#god i love vm

[radcaduceus]

#matt once again giving me psychic damage for not rewarding a nat 20 with ANYTHING#HE DOESNT WANT THE GANG TO HAVE THAT JAVELIN BACK. NO MATTER HOW MANY MATH PERCY DOES </3#anyway this is so insane to me. percy figures out where the javelin fell. goes w vex on her broom to point out where it is.#realizes that he's deathly afraid of heights so he has a panic attack and throws up. vex sees this and does the same.#then percy starts reciting the quadratic formula and vex throws up again. TRULY the scene of all time. (tags via @aq2003)

this scene is such a disaster

[veronicaneptunes]

A long time ago, we used to be friends... The Veronica Mars pilot aired 20 years ago today- on the 22nd of September, 2004.

[liltaireissocute]

[PERC'ILDAN]

PERC'ILDAN WEEK 2024 DAY 3: MODERN AU

It's 991 AU because this show is my guilty pleasure :'D But 911 is in fact modern so it fits. Percy is a new 911 dispatch, he lives with his sister Cassandra and has a very quiet calm life (but oh the boy has a PAST...). Vax is a part of a firefighter team along with his sister and all the rest of Vox Machina. Through calls, late night talks and stolen firefighter truck Percy and Vax became very close and eventually fell in love.

Also, Simon-the-Snake is a tattoo and Anna Ripley is a terrorist.

Every image from a sheet separately are under the cut:

[pyrotechnicdarts]

they invented romance btw

[henrenologist]

how do you think hen/karen are misunderstood by the fandom ( and the characters? ) 👀

hmmm let me jot down my (admittedly half-baked) thoughts

hen: magical powers. the idea of her as a Wise Woman. this 6x03 moment in particular plagues me:

buck: i mean, hen, you-you always have the answers

that's a succinct summary of how both buck and fandom see hen. which is ironic given that hen promptly experiences near-death in a near-car crash from over-working herself in that episode. the show purposefully deconstructs the superhuman!hen myth in s6 (which they'd accidentally built in the preceding seasons), but the idea still persists.

add on that bobby line about "mother hen," and you get this in-universe perception of hen as a wise guide which isn't accurate to her character. her advice and takes aren't always the best and are frequently clouded by her personal sentiments (drunk hen flip-flopping on whether buck should tell lucy about the kiss [in fairness, she's drunk, but i think her inebriation gives a fair look into her unfiltered, impulsive thinking]; hen doubting whether chim should marry maddie; hen saying she and karen should "fight" for nia).

she doesn't know everything! and she doesn't have super-human perception, catching every little detail around her like shawn spencer in psych, as fanon can sometimes make her out to. she's just intelligent and skillful (which are traits that she WORKED to attain. she wasnt magically gifted Super Paramedic Hands by god. we saw her work for that. i think people forget that).

chim's "you're the genius, i'm the comic relief" line is interesting, too, because everyone (including hen) recognizes that chim is under-estimating himself when he refers to himself as "comic relief," but there's not the same recognition of how "genius" parallels that, in terms of being an over-simplification

none of this is to say hen isn't wise, or perceptive, or talented. i just think those traits of hers get exaggerated by fans and other characters to caricature-ish levels.

as for karen:

i've seen people describe her as "selfless" which is. interesting. i think hen mistakes her for that too. karen IS selfless, yes, but it's a trait that veers more into self-sacrificial territory. she routinely gives up a Lot for her wife and family; not just her astronaut dream, but her emotions—suppressing them for others' sake. some stand-out dialogue:

hen: it's like that ivf stuff never even happened

chim: well, that's something

hen: my wife's a project manager—looks like i'm her new project

it's like. well, hen. i think your wife who never fully processed her grief around her lost embryos (which you admitted to not understanding, and in fact being frustrated with) is not enthusiastically picking up your recovery process from your recent traumatic experience as a mere matter of prioritization, but as a course of action for suppressing her grief and moving on (instead of actually recovering). that's self-sacrifice, not selflessness or supportiveness. she has moments where she stands her ground, but like in the case of toni's wedding (5x18), she's moved away from it quickly.

[dirtyassvoiceactors]

Absolutely had to rewatch e116 cause what a fucking battle,

And truly the Nein are unfuckingstoppable, especially level 20, they are a mechanical beast of a party, they are truly the polycule of this fight, as Caleb himself said “Set ‘em up und knock ‘em down” in technically less then 4 turns(if you don’t count the little beau turn before fjord could stop her and talk to them) therefore in less than 24 seconds or a little more than 18 seconds, fighting THE moon’s baddest poly hive mind IN THEIR OWN LAIR, against new types of attacks and spells and abilities they’ve never seen or know of, against lair actions and bunching them in AOE trigonometry bs, their big monk move of turning invisible didn’t help shit, with their wizard and cleric loosing 5+levels of spells each completely, their wizards mirror image not working once so taking all the damage, with one of their clerics not even having their armor equipped half of their fight, their rogue sluggish+exhausted+blinded etc, most of them exhausted, them literally betting against each other during the fight…

*sighs in mechanics nerd* they are THE D&D Party

[shorthaltsjester]

every bells hells interaction with keyleth being a bullying (affectionate) interrogation — usually about things they have already interrogated her about — versus their interactions with vex being like 3 of the hells at any given time Will be distracted by her hotness and the rest will be just going yes ma’am whatever you say . extremely extremely real of them . i have to imagine after every interaction keyleth is like WHY do they keep doing this to me and vex is like idk darling maybe your vibes are just off

but also i just need them to carry some of the our old pcs are bugs were poking under a microscope energy to vex i need to know what her takes on vaxorb and the gods are right now . do i think vex is as likely to be open with bells hells as keyleth is? doubtful. but i still want them to try

[danwhobrowses]

5 Underrated Things or Tactics That May Aid Bell's Hells to Victory

Spoilers up to Campaign 3 Episode 116 below

Well Critters, it all comes down to this.

Vox Machina dismantled the Malleus Keep, killed Ozo (the Bozo) Kruft, and freed the Champion of Ravens which removed the tidal lock on Ruidus, and now the Mighty Nein have disintegrated the Weave Mind, completing essentially a full dismantling of the Kreviris Imperium, all of which quicker than I anticipated. All that's left is the Hallowed Cage, where Ludinus Da'leth and his inner circle are using his harness to try and fully destroy Liliana Temult. Bell's Hells begin a race against time to save her, but also a race to defeat Ludinus before he unleashes his intentions unto Exandria and its Pantheon with Predathos, and then decide for themselves what they do with the God Eater.

Suffice to say, and I dunno about everyone else but, I am terrified. I believe they can win but Ludinus is not to be underestimated, this second harness means he may be stronger - and he was already the strongest wizard alive - and have access to more powers compared to his simulacra, plus Predathos may come during or after this battle, which can put the Hells in a weakened state. Matt has likely prepared his best and worst for this final battle too, but the Hells aren't Lv. 20 combatants like the other groups; there's no 9th level spells, no Divine Intervention, and the group lost their cleric ~20 episodes back, so even though VM and the Nein were ultimately successful within 1-2 episodes having to use both of their auto-succeed Divine Interventions from their two clerics in the process, this is the battle. And with that is a ridiculous amount of tension for Ludinus and for what comes after. For all we know, the cast may've already recorded ahead enough to have finished the final fight, maybe even finished the campaign (though I hope not, partly because I don't want it to end yet but also I feel like the dawn of the new era should be explored regardless of what choice the Hells make, plus some characters could use a bit more resolution after the big fight and the pressure of stakes and time sensitivity have been alleviated) but for us it's a nervous wait, and a wonder of what can be done to win and what choice will be made to determine the future of Exandria, Ruidus, their faith and their people. So, this is my indulging into that first part, 5 lower-key things or tactics that might not have been initially thought of that could make things easier to defeat Ludinus.

Liliana, the Inner Circle, and the Arcane Battery Provided that the Hells make it in time to stop Liliana from being totally destroyed by the harness (which is very possible since Laudna does have that tracking spell on him since Aeor, it's all about speed and not running into enemies) she will still be without her magic to fight. Ludinus' inner circle holding her down is comprised of Reilorans but also other Ruidusborns, and that's something the Hells can expose. Liliana cannot fight, but Ruidusborns can take spell slots from each other, so Liliana and any KO'd Ruidusborns from the inner circle can be used as spell slot fuel for Imogen and Fearne. Ludinus also gave a 9-slot fully-charged Arcane Battery to the Hells in order to trigger Delilah within Laudna for his escape, the battery can help recharge Laudna's slots too which makes this tactic handy for the witches of the group.

Dunamancy One of Ludinus' most important tools for his plan has been Luxon Beacons, a device able to unravel even divine magic, but much like the Harness it can prove his undoing. Dunamancy hasn't been touched upon as much as early C3 hinted it could have, but for lack of a better phrase, the possibilities are still endless. The Hells have multiple Potions of Possibility at their disposal to aid with rolls, but they also were given a Sphere of Dunamantic Restoration by the Kryn, which will trigger the effects of a Short Rest and a health and spell slot recharge - which can be handy in a pinch and to reuse some once per short rest abilities. Ashton is the key factor though, I've mentioned it a few times already but we don't know if these items will behave differently with them, via their own internal dunamancy abilities. Given the unknown factor, that's why it's not deemed as much of a tactic as it is a Hail Mary, but it is one that could lead to Ludinus' own magic unraveling, and maybe even Predathos' too

The Whirling Dervish & Conditional Advantages In Vassalheim, Dorian received his family sword: Gambolcleft, the Vortex Blade. One of its yet to be used abilities involves a once a day repetitive use of striking an enemy, similar to how Ozo killed Vex, provided that they attack with Disadvantage. Dorian is already looking at a high attack roll given Gambolcleft's +3 to attack and hit rolls, and Master's Flourish means he doesn't have to use a Bardic Inspiration to stack a Blade Flourish (Defensive Flourish is probably best, the damage is also doubled by Gambolcleft), the only quibble is the disadvantage. Fortunately, most of the Hells have skills that can force Ludinus into conditions where attacks would do advantage on him: stunning and rendering him prone being most likely, but paralysis is possible if a Hold Person is successful. It would of course require his Legendary Resistances to be used up first, but if Ludinus gets stunned or knocked prone within Dorian's range, Gambolcleft could easily carve its way through him with continual hits, stacked potentially by Bless and Mark of the Messy End, for perpetual damage and make Dorian himself impossible to hit on his next turn. Stunning or Proning Ludinus also leaves Ludinus at the vicious mercy of the martial players, especially for conditions that auto-crit when hit.

The Hole (or the Bag of Holding) Occam's Razor. An old but gold tactic of the Hells could very easily be used against Ludinus too. The portable hole or the bag of holding are devoid of air, left in one long enough with it sealed would mean suffocation as have been the fate of many of the Hells' past opponents that they didn't have time to deal with. The Hole's downside is that a Strength check can lead to a creature forcing their way out, but the Hells do have plenty of skills that can impose disadvantage on Strength rolls and the aforementioned conditions could help that, Ashton's Hammer may also make it more difficult to unfold the Hole if its Immovable Rod is propped atop of it - but that'd be down to Matt's discretion. The Bag of Holding doesn't have the strength save, but it is smaller so it may not be able to fit him in it. I'm not sure if Ludinus can use Gate to escape either, dunno if that leads to the whole extradimensional rip thing that happens if you open one while in the other, but if he does it's a concentration spell so the Hells could just keep knocking him back from the other side, a bigger group of enemies in either also reduces the time needed before they suffocate.

The Harness and the One-Chance Polymorph Right now Ludinus is using a harness to destroy Liliana, comparing it to the one in Moleasmyr it'll potentially take about an hour to finish the process providing that this factor wasn't improved upon. However, removing magic within a being for a whole day only required a minute of contact in the Hells' one and maybe Ludinus', thus his creation and reason for long life and power can also be the key to his downfall. Holding Ludinus down for a minute is of course not as easy as it sounds but that's where Polymorph can come in. Polymorph lasts at most an hour, so as long as Ludinus is changed into a creature that can easily be restrained they can use the harness on it and remove Ludinus of his entire arsenal in order to finish him off without the risk of his high level spells. The tricky part is getting Polymorph to succeed; Wisdom is after all a Wizard's bread and butter, but there is a single gambit that could make it work. It requires all Legendary Resistances to be gone of course, and for Laudna and Braius to be conscious; Braius has a once per long rest ability to change a Wisdom saving throw to a Charisma one, which he used to allow Dorian to succeed in making the Dominox dance in the live show, Laudna's Void Puppet can force disadvantage on saves to those within 5ft of it, which will negate his magical resistance to just a clean roll. Orym can also use Hex to impose a disadvantage, which may be able to stack, but this would also hinge on Ludinus' charisma not being super high and if the Polymorph fails once it will likely not be able to be tried again.

The fight won't be easy, but there are avenues that can make it less dangerous, a strategy is very much required for such a foe. All the while my strategy remains keeping up the prayer circle. Deep breaths everyone.

[forgetriestowrite]

Currently rewatching C1E104 because I’m obsessed with the gods now, and in light of Downfall all of the stuff VM is saying to defend Vex hits so much harder

Like I think Pelor would’ve been pretty close to sold when Scanlan said “she does bad things but it’s to protect her family”, and then Pike doubled down with “she’s family, and if you hurt her I’ll fuck you up”

They are family, they protect each other, and with the context of Downfall we know that is what Pelor values

Of course he would see hope in them. of course he would believe in them, and believe in their ability to save the world. They are what he once tried to be.

[andi-o-geyser]

The desire to write a 200-page-long dissertation on Percival de Rolo’s journey and the deep importance of how trauma presents itself and isn’t easily healed and on the meaning of vengeance and the trials and crushing guilt that manifests which one must fight through to truly forgive themselves and learn to live again baked into his story Vs. my biological requirement of sleep to be a functioning human being: FIGHT

[vethbrenatto]

.

[aq2003]

i was the target demographic of "fan who would hate this season the most". my critrole tastes were specifically aligned and designed in a lab to hate nearly every single creative decision and change that was made

[tutuandscoot]

Patch is looking at S/D like he read on Twitter that apparently they hate each other.

[birdsbeard]

im finally getting around to getting up to date w CR and I'm just so so so delighted with their first night at Yios, it really has like early CR vibes idk what it is I was dying laughing

[pyrotechnicdarts]

really good first few episodes. except for the parts i didnt like. which was quite a bit of episode 3. eps 1 and 2 were PEAK tho.

[29121996]

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