#i like to think that this is how essek introduces her every time. and she spits on the ground every time

[astrid-beck]

that's MASTER astrid becke to you cunt

[flagsontheland]

For the seven characters ask: Fjord, Jester, Caleb, Veth, Essek, Caduceus, and Mollymauk?

taleweaver how does it feel to be my most favorite person on the planet today

Go grocery shopping with: Caduceus

- He'd introduce me to new foods I've never had before and also share new recipes with me and show me how to make them when we get home, but not before we've had a conversation that fundamentally reshapes my perception of reality in the produce aisle at Trader Joe's.

Have lunch with: Veth

- I can imagine having a fun brunch somewhere nice and spilling so much tea about people and talking crap. Also I feel like this is one of the activities where I wouldn't have to worry as much about her stealing anything lol.

Have coffee with: Caleb

- Caleb feels like he'd be one of those friends I catch up with once every month over coffee. We start talking about what we've been up to and then by the end we're talking deep stuff. And I get to hold Frumpkin in my lap the whole time.

Go thrift shopping with: Mollymauk

This was the one and only no-brainer for me. I just know Molly knows all the best thrift spots and he finds the best stuff and would get me to try on things that I wouldn't look at twice but then fit me amazing.

Explore a museum/art gallery/aquarium with: Jester

- I love going to those kinds of places but only with fun people and Jester would absolutely be perfect. We'd have so much fun and encourage each other to buy so much overpriced garbage at the gift shop. And she's definitely going to manage to deface at least one surface with her art.

Go the library/bookstore with: Essek

- I know Caleb probably should have been the go-to for this one but I think if he walked into any place with books I'd lose him. I think Essek would be so much better for searching and exploring together.

Have as a plus-one at a wedding: Fjord

- It depends on the context of the wedding but he's the one person I trust to conduct himself respectfully but also be somewhat fun lol.

Thanks so much this was so fun to think about!!

[jonthethinker]

Okay, Okay. Here is my personal pet theory about what the Luxon is.

What if the Luxon is the metaphysical equivalent of a Virtual Intelligence?

Everything we’ve learned about the beacons, from Caleb’s personal dives into understanding them to Essek’s illuminating yet heretical musings on them to whatever else Matt has thrown at us, has clearly shown us that a core feature of the beacons, the strongest narrative flavor, revolves around possibility.

These beacons supposedly freed the dark elves of Xorhaus, and later other “evil” beings from the chains of Lolth and the many other Betrayer Gods. But from what I’ve come to understand about the beacons, I have a very hard time thinking this was by the Luxon showing them the “right” path, but more so that it showed them many paths, all different to the one they already walked. I don’t think it gave them guidance, I think it gave them options.

And there’s this sensation I’ve gotten every time the beacons are used or discussed, especially when considering the many boons from gods and demigod’s we’ve seen, that this thing, if divine, provides so little compulsion to its user. It has no will, no desire. I can’t imagine the Sword of Fathoms not coming into the hands of someone without Uk’otoa thinking its every use will bring him closer to freedom. I think to the tomb that held the Deathwalker’s Ward, set to kill instantly any who sought to steal it from its resting place, and how I find it hard to imagine any unlocking its full power without either doing something specifically in service to the Raven Queen, or something she has deemed in her interest.

But these beacons, this Luxon, seems to be without a will of its own, without an intent, as we have seen with every other instance of a divine being. It can do as the divine have led us to believe they can, warping the very fabric of reality at its most fundamental levels, but it does not do so as a boast of its power or as a grand chess move in its Machiavellian schemes, it would seem. It doesn’t control or encourage. It simply introduces new possibilities. It’s not a lecture but a library, not a signpost but a map. And that’s not really what I’ve come to expect from a god.

So what if it isn’t a god? What if it’s another sort of remnant of the act of creation. A piece of the blue print. The command prompt of the universe. To bring more of the beacons together is the same as upgrading your PC with more RAM or a better graphics card; it increases its processing power, and so more of the universe is unlocked for you manipulate.

Even its role in extending the lives of the Krynn through consecution feels like a task being handled by a virtual intelligence, like an Alexa making a purchase for you or updating your schedule with a new reminder; it takes in souls as they depart their bodies, and then introduces them into a new body. It only does this when a soul has been consecuted, which can be assumed under my theory to be the equivalent of setting up your account on a new computer or website. If you’re registered, this service is available to you. It even feels like a computer’s solution to the problem of death; “Oh your hardware is failing? Let’s just upload a backup of your software on a new device.”

I don’t know if this is a particularly illuminating idea for anybody else, but it certainly feels like a handy metaphor for really wrapping my own head around the Luxon. Now to sit and wait for Matt Mercer to prove me horribly wrong.

[flurry-of-beaus-pop-pop]

Critical Role 2x71 Thoughts:

Life without Yasha is sad :( T-minus 15 episodes until she returns for good

Jester suggesting Beau and Dairon have a conversation in the hottub lmao

You can at least say thank you Dairon

Dairon needs to learn some manners 

Dairon really rubs me the wrong way. Like, don’t get mad at someone for not just giving you something that they’ve earned

I’m really liking that Dairon literally has zero standing in this conversation. Beau be on top. 

Beau clearly does not want Dairon to get involved in this, but feels like she has to make that decision, and that makes me mad. Stand up for yourself Beau 😤

When they’re closest ally (Essek) is the betrayer and they don’t even know

Beau doesn’t like the idea of Dairon being asleep is Yasha’s bed. 

Also, how are they going to explain Yasha’s absence

Beau is being so weird about Dairon lmao

Laura needing to refocus the camera while Travis just rolls his eyes in the background lol

Jester does a perception check and rolls a Nat 20, noticing that Dairon is sitting on top of the stares, Caduceus somehow also now knows this.. Taliesen does not do a great job at separating what Caduceus knows and what he knows. The same thing happened with Mollymauk. Noticeable incidents: Mollymauk somehow knowing that Nott was looking for Fjord’s letter when he would have had no way of knowing that, Caduceus suddenly knowing about Dairon as described above, and Caduceus knowing Beau and Yasha’s date without anyway of knowing

Dairon was doing so well and then they go and allude to the rest of the Mighty Nein using Beau 🙄 

The Mighty Nein introducing Dairon to the person that she’s literally looking for (Essek) and they don’t even know

The Mighty Nein putting in their shopping list with Essek lol

Awww Sprinkle loves Jester

Being a wizard is expensive, I am never going to play one lol

Their first teleportation and they don’t warn Yussa.. and they don’t have the fancy magic dodecahedron with them anymore. This is going to be interesting

Marion and Jester reuniting every time is so adorable

Literally half way through the episode and just now realized Marisha is sitting on the wrong side of the table since Travis and Laura are video-chatting in

I’m loving that Yeza was originally the one that suggests Nott show Luc the crossbow and Nott is completely against it, the tables have turned

Jester trying to make it clear that Nugget is not Luc’s dog, just a loaner. 

Beau talking about how they all take care of each other in a cycle and Marion describes it as friendship and Beau is like “oh I was going to call it unhealthy” lol

Beau wearing one of Jester’s dressed 😂

Luc loves water. Nott does not lol

Everyone wanting Fjord to have some kind of reaction to the water and  Travis is just like “nah”

Awww Jester telling her Mom about Yasha. Jester really loves Yasha 😭

Caleb handing Yasha’s gift to Beau because he knows

Beau referring to Yasha as one of her “dead friends” 😭 Beau thinks Yasha is dead and that breaks my heart

Yeza threatening Luc with Nott’s crossbow if he doesn’t eat his dinner lol

Nott/Veth really been planning to ditch the Nein since Day 1, it’ll be interesting to see if it actually happens after they finish business in Eiselcross. 

Uk’otoa is coming for you Fjord 👀 Very, very slowly

Oop, Essek makes an oopsie and everyone gets hurt. Was it actually an accident 👀 who knows, dun dun dun