#theme: critical role characters

[tshortik]

The traitor duo absolutely nobody has ever asked for | og meme

#this is the stupidest thing ive drawn #steven universe meme #starscream #essek thelyss #there is a theme my fav characters have and its that theyre all fucking liars #critical role #transformers

[chaosgenasi]

I’ve had a life. I think a lot of us here have had a life. And I can count the really good days practically on two hands.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #criticalroleedit #ashton greymoore #taliesin jaffe #basil.gif #cr3 #ashton #bells hells #ashton 'abandonment is the neverending theme of their existence' 'one of the reasons i allow myself to get the shit kicked #out of me is in the hope that people are actually watching' 'character who nothing good has ever happened to' #greymoore's response here just makes so much sense & others have said it but it rlly is so fucking compelling #in regards to also being like. 'main priority is fuck ludinus we Live Here.' anyway character of all time to me

[quill-n]

I think Molly should get a unique instrumental character theme that has a strong and distinct melody when he's introduced in the animated series that turns into a motif that appears in other scene and character tracks and also becomes an incredible reprise at the end of the story. I just think it'd be neat

#CHARACTER THEMES FOR DEAD CHARACTERS MAKE ME SO SO SOOO EMOTIONAL #still not over Marco's theme and I havent been active in aot in like five years #critical role #mighty nein spoilers #mollymauk tealeaf #quillnnotart

[tin-cant]

Just remembered in the early episodes of c2 talks Sam's response to someone asking if it was difficult playing a girl was basically "no they're the same as us". Which is in some ways true but also Veth wound up being like, the one character that I think you could under no circumstance genderswap and have her arc have the same effect.

#for the record i think its decent advice to write woman and men similiarly if your not getting into specific themes regarding gender #but if you say writing a character struggling to fit into the mold of a perfect wife and mother while having her own ambitions #thats a character where being a women is very core to the character #critical role #veth brenatto #also i havent watched talks in a looooong while and i dont plan on rewatching cause yknow #but i distinctly remember this

[utilitycaster]

Utterly in character and absolutely perfect that Ashton saw Keyleth, heard her say both "I've been angry for 30 years" and talk about the productive use of anger (shortly after having an epiphany re their own anger and self-pity) and openly say "I hope we never find out what a world without the gods looks like" and turns around and is like "well cool first half! anyway time to be weird at a skeleton."

#confidently wrong about everything is like. sorry it's SUCH a good theme on which to play variations #even when i have not liked his characters i've been like i gotta respect that #and when i do like those characters as with ashton it's *chef's kiss* #critical role #ashton greymoore

[sparring-spirals]

JESTER MASS HEAL AS A CRITICAL MOVE IN THE BATTLE sorry off my rocker again about Jester love and optimism as its own brand of offense and love that sunders enemies in half and boosts her friends in all forms and all the jokes about Jester THE cleric and clerics and healers not always being one and the same, but- Jester did heal, and she healed plenty through the campaign. But sometimes being a protector of the group needed the direct offense. It was, it is, always about- action economy and balancing what will protect her friends, what will save them, what will be enough.

Jester blowing the high level spell on healing, and it working. Beautifully.

It was always about protecting everyone with what she had and all its furious love, and this time, healing her friends was more than enough to rip the enemy apart.

#I trip and jester meta and m9 meta falls out of my pockets #i need to watch this episode but i dont have TIME . Okay im going to stop writing posts till after i do i swear #critical role #cr spoilers #jester lavorre #character meta #the mighty nein reunited #the mighty nein reunited part 2 #i apologize if anyone is infuriated by me writing meta before ive even seen the episodes #unfortunately for you all i only need the BAREST detail and overarching themes to get fired up about this subject #jester meta #love is stored in the jester #spar speaks #im back on Tumblr for half a day and write two metas . alas.

[staticrevelations]

i can't wait for this year's CR halloween episode the costumes are always SO fun and people having serious scenes in them is always SO great and also anytime the cast dresses up for any special occasion they always look SO good

#i am SO EXCITED #any guesses on this year's theme? #i think it'd be funny if they cosplayed each other's characters' to fuck with matt and confuse each other #are we enough episodes in to do a campaign 3 NPC cosplay episode? do we have enough NPCs? #critical role #cr3 #bells hells #campaign 3 #crit role

[pinkwhalepjs]

Not only is Orym attempting to calmly and endlessly attempt to convince everyone around him that his loved ones killers do not in fact make a good point and need to be respected, only to be forced to join in with a pro-Ludinis group because they have no alternatives. But he is attempting to save the essence of Exandria itself only for it to fall again and again on deaf ears.

The wild hubris exhibited by the C3 players (and many NPCs of Exandria) is really emphasizing how much this echoes the apogee solstice that brought about the original Calamity. It is astonishing how quickly mortals turn to resentment of the gods, envy of their power and status removed from mortal eyes. Did not the gods create them? Breathe life and being from the shapeless nothing? Did not the Prime Deities go to war against their own brethren to save mankind?? Do they not hold the departed souls of mortals on their planes in everlasting bliss??? To spurn the gods is to spurn not only the birth of all life on Exandria but to spurn all those who died before. Let their souls fall into abyss. Let life itself fall away into astral decay. Life is created and maintained by Divinity and it is hubris upon hubris upon hubris to think Exandria would somehow be better without them if it could exist in any form at all.

#critical role #cr spoilers #orym of the air ashari #sorry to be a paladin/cleric on main but it must be said #how do they think the world can exist without the gods??? #everyone on Exandria is so delusional #obsessed with the constant themes of hubris #Matt pulled out these characters like holding up a mirror

[paellegere]

i got curious about mary's role post-resurrection so i looked at a list of all her appearances in season 12 only to discover that she's only in about half of the episodes. which is surprising because like, where the fuck is she going? where is her character arc going to take her such that she's separated from her children for entire episodes, 33 years in the future with everyone else she's ever known or loved dead?

i'm just eternally fascinated that supernatural is a show about sam and dean, and literally no other character including their own mother is allowed to impede on that. every other character has to be removed at some point from the brotherly unit so as not to infringe on their domination of the narrative. every other character is expendable, unnecessary for the show to function continuously. every other character can go off on their own for several episodes at a time and live a life separate from them. there's no limit to this and no one is allowed to get close enough to sam and dean to negate this reality.

#liveblogging: supernatural #i wouldn't say they commit to this very well because the presence of the recurring cast expands their world and does a disservice to the #themes of isolation and the idea that they only have each other established by early seasons #but the bunker also does a disservice to the premise of it being a road show so like there are plenty of criticisms to make about how #spn has changed over the years #anyway i have critiqued spn on its inability to commit to either a small isolated cast OR a large recurring cast #which is where a lot of the issues i have with many characters stem from #since they're not well developed for the roles the show is trying to force them into #and potential is routinely wasted #anyway. that's just tangential. at the end of the day the show does always bring it back to sam and dean. one unit. #and no one not even other main characters are allowed into that inner circle #made real and evident by their mere presence or absence across episodes #it's just an interesting thing #.txt

[amplexadversary]

Ashton Greymoore: “See, this is what happens when you start externalizing every fucking problem that you have. Easy to take a look at.

There’s a bunch of people who are treating other people like, just like they’re fucking nothing, like they’re fucking pawns. It doesn’t matter what the fuck they want - they are doing it wrong, it is not hard to see.

You’re being fucked with. We’re all being fucked with; whatever the fuck they say they’re doing, that’s where I draw the g-, the line. If they had such a great idea of what the world was supposed to be and what that thing was, they could just tell people.

But instead they’re making everybody miserable. They’re killing people.

Fuck that, fuck them, and I am going to be more than happy to drop a fucking ship on them.

I’m so sick of this shit.”

-Critical Role, Campaign 3, Episode 49 1:43:02

#Critical Role #CR3 #CR3-49 #CR Ashton #Ashton my beloved #Taliesin Jaffe brings yet another character I vibe so goddamn hard with #man plays the constantly-curbed-at-the-last-second anger in his character voice so well I love it #and this may be the actor leaking through but Ashton has this reason to them that feels like it's been eaten away at by their emotions #like they've gotten so used to being dismissed they don't try to separate the two and persuade people #who aren't already used to them and their usual speech patterns #because that's not something they've ever really been able to get to work #so you get this character who by his stats and his description is not a talker #but who drops arguments like this that feel emotionally raw but not spur-of-the-moment. #it's occurring to me that Ashton's speech can be described in a way that matches their aesthetic #it's a jagged pointy crystal that would have needed time to build up to the size it is and it has not been polished or cleaned up #like at all #The impression I get is that Ashton thinks about things a lot more than they say them and their speech mirrors their overarching theme #kind of as a result of that #like sure *maybe* that's Taliesin being too erudite but it fits the theme anyway

[revvethasmythh]

I'm just going to say it: I don't think Caleb and Nott in the early campaign were that unhealthy. They're clearly devoted to each other quite intensely, but it's not like there's any lack of reciprocity in their relationship, apart from the fact that helping others (in this case, primarily Caleb) is one of Nott's unhealthy coping mechanisms. But it's not like Caleb is unaware that she has her own issues and needs! He asks what she needs and helps her as much as she does him. He gently lets her know that if she ever wants to talk about her past, she can with him. It's just that Nott hates dealing with her own issues (why do that when there are other people with issues she could be helping instead?) so she doesn't spill all the beans until she quite literally has to, choosing to dance around her problems until they're too big to ignore anymore.

Genuinely, I have to assume people think their relationship is so unhealthy because there was a lot of friction with the rest of the party early on that made Caleb and Nott seem more clumped together than they actually were.

#critical role #the mighty nein #yes I saw someone call their relationship ''so unhealthy'' again yes it bothered me again thank you for your condolences #nott the brave #caleb widogast #listen considering their circumstances they are REMARKABLY healthy actually #yes another c2 rewatch #also ''dancing around her problems until they're too big to ignore'' is one of veth's main character flaws #and scanlan's! and fcg's! oh my we seem to have discovered a theme

[blorbologist]

📂📂📂

Three please!

Order up!

You know, we don't exactly know from where in Wildemount Sylas, Delilah and Ripley are from - or if they're even Wildemount natives at all and didn't just migrate there independently as adults for the ethically dubious work opportunities. None have a Zemnian accent, so I doubt any of the three are from that cultural group. The Truskan Vale (area of origin of Beau and Tary) and Marrow Valley (where Veth is from + where the M9 formed and had their first adventures) seem likely culprits. The reason I'm underlining this is because Caleb, Astrid and Eadwulf, all Zemnian, are single children (which is unusual), while Beau, Tary and Veth have siblings. So if any of these nasties are from Wildemount, and not hiding a Zemnian accent, they likely have (or had) siblings back at home. Can you imagine Percy on a vacation and running into someone with Ripley's eyes or Delilah's smile? Likelyhood is low given they'd likely be rural, but! You never know. (AU where Ripley is Caleb's aunt worth anything?)

I don't think we as a fandom poke at the parallels between Tary and Beau enough! Especially given they both grew up in the same neck of the woods, and with parents of high social standing and relatively new money. What I mean is: Beau absolutely heard about Tary growing up. She 100% heard of this unworthy son turned adventurer and hero and author and friend to many, and maybe she wondered if an unworthy daughter could do the same. I doubt Thoreau would have bought any of the Darrington books, but Beau could have either stolen some copies or read them once she was taken by the Soul. I think they'd get along, in a weird way no one expects that puts off everyone initially. (He reminds her a bit of Caleb and Jester, she'd remind him of Percy)

I think Percy might have a smidge of bias against Wildemount people in positions of authority. As I've pointed out above: Ripley and Delilah (and Sylas) were from Wildemount as far as he knows, and Tary's father was certainly an asshole too. Dwendal refused to send forces to help face Vecna. If he hears about Caleb and Beau's respective trials against their abusers? Oh, oh that would not go well. I can see him being a smidge wary of high-status Dwendalian folk he's dealing with for diplomatic reasons. Good thing Vex is more involved in politics than he is - and she can be perfectly shrewd and petty in her own right <3 I hope Whitestone withdrawing much trade after news of Trent and Zenoth's abuses came to light put pressure on Rexxentrum and the crown to handle this shit. (And I'm sure Ludinus' whole deal is helping a lot)

SEND ME A 📂 FOR A RANDOM HC

#you can specify a theme or character or ship! otherwise ill just go wild #critical role #wildemount #campaign 2 #campaign 1 #delilah briarwood #taryon darrington #beauregard lionett #percival de rolo

[chaosgenasi]

What needs to be done? To free us all.

#critical role #criticalroleedit #critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #brennan lee mulligan #matthew mercer #cr3 #cr calamity #basil.gif #timestamp is episode 44 around 3:28:00 (and episode 4 of calamity) #looking respectfully at the wildmother and her beloved kids #also just the concept of characters discussing being playthings made me think of grant morrison's animal man #bc it's so fun when you think about even the gods being on the cosmic food chain + then on a meta level asmodeus -- a character and #'toy' himself -- saying this about mortals. if that makes sense sdjfkh #anyway love the theme of struggling for and/or under someone else's control

[yes-m-ray]

The kind of Sad i’m feeling over Laudna gone is so strange. So upsetting.

Like, i know she’s probably coming back, within 1 or 2 episodes. I know this isn’t the end of her story. Is just, the particular circumstances of her death are so heavy and bleak.

Laudna was (is) a deeply tragic character that is portrayed as “cool with what happened” in a very interesting way. Walking the fine line between being shaped by her trauma, but moving forward in spite of it. But people forget that her trauma is massive... like impossibly massive, and then, this happens

She’s killed as a message for someone else, as a dare, as a device to impact the main person(s)... again. It wasn’t strictly a sacrifice or directly her choice (she stayed so a part was her choice, but not all of it). She’s killed by a powerful woman that didn’t even knew her name, she’s just a sacrifice device to advance the story of important people... again

And even now that she has friends and people around her, for the first time in her life, the hope that she may get resurrected back intermediately... Is not enough

She’s not a priority, she seemed fine with being dead, so yeah, others get the chance first right? It's just logical

This thought of “She has gone through worse, just add this to the pile” is just... god, so bleak, and it makes me so sad for so many reasons. I’m actually struggling putting it into words.

Because someone has gone through the worst that the world has to offer, should people just understand how “strong” and “used to it” are, and make them the shield for pain? Why don't give them a break? give them respite, love, help. They’re not going to ask for it, for so many reasons, but if you can catch those cracks, those small glimpses of vulnerability, they deserve a check in, they deserve help.

Just give her a break.

#cr3 #critical role #cr spoilers #laudna #cr meta #NOTHING against other player choices #they're absolutely 100% on character #is just... the marisha ray special #an amazing character that has to be strong because... she has to #the womanhood themes are not lost on me #maybe because of that this stings so personally #ohh no the personal feelings that kiki and beau brought are coming back... the very personal feelings

[utilitycaster]

In honor of impromptu "let us attempt to be normal about D&D parental figures" week, I'd like to talk about Vandran.

To talk about Vandran, because we see him for a total of what, five minutes in the finale and a couple of sendings prior, we need to talk about Fjord.

Fjord is an exploration of a handful of traits associated with toxic masculinity, or even just restrictive aspects of traditional masculinity that aren't necessarily toxic. I think it's fair to say that irl, Travis is probably engaging with those standards; but Exandria doesn't have the same conception of gender norms. It's also worth noting that Fjord's issues are specifically excessive stoicism to the point of it being harmful to himself, and control issues, rather than the full spectrum of what we'd call toxic masculinity (eg, philandering, misogyny, belittling of 'unfit' activities for men, etc.) For what it's worth, the two other men in the Nein - who are both further from modern standards of 'manliness' than Fjord in many ways - actually share these issues; and Vex, a woman, shares many of them as well. As such I'm going to not be using the term "toxic masculinity" any further in this, because I don't think it's particularly accurate in-univrse.

Vandran is heavily implied to share these flaws. I think it's for that reason that there was often an assumption that Fjord learned them from Vandran. However, I think that's almost certainly not true; Fjord looked up to Vandan for his sense of control, certainly, but also for genuinely good leadership and fairness; as Fjord ultimately says, "kindness, and love, and honor".

Vandran is, I suspect, like most of the other parental figures in Critical Role; just kind of winging it, and not always being able to provide all of what the child needed - or even being aware. He didn't have the tools to address Fjord's difficulties with showing vulnerability or asking for help, because he lacks them himself, but I don't think he necessarily worsened them. It's also necessary to remember that by the time he met Fjord, Fjord was the young adult product of a truly Dickensian childhood.

I think the worst of Fjord's issues came from the orphanage: why ask for help when you spent a childhood knowing it won't come? Why cede control or power when you grew up without any, and had to painstakingly fight for every scrap you eventually obtained? Why admit weakness when it was, in your young life, only exploited or mocked?

Vandran was able to, even unwittingly, provide a place where some of this could be channeled at least semi-productively. But he didn't, and probably couldn't, address the underlying problems. However, he never set upon Fjord the expectation that Fjord would try to imitate him; that's something Fjord set on himself. And again! That's not unique to Fjord! I've mentioned Caduceus and Jester having similar issues, and it's not hard to read something into Caleb's statement of "I was not going to be a soldier like my father." I don't think Fjord thought Vandran even wanted this of him; he just didn't know how to otherwise invoke Vandran's leadership without the aid of formalized hierarchy, experience, and reputation that Vandran had.

So when Fjord says "I am not at peace," in leaving behind Vandran's voice, that's not a rejection of Vandran so much as finally acknowledging that he's without a roadmap in this situation. He knows that what he did gain from Vandran isn't going to be enough to continue; but that's not a statement that Vandran was any more flawed or limited than, well, anyone.

#what i find frustrating in a lot of the discussion of parents is that there's no like...agency for the characters #when that was like. actually a core theme of C2: how much did they make me and how much did I make me #and where do I go from this now that I can be myself #like not to be a grouchy person who's only had half her coffee so far today but how did people miss that #critical role #fjord stone #vandran

[sparring-spirals]

i just love it when characters Say Things. u kno. just a real sucker for characters. Saying Shit.

Imogen saying "She's not any person. She was special. She was chosen." (Chosen, once, twice, thrice, for an early end). Ashton saying "Do I look like a person who doesn't know that?" (That things often have unsatisfying ends). F.C.G saying: "It seems kind of hard." (being alive, finding purpose). Orym saying "It always mattered." (F.C.G's life, what they chose to do with it, them). Ashton saying "I have had a lifetime, of bad hits." (Hits, and falls, and losses, that I am weathering. But I am telling you where I am drawing my lines, here and now.) Imogen saying "Laudna, you're safe!" (we chased off the shadows, you're not alone, you're safe, we're here).

F.C.G saying: "Well, I have to live."

Ashton saying: "Unfortunate, but true."

im just. such a fan of characters saying things, all the time, about all kinds of things, with all kinds of meanings. God i just. love it. when characters say shit. u feel me.

#this post brought to you by theres so many things from the last ep that are so good and so many Specific Lines to make me go feral #god characters are just out here Saying Things and i am. cheering wildly in a distant room. #critical role #cr spoilers #c3e36 #quote #bell's hells #orogorgorogoghghrhfhhr #spar speaks #ive got asks in my inbox and stuff to reblog but ive just got like 6 conversations on loop in my head #there isnt really a theme in this post sorry im just obsessed with SO many convos in this ep #anyway cheers ill get to the asks soon. probably. maybe. #character meta #??? very vaguely i GUESS #my meta #what a CRUNCHY episode #anyway if i were to make a nonexhaustive list of things im chewing on: #- bells hells (the therapist group) diving into a nightmare scape to confront and fight laudnas personal demons (see last meta) #- fcg is alive and has to live for themself now and thats Scary And Hard And Kind Of Sucks (ur so right king) but it MATTERS #- imogen darling how u doin #- ashton and his approach to powerful people and their own shifting worldview #- chetney grabbing pate and the tools off the table #- orym bud how u doin #- fearne... fearne i think youre okay rn. maybe. i think you miss laudna tho which Me Too #- LAUDNA ARE YOU OKAY #narrative meta