#mollie watches c3

[molliehaswords]

“What’s her name?”

OHHHH?!?! You mean the thing that Morrighan Ferus was sent from the Feywild specifically to destroy proof of in Kymal during the poodle?!?!

[teatitty]

YOU HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA HOW STOKED I AM FOR M9 ANIMATED BEAUREGARD IS ONE OF MY FAVE CHARAS IN HISTORY AND HER BROSHIP WITH FJORD???? KILLS MEEEE I LOVE THEM SO MUUUUUCCHHH

[balleater]

i Love how the party split is going and the more i think about it the more it's made me realize i don't actually have one clear-cut favorite this campaign

[utilitycaster]

If I may, as we go into what appears to be the clear endgame for C3, I think the lessons to take from the ending of C2 within the fandom are:

Do not freak out about the possibility of the campaign ending sooner than you expected nor you personally wanted

Last minute twists are not impossible, but if your enjoyment rests on a sudden reversal in the final hour you are likely to be disappointed

Just because it happened in prior campaigns doesn't mean it will happen in this one

Don't count your chickens before they fail to hatch

There will probably be one shots if it's a serious enough plot hook that we can't get to

Disappointment and anger are fine but eventually you do need to get over it

For the record, I think the particularly unpleasant responses to the ending of Campaign 2 boil down to the fact that it wasn't nearly as clearly signaled (the formal announcement was like two weeks in advance and while in retrospect it makes sense, at the time it felt very abrupt); that despite two relationships being established and a third clearly on the way people had convinced themselves that there would be some kind of last minute twist and their anger is entirely because that didn't happen even though there was literally zero sign it would; the fact that Molly didn't come back; and the general atmosphere of the world in June 2021 - I watched the finale while on my first trip to see my family in over a year and a half. I also think the ship wars for C2 were as bitter as they were because of both the strength of the party's bonds; but also the echo chambers that developed during a lengthy hiatus; and Campaign 3 does not and never has had anywhere near that level of serious ship warring.

The structure of Campaign 3 has been different in many ways from that of Campaign 2, which was different from Campaign 1 - that's not to say you can't make comparisons across campaigns, but I would not make assumptions based on the length of prior campaigns (plus, we're already in the same ballpark of number of episodes as C1, and the same level going into the BBEG combat as C2).

If your happiness rests on any of the now three current couples in Bells Hells breaking up, you are a weirdly bitter person, and you are likely to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're already annoyed that a plot thread will be dropped, while there's like...maybe three plot hooks I can think of and every single one is related to Chetney, who I think will only survive the finale if Travis is unable to find a satisfying way to kill him off, we've had some excellent one shots post-campaign for both Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein and I don't see why this would be any different.

And as always I will never tell you that you can't dislike something, though there are things that, if you dislike them, I will think less of your judgment. But stick to expressing disappointment and anger; if you find yourself wanting to write out violent threats on the internet, you need to back away for a good long while. But certainly wait to be disappointed by a campaign that's already ended, and not pre-mad at things that haven't happened (or failed to happen) yet.

[thatholoperson]

OK, so I started Critical Role when they were well into campaign 2. At that time, even when I was catching up on C1, I would still occasionally see spoilers for C2. I knew-ish what would happen. I knew Molly would die, I knew about Caduceus, I knew about Beau and Yasha, Fjord and Jester and that there was some romantic tension between Caleb and some floaty wizard.

But mostly, I knew they were going to be OK. I knew they would succeed. I knew there was a thing about a person named Kingsley and I did not know what that was, but I could watch the end of C2 with a modicum of ease. Even if things would not end up exactly as I thought, I knew they were going to be fine.

I don't have that for C3 and... I am SO stressed. I never liked endings and now that we go towards the end and fucking all 3 groups are involved, I am so scared for 3 different people made by one person in their head.

And about Dorian and Orym. Are they gonna have time and rest to figure it out? To talk without the pressure of "we might die tomorrow "? Are they gonna have time to feel what they need to feel, heal, fall more and more in love?

Or is this just gonna be it? One night of calm, comfort and sleep ?

[flurry-of-beaus-pop-pop]

Now that I finally finished Campaign 1, here are my final thoughts:

Character Rankings By Player:

Liam: 1. Orym 2. Caleb 3. Vax

Laura: 1. Jester 2. Vex 3. Imogen

Travis: 1. Chetney 2. Grog 3. Fjord

Ashley: 1. Fearne 1. Yasha 1. Pike (they're all one because I love them all and couldn't choose)

Sam: 1. Scanlan 2. FCG 3. Nott

Taliesin: 1. Caduceus 2. Molly 3. Ashton 4. Percy

Marisha: 1. Beau 2. Keyleth 3. Laudna

Campaign 1 Thoughts:

Personally, wasn't that big of a fan of the Raven Queen storyliine - had I watched Campaign 1 before I watched the other 2 campaigns, I may have thought differently, but it was just the same "Liam's character is depressing" storyline and it didn't really seem to be all that much of a point/benefit to his sacrifice.

Grog and Pike's friendship is literally the best. I love the goofiness that comes out of Ashley and Travis's friendship

Vax and Keyleth and Vex and Percy genuinely had zero chemistry for me. I think that Keyleth should have ended up with Kashaw or nobody, Vax with Gilmore, Vex with Zahra, and Percy with nobody and/or some unknown NPC

Absolutely adored Scanlan/Pike's relationship and the path it took. Yes, Scanlan did some not appropriate things at the beginning, but he truly was the best version of himself when he was trying to be the best for Pike

Kima and Allura are amazing and it really adds to their appearances in C2/C3

Keyleth, at least in this campaign (she is different in campaigns where she's piloted by Matt) is definitely not leader material. She struggles so much with making decisions, and often makes not great ones

Percy spent the entire campaign trying to get sympathy for the fact that he felt guilty for making the guns, yet never stopped using them and even continued to make them for other people. Even if you wanted to make that argument that that was his class, so it would be weird if he stopped, he didn't even really play a major role with them in the final battles because they weren't magic

Percy was genuinely Taliesin's most annoying character and every character he's played since is just Percy in a different shade, in my opinion.

Grog with the Deck of Many Things was amazing

I genuinely loved all the different guests that were a part of this campaign, especially Will and Maryann

Not necessarily about C1, but I find it a tad strange that with how important Vox Machina was with literally saving the world, that they're barely mentioned by name in subsequent campaigns

Sam's devastation over having to use the Wish spell was genuinely heartbreaking

Campaign 2 is still my fave

[dent-de-leon]

What's something that happened in Mighty Nien, or any campaign, that just absolutely upsets you? That whenever ya watch it, ya just get so mad? I mean, other than what happened to Molly, cuz I already know how strong yer feelings are on that

askasfkdgdf oh boy...I think Molly hit me especially hard because I was watching live from the first episode, and it really felt like this gutting loss that came out of nowhere just when his story was getting started, and I'm still not able to watch the whole episode.

Kinda really dreading that I'll have to see that happen to Molly again in the animated series :( (and as a side effect of Molly, I think that's why I like...don't feel as attached to the c3 characters. I don't even have anything I ship for it. Just easier to not get my hopes up again if it makes me that sad, that sort of thing.)

As for other things hm......I feel like there are some things that upset me or that I don't really care for for personal reasons, but I know they're my own personal feelings and not necessarily a reflection of the plot points themselves. I try not to dwell on them and just focus on the stuff I'm excited about :')

[captainsspnanon]

C3E78 - reaction

No Liam! Sad times :( This is the second time he’s missed a game (my mom just watched the C2 episode where Marisha jaegered Caleb, she’s on such a great parallel watching as she bounces back and forth between the two campaigns)

I was very surprised by Fearne’s very physical reaction continuing after the end of last episode, but then I wonder if a part of it is above table. Not anger from Ashley, but her going ‘oh this is the first time I’ve actually been at the table during one of these moments, I’mma take it for all it’s worth!’. I mean, she wasn’t there when Scanlan left, she wasn’t there when Molly died, she wasn’t there when Fjord was going through his big power adjustments, so a part of me thinks that maybe a small part of Fearne’s reaction may be Ashley just reveling in being there for the moment.

Did NOT call the Delilah resurgence, nor did I even consider that Laudna could view this as a betrayal, but I’m loving it! I’m really happy that Marisha is leaning into the Delilah aspect more and more and Matt meeting it perfectly with voices, wisdom saves, etc.

CONSEQUENCES! Holy shit, con down 2 permanently???? Pretty sure a greater restoration won’t fix this! I am FASCINATED. There HAD to have been an outside conversation about this – I feel like it’s completely flipped from how it left off at the end of last episode? I mean, Narrator!Matt was saying how Ashton was now “unprecedented”, Taliesin was talking about high risk high reward, and Ashton’s physical body was certainly being described as a combination of earth and fire. But now here, their eyes are back to normal, their arm is now just a bigger mismatched earth arm, the gold veins are back to normal, and the shard got REJECTED. I just can’t imagine Matt choosing to do this without having some sort of conversation beforehand, even though I know he’s played with Taliesin for years even before CR. I wonder if it came from Taliesin though, if he could have wanted Ashton to fail for this…. I can think of so many different conversations above table, but this is just a full 180 from end of last episode, and honestly a harsh punishment from Matt. I’m all for it, and I’m so excited to continue this, but I would be VERY surprised if Matt did this on his own without any above table talk.

The vision that Ashton talks about seeing themselves with their family, and seeing that they were bad, and everything being their fault makes me think that Taliesin may have chosen the outcome of the shard being rejected, though of course it’s all pure speculation.

(Side note, can we talk about how Ashley is absolutely gorgeous and Taliesin’s hair is fucking phenomenal??? I like the Caduceus swirls a lot more than I liked the Percy geometric. Okay I’m done being distracted)

I was trying to figure out why I was enjoying this episode more than a lot of C3, and I realized that it’s because this is very reminiscent of the M9 relationships. It’s been a long time since we’ve had real interparty conflict with the Hells, whereas that was M9’s bread and butter. I’m hoping this isn’t something that’s just fixed by next episode, because I am THRIVING. I know that C3 has mostly been about external conflict (the solstice), but the PCs have all been….well...almost ‘shallowly’ connected? I don’t feel like that’s the right word, because there WERE true relationships between the group, but I just feel like the internal conflict is always so great at deepening the relationships.

(I’m actually doing this write up AS I watch, rather that after I watch the full episode as I’ve been doing for most of C3)

I am genuinely surprised about how everyone is being very aggressive towards Ashton. I didn’t expect FCG to lash out as hard as they are, and Imogen is cutting NO slack. Again, missing Liam at this moment as I would really love to see where Orym would fall on this, but a tiny part of me is a bit glad, as I don’t know if the conversation would have gone the way it’s going if he was there. And while I didn’t expect it, I am LOVING it. Sam is thriving! And honestly? Big growth moment for FCG here too, even a dozen episodes back I’m not sure they would have reacted this way.

LOL Ashley’s face when FCG asks Ashton how they could hurt Fearne because she’s so wonderful.

God the Fearne and Chetney dynamic is SO GOOD. He scolded her, gave her advice, tried to boost her confidence, maybe was a little offended that she was going for Ashton instead of him, helped her redirect her anger towards a more constructive destructive outlet…. Travis is SUCH a good player, y’all. And Ashley!! UGH I am so glad we get her for so long. *chefs kiss*

Fearne and Laudna/Delilah just off on their own, and holy shit I did not expect that harshness from Chetney, though I suppose I really should have. He’s always been incredibly pragmatic, and we’ve never seen how he would react with a betrayal of trust before.

This...this is both a new and an old perception of Laudna, or rather, it’s bringing new context to the woman who still plays with dolls and assumes they come alive at night. I really REALLY hope we get to see more in this vein, this is FASCINATING.

Alright, a lot of this is now post-watching rather than mid-watch. I really strongly speculate that Taliesin talked to Matt about having Ashton not fuse with the shard. All his RP this episode really feels like he planned to have the backlash and guilt ahead of time. I wonder if he felt that this would be the best way for Ashton to move forwards? Of course, definitely still can be wrong here and this could all be in the moment, but it just feels too off for Matt to have done it without some sort of discussion.

I can’t even begin to sum up how I feel about the feywild trip. It’s needed, I’m excited, I want to know what’s going on with Birdie, what’s going on with Fearne!

[hayleysayshay]

So we're getting the Apogee Solstice today, which is potentially apocalyptic. If it ends in an apocalyptic calamity, I will probably stop watching c3.

Don't get me wrong, I love C3 a lot. I love the characters, I love the moon lore and story of it, I don't mind the fast pacing even if I wish we had more downtime. It's not for everyone but i do enjoy it, criticisms and all. I also enjoy the high stakes and that any of them could die. I do find amusement in this group of crazy, amoral people being the ones to save the world.

But I do not want Exandria to be apocalyptic, that's just too high stakes. I don't want the c1 or c2 characters happy endings to be ruined by them living in a post-apocalyptic world. I think the Whitestone mini arc was an excellent way of using the main characters as NPCs in the campaign and made a lot of sense. I do not want to see the characters actually be at risk of dying or having their world turned upside down. I think a campaign retroactively affecting the other campaigns ending this much is unpleasant to think about.

That being said, I also wonder if people are taking the apocalyptic-calamity stakes a bit too seriously. Instead of a true apocalypse, something is released, something dangerous, a dark god. Something is changed in Exandria forever and the Bells Hells have to fix it. There is still so much open-ended with the characters. Like Ashton, or Fresh Cut Grass, Matt gives hints about their backstory and they haven't had a chance to delve into it. Sure, Ashton could die with unanswered questions like molly died in C2 even though matt had plans for molly, but i don't think the calamity 2.0 is all that Matt has planned for the characters.

I also think there's a possibility that this is an Imogen corruption arc. Something in Exandria is released or changes for the worst, Bells Hells has to fix it, and Imogen goes to the dark side, which I think has been set up as a potential story. That would be fascinating--- and my preferred outcome recently (though Imogen pulling back and staying good is fine as well! Her winning against the dark impulses could be really satisfying.) A part of me thinks this outcome is more likely than Exandria becomes completely apocalyptic but you never know--- Matt is serious about consequences. So who knows.

[blackmosscupcakes]

How could anyone hate Molly, Essek, Or Kiki? They're all so good!!!

I don't know! Before I finished C2 I was trying very hard to avoid spoilers so I was sticking to Reddit because individual threads made it easier to do, but any time someone makes a thread like "I miss Molly" or whatever it's just filled with negativity. I think in that case the problem is people not wanting to look below the surface level of a character--they just write Molly off as "shady asshole" and leave it at that. Which is disappointing because it's not even like you have to read between the lines to see that he's more than that! It's right there!

With Essek it's a very black-and-white "he did bad things and doesn't deserve a redemption arc" line of thinking, and the Kiki hate is lesser these days but was very much tied up with the Reddit side of the fandom and their general negativity towards Marisha during C1. I haven't watched much of C3 yet but it seems like they hate Imogen and Ashton now. 🤷‍♀️

The subreddit was really starting to bug me with the general negativity by the time I finished C2, so it's with a lot of relief that I came running back here and planted my flag where people actually tend to ENJOY the things they watch.

[astriferem]

Draft C3

Chapter III: Penitence And Molly

“Now you show your face?” Her voice echoes from above, golden light flooding down below with it. The door led to the ground floor of a spiral staircase area, made of a foreign mahogany. The railing of the stairs has repeating and empty dreamcatchers all the way up, opposite to walls of shelves. When I get close enough to read, the books are nonsensical jumbles of words of random sizes and colors. As I begin up the steps, the tone from before clearly blaring from above, I hang my head, eyes on my shadow. It felt humiliating to climb my way up, like I’m under a spotlight without anything to show. I shuffle along while using the railing for leverage upwards, realizing why I feel this way when my eyes glance over my forearm. Call me when you can. The font reads how her voice sounds. The stairs end in a circular study, an unlit candle chandelier hanging from the roof and holding… unfinished dreamcatchers. My eyes go to the only source of light in the room, her desk at one of the ends of the room. It’s whittled into the floor, made of the same wood. On top were towers of books and a lamp, along with her kicked up legs. “You’re still kicking, not to mention glittering!” She forces a chuckle, twirling an open landline in her hand. The source of that horrid tone from earlier. Her face is a blur to me, though I could see her gold eyes. They’re glaring me down, her wrists and crown wrapped in rose thorns. Molly. A plaque beside her literature says so. “I’m sorry.” I begin. I know I knew her, I don’t know if she knows I knew her. “You’re fine. At this point I just do your job for you.” Molly sighs. “You’re owed an apology.” “From who, do you think? You or you?” She wriggles her finger in a circle, while pointing it at me. So she does know. I pause for a bit, trying to think. “Can you hang that up?” She hangs the phone up, finally.As if on cue, though, I can hear the sound of splitting and cracking wood from the stairs. Like they’re dying. I rush over to look down the flight, the area which was once drowning with light now shrouded with the opposite. Some stories down the mahogany’s curling up, being overcome with rot then turning to dust.

It's made its way inside, blocking off the only way out. “Still want that dealt with?” She calls from behind me. I turn around, watching her stand and turn to the bookshelf behind her. I scramble to the front of her table, causing the tower of books on it to wobble when I stop. They’re all nonsense like the one’s I saw before, but she slams a huge pink one onto the table beside them. Aptly named, Pink Pages. “How’s a-” “Hush. Read.” She cuts me off, flipping open the book. “Your name will answer your questions.” Looking back, the candles on the dreamcatcher have lit. Dreamcatchers afloat.

[molliehaswords]

Ruby of Byroden, you unleashed a monster when you introduced Orym of the Air Ashari to the glory of pie.

[memento-morri-writes]

tis i the crit role anon 🙏

hey morri! i’m kind of the reverse of you where i’ve seen all of c3 (all of it to date i suppose), but none of c2! i am enjoying the overlap the first two campaigns have had with the third, tho i definitely don’t have a ton of context to the second!

tell me more about why you love it so much! what sticks out to you about the style, defining moments, the characters? who’s your favourite if you can pick just one? why were you drawn to that campaign over the other two?

if i had to guess i think my fav pc would be caleb, im a huge fan of vax and orym. liams characters in general haha

also i have to ask have you watched tlovm?

HI ANON!!!!! I'm so glad you came back and gave me a chance to ramble about this silly little show that I love so much.

This is extremely long, so I'm putting it under the cut to spare people's dashes.

So, campaign two is very near and dear to my heart. It's the first campaign I watched (and the only one I've finished), and it's (in part) what got me into dnd in the first place.

I mean, it really is everything I could ever want from a dnd show. The characters are amazing, the plot is excellent, there's the right mix of shenanigans and sincerity. Okay, yes, all of crit role has those things, but c2 knocks it out of the park.

Like, c1 is a bit more of your typical hero's journey. You have these people who start out rather ordinary, and end up rising to extreme heights, saving the world and gaining a lot of power as they do so. These people are also (generally) pretty good and righteous people. Which isn't bad!!!!!!!! I love c1 a lot! (I would kill and die for Vax, which explains why I've been procrastinating finishing, lmao.)

But c2 is more my style when it comes to characters. A bunch of fucked-up misfits who become an extremely dysfunctional but loving family, and semi-accidentally save the world while they're at it. Idk, there's something about the fact that the Mighty Nein don't start out to be heroes, don't intend to be heroes, that really really endears me to them. A fair amount of what they do is for not necessarily self-serving, but personal reasons. They fuck up sometimes, and it's great.

Also, TMN are just so much more chaotic than Vox Machina. I mean, it's to be expected when you have such chaotic characters as Nott and Jester in one party, plus everyone else.

As for defining moments, there's literally too many to list. I could sit here and talk about c2 for hours. But I will say that near the end of Episode 7 was where I well and truly knew that there was no going back, and that my life had been changed. (A lot of good things there, but the Molly+Caleb bit is what did me in, I think.)

Other top faves include (in no particular order) literally the entire pirate arc (but esp the fight on the ship in Darktow and the yuan-ti temple), Yasha's pit fight (I literally wrote a mini essay about it on my personal blog bc it made me so emotional), any time Essek is there (for both feels and laughs), Caduceus's speech in Dinner With The Devil, Jester and Nott fucking up that one temple (just because it made me laugh so hard I stopped making noise for like 10 minutes straight), any time Beau and Caleb interact, THE FIRST TIME THEY SEE THE NEIN-SIDED TOWER, the Lucien/Jester tarot reading, the Lucien fight (all stages of it), Fjord throwing his sword into lava, any of the times they polymorphed large monsters into turtles (giant -> snapping turtle or the turtle on ice), the time they got banned from two libraries in less than 20 minutes...

As you can see, I could go on for hours. And yes, if you're a Liam character fan, Caleb will be your favorite. Caleb is also my favorite critical role character of all time ever, and I'm so obsessed with this man it's unreal. Like, autistic (to me) sad wizard man who loves his cat, has so much trauma, and is played by Liam O'Brien??? Obviously going to be my fave.

As for why I started with c2 over c1, I'm not actually sure. I think it was on the recommendation of some friends and my cousin, because the beginning is more polished than that of c1, and in their opinions it was the best campaign (I'm inclined to agree. No other crit role campaign will ever top it).

I have not watch tlovm yet, but I plan on getting around to it someday. Unfortunately for me, I am very very very very bad at finishing tv shows. It's basically either I finish it at an insanely fast pace (ie all 141 episodes of c2 in ~6 months, or all 38 episodes of Black Sails in just over 2 weeks), or I never finish it at all. Someday I will get my shit together and watch tlovm, though.

Actually, I happen to have a little art wall at my mom's house that is mostly Mighty Nein art. I don't have everyone yet, just Jester, Yasha, Caleb, and Essek, but I'd love to get the full party up there someday. Sadly I don't have any good pictures of it.

[percy-derolo]

#find it baffling when people don't get that's the appeal of them!! #im assuming this latest reblog is about ashton (which again. don't know how taliesin could have made that one clearer) #but running into it with cad was also wild #bc his deception seemed to work on most of the fandom and they genuinely believed he was like. a guide of selfless wisdom #and not a kid trying to seem important #its most percy art making him look so much older than he is #it's molly's 'leave every place better than you found it' becoming the m9 rallying cry #and it being forgotten that that was just how he justified scamming people #its cad playing therapist for a group of people who desparately need one #so no one notices he is DEEPLY judgemental of people who ignore his advice #and like granted i haven't watched enough c3 to be an authority on ashton #but everything i've seen tal say about them can basically be boiled down to TEENAGE ANARCHISTS DON'T KNOW SHIT (from personal experience) #like wowww who could have ever imagined the teenage anarchist might be somewhat wrong about a complicated political situation <- via @your-turn-to-role

Generally, more people need to understand that EVERY Taliesin PC is an insufferable asshole who thinks he is The Most Correct Person In Exandria and knows so more than literally everyone else does.

This is why none of them would get along. They're all equally wrong in the very different ways they're certain about being right.

[utilitycaster]

How can Molly's death be considered a major mistake? It's the crux of the entire campaign.

so I think about this a lot, because you're right, and it really comes down to like...a lot of factors in how people interact with fiction, and some stuff I feel about fandom.

The short answer is that Molly is some people's favorite character, and they really wanted to watch him for 141 episodes and not just 26, and they didn't get to, and so it's valid to feel sad about that. But I think what personally grinds my gears is the idea that it's a mistake and because this is a Fan Favorite character he SHOULD have come back. Setting aside the fact that he had both his fans and his detractors from the start and a lot of people (myself included) who found him irritating didn't say much for a good chunk of C2 because, well, he was dead, this isn't a fucking competitive reality show. You don't get to vote on your phones to decide who wins a resurrection.

I think the longer answer is that there is a certain type of person in fandom, born of a certain type of person in social media communities, who just...is not willing or interested in considering not just that their experiences, preferences, and philosophy are not universal, but also that they are not objectively best and correct and that everyone who disagrees is wrong. It's often really common in, though not exclusive to, people who have particularly limited experiences - young (like, teenager/early 20s), people who haven't lived in a diverse area or in multiple different areas, people who for whatever reason do not get out much - which both makes sense (haven't been exposed to a ton of different perspectives irl) but also means that you get people who, for all they may talk about global politics, kind of unconsciously seem to act as though everyone they interact with online is a variant of someone from the same 3000 person town in the United States in which they've spent all 21 years of their life. ANYWAY getting back to the main point I feel like Molly attracted a lot of that kind of person, who just...doesn't get that while Molly is, to them, a deeply validating expression of gender identity, for many people he is "guy you meet at your friend's birthday party in a two-bedroom 6 floor walk up and within 5 seconds he has pissed you off so profoundly with his overfamiliarity that you go into the kitchen and mainline as much vanilla vodka as possible to not stab this guy with a secondhand knife that says "CHEESE!" on it even though you hate vanilla vodka and it's summer in NYC and you're on the 6th floor in a small apartment with too many people so it's approximately 117 degrees Fahrenheit in this kitchen and the vodka isn't much cooler, and you succeed in this goal, and then after sending your friend who couldn't make it because they were at a family thing that weekend a picture of a rat on the tracks of the 3 train with a caption "this u?" at 1:54 in the morning you're like "so this guy Molly was there" and they're like "oh my god I met him at Cameron's last party, he SUCKS" and you're like "I KNOW". Like a lot of people just do not get that Molly was very popular with their circle, and also a lot of people either were neutral-to-not-feeling-it. This is before we get into the post-death idealization of who he was that takes him from "irritating but I think he'd have grown on me in some ways eventually had he lived" to "horrible and insufferable fake-ass bitch."

And then we get to the true impasse: the idea that something that does not fulfill every single one of your personal wishes might still be a great story.

I'm certainly not perfect, and there's things I thought I wanted for the end of C2 that I didn't get, and there's some things I do wish we'd have gotten to see (or that we'd have done in C3), but I like to think that I try to remain at least partially open to the possibilities. I like to think that my enjoyment of a story isn't contingent on whether one single character survives, even if they are my favorite (and I say this as someone whose favorite ASOIAF character was immediately Ned Stark, a statement that should surprise no one who follows me) nor that the story precisely reaffirms my existing worldview. I want stories to tell me something new and interesting that wouldn't come from my own head, and I want them to sell me on it. I think that a lot of people lost the thread of the importance of representation, namely, they forgot that while it's great to see people like you in a story, you should also be trying to see people not like you and perspectives that aren't yours. I am extremely defensive of my and other people's right to say "I didn't like this story and here is why" without someone being like "Give it a chance! Here's why I think it's good" but at the same time, there is a difference between "I really wish Molly had stayed alive and I don't like that he died," and "everything that happened after he died was A Mistake because it wasn't what I Wanted, and someone should fix this." Like that's what toddlers do. That's not an adult way of interacting with narrative.

So those people don't even get to the point of "the entire campaign is deeply influenced by the loss of Molly; that is what binds the rest of the Nein together and makes them what they are; the fact that Lucien wears the face of a departed friend is crucial to the entire final arc comprising about 20% of the campaign; and the fact that he does not come back, but someone new, with new chances and new choices to make does is emblematic of a campaign about people who find that they cannot undo their pasts, but neither are they trapped or damned by them." They're stuck at "guy I liked died and I'm throwing a tantrum 6 years later."

[pushingdaisies1]

Oh totally every PC character is dope.

For C1 I'd have to say Vex/Vax i love both of them incredibly much and i relate to them a lot on different levels. As an example i lost my mom early not in a death type of way but in the way that she isn't even trying to accept who i am by using my dead name and the wrong Pronounce.

For C2 it's Mollymauk just the minute he was introduced i connected with him because he's so incredibly eccentric and different. I've been named the "weird" kid for basically all my life so having a character that embodies that made me feel so good. After Molly died i was absolutely distraught and Kinda started to cling onto Caduceus. I also absolutely adore Veth thought because well after her True form is revealed to be on the chubby side it made me happy. I've always been immensely struggling with my body image due to different things so seeing that and the general body positivity in her character just warms my heart.

For C3 it's Ashton and Orym Ashton because as a Non-binary 19 year old who uses Neo Pronounce in a city which does not accept LGBTQ+ and a family which doesn't want to understand it, seeing a character use those pronouns made me feel so valid i also connect to him in a different way though.

Rehehe yah!! Ohhhh icicicicic, im really sorry about your mom not giving you the respect you deserve. Thats just uncalled for , but other than that I totally see what you mean<3 - out of the twins id probably relate most to Vex, both due to her personality and her connection with her brother Vax. Me and my sisters have a similar bond (being like hand and hand chaos gremlins) and we're just in general pretty close, which is where I also relate to Vax cause I think I'm just like a general protector type of person lol. SAME SAME SAMEEE!! To be fr... Mollmauk was the reason I realized I wasn't cis LOL. Hes always been very close to my heart as well haha , I always found his story super sweet. In general he was always a truly charming character , forever a bbg in my heart haha. Caduceus dudeee!! I love him so muchhhh!!! When he was talking to Fjord and said (this is my memory) "I don't really talk with people but I talk to people and I know people" During the episode after the whole blown up stuff in Nicodranas?? Shit hit super close to him , as well as he's just so awesome and fluffy and genuinely a true awesome character lol. I also get what you mean about Veth!! Her true form transformation reveal made me giggle and kick my feel back and fourth. Im also more on the chubby side as well as having some bad self-image issues , which made me gravitate towards Veths character more. She embraces herself and her identity/past sm it makes me feel so welcomed yk?? I totally understand where you come from when talking about Ashton and Orym. Your family should accept you dude, and it's on them for missing out on the amazing person you are<3 I definitely also gravitated toward Ashton cause of the fact I both use He/they pronouns and Im agender. Their very much like "fuck everyone and everyone else's opinion on me and myself" which just makes me feel really seen you know? I love watching them rage out and be the sickest punk rock rock out there lol. Personally I relate to orym cause Im used to being like the mediator/voice of reason in a lot of things you know? Like I try to make sure everyone's okay , doing fine , or always try to boost moods one way or another.