Season 2 Wrap Up

Kenzie Tartaglione:

Hey, everybody! Welcome to our season two wrap up for Of Kith and Pen!

Everyone:

(cheering)

Kenzie:

We are all back together to chat about the season in its entirety and, you know, just to hang out with each other again ‘cause it's been like a month, amonth and a half since you guys recorded the finale episode. How y’all feeling? How y’all doing?

Tatiana Gefter:

I miss you guys.

Jenine Florence Jacinto:

I miss these faces so much.

Michi Zaya:

I miss you all so much. My life is less fun now.

Ashley Westover:

So bad, Kenzie, I think the general consensus is sad, sad gays. Sad gays!

Octa Delgado:

Quality of life has just gone down.

Harper Sage Pettit:

And we couldn't mutiny, unfortunately, and just continue recording regardless.

Tatiana:

We did try.

Kenzie:

Well we're all, except for me,because I'm a party pooper, are dressed in the fashion of, you know, roughly our characters. We’ve got a giraffe.

Tatiana:

I went pretty cosplayer I would say, I'm wearing like a cloak kind of.

Ashley:

Oooooh.

Kenzie:

 

There we go! Ashley, what was the decision to be a giraffe?

Ashley:

Well the inspiration behind being a giraffe is I already owned this one.

Kenzie:

Okay, perfect. Beautiful. Incredible.

Ashley:

It was really well thought out.

Kenzie:

Yeah. Love to see it.

Jenine:

Didn't you ask to be a subway rat?

Harper:

Yeah.

Ashley:

I did. I did, but…

Harper:

Season four it's just gonna be.

Ashley:

If we ever bring this back I am going to be a subway rat and it's just going to be my whole personality for whatever like one off or what have you.

Harper:

No, it's going to be a whole season of just subway rat.

Ashley:

And it's just me running around New York in a onesie, like, “Let’s go!”

Tatiana:

You could just do that now.

Kenzie:

You could just do that now. Also there is that person who already does that.

Ashley:

How do you know that’s not me?

Kenzie:

Because I think - Harper has asked!

Harper:

I feel like they’re tall bitch and I know you’re a sh - you’re the second tallest!

Ashley:

I’m five six, i’m not short!

Harper:

Well, you’re the second tallest!

Ashley:

Yeah, everyone else is tiny!

 

Michi:

I'm sorry can everyone look at Jenine sipping that with their otter paws.

Kenzie:

I didn't realize I had paws too.

Michi:

It’s important.

Kenzie:

It's great.

Michi:

Hoku, raises a paw!

Jenine:




Dooo!

Kenzie:

You can do it now! Okay. well, big question to start out here. What were everyone's overall impressions of the season as a whole once you completed it?

Michi:

That's a big question

Kenzie:

It is a big - we’re gonna start off big, we’re going to start out big.

Octa:

So, I think the overall impression when it was done, was  I can't believe we reached such a big scale of bigness and like in some cases destiny for Hoku, and kind of like world spanning consequences of everything we did when we were just like a few little kith. It’s like woah, these little messes did a lot of stuff. I didn't expect it to grow that big.

Harper:

Yeah for me, I feel like I've been pretty open about this, like I didn't go in with all too many expectations like - so I don't know I just kind of feel like I didn't want to have too much planned out and I wanted to craft the story together so where we ended up, I think, was exactly where it was supposed to end up. And way better than if I had like planned out better, you know? I I feel like if I came in with like heavier reigns and a more linear story kind of already like put together, I don't think it would have been nearly as good in my opinion.

Kenzie:

I also think like depending on the game you're playing, sometimes it lends easier to kind of more going with the flow and building the story together and Wanderhome, I think, is kind of a perfect venue for that.

Tatiana:

I’m with you Octa, where it's I didn't expect the story to get so like grand. When I went into this I very much thought we were just going to be silly little guys, trooping through this big, big world. Having a blast.

Kenzie:

I mean you did.

Tatiana:

Which is true, that is like true. But it all culminated into something that was much bigger than ourselves and we went - we were now a little, little guys who had to deal with this big, big thing that we weren't necessarily equips to deal with, but we had to anyway, for the sake of kithdom as a whole. We all went through a lot.

Kenzie:

That is - a truer statement has never been said.

Michi:

I don't know if you can see me like tearing up over here like I just got very sparkly eyes. Like my overall impression is like I think we captured like Wanderhome in a really fun way that just like, I feel like you are all like really close friends of mine now. And like the journey of playing these characters help that a lot of just like how much we support each other, and cared about each other and like, the adventure was this massive big thing but I think like being able to show up for each other when the big scary things were happening, just did a lot for my heart - I'm like crying okay, I'm going to stop talking now ‘cause I'm crying.

Tatiana:

No.

Harper:

Awe.

Kenzie:

Well, as you recover we'll have Jenine speak.

Jenine:

Yeah, this was actually really fun and wholesome and it was nice to like do something that like still pulled the heartstrings but like didn't hurt me emotionally… Well it did hurt me emotionally but like when you play like other TTRPGs, I feel like a lot of it is like, blood, gore, all of that fun jazz and like Wanderhome, I came in knowing that I'd be like crying in happiness, but also came crying with like the kith along the way. And like also just love how we were able to continue the themes that we started with. Like the letters, and like a lot of us started with like something in episode one that like stressed our characters out, and then at the end those were resolved. Which was really cool. Honestly Hoku became the Starkeeper, I was not expecting that. I was just sitting here being like he’s a little guy and he's gonna probably find his - the guy that he's looking for, and that's what I'm here for. And like seeing Neu be able to like have a partner or like have a partner in life again, and just like have that - something was broken and come back again. This is a weird one, Alma believing in humans. I know that's a weird thing to say but that's like really interesting because we never talked about humans in the like post-apocalyptic world. And like little Fletcher having a little two paws. Has two paws, which is really interesting after watching that - like listening and like experiencing episode one and just the break up. So I think it was it was really fun seeing that like full circleness and doing the journey with all of you.

Kenzie:

Well, I do you think way, way back in the beginning, Harper did warn everybody that she had never played Wanderhome where people didn't cry so,

Jenine:

This is true.

Harper:

(Laughs) Mm-hmm.

Kenzie:

The warning was there.

Harper:

Yeah.

Tatiana:

I forgot about that.

Harper:

Yeah.

Kenzie:

I know that this was a question that I had asked you in like one of the first After Shows we did, but since this wrap up is going to be for the public, I would like to ask it again and I would like you guys to talk about why you picked or mashed together the playbooks that you did. Which you know, the answer by now maybe have shifted after playing the season of it.

Michi:

I wanted to be spooky and then Fletcher existed and it just wasn't spooky anymore (laughs). But I do like - I like playing a helpful character who isn't necessarily like strong. Like in D&D I play a monk a lot because I like being the fast person, which is sometimes more helpful in terms of like aiding and things like that. So like as Fletcher I think like being able to be someone who's like, oh I have a potion for that, just seemed like a very helpful playbook to have in our little team. But the original thought was I'm gonna be spooky and then just didn't happen.

Kenzie:

(Laughs) It did not.

Ashley:

And then you opened your mouth and Fletcher’s voice came out and you were like, oh okay, so we're not spooky.

Michi:

Exactly.

Octa:

We’re doing sticky instead of spooky.

Ashley:

Sticky is that what you meant? Sticky?

Jenine:

Hoku is a little bit of a loaded question because I ended up starting with two, mixing two, and then ended up adding another playbook to my character at the end. But the last one helped, I'll explain after. But I really wanted - there is The Stargazer and The Seeker that both had like elements that I really, really liked. And I thought it would be fun to combine like finding myths in the stars. So I combined those two books together. And then, Hoku started collecting gods like Pokémon and the - oh my gosh, what is it? Not The Mentor, I forgot which book I stole from -

Tatiana:

The Caretaker?

Jenine:

The Caretaker which I played in our auditions, I really like the element of having little gods and shrines all over the place on you. And I thought it worked really well with how Hoku just kept seeing stars and like wanting to like make star charts, put so much intention in the star charts, and like gods popping out the pages which worked really well and I was like, I gotta do it, that’s so cute. Imagine the little guy with little stars all over! So that's what ended up happening at the end and yeah I like it!

Tatiana:

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. I kind of went into this game with the idea that…well number one, The Gravedigger is like a very Tot-core thing to do. It's like very typical. It’s a very classic choice. Of course it's the one that's about death and ghosts. That’s like classic. But I've also always really enjoyed that, you know, different cultures in our world have different, you know, practices and beliefs around death and how people deal with death. And in a world like Wanderhome where death still happens, I was very curious as to how the kith would feel about death. And how that would impact their kind of day-to-day and what someone's life would be like to have to interact with that sort of thing regularly. And the kind of incorporation of the afterlife and spirits, I think, really lended itself well to where the story ended up going and kind of Alma’s role in the story and being able to connect with, you know, the spirit of this human that was, you know, actually being trapped and manipulated by the big bad evil guy - toad, I should say. Big, bad, evil toad. So going into it I didn't really have any any plans beyond that I was just like, oh this is cool, this is me!

Kenzie:

That's a valid way to pick a playbook.

Tatiana:

It wasn't one of the original playbooks, it was one that, I think, was in one of the supplementals which, you know, just goes to show, if you, you know - if there's not something that you necessarily want in the TTRPG, you can always find a supplemental that might, you know, spice things up for you a little bit, in any game.

Octa:

So, I also ended up mixing and matching between a few playbooks. Some of them, again supplemental, And the idea behind what I wanted to do is, I wanted to do something that is very based around around creating and reflecting stories. And kind of like compiling little stories and based on what happens around me. Almost thinking of Neu as someone that keeps people together and someone that wants to make connections more specific to kind of like show people in distant places, that they can be very similar. And New’s like, I’m going to make little pieces that will do that. That when I'm with things from one place and to the other place. And what kind of ended up materializing a lot with the last piece that Neu did so I'm pretty happy about how that ended. Yeah, the the basics of the playbook is I wanted something that was very about connections between kith.

Kenzie:

Harper, was there - I know you didn't get a playbook, but was there a specific kith that you got to play throughout the season that you resonated with a lot? Or did it kind of shift as the story went along?

Harper:

I feel like Kalix was probably one like -

Kenzie:

Yeah.

Harper:

They weren’t really in my plans for like longer term but it just seemed like they really got along with the group, and eventually I saw a lot of like my own journey through Kalix and kind of how they progressed and yeah! So I just really vibed with Kalix honestly, and almost got a rabbit instead.

Kenzie:

Oooooh!

Harper:

Yeah. But I don't know why it went with the moth man.

Kenzie:

(Laughs)

Harper:

Maybe similar to Michi, I just like being a little creepy.

Michi:

Meanwhile I'm here with my adorable flying squirrel onesie.

Octa:

I'm so spooked, I'm so spooked. Look at those little eyes.

Ashley:

Those little beady eyes.

Kenzie:

Well I guess next question here is, also for everybody, and I know for you too, Harper, I know you said that, you know, you didn't necessarily have a linear like step by step, planner story, but I was wondering if there was anything that happened that was like very surprising for where you thought the story was going? And I know we already talked about like it was bigger than everybody expected it to be, but was there like a specific moment that just kind of stood out as like a shocker.

Harper:

So the original plan of The Preservation and Professor Peppers was not supposed to be that they were evil, but it was just like y'all latched on to that like right from the beginning like Professor Peppers is evil -

Everyone:

(Laughs)

Harper:

And I was like, okay I guess Professor Peppers is evil. I mean it worked out but it it was not my intention to have Professor Peppers to be evil. But sometimes things just happen that makes sense and we love it.

Kenzie:

I mean if that hadn't happened, we would have never gotten like one of my favorite lines which was from Alma, which I have it right here, “You know, Professor, I really wish I could say I learned from the best, but clearly I'm self-taught.” That’s one of my favorite lines from the whole season.

Harper:

So good.

Tatiana:

I can't believe I - I can't believe that came out of my brain. I was literally thinking about that sitting here right now.

Kenzie:

Yeah.

Harper:

Yeah that was the moment.

Ashley:

Alma possessed you.

Octa:

That was wild, that was very, very wild.

Tatiana:

That was like a top ten improv moment of the, you know, spilling the water on the parchment and just getting called a bitch by my professor. That was the most shocking moment for me!

Harper:

And then also I really liked the character progression like and how characters developed. And like when we met every character, like I didn't think Tati was going to be playing a character that would be kind of like the rock of the whole group. And kind of keep everybody together.

Jenine:

Momma!

Ashley:

Momma!

Harper:

Yeah I was not expecting Alma to be that. I wasn't expecting New to be like the sort of like unending fountain of wisdom.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Kenzie:

Yeah.

Harper:

Like all these like great things came out of these characters like just the the wholesomeness of Hoku and willingness to kind of like just put himself out there in places that wouldn't normally put himself. And I also I like with - I'm forgetting names now - Fletcher! Kind of being also this like problem solver by the end of it too like and source for like, what are we going to do, you know?

Ashley:

And the hot boi of this season.

Jenine:

And the hot boi of the seasons.

Harper:

And the hot boi of the seasons.

Michi:

Who knew the sticky, stinky, cry baby would be the heartthrob.

Ashley:

I mean I saw that -

Tatiana:

I mean, any character played you.

Ashley:

Yeah probably.

Jenine:

Truth! Facts.

Ashley:

That's the common denominator.

Michi:

This is true. The other like small games we’ve played for some reason I'm stuck with the romance. I don't know why this keeps happening to me.

Kenzie:

Well what about the rest of you guys, anything that sticks out as like a surprise that you weren't expecting?

Michi:

I was so deeply shocked and like heartbroken when we finally met Foster and when we realized that he wasn't under some memory spell, I think like, I think I had trouble sleeping that night I was so disturbed and distraught by it. I was like, that’s so painful, so heartbreaking. I thought we would find this beloved friend along our journey and instead this friend is like involved in everything that we're against and it was so terrifying and sad and I think like unveiling why it all happened it was just one of the bigger things that like not came out of nowhere for me, but i wasn't expecting it at all. And when everything was falling into place, I was like, oh my god, it makes so much sense. This hurts so much.

Jenine:

I'm going to piggyback off of that one, because that was also the first like place we didn't fix. And I think that's where it hit it for me because we just ran. And I was like, Wanderhome, we’re supposed to fix things. Our journey was to fix things and we didn't and we ran. We did as best as we could but it could be broken by the time we come back, so that was - that's a little scary. Also I think it was also when we started doing back-to-back sessions and we saw each other like every day for a solid like - we saw each other every other day for a solid like weekend and I think I was also losing it at that point, and I was like my god this is scary. (Laughs) I love seeing all of you but we’re at the scary part of the game.

Octa:

We went from, oh Foster threw me off a machine to, oh Foster actually hates me to, oh we have to leave this place. Oh they're pursuing us, everyone is evil to oh now we have to wrap and tie up Fletcher’s ex to oh there's now a giant spirit impaled on a beam of steal and there's like a lot of evil people in the city that we're going to go to, to oh now we're stuck, ship is broken, Alma is having a breakdown -

Jenine:

That was terrifying.

Michi:

That was terrifying.

Octa:

Please catch a break.

Jenine:

That was terrifying.

Harper:

That was an oh shit for me as well like when Alma kind of broke.

Ashley:

You did it!

Everyone:

(Laughs)

Ashley:

What do you mean it was an oh shit for you, you did that! Hold on! I will say the the coin, like say like the worst thinking message, that was probably the biggest one for me. And then I was just like, fuck, fuck - I was panicking - I’m off camera the whole time when you are recording, obviously, and I was just like sitting in my chair just like this (nervous laughter).

Tatiana:

I just remember doing this really like kind of unhinged giggle.

Jenine:

Mm-hmm.

Tatiana:

And everyone lost it.

Jenine:

Mm-hmm. Fucking terrifying.

Tatiana:

Everyone started freaking out. And I was like was it that bad?

Ashley:

No, it was good!

Michi:

I was on board. I understood you. Oh my gosh.

Tatiana:

You were. I was like have I gone too far? Are people going to cry? Is that not the goal?

Ashley:

I mean that's what you’re trying to do, right?

Harper:

No it was perfect.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Tatiana:

Yeah, no I was very - how much of that breakdown was Alma and how much of that breakdown was me? We’ll never know. Um but it was very fun to put the group in a precarious position where they kind of had to be in charge. I thought that was great!

Michi:

I agree.

Kenzie:

Change the dynamic a bit.

Michi:

We needed to, we needed to grow up a little bit without our mom friend.

Kenzie:

And was that right after or right before Fletcher had their moment spouting - I think that was right after, when Fletcher stood up to the guard and was like -

Ashley:

Yeah.

Kenzie:

(Laughs) So, Fletcher had like - was on that roll already almost.

Michi:

Oh yeah there was like that moment in time when Fletcher started gaining sentience.

Kenzie:

Yeah, (laughs).

Tatiana:

Yeah, (laughs).

Ashley:

Oh I'm a person!

Harper:

Yeah, that was fun.

Michi:

Yeah I think like the moment Fletcher gained sentience was yeah, when we were trying to distract the guard entering the machine folks, like the the multi-level marketing scheme guys. The people Foster were with. I don't remember their name.

Octa:

Terrera.

Ashley:

Terrera.

Michi:

Minecraft anyway.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Tatiana:

(Laughs)

Michi:

Yeah I don't remember what I said to that guard, I think something - the spirit of Fletcher took over my body in that moment and I just - I don't even know how long that little speech was.

Tatiana:

That was crazy actually.

Jenine:

That was good.

Kenzie:

I think if I'm remembering correctly, I think it was like a minute and a half (laughs).

Michi:

That’s crazy.

Ashley:

I love how like in character and the actual players, everyone sort of like took a step back and just watching Fletcher like oh shit. It was a great moment.

Jenine:

This little guy!

Ashley:

Pop, off little guy, okay.

Kenzie:

Speaking of Alma kind of stepping back in that moment from her leadership role, Octa had sent me a question you Tot, that specifically says that Alma’s been in their big sis era for a while. So what do you feel like are her next steps?

Tatiana:

Oh boy, well now she's traveling, you know, with friends. And that’s good. And she's not, you know, holding herself responsible for the well-being of her family. Now she's like kind of just doing more stuff for herself rather than for other people. I think she's like letting go of a certain amount of control by, you know, still traveling with her friends. Like at first she was traveling with them out of sort of necessity. Like she loves her friends, but her ship is her baby and like as soon as she let other people watch her ship, Chandler started fucking with shit. So I think she went through this whole arc of being very controlling over the situation to recognizing that she needs to release a little bit of control or else she’s going to lose her mind.

Ashley:

Again.

Tatiana:

She’s really passionate about what she does. She, you know, likes the ghosts and, you know, she thinks it’s important what she' doing and she wouldn't necessarily change her job, but I think in her like personal life she trying to be a little bit less… herself (laughs).

Octa:

We like everything about Alma. Don't be less yourself, just be -

Jenine:

We love Alma.

Tatiana:

She just need to relax a little bit and I think she’ll be able to do that now. I think she's in her - she’s in her like filler arc, you know? Where she gets to go to the beach and she gets to go to the sauna, like spa thing, and she gets to just relax with her friends, and she doesn't need to worry about saving the world.

Ashley:

She can discover like fantasy weed or something. That’d be good for her I think.

Tatiana:

Yeah, exactly! She can pick up a hobby, who knows?

Michi:

Fletcher has an herb for that.

Jenine:

(Laughs) Fletcher has an herb for that.

Ashley:

Fletcher has a potion for that. For sure.

Kenzie:

If you're continuing like working in the job that you enjoy, how has the confirmed existence of human ghosts affected your profession?

Tatiana:

That’s a very, very good question. I think eventually, in the effort of the pursuit of knowledge, I think Alma would try to see if she can connect with more human spirits. To just kind of learn more, you know? I feel like the big thing that we encountered throughout the season was that nobody knew anything about the humans and everything that we did know about them kind of just came from like, oh, I'm pretty sure it's like this. And like the memories and texts that people can or can't read, like it was very inaccessible. So I think Alma would want to kind of get - hear it from the horse's mouth for lack of a better word, and help kind of figure out what their history actually looks like from the perspective of human ghosts. And maybe help them out a little bit ‘cause I feel like the human ghosts kind of we're not in a great spot. I feel like they're not in as nice of a place as the kith ghosts are because they maybe didn't necessarily receive as much like care, because, you know, the end of the world happened and there was a big war and a lot of people died. And a lot of people died in battle and they didn't necessarily get like proper burials or ceremonies, so I think she would, you know, try to honor their spirits.

Michi:

It's funny that Alma might be the human expert.

Tatiana:

Yeah (laughs).

Jenine:

That is so funny.

Ashley:

Come full circle.

Kenzie:

Opening it back up to everybody, was there anything that you - that popped up during the story that you felt you would have liked to have spent some more time on or a place you wanted to spend more time?

Octa:

I'm still very, very curious about when we're going to Portsmore for the first time, we flew through , or on top, above - (laughs positions) - this roiling mass darkness and fallen robots. And that freaked me out a lot and I guess that's still there!

Kenzie:

That’s a valid point.

Octa:

It’s a question for someone in here

Kenzie:

Does Harper have an answer?

Harper:

I don't know (laughs). Yeah, I honestly like… kind of do you wish in some ways like the season would have been a little less like world save-y and more just like explore-y but that's just not how it went. But yeah I do wish we could have spent some time in the spaces in between. I wish we could have spent some time in Middleddwell exploring The Mirage like... There's lots of things like we could have honestly spent like our entire season in one of the locations and that would have been enough. So yeah, there's still a lot of story out there to tell, world to explore, and yeah, maybe we'll get to do that one day.

Michi:

I would pay real money if I could like I transfer my life to our little guys lives in Wanderhome and just explore this world that we built together because we spent so much time just even building The Lastings and we were there for like two episodes? And I don't know I like... like you know how some people like when they get addicted to The Sims they just kind of live in that world for a few days. Like I would just love to do that in our Wanderhome world because all of it was so detailed and I just I wanted to spend more time with everywhere.

Kenzie:

I will say that despite the lack of like having the time to really just sit in the spaces, the fact that you guys had that history built in that place, built in like the common knowledge and understanding of like where you came from, really helped solidify this world as like a real place, and you as people actually traveling through it. So despite not being able to like fully spend time, a lot of time in these places, I think that at the end of the day it really helped lend weight to the season and the story.

Ashley:

The way you just described that Michi, it makes me think I would want to play like a Stardew Valley style game but like even set just in The Lasting. Like go around to the little shops and have like your little kith avatar that you could like get a cake for and things and ugh!

Tatiana:

Is it just Animal Crossing? Is the game we're thinking of just Animal Crossing?

Kenzie:

Oh no!

Michi:

Oh man.

Ashley:

Oh my god, it’s just been Animal Crossing the whole time!

Jenine:

But Animal Crossing’s on an island and not a floating island, so that doesn't count.

Tatiana:

Semantics.

Michi:

Exactly.

Ashley:

Exactly! Completely different.

Kenzie:

That’s still so so close.

Tatiana:

Semantics.

Octa:

So we need to mod Animal Crossing into The Lastings.

Tatiana;

Into Wanderhome.

Michi:

That would be excellent.

Kenzie:

I was going to say do we know any game devs who want to create a a game called The Lastings?

Ashley:

Just going to put that out into the universe like hey, anybody.

Tatiana:

Hey, game devs.

Michi:

That’d make me so happy. Oh! Also I wish I read more fortunes I because I made it all up, reading them was really stressful for me because I was like oh man I don't (mumble) something’s going to happen. I think Chandler literally pulled the card that read Death or like the tea leaves read Death and I was like oops.

Ashley:

Sorry.

Kenzie:

And then Chandler interpreted that as the death of my career.

Michi:

Yeah, good save.

Jenine:

I wish we saw more stars and I wish we all saw us in our nocturnal forms because we're all - we all played nocturnal characters.

Kenzie:

It was super funny getting to the moment where you guys realized every single one of your animals was nocturnal but for like the first few episodes you thought only Fletcher was (laughs).

Harper:

Yeah.

Ashley:

He just can't adjust as quickly as the other. I think New or Octa or whoever you are, i don’t know.

Tatiana:

Whatever your name is.

Ashley:

Yeah, you over the there, the cutie patootie in the fox outfit.

Jenine:

Yeah I wish there was more stars and I wish there was more talks about like The Weaver and The Starseeker that both had like myths ingrained in both of the things that they did. That’s me being a mechanic nerd that I wish that I was able to like see that side of like what we built. I think also like Neu and and Hoku had like a backstory being like, we both loved the same myth, this is how we bond and like not being able to touch on that because Hoku was doing some weird adventures with Fletcher off who knows where.

Ashley:

Playing like hot potato with a single brain cell off to the side.

Jenine:

And then we lost the brain cell. Kalix really helped. Kalix helped with the brain cell.

Ashley:

Kalix was like hey maybe… maybe we don't do that.

Kenzie:

Tati, do you have anything to add?

Tatiana:

The only thing that comes to mind is -and obviously like I think all of the things that we're saying just comes down to us needing to have like a bajillion more sessions - but I kind of wish Alma had gotten to have a final scene where she goes to see the ghost that disappeared at the beginning of the season.

Kenzie:

I literally just went I wish we saw -

Harper:

Yeah.

Kenzie:

- the little kid again.

Tatiana:

I wish we saw that.

Kenzie:

Yeah.

Tatiana:

I wish we saw that kid again I just -

Harper:

Yeah.

Tatiana:

It just came to mind and I was like oh…

Ashley:

I'm gonna cry.

Tatiana:

Awe.

Jenine:

Hurt, that one hurt.

Tatiana:

That was such a major thing that happened like immediately off the bat. So it's kind of sad that we didn't get to like see what like all of it was really for. Alma’s like kind of reason for caring about the thing.

Kenzie:

Hoku had a meeting with their destiny at the end of this season. So you being the next Starkeeper, how do you feel like that is gonna go, I guess.

Jenine:

I don't know. I think he's gonna grow into it because they are so all over the place. I was also all over the place in that session because I was so sick. I think I was like fighting off a cold at that point I was like, did that really happen? Anyways, but I think - ‘cause again like that last letter that I wrote was from like future Hoku, to like future like Starseekers. So I think he's going to grow into it. I think it's going to be like a decade of of them running around and not knowing what they're doing and going okay, let's take a breath. Let’s have a beach episode in the stars and see what happens. Maybe I can communicate with like other little gods as mentors, because it's it's a lot of self teaching. Will he start a cult? Honestly, it might accidentally happen and then they're like, oh no help, to friends. Because they saw what it was like - a cult happening. And I think that's what's gonna happen. That’s my - as long as he keeps his friends, I think he's good and he's traveling with friends so that helps him significantly.

Kenzie:

Except you're not traveling with Fletcher.

Jenine:

I know that one hurts me.

Octa:

Why did you have to say it? (Laugh) That’s just mean.

Kenzie:

Because I need to ask the question.

Tatiana:

We could go on just living in blissful ignorance, you know?

Jenine:

We could kidnap Fletcher, it's not that hard to kidnap Fletcher.

Ashley:

:

They’re very tiny.

Michi:

It’s not hard.

Ashley:

Yeah, like, put him in your pocket.

Jenine:

Well, we have to get past Kalix. We have to get past Kalix and Loren.

Michi:

Fletcher will go willingly.

Harper:

Loren’s actually kind of creepy. (Laughter)

Ashley:

Loren needs therapy.

Harper:

Yeah.

Kenzie:

Well, in this time away from, you know, the rest of The Letter Writing Club, how do you think that the relationship dynamic - and I guess this is both for Michi and Harper - between Fletcher, Kalix, and Loren, kind of evolves and in this little bit of time.

Michi:

Fletcher is now like leading a traveling Witch Academy, I believe, so Fletcher's still traveling at least. um… maybe purposefully following a specific flight route. Um…I think like when the lead up or around when like the little like thruple polycule was being solidified, I think I predicted that like it's probably not gonna last super long with Kalix, but it'll be like a very like fulfilling relationship that like remains like very positive afterwards. And then with Loren, I don't know why. I think it's just like a fun toxic end game.

Jenine:

I can fix him! I can fix him!

Michi:

I think given like their history and like the fact that they're like in the same field, I think like lifestyle-wise, it just makes sense for like Fletcher to have a bit of a life partner with Loren. But I think Kalix is like very important. This is me being super realistic right now. (Laughs)

Ashley:

Realistic talking about our little animal friends.

Michi:

Exactly, exactly! Um...

Tatiana:

I was firmly team Kalix.

Michi:

I know.

Tatiana:

Personally.

Michi:

Kalix is so great.

Ashley:

But it does kind of makes sense especially if Kalix is like Portsmore as like their home. Obviously Harper, you can talk more about this from Kalix’s perspective. But what you just mentioned about Loren and Fletcher being like in the same field, having like the same lifestyle, I can see like how that would lend itself to the longevity from that too.

Harper:

Yeah I kind of felt, especially as wrapping up with Kalix and Fletcher that they would probably be in a relationship, but probably like more like long distance but anytime they're in the same place, then like that relationship is there, you know? I feel like Kalix was meant to be kind of like a home, you know? Like someone to come back to.

Ashley:

He’s a port that they could return to.

Harper:

‘Cause I really feel like Kalix does not like the traveling. And as much as he loves Fletcher, like that's just not his - or their life, you know?

Ashley:

What about Kalix and Loren? I'm always - I do want to hear just like two seconds about their dynamic and how that - because it seems like they were pretty chill with each other, but just curious -

Harper:

Yeah I feel like they would never like date, but like definitely got - I feel like would get to a better place of like being supportive but then also I think Kalix would sort of be very protective of Fletcher, and like get on to Loren for XY and Z that his crazy ass does so.

Kenzie:

It also always felt - not that Kalix was necessarily like a lot older, but was a lot more mature.

Harper:

Yeah. Yeah.

Ashley:

He’s the dad.

Harper:

He's the - Kalix is thaddy.

Kenzie:

(Laughs)

Ashley:

Thaddy.

Harper:

(Laughs):

Octa:

I'm seeing kind of like Fletcher with the traveling academy, every now and again going to see Kalix and if you have any other kind of like flying-ish kith, giving them to Kalix to throw. Experiences, it's part of the development! Part of the curriculum.

Harper:

I feel that Kalix doesn't throw anymore.

Ashley:

Oh...

Octa:

Ooh.

Jenine:

My heart.

Harper:

Yeah.

Jenine:

Only one.

Tatiana:

Why would you say that?

Everyone:

(Laughs)

Michi:

Mouth full of waffles.

Kenzie:

Yeah, Tatiana crying with waffles (laughs)

Harper:

(Laughs) I feel like Kalix eventually like eventually settled, maybe bought like a sort of like antique oddities shop in Portsmore, and just kind of lives a pretty like low key, non-throwing life.

Michi:

I support. I enjoy that Fletcher is the glory days of throwing.

Everyone:

(Laughs)

Kenzie:

Octa, how do you think it changes or evolves your dynamic with Alma now that you guys are kind of traveling full time together?

Octa:

Since the beginning they they both had kind of like good - we get each other, things need to be done. And New will be very careful to continue to kind of like push Alma to let go. So I think they may, I think especially on the first month of traveling together, they may get a bit - there may be a bit of conflict there. So like no, do not worry about this, or like, let this thing that isn't perfect go, and I think that could be a cause for a little bit of conflict. But after that - but I think that could lead to a very comfy place where Neu even learns a little bit more about the ship and they can support each other in a more [unintelligible] way.

Tatiana:

Interesting, because I feel like when we were doing the initial character creation, I think Alma and Neu were very close when they were younger. I distinctly remember Alma comforting Neo about like a significant loss in their life, and that being like a huge building block of their relationship. And I don't know if we kind of got to incorporate that as much as maybe what we we could have or we should have or whatever, but I think the two of them traveling together and, you know, Hoku traveling together, I think that's kind of how it was meant be a little bit. I think none of them were like particularly content in The Lastings, like long term. I think Hoku needed to leave The Lastings to find The Starkeeper, to achieve, you know, their destiny and get a better sense of the stars and the world and how other places, you know, interact with the stars. And I think Neu was in kind of a toxic relationship in The Lastings and sometimes you need like a big, big change to break out of old habits. And I think, you know, as we were traveling, Neu got to do so much more of the things that they were passionate about. Like the big weaving projects. I don't know if they would have ever been able to do that sort of thing if they had stayed in The Lastings long term. And they just can't - I hold Neu so fondly in my hands. Like doing the weaving so that Alma could see the thoughtsmores, that like - it didn't hurt me but like it touched me so deep in my soul emotionally. I'm very soft about that still.

Ashley:

I would love to hear more, Octa, about just - obviously at the very beginning Neo was not confident in like doing their savings and stuff and really like diving into their passions. Like I want to know how far New goes now that he has like the freedom to like get different materials from different places that they travel, and like what other sort of big projects do they take on? Like what are some things that really inspire them now they're traveling around and seeing more things?

Octa:

I think the next big project after that for sure, um, something a bit more smaller in a way. So it’s a bigger project but also smaller. I think the next piece will be a lot more about the daily small lives of kith in little places. And if we go with like trying to go like, the story of a date that New saw someone else having. Or the story of someone going for groceries in Middledwell after the harvest picks up again. Like showing people how tall the towers in Towerfell were and all of that stuff. Just kind of like showing these little pieces, these little laws from place to place as they travel. And like hey, you should also travel places that are cool.

Ashley:

That’s so cute. I love that.

Kenzie:

Well I guess this kind of is jumping back to a broader group question. Food was like a continual thing that was brought up throughout the season. It was kind of like a connecting factor which, you know, I think it is in real life as well. Do you guys have any favorite like foods that popped up through this?

Octa:

The acorn soup.

Kenzie:

Had a feeling that the soup was going to be a big... soup was going to be big.

Octa:

I need to try that soup.

Tatiana:

Fletcher 's birthday cake.

Kenzie:

That was aggressive.

Jenine:

(Laughs) It was so funny. Well I like a lot of things - just like watching it, I was like, I would possibly do it! I’m that at a fro-yo place constantly. All the toppings. (Laughs) But yeah I think that's a big one because I'm a tea person so that sparked joy.

Harper:

One thing that really stuck out to me that I really liked was that we didn't really have like a a tavern moment and like liquor wasn't really a thing.

Michi:

Dream berry.

Kenzie:

That’s the only time it happened I think was the dream berry.

Harper:

Oh yes the dream berries.

Kenzie:

At the very beginning.

Harper:

Yeah, at the very beginning.

Octa:

Wasn’t even liquor.

Harper:

Yeah I feel like a lot of of queer culture does kind of surround like substances and often the unhealthy use of substances. So I guess it would have been nice to show like the healthy use of substances, but I don’t know, it did feel nice to just like have something that wasn't like focused on that because you tend to like meet in a tavern and go to the tavern and get your jobs from the tavern. And yeah, I don't know, I feel like just like not enough queer culture acknowledges sobriety and I don't know, that’s not necessarily your question but like it was something that happened so.

Kenzie:

I mean I think it also kind of leads into like, or mirrors what we were talking about earlier about New and like leaving The Lastings and once out of, you know, that environment that they were in, they never spoke about dream berries again. You know, like it was - once removed from the initial factor, and the cause., was able to not worry about that anymore.

Ashley:

All of them are evidence that everybody needs to leave their hometown at least once.

Jenine:

That’s very true. I did that I became gay right after.

Ashley:

Yes, that’s what happens!

Jenine:

I came out, right immediately after.

Tatiana:

It is genuinely very interesting, because like Alma, I have traveled a lot and it's always very interesting interacting with people who have never left like our state, or like the country. And I completely recognize that like travel is not a necessarily accessible thing, but I feel like there's a huge difference between people who can't travel and people who do not travel for like one reason or another. And usually the reason is… suspect at best.

Ashley:

I think it's because people understand that if they travel they will be forced to put themselves in a different -

Tatiana:

Yes.

Ashley:

- environment and have to look at things from a different point of view and if they are very solid in what they already believe, they don't want anything to threaten that.

Tatiana:

Yes.

Ashley:

And they know subconsciously like if I do this, then I might have to do some internal work to figure out some things and I don't want to do that because it's scary, which is understandable but like, at a point, you’re just like - if you have the means to and you still refuse to out of fear of either yourself or the world, maybe take a look at why, you know? Maybe -

Kenzie:

It's all about intentions.

Ashley:

Yeah, exactly.

Tatiana:

It’s all about intentions and even people who do travel, some people who do travel, are very intentional with the places that they will and will not go. And I feel like that is so limiting in like giving yourself kind of an actual worldly experience where, you know, you do get to interact with new people and new cultures and expose yourself to the people that live on this planet that we all live on.

Kenzie:

Though I will say, right now, everybody stay out of France.

Tatiana:

Don’t go to France!

Jenine:

Don’t go to France!

Ashley:

Wait, what's happening in France?

Kenzie:

The bed bugs.

Tatiana:

Bed bugs! There is a bed bug epidemic.

Kenzie:

There is a bed bug infestation in France.

Ashley:

Oh no.

Tatiana:

Which is bad because they have the Olympics coming up next year.

Kenzie:

Yep, mm-hmm.

Tatiana:

So...

Ashley:

No! But then they're gonna go everywhere else after that.

Tatiana:

Yes.

Kenzie:

Well the issue too is people are traveling and like having them and taking them to other places.

Harper:

Damn.

Michi:

Ew.

Harper:

I just want a fucking break.

Ashley:

Just like one more like just a quick anecdote around like how travel can help people. So like my mom the first time that she traveled out of the country and like went and visited my aunt over in Belgium and everything, she came back and was like there was a weird switch that had flipped. And suddenly she was like someone that I could come out to and like so I think travel not just only opens up things for you but for the people around you to feel like more comfortable and things like that. It’s just - I think travel is cool and I'm really glad New was able to like, you know, expand their horizons and things.

Kenzie:

PSA to all of you, if you can, take a trip.

Ashley:

And if you can’t, find a rich person and befriend them.

Kenzie:

I think that's also plausible. Or, you know, marry for money.

Ashley:

Marriage was originally, you know, a transaction. Why not bring it back to our roots? It's not Adam and Eve -

Kenzie:

Just a better transaction.

Ashley:

:

-It’s money and me.

Harper:

(Laughs) Money and me.

Tatiana:

I’m not saying I would have a sizable dowry but…

Kenzie:

The person in the relationship is not the transaction.

Ashley:

Yes, exactly.

Tatiana:

Let’s be clear.

Kenzie:

Let’s be clear on what - we are still being bad people by talking about it this way, but we're not that bad of people.

Ashley:

Yeah we’re like the fun kind of bad people.

Octa:

A little bad.

Tatiana:

But even just like make friends with people who are not from where you are. Like we have never lived in a more accessible time to meet people that are not from where you live. Like all of us here well most of us here, well most of us here, are in different states at the very least, different countries at the very worst.

Ashley:

Everyone’s a different fucking time zone.

Ashley:

We all like do different things. We all have different backgrounds that, you know, inform our experiences. Make friends like that. Don’t just stick with, you know, you're same old like wonder bread, vanilla childhood

Octa:

Yeah, exactly, don't stick with vanilla that’s what we’re saying.

Tatiana:

Be like Loren who likes being tied up.

Ashley:

Spicy!

Kenzie:

God dammit.

Ashley:

Tie me up, just do it!

Michi:

I don't think this is about travel anymore.

Harper:

I was gonna drop a quick anecdote about travel, but yeah like I didn't start coming out until I moved out of the state that I grew up in. And I didn't realize I was trans until moving like twenty-five hours away from like family and friends. Like sometimes we need distance, sometimes we need space, sometimes we need to be in new places. And I think this season really showed a lot of that, how change can can happen in multiple ways, in multiple contexts, but most of the time it happens when you push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

Kenzie:

Well I want to throw it out to you guys if you have any burning questions for each other.

Michi:

Maybe I forgot but what happened with Chandler and the crush on Hook… also I'm sorry there's a cat in a diaper right next to me so…

Ashley:

Did he put the diaper on himself? Is he supposed to wearing a diaper?

Kenzie:

Well is the cat supposed to be there?

Ashley:

Is your cat? Is this the cat that lives here or did it just pop up?

Tatiana:

Is this your cat?

Michi:

It’s the cat that lives with me.

Ashley:

Okay.

Michi:

She's supposed to be wearing the diaper. She was let out for the morning, this morning, during this call and now she's walking around with her diaper and I keep getting distracted.

Kenzie:

Okay well -

Michi:

What was the question?

Kenzie:

Yeah Chandler.

Michi:

Chandler

Kenzie:

The Chandler and Hoku crush.

Jenine:

Chandler and Hoku.

Ashley:

Yeah what's up with that?

Jenine:

I don’t know!

Harper:

I think we handled that in an After Show once. It was close to the end, we talked about like that was the plan to do like the friends to lovers thing, but ended up feeling like it just wasn't gonna be that. Like it just didn't feel right, you know?

Jenine:

Yeah ‘cause it started out as enemies - because I really wanted enemies to lovers because I got a text from Harper saying - I think it was, Hoku’s boring, we gotta get some drama in here. Something like that and I went, okay, you said drama. Do enemies to lovers and then Chandler ended up on board and I went okay, I didn't know it was gonna be like that, but okay. So I think what's - I don't think it's going to be like a relationship but I think it's going to be like enemies to like best like this is the person that Hoku would turn to for like star charts and like understanding the stars. And it's someone that like understands it but is also outside of it now that he's not pursuing the - I was also going to say the same thing.

Kenzie:

It’s so big!

Ashley:

I thought it was the size of your head Michi. The fuck?

Kenzie:

Nope, nope. Nope!

Ashley:

You’ve disappeared completely.

Octa:

No you're gone.

Kenzie:

Okay, sorry Jenine, please continue.

Jenine:

But yeah so that's I think that's that's what that relationship is now between the two of them that I like - is there a question?

Harper:

Oh no, I just wanted to speak after you. Like cause I have something to add to that.

Jenine:

Raises a paw.

Harper:

Yeah.

Kenzie:

I didn't realize you could do that's good.

Harper:

Jenine, were you done?

Jenine:

Yeah!

Harper:

Okay, yeah and I think with that like probably like really good colleagues and maybe I could see Chandler being leaned on for like art and like maybe like a long-term collaborator with Hoku as like the Starkeeper but like maybe like the Starkeepers artist, you know? Like that helps the Starkeeper with the portrayals of different things.

Jenine:

I think we're Hoku started going -which is also like a journey that I am personally going through - which is like relationships are weird and like feelings are weird and like you just keep going with like working and working and working and like having joy and like love in that personal self rather than like focusing on everyone else. So it's like - the parallel that I'm seeing between both of them where it's kind of like, do we need a relationship at this point? Where it's like we have such a good trajectory and if someone does come along, they can come along, but I'm not - I will try to make space but it's not like I'll do the first move and then that's it if there's nothing after that then that's - I threw the ball in the court, I don't have time for this but I can make time if you're okay with that. That’s we're like - I'm seeing both of those like things happening with Hoku especially now that they're the -they don’t have time for that. If it's needed then it happens but like, they got so many little guys, Starseekers that want to like also know more. So like those are the kids that I think like Hoku will like put the time and effort into.

Tatiana:

This is kind of in the same vein and it's just like a personal curiosity of mine just based on my experience with TTRPGs in the past, I thought it was very interesting how all of the kind of romance arcs were between PCs and NPCs. And none of the PCs romanced each other. I think that was pretty - kind of a unique choice that I don't know - I don't think any of us did intentionally.

Kenzie:

It felt like you guys were like too much of old friends.

Tatiana:

Yeah.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Jenine:

Yeah!

Kenzie:

Like it existed in like - it just seemed so overwhelmingly purely platonic like yeah.

Tatiana:

Yes. It was very like familial almost -

Ashley:

Love a found family.

Tatiana:

- but I just thought that was kind of an interesting like oh! Yeah! Especially considering how much Jenine and Michi flirt all the time.

Kenzie:

Okay, just call them out like that on main like -

Harper:

Yeah.

Kenzie:

What the hell?

Jenine:

I don’t know what you’re talking bout, don’t worry about it.

Michi:

I don’t - I literally don’t know what you're talking about. What? Who is Jennie?

Jenine:

Who is Michi?

Kenzie:

Well I also think - I don't know if this is how any of you feel personally but I've found recently, being in games and and running games, that it's like a comfortability level. People are a lot more comfortable flirting and romancing the person running the game than they are the people they're playing with. Because I think there's like a factor - like there is a little bit - like we all want to say that we're like all a group and we're all - but there is a little bit of like a wall between the players and a person running a game. And I think there's sometimes more comfortability in that than there is with the person right next to you type of situation.

Harper:

Yeah with the player characters you still are kind of like flirting with that person, whereas I do feel like there is more of like, well the GM or the guide or the DM, they’re like every NPC so they're not as like attached to that character.

Michi:

It is funny that yeah Jennie, and I flirt in real life, whatever (laughs)

Ashley:

You’re turning beat red, both of you.

Kenzie:

You called yourself out that time so.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Michi:

It’s ‘cause Jenine’s coming to New York like literally this week. Anyway but it is funny because like Fletcher and Hoku like never in a million years. Like they chose not to sleep in the same bed because they would have like kicked each other in the face.

Everyone:

Yes.

Michi:

And like even though they were this like buddy duo of being really bad at everything they do together, like it just never seemed like they would end up together. 'Cause like I don't have a problem flirting with Jennie, what are you talking about?

Jenine:

I don't know what you’re talking about.

Kenzie:

As you both get so small.

Ashley:

Should we leave? I’m like...

Tatiana:

This is where we let Jennie

Kenzie:

Yeah should we go?

Tatiana:

GM everything else.

Ashley:

Yeah, do you guys need a moment?

Octa:

Yeah, we can go?

Tatiana:

So, we can all flirt with Jenine.

Jenine:

Is this why we give keys to Jenine?

Ashley:

Yes.

Tatiana:

This is why - this is actually the agenda of giving keys to Jenine.

Ashley:

Yeah.

Tatiana:

Just so we can flirt with a variety of NPCs.

Jenine:

Listen, the Monsterhearts one shot that none of the rest of chat saw was immense and great.

Tatiana:

It was great! We all just got to flirt with different fonts of Jennie.

Ashley:

I will say so along those lines like whenever I'm like GM-ing, I've only ever had one like game, like group of people where like the PCs flirted with each other instead of with me and for some reason it's like the two quote unquote straight dudes in my group. And I'm just waiting… I'm just waiting so I'll keep you guys updated on that.

Octa:

I share that experience. Like all my main group that we play, we’ve played for about seven years. Specifically the ones who flirt are the two straight guys.

Ashley:

Do they think it’s cause it's like safe, you know what I mean?

Kenzie:

Probably.

Ashley:

Like I can't catch feelings with my bro because we're both straight haha… unless.

Octa:

But also what if our characters hold hands?

Kenzie:

TTRPGs are always a venue for like self exploration so it literally could be like - you know while we make fun of it, it actually is like a real thing. Where if somebody is too afraid to do something in their real life, this gives them the, you know, something to hide behind in order to explore something they don't want to say out loud. So while we are giving them a little shit, it's also a perfectly normal and acceptable thing to do.

Tatiana:

I mean I've definitely had the experience and I pray that none of you have had this experience, where like I was playing with a group and my character and another players character had like good chemistry and they started romancing each other. And then the player it's kind of um…

Kenzie:

Oh no.

Ashley:

That’s not how you do it.

Tatiana:

Kind of developed feelings.

Kenzie:

Boundaries everyone!

Tatiana:

It was bad. It was bad.

Jenine:

Tot, it's called showmances. It’s called a showman.

Ashley:

Sesh-mance.

Tatiana:

It was so bad to the point where I had to be like, okay our characters cannot be romancing each other anymore because of your feelings for me.

Kenzie:

Yeah.

Harper:

Damn.

Tatiana:

So, maybe we give them a little shit.

Ashley:

We give them a little shit.

Tatiana:

TTRPGs are a great to explore a variety of things but maybe don’t explore everything.

Kenzie:

Yeah there are still boundaries.

Ashley:

Oh yeah!

Kenzie:

There are still boundaries.

Harper:

Yeah.

Kenzie:

Yeah, definitely.

Ashley:

But like teach TTRPGs are how I found out that I was not cis, you know what I mean? Like as like

Harper:

Same.

Ashley:

-a jokey joke I was like I'm going to play a character that uses they/them pronouns -

Harper:

Same.

Ashley:

-and then I was like wait a second… I think I've said this like a million times but every time I think about it I'm like yeah thanks Armie the Immortal, appreciate it dude.

Kenzie:

Wait that was that!?

Ashley:

That was that!

Kenzie:

That was the first D&D game I ever played in with Ashley.

Ashley:

Yeah, yeah, yeah and like it lasted for like years - we still technically have like a session or two left, I don't know when it's going to happen.

Kenzie:

We technically do but it’s never gonna happen.

Ashley:

But like yeah Armie, cause I was just like oh I'm gonna like play as like a non-binary chaos gnome. Let’s see how this goes.

Kenzie:

I literally think that at that time I just figured that you used they/them pronouns.

Ashley:

I didn't know. I didn’t fucking know, dude! It took like months.

Harper:

I love it.

Ashley:

And I was like hold on…

Harper;

Yeah.

Kenzie:

Wow.

Ashley:

Wait a second.

Kenzie:

That’s so funny I never knew that.

Harper:

Same for me honestly. I think there's a fine line between um exploring and like cultural appropriation kind of like… kind of like exploiting an othered identity which I think can be problematic. But it's just - I mean I think it's anything where it could be done a wrong way, you know? I've seen it done the wrong way before and had to like call it out and be like no we're not going to - you’re not going to be a flamboyant gay because you're not a flamboyant gay. It’s a challenge for sure.

Kenzie:

I’ve never seen somebody play a lesbian better than Brennan Lee Mulligan in Fantasy High. (Laughs) That’s all I’m going to say.

Jenine:

Correct!

Tatiana:

Okay but Brennan Le Mulligan is an outlier and should not be counted.

Kenzie:

He's allowed to do whatever he wants.

Harper:

Well I think that's an example of how it can be done like tastefully and respectfully.

Everyone:

Yes.

Ashley:

It’s about intention and also like if you're given feedback by the people in that community, listening you know what I mean?

Harper:

Yeah, yeah.

Ashley:

So intention and willingness to like adjust your approach if need be.

Kenzie:

It’s also like if these things happen at a table like at your home game, then it kind of is up to you as the person running the game or even if you're a player at that table that just notices something, to bring it up because like I don't - I had a conversation with somebody I played with once where it was, they wanted to use different pronouns than what they went by and I had to be like, I need you to give me why, like why do you want to do this? And the response was because I would like to explore what my relationship to gender. And I was like great, but because you have never done that before, all of these things that you have written in this backstory, we're not doing it. This is like - you are perpetuating like the trauma of this rather than actually exploring that for yourself. So like you need to - like some people also just don't know that they're doing the thing.

Ashley:

Yeah, exactly!

Tatiana:

Oh yeah, absolutely

Kenzie:

So being able to like say that to somebody is necessary to create like the actual, you know, exploration side of things, yeah. Well I got one question to kind of sign us out here. We talked a little bit about it throughout this wrap up, but - and it's vague, so you can take it however you want. If you want to take it as like characters or as people or as a group, but what do you feel was the biggest take away from the experience of playing Of Kith and Pen together and filming season two for us?

Jenine:

Yes it was a really short season and I think the thing that like I missed, but we also got to see, was just enjoying the journey, and like taking those like - we didn't do it until like the end and like taking those moments of rest and like seeing the outside world and like describing the world. That was something that was really cool to have in this game because it is a big mechanic of Wanderhome and you don't get to see that a lot and like D&D or like some Powered by the Apocalypse games. This was like this is intentionally looking at the environment and like that was like really heartwarming because also we got to see moments between like characters that was very - that made me cry in like the good happy feeling ways and not like, ouch it hurts. And also implementing the letters. That was really therapeutic being able to like write those letters in character and also having like a re-vamp and also hearing everyone else's thoughts. ‘Cause it's - you don't get to hear the thoughts as much in character, you get to hear it outside of character.

Tatiana:

All of that yeah and more. I also think it was cool to just - queerness just is in this world. Queerness is just some - it just is. It’s a thing that is just allowed to be. Like none - we went through a lot, we had a lot of problems, we did so much - but like none of it had to do with our characters like gender identities or sexualities or the way that we chose to love each other. Those things just were. And I think that was really beautiful and kind of not something that we get to see very much in queer media. A lot of queer media just kind of by virtue of being set in like modern times or like on a pirate ship you're going to encounter (laughs)

Kenzie:

(Laughs) That was so specific.

Harper:

Everybody knows what it is.

Michi:

What could you be talking about?

Kenzie:

And we all knew it.

Ashley:

I think we know what you’re talking about.

Tatiana:

You’re going to encounter stuff and that's fine and that’s, you know, kind of something that you expect as like a queer person watching any sort of queer media is like, ah yeah, there’s gonna be at least one scene where this character has like a breakdown about liking the same sex. And that's fine. But we didn't have that and I liked that. I think, you know, queerness is no less the default than, you know, a heteronormative society. It doesn't always need to be like the focal point of the story, but at the same time it was a focal point of our story. But it wasn't the trauma of it.

Kenzie:

Yeah I think it was a focal point in the sense that like, we were just telling a queer story.

Tatiana:

Yes.

Kenzie:

But like the story wasn't about being queer.

Tatiana:

Yes.

Ashley:

And it wasn't based off of queer trauma.

Tatiana:

Yes.

Kenzie:

And I think that is kind of like what Ashley and I starting this wanted to be able to do. Was to tell a plethora of queer stories, because there are so many that exist out there that people just like don't get to see because it's all about love or romance or sex type of thing a lot of the times. Or the trauma of everything. Instead of just like some queer people drinking some tea, you know?

Michi:

I was going to say something really similar but like Tot, you got it. Of just like, yeah, it was so easy to be queer. And I think like with playing Wanderhome specifically, I think because it's so focused on the journey and we're just being these characters, I think it like helped me explore like what it means to like just be in the character and like explore these relationships with the other characters a lot. Because I think (clear throat), oh my god, where's my voice going? Goodbye voice. Um, the character like - the building of relationships that we did was so powerful to me like - and we did have like a lot of prep sessions but like once we actually started playing together and like exploring those dynamics it was just so fun in ways that I don't think I've experienced with other TTRPGs where there's like a goal and you have to like do this or that but because the stakes of like achieving the goals in Wanderhome felt so - not necessarily lower but it felt more relaxed in a way that like we could spend some time just getting not self-serve tea but like froyo tea, essentially. Or like we could spend extra time like doing all these silly things, making soup. And so I think that was just really nice because I think the bonding was a lot stronger for this experience. And I love you all. I’m so soft for you all.

Ashley:

I think just from like on the production side seeing, not just the difference between like season one, season two, and a little bit of how season three is going to shake out - very excited. But just kind of what you mentioned Kenzie, just like the different kinds of stories. How there are so many different queer stories that can be told and how like it can - there’s just like such an untapped vein of queer - not just like - but like queer centered stories. Like ones where it's like, it’s made and done by people who understand not just the struggles but also the joys. And so being able to highlight the joys that we experience and like showing like, you know, like all the different ranges of emotions that come along with being part of this community. Because it is a community. And I think every time like we make a show like this there's like another little mini pocket in that community that gets made with like the cast and the listeners and everything. And it's just very heartwarming to see how this is affecting people. And people are enjoying the story. It just makes my heart happy. I think that was my main take away. I like it. Very good.

Octa:

I think for me the main take away of, not only - I think a big take away for me was the actually I can do whatever I wanna do just like by being a little gay. This was like the first big creative thing I do um especially anything recorded so I had - the first sessions I recorded with my phone like a loser.

Kenzie:

Hey, no no! I asked you to do that.

Ashley:

It worked, you’re good.

Kenzie:

That’s not on you, I asked you.

Octa:

I think I talked about it in some After Show but Michi, when I was like, I don’t know how to speak into a microphone can you help me find the voice? And you have like a good bunch of one of your afternoons just like walking me through. This is pace, this is clarity, this is resonance. This is how you go from one to the other. And I was like this is the - and then as the sessions went on, I was listening. Oh these are the levels in your microphone, this is how you use Audacity. And it was just like queer people teaching other queer people how to be successful in things that they want to do.

Kenzie:

We can’t keep gatekeeping the space, you know?

Harper:

Yeah.

Octa:

That was so beautiful.

Harper:

For me this season has been a lot. When we started this process like even when I tried - like audition for my role as like guide. I wasn't out. I was only out to like my partner and a couple folks and I was living a very like unhappy, very unfulfilled life. And honestly this season working with you all and - it’s just number one, just like filled me with confidence to be myself and to stop living a very small kind of life that other people wanted for me. And so yeah like through this this process like I truly became myself in a lot of ways. And yeah I started like HRT while through this. I probably wouldn't have started HRT. Yeah this show is like really been life changing for me in a lot of ways. And yeah, I don't know what's next for me because of this, but like it's just has like really shaped me in a lot of ways. Like just seeing you all and like getting to know your characters and just seeing like the character growth in your characters and honestly being able to like the latch on to Kalix myself and have a lot of like Kalix’s story be my story, which was really cool. But yeah, I just love you all. I love this group, this podcast, the people we get to tell stories to and with. And yeah I'm excited for whatever's next for all of us.

Ashley:

I remember when you put like - when you were first like, hey how does Harper Safe sound? And we're all like yes. Like I remember that moment in the group chat.

Harper:

Yeah.

Ashley:

And I'm sobbing, it’s fine. I’m okay.

Harper:

Yeah because I picked my new name like around the time we started recording. I did have to go back and redo my intro cause I did record it under my… I guess I was using my… I don't know what name I was using then for the podcast, but it wasn't what I’m using now. But yeah, this podcast has been awesome.

Kenzie:

Well, I want to just thank you all for coming on this journey with us as queeRPG and it's been wonderful getting to know and to meet all of you throughout these last many months. And for everybody who is listening, thank you guys so much for being our fans and our audience. We hope that you enjoyed our Wanderhome journey in Of Kith and Pen. And until next time everyone!

Harper:

Don’t forget to write.

Everyone:

Don’t forget to write!

Ashley:

We did it!

Octa:

Love you!

Kenzie:

I’m glad it ended just as badly as it has always been.

Ashley:

Yeah, consistency!

Tatiana:

We are nothing if not consistent.