#I think I just want someone to be voiced by Matt Mercer

[quibbs126]

I was drawing Lobster Cookie, and I was thinking of who could voice him if he were in Kingdom

Why did my brain immediately go “Matt Mercer”?

Edit: so I went to go and listen to some of his voices, and I’m not sure it fits Lobster? Like it sounds a bit too…young for him? But maybe that’s just me. I’m not very good at guessing accurate voices for characters (other than that one time I thought Patrick Seitz could voice either Dark Cacao or Dark Choco)

Or maybe he would work? I dunno

[timetogosteddie]

Me: just going about my day.

My brain: "So, what if someone other than Matt voices Essek in the animated series?"

Me: unable to focus on anything other than that for hours.

My brain: "Perfect, see you tomorrow when I'll be back with the same question"

[yuri-is-online]

Hello hello! Anon here. First of all, congratulations on getting accepted for your courses! Don't worry about trying to balance work and the blog, we will always be here waiting for you. Second of all, your whole Yutu AU has been really fascinating to look through. (Though that may be because of my bias toward Fire Emblem Awakening, as it was what got me into the series) Sorry for the incoming wall of text, but it's been giving me THOUGHTS.

So imagine this: whoever Yutu's dad is (I'll pick Azul for this example because I headcannon his English voice somewhere between Matt Mercer's Chrom and Olivert from The Legend of Heroes games) finds out who Yutu really is. You remember that cutscene after Chapter 13 in Awakening, with the Lucina reveal and Chrom has this: "You deserved better than a sword and a world full of troubles. I'm sorry."? Imagine Yutu hearing something like that: the acknowledgement of everything he's gone through, the pain of knowing his dad couldn't do anything and can't do anything more than offer words, and the reality that it might now be really possible to change the future? I imagine Azul breaking down after hearing all that because the last thing he wants to do is hurt Yuu or his son after everything he's been through. Oh goodness, the two of them both need hugs.

Second: did Crowley tip off the Magic Marshalls (because I think he would) and force Yuu to take the blame for his negligence (because he absolutely would)? Now imagine Yutu finding this out and telling his dad. Now his dad knows Crowley is a cheapskate who fobs his work onto everyone else without a second thought. And now he's responsible for having Yuu taken away and starting all this? Knowing the boys and how far they would go for Yuu I'd imagine they don't take that well. In other words, to slightly alter a quote from Regina in Once Upon A Time: "I guess killing a crow suddenly made the top of my to-do list."

Sorry for the wall of text but that's been rattling around in my head for a few days (so make of it all what you will). Hope you're doing well and looking forward to what's next!

-The anon who loves Riddle & Azul

AHHHHH (i feel like I always take forever to answer your asks I am sosososososososososo sorry, this one just drove me crazy in a good good way)

Listen fire emblem awakening was my entire personality for like all of middle school.  The only thing i wanted to talk about was chrobin.  I celebrated Morgan and Lucina's birthdays by drawing them. I think I still have a Cherche x Libra fan art thing I drew on some sheet of paper somewhere in my things because I was SO MAD that no one shipped them and I couldn't find fan art of them anywhere and I just oooooooooooh.  THE WAY CHROM GETS A NEW CRIT LINE ABOUT HOW ANYTHING CAN CHANGE AFTER THE REVEAL???? BECAUSE OF HOW DETERMINED HE IS TO KEEP THAT PROMISE AND GIVE LUCINA A BETTER WORLD???? i just cant be normal about them i am so sorry.  R+A annon I love you, I love you so much for this you made my entire month and possibly my year.  Awakening is also what got me into the series and made me so many friends I just love her so much.  She's an icon and I hope she gets remastered with Sumia either deleted or with a fucking personality.

I should probably sit down and actually write a timeline for myself of events, but since I am free to lean in to the fire emblem pacing, I want to say that monsters from Yutu's timeline start showing up (similar to how the Risen do in Awakening) in the past and stirring up trouble, which leads to an event where Yutu panics and forgets himself in his desperation to protect his dad.  The main way the future kids always proved themselves was by showing their mother's wedding ring, but Yutu doesn't have that so really it's just up to his dad to see someone who looks like him and Yuu blended together, supposedly from Yuu's world using magic and above all else crying out and driving up his own blot levels to protect him calling him dad. For Azul! Yutu it's especially painful, he feels like he already knows what his dad is going to say. That he's disappointed in him. That he has no idea how they could possibly be related. That he hopes in this future he turns out to be different. But that's not what happens.

Before Azul overblotted he was quiet. There's a similar quiet over him now, a similar look of tense surprise, but Yutu- no- his child doesn't know that. His child is looking at him in fear, in worry for his reaction or his safety he doesn't know but he knows the way those tears start to form. Azul knows the quiver of the lip and the shriek, of all the things he could have passed on to such a treasure.

"You deserved better from me." Because it's true. He might think of himself as a work in progress but he still thinks he has quality; he would have done research, read every book he could get his hands on, taken classes, anything he would need to do to be a good father, a worthy partner. Anything. "You deserved to have the world within your grasp, not whatever shadow of a future and a father I left you with. I am so sorry." He does not expect Yutu to grab him and hold him like he's still somehow worthy of his love, but Azul can't fight the urge to grab back, to stroke his son's hair and let the tears fall on his suit without any care at all. I'm here. It's ok, daddy's here, daddy's got you, he won't let anything happen to you.

As for your second question, I did not really write Crowley like that no. It was more like he was the first person mysteriously arrested after the Magical Marshall's decided to finally do their job. I was writing it like they wanted to ship Yuu away to cover up for their own incompetence in preventing seven overblots instead of properly investigating what might have caused that. He's not completely innocent though, so yes. The boys do not take it well at all. And please do not apologize for sending in your thoughts, I am so so slow but I love hearing from you.

[sagesariadnd]

About D&D Stage Fright

A few years ago, a friend was just starting to get curious about D&D, but she was worried about the roleplaying element of it. She'd roleplayed in text plenty before, but not so much live and in person. So she asked on social media for advice on how not to feel self-conscious while roleplaying. At first I wasn't sure what to say - I definitely felt awkward and self-conscious initially, especially since pretty much every game I've ever been in was over discord. How DO you get over the feeling of talking to yourself in an empty room? But after thinking about it a while, I realized what my coping mechanism was to get past that feeling, and I now pass it on to you;

Give your character a voice.

I'm not saying you have to be Matt Mercer, and you don't have to do a goofy over-the-top voice or even an accent. You just need to ask yourself one question before you start the game: "How does my character talk?"

You certainly CAN do a goofy voice if you want to, but it really can be anything; a slightly different pitch of your voice, speaking from a different part of your throat, a verbal tick, vocabulary you don't normally use, you can make it growly or raspy or breathy...just do something to differentiate your character's speaking from your own. Nobody has to even notice the difference, as long as you know for yourself what you're doing.

It sounds counter-intuitive, but from my personal experience, having a character voice helped me because it mentally compartmentalized myself and my character. It helped me to solidify the character, and thus helped me to embody them. By creating a voice, I often end up naturally developing different body language, too - the table can't see what I'm doing, but I'm even further embodying the character instead of myself. So when I spoke in character, I wasn't thinking about how I was alone in a room talking to a computer and yelling about bashing in someone's skull. It didn't feel like it's me, if that makes sense, so I felt less compulsion to feel embarrassed.

(It can also be a good canary in the coalmine for problems in a new group. If they question why you're talking funny or criticize you for taking the game 'too seriously,' that's your invitation to find another group; you don't need that kind of toxicity in your life.)

Obviously, you want to be careful not to get so engrossed in your character that you suffer character bleed, but a few drops of immersion really can help you focus on the game and not on yourself. I haven't been able to find a source, so take this specific note with a grain of salt, but I've heard that Idena Menzel, who gets horrible stage fright, does better when she's playing a role rather than singing one of her shows' songs herself at, say, a talk show. And I get it, because that's basically what I'm doing when I do character voice.

I hope this helps someone. I'm probably not explaining it well, but it's what worked for me and I hope it works for someone else too.

[elvishdemigod]

Signs that made me realize that, yes, I AM demisexual demiromantic

I don't like the idea of me finding someone through a dating app.

I do not like the thought of going to a strip club (if only my parents would get that)

I only ever have felt a pull to fictional characters, especially companions you can romance in games.

Which leads to my next point, I have never found a celeb actually attractive until after I looked into them when they voiced a character I liked, like Matt Mercer (MacCready) or Gideon Emery (Fenris). But even then it's not even a big thing, it's "I just think they're cute."

The only real crush I've ever had was on a childhood friend and maybe an old friend I had online.

Real adult films do not interest me much at all, but a fictional one where the characters can be anything in my head, or stuff of characters I already liked, are fine. (That, and there's the worry that whoever's in the real stuff is underage, drugged, or forced to put on a smile)

I don't like the idea of being in a relationship and then having some rando I don't know, or just a 3rd person for bed, be welcomed (I am open to poly though.)

What really solidified it for me was point 2, because my parents were talking taking me to a strip club when they legally can, and the thought grossed me out because 1. I don't want my first sensual experience to be with someone my parents paid to dance for me, and 2. I do not find strangers hot at all. It would be like watching fish swim; interesting but I don't really feel anything for it.

[nochi-quinn]

candela obscura chapter one episode 3: bad news: the rest of it

hand porn people come get your juice

(it's me I'm hand porn people) (you think I watched four seasons of Magicians for the plot?)

you mustn't read from the book

cool I hate it

auggie: EYYYY

edmund?

auggie's expression in his art is still so good. love character art that says so much about a character

"before each of you are visited by - " my garbage brain: "three ghosts"

oh the grey streak in charlie's hair is new

backstory, bacKSTORY

oh not the mental arguments, those are the worst

auggie my beloved

howard

howard's been high on ghosts for a week

"what were you doing?" "ghosts"

"have you had it looked at?" "I've looked at it :D"

I heard that "insight check" she didn't say

I had to step away, who drilled a hole in their head this time

okay nobody drilled a hole in their head but auggie is Impersonating a Police Officer

god all I can think of is the opening to the Lungfishopolis section in Psychonauts

"Doing well, Officer O'Lungfish! Following all posted laws, to the letter!"

CITIZENS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

do you scarlet?

give the baby cocaine

AUGGIE

the average nextdoor poster

MATTHEW I was DRINKING

nefarious something somethings

"come back with a warrant"

aw he got his hoity-toity politics niece a book

it's tusk love

it's BETTER it's HARDY BOYS

I'm something of a spooky story myself

"there's DRUGS in the WALLS"

you what your what

"they're both equally shit"

roll for ricochet

table: howard no robbie: HOWARD YES

"to make you go to sleepytime"

oh oh that one episode of doctor who

idiot's lantern! that one

oh that's very cool

we love an interactive prop

oh no irl dark

insert symmetra "fall back" voice line here

oh I hate it

OH I HATE IT

too tall. too much. too much limb.

when I step you step we step

I very much heard "crying"

I didn't ask how big the room is I said I cast oil lantern

I PUT THE TEAM ON MY BACK

ghost floaters

"only you can create forest fires"

I'm just thinking of the werewolf from paranatural

AUGGIE

[percy lovm voice] I AM EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE

"that was my kamehameha" nerd

"drive it like you stole it"

……..kara-sene

uku'toaaaaa

"I don't know the rules, I can't roleplay my way out of this"

auggie :(

lycanthropic ficus

"what do you have?" "a gun! :D" "NO"

my permanent fallout brainrot insists on hearing "deacon" instead

of "deagan"

"it's a magic gun that's bat at ghosts"

[tma voice] ghost bullet

oh I haven't been looking, I didn't realize ashley took the jacket off

stop I'm already gay

I am not immune to matthew mercer's version of slimy charm

playing dishonored be like

arlo's little dreamy voice going "I have a rifle :D"

matt that sound effect was ENTIRELY unnecessary

god help me for the reference I'm about to make

"THE BULLETS JUST KEEP GOING THROUGH THE HOOOOOLES"

elephant graveyard but for trains

"we're urban spelunking"

oh, it's filch

sounds like something someone who was skulking would say

"tetanus is the true enemy"

howard Leeroy Jenkins margrove

and then arlo had no face

[zenyatta voice] experience nothingness

"a person appears in the portal" stanford?

that is a joker from improbable island

(please play improbable island)

matthew I have never hated your sound effects so much as I do in this moment

OOF obsidian stab

you are flying through the air no matter what

FLAMING AXE

you ever grow another arm just to punch a guy

I was JOKING

"uh-oh!"

SAVE US GHOST BRAIN MAN

the softest "oh no"

BE THE SPRIGG YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD

HOWARD'S NO COWARD

LEEEEEEEROY JEEEEEEENKIIIIIINS

"what is the exact light temperature of your ritual"

noooo let arlo do her cool trick shot

summon the spirit of percy

hey matt what the fuck

howard's made of ghosts

"I feel strange" because you're made of ghosts

I enjoy that ashley stays in character voice the entire time she's playing. like she's just auggie now.

okay what matt said was cool but I also like the idea of auggie not being able to rely on being able to physically fight his way out of shit and having to actually read the situation

hey robbie what the f u c k

bad news: the rest of it

[pink-strawberry-kissess]

I watched the movie Resident Evil Degeneration today and I definitely hated the movie because of Leon and Angela. When I saw the scene of their kiss in the water, I was shocked. Many say it is cpr, but it does not seem like cpr to me. Also, throughout the movie, he holds her hand. There is even a scene similar to the scene of Ada and Leon when she fell at the end of re2. At the end of the movie, Angelia said to Leon, “Let’s dive again,” and he said, “I’d love to .” I really hate Capcom

honestly i have a lot of reasons why i write off degeneration as a movie as a whole

objectively, the writing is bad in resident evil but this one is absurdly poor

it's another movie where nothing really happens that's substantial and because it's so easily forgotten, i feel like a lot of the plot can just be ignored in the grand scheme of things

leon's essentially a cardboard cut out that spouts off random lines when things happen

he doesn't have a voice or even any thoughts that aren't things he's said before.

funnily enough i think claire was decent in this movie, too bad it's the only movie she's in that's actually a decent portrayal of her (im very anti stephanie (new's claire's characterization) and find her to be nothing other than a mary sue - self insert. and that they stripped her of all interesting aspects of her character/narrative)

(this is also NOT hate, this is a legitimate critic of her character, and i think that claire stans deserve better than how she's currently portrayed. and at this point it really seems like what claire's va wants is for claire to be fridged at some point in the future to further chris's storyline.)

although this one the only film that did not star matt mercer as leon (not including infinite darkness which was voiced by nick,) and was voiced by paul mercier- he was extremely clearly uncomfortable, or was given poor direction.

i do think he was great as leon in og re4, but something about the movie was so badly voiced

i wasn't sure if it was voiced in japanese at first and he was forced to dub it to the japanese voice flaps? but either way it's really poorly done

we also have to remember that this particular film was also directed/written by someone who was vehemently ANTI aeon, so he forced a "relationship" between leon and angela.

i think the breath of air could either be interpreted as cpr or a kiss, i don't really care tbh. if angela wasn't drowning, then a "kiss" wouldn't have happened. i just think it's a non-issue and it was written in to "enhance leon's flirt status"

i do think that it's funny though that in the damnation bloopers, matt mercer's leon makes a joke about how he forgot about diving with angela lol he said he was gonna call her after but still sdjkfbsjkdf doubtful that ever happened (also i am aware at the bloopers aren't canon lmao)

[bogunicorn]

I posted 2,242 times in 2022

That's 736 more posts than 2021!

260 posts created (12%)

1,982 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sandraugiga

@jellydishes

@potatowitch

@dingdongyouarewrong

@dreadfutures

I tagged 2,238 of my posts in 2022

#queue - 1,249 posts

#dragon age - 628 posts

#funny - 464 posts

#da fanart - 399 posts

#dai - 352 posts

#bog post - 283 posts

#truth - 222 posts

#da2 - 178 posts

#solas - 168 posts

#the inquisitor - 136 posts

Longest Tag: 130 characters

#bw and the da team specifically are very very good at creating characters with flaws and prejudices that are emotionally realistic

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

the "soldier boy good homelander bad" hot takes and/or confusion is predicated entirely on the fact that jensen is more fuckable than antony

123 notes - Posted June 24, 2022

#4

oh also culturally fenris would have more in common with dorian than he would with someone like krem, because after he lost his memory, most of his time was spent with danarius and around danarius's high class social circle. it's why he sounds Like That and is generally well-informed on how tevinter is actually ruled. he was actively prevented from learning to read, but he still took in information like a sponge and learned enough qunlat to effectively communicate with native speakers just by hearing it over a short period of time. he didn't spend his time before escaping just plugging his ears and tuning out.

125 notes - Posted November 14, 2022

#3

listen just

just

kaz and inej are just the peak of pining. they desperately want intimacy but what stops them from reaching out for it or accepting it is all wrapped up and internal, caused by situations entirely out of their own control, and they're both at a point in their respective recoveries where they have the desire for emotional vulnerability and physical touch but not the ability to tolerate it. and it's all internal shit they barely articulate to themselves, let alone each other.

so you get the over-the-top drama of the two of them consistently risking their physical safety or deep-seated morals for each other, or fucking up in a high stakes situation because they're too busy thinking about each other to concentrate, but also one time kaz touched her bare skin and immediately got so embarrassed he went "I'M GONNA GO DIE NOW DON'T FOLLOW ME" and inej responded by stalking him and spending pages of narration basically saying "god he's so fucking stupid, we're married now".

164 notes - Posted December 11, 2022

#2

No spoilers but what I had thought was Dorian's voice in the trailer is actually Matt Mercer doing such a terrible French accent that he sounded like Ramon, which is infinitely funnier.

174 notes - Posted December 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

(ETA: I stuck a read more on this because my #1 post of this year is about darkfic/triggery kink fic lmao anyway proceed)

when we get into conversations of "liking this fictional thing means you support it IRL/want to do it to real people", i immediately get a red flag off the person making that argument.

because, like... i write a LOT of stuff i have no interest in doing IRL. scary stuff, kinky stuff, a lot of super mundane stuff, too. my physical sex life doesn't resemble the smut i write at all, even a little because my boundary between real life and fiction is solid. and it's not like a "oooh i'm so good at resisting temptation" thing, i mean like, i write a lot of oral sex scenes and have zero interest in sucking a dick IRL. i write a lot of dark subject matter and unhealthy relationships, and i'm living in a happy, pretty boring marriage that i wouldn't change for anything.

but someone who goes hard on "you like (noncon/incest fic/idk fucking teacher/student storyllines), you must want to (assault someone/fuck your sibling/bone down with your teacher or student)" stuff, it makes me think that person has a shaky boundary and they're not very safe to be around. i become deeply worried about their impulse control and their ability to contextualize.

i've said it before, but i'd honestly rather spend my time with people who write triggery darkfic but have basic respect for others vs. people with a "good and virtuous" media and fanfic diet who can't shut the fuck up about all those kinks no one is forcing them to read.

5,617 notes - Posted July 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[epaily]

first 8 hours of totk review :D

SPOILERS UNDER CUT

that was the coolest intro to any game ive ever seen, loved starting w 30 hearts and full stamina especially bc that wasnt possible without glitches in botw

do not reconize matt mercers voice at ALL

i thought link losing his arm was very cohesive!!! lovelove love that thats how we lose hearts

i love everything about rauru

top portion of the map is absolutely gorgeous. the fall colours are beautiful. the constructs are creative and blend in well artistically and narratively. theres cooking pots everywhere. its still large but a blip on the map comparatively and very mountainy so its very good to explore and find secrets. scratches my brain

it didnt take me 5 weeks to do the tutorial this time around :D

speaking of map, it looks fucking huge. i dont think its bigger then the botw map but the area borders are different and its throwing me way off

how do i fucking drive some of these things

every time i see an item i reconize its like greeting an old friend i havent seen in a while

and every time i see a new thing im both pleasently surprised and at ease, like im meeting someone for the first time but we immediately click

and every time i see something mildly incorrect im either sad or discombobulated. i walk past a place where i know theres a shrine in botw because ive seen it a thousand times, and theres no shrine. i dont know where they went, just sunk into the ground again? they should still be standing just dead and not glowing and inaccessable imo :((

speaking of shrine THERES ZONAI SHRINES!!!!!!! they follow p much the exact pattern as botw shrines. overall so far i prefer the aesthetic of botw shrines more.

at the end instead of spirit orbs you get "light of blessings" and i stumbled over typing it because i 100% think it should be blessings of light. light of blessings sounds incorrect.

why is there a fuckign fairy fountain right outside dueling peaks stable.

WHAT IS THAT GIANT KING BOKO WHAT. WHAT.

blood moons are still a thing unfortunately and its much sharper and scarier looking this time around

its very weird not having my champion abilities. or 3 wheels of stamina. and everything hurts. where is my paraglider. WHY CANT I GLIDE THIS FEELS SO WRONG

take a shot every time i fall off a cliff

theres tunnels to the center of the earth that instakill you

it isnt "malice" anymore its called gloom now. im still calling it malice.

the abilities links prosthetic arm give him are legit so fun. a bit janky and they take some time to get used to but im having a good time. all i can make is a shitty little car i cant steer. im having a great time.

im not playing this as cohesively as i did botw. walking right past quest markers and things. the way i played botw means by the time i would have gotten the master cycle there would be nothing left for me to do to use it with. i doubt it will be the same but i want stuff to do post game

im not fucking finding a thousand korok seeds again. not for a very long time. i laughed maniacally after the first one and then stopped at 7. they have backpacks bigger rhen they are its adorable.

lots of new weapons

fuse is my favorite ability

shiekah slate is now called the "purah pad" which doesnt roll off the tongue as nice. do you think link was pissed when zelds made him give the slate back. do you think he misses cryonis blocks. because i definitely fucking miss my cryonis blocks

theres been fucking crows outside my window being loud as hell this whole post

lurelin village got invaded and swamped by pirates :((((

my least favorite armor set, the luminous gimp suit is being sold for free in kakariko and im kinda mad about it

paya is chief of kakariko now :D

i had a few more but im tired now zzzz

[esgaril]

heard about this from a freidn of a friend but apparently there was drama with some d20 fans on twitter calling matt mercer effeminate: mocking him for having long hair, painted nails, and a higher voice compared to brennan. which apparently got upgraded to transphobic jokes to the point where people outside of cr (AS IN MATT'S IRL FRIENDS) had to tell them to stop. and it's so disheartening because it feels hypocritical with everything they like about d20 compared to cr

I'm not sure if it's the same incident, but I also heard about twitter drama around the time the Ravening War was airing that was aimed at Matt personally and his friends got involved as well. honestly it's pretty stupid and I think not a lot of D20 fans engage in this, but the few that do can get pretty loud sometimes. also especially the voice thing is just laughably untrue, like imagine how clueless and braindead you sound if you try to claim that the guy who voiced Cassidy, Ganondorf and Minsc (just to name a few) has a girly voice. and thinking that Matt considers women inferior to the point that comparing him to one would be an insult to him is just unbelievably far from hitting any target. that's "tell me you know nothing about Matt without telling me" category.

I'm not sure what you mean by what those people like about D20 compared to CR, as CR is pretty inclusive, but I do agree that attacking someone for their appearance in the name of "there can be only 1 good GM on the internet" is kindergarten level childish, especially when Brennan would be the first to tell those people to fuck off with behavior like that. he would not consider them fans he'd want to have. that's the bane of a fandom growing above a certain size: there will always be toxic people who are looking for something to use as a weapon against others, who creep into bigger fandoms and start shit like this. thankfully I don't think it's the majority of the D20 fandom and the absolute refusal from Brennan and crew to encourage behavior like this helps keeping it to the minimum. it'd be nice if there were more people within the D20 fandom who'd shut down discourse like this before it turns toxic, hopefully there will be in the future. if you are part of the D20 fandom, maybe you can chime in next time when the discourse turns this direction with a reminder that not only Brennan doesn't want this, but it hurts the fandom as well to harbor such toxic elements.

meanwhile those people can seep in their rage knowing that Brennan doesn't want them, but he is good friends with Matt which includes private games at home and inviting him to his wedding. I hope they cry every time they think of that.

[shiny-jr]

I've been seeing this thing on tiktok where people give the TWST characters English voice Headcannons. I'm curious if you have any?

HELLO. Yes, thank you for this question. I have been waiting for someone to ask me this for the longest time. So a while back I made a list of playlists for the twst characters (never finished it) and at the same time I was making another list of who I would pick if I could assign voice actors to the cast. It's not done, I never finished it so there are a few missing, but here's what I have. There are links to examples for each one.

HEARTSLABYUL

Grim as Meowth from the Pokemon anime. Talking cat and another talking cat.

Hear me out, I know a lot of people disagree but I would personally like to see Ace Trappola voiced by Griffin Burns, the same guy that voices Childe in Genshin Impact. Yeah, Childe, another annoying guy just like Ace. Mainly because he's kinda funny and makes the most cursed/random content.

I struggled a bit on this one but I got a lot of voices from this anime. The dub is funny, plus this guy has some amusing lines that sounds like what Deuce Spade might say. Especially the scene with his mom. So I picked Reki Kyan from Sk8 the Infinity, voiced by Matt Shipman.

I also really struggled with this one too. I didn't find a voice with a valley accent, lol. But I did find this voice with sass and energy, so I just gave up and put down this one. Just imagine the sass and energy, all the time, for Cater Diamond. Double Trouble voiced by Jacob Tobia, from She-Ra.

Trey Clover - ???

This one is a given, everyone practically says the same. But I can only imagine Riddle Rosehearts with a voice like Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler, voiced by Brina Palencia. It's actually surprisingly hard to find good Ciel clips.

SAVANACLAW

Obviously this voice had to be kinda deep. It has to sound kinda cold too, since this character is standoffish and mean in the beginning. I think I did find a very fitting voice though. I believe Jack Howl should have the same voice as Jotaro from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, voiced by Matthew Mercer.

Ruggie's was a little difficult too. It couldn't be deep, it had to have this specific sound to it, something a little more high-pitched. Something fitting for the little guy. So I resorted to putting down Ruggie Bucchi as Meliodas from Seven Deadly Sins, voiced by Bryce Papenbrook.

I feel like I had to find a really good voice for this dorm leader, so I went through lots of options and even changed it multiple times. It had to sound cool and kinda on the deeper side. So in the end, I chose Sniper Mask from High Rise Invasion, who's voiced by Jonah Scott, for Leona Kingscholar.

OCTAVINELLE

This dorm gave me the most trouble by far. I hated it. I spent so much time trying to find a good voice for them, and I'm not completely content. Yet, here it is. For Floyd Leech, it took a lot of back and forth, but I decided on Atsushi Murasakibara from Kuroko No Basuke, voiced by Robbie Daymond. Another difficult one to find a clip for, and he's only in the first two minutes.

Why are these clips so hard to find? Despise it. No, I did not want to go with the generic answer of Sebastian from Black Butler for Jade Leech. Instead, I chose Greed/Ling Yao from Fullmetal Alchemist, voiced by Troy Baker. Just imagine that voice but in a more polite and butler-like manner.

Azul Ashengrotto - ???

SCARABIA

This voice is almost perfect for this character, you cannot convince me otherwise. I've played this game and liked this voice actor for a long time. The song he sings in one chapter? Amazing. I think the cheerfulness and tone are wonderful for the character Pit from Kid Icarus Uprising, voiced by Antony Del Rio. He reminds me a lot of Kalim Al-Asim.

For Jamil Viper I considered a few options. His voice couldn't be too high pitched or low pitched, it had to be more aloof sounding. This was one of those characters I gave a voice to and it kept it for the longest time before ultimately changed my mind. Mostly because I happened to find a voice for another character by the same voice actor, and I didn't want to have the same actor twice. Anyways, the character is kinda mean too, just like how Jamil low-key is sometimes. The lines in the first part of the video sound like stuff Jamil would say if he snapped at Kalim. So, here's my take. Felix Hugo Fraldarius from Fire Emblem Three Houses, voiced by Lucien Dodge.

POMEFIORE

For sure, Epel Felmier has to have a soft and nice-to-listen-to voice. When he gets angry and starts yelling is a different story, the voice actor will need to be able to play that part well with the volume and accent and all. I didn't have a definite character in mind, but I had a voice actor that I thought was fitting. Khoi Dao, who voices characters like Albedo from Genshin Impact, Tetsuya Kuroko from Kuroko no Basuke, and Murata from Demon Slayer. Again, clips are hard to find for him that aren't Albedo, but there's an okayish one I found.

Frenchman. Fancy man. With the voice that I just think is amusing to listen to. He has to have this positive energy but still sound frivolous, because he's one of the most upbeat characters out of the entire cast. It's incredibly hard to find a good voice actor with a French accent, so I tried to just pretend as if there was no accent just for now. And I think I found a worthy candidate for Rook Hunt. Lorenz Hellman Gloucester from Fire Emblem Three Houses, voiced by Benjamin Diskin. Just imagine adding the accent? I think it could be great.

Oh boy, another character that has to have a good voice. Like, if he has anything less, I don't know if the character would work. Like Jamil, I considered different roles for him. It has to sound refined and elegant, even a little harsh. So I'd like to see Vil Schoenheit as Cherry Blossom from Sk8 the Infinity, voiced by Daman Mills. I think even some of the lines said are fitting for Vil's character.

IGNIHYDE

I'm actually pretty confident and proud of my decisions for this dorm. Then again, they're my favorite so maybe I'm biased. Anyways, obviously Ortho Shroud has to have a higher pitched voice because he's younger, and he's one of the few friendly and positive characters. But I didn't want the voice to be annoying or too high pitched. Taking that into consideration, I went with Venti from Genshin Impact, voiced by Erika Harlacher.

I got this. Both have sharp teeth? Both are skinny and wretched? Both are kinda weird? Both are protective of their younger siblings? They have the same vibes. They even both strongly believe that they're "ugly." I struggled to find a voice for Idia Shroud, but when I heard this English voice, I knew it was the most fitting voice I can find. The lines in the clip? Perfect. You can just picture it as Idia talking about his little brother Ortho. Which is why I chose Gyuutaro from Demon Slayer, voiced by Brandon McInnis.

DIASOMNIA

One of the first voices I put down, I got his right before I put down Deuce's. Yup. If you listen to the clip from Deuce's part, there's a character there that I think would make a perfect Silver. Can't remember? Here's some clips of the character I'm talking about. Langa Hasegawa from Sk8 the Infinity, voiced by Howard Wang.

I got this recommendation from a friend, and I can't get over how spot on it is. Like, it's literally perfect, it tops all others I've listed. The volume, the energy, the way it sounds like they carried themselves, it was all too good. When I watched it for the first time, my jaw dropped. Please, listen to this with your eyes closed and picture Sebek Zigvolt. As the Dullahan from Konosuba, voiced by Patrick Seiz.

Another character I struggled with. I didn't even know where to start with him, but low and behold, by scrolling I found a decent fit for the bat dad. He kinda looks him too, actually. Lilia Vanrouge's voice is kinda difficult, since it's surprisingly deep in the official Japanese version but I feel that it could work well even if it isn't deep. Anyways, here it is. Vanitas from Jun Mochizuki, voiced by Zeno Robinson.

Malleus Draconia's voice is probably of the highest importance, since he is the game's golden poster boy. It's probably why I had such a hard time with his, it was probably one of the last ones I did. But hear me out, what if his voice was the same as an antagonist many may recognize. I think the voice is mysterious and intimidating, it's also elegant in a way too and deep but not ridiculously deep. Which is why I thought of Muzan from Demon Slayer, voiced by Greg Chun.

STAFF

Yeah, I did the staff too. Here we go. Everyone gives Sebastian Michaelis to Jade, but I think it might be more fitting for Headmaster Crowley, especially if the voice sounds a little more like Kyoya Otori from Ouran High School Host Club. Both Sebastian and Kyoka are voiced by the same person, J. Michael Tatum. Just a little more energy and a bit of a British accent on Kyoya's voice, can probably make an excellent voice for Crowley.

Okay, I'm gonna say the name, but hear me out. Hisoka from Hunter X Hunter, voiced by Keith Silverstein. WAIT. Hold on. Listen. Hear me out first. I know what you're thinking. But it's Keith Silverstein, and he has a wonderful voice. Just imagine that clip, rewatch it, picture it as Divus Crewel.

I had two options for Ashton Vargas, but ultimately the other option had little lines and this one is funnier. Plus I think they're voiced by the same guy. Anyways, like I said, this option is funnier so that's pretty much why I chose it. Director Ton from Aggretsuko, voiced by Josh Petersdorf.

There are not a lot of serious sounding voice actors that portray older men, so another hard one to find a voice for. But I managed, and I don't think I did too bad considering there wasn't too many options. Here's what I got. For Mozus Trein, Kuzen Yoshimura from Tokyo Ghoul, voiced by Sean Hennigan.

This guy needs a New Orleans accent, no matter what. That's all I ask. But, can you imagine if Sam had the same voice as Marshall Lee from Adventure Time, voiced by the Donald Glover? That would be amazing to see. It would actually be way more than just amazing.

[khadij-al-kubra]

Storytelling, Fate & Happy Endings

I’m still processing last nights episode (CR C2 Ep140), and much like every critter I’m SUPER emotional about it. But something about last night’s events and how they played out really got to me, not just as a fan but also as a storyteller. And even the day after, i was actually crying (still am crying in fact) more than i did last night watching it happen. At first i thought it was because i’m a fairly new critter and this is my first time watching a campaign come to an end. But the more i think about it and process, the more i realize that’s not just it. This effected me as someone who deeply believes in the power of storytelling and how it can not only effect but reflect the world around us. And because I have to get them out of my head, here are my thoughts on why last nights episode was so important, not just for CR fans but also as a an important narrative for right now.

...Yeah that’s a bit vague, isn’t it? Okay, let me explain. If you’re willing to take the time to read fellow Critters, I greatly appreciate it in advance. ^__^

WARNING: Major spoilers for CR Campaign 2 Episode 140 ahead. Also it’s gonna get kind of meta. And long. Because i have a lot of thoughts & feels.

So I think it’s fair to say that, as much as we would’ve been devastated by any of the M9 perma-dying in the last battle, part of us wasn’t expecting them all to make it out of there alive. Not even the players, I think, despite how much they likely didn’t want that to happen. Just look at the half-resigned way Liam talks about Caleb in the last few Talks Machina episodes. Or how, in game, Jester was fully prepare to die trying to stop the city from coming back. And for a while there, it seemed like some of them might not survive.

But then they did. Despite so many crappy rolls throughout the night they stopped Lucien, set free all the souls trapped in Aeor, saved Exandria, and brought each other back from the dead. Not only that, but they also did the impossible: They saved Mollymauk. Their lost friend who had such a deep impact on all of them even after his death. The delightfully charming asshole who was so full of joy and life and who, despite how the world treated him, was happily determined to leave every place better than he found it. Moreover, they almost didn’t succeed! But then they did, all because of teamwork, love and one last minute ditch effort ‘what-the-hell-have-i-got-to-lose’ dice role that none of them saw coming. And now they get to go home together, truly as The Mighty NINE.

Just this once, everybody lived! We got a happy ending!

And that’s HUGE in game...but also think for a second how that reflects outside of game too. Do you realize what a story like that means to people, especially given the year from Hell we’ve all had?

Think about it. This past year the world has suffered. We’ve all been impacted by the pandemic in some way shape or form, either on small levels or large. Our world has been at war with a virus that effected everyone and everything: Our sense of safety. Our health. Our economy. Our families & friends. Our freedom. (in the sense of our ability to travel & just be in close proximity to people without fear, but i digress) Deeply imbedded social and systematic diseases have been brought further to light in the past year and a half largely because of this virus. Some of us have lost people we love. Hell, the pandemic even effected the way that the latter half of Campaign 2 played out because of social distancing protocols. If you further compare this to Campaign 2, the world of Exandria was caught in the middle of a war that started because of social & systematic corruptions that had been rooted in two opposing kingdoms for years. And so many suffered and died because of it.

Then the Mighty Nein comes in. This ragtag group of delightful assholes with nothing to lose; these flawed but inherently good at heart and deeply human adventurers, broken and lost in their own ways, trying to make a home and family for themselves in a world that took advantage of them or left them alone or said they weren’t good enough...and they changed things. 

They grew. They fought back. They found moments of silliness and peace and joy and fun amidst all the strife and sometimes grief. Most of all, they tried. Sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of spite, sometimes even out of compassion, but mostly just out of love. And in the end, not only did they help people and stop a war for the sake of their loved ones, but they also saved their world from being destroyed by a rotted perversion of life from the past that threatened to consume everything they cared about. AND they STILL managed to bring everyone in their found family back to life. Does it erase the bad and sad things that happened to them? Hell no! But those things don’t negate the fact that in that moment, they made it out okay. That this was a victory and they won!

Think of what a story like that means to people right now.

I’m personally a pretty spiritual person, and much like our favorite clerics, I also believe in a higher power. But whether or not you also believe in a Divine being, the Universe or whatever, every D&D player believes in one thing: Fate. Luck. Call it what you will. But it was fate that made those dice rolls that saved everyone happen. It was fate that not only stopped Cognoza from returning, but also brought Jester and Caleb and Molly back to life, even when it seemed like it wouldn’t work. (and holy shit that gave me emotional whiplash!) 

After everything they went through, both individually and together, the Mighty Nein defied the odd and demanded that Fate let them save their loved ones. They demanded that the world give them back their friend; That they deserved to have their happy ending & get to go home alive together. Just. This. Once.

As a writer, I know firsthand that there are some stories we find and create ourselves, but then there are stories that have a way of finding us. Sometimes a story or world or character from somewhere in the Aether will pop into our minds one day and say, ‘I need your voice to tell my story.’ Maybe this is just me getting carried away with the meta brain again. And like i said, i’m a spiritually inclined person, so I believe in things like Fate and a Divine Higher power writing out the stories of the Multiverse. If you’re reading this (and thank you for taking the time to do so) maybe you do too. Or maybe you don’t. Either way, if you’re a fellow critter, then you’re clearly a fan of good stories and/or playing Dungeons & Dragons. So you know how fate/dice roles have a big impact on the outcome of a story, regardless of how tightly written a setup the dungeon master makes. Given all that and how organically stories tend to play out in D&D, I genuinely believe that Matt Mercer and the whole CR Team were meant to be conduits for a story where the flawed heroes save the world AND all make it home alive.

And I think Fate knew that we needed last nights battle to end like this. After all the crap we’ve been through this past year, we needed this happy ending, deserved it even! Not just us critters, the CR team too. As much as we all like to joke that Campaign 2 was secretly scripted, we all know that’s not true. Yes, the setup storyline and world were brilliantly crafted by Matt, and the character roleplaying is beautifully acted out by the team. But the twists and turns, the direction it goes, and how the game plays out is all up to fated dice rolls just like any other game. And something, some kind of force of luck, some force of fate, some Universal Divine DM out there made the roles happen the way they did last night.

It gave us a happy ending.

I believe that this was meant to happen; now of all times with everything else going on in the world. Amidst all this darkness and rot, both in game and in the real world, in the end of it all there was light and life. A reminder that sometimes people do live. They do get second chances. They do find a new family or reunite with old ones. That sometimes the world can be saved for a time, and happy ending do still exist. Even if it’s not broadcasted on the daily news amidst tragedy reports, or even tragedies that don’t get reported (which sadly are a lot, but again i digress).

Because the thing is, like Beau said, no one else will probably know they were heroes. No one will know what the Mighty Nein sacrificed to save all of Exandria. But they don’t need to know that for it to still be true, for life to happen again, and for a found family of nine broken people who love each other to go home together safe. It doesn’t invalidate that the good things happened. That at least for today everyone was saved. That flawed people were still able to do good because they tried. That they left the world better than they found it and got their own small but satisfying happy ending. Even if only for now, because we don’t know what’s gonna happen next Thursday. We don’t know what the future will hold for the Nein or Exandria when the Campaign ends or even when (hopefully) some loose ends will be tied up in later oneshots. But neither that nor the bad and sad stuff that happened beforehand in the game and in the character’s lives invalidates the fact that tonight they won. They lived.

So why can’t that be true for us in the real world?

I said earlier that, as a writer, I believe in the power stories have to not only reflect but also shape our world. This story is an example of why, but especially this episode, and that’s why i was so euphoric about the outcome. It wasn’t just a game for me, and i’m sure for others too. It was a much needed reminder that happy endings can still happen in real life, just as much as they can in stories. Even when everything seems dark and corrupt and rotten and hopeless, we can still keep fighting. We can keep trying. We can make new families and start over and be heroes in our on little lives in small ways. 

We can leave the world better than we found it. 

And maybe, with hard work, imagination, luck and a little Divine intervention...we can also get the happy endings we deserve.

[grimmywrites]

So, about Infinite Darkness...

I’m gonna try to be as succinct as I can (I failed) about all the problems I had with it, but my list is pretty long... Yes, this has spoilers. Let me state upfront: if you’re not a hardcore RE fan, you can skip the show. Below I’ll tell you why.

Story: What a mess. Honestly, they turned me off right at the beginning with all the military stuff. It’s the same reason people didn’t like Chris’ campaign in 6; didn’t they learn anything from that? So, the story wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen. Honestly, it had more plot holes than anything and so many points where I went: “I don’t care about this.” Again, it was a jumbled mess. Capcom, hire me and I’ll do better, I swear. Let’s just sum it up by saying it’s a rehash of things we’ve seen SEVERAL times in the series before. If you’re gonna do it AGAIN let’s make the story unique and interesting. Oh, there are shady people in the military that want to use bioweapons in war? Okay, we’ve known that since the first game. We’ve seen it time and time again. Look to re8′s ending for example: the BSAA are now starting to use engineered soldiers - THAT was a reveal that was far more interesting. The way it was addressed and overcome in this show was just... so lackluster. Ultimately, it just felt like this entire thing didn’t need to happen. It changed nothing, it impacted nothing, and I’m aware that it really couldn’t since it was after re4 and before re5. There was just no lasting point and all the ‘themes’ (if you can call them that) made absolutely no sense, but I guess I’ll get into that with the characters? Pacing: Absolutely god awful. One minute we’re in the White House fighting zombies then I blink and it’s over and I’m like: Oh, we’re done? Another we’re in a sub and then I blink. Oh, that’s over, too. Also, the creators must’ve taken a page from the last couple of seasons of Game of Thrones (which is an abysmal idea, don’t fucking do that) because with a few cuts here and there we went from Guam to China back to DC. Guess everybody learned how to teleport so they got exactly where we needed them to for the “climax”. Let’s talk about that climax: There was none. Let’s look at Degeneration and Damnation (no I won’t talk about Vendetta). Both had their weaknesses but Leon and the climaxes were BADASS. Leon doing parkour in Degeneration? Leon going against Lickers and the huge Tyrants in Damnation? Those were amazing scenes. He did a few cool things here and there but nothing that got more of a laugh out of me. My man is coming off re4 where he rampaged through a village, a castle, and an island of mutated creatures to save one girl. C’mon now. Characters: By now (if anybody is even reading this rant), you’ve noticed that I’ve talked a lot about Leon. But what about Claire? Yeah, they lied to us about them working together. She got sidelined again. A lot of people are upset about this -- and yeah, it sucks because I do love Claire. Leon has just happened to be my favorite since 1998 so I wasn’t as heartbroken. That doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed, I’m just not very surprised. Leon - My main problem with Leon is Nick, his voice actor. I’m so sorry for all those who like him, but he just isn’t good enough for me. Paul Mercier (re4, Degeneration, Darkside Chronicles) and Matt Mercer (Damnation, Re6, Vendetta) would have been more appropriate. Nick tries his best, but he’s just too soft sounding to be post-re4 Leon. This is a man who is quipping one-liners left and right a couple of years ago. Now he’s barely smiling and doesn’t feel confident at all, and I think a lot of that is because of his portrayal. There are times where the lines hit, but more often than not they fall flat. I never felt that way with Paul who is my favorite Leon or Matt who gave emotional performances every time. Also, his decision at the end? I can understand it, but explain to Claire! Claire - I like Stephanie as Claire, I have no problems with her. She makes her sound tough and ready to do what she thinks is right. Unfortunately, the story completely sidelines her and makes her role obsolete. Everything she uncovers (because that’s her role apparently, just there to Nancy Drew) is already told to us through flashbacks and other characters. Why even have her? Was it just to show us WHY her and Leon don’t talk often? A waste. Shen Mei - I don’t care. I felt nothing for her. They tried really hard, but they just failed to flesh these new characters out and when her time was up I once again went: Oh? That’s it, then. ‘Kay. I think I laughed a bit, sorry girl. Her whole plotline was to get that chip in Leon’s hand, nothing more. Jason -  I don’t care. A character I thought I felt sorry for with his ptsd but nope. Once his story unfolded - messily, I might add (I hate the REPEATED flashback shit. Tell me once and stop teasing me.) I just went... okay, what the hell is your plan? To spread fear? ‘Kay. It was dumb and made no sense. What, he wants everyone to feel terror so they know? It needed to be clarified. It’s like they couldn’t figure out more synonyms for fear and terror. So, what? It helps keep Leon from going public with the chip and that information? Because he knows it’ll just cause mass hysteria? And then you’ve got Claire’s side - she’s not an agent and she believes the people have a right to know. They’re both right, but there’s no goddamn communication between ANYONE in this show. I just felt exhausted by it, nothing else. Not to mention it’s useless angst because of the plot of Degeneration. Wilson - Our bad guy. Let’s just sum up really quickly in case people were confused by the plot: He was putting infected soldiers into war zones so that even after they died they’d kill anybody involved, then he’d bomb the area and clean up the evidence. These soldiers didn’t show any symptoms because they had inhibitors that kept the virus at bay until they died, so they had to take regular shots to stay human. He’s the one who gets the zombies into the white house so that he could blame it on China and get the US into a war with them. That way he could send in his soldiers and infect the populace. From there, he’s the only one with the cure so he could rake in LOTS of money selling it to the world. AKA: he wants to use the US military to infect everyone so he can make a profit. He gets infected by Jason and gets away... then meets up with someone who gives him an inhibitor. This someone is working for Tricell, the big bads of re5 who work under Wesker. So it leads right into the fifth game. That’s all he is, a tie in and yet another example of someone in power trying to profit off the viruses of the RE world. Honestly, nobody else is worth mentioning. Animation: They’re getting better at it. Leon and Claire looked especially pretty, but there’s still a stiffness here and an issue with everyone’s mouths while they talk. I want to praise how different SOME of the characters look - the president and his aides all look appropriately aged and grizzled and distinct. Same with Jason. Other characters (side characters mainly) kinda look generic. Shen Mei for example isn’t very distinct. I mean, her grandpa and brother (both one scene wonders) were more realistic looking than she was. Even Claire - they gave her a bigger nose and made her look more in line with her Revelations 2 model (thank god I love that model). Movement was pretty fluid, I wish we’d seen more fighting and cool action -- though not to the extent of Vendetta. Maybe that’s what they were trying to avoid, but it didn’t make it any fun to watch. Enemies: This is the last thing I’ll comment on. The zombies were fine - they always are. I heard a ton of reused sounds from remake2, as well, but I thought of it as an Easter Egg more than anything. They looked good, their gore was good, all set there. Problem was, they were basically the only bad guys. That’s a huge fucking disappointment. I know people recognize this series as ‘the one with the zombies’ but that’s not true. Every game (save 7) had MULTIPLE enemy types all created through bio engineering. In this show we see three types. THREE. Zombies. Zombie rats - a one-scene wonder that Leon dispatches fast and easy. I’ll admit, they looked cool but there was nothing else to them. “They’re a bioweapon” and then Leon fries them all with some electricity and we’re done. Jason’s mutated form. Okay, I have to admit, I really loved his design. He was cool, I liked that he could talk and emote. But, other than that? He didn’t DO anything cool. He mutated once and hopped around a lot. That’s it. I mean, a bioweapon that keeps his mental capacities? C’MON! We could’ve done so much more with him. Again, this goes back to why the climax was so bad -- he and Leon didn’t fight. One jumped, the other ran around to catch up and fired a few bullets and a rocket at him. Then he used an acid bath to finish the job. (Also, explain to me WHY he mutated into a tyrant-like creature while everyone else with that specific virus was another form of zombie? We see Jun (Shen’s brother) mutating almost crystal-like at one point but... what? You leave them off for a while and they turn into crystal zombies? Make it make sense.) I’m sure there’s more to say, but honestly, unless you’re a hardcore RE fan like me, I’d say you can skip it. It wasn’t a fun ride, there weren’t any stakes, it wasn’t emotional... it just... was. I will end on one good note that made me smile, though: I loved seeing the Ashley Easter Egg.

[dmsden]

Smells and Sounds - Campaign Sorcery

Ah, the Bog of Eternal Stench. The first time you saw Labyrinth, and you heard all the squelchy noises and heard Ludo's anguished cries of "Smells bad!" I bet you could just smell it, even if Sir Didymus couldn't. That's because of the employment of some choice sound effects combined with the fact that the olfactory sense is tied so strongly to memory. You were essentially tricked by the filmmakers into conjuring your own memories of some of the worst things you'd ever smelled, even if you weren't actually smelling them. So this month in Campaign Sorcery, we're going to talk about engaging two powerful senses in order to immerse your players in your game.

I've already talked about music, and I think music is an excellent way to conjure a mood. When Gandlaf and Eomer are about to lead the charge down to the aid of Theoden at Helm's Deep, the music swells in a heroic fanfare, and we feel excitement and pride and wish we were there swinging a sword with them. Music is a powerful tool to evoke emotions, but we've already covered that in an earlier article.

Sound effects, however, can give players some clues, while simultaneously giving them a stronger sense of immersion. You can use soundscapes to evoke a mood in place of (or in addition to) music, and/or you can use stand-alone sound effects to call attention to a detail.

If you're lucky enough to be Matt Mercer, you might be really good at making sound effects with your own voice. Otherwise, you'll need a source for them. If you're on Roll20, you'll find some very good soundscapes built in, lurking under the music section. There are other companies that offer them as well, such as Battle Bards and Syrinscapes, both of which I can say offer excellent options. But they do cost money.

If you're already investing in a streaming music service, such as Amazon Unlimited or Apple Music, you're likely to find plenty of sound effects at your disposal. If you want to play rain or thunder sounds, the sound of beach surf, a crackling campfire, or the like, you can definitely find it there. I can also strongly recommend a website called Freesound. You may have to hunt to find precisely what you want, but people upload all kinds of sound effects there. And there's plenty of good, free, fairly easy-to-use sound editing software out there, like Audacity, if you want to put them together.

I memorably once ran a Call of Cthulhu module where I hid a bluetooth speaker in a bookcase behind the players. At one moment in the module, a star vampire (an invisible creature that titters and giggles) came crashing through the window in another room to kill someone. I edited together the breaking glass, the eerie giggling with plenty of reverb, and the screams of the victim with Audcatity. When the attack happened, I triggered the sound effect to that speaker with my iPad. The players jumped and immediately had their characters go running to see what was happening.

I have also heard a time when a DM was playing a jungle soundtrack, including the distant roar of a monster. Over time, he had the mix include the roaring getting louder, and then included T-Rex stomping noises getting louder. The players were investigating a beach, and they slowly began to realize the sound effects weren't just background noise...they were a clue something was coming!

Smells are a little more challenging to do, but not impossible. You can describe smells vividly to do just what the folks who made Labyrinth did. But, if you find hygienic ways to get real smells into your game room, that works, too. I have heard of a DM whose roommate who didn't play was baking fresh bread, and he had the roommate come in with bread just as the PCs made it to a tavern. Getting to eat the bread was a bonus.

You can certainly experiment and find things with interesting smells. There are some crazy teas out there with distinct and interesting smells, and you can use them to conjure glades in the feywild or mysterious odors.

Not every smell you'll want to conjure is a food smell, of course. How can you get a dungeon smell into your home without mildew? Well, there are some crazy candle and aroma companies out there making smells for everything from Disney hotel lobbies to dungeons. No joke! You could use them to make a distinct smell in your home and conjure up a setting very effectively. Check out dungeonscents.com for one crazy candle company!

By using sounds and scents, you stimulate your players' imaginations, making the whole adventure more real and vivid for them. It will definitely make for an adventure they're unlikely to forget.

[dervampireprince]

Someone already beat me to it, but to add their full names, Vex'ahlia is the sister and Vax'ildan is the brother (dw sunflower anon, easy mistake to make). And yeah, Percy's voice is closer to the more aristocratic accent you used for Ambrose, but I can also definitely see you as Vax, given the range of accents you've already shown you can do, and he probably has a fair bit more potential for certain styles of audios. Specifically his sexy vampire encounter in episode three, I recon even those who haven't watched it could enjoy that (and do let us know when you get there, I can't wait to see your reaction) - 🦇

vampire matt mercer has arrived. oh boy. like on one hand nono evil like actually really uncomfortable man killed children. on the other hand oh no he's giving me castlevania vlad vibe's with his hot voice and dedication to his wife. like is voice hot? yes. does he look okay? yes. did he make me uncomfy in a not fun way? yes.

i'll be real when everyone was like 'wait for the hot vampire seduction scene' i didn't think.. it was gonna be.. you know... non-consensual.. that's not hot to me anyway. not judging anyone who wants to be in vax's position. just.. idk.. stuff can make me uncomfy sometimes

[nochi-quinn]

legend of vox machina season 2 episode 12: The Hope Devourer OR LAIR ACTIONS

my partner went "he's dreaming" literally immediately

I can't figure out what that is on the mantle. brain says probably a dildo of some kind, given that that's anal beads and a flogger hanging over the wood hopper

the painting from brimscythe's lair, lute, more sex toys, dragon tooth?

the painting of them that makes me cry despite vax looking Like That

the troll dick is also on the mantle

not sure whose helmet that is in the case tho

a painting of the keep :(

I can't figure out if that purple book on the shelf is supposed to be anything

me: why tf is there a cameo of a cha - CHAIR

three guesses whose children these are

both the characters and the actors

is that the damn reward poster that led them to fighting umbrasyl in the first place

not fucking kraghammer

okay given that they said the runes they've used other places translated into real language, what are the odds this book actually says something

also is that keyleth's ring she got from kerrek or

it's me, I am the person that one animaniacs skit was talking about

that morph from kaylie to vax was actually really smooth tho, props

"we need a skyship to catch them" percy just really wants a skyship

not the tail slap

stop shittalking the dragon in midair

okay but How tho

heheh, ass-id

grog whaling on umbrasyl like a piñata, if he hits it enough his friends fall out

grog crater 3.0

and now he REALLY doesn't have any bones

studiously looks at notepad so I don't have to look at broken bone

this episode just hits all my major squicks, it's Great :)

that sound effect was 100% unnecessary

I don't know why I love vax's "oh no" so much but here we are

it's the raven from the intro!

WINGS

and now vax can fly 400 miles an hour and throw 67 daggers at once

keyleth: you're so beautiful vex: you get fucking WINGS what the FUCK

I love the little scuff marks on Bad News' scope

"there's no such thing as luck" oh? oh mr. vax "almost got the Lucky feat banned from matt mercer's table forever" ildan?? is that so???

mr. "gave sam reigel shit for not using the halfling feat to reroll natural 1s for two entire campaigns"??? no such thing???

"yup, we're dead"

"we're hurt but so is umbrasyl" smash cut to umbrasyl healing himself

did you just hang up on thordak

"another ominous mountain lair" that's okay it's your favored terrain

[keyleth] flirting: I don't want you to die

as everything from the past 48 hours clicks into place for pike

the Kamaljiori head was a low fucking blow

(little sad we didn't get more about Scanlan and Kam. mb next season)

if I had a nickel for every time Vax went ahead and got caught by an enemy he didn't expect to be in the room and couldn't get past them to escape despite having a perceived physical advantage, I'd only have two nickels but it's weird that it happened twice

HEY you're only supposed to be able to use those once a day

I! Love! the colors! in this lair!

I already love greens and teals so that kind of gradient on the acid effects is targeted at me specifically

"YEP still broken"

the way I broke in half when someone pointed out RQ broke the connection between the twins

"we're splitting the party?" again?

"drop him" drop it, drooooop iiiiit

THE EAR TWITCH such a weird thing to be my favorite trope but here we are

if I had a nickel for every time a powerful enemy used one of vex's siblings as a shield -

I just love the delivery on percy's "get us the FUCK out of here"

vax about 45 minutes late with that "chenga"

"she doesn't control my destiny!" "no, you do" no fate only wyrd

I'M THE JUGGERNAUT BITCH

LAIR ACTIONS

grog has just been Through It these past couple-few days huh

me having to defend scanlan's character arc to my roommate bc she was actively getting bored with Canonically A Coward Scanlan

umbrasyl that is CHEATING

I think if vax says "fate" one more time I'm gonna just leave the room

the way umbrasyl froze at scanlan's voice, chef's kiss

I fucking love the harmonizing with the sword

(another reason umbrasyl probably wouldn't have been able to wield it properly) (besides not having thumbs)

I was almost convinced we were moving up Bard's Lament

"your daughter would have been proud" rest of party: his what now

(I know she was whispering, it's just hilarious to think that's how they found out, like the fucking destiel meme)

"you're ALIVE, motherfucker?!"

mansion time, MANSION TIME

we all precipitated!

if you're not part of the solution etc etc science joke

"and I believe in you" mala: that's just sam and liam

wilhand's new lockeeeeeet

someone pointed out the ptsd percy must have had during this whole scene

an enemy infiltrating his home, his friends and family collapsing in front of him…leave this boy alone

vax I don't know why you thought that'd work

"mind your manners" hehehehehe

see, it WAS sleeping gas

so yennen's been dead at LEAST since they came through from the keep, right

I still cannot hear liam in vorugal and it's driving me nuts. I know it's got all the reverb and shit on it, and he's also fucking gollum so it's not like he's always 100% recognizable, but also I have a reputation to uphold

thordak: I got kids I need this job

LOVE ending on the cracking noise, so fucking good

[shakes internet until season 3 falls out]