Well, this is super easy! 

A friend of mine was on Facebook was talking about the podcast very vaguely, and I wondered what all the hype was about. She sent me a link, and I browsed the internet for further information, even daring to lurk on Reddit.

At first, I was like, “Meh, podcasts, just a resurgence of the audio medium.” I had tried to get into Welcome to Night Vale and a few other podcasts before, and I hadn’t stuck with any of them because … well, I got bored? And actually, if I’m being completely honest with myself, TAZ almost suffered the same fate. In the first episode, I felt like I was missing something, partially because I wasn’t familiar with the McElroys like other listeners were, but mostly because it was a lot of exposition-y and character-buildy, which is not really my favorite part of D&D (although that’s changed since then). When they finally launched into the adventure, Sure, I was amused by the antics of “Here There Be Gerblins” and “Murder on the Rockport Limited,” but it took a lot of encouragement from my friend to stick with it. 

And then “Petals to the Metal” happened. I can’t remember the exact moment where something just clicked in my brain, but when it did, I could not stop. I spent nearly every second I wasn’t working or sleeping listening to the Tres Horny Boys (and Griffin). I couldn’t stop talking about it with nearly every person I came into contact with, and I’m pretty sure I was viewed as some sort of podcast missionary. I’m actually okay with that.

It’s gotten to the point where I actually fall asleep to listening to old episodes of The Adventure Zone. Well, interspersed with party banter from Dragon Age: Inquisition and ambient music from the Mass Effect trilogy, but still. TAZ is such a big part of my leisure time now that I can’t imagine my life without it. 

So, thanks, Friend T! You are pretty kickass. 

Art Credit: Maximum Fun