Up next in 10
It's just another day in the sleepy little town of New Novemberwood, just a regular old day like any other. But this is Tavern Watch playing Kids on Bikes, so you know it can't be just any old day. For the students of Pineapple Honors, it sure seems ordinary -- right up until some outrageous (and unlikely) drama breaks out during lunch. Is luck taking a turn for some of their fellow students, or is something else afoot here?
Your guide to the mysteries is Joe Perez, and the titular kids on bikes are:
* Liz Harper as Rhiandrea "Ree" Rains, an independent young Scout and local bookstore employee who doesn't like being told what to do by her parents -- or their ideas of how to run her life
* Trish, aka AwkwardishPanda, as Ginny Jacobson, an extremely precious girl and fish out of water who got advanced to her junior year six years early
* Matt Rossi as Jacob Jacobson, who's kind of a weird kid, but he looks out for his little sister and maybe believes in magic
* Phil Ulrich as Randall Fletcher, who could really be something if he applied himself, but he doesn't see why it's worth trying so hard all the time, man
This is the first of a three-part actual play series of Kids on Bikes, a rules-light and very accessible system for achieving the kind of feel you'd expect from media like The Goonies, Stand By Me, or E.T. -- any of those kind of 80s and 90s coming-of-age media where maybe something supernatural happens. Watch for new episodes every Monday! If you think this game is rad, you can pick up your own copy from Hunters Entertainment or Renegade Game Studios.
The music in this episode is "Hiding Your Reality" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.
Subscribe to Tavern Watch in your podcast player of choice to keep up with our latest actual plays:
RSS: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/674cf5861c6967d814005868
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qIQaOPskXoKmqqOqNYz1k
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tavern-watch-podcast/id1788120623
Visit us at https://blizzardwatch.com for the latest news on Blizzard games, and don't forget to subscribe on Patreon to support our efforts! https://www.patreon.com/blizzardwatch
Discord: https://discord.gg/MY9p4d7t8U
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:03
[music]
0:18
[music]
0:33
Hello everyone and welcome to Tavern
0:36
Watch plays. I am your humble narrator
0:40
slashdirectionctor/storyteller
0:42
Joe Perez. Uh and I will be in charge of
0:45
this rag tag band of misfits. Today uh
0:48
we are going to be playing a game called
0:50
Kids on Bikes. Uh I highly recommend you
0:53
go and check out our pre-show. Uh but if
0:55
not, it is a game that in the short
0:58
version is very much akin to uh
1:01
basically the movies of the 80s and 90s
1:04
and the TV shows they're in where kids
1:06
go on adventures maybe for good or bad
1:08
or weird what everything in between. So
1:10
think of your ETSs, your Stranger
1:13
Things, uh your Goonies, your Standby
1:16
Me, stuff like that. Um, so yeah, I
1:19
think we'll go and introduce our cast of
1:22
miscreants today. And we'll start with
1:24
Liz. Liz, who are you and who are you
1:26
playing?
1:27
>> Hello. I am playing Reandria Reigns, or
1:32
as she prefers to be called, Re because
1:35
Reandria, that that was not her idea.
1:37
That name was not her idea. Um, she's
1:40
she's about 15 and she works at the
1:43
local bookstore, saving up money to do
1:47
things, buy things, pay for college, pay
1:49
for the next scouting trip she wants to
1:51
go on. And um, she's just hanging in
1:55
there doing the best she can at school
1:58
while trying not to pay any attention to
2:00
her parents. It's going great. It's
2:02
going great here.
2:04
>> All right. And then we have Matt.
2:08
Hello. Uh, I am playing Jacob Jacob
2:11
Jacobson. Uh, the third technically,
2:14
although he does not use that or respond
2:16
to it in any way. Um, he also doesn't
2:19
respond to nicknames, which is
2:20
important. That's the reason it's just
2:22
Jacob. Um, his father is also Jacob. And
2:25
his father has been called Little Jake
2:27
his entire life, which and then of
2:30
course their his grandfather who was
2:31
passed away a few years ago, uh, his
2:34
name was Big Jake. and Big Jake uh was
2:38
kind of a father figure to me because of
2:40
situations that'll be coming up. I'm
2:44
very much an outsider. I'm kind of a
2:46
weird I'm obsessed with with with old
2:49
folklore and not tying and how not tying
2:54
is important and it has folkloric roots
2:57
like the endless knot for various Asian
3:00
cultures or the the cylindrical you know
3:03
three knots of Celtic myth blah blah
3:05
whatever he'll talk a lot about this if
3:07
you let him but he doesn't talk that
3:09
much so most people are spared uh his
3:12
hobbies are constantly skulking around
3:14
to make sure nobody bullies his sister
3:17
uh including giving people beatings and
3:19
he's already beating up people much
3:20
older than himself uh secretly like he
3:23
tries to do it like where people don't
3:24
know he's doing it like he will jump out
3:25
at people in the dark or whatever he
3:27
think kind of thinks he's Batman in his
3:29
head but he's not he's not and he
3:30
doesn't do this very often because he he
3:32
just isn't something you do he thinks
3:34
about it a lot um yeah he's protective
3:37
of his sister uh kind of feels like an
3:39
outcast in his house and goes to the
3:42
same bookstore that that re works at. So
3:46
he spends a lot of time trying not to be
3:49
seen by Rey, but at the same time kind
3:51
of like noticing Rey, not in a oh, I
3:53
have a crush on you, but more like a
3:55
hey, you're weird. I'm weird. You know,
3:58
>> that's true. That's true.
4:00
>> So yeah, that that's that's Jake.
4:03
And then we should probably introduce
4:05
Trish at this point. Trish,
4:08
>> that's me. I uh I am Trish Olson, a
4:10
Quiddish Panda online. I am going to be
4:12
playing Jinny Jacobson. Uh I am playing
4:16
uh Jacob's little sister. She's uh 10
4:21
going on 11. She's in 11th grade. She's
4:23
incredibly smart. Um she's only socially
4:26
adept because she has to be. Uh she'd
4:29
rather slink into the background. Uh
4:31
she's secretly very jealous of her older
4:33
brother. Um looks up to him a lot. And
4:36
yeah, she's just very tiny little kid in
4:40
way too old of a situation for herself
4:42
because she's in high school at 10 going
4:44
on 11 and has been since she was eight
4:47
going on nine. Um, so yeah, she's just a
4:51
an overly smart kid being courted by a
4:53
lot of very bigname colleges and her
4:55
parents are very into all of the
4:58
attention that gets in the news
5:01
and she's just like, I don't like it
5:03
here.
5:05
And then rounding out our group is Phil.
5:09
>> Yep. Uh so I'm playing Randall Fletcher.
5:11
Um if you think back to when you were a
5:13
kid and there was always that kid that
5:15
you knew and your parents would kind of
5:17
shake their head and say they just
5:19
applied themselves. Maybe they could
5:20
make something of themselves, but they
5:23
didn't care about that.
5:24
>> Uh that's Randall. Randall is uh Randall
5:28
does not see the point in trying so hard
5:30
all the time. Uh because no one's going
5:33
to give a heck about uh anything that
5:35
happened in school in four years anyway.
5:37
So uh Randall's here for a good time.
5:40
Not for a long time. Maybe for a long
5:42
time. Who knows? But uh yeah.
5:46
>> All right. And we find uh all of you in
5:49
the town of New Novemberwood. Um, it is
5:53
a medium-sized town. And by mediumsiz, I
5:56
mean it wishes it was a big city. Um,
5:59
but it finds itself somewhere between a
6:01
a rural town and an actual like large
6:04
metropolitan city. Um, and it finds
6:07
itself nestled in uh the New York State
6:11
range of mountains. Uh, sort of like
6:13
buted up against them. Still easy access
6:16
to major places like there's the highway
6:18
will take you to New York City or to to
6:20
Buffalo. Um there's roads that will lead
6:22
you to Canada. Uh but for the most part,
6:25
the town has been pretty content to sort
6:27
of sit around and develop over the
6:30
years. Um now I believe we established
6:33
that all of you were know each other
6:35
from what what what is the what is the
6:38
mechanism by which you all have grown to
6:40
know each other? We understand that uh
6:42
Jacob and and Jenny are are siblings,
6:45
but what about the other two of you?
6:49
We all live around the same area, live
6:52
in the same few blocks. So, you can't
6:55
help running into each other and I
6:58
certainly know Jenny. Uh, you can't not
7:02
know Jenny. And if you know Jenny, then
7:03
you know Jacob and they're kind of you
7:06
kind of wind up with a a package deal
7:08
there. So,
7:10
>> yeah. Yeah, I kind of see as like having
7:12
originally been like kitty corner
7:14
houses, like not directly next to each
7:17
other, but like you'd be down the street
7:19
a little bit and then
7:21
>> as we got older, we were basically in
7:23
the same rough age group.
7:26
>> Uh we'd be bumping into each other,
7:28
going to the same schools. Uh, and
7:32
basically since I mean I think to a
7:34
certain degree like I I feel like
7:37
Randall should be the one whose house is
7:39
central
7:41
>> so it's always easier for everyone to go
7:43
to Randall's house and he didn't even
7:45
start that like he didn't he's kind of
7:47
like he might not even know why we keep
7:49
showing up like why are you at my house
7:51
but he doesn't care that much I figure I
7:53
mean it's up to you Phil but
7:54
>> yeah he he would not put in the effort
7:56
to invite you all over but you know
7:59
people show up. He's not going to say
8:00
no. Um
8:03
I think I think his dad has an overly
8:04
nice den. Uh and uh
8:08
happy to sneak you guys down there and
8:10
chill for a while.
8:12
>> Like who who in the neighborhood has the
8:14
Nintendo? That's really the the
8:17
[laughter] main thing here.
8:20
>> All right. Now, uh you guys have known
8:23
each other for I mean basically all your
8:25
lives at this point. your families have
8:28
uh always been here um just like their
8:30
families their their their parents
8:32
before them. Uh and you sort of
8:36
New Novemberwood like like I said it's a
8:39
it's sort of a medium-sized town. What
8:41
type of things do you guys get up to
8:43
here mainly? Um do you have any jobs? Do
8:46
you have uh anything besides the school
8:49
which we'll cover in a moment uh that
8:51
you all attend?
8:54
I mean, I had a paper route for a while.
8:56
Uh, but then I stopped doing it because
8:58
it was getting in the way of my
9:00
skullking. Uh, so I'm pretty much I'm
9:03
dedicated to my skulling now. And and
9:05
this seems like a joke, but and it kind
9:06
of is, but at the same time, it's like I
9:08
am really worried about my sister. Like
9:12
she she's
9:14
like I have it's all tied up in my head
9:16
that my sister is the one who's going to
9:19
make it. She's going to get out of our
9:21
family. She's going to go off by the
9:22
time she's 17. She's probably going to
9:24
own like a like a a big company and like
9:28
be telling people what to do with
9:30
computers and all I got to do is make
9:32
sure she gets there. Like she like
9:35
they're going to come recruit her. Like
9:36
I've seen all the recruitment stuff.
9:38
They're going to recruit her in a year
9:39
or two to MIT or someplace like that.
9:42
And all I have to do is hold it down for
9:44
one year and then I can just I can just
9:46
disappear. like I am planning to to like
9:49
as soon as she's off and set and
9:51
situated in school somewhere, I am going
9:53
to run away and no one's ever going to
9:54
hear from me again because I feel like
9:56
that's that's just going to be what
9:58
happens naturally. Like people are just
10:00
going to forget me. So that's I've
10:02
basically been all the money from the
10:04
paper route went to that. And now once I
10:06
get her settled, uh I already have a job
10:09
lined up at a bowling alley because
10:12
working at a bowling alley is possibly
10:14
the most mind-numbing thing we one can
10:15
do. So, I'm thinking it'll be plenty of
10:17
time uh for the the whole doing my weird
10:21
obsession with with knots and ropes and
10:23
so forth. Uh that's basically my deal
10:26
when I'm not in school. I'm either
10:28
following Jinny around or maybe one of
10:31
the others at this point because I may
10:33
have adopted them into the keep these
10:34
people alive [laughter] for a little
10:35
while group if I think they're in danger
10:38
of that. Like Randall, I don't think
10:39
Randall's going to have any problems.
10:41
Nobody particularly Randall doesn't have
10:43
the energy to mess with people. So, so
10:47
nobody seeks Randall out for, you know,
10:49
you're not part of the social order.
10:51
We're going to punish you. If he does
10:52
get that, he doesn't care that much.
10:56
So, I don't worry too much about him.
10:57
But I I would definitely watch out for
10:59
for Re as much as I watch out for Jenny,
11:02
which again, skullking.
11:07
Um, well, I re has a job at the
11:09
bookstore which she uses to fund her
11:12
adventures because her parents don't
11:13
want to her parents think she needs to
11:16
pull herself up by her bootstraps and
11:18
she just wants to
11:20
not spend time listening to all the
11:22
things she should be doing. And uh, so
11:25
yeah, she has a job at the bookstore and
11:28
she's saving up for
11:32
college one day. She hopes maybe she's
11:34
not smart smart like Jenny, but you
11:38
know, she's going to go off and study
11:39
English literature or something else her
11:41
parents would hate. That's the plan. Uh,
11:43
but really she's she spends a lot of
11:46
time working and when she's not working,
11:47
she's uh doing scouting stuff like she
11:51
goes camping and just she keeps busy so
11:54
that she doesn't have to deal with like
11:56
actual things in her life or her
11:59
parents.
12:03
Uh Randle's job, because I think he's 18
12:06
or almost, is uh selling cigarettes to
12:08
kids who shouldn't have them. [laughter]
12:10
Uh
12:12
I think he actually I think as far as
12:14
actual jobs go, I think, uh that bowling
12:16
alley job that Matt mentioned is
12:18
probably the closest he gets. Um
12:20
>> that's why I'm bothering you so much is
12:21
because I want to jump at the bowling
12:23
alley. I'm
12:24
>> like, why do you want
12:25
>> I don't hire, man.
12:27
I I I just I rent people's shoes, man.
12:31
>> I don't know what you want from me
12:33
>> exactly, man. That's what I want from
12:35
you.
12:36
>> Okay.
12:38
>> And I think uh on a normal day uh you
12:41
spend your mornings because you're all
12:43
still in high school. Um all of you
12:46
because even the you know Jenny who's
12:49
just too smart for her own damn good.
12:51
Um.
12:51
>> Mhm.
12:53
>> And this is Pineapple Honors. Weird
12:57
sound weird name. Uh but it is a a
13:00
school named after the founder of the
13:02
the town of New Novemberwood. Um Jeffrey
13:05
Pineapple. Uh who you know this is one
13:08
of those like again the school is it's
13:12
both middle school and high school. Um,
13:15
and so during your your normal trips,
13:18
you'll interact with, you know,
13:20
everything from
13:21
>> so it's like seventh grade to to high to
13:23
like
13:24
>> Yeah, it's like se seventh graders up
13:25
through through the end of high school.
13:27
Um, there is a small local university
13:29
here, but nobody really cares about it.
13:31
Um, most people want to either get out
13:34
of the town or just start working right
13:36
away. Um during the course of your day,
13:39
you you wind up learning all sorts of
13:42
your normal subjects as well as uh
13:44
there's a a local history uh tinge to
13:48
it, especially lately. Uh because your
13:51
town is coming up on its 150th
13:53
anniversary of founding. Um so the year
13:58
established here is somewhere roughly
14:00
80s or 90s. We're not going to be too
14:02
specific about it. Um, and there's a lot
14:05
of of focus on uh, you know, the founder
14:08
of the town, how it came to be. Um, and
14:11
it's sort of uh, myriad success out of
14:14
nowhere. uh where where Jeffrey
14:16
Pineapple was uh just some he started as
14:20
a a down on his luck businessman uh who
14:23
wound up according to the stories uh
14:26
making some incredible financial
14:27
decisions early in the 1800s uh that
14:30
allowed him to essentially buy all of
14:33
the land uh around New Novemberwood uh
14:36
and establish his own town where he was
14:39
able to provide a safe and rural rural
14:44
adjacent environment for everybody who
14:46
wanted to get away from the the the uh
14:51
ri the the the rigorous strain of modern
14:53
life essentially. Uh and the town you
14:56
can as you've all known has sort of very
14:59
much not necessarily kept that vibe up
15:02
anymore as it's definitely become a
15:03
little more metropolitan
15:05
uh in the area. I mean, you guys even
15:07
have a blockbuster. Um,
15:10
but there's still some vestages of that
15:13
that very slow old style living where,
15:18
you know, the main street of the city
15:20
has plenty of small shops and in several
15:23
of the cases the owners of those shops
15:25
live above them. um the town itself had
15:29
you go 5 minutes outside of the the
15:32
border and you're in farmland or you go
15:34
5 minutes outside the other way and
15:35
you're in the mountains. Um and I think
15:39
that is sort of the the boring lesson of
15:42
today I guess would be uh the case. I'm
15:45
sure most of you are not as interested
15:46
in the town history as uh you would
15:49
expect. So, I guess the question here is
15:52
while this is going on, we'll say this
15:54
is you're all in the same history class,
15:57
what are you doing? Are you paying
15:58
attention or are you doing something
16:01
else? I'm thinking about Mills
16:04
because if you're talking about like the
16:07
vague financial decisions thing, I
16:09
wasn't paying too much attention till I
16:10
heard he made a series of advantageous
16:12
uh financial decisions. I'm like in the
16:14
1800s,
16:16
he built a mill. It's a river right over
16:18
there.
16:19
like and I know about water and I know
16:21
about boats and so that's immediately
16:23
when my mind starts going to is mills
16:27
and you know if you build mills what do
16:29
you why do you what are you milling like
16:31
what you know is it grain like what what
16:34
they you know and I'm just kind of off
16:36
now like thinking about that kind of
16:38
stuff and how there's no way this guy's
16:40
name was actually pineapple he changed
16:42
it why would you change your name to
16:44
pineapple though that's so weird and I'm
16:46
muttering all this like you can hear me
16:48
muttering it. Uh, I'm in the back so you
16:52
can't hear me very well, but I'm
16:54
definitely going, why would you change
16:55
your name to pineapple? What the I mean,
16:57
that's that's ridiculous. Do they even
16:58
have pineapples back then? They must
17:00
have they must have had pineapples in
17:02
the 1800s. They had been they've been
17:04
like, you know, calling. So, that's kind
17:05
of just going out of my head there.
17:09
>> All right. What about everybody else?
17:13
I think Jenny is sitting all the way up
17:14
at the front of the class because people
17:16
have to keep an eye on her and she's so
17:18
little, like she can't see over people,
17:20
so they put her at the front. And she is
17:22
just head down in her notebook taking
17:24
all of the notes, double-checking, like
17:27
she's so far ahead in this class. She's
17:29
already probably way past whatever we're
17:32
working on, and she's just double-ecking
17:33
that she got all of her notes right. And
17:35
she's just sitting there like head down
17:38
highlighting like little different like
17:40
the old school Bick colored pens like
17:42
ballpoint pens. She's got them all and
17:44
she's like color coding her notes and
17:45
just going over everything just like
17:48
half listening but also just
17:49
double-checking that she did already
17:51
know all of this stuff.
17:56
Phil Liz.
17:56
>> Uh Re is definitely paying attention and
17:59
taking notes, but they're they're pretty
18:01
casual notes and the notes kind of like
18:04
bleed back and forth into sketching
18:07
where she's drawing pictures of like
18:10
kind of the area like there are some
18:12
pine trees like you would see if you go
18:13
outside of town, but then there are like
18:15
pineapples growing from the pine trees
18:17
and it's kind of it's kind of getting
18:19
out of control. But there there are some
18:21
line she's she's paying an amount of
18:24
attention. But
18:27
this this is okay. Okay. Pineapple.
18:31
Really? His name was Pineapple.
18:34
>> Okay. Okay. This feels like something
18:36
someone made up this whole thing.
18:40
>> And what what is our slacker doing? Uh
18:43
Randall is in uh Randall's in the back
18:46
of the class next to uh next to the kid
18:49
that keeps muttering to himself and he
18:51
would be completely asleep. Uh except
18:55
the muttering is keeping him awake. So
18:57
he's kind of side eyeing Matt's
18:58
character real hard.
19:01
All right. Uh what is the teacher's
19:04
name? Who is who is your history teacher
19:07
here? Who has a strong feeling about it?
19:09
>> Ans.
19:11
That's his last name. Mr. Hans.
19:13
>> Mr. Hans.
19:14
>> Yes. No one knows his first name. He
19:16
doesn't tell doesn't share it. Like, as
19:18
far as we know, the man's first name is
19:20
Mister,
19:21
>> but it's Mr. Hans. And he's got a very
19:24
strange middle European accent that
19:28
>> I'm not doing that, by the way.
19:29
>> I know. I know. [laughter]
19:30
>> Dang it.
19:32
>> Um, all right. So, about partway through
19:35
this, as you guys are are off in your
19:36
own little uh worlds, muttering about
19:39
mills or taking your notes or drawing
19:41
pineapples on trees, uh Mr. Hans uh gets
19:46
a conspiratorial look in his eye uh as
19:49
he then pulls down the like the little
19:54
screen for the projectors uh and then
19:57
turns off the lights and flips on uh a
20:01
little slide uh projector.
20:05
And Mr. Hans goes, "But there is a story
20:08
and it's a a little bit of a a
20:10
scandalous rumor for the town." And he
20:13
he makes up a big show of looking around
20:15
and like going to the door and like
20:17
peeking out the the the window on the
20:18
classroom door to make sure uh nobody's
20:21
watching. And he like gets this really
20:23
like exaggerated movement as he like
20:25
creeps back to the desk. It's said that
20:29
Mr. Pineapple, our founder, wasn't
20:32
actually a very good businessman at all.
20:35
In fact, he was just lucky. In fact, he
20:39
was supernaturally lucky. That stories
20:42
go that he survived a gunfight uh with
20:47
not a near a glancing blow upon him uh
20:50
or that he fell from a fourstory fall
20:54
and got away without a scratch. uh that
20:58
this everything [clears throat] about
21:00
him was just lucky. That is until and
21:04
he's just going through these series of
21:05
like uh slides depicting like um this
21:09
very dis like I wouldn't say
21:12
distinguished but like a person trying
21:15
to look distinguished uh in what you
21:18
would consider like the 1800s like he's
21:20
got
21:20
>> expensive but ill-fitting clothes type
21:22
stuff.
21:22
>> Exactly. like it's it's you could tell
21:24
that the clothes that he's wearing are
21:26
very very expensive, but they're not
21:28
tailored. Um his hair is sllicked back,
21:31
but it is uneven and not kemp. Uh his
21:34
mustache and beard is just a little
21:37
wiry. Um but then you see things where
21:40
like he's sitting on a pile of money and
21:42
behind him is uh the effigy of almost
21:45
like a shadowy figure like uh with like
21:48
tendrils onto him. uh or the fact that
21:51
he's like buying like you said mills. Uh
21:54
he's buying the first mill uh and
21:57
reaching out for giving the money to uh
22:00
the the uh proprietors that are selling
22:02
the land uh is not actually uh Mr.
22:06
Pineapple, but instead is this wispy
22:08
like appendage like going from his coin
22:11
purse and handing it out. Uh it's said
22:16
by some that Mr. pineapple made some
22:20
form of deal, a bargain with some other
22:23
worldly entity that allowed him this
22:27
great fortune until such a time that his
22:31
fortune ran out and Mr. Pineapple was
22:34
found in the street, drowned. And
22:38
there's a scene uh of literally this
22:41
like a bunch of people around what looks
22:43
like a a tarped like body um like in the
22:47
middle of street in the height [snorts]
22:49
of summer. Uh but there was no rain.
22:52
There were no puddles. There was no
22:54
anything. He was just found that way.
22:57
But this could also just be a local
22:59
legend. Uh and I wanted to catch your
23:01
all attention cuz I saw you sleeping
23:03
over there. Uh Mr. Randall.
23:07
>> What? Uh, nope. Uh, nope. Drown guy, I'm
23:09
here.
23:13
>> All right. Well, then I want everybody
23:15
and I expect everybody to be there at
23:16
the town's founding party at the end of
23:19
this week. Again, this is part of your
23:22
credit, and I expect a paper on Monday
23:25
about what you learned from the the
23:27
people of this town. It can be the the
23:30
story of of how they've come to be here
23:33
or it can be any like waps the um the
23:37
the little uh screen with a pointer or
23:40
it could be local legends or stories
23:43
that the people of this town believe.
23:45
But I want you guys to give me something
23:50
that shows that you actually paid
23:51
attention to this town because you may
23:55
not like it but that's where we live
23:56
right now.
23:58
And then the bell rings um for the next
24:02
uh next class and everybody starts
24:04
shuffling out uh of the classroom,
24:06
gathering their stuff and heading into
24:08
the hallway. Um the history class is
24:11
right before lunch. Uh so you guys tell
24:13
me, is it something you guys generally
24:15
do lunch together? Uh does Randall kind
24:17
of disappear outside and try to go to
24:19
the trees and just sit and smoke and and
24:21
pedal his wares or how does that work?
24:26
Uh yeah, I think Randall's kind of on
24:28
the he I think he has a lunch with him
24:30
or something that's uh that he can have
24:32
for lunch. But yeah, he's definitely
24:33
like out on like the edge of uh it's a
24:36
high school. We don't really have a
24:37
playground, but like you know, he's
24:39
outside.
24:40
>> It would be like the basketball field.
24:42
There's usually like high school some
24:44
kind of thing.
24:44
>> Yeah. Uh no, he is definitely out in the
24:46
parking lot on the trunk of the crappy
24:48
car that he drives to school.
24:51
>> All right.
24:52
I think Refers to sit outside instead of
24:55
inside with the crowds and noise and
24:57
everything.
25:00
>> And what about our resident genius?
25:04
>> I think that she probably has to sit
25:06
there and stand in line and like get her
25:09
lunch and she's having to like talk
25:11
really loud cuz nobody can hear her and
25:13
it takes her forever just to get like a
25:16
sandwich. And then she probably goes
25:19
outside and sits at like one of the
25:20
outside tables or something just because
25:22
it is super loud and she is super small
25:24
and she doesn't want to get like lost in
25:25
the shuffle.
25:27
>> And I'm pretty sure we already know that
25:28
Jacob is following Jenny. [laughter]
25:30
>> Yeah. Not trying to not trying to look
25:32
like I'm following her, but you know.
25:33
Yeah. Basically,
25:33
>> but everybody knows you're following
25:34
her. Yeah.
25:35
>> Yeah. Every so often if there's anybody
25:37
who has ever bullied her that I know
25:40
about um or you know that person gets a
25:44
side eye from me and he knows I will
25:47
smack him in the face if he does
25:48
anything cuz I've done it before. Um and
25:51
I'm just making sure like trying to be
25:54
so she doesn't know about it like you
25:57
know I I don't want her to feel like I'm
26:00
crowding her.
26:02
>> Yeah, that's fair. Uh so now I have a
26:05
question for you about some of the
26:06
people in your school in particularly uh
26:10
is there a person here that would be
26:12
considered and it cannot be a player
26:15
character. So Jenny's off the table for
26:16
this question. [laughter]
26:17
Uh the nerdiest or the most awkward or
26:21
the like the the stereotypical like '
26:25
80s9s uh TV show/mov like loser of of
26:29
the school. Is there somebody that fits
26:31
that bill? And if so, what's their name?
26:33
>> I'm a candidate for it, too, but I'm not
26:35
obviously can't be me.
26:36
>> No player characters.
26:37
>> I was going to say I can't say Jacob.
26:39
Okay.
26:40
>> Yeah, I'm I'm up there. [laughter]
26:42
>> But I'm too good at hitting people is
26:44
the
26:44
>> I don't think anybody calls Jacob a
26:46
loser because there's some rumors, man.
26:49
>> Yeah, I I actually am pretty solid at
26:51
hitting people. I didn't even realize it
26:52
when I p picked this playbook, but I'm
26:54
looking at going my fights 12, my fight,
26:57
you know, my bronze 10, and then my my
26:59
grits 20. I'm probably the most stubborn
27:02
person you've ever gotten in a fight
27:03
with. I wouldn't I wouldn't pick it.
27:05
>> Yeah. No, I I I don't have a last name,
27:08
but I think this kid's name is
27:09
definitely Jeff, and I think there's
27:11
somebody picking on him for sharing a
27:12
name with old Jeffrey Pineapple at this
27:14
point.
27:15
>> Yeah,
27:16
>> they're they're calling him that. That's
27:17
not my last name. He's insisting.
27:20
>> Well, we're going to say Gunderson.
27:23
>> His last name Gunderson.
27:24
>> Okay. And he's actually like the
27:27
Gunderson family's been here like almost
27:29
as long as like they're like one of the
27:31
longest families and they've always been
27:34
like like super like tied into the like
27:37
the the whole I'm figuring we're
27:39
probably on the Hudson. They're tied
27:41
into like you know um barge travel and
27:44
canal travel up near Lake Erie. And so
27:47
they're a rich family, but his dad's
27:50
just took off
27:52
and no one knows what happened to him.
27:54
And that's, you know, Jeff is now
27:56
basically in diminished circumstances
27:58
and he's been pretty loud about it. And
28:00
so he kind of got a bad reputation from
28:02
that. That's just me throwing stuff out
28:04
there.
28:05
>> I like that. Um, and what we're going to
28:08
say that Jeff is absolutely getting
28:11
picked on. Uh, and it is exactly what
28:13
what Randall has described here where
28:16
um, you know, he
28:18
kids are picking on him. They're making
28:20
fun of him. They're knocking his books
28:21
down. They're calling him, you know,
28:23
Pineapple Jr. Um they're they're being
28:27
cruel in a, you know, non physical
28:31
threatening way, but in a like way of
28:34
like, "Oh, I'm going to make you feel
28:36
bad about this." And they're just kind
28:37
of following around. Um, but I will say
28:39
we're going to make our first roll of
28:40
the day because I like doing this
28:42
because I think it's fun. Um, since
28:44
you're all outside, we're going to see
28:46
who notices and who doesn't. Uh so in
28:50
this particular case uh we're going to
28:52
need whoever's outside if they wish uh
28:55
to basically make a brains roll.
28:58
>> I've got the intuition thing which means
29:00
that anytime
29:02
>> I something is going on I can just
29:04
straight up ask you.
29:06
>> Yes, I know. But we're going to let the
29:08
other people roll first before I
29:09
describe anything because I want
29:10
>> I want to brains.
29:12
>> Brains. And this is going to be we're
29:13
going to say it's a it's a relatively
29:15
low difficulty. We'll say it's a
29:16
difficulty five.
29:18
First roll of this dice ever is an 18.
29:21
>> There you go.
29:22
>> Oh man, I can't wait to roll this d4
29:25
against
29:27
>> I rolled a nine.
29:29
>> I rolled a four.
29:31
>> Oh well, you know what happens when you
29:32
roll a four?
29:33
>> Do these dice explode?
29:35
>> These dice explode. So, uh
29:38
>> whether regardless of whether you call
29:40
uh how you call it or or whatever the
29:42
case is, um this game does have
29:44
exploding or lucky dice. Uh it is a
29:47
variable system where your stats are
29:49
everything from D4 to D20 like you would
29:52
expect in a normal polyhedral set. Um
29:54
and in some cases I will ask players to
29:57
roll a die and they may not have a uh a
30:00
possibility air quote of getting that
30:02
that DC if it's above their dice.
30:05
However, if you roll the maximum value
30:07
of your dice, you get to roll again and
30:09
add that result to your roll. So in this
30:11
case, uh Randall will succeed. But let's
30:14
see how good Randall succeeds. So roll
30:16
again.
30:16
>> Uh rolled a three on the second one.
30:19
>> All right. So that's a seven. Uh so the
30:22
people that rolled uh five points
30:24
higher, you clocked this without any
30:26
problem. Uh Matt is just a nervous sort.
30:30
Uh his character just watches
30:31
everything. Uh so he notices it as well.
30:34
Um but you all notice uh and and this is
30:38
going to be another question for the
30:39
group. Who is the most popular girl in
30:41
school?
30:43
Well,
30:46
that's that's my answer.
30:47
>> We need more than that.
30:48
>> That's her only name in my head is
30:51
[clears throat]
30:52
>> Wow.
30:53
>> Fully going to pull from other things.
30:56
Her name is Tiffany.
30:58
>> Tiffany.
30:59
>> Oh god. It is. It is Tiffany with her
31:02
perfect perm. And I hate her.
31:06
>> Yep. And we're going to say that Tiffany
31:08
uh who uh is known for living in
31:10
Chandler Heights uh which is definitely
31:12
the rich area of town. Uh you know the
31:16
the most popular. She is the the
31:18
stereotypical uh cheerleader uh leader
31:21
of the the uh the glee club, the whole
31:24
nine. She is like your your poster child
31:27
for uh you know caddyy caddyy popular
31:31
valley girl. Um, we're going to go ahead
31:34
and say that you all notice that as
31:37
these kids are picking on Jeff, uh,
31:40
Tiffany actually walks over and you
31:44
expect that she's just going to join in
31:45
because that's a sort of her
31:46
personality,
31:48
but she starts smacking the bullies with
31:52
her books
31:54
and starts pushing them away and
31:56
screaming at them to leave Jeff alone.
32:00
Oh,
32:02
>> everybody is shocked. You see that most
32:04
of the people are starting to go very
32:06
quiet uh as they're watching what's
32:08
going on, including Tiffany's gaggle of
32:09
friends that she always has with her,
32:11
her little her little posy of plastics.
32:14
Um are they're all dumbfounded by this.
32:18
Uh and the bullies just kind of like
32:20
walk away because they're not exactly
32:22
certain what the hell just happened. Uh,
32:25
and she picks Jeff up off the ground,
32:28
starts dusting him off, gives him back
32:31
his books, and starts leading him away
32:35
from like the lunch area.
32:41
>> I think Jenny just kind of looks at
32:43
everybody and goes,
32:47
>> they can't even articulate it cuz she's
32:49
just like, that's weird.
32:51
>> I mean, they're both from the rich part
32:53
of town. Maybe she knew him when he was
32:55
younger.
32:58
>> This is out of character. Did she hit
33:00
her head or something?
33:04
[laughter]
33:05
>> You sure that's out of character? Cuz
33:06
that sounds like it's in
33:07
>> Sure. That kind of Yeah. [laughter]
33:09
Uh I I think Randall's reevaluating his
33:11
opinion of Jeff like dang. [laughter]
33:14
>> Yeah. Yeah. And you see her her group of
33:16
friends the they're they're sort of left
33:18
behind like whispering to each other and
33:20
like not in the your normal guess would
33:24
be like oh this she's going to play a
33:25
cruel joke on him or something. Um but
33:28
they're not giggling, they're not
33:30
laughing. They're very confused. Like it
33:32
is very obvious. Um
33:34
>> I think Jenny absolutely clocks this
33:36
because uh you are you rolled an 18. Um,
33:41
>> you are absolutely like certain that
33:44
their reaction is genuine. They had no
33:46
idea what just happened.
33:51
>> I'm going to look around.
33:53
>> I'm going to walk over to the girls.
33:56
>> I'm Yeah, I'm not doing that. Uh, but I
33:58
am going to look at the area where Jeff
33:59
went down. Like maybe something's on the
34:02
ground that wouldn't normally be there.
34:04
>> I was thinking about walking over to the
34:06
girls, but I'm like I don't want to get
34:07
involved with this. I'm just going to
34:09
not. But then I see Jenny get up and
34:12
walk over there and I'm going to follow
34:13
her.
34:14
>> Okay.
34:15
>> I am also now watching that real
34:17
carefully because if someone goes to my
34:18
sister, I'm going to have to charge
34:20
really quickly.
34:22
>> Okay. Uh so let's start with uh Matt
34:25
because I think yours is likely going to
34:28
be the easiest. Um why don't you go
34:31
ahead and tell me what you how you're
34:32
looking and what you're doing?
34:34
>> Well, I mean he was getting bullied and
34:36
smacked around a little. Not like
34:38
actually they weren't hitting him. They
34:41
weren't actually attacking him. It was
34:42
more like, you know, hey, what are you
34:43
going to do? What are you going to do?
34:44
Type stuff, right?
34:45
>> Mhm. More or less. Yeah.
34:47
>> Um, when he went down, that's when
34:50
people lose stuff from their pockets.
34:51
That's where something drops. I'm just
34:54
looking to see if there's anything there
34:56
like just something that might explain
34:57
what the heck I just saw. Uh, and I have
35:00
no idea what would explain that, but I
35:02
mean, I I have weird obsessions. So,
35:05
I'll look at like, you know, do I see
35:06
any weird patterns on the ground? Like,
35:09
is there a Justion? Is there like a a a
35:12
three-fold trinity knot? Any any shapes
35:14
of that sort?
35:16
>> Why don't you go ahead and make me a
35:17
brains roll for deduction?
35:19
>> Okay.
35:21
Not my forte, although it is a d8, so
35:23
it's not the worst.
35:25
Okay. I don't remember what you were
35:27
telling uh Phil. I got an an eight.
35:30
>> You roll. So, you're going to roll
35:32
again. The dice explode. Um, so you get
35:34
to roll again and add that to your
35:35
>> I got another eight.
35:37
>> Can we keep doing this? Okay.
35:39
>> Jeez.
35:39
>> Okay. Thank god it's just a four.
35:41
>> 20 total.
35:43
>> Yeah, you are you are like a blood hound
35:46
in this moment. The good news is uh as
35:49
you're like essentially like got your
35:51
face in the dirt looking at everything
35:53
that's going on or that's around here
35:54
where Jeffree just was. Nobody notices
35:56
cuz everybody is still stunned at seeing
35:58
Tiffany and Jeffrey walk off uh together
36:01
in what is very clearly not normal. Um,
36:05
and you don't actually notice anything
36:08
out of the ordinary as far as like signs
36:11
or symbols or anything like that, but
36:14
you do see what looks like an old worn
36:18
uh leather coin pouch just kind of like
36:21
on the ground where Jeffrey It's
36:22
completely empty. Um, it looks like it
36:25
is, uh, barely hanging on by a thread.
36:28
Uh, as far as like life goes, this thing
36:30
seems like it could disintegrate at any
36:32
point in time. Uh, if you've ever seen
36:34
like old leather that has been left out
36:36
in like the elements or uh, in an area
36:40
where it's just super like not humid at
36:44
all. Uh, like a really dry area and how
36:46
that that leather starts to crack and
36:48
deteriorate. That's what this is doing.
36:51
But that's what you find there.
36:52
>> All right. Well, I will pick it up
36:54
because I found a thing.
36:55
>> Okay,
36:56
>> that's that's uh then I get up and start
36:59
just walking in a way where I don't look
37:02
like I'm going anywhere in particular so
37:05
that I can watch what's going on and
37:07
make sure nobody [ __ ] with my sister.
37:08
>> Jacob fades into the uh the background
37:11
character stuff for a moment as he's uh
37:13
being his uh we're going to go ahead to
37:16
uh back over to Jenny now. Jenny, you
37:19
said you're walking over to these girls.
37:20
What are you What are you doing? Yeah, I
37:22
think probably because of how young I
37:25
am, at least one of these girls has had
37:27
to babysit me a couple of times, right?
37:29
Like it's not the biggest town in the
37:30
world. And my parents are obviously
37:32
going to pick like the most well-known
37:34
people. So, I think I just kind of walk
37:35
over and I'm just like, "Um, hey, uh,
37:38
Jessica. Um,
37:40
>> uh, this is the one that babysat you."
37:42
>> Yeah.
37:43
>> Oh. Oh, hi. Hi, Jenny. What? Hi. How are
37:46
you doing?
37:48
>> Um, uh, I'm okay. Um, it was really nice
37:52
of Tiffany to help Jeff out because like
37:55
bullying is kind of a really not cool
37:57
thing, but like she doesn't like him. Is
38:01
she okay?
38:02
>> Oh, I'm I'm sure she's fine. Uh, but
38:05
like you said, she's just she has to I
38:07
mean it it's it's so go to be mean to to
38:11
kids these days. That's so that's so
38:13
1950s. We don't we don't do. And you can
38:15
tell like she's not she's not convinced
38:18
of her I'm still rolling off your 18
38:20
earlier. Um she's not entirely convinced
38:24
of of this, but you can tell she's
38:26
trying to self soothe a little bit here
38:29
>> because she very clearly has no idea
38:31
what just
38:32
>> um Okay. Yeah, it was just kind of
38:34
really really weird to see her react
38:37
like that cuz she has been really mean
38:38
to him in the past. So, just wanted to
38:42
see if everything
38:43
>> Oh, every everything's just fine. Don't
38:45
don't worry.
38:46
>> Okay. Um, cool. And she'll just kind of
38:49
like shrug down into her like sweatshirt
38:52
that's way too big for her and she'll
38:54
just like walk back to the table and sit
38:56
down and start picking at her lunch
38:57
again.
38:58
>> Uh, and I'm gonna ask another question
39:00
here uh at this time because I think
39:03
that we are we're into the next uh event
39:06
thing happening. Who is the What's the
39:10
name of the the poorest kid in town? The
39:12
one that definitely everybody knows but
39:15
nobody really talks about where they're
39:16
like their clothes come off the back of
39:18
a truck. Their their family is just not
39:20
well to do for whatever. Uh who who is
39:22
that person?
39:24
>> I just have a name in my head. Mishka. I
39:26
don't know why, but Mishka.
39:28
>> All right. Well, one of the things that
39:30
I think is is pretty um obvious is that
39:34
Murka has been, you know, their hand
39:36
their their clothes are not exactly
39:38
brand new. Uh you could tell that they
39:40
while they they are they're nice enough
39:42
person. Uh they are, you know, they they
39:45
do okay in school. They're nobody really
39:47
hates them or or but they're not also
39:50
not super popular. They just kind of are
39:52
there. Uh but everybody kind of knows
39:54
their family as not being well off uh
39:57
and and sort of living at maybe the edge
39:59
of town where you know the houses are a
40:01
little more rundown. Um and you didn't
40:04
see Marishka uh this morning at school
40:07
and uh but you do see them now uh as
40:11
they pull into the student parking lot
40:15
uh in uh a Porsche 959.
40:19
brand new brand new um like
40:22
top-of-the-line like sleek black uh
40:26
Porsche coupe just shows right up.
40:28
Mushka gets out and you see like the
40:31
there's a bunch of kids like moving
40:33
over. Uh and Mushka gets out. They're
40:35
they're in a uh like a a Nightrider
40:38
style leather jacket with the sunglasses
40:41
on. Uh, and they're leaning up against
40:43
the car and they're smiling and uh, then
40:45
everybody's coming over and they're
40:47
laughing and they're they're shown the
40:49
car. Uh, and like it's literally just
40:53
looks like that scene out of every '8s
40:56
movie where, you know, the kid pulls up
40:58
with the the super expensive uh, sports
41:01
car.
41:01
>> Yeah.
41:02
>> Yeah. Kind of.
41:05
>> That was definitely playing in my head.
41:07
>> I know.
41:08
>> Okay. kind of look around and I'm just
41:11
like, why is everything weird today?
41:13
[laughter] Where did Mar get a Porsche?
41:16
>> Yeah, Randle's going to hop off the
41:18
trunk of his beat up Ultima and go like
41:20
circle this Porsche. Uh just like, is
41:24
this real?
41:25
>> Mishka looks at looks at you as you're
41:27
like looking at the car incred.
41:32
Yes. No, this is absolutely real. This
41:34
is my my new car you like.
41:35
>> Yes. Sick ride. Uh,
41:39
didn't uh yeah, didn't figure you for
41:41
the Porsche type.
41:42
>> I I I I wasn't It wasn't even planned.
41:45
My uh my uncle, I mean, rest rest his
41:48
soul. And he kind of like kisses his
41:49
fingers and like points him to the sky.
41:51
Uh he apparently he just he passed away
41:53
and he left me the car.
41:56
>> Okay. Uh sorry about your uncle, but uh
41:59
like I said, sick ride, man. I'm going
42:01
to high five this kid.
42:02
>> He high fives. It's okay. I didn't
42:04
really know him, so I don't know. But he
42:06
apparently they apparently like me.
42:09
[snorts]
42:10
>> That makes a lot of sense.
42:12
>> So these are there there's beyond this,
42:16
there are just a series of rather small
42:19
occurrences going on. I think that
42:22
besides these being the big ones, you
42:24
would notice throughout the rest of the
42:26
day, little tiny things happening. Um,
42:29
you know, the the as you go to clean up
42:31
for lunch, you notice that one of the
42:33
the janitors has a brand new Rolex watch
42:36
on their um very clearly not something
42:38
that a a janitor is likely to afford on
42:42
their salary at a, you know, this
42:44
medium-sized town uh high. Um, you'll
42:48
notice like uh a couple of the teachers
42:51
in like, you know, super fancy clothing
42:54
that, you know, very clearly is not
42:56
something that they would normally wear.
42:59
um things, little tiny things like that.
43:01
Uh just a a very strange uh set of just
43:05
oddity. Uh and you make it through the
43:07
rest of the day. Nothing else major
43:08
happens. Uh no big explosions or or
43:12
anything as grand or or as weird as
43:14
anything else that's been happening. Um
43:16
and you find yourself at the end of the
43:18
day. Uh the last bell chimes and
43:20
everybody uh tears out of the school uh
43:24
and you all head towards your bikes.
43:27
What does after school look like for
43:29
>> uh I think that Jenny probably rides her
43:32
bike to and from school because
43:34
obviously she's way too young to drive.
43:36
Um and she has no desire to get on a
43:38
school bus with all these like really
43:39
loud rowdy kids that are much bigger
43:41
than she is. So she just hops on her her
43:43
little bike and she's got like her big
43:45
heavy backpack on and you know she just
43:48
kind of cruises
43:50
probably home to drop some stuff off and
43:53
then is probably going to head to the
43:54
bookstore to like do some studying and
43:57
like look and see if there's any new
43:59
like fiction books or stuff in that
44:01
they're not going to have at the at the
44:03
library at school cuz like her reading
44:06
level's really high but she's not super
44:08
interested in like the stuff at her
44:09
reading level. Okay. And I assume uh
44:12
maybe incorrectly assume that Rey is
44:15
probably going to go work a shift at the
44:16
bookstore after school.
44:18
>> Uh yeah, nothing else. Yeah. Pick up a
44:20
paycheck. Uh check out more.
44:23
>> Uh and then what does uh Randall and
44:25
Jacob do after school?
44:27
>> I mean, am I in do I feel like I have to
44:30
be following my sister around at this
44:31
point or am I pretty sure she's okay?
44:33
>> You tell me. I'm not your character.
44:36
>> [sighs]
44:37
>> I do have my own life of other weird
44:40
things besides just being a skullking
44:42
lunick. So, I'm probably going to go to
44:44
the bookstore because I've scraped up
44:45
just enough money for one weird book and
44:49
I'm looking for it. So, I'm going to go
44:51
do that. I'm trying to find something on
44:53
uh this time it's Tibetan because I'm
44:55
trying to figure out about the endless
44:57
knot as opposed to the you know the
44:59
Celtic ver various Celtic knots. There's
45:02
the endless knot, which I'm currently
45:03
currently interested in and looking for
45:05
information on. So, I'm gonna go do
45:07
that. And I'm I'm also gonna probably
45:10
try and get Re's attention because I
45:11
want to talk to her about the uh pouch I
45:13
found.
45:14
>> Okay. I am.
45:15
>> And what is what and and before we get
45:17
into that scene, let's uh see what
45:19
Randall's up to. Uh, I think Randall's
45:21
off in the corner of the bookshop where
45:23
they have a spinner rack of cheap sci-fi
45:25
novels and uh [clears throat] he's uh
45:28
like looking through like Bradberry
45:30
stuff. Uh, all right. So, you guys wind
45:33
up in the the the bookstore. Um, you
45:37
know, uh, Jenny's here pretty
45:38
frequently. Uh, it's sort of a quiet,
45:41
out of the way place. Um, but Re, why
45:44
don't you tell us the name of the
45:46
bookstore and what type of bookstore it
45:47
is? Um, it's kind of as the town has
45:50
grown and become more suburban, you pop
45:53
squished out. This is like a a new chain
45:56
bookstore that's shown up in the past
45:58
couple of years. It's big and clean and
46:02
has just packed with brand new, very
46:06
shiny books. This is very it's very
46:08
glossy. It's very New York Times
46:11
bestsellers. Um, it's it's a goodiz
46:14
bookstore. Uh, but it's not like it's
46:17
we're using it as a social space, but it
46:20
doesn't feel that way. This is about
46:22
This is a place about selling books.
46:23
It's not about the love. Did I give it a
46:25
name? Uh,
46:26
>> I did not. Uh, uh, it is called
46:29
Bookstop. It is the place that you stop
46:32
to buy books.
46:33
>> All right. And I think the uh the the
46:34
owner of the bookstore has maybe
46:36
begrudgingly because people use it as a
46:38
a third space probably pretty frequently
46:40
as they're buying books um with a uh you
46:44
know a couple tables, maybe a couple uh
46:47
small cushion chairs, maybe a couch, but
46:50
nothing like an extravagant one. Think
46:52
of it like a a smaller version of Barnes
46:55
& Noble almost. um where like there is a
46:58
seating area, but it's just
47:00
uncomfortable enough to make you not
47:02
want to spend all day there. Um because
47:04
like you said, it's about buying books,
47:06
and this is not a library. They don't
47:07
they don't want you uh spending all day
47:09
reading the books for free when they can
47:10
take your, you know, $8. Um but yeah, I
47:14
think restarts her shift there. Jenny
47:15
honkers down. Uh, but I am going to move
47:18
over to Jacob real quick because Jacob
47:20
said something uh that uh Matt is
47:22
somehow in my brain uh and is predicted
47:26
something that I was going to throw at
47:27
him anyway and went to the Tibetan
47:28
section. Um looking at uh the various
47:32
different things and one of the uh
47:34
things that he finds, Jacob, you find a
47:37
book on uh the eight auspicious symbol
47:42
uh which in Tibetan lore are these
47:44
things that essentially go around
47:47
uh an intertwining
47:49
uh like notish representation of life in
47:54
general. And it has a couple different
47:57
things about it. Uh the one that stands
47:59
out to you because it is very much your
48:01
wheelhouse uh is something called the
48:04
endless knot. Sometimes referred to as
48:05
the eternal knot. Uh it's a closed
48:08
geometric symbol that represents
48:10
according to the book here uh
48:11
interconnectedness, infinite wisdom, and
48:14
the cyclical nature of life. Um and it
48:18
basically shows that there is no such
48:20
thing as luck. There is no such thing as
48:24
uh bad luck. There is only karma and how
48:28
karma is essentially uh paid or or you
48:32
know balanced out because everything is
48:34
connected. So all of your good deeds,
48:36
all of your bad deeds, they tip sort of
48:38
like the knot in a specific way. Uh
48:41
almost think of it like those labyrinths
48:44
with the that you put the marble through
48:47
where you tilt the axes uh the the the
48:50
XY and and axes to move the ball through
48:54
uh the maze when there are pitfalls and
48:56
things around there. You are the marble
48:59
and the knot is essentially the the maze
49:01
and karma uh is essentially the knobs
49:05
where it adjusts based off of the good
49:07
and bad you do to sort of lead you
49:09
through this space that is the very
49:13
esoteric very very uh minimal
49:16
representation that is given in this
49:18
book. you can tell it was written by
49:19
somebody who, you know, maybe knew a
49:21
little bit about it, maybe had gone to
49:22
Tibet a couple times but didn't quite
49:24
like you get the impression that they
49:26
don't know all of it. Um, and it was
49:29
very much like I don't want to say and
49:31
I'm sure you guys remember and I'm sure
49:32
our listeners at home will have a vague
49:33
memory of this. When we were young, we
49:35
went to things called the Scholastic
49:36
book fairs. Um, and there was a lot of
49:39
questionable books uh at those book
49:42
fairs.
49:42
>> This feels like one of those time life,
49:44
you know, mystery the unknown type
49:46
thing. Yeah,
49:46
>> very very much so. Um, where the author
49:49
is very assured of their their own
49:51
brilliance but quite doesn't understand
49:53
the true uh symbolism of Hinduism or
49:55
Buddhism as look through a a western
49:58
lens
49:59
>> breaking it down to its its most
50:01
component parts and then just kind of
50:03
repackaging them.
50:04
>> Yeah. And so that's what you find as you
50:07
go to that section. Um, which again,
50:10
Matt, get out of my head.
50:12
Um, but now I'm going to turn the scene
50:14
over to you guys. Since kind of
50:17
everybody's here, y'all may do what
50:19
you're going to do.
50:20
>> Since I was going to do this anyway, I
50:22
walk up to the re, are you currently
50:24
working at a counter or like are you
50:26
shelving or what are you doing? Um, I'm
50:28
I'm probably shelving because I would
50:31
like to just sit here and dribbling in
50:33
my notebook. But, uh, I at least need to
50:36
pretend to be doing something and there
50:37
are always books to shove or books to
50:40
move after people have rearranged them
50:43
for whatever reason. Not that I suspect
50:45
anyone here would do that.
50:47
>> This is a PSA for those of you at home.
50:48
If you pick something up in a retail
50:50
store or a bookstore and you don't want
50:51
it, please put it back where you found
50:52
it. Please continue. [laughter]
50:55
Yeah, I
50:57
>> I'm not trying to be sneaky because I
50:59
don't actually I'm not all that sneaky.
51:01
Uh but when I I come walking up, I'm
51:03
like looking around looking around
51:05
looking around and then I look down
51:06
because you're you're shelving. So
51:09
you're down there and I'm like, "Oh."
51:11
Oh, hey. Uh
51:13
>> hey. Oh, this one actually goes on the
51:14
top shelf. Could you put it right there?
51:16
There.
51:17
>> Yeah, I pick it and put it on the top
51:19
shelf. It's not even much of a strain
51:20
for me.
51:21
>> Thanks.
51:22
>> You remember today? the thing happened
51:25
to Jeffrey.
51:26
>> That was weird. That was
51:28
>> I found this on the ground and I take
51:30
the uh the leather thing out and kind of
51:33
show it to you. Like I I hold it forth
51:35
in my hand so you could even take it
51:36
from be careful if you touch it. It
51:39
doesn't feel like it's got too many more
51:41
touches.
51:42
>> Jeff dropped this.
51:44
>> Yeah. I don't know if he dropped it or
51:45
not, but it was on the ground. And I'm
51:48
sorry. This thing's too fragile to have
51:50
been there. If it was there before he
51:53
was there, this wouldn't even be here at
51:55
this point. I'm gonna look at it. Does
51:57
it have any of those auspicious symbols?
52:00
Uh, no. You turn it over and I mean, if
52:03
there was anything on here that had
52:06
symbols or thread work or die work or
52:08
anything like that, um, it's probably
52:11
long since faded off. If anything, this
52:13
just looks like your, you know, basic
52:17
brown leather, just like very cracked,
52:19
very worn. Uh the cord that runs through
52:23
the neck of it um is just a a a cord
52:26
with a knot, a regular knot. Nothing
52:28
special at the end of each end of it to
52:30
keep it from uh falling out of the bag.
52:32
But that's really about it.
52:33
>> I mean, looking at it, it's old as dirt.
52:37
And I don't I don't think anybody our
52:40
age is going to carry a coin. What are
52:42
we like cowboys? Like I don't I don't
52:45
know. This is weird. I I just that I saw
52:48
it on the ground and I thought, you
52:49
know, there's there's something going
52:51
on. And remember that that whole weird
52:53
talk Hans did about you. He had
52:56
mysterious luck. It was just like, huh?
52:58
>> There are there are some people having
53:01
weird mysterious luck today. It's been a
53:03
weird day.
53:03
>> Yeah.
53:04
>> And it's been a coincidence that you
53:06
find this thing just sitting sitting on
53:09
the ground.
53:10
>> Yeah.
53:10
>> Is there anything in this? Is there any
53:12
sign that something was in this? Does it
53:15
does it does it does it smell like
53:17
pineapple? I don't know. [laughter]
53:21
>> Go ahead. I have not done that.
53:22
>> I was gonna say, are are you going to
53:23
are you going to take a a sniff there?
53:26
>> Um, that sounds like a terrible idea.
53:29
Um, I mean,
53:32
[laughter]
53:32
>> so I will say I will say the rest the
53:34
other two of you are here
53:36
>> and you got you hear this discussion.
53:38
This is not exactly like stealth. So
53:41
like Randall, you hear them talking
53:42
about should I sniff the bag? Should I
53:43
not sniff the bag? [laughter]
53:45
>> I I want to I want to like I don't know
53:48
how fragile it is exactly, but kind of
53:50
peer inside and see if there's any like
53:53
residue with something in here. And
53:55
sure, does it smell like anything? I
53:57
mostly said the pineapple thing as a
53:59
joke, but I am willing to go through
54:00
with it. [laughter]
54:02
>> Um, you can go ahead and make me a
54:04
brains roll, please. Uh, for your
54:06
deduction and uh as you're investigating
54:08
this, what it what it what reveals
54:10
itself to you.
54:10
>> That's an eight. This I'm putting this
54:12
dice away. This
54:13
>> I mean
54:14
>> eight eight's fine. Uh the difficulty
54:16
was not very high.
54:17
>> It's an eight on a d20. So
54:20
>> every every side on a d20 has a 5%
54:23
chance of showing up every time you roll
54:24
it.
54:25
>> Um so it's enough to like give you like
54:28
at least cursory information about it.
54:30
So you go through and you you you take a
54:32
look. It's not as fragile as you would
54:34
expect. Um it is definitely not in great
54:36
shape. Like I wouldn't be like, you
54:37
know, filling this full of sand and
54:39
throwing it against the wall or anything
54:40
like that. Uh, but it's not in danger of
54:42
like disintegrating in your hands. Um,
54:45
if anything, holding it and and and and
54:49
like handling it is helping because the
54:52
oils from your hands are essentially
54:53
like, you know, slowly working their way
54:56
back into the leather. This is a real
54:58
thing, by the way. Um, but as you look
55:01
inside, it's perfect inside. Like
55:05
>> weird.
55:06
>> It is a It's not velvet, but it feels
55:09
like velvet. Um, but there's nothing
55:11
inside of it. Um, and jokingly, you take
55:15
a whiff. Um, you don't smell pineapple.
55:18
Um, but you do catch a an oddly metallic
55:22
smell. Um, it's I'm trying to think of
55:26
how to describe this. Have you ever been
55:27
on a hot summer day uh where you go to
55:30
like take like the old school charcoal
55:32
grill out uh and like there's a very
55:37
specific smell that the cast iron grates
55:40
of a grill have when they're like warm
55:43
but not hot. Um it kind of smells like
55:46
that almost like almost carbony. That's
55:49
exactly what it's
55:50
>> I couldn't explain to you what summer
55:52
smells like but that's what this smells
55:53
like.
55:53
>> But everybody at home listening knows
55:55
exactly what that
55:56
>> Yeah. Don't make sense.
55:58
>> I like things that make sense.
56:00
>> I'm going to try. I I actually There's
56:03
There Are Are there any like tables in
56:05
this where you can sit down?
56:07
>> There there's there's a couple small
56:08
tables with like a chair next to them
56:10
like nothing.
56:11
>> Okay. I'm going to sit down at a table,
56:14
put the thing down, and then I'm going
56:17
to do um there's a there's the trinity
56:22
knot or the the tscalion.
56:25
I'm gonna That's a It's a Celtic one.
56:27
I'm gonna put that
56:29
>> uh like I take a piece of rope and like
56:32
braid it around it in that basic shape.
56:35
It's a simple shape. I'm going to do it
56:37
entirely around the uh the pouch. And
56:40
then around that, which is going to be
56:43
harder, I'm going to do the dar knot,
56:46
which is the one that's closest to the
56:48
endless knot, except it's Celtic and not
56:52
um it's not related to Tibetan stuff,
56:54
but both Tibetan and Celtic stuff, it
56:57
kind of connects up in the Cythian
56:58
mountains, so there's there's some
56:59
overlap. Uh and I'm trying to basically
57:02
just focus the thing back on itself, if
57:05
that makes any sense. I've never done
57:06
this. It's never worked. I always I
57:08
screw around with it. I'm just doing it
57:09
because it's a weird day and who knows,
57:11
maybe today it'll work. And if not, uh,
57:14
who cares? I'll still look weird. I look
57:16
weird every So, I'm doing that with
57:18
these basically this long long this
57:20
length of twine I use to tie stuff to my
57:22
bike.
57:22
>> At this point, Randall has come over and
57:24
he's leaning on the counter next to uh
57:26
re like uh what's Stretch doing over
57:28
there? I think Randall has a dumb
57:30
nickname for everybody. [laughter]
57:33
>> You think Randall just makes up constant
57:34
dumb nicknames for everybody? So, she
57:36
doesn't even give you the same one all
57:37
[laughter] the time.
57:38
Uh yeah, I'm just assuming I know who
57:40
you're talking about.
57:42
>> Well, he found this bag and now he's
57:45
tying uh he found this bag where where
57:49
Jeff was.
57:50
>> Oh, yeah. Weird and old and a lot of
57:53
weird things are happening. So, now
57:54
we're tying knots.
57:55
>> Yeah. Oh, man. Maybe we should get him
57:56
to tie one around Mar's car. Did you see
57:58
Mar got new ride?
57:59
>> Yes. I I mean I'm I'm I'm over here
58:03
being kind of sarcastic, but actually Re
58:05
is very interested in watching this knot
58:07
tying because she knows like some some
58:10
basic useful knots from like scouting,
58:12
but this is like crazy next level stuff.
58:15
This is really interesting to her
58:17
genuinely.
58:18
>> Uh so Matt, you your your Jacob goes
58:21
through and and puts these knots in uh
58:23
and nothing happens like it they're just
58:25
very good knots. You're very good at it.
58:27
You're you practiced very long and uh
58:30
with your grandfather and and have
58:31
learned these knots real well. They're
58:33
perfect. Nothing happened.
58:34
>> Yeah. Um I'm going to like lean in on
58:37
the coin purse and see if it smells
58:40
different now.
58:41
>> Nope. Still the same.
58:43
>> Yeah, that didn't do anything. Uh
58:46
but you know what?
58:47
>> Probably can't
58:48
>> if it was ever going to do something. If
58:50
it was ever going to do something, now
58:51
it feels like it might have been the
58:52
time.
58:53
>> Um what was it? What was it supposed to
58:55
do? the DAR knots. Uh basically it's
58:59
sort of about unification. Uh it's
59:03
there's no end. Like if you look at the
59:05
knot, the the rope itself doesn't you
59:08
can't tell which one's the end point
59:10
because it loops back into the rest of
59:12
it and it does it in this like kind of
59:15
cross pattern. It's like a series of
59:18
constantly expanding knots that go up
59:20
and down uh to form that cross in the
59:23
middle. the cross is all negative space.
59:25
That's not actually the cross isn't
59:27
present, but you see it if that makes
59:30
sense. Like there's no actual cross
59:33
stuff. That's all just where the rope
59:35
isn't. Um so yeah, it's it's kind of
59:37
about unification and about uh the the
59:40
cosmos for lack of a better word. It's
59:42
it's it's also about getting strong like
59:46
on like you you become stronger as you
59:50
go through it. So, you know, because
59:52
it's a process of building yourself up.
59:54
>> My grandpa left me a book with all this
59:56
stuff in it.
59:56
>> Ah, so you're trying to unify yourself
59:58
with Jeff's lucky coin purse. Nice.
1:00:00
>> I mean, yeah, kind of. Like, I I want to
1:00:04
see what's going on. Like, go ahead and
1:00:06
smell it cuz she's right. It smells
1:00:07
weird.
1:00:08
>> Oh my god. What? Rand like what?
1:00:13
>> Seriously, smell that thing.
1:00:14
>> You're messing me. It's
1:00:16
>> It really does. It's smells like
1:00:19
somebody kept a grill in here. Yeah. I
1:00:21
mean, why would it smell like that? I
1:00:23
mean, it's a coin purse
1:00:24
>> without any coins.
1:00:26
>> Yeah. No coins.
1:00:28
>> Maybe the coins are what we're lucky.
1:00:30
>> What is Jenny doing while this is going
1:00:31
on? Since you're you're you're here, I'm
1:00:33
just kind of curious how how Jenny's
1:00:35
taken by this and watching these these
1:00:38
older folks do this. Weird.
1:00:39
>> Yeah, I think Jenny is kind of keeping
1:00:41
an eye and is very very confused by all
1:00:44
of it. And it's like, okay, y'all are
1:00:45
being weirder than usual, but okay. But
1:00:49
I think she's probably relatively close
1:00:51
by. She's probably like looking at a
1:00:53
rack of like the new Sweet Valley High
1:00:56
book that just came out and like that
1:00:57
kind of stuff. Like looking for a couple
1:01:00
of books to buy that aren't necessarily
1:01:03
academic because she also knows that up
1:01:05
front there's books waiting for her that
1:01:07
her parents are making her get that are
1:01:08
like, you know, your SAT testing like
1:01:11
study guides and all that kind of stuff
1:01:13
like the SATs and the ACTs and all the
1:01:15
college entrance stuff. She's got like a
1:01:17
stack of that stuff sitting up front she
1:01:19
has to buy. So, she's like got a few
1:01:21
extra books from chore money that she's
1:01:23
looking to get herself, you know,
1:01:26
something that's brainless fiction
1:01:28
because she's really really tired of all
1:01:30
the school stuff. So, she's just kind of
1:01:32
like picking over books and looking over
1:01:34
every few seconds like what are they
1:01:36
doing?
1:01:37
>> Well, I actually take up the dar knot
1:01:39
because this is actually tied now. It's
1:01:40
a it's a it's a physical representation
1:01:43
of a symbol. I actually made it out of
1:01:45
the of the twine. I uh pick it up and
1:01:47
give it to to to Re because she said she
1:01:50
finds it interesting. I don't know if
1:01:51
you actually said that out loud, but I
1:01:53
could tell you probably could tell you.
1:01:55
>> I mean, I was watching closely. Yes.
1:01:56
>> Yeah. If you want it.
1:01:58
>> This is do simple stuff, but not not
1:02:00
like this.
1:02:01
>> This has been going on for maybe a few
1:02:03
hours and uh when school lets out and u
1:02:06
most of the kids in town kind of scatter
1:02:08
off and don't stuff. But one of the
1:02:10
things that uh often is is uh thing that
1:02:13
you see them go to is there is a small
1:02:16
movie theater uh a little bit down Main
1:02:19
Street, not too terribly far from where
1:02:22
uh the bookstore is. And the bookstore
1:02:25
has these big large windows that sort of
1:02:28
overlook uh the main street like most
1:02:31
shops do. Um, and as you guys were
1:02:32
talking about the not work, um, I think
1:02:34
you all sort of notice, um, that our
1:02:38
good friends, uh, Tiffany and Jeffrey
1:02:42
are are walking, uh, past the books,
1:02:44
holding hands and giggling and making
1:02:48
their way towards the movie theater. And
1:02:50
none of their none of Tiffany's friend
1:02:52
group are anywhere to be seen. Um, and
1:02:55
yeah, they're just kind of h look like
1:02:57
they're having like this really intense
1:03:00
conversation amongst themselves and and
1:03:02
laughing and and just having a really
1:03:04
good time. Uh, and you all notice that
1:03:06
like Tiffany keeps like squeezing his
1:03:07
hand and just like staring very deeply
1:03:10
at him. And that's where we're going to
1:03:12
end our session.
1:03:13
>> I am super weirded out by this
1:03:15
>> as you as you should be. Uh, but that's
1:03:18
going to end this session, folks. We
1:03:20
will see you on the next one.
1:03:29
Blizzard Watch is made possible [music]
1:03:30
due to the generous contributions at
1:03:32
patreon.com/b blizzardwatch. Your
1:03:35
continued support means that our site
1:03:37
and community is able to thrive and
1:03:39
grow. Patreon supporters [music] are
1:03:41
able to enjoy exclusive benefits like
1:03:43
early access to our podcast, a better
1:03:45
chance at having your question answered
1:03:46
on our podcasts or the queue, and an
1:03:49
adsfree [music] site experience. With
1:03:51
that friends, we'll see you next time.
#Games