Primer

(Transcribed by Molly Hirsch)

Lucifer: Hello, everyone. Lucifer here. It’s that time of year again where everyone’s busy, so we’re taking a week off from chronicling our adventures to make proper introductions for the characters and the world they inhabit.

It’s frosty out there, but take off that jacket. No need for that. It’s never a cold day down here.

[Blossoms Will Sprout from the Carcass – Skagos]

Lilith: Hello everyone, welcome to Ghostpuncher Corps. If you’re listening to this episode before you check out the rest of them, good job, you are in the right place.

If you’ve already been listening to Ghostpuncher Corps for the past nine episodes and were hoping for a new episode in the isawthearizonalights arc, sorry! We’re recording a different thing. It’s like an introductory show for people who are new to Ghostpuncher, actual play podcasts, or Dungeons and Dragons in general.

So we’re doing this because it’s fucking December 21st. Our normal podcast recording would take place next week, and we’re all going to be fucked up on cookies and merriment by then.

I mean, some of us are already kind of pregaming on the cookies and merriment pretty hard.

Fuck, I—!

Amanda: You alright?

Lilith: They make red velvet Oreos. I’m gonna die.

Amanda: Oh God. That’s not good.

You know, I don’t like anything that can be eaten in sleeve quantity, because I feel like that’s a challenge to me. It’s like Tetris, you know what I mean? I just have to have it reach the bottom every time. It’s not great.

Lilith: Mm-hmm.

Amanda: I’ve eaten a whole row of Oreos. It’s not great.

Lilith: So … we’re recording this podcast for my mother, who’s gonna love listening to an explanation of what the hell this show is, and what any of the shit that she’s going to be listening to means. She’ll love it as soon as she figures out how to download podcasts.

[Syd and Amanda laugh]

Cassidy: I don’t know if that’s a joke or if your mom is— you’ve actually been trying to get your mom to listen to this podcast, but please don’t.

Lilith: She’s tried three times, and I’ve told my sister that her Christmas present to me is to teach my mom how to download podcasts.

Syd: Goodness.

Lilith: Sorry. I know you said please don’t show this podast to my mother. I’m going to.

Cassidy: I just feel like this not the kind of thing your mom would enjoy.

I mean, I don’t know your mom very well, so maybe I’m wrong.

Lilith: I know my mom plenty well, and I think she’d love it. I think a lot of people love it. So many people! Oh it’s so wonderful!

Anyway—

Amanda: At least four!

Syd: So many people already. Already love it.

Lilith: At least four, yeah!

Amanda: At least four people love it.

Lilith: Tens of people are clamoring for this podcast.

This actual play podcast, meaning that we’re roleplaying scenarios set up by me, the Dungeon Master, while my cadre of beautiful friends and my wife play each of their characters solving puzzles and mysteries in this world I’ve set up. It’s like collaborative storytelling with rules and dice, using the framework of Dungeons and Dragons.

Basically, I say like, “Hey, you’re in a fucking room,” and then one of y’all says like, “Ah I wanna punch the wall,” and I say, “Roll the dice.”

Cassidy: How big is the room? What’s in the room?

Lilith: It’s a 9x9x9 room and there is 18 dildos, just in a pile.

Amanda: So a Yayoi Kusama exhibition, basically.

Lilith: Yeah, yeah. Exactly. Exactly.

Okay, and then one of you tries to punch the dildos, I make you roll a dice. I’ll say a d20 or something like that. That just means a twenty sided die. And whatever the roll is on that means you succeed or you don’t succeed.

There’s a lot of different things that the characters can do, but it really all just comes down to, “Oh, hey, you roll a dice. You did good at that,” or, “You did bad at that.” That’s really all you need to know about the rules part of Dungeons and Dragons, ‘cuz really we’re just kinda hanging out on a call and telling a weird story together.

So Ghostpuncher started out as a webcomic by me and my friend Ina. You can go to ghostpuncher.net to read it. It’s about a supernatural not-really-crimefighter, more of a—

Cassidy: Investigator?

Lilith: —keeping the peace. Investigator. Among the living and the dead, the demons, denizens of Hell, undead humans, etc. and so on. Either in Hell or here on the mortal plane.

Like I said, you can read that at ghostpuncher.net, it’s been going for a couple years. This summer we kind of split off Ghostpuncher into Ghostpuncher Corps, this podcast. The characters on Ghostpuncher Corps — Petua, Elektra, and Mikey, with possibly more to come! [ghost noises]

[Amanda and Syd also make ghost noises]

Amanda: And they’re all ghosts, I guess, ‘cuz we just—

Lilith: Yes!

Amanda: —spoke that into existence.

Lilith: The characters on Ghostpuncher Corps are other paranormal investigators working for Lucifer, who is sort of a lord of the lands of the living and the dead. She tasks y’all with looking into various assignments. The three of you — Amanda, Cassidy, and Elektra — play Petua, Mikey, and—

Amanda: Amanda, Cassidy, and Elektra?

Lilith [passionately]: Fuck!

Syd: That’s my real name.

Lilith: Yeah. Okay. Dammit.

Amanda: So fuckin’ method.

Lilith: Amanda, Cassidy, and Syd play Petua, Mikey, and Elektra respectively.

Let’s hear a little bit about Petua. Give us just kind of a … what’s Petua’s deal? Obviously I don’t want you to go into spoiler territories ‘cuz everybody has these complex backstories that will be revealed over time.

Amanda: Wait, we do?

Cassidy: Does everybody have those?

Amanda: Oh, I didn’t write one. Oops, sorry.

Lilith: Oh, oh God.

[Amanda and Syd laugh]

Lilith: Yea, every—

Amanda: I didn’t do my podcast homework, I’m sorry, guys.

Lilith: Yeah, Petua just kind of sprang into existence 15 minutes before this podcast started. Everybody else has has a elaborate backstory. But, yeah, tell us about Petua.

Amanda: Alright, so Petua Jones is the character that I, Amanda, play on Ghostpuncher Corps. Kind of like the rest of the cast, I would say … the podcast, if you’re about to listen to it, or if you have listened to it, it starts kind of in medias res, and she, like the rest of the gang, is kind of thrust into this situation with Lucifer, being asked to investigate things that she doesn’t really feel qualified to investigate.

She’s kind of a little bit nerdy, probably a little bit more outspoken than a warlock should be, which is what she is, technically, if we’re navigating D&D terminology. I’m pretty sure I throw that warlock word around a couple times in the podcast.

Lilith: Oh yeah.

Amanda: But it means basically that she’s a spellcaster who draws her power from a source that is not necessarily the usual arcane energy that normal wizards or spellcasters do. And you’ll see that there are a lot of different ways to access magical or arcane power in the Ghostpuncher world, and Petua’s — I’m just gonna say that she’s an art historian at heart, and fundamentally that’s kind of how she ticks, and cultural materials mean a lot to her in a lot of different ways.

She kind of finds herself in this group, and navigating different relationships and trying to sometimes take the lead, sometimes shut herself up a little bit. Much like me, usually.

[Lilith laughs]

Amanda: That’s kind of who she is, I could go into more of it, but basically she is a spellcaster. She kind of comes from mysterious origins, she definitely has lived in the real world for a very long time. That’s another thing about the Ghostpuncher universe, it is set technically in what we would hesitantly call modern day, right?

Lilith: Yep.

Amanda: Just a modern day that’s a little bit scarier than ours in a lot of ways.

Lilith: Mm-hmm.

Amanda: But also a little bit more chill. I mean, if I could cast spells now I’d probably feel better about myself. But yeah, that’s—

Lilith: I’d definitely feel better about myself.

Amanda: Yeah, wouldn’t that be nice just to kind of get it out? I agree.

Lilith: Yeah.

Syd: Yeah.

Amanda: Yeah. I wanna do some dumb shit with magic.

[Passepied – Gerluz]

[flashback montage starts]

Petua: I mean, look. I’m … just an art historian, and that’s really all you need to know.

Amanda: Then I’m gonna swing my hammer and I’m gonna hit him in the head.

Lilith: His fuckin’ skull caves in. Like, you obliterated this dude.

Amanda: Do I get any on my sunglasses?

Would you believe me if I told you that the troubling aesthetics of braining somebody with a hammer are actually not as upsetting as the troubling aesthetics that Petua has to access whenever she casts a spell?

Uncle Stickey: The challenge that you must endure is a team building exercise, but I prefer to think of it as the ecstatic annihilation of the barriers between you and your teammates.

Petua: I’m gonna go wait in the car.

Uncle Stickey: Prepare yourselves for the pipe organ of doom!

Petua: I really don’t want to see your pipe organ. I’m fine, I think.

Petua: This is gonna sound maybe a little bit presumptuous, but have you ever been in a fight?

Alex: I’ve gotten my ass kicked a few times.

Petua: Alright. There might be a fight, and if that happens, I just want you to try very hard to not die. Because I would feel bad.

Alex: Oh.

Amanda: Alright, so here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna grab the gun, and shoot the guy.

[Syd laughs]

Lilith: Hell yeah.

Amanda: Without taking off my sunglasses.

Lilith: Okay. Does Petua have a history with firearms? Does Petua have experience?

Amanda: [Lilith]. Please.

Lilith: It’s a genuine question.

Amanda: I know.

Petua: Oh you’re the Feds. Alright, buddy, tell us what you know.

Jammery/Chris Burden Jr.: No.

Amanda: I kick him.

[Cassidy laughs]

Jammery/Chris Burden Jr. [confused and indignant]: No!

Amanda: I kick him again.

Jammery/Chris Burden Jr.: Look, I—

Petua: You do wanna.

Jammery/Chris Burden Jr.:        I don’t—

Petua: You do wanna.

Jammery/Chris Burden Jr.: I’m—

Petua: You wanna.

Jammery/Chris Burden Jr.: I haven’t—

Petua: ‘Cause here’s the thing—

Jammery/Chris Burden Jr.: I don’t know anything I’ve seen—

Petua: Have you seen The Raptor?

Jammery/Chris Burden Jr.: What? No— uhhh…

Petua: Oh, yeah. So the rabbits report to a guy— you’re gonna love this— eats people.

Jammery/Chris Burden Jr.: Huh.

Petua: So if you had anything to share, now might be a good time.

Lilith: A woman in a beautiful white turtleneck walks out— yeah, I knew that would be all Petua’s jam.

Petua: Um … uh … well … we are, um … Mikey, what do you think about all this?

Mikey: I don’t think she likes you very much.

Petua: Yeah.

Mikey: She seems to like me.

Petua: Yeah, she does. We all like you.

Elektra [whispering]: Lazarus.

Lilith: And she’s looking at Petua particularly interestedly.

Anya: And what’s your name?

Petua: Hi, I … um … my name is Petua. That was really great, what you just did back there! That was really really good. Um … yeah, no, very impressed. I did the other stuff that you saw earlier. That was me. Um …

Anya: Well I wasn’t watching, but okay.

Petua: Oh. It was really good, trust me. It was so good.

Anya: My name is Anya St. John.

Petua: [inaudible] Anya, really nice to meet you.

Anya: Petua—

Lilith: She pulls out a little business card, and it says on it, “Lazarus Foundation, Anya St. John, Head of Security.”

Anya: Petua, let me know … just let me know.

Petua: Look, look, wait, hey!

Amanda: I think Petua, incidentally, when Anya handed her her card, I think I was like halfway into my wallet to give her mine and then I thought better of it.

[Lilith laughs]

Amanda: But I definitely run up to her and, kind of nervously bobbing around whatever the two people are doing, I’m like,

Petua: I don’t think you can do that. I think that’s ours. Right? That should be ours.

Anya: Oh, I absolutely can. That is an interesting misconception, Ms. Petua, but no.

Petua: Well, look, if you’re not going to tell us anything, at least take us with you.

Anya: Okay, Petua. As tempting of an offer that is, I am going to have to decline. You are … hmm, how do I— You don’t have jurisdiction here. Tell Luci I said, “Buzz off.”

Amanda: Can we just have a two-hour interlude where Petua makes everybody watch The Talented Mr. Ripley, please?

[laughter]

Lilith: God.

[Amanda laughs]

Amanda: Oh, I’m a warlock, motherfucker.

Amanda: I kind of get the vibe, and maybe you will too, that Petua does not usually road trip across the United States with strangers, so this is new territory for her.

[flasback montage ends]

Lilith: We are taking that journey in a Winnebago that was procured, I guess, by—

Cassidy: Procured, she says.

[Amanda laughs]

Lilith: Yes, yes. Procured by Mikey.

Cassidy: I mean it is procured, because Mikey actually has no concept of stealing or personal or private property.

I play Mikey, who … it’s not really spoilers, because it doesn’t necessarily mean anything specific, but Mikey’s full name in the Discord that we run this in is Mikey the Sasquatch Boy. Essentially, Mikey is an IRL cryptid. He is a human being who has spent his entire life in isolation in the forest. Petua and Elektra are some of the first people he’s ever known by name.

[cat meows]

Yeah, basically just what if man as animal, entirely driven by his own instrutible thoughts and morality that he has developed from living in total isolation. Also, he’s psychic, and can turn into a giant spider. That’s a thing people like to focus on, too. But it’s not something that Mikey thinks about as being that important to who he is.

Mechanically speaking, Mikey is a druid. I picked Circle of the Moon, just to have my wild shape become a lot more extravagant, because Mikey is less about spellcasting and more about manipulating his physcial form to achieve certain effects.

I don’t know what all is known about Mikey to the other two players at this point. From their perspective, he just showed up to help them wiht a Winnebago, but neither of them have asked him where it came from.

Essentially just imagine a naked 30-year-old man emerging from the woods one day and stealing a camping family’s motor home and running off with it, ’cause that’s literally what happened in universe.

[Kira May – Weedeater]

[flashback montage starts]

Lilith: A Winnebago pulls up in front of you, and I’m gonna let the driver of that Winnebago take over for a second.

Cassidy: So when she says a Winnebago pulls up, what she actually means is a Winnebago screeches to a halt five feet in front of you in a cloud of gravel. If you can just imagine a very heavily bearded, long-haired kind of … just like a hobo-looking motherfucker.

Cassidy: Okay, well Mikey is gonna push that button literally unless somebody stops him.

Amanda: Yeah, I could have called that. I think that we all saw that coming.

Elektra: I don’t know if that’s a good idea.

Cassidy: Like I’m walking towards the button right now.

Kevin: I’m fine with this.

Elektra: I don’t know that we should … press that.

Cassidy: He’s at the button, he’s about to push it. I mean, unless somebody physically stops him or tells him not to.

Cassidy: Oh wait, is it dark?

Lilith: It’s very dark, yes.

Cassidy: Okay, I’ll cast Produce Flame. You all look away for a second, before you know it, Mikey’s hand’s on fire.

Cassidy:  I guess it’s just time to do what Mikey does best.

Something happens which is deeply disturbing. From a mechanical aspect, this is Mikey’s first use of the Wild Shape ability. Some Altered States evolutionary regression kind of stuff. Just sort of like a fucked up gorilla-esque human ancestor.

Cassidy: Mikey is just gonna sort of explode, not out of his shirt, because thankfully the pug face t-shirt is a XXXL. His skin starts to sort of harden and split in places, especially at the joints and his abdomen, and then another pair of limbs bursts from his ribcage. I’ve Wild Shaped into a giant spider.

Syd: Oh lord.

Cassidy: He’s like the second-to-last photo from the cover of an Animorphs.

Cassidy: I’ll go back to my regular shape, which is just as gross of a process as turning into the giant spider, let’s be clear. There’s a lot of crunching and popping noises that accompanies any of Mikey’s Wild Shapes.

Amanda: Mm-hmm.

The Raptor: Nature of being forthcoming, I am a cannibal, so…

Mikey: What’s a cannibal?

The Raptor: I won’t eat you three.

Mikey: You mean he eats people?

The Raptor: I do eat other people.

Mikey: You eat people?

The Raptor: You guys seem a lot more interested in being judgy and weird about stuff that—

Mikey [emphatically]: You eat people.

The Raptor: That’s true. That’s—

Peregrine Asterley: Mikey—

Lilith: And he sort of pats Mikey on the shoulder.

Cassidy: Mikey visibly recoils from his touch.

Lilith: You can definitely feel that he is wiping his hand off on Petua’s sleeve.

Petua: My God, he’s not a pet. It’s fine.

Mikey: What’s a pet?

Petua: Not you, no matter what he says.

[crunching noises]

[flashback montage ends]

Syd: So, Elektra, okay. At her core she’s an electronics hobbyist, SoundCloud musician, so she has a passion for most things electric. That is her genre.

She comes from vaguely around the Puget Sound area. Not necessarily a standard home, just kind of crashing in a lot of places or I guess a vehicle she may have had at some point. She’s a bard, as mentioned, a musician. Not really a whole lot I have to deviate from.

Lilith: She’s got a lot of really cool gear though, for a bard.

Amanda: Yeah.

Syd: Yeah, so she does stuff herself. She’s very into DIY, and like I said an electronics hobbyist.

Cassidy: I mean let’s be clear, Mikey has the best piece of equipment in this entire party. And that is of course the pug t-shirt.

Amanda: The pug shirt? Yeah, I was gonna say.

Syd: Yes, of course, of course.

Lilith: Yeah yeah yeah.

Amanda: Vital.

[Muroc Air Field – Georges Rodi]

[flashback montage starts]

Syd: So being a magical bard, she’s also passionate about the arcane arts that eventually led her to figuring out things about the magical world that she ties into her musical abilites with her bitchin’ gear.

Elektra’s like 5’7″, medium built. 25. She’s got one of those emo-goth haircuts everyone’s all about these days, a little side cut swooping purple … few piercings. Sega Mega Drive chip hanging from one ear. Just kind of a all-around cyberpunk babe.

Syd: Elektra, during our conversation was a little bit distracted, not paying attention. She was setting down her gear and taking the sleeves off of her jacket.

Cassidy: Is that like a zip or like a button kind of thing?

Syd: It’s a zip.

Amanda: Or just rip it— oh, I thought you were just ripping them off.

Syd: Her sleeves zip off.

Cassidy: Because I feel like Elektra is so advanced in this cyberpunk fashion game, those sleeves might even be magnetic.

Syd: Ooh, yeah.

Lilith: You also see a woman who is, you’re sure, like seven feet tall at the very least, and she is built.

Elektra: Hi.

Uncle Stickey: As I said before, Bernice will take all of your items away if you do not pass these challenges.

Amanda: Oh, I forgot about Bernice. Alright, well fuck it.

Syd: What’s Bernice up to?

Bernice: Got my eye on you.

Lilith: And she points two fingers at her eyes and then two fingers at Elektra.

Syd: Elektra giggles.

Bernice: I know your type.

[Syd laughs]

Petua: I think you are her type.

Lilith: The door opens quite quickly, and you see a woman in a button-down top.

Syd: Where is this look, between school marm and sexy librarian?

Amanda: ‘Cause I’ve already got both locked down at once.

Lilith: Halfway between school marm and sexy librarian and then like branch off into plucky bisexual. Is that?

Syd: Oh!

Elektra: Well, hello.

Celeste Price: Howdy.

Celeste Price: What’d you expect me to be doin’? Backflips?

Petua: Well, I— I mean— [laughs uncomfortably] I mean you certainly look like you’re capable of that, but really I was more wondering—

Celeste: I am pretty flexible.

Elektra: Hmm.

Amanda: Petua just kind of looks at Elektra like, gotta chill, girl. You gotta chill.

[laughter]

[flashback montage ends]

Syd: How else to describe her? I mean, she’s like a nerdy goth chick, I guess.

Lilith: Yeah. That’s exactly— nerdy goth chick, but I feel like she’s also the high fashion icon of the party, ’cause she’s—

Syd: Yeah. Very stylish, very … a lot of very specific stylings that aesthetics also play into a lot.

Lilith: A lot of cyberpunk stuff, lot of—

Syd: Yeah.

Lilith: Gadgets and gizmos.

Syd: A lot of it is relative to the types of thing that she works with. Arcane symbols and electronic paraphernalia.

Lilith: But she also has a fucking bat, doesn’t she?

Amanda: Oh yes.

Syd: Well, yeah, so I was gonna get into that.

Lilith: Okay, okay. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Syd: I’m gonna into it. So I was gonna talk about, as a hobbyist she liked helping others with their hobbies, and so her abilities have been kind of fixated towards support, but she also likes fucking shit up! Vis a vis with her bat, named Wendy Carlos, which, you know, one of her heroes.

Wendy Carlos, she’s a electronic artist stemming back to the 60s and 70s. She was a major pioneer, and she’s also a trans woman. She has lots of cats.

Cassidy: She also did all of the good Kubrick soundtracks.

Lilith: She was a massively influential— she did the Tron soundtracks, the Switched on Bach albums.

Cassidy: You could argue that she was the first person to truly make music that is purely electronic.

Lilith: All y’all motherfuckin’ frat boys owe your wub wubs to your local trans woman. Go fuckin’ find one and PayPal them $20 right now, okay?

Amanda: Or just fuckin’ donate to this podcast, honestly.

Lilith: Yeah! That’s not a bad idea.

Amanda: ‘Cause Syd does do electronic music for this podcast, which is also super cool.

Syd: Yes, that’s the other thing, I was getting there. Sorry, I’m not a very well-spoken person.

Lilith: That’s alright, you’re good.

Syd: I also myself do electronic music, so I supply all of the beeps and boops that are attributed to Elektra. She’s got a temper, especially if you fuck with her gear. Don’t do it.

Lilith: Don’t do it.

Syd: Just don’t.

Amanda: Don’t do it.

Lilith: So that’s actually— that kind of segues into something else I wanted to talk about. There’s a lot of music that gets used in this show. I pull a lot from musicians who put their work in the creative commons. [whispers] I also occasionally use tracks that aren’t in the creative commons, please don’t tell on me.

Amanda: It’s appropriation, alright? It’s bricolage, it’s fine.

Lilith: Yeah, yeah! Whatever. It’s transformative or something.

You can always find the links to the music that is used in the show beneath any of the episodes. You’ve already heard it once in this podcast, one of the most important songs to Ghostpuncher Corps, Blossoms Will Sprout from the Carcass is our intro and outro song, it’s by this band called Skagos. They are a atmospheric Black Metal band, kind of post-Black Metal band from I believe Victoria, British Columbia.

Amanda: Shut up! Oh my God, not you guys. I’m sorry. It’s the cat.

Lilith: You’re good.

Cassidy: We can hear the cat, it’s okay.

Syd: Everyone shut up, we need to listen to the cat.

Lilith: Yeah, yeah, no. Audrey needs to speak. Give her the floor! Stop silencing her!

Amanda: You’re so valid, honey, I’m so sorry. You’re so fat and buttery smooth and valid.

[Syd and Lilith laugh]

Lilith: Let her speak!

[Amanda laughs]

Amanda: I hate this.

Syd:I love you guys.

Amanda: I’m actually holding my cat up to the microphone like a little cornucopia of tabby fur, and she just is givin’ me the bitchiest, brattiest look, like, “Bitch, what the fuck do you think I’m doing? I’m not a trained monkey. I’m not gonna shout unless it’s to get your attention.”

[Syd meows]

Amanda: Foley work! We got it!

[Clap, laughter]

Cassidy: That was really good.

Lilith: Alright, y’all.

Amanda: It’s really realistic.

Syd: Oh, fuck.

Amanda: We all have like, 20 cats, also I think between us, right? How many cats?

Syd and Lilith: Yeah

Lilith: I think, actually, there’s one cat per person on the podcast, if I’m not mistaken.

Amanda: We should just do an episode where our cats play as us instead.

[Lilith laughs]

Syd: Piplup will just end up eating my notebook.

Lilith: Yeah, Necrobutcher would be a terrible DM. Total party death, no matter what.

Last thing I wanted to cover, this show is supported by the Ghostpuncher Patreon. That kind of feeds into both Ghostpuncher the podcast, Ghostpuncher the show.

There’s actually a lot of people working on both of those, and the Ghostpuncher Patreon is really the only way that we get any compensation for all of the work and all of the investment that we put into it, so if you like the show and you feel like kicking us even as much as a dollar a month, you actually will be getting— whenever I finish the episodes, if it’s before the usual Thursday posting time, I will usually throw them up on the Patreon, so that any of our Patreon donors from $1 up can access the episode early, for free.

Enjoy the podcast? I don’t know. I don’t know how to end this episode.

Amanda: Alright, wait, we should all ask you a question now that you’ve grilled us.

Lilith: Yes! Ask me questions!

Syd [in realization]: Oh!

Amanda: I think we should all ask our DM a question.

Lilith: Yes.

Syd: The turns have tabled.

Amanda: Oh, the tables have turned.

Cassidy: This is actually something I’ve been wondering. To what degree does the Ghostpuncher world diverge from ours? Beyond, “There are supernatural things running around.” In terms of its history.

Lilith: It’s very comic book-y, in that it mirrors actual events, but for anything that dips into storyline, which I kind of leave that open ended.

There may or may not be correlating events, depending on … say, for example if some orange motherfucker were to show up in an episode of a podcast and something real, real bad happened, or he was put somewhere where he can’t hurt anybody. I wouldn’t name that person anything. There’s just this orange thumb, and, again, we put him in a box where he can’t hurt anybody. He’s safe and warm and he has I guess enough food, but he can’t hurt anyone.

Cassidy: I don’t know if that answered my question or not.

Lilith: It did not answer your question.

Amanda: No. You just really wanted to talk about trapping [redacted] in an invisible box, I guess.

Syd: Woah, woah, woah.

Lilith [mock aghast]: No I didn’t! No!

Syd: Woah.

Lilith [still mock aghast]: What are you talking about? I have no idea-

Syd: Nobody named any names.

Amanda: No.

Lilith: No, let me take another stab at answering your question. It is basically the real world. There are a couple actual historical figures that have roles in events of the Ghostpuncher universe. If we go back-

Cassidy: Broadly speaking, its own history mirrors our own.

Lilith: Yes.

Cassidy: Okay. That’s what I was trying to establish.

Amanda: I think for the number of cultural references that get dropped in every episode, that tracks.

I will say that I do think that it’s pretty apparent, if one is to listen to Ghostpuncher, that the source material is a comic, because, to me, the comic book-ification of a world is pretty much this in that it has a stylistic overlay onto the real world, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that the history is different, it just means that the vibe that people give off is a little different than a realistic fiction would be, because the world that it’s commenting on isn’t necessarily our world, it’s its own world if that makes any sense.

You know what I mean? Everybody’s a reflection of the own mythos of that world. Not to get all emotional about Ghostpuncher or whatever, but…

Cassidy: I definitely think we’re on the same wavelength, especially about interpreting comic book worlds that way.

Amanda: Yeah.

Lilith: Yeah, yeah.

Amanda: That leads me to my question, which is: what was it, and I kind of know this already, but specifically especially because of the way— ‘Cause I’ve looked through Ghostpuncher and I’m a fan of Ghostpuncher and I— In terms of the mechanics that operate in this game, and specifically using D&D and also just doing a podcast, what made you specifically want to kind of assemble this team and actually make a podcast out of it?

‘Cause it’s not— I think that they speak to each other as two separate works of fiction, but what was your inspiration for getting into this whole game?

Lilith: There’s  lot of— ‘Cause there’s a lot of answers to that. I definitely wanted to expand the world of Ghostpuncher. Comic books are very— especially a webcomic, it’s kind of a slow medium, even if we were keeping a regular update pace, which we’re not always able to.

This is something where I can tell stories, tell stories, tell stories about this universe that I’ve been … I have been building and tinkering Ghostpuncher for I have lost count of how many years. Ghostpuncher started out as a feature film script, then turned into a comic. I have something like probably 10 years of Ghostpuncher comic material written out.

Syd: Excellent

Amanda: So good.

Lilith: Yeah, so I had been breathing this world for so long, and I was just like, “I wanna do more with it.” So I got three— actually we started out four of my favorite people in the whole wide world, and—

Amanda and Syd: Awww

Lilith: —made them play D&D. If we can be honest, the success of a lot of other actual play podcasts also inspired me to— this is definitely a very appropriate medium for me to use to explore this world.

Amanda: Do y’all ever think about the fact, not to geek out here, I’m sorry, I’ve had some wine. I was thinking about the fact that D&D having a resurgence in this particular moment, as opposed to the early 2000s— maybe there was one, I don’t know. I always feel like now it’s getting bigger again. I always wonder.

Cassidy: I definitely feel like there was a resurgence around when 4th edition D&D came out.

Amanda: I was just curious about when it—

Cassidy: Towards like 2007, 2009-ish. To me that’s like the second wave of it.

Amanda: I’d believe that. I was always curious about whether that was a cultural thing or if it was just like the game getting good again. I don’t know. Sorry. You can cut that out, [Lilith]. I was just curious about that.

Lilith: No, no, no. I mean that’s one thing that’s worth mentioning. We are playing Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, which came out just a few years ago, and it is a system—

Syd: It’s very good.

Lilith: —that I have taken to a lot. It’s a system a couple other actual play podcasts … maybe some of you out there have heard of The Adventure Zone. It’s that wildly popular podcast that literally everybody listens to.

Cassidy: I don’t listen to it.

Lilith: And if you don’t listen to it, the people around you won’t shut up about it.

Cassidy: That is true. I have noticed that.

[laughter]

Amanda: It’s just homestuck with dice at this point. It’s fine.

[Lilith laughs]

Syd: That’s … Jesus.

Cassidy: That makes me so good about my decision not to listen to it.

Amanda: Just in terms of the obnoxiousness of the people who like it, I’m not talking— Well, actually. No.

Syd: I mean fandoms are just…

Amanda: We’re not talkin’ about that.

Lilith: No, no, no, no.

Syd: Anyway.

Lilith: Fandoms are wonderful! We love fandoms. We love our fans. We love anybody who like our stuff.

Cassidy: If you make fanart of Mikey, and I think that it’s bad, I will tell you that it’s bad on the internet. That is a thing I am going to do.

Lilith: Cassidy, be nice.

Cassidy: Full stop.

Amanda: Nonononono, this is the spice. This is important. This is adding appeal. This is not ass kissing, this is real and gritty and raw. It’s important.

Lilith: Mm-hmm (affirmative)

[crosstalk 0:36:28.7]

Lilith: Then it’s important to, on the podcast, ’cause I think with Elektra and Petua we have kind of left it open-ended, but Mikey has a very specific—

Cassidy: I mean he doesn’t really. I just feel like people’s interpretations of Mikey— I’m curious to see those. But I’m definitely not gonna not tell people that their interpretation of a character is wrong. There are ways you could interpret Mikey that are just straight up wrong.

Amanda: I actually will say, I do like that. Not gonna lie, I think that not enough people take a stand about the creative material that they put out into the world and take ownership of it.

Cassidy: First and foremost, Mikey is my character. I decide who he is and what he is like. I’m not opposed to people having their headcanons or whatever about him, but if your headcanon for Mikey is that he’s seven feet tall, that’s wrong. ‘Cause he’s not.

That’s a very simple example, but…

Amanda: It’s true.

Lilith: One thing I did kind of want to mention: eventually, these characters will have, no matter how open we leave it on the podcast, there will be a quote-unquote “canon” appearance, because they are eventually— This podcast has— It’s very far in the future, but it has an end point, and at that end point, these characters actually join up with the comic. That’s about all I can say at this point. But that is something that will happen eventually.

Cassidy: I just can’t wait to see what Ina does as far as drawing Mikey’s Wild Shape.

Amanda: Oh my God. I’ve thought about this couple times, and I’m so excited to see … it had always been a pipe dream because I honestly, until this moment, did not know if there was a plan to incorporate the gang into the comic. I’m so excited to potentially see that.

Cassidy: I don’t want what I said earlier to discourage people from making fanart, ’cause I would be absolutely fucking stoked if anybody draws fanart for this show. That would be cool as fuck, and a couple people—

Amanda: People have, and it’s been dope.

Cassidy: Yeah, a couple people have already.

Lilith: It has been amazing, oh my God.

Cassidy: And I legitimately did like that other piece of fanart that somebody posted on Tumblr, even though I reblogged it saying that Mikey is in fact not tall.

Syd: Oh yeah, that was awesome.

Cassidy: But that the art was cool.

Lilith: The art has all been great so far. Keep it coming, tag us in it. I’ll always be reblogging or retweeting or whatever that shit onto the official Ghostpuncher channels, and we always really appreciate that. We really appreciate people posting about the show.

Cassidy: We also appreciate donations to the Patreon. We probably appreciate that more than anything else.

Amanda: Yeah, we kind of do.

Lilith: Yeah, yeah.

Cassidy: Or at least [Lilith] does.

Syd: Also, what will become painfully clear throughout the podcast is Elektra is definitely gay.

Cassidy: Oh yeah, that’s I think already.

Syd: Don’t get it twisted. I don’t want any straight fancanons out there.

Lilith: Yeah, yeah, no. Trying to ship Elektra with a man is…

Cassidy: Don’t ship Mikey with anyone, please.

Amanda: Yeah, please.

Cassidy: Just leave him alone.

Lilith: Yeah, yeah. I don’t think that’s something that is even … yeah. Just don’t. Just don’t do it. Like, friendships and stuff.

Amanda: You can do whatever the fuck you want to Petua. Fandom bicycle Petua Jones, I’m ready for it. I’m ready to accept it.

[Syd laughs]

Lilith: I figure that’s…

Cassidy: Petua Jones x Uncle Stickey?

[laughter]

Syd: Oh Jesus.

Amanda: I mean…

Syd: Blocked.

Amanda: No. I mean, Petua’s … if you get it, you get it. And if not, you can spend whatever time you want, doing whatever you want, but it means you don’t get it. So that’s okay. That’s all I’m gonna say about Petua, but please just exert all of your weird sexual—

[laughter]

Amanda: I’m a veteran of this shit, I can do it. I can handle it. Please.

Cassidy: If you draw erotic fanart of Mikey the Sasquatch Boy I will come to your house and beat you up. I swear to God that is a promise.

Syd: I will help.

Lilith: I believe her. I won’t help ’cause I don’t like getting my hands dirty, but I do love watching my wife beat up people. So.

Cassidy: You’ve never even seen that.

Lilith: I know. I want to so bad.

Amanda: She specifically made this podcast just on the off chance that she could finally see it.

Lilith: Syd, I don’t think I ever got a question from you. Did you have a question for me?

Syd: I’m so bad at this. I was gonna end up defaulting to … are you having fun? How are we doing?

Amanda: Yeah, are you having fun?

Lilith: I am having so much fuckin’ fun with this podcast. This is—

Syd: Fuck yeah.

Lilith: This has been one of the most— I have been … I’m gonna wax poetic about creativity for a second here.

Cassidy: Oh, please.

Lilith: From high school through my whole career in college, I was a writer and I mostly wrote screenplays for student films. Usually those would … I would say maybe 10% of my screenplays got turned into finished things, and I always had to write them under, “Oh we can only film this for $5 and we’ve got three people and none of them know how to act.” Always working under huge limitations.

So actually Ghostpuncher started out as, the minute I graduated college, I was so exhausted by that kind of limitation, that I sat down and I wrote a feature film script called Ghostpuncher, and I said, “Okay, the goal here is to write something that would take us $300 million to film and that three people would want to see.”

That original script, I think is definitely— There’s a lot of really crazy shit in there, and like I said, but it morphed into the Ghostpuncher that we have today.

But kind of the whole thing is it is an exercise in the uninhibited excess. Ghostpuncher is kind of all the crazy shit that I’ve always wanted to do in fiction and everything like that, and in the past I’ve had to kind of choose what I want to do based on the limitations of my medium, but comic books, podcasting— Doesn’t cost any money to say, “Oh and then everything explodes,” because it’s all theater of the mind shit.

So yeah, I think we’ll close the podast out on … everybody imagine a giant mech, and a lobster that’s 400 feet tall. The mech has a giant hammer and sickle spray painted on the side of it — you’ll learn why — and the—

Syd: Sure.

Cassidy: I already know why.

Syd: Can imagine.

[laughter]

Lilith: And so this mech and this—

Cassidy: I actually do, I know a lot secret Ghostpuncher lore that nobody else does because [Lilith] makes me read her scripts.

Lilith: That’s…

Amanda:  Fullest lore.

Lilith: That’s true, that’s true. So this communist mech and this lobster—

Cassidy: It’s like being Gene Roddenberry’s wife.

[Lilith and Syd laugh]

Lilith: It’s not comparable to that, at all.

Cassidy: It’s not comparable to that at all.

Lilith: Oh, God.

Syd: I hope we get an equivalent of Lwaxana Troi in this podcast.

Cassidy: God I hope so.

Lilith: Oh, it turns out that Uncle Stickey’s just like 40 tribbles in a trenchcoat. Anyway—

Amanda: Are you kidding me, I would die.

I feel like Mikey would love tribbles, and so would Petua. Well, no, Mikey—

Lilith: God, am I gonna have to include tribbles in the podcast, now?

Cassidy: You don’t have to include any of the dumb shit we mention. You do sometimes and I’m not sure why, but godspeed.

[Syd and Lilith laugh]

Amanda: You’ve really fucked up your lobster mech Pacific Rim sequel, whatever the fuck that was.

Lilith: Oh, God, that was gonna be my dismount.

Amanda: Listen, listen. It’s either Pacific Rim, or the best Broadway production of The Little Mermaid you’ve ever seen, and we’re just gonna leave it at that.

[Lilith laughs]

Syd: God.

[A Night That Ends, As All Night End, When the Sun Rises – Skagos]

Lucifer: Hi, Luci again. Just a quick request for you. If you have any friends who are into D&D, the supernatural, cryptozoology, or lesbianism, maybe shoot them a link to this episode of the podcast.

Word of mouth always helps us grow, and this episode in particular is a great introduction, especially for people who might not be familiar with this kind of show. Now, go forth, do my dark biddings my darlings.