#i'm begging some of you to think critically and realize that Orym making your favorite character sad or not asking their permission

[brjeauregard]

I've decided that I'm not over the "Orym is a manipulator and turning into a villain" takes yet so I'm going to apply that same logic to all of the Bell's Hells

Chetney: Losing control and attacking the party then turning around and being their friend and expecting that friendship in return is manipulative and abusive. Plus the trial he went through to harness the wolf was all about attacking them, how can they possible trust him after that. Not to mention attacking that one shop keeper for no reason and putting the party in further danger because she sent a bounty hunter after him. Very selfish behavior.

FCG: By continuously pushing his view on religion and the Changebringer on the party after they've made it clear they have no interest, FCG makes it clear that he's only thinking of himself. If they really cared about the party then they would respect their view on the gods. It's also very manipulative to try and convince the party that everything is a sign from the Changebringer, especially after they've disagreed multiple times.

Imogen: Defending the Ruby Vanguard and Liliana in front of Laudna, Fearne, and Orym was pretty fucked up. She clearly doesn't care about their trauma and is only thinking about how the red moon situation can benefit her.

Fearne: Stealing from both the party and NPCs puts everyone in danger, but she only thinks about the momentary happiness she gets from it. Ignoring the party when they tell her to not rush in to a situation or lie to someone for no reason shows her clear disregard for their wellbeing.

Ashton: They used party resources to upgrade their weapon without telling the rest of the group. What if someone else wanted to use the immovable rod? Plus the crystals on the end of the hammer could actually backfire and harm the party. It was selfish of him to do so and shows that they only care about what he can get from the group.

Laudna: When the party reunited all Laudna did was complain about her experience in Issylra and made the other group feel guilty about not suffering as much. FCG especially found new joy and a reason to live, but they felt like they couldn't talk about it in front of Laudna. Sure her feelings are valid but she should have thought about the other's feelings before trauma dumping.

See how ridiculous these all sound? It's so easy to twist any character choice in a way that fits your narrative. Orym has been open with the party since the beginning that he's been looking for the people for killed his husband and father for 6 years. Now that he finally has a lead and a way to bring them to justice, he asked the rest of the party to help and they all agreed. He's not manipulating them, he's been clear about his goals since the beginning and the party are all adults who are capable of disagreeing and not helping him.

#cr discourse #critical role #some people are really out here saying that Orym's alignment needs to change #i'm begging some of you to think critically and realize that Orym making your favorite character sad or not asking their permission #doesn't make him evil #it means he's his own character with his own motivations #just like everyone else #and he's been open about his goals since the beginning #all of those characters are capable of calling him out if they don't agree with him #plus narrative tension is good storytelling #the cast loves interparty conflict #if you don't then critical role might not be the show for you #these are all complex characters whose flaws often come up in ugly and unpleasant ways #but that doesn't mean they're bad or evil or manipulative #thought i was over this then logged onto twitter and saw some wild takes again lmao