#i also do not care for vax and keyleth at all

[son-of-the-sun23]

am i the only person who really does not like scanlan

[cloudprincesslady]

i'm sure a million people have already said this sorta thing but goddamn this is the most frustrating hour of critical role i've ever watched

[stardustedknuckles]

Listening to the Matron talk about the previous god of death cements for me the idea that Vax was always meant to have more time before she made good on their deal. She didn't mean for him to know the same eternal separation and grief she had taken upon herself - that she had chosen with eyes wide open. He was supposed to have time and happiness with Keyleth. Maybe even time beyond a natural lifespan, though that's probably pushing it a little. To the max of said lifespan at the very least. She didn't want for him - or for keyleth - what she had been through, but her hand was forced, and the only way to give him back in any capacity was to take away what should have been. His fate was to become her champion, yes, but there was time to live first. That fate was changed as a gift. It was all she could allow as the keeper of her domain and arguably, her mortality is what led her to give it at all.

Yes. She hears the sounds of grief and loss unending, unceasing. Death is less than nothing to her and the sum of who she is. She is synonymous to death in many ways, though she refers to herself as its steward and rightfully so.

But I think what sets her apart is that she never grows numb to it. That mask is to hide the fact that all of it still affects her. It's to hide all of it - her loneliness, yes, but also that she feels every death. She hears every cry, every curse, every regret. She stands before every soul individually and does what she must, and she wears the mask so that she can do so without giving anything of her mortal feelings away. The dead do not need to know that she cares, that she understands. Death is not about her. It is about who is standing in front of her waiting to be ushered into the beyond. She is the great reuniter, forever separated from the one she loves.

So yes. I believe that Vax was always meant to have more time, right up until time was the only thing left to barter. His fate was to die after a long and happy life, to go peacefully and take up the mantle at her side when he was done on Exandria.

But that had to change to save the fate of the world, and nobody in this realm or any other knows better the loss and the grief that came about from cutting that time short. Vax wasn't meant to understand it either. She wanted better for him and, by extension, keyleth.

[shorthaltsjester]

i could talk a lot about the reasons that i think vox machina as pcs is actually a perfect insertion into the c3 narrative right now but the one that’s really sticking out to me is the diversity in the opinions on the gods that the party has and the lack of influence their individual opinions have on their commitment to save the world. because with bh they’re all pretty ambivalent or anti-god with fcg and now braius being outliers, but both of those cases are still very unique and particular ones: fcg had his cleric powers prior to his religiosity and so it was largely just about the personal meaning he found in the changebringer but he still ended up having divine exchanges with her and braius is in the fjord stone school of being a willing child of god divorce. and with those of bh who dislike the gods it’s for completely valid reasons with completely invalid application of their personal woes to a universal scale. but in vox machina we see the way that experience with people that the gods matter to beyond just the magical exchange and experience with the weight that denying the rise of a new betrayer left on the shoulders of the gods they aided. i have to say that beyond the fact that i am just fond of vox machina as a party, it is also incredibly refreshing to see people who have diverse opinions about the gods but also actually engaged with opinions (a word which here refers to taking seriously, and not using confirmation bias) beyond those of their insular party.

a while ago ashton with his insistently short sight said he’d like to see the gods pray to mortals — something they’ve always been doing and is in fact a definitive part of their established metaphysical status in exandria — and vox machina is taking on the role in the c3 narrative of proving (once again) that has been the case, but they differ from bh because where bh (as a group) tends to deny the pleas from the gods unless it already serves or proves what they’ve assumed to be true about the world and the gods, vm (as a gorup) took seriously that the gods might have something new to introduce to them. i mean that’s obvious in scanlan and vex, both of whom became champions of gods they hadn’t really even considered in a serious vein prior to speaking to them. and scanlan very much takes on the label of ioun’s champion as a job to be fulfilled in the specific battle, but with vex being pelor’s champion has more significant weight tied to whitestone becoming her home and the fact that she belongs to a community that does, very much, take seriously the symbolic and literal power of the dawn, and she admits she hadn’t really realized the people-ness of the gods themselves until she met the everlight and the dawnfather.

but from the very same community, with a more historical basis in it, we get percy, who is very much uninterested in gods, until of course he might find value in an exchange with them. or, in one of my favourite moments from percy, until he is given hope that his family still exists somewhere beyond his memory of them, even if bound in the divine books of a god that calls him out on his selfish habits. vox machina also has keyleth who is pretty anti-god, not to the degree of ‘let’s kill them’ that we’ve seen in bh, but even when facing them directly, she wasn’t subtle about how little she cares for them, especially when offset by the people that matter much more to her. vm has pike who is the spearhead of the everlight’s return to power, they have grog who fucks with the stormlord’s teachings even if he doesn’t deal with the god part all that much. there’s a multiplicity of god-to-mortal relationships in vox machina that is diverse in a way that bh certainly isn’t, and i think that allows a really interesting deepening of what’s at stake. because, of course, their focus is getting vax out of the orb, but there’s a weight they all carry regarding what happens to the world if it loses the gods, especially if the way they go is through the machinations of a ancient elven jackass.

and i mean it’s a jokey moment but i think an exchange that’s really illustrative of why it’s so nice to get vm who are certain about their stances about the gods and who don’t have to discuss the philosophical implications of their actual lived and material reality is the one between vex and keyleth where they’re discussing stopping predathos and vex jokes that ‘hey maybe predathos gets out and just eats the matron, surely that’d be fine’ and keyleth laughs with her but then they both kind of step out of that and are still committed to fighting predathos. because as keyleth emphasizes in her speech, exandria belongs to a collective, one made up of people who both hate and love the gods and though vex and keyleth both hate one god in particular, they have the awareness to treat that as their own issue, not one worth risking exandria to solve. anyway. this isn’t super well put and maybe i’ll elaborate some other time but i’ve seen a lot of people being bitter about vox machina showing up (which is their right!) but saying they’re only there in ways that detract from the narrative (i obviously disagree) so i just wanted to put into words why i think that’s wrong (though to be clear i don’t doubt that the fact that vm is cr’s personal blorbos plays a significant hand in the fact that vm showed up, they just also are succeeding (to me) at having a narrative purpose as well)

[wen-kexing-apologist]

God I am genuinely so impressed with how they managed to adapt the Chroma Conclave Arc into a single season of animated television. While there is so much of the Chroma Conclave arc that I love that they cut (I am actually very disappointed to not have gotten "call me child one more goddamn time" cause that is my favorite moment of the whole campaign) the way they ended up splitting the party to handle all the different moving pieces: Vorugal, Dis, Glintshore, Thordak, Raishan makes a ton of sense.

gif by @strolling-through-emon

Having the trip to Hell and trip to Draconia coincide, I was honestly initially a little confused as to why they needed to split the party there. But I ended up screaming at my TV about how brilliantly they handled getting the extremely iconic Yenk v. Vorugal fight on my screen. Oh it was so much fun to watch.

gif by @strolling-through-emon

While it does cut the drama a bit to lose the team how do you want to do this? during Glintshore, Vex's "i want an arrow through her heart and one through her mouth as she screams" is by far the most memorable part of Ripley's death (imo) and Vax plays a (haha) critical role in getting Percy back as the patron to the Raven Queen in the animated series, as a way to set up Vax's situation during the Vecna arc. So sending Vex and Vax to do the Ripley fight without the rest of the team was a smart play. And the whole team gets to be there for the resurrection, so you still get the beautiful moment of care, of everyone being there for Percy in death even if it's not on the shores of Glintshore.

gif by @strolling-through-emon

Grog and Pike hanging back to deal with Scanlan makes sense as the people that are the closest to Scanlan in the party. Pike going to find Kaley is the only choice in Scanlan's absence because in the original campaign Scanlan entrusts Pike with looking after Kaley should something happen to him. We got Grog's fix him moment, and we were able to get the Kaley and Scanlan reunion without having to dedicate time to the desecration and disrespect of Scanlan's body via the prank. I will miss the gut punch of "what's my mother's name?" because goddamn that was A Moment in the campaign, but also it was kind of a sticky situation in the actual game because Scanlan never talked about himself even when people did ask. We didn't need to navigate that piece of the puzzle in order to get the outcome of parting ways during the time skip between Chroma Conclave and Vecna. That said, I do think we miss out on seeing Scanlan without his performer's mask on as a result of skipping A Bard's Lament.

gif by @epicnessunfolds

Keyleth going off on her own was a great way to handle her overcoming her mounting insecurity, she needs to learn how to be a leader, she needs to recognize her own strength. We got "I have passed through fire" as a nod to Patrick Rothfuss/Kerrick since he was cut from the show. It makes sense to have kept Percy dead throughout the Ripley and Raishan fight because Percy was very dead during both of those fights. And while Feeblemind (another favorite moment of mine) definitely did not make sense as a spell in this dragon fight, Keyleth got her feeblemind moment with the spreading of the disease at the end of the Raishan fight, and it's interesting because the way they animated the disease mimicked how Matt described the Feeblemind taking root in Raishan during that fight in the og campaign.

gif by @fairymonk

I'm so curious how I would feel about the changes they made to this show if I didn't know the creators of the original materials were the ones in control of the animated series. Like I sleep a lot more soundly with the death of Kash during the Thordak fight knowing that it is highly likely that Will gave his permission for that, seeing as he was the voice actor for Kash, that Mary is the voice director for the show, etc. I think I would have been a lot more upset at Pike being the one to take out Thordak's gem instead of Vex if I wasn't absolutely certain that there was a discussion about giving Pike that moment to shine. We lost Pike's divine intervention punching Vorugal out of the sky, so it feels like a fair trade to give Pike the Thordak moment. Especially because Vax still gets to be the one to ultimately kill Thordak to avenge his mother's death and Vex gets to be the one to ultimately kill Ripley to avenge Percy's death.

gif by @hotcupofdragons

As always this is a show full of eye candy. The animation is gorgeous and I am so impressed with how vibrant and magical they are able to make the world, the fights, everything. I love finding easter eggs (I see you katzenprinz) and I like that this show manages to strike a balance between honoring the source material and being its own story. Here's to sobbing my way through the Vecna arc in Season 4!

[jibril-thelibraryangel]

You know I’m in an interesting position regarding the Bard Lament change

On one hand, I’m straight up not as attached to Bard’s Lament as everyone else in the fandom seems to be

Sure it was a dramatic moment with some great acting from Sam… but it was also very nasty and visceral in a way that the rest of the show isn’t and it really never gets addressed properly

Also I feel like the whole fandom always simplifies it as “poor little guiltless Scanlan finally standing up to everyone else who are evil bullies to him all the time for no reason”

All this to say, if you had told me months ago that they were removing Bard’s Lament, I would have been surprised but not upset

However after seeing the whole season… damn I really do feel they squandered some AMAZING set up for it

They show Scanlan constantly leaving Vox Machina behind and when he does horrible things happen to them, things that could’ve objectively been avoided by his presence AND HE NEVER EXPLAINS HIMSELF

They are about to execute Percy while Scanlan has a literal magical key to stop it and they find him passed out drunk, vomiting on the street… and nobody said anything to him about it???

Percy then literally DIES in a battle he left them for, like… it would’ve been 100% understandable if in her grief Vex would’ve cursed Scanlan off and blamed him for Percy’s death.

Then also Keyleth is mad at everyone about Raishan, Vax is self isolating because of his raven bull shit and only cares about Vex, and then Pike rejects his love AGAIN

That is literally the perfect storm of circumstances for Scanlan not feeling part of a family, resentment and animosity and a blow out… and they just didn’t??

They could’ve use the fact that only Pike and Grog cared enough to stay by his side during his comma, and nobody else seemed even a little worried about him? No?

Okay

Not as upset as I’m sure a lot of others are going to be, but definitely underwhelmed… which is not a feeling you want to be left with in a season finale

[dracoroma]

I think it's safe to say now that Vax is completely fine with the situation he finds himself in. He has all but said those exact words to Vox Machina.

"I would rather not have [The Raven Queen] gone"

"Death is a part of life"

And this should put Keyleth blaming The Matron for "taking Vax from her", and Pike "not giving up on Vax" into perspective.

I don't get why we are blaming The Matron time and time again when Vecna is the one who killed Vax. He would not be in this situation if not for Vecna. Meanwhile, The Matron has to look over all life and death.

Matt said it well in the wrap party for TLoVM S3. She's a neutral entity, she's persuing her own goals,regardless of what society, or even her, deems moral and just. She has to protect the sanctity of death. In fact, she's basically said why to Bell's Hells, she needs to prevent stagnation.

If not for The Matron, how could we ever truly stop people like Lorenzo, the Chroma Conclave, Ripley, the Briarwoods, Avantika? And how do you think people would feel if their loved ones were disrespected and brought back as zombies?

How about we look at the materials for spells that defy the matron, things like clone and resurrection spells. Spells that when tied together can gove one functional immortality. But these are also expensive and powerful spells, that require a ton of resources. This can create a world where the rich and powerful, through magic, are immortal, unable to die. While the common folk do not have that luxury. And this is a world that many a cyberpunk story depicts.

Even on a smaller level, it becomes a world where some people have to wonder why their family member, their sibling, their lover, their friend, was not brought back when someone else was. And that is an incredibly unfair world

But, there's also a spiritual component here. To Vax, this is his choice. It was mentioned before that he would not be willing to come back through true resurrection. It was his choice to accept his death, his fate. To take that choice away from him feels wrong on many levels, from a level of personal agency to that of denying someone their faith. The desire to bring him back to life is incredibly selfish on Keyleth's, and the rest of Vox Machina's, part.

And, I think there's a final component here. Vax is not just dead. While none of the books explicitly say as much, his role as a psychopomp means something. To me, as a polytheist, Vax achieved apotheosis, he is a minor god now, like Heraclese and Psyche in greek myth. It is a metamorphosis for him into something else.

One of my friends has been talking a lot about how "people rebel against the gods" is not a compelling reason to say that the system is irreprably broken. And that's because they, frankly, have a raw deal. Erathis and Pelor and Bahamut, as entities of law, are going to constantly piss off the punk types like Ashton by representing law. Corellon and Avandra, as entities of freedom and change, are going to constantly piss off people who see law as a virtue. And while Melora and Kord can be channeled to do good things, nature and storms and war are forces that do not care about good and evil. They will cause blights and disasters because that is what they are.

And the center of this issue is The Raven Queen. The protector of the dead. The one who stands against necromancy. Because it is important that oir rest, when we die, not be disturbed. And because of that, she cannot make exceptions

[hayleysayshay]

Okay here’s how some ideas to adapt bard’s lament in TLOVM S3 if we had to keep this same story structure generally and end on a hopeful note but also allows the season to have actual interesting inter party conflict.

— At one moment in ep 1/2 where Scanlan talks to Kaylie he mentions his mother. Kaylie wants to know more, but Scanlan is too drunk and a mess to continue the conversation. Maybe he even says that he never talks about her — no-one ever asks, but again he’s too drunk to continue the conversation with Kaylie who is annoyed by this

— then episode 6 happens. Pike says he can go, so Scanlan tries to say that he wants to leave to find his daughter. The rest of the group are angry, there’s more pressing things right now, they’re a team, can’t this wait? Scanlan feels dismissed especially since he let them spend a night in his chateau.

— They return to Whitestone. The city is being attacked by dragons. Scanlan tries to help, but is severely hurt by dragon fire. Like head to toe burns. He’s hanging by a thread, Pike works for hours to keep him alive. It’s painful. (This way it’s a really traumatic moment for Scanlan like his death without being a death.)

— Scanlan finally wakes, maybe early ep 7, and then the Bards Lament breakdown happens. He and Percy especially snap at each other. He says they don’t care bout him, what is his mother’s name, he just wanted to see Kaylie.

— he asks Allura or Gilmore to transport him away to Kaylie. VM allow him to leave, Pike is hurt by him leaving, rest of VM more angry.

— we see in ep 8 Kaylie and Scanlan meeting. She’s happy that he came to find her. He plays her his song and he apologises for being a bad dad, but he wants to be there for her.

— Then Percy dies, and Thordak fight happens without Scanlan (just rework his contributions to another character (maybe Vex and Grog?))

— during ep 10 we see Scanlan and Kaylie in a bar together, chatting, where they hear that Thordak has been defeated, but the Lord of Whitestone is dead. Scanlan voices his regrets that now Percy died thinking he didn’t care, that he wasn’t there for the funeral, that the group now thinks he doesn’t care. He can’t fix it.

— Kaylie: ‘your loyalty to those weirdos is one of the endearing things about you. Go to them, don’t leave it like this. You fixed things with me.’

— I think if Scanlan isn’t in a coma it makes VM falling apart in ep 10 more realistic. Instead of only Grog and Pike caring to stay with Scanlan, the team splinters as Percy is dead, Scanlan willingly left, are they even Vox Machina anymore?. (I think you could rework the whole Ripley end fight to have more of VM but I’m just doing Bards Lament, so sure Vex and Vax go fight her alone.)

— Scanlan and Kaylie make the journey back to Whitestone (maybe via a cart, or a joke aboutdrunk wizard who only gets them half way). Either way they don’t get to Whitestone immediately.

— now he can either be back for the Raishan fight, and help out there, or Scanlan can come back just in time for Percy’s resurrection. Maybe it’s really hard — Gilmore and Allura are also helping out Pike and Keyleth, but they need a little more magic, Orthax is sooooo powerful — and then another pair of hands slams onto the resurrection circle — Scanlan has come back in time! Percy is res’d, Scanlan apologises for how he left, they all apologise for taking him for granted, but they soothe those hurt emotions.

— they then all part on good terms like how s3 actually ends.

I don’t think Scanlan is super needed for Thordak or Raishan since he killed Vorugal in s2. If he left midway through s3, his absence would be felt through the second half, so it’s nice to actually see him back in the last episode.

[utilitycaster]

Do you get the impression CR has been subtly trying to tamp down speculation C3 is the last campaign lately?

No, I do not.

I'm guessing this was prompted by the WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED video but that just tells us that they have ongoing production plans going into 2025, which, we knew, because if nothing else the Mighty Nein animated series is still in production. They will still exist as a production company that puts out new stuff long after they stop running longform campaigns.

I want to stress that what I'm about to say is not directed specifically at you but at the fandom at large based on some patterns I've seen - this ask felt like a good opportunity to do so because it touches on some of those patterns but please understand I'm not holding you accountable for all of this; I just use anon asks as this sort of jumping off point sometimes.

I think the cast overall cares WAYYYYYYY less about what the fandom is doing and saying than much of the fandom thinks they do. I think most of them are barely aware of what the fandom is doing and saying. When they do know and care, they are not shy about saying when they think the fandom did something they think is obnoxious (Bowlgate freakouts, sharing Braius's original backstory, thinking Orym or Ashton should have stopped Laudna; or on a more serious level, Liam and Marisha both did a lot of damage control after Molly's death when people were being hostile towards Matt and Ashly Burch and told those people to cut it out and be nice to their guests.)

I've gotten a few questions about whether I think C3 is the last campaign, and my genuine answer is I feel less certain it is than I was before, but as I have zero insight into the CR cast's discussions or priorities or production plans, this means literally nothing, because I was guessing wildly then and I'm guessing wildly now. (I'm pretty solid on making narratively-based guesses but that goes out the window when it comes to production decisions). But also I saw a poll yesterday on whether this is the last campaign, and like. Look. Someone asked me towards the end of Campaign 2 if this was the end of Campaign 2 and I was like "Surely not! We still have Molaesmyr!" and then Campaign 2 ended like 3 episodes later. It's normal and understandable to try to say "but we'll get more, right? RIGHT?" and I've done so myself, but that poll could get a 100% response rate of "OF COURSE THERE'S A CAMPAIGN 4!" and then 5 months from now we could get an announcement that C3 was the last longform campaign, because no one answering that poll knows the answer. It's very normal to want an answer and to hope for more campaigns - I would be thrilled with a Campaign 4 - but literally we don't know. It's entirely possible the cast is still deciding; and if they have, this is probably information that only the company and like, their immediate circle of friends know, if that.

It's literally impossible to shut down speculation, and even subtle attempts to do so are likely to backfire. Without going on a rant about one of my most deeply felt subjects, while fandom is a great place in which I've met many wonderful people, it is also fertile breeding grounds for conspiracy theories, a thing I loathe with every fiber of my being. Again, I think that the cast could run a QA panel in which every single cast member said in unison "The canon ships in TLOVM are Vax and Keyleth; Vex and Percy; and Pike and Scanlan" and someone would be like "well, I saw Taliesin in the bathroom two hours later and he took precisely 47 seconds to wash his hands and from this I can conclude PERCY AND VAX REAL." And from what I understand regarding anime fandom it's about a million times worse, which is to say, I think the cast knows that and knows to just not bring up a Campaign 4 until they're good and ready and to let the fandom do what they will.

tl;dr the cast cares way less about what any of us think than many of us think; you will almost certainly not find out if there's a campaign 4 and what system it is in until the cast announces it; and the thing about wild speculation is that there exist people who will straight up ignore direct unambiguous statements in order to persist in their own personal alternate reality.

[thelaughtercafe]

Tension

Tea Type: Subtly Sweet Tea

Potential Triggers: Nothing comes to mind, but let me know if you think something should go here!

Pairing: Vax/F!Reader (Can be read as romantic or platonic!)

Length: 2.2k+

Summary: Vax's observant nature helps him discover you're hiding a few juicy secrets, and he helps encourage you to be more honest in the future.

A/N: So, new fandom, who dis? Yes, I'm now binging Critical Role Campaign 1, and completely whipped for Vax and Percy both. I'm up to the beginning of Episode 40, so no spoilers please but I have quite a few tword fic ideas. Also, I know Silence doesn't work in DND like this, but shhh fic liberties-

Vax was what many would call observant. Used to lingering in the shadows as he was, he found it almost comforting to look over his friends and family both if they lingered where he could see them. He sipped on his ale, watching as you chatted with Vex and Keyleth about something or other. Percy was tinkering with his machine’s as usual, paying the conversations around him no mind, and Scanlan had found himself a friend for the night. Grog had no such luck but he was no less happy to be enjoying ale by the mug full. Pike had also retired early, claiming tiredness and needing to work in a quiet environment unlike Percy. Vax himself was situated just by the bar, debating if teasing Percy or his sister would be more fun when he spotted something interesting. 

You’d quirked up and seemed to be waving your hands in a sheepish refusal. He couldn’t hear it from here what about, and opted to drift closer, expertly maneuvering the crowds of dwarves before he leaned against the wall by the stairs. 

“Really Grog, I appreciate the offer but it already feels better, I promise!”

“Do you doubt Grog’s masseuse skills?”

Vax felt a smile twitch at his lips, eyes narrowing perceptively as you refused again.

“Not at all! All the others rave about how great they are, I just genuinely don’t need one. It was just a spasm! Besides, Percy looks way more tense than I do, look at how the poor guy is hunched over!”

Grog lit up at that and grinned, whacking you on the shoulder cheerfully before moving to attend to Percy. 

“Grog can help with that! Great idea!”

You let out a sigh the moment the goliath turned his back to you, after ensuring the others were occupied. Vex had gone with Keyleth to grab more drinks and they were talking to the bartender, and you didn’t spot him, all but melded into the shadow of the stairs as he was. He saw the way you rolled not one, but both of your shoulders and winced, fingers pressing into and attempting to release the tension stored there.

He smirked darkly.

You were a clever little thing, weren’t you? Redirecting Grog, lying so he wouldn’t worry, feigning. You had a secret and if there was one thing Vax enjoyed? It was finding out that which should not be known. 

…and maybe punishing you, just a little, in the process for trying to pretend everything was fine when it wasn’t and being a naughty little liar. He'd warned you before, as had the others, it wasn't his fault you didn't listen. You had a nasty habit of trying to take on everyone else's burdens while denying your own. 

He figured you’d be retreating to your room sooner rather than later and after a gentle tap and a whisper to Vex telling her not to wait up, he found himself surprised as his sister grabbed his wrist before he could slip away. 

“Take care of her, will you? She’s been rubbing her shoulder anytime she thinks we’re not watching. If you hadn’t come over, I was going to press the issue. Shall I inform Pike?”

He cleared his throat in embarrassment, smiling sheepishly. Of course his sister had seen right through him, and you both. 

“Aye. You know I will. I’ll tell her, depending on how bad it is.” 

His eyes moved from her to where you were watching Percy try to escape Grog with fondness in your eyes. 

“...I have a feeling there’s a reason she’s dodging Grog’s attempts. Something she’s flustered about, if I had to guess.”

A smirk tugged at his lips as his mischievous eyes returned to his sister’s. 

“A shame, that. For her I mean.”

Vex’s look turned scolding. 

“Try and go easy on her, brother.”

He shrugged, amusement flooding him.

“Depends how quickly she folds, I suppose. If she’s stubborn, even I can't help but have a limit to my patience, you know. Besides, she may even enjoy my methods of persuasion. You certainly did~”

A flash of teeth and he dodged her playful slap with a laugh as she blushed. 

“Shut up, Vax! Honestly, I asked once, why can’t you just let it go?”

“Are you actually whining? Heh, does Percy know? Maybe I should-”

Vax couldn’t dodge fast enough this time as Vex tugged him down to hiss in his ear. 

“Breathe a word and Trinket will have your head.”

“Alright, alright, you win! Always so violent to your dear brother aren’t you?”

He brushed off his clothes before looking back over towards you. 

“Alright, I’m off. Wish me luck, hm? And be a dear and cast Silence for me, won’t you?”

Vex’ahlia sighed and with a moment of focus and a mumble it was done. 

“Doing that for her, not you!”

Was called after but Vax waved her off. 

Now all he had to do was hang out; he was sure you’d follow shortly. 

------

You cracked your neck and barely stifled a wince as your shoulder seized again. You hadn’t injured it, but thanks to holding all of your tension in them, and your neck; you were really feeling the effects. 

You felt bad redirecting Grog like that, but you’d seen the way Percy had grasped his shoulder too, and knew he wouldn’t crumple like you would. Lesser of two evils. He gave in eventually, and lucky for him, he probably wasn’t in pain anymore. It was early in the night, but you bid your remaining party goodnight and retired to your room. You jumped at the sight of Vax on your bed before relaxing, rolling your eyes. 

“You could’ve asked and I would’ve just given you the key to my room you know.”

He shot a boyish grin your way. 

“Where’s the fun in that? Besides, it’s good practice for my fingers. Got to keep them loose and limber, you know.”

“Mmhmm.”

You brushed him off as you flitted about your room and got changed for the night behind the folding screen. It had been a pleasant surprise the inn had one as many didn’t. 

You emerged in your nightgown and crossed your arms as you raised an eyebrow at him. 

“So…what’s up? Did you need something?”

He pretended to be stabbed in overdramatic fashion.

“Oh, you wound me! Can’t I come check on my favorite party member without ulterior motives?”

“Sure, you can and have before. But you’re typically chatty, and occasionally tipsy. You seem barely buzzed and you’ve been oddly quiet for you in general, let alone if this was one of your typical calls. You can tell me if I’m wrong but…I don’t like that look in your eye.”

He smiled, and moved to sit up from where he’d been laying on your bed, tossing his dagger carelessly. He placed it on the bedside table. He was already changed, you noted. In black two piece pajamas, and you’d spotted his black robe behind the curtain. Was he planning on staying overnight? You didn’t mind, of course but again…this was too meticulous. He was planning something, you just weren’t sure what. 

“What look might that be, darling?”

You hesitated and then swallowed, something giddy and nervous at once stirring in you as you felt heat in your cheeks and it made you look away. 

“Anticipation. You look not unlike the cat who got the cream. You almost look…predatory, if I had to pick the right word.”

“How frightening~ It’s nothing so serious as all that! “

He moved to stand and you stood your ground as he approached you, finally returning your gaze to his hazel eyes.

“How’re your shoulders?”

He placed his hands on your shoulders and he felt the way you tensed, racking your brain for an excuse. 

“Oh, you heard my conversation with Grog earlier, huh? Like I said, it was just a spasm. I’m fine now-”

His smile widened a tad and then he squeezed, with just the right amount of pressure to get the reaction he guessed at. 

“For reheHEal!” 

You tried to play it off as a cough, bending over and shoving at him to try to get him to release you. He did, backing up a step or two as he observed you. 

“Sorry about that. Worst time to get a cough.”

You mustered an apologetic smile, shaky though it was and Vax let his eyes narrow. 

“...Do you think I’m an idiot? You’re lying again? This is starting to become quite the habit. C’mon, lemme see.”

The expression you made was priceless but Vax kept his unamused expression as he grabbed you by the arm and dragged you over to the bed, gently sitting you down and then looking at you expectantly. Poor thing. You were clearly having an inner debate in your mind over what to do. Shame he wouldn't give you any more time. He motioned to the bed as he moved to stand. 

“Well? Go on, lay down. Let me see how bad it is.”

“It’s really nothing Vax, I swear! Just drop it!”

“Oh right, because you jolting like a scared gob’ was so subtle. If there’s truly nothing wrong then let me see.”

Gods he was such an asshole. Why did your reactions have to be so damn entertaining? …Still, he was absolutely going to Hell for leading you on like this. 

You reluctantly laid down face down and he situated himself at your hips, ensuring you weren’t in pain before continuing. 

“Alright, now you better tell me if anything hurts. I’ll know if you lie again. Got it?”

You nodded and he couldn’t help his smirk now that you couldn't see him, though his voice kept that concerned, slightly hard edge as he dug into your shoulders at once. 

You damn near about seized and your hand rushed to cover your mouth.

“Did that hurt?”

You shook your head and he growled. 

“You must really think I’m blind or something! You can’t even talk!”

Oh, yeah. Definitely going to Hell. 

Now that he was feeling your shoulders, though, it was obvious you had a lot of tension. No wonder you’d been rubbing them earlier. He let his thumbs do most of the work digging in and though he heard you squeak, now and again, every time he asked if you were in pain you denied. It was when his index and middle finger found a knot of tension on the cusp of your neck and shoulder that you finally broke, and tried to reach back to tap his leg, laughing. 

“Fhuhuhuck Vax please! It doesn’t huhuhurt it-it thihihihihckles!!” 

He giggled himself and stopped for a moment to crack his fingers before he answered, all casual nonchalance. 

“About time you admitted it.”

You whimpered in embarrassment and he would bet money you were beyond grateful he couldn't see your expression as you hid your face in your pillow. 

“You knew?! Why didn’t you say anything then!?”

“As payback. For lying, both to Grog and most especially, to me. Next time, tell the truth and I won’t have to be so…”

He spidered fingertips over your shoulders to hear you laugh before pulling back again. 

“Willfully ignorant.”

You groaned. 

“You’re the worst.”

“I hope you know I’ve just started. All joking aside, your shoulder and neck are wrecked, love. Ticklish or not, you’ll feel leagues better if I work these out.”

“You can’t!”

Your instant response gave him pause. 

“What are you so worried about? Surely you must know I’d never judge you for something as paltry as being ticklish.”

“It’s…not that. Gods, Vax, I swear if you tell anyone else-”

You whirled to look at him and he met your eyes unflinchingly. 

“I won’t. I swear it.”

You hesitated and then hid your face again after deeming him to be telling the truth.

“I…I don’t entirely hate it. Truth be told, it’s the opposite. I really…enjoy it.” 

He couldn’t help snickering, but he was quick to clarify at how silent you got, to reassure you. 

“I-hehe. Oh, shit. I’m not laughing at you. I promise. Just, oh Lord, give me a second.”

He finally collected himself, running a hand through his hair and sighed.

“You’re not the first person to tell me that. It’s too cute for me not to laugh. If you ever want to be tickled you know all you have to do is ask.”

“You say that like it’s easy but-”

“But you’d prefer to be a brat to get me to tickle you instead because it’s easier, hm? In character for you. I’m fine with that. For now.”

“For now?”

“Yes. For now. If you keep hiding things from us for what you believe is our benefit, and putting yourself down- now I have the perfect way to punish you. Maybe then the lesson will stick that you are anything but less than.”

“Vax…”

He brushed off the vulnerability with ease, returning to his playful affect, as if he hadn't said anything.  

“As I said for tonight, however, I’m more than happy to put you in your place when you act up but…”

You squeaked as he dragged his index finger down your spine, making you shiver. 

“There’s still the matter of all this tension you’re holding. Do I have your permission to deal with it, even if it tickles?”

“Mm…mmhmm.”

“Heh. Good. I’m not going to go easy on you now that I know you like this, I hope you know.”

He leaned down to blow air into your ear before whispering. 

“We’ve got quite a lot of lost time to make up for~”

[crithaus]

It's 2 am but I'm awake so tlovm fans get this right in the episodes where Percy and gang are retaking Whitestone, specifically the ones where Vax is mind controlled and they've just escaped the residuum melting acid tank, Keyleth and Vex both call him via the magic earrings trying to snap Vax outta being bisexually mind controlled and keyleth gives him a half seconds pause, barely anything but Vex fakes dying in the ACID on her turn, lies through her pearly little teeth to him and that stops Vax dead in his tracks for a second, it's enough to shake him outta damn mind control by former cerberus assembly archmage delilah goddamn briarwood for a moment

I will scream a new singularity into the universe, and they keep talking for a moment actually and right after Matt-as-delilah asks Vax just who tbe fuck he's whispering to he LIES, RAW Vax should have told Sylas and Delilah right then and there that the acid trap failed but he lies by ommission to protect his sister and family and girlfriend, sobs, and then when they're all seconds before the actually ziggurat fight Matt is explaining the parameters of mind control to Liam, yea sure Vox Machina is still technically your friends but the Briarwoods are your new friend-ier friends now and if shit pops off youll be protecting the briarwoods, and Liam's like :/, mostly accurate quote, "so if I see," points to Laura, "her, the most important person in the world to me, I wanna fight her?" Like twinnies on top forever I fear, he would punt scanlan off of the ziggurat for free at that moment but Gods forbid he has to lay a hand on his sister, and then he's like well I'll just guard Delilah's body and not hit anyone anyway, he isn't even willing to entertain the idea of fighting Vex (and co but...)

And then like during the fight after sylas dies, like sam said that tlovm is its own canon and also that the twins specifically got so wicked pulverized throughout the entire campaign that he had to start giving all but their very biggest owies to everyone else so the runtime wasn't 140+ minutes of footage from exandrian intensive care but I'm still SAD about Keyleth getting Delilah's last hurrah attack instead of vex cuz Vex was DYING, in a room with a magic dampening sphere too so no healing and Vax was like hey dm I will run up this 90° wall to reach my sister take those laws of gravity and shove them up ur ass my boy, like she was getting tossed around like a ragdoll, Liam was going to cry it was awesome, he had tunnel vision and it was getting vex somewhere safe and blowing all their useless potions on her, he wouldn't put her down until keyleth started testing fate fucking with the endless abysmal orb, Vex was fine but oh man the future of her death at the hands of something Percy was involved in?? Foretold tens of episodes before, insane how an unscripted dnd game shakes out

Anyway twinnies goes insanely insanely hard in the campaign it's unreal it's wild, Liam spent 2 and a half whole hours in one of his trials of the take episodes mourning by his own admission his sister being gone for about 8 hours away from Him, i am a codependent siblings enjoyer and this shit will feed you

also I fear I need to reiterate, twinnies? Perfect, no notes. Twincest? An abomination, please do not misconstrue my affections here abeg

[mindovermuses]

I can't believe that I went from Vaxleth being my truest CR ship and the one to bring me to every type of emotional tears imaginable as I felt myself caught up in their epic love story...

A ship I wanted a happy ending for so badly that I created a DnD character to add into the story in my head as I played out how and why they would take Vax's place so he could return to mortal life while staying true to the game and the story...

...to seeing the heart-wrenching, traumatic response Keyleth had in response to his return.

...and how easily she went against her own anguish to make Vex happy and pretend things were normal just for one night. Seeing how this scenario could continue on to such a painfully unhealthy level of people pleasing if he were somehow allowed to stay for good.

The way that beautiful fanfiction-esque story and character that I had grown to love in my head evaporated... And how my heart ached for both of them. The anguish in Vax's words...

...knowing he isn't the same person they lost all those years before. Who knows how long that time felt to him as a celestial, fully made of and in sync with the divine, omniscient force of the Matron's powers?

...seeing the effects of neither of them ever willing to fully let go and what it's done to the woman he loves, especially knowing that even if he could stay, it wouldn't change his views on his duties and purpose just as it wouldn't change her views on her duties or his patron.

I can't believe that I actually hope that the Matron spoke true and Vax only has this night before passing into a death beyond the reach of resurrection magics. Give him a night to rest and reflect with those he loves. Let them all say their proper good byes, knowing he isn't coming back after this- the soul has to be willing.

Let him put it into writing that his dying wish is that Vex will never again wear his boots and that they will immediately be given to his namesake nephew so his sister can deal with a bratty child with haste. Let him give Lieve'tel his armor and any vestiges he still carries to be properly cared for by the Raven's Crest while also thanking her for everything she did to keep his family safe.

And let him apologize to Keyleth for having not been strong enough to keep his distance from her all these years. Beg for forgiveness and ask her to promise to try and take this for the closure he should have given her before- to grieve and send firestorms onto his grave until she can't hold herself up anymore. Be angry at him and let herself fully feel again and then... when she's ready, move on and find happiness again with someone able to be there the way he wishes he could have been. And then, do it again and again- whatever it takes to keep joy in her extended life. That's all he could ever want for her now.

The symbolism is all there. He fades away into the shadows one final time as the dawn of a new day rises... Keyleth is there, wearing her new armor that Marisha specifically chose because she wanted it to represent the colors and feel of the last day of fall before winter (look up the meaning of the seasons for an Eladrin elf if you want to feel the extra pang I felt when she said that). A new day will dawn and with it comes the start of new beginnings... and also, the descent into the cold, melancholy of winter. But, also the knowledge that spring will return... eventually.

[innocent-cat]

Sort of, but not really, a crossover between The Legend of Vox Machina and The Owl House

Headcanons for how you think Vox Machina would react to having a member who is a witch (that suffering from a curse like Eda’s) from the Boiling Isles? Rather it’s about learning more about their magic or helping them manage their curse?

I love this idea, and i'm also trying to get through all the requests in one day so watch me do a magic trick guys

Vox Machina x TOH Magic Reader

Warnings - none

"The fuck do you mean you have a bird curse?", Vox Machina x Reader

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

Head canons!!!!

OBVIOUSLY when they first learn about it they're all like

"Is there a cure??"

"Does it hurt you:(?"

(Only Pike Vex and Keyleth ask if it hurts you..)

(It's okay cus the boys are immediately asking about how to make the potion)

Once they realize that since you've settled for the potions, it's usually top priority to restock your potions when they go shopping.

"You sure you have enough?? We might not get another chance to shop!"

They're too caring for their own good sometimes

When your curse DOES erupt, Keyleth keeps you down with vines while they bottle feed you the yellow liquid.

Sometimes they'll purposefully not give it to you when you guys are going on some dangerous adventure so your curse snaps during battle.

real clutch when you guys are all about to die

Grrr woof woof

OTHER than that, you're a wild witch, so you have all kinds of magic.

Percy is he only one who's even heard of the boiling isles, unsurprisingly.

"Is it really a titan you all live on?"

"Yes. It is."

So so so many questions about it all.

You have a small amount of sludge with you for abominations, so you've been letting them simmer so they get bigger.

A lot of times they think you're weird for it, but you have to explain it for a few times till they have a "ohhh" kind of reaction

Scanlan defo bonds with you over your bard magic.

":O???? YOU TOO???"

You just kind of look at him confused until you laugh at his hand magic.

expect duets during battles so he can pitch in more.

Keyleth likes how connected you are with animals, she feels like it gives you two more to connect about

"Have you heard about what happened to Benard?"

"Which one? The wolf or the rabbit?"

"The rabbit. He cheated on Lani."

"Gasp”

They also have you fix stuff a lot around the house just because you can control mud n stuff.

you 100% throw mud at them when they say stupid shit

"Yeah so this girl I f- god damn it- why?!"

Scanlan hates it, everyone loves it

win-win

You also lend a huge hand when it comes to healing.

literally pike 2.0 with your shields n stuff

you trick them with your illusion magic.

"Wait- i thought you were going to the woods?"

You look at Vax, staring at him for 5 seconds.

"Hello??"

*poof.*

"Not again!"

They learned about your psychic ability recently when Vex asked about your necklace.

"What's that, birdy?"

You touch your necklace, rubbing the glass orb on the centerpiece.

"What are you doing?" (You said it in sync with Vex.)

"Its a Oracle orb." You smiled and went on a little rant about it.

they all call you birdy because of your feathery curse.

They defo make you predict battles and ask what theyre supposed to do about losses.

"Why would I know? Change it yourself, duhhh"

Keyleth loves your plant magic because when she speaks with your vines, flowers, grass, or trees they all sound and act like you.

"They're like your little babies! haha.."

lots of smiles and laughs from her.

You teach them how to make certain potions because you think it'll help them.

For example, you gave Vex a potion that'll make her more charismatic and she cleared a tab for all of you guys for free.

Could have been her natural charisma, but who knows.

i forgor about grog oops

[shorthaltsjester]

i do not want to dig a hole but i am too much of a laura bailey pc enjoyer to not make this post so:

selfishness ≠ a lack of kindness 

selfishness is a theme that has come up with all of laura's main campaign pcs. that doesn't mean that her characters are always making selfish choices or that they don't care about the rest of the people they're with or that they're not good. it's just that, for the most part, the first thing they're thinking of when they take action or make choices is themselves. 

in jester and vex both it is more typical and obvious selfishness. vex's developed because she needed it to keep herself and vax alive and as safe as possible and it grew into a behaviour that she had to actively work to avoid. it's evident in her greed, her theft of the broom, her reaction to her own death which relied heavily on i'm okay/i survived to which keyleth reminded her that she wasn't the only one who had to witness and reckon with her death. in jester's case, she grew up in an environment that literally trained her to make every decision based on two things - her mother's opinion and her own. so, when she's out in the world without marion for the first time, her choices are those that will benefit her and her actions are those that consider her own thoughts and not really many others' (aside from the traveler's). 

it isn't a criticism of either vex or jester to say that they are characters who act selfishly. in fact, i'd argue that to claim otherwise does a great disservice to exactly how immense both of their character arcs are. because the nuance of both jester and vex is that they are selfish, and they also hold extreme room for self-sacrifice and empathy. vex is much more brash than jester is, and jester is much more trusting than vex, but both of them are characters who begin with selfish impulses who grow with them. neither ever truly shed those impulses, but they use them in new ways, typically transforming them into impulses towards things that are in the best interest of the party. 

you may have noticed the lack of imogen in this post about laura bailey pcs and that's because of two reasons. one, we are an unknown amount of time into her story, i can't analyse her development the same way i can vex and jester's. two, imogen's selfishness isn't the blatant quasi-self-aware selfishness that we see in things like jester complaining about her lack of money to caleb or vex stealing a broom. instead, imogen's is very internal, like a lot of laura's character work with imogen. it is a bit similar to jester’s in the sense that it comes from a lack of awareness moreso than vex’s practiced behaviour, but imogen’s is a lot more tied to inherent beliefs she has about the world and the people in it.

as a consequence of her powers, imogen sees people's thoughts as their entirety, she holds it above their actions to be the truth of who they are - to act against what they think or to say something that doesn’t cohere with what they’ve thought is akin to lying, so for her to act empathetically is to act in tandem with what someone else’s thoughts are, not how they act, which is typically not all that wanted. the same as vex’s greed and jester’s naivety, this is a trait that makes narrative sense and it’s one i find quite compelling, especially when read in the vein of someone struggling through trauma that has made them assume that the world is against them. imogen’s cynicism is coherent cynicism, i can’t say that in a similar situation i wouldn’t have the same predisposition towards the world.

the part that is particularly self-interested comes in if you look at how imogen has actually been treated in the campaign (quite well) in comparison to the cynicism that she’s developed from her past (something that speaks to a world out to get her). certainly, a bunch of shitty things have happened to imogen in the time we’ve known her, but the same can be said for everyone in bell’s hells and pretty much everyone in exandria at this point in time. but, in a fight to save the aforementioned world, imogen’s focus was getting her mother back on her side. which, while very consistent with her character and a choice that i enjoy, is a very selfish one. the fun thing (to me, obviously) about imogen is that she has, more than most, an insight into the opinions of others and she also tends to seek others’ opinions out and genuinely engages with them and supports their choices. but she still very much acts towards what she thinks is best. it’s one reason i enjoy looking at the dynamic between her and orym as one between foils, as orym tends to be stalwart in his beliefs and doesn’t care too much for other’s opinions if he’s already sure of his own, but his actions tend to favour collaboration and protecting others.

as i mentioned earlier, imogen is a harder case to look at because she is still in the process of her story. however, the circlet is clearly influencing how she interacts with the world and in the wake of the solstice, the hostile reaction towards ruidusborn people has started to become more and more apparent and i’m interested to see what route that ends up leading imogen down and how it will influence her relationship with the rest of bell’s hells. (for better, i think, based on recent conversations, but if it's for worse i will be just as seated and excited).

all of this is just to say, please stop assuming that claiming a character has a trait you think is a bad one is criticism or a hate post. in light of the fact that i know that people who don’t believe this will continue to not believe this, i’ll encourage anyone confused about the ability of a character to be good and kind and selfish all at once to look to what the text itself says, specifically scanlan’s words to pelor when asked what vex means to him:

“Her name is Vex, and she is greedy and mean sometimes, and she can steal a lot. She’s a little bit not the greatest person, but her flaws highlight everything that is right about her, which is she does all these things to protect her friends and her family. She would give her life for any of us and for anyone who was truly in need. And she’s not perfect but she’s the most perfect of all of us.”

would you look at that... an ability to be a multitude of things, some in conflict with one another. i know that's hard for fandoms to believe, especially about female characters with agency, but i promise its true!

[vethbrenatto]

TLOVM Season 3 Retrospective

I am not a campaign plot purist. The concept of fitting a meandering D&D campaign into a 12-episode season of television is, by all accounts, ridiculous. TLOVM is based on the campaign, not a blanket retelling, and we've all known that from the start. In fact, that's why I'm not particularly worried about the comments about the M9 series that CR has released, how the plot will change vastly. D&D, especially in worlds DMed by Matt Mercer, is extremely sand-boxy and will not one-to-one translate to the time allotted in TV and movies. VM is actually the campaign that I think translates the best to the medium without much modification as it has very clear arcs and corresponding antagonists (Briarwoods, Chroma Conclave, Vecna).

That said, the core behind plot changes is that the narrative heart should remain. The character beats, the character arcs. And I do think Season 3 dropped the ball with this.

Let's start with those that I think were handled better- Vex and Percy. Percy's relationship with both Ripley and Vex, I think was handled excellently. We see Percy's journey to move beyond vengeance and try to grasp something real beyond it, the start of the man who just wants to be a clockmaker. Vex struggles to be loved and deal with her fear that's she's a curse to those she loves and then her reluctance to do it while Percy was still alive, thinking she's missed her shot.

Vax and Keyleth have an odd role switch in this season, with Kiki (initially) hopping into the Vaxleth relationship while Vax feels it's too risky to get involved? This just feels weird to me, as a lot of Vax's characterization is so centered around still pulling for love in the face of death and adversity. Outside of Vax, Kiki gets a late season arc about believing in herself and coming into her own as a leader, but I felt this was somehow both redundant and underplayed. Keyleth's fire plain aramente in Season 2 felt reminiscent of her E10/11 scenes in Season 3, so I got a bit of deja vu. But also the stem of her belief in herself in this season, her instinct about Raishan is so underwhelming. Keyleth's moral compass and instict is a pivotal character beat for her, she's the only one who clocked Raishan and that matters. The others disregarded her opinion and that matters. And yes, it got brought up, but the take away ends up being just tying back to Vax and "You have ties to this world. Don't be afraid to let people in." ?? These are two separate issues, my guy. (On this point, I feel I must point out that while plot changes are necessary, Keyleth spent an episode and a half doing a scrying spell. Could she not have been better utilized exploring her emotional connection and friendship with Percy in the Vax/Vex chasing down Ripley plotline?)

Grog is absolutely shafted in this season. I can't say it's shocking- Grog is a simple guy (Likes ale, fighting, loves his friends) and I don't expect him to reach the character depths others do. But he had a very clear place he could’ve soared this season- yes, the Scanlan stuff. Not only is the “fix him” character beat a muffled whimper, but he’s left to comedically hold Scanlan’s limp body while Pike goes off to save him (by finding Kaylie). Grog could’ve easily slid into that side story, Kaylie could’ve heard not only from Pike about Scanlan and why he’s important and good and worth saving, but also from Grog, a man who cares about very few people in the world, but so very deeply when he does and Scanlan is one of those people he cares about.

I enjoyed the amount of Pike content this season (that’s my girl!!!) and I won’t get super into because I already made a post about it, but I just didn’t really get the crisis of faith arc for her. She’s already experienced a crisis of faith in a prior season and it’s not something I feel like campaign!Pike would’ve gone through, even IF Ashley was full time at the table. It weirdly almost feels like ground building for the current Bells Hells/Downfall/Calamity takes on the Critical Role gods as opposed to how Pike would feel about her deity, specifically. I did enjoy her relationship to Scanlan in the season and her support of Scanlan building a relationship with his daughter, it felt like a nice connection to Scanlan asking Pike to be Kaylie’s person if he died during the campaign.

And Scanlan. Oh, Scanlan. Just… confused, is all I can say. The show has had Bard’s Lament seeds for multiple seasons, including in S3 itself, and then just doesn’t go through with it. I simply don’t agree that it couldn’t work in the medium- what it feels like is that this is the more palatable story to tell. The resentment is so important to his character development. The show makes this all about Kaylie and fatherhood, which is of course a huge part of ABL, but the lament is also about Scanlan himself (in fact, I'd argue that Kaylie is more of a loose factor in it; his promise to kaylie [another egregious cut in the story] being a spur of the scene and Percy calling him out changing the trajectory of what Scanlan leaving actually was. it's about Kaylie, but it's kind of not). It's about feeling neglected or undervalued. There are scenes in TLOVM throughout alluding to this (a couple with Vex in particular I can think of in 1, 2, AND 3) but then no payoff? That part of the character development is completely swept under the rug for both Scanlan AND those around him. Pivotal moments in the campaign have been honored in TLOVM, even with shifts in them (the arrows in Ripley's heart and mouth, Keyleth stands up to Raishan, "My heart is yours"), but when the defining campaign moment is Scanlan's, it's completely changed. I simply think this is too far outside of the original intent and character beat to pretend it's honoring the moment.

So, yeah, I really don’t care if Scanlan just goes down instead of gets fully resurrected. Or that the fire plain and the trek to the city of Dis is combined into one journey. Those are just plot points.

What gets me is that these character beats, the meat and heart of the story, are getting shifted dramatically and not in ways that I feel are aiding the narrative.

ALL THAT SAID, this is going to sound a lot more negative and hatery than I really feel. This post is mostly of summation of criticisms, when there were of course, many highlights in the season. TLOVM continues to be a beautiful, well done show and would not keep getting renewed if it was a flop. But there are certainly things that I think could be done better.

[beawake]

Non exhaustive list of my thoughts on the second batch of episodes

The throws to the other group are very well timed and good

Allura and Kima backstory!!! Allura raising that she loves Kima and holy fuck Kima is reckless!!!

I love how they get Pike more involved in the story! But damn she does not catch a break with the everlight huh?

Zerxus!!! I am so happy to see him but uh buddy, you changed predictably

Zerxus backstory!!!

Pike using her strengths (empathy) against Zerxus is brutal but yeah it is efficient

Keyleth "uh are we de ante?" And Scanlan "what the fuck Pike" yeah...

Pike recklessly throwing her life away feeling abandoned by the Everlight aww poor girl it's not easy being a cleric

Yenk!!! I heard the name and I knew it was coming!!! Oh yeah I am ready for this boss battle on rock music??? Amazing 10/10

Allura fully seeing the mess that is Percy and Vex "could have fooled me" about not being together

Vex: this is why I didn't want to get involved

Percy: but we're not involved are we

Vex: no

Percy: so no problem

Yeah sure, that works absolutely no feelings there that solves everything

Percy: because we are so level-headed

This man is suffering but know his party

The ring of Brass!!! My guys!!!! Zerxus has not forgiven them for their hubris but his hubris is also there

The painted glass for the ring of brass!! EXU callback and so pretty!!!

Tooty Maw

Zerxus: surely you did not walk into hell without a good plan VM:....

Keyleth eating the disgusting flying fish vax being like what thr fuck?

Percy did say they could do something with thr thin ice! "Fuck it let's get weird"

Allura and Percy martial and spellcasting beef: your weapon is too bloody loud! We can't all shoot magic from our fingers!

Keyleth: oh bigger antlers!

Percy: Pike your hair is -

Pike: cram it de rolo, having a day!

Don't worry that is Lady Kima of Vord---- and the woman I love

The gigantic tree when Vex kills Vorugal

Yes!! Dragon scales!!! Vex armour!!!

I know we're not together but that doesn't mean we have to be apart

Chateau Shorthalt!!!

Lesbians figuring their shit out iness than 5 seconds while a boss battle is going on

Yeah, the chateau is what I expected

Aww no boobie unseen servants

Yeah, wouldn't be Scanlan without making it sad with Kaylie

Kink room

The goldfish! Goldfish keyleth!

And the pool bomb game? Damn words

Vax and Percy in the pool... here we go!

You know you're getting weirder omg Percy

Percy asking the real questions: how did you hold your breath that long?

Creepy fucking moon

"There isn't a thing between us" percy's voice getting higher

Testing the vestiges, nice

The cube!

Vax and Keyleth are so awkward, aww

Ah yes only chicken to eat

Oh, Scanlan is definitely breaking, no open up (I say like I don't know what's coming)

Damn Yeah, Grog doesn't even know who Kaylie is

"You're not a terrible person, you just care about someone other than yourself for the first time and it is freaking you out" Pike does not pull punches

Oh fuck, Scanlan leaving the teleportation, are we already at the Bards Lament?

Baby dragons! Yeah they are terrifying, Whitestone is also not catching break! Do they bleed fucking lava?

Vax's slick flying moves

Boom boom oh Grog, what a comparison

Keep tonguing that hole dipshit

Gilmore!!!

Yeah Cassandra has moves as well

Pike: shit cock! Woman they are saving gasp scandously and covers her sons ears Pike: I am so sorry ma'am

Anime glasses!