you ever think about how absolutely bonkers bananas the entire crystal kingdom arc was. i mean i didnt even know what was going on for 60% of my first listen of that thing
here there be gerblins: classic dnd adventure but there’s a character named barry bluejeans, and the boss gets charmed.
murder on the rockport limited: classic train murder mystery feat. necromancy. introduces a widely beloved character. the setting is just the train for 90% of the arc
petals to the metal: preparing to race. and then racing. feat. tragic love story, reintroduction of an old character, and funky racing shenanigans wherein the DM gives up on not saying the word ‘car.’
crystal kingdom: the setting is a lab that’s turning to crystal. lots of mini-activities, such as Mean Quiz Robot, Tardigrades, and Tiny Elevator Adventure. the players are being chased by Death Himself AND a ball of ghosts that climbed out from under death’s nose. the robots are actually possessed. beloved character returns. other beloved character’s family is met. the red robe yells something mysterious and plot-important. a scientist is desperately trying to give exposition about crucial interplanar lore as a competent woman is prevented from killing him. the Real World is canon. the boys literally cheat death with rigged playing cards. one of the most powerful artifacts in the known universe gets eaten and they have to use Remote Shapeshifting to get it out.
eleventh hour: the setting is a single town in a time loop where they have to gradually learn more about the events & inhabitants to create a perfect loop. it’s groundhog day but one hour.
suffering game: sacrifice-and-fight loop all day. the apocalypse is starting. the red robe is a friend. cool lich fight. speedrun strats clip through kravitz’s sidequest.
stolen century: a series of mini boat adventures. we stan a whole crew.
story and song: it’s the finale. big fight. very good epilogue. good job
UPSY.
It literally took me four listens to realize that Maureen died not because of her machine, but because she was trying to access information that a voidfish ate.
wait what
Lucas says that Maureen died because of what she saw in the Cosmoscope, and that it basically shattered her mind. When the boys get the memory unit from Maureen and Lucas and listen to it at the end of the arc, it’s revealed that Maureen saw the stolen century. The implication was that Maureen died because she access knowledge that should have been inaccessible to someone that hadn’t been inoculated yet.
Junior murdered Maureen.
i am beginning to realize that not a lot of people knew this
oh my god it makes so much sense. “I saw beyond the universe, far past the places we should see. but for my vision i was cursed, torn from my home and family”
and then when the THB drink jr’s juice, Barry tells them not to remember all at once because it will hurt. try and ease into remembering.