#because I love aabria

[flurry-of-beaus-pop-pop]

Listen, I understand and respect the fact that Matt and Critical Role are trying to do something different with Campaign 3... they're trying to keep it exciting and keep viewers invested and you can't fault them for that.

That being said, I feel like they're trying to do TOO much.

One of Matt's greatest talents as a DM is allowing the story to go where the story needs to go and making adjustments on his end, but with Campaign 3, it feels more and more like there is an idea in his head on how he wants this campaign to go and it's stunting the natural development of other possibilities.

Last night is the perfect example, in my opinion... I have zero issues with a shift to the focus on the Crown Keepers with the eventual goal of them connecting with the Bells Hells, however, last night was not the night to do it.

FCG just died, and the party needed time to be sad and focus on that and instead, we get a sudden party switch. I understand that this may have been planned far in advance of last week's episode, but if the story wasn't in a place that made this switch appropriate at this point in time, adjustments needed to be made.

It definitely makes me more convinced that this campaign is setting up something specific, either a new system for campaign 4 or a new world/era for campaign 4, but whatver it is, this campaign just needs the space to breathe rather than there always being something needing to happen.

Some of the best moments from C1 and C2 were when there WASN'T plot and the party was allowed to fill that space with what they needed. We haven't really seen that this campaign

[jackklinemybeloved]

every episode of misfits and magic 2 that passes I’m just more and more aware of how Normal Guy jammer is, because everything around him is so fucking wild it emphasizes how much he’s just like. an american college kid. he literally just wants to play basketball and hang out, but instead he’s witnessing brutal magical murders on zero sleep. someone get my guy a protein drink, a nap, and a plane ticket back to chicago.

[dumpster-fire-sapphic-failgirl]

If Aabria has 1 million fans, I am one of them

If Aabria has 1 thousand fans, I am one of them

If Aabria has 1 hundred fans, I am one of them

If Aabria has 1 fan, it is Brennan Lee Mulligan and I have been killed, please avenge me

[passingnights]

A flower, clutched and crushing in her hands, the blue-white staining and eating her fingertips— a cyanotype. She gazes across the battlefield. She sneaks into the bedchambers of a beloved she kept too close, kept too far. 

Karna stands in replaced positions. A Colin sized position. An Ariana sized position.

Her heart skips a beat as she skims over Deli’s haphazardly hidden notes. She finds motes of anger, of resentment, of despair and heartbreak at the corners of rapid heartbeats. She pulls and tugs at them, rearranging herself. Presentable. Useful. Disposable. 

She slides her note underneath the pillows of Delissandro Katzon’s bed. A quiet confession. A hopeful confession. She must survive.

She is dying, she is a child, she is in love. She hopes and she fears as tears crawl down her face and the rot eats her body. She knows the ways of war and the smell of murder better than the scent of a well prepared meal in the comforts of home. She knows the quick breath of death and the slow of a pulse better than the warmth of a family and the embrace of a lover. “She died nine years ago”.

At the bottom of the earth, in the embrace of Heart of the World, her story ends in a realm unknown to the rest. All the fighting to survive, the lies and the murder, the whispering of secret secrets and the blood dripping from the end of a blade. It all comes to a rest. Karna gives in to her exhaustion with an exhale (exhale, exhale). Eyes closed and a prayer to no god. A Hunger greets this tired warrior.

Cold steel rips apart her torn body. She dies and no one will mourn her. She dies and no mother, no sister, no lover will leave flowers by her gravestone, no eulogies sung, an insignificant name. 

She dies and she looks at the face of her lover. A letter remains underneath his pillows. Will he mourn for her?

“The only secret I have left, is that I love you” and in a title that was never made for her— “Signed, Sklad Karna Solara of Scoville”.

The Pawn resigns.

[allonsy-gabriel]

screaming crying wailing lamenting she was the heart of the group she was young and ambitious and callous and cunning and ruthless and she was the heart that tied them all together she was their daughter their sister their lover their friend she was their heart and she was living on borrowed time and for a moment she was loved and in that love she allowed herself to give in to stop fighting and it cost her everything and still she was their heart. she was spy and a murderer and soaked in blood and violence. she was rotting before she even started to ripen and still her last words were those of love.

[onceuponagalaxyfarfaraway]

do yall think suvi has the most beautiful, elaborate handwriting (that she's incredibly proud of) or the messiest, illegible cursive (that she's secretly embarrassed by)

[selkiesongss]

has some of this been said before? i don't know, probably. do i give a fuck? nah

i want to talk about sam butler and nobody can stop me

(lengthy rambling below the cut)

looking back on misfits and magic, it genuinely astounds me the leaps and bounds that sam has experienced as a character. i can't speak for anyone else, but for me, i had the least connection to sam in mismag 1 and the special– i think it was a combination of it being danielle's first appearance on d20 and my unfamiliarity with her, the narrative spending a relatively large amount of time on evan and his demons compared to everyone else, and the fact that sam started as a trope-y character who didn't have the chance to grow beyond that in the limited amount of time they had to begin with– like i definitely enjoyed her but i didn't really love her, yknow?

(sidenote: after episode 6 or 7 i went back and rewatched mismag 1 and the special and i adored sam the entire time, so i think it was mostly just a "right place wrong time" thing.. or "right character wrong time" i suppose? i'm just pissed i didn't give her the adoration she deserved then tbh)

which is why i was BEYOND surprised that as episodes of mismag 2 dropped, i found myself being increasingly pulled into sam's orbit. episode 1 and episode 2 were so refreshing, seeing how these characters had changed over time and watching them interact with each other again, and it really felt like sam had grown into herself; at this point i was confident that i was going to enjoy her more, i just didn't know how much lmao

and then. episode 3 dropped.

danielle's performance in that episode fucking destroyed me. lou and erika were acting their asses off and i STILL found myself wishing there would be more cutaways to sam so i could see danielle living her character. now that i mention it, i think that was what i was missing from season 1 and the special, a moment where things went from bad to worse and sam truly struggled. that's not to say she didn't struggle before, just that there was a depth to her grief in episode three that hadn't been present in past seasons and it really took me aback (in a positive way). not to mention sam's interactions with the qohlye, which set up the final act of the season!

EVERY episode after episode 3 was another heavy hitter. episode 4 and learning about sam's childhood (buttery smooth tights dni), not to mention the comedic juggernaut that was coked-out sam butler !! episode 5 and her infamous sofa conversation with evan, which i took the time to transcribe because thinking about it made me insane (just as a personal note, i think episode 3 was when the possibility of evsam struck me, and episode 5 was what really cemented how much i wanted it to happen). episode 6 and her interactions with jammer and k, the endive salad with way too much parmesan (which is incredibly funny given that she's lactose intolerant) and her realization about sweeps week and celebrity cameos, code pink ??? oh my god it makes me nauseous i love the pink pals so much..

obviously episode 7 was HUGE for sam; charming weugan was an incredible moment for her as a wizard, but it also teed up her breakdown in the finale. her charm spell also gave us the absolute masterpiece that was the jammer+evan puppy playtime hour, which i personally haven't stopped thinking about since it happened! did that awaken something in me? who can say.

episode 8 had her interactions with tadershacourt which i found hilarious, and her sleeping on the air mattress with evan was HUGE for me, but really the moment that got me was when she chose to snap her wand to see the connections between the pilot program and the new magic infusing k and evan. this moment solidified my adoration for sam butler, because who else would destroy a prized magical artifact from their past just to know a little bit more about their friends? not to mention this scene really laid the groundwork for her magical connection to the qohlye in my eyes

and of course, episode 9 was where we actually got that connection! it strikes me looking back that i never doubted that sam would turn down the qohlye's boon. so much of her narrative and so many of her choices up until this point had been her choosing to sacrifice power to support her community– using her question to the qohlye to save evan, her distaste for the magic of seegenpelater, the straight up disgust she felt at weugan's suggestion to purposefully charm jammer and evan, snapping her wand on tadershacourt.. oh god the storytelling.... it's killing me.......... there's a lot more to say about this episode but this is getting long even for me

episode 10... episode 10 how i love you.... this episode is admittedly pretty sparse when it comes to big moments for sam, but i just adore it and danielle looked beautiful here (as she did every episode but it's still worth saying) so i'm bringing it up. OH and obviously jammer, k, and sam's conversation with tabby was devastating but that goes without saying

which brings me to the finale.

i truly will never be able to thank aabria enough for giving sam the spotlight here. not only do i think that it was incredibly meaningful to begin with sam coming face to face with her deepest fears in order to save the world, i think that it was deeply narratively satisfying to have sam, the person who has spent her entire time on screen reaching out and showing people kindness, be the one to hold the reins on a ritual to change magic forever. it's worth mentioning that jammer has done the same, but he didn't need to take charge like sam did, and i think it makes the most sense that he and the rest of the pilot program would be there to support her as the ritual went on.

sam's breakdowns in the beginning and then again during the scuppers match were truly, genuinely some of the most emotionally resonant scenes i've ever seen in D20 history, which is saying a lot. the joy i felt as the ritual "ended" and the pilot program had changed magic was insane. and i honestly believe that i wouldn't feel that way if sam hadn't been there.

this has been an extremely long-winded way to say: sam butler is my favorite dimension 20 PC to date. i was completely blindsided by how drastically my opinion of her would change between seasons, and i couldn't be happier about that. it has been so rewarding to watch sam evolve from her first iterations to who she is now, and i cannot overstate just how impressive and inspiring danielle radford's performances were to watch. her ability to match the emotional tone of every scene she's in is beyond amazing, and the love she has for sam shines through her performance like light through a lantern.

tl;dr: sam butler's arc in misfits and magic has me on my fucking knees it's so good. danielle radford you will always be famous

[rowanyx]

There is something so deep about Laerryn's choice in the finale, and Brennan's phrasing of the decision to be made.

To clarify, this scene (copied and pasted from the CR wiki transcripts):

BRENNAN: On a 16, you must make a tough decision. Do you want to further limit the release of energy and make the release of energy safer for the physical environs of Avalir and Cathmoíra, or do you want to ensure that Rau'shan and Ka'Mort will be permanently banished from Exandria?

TRAVIS: Impossible.

AABRIA: Laerryn's little joke to herself was always that the Heart of Avalir was the thing she inherited, but it was too small. She made it bigger, she improved it. She improved the Etheric Net and built this and that she was the Heart of Avalir, and she gave everything to this city. But I know what people are fighting to protect and I remember what Quay said about going down with the ship. So we will ensure it. This will work. Avalir be damned.

or this timestamp of the episode (in case the link doesn't work for the timestamp, the first comment's list has it labelled Laerryn's Tough Decision):

As we were first introduced to her, Laerryn Coramar-Seelie is the Architect Arcane. As Aabria herself even put, her whole life, all her work, is about taking the city and making it better. Building more. Expansion is the name of the game. So when Brennan specifies that the limiting of energy output will save the physical environs rather than the people, that holds weight.

Just, in a mechanics aspect, there is the fact she is an Abjurer. The whole point of her magic is exactly this choice. To stop things from being destroyed. Her wards that take the damage so that she or others will not. She is not built to bring destruction, leave the fight to others. She will be there to soften the blows that come her allies' ways. She is the one one deciding this, and it feels right, because she's spent her studies dedicated to figuring out how she will prevent the destruction that comes her way.

But that isn't all.

Because any other hero, any other party member, every other soul faced with this question could so easily think that it is a useless decision. A city can be rebuilt, but only if the Betrayer Gods are stopped before they kill all the people that can do so.

But Laerryn, who has dedicated her years to this, the position of Architect Arcane, knows this city and her structures far more intimately. She has been there, step by step, as she forged them. Designed them. Watched over their construction. It is by her hand it was built.

Asking her, specifically, is asking her to choose between everything she's done, or let it all burn. Asking her to make this decision is asking her to decide her legacy. Will she live on as the maker of the land that survived such devastation, but not the people, or will she go down as the one who helped stop the Calamity?

Her choice boiled down to this: Limiting the energy, their work, the libraries and churches, the colleges, grand towers and hallowed halls, stone and mortar, it all can go on unshattered. Or, stopping the Betrayers, the people may continue on.

Was her work more important than the lives she was surrounded by?

Aabria mentions Laerryn was given the Heart of Avalir, jokes how she improved it. But the Heart of Avalir, while magical, is only an engine. It was made, and can be again. So in this moment, I think Laerryn maybe realizes that the true heart of a city comes from the people. Always thinking, thoughts speed by her, whether or not she ever had time to really process the revelations before her demise.

Evandrin is already gone due her hubris. Who else would she lose? Would it have felt like home, without Loqautious there by her side? Would it truly feel like her city, without Patia keeping up with her? What would she cause, without Nydas to hold her back? What is Avalir, without her Brass Ring?

Her assistant, probably still waiting for her, in their offices, and the choice of which will see tomorrow?

How many will feel the heat of Rau'shan's flames as they die? How many will fall to Ka'Mort's earth?

None, she decides. Her friends and neighbors, the kinsmen of her home, will not feel these pains.

I think it is also a moment that beautifully showcases her accepting her death. She will not be here to heal her city. She's going down with the ship. Maybe her blueprints will be found and used, and Avalir will be as it once was. Maybe they won't, and they'll construct it all anew. But she won't see it, so it is their turn to take what was given and build on.

Of course, Rau'shan and Ka'Mort were not the only assets of the Calamity, and damage and destruction was still wrought across Exandria. But there are enough hands to clear the ruins and make their own stories. And that is because of the greatest Architect of them all.

She gave them a chance indeed.

[haleyusesherwords]

I love her so much

[amplexadversary]

I have to say, having an unmistakable monster-fucker moment while your ex-something turns their transformation on the enemy ("I have never seen anything so beautiful, and I certainly won't leave her alone, and I have never seen Maw looking like she was on the back foot.) followed by an emotionally charged magic chant that builds into raw screaming at the climax is extremely effective in endearing me to the characters involved.

Dr. Elsie Roberts and Rajan Savarimuthu might be my favorite Tide & Bone members at the end of this episode.

[dadrielle]

I really, really hope that Imogen and Deanna have a nice long talk next episode, because they really seem to be made to provide each other a message of catharsis.

Here is a woman back from the dead, who is unmoored by the fact that she doesn't even know her full grown children, really, who has left the choice whether to tell them that she's alive again up to their father who didn't stick around to raise them - maybe because she worried whether they would even want to know her and and deal her issues? Maybe because she can't conceptualize that she's missed so much of their lives, and it hurts so much that she fears to face them?

Here is a women who thought her mother was dead, only to find out her distant father has kept the fact that she's alive from her; whose mother, when faced with Imogen begging her not to do the thing she's sworn to do for Imogen, ignores Imogen's own choice, perhaps because she still can't understand that Imogen is an adult who she doesn't even actually know, but who would rather have the chance to know her mother over whatever power or peace her mother thinks she's bought with all this blood.

Here is a mother who looked at Imogen and said "it's bad, but I know you're not" and gave her a moment of peace and maternal care; here is a full grown daughter who shows that despite not knowing her mother, she wanted so desperately to have her in her life.

Yeah, I want them to talk about that.

[glitradora]

Lou being the one person in the group that is both not down to fuck in an airmatress nor eat/drink weird shit is so valid

[ulysses-but-somehow-more-transer]

okay so i just found out worlds beyond number is actually (at least partially) available on youtube, had a small squeal attack, and listened to the first 20 minutes (cant get to more rn cause im taking a class )of episode 0. and just. the only word i can describe it with rn is excellent. this is beautiful art.

[sparring-spirals]

attempted to relisten to the first ep of acofaf to lull me to sleep since i have it downloaded offline. however i have made a critical mistake, because acofaf as a whole and especially the first ep is so good and i now want to stay awake to finish listening to it.

this whole cast... golden.

also andhera coming in IMMEDIATELY smouldering and covered in vanity but useless muscles truly makes the "made some checks my body cant cash" line payoff later on even better.

[andi-o-geyser]

I'm Aabria Iyengar and welcome to tonight's episode of Candela Obscura: Horny on Main

[beedreamscape]

I had to gif this cause I'm not immune to little hand kisses, don't look at me 🙈