#Taliesin's opinions

[sirtaliesin]

I imagine over the centuries Jason has been in a low place or frustrated enough to just yell at Merlin. At a wizard he can't see or hear or find, and demand to know what he's supposed to do. Where is he supposed to go? Why doesn't he have any guidance at all while he's caging Merlin's demon?

Maybe he's gone to the lake he knows Arthur sailed across to reach Avalon and begs for him to come back. To just wake up already. Jason's out on the shore of the lake after who knows how long skipping stones and shouting in a language that's evolved enough that no one who heard him would understand.

No one ever answers and he still does it. He goes out, less and less as the centuries wear on, but he still goes and talks and skips stones. Maybe he still even hopes that one day he'll get an answer. Even if it's just Merlin telling him to shut up.

The only person who knows he does this, who hears him, is Etrigan. Maybe Etrigan even answers him sometimes. But it's not Merlin, and maybe Etrigan is the only one who will ever answer him.

[laurasbailey]

ONE CRITICAL ROLE SCENE PER EPISODE C3E10: Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates

[danwhobrowses]

Prefacing that, again time zones, I've only been able to glean the latest CR episode and that I do not agree with their in-character opinions on the gods, I'd like to remind fans to try and not get super ugly about their criticism of Ashton Greymoore.

I'll be the first to throw my hands up and say they're among my favourite C3 characters so there may be bias, but I've been getting flashes of the Shard Incident from reactions towards their recent and vocal disdain for the gods. Disagree with them all you want, Taliesin knows that the gods can't simply leave since they're the one who said that the Wildmother would die if she left, but understand that it's a character flaw and if you recall the hardships of their backstory, the unanswered prayers, and that their only exchanges with the gods have required them to do something or, with the Dawnfather Angel, have been met with cold disregard, it's understandable how they got to feeling that way. Ashton has lived alone and been told they don't matter for a lot of their life; no gods, no family, no nurturing presence to guide them, they've been abandoned, used, and - with additional influence by the Dominox accusing them of wanting FCG to die - are currently between blaming themselves and the Changebringer for their closest friend's death.

Make no mistake Ashton is wrong, I think the self-confessed hypocrite with also self-confessed poor morality knows that deep down, or at least knows that they're not the kind of person who should be in charge. Vassalheim is a difficult place for a titan vessel to be in so it is unsure what they will do from here; perhaps investigate the Earth Titan? Commune with the Emperor and Empress? Or maybe be brought to the gods and be able to vent or reconcile with them (and maybe get some closure with FCG, speak with his spirit as like a mediator between the Hells and the Gods)? But it feels like Taliesin is being vocal for a reason, and it's either to invite Matt to challenge it (I've said in other comments but I would love if Ashton found some comfort, not worship or a pact but maybe just a dialogue, in the Everlight: a goddess of healing, temperance and redemption - all of which would help Ashton mentally - as unlikely as it'd be) or find another maybe primordial route to give Ashton a narrative tether towards stopping Predathos.

Let's just, not be cruel about the character, they are more than just their bad trauma and grief-led opinion on gods remember?

[criticalrolo]

🔥

Mollymauk. Hit us.

My least favorite of Taliesin’s characters 💀 I found him Exceedingly Condescending for the episodes he was around, and there is Nothing more annoying to me than his subsequent deification in the fandom for a guy who was only around for 20 episodes. At least in the last year of the campaign the “purple guy we’ve made into an OC to ship with Caleb” switched from Molly to Essek so I didn’t have to see the Most Ridiculous Takes about him anymore….

Here’s the thing. I can respect on like, a narrative level, the decisions and character motive design that Taliesin put into him. A lot of Taliesin’s characters believe they’re the smartest people in the room and walk a fine line between My Favorite or My Least Favorite. and I can respect that other people found him intriguing and fun and liked his vibe a lot. and the emotional, illogical side of my brain still found him soooooo annoying skdjdjsksk

[utilitycaster]

my unpopular opinion is that imogen/fearne would be more interesting at this point in the campaign than imogen/laudna. Not saying that's it's more likely (than any ship, frankly), just that i find the pieces more compelling

Agreed! What if we were both Ruidusborn and dealt with parental abandonment as a direct result of that and were in the process of learning how to treat other people well instead of acting mostly on our own whims/convenience and had only just recently left home and were figuring out where we fit into a world that is incredibly exciting but at times makes us uncomfortable and we were both girls.

[the-lady-stone]

after healing Taliesin...

LDB: Alright, let's get out of here.

Taliesin: Not dressed like that you aren't!

LDB, changed into something a little more... sexy: Better?

Talesin: Yes b-- (ahem), slay!

[meadowsofmay]

why am i so lucky with getting all of these discourse tiktoks about critical role when all i wanna do is just watch edits and campaign moments in peace?

how, and that is more weird than anything, these people are talking so much and yet, say absolutely nothing?

[alexanderdragonborn]

Dylan: You're really going to trust him?

Anya: Yes.

Dylan: He just admitted his name is an alias.

Anya: And?

Dylan: He's a Thalmor

Taliesin: Umm, I'm right here?

Anya: Ex-Thalmor.

Dylan: Pip...he's still wearing his robes! You need to-

Anya: Hey, you don't get to judge me or him! You brought Caryalind here! Why can't I bring Taliesin along?

Dylan: That's because he's harmless.

Anya: So could he? Remember what you said? "Always keep an open mind." Well, I'm keeping my mind open!

Dylan: *facepalm* There's no talking you out of this is there?

Anya: No.

Dylan: *sighs* Fine.

Taliesin: Do they...normally argue like this?

Caryalind: Not always. The last time they fought was meeting me. She recognized my last name and was hostile...for a bit. He immediately trusted me. Trusted me more when he saw how protective I am with Khash. Which let her guard down.

Taliesin: The child?! Aren't they-

Dylan & Anya: Don't finish that! *glares*

Caryalind: Yeah, They're rather protective, too. And Uhh.. you really don't want to mess with the twins... don't underestimate them either. Anyways, Taliesin, right? Ready to go, or do you need to rest and let the healing portion kick in?

[multifandom-damnation]

I feel like I should put this out here with everyone calling Taliesin selfish and saying that the other people at the table should be mad at him, but I am currently going through that with one of my newbie players right now. I'm a newbie DM, and none of my players watches any DnD-related shows and this is their first-ever game, and we are three games in. There was a very real discussion last week about wanting to kill off a player character and wanting to know what to do about it if he actively does things that go against what the party wants or does things that put them in danger. He wants his character to be 'unpredictable' and 'chaotic' but has been doing things that routinely get himself into trouble or put the party in jeopardy, like drinking the blood of a poison frog after killing it and getting poisoned, or trying to sneak up behind a band of bandits robbing town after being explicitly told to hide and rolling a nat1 and nearly getting the group caught.

As a new DM and a people pleaser at heart, I've really struggled to come up with fair but appropriate consequences for these actions, and the rest of the party (his fiance especially!) are super pissed off with him for being reckless to the point of asking me what they should do about it and how they can get rid of him and make him roll a new PC.

I felt really bad for him because its obvious that he wasn't doing any of this to be malicious but he was playing a pirate and he wanted to demonstrate him being unhinged and crazy and unstable, so it was a really hard discussion to have and I could tell that he was a little disappointed no matter how much I told him he was going a good job and the character is really fun even if he does have his moments, but everybody else was seemingly against him. If he was doing it on purpose, it would have been different, but he was very apologetic and listened to what was being said but didn't know what else to do because he likes his character but doesn't know how to portray what he wants to portray without putting the others in danger and sacrificing a core aspect of his character. I didn't have the answer either so it was really difficult. And I still don't think we've reached a solution.

I don't know where I was going with this, but I guess I just wanted to say that everybody is super mad at Taliesin (I'm not, the man has never done anything wrong in my eyes) but it's almost impossible to know what's going on in somebodies head or how they are interpreting certain things or the story they are trying to tell. So no matter what you're feeling about the choices that were made tonight and the outcome that occurred, can we all just be nice and not make such horrible comments? I've been seeing some really awful stuff and I know the gang has to develop some thick skin working in the career that they do, but I just know if it were me or my players experiencing such hate and backlash over a decision they made, like eating an obviously cursed cupcake or tearing a significant doll in half, I would be devastated.

[julandran]

'Not liking things' is not a substitute for a personality.

Taliesin Jaffe Everything Is Content -- Persona 3

[sirtaliesin]

❄️🦋 🌷🌸🎀(because I wanna know so I can build my version of Jason a bit too XD)

❄️ gender & sexuality

Jason is a man who has lived through enough changes of fashion, attitude, and general social structure to probably just shrug if someone asks him his pronouns. He thinks of himself as a man and has always been perceived as one, so if pressed he’d probably classify himself as cis. Beyond that, I don’t think he really considers it too much beyond occasionally thinking the most recent fashion taboo is a weird thing to get hung up on.

I think Jason is gay and has made a fair shot often enough at hiding it throughout the years. With the shift of attitudes between the 6th and 21st centuries, how hard he had to work at it has been more in flux than his attraction has. His attempts at relationships with women don’t tend to work out very well beyond friendship.

 🦋 favourite animals

Jason has a fondness for cats, ravens, and crows. Something that has, with the Victorian revival of occult interests, proven to be rather funny in his opinion. He preferred cats when he was younger because they were quieter. He also finds bats to be remarkably cute/charming creatures, but he wouldn’t admit that aloud now.

🌷 least favourite animals

While he has no particular enmity towards them, he’s not fond of rodents in general. Really, anything that might damage his books earns some measure of dislike. Actively hates leeches, and is deeply grateful that medical science has gotten away from them entirely. Biting insects may actually be the most irritating creatures on earth.

🌸 music taste

Eclectic is probably the best word for Jason’s musical tastes. He likes a little bit of everything, and has a decent collection of records. He does have his favourites, and his overall preference in tone if not genre tends either towards instrumental and moody or eccentric counterculture. Hitting shuffle in his top 100 listened to songs at any given time could give a person whiplash, from classical and opera to Queen and the Clash, to off-beat satanic tunes and heavy metal.

🎀 videogames

Jason’s not much of a videogame person. He prefers board games to computer or console games, but could be convinced to try something if given the right incentive. The closest he gets to a videogame on his own is a word game on a phone he did not want. Might have checked out something like Diablo once or twice more to make sure it wasn’t actually a demonic ploy of some sort, but didn’t keep up with it.

[justalittlebluetiefling]

I don't know what it is about this whole restore Laudna back to life plotline BH are on right now, but I am really not feeling it. If I am being honest with myself, it probably has to do with the fact that this entire plotline would not have happened if BH didn't have two PC's with direct lines to VM. It feels cheap to me. However, that's just me. It's clear the vast majority of folks (the cast especially) are into it. So it is what it is.

My feelings on this are... mixed? I guess?

I don't really mind them going to VM for help, especially because it is harder and more complicated than just letting VM waltz in and fix it. But honestly, VM being around as NPCs is a lot weirder to me than I expected it to be. I'm glad that the cast is enjoying all the callbacks. I guess I don't really know how to put my opinion on it into words. I mean, I do. I'm just not sure I really want to get into the whole thing, especially since I've seen the way people are acting towards others who share my opinion.

[elle-thereafter]

Ashton’s opinion that the Gods have too much power and should therefore leave/be displaced is deeply at odds with their own steadily growing power, it’s so juicy. Dude is a level 14 barbarian with a head full of dunamancy and the power of a titan in him and he’s snarking about creatures with too much inherent power being a problem that Needs Addressing. Especially so given neither the Gods nor Ashton seized the power they have, it’s a power that happened to them and is not something they can cast off or away. Difference of scale: sure. Difference of kind? Less so.

No one on CR embraces hypocrisy as a character flaw as deeply as Taliesin does and I’m always here for it. Almost everyone falls to hypocrisy about something and figuring out what pushes any particular character into it tells you a lot about that character. There’s almost nothing more boring than a character with opinions that are perfectly internally consistent.

[danwhobrowses]

So there was a Callowmoore question on 4SD which has got people talking and since nobody will ask me about it I'm gonna get it out of my brain anyway.

For someone on 4SD as frequently as Taliesin, Callowmoore questions are rare and I think that partly comes from us fans not wanting to try and steer him but also because his answers tend to be complicated. He's quite plain with other stuff, but a lot also gets offered into interpretation when it comes to Ashton and Fearne.

And granted, we Callowmoores would love for him to pull a Liam and just up and say Ashton has feelings for her, but I think we all know that's not Tal's way; aside from the nuggets of wisdom, killer one-liners and unique homebrews, we tend to love Tal's characters for their actions and expressions, some of which subtle and rewarding to those paying attention. For this reason I have had to mull over this one minute answer for most of my day and figure out what I think he means by it, like blue curtains in a book.

To note though, 'I think' is the operative term, but I also don't believe that Tal has left Callowmoore better or worse by his response.

One of the interesting things I want to point out is that my interpretations are observing the divide between Taliesin's words and his roleplaying; it is not to say that Tal is being dishonest in his answers, but I also see it as the answers are what Ashton thinks and his roleplay is how they feel.

So no, Ashton isn't 'precious' about Fearne wandering off when sleeping beside each other, if she said no or came back safely it wouldn't have bothered them, and it's fair for Ashton to have preferred Fearne to have woke them up. And yet that doesn't deny the reaction Ashton had waking up to find her gone and fearing that she's in danger, and not there to help her; the panic, the anger, the impatience are all clear and instinctive reactions Ashton is having that imply that her being with them is important. They're not precious about Fearne waking up and leaving the bed before they wake, and yet they'll still smile upon waking and finding that she's still there.

The 'Adventurers with Benefits' is one of two comments I can see being used maliciously against shippers, but it's worth reminding that on the last Callowmoore question Tal was asked, he mentioned that Ashton doesn't believe that someone would love them. Ashton feels unlovable, and yet they still ask for intimacy with Fearne, leaning further into their connection but also not pressuring her into commitment. It's also worth pointing out that this is still a slow burn, even Jester questioned whether her feelings for Fjord were legitimate or a romanticized fantasy at one point, and Ashton is not privy to Fearne's feelings for them. Ashton frames it as Adventurers with Benefits because they don't allow themselves to entertain the idea of Fearne reciprocating feelings for them, and yet their impulse to kiss her before absorbing the shard, to frequently engage in physical contact at a growing rate, to playfully steal and share each other's clothing, the desire to defend her from harm or anyone that might have ulterior motives, and to willingly do anything and everything just for her to smile in their direction again, that paints more of a picture than just benefits.

Which finally gets us to Ashton's theory of love. Tal mentions that Ashton believes that love is 'wanting to trust somebody, but not trusting them'. Immediately: No, haters, I don't think this means Ashton doesn't trust Fearne, nor do I think it means that Ashton trusts Fearne so they don't love her. Ashton trusts all the Hells (well, maybe not Braius since they just met), but Fearne is special to them in a different way, they've already platonically said that they loved her when they first were using their titan forms. In addition, this could be an elaboration of the last time Tal brought up Ashton's opinion of Love on the post-shard Callowmoore question: 'love is ignorance and adorableness'. This is another thing that can develop, elaborate and/or change over time, but at the current moment Ashton's interpretation of love can come from environment; Imogen wants to trust Laudna but can't wholly trust her given Delilah, but even Ashton can see that they love each other. Tal also mentioned that Ashton is not very experienced in relationships - which kinda plays into my belief that Ashton and Fearne, while have had relationships, haven't had deep romantic feelings or proper intimacy before, which makes them discovering it with each other more special - so their understanding of love can only exist on what they assume it's like.

And yet what if you reworded the phrase in the same spirit? 'Love is trusting someone wholeheartedly even with nothing to reassure it', there have been many a time something looked to go south and faith was put in another anyway; the shard may be a bad example because it did go wrong but even though the red flags were there Ashton upon completing the process said 'thank you for trusting me', when Fearne took the shard Ashton was a bag full of panic their experience meant they couldn't trust that the shard wouldn't be just as bad for Fearne, and yet they still wanted to trust that Fearne would succeed. Ashton couldn't trust that whenever Fearne was wild shaped, cornered by Otohan, or taken away by Ira on Ruidus that she'd come back safe, and yet still wanted to trust that she would, Ashton couldn't confirm that Fearne wasn't a Doppelganger in Nanna Mori's trust trial - even when FCG and Imogen suspected it was her - and yet they still wanted to trust that it was her. Ashton's view on love may not be entirely right but it's not entirely wrong either, what is blind faith if not ignorant and adorable? Even with their interpretation, Ashton has put plenty of faith in Fearne even when the risk was high.

In conclusion, Ashton's behaviour towards Fearne do often imply a complexity rather than a discrepancy to Tal's 4SD statements, that maybe Ashton's emotions and subconscious are not in sync with their self-doubt driven thoughts, perhaps it is the way Ashton tempers their feelings to try and not get hurt by them or cause Fearne to get hurt by them again. Ashton's apology to her post-shard made a point of noting how she means a lot to them, and how hurting her was one of the worst things they have done, and as they work towards self-improvement and self-discovery, there will likely be a point where self-realisation comes into play too, and they can understand why what they're thinking differs to how they're feeling.

Again, this is all interpretation, speculation and observation, one that like the core statements doesn't add or subtract but fills in some gaps either way. Ashton's feelings are a complicated matter, which is likely why Tal entices and creates such speculation with a complicated answer. Right now Ashton clearly does care for Fearne and share a special relationship that's regrowing after suffering tension, loss and fear, blooming back into trust, joy and comfort, but save 5 Disney Greek Muses backing him up in a Gospel song they're not just gonna out and say they're in love

And Yet...

[lillxart]

I made another meme image with Nebarra and Talieisn -w- This time Snow White got in on the fun! 0w0

Poor Nebarra! XD Drinking his feelings away like always -p-

Also that gold piece on Snow's thumb is both Taliesin's earring and also her thumb ring, close together they look like one piece of jewelry but they're separate pieces my B XDD

P.S Taliesin's opinion on Snow's fit Dynamite? (Tallyboy looks fine in anything he wears)

[utilitycaster]

I love the discussion out of game (mostly in Cooldown) and the hints in-game of why the Betrayers and Primes split along the lines they did. It's something that I feel only gets explored during the era of Calamity, perhaps rightfully so; it would have to be then or during the battles of the Schism, as the Divine Gate renders a lot of that division moot in terms of what they can actually carry out in the world.

Taliesin in Cooldown says that The Wildmother is not opposed to leaving a natural cycle of life, including beings killing each other, to play out as it would; the issue for her was that she cannot leave Exandria for something else; it is essentially a part of her. If she could leave, perhaps she would have been a Betrayer. The Lawbearer on the other hand is discussed in and out of game as not dedicated to mortals as "her little guys" but dedicated to, well, dedication and promises; while intervention has its dangers that she acknowledges, it would be quite literally a betrayal of responsibility not to do so. There are deities who genuinely seem to hold affection for mortaldom, like The Dawnfather and The Everlight, but many had other motivations.

Something I find really interesting is Tishar (The Ruiner's avatar) and her clear distaste for Zaharzht (unconfirmed but heavily implied to be The Crawling King). One of Gruumsh's tenets is that the only two emotions are "fury and joy", and many of the Betrayers and their avatars, particularly Zaharzht, seem dedicated to the idea that all is suffering. For some, the act of betrayal itself seems baked into their nature (Asmodeus, Lolth, Zehir) and for some, a worship of pain (Torog) or of nothingness and end itself (Tharizdun) but but Gruumsh, Tiamat, and Bane ultimately boil down to "if the strong try to kill the weak, let them" and Gruumsh in particular is dedicated first and foremost simply to destruction but does not seem to have any true hate for mortals as some of the others do. Rather like Melora, it is only a few details that determined his side in the Schism.

Just as the gods became who they are out of the need to survive the destruction of Tengar, and found themselves locked into those aspects of what was once an infinite self, I think by the time of Calamity, the gods found themselves on existing sides based on the choices that are no longer entirely pertinent now that the battles of the Schism are over. Within those two camps, the gods hold a wide range of opinions; some of the Betrayers genuinely do wish for the elimination of all of mortaldom but some would probably be happy to just leave if the Primes were willing. It's just that the Primes, for a wide variety of reasons, are not.

Calamity is, essentially, the Betrayer Gods fighting a war they lost centuries if not millennia before. I don't think their cause was ever actually in favor of the Titans, but if it was, a revival of that war ended in the instant of its beginning with Laerryn's act. At this point, they're fighting the Primes to make them join them again; even if all mortals died I don't think they'd get what they wanted, and surely if all the Primes died they wouldn't either.