#marisha: why does this keep happening to you

[beauregardlionett]

fjord: i'mma touch the red gem - surely the conses won't quence fjord, two seconds later: by Talos this can't be happening

[ariadne-mouse]

This post discusses addiction & mentions related heavy topics.

The addiction comparison for what Laudna has going on with Delilah is certainly not 1:1. Most obviously, addictive substances & activities IRL are not sentient evil wizards who have found a way to cheat death (that we know of). Put more seriously: in-universe, warlocks exist all over and the relationships they have with their patrons don't necessarily evoke addiction; someone saying they are a warlock does not mean are an addict. But I've seen a couple takes thrown around for why Laudna's connection with Delilah isn't or can't be compared to addiction, and I'd like to examine those briefly.

Let's start with the origin of their entanglement - it's notable, for instance, that Laudna's fusion with Delilah's spirit was not something she chose or was necessarily even conscious of at first; however, equally notable is that not all IRL addiction begins with a person making bad choices to do the addictive thing, such as in the cases of forced drug use in trafficking, painkillers post-surgery, etc.

There is also the point that Laudna would die if Delilah were to be removed, whereas addicts can put aside the object of their addiction. But here there is also grey area: in some cases, unassisted withdrawal from serious substances can in fact kill you. And for another angle, even when it is quit the object of addiction will still exist in the world somewhere; it cannot be completely removed either, and it is the recovering addict's challenge not to engage.

Next is the way feeding Delilah gives Laudna new powers she can use to help the group - and certainly, IRL addiction doesn't give you magical combat abilities! But a substance being abused may indeed provide an effect that the user can leverage to their advantage (stimulants for work productivity, alcohol for relaxation or confidence, etc). Addiction happens because the mind and/or body are getting something in return that feels good, at least in the short term.

I mention these counterpoints not to say it's all a slam dunk, but rather to point out that addiction is a hugely complex issue, both mental and physical, taking many forms. If you want an addiction comparison to apply to Laudna, or not, you can probably find a manifestation of addiction out there that aligns with your argument. Marisha and others of the cast using addiction to describe Laudna's behavior just gives us one (1) possible lens to orient her experience and motivations, and, critically, to envision a way out for her: to fight Delilah with every ounce of willpower she has, to ask for the support of her friends in that effort, and to shove Delilah back into the sub-basement of her brain and keep her there for good. A common adage around addiction is that there is no "curing" it, just the lifelong work of recovery; and similarly, if Delilah can't be fully removed from Laudna, she has been successfully suppressed before and could be again. I think it would be incredibly powerful to see Laudna take that journey! She has agency in her circumstances and she can seize it. Also, she still has responsibility for her actions when they harm those around her; addiction, like trauma, explains but doesn't excuse.

The addiction comparison for Laudna and Delilah seems to have mixed reactions from fandom, and that's fine! If it truly just doesn't resonate with you, fair enough - there are plenty of other valid ways to describe Laudna's behavior and circumstances, and not mutually exclusive with the addiction angle either. We don't have to pick only one way of interpreting what characters do (in fact I advise against it), and as the story evolves our frameworks of interpretation may change too. A lens is just a tool for understanding. But for the handful of folks on the two sides of the polarized reaction coin at the moment - those either overly defensive about the comparison or conversely leaning into it in an ugly, mean way - if you think the word "addict" by itself irrevocably condemns Laudna or deprives her of compassion for her circumstances, perhaps consider mulling over how you view addicts IRL.

[utilitycaster]

In the end, it is misogyny but in the form of that Imogen (and most of the female cast, if we are being fair) gets reduced to just being a woman to the point that criticizing any real flaw, wrong doing, or "hey i personally maybe perhaps don't like that she did this" is turned into an attack on her because she is a woman, because after all, all women are perfect and so so dainty they must be protected (sarcasm)

Without mentioning the attacking real women in the name of the fictional one

It really is the "God forbid a woman do anything" but in it's worst form

Sorry for venting, been having thoughts about the fandom for the past 5 years

YUP. I do recommend Unlikeable Female Characters by Anna Bogutskaya which I devoured in like, one sitting over my winter break and posted a bunch of excerpts from but this discourse is extremely not limited to the CR fandom. I mean, think about all of the endlessly churning nonsense about the women of Gone Girl and Midsommar. I am going to see Love Lies Bleeding tomorrow and have steered well clear of really any discussion because I simply would like to see buff lesbians in a crime drama but apparently the discourse is rancid.

Of course there are people who assume ill of female characters while excusing men. That is absolutely a big problem. But again, we can barely talk about that. I recently made a post about how Laura is not a particularly chaotic player, and indeed is one of the most cautious players in actual play, and again I think there is a serious and important conversation to be had about how there's probably a reason why, say, Travis and Taliesin are more likely to make extremely bold moves, because they didn't get raked over the coals during C1 for stealing a cool broom from a guest character! I actually think Marisha has managed to hang on to some of her boldness and it makes her a stronger player but I would not have been surprised if she retreated after the hate she got from Keyleth. But yeah, in actual play, bold moves are pretty important. We can't even talk about how real-world misogyny holds back the actual actors without some moronic wretch being like "FIGURES THAT A MISOGYNIST CUNT LIKE YOU LIKES A MALE ACTOR."

When a character who is a man - or in some cases, characters who are not men but are played by men - does something people don't like we can say "wow, I didn't like this, but it was an interesting choice by the actor!" but we aren't allowed to either talk about the reasons why a real world woman might hesitate to play a character who does ugly things - because of the misogynistic backlash that will land specifically on her as a real person - nor can we compliment her for going for it and playing a complex flawed character, because how DARE you say a woman is anything less than some kind of Divine Feminine ideal. At best you're allowed a two-dimensional caricature of She's So Sweet And Good But Sometimes Gets Angry (this also happened to my friend Keyleth).

And this might reveal my own biases but like. I as a woman don't love being called self-centered, but that, personally, would probably lead me to some reflection. If you call me a girlfailure, even jokingly, I am going to break your nose. It's really telling that like...one of the absolute no-brainer "hey stop calling grown women girls" feminist tenets has gone by the wayside particularly with the set of people who think that meta that fails to put women on so high a pedestal they are untouchable is misogynist. They are awful towards women, fictional and real.

A line that always stuck with me from, bizarrely, a book about wordplay, was that Victorian men would treat women of their same classes as their superiors, but never their equals - they would coddle them and protect them but they wouldn't actually engage with their thoughts and foibles. (This happened to my friend Jester).

Anyway my personal solution is to keep going. On some level, as my previous post indicates, while I don't want the harassment it also only underscores my point, that a lot of these people are way more invested in being a dick to women on the internet than writing meta about the pretend women they think they like. I have to imagine they're doing this because either think they're entitled to meta they like from people who can actually fucking write it because god knows most of the people making this complaint have the most "if you can't dazzle them with brillance, blind them with the most purple-prose bullshit you can muster" attitude; or because they literally are just champing at the bit to attack women online with the ostensible veneer of "but it's FEMINIST to call THESE women cunts because they said my blorbo wasn't saintly and flawless." However, again, I know that I'm pretty bullheaded and forcibly unlearned the uh, patriarchal idea that women should not be confrontational. I do not blame people who look at this whole situation and say "I'm going to keep my thoughts to myself because this is so unpleasant."

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 96

Ah, I see, so THIS is why Liam looks like a cute beatnik from a 50s jazz club ... oh boy ... he's brought back the German accent BIG TIME and it's giving me massive Caleb vibes ... meanwhile Tal's clearly having EVEN MORE fun with this ... oh my gods ... wow ... that's a DOOZY, definitely ...

Marisha (cracking up): "It sounded like there was more!" Travis: "I know!"

So ... yeah ... it was all SO HEAVY when we ended it last week ... the group is WELL on the way to imploding under the weight of what just happened in the night ... can they come back from this? This is SO WORRYING ...

Oh boy ... RIGHT BACK where we were at the end ... wow ... so it's just the two of them again ... O.O

Fuck ... now even LAUDNA can feel Delilah's starting to take over ... that's not good at all ...

This is starting to sound SO MUCH like Laudna knows she's not going to be around when this is all done ... oh man ... AND she's starting to think maybe that's A GOOD THING? Fuck ... no, really, NO ...

Imogen's trying SO HARD to keep this all together for BOTH OF THEM but I can feel her breaking too ...

Come on, Imogen, that's it, bring her back from the brink ... LISTEN TO HER, Laudna. She's the best thing in your life, and she feels the same way about you, luv. You need to buck up ...

Imogen: "I'm gonna miss our little cottage." Oh fuck ...

Ah shit ... the tissues ... yeah, that's how it is with ALL OF US right now ...

Crap ... that's right, Dorian's missed A WHOLE LOT, he doesn't KNOW about Delilah, not really ... oh, and also about IMODNA ... XD ... AND Chetney's threesome with Fearne and his ex ...

Oh yeah ... Bordor ... that was a whole bunch of wrong ... that took a whole lot out of ALL OF 'em ...

Ashton being all philosphical again abdout villains trying NOT TO BE ... yeah ... he's pretty spot on ...

Dorian: "CAN she be trusted?" Oof ...

Ashton: "You okay?" Imogen: "No." Ahston: "SHE okay?" Imogen: "No." Ahston: "Okay."

Laudna's just been having a good powerful MOPE while all of this has been going on ... yeah, of course she has ... oh FUCK OFF, Delilah. You're not welcome right now ... oh yeah, Fearne, great timing, snap her out of it!

Orym: "Are you all right? I didn't hurt you too terribly did I?" Laudna: "Oh, I think I can see a few ribs ..."

Yes ... please, come on you too, make up. You're FRIENDS, you mean so much to each other. MAKE UP. Yeah. That's it. Exactly that.

Yeah, exactly. Fuck Delilah, we just want our LAUDNA.

This is exactly it, yeah ... she's not alone, they're ALL carrying their own big mistake baggage, she's not alone in that ...

Awwwww ... Ashton's BIG SISTER Laudna ... I love it ... :3

Wow ... yeah, it may be a joke, but Chetney DOES have a point there ... Dorian's the one true innocent in the group now ... you poor sweet summer chaild ...

Nice move, Chet. Yeah, that works.

Oh, that's interesting ... yeah ... that pipe ... yeah ... that could be REALLY GOOD for Laudna right now ... go on, girl, take a puff ...don't be afraid, this can only HELP ...

And then Dorian comes in with the sweetest cap for all that ... awwww ... :3

AAAAAAND just like that Chetney's OUT. XD ... of course he is.

Spin the bottle? REALLY?!!! LOL ...

Wow ... not they're just getting ridiculous ... XD ... "Hammer time?" Yeah, that's the worst one yet ... "Chetney needs sleep"? Slightly better, maybe ...

More rest, at least ... which is needed ...

Liam'#s giving Orym a point of exhaustion for NECESSITIES ... of course he is ... wee selfless lad ... we love him but he does punish himself sometimes ...

THAT'S what the Gambler's Blade does? DORIAN!!! O.O

Essek is a bit ... MOODY this morning ... hmmmm ...

"I like pulp!" XD

Ah, so everything's ready for them ,then? Sweet ... cue gearing up montage ... LOL ... oh, and descriptions too ...

Hot Shots: Part Deux for Chetney ... XD

Oh shit ... that's right ... they're back from the Moon ... IS Orym a little different? And our boy's a bit toussled now ... yeah, that's CUTE, I'm sure ...

Imogen's wearing PANTS now? Okay ...

Dorian's wearing "THE SLUTTIEST SHIRT"! Cute ...

Nipple talk ... oh dear ... XD

Oh wow ... Laudna's kind of giving me some subtle Harrow the Ninth vibes right now ...with a touch of DELILAH too, which is ... worrying, just a little ... O.O

Ashley's alwasy SO GOOD at weaving a beautiful picture, she really is ... and a utility belt. Yeah ... :3

Ashton's rocking a CROPTOP right now? Awwwwww ... and a spike trade with Fearne, too ... cute ... ooooooh ... and "Smiley Day" ... oh man ... I love it ...

Matt makes a rather pointed "prepare your spells" statement that everybody IMMEDIATELY takes as SUSPICIOUS and I'm right along with them. What are you planning, Mercer?

Yeah ... that fucking bloody apron's just gonna leave a trail behind them THE WHOLE WAY ...

Divvying up stuff ... here we go, ten minutes of inventory bookkeeping while we wait for the game itself to start up again ... XD

Ah ... sucking up one Ring of Protection with the harness ... hmmm ...

Imogen's jealous of Essek's floating thing ... not surprising ...

Ooooh ... ExU: Calamity recap ... cute ...

A FEW tries? Oh, I don't like the sound of that ...

Wow ... they're all REALLY crossing their fingers ... XD

Rolling a D100? Oh fuck ... 14? Hmmmmm ... ouch ... oh, that didn't go well ... they went NOWHERE and took 11 points of Force damage each ... bugger ...

Second try ... ANOTHER roll ... 45? Okay ... SEEMS like the right place ... an abandoned encampment? Interesting ... oh, sounds like it's NOT where they should be, then ...

Lyrengorm? Where?

He can only do it ONCE MORE for the day? Bollocks ...

A final roll ... 61 ... MORE snow ... much colder ... Orym's ENTIRELY BURIED ... a particularly AGGRESSIVE mountain range this time ... some kind of VERY fancy castle ... oh, so we ARE in Eisselcross ... but we're not sure WHERE ... oof ...

Crap ... they've been spotted ... by SOMEBODY ... big lumbering somebodies ...

Undead ice giants? Yeesh ... yeah, better hide ... argh ...

Matt: "There's a reason you took a BOAT to Esselcross last time!"

And now it's time for a break ...

Do they run? Do they fly? WHAT DO THEY DO?!!! Hiding's obviously out of the question ... eep ...

A DISTANT Command on one of them? Risky, Imogen ... "HALT!!!" Oh, it doesn't work on undead? BALLS ...

And now one of them flung a rock ... BAIT & SWITCH!!! Nice save, Orym! Crunch ... STILL 26 points of damage ... ow ...

There's a whole BUNCH of 'em coming now ... AAAAAAAH!!!

Essek's trying a HIGHER level Teleport ... okay ... one more roll ... 48? Oh bollocks, Laura! This is so bad ...

DO NOT give Mercer ideas, Ashley! O.O

More snow ... elsewhere ... hmmmm ... Essek has no idea where they are ... great ...

Yes. Sniff the wind, Chetney ... the air is THINNER ... oh, they're AT ALTITUDE right now ... cute ... on a mountain, then ... that's just PEACHY ...

Oh, if they had something FROM Aeor? I mean THEY COULD just use a piece of FCG ...

Looking into Essek's memories, then ... O.O ... and a glimpse of Aeor ... it's all VERY dramatic ...

Aha, a specific anchoring point ... good idea ...

Laura: "Guidance? Will that help?" Matt: "No, but it's nice to have." XD

So, the Staff ... oh boy ... this could go SO BAD .... she rolls 99 for it ... well, that's ... potentially good?

A frozen woodland glade ... Huh?

Don't shoot the rabbits with your harp, Chetney. They'll only explode and that's not what ANYONE wants ...

An amber coloured dome of energy over them? Oh, yeah, that definitely rings a bell ... XD

At least it's nice and warm in here ... although they are in danger of getting buried under the snow before morning ...

Essek's just IMMEDIATELY going to sleep, then ...

Fearne, you're adorable ... :3

Chetney's going hunting. WITH THE HARP. Oh boy ...

And he shoots a boar? Oh, okay, I suppose that's too big to just blow up ... food!

There's a huge city out there? Hmmmm ... no chance that's Vasselheim, maybe?

Time for food, then ...

Another try at Teleporting, then ... roll AGAIN ... 53? Fuck ...

They land ON THE SLOPE of a mountain ... AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Another jump ... another roll ... 46? No, NINETY-six ... somewhere icy and cold ... oh, that's it, then. They made it ... phew ...

Yup, they're here. On the VERY EDGE of the ruins, then ...

Time for Stealth, then ... group check time ... oh boy ... fucking hell, Travis ... 41?!!! How the FUCK did you do THAT?!!!

Shit ... are those more of theose undead ice giants? Oh no ... gods, bo what to know WHAT these things are ... eep ... O.O

Going down into the gloomy underground darkness ...

ICE TROLLS?!!! Lovely ... yeah, just GO QUIETLY, please ...

It's getting STUPID tight in here ... this is NOT GOOD ... Chetney's going ahead to check the route ...

Oh, that's a DROP. Great ... now what?

So they have to climb down with the rope ... great ... oh, Chet wonders if he could ICE-CLIMB down? I really don't know about that ... oh, the Immovable Rod, that shoudl be helpful ...

Yeah, this couldn't possibly go wrong ... O.O

A ruined courtyard? Fascinating ... smelling for anything alive down here ... a clean must? Strange ...

So he's climbing down, then ... okay ... the others getting down will be ... INTERESTING ...

Oh yeah, some light might be helpful now ...

Bones? Frozen into the ice underfoot? Hmmm ... that could be ... problematic ... and some bodies too ... oh lovely ... there's SOMETHING unpleasant down here, clearly ...

Wait ... WHO is this? Oh ... FUCK ... shit! Oh, that is SWEET!!! Nice callback ... O.O

So, going EAST then ...

The Praesidis Ward? Hmmm ...

A giant cavern that was once a city ... weird ...

It's getting WARMER? Hmmm ...

Fearne has a point ... this DOES look like that weird ruined city in the cavern on Ruidus ...

Wait ... there's SCARY things down here to be on the lookout for? Way to bury the lead there, Essek ...

Yeah, DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING, people ...

He became a FISH. Really? Fascinating ...

Another Group Stealth check ... generally good rolls once more ...

Skeletons? Lots of them? Great ... this place is like a necromancer's wet dream ... I really hope this isn't where Mercer's heading with this ...

Grim Psychometry? IN HERE?!!! Whoa, Chet ...

That is ... troubling and not terribly infomrative, really ...

Crap ... was that a troll?

Moving on, then ...

Weird creepy corpse ... which wasn't there LAST TIME Essek passed through ... charming ... it IS moving, but, like, RIDICULOUSLY slow? Oh, that's unnerving ...

Imogen, AGAIN, don't touch ...

Oh, this seems like a nice, fancy place ... but Essek's not taking any chances with it, clearly ... and somebody's been through here, too ... hmmm ...

HE did this? Interesting ... well, at least he hasn't lost his sense of humour ...

Another cavern ... more industrial environs this time ... fascinating ... and it's curving UPWARDS as it goes ...

The Genesis Ward ...

It just smells of metal and water ... okay ...

So we have a specific destination now, then ...

What, try to home in on Ludinus' Harness? Could that work?

Oh, so there really ARE other things moving around in here besides the group ... that's disconcerting ...

A tent? Really? Well THAT is a pretty major sign of life ... I think they may have found what they're looking for ...

Arcane Eye? Cool ...

Oh, so something happened here ... something VIOLENT, according to the blood ... and CORPSES ... Ruby Vanguard? Oh wow ... THAT'S interesting ... this was ... relatively recent, looks like ...

More of an eagele's eye view of the cavern now ... a big jagged hole in the floor, off in the distance ... great ...

Heading in to take a look at the tent, then ...

So the deaths happened within a space of DAYS, then ... it looks like they all killed EACH OTHER?!!! O.O ... whoever did this was ENJOYING themselves? Charming ... and one of them killed HIMSELF ... and apparently was very HAPPY when he did it ... that's just LOVELY ...

It's a pretty nondescript knife, Imogen ...

Grim Psychometry again, then ... oh boy ...

Oh, so the elf was the one who killed them all ... really violently, with SIGNIFICANT manic strength ... carves soemthing into his chest ... and then kills himself too ... wow ...

Chetney DRAMATICALLY unveils the elf's chest ... a sigil ... what is it, then? Ask Essek ... he doesn;t recognise it ... Laudna casts Eyes of the Rune Keeper ... no joy, it seems ... hmmmmm ...

Oh ... Laudna asks DELILAH if she recognises it ... great ... she doesn't either ... great ...

Don't take a pee on the arcane time dome, Orym ...

Something's grinding out there ... stone on stone ...

A group stelth check, but grading everyone individually as they hide? Oh boy ...

Two groups, then ... roill well, guys ...

It's VERY TALL ... oh boy ... that is DISTURBING ... that's like ... it's a hood, but it DOESN'T actually have a head? Ye gods ... and it has a VERY BIG HAMMER it's gragging behind it ... and there's LOTS of teeth in a maw in its belly ... well THAT noise was just unsettling, Matthew ...

Fuck ... a whole bunch of creepy translucent scorpion-like creatures seem to crawl OUT OF IT ... charming ... and they're searching the area ...

Laudna just gave herself away ... and they're all going RIGHT FOR HER now ... oh fuck ...

And THIS is where Matt chooses to end it ... but not before he gives us a look at the Battlemap for next session ... and it's MASSIVE ...

Oh, this is gonna be a SCARY encounter to start things off next time ... But it's the end of the month, so that's gonna be a FORTNIGHT'S wait ...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

[pocketgalaxies]

miss ma'am would you like to expand some thoughts on all of the imodna stuff from this past ep? i always love your takes on them :)

hello yes!!

ok starting with imogen. i can't believe it's basically canon that girl's been kinda in love with laudna for so long. like i knew it but i didn't Know it and now i Know it and don't know what to Do with it except be like oh babe. i'm so happy for you for making that move. and the speed at which imogen steered the conversation to that point as soon as they were alone is so endearing, the way she was about to overflow with the need to ask that question. also marisha being like "this wasn't supposed to happen to my dead girl" and laura going "i know :( i know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" bc sometimes the character wants what the character wants and this character wanted this so so so so so so so so bad

LAUDNA ON THE OTHER HAND.

i've seen a few other ppl say this and i certainly agree that laudna's reaction to being asked "can i kiss you" and what happened afterward is very ambiguous and i'm so curious what the Hell fuck is going on in her head now

what does it mean when someone asks if they can kiss you and you just say "ALRIGHT." like it's not an inconvenience and it wouldn't bother you so sure they can do what they want, you don't mind. it's not a "yes i want you to do that" it's a "yes i won't be upset if you do that" and those are different!! it could easily be either "i was not expecting this holy shit what do i do oh my god wait what okay wait just let her do it first and figure it out later" because laudna as we all know is romantically emotionally stunted. but also it could be "imogen wants this and what imogen wants i will give to her no matter what it is and this is an easy thing to give" which is,hmm,,,,unhealthy

and then immediately launching into like. i think i need you to be with me in order to be a good person. i think i can't separate from you without destroying myself or hating myself. and imogen going "you're not a bad person" and laudna kissing her again like she needs to Consume that in order to believe it

i'm kinda swinging between multiple interpretations of this, the first being like. laudna recognizing that imogen is showing interest and commitment to her but also coming from such a harrowing experience and needing to put that on the table first. "i don't think you realize that i'm unstable. i'm a bad person. i'm unlovable because you're the only thing keeping me from hurting everyone else." she doesn't explicitly say it but it'd be easy to see the implication of "are you sure you want this, want me?" and imogen saying with so much quiet conviction "you're not a bad person you're not a bad person" is why she kissed her again, because she needed to hear it and hearing that imogen still wants her despite her warnings makes her more confident to initiate a lil kiss or two by herself too

but there are so many other routes to take it. did she recognize that kissing is what imogen wants and therefore kissed her only as a way to say thank you for calling me a good person, almost like a reward, a purely transactional thing on laudna's part? did she not enjoy the first kiss but feel like she needed to try again to maybe convince herself to like it because imogen is so nice and wonderful and amazing that she should like it, what if not liking it makes her an even worse person? did she kiss her because she didn't know what to say in response because she didn't believe imogen's words at all and it was an easy distraction? did she just want to kiss her again so bad so she just did it?

idk maybe we're all reading way too much into this dkfjskdfjs but i think any option could be believable and i have things i like and dislike about each theory, and i love the fact that it wasn't a straightforward "omg yes please kiss me we're dating now!" bc it's so chewy and juicy and fun. if laura and marisha aren't on the next episode of 4-sided dive i MIGHT fly to LA and storm the set

anyway regardless of what's going on in laudna's head, i think it's safe to say that it's not a great sign of her general State Of Mental Health when she was kissed by her bestest bestie and STILL bor'dor and delilah were what she wanted to talk about. i think you'd have to be in a Very bad place for a reunion and a kiss with your fav person to not distract you, at least for a little bit, from talking about that stuff. how imodna's relationship changes moving forward (if at all) will be v interesting to see and i'm so so ssosososo os osos oso so os excited.

oh also before i end this post, just want to acknowledge that i'm assuming laura and marisha discussed it during the break and decided to keep it a secret from the rest of the party. i'm SURE we'll see some interesting discussions about that moving forward, both from laudna and imogen when they're alone + the rest of the party once they find out. i'm not thinking too hard about that decision, i think there are countless mundane and harmless reasons to keep it a secret for now, so i'm just gonna look forward to future eps!!

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e73

Day 1 of Travel

(a very important update: Marisha's preferred coffee is a flat white with vanilla.)

FCG and Fearne try to scry on Caleb and Beau, and both of them seem to have amulets of proof against detection and location attuned. This means that they are definitely alive, because their scry did not fizzle as it would have if they were dead but was started and then pushed away.

FCG scries on D instead. He's still on the Menagerie Coast, in a large city — presumably either Nicodranas, Port Damali, or Port Zoon.

Meanwhile, Ashton heads below deck to find the skeleton tattoo artist. They convince him to give them a full back piece over the course of the voyage; and Orym asks them all to get a group tattoo. "I mean, no one's said it out loud yet, but... but we're all family now, right?"

Laudna is finally talking about everything that's happened with the entire group! Especially with Delilah, but the gnarlrock, her and Imogen's fight, Bor'dor, and the hunger of the shadow ability, too. FCG suggests she embrace Delilah, continue using the ability, allowing her to grow stronger — but one of the skeletons comes up to her and compares Laudna's situation to an alcohol addiction (which doesn't have as much of an impact because Laudna didn't choose to have or keep Delilah in her head, but is still applicable in some ways).

They ask the skeleton about the captain's trustworthiness, but with a 32 insight check, Fearne determines that although he does mean it when he says the captain is trustworthy and has always followed through on his promises, this particular skeleton is lonely and a little afraid. Syrilia, the navigator, watches him like a hawk.

Laudna: "I don't know if I'm just collecting these souls, like a phylactery, or—" Travis, immediately: *looks up the stat block for a lich while staring daggers at Marisha and Matt because he fuckin knows*

Ashton knows that they're all fighting for each other, and that they won't ever leave anyone behind. They will all have to sacrifice so much, they already have — but sacrifices do not mean casualties.

They go below decks and get their tattoos! Ashton gets an upper back/shoulder, punkish, in-style pair of wings, embossed with a transcription in Primordial: "of the earth, by the earth, for the earth." Everyone else gets a bell with flames around it in varying places.

FCG attempts to scry on Delilah. The ritual fails because she's not on the same plane of existence as FCG. Instead, they try to find her in Laudna's dreams: as Laudna focuses, it's like she has a hard time remembering what Delilah looks like, she's just an outline, a shadow, perpetually back-lit. FCG, meanwhile, sees Laudna stepping through a field of purple orchids and funerary flowers. The distant shadow of Whitestone, unfocused. As Laudna walks, Delilah walks in front of her, as if leading.

Fearne's flirting with the captain!

The combination of her fey irreverence, complete nonchalance, abysmal sleight of hand, and incredible (+13) insight is so fucking good already, but then you add her damn good charisma bonuses on top of all that?

Syrilia goes up to Fearne. "Don't sleep with the captain." "Why, because it's not good?" FEARNE—

The captain's quarters are lit with blue-white fire lanterns, sparsely decorated, with a canopy bed and a fainting couch. She takes the bed, and converses. The captain made a deal with Bane (or a servant of it): he gets his life, his crew, and his ship, in exchange for getting vengeance and all of his belongings, and then the deal is complete and he's free.

She lies down. After a minute — "You're very warm." "You can lie next to me for warmth, if you want." "Are you offering your warmth?" "That sounds ominous." "I'm sorry, everything I say sounds ominous — it sort of comes with the territory." He sits. In that little moment, he doesn't seem scary — he seems sheepish, careful. She convinces him to let her say goodbye to the blade they traded away — "you! Lass of the fey realm! Together, we can do a great many things!" — and she asks the captain, "did it say something to you?" "No." "Fine. Get in the bed. Just — get. in the bed." He looks nervous for a skeleton — "it's been a long time since I, uh..." "SPOONED?"

She can almost see breath as he sighs, content, warm. She looks around the room. Notably, she sees a ring on a wood-carved hand; a porcelain statue of a baby elephant; a chest in the corner with a heavy lock and a mildewed blanket over it; an eclectic collection of things.

All the while, for an hour or two, Fearne grows cold. On a successful saving throw, she reduces the stakes from a certainty to a choice: "do you relinquish the promised warmth?" "Yes." She feels a sliver of warmth leave her, and for just a moment, the captain's bones aren't blanched gray — they glow as if hit by morning sunlight. Fearne's hit points are permanently reduced by 5, and she gains a secret thing (probably a benefit, based on track record) that Matt will tell her at the break.

We skip back to when Fearne entered the chamber. Orym notices Syrilia become frantic at the captain's absence; she clambers down the crow's nest and onto the side of the boat. Taking advantage of the absence, Orym climbs up there, finds her spyglass, takes it, and leaves.

As soon as Fearne exits the captain's chambers, Syrilia is right there, the heat from her smoldering bones almost burning away the hair on Fearne's face. "Don't. ever. touch. the captain... I. will. end. you. If you touch him again. I have to protect him." Oh, she's fucking pissed. Fearne tells them they cuddled, and her bones heat up even more — in an instant, the freezing cold of the lower decks becomes a sauna, steam rises from the upper deck.

Imogen casts calm emotions, it doesn't work, and Fearne convinces her that the captain only talked about her — "you just need to go knock on the door at night. You just need a bit more confidence." and it almost works, but she does step back with a glare and a knocked crossbow.

In the morning, on the last day, the captain asks for more of Fearne's warmth. "I don't feel like I'm getting anything out of this!" "Well, you were kind, to offer a bit of your warmth. Perhaps we could make another deal." "I don't know if I'm being kind anymore!" "I'm, uh... not used to this. I'll be in my quarters, if you decide."

Imogen speaks into Syrilia's head. "I mean... you are warm... offer him your warmth." She walks, confidently, down the hall, up to the door, and raps on the door — her hand goes to the front of the captain's coat, where flames erupt, and the captain goes, "oh." "Word is, you're looking for warmth?"

Laudna sends Pate to spy on them, and it's like a sauna. The room is full of steam. A skeletal hand scrapes across a window, Kate Winslet-style.

Every lantern light on the ship turns from an icy blue to a warm orange-red. "The captain's gettin' peg-legged right now." "Yo ho ho!"

They arrive at their destination. "It's been terrible having you on board! Glad to be rid of you!" The captain's flaming eye winks.

Oh, the Bells Hells are planning something -- "we have a surprise for you!" "I don't like surprises." "Well, put that blade away, 'cause I'm not gonna tell you what it is." "...everyone below decks!"

They decorate the top deck with banners and all manner of things to celebrate the pirate crew.

Orym sets up a limbo vine. Chetney has a caricature portrait station. Laudna does face-painting. Imogen does fortune telling. Fearne runs games for prizes. Fearne plays the pan-flute with FCG as her pedalboard. Ashton finds their most noxious, strong-smelling whiskey and sets it out so they can remember the good times.

The skeleton pirates dance, they limbo, they don't eat -- they make fun of Kyle, but the Hells make a gift for him: a nametag ("my name's Kyle, you fucks!"), a drawing, and a defense against his bullies.

FCG and Fearne both quietly, unacknowledged, remark that they truly made a difference because of this. (Quick, someone write an analysis about how the Bells Hells constantly treat any difference made to the minority as a victory for the majority, and about how their constant defense of the minority is Not A Good Thing Actually when the majority consists of the majority of the fucking planet--)

Imogen takes Laudna's hands and starts the dance. The skeletons start to dance, their bones make the percussion section, Sanjay plays his violin. (The only thing I can imagine here is the elecroswing remix of Spooky Scary Skeletons)

When the captain announces landfall, the music immediately stops, and the entire crew encircles the Bells Hells. "If any of you tells a single soul that you've danced with the crew of the Crimson Abyss, your bloodlines will be on my list, as well. There was no dancin', there was no laughter, there was no limbo."

The captain gives them a list of some of his belongings, just to keep an eye and ear out for on their travels. Then, the jump into the water and begin to swim to shore, without the inhabitants of the island ever having seen the skeleton crew.

Their first look at the island of Kalutha is of a lagoon leading into a steep basalt cliff-face. The entire thing seems to be composed of columnar basalt, which breaks naturally into hexagonal pillars. The bright teal ocean contrasts with yellow and greenish flora.

There are ruins, remnants of what might've been a campsite -- Orym identifies them as being a few years old, but not ancient. He also spots two caverns, one at beach level and another 40 feet up the cliff.

Ashton sits, digs their hand into the black pebble beach, and just breathes. They sense their essence -- "both of their essences, really, as they are a being of conflict at all times..." a buzzing in their head of the Luxon, the drumming in their chest of their elemental nature. This place is unfamiliar, they know they've never seen it, but they still feel familiarly compelled by it, and they don't know why. They know they're in the right place, but nothing more.

They walk unto the ground-level cave and puts their hand against the wall. In Primordial -- "I'm here. I'm looking for you." But it's just the end of a cave.

Eventually, everyone makes it to the spherical chamber where the upper cave forks. Chetney runs alone to the right, where Pate hasn't scouted, following this citrine putrescence -- and here, he hears the sound of a thousand scales sliding against rock. He goes invisible, but snakes sense by smell -- out of the corner of his eye, something slithers past him, five feet in diameter. At the front, it looks like a thick-hided worm, and it's encircling him, this two-headed creature that's trying to pinpoint Chet's location but is unsure -- he takes out the horn of silent alarm, targeting Imogen.

and we enter initiative!

They're talking about the creatonotos gangis moth! It's that weird moth with extrusions that look like an eldritch horror that was circulating on Tumblr for a while.

No new combat updates :(

Farther down the cave, Chetney finds a lightless, underground chasm where seawater rushes through beneath the island. (Hey. Hey, y'all remember how the land around Cathmoira was shattered when the titans were expelled from it?)

In the creature's nest, they find some sundered weapons and armor. With a history check, Orym has heard of the material these are made of: woe-steel, a material that can only be found within the Shattered Teeth and that was created when Asmodeus shattered Domunas. The steel is sacred to the Ostended Host, and though it is magical (a natural +1 to material made with it), it can be destroyed by thunder damage.

They also find a unique charm on a broken chain: a woe-steel cage, palm-sized, encasing a smooth reddish-brown stone that has an unfamiliar language carved across it. FCG identifies it and finds that it is a raito charm, and has a deep cultural importance to the Aishio people (who inhabit the island of Kolutha and are part of the Ostended Host). It radiates abjuration magic, but the spell doesn't give FCG exactly what it is, and it is attunable only by a specific person, implying that the information of its existence is not accessible to FCG in the same way that information about other magical items has been.

Chetney uses grim psychometry on it. In the red vision, he sees an older man in his 50s, long salt and pepper hair in a bun, trekking through the jungle, leading a hunting party; he wears the charm around his neck, and in seconds was taken by the creature they just killed. Chetney has no sense of how long ago this happened, but because it's a magical item, it wouldn't have aged.

Traversing the other cavern path, they emerge into the creeping, vine-filled jungle that takes this valley. It's almost autumnal in color, and these pieces of columnar basalt are scattered about, some arcing for hundreds of feet in what look almost like broken bridges. But they can see the shadow of three massive mountain peaks that mark the center of this island, and somewhere near the base of those mountains lies the Great Tree of Atrophy.

[nochi-quinn]

candela obscura chapter 3 episode 1: oh god everybody's fucked up

I'm here, I fell asleep and missed the start but I'm here

lmao the immediate note-taking

ur really committing to that voice huh liam

marisha made an older character and liam said hold my dentures

STEAMPUNK JAZZY

heyyyy someone else makes the joke I picked up from a stargate episode 20 years ago

liam what was that look

absolutely love ashly's wig

sam looking like he got hit with a cattle prod

what's a sam reigel

why are we getting oscar's CV

"are they hot"

listen I saw the trailer he 100% uses that chain to beat people with

"no one calls you carey, oscar"

oh no he's hot

oh he's kotallo, that's why

the flat cap does look good on sam, I can't lie

y'all that's gay

I like cordelia's little halo

eloise best character

(maybe that's the look liam was giving ashly, eloise vs elsie)

elsie's a werewolf calling it

yesss the old people guilt trip

liam

oscar: I'm gonna punch a ghost

"you're wearing a ball gown. it's the morning."

the maw??

haha it took me until literally this moment to remember ashly is aloy, my ship is reunited

"I'm using my bullshit detector" did you get that cleared with the gm

I like the term "blood and guts doctor"

I've been watching S1G play Slay the Princess and the more they describe her the more she sounds like a Princess variant

oh no lights

liam you did that on purpose

oh Aadtika (?) is a very pretty name

"lung, heart" liver, nerves

"you have an extra house?" "you don't?"

rajan

"you slick son of a bitch"

he IS a slick son of a bitch

oh sam's being THAT character

prepared to spend three episodes threatening to punch oscar in the head and throw him in the pool

("nochi nobody read your free! livetweets" well maybe they should have)

sam doesn't watch the product

liam always wants to roleplay fish and chips

[picks elsie and raj up and shakes them until backstory falls out]

"I'll be as subtle as I can be" smash cut to him beating someone to death with a chain

the docks seems like a terrible place to play baseball

sam

did they do a dndbeyond for candela?

they did!

sam forgot he was short

"high stakes not for harm" but bc it's funny

rajan: oh I am NOT involved, you made that VERY clear

"don't waste that on me" "I agree"

I'm being gaslit bc I've always pronounced "copse" like "cope" with an "s" in it

shades of the old man at my previous psych office yelling about obama's secret weather machine

"I help by SCREAMING"

grandpa's making a wheel for it

[mabel pines voice] grappling hook!

the way sam rolls dice STILL kills me

oh good, everyone else also thinks they should fuck

"why can't we just be friends? oh right, because I don't like you."

what the fuck's a flashlight

"yeah! temperature play! :D" aabria

"do you go down my little hole" "of course!" aren't y'all divorced

oh no an ot3

don't say degloved that means something else

oh I dig that

werewolf!

lights!

were….thing!

oh no aabria's doing the voice

everything goes black, and you die

l…lights?

breathing?

how could crcw not have prepared me for this

immortal asshole oscar grimm

EXCUSE

oh he's an asshole because he gave up the non-asshole bits to bargain with death

hey sam what the fuck

oh hey ashly. ow.

thump thumps? why?

loud??

imagine if oscar coming back just freaked elsie right back into beast mode

there's another hour left of this wtf happens

yessssss "I'd take a bullet for him but I wouldn't go drinking with him" my beloved

local woman realizing that everyone around her is an absolute freak

liam's startled old man noise

"ohhh I'm not good at that"

ACTION GLASSES

wait I don't understand what he just did

oh he did a drug

little bird ;-;

his WHAT

chairsword!

it glows blue when there are nuns nearby

where's that one digital devil saga monster

I desperately need an artist's rendition of this orca-mantis-thing

excuse me

I keep missing the spelling of his sister's name

"oh god everybody's fucked up"

A WHAT built in his WHAT

augh eye stuff no quiero

is noshir lefthanded?

I kind of half-called that

"that felt like twenty. that was a season."

BEEKEEPER

"do you know you're covered in bees?"

I like my women like I like my coffee

"because yours is super chill"

liam you can uncommit to the voice

(he will not)

"drop the skincare routine"

[pstelwitchcraft]

Critical Role - C3EP52 (After the break)

We're back with more Sending fails!

F.r.i.d.a looks so cool i love themmm

Also the kids are starting to get strong i love it

Feels like yesterday when imogen had like, 10 hit points

Also this is absolutely the leylines being fucked

Something happened and magic everywhere is going heywire

I'm now convinced the exaltants are being "awakened" to be Predathos' army and it's all gonna go balls to the wall

Imogen has to be this campaign's double agent right? They're absolutely gonna have to fight her at some point and it's gonna wreck me

Now that I think about it does it mean they'll have to fight fearne too??? 😳

i'm getting vibes from imogen and f.r.i.d.a and i don't hate it? 👀

Exandria's Greatest Bake-Off: Pike Trickfoot vs. FCG and their easy-bake oven

Ooooo fearne has pass without a trace now? Thank God

Once again i got sad we won't see marisha, liam and tal tonight 😔 hope we have robbie with them tho, maybe even more people from EXU?? I hope we get to see Opal!

Chetney still struggling 😅

I don't know Dustel but I f*cking hate him 🤬

Chetney backstory finally!

Don't get me wrong I'm very excited but I knew it was gonna be some bullshit 🤣

Travis is NOT here for anything serious this campaign AT ALL

He "kneecaped" someone?????

Aabria somehow has great chemistry with everybody she ever roleplays with it's the Iyengar effect istg

That little talk with chet was so cute

And then... fearne tells deanna he has horrible diarrhea

They keep making it worse 😅

This IS indeed a wild group to meet out of nowhere

"Be nice to us, we're trying our best" 🤣 they're so stupid but I love them sm 💖

This is probably the most vulnerable and reasonable FCG has been all campaign for real

I don't think the real problem here is whether or not the gods are good, it's whether or not the Godeater is good, and even before we worry about that, it's about whether or not its gonna wreck everything and everyone in it's path to the Gods

Imogen herself is most likely gonna die for whatever this whole thing is if they let it happen

Like are we really willing to do all this shit and possibly extinguish all life on Exandria when you could like... not worship the Gods? It's not like they're forced to or smtg

Wait. WAIT. So if Ruidus is wherever (whenever?) the other half of the group is and it's NOT in Exandria anymore there are really only two possibilities for where the others are: back in time or in another realm and both are big problems for us

Matt please let my babies see each other I'm getting sad rn

Oh shiiiiiit this is a big big mess yall 😳

So ruidus is in exandria it just doesn't move?? So the others are actually still in Marquet then

It's the Reilora 😱 this is baaad

Yup, they're already trying to pull her to the dark side. This is gonna be a mess. I'm preemptively so upset for how much this is going to hurt.

I have a feeling this is how they really got to Liliana and all those people. Whatever Predathos is, it has some sort of pull on people that makes them want to give into it, specially the ruidusborn and even more specially the exaltants.

Do not listen to the robot right now

Laudna would be slapping yall in the face for even SUGGESTING IT

Do NOT let Imogen go into the freaking alien godeater hivemind or so help me GOD

See? This is why I get worried when they're separated they're like each other's emotional support pet, two days and Imogen is already considering going into the damn light

This scene with f.r.i.d.a is giving that scene from twilight without the homoerotic undressing

Why, why would he go to chetney alone like that?? He has almost taken half the party once this is BAD!

Tho we know robot boy is a heavy hitter so I guess it could go either way🤷

This is the only place where we can get heartfelt, beautiful monologues about the meaning of death and life and morning toot in the same episode and that's why I love this show

This fight is giving one of those old chihuahuas that keep snapping at your ankles but that has for some reason taken a burning passion rage against your robot vacuum

Also you can't convince me a dog wouldn't absolutely hate this thing

It would just feel like a threat, this weird human that isn't human and it can mimick stuff but also it sounds weird? My dogs would go NUTS

Listen. I'll be a chetney apologist for this one. I'm a wildlife veterinarian and animal behaviorist and idk where dude thought he was gonna get off approaching a wolf like that, or honestly approaching him alone at all

Surprising he survived all this time in wildemont tbh but I'll give him a pass bc it's is D&D

Love that Deanna is so horrified by them when this is not even the full party 😅 like, ma'am we're missing- *checks notes* one tree/cadaver/goo person, a magic rock rainbow sparkle barbarian and a 4ft tall widowed ballerina that is prob covered in monster blood as we speak 😀

Final thoughts:

Overall I loved this one, it was light and fun and everything I needed after all the stress from the last few weeks

I also enjoyed the split party dynamic more than I thought it would and I am hopeful it's gonna lead to some good things in the long run

It's a bold move ngl. One of the quintessential, funnest things about D&D parties is the found family, the unity of it all, it's seeing them spend time with each other and develop different dynamics, games, inside jokes

In any other situation it might alienate party members from each other and make it not feel as cohesive, maybe even jeopardize the forming of a tight bond.

But with Bell's Hells we have such close pairings that this almost feels like it has to be done

Fearne and Orym, FCG and Ashton, Laudna and Imogen are all pairings that came together and rely deeply on each other, to the point where it felt a little stiffening to the other members of the group bc these people very rarely sought deeper companionship and support from anyone other than their initial pairing

Also we can get a closer look at Chetney's backstory and hopefully Ashton's next episode when I'm hoping we'll see how the others are doing

I also was hoping there would be some time fuckery or realm travel and still kind of am, but it's sounding like the other half of the Hells were still in Marquet by the end of 52

If they are still in close proximity to the beam it's going to be a mess and I have no idea what to expect but chaos, specially since they can't call the others and I'm guessing shit is going DOWN over there

If they are indeed in the shadowfell, close to the key that Beau and Caleb tried to take down, I wonder if they could go after that connection and weaken whatever they are doing to Ruidus, hopefully even sever that connection completely.

[mell0bee]

3, 4, 18, or 27 for the ask meme?

too bad val i am answering all of them (also spicier ones are under the cut) (also ty for the ask!)

4. Minor character you are (correctly) obsessed with.

i am picking one for each campaign bc. hehehe (do i have a thing for unhinged women. yes)

c1: ok i know she is not so minor but ridley. i think she is my fav c1 villain. i love how she interacts with the party, she is literally the perfect foil to percy (like oh my god, you wanna talk about narrative foils, who is doing it like percy and ridley???), and she gets by far the most iconic and memorable death of any c1 villain imo. "percy's killing you, not us" has been burned into my brain since i heard it. i also think it is partially the tlovm effect, but she is highly underrated compared to the briarwoods like idk man i feel like nobody talks about her nowadays even though she was in tlovm!!! plus every single fanart of her SLAPS and so does marisha's halloween costume. in conclusion: i love her

c2: i would say astrid but she is too major imo so VESS DEROGNA. im literally obsessed with her what was UP with her connection to the nine eyes like what was her relationship with the tomb takers and WHAT was she even trying to ACCOMPLISH like GIRL and also the beacons and yeza like what was she trying to have him do??? was it just her or was the whole assembly in on it?? and then she just turns into a STORY HOOK and DIES and granted that is also a certified iconic cr moment but like girl!!! girl what!!!! NOT TO MENTION she holds the EXACT SAME POSITION delilah briarwood HERSELF held and we know NOTHING ABOUT THAT. i think she is for sure far more connected than people give her credit for and is perhaps behind some of the c3 happenings. she is the literal definition of haunting the narrative like bestie she caused the entire aeor arc and Nobody talks about her!!! girl what!!! anyways as u can see i think about her on a very regular basis tbh. im obsessed.

c3: marwa. i dont have a lot to say about her other than shes just like me fr and i hope that she is the shopkeeper they decide to befriend this campaign bc i love her

18. Share one unpopular opinion but it must specifically only pertain to Sam's ads.

I Did Not Like The D&D Beyond Presidential Race Bits (besides the one where ashley roasts sam). im sorry sam and liam.

27. Pick one character, ship, or party; and one song you associate most with them, and explain why. This song cannot be on an existing playlist from the main cast. It also cannot be We Have it All by the Pim Stones nor Dust Bowl Dance by Mumford & Sons; I love those AMVs but please think for yourself.

i mean like i have a whole post about bells hells as the oh hellos songs. i also do in fact have several working dedicated character playlists bc im Like That (including a laerynn playlist that is only mitski songs, aabria i hope you are proud of me). HOWEVER chasing twisters by delta rae is an imodna song bc 1) i saw an animatic of it (i am in fact not a free thinker) 2) yeehaw, storm, and undead vibes and 3) there are literally 2 female singers and the first verse is imogen (born with lightning in her heels, lost hope when she was still young, breakin' horses in the sky, chasing twisters in the canyon) and the second verse is laudna (notably has little soul left, idk if imogen is the only soul laudna has saved but she has in fact saved her) and 4) kiki hasnt watched c3 in like a year but she said this song reminds her of imodna when i sent it to her and kiki is always right. its so perfect sue me (also this is one of like maybe 3 ship songs i can think of lmao)

not nearly as spicy as the other one but this is gonna go under the cut anyway

3. Minor character people in the fandom are obsessed with that makes you go "them? why?

oh my god ngl i had to go on the wiki for this one. couldnt think of anyone off the top of my head. i dont think he counts as a minor character but yussa. hes just like. some guy to me. who keeps doing Wizard Stuff when he really shouldn't. and hes also a trans king ofc. like idk i like him, but idk why some ppl are obsessed with him.

[utilitycaster]

You obviously care about my opinion enough to keep making burner blogs. You care deeply about what I think. In fact, I'd go so far to say as a pretty large number of the shippers care deeply about what I and the other people in the fandom who are not into the ship think, given that there's virtually no meta to be had that isn't in direct response to it.

If you are so starved of F/F content that the dry toast of this relationship is a meal then I pity you but no one is stopping you from eating. But the response within the fandom is honestly reminding me me most of how people usually act when their ship doesn't go canon. Somehow, the vibe feels much more unhappy and dissatisfied than it did prior.

It's nearly impossible to find meta for the ship that isn't either meaningless lists of Laura and Marisha's microexpressions and out-of-game statements (which has always been one of the greatest weaknesses of the ship for me- so much of it is based on 4-sided dive or interviews and very little on actual content) or borderline incoherent counterpoints to weeks or months-old meta by those who can actually write meta. I often only know it's addressing this meta because of the quotation marks around the word "stagnant" or "selfish." There's a pattern too - you'll get a wave of these arguments, with two or three people making essentially the same post with minimal variation, all at once (oh to be a fly on the wall in the server that brought us like five people in one day posting the uh, unique phrase "bone dry takes".)

Other meta is scarce, often contradicts itself, and lacks any cohesive vision of the ship (which again has been a problem from very early on). If Imogen's ability to read Laudna's mind and therefore trust her is the heart of the relationship, why is the fic everyone gushes about mostly AUs without any magic powers whatsoever? Are they each other's fluffy solace against a world where no one else understands them? Or are they well-integrated into the group? Or are they going to become monsterwives (and if so, against whom? How does this fit into a D&D narrative)? What does their future look like when it's not just the word "capable" and some grocery shopping for Zhudanna on loop? How do we address the utter lack of stakes and the fact that Imogen apparently thinks thoughtcrime is real and Laudna one of the few innocent of it?

I'm interested to see how the show answers, but it's odd that the fanon is almost exclusively focused on the past and so lacking in a vision for even the near future. And to be clear it's totally fine to like a ship and wish to explore the fanon rather than the canon...but the mythology of Im*dna was always primarily fanon and AUs and now there's actual canon to contend with and I think people are feeling a little bit like they opened the box and found that Schroedinger's cat was dead. I think they preferred their own imaginations and the potential to the concreteness of canon. Which only amplifies the emptiness that I feel from the actual canon.

It's not just the lack of meta, though. It's the (small) wave of harassment that you, warrior, seem to be spearheading. Trolls are an unfortunate fact of internet life, but particularly when it's for a ship that's canon? It seems like a really bad sign. I'm getting a sense that you aren't actually feeling that great from your ship "winning"; you seem more invested in watching other people lose, and the fact that the response from said 'losers' has been an overwhelming "yeah, it's not doing for me...so about Fearne and Teven" seems to be infuriating you. Which again is maybe the greatest indictment of the ship. Trolls are usually attacking because they're unhappy and see other people who seem happy; it feels like you're bitter because you were hoping for people to either sob "I was wrong, this is the greatest ship of all time" or leave in a huff (the way people left over the mere implication that the canon C2 ships were likely to happen), and neither of those things are happening.

Which has, again, always been a weakness of the fanon of the ship: fans positioned it as the heart of the campaign, but of the three scenes during that Jrusar party split? Ashton and FCG's conversation was a standout performance, and Orym, Chetney, and Fearne spoke with Ajit, had a fun and hilarious combat with Tuyen's bounty hunter, and had a vision of Vax courtesy of the Raven Queen. Unless you were already enamored with the mere concept of Imogen and Laudna getting together because you started shipping it the minute Matt asked everyone else to leave the table in episode 1, based on nothing more than "Laura and Marisha are playing women who know each other", the kiss isn't even the highlight of the episode in which it happened. I think deep down you and a lot of other people know that, and I think the dread is setting in.

The post above lays out one potential avenue for me to like the ship, but there are many ways it could become interesting - they just haven't happened in the past 67 episodes. But also, that's besides the point. I guess the point is: are you guys okay? I mean the people who are just like "yeah this ship cute and fun!" and getting on with their day appear to be having a good time (though even they're getting harassed for such controversial takes as "hey maybe do not send anon hate"...you might want to stop that btw) but I'm getting a profound sense of malaise for a canon ship and that sounds miserable. Anyway. I think this really is the last time I engage instead of a simple block because I should practice what I preach and not give you the time and space but so long as I keep getting harassment? I will know for certain this ship ain't shit. In fact here's a deal: if I don't see a single scrap of harassment whining about how we don't ship Im*dna directed at me or anyone else for a full week, starting right now - and that means everything: anon asks, replies, tags of posts - I'll say nothing about the ship whatsoever for a week. If you can keep it up for a month? I'll do the same for a month.

My controversial Critical Role opinion is that one of the most interesting things that Laura and Marisha could do with Laudna and Imogen's relationship is to have them break up. It doesn't have to be permanent, but having them realize that as much as they love each other, they don't really communicate or confront the issues they have with each other, and how this isn't conducive to a long-lasting romantic relationship (or having these things undermine the relationship without the characters realizing this) would be absolutely fascinating to me. It would also be a great avenue towards the characters building up a relationship with each other where they are more open to confrontation and conflict, be that relationship romantic or otherwise

[disasterjones]

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TOUCH THINGS TRAVIS

[divinesouldariax]

Ashton Greymoore: Chronic Pain, Physical Touch, and the Juxtaposition of Toughness and Vulnerability

(Spoilers up to episode 38 of campaign 3 of Critical Role)

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about Ashton in the context of the recent confirmation in canon that they experience chronic pain, and I’ve just finally managed to put all (or at least, most) of my thoughts about it in the same place.

We got this exchange in the most recent episode of 4-Sided Dive, during a segment where Taliesin was talking about how Ashton is changing the way they think about his past and what it might mean, after saying that he’s starting to trust the group more:

(Four-Sided Dive episode 8: Why are you like this?!):

Tal: Just…like, to throw out–Ashton only, like, really touched another member of the group very recently. There hadn’t been a lot of close physical contact until like, the last game (Sam: Whoa). That was the first, like…yeah.

Sam: Is that a thing?

Tal (matter-of-factly): Uh, yeah!

Sam: Not a toucher?

Tal: Everything hurts.

Sam (incredulously, still trying to wrap his mind around it): Everything hurts?

Tal: Everything hurts.

Matt: Yeah.

Sam: Always?

Tal: Yeah. Uhh–

Matt: Chronic pain, man.

Tal: Beating the living fuck out of things helps you ignore it, and yeah, once this (gestures at head, indicates Ashton’s rage) starts going, it kind of lessens, but yeah. It’s just, everything’s always low-key bad. Not even that low-key. (Sam: Wow.) Yeah. It’s why they’re a dick. (laughs)…But yeah, there was an actual like, “oh god, okay, physical contact, this is happening. Alright. Okay.

The moment it seems like Taliesin is referring to where Ashton allowed physical contact was this sequence with Orym:

(Campaign 3 episode 38: A Dark Balance)

Marisha (as Laudna): We’re like a…a real family.

Liam (as Orym): Yeah. Yeah, I think so.

Tal (as Ashton): Could be.

Liam (as Orym): Get down here. (puts arm around Ashton’s shoulders and tugs them down towards the tree)

Tal (as Ashton): No, I–careful, I–yep, yep, okay, this is weird.

Liam: I start to give him a noogie, but it hurts.

Everyone else: (laughing and agreeing)

Tal (as Ashton): Yeah, this is weird. Ah, this is weird…okay. No, I’m okay. I’m okay. (continues mumbling in what seems like a forced-calm voice and looking unsure)

Ashton’s obvious uncertainty about this contact (especially when he said “careful”, which I missed on my first watch because there was cross-talk happening) rang so, so true as a “I don’t actually mind you touching me, but I am very nervous that you’re accidentally going to hurt me” thought process. This is a process I’m personally very familiar with as someone who experiences chronic pain (I had to tell a preschooler multiple times today that she needed to hold onto more of my hand than just my pinky while she was balancing on the bench or she might hurt me because I was genuinely quite worried that she was going to dislocate my finger if she fell, lmao). 

Like a lot of things that Ashton does, it seemed to have registered with the other players and with the audience as an “I’m edgy, I don’t have friends, and I certainly don’t let people hug me” schtick. Which is, of course, the point.

Ashton swears and presents punk and pushes people away and is (as Tal said) just generally a dick to distract people from their chronic pain and his loneliness. 

And it works! It’s extremely effective! Absolutely none of what I’m saying is intended as negative criticism of any of the people involved (because I think this is going to be resolved in-game, and I also wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a conversation happening behind the scenes as well, even though Sam still seems completely bewildered by the concept of chronic pain lmao), but the edgy charade works so well that even characters who are usually thoughtful and careful tend to overstep boundaries and assume that Ashton is always fine with their body being used as a resource and can take extra pain. And Ashton doesn’t give them any obvious reason not to keep doing so! 

Some examples:

(Campaign 3 episode 24: The Hellcatch Valley)

Tal (rolls a nat 1 dex save, Ashton ends up with a harpoon bolt through his side and 24 points of piercing damage. As Ashton, sarcastically, after it takes everyone a minute to notice): I'm sorry. You were all busy. I didn't want to interrupt anything!

(Some scrambling to help, they end up pulling the harpoon out)

Sam: I’ll cast Cure Wounds…just a level one. You heal 10 points.

Tal (as Ashton): That is good. Ow! Ow. Well, it's been a great day. I'm going back to sleep. Goodbye. (laughter from the group, continues OOC and quietly, unacknowledged by the rest of the players) I don't make it to the bed. I just fall over.

(The party returns to their previous conversation)

And:

(Campaign 3 episode 28: The Deathwish Run)

Liam: Orym springs up and lands and sits on Ash's shoulder– (needing a higher vantage to keep an eye out over a crowd)

Tal (as Ashton): “Ah–” (startled, possible pain, but accepts it and helps steady Orym)

Liam: –but I want to look for anyone that we recognize.

This one in particular stands out to me because Orym very clearly does not ask if it’s okay to use them as a perch, or give Ashton much of a chance to respond. There’s too much going on at the time to Taliesin to respond, either, since Otohon Thull and Ratanish walk over to them immediately, but based on what Tal said in the most recent 4-Sided Dive, it’s very possible that Ashton would have rejected that contact given the moment to do so. Tal may have even dismissed it as something Ashton wouldn’t have let happen but there wasn’t a good time to retcon it, which is why he phrased the statement about the contact in episode 38 being the first time he’s allowed it.

Other examples that I didn’t want to search through transcripts for, in the category of “Ashton does a Thing even though he knows it will Hurt without telling anybody that it hurts, whether that’s because somebody asks/demands it of them or of their own volition”:

Ashton carrying the statue out of Jiana Hexum’s house for Fearne

Carrying Orym inside after he fell off the skyship

Carrying FCG up and down ladders in the Fownsee Hollow

Carrying Laudna’s body for miles

And then there’s every time Ashton is very vocally expressing that he’s in pain (they’re not subtle about it lmao) and doesn’t get checked in with afterwards. Some examples of this are:

During the carnivorous plant fight in the jungle

The aforementioned harpoon incident

Later that day when he rolls a nat 1 to swing the hammer and ends up dropping it in obvious pain (“Ow! OW. Ohh, yep, can’t do that. I–ahh, yep, gonna go pick that up.” in exactly the same tone and cadence that I hear from myself when I’ve just done something that I should have known was going to fuck up a joint, especially when I’ve got another injury compounding the baseline pain)

Sometimes they do get checked in with, at least briefly, but usually not past the initial “cast a healing spell and move on because there’s too much happening to really take the time to make sure they’re okay” stage:

The Ratanish fight at the ball when Dorian secretly casts Cure Wounds

The time Ashton gets Phantasmal Killer cast on them during the fight where they meet Dusk/Yu and Orym takes his hand to lead them back over to the group, and Fearne casts a Cure Wounds afterwards

Still, as Taliesin said, Ashton only very recently started feeling more comfortable being vulnerable with the party. It’s why they asked Imogen and FCG to check their memories, why he allowed himself the “Ashton, are you going soft on us?” “No! Yes. Fuck. I need a drink.” confession after the “You make me happy” speech, why they didn’t pull away when Orym put an arm around him. Previous attempts to ask them about their pain probably wouldn’t have resulted in them opening up. But now? They’re changing.

We really are seeing an Ashton who’s going soft. Again. “I was soft, once”, and he’s returning to that state: not physically reverting back to a non-genasi body, of course, but just letting down the emotional rock walls that have been protecting an affectionate, caring, genuine interior, of a person who desperately wants to be vulnerable, and just needs a little convincing (as he admits to Fearne, “I'm having this moment where I'm realizing that perhaps one of the reasons why I allow myself to get the shit kicked out of me is in the hope that people are actually fucking watching.”). He needs these people to prove that they’re not about to leave him, not about to realize his weaknesses (even though he wears most of them on their skin like a signpost–if they just keep acting tough, if there’s no cracks in his facade like there are in his body, then nobody will notice) and abandon him like their last family did, before they’ll let themself be truly vulnerable.

And it’s why, I hope, something will shift in the way that Ashton and the party respond to his pain. I would love an acknowledgement that chronic pain brings limitations, that they let the disabled character be disabled (preferably mechanically, because I know they can incorporate that kind of mechanic–they’ve done it before with mental illness, with Caleb, with Imogen, with FCG, and it would mean so much to me if the same sort of consideration could go into a physically disabled character’s mechanics. But I would accept pure story/flavor acknowledgement as well). 

I also hope there’s going to be an in-game conversation about how Ashton feels about being touched, letting him set boundaries and tell the party specifically what hurts too much, when to ask permission, when not to touch at all, and when and where it would be welcome.

It’s obviously something Taliesin is thinking about, and I think it deserves to be discussed in-character. This period of time where they’re stuck on a skyship with nothing plot-urgent happening seems like a perfect time to have those conversations…(holding out hope for that next episode lol). 

This all ties in with my last post about the topic (it doesn’t have to hurt more to be love!), and it’s something I obviously feel very passionately about lmao. I want to see a disabled person with chronic pain that does limit them, that inconveniences their friends sometimes, and I want to see them get loved and cared for and accommodated because their pain is a part of them, and it’s not something that can or should be ignored.

In other words, as Matt said, “To clarify, there is strength, and there is pain. There is pain, and there is strength.” Pain and strength, strength and pain, equally present, equally important to his life and to their character. We’ve seen so much of Ashton’s strength. It’s time to let them show their pain.

[utilitycaster]

Whoaaaa holy shit something just snapped into place reading you mention the concept of creating a shape of negative space bc i've been thinking so long abt the "unspoken things/quiet part" of characters. I've often had this feeling that fandom will go a million and nine yards to red string board an ocean of depth for their favorite blorbo over.... what comes down to what's technically extrapolating based off of xyz canon, but said canon will be like "this character fidgets once, half his dialogue is quoting an in-universe play he tries to recreate (by ruining ppl's lives), and he doesn't understand why someone wouldn't want to be called a monster, therefore he is AUTISTIC and that drives his logic," or "this character has xyz vague background and is TRAUMATIZED because of WAR" inventing an entire character and it's like. Oh boy. This might be a matter of not being invested enough in these characters to TRY and delve so "deep" but I keep thinking that none of this is actually. written or feels purposeful in the context of How Storytelling Works/the Narrative to MAKE me invest or think that it's worth doing so. I always wonder how many people are trying so hard to project a better story onto something without understanding that the story actually needs to BE THERE and ADDRESSED, even subtly, and token moments aren't enough. But then that gets me thinking about how Thereness needs to exist for something to be subtle but written as opposed to Conspiracy off loose projection.

I was kinda thinking abt Laudna and how to use her as an example, because she's one of those characters for whom like, yeah I as a person totally understand the cycle of being upbeat and normal and everything and then having a random spiral of Bad Upstairs before being normal again, but narratively how do you portray that and why does everyone do it so much better than her. With equal screentime, everyone feels like they have so much more meat to their motivations and psychology despite some being significantly less fraught backstory wise. What's happening here because things just feel like they come out of nowhere with her with "oh so that matters all of a sudden?"

Hi anon,

Yes to all of this! With regards to your first paragraph - I feel that a lot too. It's a tricky situation because I think it's completely valid to project things onto characters and imagine them to have specific qualities that either you have or simply that you wish to see in fiction. It only becomes difficult in a fandom sphere when people insist that this is a fully evidence-based endeavor and not a personal interpretation (especially because a lot of that evidence is, as you say, either very much open to interpretation, or else totally spurious. The number of times I've had to shoo people off my posts for talking extensively about how an immensely self-absorbed character who never thinks about others unless forced to clearly has ADHD...but I digress). And as for the conspiracy element, especially when works aren't as good - absolutely. If you haven't read this, which I reblogged a few weeks ago (has Good Omens 2 spoilers) I highly recommend you do because what you're saying resonates a lot with OP's post, both in terms of our need as fans to project or find similarities with characters, and the fact that when people are disappointed by a work sometimes they try to create a better one, but instead of just writing fanfiction and calling it fanfiction they go full conspiracy theorist and assume there's some secret twist, and fall so hard into that all-crumbs-no-schnitzel (to borrow a metaphor from that post) fanon echo chamber they forget it is, in fact, only fanon.

Which brings us to Laudna. Before I go deeper I want to cover three things. First: for me at least, this criticism comes because I know Marisha is capable of doing this negative space work. It didn't come up much with Keyleth since we kind of knew her whole deal very early (which, to be clear, is valid; not every character needs this), but it's present with both Beau (her relationship to her father is masterfully done; the hallmark of good negative space work is that when the reveal comes you say oh of course) and to a lesser extent Patia, who, like all the Calamity characters, conveys a story much greater than the one that unfolds over a single night. Second: I think part of why a number of us in the fandom are so frustrated is that we have been doing that work of generously interpreting Laudna since the beginning, but nothing ever sticks, so it's becoming less and less worth the effort.

I'd have to go back through my archives pretty extensively, but early on, the going expectation for Laudna was that she would explore the idea of being one of the bystanders in a larger story as someone killed simply because of a passing resemblance to someone the Briarwoods wished to send a message to; that we'd get insight into Whitestone during the occupation from someone who wasn't freed by Vox Machina but rather killed, indirectly, because of them. However, not only have we not gotten that, but she also was chosen for being special: Delilah chose her as a vessel because of her inherent sorcery. So then it was perhaps about that tension between finding power in her sorcery vs. warlock levels - Pâté seemed like a clear setup for Pact of the Chain, after all - but then Marisha admitted she had no intention of taking that third warlock level, and always just planned to play Laudna as exclusively leveling in sorcerer, until FCG attacked. And meanwhile, there's no exploration of those sorcery powers, either.

Speaking only for myself, I've been interrogating "hey, why is her backstory that she was chased out of everywhere but for the most part everyone is mostly fine with her?" and "in 30 years she did nothing about Delilah? Really?" for quite some time. There's a number of questions that are not just unanswered, but lack the hints that this negative space work would provide. And to be clear there are ways to explain those things! This meta does a good job of talking through why she may have been chased out, and I've floated, in the past, that even Delilah's unwelcome presence was better than the absolute silence of being truly alone. But the work to support these fandom theories, again, is not really being done at the table, and moreover, even if it starts being done...it's episode 70. It should have come up in some capacity.

Marisha said (to be clear, somewhat jokingly) in the 2022 ComicCon panel that "Yeah. I don't want to think anymore. I'm tired," re: Laudna but the thing is...honestly, in my opinion? A character with Laudna's premise requires far more work than Beau or Keyleth to do well. Not only is she tied into one of the most famous events and entwined with one of the most famous villains of Campaign 1, but she's got 50 years of backstory! Beau and Keyleth are in their early 20s! (I could make a whole other post about this but character intelligence does not equal how hard they are to play; Imogen is an immensely tough concept that Laura's doing a good job with and she's lower INT than Laudna. I'd rather play a wizard than a character like Grog any day of the week because I genuinely believe that the acting burden for making a character like Grog sympathetic and believable without going into cheap mockery and parody is immense).

Going back to that statement, it really does feel as though every 4-Sided Dive episode or panel, when Marisha talks about Laudna, it's always just that she was envisioned as being over her trauma, and the premise was always just "make that creepy girl from her nightmare". And even then: it's fine if she'd done that - simply made a creepy character who was here to be creepy and cheerfully macabre - but through gameplay it's become clear that Laudna is not over that trauma (her arrested development being one of many options), and has acquired new traumas to boot, and for that matter never was really over it given that she displays intensely but they come up so inconsistently that there's never any follow-through. I agree with you completely that the idea of her often seeming fine and happy and then having spirals is believable and true to life, but one does need to actually follow through on the spirals - I think a lot of us finally threw up our hands when Laudna's believable, well-played, and justifiable anger and resentment after being thrown across the world away from half the party, essentially pushed into a fight that isn't her own, being betrayed by Bor'Dor, and feeling Delilah's return melted away without resolution. If you want to make a character who's over their trauma and go-with-the-flow, I feel as though step 1 is to not have an eternal reminder of one's trauma permanently stuck in one's head. "Warlock who dislikes their patron" is actually a premise that requires quite a lot of thinking and effort, and we are consistently not seeing it.

I think what's most telling is that the defense of Laudna for the weird freakout this past episode is both vehement, and in conflict with itself. Is Marisha just making a joke (that didn't really land with anyone at the table nor much of the fandom, and was taken at least semi-seriously by both)? Or is it actually great and good that Laudna is incredibly traumatized and clingy and we should all hope she becomes even more clingy and codependent? When even the people who are shielding Laudna from even a whisper of criticism can't agree what Marisha's doing, it's pretty dire, especially when that criticism is "this character feels directionless and incoherent."

So getting back to negative space: It's my hunch that there just...wasn't a lot of clarity to Laudna's motivations, and the questions in her backstory weren't answered. She's creepy and she's kooky, Sun Tree corpse, Delilah in her head, met Imogen two years ago, was friends with a little girl at some point (which we only know from 4-Sided Dive, which is, to be clear, bad that it's never come up in-game). We don't know how she feels about her sorcery powers other than a vague enjoyment of their creepiness...but she also sees them as a way out from Delilah...but she also barely engages with Delilah and hasn't done anything to get rid of her. We have no sense of how she got to "the worst thing that's happened to me already happened" because while it's completely fair to play her as feeling that way 30 years later, I highly doubt she felt that way as she cut herself down from the Sun Tree. So as a result, it's hard to pick a direction because that foundation is lacking.

The thing about that negative space is that to do it well, you really need to know what you're trying to convey. Which is also why, as you say, characters with much simpler backstories are fine; Fearne was basically hanging out at her grandmother's place until EXU and her parents left when she was very young; she is curious about her parents and loves her grandmother and is a chaotic fey entity who was sent into the Material Plane with the Weave Lens, and mostly she just wants to explore and have fun and hang out with her friends. Ashley just needs to...play Fearne like that, which she does with aplomb. The complex setup for Laudna demands a huge number of answers in the backstory, and my guess is that Marisha does not have them. I think the problem isn't with the acting (in fact, I'm fairly confident it isn't, because, again, I know from past characters Marisha can do this); it's that Laudna's concept prioritized the aesthetic, mechanics, and facts of the backstory, and didn't adequately fill in her beliefs and motivations, so she's just flailing. I also suspect from the most recent 4-Sided Dive and the most recent SDCC panel that Marisha is specifically looking for interparty conflict, and to be clear that's valid...but again, to do that believably and well, Laudna's philosophy and motivations and characterization need to be much more clearly established than they are.

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 95

Ia must admit, I am enjoying Marisha taking up the slack from Sam for the plugs. Oh, a perfume ad spood? Coool ... and it's ASHLEY?!!! Sweet. I mean she does have the SEXY VOICE in the bunch, so ... wow ... really going all out there, ain'tcha Ash? XD

Why is Matt turning into the announcer from The Running Man? That's ... something ...

Saucy? Yes indeed ... LOL

Laura: "Speaking of Bells Hells ... we weren't ..." XD

Yeah ... Aeor ... this is gonna be ... INTERESTING ...

I know! Fucking ASTRID!!! Total shocker! And also we got our boy, too ...

Why is Astrid suddenly FRENCH, Matthew?

A FUGITIVE? How so? I thought Essek was doing alright these days ... Occultus Thalamus? Huh?

"Beautiful purple man"? Dorian knows what's up, definitely ...

His "PARTNER"? Oh Essek ... O.O I mean that's ADORABLE ...way to go, Caleb ... :3

Oh, so there was like a proper OFFICIAL Armistice? That's pretty cool ... I mean I'm not THAT good at keeping track, but still ...

Upgrade? Hmmm ... ah, now then, Astrid, careful there ... you don't wanna mess with THIS piece of business right now ...

Group Persuasion check? Interesting ... Taliesin rolls a 2, but Ashton's "tempted to just threaten physically" ... XD

Good point ... what DID happen in Zadash?

Awww ... KITTY!!! :3

A terrible flaming bird? You mean like a phoenix?

The Genesis Ward?

"Farts are funny" ... okay ... Astrid: "I will treasure it always." Yeah ...

Prudence? Awwwwwww ...

The Gale & the Raven is a bit trite? Hmmm ...

Oh here we go ... yeah, Tusk Love, no surprise there ...

Dorian: "Oh, there's a book that's called Just the Tip right here!" XD

A "picture porn"? FEARNE CALLOWAY!!! O.O

An Exandrian Kama Sutra? Fascinating ... yeah, OF COURSE she takes it ... LOL A Nat20? Yeah, no surprise there ...

So ... she thinks they're like ... A POLYCULE? Intriguing ... in a hilariously saucy way ... whoa, HOW MUCH?!!!

Yeah ... I wonder if Essek's having flashbacks right now ...

Yussa? Really?

Supples? Okay ... OH!!! YES!!! Is Pumat still in town? Go there! GO THERE!!!

The Pentamarket! Cool!

Taliesin wants a shopping episode ... and honestly that sounds like fun ... yes ...

Ashton wants a new jacket? Yes. Definitely. Oh, new wardrobe for EVERYBODY? Double yes. Good idea.

Marisha: "What? I WANT THAT!" XD

The Emerald Curtain ... sounds like it could work ...

Ah, the new clothing smell ...

"Musicians"? Really? Oh ... memorialise FCG? Yes ... cloaks? Definitely ... oh, yes, checking through the stock sounds good ... yes, do that.

"Keith"? Hmmm ... oh yes, they are high-maintenance clients indeed ...

Artsy-fartsy? Yeah ... a slender half-giant? WOOD CARVING?!!! Oh wow ... Chetney is DEFINITELY interested ...

Damid? Oh, I like this guy already. "An audience? It's been a bit." XD Yeah, I love this guy.

Just the dye ... yeah, Laudna's very hands-on ...

"HOT BOI" ... Marisha's fan is sending me ... XD

Matching corsets? Go Imodna! :3

Fur-lined leather coveralls for Chetney ... YEAH. Definitely. Oh ... leather BRIEFS?!!! Hmmm ... so he's expecting to full-on HULK IT, apparently ...

235 gold pieces overall ... Laura INSTANTLY reacts, much as expected ... "I'm just Imogen here, I don't know what things cost."

Yeah, they don't HAVE TO roleplay all of it ... LOL

Magic shop? Oh please ... PLEASE ...

FOOD!!! Yes, FOOD!!! God idea ...

Oooh, noodles, yay! Now I'm getting hungry ...

The Invulnerable Vagrant ... OH YEAH ... here we go ...

O.O This is gonna be so much fun ...

PUMAT SOL!!! PUMAT SOL!!! PUMAT SOL!!!

Oh I have missed that voice ... Matt just slips RIGHT BACK INTO IT like he never went away ... Robbie's reaction to gettting to see this first hand is PRICELESS ... I love it ...

Yeah, the clones ... Fearne: "What is happening?" I KNOW!!! XD Ashton: "This is what the inside of my head is like all the time right now."

Oh, so they're EXACTLY like the Ludinus clone they fought before ... crazy ... I love how they're incapable of being sent into an existential crisis regarding their autonomy and originality ... it's kind of cute ...

Ah! Potions! Here we go ... and other goodies! Cool ...

A harp? That sounds very Yasha ... is it a BONE harp?

Robe of the Midnight Rune? Interesting ... oh yes, that is DEFINITELY exactly what Imogen's been looking for. GET THAT!!! Whoa ... 9500 gold pieces? Are you KIDDING ME?!!!

3500 for the armour ... ALSO ridiculously expensive ...

The harp fires arrows. Ye gods ... BOOMY arrows, too ... oh, that is a SWEET item. The arrows do THUNDER DAMAGE!!! That is SO CHOICE. Oh wow ... that whole thing just keeps getting MORE AND MORE impressive ... 8000 gold pieces? Fuck ...

Healing potions, yesh ... and a SPEEDY potion? Wow ... a potion of INVULNERABILITY?!!! Double wow ...

Dorian gives Orym ALL OF HIS MONEY to buy the armour. OH MY GOD!!! That's just adorable ... he might as well just put a ring on it right now! Seriousl O.O

Oh yeah! Sell some of the Ruidian shit! Smart!

They must have souls, surely ... they way they are, they MUST HAVE ...

NO!!! Orym, don't sell you new sword!

How to blow Pumat Sol's mind - tell them you've been to the Moon! XD ... and now Imogen's talking into his head ... oh, appealing to the unity for the greater good? Persuasion check! Oh NICE ROLL, Laura!

The Bank of Chetney ... XD

These ARE very unique down here right now ... roll good for Persuasion, Marisha ... 23? Oh yes ...

Fearne will have 69 gold left ... OF COURSE she will ... XD

Chetney COULD do with a ranged attack, yes. That is the smark move, give HIM the harp ...

So robe to Imogen, the armour to Orym and the harp to Chetney. Plus the potions, that's a SWEET haul ...

Oh yes, that's right ... the moon not being in the sky WOULD have been proof to FCG that the world is ROUND ... awww ...

Holy fuck ... the world really is just GOING TO SHIT right now, clearly ...

Awwww ... seriously, Orym, he only did it because he LOVES YOU. You could totally tap that if you want to. Which we KNOW you do.

Ashton: "Do you know Stairway to the Astral Realm?"

Oh, so that's it for the night? Okay. And time for a break ...

Oh my gods that Beason advert was complete genius ...

The Lodge of the Eclipse. Oh, it's a jazz club? Cool ...

Rooms for the night? Good. Oh, Essek has WAYS, does he? Interesting ... wow, THAT is a very good deal indeed ...

Essek does squats, apparently ... XD

Come on, Esxsek, be FUN for once. Surely it's been a while since you've done this kind of thing ...

A BURLESQUE SHOW?!!! Really? O.O

A sexy buxom half-orc? Nice ... that's definitely my style ...

Laudna, chill! Dear fucking gods ...

Yoink! Ashton grabs some of Fearne's lacy stuff ... and she lets him ... :3

Yeah, Dorian and Chetney are clearly having a blast ...

Madame Feathered-Face? Oooooh ... a sexy dwarven fan-dance? Nice ... a feathery beard? Cool ... oh WOW that is AWESOME, she can FLY with it! O.O

Ashton is showing Essek his head ... oh, this should be interesting. He knows A LOT about this particularly kind of stuff, if I remember ... oh, NOW what the fuck is he doing? Seriously? This feels ... rash ...

Dunamis ... yeah, I thought so ... needless to say he is concerned but also DEEPLY impressed ...

Ashton does the rainbow sparkle thing ... Essek: "Now you're just showing off.

Chetney's heart is lost once again ... XD

Orym is checking out Otohan's sabre ... okay ...

Ah, the Luxon Beacons ... yeah ... oh, so it looks like Ludinus and co have one or more at their disposal, then ... great ...

Ashton: "When you jump out of a window, you try not to blame the quality of the glass ..." Oof ...

Oh wow ... so they could actually use their own dunamancy to MESS THE KEY UP?!!! Yes, that sounds REALLY good ...

Awwwwwwww ... Fearne gets him talking about Caleb ... :3

Awesome ... hover, boy, HOVER ...

Much floaty foolishness ensues ... XD

The story of how Ashton first found Letters ... awwww ... oh, I am NOT alright now ...

Arts and crafts is fun ...

What is Orym going to do with this thing? Oh ... he's TRAINING with it? Whoa ... oh, he's CLAIMING IT? That is ... INTENSE ...

The Wildmother? Oh ... man ...

Marisha: "The night before San Diego ComicCon ..." XD

Matt: "Tim Burton's Island of Misfit Toys ..."

Oh shit ... this is the first time Dorian's seen LIVING Pate ... "Oooooooh ... is it too late to back out of this now?" Yeah ... oh, he is THOROUGHLY disturbed ... I am NOT surpised ... this is a TRULY SURREAL scene ... in a truly CREEPY way ...

Awww .. alone time for Orym and Fearne ... and here's Dorian ... the original trio back together ... :3

Finally Fearne leaves them alone to catch up ... oh my gods ... is THIS what we've been waiting for for so long? O.O

Time for a much-earned rest, yeah ...

Laudna does NOT like Orym with Otohan's blade ... oh fuck ... not NOW ... FUCK OFF, Delilah!

Fuck ... she KNEW Ludinus? Great ...

Seriously Laudna, DO NOT listen to this evil bitch ... oh no ... I mean it, this is SO STUPID ...

Oh shit ... is Otohan's sword SENTIENT? Is this gonna be another Grog situation?

Yeah, Orym's ridiculously aware EVEN WHEN HE'S ASLEEP ...

Darkness? REALLY?!!! Oh my gods ...

No ... sriously, Laudna, DO NOT Wither the vines ... oh fuck, she's doing it ... Wither & Bloom ... oof ... and she has to be PRECISE doing it ... oh fuck ... O.O

Yeah, of course this wakes him up ... and he's in total darkness while he's QUITE CLEARLY being fucking ATTACKED ... oh yeah, he's IMMEDIATELY ready to fight regardless of the conditions ... NOW what?

A contested Dexterity roll? Oh fuck ...

Dear fucking gods this is going SO BAD SO QUICKLY ... and now everybody else is waking up too ... perfect ...

Mage Hand? Really? Okay ... this is ALL bad decisions at this point ... and now she has the fucking sword ...

Seriously Laudna, I'm saying it AGAIN, DO NOT trust this evil c£$%!

And now they can all see ... great ... oh this looks SO BAD ...

Fuck ... is this REALLY starting to turn into a genuine conscious fight between these two right now? Oh no ... she's going to FLEE?!!! This could get even worse so quickly ...

Well that's it then ... the sword is OUT of her grasp ... now what?

Just STOP!!! Right now, please just STOP before this gets so much worse ...

Both of them are making VERY GOOD POINTS right now and I don't like where either of them are going with this ...

Ashton is doing something SO FUCKING SMART right now and I'm here for it ...

Fearne can Identify the sword? Okay, yeah, totally do that, that's really smart ...

Imogen casts Detect Thoughts on Laudna ... there is a collective intake of breath around the table and I don't blame them ...

Whispers? Oh, here we go ...

Chetney's been asleep this whole time? Wow ...

Be VERY CAREFUL Fearne ... Ishta the Summit Blade ... of NOW we get the little card? Matthew fucking Mercer!

Wake up, Chet! We need you ...

"Geometry and stuff" XD ... I love how rudimentary Fearne's understanding of Chetney's abilities is ...

Grim Psychometry ... here we go ...

Oh this is some TRULY UGLY SHIT ... this blade is HORRIBLE ... oh fuck, Zephrah? No, I don't want this ... don't do this, Matt ... seriously this thing should not be used again ...

Chetney VOMITS. Of course he does ...

Wait ... nobody else knows about his deal with Morri ... did he just OUT his deal with Morri? SERIOUSLY Orym?

Can Dorian finally break this standoff?

Oh for fuck's sake ... now it's Laudna against Imogen ... this won't end well ...

Imogen: "Let it go." Laudna: "Why?" Imogen: "Because I don't think it's YOU that wants this."

She just LEAVES? What?

And now Fearne tries to stop her ... oh boy ... now Imogen's going out after her ...

Oh fuck ... Delilah? Seriously? Tell me she's now being full-on fucking TAKEN OVER right now ... Laudna's ABSORBING the knife ... bloody hell ... this is HORRIFYING ...

Fuck! It IS her! Not good! Not fucking good! A "Delilah CAGE"? Fuck ... great ... now it's BOTH OF THEM TOGETHER ... I hate this ... seriously, did they come up with this in advance? It feels like they did and I HATE IT ...

Holy ... I LOVE you and it made that all go away? CAN their love really be strong enough for this? Suddenly I'm SO WORRIED that it's not going to be enough ...

THAT'S where he ending it? Fuck ... oh this is SO MUCH right now ... that was INTENSE ...

I'm SO SCARED for them right now ...

[loquaciousquark]

4-Sided Dive Highlights - Critical Role C3E19 - E21 (May 3, 2022)

Tonight’s guests: Sam, Liam, Taliesin, and Laura. Liam: “Will the wheels just come off without Marisha here, or...?” Laura: “I feel like it already has.” Tonight’s Tavern Keeper host is Sam Riegel. Based on the teleprompter’s cues, he does a very, very terrible imitation of Fjord’s country accent. Laura, from offscreen: “It’s just FCG! Just do FCG!” Sam: “Yeah, but he’s deeper than me!” Oh gosh, this is off the rails already.

What the Fuck is Up With That? Sam starts the segment showcasing his flipflopped feet. Finally, we get to a question: how has it been to have a fluid group with the loss of Bertrand & Dorian, and the addition of Chetney? Liam says this didn’t feel like home at the start. Laura thought it felt really weird when Bertrand died and they were without Travis for so long. Sam thinks it made it harder to learn everyone’s goals, but he loved Dorian/Robbie both for who he is and what he brought to the dynamic: a kind character, great as a soundboard. Laura brings up that Dorian had a hardcore crush on one of the characters. “I’m pretty sure it was FCG.” Liam brings up that doing the mini-run with Fearne & Dorian in ExU made the rest of the group feel a bit like outsiders for the first few episodes, which was weird. Taliesin really liked it, thought it felt like X-Men.

Segue: Taliesin was way into comics as a kid, and reveals he once had a long conversation with Lenore Riegel, Sam’s mom, about Sam’s childhood. Sam was a Fantastic Four reader and never got into X-Men. Laura reveals she’s never seen Lost Boys, and everyone agrees it’s a very Laura movie.

Ruidus! WTFIUWT? Everyone agrees that Imogen’s dreams are happening on the moon, even though it hasn’t been confirmed in canon yet. Dani notes that Imogen’s mother wasn’t necessarily Ruidus-born, but was at least part of the study for psychic powers (and reminds us the Lumas twins were the ones to rip out the rest of the study’s pages). Orym’s moon tattoos were pure coincidence. Sam: “What do they symbolize? Are they you and your husband?” Laura, incensed: “You were THERE at the TABLE when he explained this!” Sam: “Oh, that’s why I think that.” Liam: “That’s what this show is for, to catch Sam up to speed.” Liam does point out that Travis is a moon-related werewolf. Taliesin is REALLY hoping they’ll go to the moon this campaign. Laura, Liam, and Tal accidentally start stuttering and fall into improv scat; Sam: “I don’t even know what they’re not talking about!” However, Sam remembers that in Legends of Vox Machina, Laudna came back to life under double moons in the animated shot. Tal tells us he reads the lore books Matt puts out as he reviews how Catha & Ruidus move in relation to each other. (Side note: @eponymous-rose, my partner in these recaps, has been talking about Exandria’s crazy moons since Campaign One. Nice to see this coming to fruition!)

The heist! WTFIUWT? Liam forcibly keeps us on topic by praising Matt for constantly varying the tempo of the game, avoiding all combat or all shopping or all heartfelt side conversations. Laura thinks they planned absolutely horribly; the moment when they realized they didn’t even scout the building was devastating. Tal was certain they’d be okay as long as they didn’t split up--except they did so immediately.

Liam talks about how he made Orym to be a “sidecar guy” who’d stick his finger in every electrical socket he came across, but over the course of ExU and then very quickly into C3 he found himself and his mediocre intelligence score (and Imogen) becoming the shop-minders instead of chaos monkeys. Tal tells us that save Imogen, this party is effectively a party of NPCs: Orym is the guy who works for the queen, Ashton is a goon for a villain, FCG is someone’s beast character; Laudna’s a ghost you would encounter. Imogen seems to be the only person with an intense destiny right now, aside from maybe Dorian. Sam could see Matt playing all of their characters as a silly voice. “It’s very X-Men.”

Travis’s invis-o-scouting with Chetney reminds Laura of Vax, in that they both would just disappear without warning and really annoy her. Taliesin talks about Ashton’s personal code & why the violation of the heist’s non-life-threatening rules affected Ashton so much. “If you have a deal, you don’t fuck with it. If you fuck with the deal, new deal and I get to make up what it is. Don’t put your hands on me if I don’t know you.”

They reminisce about heists within the show (all are followed with “that was terrible”), then discuss heist movies. Logan Lucky gets brought up! Excellent movie.

The Tower of Inquiry! Laura pulls a(n apparently quite sticky) block. It’s about preplanned character histories vs. organic adjustment of those histories within the game. Liam loves that you come into the game with a premise, then get to meet the character as it’s played. Examples: Orym really likes pie, discovered during ExU; Laura didn’t plan on a fear of heights for Imogen until the moment Matt was describing it. She herself doesn’t mind heights at all. Taliesin was struggling to find something for Ashton to be punk-y angry about in a world that fundamentally sort of functions well, but he’s now figured it out as of a few episodes ago.

Laura talks about building a character meant to be very uncomfortable in crowds who was then thrust into a heavily urban setting; she’d originally intended Imogen to stay very withdrawn until they left the city, but they stayed in the city so long she knew she had to at least partially get over it and start talking, or they’d be 20 episodes in and no one would know anything about Imogen at all. Laura & Marisha had lots of big discussions about where their characters had met & their travel history; Sam & Tal had one talk, ha. “You were a question asker and I was a not-question. You’re adorable and I want to make sure no one ever fucks with you.” FCG was delighted to finally have their questions answered when they met the rest of the group. Sam also discusses discovering FCG was a flat-earther, ha! “Strict RP decision,” and not because Sam is a troll in real life. Sure, yeah. He also discovered that FCG eats coins as they played--that wasn’t preplanned, as Sam decided he didn’t want to mess with money at all this campaign. He wanted a character who got rewarded mechanically by building relationships (RPing) with other characters, as that would encourage them to discover things about each other quickly.

Deep Dive! Sam thinks FCG has recovered since the glitching in the Shade Mother’s cavern. Sam himself knows the mechanics of how the glitching & recovery works, but FCG does not, so he can’t discuss it without spoilers. Sam also hadn’t really planned how to perform the errors, so the glitching was improv’ed in the moment.

Ashton’s hammer was made from leftover body parts from Ashton’s accident after Milo finished repairing him. Yuck. Prior to the hammer, they just used brass knuckles & whatever was around they could brawl with.

Laura FINALLY KILLS THE FLY that’s been haunting the set and screams directly into the mic. Bless her heart. Laura reveals that Imogen wasn’t born with her powers or the lightning marks on her arms; they both arrived together with the advent of her dreams. Both Laura & Imogen thought that the marks were just growing with the strength of her magic. She was terrified to use her powers at the start because she thought they were making the markings grow; she didn’t realize it might be related to the dreams. Taliesin asks about the purple hair: “Born with, changed to, or conscious choice?” Laura, weakly: “I haven’t decided yet. I just wanted purple hair...”

Liam’s question is about Laudna, and Laura confronts him on his pronunciation of Loud-na vs. Lodd-na. Liam: “I don’t say Loud-na.” Everyone else: “You do! You do all the time!” Liam: “Anyway. What was it like when Laudy made her revelation?” He says it’s like meeting a historical figure, since Orym wasn’t important in Zephrah but spent a lot of time 15 feet away from VM members discussing important events. It’s like carrying around a little piece of plutonium that he’s not sure how to communicate about. Taliesin tells us Percy is just screaming in the back of his head, “like just loud, irritated, British screams.”

Sam discusses how Liam chooses his race and class for every campaign. He wanted to find a different spin from previous clerics & loves diving into worlds he knows nothing about. He’s never gone through therapy himself, so he wanted to explore that here. He got lots of books and spoke to friends in psychiatry and psychology to get a good foundation. It reminds Taliesin of friends who take one psychology credit in college and go a little overboard. Liam thought it was a very improbable combination and knew Sam would come up with something entertaining. Sam originally intended to have FCG curse a LOT as a reflection of his builder, but thought that would be too exhausting (to Taliesin: “No offense.”). Tal remembers him finding the FCG voice over their session zero.

Segue into accents; there are lots of “viral” accents at the table right now, and it’s hard to keep them from creeping in. Everyone (rightfully) raves about Marisha’s accent and character. Taliesin has seen this voice before from theater with her many years ago and says it’s his favorite thing she does. Sam thinks Ashley also played it smart, because hers isn’t an accent, it’s (breathily) “just a way of being” like Marilyn Monroe or a 50′s movie star.

Ashton is a liar to himself and others, and believes he knows people well even when he doesn’t. “It’s worse when you need people and you’re bad at it.” Taliesin loves that there’s someone in the group okay with their pocket being picked, someone he can be a little bit of a dick to.

Laura has no idea who the figure in the storm is. Wild theory: maybe her mom is evil. Maybe it’s evil Imogen. She’s scared of and intrigued by the storm at the same time. The only thing she hammered into her backstory is Imogen’s certainty that if the storm catches her, she will die, and she’s intrigued that this might be changing.

Liam initially wanted to hatch Orym with his familiar friends, but decided to start him in ExU instead. He notes that they’re worse chaos gremlins in that group & had no Imogen to help him keep things grounded. “Dorian sometimes, but Dorian was a chameleon” who would take on other characteristics when he was talking to someone else. It was a different layer added to Orym and it was great.

Unexpected whiskey slaps cameo on this episode of 4SD! Laura smacks the bejeezus out of Liam (who apparently quite enjoys whiskey slaps but hasn’t been able to partake in a long time). “Should I really do it or should I kind of do it?” “75%. I love you.” Oh, my heart.

Question speed round! Initially, FCG never took offense when he was treated badly, but over the episodes with everyone checking in with them constantly, he’s discovered he’s actually not okay with it after all!

Ashton spent at least older-child-to-teenager years at the orphanage.

The ball was very difficult for Imogen because she couldn’t keep her walls up high enough. She’d never been dressed up in her entire life and was excited about that, but so bummed about being shoved in a corner.

Orym was wandering for years because there were no answers for so long; even now their leads are cold, but he’s growing fond of the new party. It’s giving him sharpened purpose. “Some things should just be made right.”

(Side note: they keep calling each other adorable nicknames throughout this, and it delights me: Limi, Mimi, twins, Tally. I’m just so glad they’re friends.)

Sam reviews their question slips. His were immediately shredded/crumpled, Tal’s were folded into origami, Laura’s stayed untouched, and Liam’s are an eclectic mix of mushroom shape, tiny twist, and flat. Fitting.

Tower of Inquiry (Reprise): Sam pulls a brick. Which Muppets would play your character? Fearne: Janet. Ashton: Animal. FCG: Beaker. Orym: Kermit or Robin (Kermit’s nephew). Imogen: Scooter. Chetney: Waldort and Statler (ha!). Laudna: the Count. Dorian: Sam Eagle or Rowlf. Matt: John Denver or Mark Hamill--one of the human guests.

Break: The Dani Barr confessions, a hilarious black-and-white noir spoof with Taliesin and Dani, with Tal talking about his euphoria at Matt’s frustration regarding his constant min-maxing of complicated homebrew subclasses. (Dani’s accent is fabulous.) “I don’t know what a grit point is, nobody does! Campaign Two--sure, he bumped me off before I had the chance to really get into that crazy, high level shit, but that’s okay. I bided my time, and now...Ashton. Rolling on a random table for nearly everything I do, fundamental chaos! That player’s handbook in your clutches won’t help you, because the table you need isn’t there. I hope you printed out a cheat sheet that consumes an entire panel of your GM screen just for me, and my crunchy little homebrew!”

Post-Break Shenanigans: ostensibly Street Fighter V, but Sam derails us immediately with honor rollies and then more questions as Liam and Tal start off with the game. Sam: “I can tell you that if I were watching this show, I wouldn’t give a shit about [the game].” Is that legal to say??

Imogen thinks Chetney is a funny little horndog. She works really hard with Imogen to avoid meta because technically she could be reading everyone’s thoughts at all times. She got the worst superficial thoughts of everyone when she first got her powers, so she blocks it all out. She wants to think better of people, so it’s an active effort to shut it down.

Laura, Ashley, and Marisha went to get their nails done together. Everything was harder with long nails. This is so cute.

Liam casually drops that all of the guests voice characters in this game except Sam. Taliesin actually voices one of the characters on the stream right now. Man, it’s a different world they live in.

Tal wrote more backstory for Ashton than any other character, which shocks Liam. This is also a character who’s never had something good happen to him, and Matt hates characters like that, so he’s unsure if Matt will stay with that or tweak some things.

Orym was a backup character in Campaign One, when Vax was high level but expected to die. (Laura physically blocks Sam’s view of the TV during this, which is pretty funny.) His backstory was set then; Liam had to find a reason for this high-level character to drop out of the sky. However, since Vax survived, he flipped the dynamic and had Keyleth help Orym instead of the other way around, and saved the character for another time.

Liam plays Gill, which is the character he voiced in this game. Dani is apparently “over it” in the background. Sam tells her to come hang out and she joins them. So cute.

Laura had no idea Imogen would have any connection to Ruidus. She just wrote about the storm, and Matt wrote her back and told her the storm would be red. That was all she knew going into the game. She HATES it when he turns the room red. She gets nervous every time they sleep.

Taliesin had to change one thing about Ashton’s background due to too much overlap with Orym’s background. He can’t reveal what it is yet.

Sam wore flipflops because the internet appreciates feet. Also, it was 88 degrees.

Dani declines to ship on camera; she’d rather let the relationships play out naturally without commentary. Oh, Dani, this is such a wise decision and I’m so glad.

And that’s it! Is it Thursday yet? (It is, it is!)

[noelanik-art]

Campaign 3 thoughts really quickly (and yes there are spoilers):

1. I love F.C.G. and that will always remain true. Bless Liam and Sam.

2. I am very happy to see EXU babies returning. I understand there are mixed feelings, but I personally loved them, and am very happy for a return. I think there should be more quiet characters in D&D, and therefore the power of Fearne and Orym is undeniable. I also personally would be fine with Robbie remaining as a regular. I know it’s a lot of players, but I think he would bring an interesting energy to the table, and I would love to see Orym, Fearne, and Dorian develop. I’ve heard people thinking Fearne and Orym are temporary, and I honestly don’t like that. I don’t think that would be a strong beginning to the campaign, especially as I am more inclined to think that Travis’s character is temporary, and four temporary characters in the first episode is a whole lot that I wouldn’t want to unpack later.

3. Reminder that each member of the cast is fully allowed to make decisions that you don’t agree with and that includes playing characters that you don’t like. This is their home game that has become a production, but it still really is a game of D&D.

4. As above, I think quiet characters are hugely important, and therefore, I am fascinated by Imogen. I think she has the potential to become one of the most interesting characters in campaign 3. I’m excited by the idea of her interacting with Orym, and honestly everyone else.

5. Am I afraid of Marisha’s character? Yes, but I love it. I’m excited to see where she goes with this.

6. Love the gender representation. And also, just everyone should love Taliesin Jaffe. Ashton is very interesting, and since F.C.G has my heart already, I’m looking forward to Taliesin making me feel things again.

7. Do I like Bertrand? No. Do I think he could be interesting as a long term character? Yes. Do I want that? It doesn’t matter, because whatever they choose to do is what will happen, and I’m okay with that.

8. I’m hoping they make actual announcements about plans with Robbie, because I am not fond of theorizing and what it does to fandoms. Knowing if he’s just a temporary guest will make a big difference in my expectations for this campaign, as would knowing he’s a permanent fixture.

9. Re-expectations: yes, I also have expectations, and things I would prefer, but if those things don’t happen, then I’m gonna live with that and keep watching anyways.

10. Have I mentioned I love F.C.G.?

11. Bertrand is the poster child for why lying is bad.

12. This party is going to be a predominantly pastel mess, and I’m here for it.

13. All in all, the energy of this campaign and this table is worlds different from either of the other campaigns, and as much of an adjustment as that is going to be, I’m really excited for it. The cast looked so refreshed in this episode. They needed the break, and they needed something new. It might be hard to get into, and some people may not get into it at all, but I’m really and truly excited to see where it goes, even if there are things that bother me.

14. I want to see Essek Theyless in campaign 3. Every npc is the shadowhand until proven otherwise.

15. I’m fascinated to see relationships of all kinds form amongst this party.

16. Also, I love Orym. I think the possibilities for his character are fascinating.

Anyways! Those are just some of my many thoughts. My friend and I were literally on the edge of our seats the whole time, and I’m probably going to be sore tomorrow, but that’s okay. I look forward to seeing exactly what this campaign will continue to look like.

It’s bound to be different.