These Flimsy Rituals

These Flimsy Rituals
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Fiction
  • Semimonthly Series

Narrative-first roleplaying, telling small stories in big worlds. Find us at flimsyrituals.com, with new episodes every other Sunday. Currently playing Embrace. Join the defiant radicals, the Jubilant Maybe, as they fight the wealthy, the secretive and the weird forces that hold the city's future in their hands. Follow us on bluesky @flimsyrituals Find us online at furtiveshambles.com/flimsyrituals Support us on Patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Join our Discord discord.gg/jcWRCBt

  1. Episode 21

    Embrace 21: Unsure, Unsound And Unstable

    c/w insect-like envoy “Lilylium was the second. Envoy born before there was Embrace, before there was Alamire. In many ways we were lucky that it was the Jubilant that faced them, even if it was to be in the labyrinth they’d made their hunting grounds.“ ~~~ Hi! A quick announcement: we are now on Patreon! If you enjoy the show and want to support what we do you now can at patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals. We’ve got a few tiers. Anything over a £1 a month gives you access to our episode notes (which are excellent and entertaining and written by Thryn each episode), through to our £8 level which lets you watch our monthly livestream where we talk about our prep and worldbuilding. Thank you all for continuing to listen to and support the show! ~~~ Lilylium comes. The envoy’s forces, arranged around the Winter’s Lodge, move in to attack. They mean to take the gall for themselves. The various allies inside the lodge can do little but attempt to buy enough time - to move the lodge’s inhabitants and the gall beyond Lilyium’s reach. The Jubilant Maybe face Lilylium themselves. They mean to distract the ancient envoy, to draw their attention away from the lodge. Little do the Jubilant know that the gall is actually in their midst, carried inside Oken’s body. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Foible: A former member of the Ginnels, a protest prepper. Killed by the Swifts on the night of the earthquake. Midrib: One of Atrium’s dodgers, who sells the scrap, trinkets and treasures they find in the Castings. Ash’s pal. Lilylium: An ancient and powerful envoy, rumoured to have survived Caerdroia. Seems desperate to claim the Gall and has allied with some of Embrace’s most powerful to do it. Renna: A former Dodger. Joined Roan’s gardens after she found the strange caves beneath Atrium during the first earthquake. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A keen-eyed member of the Shepherds of the Roil. Ivar’s long-lost sister. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ The Winter’s Lodge: A group of weavers and spirits who call the lodge their home. They provide a halfway-house to those who need it, largely ghosts new to the Cut. ~~ 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 Fighting My Way Back by Thin Lizzy ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals 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

  2. Episode 23

    Embrace 23: Holding Breath And Coming Up Again

    c/w arrest, difficult parent/child relationships, lost pets “You ever done much gardening Belka? You know how you never really see a sapling appear out of the soil. Just one morning it’s there? It was like that and, honest, it was hard to believe that it hadn’t always been there.” ~~~ For the first time that anyone living has known, the dawn breaks perfect across Embrace. Glorious, amber rays carry with them a new day. The Jubilant Maybe watch it unfold from above the city. Ezra, Ash, Neah and Ivar exit the cut amongst the familiar bone-rooted buildings of Skulltop; meanwhile Oken, brings with him the unfamiliar. He’s hauled the Winter’s Lodge, in its entirety, back into the city. What to do with this misplaced piece of geography isn’t the only issue the Jubilant will have to contend with, as they catch up with friends and family. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. Amris Graft: Ezra’s mam. A community organiser and member of the Painted Hands. Boctive Deign: A charismatic and cunning revolutionary, whose radical treatises on Embrace are widely distributed and eagerly read. Eviron Yves: Highly involved with the Winter's Lodge, Eviron helps guide and counsel those seeking refuge in the Cut. The nim Gorse’s (Cherib and Zedek): Neah’s parents. They are respected members of Embrace’s upper-middle class. Nilkat: A former factory mechanic, turned revolutionary. A member of the Ginnels and our story’s narrator. The Pinders (Avery, Dalton and Mariana): Ash’s family, a group of Atrium shopkeepers. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A keen-eyed member of the Shepherds of the Roil. Ivar’s long-lost sister. Sirus: Deputy of Tail’s End. Trilvo: The matriarch of Tail’s End. A doctor, used to working on ghosts and spirit. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ 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 ~~ The Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from The One to the East and West by Cinder Well ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals 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

  3. Episode 24

    Embrace 24: 'Neath the Proud, Proud Veins

    c/w bribery, death threats, family conflict “Within a matter of weeks all manner of scandal and blackmail, violence and assassination incident brought the council to its knees. And we were left unsure as to whether to celebrate its demise, or fear what appeared in its place. The nim Shifs ascendant, a dictatorship ruled by Valour and Vigor. The Sunspear banners like summer’s flowers blooming on near every corner.” ~~~ The streets of Acreage are broad and open. Despite the many-storied towering of the terraces, golden light always seems to bathe the ward. There was a time when living in this ward wasn’t much coveted. It was a place of field, farm and vineyard; most of those who lived here worked on those estates. Limbus and Holm, both close to the bridges and markets, were the preferred wards of Embrace’s burgeoning middle classes. But as fortunes grew and the city’s economy shifted, as political power diffused from Crown’s Ait to the Marrow, houses amongst the greenery seemed preferable to those amongst the new-raised factories. It’s inside one of Acreage’s terraces that Neah Gorse waits. A trap closes around saim. Power’s hand extends from Crown’s Ait, to place a dagger against sair neck. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. The nim Gorse’s (Cherib and Zedek): Neah’s parents. They are respected members of Embrace’s upper-middle class. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ nim Shif: Embrace’s newest great family. Plotting to take over the city with silvered tongues and bloody blades. ~~ PLACES ~~ Acreage: Filled with farmland and vineyards growing crops for the city’s elite. Terraces on the riverbank house the upper-middle classes. ~~~ Episode title from Lofticries by Purity Ring ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals 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

  4. Episode 27

    Embrace 27: No Masters Or Kings

    “The early sessions were long and chaotic, stretching through night and dawn. We slept on the hall’s pews, rather than leaving. Fuelled by a freedom centuries hoped for, it would take time to find our structure and rhythm. There were proposals about fundamental rights alongside those for docking permits, debates about abolition of the swifts alongside those about local bridge tolls.” ~~~ The people of Embrace march. A number greater than the city has ever seen, drawn from across Limbus and Holm, Hinter and Acreage, Calvary and Limbus. The streets, ever hot and humid, fill with their press of body, banner and song. At their head is the Assembly, that council of the revolution whole. They lead the march up the winding streets of Marrow Hill, clutching their declaration. They mean to declare the people’s right to self-rule. Meanwhile, hoping to make the most of this distraction, Ivar, Rhian and Oken move on Marrow with their own purpose. At the top of the hill is Parsant’s great temple of the maelstrom. The Pale Lanterns, holding a cache of spirit weapons, make their nest inside. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Carn nim Daker: The ancient founder of the Tenders, the slayer of Caerdroia and Rodella. Body mythologised, sai rule the Jackals still. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A former member of the Shepherds of the Roil, sworn to keep envoys from Embrace. Ivar’s sister. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Pale Lanterns: A group once founded to guide stray spirits, but over time their purpose has slipped from benevolent, to enforcers, to oppressors. Parsant: The main religion of Embrace, founded on a rejection of the remnants as divine and a centring of human importance. ~~ PLACES ~~ Marrow: A ward at Embrace’s heart, built over Caerdroia’s maelstrom. A hill rises to dominate the city, both geographically and politically. Temple of the Maelstrom: Along with Rialla's Harbour, one of Embrace's two main temples. It is built atop the Marrow and is rumoured to be constructed over Caerdroia's body. The Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Take Me To Church by Hozier ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals 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

  5. Episode 28

    Embrace 28: A Party When The Wolf Comes Home

    c/w political unrest, takeover of government building, protest, violence “For one moment, the night before, I’d known something like peace. For hours half-a-dozen of us had written and debated and drafted, putting words to the cause that carried our bones. LV was the one to set it and I remember the clacking of their presses as they created copy after copy. The smell of the heat and the paper and the ink lives with me even now. I remember thinking that I should sleep, we should sleep, for the day ahead of us. But how could we, when the future long fought for was being given life before our eyes.” ~~~ As the march reaches the Arrad Chambers, Oken, Ivar and Rhian make their way higher up Marrow to the great temple on top. They hope to make the most of the distraction caused by the unrest. The Pale Lanterns, that faction of ghost hunters that nest beneath the temple, have a weapon that’ll be useful in the struggle to come. They mean to steal it. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Altara nim Shif: Scion of the nim Shif family and their trusted enforcer. Boctive Deign: A charismatic and cunning revolutionary, whose radical treatises on Embrace are widely distributed and eagerly read. Leader of the Wolves. Boleth Erul Cater: A long-prominent revolutionary from Calvary. Sai are one of the leaders of the Ginnels. Parsib nim Corvanus: Recently elected Warden of Holm and nim Shif lackey. Rhian Fetch-Grimoire: A former member of the Shepherds of the Roil, sworn to keep envoys from Embrace. Ivar’s sister. Serrivomer Glass: The “Warden” of the people’s ward of Atrium. Along with Boleth and Boctive, one of the three representatives of the Assembly. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Pale Lanterns: A group once founded to guide stray spirits, but over time their purpose has slipped from benevolent, to enforcers, to oppressors. ~~ PLACES ~~ Marrow: A ward at Embrace’s heart, built over Caerdroia’s maelstrom. A hill rises to dominate the city, both geographically and politically. The Winter’s Lodge: A place pulled out from the cut. A shifting collection of mismatched architecture. A shell for the gall. ~~~ Episode title from Up the Wolves by the Mountain Goats ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals 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

  6. Episode 29

    Embrace 29: Torn The Banner From The Line

    c/w prisons, jailbreak, murder “We declare now the institution of the Common Government of Embrace and proclaim immediate: The dissolution of Embrace’s council. The institution of an Assembly representative of the city’s common citizenry. That this Assembly establish a constitution by which a future government will be formed. It will provide governance during this transitional period, and no person shall hold it back from these duties. Citizens of houses Callad, Daker, Prilicent, Shif, their invested lesser houses and those serving the former council are forbidden from sitting in the Assembly.” ~~~ In the dark hour before dawn, a fleet of ships—fishing ships and trade barges, rowboats and one-person yachts, narrowboats out of the canal’s comfort—break the harbour of Laceport and sail purposefully towards Lastreach. That final island, downstream on the Trill, has served Embrace with a multitude of purposes. Holy ground, watchpost, fort, arable hills for goats, neutral ground, a villa. Now though, it stands as a symbol of tyranny. There is found the city’s jail, and too many languish forgotten on that craggy redoubt. ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Anancrik Rise: Leader of the Flint Street Knappers. Once a friend of Ezra and Nilkat, but life has taken them on a different path. Jossa Stoic: Crik’s second in command. Tough and trustworthy, respected by all the Knappers. Nilkat: A former factory mechanic, turned revolutionary. A member of the Ginnels and our story’s narrator. ~~ 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. Laceport Beneficiaries: An illegal, roaming co-op dock that feeds the people of Calvary. 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. ~~ PLACES ~~ Calvary: The most densely packed ward, filled with too-small houses and windmill factories. There are rumours that you can disappear into the Cut if you take the wrong turning. Lastreach: The island furthest downstream at the confluence of the Trill and the Callad. It currently serves as the cities notorious jail. ~~~ Episode title from Salem by Bon Iver ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Chat to us on Discord ~~~ Produced by Thryn Henderson Series art by Ben Swinden Music taken from Kai Engel’s Satin Paper sound effect by GJOS on freesound.

  7. Episode 30

    Embrace 30: We're At The Gates, We're At Your Door

    c/w blood, threats, major injury, prisons, jailbreak “I imagine in their heads, they were biding time and collecting their forces, ready at any moment to take the fight to the upstart nim Shifs. In truth, they were kidding themselves. Their doom were writ on Fate’s tapestry, their line would soon be done.” ~~~ Hopeful, but unsure, the would-be abolitionists stand before Lastreach's inner keep. They debate the best way into the heart of the island-prison. Do they try to convince the garrison to side with them? Do they force a breach in the prison’s defences? Do they work with the apparently revolutionary ministers, Rinsaya and Crooner? ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Anancrik Rise: Leader of the Flint Street Knappers. Once a friend of Ezra and Nilkat, but life has taken them on a different path. Cloak’s Danse: Captain of the Hellebore Guard, personal bodyguard of Strau nim Callad and a deathly efficient soldier. Crooner: A former Jackal, turned Minister of the True, turned apparent radical. Despite his outward joviality, sai come with a bloody reputation. Jossa Stoic: Crik’s second in command. Tough and trustworthy, respected by all the Knappers. Rinsaya Cinalo: A former Minister, who served as second to Crooner. Has a reputation for pragmatic idealism. Status Raglan: A political darling of Embrace, jailed after he took credit for Atrium getting a vote. Strau nim Callad: New-crowned head of the nim Callads, following the death of their father Harnal. Fearing nim Shif assassins, is in hiding on Lastreach. ~~ 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. Hellebore Guard: The elite private army of the nim Callads. The house’s money has ensured that their skill hasn’t waned, even as the house’s power has. 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. ~~ PLACES ~~ Lastreach: The island furthest downstream at the confluence of the Trill and the Callad. It currently serves as the city's notorious jail. ~~~ Episode title from The Guillotine by The Coup. ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals 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

  8. Episode 31

    Embrace 31: Shouting Fight! Fight! Fight!

    c/w murder, assassination, heavy wounds, explosions, jailbreak, unreality “Already, there were tears forming in the fabric of our banners. Soon, we’d all be grasping at them, each claiming that we should be the ones to hold them aloft. We’d tear the whole canvas apart.” ~~~ Slipping through the cut, Ash tries to linger amongst the chaos of Lastreach. The revolutionaries have stormed the inner fort and the stubborn remnants of the Hellebore Guard stand between them and the prisoners. Ash can feel something clawing at him though, pulling him elsewhere. Can he hold on long enough to find Mariana, to free his mum? ~~ PEOPLE ~~ Anancrik Rise: Leader of the Flint Street Knappers. Once a friend of Ezra and Nilkat, but life has taken them on a different path. Carn nim Daker: Captain of the Hellebore Guard, personal bodyguard of Strau nim Callad and a deathly efficient soldier. Cloak’s Danse: Captain of the Hellebore Guard, personal bodyguard of Strau nim Callad and a deathly efficient soldier. Crooner: A former Jackal, turned Minister of the True, turned apparent radical. Despite his outward joviality, sai come with a bloody reputation. Galena nim Ovid: The imposing head of the Umbral Provenders and Ash’s aunt. She has ambitious plans for the city. Lena Fisher: The self-declared Tether of Rialla’s Harbour. A former sailor turned radical priest, who teaches a doctrine focused on community. Mariana Pinder: Ash's mum and co-owner of their shop. Arrested for standing up to the Swifts. Rinsaya Cinalo: A former Minister, who served as second to Crooner. Has a reputation for pragmatic idealism. Status Raglan: A political darling of Embrace, jailed after he took credit for Atrium getting a vote. Strau nim Callad: New-crowned head of the nim Callads, following the death of their father Harnal. Fearing nim Shif assassins, is in hiding on Lastreach. ~~ FACTIONS ~~ Hellebore Guard: The elite private army of the nim Callads. The house’s money has ensured that their skill hasn’t waned, even as the house’s power has. 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. ~~~ Episode title from Marigold by Mother Falcon ~~~ Follow the show on twitter @flimsyrituals Find our website at flimsyrituals.com Support us on patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals 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

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5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Narrative-first roleplaying, telling small stories in big worlds. Find us at flimsyrituals.com, with new episodes every other Sunday. Currently playing Embrace. Join the defiant radicals, the Jubilant Maybe, as they fight the wealthy, the secretive and the weird forces that hold the city's future in their hands. Follow us on bluesky @flimsyrituals Find us online at furtiveshambles.com/flimsyrituals Support us on Patreon patreon.com/theseflimsyrituals Join our Discord discord.gg/jcWRCBt

Information

  • Creator
    These Flimsy Rituals
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2021
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    These Flimsy Rituals