cranesofibycus

[cranesofibycus]

T-shirt that says "I <3 death in narratives"

[cranesofibycus]

I’m also way behind on c3 and saw the big vax spoiler and it has really stunned and stumped me. Vax was my favorite character in c1 but I never felt cheated by his death. It had and still has so much meaning to me. I’m disappointed and frustrated over the whole thing. It’s what I’ve been quietly worried about since he became a part of c3. I was relieved by your post because I’ve largely seen a positive response from other viewers that had me wondering if this was just a me thing. I’m still planning on continuing with c3 and other cr content but I’m not really happy with where they took his story. I’m interested in their discussions about it in wrap up material but I don’t know if I’ll be satisfied with what they say. I know it’s ultimately their story and I won’t hold it against them but it’s definitely getting the side eye from me.

I'm fully with you on almost everything here, but I just gotta say that the "it's ultimately their story and I won't hold it against them" thing is not really my vibe anymore. I get why people say it- there’s a deference to creators that feels respectful - but streamed ttrpg stories aren’t private creative exercises. Once a story is shared, it belongs to the audience as much as the creator, and that means engaging with it critically is both valid and necessary.

That’s why I think it’s unhelpful to excuse questionable storytelling just because the creators had the right to make those choices (not that you're doing that, but I’ve seen a few who definitely are). CR thrives on emotional storytelling, but part of that is respecting the weight of past narrative choices. Vax’s ending in c1 worked because it had permanence - his sacrifice mattered. Undermining that, even with caveats, weakens not just his story but the stakes of CR as a whole. When death is something that can always be rewritten, it loses meaning. And that’s not just a nitpick - that’s a fundamental flaw in their approach to long-form storytelling.

Fandom spaces suffer when critique is treated as negativity. Expressing disappointment doesn’t mean rejecting a story outright - it means people care. And when a narrative choice weakens something powerful, it deserves interrogation, not blind acceptance. So yeah, I'm not gonna sugarcoat that how Vax's story was handled is, at best, counterproductive and, at worst, destructive to the integrity of the world they built. If we’re expected to take these stories seriously, then the creators have a responsibility to honor the emotional weight of their own storytelling. And if they don’t, we have every right to question why.

[cranesofibycus]

#Im sure he LOVES the irony that he outlives the sister he did all this for huh :)))))

Having sat on the last Keyleth and Vax scene more, I am getting less charitable to it by the minute and I’m starting to think it might actually have been so bad it retroactively ruined my favorite storyline from C1 which. Sucks.

[cranesofibycus]

I'll have you know that I've seen exactly one (1) spoiler for the C3 finale and that one spoiler makes me

a. never wanna finish that campaign (I got to episode 107)

b. lose a lot of trust in the cr cast and their ability to handle the most important themes of their work with the care and attention they deserve and need.

I made so many "death is an important part of storytelling" posts back in the day, I was already super on the fence about Vax's appearance and involvement in the solstice, and now I'm just... baffled. Can't comprehend that they would choose to reverse, to cheapen, to undo the most important message and theme of all three of their campaigns combined at the very end.

Severely disappointed. I hope all the people with glorious, fantastic, moving Vax, Keyleth or Vaxleth tattoos manage to ignore this part and can still find meaning in the story.

[cranesofibycus]

Beau/Vex, huh?

[cranesofibycus]

Pictured: Man/Child/God experiencing the most tragic throwing of a gauntlet and realizing what he will be forced to do thusly.

[cranesofibycus]

Brennan asking for a bio break an hour into Downfall is so unbelievably relatable.

[cranesofibycus]

I'm running my first Daggerheart one- (or two or three) shot tomorrow, and I'm genuinely falling in love with the system more and more the deeper I dive into the handbook. I'm still unsure about the whole evasion/armor/damage threshold/HP/stress tangle of things, but I'm curious how all of that feels in play, and I can't wait for our small band of adventurers to explore the world we created in our session zero last week. We have a steampunk vertical city, a massive magical tree that supplies the world with arcane seeds and a glacier that's slowly melting and releasing ancient horrors upon the world. Oh, and we have a little ribbit aristocrat looking for his true love's kiss. You know. Classic low-stakes, one-shot RPG stuff.

[cranesofibycus]

Did Yussa get himself trapped in another pocket dimension???

[cranesofibycus]

I wanna live in the energy of the ep93 Critical Cooldown forever, please. Aabria being a ground-gremlin and cursing another hasted champion of the Raven Queen, Robbie revealing that he wanted to do the Dirty Dancing move with Orym, Matt's insight on Dariax and Aimee invoking Deni$e/Chetney fan fic. The vibes. Friends sitting around a campfire, laughing, crying, telling stories.

[cranesofibycus]

Essek with shoulder-length hair? Astrid "I'm no successor to him. I'm his usurper" Beck?? I am LIVING.

[cranesofibycus]

The Bringer of Change.

[cranesofibycus]

Because they made me alive 💛

[cranesofibycus]

the other one was fun so i'm making a part two

[cranesofibycus]

From Critical Role C3EP91

[cranesofibycus]

Arc 3: The Witch and her retinue