#marisha if you’re reading this

[leafspiritz]

sometimes a family is you, your scary girlfriend, her rat-bird-son, and her terrible mangled hell-hound that comes from the depths of her soul 💜

[seafleece]

Just say you lack creativity and hate player choice and move on. You’re embarrassing. It’s pathetic you can’t live without begging for controversy; nobody wants to see you mewl for attention.

i mean clearly you do

[its-your-mind]

This day is the hardest so far, because it is an entire eight-plus hours of just winding tunnel. It is a day of travel of that same ten-foot wide, continuous tunnel, and it is maddening. - c2e50

different types of people on a road trip.

[Image description: A gifset of the Mighty Nein walking through the tunnel in episode 50 of the second campaign.

Gif 1: Laura, as Jester, starts singing, “Sixty-six bottles of beer on the wall, sixty-six bottles of beer.” Marisha, as Beau, starts waving her hands and clapping to the beat, Travis leans into his hand, and Sam stares forward. All of them have deadpan expressions.

Gif 2: Everyone from the previous gif, with the same soulless expressions, sing, “Take one down, pass it around, sixty-five bottles of beer on the wall.”

Gif 3: Caleb stares forward and says, “It’s two o’clock.” Offscreen, Nott says, “Shut up.”

Gif 4: “It’s three o’clock,” Caleb says. “No,” replies Nott.

Gif 5: Fjord says, “If you’re gonna do those maybe put some chimes behind it?” Caleb later says, “Ding dong, ding dong. It’s four o’clock.”

Gif 6: Beau says, “Hey guys. I’m just saying. If we’re gonna be underground in a blank, boring, shithole tunnel for a whole ‘nother day...”

Gif 7: Beau rummages through her bag before looking back up at the rest of the group. “I still have these mushrooms left over from Mollymauk.”

Gif 8: Beau holds up her bag in offering. “Might just help make it fun!” she says with a hesitant grin.

Gif 9: Jester says, “Beau! You know what we could do.” Offscreen, Laura says “I hand her the smutty book,” and Marisha mimes receiving it, gasping and grinning when she sees what it is.

Gif 10: “Wait wait wait!” Jester says. She leans forward with a devious expression. “Read it out loud.”

Gif 11: “Okay!” says Beau with an equally devious expression before excitedly flipping the book open and leaning back to glance over the first pages.

Gif 12: Beau says, “It already starts good you guys.”

Gif 13: Beau reads, “It was a glistening night. The snow fell on the winding paths. She could feel her nipples...” She cuts off with a wide-eyed expression. “(all caps) It starts so soon (end all caps)”. End image description.]

[Plain text: This day is the hardest so far, because it is an entire eight-plus hours of just winding tunnel. It is a day of travel of that same ten-foot wide, continuous tunnel, and it is maddening. - c2e50. End plain text.]

[Image description: One last gif of Jester slowly craning her head back and groaning, “Twenty-one bottles of beer on the wall.” End image description.] (image description via @imber-florum)

[mansionofhaunts]

I think that “I can’t tell if it’s alright anymore” wasn’t Imogen implying that they’ve kissed anymore, it was her saying, “I can’t read your thoughts and know what you’re thinking about things anymore.” 

I’m sure we’ll hear an answer to this one way or another, but I think this was a surprise to both Laudna and Marisha, and if they’ve had those characters in a relationship this entire time, I feel like Laura probably would have talked to Marisha about it first. I’m guessing we’ll get some of Laudna processing what this means to her in the coming episodes (though I think she’s pretty clearly happy about it, she’d also talked about not accessing that part of her brain in a while and...well, I think we’re going to be seeing her dealing with that, one way or another). 

Also an addendum: I think it’s great that this happened! I think the story isn’t “oh, they were always together and just didn’t talk about it,” I think it’s, “oh, Imogen’s known for a while and Laudna just straight up wasn’t able to even consider it as an option until it happened”

[bixbiboom]

[ID: A tweet from Laura Bailey @.LauraBaileyVO which reads: “Happy birthday to my witchy bitch, @.Marisha_Ray!!! You’re like music, bb.” There are four pictures attached. The first is of Laura and Marisha dressed for the first Halloween episode of Critical Role. They’re dressed as characters from Rat Queens, with Laura as Hannah Vizari and Marisha as Vi Blackforge. The second photo is of Ashley, Laura and Marisha clustered together for the photo at a con. They all have their arms around each other’s back, with Laura in the middle. The third photo is of Laura and Marisha on their way to the Ren Faire, with Marisha already in her bright turquoise wig. They’re covering their mouths in exaggerated surprise as they look wide-eyed at the camera. The final photo is of Marisha standing in a golden sunset, her arms upraised to the crest of Whitestone that had been written in the sky by a sky writer, out of frame. /end ID]

[critrolestats]

Media References and Puns of 3-060 Faith or Famine

Thanks to @biorust-art​ for this art piece!

Media References

(0:00:37) Sam: …Ashley Judd classic, Double Jeopardy.

(0:01:55) Sam: Have you ever heard of Drizzt Do'urden? Well, the Humblebragger knew him when he was in high school when his name was Drizzt Goldberg.

(0:02:05) Sam: He’s got Strahd on speed dial…

(0:02:07) Sam: …and his most dangerous attack is boring you to death with a story about hanging out with Jason Mraz and Vince Vaughn’s cousin in Reno.

(0:02:31) Sam: Her legendary action is blasting Ascension Millenium by Corey Feldman until you’re incapacitated.

(0:02:51) Sam: You must beat a DC 25 Wisdom Save or be distracted by him loudly mansplaining how Dogecoin is going to change the entire ebike business. Wen Lambo, baby. (cryptocurrency)

(0:47:11) Marisha: I’ll Assassin’s Creed it and fall in the middle of the group.

(0:47:45) Emily: I have Greenpeace clipboard volunteer energy.

(1:00:29) Taliesin and Matt: *singing* Makin’ our way. (“A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton)

Read more at critrolestats.com

[blorbologist]

Two for joy: DOUBLE UPDATE! Chapters 31+32

(Liam and Marisha’s words gently stumble over eachother:)

(“You can't give up on me. On us.”)

(“Kiki, I'm not giving up. I will never give up on you.”)

(“I can see it in your eyes. You think this is it.”)

(This is it, this is it, this is it. Playing out over just over a half-dozen faces in different ways as they listen to this ominous, tender bit of roleplay. Laura scribbles notes as Sam and Taliesin check their phones, character sheets, back again. The nervous energy of Ashley and Travis. Matt’s careful neutrality, until a comment from Marisha draws a grin from him.)

(“Promise me you'll come back with me, no matter what. And we can be a - a weird family with Gilmore and the aasimars.”)

(“I promise.”)

(“Even if it doesn't happen, just - promise.” Marisha has been steady throughout the conversation, the stillness of an animal unsure death has spotted it. Makes it easy to imagine the antlers.)

(Liam shifts with the weight of what’s asked. “Well - that's an easy promise to make. I promise.”)

(It’s transparent bait for something to go wrong. You know it goes wrong. This is it - but really, it’s not.)

(It’s only the beginning of the end.)

--

Vax has about a minute, maybe two, of forewarning. And this because Vex’ahlia looks oddly relieved, for someone about to venture onto another plane and confront the woman who killed her.

He’s still mulling it over when Percy joins Vox Machina for breakfast. Beneath that omnipresent fancy coat of his are the ribs of holsters, the worn leather travel boots he’d bought in Westrunn. Cabal’s Ruin ripples behind him as he sits, and he sets Bad News beside Fenthras.

“Holy shit.” Keyleth’s eyes widen. She quickly brings a hand to cover her mouth full of toast. “Percy?”

“I’m coming with you,” he says, clearly well-rehearsed. “Delilah has officially killed my entire family - if only two did not stay dead. She’s an active threat to Whitestone, and this Vecna she answers to threatens the whole world.” Percy shrugs. “If I do not act, she will attack us on her own time. It’s my responsibility to get rid of the bitch before that happens.”

“Oy, hold your horses.” Vax tenses as Scanlan uses the table to draw himself up. He almost looks intimidating - presumably had practice with it, what with the Meat Man shtick. “Bold to assume you’re welcome, Percy. After how you left us? You think you can just, what - come waltzing back into Vox Machina like that?”

“I’d hope,” Percy says, stilted, “that the potential end of the -”

Scanlan’s severe expression breaks into a grin. “Nah, I was just messing with you.” He throws a fork at Percy - caught one-handed, to his delight. “Do you guys serve vegan breakfasts, here? I’m on a diet.”

“Asshole.” Percy can’t quite scowl with Vex kissing his cheek.

[One for sorrow] [Ch1] [Keep reading on AO3]

[mysticalspiders]

Travis Willingham is reading Dracula Daily?

Travis when Matt describes the switchback road of the ravine during the Deathwish run: “These are the roads that lead to Dracula's castle, and you're like, this is really upsetting.” (c3e28)

Travis when Matt describes boxes stamped with Treshi “He’s a vampire.” (c3e32)

Travis when Marisha describes Launda crawling up the fortress: “Like wife of Dracula in Bram Stoker’s” (proceeds to demonstrate Lizard Fashion) (c3e33)

Obviously this doesn’t necessarily mean that Travis is reading Dracula Daily right now but these are such specific details that I have to assume that he has at least read the book! (Which also totally aligns with Travis wanting to read all the werewolf books.)

But Dracula coming up three times in the last couple of months in the year of Dracula Daily?! Why else would Dracula be so front of mind?? Maybe he’s rereading the book through Dracula Daily and thats why there has been so many references!

[nightphlox]

Hi! I think your writing is absolutely wonderful and I’ve really enjoyed everything you’ve written for Imodna so far. I’m really excited that you’re considering writing more for them!

As far as prompts go, you can never go wrong with possessive/protective Imogen giving Laudna some much needed love after everything that has been happening with Delilah lately. I don’t know if you watched 4SD last night but Marisha was talking about how she felt like Laudna always has to make a conscious effort to control herself and keep Delilah in check so it might be nice to see her getting to kind of give up some of that control in a safe space?

Also Imogen doesn’t know much about what happened that night in Whitestone when Laudna ran away and I think it would be interesting to see how she reacts to finding out that Laudna was in such a dark place that she turned to her murderer for comfort. She might feel some type of way about Delilah manipulates Laudna and how Laudna kind of surrendered a bit of that control to her.

Sorry, this just turned into a long tangent! Absolutely no pressure to go in this direction, and I can’t wait to read more from you. Thanks!

Really great food for thought here that I'll chew on, thank you!!

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Hello!!!! I’ve been following you for ages and I know that you’re a big CritRole fan. I’ve never really been able to get into it, cuz the thought of going back and watching it all from scratch is supremely intimidating. However. I finished all of EXU Calamity in a weekend (and lost my entire fucking mind) and I’m really enjoying TLOVM show. Do you have any tips for watching any parts of C1, C2, or C3 in addition to that? Or would it be smarter to wait for C4 to start and go fresh from there?

Hello dear, lovely to hear from you. I hope you're doing well.

Critical Role is very intimidating to get into. I was fortunate that I got into it early on, roughly a year after they started filming, so it didn't take me as long to catch up. Anyone trying to get into it now is going to feel daunted, that's for sure. Unfortunately, D&D sessions do tend to run long, I know my group's average is 4 hours and we used to run for up to six when we had more open schedules.

Calamity is a fantastic place for any newbie to start. There are other oneshots and mini-campaigns they've done too, like Taliesin's eldtrich horror mini campaign, the Undeadwood campaign, and Marisha's Honey Heist and its sequel. Calamity introduces you to the world and is just. brilliant improv storytelling from all the players. but it's only six episodes for the complete story. So if anyone reading this ask wants to bite into a good tragedy and wants to know what the whole TTRPG craze is about, Calamity is a great one.

When it comes to the full campaigns... you kind of have to resign yourself to the fact that it'll take a while. Campaign four won't start for another year or two, and so you can wait until then, but that is a bit of time to hold out.

I would personally recommend you listen to campaign one. Campaign two seems to be the favorite for the majority of fans, but since you've already watched TLOVM, which is based on campaign one, that'll give you some background info and a baseline to help you get into the swing of things. The first few episodes will be a bit rough, since the cast is getting used to being filmed in a studio rather than hanging in a living room, but you'll be surprised by how fast you latch onto the characters.

Additionally, I think it's just fun to watch the cast journey from being in a spare room at the Geek & Sundry studios, to their own studio, slowly decorating that studio, then moving to a bigger studio, which is where they'll stay for campaign two. it's just nice, in my opinion, to see those little details as the show grows in real-time.

My friend recommends listening at 1.25 speed, and sometimes she speeds up the combat to 1.5 speed. You can also listen rather than watch, as some of my friends have done, so you can listen (either just put the video on and don't look, or they have created podcast versions of the episodes - nothing changed in content, just made it into an audio file to download) while doing other things like folding laundry. I prefer watching, to see facial expressions and nonverbal reactions, but given that this is a popular option among my friends, I don't think you'll miss anything too vital. And you can always supplement with YouTube compilation videos of reactions and favorite moments!

I can also say that it'll go faster than you think it will. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can blow through a few episodes.

So, yes, either wait a year or two, or resign yourself for a commitment, unfortunately that's kinda how it goes. You can't really skip episodes or only do "highlight" episodes since so much happens in each one, you can miss a lot of context. If that still intimidates you I'd really recommend diving into the other mini campaigns and oneshots they've done like Honey Heist, Undeadwood, etc.

Also, if you liked Calamity, then I recommend Dimension 20. Brennan Lee Mulligan is the game master for that crew, just as he was in Calamity, and their campaigns are a lot shorter. So that can also help you get into the TTRPG show groove. Their campaigns tend to run 15-20 episodes and the mini campaigns are around 6.

Again if you are going to dive into a full CR campaign I recommend the first campaign with Vox Machina since you already know the characters and a lot of the plot arcs - and it's fun to watch TLOVM when you've seen campaign one, since you can see how it's a truncated "this is the legend" version while the CR campaign is "now here's what really happened with these dumbasses." But campaign two is the more popular campaign so there's nothing wrong with starting there.

I hope that all this has been helpful! Good luck on your CR/TTRPG show journey!

[intergalacticwanderer]

Thinking about some Parallels in regards to Molly and Laudna (plus the cast freaking out about just how dangerous they might be)

(transcript under cut)

CR2 Episode 27

LIAM: What are we going to do first? The man crawled out of a grave once, if he's to be believed.

MARISHA: Who the fuck is Lucien?

LIAM: He's done it once, maybe he will do it again. Do we stay here, do we try to find, I don't-- I've read of miracles.

CR3 Episode 34

LAURA: The only thing I know, and it's a horrible thing to think, is that Laudna's come back before. But I don't want to say Orym if it means that Laudna's gone forever.

[...]

TRAVIS: Fearne. Fearne. Laudna's been dead before. Maybe something could happen. Orym is just living and breathing like everybody else. If you want to make a decision, that might sway it, or flip the coin and let fate have it.

CR2 Episode 114

TRAVIS: What did you do? What did you make, and then you let it die?

TALIESIN: Wait, what? (laughter)

LIAM: You're Taliesin!

MARISHA: True, you made a nuke, and then you died, and you left the nuke in the middle of a field somewhere.

CR3 Episode 34

MATT: So as you complete the ritual, you focus on her body, her corpse, her essence, whatever earthly connection still remains with the currently absconded spirit that you know as Laudna. You complete the ritual, and there is a flash of vibrant, warm, orangish light around it. None of you pick it up, but you do, a weird sense that the spell definitely headed something off at the pass.

LAURA: Oh shit.

[...]

ASHLEY: Wait, he said what?

TRAVIS: Oh no! We're just fucking around with all sorts of atom bombs. Oh man.

[elliesgaymachete]

Quick analysis about the likelihood of each character making it out alive. Feel free to ignore or not read, it’s just ideas that have been kicking around in my head since Thursday.

The facts are these:

FCG has one (1) spell slot left for Revivify

Fearne and Orym I think have only been dead for one round? Maybe fearne 1 and Orym 2. I’m not sure exactly but basically it hasn’t been long at all

Laudna is down 2 death saving throws BUT she has a 25% chance of coming back up at 1 hp

Fearne has multiple 3rd level slots left (someone else on here did an analysis of the exact number) and as a wildfire druid she always has Revivify prepared

They have multiple diamonds. I don’t know exactly How many but I want to say at least 2-3

Also the cast has had a whole week to talk and strategize and figure out who has what resources and what they need to do

Based on all of this there are A LOT of likely outcomes, a lot of which have multiple people surviving.

One character at a time, let’s start with Fearne. Fearne has a pretty good chance of making it out alive because, if they’re banking on her to revive any other players, it makes the most strategic sense. She hasn’t been down very long and it shouldn’t take more than two or three rounds to get to her (she was a little off the map but not too far). And her coming back will either depend on the dice roll, or maybe Matt will forgo that rule like he did on occasion in c2, we’ll see. But basically, Fearne will probably be the first Revivify target and everyone else’s odds of surviving are dependent on that.

Next, Laudna. Girl has a 25% chance of popping back up at 1 HP again and when you’re counting on Delilah Briarwood and the lengths people will go for the ones they love, those are some pretty good odds. She also has a 25% chance of not dying but just staying unconscious. If that happens, I believe Laudna is between FCG and Fearne, so they could pop a quick spare the dying into her while he’s on the way and she will be fine. If that doesn’t work and she does die before anything else can help or stabilize her, then she’s pretty dependent on both Fearne coming back to life AND them having at least 3 diamonds (my guess is that Fearne would try to save Orym first because she’s known him longer and he’s been dead longer and he’s physically closer to her). Still, despite all that, there’s a lot gunning for Laudna so I think she might have the highest chance of survival of the three of them

Lastly, my boy Orym. Sadly, I think he may have the lowest chance of survival just because he has been dead the longest. Let’s overestimate just in case, but if he’s been dead 2 rounds, and it takes 3 rounds for FCG to get to Fearne, and Fearne 3 rounds to get to Orym (she would have to get up from prone so half movement one round), then she would get to him about round 8 of him being dead, cutting it pretty close. Again, I am overestimating, so hopefully in game it would be a lot quicker than that, or Matt will be a little more loosey goosey with the rules. But Orym’s survival is entirely dependent on both a successful revivify for both Fearne AND himself. Still good odds, just lower than the others

Finally, Matt said he always talks to the players to see what they want. Based on the last 4 sided dive where Ashley said there’s still so much left to explore, it doesn’t feel like she’s ready to let go of Fearne yet. Plus the fact that she was in and out for both campaigns 1 and 2, Fearne was her first chance to fully explore a character for the entirety of a campaign, I don’t know if she would want to let that go.

I feel like Marisha is invested in Delilah’s game and wants to see where that goes, but also since Laudna’s life was so filled with tragedy and she still thinks her life is over and her only purpose is to help Imogen have the life she never could, it would be such a tragic story for her to die now. But I could also see her be like “let’s let the fates decide and put it in Delilah’s hands I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯”. She’s really kind of a wildcard

Liam might be the most ok with letting go of his character. His last words felt very final, and he did take Matt up on the offer and cheat death quite a bit as Vax so he also might be curious what it’s like to start anew. He’ll probably wait for the dice to decide but accept whatever happens

Anyway I’m not trying to assume what the cast wants or thinks this is just my own personal speculation of what could happen! It’s my way of coping with not knowing the outcome until Thursday lol

[righteouscookiedough]

C2E8 Reactions

so after @mysticalspiders got me to start campaign three with her she politely suggested i may appreciate the pirate arc of campaign two. so i started watching the campaign a couple months ago. and boy am i IN IT now!!

let us begin:

That was a quality sam ad. A little too much mayonnaise perhaps.

AHHHHH ITS THE BABY ANNOUNCEMENT

Dont be shy baby it’s okay!!!

“What a good idea sam!! No!!”

“Maybe he was the traveller! Maybe I’m the traveller?”

Oh Caleb you poor tortured man

“We have a ring with a little blue gem—“ “can I have it? I like rings” *wiggles fingers*

Pub crawl!!

“You dont narrate taking a pooper but you assume your character takes a pooper once a day”

Yeahhhh first items!!!

“If you’re feeling gassy, they take away the cramps you feel” Liam is really focused on bowel movements tonight I hope he’s ok

I love the brjeaus

“You’re all intoxicated” “Not me cause I drink milk”

The wand of smiles omg

“Thank you for saving my life, Fjord,” “well, you would have done the same for me,” “yes I probably would have. Probably”

Laura Bailey miming opening and sniffing a jar of ‘pickled’ ears is everything to me

“I have this cat named Frumpkin and I wear him like a scarf”

Travis is allergic to cats check

“Im going to draw the CUTEST baby manticore you’ve ever seen! AND IT’S DEAD!”

Ooooh who is demedan

Travis is BLATANTLY reading over marisha’s shoulder

Fjord is… studying the locals… interesting

Bryce!! Yeahhhhh!!!

THE MIGHTY NEINNNNNN

“…and does not smell of blood and feces” “yet.”

THE RUBY OF THE SEA SAYS HELLO

“She’s mostly known for her hmm-hmm-hmm” “she has SEX for MONEY”

THE RUBY OF THE SEA IS THE… BEST LAY EVER “it sounds better in infernal”

This is very bells hells of jester to just say everything from her backstory

“I’m a goblin” sam riegal you big fat liar

Oh my god its marisha’s broken rib sneeze

“Do you know a birthday song too?” “No.”

Ooooh date drop

Back on the road againnnn

BREAK

Marisha stay frosty

“GOOD TO SEE YOU GENTLEMEN”

They are sad we’re headed for initiative but happy that there are NEIN antagonists

“We all have EXTREME syphilis” good one Caleb

OH NO THAT’S WHERE WE GOT OUT SYPHILIS FROM

Oh my god this is terrible

“Dirty.. poor… missing teeth… they look like Caleb”

Matt playing eight teenage dirtbags at once is so funny

“Sorry, I caught one of them”

“I put my hands up and try to cover his blood holes”

WHAT an encounter damn

OH YEAH NOTT GOT HORSES

Of fucking course sam riegal names horses Loo, John, Crapper, and Toilet

Jester leaving a horse with clothes on the side of the road is such anti imogen energy

Caleb what the FUCK is up with you

Dont worry this party has reeeaaaallllllly high perception

Oooh abandoned graveyard I hope nothing bad happens

Nope just stinky Caleb

“The dwendalian empire kind of sucks, you guys”

The gates of zadash!!!! Its the titular role!!!

This Ulysses guy has BIG even hytroga vibes

“What is a watch?” “Like a clockenticken”

YEAH NAT20 INSIGHT CHECK

Chain whispers. Also known as high stakes telephone

MONORAIL AYYYYYYEEEE

Any place with pulp fiction and shitty smut *insight checks*

Firbolg!!

The firbolg is de-stinkifying Caleb!!!!

OH MY GOD ITS PUMAT SOL

HOW DID I NOT KNOW PUMAT SOL WAS A FIRBOLG

Enchanter Pumat Sol I love you

Pink backpack!!!! It’s pink!!!!!!

“He is instantly at the top” - Travis about Pumat Sol. He is right.

And thats all!!!

[throwaway890775]

(note: this post is being made at 7/23/2022 and is based solely off of available and public knowledge at time of writing. if you’re from the future reading this and the contents are disproven, then move on, this isnt for you.)

“if you think of imogen and laudna as lesbians you’re biphobic!!!” no, if you refuse to consider the option that laudna and imogen may be bisexual and look down or vilify other real life people for interpreting imogen and laudna as bi, then you’re biphobic.

at the moment, neither of them are confirmed, hard core, from word of god, that they are bisexual (or lesbian, being fair! or ace! or whatever else!) a bisexual reading of these characters is completely and wholly valid, however, and if that’s your personal stance then you have every right to it.

“but laudna had a crush on whitestone andy!” valid! did you know that past crushes on a man because that’s the most “normal” thing to do, or misinterpreting intense feelings of friendship for a boy as “oh obviously this is a crush right?” at a young age is one of The most common experiences of lesbians? even ace people? and that does not disqualify a lesbian (or asexual person!) from being that identity? “but she was thirsty for lord eshteross and the shadow baker” or that was laudna being dramatic and marisha leaning into all of it for the sheer comedy of it all. 

“but imogen was in love with samuel!” nope, sam contributed to the “love of your life” inside joke/gag they seem to have. laura/imogen never said a word about love, just past interest. “but imogen had a thing for dorian!” no? the most she ever did was pull him into a scandalous sex cover for the whole murder of danas situation, which makes sense, as both imogen and dorian have high charisma and would be more likely to pass persuasion checks. 

stop shaming lesbians and ace people for projecting onto a fictional relationship in their own spaces.

[captainsspnanon]

C2E61 - Agreements - rewatch

Holy fucking shit am I actually heading back into my C2 rewatch????

I’d say ‘I have no excuse’, but this is a fun watch for me, and I needed a break from it, so excuses aren’t even a thing that’s needed!

Oh god travis the high pitched voice whyyyyyyyyy

also I recognize Liam’s hoodie, this is when he had the shoulder surgery, and Marisha grabs his shoulder then gives him money for failing a bet.

OKAY well now I KNOW it’s been too long since my rewatch.  The shot when to Sam for the ad bit, and I was very confused momentarily that he wasn’t all the way on the left of top table.

How did I entirely forget about Sam’s retribution-roast of Liam and Ashley (and also Sam)?????  This is so funny I literally had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.  AND I JUST FORGOT THAT IT HAD EXISTED.

Marisha was pretty smooth in how she had Beau bring up scrying as a possibility for the fabric swatch without feeling meta-gamey.  It makes sense with Beau’s background that she would have read about the possibilities of scrying.  There’s been instances in all the campaigns where there’s a bit of the meta-knowledge at this level, sometimes the players are good about integrating it (such as here), other times it’s very much “hey remember that spell that SOMEONE used all the time last campaign?” which, you know, VALID, but also pulls you out of the immersion.   I’m trying to think of who I would rank best to worst about it, but I honestly don’t think I can?  I can think of examples of all of them doing it well AND doing it ‘poorly’. (For the record, there are very very few instances that I actually care about in terms of metagaming bothering me.  It happens once in a blue moon, but usually I am completely fine with dismissing any concerns regarding it.)

Torog – the Crawling King.  I don’t remember if we actually ended up getting anywhere with this plot point.  Did the dude (Vence? I can’t remember his name of the top of my head) think that he was helping Torog when he was actually helping Tharizdun under the cult of the Angel of Irons?  TO THE WIKI.   Okay okay okay, so he’s the dude where the Laughing Hand comes from, okay.  And he’s the reason for the King’s Cage and all that stuff…. Researching into Vence (I did get the name right, yay!) doesn’t provide much fruitful info. He’s reading all about Torog, but involved in the Angel of Irons cult which is technically for Tharizdun, but no clear clarification on who he thought it was for.  So I’m gonna go ahead and assume that Vence DID want to raise Torog again, which holy fucking shit bad enough, but got Tharizdun instead.  Well….maybe he was just confused by the cult stuff and thought he  WAS worshiping the Angel of Irons, but needed the Laughing Hand for it which he knew was with the Torog stuff………….my brain hurts

I feel like this is the first time that Beau mentions that she ascribes to the Knowing Mistress.  *checks transcripts*  First time she told the party, at least.  She also looked for a symbol of Ioun when they were at the merrow cave, and then prayed to Ioun outside Assarius when the Roc flew over.  I remember on Talks she mentioned that Beau had done it more as of a ‘well it can’t hurt’ type of thing.  I wonder if this is the same, offhandedly mentioned your religion when you’re not really observant or anything at all but it’s still a definition of you technically, or if maybe Marisha was considering doing more with Beau’s relationship with the gods.    I feel like Marisha would have a very interesting take on a cleric or paladin which would be fun to see.  However, not entirely sure if that’s within her comfort zone.  (which, if true, I GET.  I’m interesting in playing a cleric KIND OF but then also just not with the RP aspect of it. Maybe eventually.  Right now, I’ll stick with my Magical Girl TM circle of stars druid)

Oh Yasha.  My feels. Also, the moment where Beau backs off of actively pursuing/having interest.  

Whenever Caduceus leans towards a lie it’s always a bit disconcerting.  He’s the one who initiates making the ‘armor’ the giants used look banged up like they’d fought.  Feels more like a Taliesin thought than a Cad thought.  But I suppose that’s one of the more complicated parts of Caduceus, is his relationship with honesty and the truth, as well as his interactions with deception and lies.  He’s certainly comfortable the majority of the time with the Nein telling either abbreviated, edited, or just completely inaccurate versions of the truth.  To quote him himself, it’s rare that he “dip[s his] toe into the world of deceit” as his first intent.

YUP THERE IT IS oh the instant realization from Marisha and the grimace from Liam.  Very sucky situation all around, but everyone knows no harm was meant, so I can watch it years later and laugh.

Seeming!!!  I’ll be honest, this is a spell that I really had no clue why Caleb took it.  After the wrap up, I can understand, but it still seems a bit out of place.  Or rather, the fact that he has it prepared frequently seems out of place.  No complaints though, the Seeming shenanigans have been consistently funny!

LOL at Marisha desperately hoping that Matt actually has a copy of the letter and then Matt laughing at her that she gets to make it up.

BEAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU even more feeeeels.  Also lol there’s the religious aspect that I was just talking about earlier.  But Beau wanting to feel special in some way, even though she doesn’t have a god taking a personal interest in her, or magical powers, or anything like that.  I find it truly so fascinating how Marisha took two very different concepts of ‘special’ for her PCs.  Keyleth is so truly on a destined path that it haunts her with every step she takes, whereas Beau is so far from some clearly defined ‘destined path’ that she feels left behind or abandoned (by the gods, destiny, what have you, as well as by her father quite literally).  Both of them work so hard to determine who they are and what that means to them, with such opposing viewpoints and plot narratives.  (without going into detail for those who have not seen, even her C3 PC has a new take on the concept of special and what it means to the PC, with even more different viewpoints and plot narratives.)

I forgot the Gentleman had more work for them.  Checked out the wiki, looks like they never do it or maybe even find out what it is.  I wonder if Matt would have had it tie into the Angel of Irons cult or another narrative plot they had, or if it just would have been a random make gold sidequest.  Oh, undiscovered story, you are so enticing.

The Gold Chain Mercenary Company.  Once again, another tantalizing aspect of Wildemount that we NEVER GET AROUND TO.  EVER.  (as much as I joke, I actually really enjoy these small name drops and ideas.  It keeps the world fleshed out and breathing, while at the same time NOT acting like a video game where you have to go explore everything in order to complete A, B, and C.)

(and if they never come up again, I propose they got the name because every hired mercenary has a gold chained pocket watch that they carry around all dapper across the chest)

Still weird hearing Matt have the Wildmother answer Caduceus directly instead of with breezes and temperatures.  XD

Fjord loses his powers and the next few minutes are just the table making a variety of gasping noises I LOVE IT

We’ll see if I succeed in actually paying attention consistently, but just from this moment, it does feel like there is a very clear differentiation between Texan!Fjord and British!Fjord.  Hindsight, I remember late campaign Fjord seeming a different character than early campaign Fjord, though I attributed it to just the accent change (and the unconscious biases held towards the two types of accents).  Plus, you know, normal character growth throughout the campaign.  Fjord becomes much more open with the Nein after abandoning his patron, after all. It’s a very deliberate change.  But I’m going to try to keep an eye on it more this time around, see how much actually is impacted.

OMG Fjord hiding his sword under the bed!!  I shouldn’t be laughing at the probable internalized shame and desire to keep things secret and hidden, but it’s also funny.

Liam trying to text Yasha instead of Ashley is ADORABLE.

It’s interesting to watch Travis for all of this bit.  He’s usually the hype man, super invested in others scenes, and I’d say Travis is 50/50 about staying in character versus breaking.  But from basically the opening of the episode, he’s been down, contemplative, withdrawn.  There’s a decent chance that it’s Travis worrying about what he’ll do, but it FEELS like he’s just staying in character as Fjord freaking out.  And you know me, I love that shit!

(LOL and just a few minutes later Travis is back to his usually reactionary self. Luckily, I love it too!)

The Nein and their poor persuasion rolls.  T.T

To be fair to them, it actually works quite well narratively.  Waccoh fully had made a complete deal with them before, and they kept trying to change it after.  For her to deny their requests makes complete sense within the story.  Plus, unlimited access to the library?  For, not only a HUMAN, but an obvious Zemnian?  And a known magic user????  I feel even if they’d made the highest persuasion roll possible it would still be a no, but for a more limited access.

Maruo, not to be confused with Marwa (also not spelled Mauro like I was spelling it before WHICH MAKES MORE SENSE HONESTLY).  Also, I like that she only starts flirting with Fjord after he compliments her shop.  Can’t even put a reason to why, just something about it feels realistic.

This Yasha/Fjord interaction on the way to Wursh’s is FASCINATING to me.  I don’t know why it’s hitting so much, but something about this stilted awkwardness and multiple levels of deception….for some reason it really struck me in this moment that this is the same best buddies from C1, and that this group is full of phenomenal actors.  (also Yasha’s accent.  I haven’t given Ashley much credit for it throughout my recaps, but it really IS good, it remains subtle but present the entire time, and is a voice that just lends so much weight to the character.)

Travis really did make the choice to play Fjord as relatively understated.  His relief and happiness at his powers coming back is visible, but if you’re unaware of the reason there’s no chance you could speculate why. And Travis really ties it with small facial expressions and just a bit of relief and giddiness in his voice.  Now in comparison, I can say that I really love seeing him play a more steady type of PC (and honestly SUCH a perfect fit for C2).  With Grog and C3 (blah I still don’t know how much I’m refraining from putting C3 stuff in the posts or not), his PCs are much more exaggerated in their speech and interactions.  Not less TRUE, both of them have such honesty to them that it never feels like mugging at the table, but just so more more presentory than Fjord.

Moments where Fjord is open and honest are so genuinely touching and really do tie into the overarching character growth of Fjord overcoming toxic masculinity (an interpretation that I’ve read several times and truly agree with.  I doubt Travis started out deciding that’s how Fjord was going to work, but it’s a beautiful acceptance of himself and what masculinity and identity means to him and so that’s what we got).

XHORHOUSE XHORHOUSE XHORHOUSE (also I personally prefer the Xhorhaus spelling, but Xhorhouse was confirmed via the animated special so OKAY)

Fun fact!  Towards the end of the campaign, I had thought that Matt had changed Essek’s accent and was mildly bothered by it.  Now rewatching, nope.  I was just being an idiot, it’s totally the same accent.

And now we have the famous Essek float!  Made up solely because the group could NOT let go of it, and so Matt changed his original answer of having it be just a very smooth walk.  Very cool, and very cool of Matt to just lean in and go ‘yeah fuck it he floats’

“Hug my wife, bitch.”

So begins the rebirth of Essek Thelyss – from The Shadowhand, to the eventual member of The Might Nein, all because of a hug.  Not bad for a 24 persuasion roll.

[nicos-robin]

Tag 9 People You Want To Get To Know Better!

thank you @iam-jacks-redacted-information for the tag!! it's been a minute since i've done one of these so i'm excited !!

First Ship: oh lord. um. so probably usagi/mamoru from sailor moon, but the first time i "remember" consciously shipping something, to like the point where i was engaging in the fandom for it, was tadamu from shugo chara! and it was my first taste of "ah, so this is what it's like to ship something that isn't endgame." it was also a terribly embarrassing time of my life that i will never let myself live down.

Three Ships: hmm... here's some ships i'm currently shipping

imodna(sp?) i haven't really been keeping up with cr3, but i've been popping in from time to time and i do really love the dynamic that marisha and laura have got going on with laudna & imogen. also, sapphic ships for the win!

zorobin (sp?) and lowkey zoro/perona and robin/franky. one piece is my current hyperfocus and robin/zoro/franky are my blorbos so it's just kinda natural i'd gravitate towards shipping them. i lowkey started shipping zoro/sanji at the end of the thriller bark arc, but as of right now (fishman island) i'm leaning more towards the ships i originally listed. that could change by the time i'm caught up tho!!

twiyor. uwu. i fucking love spyxfamily so much, it is my jam and twiyor are the long, slow burn i've been looking forward to for a long time!! i'm super curious to see how long it'll be till one of them finds out about the others identity!!

Last Song: i've had all of uta's songs from one piece red on repeat for the last few days, outside of that it'd be no horse in this race by my good friend zane thomas. it's a beautiful song about depression/suicide, especially in the comedy industry, as well as creating for the sake of creation. any song from his ep is amazing but i've really been listening to that one recently!

Last Movie: the grinch who stole christmas jim carrey version. although technically i just watched my neighbor totoro and spirited away at work but i don't really count that.

Currently Reading: well i just finished roman holiday from rwby, which was REALLY good, so now i'm debating reading kakashi's story or ace's story. i'm also going to be re-reading spyxfamily here soon !!

Currently Consuming: the last few sips of my rockstar limon pepino energy drink. i promised myself i'd be better about drinking energy drinks but the caffeine helps me feel more balanced when im off my meds.

Currently Craving: red bean covered dango. i had it for new years and it's so fucking good and i could eat dozens of it.

okay. tagging peeps. let's see @eriklehnsherrr @neeshabun @questionablecryptids @tablednacl @thegreatbaerri @katia-dreamer @chasmophilia @dnd-n-tea @i-phoenix

Tag, you’re it!