People being upset at what amounts to Rosemary’s Vent Art does not surprise me given how some folks treat artists with any social presence. Doesn’t matter if it’s not for them to see in the first place, doesn’t matter if it’s in the privacy of their own house, some people are always going to think that having bad thoughts is worse than action. Her shedding her grief onto her art was actually one of the healthiest ways she coped, but of course it’s “a bad look” to act like anything but a poor innocent sheep in the face of tragedy.
Surprise Waltening Post in reaction to post Faces of Grief theories-
I’m seeing a lot of back-and-forth between people who believe this episode (which I don’t need to sing its praises at length because it was so self-evidently excellent) either:
A-Completely confirms that Jack is Bon.
OR
B-Bon is not Jack and is just acting to manipulate Rosemary.
Now my take is more on B, but I think there’s more to Bon mimicking Jack than pure manipulation tactics.
I think Bon wants to replace Jack, the inspiration for the character he’s wearing. He might think he could even be better than Jack. He could be Susan’s friend as Jack was, giving her the gift of one of the bodies she built herself. Same with Charles, though we haven’t seen the full picture with him yet so still up in the air.
He could protect and take better care of Edd and Molly, giving them a nice little playset. He wasn’t the one who made them beautiful, but nevertheless he seems to think of them as his own. He just needs little Sophie to join them, and they could all be a happy family.
And he could love Rosemary and stay with her and make her beautiful way more than Jack ever could. He could wear the suit and take her hand, he could dance with her, he could comfort and brush her hair, he could be strong for her.
They don’t need Jack anymore, they’ll be so much happier and more beautiful with Bon in Wonderland. He’s trying to remove Jack from the picture in the minds and hearts of his family and friends who helped build the Showstoppers. Just like how Felix callously removed Jack from the BSI brand and acted like he was the sole CEO, because having a missing co-ceo who’s children you killed would be just too awkward. Even Jack himself in Rosemary’s nightmare said to forget about him.
In this case between Bon, Felix and even Jack, it feels like to world itself is conspiring to erase Jack Walten from memory. And despite this he continues to haunt the narrative.
Azune Nayar is not someone who was failed in his youth by the adults around him.
Azune Nayar is someone whose childhood and youth were marked by adults who, faced with bad choices, made the less-worse one because they cared about him.
His parents starved themselves to give him and his sister the chance of being recruited as child soldiers by a mercenary group, because that was the only way to protect him from starvation.
Thjazi Fang saw a child abandoned by the roadside, desperately, determinedly, and implausibly claiming he could fight. Thazi Fang was in the middle of waging a rebellion against the powers of Araman. That rebellion wasn’t the best place for a child of twelve. But it was a better place than abandoned by the roadside or picked up by another mercenary group, and Thjazi cared, so Thjazi took him in and assigned him to noncombat work away from the front lines.
By 15 Azune was fighting on the front lines. (In an earlier war, the same was true of Thazi at that age.)
Thjazi’s rebellion failed. He asked his brother Hal to look out for the teenage Azune. Hal did so, treating Azune as part of his family. Hal did the same for other people who needed it. Being like family wasn’t the same as being Hal’s kid.
The tragedy of Azune isn’t that he was failed or abandoned or uncared for or used. The tragedy of Azune is that the best that people who cared about him could give him still wasn’t the same as what he needed, because being an adult doesn’t make you all-powerful. Azune’s problems weren’t created by those who loved him. They were created by the world he lives in.
Azune lived his adult life for the Torn Banner because it was the life he knew; or out of loyalty; or because they were the ones trying to change that world into something different.
He offers understanding and empathy to enemies (Julien) and strangers (Vaelus). He learned that somewhere.
He will self-immolate for a cause. He likely learned that from his parents, who did it for him, and from Thjazi, who did it for the same cause.
Forget "he's 20 he should be at the club", Occtis should be doing his History of Components assignment for class. My guy should be doing homework. Drinking the Araman equivalent of a coffee + red bull and studying last minute for Cantrips 2.0 test
'god damn I totally get why Hal reacted the way he did to Bolaire wearing Misha, considering what he knows of Bolaire; and why he was so unreceptive to all the accusations Bolaire made about Thjazi during the Convergence. His reaction was incredibly understandable from the perspective of a guy who is already fucking REELING from so many revelations about a man he loved'
AND 'I think Hal was horrified that Bolaire insinuated that because of Thjazi, Hal might technically be his owner if Thimble isn't, and given the history of the Orcs under Azgra, no wonder this instigated such a disgusted reaction.'
AND 'that doesn't make any of Hal's words justified. It was, in fact, incredibly fucked up that Hal IMMEDIATELY aggressively pinned Bolaire to a sofa rather than simply asking if Misha was alright; and was ONLY concerned with Thjazi hurting Misha, not Bolaire, when Thjazi swung for him; and was so dismissive of Bolaire when he was trying to talk openly for the first time about how Thjazi mistreated him and reduced him to an owned object, in front of a room of people who predominantly love & glaze Thjazi'
AND 'this clearly negatively impacted his relationship with Bolaire and I think Hal realised that and regretted it, when Bolaire was apologising constantly and promising to leave the life he had built with Hal at its centre, and when he specifically asked Azune to help him rather than Hal'
AND 'I think Hal has so much on his plate with the Creed and the incredible work he did with KoTher'ai, his fears for his family and his complex feelings for Thjazi, that it's completely possible that he won't acknowledge this for a long time'
AND 'I think they both need time apart so Bolaire can figure out who he is without Hal, and Hal can come to his own conclusions about whether their friendship was 'real' or not'
AND 'the revelation of how little Hal cares about Bolaire in comparison to other important people in his life (Thjazi, Misha) is going to be devastating for our fucked-up little mask guy who has codependently entangled their lives'
AND 'this will be very good for Bolaire in the long run if the Seekers become part of his wider friendship/support network, which will in turn be VERY good for Hal because their whole ish wasn't healthy in any way and Hal has enough going on that he genuinely can't give Bolaire the emotional support he needs right now'
AND 'I think this is all far more crunchy and interesting than if they had just spoken about their problems like normal people and hugged it out'
okay not be bothered, but the fandom opinion being "22 isn't a kid" when they want to be mad at murray about something (regarding demodus) but 20 is a literal child when people want to be mad at thaisha about something (regarding occtis) is like. hm i wonder what the root of the impulse here is. it's a mystery. no one can figure it out
This is almost definitely me putting way too much thought into a moment that Brennan just did in passing, but it's one that is important TO ME, which is the little moment between Hero and Thaisha in the Archanade during convergence. The one where Hero tells Thaisha about un-petrifying Cyd and says "I've done something Shadia hasn't"
It just speaks so much to the love and support and closeness of the Lloy-Fang-D'vyen family. "I've done something Shadia hasn't" is like, very classic and normal and lowkey sibling rivalry. And she has 0 qualms expressing this to Shadia's mom! She has no fear of being shut down or shamed, she doesn't spare
any worry that Thaisha might be cold to her in response.
And we see that trust immediately born out in the fact that Thaisha laughs and even says she likes this energy! There's no weirdness, it's just warmth.
Hero says it's good to see her. Thaisha congratulates her on being at the Penteveral. This is a family and they are so, so fond of each other.
something I am really interested in seeing with Occtis in the next arc is that he is, understandably, pretty cynical when it comes to how people interact with him (I would love to get some insight on how he responded to Thaisha initially, honestly) but he also does push people away when they are being, if not perfectly altruistic, at least helpful. Julien is an asshole but he doesn't leave Occtis behind, and Vaelus broke the stone but she didn't do so with any ill intent, and Murray is warming up to him for that matter, so while I get that Occtis has reason to be paranoid and closed off I think exploring that and having people point that out will be really fun.
If a Panto mask is the ideal plowshare to unseal the halfling afterlife, I think it would be fun for Bolaire to achieve this himself.
It's unclear exactly how putting Termina into the Coffin of Olbalad would transform her into a plowshare in the Cloak's original plan, since our local godkilling queen is on the loose and still very much wants to kill gods, but maybe that means it simply didn't work. Maybe because Termina is sentient and didn't agree, she could not be "transformed" from her original purpose/nature without her consent. If that's the case, I think that's fitting. It reinforces the sentience of the Panto masks and that the Cloak did not fully understand their nature.
Bringing this around to Bolaire: a plowshare is a powerful weapon whose purpose is transformed from destructive to creative/cultivative, and by doing so gains new power. And anyone can make plowshares. Shadia transformed the god-killing Pariah Blades into plowshares by painting them and making them harmless props in a momentously inspiring stage play. If Bolaire could truly accept the fact of his own personhood and agency - actually believe it - he would be materially transcending his original design as solely a god-killing weapon. Bam! Plowshare who also happens to also be a little guy. And in this unique event where a plowshare is also a person with thoughts and feelings, rather than an inert configuration of materials, it makes sense that what would transform is how he thinks/acts as opposed to how he is "used". Choosing to build a bridge to free dead souls is also creative rather than destructive. Making the choice to participate in that could make him a plowshare even if he's still figuring himself out internally.
As I write this, I was just hit over the head with the realization that Brennan is pointing at Bolaire to be the plowshare, too, in literal neon colors. Per Mara, the Coffin of Olbalad is "the paint" in the trinity of plowshares needed for the bridge-building ritual (a halfling Panto mask the second, a demonic anchor is the third). Mara and Thjazi originally put the pieces of Termina inside the coffin, intending her to be the plowshare. The magically painted Bolaire-and-Figment (technically created of a plowshare themselves!) traveled to the surface of the coffin and wanted to get in. Painted!Bolaire also rejoices and says he's not alone, prodding Bolaire to look at how he as a person fits into the world and community around him.
Flashing signs pointing at this box saying, have a personal revelation and get in, baybee!
What is your thoughts on the whole “Thjazi is abusive” discussion/discourse going around?
This is a bit of a longer post, but the short answer is that I think it's entirely possible that Thjazi was cruel or apathetic towards certain people, including Bolaire, and that it wouldn't compromise the story in any way, but I am not convinced that Bolaire has told the whole story about that. However, I don't think the terms "abusive" or "abuser" are useful in this context.
Massive plot and character spoilers for Cloudward, Ho! under the cut.
For those less familiar with Brennan's prior DMing, Cloudward Ho! was one of the recent Dimension 20 seasons that Brennan DM'd on Dropout.tv. That season is particularly relevant to why I think Thjazi acting horribly is on the table.
Cloudward, Ho! was a season of a pulp adventure late-1800s-ish steampunk novel played in D&D. Decades back, Comfrey MacLeod became a world-famous adventurer and inventor. She created the first flying machine, then recruited a crew to explore the world, frequently saving it in the process, and one of the crew wrote novels based on them, making them all famous. Years later, the PCs are the core members of her old crew, now coming out of retirement because Comfrey's granddaughter and the grandson of her primary financier discovered a SOS message from Comfrey that she needed help and had found the fabled lost continent of Zood. The audience is essentially in the same boat as the two youngest PCs as we gradually learn the truth of Comfrey's adventures and her relationships with her old crew.
The PCs go on many adventures in their attempts to find Comfrey, eventually traveling to Zood and beyond. Comfrey is constantly one step ahead, having fled danger and leaving clues. As the PCs catch up, they find more and more information confirming that Comfrey has not changed: she legitimately does save the world as often as she can and at great risk to herself and her crew, but she also invites danger by making deals with nefarious organizations, taking their money, and running when they come to collect, often causing incredible collateral damage to others. One of those factions nearly ended the world, and she had no idea.
Brennan did a very gradual build of discordant information about Comfrey. All of the recordings and writings were full of energy, zest for life and adventure, and encouraged her granddaughter to follow in her footsteps. However, people who knew her had a wide variety of opinions. Comfrey's son was a recluse and obsessed with safety, and his daughter simply didn't understand why he wasn't interested in adventure like she was. Marya, Comfrey's protoge and former captain, was on a suicidal quest of revenge, believing that she had offended the spirits for taking to the skies because her own protoge had died, and she blamed Comfrey for saving her life in the accident when it happened. Daisuke, Comfrey's former husband, felt abandoned because Comfrey had treated him like a dog who needed to retire. Van, one of Comfrey's closest crewmates, lost her arm on a mission to find Zood and was left behind after Comfrey made her a mechanical arm. Monty, the author of the books, quietly resented Comfrey's irresponsibility and ego. The NPCs that met Comfrey were all treated as either useful or distractions, but her sheer charisma usually got her more help than not.
It's about halfway through the campaign before the granddaughter discovers one of Comfrey's notes where she rather cruelly criticizes her old crew in an explanation why she had not brought them with her to Zood. Until then, everything could have been disregarded as bitterness or jealousy that had fermented in the decades that passed. The truth was that Comfrey was not just a hero; she had put herself before everyone else, including her loved ones. She was egotistical to the point that she felt Monty had unfairly gotten rich and famous off of her adventures. Her son was a coward in her eyes and not worth visiting; Comfrey only went to visit her granddaughter in the hopes that she would take flight after her. Daisuke was past his prime. Comfrey had some regret towards what happened with Marya and Van, but didn't really care to give them closure or a chance to pursue it.
Comfrey wasn't a villain in the story. The PCs finally catch up, there is an explosion of emotion and dialogue, including some incredibly cruel statements by Comfrey--and they agree to work together. Comfrey is forced to face the harm she caused to everyone, and they have tough conversations about it, but don't really forgive and forget. While she dies in the final battle, it wasn't some grandiose heroic sacrifice. She just rolled badly and died. The PCs got their chance to reconcile, and the story was that the next generation learned from her mistakes.
That was the season that aired in 2025 during the gap between C3 and C4. Comfrey was not a good person, but she also wasn't evil. Calling her an abuser isn't a helpful label for addressing her themes. The horrid way she treated people who loved her didn't change that she literally saved the world numerous times. The fact that she loved them enough to reconcile didn't change that she had been too absorbed in her adventures to realize the threats she'd left in her wake.
So, having seen that season before C4, I am of the belief that Thjazi is yet another take on the complex hero. I would not be shocked in the least if Bolaire is being truthful about everything he's said about Thjazi.
I don't think that would take away from the story. I think it just means that it's a different story than what people expect of Brennan. As I've said a handful of times, Thjazi's story is that he failed. He died before he could achieve his goals, and the only reason he's still around is sheer chance. He doesn't have agency as Julien's shadow. He can't communicate. C4 is not a story that the PCs need to be like Thjazi because the opening scene showed us that being like Thjazi gets you killed too soon. I like this set up because Thjazi achieves narrative weight that is usually assigned to villains: he's an example of what not to do. The story is figuring out where he made the wrong choices.
That said, even if he did everything that Bolaire claims, calling Thjazi an "abuser" doesn't help interpret the story. When it comes to analysis, labels are useful when they have an agreed-upon definition. Using a word like abuser brings in a ton of baggage for anyone who reads it, and it becomes a discussion of, "Well, he's an abuser, so X must also be true." That drifts away from analyzing the story as is.
I don't think any of it makes Thjazi evil, even if Bolaire is 100% right. Bolaire is such a unique type of character that I cannot blame Thjazi for reacting poorly while still also allowing Bolaire his freedom. Bolaire still got to live the life he wanted. Whatever Thjazi's opinions or behaviors were, he didn't take away the things Bolaire wanted most. There was some level of trust there.
There's also the possibility that Bolaire and Thjazi deeply misunderstood each other to the point that they each thought the other was holding one over them. We don't know the details of how they actually worked together. Thimble does, but she hasn't been the type to blab about that sort of thing.
As for what I hope: I would really like it if Thjazi was that terrible to Bolaire. Brennan handled that wonderfully with Comfrey, and I'd like to see that come in again.
Much of C4 has been pointing out that every person, no matter how flawed or selfish or petty, can contribute to a revolution. Murray's a great example: she was so flabbergasted that Thjazi thought to ask Hal to help her because Murray thinks she's a shit person. She steals from the school she works at despite that it would obviously negatively impact the students whom she's so protective of. She's all three of those things and still making a huge difference in this rebellion. People don't need to be perfect to be heroes.
As a final note: I'm a whistleblower attorney. 95% of the people I work with are in it for (a) money, (b) revenge, or (c) avoiding consequences. Very few heroes are people who do it because they want to do the right thing. Moral purity doesn't really hold any ground in this business. People do the right thing because it's in their interest to do it, and that's great because that means the right thing gets done.
I hope Thjazi was a piece of shit in addition to doing all that good. It's the type of story a lot of people need right now.
Sudden thought that despite Primus being aware that Occtis is with Julien, he might not believe that Occtis is an active participant in all the trouble Julien is causing. Like don’t get me wrong, Primus is definitely still pissed that his failson couldn’t even die correctly and I can only imagine what horrible punishment would befall him if he ever got captured, but for all the losses he got in the span of a week none of them have directly pointed at Occtis. Hell as far as he’s aware Occtis might just be a regular undead that Julien is dragging around to prevent his family from retrieving him. Like yeah he went against the family, but there’s NO WAY his weak and pathetic son could possibly be an active threat against them now right..? Right???
Basically what I’m saying is that any time something bad happens Primus is going to do that bike fall meme and blame it on Julien somehow, and he could still be surprised if Occtis ever takes a real swing at him.
In light of the most recent episode showing us exactly what it looks like when Primus loses his shit, and Alex very deliberately and on purpose having Occtis react very viscerally to that (as a victim of Primus' abuse, as Alex has been pretty clearly playing him since day one), I've been thinking about the fact that Brennan has also made it very clear that the abuse wasn't limited to Occtis, despite his very limited screentime it's incredibly apparent that Ethrand was also abused. Brennan was most clear about this in the most recent episode, having Primus screaming at Ethrand while jabbing a finger in his face, but the signs were there as early as episode 4. Ethrand was gleefully asserting himself in the Palazzo, reveling in the murder of his brother and the soon-to-be-murder of the Lady Royce, until Primus showed up, at which point Ethrand was immediately cowed and diminished himself. The way Brennan portrayed that moment made it clear Ethrand is afraid of Primus, which is not the reaction of a man whose father treated him well.
What's also interesting is the contrasting ways this abuse effected Occtis and Ethrand's behaviour. One of the very first phrases Alex uses to describe Occtis is that he is "small in presence", and that's be been borne out by how he plays him. Occtis is constantly trying to be as unobtrusively and inoffensive as possible in order to stay out of any potential lines of fire from other people, and indeed growing frustrated with doing this is part of why he blew up at Julien the way he did. One notable example of Occtis avoiding potential conflict with others is when Amadah and Ingrid arrive at Castle Torch and Occtis declines going out to meet them despite Thaisha insisting that druids are cool with him now; he's unsure and avoids a potential confrontation by avoiding the interaction entirely. While Ethrand also displays this behaviour when around Primus, see again the aforementioned scene in episode 4 as well as his quiet guilt in the Sundered Houses meeting where he did not say a single word, when around people he has some power over he completely turns this around, and revels in making people feel as small as his father makes him. We've only seen this directly in interactions he's had with Occtis (throwing rocks at his head when they were children; taunting him while murdering him), but I wouldn't doubt he's also like this around the peasantry and anyone else deemed "lesser", taking the hurt that has been inflicted on him and turning it on others.
Not that any of this absolves Ethrand of the choices he has made. He still murdered his brother and told him there had always been something wrong with him as he did so. Him being made into what he is by his father's abuse explains this, it does not excuse it (and I strongly suspect that this will be a generational pattern with House Tachonis, once we come to learn more about Nullus and his relationship with his own children). But it does tap into one of the overarching themes of the campaign: becoming something more than what you were shaped to be by those that made you. While I suspect we won't see Ethrand become anything other than what he is, by virtue of being a PC, Occtis has a chance to.
I have too many words to just put in tags sorry. I wanted to add that along with bullying and mocking Occtis because he was weaker, he might have been jealous of him? Because while Occtis was seen as a disappointment and an embarrassment, it was also that powerlessness that led Primus to pay way less attention to him than his siblings…which meant that when Primus got angry, Occtis was less likely to be around to face it. Ethrand is powerful, but that meant he had to meet the high expectations of the Tachonis line. He had duties and responsibilities and his dad’s constant judgment.
So while all their other siblings were probably abused one way or another, Ethrand thought Occtis had it easy. He could’ve just stayed where he was and not have to do anything. So when Occtis chose to do something against the family’s wishes it infuriated him. Occtis envied his siblings powers and the attention Primus gave them, and Ethrand envied Occtis for being able to escape Primus’s attention. Hopefully that makes sense.
i honestly love the contrast between how we see the tachonis treat occtis and the halovar treat wick. both family dynamics are deeply abusive, but what we see with occtis and primus is obviously, recognizably abuse based in fear and violence. wick and his grandmother, on the other hand, have a relationship that was viewed by wick as loving. he was the favorite, he loved her and she loved him. but the more he learns about his home life and the more time we spend with yanessa, the clearer the dangerous emotional enmeshment happening in the halovar household becomes. if primus's treatment of occtis is based in apathy and pain, yanessa's treatment of wick is an insidious kind of affection. a controlling attachment that they can publicly pretend is okay because she loves him. when everything else is gone, wick is supposed to hold onto her love for him. it is perhaps less overt than the abuse occtis faces at the hands of the tachonis, but no less horrible and detrimental for the people involved. occtis was a target for murder because he was different from him family and was unable to hide it; if wick had been a worse liar and openly deviated from the identity yanessa laid out for him, she was vocally just as willing to murder him, too
