#because every campaign Laura's character gets a wedding

[catyuy]

What I want is for the Fjord/Jester wedding to be DMed by Brennan Lee Mulligan. Matt gets to play as Essek and Artagan. And the big bad is Isharnai.

PS, punish everyone who has two characters this campaign. Talesin has to play as Kingsley and Caduceus and Sam has to play as Veth and Luc.

extra bonus punishment: make the others have to take on one of the NPCs. Laura gets Yeza, Travis gets The Gentleman, Ashely gets Vandran and Marisha gets Marion. or mix it up. Matt still has to play any of his NPCs that Brennan asks for.

Heck throw in Aabria and Robbie as new characters for extra fun. The Officiants maybe.

Make the Wedding and Gameplay ABSOLUTE CHAOS.

[shorthaltsjester]

honestly as someone who has been in various fandoms for a long time now and who also watched campaigns 1 and 2 without really getting into cr fandom it isn’t Shocking but it is annoying how often people will look at the stories that cr tells and make absolute claims about the goodness of characters (goodness here meaning Moral goodness, not I Like This character and think it’s well made goodness, which is a separate post entirely). particularly regarding the gods and pc parents. and honestly like, typically in fandom i get annoyed by people bending over backwards to woobify characters who are active in their choice to be unkind and generally horrible but in the cr fandom it’s tended to be the opposite where like. a character is just. a human being (in the sense of being Average not in the sense of Fantasy Races) and huge swaths of the fandom act like that’s the most unforgivable thing someone can be. and maybe it is, but one of the most powerful things about fiction is that it tends to encourage people to expand their empathy and exercise their ability to forgive. because fictional characters, no matter how much people like to project onto them, tend not to cause anyone harm, so it’s easier to learn how to forgive and accept things you don’t understand without also villainizing them.

this is mostly prompted by the recent 4sd and the fact that matt’s response to what’s up with the dawnfather was a very insistent “He’s not bad!” and also seeing the online reaction to the mention that the matron would punish vax for saving keyleth that has taken the as usual completely bonkers tune that the raven queen (Who When Met With A Brother Asking A God To Kill Him In Favour Of His Sister, Gave Him A Job, and Later Extended His Natural Life To Help Protect The World And Have More Time With His Family And Allowed Him To Visit His Sister On Her Wedding Day) is a horrible evil abusive bitch of a god. like. can we grow up? can we understand the world and fiction that represents the multitudes of experiences found in it in shades of grey? is that too much to ask (i know it is).

but also specifically the like Extremely Adamant way that both matt and laura were like no no no no relvin isn’t Horirble he’s average. he’s not good he’s just. he’s A father, not a good or bad one. and on the surface it’s hilarious that they’re both so like. enthused to point out that he’s Average because typically when people respond to a claim of a characters badness with the level of immediacy they both did it’s a rebuttal of “no, this character is good actually.” but it was just to affirm that relvin did harm imogen, but not because there’s some aspect of his character that is inherently cruel or especially Bad. and like. yeah actually. yeah you should react like that to a claim that this average person who Has hurt someone, the way that nearly every single person has hurt someone in a way they cannot repair, with immediacy to say this person is a Person and thus imperfect and capable of great harm, but that isn’t some all encompassing judgment on their morality or capability to also do good or be fine.

anyway this is kinda just a rant post but also is just me saying i’m very grateful that when surrounded by a fandom that tends to paint characters as Good or Bad and even while using a game that can encourage that with its alignment system, cr has always told stories that see goodness as a persistent choice that might sometimes falter and that can be chosen even after a lifetime of Badness. i can’t remember exactly what the quote was so forgive me if it’s incorrect but when jester is talking to caleb after he claims he’s not a very good person and she says “good people do bad things sometimes. even bad people do good things.” that’s it! that’s one of the most consistent themes across campaigns. and yet.

[bobbystompy]

91 Quotes I Enjoyed From 2020

Below are my favorite quotes from 2020. Though most occurred throughout the year, some took place before but were encountered during.

1) “You don’t have to be new to make new.” - Rick Rubin

2) “He put the beat on and go to sleep then wake up with a verse.” - The Lox

3) “Every opinion is bad.” - Blink-155

4)

(via Twitter)

5) “At the start of every disaster movie, there’s a scientist being ignored.”

6) “Be brave enough to suck at something new.”

7) “Comedy is the only job you can have where you can use everything you know” - Robin Williams via Dave Chappelle

8) “What’s the worst swear word where you live?” - Josiah Hughes

9) “Cookies are a really great way to get everybody to like you for a short period of time” - YSAC

10) “The worst dancer at a wedding is the one who’s not dancing.” - John Mulaney

11) “I never saw the end of the tunnel. I only saw myself running out of one." - Kobe Bryant

12) "A good movie begins as you're walking out of the theater" - Ethan Hawke

13) “When I was young and starting in cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart which is, 'The most personal is the most creative.’ That quote was from our great Martin Scorsese.” - Bong Joon-ho

14) “Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow” - River Phoenix via Joaquin Phoenix

15) “Thank you -- I will drink until next morning.” - Bong Joon-ho

16) “Men will bury their emotions for decades and then take it all out on children tubing while they drive the boat.” - @krauter_

17) “They help you with the dumb face stuff, but they don’t tell you how to fix it” - Adam (Nate’s friend), on having older sisters

18) “We all had our connections, but it’s not the details themselves that matter, it’s the feeling behind them. There are a million coming-of-age tales. Lady Bird’s secret sauce is how deeply its creator gave a shit. The older I get, the less I care about anything but the sense of a filmmaker’s personal connection to the material. It doesn’t matter what it’s about, what genre it is, or whether it’s genre at all. I only really care that it feels like something the filmmaker had to tell me, and that it was that filmmaker in particular who had to tell it. It has to answer the ‘why are you telling me this’ question, and not just why are you telling me, but why are you telling me.

Lady Bird is a movie that feels like only Greta Gerwig could’ve made. And it’s only because it’s so specific to her that it can be so meaningful to so many people.” - Vince Mancini

19) "I have cast some lonely votes, fought some lonely fights, mounted some lonely campaigns. But I do not feel lonely now.” - Bernie Sanders

20) “Ever hear a Beatles song you haven’t heard before?”

21) “Drinking is an emotional thing. It joggles you out of the standardism of everyday life, out of everything being the same. It yanks you out of your body and your mind and throws you against the wall. I have the feeling that drinking is a form of suicide where you're allowed to return to life and begin all over the next day. It's like killing yourself, and then you're reborn. I guess I've lived about ten or fifteen thousand lives now.” - Charles Bukowski

22) “You shouldn’t have to hear a band to know if they’re good or not” - Josiah Hughes

23) “I was raised by OGs.  Some of you were raised by IG.  I understand.” - Ice-T

* * *

[Here is where I note the line of demarcation that was the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the US, pushed forward by Tom Hanks’ announcement, the NBA and NCAA shutting down, and, then, the nation itself.]

* * *

24) “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” - Vladimir Lenin

25) "Taken together, this is a massive failure in leadership that stems from a massive defect in character. Trump is such a habitual liar that he is incapable of being honest, even when being honest would serve his interests. He is so impulsive, shortsighted, and undisciplined that he is unable to plan or even think beyond the moment. He is such a divisive and polarizing figure that he long ago lost the ability to unite the nation under any circumstances and for any cause. And he is so narcissistic and unreflective that he is completely incapable of learning from his mistakes. The president’s disordered personality makes him as ill-equipped to deal with a crisis as any president has ever been. With few exceptions, what Trump has said is not just useless; it is downright injurious." - Peter Wehner

26) "Epidemics have a way of revealing underlying truths about the societies they impact." - Anne Applebaum

27) “A funny thing about quarantining is hearing your partner in full work mode for the first time. Like, I’m married to a ‘let’s circle back’ guy — who knew?” - Laura Norkin

28) 

(Jojo Rabbit)

29) “The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. - Deadwood: The Movie

30) “All bleeding stops eventually.” - Deadwood: The Movie

31) “Our Father, which art in heaven… / Let him fucking stay there” - Deadwood: The Movie

32) “It’s like a power outage, but we still have power” - Ryen Russillo, on the pandemic

33) “Whenever Sox baseball returns, it’ll be weird to not have Farmer on the call any more. The relationship between a fan and longtime announcer is always built in the little moments. One afternoon, he’s the soundtrack as you clean the garage. On another night, he’s your bookmark for the game as you stand in line for churros or walk down the ramps at Sox Park to try for better seats in the 100 level. A voice like Farmer’s becomes so familiar that you only really notice when it’s no longer there.” - Kevin Kaduk, on the passing of Ed Farmer

34) 

(via Twitter)

35) “In my songs, I try to look through someone else’s eyes, and I want to give the audience a feeling more than a message” - John Prine

36) “Observe everything. Admire nothing.” - Generation Kill

37) “Trump, by that definition, has always been a wartime president -- always willing to sacrifice people he doesn’t know to things he only sort of cares about” - David Roth

38) "Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen." - Michael Jordan

39) "Fiction is a bridge to the truth that journalism can't reach." - Hunter S. Thompson

40) “Airlines sending me “we’re in this together” emails. When my suitcase was 52 pounds I was on my own.” - Mike Dentale

41) “Sometimes you can be the worst source of your own story” - Ryen Russillo

42) “Family is not necessarily blood, but instead who you would bleed for.”

43)

(via Twitter)

44) "This is the deal that Jordan made, knowingly or unknowingly — that he would trade everything he had for everything he wanted. And then, when he won all those things, he found that he had nothing but that.” - David Roth

45) “I’m brand loyal, but the brand doesn’t matter” - Caitie Miller, on why she doesn’t like generic peanut butter

46) “NOBODY shitposts Gene Hackman!!” - Mark Dehlinger

47) “When a man concludes that any stick is good enough to beat his foe with—that is when he picks up a boomerang.” - G.K. Chesterton

48) “You can be appalled forever, but shocked only once.” - Jeff Weiss, on early Eminem

49) “Whether I’m pessimistic or optimistic, the fight’s the same” - David Simon

50) “Freedom can never be completely won, but it can be lost.” - Bernard Simon

51) “Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands.” -Kareem Abdul Jabbar

52) “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist -- we must be anti-racist.” - Angela Davis

53) “Start as close to the end as possible” - Kurt Vonnegut, on creative writing

54) “You can’t stay woke all the time — that’s insomnia.” - Dr. Cornel West

55) “No, I get it. I’ve dated a lot of Geminis.”

56) “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” - John Krakauer, Into The Wild (via Tyler Keller)

57) "I couldn't show them my For You because it's pretty much just lesbian stuff and depression memes" - Maggie Loesch, on showing TikTok to her coworkers

58) "It's 1 a.m. in Slovakia and I've already had one bottle of wine and I don't know how long this press conference will go, so good luck to me." - Marian Hossa, following his NHL Hall of Fame announcement

59) “All I want in life is to go on an Anguilla group trip” - Mandy Gilkes

60) “You miss old friends when you don’t see them, but you miss them more when you do.” - Chuck Klosterman

61) “The only way to appreciate the present is to pretend it’s already the past.” - Chuck Klosterman

62) Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth Until they've faded, but trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back At photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now How much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked

(”Everybody's Free [To Wear Sunscreen]”)

Second time that essay’s been quoted on this list.

64) "I mean, it's just human nature to suck up to the people above you, crap on those beneath you, and undercut your equals” - Brian, Family Guy

65) “You never quit a job. You quit a manager.” - Brian Bedford

66) “All the pictures in my house are of people I’m not friends with” - Tracy Cunningham

67) “In order to leave something behind, you have to leave.” - Dr. Herman, Grey’s Anatomy

68) 

(via Twitter)

69) “You can obsess about death if you don’t have to obsess about dying.” - Brendan Kelly via “White Noise”

70) “If it’s right to do, it’s wrong to wait.” - Andy, doorman 

71)

72) “When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg

73) "America is mostly people who’ve never left their state saying we have the best country in the world." - Billy Wayne Davis

74) “A writer is someone who knows at least 80% of their writing sucks.” - Gabe Hudson

75) 

(via Twitter)

76) “You’re dead twice” - Brendan Kelly

77) “Perfect is the enemy of good” - Voltaire (via Zach Lowe)

78) “I don’t want to be a savior, I want to be a mirror.” - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

79) “I get bad Twitter FOMO but not real life FOMO. That just goes to show I need to get off the Internet.” - Josh Thomas

80) “Is there anything you love in life that you engage with seriously that you don't also engage with humor?" - Sam Sutherland, on his relationship with Blink-182

81) “My favorite genre of music is my friends' bands" - Josiah Hughes

82) “Let’s fall in love like both our parents aren’t divorced.”

83) “Seabiscuit may be the only earthling that was on both sides of the stamp.” - Brendan Kelly

84) “There’s no shame in coming in second, except in, like, wars.” - Family Guy

85) “I feel like I experience writer’s block 100% of the time, and when I do write, I have impostor syndrome.” - Phoebe Bridgers

86) “We teach based on what we most need to learn.” - psychologist on Grey’s Anatomy

87) “Having too many choices is the leading cause of stress” - Grey’s Anatomy

88) “I think we've all gravely underestimated the extent to which this year has changed all of us, permanently” - Kelli Maria Korducki

89) 

(via Twitter)

90) “I wonder if people understand why they don’t have polio” - Sandra E. Garcia

91) “Ending songs is terrible, so let’s keep singing” - Dave Hernandez

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E76-77 (September 10, 2019)

Our guests tonight: the twins! Laura Bailey and Liam O’Brien!

Announcements: The next episode of Between the Sheets will feature Felicia Day, and will air Monday, September 16th at 7 PM Pacific! Reminder: no CR this week (Matt’s off in Stockholm), and no Talks Machina following that! In place of Talks will be a livestream in which a tavernkeeper character that will appear in the animated series will be designed with the community (there’s a poll on the website)!

Episodes 76 and 77: Refjorged and A Tangled Web

Brian: “I was trying to harmonize, but there was no melody.”

Stats for this week’s (these weeks’?) episode(s): “bread” was mentioned 52 times. Episode 76 had the 300th natural one of campaign 2, and the 100th Message spell was cast. Ten days passed between Caleb’s talks with the Scourger. Jester cast Sending nine times. 14 DM facepalms, tying the record!

Changes with the new character art? Everyone bounced ideas back and forth several times. Laura: “Liam made fun of me because I took the longest.” She wanted her to look more and more like the Traveler, “like a Traveler cosplay”, and she wanted her clothes to reflect her growth recently. Caleb’s dirt was “a hiding mechanism, and that’s exposed, so it’s gone”. He was going for “frazzled” in the first one, and then more “grim” in the second. Brian: “A surprising character choice.”

Laura and Liam start replying to questions in character as dolls.

Jester’s not expressing her darker feelings to the group “mostly because I’m not aware that it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Caleb isn’t sure that Essik trusts him in the first place, and he doesn’t really trust Essik either. “I do think that Essik maybe likes the cut of my jib.” He thinks Essik may be trying to get him under his thumb, and he thinks he might potentially be a mole. Laura: “Wouldn’t it be so great, though, if Essik just wanted a friend?”

From Jester’s perspective, the Traveler’s followers can’t be a cult because he’s actually a god.

Caleb feels like they’re smart enough to stay ahead of whatever Essik might be planning, and he thinks they can play all sides (in a positive way). “They can meet the needs of the different people that they’re dealing with. He’s trying to actually broker some sort of a peace.”

Essik telling Jester there was nothing he wanted to learn from her definitely hurt her feelings, even though she wanted to hide that. “She doesn’t know who she is right now. That’s starting to register in her brain.”

Cosplay of the Week: an amazing Yasha! (on Twitter: Jobieleecos, photographer Topheroriel)

Caleb has been thinking about the Scourgers for years, wondering. “He didn’t spend time with the full-blown Scourgers as a student, he was on his way to being one.” He was curious about what kind of state someone would be in, knowing what he’d been through. He wanted to know if anyone who’d gone through that would be a lost cause, and he wanted a sense of what Astrid and Eodwulf might be like now. “He understands that he was manipulated. He still has lots of personal blame, but he understands that he was abused. If he has any hope for himself, he has to offer the same hope to her. To any of them.” Caleb would be quicker to absolve Yasha than he would himself. 

Jester fully believes that the Gentleman is her dad, and she “fully knows” that he doesn’t care, but she thinks she can convince him otherwise, and she’s “not about to let everybody else know that there’s somebody out there that is shitting on her a bit. She doesn’t want to admit that.”

There’s an unfortunate and very giffable interlude into an exercise program. Liam: “Can’t wait until my kids are teenagers and find this show.”

Caleb has a lot more confidence about facing his past. “Absolutely. He has very powerful friends, and they’re in the pocket of a queen. They have a lot of assets now, and he’s learned a lot and can do a lot more than he was able to.”

Laura does think it’s weird that nobody else can see the Traveler, “because he’s so very there.” Dani: “He’s, like, all up in your grill.” Laura wonders what Commune would do for the Traveler, since Jester can just sit down and talk to him anytime.

Fan Art of the Week: a flowered and broken Fjord! (on Twitter: Kingcael)

Caleb made himself and not anyone else in the M9 look like Trent during the Seeming, partly because he didn’t want to look him in the eyes and partly because it made sense to cast himself as “enemy number one”.

Jester’s been acting a bit more like the mom friend, because “her example for people that help, outside of the Traveler, is her mom, and so she tries to emulate that.”

Jester thinks Traveler Con is going to be a “really awesome celebration, where probably the Traveler will ask her to host a few panels, maybe there will be a rave, I don’t know. We’re still figuring it out.” Liam’s just picturing it as Burning Man with more green cloaks.

Talks exclusive: Brian was Frumpkin all along????

Being the one to scry on Yasha is really hard on Jester. “It’s hard to be the one that everyone relies on to be the messenger.” Laura enjoys it, but it’s a lot of pressure.

“Jester does feel like she’s doing a pretty lousy job of getting more followers.” Laura’s “had some talks with Travis” about picking the Wildmother. “The Traveler would have been a GREAT patron for a warlock.”

Dalen’s Closet Questions! (SPOILERS FOR CAMPAIGN ONE!!!!)

Stats! Vex is the only member of VM to get a HDYWTDT on both Sylas and Delilah. Grog called Derrig four names other than his own (including Dmitri).

Liam knew in advance that Sam intended to use his Wish on Vax, and he was glad to have a chance to think about it ahead of time. “I would have been freaked the fuck out if he had just sprung that on me.” Sam checked in with both Matt and Liam. Liam felt like he was coming in as an NPC.

Laura feels “fuckin’ awesome” about being responsible for both Briarwoods’ deaths.

The bone on Vax’s shoulder was supposed to be a physical manifestation of the tattoo he got of Keyleth’s antlers. “He is in a metaphysical mystery box.” From Vax’s perspective, time could have been passing differently. “He’s not just in Connecticut, he’s dead.” Laura points out that it was a lot harder “for him not to be just Vax. Nothing we said, nothing we could do, would change that. You can’t have that back.” Liam: “All of their decisions, but especially his decisions, had to have costs.”

Laura mentions that she feels like this was probably the last VM one-shot; it felt like a solid ending.

From the get-go, Vex was worrying about Vesper more than anything. “In no way did she want to say that out loud to Sylas.”

Liam: “I could accept everybody dying except for Vex.” Laura wonders if Vax would’ve left the Raven Queen if that had happened. Liam won’t speculate.

More Derrig info? Liam shares the names of his wife and kids.

Both Sam and Marisha thought they were Taliesin’s best man, and Sam had a speech written for Percy instead of Vex and had to rewrite it really fast. Laura: “Prior to the show, it fully felt like we were getting ready for a real wedding.” Laura thought ahead of time about what to say vow-wise, but didn’t write it down. “When it was time for it, I almost fully blanked on what I was supposed to be saying.”

Laura: “We’re twins every day, Liam!”

[ofsvnlightt]

Was that [INBAR LAVI]? Oh no no, that was just [VEX’AHLIA DE ROLO], a [CANON CHARACTER] from [CRITICAL ROLE]. They are [TWENTY EIGHT] years old and [ARE] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

spoilers for campaign 1 below

this is going to be a looong one (sorry) so if you’re just looking for the hw stuff, it’s at the bottom

vex is a character from critical role’s first campaign

she’s played by the lovely laura bailey! (like jester!)

she has a british accent

she is a half-elf, and does have slightly pointed ears despite whatever magic brought her here -

born of an elven father and human mother, vex’ahlia and her twin bother vax’ildan never really fit in no matter where they went. they weren’t accepted in their father’s home city of syngorn because they were half-bloods (not full-elf). they’d get stares every now and then elsewhere because of their pointy ears. the two of them spent their early years being raised by their mother but were taken to syngorn at the age of 10. their father was distant and after having enough disdainful looks given their way, the two of them went off on their own. the two of them split for some time and while vax stuck to alleys and shadows, vex thrived in the woods. she learned to hunt and track, and in time, found trust and companionship in a bear. her beloved trinket.

much later, the twins became a part of an adventuring group and they called themselves vox machina

this group consists of 7 members: her, a ranger her brother, a rogue keyleth, a half-elven druid percy, a human gunslinger scanlan, a gnome bard pike, a gnome cleric and grog, a goliath barbarian 

SPOILERS START HERE. i think c1 went from 2015-17, so it’s been 3 years but you know, just in case :))

grog and pike both died prestream, but as far as vox machina is concerned, vex was the first to die. 

while trying to acquire their first vestige, the armor of the previous champion of the raven queen, percy opened a sarcophagus and a blast of necrotic energy came out of it, killing her. along with the revivify ritual, vax made a bargain with the raven queen, his life for vex’s. she accepted, and vex came back to life.

after acquiring a few more vestiges, the group went to the fey wild to retrieve fenthras, a bow that resided in a cancerous tree, which caused the surrounding shademurk bog to wither (in a way). finding the tree, they had to fight the “cancer,” an entity called sondor. he was able to read vex very well, but his proposal was for her to stay with him in exchange for the bow. vex said no, and that her heart already “belongs to someone else.” they ended up fighting him and getting the bow.

after hunting down ripley, there was a shootout, resulting in the death of percy. during his ritual, vex, tears in her eyes, said “i should have told you sooner. it’s yours. it’s always been yours.”  (if i remember correctly, only 3 people have to participate in a resurrection ritual..i don’t remember when vex went though. taliesin left the table and was texting matt wether or not what people did would bring percy back and it was on the edge i think. i want to say that vex went last, but i’m not sure)  either way, it was tense but percy did come back.

much much later, after defeating thordak and the chroma conclave, vox machina took a much deserved year break. during this time, vex and percy got married in secret.

i don’t remember the circumstances, but percy was freaking out for whatever reason and let it slip that vex was his betrothed. scanlan heard this and while the group was beyond the divine gate to speak with ioun, he teasingly played the wedding march on his flute, tipping off vax and/or(?) keyleth. the couple knowing that they would never get that due to his destiny of joining the raven queen when vecna is defeated.

her and vax have a small argument about it but make up quickly

shortly after vecna is defeated, the raven queen comes to take vax, effecting (obviously) not just vox machina as a whole, but keyleth and mostly vex.

once the campaign officially came to a close, the group got to share what their lives 1, 2, 5, 10+ years afterwards looked like. vex and percy got married...again, this time with all their friends and family attending.

after the resurfacing of sylas briarwood and taking care of him, scanlan used his last wish (a very powerful spell) to bring vax back for a couple minutes so he could see vex and everyone one last time. 😭 -

also aside from being married to percy (royal) she is titled: Lady Vex'ahlia de Rolo, Baroness of the First House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt, the Sixth Star, and Champion of the Dawnfather Pelor * (it’s really just the italicized bit but the last parts are also true) you go girl

hidden washington info! (finally lol)

How long has your character been in washington: only a few days

Job: unemployed at the moment 

Where has your character been pulled from in their fandom: sometime between the last episode of the campaign and the wedding. she’s settled down with percy and they’re done adventuring, but she hasn’t had vesper yet. 

Has magic affected your character: nope! she has all her memories (minus the wedding of course, since that hasn’t technically happened yet.) so she’s just unaware of the second and third to last bullets above 

Anything else? oof, i hope not 😂 

[smalleststress]

Just all of them for the crit role either or asks

Oh hell yeah!

Thank you for this, now I have something to do during class lol

(Spoiler Warning for campaign 1&2 and Dalen’s closet !) 

1. Campaign one or campaign two?

Definitely two, I’m biased since I started during campaign two and haven’t watched all of the first yet. I definitely will finish it soon though since the current campaign is on pause.

2. Vex’ahlia or Jester?

I would die for jester without a second thought, I love her so much. She’s the perfect mix of a silly personality, and I just want her to be happy,, please Mercer,,, 

I do like Vex though, the whole wedding one-off murdered my heart.  

3. Vax’ildan or Caleb?

Shit, that’s really hard because I’m a sucker for the raven queen and the whole scene with him coming back at the wedding, Matt and Liam did such an amazing job that was so good. But also what is better than sexy wizards… nothin. Caleb has grown on me a lot, he has made so many developments and Essek n him? Oh my heart, forehead kisses will be the death of me. Caleb, sorry Vax.

4. Pike or Yasha?

Do I have a crush on Ashley? Yes. Does that influence my feelings on Yasha? Absolutely. Pike is a sweetheart but women that could carry me without batting an eye can have my soul. She is just so caring and “I smell like crayons.” Actually murdered me.

5. Keyleth or Beauregard?

While I will never stop laughing over Keyleth dying as a goldfish, Beauregard hits home. Also fucks. And I respect that.

6. Scanlan or Tary or Nott?

Nott. I’m sorry but her character growth has been crazy and I’m so glad she is finally comfortable in her own skin, she deserves it! Also, Sam fucking kills me, that man is literally comedy gold. 

7. Percy or Mollymauk or Caduceus?

Fuck how am I supposed to pick between any of these… Mollymauk will always hold a special place in my heart I literally bawled when he died, long may he reign. It’s gotta be Caduceus, Talesin seems so comfortable paying him and I love his chill vibe versus the chaos of the rest of the party.

8. Grog or Fjord?

I love Fjord for many reasons but also because every time I see his name my brain reads it as fij-ord even tho I know the proper way to say it. Ep 98 had me so scared, the start of the episode was so nice, I was tricked!

9. Trinket or Frumpkin?

I’m a cat gal, Frumpkin literally warms my heart so much and the art everyone does is so cute!!

10. Vox machina or the Mighty nein?

Haha it's probably pretty obvious at this point, M9

11. Gilmore or Pumat sol?

Pumat, the telephone story about him was so funny and I got so scared in the cathedral. I love soft seeming characters that can whoop ass if need be. 

12. Kima or Keg?

Keg is literally me but a fantasy version. Her letter to Beau after their one night stand was so funny, “your eyes are so pretty when you smile, I love Thanks.”

13. Zahra or Calianna?

Calianna, bro the cosplay and art? Tasty. 

14. Kashaw or Shakäste?

Shakaste!! My dude! I love Jester messaging him, good shit.

15. Kaylie or Marion lavorre?

Ruby of the red sea, I love how Mercer portrays her. He does an amazing job, she gives off big dick vibes and I support her.

16. Clarota or Lorenzo?

Lorenzo was terrifying, the dude kept talking while on FIRE. Scariest shit and he killed MollyMauk so he is already a monster (literally, as well). Caleb’s “You shouldn’t have killed my cat.” oh heck yea.

17. The Raven queen or the traveler?

The traveler and his whole reveal was hilarious, can’t wait for traveler con. But, Raven Queen is my favorite, I’m just a sucker for the cracked porcelain mask what can I say.

18. Sarenrae or the Stormlord?

Stormlord, the lighting aesthetic is so badass I really want to play a character involved with him so bad.

19. Emon or Wildemount?

WIldmount, have you seen the book put out? That shit is wild how does Mercer do this… I want his brain so I can dm for my friends better lol.

20. How do you want to do this or nerdy-ass voice actors?

Nerdy ass voice actors!! Though the relief/excitement in how do you want to do this is top tier

21. The campaign one cosplay intro or the campaign two animated intro?

I love animation, always have, I admire/envy those artists so much. It gets me so hyped for the show like you wouldn’t believe, that theme song kicks ass

22. Travis’ refusal to believe in dice superstitions or laura’s hoard of dice?

I only play with one pair because I really like it (though I lost the d4 so I occasionally use others) but I don’t do prerolls beforehand or anything like that, more on the Travis side.

23. Door troubles or yelling ‘nein’?

NEIN

[done-dm]

Talks Machina Summary: Episodes 76, 77, and Dalen's Closet

In lieu of the usual pre-show entertainment, we were graced with lovely imagery and music from Sounds of the Wildmother Vol. 1.

Announcements

The next episode of Between the Sheets is Monday, September 26 with Felisha Day. The VOD is available the following Wednesday.

There is NO episode of Critical Role this week. There will also be no episode of Talks Machina the following week (because no episode), but the Tavern Keeper Builder livestream will take up that timeslot.

Critrole Stats

Bread was mentioned 52 times in episode 76.

Jester's 100th message spell was cast during episode 77.

Ten days passed between Caleb's first and last conversation with the scourger.

Episode 76 and 77 tie for most dm face palms with 14 each.

Questions

Laura took the longest to come up with Jester's new character art. She drew out the outfit (somewhat poorly) and the artist took it from there. Laura wanted her to look more and more like the Traveler and dress a little more like an adult

Liam wanted Caleb to look less frazzled and more grim/determined in his new character art.

Jester is not aware that sharing your problems is not something to be ashamed of despite helping the other members of the M9 do exactly that. She doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that she has problems in the first place.

Caleb isn't sure that Essek trusts him, and he doesn't really trust Essek either. He thinks Essek has his own reasons for helping Caleb. Essek could be trying to stack up favors, get him under his thumb, acting as a mole, etc.

Jester's perspective on the Traveler has not changed despite her hearing the Traveler's following referred to as a cult.

Caleb feels like the group is clever enough to meet the needs of everyone that they're dealing with (despite the fact that they've been calling in several favors, particularly from Essek). It's a longshot, but he's trying to broker some kind of peace and needs to stay in everyone's good graces in order to do so.

Essek hurt Jester's feelings when he said he had nothing to learn from her. She tried to hide it from the others. Jester doesn't know who she is right now and that's starting to register with her for the first time.

Caleb has been thinking about the Scourgers for years. He wondered what state somebody would be in after years as a Scourger since he escaped that life early. He also wanted to know if anyone who had gone through that was a lost cause (Astrid and Eowulf in particular). There's still a lot of self-loathing, but Caleb understands that he was manipulated. The Scourger he interrogated was younger than him, so if he was any hope for himself he had to offer that to her as well. He also thinks about Yasha and would be quicker to make excuses for her than he would for himself.

Jester fully believes the Gentleman is her father. She thinks he doesn't care about her, but thinks she can convince him that he is her father eventually. She has no plans to tell the others about his refusal to acknowledge her.

Liam mimes using a shake weight. I expect the gifs to be entertaining.

Caleb has a newfound confidence in facing his past now that he has powerful friends, lots of assets, are in the pocket of a queen, etc. Liam wasn't sure where Caleb would be at this point in the campaign. The group is too persuasive as a family for him to walk away and cause Caleb to go down the other paths Liam thought were a possibility.

Jester thinks it's weird that no one else can see the Traveler, but she chalks it up to him being awesome and powerful.

Caleb made himself look like Trent to avoid looking at him and because Trent is enemy #1, so it made sense to Caleb to put that on hinself.

Jester's main example of people helping others is her mom, so she tries to emulate that: hence the motherly behavior towards her friends in the more recent episodes.

There was a question about Caleb's use of the transmuter's stone that I totally missed, whoops!

Jester expects the Traveler Con to be a really awesome celebration where she will be asked to host a few panels. Although, she obviously doesn't know all the details yet.

Liam pulled that line about the porcelain cats out of his ass. Now it's cannon that Caleb has 9 of them.

Jester finds it hard to be the messenger that everyone relies on. Scrying on Yasha was particularly difficult for her (considering the recent... incident). Laura is thankful Matt will repeat information instead of only relying solely on Jester's ability to convey it.

Caleb wants dunamancy knowledge for the sake of knowledge and also because he wants to manipulate time.

Jester feels like she's doing a pretty lousy job of getting more followers for the Traveler, especially since Fjord was actively looking for a god to follow.

Dalen's Closet Stats/Questions

Vex is the only member of vox machina to get hdywtdt on both Sylas an Delilah Briarwood.

Grog called Derrig four names other than his actual name during the course of the episode.

Liam did know that Sam intended to make Vax the wedding gift. Sam texted Matt and Liam to be sure they were okay with it first. Liam felt like he was playing Vax as an NPC at this point. Matt has told him a little bit about where Vax is at, but it was up to Liam to decide exactly what Vax was at this point.

Laura says it feels "fucking awesome" to be responsible for the deaths of both Briarwoods. Laura thinks of Vex/Percy and Delilah/Sylas as two side of the same coin since she would "pull a Delilah" if something happened to Percy.

The bone on Vax's shoulder was a physical manifestation of his tattoo of Keyleth's antlers. It was the one part of his humanity the Raven Queen couldn't control.

Liam was inspired by the short story "The Jaunt" when deciding how Vax was going to appear at the wedding. Vax has been gone for a year, but that doesn't mean he's experiencing time the same way as the rest of Vox Machina.

Laura fully thought Vax would come back exactly the same as he was when he died. Liam thought that all of Vax's decisions needed to have consequences.

Laura and Liam both feel like this one shot was the end of Vox Machina's story.

It felt good for Laura and Liam to be "twinsies" again.

Vex would have reacted differently if Vesper was at the wedding instead of alseep. She didn't bring it up to avoid giving Sylas another weakness to exploit.

Liam could accept every other member of Vox Machina dying except for Vex because "he made a deal."

Names of Derrig's family members (please note that I totally guessed on spelling): his wife is Nell; his three girls are Baroni(?), Litan, and Maeve; and his son is named Will.

Sam and Marisha both thought they were Taliesin's/Percy's best man. They told Sam he was next to Vex and he had to rewrite his speech (he had one prepared Percy). Laura didn't write down the wedding vows ahead of time, but did prepare them beforehand .

[novelconcepts]

Okay, but all silliness aside: I owe a ridiculous amount to Critical Role. Or, more specifically, to having found CR when I did. I came in around the beginning of the second campaign, and I had no idea what this thing was. I didn’t know a damn thing about D&D. I didn’t watch gamers stream. I think I’d been on Twitch a handful of times to watch Jim Lee draw, and that was...it. 

I came into Critical Role having seen a handful of gifs on my dash from people whose opinions I trust, and I realized Ashley Johnson was involved. That was my full base of knowledge: Ashley “hey, I know her from Recess/Growing Pains, I like her” Johnson was the whole deal. And that could have been a breaking point early on, because the first thirty episodes of Campaign 1 are a little rough if you don’t know what you’re getting into. The audio is questionable in places, it can be hard to track what’s going on, there’s the whole...obvious cast issue. And if you came in knowing only Ashley, you didn’t even get that lifeline the whole way through. 

But here’s the thing: this was 2017? I had just gotten married, and while I married the love of my life, who I had been engaged to--we originally had a slapdash courthouse wedding the day after the election, because it was the only safety net we could grab hold of. At least it would be a legal marriage, in case something really cataclysmic happened before our actual wedding date. I was obsessively refreshing six different news sites every hour while at work, and falling down the darkest political rabbit holes on Twitter every night. I was have terror dreams of nuclear fallout and panic attacks over climate change...and, on top of all the fear and the anger broiling in me, my dysphoria was getting worse by the day. My anxiety. My depression. I was sinking. Fast.  So I did the only thing I know how to do when things get truly bad inside my head. 

I hid inside stories. 

Namely, I hid inside Critical Role. The new campaign wasn’t quite on its feet yet, so I went back and started with Vox Machina. I went into these 3-5 hour episodes, letting them play in the background at work, letting these people I did not know or even really get yet into my head. And, at first, it was just the fascination of the concept. A long-form narrative built by upwards of 8 people, all sitting around a table, just...improvising. Not an inch of that is the way I tell stories, so it was brilliant and baffling, and curiosity had me straight out the gate. 

And, if it had just been the concept, that still might not have been enough to hold my attention. If it had just been the idea of it, it might not have been loud enough to drown out the voices in my head telling me the whole ship was going down, that there was no hope, that there was no point in even getting up in the morning to face more bullshit. 

But...it was Matt Mercer. Matt, with such an incredible array of characters and maps living inside his head, who could so easily have been That Guy--the English Major Asshole who knew he was smarter than everyone in the room and played it up--and instead chooses to be so kind. So utterly engrossed in the desire to give everyone a seat at the table, to let everybody into the narrative he’s weaving. It takes a certain kind of person to not only write the sort of stories he invents for CR, but to be open enough to lean back and let other people take the wheel every night, and to roll with whatever comes his way. 

And it was Travis Willingham. This huge dude who had to sit at the edge of the table because he was all muscle and thumping energy, who I kept expecting to be tight-lipped and brewing with that toxic masculinity judgment straight dudes are taught to value--and, instead of even a modicum of that, he was so excited. So invested in these characters and this game, in these friends, in playing the wisest dumbass ever to cross a screen. Travis, who hugs his male friends, and doesn’t pull the no-homo card, and stans his wife with such delight, there is no way you can watch even half an episode without falling in love with their love. 

And it was Liam O’Brien, who could have played the arrogant Cool Dude, and instead leaned so hard into having fun with his place at the table. Into deep-cut jokes, and his love for his friends, and such an affinity for Laura that I genuinely believed they were siblings. Liam, who wears his soft heart on his sleeve, and understands that sometimes the best way through tragedy is to weave it into a story, to let that be a kind of therapy among friends. 

And it was Taliesin Jaffe. Tal, who is just gonna be him, and not even fuck you if you don’t like it--he doesn’t even seem to notice. Tal, who is physical with his friends, and who laughs with his whole body, and who has the quickest one-liners in the world one minute and “life needs things to live” the next, and who just is such a joy to watch as he immerses himself at the table. He’s gonna have his hair, and he’s gonna wear mismatched socks, and he’s gonna paint those nails, and love his people, and inspire everyone around him to do the same. 

And it was Sam Riegel, who--I’ll be honest--I didn’t get for a while. He was hilarious, and he was a quick-draw, and I loved his songs, but I didn’t understand how much he cared, how truly in it he was. Sam has said he’d do anything to make these people laugh, and I don’t think everyone realizes just how valuable it is to have someone who understands the need of a good laugh in a bad situation. Sam lights up the table in the strangest, silliest ways--but he also brings some of the most vital human moments to the story. 

And it was Laura Bailey, who was just so...warm, it bleeds straight through the screen and envelopes me every time I watch her play. Vex is cool as shit on the surface, but Laura is so full of affection, so quick-witted, so hugely into this game that she transforms herself utterly when she plays. Laura comes to the table to play with everything she’s got, and she’s so honest when she does it. Impeccable voice work one minute, flirtatious wink the next, and then she’s dying laughing at a dick joke. It’s so open, it’s impossible not to love. 

And it was Marisha Ray. Marisha, who took so much shit, and came out the other side standing taller than ever. Marisha, who commits wholeheartedly in voice, in affectation, in climbing up on her chair or lunging backward out of it. From day one, I was rooting for Marisha--I was inspired by Keyleth getting to grow up onscreen, as I’ve been invested in Beau slowly cracking open and letting herself shine out from the spaces she’s spent so much time shoring up. She loves these characters like true friends, and she loves her people, and she loves her husband, and she loves this craft to such a degree, I want to quit my job and come work for her instead. There’s such a strength and a dignity to her that I find myself needing to be stronger, too. 

And, of course, it was Ashley Johnson--deceptively sweet, intensely funny, so much tougher than she looks, and when she turns up in a game, the affection could fill a stadium. Ashley being in town or on Skype for a game is like coming into a party and finding a friend you hadn’t gotten to hang out with in six months waiting for you. Everything just feels brighter with her in the game.

And it is a game, and it is a story, but the family these people have built--people I’ll likely never meet, people who live on the opposite side of the country--is somehow big enough to let complete strangers bask in its reflected glow. I built a habit of listening to CR at work...and then talking about it to my wife, with all the hyper-fixation glee I can’t help when I fall in love with something...and then I was putting it on at home so she could fall in love, too. I was putting on Talks or Between the Sheets while I ran on the treadmill, or when I needed to focus on a project. I put on episodes I’d already seen when I was sad, or when I was lonely, or when I just needed something to fill the silence and keep the darkness in my head behind a wall. For two years, I’ve gone back to these people again and again. To the silly videos. To the serious conversations. To the Twitter feeds and the fanart people can’t resist making to commemorate these characters who feel so tangible. 

Matt always ends the stream with a claim of love, and with most shows, with most streamers, with most people, that just feels like words. With these guys, with the way they open up and share this lightning in a bottle family and story they have created with the rest of us, it feels honest. It feels like these are long-lost friends who may never be in the same room, but are always there when I am drowning because the world is a nightmare, because work is kicking my ass, because this gushing essay is the most I’ve written in months. They are so good. They are human, and fallible, and invested in telling stories that get dark and ugly one minute, and devolve into hysteria the next, because that’s what life looks like. Even life with gods and magic and talking swords and goldfish deaths. 

Critical Role keeps me throwing my shoulders back, keeps me laughing, keeps me insisting on showing the people in my life how much they mean to me. Critical Role keeps me on the board when the demons in my head have me thinking it’d be easier to throw the game. It’s a show, and it’s silly, but it’s given me such a safe, warm place to curl up in some of the bleakest times of my life, and I love them so much for being willing to share some of that light with the rest of the world. They’ve given me a place on the internet that truly does feel like home. 

[salavante]

Top 5 favorite band/songs?

I got double tapped for this so I’m gonna do a top 15. I love music and have eclectic tastes, and so I am going to talk a lot. I think I could be asked what my top 100 were and be able to fill it out (it might even be easier). I’m also going to put this under a readmore so it doesn’t stretch anyone’s dashboard. But, if you’re interested in my thoughts, or are looking for some tunes, give it a whirl. Using “I Say Fever” as a header of sorts. 

1. “Desperados Under the Eaves” by Warren Zevon. I first heard it after the end of my first campaign with Jake, and I associate it with Odwain a lot. There is something about it that makes me think of a great, yawning desert opening up in front of me, full of possibility. Someplace I can get lost in. My other favorite songs by Warren Zevon are “Lawyers Guns And Money”, “Veracruz”, “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” and “Tule’s Blues”. He would’ve been higher on my Artist ranking but the fact is I pretty much just listen to Excitable Boy over and over again.

2.“I Say Fever” by Ramona Falls. I like the rest of Ramona Falls’ musical catalog, but this one stands out as something really unique and special. It has a sort of ominous, melancholy atmosphere, but has a pulse-pounding, frantic chorus. Oh, and the music video is dope. 

3. A Coheed & Cambria song belongs here but it’s very difficult to choose one. I can easily say that they are my favorite band as a whole, and many of their songs are in my regular rotation, but I can’t think of one song specifically that I play over and over again over all the others. Good Apollo I’m A Burning Star IV: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness is without much question my favorite album, but that’s because I find each song consistently good and that the album as a whole has a really rich, well paced atmosphere. I’m gonna pick more than one song to share a lot, and that’s just gonna be how it is.

“Random Reality Shift” is my favorite song that is acoustic. “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3” and “The Crowing” are my favorites of their older material. The opening chords to In Keeping Secrets give me chills every time. “The Writing Writer” and “Once Upon Your Dead Body” are my favorite from Good Apollo. “Number City”, “Domino the Destitute”, “Ghost” and “Island” (music video is very entertaining) are my favorite of their newer stuff.

4.  “Harvest of Sorrow” / “Mirror Mirror” by Blind Guardian. It’s hard for me to choose my favorite Blind Guardian song, so I’m gonna do a slow one and a fast one. I was first acquainted with “Harvest of Sorrow” as “Mies de dolor”, the spanish version, which I ripped off some website in 2011. And for awhile it was the only Blind Guardian song I had other than Battlefield and The Maid and the Minstrel Knight, and I was only familiar with it in spanish. I went looking through their catalog years later and found it in English, and being able to put words that I could understand to the feeling of melancholy and powerful instrumentals felt like an epiphany. I devoured the rest of their music, which I immediately connected with, and haven’t looked back since. Mirror Mirror is just fast paced and pumping with a very screamable chorus, and also reminds me of Wybjorn. Makes me turn the volume all the way up every time. (my other favorite ones are “Prophecies”, “Twilight of the Gods”, “The Bard’s Song”, which is heartfelt and hopeful, and “Sacred Worlds”)

5. “Skin” by Oingo Boingo, which barely beats out “Just Another Day”, and also “Wild Sex (In The Working Class)” and “No Spill Blood”. Kind of a bummer but in a very cathartic way. A relatable sentiment on a few different levels (mental illness, dysphoria, etc). Sometimes you just need a song that makes you feel sad and introspective, and this is that song. 

6. “Input Source Select” by De Staat. GET YOUR FREAKS OUT, LET’S GO. A song for when you’re on the warpath. Reminds me of the feeling of burning, righteous anger because I had it on when I was powerwalking to go give a guy a piece of my mind. Other favorite songs by them are “Sweat Shop”, “Systematic Lover” and “Witch Doctor”.

7. “A Hazy Shade of Winter” by Simon & Garfunkel. I grew up with a lot of music by these guys, and supposedly Paul Simon’s Graceland album played at my parents’ wedding. But, this one is my favorite song by them. It has a sort of anxiety about impermanence that I gel with a LOT. Also, if I had to pick one song for Odwain, it’d be this one. The Bangles cover is pretty good too. I also like “The Boxer”, “Only Living Boy in New York”, “Cecilia”, “America”. My mom is also fond of “Punky’s Dilemma”, which makes me fond of it. 

8. “Storm Coming” Gnarls Barkley. I said this in a previous post but a lot of the Gnarls Barkley songs really resonate with me as a person who’s, well, got some mental illness problems. It very much reminds me of the frantic ‘up’ periods I go through where I feel like a force of nature. Something thrilling but also kind of unpredictable and overwhelming. (other picks are “ Run (I’m A Natural Disaster”, “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”, “Open Book”, “Just A Thought”, “A Little Better”. “Charity Case” reminds me of a really specific time in my life and it just twists my heart like a rag). The album The Odd Couple is all fantastic.

9. “Ghosst(s)” by Lorn. Dark and moody with resonate, grinding orchestral instrumentals. And the music video is fucking amazing, I highly recommend it. In addition, “Weigh Me Down”, “Diamond”, “The Well”, “ Acid Rain” and “Anvil”.

10.  “Man” by Neko Case. I don’t really know what her intentions were with this song, I don’t really care. It makes my transmasc ass feel good and like I could knock the teeth outta a guy 10 times my size. And I mean I’ve done this with every other band so far, so, other songs I like are “Where Did I Leave That Fire”, “Furnace Room Lullaby”, “Prison Girls”, “Hold On, Hold On”, and “Atomic Number” And “Supermoon”, which she did with KD Lang and Laura Veirs.  

11. “Rabies” by Aesop Rock. Just such a menacing atmosphere to this song, with intense, snappy lyrics.  “It might’ve heard something in the walls / could’ve been voices / could’ve been claws / could’ve been the rebel yell of something more evolved”. Other picks - “TUFF”, “Kirby”, “Rings”, “None Shall Pass”, “Supercell”.

12. “The Shrine / An Argument” by The Fleet Foxes. Folksy, Good n long with a really amazing, swelling transition. Another incredible music video, which had art direction by Stacy Rozich, who is a wonderful illustrator. I like this band a lot in general, other good songs are “Mykonos”, “Grown Ocean”, “Blue Ridge Mountains” and “English House”.

13. “Mistadobalina” by Del The Funkee Homosapien. The Gorillaz were a gateway to me in regards to finding the rest of Del’s music. Mistadobalina remains my favorite, however, and is the catchiest shit in the world, though I also really like his Deltron 3030 stuff - “Mastermind” “3030” and “Time Keeps Slipping”.

14. “Squarehead” by Hello Seahorse. This song is very dear to me, as it reminds me of one of my most favorite people and the stuff we’ve made together. Other songs I like by them are “Tristes”, “Para Mi”, “El Artista” and “Can Let You Go”.

15. “Atomic Bomb” by William Onyeabor (both the Original and the Hot Chip Remix, they’re both good in different ways.) The remix is really smooth and bouncy, but the original is very mellow and has a lot of its own unique character. A lot of his songs are 6-7 minutes long, but have more instrumentals than vocals, making his voice feel precious. I also like “Fantastic Man”, “Body And Soul”, and the Heaven & Hell Remix of “Do You Want A Man”.Thank you for coming with me on this, a ~musical journey~. 

[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Why?

So, we are now a day into my grief. I am still experiencing shock, anger and a deep and pervading sadness. I know Sharon is a fictional character but she has become like family to me over the past nine years. I feel like a family member has died. I was hoping today that I’d feel better about what happened last night. But that isn’t the case. I honestly did not sleep all night. It took me a couple hours to get through the initial grief and anger before I could even try to go to sleep. Instead, I tossed and turned all night. I couldn’t seem to shut off the shock, anger, bitterness and sadness that I was feeling. I kept asking myself “Why? Why would they do this to us? What did we do to deserve this ending? Why did Duff lie?” I just couldn’t find any reason for Sharon’s death. I haven’t felt this filled with angst and shock and betrayal since the election last year. I have the same kick to the gut feeling that I had in November 2016. Thanks Duff for making me relive that frakking nightmare.

Sharon dying was hard enough to accept, but the way it was done was what I found even more appalling.

First of all you had James Duff saying he was writing season 6 for the fans, because he owed us for all our enthusiasm and loyalty over the years. He said he was going to finally give Mary a great storyline and use her amazing acting ability and he was giving us the Shandy wedding we’ve been waiting for. Even though I was saddened to hear the show had been cancelled I was excited for season six. When the season did start and the fandom freaked out at Sharon’s ominous inability to kick the flu, it was intimated that we were over reacting. Duff point blank said that he was not killing Sharon off. So, at least we didn’t have to worry about that.

As season 6 progressed we did get some amazingly tender Shandy moments along with an illness storyline I despised. But, still I thought, he’s doing this so we can see the love between Sharon and Andy and then she’ll get well and by the end of the season she will be Darth Raydor again and will take out Stroh in the last installment.  Or, as it became more apparent that he was NOT going to let Sharon have a quick fix, I thought she would spend the Stroh storyline waiting for a heart transplant, then she would have her heart transplant just as Stroh is taken down and we would end MC with her saying she was taking an extended leave to recover from her surgery and might end up retiring depending on how she progressed. And Andy would say he was retiring to be with Sharon and that he might do some PI work on the side. That way if MC was picked up by another network they could come back  and decide if they wanted to portray the show with Sharon back in charge or make it more of a PI show with Sharon, Andy and Provenza. It left the options open. And if another network didn’t pick up the show, we were left feeling good about Sharon getting well, spending time with her new husband, living a full life, embracing her future grandbabies. Instead Duff took away all happiness and all hope. He destroyed us and I’m sure he’s taking great pride in that.

The entire sixth season was heavy and depressing, like a black cloud was hanging over it. They even managed to take away the joy of the wedding we’ve been waiting for.  I would have expected that if Duff was actually writing the season for the fans that he would have made this season more exciting, joyful  and enjoyable. I didn’t enjoy one part of this season. I went into every episode sick to my stomach, wondering what he would do to Sharon. But, I NEVER expected death. I trusted Duff when he said he wasn’t going to do that, and I trusted the fact that everyone was saying we’d be left feeling satisfied with how the show ended. Duff has trolled before and exaggerated things he was going to give us in regards to Shandy, but I don’t remember him outright lying about something before.

And how did we go from “we caught this early and no matter what happens you’ll end up in a good place” to less than a month later being DEAD.

So, yeah,  killing Sharon off? How could anyone with a heart think that the fans would want to experience her death. Not only did he kill Sharon off he did so in a way that took her entirely out of character. As I said on a previous post, he had her die the way Brenda would have died, not the way Sharon would have died. Sharon always followed the rules and she wouldn’t have been running around collapsing at crime scenes. She would have informed her superiors about her illness and stayed on desk duty. She would have done what her doctor’s told her to do because she didn’t want to be an hindrance at work and because she wanted to LIVE.

No, Sharon Raydor would not want to be a burden to her kids and her husband, but she wouldn’t say they would all be better off with her dead and then start planning her suicide, because that’s what it was. When I was reviewing a previous episode I said I was afraid that Sharon talking to her priest meant that she was giving up and letting Gods will take over and that is exactly what she did. She gave up…And why? Sharon Raydor Flynn is not a quitter. She is tough and strong and faces challenges head on. Sharon also had options to deal with her health crisis and she chose not to just let herself die, but to force the issue.

It doesn‘t make sense. Sharon was the happiest she’s ever been in her life, she had so much to live for. She had new husband she adores and who adores her and who told her he just wants her with him to hold her hand and be there at his side. She has three children who love and need her. She would NOT disregard them this way. All that talk about the woman in the heart transplant ward (Laura Roslin anyone) was rubbish. Her feeling like she didn’t deserve a heart or didn’t want to take someone else’s was ridiculous. Sharon is not 85 years old thinking she’s lived a good life and would rather someone with more life ahead of them get the heart. She still had a lot of years left. Other than the heart issue she was healthy and fit—she could have had 20-30 years with Andy, to travel and cuddle her grandbabies etc. Instead she chose to get last rites knowing she was going to force the issue and let herself die. She knew exactly what she was doing. She filmed her last will, words and requests for her children—because she saw how it effected Mini Pearl that Bonnie didn’t do that and then she pushed herself when she knew she should be resting. She forced herself into that anger in her office. Hell, I’ve seen Sharon deal with much worse people and completely keep her cool, it was like she forced herself to feel that rage just so she would bring on a heart attack. And she did it knowing that the husband who loves her with all his heart, the man who only wants her by his side, who couldn’t wait to call her his wife, was watching. She did it knowing her SON was watching and would have to witness and live with watching his mother die in front of him. She did it without seeing her other two children who meant more to her than anything.  That is NOT Sharon Raydor.

Sharon Raydor was a fighter, she would have fought to stay with Andy and her children. She would not have given up at the first sign of adversity. She would have taken on the challenge of her illness and would have WON. Sharon always put family before work.

Work was never her be all end all and for Duff to change things up now and allow her to kill herself over her stupid job was just awful. It was an awful thing to do to her and it was an awful thing to do to Andy and to Rusty. Sharon just wouldn’t have done that.

So, now we come to why? Why did Duff do this? Sharon’s death was completely unnecessary. It didn’t further a plot ,it didn’t help with a storyline. Mary did not ask to leave. There was no need for it at all. In fact all it did was devastate people and make a lot of us not want to bother watching the last four episodes.  I remember saying of TNT execs “What kind of idiot cancels their number one show?  Well, now I say of Duff “What kind of idiot kills off his star, the most popular cast member on his show?”

As I said earlier in the post there were a lot better ways to end MC that would have left fans feeling good about the show and satisfied with how it ended. Killing Sharon was just purposely cruel. It was a complete betrayal of the fans who stuck by this show even when they weren’t getting what they wanted or needed from it because they hoped “one day”. It was a betrayal to the fans that Duff always lauded as amazing and loyal. It was betrayal to the fans who believed Duff when he said he was writing season six for us and that we would be satisfied by how it ends. It was a betrayal to those of us who believed him when he said he wouldn’t kill Sharon off. It was a huge colossal betrayal and a stab in the back to all of us. It was completely and utterly cruel.

Did Duff have a fallout with Mary? Is that why he wanted Sharon gone? I always got a weird vibe between him and Mary and between he and Tony when they did the Facebook chat with him. And now I know why Mary has been so silent on twitter over all the episodes, even the wedding, and how she’s only done one WWSRD and was not active in the #savemajorcrimes push. I thought it was because she’d moved on from the show but I’m thinking it’s because she was pissed with the direction it took and understood how utterly wretched we fans were going to be feeling.

Was Duff just blowing smoke out his ass when he said he wasn’t ready for MC to be over and felt he still stories to tell? Maybe he was glad the show was cancelled and knew that there would be a big #savemajorcrimes push so he decided that he would kill Sharon off and that would stop the fans from pushing other networks to take it on. I for one quit that campaign last night. I don’t want MC to continue on anymore. You can’t have MC without it’s heart, without it’s soul and that’s what Sharon Raydor was. She was the glue that held them all together.

Did Duff really hate Shandy fans and Mary fans so much he had to kill Sharon Raydor off? We all know that Rusty was his baby, his favorite, and yet he was not a fan favorite. Sharon was the fan favorite and many just wanted Rusty to GO. Mary/Shandy fans often complained because Sharon was not given great storylines that were personal to her and Shandy fans complained because their entire relationship took place off screen. Those were valid complaints. But did Duff allow his jealousy and irritation with the fans to cause him to kill Sharon off? Let’s face it fans would be FAR less upset if he killed Rusty off compared to the agonized grief all over the fandom over Sharon’s death.

Duff had such an amazing character in Sharon, a confident and complex, completely together and not neurotic mature woman and he did not know how to write that. The first couple of seasons we did see a lot of Sharon but it was all through Rusty’s eyes and it all had to do with Rusty. When that needed to move on and Sharon should have been getting her own storylines Duff didn’t bother with her anymore. He didn’t delve into her past and he didn’t give her any personal storylines. I would love to have seen things come up from her FID days or storylines with her being a woman in such a male dominated profession. He did allow her to fall in love with Andy, but never let us see any of that actually happen. We didn‘t have a clue as to the depths of the love they had for each other until this season, two years into their relationship.  I mean what great opportunities he had for some of those emotional season 6 conversations to take place over something that wasn’t her possible death. Conversations about Sharon’s “Jack baggage” and why she was so afraid to give her heart to Andy and trust him.  Conversations about how things could change at work if they started dating and it didn’t work out, conversations about Andy’s drinking and serial dating and how he was trying so hard to fill the hole in his heart .  Conversations about the letter he wrote her in the hospital that we never saw again. Instead, he allowed ageism to take over—as if he couldn’t fathom an actual romantic/sexual relationship for people in their fifties. Hell, we had to wait until season six, after they were married to have an actual reference to them having sex---and it was as doctor telling them they couldn’t have sex for a week.

The worse thing that Duff did with this ending is that he completely ruined the entire MC experience. I will never be able to rewatch all the touching Shandy scenes from the season or even the wedding, because now it’s so frakking apparent that every one of them foreshadowed her death. It wasn’t about him finally caving in and giving us some tender loving Shandy, it was him letting us know it was never going to last before he ripped out our own hearts.  I’m not sure I will even be able to watch my previous seasons on DVD and that was supposed to be the balm when this show was cancelled. I will at least save money on buying season six, no way I’m watching this shit show again.

I really feel like this was a huge frak you to the fans--you know--the ones he was supposed to be writing season six for and are now sitting with mouths agape and tears streaming from their eyes thinking how on earth could ANYONE could think that fans would be happy and satisfied with THAT ending. So, frak you Duff, you ruined Major Crimes, you ruined Sharon Radyor, you ruined Shandy and I’m done.

The only reason to continue watching would be for Andy and I just can’t. Just thinking about the depths of his grief makes me sick to my stomach. Either he will be so grief stricken it would break me or they will just have him move on as business as usual and that will piss me off even more. At least with Adama we only had that one heartbreaking scene with him at Laura’s grave talking about the cabin by the lake. It KILLED me and I’ve never watched it again--never watched Daybreak again. But to have to see Andy go on for four more episodes would really do me in. At least if they’d had Sharon die saving Rusty from Stroh in the last episode we wouldn’t have to go through four episodes of Andy without Sharon. When he clutched his heart after being told Sharon died I almost wish he’d had a heart too and went with her (Titanic ending anyone). But my main reason for not continuing is that I just don’t give a flying frak. I don’t care if Stroh gets Rusty or not. You killed off Sharon and that’s the only thing that mattered this season.

Still filled with bitterness…Still filled with anger...Still filled with sadness...When will it get better?

[loquaciousquark]

Highlights from Talks Machina (Episode 105)

Again, covering for @eponymous-rose​ while she continues her international vacation! Sorry for missing last week--things got crazy! Tonight’s guests: Darin de Paul, Taliesin sporting a lovely scarlet mohawk, and Travis. Brian starts a story that ends with him forging several signatures, and off we go.

The new campaign guide comes out soon! Taliesin is now worried about messing up the history of a character he invented.

Darin loves D&D as a long-form improv exercise and is happy he was able to get moments with each of the cast members.

Right after college, Darin was an apprentice at the Burt Reynolds Theater in Florida (a year-long program for theater students). One of his co-apprentices was Matt’s mom, and Matt’s grandmother was the director’s assistant. Matt’s father was part of the writing room. During the run of Darin’s last show (Fiddler), a clarinet player said they were going to play D&D and invited Darin. Matt’s mother was also in the group; they were all new to the game, so they rolled on a table for names and played four sessions. Last year, Darin was hired by Blizzard to do various voices, which is where he and Matt became friends. Later, Matt realized his mom had a picture of herself with Darin de Paul, and discussion of that picture led to the conversation of their D&D game. It’s been 37 years since Sprigg’s original campaign.

Matt was worried about fitting Sprigg in until Darin mentioned he was a hermit. The hobgoblin TPK was canon! Sprigg, a chaotic evil illusionist thief, was the only one to survive; the last moment of that campaign had him fleeing on a cart with wolves chasing him, abandoning the rest of the party to their deaths. Travis and Taliesin ask if he really was chaotic evil; “Why do you think he was so interested in redemption, dear boy?”

The first episode Darin saw was the Trials of the Take episode when the carpet was destroyed. He’s wanted to be on the show ever since.

Symmetra’s voice actor, Anjali Bhimani, also plays D&D. My heart skips a few beats.

Vex and Percy eloped over the year break. Laura and Taliesin kept it secret out of pique at first (Taliesin doesn’t remember why they were piqued). He’s not surprised the others are annoyed.

Grog was extremely impressed by Sarenrae and hasn’t thought much about Kord giving him any boons.

Darin has been a fan of the show and watching for some time. Taliesin says he is the most prepared guest they’ve ever had.

Very few people were present at Vex & Percy’s wedding. They did not intend to ever bring it up on their own.

The plane of books is the worst possible plane for Grog. Only the plane of shopping would be worse.

As soon as Darin walked into the studio last Thursday, Travis immediately asked him if he was a god. Travis still thinks he might be.

Percy would rather have a thousand years with Vex than a thousand years with Ioun’s library.

Travis wants a “positive, upbeat resolution to all the drama that is a-hanging in the air.” Me too. Travis does not read the Player’s Handbook to help keep Grog dumb, so he never knows what’s going on.

Travis loves how prepared Darin was. He offered the Deck because he thought Darin was looking for something specific after Sprigg deflected the weaker offerings.

Darin loved the emotion in the room during the plane shift and the strong moment with Marisha in particular. He also likes the movie Gargoyles.

The hardest thing about playing Sprigg after so long was finding him again. Brian gets very sentimental about the long journey that brought Sprigg back to life, including Darin becoming friends and colleagues with Matt so many years later.

Darin will be back on the next episode and is visibly excited about it.

Darin used to read tons of D&D books (mentions Drizzt by name) and used to paint minis as a hobby. He still has some of the figures and wants to donate them to the show.

Darin’s wife was part of Taliesin’s parents’ circle, so he’s known her for a long time. Taliesin and Darin exchange memories of meeting Roddy McDowall, and Darin says part of Sprigg’s concept of memories being the most important came from a conversation he had with Roddy while Roddy was dying of cancer.

Percy’s current distrusting attitude towards the gods came directly from his interaction with the Raven Queen. However, he didn’t know there was a god of knowledge and has been “chewing on it a lot, and what it means to have faith in knowledge.” He sees the library as a testament to faith in humanity and the good works of life and how important memory is and is blown away by it. “Books have always been about finding meaning and this whole library thing has changed him.” Taliesin expected Percy to be much more resistant to Ioun and was surprised at how quickly the books sold him.

Darin felt as the scenes progressed that his role was to “illuminate” CR as to where they were and what they could be. Taliesin and Percy both wondered if he was Scanlan from the future. Darin had the choice of being Scanlan’s dad, but declined.

Percy picked Vesper because her namesake was the last person he’d talked to in real life.

The only place Travis can think of worse for Grog is if the books were replaced with clothing & a For Sale sign. “Grog has a beatnik poet inside him waiting to get out.”

Darin’s advice to Keyleth was total improv. He almost cried when she touched his hand. He loves funny characters that can become sad and/or touching.

Marisha has no idea how to get Keyleth out of her emotional nosedive. Watching Marisha break character from Keyleth at the end of an episode is one of Taliesin’s favorite things because they’re such different people.

Percy would seek out the lifebooks for all his family & ancestry because he’s fascinated with legacy, and Whitestone is full of ghost stories. He had lots of stories he’d planned to give as part of the gnomes’ tour, and tells one about a woman forced into a marriage who slowly poisoned her husband over a number of years.

Sprigg feels he is what Scanlan might become. He did not expect to survive the episode.

If they were really in Ioun’s halls, Travis would love to see the books of his family and of JFK. Darin would like to see his father’s book. Darin also likes wearing suits, which is why he wears suits. He only wears t-shirts at the gym. (At one point Darin’s family also owned 20 horses???). He wishes his parents could see him now because they were so supportive when he was growing up.

Honor! Justice! After Dark, After Dark, After Dark!

If the challenge for Ioun involves any physical activity, Grog will fight Percy for it.

Bucket lists: Travis wants to swim with a great white shark. (Darin’s biggest fear is great white sharks.) Taliesin wants to travel to India. Darin wants to learn to tap dance, and casually drops that he used to dance with Cirque du Soleil.

Darin’s favorite color is black. His favorite season is winter.

There’s a video somewhere of Darin de Paul and Steve Blum pretending to be zombies and running towards the camera.

Travis and Darin do Reinhardt “impressions” by talking in high-pitched baby voices. Taliesin does a pretty decent actual impression! Darin likes that there’s heroes for every playstyle.

Darin hasn’t told Matt’s parents he brought back Sprigg. He also used to have a crush on Matt’s mom.

If Darin could pick any character from VM to play, he would play Scanlan. Brian teases the entire world by saying he would play “the character Pike’s in love with.”

Darin’s twitter flooded after last Thursday and he wishes he could respond to all of the kind messages.

Darin once shared floss with Gilbert Gottfried as part of an old bit.

Darin feels his whole history has led to this moment last Thursday where he had the chance to create a story with people he loved.

Laura read the Game of Thrones books as they came out, well before the show started. Brian just found the copy of the first book she lent him in 2010, which he still hasn’t read.

If Sprigg could fight any D&D monster, it would be a hobgoblin.

[jenniferfaye34]

#Giveaway + Excerpt ~ Bound For Murder (A Blue Ridge Library Mystery) by Victoria Gilbert... #books #CozyMystery #readers #amreading

Bound for Murder: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery by Victoria Gilbert

About Bound for Murder

Bound for Murder: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery Cozy Mystery 4th in Series Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (January 7, 2020) Hardcover: 304 pages ISBN-10: 1643852434 ISBN-13: 978-1643852430 Digital ASIN: B07QGNNNXP

Blue Ridge library director Amy Webber learns it wasn't all peace and love among the "flower children" when a corpse is unearthed on the grounds of a 1960s commune.

Taylorsford Public Library director Amy Webber's friend "Sunny" Fields is running for mayor. But nothing puts a damper on a campaign like an actual skeleton in a candidate's closet. Sunny's grandparents ran a commune back in the 1960s on their organic farm. But these former hippies face criminal charges when human remains are found in their fields--and a forensic examination reveals that the death was neither natural nor accidental.

With Sunny's mayoral hopes fading, Amy sets her wedding plans aside, says "not yet" to the dress, and uses her research skills to clear her best friend's family. Any of the now-elderly commune members could have been the culprit. As former hippies perish one by one, Amy and her friends Richard, Aunt Lydia, and Hugh Chen pursue every lead. But if Amy can't find whoever killed these "flower children," someone may soon be placing flowers on her grave.

EXCERPT: My foot, resting next to the macramé purse, vibrated from the loud music blaring from Sunny’s cell phone. “You want to get that? I realize the rule is no phones at the desk but since there’s no one here right now…” Kurt coughed. “No one who will care, I mean.” I cast him a smile before grabbing Sunny’s purse and handing it to her. “Go on—I know that ring.” “Yeah, it’s the grands. Again.” Sunny pulled a comical face as she fished her phone out of the pouch. “They aren’t usually this needy, but ever since the county started that dredging work on the creek, they’ve been calling nonstop. They’re so worried about damage to the trees and shrubs along the stream bed.” “Of course.” I’d heard plenty about this from Carol and P.J., who were irate over the heavy equipment that had recently descended upon their quiet organic farm. The fact that the county had a right-of-way to the creek, which was part of a larger watershed, did nothing to appease their anger. “Government barreling in and taking over, like usual,” P.J. had told me, his thin lips quivering with repressed rage. “Didn’t even inform us ahead of time. Just showed up one day and proceeded to rip up my fields with their equipment. Well, they’d better not destroy our trees along the creek, that’s all I’ve got to say.” I shook my head. “Can’t say I blame them.” I directed my words to Kurt as Sunny listened intently to her phone. “The county’s been tearing up the stream banks all along its route.” Kurt’s expression betrayed no emotion, but his jaw tightened. That was odd. The art dealer rarely appeared tense, even in the direst of circumstances, yet the mention of dredging a creek seemed to have distressed him. It piqued my curiosity. Or maybe I was imagining things. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “They say it benefits the environment because it allows for better run-off from nearby rivers and ponds. But I don’t know. It seems rather destructive to me.” When Kurt replied, his voice was as calm and charming as ever. “I knew that the dredging work was ongoing but didn’t realize it involved that farm.” “Yeah, unfortunately.” I glanced at Sunny and noticed that all the color had fled her face. “Anything wrong?” Sunny’s fingers clutched her cell phone so tightly I worried she might crack the plastic case. “Yes. Not with the grands, thank goodness, but dredging crews found something on the farm.” “Buried treasure?” I asked, with a quick glance at Kurt. “No, not anything like that.” Sunny’s voice shook. “According to the grands, an operator swung his Bobcat bucket the wrong way and dug deep into the bank, up and away from the stream. And that’s when they found it.” “Found what?” I asked, my gaze flitting from Sunny’s trembling lips to the carved-in-stone stillness of Kurt’s face and back again. About Virginia Gilbert

Victoria Gilbert, raised in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, turned her early obsession with reading into a dual career as an author and librarian. Victoria has worked as a reference librarian, research librarian, and library director. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching films, gardening, or traveling. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers and lives in North Carolina. This is her fourth Blue Ridge Library mystery.

Author Links: Website/blog: http://victoriagilbertmysteries.com/ Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaGilbertMysteryAuthor/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGilbertauthor Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/VictoriaGilbert Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriagilbertauthor/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4J0jvZ-D0NVF9Qv7H2ua8Q

Purchase Links: Amazon B&N Kobo Indie Bound BUY LINKS:

A MURDER FOR THE BOOKS: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/a-murder-for-the-books/ SHELVED UNDER MURDER: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/shelved-under-murder/ PAST DUE FOR MURDER: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/past-due-for-murder/ BOUND FOR MURDER (preorder): https://www.amazon.com/Bound-Murder-Ridge-Library-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07QGNNNXP/ BOOKED FOR DEATH (preorder): https://www.amazon.com/Booked-Death-Book-Lovers-Mystery/dp/1643853074/ a Rafflecopter giveaway TOUR PARTICIPANTS January 6 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog - REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW January 6 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT January 7 - The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT January 7 - Diary of a Book Fiend – REVIEW January 8 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW January 8 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT January 9 – Laura's Interests – CHARACTER GUEST POST January 9 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT January 9 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT January 10 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW January 10 – Baroness' Book Trove - REVIEW January 11 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW January 11 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT January 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW January 12 – Christy's Cozy Corners – GUEST POST January 13 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW January 13 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT January 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT January 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW January 15 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, GUEST POST January 15 – My Journey Back-The Journey Back – SPOTLIGHT January 16 – That's What She's Reading – SPOTLIGHT January 16 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST January 17 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW January 17 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here Find Details and Sign Up Today!

[inlinenewsstory]

https://ift.tt/2K4XO5R post was originally published on this site

Some of us want to stay in this summer.

May 10th: “Safe” Season 1 (Netflix)

“After his teenage daughter goes missing, a widowed surgeon in an affluent neighborhood begins unearthing dark secrets about the people closest to him.”

Red Production Company/Netflix / Via variety.com

May 11th: “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle” Season 1 (Amazon)

“The series sees Rocky and Bullwinkle “thrust into harrowing situations but end up saving the day time and again. As Rocky and Bullwinkle’s innocent and silly ambitions to become rock stars or find lost treasure end up dovetailing with Fearless Leader’s sinister plans to take over the world, our heroes are set on a collision course with his notorious superspies Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

May 11th: “Bill Nye Saves the World” Season 3 (Netflix)

“Emmy-winning host Bill Nye brings experts and famous guests to his lab for a talk show exploring scientific issues that touch our lives.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

May 11th: “Evil Genius” Season 1 (Netflix)

“This baffling true crime story starts with the grisly death of a pizza man who robs a bank with a bomb around his neck — and gets weirder from there.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

May 11th: “The Kissing Booth” Season 1 (Netflix)

“When teenager Elle’s first kiss leads to a forbidden romance with the hottest boy in high school, she risks her relationship with her best friend.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

May 12th: “Patrick Melrose” Miniseries (Showtime)

This five-part limited series based on the acclaimed novels by Edward St. Aubyn tracks Patrick (Benedict Cumberbatch) from a privileged but deeply traumatic childhood in the South of France through severe substance abuse in his twenties in New York and, ultimately, toward recovery back home in Britain.

Showtime / Via Showtime

May 18th: “Cargo” Season 1 (Netflix)

“Amid a terrifying pandemic, a father searches the wilds of Australia for someone willing to protect and care for his infant daughter.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

May 18th: “13 Reasons Why” Season 2 (Netflix)

“Season two picks up in the aftermath of Hannah’s death and the start of our characters’ complicated journeys toward healing and recovery. Liberty High prepares to go on trial, but someone will stop at nothing to keep the truth surrounding Hannah’s death concealed. A series of ominous polaroids lead Clay and his classmates to uncover a sickening secret and a conspiracy to cover it up.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

May 19th: “Fahrenheit 451” (HBO)

“In a future society where books are banned and burned, a fireman begins to read in secret and discovers an underground rebellion committed to protecting literature.”

HBO / Via HBO

May 19th: “The Royal Wedding Live With Cord and Tish” (HBO)

Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon will revive their comedic personas, health and fitness expert Cord Hosenbeck (Ferrell) and L.A. Law alum Tish Cattigan (Shannon), for The Royal Wedding .

HBO / Via HBO

May 21sth: “The Final Years” (HBO)

THE FINAL YEAR is Greg Barker insider account of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy team during their last year in office.

HBO / Via HBO

May 22nd: “Terrace House: Opening New Doors” (Netflix)

“In the woods of Karuizawa, six strangers meet for the first time. Doors to love are about to open in a place known for sports and natural beauty.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

May 25th: “Picnic at Hanging Rock” Season 1 (Amazon)

“Picnic at Hanging Rock is a gripping reimagining of the Australian novel that plunges into the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and their governess.”

Amazon / Via Amazon

May 26th: “The Tale” (HBO)

“Dern portrays “Jennifer,” a dramatized version of Fox, who must search her memory in order to investigate her first sexual relationship.”

HBO / Via HBO

May 27th: “The Break with Michelle Wolf” Season 1 (Netflix)

“Nobody’s safe as Michelle Wolf unapologetically takes aim in this weekly topical show that blends sketches with live comedy and in-studio guests.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

May 29: “Arrested Development” Season 5 (Netflix)

“In the fifth season of “Arrested Development,” Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) will run for Congress to become “part of the problem. This leads the family to reunite to shoot footage for her campaign videos. And the “new new beginning” sees them sticking together this time because they think they’re getting an award for “family of the year.”

Saeed Adyani / Saeed Adyani/Netflix / Via Netflix

May 30th: “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” Season 4 Part 1 (Netflix)

Kimmy Schmidt continues to adjust to the 21st century and learn more about who she really is.

Netflix / Via Netflix

June 3rd: “Succession” (HBO)

“The Roy family – Logan Roy and his four children – who control one of the biggest media and entertainment conglomerates in the world. The series tracks their lives as they contemplate what the future will hold for them once their aging father begins to step back from the company.”

HBO / Via HBO

June 8th: “Sense8” Series Finale (Netflix)

Netflix is giving a proper goodbye to the sci-fi show with a two hour send-off.

Netflix / Via Netflix

June 15th: “Goliath” Season 2 (Amazon)

“Goliath follows “a down-and-out lawyer (Billy Bob Thornton) as he seeks redemption. His one shot depends on getting justice in a legal system where truth has become a commodity, and the scales of justice have never been more heavily weighed toward the rich and powerful.”

Amazon / Via Amazon

June 17th: “The Affair” Season 4 (Showtime)

“Season four of The Affair finds Noah, Helen, Alison and Cole in their own orbits, alienated from each other, spinning further and further away from where they all began. Every character is involved in a new relationship, forcing them each to decide if they’re ready and willing to leave the past behind for good.”

Showtime / Via Showtime

June 22nd: “Marvel’s Luke Cage” Season 2 (Netflix)

“After clearing his name, Luke Cage has become a celebrity on the streets of Harlem with a reputation as bulletproof as his skin. But being so visible has only increased his need to protect the community and find the limits of who he can and can’t save. With the rise of a formidable new foe, Luke is forced to confront the fine line that separates a hero from a villain.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

June 29th: “Glow” Season 2 (Netflix)

“The series revolves around a fictionalization of the characters and gimmicks of the 1980s syndicated women’s professional wrestling circuit, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling “

Netflix / Via Netflix

July 11th: “Harlots” Season 2 (Hulu)

“Harlots centers around two feuding brothels and the bustling sex trade in Georgian London.”

Hulu / Via Hulu

July 25th: “Castle Rock” Season 1 (Hulu)

“Castle Rock will combine the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King’s best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland.”

Hulu / Via Hulu

July 31st: “Casual” Season 4 (Hulu)

“It centers on Valerie (Michaela Watkins), a newly divorced single mother living with her brother Alex (Tommy Dewey) and her daughter Laura (Tara Lynne Barr).’

Hulu / Via Hulu

August 24th: “The Innocents” Season 1 (Netflix)

“After running away from home with her boyfriend, young June finds herself in a harrowing new world as she discovers she has a rare and powerful gift. The Innocents (Teaser). Secrets, passions and mysterious forces collide as young lovers embark on an odyssey that will challenge everything they know about the world.”

Netflix / Via Netflix

August 31st: “Jack Ryan” Season 1 (Amazon)

“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” follows an up-and-coming CIA analyst thrust into a dangerous field assignment for the first time. The series follows Ryan (Krasinski) as he uncovers a pattern in terrorist communication that launches him into the center of a dangerous gambit with a new breed of terrorism that threatens destruction on a global scale.”

Amazon / Via Amazon