The Many Sword Forms of Gerard of Greenleigh (Compilation)

[@luka-gl9dz]

“Panther in the Porridge? That’s me, babeyyyy” zac oyama is a national treasure

[@jamesjoy7547]

I was thinking Tony the Tiger: "They're GR-R-R-REAT!"

[@galev3955]

literally scrollod for the comments to say this and it is the top comment XD 'nuff said

[@clairecohen3178]

Murph is so funny and sometimes I forget because he plays the straight man so well

[@Drekromancer]

Well said. It was about damned time he got to go feral, though. And as it turns out, when you have a ton of emotional intelligence like Murph, acting like an immature dudebro is fucking _hysterical._ I'm glad he got to have such a good time this season.

[@thejunkmommy]

Him playing two different kinds of himbos in the last two seasons is the kind of balance the world needed

[@plumeria1985]

@@Drekromancer Well don't forget Starstruck! Barry was one of the funniest characters that season(and that season was already unhinged from the start!)

[@clairecohen3178]

@@plumeria1985 sometimes I think about "imagine if you will, me" and just laugh quietly to myself

[@BabyJonkler]

@@thejunkmommydon’t forget dumbass edgelord in Unsleeping City season 2!

[@VivaLaDnDLogs]

Gerard is such a glorious disaster.

[@GZilla311]

So a Murph character.

[@DaBezzzz]

As a swordfighter I can tell you, those pictures from the manuals are REAL hard to figure out sometimes. And the Poetic Metaphorical Verses to describe them, which are in older versions of languages I don't fully speak, don't help either. Gerard is FULLY in the right presuming that the guy in the picture was actually sniffing, because who fucking knows

[@user-bq1vu5eu3h]

Saw one the other day that was supposedly depicting a ringen method for disarming a dagger. My mans looked like he had three left feet and no neck.

[@lucashayes346]

Historical treatises are fucking hard bro

[@rochewatson4715]

I do HEMA, and this is incredibly relatable

[@rochewatson4715]

I do HEMA, and this is incredibly relatable

[@MenachemSchmuel]

i mean id imagine theyre not really meant to teach you the moves outright, but more as a reference guide you can use after you initially learn them with a coach

[@t.rdixon6869]

Lou losing his shit at, "Two Eels for Supper" is absolute gold XDXD

[@rhysdevlinmusic]

"im the hero of this fight, pinocchio didnt drown did he?" Has the same energy as "Coffee's ordered, is the ball dead?" From FHSY

[@itwasidio1736]

lou and murph have switched roles

[@TheBirdOfParadox]

Plight of the Honeybee. It is sort of a sacrificial move. It is Plight of the honeybee because it is their plight to die. Like pulling the glass shard out of a fairy godmother and impaling yourself on it. Is it that kind of move?

[@Drekromancer]

Wow, never noticed the unintentional foreshadowing. That makes it much more interesting when he really does perform a heroic sacrifice later on. Turns out he was more than empty blustering after all.

[@jamesjoy7547]

@@Drekromancer because we didn't know The Secret

[@bluebawls]

Hoky shit mæn

[@user-bq1vu5eu3h]

Fully half of the great Achille Marozzo's sword plays should be referred to this way. I mean half of them begin with something like, "And if the misfortune should ever befall you-"

[@jamesjoy7547]

*That's* the guy's name! I've been trying to remember it since I saw the video

[@Verylengthyapple]

I love that murph is reading his made up sword movements like they r official dnd 5e attacks

[@fallonrishiva7841]

Murph is just so genius, the way he can perfectly matches the energy of the wheel of time form names but just make them so stupid

[@JayTorin]

I can 100% imagine Lan shouting out 2 Eels for Supper lmao

[@Mollusk_Magus]

One day you must sheathe the sword, Rand. You must undergo the plight of the honeybee. Sheat

[@jennyinutil2018]

As the series progresses I just end up saying more and more often "THIS WAS THE HORROR SEASON!"

[@jaxsonadros2066]

Horrifyingly hilarious!

[@math9172]

Seriously Fantasy High season 2 was way more horrific than NeverAfter. NeverAfter is more of an uncanny valley, creepy vibe rather than true horror IMO. And paradoxically it turned out to be one of the most unhinged and hilarious season.

[@OdeOneEleven]

I feel like Brennan tried really hard to make it a genuine "horror" season but the Intrepid Heroes just weren't having it... in particular, the "Queen of Chaos", Emily Axford. By the last episode, it was just a big cartoon party.

[@galev3955]

@@OdeOneEleven Well almost everyone did silly things (I wonder if they were subconsciously bringing in comedy to break the tension); and Brennan mostly just played along and "yes and"-ed all the silliness, or almost all of it. I think if he really wanted to, he could have reigned it in a little bit in the first few episodes by not engaging with all the jokes. But they were probably all just having too much fun and Dropout is a comedy platform after all.

[@Hypersaiyanike]

​@@math9172I share this stance with you, and have seen a decent interpretation as to why that is. Horror is rooted in the feeling of being helpless in a situation and a fear of the unknown. The Nightmare King achieved this by being a constant threat that they couldn't swing a sword at or run away from, forcing them to meticulously set up sleeping arrangements or face pretty grave consequences. It isn't until the last few sessions that an explanation for what's truly going on even starts to happen, but to solve any of it they have to go into the forest where the Nightmare King makes the rules. In Neverafter, every encounter is prefaced by the context of the setting. Social interactions start mental "Guess who" games until the five seconds it takes for someone to pick up the right hints an KNOW who they're dealing with. Worse yet, they have the biggest piece of the solution in their possession from the very beginning, and are explicitly told so in session 1. Brennan did a lot of leg work to twist these fable visually, but that made it more gore than horror.

[@alalessia]

I feel like plight of the honeybee should have been the "I'll let him stab me and then hold on to him, so I can stab him right back and we both die" move

[@JayTorin]

That's an actual Wheel of Time one called "Sheathing the Sword" lmao

[@uhghouls]

this is murph's time to shine but i'm so obsessed with the way brennan says "darling, this...rules" at 3:32

[@greenredblue]

"The guys doing the moves are... So skinny!" Ten bucks they're crude stick figures.

[@origami_dream]

Lou's trademark *banshee shriek* of explosive mirth requires a nigh-impossible Wisdom save to avoid laughing along with, every time, forever.

[@mackswilliams8933]

The greatest Gerard line is simply just "TOM!!?!?" after being woken up at 5am

[@cinnamonzor7043]

Gerard's sword forms are like a more realized version of the high-elven sword form bit from NADDPOD's Mage Madness arc and I LOVE it

[@Dizzybevvie]

I was just thinking that!! You KNOW he was thinking of Ren :D

[@WardNightstone]

Actual sword form names in wheel of time Pebbles on black sand Parting the Silks Soft rain at sunset Robert Jordan used these because Reading about a sword fighting it usually REALLY boring so he used these names instead of "he blocked the downward cut and countered with a slash Wind and rain was Met by Cutting the clouds they all have descriptions of how they work for example Kissign the Adder is revering your grip and stabign behind you in an upward arc to catch someone behind you by surprise

[@stevendonaldson1216]

Using the Titles of the sword play also let's the reader imagine it in there own way. Even if you don't know the actual forms, you can paint the pictures yourself.

[@P0rk_Sinigang]

That is adorable as all get.

[@l.o.b.2433]

Funnily enough, (having read only the early books), I'd much rather have a description of the actual moves instead of a list of esoteric sounding names. Maybe that's because I have a HEMA background where there's an "Oberhau" (Overstrike) instead more fantastical forms (although there is a guard called Unicorn, The Iron Gate, etc in Fiore's books. So it's not all HEMA that's to the point, just the German sources)

[@stevendonaldson1216]

@@l.o.b.2433 somewhere there's a chart. I think it was HEMA peeps who tried to figure out each form then described illustrated it. I'd have to go find the link.....

[@l.o.b.2433]

@@stevendonaldson1216 I found a KZbin channel of HEMA people practicing these forms and that's pretty cool. It just doesn't work for me in written format

[@Earthheart]

I love he got this idea from Wheel of Time because "Cat Crosses the Courtyard" is the first thing I thought of.

[@pancho7776]

God I love Gerard and his whole story. Really is just about being an adult and not feeling like ur life is over if u hit some speed bumps or go in a different direction than expected.

[@daphneglasurus7886]

Yes but most importantly owning when you’ve made egregious mistakes and haven’t been a good person, admitting that and putting in real effort to change

[@Drekromancer]

There's so much comedic depth in the idea of taking something beautiful and making your own shitty knockoff with blackjack and hookers. It really characterizes Gerard as a wannabe warrior-scholar type, and it shows how little he understands about what kind of maturity that would require from him. Which makes it even more poignant when he finally grows up in the end.

[@jamesjoy7547]

I had a similar character once - Mouse Crumb, a Gnome Monk. He would declare his forms: "Squirrel climbs the tree" "Kitten bites your finger" "Bumblebee tickles your neck" DM made a foil for him, an NPC that announced their forms. My favorite was when DM hit me with: "He counters with 'Cat got your tongue'!" Another player passed me a suggestion... "Silent Cricket In Your Ear!" Didn't work. But it was glorious! (edited for clarity)

[@eliasmolck5566]

Reminds me of Hak Foo from the Jackie Chan cartoon, who was always naming his attacks. "Angry crow takes flight" (leaping forward to attack) being his most common, but "rabid hamster rides wheel" (grabbing a water wheel to climb out of a river) always sticks in my head.

[@Fallenharmony13]

And Omi from Xaoilin Showdown 😂

[@jamesjoy7547]

@@eliasmolck5566 oh I wish I'd known about that Rabid Hamster one, that would be a perfect fit! I wanted the forms to reflect harmless creatures being mildly annoying - I think the most threatening I came up with was probably "Sparrow Plucks Your Berries"

[@jamesjoy7547]

@@Fallenharmony13 I had to look him up on Fandom. And yeah, I can totally see it; weighs less than 20 pounds, all over the shen gong wu, voiced by Tara Strong, that's Mouse Crumb!

[@jennyinutil2018]

"Silent Cricket in Your Ear", what a band name

[@itsrouchus1863]

What a blessing to share this planet with Murph, love him.

[@Rogue_Won]

The compilation we, the fans, needed badly 🐸⚔️🤺🗡

[@ken_cognito]

The fact that Gerard is constantly calling out his attacks is so anime. It is a very sleeping city, Cody move. At any point in the campaign does he “Go all out”?

[@mr.invizible9742]

Yes, but just once

[@itwasidio1736]

non spoiler spoiler: it’s a lot of hair until it gets down

[@woodsytheowlscharedcorpse4761]

He goes full frog at one point, does that count?

[@Hypersaiyanike]

​@@woodsytheowlscharedcorpse4761 Frog wild

[@inverse2000]

Now imagine Cody doing these sword forms with his Thirsting Blade Dark Excalibur Mega-Genesis

[@GZilla311]

He would kill himself with it before he managed one.

[@Kaptonii]

I’m curious, did he have an actual fencing book with pictures? Or was Emily just improvising as if there where pictures?

[@marys4038]

Pretty sure he just wrote the names down in his notebook

[@Rileysaura1]

@@marys4038 I dunno, I feel like Murph has shown commitment to prop bits before. We're talking about the guy who made a mini scroll for one throwaway gag in Crown of Candy after all.

[@jamesjoy7547]

I envision a bunch of scribbles, that they improv from. My table would totally run with it: ""What's this one? Is that your mum wrestling with a lich?"

[@deaf-tomcat]

i think the "that man is so skinny" is in reference to stick figures that Murph must've drawn lol

[@kayohwai]

@@jamesjoy7547 That illustration is for the form, "Mother's quieting embrace." It's intended to neutralize a spellcaster. If you look closely, that's the guy from the other forms wearing a wig and a dress. See, he still has that pointy goatee, or is that his chin? I guess he was just that into portraying the forms accurately.

[@Moonscar1]

7:10 we need a super cut of every time the d20 crew has done a brennan impression

[@steegen101]

There are a few horror moments & emotional beats but... giggle fits like these make up the vast majority of Neverafter.

[@mikochaos6310]

I just want Murph to write this whole book and sell them as merch.

[@rajasurapaneni3501]

The wheel of time slander

[@GZilla311]

I see it as acknowledgement, not slander.

[@rajasurapaneni3501]

@@GZilla311 True but he did my boy Galad dirty in NADDPOD. As Johnathan Joestar puts it "UNFORGIVABLE!" I do appreciate the shoutout tho.

[@GZilla311]

@@rajasurapaneni3501 Ah that’s fair. Galad is amazing.

[@gsmith3755]

"panther in the porridge" "that's me baby!"

[@jamesjoy7547]

*Build-up* - Brennen says "I'll write this down" *Tension* - "C'mon! What is it?" *Release* - "...He had 9 HP left!" *Everyone* - "YEAHHHH!"

[@a_bad_nickname]

3:07 The way Emily watches Murph trying to sell the sword forms is so cute

[@timidtrillium]

this reminds me of the Ketan from The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. he did the same thing as the wheel of time, where it's like 42 named moves that goes from 'dancing bear' to 'maiden combs her hair' and he made up SO MANY NAMES

[@liveadhdtv]

The reasoning was different. Basically the martial arts was supposed to be a secret, so he used the names so he wouldn't have to describe what it looked like.

[@hintofginger3144]

“Don’t gotta get ready if you stay ready b*****s”

[@SeanCRinaldo]

Of all the things to make a compilation of…this was the last one I expected 😂😂

[@OneEvanescent]

As a longtime Wheel of Time fan, I could not handle my amusement at all the sword forms

[@iIxInertiaxIi]

This is PEAK content

[@AnEnemySpy456]

I love the idea of Gerard fighting with a sword in one hand while looking at a book in the other hand.

[@MalkuthSephira]

"Darling, this rules" hit me inexplicably hard

[@auburn_rachel]

i'm listening to NADDpod from the beginning and when they're in Gladeholm, Murph has his fancy royal high elf NPCs use similar fighting forms lmao. it's cool to see that he gets to play a similar character as a PC! (also ylfa reminds me of emily's character moonshine, just for the epic druid/barbarian multiclass combo >:))

[@MightyAceCakes]

I miss as Pawpaw

[@deegs6074]

Honestly after looking up real sword forms from wheel of time a lot of Gerard’s forms would fit in well. There’s is actually one called dandelion in the wind so

[@heylolp9]

Gerrard is basically like a wizard taking minutes to flip though their spell book Just brilliant flavour for a absolute weirdo fighter character like this great work from Murph as always

[@DParkerNunya]

The thing is, as someone who studies Kung-Fu, these are honestly so accurate to names. Actual move names I've heard in class: Old Man plays the Lute Draw the Needle from the Bottom of the Sea Serpent Creeps through the Grass Bend Bow, Shoot Tiger Fair Lady Works the Shuttle We're laughing, but these fake names actually fall in line with real technique naming schemes

[@TempestInWonderland]

I cannot tell you how much I would give for a second season of this concept! It was hitting so many of my favorite things!

[@nathaniel201]

Spoilers "I've always thought we might need to defend the Lines Between at some point" Should have learned those forms, Legend

[@GDBadger]

I was hoping for a compilation of these! Love it 😂

[@AuthenticApathy]

This compilation was necessary

[@andrewdiaz3529]

"Rabbit Rushed Onward" sounds a lot like "Boar Rushing Down the Mountain" from Wheel of Time no lie

[@MicahEdmonds]

These were the Gladeholm Elves from Naddpod reskinned, right? Frog On The Water!!!!

[@blazekeaveny645]

Dimension 20, huge fan! Loved the idea of Neverafter and I thought DMing a campaign loosely based off of the idea, but with Mythology, folklore and legends. with the two true BBEGs are the Little Star based on the nursery rhyme and the Narrator(me), acting as my extension on the world. Just wanted to say thanks for this awesome series, can't wait to finish it!

[@azurebunny4155]

"It's a bad move" - I love it so much *__*

[@grumplestomp8701]

I have had to rewatch "What am i doing, Swallow Flies Southward? I should be doing (intensely) Snake in the Bouquet!" At least a hundred times

[@ArkayeCh]

They laugh but if I heard those techniques in a wushu story, that's like the no. 1 sign you're about to die witnessing the universe being split with q sword.

[@chew_1993]

Gerard is such a Murph character

[@sllimjimsinkhole]

Gerard brings me so much joy, I almost wish he stayed an uptight prince for a longer time.

[@Morhek]

I love that Gerard shouts his attack names like a Naruto character.

[@enbyglitch]

Been waiting for something like this, thanks ^^

[@tiffany02020]

Gods Plight of the Honeybee fuckin kills me every time hahaha

[@Kinsume1]

I've never been so happy to throw a link to my spouse, who has read the wheel of time

[@ellieahearn4055]

I watched the full season. Did not remember this bit for some reason. Glad I had this reminder

[@hubofinsanity4122]

this is probably my favorite season

[@nehemiahsomers4141]

For real, it's not very scary but its so funny I love it

[@hubofinsanity4122]

@@nehemiahsomers4141 its got the creepy horror aesthetic around it with haunting images and then the cast comes in and has fun bits but if you think about a man sized frog for too long its kinda scary. especially if you’re a frog owner and have experienced them putting anything that can fit in their mouth in said mouth and eating it. Gerard could have easily been a killer if he wasn’t so Gerard.

[@jennegatron]

Murph is the funniest man alive. Gerard is a perfect character.

[@user-bq1vu5eu3h]

Flashbacks to my DM putting me on the spot with "and describe your attack for us" because he knows I'm a swordfighter. Problem is we don't have fun Robert Jordan names for it irl. Instead real fencing manuals are just like "and if they try to stab your low opening, stab them first but better, like so."

[@toshmagosh666]

i love that he got this idea from wheel of time because i always found the sword forms cool but the way he's doing it is so silly

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

gerard has so many sword forms it's impressive.

[@Closer2Zero]

Honestly, its weird and hilarious that Murph both seems to really like playing horrible fathers/husbands and is really good at, while at the same time being a really good husband to Emily

[@SUPERSTUDIO17]

IM FUCKING CRYNG!!! Thank you for this compilation. I miss Neverafter already

[@Time628]

I know Murph was inspired by Wheel of Time, but when I first heard him naming sword forms, my first thought was Xoulin Showdown. One of the main characters, Omi, shouts out his moves all the time. One that sticks out in my mind is "Sparrow catches hot dog"

[@kylesouhrada8036]

I've been waiting so long for this one specifically

[@juliawhitmore3991]

2:03 Emily >:O

[@Mylo8328]

Such an underrated season fr I adore all these characters

[@KnotAnOwl]

I've never been more confused about mixing up Wheel of Time and Wheel of Fortune.

[@Bearwiffa228]

Now I want to see the entire season, just to know for sure if he ever uses plight of the honey bee...

[@whispywind1015]

I feel like this is a fighter with wizard energy

[@castbet9183]

I loved Gerard! But now I’m trying to figure out what maneuvers he’s doing

[@Lucifersfursona]

And you could have it all My empire of sword forms I will let you down I will flee alongside the young and infirm

[@Lucifersfursona]

I should be doing... _snake in the bouquet!_

[@Lucifersfursona]

Darling- *_this rules_*

[@Lucifersfursona]

I can’t believe I forgot about the sniff

[@Lucifersfursona]

Plight of the Honeybee has Ice Feast love in my heart

[@Lucifersfursona]

“WHAT DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND PINOCCHIO-“ “I think it’s beautiful 🥺”

[@raoulduke2924]

I'm in the middle of reading Wheel of Time so it was very fun to hear all of Gerard's forms throughout the campaign.

[@embvrry]

boulder in the chute is so funny for no reason

[@Maurenriques]

Stop please this poor pathetic frogman is simply trying his BEST

[@idrc1415]

Pathetic? Did you not hear? He's a real hero!

[@Maurenriques]

He's just trying to be a *GOOD FRIEND* for his *EX WIFE*

[@erinhigbee9682]

This makes me wanna rewatch neverafter and it just ended 😂

[@CosmicCake07]

I haven't watched never after yet, so when i saw the title i thought that gerard was a dude that could turn into swords lol

[@user-pd2mp8nk5g]

Shout out to the person who edited this.

[@xanianjamfalcon]

Iconic, inspirational

[@Theye101499]

I was so alarmed when i saw jared from subway in the thumbnail, but then i was relieved lol

[@theaggrokrag]

Cat Crosses The Courtyard into Heron Wading in The Rushes finishing with Soft Rain st Sunset

[@tamrymer4153]

I would love for Gerard and gilear to meet

[@jacksonletts3724]

It's funny, I listened to the whole season like a podcast, so I had no idea until now there was a real life book with these sword forms!

[@dernudel1615]

This also comes up during NADDPOD during C1.

[@MadHeart-rw9xh]

The minis are cool, but what I want auctioned is that LITTLE BOOK

[@OriginalRAB]

"Why would they put that in the book?" Instantly reminded of "if you want to end him rightly"

[@jank7567]

I’m not the only one who thought Plight of the Bumblebee was gonna come back in a moment of cruel irony right?

[@manuluh_]

Gerard is definitely up there with Cody as Murph greatest characters

[@DerekBarolet]

Love the Wheel of Time reference

[@Ubermensch9240]

Gotta give the rich fool credit for getting a combat manuel.

[@ThatoneGuy-zd4rl]

Lou steals every scene he happens to be in lol

[@JaraelMoonsilver]

*SPOILER* Gerard for SURE tried to use Plight of the Honeybee in ep 3 against the Fairy Godmother but fucked it up so badly that he stabbed himself instead of breaking his neck

[@Razkain100]

This is simultaneously the longest, the dumbest, and the best Wheel of Time shitpost I've ever seen.

[@paralasalud]

i should have never watched this lmao i thought murph had a real vintage weirdo fencing book. i never noticed he's only on the first few pages every time

[@TheSixthJR]

I need to know where brennen gets his flannels.