#also i appreciate marisha immediately looking at laura

[big-moon-little-moon]

We're playing a little game called 'spot the callowmoore fan'

Level: too easy

#c3e75 #cr spoilers #laura being callowmore's biggest fan 🤝 ashley being imodna's biggest fan #also i appreciate marisha immediately looking at laura #you can tell they had some callowmoore talks before lol #laura bailey #callowmoore #cr fearne #cr ashton #critical role spoilers #cr campaign 3 #bells hells

[captainsspnanon]

C3E65 reaction

Imogen Laudna stuff in it's own separate untagged post. Don't search it out if you love the pairing, I'm not here for drama.

FUCKING fanTASTIC episode!!!! ALL of it!

Looking at the timeline for this, as I finished watching late last night but immediately went to bed rather than typing up my reaction, as I always then spent like, 2 or 3 hours on tumblr after no matter how much I say I'm just going to make my reaction then go to sleep.

We got some solid conversation between the groups, and Laudna's freakout was 100% justified. As much as team wildemount did have their own struggles (and they DID!), it was a much more comforting trip than team issylra, especially with all the downtime they got. (had team issylra gotten those five days of wibbly timeline, i'm not sure if it would have been downtime, or if it would have been hishari drama or other drama.)

At the start of the episode, both my mom and I were a bit confused as to why Ashton was so chipper. However, when they had their conversation with FCG about trying to do better, not necessarily being okay but not being bad either, finding a purpose, actively engaging in friendship rather than avoiding it for fear of being burnt again, THEN it made sense. It's certainly one of the times where I would have preferred Taliesin to show more of the emotional transition on screen, but that's not how Tal RPs, and I'm used to that. 4 Sided Dives/Talks are always the best to find out what's truly going on with Tal's PCs, which is a sign of how much he has the inner life for them, and also (in my slightly negative opinion) a sign of how much he isn't really showing it outright in main campaign. And I admit my usual annoyance with Ashton asking Milo to make something but not verbalizing it so that the cast can be surprised when Taliesin shows whatever it was off. I didn't mind it to start, and it made sense with a lot of Percy's things to not take up time, but I've since learned that Taliesin will just do this all the time and yeah. I'm over it. However, by the end of the episode we know at least that the immovable rod was put in the hammer, as well as the scatter spell crystals, so at the very least we know a good chunk, so I feel better about it.

No real comments on FCG's emotional state, especially re: FRIDA, as he right now seems to be keeping it pushed down. However, I did appreciate how much he pushed back on other party members in regards to the opinions of the gods. Things did get smoothed over a bit more easily than I was expecting it to, based on the comments from 6sd, but at the same time it makes absolute sense as this party really is the 'smooth things over' party, especially when compared with VM and M9. I don't consider it a bad thing, tbh, even though I love the interparty drama, because it's a different dynamic that's being explored.

As I've already talked about getting spoiled about the imodna kiss, I'll keep this section brief. 1) I adore how they clearly forgot how Matt held his face to do Zhudanna and I love that they both nearly lost it. 2) Marisha flailing whenever getting romanced will never not be funny. 3) I actually hope that when we next get her on 4sd, she can talk more about the fact that she built a PC to be 'unromanceable'. We know that Liam had designed Caleb to not have another romance, and we saw how that fell apart. I wonder what her thought process was behind it and how she feels about it going forwards, as Liam made the choice with Caleb to RP the unrequited, and then take the steps for the requited, whereas Laura took the initiative with this romance. 4) Pour one out for my mom who is mourning the platonic friendship that she felt mirrored very strongly a friendship that she has which she was enjoying seeing portrayed.

OKay, the NON-romance stuff! I'm very excited to see how it plays out with both Imogen and Laudna feeling the need for power from sources that they feel they can't trust. Laudna not even being able to admit that she wants the power from Delilah, this could be a very interesting road to go down. AND LUDINUS YOU FUCK. So excited to see where else he's dropping his propaganda. Is it just Marquet? It's GOT to be around all of Exandria, right???

Moving on to Fearne, Chetney, and Orym - I'm a little disappointed they didn't share more information with Ajit, but it was a good conversation nonetheless. There were a few things that he said which made me feel as if Matt was leaving a few options open for if the party wanted to do a few paid tasks in town, a la the Mighty Nein. I didn't see any of them being accepted, but I liked that they were still put out there, even if the party is pretty much mainlining the plot at this point. The bounty hunter sent by the shopkeeper was unexpected (or would have been if I hadn't gotten spoiled, dammit) and was a fun mini-combat! I wonder how long Matt had that sitting in his pocket.

THE DUSKMAVEN. That whole scene was SO good! I was a bit surprised at first with how emotional Orym was, considering he didn't really have a connection with her beforehand, until I realized that this was the first time he's been in any temple since the shit hit the fan. I suspect that no matter WHOSE temple it was, he would have been the same way, with the possible exception of the Dawnfather. Having multiple party members receive a vision was definitely a good play, as this moves from FCG being the only one with actual interaction to four members. Vax as an orb forever screaming? fun times fun times. ...there's the morbid angsty part of me that hopes they share that information with Keyleth who shares it with VM. LOOK I LIKE SOME GOOD HURT/COMFORT SOMETIMES OKAY.

LILLIANA ON RUIDUS. LUDINUS ON RUIDUS. IRA ON RUIDUS TALKING WITH REILORA. oh I cannot WAIT to see how things go from here! MOON'S HAUNTED Y'ALL AND THEY ARE GOING BACK WITH A GUN.

#cr spoilers #critical role #bells hells

[thequeenofmyownscreen]

Fifteen things I noted about CR2E126 “Worth Fighting For” :

The lesbians are doing it !! (the date)

I appreciate Travis' commitment to stay frozen during the NordVPN bit. This reminds me of that scene where Grog and Vax were petrified by the fairies in Campaign 1, and they stood their pose for minutes.

This is the year Fjord didn’t regain his dignity. Slap those tits !!

Matt, narrating Jester casting a Restoration on Fjord : "As she places her hands on your chest, even as she tried to warm them up, they're still pretty cold --" Travis, outraged : "Pecs ! My pecs ! My rock hard fucking pecs !" Matt, looking at him in judgement for 2 seconds of silence : "... --on your chest." Travis, accepting his fate : "Yep"

Yasha, talking about the mark on Fjord : "I could try to rub it out. Well, that didn't work with Beau, so..." Travis, out of character, laughing : "How many hands do you need for that ?" Ashley, immediately, also laughing : "I don't even need my hands !"

Awwwww, the flower Veth bought was for Beau ! I really thought Sam was trying to upper-hand it with his intent to have Yasha and Veth do a friend date, but in the end, he always choses grace and friendship.

Oh my god, I love the fake persona Jester was going for during the infiltration of the dance hall. That accent !!! Laura Bailey I owe you my life.

I do feel for Astrid. The simple revelation that she holds it up together until she finds an alleyway and just... cries... for 10 minutes, with no witnesses. Hit me so hard.

Jester, out of nowhere : "I'm going to call my vagina Lady D from now on."

the "Burn your past" speech from Veth to Caleb was... Veth is very interesting to think about in this arc, she's found what she was looking for (her family being safe and reunited) but she's conflicted about abandoning her other family, so she's doing a lot of pushing, not only with Caleb, but also with Fjord and Beau, including what could be considered 'meddling' in relationships... and Caleb's thoughts on what happened with Trent.

THE DATE IS HAPPENING !!! THE LESBIANS ARE DOING IT, well, not it it, you know, but maybe ?? I love how Marisha was taken aback by Liam having Caleb create the tower and making the executive decision that his friend should have her date now.

Caleb narrating the date is him being the greatest lesbian ally ever

"I fell in love with you in Kamordah" OH MY GOD YASHA, it's so soon and yet so not soon because this is literally episode 126 after they met.

I love that most of their friends were watching respectfully (no, really) silent and all, and then there's Laura who's reacting like Aabria and Travis in ExU (meaning : doing funny faces and whispering "KISS")

THE NINJAS !!! the image of Beauregard, straddling Yasha after making out with her, and saying "Sorry babe. Gotta handle these ninjas" is... something ! something in the "This Better Not Awake Anything In Me" territory

I love that Beau and Yasha were making out at location number 3 (...on a date with 9 locations...) of the date, and decided, after location number 4, to just bail and go have sex. Classic !

#my thoughts #critical role #cr campaign 2 #CR2E126

[nochiquinn]

campaign 3 episode 25: fresh cut grand theft auto

mala: happy pride month...?

"sorry max"

ANIMATE?

okay that's sick as fuck

"fire" jglkdfjgkldf

I somehow forgot about taste of tal'dorei

I JUST noticed what sam is wearing

matt is going a face journey with everything erika says about this place

robits

I have missed the last ten minutes bc I was getting a screenshot of the last time sam wore that

Who Just Burped

"sephora-like blast"

oh look my secondhand embarrassment says it's time to go make food

also 90% of this is absolutely wasted on me bc I've never been to Medival Times and I don't drink

like I appreciate a good lore drop but the spa in EXU Kymal hit more for me

"lore! lore! lore!"

okay I'm paying attention now

birdie and ollie

apparently this episode is ~5 hours long but after the last episode of calamity it's a baby

"does she feel real?" "yeah, sure"

"it says fuck"

shoutout to me after I gave birth angrily stating the year and who the president was to prove I was cognizant despite my 103F fever to get them to listen to me

(it didn't work)

the disappointment

"and drink heavily"

travis

chetney

[kanmi voice] fuck you, you're not a royal

"and he's also here"

oh she's trying to butter imogen up, 100% forgot they're in a fight

"you do not have a flesh tongue and I do not cross my eyes"

oh shit oh shit

Meet At Joe's

"I know you're going to anyway, but try not to look like tourists"

"why not"

fearne

FEARNE?

fearne has a vex commemorative plate lksdjflsa

"would you like anything in return?" ashley

"comic sans is an odd choice"

laura's gonna kill sam in the parking lot

delilah go bllleahhhh

I can't believe dwayne johnson would do this to imogen

right after I typed this someone made the exact same joke in discord skdfjsl

"a heartbeat or something" fcg

fcg are we projecting

laudna :(

someone hug the dead lady

tot holder

everybody trying to get imogen and laudna back together

twitch I'll kill you

"that lady's got a lot of love in her"

"I SAW THIS. POTHOLDER. AND THOUGHT OF YOU."

"whitestone is for lovers" skdlfjslk

JOSTENS IS NEVER DOWN

("quinn nobody's gonna get that" that one was for high-school me)

HE PAWNED THE RING

fdlskj dorks

sergeant slaughter

SLEEPY OMAR that's all I need

gonna beat up fcg until he admits he's a person

I have straight-up zoned out for 20 minutes

"furiosa style" caleb style

"I'll figure it out" she will not, she will pop out of polymorph and lie badly

chetney calling fearne princess is giving me grunthor calling rhapsody duchess and if you get that reference I'm so sorry

Big Fearne Energy

YEET CHILD

Mike Hunt

matthew say the names out loud BEFORE the game

the spirit of purvon

I just realized this is literally just chorizo from far cry 6

"he's got LITTLE WHEELS"

erika ishii, known chaos goblin

taliesin jaffe, known erika ishii enabler

I didn't think he was actually gonna go in but he did

"let her step on me" marisha no

A Rock-Based Apology

....pebble and the penguin

"I've definitely learned my lesson" immediate hysterical laughter

"I really wanna steal a crawler machine"

ashton is proud of you, better reload

grand theft fcg

travis is a combination of "WEREWOLVES GDI" and "STRATEGERY GDI"

laura ur vex is showing

liam hears it too

wait what happened I zoned out again

#critical role #spoilers #crititag #liveblog #reaction post #full disclosure I was playing improbable island

[thefiveavengers]

jester and sexuality/romantic inclinations

so, this is my last day of summer break (actually the day before last, but tomorow is monday) and I decided to put into words what my thoughts about this dicey, dicey subject are. First, these are solely my opinons based on 1) watching the second campaign, 2)watching talks machina and the meta knowledge that comes with that and 3) assuming the players are playing in good faith and are open minded to organic changes that might come to their characters along the way.

and second, I do have my biases, and I come from the following inclinations: I ship lavorregard, and I don’t believe Jester is straight.

That said let’s begin. I’ve written a far amount about the lavorregard ship, but mostly focused on Beau’s feelings and her perspective. Right before the ep that Beau reveals the crush to Nott I wrote the following: “ If I were to put a chronology on Beau’s feelings for Jester it would go something like that: 1)“This girl is cute and somehow I like her way more than I usually like, well, anybody” 2) “This girl is cute and we are… friends???” 3) “This girl is cute, we are friends and I love her” 4) “We are friends, I love her AND I think she is hot” 5) “This girl is hot, I love her and maybe I love her as more than friends?”

But last ep I think it shifted to, “I’m definetely into Jester as more than friends and she’s never been hotter AND I think I’m getting to a point where I’m ready to actually process my feelings regarding that and be open about it.”

And lo and behold, the very next ep we saw Beau actually processing her feelings when talking to Nott. But what about Jester?  

         I’ve seen some people express the idea that “wouldn’t it be galaxy brain if all three cr ladies had independently decided when creating their characters that they are lesbians?” and honestly, while a cute thought, I don’t think that’s what’s happening. In my opinion what happened was, Marisha created Beau as a lesbian and she made sure to make that clear as possible from the get go, and one of the reasons I think she did that is because she entered the campaign looking to avoid a pc/pc romance, since the one she was in in cr1 took such a toll on her. She probably figured it would be a safe bet, playing a lesbian she would shield herself from the male characters and most likely the other female characters would not be interested in Beau, right?

      Enter Ashley Johnson. Honestly I don’t think Ashley had such a clear idea that Yasha was (or is) a lesbian. She had a wife, and from what has been said in canon Zualla was her only romantic and sexual relationship. Now, from what we’ve seen Yasha hasn’t expressed any interest in men, but to be fair she hasn’t really expressed interest in much anybody. She called Jester adorable in the very first ep and she seems to be fond of Beau’s flirtations even if not directly responding to them. The conversation where Yasha has said that she has “seen {Beau} a lot” coupled with one of the songs in Yasha’s playlist has me convinced that Yasha has some kind of feelings for Beau, even if is just a small crush. And I say this as someone who doesnt ship Beau/Yasha. I don’t think they would make a good match, but that doesn’t mean I’d deny either of them having interest in the other. But that doesn’t mean Yasha is for sure a lesbian who would never engage with a men ever. She seems pretty adamant on not having any romantic connections, so its hard to gauge really where her interests lie. She is for sure though a wlw. 

      Now, when it comes to Jester and Laura Bailey that’s when things get complicated. I would assume that most of us that have considered the possibility of Jester not being straight have read the excellent essay on comphet by tumblr user fuzzy-face ( https://fuzzy-face.tumblr.com/post/185001577009/you-make-your-own-fairytale-jester-comphet ), so I’m not gonna rehash what she’s said already. While I do agree almost wholeheartedly with this post, I’ll say this, I don’t think Laura Bailey when creating Jester set out to tell a story of a wlw learning how to overcome comphet. But (BUT!,!) I also don’t think her idea was Jester is totally straight and that’s that! I think she created Jester as a sexually and romantically inexperienced young woman that almost immediately got a crush on Fjord because, among other reasons, he reminded her of a hero from her smut books. 

       Recently, with the new upload of talks to the CR youtube channel, I rewatched this talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZqJzNj_1tI , which is about the ep a Hole in the Plan, deep into the pirate arc, but before the first big Beau/Jester moment, the conversation they had in the boat on ep 46. First I must express my annoyance  at the fact that Laura and Marisha are the guests and yet at least 80% of the questions are about Fjord. I know it was in his arc, but COME ON! Also I was very surprised by how open they are talking about Fjord/Jester as if it were a done deal alaready. When anyone involved in Talks claim that they don’t do shipping questions, you should show them this ep because it is all about shipping questions. Anyways, Laura clearly states that Jester has a crush on Fjord (at the time at least) and she compares it to a super intense high school crush. So to me there is no refuting the fact that at least at some point Jester had a crush on Fjord. 

    What I do find it interesting is when you compare her answers in that talks to what she said in the most recent talks she’s participated  ( https://youtu.be/_NmZ2b_Q3So ) which seem to at least indicate that Jester has, on a level or another, moved on from said crush. It’s also, the now infamous moment where Laura talks about Jester’s crush...es. We’ll get back to that.

     That’s all good and dandy, but this is meta outside the game. Let’s go analyze actual in-game developments. As far as I can remember (and I’m not an expert in Fjord/Jester, so I might be forgetting something) these are the moments Jester spoke directly or inderectly about her crush on Fjord; when Caleb point blank asked her if she was sweet on him (to which she answered “I don’t know” and let’s keep that in mind); when she talked to nott about first kisses and the best thing she can say about it is that it didnt make her feel dead, and to me the most significant moment; when she asks the traveler  how to make a boy like her. Now, I’ve seen some people band about this as irrefutable proof that Jester IS straight, otherwise she wouldnt be asking the traveler advice about boys, but in this case she wasn’t talking about boys in general, she was talking about ONE boy and that was Fjord. 

      And that’s the crux of the matter isn’t it? Jester has demonstrated sexual/romantic interest in one man and one man alone, and that’s fjord. That does not mean she is straight. It doesn’t even mean that she, if a wlw, is bi. Her crush on Fjord has been wrapped around in all these expectations and I think its hard to parse how much was just projecting, among other things, the romance her parents had. Also, let me comment on how all these developments were long ago, during the pirate arc, over one year ago in real time.

     Jester has commented about Fjord’s appearance and Caleb’s and even pointed out to Reani that hot boi Essek was hot, but its all done very matter-of-factly. And if we are going to talk about Jester commenting on people’s apperances we have to acknowledge how Jester cannot SHUT UP about how she finds women beautiful. From Beau to Nott, from Reani to random shop girl in Uthodurn and her obssession with the Bright Queen in particular its all very in your face. Once someone wanted to argue with me that this is just how straight girls air their insecurities, and even if that’s true and not just misogyny, the only time Jester commented on a woman’s apperance with any kind of insecure note was one time when she compared herself to her mother.  

     Look, the thing is, if we take at face value every comment Jester has made about Fjord’s looks and strenght, we also have to take at face value how distraught she looked and sounded facing the idea that Beau’s new vestiments wouldn’t let her abs show. Is it funny? Yes, but it’s funny for the idea that Jester is very appreciative of Beau’s abs, which, I’m still waiting for the straight explanation if anyone if willing to give me. 

     To end, this goddamned book that I’ve started, the thing that gives me the most certainty that Jester is not straight and that a Beau/Jester romance is not only possible but likely is that I do not believe Laura Bailey is cruel. If she had no interest in exploring the possibility of a not-straight Jester and a B/J romance she wouldn’t been doing what she has been doing for awhile now.

     And what do I mean about that? I mean that even before Beau’s confession there’s been a different dynamic to their relationship. I already mentioned the “but can I see her abs????” incident, but also her encouragement about beau’s qualities and abilities (beau, you’re super strong), using the traveler as a proxy to her feelings (the traveler thinks you’ll do great, the traveler thinks you’re awesome, the traveler loves you), waiting to hold beau when she went up a column and showing disapointment when she didnt fell into her arms, listening to Beau regarding her wanting to confront her dad, being super, and I mean SUPER bummed out when Beau and Reani kissed and took a walk. And after the confession things ramped up.

   Like, that was Laura Bailey listening to the conversation between Nott and Beau, not Jester. She could have had continued to play out their friendship as usual, but that’s not what she did. She used this opportunity to play the romantic possibility as never before. Making sure that Jester shielded Beau’s body in combat, being VERY specific that when her double cured her, she leaned over her body and put her hands to her face and even contradicting Matt, pointing out that when she woke up, it wasn’t the laughing hand that she first saw, but Jester’s face. And then there’s ep 89, the juiciest lavorregard ep since ep 46. It’s romantic comedy set up, one character confesses their love to a third one, and the one character who is the target of that love starts a conversation with “Are you avoiding me? Because I think I know why.” That’s a romantic trope ladies and gents, and Laura Bailey the genius she is played it to perfection. Not being sure why she was so upset about not curing Beau (a sentiment that battle mercy Jester has never expressed before). Wanting to punish Beau’s dad for not treating her right, getting to an agreement after arguing about tarot and molly. Afterwards engaging Fjord in an activity that she usually associates with beau, that goes disastrously and thanks to the dice gods, I could see, in real time the comphet melting away.

And concluding with the fact that she bet 20 extra gold on Beau on the down low.

So coming back to the idea of Jester having crush...es, to me is very clear those crushes are, the one she has/had on Fjord and her new emerging one on Beau. do I think Jester herself is aware of these feelings? Not really, but Laura sure is.

     look this is not about being entitled or acusing anyone of queerbaiting if my ship doesnt pan out. its just, you know, laura’s sister is a lesbian, and I do think that gives people some perspective that they might not have, and I genuinely don’t think she would be playing things as she is, if she didn’t have any interest in playing out to the end.

#critical role #jester #jester lavorre #beaujester #lavorregard #this got super long and took me a few hours #but anyways these are most of my feelings regarding queer jester

[critical-ramblings]

We still have no timeline for the VM x M9 one shot (possibly will be announced tomorrow) but! It’s Rampant Speculation time! Who do you want to see playing their c1 character, vs who definitely needs to be on Wildemount time?

Liam: I mean....this one’s pretty obvious. I almost feel bad for starting here. But Caleb’s Teleportation Circle may be key in setting up Plot Shenanigans!

Taliesin: People are talking about Whitestone being the key location the Nein visit on Tal’dorei, in which case Percy would also be a key player. BUT even if we don’t limit ourselves to the town that is plot-important to both campaigns, I still want to see Percy vs Beau in full snarking form. ESPECIALLY a Percy who’s such a dad, who has grown into an Authority Figure and thus trips ALL of Beau’s wires.

(I promise I do love Caduceus, and I feel like we might need some of that Caduceus-level chill if this goes about as well as super-hero teamups usually do)

Marisha: speaking of Beau...I honestly would love to see either Beau or Keyleth, but because Beau stands the best chance of actually having heard of VM, and I can literally picture her staring them down saying, “They saved the world, or whatever” I think my vote is on Beau.

(But! Since Keyleth is Vox Machina’s quick-travel similar to how Caleb is the Nein’s, having Keyleth there opens up new possibilities for locations.)

Travis: This one’s actually really tough. I mean, Grog is just so great. But Fjord! I love him! I’m voting Grog only so that he can spar with Beau and/or Yasha.

Sam: No offense to Scanlan, whom I do appreciate as a character and a party member... but I’m a Nott fan all the way. Not only do we avoid any particularly skeevy pick-up lines (you all know it’s true), we also avoid Caleb being forced to attempt murder after he mentions Nott and Scanlan’s immediate reply is, “Goblins?! Ew.”

(Also picture: Nott, trying to steal something small from Vex, whose passive perception ended up being something like 25)

Laura: Another incredibly difficult choice. Could depend on party dynamics; ie if they go for an even split or let everybody do their own thing. My vote personally is for Jester, because sheer joy and chaos is always the better option. Also, I cannot pass up the opportunity for her to visit the Slayer’s Cake.

Ashley: Is Ashley going to be there? Yes! Actually I don’t know! But I’m going to hope! I would actually really love for Pike and Jester to interact, because I think they’re a lot more alike than they look at first glance, and I think Pike would be able to relate to Jester’s struggle for the Traveller to be seen as more legitimate after Pike’s whole subplot in Vasselheim.

So yeah, that’s my hope for the Vox Machina x Mighty Nein oneshot! Four M9 members to 3 VM, but that’s what happens when you have an uneven number of party members. Also I want to reiterate that I will be thrilled with however they do this, this is the oneshot I am MOST EXCITED ABOUT from the kickstarter.

#cr #critical role #the mighty nein #vox machina

[nosafetyknowpain]

Laddy Rewatches CR Campaign 2: Episode 1, Curious Beginnings

*Will Contain Spoilers up to Ep99*

I mostly wanted to do this because I know there’s lore we’ve forgotten about

I’ve rewatched this opening so many times now because it makes me happy

First thing Fjord said about Nott (because she was leering at their table with coins on it): “That’s creepy. Fucking disgusting” The start of a beautiful friendship.

Sam asking if Nott speaks halfling lol Looking back at Nott knowing about Veth is a wild experience and shows how fucking awesome Sam is.

oh, I miss molly....I miss my purple flashy bastard man. 

Molly’s Cards: The Silver Dragon. The Anvil. The Serpent. The Eye. The Moon. The Shadow.

First we hear of Jester looking for her dad

Aaaand first mention of the academy. Poor Caleb.

Laura immediately establishes Jester as a Chaos Machine and I am so here for it

Even though Beau was lying, friendly reminder to Mollymauk that not all disabilities are visible! Beau could have needed the stick to walk! Though, Beau was 100% fucking with him and Molly could tell. (I may also be more critical of Molly because I miiiiisssss him)

God, Matt is such an amazing writer, the carnival scene is gorgeous

We’re also already getting hints of anti-Xhorhas sentiment. Crick-Queen’s call. Terrible beasts from Xhorhas.

I love Marisha’s combat descriptions. It’s clear she knows somewhat what she’s doing and really gets into it and that makes me so happy

Eek, how I am uncomfy with the bloodhunter class. I’m super appreciative of the way that Molly played with this, because it meant the darkest aspects of the class weren’t ignored but weren’t overpowering

Yasha was such a mysterious character from the get go and I love it

#Laddy rewatches CR #Critical role

[cadaceus]

C2E85

Here are my thoughts, notes and liveblogs for Campaign 2, Episode 85 of Critical Role: “The Threads Converge.” This episode... had a lot of content. We got a fight in Pumat Sol’s shop, we got Jester speaking with the Gentleman, we got secrets from Nott and Beau, we got a return to the Empire, and then some hints at the end for bigger battles to come... it was a lot to take in, which is why there are a lot of (very spoiler-y) notes!

- All of them crawling onto the table to try and avoid the Caedogeist is so funny but also relatable dfghjkl

- Uhhh thank goodness Cad cancelled that crit because that would have been bad

- Update: it was bad

- Matt implying that Nott had died from the Caedogeist Critical (before double checking the rules) scared me half to death, do not do that to me Mr. Mercer!

- “Do you know why I joined a Tharizdun cult? Just for the Hell of it!” I am once again asking for a Hideous Laughter compilation sdfghjklh

- BANISHING SMITE !!! FJORD CLUTCH!!!

- I’m so frustrated at this Caedogeist aaaaah. It’s not as bad as the forest fight in Episode 79, but this is pretty bad 

- “Sometimes found family’s better anyway”

- Tbh they are right,  it’s The Gentleman who has missed out on seeing how awesome Jester is, it’s his loss. I still feel so sad for her, though.

- Caduceus admitting (even if just to the Gentleman) that he’s lonely and that he has no idea where his family are, how they are... :((

- Nott: “I haven’t looked at another man other than my husband quite like that.” / Laura and Tal: *immediately mime Minotaur horns* 

- Anyway both Nott and Beau’s secrets... *eyes emoji* 

- “It’s just a crush” insight check because I think Beau’s lying, tbh... I think it goes deeper than that for her

- Beau, drunk and accidentally saying the most iconic line in all of romantic cinema: “I could be her beacon.”

- Okay, this conversation between Jester and the Gentleman actually makes me respect him more than I had previously, and I like how it does give some closure to it. Like do I forgive him, no :( But do I appreciate what he said about “any man can have a child, that doesn’t make them a father”... yes

- Them poking fun at Matt for having the same voice for every crier “’We all have a high bari-tenor voice! We were all raised in the crier’s pits to the West!” asdfghjklhg SHUT 

- Harvest Rise Festival?? We missed a festival?? I’m gonna riot

- Marisha and Liam’s reactions to there being a package for “Nott and Brave” at the Pillow Trove, possibly from Astrid (but mostly just putting it here because I think its cute):

- Taliesin/Caduceus: “Good money if it’s just from the Cobalt Soul trying to sell you life insurance.” / Marisha/Beau, new Cobalt Soul Expositor: “It’s actually not a bad deal.” LMAOOO

- Caleb using the stone to record Jester’s voice and lip-syncing to the person at the front desk...... this is Peak Dungeons and Dragons and I can’t stop laughing

- Sam saying “Do not kill Pumat Sol. I will kill you.” is a mood

- PUMAT’S COMING WITH THEM??? YEE HAW!!!!!!

- Yasha’s conflicted look and Caleb’s conflict at seeing his city again... not yee haw anymore, I’m sad

- Caleb: “I should go.” / Fjord: “Where?” / Nott: “He wants to scan the city.” / Caleb (to Nott): “Come with me.” / Nott, without an ounce of hesitation: “Yes.” Sorry for being emotional over here but god the way she doesn’t even hesitate, I just love them so much okay

- Ooooof so many bad rolls tonight (this is specifically in regards to Caleb’s 6 on the Persuasion check, but it retroactively applies to Cad’s double ones for Perception as well) 

- “This should reveal the fane below” WAIT ARE YOU TELLING ME ONE OF THARIZDUN’S FANE CHAINS THINGS IS BELOW THIS CATHEDRAL THAT JESTER’S SCRYING ON/THAT VENCE IS AT??

- Red and gold are the colors of the Dawnfather, which means Cardinal Respa may be one of the high clerics there, which means... Tharizdun’s Fane

#i could be her beacon #like HELLO??? HELLO???? i'm a beauyasha stan first and a human being second but that got to me... mayhaps im a multishipper and what of it #critical role #c2e85 #cr #my liveblogs #ALSO jester and the gentleman that whole convo was :(((( #c2

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E52 (Feb. 26, 2019)

There’s a lot to unpack here.

This week’s guests are Laura Bailey and Liam O’Brien!

Announcements:

Travis Willingham’s Yeehaw Game Ranch debuted today on CR’s Twitch channel! Travis and Brian will be livestreaming every other week at 4 PM Pacific (alternating with MAME Drop). Today’s episode will go up on YouTube on Thursday. On Monday, March 4, the Kickstarter for the VM cartoon will go live! They’ve been talking about this almost since the start. This episode of TM will be uploaded to YT on Thursday morning, and will be available on a one-week delay in podcast form!

The cowboy hat makes the rounds. Laura points out that she was actually in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.

Okay, on to episode 52: Feral Business. (Liam, just as the splash screen comes up: “That means masturbating.”)

Laura: “I think everybody should refer to their penis as a tiefling. Anyway, continue.”

There’s a discussion about classes for said tieflings. It gets a little out of hand.

Stats! Jester got her 5th HDYWTDT of the campaign against the shoosuva. Caleb has now dealt over 1,400 points of damage. (Liam: “Really?”) Frumpkin got his first natural 20 to perceive the rats and shoosuva. 

Laura and Liam have a heated negotiation about who gets to cuddle the Jester and Kiri plushies.

100% of the out-of-character motivation for the Disguise Self was just Liam missing being Laura’s twin. Liam: “You know, I like to have fun in my D&D games.” They enjoyed getting to sit next to each other again at the live show. 

Brian: “What were you gossiping about?” Liam: “Your tiefling.” Laura: “Specifically yours.”

Jester’s view on Caleb hasn’t changed since his backstory reveal. Laura: “I feel like it makes more sense that he’s more standoffish, and it made me feel much more guilty for the times I gave him shit for being muddy and stinky and stuff.” She points out that Jester got to see a lot of different types of people pass through, not to mention listen in on their conversations, and probably has a broader experience with a variety of people than some might expect.

Liam talks about how Xhorhas is “rough, and the customs are different, but it’s a real place” and not the bogeyman often presented to the Empire.

He objects to a question talking about how Caleb’s planning to take down people in the Empire, pointing out that he’s never confirmed that. Laura immediately concocts a theory about Caleb being a top-secret spy for the Empire.

Laura: “Jester has no idea that her charisma isn’t as high as... Beau’s or... is Beau’s very high?” She loved leading a diplomatic conversation, and didn’t know how it would turn out, but she feels like she killed it.

Snoozy Henry!

Liam: “Caleb’s not scared of being manipulated. I think that’s done.” It feels off being away from the Empire, not because he still feels loyalty, but mainly because everything that matters to him is still there.

Another round of dick jokes comes to a climax (sorry) with “Cocks Machina”.

Gif of the Week! Jester learning the ways of the goth.

If the opportunity presents itself, even in Xhorhas, Jester will 100% pull a prank and try to spread the word of the Traveler. “Nothing is sacred to Jester!”

Laura mentions that she has no backup character planned if Jester dies; she feels like having a backup will make her more likely to accept the possibility of losing Jester.

Jester doesn’t really care about the Empire vs. Krynn conflict. “Political bullshit. I don’t think the Krynn are necessarily evil, but I don’t know.” Liam points out that nobody really knows the motivations behind the conflict in the first place. Caleb mainly sees it as a big mess. “Caleb will still have emotional ties to where he was born and raised, but he knows they’re flawed and awful. They’re really terrible people.”

Laura’s theory: “The Empire stole a lot of artifacts. They stole the dodecahedron. The Krynn just want it back. And now we have it. And we’re fucking everything up.”

Big Tiefling Energy.

Jester on tattoos: “Nah, I’m not afraid of the pain! I can take it! I’m really strong!” She’d totally get a tattoo if the right idea came along.

Caleb isn’t too concerned about the group getting sidetracked, since he doesn’t really have “an agenda for where he wants to go”. He wouldn’t want to do something boring, but that’s not exactly a worry with this group. “They keep going to places with things he’s interested in.”

Laura on Jester’s changing dynamic with Nott: “It’s interesting to find out that Nott’s a mom. She knows what that relationship means, and she is just devastated for Nott that she can’t be with her son.” What seemed the worst was that she didn’t have someone who thinks of her the way Jester thinks of her mom. “I thought about so many times just her not taking a bath. It just makes me so sad.”

Fan Art of the Week! A giant city-tortoise.

Liam: “Man, get a load of Brian’s kenku.” Dani: “This has to stop.”

What the heck does “consecuted” mean? Laura: “I think it means something about being reborn.” Liam: “Yeah, reincarnation.”

Liam on potentially picking the wrong spells: “I don’t worry that I will. I just know that I will.” Marisha warned him.

Brian asks Laura about where her vote’s hovering in the vote for DnD Beyond’s president. Laura: “I feel like Liam has a stronger platform.” Liam: “Is that a dick joke?” Laura: “I’m sitting next to Liam. So Liam.”

Dani: “Contractually, as Sam’s campaign manager, I have to vote for Sam. But he’s also not paying me, so I’m just saying, Liam, if you paid me, I could maybe switch sides. Look, I’m working for exposure only, and I’m feeling very exposed.” Liam: “Listen, my shell corporation will talk to your shell corporation after the show.”

Jester’s not too worried about the group being disrespectful by hanging onto the dodecahedron. “It’s a powerful thing! Look at it! We can play with it!” Liam: “Yeah, it’s not her god.”

Liam: “I miss playing twins.” Laura: “I do too, buddy.”

Henry is moved to the couch when Liam starts literally curling up on the floor to be closer to him:

Jester would create a Magical Viagra spell. Dani: “Like the Wand of Smiles, but for dicks!” Laura: “The point of it would be to just make people feel awkward.”

On Jester checking on Fjord’s tusks: “It’s important to her that he appreciates himself as much as others appreciate him.”

Liam: “My character will probably die soon anyway.” Everyone: “LIAM O’BRIEN.”

Laura points out that Jester’s come closer to death than Caleb. “If anyone’s going to die soon, it’s me.” Brian: “Stop it! Stop!”

Search for Grog Questions (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

The group played a private home game as Vox Machina for fun recently (”It didn’t make sense, but it was fun!”). Liam was envious of the group getting to play their characters again, so he wanted to play something at least VM-adjacent. He also loves building out the world and wanted to continue fleshing that out. “She saw VM, unbeknownst to them, a couple times.” He also wanted to be able to keep people from dying and “breaking the universe.”

Laura on playing VM again: “It was really crazy, and me and Taliesin gave each other the biggest hug after the show. I missed Percy and I missed that relationship so much!”

Having Lieve’tel around was painful, but Vex “didn’t have the same reaction to it the way Keyleth did. It was bittersweet. I think she appreciated that someone appreciated what her brother did.”

Gilmore and Allura’s voices were big moments of nostalgia. Percy-Vex banter. Scanlan wanting to kill Trinket. (Laura really thought she’d have to leave Trinket behind, and the “I can carry him” killed her.) Scanlan’s singing. Pike! Liam: “Roasting the shit out of Travis.” Laura: “Oh my god.”

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

[nochiquinn]

campaign 3 episode 14: well, hell

@ my kid please stop being sick both bc I don't want you to be sick and also so I can watch this episode

skilsldshare #ithasbegin

oh no. oh sam.

sam you made the ai fcg

as travis dies to death in the corner

"oh, it's fun to tease me about my problems"

"pretty white" travis

yeah liam wants to wear essek

I have not watched them yet, see above re: child

SHOCKED PIKACHU

"D- is still a passing grade"

grassened

YOU agreed it was a fistfight

"he's going to die"

nobody wins in a headbutt

"I AM rollies"

hey ashton

hey ashton what the fuck is up with your brain

singe? singe rock? excuse?

taliesin looks so excited lmao

"now kith"

man just pulled a whole mortal kombat finisher

ashton has two speeds and both of them are engaged rn

oooh nice

love the image of him just swandiving backwards

chetney

HAIRSTAB

marisha: "I want them to kiss so bad"

"let me check my notes - yes, he's hot"

fcg gets knocked out from ashton's fight

"are you still up?" "kinda!"

"grinds you across the stone" oh does he now

jengajengajengajenga

"this is not how I wanna spend my weekend" taliesin do you not have a backup character

AGAIN

#ad

fantasy influencers

"I am on cameo"

"the littles are all here" liam, please, phrasing

every time they say "jiana hexum" I hear "jonah hex"

"how many fingers am I holding  up?" ".....how many fingers do you HAVE?"

taliesin

taliESIN

fantasy station wagon

"nobody's gonna make eye contact with you"

fearne my beloved

I also make confused cat noises when I realize people can perceive me

samuel

"I'm Southern all of a sudden" I can see chetney's accent easily trending southernish

I am familiar with the way taliesin is massaging his face, I hope his toothache resolves soon

"FUCK SANTA okay I'm back in it"

"are there holes in the bathrooms" laura

goddammit robbie I was drinking

oh no

laura. laura you don't need to use all the words. LAURA REMEMBER YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE ALL THE WORDS

"paying his debts? in the bathroom? sounds like a lot of work"

the shortened url for skillshare in the corner is how matt pronounced it at the beginning

ashton immediately tries to steal it off fearne

oh I'm so old

"are you talking to fearne or ashley"

WHOMST

"I'm the...unspoken sibling" "I can't imagine why"

"you guys need dice with numbers"

"cannot hide forever, bear. mikhail will find you."

("nochi not every russian brawler type is mikhail from psychonauts" you can't prove that)

lmao all of top table

"this city is not so large" "it goes deep"

"now I'm gonna get my ass kicked in like a month"

"dorian's brother is here" "fuckin idiot" ashton is me

multi-sneezer solidarity

fearne: I am going to be helpful and courteous fcg: who the fuck are you

"she's talking too fast, you should go"

the hair flip

"I'm gonna go bleed next to laudna"

I got distracted by laura and ashley being distracted

oh god it's the pinkertons

"you haven't been drinking at all?!" "not really!" "that's just wasting an opportunity"

dorIAN

roll for potty dance

I feel seen

"potty" and "tummy" just embed themselves in your vocabulary once you have children, I don't make the rules

travis' hug of solidarity

tell me why I heard "short rotund" and IMMEDIATELY pictured a volus

mental associations strong tonight

pre-recorded means I can ask chatbot when the break is and I appreciate that a lot

"no scary holes just normal holes"

shadow creeper go chomp

"it all hinges on your good judgement" oh no

sad pate tap-dance

"you did it yourself!"

rip fcg

thanks I hate it

hair-up ashley!!

"emotional support?" "oh no, who do I have to punch"

"let's go see if everybody's dead"

"no response. he's dead."

liam is one cardigan and one pair of glasses away from peak farmer's market hot

ashley's face is my face

someone reference the ring so I can watch travis try to shake his head off his neck

"I challenge lucien to rollies!"

I Hate It

...sableyes

"it leapt OVER me?" "it's not that hard"

no hitty make angy

mister!!

oryam

laura ships it

MIND WHIP

"don't NAME it"

"it's in my uerethra!"

dorian!!

"I'm just poking everybody"

"he's a bard 🤷‍"

is he, y'know, [mimes sticking it in her pulling it out of her and sticking it in the other guy] a bard?

"things are about to get weird. don't hit me."

fey-touched?? laura??? laura explain??

"I don't have an INVITATION MINI" "why not??"

sacred flamethrower

YEAH

"I will attack with a dagger" ofc

lovm has absolutely spoiled me, I want everything animated

NOT RUSS

"there's a thing underneath the bookcase. I'm going to end it."

matt: give me a name or you're all going to prison

Representatives Of The Late Bertrand Bell is a fantastic group name

"Do Not pick a name right now, got it"

oh I just had a cursed thought

dorian leaves/dies and the group calls themselves The Storm in his honor

orym

oh I take it back orym's gonna die

BELL'S HELLS

dorian is gonna have to throw his name around to stop this isn't he

ROBBIE

TELL THEM I'M SORRY????

ROBERT

"what do you think you're doing" "I DON'T KNOW"

I am Experiencing Stress

ORC GRANDPA

orc grandpa said take a nap

they rolled shit for two weeks straight to save up for this moment

ashton: I need a fucking cigarette

you know what MOOD

excuse u sir that is lorelei de rolo

YEAH NOT-RUSS

ashton

"no shit you stupid son of a bitch"

mala: they need a child leash for Cyrus

oh. uhoh.

"ashton, tell him no!" "nooo"

this is how robbie leaves

okay okay okay but: this way he can come back

he's not a bertrand

go dump his ass with dariax and opal, come back, and pretend not to know anything about it when emon burns down within a week

god ashley's face

liam's face

MY FACE

chetney's utter disregard for cyrus

"I toss it to orym" thanks I'm already crying

"and we killed bertrand"

"I'm not holding a cup" "you are a cup"

fuck cyrus, all my homies hate cyrus

I was mostly joking but uh. I think I was correct.

imagine dorian calls orym and opal just screams NANCY over the line

oyrm: you are required by law to call me

"one less spoon" cries

make him roll one more failed performance check

"are you going to sing it?" "no!" COWARD

oryM KISS HIM

I try not to be this person but KISS HIM

lays in the floor

fearne I don't need this

jflsdjfks

that is NOT what I meant

I mean it's still very nice and it made my heart hurt but a l s o

I am liam

HEY

two parts is INSUFFICIENT but I'll take it

#critical role #spoilers #crititag #liveblog #reaction post