These Flimsy Rituals

"But what they created wasn't remnant or envoy, it was something different. The many stories differ on what - a drifter, a machine, a seeker, a monster. For years it wandered, collecting tales as others would figurines. Everywhere it went new stories blossomed, until, they just stopped." - a fragment from the memories of Serrata Paige.

***

Cast out, Nepps wanders the patchwork of Ryne. It drifts through the Oceans, climbs mountain, wanders desert others would find inhospitable. Its curiosity alight, it scours the world for understanding. Everywhere it goes it collects, gathering threads of spirit around itself like a blanket of concept, emotion and resonance. And, as it travels, it changes.

On its trail are its creators. Occlo, Hiseka, Vade, and envoys of the remnant Inahus. They mean to capture it, to undo its growth. It's inevitable that they will catch it, but when that happens will they destroy Nepps, or will Nepps destroy them?

***

This is part two of a two-part special. We play the eponymous The Brokenhearted by Tracy Barnett. It's a game about being a creation, on the run from those who made you. You have broken free into the world. What do you find? How do you change? At some point you will come face to face with your creators - will you destroy them, or will they destroy you?

For these specials, we welcome two of Rusty Quill's own. This episode, we welcome special guest Ben Meredith. In part one, This Thing We Started, we welcomed Helen Gould. We're delighted to have them both on the show, telling sad stories with us.

***

Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals

Find our website at flimsyrituals.com

Chat to us on Discord 

***

Hosted by Thryn Henderson. Starring special guest Ben Meredith alongside Beck Michalak and Ryan Evans.

Produced by Thryn Henderson

Ocean sounds by esh9419 from freesound.org

"We searched for ages for rumour, for story, for precedent for what we were about to do. If anyone before us had created a remnant, perhaps then the path that we were on wasn't heresy, perhaps what we were creating wouldn't be an abomination.

The closest we could find was a collection of stories from the Sounds; of something called the Spindle, called the Anchor, called Nepps." - A fragment from the memories of Serrata Paige.

***

Along the ocean floor, ten great trunks move - their every step disturbing centuries of silt and sediment. Follow one of those legs upwards - drifting past a mile of singing barnacle and coral - until you begin to see sunlight breaking above. There you will find the legs' meeting point, a great crag of calcium and basalt that breaches the sea's surface. Behold Inahus, the great wandering titan who collects secrets from the salted winds. 

On Inahus' island, a group gathers - Occlo, Hiseka, Vade. Their backs are bent, their brows furrowed as they work to realise an impossible dream. Together with the remnant, they are going to create something beautiful - not envoy, not remnant, but something new. A life unique to Ryne, a creature of curiosity to help them understand the world.

***

This is part one of a two-part special, we play the eponymous This Thing We Started by Tracy Barnett. It's a game about being on the trail of your creation. You created it, but now it has broken free. Who are you, its creators? What have you made? At some point you will come face to face with it - will you destroy it, or will it destroy you?

For these specials, we welcome two of Rusty Quill's own. This episode, we welcome special guest Helen Gould. In part two, The Brokenhearted, we welcome Ben Meredith. We're delighted to have them both on the show, telling sad stories with us.

***

Follow the show on twitter at @flimsyrituals

Find our website at flimsyrituals.com

Chat to us on Discord 

***

Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring special guest Helen Gould alongside Elizabeth Simoens and Steve Martin.

Produced by Thryn Henderson

Ocean sounds by esh9419 from freesound.org

c/w psychological trauma, eyes

“I wouldn’t let Ezra be the middle of that blaze. They would not be our revolution’s effigy. I couldn’t… I wouldn’t… They meant so much more than that.”

~~~

The Jubilant Maybe gather. Their latest scores have made them prey for the city’s authorities. The Ministers, the Provenders, the Swifts. All want their blood.

There’s nothing to do but run, to get to the Cut - that second, ghostly city - and lie low. Getting there though, poses its own problems. They slink through Calvary’s dark streets trying to avoid all those hunting them, not knowing that there’s a different predator waiting ahead.

~~ PEOPLE ~~

Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and one of their enforcers.

Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city.

Midrib: One of Atrium’s dodgers, who sells the scrap, trinkets and treasures they find in the Castings. Ash’s pal.

Nilkat: A former factory mechanic, turned revolutionary. A member of the Ginnels and our story’s narrator.

Scran: A radical pamphleteer and Ezra’s mate.

Roan nim Ovid: A former Umbal Provender who left to study the strangeness of the Cut. Related to Ash and Galena.

~~ FACTIONS ~~

Swifts: Embrace’s police force. Once a ragtag militia, formed of ward locals, they have been armed and outfitted by the nim Shifs.

The League of Gunsmiths: An organised body representing the manufacturers of Embrace’s spirit guns. They hold a monopoly on their trade which they ruthlessly enforce.

~~ PLACES ~~

Calvary: One of Embrace's Wards and resting place for Rodella's colossal skull. A tight knuckle of ginnel, snicket, and factory. 

The Cut: A ghostly echo of Embrace. Caerdroia’s labyrinth unspooled into unknowable maze. A broken assortment of bismuth lined tunnels that runs over, under and parallel to the physical city.

~~~

Episode title from The Void by Martha

~~~

Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals

Find our website at flimsyrituals.com

Chat to us on Discord 

~~~

Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson.

Produced by Thryn Henderson

Series art by Ben Swinden

Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w police, between 55'33 and 59'57: family conflict/threats and discussion of disfigurement

“Drawing connection between the revolution’s many parts was its own challenge. Both because we were a house built with uncommon brick and because of the families desire to keep us disparate. Ezra and Oken wouldn’t be the only ones to find trouble.

As our messengers worked their way across rooftop, through the cut, down the canals, the Swifts swarmed like their namesakes, looking to pick us off. Over on Lastreach, the cells filled up.”

~~~

Ezra staggers through the dark ginnels of Calvary, the explosion not long behind them. The whistles of the Swifts echo down close alleyways. The night has turned familiar streets into something like a maze.

No. Labyrinth. 

Ezra knows their destination. They know every brick and cobble, every turn that’ll lead them there. Nilkat. He’s the only person who can get them out of this.

Ivar appoints a deputy, Neah goes fabric shopping, Ash has family problems and Oken contacts an old friend.

~~ PEOPLE ~~

Elif: A fabric shop apprentice and member of the Ginnels. Introduced Neah to the Maybes.

Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city.

Mell: The last surviving envoy of Relict, a remnant slain by Oken. She was carried to Embrace with him afterward and has been rebuilding her strength inside the cut.

Nilkat: A former factory mechanic, turned revolutionary. A member of the Ginnels and our story’s narrator.

Trilvo: The matriarch of Tail’s End. A doctor used to working on ghosts and spirit.

~~ FACTIONS ~~

Swifts: Embrace’s police force. Once a ragtag militia, formed of ward locals, they have been armed and outfitted by the nim Shifs.

Umbral Provenders: A legitimised organisation of smugglers, who use the cut to smuggle contraband into and out of the city.

~~ PLACES ~~

The Cut: A ghostly echo of Embrace. Caerdroia’s labyrinth unspooled into unknowable maze. A broken assortment of bismuth lined tunnels that runs over, under and parallel to the physical city.

~~~

Episode title from Sax Rohmer #1 by The Mountain Goats

~~~

Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals

Find our website at flimsyrituals.com

Chat to us on Discord 

~~~

Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson.

Produced by Thryn Henderson

Series art by Ben Swinden

Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w fights with police, animal harm, NPC death

“Across the city these splinters of defiance spread. Each spelk the families plucked saw two more embedded into Embrace’s flesh. Us ginnels and those like us, watched. We were both proud of our comrade’s successes, and jealous, desperate to join the fray."

~~~

As the rain lashes down over Embrace, Ezra and Oken take shelter in the carousel. They’ve been laying low here for a couple of weeks, nearly at each other's throats.

Nilkat brings the reprieve they need. He’s got a job for the pair of them—the Ginnels are calling a meeting and he wants the Jubilant’s in convincing others to join.

Armed with a list of names—The Triumphant Maybe, The Pamphleteers, The Painted Hands—Ezra and Oken set out. But they won't just need their diplomacy for the factions, they’ll need it for each other too.

~~ PEOPLE ~~

Amris Graft: Ezra’s mam. A community organiser and member of the Painted Hands.

L.V. Petit: A radical pamphleteer, that can often be found in the middle of radical gatherings, printing machine on their back.

Nilkat: A former factory mechanic, turned revolutionary. A member of the Ginnels and our story’s narrator.

Xenaras Crow: A careful, calculating, and somewhat cynical radical. Leads the Triumphant Maybe.

~~ FACTIONS ~~

Ginnels: A broad revolutionary network, formed by the workers of Calvary Ward.

Jackals: More formally known as the Tenders of the Dawn’s Embers, the Jackals are an organisation of remnant hunters guided by strange divination.

Painted Hands: A group of criminals formed of people laid-off when the dye factories mechanised. They break the law to put food on the table and to pay the bosses back.

Pamphleteers: A shabby collection of small presses and independent pamphleteers. They’d be made illegal if the news-sheets had their way.

Swifts: Embrace’s police force. Once a ragtag militia, formed of ward locals, they have been armed and outfitted by the nim Shifs.

Triumphant Maybe: A radical cell headed by Xenarus Crow. They are ruthless and professional.

~~~

Episode title from Balaclava by the Arctic Monkeys

~~~

Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals

Find our website at flimsyrituals.com

Chat to us on Discord 

~~~

Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson.

Produced by Thryn Henderson

Series art by Ben Swinden

Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w description of insects and spiders, violence, NPC death

“For as long as I’d known, resistance in Embrace had been like puddles in the cobbles. Disparate, kept separate by the foundations of the city. Over there a union of factory workers fighting for pay and safety; here a group trying to raise their voices above Parsant’s tight dogma. For us Ginnels, so much of our work had been trying to score trenches between those waters, to turn puddle, into pool, into flood.”

~~~

The estate of Silicet nim Callad was used to hosting parties. Nearly every night, the Minister would be hosting some affair or another. The whole villa was shaped to that purpose; from the central building a torrent of jutting rooms and juxtaposed architecture broke out. A vine-covered balcony, a tiled dome, a veranda on a rooftop courtyard. Silicet was adding new rooms.

There is a secret though, at the heart of this architecture. A gap in the floorplans, a void that plunges down, like a dagger, puncturing the building from top-story to basement.

Tonight, the Jubilant Maybe mean to find their way into that space and discover what Silicet hides inside.

~~ PEOPLE ~~

Branch & Fleece: The chaotic leaders of the Likelihood Lads. After they worked a score together that went bad, Ivar has reservations.

Crik: Ezra’s childhood friend and rival. Leader of the Flint Street Knappers.

Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city.

Silicet nim Callad: One of the city’s ministers and a member of nim Callad. To her acquaintances she’s known for throwing the best parties in town; to everyone else, she’s a tyrant.

~~ FACTIONS ~~

Flint Street Knappers: A gang operating out of Limbus Ward, who use gliders to get around. Most are from families with heritage in the Rushes.

Likelihood Lads: A ruthless, stylish, and fickle gang of bookmakers that rule Hinter’s races.

Ministry of the True: Agents of the council who wield extra-judiciary powers and private militias.

nim Callad: The former monarchs of Embrace, who refuse to release their grip on their burnished gold. They own most of the city’s land, extracting extortionate rents.

Viols: A union of sex workers, striking against rent increases.

~~~

Here's where you can find Ryne. 

~~~

Episode title from Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak

~~~

Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals

Find our website at flimsyrituals.com

Chat to us on Discord 

~~~

Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson.

Produced by Thryn Henderson

Series art by Ben Swinden

Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

c/w description of police violence (in intro: 0'00 to 2'43)

“Over the next few weeks, the families paraded their victory over us. Their news-sheets celebrating the crushing of the radical ward of Atrium and the arrest of the heretic priest Lena Fisher.

The press’ insults were the easiest taunt to brush off, their actions were harder to stomach. ”

~~~

Sitting patiently has never been something Ash Pinders has been good at. Laying low was never going to be easy.

In the strange and dangerous weeks that follow the destruction of the People’s Ward of Atrium, Ash searches for a way to keep himself occupied. When Ginnels tell him to keep his head down, he turns to another group instead: the Flint Street Knappers.

He’s not the only member of the Jubilant though, to turn up at their door.

~~ PEOPLE ~~

Alin & Mara Pinder: Ash’s sisters. They both work for the Viols, a union of sex workers.

Crik: Ezra’s childhood friend and rival. Leader of the Flint Street Knappers.

~~ FACTIONS ~~

Flint Street Knappers: A gang operating out of Limbus Ward, who use gliders to get around. Most are from families with heritage in the Rushes.

Likelihood Lads: A ruthless, stylish, and fickle gang of bookmakers, that rule Hinter’s races.

Ministry of the True: Agents of the council who wield extra-judiciary powers and private militias.

nim Callad: The former monarchs of Embrace, who refuse to release their grip on their burnished gold. They own most of the city’s land, extracting extortionate rents.

Viols: A union of sex workers, striking against rent increases.

~~ PLACES ~~

Hinter Ward: Embrace’s southernmost ward. The north is dense tenements, while the south has been abandoned to marsh and spirit.

Loven Street: A street in Hinter ward. Its people have banded together to strike against nim Callad’s rent increases.

Tail’s End: A community, built by spirits, at the tip of Rodella’s tail. A ramshackle ghost town, radical in outlook.

~~~

Episode title from One More Try by That Handsome Devil

~~~

Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals

Find our website at flimsyrituals.com

Chat to us on Discord 

~~~

Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson.

Produced by Thryn Henderson

Series art by Ben Swinden

Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

Episode contains spoilers for Tiding season one.

Hi everyone! Due to a combination of deadlines and illness we're not releasing a new Embrace episode this week. We're going to take a little bit more time to put the episode together, we'll be releasing it next Sunday instead.

We're releasing this bonus clips episode in its place. It's a collection of outtakes, goofs, and pre-recording chat that didn't make it into the episodes. Enjoy!

If you're part of our discord you might have heard these clips before. If you're not, come and join and chat about the show. We often share little bonus bits like this there, whether that's silly clips that were too good to leave unheard or behind the scenes looks at These Flimsy Rituals. Also, if you're into the rules for Tiding and want to know more about the game, Ryne, Adam shares glimpses into the development of the game there too.

As always, we wanted to say thank you for continuing to listen to and support the show. We've been doing this for nearly two years now and getting shares, reviews, and feedback from our fans is the thing that motivates us to keep doing this. One of the genuinely nice things about doing both Tiding and Embrace has been seeing you all talking about the characters and scenes you've enjoyed!

Cheers from The Flimsy Rituals crew!

c/w police violence and named NPC death (1:21:30 to 1:25:46. If you skip the description but want the facts, check below episode notes), natural disaster (earthquake)

“Those moments were just a glimpse though. They’d soon be brought to an end. Disaster brings out the best in communities, and the worst in authority.” I can’t remember if it was Serrivomer or Boctive that said that, but either way, those words would prove prophetic.”

~~~

For a week after the earthquake, the people of Atrium, Calvary, Hinter and Holm are left to fend for themselves. Absent of the council’s attention, community effort, and grassroots organising help them to recover from the earthquake.

As the earthquake's effects make themselves known, the Jubilant Maybe spend time helping their community's efforts. They fix infrastructure, secure food, help out their families, and give people a way to relax.

This strange lull won’t last though; the void of authority is temporary. It’s no surprise when they move to take back what’s theirs.

~~ PEOPLE ~~

Amris Graft: Ezra’s mam. A community organiser and member of the Painted Hands.

Darjan Hask: A poet, writer and part of Embrace’s elite. They are a childhood rival of Neah.

Elif: An apprentice for a fashion house and a member of the Ginnels.

Foible: A member of the Ginnels, who helped out on the voting score.

Lena Fisher: The self-declared Tether of Rialla’s Harbour. A former sailor turned radical priest, who teaches a doctrine focused on community.

Trilvo: A ghost healer and the community leader of Tail’s End.

~~ FACTIONS ~~

Laceport Beneficiaries: An illegal, roaming co-op dock that feeds the people of Calvary.

nim Shif: Embrace’s newest great family. Plotting to take over the city with silvered tongues and bloody blades.

Swifts: Embrace’s police force. Once a ragtag militia, formed of ward locals, they have been armed and outfitted by the nim Shifs.

~~ PLACES ~~

Rialla’s Harbour: One of Embrace’s two major temples. A spire of bone covered in scrimshaw.

Tail’s End: A community, built by spirits, at the tip of Rodella’s tail. A ramshackle ghost town, radical in outlook.

~~~

Episode title from Kagoule’s It Knows It

~~~

Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals

Find our website at flimsyrituals.com

Chat to us on Discord 

~~~

Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson.

Produced by Thryn Henderson

Series art by Ben Swinden

Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin

~~~

SPOILERS BELOW 

Atrium's barriers are torn down. Lena is arrested. Foible is killed.

c/w earthquake, discussion of murder

“In sessions over in Marrow, in the ransacked halls of the Arrad Chambers, they advocated for great sums of money to go to the Bridgers to repair their tarnished heirloom.  We’d not get a penny of it. We were left to fend for ourselves. ”

~~~

An earthquake rocks Embrace. The land that-two years ago-started moving beneath Atrium, shifts again.

With little time to reflect on their scores, most of the crew of the Jubilant Maybe rush back to their homes and families. Later there will be a chance to consider what they’ve done, but now it’s time to help, to aid, to pitch in.

~~ PEOPLE ~~

Amris Graft: Ezra’s mam. A community organiser and member of the Painted Hands.

Cherin & Zedek nim Gorse: Neah’s parents. They are part of the ambitious middle classes, trying to earn their place in Embrace’s high society.

Oken nim Shif (fake): An imposter. Chosen and trained by his family to be a much more controllable tool of propaganda. Killed by his namesake.

Scran: A radical pamphleteer and friend of Ezra.

Serrivomer Glass: The unofficial Warden, elected by the people of Atrium. Member of the Tanner’s Union, a radical and a friend of Lena.

~~ FACTIONS ~~

Pamphleteers: A collective of independent publishers, mostly radical in their writing. Distributors of much of Embrace’s political critique.

~~ PLACES ~~

People’s Ward of Atrium: An old neighbourhood near the docks, once home to wholesale markets and cafes. It has declared itself its own ward, with an unofficially elected Warden.

Tail’s End: A community, built by spirits, at the tip of Rodella’s tail. A ramshackle ghost town, radical in outlook.

~~~

Episode title from Rag’N’Bone Man’s Lay My Body Down

~~~

Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals

Find our website at flimsyrituals.com

Chat to us on Discord 

~~~

Hosted by Adam Dixon. Starring Beck Michalak, Elizabeth Simoens, Ryan Evans, Steve Martin and Thryn Henderson.

Produced by Thryn Henderson

Series art by Ben Swinden

Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin