris: Picks up the phone and now the angle is like, you’re just seeing my face from below.
Minna: [laughs]
Kris: And just starts typing and just sends Tyra the address of La Casita.
Josie (as Tyra): Oh, okay. Sweet. Yeah, I’ve been trying to find more of us ever since you showed up.
Kris: Just says,
Kris (as Remy): Yeah, you should come on—
Kris: I can’t remember what day of the week like… [mumbles] time that meet there, but just says like, the when of it. Like,
Kris (as Remy): You should drop by.
Minna (as Arlene): The Demons of Miami meet-up.
Fabby: Don’t we meet up on Sundays? I think we meet up on Sundays.
Kris: Is it Sundays?
Fabby: Or maybe Saturdays.
Josie: I think it was Saturdays, yeah.
Kris: Saturdays? Okay. Yeah, tells him,
Kris (as Remy): You should come by. Saturdays, noonish?
Josie (as Tyra): Yeah, sure. Why not?
Kris (as Remy): Also, we have a Reddit. I don’t know how to send you that, though.
Josie (as Tyra): I don’t use fuckin’ Reddit.
Kris (as Remy): Oh, that’s smart.
Kris: [laughs]
Josie (as Tyra): I didn’t think finding others of us would be that easy.
Minna (as Julia): You’d be surprised.
Josie (as Tyra): It’s turning out to be a lot in Miami, huh?
Minna (as Julia): Yeah, what is with that?
Kris (as Remy): Yeah, what’s with this place?
Josie: There’s… something seems to connect behind his eyes.
Josie (as Tyra): Wait, do you think it’s the Shards, maybe?
Minna (as Julia): Well, now I think it’s the Shards.
Minna: [laughs]
Kris: Yeah, just facepalms like,
Kris (as Remy): Wow, you would have thought when we found a Shard we would have put that together, but okay.
Josie: [laughs]
Josie (as Tyra): I mean, I don’t know. It’s just a guess like the other ones but, I mean, the pieces of the old time drawing us here would make some amount of sense.
Kris (as Remy): No kidding. I guess that means we can expect more people then. But you know, only time will tell.
Josie (as Tyra): Yeah, I mean, I don’t have much interest in the cause anymore, but I mean, more friends better, right?
Minna (as Julia): That depends on if they’re friends or not. I’m just teasing. It is… probably better if more people get out.
Josie (as Tyra): Yeah. But I mean, some distrust is healthy in my line of work, so… think it’s probably good for you too.
Minna (as Julia): We’ve had a weird couple of weeks. Or, we’ve had a weird week.
Josie (as Tyra): Yeah, I bet. And I’m willing to bet Remy here’s going to drag you into something weirder.
Josie: He smiles.
Minna (as Julia): [laughs] Not if I drag them into something weird first.
Kris (as Remy): Why— why is it my fault? [laughs] Listen, I’m just trying to help. If help is weird then sure, call it what you want, but this feels very judgmental.
Josie (as Tyra): Oh, no judgement. I just like seeing your reactions.
Kris: She just makes a deadpan face at him.
Josie: [laughs]
Kris (as Remy): Well, alright.
Josie (as Tyra): I guess I’ll see you on Saturday, if I can get away from work.
Kris (as Remy): Alright. I hope you can find the time. Show up hungry.
Josie: [crosstalk] [laughs] So, I think you wrap up the call with Tyra. Yeah. Any more thoughts before jumping away?
Kris: I think just like as a sort of like, almost not even intending to— like, it’s something they’re thinking but, you know that thing where you just say the thing you’re thinking by accident? Remy kind of like half-muses, you know, out loud like,
Kris (as Remy): Was it really that bad there?
Kris: About the Abyss. Because they didn’t go.
Minna: Oh! Oh, I think Julia has a moment of…
Minna (as Julia): [sighs] Yeah. It’s… not great.
Kris: Then Remy realizes that they said that out loud and just sort of like, doesn’t know how to respond to that. Because like, what do you say? Like, ‘That’s rough, buddy.’ Like, ‘I’m sorry’.
Josie: [laughs]
Kris: What do you say to that? And so it’s just kind of quiet and awkward and then is like,
Kris (as Remy): Well, I should get out of your hair.
Minna: I just need to know—
Josie: Time to hit the old dusty trail. [laughs]
Minna: And I don’t know if this is staying in the episode, because I don’t know that we’ve talked about this, but the fact that instantly into that abyss between them falls the fact that Julia spent a while, I think, looking for Remy in the Abyss. [laughs]
Kris: [whines]
Josie: Oh, yeah.
Kris: Uh huh.
Minna: But the Beacon was not there. [laughs]
Josie: Emotions. [laughs]
Kris: Nope. Orea was not there. It’s good and it’s fine, they don’t know that.
Fabby: These demons.
Josie: It’s good and also fine.
##Credits [XX.XX.XX]**
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 a 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!