#a whole year since we got ashley and yasha back

[captainsspnanon]

C2E64 - A Dangerous Chase - rewatch reaction

I think I’m ready for some journey to Bazzoxan tonight!  Definitely won’t get it finished, but ready to jump in.

(also I just bought a crap ton of dice.  I already have 10 sets.  I only play dnd once a month.  I am a full goblin at this point.  This was honestly one of the reasons that I was scared of getting into dnd, because I KNEW I would go goblin.  I tried not to for like, a year, and now I’ve given in.)

….So.  I also watch an Australian pokemon go youtuber, ProPlanty. …..I just want to know how he would react to this ad bit from Sam.

THAT’S a shirt that’s never been restocked!  Wonder what it looks like up close.

*removes a whole bunch of math in regards to locate object with the realization that the problem is not distance in dnd being bs, the problem is me and my failure to conceptualize any level of ‘higher’ math now that I’ve been out of school for ages.  I used to take calculus!  Now I use a calculator for everything.*  Well, one legit piece of info I did get is that when they sensed Obann at the edge of the 1000 ft spell, it would have taken one of them only just over 1.5 minutes to dash to get there.   ….wait.  *does more research*   World record for a 300 meter dash (which is 984 feet) is 30.81 seconds (Wayde van Niekerk from South Africa on June 28, 2017).   ….I am reminded of many posts online talking about how you really shouldn’t try to relate dnd to real life.  I am learning that lesson for myself.  (Beau with her movement of 45, using dash and step of the wind, would run 1000 feet in 44 seconds, so that’s at least

No I’m not going to continue that thought.  I am backing out of that tangent that ended up being useless and getting back into the episode.  I’m still only in the Last Time On!

For what it’s worth, I fully recognize that Laura and Taliesin both being in the black and yellow outfits means that I’ve seen clips or gifs from this episode for SOMETHING, but I can’t think of what it could be!

Ah, the discussion about “Orphanmaker”.  I still have quibbles with the reasons for the name, because it just plain confuses me.  I suppose it’s indicative of the attitudes of the tribe, that they give each other tough sounding names despite not living up to it, but it always ends up muddling how I feel about the name.  I also suppose that this is the point of the name though, that it ISN’T some narratively clear cut “Yasha earned the name through her actions with Obann but since she can’t remember it she doesn’t know how she got the name and thus how she would relate to being called it”. Instead it’s “Yasha was given the name by her tribe, basically just considered it a nickname/title, then actually ended up earning it under Obann which she doesn’t remember, which now adds a layer on to how she may feel or relate to the name once she knows about her past again”, which isn’t bad don’t get me wrong!  But it doesn’t slot easily into a story beat, which I guess is why I struggle with it at times (which says more about me than anything). To be fair, a reason for it may have been Ashley choosing the name to 1) sound badass and 2) give Matt something to play with during her amnesia times.  Does Ashley ever actually clarify out of campaign? (I also wish we knew what Zuala’s tribe name was.  As it is, I think we only ever know Orphanmaker and Skyspear?)

I love how Matt will present Option Safe and Option Cool and the group ALWAYS goes for Option Cool.  Travis’s delight at going through the Barbed Fields, the “ground zero of the calamity” is so palpable.  It also makes me even more happy that Travis was in the Calamity one-shot, he deserves it!  LOOK HOW EXCITED HE IS.

(I also love how Matt will sometimes take a joke and play it super straight – Sam asking Maruo if she’s seen Stranger Things and Maruo responding that she’s only seen half of the first season [hey me too], such a well balanced joke that throws everyone off)

Pike spoke Undercommon?  I did not know that!  Then again, I thought Yasha DID speak Undercommon.  No, critrolestats has her with just Common and Celestial.

Aw man, they never do get to Charis.  To be fair, I’m not surprised that Caleb doesn’t know what it is on a 26, I’m assuming it’s just a regular place in Xhorhas.  *looks at the wiki* Okay, a sweet little place, but not devastating that they didn’t get there.  Not worth a one-shot either.

I do love when this group is just all on different pages but all focused towards the same objective.  I think this is the most obvious moment of it playing out, with Maruo even referencing the mixed messages several times.  I don’t think any other group was this Messy, but it works when it’s the Nein.

I love the moorbounders so much!!  I think they’re about to lose them though, yeah?  Don’t they leave them in Bazzoxan and never get them back?  SAD TIMES.

I’m really glad that Ashley rolled high for Yasha to be able to share information about the Barbed Fields.  Because of where she’s from, she’s not really a PC created for infodumping, especially because the areas of Xhorhas that they have gone to are outside of her travels.  But being able to give a good chunk of info about the Barbed Fields has to feel good.

Ah, maybe this is the moment why I recognize the outfits?  Beau needing a short rest but refusing to ask for one, so Caleb immediately telling the group how weak he is and how much he needs a rest.  These two are SUCH a great pairing.

I don’t know if I remembered the joke before it happened, or if I just got it before they did it, but after Jester and Caduceus indicating to use spells at the end of the day, I did the little les mis singalong too XD

Ah no.  This is the Canon episode.  So far we’ve got “don’t shoot the messenger”, “don’t beat a dead horse”, and golf. Edit from later – and ravioli!

Slight spoilers for campaign 3, but I miss the sense of travel and exploration we have from C2, which doesn’t make SENSE because there IS travel and exploration in C3!  But for whatever reason, it doesn’t resonate as much with me like journeying through the Barbed Fields and stuff, and I have no clue why.

WAIT THIS IS WHERE YASHA GETS THE SKINGORGER???  I 100% forgot and thought Obann gave it to her!!  Maybe he only gives her the breastplate.

Fun fact!  I have no clue if this is just me or not, but I haven’t felt like any of Yasha’s swords actually FIT her, you know?  The Magician’s Judge, Skingorger, the Holy Avenger, Scaldsaber, they all SOUND cool AF, and apparently cleaver-style swords are her thing, but I dunno.  Maybe it’s because the fact that she did use so many swords that it ended up feeling like there wasn’t one that fit her well.  Unlike Fjord, where he has the falchion which just absorbs different characteristics, and then gains …. gains…. Hold on…. wiki help me….the Star Razor.  And both of those swords feel so strongly like they FIT, and the changeover has strong significance and character impact.  Whereas Yasha is just a little more like a videogame, swapping out one weapon for another when it’s better suited for it.  I suppose not everyone needs an Iconic Weapon though. How many weapons did Grog end up using?  Wiki shows EIGHT different weapons!  Plus just whatever normal axe he used at the beginning of the campaign which doesn’t even look like it’s on his wiki page so NINE?

For what it’s worth, cool combat!  Just not much to say.

Have I mentioned that I’m super mixed on the nickname Jessie for Jester?  Like, it’s a completely legit nickname that fully makes sense in context, and it’s cute that they all start having a nickname for her, so I do love that.  On the other hand, it’s just kind of a regular name?  Fjord, Yasha, Caduceus, Nott – all insanely unique names.  Beau/Beauregard?  Uncommon and rarely a female name.  Caleb is a normal enough name, but I feel like that 1) works with this concept, and 2) I mean, Bren Aldric Ermendrud is so not a normal typical name, and I feel like adding Widogast helps make it more unique.  And then “Jessie”.  *shrugs*  It’s a pretty stupid whine on my part, but it’s the bit of mixed feelings for the nickname.

Fjord giving Jester a kiss on the cheek, causing her ALL sorts of confusion!!  Honestly?  I’d love to know the out of game conversations that Laura and Travis had in regards to in game romance.  We know the bits said on Talks, but I’m assuming that those are exaggerated for humorous effect.  If I had to come up with and submit a question for the tower on 4SD, it would probably be ‘what is an example of some out of game conversations you have had with the other players or DM that you would feel comfortable sharing?’

Caleb uses Magic Missile more than I remember him doing so.  Then again, I think I underestimate this spell.  I remember being, not annoyed, but feeling like Matt wasn’t have Essek be super efficient during the Lucien fight when Essek just kept using Magic Missile. Probably just my own biases against the spell.  It IS automatic damage, no roll to hit or saving throw, so that is beneficial. Critrolestats says cast a total of 20 times, so it’s not like it was one of Caleb’s high use spells.  I think I think of it like Chromatic Orb – good for very early campaign and that’s all.  Can you tell I don’t play too much dnd yet?  (to be fair, also just played a druid, messing around a bit with a rogue now)

(looking at critrolestats, I’m sad that they didn’t track the spells that Essek did, but it makes sense because they don’t track NPC spells.  Essek is a PC in my heart, okay???)

I don’t know if this is the first time that Nott gets a nat 20 immediately followed by a nat 1 on the auto-firing, but I know it’s not the last!  I feel like this happens at LEAST three times.

Ooo, nice!  Obann name drop AND the Angel of Irons in the same questioning of the head!  Smart plays, good deception checks, and well picked questions.

I do wonder if this plot thread of the cult was always meant to be a sort of open closed plot revolving around Yasha, or if Matt has/had further ideas for Tharizdun.  It honestly could go either way.

I forgot that we got a canon reference to Marion’s agoraphobia before it actually came up for the party.  I like that!  I’d misremembered and thought that the party was the first time. Probably just the first time we clearly see it from her.

It’s very interesting seeing Caleb pushing so hard to stop Luc from being brought to the Chateau, because he’s so sure that Marion is now under suspicion.  Liam pushes it in many episodes, and while it’s discussed, it’s also discarded and Luc is still brought there.  In reality, it’s only in episode 128 that Marion is ever in danger, and it’s because of the break in at the sanatorium that the party do, nothing to do with the letter.

I love the games where they don’t want to stop playing and beg for more time.  This time it was an option!  But Laura needed to stop for health/baby reasons, and that takes priority.

#critical role #the mighty nein #cr c2 rewatch

[yankingmyvajane]

In honor of the One Year Anniversary of Ashley Johnson’s permanent return to Critical Role:

My favorite Yasha moments since she broke her chains. 

She has grown so much in the past year, and watching her journey has been an absolute honor. I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store for her. 

#yasha nydoorin #listen im emotional #its been a year #a whole year since we got ashley and yasha back #and she's thriving #Ashley Johnson #critical role spoilers #critical role #cr #cr2 #mighty nein #m9 #yasha #beauyasha #i love her so much #and im so fucking proud #of her growth #nothing but love for this disaster lesbian #she is everything to me #cheers yall #happy Yasha Nydoorin day

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E111 (Sept. 29, 2020)

@eponymous-rose‘s internet is out tonight, so I’m here late and without coffee! Let’s see how many typos we can fit into an hour and a half episode.

Tonight’s guests: Ashley Williams JOHNSON, oops!! & Liam O’Brien!

We open with Brian in light-up vented sunglasses and Henry at his side, as always. Dani is very excited to be back and has fun-buns in her hair tonight. So cute! Everyone talks about how much they’re Zooming these days for work, and Liam mentions he and Matt & Marisha did a digital cocktail night. He and Dani arrange on camera to have a distanced, masked meetup in the park so Dani can see Liam’s dog again.

No announcements! Tonight, we’re discussin’ episodes 110 and 111.

Starting with the end, Brian jumps right to it by asking how they feel that Molly is alive. Liam 100% thought we’d be back to him, but still wasn’t ready when it happened. Caleb doubted he was alive. Both Liam & Ashley marvel at the numerology that keeps cropping up throughout the show. Brian hates not being able to see it at the same time the show happens live; Ashley was biting her tongue not telling him spoilers. (He doesn’t want to hear spoilers unless Yasha dies so he can be there for Ashley if needed.) Brian says he has a little reality trauma from the night Pike died in the pre-stream game; it was the first time he’d realized how much it affected the players.

Ashley’s realized how much she misses unpacking the game with Brian when they get home. She just has to sit with it until everyone else gets to see it. Brian: “Instead she comes home and I have to fill her in on the Real Housewives of Amarillo, Texas.”

Reunion dinner with Trent! Liam talks about how the way things unfolded with Trent is not at all how he imagined it in his pre-game creation; he’d expected more of a fracas, more of an unexpected clash. “Caleb might have been a different person if he’d run into these people earlier in the story. The M9 changed him before [Trent & co] came back and got to him.” He’d imagined Astrid & Eodwulf to be complicated encounters, but says what Matt’s designed has been even harder than that. A fight on a mountain is one thing, but walking into a room with “what Trent dropped, is impossible to cope with.” It also means that if what Trent said is true, anything Caleb does now is effectively of Trent’s design, even killing him.

He doesn’t think Caleb would have gone anywhere near Trent & co without the M9. “The Mighty Nein--it took a long time--but they cracked Caleb open like a walnut.”

He thinks what Matt has done is much more murky than the simplicity of murder, such as the Briarwood arc. He can’t just exact his revenge now.

Liam says that the tempation to tinker with time is no longer as all-consuming as it was. He might still be tempted if Matt dangles a bunch of carrots in front of him, but he thinks that now it might be better to make sure that that kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore for anyone else (!!!). “It’s still a nugget in his brain and it’s still possible he could be tempted by the drug, but what he wanted in the beginning was entirely selfish, but now that the M9 are involved he owes it to them, to the people of the country, even on the Dynasty side--is so complex that if Caleb were to get that carrot and chase it, he would be risking everything.”

Ashley agrees that most of their choices are no longer black and white. Many of the situations feel more like real life. Liam agrees and says he’ll sometimes make decisions that he’s both really happy with and regrets at the same time. They both look forward to what Matt will reveal in Act 3.

Brian feels it’s tough to gauge how deep they are into what Matt’s planned for the campaign. Liam says that thanks to Matt’s skill, he really doesn’t know what Caleb wants right now.

Ashley agrees, and talks about how she created Yasha to have more to overcome than Pike. She loves what Matt’s doing in terms of allowing each of them to overcome more emotional hurdles than physical ones in this campaign.

Going back to Molly’s grave was very exciting for Ashley since she wasn’t able to be there when he died in the game & wanted to do what she could to honor him. Yasha, however, was very hesitant but knew what needed to be done. She’s not very open with her emotions, but both she & Ashley were stressed. They all could feel the energy in the studio & knew Matt was about to do something mind-blowing. Liam: “You could feel all the dust in the air coalescing around Taliesin.”

Brian trips over Eodwulf. Liam tries to help him find some pronunciation shortcuts. Ashley: “You say it so beautifully.” Brian: “Thank you.” Ashley: “Not you.”

Caleb knows how wickedly intelligent & ambitious Astrid is, and was heartened by the wavering he saw in her at the dinner. However, he can’t trust her until he knows why she’s where she is.

He really feels that if they’d had this dinner 60 episodes ago, Caleb might have tilted back along the evil axis and he would have had to retire the character. He had a playlist entirely for if Caleb turned evil and left the party.

The vision of Zuala was a huge deal for Yasha, even along every other instance she’s had of being mind-controlled, etc. “That’s guilt I think she will always carry with her, but at least she’s starting to forgive herself.” Losing the chains, sprouting wings again--Ashley reiterates that she didn’t know that was even a possibility, she just picked the skeletal wings because they were dope--were huge moments in the character development. Ashley’s glad Beau was there at the moment of the first flight; Ashley thinks of the quotation “Happiness is only beautiful when it’s shared,” and because Yasha tends to keep things very much to herself, having someone there to share it made it more impactful. “That was a cool moment. There’s been a lot of healing for Yasha these last episodes.”d

Ashley also says sometimes in that moment, when all eyes are on you in a one-on-one with Matt, everything goes muffled like Saving Private Ryan. “Wub wub wub.”

Dani feels that the only way she could even have the conversation with Zuala was to let her go in the first place.

Liam thinks one of the things that Yasha & Cad share is that still waters run deep. He loves how much Yasha hangs back sometimes, only to then reveal some new moment like the fighting pit. Apparently Ashley also has a knife collection, and uses that metal side of herself when she wants to let that new side of Yasha show.

Cosplay of the Week: Crystal Armstead (@riyuski on twitter) in a Reani cosplay. Beautiful!

How does Liam feel about the return to Rexxentrum? Very, very complicated. Caleb loves magic and lights up when he sees it, which is wrapped in the Soltryce Academy; he brought folks to the dance hall for the same reason, which was wanting the M9 to see the things that he loved about the city.

Yasha felt the same way about visiting the Chantry of the Dawn. It was a memory of a very traumatic moment (almost killing Beau), but given everything that’s happened between then and now it was cathartic to see again. There’s been a lot of healing in the past few weeks. It also felt like a physical representation of Yasha’s growth, the last time she was controlled against her will like that (or at least, until she was mind-controlled by Vokodo. Ashley sighs, aggrieved.)

Brian: “The tower really feels like a love letter from Caleb to his friends.” Liam: “It is, and a love letter from Liam to his friends.” When he looked at Caleb’s spell list, he remembered how amazing the mansion was in Campaign One and how many role-playing moments it led to and knew he wanted to incorporate it. However, he knew it could never be the same as Scanlan’s mansion because Caleb doesn’t have the same improvisational genius as Scanlan does. Liam has been “tinkering with this machine” for over a year, waiting for the moment to reveal it. He loves that he got a chance to see Jester’s room in time to have her tower room reflect reality. He’d discussed the tower extensively with Dani & Matt. Brian: “Hey! What am I, chopped--what’s the saying?” Ashley: “Chopped cabbage?”

Ashley marvels at the design of the dome. Liam talks about how Caleb knowing Caleb has been abused has been slowly getting better, but he also loves now being able to juxtapose that healing with his innate love of magic and how beautiful he finds it, how he loves to use magic as his artistry. The Soltryce Academy wasn’t “Welcome to DEATH SCHOOL,” it was the Sorbonne. It was amazing, everything he wanted. It was only one bad apple within that recruited him and turned it all bad.

Liam also points out how much it means in real life to be able to express his love and care for his friends in person too.

Ashley talks about how much she loves Yasha’s armor in a meta sense because it’s so cool and useful, and great for her armor class, but struggles with what it represents in game. She might not be able to let it go due to its sheer utility, and she may have to find an in-game reason to justify keeping it.

Ashley segues a moment into talking about her velvet top which apparently has a matching velvet scrunchie. She’s asked to demonstrate the scrunchie and ties her hair up in a way that I have never in my life seen someone do with a scrunchie before, and my hair’s been waist-length most of my life. I watch it again in slow motion. How did she DO that??

Caleb’s been looking for the right time to tell Jester about his past for a long time. She’s a good person and makes him feel like he might be capable of becoming a good person at the end, because that’s how she saw him. Liam knew from Laura that Jester wouldn’t condemn him, but Caleb put it off as long as possible. He also wanted to take the time to make sure Caduceus & Yasha knew the whole story too before they went to dinner with Trent.

Liam was also relieved to get it out, because he could never remember who knew and who didn’t, and now he doesn’t have to track it anymore. “Now we can move forward. Now we can heal wounds, maybe.”

Ashley feels Cad picks up a lot, more than most people realize. Yasha was really affected by Cad’s line: “Patience can be good, but it can lead to apathy.” She really feels it opened her eyes, and she appreciated the simplicity of him pointing out her hair’s growing back white again. Having a friend notice “hey, you’re changing for the better” really means a lot. She’s interested in seeing how this means things might change with Beau.

Dani points out that it also reinforced for Yasha that she can want things too--she can be patient and just continue to be with the group, as she’s wanted, but it’s okay to want more than that too. Ashley remembers Veth asking her what her purpose is. There’s a part of her that knows Yasha is still figuring that out, and she’s interested to see how Yasha will continue to change. She’s always spent her life serving somebody--the Sky Spear, Obann--and then even after she joined the M9, it was very centered on “what do you need, what does the group need, how can I help with our next job?” She’s going to have to take some time to figure out what she wants.

Fanart of the Week! Lovely Yasha & Beau flight art by @JMNP7888. The wings look amazing!

Brian: “One of the things we want to talk to you about, Liam, is about the Vokodo fight and the FUCKING disintegrate spell.”

Liam: “That was one of the most insane 60-90 seconds of gameplay that ever existed for the table, and definitely for me, in the entire history of the show. A lot of people think I just went, oh man, just bet it all on black. But what if I told you that...I Larkin’d the first 20 seconds of that fight and then at a quarter to midnight, I forgot that the reflection was a thing? I just forgot it was a thing! I spent that whole battle thinking I’m just here to banish things. I might buff my friends a little bit, maybe I’ll counterspell, but I’m just here to banish. And it didn’t work and it didn’t work and then it did! Finally it did and Jester made it work and then he was GONE. And then everyone got greedy and it was done but we brought him BACK. And it was a quarter to midnight and I’m not an animatronic D&D lesson machine, I’m just a guy playing D&D at 11:45 at night, and he came back and everyone started Goodfellas circling him and kicking him, and Beau & Yasha are gonna kill him, and then it’s my turn? Disintegrate! And then the room was quiet, and then time passed, and Matt asked, you really cast Disintegrate? And I said yes, of course, and Matt started rolling dice, and in the back of my head I started wondering why he asked if I was rolling Disintegrate. Oh no. In the back of my brain, I was like, well, just tell him that’s not what you did. Tell him you didn’t remember the reflection thing. But he’s already rolling dice! You can’t take it back now. Hold on a second. I’m going to take you on the journey I went through. I was thinking: you have a spell save of 17. This thing wasn’t that fast. +1, +2, maybe? Anything under 14 is okay. That’s 70%. 70%. That’s okay, right? And still no one said anything to tip me off that I was in ELDRITCH MADNESS at that point, no one said anything about the reflection! And then I realize it can reflect back on us, and I realize this is...disintegrate. And then I started becoming morbidly, macabre-ly fascinated at the puppet dance of death I had created. Well, this is a mess. I have made a mess. Let’s just sit in it. And somehow, nonsensically, spectacularly, it worked out in my favor. I went home that night and I got in bed next to my wife, who was fast asleep, and I stared at the ceiling going, dude. Duuuuuuuude. Duuuuuuuuuude.”

He apparently also told his therapist about this and how terrible it was and how close he “danced myself to the precipice like a crazy person!” Marisha (as told by Liam): “Epic roll, though.”

Matt told Liam that night that if it had been reflected, it would have gone back on him. “If a player throws an M80 in the middle of a room, it would reflect on that player who threw it.”

Ashley talks about how interesting that Yasha is not performative, and yet has been doing these public performances with the harp. It’s a great experiment for Ashley--Yasha doesn’t like the attention, but feels like she is making something beautiful for the world.” She’s trying to change something about how she views herself & her place in the world. She was raised to be a weapon for the Sky Spear, but she’s also extremely gentle and loves flowers & beautiful music, and the further away she’s gotten from the tribe, she’s falling in love with gentle, beautiful things. 

Liam also points out it easy (real, but simplistic) to make an entire character centered around a single personality trait: “I’m angry all the time. I’m sad all the time.” He thinks it’s more realistic to see nuance in personality.

Liam can see some paths for Caleb to find peace & do good. He doesn’t know if Caleb is conscious of those. He thinks it’s a huge step forward to admit he was molded in this direction at all and that it wasn’t all his choice, but doesn’t know if this is the same possibility as redemption.

He also mentions Essek in this answer: there was/is attraction there, both intellectual and physical--the forehead kiss was a big marker of that--and he’s interested in seeing where that goes because he’s invested in Essek’s redemption arc on its own, but Essek is not as high on the list as other things Caleb/the M9 need to work on. He loved the “high spy times” of the Essek arc and the tangled-up-ness of feelings getting involved at the same time as intense commitment to duty.

Liam always felt Matt would bring Molly back in some aspect, even though Caleb always demurred because he doesn’t believe in fate. Dani and Brian agree that this is the start of a new act.

Ashley cried at the Vilya reunion. She thought that was an incredible moment and was so glad to see Keyleth. Liam: “Keyleth as part of our story is everything to me. That story is really important to me, so getting just a glimpse of her again was so important to me.” They could all see how that affected Marisha & how special it was to her. Liam: “It was such a great note in her song or color in her painting. She achieved magnificent things and was powerful and great, but had a very heartbreaking and sad ending, so to have this sliver of joy go back in is so complex and beautiful and masterfully done.”

Aaaaaaand that’s all for tonight! Remember, no Critical Role this week. Talks will be back in two weeks. As always, don’t forget to love each other. <3

#talks machina #critical role #talks machina spoilers #critical role spoilers #long post #long post for ts

[tiamat-zx]

Thoughts on the Very Important Date (C2E126 SPOILERS)

Long post. You've been warned.

The Beauyasha of it all in this episode was so amazing. The perfect payoff after three years of one of the slowest burns in CR history.

First off... Veth being a good mother figure to Beau, giving the monk her full support in seeking a date with Yasha, the two of them hugging it out. Also, Veth's comment that Beau could afford to let her guard down for once and be "likable". Normally, one could see that as being an absolute troll comment, much like all of the jabs he had made out of love and humor at their expense. But... Beau processed that differently because for the first time, someone basically said that it's okay to be honest and vulnerable because she knows Yasha won't judge her for it. And also, Marisha surprising Sam with a bit of trolling of her own, having revealed that she already DID plan a moment. Several, in fact.

Next... Caleb choosing to prioritize his sister's happiness over his own goals by relinquishing the tower for a night for her and Yasha. There's no guarantee as to whether they'll have another night like this, so better now than never. Also, despite his great discomfort, he allowed the cats to become dachshunds instead, because Yasha is such a dog lover as is Ashley. (Also, I totally thing the dachsies are a reference to Liam's own puppy, Sprigg.)

Next... the date itself. A lot of folks, myself included, assumed so many things about what could happen. But I think it's safe to say that it turned out to be NOTHING like what we expected. But also, in a way, precisely what we expected. Beau and Yasha, once they got past their initial nerves and awkwardness, were able to have such an extended moment to themselves: the entire second half to themselves. And through this second half... walls were torn down, band-aids were ripped off, and they became so open, so vulnerable, so... so... honest. About a lot of things.

They bared it all: heart, body, and soul.

Beau once again telling Yasha to not blame herself for the times they were forced to fight. Confiding that she's scared of the unknown about what they have yet to face. Expressing her relief about the revelations surrounding her kidnapping last episode, and saying that any last reservations she had about the Cobalt Soul were banished upon hearing that what she had said was taken seriously. Confiding and admitting to Yasha - and to herself - how foolish it was of her that she almost destroyed this familial bond she forged with the Nein, all because she was scared. Giving Yasha an out in case this whole night goes elsewhere, that even if Yasha doesn't feel the same way, at least she's got someone to talk to. Allowing herself to be this open and frank about everything, taking Veth's advice to heart and letting the walls crumble. And to her vast relief, she felt loved and appreciated.

Yasha admitting that she had kept her distance because she wanted to keep Beau safe from Lucien, but realizing that it's far too late. Confiding in Beau about the time she and Molly first met, in the wastes of Xhorhas, and how despite loving everyone in the circus... the Nein feel like an actual family. Confessing that everything changed for her in Kamordah, as that was when she fell in love with her. That moment paints a lot of her moments since then in a new light, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes funny, sometimes heartwarming. Telling Beau how proud she is of her, telling her that all of her growth she accomplished on her own. Admitting that she always came back to the Nein because she is terrified that she can't survive losing them, just like when she lost Zuala and Molly. Understanding that her "purpose" that so many others asked of her, asking what it was, is simply to protect. To keep everyone safe and alive.

And then... the yearning and pining finally reached critical mass as THEY HAD THEIR FIRST KISS! The moment alone was such a dose of ambrosia after so many false starts and so many unwanted interruptions. The play-fight against the ninja dogs was amazing as well as it allowed the Sentinels to be so playful and extra as hell.

The reproduction of the Steam's Respite bathhouse, and Caleb's deviation from Beau's instructions of having lioness masseuses instead of dogs present, knowing that she'd forgive it. "Besides, what better gift could I offer the Lionett?" The fireworks above the tub as Beau and Yasha cuddled and kissed once more. And Beau finally allowing herself, without any trace of fear or hesitation, to be lucky in love. And she got to be held through the show.

"I love you, too." / "That's the best thing I've ever heard."

And the capstone of this extensive moment? The stained-glass window above the fireplace in Beau's chambers showing her hand linked with Yasha's.

Sentinel Babes becoming Sentinel Girlfriends. And lovers.

It was THE perfect episode to consummate all the yearning and pining. The heartbreak and healing. The loss and love. I couldn't imagine this going any more perfectly for them.

Beauregard Lionett. Yasha Nydoorin.

Two souls, broken and damaged, yet still finding each other and coming closer, one step at a time.

All it took was one night for it all to come to fruition.

It was the perfect first date... and the perfect first night of the rest of their lives. Together.

#critical role #beauyasha #cracklepop #sapphic sentinels #sentinel girlfriends #beauregard lionett #yasha nydoorin #cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #c2e126 #meta #long post

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E96 (February 25, 2020)

Tonight’s guests are Taliesin Jaffe and Liam O’Brien!

Announcements: The Chicago live show and C2E2 are imminent! The live show will be on Thursday night, but an hour earlier than usual, at 6 PM Pacific/8 PM Central! Liam will be at the live show, but unfortunately has to leave C2E2 early and won’t be able to make it on Sunday. On Friday, the first behind-the-scenes video for The Legend of Vox Machina animated series was posted on YouTube, introducing the writing team!

Episode 96: Family Shatters

Stats for this week’s episode! Of the 16 times Caleb has cast Teleportation Circle, the M9 have remembered to contact someone prior to their arrival 7 times. Of those 7 times, they were successful at contacting someone at the location only 3. Taliesin: “We’re playing this game like Skyrim, we’re just going through people’s houses breaking pottery.” Caduceus got the straw hat that he gave to Clarabelle in episode 31, about 188 in-game days ago. There were 17 cow-related puns. Dani: “Is that above or below average for a Critical Role episode?”

“Clay was kind of built relatively quickly. I didn’t give Matt a ton to play with. I gave him the order in which they left, I gave him Clay’s attitude and his impression of his family members, which was usually just one sentence, and some basic idea of what their power set might be if they had one. I always thought of him as, from a family perspective, of what would have happened to Percy if nothing went wrong.” He was happy to be the one to run the family business and just hang around at home and run the shrine. “I think the rest of the kids’ wanderlust probably put them at odds quite a bit.” He liked being able to play that conflict and show what Caduceus was like when he was annoyed. Cad took after his father, the girls generally wanted to leave, and Colton is “just sort of a doofus.”

Caleb was an only child, so seeing this many kids was a lot. “They clearly had their grudges and their different dynamics with each other, but that’s normal, for sure. Caleb’s very unfamiliar with it.” He also keeps looking at Nott and thinking about how everything he’s doing is about wanting to rebuild his family, whereas Nott is so conflicted about going back to hers. “He doesn’t understand it, but he doesn’t want to push it” or judge her for it. “I thought I had a really defined direction at the start of the campaign, but my seven best friends have knocked it silly.”

What’s keeping Cad with the Nein? “Caduceus is not ready to go home at all. He’s not done with his walkabout. He feels like he wants to see a bit more. He feels he has an intense debt to pay. He feels he has a mission to see everybody else through, at the very least. Or at least he’s telling himself that. So he’s saved his home, or at least he thinks he’s saved his home, and his family’s all right, so now it’s debts that must be paid. He’s not somebody who thinks you can just get off the bus.”

“Caleb was going to ask [the hag] about the ability to travel backward through time, not really believing that she could do that, but was still like, show me what you’ve got.” Even if she’d said it, he would have thought she was a liar. “Probably would’ve offered to kill the M9″ in exchange, then would’ve turned around to hit her with a surprise Disintegrate. Liam notes repeatedly that nothing could possibly have been as cool as what Laura wound up doing.

On the Nein not worrying about places Cad considered sacred ground, Caduceus “is fine with conflict. He doesn’t even really have to have conflict, he could assert himself if he were so inclined. It’s that he’s aware that there are limits to what these people can do. It’s very much the philosophy of ‘children and drunks can do no wrong’.” He’s picking his battles.

Was there a defining moment where Caleb started seeing the Nein as family? No single moment. “It’s like love by a thousand cuts.” Liam notes that he’s still not sure how Caleb would react if he suddenly had the means to carry out his plans. “He’s got the recovering-addict mentality.”

Cosplay of the Week: an amazing Pumat! (CriticalHitical, photo by Minniemooncos on Twitter)

Taliesin notes that Caduceus is definitely feeling more connected to the group. “If anything, Caduceus is really embracing his role as the spiritual guide to the group. He feels like he really has a lot to offer from that perspective of being the roving therapist. Or at least, he thinks he’s a roving therapist.” Liam notes that Cad is the most mysterious of the group to Caleb. “He’s the most religious character I’ve ever played, too. He’s fun! He really came together very nicely.”

On Caleb being more lighthearted on occasion: “He’s been out of practice being a human being for a long time.” The Nein’s brand of ridiculousness is rubbing off on him.

Why hasn’t Cad been pranking the Nein? “They don’t treat him poorly in that way yet. Siblings, man. I have quite a few siblings, and there is an energy. It’s the same way like when you’re around your parents, you revert to a 15-year-old.” Same with siblings. “There’s just something-- just the urge to torture them is so overpowering.” The moment he got the whistle, he knew exactly what he was going to do with it. Liam was reminded of Taliesin’s real-life siblings while watching these interactions in the game.

On Caleb’s laying on compliments for the Traveler: “The thing about time travel is it’s so implausible. It’s so implausible that I could see us finishing this campaign and Caleb will still have it in the back of his head for the rest of his life. But maybe Artagan could help with that. He certainly sees the potential in Artagan, and it was a balance between wanting to support everything Jester has devoted her life to, so it just felt like everyone was ready to write it off. Life is often like this, life isn’t what you thought it would be, it is what it is. Let’s not damn this yet, let’s feel it out. And if I can use this situation to possibly eradicate ultimate evil, that’s a win.”

Cad found it tough to have family and friends in the same room and play both roles. “I don’t know how much it came across that he was trying to keep them, not necessarily separated, but ‘family, guys, guys, family, ANYWAY.’” He did want to get his family on their way as quickly as possible. Cad is the equivalent of his early 20s, so something like 85-120 years old for a firbolg. 

Liam is asked about the conversation between Caleb and Yasha on watch several episodes ago. "You know what one of the best parts of that scene that played out was, is about 20 minutes or 30 minutes before that happened, I texted Ashley at the table and said, ‘Want to take watch? I have nothing planned, it could be fun.’” He wasn’t expecting it to go that far. “I think he had such an extreme reaction because he felt that he had done a good job of hiding things, and he was suddenly worried that he was transparent, that everyone had been able to read him this whole time when he’d thought that he was-- well, he’s a little in love with Jester Lavorre, and has been for a while, uselessly in love with her. The waltz was probably a little pebble. And in that moment-- this doesn’t play out verbally too much in the show, but he just was worried that this thing that he’s never going to admit to because it’s useless, she’s finding herself, and has her whole life ahead of her, and has other people around her who care about her and are a whole lot better for her than he is. And he’s aware of the way those two [Fjord and Beau] feel as well. It’s just there in the background fucking up his shit. It’s really just a problem. Big fucking problem.” 

Fan art of the week: a gorgeous Clay family portrait! (by Teaweltzer on Twitter)

On Clay being absent for the renewal of his home: “I don’t think his arc’s ending off-screen. I think his arc ends when he comes home to see what’s become of it.”

Is Caleb worried about Beau since the confrontation with her father? “Of course he is. She’s ignoring all the advice that she gave him. He doesn’t like to see her that hard on herself when she’s so competent and probably the backbone of the group. It’s the most judgey Caleb’s been of anybody, really, but he’s very aware of the pain of family and personal stuff. She knows her, and even though he broke his shit in half, he could still see the dynamic in the room when we visited his family, so he feels for her. We need you and we love you and we will miss you, you don’t fucking get to go.”

Each of the temples has a secondary god; what was the Blooming Grove’s other god? “The Blooming Grove is for the Archeart because it is a gift of beauty. It’s the Allhammer, the Changebringer, and the Archeart. It’s kind of a powerplay from the Wildmother, in my opinion. They’re all three based off of very specific types of funereal practices that are common throughout the world.”

Caleb saw giving over the transformation spell to Essek as a returning of one of his many favors. “Caleb likes Essek a lot. They’re like two highly gifted kids at school together. And, you know, he’s quirkily charming and handsome. There’s just no reason not to, in his mind. Outside of the M9, he’s probably the only person that Caleb would see as a friend that he’s made. Everyone else is just sort of scenery around the M9.”

What’s next for Cad? “It’s a little bit of finding himself, or at least finishing himself would be the way to put it.” (cue snickering from off-camera) “He’s also vaguely aware of some of the things that are going to possibly emotionally damage the party on the horizon, and he wants to be ready to deal with, in vague order, whatever’s going to happen to Jester, and then whatever’s going to happen to Fjord, and then whatever’s going to happen to Nott, and Yasha, and Caleb. He doesn’t know how to deal with what Beau’s going through. It’s the one thing he has no experience of, because he has no experience with that family dynamic. When he met people with that family dynamic, it was always at the end of it.”

Some fans sent in death whistles. Brian encourages Taliesin to play one on the plane.

The hat for Calliope was a last-minute thought. The flute could also have gone for Colton, depending on “who I could sneak up on”.

Caleb took a symbol of the Archeart from the Labenda Swamp. “I think it was familiar to me. I think I might have either correctly or mistakenly thought it reminded me of the woman who helped Caleb in the Sanatorium.”

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long text post

[liveinink]

So pretty much ever since we met the Bright Queen people have had different interpretations of her words and motivations. And different interpretations of the Dynasty and how it functions. Now from what I’ve seen, most people seem pretty pro-Dynasty and opposed to the Empire, but even then there are statements like, “I know the Bright Queen wants to murder everyone in the Empire, but...” And here’s the thing, I truly don’t think she does. I personally think that is a misinterpretation of her stated intentions, though very understandable. And it’s backed up by what some of the Nein seem to think of her, which doesn’t help. I’ve also seen a few people more seriously call the Bright Queen a genocidal zealot, which I feel is a wild misinterpretation personally that is not at all backed up by canon, but I can’t really tell people they’re wrong (though personally I think that specifically is). I’m not here to say that my interpretation is absolutely right and others are absolutely wrong. I’ve just had this on my mind for a while and I’m going to share my personal analysis. Essay under the cut.

First, though I have addressed this myself before, as have others, I feel it’s important to address the “slavery” issue here. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that the Kryn practice slavery, and at this point if it existed the Nein would have noticed it. The only indication the Nein had that slavery was practiced in Xhorhas was in Yasha’s description of the Kryn. A description that Ashley stated on Talks was deliberately exaggerated to make Xhorhas sound worse than it is so that the Nein wouldn’t want to go there. Also, it was not entirely reliable information to begin with. Yasha said herself she had never interacted with the Kryn, she only knew stories. And as we’ve seen, there are a lot of false horror stories about the Kryn circulating the world. The Nein assumed, based on little to no evidence, that slavery was a practice and that’s how they came to their very poor decision to disguise the humans as slaves. Despite seeing humans freely living and working in Asarius, including one in the government building. And they, luckily, never actually used the word “slave” to describe the humans, so the Dynasty members they interacted with weren’t condoning slavery. They were clearly confused by the humans’ attire, but otherwise they were given no explanation of what was happening with the humans outside of them being “help” of a sort. And the pair of orcs in Asarius and Lythir’s reactions don’t speak to slavery being condoned by the Dynasty, they speak to a few individuals being jerks to humans. And on that point, the discrimination towards humans that we’ve seen in Xhorhas, which has actually been relatively rare, seems more about individual biases and general mistrust of humans due to their tensions with the Empire. It doesn’t seem like there is a lot of systemic racism in the Dynasty from what we’ve seen so far.

Now to the Bright Queen specifically. When we first met the Bright Queen, she welcomed strangers into her throne room, ready to reward them for service to her people. Obviously events spiraled, but that still says something about her. She’s willingly to hold an audience with random mercenaries at pretty much a moment’s notice just because a trusted individual said they’d been helpful and they wanted to see her. There’s a war, on top of everything she must have to regularly deal with given the relics of the Calamity scarring the land, and just the general responsibilities of running a nation. She must have more important things do to. And yet she accepted the Mighty Nein’s request to see her. Then, after being given the Beacon, she asks the Nein if they have any questions she can answer. Again, she did not have to do that personally. She did not have to be nearly as generous or forgiving towards them as she was, but that’s a point that will reemerge later.

Now, here’s where people start to have a problem. Leylas says that the Kryn will not stop attacking the Empire until they leave “an equal or more share of blood” and she tells the Nein to warn anyone they care about to leave the Empire. Now first hearing that, it’s alarming. Sounds bloodthirsty. But with everything we know about her, and the benefit of hindsight, given other statements she has made and the actions of her soldiers, I don’t think this is a bloodthirsty statement. I think it’s more to the point that, as Leylas later explained, if there can not be peace until one side can no longer retaliate, then the Dynasty needs to do enough damage to the Empire’s armies that the Empire can no longer pose a threat. That will be a lot of blood. And I think there’s also an implicit statement that the Bright Queen cannot promise there will be no collateral damage. Civilians can be injured or killed in war, and it’s not always intentional. We know the Dynasty doesn’t want to slaughter civilians because we’ve seen evidence of it: Felderwin. If I’m remembering correctly, nobody died in the attack on Felderwin, and the only people injured were guards. There was damage to the buildings, but it could have been so much worse. The Kryn could have razed the whole town if they wanted. It was small and poorly defended, and doing extra damage would not hinder their goals. But they didn’t. They went, fought the guards, found what they came for (sort of), took it, and left. Even if my memory of this event is not perfect, I do know for certain that that attack could have been so much worse. It wasn’t. Which, to me, speaks to how the Kryn operate.

Also, if the Bright Queen’s statements here were purely about revenge, then I’ll say this: I’ll let it slide. Because even if she was wrapped up in ideas of vengeance in that moment, she clearly hasn’t acted on them, and given her other statements and actions, I don’t think she truly intends to. Her people have been wronged by the Empire. If she wants a moment to fantasize about revenge, I’m inclined to let her have.

Now I will say this before moving on, the torture of Yeza is bad. Undeniably. But I don’t think it can be any example of the Kryn being evil. They’re just not perfect. You know, like people. And unfortunately, people misguidedly think it can be effective to torture other people for information. Moving on to the Bright Queen’s speech about the cycle of violence. I think a lot of people, including members of the Nein, heard what they feared/expected rather than what was actually said here. And as a side note, expectations based on Empire propaganda and general association with what the races of Xhorhas have been made out to be in fantasy of the past (and present) is a factor here. But let’s look at what was actually said:

Beau: Being of the Empire, what we can for sure tell you is that they do not take kindly to being bested or embarrassed and they will retaliate with the full force of everything they've been working towards.

BQ: If I am correct in my beliefs, this is retaliation for our retaliation.

Beau: Yes, it's a lot of retaliation.

BQ: This will continue until one side cannot retaliate and we hope with a swift enough and well-planned plot laid out with this information, perhaps we can keep them from being able to retaliate for some time.

...

Beau: We can help you break the cycle.

BQ: The cycle cannot be broken until there is nothing living. All we can do is our best to keep it slow.

Jester: Why can't the cycle be broken?

BQ: Because life is pain for many. Jealousy, strife. Some need to conquer. There will always be those that will do whatever it takes to get one over the man or woman or otherwise to their left and right.

Caduceus: Talking about yourself or the Empire right now?

BQ: I'm talking about anything that draws breath. And it is our duty to acknowledge that and try to keep those base designs at bay. But one cannot bow down when others do not show that same will of understanding or else they will lie slaughtered.

Personally, I understand, but I don’t really understand exactly how this got misconstrued, because to me it seems obvious. Leylas explains her views quite clearly, and not a single one of them is “everyone in the Empire needs to die.” No, this is an explanation of the world and “human” nature as she has observed it in the last 1200 years. First, due to her experiences with the Empire, she does not believe peace can be achieved through, well, peaceful means. She clearly doesn’t expect that the Empire will be willing to put down their arms, so the only other means of ending the war is ensuring that they cannot retaliate anymore. And note that she never says, “and once they’re weak we’re going to wipe them out,” no. The implication, as I see it, is that they want to incapacitate the army, then enjoy a time of peace for as long as they can make it last. Because Leylas so clearly explains their cultural philosophy toward violence. First, it’s inevitable as long as people live. People. Anyone. She clarifies that herself. “Anything that draws breath.” Not Empire people specifically, all people. And while in the previous conversation about the Empire she noted that propaganda may have corrupted the minds of those in the Empire, she admitted that they probably were not all lost causes. She just expressed that what they had been taught would likely make the general public hostile towards the Kryn.

Secondly, the Kryn believe that violence is bad. Simply put, but that is the simple version of what she said. It’s unavoidable, but people should try to avoid it. To “keep those base designs at bay.” But someone will always have a reason they feel is justified to incite violence. And the Kryn can’t simply not defend themselves. But they do their best to keep the cycle of violence slow. Even while having to acknowledge the desires for aggression within themselves, and trying to not give in to them. Leylas does not exclude herself or her people from this. She knows the Kryn too are imperfect people.

I remember once coming across a post that offered some very interesting analysis on the Dynasty as a society built for peace rather than war, and I wish I could remember more about it. Sadly I can’t, but there is some evidence to suggest that. I’m not going to risk stealing someone else’s ideas by writing about it here, though. What I will say, is that the Dynasty, for all people are worried about it being a rigid caste system, which I see where the worry comes from, it certainly has that potential, we haven’t actually seen that yet, so I couldn’t say for certain that’s true; the Dynasty is a meritocracy. Arguably a theocracy as well, though they demonstrably practice religious freedom. But their leaders are all selected for reward because of their proven merit and service to society. The Dynasty has numerous times proven that it rewards for service. Not the kind of loyalty that Dwendal demands, but services rendered to the people. Like the Nein closing the Abyssal rifts, and giving warning of Empire attacks. They are consistently rewarded for their good deeds towards the Dynasty. They are actually treated with great generosity, especially considering they are not technically citizens of Xhorhas. Unless the Bright Queen considers them to be at this point, but I don’t know. They certainly weren’t when they started, but they’ve been treated well since the beginning, much to their own surprise.

The Mighty Nein have actually been treated remarkably well by the Dynasty in every interaction they’ve had with them (the higher ranking members at the very least). The worst things that have happened to them are nearly being arrested for (by Lythir’s perception) attacking Kryn soldiers, and being scried on. Which let’s be honest, the scrying is invasive and not great, but also understandable. The Nein have been treated well from their first encounters with Lady Olios, to the Bright Queen, to every interaction they’ve had with Essek and everything he’s given them (yes they owe him favors but let’s be real he’s done a lot for them), right up to them panicking about being arrested for failure and instead being rewarded for what they did do and being thanked for the warning of the Laughing Hand. The Bright Queen even offered reassurance that they did their best and there was nothing more they could do with the Laughing Hand.

The Nein’s disturbance that the Bright Queen didn’t seem to take their warning about Obann, the Angel of Irons, etc. seriously I think was not totally correct. I think it was less that she didn’t take it seriously and more like “Oh, another Calamity horror is plaguing my land? Okay, adding that to the list of things to take care of, on top of preexisting Calamity horrors, war with the Empire, etc.” Also, she’s been a ruler for a long time. She probably has a pretty good poker face, and part of her role is likely appearing to be in control so her citizens can be reassured that everything will be alright.  

And to top off this analysis with a cherry (for now at least), the Bright Queen was receptive to communication with a Tal’Dorei official, trusted the Nein’s word, and called off attacks on the enemy capital so as to not inadvertently aid cultists of Tharizdun. She seems to have her priorities straight. We’ll have to wait now to see how she acts when the Nein next speak to her.

That’s as much as I think I have in me for now. In conclusion: I love drow, and I will defend the Dynasty with everything in me.

#critical role #mighty nein #the bright queen #leylas kryn #kryn dynasty #cr meta #long post

[readbythestarlight]

c2e47

WE’RE FINALLY BACK YAY!

Based on Twitter Liam is more excited to be back than anyone and it’s great

Ayyyyyyy Matt looking good with that facial hair

Sam as President of D&DBeyond?

I’d vote for him

Oh I’m excited about the future D&DBeyond ads now

God I missed them over the break

A nat20 in the first rolls of 2019 this is a good omen

Damn Matt still killing it with the maps

I miss Ashley again already

Sam’s flask: "I am available to host the Oscars" I’d actually watch the Oscars if he did

Nat1 for Beau so that’s a bad omen

Oh ouch a nat1 for Jester too

Oh god there’s so many giant ocean monsters

Oh damn Caleb killed one already! Good job babe!! First kill of 2019 goes to the wizard.

Still two big ones tho and boy they are ugly

Oh god ANOTHER ONE

Beau PLEASE it’s too early to be nearly giving me a heart attack

lol Marisha hit Liam and made him spill some of his tea

Nott is here to save the day! She is the true hero of the M9

"That sounds like a waste of Beau’s time" Beau you are being rIPPED IN HALF

Travis is looking stressed (probably because he knows how it’ll fuck Fjord up if somebody dies during his backstory mission)

STUNNED IT YES atta girl Beau

Yay Beau is freeeee!

Wasted enemy nat20 excellent

SHIELD OF RETRIBUTION nice!

NICE just SHOVE that big crabby guy back

YASHA WITH THE FIRSR HDYWTDT OF THE YEAR YEAHHHHH

Yessss girl! They’re both stunned

Yeahhh nat20 go Beau!!!

My girl Nott taking out the next one yesss!

Poor Matt is a bit frazzled it’s okay Matt you’re still the best DM

Somebody get to Caleb quick now or he WILL go down

Beau and Fjord off to save their squishy wizard friend bless them

YESSS the ladies getting the job done tonight!!

Oh god CALEB

Paralyzed, poisoned, grappled oh no

Oh thank god for the transmuter stone

It’s a nest I’m calling it

YEAAHHH NOTT!

Nott and Caleb are going to have to work things out soon

Cad talking to plants is my favorite

Cad is just my favorite I love him

I don’t like the idea of them going underground under the ocean nope

Nott hates Fjord but also trying to hook Fjord and Jester up still because as far as she knows Jester still like-likes him

J: "Do you want to climb through it?"

N: "I don’t want to but I will. It’s my job."

The whole group needs to come together and realize that they have put Nott in a position of feeling like she is the one expected to go first into the dangerous unknown and that she probably feels expendable because of that

Cad apologizing to the seaweed when Yasha rips it

I’m curious about why Fjord is so instant that he needs to leave one of the orbs at all.

Oh look another skeleton

Oooo mystery potion

Oh no

Oh no is it Vandrin...?

Look at Travis’ face when Matt was describing everything he looked like he knew something

Don’t touch the skeleton there’s something about the skeleton

Travis was REAL afraid it was Vandrin

...Maybe the seaweed crushes you as you try to get out

Oh or maybe the crabs crushed him it’s fine

Oh I have such a bad feeling

"If something does go wrong that should be my burden." Oh Fjord.

Fjord gives me so many feelings, like I think he wants to to the right thing but he also wants answers and he’s got guilt and he’s got fears and he’s like got no idea what he’s doing and the group keeps looking at him like he does and I just have feels about Fjord

I’M HAVING A LOT OF FEELINGS WITH THIS FJORD AND JESTER INTERACTION

"dont turn evil. I mean if you do I’ll still be your friend it’s okay some people are just evil" Jester <3

Cad casting "protection from evil"

Everyone’s so worried about Fjord

I’m worried about Fjord

GASP HE USED HIS (real?) ACCENT

Oh god oh god he’s loosening the bindings oh god

He better get some cool new magic from this

I DONT LIKE THIS

Liam and Marisha look as stressed as I feel

So that must be the third temple. On an island or some place with mountains.

SWIM FJORD SWIM GET AWAY

Oh god I don’t like this

Wooo control water go Jester!

The clerics saving the day that geyser would have fucked then UP

AYYEEE MY BOY CONTROLS WATER NOW

...that’s actually bad tho god he shouldn’t have put that second one in. A single lock left isn’t enough security.

Oh god another ship RUN

Oh shit Caleb heard Fjord’s accent

Boy this whole thing has just been STRESS. I hope they just run away from this shop and leave sailing behind for a while.

We’re gonna have ourselves a proper sea battle here we go

Nope we’re gonna run?

Get Fjord and the clerics on the back to push

Goddd I can’t shake the theory that Sabien and Vandrin both survived and Sabien convinced Vandrin that Fjord was who blew up the ship to get the orb. And since Fjord now has U’kotoa as a patron it’s gonna look bad.

HOLY SHIT Cad capsized a fucking ship

Guys come on don’t fire on a capsized ship

Nott, Fjord, And Beau get WAY too caught up in the heat of the moment. If they weren’t so worked up they wouldn’t be shooting on an already dealt with ship

Oh sure now you pull in the survivors

"We just got taken out by the Ball Eater..."

A smiley face with risks and big googly eyes

Jester messaging her mom again I’ve missed that

So much loot!!

B: “We should put some money aside to pay the crew.”

F: “They die before we reach the shore.”

Everyone: 8O ???

Beau’s got lots of family issues that I can’t wait to delve into later

“You only get one family” FALSE she has found a new family you goober

Oh no

Oh Beau sweetie

Oh honey. That’s so sad.

Beau has a baby brother tho wow that could be fun later.

Oh baby giiiiirl.

Oh jeeze Nott’s tribe too...

Fjord just wants to find Vandrin like that’s been his main goal the whole time and I cry a little

Fjord wants out that’s good news

Although if U’kotoa does choose someone else then there’s only one temple left so that’s bad

Ooo the glowy orb will definitely be useful

Caleb says tree and Caduceus IMMEDIATELY puts the rock in his pocket

Nott should get the armor she rarely gets the new things. Although it would be cool if Jester had it too.

“I can claim ownership in name only, but we all know who the captain of this ship is” ORLI THAT’S SO SWEET!

That’s exactly how I hoped it would go tbh

“I wonder what Vandrin’s doing right now?” WHAT?!

“staying out of sight. making amends.” HE’S ALIVE!!!

I can’t wait to delve into Nott’s stuff. Going home. FINDING OUT WHO SHE’S BEEN SENDING STUFF TO.

The friend is the guy she freed isn’t he?

N: “You can make people see things that aren’t real and you can... can change things from one thing to another. You’re very good at that, aren’t you?” STOOOOOP

God I missed these nerds.

I’m not gonna be able to watch live for the whole next semester because I’m an idiot who signed up for a Friday morning clinic *cries* but I can’t wait for everything that comes next!

Happy Twenty-Nein-Teen, Criters!

#emi watches critical role #critical role spoilers #Critical Role

[bloodyshadow1]

you know I’ve seen a few people saying that Beau flirting with Yasha is disgusting because Ashley and Yasha said that Yasha wasn’t looking for a romantic relationship and that if Beau was a man that her actions wouldn’t be okay.  While it is valid for people to feel this way it doesn’t stop it from being dumb for a number of reasons. 

  * And just so anyone knows, I’m not trying to say people can’t feel awkward or not like watching the two characters interact because it makes them feel uncomfortable, I’m really not, I’m just saying that you being uncomfortable because you’re projecting yourself into a character or a scenario isn’t the same thing as what is happening on the screen.

1. If Beau was a man that people would constantly be calling “him” out on his behavior.  This is false.  Scanlan Shorthalt, a man gnome bard played by the very talented Sam Rigel, hit on almost everything alive, including teammates that told him they weren’t interested in him and rarely got called out for it.  Scanlan did so far more frequently than Beau did and in far more perverse ways. Yes, Scanlan could be charming and funny, and yes he underwent character development causing him to apologize for his behavior to Pike who was the focus of ‘affection’, but the apology was also after 58 episodes and discovering he had a daughter who tried to kill him because of his slutty ways left her mother with a bastard child.  Look, I like Scanlan, not necessarily romantically with anyone, but I like him all the same and Sam plays him well.  But it doesn’t change the fact that his perverse nature wasn’t called out on and at times it was even celebrated by the fans and cast members.  It’s pretty damn hypocritical to condemn Beau’s behavior that it little more than flirting than Scanlan who has done far worse.  (Now I’m sure there are people who dislike Beau’s behavior along with Scanlan’s, That’s fine for you, and I’m sorry that you’re uncomfortable with both characters.  However, that doesn’t change the fact that on a whole no one seemed all to bothered by Scanlan, a man’s behavior, compared to Beau, a woman who has expressed romantic interest in other women.)

  2. Ashley as herself on Talk Machina and as Yasha in game has said that she wasn’t looking for a romantic relationship.  I’m not disputing or denying that, but what I am arguing against is that the fandom seems to put Ashley and her characters on this sort of purity pedestal, I saw it with Pike and I can see it with how the fandom treats Yasha.  Not looking for a romantic relationship doesn’t mean they are celibate or not enjoying people flirting with them.  (This isn’t me saying that all women want to be flirted with all the time, but some people do enjoy being flirted with, some people go to bars dressed to the nines and just lavish in the attention because they had a bad day, they had an argument with someone, or maybe they just do like the attention, it’s fine and it’s normal.)  Yasha says that she isn’t looking for a relationship right now but that doesn’t mean she isn’t looking for something purely physical with no feelings involved.  I’m not saying that this is the case for the character. I’m just saying that not looking for a romantic relationship means just that, that Yasha isn’t looking for a romantic partner or partners. And it certainly doesn’t mean ‘gross lesbian stay away from me.’ 

  3. Not saying no doesn’t mean consenting to saying yes, and just because Yasha hasn’t told Beau to stop doesn’t make it okay. I’m not going to argue about this since I believe this. And when I see one person constantly hitting on another in tv shows and movies and the other person is clearly uncomfortable despite not vocally declining or expressing disinterest it bugs the crap out of me.  It’s just a bad scenario and is used too much “romantic” scenes where it is played up to be romantic when it is really just disturbing.  That being said, there is a huge difference between shows like Critical Role and other forms of media. Other forms of media have writers who are writing plots and for characters on how to act, they are the ones who say that this is okay or how a story goes.  Critical Role is a live show about a group of friends playing dnd and roleplaying their characters in real time.  Ashley and Marisha have known each other for several years and have been friends for just as long it seems.  I’m not going to speculate on their relationship, but I have to believe that if Ashley was uncomfortable with Beau flirting with Yasha she would have told Marisha to cut it out, or if she was uncomfortable with that to at least tell someone else in the group to talk to Marisha about it in private without naming names.  I have to believe that if either of them or any member of the cast were really uncomfortable by the way another member was acting that they would be willing to talk about it.

  4. The way Beau acted towards Yasha in the Bath was gross and uncomfortable. I’m not gonna deny that even as a Beauyasha shipper that this scene could be uncomfortable, I know that if it was two other characters that I didn’t ship I wouldn’t be on board as I am.  This is also what I think of the only time Beau could actually be considered a perv, but I still don’t really see what the big deal is personally.  Both Beau and Yasha are two adult women who consented to be in communal bath with each other.  Additionally, they were both doing the same thing, checking out their companions in the baths as they get out and were basically having a game of chicken to get a look at the other.  And while Beau focuses on Yasha it is still just the same action.  If the scene makes you uncomfortable I’m sorry, but it doesn’t make Beau a perv than it does Yasha.

5. Beau flirts with Yasha all the time relentlessly.  Look as a Beauyasha shipper I got to tell you, that is just another outright false statement even though it would provide shipping fodder for me.   I’m not going to pretend that Beau doesn’t flirt with Yasha, but it’s far less than what people actually believe to be true, most of it is just how the fandom embellishes things and how the other members of the cast interpret the relationship between the 2.  Ashely and Yasha have only been in 6 out of 15 episodes, that’s barely more than a third, Beau has barely flirted with the barbarian compared to how much people think she does. 

In episode 1, Beau agrees to give up her stick once Yasha says that she’ll carry Beau to her seat, then Beau wingmans for Jester when she overhears Yasha say the Tiefling is adorable.  She is on Yasha’s should so she isn’t spying on her or anything creepy, she literally overheard it unintentionally.  After Yasha says she isn’t looking for a relationship then Beau asks if Yasha can hold her through the show and relents after Yasha says it costs 5 gold.  Look this doesn’t have to be seen as romantic, it just looks like Beau is a thirsty lesbian and wants to flirt with the gorgeous mountain of muscle that Yasha is.  Then zombies and Yasha leaves.  That was all their interactions other than a small bit in the tavern and a part where Beau goes, “Yashaaaa,” in what could be considered flirty. 

We don’t see Yasha until Episode 4, and while Beau definitely highlights her attraction to Yasha it’s still not that much.  There’s the bit where she puts money on Yasha thinking that they’re going to arm-wrestle, (which despite it showing Beau’s attraction to Yasha it’s also a safe bet seeing as Yasha is a barbarian and despite being a Half-Orc Fjord has barely more than average strength).  There is also a small bit after that when Beau comments that they should play Boulder Parchment Shears and Yasha is the one who flirts with Beau calling it a kid’s game and that she’ll show Beau a better version.  That is Yasha flirting with Beau, not Beau flirting with Yasha.  Then near the end of the episode Beau could be seen as jealous when Yasha says she can’t travel with them quickly listing off member of the carnival that Yasha might be beholden to, but it could also be seen as someone just being curious about a party members backstory who keeps leaving seeing as Nott chimes in and tells Beau to leave it to the detectives and does the exact same thing.  Speaking of which, Nott continues trying to find out about Yasha’s backstory and even gives her flowers this episode, maybe to make sure the giant woman doesn’t hurt her but it could be seen as just as much flirting as Beau did towards Yasha. 

Then we don’t see Yasha until Episode 9, which leads up to the bath situation that I already discussed and I’m pretty sure that’s it.

Then episode 10 comes since Ashely was able to stay for another episode and to my knowledge Beau doesn’t flirt with Yasha.  She shows some attraction to her with wanting to stand on her side brotraying Fjord in the process and marveling about her, but she doesn’t perv on Yasha or come close it. 

Episode 11 Yasha is briefly in the beginning of the episode played by Matt but she mostly just leaves.

Then in episode 14 comes and Yasha is back again.  And despite this being seen as a big Beauyasha episode for shippers and anti-shippers, Beau doesn’t really talk with Yasha that much, much less flirt with her.  Jester is the one who asked Yasha if she was attracted to someone and despite Yasha saying she did and Beau being attracted to Yasha she doesn’t say anything. Caleb is the one who seems to play matchmaker between the two trying to convince Yasha to buy things for Beau and trying to give Yasha the credit for buying the throwing stars.  Yasha goes out of her way to ask for the throwing stars for Beau, and Beau/Marisha seem to be happy that Yasha is trying to shop on her behalf but again Caleb is the one who pushes the relationship between them.  Then when they’re on the boats illuminated by Caleb’s dancing lights and Marisha/Beau comments on it being romantic he’s the one who serenades her with kiss the girl in regards to Yasha.  I’m not sure if it was Marisha who said it and Liam was singing to her as a player, or if it was Beau being Serenaded by Caleb regarding Yasha, but again, it wasn’t Beau who forced the situation, not Beau flirting with Yasha. 

Episode 15 is the newest episode and there’s Beau comment about always being a fan of going down, an innuendo that is mostly favored by Sapphic women.  Yes Marisha is looking at Ashley and Ashley nods in acknowledgement but it doesn’t mean that it was Beau specifically aiming it at Yasha, and while I prefer to think of it as Beau saying it in regards to Yasha, it could just be Beau making the comment out loud to the party, most lesbians I know can’t resist making innuendos about going down either, not always flirting, sometimes just making a pun or turning a phrase.  After that it’s the other cast members who bring up their ship name Beauyasha and Yashagard when they get the same initiative and are able to flank the Cube, but that’s not Beau flirting with Yasha or Yasha flirting with Beau. 

Now this is an extremely long rant so I’m gonna finish up here.  While I’m sure there are moments that I’ve missed that have been exaggerated by the fandom between Beau and Yasha, but that’s just it, the fandom taking it to literally not the character being out of control.  Again, I’m sorry if watching Beau flirt with Yasha makes you uncomfortable, I’m not going to say you aren’t valid in feeling so, maybe these few moments that are canon do make your genuinely uncomfortable, that’s fine and I will respect that.  However, there is also a chance that it’s you projecting more and making Beau’s behavior out to be worse than it is, maybe it’s because of how the fandom acts or how the other cast members do, but I just urge you to wonder if it’s canon Beau’s behavior or just your perception of Beau that makes you uncomfortable.  

#critical role #beau #beauregard #cr #cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #critical role beauregard #yasha #critical role yasha #beauyasha #yashagard #yashregard #the mighty nein #wlw shipping #disaster lesbian monk #beau you silly lesbian

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E116-119 (Dec. 15, 2020)

Hi! I missed the first three minutes or so and opened the stream to Brian giving an absolutely incoherent ...ad? for some jewel game? Six thousand jewels just for logging in? Some app in the app store and he’s literally been talking about this now for six minutes and I don’t know what he’s talking about. He finally wraps up, Laura brings the show to a close, and we’re all a little worse than we were before.

Ashley tries to get us back on track and Henry bays over her. Brian tries to ask the first question and breaks off into feigned sobs halfway through. This is chaos incarnate.

Tonight’s guests: Laura Bailey & Ashley Johnson.

How’s Yasha feeling right now about Molly? She and Jester both are desperately curious about whether there’s a spark of Molly left in Lucien that can be brought back. It’s not the same as when Yasha was controlled by Obann; this seems more like just the way this is now. They’d settle for even finding the good in him, like they did with Essek. Brian jokes that they can monitor his mental state if Matt’s Irish accent starts to slip a little bit.

Jester is a little wary about scrying on Lucien now since he’s able to see her back.  She’s interested to try again now that Fjord’s given her the necklace.

Ashley has to run and grab a replacement set of headphones from Brian after hers get “crunchy.” It’s pretty cute seeing them run around and smooch on another screen. Brian teases that he doesn’t have any more questions for Jester since Caduceus has been doing all the healing lately. Laura tells us indignantly that she had Heal prepared for Caduceus in that last big fight, but Fjord got to Cad first. Brian explains how this is the same as all the good jokes he always lines up for Talks but never tells. Ashley’s crunchiness continues and we go briefly to a technical difficulties screen while Brian hops up to fix it.

Dani pips in to get this show back on track. Save us, Dani!

Ashley hadn’t thought about the aspect of Lucien controlling his friends’ minds, but finds it really creepy. It’s a cool game dynamic, and it’s a little different because they’re there willingly, but it’s really weird.

Jester thinks that “the tarot cards know all. She wants to buy into it real hard.” If it doesn’t make sense now, it will later. Laura has an Idiot’s Guide to Tarot Reading.

They’re super interested in why Aeor is like it is. Were they more advanced than us? Did they evolve along a different line? Ashley loves sci-fi and is all about this, especially since she wasn’t there for Happy Fun Ball time & hasn’t been able to get caught up on some of the things she missed in between, so she’s using this as an erstwhile replacement. She can already tell there are some things from this campaign that will bother her the way the unopened box did from C1. She and Laura both seethe at the camera about having to leave the spider behind.

Cosplay of the Week! Harland3r on instagram with a gorgeous winged Pike with a shield & mace. It’s an incredible photo and the wings look great.

Travis distracts Laura by dancing like a Trex offscreen. That seems right for this episode.

Jester’s encouragement of Yasha pursuing Beau was important in a lot of ways, not least because Ashley considered herself as uninterested in D&D romance as Travis & was a little unsure of activating a romance among her friends. However, it felt really natural within the game and it was really helpful to have Jester’s in-game encouragement. Yasha’s grown a lot and is in a much more positive place and is ready to find out what’s possible. Laura: “Jester from the get-go has seen Yasha as this wonderful soul from the beginning, and has seen how sad Yasha’s been through everything, and to see the difference that she exhibits when talking about Beau is drastic and wonderful. Jester’s joy in life is helping others find joy.”

Ashley points out it’s also so fun to “yes-and” with Laura because you’re like a little kid being dragged along by the hand - you don’t know where it’s going, but you know it’s going to be fun along the way.

Ashley does have a sense of “thank goodness Marisha isn’t jumping right into this” so she can coax herself into it, but when she tried to figure out the poem she had a lot of drafts that didn’t survive. She intentionally crafted the letter to give Beau an out if she didn’t feel the same way. There’s a lot going on with Lucien right now and there’s constantly a running thought in the back of her head about “maybe Beau is not into this.” Even the last couple episodes with Jester & Fjord have had Ashley finally understand shipping.

Brian brings us to the moment “almost as romantic as the pre-season finale of the Bachelorette.” Jester was “goo” afterwards. Early on in the campaign, Jester was very forward with her flirtations with Fjord & he shut her down. And then he kissed her underwater and immediately went and slept with Avantika, and Jester automatically shut herself down, because she thought she was misunderstanding & would only be hurt by those emotions. She deliberately focused on just being there with her friends, making everyone healthy and happy. These last few episodes where Fjord was flirting back felt like “my teenage heart again, my first kiss, the boy I like actually likes me back!” and she was able to open back up.

Yasha definitely has some instrument plans for those bones. She doesn’t know if she’s going to add to her harp or create a new one.

Ashley and Laura cheer about Travis stepping out his comfort zone. Laura thinks it was really good that he was doing it with her, his real-life wife, to see if he likes that sort of stuff in his D&D campaign. “It was just so sweet. It was just so sweet.” Brian says he’s actually a really romantic dude & Dani is so glad he asked before the kiss. Brian: “It’s going to be so sad when he breaks your heart and goes back to the corpse of Avantika.” Laura: “It’s fine, Jester will be long dead by then anyway.”

Jester does believe the four-year time trade was worth it, but that the city leaves “a mark on your brain,” especially as in-depth as she saw it. “Jester’s always been reticent to talk about her age because she’s aware she’s perceived in a juvenile way by a lot of people, and she’s insecure about that. She grew up by herself without a lot of social interactions and is experienced in a lot of ways now and naive in others; she’s very aware of human emotion around her, but chooses to see it in a certain way.” Losing the time makes her wonder if she needs to grow up & become an adult about certain things now. Laura: “I think actually she’s closer to Fjord’s age now. Actually, I’m not sure about his age. I don’t know how old he is - I’ve never even asked Travis!” Brian: “I think he’s definitely fifteen.” Laura: “Travis, how old is Fjord?” Travis, off-screen: “Sixty-five,” but he’s had the Mask of Many Faces up this whole time. Later, he adds that he’s in his early 30s.

Ashley has really enjoyed digging into Yasha’s more humorous side lately. It’s how she gets comfortable as a player, making it fun and light in a way that this year needs. “It’s also really funny to think that Yasha doesn’t know how Message works.”

Brian congratulates Laura & Ashley both on their game awards nominations. Brian vamps trying to get himself in as the presenter, but incidentally refers to Laura as his sister in the conversation and it’s super cute. “I would like to be the one to give the award to either my fiancee, or my sister!”

Fanart of the Week: @ethanmaldridge with an illustrated page from the Katzenprinz book. It’s just beautiful.

Jester’s polymorph gambit was terrifying, but the stakes got even higher when everyone else got stunned. She does lament choosing a bunny at the start. “Frickin’ Fjord’s armor!”

Yasha loves being polymorphed lately. She thinks it’s kinda funny, especially given her rigid upbringing with such defined roles.

Laura feels like Jester and Vex are weirdly two halves of herself. Brian: “You see the very bargainy, I’m gonna use my wit & smarts to negotiate situations. But at the same time, you’re very open to what people are thinking & feeling and navigating that. What you end up putting out (though it comes across as innocent and naive) is something pure because she truly believes it.” Laura thinks Yasha and Pike are the same way for Ashley, though Ashley feels a little closer to Yasha right now. Sometimes you just feel really exposed. Laura compares how much idealism she put into Jester to her character from Fruits Basket.

Since Yasha didn’t belong to either side in the war, she’s not hugely concerned by the fallout; she more wants to make sure her found family are okay and safe. Jester is the same way, Laura tells us. Jester doesn’t have any greater vision of the Empire & Dynasty interacting; she cares about the people, and it hasn’t been until the vision with the city that she kind of woke up and realized they have to really stop this now. It feels bigger than the Dynasty/Empire. Ashley: “It seems more of a thing for Beau and Caleb to care about.”

Really, up to now Jester was mostly concerned about getting Molly back, but now the stakes seem much higher. “We have to do this. We have to complete this, to beat them, to keep them from doing this.” Yasha is just going with the flow for now. There’s a lot coming at them and they are ready to find out what’s next.

And that’s that for tonight! Brian thanks the crew especially for working incredibly hard on switching everything to home-based streaming. He then gets stuck halfway spinning around in his chair and the last thing we hear is him idly wondering “What’s Fjord taste like?” which seems pretty on brand for tonight’s show. Is it Thursday yet?

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long post for ts

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E63 (May 21, 2019)

Sorry it’s late, guys. @eponymous-rose has narrowly avoided being blown away by tornadoes and I’ve narrowly avoided drowning in equally dangerous paperwork, so here we are at the end of all things. Preroll is post-its of donors for Red Nose Day.

Tonight’s guests: Sam Riegel & Liam O’Brien.

Tonight’s announcements: We’re opened by Mark Hulmes instead of BWF. He dabs. No one blinks an eye. After the music open, we find out BWF’s neighbor’s kid stole his keys and then he lost his wallet. It hasn’t mattered, because he’s about to be Mr. Ashley Johnson & people just keep giving him what he needs. They’re still raising money for RedNoseDay. Thursday morning, the Colbert one-shot airs on the Critical Role Youtube. You can donate at critrole.com/rednoseday. Mark Hulmes joined Taliesin & BWF today for an episode available on the CR Twitch.

Episode 63: Intervention

CR Stats: Caleb cast his 700th spell, Gift of Alacrity, on Caduceus. Nott rolled her 40th natural 1 this episode to understand the local sewer system. This was Caduceus’s first HDYWTDT. Everyone mourns that someone stole the Golden Snitch from Matt’s bag.

It’s more stressful not knowing everyone’s motivations, both within the party and the game world. Sam talks about Yasha’s mysterious past and Beau’s dangerous ties to the Empire, especially given how much they understood in the first campaign about (at least) who the bad guys were. Sam feels like once they have a shred of information, he wants to jump on it ASAP and make big, bold decisions on them. He’s dealing with the discovery that this might be not as great an idea. He’s not experienced this kind of “trepidation, failure, uncertainty...I don’t like this game. I don’t like it at all!”

Caleb likes using the little bit of dunamantic magic as a taste of a drug--each little hit makes him want more and more and more.

Danimancy? Make a Carrcana check. Sigh, Sam.

Sam made two big mistakes in the last fight: he missed the gender of the dragonborn, so he thought that one of the other voices Matt was doing was actually the dragonborn giving orders (and therefore the one in charge, while the drow was the one taking orders). He also saw the dragonborn leaving and was worried that he was waiting on the party to give him (Nott) the go-ahead to kick things off. He recognizes he put Caleb in a terrible position both in a meta yes-and sense and in the Nott-Caleb team sense.

The world devolves into campaign slander and propaganda. Everyone’s in it, including BWF and Dani. #samforpresident

Caleb told the Brightqueen about his past because he feels like they’re on a very tight timeline, looking for very slight drips of information like gold. He thought it was worth the shot.

Sam desperately wants to know what the missing years in Yasha’s memory hold. BWF tells him to get what he can out of her while she’s here; her show’s been renewed for another season. He sounds genuinely bitter as he says it, but he notes at least it’s the last one. :(

They ask Mark Hulmes about what Charm does for people. He helpfully tells us it doesn’t say if they remember or not. Sam also points out Nott has blown up Caduceus before, so doing a few more points to Yasha is *wigglehands*.

Caleb did not mean to kill the horse on purpose. Sam tries to get him to confess that on camera, but instead Liam needles him about not cuddling Henry.

Cosplay of the Week: @andy_srivastava’s cosplay of Beau. Gorgeous!

Both Sam and Nott feel the fight’s outcome was his/her fault. He expects her to feel very guilty next week. Sam genuinely felt and still feels bad about it. He also prefers hashing out reactions the night things happen instead of having to wait a week for the next Thursday. He feels it’s more genuine.

Caleb is very worried about Jester’s mom and Astrid’s crew finding ways to use her mom as leverage. He’s also worried about the kid, but is glad Shakaste is going to get him. Liam also always imagined running into his old crew against the backdrop of the Empire, and is now very worried that if he runs into them soon he’ll have the added perception of being a traitor since they’re in the Dynasty.

Liam and Caleb both were surprised he was given hints of dunamancy so freely. He looks forward to learning more.

Liam totally understands how easy it is to miss things now. He’s constantly looking things up and reading in an attempt to understand his spells, and therefore missing parts of the battle. He greatly sympathizes with Marisha. Sam, on the other hand, is finding it hard to adapt to rogue life; he doesn’t like the necessary “out there, bold choice” nature of rogues in D&D and having the pressure of making big decisions very fast. He prefers Scanlan’s nature of sitting in the back, casting spells, and being more reactionary than instigatory. Liam always is afraid of picking the wrong spells, and finds it much harder than Vax. BWF: “Dagger dagger dagger...dagger dagger dagger dagger?” Liam: “I kept track of that fine, it’s everyone else that was wrong.”

Sam is shocked the D&D Beyond campaign bit has dragged on. BWF calls his rebuttal “bogusly weak,” and Sam looks genuinely aghast. It’s hilarious. “I don’t know how he got to you, Brian, but this feels like coming on Fox News! You’re a partisan hack! I won’t take it anymore, but I love attention, so I will stay.”

Nott is super interested in the dodeca’s ability to give people different bodies, but Caleb is still the clearest path to getting her body back. It’s complicated because the Dynasty souls are “chosen” and Nott’s not likely to be so.

Liam is very excited to see this magic system Matt has created in dunamancy. Did he create it in response to Liam or had he already thought about it? Sam tells us he’s always been thoughtful about fate and the subverting of it. Liam is so pumped because in campaign one, fate strings existed and were uncontrollable, but in campaign two we’ve “developed physicists, tinkering.”

In re: Essik, Nott’s just happy Caleb has found a friend. She wishes he’d bring him home more often.

Sam finally busses Henry’s cheek and affirms to us that he actually loves dogs. Everyone in his family is voting for a new dog except for his daughter, who wants a cat.

Liam doesn’t want everything to be cat-themed, but likes retouching a few spells here and there for flavor. He also wanted to differentiate it from Scanlan’s Bigby’s Hand. Sam thinks he should reskin more spells.

SPOILERS FOR C1 IN THIS QUESTION. Sam talks about rogue high-stakes moments as genuinely, surprisingly stressful. Liam says Vax was stressful but exhilarating, especially when it came to moments that conflated poor meta decisions vs roleplay decisions. He specifically mentions Raishan’s chase as a terrible in-game decision but one that was right for the character. He and Sam will always do what’s right for the character, even if it’s bad narratively in the moment. Sam says he got a lot of support from the group thread this past week, though. END SPOILERS FOR C1.

Fanart of the Week: a gorgeous Caduceus portrait by @larndraws.

Nott trusts Shakaste to get Luke traveling safely. Sam also drops a bombshell on the world by telling us Luc is spelled Luc. It’s just that no one’s ever asked. Heavens!

Caleb’s made an effort to tell people he cares for them, but he fears it at the same time. He’s afraid he’s going to be put in a position where he needs it too much. Brian asks if he believes he’s truly irredeemable: Liam says there’s a certain road where he could feel he atoned, and there’s a road that might lead to balance, but there’s never a brass ring that he could reach that could let him relax entirely. I don’t entirely understand the metaphor, but I get what he means.

Sam likes that the theme of this campaign seems to be “atonement and reconciliation” compared to the first campaign’s “finding family.” There’s a bit of that in this campaign too, but he likes how everyone has something in their past that they’re clinging to, and he’s interested to see who will be able to resolve it, who will be able to handle it, and who won’t be able to let it go.

Mark Hulmes come on to talk about the Stream of Descent, which happened last weekend. He’s the DM for High Rollers, which airs at 9am Pacific on Sundays.

BWF talks about how C1 had a lot of the Hero’s Journey in various forms, and C2 feels a lot like “what it means to be good.” He doesn’t feel they fit the “antihero” archetype very well.

Liam thinks that if Caleb were going to leave the campaign, he’d have done it already.

Part of Caleb’s generation was to create a character the world would shun, and seeing if he could find a way to find compassion for them. He mentions the poem written for the Boston marathon bomber a while ago. BWF talks about how it’s a really interesting character choice because it depends on the rest of the table being willing to stick around and seek out that redeemable quality in your character, even when you’re making decisions that are true to the character but bad for the table/the rest of the group. You can’t always expect that to work with every group you play with.

Mark talks about Calliana being the other end of the spectrum from Caleb, because she also has a history of having done very terrible things, but she was taken in by a family who helped her understand she’d been manipulated and it was not her fault. He’s desperate for his recently mentioned package to be picked up because she has some messages for Caleb in it. Now she tries to see the best in everyone she meets as a result of her history. He has a whole folder of fanart of Calliana on his wall. Awwww.

It’s still never gotten old for Liam or Sam either.

Mark endorses Sam for President. Good job, foreign fellow. Is it Thursday yet?

#talks machina #talks machina spoilers #critical role #critical role spoilers #long post for ts

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E47 (Jan. 15, 2019)

The ritual begins.

Tonight’s guests? Taliesin Jaffe and Travis Willingham. The episode? Episode 47: The Second Seal.

Announcements: 

On Wednesday, January 23 at 5 PM Pacific, Pub Draw will be debuting! A teaser was aired before MAME Drop.

Between the Sheets is coming back on Monday, January 28! Travis: “Who’s the host on that, do you remember? I think we had some notes on the host.” Taliesin: “I remember we had notes about what we liked, because it was faster.”

Taliesin is wearing delightful purple mismatched socks.

January 18-20 at Gallery Nucleus is the Art of Exandria art show!

Yasha’s playlist is available now!

Critrolestats: It’s been 42 days since the M9 were last in Nicodranas. Fjord’s 30th Natural 20 was this episode! Matt has rolled 31 natural 1s and 69 natural 20s, for a total of 100 critical rolls. Brian, taking offense to the subdued reaction from the crew: “WHAT SAY YOU TO THIS NEWS?!”

There’s discussion of the best durian delivery systems. Taliesin’s preferred system is “in pastry”. Travis’ preferred system is “nope”.

Taliesin had been wanting to use Divination more often, but didn’t want to bring the game to a standstill by using it every day. Taliesin: “Caduceus is a bro, man, and he was just like, I feel bad that Fjord’s hung up on this guy.” Within the confines of the spell, he was trying to figure out “what question can I ask that’s going to make Matt Mercer really mad to have to answer?”

The only other time Caduceus used Divination was to find a safe port.

Travis: “I’ve realized that I need to learn a lot more about Caduceus than I currently do.” Brian: “We all do.” Taliesin, with a slightly ominous laugh: “Caduceus is learning a lot about you guys!”

Fjord has come to terms with the fact that people are looking to him for answers while they’re on the ocean. “He’s not the leader, though. He’s not the leader. He’s just a participant in this adventure, and these people are nice enough to protect him the same way he’s protecting them.” He’s looking forward to sitting back a bit after they get back to Nicodranas, especially having the spotlight off him as a player for a while. Taliesin can relate after Percy’s prominent role early in the first campaign.

Travis prefers the party dynamic of people making decisions together---he’s personally not a big fan of one person calling the shots, because he loves having everyone contributing. Taliesin’s excited to see Sam taking the reins a little bit, especially as Nott.

Travis is amused that Jester and Caduceus can already use Control Water. Taliesin points out that there’s no reason for them to pack it once they’re back on land, whereas Travis will still have it all the time.

Does Taliesin feel guilty about avoiding the entire encounter with one die roll? “Guilt is for mortals.” He’s definitely broken some of Matt’s puzzles before in the past. He does feel a little bad that they didn’t get to do the ship fight.

Fjord is entirely excited, and “not intimidated in any way”, by his new powers. "Until that dog bites you, there’s no reason to be frightened of it.” After what Taliesin did last episode, Travis is going to read more about the spell’s details.

Is Caduceus bothered by all the deaths he caused? “It’s D&D, you have to make some allowances. If this were a real thing, there would be some emotional consequences for some of this. Seeing as how we’re in the game and playing it, he’s not bothered by it. They were things in the way of his mission to save something greater, and death is inevitable, and it’s especially inevitable if you’re trying to stop someone on a mission for the earth itself.”

Fjord wasn’t intimidated by the power specifically, but was probably a little intimidated by Caduceus. 

It’s why Caduceus isn’t bothered by what Fjord’s been doing. “He doesn’t necessarily have a good head for good and evil. He has a good head for natural and unnatural.”

Gif of the week: the Club Punch by @disasterjones​!

Caduceus’ gift of the book to Caleb was “just because they’re friends.” He’s aware that everyone has their own motives, but he also needs everyone to just get behind him at some point. Taliesin: “You need LAX friends. Everybody needs a friend to pick them up at LAX.” He doesn’t think anyone’s motivations are particularly dark right now, and he doesn’t have an especially negative view of anyone yet.

An out-of-context moment: Taliesin: “I can melt your mind.” Travis: “Please don’t.”

Fjord’s reaction to Beau’s disinterest in her family, and his insistence on getting Jester back to her mother, is largely influenced by growing up as an orphan. “He totally views the Mighty Nein as a family. There’s worth, there. He feels needed by these people, and he needs them. This is the most excited he’s ever been about life and what the future holds.”

If Fjord had never met the M9, “he would’ve probably been journeying up toward the Soltryce Academy”. Taliesin thinks he might’ve been weaponized and sent to the front lines.

Another out-of-context moment: Taliesin: “I haven’t burned an orphanage down in D&D in years.”

Caduceus wasn’t ashamed about not being able to read well. “Nah, he’s not a shame-based creature. Reading wasn’t really his thing growing up. He had siblings for that. He has a particular stripe of intellectualism, but he’s not particularly interested in the world outside his immediate perspective. If he didn’t really relate to it, why know it?”

Travis wants to know a lot about Caduceus. Taliesin, blandly: “You could ask.”

Taliesin mentions that he’s already dropped the name of Caduceus’ father: Cornelius.

Fjord doesn’t especially want to piss off Uk’otoa, and appreciates that what’s happened has made him exceptional, but at the same time, “he doesn’t want the end game that’s been shown to him.” He’s keeping up that balancing act.

Taliesin has been thinking that Caleb smells a bit like peat moss. “I think it’s more the teasing that he smells bad, I don’t think he actually does.” Caduceus legitimately thinks he smells fine. “It’s not, like, a sexy thing, like, ooh, hey. He doesn’t have a thing going on like that.”

Taliesin: “Travis is trying to kill everybody. Fjord is on the up-and-up.” Travis: “Not everything has to be homicide all the time.” Taliesin: “You are indeed captain of the Ball Eater, to be fair.”

Fan art of the week: Fjord underwater.

On Caduceus having adjusted to the ocean: “He is a big believer in getting comfortable where you are.” It’s a conscious decision he made. “This is fine. This is great. It took a little while, and Jester was definitely helpful.”

Fjord is making an effort to acknowledge Jester’s uncertainty and worry. “There wasn’t a lot of time to check in with Jester after the whole dragon thing. He feels bad, and I think I feel like Jester’s been a little quieter,” so it seemed natural to check in. Taliesin: “Jester thrives better when she has new people to interact with all the time.”

Taliesin’s attitude toward Yasha hasn’t really changed. “From his perspective, it was nothing he wasn’t expecting. Goth kids happen for a reason. He’s aware that she’s the one who’s up-front, and he’s just trying to make it as easy for her to move around as possible. He’s very aware that she’s still in mourning for a lot of things.” As soon as she’s ready, “they’re going to have a long talk about that.”

There are whole chunks of the Molly and Yasha interactions that only Taliesin and Ashley know about at this point.

Travis points out that the moment where Fjord put the sphere in his chest was Matt controlling the situation, and he hasn’t forgotten that, but he’s not sure if it might be an indication for something to come in terms of Uk’otoa controlling him. Taliesin thinks it may just have been intended to be a blueprint for Travis’ future actions.

Caduceus was “not a lonely kid”. He and his family were surprisingly social. “He had a nice childhood. It was pretty chill.”

Another out-of-context moment: Taliesin: “He was an old-man vampire with an ice cream truck. It was so wrong.” Travis: “Or so right.”

Fjord (not Travis) is frustrated with the lack of answers to his questions. “There is a final piece of the puzzle, but I don’t want to complete that.” Brian: “Who knows what you’d have to swallow?”

Fjord may have to accept that he’ll never get the answers he’s looking for about Vandran. Vandran showed Fjord the most “attention and care. Not necessarily kindness.”

Taliesin: “I kind of just don’t even want to deal with the war until it’s inevitable.” Travis: “I want to see the fringes of the war, only because Fjord hasn’t seen it. I’m more worried about people who have families and ties there. It was really fucking hard to be like, ‘Can we go to this temple now that we know the war has spread to your homeland? Cool.’“ Taliesin points out that they’re mostly not a group of people who are especially tied to where they come from. They’re both super fascinated by Beau as a character.

Talks Machina: After Dog

Recommendations for LA-area things to do if you’re in town for the gallery: In-N-Out, Disneyland, Golden Apple Comics, The Last Bookstore, Little Tokyo, Tar Pits, Museum of Jurassic Technology, Silver Lake Reservoir, Griffith Observatory, Getty Museum, Venice Beach, The Huntington, Descanso Gardens, the Apple Pan.

Brian and Taliesin discuss poetry, and Dani chimes in. Travis shares the literature he’s been reading lately with Ronin: “It’s like eight pages. It takes a while to get through.”

It takes a while for him to notice, and before that moment of realization, I accidentally get what is objectively the best screencap I’ve ever taken. “You look like an NSYNC member of Pee-wee Herman’s Playhouse.”

Out-of-context Brian outrage: “That’s the best technology we’ve got for minty-fresh hair for Travis?!”

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long text post

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E1-46 (Jan 8, 2019)

Happy New Year! Welcome to Talks for tonight, a looooong time coming. @eponymous-rose is off doing very cool science, so I’m stepping in tonight. Also Brian’s wearing a guitar-string bracelet that was once upon a time played by Meatloaf.

Announcements: Tuesday, Jan 15 at 4pm PST is the debut of Mame Drop, their new show ft. the Mame Cabinet. Wednesday, Jan 23 at 5pm PST, they’ll be doing Pub Drop, ft. art lessons with Babb Star; the next season of Between the Sheets airs Jan 28 at 7pm PST. Ashley will definitely be in Season 2.

CR Stats: “9,″ or “nein,“ has been said at least 733 times so far. Matt has facepalmed 80 times in 46 episodes. By this point in C1, he’d facepalmed 77 times. Beau has cast the highest level spell so far (conjuring the elemental). Caduceus has prevented 38 damage from critical hits with Sentinel at Death’s Door. Caleb’s smell has been commented on 49 times. Fjord -- and BWF segues to discuss Travis in Liam’s oneshot, which was a whooooole ‘nother thing, and you should definitely check it out if you haven’t seen it yet! We never come back to his fact, sadly. Jester has performed 35 pranks so far. Molly has been gone for 85 days in game. “Long may he reign,” says the cast, and they all toast him. Nott has cast Message 50 times. Sam: “Wow, I got a lot to say!”

The biggest challenge for them so far in terms of the culture shift between C1 and C2 has been the war. They do think about it a lot while they’re “chasing magic ocean orbs,” but they know the clock is still running while they’re doing other things. Nott would care if her homeland was gone, but she wouldn’t mind overmuch if the goblins were killed but the land was okay.

Jester is perfectly content with Nott’s motherly advice, even though it’s vastly different from what her mother suggested. Laura: “It’s weird that I can look at Matt and go, ‘Mom,’ and it feels...” Matt: “It’s okay, don’t worry,” but in the Ruby’s voice, and we’re all delighted.

Matt has had to reconsider some aspects of his preparation now that he has two PCs that can see everything and/or remember everything. He doesn’t believe in artificially upping the difficulty of his worldbuilding/checks just because people took certain feats, he just has to be prepared to answer their questions more than before.

Sam feels the alcoholism has added a bit of randomness to Nott’s character. It’s actually weirdly led Nott to be able to do more, since Sam had envisioned her as a very skittish, nervous character, but the alcoholism allows her to be brave in a way she is not otherwise.

Travis wanted to explore Fjord’s origins, but didn’t have any specific plans. “Growth? Yes. I think he’s taken a dive into a lot of things that he’d never experienced before, and had outcomes that he didn’t anticipate. I also think that he’s reeling from all these choices--it’s just one coin flip after the next, and that’s put him where he is now.” Both BWF and Matt express interest in the twists neither of them anticipated. Marisha, plaintively: “Please don’t kill us all.”

Caleb doesn’t think there was a specific turning point that made him trust the Nein as well as Nott; it was a series of small steps. The first time he shared his backstory with Beau was a screw loose. Liam enjoys the conflict between the group goals and Caleb’s goals.

Everyone has missed being their characters over the break.

Travis agrees with Liam that there’s a new possible viewpoint every 30 minutes--he has no ulterior motives, just is always trying to do what feels right in the moment. He’s seen some things online suggesting he has a bigger plan, but he doesn’t think that far ahead.

Beau was the first one to say “I love you” out of the M9. Marisha was most surprised by Beau’s opening up. Beau was a “deliberate asshole” to Molly, Fjord, and Caleb at certain points because she knew they’d leave her eventually; this way, she controlled the relationship and was the one doing the pushing away.

Taliesin had no plan for Cad’s future during the breakdown on the boat. He was dealing with the realities of Cad’s creation and trying to find an anchor for his “track,” and the two conversations with Nott and Jester were crucial for helping him find his path, and Tal’s plan for his future arcs.

Did Molly’s death affect how the cast relate to their characters? Sam: “I’ve been thinking of backup characters way more than last campaign.” It doesn’t affect how he plays Nott, though. Travis feels very guilty that we’re spending so much time in his backstory and still know hardly anything about so many others--he’d feel terrible if someone else died and we still knew nothing about them. Laura feels like if she makes a backup character it’s bad luck. Liam has a vague idea, but he’d rather use it for a future campaign. Laura and Travis have no backups planned.

Caleb has no regrets avoiding the legionnaire contracts back in Zadash. Molly (says Tal) would have also been happy they avoided it.

The Fjord/Nott prickliness started off as a goof, but Sam thinks it might be a touch of a real thing. Travis is all, “naaaaaaah, not a thing.” Fjord likes poking her. Fjord actually loves Nott--he’s messing with Sam more than anything, especially with the buttons, but everything has a shelf life. Sam suggests Fjord fundamentally does not understand Nott’s nature--is she a person? A thing? It has a touch of genuine suggestion by Sam, but Travis waves it away. He truly does love Nott, he says.

Fanart of the Week: @quortknee with a stunning portrait of Yasha surrounded by flowers.

Dani mentions to Matt that Jamedi was the first NPC in either campaign that was a critical part of a path--journeying through the woods as a guide--but did not participate in combat at all. Matt says he’s essentially a scout, amazing at tracking, but would never jump into combat with a hydra. Matt created the character’s personality first, then explored that in his actions later.

Tal’s super interested in more about Jamedi. Laura loves how cool he was. 

Travis compares Fjord’s journey to a kid getting dropped into a high school party: “There’s going to be beer and alcohol and you’re going to be tempted--no I’m not! I love Dr Pepper!” Travis laughs: “Fjord is the kid at the high school party” who suddenly succumbs to every temptation despite being sure he’d resist wholesale.

Laura teases Caleb for being a Debbie Downer. Liam, deadpan: “Life expectancy in Wildemount is not that great.”

Matt and Laura both are super excited to see how the relationship with the Traveler develops. Laura initially envisioned a very much big-brother relationship, but she’s found that she genuinely is struck with awe and a bit of fear every time the Traveler shows up. “I thought they were going to be way more familiar!”

Liam talks about how the idea of meeting Astrid and the rest makes his palms sweat every time.

Caleb was originally an Evocation Wizard--still level 2 or 3--in his backstory, but all the years of doing nothing meant he had to start over later.

Beau has latched onto the first mate position because she’s always wanted to prove herself, both to her parents and herself. BWF: “Flex. I gotchu.”

Nott does consider herself the mother of the group. She’s not great at it, but she does view herself as surrounded by a bunch of people who aren’t fully mature in any way, and she’s trying to “get ‘em to college.”

Everyone agrees Beau has changed the most out of everyone throughout the campaign. Caleb has begin to make small different choices in his behavior. Laura: “Fjord has changed a lot. Now he’s going to kill us all.” Matt’s enjoyed his shift from “I don’t know what’s happening” to “I want to know what’s happening.” Everyone comments on Fjord’s wild-westiness over the last few episodes.

Everyone misses Ashley and talks about her bravery in exposing Yasha’s heart in the last episode. Matt points out Ashley always reviews the VODs for this campaign and explores Yasha’s emotional journey offscreen, so that this episode was basically her check-in, showing how Yasha’s journeyed and grown over the last dozens of episodes.

BWF struggles mightily parsing “palenewmoon” as a username, and it’s hilarious.

Caduceus is not scared of his current situation; it’s a thing that happens and it’s gone, his moment of fear now behind him. He does feel far from home--not a wanderer. “A bit of a hobbit vibe.” Fjord doesn’t scare him at all. Travis: “He shouldn’t.” Travis says Cad is the one he’s the most interested in exploring right now.

Matt found Laura & Travis’s baby arrival one of the most unexpected events in terms of having to scramble for a plan. The docks of Nicodranas are a close second, especially since he was dangling all these other hints about the Menagerie Coast and the war only for the M9 to completely ignore them. Liam: “War sounds hard.”

The Darktow escapades also surprised him, since he’d imagined it would be more of a race with Avantika to the next orb. “You stayed one night and got kicked the fuck out. I had planned the next few days; there was a whole thing with Allison that could have gone on... All the pirates are distinctly like, ‘Don’t do shit to other pirates or we’ll kill you,’ and you were like, ‘Hey guys, let’s do shit to other pirates!’” Sam: “We’re terrible at this game!”

Travis didn’t anticipate the visions, especially the dream of water that destroyed the fleet of ships. Fjord wants to get as close to the goal line of releasing Uk’otoa without crossing the line. That sounds dangerous, kiddo.

Caleb thinks Nott is a much better being than he is since she has a good heart. He also feels like he’s letting his guard down around the Nein and allowing himself to have a circle of friends. However, the last couple of episodes have made him want to withdraw back to the Nott-and-Caleb against the world vibe. Sam thinks they’ve drawn closer together--they know they have each other’s backs, so now they can explore other relationships.

Most impactful moments so far: Molly for everyone, for sure. Fjord: hooking up with Avantica. Cad: staying on the boat. (Matt likes that this showed good commitment to both story and each other’s characters to have Jester check in on him.) Caleb: telling Beau and Nott everything, like letting off a steam valve. Beau: the plan with the Plank King, validating her strengths. (Everyone oohs and aahs over the “I...wait.” moment again.) Jester: the dragon fight, staring down death and wondering if Mom had been right after all.

Talks Machina: After Dog

In discussion of chicken noises made to amuse Ronin, Tal reveals he keeps feral chickens. Somehow I’m not surprised. 

Favorite activities over the break: Matt slept. BWF suggests karaoke, and Laura realizes everyone went to kigerumi karaoke without them because they had family in town. Laura & Travis and BWF (and Ashley?) went to Sam’s Christmas party.

Tal thinks the Gentleman will be dead by the time they all get back to him. Matt reminds them of the sequence that led to Port Dimali--just the name of a contact. Nicodranas is the only hanging thread at the moment, suggests Matt.

Funniest thing so far? BWF suggests Ashly Burch’s face while Molly was dying, because of the terror that was originally character terror becoming meta terror. Ashly told BWF later that she wanted to bawl her eyes out. Tal: “I’ve never felt so alive.” Other contenders: fluffernutter failing, the bug carrying the piece of bread. Laura says she had nothing in her brain at the moment and that was the first thing that came out. Sam loved seeing Travis being asked a simple boat question and realizing that his whole backstory was predicated on knowledge that he does not have. “I don’t know the answer to this test. I didn’t study!” Liam loved Travis’s face journey during the live show when Matt started his backstory. Somehow, the transcription of Liam’s statement got picked up by Travis’s Apple watch and sent to Postmates. It’s totally hilarious.

M9 character you’d never want to play as? Travis: Caleb, because he’s a wizard and squishy. BWF: Jester, because of the accent. Tal: Nott, because he’s not funny enough to pull her off. “You have a portal in your heart and I don’t know where it goes.” Sam: Orly, because of the accent.

BWF feels this campaign will go to 169 episodes. If he’s right, Sam offers to 69 him. “Denim on face.”

Everyone comments on Matt’s li’l scruffy beard. Liam’s the only beardless one now. Matt laments the next time they want facial capture they’ll make him shave his beard; Laura insists technology has advanced beyond it. Oh, voice actors.

BWF doesn’t know if he’ll be married by 2020. “It depends on if coughcancelBlindspotcough happens.” Sam looks forward to all the cool new shows on the Critical Role channel. Marisha’s excited to learn how to draw. Taliesin’s excited about things he can’t talk about. Liam’s excited for the live show and art gallery next week. Some of the fanartists will even be able to make it.

Travis very convincingly knows who he will be playing in the oneshot next week. Laura, in stark realization: “Oh, no.” Marisha points out that this oneshot will take place 24 hours after Vax’s death, and everyone’s a little nervous. Tal suggests scrapping the whole thing and having a shopping episode.

And that’s all for the night. We fade out on Laura being indignant about karaoke, which is probably the best way to start the year. Is it Thursday yet?

#critical role #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #critical role spoilers #long post for ts

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E27 (July 24, 2018)

This is a special SDCC edition featuring the cast... some of the cast! Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Sam Riegel, Liam O’Brien, and Matt Mercer!

This episode was pre-recorded on Saturday, and hence there is a tragic lack of After Dark content. Please turn off all your lights after the episode airs to simulate the After Dark experience. Thank you.

Vox Machina: Origins will be back in 2019! The next arc (the first arc to really kick in for the home game) will be about meeting Pike and Percy.

Matt is going to have Taliesin design him a Mollymauk tattoo. Sam: “Does Taliesin get to pick the body part?” Marisha: “No, I do.” Taliesin: “We’re in committee.”

Realizing how much the dynamic was going to change has thrown everyone a bit off-balance. Liam’s glad Keg stepped up when she did after Molly went down. Caleb’s mental process was “How many can we save?” and knowing he’d have to just cut and run if he couldn’t bring anyone with him. He was very aware of the Scroll of Invisibility in the pocket.

An older game of Matt’s where Taliesin played had only two out of five characters survive after a disastrous fight. That session was Marisha’s first time watching the game after she and Matt started dating.

Leaving the coat was mostly a respect thing since it was such an intrinsic part of Molly’s character. It is pointed out that they might come across a bandit mugging people in that coat. Anyone who stole that coat would just be liquified. Liam points out that if Lucien/Nonagon/whoever returns as an NPC Big Bad of the series, leaving the coat might keep them on their good side.

Beau has a family history with tarot cards, which is why she always had a thing about them. The last meaningful conversation she had with Molly was over those cards. Taliesin: “I was watching, going, ‘Yeah.’” Marisha: “It means something, and Beau has some regrets about how that conversation went.”

Nott didn’t want anything? “Of course I wanted things. I wanted everything.” But it didn’t seem respectful. Taliesin: “I was backstage screaming, ‘LOOT THE BODY, just loot the body, what’s wrong with you!’”

Taliesin had several moments last episode where he had to drop everything and get ready to go when his new character almost made an appearance... but never quite did. 

Taliesin’s opinion of the funeral? “I feel like more money could’ve been spent. I mean, you ended up in a brothel. You could’ve done something.” Seriously, though, he cried. To Marisha: “You were a lot.”

Sam’s getting to the point where Nott’s point of view is like second nature. “It helps that I have had a lot of drinks in the past, and I know just from sense memory what that’s like.” Liam: “Nott shares your unbridled sense of id, Sam.”

According to Matt, the hardest part about preparing for the new campaign was creating something that simultaneously felt new and set itself apart from the first campaign without deviating too dramatically. He also felt like if the first episode was a dud coming off of the very dramatic ending of campaign 1, that would be on him. He was very aware that a lot of people would be jumping into the show for the first time since it would be a more accessible entry point.

There will be one shots and all sorts of new content associated with the new studio. Honey Heist 2: Electric Bear-galoo will be the first one! Marisha wants to start and focus with bite-sized content, shows that will lower some of the barriers of entry to D&D. A lot of people have discovered D&D from CR and want to get into it, but the PHB looks like homework, so they’re trying to make elements of it more easily understandable to a wider audience.

Matt likes to bring in guest stars, but doesn’t want to do it too often so that the story still focuses on the Mighty Nein. He’s excited to have this opportunity to bring in more of the folks they’ve wanted to have for ages, though. There’s always the possibility of guests having to cancel last-minute, which makes the whole process nerve-wracking. The focus is always on bringing in the people who only really want to be there for that part of the story.

Matt on dealing with directed anger from the internet: “Whenever somebody lashes out, it’s coming from a place of insecurity inside them. Most people. Some people are just dicks. But some people are just angry at the world and lash out at whatever’s in front of them.”

Matt on non-binary NPCs: “There’s plenty more out there.”

Mechanics they miss from last campaign: Marisha went from being “a versatile Swiss-Army-Knife toolbox to a... toolbox.” She misses the versatility of the spells. “Now I try to figure out other creative ways to do things.” Taliesin: “I miss having an enormous amount of distance from combat.” Sam: “The ability to speak. With confidence. That’s it.” Liam: “I miss the sheer satisfaction, and dare I say smugness, of stealth rolls.”

Taliesin on Molly as queer rep: “I love watching what’s been happening with the community in the last 15 years.” He had to ask his “young friends” to figure out the vocabulary, but he’s been focused on exploring new things and he’s delighted at how much it’s resonated with people.

Taliesin on Molly: “He’s still doing great in my head.” Matt points out that Molly’s already having major effects on the campaign and the motivations of the PCs right now (Taliesin’s so pleased).

Marisha: “After the first few times that I put the moves on [Yasha], we were at break, and I could sense that Ashley was wanting to ask me something, and she got up the courage, and she was like, ‘Hey, um, I’m just curious. Is Beau--’ and at that exact moment someone called Ashley to the stage, and I was like, ‘Bye!’“ They haven’t had a chance to talk about it since then. Beau’s looking at it a bit like deciding whether or not to get into a work relationship right now.

An unexpected theme of campaign 2 has been identity and trust. Matt on one of his favorite unexpected storytelling developments: “Having a group of self-entitled terrible people that had this one amazing individual come into their life and be taken away, and now realize they all want to become better people because of that.”

Sam mentions that the first year in the home game, the characters were a bit like cartoon characters, until they got comfortable enough to start letting them have real emotions. Now there’s been a lot more pressure to create a character that’s internally consistent and different from their first characters without being too different and outside their ranges.

Liam gets a question from a kid with the cutest voice and everyone loses it from the adorableness. What’s his favorite monster? “Well, my number one favorite monster is Matthew Mercer.” He’s a big fan of the beholder. “I really like that guy.”

Sam on being asked how he creates flawed characters: “I’m fascinated by flaws and how people overcome them and work around them and stuff, because in real life, I don’t have any.” For Nott, he picked a couple of weird character quirks and worked backwards from there. “The ‘why’ is the fun stuff.”

Matt talks about how we’re already facing a huge difficulty with prejudice in the world now, and he doesn’t feel like he should be forcing that awfulness into entertainment. He’s still finding the balance to give the players a chance to confront and defeat those ideas without it feeling hackneyed or unnecessarily painful to viewers dealing with those issues outside the game.

On resurrecting Molly, Taliesin: “Due to things I can’t necessarily go into, I don’t know if that would have even worked.”

Liam talks about how he never plays Renegade characters in video games and how it’s been a challenge playing Caleb. Liam: “The Mighty Nein isn’t really the family that Vox Machina was, at least not yet, but we are. We love each other and we love playing with each other.”

Marisha points out that when Molly talked about a silk flower, he said, “Here’s one that won’t die.”

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long text post

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E29 (August 7, 2018)

Tonight’s preshow: favorite moments from the live show at GenCon last week. Y’all, Dani is so short in real life, I can’t even. Less adorably, I’ve burned my popcorn. Why must life be so cruel?

Music fades out, then hard smashcut to Brian passed out in his chair. Bless, he looks tired. Smashcut to Marisha and Liam also sleeping on the couch. Get these kids some rest, I tell you what. Tonight’s guests: Liam & Marisha.

Announcements: Tonight’s sponsor is Dwarven Forge, who’ve recently launched their kickstarter for the Cavern’s Deep set. See more at critrole.com/dwarvenforge. Honey Heist 2: Electric Beargaloo airs this Friday at 7:00pm PST (on top of the regular episode on Thursday). They actually shot it last night, and it’ll air unedited on Friday. Liam: “No audience, no fucks left to give.” Marisha and some of the others will hang out in the chat Friday night to share the experience, and Brian will be posting some behind-the-scenes photos and videos at the break. The Mighty Nein shirt is back in stock and available at critrole.com. 

CR Stats! The MN reached 159 “9″s this episode, which includes all rolls ever. The 150th 9 goes to Beau--dex save against the fire trap. Beau dealt 147 damage this episode, the most for anyone in any episode in C2 so far. Liam: “This is the class you were born to play.” Marisha: “I’ve never been a Grog before. I’m so excited, you guys.” In Episode 7, the Bust of Estelle Getty attacked twice and hit both times. In Episode 29, the Bust of Nefertiti attacked four times and missed all four. Lorenzo’s last action was Cone of Cold; after that, the party dealt 117 of their total 146 damage. The 6 rounds of this fight is the longest fight of this campaign.

Sam’s outfit? Liam: “What are you going to do next year?” Sam’s panicking. Xenomorph? Cthulhu? Matt Mercer costume? Marisha: “What, are we talking prosthetics? Long hair and a henley aren’t really amping it up.” Liam: “He could wear a vest.”

Liam likes both the intimacy of being around the table and the live theater’s energy. Seeing people cosplay as their characters chanting and screaming is unreal. It feels like a bottle rocket going up next to them. Brian always cries at live shows because of the impact that it has on people--reading tweets is one thing, but seeing the love in person is beyond words.

Liam wasn’t surprised at all at how useful Frumpkin was as a spider. “I don’t know why anyone would think it would be a bad idea.” Marisha: “I got shit for the things I turned into for THREE YEARS! It’s my turn to make fun of other people’s animal choices!” Liam: “#thankskeyleth.”

Beau’s newfound confidence with ladies is both luck and Molly’s influence; she’s always been a bit of a flirt, but Marisha thinks “disaster lesbian” is totally accurate. Liam pitches a 70s exploitation-style spy movie on the spot. Marisha talks about a few times that she almost pursued something with Yasha/Ashley, but then she left and Marisha didn’t get the chance. Brian commiserates. 

Beau waited until Keg could walk off into the sunset to avoid morning-after awkwardness.

Caleb’s first impression of Caduceus is “he’s really ready to put his life in danger. There’s that. I mean, he wanted to get out, so he could have taken a train ride through Alaska, but instead we invaded a compound.” Beau doesn’t have impressions yet. She’s been so desperate for help that any help was a win.

Caleb doesn’t enjoy having power over others. He has an ability to think critically and get things done, but hasn’t been in that position for a long time; he has big plans but no ability to achieve them. He wants to just start getting comfortable again. “Caleb is a mess of contradictions. I change my mind as to what he thinks or I think any given moment.” He wars with liking people and needing to walk away from people because what he’s doing is “more important.” He isn’t sure which part is lying to himself--he just knows that as he lies to himself, he’s still doing something completely different.

To an excellent question about character development by Brian, Marisha talks about finding ideals for a character that you have to go all in on, while still knowing that the world is going to go in on you at the same time and that you’ll change whether you like it or not. Some characters are more stubborn (Caleb); Beau is a little more vulnerable to outside forces of change, such as the death of Molly--she’s never had someone die that she cared about before.

Liam talks about how Caleb has that ability to bring back some fundamental aspects of the person he used to be, in part because he’s now forming connections with people he doesn’t want to admit to even himself. However, what happened with the Shepherds made him angry in a way he never anticipated, plus losing so much of the party... ”I want to do the impossible. If I can’t do this?” The Caleb at the beginning of the campaign was happy to sit back and skulk; this new Caleb, who has been angry, and who is now one of a very small party, cannot skulk. “There was no hanging back. Decisions had to be made.” He doesn’t want to be a leader, but he’ll get things done if he has to.

Beau doesn’t and will never feel vindicated for Molly’s death. BWF: “Revenge and closure aren’t always the same.”

After the live show and Keg, Taliesin told Marisha, “Molly would be so proud.” One of the things that lingers with Beau is that she put on a front in her last conversation with Molly while he was trying to be totally genuine, and then he died before she ever opened up. She’s processing the fact that she missed that opportunity, which is why she jumped on that opportunity with Keg. Marisha also talks about the documentary about Glow on Netflix, where the woman who played the “heart” of Glow talks about her regrets of being in love with the producer but never telling him, and now twenty years have gone by and she’s still in love.

GIF of the Week: @seraphinedreams, which is a Star Wars-style scroller about the Anti-Wheaton Ashly Burch and all her 20s/19s/18s from the live show.

BWF talks about one of the theatre workers recognizing Brian and pointing out the Tal outfit was “worse than last year’s.”

The Nefertiti lamp was a loan from the Egyptian Room of the Murat Theatre.  Khary saw the lamp and went off about how much he needed the empowered figure. Liam: “Thank God we had her, though. Really turned the tide of the battle.”

Going into this fight, Caleb was still furious at the Iron Shepherds. Even so, even during the fight, Caleb was telling himself, “You need this, you need this,” so that he can go to the next thing.

Marisha likes Matt’s revision to the Cobalt Soul class. She’s still figuring out the right things to ask but is liking it much better in terms of expertise costs.

Liam: “I don’t think many moments in my life will rival the impossible moment of that motherfucker dying, on stage, with so many people watching. It was bewildering [to have so many people watching] and it made that moment of blind luck so much more amazing.” Marisha’s not sad at all that he’s dead. Everyone talks about the crazy energy of the HDYWTDT in front of 2500 people.

Brian isn’t apologizing in advance for or after the Honey Heist. Consider me piqued.

Beau cares about Caleb’s mental health. She’s sympathetic, especially since she’s starting to care for the rest of their group. She still believes in the importance of keeping teammates healthy out of both care for them and selfish concern for herself in a fight.

Marisha talks about how emotional she got when Shakaste talked about them being good people doing good things, leaving places better than they found him, especially since Khary’s not caught up on the campaign. Now Beau has to think about the themes that keep cropping up. Caleb knows what they’ve done here is good, but still thinks that the universe is pretty random & that even if they saved an entire orphanage, Caleb will still find himself unforgivable and terrible. “Nothing will erase what he’s done.” BWF: “Nothing?” Liam: “Nothing.”

They hid Khary the whole weekend to keep him from the critter crowd. “It was like telling a 12-year-old in Las Vegas that they had to stay in the hotel.”

Fanart of the Week: this lovely piece by @emtousi12 on twitter, featuring all the guests of the campaign so far.

Caleb/Liam regretted the invisibility scroll casting even before he cast it. He was stressed, the haste was a dud, and he was almost totally out of spells. Liam commiserates with Marisha about having planned very badly on selecting his first level spells for this fight-- “I had a bunch of spells I couldn’t do dick with.” However, he really, really, really didn’t want to die, so even though he desperately wanted to save the scroll, he wanted to live more. 

Neither Beau nor Keg think they plan to make this a recurring thing. “Hit it and quit it.”

Liam’s asked again about why he dedicated the kill to Frumpkin & not Molly (same question as was asked at Gencon). Liam starts talking about how Caleb had a girl cat as a child (also named Frumpkin); later, he recreated his cat using magic, except this one was male (oops?). This--boy, this is a lot very quickly. Marisha: “Is this something you worked out? Is that a narrative beat you thought of in your head?” Liam: “That was a ‘yes/and’ improv thing because Liam also had a cat named Frumpkin as a little boy, and that cat was a girl. But I decided when I was creating my character that Frumpkin was a boy. But because I have real memories as Liam of the cat as a girl, I kept messing up the gender of the fucking cat in the game, so then I retooled my story. So the first part of my answer is that Frumpkin is more important than a magic spell. Frumpkin is a piece of his lovely childhood, his wonderful childhood, and he wanted to have a piece of that in his miserable existence. The second half of that answer is that [the kill] wasn’t dedicated to Frumpkin. Caleb was exhausted and bleeding out, on the verge of death; that line was the equivalent of ‘fuck this day,’ and to say [points emphatically] ‘That was for Molly’ is too--on the nose! I mean, they were all thinking it. They’re all weighed down by it. There’s no need to say it--the day is awful, and what’s more, Molly’s dead--for all they knew in that moment, the other three are dead too, they don’t know! This is a torture chamber! They’re in a Saw movie. They don’t know how the other three are. So maybe they’re all dead. Certainly Molly’s dead. So no, it was not dedicated to the cat.”

Beau felt the same thing, especially since Nott already went into the cage and had the moment with Jester. They were all feeling it and thinking it--it was there--and no one felt the need to say it aloud. “To quote Scarlett O’Hara, ‘I can’t think about that right now. I’ll think about it tomorrow.’“ Liam: “The bottom line is that Caleb is in love with his cat, and the shippers need to focus on that. Send me fiction about that.”

Everyone dreads telling Jester, Yasha, and Fjord what’s happened to Molly. Marisha thinks Fjord will be pragmatic, Yasha will be angry, and Jester will blame herself.

Marisha hypothesizes that since Lorenzo seemed interested in capable fighters, he might have been creating almost Winter Soldier-type slaves that he could use to fight for him.

Everyone’s relieved Sam didn’t fall off the stage in the rollerblades. Apparently he had a dry run out of costume that...did not go well.

Marisha loved the stunning strike moment and the HDYWTDT moment for each of them. Liam loved Nott’s kissing Caleb while he was invisible. BWF does NOT encourage this behavior and we should NEVER DO IT AGAIN and he does NOT WANT THIS IN THE FUTURE but he laughed pretty hard at whoever yelled “It’s High Noon” at Matt towards the beginning of the show.

Liam had a great time playing exhausted--yes, it’s awesome to have the amazing moments, but he loves the fun of the failures too. 

Travis made it to the actual studio today and got a round of applause. “It’s like seeing a hologram of Tupac.”

After Dark: They’re So Tired I’m Tired For Them Edition

Oh, God. Twenty minutes in I realize my video froze during the break and I had no idea. I wondered why it was taking so long. Where are we? I’ll fill it in in a second.

Would BWF ever allow Sam to pick his outfit? He doesn’t know if he has the guts. Sam’s closet is full of ties and sneakers according to Liam.

Liam loved two critters cosplaying as gelatinous cubes at GenCon this year--he recognized one of them as one who came as a beholder last year and applauds her creativity. Marisha loved how their swords were floating around them.  Liam swoons over all the Vaxes with functioning wings; Marisha loved Opening Title Sequence Matt; BWF gushes about the pair who came as him from Signal Boost and Liam Las Vegas; Marisha loved the Percy with the Orthax shadow. There was also a pair of little girls who did the twins one day and Yasha and Beau the next; all three get a little fluttery.

Most of the panel from GenCon is up on Critical Scope.

Marisha would prefer to face a party of wizards over a party of monks. Liam would prefer avoiding both, but if forced would take the monks since they have range requirements.

Thanks, broadcasting.

Liam isn’t bitter the two clerics didn’t heal him. Not at all. Not bitter at all. He was at two hit points before he healed himself with the potion.

Marisha started tearing up when they found the party members in part because the game is very real to them, and they miss Laura, Travis, and Ashley so much. Sometimes the very real reactions catch them off guard. Liam points out that they’re family and it never feels good with part of the family gone.

Live show was the best thing they did at GenCon, but seeing the booth was pretty cool too. Everyone was “cranky” Sunday morning. BWF: “Oh my God, you’re being so nice right now.” Marisha was annoyed from the moment the makeup artist knocked on their door the next morning to get Matt ready to be Pumat. The entire group didn’t say a word to each other over breakfast except to snipe at each other. “Do you know what time it is?” “You’re looking at your phone.”

Liam talks about some cool oversized minis he got for his daughter’s Ravenloft game at the Privateer Press booth. BWF got some new dice (as did Marisha for both her and Matt at the Level Up booth), a Wyrmwood box, and some Iron Kingdoms books.

BWF admits he is a deep nerd and loves Warmachine; he could have talked to the Privateer Press people for hours about the lore if he didn’t think they’d have chased him off.

Did Vax take Molly to the other side? Liam doesn’t know. He has his own ideas--Ariana, their official artist, did a picture of Vax on an obsidian throne & surrounded by obsidian, with white antlers growing out of his shoulder & holding a raven skull, and that’s what he feels his afterlife is like. He does like to think that Vax took Molly to the other side. “He was so colorful and full of life. I’d like to think so.”

The VOD of Matt’s Fireside Chat is up on the critrole Twitch! BWF: “He’s so articulate.” Marisha: “A living bard.”

That’s all for today! Is it Thursday yet?

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long post for ts

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E22 (June 12, 2018)

Tonight’s guests are Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham! Baby-naming is done wheel-of-fortune-style before the show starts. Spoiler: Baron Yung Chyld. Laura: “Yeah. It’s not happening.” Also, Mark Hulmes Skypes in from England! We have the technology!

Announcements: Vox Machina: Origins standard editions are still on sale; fanart and gif of the week are now posted on critrole.com; the Talks Machina instagram account is up and running @TalksMachina!

Mark has been watching since campaign one and would get stories from Matt pre-stream. He was delighted that the timing worked out to guest in campaign two.

Cali would love to see the Mighty Nein again. She’s not used to people treating her nicely. Travis on Mark: “He was great. It’s like he’d played D&D before.” He also suspects Mark is in cahoots with Mercer for future story development.

Mark tried a lot of accents for Cali and stumbled across a good one for her when he was just messing around.

Mark wanted the black dragon background as a counterpoint for how nice and sweet Cali was otherwise. If a member of the party had tried to steal from her and she’d found out, her draconic possessiveness might’ve come out even more. She’s very embarrassed of that side of her, and the reaction by Molly and Caleb worked to calm her down immediately.

Mark talks about how welcoming everyone was for his guest spot, so that even when it got intense, he was still very comfortable and having a great time. He felt like they’d all been playing together for ages; going in, he was extremely scared and anxious, but wound up having a wonderful time. He’s told Matt he’ll fly out to LA on a moment’s notice to be on the show again.

The invisibility scroll was a gift for Cali from her foster father and was a bit of an escape rope had she needed to leave suddenly, but she decided it would work out best as a parting gift.

Travis: “I like how when guests come, there’s always a chance one of us will get a new item, whether by gift or by ganking.”

Some in-character mail is on its way from Cali!

@critrolestats​ for this episode: this episode had the most damage dealt by the Mighty Nein: 471 points. Also most damage taken at 208 points. Jester had the first solo HDYWTDT (she’s been part of three, two of which she shared with other members). Ashley rolled her highest initiative roll in the show’s history with a 21. Her previous record was a 20... on a natural 20 with Pike. Kiri has killed two corpses. We’re very proud of her.

Laura on the evil of the dice this week: "You know what? I punished them that night. I’m a forgiving mother, I love all my children, so I put them back in the bag.” She talks about how much more the betrayal hurts when it’s the dice she likes most.

Travis isn’t actively trying to keep anything hidden about Fjord’s backstory, but there haven’t been a lot of natural avenues to reveal it until now. There’s still a lot to come.

Jester has a bit of jealousy over the knowledge that more people worship the Traveler. “It’s kind of like, ‘But the Traveler’s always been mine!’” Travis: “Jester’s a hipster, confirmed.” Laura: “Jester’s the least hipster.” Brian: “She’s like, ‘I was into candy before you.’”

Fjord was mainly taken by the fact that there was a balance of both good and evil tokens in the cache of divine items.

Laura notes that there are voices they do in-game that make her baby start kicking. Matt’s announcer voice from the arena fight got him really worked up. Travis: “’Cause he wants to fight, let him out! Let’s do it!”

Gif of the week: the saga of Fjord with Blink.

Travis now knows that he’s allowed to move between Blinks while using the spell. “I never claimed to know what I was doing.”

It “wouldn’t be good” if Jester returned to Nicodranas. Laura: “There’s a price on my head, yo!” Travis: “How high was the price on your head?” Laura: “I don’t know if it was a price so much as they just want to kill me.”

Travis: “I think Fjord trusts Jester the most, and maybe Yasha the second. I’ve got a lot of trust for Beau, too.” Laura: “I feel like Jester probably trusts Fjord still the most, and then probably Beau after that.”

Jester loves that Beau is so willing to just roll with whatever she comes up with. “Jester isn’t used to having people around her that much. The Traveler was in and out in her childhood, and was probably the person that spent the most time with her. She didn’t have any friends growing up, so having a roommate even is totally crazy.”

Fjord was curious about the eye stone but was going to let Caleb do his normal investigation; it was Matt’s narrative push that got him to jump in. There’s also a bit of Travis sneaking through: he always has to touch hot plates at restaurants, especially right after being told not to. Laura: “He did it at a firepit!” Brian, increasingly high-pitched: “What do you expect was going to happen it was on fire!!” Laura: “He was the kid that stuck the fork in the light socket.” He was.

Jester did indeed know Vandren’s name when Fjord mentioned it, but she won’t reveal any more information than that.

Travis has done a little research into ships for this character. He loves scuba-diving, so the drowning narration was based on some personal experience/instructional guides. He got trapped under a raft as a kid and pulled from that experience as well. Fjord’s connection with the water is tied in with the strong connection Travis has had with the water all his life.

Travis ran out of both Jurassic Park and Neverending Story in the theaters. Everyone bonds over how terrifying Return to Oz was. Laura: “I loved it.”

Things get a little weird when Laura and Travis start acting out a scene in-voice. Travis: “This is what our house is like every night. We have dolls.” Brian: “This is the stupidest show.”

Fanart of the week: Caleb and the past.

Laura’s irritated at the cost for Revivify: now she has to “save all my stupid spell slots for stupid healing because people are dumb and get hurt.” and also save all her money for Revivify diamonds. Brian: “Sounds like cleric was a really good choice for you this time around. She’ll do almost something to save her friends! She’ll lift the smallest finger she’s got to get you out of a jam!” Laura: “I think everyone should buy their own diamond.” Brian: “We just learned a little bit about Jester and a lot about Laura.”

Travis: “Fjord is honest, sharing, truthful, transparent. It’s part of his... legal good alignment?” Laura: “Are you lawful good?” Travis: “Yeah. I am.” Laura: “You are lying.” Travis: “Lawful good. I am. Yup. He’s just trying to let people know what’s going on.”

Jester trusts Fjord completely. Travis states that Fjord has never lied to Jester.

Brian: “Do you want a pillow for your back? Would that make you more comfortable?” Laura: “No.” Brian: “Do you want a Matt Mercer body pillow for your back?” Laura: “Yes.”

Laura thinks the possibility of Kiri being evil is most likely to happen just through the influence of the Mighty Nein. Travis thinks she killed her whole family. Laura: “I love how innocently she stabs corpses. She’s so sweet.”

Travis: “I don’t think Fjord’s crushing on Jester.” Laura: “I don’t think Jester’s crushing on Fjord.” They’re comfortable with each other, especially since they’ve known each other the longest.

As Laura, she recognizes that Liam is trying to bring Jester into Caleb’s ritual casting, and she appreciates that it’s an overture of friendship. But Jester is so easily distracted, and her magic is so different from his, that she isn’t really appreciating the gesture. Laura hopes he continues to try, though.

Having served on ships, Fjord knows that conflict will come up and that you have to squash it quickly. He found it endearing that Beau thought to seek his counsel.

Jester doesn’t think of it as a mother-daughter relationship with Kiri. It’s more like the dolls she had when she was little: it’s just protectiveness.

Dream guest on the show? Brian: Regis Philbin. Travis: Stephen Colbert. Laura: Richard Simmons.

Laura won’t tell Jester’s age. Laura: “She’s 57 years old.” Brian: “Is that a real answer?” Laura: “No.” Fjord is in his early 30s.

Jester isn’t very comfortable with conflict. She stepped in a bit with Bowlgate, just because it touched on things she has strong convictions about, but her first reaction is mainly just to go, “Don’t fight!”

If someone Fjord didn’t know as well as Beau, like Molly and Yasha, asked him for advice, he probably would have used the opportunity to try and glean more information on them.

Talks Machina: After... Dark

Laura loves Matt/Kiri’s Jester voice. She talked to him after he did it so well as Kiri for the first time, and he very matter-of-factly said he just had to figure out the .

Laura: “You have to say ‘It’s high noon’, and then he’ll repeat it as Kiri!”

Travis and Laura aren’t shipping anybody yet. Laura: “It’s too early. Don’t get me wrong, Oskar is really hot and stuff, but you know.”

The Spiritual Weapon lollipop: strawberry-flavored. It’ll probably change flavors as Jester levels up.

Travis is interested in the possibility of some sort of Vestige getting absorbed into the falchion. Laura wonders if, if Fjord dies, all the weapons he’s eaten will fall out of him like a loot drop. Travis: “Not swallowed, consumed. I’m not fucking swallowing anything anymore, okay? Fucking autopilot Fjord just shoved it into his stomach like a normal person.” Laura thinks Matt missed an opportunity to make the absorption process be up-the-butt.

INVOKE DUPLICITY

Fjord is "a pretty good person on the inside”, and despite the ominousness of his patron, he’s going to do his best to stay on the straight and narrow.

Laura’s on a panel tomorrow at the E3 Coliseum tomorrow, probably to talk about Gears of War.

Travis: “Twilight was a better movie than The Notebook.” Brian is appalled.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long text post