WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:08.880 This is an Unspoiled Network podcast. This is spoil Me 2 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:15.320 covering Dungeon Crawler Carl chapters thirty two through thirty six. 3 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:23.359 In these chapters, we come up against the crack heron 4 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:36.920 genius problematic, Yes, fantastic. Also yes. Welcome to spoil Me. 5 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:58.560 Welcome to the show everyone. I am Natasha. Thank you 6 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:03.359 very much to Michael commissioning this episode. So to start 7 00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:06.040 things off, I have Michael and Rob in the chat 8 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:08.400 here with me, and Rob asked before starting, and I 9 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:12.359 decided to save answering it until I was recording. I'm 10 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:15.519 wondering if you're enjoying the book. Also, I wonder how 11 00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:20.439 much enjoyment must change when you do it for a job. Yeah, 12 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:23.599 so first, I'm loving the book. I am having a 13 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:28.159 great time. Definitely. I am very lucky with my commissions 14 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:33.879 that there have been almost no duds at all. I 15 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:36.480 won't say there have been none, there have definitely been 16 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:39.040 a couple. There was a series that started to get 17 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:41.439 commissioned for me at the very beginning of doing this 18 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:44.280 that got dropped because it became so clear how much 19 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:49.799 I hated the main character, and that was Iron Druid. 20 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:52.799 Apparently one of those series that a lot of people 21 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.400 feel if you like Dresden Files, then you will also 22 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:58.480 like this. I didn't. I feel like Harry Dresden is 23 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:01.599 written to be a lot more likable than the thousand 24 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:07.120 year old Druid, who was insufferable. So that was a dud. 25 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:10.919 But most of the time I have been very lucky 26 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.560 that my listeners have great taste and they are really 27 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:19.599 eager to share things that moved them, and that's what 28 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:21.759 they want to spend their money on, and that usually 29 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:27.800 means something that is really really worth the time. But 30 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:33.319 oh sorry, Michael says, Iron Druid was very wish fulfillment. Yeah, 31 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:35.639 Iron Druid. The thing that kept getting me about that 32 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:40.080 series was how immature the main character was. For being 33 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:43.240 a thousand years old, he felt like he was twenty, 34 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:47.240 just a regular old human of twenty years old. There 35 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:50.479 was no feeling of real wisdom to him that you 36 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:53.879 would have to accumulate after some time on Earth, and 37 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:57.840 that always played a part in the plot, was him 38 00:02:57.879 --> 00:02:59.879 just being a fucking fool, and I just couldn't get 39 00:02:59.879 --> 00:03:02.240 on board. You can't have a main character be that 40 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:06.400 old and not have them be really intelligent to a 41 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:08.319 degree that you have to change the whole way you're 42 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:10.800 writing your stories, which the author was not interested in doing. 43 00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:13.560 Rob says apropos of that. Then do you have a 44 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:16.599 list that you keep of your bests. I don't have 45 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:22.759 a list, but I definitely do have, like my mental 46 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:29.319 tally my number one unfinished series. Unfortunately it's not finished. 47 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:35.360 But the books that I covered that really, by far 48 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:40.080 have taken over my brain are the Ninth House and 49 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:44.840 hell Bent books by Lee Bardugo. You guys, I cannot 50 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:49.280 recommend those books enough. They are some of the most 51 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:59.120 spectacularly accurate to life and also fantastical books I've ever read, 52 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:04.800 with some of the most brutal plot elements, but also 53 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:10.000 moments of such deep satisfaction that you just want to 54 00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:13.000 like stand up and like pound your chest and yell 55 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:16.560 because you're just like, yeah, fucking do it that kind 56 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:22.199 of vibe. So highly highly recommend Ninth House and Hellbent, 57 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:24.000 but only if you are prepared to wait for the 58 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:30.160 third book, which isn't even forthcoming. We don't have a date, Sorry, everybody. 59 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:31.800 I don't want to take over this episode with just 60 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:37.759 talking about I will say though, for right now. Dungeon 61 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:41.519 Crawler Carl is definitely like in my top ten that 62 00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:44.839 I have covered so far. There are certainly, though, times 63 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:47.079 where something that starts off on the top of my 64 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.959 list over time begins to fall. So I don't want 65 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:52.959 anybody to hold me to this. I may change my 66 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:56.800 mind eventually, who knows. But right now I am having 67 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:00.360 a really good time and it's like different enough because 68 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:02.879 of the structure of it from other things that it's 69 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:09.560 really keeping my attention in this way as well. Sorry, oh, 70 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:12.040 they're still talking at Michael's mentioning Iron Druid. I had 71 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:14.759 trouble with a dog just being completely sentient as well. 72 00:05:14.839 --> 00:05:17.439 It doesn't play as well as Donut does for whatever reason. 73 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.360 Agree the dog. It was the kind of thing this 74 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:22.560 happens a lot when you just decide to make a 75 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:26.959 pet talk Donut there is a childlike quality to her 76 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:33.199 that makes her still feel like she needs Carl. But 77 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:36.800 the dog, I can't remember his name. Wasn't it like 78 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:40.759 Oberon or something? He uh? There was just always this 79 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:44.000 sort of vibe of like Oberon can just do with 80 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:47.439 or without his guy, It doesn't matter. He's basically like 81 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:52.959 a full person, you know, Rob says oh Man. Ninth 82 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.839 House is so good. I want Gideon Nabs my inner monologue. 83 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:58.639 And then damn, that's not the same Ninth House. I 84 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.439 don't know which one you're talking about, but yeah, the 85 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:06.759 Ninth House by Lee Bardugo is. I mean, you guys, 86 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:09.120 just strap in that. That is one of those books 87 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:13.160 that the more I read, the more I kept being like, 88 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:17.920 how does she keep doing this? Like she just she 89 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:22.639 would these these descriptions that she describes at one point, 90 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:26.959 the like trees and the fact that there are buds 91 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:30.959 beginning to form as like rings on a gnarled old 92 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.879 woman's fingers. Just like little moments like that that I'm 93 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.279 just like they stuck in my brain as being so 94 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:41.079 evocative and correct. And then the plot, the pace is 95 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:45.240 beyond belief. It's just she just keeps fucking rolling and 96 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:49.040 the stakes keep getting higher even though you don't think 97 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:52.360 they can. And I just by the time I finished 98 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:53.920 the second book, it was like I was out of breath. 99 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:58.040 It was that kind of energy. So anyway, okay, okay, okay, 100 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:10.879 start talking about this. Chapter thirty two begins with the 101 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:16.519 the discovery of these fucking creatures I don't even know, 102 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:21.959 like when we first see them, and they are described 103 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:27.240 as unvaccinated. I had my suspicions the direction that we 104 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.720 were going in, right of course, but I was like, 105 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:34.920 I don't know, maybe I didn't check to see what 106 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:37.759 year this was written, so that was part of it. 107 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:44.279 I wasn't really sure if the vibe was different when 108 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:47.040 it was written than it was now, because there are 109 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:52.480 certain things where the timing of it totally changes the 110 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:56.639 context and therefore the intent of the author. And I 111 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:59.000 was afraid to look up published dight because sometimes you 112 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:00.600 just start to type in the type I've a thing, 113 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:04.240 and it'll be like, you know, dungeon Crawler, Carl Donuts, 114 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:08.800 terrible Death. We'll just autofill and it's like, oh, thanks great. 115 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:11.800 So I just didn't want to even try it. But 116 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:15.759 it's also, I have to admit, very difficult for me 117 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:19.279 to fully comprehend that the start of the pandemic was 118 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:21.959 at this point almost five years ago, because I can't. 119 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:26.079 I just that doesn't make any sense. Time is insane. 120 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:31.439 So I kept thinking, like, the way I'm interpreting this 121 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:35.679 has to be too recent, because I wasn't understanding really 122 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:37.759 like how long ago this could have been written and 123 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:46.600 that still makes sense. And chloricons are distant hillbilly relatives 124 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:49.559 of the Leprechauns. And while the Leprechauns are said to 125 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:53.639 guard vast piles of gold, the only thing Chloricons might 126 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:56.879 hoard are polaroids of their own sisters sitting on the 127 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:01.840 can and questionable business schemes. This particular sect of the 128 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:05.759 unvaccines of the unvaccinated variety. Don't let them sneeze on you. 129 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:10.759 Warning this is a fairy class mob. Mobs of this 130 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:14.440 class inflict twenty percent more damage against you due to 131 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:20.720 your goblin pass. So these guys are actually quite easy 132 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:31.360 to kill. But obviously, with Carl being possibly more prone 133 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:34.759 to getting infected than Donut, he can't loot the bodies 134 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:39.919 the way that she can, so she has to go 135 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:43.000 and get the stuff like and she also he gives 136 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:46.639 her the option to try her raise the dead spell, 137 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:50.159 and she manages to do this and make it rip 138 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:53.519 apart its friends, which is super gross. Both of them 139 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:56.399 almost throw up when they see it doing the thing 140 00:09:56.440 --> 00:10:02.000 that she told it to do. Each of them has 141 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:06.279 a clay jug of something called toilet grade moonshine don'na said. 142 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:12.159 They have slingshots and stones on them as well, And 143 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:15.600 we get this bizarre flashback. It's not even a flashback, 144 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:18.799 it's just really a memory. I remembered my dad finding 145 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:21.519 my sling shot. He and his friends played with it, 146 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:24.720 breaking the band. He'd promised he'd get me a new one. 147 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:31.360 He never did. I mean, I like just the idea 148 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.360 that your father is basically the equivalent of like a 149 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:42.480 shitty little brother. I there's a lot. It's interesting. Actually, 150 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:48.639 there's a lot of stories out there with female protagonists 151 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:52.120 who have a mother that they kind of feel they 152 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:55.519 need to be the adult for. And I've always related 153 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:57.720 deeply to that because my mother had me when she 154 00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:03.759 was so young, and I grew up hyper aware of 155 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:06.799 how fragile she was in some ways due to that, 156 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:12.919 and like very protective of her. And eventually when people 157 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:16.639 who knew me met my mother, I had more than 158 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:21.840 one adult, like a teacher say to me, it's so strange. 159 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:26.799 You feel like you're older than her, which is correct. 160 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:31.080 That's how it's always felt. So I know this feeling 161 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:36.639 very well in the context of mother daughter relationships, but 162 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:41.679 this kind of vibe with a father's son is less 163 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:47.799 of a thing, the father son relationship being like straight 164 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:51.639 up abusive. You see that a lot, and this is 165 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:55.480 clearly he was abusive, but a lot of the memories 166 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:58.240 that Karl has that we have gotten so far are 167 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:04.720 less like straight abuse and more just neglect and general 168 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:10.000 like shittiness in a way that feels really immature. And 169 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:14.440 I'm really really curious about this because I feel like 170 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:18.799 this has to inform Carl's personality in a particular way 171 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:23.320 that we haven't fully gotten to see yet. And I'm 172 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:27.200 really interested to eventually see what that's going to look like, 173 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:34.320 because Carl is, like, we know that he is somebody 174 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:37.519 who is going to try very hard to do the 175 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:40.120 right thing. We have already seen that with the elderly 176 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:43.240 people and the way he's reacting to them. We know 177 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:48.240 how he feels about bullies, and I am feeling like 178 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:55.279 that may wind up being a big part of what 179 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:59.480 drives him a little bit further on into things. But 180 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:08.320 you know, we'll get there. So I loved this. A 181 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:12.720 pamphlet entitled rev Up, Make Money, Be your own Boss, 182 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:21.720 Move to the next floor down a y'all. I really 183 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:27.039 enjoy this. This is look so so many books have 184 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:30.919 their like little ways of making fun of pyramid schemes 185 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:35.000 or the energy of like getting ahead and out smarting 186 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:39.960 the system. And the thing about like why it's so 187 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:43.279 easy to make fun of is the fact that the 188 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:45.879 system is not designed for you to outsmart it. It's 189 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:49.360 designed to trick you into thinking that you are outsmarting it, 190 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:53.080 thus falling prey to it and looking down on other 191 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:56.559 people who are also prey to it. Because you believe 192 00:13:56.600 --> 00:13:59.519 you've somehow cracked a code and they don't know the code. 193 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:02.679 You also don't know the code. They just want you 194 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:05.159 to feel like you're better than them, because dividing us 195 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:07.759 is the best way to conquer us. That's really all 196 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:14.320 it is. But the fact that this MLM, which they 197 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:16.919 keep saying, it's not a pyramid and I love Donut, 198 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:18.440 It's like it says, right there, it's not a pyramid, 199 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:22.440 so it's not a pyramid. I love donut skullibility. It's like, 200 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:25.120 this is a really fun character trait of hers. It 201 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:28.639 would be so easy to make Donut, especially as a 202 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:33.440 cat character. Making her sort of a snob is something 203 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:37.120 that is a sort of go to personality trait when 204 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:40.519 you make a cat be able to talk and communicate. 205 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:45.600 But a lot of times that snobbery is translated by 206 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:50.879 the author into a sarcasm and shrewdness, maybe even a 207 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:58.759 cynical quality, and I really enjoy that's not quite present 208 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:02.080 with her. She is a snob in a very specific, 209 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:11.080 like a privileged way, but not in like a wise 210 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:16.759 to the world kind of way, and that just gives 211 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:19.279 a lot more room to the author to have fun 212 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:24.720 with her and have her juxtaposed against Carl. So I 213 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:29.000 just think that he is playing Donut really well because 214 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:33.360 talking about Ober and the sentient dog in this other 215 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:38.279 series and why he just isn't as much fun when 216 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.759 the animal just seems straight up smarter than your main 217 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:45.399 character in a lot of ways. I get that you 218 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:48.360 think you're being subversive, but it's not really. That's sort 219 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:54.759 of what often happens. You need your little character, your 220 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:59.639 animal character, to have something that makes them still vulnerable 221 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:04.480 beyond just their physical vulnerability of being smaller and more fragile. So, 222 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:12.039 also getting back to the MLM, we find out later 223 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:15.879 there is something at the bottom of this pamphlet about 224 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:25.039 these drinks, these these smoothies rev up smoothies, portable, delicious, invigorating. 225 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:30.080 The entire line was crossed out with discontinued written under it, 226 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:34.039 and we find out later that the smoothies are composed 227 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:41.080 of moonshine plus the body of a dead fairy blended together. 228 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:47.720 I just feel like that's very significant. It's sort of 229 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:49.679 like easy to just be like, oh, yeah, that's just 230 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.960 a mechanic of the game, because this is what we're 231 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:55.600 being led to, is that you do something really gross 232 00:16:55.679 --> 00:17:00.559 to get the perk of this, you know. But I 233 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:06.480 think that there is something else happening here with the 234 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:10.960 fact that, like these fairies work for a company that 235 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:16.839 literally used to sell their parts as a smoothie. That 236 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:21.000 does ring a little true to hyper capitalism, as like, 237 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:25.880 oh yeah, you can like you cracked the code they 238 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.599 used to prey on you and blend you into smoothies 239 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:35.200 and now you're the boss. Oh honey, is that even true? Like, 240 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:40.440 I just there's there's something there and I can't totally 241 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:45.400 put words to like what it is, but I just 242 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:50.799 feel like there's more of a story in this than 243 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:58.480 we are given time to unpack. And uh, it's obviously 244 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:00.920 they're not the ones in charge, even though they are 245 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:06.279 clearly like middle management, they have to be aware what 246 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:11.279 the recipe used to be. So my assumption is kind 247 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:14.319 of we used to be killing and blending you to 248 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:20.400 sell you, as you know, something to stave off this disease. 249 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:24.359 But for whatever reason, we can't do that anymore. So 250 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:30.319 instead of literally killing you for sale, we will make 251 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:35.519 you our middle management and exploit you in a less 252 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:42.960 brutal but ultimately similar way. You know what I'm saying. Anyway, 253 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:46.359 I am just I've got my eye on it, that 254 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:53.000 is all I'm saying. So, of course, Doughnut, do you 255 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.680 think we can become consultants? And he is like, girl, 256 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:02.720 oh my god, got you gotta stop. As we finished 257 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:04.680 our circle of the outer ring of the quadrant, I 258 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:06.519 was forced to kill one of the Chloricons with a 259 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:09.200 punch to the head. Doughnut missed a shot, and the 260 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:13.839 little monster came running right at me, impossibly fast, and 261 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:20.160 he defends himself too slowly, and it's head caved in. 262 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.400 And when I opened my hand, my fingers were covered 263 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:27.640 with a lime green oily residue. Warning you've been infected 264 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:31.400 with the taint. Having the taint is like having the giggles, 265 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:33.920 or like having the time of your life. But instead 266 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:35.680 of being a good thing, you are balancing on the 267 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:38.799 precipice of death. You may not heal your health using 268 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:43.240 any method while you are inflicted with the taint. And 269 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:50.559 Carl reacts quite poorly to this. Uh, I was genuinely scared. 270 00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:52.960 I had received something that was going to kill me 271 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:56.039 on its own. The de buff wasn't a big deal. 272 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.720 I simply had to wait it out. I suspected it 273 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:02.079 was part art of a one to two punch. They 274 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:04.559 first inflicted you with the taint, then they hit you 275 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:07.079 with something else that seeped your health away. If that 276 00:20:07.160 --> 00:20:09.000 was the case, it didn't matter. These guys were only 277 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:14.160 level three. They were dangerous. So this is when he 278 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:20.119 starts looking at the moonshine and Uh. Jugs of this 279 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:23.680 concoction are highly sought after by the drinking established this 280 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:26.759 Oh my god, you guys, I cannot I get ahead 281 00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:28.920 of myself as I'm reading, and my tongue just starts 282 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:32.720 to read ahead as well before I'm actually done, And 283 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:38.440 so I combine words in these highly improbable ways. Jugs 284 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:40.960 of this concoction are highly sought after by the drinking 285 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:45.480 establishments that populate the third, sixth, ninth, twelfth, fifteenth, and 286 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:51.720 eighteenth floors. Very very specific drinking A swig defined as 287 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:54.680 one point five ounces of this potion will immediately cause 288 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:57.519 you to gain the shit faced deep buff has a 289 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:00.559 fifty percent chance to render you blind for period of 290 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:04.319 thirty hours, a five percent chance to immediately kill you, 291 00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:07.359 and a forty five percent chance to permanently raise a 292 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:14.759 random stat by two points. What odds like? Honestly, even 293 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:18.880 though it's insane, I was a little still tempted, not 294 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:25.759 gonna lie, and he decides that he is going to 295 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:31.799 create some Molotov cocktails, which results in a new item 296 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:36.480 that's created and named after him, Carl's jug a Boom, 297 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:41.359 and I love how he is described created by an 298 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:45.839 unstable pantsless man who talks to a cat. Carl's jug 299 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:48.240 a Boom takes the bigger is better approach when it 300 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:53.319 comes to Hobgoblin fire bottles burns hotter, bigger, and faster 301 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:56.680 than your normal Molotov cocktail. The use of a standard 302 00:21:56.680 --> 00:21:59.279 torch instead of a cloth wick makes these devices much 303 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:02.759 more stable. Just don't drop it once it's lit, lest 304 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:09.480 you find yourself doing a joan of our impersonation. And she, 305 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:12.559 like Donah, is super excited that this is named after 306 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:15.359 him in a way that Carl isn't, But of course 307 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:19.039 she would be, and he is like, I really hope 308 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:21.519 that everybody doesn't see it like that, whereas personally I 309 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:23.240 was sort of like, I don't know, man, it might 310 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:27.119 be kind of fun to develop this weird like reputation 311 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:29.240 before people meet you, and then they're like, wait, you're 312 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:36.240 Carl jug a boom? Carl? Is that you? So they 313 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:39.279 test one out and the thing just like makes such 314 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:42.640 an inferno that they have to back away several times 315 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:47.480 because it just keeps getting bigger. Most of the jugs 316 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:49.599 were already about three quarters full, which was good. I 317 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:53.000 didn't have to waste any of the moonshine. Out of curiosity, 318 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:56.079 I examined the jugs in my inventory and compare their 319 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:59.559 value to my other explosive devices. The jugs were pretty 320 00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:02.960 high on lie list, just above the smoke bombs. The full, 321 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:07.400 unaltered jugs of moonshine were more valuable, however, in fact, 322 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:09.440 they were near the top of my list, just above 323 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:15.759 the engineer's table I still had. And I couldn't help 324 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:17.960 but think about how I would react if I saw 325 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:20.200 that they made this great weapon, but they also were 326 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:25.480 super valuable just as moonshine. It would be very difficult 327 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:28.519 to get myself to use them as Molotov cocktails. I 328 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:32.200 have to admit it would just be too I think 329 00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:37.599 I might hoard them, I really do so. We finally 330 00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:40.240 came across a new type of mob just outside of 331 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:44.079 the boss room. There wasn't any sort of giant machinery, 332 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:46.720 but a tube ran along the ceiling, curving into what 333 00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:50.759 looked like a filthy aluminum bathtub. There were piles of bottles, 334 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:54.400 empty and full. The snock covered Level threes were taking 335 00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:56.400 the jugs and tipping them into the tub to fill 336 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:58.599 them up. At the far end of the room was 337 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.880 a doorway guarded by a pair of small floating creatures. 338 00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:06.799 These weren't Chloricons, but small fat fairies who buzzed about 339 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:09.880 with a pair of hummingbird wings. They looked like miniature 340 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:15.440 winged soccer moms. Lambanac rev Up Consultant Elites Level six, 341 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:18.400 the second tier of the rev Up Empire. These Laminac 342 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:20.880 consultants don't need to speak to a manager. They are 343 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:24.279 the managers. They run their business with a brutal efficiency. 344 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:26.319 It is said that if one of their underlings falls 345 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:28.640 behind on their sales quotas, they punish them by requiring 346 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:31.359 them to take a sip of their own product. Those 347 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:34.079 that survive are repurposed as workers for the filling room, 348 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:39.079 or worse, as still engineers working directly under Krakaren herself, 349 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:46.920 and he comes up with a plan here with Donut 350 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:50.599 using her spell to jump over there. The two biggest 351 00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:53.200 problems with donuts puddle Jumper spell was the cool down 352 00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:56.880 and manocost one cast. She couldn't do it again for 353 00:24:56.920 --> 00:24:59.079 five hours, which meant once she was in that room, 354 00:24:59.160 --> 00:25:03.759 she couldn't teleport it out. Secondly, it costs twenty manipoints, 355 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:07.720 which reminder, she can't drink manipotions for like two full 356 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:13.920 minutes between them. So he basically tells her, if you 357 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:15.839 get in trouble, you just have to run, but we're 358 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:17.759 going to do our best. And what she has to 359 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:21.200 do is go in there and use her charm on 360 00:25:21.720 --> 00:25:25.640 everybody to get them to leave and follow them into 361 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:29.200 a room where Carl can attack them using one of 362 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:35.319 these juggo booms. Every time I say it, it just 363 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:37.759 feels like a little bit like a slur. I don't 364 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:43.759 know why. And the thing that is interesting a little 365 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:51.240 bit later is that Carl feels that using her ability 366 00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:57.240 to attack these creatures is a little bit unsavory. I 367 00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:02.119 think that's the word he uses, and what I thought 368 00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:07.359 he meant was more like, I don't like like. It's 369 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:10.759 one thing to come in and just be ready to 370 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:16.799 kill people and honestly say to them, yeah, that's what 371 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:20.400 we're here for, is to kill you. It's another thing 372 00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:25.279 to pretend to be somebody's friend and act like you 373 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:30.480 want to help and then turn on them, which I 374 00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:35.720 still would understand. I really would get it. But it 375 00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:40.119 turns out he really means is that once they get 376 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:46.200 to know people, it's more difficult to see them as 377 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:54.319 a just straight up faceless enemy because they say things 378 00:26:54.359 --> 00:27:02.640 that humanize them, which is exactly the thing about the 379 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:06.279 way that war works is that you have to dehumanize 380 00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:08.680 the enemy in order for a lot of people to 381 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:12.000 be able to do the job they're there for as soldiers. 382 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:16.640 There's a forgive me for mentioning Black Mirror, which can 383 00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:20.319 be a very heavy handed show at times, but there 384 00:27:20.359 --> 00:27:24.720 is an episode where there is like this weird alien 385 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:30.000 invasion and all of these soldiers are wearing these particular 386 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:34.200 suits to protect them from some gas or something that 387 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:37.920 these beings allegedly give off and you know, to keep 388 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:40.960 them safe, and they have to go into these spaces 389 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:46.640 and just eradicate all of these like weird alien insect beings. 390 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:53.279 And then eventually somebody figures out that the suits or 391 00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:57.200 something that they were given when they first signed up 392 00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:03.720 changes their perception and those aren't alien insectoid beings, those 393 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:07.799 are people, and they have been made to not see 394 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:12.240 human beings very literally so that they would just go 395 00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:16.680 in and fucking destroy everybody. And so this whole time 396 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:23.200 they've been murdering like hiding refugees, and it's a pretty 397 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:26.799 fucking grim episode, as you can imagine. And the end, 398 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:31.839 somebody has been promised a beautiful, like three bedroom home 399 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:35.039 to come back to if he finishes his tour, and 400 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:38.279 it's left very open ended when he gets back whether 401 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:40.440