#then she can res orym

[cynntastic]

Spoilers in the tags

[caeslxys]

gonna be real I don't get the takes saying Imogen's comment about Ludinus' view of the gods is out of left field or otherwise out of character for her. Personally I don't know how anyone didn't see this coming for her character from a mile away.

like, imogen temult? whose life was taken from her and twisted into something so miserable that before she met laudna she wasn't sure how to go on? imogen temult? who found that her mother was alive and left her because of the same powers that ruined her life to begin with? imogen temult, whose best friend is someone she was only allowed to meet to begin with because she was brutally tortured and murdered for display and wandered the world for 28 lonely years until she wound up in gelvaan? imogen temult, who watched fcg attribute the coin flip that took her best friend from her to the divine? imogen temult, who just learned that the person who killed her is working with her mother?

what in her entire life would have led her to feel anything but, at best, apathy towards the gods. she's probably been toeing the line of active disdain for divinity for longer than even she realized.

"they made some good points" isn't her agreeing with ludinus or falling for his pyramid scheme or whatever else. she isn't suddenly agreeing with the man who appears to want—to our and the players current understanding—to unleash a second calamity level event. she was specifically speaking to the effectiveness of their pantheon, of which she has been given every single reason to question.

the wildmother isn't leaving her magic imbued swords and backing winds. she doesn't have a coin to flip and leave her decisions up to some elevated being. she has her mother, who left her, and a god-eater trapped on the moon haunting her. given the entirety of her life, is it really so shocking that she is so ready to question the divine? even if it was a question presented from the antagonist?

[vethbrenatto]

Not trying to change your mind about the whole "keyleth ex machina" thing cos I actuly agree when it comes to the percy and vex (that would be cheep imo), but I doooo think it can be done well if it Keyleth..for me it comes down to looking at it at oryms perspective because yeah, he must be feeling pretty guilty right now so he must be thinking he has to do whatever is in his power to fix that burden of guilt (I'm not saying thats healthy I'm saying its real for him to feel that) and well.. keyleth is who he would turn to logicly.

as well as the fact it was hinted at that keyleth tried to save Will and failed so Kiki may even feel alittle guilty herself....not saying that keyleth owes him a dept for that but it would be a nice to sort of explore that and show rather that just tell us why he has such huge respect and admiration for his boss and to discuss those sorts of feelings of guilt on both sides. Just my opinion and of course your entitled to your own just wanted to throw my thoughts out there so thanks for listening.

I see your point and I don't disagree! I really have no problems with the in-character decision to reach out to Keyleth. She is one of the most powerful known people in the world and Orym has a direct line to her- other than keeping from bothering her and Orym self-identifying as "just some guy/guard" to her, he really has no reason not to contact her, especially in a situation this dire. I agree that going to the de Rolos is more of a stretch as none of them even know the de Rolos (not even Laudna).

My problem with the C1 tie-ins has nothing to do with in-character decisions, but more of a meta level of- are they necessary? Are they detracting from (my) enjoyment of the campaign? Could the story exist without them? And in this case specifically, is the inclusion of these ties making what would typically be a difficult task easy?

I'll probably go more in depth on this later today or this weekend because I'm getting multiple asks about this topic but the tldr on this one is that I get you and my gripe is slightly off center from your point.

[utilitycaster]

no d20 spoilers here since i know you know the gist of the drama but the fact that both kipperlilly (and the ratgrinders as a whole) and laudna are sending the their respective fandoms into meltdowns is FASCINATING to me!!! Especially happening at roughly the same time

I am now officially caught up and. not to brag but, called it re: the Rat Grinders, huh, except it's even more stupid. Like. The "but they're literally minors?" argument sort of falls apart given that they're the same age as the Bad Kids, and are actively trying to kill them, the "but redemption" argument doesn't mean shit since at no point did they make any forays towards redemption and indeed sicced a bunch of dragons on the Bad Kids, and so we're left with nothing but an impotent desire to not have a sick-ass battle in the finale of a D20 Campaign. And, perhaps, an uncomfortable realization that they are not unlike the Rat Grinders and the narrative said "lmao yeah you suck".

Laudna's shit? not that different actually. Like there's a lot of reasons why the arguments defending her are bullshit but the biggest one is that the "Laudna has never done anything wrong ever in her life and Imogen is her tether" crowd have painted themselves into a delightfully tiny little corner and they can't hide it anymore. Like, okay, so, is Laudna in control of her actions? Because if so she just attacked Orym in the middle of the night. Is she not? Because if so why hasn't she made the efforts that Chetney and FCG and Imogen (at least sometimes) did to address that? If the issue is trauma why is hers more valid than that of others? If it's abuse tell me how you feel about Caleb, Fjord, Beau, and Percy? Why is Orym shutting down the conversation when he says the Vanguard killed his family but Laudna's not doing the same when she tells Ashton not to speak to her of loneliness and Chetney not to speak to her of loss when she doesn't have a monopoly on either?

Why is it Bells Hells' job to endlessly accomodate Laudna and why are so many people suddenly talking about Bells Hells as an abstract 7-headed entity that didn't deal with Laudna's problems when those same people (if they were around at the time of the gnarlrock airing, and many of them weren't) were like "NO THEY SHOULD MAKE UP AS FAST AS POSSIBLE AND IMOGEN IS A BITCH BECAUSE LAUDNA DIDN'T MEAN IT." Why wasn't it an issue for them when Laudna's ranting about her time in Issylra and how hard it was got shut down by Imogen kissing her because that's why it didn't stay in the spotlight. Why wasn't it an issue for them when Imogen said "if you need her, that's my answer"? Why is it Orym or "Bells Hells" in the abstract who never spent time on Laudna's trauma after months if not years of throwing a fit any time someone (often me) (not always though) pointed out how much Imogen and Laudna were shoving under the rug and not dealing with? What does it say that you can't even expect Laudna's partner to be the one supporting her through this- it has to be Orym? Why doesn't Laudna have any responsibility here? At minimum she could have spoken up about the sword at at least two if not three junctures and she didn't.

There's a lot of things I hold in contempt, and after the obvious things like bigotry, two I really detest are hypocrisy and dereliction of responsibility. It's been extremely telling with both the D20 and CR discourse that people do not like seeing the story and the fandom say "hey actually you need to take responsibility for your actions, you only get redemption if you work for it, and if you leave a room hoping someone will follow you without saying that's what you want? Don't be surprised if no one does." The reason everyone was preparing to stop Laudna was because she was, in every action and decision, showing herself to be a person in need of being stopped. Can you describe this perfect balance of gentleness in which she's never pushed too hard but she does talk about her trauma and work through it and in doing so leaves Delilah? Have you demanded any other member of Bells Hells be granted that same gentleness and patience and kindness or do you think Orym should get over his grief because it's inconvenient to your arguments.

Just as the Rat Grinders show the narrative saying "being an entitled, resentful, jealous person who hurts others from jealousy makes you an easy tool to be manipulated into cruelty and you need to deal with that," I think Laudna shows the narrative (and certainly the fandom) saying "you do have an obligation to deal with your trauma, especially if it causes you to hurt others, and you can ask for help but you can't just sit on your ass waiting for someone else to initiate the process for you" as well as "if you do hurt people because of your trauma they may be angry with you, this may shape how they see you, and they are justified in that because you hurt them" and I think people in both fandoms hate being told that because I think a lot of the people sparking the discourse really do think that you can shield yourself from criticism over your hurtful actions by claiming trauma or neurodivergence or mental illness or whatever and it's like, no, you do still suck, you just also had sucky things happen to you as well.

[lexmakeshit]

To anyone saying that Orym has the more trauma than Laudna I just want to say you’re wrong. Yeah Ludinus’ cult attacked his home and otohan murdered his father and husband then killed him and his friends but I’m sorry Laudna was tricked by Delilah then beaten to death and hung from a tree as a warning and then spent 30 years alone with in the woods with the disembodied spirit of her murderer living in her head. Was Murdered by Otohan as a threat to Imogen then forced to relive her trauma and then woke up in the same place as when she was first killed and now Otohan is the reason her friend is dead. If we are gonna play trauma olympics she is by far the winner

Girly has been constantly going through shit the entire campaign and has been in and out of a downward spiral since the airship fight of course she is starting to lose it. Y’all could get how Liliana was brain washed by years under ludinus but can’t understand how Delilah has so deeply fucked up Laudna sense of reality that her actions are in her mind perfectly logical because all she cares about is Imogen and Delilah who is both a master manipulator and been in her head for 30+ years is using that to gain power.

I also want to point out that laudna is the last member of the group other than Dorian to have given in to a potentially corrupting influence for more power in this fight and to protect the people they love. Imogen gave in partially to predathos and got exhalted, Chet got training from the gorgenyi and gave into his inner wolf and made a deal with nanna morri, fearne and Ashton both absorbed a part of a titan and fearne made a deal with champion of asmodeous, orym made a deal with nanna morri and FCG literally gave into his inner rage and blew himself up to save them. So Laudna has spent the last few weeks watching all her friends make deals and give in for power and now that she is doing the same to protect the person she loves most in the world after watching them barely win and lose someone despite everything they have done to get more powerful she is getting shit for it.

I totally agree that laudna shouldn’t have have done what she did but orym shouldn’t have made a unilateral claim on any of the Otohan stuff so close to FCGs death especially without the group having had a chance to talk or process at all and I can totally understand how Delilah has manipulated laudna to the point that she believes that what she is saying is true.

I wanna say I am by no means hating on Orym I am just really not a fan of the way Laudna is be treated like some evil manipulative abuser when she actually a very traumatised person who is struggling in a manner very similar to someone fighting a addiction while being constantly re-traumatised which is being essentially ignored.

I genuinely love all of the characters in C3 and actually have a lot of thoughts about them particularly as allegories for the spectrum of disability and how poetic and heartbreakingly beautiful and complex they all are as characters and a group. I just have been getting really frustrated at the lack of nuance being used by some folks for a group that is deeply morally grey and some folks seeming lack of ability to assess multiple perspectives in a campaign that is all about multiple perspectives and what makes someone the good or bad guys.

Sorry for the rant I might delete this later and make what might be a more coherent post when I am more calm and it’s not so late at night but I just needed to get my thoughts out.

[leet911]

Regret

They've been in Wildemount six days and Imogen casts sending every night before bed.  It hasn't worked yet, but still she tries.  She steels herself for the static as she weaves the spell and murmurs her message into the void.

"Laudna?  Can you hear me?  Tell me you're alright.  I need you to be alright.  Please.  I'm sorry, Laudna.  I–"  The screeching feedback interrupts, washing out her words and cutting her off.  A spike of pain shoots between her eyes, making her falter.

Imogen lets out a grunt of frustration, flings her pillow against the wall, and when it drops to the ground with a most unsatisfying sound, she invokes her power.  She pulls it from the ground with telekinesis, rips the pillow apart in the air.  As down flutters around the room, Imogen thinks of screaming, but then she remembers that Laudna isn't around to mend her messes, and she instead falls back to the bed with a sob.

There's a soft knock at her door.  "Are you ok?"  It's Fearne.

Imogen tries to steady herself and her voice.  "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Can I come in?"  Fearne is not convinced.

Imogen opens the door and looks around sheepishly.  There are still small bits of dust and feathers drifting around the room.  She realizes then, that she's not wearing her gloves, and her markings are clearly visible.  Self-conscious, she rubs her exposed forearms where the "Whitestone is for lovers" shirt doesn't cover.

Fearne steps in and glances about.  Her voice is soft and gentle.  "Do you want a hug?"

Imogen nods without looking up.

Warmth engulfs her as Fearne reaches out.  "It's ok if you miss her." Fearne smells like the outdoors, like wilderness and animals.  It reminds Imogen of Flora, and Gelvaan, and those mornings spent in the woods with Laudna, back before it felt like the world was ending.  Or maybe it did feel like the world was ending then, but for entirely different reasons, and they hadn’t known it actually was ending.

"It's…" Imogen rubs at her own neck,"it's just that I promised myself we wouldn't be apart again."

"None of this is your fault."

"But I promised her I wouldn't ever leave." Imogen thinks she might cry, and she hates herself for it.  All this power at her fingertips, and she still feels useless.  Calm emotions beckons at her, but that sounds too much like avoiding the question.  That sounds too much like cheating.  Because maybe Imogen believes she needs this pain, that she deserves this punishment.  Imogen was supposed to save the world, even if she never asked for it. Imogen was supposed to save the world so that Laudna would have time to hear all the things Imogen still had to say to her.

"We got sent away, maybe they did too.  We'll find them."

"But what if we're too late?  What if something happened, and Laudna needs us, and we're not there.  You heard what Deanna said.”  Imogen’s voice drops to a whisper.  “What if Laudna needs me?"  And she isn’t sure if the whisper is to keep the thought from Fearne or herself.  Because the next thought stays inside her own head, not daring to be spoken or broadcast.  What if I need Laudna?  See, Imogen remembers the last time Laudna was beyond the reach of her magic and what that meant.

The arms around her tighten.  “Laudna is stronger than she looks.  Orym and Ashton are too.”

Imogen sighs, nods her head.  She knows it’s true.  Laudna is the strongest person she’s ever met.

“Do you want a cookie?”  Fearne asks all of a sudden.  “FCG made them.”  And she rummages through her pouch to pull out a lone cookie.  “It’s not warm anymore, but it’s still pretty good.”

Imogen takes the treat because accepting seems easier than refusing, and eating is easier than talking.  She’s not really hungry but she bites into it anyway.

It’s a gingersnap, of course.   It’s crispy on the outside, and a little soft in the center.  Just like Imogen. Or Laudna. The surface is sweet, dusted with sugar, but there’s depths of spice hidden underneath.  And in the finish, the slightest tang of citrus.  Esteross’ recipe.  Laudna’s favorite.

The rest of the cookie is devoured.  And to Imogen, it tastes just like regret.

[remjl]

CRITICAL ROLE C3 E89 SPOILERS

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Finally! Some team bounding time and conversations! Can't wait to see how their missions will turn up. I was under impression that Imogen will re-think her choice and will go to assassination mission to save Liliana, due to her attempt to convince them to take her as a prisoner... Well, technically she still can reach out and warn her. This scene between Temults was heartbreaking. I hope that assassination will fail, to be honest. There is still chance for Liliana, I am sure.

Fearne is going to meet her real father. Can't wait for see this reunion.

Imogen and Laudna convo... A lot has been unpacked, however Laudna hide the truth about reilora whose power she absorbed. However, I dont think she lied, just choose her words carefully with this symbiotic thing. Also, it kinda unfair, since she indeed has no choice considering her mental state at that Bor'Dor moment and was practically pushed by Orym and partially Ashton to this path, which Imogen is not aware of. Probably, this current railora in question shouldn't be a big problem due to time his body will spend in hole. However, Laudna should trust Imogen more, this woman can handle this, she is ok with dead warlock in her head, what could be more romantic?

"I am not a sweet girl!" - is this as sign, that Laudna is starting to fight her trauma/sweet voice in her head and try create some boundaries after this talk?

P.S. Delilah probably was sitting in Laudna head with a boal of pop corn whole this time. She is a sucker for a good star-crossed lovers drama.

[sbrn10]

Apropos of this post, rotating Imogen like a rotisserie chicken in my head re: leaning into the power to have knowledge vs. faith.

Faith, by definition, is an antonym of knowledge, as in it is only possible to have faith when you don't know for sure. If you know, then you just know; there is no place for faith in the absence of uncertainty.

Imogen was born with the power/curse of always being forced to know other people's thoughts. She never even had the opportunity to choose faith, because she simply couldn't. The circlet of course represents an escape from pain, but it is also a risk she has to take in not knowing -- a leap of faith. And she made that leap! But recent events have shaken her -- she's leaning back in towards knowledge and away from faith, both in her friends (as in, they lied and then almost died) and herself (as Allura said, "with knowledge comes the ability to make a difference" -- she doesn't trust herself to be able to make the difference that is needed without knowing, or at least thinks she will have a much better chance knowing). She knows that this will hurt her (literally) and her friends (figuratively -- she knows it's an invasion), but she now thinks it's on balance necessary to the fight.

(Side note, the past couple episodes have been heavy enough -- can you imagine how fucking dark it would have gotten if Ashton actually didn't have the ring or failed one more roll and just vaporized himself? Like how fucking much it would have fucked up Fearne and Imogen specifically?)

All of the above stands out sharper when juxtaposed against Orym, our resident Batman, who expresses that he has faith in all of them AND contingency plans for each of them. This is not, in my mind, a contradiction. He knows that he can't be sure, so of course he has plans, but I think at this point he does believe that his friends will (try to) choose to be the best versions of themselves that they can be, and he has faith in himself that he will do the best he can if they don't.

And god, I just think Imogen would envy that peace of mind so much.

[sparring-spirals]

RE the Orym/Fearne convo; do you think they’re actually planning on killing Imogen or just incapacitating her?

On the one hand these people are a threat to the Air Ashari and have attacked them before, and I can easily Orym being this ruthless.

On the other hand, I don’t see why Orym would delegate to Fearne unless they were talking about taking her out non-lethally? She seems much more suited to (and less conflicted about) being the distraction.

(I also think it would be kind of hilarious for Ashley and Liam’s plan to just be “knock her out, grab her, leg it” and for the two of them to have chosen just the most euphemistically loaded way possible to discuss this at the table)

Sorry for the delay on this, my brain is cooperating excellently and thats why it took multiple days to watch a two minute conversation. Now that I HAVE seen it, with the caveat of still not having watched the rest of the episode:

I think the plan is to do whatever is needed, in the moment- the conversation felt more like trying to prepare themselves for the possibility, not just for "taking Imogen out" but for acting against her at all. Acknowledging the amount of danger Imogen poses, locking eyes, asking each other: are you with me? always.

They both say, at different points through the conversation: this probably wont be necessary. I'm sure it will be fine. Itll be good! There are already so many things to worry about. But that silent "if", was finally spoken too. If its not fine? If the worst comes to pass? If Imogen becomes another concern, in the middle of hell?

Orym asking Fearne to do the deed was a little surprising, but rewatching that exchange, and thinking about the opposite, I think it makes sense. Fearne is well suited for a distraction, yeah, but- this is more than that. This is an intentional deception against someone Fearne likes very much, that Fearne really cares about. It would be a deception intended to end in harm to something she loves. I think that's very different from the lies Fearne likes to tell. I think it would be- difficult, at best.

On top of that- Imogen is dangerous. They love her, but they know- she is powerful, immensely so. And so against them- she is dangerous.

The person in the "distraction" role is the one most likely to be in danger. im not sure Orym could contend with giving that role to Fearne, even if it means the final moves are less lethal than is necessary.

(Maybe there is a part of him that hopes for that, too. Neither of them want to do this. Both of them hoping for the best. But Fearne is the one to raise the worry, and Orym is the one to voice the hard possibilities. he has to be. If it comes down to it- if- the roles are bad either way. Its all going to be a nightmare.

If it comes down to it- if. Orym asked Fearne: Are you with me? and Fearne said: Always. And that's what it boils down to, right? No matter what they plan out, if it all goes to hell, it'll come down to the trust, and whatever happens from there.)

(I agree. Fearne seems less suited for this kind of lethality, against someone she loves. Duty over emotion. But also. Fearne loves all these people, and maybe loves Orym a little extra. And if push comes to shove, Fearne trusts Orym, the most. His judgement, his love, his guidance. And so. Are you with me? Always.)

[demigoddessqueens]

If you can could you please write something with orym continuously finding himself in cute awkard situations with his crush? Some examples could include geting tied up together by some spell, only one bed, him having to borrow his crushed clothes etc.. feel free to use any of your own as well if you can think of any!!

Awww 🥰 sweet little Orym deserves some love too!

He’s still trying to process through his past with Will, and getting close to you always becomes a scene

Accidentally walked in on you? Chetney will never let him live it down

Spell incantation goes wrong? Good luck getting out of this bind for a while!

He can feel your heart beating, and his cheeks flush against you. Trying to burrow his head to hide his embarrassed expression, which you think is cute

If there happens to be “only one bed”, Orym tries to be the upstanding gentleman, but you insist it’s fine and the halfling curls up by your side.

Seeing you fall asleep is soothing to him, and he reaches out a protective hand to your side

When the party goes to see Keyleth, even she sees how much Orym has changed and how close he is to you

Pondering how close you two have gotten together, Orym starts to re-think things, hoping maybe there’s a chance with you

[caeslxys]

also on the topic of meaningful consequences re: character death I don't understand the take that death in fantasy requires physical permanency to matter or give a story "stakes". death is permanent regardless. Do you really think that if they get her back, they'll just go back to normal? That these characters are not forever fundamentally changed from this, that Laudna will not be fundamentally changed from this?

That Imogen's world will be less fractured, that she won't be even more of an anxious wreck now that what she stands to lose has been put into vivid clarity? That Orym won't still carry the guilt of being the chosen, that he will be less haunted by the connections he drew to his own grief with Will to Imogen's with Laudna? That Fearne won't look at Laudna and think of that coin flip, of her choice, and what that means for her and how she loves? That FCG and Ashton won't think to this and be reminded of the people they've hurt or been hurt by, and what this effort and what this grief means for how they view the hells?

That Laudna, who has been so blasé about life and if she's alive and what being alive even means for someone like her, won't wake up surrounded by family and by love and be driven to reexamine everything she's taught herself in 28 years of isolation to cope with the trauma of Whitestone? That this, maybe, will be the driving force she needed to realize that there are things she wants to live for?

It might be that I'm just biased, but I'm not sure what stakes Laudna perma-dying adds aside from just presenting the characters with the knowledge they all already have that they can, in fact, die. that what they're up against is incomprehensibly powerful and dangerous. The stakes already feel so impossibly high when you think of what and who they are preparing to face. frankly the aftermath of this combat alone, even if everything had gone perfect and everyone had gotten back up a-okay, would have set that tone.

I don't know, regardless I'll be happy to watch whatever story they choose to tell unfold as it does, but it strikes me that so many people seem to think that death only matters if there is a physical absence.

[masterqwertster]

For the gentle prompts. With the results of most recent episode I got thinking about your Ashton gets turned into a kid scenario propmpt fills again. Could you do Orym or Chetney interacting with kid Ashton. Dealers choice. Please just pull at my heartstrings.

Gentle 30 Prompt Went with Chetney and 12 "Close your eyes."

“Hey, Ashton, c’mere a sec!” Chetney calls across Alma’s garden.

The kid pauses whatever adventure they’re playing out with Laudna and a pile of Orym’s old toys, a few new hasty toys by the MC himself, Sashimi, and the ratty Ashton doll, to trot over as quick as they can without re-bruising their legs.

“Alright, now close your eyes,” Chetney instructs Ashton once they’ve drawn close.

It’s a joy to see the not-yet-a-genasi’s face light up in anticipation as his eyes shut and his hands automatically come out to cradle a new toy. Just a few repetitions and the kid has it figured out, like any kid getting spoiled should. (Chetney wonders if Ashton will remember any of this when he’s restored to his correct age. …could be a shot for one really good prank…)

The old toymaker places his latest creation in waiting palms, eager to see what the new owner thinks.

Mismatched eyes blink open and take in the finely detailed snide figure in their hands. The carved elf is rotated around to be inspected from all angles.

“Who’s this supposed to be?” Ashton asks, openly curious, if a little baffled.

“Well, I noticed your adventures were missing a villain. So meet Drixlitch, destroyer of good toys! He’s just awful. Drixlitch hates quality wooden toys and thinks they should be replaced with metal!” Chetney has to pause to poke Ashton’s (soft) tummy for rolling their eyes at him. The kid should respect his neuroses. “Worse! He brainwashes kids to think the same thing and then puts them to work making metal toys for him! And he’s a pompous bitch too,” Chetney animatedly explains.

It’s fun to spin a(n embellished) story of Drixlitch’s villainy to Ashton, to see them so enthralled by his story-telling chops. …Chetney might keep spinning the toy’s backstory just to bask in that child’s wonder a little longer.

“Thanks, Chetney!” Ashton says, once the story has wound down.

And they hug the old gnome.

Kid’s pretty fucking strong for being a skinny little twig, Chetney has to admit. Must be that burgeoning titan blood. Definitely isn’t him getting frail in his old age, that’s for sure.

Ashton is off again in a flash, eager to show Laudna their new toy.

“Oh? And who’s this new fellow?” the undead witch gamely asks.

“He’s a villain! Chetney said his name is Dick Litch!” 

Chetney cackles at the wonders of youth while Imogen chokes on her tea and Laudna has to bite her lip as she listens to Ashton’s continued explanation.

Boy does Chetney love being a toymaker.

[oct-ai]

Okay, so Fearne can re-incarnate FCG from the pieces she grabbed, Orym gets out of his contract, FCG gets a flesh body, everyone wins!

Right?

Right?

[utilitycaster]

Fighter Breakdown Tracker, episode 3x78

Welcome to what was originally an opportunity to talk about the myriad wizards (not Myriad wizards, a separate concept) of Campaign 2 that occasionally gets co-opted into other things when the thought arises. Anyway, obviously the main event was the Barbarian Breakdown and, relatedly, the Party Breakdown, due to their Communication Breakdown, giving Allura Vysoren specifically her 19th Nervous Breakdown, but I've already talked a lot about Ashton. How are the fighters doing?

As a reminder: characters are included on the basis of 1. are they a fighter, 2. are they remotely relevant to this campaign, and 3. do I have something funny to say about them. I cannot stress enough how important item 3 is in the decision process; do not make requests, my muse speaks to me and that is how the characters (and, to be honest, classes) are chosen.

Cassandra de Rolo: Yes! According to the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting (not reborn) she's multiclassed into fighter! Anyway that plan to go to the ziggurat went well, huh? totally normal and great. I like to think that due to her rogue levels she saw Fearne march down the ziggurat steps and just peaced out and has been chilling in Pike's little cabin ever since. 4/10: normal "is the world ending" concerns but otherwise she's having maybe the best day anyone on the Whitestone War Council can.

Jarett Howarth: he's specifically avoiding Bells Hells because motherfuckers keep teleporting from Marquet and not bringing any fusaka. This, plus normal "putting the Pale Guard on a war footing and also there's a really mad goat lady in the garden" bumps him up to a 6/10.

Orym: my serious thoughts about the space made for Chetney, FCG, and Imogen to step up aside I honestly think the semi-joking narrative of Orym going off in a huff and working out his feelings quite literally via the power of elaborate bodyweight calisthenics of the sort that grant you 20 Dex and 10 Str would be good for him. Allow yourself a little pettiness, Orym; it's good for the soul. 5/10 because I don't fucking know; we'll see next game.

Ariks Eshteross: I hope he's at peace and buried next to his love as requested; I still haven't gotten around to making those cookies actually and frankly I've had much more of an eye on the gunpowder tea shortbread. 0/10; I like to think he has found true rest.

Bertrand Bell: These motherfuckers have not visited the grave of their namesake at ALL. Traipsing around the Raven Queen's temple - literally everyone but Laudna and FCG has wandered over to that corner of the city - and NO ONE has taken a moment to pause and reflect. He died as he lived: everyone kind of setting him aside for more important matters except for followers of the Raven Queen. 8/10 because hopefully he was entertained by the raven show that got put on but also, come on man you couldn't stop by at all?

FRIDA: I have to imagine things in Vasselheim are wild and it's going to be missing FCG hours, but at least they're in great company! 5/10; they're a pretty even-keeled robot all things considered but the situation is pretty tense.

Otohan Thull: My sole regret about how great this episode is and the fact that we're dropping into the Fey Realm for a bit to have some much-needed time to regroup is that we are likely delaying their richly deserved demise. Anyway everyone's beloathed Palpatine knockoff is unfortunately super unflappable; another reason why they are boring as shit and why I very much want Bells Hells to make the bridge a little bit bloodier on the way up. 3/10.

Percival Friedrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III: Here's the thing. All things considered, his personal position is stressful, but not terrible. The ziggurat did not blow up; Gwen appears to either have not told him about her Delilah incident or did so in such a way that he didn't realize what was going on; he doesn't seem to have noticed the break-in into his parents' bedroom yet; Allura was reassuring re: Whitestone likely being safe (although...it's on a ley nexus so watch out!); and he got to deliver the line "ever since I met you, I knew you were destined for stupidity" which is actually how he specifically blows off steam. On the other hand, every single window in the castle has been destroyed, Allura had to leave, and I just checked and confirmed that Pike does not have the mending cantrip. Maybe one of the local clerics does? Maybe one of his kids does? Maybe Vilya or Ebenold does? Maybe Grog's in town and can be convinced that the role of the Grand Poobah etc etc is fixing windows? 6/10.

[vethbrenatto]

favorite cr c3 character?

For a while it was pretty solidly Ashton, but now I'd say I'm evenly split between Ashton, Chetney, and Fearne.

(Apologies for long ass answer)

Ashton is just such a fascinating character, I've been drawn to them since the beginning. Like many Taliesin characters, they have a superiority complex, or at least a sense that they have a better understanding of the world than others, and yet, they also show true compassion and care for their allies. I think the Laudna/Ashton conversation from last Thursday is a top 5 moment from this campaign so far for me, and that's mostly due to Ashton. The way that Taliesin portrayed it in Ashton being completely real with Laudna but only under the caveat of being drunk and letting their raw emotions shine through. And then to cover it up with "Oh, I don't remember, I was drunk" and have Laudna shut it down. I'm fascinated by some of their statements "I know loneliness you don't, I know the truth of people that none of you do." Not statements that I think are true, but statements I deeply want to understand more from their perspective.

Chetney is very within the mold of characters I tend to like. I'm drawn to comic relief characters that have more depth than they appear to at the surface (Grog & The Gnomes in C1, Veth in C2). Maybe this character wasn't intended to be that deep at its inception but became that way via roleplay and organic growth through the campaign, ala a Scanlan. I think Travis plays Chet in a wonderfully comedic way, while also never letting us doubt that they're not just there to be the haha funny grandpa. I also love someone finally playing something different on the age spectrum. D&D races can literally live hundreds of years- why is every adventurer in their 20s-30s (or at least in the equivalent of that for their race like the gnomes in C1)? Much like Veth, I enjoy the ability to more deeply analyze and look into a character that much of the fandom my pigeonhole into a small box or being "just one thing."

Fearne is a delight for me because truly, it just shows that Ashley Johnson Has The Range. Pike was looks like cinnamon roll, could kill you. Yasha was looks like she could kill you, is a cinnamon roll. Fearne is sort of another looks like a cinnamon roll, could kill you but in a COMPLETELY different way than Pike. I have been ITCHING for someone to play Fey and Ashley is tackling it so beautifully. The sideways morality, the impulsiveness. That is a HARD thing to pull off as a player, it's taking your better instincts of "No, that's not smart, that's a bad idea" and going "My character would do this, regardless of potential consequences." While I'm not that attached to Orym, I think Fearne's relationship with Orym is fascinating. Because of their EXU connection, she so clearly has a fondness and attachment to him that exceeds her connection with anyone else in the group and I think it's with an intensity that most others can't match. If push comes to shove, I feel she would prioritize him not just over everyone, but in spite of everyone- I think in connection to her Fey-ness, there's this sense of "This is my person" that goes above and beyond others who also have a person. It's why in the Laudna/Orym res, regardless of the coin flip (which is not me saying I think Ashley cheated it), I was confident Orym would be res-ed. It's why on Thursday despite her care and hesitancy to go up against Imogen, when Orym asks, "Are you with me?" The no hesitation answer is "Always." It's intense in a way that I don't even think is reciprocated- Orym of course loves and prioritizes her, but I think there's an intensity in the way that Fearne cares about Orym that's unmatched and that to me is fascinating. A very, who and how many would you throw in harm's way to save this one person situation.

[revvethasmythh]

I’m I the only one who doesn’t like how Imogen has been treating fcg lately? It feels like she’s trying to tell them not to worship the changebringer and if I’m remembering correctly she said something along those lines last night. I don’t know. I feel like fcg has found some kind of guidance-ish/path and wants to follow but Imogen and some of the hells are telling him not to. And just being unfair to him and not really understanding or trying to understand where their coming from.

I don't think you're wrong, necessarily, anon, but I do think it's complicated. On a personal level, did I say out loud "Imogen stop being a dick to his god" at least once last night watching? Yeah, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have personal reasons for feeling negatively toward the Changebringer specifically, in addition to what seems to be her overall thought that the gods have never done anything for her, so why should she like or support them anyway? (Incidentally, I do get frustrated at this sort of attitude because, like. they're gods. generally speaking, the traditional transaction here is that you have faith in them and then they help you. So maybe try faith before you write them off completely? But that's a whole other conversation). But I suspect her dislike of the Changebringer stems from the same place Fearne's apparent (but less openly combative) opinions come from--Laudna's death. It was the Changebringer's coin that chose Orym to live and Laudna to die. I would not at all be surprised if there was a personal grudge there in addition to Imogen's aforementioned attitude re: the gods kicking up dust.

Also, Imogen is kind of just like this when people in the group do things or believe in things that she personally doesn't understand or agree with. She's a grudge holder (how many times has she gotten on Chetney's ass for keeping the money that one time? Didn't she even do it again this episode and Chetney was like "girl stop, I have paid my way plenty since then"?) and she really gets frustrated when people do things she doesn't agree with. Others have said it somewhat recently, but it may be connected to Imogen's difficulty empathizing with others. Which is an interesting character flaw, but I will agree it can be frustrating specifically in this scenario, where FCG is clearly kind of flailing about trying to figure out what being a person is and what being religious looks like and what role worship is going to have in their life. It's a little like watching a baby penguin take a few tottering steps only to get knocked on its ass by an adult. Because imo the only way FCG is going to figure this out is by letting him do his thing, no matter how nonsensical or stupid his methods might look to Imogen or the rest of the group. He's got growing to do with what religion will look like in his life and he has to find his own way through that, which I think frustrates Imogen because it's imperfect and clumsy and it's the gods and it's the Changebringer specifically and can't everyone just be rational for once? The gods aren't rational. Faith isn't rational. It's her flaws bumping up against FCG's, causing friction. And yeah, it's frustrating at times, but it's also a pretty interesting insight into both of their characters.