Story synopsis
MTB Synopsis
At a glance: “Martyr the Bride is a thrilling epic that follows the life of a young woman named Chase (Chasity) Grayson as she descends into madness, after dispelling the truth about her marriage and about what she really is - not just a wife, or a clerk, or a woman, but a poet whose heart is filled with rage and music. It’s music that ultimately ignites and sets her free, leading her to become the frontman for heavy-metal rock band Martyr the Bride. Filled with gritty and surrealist imagery and drenched in lovelorn melancholia, this drama illustrates how pain is one of life’s most sacred gifts, because of the ways it shows us exactly who we are and what we’re made of.” - Kai Briscoe, Writer and Illustrator, 11/11/22 (edited 2/2/26)
The story is set in the early 1990’s and opens with Chase on her first day as the Ezra Mental Health Clinic’s new front desk clerk - a job she doesn’t want, and isn’t very good at. The Ezra Clinic is the largest employer in town, and also where her husband Arthur, or Art for short, is lead researcher in patient medicine. The couple live in the sleepy small town of Ezra - which the facility is named after, after marrying right out of high school.
Art is a cynical and dry personality who appears too serious next to Chase’s flippant humor and childlike playfulness, and the couple have a strained relationship, in part due to personality differences, and also financial strain as the country slips further into economic recession. The latter causes Chase to give up her life as a stay at home wife to help put food on the table, something she doesn’t mind but Art does. He expresses concerns about household work falling behind and his dinner not being ready in time.
Shortly after starting her job, Chase meets the Head Charge Nurse, River Wade Jameson, and the two strike up a lighthearted friendship. Chase begins to enjoy her job and coworkers like River, and other characters observe chemistry developing between the young clerk and the handsome and charismatic nurse.
At Ezra Clinic, Chase finds archived medical records of when her estranged father was a patient, noting that he was described as having mental health symptoms that are similar to ones that have recently started appearing within her. In addition to River, she makes friends with several people at Ezra including another clerk named Shyla, her boss Trey, and mischievous juvenile patient Laura “Pickett” Colts.
Pickett seems to have an unhealthy fixation with her - often sneaking around town and showing up randomly while Chase is out running errands. Pickett is a thorn in the side of all staff members, often pranking them by stealing items off their desks or setting boobie-traps. Chase gets her back and is often sharing a laugh with the teen, and this fondness leads to Chase letting her shadow her at work instead of sit in the “ultra boring and stupidly lame rehab courses”. Her respect and closeness to Chase is what leads her to being the first to notice the chemistry developing between her and River, and the first to call her out.
Something happens and Chase is faced with a question: do I keep this to myself, or embrace what happened?
Her decisions lead to a dizzying cascade of events. The plot and Chase’s character unravel in chaotic waves of emotions, lyrics, hallucinations,