#i also think their change in dynamic is from vox going from a character thats a foil to angel to one that contrasts him

[ghostlyruinstrash]

currently going insane over how much this scene reminds me of that voxtagram post

vox goes to see val who's having another temper tantrum and throws a drink at him, why does that sound familiar?

oh yeah.

like ofc their relationship has changed a lot since voxtagram, but most of that is definitely due to changes to vox' character rather than the way val treats him.

val still seems perfectly happy to hit and or throw things at vox even when it's not him val is angry at, the only real change here is that vox has gotten better at dodging.

which makes me wonder whether the relationship we saw on voxtagram (something that ofc is no longer canon) has really retconned or if it will just become a backstory for them, what their relationship was like before vox got as good as he is at dealing with val's shit. probably not but it would be interesting.

[vethbrenatto]

Hi! Not hoping to start drama or anything but I just wanted to say I totally get the fear of tlovm. I'm more scared of hyping it up than of it disappointing me which makes no sense at all but thats where I'm at.

Im so excited for it and also I wish we would stay in the countdown with only the trailer forever. I want every single scene animated and also a whole new story so the animation of my fave scenes can't fail to meet expectations.

I join you in Fear is what I'm trying to say.

(different ask, same vibes) i am in the same headspace as you about tlovm. i have a lot of faith in cr in terms of adapting their own story but retcons are not new to them (just... slowly and surely erasing tiber*us out of canon) and for the first time i think i realized they could change things i am actually very fond of and made the story special to me.

i understand those fears, though for myself i'm specifically worried about the couple of characters i mentioned

as an overall, to bring you some positivity back, i'm fairly optimistic about this adaption. given how much say the cast had, i have a good amount of faith in their ability to bring their own stories to life, specifically and especially in terms of plot. are scanbo and The Cows ever going to be as good as the original? probably not, but they can still be great.

i also think you have to be open to the medium of animation and the kind of storytelling that involves. i'm personally a huge animation fan and am perfectly fine with changes (especially plotwise, less so concerning relationships and dynamics), and considering the format, i'd advise any fan to go in with that mentality. the meatiness of D&D is just TOO much for animated show, but i think we're going to get the essence of vox machina and for the most part, i think they can pull that off.

everything from the clips released, i've enjoyed so far. i think the designs of the characters are spectacular, the animation is good for the budget they had, and i feel like certain clips were great for the character's energy (especially grog's moments!).

i will say that i'm with you with not wanting much retconning. that's a personal preference of mine as well.

lastly, be prepared that they might erase scenes that were important to you. there were so many important scenes, they couldn't possibly fit them all in. plus they have to make room for new content that will not have been in the original material. you might miss those scenes, but they'll still exist in the original, and the original VM can still be that special to you, TLOVM is an adaptation. similar to novel to movie adaptations, things will fall to the wayside, but they can still be good if the creators really understand the source material (and i'd say there's a good chance with how much creative say CR cast had, they do.)

but also being in a fearful headspace rather than a hyped one is often a defense response (that i pull a lot myself) because if you don’t have expectations you’ll be less disappointed

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E52 (Feb. 26, 2019)

There’s a lot to unpack here.

This week’s guests are Laura Bailey and Liam O’Brien!

Announcements:

Travis Willingham’s Yeehaw Game Ranch debuted today on CR’s Twitch channel! Travis and Brian will be livestreaming every other week at 4 PM Pacific (alternating with MAME Drop). Today’s episode will go up on YouTube on Thursday. On Monday, March 4, the Kickstarter for the VM cartoon will go live! They’ve been talking about this almost since the start. This episode of TM will be uploaded to YT on Thursday morning, and will be available on a one-week delay in podcast form!

The cowboy hat makes the rounds. Laura points out that she was actually in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.

Okay, on to episode 52: Feral Business. (Liam, just as the splash screen comes up: “That means masturbating.”)

Laura: “I think everybody should refer to their penis as a tiefling. Anyway, continue.”

There’s a discussion about classes for said tieflings. It gets a little out of hand.

Stats! Jester got her 5th HDYWTDT of the campaign against the shoosuva. Caleb has now dealt over 1,400 points of damage. (Liam: “Really?”) Frumpkin got his first natural 20 to perceive the rats and shoosuva. 

Laura and Liam have a heated negotiation about who gets to cuddle the Jester and Kiri plushies.

100% of the out-of-character motivation for the Disguise Self was just Liam missing being Laura’s twin. Liam: “You know, I like to have fun in my D&D games.” They enjoyed getting to sit next to each other again at the live show. 

Brian: “What were you gossiping about?” Liam: “Your tiefling.” Laura: “Specifically yours.”

Jester’s view on Caleb hasn’t changed since his backstory reveal. Laura: “I feel like it makes more sense that he’s more standoffish, and it made me feel much more guilty for the times I gave him shit for being muddy and stinky and stuff.” She points out that Jester got to see a lot of different types of people pass through, not to mention listen in on their conversations, and probably has a broader experience with a variety of people than some might expect.

Liam talks about how Xhorhas is “rough, and the customs are different, but it’s a real place” and not the bogeyman often presented to the Empire.

He objects to a question talking about how Caleb’s planning to take down people in the Empire, pointing out that he’s never confirmed that. Laura immediately concocts a theory about Caleb being a top-secret spy for the Empire.

Laura: “Jester has no idea that her charisma isn’t as high as... Beau’s or... is Beau’s very high?” She loved leading a diplomatic conversation, and didn’t know how it would turn out, but she feels like she killed it.

Snoozy Henry!

Liam: “Caleb’s not scared of being manipulated. I think that’s done.” It feels off being away from the Empire, not because he still feels loyalty, but mainly because everything that matters to him is still there.

Another round of dick jokes comes to a climax (sorry) with “Cocks Machina”.

Gif of the Week! Jester learning the ways of the goth.

If the opportunity presents itself, even in Xhorhas, Jester will 100% pull a prank and try to spread the word of the Traveler. “Nothing is sacred to Jester!”

Laura mentions that she has no backup character planned if Jester dies; she feels like having a backup will make her more likely to accept the possibility of losing Jester.

Jester doesn’t really care about the Empire vs. Krynn conflict. “Political bullshit. I don’t think the Krynn are necessarily evil, but I don’t know.” Liam points out that nobody really knows the motivations behind the conflict in the first place. Caleb mainly sees it as a big mess. “Caleb will still have emotional ties to where he was born and raised, but he knows they’re flawed and awful. They’re really terrible people.”

Laura’s theory: “The Empire stole a lot of artifacts. They stole the dodecahedron. The Krynn just want it back. And now we have it. And we’re fucking everything up.”

Big Tiefling Energy.

Jester on tattoos: “Nah, I’m not afraid of the pain! I can take it! I’m really strong!” She’d totally get a tattoo if the right idea came along.

Caleb isn’t too concerned about the group getting sidetracked, since he doesn’t really have “an agenda for where he wants to go”. He wouldn’t want to do something boring, but that’s not exactly a worry with this group. “They keep going to places with things he’s interested in.”

Laura on Jester’s changing dynamic with Nott: “It’s interesting to find out that Nott’s a mom. She knows what that relationship means, and she is just devastated for Nott that she can’t be with her son.” What seemed the worst was that she didn’t have someone who thinks of her the way Jester thinks of her mom. “I thought about so many times just her not taking a bath. It just makes me so sad.”

Fan Art of the Week! A giant city-tortoise.

Liam: “Man, get a load of Brian’s kenku.” Dani: “This has to stop.”

What the heck does “consecuted” mean? Laura: “I think it means something about being reborn.” Liam: “Yeah, reincarnation.”

Liam on potentially picking the wrong spells: “I don’t worry that I will. I just know that I will.” Marisha warned him.

Brian asks Laura about where her vote’s hovering in the vote for DnD Beyond’s president. Laura: “I feel like Liam has a stronger platform.” Liam: “Is that a dick joke?” Laura: “I’m sitting next to Liam. So Liam.”

Dani: “Contractually, as Sam’s campaign manager, I have to vote for Sam. But he’s also not paying me, so I’m just saying, Liam, if you paid me, I could maybe switch sides. Look, I’m working for exposure only, and I’m feeling very exposed.” Liam: “Listen, my shell corporation will talk to your shell corporation after the show.”

Jester’s not too worried about the group being disrespectful by hanging onto the dodecahedron. “It’s a powerful thing! Look at it! We can play with it!” Liam: “Yeah, it’s not her god.”

Liam: “I miss playing twins.” Laura: “I do too, buddy.”

Henry is moved to the couch when Liam starts literally curling up on the floor to be closer to him:

Jester would create a Magical Viagra spell. Dani: “Like the Wand of Smiles, but for dicks!” Laura: “The point of it would be to just make people feel awkward.”

On Jester checking on Fjord’s tusks: “It’s important to her that he appreciates himself as much as others appreciate him.”

Liam: “My character will probably die soon anyway.” Everyone: “LIAM O’BRIEN.”

Laura points out that Jester’s come closer to death than Caleb. “If anyone’s going to die soon, it’s me.” Brian: “Stop it! Stop!”

Search for Grog Questions (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

The group played a private home game as Vox Machina for fun recently (”It didn’t make sense, but it was fun!”). Liam was envious of the group getting to play their characters again, so he wanted to play something at least VM-adjacent. He also loves building out the world and wanted to continue fleshing that out. “She saw VM, unbeknownst to them, a couple times.” He also wanted to be able to keep people from dying and “breaking the universe.”

Laura on playing VM again: “It was really crazy, and me and Taliesin gave each other the biggest hug after the show. I missed Percy and I missed that relationship so much!”

Having Lieve’tel around was painful, but Vex “didn’t have the same reaction to it the way Keyleth did. It was bittersweet. I think she appreciated that someone appreciated what her brother did.”

Gilmore and Allura’s voices were big moments of nostalgia. Percy-Vex banter. Scanlan wanting to kill Trinket. (Laura really thought she’d have to leave Trinket behind, and the “I can carry him” killed her.) Scanlan’s singing. Pike! Liam: “Roasting the shit out of Travis.” Laura: “Oh my god.”

[missannoyingtam]

Guys

oooooooooookay so I don’t usually do this because I choose to not let this kind of stuff bother me due to the fact that I enjoy critical role for what it is: a dnd show for charity made by a bunch of nerds having fun.

But I need to let this off my chest because of a buildup of general “we hate said character”(this is involving stuff like Snape from harry potter and other things I’m not even gonna bring up cause thats not the point) and just a general idea that its a good idea to fight venomous acts with venom.

Hint: if creature is spewing venom they are prob immune or resistant to venom.

DnD jokes aside. I don’t enjoy a toxic atmosphere, and altho I love hearing everyones thoughts an opinions i believe their is a point where people start to become rude for no other reason then they think thats how you act when you get on a soapbox. Please don’t. Say what you need to say about the issues but please don’t be a dick about it, be kind, be understanding. You don’t have to agree, but you don’t have to be a dick. YOU choose to act the way you do in response to being annoyed or insulted.

now that I’ve said the first part lets talk about the second issue. Jester.

Jester is a good character, Terry is also a good character. They should not and cannot be compared. Terry entered the campaign after a DRASTIC change in dynamics and with a lot of mixed feelings. Vox Machina itself didn’t like Terry and even after his baby cry about his daddy issues the party was (or at least some of them) where suuuuuper ok with leaving him for Kraken kibble. It truly wasn't until a year past in game that we saw that he was ACTUALLY being accepted into the group as a member.

Whats happening with Jester is that she, along with the rest of the group, is stumbling her way around trying to figure out what to do next. The group has no idea what it wants or what its doing and they are very clearly not ready to be 100% honest with each other.

Jester is a girl who was pampered, we have no idea what her relationship with her mother was like other then her possibly being ignored. The little that we can gleam from her is that she's a lonely girl who wants friends and doesn’t interact with anyone or has anywhere near enough people skills to understand that her blatant disregard for others feelings kind of messes with the “having friends” part. Dose it make her look kind of like an asshole? yes. Dose it make her a bad character? no. Does it make her a bad person? Thats something for her and the group to figure out as they go along.

Caleb is a man who started from nothing, lived his life with nothing, and suddenly has something. All we can gleam from his actions is that he’s a guy that is afraid of achieving things just to let it get away from him. He’s afraid of being rich because being rich is an unknown element. Hes afraid of not being Caleb anymore and afraid of being some rich asshat that used to be caleb, and he pushes people away because he dosn’t want to explain himself or maybe even has some dark shit that, for all we know, makes him believe that that idea might actually be fact. Dose that make him look like an asshole? yes. Dose it make him a bad character? no. Does it make him a bad person? Thats something for him and the group to figure out as they go along.

It has been 9 episodes. Vox Machina has two years prior to their first 9 and the group already pretty much liked each other aside from a few rivalries and trust issues. They where for the most part partially developed characters when we met them. Let these people breath. Let them be shitty characters that will eventually get their shit together.

We are on chapter 9 of a 63 chapter book and theirs a possible sequel book after that. They are NOT gonna be perfect, and i don’t want them to be because then whats the point of watching them grow up? Haters, let the characters be shitty, give them time to whip the mud off their face, maybe in the end they’re grow into something you’ll love. Also seriously these people play this game for fun, yes for your entertainment, but mostly their own. Haters of the haters, they just started reading the book, let them hate Snape from Harry potter, let them hate Durzo Blint from Night Angles, Maybe at the end they’ll actually really like them. But let them have the chance to like it on their own, and you know, they don’t have to like it just because you do.

Above all remember the first rule to table tops: Don’t be a dick