#molly was as much of an asshole as the rest of the m9

[nellasbookplanet]

I've been thinking about Mollymauk, as I'm periodically wont to do, and the fandom discussion about him as a moral compass. Because the interesting thing here is, Molly wasn’t a very moral character. He was an unrepentant scammer. He had no respect for interpersonal boundaries and would deliberately push and break them. Generally, he was an asshole. As far as actually having a strong moral stance I would say Fjord was the standout of early m9, and to some extent Beau.

But here’s the thing: almost all of early m9 thought of themselves as horrible people. Fjord had been bullied so bad growing up that he still dealt with self-hate from it, and now suffered from survivor's guilt to boot. Caleb had killed his own parents. Beau, while she hated her dad, also had internalized self-hate and on some level thought she’d been such a shitty daughter she deserved his treatment. Nott was stuck in a body she considered monstrous. Yasha had survivor's guilt and knew she’d done bad things in her blank spots. Even when they did good, they didn’t think of themselves as good. Most of them were suspicious and asocial and faced the world with the same kind of distrust they expected to be (and were experienced in being) met with. (Jester was an exception, an agent of neither good nor bad but of amoral chaos)

But Molly was different. He was outspoken about loving life and people. He wanted to spread joy, even to people he didnt know or had even met: he slipped coin into people's pockets, hid a silver in a tree just so some stranger would one day be happy to find it. He openly cared for the party early on; was one of the first to step in and help Caleb when he went catatonic in battle. Above all, Molly had rules: where everyone else would agonize over what was the right or wrong or smart thing to do, Molly loudly proclaimed we don't leave people behind, and we leave every place better than we found it.

But the thing about Molly’s rules was, they were largely a cover. While the rest of the m9 thought they were bad even as they did good, Molly thought of himself as good even as he did bad. He scammed people, but made it a good and memorable experience, therefore thinking he gave more than he took. He charmed Nott and Fjord without consent, and when confronted would claim it was to help them. Out of the group, Beau saw through this, not because she was a better person but because she was a cynic. She saw that he caused harm, just as she did, and was personally affronted that he still thought of himself as good and tried to leave people happy, whereas she deliberately left every place worse than she found it.

I see Molly as a moral compass of the group not because he was actually any more moral than them, but because they made him their template. He was joy and brightness and he died trying to save them because it was the right thing to do, and they all chose to honor him by emulating his rules more than Molly himself ever did, because to them it was more than just a cover, backed up by genuine moral thought and discussion rather than small gestures. He taught them that it was possible to be kind of a shit person and still be good, to still love yourself and others. The idealized Molly they created never existed, and finally died for good when they resurrected him in the end and were met with a stranger, who they welcomed with the same love and care they would've expected Molly to show them.

#critical role #cr2 #mollymauk tealeaf #long post #i know we're all thinking about a different dead pc today but this has been on my mind for a while and i wanted to write it out #i feel like discussions of molly tend to get stuck in two camps: #either 'he was a good kind and perfect moral compass' (lol no) #or: 'he was an asshole and you're all delusional' (also no) #molly was as much of an asshole as the rest of the m9 #but he thought of himself as capable of being a good person and doing good things #and that counted for something even if he backed it up with empty gestures and platitudes bc there WAS genuine care in it #and when the m9 chose to emulate it it was no longer empty #nella talks cr

[samwellwinchesterthebrave]

Ok, I finished episode 141 of campaign 2 of Critical Role. There be spoilers below.

First off, I cried when Matt started crying at the end. And everyone was crying and you could feel the love everybody had for each other. It was beautiful and sweet and ugh.

Ok, Trent got the perfect ending. That motherfucker didn't deserve to be seen as this mastermind of a villain or as a ruthless mage devoted to the ideals he espoused at any cost. Fuck that guy. Also, holy fuck seeing Caduceus angry. Damn.

I'm really happy that everybody got closure. Jester and Fjord adventuring with their crew and Vandren is awesome. I also like to think that Artagan pops in from time to time and is like, hey wanna see a place? And Jester is like fuck yeah, grabbing Fjord's hand and bamfing away even while he's trying to ask questions.

Also Fjord. He's grown into the man he wanted to be, not who he thought others thought he should he. He's grown in confidence, just like all the rest of them. And it was wonderful he got to see Vandren again, got some answers, and got to sail with him again. He has a home now that nobody can take away from him.

Beau and Yasha had beautiful endings. Seeing Beau grow from the angry, closed off woman into the Expositor and significant other she became was great. And she didn't lose her personality along the way. She can still be abrasive, still a bit of an asshole. But underneath it, she is kind, compassionate, and just. The same can be said for Yasha. Kingsley calling her Love when he was first resurrected is so accurate. Yasha is love incarnate and I'm so happy she has someone to love who loves her in return. And getting closure with Zuala, saying goodbye and giving her the flowers 🥺

I'm happy Veth survived and made it home. She's grown so much as a person, is more confident and sure of herself. She knows her worth now, something I think Yeza might have seen all along, even if he didn't know everything she was capable of. I also love the idea of a baby adventurer summer camp. I want all of the m9 to be guest counselors hehe.

Caduceus also got to go home and that was beautiful. I think so many adventuring stories focus on leaving and changing and moving away from where you started. It's nice to see one where the character grows and changes but still does go back home.

Okay, I have to be honest. Kingsley grew on me. I realized, in the day since I watched the first half, that we really didn't get Molly back. The body might have been healed and resurrected, the soul shard brought back, but it's not Molly. And, thinking back on it, I should have expected that. Taliesin has made it clear that he considered Molly gone. Even when Caduceus had the chance to res him, he chose not to. So it makes sense, in hindsight, for Kingsley to exist. Yes, maybe he was Molly. And I like the idea of Kingsley calling Molly his brother. But that's not who came back. He's enough like Molly for it to be bittersweet but different enough that I can appreciate him for himself. (Also I have a type when it comes to fictional characters)

And last, because he's my favorite, Caleb. It feels rather appropriate that he and Beau worked to take down Trent and, eventually, the rest of the Assembly. Working towards the better future he was always taught to work for, to help the Empire he was raised to have loyalty to. He is the kind of man who should be teaching the next generations of mages. For so many reasons. It's the perfect place for him. Also, I'm thrilled he and Essek did indeed get together. There's something beautiful in two wounded, lonely people finding love and acceptance in each other. And when they went to Aeor and decided not to change the past, I was so proud of them. Though, I have to admit, I think Caleb's plan was pretty damn good in regards to not changing the timeline a whole lot. But even one life creates ripples, two even more. And though I, like Liam, love me some angst, I also like to have it end in fluff. So I like to think that, when thinks get too dangerous for Essek and his illusions and other identities fails, he uses the transformation spell. I think that these two wizards learning their limits and not changing the past is very good but changing your situation in the present is perfectly acceptable. I could see Essek choosing to become a half elf or human in order to hide. Because who would expect him to give up centuries of life, on the run as it may be, for much shorter decades? (Also lifespan angst makes me sad) But Liam and Matt told a beautiful story and I can't fault them for it. I just like to imagine a slightly different set of circumstances that is happier for me (yay headcanons) Though I'm still secretly thinking that transformation spell is gonna come into play in a one shot in the future.

I also have questions. Well, one major one. Was Matt throwing in a campaign 3 plot hook with Kingsley's story and seeing the black chains breaking and hearing a primal scream before he got resurrected? Because that immediately screamed Tharizdun to me but none of the rest of the cast reacted. I even looked specifically at Marisha because she was putting all the dots together earlier but she didn't seem to react. Am I reading too much into it thinking it was a reference to Tharizdun and not just the city being freed?

Overall, it was lovely. A beautiful ending that made me cry. I've been so happy to nerd out with these nerdy ass voice actors about their dnd characters. I can't wait to see what comes next

#critical role #cr spoilers #c2e141

[there-are-things-i-dont-forget]

SPOILERS FOR CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 2 BELOW

I just wanted to talk about how much the Mighty Nein and Matt and Critical Role have meant to me over the past few months. I started Campaign 2 in January this year, when I moved out for university and was able to live on my own for the first time. They quite literally saved me, because I cared so much for the setting and the characters and the story that Matt wove and how the players interacted with them that I hung on just to see how it would end. 

For me, it was amazing how I could relate the characters to aspects of myself, and how watching them all get their happy endings have made me be able to look forward with a bit more hope.

Let’s start with Beau. I’ll be honest, Marisha’s characters are always the most challenging for me, because of how real they are. Marisha is a stunning actor, incredibly skilled, and Beau was the character I responded to the most as if it was a real person. Everyone else I could enjoy and play into the metagame of watching the players be characters. With Beau and Marisha, it was so real. Moreover, I could see myself reflected in the character (which is probably why I found her so challenging to begin with). Trauma, hurt, being an asshole to other people before they could reject her first. Not the best at compliments, giving in to anger and sarcasm, struggling to connect. And I got to watch her grow, and be accepted, and learn from her mistakes, and be appreciated by who she was, and in the end get vindication on her abusers, and find love and acceptance. Beau’s story is incredibly special to me.

In that same vein is Yasha’s. Manipulated, taken advantage of, forced to do things against her will. Yasha’s story is the one that I can relate to the most, in terms of trauma, and to see her quite literally rip the wings off of her abuser was cathartic in a way that I did not expect, but should have foreseen. And in the end, she also got her happy ending. I’m gonna leave it at that, because any more will make me cry. But I hold her and her character arc so close to my heart.

Liam’s performances are the hardest for me to watch because he feels so much, and I love it. He really gives it all to the scene and it is incredible. Caleb was a character that I overlooked for a bit in the beginning (as Jester had quickly become my favorite), but he quickly climbed as we began to see more of his character and his backstory. Manipulated and groomed by someone he was supposed to be able to trust, forced again to do things against his will, falling in to flashbacks and panic attacks, struggling to rejoin society and interact with others, a love and a passion for learning to a nearly obsessive sense, both for the love of it and for the possibility of gaining the power and strength needed to take back control. Slowly learning to love, to grow, to find friends and see that there can be more to life, that you don’t have to be ruled by your trauma or let it define you, but also still acknowledging it and its effects. But also just how long it takes, and how it can affect you in ways you cannot imagine. He also got his vindication on his abuser, and again, I cried, tears of happiness for him and of grief and hope for me, that one day I might be able to do the same.

Caleb, Yasha, and Beau are the ones I relate to the most because their story is my story, and watching them grow and love means it can happen to me as well. I cannot stress how important and incredible it is for me to realize that. In the more material sense, they all got closure and catharsis against those who hurt them, and they all learned to love again, to open their hearts and let others in again. And that means I can too.

This brings me to the Shadowgast love story. I know this is really controversial for the fandom and I don’t care. For me, their arc was perfectly realistic, and their ending was exactly what I expected for the characters. Finding a kin spirit, learning together, hesitant but trusting in the other’s passion for study at the very least, slowly and naturally growing closer and learning more about each other, revealing more. The betrayal from Essek, the scene on the boat, the slight recoiling on either side, and then learning again, slowly trusting again and teaching each other to forgive themselves, that they were both victims in a sense and that they can take back control and do better, and choose to do better and be better. Slowly healing, and healing together, knowing the worst of each other and choosing to stay but still acknowledging those parts of each other. The scene where they return to the T-Dock and they talk about time travel, and Caleb disintegrates the whole thing? That’s growth, and that’s growing together. And they continue to grow for years, and heal for years, and eventually they end up together, but it takes time. Of course it does. And Essek’s character and this ending really helped me understand some of my own feelings in terms of friendship and romance. Everyone upset that there wasn’t any “on screen” romance or whatever, to me, fundamentally misunderstood the character, especially since his love language does not seem to be physical touch at all (if anything it’s gift giving/acts of service - teleporting the M9 around? Helping Caleb solve the spell? Giving up to dunamis gem to help the M9 get a long rest?). But yeah. Watching characters like that help validate my own experiences in friendship and romance and it was fantastic. 

The others I have a bit less in common with, but there’s still stuff to talk about. Veth having her body changed by someone else, something out of her control, feeling alien in this body and struggling to find a sense of self, then finding friends willing to pour everything into helping her be herself again? Fjord learning he is valuable whether or not he has powers/can serve others, that he has worth just as himself, and that that is enough? Those were stories I needed to hear, to know that something like that is possible.

Caduceus growing out of his comfort zone, exploring, learning, but still being a rock for the others (and for the viewers), and "Pain doesn’t make people. It’s love that makes people. The pain is inconsequential. It’s love that saves them."?  Molly’s loyalty and “leave every place better than you found it”? Even if I couldn’t relate directly to the characters didn’t mean they didn’t have an impact, and these are things that I will carry with me always.

Jester. I have just about nothing in common with Jester, and I loved it. Her optimism, her jokes, and her art (including the dicks), just the absolute light and joy that was her character was exactly what I needed to get through some of the toughest times of my life. Watching her grow from episode one to episode 141 was insane, to mature but not lose her creativity and her fun for life. She was my reminder that there is good and light and hope in the world, even if sometimes you have to create it for yourself, and that is what kept me going sometimes.

And finally, Matt. I cannot give enough thanks to you for choosing to share this amazing world and this story with us. Your storytelling is what prompted me to finally put my ideas into writing, and now I’m working on my own book. Along with Jester, Essek is one of my favorites, and his story arc and characterization was incredibly important to me. I truly have no words for how Critical Role and especially you, with the care and passion and obvious love for storytelling that you have, have changed my life. And I cannot thank you enough.

Am I sad that the campaign ended? Maybe a little. I will miss these characters. But I truly believe that Matt ended the campaign at the perfect point, and I loved the final episode, it made incredible sense for the end of the characters (maybe a teeny bit more Marion/Babenon? But I digress). I’m sure Campaign 3 will be just as astounding.

My love and thanks to the cast and crew of Critical Role. Rest well knowing you did a fantastic job, and I’ll see you in campaign 3.

PS: I know there’s a lot of tags, I want to make sure I cover all my bases so people don’t get spoiled if they have these tags blocked because I have been spoiled too many times by people who tag badly.

#critical role #critrole #critical role spoilers #critical role campaign 2 #critical role campaign two #the mighty nein #mighty nein #m9 #beauregard lionett #yasha nydoorin #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #veth brenatto #fjord stone #caduceus clay #mollymauk tealeaf #matt mercer #jester lavorre #cr #cr spoilers #cr campaign 2 spoilers #cr2 spoilers #c2ep141 #critical role finale

[grayintogreen]

So we’re in the endgame now and I’ve been thinking a lot about Lucien’s inevitable fate. Now I LOVE the guy, nasty boi that he is. He’s fun. He’s an asshole. He’s exactly like Molly, except that he has nine sugar daddies in his head convincing him to use all of that flimflam he excels at to be a fucking nightmare cult leader bastard.

(Sidebar: is this why Molly’s charisma was lower than it should be? Because he didn’t use Lucien’s charisma the way Lucien did? Fascinating.)

BUT therein lies the dilemma. Bitch gotta die. That’s a non-starter. I’m pretty sure Caduceus’s point about the Nonagon being Lucien’s rabies is accurate and that removing that from the equation might level his dumb ass out, but when it comes down to it, will they resurrect him and try to get Molly back?

Personally, I think Caduceus is gonna be the one, as the least volatile about it, to make the suggestion- he seems like he was pretty keen on the idea, even if he’s also like “hey I have no personal attachment to that body and you’re literally a thing of my nightmares so if I have to personally end you I will.” It’ll be up to the rest of the party if they want to chance it- and only if it meant Lucien would come back without the nine eyes, because at that point, he’s not really a threat and they can find out how much of the corruption was in those rather than Lucien.

Again, “big if.” I don’t know if bringing Molly back is even a priority anymore. Saving the world is. When the dust settles, it might be a conversation, and only if there’s NO ONE ELSE to bring back or if there’s even a body and Lucien doesn’t get devoured by the Somnovem as is probably at least 50% likely.

But let’s assume that happens. Let’s assume they all agree. 

Molly was a sliver that existed as a piece of the whole left behind when Vess did her soul crush. Whether we believe that Molly’s sliver died and Lucien is just existing without it or he’s been lying full tilt about it and THAT’S why he can’t fucking let go of the M9 and seems to be fucking obsessed with them, despite seeming to have no actual use for them is a non-issue. If Lucien dies and they bring back Molly, I don’t think they’re just gonna get that one sliver. They’re gonna get Lucien as a whole back, because Molly and Lucien are the SAME PERSON. They’re just different versions of the same person. You can tell that Matt built Lucien that way- he took Taliesin’s concept for Molly and built a backstory into it and a horrible nightmare cultist vibe. If Lucien and Molly weren’t clearly meant to be the same person (Molly is just Lucien with his baggage removed and a better environment to grow and flourish in), then Lucien wouldn’t be ANYTHING like Molly. There would be zero overlap at all.

So if they bring Molly back, they’re going to get Lucien too, probably a little fusion dance of the pair, like I’ve mentioned before. I have a lot of ideas about how the Somnovem arc is gonna play out and at least one of them is that the Somnovem are gonna betray Lucien once he’s no longer any use to them. He’s clearly a pawn high off his own power. The Somnovem are nine Trent Ikithons gone mad and they just want stooges to mold and shape the way they want to get where they need to be.

I’m babbling, but basically I think bringing Molly back without considering that Lucien is a whole-ass person (the SAME person in many ways) too, who has been corrupted and twisted and become this monstrosity is doing a little bit of disservice to both Molly and Lucien. I think they need to be whole again and figure out who they are now that they’re no longer bound to the Somnovem, and I think that makes for an interesting story, alongside the nature vs nurture concept that Matt has already set up. Also with Essek, it brings the party to nine, and if the purple redemption boys get to hang out when they’re not with the party proper, I fuck with that.

Also, like, I’m 100% sure that even if they bring Molly back as a level 14 Blood Hunter, Taliesin is gonna be like “yeah I’m definitely not gonna play him as a PC again and deal with all THAT baggage when I could play Caduceus trying to rehabilitate his stupid ass.”

I could be wrong about that! Cad’s arc could end here, since this was his goal all along, but I don’t feel like it’s going to when there’s still Caleb and Fjord storylines to wrap up. And also Tharizdun out there... being awful. Somewhere.

This, of course, all depends on if they bring Lucien/Molly/Mollucien back to begin with, which MIGHT NOT HAPPEN, but if it did, this is the storyline that works for me, personally. I’d be cool with whatever they did! Obviously. It’s their game, Dave. But god I just want the delicious un-fucking of Lucien’s cult bullshit to bring about a better version of himself due to Molly’s influence. It’s a delicious way to end that arc. Mwah.

#critical role #look lucien is a bitch and i LOVE HIM SO MUCH #and i love molly #but i really want matt to keep playing mollucien because he's great at him and also i need to not lose caduceus #it's a hard knock life for me #i'd fuck with tal playing struggling to cope molly too #i think he'd be good at it #but it also makes me feel HORRIBLE for molly because there's so much he'd have to deal with #i know i wouldn't feel up to playing molly as a pc after he's been gone over a 100 episodes and almost murdered his friends #and ended the world #mollymauk tealeaf #lucien #lucien the nonagon

[crowtoed]

I’ve been reflecting and I’ve had a good two years to do so. I’d say if Matt had sprung this a year, even six months ago I’d be hissing like a cockroach- but I feel sufficiently detached now from the initial pain of Molly’s death. And if folks remember, I was angry about it. Not send Matt threats angry, but feeling very stung and a betrayed. With that much separation and years of embroidering my goddamned version of the coat, I can say that I don’t want it to be Mollymauk. I mean, that’s the lavender tiefling meat puppet trudging through the snow obviously, but I’d rather Molly be in the Great Beyond than brought back... well... wrong. And it’s been two years: to open the wound again? To have that awkward period while everyone figures out how a Molly and a Caduceus would work from a logistical perspective? For people to be angry because Matt or Taliesin isn’t “playing him right” because our legend of him has grown so far past his 26 episodes? That said, I want to see him again. Let the m9 settle this and put to rest the body again, but maybe Molly comes through for a moment. Maybe he says he’s impressed at how far they’ve come, what they’ve pulled off, how less of assholes they are now. But send him back on his adventure to that great Undiscovered Country, as it were.

#critical role spoilers #cw: grief #musings #pls don't come after me it took a lot before I was able to get to this point #or even write this

[ozbian]

Critters, it has been awhile since Travis' last TM ... so here's a bullet point summary of recent events

I know that a LOT of good good stuff happened last episode, but I don't want us to forget to ask about the older episodes!

(List is mostly cribbed from Critical Recap, tries to focus on major events and stuff most relevant to Fjord and Nott)

...

(Travis' last TM - post Ep 84, with Laura)

Ep 85 - The Threads Converge

Battle with the Inevitable End, following the assassination attempt on Caduceous in the previous episode

Pumat raises the possibility of dispel magic working on Yasha

Nott talks about how she feels wrong interacting with her family while disguised as Veth, and she doesn't feel like she's making a genuine connection

Confrontation with Gentleman about Jester's parentage. He denies it pretty coldly, Jester is upset, Cad smells something fishy

Fjord & the others comfort Jester

Caduceus manipulates the Gentleman by talking about his past and asking him to check on the Savalier Wood and his family

Nott and Beau tell each other about their crushes on Caleb and Jester Beau respectively

Jester confirms the Gentleman is her biological father and they have a sad and important conversation

Caleb disguises himself as Jester and collects her mail, they get Astrid's address

Jester scries on Yasha, they're in Rexxentrum

M9 port to Rexxentrum which is under Krynn attack

Caleb is back in Rexxentrum! He is not okay!

Caduceus is in the middle of a fuck-off massive city! He is also not okay, but less not okay than Caleb.

The M9 make their way through the krynn attack until they arrive at the temple.

Ep 86 - The Cathedral

Fight with the cultists and the Cardinal, Nott kills the Cardinal

Laughing Hand and Yasha arrive, Inevitable End also arrives, Yasha nearly kills Beau

Nott is mindwhammied

Yasha is freed!!!

Obann retreats taking Nott

Pumat Swole offers to stay behind to hold off the cultists while they chase Obann and the M9 reluctantly agree

Guilty short rest

Fjord says he'll take Yasha up on some of her grief and regret and hits her for 19 damage to regain 9 hp

The M9 eventually figure out how to get into the secret chambers

They find Nott awaiting their arrival, Caduceus dispels magic and frees her, Obann's attempted ambush fails and he disappears from sight until Fjord casts Faery Fire, Fjord gets mindwhammied and walked into one of the sacrifice pillars. Caduceus frees his mind but doesn't have enough movement left to get him out of the pillar, Fjord steps free next turn

Yasha gets the hdywtdt on Obann and rips off his wings

The M9 see Obann transformed into Punished form by his evil god ... there are tentacles and teeth and eyes

Ep 87 - Punishment and Politics

Caleb gets swallowed but he cool-ape mans out of it

Caduceus gets swallowed (again) and since everyone's shrouded in darkness no one knows

Beau goes down

Jester is down. No healers...

Fjord nearly takes Obann down

Kadogeist gets the hdywtdt!

Caduceus mass deals and offers to hug the Kadogheist...

Pumat is relatively okay but Nott gives him a potion

Fjord touches the Laughing Hand's body and it poofs into ash, he covers by saying "Let the winds take you to your place of rest" and Caduceus compliments him

M9 are held not under arrest and Caleb is not okay, Fjord checks in

Yasha is updated on happenings incl Fjord's voice change

Meeting with Dwendal (& Allura), Beau implies to Dwendal that she used M9 to get in with the Dynasty & specifically comments on traveling with goblins and half-orcs (and caduceus!) (clearly using the King's prejudice to manipulate him)

Dwendal threatens the M9 with treason against the empire notwithstanding half of them don't even go here?

Parlay with the Dynasty is possible!?

Trent is an asshole and the M9 form up protectively around Caleb when he approaches them

Ep 88 - Unwanted Reunions

Kameruth Cottage!

Fjord gives Yasha the book that Caleb gave to him : )

Caduceus inadvertently inspires the M9 to plot Trent's murder to keep Caleb safe

M9 also plot for world peace

Fjord and Clay talk about honesty and camouflage, and Clay gives him the Wild Mother symbol he crafted at the Force

Yasha dreams of the Storm Father

Meeting with Martinet Ludinus, Jester is charming af, Ludinus politely holds Yasha's potential prosecution over the M9

Meeting with Trent and Eodwulf, Caleb is not okay but he holds his own anyway, Nott fishes for info

Shopping for diamonds and bone instruments

Fjord wants a tournament

(Sam's last TM - post Ep 88, with Liam)

Ep 89 - Lingering Wounds

Downtime

Nott and Fjord continue to walk through the capital city of the Empire undisguised, Fjord proudly wearing his WM symbol

Yasha reads her book from Fjord

Jester messages people

Caleb takes Fjord and Nott by the academy and talks about his past

Beau does a deep lore dive into Empire history

Jester offers to help Fjord with his work out like Beau does, Fjord gives himself a hernia

Jester and Beau have an important conversation, Beau gives Jester Molly's tarot cards

Caleb goes off on his own and talks to Astrid

Fight Club!

Beau beats up a fit older guy

Fjord and Darrow fight with weapons, fjord using his new blade

Darrow remarks that Fjord's been getting into weird stuff, Darrow goes pretty hard and seems to feels a bit bad about it later, Caduceus doesn't cancel a crit, Fjord goes down, Darrow brings him back to consciousness and is too nice about winning, Fjord snaps at the healer who comes out to tend to him and goes to get a drink

Yasha intentionally gets beat into unconsciousness and tries to play it off, Caduceus and Jester are Concerned

Episode 90 - Bathhouses and Bastions

M9 plot and plan their day,

Fjord asks Beau about her workout routine and carb loading

Clay remarks that Trent was telling the truth very carefully

Fjord has a spa day, M9 are supportive, Jester offers up her hair growth solution to assist with his beard endeavours

To the library!

Jester looks into Molly's tarot deck, lore drop!

Clay tries to find out how he should comport himself at a Traveller Convention, there's not much there but he found out it's happening on the longest day of the year

Beau and Caleb go digging for info on uncovered beacon

Nott helps Caleb break through his research, he comments that Nott's husband is a lucky man, Nott checks in, she offers support with Astrid and Caleb doesn't tell her about his visit, long hug : )

Fjord meets up with the party after the spa and asks for feedback from the M9 who are complementary: -

Yasha: your skin looks quite beautiful

Clay: you're glowing

Jester: it looks like you've got a little stubble coming in there

Shopping, Yasha & Jester get their commissions

Traveller doesn't appear and Jester is worried

Group Spa Day!

Party meet up with Darrow, Jester invites him to the Bathhouse and Nott encourages this (is she trying to matchmake with Darrow and Fjord or did she think he was hot and want some eye candy or both or neither??

M9 bamph outta the Bathhouse to Xhorhas in bathrobes

Fjord insists on changing into his normal clothes while everyone else walks on as is - Caleb pranks Fjord using illusion

Meeting with Essek, he is in so deep with the M9, they plot

Dynasty has found a traitor, the Taskhand, Fjord disguises himself as Vence to try and get some info, dude was clearly under some kind of mind control

Meeting with BQ, Caleb is very eloquent, Clay is very honest, Nott is very intently staring at Yasha when the M9 talk about their unnamed formerly mindcontrolled friend, Yasha is very brave

Essek is in very deep with the M9

Essek is invited to dinner but declines : (

#critical role #talks machina #Fjord #Nott #mighty nein #Travis Willingham #Sam Riegel #Brian Foster #Dani Carr #is it tuesday yet? #q&a

[bankerofbones]

📌💕🏳️‍🌈 for w/e hyperfixation u got on mind

📌 how did you find your hyperfixation?

both of my step parents are into it and id been seeing it on my dash for so long that i just decided to give it a go

💕 tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

molly has been my favorite character since i got into it, even before then! i really like his design and his personality is so appealing i absolutely love how kind and caring he is while still being kind of a snarky asshole. its also fantastic how much hes affected the rest of the m9 like beaus tattoo and their motto of leaving every place better than they found it HES just so good i am in love with this man.. also hes canonly bi and genderfluid and that fills me with joy also the first art i saw of him i thought he was a lesbian and dating jester... also thought like laura/marisha played him 

🏳‍🌈 do you have any headcanons (lgbt, race, neuro, etc) that are important to you?

i REALLY like osdd (or did) molly/fjord/caleb especially since i like to project on them and its really fun. bi and autistic caleb (si arcana, history, and cats) is also important to me-- it hasnt been like canonly stated but its pretty obviously implied. i also really like native yasha just because of her tribe references and facial tattoos and makeup ALL trans/gay m9 hcs are really good... trans cad, jester, fjord, and essek are some of my favorites but i like all of them

#speaking of autistic cad would also be very good we're very similar in our mannerisms #THANK YOU FOR SENDING sorry im just crazy #Anonymous

[yfere]

Shipping Calculus! Live Updates from C2E55

“What about shipping calculus? Isn’t the shipping calculus going to be interesting?” people have been asking, and boy oh boy have we wanted to deliver this quickly, but three things happened: 1) Three quarters of our staff took sick days after the episode aired because the anxiety made them physically ill, 2) the Angst Points statistical program we use was overloaded and we had to recalibrate it to handle larger loads of data, and 3) one asshole decided to write fanfiction on company time instead of doing their job.

+10 to Caleb/Cat-Shaped Creatures or in this case, cat-shaped spells. Caleb may have a big heart, but if you want a place in it you’ll have a tight squeeze beside his massive love for massive pointy-eared, bewhiskered, four-legged folk. Bonus points because Caleb’s cat-love apparently gives him game with the rest of the party, between Fjord’s MeeeOOOW and thinking Caleb’s spells are super sexy, Jester going right for Caleb’s goopy center with the “big heart” comment, and Caduceus Clay Grinning Like A Fool.

+10 to Caleb/Fjord/Jester between Jester’s “Caleb is going to kill me, and Fjord is going to finish me off!” belief of the two Charmed and Charming Men (alas, Jester, you could have been charmed with them!), and then Fjord and Jester both standing over Caleb’s unconscious body, desperately trying to keep him and each other alive. For the record, Caleb tried his best to help them too. Mostly he managed it by accidentally tanking and absorbing damage with his multiple KOs.

-2 to Jester/Succubus While Jester was open to the flirting and pursuing the relationship, the succubus decided Jester wasn’t her type after all.

-30 to Beau/Incubus Neither Beau nor the Incubus were each other’s types. What the nine hells was he thinking? If he’d only checked in with Caleb before trying, Caleb would have let him know he should spare himself the effort.

+15 to Fjord/Detective Work Fjord is definitely out to oust the Detective Agency as Wildemount’s #1 Detective, between discovering the beginnings of anchor glyphs being sketched in the tunnels (identified and destroyed by partner Caleb Widogast, rubbings taken by Beauregard), and then discovering the Big Bad Abyssal Anchor that had been causing all of their trouble in the first place (alongside partner Caduceus Clay, identified by partner Caleb Widogast). The Agency needs to work on defending their reputation! Perhaps those documents Nott located on the Succubus will help them gain some ground next week.

-10 to Caleb/Uk’otoa and Fjord/Uk’otoa as for the second time Caleb puts up his middle finger at Uk’otoa’s Super Special Powers and Anyone Fucking with the Wall of Fire. Fjord was sadly robbed of the chance to admire Caleb’s guns as he was knocked himself against some stalagmites by the bidet he summoned. He and Caleb are equally stinky now though, which seems….symbolic.

+15 to Caleb/Fjord as besides being the most compatible Detective Duo outside of the Agency, how Fjord shows Absolute Implicit Trust in everything Caleb says and does. Destroying the glyphs perhaps not a good idea? Absolutely shouldn’t destroy them. We should destroy the glyphs? What a wonderful idea! The only person to support Caleb’s Abyssal Riftmaker in the Bag of Holding idea before Caleb himself thinks better of it. Stays put for as long as Caleb asks in the tunnel, literally saying they’re staying put because Caleb said so, and coming forward again because he said so as well. Sure, he and everyone else got blasted to smithereens for it, but though Caleb/Leadership got -10 points, Fjord was probably mostly just impressed by Caleb’s ability to totally murder him and shoot down all his magical abilities. Concerned and hurting, yeah, bruised in body and ego, but a little turned on, all the same.

-5 Fjord/Self Confidence as Fjord attempts self affirmation exercises to build himself back up after Caleb Fucked Him Up, screaming “I’m not useless!” as he just barely manages to kill a quasit.

-50 Nott/Being a Team Player between healing the mildly-injured wizard in preference to all her other friends he brought to the precipice of death, and forgetting for the second time (third time?) that making things explode while her friends are around causes collateral damage. She’s picking up some bad habits from Caleb in the explosion department.

-3 Caleb/Humor No spell will ever make him laugh. Points mitigated because the joke was a bit questionable.

+8 to Beau/Tough Love. Tries the Diplomatic Friend approach with Caleb, nearly gets set on fire. But beating some sense into Yasha proves effective! Experiments show that fists are the only way to solve problems, guys. And she can do it from a distance now, hey!

+20 to Beau/Yasha. Did not know it was possible to gain so many points while the player for the character is absent! Nonetheless, Yasha continues to carry on the M9 shipping tradition from Fjord, not of having a crit of love, but having crit fails of love. It’s almost as if a part of Yasha was resisting hitting Beau in particular, but once Beau cottoned onto the fact that Yasha wasn’t on her ass in exactly the way she was hoping, Beau too carried on the M9 shipping tradition from Molly of beating your partner back into awareness. Yasha had to scamper off to murder a demon before she could get a kiss, though. Damn.

+4 to Jester/Beau as Jester begs for the enemy to come after her instead, and not Beau. Does the plea make logical, strategic sense, what with Beau’s higher AC, higher HP, and reaction punches? No, but love is rarely logical and strategic. Love is just love. Beau and Jester also bond once more over their love of chopping up dead demon bodies. Compatibility! Keeping the huge demon heart is probably symbolic of something.

+2 to Fjord/Jester as Fjord makes sure to choose Jester’s side of the flanking formation, just to make sure she doesn’t end up alone again.

+2 to Caleb/Jester Another rollercoaster week for a Jester ship! We should be glad we aren’t in negatives with these two! Peak Widojest with the “big heart” comment, with Jester telling Caleb to catch up, with Jester as always standing over Caleb’s unconscious body (whether faking or otherwise!), spending all her time healing him even before Fjord came to help, and dragging him away from the fray. #ItPaysToBeADamselInDistress. How even casting spells against Caleb, Jester chooses the one that will make him less dangerous without hurting him. Points taken away because Jester chopping up bodies brings up supes unpleasant memories, and Caleb came terribly, terribly close to murdering Nugget. The dog is off limits. I guess we could mention Caleb nearly murdering Jester, too. There is that.

+2 to Caleb/Caduceus “I can definitely see you,” Caduceus says with delight as Caleb attempts to stealth. Alas, Caleb is concentrating on Srs Bussniss and does not respond to Caduceus’ poking (Question: Are all Cads ships fundamentally based on banter???) Caduceus trying very hard to heal Caleb in battle despite being in Lots Of Danger, and Caleb’s gift finally coming to use as Caduceus is knocked out for the crime of focusing too much on healing people besides himself. Caduceus making sure to give Caleb resistance while he tries to identify the Abyssal Anchor. I mean, gods forbid he should die, right???

+15 to Caduceus/Death “That was invigorating,” he said. Dying, but getting that sweet confirmation you are on the right path to your personal quest in the process? That’s great. That’s so cool. Can’t wait to do it again.

-20 Taliesin/Periapt of Wound Closure. That item is cursed for you, my guy. That’s 2/2 times you’ve used it and your characters have died. It’s dangerous!

-500 The CR Cast/Sam’s Terrible Beauregard Puns. Stop!!!!!!!!!!

+1000 yfere/Stress ..........................................................................this episode.................

#cr spoilers #critical role #widofjorester #widofjord #widojest #fjorester #clayleb #beauyasha #lavorregard #beaujester #jestregard #please blue gals fans....just pick one ship name so i can tag it #this ep was stressful and observations/calculations may have been affected #we're still troubleshooting the Stress Bug in the statistical software #shipping calculus

[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

[c-is-for-circinate]

I’m sure CritRole fandom has already been well down this road, conspiracy theory-wise, but I’m still 15-20 episodes short of catching up and I want to write this down while I’m thinking about it...

So, I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about Molly’s deep conviction that he’s not Lucien, whoever-the-fuck Lucien was, whoever had this body and this life before him, that Mollymauk Tealeaf is a different person altogether with his own independent life and existence.  Many of those feelings are related to the fact that, as an independent person, Molly got to be alive for all of two years and that’s heartbreaking; some of them relate to the moment Molly and Beau both agree that they feel nothing for their pasts, nothing whatsoever, and Zone of Truth says they both mean it because neither of them realize how badly they’re lying.  (Terror and bitterness are both emotions.)

Molly is more frightened of the things that happened before his memory than anything else in the world.  More afraid than death.  A lot of it is the fear that he was a terrible, awful person once, a cult leader who was “charming in his cruelty”, someone he never wanted to be--that’s the stated fear, and I think it’s real.  Just.  I sort of wonder how much of it, beyond that, is the stark terror of potentially discovering that he’s not actually a person at all.  The Nein look at Molly and see someone with a larger-than-life sense of self radiating out in all directions, but Molly looks at himself and sees someone with no past, who was literally in every possible way nobody, and who worked and fought to fill this life up and create himself every step of the way.  Molly had to work for every ounce of self he possesses.  The Nein can look at him and assume that a Molly who knows his past would just result in a Molly with a few extra memories to file away; Molly gets to deal with the very real fear that meeting and learning and remembering his past would result in a Lucien who spent a couple of years messing around in a daydream that called itself Mollymauk Tealeaf.  That everything Molly made and built and created and called himself would turn out to just be a story that some asshole invented for a couple of years.  And that is some existential horror shit.  No wonder Molly would try anything under the sun, anything at all, would leap across a horse and cart to challenge a murdering slaver with nothing but a couple of cheap swords, four hit points, and a grin, but refused to even address the possibility of his past.   It’s the bittersweet to the Mollymauk tragedy--he died, but by god he mattered.  Ten plus episodes later he still matters, and I assume that keeps going on in all the subtle, reverberating ways that people can echo throughout the rest of the episodes I haven’t watched yet.  He lived and he was real and he left places and people better than he found them, in measurable ways (and of course the man with no past and no identity who had to build his life and self from nothing ties all his personal moral philosophy up in the impact he can have on the people and places he leaves behind, in changing things, in mattering).

And right that’s all fine and beautiful and heartbreaking, but the more I think about who Molly was as a person, and his insistence in maintaining a self separate from that asshole who got himself dead and buried before, the more I wonder, conspiracy-theory-wise, what if he’s literally right?

There was a live Talks Machina panel where Taliesin talked a little bit about the possibility of hitting Molly with a resurrection spell, and he mentioned, offhand and cryptically, that for various reasons it might not even have worked.  And I just wonder, right.  Lucien-fucking-Nonagon uses his blood hunter cult to do some weird magic ritual fuckery, astral projects himself to some mystery city full of undead bullshit, and never comes back.  And maybe something else does.  Maybe someone else does.  Maybe a channel gets left open, and whatever wandering ghost or demon or restless spirit found its way back through to the body Lucien left behind took an opportunity to escape whatever empty hell that mystery city might be.  No memories, or at least none that could get pulled down into this new mortal form; just a brand new person with a brand new life.

And the people that found them, found him, were kind.  So the no-longer-empty thing that started calling itself Mollymauk Tealeaf learned to be kind.  They pushed ink and shiny baubles through their new skin and horns to stake a claim on this body that’s apparently theirs, now, and they learned to lie and charm and dance and care and fill up a life with joy.

I think I like this conspiracy theory, mostly because whatever Molly is, it leaves the door open for them to come back again.  (I would be SO into a fic where the M9 manage to cast a resurrection spell on Molly after all, except they unexpectedly get back a Lucien-Nonagon who’s been dead for three years and wants to know where the fuck all of these tattoos came from and what happened to his hair and also where are his cultists at, provided that actual-Molly shows up at some point too.)  It’s definitely neither the only convincing nor the only feelings-y/meaningful way to read canon, but I’m into it.

I should write things about Caduceus, who I’m getting to know and admittedly very intrigued by, about Yasha who I still don’t know a tenth of well enough, about how each member of the Nein handles the concept of morality because that is a really interesting question and very central to the theme of the whole story at this point.  But this was the post that wanted to happen tonight, so here we are.

#critical role #driveby meta attack #look molly is still up there in top 2-3 favorites ok #please let the M9 figure out his backstory eventually #so many questions! #so little time!

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E38 (October 16, 2018)

Tonight’s guests are Sam Riegel and Taliesin Jaffe (and, as always, Dani Carr and... Tiny Corner Max?)!

Announcements:

The latest episode of Between the Sheets, featuring Daytime Emmy Award-Winning Sam Riegel (TM), aired last night and will be available on YouTube tomorrow morning. Sam: “I feel like this channel is mostly just you and me talking?” Brian: “Are you saying that everyone else is just riding our coattails?” Taliesin: “He’s also saying that you look a lot like Liam at this point, and he can’t tell the difference.”

Another episode of All Work No Play will debut this Friday on the Critical Role Twitch (uploaded to YouTube on Sunday). In this episode, Sam and Liam do yoga... with goats. TJ Storm and Travis Willingham guest star!

Next week the cast will be at London MCM! Taliesin: “I’m packing slightly more tweed.” Brian: “Gettin’ tweedy with it.”

There’s a new (harp music) Laura Bailey emote on the CR Twitch for subscribers.

@critrolestats for this week’s episode:

The M9 hit 150 natural ones in this episode. Number 150 was Jester’s acrobatics check to get away from the yuan-ti abomination.

Jester also set the record for the most natural ones in a single episode: 5. The previous record of 4 was held by Nott and Beau. Brian: “You guys remember these are not still going to charity, right?” Sam and Taliesin: “What?”

Taliesin was the one who helped Momlan glue on her elf ears. Taliesin: “I would be very nervous if my mom were going out there.” Brian: “Well, she’s got hundreds of years of secrets on you.” Taliesin: “Mom of the damned.”

Cad’s definitely been upset about being around undead; Taliesin’s rolled a few times to see if there’ll be a worse freak-out, but there hasn’t been one so far. “The notion is that there’s a direction things are supposed to move, and [undead] is something moving against the grain in an intense way. What’s the point of having an imaginary organized religion of any kind if you can’t have something they’re fundamentally against?”

Nott’s extremely far from her comfort zone right now, being outside the Empire, working for a captain on the sea who’s threatened their lives: “There’s snakes and lizards and... wouldn’t you drink, dude?!”

Given how much he’s been getting the shit kicked out of him lately, is there a breaking point for Cad? “Probably. I haven’t really finished nailing him down emotionally yet. I genuinely don’t know what zen people do when everything goes to shit.” Jester’s speech genuinely comforted him a lot. “Apparently Laura knew what to say.” Sam notes that the party hasn’t really had a chance to sit down and ask him questions about himself so far. Taliesin mentions that Cad’s been ordering drinks but hasn’t actually been drinking.

Nott’s fallen into the role of the mom friend mainly because nobody else has (everyone agrees that Caduceus is more of “a wise pothead”). Brian: “Everyone seems to have so much baggage right now. Half the people seem focused on just holding it together, the other half are focused on the mission.” Dani: “Somebody has to be the level-headed one.” Sam: “And why can’t that leveling force come from a three-and-a-half-foot insane goblin alcoholic?”

Once Caduceus levels out (he’s still a little shell-shocked), he’s going to realize that he’s surrounded by “unhealthy lunatics” and will want to do something about that.

Sam’s done some research about chemistry (although he wants to make more of a cheat sheet after Travis’ experience with sailing), knowing it might come up with Nott’s alchemy knowledge. Taliesin is trying to learn more of what Sam terms “that fungus shit”. Also tea, and zen. Sam: “I was thinking you should go to a morgue and see how bodies decompose.” Taliesin: “Oh, I have some experience in that.” 

(don’t worry; it’s just some friends in forensic anthropology)

Gif of the Week: Taliesin casts Detect DM Shenanigans.

“There was a certain order to the universe that he has come to expect, and it has been thrown into great disarray.” Cad was expecting the Epic Quest to save his home, but he wasn’t expecting the Mighty Nein. He’s mainly staying because of what Jester said about not necessarily needing to understand what’s happening right now. “He’s confused and trying his best to just let things happen, because that’s how the Wildmother works.”

Nott’s been surprised by some of the Mighty Nein’s actions, but so far she knows it’s out of necessity. She doesn’t view the incident on the docks as quite as bad as some of the others did---it was chaotic and based in self-preservation rather than actively causing harm. “But some of the other actions lately have been surprising to her.” Sam points out that she and Caleb did a lot of things to survive, and that she still steals a lot, and reminds everyone that she lives in a very morally grey area. She’s not thinking of leaving at this point, and all the high-stakes trauma has brought her closer to the group. “It’s a fucked-up dysfunctional family, but it’s starting to look a little bit like a family to her.”

Taliesin and Sam are both enjoying being moral compasses of the party this campaign, in major contrast to the previous campaign. Brian: “You were a teenage asshole. You were a teenage dirtbag.” Taliesin: “It’s so weird. I love it.” Sam: “Oh man. We’d better step up our game. If we’re the moral compasses...” Taliesin: “We’re like Cracker Jack compasses, we almost point north.”

Cad’s got a lot of abilities he just doesn’t use very often. “He knows that some of it is... rude? Death cleric, man, they’ve got some insane shit.” Cad doesn’t have the same opinions on life and death as most people. Brian: “How surprising.”

Taliesin is having “a ton of fun” playing Caduceus. “I love Molly... and the character. Too easy.” No, but seriously: “I loved playing Molly, but the nice thing I got to do with Caduceus that I didn’t get to do with Molly is we had an established group and I got to create a character that was useful to the dynamic both mathematically and emotionally.”

Sam: “Wait, is it twitch.tv or twitch.com? Oh my god, I’ve been putting the wrong links on my Twitter for like a year.”

Cad was very selective about who he told about Jamedi, and purposely didn’t tell Nott because he knew she’d tell others. Sam, trying to keep a straight face: “Nott’s nothing if not trustworthy.” He’s more surprised that Caduceus has figured that out already, given how little he knows about Nott. “Maybe it speaks less to Nott and more to Caduceus being judgey...” Taliesin clarifies that it wasn’t so much that Nott was untrustworthy, it was more than Nott couldn’t keep a secret. Sam, as a player, was shocked that the rest of the party didn’t instantly tell everyone that “we are being led through the jungle by a dead guy.” Taliesin points out that with two clerics (Brian: “well, a cleric and a battle Mercy”), they literally have a button they can push to make him go away if they need to.

Sam: “It seems like Fjord’s going into a real bad place without any information, and Nott’s there to support and make sure he doesn’t die, but it seems like a bad idea.” Taliesin: “This seems like a test of one’s soul, and Caduceus is on board but aware that this could go badly.” Taliesin also points out that the rest of the group isn’t aware of the creepiest stuff going on because they weren’t there for it.

Fanart of the Week: the group (sans Jester and Caduceus) inside Leomund’s Tiny Hut! 

Taliesin got recognized in public, and the fan immediately called out the two clerics for going off on their own in the middle of the night. Taliesin: “It was a good burn.”

Caduceus had some experience with fights pre-M9 (grave robbers, wildlife). Taliesin: “Have you ever seen Cemetery Man? Shit gets weird!”

There’s a brief interlude while everyone arranges a movie night. As you do.

Has Nott been feeling protective toward members of the Nein other than Caleb? Fjord is probably the next-likely candidate, followed by possibly Yasha. Sam: “Caduceus is just too tall.” Taliesin: “I feel that.”

Taliesin describes Lesser Restoration as “the aspirin of D&D”. He’s done some healing of illness before, but this has just been a bad time. Sam points out that in the last campaign they didn’t really have to deal with disease so much. “I assume it’s Bird Flu.”

Scanlan stealing the gun was messing with both Taliesin and Percy. Nott is interested in the mechanics of the gun, interested in the chemistry of gunpowder, and has already designed and manufactured one explosive arrow as a result. “But Nott has also noticed that there’s people with guns wherever they keep going, and it might be a good idea to have a gun. It’s a self-preservation thing. If that also happens to mess with Taliesin Jaffe, I’m not going to say no to that. I mean, the heart does what the heart does. If that happens as a result, we’ve all grown as people.”

They realize there’s about a four-foot height difference between Caduceus and Nott. Taliesin: “He squats.” Dani: “He’s got killer calves.”

Caduceus is very, very good at reading people. Nott doesn’t lie because of goblin upbringing, but more out of her travels with Caleb and having her first impulse to be to get out of any situation by lying to stall/delay/confuse. 

Taliesin: “Why lie to a plant?”

There’s a brief interlude about telling your plants inappropriate bodily measurements. As you... do? Brian: “I’m calling an Uber right now. I’m sorry. I’m done.”

Taliesin is collecting spells based mainly on what he can guess might be helpful. He doesn’t need a lot of damage-dealing, so focuses more on deflecting and healing. He’s picked out some feats he’s interested in to make Caduceus less likely to take damage. “That’s been a problem. I don’t like being hit.”

It is pointed out that all of Sam’s characters in the campaigns have had high intelligence and low wisdom. “That’s a pretty great winning combo for comedy.”

Legends of the Hidden Talks Machina:

Overwatch mains? Sam: “What’s a main?” Taliesin: “It’s like Quidditch...”

Taliesin is a support main, especially Zenyatta and Brigitte.

Brian is a D.Va main (woo!) and also plays a lot of Orisa.

Look, I gotta cheer on anyone who also mains D.Va. Those are the rules.

They agree that watching Sam play as Hanzo would be funny, but decide Roadhog would be the best. Sam: “Yeah. It’s Hog Noon. Is that what he says?” Brian: “Yep.”

What’s Matt’s character name?  Sam: “Tyrone McCabe.” Brian: “It’s close!”

Ghost stories? Taliesin: “I’ve been ghosted.” Sam: “I saw some raccoons in my backyard?” Taliesin: “I got attacked by a skunk when I was in my hot tub.”

Taliesin: “Now I’ve seen a ghost.” Past and present combine:

Taliesin has a 1930s stripey swimsuit, because of course he does.

What (harp music)-style sound cues would they have? Taliesin: The sound of building a temple in the original Warcraft. Sam: An... explosion? Brian: The sound of my mom’s tears because he never became a doctor. Taliesin: “I was thinking the Golden Girls intro.”

Goth advice for the week, courtesy of Taliesin: Best style eyeliner is eyeliner on day 2. Put on the eyeliner before the shower. Know if your choker’s loadbearing.

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

[earthtoerica]

The Mighty Nein: Enneagram

So this is a post I didn’t think I would be making, but because I am a big fan of Sleeping At Last’s songs centered around the Enneagram Test, and I love Critical Role, I thought why not combine the two and see which member of the Mighty Nein resonates the most with each song. ( And if you haven’t listened to Sleeping at Last before you absolutely should because their music is so calming and thought-provoking!)

Has this been done before? Perhaps, but I haven’t seen it and thought I’d try my take on it. Here goes nothing!

The List:

One- Beau

Two- Nott

Three- Fjord

Four- Caleb

Five- NPCs + Guest’s Characters

Six- Caduceus

Seven- Jester

Eight- Yasha

Nine- Molly

And here’s why:

One - Beau: “hold on for a minute because I believe that we can fix this over time” “The list goes on forever, with the ways I could be better in my mind” “As if I could earn God’s favor over time, or at least congratulations.”

 In times of desperation, Beau will often if not always step up to steer the M9 in the right direction. Though she may push down her emotions to make sure the group can keep going, she appears to have the mindset that anything can be fixed given enough time, or at least changed for the better. That being said, she has stated herself that she thinks she is an asshole, someone who could always improve for the better given the bad things she has done in the past and the fact that she considers herself to be a screw up. But in reality, she is one of the most selfless members of the Mighty Nein, risking life and limb to keep the people she loves safe. 

I also think this song relates to Beau the most because she is often questioning her purpose and why she is unworthy of divine support or special abilities. She wonders why she is the only one without powers, striving to earn the favor of the gods, but unsure of what that really means. I hope that over time Beau will come to realize her strength and abilities as a monk and her loyalty and love as a person are what make her special, and that she is as worthy of divine support as anyone else.

Two - Nott: “You know I’ll take my heart clean apart if it helps yours beat” “I know exactly how the rule goes, put my mask on first. No I don’t want to talk about myself tell me where it hurts” “I just want to build you up, build you up, till you’re good as new, and maybe one day I will get around, to fixing myself too.”

When I first thought about making a post like this, I knew immediately that to me Nott resonated completely with the song Two. Choosing to put herself in the line of fire for her loved ones no matter what that might mean for her safety, because as long as the others are safe that is all the matters to her. I mean, literally the line about putting on a mask made me think of Nott automatically, whether it be her doll’s mask or a metaphorical one, to keep others out and her own feelings in. Before we knew about Nott’s backstory she would always deflect away from talking about herself to make sure the people around her were okay. 

And that is what I think is a major part of Nott’s character and something that makes me resonate her so easily with this song. That Nott is unwilling to address her own problems and emotions because they are too confusing, conflicting and stressful, so she would rather check in with the other members of the Mighty Nein, to help fix their problems and help them to achieve their goals like she has promised to do for Caleb, believing that maybe one day down the line after helping the others she may finally conquer her own problems as well.

Three - Fjord: “Maybe I’ve done enough, finally catching up, for the first time I see an image of my brokenness utterly worthy of love” “I finally see myself, unabridged and overwhelmed, a mess of a story I’m ashamed to tell, but I’m slowly learning how to break this spell” “I only want what’s real, I set aside the highlight reel, and leave my greatest failures on display with an asterisk, worthy of love anyway.”

Fjord is such an interesting character to me, and someone that I really hope can come to accept himself for who he is, and understand that the rest of the Mighty Nein love and respect him, his role in the group cemented. After recent events in these past few episodes, Fjord is on his way to knowing that the M9 truly care about him, willing to risk their lives to come back for him just like they did with the Iron Shepherds. Fjord is starting to realize that he is important to these people, and that they care about him just as much as he cares about them, something he has never experienced before. For the first time in his life, Fjord is experiencing what it is like to have a family, people that want to help you succeed and accept you despite your failures.

 Though he struggles with sharing the parts of his past he is ashamed of, Fjord has even stated to Caleb that given time, he will share these things he dislikes about himself, allowing support and forgiveness in. He is on his way to understanding that no matter his shortcomings, what his patron may say or do, the Mighty Nein care about him and would never consider him useless, for he means to much to them, something he may one day come to recognize and use as a source of strength, Go Fjord!

Four - Caleb: “Bodies fashioned out of dirt and dust for a moment we get to be glorious” “Maybe I’m hiding behind metaphor, maybe my heart needs to break to be sure, one day I’ll wear it all on my sleeve, the insignificant with the sacred unique” “What if we already are, who we’ve been dying to become, in certain light I can plainly see, a reflection of magnificence hidden in you, maybe even in me.”

Caleb is such a hard character to determine where his character arc is going to go. All I can speak on is where he appears to be now. I think this song is reflective of Caleb for several reasons. He himself was fashioned out of dirt and dust, chosen to come from a small town to the Soltryce Academy to be a wizard because he had special magic abilities. Though that experience was harrowing and lead him to tragedy, in that time he came to recognize that he was remarkable and considered special at a young age for everything he could do. But after the events of his past that he would give anything to change, he has closed himself off to others, only recently opening up due to necessity and the desire to help Nott. 

Perhaps he will someday be completely open with all members of the Mighty Nein, discussing anything and everything about himself and what he wants to further achieve his goals. Even Beau has commented on his ability to ask for help after he started opening up, questioning him on how it could be so easy and he said it just is. He has recognized how easy it can be to rely on others but worries that in doing so he is putting the ones he cares about in danger and straying farther away from what he truly wants. And that has been stated to be one of Caleb’s biggest fears, that as he and the M9 grow as people, doing good for the people around them as much as possible and trying to leave places better than they found them, that he might one day feel like he can’t do what he has been working so hard to achieve because he cares about these people too much. That he might come to see himself in a better light as someone that can move forward and let go of the past, something he currently could never do. We will definitely see what will happen to dear Caleb Widowgast, but I’m excited to find out!

Five - NPCs + Guest Characters: “It feels like an out of body experience, but something gets lost from a safe distance and now I can’t put my mind to rest and I can’t help but second guess” “I’m hypnotized by this anomaly, such strange uncharted territory” “My armor falls apart, as if I could let myself be seen, even deeply known, like I was already brave enough to let go.”

It was really difficult for me to determine who related the most heavily to Five. And after a lot of thought and consideration I realized that even though in total there are and always will be eight members of the Mighty Nein, the ninth member is made up of everyone that has not only helped the M9 throughout their journeys, but also everyone that the Mighty Nein has helped as well. Thus I related Five to the many NPCs Matt has created and the wonderful guest characters like Keg, Nila, Shakaste, Twiggy, Calianna, and even Spurt. Meeting the Mighty Nein and dealing with their crazy antics and ideas can be an almost out of body experience, trying to fit oneself into their exhilarating lifestyle might seem almost impossible. Their vibrant and excitable atmosphere would make anyone question how qualified the M9 are for any job, but their determined attitude and desire to do good for others would draw anyone in to help or seek help from them as well. 

The line about letting oneself be seen in this song I think relates heavily to these characters because they are created to be interacted with, to learn something from them, or to be of aid to the M9 in their travels. But when the Mighty Nein take that extra step to learn more about a shopkeeper, to assist someone in need on the street, or to gain the assistance of a fellow traveler to achieve their goals, they are taking the time to learn about a stranger, to understand them on a personal level, treating them as if they already are a part of the M9 in many cases, which is something I love about this rag tag group of adventurers. And something that any NPC would love to, as long as the M9 aren't too nosy. 

Six - Caduceus: “What would it feel like to put this baggage down, if I’m being honest I’m not sure I know how” “I want to believe, no I choose to believe, that I was made to become a sanctuary. Fear won’t go away, but I can keep it at bay” “Is that courage or faith to show up everyday, trust that there will be light always waiting behind even the darkest of nights, and no matter what somehow we’ll be okay.” 

The fact that we know next to nothing about Caduceus destroys me a bit more each day until we do, but he is such a wonderful character and so important to maintaining hope in the Mighty Nein, but also keeping their sanity. I don’t think it’s that Caduceus is unwilling to share his past with the Mighty Nein, I believe it’s primarily because no one ever really asks him about himself, and he doesn’t have experience in people choosing to ask him how he is instead of the other way around. It had been said that Caduceus would tell people almost anything if they simply asked, but most people are more focused on their own problems than the problems of others. Caduceus is someone who works to keep the peace, to drive people towards their destinies and to prove that hope and purpose can be found even in the darkest of moments. 

He is a sanctuary for the members of the Mighty Nein, someone they can turn to who will speak without judgement, providing honest advice and ideas about what might be the next step to furthering one’s path, while continually promising that all things and people have purpose. At first Caduceus was hesitant to continue traveling with the Mighty Nein, as their choices and actions did not align well with Caduceus’ goals to save his home. But over time, and with continued faith in the Wildmother showing him his path, Caduceus is willing to get up everyday and support the people he cares about, pushing himself further and further towards his goals no matter the obstacle.

Seven - Jester: “How wonderful, to see a smile on your face, it costs farewell tears for a welcome-home parade. A secret handshake and my one life, I find a silver lining no matter what the price” “Let me tell you another secret of the trade, it feels like sinking when I’m standing in one place” “I want to be here, truly be here, to watch the ones that I love bloom, and I want to make room to love them through and through and through and through the slow and barren seasons too. I feel hope, deep in my bones, that tomorrow will be beautiful.”

In my eyes, Jester is one of the strongest members of the Mighty Nein. Whether you think of it as strong as in strength, emotionally, or what have you, she always sees the best in people, constantly working to make the people she loves and anyone she can smile and feel better no matter how much she may be hurting inside. And though it hurt her to have to leave her mother in Nicodranas to go see the world, she knows that in doing so she can always return, to receive a hug, to tell stories, and to show love to her mother and be loved in return. However, despite the circumstances that led to Jester having to leave her home and travel, it was inevitably time for her to face the world. She had spent so much of her life stuck up in her bedroom to not have the opportunity to experience anything and everything possible. 

That is why I relate the line “it feels like sinking when I’m standing in one place” to Jester because she is always excited to travel to new places with her friends, to have more adventures to tell her mother about and provide her with more opportunities to search for her father in the process. (Still waiting for that interaction if it ever happens by the way). What I admire the most about Jester and what is so strong about her character is her undying love and faith in her companions. She wants nothing more than to help the people she loves and to make them happy. She wants the M9 to be able to let go of the problems of their past or to face them head on so that they can grow and live their lives to the fullest with all the time they have. She believes so strongly in the people around her, in the Traveler, and in what they can do to help others that she knows no matter the strife, no matter what challenges they face, things can always be better tomorrow, as long as they stick together and face the world with a smile and hope. 

Eight - Yasha: “Now you won’t see all that I have to lose, and all that I’ve lost in the fight to protect it. I won't let you in, I swore never again, I can't afford no I refuse to be rejected” “I want to break these bones till they are better, I want to break them right and feel alive you were wrong, you were wrong, you were wrong my healing needed more than time” “I’m standing guard, I’m falling apart, and all I want is to trust you. Show me how, to lay my sword down for long enough to let you through.”

Talking about Yasha hurts my heart, but when I heard this song I thought of her automatically. Time and time again in the process of trying to protect the ones she loves, all she has done is lose them. After the second time she has not been the same, weary of letting people get close for fear of hurting them because of who she is and all she doesn’t know about herself. For her, it takes more than time to heal wounds, it takes understanding and forgiveness she does not believe she deserves but she truly needs. Despite the awkward, slightly off-putting demeanor she may present to others, Yasha cares about the Mighty Nein more than she would like, and wants nothing more than to protect them from any and all danger, and from herself. 

She wants to let people in, which is why she shared as much as she did about her past and her wife. We have seen how emotional it makes her to hear that the M9 love her and want her to be safe. But Yasha needs answers, about who she is, who she was, why the Stormlord chose her, and what her future path might look like. Though she loves the Mighty Nein and wants to be with them and help on their journeys, the fear of losing them may lead to dire situations and the possibility that in finding the answers she seeks she may be separating herself further and further from the ones she cares about the most. (Yasha I love you all I can say is oof).

Nine (nein) - Molly: “Who am I to say what any of this means, I have been sleepwalking since I was fourteen. Now as I write my song, I retrace my steps, honestly its easier to let myself forget” “It looks like empathy to understand all sides, but I'm just trying to find myself through someone else’s eyes. So show me what to do, to restart this heart of mine, how do I forgive myself for losing so much time?” “A little at a time, I feel more alive, I let the scale tip and feel all of it, it’s uncomfortable but right, and we were born to try to see each other through, to know and love ourselves and others well is the most difficult and meaningful work we’ll ever do.”

I mean really, there was no other way to close this out. (Spoilers ahead, kids, because you never know how far someone has seen). Considered the most short-lived, and one of the most impactful members of the Mighty Nein, Mollymauk was someone I always wanted to know more about, but never got the chance. When Molly dug himself out of the ground he did not want to know whose name was attached to his body before, because sometimes it’s easier to forget to make it your own. This is evidently clear by the many tattoos that covered his body, and the fact that he openly stated that this body was his and his alone. No one else is in control of it, he makes the decisions, and no one else can have a say in who he is and who he will be. Though he may have been stern and cold towards others at times, he always looked at all sides of a problem or conflict, and used all information available to make an opinion on what was right and just, one of his many famous lines being “we only steal from grumpy people”. Molly was always confident in who he was, but there were things he was missing because he didn't have a past to look back on. I just wish he could have had the time to find out. 

The final lines of the song are what I relate so strongly to Molly, that “to know and love ourselves and others well is the most difficult and meaningful work we’ll ever do” feels almost like his motto and the strongest impact his life and death had on the Mighty Nein. After his passing it became Beau’s personal mission, and a mission she pushed onto the Mighty Nein, to leave every place they visit better than they found it, something Molly instilled on her that had a lasting impact. So far, the Mighty Nein have been somewhat successful in fulfilling this goal, but it continues to be a driving force in everything they do, working to help others and make the world a better place for all those who inhabit it and those they have lost in the journey to make it a reality. Thank you for having been such a driving force in bringing the Mighty Nein together Molly, you were right, they really were a group of people in need of a good time and you gave it to them. Rest well.

So that’s everything! I’m sorry this was such a long post but I’ve been thinking about it for so long and I love Critical Role and its characters so much that I felt it was time to share my thoughts on why I relate the Mighty Nein so much to these songs. As I’ve said, if you haven’t I highly suggest checking out Sleeping at Last, they are fantastic and their songs are just as impactful and meaningful as the Mighty Nein themselves! 

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and here’s to another wonderful Thursday. Remember, don't forget to love each other!

#Critical Role #the mighty nein #cr spoilers #sleeping at last #enneagram

[wickedwritings]

Time Travel AU: Best End

(Thanks & credit for the extra help from @nottsbuttons and @typehere452! <3)

Timeline:

Future Caleb and Nott (halfling again!) get Time Travel Powers

They decide they’re Gonna Fix Shit

They go wayyy far back; Current Bren (CB), Astrid, and Eodwulf never go to Soltryce Academy.

(Do they maybe kill Ikithon at some point back here? Maybe. They’ve got way more power and he’s not as strong as he was when he left, so…  Who knows.)

They hang around for a while

This includes: Sending letters to the isolated members of the mighty nein, letting them know they have friends and offering communication. Doing research into problems they hadn’t solved by the time they left; what’s destroying the Blooming Grove, that sort of thing.

They–carefully!–warn Yeza and Veth and Luke about the goblin attack coming to Felderwin. The attack does much less damage to the town as a whole, nobody is taken captive. Yay!

Time continues forward. They keep to themselves, use even faker fake names, keep themselves afloat as legally as possible.

Astrid, Eodwulf, and Bren leave Blumenthal to expand their magical knowledge, hoping to one day enter the Soltryce Academy, but for now they are self-taught magical adventurers.

They find Yasha and Zuala and make sure they can escape! Those two start making their way out of Xhorhas on the route that will eventually lead them to the same circus Mollymauk is making his way to.

Current Yeza starts getting pressured by the Empire for research into dunamancy; he, Veth, and Luke leave Felderwin.  Yeza makes and sells potions, staying behind with Luke while Veth picks up adventuring jobs where she can, eventually bringing them all to Zadash.

They help Calianna escape! Give her some pointers on where to start her mission.

Jester, Fjord, then Beau meet up and come to Zadash as normal, their threads changed only by mysterious supportive pen pals.

Everyone goes to the circus, accidentally find the only other Competent People there, and combine their forces to clear as much of the circus’ name as possible.

Astrid, Bren, Beau, Eodwulf, Fjord, Jester, Luke, Molly, Veth, Yasha, Yeza, and Zuala, alll look at each other, take stock of the fact that they’re a large group of mostly competent adventurers that did okay there, and decide that they’re probably safer and will have better luck getting decent coin together.

They pick up Kiri!  When they go on adventures, she stays with Yeza and Luke. Yaaay!

Adventures continue!  These gaps are a large part of why I’m not writing this fic out in its entirety.

The Iron Shepherds *don’t* kidnap the others, and Molly doesn’t die, because future Nott and Caleb are level 20(+???) and ready to stealth kick the crap out of them!  They don’t stick around, because You Don’t Talk To Your Past Selves.  The current group pick up Nila, now with a little bonus awe from the younger two.

The new Mighty Nein (still ironic, but in the other direction, with…  All of them) pick up a Caduceus, who’s rather overwhelmed by all the people but happy to feel like part of a larger unit again. By their powers combined they rip through the remaining Iron Shepherds with even greater ease, get everyone out, and all is well.

The group migrate their way to the coast.  Yeza, Luke, and Kiri hang out with free rooms with Marion for a little bit until Yeza establishes a stall to sell more regularly out of, and they move to somewhere a bit cheaper where he can sustain the three of them.

Jester sends messages to him as well as Marion when the group accidentally have to hightail it out of there. On the upside, the adults manage the ship a lot easier on their own once they figure it out, and only have to pick up Orly as a navigator, without dragging a whole confused crew out with them.

They get home largely without incident; the Balleater is still called that, of course, and it’s still given to Orly.

They pool money and get a bigger house in Nicodranas.  It’s not ideal, but it’s more than enough for Yeza, Veth, Luke, and Kiri, and can hold everyone else when it needs to.

On shorter/closer missions, and just when Veth’s taste for adventure comes back to her, she goes out with the Mightier Nein.  Otherwise, she stays behind, helping settle into a life similar, but distinct from the one she, Yeza, and Luke, had left behind in the Empire.

It stays open to the group, becomes a home base for all of them without homes: When an adventure is too taxing, or being on the road wears on them more than excites them, they can come home as a full group or in whatever set needs the break.

Adventuring continues. This basically concludes “fix-it” territory and goes straight into “idealistic ramblings” territory. You’ve been warned.

Epilogue

Caleb and Nott (from the future; this is a time travel fix-it, remember?) settle down…  Nearby.  They’re older now, and don’t look quite the same anyway.

Caleb has a bookshop that, maybe, also houses a few cats. It carries magic books–and a few other genres–of almost all levels; he and Nott continue studying magic, and offering lessons to anyone who comes in and asks about them. (The current members of the m9 come to visit, and it takes a bit of practice, but eventually they become the strange magic uncle/aunt that lives nearby and answers all their weird magic questions.

(When he dies, or gets old enough that managing the store is more than he’s up to, or Bren starts settling in more, the contents of the store are (magically lbr) packed up (I’m getting Fantastic Beast vibes from this suitcase) and given to Bren. They’re both pleased.)

Nott watches Luke grow up; a Luke that has never been without his parents, who has always had some promise of safety and at least two guardians at all times. Veth and Yeza take care of him, and he grows older, and she is so, so proud.

(If she sends the family presents sometimes…  Well, nobody has to know.)

Eventually, slowly, the rest of the Nein settle there as well. From the adventures they had been steadily sending coin from, they end up with most of a street to their collective names.

On the far end, a cemetery and garden.  Flowers on the grave-side, food directly behind the house. Caduceus was not the youngest or oldest child, merely the softest-spoken. When they fixed the plague that had been encroaching on the Blooming Grove, his family had drifted back to its care. He had new faith, now, in himself, and his goddess, and this new family. A new place to bring care to! Yasha and Zuala learn about burial care, and all of them grow flowers and tea that decorate and fuel their homes and stores. It’s a big garden.

Next to it, the main house. The family’s kitchen and dining room and group space for when they needed nothing more than to be together. (Most of the shops probably have smaller spaces above them? Because, look, most of these people were introverts at some point or another. Rest is necessary and good!)

Yeza gets a Proper Store again! The Brenatto Apothecary has discounted starter healing kits for new adventurers. Lots of experimental stuff as he has the time and resources to try stuff out! Luke, Kiri, (and others? do he just sort of pick up apprentices? maybe!) help out here the most.

They have a joint teahouse/bakery that’s connected to the bookstore, called the Mighty Dine. There’s a line; books can go in either directions, but the food stays on the bakery side. The cats go where they please. Eodwulf and Jester do most of the baking, Bren manages the cats and bookstore. There’s a window seat, and lots of comfy chairs. Some of them have swingy desk things.

Molly and Astrid are travel buddies after the rest of the group has settled; not as adventurers, but simply to live in as much of the world as they can. When they come home, they bring new decorations for the shop, new kinds of sweets and drinks, new kinds of magic and potions, sharing bits of the world with their family and those that would visit.

Fjord also spends a lot of time at sea; sometimes Molly and Astrid hitch rides across the water. He and Orly have fun adventures and eventually maybe just carrying cargo/crew around until Fjord decides he’s good with living near it.

Every now and then, Eodwulf and Jester will clear the bakery side, put down a lot of spare sheets, and run art classes.

People can sign up to teach small classes on just about anything there, inside of the family or not.

Look there’s probably also reading nights (poetry, smut, etc.) that happen there; general public social spot.

At the other end, leading into the city, is the two-story building Beau and Jester live in. The first floor is one large, mostly padded, room. Beau teaches self-defense classes, mostly to kids but open to all ages, and sometimes general self-improvement based teachings around other monk stuff to people she likes. “Stop Being An Asshole Club” becomes more popular than she was expecting, and it’s great.

Again, if we’re being honest, everyone pitches in at everyone else’s area. Their skills and interests overlap, and it’s not uncommon to see Fjord helping out at the SBAAC (acronym pending), Yasha helping with self-defense classes, Zuala at the apothecary, Caduceus in the bakery, Veth is… Everywhere? When did she get there? Don’t worry about it. They have a place to grow and learn and share, to settle into the lives they worked for.

#please this is utterly self-indulgent rambling #it is also #incredibly long #I'm so sorry #but also... #not #let them be happy #holy shit... #s o long #timeline #epilogue #seeds #alright y'all ready for these character tags #caleb #nott #veth #yeza #luke #bren #astrid #eodwulf #yasha #zualla #molly #fjord #jester #beau #caduceus #calianna #kiri

[americankimchi]

criticism below the cut

i say i’ve moved on from it but it’s the same as me “moving on” from a lot of shit that went down in critrole 1. i just like..... stopped talking about it bc i was tired of the discourse lmao

anyways since it’s been burning tracks in my head i just wanted to get some of these thoughts out. 

mollymauk dying... was so senseless. like it’s kind of bullshit how it went down ngl. i mean yeah the whole “dice decide how the story goes” thing is valid i guess as a playstyle... but this is like. the character whose whole DEAL was coming back from the dead so i mean??? i feel like??? there could’ve been a narrative workaround??? 

i mean we could’ve had a character arc where instead of molly it’s lucien who’s coming back from the grave and m9 have to deal with the fact that molly’s dead and there’s a stranger wearing his face; or have it be like a level up mechanism for his ghostslayer class which is also a class that focuses on straddling the gap between life and death??? or something else??? there were and are so many other ways that could’ve gone down i just don’t understand why it had to end like that.

and i get that the amulet itself only works for when ur unconscious to stabilize but we could’ve had it... idk shatter and combine with his blood to trigger some class/backstory element that saved his life, or if not saved it then at least preserved it long enough for the rest of the crew to pour a potion down his throat or something like............. 

i watch critrole for like... escapism. i’m not going to stop that because it’s one of if not my favorite thing to do right now and pretty much the only thing keeping my depression at a manageable level but like. god. if it doesn’t suck to have a character you’ve only just met and begun to get invested in get cut down without a single chance for them to get back up. it really sours a lot of the enjoyment. 

and yeah throwing hate at the cast isn’t something i support and actively criticize but they have to be aware that their game is like... idk. i feel like once you monetize something for public consumption it’s open to get feedback of all kinds, even negative. (negative in the sense that it’s constructive criticism and not toxic hate) like they have a whole studio and website dedicated to it now i feel like it’s evolved a little from what cr1 used to be. critrole 1 was like dragon age and critrole 2 is starting to feel like game of thrones with its grimdark edge and idk if i like it as much.

i’m not saying critrole 1 was perfect because lord knows it wasn’t, but... i don’t know. the cast doesn’t seem to be receptive to critique as well as they should. their first response is defensive and it takes so long for them to accept that they did anything wrong. not just on a narrative standpoint but like. some of the things they say and do. the casual racist jokes from sam this last episode really really pissed me off but like..... like sometimes i forget that the majority of them are cishet whites and then stuff like this just. idk. reminds me. 

but it’s just a game, right??? yeah... it is. but it’s also a show that reflects on the cast too. it’s improv, so it’s even more deeply tied to the people who participate in it... and i don’t know. some of the jokes on the show are done in poor taste, and it’s thoughtless and not done with malicious intent but it’s also incredibly tiring...

what really sucks is that it took me a much longer time to be this exhausted back when i was watching cr1. i think i enjoyed cr1 a lot more because it was just so much... happier? hopeful? maybe it was because it felt more... familial. maybe it was because i didn’t really engage with fandom while i was watching to catch up. maybe it was because the fandom was so much smaller and everything felt more like a close-knit community rather than a sprawling mass... not to say that’s bad but it’s also. more tiring. for me, at least.

i don’t know what i’m trying to say. i enjoyed episode 27, but episode 26 and the following week... that was ugly. ugly on both the fandom’s part and the cast’s. don’t get me started about that post colville made... eugh. what a gross little man.

anyways long story short this past week was exhausting. and ugly. and i hope both the cast and the fandom learn from this experience. i hope the cast is more receptive to critique without shoring up their defenses and i hope the fandom stops harassing them because 1) that’s fucked up and makes you a massive asshole and 2) that’ll just make them even MORE defensive and none of us gets what we want. 

#personal #DON'T REBLOG #i'm serious this post was just so i could get my thoughts out i don't want to see a HINT of discourse #critique role

[criticalhittune]

- Vent post about the thing (Matt’s ending tweet) and Feelings on it -

(Please skip if needed / wanted to)

~

And we’re at BREAK so I can start sifting through my feels outside of “Wooo enjoying combat!” ones /o\

Not going to maintag this for ~Obvious Reasons~, bear with me And also, this goes without saying,, anyone being shitty to Matt or the rest of the cast on Twitter rn is terrible and cowardly

That said: I,, feel really dissappointed that the campaign is ending soon tbh

Like, first and foremost, Not My Game, Not My Monkey, and I know that I can understand it intellectually / as a storyteller, I can see where Matt is going with having it end here and I feel like I could even enjoy this arc As the ending arc again, if I rewatched it with my brain recalibrated to “And this is it, this is the whole thing” leading up to this fight

But,, what the fuck! There’s still so much. Just. Everything, out there in the M9s story-related world; they dropped like All Of Their Shit to deal with the Somnovem, and now we’re just,, not going to see so much of it. Some of it would be cool with a oneshot-- U’katoa Sea Party Part Two: Boogaloo-- but some of it, everything with Astrid and Eodwulf and Trent in particular,, really would not? That shit needs time and it doesn’t have it, now. I really wanted to see that still. It sucks to me that we can’t.

Also, tbh, this episode-specifiic: outside of the “Wow! Neat!!” of this combat, a lot of it isn’t hitting for me if the payoff at the end is they ‘’bring Molly back’’? Like, I truly, honestly do not care about Molly as an active part of the story anymore. I did like him, and when I rewatch clips with him I’m sad we never got to see more of him. But it’s been so long, and he is so super dead. I like this battle so far bc of what it shows about the Nein and their hopes, not about this,, like,, echo of a memory of their lost tiefling friend It’s still a fun battle so far! But some of the suspense for me, personally, is [waves hand slightly noncomittaly]

& to that point: I really hope that Matt is actually playing Lucien reacting badly to these taunts / reminders as him having,, like,, a muscle memory if you will, except the muscle is in Lucien’s mind. Not an actual person that can be “brought out” or saved, but an instinct to not murder these people. Some small bit of mercy. (Mercy and not even really kindness, bc Molly was honestly kinda an asshole, for all that he was also kind of great; and it’s wild how much of us in the fandom have just straight-up forgotten that)

Anyway! Here’s Wonderwall

#cr spoilers // #spoilers //-// #Trying to tag outside of usual spoilers tags in case people filter by those #Do I even have a personal-reflection-type tag? #Goose journals on her sideblog tag #Good Enough

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role Highlights C2E36 (October 2, 2018)

Tonight’s guests are Travis Willingham and Matt Mercer!

Announcements:

The NYC show on Thursday still has tickets! 

The latest episode of Between the Sheets, featuring Laura Bailey, is now available on the Critical Role Twitch channel for subscribers! The VOD will be released on YouTube tomorrow.

The second episode of All Work No Play will air on the Twitch channel on Friday at 7 PM! There will be tapdancing involved.

@critrolestats​ for this week’s episode:

With four games in, the Dallas Cowboys are at a 50%-- wait, wrong stat.

The M9 got their 140th kill in this episode: Nott against the fourth harpy.

This is the third time Fjord has used the dodecahedron, and the second time he’s put a fragment of possibility to use.

DMing when PCs are on the ocean involves trying to figure out what interesting things can be found along the journey. Matt made a small chart to roll on to see what might possibly happen. "It’s a lot of not forcing events, necessarily, every single day, because otherwise nobody would ever fucking be on a boat in a fantasy world.” He wants it to be an adventurous, freeing sensation, and he wants it to be a bit of a sandbox for the players. (The map finally arrived!) “It’s allowing enough intrigue and possibility out there where the players can utilize the ship at their disposal, and coming up with interesting encounters that capitalize on the region and capitalize on the limitations of the ship as well.”

Travis has been on (non-sailing) boats most of his life, so he knows the terminology. “But when it comes to fuckin’ pirate ships...” He wrote Fjord’s backstory with “sailor” in it, but didn’t get a chance to research it at all. Matt was so intimidated by the (three) sailing terms Fjord included in his backstory that he’s been intently studying up on nautical stuff ever since. There are graphs behind his DM screen. Matt: “I was just trying to keep up with him!” 

But Travis has been doing research since then. He’d just never thought about the fact that he might be the only one who knew how to sail a ship. Matt: “It might not have been a major issue if you guys had booked passage...” Travis: “I should have done a moderate level of research just to be more familiar with it, so it’s causing me now to catch up to the homework that you did. We’ll see how this week goes, being that it’s in front of a live crowd...” 

Brian: “This is such a weird metaphor for you guys’ friendship.”

Matt expected Orly was going to be an information source while the group was in Nicodranas. After the M9 stole the ship so unexpectedly, it turned out Orly was the only other person they knew who had the skills they needed. Brian knows it’s a big ask, but he’d love to see amazing cosplay of Orly.

Fjord is definitely wondering whether the sword will react in some way with the water---just touching it in didn’t make a difference, but he’s wondering whether practicing his sword exercises on the ship might’ve had an effect. Travis: “Until now, it’s been a pretty one-sided avenue of communication. I don’t know if there’s any way to *69 that motherfucker.”

Gif of the Week: Caduceus’ “Hello darkness my old friend” moment.

The jellyfish bloom was a random encounter Matt rolled on his table: he has assorted natural sights on the list to add atmosphere. “It was an improvised part of the narrative based on a few rolls.” Brian wants to insure Matt’s brain.

For the map that came out last session, Travis got a quick sneak peek at it. “I love reefs, just from scuba diving, so I memorized those. Most of the trade routes didn’t go over reefs, so if we hit one of those, it would be immediately dangerous.” If people’s backgrounds tie into certain areas, Matt e-mails them summaries as needed so that the players can deliver the information and it’s not just a DM info dump.

Caduceus’ super high perception is opening up a lot of interesting stuff for the party; there were a lot of situations that flew under the radar before, and Matt’s looking forward to finding more moments like that. “You want to reward a player for their strengths.”

Matt mentions that, in all the games he’s played with Taliesin, he’s always played very high-intelligence characters. He’s fascinated to see him play a low-INT high-WIS character with Caduceus.

Travis: “I don’t typically like to give people orders? Fjord was a first mate on the ship, that’s as high as he rose. In my mind, those were people that he had worked with for years. He was receiving orders and then dispersing them, not coming up with the ideas himself. For me, as a player, I enjoyed the luxury of an idiot for the first campaign, because I got to be reactionary. It is an entirely, entirely different thing, and it’s been kind of weird, being responsible for everybody, having to make quick decisions when no one else has any input.” He found himself looking for the bench in the last couple episodes. 

On the clusterfuck at the docks, Travis: “I had gone far below zero hit points in player.” He was so off-balance and nothing seemed to be working. “You can’t always bench yourself. You gotta keep fuckin’ playing.” Matt points out that it’s common to have an off session: “The fact that you’ve finally had a couple is reassuring to the rest of us mortals in your presence.” It’s tough to be the character who has such a major impact on the course of events, and Travis has been learning how to deal with that pressure (after being able to just shrug it off as Grog) and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Travis: “I had a totally different idea of what my participation in the group would be.” He wasn’t expecting to be the face of the group.

Matt mentions that there are sessions where the group has had fun but he goes home “feeling like shit” over some series of mistakes (which often gets reinforced online), but he emphasizes that it’s totally okay to have off nights, and that it’s important to talk it out with players or other DM friends if you’re still feeling upset about it.

Fanart of the Week: Nott and Caduceus having their bonding moment at sea.

Matt: “There was a whole bunch of shit in Nicodranas you could have explored.” Travis: “I love how he gave us a fuckin’ wizard tower.” Matt pointed out that Algar had an employee who ran off during their first attack. “There’s a lot of adventure in Nicodranas still when you return.” Matt points out that sometimes the story you have prepared isn’t as exciting as what the players stumble into on their own. The ramifications when they come back could be a lot of fun, as well. 

Travis on the pressure he’s under for this arc: “The rest of the group is fuckin’ loving it, like a bunch of assholes. They are eating up my panic with spoons and forks.” Matt points out that the tables have turned after the first campaign.

Fjord’s whole backstory was based on trying to disappear; he was just glad to have a role that didn’t require a spotlight. “He just wanted to live a life and have a role and have an existence.” He feels like his unique looks and abilities fit in with the M9, but being put in charge of that, especially in the wake of the massive confidence shake that came with the Lorenzo kidnapping and Molly’s death, he’s still reeling. It’s only been a few weeks since Lorenzo. 

It’s been especially terrifying to realize this Fjord-centric arc is going to be such a big part of the New York live show. Travis: “I was so crestfallen. That was the moment I was like, ‘Fuck.’” Matt, happily: “It’s going to be fun.” Travis, strained and yelling: “IT’S GOING TO BE GREAT.”

Jester’s mom hadn’t heard the rumors of a blue tiefling dying at the docks, so fortunately that information hadn’t gotten to her before Jester sent her message. Matt breaks down the bizarre mystery the guards are dealing with right now: it could have had much, much more serious consequences. “They’re not completely fucked. There’s just some threads of fuckery out there.” Avoiding the patrol ships and being able to disguise themselves has been key. Matt points out that a lot of the Nein have had really skittish, mistrustful backgrounds; over time, they might be more likely to try to interface with the guards in a scenario like that, but they’re not there yet.

Travis on the jellyfish conversation: “I was kind of in awe of my wife at that moment. Her emotional availability is second to none. And then to take that beautiful moment and be so introspective about that character. I was trying to ask her questions, and then she pointed it dead on at me. I was like, oh god, I don’t know. I was trying to be sensitive and do something that would make her feel better, but man, it left both of us---Fjord and me---shook. I interpreted it one way. There had been gentle teasings. But man, when the emotions are real...” 

Matt’s been finding it interesting that Fjord and Caleb have been taking on leadership roles in a non-competitive, please-take-this way, and he’s excited to see how the roles are distributed moving forward. “I fuckin’ love D&D. Oh my god.”

Matt points out that the M9 is a different kind of found family than VM. “All of Vox Machina seemed pretty confident of who they were and what they wanted to be in the world. This group is very different; they’re these lost souls who, through their connections to each other, are trying to find a purpose and keep each other safe.” He likes the natural pace of that development and is happy that themes of change and redemption are so prominent in their character arcs. “As the kids on the internet say, ‘I’m here for it.’”

Travis: “I had to ask Liam this week what ‘stan’ meant. I thought they left the ‘d’ off it.”

Hats appear.

Talks Machina: Is It the Same Channel?

Brian, on the perfect burrito: “Skittles. Starburst bites. Jujubes. Wrapped in a fruit roll-up.” That is a little too close to my actual dinner tonight and I may have to reevaluate some of my life choices.

Their favorite thing about the live show is the energy. Matt: “It’s one thing to be playing together as friends, but once every now and then, being able to share it live there with so many people who are as excited as we are to be there. Of all the years I’ve done theatre and that high I’ve had on stage, this is even better for me.” Much as the heart of the show is its intimate nature, they love having the live show as a change of pace a couple of times a year. Matt points out that the weirdness of live D&D is that the audience there is as knowledgeable and invested. “It’s not like there’s a barrier and you’re here to entertain, you’re all just here in this moment.”

Travis mentions that alignment’s been more important at the start of the game when they’ve been trying to establish their character, just to keep from veering off into random stabs at action. Matt: “I think alignment’s a great guide if you’re unfamiliar with the process of realizing a personality that’s different from yours and stepping into their shoes. I prefer to think that characters’ actions drive alignment, rather than alignment driving characters’ actions. I don’t feel like you should use alignment as a way of excluding yourselves from making those choices that otherwise a character would never make.”

Matt: “Don’t google ‘burrito train’.”

It takes like ten minutes to Brian’s nipple rings.

Dani, being shipped to New York.

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