recommending black sails to heated rivalry fans because I donāt give a fuck anymore. āwhat do they even have in common ?ā nothing. nothing at all. i am trying to hurt you.
Autism diagnosis questionnaires are kind of like if the only way to diagnose blindness was by having someone list all the things they don't see. Like imagine being brought into a room where you can't see shit and being told "okay list all the things in this room that you can't see or perceive in any way. No you can't feel around that'd be cheating."
"Uhhh furniture?"
"No there's no furniture in this room. If you were truly blind you would have known that."
Brennan is particularly gifted at DM editing-- knowing where the narrative needs to be focused when and getting it there smoothly. A lot of other DMs tend to almost solely let the PCs direct the narrative attention, which is appropriate for some games and definitely the norm for games that aren't intended for an audience. But for both genre/mystery-heavy productions like Cloudward Ho, and for this massive group of players in the Overture of C4, editing is absolutely crucial.
The order and pacing of character introductions in C4 episode one really highlights how important editing is as a DM. To introduce 13 characters in four hours in a way that makes narrative sense and gives the audience some idea of the story being told as well as establishing a new setting and seeding hooks of a mystery is a mind-boggling task. Brennan does it really really well, and the cast is right there with him.
(This got long, so buckle in,)
The PCs introduced in the first half generally have two things in common: less in-your-face characterization and closer proximity to Thjazi. Hal, Azune, Thaisha, Occtis, Wick, and Teor are all fairly grounded in their expression, and their feelings toward and relationships with Thjazi seem straightforward enough.
Introducing these characters early gives them time to unfold and breathe and establish some of the norms of the world. Tyranny is obviously an outlier, but she comes with Wick and does a fabulous job of showing us new facets of characters we've started to understand-- pushing on the norms to show us their boundaries.
In the second half, we get Thimble, Kattigan, Bolaire, Julien, Murray, and Vaelus. Thimble is the outlier here in terms of closeness to Thjazi, but like Tyranny, her sincere and unbridled grief gives us a new punctuation to the established tone of the episode, where most characters have been more contained in their sadness.
But across the board, the post-break PCs needed very little time to make an impression. They establish their presence with in moments, and their energy brings out new depth in the PCs who we've started to understand (Kattigan & Occtis, Thaisha & Julien.) Credit due to the cast for bringing the confidence needed for this to work, but none of it seemed out of character. These we the right characters introduced and the right time.
And, as opposed to the characters introduced in the first half, who are mostly asking questions, these characters have answers, or ways of providing answers. Some we've begun to explore (Thimble, Kattigan, Vaelus,) some have only been hinted at, but their presence deepens the mystery either way.
Whereas the pre-break PCs mostly established norms, the post-break ones introduce complications. The messy edges of relationships are exposed as we wade deeper into the narrative of this world.
It truly was an incredible episode. Everyone understood the assignment, kept things moving, and really set the tone for what's to come.
Bolaireās mask has fluid expressionsā it works like a normal face. But Panto masks (as far as I know) have a single emotion or archetype that it displays. I am assuming that each āundivineā mask the halflings created displayed a different emotion/ archetype.
So what was Bolaire? Based on the only identifying feature of his mask that he canāt change like a normal face: the tear stains going from his eyes, Iād say he was sorrow/ the suffering.
Youāre a weapon meant to kill a god. You were crafted to suffer. You play a single part and that part is sorrow and misery. And you need an actor to teach you what other emotions are by how honestly he portrays them.
Listen thereās something absolutely wild about Bolaire, sentient mask notwithstanding.
Like. You have found a Person who has brought light into your life and pulled you out of this deep depression that youāve lived in forever. There is a flavor of fantasy there (yay) but this isnāt a scenario that is all that odd to a lot of people right?
And itās not a romantic relationship. And whether or not we think Bolaire and Hal should fuck about it is not the point (though they should at some point if you ask me). You get saved by this man and he has no idea. But heās just a genuinely kind, gentle man and he gives out friendship easily and you need him.
And so youāre friends with him. Youāre friends with him and you have a secret that you have no qualms about telling him. Itās not something you can share with a strangerā you told him the cover story when you first met himā but once your friendship is solidified youāre planning on telling him everything. Not even a question. Heāll keep the secret for you and you want him to know.
And then, youāre over his house one day and you happen to meet his brother on the way out. Heās talked about his younger brother before, heās kind of a big deal. Nice to put a face to a name. You shake his hand, let your friend introduce you, and you head out. And then that night you get a blackmail note.
You get a full-fledged piece of blackmail written out and everything. And it is from your friendās brother. Whom you met for roughly thirty seconds. And it turns out the most important person in the world to you? His brother is a criminal and wants you to jeopardize your nice job by stealing shit and giving it to him at no cost. Or else he tells everyone your secret. Which will get you run out of town at best.
How he knows your secret is a mystery. But he sees you as subhuman because of it. And he has also made it clear that his brother is not to know. Heās got a reputation of keeping his brother out of his business. The brother is still the good man you thought he was. But now you canāt tell him anything about this.
Like what do you do when the most important person in your life is intertwined with the person causing you the most pain? What do you do when the person you love loves your abuser?
Because I 100% believe Bolaire when he said that Thjazi was cruel to him. I think thatās an interesting layer to Thjazi. And though all we have to back up his story is a natural one insight check I do think Bolaire was telling the truth that Thjazi saw him as a āthing.ā A relic that kills its hosts and may turn at any moment. Something designed to kill that is on the loose. I think Thjazi would see it as responsible to put some sort of leash on Bolaire.
You know two brothers who love each other. One brother is the only person who makes you feel real. The other wastes no breath telling you he thinks youāre fake.
Bolaire mentioned that Thjazi put his job in jeopardy and āpoisonedā the only thing that ever mattered to him: his friendship with Hal. I love the word poisoned. Because now not only does Bolaire have to constantly lie to Hal, something I do think he never would have done otherwise, he also now has to live with the knowledge that Hal is connected to Thjazi. Going over to Halās house could mean running into his blackmailer. Going to see Hal perform in a friends and family section means sitting next to his abuser. The only thing that is important to him is now connected to the worst thing that could happen to him.
Yeah man, Iād laugh in shock and relief at that guyās execution too.
Like exactly! I donāt think Thjazi was necessary showing that he was a bad person here. I think itās one of those moments when you side with the person you met first.
Like imagine a warrior acquires an incredibly powerful weapon. And that magical weapon isā¦. a tad smarter than maybe a weapon should be. And itās tired of doing what others want. Maybe itās gained a bit too much sentience. Or maybe not. Maybe it is acting just as intended, and it is cursed. Supposed to reject an owner if they do not do certain things.
So it takes over. The warrior is under its complete control. Possessed by the weapon.
Likeā¦ I havenāt actually watched all of Campaign One but didnāt that exact thing happen to Grog? Craven Edge?
Bolaire gained sentience during the Falconerās Rebellion. The war Thjazi is well known for. For all we know, Thjazi knew the guy Bolaire first possessed. Imagine: a brother in arms goes off to find a weapon once used to kill a god. And he finds it and shows it to you and then he leaves for a battle and you never see him again. Then, four years later, you see that same weapon, now being worn by a different person, in your brotherās home. And this āmanā claims the mask heās wearing is just some cursed artifact he canāt take off, that he found years ago. Perhaps before you saw your friend holding it. And likeā¦ ok you make some correct assumptions.
And heās in your brotherās home. A brother you are extremely protective of. The home where your niece lives.
Honestly in this story Thjaziās flaw is deciding to use blackmail instead of attacking on spot. Vox Machina/ Mighty Nein probably would have attacked on spot. Just based on that information this is a horrifying and dangerous situation.
But that also just makes Thjazi more interesting! Because Thjazi isnāt some adventurer, heās a revolutionary. Heās never been someone who makes money by traveling into a monster den and killing themā he fights battles, steals weapons, etc etc. an adventurer goes āoh damn this is a dangerous sentient weapon! Gotta put it down!ā A politician and revolutionary goes āThis thing has taken over a very impressive institution, isnāt causing any outward trouble. I have a duty to make sure it doesnāt go wild but maybe this could be a boon for my cause.ā
But we donāt see it like this because itās pretty obvious Bolaire is not just some random cursed object. Heās a real living being who has suffered and doesnāt want to go back to being used. But if we were watching this story through Thjaziās eyes it would probably take a long time for us to get there (if it happens at all).
I might be the only Tyranny fan who doesn't ship her with Wic. Like I want to put their relationship under a microscope but I don't want it to be explicitly romantic. Like why can't it just be a little weird? A little fucked up? Why they gotta be romantic about it?
As your resident aroace critical role fan can I please get a waffle
Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is in the public domain so I'm gonna write a version that's exactly the same (including child trampling) but Mr. Hyde is a Crash Bandicoot cosplayer
1,680,000 words and Taylor never even considers dressing the bugs up in little outfits, let alone choreographing a song and dance number. Both of which well within her ability. That's what made her a villain protagonist.
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