#yes grog is one of my favorites from vox machina

[lunarspiral1127]

So, Legend of Vox Machina season two is coming out next month (which I had NO FREAKING IDEA IT WAS THIS SOON), and I just got one thing to say.....

Grog's beard.

Grog's beard.

GROG'S BEARD.

GROG'S....FREAKING.... BEARD!!!!

Look how happy he is! It's so freaking precious! 😫

[vethbrenatto]

yeah, im underwhelmed by the thordak fight episode. particularly as a grog + gnomes stan girl, i think it's missed the mark.

as i mentioned in the previous post, scanlan dying without any commitment made to kaylie is a travesty and his distance from vox machina prior to what will be a bard's lament just doesn't feel as palpable as the game version. in these episodes it's kind of just felt like he's been broody- part of what makes ABL so good is that you don't see it coming until it does, and then when it does, you see all the signs. it's so obviously transcribed here that i feel it's going to dull the moment.

i think pike's faith in herself is interesting, but not the story i would have guessed they'd give her. i understand and support giving pike a story outside the canon of the game to make up for ashley being present here versus absent at the table, but i just don't feel like crisis of faith is super pike here? like she already had a crisis of faith arc in an earlier season, resolved it, and came out stronger. pike is a character in the game that almost never wavers in her devotion to sarenrae and i think that's actually a really interesting part of her, so this season's arc isn't fully playing for me.

grog has been hopelessly sidelined this season and this, which i would say is arguably his biggest episode in the season yet, A) still barely has him and B) i think lessens the impact of one of my favorite RP moments from the game. Yes- i mean "FIX HIM!" the point of "fix him" is that it's ANGRY GRIEF. it's DEVASTATION. it's INDIGNATION that the world would take grog's best friend away. it is not a soft, gentle plea and i don't think it fits grog's character to be one.

overall, i just have generally way more enjoyed season 2 compared to this season.

[cringefaecompilation]

so i just say your post asking about anyone who liked bh but hates the mn and. yes. i am one of those people. i started watching cr around episode 31 of vox machina, started with episode 1 of mn, and didn't make it past episode 5 on the first watch through. i didn't like any of the characters except yasha but having an ashley character be your favorite character is ROUGH - and seeing that pike was my favorite from vox machina (quickly followed by grog and scanlan), i learned the lesson pretty early on.

but yeah. i dislike the mn. i won't watch anything that doesn't have caduceus in it because he was the only saving grace for me and the only reason i actually started watching again. assholes just aren't interesting to me. i didn't care for them. now that i've watched some past episodes i dislike them less, but i don't find any of them really all that interesting. and when caduceus is the only reason you watch... well. it's not really a good time.

i didn't care about any of the npcs the group connected with except allura but, like, come ON. it's ALLURA VYSOREN. I didn't care about essek (still don't), pumat was good but not gilmore-esque, yussa... honestly he was the funniest npc just on accident cause he kept getting trapped in places he was sticking his nose in.

basically the characters just weren't the kind of characters i was ever interested in watching, the story line only garnered my attention very, very late, and, tbh, the fandom was (is) so fucking rancid that it just made me hate it more.

the moment exu came out i was so excited because i hoped fearne and orym would be in c3 and have loved them ever since. i would even say that like all the characters in bh and am invested in all their stories. chet can... sometimes get too much for me but that's mostly because i'm already overstimulated and has nothing to do with the actual character. even with ashton who is 100% california punk (your roots are showing, taliesin) and clashes against the punk lifestyle i've always lived only makes me respect them because, yeah. they're a punk. i'm a punk. fuck them; i'll love them forever.

huh, neat! i've never heard of someone getting into c1 midway and than into c2, usually it's the other way around. that's cool.

honestly i hadn't even considered that people may be COMPLETELY put off by the mn being assholes at the beginning, but then again i was also super taken aback when taliesin said that the nein were "almost all villains" but looking back on where they all began and their backstories, i can see it more.

i will agree with you that early c2 can be a little obnoxious to get through and while i was able to enjoy them (both the characters and the storyline) it's completely understandable why someone would get frustrated with them and stop watching. fandom toxicity and overall arc fatigue seem to be the most agreed on answers to why c3 fans if any don't like c2.

also the whole "caduceus is the only reason i liked c2" seems to be a sentiment for people that have become wholly disillusioned with critical role as a series, so it's nice to see someone still enjoying the series with that viewpoint.

for the last paragraph, i completely agree! though i really REALLY wanted dariax and opal to come along with them, we can see why (ep 64) it wouldn't have been viable.

i'm just shocked that everyone had pretty much the exact same answer, i swear i would have gotten at least one person that disliked it for a bizarrely specific reason.

[revvethasmythh]

Tary and/or Scanlan for the ask meme. To cover all our bases with Sam PCs, haha

I was wondering if I was going to be able to cover all of Sam's PCs with this lmao! Seeing as I do have a reputation to uphold re: sam's PCs, I will do them both

Tary:

First impression

Baby. Beloved. Pompous jackass whomst I love the most. True love at first sight and I am not kidding

Impression now

Baby. beloved. Pathetic pompous jackass I adore (I never stopped loving him, I have only grown to love him more)

Favorite moment

It is hard to choose between ALL of his bits in Jugs and Rods or the Grog and Tary shopping adventure in Vasselheim. Critical Role has TONS of funny moments and there is stuff in every campaign that has really gotten to me--but nothing like this. My abs ached the next day, I was fully weeping real fucking tears over this. I am laughing just thinking about it as I am typing. Fucking iconic.

Idea for a story

I have never considered a story with Tary specifically, but you know I'd love a story that explored Tary getting back together with Lawrence and how that aspect of their love story played out! I feel like that could be a very fun romance piece.

Unpopular opinion

Genuinely an incredible character, not as a joke, not for the bit. I mean, Tary is hilarious, yes. But I don't think Sam gets enough credit for how GOOD Tary was beyond the bit. He's a top tier character and deserves more credit from the fandom for it.

Favorite relationship

I'll split this one with Percy and Vex. Tary ends up being such good friends with both of them and his friendship with Vex is something I find particularly endearing (another Sam + Laura dynamic coming through golden) and then you add the layer of Tary's close friendship and unrequited pining for Percy into the mix....that whole dynamic of the three of them is great.

Favorite headcanon

I should really just delete this question because I never have headcanons to add. Idk. I don't really do head canons.

Scanlan:

First impression

Thought he was kind of gross and too sexually forward, ngl

Impression now

Probably my favorite of Vox Machina, not counting Tary. I don't know, he really grew on me. I think Scanlan circles around similar themes that all of Sam's PCs do, which is why I tend to gravitate toward them, you know? The eternal struggle of wanting to appear okay for your friends because you can't or won't invite the vulnerability of being honest about how you're struggling, only to hit a breaking point and lose it because no one has noticed your pain (because you have hidden it)? All the inherent complications and contradictions of that sort of thinking? Feels very realistic and relatable, for me, at least.

Favorite moment

It's so easy to choose The Bard's Lament for this. WHAT an incredible dramatic character move. Unparalleled, dramatic, complex, and it added so much to Scanlan's character and the dynamic with the group, forcing VM to sit with some things (and to get angry at him! Because he was unfair too!). I loved that shit, I ate it up.

But also, Scanlan's return to VM and trying to Modify Memory on Vex only to whiff it and her just hugging him. I fucking love that, too.

Idea for a story

You know, the thing is, this question is tickling some kind of memory of mine that I had actually planned to write something about Scanlan/Pikelan and I just cannot remember what on earth it was going to be. I can't even think of anything else, I'm just annoyed I can't remember what I was going to do, now

Unpopular opinion

I don't think Scanlan blowing up at VM and saying unfair things to them makes him a bad person or selfish or [insert whatever other thing here]. I think he was unwell, and had some valid reasons to be upset, and spoke in anger in a very human moment wherein neither party was entirely wrong or right. People apply judgement to that scene a lot, I think because it's very emotionally jarring, it's aggressive and unexpected and it prompts strong feeling because of that, but I don't think there's any judgment to be applied. VM was wrong about some things, Scanlan was wrong about some things. A big bundle of tragically human conflict, honestly, which is why it's fantastic.

Favorite relationship

Probably Grog. I love that whole corner of VM (Grog and his gnomes) and all their dynamics, but you can really feel such a camaraderie and care between these two that I love. Also Vex (that Sam + Laura dynamic always hits, I suppose)

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Legend of Vox Machina: Test of Pride (2x09)

Knowing that this batch of episodes contained the Fey Realm stuff, if someone would have told me the Westruun-only episode might be my favorite of the three, I wouldn't have believed them. But... this might be my favorite of the three! The glow-up that Scanlan, Grog, and Pike have all gotten as characters this season, from characters I loved because I already knew them from the stream, to fully realized creations in their own right... it's a beautiful thing to behold.

Cons:

I feel like the way Grog's backstory was framed was the slightest bit confusing, specifically as regarded Pike's knowledge of it. Where we land is that Pike knows how they first took Grog in, but didn't know the full extent of what Grog had been made to do with the herd. What's confusing is that in the flashback, younger Pike thanks Grog for what he did for her grandpa, but when present-day Pike is hearing the story of Grog sparing the old man's life, she says "Grandpa Wilhand?" like she's confused or this is brand new information. The backstory finishes with Pike being like "I never knew..." but yes she did, we just heard Pike thanking Grog for it in the past! I think this is just a small adjustment, where present-day Pike needed to make it clear that while she knew the basics, she never knew how bad things had really been.

I've got to say, I'm not really sure what to make of Ripley's involvement here. Is she going to come into play in some major way in this season? Are we going to get... you know... the culmination of Ripley's story... ahem... in the next three episodes? I kind of don't see how, since we've still gotta do the Kill Box and Umbrasyl. And if Ripley's just here to wave her hand and say "remember me, I'm Ripley and I'm still here", it feels a little odd. I don't know, we'll see. It's not like she's taking up a lot of our time, anyway.

Pros:

Where to start! Despite my slight confusion on how they laid out the flashbacks, I absolutely loved getting this glimpse of Grog's past. Travis is killing it with his performance, imbuing a lot of gravity into Grog's character while never losing sight of the fact that he's a total dumbass (affectionate). This episode has him feeling the shame of his past, and seeing it echoed back at him when the townsfolk are afraid of him because of what his kin have done to Westruun. But we still see his goofy side, when he's acting like a herd member to get him and Pike inside the city to look for Scanlan. And we see how brave he is, to stand up to Kevdak there at the end. This is going to be intense!

One subtle moment I enjoyed is right at the beginning there, when Pike wanted to kill the herd members who murdered the innocent man, but Grog was the one who stopped her. Such a clever and quick way to show us how serious this is, how afraid Grog is and how we should not be underestimating these people as our foes.

The image of Kevdak beating Grog to the point of death is really chilling. Oftentimes the gore on this show is sort of take it or leave it for me, I'm not sure what it's enhancing, but that show of the blood drenching Grog's body and the ground beneath him was haunting and affecting.

Meanwhile, Scanlan sneaks off to do some recon in Westruun, after getting egged on by a particularly flirty Pike, and he meets a group of townsfolk along with a traveling troupe of musicians. Among them is a gnome named Kaylie, who seems to know who Scanlan is and is giving him a really hard time. First off, I have such a blast finding Matt everywhere throughout the show. Dr. Dranzel is so fun, for the brief moments we see him. Second off, Kaylie is PERFECT. I love her hair and her cute little nose and her attitude. I love "one thing I learned in this life, no one comes back to save you." Which. Ouch. And then Scanlan's last words to her as she runs off at the end of the episode are: "take them. We'll catch up. I promise." LIKE. OUCH. I wonder what non-stream-watchers will think of Kaylie. God, this is such a brilliant way of reordering a sequence of events to make an even bigger impact. I am already so obsessed with this.

Pike and Grog do the Wookie Prisoner Trick to find Scanlan, and they all do big hugs when they reunite, which is just the cutest thing! I love how much they were both worried about him. I feel like this show takes the time to show how much these characters all care for each other, how scared they really get when something might be going wrong. It's no small thing, and it captures the energy at the table really well, too.

Gotta shout out the herd members playing boulder, parchment, sheers... that's so fun...

We get to meet Kevdak, and also his son Zanror. I love the distinct look of these two characters, the way you can sense the dynamic between them, and how Grog is going to interface with that dynamic. The herd is in over its head, paying tribute to Umbrasyl, who really is only humoring these people in letting them control Westruun. In the one scene with Umbrasyl, you can sense how everything might turn on a dime at any moment, dependent on the whims of the dragons.

As our episode ends, we have Pike tearfully trying to convince Grog that going after Kevdak is suicide, and they need to stick together. Grog has learned a partial good lesson from his recent trip down memory lane, and that's that he has to stand up for the little folk. It's what sets him apart from the rest of the herd. But he also says "I have to do this on my own," which proves that he doesn't quite have all the pieces of the puzzle to his own self-actualization. They've done a masterful job of teasing out the themes for Grog and packaging them in a way to give themselves a nice build to a really, really cool climactic moment next week. I mean, I assume. Not like I know for sure what's going to happen, or anything.

So yeah! Kaylie is a triumph already, I deeply deeply love her. And Grog's character arc over this season has been a master class in how to adapt from a meandering streaming D&D game to a tightly packed animated series format. Can't wait to see how it all shakes out a week from now!

9.5/10

[sunshowermess]

The Legend of Vox Machina...Kinda Review!

Mostly stuff i liked or caught after watching it 3 times.

Spoilers under the cut! Read at your own risk cause its A LOT!

Thoughts

Episode 1

Matt doing the voice over is amazing. Also his little "Well that was something. " at the end.

Murder-hobos is a cannon party or was... Oops! XD

The bar fight was everything and also had everything. Like you will have to watch it a few times to catch every little Easter eggs.

Here are a few:

I love that they're a shit team, like they kept bumping into each other and stuff. XD

Vax's little drunk dance dodging. XD

Percy dodging blows in the most snobbish way!

Grog "saving" Percy was hilarious.

Percy's gun misfiring! Nat 1, right there!

Kiki barfing into a guy's mouth. X(

Vax robbing a guy and trying to act casual during the fight

Scanlan serenading that chick naked and then proceeding to eat her out. XD

"Percy if you want to join you have to ask first!" - Scanlan is up to fucking anyone. XD I love it! All inclusive!

Vex and Vax's " Well fuck you!"

Scanlan after accidentally peeing over a guy: " Ha ha so sorry sometimes it has a mind of its own!" XD OMG!

Also the guy that gets pissed on not only is voiced by Matt but also looks like him! I died!

I like that everyone's reaction to seeing Scanlan's dick is "... egh"

They mentioned the Briarwoods so soon!

Percy trying to explain the meaning behind Vox Machina is me!

Uriel hiring them cause he likes Trinket is hilarious.

Scanlan's introduction song of everyone was awesome but I'll be honest the hip hop bit kind of took me out. Felt out of place. Idk, weird little nitpick.

Skyship looks so cool!

Grog running and giggling like a kid on the skyship should not be this cute!

Did I mention how fucking beautiful everything looks, cause it fucking does!

Vax with kids will always be so sweet.

I'm guessing Pike has problems with her magic cause of the whole dying thing. It's cool, shows you that even though they are hard to kill, there are still consequences.

Vax and Kiki being sweet was cute.

I like this little, Vex can feel dragons, thing. A nice nod to the dragons being her favorite enemy and will be awesome for later episodes but I hope they explain this ability later.

Dragon! ! !

I have to say although the 3D animation stands out it's not bad on the eyes.

Grog protecting Pike! And Vax protecting Scanlan!

Vax: "Grog you dumb brave asshole!" YES! :D

"Oh man! Grog is down already!" Same Scan man!

Kiki gets frightened! I love how they show that, I was always curious how it looked during the games.

The sky above the dragon before lightning hits looks absolutely gorgeous!

"I'm trapped under Grog's ass!" XD

Grog really out here quoting Monty Python with the " just a flesh wound" ! I am dead!

Vax and Vex being siblings has my whole heart!

Scanlan blushing after Pike tells him to put her down was so innocent, which is a weird thing when it comes to Scanlan! XD

Grog giving Pike a piggyback ride was so cute!

Vax's voice when he finds the boy and calls to Pike is so heartbreaking!

Hearing Scanlan tuning his lute in the silence after the boy died gave me chills. It's like the sound of hope or justice, idk I'm being cheesy. XD

Also Scanlan's voice shaking a little when he says that they'll have to kill the dragon, is such a small touch but soo amazing! Especially coming from him.

The end credit music is soooo good!

Overall great episode. It felt a little rushed but I expected it, seeing as they had a lot of information to cram in.

Honestly the difference between the beginning of the episode and the end is soo jarring! Like it almost seems like two different kinds of episodes. Like one is jokey and a little meta and the other is like legit dark fantasy adventure. I wonder if that will continue on in the next episodes cause it honestly takes you out a little bit.

The cast gushing over the episode is everything !

Episode 2

Those soldiers being killed was brutal!

"Their machinations run deep" I feel like I've heard them say that in game.

The council: Its a dragon.

Vox Machina bursts into the castle: OMG! Its a dragon!

The council: We know!

Also "Doom? We don't know the meaning of the word!" That is peak Vox Machina right there!

Council: "How did you escape the dragon?"

Scanlan: "We don't reveal our secrets!"

Percy: "We hid and it flew away" Thanks Percy. XD

Trinket getting pet by the guards made me laugh so hard!

Vex and Percy being suspicious of the skinny evil looking dude was on point!

Grog "I didn't catch anybody's name. " Same!

Vax blushing at the mention of Gilmore! XD

Pike teasing Vax and him ruffling her hair as they go to Gilmore was adorable.

Gilmore! THAT MAN IS GLORIOUS! So extra!

The hug from Gilmore and Vax's dopey smile has me melting!

Also Gilmore can't stop draping himself all over Vax and I love it!

Tusk Love! With Fjord and Jester! Gilmore would have it!

Also if the Mighty Nein end up being cannon in the show will that mean Tusk Love is a literary classic. :D

Gilmore and Vax flirting is everything I ever wanted!

Third wheel Pike is so done!

The little squeak of despair Gilmore let out when Vax showed him they only have like 3 silver to pay him, killed me!

Saw a Sprinkle cameo! Also Triceratops skull, nice nod to future episodes.

Scanlan and Grog are the ultimate duo! And of course they stumble on Mr Creepy, of course!

"Vex said you have dick for brains which I don't think is possible. " Oh Grog! I love you.

Grog rolling behind the cart! XD OMG! That's a Nat 20 on stealth there!

Scanlan patting Grog's head as he is standing on his shoulders. :)

The Chroma Conclave rug!

"Dreadful taste in art" Snob Percy strikes again!

Mr Creepy gets killed: Scanlan plucks string is distress.

Fuck room! XD

So happy they put in, Percy using big words and being annoyed that no one understands him.

Also Vax being a little shit and encouraging Grog's confusion. Yes!

Scanlan look! My hands are in da booty! XD

Vax: gushing over Kiki.

Vex: So done with it.

Vax calling Grog "Big Man" made me squeak in delight!

Percy sees all the gold in a cave: "Seems excessive for a council member. " XD Sir, you have a treasury full of gold!

ÖH! The infamous Troll dick! Finally!

Pike: "We could be drunk for weeks! "

Grog: "Days even! " Peak Grog right there!

That whole final fight was Fucking Amazing! So epic!

THE ANIMATION !

Vax protecting Vex from the falling rocks! T_T

Pike protecting Scanlan like a Badass!

Kiki protecting Percy!

Percy: "Did Gilmore tell you how to kill this thing or did you flirt the whole time! "

Vax: "Oh fuck, right" I died at that! :D

"You watch yourself peasant!" Scanlan's fake Percy is quite accurate. XD

The the guitar riff when Scanlan goes "Gotcha" gave me chills!

Percy Naruto-running made me snort so hard.

Scanlan saving Vax with the giant hand looked So Freaking cool! The slow-mo and everything!

The fastball special will always make me grin like a goof.

I would like to RAGE! - Enough said!!

Grog standing in front of the sliced head of the dragon looked so badass!

Vex running with the gold!

Scanlan grabbing the troll dick! XD

Oh how I've missed respectability! - Oh, Percy! You snob! XD

Vex and Vax having a moment about their new keep!

Vax smiling like a goof while watching Kiki being awkward is their whole relationship, just FYI. :D

Why are these evil people so Hot and in Love?! Can they stop, cause I need to hate them!

Overall it was even better than the first episode!

Everyone already knows that the animation and voice acting was amazing so i won't dive into that but!

The thing I was most worried about was that they wouldn't show them being friends and caring about each other and these two episodes proved me wrong!

They all love each other so much! All these little moments! The teasing, the bickering, the protecting, the calming each other down! Ugh! Sooo good! I hardly ever see that in other shows and it's such a shame cause it's so important!

[percyslist]

Another life

Thank you to @romeoandjulietyouwish for letting me take inspiration from some of their posts!

In another life, Vex helped him pick out the ring. After what felt like countless hours searching various jewelry shops, he found the perfect one: a simple gold ring with an Emerald as the corner stone. It was practical and it would be perfect for her to wear in her day-to-day life as she led the Air Ashari.

As he listened to his sister gush about how perfect they were for each other, he couldn’t stop smiling.

In another life, he forgot his plans the instant he saw her. He always did.

So he led Keyleth to her favorite spot in Zephrah: a secluded clearing amidst the cherry trees, perfect for watching the sun as it dipped below the horizon, painting the sky a series of pinks and oranges.

But it was only when the sky had begun to darken again that he remembered why he had brought her here. He took her hands in his own and opened his mouth, but his tongue refused to form the words that he had meticulously planned with the assistance of Percy and Scanlan. (Grog had tried to help, too, but Vax refused to count him due to the unhelpful and crude nature of his suggestions. Scanlan himself was on thin ice.)

Keyleth, sensing his discomfort, kissed him gently and told him how thankful she was for him.

It took another few moments before Vax regained his courage and decided to throw out his stupid proposal speech altogether. He began to talk, barely going over the words in his head before he spoke them.

“Kiki,” he said, “there are no words that I can use to express just how much I love and admire you. I’ve had the opportunity to watch you throughout all of Vox Machina’s adventures, and I am so proud of how far you’ve come.

“It may not feel like it, but you are the perfect leader for your people. As I’ve watched you set an example for them, I’ve come to the realization that I’d like to make this my home, if you’d let me.

“I hope you know that every word I said that day at the Sun Tree remains true. I love you, and there will never be a day where I don’t fall for you a little more. So,” he sank down to one knee, nearly falling over as tried to pull out the ring at the same time. “Keyleth of the Air Ashari, will you marry me?”

Keyleth’s eyes flickered between him and the ring, tears falling gently down her cheeks as she nodded enthusiastically. “Yes,” she breathed, laughing. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He took her hand, sliding the ring onto her fourth finger, and kissed her, unable to contain the wide smile that was spreading across his face.

She was the first to break away, resting her forehead against his. “You do know that this is your home now, right?”

“My home is wherever you are,” he replied.

—

In another life, Scanlan was in the middle of giving Vax a “pep talk” when a knock sounded on his door. Keyleth was the exact last person Vax would have expected to be on the other side of the threshold, but there she stood, in an extravagant dress, with the Mantle slung around her shoulders. Her hair was in some elaborate updo, but she still wore her signature antlers she was rarely seen without.

“You— you look beautiful,” Vax said, immediately embracing his soon-to-be wife. She practically fell against him, throwing her arms around his neck and clinging to him for support.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Scanlan said softly, excusing himself from the room without another word.

Vax gently led Keyleth to a nearby chair, sitting beside her as he traced circles on her skin with his thumb. “Are you nervous?”

“It’s our wedding, Vax. How could we not be nervous?”

He only shrugged. “I’m not.”

“What if I mess up my vows? What if I slip and fall while I’m walking down the aisle? What if—“

“Keyleth,” Vax said, his hands coming up to rest on either side of her jaw. “Even if any of that happens, it won���t matter. Do you know why? Because all that matters is you and I. Hells, we could send everyone away, and it could just be us, because that’s all we need.

“As fun—or stressful— a wedding day may be, that’s all it is: a day. One day, compared to the rest of our lives. So no, I’m not nervous, because after this, I get to spend the rest of my life with you. What is one day compared to so many more to come?”

She sighed, resting her head against his chest. “I just want it to be perfect.”

“And it will be. As long as you and I get married, it will be perfect. We deserve this, Kiki. After everything we’ve gone through, we deserve this.”

“People don’t always get what they deserve,” Keyleth murmured.

Vax hummed. “Yes, that’s true. But we’re gods, right?”

—

In another life, Vex stood by his side as Korrin walked Keyleth down the aisle. Vax could feel his peripheral vision melt away; the only thing he could see—the only thing he even wanted to see— was her.

She beamed as she kissed her father’s cheek and took her place by Vax. He took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together as Pike began to speak.

“Welcome, everyone, to the blessed union of two of the most amazing people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Today, I have the absolute honor of marrying two of my closest friends: Keyleth of the Air Ashari, the Voice of The Tempest, and Vax’ildan, the sworn enemy of closed doors.”

Scattered laughs came from the members of the crowd who understood the joke, which was relatively few. Pike continued: “Your love has broken the bonds of death itself. It has preserved through countless hardships, and it has overcome the most impossible of foes. I am truly honored to have been there to watch your relationship grow into what it is today, and I hope to be there in the future as you continue to support each other.”

“You have helped each other grow, and supported each other through some of the most difficult moments in your lives, and I find comfort in the fact that you have learned to seek solace in each other. You both deserve it. So, let today become a day of joy, a celebration of the love of two people who have gone through hell and back to be together.”

“Keyleth,” Pike said gently, “your vows.”

When Keyleth opened her mouth to speak, she struggled to say anything. Her eyes widened in panic as her breathing quickened, and she looked to Vax desperately.

He squeezed her hand, rubbing his thumb over her skin softly. “I’m here, he whispered. “It’s just us. Nobody else is here.”

She nodded, closing her eyes for a moment to compose herself. Then, with a small smile and newfound confidence, she took a deep breath and began. “I never could have imagined a world in which I get to love someone like you. When we met, I was lost. I wanted so badly to live up to the expectations of my people, and I became unable to even entertain the idea of being someone outside of who I was expected to be. I had prepared myself for a life of loneliness, of trying to live up to other people’s expectations and hoping against hope that someday, I would be enough. It was you who helped me see that I already was.

Thank you for having faith in me, Vax. Thank you for helping me when I wasn’t brave enough to ask. And most of all, thank you for loving me when I wasn’t sure anyone could.”

Pike sniffled. “That was fucking beautiful,” she murmured, wiping a tear from her eye. “Vax, your vows.”

“I have been a wanderer all my life,” said Vax, feeling the audience melt away again. No amount of people could ever compare to the feeling of having Keyleth by his side. “Every place I’ve ever dared to call home has been destroyed without mercy or remorse, and I learned quickly that I should never get attached to something, because then it would be ripped away from me, and I would be lost again. For the longest time, it was Vex and I against the world, alone and lost. Then I found you. I found you, and you showed me that a home doesn’t have to be a place.

“Keyleth, you are my home. Wherever you go, I will follow, whether it be Zephrah or Whitestone or wherever else you may wish to go. I was once lost, but now I am found. I was once a wanderer, damned to live a life in the shadows, but now I’ve found a home at your side, and I intend to stay there for as long as you’ll let me.”

Pike’s voice rang out through the audience. “Keyleth, do you promise to take this man and cherish and love him in every way?”

Keyleth grinned, wiping a stray tear from her face. “I do.”

Vax produced the golden ring from his pocket, sliding it onto the fourth finger of her left hand.

“Vax, do you promise to take this woman and cherish and love her in every way?”

The easiest answer of his life. “I do,” said Vax, watching in wonder as Keyleth gave him his ring.

“By the power vested in me by the goddess Sarenrae, I pronounce you husband and wife. Now kiss.”

Keyleth and Vax both laughed at Pike’s blunt request, but they didn’t need any further prompting. He pulled her in by the waist, and she met him in the middle.

It was only when the sound of his friends’ loud cheering met his ears did he remember where he was. He pulled away, laughing as Keyleth beamed up at him.

His grin kept widening, and his cheeks were starting to ache, but he didn’t dare stop smiling, because he was hers, and there was no better feeling.

Vax’ildan had found his home, and he would never let go of it.

[nochiquinn]

the legend of vox machina episode 5: fate’s journey OR [slaps cart] this baby can hold so much interpersonal drama

pass without a trace

I love all of keyleth's wildshapes, the animation is so smooth

did y'all REALLY think he wouldn't have the most ostentatious booby traps possible

"skip intro" how dare you

vex: "of course, darling, you know us" gilmore: yes, that's the problem

I like the magic crystals on the ends of the arrows, I imagine it'd affect the flight but also it looks very cool

gilmore: give me your vampire tea

the three-hour discussion of how holy oil works

rodrigo is my new favorite character

I'm considering every use of the word "sunlight" as foreshadowing for keyleth in the final battle

"I'll just stay this way. for forever." relateable

this is vax's bisexual maelstrom

gilmore: if I can't have the half-elf I'll take the free rom-com

the only merchant in town immune to vex's cleavage

"for the record, I have a magnificent bitch face"

percy and vex poking at each other ❤

zipper twat

the way vax can't not smile when he looks at keyleth

vax consoling grog being sad about pike

I just love all the little interactions in this episode

"I'm more worried about us without her" you are correct

"percy let someone else drive"

"poor little puppers!" keyleth's relatable, if incorrect reaction

that thing's from dead space

the tentacle joke was absolutely uneccesary

"did you just HYAH me?!"

minxie growl!!

"come on vex, no one breaks balls better than you!"

the way sam's voice broke on "you MISSED?!

he was THREE FEET IN FRONT OF YOU

"choked to death by a disgruntled pimp" "be careful what you wish for" hehehehehehe

rip all of vex's money

I hate it

you know I always forget that the briarwoods took over whitestone for the residuum

stonefell: the dinner guests you requested my partner: the dinner you requested me: ....count them my partner: ........oh god

hello kestrel

people crying nepotism abt sam and liam casting their kids but they were probably the easies/safest option during early pandemic. and they've all done really well so far even in just a couple of lines!

now we need liam's son for the set

I don't think ronin's quite old enough yet, he'll get there

"I'm sure you'll get your shit together eventually" vex stop that

vax just staring after her in pure exasperation

"you've got a baby in that thing?"

this interpretation of them learning new spells

keyleth giving vax a little poultice corsage

I love that that white flower seems to have become her signiature. I know marisha used to druidcraft flowers all the time in the stream but it's just really cute

keyleth: talking about home gives me anxiety

KIKI

I did not anticipate the emotional reaction I would have to hearing him call her that again

keyleth: the concept of romance also gives me anxiety

ANJALI

there is a curse, pike. it's called diabetes

everything this scene set up and called back to....and then scanlan

vax's shoulder still being scorched

this was a pretty dumb question, vax.

vex's codependency on vax coming through as hatred/jealousy of keyleth

like everyone was all over vax being clingy to vex, and he absolutely was, but [gestures]

I do miss liam's little forehead poke on laura. their whole physicality as the twins was wonderful.

STUBBY

I need at least one "scrawny" out of this season or I riot

"sometimes courage is knowing there could be trouble and taking the chance anyway" "so is stupidity"

gonna echo that at you when you take up with percy, vex'ahlia

my partner: my only complaint so far is there's not the names on th - nevermind

sun tree looks almost exactly like I imagined it, validation

they're your FRIENDS

vax's little dagger spin, fucking drama queen

the wide shot of the people hanging and the group staring up at them UGH

"it's us"

not the fucking ropes creaking in the background during the credits, who authorized this

[your-turn-to-role]

Hello there! i saw someone else doing this and i thought it was a fun and cool idea so: Headcanon Saturday (or sunday if its sunday for you): share a favorite headcanon (or lots of headcanons), big or small, if you feel like it! Your blog is very cool and I love seeing your thoughts whenever they pop up on my dash! keep doing what you do :D

it is in fact sunday for me! (or, it was when you sent this, it's wednesday now bc i had an assignment i had to do and uh, nz just went back into major lockdown so that’s fun)

but thank you so much!

and honestly this question had me stumped for a bit, because, in theory i have some, right? but, one, i'm less of a theory fan and more of a collector fan, i can put together minuscule details from all over the show to get a big picture of a character, but i rarely have headcanons that aren't based in some show evidence or other

and when i do have some, they either end up in a meta post im writing, or in a specific tag (like my cr nd headcanons i'll link a bit further down), or in a fic that i will write half of and never post bc i am chronically terrible at finishing things 😂

that said! i have scoured through fic ideas and discord server messages, so here have a few

fave headcanon that's not mine

disabled essek. like, thank you fandom for this one, it's incredibly dear to my heart, i consider it canon, nothing can convince me otherwise, it is going in all my fics, just.... comfort character

sometimes a character can be a neutral evil criminal and a disability icon okay

fave identity headcanon

see this tag for my various "why cr characters are neurodivergent" essays, also, fjord and jester are arospec thank you good day

a couple ones just based on dnd mechanics that i enjoy

- gilmore is a couple levels self taught in wizard

(he at the very least would have magic initiate if you were to build him like a pc bc he has identify, which is not a sorcerer spell, but... something about how he loves magic and was very determined to stand out but also something happened to him with the whole runechild thing that makes him scared to admit he is one so obviously he wouldn't flaunt that power, also the way he's kinda self deprecating whenever he has to admit he doesn't know wizard stuff, yeah, he definitely tried to teach himself magic the non sorcerer way)

- percy has a pristine organisation system for every room he owns and if you mess it up he can no longer find anything

this one is based off of two things. 1) percy is canonically a very neat and tidy person. after the feast with the briarwoods he goes home, wrecks his room trying to vent his feelings, and then barricades himself in his workshop. when vox machina find his room the next morning matt notes that percy's room is never messy like this. also, just in how he talks to grog when grog's snooping in his workshop, percy definitely knows the precise location of every tool in there. also he's just a precise person in general.

2) taliesin's weakness in rolling good for percy is investigation checks. he fails them almost every time. he has a decent int mod, but the dice just decided no investigation checks for you! (also, i haven't gone back to confirm this, so i may be wrong, but i'm pretty sure one of the few good investigation checks he makes is in whitestone castle). strict organisation system. he is absolutely useless without it 😂

aaaand, fave angsty headcanon (bc it's me, there was gonna be one)

the blumendrei didn't leave their hometown for days after they killed their parents. like. okay i've had a fic i've been lowkey writing for ages about these guys (yes i have like 40 cr fics in some form of wip status, no none are finished, this is how i exist), in the aftermath of that, bc i love them and i have a lot of thoughts about it

(also, not that i can prove it bc the fic was never posted but i kinda predicted the, cold stone tower overnight thing, which had me feeling A Way when that became canon!)

but anyway what this is based on is like... there's an idea in the fandom that trent directly ordered them to kill their parents but he really didn't. like obviously he put every step in place, but when caleb's telling that story, trent barely even comes up. he talks about how he found out his parents were traitors and how he "knew what he had to do"

so honestly, given everything we know about how trent engineers situations, it makes the most sense to me that the blumendrei, didn't want trent to know about this at all

like they believed the lie that their parents genuinely were traitors, so if you find out that horrifying secret, in the environment they'd been in for the past two years? that's shameful, horrifically so. why would they tell trent about that if they could avoid it? why risk getting branded the same, you've been told up to this point you're special, and you'd kill to keep that title. why on earth would you admit that your bloodline is tainted like that?

no, they would have tried to cover it up, as long as they could. which, is exactly what trent would want bc that again puts them on the back foot, but like... yeah, i fully believe they waited it out for a couple of days before going to trent until they were sure they couldn't wait any longer for bren to get better without drawing even more suspicion. and, since their cover story is they were supposed to be visiting their parents anyway, maybe they didn't go all that far

[dragonologist-phd]

tagged by @yanara126, thank you! I’ll tag @lunarowena, @antivan-beau, @undyingembers, and anyone else who has an AO3 account and hasn’t been tagged!

How many works do you have on AO3.

103 (although a lot of them are short prompt fills less than 500 words, so I wouldn’t exactly call them full fics. more like a bunch of little ficlets lol)

What’s your total AO3 words count?

426,595 (drive up quite a bit by the logs of our pillars ttrpg!)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1) After, And After That: Critical Role, post-epilogue one-shot centered on Grog/Keyleth:

“So you’re here with Keyleth?” “Yeah,” Grog replied, not thinking much of the question until he noticed the way Vex was looking at him. “What?” “I mean… you’re here with Keyleth?” she pressed, raising an eyebrow. Oh.

A collection of moments after the epilogue, as two members of Vox Machina grieve and heal and grow, and eventually find something neither ever could have expected.  

2) Critical Role Relationship Week 2018: Critical Role, a collection of drabbles done for a fic event week (my favorite of which, btw, is  Day 5: The Rules of Courtship):

CR Relationship Week 2018! A week's worth of one-shots focused on the relationship between 2 random characters.

Day 1- The Vicious Truth: (Fjord & Mollymauk) Day 2- Kittens Are Cute (And So Are You): (Grog/Keyleth) Day 3- Page Turner: (Caleb & Taryon) Day 4- A Comma After Dearest (Jester/Calianna) Day 5- The Rules Of Courtship: (Pike & Kaylie) Day 6- Late Nights and Bloody Knuckles: (Grog & Yasha) Day 7- Give And Take: (Jester & Nott)

3) Please, Be Enough: Critical Role, one-shot, Vex-centric character study:

For so much of her life, Vex'ahlia has tried to be enough.

4) Beautiful Things: Mass Effect Andromeda, collection of drabbles written as I played through the game with Rebecca Ryder and which I’m currently trying to re-write now that I’ve expanded on my headcanons a bit more:

 It's an entirely new horizon, after all, and anything is possible. There are infinite breakthroughs yet to be made, and Becca is in the perfect position to make them.

A collection of one-shots centering around the Pathfinder career of Rebecca Ryder.  

5) The Greatest Friend Ever: Critical Role, one-shot focused on Jester and The Traveler:

 Jester laughs in delighted surprise, and for a moment it feels like someone is laughing alongside her.

A look into the past of Jester and the god who became her best friend.  

(the moral of the story is that CR is by far the most active fandom I’ve been in!)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely! Usually just a short ‘thank you’, but I still try to respond to anything I get!

What’s the fic with the angstiest ending?

Hmm, a lot of my fics fall into the ‘angst with a happy ending’ category, so that’s a bit hard to say... best fit for this would probably be To The Bride (Dragon Age, F!Cousland/Anora)

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Again, hard to say! I have a lot of short fics that sweet & simple endings.  Coffee And Honey Cake (Pillars Coffeshop!AU) is probably the fluffiest all the way through, since that’s kind of my apology to Nona for her canon-verse being so angsty XD

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Not really...I do quite a bit of AU’s, but that’s not really the same. Closest I’ve come is with The Dunryd Archives, my Pillars MagnusArchives!AU

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

lol no...even if I wanted to, I feel like the secondhand embarrassment would be unbearable

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Another nope!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

That one’s a yes! Queen's Best Friend (Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Baroness/Kanerah) was translated into Russian- I guess in a fandom so small, we need to share the rarepairs as much as we can!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Technically yes!  Prepare For The Dawn is a log of the Pillars ttrpg between me, @lunarowena @rannadylin and @serenbach86, with Bazylia_de_Grean on AO3 as the gm!

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

*shrug*? I never really had a favorite ship, since my fav ships vary depending on my mood and what I’m into at the moment

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I will finish all my WIPs! I cannot be stopped! (Although I admit  Prodigy has been on the back burner for a good while, but still. It will be finished!)

What are your writing strengths?

I think do pretty good characterization, especially with inner dialogue, and character relationships- I have been told I write good banter, which feels like a fantastic compliment XD

What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot, my goodness. I admire people who write original plots so much- I can make OC’s and world-build in my head, but I almost never have a plot to go with it

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don’t really have any? Obviously it works best if the author is actually fluent in the language and doesn’t just use Google Translate, but I don’t care much one way or the other

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, which is probably like...the basic bitch of fandoms, lol, but middle school me loved it!

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Ooh, that’s really tough! I like a lot of my fics for very different reasons. Of Diamonds And Dust (Dragon Age Origins novelization with Aeducan & Brosca) is the one I’ve been working on the longest, and I’m always going to be very fond of it. I think Divinity (Pillars, Goddess!Nona AU) has some of my best writing. And With Grace In Your Heart (Pillars, Desta character study) will always have a very special place in my heart because it was the first fic I wrote for Pillars and was when I really established Desta’s character.

So there’s 3 to choose from!

[treeofcups]

Hey, really enjoying your liveblog, would love to hear what your favorite moments from CR1 so far have been

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for a month because I kept thinking of so many different moments. Since I can’t very well say “the entire campaign,” here’s a very, very short list:

“We should just sleep together and see what happens,” is hands down my favorite moment of the entire campaign. Everything about it is absolute gold. The way Sam and Ashley stay in character and straight-faced even though the rest of the cast are losing their minds. The mutual awkwardness. “You’re like a priest or something, you can’t lie!” “What does that even mean, though?” The fact that this is arguably the first turning point in their relationship. It’s so good.

In the very first episode, what’s the very first thing we see Percy and Keyleth do? Make comment cards together for the inn they’re staying at.

The fact that Kashaw had some off-screen development and apologized to Keyleth for stealing that kiss. There was a really good post about this exact thing a little while ago, and it really jumped out at me when I watched the episode.

“Darling, take the mask off.” The thing is, the thing is, I knew about this line before I started watching the campaign, and in my head I always imagined it as a very soft moment, Vex reaching out and bringing Percy back. And in a way, it is, but the way it happens is so much more subtle and complex. The fact that it’s basically a throwaway line before Vex leaves the room, the fact that first she asked Percy if he was all right--and jumping off of that, he said “Yes,” and that’s when she says the line. It’s not a plea, it’s her saying “I can tell you’re not okay, and you should probably do something about that.” And he does, because he knows he’s not okay, too. It’s a good, shippy moment, and it’s a moment of connection between the two of them.

Keyleth breaking down after Vox Machina frees Westruun, and the fact that it was a significant jumping off point for two of the best in-character conversations in the show, between her and Kerrek and her and Percy.

Relatedly, the conversation between Keyleth and Percy in Westruun. They’ve got kind of an oddball friendship going on, and some of their moments (like the comment cards, or them standing back and being judgmental while the rest of Vox Machina beat up a trust fund kid they just met) really show how similar they are. This one shows how different they are, which could have left the impression that they only work as friends on a very shallow level, or that they shouldn’t be friends at all, but instead we get a really beautiful conversation between two very different people in front of a memorial to the slain. It really cemented for me how much I like both of these characters.

When they all go to Ank’Harel for the first time, Matt mentions that a lot of people are giving Grog strange looks, so while Grog spends his time completely failing to notice this and looking for magic rocks, Vax stays near him and gives the stink-eye to people who get too nosy. We all know that Grog is extremely, almost dangerously self-confident, and he’s physically powerful enough to protect himself from any number of people, but Vax still stood by him and warned off any unfriendly onlookers. In a way, it felt very similar to Jester protecting Yasha from Lord Sharp at the party in Nicodranas--just because these people are capable of defending themselves (and Grog probably didn’t even notice), they don’t need to deal with that sort of thing.

Keyleth controlling the storm while on-board the airship.

Keyleth getting help from the Air Ashari for the attack on Emon.

Keyleth immediately using her new powers to turn into a dragon and give rides to everyone.

That reversed gravity bridge with the continuously falling undead. Weird as hell, scary as fuck, it was great.

Scanlan chewing everyone out and then leaving. He wasn’t necessarily right about everything he was saying, but there was a lot of emotion there that needed to come out, and it was so bitter and painful to hear. A lot of the best moments in this show are positive ones, but there really was something about his deciding to leave, and the fact that he left angry that really just works.

Everything about Kaylie. We all know that Matt’s really good at creating characters, but it’s not often that we get to see a character like her, flaws and anger and all. She might be one of my favorite NPCs. The moment where she first confronts Scanlan is such a brilliant turning point, and even though a lot of it came down to that natural one, it was still such a wonderful, intense moment when she couldn’t bring herself to stab him.

Grog walking through Westruun, chewing out his old herd for being cowards, and then challenging Kevdak to a one-on-one fight. That whole speech was incredible.

Meeting Garmelie for the first time.

Sextuplets.

God, seriously, what were they thinking? What a completely over-the-top, needlessly complicated plan that lasted about five minutes after the dude they were supposed to kill showed up. 

There are so many more that I could put here, but this is already a very long post, so I’ll leave it at that for now.

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E71 (SDCC Edition!)

Tonight’s guests? EVERYONE. This is a recording of the SDCC panel from this past weekend!

There’s a table read of the first three pages of Vox Machina: Origins Volume 2, to be released August 14!

Ashley gets asked about the fate of an NPC from the first campaign. Ashley: “Uh. They all died.” Matt: “That’s your fault now.”

Lessons learned through the journey of CR? Liam: “It’s all about the people you travel with.” Matt: “If you can stick to making friendship a priority in your life, good things will come.” Their friendship has been the most important thing to maintain and check in with. Sam highlights how amazing it’s been to watch the community grow year after year.

Favorite RP moment that didn’t involve their own characters? Sam: “Well, that takes me out.” Travis: “I was such a fan of Vex popping out of the water in the bathtub.” Sam: “Anything Matt Mercer does is a pretty fantastic roleplaying moment.” Liam: “I think a certain pirate woman reaching the end of her line.” Laura: “I think Scanlan’s whole... (gestures) as much as I hated it personally.” Marisha: “There were some Percy-Vax standoffs that were pretty great.” Matt: “Percival and Grog having the fight underneath the Keep shortly after the Chroma fall.” Liam: “I really liked Percy and Vex in Syngorn.” Taliesin to Marisha: “I liked you at the Pirate King, busting out all that Cobalt Soul stuff. I wasn’t prepared.” Marisha: “Neither was I!”

Matt talks about how adapting the show to the animated series involves some creative truncation, but also involves holding his ground about what’s too important to change even if it doesn’t tie a perfect narrative bow. “This isn’t mainstream media, this is Critical Role! Some things should be messy. Some things are their own threads.” He’s enjoyed watching new people come up with new takes, and he’s excited to cast some of the NPCs.

The idea is floated of a full-day Sam Riegel DnD Beyond telethon. Sam: “Marisha, can we--” Marisha, glaring: “Uh-huh.”

What has Marisha taken away from Keyleth’s and Beau’s different experiences with leadership, in her leadership role IRL in the company? "I feel like Beau helps me be more assertive in my opinions.” Travis: “We don’t argue with Marisha very much, because she punches people in the face more now.”

Liam’s spell choices are a balancing act between trying to accomplish his own goals and trying to optimize the group’s performance. He’s taken Seeming for the party, but the opportunity to use it hasn’t arisen yet.

Taliesin gets asked “Is there X number of character deaths that would keep you from playing in this campaign?” Taliesin: “There’s really only one way to find out.” Matt: “Is it double digits?” Taliesin: “I at least have two more undeveloped ideas that hopefully will be used in the next campaign.” Liam: “Let’s get to that fourth character!” Taliesin: “I hate you all.”

Missed opportunities and plot threads? Matt can’t go much into it, because for both campaigns 1 and 2, there’s a chance they’ll wind up going back there. There’s a facet of campaign one’s story they got to continue with a one-shot that will be airing soon. He’d hoped there would be more delving into Thordak’s history, and there is another Horn of Orcus out there. Also the Clasp’s relationship with Emon. Ashley is still haunted by “that gosh-dang box”. Matt: “I answered that already.” Ashley: “I DON’T BELIEVE YOU. I DON’T BELIEVE YOUR ANSWER.”

Was Nott seriously considering leaving with her family? Sam, as Laura slowly reaches for his throat: “Yes, absolutely.” He’d been going back and forth with that for a while now. “Nott loves traveling with this gang, but she really wants to be home.” He called Matt about it to warn him that Nott might not be in the campaign anymore. “But I think what happened on Thursday was right for the moment, and we’ll see how it plays out.”

Matt gets asked about how to avoid min-maxing as an experienced DM when he gets the chance to play in someone else’s game. Matt notes that there’s nothing wrong with min-maxing if everyone’s on board with it, but that, the more that you play, the more you might enjoy trying something off-the-wall. There’s also the importance of respect when playing at the tables of less-experienced DMs, where you remind yourself that it is their table. Taliesin: “Part of the fun of the meta-game of D&D is that it’s changing all the time.” He points out that the Magnificent Mansion used to be considered a dump spell until Sam really showed what it could do. Taliesin highlights the challenge of experimenting in these less explored areas.

Sam gave Nott a kid in her backstory because he loves his own kids so much and wanted some of that feeling in the game.

Matt’s favorite Sorrowsworn? The Lonely, which is why he wanted to use them in the game the first chance he got.

Taliesin and Matt are asked if they might release Molly’s whole backstory at the end of the campaign. Matt: “When this campaign’s over, we’ll definitely do that.”

Caduceus is hoping some of his family’s at the Kiln, and potentially some of the other families. “He’s built of expectations. We’ll see how it plays out if those expectations aren’t met.”

“I feel that Yasha is obviously in the best hands with Matt. I, personally, I love the storyline. It’s so much to play with, and it goes with a lot of the backstory that I wrote, and a lot of what Matt prepared, and stuff that I don’t even know, and stuff I do know. I love it! I feel really good about it, but I can’t wait to come home and see what’s going to happen if Yasha comes back.” Matt: “Depending on when you come back, there’s a good chance you’ll have to make a new character.” (The general tone here is that it would be an in-the-meantime thing.)

Matt gets asked how he makes sure everyone in the party gets their time in the spotlight. “It doesn’t always work out, but trying to consider what aspects of the story can play to their individual strengths. You can offer opportunities for each of them to shine, hopefully.” He also highlights that a lot of it is the players respecting each other at the table and being comfortable with the expectation of equal time to shine. “Communication is the key to a good, healthy game group.” Laura also highlights that you as a player can engage other players’ characters if you notice they’re fading into the background a bit.

There’s a brief foray into Evanescence. As you do.

What advice would Matt give himself if he could go back to the first campaign? “Don’t stress so much about what people on the internet think about you. Guard this wonderful little lightning-in-a-bottle family and you’ll be fine.”

If Beau were a druid, what would her go-to wildshape be? Marisha: “I shouldn’t curse. A DAMN OWL. Take that, Thaddeus.”

Marisha: “I feel like the Mighty Nein has turned into fighting for the everyman.” Laura: “I feel like Vox Machina, though, we felt we knew who the good guys were. As the Mighty Nein, I feel like everything’s so gray, and it’s harder to make that choice, and therefore what steps up is everything around us and needing to protect the people who are victims of the bigger picture.”

Matt gets asked how to manage his DM-life balance in terms of parceling out prep time. “It can vary. Whenever I’m driving somewhere, if I have more than 20 minutes of a drive, that’s usually my brainstorming period.” He also tries to keep weekends free with no prep and instead reserves a couple evenings a week to prep, although it sometimes bleeds through to early Thursday morning. “I prepare more than I used to,” largely because of the Internet’s watchful eye in terms of continuity.

[estelofimladris]

The Healer: Critical Role

[ warning: here follows a long rambling story of feelings about losing a fandom and finding new love and happiness in an unexpected way ]

Here’s a little personal story about how some fandoms hurt and some heal. It goes from Fillory to Exandria. (It feels really right when I say it that way.)

I wasn’t ready for the healing that I got, but it’s here now. Thank Sarenrae.

Everyone loves that thunderstruck feeling when you fall in love with a fandom. It’s literally like all the tropes about falling in love. You meet and sometimes there’s just a spark.

That was me with The Magicians. I spent a year immersed in a welcoming fandom in a show that made me feel seen and whole. I had friends in the fandom as well as the friends irl who were into the show. I got to dive into it when I really needed a fandom to help carry me a little through a hard time.

It was heaven. Until it wasn’t.

In April of 2019, The Magicians broke my heart. Again, just like all the tropes about love. Just like a bad breakup, there’s things about it that I really enjoyed, but at the end of the day, I can’t go back to the way things were with that fandom. No matter how welcoming the fandom remained, I couldn’t go back because the show had cut me so deeply.

Then through 2019 and into 2020, I drifted through some new loves and lived in my love of some of my oldest fandoms. Lots of Star Wars. New excitement from Good Omens, The Dragon Prince, and The Old Guard. It’s not to say that I don’t love these things, but at least two of my new favs are, for the time being anyway, done. And, though Star Wars (and in the same breath my other love Marvel) are never really done, I like loving them in a bubble because as anyone in those fandoms knows it can be a complicated relationship.

Also in late 2019, my buddy @wittynamehere1443 decided she wanted to try and run a D&D campaign for our family of misfits. I hadn’t played since high school (D&D 3.5) and was super excited to get back into it. I picked up quite a bit while prepping to play from a mix of reading, remembering old things, and watching some tutorials and stuff on ye ol’ YouTube. I had dabbled in tabletop, but never thought I’d go charging back in, but once I started I couldn’t stop.

I immersed myself in as much as I could, but I’m really a visual & kinesthetic learner, so eventually I was going to have to supplement my book-learning with some real-play to really understand. I played as much as I could as I delved deeper, but even as I dove, I realized I wanted to do more. I started to write my own campaign setting and adventures. I suddenly found myself needing to just know how D&D worked without having to always have the books open.

Now, I had been lightly introduced to some real-play before I really understood what it was. A buddy of mine had shown me a clip of Critical Role out of context quite some time ago and I really didn’t understand how so many people I knew and shared a lot of crossover interests with could be so obsessed with watching 8 people play D&D.

My buddy who was now my DM had consumed all of The Adventure Zone and had very lovely things to say about it and I had the lingering curiosity about Critical Role form the many people who had recommended it to me as well as the complete mystery attached to why people loved it so. And me, being a big lover of visuals and being at home because of COVID, dipped my toe into real-play with the first episode of Critical Role back in late June.

I did it completely on my own at first, which is rare given that most things I watch, I watch them with my best friend and roommate, @hawkeyekate.

( Also, as a weird note, I’ve managed to deftly avoid most spoilers about Critical Role up to this point and I’m not completely sure how. I know one big one in Campaign 2, but until yesterday (when I watched the first episode of Campaign 2) I didn’t even know the classes of 1/2 of the Mighty Nein. I didn’t even know Sam played Nott until about three weeks ago. That bubble has come in very handy. )

I immediately began to get out of it what I was originally there for: great real-play with explanations of rules (especially vs. house rules and the whys of everything). Watching the cast fumble through transitioning from Pathfinder to D&D 5e was very helpful to me because I had some similar questions from the figments of memory I had from 3.5 as well as my other random tabletop experience. I was completely inspired and found myself cranking through pages upon pages of my own world and campaigns as well as delving deeper into my characters that I’d been honing already.

I quickly noticed that I was worrying less about the rules when I played and was getting to enjoy my character for who he is. I was starting to craft interesting mechanics and not just story in my adventures I was writing.

Lightning had struck and suddenly I was in love in a way I hadn’t been in a long time.

As I was watching Critical Role, I definitely wasn’t just learning to be a stronger DM and a better player. I found myself able to tell the twins apart. I was invested in the mysteries as they unraveled in Exandria. I hung on Mercer’s every word.

Then without warning, when the party said goodbye to Pike in Vasselheim, I found myself in tears. I don’t know why but I remember being so struck by that moment. I knew it was partly because Ashley was leaving for New York, but the story for Vox Machina hit a soft spot for me. I was no longer just watching 9 people play D&D. I was invested in the story, the characters, and the world.

I was suddenly a Critter.

I think notoriously at this point, when I fall for a fandom, its often connected to a character. I saw in Vax’ildan a lot of things that really sucked me in from the beginning. He is at the same time like many of my favorite characters of my youth and like many of my favorite characters as an adult. I feel like he’s my heartstrings manifest in a lot of ways, complete with many of the flaws in that.

Then what was a slow crawl accelerated. I would occasionally ramble to @hawkeyekate about the adventures of Vox Machina and it would be on when she was around, but she wasn’t exactly watching it with me. Then at some point during “The Trial of the Take”, she was suddenly sitting with me to watch. She was asking me to pause when she had to go do something - and wait for her.

We were watching together.

We were acutely aware of how the twins echoed things in us and that often we are referred to in the same sentence in the same way. I had my Vex’ahlia.

Only a little over a month later, we’ve battled Briarwoods and now we’re hunting Vestiges and gathering allies. It is a rare day that we don’t watch a little Critical Role. I sport my “Gilmore’s Glorious Goods” shirt. I’ve read Vox Machina: Origins and am making plans for two cosplays already.

I’ve also DM’d six sessions of my first adventure-turned-campaign in my own world I’ve built, Perlen. I play tabletop two-to-three days a week with my friends via the internet. I hoard dice.

I’ve fallen in love again and this time it feels safe.

I know good and bad things will come for Vox Machina ahead. I know the same can be said for The Mighty Nein in my future as well, but the Critters in my life have been so welcoming and it’s been so nice to have something new to talk to my friends about. And I trust the cast of Critical Role not to destroy things just because they made them like The Magicians creators did, a trust I didn’t think I would grow back any time soon. I know that some of the pains in Critical Role aren’t just scripted but are actually to chance, which gives me comfort, too. People live and die by the dice in tabletop and I can abide that. It doesn’t mean I won’t cry and ache every time something bad happens to them because I love them all.

So I will go running through Tal’dorei and look forward to Wildemount while I carve out the mountains and seas of my world of Perlen. I’ll cry when they hurt and smile every time Pike and Grog talk. I’ll be healed the way that stories can in ways I didn’t expect, which has now happened much more than once.

I’m here now and I love it.

[ special shout-out to the Critters in my life that have been so welcoming. Especially my super-enabler, @oniumbra. ]

[cringefaecompilation]

reply dump!

@quipxotic no need to apologize for ranting! i appreciate that you're just as passionate about this as i am!

i agree with all of this, but i find it funny you bring up c1 here. because out of everyone, most detractors seem to universally hate hate hate scanlan and keyleth.

keyleth for reasons up to and including her player being matt’s girlfriend/fiancé/wife and insisting he gives her special treatment because of that. but for those who aren’t weirdly jealous of marisha ray, there’s everyone that bashes her for being angry and self-important and scared at what happens to her. and they talk about how much better her cartoon self is for being sweet and shy "instead of a total bitch" because gosh forbid a woman have negative emotions and not be motherly and kind all the time.

people still want scanlan dead for him having a mental breakdown after raishan mauled him and lashing out at all his friends and constantly call him narcissistic in a derogatory way. or say he's ungrateful and was forcing them to care about him.

and to a lesser extent people acting like percy’s trauma is solely "man pain" or acting like vex is just greedy for no reason or saying horrifically ableist things about grog.

@sofigrace 4sd has a lot of stuff that gets taken out of context. i feel awful for taliesin jaffe saying that imogen was the only one that felt like a main character because her haters took that and RAN WITH IT. he meant "wow, all our characters feel like npcs in a video game except for yours!"

and for that, yeah, i'm... not sure how that means bh doesn't trust each other? wouldn't that mean they trusted each other more? i saw a variation of a post like that that said bell's hells needs to actualize themselves as people solo, which ended up becoming a huge part of the campaign so congrats to them for accidentally predicting c3 plot points!

@topaz-mutiny yes, yes, yes! the conflict between the characters was honestly my favorite bit of early c2!

because describing them as a bunch of broken people who learned to trust again and became a family from day one is doing them a massive disservice and completely waters down the amount of conflict and trials that they went through for them to get to that level of trust. they had to earn it and work for it. it wasn’t overnight and i don’t think it was until they were well into the triple digit number of episodes that they became as inseparable as everyone insists they always were.

but again, i really don’t want this to come off like i hate the mighty nein or i’m trying to make them look bad. because as i mentioned before there’s people who only like c1 that go "um actually c2 is all terrible and overrated and badly paced and you only like it because you use them as props for your headcanons!" which is just shallow. of course, these people also despise c3 and claim it’s pissing all over the legacy of vox machina by torturing vax and making percy and keyleth "useless jerks" but you know.

[fiascodownunder]

Critter Asks: 7, 19, 21, 22, 30, 31, 40, and/or 50

7. Do you have any official CR merch?

YES!!!

- Vox Machina grey-green-blue tee with the logo written in their weapons

- The OG black dice set

- Taldorei and Wildemounte Campaign Guides

- (Also have an Unofficial Vex throwing money in the air tee)

19. Who’s your favorite CR cast member (Matt, Laura, etc.)?

I love them all so fken much for completely different reasons. I can’t pick this. But I can tell you what I love the most about them all.

Matt’s compassion, and bravery, and love and ability of storytellingMarisha’s acting chops, and sheer talent, and force of willLaura’s humour, and her general presence bringing magic into the studio.Travis’ softness, and unabashed love of the things he loves.Sam’s ability to leave you crying from laughter and from tears - you never know which.Liam’s penchant for drama, and his very Shakespearean vibes, his henleys, and his dad-ness.Taliesin’s flair for the drama and the goth, and the ability to make characters that are all just a little bit creepy, but you wouldn’t mind cuddling with either.And Ashley’s radiance - her humour, her heart.And how they are all so loving to each other and the community they’ve all built up.

21. Who’s your favorite CR1 PC?Percival Fredrickstien von Mussel Klowolski De Rolo IIIBut also Kiki

22. Who’s your favorite CR2 PC?Jester? Beau? Cad? Idk man. Different days different ones. Potentially Cad tho. I love his goth teddy vibes.

30. What’s your favorite CR romantic/sexual relationship?Percahlia!!!!!Beau and Jester and Beau and Yasha are almost up there too.

31. What’s your favorite CR platonic/friendly relationship?Pike and Grog 2 deth

40. What’s your favorite CR quote?“I have passed through fire”“And everyday that raven comes to visit.”

50. What CR backstory/arc/moment resonates with you the most?  Whitestone, and Percy’s entire arc, from gunsmith to clockmaker. I adored how it was all about overcoming the trauma and accepting the darkest parts of you, using them all as weapons to make sure the world is better in your wake. That you may not be able to erase your sins but you can atone for them.

Keyleth’s, for her journey of finding a leader within herself.

Vex’s, of overcoming your inner insecurities, and making your brother super uncomfortable.

And all of C1 E115, for being one of the best fucking endings I have ever seen. I haven’t yet watched the search for grog/bob/dalen’s closet, but I’ve heard they make it all even better. I can’t wait. Maybe in quarantine?Can you tell Vox Machina is one of my favourite stories ever? I love M9, but VM is up there next to ATLA, FMAB, and Ocean at the End of the Lane for me.

[criticalfic]

Songs from the Ash REC OF A LIFETIME

submitted rec from @empire-kids for songs from the ash by explosivesky (54,728 words)

So I’ve had a lot of friends become confused as I slowly (and then very quickly) entered Critical Role fandom. Most of them had little interest in hearing of my new adventures, but some brave few were curious and wanted a fic rec. A fic rec? One they can understand without context? For this show that has so many hours of content? And complicated, layered relationships between characters within canon?

Challenge accepted.

And that acceptance comes in the form of songs from the ash.

This fic has it ALL - a fabulous modern au concept, nods to canon that don’t muddle the plot of the fic itself, love at first sight, slow burn, tragic backstories, music, stunning lyrical prose, and some of the very best epistolary writing I’ve ever seen in a fanwork.

Full disclosure, the fic itself is not technically complete, BUT in my opinion the chapters read far more like complete parts of a series than chapters in a WIP. There are no cliffhangers, and if the fic were to end exactly where it left off, I wouldn’t feel cheated. The idea that there’s more to come is, admittedly, thrilling to me, but if not then it would still have been completely worth it.

Now that we’re past that, I want you to know that this characterization of Vox Machina is my favorite I’ve read in a fic. Model Keyleth? Perfect in every way, while still being charmingly awkward and super connected to nature. Vex is so well written as a hot and dramatic musician that I can’t even get into it, because the words are insufficient. Smitten and broody Vax? Yes. And Percy’s whole arc in this is so incredibly beautiful. Pike has layers, Scanlan is a mess and self-aware about it, and Grog is a delight. The peripheral characters are also a lot of fun, and it’s so cool to see how they all fit together.

I could say more, but take it from some friends of mine, to whom I recced this fic:

“Tbh I’m not normally one for reading fics in a fandom I’m not in bc they never seem to engage me but haha fuck me I guess!!!!”

“listen I’m aware this is a fanfic and I don’t even know who Vex is in canon, but I cannot express to you how much I actively would lay down my life for her. That’s it, that’s the rest of the notes on this fic, just me screaming my love and adoration and undying loyalty to Vex”

“ya its the best epistolary fic i’ve read i think, the tweets are really good”

And if all THAT hasn’t convinced you, how about this final testimonial? “I’m going to die and I want my eulogy to just be you reading this fic.”

So please, go read songs from the ash and then come back and YELL with me, tumblr user @empire-kids, who will never shut the hell up about how good this fic is.