#i really don't want him to be just a baddie npc

[bluektw]

So....

Tory/Kwon friendship when???

(they will never give me this but come on look at them. They scream potential)

(and like, GENUINE friendship, let them bond over not liking Kim or whatever LET THEM BOND)

(please if this friendship exists, let it be for real and not something that will be bad for both)

[the-s1lly-corner]

Is it possible to do head cannons for digital circus characters with a reader who's too nice for their own good

Like they get in danger when trying to talk to the bad guy npc thinking that they could persuade them to the good side

TADC cast x reader whos too nice!

Anon I'm so so sorry that it took me so long to get to this <\3! I gotta admit I've been in like, a bit of a burn out recently and I'm still recovering from my baking spree last week so I'm WOOOooOoooooO

That said I hope you enjoy!

Written ambiguously, if you want to see this as romantic or platonic, is totally up to you!

CAINE:

Literally puts a pause on the IHA when he sees you being dragged away by the big bad guy, all while still trying to insist that the NPC with no chance to gain sentience can be good.. caine finds it endearing in it's own way, its sweet, you see the best in people... and non-people... but reader, this is exactly how you get hurt..! Keeps a close eye on you during IHA

POMNI:

While I dont think pomni fits the "too nice for her own good" vibe, I feel that shes... what word am i looking for? Submissive? She kind of just goes with what others are doing; asides from her initial freak out we dont see much pushback from her in the pilot, though that could be thanks to shock... perhaps shes still feeling it during IHAs given how random and intense they can be..? Point is I think pomni would give a meek resistance before scurrying off after you, trying to save you from the clutches of the baddie

RAGATHA:

Shes loves you so much, dont get her wrong. She loves that you're so sweet to everyone, even to those who dont deserve it. Actually if anything, Ragatha is also a little too sweet for her own good.. but shes not as trusting and naive as you are. Frantically pulls you away to the side when you try to make your way to the days villain, gently scolding you and asking what you were thinking. She doesnt mean to make you feel bad, but she doesn't want to see you hurt!

JAX:

One of the only two characters that might get a little mean with you. Not like "mean as in berating you for being so naive" more so "I'm upset that you seemingly have no regard for your safety, I care about you and I cant see you continue to throw yourself into danger" way that can come off as mean, since jax isnt really.. the best as saying this softly.. immediately cuts through any "what ifs" you might bring up to him, you're the only person in this circus that he actually enjoys and hes not going to let you get flung around.. can his tone be softer? Sure, but can you blame him if this is a regular occurrence?

KINGER:

This poor man nearly has a heart attack when he sees you about to be absolutely demolished (but not really thanks to the digital world), probably ends in him getting hurt too.. but that would be mean.. but also can you imagine the angst? The guilt? He probably pushes through the pain to get to you and hes just. Feverishly pulling you to him and patting you down to make sure you're okay... he won't tell you to stop being so nice; in fact I dont think the thought crosses his mind ever.. but he does ask to never do that again, the getting into danger thing

ZOOBLE:

The other character that might get a little mean when confronting you about it, but given zoobles general attitude as well as their tone of voice, it seems like they're more angry with you than they actually are. They think you're too nice for your own good, truly. While the others may find it sweet and endearing, they're constantly thinking about how one day you'll be in over your head and wont have a way out. This might actually result in an argument, thanks to zoobles tone and way of going about things.. but you guys eventually communicate and make up, at least I would like to think so

GANGLE:

Very similar to pomni in the regard that she doesnt have the spine (haha) to tell you not to do whatever you're planning on doing. "I don't think... oh.. oh wait, reader-" as she scurries after you so you dont get lost. Gets legitimately sad and beats herself up if you get hurt. Similar to zoobles, you guys are going to need to communicate and work together on this because gangle cannot handle the fact that you're constantly getting hurt thanks to your kindness grating on her mind all day every day

[asklesbianonceler]

sending you Sellen for the asking game ✨️

Favorite thing about character:

I mean aside from being a huge baddie I love the confidence and mystique that veils her hubris. She's written so well to keep you strung along, making you expect she'll be harsh and rude but then being nothing but encouraging and "honest". Her praise and thankfulness and constantly telling you you've made her happy or proud when compared to every other NPC is so poignant and clearly worked to make people feel they had a nice relationship with her. They made her allure so clear and it's easy to tell how she was able to lead so many scholars to their death despite it all coming off as her warming up to you and respecting you.

Love that she's also like, "Ugh. Seluvis. Didn't want to hear about that guy again"

I like that she seemingly just pushes Rennala aside in the library. That's a big woman. Did she do that all by herself?

Least favorite thing:

Weird rendered, overly sexy anime drawings of her that I see on Twitter.

Headcanon:

I feel like she had all of her peers and most of her professors completely won over except for Rennala. Like I truly think all of them were eating out of her hand until the end and Rellanas ascension to headmaster is what did her in hence her extreme dislike of the Carians.

Brotp:

I like the one sided tarnished thinking they're her bro kinda thing.

Alternatively the Brotp is my int tarnished and her just both sitting there as orbs at the end. They don't speak but their crystals are charging. Every so often one of them just makes an uncomfortable little noise. It's parallel play.

Otp:

I want to see some Sellen toxic yuri. I have nothing more to say on the matter.

Notp:

Feel like I've seen her shipped with Seluvis. When it comes to Seluvis I want evil old many yaoi or nothing. He's got a doll of her in his room. Don't give him the shipping satisfaction.

Unpopular opinion:

I have to be honest I don't engage in Sellen discourse to know what's unpopular. I do not think she had good intentions for you though. I don't think she could be wifed up. Genuinely it seems like we are being shown exactly how she rose to such respect in the academy in the first place and her banishment in a lot of ways saved her and she learned nothing from it.

Quote:

"Splendid. I thank you. This pleases me. It's been far too long since I found a fellow kindred spirit. You must have a fabulous teacher."

Love that she's a little cheeky, but oh boy does she know how to get what she wants

Song:

I think a lot of Blood Ceremony songs have Sellen vibes. Morning of the Magicians is a good one, but a lot have heretical witch motifs

Pic

Is this my favorite? No but she's an NPC who stands there and I just redid this part of the quest and Idk this is just funny to me. Her arms look so ragdolled. Like it's a "toss the Muppet" pose. Mixed with the face that can't show any emotion. I know she's going through it but with the mask on its just goofy to me. Why did they leave the helmet on for this bit? In hindsight I really think they should have taken it off...

[doomed-era]

also. i was going to ask this before but i didnt know how to word it: any zelda tropes you like/dislike? stuff like fairies being guides for link or the concept of sages/Legendary Sword or how link and zelda are always depicted or reoccurring characters like impa or beedle or epona. though theres probably not. a lot of tropes considering most games are vastly different from each other. uhh yeah if youve got nothing . things that were done from a zelda game that you liked?

OOH. tbh I had to think about this a bit (my gripes are usually with the fandom and how they depict the tropes as a Strict Narrative Rule) but! I do have some

UH ONES I HATE. this is gonna be long no matter what so it's going under a cut

Number one has got to be making link into a super special boy for basically no reason!!! being from a special type of knights is. so irrelevant to everything else about alttp link that I think a lot of people legitimately forget this. it barely ever comes up and it's honestly not that important to the story except as an excuse for why link's the only one that can grab the pendants and pull the master sword, which. why not just have him be the one to do this because he's just really determined? Ocarina of Time...tried this, sort of? almost completely irrelevant AGAIN. in twilight princess and wind waker they are just some guy basically and this is the best direction they could have gone with his character. except they ruined it in botw and ss and I will neverrrr forgive them for this. botw link beats up grown men at five years old he's like superbaby instant knight and I HATE it. it's just stupid. I don't even care that it applies pressure to him as a character and seems to affect him; they could have just made it an in-universe lie and it would have had the exact same effect so genuinely screw that trope

number two is calling random soldiers knights stop fucking doing this. i dont care that its fictional fantasyland it annoys me

number three! the 3D games' great fairies! I hate almost all of them the oot/mm great fairies are freaks, botw ones are so pretty but they're creepy as hell, and twilight princess is just a naked lady and it's stupid I hate her. wind waker minish cap and alttp fairies are gongeous though

number four. everyone thinking link is cool and or hot. I hate this in universe and in the fandom. I don't care that the devs wanted to make him """"cool"""" he's 100% always a LOSER!!!!

number five I hate the hijacked by ganon trope in zelda games so much. STOP ffs please let ganon/ganondorf take the spotlight we all love him. or let another villain be the main baddie

ok now for ones I like :)

nunberone...SENTIENT MONSTERS SENTIENT MONSTERS BABEY SENTIENT MOSNTERS ILVOE SRENTIERHSDJKFHSFHAAAAA

GRRAAA ITS A SECRET TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! MOE THE MOBLIN!!! KING BULBLIN SAYING HE FOLLOWS THE STRONGEST SIDE!!! THE ENTIRE DARK WORLD ITS SO

two. npc companions...rips off my shirt to reveal another shirt that says I LOVE MIDNA AND TATL AND EZLO AND KING OF RED LIONS AND GHOSTIE ZELDA AND MEDLI AND MAKAR AND TETRA AND SIDON AND YUNOBO AND

number three...I love random gods and spirits that are just hanging out because. keaton malanya zephos satori light spirits what have you. theyre great I need more of that.

number four incredibly weird npcs. need i say more

number five soldiers being extremely incompetent and dumb or getting possessed. soldiers as enemies or easily corruptible people

number six that one character that doesn't like link. you know what i mean (revali. groose. mido. iirc ralph? maybe? I haven't played much of the oracle games)

number seven hyrule with a dark and bloody past. and not only that but a fairly simple presentation of it that's clearly hiding a more complex underbelly. its just neat to see simple, clear-cut writing tell you so much with so little. it's a big reason I love alttp; it's simple but there's so much grief in it

number eight uh. clawshot/hookshot :] good stuff

[seraphsfire]

help me inspire me to Drsaw...

DRAW whatever

guys i need memes or ideas for funny scenes, companion dialogue / scene reactions to draw Sweetpea in i want to make art of him.

he's a wizard, 3/4 seldarine drow (mom is half-elf dad is a full drow) despite the default jacked body types even for the small ones he's kind of just a little guy, he's polite and quiet, but his charisma is like 17 starting out (i think he got it up to like 21 during my last playthru?)

He's elegant, dislikes pointless chatter or posturing and appreciates when people say what they mean, and polite. it's hard to make him mad but when he gets Mad he's really scary. His weaknesses are if somebody is friendly to him he can fall victim to peer pressure if it's intense enough and hates conflict (despite being a killing machine--not my idea, somehow he always ends up killing baddies in like 2 hits ??? sdkfsdjg)

the other companions are all neutral toward him so far, but most of his decisions get approval from a lot of them which is hilarious bc of how much they disagree with each other, but astarion is OBSESSED with him (after two playthoughts his approval is at 19). He just turned down the offer for a Spicy Night bc he is Not about rolling around bare ass in some stinky leaves with a weird guy he Just met. I feel like he takes a long while to trust people.

A lot of his personality i'm kind of making up as I go and seeing how the companions and NPCs react to him and how different interactions go, i don't have concrete Plans for him at all, like who he will romance, etc. anyway pls give me ideas of what kind fo things to draw him doing or what sounds most interesting to you

(Sweetpea's Visage for your consideration--yes that's his real name his parents gave him)

[doesnotloveyou]

never played, only watched, but my sister just saw gameplay of it and we've discovered a mutual hatred to bond over. i know my streamer pal was annoyed by the gameplay too, to the point where he would avoid story quests and just hijack cars for fun.

i wanted to keep this short in case you actually like parts of the game, but uh, yeah. organized tirade ahead (feel free to ignore)

aside from my sister adding "all the women are prostitutes" i don't have much else to say about the chokingly misogynistic overtones. there is more than one scene of a voluptuous, sensual woman being brutally violated in some way. the frequent sex kitten voices are grating. the scene where the hack doctor is putting garbage mods on a gorgeous woman and she's writhing and moaning on the table? torture fetish much?

Race Portrayal

it's...odd to me that a game where they put this much research into realistic and interesting portrayals of ethnicity it would still force them into stereotypes/tropes.

best friend mexican (aw, rep!) dies in the prologue (oh...okay) and his family lay on the culture suuuuuuper thick. why are they speaking Spanish to the monolingual MC? they speak perfect english, they would speak english to him.

black, bling-dripping, drug dealer is greedy and backstabbing. so he dies immediately

the black rebel group seem mysteriously supernatural and lethal (rings of the Magical Negro trope), but they are actually backstabbing and stupid. so they all die

the big baddie is an Eastern corporate monolith (Yellow Peril) that is inherently eeeeeevill

i know it was meant to be shocking, but the side quest where the Buddhist-monk-coded NPC is horrifically mutilated was nauseatingly cruel. it wasn't put in there to spur some kind of conversation about body-modding, it was meant to upset the player and make them go on yet another killing spree

no matter what the player character's customized ethnic makeup is, they have a white guy in their head influencing their decisions

There's plenty of nuance here, for instance it's a grim and hedonistic world where all the characters are up to something shady and dangerous, so naturally they are all problematic and likely to get the ax. Easy too to say "the token white guy is literally dead before the game starts" but then he is the star of the game, isn't he? The other dead or brutalized characters did not get second chances (with exception of raped gf being uploaded to the matrix or whatever).

Writing

it's up to the player to get revenge for *checks notes* breaking into private property, stealing something priceless, witnessing a murder, and getting shot at while escaping. mkay. they're criminals, that's logical probably, idk i've never done crimes

wait, so hookers get an implant that makes them extremely wise and sluttier? then why doesn't the main character just get one??

i'm not really sure what the characters are trying to achieve. my fave streamer replayed this multiple times bc his saves kept getting corrupted, and at no point did the plot seem cohesive. tbf i was also actively trying to block it out

i did think "trapping the player behind glass and making them watch a murder" was VERY interesting from a story perspective

but "the only way to smuggle out the implant is to accept the implant" is pretty funny/contrived from the start. "what do you mean it downloaded a guy into my brain?" is the equivalent of "i didn't think being a drug mule would mean i have drugs in me!"

idr how long ago i even watched these streams. if i got stuff wrong, oh well, but i remember muting/leaving cyberpunk streams after a while bc this game bothered me so much :|

Final note: a repeated message in this game seemed to be "there are many ways to violate a person's autonomy" from rape to mutilation to forcing a human to live forever detached from their body in cyberspace. Even the player character suddenly being condemned with a terminal illness is a violation, and maybe the most interesting message in a world where humans inorganically mod themselves. What is it like having a death date that no amount of cybernetic enhancements can prevent? Is an organic body and the autonomy thereof worth protecting as part of one's worship? Should a line be drawn between prostituting your physical state and your mental state? How much is too much to take from a human being?

Regardless, these concepts were barely explored in any philosophical or thoughtful way, but in a shooter game where taking as many NPC lives as possible is more or less the goal, and achieving a few sexy cut scenes is a bonus. Also, a dick joke.

back on my "cyberpunk 2077 was misogynist bs" soap box. can't stand that game. it's just about women being brutually raped, killed, and abused in the most provocative ways possible. and the dialogue is laughably awful. like, how are male players not hearing it? oh and screw all minorities, only straight white guys are heroes in this game, except they can't keep their s/os from being raped and killed

[crane--here]

hey. hey. hey. give ur thoughts on juan and waltz and aitor :3

as you wish :3 going to put this under read more for long post convenience and HEAVY spoilers for the game, i'm not holding back lol

okay.

he's a VERY intriguing character. with the added benefit of being hilarious (he's fucking with the colonel of all people. power move of the century)

in all seriousness though, i appreciate the way he's written. he's morally grey as all hell. i love his approach to life, when every single other survivor cares mostly about survival, juan among the few citizens can appreciate the beauty of art and food.... and people. does he come off as a bit pretentious? sure but it makes it even better IMO. i think there's a lot of untapped potential here! i want to see ALL his layers. i mean just HOW deep did his connection to renegades go to have him as the only resort to make them rule the city??

one thing i'm pretty salty about is that juan was supposed to lead HIS OWN FACTION that we already know as the suppliers. the way it's currently written it gives an idea that he operates within the peacekeepers only, when in fact (as per jonah's words) he was supposed to be the leader of it as a wildcard faction. think how much fucking cooler it would be to underline that juan genuinely is influential enough outside the pks, because that bitch can bargain

also bisexual king. i am ignoring he fits the slutty bi stereotype criteria he's my scrinkle

aitor was such a surprise to me when i first played! from the very beginning the pks were painted as the "inherent bad faction", with their authoritarian rules and treatment of the bazaarians. and while, yeah, it has some merit to it with characters like anderson not winning my sympathy for them, aitor and his attitude made me realize "holy shit, the pks aren't some one-dimensional video game 'baddies' here. they're actual diverse people". he added that humanity aspect to this faction (later reinforced by squad 404). he's so so caring my heart just melts. also i really love his family?? like rip to him for getting divorced but his kid is fucking hilarious. i love british "people"

one thing i'm also curious about though is his development during the game making, because from his artbook depiction we can see that he used to be... MUCH different

an abusive asshole and the very pk that would immediatelly turn me away??? lol no thanks i love the aitor we have now <3

now, let's waltz!

AGHGHHHHH sorry grandpa for what you got from techland because it was not ENOUGH. there's been so much more potential for his character in the overarching story because it was not utilized enough! he (and williams but that's a discussion for another day) are always told to be these menacing forces that can destroy the city with just a command... which they absolutely can! however, the issue with the writing here is that.... we're never shown any real reason to believe that besides some renegade thugs (which were underwhelming). techland failed to go with the effective "show don't tell" route that would give a BETTER lasting impression of him. they succeeded at the start, sure, i was shaking when i met him in the prologue and then moments before going into central loop and then..... nothing. that's all we get from him really. this is why the story feels so LACKING in this regard, we're not given enough reasons to care about the threat that is waltz and his plans (and by extension we never really don't get to care about mia who is linked to him in every way)

as for his character... well i talked about it here before. he's painfully inconsistent so it's really hard to tell what his deal is. we learn that he was... supposedly a caring person before, to the point where some of the kids liked him a lot. he gave reassuring words to aiden and was shown to care for him too?? and it's hard to tell if it all genuine or all an act - if he put on a caring facade only for the sake of mia. after all, no npcs really tell good things about him - the one instance i remember is that he spared aitor when he was on patrol, but commented that "why is he working for matt when he should be working for him". it's. giving mixed signals to the players. he's a real shitty dude. like. he's selfish with his goals, hurting everyone else around him in the process - even MIA. how much pain did she have to go through because waltz didn't know how to let go...?

but it does make you also think of the possibility that grief and loss is what drove him to such extents. the trauma he endured even as a little boy was enough to give a lasting impression (never letting go of horse lover waltz) and only a faint crack in what is his psyche. it's a possible read on him, and i can see it's what makes him likable to many (hi silas), so even while i personally lean more to the first option i SEE the vision

either way he's still an incredibly tragic character, which i adore. he's also incredibly fucked up which is THE selling point for me tbh <3

[nellie-elizabeth]

Westworld: Generation Loss (4x04)

There's so many different timelines... so much is going on... but this was a great episode!

Cons:

I don't like having to work so hard to figure out what's going on. We get that scene at the end with Bernard, and the mystery woman who rescued him and Stubbs. Turns out, that's Frankie, Caleb's daughter all grown up. I don't need to be that confused about timelines! Why is it always Bernard, who's in the middle of all the timeline fuckery? It's kind of exhausting.

I've got to say, visually I didn't really enjoy Caleb's "oh shit" moment when he goes outside and he finds out that Hale's future dystopia has come to pass. It just looks like a generic sci-fi vision, a big creepy panopticon tower or what have you. Visually, despite how impressive a lot of the effects are, this show can have the tendency to get a little same-y.

I was legitimately shocked by the Maeve and Caleb (temporary-ish) deaths, but I wish they hadn't had Maeve be in love with him. If that's even what they were implying. We see in flashback that she decided to leave so that Caleb could have a normal life, but then got pulled back in because she was curious and wanted to check on him. This just felt a little weak to me, I don't know. I really like the energy between Maeve and Caleb as characters, and I don't want it to be this thing where Maeve is the martyr putting herself through suffering for Caleb's sake. That just doesn't feel great.

Pros:

Overall, though, despite my resistance to actually trying to track the various complexities going on in this story, I did greatly enjoy this episode.

Tessa Thompson does a good job with the sort of Dolores-esque inflection to her speech. Charlotte Hale/Dolores is a fascinating character, and I liked the standoff with her and Caleb, who turns out to be dead, and is now a host. Good twist, if not exactly hard to predict! It's a sci-fi staple to have the reveal of the dystopian future, that moment where you realize that the bad guys won. This was a pretty good version of that trope, especially because we were in the midst of Maeve and Caleb trying to prevent this outcome, and then there's the slow dawning realization that they failed long ago. That worked for me!

Christina, who I mentioned in earlier episodes was probably my least favorite aspect, suddenly got interesting. You put Teddy back in the story and I'm immediately perking up. We still don't quite know how Christina contributed to Hale's evil future where all humans are controlled, but we know that she was writing stories for NPCs who turned out to be real, in some sense. I loved the romantic tension in the date scene with Teddy, and I'm eager to see where this story might lead us next!

Despite generally not caring much for the Bernard story-line, I did like that we got confirmation that the woman rescuing him and Stubbs last week was in fact a grown up Frankie, looking for a weapon to help bring down the baddies. Who do they find buried in the desert? Maeve's body! Assuming they can get her back online and on their side, I'm excited to see how they might be able to combat Hale's evil shenanigans. I'm actually pretty excited about how all the pieces are aligning right now!

So that's where I'll leave things. A pretty solid installment of the show, one where even paying half-attention as I am sometimes wont to do, I was still surprised and gripped by the turns the story was taking.

8/10

[wordstrings]

hi! bit of a weird question, if you don't mind me asking - if I wanted to watch just a couple episodes of Vox Machina to, say, get a bit of an idea of the relationship between Percy and the twins early in the campaign and what Percy's workshop in Greyskull Keep looks like, would you happen to have any episode suggestions? -Chock

Oooh this is a fun question, and I love the implications of you asking it! It’s been a couple years since I started getting into CR (I listen to the podcast version, as it’s easier for me to consume the long, long episodes that way) so my memories are fuzzy about what happens when. I went reading through some episode recaps to refresh myself.

I’m going to list a bunch here that have meaningful bits, but then I’ll highlight a subset in case you really can only afford the time for a select few. (This got LONG but I tried to be specific about the parts that matter!)

Episode 18, "Trial of the Take: Part 1" – I feel like this is the first time we really get to see Percy’s character take the stage, beyond firearm support in various battles. The party is split, with Vex and Vax separated, so Percy only gets to interact with Vex here (along with Grog, Scanlan, and two delightful guest characters, one of which is played by Felicia Day). Most of the focus is on making progress on the mission, though Percy does have an entertaining battle moment in his skivvies.

Episode 23, “The Rematch” – The first half of this episode is just a big championship boxing match between Grog and an NPC, but the second half has Percy hunting for ammunition supplies, and Matt goes full ham into playing the most ridiculous, comedic side character in support of that. It’s fantastic. By the end of the episode, the party is back at Greyskull Keep, with Percy heading down to his shop to get to work.

Episode 24, “The Feast” – This opens with Percy in his workshop, where he talks to the party about his backstory that’s about to come into play with the current story arc. Percy does a lot of tinkering in this episode. He and Vax do some identity-disguising. (It’s either at the end of this episode or the beginning of the next in which Vax, in a moment of panic and fluster, calls Lord and Lady Briarwood “both very attractive” right to their faces. Bi disaster icon.)

Episode 25, “Crimson Diplomacy” – Intense battle with the baddies of Percy’s backstory. Vax doesn’t fare well. Percy has an iconic one-liner that sets up his next major arc. (This is also the kickoff for the Percy-centered storyline that flows through the next ten episodes or so. With so much focus on him, there are a lot of scattered interactions he has with the twins alongside the rest of the party, hence me listing almost every episode of this arc.)

Episode 27, “The Path to Whitestone” – Percy’s workshop is the site of an encounter in the first part of the episode. Just before the mid-episode break, there’s a conversation between Percy and the party where they pledge support to him. The second half of the episode is mostly adventure action.

Episode 29, “Whispers” – The first half of the episode has Vax, Percy, and Scanlan out on a mission of their own. (This is the birth of Vox Machina’s most persistently confounding opponent: doors.) The second half has an encounter significant to Percy’s arc and the whole party’s relationship with him, particularly Vax, Vex, and Keyleth.

Episode 30, “Stoke the Flames” – Some character- and relationship-building conversations are had between Percy and the rest of the party, particularly with Vax and Vex, at the outset of the episode. Lots of adventuring subterfuge for the remainder.

Episode 31, “Gunpowder Plot” – Vax and Percy have a team-up moment during the initial battle, and Vax ends up bookending a lot of Percy’s actions throughout. Vex and Percy have an intense interaction in the aftermath. The back end of the episode is more subterfuge and battling.

Episode 32, “Against the Tide of Bone” – After some initial action, the party splits, putting Vex, Vax, Percy, and Keyleth together. When the party is reunited, Vex expresses some concern about Percy to Pike. Vax and Percy have a heart-to-heart during the night watch in the second half of the episode, in which Vax lays clear how he’s felt about Percy in the past, but he comes around.

Episode 33, “Reunions” – Vex, and to a slightly lesser extent Vax, is generally supportive of Percy as they meet an old enemy of his. In the midst, and aftermath, of a battle, Vex and Percy and Vax all have interactions that point to their evolving relationships. Another encounter pits members of the party against each other against their wills, including these three who take hits from each other before coming back under control.

Episode 40, “Desperate Measures” – After an initial battle, there’s a scene in Percy’s workshop that involves various party members, but notably Percy and Vex facing off against Grog.

Episode 44, “The Sunken Tomb” – While camped out at the loch, Vax and Percy share a watch again and talk a bit. In the wake of an encounter, Percy and Vex make a hasty decision and Vex pays the price. Vax makes a deal to save her, initiating a significant pivot point for his character.

Episode 45, “Those Who Walk Away” – Percy tells Vax that what happened to Vex was his fault. Vax isn’t pleased.

Out of all of these, if you really just want the Best, Most Concentrated Percy + Twins Stuff™ (understanding that you’ll be missing some of the plot/motivations), I’d recommend:

First half of episode 27

Episode 29

Beginning of episode 30

Episode 32

Episode 33, mainly the battle and aftermath bookending the mid-episode break

After that point, we’re kind of past the “early campaign” stage. I hope this helps! And I’m here to chat or bounce ideas around or whatever! :)

[ravenquingvax]

Critical Role Season 2 Episode 136 Thoughts (Part One) -

Wasn't in the mood for liveblogging last night, but here are the thoughts I had while watching!

Warning, this is long and loud and busy with little breathing space, read at own will!

-- STREAM START --

Well I just opened the stream and was greeted by a very smooth Fjord.

Hm.

Don't likey.

Just as well that I'm gonna be just listening again, rather than actually watching.

*shudders*

That was a really beautiful piece of fanart tho. 💙

--

Listening to the stream with no video is interesting, I've started learning certain audio cues off by heart now.

Such as when the art reel is about to end, when Matt is about to call the opening sequence and when the raven flies away during the opening sequence.

It's fun.

I've also gained much more respect for Matt's voice acting thanks to listening with no video. Like, I can see these NPCs from just hearing their voices???

I can't.

Matt is fucking amazing.

Love him so much. 💙

--

Sam messing up the name of CR's own book is a mood.

Also not having visuals for this AD bit is… hm.

ALSO LIAM TAKING SAM'S HAIR HDHABBAHSHD

MATT TAKING THE PINK COSTUME AHHDBSBA

TALIESIN TAKING TRAVIS' BITE GUARD

ASHLEY ACTING SO OFFENDED BY THE WHOLE BIT

i love these idiots

--

I struggle forming sentences too, Ash, you're okay 💙

--

I love how Laura's merch announcements end up being such emotional rollercoasters.

--

I'm still not over Vax and every time I see that raven fly away in the animated opening sequence it usually makes me think about him and all those "but what if he lived???" scenarios.

This usually distracts me for the first few minutes of gameplay after the opening.

I'm not okay. (:

--

Okay but Laura and Ashley are so good at singing, I'm feeling v gay rn.

--

Travis' high pitched laughter and wheezing makes me so happy??? Love him.

--

I really hate Cree.

I don't actually know why, but I honestly hate her so fucking much.

I'm still annoyed she wasn't one of the 3 Tomb Takers that got taken out.

But I don't know why???

Hope she falls soon.

--

I'm unsure if I actually genuinely ship shadowgast or if I'm just seeing vax'ilmore crumbs where they aren't.

On the subject of vax'ilmore, it is still my all time favourite Critical Role ship from my first attempt at watching Campaign 1 two years ago.

Shaun Gilmore is also still my all time favourite character from then too.

--

I don't want any more of the Nein to die, it would ruin me, but like… I'm craving it at the same time?

And I don't mean anyone dying to Lucien or Trent or the Sumnovum or any other big baddies like how Molly died to Lorenzo way back.

I wanna see someone die in a really dumb situation and there being nothing the Nein can do for them.

I want somebody to die in a really quiet and mundane way and for it to really shake the Nein up.

Idk why I want this??

I love all of the Nein and want them all happy and safe! Ya know?

But I CRAVE this kinda angst so fucking badly.

--

Laura got a natural 20!!

And so early on!!

--

Gods, I need Matt to narrate the Narnia books so fucking bad, man. His voice???

Ahhhh. 💙

--

Eye stuff??

Better vision??

True Sight??

OOO

I'm thinking of Delilah seeing Trinket in a Percy costume again.

WAIT IS THIS CANON CONFIRMATION????

ARTIE IS SPRINKLE????

ARTAGAN I LOVE YOU

Thanks for bringing this up, Caleb! Theory confirmed!

Also fuck you, Professor Thaddeus!! :(

Also ARTAGAN!!

Poor Yasha. XD

ALSO CALEB HEARD BEAU'S THOUGHTS IN HIS HEAD

also yasha my beloved 😭

ALSO VETH

YCTXRX3rzcyfe63gcfs

This has been a moment.

--

Also fuck Lucy.

Lucy is a bitch.

--

Also Devexion was hot, ladies, you're not wrong.

--

Also it's not even been a fucking hour yet and so much just fucking happend.

Hoo boy.

Also did Travis just say "can't believe the fucking weasel is Artagan"???

Mood, Trav, Mood.

--

Cad, Beau, Caleb???

o shit

Weird growly noises??

Niceeee

Love that!!

"the skinned doggies with the eyeball tails" - Love that mental image, thanks LIAM

--

Minutes have passed but literally all I'm imagining now is a tiny crimson weasel choking out Vax'ildan.

HELP

--

31. Nice, Cay. Nice.

--

Also I love Essek's voice???

I feel drunk whenever I hear it??? I don't get that???

(I've not had alcohol since 25.12.2020, before you ask)

But it feels so good

Gilmore's voice also has this effect on me??? His laugh especially so???

Could someone explain why this happens please???

--

okay yeah I ship shadowgast

--

TIME TRAVEL STUFF

WHA

DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT???

I WAS THINKING ABOUT GAY WIZARDS AND MISSED A BIT

--

CALEB PLEASE USE YOUR WORDS HONEY

But yeah, wowza ma guys

--

SHADOWGAST

"I think he's coming onto you."

JESSIE THANK YOU

"It's complicated."

LIAM O'BRIEN

--

SHIT MONSTER

also wow vethhhh

"don't come out of the closet"

Fucking

Hnnn

--

THAT CALLBACK TRAVIS

poor Kiki 😔💙

She's not even in this campaign and she keeps getting shade

--

I love when the cast actually whisper when sneaking as if the monster will hear them---

--

The cast are self aware

Love these pretty fools

Marisha questioning how they've managed to run an actual real company--

--

"We took 3 minutes to achieve nothing."

--

"I'll stay near the rear in case I need to fill the hallway with death"

Uh, Caleb???

We just gonna gloss over that???

Okay then!

--

"Skyrim Wheels Of Cheese"

I WANNA LIVE IN A SKYRIM HOUSE-

(thanks again Liam)

--

I am struggling to focus once again.

Hnn.

Fun.

--

This stream has already greatly improved my mood, I'm actually grinning???

Thanks Critical Role 💙

--

Sprinkle has murdered The Champion Of The Raven Queen for shits and giggles.

--

SAVING THROW OH FUCK

FUCKING LUCY & CREE

FUCK

--

"saucy DM"

LIAM PLEASE

--

72 POINTS OF PSYCHIC DAMAGE

YASHA IS OUT NO

WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT NOT DYING TO LUCY

FUCK

It's time to spaghettify Cree~

--

Thanks Cad

Clutch Spare The Dying 💙

--

I tuned back into Marisha saying "sexy robot". Nice.

--

My brain is turning into Tubby Custard at this rate.

I don't even like the fucking Teletubbies but that pink shit is burned into my head.

The Teletubbies would so be members of The Tomb Takers, those mother fucking creepy fuckers.

They literally have TVs in their bellies that scry on people???

Fuck that so much

--

I feel nauseous.

So much has happened.

My face is blushing.

My hands are shaking.

Hooooo.

And we've not been to break yet. Nice. Fun.

--

PRESIDENTIAL ALERT:

THE MONSTERS ARE FIGHTING 💙

--

Caleb is the bomb defusal squad. 💙

--

MATT STOP LEAVING THEM ATTENTION STEALERS I'M NERVOUS

--

"Caleb and Caduceus in the caboosus" MATH-CHEW

--

FJORD PANICK THROWING HIS HEALTH POTION TO CALEB GRSVJHRSF 💙

--

SAMUEL THIS SPELL DESCRIPTION

34 STEALTH NICE

AH WAIT

AMBUSH ALERT

OH FUCK

BE CAREFUL VETH

--

ITS MOTHER FUCKING MISS FUCK FACE AND MR WHY-WONT-YOU-JUST-STAY-DEAD-MY-FUCK

--

Hi, Lucy. [-_-] Now would you kindly walk into an Inuit Charge you lil bitch?

--

Essek and Gilmore's voices turn me into goo

While Lucien's voice turns me into a bloodthirsty, tired, overworked, annoyed as fuck parent on coffee

But yeah, I'm having BAD VIBES™ again

--

BREAK TIME

fuxk u math-chew (affectionate)

--

Liam's narration for this Dwarven Forge ad tho 👀

--

"I can't wait to give Taliesin a hug"

"I think you were my last hug, Taliesin"

ASHLEY

DANI

PLEASE 😭

--

Laura Bailey's voice is like a warm hug after a snowstorm. 💙

--

Oh no, it's this Sam Prime Subscription AD

Fuck

GOODBYE

THE HEADPHONES HAVE BEEN REMOVED

--

Can we kill Cree?

Can we please kill-

CAN WE PLEASE JUST GET RID OF CREE

IM BEGGING

I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS SINCE THE TOMB TAKERS FOUND THE PARTY SLEEPING IN CALEB'S DOME OUT IN THE SNOW

--

Lucien is gonna personally kill someone, now, isn't he?

And all because I literally said nobody was allowed to die to his hands-

--

Also yeah CAN VETH SHOOT THIS BASTARD'S EYES PLEASE SO WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE CONE PLS-

--

i kinda want Caleb to flirt with Lucy to throw him off his guard ngl I do still ship lucigast :|

Unfortunately...

-- end of part 1 of 2 --