Fireside Chat for WWW ep32 "The Vote"

Doing a re-listen of the podcast and this time, coming back to Suvi's headspace at this moment in time and the nascent cracks in her acceptance of the Citadel's programming and ideology, I wonder how she would've reacted to Tefmet's presentation, had she stayed in the room. - The resolute way Tefmet speaks about the Greater Binding, which Suvi read about in Stone's notes just days before, showing that outside the Citadel are wizards who think the way her parents thought. - Tefmet being so unabashedly *wizardly.* So much of Suvi's idealogical issues with Ame and Eursalon in the first two books came from their judgement of all wizards, not just the Citadel as an organization. Tefmet reinforces the idea that wizardry is also about the joy and profundity of understanding and the capacity for great change and innovation, which resonates strongly with Suvi's worldview. - The point about learning being wizardry's core strength and how the Citadel's culture of secrecy is at odds with itself--That's a point that Steel made at the end of Arc 2! And Suvi just had the valuable realization that she learned more in 1 moment of curiosity and investigation, by casting Identify on the music box, than she learned in years of study. I think Suvi's character arc is beautiful as is and I love how deeply *hers* each step away from the problems of the Citadel was. But I'm also sooo curious how her personal opinion of Tefmet might've changed--she may atill not think they have a strong case against the Citadel, but I'd love to see if the small parts of her that are already finding gaps in the logic of her home would have been in any way validated by Tefmet.

I definitely knew someone was trying to dwindle the coven down to only one before the Nat 20 reveal, I just didn't know if it was the witch of self or the witch of nothingness!

I need to know everything about Mirara and the Man in Black's relationship🥹

It doesnt matter necessarily what TYPE of alcohol you use for a cocktail... whatever is the highest proof will do nicely. that being said... moonshine in the bottle... whiskey in your pocket so you can celebrate after the smoke clears

For me, Brennan's classic witch cackle from Hakea was so cool. She's the OG witch, so it's cool that she embodies classic witch archetypes.

I'm a Marara apologist. Either we pull her back in, or she'll go full down the pipeline

Im so late, but GOD this episode really solidified for me just how amazing a witch Ame is, she really is my favorite witch

Erika in "The Vote" is like Brennan in LA by night "Whoops I'm good at this =P"

Wait! What is that song at the end??? It's a bop! I gotta have it! 😄

I fully believe that ep 32 of WBN is the greatest singular piece of D&D media ever created

Aabria: "Boston Dynamics dog is ACAB" Erika: "Only in the 'Assigned Cop At Birth' way though!"

“This is so messy it’s almost magically dangerous” is a phrase

Thinking about Mirara keeping the cat mug really makes me sad, I feel like she keeps things like that out of the deep need for connection. Also unlike Indri whl wanted Ame dead for purely power grab purposes Mirara is desperate for a solution to a problem she fully believes is worse case scenario. In better times I truly think Ame would easily have been able to make her a close friend

the revolution will be (and is already) analog 💥🍾 shoutsout to living terminally offline, cooking hearty meals and sweet treats to share, and absolutely wrecking shit with the grandkids on weekends love, grandmalaclava

Ame is Goku in this dissertation i will

The Hobbit was Gandalf's ace in the hole cuz like he dont want that ring nasty and if he gives it to a mortal man he'll just die with it, and if he gives it to anyone else they'll use it on their country's eugenics project. What is a hobbit going to do with a ring? Like Smeagol got possessed and fucked off with the ring for like five hundred years. Frodo was the only one who could bear the ring because he had humility. Like christ, if you know what im sayin.

You can do anything on the radio… damn WBN does it again

Brennan being four old ladies fighting… fighting with himself… ❤️ Ugh, it’s perfect.

wait but as a Kentuckian I need to know is Brennan Beshear-pilled?

As a fellow edgelord i feel for Mirara. Instead of your peers fearing your darkness they laugh at your cringe, big mood

Doing a rerun through the series. Posting this here because I think it's ahead enough to not spoiler anything for new listeners at episode 16. Episode 16: Suvi's horrific summer involved celestial changes that affected the spells controlling transportation. My current exploding-brain train of thought: > Frost fairy things teleporting into bathroom at the Citadel > Indri - Witch of the Wind and Stars's critters > Star libraries and manipulation Followup questions: > If that *is* a true power of hers, did she play a role in that summer? Knowingly or unknowingly? > Were any Spirits sprung from the Citadel during /that/ summer, from the Gallery OR another location in there?

Is there supposed to be a new episode today?

Relistening to this, waiting for the newest ep-- I just realized... Ame stepped into the Golden Girls...

Can someone please TELL me who came up with teh ahoohoo and what the stations was? I think it was around the wil Gallows time line. I just finished arc

I need to know how Nif convinced the Fox to wear Clothes

I’m curious as to why it’s so surprising that Tefmet has pieces of the derrick. It wasn’t built by citadel wizards, after all. Is there something inherently bad about the antivolists having these pieces that I’m missing?

just joined the patreon and BEST choice ive ever made. need "the revolution will be analog" as a shirt LOL

Loved Lou's commentary on the Citadels inability to truly stop the spirit of LittleGuys from seeping into all the little guys they make . 3 seasons from now at climactic Umoran all out war within the citadel, the civil war will be between the Wizards who love the Little Guy energy and the Wizards who are horrified by it, and we're gonna get a Baymax esque tragedy sequence with all the Mr Taylors being disinfected of their hearts & souls by crusty archmagi - calling it

the insight Aabria had regarding the CROW as a familiar! craving connection, having such a social creature as your familiar, and yet there is nobody alongside you. really enjoyed listening to that.

I thought that it was good that tev burnt the notes cause I thought they were there for a more convincing call to action to fight the citadel so by holding back, that makes the resolve weaker as well, so that means geng has time to like make it change when it comes to the citadel but in a nice..er way rather then full out chaos

I propose the cast collect all the homebrew witch ideas folks have posted and give their take on the name/idea. As a one off, a treat

I got so wrapped up in the dialog that I forgot it was all Brennan arguing with himself. A++

Can’t blame mirara who wouldn’t want to get with the man in black *wink wonk* *nudge nudge* A mysterious man in uniform indeed

“You needed at least three witches for a coven. Two witches was just an argument.” --Terry Pratchett, Maskerade

Long reign Ishii, indeed! 👑 Such a great episode! In another universe, I would have loved to hear what Tefmet would have said without knowing about Suvi. But, then we wouldn’t have had that hilarious sequence of intimidation checks 😂 and wonders of the unknown. So thankful for these storytellers.

Lastly, Ame's success shows how well she learned the lesson of the "Be Kind" sign over a hole in the wall.

A Humble Correction: Hakea would have had to choose TWO witches as she started the Conclave. An interesting power imbalance at the very beginning of the Conclave.

When the spider did its little dance response thing, I assumed that meant that this tool had developed a spirit, but I didn't think anything of that. Now, the idea of it "developing" a spirit, the gallery of trapped spirits, the giant disks at Xiao(sp?) Court, and the coffee shop's animated spell feel like they have different implications. Even Morrow's bs feels different. I had thought that the Citadel would probably be interested in his research and that Steel's commentary reflected a naive optimism. But now the scale of infrastructure needed and Morrow's need for validation make me think the Citadel may have known already and maybe even sanctioned it in a way that provides plausible deniability.

Brennan you’ve gotta learn a couple more aircraft names the Harrier Jump Jet is 55 years old!

Honestly, the fact that Aabria and Brennan were like four rooms away from me at Gen con while I was running a game in the other area and had no clue until I listened to this episode is the hardest perception check fail of my real life.

I'm fascinated that none of our four players touched on the great strategic victory Ame pulled off by getting Indri to declare (admit?) that she knows several worthy candidates that the coven could invite to join their ranks. Indri has spent centuries working to shrink the coven until only she remains, and in one instant Ame got her de facto agreement to blow that up. I have suspected Indri of masterminding the destruction of the other stations since very early in this season, so I’m surprised that it doesn’t seem to have been a working hypothesis for any of the PCs, but part of that was based on meta-thinking about which of the other four would make the best antagonist. Honestly, given how magically self-centered she is, I was sure that Indri’s apprentice was a persona she adopts as a catspaw and not a real, separate person. I guess the best stories surprise us.

Brennan’s talk on how many connections there are among the witches made me realize they…kinda fit the Magic the Gathering color pie? Worlds Heart White Wind & Stars Blue Waning Moon Black Wild Hunt Red Wilding Green Green

I'm very excited to report that I started this podcast in late June and having just finished Episode 32, I am now all caught up to the present.

God I want a sticker of “the revolution will be analog”

At this point we need to have a patreon LOTR watch party so Aabria can get all the references!!

I think Andrew WK said (paraphrased) "Change comes when someone expects a justified punch in the face and recieves an understanding hug, instead."

This arc has been my absolute favorite so far, other than the Children's Adventure. Now that we know their flaws - Hekaea's burnout, Grimor's puppy dog loyalty, Indri's failure as a leader and Mirara's inexperience and insecurity - I'm going to miss them dearly when we leave the north pole

So I am listening to ep7 were fox first learns about vote, so I'm wondering, is this connected?

So we know Mirara is the second youngest after Ame, but I wonder how old she is exactly? She could still be over a 100🤣🤣

Vote baby vote are you registered babaaay

Has Aabria ever expanded on her very strong aversion to watching (or even tolerating mentions of) lord of the rings? It just feels strange to me as it’s so beloved and so influential to the fantasy genre. It sounds like she agreed to watch it semi-recently and wasn’t paying attention/doing bits through it. I love Aabria but this one thing does bug me 😂

BIG OL BLOCK OF CHEESE

I’m into the idea that with time the worlds heart can always gain enough allies to get the upper hand - it feels like the witch version of ‘if I walk I win’ and it’s so human and so powerful!

shout out andy beshear

“I STAY WALKING” IS STEVEN CHUCKLES THE TRUE NAME OF THE PILGRIM UNDER STARS!

Hey. I was inspired by the basketball team photoshop idea from Aabria. It's not exactly what she said, but it is pretty much the limit of my capabilities. https://imgur.com/sFAT71r

I loved hearing the conversation about the deeper intricacies of the witches connections and schemes and also I am curious how things will go with the connection between witches, spirits and wizards. I think we're going to look further into that soon.

No, Erika's mom! You can't say things that true! It's not nice!

I think the reason that Indree (forgive my spelling, if it's wrong) and Ame are compatible is that Self-reliance and Community will always go hand in hand. A Community can not exist without self-reliant individuals. It's so good.

i LOVE the conversations going on regarding a possible singular source of magic. it ties in with something i’ve been noodling over which goes all the way back to the Children’s Adventure when lil Ame was discussing magic as this omnipresent force throughout the world and lil Suvi arguing that it was something you learned and could call forth to your control. because of course each of them were taught different, VERY IMPORTANT foundational concepts of magic! basically, Stone accusing her teacher of treason against magic itself and her usage of spells without the reflexive indicative are directly related — Stone saw the permeation of magic in all things and realized that the way they were teaching wizards magic in the Citadel as the End All Be All of spellcasting was fundamentally incorrect. Stone’s ability to cast magic in a way that is not Citadel approved proves her point!! it’s the simple question of: if the way we learn magic is the true and correct way, then why does my friend Wren do it differently? in fact, the pillar upon which Stone took umbrage was the Axiom of Proliferation which states “the more times a spell is written down, the weaker the spell becomes” …and let’s be clear: this is the Citadel enforcing control in the form of a literal magical law which dictates how knowledge is spread surrounding magic and the way it FUNCTIONS. why else would Stone have nearly gotten kicked out of the Citadel for challenging it? i believe that Stone believed magic belonged to the spirit world itself and could be communed with by wizards the same way witches do. perhaps that ANYONE is capable of accessing magic, which i don’t think the Saraz Imperium would like very much 😉 if that information was widely known, that hinders the wizards’ control over magic. so it’s illegal to write about spells too frequently, how convenient. maybe Stone made these connections. and maybe she died for it. in a way that could paint her as heroic instead of what she actually was: a threat to the Citadel. one of those pills would certainly be easier to swallow… i’m getting so far off on a tangent here, but if we assume all of the above is true, is the existence of spirits themselves perhaps a direct result of their proximity to the Tree of Worlds (a sort of wild magic surge, if you will 😋)? does the mortal world have magic simply because Yewola’s roots and branches reach from the spirit to mortal realms? and if THAT’S true, would it mean Ame being the Witch of the World’s Heart does not necessarily make her the bridge between humans and spirits, but instead an avatar for MAGIC ITSELF? is she the World’s Heart or the TREE OF WORLDS’ HEART?? 🫨 and if Yewola represents the creation of magic and Ame as her avatar, what assumptions could we make, then, about the Man in Black? and why would he want to sever the mortal world from magic? he clearly relates to the passage of time and i believe it was confirmed he is not Death. he has “held his breath since the world began” and he is “ever-ready, always near” …is he Destruction? time could be viewed as the destruction of all things…? i’m gonna pass out this podcast makes me insane 💀 someone take all this red string away from me

I was delighted to hear the cast discuss Suvi+Ame+Eursulon's sync-up these past few episodes bc it's definitely something that stood out to me while listening. The power of these 3 simply each doing what they do best, working in tandem to thread that needle-- beyond the overall W, it feels like we're watching the movements of Fate reaffirm the necessity each represents to the other. Regardless of interpersonal conflict (or perhaps especially because of it, much like the Coven's magical need for discordant voices & opposing viewpoints), it is obvious now more than ever why these True Friends are entwined. It also highlights a foundational flaw of Unanimity, that without acknowledging multiplicity we would lose out on so many opportunities for evolution/discovery/curiosity both of self and the collective. [For these reasons and many others, it endlessly frustrates me to read weird bad-faith fan commentary about Suvi + Aabria's characterization of her. Most of it just boils down to misogynoir imho. This triptych would be empty without her perspective, without someone openly exposing the reality of multiple concurrent truths this world upholds.💞]

I’m still holding on to my dream that Morrow is still alive and will show back up

ERIKA saw RETURN TO OZ for the FIRST TIME THIS YEAR??? ASDFGHJKL that was such a deeply foundational film for me. I'm glad you enjoyed it!! I rewatched it during the height of the pandemic and still think it's an absolute banger.

My heart did break a little when Tefmet burnt that Works Cited Bibliography 😫 Nooooooo not the juiciest goss!! Was it MLA, APA, or Chicago style homie? I wanted to see those annotations and marginalia so bad babe 😚💞

The thing is, nice can be meaner than mean, but kind can never be meaner than mean, because nice is all about gestures and politeness and what is said rather than what is done. Kindness is sincerity, whether it's a fist or an outstretched hand.

Not to get political but my stance on Mirara has shifted every episode that she’s in - quickly becoming one of my favorite antagonists

Also (they mentioned this but it's so funny) Brennan and Aabria's voices are giving con-crud/Gen Con literally just ended my voice is gone lol

I also felt very differently about Mirara this episode when we hit the reveal - like girl you're working so hard to be part of something that seems like it doesn't want you. What does it mean to stay for the coven's sake vs give up magic like a previous witch? Who was Mirara's mentor and what value did she see or does Mirara see in the coven continuing?

I’m so excited for the revelation about the Citadel. It will be interesting to watch Suvi’s latent fascist/supremacist worldview either get dismantled or turn her into the final boss.

this episode was #taylormade

We need “The revolution will be analog” merch!!!!

Does anybody know how to submit questions?

Crossing fingers we get character art for Tephmat at some point 😩

Grimoire(sp?) constantly showing fear about the conclave was itching at me this whole time. Did she know about Hakea's bad agents? Did she know she wasn't next to die? Is there something else lurking?

I really love Tefmet already and very much hope they become a future party ally and is around more often during the next arc.

Give Aabria some credit, she knew Mirara was on the back foot way back when she said her crow was "the part of her that's clever and knows how to use tools"

If the citadel has created a superstition around anthropomorphizing their tools they might have had a good point. There have been incidents of EOD personnel developing bonds with their bomb disposal robots leading them to take more risks rather than put the robot in danger.

Oh God the idea that while the spider can do things outside of what it's programmed to do, I'm wondering if the same can be said for Suvi

Return to Oz is an absolute fever dream of a film 🤌

ok but that song is a bop tho 🎉🤌🏼💃💜

It was *so*satisfying and narratively correct that Erika's dice rolls last time were crap and this time were golden.

That burn from Indri is an especially delicious exposition of her character, as is Ame's burn to Indri of the help she offered to her to save face with the coven ENSURES her plan of whittling will not work. AND guarantees that working against expanding the coven opens Indri to accusations of betrayal/hexes down the line. Just gorgeous drama.

I feel such a moment of peace when I hear the light guitar and fire crackling at the start

I get the sense that they're letting it cook, maybe for a later character conflict moment, but I'm so excited to hear more about that moment when Suvi reacted coldly to Ame mentioning her parents *again.* If my parents had died when I was 6 and my best friend kept talking about them like they knew them better than I ever got to because their teacher worked with them for a while, I would also be kinda pissed lol

Marara is now a redeemed Steven Universe villain

I was correct about what Tefmet burnt! :D Poor kid.

I thank my mom's Alexa all the time, if she doesn't hear me I'll say her name again just to say thank you

I'm glad Morrow didn't show up in the last episode as a coral man - that means he's still out there!

Taylor, PLEASE include the cut audio in a future Fireside Chat, when it’s no longer a spoiler. PLEASE 🙏

Thanks yall for making my Tuesday commutes a riot

Yo we actually need "The Revolution Will Be Analog" merch, im a librarian and that fucks so hard

Taylor please please when we reach the point that spoiler they talked about isn't a spoiler, will you post it? 👀👀

I love that Suvi is becoming more witch like through being nice to the spider thing and Ame is being more wizard like by investing herself into intrigue. Idk if that was intentional or not, but it's amazing to see the two characters influence each other's behavior

So I’m only 13:28 minutes in, and apologies if this has already been answered but… am I super slow on the uptake RE the glass spider? Is it Animism where the belief system holds that everything has a distinct spiritual essence? Everything has a spirit, which holds well here too (think of the coal/diamond spirit). So it makes total sense to me that in this world, the glass spider can go off script and do a “you’re welcome” gesture. It feels like all magical constructs are actually spirits brought into the world… but the Citadel doesn’t see them as such. They view their magical constructs as… figurative robots and literal tools… failing to see the life in their magic. Now whether these spirits are native to the world of Spirit, or if they ever brought forth in/from the physical world… well that’s a completely different kettle of glass spiders…

"clear eyes, full hearts, hands held, can't lose" ❤️💛💙 - Lou (and Leslie Knope in spirit) I LOVE THESE PEOPLE AND THIS STORY

Indri is so Crystal Labeija to me no I will not elaborate I simply know she is that girl 🤍

"Magic will always be magic" ✨ - Lou

Sleepydrunk Aabria is such a vibe. Love this whole gang.

One thing I love about this podcast is that if I fall behind it's really easy to catch back up

My favourite episode of the podcast so far, so good to hear that it was loved by the players too. What a payoff of previous stuff.

So Mirara wanted something to happen that only worked if Wren was taken out because she didn't agree. She then sics her boyfriend on Wren to take her out. Then Ame comes north and spoils it anyway.

I see you, #1TefmetAmeTruther. I see you...

What a great ep! We saw so many good twists and turns, it tied a lot of big and little moments. It was incredible character work on all sides!

Ame: nah, I'd win

Ok listen, Ame making that move doesn't make sense on first blush, but it makes sense from an Erika standpoint, but also reading most of the witch class spells, it absolutely stands as a wise mechanical perspective

"the revolution will be analogue" brb i have to go make a t shirt RIGHT NOW

If not friend shaped, why friend, you say? My car can take me away from The Bad Stuff and can be locked so I can have my quiet moment. Away from the noise people.

Ame is counting coup. That’s what we saw.

Why do wizards not respect Spirits anymore? It's interesting because we as listeners have to have the intuition to understand that wizards do not create their own magic. They learned it. And they could only learn that from a Spirit. So what happened that made wizards disregard the true magical beings?

Truly incredible work, team, congratulations for the payoff!

So nice to finally have a nonpolitical guest! Less division in our country!

Ahoo hoo gang My favourite episode of this arc, much love 💓

Perfect timing just what the doctor ordered on my way to the doctor

Crackle crackle!

Perfect timing 🥳