#<- 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.

[genderlesssinner]

Oh god Sam okay

Oh okay that dart was really good Matt

Ninjas in the studio help

🤣😭 "I DON'T EVEN WORK HERE"

Oh shit narrative telephone monthly, nice

TLOVM is so good you guys

Okay okay okay guuyysss

Oh my god the Sprinkle voice 2 seconds in I can't

Oh no pâte and Jester

Poor Sprinkle

This is going to be a hot mess and I can't wait

ROBBIE "I feel like I have thousands of hours to catch up on" sir

Why did you say space pirates Travis

Oh no Chet and Veth AND Braius

Catwoman suit

Samuel explain pls

I need art of this asap please

Open relationship SOMETIMES

"He rode a dinosaur."

My fave already hurts from laughing oh my god

LUC HAS A GIRLFRIEND

Oh Caddy

Level headed? Yeah no

Oh I have missed these absolute fools

Orym is so tiny next to Cad

LIAM IS WEARING A SHIRT THAT SAYS WIZARD KISSER?? S I R

Introducimg everyone is gonna take a hot minute. I don't think Yasha has ever said her last name??? It's been so long

Oh I hadn't thought about the romances at the table

OR BRAIUS AND JESTER OH FUCK

Imogen x Launda (Laura & Marisha)

Jester x Fjord (Laura & Travis)

Yasha x Beau (Ashley & Marisha)

And then there's also Ashton and Fearne and whatever is happening there

This already such absolute chaos

Oh no

I can't wait for the gifs of Matt absolutely loosing his mind over them

Braius you've never heard of him cause he's not a real god boo he's- oh oh wait Ashton is gonna be so into this isn't he

OH NO guys let's not fight please

Poor Caleb trying to keep everyone on track

Oh I've missed Yasha so much "You might want to have a meal before you die."

Oooh wizard shit yeeee my booyyyssss!!! Of course Essek told Caleb about the weird ass dunamancy barbarian

FEARNE'S SARCASTIC ASS "GOOD LUCK"

I'm gonna die tonight

I don't think we've ever gotten this long into an episode with so little input from Matt and I love it

I've missed the lesbians so much,, all of the Nein

I'm sorry hold on

I missed most of whatever Veth shit, fucken internet lag

The fucking keyfish reference Liam, nosebleeds all around

Oh nooo Sprinklllee

Oh dear, all of them in the tower. Interesting

I love Jester and Braius talking shit out and bonding over art 😍

Samuel oh my god. I knew it would be underwear

Jester going with the hard sell I see oh boy

Oh my fucking god Jes with a Nat 20 deception 😂☠️

SAINT JESTER THE PIRATE

Liam forgetting to change character is hilarious

Okay but to be fair I think Molly would be down for them using his head as a pauldron or something

Guys my face hurts from laughing

Liam. Orym better fucking make it home. Yall. I cannot.

welp yeah Veth should know not to just say things to Yasha by now

Robbie as a Braius stand in 😂 love them

Watching them forget to swap voices or just forget what they're doing is so wild

😂😂 Yes Orym what do your halfling ears hear??

Uh oh d20 roll

I was kidding Matt no

Okayokay just wind

And Liam talking to himself 😂

The gifs from this ep are gonna be so good

I forgot about Sashimi's daggers

As someone who has played two characters at the same time, I have a little sympathy but like it was me and one other person and we both had 2 characters so like - this is insane

The descriptors for everyone oh my god

I love Taliesin so much

Ashton and Beau is hilarious and I need more of them

Oof that's a tiny basement

New tower vibes? NEW TOWER VIBES?

Love everyone being slightly sus of the tower

Fearrrnniiieee I love her

HELIUM WIZARD

The immediate spider climb exploring, perfect

Aaannndd she's in the walls. First it was Jester and now it's Laudna

Break tiiiimme

Holy shit. The chaos. I truly was not ready. Hoo.

[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.

[masterqwertster]

Okay, since my Bells Hells Pokémon Teams were more popular than I expected:

More Bells Hells Pokémon

Pokémon that didn't make the six slot team cut (or possibly didn't occur to me at the time. There's 1,000+ Pokémon now, so it's harder to remember them all) but I think makes sense for Bells Hells to have. Except Legendaries. That will be a different post.

Chetney

Cubchoo/Beartic- another that Chet would have picked up in the Icelost years, or maybe up near Uthodurn. Cubchoo was a cute little kid Chet took in, and Beartic is kind of werewolf-shaped for a bear

Seedot/Nuzleaf/Shiftry- tree Pokémon, need I say more? Might be shiny for that redder wood coloration

Delibird- for the Santa theme. Also, it can just cart around all the toys Chetney carves in its bag tail

Wyrdeer- more Chirstmas theme, but also just majestic old man vibes too

Drampa- old man vibes and it likes kids, so good for an old toymaker

Stufful- it's kind of a toy. I mean, the Pokémon Go version has a tag on its butt

Bonsly/Sudowoodo- thought it was a tree, was disappointed to find out it was rock, but since it wasn't metal, Chetney decided to keep it

Poochyena/Mightyena- more wolf Pokémon

Orym

Falinks (Shiny)- little soldier guys for the little soldier man. Shiny for less gold, more down to earth colors

Rufflet/Braviary- tough bird Pokémon for a tough little Air Ashari. Might be a Hisuian Braviary if Orym's deal with Nana Morri makes him a warlock

Deerling/Sawsbuck (Spring Form) OR Cherubi/Cherrim- for the cherry blossom aesthetic of Zephrah

Petilil/Liligant (Hisuian)- for the dancing fighter from druid town vibes

Pawniard/Bisharp- more soldier vibes. Does not evolve up to Kingambit unless Orym finally feels like a leader instead of a soldier

Treeko/Grovyle/Sceptile- guys with grass blades and Treeko's a little climber too

Shieldon/Bastiodon- shield Pokémon for our boy with a shield

Buneary/Lopunny- bouncing bunnies for a man who bounces and feels he'd be a were-bunny if he got to choose a were-critter

Fearne

Growlithe/Arcanine- fluffy fire "wolves." All things Fearne loves

Purrloin/Liepard- thieving cats for our thieving faun

Klefki- a Fairy-type that's a bit of a collector, just like Fearne, if more focused than her

Chimchar/Monferno/Infernape- more fire monkeys for Fearne

Pansear/Simisear (Shiny)- more fire monkeys for Fearne. Shiny for Pansear's orange coloration

Sprigatito/Floragato/Meowscrada- tricky grass cats with some fluff

Shroomish/Breloom- for her disregard for the danger of mushrooms and because they're cute

Teddiursa/Ursaring/Ursaluna (Shiny)- Teddiursais small cute and fluffy, and up at Ursaluna there's a moon connection for being lightly Ruidusborn. Shiny for the moss-covered look of Teddiursa and Ursaring. Also Sweet Pea reference?

Budew/Roselia/Roserade- more pretty, poisonous flowers

Salazzle- hot fire mama Pokémon for a hot fire druid with a baby boy/fire monkey

Imogen

Ponyta/Rapidash- more horses for Imogen. Also, Kantonian Rapidash looks better than Galarian (in my opinion)

Raichu (Alolan)- Psychic and Electric-type, need I say more?

Espurr/Meowstic (Female, Shiny)- a Pokémon with psychic control issues as Espurr and a ruthless streak as Meowstic. Shiny for a more pinkish Espurr and yellow-scarfed Meowstic

Cleffa/Clefairy/Clefable- moon Pokémon with psychic powers

Lunatone- more psychic moon Pokémon

Mareep/Flaffy/Ampharos- more Electric-types for Imogen, and also sort of farm-related to reflect her roots

Munna/Munsharna- psychic dream Pokémon with a better aesthetic for Imogen than Drowzee/Hypno

Psyduck- psychic headaches, just like Imogen

Gothita/Gothorita/Gothitelle- another Psychic-type, except this one's aesthetic reminds Imogen of Laudna

Laudna

Zorua/Zoroak (Hisuian)- ghostly Pokémon of the north, fitting for a ghost of Whitestone. Also the cuddliness of Zorua calls to Laudna

Froslass- more northern ice ghosts. And a little witchy too

Vullaby/Mandibuzz- wears bones and Mandibuzz takes care of little vullaby babies/kids

Cubone/Marowak (Alolan)- Cubone mourn their lost mother, like Laudna (maybe?) misses hers. And set it on fire as Marowak for the Fireball spell. Also, bone Pokémon

Sinistea/Polteageist OR Polchageist/Sinistcha- Sinistea line definitely has that Ladies of Whitestone vibe, but Polchageist has the fix-it folklore. Definitely lean more toward Sinsitea line though

Joltik/Galvantula- spiders for Mis Creepy and a little Shocking Grasp electricity

Spinarak/Ariados- more creepy spiders

Phantump/Trevenant (Shiny)- for the tree-like Form of Dread. Shiny for pale wood and red leaves which are Laudna colors

Paras/Parasect- for the mindcontrol by something parasitizing off of them mushrooms, much like how Delilah parasitizes her

Greavard/Houndstone- ghost doggo!

Absol- a "hound" of ill omen, it probably warns Laudna to skip town before the mobs come

FCG

Rotom- ghost in the machine for a soul in a machine. Also, can you imagine it possessing FCG's oven? And the pun for Mow Rotom

Raltz/Kirlia/Gardevoir (Shiny)- empath Pokémon with psychic powers who dislikes conflict. Shiny to match FCG's coat being blue

Klink/Klang/Klinklang- gear Pokémon for the little machine boi

Audino- another Pokémon center helper and healer from the anime

Indeedee (Male)- another empath Pokémon

Bronzor- it's a coin! From the Changebringer!

Iron Valient- robot-like Gardevoir/Gallade mix for a robit that has a Gardevoir

Morpeko- it's cute and switches to a rage mode if it doesn't take care of itself (disregarding game mechanic of constant switch for flavor text of only when not properly fed)

Meltan- little metal buddies for the little metal boi

Ashton

Roggenrola/Boldore/Gigalith- rocks and crystals Pokémon for the rocks and crystals boi

Grotle/Torterra- would receive as a child in Hishari. Turtwig being a Grass-type is a nod to the druidic leanings of Hishari, while Torterra's "tortise with the world on its back" leans a bit more titans as rulers/guardians/makers of the world

Nacli/Naclstack/Garganacl (Shiny)- salty, as Ashton's attitude is sometimes. Also very sandstone strata in looks as a shiny

Sableye- attracted to Ashton's crystal hair and they just never could get rid of it. At least it's good for helping with stealing stuff

Obstagoon- it's one of the punk-est Pokémon aesthetically

Gible/Gabite/Garchomp- bitey dragon landshark, especially now that Ashton can Earth Glide

Great Tusk- ancient, a little earthy, and the predecessor to rolling wheel Pokémon Donphan, which is probably a not unpopular Pokémon in Bassuras

Rhyhorn/Rhydon/Rhyperior- mostly for Rhyhorn's "keep charging forward" attitude that Ashton tries to do emotionally

Deino/Zweilous/Hydreigon (Shiny)- another angry rampager Pokémon. Shiny so it's green like Ashton

[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.

[sonicskullsalt]

I have been wondering this whole time what Imogen meant when she telepathically told Orym: Are you gonna tell her what you guys saw?

Orym ended up saying something completely different, but I was like, what did she want him to say?

Now, I think she referred to what Orym, Fearne and Chet saw at the Duskmaven's temple, the vision about Vax.

But man, I would not have got that in that moment at the table. Next time, Imogen, explain and expand. Explain and expand.

[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.

[genderlesssinner]

I keep forgetting they're in a temple and I don't know how to feel about it

Marisha having not been present for the Planning because of makeup and then being first while Orym is last in initiative is kind of funny kind of terrifying

Laudna, Chet, Braius, Snowdinus, Ashton, Fearne, Dorian, Gloamglut, Unseelie Emissary, Imogen, Orym

Oo new form of dread hell yes

Ooh yes I do remember the Spooktacular nice nice

Ludinus's notes???

Fucking Travis with the cpop brand. The rocking horse is good too though

Samuel holy shit with the art

Oh shit Laudy get this fucken counterspell please

Power Word spells are fucken nasty man

Travis said if Fearne is stunned their plan is fucked and I'm so curious about what they're trying to do

🤞🤞🤞🤞

YAAASSS

Okay okay okay Ash going for seige damage hell yes

"I can swing my hammer underground, right?" I love him

LET'S FUCKING GOOOO FEARNE

Yet another accidental phrase Matt will never live down. Spreading her legs

Uppies!! 🤣

Whatcha got Dorian

Ooooo force cage okay okay okay

Two witches in a hole and one in a box - Liam 🤣

This dragon mini is too big one wing fucken blocks Marisha's whole face holy fuck

"He doesn't care."

DUSK HUNGER? Did I hear that right? That's a badass name

I'm so curious about Zathuda but also want him far away from the party (or like dead but I'm not sure they can take him rn)

I forgot this fucker has legendaries ugh

Laudna, Chet, Braius, Snowdinus, Ashton, Fearne, Dorian, Gloamglut, Unseelie Emissary, Unseelie Gaurdians, Imogen, Orym, Ira

Hell I forgot to add Zathuda now I'm not sure where he's supposed to be (I never remembered to pay attention enough to when his turn was whoops)

Ooo Imogen on Gloamgut interesting. The vibes.

Combat with this many people is such a pain sometimes and takes so long.. Orym's turn is the end of the first round man. Fuck. Well. Ira actually maybe

I FORGOT THEY BROUGHT IRA FUCK YEAH

Oh shiiitt Zathuda being like "Fuck!" at Ira showing up oooohhhh

"He has advantage against magic because fey."

"Annoying, okay." Mood Marisha.

The forcecage 'if yo know, you know' is one of the few references they make that I don't know and it makes me a lil sad

(about Snowdinus) "He's not even a real wizard." TALIESIN I mean it's true but like damn

(Bonus for Matt's "That's not nice.")

Weird name for a flail, Sam.

Oh shit also totally forgot Ira gets legendaries, fuck yeah

Love a good counterspell train

I love when Tal gets excited about rage effects

"Bold of you to assume you have advantage. Nah you totally can." Maaaatt

Get it Ash fuck yes natty 20

I both love and hate the vague DM comments that has the whole party like wait what what do you mean. "yeah use all your stuff." *panic around the table*

Get fucked Snowdinus, fuck your Dimension Door

This motherfucker 'sploded

The 20s tonight

After this, Braius being like, 'welp my mission is done, Ludinus got exploded. Bye guys good luck' would be hilarious to me

"oops, a murder"

Laudna, Chet, Braius, Snowdinus, Ashton, Fearne, Dorian, Gloamglut, Unseelie Emissary, Unseelie Gaurdians, Imogen, Orym, Ira

YES FEARNE GET IT GIRRRRL Nat 20 for a fucken 33 yessss girrrl

I love Ashley so much "I have a defenses box?"

I would love to see how Zathuda v. Ira showdown would turn out honestly

Okay okay okay Sorrowlord wants to chat

Nat 1 with a -3 goddamn. The latest reaction time

Is this actually gonna fucken work? What's about it happen akdbfjchf

The whole building is about to come down too

Yes talk to the dragon Imogen

Okay but knowing the Fey dragon has a negative wisdom mod could come in handy

Okay baby boy defending the Emissary makes sense I think

Ira no we don't trust you either my guy

Aah his journal and the stuff about the funnel okay okay

Well I don't like the sound of that. Except the uh taking out Ludinus part but um yeah no

WHISPERS!

Yep okay he wants Fearnie to become the vessel for Predathos no thank you

Okay look I'm not saying this is the right line of thinking but I love this whole exchange

"It's a tomorrow problem."

"What if there is no tomorrow?"

"Well then it's not a problem, is it?"

So the Unseelie want to be free of the gods? Am I understanding this right

Seems the Emissary is also disappointed in the Zathuda heir

I do not like the way Zathuda talks about Fearne

I'm not against fighting them right now but Gloamglut at the very least would fuck them up and I don't think we know too much about what Zathuda is capable of and literally nothing about the Emissary or guards.

Yeah I guess the better shot is to let them go I don't know man ugh

Oh shit okay Imogen

Shadow daddy 🤣

New initiative okay

Orym, Zathuda, Emissary, Imogen, Gloamglut, Fearne, Braius, Chet, Ash, Dorian, Ira, Laudna

Okay Emissary out immediately

Aaand the pillar okay well that gives us a bit of a time table eh

The guards are like aw hell no

FEARNE. ASHLEY. AAAAAAAA

Fuck me man. Get out guys.

He really just Fastball Special'd Fearne with thunder wave didn't he

It's bad we're running guys

Motherfucken Nightmare King got spookier damn

Breaking out the big guns okay damn Laudy. Fucking Disintegrate

And empowering it fuuuuccckk

Stress math. It was almost enough

You know. I'm not sure I would have reminded Matt about the wing attack. (I probably would have but like. Sjxbhch)

This damn dragon man.

Love Imogen for throwing the Shadowlord to Braius

The whole thing is coming down

So Gloamglut being the only one to make it away from this (assuming BH kills the Emissary and Zathuda) isn't terrible, I think. But I suppose that depends on how intelligent it is and maybe on the abilities of whoever it goes to.

SAMUEL stop trying to piss off literally all of the gods

I'm here for this but what the hell are you doing Ash. Aaaaah forced movement coolcoolcool

Holy fucking shit

This is what the Tweet was about isn't it

I knew someone would get caught inside fuuuccck

Break time..

WolfChet being a garbage disposal

Whaaaaat the fuuuuccckkk

Let the dice decide, that *always* goes well. Sure.

TRAVIS. You gotta stop with the fake outs man

Though I would be very curious to see what abilities they got from either of these two high ranking Fey

Oooo shit MATT WHAT

ABU?? What the fuck

That fucking smile though holy shit

"We're gonna have words" -Travis

Ashley with the Mister plush in her head is absolutely a mood

What is even happening right now

I'm loving Braius / Sam being singled out so far

Did they just get yoinked by the Arch Heart? And now he's pulling the join me or die, fun stuff

Ooooo heartbeat in the audio nice

I absolutely adore Abu's portrayal of the Arch Heart, gods

Did he yoink them through the Gate????

Yes flatter the god of art, I'm sure that'll go well (this is only sort of sarcastic)

THE TITAN FIRE oh shit

Heeee does not seem happy about the presence of titan powers which uh tracks though

Oh no Ashton baby uhoh

"I feel like I've met you before" UH WELL YOU SEE

This could be such a big info gain opportunity

I really want to know who the other god is who wants to leave exandria

I'm having so much trouble processing all of this right now shit man

UM hi Asmodeus???? Fuuuuck

Okay okay okay wild

So many big high stakes decisions that need to be decided oooooff

✨Flattery✨ 🤣

The star is the woman who made the wish to spread the knowledge of how to build the weapon in Aeor holy shit

Robbie's grabby hands as Abu left though man

"Braius doesn't wake up." this is why you don't fuck with the dm yall, one day it won't be a joke 🤣

Holy fucking shit man.

That ring! Damn.

Since I'm just watching 107, I'll obviously not be watching 108 live tonight which means another weekend of no tumblr until Monday afternoon at least.

See yall again then ♥️

Remember to be kind to one another

[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

[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