The gradual degradation of Brennan's costume in Never Stop Blowing Up is a common environmental story telling trope in 80s action movies where the main character get progressively more injured but doesn't let it slow him down as he keeps fighting.
In a horror movie, these injuries would be slowing the character down, putting them in more peril, showing weakness and anguish.
In Action, it (at least) borders on comical how little injuries can matter - as Brennan showed in the hospital scene. Action is defiance of and triumph over death, it's about feeling like you're insanely tough, a badass who can defeat and overcome anyone and anything (physically).
The art and make up team here are telling a story. This is a character who exists parallel to our main story who is going through his own action journey, patching himself up when he can as he goes but bleeding through those bandages later as he rips a wound open that probably needed stitches but he doesn't have TIME to get a much needed blood transfusion, goddamnit, he's gotta get to the thing with the thing before the bad thing happens.
There's so many little interesting details unraveling in the story the make up is telling, like having one side of the body clearly have gotten exposed to an explosion. Meanwhile the cut on his left arm goes from open, to cleanly bandaged, to bleeding through the bandage. The latest episode brings us to the point in the movie where he finally just throws off the torn and bloodied dress shirt.
Which is part of action stories too, where the main character moves further and further from someone who was trying to be a Business Adult in the Real World before shit hits the fan and the battle can't be fought by a civilized man in a suit and tie, it's gonna get fuckin messy.
(as always please be mindful and respectful anytime you think about commenting on a performer's appearance).
also everyone who vaguely interacts with this blog prepare urselves im like three eps into bards of new york and it is almost all that matters to me now. since i can't get into the fandom without spoilers there are gonna be SO MANY WATCH THOUGHTS
Contents: Decisive action, breaking and entering, theft, attempt at rescue, chaos, sudden ideas.
A/N: Here's the MASTERLIST for "I see fire". Any questions are welcome. Please comment, like, and reblog – reblogging is the only way for new readers to find this. Let me know if you want a tag or keep an eye out for updates.
Divider by @ firefly-graphics
LXXIX
That night, Zilvra only succumbs to her trance with great difficulty and by the time the others rise, she’s been going over her gear a dozen times to ensure everything is ready for the mission. It has helped her collect her mind and there’s only a faint buzz of nerves running through her now – enough to keep her alert but not so much that it will cloud her mind like the day before.
Breakfast is a quiet affair despite the company of Tibs, Lisa, and Nanet who all seem much calmer than the trio feels...until the moment when they stand before Adia, watching her create the portal for them to pass through.
“Remember: no stupid risks,” the Wayfinder reminds them all.
One by one in quick succession, they step through the portal.
As opposed to the the sky of Rogue Harbour, the air in Stouvania is suffused by sunlight as there are no clouds to block it. Wincing in the bright light, Zilvra hurries to get her wooden goggles on that Anvindr once made her, shielding her sensitive eyes against the sun’s rays.
Looking around, she and the others realize that they have come out under the canopy of the tree closest to the Alloy Order temple, not too far from the read end of the building which possibly could mean there will be less guards to spot them.
“Heads up,” Nanet growls just then. “We’ve been seen.”
Following her gaze, Zilvra sees a human staring at them with open mouth and big eyes as if he’s never seen a bunch of people pop out of a tree...which honestly is fair to assume he hasn’t.
“Can’t let him warn anyo-” Zilvra begins but her sentence is cut short by the soft twang of Nanet’s bowstring and seconds later the man keel over with an arrow in his heart.
Rushing to the back wall of the temple, Tibs is ordered to drag the corpse with the group so it’s out of sight of passersby. He carefully props it up against the wall while Lisa pulls out the extendable ladder.
“There are people inside but the closest are about 90 feet away,” the hunter warns, thus giving the tinkerer permission to set to work.
Climbing the ladder so she can get onto the ledge and reach the stained glass window there, Lisa pulls out an item that she ignites and presses to the glass. It takes a moment where the trio and Nanet are keeping watch, but the petite tinkerer is able to cut soundlessly through the glass, warning Tibs in time for him to catch it as it falls outwards so it doesn’t shatter on the ground but can be placed quietly next to the corpse.
Scooting to the side, Lisa allows for Nanet and the trio to get up and look in.
It’s a grand room, stretching all the way to the other side of the building where there’s a wide set of double doors. Much closer, and of greater interest, is the altar and on it a gently glowing egg with spikes or spears jutting from it, all of different metals. Above it, suspended from chains attached to the walls on either side, hangs an elf in poor shape which Zilvra silently assumes must be Lumos – Hubert Callas’ friend who has been missing for a while. Beyond this arrangement are four guards, standing with their backs to the altar. They are clearly Alloy Order judging by their uniforms as well as their built.
And then there’s Lyro.
The trio don’t notice him at first until Nanet points up to the rafters. Up there, even in the gloom, the figure is recognizable together with his trusty mechanical ape. And Lyro wields nothing less than a small cannon.
Slipping in quietly as the first, the huntress makes sure to step aside, allowing Morella and Zilvra access next with Anvindr as the last.
The plan is to have Morella retrieve the egg while Zilvra, the genasi, and Nanet cover her retreat until she can hand the egg over to Tibby who then will bring it out of the church and bamf away followed by the rest as soon as they’re out too.
That’s the plan. Simple and efficient.
Zilvra and Morella move forward silently, the drow focusing on the shackle high up that’s secured around Lumos’ right wrist. Perhaps it’s outside the anti-magic zone? Trying to keep as wide a birth as possible, she conjures a spectral hand that silently glides up, carrying her lockpick so she can work the mechanism at a distance.
Just as it reaches, there’s a pop from Morella snatching the egg and using her innate gift to appear much closer to the entry point.
“Wha’?”
One of the guards reacts, causing all of them to turn and see the scene as it unfolds: a bear rushing on its hind legs towards the breached window, a drow standing with a hand in the air to work some distant magic, and a lineup of very different people who are ready to back up the first.
“H-halt!” an Alloy Order member yells just as the lock on the shackle around Lumos’ wrist pops and he goes swinging through the air, flopping against the other wall. He makes a sound that’s a mix between slapping a blubbery belly and something deflating rapidly.
“Sorry!”
The apology leaves Zilvra unbidden and honestly, she isn’t sure if the poor shackled man hears it. But it does make Lyro laugh up on his vantage point, a full-throated, joyful laugh that no one joins in.
From then on things happen quickly.
Three shots fire in rapid succession but one of them is from Lyro and his blast hits both Lisa and Tibby where they are standing in the entrance. Zilvra is all to aware of their groans of pain, pressed out through gritted teeth in the case of Tibs.
But Zilvra is only paying partial attention, wanting to try to get the presumed Lumos down and with them, but the guards are rushing in towards her and Nanet as the nearest. Even with a magical slipperiness appearing on the floor (probably thanks to Anvindr), one of the Alloy Order manage to grab the drow.
She can feel her heart in her throat and the lips are dry as parchment, forcing her to lick them even at a time like this. Through the slit in the helmet, she sees the guard’s eyes flick to the gesture and an idea forms in her mind.
“You wouldn’t hurt a little lady like that, would you?” she coos, lacing every word with magic as she hopes she’s outside range of the anti-magic zone.
A shimmer fills the gaze of the Alloy Order holding her.
“You shouldn’t be here.” But the voice is gentle.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Help me out the window then? Defenestrate me!”
“Okay,” he agrees, curling her up in his arm and sending her flying through the air over the head of Tibby and the others.
The landing is hard, but Zilvra recovers quickly, just in time to see Tibby disappear in thin air with the egg.
Then Lisa.
Morella is outside but she has dropped the bear form so the anxiety on her face is clear to see. It’s mixed with determination, though, and the moment Nanet and Anvindr appear outside, they all break their markers and teleport away with Zilvra at their proverbial heels although she hates that Lumos is being left behind. At least her father might be able to get to him instead – perhaps Lyro will see himself forced to actually help if he wants the dragon scales from the hatched egg.
The swirling vacuum of light and air fades, instead presenting her with the sight of Rogue Harbour.
Tibby is already waddling with the egg towards the trio’s house, Morella and Anvindr rushing to catch up while Lisa and Nanet go to each their own, bidding the drow goodbye. Hopefully, they can meet up in the evening and recount their perspectives over a drink.
But for now, Zilvra has business to attend to: rather than going with her friends, she stops by at the Wayfinder to send a message to her father.
“Don’t be mad...we got the egg. Lyro was ready to double cross you in ambush.”
Thankfully she doesn’t have to wait long before Adia speaks up on behalf of Kalannar: “Thank you. Now we just have to get Lumos...which might be harder now. But thank you.”
Perhaps it’s Adia’s choice but it sounds like he is genuinely thankful rather than saving up for a stern talking to so Zilvra heads to the house with a somewhat lightened conscience.
And thankfully, what meets her at the house is enough to blow any thoughts from her mind: Morella is nesting. There is no better way to describe it (Zilvra has been shown the nests of birds, so she know what’s going on) as the fey elf has taken all of her bedding and is wrapping it around the lower half of the egg. It’s only when she goes for the bedding of the others that they intervene, presuming it must be enough as is or the Alloy Order would have done what they could to nest it too.
There’s a staunch knock on the door, then, and Anvindr answers. It’s a very concerned looking Kurnai he lets in.
“Huh, so it’s true,” she says as she sees the egg. “What will you do with it?”
The trio exchange glances before the genasi answers. “We’ll hold on to it for now but we do not plan to keep it here for long. We need to deliver it to our friends.”
“Good.” The dwarven woman taps her chin. “It being here is a safety issue. The Harbour is not invulnerable and we have lasting this long mainly due to secrecy...this could bring attention to us.” The trio nods. “But for now...it’s safe.”
As she leaves, Zilvra pulls out the Sending Stone to get word to Harris and by extension the Masons in New Baern but she sees it’s already glowing.
“Cucumber. How’d you do it?! It’s good...just missing the key person. Continuing the mission. Feel free to help!”
Relaying the message, Zilvra also echoes her father’s words which had been along the same line.
“They probably moved him now, right?” she asks her friends.
They both nod.
“I spoke with Faustus this morning before we went out,” Morella admits, “and he said that he’s only seen golden Alloy Order. That fits with something...look,” she points to the egg. “The Alloy Order that died in Silver Keep were bronze...like that spear-thingy.”
“This is how they killed them,” Zilvra realizes.
“Or did they?” Morella grins slightly deranged. “According to Faustus, they’re petrified.”
“Oh!” the drow gasps.
Anvindr is the one to say it out loud: “If we remove the spears...they may come back alive?”
“We have to be sure,” Zilvra admits.
But she can see why it might be true: there are four spears in the egg, the egg that is supposed to recreate the Alloy Order’s deity, and none of them are golden. Instead there’s a silver, a copper, a brass, and a bronze spear.
“There is no way we can verify our theory if we don’t try it,” Anvindr points out. “Not unless we had Lumos.”
“Which we can’t get now...but if the Alloy Order were resurrected, they might be on our side.” It’s almost too much for the drow, but she nods. “Fine. Let’s do it with one spear we can verify what happens with.”
“Bronze,” Morella agrees, tapping the butt of the spear softly, making it hum faintly.
They do it together: while Anvindr and Zilvra pull at the short spear, Morella heals the egg, hoping to undo some of the damage to it and prevent a gaping hole to be left behind. As the spear appears from inside the egg, sticky with something, they can see elven runes fading on the shaft as if they could not stand the touch of air.
“That’s...shorter than I thought it’d be...” Anvindr studies the thing as it slips free completely – it’s barely more than half a metre.
“Heh,” Morella grins unexplicably.
“I’ll hurry to Adia and ask Campbell if there’s any change!” the genasi decides, leaving Zilvra to wipe down the instrument.
It feels like a long time waiting but eventually Anvindr barges back in, out of breath but grinning like a maniac.
“It worked! They’re piss because they’d been stacked but it worked!”
“Let’s get this baby unstabbed, then!” Morella is already rubbing her hands in preparation.
In the end, the four spears lie seemingly inert on the table and the druid is putting the last bit of healing she can muster into the egg.
“Time to coordinate things,” Zilvra mumbles, already on the way to the door.
Adia will be earning quite a bit of markers tonight and she does indeed perk up when she sees the young drow hurrying her way.
It’s a stroke of luck, that the trio had seen the captain of the Alloy Order in Silver Keep without his helmet or the message would be sure to fail. But as it is, she can describe the man and formulate a superficial explanation.
“We met in Silver Keep. We brought you and more back. Egg is safe with us. Gold battalion unharmed. Time to act is now.”
Perhaps it’s too brief, judging by the answer.
“Confusing but glad the egg is safe. No clue what’s happening...been ordered back. Happy not dead. I trust you. We go to war.”
Zilvra has already figured out an answer to such a reply: “Several factions at play. Xhalos Lyro playing both sides. Trust Silver Keep and the Masons and their friends.”
“Very well. Who should we contact? We’re establishing communications with the other battalions as we’re speaking.”
Handing over yet another coin, Zilvra is prompt. “Kalannar Shadowsong and Claude of the Masons. We’ll be in touch too.”
There is no answer this time but presumably the captain has plenty to deal with. Nodding in thanks to Adia, Zilvra hurries back to the house.
It’s fascinating to me how real-play shows easily slot into the metamodern movement so effortlessly, and without sacrificing the sincerity or quality of the story. By my understanding, metamodern stories are ones that are aware that they are stories, acknowledge the viewer and the absurdity of narrative itself (like Everything Everywhere All At Once, Into the Spiderverse, etc).
Personally, metamodernity meets the audience where we are now. When there is SO MUCH literature and film to build on, and nearly everyone knows the hero’s journey, it feels like something’s missing unless the story is exceptional, different, or more self-aware. Metamodern works can be great, but I think a lot of films that fit into the metamodern style lack heart. The style breeds a lot of “we’ll make fun of ourselves before you do, because we know you will. We’d rather disrespect our own story than let you feel smugly better than us if we’re sincere.” This is accelerated and compounded by the fact that many major releases these days capitalize on the nostalgia that drives sales for familiar IPs in reboot, rework, spin-off or the dreaded “cinematic universe” (the marvelization of it all).
But the difference with real-play shows is that the winking, fourth-wall breaking, the acknowledgement of tropes, the audience and absurdity of the universe lives on a separate layer of reality from the story being told. The characters aren’t joking about the worlds, their players are. The players (including the GM) are audience, writer and performer all at the same time. Instead of the edifice of narrative being an invisible force pointed out by its cracks, separate from the audience reaction, it is made explicit and woven into audience instead of narrative. Real play shows declare “these are people playing characters. Some plot and character choices are based on what was written beforehand, but most are made by dice and improvised in the moment. The reactions to those choices are made by both the player and the character. Of course these tropes exist, we’ve chosen a setting that supports them.”
Real-play shows are almost as if every film always had the director’s commentary on in the theatre, but the director's commentary shaped the plot, and made space for audience reaction to shape it too. We the audience understand that the commentary isn’t part of the story. What’s left untouched then, is the narrative itself. By acknowledging the edifice, the mechanisms of storytelling on the “commentary” layer, the in-story moments become totally sincere and embrace the story, unworried by the way in which it’s shaped.
How do real play shows like Adventure zone do touring live shows? Do they do it for real once and then the rest of them are kayfabe following the same beats and jokes of the first one? Do they play the game straight each time but let the rolls decide when they make different decisions and just try not to let their foreknowledge of the endgame bleed into the game? Do they actually have multiple plots and they run a different one each day?
our beloved @kettlehead-comics just released their incredible and strange pirate RPG, Rapscallion!!
it's already #2 on Backerkit and just hit funding only an hour into launch. don't miss the chance to dive into a world of piracy, lunacy, and magic ink.
I've been privy to pieces of the writing over the last five years and it's far and away my favorite TTRPG. if you're a fan of Seventh Sea but wish it was a little weirder- Rapscallion is exactly up your alley.
11 days left on the Backerkit campaign!
(personally, im most excited for the magic tattoos and books that turn your teeth black)
