#and none more so than Matt and Travis.

[utilitycaster]

Won't get to the back half until this afternoon but genuinely it's still so funny that Travis showed up like "Matt, you have an opportunity to stop my silly little d100 games that could fuck with everything, for good!" and Matt looked him dead in the eye like "I could, but is that what you TRULY want?" and Travis was like "Upon further reflection? No! Thanks for checking."

[s-sturn]

𖥔 OPEN ARMS!

part 2

summary: where Chris begins to keep Y/N away from his life after thinking he no longer wanted Y/N, then the girl decides to leave him after getting so tired of the relationship, making Chris realize that he was totally wrong.

warnings: angst, little fight, SADDDDD!!, swearing, regret, crying!!

masterlist!

Y/N’s POV

Chris was going to go out once again with his friends, leaving me aside as he has been doing these last few weeks.

He has been taking me away from his life for days, sometimes messing with his phone while telling something interesting about my day, he seemed much more interested in sending torpedoes to his friends than in hearing me speak.

All that was tiring, I see Chris finishing fixing his hair and sending a message to a friend of his who would be with him at this party, he left the room not even making a point of saying goodbye.

My mind was surrounded by thoughts, I felt that it was no longer important in the brunette's life, and that he didn't love me anymore and that he could even be with another girl.

Tears began to wet my pink cheeks, while I felt empty and alone, thinking that I lost the love of my life, and that now I would have to leave it.

I fell asleep in the middle of my thoughts, waking up the next day without feeling the presence of Chris by my side, leaving me so hurt.

I got up from the boy's bed, sitting on the edge, taking a deep breath and cleaning my face as I always did.

I leave my boyfriend's room going up the stairs of the house, reaching the kitchen, meeting the triplets.

I give a kind smile when I see Nick and Matt saying good morning, I would expect something from Chris, but he is as usual, on his phone.

━━━ How about we go out to eat? After all, none of us have anything to do. ━━━ Nick asked everyone at the table, while Matt and I agreed with our heads and I soon turn to Chris

━━━ I have things to do today, Nate invited me to another party and I'll go. ━━━ The brunette said arrogant getting up from the table and leaving for his room, where he would stay there, for a long time.

I get upset and irritated, making me get up from the table and go down the stairs to the door of Chris' room, I hit that piece of wood several times, soon coming away with Chris' angry expression.

━━━ Stop! That's fucking annoying! What do you want? ━━━ He said angry and rude, making me incredulous about the way he talked to me.

━━━ What the fuck is that, Chris?! You keep going out to parties, ignoring your brothers and me, who am your girlfriend! ━━━ My tone was angry, very angry.

━━━ What a drama, Y/N! I'm just having fun! ━━━ He rolled his eyes slightly as he crossed his arms

━━━ But to have fun, you need to kick me out of your life so much?! ━━━ After my question he was quiet for a few seconds, thinking about what to say.

━━━ Maybe. ━━━ My mouth fell, I couldn't speak or say anything, tears threaten to fall, but I didn't let them fall. ━━━ Maybe I don't even love you anymore. ━━━ His tone was arrogant and cold, I didn't recognize him anymore, the tears that threatened to fall finally wet my face, flashbacks come to my mind, reminding me of my first date with Chris, our first kiss, our first "I love you", our first look.

I didn't believe that the man who said he loved me so much, gave up the love he had on me, I sighed closing my eyes, while he took his attention to my person and returned to the phone.

━━━ So, I'll let you go, we're done. ━━━ My tone was crying, I left the bedroom door going up the stairs without looking back, my vision was blurred by so many tears accumulated on my face.

Nick and Matt asked what happened and I just replied that we had finished what made the two brothers go into shock.

They knew that Chris was the love of my life, that I wanted to marry him, have children.

I quickly said goodbye to the two of them leaving the house quickly, getting into my car and going back to my apartment.

I felt an inexplicable emptiness in my chest, an emptiness that Chris filled, my heart was broken, I didn't feel like doing anything else, just lying in my bed and sleeping for days and days, and when I woke up all this was just a horrible nightmare.

I thought at what moment he stopped loving me, at what moment I stopped being his girl, my head exploded, while my eyes looked like a waterfall.

CHRIS’ POV

It's been exactly 2 months since I last saw Y/N.

She cried so much, and I didn't comfort her as I always did, I caused her the pain and I never noticed it.

As soon as I heard the words she had left me, I bitterly regretted what I had said, I just wanted to run after her, hug her, kiss her, and beg for her forgiveness while saying how much I loved her, even if for a stupid reason I had hidden and denied these feelings.

For some point in my life, I felt that my relationship with Y/N was too good, which made me scared of everything ending and I ended up hurting myself again, so I pushed her away and denied my feelings, causing an inexplicable pain in both of us, which for some reason I had never noticed, I went out to parties and came back a lot in the afternoon, I always saw her lying on my bed, sleeping peacefully, it made me feel so guilty, for thinking that I really didn't have any feelings for her anymore, and that morning when I said those words I regretted it in the same second.

I felt so much guilt to the point that I didn't feel like doing anything else, I didn't want to eat or talk, I just grabbed the only blouse there was of Y/N in which there was her smell, I slept calmly, thinking she was there, and when I woke up and returned to my reality, I cried like a baby.

I can't stand the way she is missed anymore, her touch, her smell, her kiss, I miss everything about her.

I regret so much that I let her go.

I hated this thing sm, omfg 😭😭😭 And i’m so sorry if this post has spelling mistakes!

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[kaylor]

Is campaign 3 worth watching 😭 im somewhere near ep 45 and there have just been so many arcs that do nothing for me. The stakes feel absurdly high for uhh level .. 6? and i thought it would get good at some point but if they still cant make a plan by ep 80 i dont think i care to waste my time 😭😭

yuhhhh i don't know man. the malleus key and the fallout of it is pretty dope, and idk how many spoilers you've seen so i'll leave it there. but after that it gets very boring again i can't lie.

you're so right about the high stakes!! these characters haven't had any space to breathe or grow since like episode 20 or whenever it was they found out about predathos and the world ending. they've been chasing a plot they're not ready for without doing any of the character work that makes you care about their goal. it's difficult to see why the party is together in the first place because they don't talk to each other or have any reason care about each other (except fearne/orym and imogen/laudna but the latter is so bland it's actually painful).

the party doesn't gel, there's no motivations from anyone beyond orym having a personal stake in it. imogen is so wishywashy about everything. none of them care about the gods except FCG, and no one in the party cares about FCG. except ashton, who is played so passively and unpleasantly that it doesn't even matter. there's no caleb/vax doing his biweekly checkins with each party member to unlock new dialogue. there's no fjord/grog to make a buckwild (yet thematically relevant) decision to direct the party in any direction. there's no driving force behind any of these characters like sorry liam and travis, turns out if you take a backseat to let your friends have the spotlight, they will do sweet fuck all!!

another problem i think is how they're given so many pieces of the puzzle at once, whilst the big bad is already in play. i don't know if that was matt's intention, but it's led to them barely following up on any character driven plot points because, well, the world might end. so any extracurricular character development is nixed in favor of chasing a maxxed out uberbaddy who is almost definitely going to kill them. any cool character moments kind of happen in spite of rather than thanks to the events, and honestly feel a bit forced sometimes because the characters have all been so stagnant for so long, and honestly the most interesting things about the characters are their backstories, which have already happened. their current motivations are a mystery and none of them seem interested in learning more about each other. it just feels very awkward and stale.

PLUS, the stakes are absurdly high but also there are no consequences for anything!! laudna dying didn't feel important because it wasn't permanent! because they can apparently just ask a member of vox machina for a resurrection!!! absolutely bizarre choice from matt to allow that, if i'm being completely honest. like sorry i know that's your wife but marisha should be 40 episodes deep into her backup character by now because there's absolutely no way anyone in VM would agree to resurrecting a delilah briarwood puppet let's be so serious. the party (especially imogen) dealing with a PC death would have made for some really interesting development, and would have created an opportunity for imogen to either take a leadership role to get revenge on otohan, OR break bad and turn on the rest of the party. some delicious pvp. but unfortunately laura doesn't seem to know what to do with her character and therefore does nothing, so it felt extremely flat and meaningless, which kind of sums up c3 tbh. some of the highest stakes but barely a PC who gives a shit.

the past say 10 episodes have been a slog for only a handful of cool moments, so i really hope post episode 82 it picks up a bit. plot is fun and situations are fun but i'm struggling to care about any of these characters because it doesn't seem like any of the cast care about them either. which is a shame because some of them have huge potential, FCG is literally an aeormaton!!!! my god you have GOT to get into it. why is no one getting into it!!!! will someone PLEASE pick up what sam is putting down!!! the payoff is always so good!!!

[centaurianthropology]

General Thoughts of Candela Obscura E1

So, for those who are waiting for the drop for Youtube, I’m just going to put these under a cut.

The first episode was ... fine.  I like the characters, but the story was a little less horror than I was hoping for.  I think this is likely a side-effect of it being an introduction to the system and the world, and I hope we dig deeper and get into way worse and creepy things in Oldfaire, because the town gives off some serious Yharnam vibes, and I really want to see much worse below the city.

The horror seems currently on the level of something like Fallen London (another strong similar vibe I got from the setting), where it can be mildly creepy, but nothing to spook even the biggest scardey-cats.  And part of that, I think, is Matt being first and foremost a D&D DM.  His favorite horror is body horror, clearly, and his sensibilities are geared for D&D combat and monsters.  And that is no bad thing, but so far I really haven’t seen him dig deep and come up with a really strong horror hook.  

And to be fair to him, doing horror in a TTRPG is HARD.  The sci-fi horror series ‘Eclipse’ had only one episode out of three seasons that really got me properly creeped out.  Taliesin’s Call of Cthulhu one-shot ‘Shadow of the Crystal Palace’ had some great horror moments, such as the moment with the guard and Travis, but that’s as close as we’ve come to proper horror content from CR.  And this introduction to Candela Obscura, despite being hyped as proper horror spooks, lacked any real fear.  We got ..blue ghosts?  A big warrior spirit?  Cool, sure, and definitely some fun visuals, but nothing that felt actually scary in that existential, unexpected way.

I also sort of wish Taliesin was playing the group’s Lightkeeper, as I think he’d bring more gravity and spooky shit to the table, essentially acting as a junior DM and NPC.  He would give the circle instructions and would be available to discuss lore and such with them as needed, but would always give off a vibe that interacting with him for too long might be dangerous.  It would also make his intros feel a little less separated from the rest of the episode.  

Now, all this may sound like I was pretty down on the episode, but I did enjoy it.  The characters are fun, they’re good horror tropes (particularly Laura’s crazy-eyed occultist, who gives off some delightfully weird vibes).  Having them have personal connections to one another is also great, as it gives them more to lose (and I am really hoping we do lose a few by the end of the third episode, as I want Matt to ratchet up the danger hard).

And as I said at the beginning, this is very much the first episode, with some kinks to work out.  I’m hoping that, now that the establishing episode is over and done with, Matt can destroy all my doubts and show me that he can really embrace the fucked-up horror vibes this show really needs to have proper teeth and linger with the audience.  Having a system weighted toward failure or only partial successes, with true success seeming like a rarity, could really help with this, and giving the characters more resource crunch could also be great.  ‘Call of Cthulu’, for example, has very few rules about fighting, but a lot about running away, because that’s what you’re supposed to do.  So it’s great that none of the characters in this current run are active combatants.  Sending them into Oldfaire with no real means of defending themselves and barely enough information to keep them alive could really up the terror, and leaning into reality-breaking cosmic weirdness seems like a great angle to take if and when they descend below the city streets.  

Setting up proper scares and paying them off would also be a huge benefit.  Taliesin had some great moments of this in ‘Shadow of the Crystal Palace’, as I mentioned, and though the rest of the series never quite rose to the same heights, the third episode of Eclipse, ‘The Dark Zone’ is frankly a masterclass at being properly spooky and unsettling that could be referenced for ways to get your players spooked and keep them there.  So it is doable, but it requires the DM to go in with spooks set up and ready to go.  Matt is fantastic at set-up and is an incredibly diligent DM, so I do trust he can do this.  And he’s got a good buddy who has experience doing it if he needs any ideas.

I am looking forward to following this run, and I think a lot of my issues with this first episode are simply early growing pains of a new system and new players.  I think by the third episode, if Matt really cranks up the horror, I am going to love this series, and I am both a big fan of CR and a big horror fan, particularly cosmic horror.  So I’m very excited to see what the next run might be like after the growing pains are over and the kinks are worked out.  I hope we get at least three runs with three different DMs, because getting to see how this system plays in different hands with different approaches would be really beneficial to those of us tempted to run Candela Obscura ourselves.  I would love to see Ivan van Norman DM one of the runs, as he’s got a great sense for horror.  And I would really like Taliesin to take the reigns.  This is his baby, and right now his distance from it is probably deliberate, as he wants to see how it plays without his interference, but I think his DM style from ‘Shadow of the Crystal Palace’ would really bring this setting to life, dragging his investigators into darker and darker places.

All in all, not a bad start.  Not great, but first episodes of any of CR’s campaigns (or frankly pilot episodes in general) are often weakened by everyone being new to their characters and the DM still figuring out the tone they want to go for.  I think that we’ll be seeing a lot of improvement, and a lot of what’s already strong (the characters) getting built out to the point where, if we start losing them in episode three, it’ll have some serious impact leading into the formation of the next circle for the next run.

[captainsspnanon]

C2E71 - Family Gathering - rewatch

Ah no, now Laura and Travis are remote! I remember them saying after that the connection wasn’t great, and Travis specifically talking about how it was hard for him to handle it remote, especially with the ADD (I’m pretty sure they said that, at least) (if I recall, it was the reason he gave for not connecting Caduceus’s story to Fjord’s last name)

Okay, is it just me, or are Dairon and Essek’s accents basically identical? Like, I’ve thought this from the start, even from my original watch through. It’s just hard because I don’t really have any good side by sides to compare it to, and also theoretically they should have very DIFFERENT accents because Empire and Xhorhas. I wonder if this is why I always kept forgetting Essek’s accent and thinking he had a different one (even with this watch through, I expect him to sound different somehow).

I mean, all respect to Matt for having a jillion different voices he can do, but because of that, when he ends up duplicating a prominent character’s voice, it gets very weird. I know this has happened before, but I honestly can’t remember who with. Just that he did a voice and it was very ‘but what that’s [x] other NPC’s voice!’

oh beau!!! My heart breaks a little bit at this scene, with Beau immediately being confrontational with Dairon, misunderstanding confusion as aggression. “but don’t – are you gonna get mad at me? Are you gonna get mad at me?” just the defensiveness falling into the insecurity, for me this very small bit right here is a FANTASTIC depiction of Beau. She’s aggressive to authority, but not because of the assumed ‘automatic disrespect to power discrepancy’, but due to her fear that no matter what she does, it’s not good enough. No matter how well she does, someone that she looks up to will deride her for it, or express displeasure in her doing it. Here it is so clearly seen how her father has impacted her. She just wants to do things RIGHT and have people SEE that she does. SEE how hard she tries. SEE that she cares, and honestly? PRAISE her for doing what she’s done. True, non-condescending praise. And not from someone like Jester who will praise her no matter what, not from someone like Fjord who will offer praise but also ask for help, but from someone who is on a demarcated level ABOVE her, who there is no doubt is higher ranking, who does not need a give and take on equal level. The difference between a sibling saying you did well, a classmate saying you did well, and a teacher saying you did well.

Dairon will eventually be on a level where she believes that she and Beau are equals, but I suspect that Beau will always consider her to be a form of authority, just a very positive authority who you almost want to remain in that position, so that any praise has that different feel than praise from a peer.

Huh, first watch through I completely missed Jester frantically waiving Beau off, trying not to have her tell Dairon about returning the beacon. That’s weird! Why would she be opposed?? She’s typically the MOST open of the Nein!

It is SOOO rewarding to watch this bit knowing about Essek being the traitor. They’re discussing giving away the beacons to start a war, to get lots of money, to get favors. None of those end up being true! He just wanted more knowledge that he wasn’t able to get on his own. I know there’s a lot of fanbase drama around Essek being a ‘war criminal’ and such, but what I put in his favor is that 1) EVERYONE says that the war was going to eventually happen and was getting closer and closer to a boiling point, and 2) he did this without the intention of causing harm. (I shouldn’t have to say this, but I’m going to anyway IT IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE HE IS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER. NO ONE ACTUALLY DIED, THERE WAS NO ACTUAL WAR. As such, I can think of things from a character perspective, a narrative perspective, and gain a very VERY different viewpoint. If this was the real world, Essek was a real person, actually did these things for real, real people died, it should be damn OBVIOUS that the viewpoint would be different and there would be no ‘narrative’ or ‘character’ consideration.)

(also, I’ve read a few fantastic meta posts about how Essek was in the exact right position to be groomed by the Empire into becoming the traitor, which, while I adore them and will sometimes treat them as headcanon, I don’t consider to be actual canon. Just as Bren made the decision to kill his parents, Essek made the decision to hand over the beacons. In my opinion, Essek’s decision was actually more under his own control and more selfish than Bren. And this is why, as much as I enjoy a variety of Shadowgast fanfic, ones which turn Essek into pure woobie really don’t sit well with me. This is a man who caused harm, who did something selfishly and recognized that it likely WOULD cause harm, and as far as I can tell, did not begin to regret his actions until the Nein started to break down walls he had put up. As much as I will read fics that come up with reasons why Adeen Tasithar was evil and deserved what he got, as far as we know in canon, Adeen was kinda a jerk, and that was all. And Essek, as far as we see, has no regret for condemning him to imprisonment, likely torture, likely death.) (wow I jumped ahead there, oops) (I have Essek Opinions, and can get irritated at fan portrayal of him that flattens him out to ‘poor little meow meow’ and ‘the girl in the relationship’. Seriously, I think a lot of fan fic authors needs to learn that in a queer relationship, one of the people involved does not need to be the feminine one, the girly one, the one who hits all the ‘stay at home waiting for her man, decked out in jewelry’ tropes. I have a LOT of trouble with feminized Essek art because of this, ESPECIALLY because all official Essek art depicts him as very masculine, to the point where people scream that he looks ugly and out of character) (okay I’ll stop ranting now I promise) (at least about this topic)

A lot of wonderful conversation between Beau and Dairon, and I’m getting distracting by Laura and Travis getting distracted XD

I wonder if Matt was nudging towards them giving Essek’s name as a contact to Dairon, with the thought of Dairon eventually being the one to expose him, at least to the group. Again, one of the things that I wonder how far ahead he plans things, and how much he tries subtle nudging during play. Was he trying to get this step? Or was it just that Dairon needed help and it ended up coming to this during the RP?

*snerk* I don’t think I’ve ever seen Matt so snarky that he has the NPC call out the cast for not paying attention during a scene. I love that Sam catches it first and goes ‘i’m distracting your wife’ and Matt’s just like yuuuuup.

*grimaces* I hate when I notice my own personal biases, especially when they’re stupid. I am NOT a fan of Taliesin rolling a die in his hand and directly asking Matt “how high do I have to roll to tell that someone was in the house”, because it doesn’t give an opportunity for Matt to really say no. Now he HAS to allow for Tal to make the check, even if it’s something where he didn’t want Tal to at all. BUT! BUT! I also know that this is me being more sensitive to Taliesin when he does things like this, as I’m 95% sure that Liam has done something similar in C3 and I wasn’t bothered by it. Maybe not as directly, but he’s 100% rolled dice in his hands sort of non-verbally asking to be permitted a perception check – I guess I’m more okay with it because a lot of times Matt DOESN’T ask for one, and Liam just puts the dice down without making a big deal about it, whereas this is straight up “let me do the thing”. Now I know that Matt technically could have made it an impossible DC, or set it at like 28+ or something. It’s just something that rubs me the wrong way.

(I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I definitely do adore Taliesin and all the PCs he’s created minus Molly/Kingsley, but he’s also the player that I tend to have the most issues with. I think our styles of play are just clashing. It’s very very rare that he does something WRONG, but it’s not super uncommon that he does something that I don’t like.)

….and immediately after THAT – Jester rolls at nat 20 to see Dairon, but Caduceus is the one saying that he saw her “wow all the way up there”. NO TALIESIN. LAURA GOT THE SUCCESS, NOT YOU. *huffs* And then calling her down. Matt specifically had confirmed that Caduceus didn’t find her. THIS is something that Taliesin does occasionally that I do feel is WRONG and not just a thing I don’t like. We didn’t like it when Orion would take away spotlight from another player, well I don’t like it when Taliesin does it either.

(also in fairness this is definitely a clashing play style that I KNOW I have issues with. In my campaign, my druid had turned into a water bug so that she could skim across a bog, the DM gave me a bunch of information, and then a player whose PC was all the way back across the entire bog started talking and RPing and using the information. Which meant that without my decision, my PC had returned to the group AND dropped her wildshape to share the information. Meaning that any other shit I wanted to do? Couldn’t. Because the other player had a cool thing she wanted to do with the info, so she did it, without considering that her PC wouldn’t have known the info. Tal wanted to do his funny RP without him considering that Caduceus was confirmed by Matt to not have seen Dairon, but because Jester did, even though Jester didn’t TELL, Caduceus got to do his funny bit, overriding any RP decisions that Laura may have wanted to make.)

Oh joy, I get to be a negative nancy, because we immediately then go into SAM and one of my peeves with HIM. Nott clarifying that Dairon would possibly be a maid? Completely in character. Knowing that Jester had people tend the house and asking about it? Still in character. Dismissively saying that sure you can learn a servants name? NOT in character, just 100% a Sam joke. He even confirms it when Marisha cracks ‘your Scanlan is showing’ and he corrects ‘my Sam Riegel is showing’. Look, it’s a very funny joke, especially with the context of Dairon ready to pulverize for the joke, but it makes no sense at all for Nott to say it. It’s no wonder that it’s harder for me to get a good sense of Sam’s characters, when he In Character makes jokes that are clearly Out Of Character, but now his PC has made the joke and is being reacted to as such, even when it makes no sense for his PC to act that way.

There’s an aspect of Caleb that the campaign never really went in depth on, which is touched on here. Caleb is very certain that he’s still being hunted for, if not already found. The team are indicating that with the war going on, looking for one guy isn’t really that big of a deal, bad use of resources. Caleb is very disbelieving and in fact flinches during the conversation. We know from later that Trent wanted Caleb to take over for his own position. With all the vollstrecker, I really wonder how high up in the chain Caleb was, to know that he would very actively be hunted, to have Trent personally try to groom him for the position. Especially because Caleb/Liam have downplayed Caleb’s abilities, see Liam mentioning how he was only maybe level 2 before he broke, and that he never ‘graduated’, didn’t complete his learnings. Is it just the PC center, like how the players will always be the center? Or is there more that we never really had a chance to learn?

...document last saved 8/16. ...in fairness to me, I had a really rough end of August?

Wait is this the first instance of them teleporting to Yussa’s and just completely failing to let him know ahead of time??? XDDDD I love running gags that start AND continue just by sheer accident.

Did I only watch a few minutes and then leave for nearly a month? Yes again.

I’m so used to the meme-ing of Yussa being a complete reckless dumbass that it’s almost jarring to actually watch again and see him all intellectual and collected. Granted, he hasn’t trapped himself yet (the first time), so we’ll get there.

Ugh I can’t WAIT for more happy fun ball time! Not for a while yet though, I don’t think. Do they only go in shortly before Ashley returns? I know they have to go kill the heart, meet Allura, find out that the Angel of Irons is actually Tharizdun…. Either way, a good chunk off. Maybe it happens in the 80s.

LOL Sam and Marisha’s grimaces of ‘this fucking guy’ when Yussa is claiming that the dragon they killed could be considered a rare powerful endangered being by some, all while he’s just claiming the treasure as his.

Good on Tal for recognizing that they’re all still clothed in Kryn attire! 100% something that I forgot the first time I watched and also now. It’s the tricky part of dnd being imagination based, there are things that would be super obvious to PCs (what they are wearing) that players won’t think about at all.

Poor Travis, you can really tell how much he’s struggling with the virtual connection. I’m not surprised, it’s hell for adhd. I can’t tell you how glad I was that I was not in school when covid hit, there is absolutely no way I would have been able to keep my education up virtually. I had to take a single virtual course in college and it was HELL. Thank god we were only graded on the tests.

It’s really hard for me to say who my favorite NPC in all of C2 is, especially ‘cause I’m a huge fan of Shadowgast, but honestly I think it’s Yeza. Just the way Matt portrays him, the VOICE, the mannerisms! Every time I hear him speak it’s an instant emotional surge of ‘PROTECT THIS MAN AT ALL COSTS’. I know there’s a lot that can be discussed about his and Veth’s relationship dynamics and whether or not it’s healthy, but I do love this little guy so much. To use internet-speak, the BEST cinnamon roll, too good too pure for this world!

If they do C4, I wonder if Liam will make a PC with low wisdom/perception. Vax, Caleb, and Orym all have good perception skills. For all that Caduceus is the ‘perceptive’ one of the bunch, I think he and Caleb actually have tied perception (+10 with 19 passive), whereas Vax actually beats it due to high level privilege (+14 with 20 passive at level 20, but +10 with 19 passive at level 10/11, which I think is where the Nein is at?). (Vex was at 30 passive by level 20 thanks to Observant.) I’m presuming that it’s due to Liam’s enjoyment of the perception skill what with Vax doing his rogue-y investigating all the time and Caleb always looking through Frumpkin for an edge. It’s be a bit fun to see him do a PC with wisdom as a dump stat. (then again, considering I want to see him play a cleric…. *looks at all the dnd classes* Honestly, it’s hard to try and predict anything for a potential C4 for ANYONE because of what they’ve played. He probably wouldn’t do paladin because of the C1 multiclass, I don’t know if he’d go for sorcerer or artificer after playing wizard, he has mentioned before his lack of desire to play bard, even with Matt’s special college of tragedy. Hmmm. I can see him doing ranger or monk – though once again those are high wisdom. Same with cleric or druid. I struggle seeing him play barbarian [plus I really really want to see Laura play a barb], maybe a warlock? Then again, warlock with wisdom as the dump stat is just Fjord XD)

(just came up with a hypothetical C4 that I think would be fun for me to watch. Ashley – monk. Laura – barbarian. Liam – cleric. Marisha – paladin. Travis – wizard. Taliesin – druid. Sam – sorcerer. Sam and Taliesin were the hardest for me to think of classes for, especially because Taliesin has had flavor dips [warlock and artificer for C1, even though not the mechanics]. I could also see Sam as warlock)

Sometimes when Liam is emoting, it’s very hard for me to tell if it’s him or Caleb. Him watching the reunion of Luc with Veth and Yeza could honestly be either, because Liam gets very Feels with family and kid stuff (I remember him being uncomfortable when Matt was describing Nila’s son being imprisoned), but it ALSO is 100% in character for it to be Caleb feeling emotional because one- family whole and reunited for his best friend, two – that he can never have again for himself, and three – which may lead to Veth leaving.

WHAT IS THIS. YEZA is convincing Veth to show Luc her crossbow. VETH is telling Luc it’s too dangerous he can’t play with it he can’t touch it. How how the turns tabled.

(fun fact, never watched the office! I think I’ve seen one or two episodes ever? I can’t handle cringe humor, it just makes me uncomfortable)

LOL it didn’t take too long for that to switch

Matt’s faces as Luc are too precious.

Is there anything more Beau than Marion saying that the relationship was like ‘friendship’ and Beau says that she was going to say ‘unhealthy’. Beau is a very very good friend at this point, but she definitely still has a hard time comprehending it, especially when reciprocal to her.

First of all, lovely Caleb and Nott conversation about staying and going, but more importantly, LAURA’S FACES. She is soooo ticked that Sam is even considering have a PC leave mid-campaign again!

Oh man, I checked the transcript to see how quiet Travis was this episode, because he’s CLEARLY out of it. 60 sentences, most of them four words or less.

OMG WAIT WAIT WAIT IS THIS CALIANNA’S PACKAGE!!!!! DOES CALEB GET THE WAND FOR THE TOWER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

(backtracking slightly, I’m a little disappointed that Matt took the lead in the conversation between Marion and Jester. Laura very much initiated the idea for the talk, and I wonder if she was able to share what she wanted to. It was clear from the start that it was a very introspective and sad Jester, but then Matt pretty quickly led the conversation away from that. Granted I’m sure the main part was informing Marion of Astrid, but I really wonder what else Jester could have said)

...Marisha looks pretty cute with the bow on actually. ….is Fjord’s stuff actually potpourri?? LOL NOPE HOMEOPATHIC FUR ALLERGY TREATMENT.

I don’t think when I watched the first time that I actually realized that Mark was a DM. I think it was mentioned, but not really processed. However, looking at these items and hearing Caleb read the letter, it’s VERY clear that it was gifted by a very talented DM. Also Caleb’s letter gave me all the feels.

I honestly really like the fact that Veth is kind of a bad parent? Like, she deliberately spoils Luc and tries to get Yeza to spoil him constantly too. But at the same time, she’s a good parent. Makes him try bites of his food, wants to ensure his care. But I appreciate how Sam is always willing to lean HARD into the flaws of his PCs. I also like that Matt/Yeza had to be the one to tell Veth to go with the Nein. Granted, I can’t imagine a circumstance where Matt would tell a PC to leave the party, but still XD.

(...I JUST realized I’ve been typing for YEARS with the zoom set at 80%. omg the text is so much bigger now!)

I want to know how long Liam was planning to use the teleportation circle as a method to talk to and reassure Luc. It is so beautifully done, and once again I have a little difficulty telling who’s emoting, because it 100% could have been Veth and 100% could have been Sam. I’m actually slightly leaning more towards it actually being Sam, as I think that there’s a level of emoting around the eyes that he tends NOT to do in play (this moment here, the level 9 counterspell).

I wonder if Laura and Travis are in a different time zone. He is OUT of it. Well, I suppose humor is more contagious in person, I know I’m more likely to laugh in a room of people then just hearing those people talk online.

I like that Essek’s first teleportation actually starts with a mishap. I tend to forget about it, but it humanizes him a bit in these ‘early’ episodes.

UTHODERN!!!!

[nochi-quinn]

legend of vox machina watch party episodes 4-6: he's just sleeping

EPISODE FOUR

I'm late bc I was watching anime and playing pokemon. y'know, like an adult.

I don't know how long the episode has had subtitles but I enjoy them

big gworl

"I DON'T LIKE IT" "I love it"

raven queen: the fuck you say to me

fran drescher raven queen

(this is hilarious to me specifically for reasons no one understands)

I was gonna say something about silhouettes

"if scanlan started wearing closed shirts - " "I would be so confused"

"TRINKET DOESN'T COUNT"

"I would say grog" "WHAT"

matt's gonna tell this story if it takes another eight years

"MONSTER ON THE TV" "don't assume - " "I SAW TENTACLES, I KNOW"

"tentacles can also be your friend"

ONLOOKER

this is hilarious now that beholders are under creative commons

"where are your knees? are your ankles your new knees?!"

"sound more ankle-breaky"

"don't you hate it when you're in the middle of a fight and you're just dissociating"

"why is he punching him in the helmet?!"

mala: that baby has more sense than vax

I love that sam and travis are always in the back going "YOU WILL APPRECIATE THE CREW"

I think I'm behind on account of being late, this is the price I pay for watching anime and playing pokemon

"I watched this with my kids and they were both super grossed out - so success"

everybody just works around will now

bill frito can do anything

POKEBEAR

I believe travis could reach that pitch

"I invented walking away"

I am forever going to be trying to figure out what nonsense choir soundtracks are singing

"reliving - HA"

"it was raven feathers"

"laura can't lose her character so I'll lose mine" liam.

"have a guest on the show? main character dies. right, robbie?"

oh I hate that one on the end

"onlooker(?)" mala: official spelling

they're just gonna make that noise for the rest of the night

"he's so cute - sorry - "

"that jump scare at the end - why" "that's why"

I can't believe travis willingham is targeting me personally

that's actually. I also had not considered that critical role is technically post-apocalyptic

EPISODE FIVE

"it's my child!" "this one lives, that can't be right"

"you can't be a baby, you're a grown-ass woman"

give her a raise

"we thank you for your tears"

"can't even pick up sticks right"

"I wish we had the courage to do an overhead" have the animators not suffered enough

"it's probably okay. don't worry about it."

I think I say this every time but I love when they just go silent bc they are also watching the episode

"that's NOT how you romance someone"

"keyleth will remember that"

aimee!

"thank you for using the body silhouette I sent you"

I FORGOT HE HAD BLACK POWDER IN HIS POCKETS

PANTSLURA

"marisha? self-doubt? no!"

critrolestats what level were they

flamesneks

I didn't know that until someone pointed it out on twitter

I'm crying AGAIN dammit marisha ray

the One Woman Wail

"you're a giant fire chicken lady man!"

"seems a little OP"

that pestle IS upside down, I'm pretty sure

"dad likes vax bc they have the same haircut"

robbie didn't know about the lesbians

this time delay is killing me

"so many youtube videos" "just fucked up your algorithm"

"is that a thermal detonator" after chetney's boat robbie only knows how to think in bombs

"I was singing about meeting a girl in line for the shitter"

"you wouldn't put the nursery in the volcano??"

animatic!

"ANIMORPHS!"

oh I love lil sketchy keyleth

"is that a cloaca?"

"DON'T LOOK IT UP"

LAVA SNEK

"maybe these are IMPOSTERS" stares in speaker assum

"it's victor"

"I'll call bryan and michael and let them know" I have only called them bryke for so long

"the voice of korra was in the Lesbians Aren't Dead episode"

the red gay and the blue gay

"tell me I'm wrong!" "I can't!"

"I know a lot about anime gays you guys"

speaking of anime gays, robbie daymond

(akechi. the joke is akechi.)

"hesitant"

none of us are over keyleth but liam o'brien is definitely not over keyleth

"kash pushing in on his girl - " "that's the worst part"

"pissjets" brb changing my twitter name

EPISODE SIX

I'll error your joining watch party

"I'm sure it's fine"

"classic comedy duo"

I still enjoy grog's expressions so much here

"my ten-year-old son loved that joke"

this is me explaining the plot to my roommate

"scanlan is the only one that gets to go full anime" scanlan just is anime

"fucking DORK" robbie understands percy

"she does get hypothermia tho"

"a hoe never gets cold" "that is the episode title"

liam's running "I peed a little bit" is finally coming full-circle

"that's how you guys look at me all the time" at least matt does for sure

FISH TACOS

grog is barely smart enough to speak at all, he can't manage telepathy

the fire plane taught her how to cuss

PORKY PIG

I love robbie's genuine reactions

the whole back row airdrumming

"he's playing the instruments" "no he is NOT"

"that's MY HUSBAND"

one unit of sphynx

"a shit spell?" that's scanlan's thing

"you're giving me notes NOW?"

kaiju fight KAIJU FIGHT

~~anime~~

"I don't like this dragon, he's a dickhead"

"I don't care about his backstory"

"he's fine, robbie" "he's gonna go live on a farm upstate? where he gets all the sphynx food he wants?"

"sphynxes live forever even if they look like they died"

that knee slide was v cool tho

honestly I had the same thought as mica

mica refuses to pronounce that name now (she's valid)

"not that long, right?" "you don't know"

marisha what is that face. are we getting an art book. I want an art book.

FRIENDSHIP POND

"you love inflicting pain" "I FUCKIN LOVE IT"

mala: Travis: i have killed and i will kill again

"it's got a lot of slap bass in it"

"he's a transformer"

you leave the shit behind in people's beds and move on

(I'm still mad at him for that)

craven edge just using grog as a meat puppet

"it all comes back to the last of us" correct

"I was such an innocent smol bean"

"I'm a purple g - I'M WEARING PURPLE"

someone draw art of alicia's hedgehog familiar

sevonth

yaaaaaay troy bakerrrrr (said in the most deflating-balloon voice possible)

troy baker is a very good actor who is up his own ass as much as it is possible for a human being to be and still draw breath

[briarridgerp]

WES PARKER (Luke Grimes) is looking for their SIBLINGS.

CONNECTION NAME:

UTP, but surname should be Parker. It would be nice if all the siblings had western / country sort of vibe names, but completely up to you!

CONNECTION:

Siblings

AGE:

These ages are approximate. Obviously it will depend on the face you choose and what makes sense for their age according to Wes! Wes is 36, and is the second eldest of the four siblings. Sibling 1: 38-39 Sibling 2: 33-35 Sibling 3: 30-32

FACECLAIM:

Up to player, of course, but here are some suggestions for each sibling.

Sibling 1: Adam Demos (39), Travis Van Winkle (41), Boyd Holbrook (43), Matt Barr (40), Charlie Hunnam (44), Chad Michael Murray (43), Jesse Lee Soffer (40), Luke Mitchell (39) Sibling 2: Scott Eastwood (38), Sam Claflin (38), Austin Butler (34), Brenton Thwaites (35), Liam Hemsworth (35), Jake Weary (34) Sibling 3: Daisy Edgar Jones (26), Kennedy McMann (27), Abigail Cowen (26), Meghann Fahy (34), Jessica Rothe (37)

BACKGROUND

Just going to do dot points here for the sake of keeping it easy lol. Feel free to hmu for more deets!

The Parker fam were born and raised on Silver Creek Ranch, located on the outskirts of Briar Ridge Hills. It spans a thousand acres ish. Wes lives there now for the last six months- a year with his mom and his grandparents, and I imagine the eldest brother and their nephew living there. Perhaps the grandparents live in a separate cabin somewhere on the property, and maybe the eldest sibling does too.

Wes is the second sibling of the four children. There are three brothers, and the youngest is their sister.

Their dad was a famous bull rider who was away more often than not. He was kind of hard on the kids, and I feel especially Wes for some reason. He left them when Wes was about 11 years old for another woman. He was never really faithful towards their mom, and kind of always a crappy husband and father. The kids don't have that much contact with them, Wes - none at all. But it's up to you what youd like for your character!

The eldest brother is a father. Whether he is married, divorced, co-parenting or a single parent raising his son on his own, he has a little boy. I imagine their nephew to be about 7 or 8 years old, but I'm more than happy to change this! I just headcanon that Wes' nephew helps him read, so at least five years old would be amaaaazing! The eldest brother probably helps to run the ranch and very much gives cowboy vibes.

The younger brother (third of the siblings), most likely doesn't live on the ranch and is off doing his own thing/own career. Think Beau from the Chestnut Springs series. Now I do have a really fun potential plot involving Wes' ex girlfriend now dating this brother 👀 the more chaos the better, but if you're interested in this plot I'm down to discuss deets.

Their sister is the youngest of the clan, and the one who resembles their dad the most. She and Wes are as thick as thieves, and she's probably the only sibling/family member who actually supported his bull riding career. The brothers constantly feel the need to protect her because she's their baby sister, but she's feisty in her own right!

EXTRA

You can check out this pinterest board of their family, and also this one of their family ranch for some inspo!

Here is Wes' bio for more reference.

CONTACT

Please contact the TEE on this blog.

[unfoldingmoments]

ShoeDog : 1980

It didn’t matter. Just before getting on the plane home we signed deals with two Chinese factories, and officially became the first American shoemaker in twenty-five years to be allowed to do business in China. It seems wrong to call it “business.” It seems wrong to throw all those hectic days and sleepless nights, all those magnificent triumphs and desperate struggles, under that bland, generic banner: business. What we were doing felt like so much more.

Each new day brought fifty new problems, fifty tough decisions that needed to be made, right now, and we were always acutely aware that one rash move, one wrong decision could be the end. The margin for error was forever getting narrower, while the stakes were forever creeping higher—and none of us wavered in the belief that “stakes” didn’t mean “money.”

For some, I realize, business is the all-out pursuit of profits, period, full stop, but for us business was no more about making money than being human is about making blood. Yes, the human body needs blood. It needs to manufacture red and white cells and platelets and redistribute them evenly, smoothly, to all the right places, on time, or else.

But that day-to-day business of the human body isn’t our mission as human beings. It’s a basic process that enables our higher aims, and life always strives to transcend the basic processes of living—and at some point in the late 1970s, I did, too. I redefined winning, expanded it beyond my original definition of not losing, of merely staying alive.

That was no longer enough to sustain me, or my company. We wanted, as all great businesses do, to create, to contribute, and we dared to say so aloud.

When you make something, when you improve something, when you deliver something, when you add some new thing or service to the lives of strangers, making them happier, or healthier, or safer, or better, and when you do it all crisply and efficiently, smartly, the way everything should be done but so seldom is—you’re participating more fully in the whole grand human drama. More than simply alive, you’re helping others to live more fully, and if that’s business, all right, call me a businessman. Maybe it will grow on me. ---- WE CHOSE A date for the offering. December 2, 1980. The last remaining hurdle was settling on a price.”

The whole process was crazy-making, because it was imprecise. There was no right number. It was all a matter of opinion, feeling, selling. Selling—that’s what I’d been doing for much of these last eighteen years, and I was tired of it. I didn’t want to sell anymore. Our stock was worth twenty-two dollars a share. That was the number. We’d earned that number. We deserved to be on the high end of the price range. A company called Apple was also going public that same week, and selling for twenty-two dollars a share, and we were worth as much as them, I said to Hayes. If a bunch of Wall Street guys didn’t see it that way, I was ready to walk away from the deal.

----

“Gentlemen,” the loud voice said. “We have a deal. We’ll send it out to market this Friday.” I drove home. I remember the boys were outside playing. Penny was standing in the kitchen. “How was your day?” she said. “Hm. Okay.” “Good.” “We got our price.” She smiled. “Of course you did.” I went for a long run. Then I took a hot, hot shower. Then I had a quick dinner. Then I tucked in the boys and gave them a story.

The year was 1773. Privates Matt and Travis were fighting under the command of General Washington. Cold, tired, hungry, their uniforms in tatters, they camped for the winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

They slept in log huts, wedged between two mountains: Mount Joy and Mount Misery. Morning till night, bitter cold winds sliced through the mountains and barreled through the chinks in the huts. Food was scarce; only a third of the men had shoes. Whenever they walked outside, they left bloody footprints in the snow. Thousands died. But Matt and Travis held on. Finally, spring came. The troops got word that the British had retreated, and the French were coming to the aid of the colonists. Privates Matt and Travis knew from then on that they could live through anything. Mount Joy, Mount Misery. The End. --- By this time next week Bowerman would be worth $9 million. Cale—$6.6 million. Woodell, Johnson, Hayes, Strasser—each about $6 million. Fantasy numbers. Numbers that meant nothing. I never knew that numbers could mean so much, and so little, at the same time.

I asked myself: What are you feeling? It wasn’t joy. It wasn’t relief. If I felt anything, it was . . . regret? Good God, I thought. Yes. Regret. Because I honestly wished I could do it all over again.”

The world was the same as it had been the day before, as it had always been. Nothing had changed, least of all me. And yet I was worth $178 million. ---- CRISIS Of course my handling of the crisis only made it worse. Angry, hurt, I often reacted with self-righteousness, petulance, anger. On some level I knew my reaction was toxic, counterproductive, but I couldn’t stop myself. It’s just not easy to remain even-keeled when you wake up one day, thinking you’re creating jobs and helping poor countries modernize and enabling athletes to achieve greatness, only to find yourself being burned in effigy outside the flagship retail store in your own hometown. The company reacted as I did. Emotionally. Everyone was reeling. Many late nights in Beaverton, you’d find all the lights on, and soul-searching conversations taking place in various conference rooms and offices.

Though we knew that much of the criticism was unjust, that Nike was a symbol, a scapegoat, more than the true culprit, all of that was beside the point. We had to admit: We could do better. We told ourselves: We must do better. Then we told the world: Just watch. We’ll make our factories shining examples. And we did. In the ten years since the bad headlines and lurid exposés, we’ve used the crisis to reinvent the entire company. For instance. One of the worst things about a shoe factory used to be the rubber room, where uppers and soles are bonded. The fumes are choking, toxic, cancer-causing. So we invented a water-based bonding agent that gives off no fumes, thereby eliminating 97 percent of the carcinogens in the air. Then we gave this invention to our competitors, handed it over to anyone who wanted it. They all did. Nearly all of them now use it. One of many, many examples. We’ve gone from a target of reformers to a dominant player in the factory reform movement. Today the factories that make our products are among the best in the world. An official at the United Nations recently said so: Nike is the gold standard by which we measure all apparel factories.

---

MONEY

“WHEN IT CAME rolling in, the money affected us all. Not much, and not for long, because none of us was ever driven by money. But that’s the nature of money.

Whether you have it or not, whether you want it or not, whether you like it or not, it will try to define your days. Our task as human beings is not to let it.”

---

NEVER GIVE UP And those who urge entrepreneurs to never give up? Charlatans. Sometimes you have to give up. Sometimes knowing when to give up, when to try something else, is genius. Giving up doesn’t mean stopping. Don’t ever stop. Luck plays a big role. Yes, I’d like to publicly acknowledge the power of luck. Athletes get lucky, poets get lucky, businesses get lucky. Hard work is critical, a good team is essential, brains and determination are invaluable, but luck may decide the outcome. Some people might not call it luck. They might call it Tao, or Logos, or Jñāna, or Dharma. Or Spirit. Or God. Put it this way. The harder you work, the better your Tao. And since no one has ever adequately defined Tao, I now try to go regularly to mass. I would tell them: Have faith in yourself, but also have faith in faith. Not faith as others define it. Faith as you define it. Faith as faith defines itself in your heart.” --- To study the self is to forget the self. Mi casa, su casa. “You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you.” - The Bucket List ---

Excerpt From: Phil Knight. “Shoe Dog.”

[utilitycaster]

Hi, first religion anon (NOT the same as the second religion anon). My main complaints are with TUC (mostly s1 but the ‘Jesus is real’ thing in s2 really bothered me) and the way that Laudna and a few other characters engage with the gods on CR. I have 0 complaints with Sam, I think his engagements with religion as both Scanlan and FCG are fascinating. I think things like ACOC and Kristen on D20 are done fine, but when they move outside of Christian allegories they tend to stumble. I know Brennan and Ally have philosophy backgrounds and Emily has a religious studies background, but frankly I’m not super confident in American universities’ ability to make people deconstruct Christian hegemony, and things like Emily using the phrase “Judeo-Christian” aren’t super encouraging to me.

thanks for clarifying, I was wondering about the second anon bc I was like "the first anon came in being fairly normal even if I don't agree and this feels...bad and also just a hunch but it feels like it's coming from a Cultural Christian who is not American. (also I did get your follow up question and I want to answer that one separately bc I think it's a good but separate point).

I know it's not terribly popular to say but being weird about the term "Judeo-Christian" feels like one of those things that Jumblr and other people in Jewish Millennial/Gen Z spaces online made a big deal about and I'm like "uhhhhh this was a thing my actual Jewish middle school teachers said sometimes; it's not the best term, no, but it was the go-to term in a lot of contexts until quite recently to the point that yeah, Emily going to school in the 2000s would probably hear it even from Jewish profs, and so it's not so much a red flag as a sign that she graduated before 2010."

I also honestly don't mind Jesus being real in TUC 2; at some point if you've decided all other mythology is real why not Christian religion. It feels, in a way, far more Christian-centric to treat Christianity as something that cannot be incorporated, as too real, as compared to say, Norse or Greek myths or Golems.

I will say that I agree that Ally and Marisha do tend to be a bit more limited in how they engage; I actually don't mind Laudna's frustrations with the gods from a "I think this comes from Marisha's personal feelings" perspective more so than a "could we...actually explore this as a throughline rather than a bunch of random-ass statements." I do think that Ally does tend to pull from their own experience; understandably so, but yes, it's very different than my experience as someone not raised Christian let alone strictly so.

I guess, and this might just be difficult to do as an anon ask thing, that I am looking at this very holistically. I am looking far more at what the GM is doing than an individual player, and I haven't had issues with Matt, Brennan, Murph, or Aabria's portrayal of divine forces. I find that Worlds Beyond Number has been explicitly very not Christian (and indeed, heavily influenced by Shintoism and pre-Christian Irish religion) in how the spirits are portrayed, and while I think Matt does tend to draw a lot from Catholic architecture and imagery and vibes, the way the gods engage with the players does not feel exclusively Christian (notably in Campaign 2; none of Fjord, Caduceus, Yasha, nor Jester's experience feel inherently cultural Christian beyond the fact that Travis mentions he doesn't feel like he can connect with the Luxon because 'it's a shape'). So it means I'm not looking to Ally for example for an exploration of religion that is as accessible to me, but I do find that actual play on the whole feels fine. I find a lot of the claims do feel like they get really hung up on specific details (eg: the Santa jokes in Chetney's backstory) instead of the overall feeling (eg: the fact that many of the deities have a very open, fluid, and at times intellectual form of engagement; the fact that the general message is that suffering is not purifying but rather simply sucks; Melora death domain traditions and especially Caduceus's philosophy which is very much outside American Protestantism; the polytheistic society of Vasselheim.)

[beauyasha-canon]

The use of “Beauregard” vs “Beau”

Let’s start off with some disclaimers. All of this data was taken from the transcript search tool which is not perfect. I noticed a few errors after I made the chart, but we’ll get to that later. I’m not touching Matt’s usage for obvious reasons. I also did not go individual entries on Liam or Sam. I don’t have that amount of time. Anyways, onto the show.

Saving Ashley for the end, Talisen has used “Beauregard” the least. Molly didn’t use it at all and the first time Caduceus said it in character was in episode 95. He has one misattributed to him from episode 68, an out of character joke in 78, and another spell in 120. This tends to be a common theme in the characters who rarely use her name- its used only in combat. My assumption is that Matt referring to her as Beauregard rubs off on them.

Next up is Laura with 6 attributed. None of hers were mislabeled. 3 of them were ooc jokes (eps 47, 106, 112). The other three involved her title being mentioned. (Archivist in 78, then expositor in 78 and 87). 

This is a second revelation: Beau is almost never called “Expositor Beau” (only twice, once by Marisha, once by Laura). It is almost always a variation of her full name (“Expositor Beauregard” has 11 mentions, “Expositor Beauregard Lionett” has 2, and “Expositor Lionett” has 6)

Then comes Travis with 10. One of them is mislabeled. 4 of them are out of character (13, 100,102,123; one being about the Beau/Yasha rap video). Episode 9 has him complementing “Beau” as a nickname. 71, 92 & 122 are all in casual conversation. 89 is an introduction. There isn’t much to say about his usage here.

For shits and giggles, Marisha has 38 “Beauregard'' attributions. 2 of them were mislabeled, 5 ooc, 4 from jokes, and 1 from when she was playing Caleb (More on that later). She introduces herself as Beauregard a grand total of 23 times. 8 of those times involved invoking the Cobalt Soul (4 pre expositor-ship, 4 after). Another 3 were from their morning check-ins on Rumblscusp. 

Now for the fun ones. Liam has used “Beauregard” more than any other player and interestingly, more than he says “Beau” at a rate of almost 3 times as much. Marisha has noticed this enough that she had Caleb call her Beau when she was playing him. “Beauregard Lionett” was the name her parents gave her. I think Caleb’s view of family is the cause of this rp choice. Caleb sees the Mighty Nein as family. With both of them being humans, I believe he started to see Beau as a sister pretty early on. Him calling her “Beauregard” is a quiet acknowledgement of this. He’s saying “Hey, that name came from your family but, we’re your new family now”

Sam has a total of 63 “Beauregard” attributions. I think Veth uses “Beauregard” because Caleb does, but there’s also more. Even though she’s not necessarily a mom figure to the whole group, she is still, at heart, a mother. I think it could be a maternal instinct showing through. (Or, Sam is being Sam)

Now for the part that made me write this whole thing in the first place: Ashley. Ashley has the lowest amounts of mentions of Beau of the cast, but she was gone for a while, so that makes sense. But, most interestingly, she has used “Beauregard” once in the entire game. Now, you may be asking, “why is this so important?” The answer lies in the context. This takes place in episode 86 “The Cathedral”. 

Now she says this out of character, but my point still stands. Yasha is under mind control, Matt has tasked her with fighting the rest of the Mighty Nein. Beau is, unfortunately, the closest. Ashley says, “I see Beauregard, and I am going to slowly start walking towards her, raging and reckless.” Mind control Yasha lacks the level of care and love for Beau that she normally has. A mirror of Caleb, Yasha sees the name “Beauregard” as a sign of the past she left behind, a part of her she doesn’t care about anymore. 

In conclusion: Caleb calls Beau “Beauregard” because he sees her as family and Yasha never does because she sees her as separate from her past. Gay rights. 

here’s my chart 

[malaismere]

Campaign 3 Predictions - Compiled

So, as a fan of compiling statistics, I've been keeping track of race/class predictions for campaign 3 for the past...at least a year, from tumblr, reddit, and twitter. with EXU over, and my spreadsheet hitting 400 (?!), I figured I'd share the fandom's current predictions

Travis

Human (30), Dwarf (29), Elf, Shifter (11), Half-Elf (10)

Cleric (103), Bloodhunter (63), Wizard (50), Fighter (49), Druid (46)

Lycan bloodhunter (41), Forge cleric (26), War cleric (16), Eldritch Knight fighter, Bladesinger wizard (14)

Marisha

Elf (16), Genasi, Tiefling (14), Dwarf (13), Dragonborn (11)

Paladin (112), Rogue (53), Fighter (43), Cleric (40), Warlock (37)

Eldritch Knight fighter, Glory paladin (14), Artillerist and Armorer artificer, Battlemaster Fighter (8)

Liam

Dwarf (25), Halfling (18), Tiefling (13), Elf (12), Warforged (11)

Druid (77), Cleric (72), Bard (71), Fighter (59)

Stars druid (16), Dreams druid (10), Eloquence bard (8), Alchemist artificer, Whispers bard, Twilight cleric (7)

Sam

Dwarf (34), Kobold (24), Goliath (17), Warforged (15), Kenku (13)

Sorcerer (106), Cleric (98), Druid (63), Wizard (47)

Wild Magic sorcerer (61), Wild Soul barbarian (14), Twilight cleric (8), Life and Forge cleric, Wildfire druid, Divination wizard (7)

Laura

Elf (21), Human, Tabaxi (19), Genasi (15), Gnome, Aasimar (10)

Barbarian (75), Sorcerer (74), Bard (64), Warlock (60)

Wild Soul barbarian (14), Wild Magic sorcerer (12), Glamour bard (10), Shadow monk (9)

Taliesin

Warforged (16), Elf, Changeling (14), Gnome, Genasi, Tabaxi (8)

Sorcerer (68), Rogue (65), Warlock (55), Bard (45), Wizard (43)

Aberrant Mind sorcerer (18), Whispers bard, Phantom rogue, Soulknife rogue (11), Mastermind rogue, Clockwork sorcerer (9)

Ashley

Elf (26), Human (18), Tiefling (17), Half-Elf (12), Dwarf (11)

Rogue (95), Bard (91), Monk (43), Ranger (41), Warlock (38)

Swashbuckler rogue (21), Glamour bard (13), Mercy monk (9), Drunken monk, Wild Magic sorcerer (8)

I also (although less consistently) collected continent/setting predictions. Marquet was the top (49), then Issylra (29) and the Shattered Teeth (22). For non-continent settings, some form of Spelljammer was the top (19), followed by the Age of Arcanum (17), and Planescape/Planehopping (15). Underdark, Ravenloft, Blightshore, and a return to Tal'Dorei were also suggested multiple times.

Much longer and rambly discussion (and my own predictions) under the break.

Top predicted races were Dwarf, Elf, and Human (~100). Dwarf and Elf haven't been played before, so that tracks, and I don't think it's out there to assume we'll get at least one human again. Also, post the whole thing with Essek and long rests, people really started jumping on Elves (which, fair). Warforged, Dragonborn, Tabaxi, Genasi, Tieflings, and Changelings all are pretty prominent (~50).

Of the races not yet established as existing in Exandria, Warforged and Changeling were the most popular (Warforged now dubiously canon post-Aeor, and Changelings dubiously canon with the LoVM bartender), followed by Shifters, Leonin, Kalashtar, Fairies, Grung, Ravnica races (Loxodon, Simic Hybrid, Vedalken), Van Richten's Races (Dhampir, Reborn, Hexblood). Locathah and the other Feywild/Strixhaven races are the only officially published races at 0 suggestions. The lowest previously seen race is Gobins at 2, one of which was for Sam again, and the lowest PHB race was Half-Orc at 17.

Class wise, Sorcerer was actually the most predicted class (which kind of tracks, as it's the one that hasn't shown up even as multiclass), followed by Cleric (generally assumed as compulsory), Paladin (only as a multiclass), and Rogue (also assumed as compulsory, but way less so. Not surprisingly, Bloodhunter, Ranger, and Artificer were the lowest.

Wild Magic Sorcerer was far and away the most suggested subclass, the only one to break 50, although it hasn't hit 100 quite yet (I think it will by the time the final characters are announced though). EK Fighter, Lycan Blooodhunter, Forge Cleric, Swashbuckler Rogue, Wild Soul Barbarian, Stars Druid, Glamour Bard, Bladesinger Wizard, Eloquence Bard, and Echo Knight Fighter are the other top subclasses.

Every official subclass has been suggested except for Berserker Barbarian, Grave Cleric, and Transmutation Wizard (previously played), Battlerager Barbarian and Banneret/Purple Dragon Knight (SCAG subclasses, which are widely unpopular), and the dubiously-official Planeshift subclasses. Open Seas Paladin is the only Matt homebrew to not be suggested at least once. For dead UA, Satire Bard, Brute Fighter, Giant Soul and Stone Sorcerer, and Raven Queen Warlock have all been suggested, usually only once, although many of the suggestions were collected while classes were in UA for Tasha's, Van Richten's, and Fizban's which is technically still UA but announced so...

With Travis, the predictions bounce between two main ideas - a melee spellcaster (Forge/War/Tempest cleric, Bladesinger/War wizard), or going back to a melee class (Bloodhunter, Fighter) but with a bit more mechanical interest (Lycan, EK/Echo/Rune/Battlemaster). I think those are both solid predictions, and while I really, really doubt we'll see a Lycan bloodhunter or a Forge cleric, I think the general vibe is probably spot on.

My own prediction is one of the more out there, but still in line with the general thinking - Artillerist Artificer. Travis is definitely a very tactical player, and it would be cool to see him get a turret for the battlefield, plus all the general utility/versatility of the artificer. Alternatively, I really could see a rogue, although more like what Mastermind or Inquisitive is trying for as opposed to how they actually turned out, if that makes sense.

Race wise, the top guesses are fairly plain, outside of shifter (which is mostly tied into the "werewolf" vibe). None of them would shock me, but I don't have any predictions.

I think that everyone's right on the money with Marisha as a paladin. Her next character being high charisma seems spot on, and I think moving to a half-caster also tracks. EK/Echo/Rune/Psi fighters would also fit, although they don't lean towards high charisma, or a warlock, maybe a more melee one.

Rogue seems unlikely purely due to the fact she's played one before, kind of. Matt and Marisha have both talked some, but her first game wasn't Vox Machina, but a previous game Matt had run where she'd played an assassin. You can do non-assassiny rogues, but still.

(Other fun facts about this game because it's wild: apparently the session she sat in on before playing involved half the party getting eaten by ghouls. the party joined up with another half-tpk'd party (marisha and the replacement characters) to get the raven queen to bring their dead friends back, and a fate-touched rogue swore service to the Raven Queen in order to bring the last party member back.)

My prediction for Marisha is also paladin, although I don't have any thoughts on the subclass, with genie warlock as a second because they are fun. No real thoughts on race other than I too would love to see tiefling Marisha.

Most people are going with a support caster for Liam, which I totally buy. Caleb definitely leaned towards support caster, even if he usually did end up played as DPS. Druid has taken the top given the polymorph->wildshape vibe, although it's still very yclose with Bard and Cleric. Suggestions for fighter dropped after EXU, and while Liam does play a lot of fighters, I doubt we'll see it for C3.

Honestly, Liam is the one I have no predictions for outside of 'support caster'. I'd lean away from Cleric and towards Druid or Bard, but it's hard to say. I also think Artificer deserves to be in the running, as it seems like something Liam would really enjoy, but also...might not want to go Int-caster to Int-caster. My only real thought on race is that I want to see whether Marisha and Liam choose the same again.

Top guesses for Sam is, far and away, Wild Magic Sorcerer. This was also the top guess for C2. I do not think Sam will play a Wild Magic Sorcerer. In general, though, the vibe is going back to fullcaster - Sorcerer, Cleric, Druid, Wizard. I think full caster is probably right.

Sam is so hard to predict because it isn't what he'd choose, but what Liam chose for him. I think it's either something really standard or something really out there, and since I can't guess the really out there, I'll go for the standard - Elf Wizard or Dwarf Cleric, leaning towards Dwarf Cleric, due to the support class and the fact that Sam's mentioned never playing a religious character.

The main vibe for Laura is definitely "DPS" which is understandable. I don't know if I agree with it, but I understand it. Aside from Barbarian, the rest of the vibe is spellcaster - and I don't think we'll see a completely no magic character from her either.

Prediction wise...I understand barbarian, but I'd actually go with Ancestor or Beast over Wild Soul. I could actually see a Bloodhunter from her too, although leaning away from Vex vibes. I think I'd want to go with Wizard, though I'm not certain on that. I would bet Tabaxi but idk, I could see her avoiding that for Travis' sake.

Everyone always names Taliesin as the hardest to predict (he had the lowest count at 354, under even Ashley at 365, to everyone else's ~380/400) but I don't think he's harder to predict than Sam. The thing that makes him hard to predict is that he likes to build characters to fit the party, which he (probably) won't be doing, same as with Molly. The other main thing he tends towards is mechanical complexity in a way that suits his characters.

The main driving influence in the top suggestions is Eldritch Weirdness. Aberrant Sorc, Whispers Bard, Phantom Rogue, Warlock in general. I don't disagree with any of the subclasses, but I really don't think he'd go eldritch for eldritch sake, if for at the very least being...he has always been this weird and it's yet to be a driving force behind any of his characters before. Like the Taliesin-is-an-elder-god thing, I think this is mostly people who don't hang out around occultists. Look, I've had multiple people sell me their actual souls, and you don't see all my characters being warlocks.

That being said, I don't think I disagree with the top classes, just the subclasses. I definitely agree with Sorcerer as a good choice for him, although I'd actually go Clockwork, as I think it has a fuck-with-the-DM vibe. Taliesin is the most heavily suggested for dunamancy subclasses, which wouldn't surprise me, but I think he might avoid on the sole point of not wanting something too tied with the last campaign. A lot of people also name the psionic subclasses, which I'd be more likely to second if they had kept the weird mechanic from the UA, but don't disagree with, excepting my issue with Aberrant Mind.

My out there guess is that he's going to choose a multiclass build. He definitely enjoys playing around with weird builds (Owlbear, he did a non-CR oneshot as a monk/stars druid). On the one hand, a lot of these builds work best for oneshots or starting at higher levels, as they can take a bit of time to come online, but with such a large party, I think it will still function.

(my actual prediction for Taliesin is that his character is weirdly reminiscent of either the aasimar echo knight or the elf blood cleric from the exandria game I'm running.)

Ashley is being predicted as a Dex/Cha build, and I'm totally here for it. Pre-Fearne, I was leaning Ranger, especially Fey Wanderer for a fey build, but post-Fearne, I'm going Rogue, especially Swashbuckler. I agree that seeing a high Cha Ashley would be great, especially to let her be more center-focused than Yasha had been, and swashbucklers are just...really fun. Also, the whole Aeor arc really left me wanting to see Ashley as the go-ahead-and-scout character, just to watch her push buttons.

For continents...I understand why people are guessing Marquet, since it's currently the most explored. I think that if they're going to do Marquet, then Matt will sit down with a cultural consultant. I say will over should, because I won't make any value judgements, but I think it's in line with what Matt and CR would do in that situation.

I can't really tell whether this is a prediction or what I'd like to see (the two are distinct but often difficult to untangle) but I'd actually go with Issylra, and specifically playing up the (at least initial) set up of explorers and adventurers heading out into the wilds. I will also place my bets on them having some sort of more steady home base, and my hopes on that they get an airship. My wildest out there guess is that the plot will move towards either planescape/spelljammer in the upper levels, tying into some of the seeds from the end of C2.

I have seen a handful of people predicting table seating order, which is both very minor and also the thing that I may be most interested in. A while back, someone made a post pointing out that the main romantic relationships were all cross-table, while the strongest platonic relationships were same-table or side by side. Because I am the sort of person that I am, I did statistical analysis on ao3 fics....and it's statistically significant. So I am trying to see whether or not, based purely on C3E1, I'll be able to predict what the top ships for the campaign will be.

This rambling has mostly gotten out of hand because I don't have much opportunity to talk about this, but, you know. If you send me predictions I will give you the current odds gambling style, so that you'd know how much you'd win if you'd place a bet, because I did the tables up as a joke for something else and now I kind of want them to be used for something.

[munstysmind]

I wish you would write a fic where ... Seb gets some love 🥺👉👈

Ez, you have been begging so…

WARNING/S: Mentions of sex

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR MY WORK TO BE USED IN ANY CAPACITY

Divider by @firefly-graphics

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MADDISON MASTERLIST

MADDISON SHORTS AND EXTRAS MASTERLIST

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“Thank fuck that’s over” Maddie says as she closes the apartment door. To say she’s glad to be home is an understatement. She just experienced the flight from hell.

Not only was there turbulence basically the entire time they were in the air but there was guy on the plane that made it a nightmare for everyone, Maddie was ready to punch him in the mouth by the time they landed.

She throws herself on the couch, slumping back and closing her eyes just as she hears a loud groan from Sebastian’s room. She sits up and frowns when she hears him groan again.

“Oh fuck Seb… right there, don’t stop” a woman cries, causing Maddie’s eyes go wide as she realises exactly what’s happening. She scrunches up her face as she leaps off the couch and goes to hide in her room, she really didn’t need to hear that… again.

It’s at least an hour before she hears talking and being the person she is, he tries to listen but can’t make anything out. As soon as she hears the door close she throws the book she’s reading to the side and scrambles off her bed, being as quiet as she can as she goes out to the living area.

“Hey” she says, leaning against the back of the couch making Sebastian freezes and slowly turn to face her, his eyes growing wide.

“How long have you been home?” he asks cautiously as his stomach starts to churn

“About an hour, give or take” she says, fighting back a smirk

“Oh fuck” he groans, going bright red as he realises she would have heard basically everything. She has to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing at his embarrassment.

“Don’t” he says, seeing her face. She can’t help but let out a small laugh as she follows him to the kitchen. He glares at her as he opens the fridge.

“At least it’s not like the time I walked in on Matt. I’m never getting that image out of my head” she says, shuddering at the memory

“Not helping” he whines, getting two beers and opening them before handing her one

“So who was she?” she asks. He just shrugs as she takes a mouthful, causing her to choke on the liquid

“Fuck me Seb, really?!” she coughs, shocked. While she knows he hooks up with people semi regularly she would at least think that he’d ask their names.

“What?!”

“You were just balls deep in her and you don’t even know her name?”

“She never told me”

“You didn’t think to ask?”

“We we’re a bit preoccupied”

“Well she certainly knew yours”

“Come on!”

“Just saying”

“Don’t”

She’s never seen him flustered like this before. For some reason she’s taking great joy in his discomfort so she decides to keep annoying him, knowing how much she can push before she crosses a line

“Where’d you meet her?” she asks, taking another mouthful of her beer as she sits on one of the bar stools

“Some bar. I was out with Chase”

“Of course you were. He’s a bad influence on you” she jokes

“Don’t start that shit, you love Chase”

“Yeah I do”

Sebastian and Chase met on the set of Gossip Girl and become instant friends, much like how Maddie and Sebastian’s friendship started.

Chase is one of the very few people outside of Maddie’s immediate circle that she actually goes out of her way to spend time with.

He’s a lot of fun and even though he was the one who introduced her to Travis she doesn’t hold it against him like a lot of people in her situation would.

When Chase found out what happened he had lost his shit, he felt so guilty for his role in it. He apologised profusely saying it was all his fault because if he’d never introduced them none of it would have happened.

Maddie is pretty sure he still blames himself even though she’s told him more than once that he’s not at fault, there was no way he could have known what Travis was going to do.

“You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard you” she tells Sebastian and the colour almost drains from his face

“What?!” he says shakily, looking like he’s about to cry

“You’re not exactly… quiet” she says honestly, scrunching her face up a little

“Please stop talking” he begs and she bursts out laughing, doubling over on the kitchen bench.

“Shut up Maddison” he huffs as he heads back to his room to get away from her

“I’m sorry” she says, trying to catch her breath

“No you’re not” he yells from his room

“Hey, at least one of us is getting some” she yells back

“You have a boyfriend” he reminds her as he closes his door

“Doesn’t mean I’m getting any” she mumbles under her breath. Even though she trusts Chris, the thought of having sex with him terrifies her, for good reason.

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[thequeenofmyownscreen]

Twelve things I noted about CR2E75 “Rime and Reason” and the Talks Machina about it :

Mica, after Sam in the ad presented fake items that "will be included in the store - nope not really" including a silver cock square ring : "Can I go home now ?"

Liam is not there and unable to connect, so Marisha's piloting Caleb, and attempting to take the accent (she just does an hilarious and bad rendition of a Northern European accent - like... 'the guy who owns the sauna in Frozen' bad). "Matt is horrified", says Mica, who hasn't watched Campaign 1 and didn't know Marisha's infamous "dwarven accent". I'm so happy. And throughout the episode, Sam just takes great pleasure to annoy Marisha as she's playing Caleb. A true friend.

Marisha : "Oh yeah, before going to sleep, Liam has like eight things he wants to do." Matt, lightly sarcastic : "Of course he does. What is it ?"

Oh, I LOVED Caduceus and Fjord's talk. Especially this phrase : "What do you think this is? All of us, me, here, you, here, these people... this is intervention. Eventually, some day, somebody will pray for a miracle, pray for something to save them, to whatever gods are nearby, and that prayer will be answered because you'll show up. That's how it works. That's what a champion is." Also I love how Taliesin and Matt siltently communicated with their eyes while Caduceus was asking the Wildmother ; I think they have similar ideas on faith and that helps.

They really did it. They put together a "Best-off of the critters' insults thrown at Brian during Travis Willingham's Yeehaw Game Ranch". Amazing. And it made me want to watch the second season in one go, but I will wait further to see all of it in 2 days like I did last time.

Marisha, as Caleb, not even trying the accent anymore : "I can also send in my shitty cat, Frumpkin, that fucking fails at everything." Nott : "Caleb, that's your cat !" Marisha, as Caleb, trying and failing the accent : " Oh, sorry... love him so much..."

ANCIENT WHITE DRAGON ? oh no. They're fucked !! But I love dragons so much, and I really miss them, especially with Matt making them fucking terrifying. The start of the Chroma Conclave arc was one of the best scenes that ever happened.

They really made some good plans this episode. First with the yetis, and now with the dragon. It went well first, too ! Despite the dragon seizing the spider queen and the mithril, the dragon had breathed on it, and so the mithril changed or started to. Also the dragon did not see any of them and no one was hurt, that's a victory. The second part was more difficult, but I think they were very clever.

I just love that from the POV of the guys... they're chilling, down in the tunnel, in the dome... while the ladies of the Chaos Crew and Reani are up there on a stealth missions... and suddenly they hear a noise ! Are those the bottle rockets that Beau bought in Hupperdook so long ago ? It sure is ! OH NO FUCK THE OWL AND BEAU AND THE DRAGON

I think in a weird way it was "good" that Liam wasn't there - though I love him, he is a man of action, even with Caleb being support, and I'm not sure Caleb would have stayed in the dome if Liam had played him. But Marisha did (also just the fact that she had to play 2 characters facilitated her choice to put Caleb in the dome, I think). And thank god for that, because otherwise, they were dead.

This episode of Talks is wonderful, because of the very antagonistic way that Mica is goign after Brian's job. I love their dynamic !

Oh, so Marisha the deductive genius once again was right, Gelidon was a dragon scorned !! By none other than Vorugal !!

[centaurianthropology]

Far-Too-Specific Predictions for Critical Role C3 that will Absolutely be Wrong (but I like)

Setting and Flavor

I would love to see a group of veterans after a massive war that left both sides devastated.  Matt likes to play with difficult moral conundrums, and a setting where two warring parties both came off poorly, and now they’re both limping through a reconstruction could be really interesting for a long-play game. I would also really like to see both sides of the conflict represented in the group.  The one thing I wanted to see more of in campaign 2 was a native Xorhasian perspective in the group (aside from Essek, who wasn’t a PC).  I’m placing this as post-major Dynasty/Empire conflict at some point in the future, so it would be the same geographical setting as campaign 2, but time skipped enough that we don’t really have a ton of recurring characters.  Cameos from the longer-lived Campaign 2 characters are still possible, though.

Player characters

These predictions are based on my perception of player preferences, interesting roleplay opportunities, and focusing on things that the players seem interested in but haven’t been able to explore yet.  I have also built prior relationships, because I loved having PCs come in with relationships to build the group on and give early opportunities for trust and character building:

 Travis: Human Cleric (Order), with possible multi-class Fighter (Battle master). I would love to lean into a tactical, Imperial battle-commander type character for Travis, who can hit, but leans more support.  I also would love to see him play a cleric with wavering faith in how he used to believe and practice.  He has seen too much of war, too much of dying, to be overly-devoted to a single law or side, and is on an active quest of faith to find a higher sense of order and morality.  He maybe left the army in disgrace, or went AWOL, but either way he is persona non grata on his former side of the war, with only one ally having followed him into exile.  Prior relationship: Ashley’s fighter.  When he went AWOL or was driven into exile, she was the only soldier who followed him. He struggles with his choices and his faith, and she acts as his rock and has become far more of an equal because of that.

Ashley: Warforged Fighter (echo knight).  Ashley loves a straightforward fighter, so I wanted to give her something without complex rules to stress her out, but one that still has some really interesting flavor and possibilities once she gets into the groove.  Echo knight is ideal, because it’s not a hard subclass to play, but it can be seriously fun.  I like the idea that her character was built as an answer to Xorhasian dunamancy, to double herself and fight as two.  As she evolved and became less a machine and more a person, she became more and more attached to her commander rather than blind patriotism, to the point that when he left, she went with him.  Prior relationship: Travis’ cleric.  He was her commander, and she still tends to act as his soldier, despite his wavering faith. She followed him when he lost faith, and she continues to be the one who follows and believes in him.

Laura: Full Orc Barbarian (wild magic).  Laura loves to hit things, and has clearly wanted to play a hardcore tank for a while. I want her to be able to wade into any fight and tank a ton of damage, and full orc and barbarian both play into that. I figure her character would be Xorhasian, was a soldier for a while, but could never fit in because of her taste for wild magic and her chaotic nature.  Having her be a full orc would also allow her to explore playing a character who can’t be traditionally sexy, which would be a fun change from Vex and Jester. I see her as someone who rapidly went AWOL from the army, and is generally unaligned and doesn’t want to think about the war or what it did to her country or her people, and wallows in wild magic to avoid it.  Maybe she went to the Menagerie Coast during the war to get away from the fighting and dive deeper into her path, at which point she met Sam’s character.  Prior relationship: Sam’s sorcerer, as they walk the same path.  They share a faith, and that drew them together before the campaign, and they’re chaotic, happy best friends.

Sam: Satyr Sorcerer (wild magic).  Doubling up wild magic would be nuts, but would allow Sam and Laura to play with some crazy combos in roleplay and in combat.  Sam loves unpredictability, and so I could really see him leaning into the dice roll and relishing when things go wrong as a wild magic sorcerer.  Satyr would also lean into this chaotic bent, and would stack well with the charisma-based sorcerer build.  I see him as being from the Menagerie Coast, unaligned in the war, but touched by it somehow (possibly lost someone / his home / etc to the fighting?).  He and Laura’s character met due to their mutual inclination and tie to wild magic, and are very close friends who have tried to spend the entire war pretending there isn’t a war.  Prior relationship: Laura’s barbarian.  They are on the same wild path, but perhaps have different connections to it or opinions about it to give them different flavors and different approaches to the same chaos.

Marisha: Yuan-ti Pureblood Rogue (swashbuckler).  Let Marisha play high charisma!  Let her play a pirate!  I would love to see a snake-y pirate lady, unaffiliated with everything, acting as a sarcastic outside observer.  I would love to see her lean into snark and the scoundrel-with-a-heart-of-gold archetype, especially in a race than is stereotyped as evil.  Maybe she’s getting out of the pirate’s life, or did something horrific that riddles her with guilt that she covers with snark.  I would just love to have her get a dark, but non-political backstory.  Prior relationship: None.  She is a wildcard character, deliberately.  She comes in and adds a very different flavor and perspective, and as such, probably shouldn’t have a relationship with any of the other characters.

Liam: High Elf Artificer (artillerist).  Liam’s love of describing his spells’ mechanics in C2 was what inspired this. I think he would enjoy being an inventor steeped in tragedy, possibly as someone who invented a weapon of mass destruction for the Empire, and still wants to believe in his homeland, despite what he did and what they did.  Give me Liam as the man who has become death, destroyer of worlds.  It plays into his love of tragedy and redemption, and I am here for that.  Prior relationship: Taliesin’s wizard.  His shame has kept him a hermit, but chance brought Taliesin’s character to him, and he saw Taliesin’s character as a means of redemption or better understanding. Having his closest tie be to someone from the other side would also play into the tragedy of his character.

Taliesin: Drow Wizard (homebrew dunamancer).  Taliesin has always been Matt’s go-to for exploring homebrew content, and introducing dunamancy into C2 was a ton of fun.  I would love to see this get expanded and explored with a Xorhasian dunamancer character PC, and Taliesin has a talent for taking something Matt has played with (Firbolgs, blood hunters, etc.), and making it unique.  He’s definitely the player I could see taking the dunamancer and making him very distinct from Essek and the pre-established notion of what a dunamancer is.  This would also fit with my notion that his character was tightly tied to Dynasty politics, possibly a courtier background, prior to the war, and found himself tied up in it.  I would love to see Taliesin play a character more politically tied to the central story than Caduceus was, as he has a talent for driving plot and being a lynchpin for Matt’s larger plans.  So centering the deep-lore plot on Tal and Liam could be really great.  Prior relationship: Liam’s artificer, though theirs is not a long acquaintance.  They met shortly before the campaign, and though they have a bond, it’s new and somewhat untested.  Not to mention that the combination of an artillerist who built a weapon of mass destruction and a dunamancer make for the potential for some explosive blowouts as secrets get revealed.

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E113 (Oct. 27, 2020)

Good evening and good night, lovely people of the world! We’re on the internet and ready to go. Tonight’s guests are Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel. This will be calm, controlled, and sane, I can feel it. Brian points out it’s been seven months since either of them were on Talks. Oof. (Sam asks if it’s been going the whole time without him. Bigger oof.) Travis keeps sneaking bites out of an acai bowl or something and tries to look sneaky about it, and I laugh every time because he’s just...so big. He’s such a big person.

(Brian is wearing a lobstrosity shirt. He and Travis talk about Dark Tower for a bit; then Sam tries to get into the conversation: “Is that the thing from It?” Brian: “Is what the thing from It?” Sam: “Is that lobster the clown from It? I’m not very literate. Is that a Langolier? Is that a Shawshank?”)

Announcements: none! Maybe they just forgot. We’ve been talking about Sam’s spooky skeleton decorations for like five minutes. Brian suggests taking them to Travis’s house. Travis: “That’s the fastest way to get to the smell of burning plastic.” Brian: “Speaking of your girlfriend...”

On Avantika: Fjord wouldn’t call it a relationship as much as a casual sexual interaction. Not official! Super not official!!

The first sea voyage wasn’t great for Fjord, but he tried to be thoughtful about preparing for this one before they left: praying, kneeling at the bow of the ship, etc. He’s a little disappointed the Wildmother didn’t even throw him a “yo, fam” heads up.

They weren’t sure how to resolve the conflict at first, since Avantika went for Fjord rather than the crystal. No one expected it to get exposed in that way. Travis thought the necklace was a pocket dimension and was alarmed to learn it wasn’t. Travis wants it destroyed along with the third gateway, so until they are he won’t rest easy.

Everyone enjoyed watching them all fail on the battlefield again. (Sam: “You used [Counterspell] so effectively!”) Travis thought he’d said Thunder Step, which would imply Avantika was running, rather than Thunder Wave. Sam says it’s fine since none of them have that spell and he wouldn’t know it anyway.

It’s very difficult for Veth to find reasons to stay with the M9. She loves the adventures and making a difference, but she also wants to come home and have weekends and have a husband and life. “She’s a career girl!” He’s very excited about the possibilities of Caleb’s transportation effectively creating an easy commute for her. He also, as a player, doesn’t want to be the person who’s always leaving the party. “My characters wanna roam!”

Travis was fully tilted that Avantika might have gotten away right before the break. He doesn’t think he could have focused on Vess DeRogna’s task knowing Avantika had gotten away; he was seriously working out how Fjord would leave the party to go make a last stand at the third gate if she’d escaped.

Sam looooves how Matt plays Yeza, but it honestly makes him feel a little worse at how encouraging he is for Veth to chase her dreams. “He’s always like - go shine! Go blossom!” He wants to have the conversation about Yeza feeling a little ignored. It’s fun to share the tales of adventures with Luc & Yeza. 

Travis says there’s no way it’s Molly--it’s all Lucien. They don’t know if it was a resurrection, if he’s undead, possessed, etc. Everyone--everyone--rags on Taliesin’s accent work. Brian surreptitiously claims Ashly was brought on to relieve him of the burden of the accent. Poor Ashly, ha!

Initially, Travis landed on the Oath of the Ancients, but it had more nature & pacifism in it than he felt fit Fjord very well. Many of them also had a focus on good & lawfulness, which also didn’t feel quite right; he also wasn’t that vengeful for some of the others. He & Matt got together and discussed options. Matt asked what Travis liked about Fjord; Fjord’s love for the ocean was a huge part of it, since Travis himself also loves the ocean & scuba diving, and so Matt created a custom oath for him. Travis does not plan to post its details, but he thinks Matt will at some point.

Cosplay of the Week! a lovely Scanlan by Air Bubbles Cosplay! Sam tells us the “canon” Scanlan cosplay was actually borrowed hodgepodge, and the boots were falling off all day.

It was really cool to see how Yeza & Luc have made a home in Nicodranas. Felderwin was okay, but kind of your basic D&D fishing village, and she likes the Nicodranas is much better. She’s confident & comfortable knowing her family is safe and sound.

Why is Fjord so interested in finding Sabian? To him, post-orphanage, his time with Vandren was the best of his life & the most love he’d ever received, because he mattered & had worth. It was taken by someone he’d known basically his whole life, so Fjord is not going to let that go. “That fuckin’ bill needs to be paid, my friend.”

Sam acknowledges that he should NOT have looked at his phone in re: the Vilya reveal, but it was pretty surprising! He can’t believe none of them recognized it! Travis points out the M9 had never met, heard of, or known anything about Vilya, so it’s not that surprising. Brian points out Matt has also done a really good job keeping the two campaigns separate, so any references were tasteful. Sam marvels that it was so well done: it was tasteful, had emotional and story impact... “That Matt. He’s getting better!”

Liam texted Sam back something like “oh SHIT.”

Knowing Veth had a chance to help someone else return to her child made Veth feel almost karmically forgiven for being away from her kid, but it also made Veth a little guilty--”this lady wants to desperately return home, shouldn’t I want to go home too?” Caleb’s teleportation spell couldn’t have come a better time.

Sam wants Caleb & Astrid to get back together (well, he says “hump each other”), and Dani’s eyebrows climb off her forehead. Veth/Nott really thinks Caleb needs to have a roll in ze hay, and feels like after meeting her that there is a kindness or vulnerability to her that could be worthwhile. Travis thinks she feels like someone tethered, that it feels like she has a bomb or something in her chest that’ll explode if she tries to leave. Sam thinks Eadwulf is super cool. None of these names are spelled like I think.

Travis found the dinner super frustrating, because he felt Caleb was trying to walk a diplomatic line and he just wanted to backhand Trent. 

Fjord is still coming to terms with his feelings for Jester, and the feelings are definitely real, but there’s a lot of timing that he’s considering and he also wants to figure out what the relationship is like outside of constant tension and battle. Fjord is also having trouble figuring out how to exercise the ability to display affection as well since he’s never received them, and is feeling out how to give and receive them. “It’s fine now, because he’s feeling it, but once you say it out loud, or once you come to a point where you make it known to the other side, then what happens? It might be ruined. It might be broken. Or it might not be!” The moment with the porcelain unicorn was too good not to try. Travis also sighs that he’s not a romance D&D guy, “but now I am! Fuckin’ Laura Bailey!” He’s definitely feeling it out and will see how it unfolds in the game.

If Jester hadn’t let go of the Traveler, Fjord would have either attacked the Traveler or the Moonweaver and tried to kick them both off.

Sam doesn’t think the Traveler’s realized yet what a dick he is. Brian thinks it may not happen in this campaign, but agrees the full weight of what he deserves hasn’t been felt yet. Travis: “Yeah, he came to the edge, but it didn’t cost him anything.” Brian: “Yeah, he’s a real edgelord.”

Fanart of the Week! a beautiful portrait of Molly in the snow by @claygryphon on twitter.

Veth acknowledges that they work for shady people with shady pasts, so Vess DeRogna isn’t her first rodeo, but this time it’s personal. It’s Jaws 2: Electric Boogaloo. Sam can’t commit to actual actions, since Vess is like level 20 or something, but “I will get some kinda revenge. Be it petty or significant, I will get revenge.”

How are they feeling about being in Eiselcross? They’ve only just landed, so not sure yet. The cold is intimidating. They’re excited to explore a new island that’s part of Wildemount, especially with the river of lava running through it. “It’s icy with lava? Sounds like a Dairy Queen.”

There’s still a ton of unknowns regarding the Tombtakers, Vess, the nature of their job, and who’s here on whose orders. They’re excited to see how it’s all going to play out. Travis laughs that he doesn’t take notes, he’s just here to fight things. It just washes over him when Matt starts talking about names and places. “It’ll reveal itself in time. [...] I don’t write those notes down. I don’t even know how to spell it off the bat.” I have never identified more with Travis. Sam actually does pay attention and take notes and was really impressed by Marisha’s dive.

Veth became interested in branding her own spellcraft as soon as she saw Caleb doing it. “That’s what the influencer agents are gonna be looking at. It would be nice to leave the world better than we found it, but also with some branded spells.”

What were Fjord’s thoughts on dropping so much money on the ring & the Ioun stone? It wasn’t about money for Fjord, it was about a cool thing to acquire. It’s why he saves money in his campaign. Caleb needs “as much of a flak jacket as he can get.” He also REJECTS the idea of buyer’s remorse on the ring and touts the effectiveness it’ll have on the lava river.

Travis talks about his old coins - a 340AD coin he bought at a ren faire and a 120BC coin that was a gift from a friend.

Sam marvels at the love and thought that Caleb put into the tower. Sam points out they forgot to go to the top two floors altogether. Travis: “Did the mansion get as much careful planning from Scanlan as the tower did from Caleb?” Sam: Absolutely not. But they were still thinking small in C1, figuring out how things went, and they didn’t have as much detail in their heads yet.

And that’s all the time we have for tonight! We end on everyone whispering way too close into their mics and tapping fingernails on mason jars. A fitting end to this crazy episode, I think.

Is it Thursday yet?

[captainsspnanon]

C2E54 - Well Beneath - rewatch reaction

New and last episode of Calamity this Thursday, and I’ll be watching 3 and 4 over this weekend.  I must admit, allowing myself to watch these after they’ve aired and seeing all the tumblr reactions, it’s helped lesson a lot of the pressure I was feeling for myself to watch C3 unspoiled.  Finding out about what happened in Calamity didn’t lessen my enjoyment for the episodes.  Some moments may have been more shocking to see happen without knowing about them, but not to the point where I was upset that I already knew about them.  Now, I still think I’ll try to watch C3 stuff as unspoiled as possible, but this relieves me of a bit of burden, if I don’t feel like watching the episode that Friday, I don’t have to completely remove myself from tumblr until I can force myself to watch the episode, instead, I can take my time.  One thing that this C2 rewatch is REALLY showing me is that CR is so much more enjoyable when I don’t have to force myself to watch an episode when I’m not feeling it.

(though I also admit I’m already starting to think about my C1 rewatch and things that I will be saying during it XD)

The last number of episodes have really been more of just my reactions rather than anything even vaguely analytical, and it’s because there haven’t been new key players really introduced yet.  But SOON.  SOOOOOON ESSEK, SOON.  And I will be SAYING THINGS.  (I absolutely adore Essek, but I’m not a huge fan of the woobiefication that tumblr has put him through.  He’s not a good person, at least not at the start!)

PAUSING THE EPISODE IMMEDIATELY because as Matt starts his introduction of “Hello everyone-” Marisha immediately chimes in with “hi” which is just –!

Also subtitles are wonderful but not always accurate.  It says that Sam is the one saying the high pitched ‘we play dungeons and dragons’, but I’m 98% sure that it’s Travis, and the lower sound we hear in the background is Liam.

God this is an episode where everyone looks FUCKING AMAZING ican’tican’t

First time in the rewatch that I’m skipping the animated intro.  I got a good number in before I did that!  Also I forgot that the larger flasks were introduced as faux-kickstarter stretch goals.  I’ll be honest, I don’t remember them being too disruptive to the show except when Liam would have to move it to be able to see Sam, so I’m hoping that they don’t actually become disruptive.  *coughC3cough*

...wait.  Is Travis keeping his glasses on all episode???  WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED!!!! Okay, okay, I promise I’m done thirsting now.  (edit from the future – nope.  He took ‘em off.  SADS)

This chaotic presentation of the group to Dairon is the best that they could have hoped for.  (especially Jester, omg Laura is leaning into Jester being more chaotic in conversation than usual this time around) While Dairon certainly is judgmental with the lack of ‘professionalism’ to the group, it’s a case where the first impression is highly negative but also highly accurate, and explains many things in the long run that you can’t see in the moment.  Had Beau assembled some sort of ‘proper’ introduction to Dairon which showed off all the best of the M9 with none of the messiness, it would give expectations that wouldn’t live up to the reality.

Full credit to Taliesin, he does NOT let up on that ‘grumpy face’, and it’s GOT to be uncomfortable with how heavily exaggerated it is.

Couple of thoughts. 1) first instance of she/they usage for Dairon.  Interestingly, I do think that Dairon is for the most part the first real representation of gender neutral pronouns in CR.  I think.  I apologize if I’ve forgotten someone else.  I also don’t think Matt ends up clarifying to the gang the neutral pronoun usage until they start having her pretend to be their housekeeper.  2) She also says Ghor Dranas instead of Rosohna, which leads me to question her capabilities as a spy, because I feel like she should know about the name change if she’s got to be the one infiltrating?  3) the suspicion is that the Assembly is aiding the Kryn, which is very interesting considering the actuality is the exact opposite.  I don’t recall anything ever actually being given to Essek, though I’ll keep my eye out to see if anything is ever mentioned.  They were supposed to share research, but I’m not sure that they ever did.

Off topic, but I do miss this set sometimes.  The C3 set is friggen FANTASTIC, don’t get me wrong (and I keep seeing Brennan use options that Matt hasn’t yet and it makes me excited), but there’s something very pleasant with the simplicity of this set and the light colors changing just occasionally for battle and stuff like that.  From what I recall of C1’s set (late in the campaign when it’s pretty much completed versus the bedroom and such), it seemed very dark, not as well lit, as the C2 set feels.  And, as I mentioned way back in the 20s, I much prefer the lighting of C2 once they went off on their own. The background light changed to a fairly consistent blue, much easier to see the players as compared to the earlier yellow.

LOL Dairon “I work alone” three minutes later “I am not alone, the Cobalt Soul is everywhere”

Beau lashing out at Dairon YES YES YES “you fucking left!”  Oddly enough, I don’t think I connected this so much to her parents abandoning her during my first watch through.  I knew that they did, but it also got smushed to the back of my head of just ‘backstory’ that I ended up unfairly disregarding it much of the time.  Which I am KICKING myself for, because it informs SO MUCH of how Beau interacts with people and the world, but ESPECIALLY authority figures that she actually trusts like Dairon.  The suppressed worry of Dairon being unwell, the betrayal of the lies to HER directly, the abandonment! (Have I mentioned recently that I adore Beau, and she is my second favorite of the M9, only a hair under Caleb?  BECAUSE I LOVE HER SO MUCH)  Even now, she fully trusts the Nein but tells Dairon ‘kind of’ because DAIRON doesn’t trust them, so Beau is reluctant to share how much she does because Dairon may judge her for it.

Do we ever actually find how who Dairon lost?  Regardless, hello cracks in the foundation.  Granted, racism/speciesism/whatever the flavor of fictional bigotry is not a good look for anyone.  And so the student surpasses the mentor.

Marisha is so fucking incredible in this scene.  Her completely encompassing the physicality for every aspect!  Beau attempting to give Dairon important information (about Caleb! Her friend who was harmed!) and getting brushed aside.  Beau starting to get disappointed in her mentor.  Beau being hurt at having possibly let her mentor down. Being told she has potential but she’s rash and may lose it all. MARISHA IS SO FUCKING GOOD.

(also seriously dairon wtf?  I forgot she was so flippant about the Assembly doing HUMAN EXPERIMENTS.)

Beau’s frustration (tied into Marisha’s realization from Talks) that no one has seen her having good conversations versus using her fists, and Dairon’s speech about no one needing to see it to know that it has done good!!!!

(also, Liam has been in Caleb face basically the entire time.  I can’t tell if this is just Liam being Liam, or if Frumpkin has stayed in the room and he’s hearing it.)

“Don’t get too close.” “I….haven’t.” Beau you liar yes you have

ELDRITCH BLAEEEEEST (props to Liam that’s got to be so fucking hard and he’s doing it so well!  But it does fall into the common knowledge that you’ve got to know the rules in order to be able to break them, and him knowing how to do a good accent is very helping with him deliberately doing a bad accent WHILE IN A GOOD ACCENT)

I like how Matt’s like ‘you got a 24 investigation?  Here’s two people telling you exactly where to go and what to look at for the plot point’ XD Also?  Sam and Laura = BEST chaotic duo.

Marisha “I go full crazy human”  Matt “show me full crazy human” Marisha *really Matt?  Really?*

Caleb casting Enlarge on himself when the two orcs are bullying the party is such an interesting character moment.  Most campaign, we have seen him deliberately lower himself, physically with the way he stands, verbally with the way he speaks (at times), appearance-wise with the constant presentation of being dirty.  Here, in the moment where from an outside perspective it seems obvious to play the weak human and not engage, instead he looks to the orc mentality (strongest prevails) and Bigs himself.  Any time we have seen this previously (if I recall correctly) has been with smaller or easier to dominate creatures, for example the kobolds in the tunnels, the sailor that they’ve already killed all his crew, etc.  Either some level of intimidation was already there, or they were beings of lesser average intelligence and easier to deceive.  This moment here, of going for a strong intimidation moment despite not having the upper hand intrigues me.  Was it just a play on the orcish mentality, going for that more animalistic bigger = better?  Or is there a reason that Caleb doesn’t want to play low in this moment?  An internal frustration, disgust, arrogance?  I honestly don’t know, I don’t recall if something gets mentioned, but it’s SUCH an interesting play and so different than would have been expected.  Regardless of the reasoning behind it, it’s also an incredible display of how Caleb utilizes many means to deceive and have a power play (whether he’s supposed to end up on top or not).  Once again, someone has discussed this theme far more eloquently than I, I’ll have to see if I can find the post.  It was in regards to once the Nein are in Rosohna and are respected that Caleb switches HARD from muddy/grubby/don’t-notice-me to clean/presentable/respectable as a new form of camouflage and influence.

Let’s be fair, it still WORKED.  (I also forgot that Caleb goes ‘eldritch blaeeeest’ again when Fjord is all confused and I LOVE IT.  Something that’s so missed with Caleb is that he’s genuinely a funny dude when he wants to be.  [also kinda missed with Liam, all his PCs have good senses of humor and will lean into it, hell, Vax was nothing but a goofball til heavy plot combined with real life got in the way])

Speaking of dropping Frumpkin down a well, it’s very interesting how Matt and Liam seem to have very different opinions of how Frumpkin views Caleb.  Matt frequently has Frumpkin upset or annoyed with Caleb (granted, dropping into water WOULD piss off a cat, but think about Caleb buying milk from Frumpkin to drink, and he drinks it very pissily and ‘i’m only doing this ‘cause you told me to’), versus how Liam frequently describes Frumpkin as purring, cuddling, scarfing.  Part of me wonders if this is a Caleb centric bias that Liam is RPing, just that Caleb loves Frumpkin and so misses the annoyance, but that doesn’t feel right to me.  It really does seem like there’s a bit of a disconnect in the way that Frumpkin is portrayed by who does it. ...to be fair, I think Matt does this with almost all pets though, Sprinkle was always freaking out even before things started going bad, Prof. Thaddeus was always an ass, Trinket was constantly mournful almost a la Eeyore….I think the only pet/animal to be portrayed similar to how the player expected was Nugget, who was rarely around.  (well, and Trinket when he talked, because Matt was never going to make him not love Vex).  I’ll be honest, I prefer Liam’s version of Frumpkin as compared to Matt’s, whereas I usually am good with Matt’s portrayal of the pets.  I’m sure it’s just a bias of loving Caleb and wanting him to have The Best Cat. I’m still 100% of the opinion that post-game, Frumpkin checks on Caleb multiple times a year in different cat guises, sometimes acting as a stray and spending some time with him, sometimes just looking at him to make sure he’s okay before leaving.

I have no clue how much Matt had prepared of Umadon ahead of time (I know the name was in the notes, but I don’t know if it was for this specific PC, or on his list of NPC names that he has), but this poor queer bugbear is so sweet!  Sexy dreams, killing wolves, unable to understand deception, easily intimidated, I just want to give him a blanket and a mug of hot chocolate.  Give him the sexy threesome he deserves!

I don’t have too much to say about it at this moment, but it’s always interesting when Fjord flipflops between using Persuasion most of the time versus using Intimidation most of the time.  I know he’s proficient in Intimidation, so there’s the mechanical edge, but with how it really changes between both throughout the entire campaign, I can’t really place in on ‘oh, well he did X until character growth and then he did Y’, but it always FEELS very different when he’s making that choice.  I can’t really speak to if it may be situational depending on the type of person he’s speaking to (someone in authority or with power over him [Avantika, etc] versus someone that he has authority or power over [the bugbear, the soldiers in Eiselcross, etc]) because there are so many examples through the campaign, and it’s not something to easily search for. Hmmm...crstats has 58 persuasion vs 22 intimidation, (I don’t know if advantage/disadvantage means it’s counted as 2 or 1).  It’s not as evenly split as I thought, the chart shows much more persuasion with the intimation tending to be lumped together in an episode.  I suppose I just remember the intimidation moments more because they are HOLY SHIT moments.  Sooo….I guess ignore what ever point I was trying to say?  It’s still interesting as fuck, don’t get be wrong, but it’s not as evenly split as I thought it was.

(Caleb only rolls intimidation 10 times the entire campaign???  that feels wrong, but also it’s incredibly holy fuck when he does, so I might be inflating the numbers the same way I did with Fjord – each moment feels like five rolls XD)

(intimidation – 22 Fjord, 14 Beau, 10 Caleb, single digits the rest of the crew. Persuasion – 63 Jester, 58 Fjord, 49 Caleb, 46 Beau, 39 Tal (between Molly and Cad), 29 Nott, 14 Yasha)  OH, here we are, DECEPTION.  Probably conflating intimidation and deception.  58 Jester, 48 Fjord (that feels more right!), 33 Tal (mostly Molly, probs), 30 Caleb, 26 Nott, 22 Beau, 8 Yasha.

So, I’ll remake the whole statement that I was making before with Fjord, but combine intimidation and deception, versus persuasion XD

(Tal did 447 rolls as Molly, compared to over 1,300 as Caduceus.  ...this is why I hope we get Caduceus for any post-M9 one shots.  Or if we have to have Kingsley, have him play both.  I really don’t want an M9 one shot with no Cad.  It feels wrong.)

oh, they tried. They TRIED to do ‘we’ll investigate and come back later’ and whoops there goes Fjord down the well.  (granted he only took a peek and then they actually succeed in leave, but still XD)

Ah, here is the girls and boys split for sleeping and Caleb gets all indecisive because not rooming with Nott.  (though with the conversation that was just had with Fjord, perhaps it’s not actually tied in with Nott XD  [also insert C3 comment here, if you know you know])

Eh, this is one of the moments where I don’t really know if I agree with Matt, but I’m not strongly against it either.  Just, not a decision I would have made.  Beau is taking a power nap, Marisha specifically says that she’s going to leave 45 minutes after sunset, and Matt says that because everyone is long resting except for her, she sleeps and wakes up when it’s dark and doesn’t know what time it is.  Like, I get it?  But at the same time, it feels oddly punishing for no real reason.  What harm is there, or even what narrative reason is there, for Beau not to be aware when she wants to be?  On the other hand, I get that there are no alarms here, no one is keeping watch to wake her, etc.  Like I said, I don’t love it, I don’t really agree with it, but I’m also not super against it.  And the only real impact of it is Dairon making a half-snarky remark that it took Beau ‘some time’ to come for the training.  There’s no benefit to that, imo.

Sorry Sam, but I am completely discarding your multiple instances (shown here for the first time) that Nott is stacked.  VETH is stacked, sure.  But we’ve seen multiple official art pieces of Nott, and she is NOT stacked.  I will bend things for humor, but not this.  SORRY.  Same reason why despite Laura/Jester’s comments, Caleb does not have a dimpled chin.  We have multiple official art pieces of Caleb, and no butt-chin.  (I’m even including the crit role animated in this!  No stacked Nott, no butt-chin Caleb)

Huh, one of the rare moments where the show being live actually makes something of a difference to the show.  They got caught up in a conversation about if Mike or Joel is better for MST3K and so break ran long.

Travis really does play Yasha a little too much like Grog at times.  I can’t blame him much, but her kicking in the front door when other people are already working on their way in feels way too much like impatient!Grog. Yasha, while still a raging barbarian, was much more inclined to wait, and wasn’t actually as inclined to violence as Grog was. Usually it doesn’t matter so much because combat is combat, but it feels just a little bad this time round.

I think I’ve got to agree with Matt that Cad casting Beacon of Hope is ‘close to metagaming’.  I think it’d be different if Cad had a higher intelligence, especially considering Tal’s been RPing Cad as fairly ignorant when it comes to missing innuendo.  Not saying that he doesn’t know what sex is or anything like that, but considering how many things Tal has had fly over his head, I can see Cad missing the implications of this guy being targeted by incubi.  After all, Fjord said ‘weird’ dreams, then clarified ‘homicidal’ … never told the group sexy.  ...actually, after looking through the transcripts, I’ve leaning more into metagaming here.  I thought he had said ‘exciting’ dreams, but Fjord never told the group that. Lets see.  Cad knows that there are dreams causing this guy to kill wolves, knows that the aura he saw wasn’t ghosts.  Mmmmm…….yeah, Beacon of Hope just rides the line.  Dreams causing the guy to kill people could be enough to prompt for wisdom saves, but (and I don’t mean this in a negative way, but just as a statement of what I have observed) Tal seems to cross the metagaming line a bit more than other players, so while this is a move that could be one way or the other, I can also see Matt knowing that it’s Tal casting it, PLUS him then saying “I had a feeling” as crossing that line, or getting really freaking close to it.  Honestly, especially because Tal said “I had a feeling” in a way that really felt “oh I knew this was coming so I did it”, and so Matt’s having to think on the fly if Cad actually knew enough or not.

(and I’ll give it to the entire group, after C1, metagaming in the sense where it actually impacted the game was VERY rare, and usually either accidental, or in situations like the above where it’s not quite but could be.  C1, on the other hand, had way too many instances of metagaming actually impacting the plot, which I’ll talk about when it happens in C1.  Either way, they’re almost never enjoyment-ruining [the Molly ones only hit me so hard because of my already having issues with him] and are also fairly normal for any table anywhere ever XD)  (oh, and I don’t care at all about little metagaming moments that don’t lead to anything and are just funny, because who the fuck cares XD)

Shadow of Moil???? the fuck is this????  Never used again, I can tell you that!  *looks it up*  interesting.  It also requires an undead eyeball encased in a gem worth 150gp.  I wonder if this is where Matt starts making Travis track components?  *checks* no, that starts in e79.  Huh, wonder why Travis decided not to take this spell again.  Maybe just not worth his while.

LOL and then nothing else to say for the rest of the combat.   IT HAPPENS.

@suicidallyreckless