#the fact that it's Laura Bailey also

[paperglader]

I miss her 😞 (fictional character imogen temult from critical role)

#it’s been too long #also it’s been three weeks and they’ve gone by way too fast #they’ve been packed with studying for finals and spending my first Christmas away from my family #but now it’s getting closer to going back to BH and it feels like she shortest time and also the longest drought #no no no but actually I haven’t screamed about the fact that she took away the circlet in off #i am CONCERNED and it’s been 3 weeks #critical role #imogen temult #bells hells #c3 #campaign 3 #laura bailey

[wlwdisasterr]

everyday I wake up and I think about critical role's halloween costumes of each other

#critical role #laura bailey #marisha ray #sam riegel #travis willingham #liam o'brien #matt mercer #ashley johnson #taliesin jaffe #marisha as taliesin‚ laura as robbie‚ ashley as travis‚‚‚ it's all just *chef's kiss* #so much gender envy‚ so much gay #i love it so much <3 #also can you tell that im a lesbian based on the fact that my three costumes i remember most disctintly are the ladies'

[eyes-of-avalir]

[ID: Three screenshots from Critical Role campaign 3 episode 72 showing Laura Bailey saying, "One time when I was little, I saw a bug. It was crawling up a set of stairs." End ID]

when this happened i was JUST thinking about the last time laura shared secrets with an undead pirate and then she goes and says the exact same thing!! when i tell you i screamed

#c3e72 #imogen temult #jester lavorre #laura bailey #cr spoilers #the fact that it was also an undead pirate last time. the parallels

[eternalsongbird]

"I think we're in too deep to pull-out now" IMMEDIATELY followed by a self-breaking laugh at her own clearly purposeful innuendo...BAFTA Award Winner Laura Bailey everyone

#the fact that she also broke the rest of the cast too #incredible #critical role #critical role spoilers #critical role cast #laura bailey

[shorthaltsjester]

i do not want to dig a hole but i am too much of a laura bailey pc enjoyer to not make this post so:

selfishness ≠ a lack of kindness 

selfishness is a theme that has come up with all of laura's main campaign pcs. that doesn't mean that her characters are always making selfish choices or that they don't care about the rest of the people they're with or that they're not good. it's just that, for the most part, the first thing they're thinking of when they take action or make choices is themselves. 

in jester and vex both it is more typical and obvious selfishness. vex's developed because she needed it to keep herself and vax alive and as safe as possible and it grew into a behaviour that she had to actively work to avoid. it's evident in her greed, her theft of the broom, her reaction to her own death which relied heavily on i'm okay/i survived to which keyleth reminded her that she wasn't the only one who had to witness and reckon with her death. in jester's case, she grew up in an environment that literally trained her to make every decision based on two things - her mother's opinion and her own. so, when she's out in the world without marion for the first time, her choices are those that will benefit her and her actions are those that consider her own thoughts and not really many others' (aside from the traveler's). 

it isn't a criticism of either vex or jester to say that they are characters who act selfishly. in fact, i'd argue that to claim otherwise does a great disservice to exactly how immense both of their character arcs are. because the nuance of both jester and vex is that they are selfish, and they also hold extreme room for self-sacrifice and empathy. vex is much more brash than jester is, and jester is much more trusting than vex, but both of them are characters who begin with selfish impulses who grow with them. neither ever truly shed those impulses, but they use them in new ways, typically transforming them into impulses towards things that are in the best interest of the party. 

you may have noticed the lack of imogen in this post about laura bailey pcs and that's because of two reasons. one, we are an unknown amount of time into her story, i can't analyse her development the same way i can vex and jester's. two, imogen's selfishness isn't the blatant quasi-self-aware selfishness that we see in things like jester complaining about her lack of money to caleb or vex stealing a broom. instead, imogen's is very internal, like a lot of laura's character work with imogen. it is a bit similar to jester’s in the sense that it comes from a lack of awareness moreso than vex’s practiced behaviour, but imogen’s is a lot more tied to inherent beliefs she has about the world and the people in it.

as a consequence of her powers, imogen sees people's thoughts as their entirety, she holds it above their actions to be the truth of who they are - to act against what they think or to say something that doesn’t cohere with what they’ve thought is akin to lying, so for her to act empathetically is to act in tandem with what someone else’s thoughts are, not how they act, which is typically not all that wanted. the same as vex’s greed and jester’s naivety, this is a trait that makes narrative sense and it’s one i find quite compelling, especially when read in the vein of someone struggling through trauma that has made them assume that the world is against them. imogen’s cynicism is coherent cynicism, i can’t say that in a similar situation i wouldn’t have the same predisposition towards the world.

the part that is particularly self-interested comes in if you look at how imogen has actually been treated in the campaign (quite well) in comparison to the cynicism that she’s developed from her past (something that speaks to a world out to get her). certainly, a bunch of shitty things have happened to imogen in the time we’ve known her, but the same can be said for everyone in bell’s hells and pretty much everyone in exandria at this point in time. but, in a fight to save the aforementioned world, imogen’s focus was getting her mother back on her side. which, while very consistent with her character and a choice that i enjoy, is a very selfish one. the fun thing (to me, obviously) about imogen is that she has, more than most, an insight into the opinions of others and she also tends to seek others’ opinions out and genuinely engages with them and supports their choices. but she still very much acts towards what she thinks is best. it’s one reason i enjoy looking at the dynamic between her and orym as one between foils, as orym tends to be stalwart in his beliefs and doesn’t care too much for other’s opinions if he’s already sure of his own, but his actions tend to favour collaboration and protecting others.

as i mentioned earlier, imogen is a harder case to look at because she is still in the process of her story. however, the circlet is clearly influencing how she interacts with the world and in the wake of the solstice, the hostile reaction towards ruidusborn people has started to become more and more apparent and i’m interested to see what route that ends up leading imogen down and how it will influence her relationship with the rest of bell’s hells. (for better, i think, based on recent conversations, but if it's for worse i will be just as seated and excited).

all of this is just to say, please stop assuming that claiming a character has a trait you think is a bad one is criticism or a hate post. in light of the fact that i know that people who don’t believe this will continue to not believe this, i’ll encourage anyone confused about the ability of a character to be good and kind and selfish all at once to look to what the text itself says, specifically scanlan’s words to pelor when asked what vex means to him:

“Her name is Vex, and she is greedy and mean sometimes, and she can steal a lot. She’s a little bit not the greatest person, but her flaws highlight everything that is right about her, which is she does all these things to protect her friends and her family. She would give her life for any of us and for anyone who was truly in need. And she’s not perfect but she’s the most perfect of all of us.”

would you look at that... an ability to be a multitude of things, some in conflict with one another. i know that's hard for fandoms to believe, especially about female characters with agency, but i promise its true!

#deeply unfair of laura to make three characters with some type of people skills and morality shaped by their loneliness #and what. i’m just supposed act like i’m normal about that? #this is me blog and i have slightly more time than usual to write nothing essays about fictional characters that haunt me #but dear god . lookin at cr characters and denying their flaws is like looking at a house and only seeing it’s doors . #if ppl demand perfection of fictional characters im genuinely curious in what media they’ve ever found that . #a single imogen post of mine broke containment and it skyrocketed my annoying phil student levels so. alas #but . if you agree that imogen had an incredibly isolating life . i will emphasize that isolation causes traits and behaviours #that aren’t just Quirky or fun or hot anger or whatever #imogen contains so much i love her so much i am bursting at the seams about it #but for some ppl. she is ur ‘girlfailure’ until someone suggests a way she might be girl failing by being selfinterested #what is the truth. do u want her to be an actual girlfailure it do u just want her to suit a . frankly tired. trope about lesbians #anyway . both text and tag rant over . goodnight #cr meta #imogen temult #vex’ahlia #vex’ahlia de rolo #jester lavorre #critical role #my posts

[moghedien]

The Last of Us episode 9 aired the same day as the Oscars, and also featured Laura Bailey and Ashley Johnson. This is a subtle reference to the fact that Laura Bailey can't be trusted to stay at award shows because she'll leave in the middle to hang out with her friends instead

#laura bailey #ashley johnson #the last of us #critical role #that time she left before her category was even announced #like imagine if she had one and she was literally playing dnd live on twitch when she was supposed to be accepting an award

[onehopefuldreamer]

Challenging a Queen - a love letter

Look, at first this post was going to be about Look into me (my first love when it comes to this game's soundtrack and still one of the songs I adore the most).

Then I wanted to wax poetic about You and I and You and I reprise (three different versions of the reprise depending on what you do with the throne and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's glorious voice, yes, please! Plus Persephone and Grace is my personal OTP).

After that I moved on to The Throne because I think it's both absolutely awesome and absolutely bonkers you get two themes to mix and match there instead of only one (1st theme based on your first choice and the 2nd on your answer to Orpheus' question). It's still a huge, HUGE personal favourite.

(I will still write love letters to these three songs eventually.)

But then I read Austin Wintory's commentary on the Pantheon version of the soundtrack he posted on YouTube and it caught my attention that he called Challenging a Queen the most complex song in the game. Previous to reading that I had thought it was the same as a lot of the other songs - three main themes that you just get to mix and match but aside from that nothing much changes. Oh, how wrong I was!

Reading that comment made me curious about trying different combinations to see what would happen and once I started doing that I was completely blown away. Because it turns out that this song is anything BUT simple! The choices are even more interlinked here than in most other songs and the possible combinations that lead to different outcomes are so, SO many!

Based on my experimentation (8+ hours of gameplay that's only replaying this one song)  I have discovered the following:

1. The first choice you make directly influences the second. So if you go from Green to Red for example you get a completely different outcome than if you had gone from Red to Green.

2. The first choice also influences the third/middle one. BXGXX is not the same as RXGXX or GXGXX (X stands for any colour). In the case of middle Red, I think, there's the most possibilities because there the second choice also comes into play. For example the banter between Grace and Persephone is different if you go with RBRXX (which is the same as RRRRR) or RGRXX.

3. Then the third and fourth choices also influence each other and lead to different combinations. Say, XXBRX is decidedly not the same as XXRBX.

4. Last but most certainly not least that pesky first choice continues to have an effect until the very end. The combination between it and your fifth or, sometimes, fourth and fifth choice/s is what leads to all sorts of different and unique endings you can get.

That's already a super complex song structure that I'm still not sure I have figured out completely, to be honest. I continue to experiment with different combinations and plan to try to see if I can compile a guide to all the possibilities here. I'm very much not statistically or mathematically inclined so this has been a bit of a struggle but I'm also having so much fun trying to pick apart this song that I don't really mind.

I've never experienced anything like this in any game before and honestly playing around with this song has been a revelation. The amount of screaming I have done in front of my laptop every time I come upon something new is insane. I've come to a point where I have bits and pieces of Challenging a Queen rattling around my head at all times and I LOVE it! Because, as weird as it sounds, I have not become bored with this song even after so many hours of listening to it. I happen to love all the different permutations and listening to Laura Bailey and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn try to outperform each other is far, FAR from a hardship. In fact it's an absolute joy.

I'll leave you with what's probably my most favourite discovery about this song: there are 17 different endings you can discover. 17!!! That's insane! Or at least that's as many as I have personally discovered and I am still very much in awe. If you're curious about checking them out on your own, here goes:

1-4 - RRRRR, BBBBB, GGGGG with a Charming Grace and GGBGG or GGRGG with a Clever or Kickass Grace. These are what I call the regular or classic endings. You're pretty much guaranteed to discover these.

5-8 - BXXBG, RXXBG, GXXBG with Clever or Kickass Grace and one extra XXXBG ending for Charming Grace. The first choice does not matter for Charming Grace, the ending is always the same no matter what.

9-11 - BXXGR, RXXGR and GXXGR

12-14 - BXXBR, RXXBR and GXXBR

15-17 - BXXRB, RXXRB and GXXRB

What I find impressive (aside from the huge number of endings) is that the endings from 5 and onward are all genuinely combined endings. They're not just alternative versions of the RR, GG or BB endings, they're a combination of approaches and/or musical styles and I cannot even begin to express how much I adore that.

I'm not going to lie, doing the experimentation for the GR, BR and RB endings in particular hurt my feelings a whole lot because I'm a Persephone stan and hate to see her trounced by Grace so thoroughly when I know she's actively grieving Calliope. But what really broke my heart (again as a Persephone stan) is those BG endings. Those have made me cry actual tears (the only other ending that's had this effect was GG with Clever or Kickass Grace). They're also the only endings I've been able to discover that have the camera panning down instead of sideways and come with their own backdrop. Discovering my first version of them had me squealing like mad and feeling like an archaeologist who'd discovered priceless ancient treasures. They're probably my personal favourites, all of them. Both because they're so unique and because I love how compassionate Grace is in them. As much as I do think Grace is badass when she wins, I love her being soft and understanding towards Persephone a whole lot more.

I'll stop here because this is already a wall of text for which I'd apologise but this is not even all my thoughts and feelings on this song. I just have so many! Now off to listen to it again and work on my guide.

#stray gods #stray gods: the roleplaying musical #stray gods grace #stray gods persephone #nad talks about the things she loves #song analysis #sort of #long post

[burr-ell]

On the Matter of Trinket

So I had a lot of good things to say about Vox Machina: Kith & Kin, and I stand by them, but I do have one sticking point—the story of how Vex got Trinket. Since this extends beyond Kith & Kin and to canon as a whole, I thought it should be its own post.

So here's what happened, per stream canon in 1x65:

VAX: What's the dagger [that Saundor was referring to]? VEX: Oh, that. Yeah, I killed a couple people and I saved Trinket, that's all. VAX: When? You'll have to be more specific than that. VEX: Do you remember when I brought Trinket back to camp? VAX: Originally? VEX: Yeah! All those years ago? VAX: Yes! I thought it was a terrible idea. I was dead wrong. VEX: Well…turns out, I found him in a camp where I'd been taken. VAX: What? VEX: Yes, and there was some really dark people there, and they had harvested Trinket's mother. [...] I did what I had to do, and I killed them. VAX: The people that took you. VEX: Yes. I did. VAX: The people that took you from me? VEX: Yes. And I saved Trinket that night, and that's what Saundor saw. More than anything I just… I don't know how he saw it. VAX: Are you just creeped out because he knew or because of what happened? Why are you upset? VEX: I'm not. VAX: Well, listen. I wasn't there. I don't know what happened, but… you came back to me, so whatever happened can't be wrong.

This incident is recounted in full by Laura Bailey in a short story she wrote from Vex's first-person perspective explaining to Matt why she was so protective of Trinket, which can be found here. Even if you lack that context, though, it's clear from this conversation that Vax very explicitly did not know what happened. This is not easily missable, either; there isn't leeway to insert him into that backstory without directly contradicting what's happening in this scene.

In Kith & Kin, however, Vex tells the story of when she got Trinket to a little girl she meets, and says that Vax was actually there and helped fight off the poachers who kidnapped her—not really anything of note that she didn't do herself in the original, but he was there. This could be taken as simply her softening or embellishing the story to make it more exciting for a child, but the narration otherwise notes where Vex has left details out and does not imply that Vax's presence is an alteration. Additionally, later on in the denouement, Vex thinks about everything that's happened and reflects on "two young half-elven twins fighting monsters in a horrible poachers' camp", again suggesting that Vax was indeed there. This is further supported by The Legend of Vox Machina's change to the story, which also added Vax and had him be the one to break Vex out (originally she did it herself), and those two combined together suggests that this is going to be considered the canon narrative going forward.

Now, I'm not inclined to think any of this was done in bad faith, so don't misread me here, but I am disappointed by the change.

The conversation between Vex and Vax in episode 65 is very important for what it says about Vex and their relationship. (It furthermore serves as a parallel to a scene in episode 42, where Vax tells Vex about the circumstances of his joining the Clasp, the secrecy of which is maintained in Kith & Kin). Vex was so traumatized by this incident that it was brought up to emotionally torment and manipulate her years after it happened, and the fact that she never told Vax about it until he asked speaks to how important it was to her to avoid talking about it. Vex is a character who struggles with letting down her walls and taking off her masks, and not only could she not bring herself to explain it even to Vax at any point in the intervening years, but when she finally does, his words of support and reassurance don't even work—she still ruminates on Saundor's words at night following this conversation. That matters for the full context of where she is, and where the twins are, at this time in the narrative.

Now you can make the argument that this change only highlights a different facet of their respective stories: Vex is hurt by this incident in a way Vax is not. The problem with this is that we already have an element of their story that serves this narrative function—Syngorn, where Vex took the elves' racism and their father's abuse much more personally than Vax did. As an adult, she tries to wear a mask of untouchability and contempt for the place, but she did everything she could to measure up and meet their standards in the hopes of one day pleasing them and finding acceptance, while Vax pushed back against it at every turn and openly rebelled and caused trouble. Vax's disdain for Syngorn is straightforward; Vex's is much more complicated, and it feels redundant for the Trinket incident to repeat this pattern. It also robs the characters of the much more interesting story from the stream, where Vex keeps this to herself and doesn't seem to feel better even after Vax tries to comfort her.

As I've said, I do really enjoy Kith & Kin and TLOVM, and there are changes made in the animated adaptation that I really enjoy or even think are better than stream canon, but necessary changes to adapt a story to a different medium are different from an important character moment being undercut in canon supplementary material. Not only does Vax's insertion into this incident fail to substantively add anything to it, but it actively detracts from both his and Vex's stories as a whole. And as someone with a lot of love for Campaign 1, the willingness to do that kind of retcon unsettles me.

#critical role #cr meta #vex'ahlia #vax'ildan #long post

[notori]

On a more genuine note from my previous post though: I do not think Imodna will go the same way as Vaxleth for a few reasons.

Vax's story was very personal to Liam. It always frustrates me when people act like the Raven Queen 'took Vax away' (and thus she is a bad goddess) when in fact she answered his prayer and granted his wish. Vax's story is about "Take me instead!" - not some kind of "Don't let Vex die!", and certainly not someone who was raised from the dead without their consent and bound like a puppet. Unless such an ending is expressly what Marisha wants for her character, I don't see it being narratively satisfying. Even if Laudna dies in sacrifice to save the others, because of the breadth of Delilah's power, it would be more of a general "I'm dying to save everyone" and less personal (and impactful) than Vax's trading his life for Vex's.

I joked about how this is Delilah Briarwood vs Laura Bailey again, so don't sweat it, but it's true! The players play their characters differently. Liam loves tragedy and plays it well; Laura loves romance and plays it well. Percy also had a dark streak with a hunger for power, and Vex would not let him go. I see more parallels with themes like: "I feel cruel, but in control." and "Take the mask off." Meanwhile, Imogen and Keyleth are different characters and their love interests have different relationships with death. In the end, the reason Keyleth could not do anything against the Raven Queen isn't because she's a god and Keyleth is not, but because Vax - as a paladin - chose to honour his faith and uphold his end of the deal. Imogen is not in that position because Laudna is not in that position. Laudna may see herself as just a puppet, or a risk, or a dead end - but we the audience, and Imogen, know that she is not (maybe a bit of a calculated risk). If anything, I see us on the precipice of an arc of Imogen inspiring Laudna to fight for her independence again and figuring out a way to do that (this is a world of magic after all).

And that theme of fighting for independence is something that has been there since the beginning. We have seen it both in analysis and confirmed on 4SD that Laudna's relationship with Delilah is in many ways similar to struggling with addiction. And now, into year three of C3, we are really seeing that take form when things get rough. When things get out of control, when you get desperate, that's when you grasp at anything to make it easier. It would be a real kick in the teeth to have her not overcome that struggle. Of course, there's the possibility that she does overcome that struggle by getting rid of Delilah and dying as a result. But out of game it has been referred to more in line with addiction that is constantly managed rather than addiction that is ended cold turkey - which for some people is the only way. I'll admit this one is more a personal preference but I do see it overall leaving a bad taste if Laudna were to die from Delilah in some way (again). Presuming they resolve issues with the solstice and resurrection spells, True Resurrection does exist and I'm certain the Hells would work off a 25k GP debt to bring Laudna back for good (which I see as more of a final episode/epilogue/post-game situation).

Regardless, it's a beautiful story and I'm sure that whatever happens will be what the players want. However, in this case I genuinely don't see them repeating something they have done before. Although we saw many parallels last night, there is still much which sets Imodna and Vaxleth apart narratively.

#imodna #critical role spoilers #critical role

[thecavernsabove]

okay now i just want to talk about my expectations versus why i have ended up liking certain characters because i am just so intrigued by everything these people and characters do. for bells hells, i went into it knowing i would love ashton because they are the reason I started watching, i didn't think i would really latch onto any other character, apart from maybe fearne because she's a satyr and i am particularly partial to satyrs, and imogen because i mean it's laura bailey!

but what actually happened, is that yes i did get super attached to ashton of course i did, but my top three quickly became ashton, orym and laudna (and as someone who started being able to watch live at the split you can imagine how devastated i was). and recently chetney is really creeping up there. i do love all the characters dearly though.

ashton just reminds me of myself so much, apart from the fact that they are much braver than i could ever be, and blunter too. i wish i could be them and also see all my faults in them. its a lot.

orym was my first introduction to liam o'brien and his devastating little guys (more on caleb later), and just his backstory and the way he deals with people intrigues me so much and i want to see him happy so bad.

laudna oh laudna. marisha ray you have ruined me. even going into this with my minimal knowledge of the briarwoods, her backstory reveal was so intense and it hurt. also, creepy unnerving girlies stick together! she's iconic.

chetney is so wild to me i love him so much. he is so intensely gender as well i love him so much. i love gruff and grumpy characters that are actually nice once you are more friendly with them.

imogen. i will say it took a little bit for her to grow on me but i do love her. i think the bassuras dusk stuff really helped me like her more. also her immense power and lightning scars are pretty cool if you ask me.

fearne. i love how sweet she is and the stuff like being bad at lying and also just stealing little things here and there was really fun. but what made me like her more was when she got more serious and i didn't expect that (foreshadowing for later!)

fcg. now, i still have, mixed? feelings for fcg. in a sense of i dont hate the character but i think the character arc is not something im too interested in, but i do still like them. the stuff with frida was very nice, and i do like the bits that they do - but i think there still feels like there is something missing for me somewhat.

now, with the mighty nein, i had an inkling on who i would like. i thought caleb certainly because we seem very similar, molly maybe because i liked ashton so hey i might like this taliesin character too! and that was it really. going into it though, because i had seen so much of jester (talking about her and cosplays mostly) i thought that she would be probably my least favourite because her personality didn't seem to really gel with what i usually like in characters. but here i am, on the other side with my favs being caleb, fjord, and jester! it was so much watching everything for the first time, even with knowing the big spoilers and then looking at more minor spoilers so i knew somewhat what would happen - but i do that with a lot of things, its different knowing what happens versus actually watching and experiencing what is happening.

caleb. caleb widogast is such an intense character and i loved every minute i spent with him. i spent so much time checking when i would finally see the nein sided tower of his and watching liam describe everything for an hour was so incredible i was in awe. i truely love that dirt wizard so much.

fjord was a truly unexpected character for me to fall for. the first time i realized that i was going to love him though was when they were in the one politicians house early in the campaign and he held his sword to caleb to make sure he wasn't fucking with them. then seeing his growth, the accent change, and just his whole deal i was enraptured. i do miss the southern eldritch blast though.

jester oh my goodness did she creep up on me. i think her initial cuteness that i had experienced throughout just existing on the internet put me off for some reason but i don't know why. however i did quickly fall in love with her, when she had one of her more sinister/serious moments early on. i don't remember what it was but i remember thinking oh. /oh./ okay. i love her. and then her relationship with her mama, and artie, gosh i just loved watching laura bailey do literally anything. the cupcake bit! also the sprinkle bit is quite funny. i also just love doing her voice when im talking to myself. she is also the reason that i take a decent amount of damage spells with my current cleric.

beau. i think i thought that i would have liked her more than i did (don't get me wrong i liked her a lot but she is not in my top three), but she is incredible. as a fellow monk pc i do love going the extra mile with those stunning strikes, and also seeing her relationship with yasha blossom was so lovely. and her bro relationships with fjord and caleb were also some of my favourites.

yasha. after starting with campaign three, it was really hard to not see ashley all the time and i remember having to look on the wiki while watching to check when she would come back every time she left. i think i really started to like her more after her she got taken, and went through that big arc, and we were around her more often. i loved watching her dreams. i loved watching her so much.

veth was so unexpected are you kidding me?? i will say i have yet to have a sam character be in my top three but god he knows how to throw an emotional punch and i love that kind of stuff. i love her relationship with caleb, the detective agency, the chaos crew. i love her arc of getting herself back, of seeing her family again. ough. im a big lover of families.

caduceus. goodness gracious me what a character. i just absolutely loved the aesthetic and caduceus's whole relationship to how he approaches death. he is also the reason i started playing a grave cleric in a newer campaign. but truly, has made me think differently about death - which was especially needed for me this year.

mollymauk. i knew he was dead. i knew he would die. but that didn't make me any less upset when it happened! i think about him often, what could have been. especially since i was so sure he took the wrong amount of damage in that fight and should not have quite have been knocked out at that time. but his whole maximallist aesthetic is something i very much enjoy, and i love the through line of his cards with jester.

wow okay this has gotten to be very long but i need to get my thoughts about everyone out somewhere!! if you've read this far im so sorry this is so much of my own ramblings.

#critical role #cr #bells hells #mighty nein #ashton greymoore #orym of the air ashari #fearne calloway #chetney pock o'pea #imogen temult #laudna #fcg #caleb widogast #fjord stone #jester lavorre #beauregard lionett #yasha nydoorin #veth brenatto #caduceus clay #mollymauk tealeaf #my ramblings

[revvethasmythh]

I've just spent a half hour thinking about the validity or invalidity of Imogen as a horse girl from the mind of an irl horse girl. my findings:

Imogen lacks classic horse girl energy. A classic horse girl is high-energy, someone who buys a lot horse related books/toys and runs around an empty field pretending to be a horse and puts on one-girl "dressage" shows while pretending to be a pretty pony. Imogen does not seem like she has ever had that kind of energy. In fact, at first glance, she reminds me much more of A Person Who Has Ridden A Horse, which is a separate breed entirely from horse girl. Imogen did once make a statement about horses being "majestic" or something similar* (yes I tried to find it in the transcript, no I did not succeed, and yes if you search the word "horse" in the transcripts you will get a bevy of colorful results), but did not say it with the manic intensity of a classic horse girl, which indicates to me the sort of rose-tinted glasses worn by someone who has not actually worked at a stable. As someone who has worked at a barn myself, let me tell you, somewhere between dumping wheelbarrows of shit, dodging the ones that bite (it's always the ponies), and chasing rebellious little shits around the paddock because they don't want to come in, the glasses stop being quite so rosy.*

Now, of course, all this is mitigated by the fact that Laura Bailey herself is not a horse girl--there are things one cannot expect her to know. After all, this is the same woman who, on a dime, said horses had "paws" in c3e17. That said, Laura Bailey is capable of playing a horse girl. It's just that that character is Jester Lavorre.

Jester has all the trappings of a classic horse girl, she is the exact type of crazy that is inherent to the horse girl breed, and belongs to a specific subgrouping of horse girls who are so fucking obsessed with horses but have never even once ridden one outside of pony rides at the fair (and probably never will).* The lack of direct contact with horses means the rose-tinted glasses say on for maximum horse-loving crazy energy.

And so, rather than the oft used "horse girl" term, I would propose that Imogen actually falls under a separate but related category: The Barn Person. The Barn Person is tired. The Barn Person woke up at 5am to come check on their horse before work and make sure the blanket they used was the correct weight and falls to their knees in the middle of frozen mud in dismay to realize that their horse has hurt themselves in the paddock and gone lame in the middle of the night. Again. The Barn Person is a little mean and a little judgmental, on account of their physical and existential exhaustion. The Barn Person is the older sister, the polished faced, of horse girl society, while also feeling like another breed of girl entirely.

Conclusion: Imogen is not a horse girl. Imogen is a Barn Person.

Disclaimer: all conclusions made herein are subject to my personal opinions and experiences as a horse girl. this may not and likely will not hold true for all other horse girls

*This memory is vivid in my mind because I vehemently said aloud "a horse girl would NOT fucking say that" when it happened. just trust me. it happened *Obligatory "Imogen does not wear glasses in canon" comment *This is excepting instances wherein Jester does ride horses for dnd travel/game mechanic reasons.

#this is what I'm doing with my higher education degree #I feel like I'm kicking a nest of some kind but I don't even know what's going to come out. angry horse girls maybe #anyway this is my niche horse girl meta hope you enjoyed it #if you didn't. don't tell me #critical role #imogen temult #jester lavorre #you could almost call this……………disk hors— [GUNSHOT]

[dickfuckk]

A list of season 2 cast and crew members, confirmed and speculated

I will try and keep this updated

Not counting the obvious ones

Please note that this is a list of both cast and crew members, so PAs and such are also included and not just actors

Also if you're interested: on my bts instagram I only follow people who have worked on season 1, and people I suspect worked on season 2. So feel free to go through the list of people I follow if you're into that

A

Aaron Morton (Camera) - he’s listed on the very last picture as the camera-man

Adam Stein(Writer)

Alan F. (English solider)

Alexandria S.

Alison Telford (Casting)

Alistair Gregory - from this tweet so uncertain, but followed me back on my bts instagram account so seems to have some interest in ofmd

Amy Barber (Sound department)

Amy Tunnicliffe

Amanda Grace Leo

Amanda M. (Wedding guest)

Andrea Basile (Costume)

Andres Gomez Zamora (Visual effects)

Andrew DeYoung (Director) - I don’t remember if there was any other reason than the fact that he was in Aotearoa during filming

Andy McLaren (senior art director)

Andy Rydzewksi (Cinematographer)

Angelina Faulkner (Sound department)

B

Blair Nicholson (Camera)

Blair Teesdale (Camera)

Brad Coleman (Visual effects)

Brad McLeod (Special effects)

Brian Badie (Hairstylist)

Bronson Pinchot (“Torturer”)

Bryn Seager - I don’t remember why but I follow him

Bryony Matthew (Food stylist)

C

Caleb Staines (Camera)

Chantel Partamian (Visual effects)

Colin Elms (Art department)

Colin Rogers (Sound department)

Cora Montalban (Makeup and/or hairstylist) - I believe she was tagged in an instagram story once, and she’s followed by a ton of cast and crew members

Corrin Ellingford (Sound department)

Corey Moana (Camera)

Corry Greig (Art department)

Coti Herrera (Prosthetics/Makeup)

D

Damian Del Borrello (Sound department)

Daniel Fernandez (Spanish priest)

Danica Duan (Assistan accountant)

David Boden (production manager)

David G. (Stand in)

David Rowell (Financial controller)

David Van Dyke (Visual effects)

Dennis Bailey (Hairstylist)- Leslie revealed that he’s there.

Dion Anderson (Rescue diver)

Don A. (Swampy Town folk)

Donna Pearman (Assistant accountant)

Donna Marinkovich (set decorator)

Doug McFarlene (Pirate)

Duncan Nairn (Visual effects)

E

Eliza Cossio (Writer)

Erroll Shand (Prince Ricky)

Esther Mitchell (Camera)

F

Fernando Frias (Director)

G

Gareth Van Niekerk (Sound department)

Gary Archer (dental prosthetics)

Gemma Campbell (Visual effects)

Grant Lobban

Greg Sager (Safety manager)

Gregor Harris (Camera)

Gregory J. Pawlik Jr. (AD)

Gypsy Taylor (Costume designer)

H

Haroun Barazanchi (Set designer)

Harry Ashby (AD)

Helene Wong (Voice work)

I-J

Jacob Tomuri (Stunts)

Jaden McLeod

James Crosthwaite (Set decorator)

Jamie Couper (Camera)

Jason Samoa, possibly spotted on location

Jemaine Clement, pretty sure this is only based on his friendship with Rhys and Taika tbh

Jes Tom (Writer)

Jessica Lee Hunt (Makeup artist) - followed by a ton of crew and cast members and I believe she’s been tagged in instagram stories and such

John Mahone (Writer)

Jonathan Bruce (Sound department)

Jono Capel-Baker (Groom)

Jonno Roberts didn’t get the role from his audition, but could still have gotten a different role - hung out with Ruibo

Judah Getz (Sound department)

Julia Huberman (Sound department)

Julia Thompson (Costume)

Justin Benn (Republic of Pirates Town)

K

Karl L. (Action extra)

Kate Fu

Kate Leonard (Casting)

Kathleen Zyka Smith (“Red Flag”)

Kosuke Iijima (Fabricator/Sculptor?) - due to interaction on this post

Kris Gillan (Fabricator/Sculptor)

Kura Forrester - followed by quite a few cast and crew members, but I don’t remember if there was anything else to it

L

Laura Stables (SFX makeup artist)

Leanne Evans (Art department)

Lee Tuson

Leslie Jones (Spanish Jackie) - she’s spoiled this so many times, but gjfhdks

Leyla - followed by a lot of cast and crew members, don’t remember if there was more to it than that

Lindsey Cantrell (Set decorator)

Louis Flavell Birch (Blue coat)

Luke V. (Stand in)

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd 2 #ofmd speculation #ofmd spoilers

[queerpuff]

listen, call me a crazy bitch but...

i'm kinda loving all of the angst we're getting from laudna's death. i have strong hope that they'll be able to bring her back so my brain is so certain all of this pain is temporary.

i'd always wondered how imogen would have reacted if laudna died, and boy has laura bailey delivered on that front.

she can't even bear to say the words out loud - she struggles to even say laudna's name and trails off before having to mention she's dead. she's quiet, angry, and morose, and has nothing on her mind other than bringing laudna back.

the fact she was also willing to strike up a deal with delilah to get her back was astounding (the parallels between her and delilah at this point are v interesting) and was getting irritated when the group were trailing away from getting laudna back.

not to mention her keeping pâté, sleeping beside laudna's corpse, and longing for her friend 24/7. it's brilliant yet painful.

just imagine how heart-wrenchingly good next episode will be - imagine imogen's contribution to her resurrection and what she'll say to bring laudna back. imagine the reunion between the two and all the emotions there.

as painful as this all is, i'm loving it and i can't wait to see where it goes next episode. is it fucking thursday yet.

#imodna #cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #critical role

[utilitycaster]

The thing that confuses me about the facial expressions, and correct me if I'm wrong, but these are all Voice Actors. With the exception of Ashley Johnson, I haven't seen any of them in a live-action role. Laura Bailey's acting has been honed to fit her medium, a medium where people can't see her face. That's not to say she can't act through expressions or body language, but to me, it seems like her default would be to convey through voice, not expressions.

Additionally, and here's where you should probably fact check me, in the past, many of the cast, including Laura, has narrated non-verbal reactions their characters have had in different situations. If they want us, the audience, to know their character is reacting to a situation in a particular way, such as lying or putting on a brave face, they don't do that in subtle, easy-to-miss facial expressions or shifts in body language. They do it in narration.

Hey!

So, most of them have been in live-action roles - Taliesin did a lot of TV acting as a child, Sam and Liam both have considerable stage experience, and Travis was in Nip/Tuck. I also have no theater training but I would assume that even if you're alone in a booth - or perhaps especially if you are, and have nothing else to act against - it helps to physically act things out. I mean, no theater training...but I do have to talk to clients over the phone and putting on a fake smile does tend to help.

You can watch the cast and they do often adopt facial expressions and postures in line with their characters. I think this is especially noticeable with Matt, since he plays many different people and his posture and expressions do noticeably change within the same episode. But we also have seen it in action. Liam as Caleb is a great example - note how he freezes when Trent's name first comes up in 2x17. Marisha and Travis are also very physical actors, and frequently embody their character's attacks. You can watch clips across campaigns and note differences in body language and expression among most of the cast depending on the character they play. They frequently narrate what their characters do as well, which I think is good both because a lot of people listen to the show as a podcast, because this is standard D&D practice, and because there's only so much you can embody while sitting down at a table. But there's a physical element and I don't think it's bad to attribute some acting in Critical Role to facial expressions.

I take issue specifically with like...well, if you're mentioning that Laura is biting her lip when she briefly glances at Liam or Marisha and claiming that this means she's secretly in love with them and those are the endgame ships, but leaving out, say, this:

or this:

you're transparently cherrypicking. There's quite literally hundreds of hours of the cast making all kinds of expressions both in and out of character, and you can probably find something that supports whatever you want, if taken out of context.

Here's actually a recent example of an out of context expression! Travis does make this face in that episode, but it happens much later in the conversation. Here's Travis when Ashton actually says he knows loneliness Laudna doesn't (around 1:48:50 in 3x49):

The expression in the post actually appears about 2 minutes later (around 1:50:40), as Ashton is asking Laudna what it was like to wake up and have people there, and if you watch it in context, it's not annoyance or rolling his eyes but intense listening to the conversation. (And, to be fair, it's possible they were just using Travis's face at a later point as a reaction...but it's still not even an annoyed face!)

You can find this constantly. It's in the Mighty Nein reunited; people claim that Caleb was dissociating when Jester says she died when he was in fact not even there (he was still polymorphed into a shark) because Liam happened to make a kind of blank expression, possibly because his character wasn't even there yet.

So it's not that the cast doesn't make expressions or embody their characters. They do! They do it a lot! But like...this is actually one of the things I was vagueing when I made this post about crumbs. People will be like LAURA BLINKED AND THIS MEANS SHE LOVES MY SHIP in an episode where Vex and Percy are fucking in the Whitestone vault, or Jester and Fjord are having a 10 minute intense conversation about the future. Expressions are just one piece (and I agree, what the cast actually deliberately says and narrates is far more important, usually, but expressions are still an important part of their acting - they're voice actors, but they're aware they're on camera) and they must be considered in the appropriate context because people will grab out of character moments or misrepresent when a cast member made a certain face or take a single frame and pretend it's a different emotion than was actually expressed to put forth a narrative they already support.

So: fine to include expressions! Great! If they weren't meaningful then our many fine gifmakers in the fandom would be wasting their time! But as with anything, they can be twisted or deliberately misrepresented, and when they're placed as immutable truth even when out of context, misinterpreted, and at odds with what the cast is actually doing and saying, it borders on deluded.

#answered #Anonymous #cr tag

[sparring-spirals]

the fact that it's canon that vex's attitude towards keyleth wasn't solely due to codependency but also bc she actually adores her a lot, she totally gets what vax sees in her but she can't afford to feel that way especially if her brother's letting his guard down.... vex trying to reassure keyleth regarding her brother's behavior by saying "maybe he was pretending he didn't like you bc he was uncomfortable bc he liked you so much. maybe he just wanted to kiss you"... laura and her choices

Oh yeah. The specification in this ask of "she cant afford to feel that way, especially if her brother is letting his guard down" is just. 👌👌👌👌. There are so many LAYERS to it, the way that it comes off as jealousy (and it IS), and the way that it maybe comes off as fear (because it IS), but its not just about losing her brother, its about the prospect of opening up- to kindness and cruelty- and being vulnerable and all the ways it puts you in danger. (And no matter appearances, both Keyleth and Vax are better at it than her, right? Braver about it. And maybe that's hard to swallow.) Its always easier to frame it in the lens of her brother- in a mistake he is making, in a threat to their relationship, in a fear he is working to overcome- than it is to process it in the context of her. Because doing that is dangerous, for Vex, in a way it isn't for Vax, for Keyleth, for all these fools that love easier and trust easier and are, perhaps, braver for it.

(I also like the added layer if you read it as: that to an extent, Vex didn't even really know how much she cared about Keyleth. Maybe, at least in the start, Vex was only half aware of the way the fear and concern and jealousy and admiration intertwine and can come out ugly. It was easiest to stomach it as fear about her brother, fear about them as a unit, fear about their dual safety. But- there's so much to it. There's so much to it.)

And it's all canonical!!! I am always being spoiled by Laura Bailey Characters being flawed in the indulgent ways I hope for them to be. What lovely, crunchy characterization. 👌👌👌

#i realized after finishing this that this was maybe meant to be a shippy ask but sorry i got a little caught up #man oh man vex. /vex/. #vex'ahlia #character meta #critical role #vex meta #speculation #keyleth #vex'ildan #vexleth #spar speaks #ask away! #as always a disclaimer that i didnt watch c1 proper this is largely drawing from kith and kin and tlovm too #but god the layers in vex's characterization always take me out. shes ill adjusted. shes trying so hard. shes so charming. shes a disaster. #<3 #my meta #anyway good ask thanks anon :'D #tlovm #? #the legend of vox machina #to an extent #this is a MASSIVELY indulgent answer so sorry about that #but also im. not sure what the other options would have been.

[yukii0nna]

Araneus the spider

Age: @#$@

Species: Celestial spirit

Voiced by: Laura Bailey(English)

Style: I loved the Victorian era!!!! It was so stylish!!

Flaws: I have been told I have a weird morality , can't say I blame the insects. I do.

Pet Peeves: Please don't ruin my dear webs. Because you wouldn't want to see your hard work ruined either

Favorite food: I adore seafood!! In fact, I love lobster most of all!!

Least favorite food: I despise sour food, Lemons especially are my mortal enemies

Hobbies: When I'm not being summoned, I love to weave . What can I say? I am a spider after all. I enjoy some topiary as well

Personality

Araneus is what you call a poetic soul. She always loves to make new creations and like a spider to keep to her self. She likes to go to the human world to find inspiration.

However, don't underestimate her!! She is known for being ruthless and sadistic in combat . Her skills make a dangerous spirit to fight.

Friends

Virgo

Scorpio

Vulpecula

Skills

Magic threads: The thread she produces is not only very sticky, it's very strong and hard to break. She can change it to dedicate and thin. It also has some anti magic properties.

Venom bite: Has a strong bite that is laced with poison. This poison is non-lethal but can hurt like crazy.

Enhanced agility: Has amazing reaction time is good a dodging

Trivia

Has a favorite type of master: artistic people with a ruthless side

Loves quite places

Had a grudge against Taurus for ruining one of her creations by accident. They patched it up awhile back

Is known to love rain

@shiningharmony @jasontoddssuper @insomniac-jay @marrondrawsalot @anxious-twisted-vampire @danika-redgrave124 @kousaka-ayumu @abyssthing198 @punkeropercyjackson @fairytail-multishipper

#oc #just like magic #fairy tail