1226 – Only Good Bad Ideas | Journey Into the World Of Friends Ep11
Sometimes coming up with a plan means being open to new ideas, even those ideas you would sleep through.
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Episode 1226 – Only Good Bad Ideas | Journey Into The World Of Friends Ep 11
[START OF RECORDING]
SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, whether you play your games with cards or dice or boards or controllers, or however you like to…even if you say, games? I prefer not to play any games. That’s a valid…playing no games is a valid choice. Or not having…games? Just not into it right now or always. Whatever it is. Those are all valid choices. Tonight we’ll be listening to some friends playing a game in the World of Friendship, but don't worry, you could sleep to it or chill out to it 'cause it’s almost time for Sleep With Me, the podcast that’s here to put you to sleep by keeping you company and taking your mind off of stuff. It’s a silly, silly show, and I’m so glad you’re here. Regular listeners, welcome back.
If you’re new, I really am glad you’re here, and I really hope this podcast can help you. It is an acquired-taste podcast. It’s just very different, and that doesn’t mean you can’t acquire it. It doesn’t mean you have to, either. Just give it a few tries and see how it goes, just 'cause this podcast is so different. The way it works is I just tell you a little bit of…well, I’ll tell you the structure of the show. I ease you into bedtime and then I tell you a story later on, and I keep you company. Because the reason I make the show is, one, I’ve been there. I have trouble sleeping…on and off my whole life, so I know how it feels and I want to help. I really know how it feels.
That’s why I’m here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff in the deep, dark night, so you say, hey, I got a friend in the deep, dark night, a bore-friend, a little bit…he’s a little bit of an oddball, but he’s there to keep me company. I didn’t like it at first, but I gave it a few tries and now I realize I was looking for…this is what I’ve been looking for. It’s like a TV on in another room or a calm party down the street that you’re not invested in, like a sound…the good sounds of water, not the ones where you’re like, is that…? Whatever, that you’re like, is that dripping? What is that going on? Or…you know what I mean; nice water sounds, nice, consistent ones. Water, take a hint; keep it consistent between the hours of 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM. I know that’s not in your nature. I’m just…I’m kinda joking.
Water, please don’t…please understand that wasn’t passive-aggressive. Maybe it was. I don't know. Water, we got something in common; I’m something like…you make up the majority of the planet and I’m made up of mostly water. So, I should have…I shouldn’t have said…water, I shouldn’t have said anything about you. I apologize. You’re correct. But also, I’m trying to open a sleep podcast to let you know not only are you not alone in the deep, dark night, but you deserve a good night’s sleep. Now, structurally the show is different, so let me just tell you really quick and then I’ll re-explain it later.
The show starts off with a greeting — that’s where we’re at now — then there’s support so the show could be free, and there’s 600 ad-supported shows in the feed ready to go, so you could pick and choose from those as well. After that is a long, meandering intro which is a show within a show meant to ease you into bedtime, kinda like a cool-down act instead of a warm…it’s a warming…a cooling act to ease you into bedtime as you get ready for bed or as you’re getting comfortable. That’s like, fifteen, twenty minutes. Then there’s support, then there will be a bedtime story, Journey Into Our World of Friends, and that’ll be nice whether you’re listening or you’re sleeping through it. So, I’m so glad you’re here. Give it a few tries. See how it goes. Thanks for making it possible, my patron peeps.
INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake, whether it’s thoughts, things on your mind that you’re thinking about, about the past, the present, the future, thoughts, trying to…I’m always trying to…always figuring, trying to figure stuff out. Most of my figuring is done figuratively running around.
If I…with my hands waving above my head, running in…bumping into other versions of myself, then running around, probably making loud noises. If some calm version of me…say, what’s going on here? Well, we’re trying to figure some stuff out. What are you figuring out? What are we gonna have for lunch? Oh, okay, okay. Well, it’s…okay, okay. Then you just pat…I would just pat everybody on the back, my calmer, wiser version of myself, so wise, it has no wisdom. So, it could be thoughts, it could be feelings, 'cause when I’m running around like that trying to figure stuff out, I usually have some feelings, too, and a lot of times I have feelings before, after, and during.
I even have feelings right now unrelated to recording the podcast, but I try to remind myself I’m here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff, and that helps me be grounded. Hopefully it helps you. I say, yeah, you got feelings. There’s no denying it. Could be keeping you awake; that’s what I want you to know. That’s why I’m here. So, thoughts, feelings, physical sensations that are impacting you and your sleep, it could be changes in time, temperature, routine, schedule, you could work a different shift, you could be on a trip, you could have guests coming. Whatever it is. The reason I go through all that stuff is to let you know you’re not alone in the deep, dark night, that I’m here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff, and that you deserve a good night’s sleep.
I run through all that stuff 'cause it feels, for a lot of us, lonely in the deep, dark night, or we just feel like, hey, what am I gonna do? I gotta deal with this on my own. Not anymore. If this show works for you, you don’t have to deal with sleepless nights on your own anymore. Now, I’m here in a unique role. I’m not really here to solve anything, fix anything, or change anything other than the fact…to say I’ll be here to take you…to tell you a story and take your mind off of the stuff that’s keeping you awake, and you could just give your attention over to me, or part of it, and say, okay, I could kinda listen. But you don’t have to give me all your attention. You don’t even have to pay…you don’t have to remember anything.
I’m here for you to keep you company, one, because I can relate to how it feels during the day which cause…comes over…comes up at night, and I know it’s not pleasant. Not only that; not only do I know how it feels…I might not be going through the same thing you’re going through. I might not have ever been through it. I can probably relate to how it feels, but even if I can't, there is someone listening right now who can relate to how you feel and who agrees with me that you deserve a bedtime…you could get the rest you need so your life’s more manageable, that knows that it’s tough or difficult or however you want to define it. They’re nodding their head with your thoughts, not my words; with how you’re feeling. They are nodding their head and leaning in, saying, glad you’re here.
Those listeners who are just like you are saying, I really hope this podcast can help you out, 'cause it’s helped me out. Because I’ve heard their stories, right? That’s why this show is so important to me, because you really do deserve a bedtime you don’t have to dread, that you could look forward to or feel neutral about, and eventually you get the sleep you need, you’re out there flourishing in the world, and our world’s a better place, right? Your world’s a better place. It really does impact everyone, and that’s not to say it should or you have to be better tomorrow or any of that nonsense. Just says, hey, you deserve some rest, so hopefully this show…hopefully this is a place where you could settle down, even if it’s at a distance and you say, I’m not so sure I want to settle down.
You say, okay, I could check that out. What I’ll do here is I’ll send my voice across the deep, dark night. I’ll use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents. So, that means I’m gonna go off-topic, I’m gonna get mixed up, which I’ve already done, I’ll forget what I was saying, then I’ll elaborate on something that doesn’t make any sense. My voice is not traditionally soothing. All that stuff adds up to a distraction you don’t really have to listen to. This is a podcast you kinda barely listen to. It’s more than background noise but it’s not much more than background noise, and there are people who listen to me just as background noise, just at a mumble.
But it’s more like something…if you were gonna…you were waiting for paint to dry and you said, hey, I need something to listen to while I wait for this paint to dry, and, yeah, I’ll probably be scrolling through my phone or whatever…the idea of not paying…listening, it really…it’s something that we…during the day, it has a different flavor to it, right? Even certain movies that I’ve watched when I’ve been using my phone or shows…that maybe somebody else was like, hey, I’m into this movie; you want to watch it together? I say, yeah, I’m just gonna do my Spanish and look up…do a little research while I’m watching the movie. I didn’t really watch the movie, right? I only kinda barely watched it. They might ask a question about it or say, well…or I might even have some forlorn feelings.
Maybe I wish I watched…well, no forlorn feelings with Sleep With Me. You don’t need to pay attention unless you want to or need to or on occasion you do, 'cause I’m here to be…keep you company. The other ironic…I don't know if it’s ironic or paradoxical. I’m not here to put you to sleep. I’m here to keep you company while you fall asleep, to take your mind off of stuff, to misdirect your thoughts over here, and to just be a presence that you could kinda pay attention to. I’m here to be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your bore-bud, your bore-bestie, your neigh-bore, your bore-bor, your Borbie, your bores, your bore-bruh, your bore-friend. I’m here to provide you a service, but there’s no pressure to fall asleep with this service. I’m here to keep you company whether you’re awake or asleep.
The shows are over an hour so you say, oh, I got plenty of time to drift off. There’s people who listen during the day when they need a break or people who listen who can’t sleep at all. So, I’m here to the very end whether you’re awake or asleep. That’s kinda what works about the show, is I’m here whether you’re listening to me or not or whether you might need to listen to me later. So, that’s important to point out. Yeah, most people get to this show and they’re skeptical or doubtful 'cause you’re…right? That’s a normal way to get to any podcast, particularly one to put you to sleep, 'cause you probably tried a bunch of different stuff.
Maybe a couple people told you about the show, maybe you found it when you were searching for something to help you sleep, and your expectation was probably something in someone more reasonable and a little bit different structure, right? But what works about the show is the fact that once you get over those expectations, you say, oh, okay, when’s the bedtime story stuff start? Well, it’s already kinda…it’s already…it’s a process and it’s already kinda going. Well, when are you gonna get to the point? Well, one day I’ll get to the point. Mostly I’ll meander around the point. So, yeah, it’s a podcast you just barely listen to. It doesn’t put you to sleep. It’s more here to be there while you fall asleep or in case you need it in the middle of the night.
Or there are people who listen…mostly the people who subscribe as a paid subscriber to the show who listen all night and let the show run all night long. Or there’s my dog, Koa. Now, I don't do this all the time anymore. She’s going…she went through a little phase where she had enough of the podcast, but…would you believe that? But I used to just play it for her, like episode after episode after episode. So, yeah. I guess that’s…I don't know what my point is about that, but…so…oh, people listen on and on and on…it just takes some getting used to. So, if you’re skeptical or doubtful, give this show a few tries. Then if you discover you don’t like the show, I have a website set up; sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou. It has other sleep podcasts and stuff on there, so you could check those out.
Maybe one of those will be what works for you, 'cause those are all a little bit different than Sleep With Me. So, if you’re doubtful or skeptical, that’s normal. Okay, so, a podcast you don’t listen to, it doesn’t put you to sleep…oh, structure of the show is also different, and that gets some people upset because, again, your expectation is that this will follow a normal structure of something familiar, and it does follow a very intentional structure that I’ve just found over the years works for the most people it works for, but you could…there are ways to shift how the show is structured if you decide you’re a regular listener and you want to experience it a little bit differently. But let me just explain how a lot of people listen to the show and then how you could adjust it.
So, the show starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and then I say something silly and welcoming so you say, hey, I might check that show out, or, oh, there’s my bore-friend back again. I’m glad I’m in the right place…so you feel seen and welcomed in. So, just in case…for some reason that part doesn’t work for you, there are subscribers who listen to story-only versions. Or if any of the theme music or the credits music doesn’t work for you…that’s why people subscribe and listen to story-only episodes. But for most people, they like that. They say, okay…but it’s okay if you don’t. I’m just saying. Okay, so that’s the greeting, then there’s support. So, the ad-supported show is ad-supported. It’s free.
You could check out the sponsors or whatever, but that’s how most people…they say, great…there’s 600 free episodes for me to listen to. Then there’s an intro, which is separate from the support. Again, if you don’t like the support, there’s also full episodes that subscribers get. So, if you’re looking for a ad-free experience…or you can earn them through our referral program. So, there’s that, then there’s…so, the support, then then there’s a long, meandering intro which is about fifteen minutes long. It’s separate from the support. It’s a show within a show. You really don’t want to miss out on it, 'cause every one follows a familiar structure but is different every time.
The reason it does that is, one, I believe that whatever’s keeping us awake can adjust, so if I just put out the same intro, it would save me a ton of time and money, but it wouldn’t work because one, it wouldn’t be fun. A lot of the intros have unexpected fun in there where I get distracted by something strange or silly…they would be predictable. This way it feels familiar but it’s different every time so you can’t quite adjust, and the intro is not really meant to put you to sleep. So, if you fall asleep during the intro, that’s great, but for most people, the intro eases them into bedtime, where they listen while they’re doing their wind-down or getting-ready-for-bed activities or they’re in bed getting comfortable. So, the intro does not necessarily put everybody to sleep. It only puts a small percentage of people to sleep.
Again, if you don’t like the intros, there’s ways to skip them, but there’s a lot of people who subscribe to the show to listen to all-intro episodes. So, that’s just a couple ways you could listen. But for most people, the intro is part of their wind down, and that’s really what’s worked for me the best most of the time, is having a wind-down routine. So, I strongly recommend trying it out, whatever other chill activities you could be doing, or getting ready for bed. Or, yeah, just getting in bed, getting comfortable, and starting to relax. Then there’s support again, then there’s our bedtime story which will be a journey into the World of Friends, where we’ll journey into the World of Friends, playing a roleplaying game.
I don't know if they’re playing it anymore, but they’re friends and they’re journeying into the World of Friends. So, that’s that, and then there will be some thank-yous at the end. That’s just the structure of the show, of what…I don't know, it’s cool with podcasting that you could put something out one way and then some people could start the show at twenty or thirty minutes, some people can use a sleep timer, some people slow the show down, some people listen during the day and speed the show up. But that way, the most…the majority of people can listen to the show like they like to every night, linearly. But then if you want to adjust, there’s a bunch of different ways you can adjust and we can customize it. So, that’s the structure of the show. That’s why I make the show. I think that’s it. I’m really glad you’re here.
I work really hard. So do a team of people, 'cause we yearn and we strive to help you fall asleep, to keep you company and break through that loneliness, to help you feel seen and welcomed and say, okay, at least I got my bore…my imperfect bore-friend who’s…I recognize their humanity and that they’re a human being, too. They have this…they’re frail. Scoots is frail, and boy does he A-I-L. He’s not…he’s doing his best, too. There’s somebody out there doing their best, too, and they’re gonna keep me company. So, I hope this show can help. Thanks again for coming by, and here’s a couple ways we’re able to do it for you for free twice a week.
Alright everybody, this is Scooter here. Welcome to our episodically modular series, Make…I was gonna say Nuns in Space. I say, no, it’s Make Great Pets. It’s Journey Into the World of Friends…is the series we do here, and it’s a journey into the World of Friends. It’s a tale of friends journeying into a world of roleplaying and adventure. It’s episodically modular…means you could listen to it in any order. This happens to be the eleventh episode, but…I think the twelfth episode, because I think there will be a…but see, I don't even know. It’s so episodically modular. But there will have been a seasonal special. So, this will be somewhere between the twelfth and the thirteenth episode or it could be…I don't know. It’s episodically modular, man.
But the characters are gonna catch us up, anyway. It’s just a lulling, fun story of a group of friends. They were designing a roleplaying game or a campaign or adventure, then they became a part of the adventure, and now they’re adventuring in the World of Friends, which they’ve journeyed into. You know who journeys here every week — well, every other week when we record this — the journeyman announcer…I mean, he’s past beyond journeyman. What game was that where you wanted to become a…? Those were the three levels. Man, I wonder what that was. Huh. I don't know. It was a roleplaying game, video game, and you would strive to go up…that would be your next level up, and then you’d become, whatever…I don't know what…it becomes apprentice, journeyman, and then, whatever, expert or something.
Well, anyway, he’s…his expertise is in making great intros to a sleep podcast — also driving all the way from Los Angeles or wherever he may be staying at the time, and flying if needed — is our Hollywood announcer, Mr. Antonio Banderas. The friends beyond the binary, the ladies, the gentlemen, the boys, the girls, it’s time for a journey into the World of Friends. Yippee-yay-ah…shwoo. Wow, that was everything at once. Thanks, Antonio. Antonio, you just happened to arrive on a monumentous day where we could play a game together that I…a used game I bought that I’ve talked about on the podcast for years. I finally found a reasonably-priced one with reasonably-priced shipping.
So, we’re gonna sit down…if you can remain quiet for the next hour and thirty minutes without any twinkling of joy in your heart or any angels observing you and sighing or any people from beneath the Earth looking at you and making creaking noises 'cause they have FOMO or whatever they have of you…they say, well, we know Antonio will never join us down here, but it sure would be nice to have that smile…and probably would give angels FOMO. So, we could play that game…Oh, What A Mountain is the game. Maybe I’ll do a episode about it at some point in the future. But anyway, this is…that’s Mr. Antonio Banderas. I’m Scooter, and this is Journey Into the World of Friends. Take it away.
Okay, we’re just waking up here, so…oof, I’m just still waking up. This is Zell, and does anybody want to review where we are, what happened, and where we’re going? No? Okay, I’ll take it, then. I’m Zell. I’m strong of arms. Once upon a time, when Lord von Chill would call me a working-class warrior…so, I’m a warrior of our party and, yeah, I’m happy to be here. We’ve got our…someone with nimble fingers who’s fleet of foot, who has stealth, and is honest about how she feels; Grenada of Darmok. At her side another warrior, but a warrior who prefers to be known as Their Grace or Your Grace. He doesn’t say grace, but he is our…at one point he was my grace. Those days have passed. That’s Lord von Chill.
We also have our magic-user, Watta, and then of course our healer, our Florencian nurse…believes in the Three Florences, Eleanor. We’re somewhere in a room in the…beneath the Handy Halls or in the Handy…no, in the Handy Halls of the Land of Leisure in the midst of an adventure underneath the attraction Journey Into the World of Friends, or World of Friends. I think once upon a time it was known as Journey Into the World of Friends, the boat…it was a boat-based attraction in the before-before time when the Land of Leisure was known as a theme park within the area of Florida.
People come and ride the boat, listen to the soundtrack, which we kinda replicated recently, Welcome to the World of Friends, and…talks about friendship and it showed plush-like friends from around the world celebrating friendship and participating in friendship…activities that friends do together and represent friendship metaphorically, kind of. I mean, not everybody that is in a band is…anyway, that’s a quibble. Friends quibble, though. So, we set…so, we’re within the…beneath this attraction. Who are we? We’re a party of adventurers. I cover who, what…what are we here for? We’re here to stop Vedul. Vedul, a dragon-based being, we believe, or a magic-user.
Very, very powerful, but in contact with something much, much more powerful than even Vedul, maybe power beyond our imagination. We were sent here by the Baron of the Boil, the current leader of Florida. The Baron of the Boil restored the free flow of water to Florida, and that was essential for us and all the things we believe in, and a lot of our motivations, and that’s how the Baron of the Boil became the leader of Florida. But Vedul, who happens to be a foundling and the Baron of the Boil’s son, her son…have taken over this attraction and are working…they stopped the free flow of water, and that was reason enough to send us on an adventure.
But as we’ve learned and as maybe we learned before from our different places we represent, it wasn’t just about the free flow of water and reestablishing that free flow of water and also reestablishing the Baron’s boil…Baron of the Boil’s control over the free flow of water, though it was the surface-level task at hand that we have not accomplished. But the reason Vedul has stopped the free flow of water is Vedul’s excavating a portal, which in an imaginary adventure we had once upon a time, is somehow…goes to another world or another dimension but also has created life within this theme park by becoming a well…I think the portal may be…we don’t understand. It’s a portal beyond my understanding.
It may not even be a portal…and also is a well for people…instead of going to another post-Earthly existence, the best we can understand it is…so, this may only be a theory that’s proved incorrect but it’s our working theory at this time, is that that’s how life…these attractions have come to be fully-sentient and alive, is something about this portal also acts as a well for post-Earthly beings’ essences. Not their consciousness, though, as far as we could tell. But their essence has also given life to all of the beings within this attraction that we’ve encountered that have had sentience, which is a lot of them or all of them. Now, they were…Vedul also somehow knew this or discovered…and Vedul’s using them as workers to unearth the well.
The well is currently under water and rock, and Vedul’s trying to block the…divert the water fully and then excavate all the rocks. So, that’s what happening. So, we were tasked with stopping Vedul. Eventually we got to this room, which was the security office for this part of the park or this attraction and beyond, and we realized that even though we thought we were adventuring and had…were very close to getting a upper hand with Vedul, that we were really…Vedul had led us here and locked us in the…sealed us in this office, actually, with a fake portal to our home world, because…well, we’ll…yeah, let’s just pretend we’re fully…we’re just adventurers, right? But a portal to a world…our home worlds, which wasn’t really a portal at all but a place…a surprise that was not so nice.
So, here we are in this security office. We were sealed in, and also there was two security bots we had to deal with. A third security bot seems to have gained some sentience or been reprogrammed by Mary Bear. With the help of that security bot, we disabled the other two security bots and realized that we could unlock the security room if we could sing the lyrics from the song…the lead song of the attraction. So, we overrode the locks and opened the door, then we rested. We also blocked Vedul from observing us, and now our plan is I guess to wait for Vedul’s…we went over this briefly, but surprise Vedul’s…sooner or later Vedul will wonder why Vedul can’t check in on us and send somebody to check. We will surprise them and maybe get on their outfits? Is that the general plan? Or get information from them?
Yeah, everybody’s nodding their heads. Except for one thing, and I’m listening…I’m looking at all your faces and I know that that plan might not work because Vedul’s had us on…basically on a rail. I think someone said that in their sleep. They said, remember when we played games and they used to be games where you were on a rail but you thought you were on an adventure? I said, I’m not familiar with that, but I’m…I understand the concept. Vedul’s led us here…and it’s tough to know if Vedul’s in contact with some mist-based dragon being. Is Vedul just predicting or guiding us…like, giving us limited choices where even if we choose A or B, it eventually leads to D? So, I’m just wondering if we go through with this plan, wouldn’t it be…would Vedul…? If we had A or B, right…we’re stuck in the security room; that’s A.
B is we somehow figure out against all odds how to get out. That’s A or B. I forgot. But we did that. There had to be some percentage…or, C, we went to the portal. I think we tried to make Vedul think we were gonna go through the portal, or that was our original plan. So, maybe we had the same plan. But I was rethinking things, because I said, even that…we should do something that Vedul…something that’s not a good…I think we should go back to no…only bad ideas. So, does anybody have…? If we’re going with only bad ideas…'cause we used to have no bad ideas. What about only bad ideas that can't possibly work out? Who’s got bad ideas? Oh, Lord von Chill. Yes. Well, I never…Lord von Chill here; I mean, I never consider any of my ideas bad, but if you have to come up with the best bad ideas, I’m probably your person.
So, one, we could wait and just go along with Vedul’s…keep ourselves under Vedul’s care. We could seal ourselves back in the security room and do nothing. We could go through the portal. We could…some other manner where we just give up on our goals and we say, eh, we’re not gonna do it anymore. We could go home and we could go back to camp on…at the train station. Go ahead, Grenada. No, I like…I think that’s a really bad…I think those are really…those are bad ideas, but not bad enough. But I think the…or two…I think giving up on some way…I think…Zell, you’re right; surprising Vedul’s team is not gonna work. This is Watta; oh, so, Vedul’s cut off from this room and the room is sealed. Is there a way we could keep the room sealed and keep Vedul cut off?
So, we…we’re almost saying ‘yes’ to one bad idea…even though we wouldn’t be in here, could we say ‘yes’ to the bad idea and…? Go ahead, Eleanor. There was once something called Bad Idea Jeans, but I don't remember too much about it. But yeah, I think we could probably work…what if we could talk to the security bot who’s listening? Can you understand us? Security bot can. Maybe one of us could work while we’re talking. Watta, maybe you could try to either use magic or see if there’s any way to record audio to get the bot…we’ll come back for the bot, so don't worry. Don’t let the bot think we’re leaving it for good. We have that bot imitate Vedul. We set a countdown so the room is sealed permanently, or at least as far as we could tell, right? The singing part we could still have work; Vedul’s not gonna know that.
Then Vedul could check in and the bot reports maybe only by audio so Vedul can't see anything, and the bot says, report: adventurers gone, big-farmed in the sky-d…like that. Go ahead, Zell. That’s great…those are great bad…those are good bad ideas. I don't think that’s actually a bad idea, but I can see you took the bad idea and you made…you added something onto it. I also am thinking…okay, so, let’s go with the idea of giving up. Setting aside that we’re adventurers…and maybe…Lord von Chill, maybe you are…maybe you’re the best brewer of bad ideas. Like, what is giving…? If we weren’t on an adventure…but it’s kinda inconvenient for us to go home and we’re gonna give up right now, but not turn ourselves…we’re actually giving up, but we’re not turning ourselves over to Vedul.
What would that look like? ‘Cause Vedul…that would actually be a decent idea 'cause then we could fake…and try to turn the tables. Oh yeah, so, I’m glad I’m able to provide…Your Grace is always here with bad ideas. Well…so, giving up without giving in…I would say, what if we…I mean, we just slept, had a great night’s sleep? What if we were to leave here and find a place to take a long break? That would be the worst possible…so, we’re in the middle of an adventure. Now we have an opportunity where our opposition, Vedul, thinks we’re big-farmed. So, as far as Vedul’s plans would be, either we would come to Vedul or create some sort of…we’d either fake…yeah, we…either we would go to Vedul or we’re already gone to the big farm. So, just take a break.
Find a place…I’m thinking of a ideal…now, I can keep going on these bad ideas. You know what’s a bad idea? Not getting any of your help. We could go to a place where…I mean, we could leave the attraction, but if we were gonna stay in the attraction, what would be a really good place to take a long break? I say, you know what? We’re not gonna adventure anymore. We’re just gonna kick back. We’re gonna have some privacy, have some relaxation, maybe start some hobbies. Say, okay, so, you’re in the middle of an adventure. You have one advantage and then you’re gonna do some hobbies. Does anybody have a bad idea related to that? Yeah, this is Watta; what about Fifi Lefew, the cat we helped with the holiday adventure? Oh, yeah, Fifi Lefew.
So, we could go to the Holiday Lodge even though it’s not actually a lodge. That’s a perfect place to take a break. It’s got holiday lights. It’s always a holiday in the Holiday Lodge. That’s what we helped Fifi Lefew with. Anybody else? Oh, Eleanor? Yeah, I would love to see the Can-Cat Cats, the Prancing Panthers…they had the Spinning Sables. They were talking about doing a show, Dropping Tigrises, Corny Koala…so, yeah, let’s start going there, because we could…who’s got…? Yeah, no, I’m looking at Zell looking at the map. Yeah, we could easily get back there without being detected, probably. Watta, how’s it…? Okay, everything’s set with the bot. I have promised the bot we’ll return for it, or someone will.
The bot also said that…like, it seems to understand once we leave to close the door…and only enable the back-up password that we used. Nothing else will work. Whatever controls Vedul has will not work…and to report that it was damaged in our face-off. So, yeah, we could start going. Everybody give the…you don’t hug a bot, but everybody say, Number 5, thanks for keeping us alive. Okay. We’ll see you. Okay, we’re following you, Zell. Lord von Chill, you have any more bad ideas? Well, I’d like to know how everything went. Since we last left the friends…well, the friends and work…is…could we…the friends…remember they started…in that room we had all the commotion…maybe we could get them to kinda join…like, do our work for us. So, this is a bad idea. We’re on break.
We’re hanging in the Holiday Lodge and the friends are having the adventure and doing our chores for us. Okay, that’s an idea. Any other ideas outside of Lord von Chill’s idea? ‘Cause that kinda goes against everything I stand for as a working-class warrior. So, that’s a really bad idea. Any other…? Oh, go ahead, Eleanor. I think we should…so, if…are we really leaning into this? Is there any opportunity for us to lie or to go against…that would go against the Three Florences for me…or to yourself or to others even though…okay, okay. Here comes…there’s the entrance to the Holiday Lodge. Password, please. Hi, we’re here to see Fifi Lefew. Oh no, we don’t need the password. We’re the ones that constructed…we gathered everything…Fifi sent us on an adventure to…oh, it is Fifi. Yeah, Fifi, it’s us. We’re here.
We’d like to be admitted to the Holiday Lodge. No, we don’t have a password. Okay, well, what do we want? Well, we just want to take a break and see…did you ever get the performances going? No. Did you do any…? Oh, you did some rehearsing, though. Oh, the Holiday Lodge is too small. Oh, the demand’s very high for your performances. I know this is…I’m trying to use my inside voice because I know we’re right above the barracks where all the…everybody rests. We had to sneak around a lot when we helped you with this, which…we did a lot of work to help you, so I don't know if that’s the password, but…I mean, what we could do is just come in and…hold on one second, Fifi. What about this; ultimatums? How about this as a bad idea?
Fifi, we’re just gonna come in and take all the decorations and every…if this…and then…'cause we had…we didn’t give them to you; we loaned them to you. Okay, now…thanks. Hey, Fifi Lefew. Yeah, this is my…okay, hi. We’re sorry; you didn’t get…so, you didn’t get to perform? Oh, you don’t have a performance space. Oh, Eleanor…oh, okay, Eleanor wanted to say something, but…so, I don't know, we’re really…I wasn’t telling the truth about the decorations. We weren’t gonna take them back. We were just looking to take a break and have all…we were thinking…we had this idea. We want to run it by you. What if you…how’s things going with Vedul? Oh, fine? It’s not great but it’s not…? Yeah. Oh, can you also keep a secret that we’re not here, right? I know you don’t work directly with Vedul.
Okay, well, here’s the thing; we were thinking…we’re on an adventure. We’re trying to stop Vedul and restore the free flow of water, not flood the park, ideally, though we heard…I can’t confirm that the countdown hasn’t been started even though…yeah, no, I’m only winking at my teammates because there’s something in my eye, not because I’m breaking any ethical standards for adventurers, 'cause there aren’t any, especially when it comes to bad ideas. So, I honestly don’t know. We didn’t start it, but we’re not really looking…we were wondering if you could get all the friends and then overthrow Vedul, and then you would control things. Isn’t there enough of you? Not gonna happen. Why isn’t it gonna happen? You don’t…oh. So, wait a second. I’m sorry. Can you say that again?
So, you friends have decided that your friends…you’re not friends of Vedul but you’re not gonna do anything unfriendly to everybody that works for Vedul or Vedul. Unfriendly; how do you define unfriendly? No big-farming or…huh. So, you’re not gonna do anything unfriendly. So, you’re kind of like pacifists? More or less. Well, that’s a bad idea, Fifi, in my opinion. But that’s good; I mean, normally I would say it’s…normally I would be compelled to tell you what a bad idea that is, but now I’m here to say that’s good. That’s a good…I’m glad you’re following through on that. I think we’re here to help you, then.
If you’re not gonna stop Vedul, you’re just gonna work…keep working with Vedul as…in return for having control of the attraction and hope Vedul keeps Vedul’s promises, huh? Okay, and you’re saying…I’m trying to think of the worst…let me turn things over to Lord von Chill, but let me get a understanding…the lay of the land here. So, you have a bunch of great performances but no place to perform them. We’re gonna be…we were thinking we wanted a long break, and you will only be friendly to Vedul’s…everybody that works for Vedul and Vedul, all of the friends. There’s no…what about Mary Bear? You can’t speak for Mary Bear, but everybody else…okay. Well, Lord von Chill, what do you think listening to all that? Hm, okay, well, I’m thinking.
Believe it or not, I don't mean to brag, but this almost comes natural to me, these bad ideas, almost like I just think of stuff and label it a bad idea. I don't know what that means about my…but here’s my idea; I guess you could call it…it’s a good idea. Don't worry, Fifi. I’m only saying bad idea. It’s a new thing we’re saying. But when I listen to all that, I was struck with this idea…okay, so, we have the barracks down there, right? And we have the friends up here and working down there, and also all of Vedul’s team, which they come and go depending on their shifts and some of them are…they’re different-based beings. They tend to be loud but they tend to be pretty tired from work and they consume a lot of ale, it seems like, and other things.
Here’s a thing; all the toys…we were only able to make this small holiday lodge, right, and it seems like it’s a disappointment because it hasn’t…you haven’t…it’s not big enough to have performances in. What if we took the barracks…and I mean, not us, because we can't go down…we can't be seen at this time, at least, but what if we took the barracks and made it into a friendly place for everybody but with…but kind of…people that were working for Vedul…I don't want to speak for Zell, but myself, I’ve spent a lot of time on the road. You know, you don’t get to be born into a family and be called Lord von Chill. I mean, you do in my case, but then you have expectations foisted upon you. You go out into the world and you try to prove those…with your good ideas.
So, I spent a lot of time around a lot of working-class warriors and people like me with a little shinier armor on them. I’ve learned a few things, and there’s a lot of steam getting blown off by the troops, even when you’re tired. Some of the best leaders that I’ve encountered have tried to find a way to keep that in balance. It doesn’t seem like…it seems like Vedul works on…if you’re tired and you have some ale, you’ll go to sleep…and keeping people on a tight schedule. But what would be a worse idea is if they had reward…for all their hard work at trying to disrupt the free flow of water and unearth some power greater than all of our understandings, maybe they earn some relaxation and shows at the end of the day and some…and the friends who love performing have a audience to perform…because I’m sure parts of you deep down, Fifi Lefew…sorry, Fifi…I can't…I’m sorry.
I can't say it. I’m bad at speaking, too. Leflew…like…Leflew; yes. What if you put on shows? Then every…it’s a win…it’s a terrible idea. I mean, it’s a good idea, but for what we need, it doesn’t help us at all. It only helps you be friendly…you give the gift of performance. They get a performance. They get something that feels like a party place. You know what I’m saying? Can-Can Cats; who can’t get…? We were talking about it on the way here. The Spinning Sables…there’s other…right? Okay, yeah. Okay, so, you’re gonna get right on it? Okay, so, Fifi’s…so, we’ll just be here in the Holiday Lounge…we’ll be hanging in the Holiday Lounge. We could observe. Didn’t really…oh, bye, Fifi. Interesting. So, it looks like that plan is going somewhere. Everybody…no one…are my…my bad ideas are pretty good, huh?
Yeah, this is Zell; yeah, Lord von Chill, that bad idea was effective. Okay, so, it looks like what we could do is…what if we just…I don't know if we can do this. It used to be there was ways to pass time where it would pass quicker. I mean, like us sleeping or whatever while they get everything set up. Probably only take Fifi…oh yeah, they’re already working on stuff and talking to some of Vedul’s team. Like, what if we take shifts watching and resting but do that thing where time passes…? Can you weave one of those spells, Watta? I’m weaving it right now. So, everybody…I’ll just count to ten and then it’ll be about…two-and-a-half days have passed, which still should give us time…in case you weren’t lying about the countdown. Well, I was lying, but I could have been accidentally telling the truth.
Okay, one, two, three, four, five, six…four, three, two, one. Okay, whoa, this…there’s just a show finishing up down there. Oh, there’s a lot of applause. It looks really idyllic. It almost looks like it could be a different…oh boy, what’s that thundering? Everybody get to the windows here and let’s…oh, there’s Vedul. That’s a very smoky and thundery appearance of Vedul. Vedul seems to be…it’s not…Vedul seems to be…body-language-wise, Vedul looks very unhappy. Oh, you can do the…okay, so, we can listen in. Okay, so…oh, only I can hear it, so I should tell you? Okay. Thanks for sticking your finger in my ear. That was magic? Okay, so, Vedul’s talking about efficiency and time schedules. Oh, there’s Mary Bear. Oh, that seems to be who Vedul is the most unhappy with.
Oh, Mary Bear is saying, we’re actually 30% more efficient since the show started. But Vedul says things are still off-schedule. If it’s 30%, then 30% more work should have been done. Okay, so, they’re having a little discussion about efficiency, so I guess…okay, I’ll just lay it out because it’s very confusing. They’re really using a lot of words. Bad idea to…I’ll just…you know. Basically there was a expectation of how many hours would be worked. So, Vedul’s kinda thinking, oh, if everybody’s supposed to work twelve hours a day, you’re supposed to work twelve hours a day. Mary Bear had figured out how much work the workers get done in twelve hours and made them 30% more efficient so they could work…they’re actually working still more…I mean, they’re not working twelve hours anymore.
So, in eight hours, they were getting twelve hours’ work done, but they’re working nine hours, so they’re getting even more work done. But Vedul seems to be holding to the thought that…so, it seems like a misunderstanding of honest…and that’s what Mary Bear’s saying; a honest misunderstanding. Vedul’s saying…oh boy, now there’s the mist dragon appearing…this is the first time we’ve seen the mist dragon. It is breathtaking. It seems to be a dragon made of mist and it’s…okay, it’s not happy with Vedul or Mary Bear. Okay, the…oh, this is interesting. It’s actually not taking…the mist dragon is asking Vedul and Mary Bear what’s happening, but it’s using…it’s from a far…very strong projection of voice. They’re both kind of explaining their sides. Okay, now the mist dragon is saying it needs to be fixed.
Twelve hours, 30% more efficiency is what we need. Now it’s telling Vedul Vedul should have realized this. Okay, now the dragon’s telling Mary Bear that…okay, so, everybody’s watching but it’s not too tense, 'cause this just kinda feels like everybody’s looking for how to solve it. Now…okay, Mary Bear owes the mist dragon 30% past efficiency for the time wasted. Okay, now all the…Vedul’s team is kinda looking a little bit awkward. They’re saying, we can make it up. We’ll work fourteen hours. Now the mist dragon is kinda letting them know who’s in charge. Everyone’s face is like, I’m here to help solve these things. But it’s saying that Mary Bear owes it…okay, Mary Bear says, what do you want me to do? Oh boy, okay…yeah, so…okay, and it’s happening. The mist dragon is misting Mary Bear. Okay, so, this is interesting.
I think there’s something…let’s stop with the bad ideas. Oh no, so, Mary Bear has been…Mary Bear is no longer a animatronic or only an animatronic. The mist being has misted and kind of taking in…Mary Bear into its being. Everyone’s watching this. No one likes it. It’s saying, there, problem solved. Now everyone needs to get back to work, but also you could still…oh, so it’s…no one’s comfortable but the mist dragon isn’t pushing the extremes, either. Saying, okay, now you just gotta work twelve hours and then you can come use this room. But deep down, everyone’s frowny-faced. Oh, hey, Fifi Lefew. Yeah, that was…okay. Okay, we’ll hold you. We’ll hug you. Yeah, are you ready? Do you think you and the friends are ready to not be friends with Vedul? No. Okay. Oh yeah, we shouldn’t be solving anything; you’re right.
We should just be holding you. We’ll take turns holding you while we just ponder. Or, I’ll just ponder. So, there’s something happening, then. Okay, so, we know now this mist-based being is connected to the portal, but there’s…there is a time fuse here, because why would it have to…? Does anyone else recognize…or anybody have any ideas? Well, I have some ideas. What if we all hug each other as a group and then go hug Vedul? No, no, Lord von Chill, we don’t need bad…oh no, that wasn’t a…oh yeah, that was a bad idea. He’s kidding. That was actually a joke. He can actually be funny sometimes. Yeah, no, I was totally being funny. Yeah, that was a bad idea on purpose. Yeah, see? Yeah, sometimes he’s accidentally funny, but it’s his…he’s subconsciously funny sometimes. Okay, so, anybody have any ideas, though, about this?
Eleanor, go ahead. Yeah, this reminds me of one of the Three Florences’ tales, The Trials of the Florence of the Machines and the Machine World. This does seem to apply a little bit here. The Florence of the Machines…I never…I grasp it now because the Florence of the Machines was a bit like…was a repair of machines like Mary Bear Repair. I don't know why I blocked that from my mind for so long. I guess I’m trying to figure out how to distill the message from the story. But basically, every once in a while, another goddess or god would come along and try to challenge Florence to be the leader of all the machines, right? Once this one god named Bebu came along and said, I challenge you to prove you’re more efficient than me. Florence said, well, what is the challenge?
Bebu said, well, we’ll gather a large number of machines and we’ll have the machines do one of the hardest things, which is repetitive tasks, and we’ll have equal…everything will be equal at first. We’ll see who can continue that…'cause this was on god-based time, so…GBT. Different for us. This would have taken thousands of years, probably. I don't know if…I think they were juggling planets or whatever, asteroids or something. So, they said, and whoever can maintain and keep it up longer wins and takes over. Now, this Bebu was very shiny and very flashy, where…I guess they called it…what did they call it? Emo or goth or something. Like, Florence of the Machine, she was much more…she was all…she always had grease and mud from working on the machines, and wearing a apron and a smock and all that.
She said, fine, fine, fine, I accept your challenge as I’m…I have to do once every millennia or whatever. Now, what Bebu didn’t tell Florence or anyone, which was in the allowable rules of GB…god-based competitions, is Bebu was from a lineage of gods and demi-gods and planets that were living that were creators of cogs and widgets, Cogsly Widgetworks or something. So, Bebu’s plan was to…instead of maintaining the…all the machines under Bebu’s care was to replace their parts even before they wore out, not to do maintenance, with the idea that that would optimize everything and then all the machines would always be new. Florence knew this and knew that, yeah, there would be a while where Bebu would…or it would look like clearly Florence was gonna lose and Bebu was gonna win.
But because of chaos theory and mental fatigue theories that Florence had much more knowledge of…Florence called…which is interesting 'cause this is one of the sayings…the power of grease, you know? That’s one of the things that unites all the Florences. When people get lost and they just…the person we encounter earlier just was into Florence and the Hendersons…the power of the grease alone is not enough to sustain all three Florences, but the power of the grease is something that’s well-known, and we believe in the power of grease. Give it some grease. So, Florence was…and this was…at least in…as far as gods and people that could observe this, this was big news and everyone was following it along. But no one understood except for Florence and the…of the Machines.
So, it looked like all was lost and Florence just kept greasing the machines, fixing them as needed, and it was kind of dull and laborious and smelly and, whatever, some of the machines would be sputtering and, whatever…Florence just went along maintaining the machines, where, whatever…I forgot who their name was. Just 'cause I’m trying to…kept replacing the machine parts and then even building…replacing the machines almost entirely. But eventually it all came and…Florence’s machines, even as they aged, were able to age gracefully in a way that the motion kept going much longer. It all fell apart for Udu and…or…and it didn’t work out. So, yeah, that’s the end of my tale. Okay, this is Zell; I’m not exactly sure I’m following you, but that was a good tale.
I think…yeah, I think I’m gonna have to take some time to process it. But I think what we need to do is come up with some kind of plan here, because what I was thinking is that there is some sort of time pressure on the mist dragon and there is something…this isn’t a all-is-lost situation right now. I mean, maybe I’m deflecting from the fact that Mary Bear’s been…and then we’re still trying to hold Fifi Leflew and all the other…I’m watching all the other team members of Vedul and the friends hugging each other and comforting each other.
They have comfort, right, but something about the mist dragon and Vedul is just focused on time and efficiency. Oh, so that’s what you mean; like, give it a little grease. Tears are like grease in that sense, huh? Tears and hugs are just like grease. I don't know how we’re gonna make tears and hugs and not…but we’ve…gonna have to stop Vedul, 'cause I don't think they’re gonna let us stop Vedul, either. No one is. But let’s rest here in our little holiday hang-out and then we’ll move on and we’ll get this figured out, maybe, I hope. So, yeah. Also, Eleanor, your story kinda put everybody else to sleep, so, goodnight, everybody.
[END OF RECORDING]
(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)
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Journey Into The World of Friends
Dog TV
https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/pets/a38168930/dog-tv-launches-uk/
Bad Idea Jeans / SNL Commercial Parodies
https://www.wmagazine.com/story/saturday-night-live-best-perfume-ad-parodies-ivanka-trump
https://ew.com/article/2006/05/30/saturday-night-live-best-commercial-parodies/
Workplace Efficiency / 4 Day Workweek
https://time.com/6256741/four-day-work-week-benefits/
https://www.getclockwise.com/blog/four-day-work-week-benefits
Widgets
https://conversableeconomist.com/2022/08/15/a-brief-history-of-widgets/
https://www.imore.com/mac/macos/a-history-of-widgets-on-the-mac-from-dashboard-to-desktop
https://www.bbntimes.com/global-economy/a-brief-history-of-widgets
DOWN TO BUSINESS
However you like to play games (or not)
You might acquire this taste, you might not
Nice Consistent Water Sounds
Deep Dark Night United
Donna (SleepPhones)
PLUGS
Hand in Hand; The Midnight Mission; Trevor Project; Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Emily Tat Artwork; NAPAWF; Anti-Racism Resources; Ukraine Relief; Crisis Textline; Referral Program
SPONSORS
Wild Health; Hello Fresh; Polysleep; Odoo; Helix Sleep; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive
INTRO
I’m always figuring
Figuring out while running around figuratively
Patting my inner self on the back
So wise, I have no wisdom
Hopefully this show can help you feel less lonely in the deep dark night
Someone listening right now can relate to how you feel
Just barely more than background noise
You don’t need to feel forlorn about not paying attention to me
Already Kind of Going
One day I’ll get to meandering around the point
My dog Koa went through a phase where she’d had enough of the podcast
I promise this show does follow a structure
A lot of the intros have unexpected fun
I strongly recommend a wind down routine
Journey Into The World of Friends
At least I’ve got my imperfect borefriend
Boy, is Scooter frail
And F-A-I-L, too
STORY
Oh boy, I almost said Nuns in Space and then Make Great Pets!
This is the 11th episode, but then there will be a Holiday 12th episode, so I’m not sure how to count this
Antonio has passed beyond Journeyman
A Monumentous Day
We can play a game, Antonio, if you remain quiet for the next 90 minutes
If any angels or subterranean people talk about you, Antonio, that counts as sound, too
Zel is still waking up
Zel reviews
LVC used to call me a Working Class Warrior
Grenada is a stealth maven
LVC prefers to be called Your Grace
Watta is a magi-user
Eleanor is our healer
Somewhere in or below the Handy Halls
In the land formerly known as Floridahh
Real friends quibble
Covering the 5 W’s
Vidul might be in contact with something even more powerful
We’re here on behalf of the Baron of the Boil
Vidul and BB’s son have stopped the free flow of water
Vidul is trying to excavate a portal
The portal has created life within the theme park
A Portal Beyond My Understanding
Currently in an old security office
Vidul sealed us in his office
The portal to our home world was not real
We rested after opening the door
Is Vidul in contact with a Mist-Based Dragon Being
Do we have choices or are we on a metaphorical rail?
Only Bad Ideas
LVC will have the best bad ideas
Grenada can come up with worse bad ideas
We can’t surprise Vidul
Watta has a bad idea
Can we keep Vidul in the dark?
Eleanor remembers Bad Idea Jeans
Can we use this hacked security bot?
Bot can report that the adventurers are gone to Vidul
Let’s go with the idea of giving up
LVC suggests, What if we gave up but didn’t turn ourselves into Vidul
Giving Up without Giving In
We could just go rest somewhere
We’ll relax and start some new hobbies
Watta remembers FiFi Lefieu
We could go to the Holiday Lodge!
Zel consults the map
They could easily get back there
The bot is all set
Following Zel
Zel hates LVC’s idea, which means it must be good
These bad ideas are really challenging the party’s values
Back to the Holiday Lodge
Do they need a password if they created the password requirement?
Fifi never got the performances started
They’re just gonna come in and take the decorations
We just loaned these decorations to you, Fifi
Fifi doesn’t have a performance space
Fifi is ambivalent about Vidul
I promise I’m not winking at my teammates, Fifi
Fifi, do you and the friends want to overthrow Vidul and rule yourselves?
Oh, you’re not friends with Vidul, but you won’t do anything unfriendly
No Big Farming, eh?
Pacifism is a bad idea in this case, Fifi
You will only be friendly to Vidul’s friends, not unfriendly
Bad ideas come naturally to LVC
Vidul’s workers get tired from work and ale
What if we took the barracks and expanded the Holiday Lodge?
The troops want to blow off steam
You could perform at the barracks for those workers
It’s a terrible idea, but a great idea for you
We’ll just hang in the Holiday Lodge while you sort it out, Fifi
Let’s just take shifts watching and resting
Watta weaves a time-passing spell
2.5 days will pass just like that
Wow, the performances are now happening down at the barracks!
Vidul is looking pretty smokey and thundery and unhappy
Vidul is upset about efficiency and time schedules
Vidul is upset with Mary Bear
Technically they’re 30% more efficient since the performances started
Vidul thinks they’ll work 12 hours a day
Mary Bear is making them do the same amount of work, in less time
A debate about workplace efficiency
Oh boy, there’s the Mist Dragon!!
Mary Bear owes Mist Dragon for past 30% efficiency wasted
The Mist Dragon is letting everyone know who’s in charge
The Mist Dragon is misting Mary Bear
Oh no, Mary Bear is no longer only an animatronic
Oh boy, everyone is perturbed
We’ll hug and comfort Fifi after seeing that
We’ll take turns holding Fifi
Mist Dragon is connected to the portal somehow
There’s some sort of time fuse
LVC proposes a group hug
Oh yeah, that was definitely a bad idea, intentionally
Eleanor remembers a tale of the Florence and the Machines
Florence used to repair machines like Mary Bear Repair
Every once in a while, a godly being would come along and challenge Florence to be the leader of the machines
Bibu came along and challenged Florence
We’ll have machines do repetitive tasks
This happened over God-Based Time, so a very long time
Bibu was shiny / emo / goth
Florence was always covered in machine grease
Bibu’s ancestors had created cogs and widgets
Bibu planned to constantly replace the machine parts so they never needed maintenance
But entropy would win out, as Florence knew
Eleanor believed in the Power of the Grease
Florence just kept maintaining the machines and doing the dirty work
Bibu lost out in the end
Florence’s machines aged gracefully
Zel doesn’t fully understand Eleanor’s tale
The Mist Dragon feels some time pressure
We’re still holding Fifi Lefieu
Tears and hugs are just like grease
No one will let us stop Vidul
Let’s rest and develop our plan further
Eleanor’s story put everyone to sleep already
REFERRAL PROGRAM THANKS
Casey, Joe, Blub, Eden, Candace, Katie, Ally, Alex, Danielle, Phil, Thomas, Fred, Ginger, Samson, Kelsey, Jenna, Petra, Michelina, Micah, Hana, Cody, Alexis, Lex, Laurie, Mary, Aiden, James, Sarah, Heidi, Bruce, MJ, Leggy, Kathy, Stephanie, Amy, Griffin, Mary, David, Mal, Louisa, Nick, Mark, Elena, Faith, Tanya, Morgan, Tara, Christina, Lorinda
SUMMARY:
Episode: 1,226
Title: Only Good Bad Ideas | Journey Into The World of Friends Ep 11
Deep Dark Night United: Donna (SleepPhones)
Plugs: Hand in Hand; The Midnight Mission; Trevor Project; Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Emily Tat Artwork; NAPAWF; Anti-Racism Resources; Ukraine Relief; Crisis Textline; Referral Program
Sponsors: Wild Health; Hello Fresh; Polysleep; Odoo; Helix Sleep; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive
Referral Program Thanks: Casey, Joe, Blub, Eden, Candace, Katie, Ally, Alex, Danielle, Phil, Thomas, Fred, Ginger, Samson, Kelsey, Jenna, Petra, Michelina, Micah, Hana, Cody, Alexis, Lex, Laurie, Mary, Aiden, James, Sarah, Heidi, Bruce, MJ, Leggy, Kathy, Stephanie, Amy, Griffin, Mary, David, Mal, Louisa, Nick, Mark, Elena, Faith, Tanya, Morgan, Tara, Christina, Lorinda
Notable Language:
- Nice Consistent Water Sounds
- Figuring
- Unexpected Fun
- F-A-I-L
- Imperfect Borefriend
- Yippee Yaay Yaah
- A Monumentous Day
- Working Class Warrior
- Boat-Based Attraction (BBA)
- Floridahh
- A Portal Beyond My Understanding
- Mist-Based Dragon Being (MBDB)
- Only Bad Ideas
- Giving Up without Giving In
- FiFi Lefieu
- Ethical Standards for Adventurers
- Can Can Cats
- Misting Mary Bear
- God-Based Time (GBT)
- The Power of the Grease
Notable Culture:
-
- Dungeons and Dragons
- Nuns in Space
- Make Great Pets
- Antonio Banderas
- Oh, What a Mountain! Game
- “It’s a Small World”
- Florence & The Machine
- Emo
- Goth
Notable Talking Points:
- I’m always figuring
- Figuring out while running around figuratively
- Patting my inner self on the back
- So wise, I have no wisdom
- Hopefully this show can help you feel less lonely in the deep dark night
- Someone listening right now can relate to how you feel
- Just barely more than background noise
- You don’t need to feel forlorn about not paying attention to me
- Already Kind of Going
- One day I’ll get to meandering around the point
- My dog Koa went through a phase where she’d had enough of the podcast
- I promise this show does follow a structure
- A lot of the intros have unexpected fun
- I strongly recommend a wind down routine
- Journey Into The World of Friends
- At least I’ve got my imperfect borefriend
- Boy, is Scooter frail
- And F-A-I-L, too
- Oh boy, I almost said Nuns in Space and then Make Great Pets!
- This is the 11th episode, but then there will be a Holiday 12th episode, so I’m not sure how to count this
- Antonio has passed beyond Journeyman
- A Monumentous Day
- We can play a game, Antonio, if you remain quiet for the next 90 minutes
- If any angels or subterranean people talk about you, Antonio, that counts as sound, too
- Zel is still waking up
- Zel reviews
- LVC used to call me a Working Class Warrior
- Grenada is a stealth maven
- LVC prefers to be called Your Grace
- Watta is a magi-user
- Eleanor is our healer
- Somewhere in or below the Handy Halls
- In the land formerly known as Floridahh
- Real friends quibble
- Covering the 5 W’s
- Vidul might be in contact with something even more powerful
- We’re here on behalf of the Baron of the Boil
- Vidul and BB’s son have stopped the free flow of water
- Vidul is trying to excavate a portal
- The portal has created life within the theme park
- A Portal Beyond My Understanding
- Currently in an old security office
- Vidul sealed us in his office
- The portal to our home world was not real
- We rested after opening the door
- Is Vidul in contact with a Mist-Based Dragon Being
- Do we have choices or are we on a metaphorical rail?
- Only Bad Ideas
- LVC will have the best bad ideas
- Grenada can come up with worse bad ideas
- We can’t surprise Vidul
- Watta has a bad idea
- Can we keep Vidul in the dark?
- Eleanor remembers Bad Idea Jeans
- Can we use this hacked security bot?
- Bot can report that the adventurers are gone to Vidul
- Let’s go with the idea of giving up
- LVC suggests, What if we gave up but didn’t turn ourselves into Vidul
- Giving Up without Giving In
- We could just go rest somewhere
- We’ll relax and start some new hobbies
- Watta remembers FiFi Lefieu
- We could go to the Holiday Lodge!
- Zel consults the map
- They could easily get back there
- The bot is all set
- Following Zel
- Zel hates LVC’s idea, which means it must be good
- These bad ideas are really challenging the party’s values
- Back to the Holiday Lodge
- Do they need a password if they created the password requirement?
- Fifi never got the performances started
- They’re just gonna come in and take the decorations
- We just loaned these decorations to you, Fifi
- Fifi doesn’t have a performance space
- Fifi is ambivalent about Vidul
- I promise I’m not winking at my teammates, Fifi
- Fifi, do you and the friends want to overthrow Vidul and rule yourselves?
- Oh, you’re not friends with Vidul, but you won’t do anything unfriendly
- No Big Farming, eh?
- Pacifism is a bad idea in this case, Fifi
- You will only be friendly to Vidul’s friends, not unfriendly
- Bad ideas come naturally to LVC
- Vidul’s workers get tired from work and ale
- What if we took the barracks and expanded the Holiday Lodge?
- The troops want to blow off steam
- You could perform at the barracks for those workers
- It’s a terrible idea, but a great idea for you
- We’ll just hang in the Holiday Lodge while you sort it out, Fifi
- Let’s just take shifts watching and resting
- Watta weaves a time-passing spell
- 2.5 days will pass just like that
- Wow, the performances are now happening down at the barracks!
- Vidul is looking pretty smokey and thundery and unhappy
- Vidul is upset about efficiency and time schedules
- Vidul is upset with Mary Bear
- Technically they’re 30% more efficient since the performances started
- Vidul thinks they’ll work 12 hours a day
- Mary Bear is making them do the same amount of work, in less time
- A debate about workplace efficiency
- Oh boy, there’s the Mist Dragon!!
- Mary Bear owes Mist Dragon for past 30% efficiency wasted
- The Mist Dragon is letting everyone know who’s in charge
- The Mist Dragon is misting Mary Bear
- Oh no, Mary Bear is no longer only an animatronic
- Oh boy, everyone is perturbed
- We’ll hug and comfort Fifi after seeing that
- We’ll take turns holding Fifi
- Mist Dragon is connected to the portal somehow
- There’s some sort of time fuse
- LVC proposes a group hug
- Oh yeah, that was definitely a bad idea, intentionally
- Eleanor remembers a tale of the Florence and the Machines
- Florence used to repair machines like Mary Bear Repair
- Every once in a while, a godly being would come along and challenge Florence to be the leader of the machines
- Bibu came along and challenged Florence
- We’ll have machines do repetitive tasks
- This happened over God-Based Time, so a very long time
- Bibu was shiny / emo / goth
- Florence was always covered in machine grease
- Bibu’s ancestors had created cogs and widgets
- Bibu planned to constantly replace the machine parts so they never needed maintenance
- But entropy would win out, as Florence knew
- Eleanor believed in the Power of the Grease
- Florence just kept maintaining the machines and doing the dirty work
- Bibu lost out in the end
- Florence’s machines aged gracefully
- Zel doesn’t fully understand Eleanor’s tale
- The Mist Dragon feels some time pressure
- We’re still holding Fifi Lefieu
- Tears and hugs are just like grease
- No one will let us stop Vidul
- Let’s rest and develop our plan further
- Eleanor’s story put everyone to sleep already