As someone who has spent a year and half watching C1/C2/C3, is now finally caught up, and as a result is finally allowing myself to look at fandom reactions to episodes... Boy, critical role discourse is weird.
People will spend days arguing about who's evil and who isn't, which decisions made sense and which ones did not, whether the plot point is solid or not, what's the consequences of that fake action in that fake world, who's a psychopath and who isn't, which group is better than the other, etc etc etc.
Meanwhile I'm there enjoying every single episode of that show. For ten years, this group of friends has met every week to roll some dice. They've created characters that made them laugh, and cry, and smile, and frown, and shout, in excitement, fury, terror and joy. Through them, they've lived adventures, drama, tension, trauma, in a sandbox world they'll never put a foot in. They've created wonders in Exandria, then destroyed them just to see what would happen (shout out to Emon and the Chroma Conclave arc š).
Their world had mystical artifacts, so they created lost civilisations to justify both their existence and rarity. It had Gods, so they gave them backstories and myths, to make this world feel real. They understood that history in itself is flawed, so the knowledge of the past is changing. Each campaign, they went on bigger questions, bigger challenges. From very early on, Campaign 3 has been questioning the status quo between Gods and Mortals, and what we know of the deities has evolved as a result. Why should I care, really, whether Bell's Hells are right or not to challenge the Gods. It's obviously a storyline that Matt and the rest of the cast were curious to explore, so they're doing it. Maybe it'll work out great, maybe it won't, they don't know, and that's fine. After all, what is the point of a sandbox world if you cannot push a few red buttons.
And of course, not every plot point or decision is going to be resilient to scrutiny. It's an improvised ttrpg game, with 100+ episodes per campaign, and we're almost at 500h in length for C3. Yesterday, in my ttrpg, I forgot who my new vice purveyor was, after I overindulged a few months ago (... It's a Blade in the Dark thing). Last week, I invented a drag persona for my character because I was trying to find a distraction and I panicked. Ttrpg are soooo random, mate. Even with professional players like the Critical Role folks, it stays a ttrpg. Things get forgotten. Some things get developed and others don't get the time to. Discussions happen, and sometimes they happen again six months later because maybe characters have changed or maybe not. It's not a scripted TV show, where things can be planned in advance and you know the characters will stick to the script. Inconsistencies will happen, and that's fine.
(Contrary to my ttrpg though, the CR folks are absolutely mind-blowing improv actors and watching them every week stays absolutely thrilling to me. Some of the things you all have apparently fought a long time about are some of my favorite moments, in any of the campaigns. See swordgate, a masterpiece of dramatic improv and bonkers choices. Those players are *not here* to stay safe, they want to feel the highest highs and the lowest lows and I am there for it š„ŗ.)
bill cmon man this is getting embarrassing
Thanks Tumblr for further depression.
Does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night changes?
Lifespan angst you will always have me
"Vax coming back wouldn't be narratively satisfying!" is a take I keep seeing so it's time for my daily reminder:
This narrative does not exist to satisfy you.
This is a group of people you don't know who have been kind enough to share their personal, deeply emotional DnD campaigns will an audience. If Matthew Mercer decides that its worth it to let his friends have a happily ever after including Vax - you're just gonna have to suck it up. If it bothers you so much that you have to write full-length essays on Tumblr, or, god forbid , harass the CAST, go make some friends and run your own campaign. Or write a fucking fanfic.
Emps after all the Primarchs turned out autistic: I honeslty have no idea where they get it from!
Malcador, who lived with him for millennia and watched him work a gold eagle motif into everything he owns, shapeshift himself to be tall so he looks down at people instead of having to make eye contact, and be utterly socially inept: Me neither.
Friendo art,check it outtt
been watching a friend play lobcorp, and have been requesting characters and ocs to be added as nuggets with some other friends :D tord ofc got made and was immediately put in the magical girl ego equipment
no shading cuz im tired and burnt out, im sorry </3 click on the art 4 better quality cuz tumblr fucked it up again. badly
do not use, trace, repost, feed to ai or in any way steal my artā¼ļø (reblogs are okay though :3)
Obviously it'll be a lot easier to convince the Prime deities(unsure about Kord though) but let's consider SOME of the betrayer gods like Torog-
He can potentially finally have an existence free from the pain that his divinity brought him, and i think he'd choose to die permanently instead of being reincarnated from the fear of feeling it again.
Lolth could try and make amends with her children,she still somewhat cares, albeit in an obsessive controlling way.
Dunno why people even think about Tharizdun,it isn't a god,and both primes and betrayers fear and hate it.
Bane could lead a mighty empire,but as a mortal king
Asmodeus is too prideful to give up on the one thing that in his mind makes him so much better than the glorified meat puppets he calls mortals. He's too resentful,too caught up in his own pain to let go.
Tiamat and Zehir are uh....well Tiamat is still a giant ass five headed dragon whether she's a goddess or not, plus nobody likes Zehir.
Just bought wrath of the triple goddess, let's see how Percy manages to piss off a third generation titan goddess of magic.
Oh boy is he lookin spooky
Hereās a demo of his movement. I might tweak it a little now and then.
He needs his limbs soon so Iāll have to get on that (he keeps looking at his book should I be worried?)
As always feel free to tag along for more updates!
Power of friendship...
Thinking about Asmodeus being reborn as Jester and Fjord's kid. A red skinned tiefling who everyone says takes after his grandmother.
Asmodeus totally having all the plans to regain his powers and destroy all the prime deities. But... well no plan survives contact with Jester.
Him delaying plans just because... what in the hells is she going to do next... he kinda wants to find out.
Jester being the most loving and chaotic parent. Because of course Jester would 1000% still go off on adventures bringing the baby along. Him just watching the pure chaos and expert trickery.
Having Fjord as a dad who is the most caring and excited dad, and trying to balance out Jester's insanity 'No Jester we cannot take the baby to the fae realm I know Beau is opening a new Beau bar but we also shouldn't be taking a baby to a barĀ opening'. Also who was in a deal with darkness but found his way out.
Him just being along with the mighty nein as extended family who are all chaotic and loving and not what he's used to with adventures he's dealt with. He's stuck with emotions for them and he hates it.
First time he pulls tricks and lies Jester just hugs him she's so proud of him and so his uncle Artie. His trickery and lies becoming far more Jester adjacent.
Also him pulling pranks just to freak Braius out when he visits
Bonus: Beau and Yasha end up unknowingly adopting one of the other gods and the first time Asmodeus and the other see each other it just being that always sunny scene in the restaurant. (Neither saying anything or blowing cover because they like this family not that either will ever admit this)
i am the Bats of the trees,i speak jew speech and i steal your country's money since the 40's i'm from Israel, deal with it. huge d&d and comics nerd
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