#i know this was played off as a joke but then again this is laudna we're talking about...!!

[immult]

"there is the simple beauty of coming to one of many homes that you've called home, especially one as welcoming as zhudanna's." - c3e65 / "a sense of home wound its roots around her heart and anchored her to that place (...) laudna always came back, drawn irresistibly to the cottage and its curmudgeonly keeper" - ch7

[notori]

On a more genuine note from my previous post though: I do not think Imodna will go the same way as Vaxleth for a few reasons.

Vax's story was very personal to Liam. It always frustrates me when people act like the Raven Queen 'took Vax away' (and thus she is a bad goddess) when in fact she answered his prayer and granted his wish. Vax's story is about "Take me instead!" - not some kind of "Don't let Vex die!", and certainly not someone who was raised from the dead without their consent and bound like a puppet. Unless such an ending is expressly what Marisha wants for her character, I don't see it being narratively satisfying. Even if Laudna dies in sacrifice to save the others, because of the breadth of Delilah's power, it would be more of a general "I'm dying to save everyone" and less personal (and impactful) than Vax's trading his life for Vex's.

I joked about how this is Delilah Briarwood vs Laura Bailey again, so don't sweat it, but it's true! The players play their characters differently. Liam loves tragedy and plays it well; Laura loves romance and plays it well. Percy also had a dark streak with a hunger for power, and Vex would not let him go. I see more parallels with themes like: "I feel cruel, but in control." and "Take the mask off." Meanwhile, Imogen and Keyleth are different characters and their love interests have different relationships with death. In the end, the reason Keyleth could not do anything against the Raven Queen isn't because she's a god and Keyleth is not, but because Vax - as a paladin - chose to honour his faith and uphold his end of the deal. Imogen is not in that position because Laudna is not in that position. Laudna may see herself as just a puppet, or a risk, or a dead end - but we the audience, and Imogen, know that she is not (maybe a bit of a calculated risk). If anything, I see us on the precipice of an arc of Imogen inspiring Laudna to fight for her independence again and figuring out a way to do that (this is a world of magic after all).

And that theme of fighting for independence is something that has been there since the beginning. We have seen it both in analysis and confirmed on 4SD that Laudna's relationship with Delilah is in many ways similar to struggling with addiction. And now, into year three of C3, we are really seeing that take form when things get rough. When things get out of control, when you get desperate, that's when you grasp at anything to make it easier. It would be a real kick in the teeth to have her not overcome that struggle. Of course, there's the possibility that she does overcome that struggle by getting rid of Delilah and dying as a result. But out of game it has been referred to more in line with addiction that is constantly managed rather than addiction that is ended cold turkey - which for some people is the only way. I'll admit this one is more a personal preference but I do see it overall leaving a bad taste if Laudna were to die from Delilah in some way (again). Presuming they resolve issues with the solstice and resurrection spells, True Resurrection does exist and I'm certain the Hells would work off a 25k GP debt to bring Laudna back for good (which I see as more of a final episode/epilogue/post-game situation).

Regardless, it's a beautiful story and I'm sure that whatever happens will be what the players want. However, in this case I genuinely don't see them repeating something they have done before. Although we saw many parallels last night, there is still much which sets Imodna and Vaxleth apart narratively.

[paperglader]

Random imodna thoughts about the last few episodes because I’ve sort of had put a stop to the hyperfixation in order to survive finals but WE’RE BACK and I need to rant about imogen temult and my favorite dead lady.

About the stormlord: Not too long ago Imogen broke my heart in two when she said that she’s been trying to talk to the gods her whole life and she’s been ignored by all of them. Now suddenly some lighting bitch is interested. I’m sorry but I stand my ground: the gods do not deserve Imogen Temult.

Laudna really went, AGAIN “if you feel like giving into the moon, I’ll support your every move, regardless of anyone's thoughts on who's good or who’s bad” and, oh my god, I get the sentiment. I also think that Imogen’s never done a single bad thing in her life and everyone else is wrong but this enabling behavior is making me freak the fuck out because above all I want is for her to be ALRIGHT.

About imodna: MARISHA AND LAURA ARE COOKING. I know it. 4sd confirmed it in my opinion. Marisha said she’s been thinking non-stop about Imogen’s words during the truth trial. So much tea dropped, actually: marisha’s comment about laudna being dead, therefore, having no future. So many thoughts on that, but mainly laura's reaction to the comment summarize's it all pretty well; she (marisha) was crazy excited about playing out relationship conflict + Laura basically confirmed that the whole thing with Delilah was going to affect their intimacy. I need them to get a minute on screen to get those issues to surface SOON.

JUSTICE FOR IMOGEN’S GLASSES (unrelated to imodna, but still so so relevant)

Can we just turn it back up for a moment and remember that not that long ago laudna was reliving her worst traumas and made Imogen promise to move on after she inevitably lost herself to Delilah, then Imogen sobbed her eyes out to a god and begged for someone’s help to save the woman she loves only for the raven queen to send an ominous sign, then laudna disappeared, spend a night with Delilah away from Imogen and returned totally regressed and barely lucid only to then make everyone cry by gifting a doll to Ashton (who had almost died) and say “love is pain. But it’s also warmth. I was so cold last night.” Then imogen took off her circlet, said some pretty heavy stuff and gave into the storm. I- just- can we go back to when they were kissing in supermarkets and announcing their relationship to dead pirates, and calling each other beautiful, and keeping each other in the forefront of their mind whilst floating down an ancient tree.

Another random thing that won’t let me sleep from 4sd was “Imogen always wants to know, and she would want to know if she went bad or not.” laura.bailey. Joke's on her, though, because regardless of what she chooses Imogen will always just be the best girl and her gf agrees, so that’s that.

Still forever funny, that one laudna comment about making everyone accountable. BITCH WHEN?

[nephriteknight]

sometimes when you're brainrotting two things, the only way to cope is to smush those things together. therefore: how i think bells hells would do at Blood On The Clocktower! (or social deduction games in general.) some of this is mechanical some of it is textual some of it is Just Vibes

Orym: Not the best at lying, but very good at figuring out when someone else is. Tends to hold of on claiming for a while unless he's like a top 4. Probably follows Fearne and/or Ashton around too much, regardless of their characters/alignments. If he's ever evil with one of them he gets very excited to the point that it's almost a tell. Orym is the guy who knows exactly who everyone has been talking to, he is watching EVERYONE in his peripheral vision.

Imogen: Deception queen, nobody clocks when she's lying, but she's not the best at coming up with strategic bluffs. Initially found playing evil Very Stressful, but i think she'd come around to it. DEFINITELY talks with Laudna first every single game.

Chetney: on the fucking case. this man is a genius at this game; if he's evil, nobody can tell bc he always acts this weird, it's no different, and if he's good, he solves the game when evil least expects it. not good at lying but gets by via the power of Lying Always For Shits And Giggles (And Also Tactics)

Ashton: mister -2 to charisma cannot lie for shit. they love the game anyways, but if he's the imp he's star passing pretty much immediately (orym is going to catch him if he doesn't lmao). enjoys interrogating ppl and trying to figure out their characters. probably downplays their own usefulness to the good team but often provides big pieces of the puzzle.

Laudna: absolutely loving it. the storyteller perchance? (altho i could see orym or ash getting in on it too? I May Be Projecting.) i think laudna gets very excited to be on the evil team (maybe too obviously excited), but overall is just having a good time, solving the mystery or being the demon. yeah the more i think about it the more i think she'd really like storytelling. i mean i wore my laudna dress the first time i hosted a clocktower party the vibes are right

FCG: probably one of those people who feels bad about lying in lying games lmao. i think they'd get really into it eventually though. i don't think he'd be good at bluffing while evil, but i think he'd have a really fun time as good and get really into solving it and figuring out wtf is going on.

Fearne: Pure Chaos. you can never tell if she's evil because she is always unpredictable. will commit to the bit always. will offer you the mez word as a good player. has turned several people evil bc they thought she was joking about the mez word and she was Not. she's def not BAD at the game, she's observant and she's good at bluffing, but she is An Experience, and i say that with the most love. very fun to play with i think.

Dorian: probably a little overwhelmed by the complexity (of clocktower specifically). he is, in the words of fearne, "a very bad liar". enjoys it nonetheless, but he is not the clocktower champ by any means (again, said with so much love). still, he's a good sport about it and he's having a good time, and that's what matters! i could def see him storytelling as well. (BONUS, if he brings dariax: he follows dorian around and asks him questions about how the game works constantly. catches ppl off guard w good bluffs sometimes but only when he lucks into good strats or a teammate tells him what to bluff as.)

[fictionkinfessions]

Dearest Twilight,

I hope you’re well! I’m currently in a Laudna Critical Role shift so I’m going to tell this one as it’s also one of my favorites.

So it’s the start of campaign 3. Critical Role is doing a stream event where they broadcast it not only on twitch but in movie theaters too. One of the theaters that is near me is showing it so I nab a seat asap. The day comes around and I’m already going in aware that I’ve got three kins from Crit Role’s main campaign, and a few from their one offs too, so another kin wasn’t unexpected. A majority of my cr kins other than two are characters played by Marisha Ray, and so all my friends were joking about me kinning Marisha’s newest character too. I laughed with them but didn’t think it was going to happen again.

So they finally get around to introducing their characters, and I’m not feeling a thing then I take one look at Laudna as she shows up on the giant movie screen and think ‘fuck’. So there I am, by myself in a movie theater surrounded by people who don’t know I’m kin and most likely aren’t kin either, trying to process my new kin without being able to yell at my friends on discord that they were right until the break two hours in. It was wild.

I have some other funny kinning stories that I can tell but I’ll share those in another ask as this one is long enough as is! I hope you have a wonderful day Twilight!

Scarily yours,

Laudna 🖤

(P.S.- here’s a gift for you darling, his name is Paté De Rolo the 73rd! 🐀)

]

[funnygirlthatbelle]

since we’re about to hit episode ten, here’s a few things i love that each cast member is doing

travis

~first off, the balls to do that fakeout

~the fact that he joined them for the intro every time even when he wasn’t going to play? such a tease

~the way he’s created two characters that are clearly joke characters, but imbues them with a lot of empathy 

~bertrand’s last night; he brought so much to it that lends to the tragedy

~using his past experiences as fjord to understand how fucking fun teasing dorian would be 

~honestly, just the fact that he makes an effort and consistently engages with robbie

robbie

~the aesthetic is just *chef’s kiss* right here

~slipping up and saying “the nine of us” because he counted matt

~he doesn’t use a ton of spells, but when he does, it’s very effective

~not afraid to look bad; this can be really tough with roleplay but he doesn’t seem to care if he looks like an idiot 

~setty

~everything going on effects dorian- he’s very active and reactive to what’s going on in the game

marisha

~the entire concept of laudna is a delight

~her choice of voice; the contrast between such a cheery voice and her appearance is perfect

~the conversation about love; it was such a genuine exploration of a nebulous sort of topic

~how marisha commits to the joints cracking and popping; as someone with arthritis, it makes me laugh and wanna take tylenol at the same time

~bringing delilah back- just a delightful choice

~the way marisha seems fine with the fact that most npcs hate/fear her even though that’s obviously inconvenient

sam

~taking the leap into robots

~how he keeps finding new ways to play small characters 

~also he/they! hell yeah!

~the decision to play a therapist friend who’s actually a really bad therapist is really intriguing to me, and i can’t wait to see where he takes it

~the foreshadowing he’s already doing for the inevitable “actually i am a deeply tragic character” moment

~pussy

ashley

~ashley looks so happy and relaxed knowing she’s here full time and it makes my heart so happy

~the gale ad

~fearne really allows her to be funny in a way she hasn’t gotten to before and it’s a delight

~little mister, our favorite seven year old

~most chaotic characters are so loud, having a really soft-spoken one only makes her chaos even more shocking 

~whatever’s going on with her hand and how that may tie into what we saw in exu

laura

~the decision to play a human

~this is a weird thing to latch onto but i love imogen’s color palette 

~laura’s dedication to making sure that her powers are just as much a hindrance as they are helpful, since that’s clearly such an important part of who she is

~honestly, how open imogen is with her boundaries. it can be really hard to set those sometimes even in real life but she does this wonderfully

~how much she clearly cares about launda

~calling fcg letters

liam

~his commitment to reminding us that orym is a halfling, especially with his physical acting

~the way he’s so on top of all of his fighter abilities and makes the most of them

~playing a dex-based fighter; it’s legit just cool

~his signature liam o’brien small acting moments 

~the way he clearly loves keyleth so much still and has no problem showing it

~when matt made a phantom of the opera joke and he inexplicably started singing les miz

taliesin

~he/they!

~honestly i feel like ashton is a refined version of molly in a lot of ways with a clearer moral compass; i feel like i’ve met this person and loved them

~once again, the aesthetic; taliesin always goes off but ashton in particular is cool

~the “pretending not to care about these people but also i bought you all breakfast sandwiches” style of friendship is so fun to me

~mechanically, just so cool. they’re so fun in combat

~the mystery of it all! what’s going on here, bud? 

matt

~so many great npcs: lord eshteross, pretty, cyrus, everybody at the crook house, etc.

~i feel like a lot of the “normal” people are extra fun this time around; all of our random store owners and criminal contacts act very realistically, but in a fun way that reminds us that what our heroes are doing is absolutely insane

~imogen’s dream about bertrand

~the worldbuilding of jrusar is very interesting and odd, and im excited to see how it all goes down

~really interesting, unique monsters from the get go

~he’s clearly making the most of the new set up and i can’t wait to see what else he does with it

[utilitycaster]

@nairdde32 replied to your post “Episode Thoughts”:

Wait so, they need to slow down, but also just throw laudmogen away because they're not going fast enough? I'm confused. Also the reason they didn't have closer ties to the setting is probably because they knew they were outsiders irl and didn't think it was appropriate.

​This is an extremely revealing reply, and I disagree with all of it:

Having Laudna die is not "throwing laudmogen away"; it's a character death, with all that entails. However, it's been immensely clear that the fandom continues to have little conception of Laudna beyond "can be put into a relationship with Imogen" and "Delilah". It's true that I primarily focused on Imogen's relationship with Laudna, because that was what was most in focus this episode...but also, yes, the plot needs to slow down but their relationship has felt simultaneously stagnant but unrealized.

Think about Caleb and Nott, Fjord and Jester, or Yasha and Molly early in Campaign 2, or even the Ring of Brass in Calamity (note: I'm excluding campaign 1 because I can't say for sure how much is home game vs. pre-planned). There was a weight of knowing each other in those pairs or groups that I just don't see. They've been traveling with just each other for 2 years. Where's the anecdotes? Where's the inside jokes? Where's literally any sense of shared experience prior to coming to Jrusar a few months ago and moving in together? Imogen doesn't even know Delilah isn't a goddess. Laudna continually does not realize how Imogen feels about her powers, something that, once again, most of the rest of the party and minor NPCs seem to have picked up on. If I had to be generous, I'd say that because the two of them both felt so ostracized they were too terrified to open up further for fear that this person would leave them too, and for what it's worth I think Marisha has done that work with Laudna's characterization...but it hasn't moved forward.

And yes, the plot needs to slow down so there is more time for character conversations and character beats; this is not a contradiction. In this case, actually, I can use Campaign 1 as an example...think about Vasselheim, or the build-up to the Briarwoods. Not a ton was going on, plot-wise; they spent much of Vasselheim on fetch quests and shopping, and then they spent a lot of time in Emon mostly messing around and then traveling, but there were tons of conversations in those arcs that truly haven't had time to occur in this campaign because we keep having hour-long lore dumps instead.

I also want to be clear: I would not be advocating to just kill off one of them to fix the plot or anything...but yeah, if one of them has died? I think there's a lot that can be done with a new character that Laudna, who I think is a very good character who's in a campaign that doesn't work well for her, cannot achieve.

This was already long but the second part is actually truly baffling. If a white cast believes they cannot tell a story about a continent primarily inspired by western, southern, and southeast Asian cultures then that's a valid choice, but then don't tell the story. Set the campaign in Issylra or the Shattered Teeth, and give Marquet over to EXU series.

I would argue it makes it worse to still tell the story, but rather than having characters rooted in the setting allowing you to truly engage with the cultures, to actively decide to tell it from the perspective of outsiders. Indeed, one of the main ideas in Said's Orientalism is that stories about Western Asia are told largely through the lens of the visiting colonizer. It seems a disservice to run two campaigns where PCs are tied to people, powers, and cities on the continent in a way that informs how much they care about their home, and then to specifically decide not to do that for Marquet and play characters who will pull the plot to Tal'Dorei instead. And to be clear, I think this was an oversight, not a deliberate choice, which is good, because an oversight is an understandable mistake and a deliberate choice would be, well, all of the above. A deliberate choice would also make the fact that the singular Marquesian character is, in fact, a white woman, completely nonsensical.

[elliesgaymachete]

I really love how different everyone’s characters are from the previous campaign

Liam spent both c1 and c2 as an angsty boi but now he’s just a guy! I love Orym! He’s sweet, he just wants to help, he loves his friends. Both Caleb and Vax could get very in their heads about their own trauma, afraid to hurt those around them. Orym knows he can protect those around him and will constantly risk himself to do so

Sam spent c2 as someone who was traumatized and torn from her family and turned into her worst fear. She was distrusting of others and never shared and had sticky fingers and probably needed therapy. Now FCG is the team’s therapist! They have trauma of their own and it’ll probably come up at some point how he’s handling it, but he really just wants to help, and wants everyone to share so he can give them a supporting robotic shoulder to cry on

Beau was also very closed off and abrasive, people didn’t like her much and she had to learn how to be nice. While Laudna is similar in that people don’t really like her, she’s just so nice! She finds joy in everything! She just wants to have friends after so many years of being lonely and as soon as she finds friends, she is SO enthusiastic and caring about it, joking with them and looking out for them

Laura made Jester to really let her id run wild. No impulse control, no filter, but somehow always saying exactly what everyone needed to hear. She makes people feel welcome even if she can be a bit intrusive. She wants to spread joy and chaos! She just wants to see the world. Imogen is almost the polar opposite. So far, she has been the most reserved and closed off of these new characters. She doesn’t share anything about herself, not willingly at least, not until it’s pried out of her. She’s a bit distrusting, and has very little patience when she’s crossed. She’s looking for answers and will do what she has to to get them. It’s so delightful to see Laura take on a character with a bit of a dark side like this because Jester was so different!

People have said that Ashton is similar to Mollymauk and Taliesin is leaning into a character that he didn’t get a chance to play much, and I kind of see it, but he’s also different. Caduceus was quiet, stoic, a bit judgmental, but also there for a higher purpose and to help his friends. We’re not really sure what Ashton is looking for, besides work and money, but I really just think they want somewhere to fit. And sure, he likes money, he gets into scrapes, he sometimes pisses off the wrong person but I think most importantly they are kind and can be selfless for those he deems worthy. They look out for FCG above all else, they got breakfast sandwiches for the rest of the group. He doesn’t like people who are unkind (IE their grudge against bertrand, saying it’s a dick move to steal copper from someone, etc.) The thing about Molly is that even though he could be nice he was a bit of a selfish asshole and he knew it, so I do think Ashton is different in that sense. I think Ashton knows they can be an asshole but still tries to bring good into the world

And Fearne. Oh, Fearne.....Ashley going from quiet, reserved, but sweet Yasha to this absolutely unhinged Faun. She really said please can I never fail a wisdom save ever again by going druid. Fearne is SO intuitive. She knows exactly what to say to cheer people up, she knows when they need cheering up. She also knows exactly what to say to unsettle people. They are similar, but Yasha’s intimidation came from her strength and blatant threats, while Fearne’s comes from her unhinged ability to make people unsure if she really likes you or if she’s going to try to kill you in your sleep, and I think that’s beautiful. Yasha was very thoughtful, only speaking when she was comfortable and when she had something to say. Fearne has zero impulse control and always says or does the first thing she wants to at any given time and leans into whatever happens next.

I cannot wait to meet Travis’s real new character and I hope it’s something none of us are expecting

[orymsbich]

Critical role campaign 3 episode 39 "notes"

Matt: A bunch of nerdy ass voice actors sit around and play dungeons and dragons

The cast: hsushsbdhfndekfk.

.

TRAVIS ALARM GOING OFF DURING A SERIOUS MESSAGE

Imogen: I don't know what our room number is

Sam: 69

Matt: Sure

.

THWM REALIZING HOW BAD THAT MESSAGE SOUNDS

Room 69 be descreat....

.

... jk he's actually dead

BOGle

Imogen: It was what read or green

Matt: uhhhhh I made it up on the spot

THE GREEN SEAKERS.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHS

Chet: any objections (to opening the letter)

Orym: me, I don't think he would want you to-

Chet: *opens it*

THAT FUCKING CREEPY BITCH

Laura getting a fly in her coffee

.

Matt: you hate to see her leave..

.

Laudna: Be sadder

Paté: It's ..boNE MY FACE IS BONE

.

FCG WITH A CANE

.

PRETTY!!

Tha captain: ??!?? Oh fuck your alive

Do they have an escape pod

Mattt role playing a random shop game.

CHETNEY OH MY GOD

HAHAHAHAH HULK JOKE

Chetney:oops ....I did it again

SENDING TO HER MOM