#campaign plot

[highbrasshighkass]

essek when he first met the mighty nein: these people are freaks i want to interact with them as little as possible

essek three months later, in disguise in nicodranas, running into the m9 by chance: i can't believe i'm betraying my best friends

[dearest-darlingest]

[geezmarty]

my dragon age ttrpg dwarf girlie and her team in modern fits 💅

[crunchyspaghetti]

Making someone else watch agents of shield for the first time is so fun

[utilitycaster]

If I may, as we go into what appears to be the clear endgame for C3, I think the lessons to take from the ending of C2 within the fandom are:

Do not freak out about the possibility of the campaign ending sooner than you expected nor you personally wanted

Last minute twists are not impossible, but if your enjoyment rests on a sudden reversal in the final hour you are likely to be disappointed

Just because it happened in prior campaigns doesn't mean it will happen in this one

Don't count your chickens before they fail to hatch

There will probably be one shots if it's a serious enough plot hook that we can't get to

Disappointment and anger are fine but eventually you do need to get over it

For the record, I think the particularly unpleasant responses to the ending of Campaign 2 boil down to the fact that it wasn't nearly as clearly signaled (the formal announcement was like two weeks in advance and while in retrospect it makes sense, at the time it felt very abrupt); that despite two relationships being established and a third clearly on the way people had convinced themselves that there would be some kind of last minute twist and their anger is entirely because that didn't happen even though there was literally zero sign it would; the fact that Molly didn't come back; and the general atmosphere of the world in June 2021 - I watched the finale while on my first trip to see my family in over a year and a half. I also think the ship wars for C2 were as bitter as they were because of both the strength of the party's bonds; but also the echo chambers that developed during a lengthy hiatus; and Campaign 3 does not and never has had anywhere near that level of serious ship warring.

The structure of Campaign 3 has been different in many ways from that of Campaign 2, which was different from Campaign 1 - that's not to say you can't make comparisons across campaigns, but I would not make assumptions based on the length of prior campaigns (plus, we're already in the same ballpark of number of episodes as C1, and the same level going into the BBEG combat as C2).

If your happiness rests on any of the now three current couples in Bells Hells breaking up, you are a weirdly bitter person, and you are likely to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're already annoyed that a plot thread will be dropped, while there's like...maybe three plot hooks I can think of and every single one is related to Chetney, who I think will only survive the finale if Travis is unable to find a satisfying way to kill him off, we've had some excellent one shots post-campaign for both Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein and I don't see why this would be any different.

And as always I will never tell you that you can't dislike something, though there are things that, if you dislike them, I will think less of your judgment. But stick to expressing disappointment and anger; if you find yourself wanting to write out violent threats on the internet, you need to back away for a good long while. But certainly wait to be disappointed by a campaign that's already ended, and not pre-mad at things that haven't happened (or failed to happen) yet.

[abitcaughtinthemiddle]

Listen- do these BH/M9/VM mission preparing episodes feel like fan service? Yes, yes absolutely.

But I am a fan and I am being serviced

[stardustedknuckles]

It's looking like there's a growing divide between Campaign watchers and Tlovm watchers in terms of like. We're here for the characters. 12-episode seasons aren't. They can't be. I'm already making peace with everything we'll lose in the Mighty Nein show, and I know I will enjoy it for what it is but I also know that almost nothing that made the story so special will translate to the screen, because turning it into a show automatically means (in this day and age) that plot must be the number one priority. They've already come out and told us it's going to be different, the characters we know and love but new stories.

Because that's how this has to work. And I feel bad for campaign one lovers, because while it is certainly the easier of the two to translate to a big, overarching story, even though it's a more "traditional" high fantasy story with easier archetypal characters, the archetypes and the plot aren't what cemented most people's love for the campaign. So much of the love for critical role is stored in the interpersonal dynamics and the payoff that comes from hundreds of hours of tiny interactions that one day become cornerstones of development and even affect or dictate the plot.

There's no room for that. There's no room for Bard's Lament in a story that cannot afford to remove and replace a main character. A lot of tlovm is for people who have been here for all of campaign one. Most of it, however, isn't. It's for a new crowd. While CR may have creative control, you can bet your ass that there were months and years devoted to figuring out how to map a character-focused love of the show into a plot that hits the right beats to be viable in the show market.

And it worked. Tlovm has consistently high viewing numbers, and its popularity has brought and will continue to bring new people into the universe who have never interacted with CR previously. That's not a bad thing - imagine finishing your favorite show and discovering it has another FIVE HUNDRED HOURS of the equivalent of behind the scenes content. That's incredible for these newcomers. But man, it is in many ways a loss for us.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

I am chewing on the description of the Matron of Ravens being "panicked... and maybe a touch cowardly." hell yeah, give me tender, bleeding flesh on the god that used to be human. give me humanity underlying the monstrosity of the divine. for the god whose whole deal is hiding her face and name behind her mask, let that facade slip in the way she's so afraid of because now, something else scares her more.

[smallidarityfan]

smallidarity highschool au

came up with this au like actually 2 years ago where it's mainly empires 2 smallidarity centric, with Jimmy as a student council member and Joel as an honours student who doesn't like the way Jimmy runs things around the school.

As payback for the regulations Jimmy put up that Joel thought was stupid, Joel does these elaborate 'The Office' style pranks on Jimmy (specifically) while Jimmy retaliates by trying his best to dig up dirt on Joel. This banter goes on for a while— however Joel ends up doing the pranks less as a statement, and instead more just to see how Jimmy would react... with his comical, cartoony villain yells, and... weirdly cute face....? (YAOI YAOI YAOI YAOI)

very very old au drawings below:

from July 2023

😭😭 joel does NOT look like a highschooler here 😭😭😭😭 (i also wanted to draw angst in the first two ig idk a year later it's pretty cringe [i am still cringe]) (also partially inspired by when I read "Go for it, Nakamura!" and the mc reminded me of joel for no actual reason. or maybe i was just thinking about that manga while drawing smallidarity. idk)

from November 2022:

I think these doodles were genuinely the first instance of me converting from being against mcyt shipping to for shipping LMAOO

[antivancastle]

i really really wish we could have seen high society tevinter. i wish we could have had a shadow dragons quest at a fancy party like wicked hearts in inquisition, and maybe we could have had a bigger dorian cameo and more insight on the corruption of templars…

[superbat-lmao]

Jason Todd gets blown up, resurrected, and after regaining his skills and control from Talia, goes back to Gotham and goes back to school. He leaves vigilantism entirely.

He’s taking literature and philosophy classes and just about anything to do with writing.

He makes friends, he’s on his way to normalcy.

And then he sees an opening for an opinion writer for the school newspaper.

Clark Kent gets sent the same newspaper article to read in both his civilian and superhero personas. If that’s not concerning, he doesn’t know what it.

It’s an opinion article on the state of vigilantism and hero work by a student in the next town over. And it’s a problem.

Because it’s good, too good. It feels like someone had sat in the watchtower during those first few months where everyone had been trying to work out how to function with so many different stances on morality and ethics. Should any of them really be doing this? What were the lines they couldn’t cross? If we’re working outside the law, what moral credibility do we have otherwise to justify our actions?

And sure, Clark’s written more than a few pieces criticizing Superman, but there’s a point to that. He has his own reasons. This kid, well, Clark isn’t sure of their reasons exactly. Because his gut reaction is thinking this kid is just making heroes and vigilantes look bad.

And there’s a reason that all of his and Bruce’s debates on ethics happen behind closed doors. Because to be self critical is to try and prevent hubris, but to allow public criticism at this level is to lose the faith of the public.

So Clark is torn. Because if he responds, he gives credibility to what could remain a largely unknown article. And if he doesn’t, he can’t control the reaction of other people start responding to it.

He’ll have to talk to Bruce.

[conwise]

I could go on about Emizel as a character for literally ages but one of the (very many) things I think is so interesting about him is how he's defined as a person by the greater context of vampire society

Because here's the thing, by normal standards, Emizel's not a good person

He's violent, rude, aggressive, selfish, untrusting, arrogant, and constantly makes bad or stupid decisions that put himself and other people in danger. Plus, y'know, literally one of the first things he decides to do upon getting his newfound vampiric powers is kill twelve rival gang members so

(and none of this is negative btw, I genuinely love him so and he's such an amazing character with good flaws)

But he's, very clearly, not a bad person

The narrative/world directly shows us time and time again in the light of harsh reality why vampire society is evil and vampires are bad people. It's never been the fact that they drink blood, it's about how they treat other people, both humans and each other. And the fact that they don't care about what they do to them. Their set of morals is so clearly defined by the horrific things we see them do to people, painting us a picture of what is, by definition in this world, a bad person. And that's not a definition Emizel fits into

Because he does care. He cares about Soda, and Shilo, and Arthur, and even Pepper

And honestly that's why his note at the end hits so hard for me (and honestly the entirety of the ending itself because lord I have so many thoughts on the fact that this silly campaign is a disillusionment/loss of innocence narrative). It's Emizel's realization that he's now doing the exact same shit that every other vampire is doing

Hjlsklvlsknbf I just think he's really complex and nuanced character especially within the greater context of vampire society

[worldsokayestmagicalgirl]

The greatest minds of our generation will now be having their debate about who holds the title of the most prolific bodice ripper author in all of Calloway.

Will Cahwel be able to break out his PowerPoint about historical accuracy being necessary for full immersion before Aqua drops her diss track about how Skyler publishes 5 books a year because she’s not bogged down by her fans fact checking her every 3 pages?

We’ll never know because they’re already beating each other up on the floor of the tavern.

As always, Aqua : @captain-cappie & Cahwel : @clovedown

[elliesgaymachete]

if you hate bells hells so much why are you still watching c3 at this point? you can just stop

[curse-of-dming-strahd]

hey, guys? why is no one talking about the part where Rahadin swallows an entire toad

[harboretum]

Good morning 🍊