#if I started with the Briarwoods I would have gotten to Vax and Scanlan going inside the dragon | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thewolfisawake · 5 years

Note

Critical Role

Favorite character:

In CR1, Percy and Scanlan. And gonna sound so hipster but I did legitimately like Percy prior to the Briarwood arc. I liked his place as the more subdued person that didn’t need fanfare for his support. And then I was scared and intrigued when he was more...forthcoming in that arc since he was quieter before (I think I read this was also because Taliesin was bit shy starting out but got comfortable). And Scanlan, was the man I shed tears for because I kept crying ‘oh god, someone please notice. Someone HELP HIM.’ They both had some serious gut punches and their stories did shift the dynamics (of the story and the party respectively) permanently. They are also great support and yet also had some amazing solos.

In CR2, Caleb and Fjord. I just like me some sad boys apparently. I think Caleb’s bumbling and trying to do right but struggling with doing what’s good for you so painfully relatable. As of writing this, I haven’t caught up yet but I’ve seen him make such leaps and bounds in terms of letting people in and being a support to others. I also think mechanically he’s a show of how the drawbacks like his fear can make for good moments. As for Fjord, he’s just in general how I think a moral compass or herder character can be done without irritating both the player and viewer. I mean morals of this cast is more wonky but in general Fjord seems to put forward a general ‘we all get through this’ and respect towards the team.

Least Favorite character:

In CR1, Keyleth. And no, it’s got nothing to do with Marisha. She’s cool. I honestly felt bad for her because Keyleth had to pick up the moral slack whenever Pike wasn’t there, which was often. Some of her best moments were when she had to draw the hard line. But it was far outweighed with having this moral high horse for some reason even though they promptly do something just as low down as the ones she looked down on. Also, I feel it’s hard to do a character that is naive but also very likable so again, sorry for Marisha.

In CR2, I like so many but I’ll go with Mollymauk. And it was a bit of a shame because he was like the one person I heard so much about. I did like that he was the one that tended to push into some of the best shenanigans I’ve listened to. However, he was just fine. There wasn’t much to push him into love him so much nor much to say I dislike him. I’m a little disappointed of not being able to know what his deal was I guess was what I would choose if I have to say what made him least favorite.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):

Vax’limore - Their interactions just oozed banter and playfulness. There was no intro to how that this happened, it just jumps into their flirtations. And it was that cute banter and the real ‘I’d do anything for you, my friend’ that ended up hurting seeing Gilmore have his heart strings pulled as they did. Like if you love him, let him go. For real. Don’t dangle it in front of him like that.

Pike/Percy - Weird thought but I thought it was pretty clear that Pike liked Percy. Everyone sees her as a stalwart beacon but she still has wants and falls off from time to time. But she tries. And she saw something within Percy that was dark and I don’t think it was necessarily ‘I want to fix him’ but ‘I want to save him.’ And Percy find a light in Pike like many do but also seeing her as just Pike.

Perc’ahlia - I mean, it’s canon. Thing is that I can’t pinpoint a moment when it began. Just that it happened and that felt okay. I think they’re both maniacs in their own right and it’s kind of cute how they indulge each other’s passion/excitement. Gifts feels like Percy’s love language and he shows it so much in how he tinkers for Vex and her glee in what new way she can fuck shit up is enough for him. And also it’s really delicious the parallel with them and the Briarwoods and Laura has stated that if Percy had died died, that it was possible Vex end up the same kind of menace Delilah was.

Vex/Zahra - In some other life, they would have been the femme fatale couple. All of their interactions were enjoyable and they so clearly enjoy each other. Just looking over and it’s the eyes with them.

Widobrave - Partners in crime. I think that their dynamic isn’t simple and that’s what’s so interesting. They see each other as someone to protect and don’t exactly see how the other views them as the one to be protected. And they have ‘without question’ sort of trust in each other and are genuinely awed and so happy when they witness one do something great. It gets sad with more of their backstory. And it gets me that both immediately felt guilty for keeping it a secret from them. Not the entire party, their partner. They both have seen past appearances and see the strength, the zaniness and the brilliance the other possesses and I can’t wait to get to more of their moments.

Character I find most attractive:

CR1: Gilmore. My god he was gorgeous. Vax why did you just walk away from that? Raishan. Look, she was hot and smart and even if she fell eventually, she made the most of when she was there.

CR2: Cali is so frickin’ adorable. Like she’s so cute and hey, if not for the whole cult chasing her thing, it’d be nice to stick around and sightsee. I am also a ‘Jester is really cute’ person.

Character I would marry:

I don’t really think there’s anyone I’d actually--well, I think maybe Pike because stronk lady that can get into mischief with but at the same time just be able to be content with.

No one in this campaign so far.

Character I would be best friends with:

I would LIKE to be friends with Cassandra because everyone continues to ignore how this woman has been tormented and then thrust into very important position. All while harboring guilt for what she had to do to survive. The girl needs a break and I’m here with a blanket and some tea.

I would like to be friends with Nott actually. She’s really cool and I think it’s fun to let her be her zany self.

a random thought:

So who is really credited as the inventor of firearms, Percy, who did technically make it, or Ripley, who is the one that sold the schematics to make them mass-produced?

Is there just an abundance of mysterious magic ladies in Wildemount or what?

An unpopular opinion:

Scanlan deserved his anger and feelings of being unappreciated. Even if he was brought back, it does not lessen that there was uncertainty nor the lack of respect towards his body. Vox Machina had gotten cocky and it drove one of their members away. Vex and Vax were the only ones that took Scanlan’s frustration to heart and did not mess up with Tary for that reason. Also Tary was a parallel of the worst of the party, which is why most of them couldn’t stand him.

The small races are not fucking children. I don’t get why they get called children or thought of like that. They’re just short, goddammit!

My Canon OTP:

CR1: Perc’ahlia for above reasons.

CR2: None to be seen so far?

My Non-canon OTP:

CR1: Because I’m hella fucked up, I am enamored by the thought that Percy had a crush on Ripley. Because she paid attention to him, one of the younger and less interesting of his family. And to him she was brilliant and she took advantage of that, which is how he survived or why they got in. And Percy never forgot or forgave her.

CR2: “And they were roommates” “oh god they were roommates.” * whispers * I kind of liked Fjord and Molly. They felt like foils that were amicable with each other aaaaannndddd actually had nice interactions?

Most Badass Character:

CR1: NO MERCY PERCY

CR2: Shakaste is pretty awesome and Khary Payton is awesome.

Most Epic Villain:

CR1: Raishan. Like I wish she could’ve been a bigger villain but alas the dice were not on her side. I think her arc was the most interesting as she was the true threat in the party’s eyes despite there being a dragon terraforming their home.

CR2: At this point? There hasn’t been a major villain for the party.

Pairing I am not a fan of:

I don’t really have anything I can’t ship in this one.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another):

Can’t really say anyone ‘screwed up’ since this is a lot of improv and all that. So I guess miss chances I think would only really be Molly since y’know, he’s dead.

Favourite Friendship:

CR1: Pike & Grog - They’re Best Buddies, y’all. I can’t get over how much they just pal around like that’s just the usual for them. And technically it is. They can go get wasted together and then kick ass after. It’s just the casualness of their relationships and how much respect and lack of reverence that I like. Pike is just Pike to Grog so he finds no reason to hold back or hold her as a light unlike the rest of the party. But he does want to do good by her because she’s his friend and he doesn’t want to disappoint her. And Pike never insults Grog’s intellect and actively works to help him improve and deflects the party’s remarks of how he is.

CR2: Empire Kids - They’ve come a long way from their seats of mistrust and standoff-ishness. I think there was a post that put it best that they’re ‘learning how to human.’ And because they both are at the same point of it, they are struggling together. As a result they’ve come to lean on each other to keep themselves from going to far. They’re not perfect but they’re trying to keep this found family of theirs together.

Character I most identify with:

CR1: Keyleth. Being the one to try to keep people together or on the straight on narrow isn’t easy. It sucks and I’m not usually the person that should do it but here I am.

CR2: Caleb. I am very off-beat and odd but I do want to have friends and the like....just not stellar at showing that...

Character I wish I could be:

I mean, this is D&D where awesome shit goes on all the time. So anyone I guess?

#answered #wolfatrest #shctteredillusions

2 notes · View notes

loquaciousquark · 7 years

Text

Critical Role Wrap-Up Tell-All, Summary Post

Missed the first few minutes, but here we go! New campaign starts Jan. 11! No episode next week for Christmas.

First round of questions: Episodes 1-23: The Underdark.

They trusted Clarota more than Kima because the girls were super proud of finding him and they liked the underdog story of befriending the cast-out. Travis brings up writing “I don’t trust Clarota” five weeks running.

Matt designed the entire duergar city around the stronghold (including social encounters) that they missed. They also saw a shimmering portal to the Far Realm that they could have used but bypassed.

Matt had multiple layers for the actual pyramid he’d envisioned as a dungeon crawl, which the players completely bypassed by flying up & dropping a giant on top of it.

Re: Vax’s insight check on Keyleth: the DM said that Keyleth seemed unsure, scared, and cut off from the surface. Liam found that was the first time in the entire campaign he didn’t feel Vax questioning Keyleth’s decisions. This may have been the beginning of the crush. (Sidebar: Marisha is wearing a slate blue dress, gold heels, and stockings, and looks stunning.)

The Earth Ashari visions occurred right after Keyleth killed the kid in terms of plot. She was having a hard time with magic & spells out of fear, and Marisha used it as a catalyst to have her come to terms with the costs of inaction. “You figure it out or you die.”

None of the players felt there was much of a change in their characterizations in transferring from the home games to the show. This is also the point they switched to Vox Machina instead of the SHITS. Taliesin feels they would have done this in universe even without the show; Laura felt it was driven by the knowledge they would be streaming shortly.

Matt: “It would have had to have been a lot of work and roleplaying” to get Clarota to turn on the Elder Brain, but it was not impossible. Laura: “He’s Hugh! From Star Trek. :(”

Percy flashed his name so much in the beginning in an effort to put out feelers for information. Matt points out that what happened to the de Rolos was kept very quiet outside of Whitestone--the Briarwoods circulated a rumor that the de Rolos had gotten ill and died and their close friends had taken over. Percy would have been assumed to be a distant relative if recognized at all. “Who knows the name of the royal family of Nova Scotia?”

Ashley wanted Pike to be stronger after she died so that she could offer more to the fights than just healing. She felt that spending time on The Broken Howl would have improved her strength. (Brian tells us that Ashley lived on a boat for a while as a kid and knows her way around ships, which surprises some of the cast too.)

Percy had to make his bullets (as opposed to Vex having to buy arrows) because bullets don’t exist in this world. Vex also bought a thousand arrows right before the show started and put them in the bag of holding, and Matt was glad not to have to track it.

Liam thinks the real feelings for Keyleth may have started with the whisper, but does remember intending to keep it very very quiet up until Vax almost died in the Briarwoods arc.

Grog has no idea where/who his mother is. In the herd, you love who you love, have a kid, and teach the kid to fight, and he did not care about her existence until he met Pike and learned what a nurturing relationship could be like.

Matt forgot Grog’s last name was Strongjaw because they didn’t use last names much in the home game. That his dad’s name was Stonejaw was a complete coincidence that wasn’t put together until much later.

One of the members of the Arcana Pansophical was the one who put out the contract on the rakshasa. The idea was that they were working on a portal that connected to the Nine Hells and needed parts for the ritual (either not understanding or caring about the cycle of revenge).

Matt already had the Kima/Allura relationship in his mind from the second session ever in the home game. He had envisioned a past possible fling, but the Underdark arc allowed them to rekindle their relationship. He had no idea that they would become so beloved in the fandom.

Marisha had no idea that Keyleth’s antlers would become so iconic. In the home game, she had an undescribed circlet that was the last relic from her mother, and Kit Buss was the one who drew it as antlers. Kit also created Vex’s feathers, and everyone wove them backwards in time to create them. Kit also created Percy’s four-lens glasses.

Matt designed the Thunderbrands to be allies in the journey in the Underdark, including sending a Thunderbrand family mage along with them--there was a lost family member they were supposed to find. (Instead, VM attacked their wards with magic and Scanlan snuck inside while invisible for no reason, so that plot thread died.) They did find the necklace that belonged to this person.

When Ioun was wounded during the Calamity, her followers had to go into hiding (including Osysa, who is apparently quite old). Matt envisions them as equivalents to modern-day truth societies that emerge, disseminate truth, and go into hiding again. The Slayer’s Take is a cover for this society.

Matt declines to divulge the location of the other Horn of Orcus, as it still exists in the world. :O

CR Stats Break! 10,819 total rolls throughout the campaign, 548 total natural 20s, 497 natural 1s. Most natural 20s: Vax with 107, Percy with 104. Most natural 1s: Vex with 76, Vax with 61. Travis gets great delight out of Laura’s dice’s betrayal.

Episodes 24-48: The Briarwood Arc.

Seeker Asum’s dinner plan (before Vax ruined it) was to find proof that the Briarwoods didn’t actually have the political power to build the bridge over the Searing Channel to Wildemount.

Travis, re: the shaving of half of Grog’s beard--”That was a pretty hot moment.” That kicked off months of Grog trying to get Vax back. “A new world order had started.” However, Vax was too slippery and often frustrated Grog. Liam didn’t realize how furious Travis was until much later. “It was magical, I figured it would just come back! I thought it was tit for tat. I was wrong.”

The woman Percy saw with his natural 20 was just a hunter citizen with her wolves, which was intended as an opportunity to either gain information about the state of the city or (if it had gone poorly), a chance for her to report back to the Briarwoods and given them an advantage over VM.

Liam genuinely thought Vax was going to die during the Briarwood attack. He intended it as a monologue to exit the game. (”The stuff with Kiki had started, but Vax’s world was still 98% his sister.”)

Sam knew Percy’s gun had to be destroyed because he “did crazy shit with it and--weren’t you marking stuff off it all the time? That’s weird!” Everyone enjoys the memory of Percy/Taliesin’s real shock and upset. Sam genuinely hadn’t thought he would be upset at all and was surprised at how mad he was. Taliesin is still upset he never managed to build another one because of how priceless it was. “It was priceless! It was--Two magical elements welded into--oh, Lord!” Matt says the only other way to break the curse would have been to go kill Orthax in the Abyss. Taliesin points out that means Orthax is still out there. Matt: “As far as you know.”

Matt wants the new story to be wholly unique and new. There will be VM choices that will affect the world, but it won’t be a direct continuation.

Taliesin only told Matt that the Briarwoods murdered his family & deliberately kept it as limited as possible. He didn’t know anything about them. (Matt points out it’s good to only write as much as your character knows when creating a backstory.)

Matt: Delilah was a lesser mage working at an academy in the Dwendalian Empire (they were minor nobles), and her husband had gotten sick. She went to find a cure & found one, but by the time she got back, her husband was dead. She was so distraught she began “screaming into the astral sea and one day, a whisper answered back, ‘I can help you,’” which was Vecna. These whispers continued, leading her to one of Vecna’s old laboratories (guarded by an undead creature so old he’d forgotten his own name), where she found the secrets of vampirism in exchange for now owing Vecna her life. However, because of her toying with illegal necromancy, they were pursued, discovered, hunted, arrested, escaped, and hunted again for execution, which is why they fled the empire to the Menagerie Coast, which is where they ran into Ripley who was fleeing her own hunters. They began working together there and had heard about Whitestone, so this is where they began getting them to take their guard down (since Whitestone had gone to such lengths to cut themselves off politically). Taliesin notes that he’d not intended to give them supernatural powers, but during their creation he had thought of a ghost story in New Orleans where survivors of a horrible fire got into a coach and left, even though they shouldn’t have been alive, so he enjoyed the similarities in the tone of their love story.

Vex had feelings for Percy already at this point. “Darling, take the mask off.” She also thinks the darkness attracted her to him more.

Percy didn’t know the voice in his head was real. The smoke in the show was the first time it had ever happened. Liam notes they’d never had any hints of demonic power in the home game. Matt says the demon would never have manifested until Percy confronted someone directly from his revenge list.

Trusting the DM with your stories and mysteries is half the fun, according to Laura. Matt feels it gives him the opportunity to collaborate with the players.

Sam: “The first session [of the new campaign] is just going to be asking Travis why he’s talking like that.”

Keyleth was close to leaving the party at the beginning of this arc. She had issues with some of VM’s moral decisions and felt she had to continue her Aramente.

If Ripley had been left in her cell & was unable to escape, and they had figured out who she was, she would have done everything in her power to convince them she was as used and abused as everyone else (such as Cassandra) until the first opportunity to escape.

The dead de Rolos were left in public in Whitestone after the coup (they were the first to hang from the Sun Tree) in almost the exact same arrangement Matt used for the VM effigies later. VM did not ever fight their skeletons. Percy: “It’s just one more ghost story for that bloody castle. It’s highly appropriate for Whitestone.”

Ashley likes to think Pike’s ability to astral project is because she’s special to Sarenrae, but feels it’s just a reality of her city/film situation.

Matt says Delilah’s ritual actually succeeded, that she just didn’t know what she was looking for. She created the siphon, which was the whole purpose of the ritual. VM might have discovered that it had been successful if they’d spent more time with it. Delilah realized later (after reincarnating into her clone body) that she had fully done her part and Vecna was pleased.

Re: Craven Edge: Travis had no idea what a sentient weapon was and was just entranced with the description of the fancy sword. He was excited when Percy got nervous reading the card and was completely surprised when Matt began talking. “Grog was just enjoying this new friend that helped him shish-kabob people really well.”

Matt intended the acid trap to be broken by strength towards the wall, blocking the acid chutes, or by using another button on the wall Vax didn’t find. No one remembers how they actually got out.

If Scanlan had learned of Kaylie first before she found him, he would have probably run away from the information.

For Taliesin, the final barrel on the List was meant for “Percy’s acknowledgement that the List was not the end,” that this was an unending cycle he was starting. The empty barrel was meant to be the start of a brand new List, that he had started a revenge run that would never end. Percy was glad to kill thousands of people indirectly to kill these five directly--he knew what he was doing the whole time in the creation of these deadly weapons, which is part of why he says so often that Percy is a terrible person. (He clarifies it was never intended for himself.)

Vex got Simon back by flirting with the guards. “There was a lot of winking involved.”

Matt had always intended Cassandra to be the final name on the gun. Matt didn’t know Taliesin had intended the same thing in re: revenge not ending and reveals that if he’d killed those six, another six would have appeared. Tal and Matt are both delighted by this reveal of their minds working in the same direction. (Sam: “I knew that. I knew aaaaaaall that.”)

Marisha hadn’t intended Keyleth’s leadership to begin to emerge here (the roc, the skeleton army), and thinks Keyleth didn’t fully believe it herself until she got the mantle. She does remember the kraken fight as one of the first moments she forced herself to step up and take responsibility. Liam notes her decision to take as many as she could at the end of that fight as a good leadership moment.

Marisha asks Matt what would have happened if she hadn’t rolled a natural 20 on the ziggurat. Matt says the DC was an 18 to resist the impact--if she hadn’t, she’d have gone through, taken a ton of damage, and been thrust into the Shadowfell on the outskirts of Thar Amphala. It would have changed the story if Keyleth had survived the damage to return safely & reveal Vecna’s plot early. However, no one would have even known she’d been gone. Matt realizes belatedly that it would have been horrible to have such an emotional success on this arc only to have a beloved character suddenly disappear without warning (if she’d failed the DC and died in Thar Amphala). When they’d finally gotten to Thar Amphala at the end, there would have been an undead Keyleth to fight.

CR Stats Break! 50,074 damage dealt in total. Most damage taken: 5646, Grog. Most damage dealt: 10,038, Grog.

Episodes 39-83: The Chroma Conclave!

Matt had decided who would die in Emon before the attack. He wanted a central figure (and a powerful ally) to die to emphasize the danger. The most brave, resolute members of the Council were the most likely to throw their lives away.

Liam doesn’t know if Vax would have left VM if the Conclave hadn’t attacked. He would have been conflicted, tap-dancing around why he was there. The prank war with Grog had escalated into head-butting; Vex would have left with Vax if he’d firmly made the decision, even if she didn’t like it.

The attack was just a coincidence with being the same day VM messed with the orbs. It was all long-planned by Raishan. However, the orbs allowed Thordak & Raishan to recognize VM as meddlers & to get information on them earlier than otherwise.

Matt had planned the Conclave attack since Krieg’s original introduction. Coincidentally, if they were still playing at the home game pace of once every six weeks, that would have been this weekend.

Percy was calm in the Grog fight because he knew what was in all the bottles/kilns and because he knew he could give Grog disadvantage on every attack. He would have set him on fire/acid and blinded him as quickly as possible. Liam thinks Grog would have still turned Freddy into paste.

Gilmore was one choice from dying when they found him. If they’d gone for the treasure, he would have been dead by the time they found him. It was meant to be a crux choice in learning what it meant in moments of crisis to choose against your own greed. Liam points out that the last times they had dealt with death at this point were the home game and Vex’s death. They had no idea what the rituals were or really what they entailed; they had no idea what permanence it would have. Every death was rough, but in the beginning it was very unsettling.

Vex found a bunch of love letters from Gilmore and his first boyfriend under Gilmore’s bed. It was good confirmation they were in Gilmore’s actual room. Matt says it was another Marquesian (Markeesian?) boy that he would have had to name on the spot if pressed.

Vesh was “a dangerous entity for the levels you were dealing with at the time.” Vex’s resurrection ritual piqued her interest and would have resulted in her turning her eyes to VM if the Raven Queen had not intervened. Matt: “So much turned on that choice!” Also Matt: “Vesh isn’t necessarily a god, though she likes to say she is and Kashaw believes she is.”

The boon of the Dawn Martyr was a huge part of Pike feeling important in battle/getting the courage to be in the middle, knowing it would be okay if she got knocked out a few times. Grog, tearfully: “It’s not okay!”

Sam asks who the guy she was in love with for the second time. Ashley ignores him. “Oh, I heard him, I’m just not acknowledging it!” Everyone, including me, dies a little inside.

Matt envisions Kevdak getting the Knuckles by chance, by beating the previous owner to a bloody pulp. (Kevdak was not the herd leader at the time.) He had no aspirations beyond taking what he wanted and expanding the herd. Then the Conclave attacked and distracted the guards of Westruun, and he saw this as an opportunity to carve their way into the city. He saw himself bending Umbrasyl to his will later once the herd was stronger.

Ashley interrupts the timeline to ask Matt about what was in Senokir’s box because she can’t stand it anymore. She forgot to tell Matt she wanted to go look for it during the plot break and has been kicking herself the whole time. Matt confirms it was legitimately, 100% his wife’s ashes. “Let this be a lesson to you; not every NPC is out to get you.” Ashley: “I still don’t believe you!”

Liam had planned on multiclassing into Paladin even before the Raven Queen’s tomb. He saw purpose he lacked in Pike, then began to consider it when Taliesin made an offhanded comment about him going cleric. Liam alludes to a rough time in his personal life and talks about an out-of-game meeting where he was very, very upset with how the game had turned that day in the tomb. “It was heavy on top of my heavy, and I was not happy.” He says he wouldn’t change it for anything, now.

Liam asks Matt about Fate-touched. Matt says he knew Liam was going through tough stuff and wanted to give him a little hope in the middle of personal difficulties. He had no idea when it was going to come up--he’d envisioned later in the story when they were dealing with more divinity, that one of the gods then would have commented on it. Liam gets up and briefly bows at Matt’s feet.

Laura asks if there are more cookies and is given permission to get them at the break.

Travis had no idea if he could win solo against Kevdak, but wanted to start the fight that way. He got to face him on his terms, and that was all he wanted. Matt says he could have actually won the fight, but the dice were against him.

Laura doesn’t think she deserved that change in alignment. “All I did was steal a broom! I was gonna give him a whole bunch of dragon scales but he walked away too fast!” Liam is shocked Vex’s alignment changed and Percy’s didn’t; Matt says thoughts don’t necessitate alignment change, but that shooting the kid through the hand put him very, very close. If Laura had stolen the broom for a greater purpose, he wouldn’t have changed her, but it was purely selfish. However, he feels alignment shouldn’t guide roleplay, it should be reactive to the roleplay. “It’s not a big deal.”

Sam reads the letter he wrote to Pike. [Edit: transcribed here.] My fingers wither in anticipation. I can’t keep up. He tells her his age and says he realized his soul would be forever incomplete the moment he met her. It’s a darned good letter and Sam comments on that: “Jesus, this is good.” He compares her gloriously to the sun and asks her to protect Kaylie. “Don’t you see? This whole time, I thought I was chasing a lover, but instead I was chasing a mother for my child. You are the savior for my daughter I could never be. In death, my heart will be beside you in Kaylie.” Sam legitimately tears up reading the end and I do too, a little. Wow. Travis: “Don’t you feel bad for reading that early?” Ashley: “Nope!”

Matt intended certain vestiges for certain players, but didn’t have plans for the Ward, Cabal’s Ruin, or other open-ended vestiges. He didn’t know who would take the Ward. Laura’s still bitter about the wings.

Re: Percy’s death ritual--Taliesin planned to ignore any attempts to call upon a god to help him. He was looking for reasons to come back, but thought it would be a great end to Percy’s character if it panned out that way. Elements of Taliesin’s next character started originally as Percy’s replacement.

Raishan was trying to do an ancient variant of Speak With Dead with Thordak’s corpse. She was concocting an intense version that tortures and forces information that would be true. She wanted the secret to getting rid of her disease and got Opesh’s lair location, then the rest of the information she needed once she arrived at the lair. (Matt confirms the soul curse on Raishan was real, and that she can see truth, which is how she knew Thordak genuinely knew how to cure her.)

Eggs: Thordak was mutating, becoming something new. The Soul Anchor began to change him in the Fire Plane & allowed him to asexually create progeny (”like Jurassic Park!”). They were a new elemental species. “We killed them all!” “As far as you know.” “Oh no!”

CR Stats Break! 86 total Grog rages. 3658 healing from Pike. 474 Vex arrows shot. Percy misfires: 36. DM facepalms: 264. Keyleth beast shapes: 110 (most used: 15 Earth elemental). 136 Scanlan inspirations, and every one of them gold. Vax: 21 one-shot kills. (Tal: “21 friends we never got to make.”)

Episode break, featuring guest stars! (No actual break, which means that bottle of water I drank earlier is now only suffering.) Attending tonight are Darin de Paul (Sprigg), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Zahra), Will Friedle (Kashaw), Jason Charles Miller (Garthok), and Noelle Stevenson (Tova).

On the biggest difference between the show & their home games: Mary & Will had never played before, so it was all new to them. Both preferred learning by fire. Darin feels it’s ultimately acting, “yes, and,” and loved it. Noelle points out that people are a lot more invested in her character than other players would be in a home game, and enjoys that feedback. Will agrees, since he never cared about anything like this before playing himself. Darin: “When you play at home, you don’t get fanart.” Mary loves the community & shared world-creating. Jason loves “what happens after” the game and how people can love your character more than you.

Mary was terrified on her first game. Her whole philosophy was, “Don’t kill the team. Don’t kill VM.” However, since she was so comfortable with Laura & Travis, she felt free to make mistakes. Will’s philosophy was to “smile, nod, and shift papers like I know what I’m doing.” At one point, Wil Wheaton told him to “turn undead” & he had no idea clerics could do that. However, when Will and Mary got to go back on the show, they spent time ahead teaming up and figuring out what their bond was, and that’s how their relationship started.

Darin’s first live show on set was the one where Kash kissed Keyleth & he dreamed of being part of that world. Will had no idea what he was doing would matter to people and thought it was tons of fun seeing the huge reaction to the kiss that he hadn’t expected. Zahra decided she would be pregnant right before they came onstage the last time, and Will loved the idea and told her to roll with it.

Jason has the CR theme as his ringtone. He enjoyed the uneasy tension of the truce with VM but expected foul play if the relationship had continued. He was surprised by the instant feedback of Twitch chat (Liam had it open on his phone during his game) being happy he called for an attack of opportunity.

Noelle jokes she wished she’d played a shopkeeper so she could have gotten into her episode earlier, but found it very intense once she arrived. She created Tova as something of a “burner character,” so that she would be okay if she died, but was glad she survived. She didn’t want to step on any big moments for the team and wanted to help them get to their next fight. She was glad she was there for their last scene--it felt important and was cool to see. She laughs about running the bear society from Marisha’s oneshot.

They all comment on the excruciating wait to be introduced in each episode. Will comments on the reality of being a guest star and being okay with dying for that reason, but also being terrified they might take someone from VM with them.

Will, Brian, and Mary had a death pool going for the final fight.

Sprigg’s theme of redemption was intense and unintended. Brian comments on Sprigg existing 37 years ago in the game with Matt’s mom; Darin loves that he intended him to be a Fagan character who steals everything, but ended up having a wonderful exit while arguing with Ioun. Darin loves funny, tragic characters and loves that Sprigg got to have his hero moment.

Mary mentions how surprising emotional moments could be (specifically mentioning Vex’s resurrection) and the complete investing of yourself in your character. Mary points out that she’s not a writer--this is one thing she has created herself, and she’s very proud of it. Darin: “It’s as special for all of us as it is for you.” Jason had someone yell, “We love you, Garthok!” at a concert. Will knew Matt from Thundercats and everyone else a little, and he loved the games, but he treasures the friendships he developed with the game’s players more. Darin deeply treasures the moment he had with Marisha in his game.

Brian remembers Darin taking pictures of the TM set the first time he saw it.

Will: “A good story is a good story.” Noelle: “There’s a universal nature to D&D.” The first time Mary met Noelle, Mary was wearing a d20 necklace and they bonded over both playing tiefling warlocks. Brian loves the idea of mainstream entertainment being about creation, not just observing.

Episodes 84-99: Taryon Darrington!

If Revivify had been successful, would Scanlan still have left? Yes--it was the act of dying, not really the circumstances of waking up, that put him over the edge. “There was a long buildup to him leaving.” He felt unloved & between Kaylie and the drugs, and the terrible streak of loss/dying, he felt nothing was going well. The prank on waking up felt poorly timed, but he admits he probably would have done the same to someone else if the situation had been reversed.

VM could have killed the kraken, but the lodestone sources that maintain the Water Elemental rift & keep Vesrah aloft would have lost power over the next five or so years. They’d have had to find another kraken & lure it back to preserve the city and the rift.

Pike was able to say most of what she wanted to say at Scanlan’s leaving in follow-up games, but Ashley as a player was sad that she was gone when he left and came back to “a new guy. I wanted to play with Scanlan!” Once Pike got up the courage, she was able to say what she wanted, but doesn’t feel she would have changed his mind at the time. Sam: “She absolutely could have stopped me. She was the only one.” Sam notes the rest of VM (esp. Vex) did persuade him to go with Kaylie instead of alone.

If Keyleth had failed her Aramente, she would not have been allowed to try again. She would have been allowed to join a council, and someone else would have gone to the Aramente instead. It’s not blood-determined--someone else worthy could have gone instead.

Tary’s wealth had little effect on tempering Vex’s greed. “Once she got money, then she mellowed.” Sam: “That’s how rich people work. They get money, and then they stop.”

(Funny aside where Brian forgets who Hotis is, confuses the rakshasa with the Pit Fiend, and Matt immediately pulls out the Pit Fiend’s name as Utugash.)

By the next time Hotis would have come back, the campaign would have been over (i.e. Vax would be gone), and his rage would have turned towards Ashley.

Vax’s Invisibility Ring was the only reason Tova survived.

Sam had no exact plan for Scanlan’s return, but only intended Tary to last one or two sessions before dying. However, “Tary was so dashing and charming and everyone fell in love with him instantly” that he lasted a little longer. Scanlan went back to Ank’harel for revenge, but it took some time for the two guys who wronged him to come back to town. He took their antiques counterfeiter away from them, publicly shamed them via the Meat Man, and chased them out of town. He and Matt did a whole series of rolls in which he identified the counterfeiter, chased them out, and created this small power vacuum, and when Matt asked what he wanted to do, he decided to step into the role himself.

The soulstones from Dis weren’t meant for much besides the temporary rush right before battle. (This makes me think of a really creepy 5-hour energy drink.) Vex still has one in her inventory.

Percy never wanted to kill Scanlan after the scrying eye; he wanted to sneak in, cripple him, take all his stuff, and tell him to never come back again. Percy didn’t like that he’d taken a vestige and other stuff from the house and felt he’d not deserved any of it. (Liam: “Neutral good, folks. Neutral good.”)

None of Grog’s lady friends were “the one that got away.” Liam, then Sam and Tal shortly after: “Nymph! Nymph! Nymph! Nymph!” and Travis reveals they didn’t sleep together. Grog was very meek and intimidated; Matt was mostly trying to make Travis uncomfortable in his own kitchen. Travis: “He just wanted to let you wonder for five years.” “Who, Grog or Matt?” “Yes.”

Laura reveals Vex & Percy briefly broke up during the break, then married each other quietly in front of the Sun Tree with Trinket.

Feywild theater: if you’re found listening to the theater without being a member, they converge on you to make you a member (e.g. pull out your soul and force you into it). However, there are members that have sought it out by choice.

Vex & Percy were out on a loch, talking about marriage and not wanting to be Vax & Keyleth, and decided to just go for it. The priest from one of the temples performed the ceremony. Tary knew first because he was in the same house. Liam: “Probably one of the biggest heartbreaks of the entire campaign. If there had been any other circumstances, [Vax] would not have known what to do with himself.”

Scanlan never heard Pike talking into the earring. :( However, he did do a fair amount of praying to Sarenrae “on his Aramente.”

No one found Scanlan during the break. Ashley and Grog were the only ones who seriously searched for him (everyone else decided to give him his space), but they didn’t look far enough, only staying in Emon & the surrounding area.

Scanlan never shot the gun except for that one time at the end.

Laura doesn’t even remember telling Vax not to get married without her. Va wouldn’t have been bitter or angry, just would have asked “why.” Liam says it would have been different if Vex had not specifically said not to get married without her. Laura’s genuine agony gets even worse for not remembering it. “I’m a terrible person!”

Marisha points out it’s another facet of Keyleth’s struggle to not waste time on inaction. “If you love someone, go marry them RIGHT NOW.”

Keyleth feels the Spire best serves the world by being in her hands right now, but has considered donating it to Melora’s followers after death.

Ashley would have enjoyed playing an evil Pike if the Trickfoot curse had been real. “That would have been fun!”

Matt: if Tary had not rolled well on his final roll, it would have been the end of the Darrington family unit: “an unfixable divide between him and his father. His mother would have had to choose; it would have sundered the whole family.” Matt had actually forgotten about the fate die. “You can’t call it a fate die more than that fucking moment!”

Laura sidelines to ask about Vax’s favor to the hag. Matt had had plans for it, but by the time it came time for him to try to use it, Vax already belonged to the Raven Queen and she wouldn’t try to interfere with that. “It’s a lost investment.”

Grog was not angry at Scanlan at all until he came back, disguised, with a new barbarian at his side. “An idiot, a barbarian, a half-ass imitation of Grog. I was ready to pick Scanlan up and smash his brain into jelly.”

CR Stats Break! Most-cast spell per character. Keyleth: 43, Transport Via Plants. Scanlan: 47, Healing Word. Percy: 27, Hex. Vex: 80, Hunter’s Mark. Vax: 25, Lay on Hands. Pike: 40, Guiding Bolt Up the Butt? No, Cure Wounds. (Aw.) Grog: 18, Enlarge.

Episodes 100-115: Vecna!

They could have acquired boons from each deity they tried to talk to, but others they didn’t have a strong connection to would have required research, searching, and time Vecna would have used against them. If they’d gone for a fourth deity, Vasselheim would have been destroyed and Vecna would have begun to understand his powers after achieving his miracle. If they’d gone for a fourth trammel, his power would have spread beyond the oceans. Matt thinks they struck the perfect balance.

Scanlan stayed so long in Ank’harel because he had to wait for the two guys to return, and while he waited he got a taste for “crime power!” and decided to stay. “Tastes like pleather.”

A lot of Pike’s feelings started with the letter, but she and Scanlan did flirt slightly in the home game. She didn’t take it seriously because she didn’t think he was serious until the letter. “That letter is very intense.” When he left, she realized how much she cared for him and missed him, and when he came back she thought he was more mature and maybe the time had passed. It was a slow climb after the letter.

Matt declines to say where Vecna keeps his phylactery. “That’s not campaign information, that’s world LORE information!”

Vex took the name “de Rolo” after her marriage.

When the Knuckles were resonating, it was because they were close to the surface from which they were carved (the earth titan), and because they had a structural extra bonus to sieging the titan from the inside. They could have slowed down the titan by attacking its legs, but that would have alerted Thar Amphala and they’d have had an uphill fight the rest of the way. They had lots of options to stop the titan.

Percy was not troubled by Silas’s escape. He’d transferred that angst to other people and felt at that point they could handle him if he attacked again. “It was never about Silas.”

The Death Knight was the nameless servant that had been keeping Vecna’s laboratory for countless centuries, rewarded for his service.

If he could have, Vax would have said goodbye to (at least) his father, Korrin, Gilmore, and Velora.

Marisha feels Keyleth was at last ready to lead her people by the end of the campaign. She had made her peace and was ready to be done. Brian: “Heavy is the head that wears the antlers.”

Matt guessed what Sam wanted to do with his level 9 Wish spell in the final battle. Sam had asked him about its limitations ahead of the game, and he tried to answer in general terms in case he was wrong. He didn’t realize the exact implications until the moment Sam used it as Counterspell. It’s one of Matt’s favorite moments of the game. Sam: “Great. Awful.”

Scanlan can’t reconcile his immense power with being unable to save his friend. He feels he ultimately failed, but suspects that in his older age he will realize it’s okay to fail & you don’t have to succeed at everything to make a difference in people’s lives. He’ll try to be a hero for his wife & his kid, and he still might use Wish every once in a while to see if he can get a message to or from old Vax. Liam: “Vax would never have seen that as a failure.”

Matt: “I imagine there are a lot of stories told about Vax’ildan and what he did.” Sam: “It’s okay not to be the best at everything. It’s okay to do what you do.”

The opposite side of Entropis had ancient holy relics that had been destroyed (the site of the seed that ascended Vecna).

Percy wanted to save Vax by selling his soul, get the punishment he deserved, and use the contract to get something out of his certainty he was going somewhere awful anyway. Then the moment of uncertainty crept in and he wondered why he kept making all these awful deals. Matt says that was one of his favorite Percy moments of the whole show & that he loved how he could see him break.

Matt says both Percy and Scanlan could have gotten the Wish off in a way that could have possibly circumvented the RQ’s will, but Liam had no idea how that would have played out, because in his mind the only way he could live was if the RQ gave him her blessing.

Re: reading--Grog just wanted to get smarter.

Syldor was grieved at Vax’s death & regrets the treatment of his children--he’s been spending a lot of his life trying to reconcile the choices he made in how he raised them with the pride at what his children have accomplished. “He’s learned a lot of lessons” and is doing the best he can do improve acceptance of outsiders in Syngorn society.

Vex feels she made peace with Syldor after having five kids with Percy and beginning to understand what having children means--it became important in a different way to reach out to Syldor.

Matt feels Vax is able to reconnect with his mother occasionally, but also prevents loneliness for the small mortal sliver left in the RQ & doing her will. He declines to explain the ethereal further.

The titan could only really be damaged from the inside.

Keyleth tries Speaks with Animals on the large raven that visits after a long, long time, without expecting the results she hopes for. “Almost better to keep the illusion that it’s Vax, rather than have the confirmation that he was never there at all.”

The Bag of Holding contained at the end: “silverware, candles, caltrops, handcuffs, stones, dried poo, some armor, the big black sapphire, bottles of wine. It was like a busted-up Home Depot.”

Liam declines to answer how Vax felt after his death, but in the moment itself he felt very heavy and very full. He knew his sister was taken care of.

FINALLY. Pike’s other love interest was....drumroll... “For a very long time, it was Percy.” She felt that through her faith and the light she had from Sarenrae that he was a marked man, and she did so much thinking and praying for his soul that everything became very confusing for her. She feels now, though, that it never would have worked out between them, and that somehow in the end, “...it was always Scanlan.” Tal: “He was oblivious, man.” Sam: “Even Tary was in love with that guy! He’s the worst!”

Favorite moments. Travis: "Dropping on Kevdak.” Liam: “Saying goodbye.” Marisha: “Cherry blossoms, and the tree.” Sam: “Cows.” Laura: “Talking to Trinket for the first time.” Sam: “Trying to kill Trinket for the first time.” Liam: “Gilmore stabbing me.” Marisha: “The hanging tree.” Taliesin: "Letting go when Ripley shot me. Realizing that Percy was in love with Vex. I’d never had a PC turn on me like that before that moment.”

Sam realized at the end that while he’d always imagined Scanlan spending his days telling their stories grandly, his favorite moments in the end were just healing his friends, impressing his friends and making them laugh. Marisha thinks about the cannonball contest, and Liam loved that Sam played the whole last fight against the gods with one hand held behind his back. Matt thanks Sam for playing bards to their full power. Ashley thinks about her first game, and how personal it was. How it changed her life.

Matt finds it strange that he’s a 35-year-old man who has spent his whole life trying to make something, and who genuinely believes the greatest thing he has ever accomplished is this story he’s told with his friends.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #matt mercer #talks machina #kind of #very very very VERY long post #cr spoilers #vox machina #epilogue of sorts

4K notes · View notes

littlenimart · 7 years

Note

Favorite Critical Role moments and characters so far? I always like hearing opinions from other fans earlier on in the story - though of course, I don't expect you to answer if you don't want to :)

nonono i loveee questions! if i ever don’t respond to one assume it got lost or I saw it, got excited, meant to answer and then forgot and then got embarrassed by how long it’s been.

OK, SPOILERS ABOUND BELOW THE CUT.

as of now (at the start of episode 52!), my favorites:

characters are super hard…. everyone has moments where they realllly shine, and there isn’t anyone I don’t love. I think that Percy and Vex have both become favorites of mine recently. I’m sort of in love with Vex’s general attitude. She’s a rational and businesslike person most of the time, but then can also be a ray of pure joy and wonder. There’s a really sweet dynamic between her and Vax where she’s often trying to cheer him up when he’s in one of his sad moods, and the love between them is so beautiful and definitely one of my favorite parts of the show, and one of the better sibling dynamics in literally anything i’ve ever watched. Vex also has a great character flaw in her general greed and lust for cool flying items- that’s led to a lot of great moments in the show.

Speaking of character flaw, Percy started to intrigue me around episode 20 when the Briarwood’s name popped up, and has only gotten better. He starts out sort of meek, and has gone through a bunch of character shifts in response to the events of the campaign. Taliesen plays Percy so loveably, IMO, that it makes a character who could easily be just the dark n’ edgy guy with the anime backstory into a really interesting and likeable guy. I like that he’s also terrible, in a way- he can be a little too eager for material wealth and magic items as well, he gave Grog a dangerous magic item just to make it not his problem, he has this “ends justify the means” mentality that sometimes scares his friends a little, but at the end of the day they’re all friends and they do love him and he loves them. I’ve loved what’s happened since the Sunken Tomb, in that he used to make Vex cool presents all the time (and it was just taken as given that he would be making things for her), and now his guilt is manifesting in him spending lots of time worrying about Vex, trying to make her happy (while also serving the group, multi-purpose guilt tinkering here!) by making a broom saddle, etc.

I also love Grog, and am so happy that he’s getting a chance to talk and lead right now, since Travis does a great job of playing him. He’s the most morally grey of the group in that he genuinely enjoys smashing people to shit, but he also has an endearingly soft streak in the way that he deals with Pike, and to a lesser degree, the rest of his friends. He’s also just plain funny- he does a lot to lift the mood in tense situations just being himself, and i’m incredibly grateful for that.

As much as I would, I can’t just name the whole group so I wanna just leave it at Percy, Vex and Grog. But I suck so... Honorable mention to Vax because I can’t stop myself. First of all, bisexual character with a lot of feelings, obviously appealing to me. His genuine depth of emotion in every situation is admirable to me. He cares about all of his friends, and feels especially deeply about Keyleth and Gilmore. Don’t even get me started on Vex. The level of “I’d lay down my life for you” he has for his sister is kind of unhealthy, but you know he couldn’t live without her, and it gets to me as someone who has a sister they love a lot. It’s totally understandable that he’d be that way. Also, Liam plays the emotion ALWAYS and it’s a joy to see him act.

For moments, i’m for sure forgetting some, but i’ll rattle off what comes to mind:

-The aftermath of the Sunken Tomb, when Vex is walking around all happy-go-lucky and the rest of them are treating her like a child with a terminal illness. They all feel so terrible after the whole ordeal, are making nice gestures and apologizing for things they said and giving her random stuff, and she’s just like “I don’t even remember any of that! I feel fine!” I loved the succession of Vax giving Percy a serious talking to, Keyleth scrying Westrun, Vex leaving Keyleth crying in the inn, and the mood whiplash-tastic cut to Scanlan playing harmonica outside an outhouse while Grog talks to his cursed sword inside.

-The night watch scenes before the sunken tomb, all of them.

-The scene in episode 50 where the group tries to convince Grog to get rid of Craven edge, and Pike’s opinion is really all that matters to him.

-Scanlan’s mansion.

-Vex inviting herself to help Percy tinker with the broom, and his turnaround from “You don’t have to do this, it might be faster if I do it alone.” to semi-awkwardly “That was actually really productive, you’re a fast learner and we should… do this again sometime?”

-Literally any time Vax or Vex are hurt badly, and the other goes all “mama bear” to get them out of danger.

-Both trips to Victor, the black powder merchant. Especially the exchange between Percy and Vex “Vex? 250 gold, if you’d be so kind!” “That much??” “I’m going to make you something lovely.” “I love you!”

-When they find Gilmore in the bunker under the ruins of his store.

-Vax and Gilmore’s conversation about feelings in the bar after the group returns from Whitestone.

-Kaylie confronting Scanlan in his room.

-The destruction of Pepperbox, from the second Scanlan casts “friends” on Percy.

-All conversations with Craven Edge.

-Lady Kima joining up with the group before the sunken tomb by telling that other paladin to “Back off, this is my turf!”

-EVERYTHING involving Zahra and Kash.

-Vax’s sneak-gone-wrong into the Briarwoods’ room at Uriel’s home.

-Keyleth and Percy’s friendship conversation in the cave outside Whitestone.

-When the party first meets Clarota, and Scanlan sings “Clarota healing”

Sorry for the novel length answer, but I couldn’t resist!!!! ;o; Thank you for giving me the chance to gush, i’m in love with this show…

#critical role #cr #critical role spoilers #ask

23 notes · View notes

arkhamarchitecture · 8 years

Note

as far as fic prompts go would you be interested in like platonic or family shit because I goddamn love your writing and really want to see something along the lines of 'Percy watches vex die again, and she comes back and it's all fine, but it brings up his goddamn deep issues with his sister because he realizes just how much he still blames himself for her getting taken by the briarwoods and he and cassandra have a nICE LONG CONVERSATION.' because that would be great. if you're interested.

CASSANDRA AND PERCY ACTUALLY TALKING? BOY I AM THE MOST INTERESTED IN THAT

Cassandra is sitting in the library, trying and failing to focus on reports she should have read days ago. She hates to admit it, but it’s always harder for her concentrate when her brother is off somewhere with Vox Machina. They’re not even supposed to be doing anything dangerous this time but it’s impossible not to remember Percy coming back to Whitestone covered in his own blood - or worse.

She’s still grateful that Vox Machina had already resurrected Percy by the time she’d made it to the temple because she genuinely doesn’t know what she would have done if she’d been faced with his corpse.

Cassandra’s in the middle of rereading a sentence for the fifth time without actually seeing it when the door to the library opens. She glances up and in walks Percival, looking quiet and pensive with his hands in his pockets.

The chair that Cassandra is sitting in has other chairs near it, but Percy moves directly in front of her and folds his legs up under him neatly, sitting on the rug at her feet.

“The past few months have been strange for me,” he says. As conversation openers go, it’s not the worst one he’s ever offered her but that isn’t saying much.

“Something of an understatement, I think,” Cassandra replies, studying him. Whatever adventure they went on, he’s no worse for wear, other than the fact that he appears to be missing his glasses. “And true of all of us as well.”

“Yes, I know. I don’t mean to -” His hand comes up to adjust his glasses and he visibly falters when his fingers meet only air. Percy clenches his fist and puts it back in his lap. “I don’t mean to imply that I have somehow had it worse than anyone else.”

“I’m not sure you would be wrong if you did. Few people have to fight as many dragons in a lifetime as you did in the past month.”

Percy shakes his head. “No, fighting dragons is the easy part. At least you’re doing something, you’re too busy to think. Waiting around to see how things are going to turn out - that’s hard. I’m not very good at that.”

“You’ve always been a problem solver,” Cassandra admits. “It’s hardly a competition of who’s had it worse though. We promised each other we wouldn’t do that.”

Percy ducks his head to stare at his hands in his lap. “We did,” he agrees quietly. “It’s just that over the past few months -”

He cuts off to stare into space, trying to organize his thoughts. Cassandra has been watching him do this since she was old enough to form memories so she sets her reports down and waits patiently.

“I’ve become accustomed to losing people,” he says eventually. “But rather dangerously, I’ve also started to become accustomed to getting them back. And I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

Cassandra cocks her head. “What do you mean?”

“Vax died a few days ago. And he’s fine now, everything’s alright,” he says unnecessarily, as though he would be able to speak so calmly about it if Vax was still dead. “But that’s exactly what I mean. I don’t like that I’m getting used to the fact that people I love die and then I just… get them back.”

“Because you and I both know that one day you won’t,” Cassandra observes.

Percy nods, not looking at her. “I got Vax back, and Scanlan before him. I got Grog and Pike back. I -” he swallows heavily, “I’ve gotten Vex back twice now. And I got you back.”

“I wasn’t dead, Percy.”

“I thought you were. It’s sort of the same thing in the long run.”

“I don’t think it is,” Cassandra says curiously. “I wasn’t dead. You just didn’t know.”

Percy’s head finally comes up and he locks eyes with her. “I spent five years believing you were dead and that it was my fault. Then you were alive and - it felt the same. I promise you it felt the same as getting back anyone else who died. I’m sure it felt different for you but…”

Cassandra had spent quite a lot of time under the Briarwoods pointedly not thinking about her opinion on Percy’s survival. The problem of course was that she hadn’t known whether or not he’d lived and she had never been able to make up her mind as to which possibility was worse. If he’d lived then he had abandoned her to save his own skin, but if he’d died then Cassandra had suffered for nothing because she could have escaped if she hadn’t stopped to rescue him.

In the end, it hadn’t mattered. Cassandra still doesn’t know what her immediate feelings were upon realizing that Percy lived. They were too wrapped up in the Briarwood’s charms and brainwashing and she couldn’t separate them. Had she been angry to see him alive because she was genuinely angry or because the Briarwoods wanted her to be? By the time the charms wore off, she wasn’t angry anymore and the entire thing seemed pointless to contemplate.

They’d both hurt each other badly but the only way out was forward. They had both pushed it aside and, well, pretended to move on.

“I got you back,” Cassandra says quietly. “I keep getting you back. I suppose it is the same.”

Percy looks back down at his hands, abruptly uncomfortable in the way he always was when the two of them were being sincere. “I’m not back quite yet. We have one last thing to take care of. The rakshasa. You know we can’t leave that, he was all too willing to come here for his revenge.”

Cassandra frowns but nods.

“But after that - I don’t know. Before, I would have said we were done. Some things have come up though and I just don’t know. I don’t know what we’re doing anymore.”

He sounds tired. Exhausted even, in a way he hasn’t been since immediately after his death.

“I suppose I’ll be right here waiting for you, regardless.”

Percy leans forward and slowly, gingerly, as if afraid of being rebuffed, rests his head against her legs. Cassandra runs her fingers through his hair just as slowly, half expecting her to shake him off. Instead, he breathes out a soft sigh and relaxes into her touch.

The library is quiet for a long time, aside from the sounds of both of them breathing. A comforting sound, if Cassandra is being honest.

“What happened to your glasses?” She asks when her curiosity finally gets the better of her.

Percy groans against her knee and she scratches at his scalp to soothe him. “Grog likes having them and I did something mean to him so I handed them over. Now he won’t give them back and my old pair gives me a headache if I wear them for too long.”

“Have you told him that?”

“No,” he says sullenly. “And the twins keep making fun of me for not being able to read.”

Cassandra can’t help the chuckle that bubbles up out of her. “I’m glad you got your family back, Percy.”

One of his hands comes up and wraps around the back of her legs, clutching tightly. “I’m glad I did too.”

#my crit role stuff #critical role #percy de rolo #cassandra de rolo #talk to each other you nitwits

245 notes · View notes

dancerwrites · 7 years

Text

A Deep Breath and Steady Hands - A Julius de Rolo AU

Summary: When his family is killed by visitors to Whitestone and Julius is the only one to escape their clutches, he loses his faith and seeks justice on his own power. But fate seems to have a different idea, when he ends up in the path of a certain group of mercenaries and he finds something he’s been missing. Rating: Teen and up Words to date: 4277

[read from the beginning on AO3] {read from the beginning on tumblr}

Thank you to everyone who’s supported this story so far, and to the people who have commented or left me an ask - it’s super late where I am, but I have started responding, and hope to finish that stuff up tomorrow! (you know who you are ;) )

Chapter Summary: Julius finds some unexpected company while in prison. “But life inevitably throws us curve balls, unexpected circumstances that remind us to expect the unexpected. I’ve come to understand these curve balls are the beautiful unfolding of both karma and current.” -Carre Otis

Chapter 2: Karma and Current

Julius shifted in his cell, trying to get more comfortable on the hard cot provided for him. It had been a little under two weeks since he’d been locked in the cell for “disturbing the peace”, and he was getting anxious. He hadn’t seen Stonefell since getting locked away, and the guards hadn’t answered his questions about the man, or about his own sentence despite repeated requests.

“You just gotta wait,” one of them, Agnes, had said, after only a day of questions. “Either someone’ll come and pay yer bail, or you’ll stay here til yer time’s up. Nothin’ we can do about it. Now keep quiet, and eat yer rations.”

Julius had immediately felt inclined to drop his name and title, but he knew it held no weight after his family’s slaughter. From the little he’d heard mentioned in the village, the story being circulated was that his family had all succumbed to some terrible illness. Then, out of the “goodness of their hearts” and “concern for the citizens” the Briarwoods had taken over the governance of Whitestone instead of returning to Wildmount.

No one knew they had killed the rest of his family and tried to lock him away in order to give themselves a figurehead and keep the people in line.

As it was, he didn’t have the right to be a de Rolo, let alone flaunt the title like it meant nothing to him as he’d heard other nobles do.

After only a couple days Julius had felt feverish and nearly returned his half-digested lunch to the guards’ feet, so a cleric of Pelor had been brought in to treat his injuries from his battle with Kerrion Stonefell. Osahn was older, close to his mother’s age, and though he’d been held with chains while she worked, she hadn’t seemed worried or hesitant about treating him. She had even talked while she tended his wounds, rambling about the cold and the snowstorm outside, and her niece whom she’d just taught how to knit.

It had brought a vaguely nostalgic feeling to his chest that had settled into a sense peace by the evening. That, however, had been echoed by resentment as he fingered the small amulet of Pelor he kept in his pocket. He’d left his past duties, the obligations he had been planning to fulfill, behind him, but there were some things he couldn’t fully let go of, not even after years on his own.

He did, however, appreciate the lack of the sickening heat creeping through his chest and leg.

During the rest of his “stay” a man and a couple woman had been brought in or taken out of the cells, never saying much, probably condemned for minor counts of stealing and such. But they hardly ever stayed for twenty-four hours – a family member always came soon enough, to pay bail and bring them home.

Overall, his stay was getting monotonous after close to a fortnight, and the lack of action had Julius pacing the cell at night, various thoughts and memories haunting his waking hours like the bats that hung in the rafters above him. Stonefell had mentioned the Briarwoods’ “plans” before knocking Julius out, and Julius couldn’t help but wonder if the man had gone to Whitestone to retrieve the couple based off how long he’d been gone.

The thought of seeing them again turned Julius’ stomach and made him pace his cell to relieve the excess energy, but the faint whisper at the back of his head was ready for action. He knew he would fight to the death if they came face-to-face again.

He looked up at the ceiling as a dripping noise made itself known – a leak that let melting snow seep through the roof of the prison. The weather had gotten colder, and the snowstorm Osahn had mentioned had become a blizzard overnight, if the guards’ conversations were to be believed. It would be a plausible reason for Stonefell’s delay, but that didn’t stop him from worrying.

Julius brought to mind the Briarwoods’ faces on a whim, then shuddered at the memory of Sylas’ cold stare, Delilah’s simpering grin, and the gentle touches they shared. Those touches, that warmth between them, parodied the memories he retained of his parents in the worst possible way. He clenched his fists, feeling antsy again, a prickling feeling running over the back of his neck and down both of his arms.

He wished he could summon his sword to go through forms, but he didn’t want to reveal that particular skill to the guards – they already didn’t trust him (because of Kerrion Stonefell’s testimony, he was sure).

Instead, he shook out his limbs and paced from one end of the cell to the other, spinning abruptly on his heel when he neared one wall or the other.

Listening to the rhythmic sound of his feet against the stone, matching it with the beating of his heart, Julius felt the worst of the tension slip away. The repetition and control over some modicum of his life was grounding.

Or, at least, it was, until a ruckus sprung up down the hall, where the guards were stationed.

“Please, if I could explain-“ a young woman’s voice echoed off the stone walls. “It’s really not what you think-“

“I know what we were told,” came Agnes’ voice, carrying the usual monotone with a hint of frustration. “Mister Behrinn told us you were breakin’ into his barn and disturbing the sheep-“

“But one of them was sick – I heard her bleating and I was only trying to-“

“Likely story,” Agnes said, “But you broke into the barn, and regardless of what you were tryin’ to do, that’s still private property. You’ll sit til someone comes to pay bail for you, or til you’ve done yer time.”

Agnes finished just as they came into view, and Julius was surprised at the woman accompanying the tall guard.

He placed her around his own age, but she seemed a bit lacking in self-confidence as she looked around the prison with wide, scared eyes. She had on sensible boots and leggings, but her skirt was sheer and her arms were mostly bare, revealing faint markings on them that appeared to be tattoos. Julius didn’t, however, see any form of fur shawl or even a cloak, and he wondered how she had stayed warm in the chilly north of Tal’dorei.

“Please, my friends don’t know where I went, and they don’t know I’m here – If you see Grog, he’s a goliath, or Pike or Scanlan – they’re gnomes, or Vax or Vex who are half-elves, but with black hair – not red like mind – or Tiberius, who’s a dragonborn…” The woman trailed off in her rambling, and dropped her gaze. “Could you- could you maybe let them know I’m here?”

“You said yer name’s Keyleth, right?” Agnes said with a sigh.

Keyleth nodded, and she looked like she was seconds away from bursting into tears.

Agnes nodded, letting go of one of Keyleth’s arms to rub the bridge of her nose.

“If I see any of them with those descriptions, I’ll let them know you’re here,” Agnes promised, patting Keyleth’s shoulder. “But I’m working, so I can’t go lookin’ for them, right? They’ll have to show up first.”

“Oh, thank you!” Keyleth exclaimed, turning toward Agnes, free arm outstretched as if to give her a hug. “Um, I mean, thank you very much,” she amended, dropping her arm and her gaze, her cheeks turning pink.

“It’s no problem,” Agnes said, taking a moment to fumble with a ring of keys until she found the one she was looking for. “Just doing my job.”

Keyleth was escorted into the cell, and Julius couldn’t help smiling at her happier expression, which seemed to practically radiate joy in contrast to her earlier despair. She was certainly different than the townsfolk who’d been locked away over the course of his stay.

“And look – I don’t think you’re too terrible a person, so keep yer head down, and you’ll be outta here soon enough,” Agnes said, nodding as she locked the door again.

“Okay!” Keyleth agreed, waving as the woman turned to head back to the front door. “Thank you, Agnes!”

Agnes chuckled, the first time Julius had heard her do so, and gave a small salute to the woman before continuing back down the hall.

Julius watched as Keyleth looked around, drying her cheeks with one hand, until her eyes fell on him and she nearly jumped backward in surprise.

“Oh! I-I didn’t realize someone else was here,” she said, eyes wide as they scanned his form. He guessed that she was trying to determine the reason for the rips in his clothing where a sword had torn through them, though his wounds were, for the most part, healed. As a whole she seemed harmless enough, if a bit on the stranger side.

“Not really anywhere else for me to go,” he said, shrugging. He glanced around the cell, at the chamber pot that was emptied twice a day and the plain bed he slept on, a threadbare blanket on top of it that kept out a minimal amount of the winter chill.

Keyleth looked taken aback at his reply, but nodded, scratching her head with her fingers and tangling them in her hair, much like Vesper did… had done, when she was nervous or deep in thought. His oldest younger sister had always had to do something with her hands while thinking, and he remembered her often worrying the fabric of her sleeve or spinning her quill between her fingers during lessons.

“I’m here because a farmer thought I was stealing his sheep,” Keyleth said, as if she were condemning herself to death.

“So I heard.”

The skin on Keyleth’s face flushed pink as she winced. “Right, you were here for that. Sorry, It’s my first time getting arrested. I-“

“It’s quite alright,” Julius interrupted, quite sure she was going to ramble on if he didn’t preempt the rest of her apology. “You were a little preoccupied, and, well, there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?”

“I suppose,” Keyleth agreed, biting her lip again and twirling her fingers through her hair some more. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth as if to say something, then shut it again. After another indecisive moment, she stuttered out: “I- um- If you don’t mind me asking, that is- Can I know- Could I know- I mean-“

Julius chuckled, and Keyleth winced again.

“Sorry…”

“You want to know why I’m in here?” Julius asked, not able to stop a grin from pulling at the corners of his lips. The young woman continued to remind him of his sister, especially during their speech classes with Professor Anders. The oldest de Rolo daughter had been rather shy at a young age (perhaps not quite as self-conscious as Keyleth), but she’d worked hard at her lessons and found a confident side of her that she exercised with impunity. “I was formally arrested for disturbing the peace.”

“And, informally?”

“I tried to kill a man, and failed.”

Julius really hoped she wouldn’t pry. Keyleth hardly looked the sort to have dealt with death or murder in her past, and Julius didn’t want to taint her view of the world because he’d been stupid. He also didn’t want to talk about his past, but that was beside the point.

When her eyes widened, he worried he’d gone too far, but she simply blinked and tilted her head, face softening.

“Does he deserve it?” she asked.

He blinked, and he felt the center of his chest constrict, an unexpected heat rising beneath his cheeks.

“He does,” Julius forced out, clearing his throat. He wondered who exactly she was, to appear both so naïve and yet so understanding of the pain the world could offer. He was beginning to suspect he had underestimated her at first glance, based on the suddenly guarded look in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice soft.

“There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“I can still be sorry that the world is shitty sometimes,” Keyleth said. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and hugged herself, seeming to finally notice the chill in the air. A look back over her shoulder revealed only a thin blanket similar to the one in Julius’ cell, and he could see her face fall as she realized the less-than meager comfort it would give her.

He watched as she picked it up, shook it out, folded it in half, and wrapped it around her shoulders like a shawl. She tried to pull it tighter and frowned again.

“Cold?” Julius asked, and Keyleth nodded.

“We- that is, my friends and I, we came up to the Umbra Hills on business, and we packed for the trip, but I left all of my warm clothes in the room because the snow had stopped before I went walking, and it wasn’t too cold, but then I heard the sheep and of course they didn’t let me stop back at the inn before coming here. I grew up in the mountains with my people, so usually I’d be fine, but even in the winter we layer clothes so we don’t get too cold.”

“Your people?” Julius asked, furrowing his brow. He tried to come up with a people who lived in the mountains. The only he could think of that lived in the Alabaster Sierras were Mountain Giants, and while he’d never seen them, he knew Keyleth was not of that particular race.

“The Ashari,” Keyleth clarified, shouldering herself and lifting her chin. “I am Keyleth of the Air Ashari.”

Julius scanned his memory for the Ashari, and remembered them mentioned in one of his history books, though there hadn’t been much information on them.

“Aren’t the Ashari rather reclusive?”

“Oh, you know us?” Keyleth asked, immediately brightening up.

Julius chuckled. “I know of them, yes,” he said, “though I’ve only heard stories. I must say, it is an honor to meet you.”

He bowed at the waist in her direction, only slightly because of the lingering pain in his ribs. She laughed and he grinned.

“You’re almost as bad as Tiberius!” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “I might be on my Aramenté, but it’s not like I’m truly of noble blood or anything.”

“Your… Aramenté?” Julius asked, the word unfamiliar on his tongue.

“Oh, yes!”

Keyleth explained about the journey she was on, about travelling across Tal’dorei and the surrounding continents to visit the other tribes of her people – three beside her own – and told him some of what she might learn from each of them. Julius, who had never had much interaction with magic users beyond the clerics of Erathis and Pelor in Whitestone, his mentor Teilo, or the occasional arcane caster, was fascinated by some of her descriptions.

He asked her some questions, she answered them and asked some of her own, and they built up a rapport of sorts – the physical distance between their cells negated by the easy flow of their words. It was, without a doubt, the most Julius had talked to a single person in years, but he was glad to find it wasn’t as awkward as he thought it might be.

When Keyleth shivered again, Julius offered her his own blanket, citing his warmer clothing and higher tolerance for the winter air as reasons for not needing it. She accepted with only a slight reservation, and Julius had the fun challenge of balling up the fabric and throwing it across the clear center area between them. He’d never been the weak one of the family, but rarely did he need to throw something – especially something so bulky. There was also the added struggle of the bars being in his way, but Julius did manage to land the bundle of cloth only a foot from Keyleth’s cell, where she was able to stretch out an arm between the bars and take hold of it.

“Thanks again,” she said, unfolding her own blanket and matching up their corners before wrapping the new double-layered shawl around her shoulders.

“It was no trouble,” Julius said, smiling. “I’m glad it’s with someone who actually needs it.”

In truth, he was feeling a bit of a chill from the air that was growing steadily cooler as the sun sank outside and the light from the skylight faded, but the company and inane conversation warmed a part of him he hadn’t realized was cold to begin with.

#julius de rolo au #a deep breath and steady hands #adbash #critical role #critfic #critical role fanfic #critical role fanfiction #julius de rolo #jdr fic #alternate universe #this got up so much later than i anticipated #also ao3 is gonna be down for six hours??? o.o #i mean #it's to fix things #but that is a long time o.o #i would tag other people here but that would be spoilers #my writing #chapter 2

20 notes · View notes