Paul Notice Wait, is it is it connected? Do I log off or is that it? Anya Gibian Yeah can I just close it? Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah you can leave the Cleanfeed. My screen won't turn on so... Dan Dobransky I hope that was recorded Paul Notice Perfect Anya Gibian Such professionals... Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah... All right Hello everybody and welcome to a not live--to a post edited, audio only ask The Once And Future Nerd for Book Two chapter nine. I am Christian, the director and co-producer of the show and I am joined today by Paul Notice who plays Nelson. How's it going, Paul? Paul Notice Heyooooo. That's all I got. Christian Kelley-Madera That's good enough. That's all you need. I am joined by Dan Dobransky who plays probably every male voice that you don't recognize in the show. Hi, Dan. Dan Dobransky Hello, how is everyone? Christian Kelley-Madera We are good tech issues aside. We're also joined by Anya Gibian, who plays Arlene and Regan. Hi, Anya, Anya Gibian Hello!, And all the Baileys! Christian Kelley-Madera And all the Bailey's, the many, many Bailey's. And I'm joined by Greg Schulz, who plays Yllowyyn and who wrote quite a bit of this chapter we're talking about today. So we're going to be talking about Book Two, chapter nine, we're going to be answering questions that listeners have submitted to us, I guess I'll do a quick recap of, of Book Two, chapter nine. in this chapter, entitled A handful of bodyguards. Our main party arrives at the town of Pacific Ridge, which is west of the mountains, where they learn that the town is basically in constant turmoil because of two rival gangs that basically run the town. After kind of getting the lay of the land from some of the locals, they figure out a plan to put themselves to basically play the gangs against each other and come out on top. And so there's a lot of the time of the chapter is spent with that. We also have Yllodyk dealing with the aftermath of the conspiracy to assassinate her parents and fleeing the white forest for the first time in her life. And we have a long interlude with Mag Uidhir and Yrrsylax the dragon where Mag Uidhir pursues the ingredients needed to make a restorative potion for his injuries. And in the process, we learn a good bit about Mag Uidhir's backstory and about the Dragon. I think we got a couple of like really kind of quick questions that are kind of just like a one sentence answer. So I think I'll, I'll we'll knock those off first. The first question of those Kat via Tumblr asks, Are the generic Western and Southern accents we've seen in the town related to elven accents? Or are they just fun scenery? For me, kind of deciding that everyone in that town would have like a, like a Western accent was kind of like, we...sound is the only and the best way that we have to kind of convey and evoke setting. In audio, you know, we can't like dress a set. We can't use different cameras, or anything like that. Obviously, we can, you know, choose sound effects, but the way people talk does a lot of work, in terms of like setting a scene. And so I think the initial idea was okay, we need a quick way to tell the audience like, Okay, before when you were imagining European fantasy, now imagine a Western. And then to kind of like back in to how that could possibly make sense, there's this idea that there have been kind of separate waves of Elven colonization that have happened in in this in in Iorden. Much of the same way that there was Spanish colonization of this continent and then English colonization. And so you have kind of these these different cultures that that had like different languages informing the common tongue and it's, it's a little bit it's a little bit hand wavy to be to be totally honest. But it is kind of like, here's how we get to where we need to get for evoking these settings. So that's my, that's my kind of show runner answer. I'm curious. For especially Dan and Greg, who had a lot of fun playing Vanderberg and Weston, if you wanted to contribute anything about what finding those voices was like? Dan Dobransky Well, you know, again, it's like you were talking about in the fantasy side where I will always imagining more lush background so to go to Western. It does, and tend to lend more towards like really gruff, scratchy voices just for the desert side of the aesthetic. Christian Kelley-Madera The big fight was...it was so great. And and that was more live together than I thought it was going to be. And that was that was really good for me. And I think it came out very well. Okay, so next question that we have. Also--Kat was busy, Kat is always busy for these these streams, but Kat was particularly busy on this one: "Did you name the dragon after a little mermaid themed porn star, ie Ursula XXX? Or what was the inspiration for the Dragon's name?" Which is Yrrsylax. This is a quick one - Named in honor of Ursula K. Le Guin. Our dragons have this kind of like producing different gametes at different times in their life, which takes some inspiration from the idea of kemmer in Left Hand of Darkness. So that was my little citing my sources to name the dragon Yrrsylax. And also "is it too late to change that one slimy elf politicians name to Pa’al-po Ty’yn? I cannot remember what the actual name is." Yes, it is. We have recorded the chapter. Good joke. But yes, too late to change the name. Thank you for that submission Kat. Okay. So moving on to what I've called the real questions: If Arlene and Gwen had still been at Maeve's tavern, when Yllodyk got there, how do you think that interaction would have gone? Paul Notice Yeesh... Woulda been a clusterfuck, right? Christian Kelley-Madera Let's game it out. This is actually-- this is better. By asking this question, I think this is better insight than our listeners could have ever hoped for into a lot of our writing meetings which are just like us, standing dumbstruck for a while saying, huh, huh, interesting. Anya Gibian My first question would be like, did Yllowyyn send letters or talk at all about like the noblewomen? So like, what...sort of like how up to date is Yllodyk on like, the you know, missing Arlene, etc. situation like, would she have figured it out? Or would the disguises have actually like worked and tricked her? Christian Kelley-Madera Hmm. Hmm. Greg Schulz Because then you go back to... was it D'ay-vaad? The guy who was pigeon keeper that supposed to...Yllowyyn was supposed to use to send back messages constantly and kind of dropped that as quickly as possible. So but yeah, I don't know. That's that's a tough because I think Yllowyyn would want to..., Christian Kelley-Madera I don't know that Yllowyyn would have...he would WANT to but not enough to like, talk to D'ay-vaad more than he had to? Greg Schulz Oh, hell no. Christian Kelley-Madera So I don't know that he would have had a chance to, like update Yllodyk on like the goings on, like the political intrigue. So I guess the question is like, what do Arlene and Gwen think when this like, weird trying to be sneaky elf shows up when they're working? And what does...Does Yllodyk even notice the baby? Paul Notice My instinct would be to try to make the hard answer, which is because I feel like just anyone with a writer's bone in their body would be dreading the complications of, of Yllodyk actually seeing the baby, knowing the situation, and it coming down to whether or not she's going to make a choice. And I think that that really is like, does Yllodyk actually care enough to, to look the other way or even protect or just to even confront? I feel like it's that that's, that's where my head goes, like, Ah, it's like, there might be a kind of confrontation? And then how is that going to end? I don't know. Christian Kelley-Madera You can imagine a world where Yllodyk is kind of in the in the same position that Yllowyyn was at the start of Book Two. And that is kind of where she is just albeit in a different way. Greg Schulz I just, I am also wondering what...how Arlene and Gwen react to it. Because, yeah, it's a lot of focus on the...Yllodyk's like a paranoid wizard trying to be a rogue in Dungeons and Dragons kind of situation, like, just but like, Arlene and Gwen, are in full, like, don't don't mess and we do not trust. Yeah. But yeah, that that question of like, how much did Yllowyyn say about? Well, yeah, cuz then it's also is this Arlene and Gwen? before? After? Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, it kind of it depends on exactly when this happens. It's like, it's hard. Because the moment that Arlene and Gwen, leave the inn is the moment that they're like, understanding of their world that changes very significantly, you know? Paul Notice Yeah. I feel like they will probably end up murdering her. Christian Kelley-Madera WHAT?! Paul Notice I don't know. I feel like that it would like, somehow get out of hand. And then just, I don't know...Yeah, yeah, that's yeah, I definitely... Christian Kelley-Madera But I will say that Yllodyk doesn't kind of-- she wouldn't leave the forest without something, you know, kind of like pushing her to question things that she's been told. And like, she's already a little bit at that, that point when we meet her. So I think that's got to come. Like I don't think she would just like uncritically toe the line. I think, as you were kind of getting at before Paul. I think the question is like, Okay, but how much is she willing to actually put on the line for this, you know, kind of newfound consciousness? Paul Notice Yeah. Yeah. Like, I honestly, like, I catch her as like, as like, like, like, I don't know, for lack of a better--like a fake ally. Like when it comes down to it. She's just going to be like, Yeah, but no. And so like, in my head, I'm like, what if there's that? I don't know if there's some guards or some do, you know, I mean, and she's just like, and like, it's not like she tells on them. It's just there. Like, they kind of can tell she keeps giving it away. She's looking in their direction. They go over and check. And she just sits there and watches it happen. I don't fucking know. Yeah, Christian Kelley-Madera no. I mean, it's, it's interesting, because I think and hopefully this doesn't spoil too much about where we're going. But I think something I'd like to explore with Yllodyk is like, I almost kind of see her as, like, like, I look to Jane Fonda a lot when I'm thinking about Yllodyk. And I think like when we meet her, you know, she's very much like, what you're saying about fake ally, like, she's a little bit clueless. She's, you know, she's kind of sheltered. And she's like, saying the edgy thing for the aesthetic of it. But she's increasingly--and that's not like, I don't want to say like, I don't want to underplay your instinct to mistrust that. But I would like to see what happens as more and more things happen to Yllodyk that could genuinely radicalize her. I think that's an interesting thing to explore especially because like her brother is taking a somewhat parallel path. Greg Schulz Yeah, part of me wonders if Yllodyk would just run more as well. Because if she's motivated, at least to leave the forest by fear, seeing and feeling the over, bearing, like culture of the Elves is just like, yeah, oh, this is happening here right now. I haven't finished processing this. Yeah, therefore I, I'm out kind of thing. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. And she is more, you know, she is like, she's definitely more sheltered than Yllowyyn. And I mean, you know, she has less like, practice and capacity for for violence, which, in some of these situations is, unfortunately a useful skill. Greg Schulz Yeah, yeah. I, part of me wonders if she becomes the weird, a hermit, hermit elf in the nearby woods, kind of thing. Just fully goes and then just with a few interactions, and then being forced to face the thing, the truth that she doesn't want to, she hasn't figured out how to deal with just flees? Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, yeah. I think that is also a possible outcome. And maybe like the experience of fleeing, like, you can see how that calcifies into continuing to not put anything on the line. And you could also see how that motivates her to like, dig in her heels the next time. Greg Schulz Yep. Yeah. Paul Notice Yeah. Is it shame? Or is it like, reinforcement that like, just one decision to to flee? And then it's like, oh, that was great. And, you know, yeah. Well, that's, that's a great little character development there, you know, does she fold within her own privilege? Or does she take some shame in the previous decision and kind of make a different choice, in the next time or the next occasion? Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, yeah. And I it's, it's interesting that that this conversation went in that direction. Because our next--we have a cluster of questions that are related and maybe a little heavy, but I think worth addressing all also from Kat, so thank you, Kat. The first is "do modern people west of the mountains, or elves have queer folks that are accepted by their societies? And what is the purpose of elves encouraging human homophobia?" I think there are definitely parts of this world where queer folks are more accepted than in others, like, I mean, I definitely think like, in like Regan's circles, it's, it's less of a big deal. And kind of like, the more that you don't give a shit about making the elves happy, the more accepted that, you know, difference of any kind is like, acceptable. Which ties like-- and I think it's a really good question. What is the purpose of elves encouraging human homophobia? And my answer is that it is useful for any any oppressor to create hierarchies within the oppressed. One because it stops you know, it's it's a bulwark against solidarity among the people, you are impressing--oppressing. Two, because you can, it makes it easy to know where to apply pressure, when you need to keep that population under control. And, three, you can sometimes you can convince the people who are at the, the top of that hierarchy within the oppressed groups, you can get them to kind of do your dirty work for you and and get their hands dirty and, and be the bad guys. So I think, you know, like, a lot of the Elves you know, we, in a lot of ways, they have like, very, like, permissive sexual mores, when when they're just in their own society, we've shown that so I think a lot of them know like, you know, eh this is nothing, but it is very useful to establish to establish hierarchies, wherever, wherever they can, and especially, you know, to like enforce patriarchy because that makes like property and inheritance very easy to control, and all that that kind of stuff. Um, I don't know if anybody--but I'll open it up if anybody has something they want they want to add before we move on to the next question that is a little similar. Paul Notice I mean, I totally agree, I think that's just, it's how any oppressive group would would divide and conquer. And if you can create a, like a straw man or a certain type of like scapegoat in which to kind of heap problems or at least to kind of direct the attention of the oppressed population to--toward, then I think that it just serves a larger purpose of keeping the masses docile while fighting amongst each other. So, yeah, it makes sense to me. Christian Kelley-Madera Well, then, I mean, the next question is, is Renault transphobic? Does he know trans people exist? I'll tackle the second one first. I like, I always honestly, I always tried to hesitate about a two, like, one to one map our understanding of sexuality and gender on to these characters who live in a very different world. Because like, I don't want to put like words in their mouth, if that makes sense. If they understand their identities differently than then I would, but I will say like, I think especially in like Regan's circles, you would definitely encounter people who are moving through the world and through society as a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth. So I think, in the same way that like, some sheltered kid from the Midwest who like, goes to NYU would then encounter trans people in lower Manhattan, I think Renault would like, be aware that something like this exists. And is Renault transphobic? Yeah, probably. I think because like, not to get too analytical about it-- Greg Schulz Renault is every kind of bigot. Christian Kelley-Madera Yes. Greg Schulz And loud about it half the time. So yeah. Christian Kelley-Madera And I think Renault is also like, I think that a lot of transphobia and homophobia comes from people knowing on some level, that compulsory, compulsory patriarchy and heterosexuality is actually an impossible standard that no real human being can be contained by 100% of the time. And the more that you hurt yourself, and the more that you hurt people around you trying to enforce that impossible standard, the more propensity there can be to resent people who just say, Fuck it, and I, you know, I'm the way I want to be. And Renault is somebody who has put himself and the people he cares about through a lot of shit to like, be a man as he understands it. So the fact that he is un-self-critical and, and selfish is like that is that is a recipe for homophobia and transphobia. For sure. And also, I think he's the kind of hypocrite who's like, yeah, I've made myself like literally a like walking, rotting meat puppet. But somehow like a vaginoplasty is a bridge too far. Anyway. Greg Schulz Yeah. He also strikes me as the kind of like, I'm educated, read about science, and therefore science says that if you have this, that means, Christian Kelley-Madera yeah, totally. He's definitely someone who like uses his formal education as as a cudgel without any genuine desire to understand other people. Paul Notice You know, I think it's just more of the character acting, but in my head canon, and I'm not saying I think this is what you were trying to write, but it feels almost like along the lines of like, he has repressed himself so much that he is resentful of folks who are like out. And just the the character voice itself reminds me so much of these queer coded Disney characters, that it's - right? So I'm just like, I'm kind of enjoying it of just like imagining, you know, Jafar just being like, oh, absolutely not. Never would I ever. It's just great. It's, you know? Christian Kelley-Madera Or Squidward. Paul Notice Yeah. Oh, Squidward. I love it. Yeah, yeah. Squidward very, very Squidward. I mean, I think it's brilliant, I think it's a very fun character, to think of, in that way, where, you know, probably is in some ways closeted in parts of his own queerness but then also kind of projects that in some way, or at least just like hearkens back to the age of the Hayes codes and everything else when there's so many, like queer coded queer characters and stuff, so yeah, yeah, that's that's why I was thinking about like, as soon as I just remember, you sent the questions. That's, that's one question I thought was so brilliant. This because it made me think of so many other things in the depth of of who this character is really. Christian Kelley-Madera Interesting Paul Notice Yep. Anya Gibian I also sort of just I'm thinking about like how the like online discourse has like really evolved over the past like five years, and we've sort of, maybe maybe it was that long ago, we started writing and thinking about Renault, where it was like, very much like Gamergate, like men's rights, sort of, like, inspired and how it's like, really like that sort of, like, persona online has, like really expanded their targets. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. But it's like, it's all of a piece, right? Like, it's, it's that like, it's like, the the, the personality defects that lead you to do one thing will lead you to do the other things, you know? Paul Notice Yeah, Anya Gibian yeah. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. And the, the last question, and in this in this batch, says, Not a question, but trans rights. Yes, absolutely. All day every day. For, for all of the reasons, we said, I don't want to get too soap boxy here, but some soap boxing I think is, is justified. You should care about trans rights and trans liberation because trans people are humans who deserve dignity, and you should also care because none of us is free until all of us is free. And because don't don't be a stooge. Don't be a stooge for the people with their with their boots on your neck who want you to, I don't know, be mad about somebody playing volleyball while they're robbing you. Like, yeah. Fucking support trans rights, because it's the right thing to do. And because any, any stick that you give people to beat trans people with they will turn around and hit you with it as soon as they think they can get away with it. So... Paul Notice Yeah. Yeah. Much agreed. Greg Schulz Trans rights. Paul Notice Yeah Trans rights. What was...was that bell hooks, someone said something about the liberation of I know, it's definitely in the Combahee sisters River collective sisters. But they talked about, like, you know, the liberation of those who are marginalized the most is liberation for all. And so like, when you think of, you know, in terms of navigating sexuality, or navigating gender identity, those who are even just straight men cis, like men or whatever, they're going to have far more freedom. Because they don't they're not going to be oppressed by the different strictures or policing of the body and behavior that comes with toxic masculinity, which is used to enforce and police gender norms. So yeah, like...That's, that's so spot on. I mean, if you want liberation for yourself, you want liberation for everyone. Now, Christian Kelley-Madera Totally. It's like, you know, if... it's so small to try and be the version of a man that patriarchy says you have to be and like, even if you examine your gender and decide that like I am the gender I was assigned at birth, trans people being free means you can you can do that gender in any way you want. And to harken back to my rant on the last Ask The Once And Future Nerd, you can drink a fucking lemonade once in a while and doesn't have to be like a whole big crisis of identity. Okay, great. So we'll move on to the fun ones. Now, RJ really appreciate your your taskmaster question. And I think we'll come back to it at the end, if we have time. But I do want to...this is what we have to do. For those of you who weren't following our social media. Back in February around Valentine's Day, our Tumblr fandom, put together a bracket of the sexiest Once And Future Nerd characters when Tumblr introduced poles, and litigated all of that. So we got one question: Who is the sexiest Once And Future Nerd character and why was Antonin Mooncrest robbed of his rightful title? That is RJ. And Kat says, Who do you think should have won the Sexiest Once And Future Nerd competition, and I put it to Twitter whether we should use our Ask episode to re litigate this. I got 65% of respondents said yes, 0% of respondents said no. And 35% of respondents said what are you doing? Ask HR instead of Twitter. But the yeses had it. Now with that in mind, I am going to make the caveat, we're going to be very careful, you know, everyone here plays a character who is on the bracket, we are talking about-- Greg Schulz --Nope! Actually...Actually... Christian Kelley-Madera Oh that's true. Greg just has to decide. No. We are talking about the characters, and we need to put up a brick wall as much as possible between the characters and the actors who play them. Because otherwise this conversation, which is maybe toeing the line of appropriateness is going to take an Olympic long jump leap over that line. But with that in mind, so Ren ended up winning the bracket, which I will say I actually think is is a very defensible choice. This is not here to say this is not to say like Ren doesn't deserve it, it's to say that I think a lot of fan favorites got knocked out earlier than they should have. And Kat who made -- our super fan Kat -- who made the original poll, has since publicly admitted that she has learned a few things about how to seed a tournament after making the bracket and implying that she might have done the seeding differently. So I have redone the seeds. And I've built upon the work of Tumblr, because the the results of their poll have informed the seeding of this new bracket. So with all that preamble out of the way, let's let's go ahead and do this. Our first showdown is - round one - is between number one seed Ren versus number 16 seed Ardel. I don't know that this merits discussion. I think we can --I just worth noting, I think Ardel has got to be the least sexy character in the entire, like even maybe including Renault because at least Renault is like good at some things. Dan Dobransky I'm just a little hurt by that Christian. Christian Kelley-Madera It's the character! Dan Dobransky [Does Ardel's voice] Just a little bit. It's a character but it's it's it's a piece of me. Christian Kelley-Madera God. Dan Dobransky God, I hope not. Christian Kelley-Madera Does anybody wanna say something in Ardel's defense? Greg Schulz Nope! Christian Kelley-Madera No, great. Okay. Red Ren sales through the first round. Greg Schulz Dan at least you made the list I'll just say. Christian Kelley-Madera All right. Next, Next round one contest. We have an eight seed Antonin Mooncrest versus a nine seed Brennen, Paul Notice Ohhhhh you're putting the heavy hitters up the... Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, I mean, well, that's I mean, that's, that's interesting seeding. Greg Schulz Yeah. Paul Notice I mean, you have like-- Anya Gibian --I think I think Brennen's... just so sexy. Dan Dobransky Yeah, agreed Paul Notice Right? That's hard. Dang, yo. Anya Gibian That, like slow emotional growth you know he's got going on. Very hot. Christian Kelley-Madera But that's what's like...I think Antonin is already kind of more in touch with himself than, like...Brennen I mean, I could see like Brennen makes for better fanfiction because there's all that like, pining and stuff. But like, I think day to day, it would be tough to to be with someone as closed off as Br-- although that's not sexy now that--We're not we're talking about sexy not who you want to be in a relationship with. Dan Dobransky There is a difference. Paul Notice I feel like relationship material can be super sexy. I don't know. That's... it's two different types of sexiness. That's what makes it so difficult. You know? Christian Kelley-Madera Like, I think like, Antonin is kind of like emotional intelligence I think is sexy. But Brennen... Greg Schulz I think to your point about fanfiction I think Brennen would be would be is great in like, the one night of passion he allows to let himself have? Off the charts, right? Gonna be crazy. But Antonin, like will hold your hand without sweating about it, you know? Christian Kelley-Madera I mean, it's like yeah, do you want like one incredible experience that it like fucks you up for a while or do you want like, consistently good sex? Greg Schulz Yeah it's peaks and valleys versus-- Christian Kelley-Madera --Yeah. Paul Notice Like a nice little, I don't know hill or plateau. They just kind of go--That sounds so boring, but it also sounds great. I don't know. Greg Schulz A rocky mesa. Paul Notice A rocky mesa. There we go. Christian Kelley-Madera I'm gonna vote Antonin just on the grounds that like, you know, self actualization I think is sexy, I'm casting my vote in for Antonin but, you know, we all get a vote here. Paul Notice I'll second that vote I just feel like he that's the one thing about that that separates them is that he's able to infer - not infer - he's able to empathize in such a level on such a level that I find that more attractive than the you know, gruff, mysterious man. That's just like, you know, sometimes I have a dark secret and I got things like alright cool that's great but just someone who could just talk to and actually like listen and actually know exactly what's going on without you having to explain too much and actually accept you. I think that's the biggest thing I thought was so great about I think so great about Antonin's character is that he even at that rejection point from his wife he literally just like that works I see that there's compersion. That is such a real and valuable thing I think that just that goes leaps and bounds above just you know, the night of passion that would happen you know what I mean? Anya Gibian Do we just need to vote? It's a tough one. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah it is a tough one. An eight seed versus a nine seed is is gonna be is gonna be tough. Currently it's 2-0 Antonin Dan Dobransky I'm gonna just throw say like every point you guys made where it was actually really convincing and that's like, the good route to go but I'm as stubborn as Brennen is so I'm just gonna stop my first choice. Christian Kelley-Madera Sticking with raw gut - okay so we're 2-1 Antonin. Anya Gibian Ohf, I'm Brennen it's kind of the accent for me though, it's... Paul Notice Oh it's the accent. Oh, yeah. Anya Gibian yeah the Scottish accent. Christian Kelley-Madera You're not wrong. Okay Greg it's it's it's on to you. Paul Notice It's a tiebreaker. Oh lord. {whispers} Greg I will cash app you five dollars. Anya Gibian No! There's a wall between the actors! Paul Notice I'm lobbying, I'm lobbying. Let me lobby. Greg Schulz I think if............ I think if we had.... a bit of a time warp then maybe I'd go Brennen but I'm gonna give it to Antonin. Paul Notice Hoooooo, there it is. Christian Kelley-Madera That was a close one, and deservedly so. I will say Greg, you've made the fandom very, very happy like one of the biggest things they were upset about was feeling like Antonin got knocked out too early in the first one. So, so Antonin advances. Okay, next this is another one I think I know where we're gonna land. We have a four seed Arlene Redmoor versus a 13 seed --Oh, wait a minute -- No, I was No. Mag Uidhir. Okay. Arlene vs. Mag Uidhir. This is an interesting one because we've learned a lot about Mag Uidhir since this poll originally went up. Now - He is undead and his flesh is currently rotting, which is definitely--I mean, he's a 13 seed but it's like there are upsets in 13 seed matches. Paul Notice WHAT?! Christian Kelley-Madera I mean, I'm voting Arlene but I'm just saying like I think there's enough, like there's enough to keep it interesting. Paul Notice Yo, you sound like the like the like the CNN town hall right now. "There are arguments to be made." No! Anya Gibian There are constituents for an undead flush rotting, stoic one word axe-wielder. Christian Kelley-Madera I think Arlene's got it, I just want to say that I think Mag Uidhir is a really good guy. And again, self actualization is sexy. Greg Schulz I'd love to have a beer with Maguire, watch it run through his body but the category is sexiest characters, so yeah, yeah, no. Christian Kelley-Madera I think Arlene has got it. Anybody want to disagree? Yeah, okay, no. All right. Okay, next we have a five seed Regan versus a 12 seed Ry'y lo-Th'yyt. This is another, yeah It's like everything that could be sexy about Ry'y is also sexy about Regan and she's not evil. It's like that's...it's like unless the evil specifically is your thing. I think you gotta go, I think you gotta go Regan. And Regan is still like scary, you know? Paul Notice Yeah. Yeah, I mean like it's, I feel like... Dan Dobransky Scary is sexy though. Paul Notice Yeah, like Regan tops out because she has the chaotic neutral thing going it's not chaotic evil that's that's just enough where you're like I feel slightly safe and that that works, that's good. Christian Kelley-Madera Right. It's like yeah. Like she won't she won't balk if you ask her to like spit in your mouth but she's not gonna like do a genocide. I think is probably, yeah, Greg Schulz And neither of them will like a week later will probably be like "who are--what?" Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah Paul Notice I was just imagining she spits in your mouth but I feel like Ry'y lo-Th'yyt would whisper in your ear it's poison. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, yeah! Yeah something I've definitely I told our fans this is that watching them do this bracket they seem to enjoy men they feel very safe around and women who might murder them and nothing in between. And I get it. Greg Schulz That's just the internet. Paul Notice Excellent. Excellent choice. Christian Kelley-Madera Next our next matchup in the first round, a number two seeded Bryce Riverfell versus a number 15 seeded Renault. Greg Schulz It's Bryce but let's... Paul Notice These are easy matchups now. Anya Gibian Yeah another another flesh rotting off the bones situation, undead... Dan Dobransky Not sexy. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah with none of the personality of Mag Uidhir. Anya Gibian Right. Wow. Like the zombie movies are not the like, sexy...thrillers. Christian Kelley-Madera There's a contingent for everything but - and no no judgment - but I mean Renault's personality is as heinous as as his physicality. Greg Schulz How is Renault on... No disrespect, but... Christian Kelley-Madera How is Renault ahead of any of your characters? Anya Gibian Do we really not have that many other major characters that... Christian Kelley-Madera Kat was maybe having a laugh I think, by including Renault and Ry'y but... Greg Schulz What's the...is it Arden? What's the Conan the Barbarian, the character I always forget the actual name of. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, Arden. Arden the Annihilator. Greg Schulz Arden the Annihilator also not on here. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah he would actually... okay now I'm wondering like... because it would screw up the seeding but do we put, do we put a Bryce versus-- Greg Schulz No don't think we-- I think we move forward. Christian Kelley-Madera Okay. Greg Schulz I'm just -- I'm I'm I'm airing my grievances. Christian Kelley-Madera And that's fair. All right. Now okay, now we move into another interesting one. I think we've got... Greg Schulz This one is... yeah, yeah. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, a seven seed Traft versus a 10 seed Dagmar. Who, I think we've met Dagmar for like 15 minutes? Paul Notice Yeah, I am drawing a blank here. Dagmar. Dagmar was with who? Greg Schulz Isn't this, is this lovers turned rivals? Christian Kelley-Madera Yes. Yes. Dagmar was like, was a queen in the time of in the time of Gunther's father. And she, I believe, you know, there was yes, they she was Traft's lover at some point, and did also play into his radicalisation a bit and had all kinds of like, sneaky plans in the background and stuff and now I'm like, I'm stumbling over my words, because I've forgotten how much we've actually revealed of what Dagmar is up to. This might be the most challenging one to talk about, just because I can't remember what we've already said. Greg Schulz Yep. That's, uh huh. And for that reason, I'm voting Traft. Christian Kelley-Madera I don't think anybody will be heartbroken to see Traft advance. Yeah, I think we can. I think we can send Traft through unless anybody really wants to make the Dagmar case. Other than just like it's lovely to hear Julie Reed's voice but that that's the only--but again, Brick Wall. Okay. All right, so it's Traft? Okay good. All right now we have a number three seed Gwen versus a 14 seed Jethro. Paul Notice Wait, who? Jethro? Christian Kelley-Madera Jethro is the scary woodsmen guy who has like, a bunch of cannibalized corpses in his root cellar. Paul Notice Oh my god. Okay. Christian Kelley-Madera So... it's Gwen, yeah? Paul Notice Yeah. Greg Schulz Yeah. Yes. Dan Dobransky So he has a love of food though, right? Christian Kelley-Madera He is a bit of a foodie. But Gwen can cook. Gwen can cook. Greg Schulz That's true. Gwen can cook. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, yeah. All right, great. And the last one for the first round is a six seed Maeve Bailey versus an 11 seed Nia. This is another interesting one. Paul Notice Oh, Nia. Nia. wins, no? I think. Dan Dobransky Really? Christian Kelley-Madera She's smart. Paul Notice She's smart. Christian Kelley-Madera She's very capable. She's very empathetic. These are all good arguments for Nia. Maeve I feel like is very-- Anya Gibian Yeah, but like...Maeve FUCKS. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Dan Dobransky Yeah that's sort of where my brain was. Greg Schulz Maeve do be fucking. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Greg Schulz I would also probably lean Nia if I'm being honest. But you know, Maeve's out there. All respect, but I have a soft spot for the like. The, like, Willow from Buffy almost archetype... Christian Kelley-Madera ...Uh huh, uh huh... Greg Schulz ...that Nia kind of falls into. Paul Notice Hold on now, let me look this up. Willow from Buffy? Ohhhhhhhhh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Greg Schulz Play by Alyson Hannigan. Paul Notice Well, now that's hmm...yeah, that's that's a hard choice. Hmm. Dan Dobransky I will go with Maeve because she has a job. Nothing sexier. Anya Gibian She's got her own place, she's got her own room. Dan Dobransky She knows how to take care of herself. Greg Schulz She's a small business owner, and we know she's franchising. Paul Notice Yeah what's Nia out here doing? Just recanting a bunch of spells. What's that nonsense? I don't know. But yeah. Greg Schulz I think it goes to Christian. Christian Kelley-Madera Oh shit. Hmm. Paul Notice Yeah tiebreaker. Christian Kelley-Madera Hooooo, this is not...hmm. Greg Schulz Uh huh. Dan Dobransky Do we need to do more pros and cons now? Christian Kelley-Madera I'm gonna...woof. Nah, fuck it, I gotta go. Maeve unfortunately. Like I really like I love Nia. She's definitely the 'marry.' But I gotta just gut level. I gotta go. I gotta go Maeve. Paul Notice Damn. Dan Dobransky Boom. Good choice. Christian Kelley-Madera Okay. All right. All right. So okay, so now our second round we've got Ren versus Antonin is a tough one. Paul Notice Oh shit. Uh, I think Antonin pulls out on that one. Christian Kelley-Madera Again, this comes down to this is I think this is just purely a matter of taste like, man, you are safe around or woman who will kill you. Paul Notice Hmm, I feel like one's like an adventurer the other ones like, okay, I can settle down and raise a family. That's that's - I'm 36 - that that that's sexy as fuck for me. That's I don't know. That works for me. That actually works. Greg Schulz I'm thinking of the kind of relationship that - and stay with me here - that the Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley have at the end of the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Where Orlando Bloom's character is constantly at sea but can come to shore. One day, a year or whatever. I'm like... Ohhh, yeah. I could do that with Ren. I'd be okay with that. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Paul Notice That sounds like settling. Oh my gosh, that sounds like so much settling. I don't know. Oh boy. Sounds like like your friends who just come like you just walk into your room or walk into your apartment one day and all your friends are there and they're like, Look Ren's not coming back. I just want to like we should talk about this. We need to have a talk, I hate seeing you like this. I hate it. I don't know. Just Oh god. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, I mean it's like, okay, well does sexy mean attractive or does sexy mean you want to have sex with that like I think that's like a genuine linguistic question because again like I'm gonna keep coming back to like, in terms of like attractiveness like having your shit together and being empathetic and like that's very attractive but in terms of just like you know groin chakra stuff I'm going towards the woman who will kill me over the man I am safe around Paul Notice Hmm, see for me I totally think it's it's both, right? Like you in a lot of ways like the attractiveness leads to sexiness if that makes any sense. I don't know. Like that that to me is like almost combined where you know and I also just feel like someone who's empathetic is going to be more adaptive and like can listen to you know what you want in the bedroom Christian Kelley-Madera yeah that's that is a thing like I with Antonin I think that's going to be a huge point in his his favor is that like yeah, he is he is game for like pretty much anything you're into. Paul Notice Yeah, yeah, I think Ren would be a really selfish lover like no shade I mean super fun. But I don't know like. Christian Kelley-Madera if it Ren's thing is you're you're gonna have a great time but if it's not then yeah you're shit out of luck. Paul Notice yeah, I guess Yeah, that's that's just how I just that's that's the impression I get. Christian Kelley-Madera I vote Antonin Anya Gibian Wow, going against the the champion. I don't know, I'm still into the pirate...I vote Ren. Dan Dobransky I go Ren because every time I mean, you're talking sexy? And it's like I'm like yeah, rough around the edges always gets me that's just like, Paul Notice That does it for you. Dan Dobransky It tickles me a little bit. Christian Kelley-Madera Greg, Greg is the tiebreaker again I think, Paul Notice Oh here we go. Greg Schulz Oh, God Paul Notice All right, Greg. You know what, let's be real here, let's do a little quid pro quo. Anya Gibian Greg's gonna come out flush from this livestream. Paul Notice Say Greg, what's your character, what's some of your characters? I just want to know. You know, as Les he's not on he's Christian Kelley-Madera He's not on it. He's the he's the like, the most objective. He doesn't have any characters on his list. Paul Notice No! No, come on! Christian Kelley-Madera So he can't be swayed that way. Greg Schulz It doesn't disqualify me. In fact, it makes me even more qualified. Gonna go with Ren because I feel like we can have a fun drinking contest. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Okay. Ren's got it. It was a close one. And like, we have sung the praises, so fandom - we agree with you. Antonin is very sexy. It's just this is-- Greg Schulz --It's a very close call. Paul Notice Yeah, the last Antonin. Christian Kelley-Madera We hardly hardly knew ye, but yes, there's a lot love, a lot of deserved love for Antonin. Okay. Arlene versus Regan. Paul Notice Oh, well, Regan. Regan. Yah. Yah. Yah, yah. Yah. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah it's Regan. Anya Gibian Yeah it's Regan. Greg Schulz Wait, really? Anya Gibian I wasn't really paying attention as much in the first round because I'm bad at tracking things. And so I was like, I was like, is it Arlene versus Gwen? No! Christian Kelley-Madera No it's Regan. Greg Schulz For what it's worth, I would have gone Arlene. But I'm outvoted in this situation. Christian Kelley-Madera Well just state the case for Arlene. Won't murder you?. Greg Schulz Won't murder me, generally probably knows where she stands at any given moment and magic. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, that's true, magic. but I gotta go Regan because I feel like Arlene is maybe not fully as actualized as as like Antonin. So I'm definitely rooting for the woman who will kill me. For sure. Yeah. Anya Gibian Yeah, magic voice the magic voice thing, that's that's that's...you know. Christian Kelley-Madera Hey, there's a reason she's a four seed. But it just yeah, no one no one's saying that Arlene isn't sexy. It's just Paul Notice The magic voice, now I'm thinking... Greg Schulz That's the first seeding upset. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, yeah. Greg Schulz A Five beat a four. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, yeah. All right. Bryce versus Traft. Traft! Paul Notice Traft. Greg Schulz Come at me. Paul Notice Yas. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, Paul Notice I like messy we can get we can do messy. Traft. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. That's a tortured little boy living in a big old man's body that that works for me. Right? Boom Anya Gibian I think Bryce has kind of like the like, the like Disney prince, but like from he's like, he's like like the prince from from Tangled who's like not really a prince who's like more of a rogue but he's got really good hair. I just feel like Bryce had better hair. Christian Kelley-Madera And like Bryce like Bryce like he's like, in he's like, an older guy, but he's in good shape. And that's definitely a lot of people's thing. Paul Notice Yeah, yeah. Christian Kelley-Madera And like he's, you know, it's like, Traft is maybe a little scarier than Bryce, but I think he's also more principled. So that's... Dan Dobransky He has ideals. Christian Kelley-Madera And Bryce has ideals, but they're...He's just, I think Traft has a little bit more moral courage, but also, sometimes a little too much moral courage, maybe. Paul Notice Yeah. And do what it needs to be done. Yeah, no questions asked. Greg Schulz There's...I think Traft would would would lead from the front more than Bryce would. I get that vibe of like, I'm with the people like and Bryce is close with his his crew, don't get me wrong. But I don't think he's out in the I didn't ever get the sense he was out in the field as much, you know? Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, yeah. And that is sexy about Traft. Greg Schulz Another upset. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Yeah. No, I think yep. I think it's Traft. Does anybody anybody disagree? Paul Notice What type of hair does Traft have? Christian Kelley-Madera He's bald. Paul Notice Never thought of that. Christian Kelley-Madera Shaved head, like tattoos and shit all over it. Anya Gibian I forgot about the tattoos, that's pretty sexy. Dan Dobransky That gets most people. Paul Notice Perfect. Christian Kelley-Madera Bryce can sing though. There is that, we need to take that into account. Greg Schulz Yeah. Yeah. Anya Gibian What is this, a musical? Paul Notice Oh, Lord, listen, we all did theater before and singing, ehhhh dime a dozen. Dime a dozen. Nah nah nah. Christian Kelley-Madera Alright. It's Traft. Cool. Okay, and then we have Yeah, we have Gwen versus Maeve Bailey. Paul Notice Oh, oh. Anya Gibian Huh. Their sexiness is quite similar. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Paul Notice Yeah. Wow. Anya Gibian Just different by age. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. And it's like, do you go with experience? Paul Notice What are their ages again? Remind me their ages. Christian Kelley-Madera Gwen is probably like, 20s. Whereas Maeve Bailey is like, probably late 40s/early 50s. Oh, hmm. Dan Dobransky Experience. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Paul Notice You know... Christian Kelley-Madera Okay, here's my Gwen argument. Like, Maeve Bailey the experience counts for a lot. But! She's kind of like, I mean, she's BEEN getting laid the whole like, basically when she wanted to. Whereas, Gwen's kind of got that like, like, canned heat aspect you know what I mean? So I think that's, that's swaying me towards Gwen. Paul Notice Really? totally opposite. And more leaning towards, on Yeah, I'm leaning towards Bailey. I feel like what, I don't know, just 20 year olds. Oh, my God. You know? Christian Kelley-Madera Well twentIES, not twenTY. Paul Notice Are we talking early or late, early or late 20s. That's a big... Christian Kelley-Madera That's a good point. I forget off the top of my head exactly where she fits. But I mean, I think like, she's got a lot of life experience. Like I think we can say she, like her life experience is equivalent to a mid to like a mid to late 20s. Even if she is actually early 20s. Paul Notice I mean, I don't...listen...like that's something that like, oh gosh, now I'm sounding super old, like an old but I was gonna be like that's something that young people say when they don't have experience actually. But you know what? Yeah, no, no, no. Has to be Bailey for me, Bailey for me. No. Yeah, I feel like it takes a little bit longer to get that emotional just like maturity, even if you experienced so much, just to actually handle it. And then your brain has to like develop, I think it was a 25 Your brain actually fully, your frontal lobe fully developed or whatever. It's something like that. Christian Kelley-Madera At least according to the actuaries who rent cars. Paul Notice Wait say this again, what? Christian Kelley-Madera Well like you're only allowed to rent a car at 25. So that's when like somebody looking at an actuarial table has decided you're about as responsible as you're going to be. Paul Notice Hey, and they got money on the line, so I trust them. They're like, Listen. Not gonna lose this money today. 25. 25. You know? Yeah, Bailey, Bailey, small business owner, got a head on her shoulders. Focus, drive. You know, know what she wants it's great. Christian Kelley-Madera I think we're realizing that we all think having a job is very sexy. Dan Dobransky Yeah, for sure. It is for me. Anya Gibian Gwen has a job! Gwen's been working all her life. Christian Kelley-Madera You know, that's a great point. That's a great point. Greg Schulz Gwen's been working all the time. Anya Gibian She has many skills. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, I'm team Gwen on this one, although I absolutely see the appeal of Maeve. Greg Schulz Yeah, I also understand the appeal of Maeve. But the difference to me is that like, Maeve, like Yes, she did, it was her job, it was part of her what she needed to do to make a living, but like, she was pining after Bryce and didn't, like act on it as much. Whereas like, I mean, she acted here. I'm just thinking of like, Gwen was like, I'm getting on this fucking horse. And we're gonna go get, we're gonna go get Arlene. And maybe that's, you know, youth and, and, you know, the passions therein, but I don't know. I go Gwen on that one. Anya Gibian Yeah I go Gwen. Greg Schulz Maybe doesn't make as good a loaf of bread, but it's Yeah. Anya Gibian I feel like she can bake. Greg Schulz She can bake for sure. And it's just gonna get better and you're yet to get you're gonna get to taste that as it's developed. Paul Notice No, I want better now. Greg Schulz Oh, yeah. If you want if you want the real good stuff, yeah, Paul Notice Yeah, well, I want 35 years of baking and everything and knowledge and all that business acumen baked into the crust. Oh god, I'm gonna be tasting spreadsheets in like knowledge and wisdom that comes from like being on this earth for half a century. That's that that works for me. Greg Schulz I want to taste that pivot table in this muffin. Christian Kelley-Madera I hear your arguments there. They are good arguments. I'm just, I'm team Gwen. Paul Notice Actually, it's a good question though. Would Gwen or Maeve be comfortable baking with someone? Which one do you think is more like likely to be like I'll bake with you? I can actually like and not lose their temper or whatever. Christian Kelley-Madera Maeve is 100% Get the fuck out of my kitchen. I think Gwen it depends. Paul Notice Yeah. See, now that makes me bend towards Gwen, you know team player. Like, you know, be be a leader in a way you know? I mean, yeah, okay. Okay. Okay. Greg Schulz I think Gwen might eventually might let you in. But... Dan Dobransky Yeah, what are we at? Are we... Anya Gibian I feel like Gwen won. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah I think Gwen has it. Dan Dobransky Okay, because I was gonna say Maeve but that's just I'm biased. Paul Notice Wait, no, no. Christian Kelley-Madera I think Gwen's still got it. Dan Dobransky Yeah I think was already one sided. Paul Notice Done deal. Yeah. Dan Dobransky Yeah. Yeah, she, Maeve just reminds me of somebody I had a crush on when I was in college so I'm sticking to that. We had a lot of good conversations. Christian Kelley-Madera But, but yeah no, I think I am team Gwen. But it's a close one. It's a close one. Okay. Okay, before we're before we're here all night. What do we have? We have two matches left and then a finals round. And also my screen won't turn back on. So if anybody knows that Google Doc and could remind me what the matches are, we'll we'll try to bang them out before we're here too long. Anya Gibian I think it's Ren/Regan and Gwen/Traft. Christian Kelley-Madera That's actually that's a that's an interesting one because they it's the exact opposite. It's like it's a woman you're safe with and a man who will kill you. Anya Gibian True. Paul Notice Okay, who's up next then? Who's the next... Anya Gibian Ren versus Regan? So two women who will definitely kill you. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Paul Notice Yeah. Oh Regan. I think Regan could win in a fight so technically... Christian Kelley-Madera Do you? Paul Notice Yeah, no? You think Ren would win? Christian Kelley-Madera it's a close fight. I think it's close. Greg Schulz It's a very close fight. Anya Gibian Well Regan has been really injured for a long time. I feel like this current state of Regan or like full power? Greg Schulz And like, we have the core group the core party that would probably pitch in with with Regan but Red has a full ship of crewmates if it came down yeah to fully throwing down. Paul Notice Well, you know what? I mean, like if you're talking like Regan is bringing in what? You got the kids, you got Brennen, you got what I mean? Maybe Yllowyyn would be there, I think they're separated still but Yllowyyn might come through. Christian Kelley-Madera Okay, but it's not directly who would win the fight. It is who's sexier. Paul Notice It's all related to the sexiness. I'm trying to figure it out. Christian Kelley-Madera I mean, it's tough. They're both like they're sexy in such a similar way. They're such like, similar characters who maybe just like in slightly different circumstances. Dan Dobransky Yeah, Ren travels a lot more. I feel like. Paul Notice Ooh. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Dan Dobransky Travel. Somebody who travels. That's sexy to me. Paul Notice Got a little je ne ses quoi. Dan Dobransky Yeah, not not that Regan does not, but she's more on land. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Paul Notice I feel like Regan would be like a survivor, in terms of like, um, you would never ever go hungry. I mean, I don't know. Anya Gibian I feel like Regan is up for anything and Ren is up for her thing. So I feel like that's... Dan Dobransky You just switched me on that one. Paul Notice That's real. Yeah. Dan Dobransky You switched me on that. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. Yeah. Also, there's only like, Ren kind of can't come ashore. And like there's only so much you can do on a on a boat. You know? Paul Notice Yeah. yeah boats are really shaky. I mean, no, no solid footing. You know, Scott, it's gonna be problematic later on. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. It is. I mean, yeah. Ren... Ren is very sexy and was a was a very defensible choice for the for the fan poll, but I think Regan's got it. Dan Dobransky Yeah, yeah. Yeah, unanimous? Paul Notice Unanimous. Yeah, Greg Schulz Yeah, I got fully swapped on that very good point. Christian Kelley-Madera She's...Regan's up for anything as long as it makes someone somewhere uncomfortable. Paul Notice Perfect. Christian Kelley-Madera Okay, and then what is it? Gwen / Traft? Paul Notice You know what, like, I think Traft. Yeah. Right. Traft wins. Traft wins. Sort of the Kilmonger of the universe. Anya Gibian Yeah I think solely on the tattoos. Forgot about the tattoos. Paul Notice Honestly, that's... Christian Kelley-Madera I'm gonna vote for for for Gwen. I'm okay with Traft winning. I just want it like, I want to be on the record of just like, I think like, Yeah, she's got so many skills like...I am-- I tried camping and I don't love it. Okay? And I just feel like, Gwen, you know, they both have skills Traft and Gwen, but But Gwen has many more domestic skills, which I think is just gonna, like, fit with my steez better. Greg Schulz Yeah, I'm also leaning Gwen, but I'm totally okay with Traft moving on. Paul Notice You know, I would say this for Traft. The guy knows how to, you know how to convince some people. I mean, you got Smith the Smith. He's basically like... Greg Schulz He knows how to talk. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, he's very charismatic. Paul Notice Very, very. He could talk somebody into making food for us. I mean, that's easy. You know, give a nice little monologue about the, the origin of the orcs and, you know, boom, now you got the whole bar just like yeah. Christian Kelley-Madera Like Traft. It's like, it's like a Grill Dad versus like, yeah, like a like a Lesbian Cupcake Mom, like that's the like, like, one of them bakes for like, the whole like polycule and the other one is like, I'm grilling don't talk to me. You know what I mean? Greg Schulz Holding court at the grill. Like telling stories about crazy raiding groups and parties that happened and "Yeah, throw me another beer!" Like all this stuff. Christian Kelley-Madera Alright, so I think people people need to jump off soon. So we sending Traft?. Okay, great Traft. So final round then is is Regan versus Traft? Dan Dobransky What? Oh Regan. Paul Notice Yeah. Yeah. Regan Regan. Those those head tattoos are just not doing it for me. I gotta tell you that that's Greg Schulz yeah, I'm gonna say it was it was, it was a bit of a ding in my head of like, Oh, you're right. Traft...Traft... That's a lot going on. Yeah, whereas, yeah, Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah. And I think I think Traft like he's, he's brooding and he's got a lot that he's always thinking about. I don't think he's like, going to be as like... Paul Notice Present? Christian Kelley-Madera Regan's nihilism is going to make her more present for sex, I think. Like she will be there because that's all she's got going on in that moment. Whereas Traft is like thinking ahead, which is like, it's, it's appealing, but he's not going to be as present. Paul Notice He's not. He's going to be thinking about like, you know, dead babies and stuff and like burning villages and, staring listlessly into the fire when you're trying to have a barbecue. I'm like, yo, you gonna come to the party? No, one second. No, no, no. Too much. Dan Dobransky Well, he's also a person with a he always he likes to plan things. So if things don't go his way, he'll be uncomfortable. Whereas Regan would be like, Oh, whatever. Paul Notice No wet blanket. No, no, no. Dan Dobransky Much more fun to be around. Christian Kelley-Madera All right. Yeah. Regan wins. Dan Dobransky Regan wins. Wait I forget what was Regan's seed again? Christian Kelley-Madera Eight? Greg Schulz Five. Christian Kelley-Madera Was it five? Yeah, yep. Greg Schulz It was Regan five, Traft seven. Christian Kelley-Madera All right. Well, thank you, everybody, for joining us on this kind of weird stream that I think we made the best of. Pleasure as always. Does anybody have anything they want to plug before we say goodbye? Paul Notice Ooh, can I plug? Christian Kelley-Madera Please. Paul Notice I can plug. I have a screening of an Afro-Futurist time travelig thriller, called Willow: House of Griots. And there's a short film version that's playing at Stewart cinema. Sunday, June 18. At 6pm. And you can find it at bit.ly You can find tickets at bit.ly Willow capital W gotta capitalize the W so capital W. Willow screening. Yeah, and just come and see some some wild crazy shit. If you like Once And Future Nerd, then you'll probably like Willow. There you go. Christian Kelley-Madera Awesome. Awesome. Paul Notice Y'all better plug something else so I don't look like a big old narcissist. Anya Gibian I have I have a cryptic plug of I'm working on something with a company, a theatre company I worked with in New York City before the pandemic and it is going to be really cool, but can't say anything about it yet. So Christian Kelley-Madera Is it something that I know anything about? Or is it a totally different thing? Anya Gibian I think it's totally...you know, some things. You know, some things Christian. Christian Kelley-Madera Exciting, Exciting, Anya Gibian But I will have news about it when it's ready to have news-worthiness. Christian Kelley-Madera Great. We definitely look forward to news. Anya Gibian Placeholder for news. Christian Kelley-Madera Yeah, placeholder for news. Paul Notice The teaser, it's a teaser, that's what it is, you know? Anya Gibian Yep. I think it's got some overlap with the fandom. So I feel like I feel like it would be good, there could be fun crossover stuff. Christian Kelley-Madera If it's the thing I'm thinking of, for sure. But in any case, I'm excited. Anya Gibian Yeah. Christian Kelley-Madera I've been I've been screwing around with my uncle's modular synthesizer on Instagram. I haven't done a video in a while. But I've been I've been doing a few of those. That's been fun. Gonna try to do more of those at some point. But yeah. Thank you, everybody who joined us and took more time than we were planning to to have this really fun conversation. pleasure to chat as always, and hopefully we'll we'll do it again soon. Paul Notice All right. Anya Gibian Thanks, Christian. Thanks, everyone. Christian Kelley-Madera Thanks, everybody. Dan Dobransky Yeah, thanks Christian. Greg Schulz Thanks, everybody. Christian Kelley-Madera Bye bye. Paul Notice Word, bye. Transcribed by https://otter.ai