#probably going to do as I did with the thordak ep and at least get to the break before I crash

[bananathebookworm]

TLOVM S3 Eps 4-6 Ramblings

Ep. 4

Ashley is just... so good at what she does...

Hell is disgusting. I love it.

I know splitting the party is almost always a bad idea in D&D, but I really like how they've done it in this series. It helps to get through so many important plot points. (And also makes it easier on the animators to have less characters involved in each scene.)

The concentration check fail to drop their disguises is a nice touch

I like that we get more about the NPCs stories simply because they introduced things like EXU later. They expanded on lore that didn't exist when this campaign was originally played and it's really cool to see. I'm only disappointed we didn't get to see Senokir.

Loving this card game between Pike and Zerxus.

I really want Bell's Hells to go to the Hells and talk to Zerxus. I mostly just want Luis back at the table. Let him take over like Abu did.

Also the Aabria, Brennan, and Matt in the stained glass pictures while Zerxus is retelling of his friends during the Calamity is phenomenal.

"Do you want your family here?" Damn Pike. Get him.

"We all have blindspots." I refuse to believe that wasn't a deliberate reference to Ashley's show. Especially after Scanlan's reference to Phoenix Wright a few episodes ago.

I need a mini-series of Zerxus life in Hell please.

Ep. 5

Kima and Allura being badass is always a plus. I want a mini-series of their adventuring days.

I wish they had included Scanlan slaying the pit fiend with Mythcarver. It was one of the only times Scanlan used his sword and we got one hell of a cutting words song from it. And also no one but Keyleth saw his victory which would've added to the "Scanlan is not appreciated enough" story.

"Let's get weird." I love that they throw in the various player phrases too. Not just the one-liners from characters, but the actual quirks of the players at the table that span all characters.

Kaiju battle! The only thing missing is Pike's Divine Intervention punching Vorugal out of the sky.

The Magnificent Mansion baby!

Ep. 6

Chateau Shorthalt! Love it.

Okay, but the cannonball contest is one of my favourite downtime moments. I know it was probably passed over for time, but I'd love to see it animated.

Oh god, the bath scene. I knew they wouldn't pass it over just because of how everyone reacted to that moment, but I wasn't sure how they were going to do it. Welp. Here we are. Fucking hilarious as always.

I love these moments of character bonding so much. I know we can't have as many of them in the series as in the game, but it's good that they include at least a few.

Oh this scry is rough... Scanlan is not well.

Well shit. I didn't think he'd leave at that moment. Though I do like that Pike both knows and encourages it because Ashley wasn't there for this whole thing. Sam said that if she'd been there Pike would've been the only one that could've convinced him to stay. I'm really curious if we're still going to get the "What is my mother's name?" breakdown.

Are Kash and Zahra going to return? I know they were there for at least part of this lead up to Thordak.

I really love how these different battles are choreographed. I love that they can combo and support each other's abilities now that initiative order doesn't need to be tracked.

General

I'm really enjoying this season so far. So many important character things are happening both independently and as a group.

I don't necessarily love the pacing, but I also understand that condensing a 500 hour campaign into seasons that are about 4.5 hours long total is a fucking behemoth of a task. Like even if we go two more seasons, that's only 20-25 hours total. So much has to be cut and reworked to make a coherent story.

[thessalian]

Thess vs TLOVM S3, Ep 3

Tried some Silent Hill 2, but a bad pain day has overtaken me and I am not up for getting ambushed by Lying Figures two at a time, once in an enclosed space. (Fucking record store.) Not that I didn't survive; it as just not fun when I've been having pain spasms in my left elbow most of the evening.

So instead, I'm going to liveblog TLOVM. I understand from the few spoilers I couldn't really avoid that I'm going to see a variation on one of my favourite scenes. So let's see.

Oooooh Raishan ... I mean, you're not as trustworthy as you want anyone you've been dealing with to believe, but ... say smarter things, Deceiver...

Okay, honey, your only hope is that Vorugal withholds that message he was told to give because he's greedy enough to want your empire. And hope that you can get Keyleth to believe that you're at least not immediately selling them out to Thordak. Otherwise, certain bits of your fate are going to happen a lot sooner.

Grog ... that is an A-B conversation, so C yourself out. Also ... I know people are going to think this is happening too fast, even those who saw the campaign as it happened, but ... what the fuck else are they supposed to do when they didn't have, "The arrows were flirting?" "The arrows were totally flirting"?!?

I guess Scanlan is very much invested in that whole thing he was talking to Kaylie about. If he forgets who he is when the lute goes down, he's going to hold it for as long as possible.

Someone taught Grog the phrase "spill the tea", and he only used about half of it. Typical.

"...perhaps I'll cut down the Sun Tree and build an extravagant canoe." Cassandra, you have recovered from your ordeal so very well.

YOU TELL HIM, CASSANDRA!

Yeah, Percy, "eugh" is right; that's terrible. Just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind that isn't self-recrimination and you will be fine-- Yeah! THAT'S the spirit!

Admittedly? I miss the multiple bottles. Maybe the animators in charge of this weren't up for Taliesin's earlier demand: "I will be expecting labels for all of those".

This is why we all need to be glad that Vex is ... Vex. If she was too much like her brother? This would be the result. Vax, borrow your sister's chutzpah for one night.

Wait. Wut.

"...Right. Shutting up now." So ... we decided on 'after', then. And that thing you said just before you knocked, Percival? Her. Not 'it'. HER.

Ah, so someone on screen has finally figured out the bit about "it doesn't necessarily mean everyone but her gets brutally murdered". Still, take your joys where you can, you idiot.

"So ... joy today isn't worth pain tomorrow--" THAT'S WHAT I JUST SAID. THANK YOU, KEYLETH.

Well ... at least one of the Vessar twins is happy. And ... you know ... not a self-sacrificial dipshit.

Well. They had a good time.

"Good talk." BWAHAHAHA!

Well ... this is probably better than being high on magical drugs at important moments? Maybe?

brb - laughing at the dipshits.

I still have to wonder how they got this allowed. I thought Orion Acaba owned the rights to the name Draconia. Then again, he's done shit-all with it since 2019, so ... I dunno, maybe a deal was cut, or something? No one's even made mention of it.

Scanlan ... you bundle up that far and you still leave half your chest exposed?

Dohla... Dohla ... Rachel House. Hrm. Nothing I've seen, but most people would be all about Thor: Ragnarok, Moana, and Our Flag Means Death. Right. Moving on!

Okay, if we have the good ship Perc'halia being dragged in and out of dry dock for the sake of angst when we've already got Vaxleth beached and Scanlan ... you know, having a significant identity crisis that he's not getting help for (partly because he won't let anyone, but that's another thing)? I'm going to slap someone.

Well. Welcome to Hell. Nice place. In a "Night On Bald Mountain With Better Lighting" sort of way.

I ... was going to suggest that they spell it for Grog, but then I remember that they never did the thing where Pike taught him to read, so that'd be basically pointless. I ... don't think there's any way to correct him on that one.

Is it wrong that I'm not trusting Dohla?

Vex, what are you--? Ooooooooh shit. Well, that explains Yenk things.

So ... they're keeping the destruction of Draconia? Because however this come's out, Vorugal's going to tear shit up.

Also ... not trusting Dohla ... for a reason, apparently. This is a really interesting take on how things went in the campaign.

Seeing Allura and Kima fight is impressive.

I'm impressed no one did anything with the "We're edging" line. Then again, Scanlan's currently in Hell, so...

Dohla ... yeah, no, don't shit-talk ancient dragons. They will-- that. Yeah, there goes the story of you.

...I didn't know Fenthras could do that...

I know Kima is going to be okay. I know Kima is going to be okay. I know this entirely too well. It is going to be an object lesson of the "sometimes this shit works out" variety and everybody will be okay. I know this partly because campaign and partly because I need to know this down to my bones to get any sleep tonight.

At least Vex has somewhat more emotional intelligence than her brother-- mostly. Sort of. But at least Percy seems to understand what she's not-saying. And she did at least communicate worth a shit.

(Also that is probably the only way they can actually convey that will-they-won't-they dance of frustrating nonsense they had going during a lot of the campaign while dealing with a shorter-form format like half-hour episodes.)

Well ... that could have been a more painful cliffhanger... But I'm grateful it wasn't because I can't handle more adrenaline tonight.

Right. Winding down time. Hopefully I'll be in better shape tomorrow and the flu vaccine doesn't hit me too hard.

[alcarinon]

this entire day is going to be spent in a state of low-key [screaming internally] waiting for 10pm to get here

[svartalfhild]

Well, Fuck Me Gently with a Chain Lightning: A Pool of Tears for Critical Role Episode 80.

First of all, WOOOO FIRST EP OF 2017, SO THIS IS MY FIRST RECAP OF 2017.  May there be many more to come.

Alright, so I’m pretty sure that we can all agree that this episode was a goddamn clusterfuck.  I was shaking the entire time, much worse than through the Thordak fight too.  This was just the worst idea and it’s only through the fucking grace of Pike Trickfoot that nobody permadied.

When Vex died, I was just a mess.  I had to take off my glasses because I was crying so much.  She’s one of the characters I just wouldn’t be able to handle dying.  Thank goodness she got brought back so quickly, because I had a feeling we were about to see Percy’s reaction to her death, and given how much Taliesin was emphasizing helping Vex beforehand and how he reacted when Vex failed that last saving throw, I got the impression that he was also dreading what that was going to do to Percy.  And Vax?  Vax doesn’t even know she died because he was out when it happened.  Fuck.

And then when Scanlan died it was like...wow.  This is the literal worst fight they’ve ever been in.  Scanlan is pretty much their leader.  With him dead, how is the rest of VM gonna cope with that?  AND THEN PIKE COMES IN LIKE THE ANGEL SHE IS AND SAVES THE FUCKING DAY AGAIN WITH AN EXTRA HELPING OF FEELS.  FUCKING BLESS.  Also, Sam’s comment about his death, “He died as he lived: hard.” had be laughing through my tears in true Scanlan style.

Scanlan stopping the Prismatic Spray was so damn clutch, though, let’s be real.  He’s defs #2 for MVP this episode.  That shit is NASTY af.  I did a fucking victory dance of joy when he counter spelled that shit.

Those lair effects were really doing a lot to fuck VM over.  I feel like they might have managed to win if it hadn’t been for those lair actions.  Matt seemed to be making it pretty clear by the end there that Raishan was almost down and if just a few more things had fallen in their favour, I feel like they would’ve killed Raishan.

And now that Raishan is loose, I’m terrified as hell over what she’s planning to do.  My #1 concern is Whitestone.  I think that because she had free access to the city, she probably has some shit in place that will do serious harm to the city if she ever decides to attack.  Also, what is she doing with Thordak’s body and those eggs (which I’m fairly certain got poached)?  I’m not so certain about what she’s up to anymore.  I’m so fucking scared, y’all.

Poor Kima, not getting to really do anything during the fight.  At least Gilmore got in a few good spells.  I’m so glad he’s with them, because he’s pulled off some pretty important shit.  That he survived as well just has me so relieved, oh my god.

OKAY BUT VOX MACHINA ONCE AGAIN BEING THWARTED BY A FUCKING DOOR.  ICONIC.  AND THEN GROG BEING THE ONE WHO FIGURES IT OUT.  THAT’S HOW YOU KNOW THINGS HAVE GONE FUCKING SIDEWAYS.

I think Scanlan’s now gonna be carrying some terrible guilt about not summoning J’mon sooner, because they really weren’t able to do much before Raishan peaced out.  Most of their attacks didn’t land and they weren’t getting their breath weapon back.  It was just the worst.  If they’d been their sooner, things might have gone a lot differently and I think Scanlan knows that, not just Sam.  Scanlan’s gonna have more angst, my dudes, and I don’t know if I can handle it.

With all this Spider-Percy going on, I’m shocked and offended that no one seems to have jumped at the excuse to draw a Perc’ahlia Spider-Man kiss.  I’d do it myself, but I’ve always been utter shit at drawing people kissing, for some weird ass reason.

I am having a lot of fun wondering what exactly VM is going to do now.  Are they going to forgo any celebrations over Thordak and just bend everything towards finding Raishan and killing her?  Is Raishan just going to disappear and they’re gonna have to stew over it for a while and get super paranoid because anyone could be Raishan?  WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN WITH THIS?  I’M SO TERRIFIED.  PRETTY MUCH ALL OF MY POST-THORDAK HOPES HAVE BEEN SQUASHED OR AT LEAST PUT ON HOLD.

Tune in next week for more of me screaming into the ether.

[thessalian]

Thess vs TLOVM S3, Ep 4

It's still mostly been Wildermyth today, but of course yesterday was the day the next few episodes of TLOVM dropped. So here we go with Ep 4, still rationing episodes so there's not too long to wait between drops.

C'mon, Pike. get it togeth-- oh. Oooooooh. This ... is a bad bad thing. Especially since I read the episode teasers and for someone who needs to treat her soul as precious ... using it as a bargaining chip in a card game feels like not the best call.

I know that Matt's voice is in that chorus of damned souls ... but I'm pretty sure at least some of the others are in there too.

...So do we know when the S3 soundtrack is going to drop? I looked it up on Spotify but there was a random playlist under that name so either they're holding that name for the time being or someone was an absolute asshole. Anyway, point is, that one belongs right up there with "Mighty Scanlan, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise!" as something that just needs to randomly turn up on my Liked Songs playlist-- Um. What is Keyleth supposed to be, exactly?

Closest Google gives me is a wendigo. I doubt they looked all that closely, though - they just needed something creepy-looking with antlers, because Keyleth always has antlers.

Okay, dunno what's calling for Pike at this point but it ain't good.

"Lots of people have told me to come here". Oh, Grog, never change.

Oh, Keyleth, EWWWWWWWW.

The second-hand embarrassment is strooooong.

Wait. Is Zerxus the one calling Pike?!?

Oh, Vax. Oh, Vax, you are going to look back on that and ask Percy to return that punch in the face you gave him after the Deathwalker's Ward Incident because you have earned it.

Vex, Percy, you two are still so adorable.

Oh. Oh Vorugal, you have no idea who you pissed off.

Pike. Pike NO. ...Oh, honey...

So it is Zerxus calling to Pike.

Why. Did. You. Not. Keep. FLYING?!?

Ah, I was right! Now. Luis Carazo. Who he? Well, he was in Calamity, that's a start. Candela Obscura ... EXU as Zerxus himself, so I no longer feel bad about spoilers because any of you who watched EXU probably already knew from the voice ... clearly a WoD fan... Cool. Moving on.

Ah. J'mon Sa Ord not always the honest type.

Oh. Oh, she is using her soul as a precious thing. If only an exquisite offer would get them the Plate, that's exactly how she's treating her soul.

Zerxus, I know you're a devil and everything, but you are also, for all your manners and not immediately going to the murder, an asshole.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't have read what happened in EXU, but ... that explains a lot. He's looking for redemption and ... I wonder if he thinks she can really give it to him. And if she really can, whatever he believes she can or not.

Pike, the fuck?!?

Pike, the fuck?!?

PIKE, FOR PITY'S SAKE; ASK HIM SOMETHING NOT ABOUT THE CARDS!

THANK YOU.

Aaaaand they're using the art style of the EXU opening credits.

Took you long enough, Pike.

And there's his tell.

YEEEEEENK! ...He's not losing graciously, is he.

Noooooooope. Though I do wonder whether, when he says "His ascension is at hand, we are of his blood", he means Thordak through the gem in his chest or ... possibly the Whispered One. Vox Machina have been a barrier to the plans of both parties, after all, and the Whispered One has ... ambitions.

Huh. Different simplified art style in the end credits. Neat.

That's a cliffhanger I can leave it on, definitely. I didn't remember the details of the whole trip to the hells (partly because it was seriously de-emphasised in the campaign and mostly I remember Vex buying a couple of aasimar children to free them from slavery, which I think bumped her to either Chaotic Good or Neutral Good from True Neutral but I'm not entirely sure; set the stage for her being a champion of the Dawnfather, anyway), but those details were obviously changed to fit Zerxus into it anyway, as well as weaving it into how Yenk ends up beating on Vorugal, so works for me. Honestly, I think the way they're reorganising the campaign to fit a shorter episodic structure (both shorter in terms of number of episodes and length of the episodes themselves) with the addition of stuff from other campaigns works remarkably well.

So more of that in a couple of days, and for now ... decisions about dinner. I am still fucking tired, and don't feel like cooking. *whine*