datgameguy

[datgameguy]

Liam O’Brien thank you so much for saying this (I was getting so tired of the “the tiny nod of the head was the only reason Delilah came back this is literally all Orym’s fault he knew exactly what would happen he personally caused Laudna’s suffering” bs cause… my lil guy isn’t very magically inclined, he didn’t know exactly what she was doing, he just thought she should take him out because if she didn’t he would’ve)

[datgameguy]

Hey, so, am I the only one who remembers that just a few episodes ago—and literally just the other night in-game—Orym was given Otohan’s sword the first time and the group agreed that it should be his to deal with? That he walked off on his own with it, full of grief and anguish, and they all let him have his moment? How that was literally just a day ago?

And now, just a day later, Laudna is looking at him with total betrayal that he’s actually wielding the sword.

Just a thought.

[datgameguy]

manifesting at *some point* that dorian flat out kisses orym to give bardic inspiration. i literally cannot stop thinking about what that scene would look like mid battle help

[datgameguy]

"why is everyone saying orym is right?!" "why is everyone saying laudna is right?!" they're not. there is no "everyone". neither side has overwhelming support; you just want to feel like your opinion is the Correct one and villainize anyone who disagrees. how long will the show have to hammer it in that this isn't something you can shove neatly into boxes labeled "right" and "wrong" until the fandom gets it?

[datgameguy]

In your arms again 💙💚

[datgameguy]

The juicy parallels of Lilliana and Laudna.

How they both cozy up to dubious sources of power.

How they both use the protection of Imogen to justify it.

How Imogen never asked them to do so and actively cautioned against such powers.

How they both say they love her but they both don't listen.

[datgameguy]

i love me some good old mutual pining, but if i have to witness one more second of dorian and orym’s painful (and incredibly prolonged) yearning for one another, i might actually explode

[datgameguy]

"you don't have to save everyone"

[datgameguy]

also just throwing this out: don't wanna see ANY BITCH trying to push the idea delilah did this because loves laudna or she vanished because she "understands imogen and laudna's love". delilah can and will throw laudna under the bus to get what she wants. she's literally trying to take her body. this would be like if you said the mirror fearnes love fearne and just wanted to keep her safe when they were beating the shit out of her

[datgameguy]

From Critical Role C3EP95

The gays are winning(?)

[datgameguy]

Sorry but can you imagine the reactions if Ashton attacked Fearne to get the Fire Shard from her in the dead of night?

[datgameguy]

Free my girl Imogen from the burden of bitches doing unhinged shit in her name

[datgameguy]

In an alternate reality where Covid never happens I’m convinced that the Mighty Nein go all the way to level 20 and end the campaign by battling against Ludinus and thwarting his plans to free Predathos.

[datgameguy]

Orym's argument against Ludinus Da'leth and the Ruby Vanguard is essentially "The purpose of a system is what it does."

This is a systems theory coined by Stafford Beer around 2001. He posited there is "no point in claiming that the purpose of a system is to do what it constantly fails to do." It does not matter what someone tells you a system does if it does not reliably do that. The things it does consistently do are the actual purpose of the system.

Ludinus (and Liliana) claim the purpose of the Ruby Vanguard's violence is to free Exandria of oppression from the gods. Orym's point is that they have not consistently protected anyone from oppression. They consistently murder innocent people, indoctrinate vulnerable people into doing terrible violence (including children), support a ruling class that dominates the population through mind control and eugenics, and seek to release a predator so terrifying that the warring alien gods and native primordials worked together to seal it away as a threat to both of them.

So the logical conclusion is that the purpose of Ludinus' system is not to free anyone from tyranny, it's to install himself as the tyrant. And it does not matter what Ludinus says it's for or even what he believes it's for. The purpose of a system is what it does. And Orym has been personally and repeatedly victimized by what it does. Why wouldn't he keep reminding them of that?

Add onto that, the Ruby Vanguard is a death cult. They lure people in with believable lies. They use propaganda to control how people view them and to convince people to support them. Liliana has been groomed into a true believer who genuinely thinks what she has been told is true and that Ludinus' system does what he says it will. She has been convincing other people of this for years. Not because she's an inherently bad person but because everyone generally tries to convince others that what we believe is true. It is actually dangerous to let a cultist try to talk you into the cult's perspective. That's why Orym shuts it down.

Orym was already on edge but it's fully in a breakdown after FCG's sacrifice. One more iteration of Ludinus' system consistently murdering the people he loves. But he still told Imogen he wants her to have a good relationship with her mom again. He wants Liliana to make it through the other side of this. But that has to involve consistently stating the reality of what's happening against what she believes.

Ludinus believes in the rapture of the revolution. Burn everything to the ground on a fundamental level and a new perfect society will grow, with him to guide it. The reality is that kind of power vacuum consistently leads to horrific violence and conditions often get much, much worse. Especially for vulnerable people, who often do not survive. A lot about the gods' relationships to mortals probably needs to change, but this an incredibly dangerous gamble to fix it.

The purpose of a system is what it does. Any suggestion otherwise is cold comfort to Orym's family in the ground.

[datgameguy]

I hope you are all prepared for how annoying I will be if Dorym becomes canon.

Like… an MLM ship becoming canon with narrative room in the campaign to explore it???? Yes please!!!

[datgameguy]

God do I love how Ame and Suvi’s conflict is representative of the wider conflict between Witches and Wizards. (Long ass post incoming)

First lets look at the conflict in Chapter 2 about trusting Sly’s predictions of the conclave compared to other Citadel diviners. Witches are about community and connection. Ame trusted Sly because he had a connection to Wren, no other diviners in the Citadel had Wren’s trust that we know of just Sly. Wizards on the other hand put their faith in institutions and hierarchies. If Sly’s predictions are contradicted by those of several other diviners with more influence in the system, then his predictions should be discarded. (Also keep in mind that Sly was relegated to obscurity because his predictions were largely about things that didn’t line up with the Citadel’s priorities)

So we get tension at the end of Chapter 2 because Ame (through Wren) has a connection to and trusts more in Sly as an individual than the Citadel’s diviners as an institution. Suvi on the other hand hears Steel say that a group of diviners might have contrary evidence to what Sly predicted and instinctively puts her trust in the institution over the individual.

As a result Suvi and Steel dismiss Ame’s concerns about Sly’s predictions until Ame gets so worked up about the issue that she takes drastic action to return to Toma and prepare. Of course Suvi is right to be upset with the manor in which Ame leaves, it’s incredibly reckless and could have lead to several civilians (and Eursalon!!) getting injured or killed. However she fails to see her and Steel’s roles in pushing Ame into immediate action. Steel never took Ame seriously, and Suvi largely agreed with her.

And now we get to Episode 25 and Suvi’s scathing tirade against Ame.

A big theme of this arc seems to be how both Witches and Wizards look down on one another. Steel has her line about Witches seeing Wizards as “devious, paranoid, and buffoonish,” while Suvi blows up on Ame for “that smart ass tone about Wizards.”

And you know what they’re right. Witches do look down on Wizards.

I find myself wondering how Ame, Witch of the World’s Heart and the steward of humanity, could NOT look down on Wizards. The Wizards of the Citadel may be the brightest minds humanity has to offer, but they use those gifts to fuel a seemingly endless war with Ruve and Gouthmai (a war that threatens the lives and homes of Eursalon’s family). The Citadel seems to glorify violence (remember in Chapter 1 when Suvi proudly displayed that she spilled blood on behalf of the Citadel?). We also know from Kalaya that over time the Citadel went from what was essentially a huge university, to a homogeneous and militarized society.

Thats without even mentioning how Steel herself proves the Witches assessment of Wizards correct! Steel concocts a plan for Suvi that is devious in its intentions, paranoid in its secrecy, and buffoonish in how it could undermind the meeting of the Coven and cost both Ame and Suvi their lives if discovered. While Suvi is lecturing Ame on judging Wizards she has unknowingly agreed to a plan that proves all of her assumptions correct.

Suvi is probably my favorite character in this campaign. Aabria absolutely BRINGS IT every session. I’ve no doubt that many of the things listed in this post crossed her mind and were intentional. After all, the Citadel is a defining part of Suvi’s identity.

Wizards exist in a world that does not take them seriously. We’re 25 episodes in and spirits and witches alike have constantly referred to Wizards in pejorative terms. It’s not hard to see how someone like Suvi, born in the thick of the world of Wizards would cling to the Citadel as the lone institution of the world that advocates for Wizards. Because Suvi is a wizard she is preemptively judged by nearly every witch and spirit in the story. So of course she’ll judge them too.

After all, wouldn’t you?

[datgameguy]

If Dorian comes back Robbie better be permanent this time.