#<- this is referring to imogen and chet

[wlwdisasterr]

one of my favourite things about campaign 3 is the hostility between chetney and imogen laura and travis really said we've been graph paper lovers, now it's time to upgrade...reluctant allies

[rynnaissance]

ok so for future reference, if i ever do continue working on my fic, how do we think bell’s hells would be at driving cars in a modern au? i’ve got ideas, but i want to hear other people’s input.

here’s what i’ve got:

chetney: DO NOT GET IN A CAR WITH CHETNEY WHATEVER YOU DO. that senior citizen is batshit insane and he WILL road rage. if someone cuts him off then wherever he was going is forgotten because he has to tailgate that person now while yelling at them to pull over so they can “talk.” i can’t decide if he would have a really nice car or a really shitty one because honestly both fit. maybe a fancy truck for hauling wood?

orym: he’s your safest bet out of the hells if you want to get somewhere on time without fearing for your life. bro is a law abiding citizen of the road. he never loses his cool (unlike chet) and his car is always clean and smells super nice. he mostly listens to meditation style music, but he’ll let the other person have the aux because he’s genuinely curious to hear what they listen to. shout out to orym.

laudna: okay back to the insanity. ALSO DO NOT GET IN A CAR WITH LAUDNA! girlie pop should not be on the road. she’s blasting the weirdest fucking genres of metal imaginable, she can hear nothing else. the music only somewhat drowns out the horrible keening noises her car makes, as if it’s begging to die. that thing hasn’t been to the shop in decades and omits the occasional plume of black smoke that smell like burnt hair and buttered popcorn for some reason? i saw someone else talk about how she’s a crazy driver with everyone except imogen who she drives very well for and never blasts music, and i like that idea a lot.

imogen: it was her dad’s truck before her’s, a farm vehicle meant for rural roads with four wheel drive. it’s pretty beat up, but it’s reliable. imogen hates driving though, as it can be super overwhelming in the city, and prefers to go with laudna. outside of the city, on rural roads where you won’t see another car for miles, she finds it almost as relaxing as horseback riding. she likes to cruise around with her widows down, shamelessly listening to country music. yeehaw.

ashton: should you get in a car with ashton? depends on the day, as they are kind of a wild card. one day, it might be a chill drive with you two causally exchanging stories, like sober “what the fuck is up with that?” other times you better hold onto your seat because you are getting to your location regardless of how traffic is flowing. ashton is the person who cuts chetney off. it may be on purpose, no one knows for certain, but he always seems to manage to find the old man and make his day a little more difficult. if they see someone they know, they’ll lay on horn and yell, “hey asshole!” with a wave and a grin. the car itself is covered in stickers and sharpie graffiti, interior and exterior. you’ll always know it’s him.

fearne: does she have a license? she would say yes. the truth is no. fearne was never taught how to drive, she just kinda figured it out as she went along. because of ashton, she used to think honking is a friendly thing, but had to be informed by fcg that those people are not just saying hi, but are actually mad at her. she didn’t like that very much. she doesn’t seem to be aware that there are any dangers to driving. she’s almost always getting into crashes, which she responds to with a giggle and a “whoops(:” it’s a marvel she hasn’t been arrested yet. there’s also an angry possum that’s sometimes found in the truck of her car, so it’s best not to open it.

fcg: much like orym, fcg is a very safe person to drive with. although maybe a little annoying, as he’ll let everyone go before him at a four way stop regardless of if it’s actually their turn. sometimes though, when they’re under a lot of stress, they resemble chetney more. they won’t tolerate any bullshit from other drivers and yell at pedestrians to get out of the way. he’s been getting better about this though, but still.

[wardensantoineandevka]

This is a genuine question, but idk if I just follow good people or don't scroll through the critrole tag enough, but where are you finding biphobia? Or I guess, if I could phrase it another way, in regards to what are people being biphobic? I'm not looking to start shit, I just haven't seen any or am horrifyingly ignorant on how it's presented

I just open the tags or, more often, finding a blog that was reblogged by a blog in my activity. Stuff that I've seen this month alone have included:

referred to Chet, who has flirted with people who are not women on multiple occasions, as the token straight

insisted that Imogen and Laudna are specifically lesbians / assumed that Imogen and Laudna are, by default, lesbians — some people get real aggressive if you mention interpreting Imogen or Laudna as bisexual but a lot of it is subtler than that

surprised that a woman who is married to a man can roleplay a woman who is pining for a woman in a meaningful way, as if the two are exclusive to one another

acted like Laura has never played a queer character before when Vex is bisexual

dismissed Vex as not counting bc she ultimately married a man

"joked" that Fearne is wasted on men

referred to Fearne as a lesbian (this is uncommon, but it usually happens in "jokes")

referred to Allura as a lesbian

refused to count Liam as playing a queer PC every campaign

This is not even the most egregious stuff historically, but this is some of what I've seen in the past month.

The biphobia problem is recurrent in this space—just as it's recurrent in any other space I've been in. A lot of it is outright dismissal of queer characters when they're attracted to other genders or downplaying that attraction, acting like that attraction is not as important, or even erasing that attraction to other genders. There's a lot of diminishing characters who are attracted to other genders as being not as important or as good / shiny / meaningful, sometimes outright dismissing them as not counting or framing them as placeholders for "more real" queer characters. The idea that wlw are by default lesbians and mlm are by default gay men is a big but subtle one. That's all just to name a few things.

A lot of it is more indirect than people expect, but it is pervasive in most fandom spaces, and this fandom space is no exception despite the number of bisexual characters.

[shorthaltsjester]

begging twitter to stop showing me tweets of people with no reading comprehension misrepresenting things I said but since i was going to make this more in-depth post Anyway .

when i say imogen is better read as a metaphor for generational trauma than she is a metaphor for queerness or chronic pain, i’m not talking about legitimate traits she has as a character. obviously she is queer. obviously she experiences some form of chronic pain (though i would argue her magic better suits chronic illness not pain because she states that it’s Not always painful, but it does always influence how she lives her life).

when i talk about how well she’s understood as a metaphor, i’m talking about when i’m looking at her as a part of a story, as an arc that i am witnessing rather than in the more typical fandom way of this is a fictional person who interacts with exandria as real people do. and that is a fun way to interact with characters, i enjoy it a lot! but when i say imogen (to me, as i for some reason have to clarify on my own blog which implies that these are my own opinions and not absolute fact that needs to be accepted by people on the internet with different experience and opinions than me) is best read as a metaphor for generational trauma, it isn’t a dismissal of her queerness or her illness, it’s just me thinking looking at her from that angle is more compelling.

imogen has been one of my favourite characters and least favourite characters in campaign 3 because i tend to analyse her through a lens of generational trauma and she ends up looking extremely familiar to me as someone with a family that carries their’s heavily which is as comforting as it is frustrating.

for me the main thing that looking at imogen through a queer lens of literary analysis fails to account for is harm. on the one hand - the harm that imogen experiences, not because of how people treat her for who she is, but that exists simply as a factor of her being ruidusborn. on the other hand a the harm that imogen causes. not to say that she is some malicious villain waiting for her chance to harm others, but that there are things about being ruidusborn that very much do incline her towards violence in a way that she might not otherwise be - i think about the conversation after she went nuclear and chet brought up people being scared of her connecting that to her father keeping distance. the only harm that queerness provides comes from society, and that isn’t the case in exandria. even metaphorically, the thing that society fears in ruidusborn people (while it has certainly been exacerbated by centuries of superstition and practices like we saw in zephrah) is a tangible threat. imogen’s magic when not controlled can wipe out a city block, but queerness poses no threat.

that’s why i’m not compelled by imogen’s backstory as a queer metaphor. not because i’m some imodna anti (i very emphatically am not but this fandom kinda makes me wish i was sometimes) or because i think exandria’s lack of homophobia/transphobia means that characters can’t be viewed through a queer lens or that critical role doesn’t contain some of the most compelling queer metaphor i’ve encountered. imogen just isn’t one of those characters, not because she isn’t queer, or because i think her story shouldn’t resonate with queer people, just because i find the generational trauma angle more consistent.

it’s similar with the chronic illness angle, which i will refer to as illness but you’re welcome to emphasise pain, we all have different vocabularies for the experiences we face. but just to give context i’m running off laura’s comparison of imogen’s powers to her own sensory issues and anxiety which while often Lead to pain, fall more into chronic illness in imogen’s context to me. and i do think there’s substantial comparison for imogen’s story as a metaphor for chronic illness, but i think that was much more true earlier in the campaign than it is looking at her from the current context. her beginning motivation being her search for knowledge about her powers really resonated with me as similar to someone experiencing symptoms of chronic illness but who could neither figure out how to treat them or what they were caused by.

but then imogen got more information, specifically about her mother, and her priority became not understanding her powers but understanding her current state as a person - how had she become the person she is, inclusive of her powers but very much emphasising her lack of a mother who became more and more present in the unweaving web of ruidusborn lore. that’s when i was less compelled by the chronic illness reading and more compelled by viewing her as a metaphor for generational trauma. had that not been enough on its own, imogen’s visit to relvin and her recent thoughts on her mother would be enough to convince me.

the part that makes me hesitant about this post is that generational trauma is so intensely linked to the contexts under which it is created and perpetuated. so i can’t really point to specific scenes as evidence of specific things that prove generational trauma is the most compelling and i don’t really want to unload that much of my own experience to clarify my thoughts on a character. but vaguely, i will say that imogen’s relationship with her parents is obviously the clearest source for my reading her as a metaphor for generational trauma. the fact that relvin, the only person in her family without the thing that draws society’s ire, is also the person that she has the most willing anger at is also indicative of this to me. in general, imogen’s rage that so easily transitions into sadness and vice versa comes out a lot in conversations about parents. most recently, i think about ashton’s lovely speech about found family and his distrust about parents and how as they were speaking, laura seemed to be playing imogen as sadly in thought versus months ago when fearnes parents showed up with striking similarities to liliana and imogen’s words of wisdom were let’s hurt them all.

and like. to me that angersadnessvengeancegrief is particularly evocative of the feelings that arise when you are in a family with generational trauma, especially when you are aware of it. because imogen can and has followed the logical steps that have led her and her family to where they are. early on when recounting her relationship with her dad she seemed wistful but understanding of the distance between them. in nearly every encountered with a parental figure imogen seems to be some level of distrusting for the most part, but she’s still holding out hope that her mother will see the good side. and further, there’s the complication of how dire her losing her powers seems to be, and how inextricable her powers are from every aspect of her life. she’s also southern and from a blue collar family. this means nothing except it also means a whole lot.

this is messy and not well organised but if you want a good essay you’re gonna have to pay me money for it but tldr: i say things i believe on my This Is My Opinion Blog and i don’t think i need to explain my thoughts to strangers on the internet but this was already half written in my drafts and if people are gonna shit on my opinions please at least do it in good faith and shit on my actual opinions not the ones you’ve decided i have.

[angelsndragons]

so i think i have too many c3 thoughts right now to be entirely coherent so fuck it, we roll. warning: super long post, i insincerely apologize.

while everyone is getting lost in the sauce about the gods and whether they “deserve to live” and whatnot, i think we the audience (and the players to a lesser extent but that’s just my reading) are missing the forest for the trees. because c3 is not about the gods, it’s about our pcs, moreover, it is about our pcs and their relationships to/with power, control, and responsibility. as conflict avoidant (and avoidant in general) as our party is, we need something big and in your face to really delve into their understanding of their issues and the solutions they believe will solve the problems. the gods are only part of the story because they are the biggest, most in your face representation of these issues. the gods have power; do they use it to control others, to control fate? what are their responsibilities when it comes to what their followers do? does any of that even matter in the face of their annihilation? if they have power and don’t use it, what is their responsibility then? adjacently, is free will even a thing when dealing with time and power on a scale that mortals cannot comprehend? and if we “surrender” to that, if we “just have faith” are we ceding control of our own lives to these far more powerful beings and what would that say about us?

these themes are a continuation of what aabria started in exu where she hammered over and over again that power isn’t inherently good or evil, it’s the choices one makes that matter. and if you choose not to decide, if you choose to avoid the issue, you still have made a choice. and you need to own it.

back in the early days, bells hells were all potential, not quite coming into their power and scrounging around for any semblance of control they could manage. ashton told themself that nothing mattered, that everything was shit, and to care was to destroy themself. they chose to just let things happen. chet believed that the only way he could fully control his own fate was to be a loner. fcg thought they were in control and encouraged others, through admittedly not great means, to make choices and take what small control they could, even as they thought choices were not for them. fearne collected, stole, and held things and others too close to keep them from leaving. imogen fought for rigid control over herself, her powers, and her curiosity about said power. laudna avoided the problem altogether; out of sight, out of mind. if she didn’t think about or care about delilah, it didn’t matter, it wouldn’t hurt her or anyone else. orym ceded control of his future to all the other characters and tried to redo the loss of his husband every time he entered a fight.

nowadays? despite their own perceptions of helplessness, they are undeniably powerful enough to make a difference, to make a real mark on the world. and now they have to deal with the responsibility of that power. while also grappling with those control questions that haven’t yet been solved. they’re level 10 characters- the nein were dealing with the happy fun ball, obann and his cronies, and the citadel, for reference. the hells have power, after spending so long feeling powerless and out of control. and i don’t think any of them is comfortable with this yet. having power has not, and probably will not, solved their problems. ashton still has the hole in their head and chronic pain. fearne keeps losing people. imogen is still being drawn to the red moon. laudna still compartmentalizes and is desperately disengaged with her own power and choices. power and control are ultimately separate factors and beasts, is what i am getting at, and having one doesn’t necessarily equate with having the other.

it’s a lot, is what i’m saying. the hells by and large haven’t solved their personal control and power issues so it’s no wonder they are flailing about and rehashing the god question over and over and over again. because the question isn’t really about the gods, the question is about them.

chet and orym have the most straightforward relationships with power and control in the party. orym is regaining control of his life, regaining the ability to lay down what he wants and expects, gaining the ability to lead in the process. chet’s reconciled the betrayal of his authority figure and more than that has consistently and repeatedly owned up to his screw ups and when his lack of control has fucked him or others up. and i think that’s why the pair of them most successfully separate the gods’ power from the gods’ control over the world.

fcg, he who was made to care for others and who now chooses to do so, has gained a relationship with his goddess. not for nothing was the first major breakthrough the one where fcg made a choice, owned it, and followed through. fortune favors the bold, after all, and the changebringer encourages mortals to seize their fates with both hands. through the tentative first steps of self-care, they have also gained more control over themself and their future. they figured out that murderbot doesn’t have to kill or hurt anyone. through the power of someone else helping them, fcg was able to retain enough control to not spiral. and that’s how fcg sees their new mission: the gods have the power to help others (and use it) so he wants to help them. simple, straightforward.

but here it gets murky. because ashton and laudna in particular see power and control as the same thing. they aren’t separate as far as these characters are concerned. if you have power, why wouldn’t you use it? why wouldn’t you control every single thing you could? why wouldn’t you stop this horrid thing? why would you let this happen? where the pair of them differ is that ashton, practically possibility incarnate, has decided to act. has decided that they have been stuck in a cycle of self-pity and wallowing and, well, if the gods aren’t going to act, even on their own behalf, then fine, they will. fuck it. someone has to. he will put ludinus into the ground for what he’s done and then...well, they’ll be a hero (don’t think i didn’t notice your word choices all episode, taliesin, i am watching ashton like a hawk here). through this decision, this acknowledgement of their own vulnerability, of how much they actually have to lose and how much they will have to fight to keep it, ashton has sent themself on the path towards regaining some control over their life. not for nothing have they been so focused on what power and possibilities their head could bring lately. but don’t think they’re doing it for the gods, oh no. they’re here for all the people like them.

but laudna? oh, laudna feels completely out of control. has for a while. her typical avoidance and compartmentalization strategies were completely failing her in issylra. in the face of all of this, she feels powerless. so what does she do? reach for control the only way she knows how: by using someone else’s power and giving them another foothold with which to control laudna’s own life. again. and after? laudna’s overwhelmed, she’s guilty, she’s worried about what everyone else will think. notice that she doesn’t yet seem worried about what delilah could do to her; it’s the betrayal to her friends, how they see her that worries her most. that she wasn’t strong enough, powerful enough, big enough to find another way (never mind that the facts of the situation were overwhelmingly on her side, especially before she called down delilah). that she lost control again. she’s a puppet on delilah’s strings so long as delilah has power that laudna wants or needs, why would the gods be any different in her eyes?

so, strangely in the middle, we have imogen. imogen, who intimately knows that power and control aren’t the same. but unlike chet and orym, in imogen’s experience, the more power she has, the more out of control she becomes. the more  power she gets, the more she’s drawn to that damn moon whether she wants to be or not. sure, the circlet helps now but it’s a band-aid, a temporary measure, and imogen knows it. and even it couldn’t completely block out her dreams. the cost she pays for her powers continues to climb (she lost her mother, her best friend and two of her party members were murdered for it, this solstice could end the world because of ludinus and ruidusborn like her, she can’t tell how overwhelmed laudna is without her powers). imogen, who questioned whether the bad guys have a point before any of this really kicked off.

and fittingly outside this strange intersection is fearne. fearne has no interest in the gods, really. she doesn’t seem to care one way or the other. however, she did just receive a vision from the duskmaven which honestly almost seems tailored to her specifically. the duskmaven’s champion, her person, is trapped in unending agony, caused by his love for his person. that fearne understands all too well. what she really cares about is her people, her new family. and so, she’s caught in the middle. because right now, all the group can agree on is that they want to stick together to take down ludinus. so where is that going to leave them, exactly, once he’s gone? where will that leave her, with a potential chet/orym/fcg vs laudna/ashton/imogen split, when she wants them all, when they are all hers? and how will her newly found sense of responsibility play into the next stage of the hells’ fight?

so i think that intersection between power, control, and responsibility is why certain characters are moving forward and why others are stumbling backwards. and why certain characters are gung-ho about saving the gods, others indifferent, while others are finding non-god reasons to involve themselves in the plot.

[lunarrolls]

uhh 27 with the little robot guy and the old one from the retirement home that u told me about

i took care of a TASK and now i can WRITE! liz i love you thank you for referring to chetney as the retirement home one <3 it’s what he deserves <3 27 is the modify memory spell!!

•

Modify memory is a 5th level enchantment spell on the bard, warlock, and wizard spell lists.

You attempt to reshape another creature’s memories. One creature that you can see must make a Wisdom saving throw. If you are fighting the creature, it has advantage on the saving throw. On a failed save, the target becomes charmed by you for the duration. The charmed target is incapacitated and unaware of its surroundings, though it can still hear you. If it takes any damage or is targeted by another spell, this spell ends, and none of the target’s memories are modified.

While this charm lasts, you can affect the target’s memory of an event that it experienced within the last 24 hours and that lasted no more than 10 minutes. You can permanently eliminate all memory of the event, allow the target to recall the event with perfect clarity and exacting detail, change its memory of the details of the event, or create a memory of some other event.

If a suggestion is illogical, the target’s mind smooths out any gaps. This effect can be ended by a remove curse or greater restoration spell.

•

Chetney really thought ignoring that demon would work, but eh, whatever. He tried. They won the fight. Whatever the fuck it was, it’s gone now, and he and Grass are striding behind the rest of their friends, lagging a little because this stupid forest didn’t seem to take their wheel and his old-ass joints into account. Which is fine, because at least they’re still walking together, so if anything pops out at them, Chetney can stab it immediately and F.C.G. can alert the others. If they even need to be alerted. Not many things can withstand the ol’ one-two from C-POP himself.

Chetney glances to his left, where F.C.G. was just rolling, and does a double take. The chipper yellow robot is gone.

Fuck. Ashton’s gonna string his guts out and wear them like a necklace.

Chetney spins around, scanning the mildly terrifying underbrush for any glinting metal. He’s not gonna call out for anyone else just yet, in case it’s a false alarm (and because he likes his guts right where they are, thank you very much), but he’s preparing the breath to do so.

A twig snaps off to his right.

Chetney whips around to face it, scrutinizing the impenetrable shadows. “Grass?” he hisses, hopefully not loud enough for anyone else to hear. “That you?”

“What was that, Chet?” Orym calls. Chetney flinches, glancing to the halfling currently leading the party’s trek. Of course Orym’d hear.

“Uh,” Chetney says, “I’m not really super sure where F.C.G. is.”

“What?” Imogen says. “Weren’t they just walking—er, rolling, next to you?”

“How do you lose a robit?” Laudna asks incredulously.

Fearne mumbles something like, “you forget to cherish them,” but Chetney’s preoccupied, because—yeah, Ashton’s going to murder him. They shoot him a truly terrifying look, no hint of their usual mirth when threatening him, and start calling for their friend, caution thrown to the wind.

Chetney turns to keep searching with the rest only to spot a glint of familiar yellow and silver farther back on the path.

“Grass!” he yells, taking off toward the figure. “Hells, don’t scare us like that, man, we thought—“

His words trail off. F.C.G.’s eyes are the closest to unfocused they can get without pupils, their little hands preoccupied in nervous fidgeting. His body almost seems on the verge of those jitters he gets when he freaks out and goes all murder-y.

“Hey, hey,” Chetney soothes, staring up into his friend’s lenses, “what’s wrong? What happened?”

“I have to leave,” F.C.G. says, and they truly sound petrified, conflicted. “F.R.I.D.A. messaged, they sent a sending, they’re in trouble—“

“What? Already? Really?” Chetney exclaims, perplexed and concerned. “They—they did?”

“Yeah,” he says, sounding on the verge of robot tears, “they—they said they needed my help, that Deanna had been hurt and Prism didn’t know how to fix it with the spells she had, and—and they needed me to get there fast.”

“Shit, Letters,” Chetney says softly. “Okay, we can tell the others and talk about how to get you over there. I’m sure Imogen could use her new staff, right? Did F.R.I.D.A. say where they were?”

F.C.G. shivers. “Yios, somewhere in Yios. I gotta—I haveta help them, Chetney, I—“

“I know,” Chetney says, “yeah. We’ll get you there. C’mon.”

Chetney starts towards the others, but he hesitates for just a moment. “Isn’t sending still malfunctioning?” Chetney asks, his brows furrowing. “And—F.R.I.D.A. can’t cast sending, can they? They’re not a spellcaster.”

F.C.G. nervously rocks back. “Huh. Yeah. Well, sending must be working again, then? We could have gotten lucky. And—and Deanna must have sent it then—or, F.R.I.D.A. had that telepathy like Imogen, right? That could have been it.”

Something’s weird about this. Chetney frowns. “Imogen’s telepathy has a short range on it, and the only sending spells we’ve been able to get through have been close ones. They’d have to be really close by for any of this to work, definitely not in Yios.”

“I must have misremembered, then,” F.C.G. responds faintly.

Chetney doesn’t think they’re trying to lie to him. F.C.G. isn’t the best of liars, and he’s not sure what they’d get from it. They want to help Keyleth and the injured Ashari as much as everyone else. But something’s going on, here—something must have happened while Chetney had his back turned.

There are all sorts of weird creepy-crawlies wandering this fucked up forest. Something could have grabbed Grass and messed with his wiring in the minute Chetney wasn’t looking.

“Hm,” Chetney says, “F.C.G., you got a spare spell?”

“Sure, why? Do you need healing? Are you alright? D’you think—oh, you must mean for F.R.I.D.A., they’re gonna need all the healing I can give them, and what if Deanna and that shady elf are hurt, too—“

“Slow down,” Chetney says, gently taking their fidgeting metal hands in his. “I’m gonna have you cast something on yourself, okay?”

“What? Why?”

“Just humor me,” Chetney says, “I have a hunch. And my hunches are never wrong, are they?”

He waits for the impending dissent. It, surprisingly, doesn’t come. He shrugs. “Right. I need you to do a greater restoration on yourself. Just to remove anything that mighta fucked you up while I wasn’t looking, okay?”

“Okay,” F.C.G. says, “but what if I need the spell for F.R.I.D.A. or Deanna?”

“Fearne can help us out, then,” Chetney says firmly. “You saw what she just did to that shadow thing. She’s kicking ass out here.”

“Okay,” F.C.G. mumbles, placing their hand across the coin inlaid in their chestplate, “okay.”

Their hands glow softly, eyes flaring a holy white, as they mutter an incantation reverently, and it does warm Chetney’s heart slightly to see them so comforted for a split second in commune with their goddess before their eyes blink back to their usual bright blue.

“So?” Chetney prompts. “Anything weird happen?”

“What?” F.C.G. stares at him. “What’d’you mean? We’re just walking through the forest.”

Chetney pumps his fist through the air. “Yeah, baby, I’m always right!”

“The fuck are you doing over there,” Ashton growls from behind him, “where’s Letters?”

“Found ‘em!” Chetney crows proudly, skittering to the side to gesture to his robot friend. “Something weird had tried to mindfuck him into leaving. I saw right through it, of course, but the rest of you’d better be careful! Can’t have another slip-up like that.”

Imogen frowns. “Weird. You two’d better walk closer to us, then. Don’t want anyone getting abducted like that again.”

Chetney nods and joins the group, F.C.G. wheeling close behind him. The urge to be a little shit about this is very present, but for once, he suppresses it. He’s not going to be rude about F.C.G. being subjected to something so stressful as thinking their loved one was in danger. If he hadn’t seen through the weirdness of their account, he might have been similarly freaked out about Deanna, honestly. So, for once, Chetney keeps his mouth shut, and they continue their way through the forest.

[patetemult]

Is 'Nice' in reference to what chet said after Imogen cracked Laudna's wrist back in place I -

[alloutofgoddesses]

C3 E50 - It’s the middle of the semester so I have no free time ever and I’m reconsidering all of my life choices leading to this moment

Gale!

Fun fact I tried watching this last night and only got about an hour and half in when I realised I was way too tired and distracted so I turned it off

Jester I miss you

NOPE vibes

Why is Liam so little

Off topic but anybody else have a grey cat? I have a nearly 11 month old grey feline and I would love to know if they’re all Like This or if mines a special (basket) case

Aahhhhhhhh oh my god I’m so happy for Imogen

Planning is an essential part of DND but guess what. I am not paying attention to a whole lot of it unless I myself am planning

RIP Silver Sun? I don’t understand why this is necessary oops

Travis bud when was the last time you got your eyes checked

Fly in studio AGAIN (why are there so many flies in the Critical Role studio)

Miss your merk

…and I guess I’m done with my tea now thanks Hermes

Gnome sinkholes

Also there’s no way they’re coming back with a better ship lol

Laura please don’t do math problems

Keyleth I love you

Nothing bad is going to happen, this plan will go as expected

Awww Fearne gave Ashton a forehead kiss

Shout out to Travis for continuing to wear the sweat bands

Oh boy oh boy

I love seeing Travis “Aabria was only scared of me” Willingham in his element

My tummy feels weird lol… idk why this isn’t very high stakes at all

Hello who are you

Scary Laura scary Laura

Okay but how “high up” is Lilliana for that to work

Oof buddies

Oh hey I own those sweatpants

Just filibuster, that’ll stop the apocalypse from happening

Don’t look at your wife like that Matt

Oh no - I feel like it’s a bad idea to run

Does Travis need the sweatbands because I think I do

WEREWOLF TIMEEEW

OH THAT’S VERY BIG

Get em Laudna

How much attention do we think this combat is drawing. Also who’s hiding in the tent

Casual Lizzo ref

Bye Ashton

The warder is gonna die via electrocution!

Is it Otohan or her mom

AH SHIT I WAS RIGHT ABOUT SOMEONE BEING IN THE TENT

Wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute

Fingers crossed fingers crossed this is a blorbo from our shows

This has to be someone very dexterous

That’s monk shit right that has to be monk shit

THATS EXPOSITOR BEAUREGARD LIONETT

Me too Liam

Ashley I love you - try your absolute damndest please

That’s my second favourite Critical Role lesbian!!!!!!

ASHLEY SHE IS SO HOT

That’s Beau!!

THAT’S MY BABYGIRL

ME TOO LIAM!!!!!!

Multi-campaign crossover!!!!!!!!!

ME TOO DANI

In the words of Liam AND Aabria, what’s sexier than wizards? NOTHING

Oh Caleb is so respectful I love hims

Yeah you have baby

Probably Beau 😬

I would love to see Beau and Caleb in Vasselheim

Hey it’s her!

Very excited for the people who woke up Devexian to meet FCG honestly

Awww where’s the rest of the Mighty Nein

- Who didn’t make it out? I would like to know Caleb

When is Chet gonna become small again. I feel like it’s gonna make Beau laugh

Ashton has been silent the entire time 🧐

Ashton bby speak up ask questionssss

Which of his romantic partners is he referring to

Oh shit third wizard?

Yeah Travis the meta levels are out of this world

There’s Ashton hi buddy

Ajshshsjaj BEAU

I want Ashton and Beau to be passive aggressive together PLEASE

Be careful with that fourth wall it doesn’t look super stable right now

Okay but I would prefer if we move forward with the full team here

Desperately want Beau and Caleb to meet FCG

[THEY] XANDIS IS THEY REMEMBER PRONOUNS MARISHA

Ah goddammit. See y’all next week

[nochi-quinn]

campaign 3 episode 50: there's only seven of you (for now)

Let's see if I can do a liveblog after six weeks of not watching!

(it started to feel like a job)

I miss jester

IT IS BEGIN

I know we're probably getting Keyleth but god would I love a Dorian cameo

aw, I miss marisha's "girls" tank

liam with the thumbhole hoodie is very good tho

liam

"orgy 2.0"

if a skyship leaves the dock at 8pm going 120 feet per round

"ira get the FUCK up here"

enjoying the corruption arc of the changebringer entirely through fcg

anyone: ludinus liam: >:[

"bacchanalian" greek mythology exists in exandria, canon

"you would turn into a bird - " "and fly far, far far away" what a reference

man I got noise canceling headphones for christmas for the first time ever and I've barely taken them off since, imogen is a mood

this whole "crash the ship" plan is big "ram the blade ship" energy

stop saying final destination

oh THAT was a throwback

oh we've reached Marisha Chair Perch and we're not even in combat yet

relax she's just putting it out there

"no plan survives contact with bells hells" is not as catchy as "no plan survives contact with the mighty nein" but is equally as true

matt changing the light to move them along like turning the light off in a daycare to signal naptime

uh oh spaghettios

laura literally stopping mid-sentence to let them meme sdkfjsl

matt stop death flagging xandis

meanwhile ira is living his best life

"I'll look for a tree" oh the flashbacks

laudna puts on skin tone foundation but doesn't blend the neck

fearne: you shut the FUCK up

"don't do anything stupid" "oh this is ALL stupid"

I am not prepared

neither are they

if xandis dies I riot

sam

I'm not okay

ASHTON

where the fearne/ashton shippers at, come get your juice

you know liam's distracted, he didn't reach up instead of out

no plan survives etc etc

DISLIKE

"that's above your pay grade, son" holy shit imogen

oh shit

DON'T SPLIT THE PARTY kdjflks

tag urself I'm ashley

"welp, we gotta kill them" sam reads my persona 5 liveblogs

guards: purple sus

TRAVIS

sam

HIM BIG

all this cool stuff I can't afford makes me wish I had an in-person game

or any game, lbr

TREE OF DREAD

"titties?"

"good thing I got this ring of fire protection" slkdfjf

"now we're playing with portals"

IN-TENTS

"testicles" I heard that liam

"can I try to - fuck it" right in front of my salad?

their bane noises are starting to sound like furbies

ykw travis had a point can we have fjord's ring of fire protection

"I'm gonna use a toy" ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

YEAH

hey

hey matt

hey matt what the fuck

SHE??

"she looks like an asshole" marisha: fuck yeah she does

"is the dirt wizard here?"

"he's quite a loyal dog" something something dog of the military FMA joke

HE

liam exploded

the accent

travis also exploded

extremely funny to hear beau try to talk shit about anybody else's stealth plans

"cool if we kill your mom?" beauregard

"shut the fuck up, wolfy"

l i a m

"they're level nine you guys"

(level nein)

quick somebody ask caleb what time it is

all of the german is slowly leeching out of matt's accent

travis had the same thought as me sldjfsk

marisha's goblin crouch perch

chetney

liam finally got to be on the other side of that

nobody told you to wolf out, chet

laudna's crush on ira is funny when it's fucking around but when she starts genuinely arguing he wouldn't do some fuck shit in a heartbeat it's annoying

I THOUGHT SO

oh that timing gives me anxiety

[lexmakeshit]

I disagree.

I think what Chet said was kinda out of line and definitely was not the right way to say it given Laudna was not rational in that moment. I think his wording was far too vague and gave Laudna an opening to interpret what he said as referring to all loss which she latched onto. I also think his comment was out of line because not only is it not that black and white that orym has more trauma about the sword than everyone else but it also doesn’t take into account the nature of trauma and how it affects people.

For Laudna the Sword is not only the symbol of her second death it also a symbol of her retraumatisation. While the Sword killed both of them he was brought back almost immediately whereas when Laudna died she was dead for a week and that entire time was forced to relive her existing trauma for what in her perception of reality was a very long time after being killed as a message very much in parallel to her first death and when Laudna was resurrected she woke up in the location of her initial trauma with an army pointing guns at her and then experienced all the grief that came with losing everything in her life again when confronted with the new Whitestone. So while Orym has lost so much to the sword and has his trauma because of it so does Laudna and it is very much a triggering object for her just as it is for him.

Chet comment felt like it was also very dismissive of the way trauma affects people and ignores the trauma of the rest of the group.

Setting aside my thoughts on who has the most trauma around the sword. Even if Orym has the most trauma that doesn’t give him a monopoly on deciding what to do with it because he is not the only one with trauma and just because he has the most doesn’t mean that the other members of the hells’ trauma is any less valid or that they should have no say in how it is handled. The decision of what to do with the sword should have been a group decision made after they had time to process the loss of FCG.

In my opinion Oryms decision in secret to wield the sword with no thought for the way seeing that would affect others was just a selfish as laudnas decision to take it in secret. Neither of them were in the right here in my opinion.

Laudna and Orym’s stories are parallels on two different sides of the same coin. Both of them have deeply traumatic pasts that have led them down a self sacrificial rabbit hole to a point that they believe that they don’t matter and they need to do anything they can to save the people they love even if it destroys them. Neither of them is able to other’s trauma for what it is and they both think that their way is the only way to save the people they love.

Both Laudna and Orym have good reasons for their lack of communication in this situation. Orym has been treated as the Hells moral compass and only stable one in the group and so his unilateral decision makes a lot of sense from his perspective. For Laudna every interaction she has had with the hells so far in relation to Delilah they have continually talked about how horrible Delilah is and have reacted negatively to her existence within Laudna, because of her trauma Laudna perceives Delilah as a part of her because she would quite literally not exist without her so the party’s hatred of Delilah in her mind is a hatred of a part of her this combined with the guilt she feels at having let Delilah back in after they fought to free her and the knowledge that Imogen who is the person she loves most is disgusted by Delilah presence mean that of course she isn’t going to communicate that she is struggling when every time she has done so in the past it has only reinforced her need to hide it.

Delilah has had 30 years alone with Laudna to mould her to her whims and perfect her tactics of manipulation and confrontation only reinforces what Delilah has been saying. Delilah is constantly telling Laudna that everyone will hate her eventually and that Delilah is the only one that truly cares for her. The only she is going to be able to escape is to recognise Delilah’s manipulation for what it is and that is not going to happen with confrontation.

I think the next couple of episodes are going to be crucial for the entire party and they are all going to need to learn the lesson from the shard that Ashton did because otherwise this is going to keep happening because if they don’t learn to communicate they are all gonna end up giving in to corruption in a desperate bid to gain power and save each other by any means necessary.

chet saying that orym had lost more than any of them to laudna was objectively correct in that moment and i feel like ppl are misinterpreting it. this conversation was about ishta, it was specifically about otohan’s sword. laudna’s repeated argument was that the sword had traumatized her and that’s why she felt justified in doing what she did, and that may have been true, but chet was pointing out that when it came to that sword, orym had experienced more loss in connection with it. that sword may have killed laudna, but it killed orym too. and his husband. and his father. if she wants to play the trauma olympics, she has the silver to orym’s gold right now.

in the past, laudna rebuked ashton for saying he knew loneliness better than she did, and she was right to do so then. but this time, orym absolutely has known more trauma in connection with that sword, and chet was right to point that out during that moment. if she doesn’t get challenged like that then she’s never going to be able to break free from delilah’s influence.

[professionalfobtrash]

my non-critter friend reviews Bells Hells

While cutting my hair (Part 3 - Vox machina review) (Part 2 - MIghty Nein review)

Fresh Cut Grass

- If Tweety and R2D2 were one

- They look... not stupid but an unkowledgable type character

Ashton Greymoore

- This looks like [mutual friend who dm’s my dnd game]’s gender

- Me: That thing you’re referring to is their brain actually

- Them: it’s an opal?? That’s so pwetty 🥺

- So well designed with the kintsugi and everything

Bertrand Bell

- Them immediately upon laying eyes on him: This looks like Alfred the butler if he got bitches. [me: alskdjflkaj this guy wishes he got bitches.] He doesn’t?!

- Look at the size of his boots! He has thigh high boots! What do you mean he doesn’t get bitches?!

Chetney Pock O’Pea

- Them even before realising Chet is actually canonically small: *starts off on a long rant about the younger kids in their Romanian hometown who would rush out to the snack kiosk during lunch break “and then they would look at you like this *points at official artwork* with their little hat their mommy gave them and they’re 1 cm tall but they’re holding a switchblade and sure you can take my spot in line 😭”

- He has the same feral energy as a 12-year-old ready to stab you at 8 AM for a tootsie roll

(Author’s note: don’t actually make infantilizing/kid jokes abt short characters and/or little people (aka folks with dwarfism) though or I will come for your kneecaps. (Yes that includes Nancy jokes) I don’t blame my friend bc they genuinely didn’t realize Chet was small on account of his official art being on a plain white background with no scale reference to speak of, but y’all don’t have that excuse. Alright, as you were.)

Dorian Storm

- Oh woooooow. Very cute, very good. I have nothing else to say.

- Actually, I don’t know about the boots. Do they fly? [Yes.] Okay then they can stay.

- Okay. Valid outfit. Not criticism to be brought upon him.

Fearne Calloway

- In Romania we have a folk song called [loosely translated]: ‘Green girl with her hair made of trees’, that’s the vibe

- Oh wow the hand is evil

- *zooming in on the sickle on Fearne’s belt* Is she a communist?

- Pretty fey lady... she looks mischievously evil

Imogen Temult

- This is the most basic character so far, which says a lot because it’s a person with purple veins, and purple hair.

- Why is she purple? [We don’t know. That’s the problem.] Oh damn...

Laudna

- Corpse Party vibes

- *zooming in on Pâté* Also... you good??? [His name is Pâté] HE’S ALIVE??? [No she puppeteers him like a marionette (this was before I’d caught up on ep. 38)] *gasp* That’s great, good for her.

- She looks too scary to actually be evil. She’s just like a goth bitch at the mall, y’know?

- ...also I think I could put this outfit together quite easily. [I believe you... including the rat with a bird skull?] We had mice problems, remember? I could bring that back easily!

Orym of the Air Ashari

- He looks like he would accompany her *swipes back to the picture of Fearne* and be the voice of reason

- He looks like he’s the voice of reason somewhere

[orymsbich]

Critical role campaign 3 episode 28 "notes"

Buck fucket

Fcg BEING A WHEEL!!????

Chetney: That's right we're in your head motherfucker

ORYM DRAWING ON FCG'S FACE

FEARNE GETTING SHOT AS A RAT OMG AMD TURNING BACK TO HERSELF

Letters is gonna be so scratched up after this omg

FCG MARIO CART

Laudna: Sorry bees :(

That Pharoah scream making a come back 1:12 in

Wolf Chet driving omg

Omg they reference Scott Pilgrim and Matt said he loves the movie

God Liam gives orym so much flavour I love him

Pharoah scream again

I'm sorry but there is something about Marisha addressing her husband as "DM"

It's JUST the bells hells left in the race I'm CRyïnG

Sam: lautnah

Talisin standing means shits getting real

THE HOLE?????

Ashton being a gentleman JK steals from you

Chetney: Fuck bucket Reigns supreme

Fearne to fcg:Are you hungry do you want some coins I stol-... got for you

Orym piggybacking on fearne

Imogen thinking dusk for saving Laudna I'm CRyïnG THERE EVIL OMG PLEASE NOOOOOO

UMMMMM DUSK NO THOUGHTS HELLO

CHETNEY CONFRONTING DUSK LETS GO

Dusk trying to turn Fearne on chetney but fearne is just like nah lmao he's got jokes

There figuring it out

FEARNE AND BIRDIE

dusk face changing to be EVIL WHEN SHE SEES THEM IM CRYÏNG

NO BIRDIE NOT KNOWING DUSK AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSWWWWWWWWWWWWWEWEWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSAAAAAAAAA BITCH MATT WHAT FUCK YOU

THE EVIL LAUGH

[samuraiko]

I have a vignette prompt for you, how about the hells getting ready for a Halloween party! Costumes, candy, pranks galore!

I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this one, so I apologize if it's not quite what you had in mind.

"In the Spirit of Things"

"Okay, Letters, what have we learned today?" Ashton said sternly as the Hells came staggering into the Spire by Fire.

"That the Harvest's Close festival is fun?" FCG offered.

"Other than that?"

"That people come together and have contests and sell food and drinks and it's like one big party?"

"Nope, keep trying."

"That it's meant to be a celebration after seasons of hard work?"

"Still not there."

"I don't know, Ashton, what did I miss?"

"That maybe, oh, an automaton sticking their head underwater trying to bob for apples might not be the smartest f***ing idea?" Ashton facepalmed. "Honestly, that could have messed you up something fierce."

"It was funny, though," Laudna laughed as she took her seat. "And I had quite a lot of fun." She pulled out a blue ribbon and waved it. "And I even won for spookiest costume!"

"But that's your usual look," Orym said in confusion.

"That's what I told them but they gave it to me anyway! And you should have seen Fearne with the firebreathing contest!"

"Chetney, I cannot believe you actually ate that... that..." Imogen turned to Laudna in disgust. "What was that called again?"

"I think the vendor referred to it as 'gofibepo.' Said it was the official dish of Whitestone. Maybe they declared one after I left."

"But it was so good," Chetney groaned as he slumped down in his seat. "A dish fit for the gods."

"Well, you might very well be immortal after eating it, because all of that salt is going to preserve you," Orym pointed out. He also sat down rather woozily. "And what's the deal with everyone constantly feeding me pies? I think I doubled my body weight."

"You should learn how to say 'no' more often," Ashton told him.

"But I wanted to be polite."

"That's why you just say 'no' instead of 'f*** off'."

Orym just sighed and prodded at his somewhat distended belly. "I'm not gonna need to eat for a month."

"But that booze was amazing!" Chetney's expression was dreamy. "So many types of ciders and meads and wines... so good."

"It was good," Orym admitted. "Especially that cherry blossom wine. It reminded me of... home."

Fearne was busy taking things out of her satchel and her fur and placing them on the table until she was half-hidden behind a pile of stuff.

"Did you seriously swipe all that while we were at the festival?" Ashton asked in disbelief.

"Of course not!" Fearne huffed indignantly. "I paid for this one!" She waved a small jar of pomegranate jelly in the air.

"ONE thing in all that?" Imogen groaned.

Fearne just shrugged and went back to sorting through the pile.

"Chet, did you have a chance to check out that woodworker's stall I pointed out to you?" Laudna asked.

"Mmmm. Pretty good work, all in all. No toys, though."

"Did you buy anything?"

"None of his finished stuff, but he did sell me this rather nice piece of mahogany. Good price, too."

FCG, in the meantime, was discreetly casting Healing Word on Chetney and Orym to pre-emptively head off their eventual hangovers. "Ashton, where's your medal? The one you got for the ringing-the-bell contest?"

"I got it right here." The earth genasi was rolling it across his knuckles like a copper piece. "

"Oh, Ashton, that reminds me. Did you have the chance to go back to that leatherworking stall?" Imogen pulled out the belt she'd purchased. "They had a really nice set of boots that would look good on you."

"Yeah, but they're a bit out of my price range." He sighed. "Especially since I had to pay to repair the bell-ringing apparatus after I shattered it."

"I guess you just don't know your own strength," FCG said cheerfully.

"Feels good to just sit down and enjoy a bit of quiet, though," Imogen sighed in relief. "I think we walked twenty miles today, traipsing up and down the Core Spire."

"It was fun, though," Fearne replied, and the rest of the Hells agreed.

They sat in an easy silence for a bit, but it was eventually broken by a groan from Orym.

"We're gonna have to get up again eventually, aren't we."

"Don't worry, I'll carry you upstairs," Ashton told him.

"Thanks, Ash."

[wardensantoineandevka]

Bells Hells is two-third of the way through their little corporate trust-bonding retreat! I don't really have a witty run-up for this one either (look, I'm very sleepy, I really should start working on these earlier), so here's the numbers: 39 items on this week's call list, all of which are listed below the cut, we've got two example cards above and you can grab your own uniquely shuffled card over at this BingoBaker link.

"accuse real party member" and "attack real party member" can be both simultaneously true. "Attack" in this case means physically attack.

"Items distributed" refers to the items that Morri gave them. This square is legal if at least one of the items is given to a specific party member for them to equip.

As always you can ask me for any clarifications on what a square means and whether it is legal before, during, or after the episode, including into the week!

I'm always interested in seeing your bingos and almost bingos, and as always, I encourage you to inflict this bingo game and your funny rows on everyone.

Chet replaced

Laudna replaced

FCG replaced

Fearne replaced

Imogen replaced

Orym replaced

Ashton replaced

no one replaced

identify a doppelganger

don't identify both doppelgangers

accuse real party member

attack real party member

succeed trial

fail trial

items distributed

circlet given to someone else

long rest

short rest

100 on d100

coin consulted

mind reading blocked

to Marquet

to elsewhere in Exandria

circlet discussed

shard discussed

Delilah discussed

Chet attempts Morri deal

consider bailing on moon

Allura appearance

Birdie or Ollie appearance

Detect Thoughts

Grim Psychometry

Arcana check

Charisma skill check

multiple Insight checks

Investigation check

Perception check

Sleight of Hand check

Survival check

[centaurianthropology]

Brief Thoughts on Critical Role C3E11

Below that cut, my dudes.

Chetney is a werewolf as many suspected, and is specced much better to be a blood hunter!  Which also means we still don’t have a rogue, but do have two characters who are competent at lockpicking and checking for traps.  Still, a rogue-less party?  Interesting, and a very different vibe.

Speaking of parties, do we perchance have a party name?  Seems like we at least have a placeholder in the form of the New Nobodies.  I get the feeling this isn’t the permanent name, but that the final name for the group may evolve out of that (rather than be a reference to Bertrand Bell).  And I’m kind of into that.  I like the idea of having this placeholder name harkening back to what Ashton’s lost, and this sense of lost family slowly reforming, but I also like a new name coming out of that, evolving naturally, and becoming something on its own rather than something referring to the past.

We got a little more Orym this episode, which was great, but I still feel like he’s easily the cagiest of all of them about his backstory, and I include secretly-a-werewolf Chetney in that estimation.  Orym left Zephrah shortly after the attack, and saw ‘the best people’ he knew get cut down in front of him.  I think this is definitely feeding into the general fan theory about Orym’s husband dying, as he was likely another one of the guards.  Leaving Zephrah and the memories would make sense.

And we also get a very clear next destination: the Heartmoore Hamlet, where Jaina Hexum’s contest will be held, and where the next step in Orym’s quest lies.  I feel like Orym’s thing is going to take a long time to resolve, but the Hexum affair is more likely to resolve quickly, freeing Ashton up to travel.

But before then, we have a ball.  I love how enthusiastic Laudna and Dorian are about it.  The more I see them together, the more I love their dynamic.  I also love that Dorian is finally able to get some of his own back, after being the fish out of water rich kid for the majority of the campaign, he gets to be the one who knows what he’s doing in this environment.  And I’m so very excited that he’s decided that not only is Ashton going to be coming to the ball, but I get the terrible, hilarious feeling that Dorian really wants to dress Ashton up pretty for it.  I desperately want the most gloriously awkward scene of the makeover.  Given how much Ashton clearly detested the spa day, it’s going to be a hell of a thing.

Even so, I feel like the Ball could be a very dangerous place to be.  Being amongst all the power players, including the Treshis, means that they’re all under threat.  But more than that, I think Eshteross is going to attend in person to help, and may be hurt or killed to keep the Treshi family safe.  This could be one of the first huge events for the party, driving them into fleeing from Jrusar, taking Jaina up on her offer as a means of getting out.  It also puts some of them in a bind.  Imogen wants to study more.  Dorian’s brother is stuck in Jrusar.  If Eshteross dies or is taken out of the equation, it’s almost certain that the Treshis will make a power play, bring in Paragon’s Call, and declare martial law.  I could see this being the real first arc: the party having to leave Jrusar, and coming back later at a higher level to finally clean the place up, displace the Treshis, and possibly help support a more transparent government.

But it’s not just the big events that I found interesting.  The spa day served as a glimpse into the characters that we haven’t gotten before.  Dorian was in his element, hanging out with Laudna, introducing Chet to the joys of massage, etc.  Orym put up with some of it before needing some alone time to do (naked) katas.  Ashton hated every minute except the bath and maybe a nap, but had a knee-jerk rejection of letting anyone working there touch them.  Fearne got groomed by the person who usually worked on poodles, and is now infinitely fluffy.  FCG got the full treatment of oiling and buffing, and probably looks the best of all of them.  Chet had an unexpectedly great time.  Imogen kept mostly away from everyone, but was enjoying herself from a distance.

It’s such a good glimpse into who these people are, and I am looking forward to seeing them get out on the road just for this.  The CR cast does great character things with downtime scenes, really imbuing life in watch conversations and late-night chats around campfires.  Having an urban campaign has meant we haven’t gotten a ton of these sorts of moments, just the characters being themselves in a relatively safe environment.  I really want to see some one-on-one conversations between characters outside of their original groupings.  I want to see Dorian make Ashton over, and actually have a conversation about their lives as two genasi and how different they are.  I want to see Imogen talk with Chet about having to control something inside yourself you don’t really understand.  I want to see Fearne and Chetney talk about aging.  I want to see Ashton and Orym talk about lost family.  There are so many accidental parallels between these characters, but we haven’t had the setting to really dig into them.  So count me excited for the ball, but even more excited for them to shake loose of Jrusar for a while and get out on their own on the road.  Possibly becasue they have to, possibly because they just chose to.

[nochiquinn]

campaign 3 episode 11: moon moon

my roommates are absolutely fed the fuck up with me talking about the casting

sam

I stepped away for two seconds and apparently sam took marisha out

I can't stop looking at robbie every time he's on screen, that hair is a+

I know it's a few weeks old now but it Works

"there's stuff in it! :D"

vocks machinea

"be nice to my friends >:("

it really is sander cohen

tiny hat, tiNY HAT

oh now it's other mother

how many of my recurring nightmares can we reference with one character

ch. chetney.

doug jones is that u

"that's four of y'all"

we get it you watched arcane

"that's kinda twelvey"

"blame that generic tablet"

"fuck up that four-top"

oh no D:

as a rock person is ashton non-conductive

that's as much as they're allowed to sing before disney copyright snipers get them

discord is now a singalong

#FreeGurge

CHAIRS

"okay. :|"

disarm the chair and tables with cut-up pool noodles

ORYM

"I'll hide it, you can think about where" [old steve voice] no, I don't think I will

yes ashley suffer from the same accent absorption I do every week

sam just gently coaching ashley through her rolls bc she's flustered

"I see trends and I run the other way"

I'm terrified to see what the solution to that wordle is

"he's rock lee" that ended poorly for liam last time

"he's down to 400 hitpoints"

everyone: roll that shit again and do worse

SHORT KINGS

dorian: I AIN'T AFEARED O' NOTHIN

(please get my pagemaster reference)

"you've seen more terrible things in your lifetime" "have you??"

the slow motion makinmway

they killed matt

"you guys are adorable"

use his WHAT

"I have this many"

how long until someone clips travis going "swollen wood"

YE

"maaaaatt can we be level five after this :("

marisha running the entire gamut of emotions

"I like my corner"

HIM WOOF

him chihuahua

were chihuahua. werehuahua.

I KNEW IT, when he said he drew the chisel across his chest, I CALLED IT

🎶"I'm not a ro-ogue"🎶

werewolf fcg is just metal weregarurumon

flame breath is CHEATING

we're an hour and a half in and still in this fight help me

did he just doxx fearne via sniffing

EXCUSE

TURTLE REVENGE

MR POKEYLOPE

RUDE

ORYM GO GET HIM

YEEEE

FrightenedTurtle is a default google account name

fffffff

DORIAN GO GET HIM

WHAT

THE DICE SHIP IT

"what's your heart rate, you son of a bitch"

FAENUS

l i a m

.....hextech

chisel chisel chisel

okay I have to step away nobody do anything interesting

this is pakku and katara

he fucked her grandma

I did not process anything matt said about the machine earlier except "detonation" so I think they should leave now

god bless fearne

CRISPIN GLOVER

laudna rubbernecking

an earth-shattering kaboom!!

pls go take a nap

immediately suing critical role for false advertising, twitch chat has never looked like that

half-dead flirting

fcg just becomes The Stein from campaign 1

oh they jump on "tampon" but not "leash"

wet werewolves in the weary way

the clarotas

oh no matt don't say knot

t. travis.

fearnewolf

fearne stands outside his door in the morning in wolf form

same vibes as "we care about each other" "oh shit, we do?!"

there you go, there's your moon lore

wolf-curious

laura

TRAVIS

"I feel like your soul has a goatee"

cobalt sooooooul

consider: imogen with dyed brown hair and purple roots

CHAD

"I could rock chad"

listen travis you voluntarily went on this solo shopping trip

he's gonna break in and rob him blind

"I would really rather you earned it by doing stuff" "I would really rather pay for it"

I just fucking love how quick on the draw travis is as chetney

imogen's just used to this

y'all

it's 2 am I can't do this

JARRETT

my BOY

ASHLEY that's ILLEGAL

"very animateable" sam

nightmares, chet, she means nightmares

ashton

taliesin

new nobodies, group name

oh matt.

he really has to start saying these out loud in front of a mirror

"...or if you have rich parents"

moon mom MOON MOM