#And Fearne and FCG stayed the whole way

[utilitycaster]

Talking as players outside the game is an incredibly important part of having good PC/PC D&D relationships, and obviously the characters involved in the relationship talking to each other in meaningful ways is crucial, but I think the importance of talking in-game in depth to other people is really underrated, in that it not only tells the other player what your character is feeling without having to reveal it in-game to them, but also serves to engage other characters in the story and deepen those platonic bonds to the point where they might even serve as confidants or wingmen. To give a bunch of examples and what they achieved:

Vax telling Gilmore he didn't want to string him along made it clear out of game that his feelings towards Keyleth were his priority, even though it happened where the other characters were not able to hear.

Similarly, Vex giving her blessing eventually after her initial resistance signaled to Liam that this would not be a major break between the twins.

Vax asking Vex what she intended to do about her feelings for Percy served not only as an opportunity for her to voice them to someone; it also serves as a big green light for Taliesin as Percy to kiss Vex later that episode (which he had already from Vex's resurrection ritual, but it underscores it).

Pike talking about Scanlan with Keyleth and Vex allows her to make it clear that she does ultimately like a lot of things about him despite sometimes being annoyed, and her talking to him through her earring while Scanlan is very much not there but Sam is at the table also serves as this kind of green light.

Jester asking Veth about kissing in relationship to Fjord lets Travis know where Jester is at and invests Veth in-game in the relationship.

Caleb asking Jester if she's "sweet on [Fjord]" lets her openly reassess her feelings after an intense arc and also indicates in-game that Caleb has noticed.

Beau waiting to hear the sound of thunder signals to Ashley (who was not at the table but who was presumably staying updated on events) that Beau has feelings for Yasha; it also allows those playing Yasha (often Matt for pure RP and Travis in combat) to return that flirting, since the baseline was already established.

Possibly the most obvious example, but Beau and Fjord's conversation on Rumblecusp not only clarifies to the whole table where everyone is (opening the door, for example, for the scenes in the beer garden a few episodes later of Caleb having Fjord and Jester dance together and Caduceus encouraging Yasha to pursue Beau) but very much serves as a green light to Ashley and Laura respectively. This is then mirrored by them talking after Beau has asked Yasha on a date and Fjord and Jester have kissed, and everyone involved can "debrief" with their partners not present in-game.

As mentioned, this is mostly about PC/PC relationships because PC/NPC is an inherently different dynamic mechanically though still should be a conversation, but Veth describing Yeza and Jester asking Caleb about his feelings about Essek both give Matt clues for playing these NPCs and how things might be received.

FRIDA mentioning their crush on FCG to Deanna means it's not a complete surprise to Sam, since it is a very sudden relationship, and lets him prepare and decide how FCG would feel in the moment, and also establishes how Deanna will feel about it.

Similarly in the C3 Uthodurn arc, Fearne going to Chetney about Deanna is an incredibly good move from Ashley (to the point that talking about this is what led me to write this whole post). It lets Travis play out where Chetney is. It lets Aabria therefore hear not only where Chetney is, but also know that Fearne is potentially interested. It establishes a ton of the dynamics for a relationship that out of game everyone knows will not have a full campaign to play out since one of the characters involved is a guest. And finally, it signals to Christian as FRIDA what the situation is in case Deanna confides in them.

[canadiankazz]

So.... End of Critical Role Campaign 3 Recap

Sorry, this is gonna be a little long!

All of the gods are going to be reborn as mortals. Cleric spells, etc. still work.

The gods' champions (including Vax and Opal!!!) are returned to Exandria to resume some of their "normal" lives, while also encouraged to seek out the gods' mortal forms and to maintain their temples. Opal is still stuck in the crown though.

Predathos is going to starve to death out in space, or will seek out another world's gods to devour. *shrug*

Deanna has made peace with Pelor before his rebirth.

FRIDA is a were-robot and will be under Chetney's tutelage. In addition, they're going to visit Aeor and will try to find FCG's coin.

Opal is reunited with the Crown Keepers

Fearne is still bound to her demon "friend"

Vox Machnia want to visit Ruidus (omg?!)

There are plans to open up travel and trade to and from Ruidus

Orym healed Planerider Ryn's arm with Seedling.

Laudna wants to grow old with Imogen, but does not want to be immortal. Lieve'tel used Divine Intervention to make this so. (And now Laudna and Imogen are married!) They're eventually going to get their cabin in the woods, with a stable for Flora and a mule (or maybe a donkey?) for Laudna.

Imogen's mom is okay. She's going to try to reconnect with Imogen's father and begin her path of apology and redemption.

To quote Liam O'Brian: "Lieve'tel will find Cerkonos and rock his world!"

Braius has turned his back on Asmodeus, but Asmodeus is not done yet with Braius. Braius is counting of the rest of Bell's Hells to have his back should the Lord of Hells come for him. He's going to focus on his art, and lets Jester convert him into following the Traveler. (If nothing else, it's good to have more allies.) Jester encourages Braius to stay and work at the Lavish Chateau.

Ashton wants to walk the world and discover new stuff and make new friends, after they figure out his new brain situation. Fearne is eventually going to go with him. He is also invited to visit the Kryn Dynasty, and is on their radar. They take jobs as muscle on archeological digs, finding interesting things for Essek and their other friends.

Fearne also wants to spend some time in the Faywild, getting to know her parents and learn Fatestitching from Nanna Morri. (Gods help us all...) She also still REALLY wants Chetney's eggs, in particular the one owned by Caleb. She's also going to try to find a way to release Opal from her crown.

Prism is now a student at the Conservatory in Jrusar

Dorian reconnected with his mother. Dorian and Orym are going to spend the rest of their lives together, but they're going to take things day-by-day. Dorian keeps in touch with the rest of the Hells and the Crown Keepers and goes on adventures with them.

Dariax and Deni$e are both in Zephrah, and have made up.

With Keyleth's blessing, Orym is taking a little step back from being the Savior Blade.

Nanna Morri has lifted her deal with Orym due to her reach not extending to what happened on the moon.

The Crown Keepers have officially finished their mission to talk to Keyleth! Hooray!

Chetney, in addition to advising FRIDA, now has a whole new generation learning the ways of "Poc-O-Pea" woodcraft.

Ira Wendagoth and Nanna Morri have also rekindled their relationship. Ira reminded Fearne that her father's allies are going to hunt her down for slaughtering him. Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Imogen visits each of her friends in their dreams.

[butterflydm]

cr3 102

I really enjoyed Bells Hells' questioning of Ludinus. I think they hit pretty much every point that I would have wanted them to make (even with them being less sympathetic towards the exandria gods than I am) and the way that Ludinus dodged every single question that they tried to put to him was... definitely less than convincing. And the way he left (encouraging the unleashing of Delilah) seems likely to only sour them even more towards him.

Because the huge point that needs to be made is that even if Ludinus was 100% correct about the gods -- even if that were true... how is what he's proposing any better? And he doesn't have any answer apart from "trust me bro".

Why is his super-powerful entity from beyond the stars better than the prime gods? It's just that it's his super-powerful entity that he prays to and communes with and devotes his life to empowering, and so that makes it different (and definitely not at all his god lol).

Launda being the one to point out how the prime/betrayer gods are a messed up little family just like Bells Hells is a messed up little family feels very poignant given the circumstances. And it tied really well into Launda very much fighting Delilah and giving her family permission to take her down to take down Delilah, which really made me feel like Laundra was paying real close attention to the interactions between the gods and she is determined not to be a 'betrayer god' to her own family.

Very emotionally intense fight overall but with some great moments of humor too (Essek the goat!). Launda fighting her way out of Delilah was fantastic every time. And Imogen (and the others!) trying to reach her.

I know that Orym has had more interactions with the Wildmother than any other god, but I am really feeling the Dawnfather energy from him tonight -- fighting but always hoping for another way out. At one hit point, staying in the fight and doing everything in his power to do his part for his family -- feels very much like Ayden/Dawnfather taking all that damage for the Emissary in the fight last episode. (and that's just the way that Orym is but, you know, that only reinforces the vibe)

(but, yeah, "She's hurt us worse than anyone." "That's why we have to help her." just... big Asmodeus-Everlight-Dawnfather vibes)

Dorian darting over to Orym after seeing him fall twice and trying to get him out of danger and just worrying over him the whole time. Lots of Dorym & Crownkeeper emotions going on tonight. And some tension, too! Because Dorian is more anti-god than anyone else at the table (due to what happened with Opal, I assume).

Was that Ashton leaving a piece of FCG in Aeor? Oh, man, my heart. There is also even more self-hate going on there than I realized, given the logic train of "if the gods are like us, they probably do deserve to die".

Braius is hilarious and I do not trust him even the slightest bit. And sorta bonding with Fearne over how all the gods are family (even the betrayers - so yeah that's an interesting vibe to be bringing in).

And we have a way to maybe separate Delilah from Launda, which is very exciting!

Yeah, this was a fantastic episode. We got everyone dunking on Ludinus, we got a tense fight, and we got to deal with the aftermath of the pvp in some safety and comfort afterwards. It had it all!

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

DnD Combat and Critiques

Hey, so I have thoughts. I know! How unfortunate.

Combat in DnD is not always going to translate nicely into a narrative that follows storybeats. Like in a good fight, there's a plan - the plan fucks up - then there's a callback to some earlier themes that gets implemented into the finishing blow.

FCG did the last part.

It's the before that's the problem.

BH don't have a lot of synergy. Let's go back to the whole Dungeons and Dragons for all the roleplay - it's still a fighting game. And fighting games require some strategy.

BH does have a strategy. Hit the thing until it stops moving. And they usually do this through raw, brute strength. But when you're facing a high-level, Smart character, it's going to take more than bruteforce

I'm gonna out myself as a LoL player here. I know! It's really quite tragic.

But in teamfights, you do need some characters - like the tank or the support - who can pin down those highly mobile characters so they can just start hitting.

Yes. She had legendary resistances. But her resistances are limited. They had to burn those. Ideally, FCG or Fearne would have done that. Hell, maybe Ashton could have picked her up and squeezed - or tried to. Likewise, Laudna could have cast darkness and it would have crippled everyone but it would be some advantage.

This team desperately needed some way to limit her movement or ability to target them. But without that, FCG had no choice but to remain on healing duty and unable to chance spells like Banishment or fucking Plane Shift. Fearne needed to stay away from damage - let those better at it try - and focus on running utility. Aura of Life came way too late - not that it mattered bc again Otohan's hyper mobility.

I think it wasn't Otohan that was the problem. A lot of babies are kicking and crying that she was too hard. And yeah. She was. And arguably she wasn't the best villain for the audience bc yeah we know fuck all about her. Here's something to consider: Otohan was for the players, not the audience. At most, the audience gets a kick out of BH's reactions whenever she comes up. But her main job was to freak out the players - and she does.

Because BH is not prepared for high level combat. There. That's my critique.

When your healer goes into a rage if he heals too much, that's a liability in a fight. When neither of your tank-utility players have any reliable capture and crowd control capabilities, that's a problem. The most they had was Ashton's gravity well but she could clear that 10 ft difference with ease. They didn't need a fucking slow - they needed a stun.

This team is not equipped for a fight beyond brute force. They don't have a toolkit that lends itself well to tactics.

Otohan was absolutely beatable and I will die on that hill. They just didn't know how to fight her with the weapons they have. Outside of character growth, they really might need a good old fashioned shounen training arc.

[sbrn10]

Look, I apologize for being the hyperfixate on Laudna and Imogen all the time person (actually, I don't, sorry not sorry, this is my whole personality now) but:

Marisha has fucking weaponized the phrase "I like/love children" and I want her to stab me with it 37 more times. It's the most fucked up, precisely because her (Before Imogen state) idea of appealing to children is so horrifying, of course they run from her.

Can you BELIEVE that the primary thing standing between Laudna and Delilah's manipulation is Laudna's extremely low sense of self-worth? The fact that Delilah tries to tell Laudna "you deserve it, take what's rightfully yours" and Laudna refuses because it's not meant for her -- nothing is meant for her. Even Imogen isn't meant for her -- after all, she's a dead end, and Imogen should be able to live. The fact that Delilah still doesn't know any other way to entice someone than offering power because it's the only thing she understands -- and Laudna doesn't want it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make everybody worry. *weak laugh* This is the second time you all have trotted through these woods to save me." vs. "the crippling obligation that [I] feel to everybody for risking themselves to save [me] ... still haunts me." (From fucking e49 when Laudna and Ashton were having one of their "Ashton is projecting their experience onto Laudna super hard" conversations, fucking christ) Excuse me, I'm going to go scream into the night.

"What did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Did he manipulate you?" Laudna's immediate assumption that Ashton somehow coerced Fearne in order to take power meant for her, because she's lived with a voice in her head doing nothing but that for 30 years. I am lying dead in a ditch.

Look, I know everyone has already said it. I know. I know. But. Laudna: Will you hold me? Delilah: Always. "You swear you feel the shadows around you in this corner grow a little thicker, like a cloak of darkness that wraps itself around you." "You wake up cold and alone." Laudna: I miss Imogen. Laudna: Love is pain. But it is also warmth. I was so cold last night. Imogen: I go hug her again. Marisha. Girl. What the FUCK.

Laudna: You can give [the doll] whatever voice you want. Ashton: I'm not good at voices. Laudna: You can find a voice. What if I just died. Right here. What if, Marisha.

Can we talk about Imogen going through Laudna asking her to move on if something happens to her, like she's readying herself to leave, and then she left for real and didn't come back. Can we talk about how fucked up that was for her. Can we talk about how she didn't even get to be angry at Laudna for it because Laudna was visibly fucked up so bad it was something she'd never seen before. Somebody please give that girl a hug, like so many hugs, also my kingdom for Imogen getting to be angry at Laudna at some point (please also read Time Running Out).

Ashton: I thought it would make me better, and I thought a better me would-- [help you]. Imogen: You don't need power to be better, Ashton. Imogen is just so fucking tired, my god. Imogen is the Ben Affleck smoking meme about the people she loves being stupid.

Okay, a few not Imogen or Laudna things: - My god, Travis, what an episode for Chetney. "Plus, if you need it, just say you need it." / "Okay, I kind of need it." That is my emotional support old man and I just want to give Chetney and Fearne so many hugs. - Percy and Ashton being mirrors for each other across 30 years and 3 campaigns: truly the most Taliesin of all time. - FCG was so good at talking Ashton through his decisions and pushing back on the surface-level excuses to dig deeper but also staying open and trying hard to allow Ashton some grace despite it all. Growth dot gif. - FCG as a counselor at Wildemount Wildlings when.

[sparring-spirals]

i've only seen the scene once, so maybe i misread it, but... i saw imogen being kinda distant and stoic? detached hyper-rational? in her talk with laudna at the end. like, i saw more emotion in the whole fcg/fearne parents doll therapy. i'm not sure what i expected in this first "now laudna is scared and needs a friend" scenario, but i wasnt satisfied with the whole "she's evil, don't believe her. lets go we gotta solve our problems in order, there are bigger ones". again, maybe i misread it.

tl;dr: i think imogen approaches problems by just Feeling Minimal Emotions (sans rage), and Laudna and Imogen both have very distinct (and understandable) comfort/reassurance methods.

Hmmm. So, I don't really agree with this interpretation, although I can see where it comes from. Sure, Imogen was being very very- level, and matter of fact, and her tone very, very low and steady. You could make an argument for the detatched-hyper-rational tone, but I think equating it to a lack of care or even bad care really doesn't jibe for me.

A lot of this probably hinges on my personal reading of Imogen, but knowing that Imogen is the kind of person to sort of Shove All Her Emotions Way Down Deep And Do What's Necessary when things get dicey sets the stage here for me. Its been a rough morning. And after all that hubbub, after F.C.G is getting healed up- this is Laudna, normally her rock (ha), shaken and wavering and none of her usual stability in sight, Delilah threatening more and more, and Laudna is- rattled.

It makes a lot of sense to me that Imogen is trying to stay as steady, as calm, as level and logical and rational as possible, and trying to provide that to Laudna too.

I also think that Laudna and Imogen approach comfort and reassurance in radically different ways- and both ways that make a lot of sense for their characters.

Laudna comfort tends to be about- affirmations, and validations, and compliments. Its very positivity oriented. Its about 30 years alone, about isolation and a horrific death and people recoiling in horror from what you are, and town after town of hostility. Its about finding small good things and positives in an ocean of awful to hold onto and showering compliments and little gestures of support. Cups of water in a hand. Sometimes the logistics of things are bleak and tragic and the facts don't change when you look at them, but you can find the good in them if you keep looking.

Imogen comfort, on the other hand, has a lot to do with breaking things down until you can breathe right again, until you can corral the panic and the whirlwind and spiralling into order again. Its about- a brain overwhelmed with thoughts, your own and others, about fear that grips you by the throat and leaves you sleepless. Its about spirals of anxiety/thoughts/feelings that paralyze you if you try to indulge them. Its about- crushing the emotions down, the good, and the bad, before they can overwhelm you. Give your hands and your self something to do. Breaking down those insurmountable problems into bits and pieces, truths you know. Things you are sure of. Things you have to be sure of, so you don't get ripped into howling winds.

Or to put it another way- i think the surety, the facts, are meant as a comforting gesture from Imogen the same way a cup of water in the hand is for Laudna.

And. I think the more terrified she is, the more angry, the more there is on the line- the more still and sharp Imogen goes. ( 👀👀👀 )

(None of the above directly dictates how helpful it was for Laudna, but the intent? I think the intent was there.)

[c-is-for-circinate]

c3e34

I never stay up for the whole ep any more, so I am so tired, but my heart is so full of love and pain and it was very worth it.

Ugh the fact that it was Laudna, who walks so close to death, who is Imogen's first and most beloved, who's dead now. That Orym and Fearne both survived (and I'm so so glad and relieved to have them back! But Laudnaaaaaaaaaa), but Laudna who was still hanging on by a thread at the end of last week who's gone now.

My heart for the misery and desperation and horrible choice of who to rez, but also for the complete lack of recrimination afterwards. It would have been so easy to bite at each other, to turn on each other, but they have been so so firm and stubborn. (And there's this pervasive awareness throughout the entire group that we're treating Imogen like a grieving widow, that Laudna was her person. Laudna belonged to the Hells in the way all the Hells belong to one another, but she was Imogen's person, and everybody there knows it, and every single soul in that group would go down on their knees on broken glass rather than utter a single syllable to suggest this is Imogen's fault. That it's anybody's fault.)

Ashton, so goddamn dead-set on fixing this. Looking for a thing to do. Ashton who spent all of last episode from the edge of stress to the edge of panic, because chaos was unleashing around him and there was nothing he could do. (And we get that backstory story NOW, after all that, the story of a small, soft-bodied child surrounded by primeval chaos and horror that tore through everybody they knew and loved, that's the story we get after last episode. But Ashton's not even thinking about their own issues right now. Just living in them. Just steeping in those issues, determined to find control, to take control, to make things right by force, to not be held helpless to the murder done by an uncaring universe.)

Fearne, Fearne who broke my goddamned heart, because Fearne is always, always, always okay! Even when her parents show up out of nowhere and her whole backstory comes crashing in, she has a smile! It's a smile of murderous frustration, but it's still a sweet little smile and an unpredictable Fearne who nobody knows what she'll do next. Fearne who is not smiling, Fearne who is on her knees, who's shocked, who's sad, who's scared. Who's panicking on her knees, "I don't know what to do, Imogen, I don't know what to do." Fearne loves Orym so, so, so much. She loves this group, collectively, even more. She loves so easily and with such genial gaiety but it goes so, so, so deep and she was so scared and over her head.

I am thinking about Orym's survivor's guilt and I am thinking about Orym wanting to be done but having more work to do and more love to give, and I am thinking about Orym stabbing the point of his sword through a man's foot and saying, "I'm the nonviolent solutions guy". Thinking about a 26 intimidation check and a very tired, very very unhappy halfling, who could definitely be a powderkeg if he wants to be.

(Orym saying, the de Rolos. Keyleth. Orym who is the only person in this group who's gotten the story of the Sun Tree on camera, the only person who could possibly have the context for just what reparations, exactly, Vox Machina might feel they owe this woman. Imogen thought Delilah Briarwood was a minor evil deity. FCG seems to vaguely think she's still ruling Whitestone. But Orym knows, as much as anyone who wasn't there. Orym's seen the Sun Tree. He's heard the stories. His father-in-law was there, the last time Delilah Briarwood died.

In conclusion:

I think I'd love to see Keyleth being the one to rez Laudna. Becaue of poetry, yes, but also because of the spell. Druids don't get Raise Dead. Druids get reincarnate.

I want to see what becomes of Laudna, when her age and species and body's history unfolds itself into a new shape. All those things she thought could never change again, even if she wanted them to. Does Delilah back off, if Laudna's new body is not undead? Does she get worse?

[samuraiko]

A bit more on C3E31 <SPOILERS AHOY>

HERE BE SPOILERS. DON’T BLAME ME.

...

...

...

(This is because previews tend to show what’s beneath a ‘Keep Reading’ cut.)

AGAIN, DON’T BLAME ME.

Liam-as-Orym broke my heart again tonight.

FCG might be the Hells’ therapist, but Orym is their confidant. Even Ashton points out that of all the Hells, Orym is the only one who isn’t a Fluffernutter waiting to happen. BTW, good on Ashton for still watching out for FCG, and good on Ashton for pointing out that Orym is better than he gives himself credit for.

<side note>

Seriously, Orym? IMOGEN as the leader?! Oh hells fucking no - you don’t put the woman with the impulse control problem in charge. And I don’t fucking care, *HE* is more of a leader than any of the rest. (For real, it’s almost a tie between Imogen and Fearne as to which one is more likely to act first, think later.)

<end side note>

Orym spends SO much of his time trying to do right by the Hells - he listens, he encourages, he protects, he supports, and only TWICE, *TWICE* in 31 FUCKING EPISODES, has ANYONE asked him if *HE’S* okay. (And that was Chetney and Dusk, and we saw how fucking well THOSE both worked out.)

And strangely enough, I DON’T want FCG to be the one to step up - he thinks it’s his job to “fix” everyone. No. You can’t fix people - you can help them find the ways and the resolve to fix themselves, but you can’t do it for them. And what Orym needs is a confidant of his own... personally, I think Ashton would be a great ear for him.

The loneliness is wearing on him more and more -- he even admits that he WANTS to go home, but he can’t. He has to stay the course, he has to see this through, and I think on some level, he DOES want that because noble or not, he wants REVENGE for Will.

And GODS, Liam, that whole ‘The Reason You Suck’ speech -- YOU BROKE MY FUCKING HEART AGAIN. Gods, I love watching him so much at that table... the sincerity, the resolve, the... HEART that he brings as Orym is spellbindingly compelling and sad all at once.

<other side note>

I don’t know about anyone else, but I was fucking DREADING what cruel thing FCG was going to shout at Orym. I was actually silently begging, “Please, gods, someone knock out FCG before he says something to Orym. Please don’t let him say something so utterly cruel.” Because when Sam revealed some of the things he’d written down about each of the other characters, the one he mentions for Orym is Orym talking about Will and how “the time we had was real good.”

And if FCG had said something along the lines of, “He never loved you,” it would have been unforgivable.

<end other side note>

[utilitycaster]

as someone who gave up on c3 I stayed in the fandom mostly for lvom and now waiting for animated nein. I remember you having a lot of doubts about c3. did they get resolved? or did you find other things to appreciate? I would be interested to see your perspective since I tended to agree with a lot of your opinions when I was more active on tumblr.

Hi anon!

Good question. I feel the best answer is that some things have gotten much better, and some things have not been resolved but I am somewhat resigned. I'm putting the rest of my response below a cut because it may get long (might not! I don't plan out responses like this usually) and because some of this gets fairly speculative.

Let's start with the unresolved:

While I'm hopeful that the visit to Whitestone quenched the need for extensive Vox Machina appearances, I still maintain this campaign would have been stronger had the connections been more distant. I actually like Orym as a character, but I think the Keyleth connection does neither him nor Keyleth any favors (not because Matt's depiction is bad, simply because Orym feels overshadowed to me and because it means the party can always consider asking a L20 Druid to help them, even if the end result is a no). I also still don't like how few characters are of Marquet or have significant reason to be there, even as I enjoy the characters.

The plot is still heavily centered around Imogen's powers and her connection to Ruidus. I'll talk more about this below, but I think this could have been handled well, and I place the blame squarely on Matt here, but it's not and as a result Imogen gets little room to breathe or develop. I like her as a character, but she's perpetually overwhelmed; her best moments have been, for me, in the episodes before the main character status was more solidified, or in episodes centering other characters (some of the Bassuras episodes; Chetney's time with the Gorgynei).

Related to the above, this is a heavily railroaded campaign. That is not bad. EXU Calamity was pretty railroaded, as are many Dimension 20 shows. I think the problem is that this didn't have the needs of railroading met. The best way to think about it is that Matt is basically running a looser-than-usual but still extant custom module. There are specific beats to be hit. When you run a module, as a DM, one generally tells people you're doing it and to build characters surrounding it. I still don't feel that was done. I think that had Matt said "hey, this is going to be a Ruidus-centric, lore-heavy campaign; build characters who have reason to be interested or who'd go along" then yes, he'd have spoiled the surprise, but not by much, and I think the characters would be much more suited to the plot (higher int, more tied to institutions in Marquet, etc) and the pacing issues wouldn't exist because it feels like Matt has been trying to obscure the railroading; things have gotten much better following recent episodes because we got the full lore dump and now have an actual task. Some slightly different expectation-setting would have been transformative with not a whole lot of effort.

The good

The characters and their relationships have gotten much better. Getting rid of Delilah has resolved most of my issues with Laudna though I'm unimpressed with her build; Chetney, Ashton, and Fearne were always great; my issues with Imogen stem only from her being Designated Main Character which wasn't an issue with Laura's concept; I discussed Orym above; and FCG in particular has been totally changed. Giving FCG a deity and having them start to question their purpose following a meeting with Dancer fixed most of my issues. They are still pushy, but in a way that feels much more friendly than the initial intrusive way; Sam is finally settling into playing a cleric more capably; and I love every part of the Changebringer arc. I also am a sucker for the Chef feat. As a recent poll on this website indicated, I can put up with a meandering plot if the characters are compelling (*cough* this is why early Mighty Nein, or Vox Machina pre-Briarwoods, are still largely good) so now that the group has meshed it's much more enjoyable. It still took longer than I wish it had, I still would like further deepening of relationships, and I completely respect that people lost patience, but we got to a much better place.

The pacing isn't perfect - we're getting shunted from place to place in a way that feels like late campaign, and giving this group so much power and connections has meant we don't get to see a ton of the continent - but it's much better. The Yios casino episode was a highlight, as were Chetney's episodes, and I'm hoping the upcoming skyship episodes will have some opportunities for conversations. I am not terribly optimistic that we'll get tons of downtime before the apogee solstice, but I am hoping that the plot is this: Bells Hells and their allies thwart the plans of the solstice, everyone has to regroup, and there is time to cover characters other than Imogen in depth for a length of time before we return back. I still suspect this will be a campaign closer to VM's in length than the Nein's, but that's still like 100 episodes so I'm hoping it's like, solstice in the 50s, 30-40 episodes of other stuff, moon plot returneth.

The NPCs and worldbuilding are consistently great; I just wish we could spend more time with them. As I say above, I hope that we put the moon plot on hold after the solstice and can deal with everyone else's stuff. I in particular am fascinated by Ashton and Chetney's stuff; I also think Laudna's hiding a lot that would make her more interesting, and I would love to know the full history of FCG even if he's not terribly curious.

The speculative

I have said this is speculative a few times and I'm saying it once more. I don't know if this is true, but like. This is essentially what I would say to Matt if somehow we crossed paths and he said "hey, as a fan, I was wondering why the response to Campaign 3 seems comparably muted from your perspective."

My guess is that this is the last long-form campaign Critical Role will do. It's understandable; if this runs 100-ish episodes that puts us at the 9-10 year mark of almost-weekly episodes, not counting the covid hiatus, and that is a LOT for a busy group of people working on concurrent animated series and sustaining outside acting careers. This isn't a podcast; it's filmed on a full set and takes a lot of time. I suspect - and hope! - that there will be plenty more content, in the form of EXU seasons, one-shots, and even shorter campaigns with the main cast (a la D20). And if I'm proven wrong and a full-length Campaign 4 is announced in the future, I will be ecstatic to eat my words. I cannot stress how happy I would be if I'm wrong here. But that is my guess.

So what I think has happened is this:

Matt has lore he really wants to reveal and has been seeding through the past two campaigns

Matt does not want to tell the cast not to play a character they've been thinking of, because this is the last time they'll get to do it for 100+ episodes.

And I think those two things together explain everything we're seeing. The Ruidus plot has to happen...but he didn't tell the cast.

Anyway hope this helps! I really appreciate you saying you like what I've had to say in the past, and see you for the Nein series and any future one-shots!

[thewickedkat]

the last thing the internet needs is another asshole with an opinion, but i have a tiny corner of the fandom swamp and it's mine, so i can sound off if i wanna. you don't have to continue if you don't wish to; i'm not your dad.

seen some opinions about the possibility of Laudna staying dead, and how that would apparently do everything from be narratively compelling and interesting to sucking hyena dick. i think both points are valid, honestly. would it be sad if she stayed dead? yeah, i'd miss her; i quite enjoy the unhinged humour juxtaposed with the whole 'i was a casualty of someone's beef with a band of heroes' darkness that Marisha is bringing to the table. but would i lose sleep over it? mmm, probably not.

see, i too think that it would be interesting if the Bells found no way to properly rez her, or if something went wrong due to her Hollow nature, something the Bells weren't expecting. how, then, would the characters adapt in the aftermath? how would Imogen cope with more noise in her head without Laudna's music? would FCG adjust their therapy toolset to help Imogen? would Fearne feel a sense of guilt out of revivifying Orym as opposed to Laudna? would Ashton be able to handle losing another friend, or would they get angrier as a defence mechanism? would Orym's sense of survivor's guilt deepen? would Chetney maintain and do upkeep on the little house he made for Pate and Sashimi as an homage to Laudna? how would Delilah (disrespect upon her name) adjust and adapt without a vessel?

these are all things that are interesting to me, the bones upon i like to cronch as i'm falling asleep.

'but Kat!' i hear you say, 'would you be saying this if it were Fearne or Orym who lay wrapped up in that carpet like so much baggage?!'

i'm delighted you asked! why, yes! yes, i would! because if it were Orym who were still and dead, then how do the Bells even carry on his investigation into what happened in Zephrah, if they even choose to? do they relay their findings to his boss? do they contact Dorian and tell him (and how would he react?) do they go to Yios in an attempt to find more information? do they send Orym home like they sent Bertrand to Whitestone, or do they accompany him for a proper memorial? how does Fearne specifically cope in Orym's absence, as she was closest to him for longer (and quite possibly viewed him as 'hers' because of her fey selfishness)?

or take Fearne: how would Orym do? would Ashton miss the little theft battle he had going with Fearne? would Chet mourn one who got away? how do the Bells tell Birdie and Ollie about their daughter's death? does Morrigan find out, and if so, what's her reaction?

see, the thing about death is that it leaves ripples, even if a person is brought back. it's about picking up the pieces in the nightmare wake of it, about finding the capacity to hold on to one breath to the next without losing your ever-loving mind. 'oh, but Laudna's arc isn't done; she didn't have a proper 'chance'--' no, she didn't. and neither would Orym have done, or Fearne. 'their stories aren't finished--' again, no! they're not! but that's why death is called Death and not A Rest-Stop On A Turnpike.

Molly's death in C2 was abrupt and unexpected and his arc wasn't done. neither was Vax's, really, in C1. why do you think VM kept saying 'i do not accept this' when it was his time? because death robs everyone, to some extent. even if one comes back.

if a person is so concerned about Laudna's arc being 'unfinished' or 'how she never got a chance to be herself,' then answer me this: are you just as concerned about the other six bodies that were hung on the Sun Tree? two of which, i remind you, were children. were their arcs not cut short? were they not robbed? were their deaths not just as monstrous and needless? or is it just because Laudna happens to be a PC? i am asking this sincerely.

i've done a lot of thinking since ep33 when all this shit started to kick off, and i still don't know where i come down 100%, but that's fine. i don't need to. i am just watching a game that i am not participating in directly, and i realise that my opinion matters less than a fart in a hurricane to the players. i'm just saying that i am interested in the next storytelling beats. because if death in D&D is just a stumbling block, the way some people seem to think it is, then i also ask: why are the players so visibly worked up about it when a party member falls? they know it isn't cheap, and they don't treat it flippantly. they know that even with all the right planning and all the diamonds and spell slots, sometimes things just don't work. and they adapt.

we should, as well. we can hope and pray, and in worst cases, mourn, but above all we adjust. we have to.

[willowbirds]

✨I’m gonna make this and no one can stop me!!✨

I decided to listen to the first episode of campaign 3 again because I had nothing else to do and I realized that Bell’s Hells are actually a bit different from where they first started.

It’s of course character development and the players getting comfortable playing their new characters, but I thought about how much the characters have changed from episode 1 all the way to now.

Obviously not every character has been through the same amount of growth throughout to campaign so far, but these are some of the things I personally noticed.

(Feel free to add in case I missed something. This is just what my brain has observed)

Ashton

Then:

- Was distrustful

- Only did things for money

- Wasn’t sure how to feel about FCG

Now:

- Would murder anyone for FCG

- Greatly cares for their friends

- Is willing to give people a chance (but if you fuck it up you are not getting a second one)

- Most likely has abandonment issues

Laudna

Then:

- Living life to fullest and having fun

- Is not actually as scary as she seems

- Probably alright being a little off putting

Now:

- Is dealing with so much trauma and is trying to cope with it

- Doesn’t want anything to happen to the first person that actually gave her a chance in years

- Is actually really scary and maybe doesn’t want to be?

FCG

Then:

- Little ball of sunshine

- No thoughts, head empty

- Wants to help anyway they can

Now:

- Is having an existential crisis because their whole life was a lie

- Is now slowly dealing with burnout, but doesn’t know how to handle it

- Is not only dealing with his trauma, but his friends trauma as well (It’s taking a number on him)

- Is still coming to terms with the fact that he might actually be sentient and a living creature

Imogen

Then:

- Is more shy and tries to hide herself

- Soft spoken

- Doesn’t like swearing

- Doesn’t know how to feel about all the new voices in her head now that she’s traveling with more people

Now:

- Is more assertive (with a soft voice still)

- More confident and vibrant, but still stays quiet when need be

- Literally swears every other sentence

- Is a badass and also terrifying

Fearne

Then:

- Does things because she feels like it

- Is here for the chaos

- Is full of love and support

Now:

- Is still very similar, but she’s trying to figure things out

Orym

Then:

- Parent of the group

- There to protect others (He’s a guard so it makes sense)

- Seems well put together

Now:

- Is dealing with the grief of loosing his husband

- Is paranoid that something could happen to the group

- Is starting to lean back and be an older sibling rather then a parent

Chetney

Then:

- Crazy old gnome man

- Silly goofy werewolf (Recognize the Alpha)

- Is a bit lonely

Now:

- Is still a silly old gnome werewolf

- Genuinely cares about his friends even though he may seem cruel

Dorian

Then:

- Cheerful bard having a good time

- Cares deeply for his friends

- Is a dork

Now:

- Is a runaway prince

- Just wants to be free

- Doesn’t want to be something he’s not

TL;DR

Traumatized and neglected people from across Exandria felt lost and alone, but found a group of weirdos like them. Now they can all grow and learn to be themselves without fear.

(The fact that so much development has already happened in less then 30 episodes is amazing. They all bring out the best in each other.

And because Bell’s Hells are so genuine and caring towards weirdos and others who don’t fit in, it lead them to being manipulated by someone who used them for their own personal gain without a care for the Hells’ wellbeing.)

They’re just a bunch of weirdos, and weirdos have to stick together.

[elliesgaymachete]

Quick analysis about the likelihood of each character making it out alive. Feel free to ignore or not read, it’s just ideas that have been kicking around in my head since Thursday.

The facts are these:

FCG has one (1) spell slot left for Revivify

Fearne and Orym I think have only been dead for one round? Maybe fearne 1 and Orym 2. I’m not sure exactly but basically it hasn’t been long at all

Laudna is down 2 death saving throws BUT she has a 25% chance of coming back up at 1 hp

Fearne has multiple 3rd level slots left (someone else on here did an analysis of the exact number) and as a wildfire druid she always has Revivify prepared

They have multiple diamonds. I don’t know exactly How many but I want to say at least 2-3

Also the cast has had a whole week to talk and strategize and figure out who has what resources and what they need to do

Based on all of this there are A LOT of likely outcomes, a lot of which have multiple people surviving.

One character at a time, let’s start with Fearne. Fearne has a pretty good chance of making it out alive because, if they’re banking on her to revive any other players, it makes the most strategic sense. She hasn’t been down very long and it shouldn’t take more than two or three rounds to get to her (she was a little off the map but not too far). And her coming back will either depend on the dice roll, or maybe Matt will forgo that rule like he did on occasion in c2, we’ll see. But basically, Fearne will probably be the first Revivify target and everyone else’s odds of surviving are dependent on that.

Next, Laudna. Girl has a 25% chance of popping back up at 1 HP again and when you’re counting on Delilah Briarwood and the lengths people will go for the ones they love, those are some pretty good odds. She also has a 25% chance of not dying but just staying unconscious. If that happens, I believe Laudna is between FCG and Fearne, so they could pop a quick spare the dying into her while he’s on the way and she will be fine. If that doesn’t work and she does die before anything else can help or stabilize her, then she’s pretty dependent on both Fearne coming back to life AND them having at least 3 diamonds (my guess is that Fearne would try to save Orym first because she’s known him longer and he’s been dead longer and he’s physically closer to her). Still, despite all that, there’s a lot gunning for Laudna so I think she might have the highest chance of survival of the three of them

Lastly, my boy Orym. Sadly, I think he may have the lowest chance of survival just because he has been dead the longest. Let’s overestimate just in case, but if he’s been dead 2 rounds, and it takes 3 rounds for FCG to get to Fearne, and Fearne 3 rounds to get to Orym (she would have to get up from prone so half movement one round), then she would get to him about round 8 of him being dead, cutting it pretty close. Again, I am overestimating, so hopefully in game it would be a lot quicker than that, or Matt will be a little more loosey goosey with the rules. But Orym’s survival is entirely dependent on both a successful revivify for both Fearne AND himself. Still good odds, just lower than the others

Finally, Matt said he always talks to the players to see what they want. Based on the last 4 sided dive where Ashley said there’s still so much left to explore, it doesn’t feel like she’s ready to let go of Fearne yet. Plus the fact that she was in and out for both campaigns 1 and 2, Fearne was her first chance to fully explore a character for the entirety of a campaign, I don’t know if she would want to let that go.

I feel like Marisha is invested in Delilah’s game and wants to see where that goes, but also since Laudna’s life was so filled with tragedy and she still thinks her life is over and her only purpose is to help Imogen have the life she never could, it would be such a tragic story for her to die now. But I could also see her be like “let’s let the fates decide and put it in Delilah’s hands I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯”. She’s really kind of a wildcard

Liam might be the most ok with letting go of his character. His last words felt very final, and he did take Matt up on the offer and cheat death quite a bit as Vax so he also might be curious what it’s like to start anew. He’ll probably wait for the dice to decide but accept whatever happens

Anyway I’m not trying to assume what the cast wants or thinks this is just my own personal speculation of what could happen! It’s my way of coping with not knowing the outcome until Thursday lol

[piratespencil]

For the ask meme, thoughts on Chetney and Dorym?

Chetney

How I feel about this character: I really like him!! I'm a big fan of werewolves in general and I think Travis is doing something really fun with him. Also Chetney's whole vibe is funny as fuck. Every line out of Chetney's mouth is a banger. What a guy.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: I'm so invested in seeing Chetney/Fearne play out lol... Honestly Chetney/any of Bell's Hells or any NPC would be fun... I just think this old man should get to fuck.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Really really enjoying the friendship that's developing between Chet and FCG!! Also... Chetney and Dorian... I miss their interactions so much. :(

My unpopular opinion about this character: Idk if it's an unpopular opinion but as much as I like Chetney, I feel like of all the Hells he's the one who I trust the least. By far. There are so many little moments that make me super suspicious of Chetney... I don't know what his motives are and I don't trust him and I wouldn't be surprised if he turned on Bell's Hells in some way... This is not a negative tho!! It makes me super curious about him and his whole deal.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: More info about Chetney's past!! He's been alive for so long, I want to know what he's been doing for 300+ years... Also I want to see him lose control of his wolf form more, and also see what happens to him on the full moon??

Favorite friendship for this character: Chetney and Dorian!!

My crossover ship: I said this for Veth too, but Chetney & Veth friendship would be so fucking good.

Dorym

When I started shipping them: Sometime in early c3? In EXU Prime I felt like there was a lot more romantic tension between Dorian and Dariax than between Dorian and Orym, but seeing how close Dorian and Orym were in c3 sold me on them... And how much Orym clearly misses him now that he's gone... :(

My thoughts: One of my fave c3 ships for sure. <3 Again, Doriax was my fave EXU Prime ship but Dorym really grew on me in c3. I miss Dorian so much and I really feel like there was something brewing between them and I'd love to see how things would develop between them if Dorian came back.

What makes me happy about them: They're best friends! They love each other! They canonically sleep cuddled up with Fearne and that's cute as hell! Their personalities play off of each other so nicely and they're just really sweet.

What makes me sad about them: The fact that Dorian is gone.... :( Come back blue boy!

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: I wouldn't say it annoys me when Dariax and the rest of the Crown Keepers don't get mentioned in Dorym fics, but I love when Dorym fics do at least mention the rest of the Crown Keepers!

Things I look for in fanfic: I like a lot of Dorym fics!! Fearne/Dorian/Orym or Ashton/Dorian/Orym ot3 fics are also great...

My wishlist: Dariax/Dorian/Orym ot3! I don't think I've ever seen a poly fic with those three but I'd love to see it.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Dorian/Dariax and Orym/Ashton are some of my fave alt ships for those two.

My happily ever after for them: Dorian comes back and they tell each other how much they mean to each other and Dorian gets to stay with Bell's Hells and they never have to split up again... ;_;

(Ask meme!)

[pawthorn]

Bell's Hells as My Favorite Great British Bake-off Contestants

A post that no one else wants, but I re-watched all of GBBO with my mom while she was recovering from surgery at my house so you're getting it anyway.

First up...

Laudna & Helena

[Image: A gif of Helena brushing hair away while saying "They come to me cos I'm dead."]

Obvious. Do I need to explain this? This connection inspired this whole dang thing. Spooky cheerful ladies who lean hard into their aesthetic and are charming because, not in spite of their creepiness. Love forever.

Fearne & Kate

[Image: A photo of Kate in from of a floral background holding a spatula]

Honestly? This one is just #vibes.

Orym & David

[Image: David saying, "I quite like a pert bun."]

Steady, precise, consistent, and sneakily funny, David was a surprise favorite. I got to like him over time, just as I've grown to like Orym more and more from ExU to now.

Chetney & Nancy

[Image: A photo of Nancy holding a confectionary windmill]

Mastercrafters who take exactly zero shit from anyone and would definitely cut a fool? These two are peas in a pod.

FCG & Tamal

[Image: A gif of Tamal saying, “It’s only slightly, horribly tense.]

Tamal just has such a sunny smile, and was always rushing over to help other contestants. Plus, he’s an anesthesiologist, and isn’t FCG all about taking people’s pain away?

Ashton & Lizzie

[Image: A photo of Lizzie showing her inner-lip tattoo, which reads, “Cake?”]

Loud personality? Check. Blunt way of speaking? Check. Caring deeply about their new friends, staying true to themselves and doing their best despite circumstances? Check. Love Lizzie, love Ashton.

Imogen & Nadia

[Image: A gif of Nadia smiling brightly before her face suddenly shifts to a look of exaggerated concern.]

The drive. The expressions. The constant fight against anxiety. Nadia may not be a horse-girl or a telepath, but she and Imogen have very similar energies. Also they’re both awesome.

Dorian & Liam

[Image: A gif of Liam’s gasping, eyes widening before a small grin spreads across his face]

Charming, funny, captivating, able to pull a hat-trick off when all seems lost? Both these guys are endless fun to watch and left their respective shows far too soon (imo).

Bertrand & Terry

[Image: A photo of Terry, icing a cupcake with rainbow frosting]

Terry rarely finished his bakes. He was absent for one episode and left by week five. But he was sincere, colorful, and left one hell of an impression, just like Bell.

[c-is-for-circinate]

Post-Ep C3E33

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

I have too many feelings and too many thoughts about too many things so let's just have some bullet points of stuff I want to come back to later:

Ashton, my beloved, and how helpless they were for so much of that ep. What it means to be the person with the common sense, trying to keep order and control and practicality in a group like this (Ashton as the most grounded member of the group, which is an even better pun for being true), while also literally being the person who's meant to fly into a wild killing rage. The beautiful mechanical paradox of a battlefield control barbarian and its character-building implications, but also what it means to be Ashton, trying to herd these cats, being the person who understands fundamental practicalities of criminals and people best, and yet finding yourself so, so, so out of your depth when it stops being about basic human logistics and starts being about cosmic magic powers.

Orym. How fucking desperate Orym is for a leader, for Imogen to be that leader. The fact that Imogen has so many things going on inside her that she was never, ever, ever going to be. Imogen vs Keyleth, and the Keyleth that Orym knows vs the Keyleth that we know, Keyleth at level 10, trying and failing and failing and trying again, and all the ways she tried and failed different from Imogen, because Imogen's inheritance of power from her long-missing mother is so like Keyleth's on the surface, and so very very different underneath.

I don't even have words for Fearne, just a high-pitched whistling eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee of NOPE. I want my Fearne back, please.

(I want to read a fanfic where Orym and Fearne and maybe even Chetney die and stay dead, the way it really truly looked like they would for a bit in there. Where it's just Imogen-and-Laudna and Ashton-and-FCG, two magical powerhouses with ticking time bombs inherited from mages in an ancient world that they don't even know the nature of, two battered-and-broken creatures who should've died and stayed dead and got back up and kept kicking anyway. Our two pairs, who we first met at the very start of episode one in Jrusar, coping as the stripped-down core of a group that was better, once, together. I want to read fic of it the same way I want fic of Caleb and Beau and Nott and Molly on the trail of their captive and enslaved friends for weeks and months and whole levels worth of adventures in a row, clinging together just the four of them, down half their party but all still alive the four of them themselves. I want it and I don't. I don't want it to be my canon. But I do want to roll around in the concept.)

Fucking hell FCG, though. FCG who is so scared and hesitant to heal at the start of the fight in the courtyard, because what will it do to him? FCG who CAN'T NOW. FCG with one spell slot left, two dead party members and one single Revivify to go around. Sam with that ninth-level Wish in my back pocket look on his face for so much of that fight, knowing he had just enough held back to save someone's character once they just dealt with the bad guy; with that ninth-level Counterspell look on his face, when Fearne went down, and went down again, and went down too brutal and bloody to get up again, and FCG's only got one spell slot left. FCG hiding and helpless, weak from the fight he brought against his own friends just earlier today.

I have a lot of feelings about Laudna being the primary backup healer in this fight, Laudna the dead thing who steals life from one creature to push it into the next. Wither and bloom. Trades. Delilah, take the wheel.

Something something Bell's Hells as a fractured individualistic group something something, lack of synergy even in fleeing, compared to previous parties we've known. WWKD (What Would Keyleth Do), how would the Mighty Nein have handled this fight, who is meant to be where doing what, when does this party figure out their jobs? How did it come to this? How did we end up in a situation where the one person Otohan wanted the most was, for most of the fight, the one person she couldn't see or attack? How do you even get a fight where the barbarian front-liner is the first to go down and the only one to successfully run away, where the healer hides and the undead warlock heals, where the werewolf does some of the most sustained magical OR physical damage and somehow lives to tell the tale while the druid with her wildshape bag of hit points goes down twice and action-surgeing, second-wind-ing fighter manages just about nothing at all?

Also I have thoughts about how the perception that a fight is too hard can put a group in even worse straits than the fight would've to begin with. Otohan had Legendary Resistances, high AC, and a shitton of damage output, but she also took maybe 50 HP of damage in that fight. If they'd gone at her together, with the idea that this was a fight they could win -- how would that have changed things? Could they have thrown enough damage her way to change how things went, if they went all in on damage instead of trying to run away? Would it only have gone worse?

Imogen, my baby girl, where are you taking us next?

[chockfullofsecrets]

hello it is brains! anon here to chatter at you because i like to chatter about writing

the sunlit metaphor that the whole thing is named for came from me nearly getting caught in a thought spiral because we don't know if ashton runs warm? they have blood? but they're a rock? at which point i went "fuck it, it's sunny, if they weren't warm they're about to be"

also just absolutely taken with the way ashton Is A Brat as a love language and also oh my gosh? this fic received such a response?

and also dorian is SO nervy and SO good for winding up that he was just. the obvious victim. i have it in my head that one day ashton will tickle imogen until she casts shocking grasp on them and then laugh his ass off about it, but they're not there yet. and laudna is a little too fragile for that kind of roughhousing, and fearne IS game, but her idea of play might sometimes involve setting you on fire. something about orym just isn't vibing, i think it's maybe that he'd rather fight fight than tickle fight and ashton's always down to get punched, and i simply CANNOT do chetney. i just cannot get a bead on the man

and FCG!! My beloved!! FCG is, of course, a robot, which is a shame because they'd otherwise be a prime candidate for this sort of thing. Ashton loves them, and they're not built to brawl, but unfortunately they have no nerve endings :(

@sunlitanon i’ve been trying to figure out the C3 gang and i would love to chat about them <3

i don’t know how earth genasi biology works and at this point i’m too afraid to ask but yes Ashton absolutely gets warm in the sunlight and stays cool longer than everyone else in the mornings and this makes them perfect for cuddling in the desert :)) when Laura adopts her obligatory animal companion i fully expect it to snuggle up with Ashton as much as possible

Taliesin embodies his PCs so beautifully every time and brat-with-a-heart-of-gold-maybe-literally? Ashton is everything. i just think! they should get to roughouse sometimes with zero consequences! and play and wrestle and tickle! And speaking of-

lee!Dorian supremacy

i feel like Ashton is kind of in best-behavior mode with the group, but i’m very excited for when they all get more comfortable with each other and they can start trading snark with Imogen bc i think they’d both be very good at it! and every character Laura makes is a terrifying ler in a different way and i think Ashton should have to deal with that

your fic with Laudna getting gentle tickles is so precious and gave me ideas about Ashton helping her get all her bones back into place after battle and not-so-accidentally tickling

“Fearne’s idea of play might sometimes involve setting you on fire” well it’s a good thing barbarians are resistant to lots of damage types :)))

Orym and Chetney! Are very hard! Kind of in the same way it’s hard to write Fjord in C2 because they’re all kind of self-contained and have their problems under control for the moment and so it’s a little harder to make them play well with others, i think. i can maybe see Orym and Ashton brawling when they need to let some steam off and helping patch each other up after and both feeling a little bad about it and play wrestling a bit as a result? And Chetney i see a bit more as a “you’ve been making snarky comments for weeks and i’ve been storing all of that up to tickle the shit out of you in revenge” ler.

i need someone to write a fic about FCG (automaton) and Ashton (a rock with nerve endings) figuring out physical affection and being bad at asking for things that they want. it doesn’t even have to have tickling in it i just want to read it