Whether it be a profound high fantasy rant inspired by Rock-Paper-Scissors or an ode to his love of almonds, Comedian Brennan Lee Mulligan is a wellspring of profound and hilarious monologues. This week, we’ve picked out five of his best quotes to have you floating in existential dread or Nihilistic self-empowerment. Enjoy these five, and let us know in the comments below if you think we’ve missed one!
5) “People living in actual crises aren’t looking for the perfect solution, they’re looking for any solution. Telling them they’re wrong, that there are facts they haven’t considered, is missing the point.” – Brennan Lee Mulligan (Strong Female Protagonist)
While many of these quotes come from Mulligan’s time as the DM on Dimension 20, this one comes out of his writing for the graphic novel series Strong Female Protagonist, illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag. In the Age of Internet, it is easy to get bogged down in details, forgetting that real people’s lives are altered and affected by these ongoings which either just flash across our feed or only touch us in minor inconveniences. That strange dissonance of physical distance despite the illusion of social closeness through awareness can make it hard to see the forest for the trees, and the naive cruelty of inaction in the name of careful consideration all too often leaves the victims out to dry. Mulligan’s succinct words quickly capture that reality.
4) “In the same way your heart feels and your mind thinks, you, mortal beings, are the instrument by which the universe cares. If you choose to care, then the universe cares. If you don’t, then it doesn’t.” – Brennan Lee Mulligan (Fantasy High – Dimension 20)
In a season full of incredible quotes, this one underlines what makes Dimension 20 and Dragons & Dungeons so special. Tabletop RPGs bring people together, and of course, any one who has played has been in the group that wants to watch the world burn, but more often than not, the sort of people who play DnD are the same people who pet their Rumba or go back to the store to get the slightly dented box out of a desire to ensure it isn’t left behind.
3) “It’s nice to have a person who understands, and even if we’re not the same, understanding that we’re both not the same, and what being not the same feels like, makes me feel like we’re the same. And that’s good.” – Brennan Lee Mulligan (Fantasy High – Dimension 20)
While said by Ayda Aguefort about friendship in Season 2 of Fantasy High, the same sentiment followed Mulligan into A Court of Fey and Flowers where he describes the inner thoughts of Captain K. P. Hobb: “So when Rue describes a place that is your home that you never go and the feeling of loyalty to a place you don’t belong…to have the only root you have not feed you…” before concluding with Hobb’s belief that Rue belongs with romantic implications.
Like that sentiment that you break everything or that you do not fit, the feeling of existing on the periphery resonates. Ally Beardsley, another member of Dimension 20, often plays characters caught in this liminal space, struggling when either their foundation gets torn from them or the person who society perceives them as is not the person who they know they are. This was also widely explored by multiple player characters in Neverafter, making it one of the most common but also one of the most poignant reoccurring themes in Dimension 20.
2) “You think people make choices? No, people think they make choices, they think they’re gonna steer right, or steer left, but they didn’t build the roads. The big choices already got made for them, a long time ago.” – Brennan Lee Mulligan (The Unsleeping City – Dimension 20)
A powerful quote that Mulligan gives to antagonist Robert Moses, these words of wisdom resonate with anyone who has ever felt like an ant beneath the magnifying glass of hegemonic power. Of course, you might stray from the design path, but even the shortcuts take you between two points that predated your decision.
1) “Sometimes a thing gets broken, and when you rebuild it, its stonger for it, you know? A lotta things are like that. You put a sword in a steel forge, you gotta beat the Hell outta that thing to get it nice and hard and sharp, you know? Breaking things isn’t bad.” – Brennan Lee Mulligan (Fantasy High – Dimension 20)
Puberty is hard. For many, it is further haunted by this feeling of not fitting in or being incapable of doing things which simple for others, so when gnomish tinkerer Digby Thistlespring says this to his adopted orc son, Gorgug, the words resonated with that same out-of-place, who-am-I uncertainty.
Are there any quotes we missed? Share them in the comments below or join the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord and Facebook.
Featured Image: Dimension 20
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This is a great post! I am mostly familiar with his comedic work and rants through online shows like Gamechanger and his DM’ing on Critical Role. I enjoy his rant about the struggles of snacking as a DM. But this article has really highlighted his more thought-provoking beautiful quotes too, so clearly I need to seek those out!