#it's because I'm listening to amnesty again lol

[six-of-ravens]

sudden strong desire to revisit my nanowrimo from 2018 again...

[liltaz-asatreat]

Also, I was thinking this over the other day, but all of the McElorys a really really bad at keeping secrets. Or, at the very least, they notoriously play characters that are really bad at keeping secrets lol In Amnesty, Duck tells Pidgeon within the first arc of them being fully fledged members of the pine guard. Aubrey slipped up with unnecessary magic and showed Keith the truth. Then the whole last arc happened. Graduation, just... *gestures at everything* Argo folding almost immediately after Fitzroy asks like, one question, Fitzroy almost telling Rainier right after finding out he and the other two were going to be put on trial, Firbolg Gary, as far as I can remember (I'm working my way through relistening again, but I've never been able to get through the hearing and beyond more than once, so I don't remember the back half of Graduation very well), is like, the best one out of the three of them at keeping secrets, which is ironic because he literally can't lie.

The only reason Balance holds up is because they literally had a giant alien fish that made it physically impossible for anyone to know what the fuck was going on if they weren't in the loop, and even then, they basically told Angus everything, at least as much as they could, within the first two conversations they have ever had with him, Taako had to lie to Hurley about why she could only hear static when he was talking about the Gaia Sash, I think the only thing that was ever successfully kept secret was Magnus keeping quiet about what he saw on the scroll and his conversation with Fisher, but even then, there wasn't much in game time for him to fuck that up until he came clean, and he was on the brink of saying something, or at the very least, Taako and Merle knew something was up, when he freaking asked if they knew how to alter memory after breaking in to talk to Pringles!

Now I'm not caught up with Ethersea, and it's been a while since I listened, but as far as I know and remember, they don't have to keep secret anything, which must be a huge relief on all of them, because I really think by halfway through of Graduation, everyone was worn out by secret keeping lol

[frogobaggins]

Hi! Confession time, I've not really been keeping up with Amnesty, I listened to the first few eps but wanted to store some up so I could listen in a bulk and haven't got around to it again. HOWEVER I'm on probs my third whole TAZ relisten (in Eleventh Hour atm) so I'll try to segue straight into it when I've finished that. Are you all caught up? If so I will come and pester you with my thoughts/theories etc as I go through :) 1/2

Anonymous said: Whoops I ran out of room for Star Trek. Yeah, I mean I’ve been yelling in frustration at how ridiculous the episodes are (after like THE 5TH “intruder on the enterprise disguised as a crewmember” episode, why the fuck did they not institute secret code words, or, a simple question to suspicious people). But there’s something so kinda fresh and revolutionary about it (weird to say in the present day), I love the FRIENDSHIP and the characters, it’s so sincere. I

I actually only just caught up in Amnesty myself, so I get you. I honestly haven’t bonded to it the way I did with Balance. Balance was just so up my alley with the whole “light-hearted fantasy with lots of emotion and well-placed drama”, which is exactly the kind of content I love and crave at all times lol. Balance is my JAM. Plus, I got into it right when they started it, so experiencing it for the first time with the McElroys just getting into it I think made it easier to really love it, since there were no expectations of precedents to live up to. And don’t get me wrong, I’m really digging Amnesty. I think the characters are really well formed and they interact on a more real level, I think because the who arc is set in the “real world” it give them a more grounded feel. It works for the vibe of the show so well - I just miss the Tres Horny Boys brand of shenanigans…But anyway, the last few eps have gotten pretty intense, and I’d love to talk thoughts and theories once you catch up! :)

As for Star Trek, yeah, I get you. They recycle plots a lot and never really acknowledge that they’ve done the thing before, like they never learn from their past mistakes. It can get really frustrating at times. But then they come at you with episodes that are so out-of-the-box and so GOOD that you forget that half the time it’s just the same stupid shit every other episode. What have your favorite episodes been so far?

If you get through all of the original series and still feeling the Star Trek vibe, definitely give The Next Generation a try. It builds on what TOS did and gives it just a touch more realism. The ship and crew function a little more like what you’d expect from a large intergalactic vessel being operated by an even bigger organization like the Federation (i.e. they don’t put their CAPTAIN in nearly as many ridiculous situations off-ship. He’s the Captain. I get Kirk is the big hero and I LOVE HIM but come on. Your crew can handle exploring a new planet, at least on the first go. That’s what their job is.) It also focuses more on the characters and their relationships with each other, and how they react as they experience weird shit in space, rather than just focusing on the plot points themselves with character development on the sideline, and it has more cohesive plotlines that carry over throughout each season. It’s still the cheesy Star Trek we love (almost more so, because TNG was made in the late 80s), just a little more put-together, if that makes sense. Plus there’s way more of it, which is always good lol

[six-of-ravens]

Main Seasons of TAZ Ranked (according to my own personal opinions):

Balance. No-brainer, one of those beautiful happy accidents that happen sometimes. The evolution from "4 comedians playing DND for a lark" to "seriously amazing storytelling and collaborative effort" is flawless. Also the story and characters are so fun. Taako revolutionized me as a person.

Amnesty. Beloved monster of the week. Flawless characters, exciting paranormal-sci fi plot, unique and interesting monsters, delightful little ski town. FRENCH ONION SOUP. goatman disguised as Ryan Gosling. gets a little muddled at the end and the gang did miss several chances to include key side characters like Pigeon and the FBI Agent, but overall a solid effort

TAZ vs Dracula. Absolutely delightful. Spiritual successor to Balance in some ways. Perfect gothic setting. Excellent hilarious side characters. Sports druids. Love triangle between Dracula, Frankenstein, and a clone of Dracula. Phyleaux (sp?) getting turned into a puppet in like episode 3. Mutt being like an 1800s Winchester brother. Lady Godwin my eyes are up here thank you.

Steeplechase. Fucking amazing setting, Justin was truly living his Disney dad dream. Characters didn't stand out as much to me but the setting and adventures made up for it. Love the whole setup. The Abandoned Child Floor. The people who have fallen for a conspiracy that they're in outer space instead of a theme park. Krystal with a K. So many delightful shenanigans.

Ethersea. This one was ambitious. I love the setting, and Amber Gris, but I think they tried too hard to make this one serious, and the boys made some character arc choices they weren't able to deliver on because they ran out of time. That said, Justin making his character stop talking to Travis's character because Devo was being a brat and then having to field real life rumours that the brothers had a falling-out was fuckin hilarious. Speaking of, I did actually miss a lot of Devo's parts bc the fake french accent was triggering my misophonia so I ended up skipping through his longer speeches. So that may be partially why I didn't get it. Still a solid arc, and I hope they do a second season someday.

Graduation. Okay, I tried. I really did! I listened to like 20 episodes! But sadly Travis did fall for a lot of beginner writer mistakes like infodumping and having too many side characters, and when you're playing a collaborative game those are amplified threefold, because it's not just "oh this book is kinda boring" there are 3 people who are shut out of the game lol. Also there just wasn't enough action for me, and Clint's vaguely Scottish accent.... misophonia hell lmao. Also this was The Covid Arc and during that time I was so anxious and depressed I basically cut all podcasts except my true crime ones so maybe mental illness is to blame. Idk maybe I'll try it again someday but I didn't like it very much the first couple times I tried.

Outre Space, which I have not listened to because I kept saying I was going to read the comic it's based off of first and I still haven't, and I'm not really into marvel anymore anyway so idk if I'll ever get into it. I feel like they only did this one because they were contractually obligated to do spon con anyway, none of the boys seemed super thrilled in the announcement for it