An actual play tabletop roleplaying podcast using the Blades in the Dark TTRPG system. Set in a fictional desert country, following the adventures of a vigilante crew of intrepid misfits causing mischief and mayhem as they attempt to liberate the underclasses of an ancient city called Illitharn. The show itself has elements of Steampunk, Diesel Punk, Solar Punk, and Magical Realism, as well as frequent anachronistic modern elements and references.
Characters
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The Blue Marlins
Yespur Freeman Divinitus the 8th
A "virile" 60-something-year-old ex sky pirate with a flair for the theatrical and a massive chip on his shoulder who often uses manipulation and social connections to help the crew accomplish their goals.- Arranged Marriage: He was engaged to a woman from and up-and-coming noble family but left her at the alter and became a Runaway Fiancé to peruse a life of freedom sailing the skies.
- Break the Haughty: Constantly invoked, but especially with Ava.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: An odd example, but Yespur claims to see himself as the hero of every story he takes part in. Could also be gold old fashioned Narcissism, or Lampshade Hanging considering that he is technically a hero on the show.
- Con Man
- Deal with the Devil: Often invoked as a function of the game, but Yespur in particular has made several bargains that fit this description. Not that he has ever made good on his end of any bargain.
- Dying Declaration of Love: To Mahogany, as they were attempting to hold up the roof of a collapsing building. It's worth mentioning that he was also a pickle at the time.
- Extreme Omnisexual: Yespur is canonically Camp Gay and has expressed attraction toward automatons, humans, werewolves, and vampires.
- Face–Heel Turn: Debatable. Yespur used to be something of a folk hero, but as soon as people get to know him it becomes abundantly clear that his motivations are typically selfish.
- Freudian Slip: This little moment:Khalila: [referencing a plan to escape from a vampire] Okay, we go with the first plan.
Yespur: You mean getting kidnapped by the sexy doctor and— oh, not that one. - The Gambling Addict: Yespur's primary mode of stress relief. Invoked especially when he put these skills to use to get ghost Mahogany a new body.
- Gentleman Thief: When he was younger he was better at the gentleman part.
- Jerkass: While typically Played for Laughs, Yespur's cynical worldview means he is more often than not being rude for the hell of it, but considering how often he is proved wrong this may also be a simple case of confirmation bias. Attempts to confront him about his behavior usually result in some major hand-waving on his part.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his Grumpy Old Man exterior Yespur has shown rare moments of kindness, especially in flashbacks with his younger brother.
- Karmic Transformation: Turned into a pickle, at the hands of King Quixote. Perhaps also an example of Transformation Horror as the process involved was somewhat gruesome. Actually, King Quixote only turned him into a cucumber, Yespur turned HIMSELF into a pickle.
- Large Ham: He's a 60 year old sky pirate with a background in theater and ballet. Natch.
- Lonely Rich Kid: In his youth, Yesper was an outcast among his old money family.
- A Pirate 400 Years Too Late: While not technically "late" to the pirate life, Yespur is one of the few surviving sky pirates of the bygone era.
- Rich Bitch: Self-described.Vanity G: You seem grumpy grandpa, you get enough sleep last night?
Yespur: Oh I get plenty of sleep, I'm just a bitch. - Rich Kid Turned Social Activist: May be In Name Only, but he is a Blue Marlin.
- Secretly Wealthy: Perhaps unintentionally, but he does seem to often forget that he has a lot more resources at his disposal than his colloguesYespur: I guess we could use my brother's estate...
Khalila: You have an ESTATE?
Yespur: Well, I only have access to one of them at the moment.
Khalila: [incredulous] ONE OF? - Spell My Name With An S: Most commonly spelled Yesper, sometimes Yespur, originally spelled Jesper.
- The in-universe explanation is that his name's spelling uses an Old Script spelling that has multiple transliterations, so all these spellings are acceptable.
- Tsundere: Pretty textbook example, comes with the territory of being a Grumpy Old Man.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Yespur often wears dresses and other gender-non conforming apparel, never played for laughs.
Khalila
A mystical ghost whisperer who also happens to work at a fish restaurant. Often the moral compass of the Blue Marlins.- Beware the Nice Ones: It's really easy to forget that she's just as much a criminal as the rest of the crew.
- Break the Cutie: Every story arc has left Khalila more exhausted. It's hard being the moral compass in a crew of lovable rogues.
- Chef of Iron: with cooking as her day job.
- Heroic BSoD: In the latter half of Season 2, after washing up on a beach and watching Pops get run through by a demon.
- Conveniently an Orphan: She and her brother were adopted by Pops some years before the campaign started.
- Friend to All Children: Khalila goes out of her way to bring food when she visits the Green Thumb Gang.
- Give Him a Normal Life: about her brother.
- Heroes Gone Fishing: Her preferred method of stress relief with a supernatural twist, Khalila fishes for ghosts during downtime.
- I See Dead People: One of Khalila's many eccentricities.
- Magical Accessory: In the form of a pendant she wears around her neck.
- Magical Girl: She has a Magical Accessory, a magical demon friend, and a secret double life as a vigilante of justice.
- Magnetic Medium: Natch for a ghost whisperer, the crew as a whole is something of a Weirdness Magnet, but Khalila specifically attracts the supernatural.
- Glowing Eyes: Whenever she's doing her Whisper thing, her eyes glow turquoise.
- Pointy Ears: Khalila's family is of elvish lineage.
- Promoted to Parent: There was a pretty significant gap between losing their parents and Pops taking Khalila and her brother in where she served as this.
- Spooky Séance: She has one of these with Yespur while summoning the spirit of Mahogany.
Venatrix
An aloof smuggler, prone to making hot-headed decisions and suffering the consequences.- The Alcoholic: Vena is often seen at Klyra's bar, or hungover at the Plenty of Fish, or frequently exclaiming that they Need A Freaking Drink.
- Cool Big Sis: They have no blood siblings (that we know of), but they take on this roll with the Green Thumb Gang.
- Embarrassing Nickname:Aria: Heyyy Trixie~
- Kids Love Dinosaurs: Venatrix has a well-loved stuffed dinosaur from childhood.
- Lethal Chef
- Likes Older Women: Ven's proclivity towards MILFS is a running gag.
- Missing Mom: Gone but not entirely missing, the ghost of their mom watches over them from the afterlife.
- Only One Name: Though they did have a last name at some point, they no longer use it.
- Sword Cane
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky
- Tsundere: Venatrix is a textbook example of this trope. They frequently attempt to act aloof and remain distant, but clearly care very deeply for their teammates, as well as basically every kid they meet.
Mahogany
A self-described Old Soldier who makes use of their excellent tracking skills and physical prowess to protect their friends and teammates, usually at the cost of disastrously bodily harm.- Creepy Doll: Their smaller hull body is described as being "some kind of cat or fox thing"
- Determinator: Mahogany has been dismembered, killed, and put back together, and they still find the time to make dad jokes.
- Dismemberment Is Cheap: Actually, it's been quite expensive for Mahogany, but every new iteration of their physical form still allows them to function as a member of the team.
- Gentle Giant: In their giant robot and werewolf forms.
- Only One Name
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Mahogany had no human form when they were a werewolf, only a bipedal pseudo-animal form.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: After getting their Hull body, they occasionally have moods that only murder can satisfy, signified by red eyes. Yesper had a close brush with this.
- Warrior Poet: They frequently wax philosophical about the nature of life (or un-life) in the heat of battle.
- Working with the Ex: With Ava.
Faustious "Faust" Crow
A quiet stage technician and childhood friend of Yespur who becomes a literal Bomb Throwing Anarchist after joining the Marlins.- Beware the Quiet Ones: While normally meek and mild, he's had several destructive outbursts.
- Cool Mask: Faust typically wears a gas mask that conceals his entire head.
- Collector of the Strange: He has a lot of automatons, which he animates with use of his technical prowess.
- Depending on the Writer: Faust has been played by multiple people and therefore may have slight inconsistencies in his portrayal.
- Endearingly Dorky
- Extreme Doormat: Particularly with Yesper he is described as having a codependent relationship, but he exhibits these traits with everyone.
- Friend to All Children: He works with a local children's theater and seems to get along well with most kids.
- Gadgeteer Genius: His primary skillset.
- Heroic BSoD: Experiences one very early on in season 1, shortly after being introduced, when realizing that he's currently inside of a demon while crawling through a vent full of poison gas.
- Hidden Depths: He's described to have a nice singing voice, which is surprising given the fact that he rarely wants to be heard.
- Teach Him Anger: Mahogany attempts to during a training montage.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Yespur, though he's more often on the receiving end, he can sometimes send it right back.
Ava Withers
- Artifact of Doom: Ava and her flesh-craving little bag of horrors.
- Cop Hater: She was very offended when the Marlins mistook her for a cop.
- Good Is Not Nice
- Hardboiled Detective: She's a shoot first ask questions later, fast-talking, hard drug using, classic example of this trope, despite the rest of the Blue Marlins believing that she is more of a Defective Detective.
- Jerkass
- Too Many Mouths: courtesy of Baggie.
- Working with the Ex: With Mahogany.
Klyra
- Mama Bear: Throws herself into the action to defend Venatrix on more than one occasion.
Shrewd Allies
Pops
- Chef of Iron
- Everyone Calls Him Pops
- I Hate Past MePops: Listen, kids. I... have not always been a shop owner. But that's not a part of my life that I want to remember, or get involved with. Or get you involved with. It's the past, and it should stay there.
- "Kiss the Cook" Apron: He owns a wide array of novelty aprons, thanks to Khalila and Yamir.
- Parental Substitute: To Khalila and Yamir.
- It's not entirely clear if they have been legally adopted, but Pops does refer to Khalila as his daughter.
- Pointy Ears: Pops is an elf.
- Retired Badass: A former heavy-weight pugilist, now running a fish restaurant.
- The Stoic
- Technicolor Eyes: Pops' eyes are a vibrant violet.
Yamir
- Annoying Younger Sibling: His relationship with Khalila is this, also arguably how he acts towards the rest of the Blue Marlins.
Morgan
- Chaotic Stupid:Morgan: Look, all I'm sayin' is that... Soup of the day? It's like, 11 am. C'mon. It's Soup of the Morning.Customer: I just want. Some eggs. Why are we talking about soup?!
- Genius Ditz: Morgan is dumb as a sack of bricks, but he's also incredibly competent at what he does.
- Lovable Rogue: Endearing, but extremely frustrating.
- Plucky Comic Relief
- Turncoat: Originally he worked for the Sacred Daturas, but the Marlins convinced him to work for them instead.
Aria
- She lived, bitch.
- Differing Priorities Breakup: Venatrix and Aria's relationship fell apart over the Daturas' growing involvement in drug trade, which Ven wanted nothing to do with.
- It's implied to be a little more complicated than that.
- The Queenpin: Of the Sacred Daturas.
- Eventually replaced after trying to help the Marlins screw over those Gumdrop Bastards.
Frobenius Othard
- Cool Mask: Comes with the plague doctor aesthetic.
- Gentle Giant
- Plant Person
Melody Rouge
- Mouthy Kid
- Orphan's Plot Trinket: Melody's locket.
- Pint-Sized Kid
- Raised by Grandparents: Her grandfather, Grant, seems to be her only living relative.
- Two Siblings In One: Melody's twin sister, Harmony, is a ghost living in her locket.
Grant Mason
Oxrin
- Fish out of Water
- Rock Monster: like all Dwarves.
Dr. Cardamom Apogee
- The Archmage: By all counts, Dr. Apogee is the most competent magician we've seen so far.
- He taught at the Magicain's school before his "political activisim" lost him his job.
- And the school he taught at was destroyed.
- He taught at the Magicain's school before his "political activisim" lost him his job.
- Book Smart
- Gentleman and a Scholar: He's an old magician with a seemingly jovial disposition.
Mikhail
Dangerous Rivals
Rivet
- Mad Scientist: The first time we see Rivet, he's a dying old man. The next time? He's a robot.
- Evil Is Petty: Not that the heroes have any room to talk.
- Disproportionate Retribution
King Quixote
- Body Snatcher: Not only was he masquerading as the leader of the Shepherds of the Green, it's shown he has a large amount of bodies set aside in the event of his death.
- Resurrection Revenge
- Sky Pirate: in the same era as Yesper.
Casiphia
- Body Snatcher: a conversation with Khalila confirmed that Casiphia is a Vampire utilizing the body of one Harmony Rouge.
- Resurrection Revenge
- Self-Made Orphan: Pavel and Caroline were only the first part of her master plan.
- Sympathetic Murderer
WMG
WMG
Is Khalila a Self-Made Orphan?
While there has yet to be textual evidence to support this, there also isn't any evidence AGAINST this theory. Eh?? EH????Yamir will become an official member of the Blue Marlins
Eventually Khalila will over-exert herself and he'll step in to take her place while she recovers. He already knows the rest of the crew, and he may even have some underworld contacts himself.- Would be even more compelling if his reasons for joining the crew were revenge oriented.
Yespur will die before the end of season 1
- While this has yet to be jossed it seems less likely now that Faust has joined the team and can take over for him if he overexerts himself.
- Tragically, Yespur is alive and well, though he is now sans cat ears.
Mahogany will die at least 1 more time
I mean, come on. They've already died 3 times!Mahogany will become a vampire
They've already been a werewolf, a ghost, and now a hull in two different bodies. Now that the crew has found Mahogany's old body, it's totally possible that they could use it to make Mahogany a vampire.Venatrix will get get back together with Aria
Maybe not as likely now that Klyra has joined the team, but ever since Aria was revealed to have kept her word and tried to stop the Daturas from getting involved in kidnapping it might still be on the table.- Venatrix/Klyra/Aria polycule?
- Venatrix/Klyra/Aria/Khalila polycule???
- With Aria no longer in charge of the sacred Daturas, who knows how her and Venatrix's relationship will change...
Mattie is really Hootie from The Owl House
They have a similar voice and I could easily see Hootie becoming a cult leader.The cat demon will just keep growing
When Venatrix spit up the cat demon inside of them that was causing the catboy plague, it was larger than the one that Khalila spit up weeks before. If they just keep growing inside of their host body, they could become large enough to escape on their own....Cassiphia is a vampire and the one who killed Pavel, his wife, and his parents.
It'spretty convenient that she survived the massacre in the first place, and considering she looks like an exact mirror of Melody, whose identical twin is dead.- She, at the very least, is definitely a vampire. How she became one is a pretty big mystery, though.
- Khalila's first meeting with her confirmed that she is, in fact, a vampire - possessing Harmony Rouge's body, no less.
- Her conversation with Khalila at the start of S2 also supports this theory.
Ava will get eaten by her little bag of horrors.
- Jossed.... kinda.
Khalila will use what she brought back from the Ghost Realm to resurrect Mahogany.
After all, the GM did say that it's an unprecedented power, that could possibly cure a vampire, or resurrect someone.YMMV
- Adorkable: Khalila's enthusiasm for the supernatural and generally cute disposition lend themselves to this.
- Ho Yay: Lots of them, but specifically the tension between Mahogany and Yespur. Word of Gay Confirms that they have had a romantic past and possible future.
Examples:
- Cool Boat: The Plenty of Fish is a floating restaurant with a sub basement and a sub-sub basement.
- Dinner Theater: There are often group theatrics in the Plenty Of Fish, including the occasional Bar Brawl.
- Family of Choice: Nobody in the Blue Marlins crew (except for Khalila and Yamir) are related by blood, and would easily consider one another family.
- Floating Continent: New Illitharn, a city that floated above Illitharn for centuries. It was destroyed in the Dwarven Moon War.
- Layered Metropolis: Illitharn's over city, the under city, and the (now grounded) floating city of New Illitharn.
- Local Hangout: The Plenty of Fish is popular enough with the locals to stay afloat.
- Noodle Incident: With whatever got the Marlins in hot water with the Gondoliers. According to Yesper, it's entirely because of their relationship with Pops.
- Sky Pirate: Yesper and King Quixote are both (retired) examples of this, and there are still some operating upstairs.
- Standard Fantasy Races: Humans, Dwarves, Elves... It stops there, though, and they're a bit different than usual.
- Underground City: Illitharn is essentially divided into two cities post-war: the vast underground and the war-torn aboveground.
