Talks Machina 93: The Diver's Grave

is the ninety-third episode of Talks Machina. Taliesin Jaffe and Liam O'Brien discuss with host Brian Wayne Foster.

Synopsis

 * Liam describes the process of narrowing down fan art for the upcoming art show happening on January 18-20, 2019.
 * Vox Machina: The Search for Grog will be a live show on January 19.
 * Itshoon: Both: What were your initial thoughts and reactions when you watched the new intro?
 * Jordan Hitch: Taliesin: We don't tend to hear profanity from Caduceus. Was you saying "F**k off ghost," in character?
 * ClockworkJack: Liam: how did Caleb feel in an environment where any fire spells would be at a disadvantage? Perhaps a strange feeling of missing something so reliable, or a good change of pace?
 * @PathosVignettes: Both: How spooked were you by Matt's DM'ing in the tunnels before Dashilla?
 * @CarnotLesbian: Taliesin: Why is it so important to Caduceus to always make sure he explains the party's presence to the local plant life?
 * Gif of the Week: Jonas Tintenseher's "Ghost Puncher."
 * Jordan Springer: Liam: What made Caleb ultimately decide to give blood with Fjord? Did his own natural curiosity take over, he wanted Fjord to owe him one, or was it a combination of both?
 * Tribert: Taliesin: How did Caduceus feel about suddenly realizing the seaweed in the cave was carnivorous? Did he just think of it as the cycle of life, or was he alarmed by the very unchill plant life?
 * @EXpiredSunshine: For Liam: Travis/Fjord seems to have put a large amount of meaning on the joining of cut hands. Does Caleb/Liam also put the same kind of significance on the act, why or why not?
 * @JumanjiiCostco: Taliesin: We got to see Caleb and Fjord make some interesting choices this week in terms of how far they're willing to push the boundaries of curiosity. How would Caduceus feel knowing that they participated in blood sacrifice and the "blood pact"?
 * Fan Art of the Week: Dawn Carlos aka dawndundundun's "Frumpkin Vision."
 * DannySpud2: liam: Caleb mentioned he had an idea of what the table did. Did he correctly guess that it would summon the storm? If so, was he intentionally risking the Squalleater just to gain a favour from Fjord?
 * @Seagull_Arthur: Taliesin: Caduceus fears/hates the undead. Has he had any past experiences with undead that led to such a powerful fear?
 * @emjaied: Liam: After the blood ritual, Caleb looked back to Jester and seemed to be gauging her reaction. Was he concerned that she'd bring it up with the others, that this might've changed her opinion of him, or something else?
 * @TheWritingDruid: Taliesin: What does Clay think of letting Dashilla live?
 * Malene Lund Staugaard: Liam and Taliesin: On a scale from 1 to Scanlan's drug habit, how afraid are you that Fjord is lying about wanting to open the gates for Uk'otoa?
 * This week's Critmas: Lauren Tuggle aka @dejasquietplace's Jester doll and accompanying box.

Quotations

 * Brian: "All I want for Christmas is a new teleprompter."
 * Liam: "I have a question. Have you noticed that Taliesin and I are together on this show a lot?"...Dani: "That has nothing to do with any other cast member's scheduling conflicts." Brian: "Okay, so we got a text from Sam Riegel that said 'I'm not coming on till January.'" Dani: "Yeah. Also a thing."
 * Liam: "The animated opening is so fucking amazing?!"
 * Brian: "Your butthole is a Mary Poppins purse."
 * Taliesin: "It's manners—there's a lot of manners."
 * Liam: "In the later years he's Transmutation. In the earlier years, he was more pushed to Evocation. And broke away from that."
 * Taliesin: "I feel like I've lost an edge of some kind."
 * Liam: "Leave Dani alone! Travis can take it."
 * Liam: "Just ram it in there, guys."
 * Liam: "Caleb was disgusted with himself at that moment...I think that he was a product of his schooling in that moment. And part of him was like 'yes' but most of him went 'you fucking piece of filth. Look at you.'"
 * Taliesin: "I love the notion of this violent hippie. He's very comfortable with the notion of violence and especially natural violence. There's no more appropriate way to die than eaten by a thing sustaining itself...This is just a hungry thing that will in turn be eaten by something else at some point."
 * Taliesin: "More than anything Caduceus would have been really—it's not the blood that would have bothered him but he felt it was really obvious that this thing should not be meddled with and that this thing was attracting some very negative energy."
 * Liam: "This campaign is so gloriously messy."
 * Liam: "'We are terrible people, why is this sweetheart with us?'"
 * Taliesin: "He is definitely doing the 'I'm investing in these people in the hope that I in turn am going to be invested in. I am helping with these things, I am trying to give some spiritual guidance in these things and giving some physical assistance. But at some point, there is an ask.' And at the very beginning, there was a conversation that I'm going to need something from you guys."
 * Taliesin: "He is trying his best to just read the signs and do what the universe is telling him to do."
 * Liam: "I didn't think that it was like a red nuclear missile button."
 * Taliesin: "He doesn't fear the undead."
 * Dani: "Caduceus is anti-shorts; you heard it here first, folks."
 * Liam: "Definitely not friends with Jester anymore."
 * Liam: "One of the nicer things in his life was definitely tarnished."
 * Taliesin: "'Are we just dropping this? This is a problem!'...We're just gonna leave this thing with this altar and this whole room, and everyone's fine with that?"
 * Taliesin: "It seems rude to make a fuss...He has a lot of brothers and sisters and he definitely was the kid who probably got less because he wasn't making as much noise about the things wanted."
 * Taliesin: "Everyone started acting like a crazy person to him."
 * Taliesin: "I don't think he's lying, I think he doesn't know what he wants."
 * Liam: "There's what Fjord tells himself is the deal and what's really the deal...this guy likes the taste of the power even if he's not admitting it to himself yet." Brian: "Likes the taste of the sword too."