Every week, Now You Know recaps the Know Direction content of the past week, previews the Know Direction content of the week to come, and shares the thoughts on the state of the network of the director of operations, Ryan Costello.
I consider myself well-versed in popular culture. However, I have my blind spots. Books. Anime. Triple A video games. So it’s been wild watching reactions over the last week to three major adaptations.
Amazon Prime released Wheel of Time. Netflix released Cowboy Bebop and Arcane. All three interest me, but I’m going into them with zero expectations.
As a fan of fantasy and someone who feels guilty that I don’t read more, Wheel of Time’s been on my radar, but with 20 books that each push 1000 words, I knew I’d never get around to it. What’s funny is, if you ask me anything about Wheel of Time beyond the title and author, all I know meta about the writing and release of the series. That it’s too long, the pace slowed with every successive book, and Robert Jordan’s choice to release a prequel instead of a conclusion late in the series upset fans. Before the show released, I couldn’t tell you anything about the premise, or even name a character or concept.
Now, I could be considered a Wheel of Time scholar compared to what I know Cowboy Bebop. I could pick a Cowboy Bebop poster out of a lineup, but not much more than that. At Perram’s recommendation, I watched the trailer. That’s when I realized how much of the pop culture I consume that it influenced. My interest increased, but I’d still basically be going into it blind.
As for Arcane, I hadn’t heard anything about it until the series showed up on Netflix. Funny enough, even though I had to Google League of Legends to confirm it was a video game, the League of Legends subtitle increased my curiosity about the series. As a title, Arcane could be anything. And Netflix’s tendency to release original series suspiciously similar to popular series, combined with Arcane releasing the same week as Wheel of Time, I had my suspicions. It being licensed tells me it’s been in development at least a certain amount of time, making the release alongside Wheel of Time a coincidence.
These three properties may not have much in common, but they combined on my social media in a weird way. I’m out of the loop. I can only observe, having no opinions on any of the three properties that the most active geeky voices on my wall keep talking about. I know I referenced Abraham Simpson’s famous quote about getting old and losing touch, but that’s not entirely what’s happening here. The youngest of the three properties, League of Legends, debuted 12 years ago. It’s not like I missed out on the new YA hotness that took the younger world by storm. These properties mean a lot to a lot of my generation, but somehow mean nothing to me.
I intend to watch Wheel of Time, Cowboy Bebop, and Arcane. I’m two episodes into Wheel of Time. It’s a little too soon to form an opinion, but I like it enough that I can’t relate to the most heated reactions I’ve seen. Which don’t seem to be the universal reaction. I’m not sure which series I’ll jump to next. With Wheel of Time releasing weekly after these initial three episodes released as the premiere, I’ll be caught up soon. Even with the first two episodes of Hawkeye out Wednesday, I’ll have plenty of time between new episodes to fit in Cowboy Bebop and Arcane.
If you have strong, spoiler free feelings about which of the two I should try first, let me know. However, I suspect even if I enjoy any or all of them, I’m only getting a fraction of the experience, having so little other experience with all three to compare it to.
I can’t wait to see Ghostbusters: Afterlife this week so I can participate in some pop culture conversation online.
Speaking of… stuff on the Internet? Sure. Here’s a recap of the content from last week at the Know Direction Network:
Recap of November 15th to 19th
What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?
Monday, November 15th
Article
Now You Know – Now You Know – Now YOU Know
By Ryan Costello
I invited you to submit your questions for an all Know Questions episode of Know Direction.
Tuesday, November 16th
Patreon
Patron’s Private Sanctum 031
Luis joined Perram and I for a spooky after show, talking about scary systems we’ve played.
Podcast
Digital Divination 043 – Being Thankful
All I ask of the Know Direction Network staff (O.K., not all) is that any 42nd edition of their content must mention the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. John and Ron fulfilled that obligation.
Article
Eldritch Excursion – Your First Summoning
Written by Nate Wright
Nate gets into the head of summoners when they first bring forth a creature. It’s a clever use of context to enhance the player/character connection.
Wednesday, November 17th
Twitch
Know Direction 263 Live – Know Questions
Thanks to everyone who contributed questions to this episode’s banter segment. The variety of questions, and topics we don’t tend to cover, brought this one to life.
YouTube
Surprise Unboxing from Hero Forge® Custom Miniatures
Some original video content that I recommend you check out. Hero Forge sent Alex Augunas, the network’s Hero Forge aficionado, some sample miniatures for an unboxing video. What Alex didn’t know was which miniatures they sent him.
Podcast
Game Design Unboxed 24: Sleeping Gods
Danielle, being a talented game designer, illustrator, and savvy when it comes to game publishing, speaks to a kindred spirit in Ryan Laukat, a game designer, illustrator, and co-owner of Red Raven Games. I’m not current on board games anymore, so I hadn’t heard of Sleeping Gods, but the way it’s described as tabletop Breath of the Wild makes me want to track it down.
Article
More Lore – Fleeing the Tyrant
By Scott D Young
To me, The Whispering Tyrant’s return to Golarion in 2e meant a new major villain in the world. However, Scott found another angle worthy of campaigns and character backgrounds: the refugees of the fallen nation of Lastwall trying to find a new place in the world.
Thursday, November 18th
Podcast
Know Direction 263 – Know Questions
We answered listener questions about such topics as the name of the show, our musical bumpers, a Know Direction staff Squid Game, our favourite polyhedrals, and more.
Article
Something Creates – A Connection! pt. 1
by Andrew Sturtevant
A Mystic connection, specifically. For the Time Being!
Friday, November 19th
Patreon
Patron’s Private Sanctum 032
A different crop of Patrons than our usual Familiars joined us this week, for a conversation about the lack of Pathfinder 2e third party support, and plans for Know Direction content on Pathfinder Infinite.
Podcast
Intrepid Heroes 073 – Victory
The Intrepid Heroes face off against the final boss of Dawn of Flame book 5 – Solar Strike. Will they be victorious? Assuming you didn’t read the episode’s title, you’ll only know by listening!
Preview of November 22nd to 26th
This is back to Block 2 of our 2-block schedule.
Monday, November 22nd
Article
Now You Know – They Changed What “It” Was
By Ryan Costello
This isn’t like when I didn’t know anything about The Eternals, because no one knew anything about The Eternals.
Tuesday, November 23rd
Podcast
Legend Lore 036
Luis and Loren talk Pathfinder 2e.
Article
Fox’s Cunning – Where There’s Smoke, There’s Preparation
By Dustin Knight
Following up on Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire Rules, Dustin offers rules for fighting fires.
Wednesday, November 24th
Twitch
Geek Together
The Know Direction Network’s positively geeky podcast.
Podcast
Presenting – Tan Shao Han
John Godek talks with Tan Shao Han, the founder and lead designer of Curious Chimeras games.
Article
Behind The Screens – Dealing With A Marshal PC
By Ryan Costello
Not to be mistaken for last time’s Dealing With A Marshall PC, about making misfit PCs fit. At the recommendation of Dustin Knight, who thought I was referring to the 2e Marshal archetype’s reputation for being overpowered, this week I cover taking some spotlight away from PCs who hog the spotlight.
Thursday, November 25th
Podcast
Valiant Episode 27
Our Valiant heroes continue to explore the Temple of the Whisperer.
Friday, November 26th
Podcast
Geek Together
What did the Know Direction Network staff geek out about this time?
Now you know,
Ryan Costello
