#or yasha's in C3 and beyond

[myowndesertplaces]

Watching Jordan Miller sing the Canadian national anthem tonight for the Four Nations Face-Off reminds me that Highway 6 by The Beaches is a BeauYasha song

K bye.

[shorthaltsjester]

sorry it so truly laughable to me to look at campaign 3 and determine the success of the stories therein based on screentime like. disregarding the fact that i personally take c3 to be the least valuable in terms of stories told, particularly ones about romantic love, for the moment: on principle it’s goofy as hell to think that a large amount of hours = a story that has something to say let alone something meaningful to say. like, yasha and beau, for example, have a fairly small amount of hours due to the fact that a) ashley missed half the campaign b) they were also generally slowburn, and while that influences the depth of certain aspects of the story, the time spent with yasha and beau has little to do with how meaningful their story is. it wouldn’t matter if they had 10 hours of screen time or 100 if what is in question is the story told; yasha’s story as someone chained by grief choosing to move on & beau’s story as someone angry after a life of being treated like shit finally getting justice for the wrongs done to her which both conclude in their campaign’s finales aren’t successful because I can launch some meaningless number of how many hours it took them to take build those stories together into the ether and say “they did this for women’s rights” just because two women existed beside one another. both yasha and beau resonate as stories that have a significant feminist read because they both deal with fantasy versions of things extremely relevant to women in a way that maintains their agency without shirking their responsibility, and they are particularly strong stories about queerness not simply because they’re two women who fuck but because they deal with emotional themes relevant to queer experiences — anger and grief — and how, while the reasons for those emotions are grounded ones, they both choose to grow beyond the boundaries they allowed those emotions to enforce in their lives.

further, the notion of screentime for a show that takes care to show all of the players on screen at a time in a medium where the player/character distinction isn’t always clear is such a subjective calculation and on top of being a stupid justification for ‘success’ or ‘value’ of a story, is also easy to manipulate to your favour.

it’s just, the screentime for im*dna’s relevance and success doesn’t ring true to me just because it’s a bad reason. but further it just isn’t persuasive. i don’t care if i see someone for 1000 hours or 1, if a story resonates it will do so with any amount of time. whatever amount of screentime they’re calculated to have does nothing to repair or hide the fact that their story as a couple says very little of value in the text, without whatever fanfic extrapolation has taken place (and to be clear, this isn’t to say fanfic can’t be valuable, it’s to say that the character explorations you do in fic or in meta for that matter doesn’t mean that analysis or elaboration is canon). like. halfway through the campaign, before they got together, imogen told laudna “our weirdness is what makes us right” and laudna agreed verbally but now 1 billion hours of screentime later or whatever, laudna has still failed to integrate that belief into her, which is made obvious in a scene after the divine intervention that ties laudna’s life to imogen’s when imogen tells laudna she’s grateful she got to hear the music of laudna’s thoughts, and laudna’s response is “it was probably a bit of the insanity, honestly”, something which on paper might read like a joke but in the moment is played like a (maintained from hours upon hours previous) dismissal of what imogen is saying she values about laudna, evident in the way laura/imogen deflates when she says “well, it was pretty…”. and simply because it’s been a trillion hours of screentime that’s supposed to be representative of a relationship in which the characters help each other to grow.

(addendum to say that stories that are about stagnancy can be just as valuable as stories about growth, but textually and by the sections of fandom im critiquing here, imogen and Especially laudna are treated as a relationship that grows)

truly, if anything, counting up as many hours as possible to dictate the success of imogen and laudna’s story actually ends up working against the story. because i’d probably be more forgiving of the stagnancy if it was a shorter story, but knowing that they had so many hours and still failed to deliver a story with actions and behaviour that matched the claims the characters would make and the tropes/themes that would get applied to them, that makes it worse.

[critter-genfic-events]

This week, we have nine (nein) fics that feature Time/Dimension Travel: Other universes, Isekai, time travel (in either direction)! Check them out beneath the cut and if you like them, remember to comment and kudos!

Remember Me in the Intervals by inkedinserendipity (70530,Teen) Warnings: the author doesn't warn for them but canon character backstory elements, major character death (implied) Pairings: The Mighty Nein & Caleb Widogast, Beau/Yasha, Yasha/Zuala, Caleb/Mollymauk

Caleb goes back to fix everyone's backstories instead of his own, basically.

Reccer says: It illustrates very clearly how much Caleb loves the Nein. Listen, this is SUCH a heart-wrenching story, I always cry when I read it BE WARNED! I usually read it twice: first in chapter order and then in chronological order.

In this World or any Other by Amrynth (1907,Teen) Warnings: Major Character Death (Canon) Pairings:

After Mollymauk's death in the Marrow Valley, he wakes up in the library with a burning need: to get back to his friends.

Reccer says: I liked it

The Worlds Between Us by Nellaplanet (159303,Mature) Warnings: graphic depictions of violence Pairings: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, Beauregard Lionett/Yasha Nydoorin, Beauregard Lionett/Jester Lavorre

Or; Caleb and Beau have to rapidly reexamine their worldview upon discovering that magic is not only real, but exists in a world all of its own (and that the people wielding it are unfairly attractive and very, very dangerous).

Reccer says: One of the great isekais in the fandom! I love all of the different elements they were able to weave in

every moment changes lifetimes (even moments we regret) by grayintogreen (789,Teen) Warnings: Major Character Death (time loops) Pairings:

Caleb is in a time loop, staring at the temporal dock

Reccer says: Heartbreaking and an interesting form

Fortune's Favor (Fortune's Fools) by flashhwing (30289,Teen) Warnings: Choose not to warn Pairings: Eventual Shadowgast

In another timeline, the Mighty Nein fall to Lucien. Essek, with Artagan-the-weasel's help, travels back in time to save them.

Reccer says: It's fun to see a late campaign Essek try to wrangle an Early Campaign Mighty Nein

What endures beyond the silent edge by Beleriandings (241985,Teen) Warnings: Choose not to warn Pairings: Canon relationships present

The Ring of Brass fall into the future during the Apogee Solstice. There, they meet the Nein.

Reccer says: It's fun seeing the various parallels and crossovers!

Fall Back by Killbothtwins (4050,Teen) Warnings: No archive warnings apply Pairings: Beauregard Lionett & Caleb Widogast

After the fight at the Malleus Key, mid-C3 Beau and Caleb are shunted not only through space but also through time, arriving back in early Campaign Two to friends who are very surprised by their sudden changes.

Reccer says: A really fun idea and a great way to highlight just how much change all of the Nein have gone through since the beginning of the series. Killbothtwins has a fun writing style and an excellent grasp of the characters' voices, the bantering reads just like what we hear around the table.

The Heart External by BeatriceEagle (3554,Teen) Warnings: CNTW Pairings: Caleb & Beau, Beau & Bren, Caleb & Bren, Caleb & OC, Beau/Yasha, Caleb/Essek

Post-C2. As Beau struggles with the challenges of being a new adoptive parent of a teenager, she receives an SOS from Caleb. She arrives to find him standing over his bound, unconscious younger self—and though Bren should be just an echo, it seems he isn't going anywhere.

Reccer says: A fantastic Caleb & Beau QPR—with all the warmth *and* friction of the original—as well as a nuanced, thoughtfully observed take on what Caleb being brought face-to-face (literally) with his younger self would really mean.

in the times inbetween by jakia (8098,Teen) Warnings: miscarriage, fantasy racism, homophobia (all mild but present) Pairings: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast Una Ermendrud & Caleb Widogast Leofric Ermendrud & Caleb Widogast

Una Ermendrud meets Caleb Widogast for the first time when she is nineteen and pregnant, and he’s passed out in her azaleas.'

Reccer says: It's everything I ever wanted in a 'Caleb actually completes his goal' fic: Una immediately clocks Caleb as the 'weird but sweet and harmless' type of wizard! Caleb makes a tiny paradox happen! Leofric punches Essek in the face (and it was awesome!)

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, it'll be Storytelling! Whether it be sharing backstories or spinning a brand new yarn, all are welcomed.

Then the weeks after that, it'll be Grog focused stories, Cross-Campaign works, and then Skill/Class Swap fics!

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!

Oh! Also! Critter Gen Week is happening! Prompts have been announced, you should check them out.

And hey, if you're looking for some more good gen content, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[kimium]

A4, A8, C3, and C7! For the Ask a Reader meme!

(From this ask HERE)

Thanks for the ask, Shreedle! I love what you picked! Let's get started!

A4: What is your AO3/FFN username? Has it always been that?

I honestly cannot remember my FFN username. I had one, that's all I can remember. What I can tell you is it wasn't Kimium because I had my FFN account before high school.

A8: What was your first fandom? Are you still in that fandom now?

My first fandom is a tie between Sailor Moon and Pokémon. The first fandom I read fanfiction for was a tie between Inu Yasha and Yu Yu Hakusho. I'd say I'm still in the fandom for Sailor Moon, Pokémon, and YYH, but at varying levels. Sadly, I wouldn't consider myself in the Inu Yasha fandom currently.

C3: Is there anything that makes you nope out of a story? What is it?

I have to list these by novel and fanfiction as they're separate categories.

For a novel what makes me nope out of one so fast is when there is the following:

-A female protagonist who is "not like" the other girls or is a "rebel" or is an "outcast" or is "fighting the system". Sorry, but that's so overdone and boring majority of the time because no one wants to reinvent the story tropes.

-There is a Mysterious, Hot, Male who just Happens to Come into her Life. Sadly majority of the time they play this trope straight and make him the main love interest.

-When romance movies have the main male do things that are 100% illegal/stalker-like/creepy and play them as "cute" and "romantic".

-Too much world building/power systems. Look, I love world building and power systems as much as the next person. I am a shonen anime fan. However, when books have intense glossaries or too many maps in the front before I even begin to read, I'm checking out.

-To side note off this point when there are legitimate family trees in the beginning of the story and notes about who is who in the family I also check out so fast it hurts. Not saying I haven't read stories with those before (see Clytemnestra which I read about a month ago and enjoyed) but sometimes it's too much.

Fanfiction

-NOT SEPARATING YOUR DIALOGUE INTO PARAGRAPHS WILL MAKE ME BACK OUT OF YOUR FIC SO FAST.

-Too much "telling" and not enough "showing". I don't need explanations for everything. You can describe it too.

-Not keeping to the same perspective in a clear, concise manner. I don't mind POV shifts but you cannot do that between paragraphs between characters with no indicators. That's so confusing.

-Writing in first person perspective. I'm sorry... for fanfiction it doesn't work for me.

-Self-inserts/a lot of OCs/Characterxreader: I am not knocking people who like that in their stories, but for me it's not my thing.

C7: Who is your NOTP?

I dislike Gojo/Utahime from JJK so much. It's not even because I'm a big Satosugu shipper. It's because they've barely interacted in the series proper and when they do it's clear Utahime cannot stand Gojo. When people ship them all I can think of is that horrible, horrible romance trope cliché of "She hates him... but secretly loves him" or "they start disliking one another but then FALL IN LOVE". I cannot stand those tropes.

If those two had more scenes/interactions beyond surface level stuff then perhaps I'd buy a bit more into it as an idea, but for now I refuse to even entertain it.

[vethbrenatto]

favorite cr c3 character?

For a while it was pretty solidly Ashton, but now I'd say I'm evenly split between Ashton, Chetney, and Fearne.

(Apologies for long ass answer)

Ashton is just such a fascinating character, I've been drawn to them since the beginning. Like many Taliesin characters, they have a superiority complex, or at least a sense that they have a better understanding of the world than others, and yet, they also show true compassion and care for their allies. I think the Laudna/Ashton conversation from last Thursday is a top 5 moment from this campaign so far for me, and that's mostly due to Ashton. The way that Taliesin portrayed it in Ashton being completely real with Laudna but only under the caveat of being drunk and letting their raw emotions shine through. And then to cover it up with "Oh, I don't remember, I was drunk" and have Laudna shut it down. I'm fascinated by some of their statements "I know loneliness you don't, I know the truth of people that none of you do." Not statements that I think are true, but statements I deeply want to understand more from their perspective.

Chetney is very within the mold of characters I tend to like. I'm drawn to comic relief characters that have more depth than they appear to at the surface (Grog & The Gnomes in C1, Veth in C2). Maybe this character wasn't intended to be that deep at its inception but became that way via roleplay and organic growth through the campaign, ala a Scanlan. I think Travis plays Chet in a wonderfully comedic way, while also never letting us doubt that they're not just there to be the haha funny grandpa. I also love someone finally playing something different on the age spectrum. D&D races can literally live hundreds of years- why is every adventurer in their 20s-30s (or at least in the equivalent of that for their race like the gnomes in C1)? Much like Veth, I enjoy the ability to more deeply analyze and look into a character that much of the fandom my pigeonhole into a small box or being "just one thing."

Fearne is a delight for me because truly, it just shows that Ashley Johnson Has The Range. Pike was looks like cinnamon roll, could kill you. Yasha was looks like she could kill you, is a cinnamon roll. Fearne is sort of another looks like a cinnamon roll, could kill you but in a COMPLETELY different way than Pike. I have been ITCHING for someone to play Fey and Ashley is tackling it so beautifully. The sideways morality, the impulsiveness. That is a HARD thing to pull off as a player, it's taking your better instincts of "No, that's not smart, that's a bad idea" and going "My character would do this, regardless of potential consequences." While I'm not that attached to Orym, I think Fearne's relationship with Orym is fascinating. Because of their EXU connection, she so clearly has a fondness and attachment to him that exceeds her connection with anyone else in the group and I think it's with an intensity that most others can't match. If push comes to shove, I feel she would prioritize him not just over everyone, but in spite of everyone- I think in connection to her Fey-ness, there's this sense of "This is my person" that goes above and beyond others who also have a person. It's why in the Laudna/Orym res, regardless of the coin flip (which is not me saying I think Ashley cheated it), I was confident Orym would be res-ed. It's why on Thursday despite her care and hesitancy to go up against Imogen, when Orym asks, "Are you with me?" The no hesitation answer is "Always." It's intense in a way that I don't even think is reciprocated- Orym of course loves and prioritizes her, but I think there's an intensity in the way that Fearne cares about Orym that's unmatched and that to me is fascinating. A very, who and how many would you throw in harm's way to save this one person situation.

[bcdaily]

I notice that you were on the last episode of CR2 a few days ago, did you make it through? Do you have Thoughts??

Yes! I finished last weekend! But honestly think I needed the full week to just process and push past my general malaise now that I was finished, though. I did have a lot of thoughts!

(Under cut and SPOILERS in case some of you are watching/might watch Campaign 2)

Overall, I honestly adored it. I literally have zero experience with any D&D outside of this, so while I can't say much about the quality of gameplay comparatively, the storytelling was just...beyond compare. Matt and the writers are truly gifted. And the whole cast just KNOWS how to do character work. Obviously some stronger than others, but the group dynamic between them all is just so balanced, so the disparity and styles mixing really worked. It filled such a happy hole of creative juices for me for four months. I'm honestly STILL feeling a bit bereft. (I have dabbled in a few episodes of C1 and C3 to see if either of those click, but I think I'm still too close to 2 and need a bit more time before jumping into another lol)

I think Caleb won out over Jester for my favorite character in the end. But that's just because I think Liam is the best role player and character worker in the campaign. He MAKES moments for himself and the other characters. It does so much to lift up both Caleb and the story. If I didn't already just love the character, I'd love him solely for that.

As for the end...well, mixed bag there, if I'm being very honest. Which probably comes down to two things, one a me problem, the other a them problem. The "me" problem was...lol, I'm sure you'll be SHOCKED to learn of my disproportionally heavy investment in the scant romance subplots. And, alas, watching this made me grapple with the fact that it has been a LONG ASS time since I hadn't bet on a winning horse. Usually the two dummies I want to kiss end up kissing. And you'll probably be equally as unsurprised to hear that I was alllllllll in for Caleb/Jester. So basically from the moment Fjord kissed her and it looked like it was actually going to be a Thing, I have been in an active sulk lol. I was able to delude myself for a bit because I know Travis doesn't LIKE romance, so I thought maybe they'd just leave it there and I could pretend, but no damn dice. And I would be lying if I said that didn't affect my general last act disposition. Liam was still giving me bits of content to the very end, but literally every time Laura and Travis talked I was whining. I didn't hate Essek/Caleb as much as I hated Jester/Fjord (THEY WERE SO FUCKING BORING), but neither was what I wanted. So that definitely put a deep pallor in general over my overall enjoyment. XD

The "them" problem was honestly how unfinished and disjointed the last episode seemed? All throughout the Aeor plot, as the episodes were dwindling down, I was sort of wondering how they were ending the campaign so soon when there was SO MUCH STORY still left on the table. And even though the last episode was seven hours, I was like...how are they going to do this? And honestly? They just...didn't? They did the fight with Trent, but for all the build-up of that, imo, REALLY strong plot line, it just ended really abruptly. And then the sort of disjointed, slapdash roundup of various threads. I thought Yasha deserved a PROPER look into her own history. Certainly Caleb and Beau deserved more about the Assembly shit. Even Fjord and his fish problem. I did listen to the roundtable afterward, and I suppose I DO agree with Matt's point that while you could've gone another plot arc in, the CHARACTER arcs at that point were more or less complete. Like, there was no feasible way you were keeping Veth and Caduceus there unless they were arrested or something. So he's not WRONG. And I also know this campaign ran during COVID and they were probably all just ready to move on. Fair. But even WITH that, I think the conclusion was so clumsy? Like, by just going around and doing the random vingettes and check-ins, it made everything so disjointed. Some people were like "here's what my character did for the next week" and others were like "here's what they did for the rest of their lives." And maybe more importantly, bouncing around like that made it so we SKIPPED the moments in which this group actually broke apart. You had goodbyes with Cad, and Caleb and Veth got a small one, but the one thing I think I ACTUALLY wanted from a Fond Farewell episode was Fond Farewells, and you just never got that. This group was, for all intents and purposes, saying goodbye to each other. And *I* was saying goodbye too. And I just never got that. So it felt very disorienting and incomplete. I think it still had good moments and I enjoyed them, but my ending impression was honestly...unsatisfied.

Overall I still loved the show and loved the characters and I don't know what the RIGHT way to end a campaign would be, my experience being LITERALLY only this, but I was generally underwhelmed by the ending. Loved the campaign and the show, but wished I felt more full-circle and complete at the close.

I probably have more thoughts too but these are all I can think of now and this is already reaaaaaal long. So, lol, the end.

[shadowgasp]

Okay. Time to briefly talk about the finale.

Holy moly was it emotional. First off: SHADOWGAST. The fact that they are together for awhile makes me want to cry. And the fact that they decide to separate because of Caleb’s older age makes me want to sob:) But besides that— Caleb getting to know that Trent is forever locked away, and that more investigations are going on in regards to Trent with Caleb involved in it,...idk man. I just think Caleb got a good ending. And him becoming a TEACHERRRRRR YALL WHEN I SAY I BAWLED—

Beauyasha’s ending was beautiful. Yasha getting to drop off the book was just.. just good. It was good. *cries my eyes out* and Beau getting justice for the crimes against her was *chefs kiss* FABULOUS.

Fjorjester... PERFECT. Jester getting her exploring in while Fjord gets to be where he belongs was so wonderful. And don’t even get me STARTED on the water tower scene. If someone doesn’t draw fanart of that moment I’m rioting—

Veth’s ending was of course a beaut. Don’t have much to say about it. I’m just really happy for her as a character and that she got the life she wanted. I hope we see more of her family in the future...>;) (LUKE IN C3???? Lol)

Caduceus spending the rest of his days in peace and casual adventure was perfect for him. And mostly what I was expecting. It makes me happy to see Him and his sister going on trips together, and being able to imagine the hijinks they will get into.:,)

And of course I’ve gotta mention Kingsley. His short time with the Nein was pretty satisfying. Especially since he ends up stealing Fjords boat and that’s just the end of his story XD

-anyways. I’m so sad it’s over. But so thankful for the story we got to hear. Matthew Mercer once again did an excellent job giving the cast a fun campaign while tugging at our heart strings simultaneously. His talent is beyond my understanding and I’m eternally thankful for him.

Thank you, Critical Role. And is it Thursday yet?

[captainsspnanon]

C2E65 - Chases and Trees - rewatch

Columbo or Critical Role….Columbo or Critical Role…. I think Critical Role, tonight!

We got some more good travel coming our way, and then we head into one of the few dungeon crawls of the campaign.  The crawls can be hit or miss with me, but I remember really enjoying this one a LOT, so I’m hoping it holds up on the second watch!

I forgot the nonsense that this DnD Beyond campaign turned into XD How many more bits of this do we have?  I know we’ve at least got the reversal reveal that it was actually Sam, the master debater bit, and then the closing statements bit where Liam goes full movie-i-can’t-remember-the-name-of.  Do we have more than those four?  (not counting the results at the live show, and then the reveal of the actual ‘presidency’)

Aww, Ashley being “I’ll take first watch” and going like anybody? Anybody?  Ready to RP please but I need someone to RP with!

Jester says maybe Yasha was a rock star during her memory loss!!  How much longer til the bone harp?  I feel like that’s AAAAGES away, but oh what a payoff to a throwaway bit!  WAIT JESTER EVEN SUGGESTS THAT SHE PLAYED A HARP

Ugh, the details of the Fields are so visceral and beautiful, it feels so ALIVE and REAL.  The creature scratching it’s back on one of the barbs, the dried out shell of the tortoise providing shelter and for them to explore, JUST SO GOOD.  I am trying to be a bit analytical of why this feels more alive to me than stuff from C3 – even though C3 gets plenty of detail, and I’m honestly not sure?  I know that Matt had collaborators in designing the continent for C3, maybe he feels more set by what was created by other and not as free to improv, whereas C2 he was basically the sole creator and thus could improv whatever he wanted?  Because let’s be real, we’ve gotten plenty of lovely descriptions of stuff in C3, but I tend to find details slipping from my mind.  Eh, it’s probably like Zadash. Zadash had a ton of stuff described at the beginning, but by the end of the campaign, Zadash was just the Gentleman’s and Pumat’s and that was it.  (realistically, it’s probably also because I started with C2 so that will likely always be my favorite and my ‘best’, the same way that people who started with C1 tend to talk about how C2 wasn’t anywhere near as good, and people who are starting with C3 are talking about how C2 is so hard to get into XD.  90% + of the time, your first will be your favorite, IMO.)

(brain going brrrrrr….time to switch to columbo)

(it’s like two weeks later now.  I can watch the first episode of season 4 of Columbo, or head into CR.  Think I’m feeling CR today!)

(wait I’m less than 45 minutes into the episode, what.   I thought I got further than this.  Shame on me!)

It’s within the past few episodes that Jester has really started to notice and become disappointed with Nott’s frequent drinking.  I believe it started when Nott felt she had to be drunk to confront Yeza, and has only steadily worsened from there.  I like how Laura has taken this and progressed it very slowly, to reach a boiling point on this trip with her taking the flask.  (I also appreciate that Laura mentions later in Talks that this is a very bad way to actually deal with alcoholism in real life, but this is a dnd game so bad decisions ahoy!)

I’m a bit sad I spoiled this fight for myself.  I didn’t use the critrolestats heavily when I was first watching C2, so this time around I’ve been going through all the monster analysis and such. Which means that I will click forwards until I get to the next blog post relevant for the episode, skipping the media references/jokes as that’s not my particular interest.  As such, I saw the post for the gloomstalker fight and literally went “don’t they just find the tree and the roc?  What gloomstalkers?”.  And now, here they are! Kicking myself just a bit as I genuinely would have been surprised when this occurred, especially as there is the tension of ‘you see a shape’, ‘you can tell the shape is the big creature, but lying down’, ‘the creature appears to be dead’, ‘there are dark blobs that are on the creature OH THEY’RE MOVING’ like – I would have completely fell for the tension!  As I’m sure I did the first time I watched.

Fucking SAM.  This giant goofball throwing out tactical plays when you least expect it!  Oddly, the moment of having the illusory moorbounder and rider falling behind the group?  It feels much more like Sam doing it than Nott doing it, to me.  Perhaps this is a reason that I’ve struggled with Nott a bit.  Don’t get me wrong, I love her, but she’s sort of the last on my list (excluding the Tealeafs), and I couldn’t figure out why.  With this, I think I’ve got it now.  When Nott does something clever such as this, I’ve been attributing it to Sam, rather than the PC.  Travis does something clever?  That was Fjord.  Marisha putting pieces together? It’s Beau.  Liam making big moves?  Caleb has nerves of steel when he needs it!  Sam making an awesome play?  Good job, Sam.  *shakes head at myself*  THAT has been some damn stupid bias on my part, and I’m not even sure why I’ve done that!  I need to readjust my thinking.  NOTT is the one who made the illusion of the moorbounder. NOTT is the one who had the illusion fall behind, to distract the gloomstalkers.  Not Sam, NOTT.

….I’m SO disappointed in myself that just that realization is having me go ‘oh wow, Nott is so much smarter than I gave her credit for!’ WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.  

Okay, in at least some fairness to myself, this is actually a consistent struggle that I have with all of Sam’s PCs.  Sam in some ways has the Dimension 20 style of play – improv comedian going for the joke no matter what.   And while I am fully enjoying Dimension 20, I do not in any way get as invested in the PCs as I do with CR, and it’s because the players are always Visible.  At CR, there are a lot of times where you actually forget you’re watching the players because the PCs take the forefront and it’s just like watching them as if they were in full costume and makeup – so to speak.  In D20, the players are at the forefront with all the jokes and references (as well as their style of play and interactions with the DM and other players).  (also let me be clear, this is not WRONG. It’s just different, I thoroughly enjoy both CR and D20!)  Sam is frequently the member at the CR table where it feels like Sam is forefront, and his PC is less visible.  I have this issue with Scanlan, with Tary, with Fresh Cut Grass, as well as with Nott.  And it does mean that I give at least some of the PCs less credit than they deserve (Tary and Nott for the most part.  Mainly because Scanlan IS a joke deliberately for the first chunk of C1.)  I doubt this realization will change things overall for me, but hopefully now I can be aware of it more!

(last bit on this topic – but this also techincally plays along with the stats, with Nott currently having the second highest INT at the table until Beau gets her headband.  Nott IS the second smartest, she just displays it in different ways than Beau and Caleb, and she’s also heavily self-deprecating and robs herself of a lot of her own talents)

I really enjoyed the first part of the combat being non-standard (I canNOT think of the word I want to use right now) with no rolling of initiative, but still respecting the essential balance of turns.  Of course, there is something delightful with all three moorbounders failing their con saves, and then moving this into a more classical combat encounter.

This seems to be around the time where Matt has started using HDYWTDT more regularly, which I’m mixed feelings on.  With the last battle and this, there were multiple assailants, and each one got the HDYWTDT.  While I appreciate having the more detailed descriptions from the players knowing it’s the death blow, there still is something very exciting having the last (or the most important) opponent be the sole HDYWTDT in a combat.  Even though the question serves the same purpose regardless of who it’s for (provide flavor for the finishing move), there’s the level of ‘yay killed the guy’ and ‘HOLY CRAP WE DID IT OMG WE WON’.  That’s the downside of it become a catchprase of kinds, I guess.  Instead of just being a utility statement, it becomes a Thing, and then when it’s used for it’s utility purposes, the Thing feels like it’s being cheapened.

Lol I like that it’s been so long, Liam/Caleb forgot he could cast dancing lights under a rag.

OH GOD THIS IS THE SILLY STRING!!!!  in honor of liam and laura’s birthday – yup, that makes sense.  Fricken chaos twins

I do like how they immediately call Travis out for being the first to fire, but we all know it’s Liam.  Liam is pure chaos, but in just a different way that people tend not to think of him as chaos.

I feel like I eventually need to watch a supercut of all Essek moments, just because every time I hear Matt speak as Essek I always think it sounds wrong, which means that I don’t know what I even think Essek actually sounds like!  Either way, I still wonder why Essek says that they’re doing him proud by making it to the Arbor Exemplar.  It doesn’t seem to feel right, either with Essek deep in deception mode, or Essek slowly warming up to them.  Perhaps just related to the fact that Essek told the Bright Queen that he trusts their capabilities, and the fact that they’ve made it there is proving him right.

Caleb asking Nott if she wants to sleep with vulture!Frumpkin tonight, my HEART.  It really is quite obvious how Caleb shows affection through Frumpkin, and then every moment is just seeing it more clearly.

The beauty of the Wildmother reaching Fjord and saving him from the Uk’otoa dream is two-fold.  Thee-fold.  The first is just the imagery and knowledge that the Wildmother is reaching out to help Fjord, that she is giving him the opportunity to be better than he is and not feel the need to remain with Uk’otoa just for the powers he provides (or at least, the start of Fjord’s journey with this). The second is the rest of the cast reacting as Matt narrates.  And the last is the beauty that you can only see with a rewatch after you’ve watched the Talks, where Travis says he though Matt was referring to Fjord’s mother rather than the Wildmother.  Travis/Fjord’s face in this scene – the widening of his eyes, the slight hint of a smile – with that knowledge, adds a level  of tenderness, longing, wistfulness…..just a soft subtle moment from a misunderstanding that genuinely leads to a much more beautiful moment.

Considering I had much more of a remembrance of a blow up in regards to Tori, I think I completely missed the aspect of this story going over Beau’s self-deprecation and lack of confidence.  She really was so put down when she was with her family.  She gets bailed out of jail, and because of that she thinks that Tori hates her forever, to the point where she’s reluctant/scared to try to find her again because she expects Tori to punch her in the face?  For something that wasn’t in her control?  Either Marisha discusses what she thinks would happen later on down the line, or my brain just added more into it – feelings about being a ‘rich kid’ able to be bailed out, the fact that Tori wasn’t bailed out as well, etc. etc. But in the end, in the truth, there’s a lot more assumptions of feelings by Beau than her taking the time to find out the true feelings that Tori may have had, which parallels quite nicely with Beau’s overall arc and character growth by the end of the campaign.

“I’ve seen you.  I’ve seen you a lot.”  OOOF.  I thought this was from WAY later in the campaign, by around the time they were almost dating!  This early??  And also, right before Obann takes her away???????  That is a sucker-punch to the GUT.  And for Beau to hear that, and then less than a week later have Yasha ‘betray’ the group??  No wonder she got so defensive so quickly.  UGH THESE TWO.

(for the record, Beau’s also in her Jester crush stage at the moment, and has been for a bit though I’m not sure where to pinpoint the start of it, but while it’s a fun pairing, it was never one that I really shipped.  Mostly because Jester really has been so singularly focused on her interest in Fjord, but also because the Beau and Jester dynamic to me has always felt more of a fast bonding friendship – with the roommates and silly conversations and deep conversations and opening up your heart.  If it had become the canon ship I wouldn’t have felt that it came out of nowhere, but I feel like it would have required a solid chunk of roleplay from Laura to smoothly transition from Fjord feels to Beau feels.  With Beau and Yasha, yeah it’s awkward and stilted and uncomfortable at times, but it feels like there’s been mutual interest from the start, even if the interest was more shallow or superficial.  Ashley did confirm in the wrap up that Yasha did go to brothels, so it’s not like she didn’t let herself have any interest outside Zuala, just that I think she shied away from any romantic interest for the longest time.)

Out of the 69 total recorded rolls for Frumpkin for perception on critrolestats, he averages either a 12.8 or a 13 depending on if I made a mistake in my calculation or not (there’s either 68 or 69 perception rolls and I can’t be assed to go through a second time). There are a lot of high rolls in there, but also a lot of low rolls. Still, it’s above average!  I’m team Give Frumpkin Credit.  XD

Beau running up this tree is so fucking badass I can’t even.  I was shocked the first time I went into dnd forums and saw people shitting on monks and saying monks were bad because my experience of monks was BEAU BEING FUCKING AWESOME.

Honestly?  This climbing section would be a great introductory scene for someone for either considering getting into critical role, or wondering what dnd can be like.  You’ve got 1) showing off the skills of a class via Beau not needing to roll to run up the tree, 2) showing off the mechanics of the game by having Fjord and Jester roll, 3) showing off how failing the game can work by Jester falling on a nat 1, versus just clinging to the tree and not increasing on a 9, 4) showing off how you can play with a failure by Fjord using thunder step and Nott and Caleb using feather fall to save Jester from the nat 1, 5) showing off how roleplay is involved with Jester coming up with in game reasons for not being able to progress (her hands are sweaty because she fell, she’s nervous!), 6) showing off how the DM is in control but still will play by the rules, but can also change adjustments on the fly, and then 7) showing off how even if you’re not involved in the scene you can still have fun with Caleb making the decision afterwards to polymorph, and Caduceus reacting to each thunder step damaging the tree.

Liam’s eagle cry is reminding me of a flut-flut from jak and daxter.  ...*goes to check voice credits*  nope not him okay never mind

OMG when Beau jumps from the tree Marisha does the EXACT SAME ARM MOVEMENTS as the Keyleth cliffjump!!

I totally forgot that the actual roc was there because I only remember the bit about the roc baby, but now I’m vaguely remembering.  Don’t they polymorph it and it keeps attacking Jester?  Like as a baby bird or baby bat or something?

[sun-critrole]

Sun's For-Fun Class Hopes for C3

Disclaimer: obviously, Critical Role is the cast's game, and they should play whatever they want, because it's theirs and we-the-viewers have no ownership over it.

THAT SAID.

Boy do I wanna see some people play some classes.

Travis: Artificer. Something still in the magical realm, because he plays Fjord so brilliantly. I also think his tactical nature would serve this class well. Honorable mention: Blood Hunter.

Laura: Monk. She would fucking kick ass. Jester is such a cool cleric, but I think Laura is incredible at melee range stuff and I want more. Also, the way her dice have been treating her lately, this woman deserves to roll more attacks. HM: Bard.

Liam: Warlock. He does dark themes so well, but beyond that, he understands the importance of aesthetic. Which is half the point of a warlock, anyway. HM: Druid.

Sam: Barbarian. Let Sam Go Hog Wild All The Time. His ad bits have proven he's entirely capable of inspiring rage, and I'd love to see him play a martial class. HM: Cleric.

Ashley: Bard. This is not just a knee jerk reaction to Yasha's harp--I really think she misses being a caster, and the versatility of bards just can't be beat. HM: Druid.

Taliesin: Sorcerer. A deceptively narrow spell list combined with advantageous metamagic? Throw Wild Magic on there and it's basically got his name on it. HM: literally anything he's a genius

Marisha: Paladin. This one gave me trouble, because Marisha has consistently displayed her ability to be a motherfucking badass at whatever she plays. Paladins are my favorite class, though, combining healing ability with martial strength. The best of both worlds. HM: Fighter.

Is this a balanced party dynamic? Hell no! But the heart wants what it wants. Going from two clerics to zero sounds like a truly terrible idea. However, I stand by my decisions, because this is for fun and also the lulz. Please do not respond in great detail about how wrong I am, I do not care.

If you have other class suggestions for C3, you can drop them in my ask box. Let's be real, as long as they're still playing, I'll be thrilled.

[mell0bee]

[ID: a series of 8 powerpoint slides, all written in comic sans font.

The first slide reads: Why Sam Riegel Should Play A Cleric in C3

a powerpoint by tumblr user mell0bee

i should be doing my chemistry homework

(this is all meant very lightheartedly)

The second slide reads: POINT 1: DUNK ON LAURA BAILEY

the most important reason honestly

sam had to watch laura as jester not heal for like most of the campaign

i think he should roast her some more

it would be very funny

also dunk on talesin and ashley too but mostly laura

There is a photo in the top right of Sam and Laura sitting together at the Critical Role table, in their futuristic hacker NordVPN ad bit costumes. Sam is smiling and Laura is smirking and has her eyebrow raised. The photo is captioned: 'i miss them sitting together :( '

Another photo in the bottom right is a screenshot of the Critical Role linked transcript search, it reads:

SAM: I'm going to pop a healing potion.

LAURA: Oh, I can help you. You want me to heal you?

SAM: I mean, I don't want to impose, but I'm bleeding profusely.

LAURA: I'm going to cast Cure Wounds.

The photo is captioned: 'seriously just look he can dunk on her even more'

The third slide reads: POINT 2: THE LONG CON

sam is really really good at creative spell use and strategy, especially in a support role

my evidence is sam playing scanlan like at all, but especially the vecna fight

dude was the master of buff/debuff and of course the long con

playing veth he favored spells or other creative actions even when it would be more beneficial to do sneak attack dps

i mean this in the best way i love veth’s combat choices so much

so i think seeing him in a full caster and/or support role would be really cool

In the top left there is a screenshot of Critical Role campaign 1 episode 114. Sam, Marisha, Matt, Travis, and Liam are smiling and celebrating, as well as Ashley on Skype. Laura is looking down, and Taliesin and Joe Manganiello look impressed. It's captioned, 'if u know u know what happened here and it was AMAZING'

The fourth slide reads: you might be thinking ‘but why not another support caster’ which brings me to

POINT 3: THE CLERIC SPELL LIST

LOOK AT IT

THERE’S SO MANY

idk how many there are but its a LOT

!!!!

sam was limited with spell slots as veth and taking spells as scanlan but clerics can switch out their spells

so he gets ALL OF THESE

i want to see what he would do with it

this is now a psychological experiment

imagine the chaos

To the right there is a screenshot of the cleric spell list from DnD Beyond, showing the first 10 cleric spells sorted in alphabetical order.

The fifth slide reads: POINT 4: THE CLERIC MORAL COMPASS

pike, jester, and cad were all definitely considered the ‘heart’ of the group

not that they’re all pillars of morality but the group definitely looked to them for guidance and they all cared abt other people very deeply

i could make a whole other powerpoint about this

my point is i cannot see sam playing into this at all

though it would also be good if he did tbh

but not playing into it would shift the group dynamic and subvert the healer heart trope

imagine the heart of the group being like a fighter or something that would be cool

also brings me to my next point

There is a cropped screenshot to the right of a Critical Role Campaign 2 episode, of Laura and Taliesin hugging. Below it reads: 'I love team cleric so much look at THEM!!!' Above it reads: 'who will be the heart of the party now huh certainly not sam riegel'

The sixth slide reads: POINT 5: NEUTRAL CLERIC???? EVIL CLERIC????

do i even need to say anything else

i love how sam played veth’s morality so much

IMAGINE exploring neutral or evil gods with a PC

i know wildmom is TN, kord is CN and artie is artie

but cad n fjord n yasha never really explored that

and artie is not a god <3

esp because gods tend to influence the endgame…. it would be neat

To the left is a photo of all the deities of Exandria from the Critical Role Wiki, organized by alignment. It's captioned: 'hmmmmmmm'

The seventh slide has two columns of text. The left one reads: Other reasons

sam and marisha are the only 2 main cast members to not play a cleric in a main campaign or oneshot (at least i’m pretty sure)

sam also has not played a main campaign pc (and i think oneshots too?) with a high wisdom score

threatening to not heal/revive people

seriously so many jokes

sam with divine intervention what will he do

it would make me personally very happy

The right column reads: Subclasses

anything we haven’t seen before would be very cool

i am biased towards knowledge domain because i like ioun and also mind reading

But also:

twilight domain

tempest domain

light domain

forge domain

arcana domain

death domain?????

The eighth slide reads: in conclusion:

liam pls pick cleric for sam it would make me very happy

in all seriousness:

lots of these things i mention i want to see any pc do not just sam’s

i just think that he’s the most likely to do these things

and i wanna see what he would do with the class

that is all thanks for reading my dumb powerpoint

There is a photo of Sam to the right, with Travis in the background, taken on the Between the Sheets set. Sam's eyes are very wide and his hand is on his chin. Underneath the photo is text that reads: i cannot believe i actually did this i really am that much of a veth and scanlan stan huh

/End ID.]

this is perhaps the dumbest thing i have ever made and it turned out way more serious than i thought but here you go tumblr

i will add an id in the reblogs in a bit!