Talks Machina 94: The Stowaway

is the ninety-fourth episode of Talks Machina. Matthew Mercer and Sam Riegel discuss with host Brian Wayne Foster.

Synopsis

 * @Nebulaid: Matt: Did you expect Twiggy to be as eccentric and goofy as she was? Were there any ways that Deborah Ann Woll played her that surprised you at all?
 * Dikemon: Sam: How was it playing alongside another small Arcane Trickster? Also did Nott's view on Twiggy change before and after the sphere adventure?
 * Elforat: Matthew: Was the Happy fun ball something you had been planning on unleashing on the party soon or was it made for Twiggy once you realized Deborah Ann Woll was going to be on a sailing and carpentry episode?
 * Dharlette: Sam: Does Nott resent Fjord at all for touching the window and setting a time limit on exploring the library?
 * Malene Lund Staugaard: Matt: how much do you enjoy putting little buttons in the game to temp Travis Willingham, knowing he can't resist touching a hot plate?
 * Gif of the Week: @CriticalSchluck's "The Search For Fjord."
 * @BenjaminBabbles: For Sam: How does Nott feel about Caleb's choice to turn down more (spell)books to reunite with the rest of the party?
 * AkimboMajestic: Matt: if Fjord would have touched somewhere else on the window would it have taken them elsewhere? I.e the plane of fire?
 * Nowytendzz: Sam: what was going through Nott's head when she decided to take the attack from the dragon so that Jester was not attacked? Was she conscious of the fact that she could die, and if so was she willing to die for her friend?
 * @rabalogy: Matt: this session seems like it could have gone in a multitude of directions, between how the M9 interacted with the Fun Ball™ and which of the hundreds of pocket dungeon rooms they stumble into. Did you have a lot of these scenarios planned out, or was the dragon the end goal?
 * 283Leis: Both: Given that the dragon's breath was shown to have the potential to knock out most of the party with a single turn, how worried were you at the chance of a TPK?
 * Fan Art of the Week: Noah Warner aka @TehSasquatch's "Nott your average goblin."
 * WhyCantIBeAMermaid: Sam: Are the adventures she's been on and the courageous things she's done in battle beginning to make Nott feel like she's earned her comma? Is she beginning to see herself in a slightly different light?
 * @Tristonan: Matt: I cried when Jester braced herself for collision and instead the Traveler helped protect her. What in the moment made you decide to add that particular flavor? Was it something you'd already had planned in case Jester got in a situation like that, or was it 100% improv?
 * Femmie London: Sam: Would Nott have endangered herself so egregiously if Caleb had not abandoned her?
 * Jimmydabig: Matt: With the time dilation effect, did Beau pop out of the orb early and then have to wonder about the fate of her party for hours or days?
 * @LordHaveMercer: Sam: Does Nott see pain in Jester the same way she did with Caleb and Caduceus? Or does she believe Jester is happy and fine?
 * @SunshineLuma: Matt: How did Yasha handle the fact that her friends suddenly vanished without any explanations like she has done so many times before? What do you think she was doing during that time?
 * Critmas: The Blind Weaver by Elaine Ryan (@ElaineRyanArt); Not Wild Things On VHS; a painting of Sully by @Stongholdart; and a painting of Vox Machina by @Takayuuki_art.

Quotations

 * Sam: "I was forced to be here."
 * Sam: "It's a holiday themed one, so it's probably going to have a lot of death."
 * Dani: "This is your vlog, Brian."
 * Brian: "Will, Will, and Felicia was my favorite NBC sitcom."
 * Matt: "We wanted to have Deborah as a guest a long time ago."
 * Sam: "Does this show play during Critical Role, at the same time?"
 * Matt: "I'd been toying with that narrative device for a while. Like, I'd been planning at some point in the game to bring it in. I wanted it to just be a fun—it's essentially a pocket dungeon with a bunch of lore attached to it, with a lot more to explore. And I wanted to kind of find a way to bring it into the story when it felt 'proper.' ...When November rolled around and we finally had the time for it, I said, 'OK, based on how you're available, we're gonna be on a boat in the middle of the ocean. And, uh—hoh. I think I have it.' And so that's when I brought that device in. I fleshed it out and then worked with her for the story about the auction house."
 * Matt: "It's essentially a bottle episode."
 * Matt: "The ball was placed in the hands of an Arcane Trickster who liked to take things...under the unfortunate DM assumption that she would take it at the end of the episode."
 * Sam: "I don't think Nott resents Fjord, certainly not for touching the window. Nott touches everything. For setting a time limit on the library, I think Nott would have preferred to stay longer, but it was also a dangerous place full of monsters that kept fighting us."
 * Brian: "You're a mimic magnet, man."
 * Sam: "It's all water, as we know."
 * Brian: "Max can I have one of these?" Max (offscreen): "No!"
 * Sam: "Sometimes the world just comes crashing back down to reality again."
 * Sam: "Nott as a character doesn't like the spotlight on her very much."
 * Matt: "'I saw Matt's eye twitch, that means she's correct!'"
 * Matt: "I wasn't sure how invested she was going to be in The Traveler."
 * Sam: "If Caleb were there, that would have been harder because—if Nott were put in a position where she has to sacrifice herself to protect Jester or sacrifice herself to protect Caleb, I think uh Jester would be dead."
 * Sam: "We made our alliance very early on in the survivor game. And we're sticking to it!"
 * Sam: "We can't think about next campaign now!"
 * Sam: "Jester's a functional person."
 * Matt: "Not happy at all. We may get to explore some of that this Thursday...consider that her friends just vanished, all they found left was this weird mechanical ball that I'm sure Yasha messed with for a certain period of time and then went 'I don't fucking know.' She spent six days thinking that her friends were never going to come back. But she's been through a lot of loss. She's wandered the wastes alone—this isn't something where she breaks down in a corner and is inconsolable. She just kind of hardens to it and continues to move on and then hopes for the best."
 * Sam: "Mrs. Mr. Ashley Johnson."
 * Sam: "Remind me on January 8th to call in sick."