#Taliesin has my heart

[tilliwriteapine]

Okay, I might have died. From laughter, sadness, and rage 🤣

Vox Machina whatttttttt? 🤣🤣🤣

Damn it, Sam. Damn it Scanlan. Damn it Tary!

[shorthaltsjester]

The Pantheon of Exandria;

"One thing, Dad. [Mortals] don't fear you, they resent you."

No Children by The Mountain Goats // Critical Role: Campaigns 1 and 3, Critical Role's Downfall

[jae-birde]

The Legend of Vox Machina, Season 3 Episode 2

This scene was absolutely beautiful

[dent-de-leon]

The way Leo Amicus was the most certain he wouldn’t make it out of all of them—and then he gets to live, to take care of Grimoria and be there for her instead of just leaving everything he has to her when he’s gone…Leo believing he was never going to make it back home. Getting to take a nice long nap, fast asleep and finally resting when Grimoria finds a letter he intended to send post-mortem—

[lemonfawn]

Anytime Brennan Lee Mulligan gets to play is an absolute delight but Mossbrow might be my new favorite character of his.

[kagedbird]

Taliesin: My father made me feel... quite awful about my body.

Allora: *conjuring a gun with magick* And where did you say he lived? What address? I'd just like to chat.

Taliesin: What in gods name is that-

[uwuthrad]

My dumb ass in character creation be like "but could a nord realistically have black hair?" until I remember that Serana exists. Or Idgrod Ravencrone. Or Maven Black-Briar. I may actually be a goldfish

[abitcaughtinthemiddle]

Glintshore is going to mean something different in The Legend of Vox Machina than it did in the original campaign

At this point in campaign 1, Vex and Percy has not yet hooked up and had been dancing around their feelings for each other. Laura and Taliesin have both said that Vex and Percy would never have admitted their feelings for each other hadn’t Percy died and Vex made her plea to him (true love’s Nat 20).

In fact, Taliesin has said that he was ready to let Percy die permanently and move on with his backup character (fun fact: it was actually Mollymauk from Campaign 2 that was his backup C1 character) but Laura’s choice and the Nat 20 roll was too much to simply ignore (and thank god for that because Perc’ahlia is my prized ship and my Roman Empire).

The timeline of things being very different in TLOVM means that we’ve gotten a sort of sped up development of not only the relationship between Percy and Vex but the relationship Percy has with himself. As we’ve been seeing in the show, Percy seems much lighter, much less burdened by the weight of Orthax and revenge. In episode 6, we see him have a touching moment of with Vex about the future, talking about his hopes for Whitestone.

In the campaign, he was still carrying around this weight of guilt and shame in a way that wasn’t dealt with like it was in the show (with his self sacrifice in Ank’Harel, taking responsibility for inventing guns- bringing widespread consequences across all of Exandria). This never happened in the live stream. Glintshore ended up acting like this penance: Percy dying at the hands of the very weapon he created.

Since we’ve seen a more “carefree” happier Percy in the show, and he’s already had his moment of self flagellation, Glintshore is going to mean something else in the show.

Of course, we all know this is going to be a wake up call for Vex to finally admit her love for him and stop pretending she can just fool around with him -heart be damned. I think it’s going to mean a lot for Vax and Keyleth too.

Since they’ve set up plot line that Vax is the one concerned about Keyleth’s long life span, I feel like Percy’s death is going to wake Keyleth up tot he fact that everyone she knows and loves will die before her, and she’ll see a little bit more where Vax is coming from- and I think Vax is going to start to realize that Keyleth can handle herself around loss and that he’s being an absolute fool by pushing her away.

Like Marisha’s said in interviews, these upcoming episodes are going to deal with facing fears- and I think Percy’s death and finding a way to resurrect him is going to touch on a lot more of Vox Machina’s fears than just Percy and Vex. I can’t wait to see how it plays out.

[overnighttosunflowers]

ASHTON: If we have one last second, too, Ashton's going to really quickly run up to Fearne. I'm going to get right in your face.

FEARNE: Hi.

ASHTON: I have a request. I have a very serious request.

FEARNE: Lay it on me.

ASHTON: If we survive this—I open up a small pouch and it's filled with weird-ass mushrooms. I stole this off the weird cow one. Would you take half of these with me and see whatever the fuck happens?

FEARNE: I absolutely will.

ASHTON: You're the fucking best.

FEARNE: I can't even believe that you chose me for this fun adventure.

ASHTON: Who else? Honestly, you're— I would do any fucking stupid thing you were ever down for.

FEARNE: Promise?

ASHTON: Yeah. I like you, and I'm bad at this because I don't think about the future ever, but—

FEARNE: I don't either.

ASHTON: You're fun to adventure with.

FEARNE: You're fun to adventure with, too. I'll absolutely take those mushrooms with you. See what happens.

ASHTON: I have no idea what the fuck they're going to do.

FEARNE: I'm going to put my arms around them and just give such a big hug.

-

I rambled most of this in the tags of another post last week, but I wanted to move it over into a real post just to say that I genuinely really love the way Taliesin has been playing this relationship unfolding. I've always enjoyed Fearne and Ashton's dynamic, but I'd been a bit cautious about the Romance of it all out of a worry that Taliesin would come at it from the same perspective as Braius was fishing for—i.e. either they're something that needs to be Defined in traditional romance boxes, or else they're not a thing. And I've been optimistic on that front, because everything Ashton has done and said so far was pointing in a really favorable direction, but 115 made me feel so good about these two together.

Because it's so clear now that Ashton really gets Fearne. They're on the same page as her through and through. They don't see this as a this a big sweeping true love narrative. He isn't shooting for a monogamous, you're-my-everything type of relationship. (See: Jester going "tell her she's your heart and your destiny and you can't imagine yourself without her!!!!! and Ashton immediately responding "I mean.... I can, but.")

They just know that Fearne is the best, and they want her to know they think so. He feels lucky to get to experience new things with her, and he wants to keep doing that. He's down for any stupid thing she wants to do. He doesn't think about the future, and neither does she. He's not asking for any promises, just for another adventure tomorrow. So they're gonna go on adventures and see what happens. Neither of them knows what the fuck it'll be, but maybe that's beside the point.

As someone who really isn't wired to live in the moment, who is deeply stressed out by uncertainty, I'm surprised by how moved I am to see the way this is playing out. Because I'm moved! It's just a nice reminder that there are lots of ways to be. It's true to both characters, and it works. They're both wonderful, and they think each other are wonderful. Who cares what it is beyond that, so long as it's good?

[vexing-imogen]

Now that Critical Role has dropped an entire album, and not just an EP, I thought I’d do a short & sweet review. Nothing crazy, no ratings or anything, just for fun

Overall Impressions: it’s a fun, if incredibly niche, holiday album. They know their audience, and they’re playing directly to them. I feel like they struck a good balance between parodies and original compositions. I love that each cast member got their own song, even those that may not be as confident in their singing. The ballads really stand out, and end up being 3 of my top 4 songs

Track 1: Winter’s Crest Welcome (spoken word by Matt Mercer): a nice little intro/lore dump. I think it’s cool that Winter’s Crest is going international (likely thanks to Taste of Tal’Dorei lbr)

Track 2: Winter’s Crest Festival Time (Matt Mercer as Pumat Sol): when I tell you this song has been in my head for weeks. Fun and catchy and a little silly. Matt sounds great even in a goofy character voice. The bridge where he’s in (I think) four part harmony with himself? Wild

Track 3: Silent Mind (Laura Bailey as Imogen Temult): my favorite song off the album, to the surprise of absolutely no one. I knew Laura could sing, but goddamn. Chills

Track 4: Naughty & Nice (Sam Riegel as Scanlan Shorthalt): Sam has such a great voice for a jazzy, sexy song like this. And they really nailed the vibe, I knew it was a Scanlan song immediately

Track 5: Nothin’ Under the Tree (Taliesin Jaffe as Ashton Greymoore): this song rocks, pun fully intended. I never knew I needed a Christmas song I could headbang to until now. And Taliesin sounds fantastic. I fucking love it

Track 6: O Mighty Nein (Liam O’Brien as Caleb Widogast): oh, Liam, my heart. This song is so sweet and beautiful, and I was almost in tears by the end

Track 7: Twelve Days of Grogmas (Travis Willingham as Grog, feat. Ashley Johnson as Pike): it’s fun, it’s stupid, it’s catchy as hell. Another earworm that’s been in my head since it dropped. It is so perfectly Grog, and Pike’s little asides are the icing on the cake

Track 8: Cold Inside (Marisha Ray as Laudna, feat. Matt Mercer as Pate, Sam Riegel as FCG, Travis Willingham as Chetney, and Laura Bailey as Imogen): knowing that Marisha is likely the cast member that is least confident in their singing abilities, I’m so glad she did this song. Laudna is the perfect vehicle too, her character voice is more distinct than Keyleth or Beau, and she has a flair for the dramatic that Marisha can really lean into without worrying about how she sounds. For a song that people were advertising as an Imodna song, I wasn’t expecting it to be so funny. I think my favorite bit was the deadpan “I think that’s just arson, Chetney”. And then Imogen coming in at the end, you can just hear the eye roll and the fond smile

Track 9: Winter Anymore (Ashley Johnson as Yasha Nydoorin): this song is so achingly tender and yearning. Ashley has such a gorgeous voice, I’m in awe. I was initially unsure if she was singing as Yasha or Pike, but I love that the lyrics could apply to both. I love that despite the overall sadness of the song, there’s still an air of hope

Track 10: Deck the Bear (Liam O’Brien as Vax’ildan and Laura Bailey as Vex’ahlia, feat. the rest of the cast as Vox Machina and Matt Mercer as Trinket): another silly, goofy one, though admittedly this one is my least favorite from the album. I do like the ensemble song, and Matt’s bear noises are incredible as always (will he ever feature in a song not in a character voice? spoiler alert: yes lol)

Track 11: It’s Critmas (Critical Role cast as themselves): yet another earworm. This was tied with Silent Mind for my favorite song from the EP, and it’s still definitively in the top 4. Again, I love the ensemble, and everyone getting their moment. It’s catchy, it’s fun. It’s Critmas

[gingersnaptaff]

(Okay, so I know I said I was gonna do marriage laws and queenship stuff in regards to welsh laws - and I will! - but here is a nice, quick round-up about BARDS

*SHREDS ON A HARP*

Okay, so this is inspired by @gawrkin 's recent posts on bards because the laws surrounding them are SUPER FUN. And Wales LOVES LOVES LOVES their bards. (Myself included.)

Right, so, without further ado, ONWARDS.

*shreds harp aggressively again*

So the 'spurious triads' the author is referring to are presumably to do with IOLO MORGANNWG *ominous thunderclap*.

I shan't go too much into him as suffice to say, we gotta keep this shit SHORT, but he was a massive forger from Glamorgan (that's what Morgannwg means. It's his bardic name. Iolo is Edward.) who made up a bunch of triads and Celtic / medieval manuscripts including some of the Welsh Triads. Also, he is the reason why the Eisteddfod has the Gorsedd of bards.

So a mixed bag, y'know.

ANYWAY. They're very high-rank on account of being the literally Yellow Pages of Celtic and medieval Welsh societies. If you had a question that needed answering you'd ask a bard. They were like Google. They would know a man's lineage (and Welsh lineages are confusing. There were men named Dafydd ap Dafydd ap Dafydd ap Dafydd. No, I'm not joking.) battles, monarchs, myths, songs, stories. Anything.

And they had to SING. And play an instrument. Namely either a harp or a crwth.

This baby is crwth! It's a little like a violin but much darker in tone. They were extinct for a while but they've undergone a revival and they are FUN!

Also, the court bard had to SING to the queen about Camlann 'in a low voice.' I've heard various reasons suggested as to why and one of them is to remind her that Gwenhwyfar's infidelity was the main reason for King Arthur's downfall, but I think it's probably because of The Slap. Idk though. I'm just guessing, buddies.

Still, it's cool that the queen got a special sing-song.

Also, the bard being 'invested with a chess board' suggests to me that the game of Gwyddbwyll that Arthur and Owain play in the Mabinogion signals that they're bards. Gwyddbwyll being the type of chess the bards would've been familiar with. Plus, we know Arthur is somewhat of an amateur bard (Culhwch and Olwen being the prime example where he sings his terrible englyn about Cai to his face. Arthur, ur a fuckin BASTARD.) so it's in keeping with his character.

Also, I think it's adorable that the harp 'always descended to the youngest son.'

If you want a story that deals with bards and their privileged position in Welsh society and also wants ur heart RIPPED OUT may I suggest 'The Assembly of the Severed Head' by Hugh Lupton. It deals with a bard in a monastery after he's almost perished in a raid and the monks writing out the Mabinogion so they can give it to Llywelyn Fawr. It deals with war, love, loss, and also stonking good historical context. Also lots of poetry!!!!

Final fact: bards in Wales weren't wiped out by Edward the First. That's a fuckin myth. Don't come round here with ur fuckin myths. Old Longshanks has done enough already. May he eat shit.

(Also, Taliesin gets all the good rep but what about my boy Aneirin?)

Okay, BYEEEEE!!!!

P.S.: have an Eisteddfod chair!

[dnd-shows-have-my-soul]

Three years and a half years ago, I found a little show called Dimension 20 on my recommendations page. I watched it and fell in love with actual play. When telling it to a friend, they told me that if I liked that then I should really try watching Critical Role.

And on November 17th, 2021, I did just that. I start with Vox Machina and I loved it. I can’t describe the amount of joy I experienced from watching this show. The instant connection I had to it. Two months later, I finished the campaign and immediately went onto the Mighty Nein and again I loved it. There are no other words to describe it. And by mid-April, I finish that too, and finally started watching C3 and eventually caught up.

On May 19th, six months later, I watched episode 24 live and have been ever since. These past three years, I can’t describe them enough. The amount of joy I felt, the amount of comfort I found. The community I was able to foster, friends I was able to make. People I’ve been able to form lasting relationships with because of the show. And on top of all of that, I can’t tell you what having something to look forward to each week has done for me. I have depression and I’ve been struggling with it for many years, and Critical Role has been such a rock for me, a bright light at the end of a very long tunnel. It saved my life. Genuinely saved me. Words fail to describe my gratitude. My love.

So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you Bells Hells. Thank you Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein. Thank you to the friends over at ITFC and beyond. Thank you Travis and Marisha and Taliesin and Ashely and Sam and Liam and Laura and Robbie and Matt and everything else part of the cr family. Every guest, artist, producer and assistant.

Thank you Critical Role <33

(See you all on the other side!)

[the-uninformed-zennial]

sooo bound band au when

Who said it was gonna be an au

Honestly though, most of the bound characters are giving me orchestra energy, so I feel like a Band AU would be like… a band kid AU if yk what I mean. Like, everyone would be in high school with braces and hormones and trying to find a course to fill their art requirement that wouldn’t absolutely bore them. Yk?

So that being said, here’s the instruments I’d think each Bound character would play and why;

Armor - Vocals <redacted>

Ashril - Funky Roadrunner guy is giving me either some random instrument no one has ever heard of before or keyboard and there is no in between for me personally.

Avalon - Drums. I know I always give the stabby people percussion instruments, but they’re just really good for helping to work out negative emotions okay??

Cosie - flute

Elwood - Canon Elwood would not learn an instrument unless Mojave somehow gaslit him into thinking it would be useful. So fanon Elwood would know piano, cause it’s a classical instrument so it fits the vibes and it’s also one of the most versatile so I think we wouldn’t have to bend Elwood’s character too much to make it fit.

Erin - Erin gives me cello vibes. I feel like the Avicane in general ooze kinda classical instruments, and Erin feels like someone who would want something like a bass but a little lighter and more based on melody. So Cello.

Gaverin - Singer. That bird gives me lead singer vibes so hard. If she isn’t in the front of the stage strutting his newest designs and singing their little heart out like a bird version of Chappel Roan, what exactly are they doing?

Marcel - Viola. It’s just- mmmm. Slightly deeper violin that fits the human range really well… it just screams Marcel to me idk.

Mojave - lead singer/rhythm guitar/songwriter. This is just canon lol

Pietro - Percussion. Not drums like Ava, but specifically like orchestral percussion. I’m talking everything from the huge bass drums to the triangle. I think while Virgil was learning violin Pietro signed up for orchestra too and the director was just like, “here kid, hit this” and Pietro went wild. They’re probably the best percussionist anyone’s seen in a really long time, but she doesn’t really talk about it/show off that much cause they want Virgil to be able to shine. (Guys I’m normal about the birdthers I swear)

Rune - I feel like Rune’s a guitar guy. Like, their vibes are chill and laid back enough to fit it, plus I feel like they’d have a really fun time inventing like pedals and stuff to make the guitar sound different depending on the song and stuff.

Sylph - Triangle. And Kazoo. And singing (badly) /lh

Taliesin - Okay, okay, my thought for Taliesin is that whenever someone asks if they play an instrument they always say something that like no one knows how to play, like Basoon or the Oboe. And then if someone ever asks her to, he’s just like “oh no, sorry, the stars aren’t in the right alignment you see”. And it’s cause they don’t actually know how to play any instruments cause they’re a lyin’ cheatin’ little— anyway (/j we love Tal in this house and they probably play something that’s totally against their aesthetic but easy to learn like Uke or smth)

Vast - Vast plays Clarinet. It’s classic, it’s breathy, it’s something the symphony I mean Avicane would teach. It just feels and sounds right for him. Bonus idea: his sister played the flute and he picked up Clarinet cause he wanted to be in the same section as her

Virgil - Violin. Again, this is just canon. But I feel like Virgil wouldn’t be like the best violinist ngl. In my head he’s like 3rd chair but Pietro always comes up to him after concerts and is like ��THATS MY BROTHER!!” And like glares at people until they applaud for him. Virgil knows this. And is incredibly embarrassed by the whole thing, but it’s still kinda endearing.

So yeah, those are my instrument/Band AU thoughts. Do with them what you will

[dent-de-leon]

Help how do I tell everyone who never read Lucien’s book that Lucien and Molly are both genderfluid and also Molly thinks of the widomauk forehead kiss so fondly and literally remembers Caleb as “Softness and light—”

ALSO,, EVERYTHING WITH LUCIEN’S FAMILY—

[smile-arigatou]

Author's Final Note

Hello, I am Bree Loren Taliesin. I am the writer and storyteller for ‘Kindred’, ‘Yearning’, and ‘Legacy’.

When I was young, I didn’t have a very constant childhood, and up until I was about fourteen years old everything always felt like it was changing without hardly any room to breathe. We were always moving, I was always changing schools, and always having to hope that I would find a friend who wouldn’t treat me poorly or think I was an absolute nutcase.

There were only two things in my life I could always rely on, and those were my writings in a spiral notebook that never left my side and a gorgeous castle in far away Scotland that promised magic and a world of acceptance. One of my fondest childhood memories will always be the first time I read ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone’, and hoping that when I turned eleven years old that I would get my letter to whisk me away from the pain that came from being me.

However, life doesn’t always work out that way. I never got my acceptance letter when I was eleven, and I was never stolen away to Hogwarts. Life moved on, and I tried to move on, but how can you move on from something that meant so much to you?

And then, ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ came out, and all over again I began to remember my love of Harry Potter and the fantastic wizarding world that surrounded him. And now, I was in an age of computers and the internet, and I was able and fortunate enough to find friends who felt the same way I did and who loved the same characters and stories that I did as a child. 

When my new friends began to write fanfictions about their own MC’s, I thought to myself, ‘What do I have to lose?’ I can honestly say that I never thought about what I would gain from such an experience, or what I would gain from such a supportive fanbase and such loyal readers.

To have readers tell me how much they love my writings and my characters, even my evil characters, it feels so incredibly accomplished as a writer and it’s what has always pushed me to try to be better. I have always tried to write the story that I would love to read, and it means so much that you all have loved reading my stories and that you want me to continue on. And I know that, even if life gets hard and even when you feel like you’re in your darkest moments, I’ll always have my own slice of Hogwarts to dream about.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much.

[wellthebardsdead]

Marigold: *hugging Taliesins waist as they ride to ivarstead* I have to say, Shor or- Lorkhan or whatever the nords call him has a great sense of humour. Choosing a deep elf as the Dragonborn.

Evalien: that or the strongest connection to my race, the entirety of them are now bound to what’s left of his heart like the worlds most fucked up soul gem.

Lucien: Is that what happened to them?!

Evalien: I’d assume so, every time I think about the heart I hear them all scream-

*distant pained screaming echoing from across the river*

Evalien: screaming… *dismounts her horse and hurries over, ears pricked up hearing a man roaring in pain from inside a ruined prison* everyone tie off your horses, we’re about to add another member to our group.

*10 minutes later*

Evalien: *unshackling Kaidan* shhh I’m a friend hold still-

Kaidan: *sighs deeply* thank you.

Evalien: *brain short circuiting hearing his voice* …ooh yep that did something for me-