#specifically caduceus being the one to bring Molly back

[six-improbable-things]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Sometimes the dice tell a better story than anyone ever could if they were trying.

[aeoris4lovers]

thoughts on verin getting to know the mighty nein:

fjord: voted most likely to be verin's crush. each of them thinks the other is way cooler than them and sometimes it just makes them really awkward around each other but once they get comfortable they're just very loud about Look At My Badass Friend. they fall into the habit of shooting each other "can you believe this" looks when the others start making ridiculous plans, as if they don't also love the chaos. verin is committed to being fjord's personal hype man, and he takes his job very seriously.

beau: at first, beau mostly just thinks verin is kind of annoying (though funny to watch when he annoys the shit out of essek), but he turns out to be a good workout buddy and is more than willing to get wrapped up in her and fjord's shenanigans. the first time they really hit it off is when beau is connecting the dots on her latest mystery of choice and verin jumps in to start bouncing off of her ideas, and everyone else just watches in awe as they frantically unravel it together.

caleb: verin is not immune to the urge to manhandle the resident scrawny wizard, and is even less so after finding out he's the one essek is in love with. he plays the part of the "if you ever hurt him i will make you pay" brother for a while (mostly because he thinks it's funny and it annoys essek) but ultimately, he becomes like a brother to caleb too. also, he's obsessed with any and every cat that caleb brings his way. bring him a particularly small cat and he will shed a tear.

veth: verin thinks veth is hilarious, but he's also a bit terrified of her (which absolutely goes to her head). he does, however, prove to be fantastic with luc, and the presents he brings for luc start being accompanied by particularly nice trinkets he thought she would like. sometimes veth teases fjord talking about how strong verin is, which immediately makes verin blush every time.

jester: these two together are literal sunshine. they bring out each other's excitement and absolutely light up a room once they set each other off. if you see them whispering to each other, expect the unexpected, because they might be planning the prank of the century but they also might just be planning on surprising everyone with baked goods. (sometimes both. usually both.) essek fears seeing them in a room together because it exponentially increases his chances of getting hug-attacked.

kingsley: kingsley flirts with verin constantly and verin is adorably confused by it, which only makes it more appealing for kingsley. verin thinks it's really cool that kingsley is an actual pirate, and kingsley absolutely eats up the attention and awe. they sometimes gossip together, and kingsley manages to bring out a catty side of verin that essek didn't even know existed.

caduceus: while verin was the odd one out among his generally serious family, he fits right in with the chaos of the clay family. he easily falls back into the role of "lovingly shitty little brother," so much so that caduceus' own annoying brother side tends to come out while they're together. unsurprisingly, caduceus is also the only one able to get verin to talk about all the things he tries to pretend aren't weighing him down.

yasha: beefy blonde besties, classic introvert-extravert pair, and mlm/wlw solidarity at its finest. it's not uncommon to find the two of them staying up late talking about anything that comes to mind. verin is no less convinced of yasha's ability to send magical messages than yasha herself is. when her wings are out, he begs her relentlessly for a ride until she gives in. he has a certain brightness to his personality that yasha didn't want to admit she missed when molly became kingsley.

bonus:

astrid: verin is, respectfully, absolutely terrified of astrid. not just because she used to be an assassin for the other side of the war he was trained to fight – he gets over that part quickly enough, he just thinks she specifically is intimidating, and she regularly leans into it just to amuse herself. eventually, he works up the confidence to start trying to retaliate and fuck with her; he's not often successful, but it's a fun game and they're both irrationally competitive about it.

eadwulf: tied for most likely to be verin's crush. verin also thinks he's intimidating, but more in the "if you put a knife to my throat i might just have to make out with you" way than in the "if you put a knife to my throat i would say my goodbyes and accept my fate" way. eadwulf is particularly hard to get a real laugh out of, but verin gets good enough at it over time that even caleb is impressed. very rarely, verin even manages to get a snort-laugh out of him, which caleb never lets him live down.

[utilitycaster]

You mentioned your opinion of jester changed a lot throughout campaign 2. Do you mind explaining how and why that happened?

Not at all!

I think I put this thought about Jester in my tags on my post about Orym being the “wet blanket” archetype. It’s my opinion that every D&D party needs if not a wet blanket per se, a pragmatic person who is willing to bring up the difficult or dull perspective; and they need a doer, a person who drives the story forward in a believable way. I love doers, and Jester’s story is that of becoming one.

I’m not a big fan of chaos. It doesn’t mean I dislike chaotically aligned characters or that I dislike wacky shenanigans but sometimes they can feel really artificial and forced, in a “uh don’t you have shit to do?” kind of way, especially in a not-explicitly-comedy show like CR; a lot of memes online about D&D leave me, a DM and a die-hard “doer” both in D&D and IRL, absolutely cold because it’s like no actually I don’t want to court chaos, I want to let the dice lay out the chaos for me. I want a good plan that goes awry because of weird rolls, not a plan that was always designed to be ridiculous.

So, unsurprisingly, early Jester, who was very much about chaos for its own sake (even if her reasons for that were valid), who was very sheltered and pampered, very innocently inconsiderate of people around her, and who had a fairly vague goal in mind, was less interesting to me than the more pragmatic Caleb, Fjord, and Beau, or the more clearly goal-oriented Nott, even though everyone in the party engaged in some degree of chaos. By the end, though, Jester was one of the people pushing the party forward and that was a huge factor (as was the incredibly well-acted portrayal of how she got there).

I think the first step towards me liking her more was the first job the group did for the Gentleman in Siff Duthar’s study; that was the point where I feel the Nein truly gelled as a party such that even if there were members I wasn’t as invested in, I still cared about them in the context of the group. For Jester, specifically, after that, it was also her facade slowly crumbling over time. I think her actions caring for the drunk group in Hupperdook and her relationship with Kiri were a strong start, and then obviously the aftermath of the Iron Shepherds affected her - and for that matter Fjord - very deeply. Both of their slow, weird, messy breakdowns over the entire pirates arc, in Jester’s case punctuated by The Gentleman’s dismissal of her, culminating in the aftermath of the dragon fight, pushed her a little more to the forefront in my mind.

I don’t have strong thoughts on the Xhorhas arc (an arc I honestly need to revisit) but Jester’s response to Yasha being taken and her quiet internal growth, her tentative forays into letting the mask slip and expressing negative emotions, and her deliberate attempts to act more mature all made me like her much more throughout the entire Angel of Irons arc, even though one could argue she still was pretty chaotic (see: the downtime in Rexxentrum episode).

The post-hiatus arcs, though, are what made her one of my favorites by the end. I loved her during the entire Artagan reveal/Rumblecusp arc, in which she had to grapple with leadership and immense responsibility. Jester was defined throughout the campaign by a deep love for and loyalty towards her friends, but as a result even her starring moments were often as support (something something utility casters); the cupcake moment was ultimately for Veth. With Rumblecusp she had to deal with betrayal (she never saw Yasha’s departure in that light, even though it was a valid reading) and external expectations far harsher than those of the Nein or her mother, and even the much smaller but still very real experience of having someone just dislike her for no good reason. I know some people dislike the Rumblecusp arc but in many ways I see it as one of the strongest arcs of the show, particularly in terms of character moments and even more particularly for Jester’s character development.

Then comes the final part of the story - Eiselcross, the interlude back in the Empire/Nicodranas/The Plane of Fire, and Aeor. That whole experience is something of a meat grinder for everyone, and the clerics in particular are the ones who I think have the strongest sense of the stakes (Aeor is one of my favorite Caduceus arcs as well for that reason). Jester moves into that role of the doer that she first explored in Rumblecusp - but this time it’s not for the god she has been friends with her entire life, it’s for the fate of the world.

There’s a reason why there’s a throughline in Jester and Fjord’s conversations from very early on about just going away somewhere quiet, as the stakes grow higher and the story gets darker (starting with the conversation on the Mistake shortly after their kidnapping and Molly’s death, continuing through their conversation at the Kiln just after Yasha falls under control, and then in Eiselcross after Jester enters the circle and a little more in the Blooming Grove before their final return to Aeor). Jester always wanted to see the world, but she learns it’s much harsher than she expected, and I loved seeing her come to terms with that and trying to change it rather than trying to avoid it. In the lead-up to the final fight with Lucien, she’s dealing with something she does not expect to survive it but she not only does it anyway but is one of the people pushing the others forward. While the idea of self-sacrifice isn’t a particularly original one in D&D, for Jester specifically to go from where she started to that position is an incredible yet wholly believable journey.

[weareunderthesameskies]

people talk about the table interactions and dynamics a lot but let’s take a moment to appreciate how matt dotes on the players differently. because sometimes they say he plays fave on liam, but the truth is he’s soft about all of them in his own way

travis - they kind of have this little pact going about knowing the truthness of his characters. matt knows travis loves those moments of impulsiveness and he presents plenty of opportunities to let him explore those. the two most iconic moments may be grog vs. the giant that broke his cask and fjord touching the red gem. the moment of play is really pushing travis’ boundaries and letting him press the big red button and thats just Friendship™ to roleplay seducing and being seduced

marisha - oh how to count the ways that matt loves his wife. i remember in campaign one they had a more strenuous relationship over the table because marisha wanted to make sure he didn’t play faves when it came to her (bless her precious, righteous heart). matt respected this deeply and i don’t think i can count the moments they share of mutual glances and “alright this is happening” or “i will make this challenge for you” while everyone else is freaking out. but, letting her explore her power and strength and always allowing moments for her to step up as Kiki, especially with all the support of the NPCs around her, tells a lot of how much he wants to show his support. with beau, they’re loosening more of the ‘play faves’ and just going full “fuck it, monks are just Awesome” and both revel in those scenes

liam - the fate-touched. need i say more? it’s not that matt plays faves but... he’s definitely soft when it comes to liam and his choices. an entire arc formed around the acceptance of death, fate and destiny for a friend who matt knew was struggling a lot with those things. also, gilmore. also “matt didn’t have any comments to my backstory with caleb, i think he let me do pretty much anything”. but more detailed, i guess they’re so in tune with giving and receiving roleplaying challenges. liam wants to explore the deep, dark depths of the mind and damn if matt doesn’t take him by the hand and go “follow me”, leading and guiding along the way

sam - i think matt has said multiple times that bards are just his fave but whenever sam would sing i could just sort of feel the love pouring out of matt, despite the snappy comments they may share. matt knows sam is a smart motherfucker and knows that he likes to play with his hands tied behind his back so he... presents that opportunity when possible. also the entire scheming of scanlan’s departure testifies to the level of devotion he has to sam’s arcs. also, sam might be known to be the most jokey and messing around all the time, but damn if he doesn’t get into it and deeply appreciates all the work matt does for every session that goes by and i think matt knows that.

laura - everybody loves laura bailey, and matt is no god damn exception. every time he does something that hurts her, i think he feels the most remorse than hurting any one character. the amount of times he’s apologized to her specifically whenever she makes the :((( face is just incredible. also he knows she wants to hits things as jester and desperately wants to allow her to do so - even in some of those rare direct DM moments where he outright says ‘you can cast inflict wounds here, i know you love that spell’. like, gosh, the dedication. also love love love the moments between them as the traveler and jester, and jester and her mom. 

taliesin - age old friendship shows here. they share so many inside jokes and secret moments, twinkle in their eyes. taliesin loves the mystery, the unspoken and you can really tell he trusts matt explicitly and i think matt really enjoys he can take to taliesin’s subconscious in this way - percy and molly had very secretive backgrounds, even to them, and caduceus’ mysticism with the wildmother allows for these “trust falls” between matt and taliesin. i also really enjoy the fact that matt wanted to bring taliesin in as a guide to the others originally, because it also means he trusts taliesin to have taught the others the reigns and directions they can go in. it just. you know, oozes trust between them. love seeing that. 

ashley - since her appearances have been rare, it’s clear he always wants to make it as special as possible. pike’s holiness and yasha’s power and strength of her arc lets him give her some really iconic, powerful moments of both campaigns. she often underestimates what she’s capable of, and i think matt does take special care to lean into presenting her at her most awesome so she can see what everyone else sees all the time. i love how ashley still surprises matt and how he is still attentive and learning about what she wants to go in depth with - he listens a lot, and knows her abilities as an actor and wants to give her those moments too.

[angelsndragons]

Well, I don't know about you but I have watched Caduceus' conversations with Beau and Lucien about a dozen times each so let's compare and contrast.

So, the conversation with Beau highlights how far both of them have come since Caduceus joined the party. Beau is, dare I say it, downright gentle in her poking and prodding Caduceus' reactions. She's approaching Caduceus both from a place of concern and a place of equality; she doesn't feel the need to try to control the conversation or to find some angle to work. She pulls straight from Yasha's playbook back in the dance hall, making me wonder just how much of Caduceus and Yasha's conversation she actually got (that Observant feat is no joke, y'all). Beau approaches with a thank you for the healing, which by itself shows her growth, she acknowledges that she needed the help and is openly appreciative of it, then asks how Caduceus is doing. She gives him time and space to answer rather than impatiently jumping the gun, acknowledges his feelings, lightly prods his previous trauma, then finds a plan that everyone can presumably live with. She tries to speak Caduceus' language of fate, myth, and religion by harkening back to the Kiln and she lets him go when he’s obviously done. All in all, it is an amazing display of just how far asshole rebel without a cause, abrasive as fuck Beauregard Lionett has come. Props to her and Marisha.

But this meta is about Caduceus so let's talk about his growth. Because guys. Guys. If you need evidence that Caduceus has grown and let some of his walls down, this is it. He tells Beau he “doesn't like this” and goes as far as he can to explain what specifically is messing with him. Not only is this thing unnatural, it is a mockery of life. They are not alive, not truly, they go against everything he stands for. He expresses his desires clearly and plainly, “I want to burn it on the way out.” He acknowledges the rifts between himself and the others, then explains his thought process clearly and completely: that they are low on resources, that they might have to fight their way out anyway and the sooner they leave the better, and that he doesn't think the crest will just break. Anyone want to take a gander at the last time Caduceus laid out his deal like this? Trick question, he really hasn't. He has had a couple of moments where he talks out an idea but he rarely goes this in depth. Speaking this directly and specifically on his feelings and opinions just doesn't happen very often. For all that Caduceus believes other people need to talk about their feelings, he is very much a doer, not a talker, he doesn’t process that way. Caduceus doesn’t explain himself as a rule yet here he is, trying as hard as he can to make Beau understand. 

Contrast that conversation with his talk with Lucien. So, first of all, we know that Caduceus loathes what Lucien is trying to accomplish and has nothing but contempt towards the city and efforts to bring it back to the Material Plane. At best, Caduceus pities Lucien; he’s willing to believe that Lucien Knows Not What He Does and is being manipulated by the city. At worst, well, there’s always a plant that needs compost and Caduceus is more than happy to make some. He tells Beau this episode that “there’s something very wrong with your friend.” Yet Caduceus does what he always does when faced with an unknown, currently non-hostile threat- he starts with polite small talk. From the Gentleman to Avantika, from Ludinus to Essek, from pirates to stone giants to yetis, Caduceus’ default mode for dealing with threats is to play nice and polite and to figure out what information he can glean to use against them. People underestimate Caduceus right up until he reads them for filth and he totally pushes that polite, harmless image.

Now, I need some nervous nellies to pause and ask themselves why in the world Caduceus would “open up” to Lucien mere seconds after threatening the man. Because that is what his comment “I’ve never met anybody who looks like you before. For the record,” is. It is as close to a threat as Caduceus will ever utter. And if you don’t believe me, please rewatch the Roasting of Trent Ickithon and then watch this conversation again; Caduceus has the exact same polite bitch face energy there that he does here. Well, there, he was scolding Ickithon, here he is straight up warning Lucien. I also need you all to remember that conversation he just had with Beau, the one where he delves into specifics and keeps pushing himself until Beau understands where he’s coming from. This conversation is not that. Caduceus spends this entire conversation playing into Lucien’s expectations and dodging around his real intent up here. 

Actually, let’s talk about his ‘I’m confused’ bit here. He’s not confused about his ultimate goal. Caduceus has been driving the ‘we have to stop the Astral Sea City’ train from the literal moment it showed up. He’s the one who saw the Abyss stare back at them, he’s the one who insisted they ask Yussa, who asked Beau push her Cobalt Soul resources, who asked the literal Mother of All Nature for answers, who’s pushing for Essek’s help. Him, not the others. Hell, boy was asking Jester to ask the Traveler what the hell is going on, that is how anti-city he’s been this entire time. He knows what needs to be done, the question in the air is how. This changed because the Nein’s circumstances changed; they now have a crest and Lucien caught up to them much faster than they anticipated. Are they supposed to let Lucien summon the thing and take it out? Or is it better to wait for him to gather all the items and destroy them so they can never be used? What’s stopping the next guy from coming up here and doing the ritual themself? And what precisely is he supposed to do about Lucien and Molly? It speaks highly of Taliesin’s roleplay skills and the consistency with which he’s played Caduceus that Matt never once called for a deception check, despite the fact that Matt knows that Caduceus is directly opposed to Lucien and his goals AND is hiding that information. Taliesin and Caduceus danced so skillfully around that fact, it was a delight to watch.

Bottom line, Caduceus is very good at feigning vulnerability to get what he wants or to come off as a lesser threat. He told the Gentleman a bit about his worry for his family to induce the man to reconcile with Jester. He expressed his confusion and worry to the Nein and Essek at that dinner. Seriously, go watch those conversations and then go back to the Lucien conversation, it’s kind of eerie how well that playbook works. That pseudo-vulnerability was in direct service in getting the other person to do what Caduceus wanted them to do, it was not shared just because or in any real meaningful fashion. Both of those instances were direct manipulation tactics he learned at the Grove, comforting the bereaved. People are more comfortable sharing their issues and worries, after all, when you give them a little morsel of your own. People build a rapport around perceived sharing of vulnerabilities. People are more likely to do what you want when you have such a rapport. And that’s precisely what Caduceus did here; he didn’t tell Lucien anything Lucien didn’t know or couldn’t guess himself, he traded a small nugget about his own confusion for Lucien’s curiosity and it worked. The Tomb Takers and the Mighty Nein are stuck together for the foreseeable future and I for one can’t wait to see what growth awaits Caduceus next.

TL;DR: Caduceus has only ever been really openly vulnerable with the Nein, the rest is playing possum. Please don’t fall for it or worry that he’s actually unloading onto strangers when he’s actually unloaded quite a lot, for him at least, on his friends and loved ones. His growth is undeniable.

[your-turn-to-role]

i was thinking about my tags on this post again and then about transmutation wizards in general, and also matt the other day having to find new ways to fuck them up because the m9's gotten so good at working as a team and covering for each other's weaknesses

and transmutation wizards are the biggest support class you can play as a wizard, which i'm sure was at least somewhat deliberate on liam's part, with caleb switching from evocation and all the terrible history that came along with it to a school where everything is mutable, and your biggest power is helping other people

but specifically that master transmuter class feature

because as of level 14, this party is gonna have three people capable of bringing others back from the dead

for those who don't know, the master transmuter feature works like this - you use up the entirety of your transmutation stone's magic in a single action for a huge feat of transmutation. this destroys the stone and requires at least 16 hours of downtime (a long rest + 8 hours of working) to remake, so only once every two or more days. however, in doing so, choose one effect:

you turn a non magical object that can fit within a five foot cube into any other object of similar or lesser size and value (this one takes ten minutes)

you restore someone's youth, deaging them by 13-30 years (only on the surface, your body will physically be younger but you'll still be you, and it won't increase your lifespan, you can't cheat your way into immortality like this)

in my opinion, the most powerful effect - you entirely restore a single person's health. one action, this removes all curses, diseases, and poisons, and gives them back all their hit points

and the most meaningful - you cast the Raise Dead spell without needing components

it's only the 5th level spell, it's not true resurrection, so it won't fix anything long past (it's a 10 day window)

but as another buffer between the m9 and the danger of dying, it's super fucking effective

they already lost one party member, not because they were too low level, but because they lost their one cleric, and she didn't have the necessary components anyway

but just give them a few more levels, and there'll be three of them. jester's more of a battle cleric, but she's perfectly capable of healing when needed (she's done every resurrection so far), and never underestimate how good clerics are at being damage dealers when they want to. caduceus' entire class is based around preventing people from dying. and if somehow both of them go down, or the party runs out of diamonds for resurrection spells, caleb does not need them!

if the enemies go for the wizard bc squishy, the clerics (and honestly, caleb's polymorph, which he gets for free) will keep him up. if the enemies go for the clerics because they can heal, good luck getting to all of them past this impenetrable wall of healing power. if the enemies go for the melee fighters because they have to because two of them have sentinel, there's so many buffs and debuffs thrown around they'll get crushed easily. and not to mention, in emergencies, both yasha and fjord also have healing abilities.

matt's really gonna have his work cut out for him if he wants to find a way to knock these guys down, because they may all be disasters at working through their problems but goddamn if they didn't all look at what happened with molly and go "never again"

[thornfield13713]

60, 41 and 53 for widomauk. Sorry I know you've been getting alotta widomauk ones but it's my otp as well.

It’s fine, I’ve no objections to Widomauk, I was just starting to worry that people were assuming I wasn’t answering anything else and thus not sending in asks for other fandoms/pairings.

Anyway, good choice, classic combination, and vague enough to work more-or-less anyway. Please recall that I am working with only the first thirty-two episodes due to reasons, so my opportunities for badly-timed confessions of love are pretty thin on the ground and also, it’s been what, two months? Biiit soon for that sort of thing.

Still, that hasn’t stopped me yet. Here we go.

So, first things first, the ill-advised confession actually comes first this time. Specifically, someone actually asks ‘who’ when Molly is forced to answer if there is anyone in the group he finds attractive. The answer ‘all of you...except Nott and Beau, but especially Caleb’ is...unexpected, and not especially helpful, and also exacerbates just how unhappy Molly is about the Zone of Truth spell to begin with. Caleb is even more awkward, because a) he’s trying to avoid attention and b) dear gods, he is absolutely filthy, he is doing everything he can to make sure people don’t look at him or, if they do, don’t take an interest, how in hell’s name has Molly, of all people, developed an attraction to him? All the same, it’s not Molly’s fault he’s been forced to admit this (probably by Nott, who also isn’t great at personal boundaries and who is now fingering her crossbow suspiciously), and it’s clearly every bit as mortifying for him as it is for Caleb. And...well, Caleb does mean it about believing in second starts, and about Molly having a right to be Mollymauk, and just Mollymauk, without the need for Lucien’s past. And Molly is...captivating. Anyone would be drawn to him, want to watch him, find it hard to look away. That was practically his job description for most of his life, it doesn’t mean anything, that Caleb can’t stop looking at him, that the part of his brain that hasn’t known any touch but Nott’s in years keeps coming up with dreams and images, like a floodgate has opened and everything Caleb hasn’t had time for since before the asylum has come flooding back into his psyche.

Molly...isn’t usually shy about these things. He’s very confident, he’s used to just not giving a damn what anyone thinks of him...but that’s anyone outside the group he belongs to. He’s used to it being the carnival, the group he belongs to, against the world. And he’s also really not used to the kind of attraction that comes bundled with the urge to protect and look out for someone who is clearly in a bad way and also really, really not in a place to start anything, even something casual. So he’s flying blind here, and hates it, and is trying his best to distract himself with things he enjoys a lot more than the awkward situation of being forced to confess a certain amount of attraction and desire to take care of a teammate and sort-of friend who is now determinedly avoiding him and also taking even worse care of himself, made even worse by said friend’s support for Molly’s right to an identity independent of whoever he used to be, his faith in that idea of second starts. But Molly isn’t going to push where he isn’t wanted - not in this, at least - and he isn’t going to throw away his self-respect by openly pining - he’s got better things to do with his time. It’s just a crush, he’s had those before, and they always go away in the end. It doesn’t matter that his heart twists when Caleb goes down in a fight, or thuds a little louder and faster in his ears when Caleb calls him magical, in a dungeon cell in Hupperdook, and roasts Lorenzo alive for having come so close to killing Molly for good on the Glory Run Road, even if Caduceus was able to bring him back.

So, they’re left stewing and pining and in denial about pining, and getting increasingly miserable and self-loathing about it in Caleb’s case, and trying increasingly hard to distract himself in Molly’s. It isn’t working terribly well.

I’m not precisely sure of the circumstances around the first kiss, except that I’d honestly rather it didn’t happen under extreme stress or while anyone involved expected to die in the near future. That said, I cannot think of any circumstances more likely to provoke Caleb into actually admitting that...if Molly is still interested, and he cannot think of any reason why he was in the first place, but...if he is, Caleb is also interested, if sorry that they’ll probably be dead before they get a chance to act on it. Desperate peril (I think they get thrown in a dungeon in the upcoming arc, which seems like a good place for this) is not the best place for a first kiss, but...screw it, odds are they’re going to be dead in a matter of hours, and even if Caleb doesn’t deserve it, he’d like to make a grab for this one thing he wants before he dies, and see if Molly wants it too.

Bit uncomfortable that the rest of the Nein are all there with them, but it’s not as though they haven’t had a front seat to the whole pining saga thus far.

[frabjuosity]

So with the beautiful wrap-up of the Rumblecusp story arc that was last episode, I've been thinking of how brilliantly Matt linked together the Travelercon storyline with the Nine Eyes - and a bit of Vox Machina's storyline as well.

And it got me wondering how long these things have been planned. Matt mentioned that he's had Rumblecusp in his back pocket since way back in C1 - that's always been where Vilya was, and Vox Machina could have theoretically gone there if they went looking for Keyleth's mom.

But would Vox Machina have found a Vokodo who ended up on the island after running from the Nine Eyes? I don't necessarily think so.

The story of how Vokodo ended up on Rumblecusp, bringing planar fragments along with him as he crash landed escaping from the astral sea, is a departure from a standard morkoth - RAW morkoths are described as collectors, who collect bits of different planes on their islands much as they collect interesting people and creatures.

I think that if Vox Machina had gone to Rumblecusp, they might have found a more 'vanilla' morkoth ruling over the island. Seeing an opportunity to bring Molly's storyline in with the island, Matt wrote in the escape backstory for Vokodo, linking him to the city and the Nine Eyes. Pretty brilliant way to tie in a dangling plotline.

And then, of course, he's making sure that Taliesin still gets to be at the centre of the storyline that was originally intended for him by specifically targeting Caduceus with the visions - which is doubly perfect since Cad's own personal storyline seems to have been mostly wrapped up for the time being, and got fairly little space compared with the other personal story arcs the Nein have dealt with so far.

I'd have to go back and watch, but I forget how Caduceus specifically ended up being the first one BAMFed to the Astral Plane when the Banishment on Vokodo failed - was it a roll, or Matt's pick? If the latter, that's also some amazing subtle positioning of Cad for this plot, having him see this big looming thing coming in his direction - which Beau did not in her corner of the Astral Plane.

Matthew Mercer, man.

[criticalrolefanficsarttheroys]

Lucian Stone & DeRollos Death Theroy & The Cerbus Assembly’s vendettas against three great Clerical Families, an their relationship with the Betrayer Gods through the Briarwoods

Spoilers discussing information up through C2 ep141

Ok so it may be obvious from the title but I’ve been think a lot since the Finale about how many open path an questions there are left open (which As a theorist I love no complaints) but if we draw those thread close we can see some interesting links

Since campaign one in the Whitestone arc, an since we learned of the family go dust clay and stone,for me at least, the question had been what did Briarwood find that lead her too WhiteStone? On the PC side we know only that Caduceus Clay has had the dreams about Whitestone an it properties I believe that to Malora it may be seen a Hall of the House of stone, an the De Rolo family of the family go stone, but what was their origin in perusing Vecna? It was in a state of dispear an death that Deilhla sloughs a way to bring Silas back, an at least while living did not seem the servant type, what if the voices an dreams where the Somnovuam? What if Vecna is an earlier form of a Cognosa consumed wizard who also came as the Nonagon, the original writer of the journal maybe, it would explain the corrupting power of his hand, then watching campain two the party I believe was at the Dust family forge an they learned about the activity via Bos memories that Briarwood was chased out of the Empire for out lawed Necro practices, we know from campain one that this was done to bring back her husband an ultimately Vecna but what if her ritual was the reason for the corruptions (I.E the book) release, it would have been 25 years before the Nien an if Lucian was between 5-7 at the time an was used as a key for its release, that is what if in order to inact the rights of Vampirism one of the components was the soul energy of a blood mage from a specific family’s blood Line that was tied to both the Abyss an Malora with dedications to the Moon weiver? What if Lucian is from the family of stone also an the reason The somnovaum goes so far as to bring his pieces back together is that his “gift” is what allowed Vecna to discover that what he needed was in Whitestone by using Lucians connections? An after he is shattered he is put back together because he was ritually sacrificed to them as a child an is the closest connection that Therisdun now has to a physical form? (Which Molly accually mentions pieces of, an why he doesn’t like looking back) An this is where Vessdrogna comes in when we learn about her we are told that she is the Mage of Antiquities or historical magic at the time of the Nien. I don’t think it a coincidence that that was also Briarwoods title before she had to flee to Tal Dori, an personally I think they (Vess an Delihla) along with Trent an the Martinet where all present for the rights of sacrifice that Lucians family an he himself where put through, this is where they first experience the straight energy of Necro Soul Syphing magic, an I’m reach here, but such magic seems like it would be pre calamity magic, an something someone with far more exsp would have to cast because one wizard would have to pull the energy an then at least one other would have to preform the second cast to use it as a component of a separate spell, I believe only someone of the Martinets or Yusas level would be enough to preform a single cast an enchant, the place also had to be specific that where I think the Shady grove comes in it the place “Lucians half” an the “Molly/Kingsley” half were separated an the dominate (adult) Lucian being became the conscious mind an was connect to Vecnas “god hood” but wait WHAT. IF. This god hood is Thurisdun? an. There’s a running higher archy in his cult which we know that The Martinet would be at the top of casting wise the assembly would be gathering children with talent, bloodlines and potential to further the cults power victor (Ithink) had placed the devices at the will of the Martinet or Vess possibly both. but this would exsplain also Trents instant pick up on Yasha possibly knew Lucien from the sacrifice and knew Caleb had been fighting beside them an a member of the Kobalt Soul an I bet money the whisper spell he put on Yasha in the Taveren where they met was a tracking spell an he had put an order to the Slavers telling them the direction they where heading an that’s why she Fjord an Jester where their targets, an why Caleb was so upset with Molly death he suspected Trent had a part in the abduct

[malaismere]

heavy spoilers and trigger warnings for talking about mollymauk + death.

It’s going to be very interesting to see what, exactly, is making it’s way north with Cree.

I’m pretty certain it isn’t Molly. Just like I’m pretty certain that Mollymauk is very much not coming back without something that bends the very fabric of the universe.

I tend to read most of Taliesin’s characters less as people and more as conceptualized stories - which isn’t to say that they aren’t meant to and are played as people, but that at the core of their creation, they’re built on something else. Taliesin has talked about the fact he took a lot of Molly into building Caduceus - and, at their core, they’re really both two characters about death - and specifically, death as an end.

Unlike a lot of religion in general and especially religion in D&D, Caduceus doesn’t seem to have much attention for afterlives - it’s very much not his business, he doesn’t deal in souls. It’s Death as the End of Life, as opposed to Death as the end of Mortal Life. That you only get the one shot, and that you should make the most of it (”they always say they wish they had more time”). It’s epitomized in the idea that you should leave the world better (and find people to mourn you), because that impact is all you have.

Mollymauk is pretty obviously built around death because of the whole, you know, woke up in a grave thing. A lot of philosophy is very - well, we only got 26 episodes with him, we didn’t get to see much of it. But I think it feels very much the same. Mollymauk is very, well, YOLO. He always said he believed he could die at any  time (he didn’t know how old this body was, what diseases it may have had). He lived each day to it’s best, very hedonistic but also very generous to those around him. I’d say the fact that he was the one to die - the one built around death - would be funny, but he was also designed as such a high risk character that he was always likely to be the first one to die.

When Molly died, the idea of bringing him back with Matt’s ghost class was brought up. Taliesin mentioned he considered that the worst fate for Molly. Molly wasn’t a character built around resurrection, he doesn’t want  - doesn’t need - a second shot at life. I don’t necessarily think he’d turn it down, it’s hard to say, but I wouldn’t be surprised if even the basic raise dead ritual wouldn’t have worked on him - we already know that Taliesin is willing to put limits on raise dead other than just the dice.

I think Lucien is an inversion of the Molly philosophy - filling in the role of something striving for something greater/more out of life, something longer, instead of just living each day at a time. It’s why I think it probably is Lucien up there (although, I can see there being very new options as well), because while Molly is a character meant to, well, die at his time, it would make sense if Lucien was a character meant to live when he shouldn’t.

(additionally, and i mean this in the best way possible, i’m not entirely sure molly had a soul - that is, that there is any part of him that would have lasted beyond the death of his body, or that anything short of a wish spell could bring him back - true resurrection requires a free and willing soul, after all.)

I don’t tend to talk about this a lot, because I know there’s a lot of people who really have their hearts tied up around Molly, and I don’t like - cutting at those strings, perhaps. But I find it so interesting how prevalent the idea of bringing him back from the dead is, considering that he strikes me, fundamentally, as a character who seems built around the idea that he would only ever get the one life.

Ofc, Percy was also a character who Taliesin admits was (meant to die) never meant to have a happy ending - and so I imagine he’s more than willing to change his plans and adapt. But I think it would be notable as being a change, as opposed to something expected.

[squiggelsquirrel]

Okay, spoilers for Critical Role campaign 2 (specifically ep 109, but maybe upcoming developments if I’m guessing correctly…?)

The M9 now have 7th level spells. That includes Resurrection. That means, for the first time, that they actually could bring Molly back.

I don’t know if Tal wants to play two characters, or if Matt would let Molly level up, or if the players feel this is right from a narrative perspective. I can imagine Caduceus being uncomfortable with the idea. Heck, if they do go for it I’m not even sure if it would actually be Molly they bring back — maybe Lucien, or something else? But I can’t really imagine Jester not wanting to bring Molly back, or at least try, if she’s able. The only way around it I could imagine would be if the players just… pretended to not notice that it was an option now?

But then they were buying reagents, and Laura had a question about components — specifically, a spell that requires a single diamond, worth 1000 gold or more. I don’t claim to have every spell memorized, but I’m pretty sure only “Resurrection” has that component, which she went out of her way to buy, specifically.

And this could just be passed of as a safeguard against “what if one of us dies?”, except… Revivify is way cheaper, both in components and spell slots (and side effects), with a window of up to a minute after death. Raise Dead is a handy backup for those rare occasions when 1 minute is too short, with a limit of 10 days. Resurrection’s benefits are an increased limit of “up to a century” (which is not going to be relevant if one of the M9 gets killed going forward), and the option to restore missing body parts (the lesser resurrection spells explicitly don’t do this, but it’s not clear how much of a body there needs to be, and Matt has never yet invoked up this distinction, even hand-waving it away when a player has brought it up).

It really seems to me like this is not a spell they would bother with, unless it was with Molly in mind. I’m just… really excited and nervous to see where they go with it, if that’s the way they are going. And from the looks of it, I’m really starting to think it is.

[unicyclehippo]

jester giving yasha a special pastry/a pretty flower post-obann

there’s a quiet knock at the door of the room she is sharing with jester and beau, though beau of course is not there. she has been...avoiding yasha is not correct, because she is not, but the way beau slips like a falling star into the room, into her bed—blink and you miss her, and the same accompanying disappointment drops into her gut when yasha hears jester cheerfully announce that she had seen the other woman—is part avoidance, maybe.

that is how yasha knows that the knock is not beau. and the cheerful pattern to it leaves only one other.

‘jester?’

‘it’s me!’

‘you—you can come in, it is your room,’ yasha calls, though she crosses the room anyway to open the door. a hand on magician’s judge. just...just in case. in case it is a trick. but she pulls the door open and sees, yes, it is jester standing there at the door, beaming, with something hidden behind her back.

another drop of pain. disappointment. she is a reservoir of it, she is full of pain, and wishes the drops would go unnoticed. but it seems she is cursed to notice each and every one. sometimes, she doesn’t know why. this one is molly. seeing jester’s tail wandering in excitable trails behind her, the jewellery dripping from her horns, the fearless and bright smile...she is a reminder in all the best ways of molly.

‘hallo, jester.’

‘hallo!’ jester’s smile grows. ‘can i come in?’

‘it’s your room, jester,’

‘i’m taking that as a yes!’ she announces and laughs, skipping inside and ducking around her in such a way that yasha doesn’t get to see what she is holding.

glancing out into the hall, left then right, eyes skimming carefully over the ceiling, yasha pulls back into the room.

the check didn’t go unnoticed by jester but she doesn’t seem to mind. maybe she does. yasha is historically...not the best at seeing intent. or upset. when it is not clear. people in the empire—people not of her own kind—they are confusing and speak around everything, and expect her to understand. the marshes were simpler. if someone had been upset with her, they would have tried to kill her.

for the first time in a long time, yasha is really and truly glad that she is not there. she does not want to kill anyone. for a little while, at least.

‘okay so before i give you this,’

‘a gift?’

‘yeah!’

‘oh, jester, no, you do not have to do this,’

‘but i already have so you have to accept it, otherwise—well,’ jester blinks. her smile falls a little before returning twice as bright. ‘well, no one else is going to eat it!’

‘eat it?’

‘ah shit!’ jester shakes her head, jewellery jangling. ‘okay, yes, it’s a cupcake,’ she admits, begrudgingly. like she was looking forward to drawing it out a little.

‘i can pretend i don’t know,’ yasha offers. ‘it is easy. i can just,’ she opens her mouth into an o of surprise, arches her brows. takes a half step back like someone is trying to ambush her, catch her off guard.

the combined effect has jester laughing. she tilts her head to the side when she’s done, looks up at yasha from beneath dark lashes. a fond little smile sits in the corner of her lips, dimpling her cheeks. ‘okay,’ she agrees. ‘but first, i think they got the wrong idea for who these were for because i asked for, like, some specific decoration so...’ she steps away from the table and waves yasha forward.

approaching the little box, yasha lifts the lid. stares down at the small cakes. probably for quite some time before jester has slid up beside her and asks,

‘do you like them? they definitely thought it was for a dog, i think, so i am sorry about that,’ she says, nose crinkling, looking down at the white icing shaped into a generic bone. ‘but the flowers turned out pretty!’

yasha stands there and stares—six little cakes, bought for her, even after everything. sweet little cakes of absolute nonsense, two with bones and she thinks she sees flecks of blood painted on which, okay, is a little disturbing but very on brand. the other four are rather lovely different flower shapes.

‘oh, look at this,’ yasha breathes, reaches a finger down toward one cake that has small paper flowers artfully arranged around it. ‘jester,’

‘do you like them? do you?’

‘i- i do. thank you, jester, you didn’t have to do this.’

‘it’s like a welcome home,’ the girl says with a smile, a delicate shrug.

‘well, thank you. do you—want to share one?’

yasha reaches down for one of the floral cakes. tears it indelicately in two. she hands one half to jester and examines the other one. tasting it, she finds it is very sweet—like the sweet apple she had had that time in zadash, but also nothing alike because she tastes neither caramel nor apple.

‘so, how are you liking being back?’ jester asks, sitting herself on the table, feet kicking as she picks at the cake and licks the icing off her thumb.

‘it’s very nice. it is—strange.’

‘how come?’

yasha shrugs. pretends to examine the cakes some more. ‘i am...sometimes afraid that i am still asleep. that i will wake up and still be with him.’

‘oh.’

hearing the note in jester’s voice, she shakes her head, offers up a smile. ‘not all the time. just...when it is too quiet. or when i am alone. i was always...by myself. in the dreams.’

‘well, i’ll just have to be with you all the time then!’ jester offers.

yasha doesn’t mean to be hurtful when she says it, but she is good at hurting people. accidentally seems to be her forte. ‘it will have to be you. no one else wants to.’ she squeezes her eyes shut, waves her hand in a, no, ignore that, kind of way. ‘that is not—i would be happy to have you keep me company,’

‘yasha,’

‘that is very kind of you to offer.’

‘i’m sorry the others are being assholes,’ jester says, and doesn’t soften the word with a laugh or a smile or anything. she’s finished her half of the cake and wipes her hands on her skirts, stares down at her lap and the symbol of the traveller on her belt that she fiddles with. ‘they just need some time.’

‘i know.’

‘it was hard,’ jester tells her. ‘fjord—‘

‘i hurt him. i remember. i remember all of it.’

jester nods. ‘nott is okay with you, i think. she was there that night, when you had that dream? after we cleared up the giants house.’

‘yah.’

‘she’s just worried about caleb. and caleb is totally out of it, so you have to excuse him for not checking in on you, and caduceus would totally be here but he knows that i’m here and super trusts me with like, healing and stuff. and also he’s working with fjord on being a wild man,’

‘a what?’

‘like, a priest or whatever for melora.’

‘oh.’

‘yeah, fjord also broke away from his super powerful scary thing too, so, you have that in common.’

‘i will be sure to bring it up,’ yasha says dryly. ‘when we are trying to bond.’

jester pulls a face. ‘oh i don’t know about that,’

‘that was a joke.’

‘oh.’

yasha drums her fingers on her belt. jester doesn’t make eye contact, peering over at the cupcakes like she hasn’t a care in the world. the tail is a giveaway—coiled tight around her own ankle, the very tip of it swishing anxiously through the air.

‘and beau?’ she asks.

jester drags in a breath. lifts her eyes from the box to meet yasha’s, but can’t hold it for long. it was long enough that yasha saw enough in them. nothing good.

‘she...might take a little while,’ jester admits. ‘beau is—i mean, she’s beau, so who knows what she’s doing or who she’s talking to. right? she’s probably super busy being cool and smart,’

‘i do not blame her. i—‘ yasha glances over to the empty bedroll. the raiments are tucked away but yasha sees them in those arrays of blue. ‘i have done some very bad things,’

‘obann made you do it!’

‘i am never sure of that.’

there is a long moment of silence. ‘beau said that was when she knew, you know. that you were either...or under his control. that’s when i knew for sure for sure that you were under control. no doubt about it. you were crying,’ she tells yasha, as though the woman hadn’t known. ‘you didn’t want to do it, i know it. and eventually you will too. i promise.’

ice drops into the lake of hurt and pain yasha has been gathering in her belly. spreads to her edges, threatens to freeze her.

‘jester... did you see it?’

she can’t look away fast enough. there’s a flicker of something in dark eyes and then jester is smiling, a thin, tremulous smile. ‘someone had to watch out for you,’ she says, which is a yes. ‘i know the stormlord was but...everyone can use a friend. right?’

‘oh, jester,’

yasha’s voice cracks and she closes her eyes against the hot press of tears. she doesn’t know what jester might have seen but any of it, any of it would be bad. and for her to have seen her in zadash, in the cobalt soul... yasha doesn’t remember all of what she did in those fifty nine days, but that—that she will never forget.

‘i couldn’t leave you alone. beau told me what it felt like. like—‘ she hesitates. presses on. ‘like being crammed into an itty bitty box.’ yasha flinches. nods. ‘i couldn’t leave you alone.’

[disasterhumans]

I’m thinking about what Beau said to Caleb in episode 70. About how it’s important to work with people who won’t just agree with you. About how everyone in the Mighty Nein brings their own temperaments, and perspectives, and opinions—and about how that’s necessary. In the case of deciding what to do about the Bright Queen, it may have been the difference between staying in her good graces, and having to go on the run again.

And I mean, first off— That’s something good for Fjord to keep in mind right now. As Caleb and other members of the group pointed out: Fjord is one of the group’s best negotiatiors and liars. Though this tendency slipped during the Pirate Arc, in general Fjord is keen to talk his way out of a problem when he can. Where Beau and Caleb search for answers in study, Fjord will take to the local population to gather information and insight into the culture of whatever place they’ve landed in. Fjord’s skill in persuasion and deception are important and helpful. But his perspective and his approach to given situations is also important to the group’s wellbeing. Fjord’s opinions about how to tackle a problem or how to come to a decision are just as crucial in helping and protecting the group.

What I’m really thinking about, though, is how Fjord needed the response of each and every member of The Mighty Nein after sharing with them the truth of himself. Fjord needed to hear all of the different forms of comfort and reassurance he was given, because each of them got to a different fear or insecurity.

Fjord needed Caleb to give him the glove. He needed someone who understands what it’s like to view yourself in terms of your quantifiable “value” to others. He needed someone who would be a bit pragmatic in their comfort. He needed someone to say “there is still potential here,” but who would say it while meaning, “but you are what’s important.” He needed the comfort of knowing he could still contribute—in whatever small way—to keeping the group safe during fights. He needed to be told—through action, if not words—“we will not leave you behind.”

And he needed Caduceus’ calming, steady presence. He needed someone to explicitly tell him he was wrong. That he does have value. That he is worth something. He needed someone who could say it with conviction. He needed someone who could say it as though it were a fundamental truth of the universe (because it is). He needed someone who would not only say “you are not weak” but would also make a point to say “you are stronger” for having made this difficult decision, and walking away from something that meant you harm.

He needed Jester’s enthusiastic support. He needed her smile. He needed her jokes. He needed her to say—as she’s always said—that she will be with him no matter what. He needed her to remind him that he was speaking in the “wrong voice.” He needed that reminder that there is someone there who will always accept him, and always keep his secrets, and never think less of him for being whatever version of himself he may be.

He needed Beau’s reassurance that she’s still his First Mate, and he’s still her Captain. He needed someone who could understand what it feels like to be surrounded by people blessed by gods, and magical ability, and not have either of those yourself. He needed someone who could flat-out tell him “It’s okay if you never get it ‘back;’ sometimes the tools we needed at one point stop being useful to us.” He needed someone to specifically let him know, that if his new avenue doesn’t involve “reclaiming” power, that there is still space for him, and that he will still grow into a stronger version of himself.

He needed Nott’s ribbing. As everyone else made a point to rebut his fears, and praise his strengths, he needed someone to say “yes, things have changed. yes, you have lost something...but not my teasing!” He needed someone who would acknowledge the truth of what he lost. He also needed the assurance from Nott that their dynamic wouldn’t change, because even if he did lose something, even if he is “weaker,” all of that is immaterial to the relationship between them—and always has been. He also needed her to ask “But do you feel better?” He needed someone who would remind him that at the end of the day, the most important thing, is that he did something for himself. He needed to be reminded that his autonomy and self-possession is important. He needed to be told that he needed to take care of himself. And it echoes Nott’s own decision to stay with the Nein, because she’s still not comfortable with who she is in her body. Fjord needed to be reminded by someone who is living it, that sometimes, it is okay to put yourself first. 

And, you know, the tragic thing is...he probably also needed what Molly would have said. He needed Molly’s boisterous enthusiasm for life. He need Molly’s belief in freedom above all else. Before the guilt that I’m sure will hit sets in, he needed Molly to reassure him that giving up Summer’s Dance, and that tether between them, is exactly what Molly would have wanted. 

And he needed Yasha—still alive to say it—to tell him the same. He needed Yasha’s quiet reassurance and solidarity. He needed Yasha’s gentle curiosity to know more of who he is. He needed her understanding about what it’s like to believe that the people around you are better off without you.

He needed his whole family there, to tell him that he is loved.

[critical-ramblings]

Things that Mean More

On a second watch through of Critical Role campaign 2. (Ep 11-15)

“Maybe [Yasha] was a ghost the whole time, maybe the lightning exploded her, maybe she wandered out into the rain and lost her memory”...one of these is not like the others!

Molly: What should we do while keeping watch? Jester: We could find a candy store Molly: Wait there are stores specifically for selling candy?” sometimes Molly makes me sad

“Nott and Molly, you ready to go?” For some reason I expected him to say Caduceus and now I’m sad.

Matt is going really hard on the class differences between the Outersteads and the Tri-spire. 

The three towers of the Tri-spire are the Zauberspire, the Constellation Bridge, and the Triumph Chime, which we don’t know much about because Beau rolled a 6 on her history check

Matt cracks himself up describing Chastity’s Nook. His face is SO RED. Liam: “I made you plan for this!”

Tusk Love makes an appearance! Who knew Matt’s smut shop prep would become a recurring theme this campaign

Beau, to Caleb: the Cerberus Assembly, you know much about them?

It’s so interesting to hear them talk about the state of the Empire and the Cerberus Assembly, because they’re just so...powerless.

I think Beau straight up says, “I don’t know, look at this. Look at how much money is up here compared to elsewhere. This is a lot of control.”

Caleb immediately asks, “so what do you plan to do about it?” after which Beau deflects to drinking booze and making money. Look how far they’ve come. :)

Caleb buys Jester bear claws and then Jester buys him the Courting of the Crick. Their love language has always been gifts

I remember not being a Huge fan of the political arc in Zadash, it’s pretty slow and doesn’t have a super conclusive end, even though they ‘succeed’

first explanation of the crick slur! this is also the first real experience we have with the Kryn Dynasty, and I remember wanting to know more about them! Xhorhas is like a black hole of knowledge, it’s just on the other side of the mountains and we know NOTHING

Doolan Tversky! What the FUCK Nott? WHAT DOES IT MEAN???

Dolan and Horace are...very relatable in today’s political situation

We talk about how bad it was for Molly to charm Nott, but she started it by stealing from Fjord. That doesn’t make it okay, but it does add some context. As far as PVP goes, she was the instigator

“I need him to be powerful. So he can save me.” the ‘using him’ undertones of the conversation are SO GOOD

Fjord is also asking all the right questions, but Nott is excellent at dancing around them. Even charmed, she doesn’t trust them enough to tell them. 

“I did my own dental work” oh boooooooy i missed that one

the description of fictional Xhorhas is very :/

Fjord attempts to Manage Nott..it does not work...he asks Caleb to do it. Nott tells him she’s not an idiot. I think this is the first time she really pushes back against the infantilization

If you want your players to know someone is evil, have them advocate killing puppies and call tieflings ‘demonbloods’

proficient in mail fraud

man the Mighty Nein (and mostly Caleb) really Improved the Knights of Requital plan. We go from ~somehow~ tying Sutan to the Myriad and the High Richtor to framing the two of them for murder (of the Lawmaster)

intro of the meta-gaming pigeon! originally a signal in-game for investigating Dolan

Ren Sutan is the one they were investigating at the hospital, his father Deitrich Sutan is the one they frame in the Heist

The Hospital Scene....the last brain cell in the Nein went with Beau and Jester

the grin that Taliesin has when he says “I’ve got a plan” is Terrifying

after Molly’s done with his Disguise, Fjord says ‘do I dare ask how it looks,’ Molly says, ‘well, i can show you?’ and it’s CALEB who says “yes show us the goods”

“we are working together. we are TRYING to work together. Getting all of us out is more important than finding this asshole” Caleb, being a Team Player. This is 1 episode before scrollgate

Caleb tells Jester to keep her writing plain “not as charming as you normally speak”

hes so softe already

Nott and Caleb have a talk about learning Identify, how Nott supports Caleb, believes in him, which visibly makes Caleb uncomfortable. Nott is clearly fishing for ways to make Caleb more powerful without revealing why

The robberies/evidence planting actually goes off without (too much of) a hitch. Not much to say, until we get to the Scrolls

Fjord is classic dumbass, he escalates the situation (brings out the falchion) and then even if he agrees with Caleb (they’d already destroyed the rug in Sutan’s place) he can’t back down

Then Ulog’s sacrifice--absolutely the most interesting part of this arc, to me. He’s not just a thief, he’s a real revolutionary. 

he also knocks Caleb out in one hit, which is Nice

The assassins strike the Zauberspire!!!!! Earlier this episode Sam says “We think Matt’s managing three plot lines, but there’s actually a fourth we don’t even know about” and he is Absolutely Right

god I want to write a fic about those two. It seems like the classic echo knight/wizard support combo, i want to know about these two special forces drow sent to retrieve the Beacon, the holy symbol of their people. Blessed by the Bright Queen herself. And they come so close. (if it weren’t for those meddling kids!)

Matt pulls this Advanced DM trick, where you have the party fight an enemy that would be completely annihilating them--if it wasn’t already injured.

The first impressions of the Beacon, from what they manage to glean from this Charmed assassin, are so interesting. Jester’s eternal mis-interpretation about babies (which isn’t...really wrong?)

The drow twitched when Ulog’s name was mentioned! Though the Gentleman’s association did not deal with the Krynn, Ulog knows some shady people. If he wasn’t a spy himself.

They don’t even take the Beacon! (But the time they took futzing about with the assassin was what allowed him to be captured and killed)

I just realized that the reason Caleb stays with the Beacon that first night isn’t because he’s afraid it’ll be stolen--it’s because as long as he’s within 5 ft it can’t be scried on!

Okay, Molly and Beau really do team up against Nott in this talking to. Nott Does Not Agree with their reasoning--in the episode before, it was Caleb who put the scrolls back to deescalate the situation. Caleb is the one here who has the aside with the skull about how much he wants to make this group work. It’s Nott who’s on the fence. 

“He’s MY boy. I take care of HIM.”

Caleb tries, after the skull interlude, he tries to tell Nott. “You know, I was going to go to that place. The Soltryce Academy...But I fucked it up.” He can’t bring himself to say more than that.

Nott purchases the enchantment for her never-ending flask. 250 gold is nothing, when you’re a goblin who just likes shiny things.

Whenever Caleb has money, he spends it on paper and ink to transcribe spells. Whenever he doesn’t have spells to transcribe, he buys them. :)

Taryon Darrington!!!! I also fell out of my chair when this book came up. Can’t wait for Caleb to read it someday and declare it trash

MOLLY! He bullshits SO well, I (and Cree) bought into the idea that he just really wanted to stay on the DL. That’s really what I take away from this revelation, his intense desire to keep his past under wraps.

Meeting the Gentleman! Fjord won 600 gold with some good gambling, they get a job dungeon crawling, Laura isn’t there to meet her dad.

Yasha backstory! The crumbs we get about Xhorhas are so little, and I remember being a little confused about how big Xhorhas was, the difference between the region and the Krynn Dynasty, how connected everything is over there. 

Caleb asks Fjord whether or not he used party funds to gamble. Fjord reassures him, but Caleb says he would be alright with it. “Calculated risks.” 

From home Jester strikes with the Wand of Smiles...

This interrogation has so many good one-liners from our good Mollymauk. “That person is dead and not me” “The truth is vicious, it thinks you owe it something” “joy can fill an awful lot of a person’s life” 

Caleb’s Joke: (about Pumat) “Well, [he’s] not one of a kind.” Molly: “Did you just make a joke?” Caleb: “No.” 

Yasha in Pumat Sol’s shop is the most awkward we ever see her. She stumbles over her words, bails on her attempts at banter, DOES manage to roll a 14 Persuasion for a discount on her healing potions.

Important Caleb & Yasha bonding over buying the throwing stars for Beau

Liam really is the best Jester (besides Laura, of course)

Some really great early Fjord/Jester in the Underworks. “Don’t read into it.” “This is just like that scene in Tusk Love.” I think Fjord did flirt with Jester, but that came from a) heteronormativity and b) Fjord always pushes his luck. His curiosity and playfulness have burned him more than once--I don’t think he considers that he might also be hurting Jester with these interactions.

bonus Caleb: “It is sad when ships sink.”

Highlight of this dungeon crawl is Nott completely failing to rogue. Nott and traps don’t get along...

[conceptstage]

Speak Easy

AO3

Beau died alone.

That’s almost the worst part of it. For all that she loved her privacy, she hated being alone.

“I’d say she’s been dead for three days,” Caduceus said, looking into her dark eyes. “Dehydration. They locked her down here when she wouldn’t give them the information they wanted and left her to die.” He picked up her hand and noted the deep lacerations on her knuckles. They were different from the other interrogation injuries on her body. These were self inflicted from trying to fight her way out.

He looked back at the cell door where the others were gathered. Jester had her hands pressed over her face so that she didn’t have to see Beau’s prone body laying heavily on the stones. Nott stood by her side with a hand on her elbow in comfort, looking up at her with tears on her cheeks. Caleb was on her other side, his face blank and unable to look away. Only Fjord walked away, running his hand through his hair and anxiously licking his lips. Yasha stared ahead at the wall, her face unreadable.

“Can we do anything?” Nott asked. “Is it too late for a spell?”

“It’s not too late, we have time and options. Reviving her now is much more difficult than using Revivify. We’ll need significantly more diamonds than we have right now and three offerings.”

“Offerings? What kind of offerings?” Caleb asked, stepping around Jester and kneeling beside Beau and Caduceus.

“We need to convince Beau’s soul to come back. These offerings are our way of showing that she’s still needed on this plane, that it’s not her time to leave yet. Objects with meaning to her are good, though words work as well.”

“Words?”

Caduceus nodded. “Tell her how much she means to you.” He sighed and used two fingers to close her eyes. “Coming back will not be easy on her either. She’ll need a lot of rest and there may be adverse effects on her mental state.”

“What, like Molly? Will she not remember anything?” Yasha asked, her voice quiet.

Caduceus shook his head. “Not like that. She dehydrated alone, in a small, dark cell after days of torture. I’d be shocked if anyone came back from that without some level of trauma.”

Caleb cursed in Zemnian under his breath and stood swiftly to his feet, pushing his way out the door to pace in the hall. “She should have just told them where I was. She should have just answered them and made it easier on herself.”

Fjord sighed and leaned against the wall. “You know she’d never do that. She’s too goddamn-”

Fjord cut himself off when the man that they had tied up in the hall chuckled. He was in his underwear and secured with his arms behind him but he smirked like a man with the upper hand. “So the bitch croaked. Good riddance.”

No one saw Jester move but they heard her cry of rage. “Aggggh!” she screamed in anger and pain as she marched over to him and punched him across the face. Her fist was lined with crystals of ice and the tears streaming down her face froze in place. He crashed to the ground and Jester stomped down on his chest. Caleb heard the bones crack under her heel from across the hallway.

“Jester-” he exclaimed.

Fjord rushed over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, we need to question him.”

“We have Speak With Dead!” she said, kicking him again, this time in the stomach.

Yasha stepped forward and lifted her up off the ground. She kicked and struggled but Yasha held her fast and moved her away. “I know, Jester,” she said quietly. “If anyone here understands how you feel, it’s me. But Beau wouldn’t want you to kill someone in cold blood like this. You know that.”

Ice started to spread across Jester’s cheeks and up into her hair. The skin that Yasha was touching felt like frigid water but she held on. “It hurts so much!” Jester yelled, her entire body relaxing in Yasha’s arms with a sob.

“I know, Jester. I know. I’m sorry.”

Caduceus stepped out of the cell and gave Jester a calm smile. “Let’s get her out of here and we can start working on bringing her back, alright?”

The ice started drifting off of Jesters skin, gathering at Yasha’ feet like snow, and she nodded. “Yeah,” she mumbled, her voice wet and strained. She could see Beau’s body over Caduceus’ shoulder, her face more peaceful that it had ever been in life. “Yeah, let’s take her home.”

They appeared in the library in a flash of light. The Transportation Circle was still glowing as they set to work at their various tasks. Yasha carried Beau up to the room she and Jester shared and Caduceus followed.

“Okay,” Jester said, turning out her coin purse on the desk. “We need at least 500 gold worth of diamonds. We have 25 gold worth right now.”

Caleb and Nott gathered around her, also turning out their coin purses. “We will need more than 500 gold. This many diamonds, this rushed? There will be markups.”

“We’ll pay it,” Nott asserted and he nodded.

“I know, I just wanted to be prepared.”

Fjord started marching the prisoner to the war room for questioning. “Caleb, you gonna join me?”

“In a moment,” he said, absentmindedly, as he counted out coins. “100 platinum. That should be more than enough. Do you know where to go?”

Jester bit her lip. “I know one jewelry shop but I don’t know if they’ll have enough.”

“Maybe she’ll know where we can get more?” Nott suggested.

“Maybe. Let’s hurry.”

They all left the library together, Caleb heading for the war room once they hit the hallway and Jester and Nott for the door. Nott opened the door to leave but Jester froze in the foyer. “Can I… Can I go see her really quick?”

Nott smiled and nodded. “I’ll wait here.”

Jester hurried up the stairs to their room and threw open the door. Caduceus was sitting in a chair beside the bed but he smiled and stood up when she stepped into the room. Jester looked around and spotted Yasha standing guard in the corner to her left. “Can I... talk to her? Alone?”

Yasha and Caduceus exchanged a look and he nodded, stepping passed her into the the hall with Yasha behind. Jester shut the door quietly behind them. She sighed and looked over Beau’s body in the flickering torch light. She sat beside her and almost reached out to touch her but paused. She’d been putting this off. She hadn’t touched her at all in the cell because she knew that if she felt Beau’s cold, lifeless skin, it’d be real.

She took a deep breath and wrapped her fingers around Beau’s wrist. She knew that there wouldn’t be a pulse but tears welled up in the corners of her eyes anyway. She sniffled and tried to think of something to say, but any words just got caught in her throat. Instead, she brought Beau’s hand to her mouth and gently kissed the backs of her scarred, torn knuckles. She tried to talk again but nearly choked on the words when there was a knock on the door.

“Jester?” Caduceus said gently through the wood. “I don’t mean to rush you, but the longer she stays like this the harder it will be for her to readjust when she comes back.”

Jester cleared her throat and stood , reluctantly releasing Beau’s hand to fall back to her side. “I’m going to bring you back,” she whispered. “I promise.”

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and hurried back down meet Nott at the front door.

“Out of business?!” Nott exclaimed, reading the sign on the jewelry shop door. Jester tried to peek in the windows but the building was empty. “Where the fuck are we supposed to find diamonds now?”

Jester frowned as she looked around. “Essik might know,” she said, catching Nott’s eyes. “I could call him.”

Nott frowned. “I don’t know… who knows if he would be willing to help us revive someone? I don't know what their religion says about that sort of thing.”

“Maybe I won’t tell him right away what it’s for?”

“You’re asking for a very specific amount of diamonds. He’s going to figure it out, he’s not stupid.”

Jester pouted and crossed her arms. “Then you figure out what to do!”

Nott crossed her arms and started pacing around in front of the door. “Fine! Call him then! But be… vague.”

Jester nodded and quickly cast Sending. “Hello, Shadowhand Essik,” she started, counting her words on her fingers. “This is Jester. We have a bit of an emergency and were wondering if you could come meet us somewhere in town.”

Nott gave her a thumbs up and Jester nodded, waiting silently for the response.

‘Certainly. I’ll meet you at the Dim’s Inn in ten minutes.’

“Dim’s Inn,” Jester said, starting in that direction. They walked through town to the Inn where they first stayed when they arrived and got a secluded table near the back. The cartending was giving them curious looks but didn’t bother them. They only had to wait a few minutes for Essik to arrive and glide to their table.

He gave them a diplomatic smile and took a seat across the table for them. “What emergency? Is someone hurt?”

Jester and Nott exchanged a glance. “We need diamonds.” A look of understanding crossed Essik’s face but Jester hurriedly continued. “We don’t expect them for free or anything!” She pulled out the purse of platinums. “That’s twice what the diamonds are worth. The jewelry store that we were going to buy from is closed and we dont- we weren’t sure- we need-”

“Dear Jester,” Essik said. “Breathe, you’re going to hyperventilate. Your friend would not be pleased to come back and find you this way. I will certainly help you acquire the necessary diamonds.”

Jester took a breath in through her nose so deeply that her back arched, then she let it out slowly through her mouth. “Th-Thank you… Thanks.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then got to his feet. “Come then. Beauregard is not the patient sort, is she?”

Caleb stood to the side and just watched Fjord work. “Where is Trent?” he asked, his voice low. The man looked away and didn’t answer. Fjord reached for his hand and bent his pointer finger back painfully. “You fond of this finger? Feel keen on using it again someday? Answer me. We knew that he was at the interrogation site with the monk. Where did he go from there?” The man still didn’t answer. Fjord pushed harder in his finger until it cracked and popped. The man started grinding his teeth. “One last chance, friend.”

“Fuck you.”

Fjord shoved the finger back violently and felt it break under his thumb. The man started to scream and squirm in his chair. “See, this is the kind of shit that happens when we ask nicely and you spit it back in our face. Let’s try again.” He started pushing back the next finger in line. “Where is Trent?”

“I don't know!” he exclaimed. “He didn’t talk to me! He didn’t talk to anybody but the girl! He showed up, forced his way into the interrogation room and dealt with her alone for a few hours and then he fucked off. She was nearly dead when he left, we had to use clerics to keep her alive so we could ask her more questions.”

Fjord and Caleb exchanged a glance. Caleb nodded. He was telling the truth as far as Caleb could tell. Something occurred to him then and he felt sick to his stomach. “You have this under control?” he asked, starting towards the door. “There’s something I need to check.”

“I’ve got this,” Fjord said, shoving the second finger back hard. Caleb shut the door to block out the screams.

Caleb walked to Beau’s room and knocked on the closed door. It opened and he stepped inside, giving Yasha a brief nod. “Yasha, could I speak to Caduceus for a moment?” he asked, moving to sit on Jester’s bed.

Caduceus barely looked up from where he laying out the various incense he’d need to pull this off. “What can I help you with, Caleb?” he asked when they were alone.

“Would Speak With Dead interfere with a Raise Dead spell?”

Caduceus froze and and stared at Caleb until his match started licking at his fingertips. He shook it to put it out. “It shouldn't. You want to Speak with Beau?”

“Not if you think it’s going to keep her from being revived.”

“Why not just wait for her to brought back to ask your questions?”

Caleb hesitated and started twisting his hands in his lap. “Trauma. You said that there would be trauma related to her torture. What I know of trauma is that it can sometimes cause… memory gaps. People forget their harrowing experiences in order to deal with them. I have certain gaps in my own memory for the same reason. It’s possible that she may know of Trent’s designs and if she wakes, traumatized-”

“She could forget what she knows.” Caduceus was quiet for a moment. “It shouldn’t cause a problem with the spell. I can’t see why it would. But you must understand… there are ethical questions to consider.”

“I won’t ask her anything that I know for a fact she wouldn’t answer if she were alive. All I want to know is about what Trent might have told her when he had her in a room alone.”

Caduceus hesitated but then nodded. “If you’re sure. I can do it.”

“I’m not sure. But do it anyway.”

The incense was already lit and filling the room with smoke, so Caduceus just quickly cast the spell. The smoke from the burners started to move towards Beau’s body and her chest rose like she was breathing it in. There was only a beat of time before she started to rise up into a sitting position, her eyes still closed and her arms still slack at her side.

Caduceus and Caleb exchanged a glance. Caleb licked his lips nervously and cleared his throat. “I am sorry about this Beauregard,” he whispered. “What happened when Trent Ikithon came to see you?”

Her eyes snapped open and stared at him blankly. “Tell me where to find Bren. Fuck you.” Her head snapped to the side violently as if she’d been slapped. It wasn’t exactly her voice speaking to them, and for that he was thankful. The voice was deep and smoky. She suddenly laughed and Caleb shivered at the foreboding sound. “Do your worse, old man. You’ll have to kill me first.” Her head snapped the other way. “Tell me now! Or I will lock you away and throw away the key! Never! They’re going to kill you, you fucking piece of shit!” Beau's hands suddenly flew up to her own throat and the sounds of choking turned Caleb’s stomach.

“Stop!” The voice stopped abruptly and the eyes turned back to meet his, her hands falling into her lap like weights. Caleb’s hands shook as he brushed them through his hair, pushing his curls out of his face. He let out the breath he’d been holding and his voice quivered when he spoke. “Did he tell you where he was going to go after he left?”

The next words out of the body’s mouth were muffled like they’d been heard through a door. “Put her in holding and forget about her. Send someone by in a couple of weeks to clean up the mess. I’m heading to the Shadowed Garden to meet with the Mistress, if you learn anything send it to me there.”

“Where is the Shadowed Garden? Did anyone give you any clues?”

“I hate the place. Always so fucking rainy and you can’t see shit in that fog. How is it always so goddamn fucking foggy? I’m glad I’m not going this time. Someone pick up her legs, help me carry her down to holding. Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. Oh shit- she was faking! Someone stop her before she gets out! Agh-” Beau’s purpling mouth snapped shut.

Caleb and Caduceus shared another look. “Someplace that is constantly foggy and rainy…” Caleb mumbled. “And who is the Mistress, did anyone talk about the Mistress?”

“Have you ever seen the Mistress? Once. From afar. What did she look like? … Everything. She looked like everything.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Caleb grumbled. He sighed and shook his head. “That’s all. Can you end the spell early?”

Before Caduceus would answer, Beau did. Caleb jumped at the unexpected noise. “No.” Her eyes fell closed once more and the smoke left her body like an exhalation. Caleb rushed forward to hold her shoulders and slowly lower her to the bed.

Caleb sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “Caduceus… I will tell Beau of this when she wakes up. If she gets angry, I don’t want you to be in the crossfire. She will decide how to tell everyone what we learned. Until then, let’s keep this between the three of us.”

Caduceus nodded and started fixing the blanket the covered Beau. “Agreed.” He was quiet for a moment and Caleb didn’t move to leave. “She fought so hard,” he muttered. “Even when she knew she was going to die.”

Caleb rose to his feet. “Especially when she knew she was going to die.” Then he left the room.

Jester rushed in through the front door, holding a sack of diamonds with Nott close on her heels. Essik arrived a moment later, because he was too dignified to rush.

“Everyone! Everyone we’re ready!” she called at the top of her voice. She hurried up the stairs and nearly crashed into Fjord in the hallway. “Fjord! Everyone to my room, we have the diamonds!”

He nodded and stepped aside to let her run by. He nodded to Essik as the man stepped up beside him. “Shadowhand,” he muttered in greeting.

“Mr. Tough.”

Fjord opened his mouth to retort but decided it wasn’t worth it and just cleared his throat. “We have a prisoner you may be interested in. Once this is over.”

Caleb met Jester at the door to the bedroom and pushed the door open. “We’re good to go? Shall we do this?”

He looked at Caduceus, who was looking at Jester. “Are we?” he asked her.

Jester took a deep breath and nodded, moving over to stand at Beau’s bedside. She dumped the diamonds out on her stomach and chest. “Who brought offerings?” she asked, gently brushing some hair out of Beau’s face.

“Me,” Nott said first, shimmying her way to the front of he pack while she rooted around in her pocket. She pulled out the jade bracelet that Beau had given her shortly after they left Zadash and sat it beside her hip. “You don’t get to keep it,” she told Beau. “It’s important to me because it was the first gift anybody ever gave this little goblin girl. You can use it for a while though.” She sniffled and wiped her nose as she stepped away.

Jester nodded. “I’ll be offering something for her too.” But she didn’t make a move for her pockets. “One more person?”

“I-” Caleb started, then he nervously cleared his throat. “I have something I would like to say to her.”

Jester took a deep breath and started doing idly stretches like she was gearing up to exert herself. “Then I think we’re ready.” She waved her hands over Beau’s body and her fingers started to glow. The diamonds shattered into dust and started floating up above Beau’s body.

Nott picked up her bracelet and sat it on Beau’s stomach where the diamonds used to rest. “Come back. Please,” she whispered.

Jester looked at Caleb next and he nodded, stepping forward to stand beside her. “You are…” he had to pause when his voice shook. “You are my sister. Not in blood, but it every way that matters, you are my sister. And I need you right now. The world is dark and cruel and lonely but… it is a little bit brighter with you around.” He reached out and took her hand and Nott laid hers over top of his, squeezing comfortingly when he caught her eye.

“My turn…” Jester mumbled. She leaned forward until her face was right beside Beau’s face and kissed her cheek. “Beau, we can’t do this without you.” And she didn’t just mean taking on Trent. She meant everything, all of it. Everything that came with living in this world, but she wasn’t sure how to say it in a way that made sense. She trusted that Beau knew what she meant anyway. “I love you, so much. Please come home?”

She reached out and laid her hand over Nott’s and Caleb’s. Fjord was next to take their joined hands and then Caduceus laid his large, furry hand on top. “Come on, Kiddo,” he whispered, smiling softly. Yasha was last, wrapping her fingers around Beau’s wrist supportively and saying more with her touch than she ever could with words.

They all watched her in silence as their heart beats pounded against their chests. For a moment, there was no movement and Caleb was terrified that Speaking to her had interfered with the resurrection.

But then her back arched off the bed and she sucked in a deep breath. She threw herself over, ripping her hand free to cough and spit over the side of the bed. “Water,” she gasped, before tumbling heavily towards the floor.

Yasha and Jester both swept forward to catch her before she hit the ground and laid her back on the bed, crying with joy as she strained to breathe.

“I’ll fetch the water,” Essik said, giving them a kind smile. “Then I’ll take the prisoner and my leave. I’ll inform the Queen that you’ll need a few day to recover before coming to you with any missions.”

Caleb nodded his thanks and then turned back to watch Beau’s pale, gray skin turn more vibrant and brown.

“Caleb… Caleb!”

Caleb hissed out in surprise as he woke and pressed himself up against the wall. “Wo- Du bist-!” he exclaimed.

“Hey, hey… It’s just me.”

He blinked in the darkness as everything started to become clear. “Beauregard? What are you doing up, you should be resting.”

“It’s too...” she hesitated. “Would you sit up, I feel like an idiot talking to you like this.” She stepped away from the bed, wobbling and catching herself on the post, and waited until he was sitting up on the mattress. “It’s too dark. In my room. I woke up from a dream and I thought I was… Well, in any case, it’s too dark.”

“Light a torch.”

“It’s not enough.”

He blinked at her tiredly. “Beau, I am happy to help you get through this, but I need you to tell me what I can do.”

She bit her lip and looked away. “How… How long would it take to teach me a spell? Is that possible, can I learn?”

He frowned, curious. “That depends on the spell. The more powerful the spell the longer it will take. If you learn multiple spells you will eventually need a spell book to remember them all.”

“Just one spell. A cantrip.”

He considered this. “A few hours?”

“But it’s possible?”

“Of course. What spell?”

She bit her lip like she was embarrassed. “Dancing lights.”

He tried to meet her eyes but she kept looking away. “That is a simple one. I could teach it to you tonight if you want. Why this spell?”

“No reason.”

Caleb sighed. “Beau… you have been through a terrible ordeal. There is no shame in afraid.”

“I’m not afraid, it’s just the dark. I haven’t been scared of the dark since I was a kid, I’m not a fucking baby. It’s just…” She took a deep breath in through her nose and let the sentence trail off. “I just want to learn dancing lights. Will you teach me or not?”

He pulled his spell book out from under his pillow and pat the bed beside him. “Come on. Sit down and we will get started.”

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E55

This week’s guests are Laura Bailey and Taliesin Jaffe! This week’s theme: leaning hard into the post-con tired. This week’s conspiracy: beards. Why? How? WHEN?! 

Announcements: General Admission tickets for Gen Con on August 2nd go on sale tomorrow at 10 AM Eastern Time! Everyone was really blown away by the love at ECCC (over 200 people were at one of the CR cosplay meetups!). Kickstarter update: with 30 days left in the campaign, over $7.6m has been raised thus far. If the next stretch goal is hit, there will be an entire 10-episode series. Brian and Laura also know Ashley’s idea for a one-shot and he’s excited to see it happen.

There will be no episode on Thursday, March 28th and no TM on the following Tuesday due to family commitments and half the cast being out of town.

Without further ado, it’s time to discuss Episode 55: Duplicity!

This episode sets the campaign 2 record for most player d20 rolls at 211. 230 was the record number of d20 rolls in campaign 1, in episode 114. 752 damage was dealt by the Mighty Nein, 280 of which was against each other. Jester and Caduceus both dealt 44 damage, none of which was friendly fire. By the end of the episode, the M9 had 8 spell slots left among them (of 45 total).

Taliesin’s reaction to last episode: “Maaaan. Ow. That hurt.” 

For Clay, Taliesin only keeps notes for things he thinks he’d pay attention to. He occasionally peeks at Laura’s notes, mostly for entertainment value. Sam has the most detailed notes at that table right now.

Laura’s strong reaction to Caleb going bad was partly Laura just “giving Liam a lot of shit, because we’re actually siblings,” but this kind of betrayal was also a new experience for Jester.

Are they feeling betrayed by the M9? Taliesin: “Nah, he had siblings, man. He’s fine.” Laura: “Jester does not have siblings. She was pretty distraught about Caleb doing that.”

“This doll definitely comes alive at night.” 

There is a very strange puppet show with Laura playing Caleb and Taliesin playing Jester until they decide it maybe makes more sense to swap.

Taliesin’s first thought with the explosive arrow was “Fuck, that’s expensive.” He knew Jester had the spell slot and he knew Clay would be okay. “That was not dumb. It would’ve been worse to be at the mercy of that creature there for a moment. I was toast no matter what. Better to do that there so we could get it in right away.” Laura points out that Sam had the explosive arrow prepped for that action regardless.

Jester is “definitely fighting the fear that she faces during battles now, because she feels mortal,” especially after seeing Caduceus fall. But at the same time, she is “at her core, a protector, both physically and emotionally, of people.”

Laura points out that she doesn’t heal in battle as much because she knows that she won’t be able to overcome the damage enemies are doing; it makes more sense to save lower-level spell slots to bring people back from unconsciousness than to heal people who are nearly down.

Gif of the Week: an extensive (and amazing) dice fail compilation!

Taliesin: “Oh man, that vision from the Wildmother was really good. That was Matt just giving me a big hug for everything that happened.” He’s excited to see some backstory hints there. “This is not what rattles him. Other things rattle him.” He’s of the opinion that grave clerics have probably been pushed to this place in ceremony a few times before.

Jester feels good about the revivify spell, but it’s also made the power of her abilities feel a lot more real. “Healing’s always second for her.”

Clay’s death experience was mainly just significant to him because it involved the Wildmother basically giving him a thumbs-up. “He definitely has a philosophy on the notion of destiny that’s very specific.” Taliesin’s excited to see how Caduceus will act if and when siblings show up. “I think he’s a trash fire. I don’t think this is the Caduceus you get when his siblings are around.”

Laura mentions the blood lust that comes up whenever Matt mentions that a baddie is “looking pretty rough”; it tends to make it tough to concentrate on anything else.

Fan Art of the Week: the revivify spell and Caduceus’ vision.

Jester’s bravery pre-dragon came from naiveté. Now it comes from love, and the people she surrounds herself with. “It’s like she’s trying to find the bravery herself.”

A question points out that Percy’s inventions indirectly led to Nott firing that explosive arrow... and hence he was somewhat responsible for killing his own character. “This is literally what the character was intended to do. This is literally what Percy was invented to do.” He absolutely thought last campaign that he may be killing a future character with his actions as Percy.

“Jester believes in the other gods. She just thinks that the Traveler is way cooler than any of them.” In her mind, the Wildmother has the same sort of relationship with Clay as she does with the Traveler. That’s why she immediately took the “go get his mom, he needs help” approach with her plea to the Traveler.

Is Caduceus holding a grudge against Nott? “I think there’ll be a little bit of a ‘hey, little buddy, be a little more careful there going forward’ talk.” But things happen.

Jester has had a bit of a “Fuck, I should have been there for Molly, too” reaction after the revivify.

In Clay’s mind, fiends are slightly better than the undead. “They’re better, but they don’t belong here. It’s like having an infestation in your home.”

“In retrospect, Nugget really should’ve stayed with Momma a little longer.” Sprinkle’s well-protected. “That’s how I’m saying Sprinkle is not dead.”

Taliesin has really been enjoying his first experience as a cleric. "There’s a lot of satisfaction to looking Matt in the eye and ruining something he’s been working on.”

Search for Grog Questions! CR1 SPOILERS ENSUE!

Taliesin and Laura felt like they didn’t miss a beat going back to Vex/Percy: “Fuckin’ power couple, man.”

Laura had no recollection of the joke about Percy losing his arm in the original episode and was extremely confused. Taliesin honestly didn’t believe Matt was going to do it, but he respects Sam’s commitment to the bit.

The Golden Snitch actually got stolen at some point when Matt’s car got broken into. Taliesin now has an Anti-Snitch that’s been working pretty well.

There’s some ideas thrown around about what to do with Percy’s arm. Some sort of greeter/wacky inflatable tube guy is the general consensus.