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hope-whispers · 4 years

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okay gather round (or scroll past at your leisure) bc it’s time for another round of meta about content that’s 4.5 years old

and this time we’re gushing about Matthew fucking Mercer

these feelings brought to you by Sing by The Dresden Dolls bc Matt has it on his first playlist to represent Tal’Dorei in general and that’s great on its own but then the Chroma Conclave happened and i’m all kinds of emotions now

because because because this massive absolutely massive story arc is introduced in a blaze of fire and battle and adrenaline but the first several hours aren’t dedicated to getting ready to kick ass. this story doesn’t hit hard because it’s fucking dragons and it’s awesome. it hits hard because Matt is very carefully showing us every single stake he’s set up.

the Chroma Conclave arc isn’t introduced as a challenge. it’s a tragedy.

Matt builds excellent distractions, downtime, side missions and side characters all to make them wonder exactly what will happen next. they just did something huge in Whitestone, but what’s their next step? even the characters start to question it, with Vax’s existential crisis and Keyleth once again questioning their morals and goals

and then all of that gets pulled out from under them when two, three, four dragons arrive to wreck the city. and it’s not enough to see it happen. they face off with two different dragons, back to back, and Matt makes it incredibly clear that they’re not going to win these battles but he doesn’t give them any hint as to what to do about it. by the time they can stop and breathe and think, the players are just as exhausted and confused and scared as their characters would be, and damn do they play it well.

but that’s not enough, nope, not for Matthew fucking Mercer, who takes care to describe the survivors as much as those who died. who tells them there are strangers crying in their keep, scared to death, calling out for loved ones who may or may not be there. he tells them Gilmore is nowhere to be seen, Uriel and his family are nowhere to be seen, you have no idea what happened to this city you love but it’s here, it’s happening

(and comparing this to the Mighty Nein, who don’t have a city to call home. they’ve slept in the hut in the Xhorhouse because they know it’s not truly safe. they don’t have a fortified monument to their deeds, they don’t have a place to retreat to, they don’t have this. but Vox Machina does, and now they’re faced with the idea of losing it and it’s harrowing)

they don’t get a reprieve, either. Keyleth dissociates and Grog is so desperate to fix things he’d attack his own friends and Pike’s desperate pleas to her goddess aren’t answered the way she wants and Vex is taking care of everyone while crying to her brother. and even after Allura arrives, they can settle down but they don’t get to be reassured. instead they grapple with the idea that this is their fault, that they fucked up and they couldn’t fix it. Allura has no answers, not really, but she brings more tragedy. Westruun has fallen. this is worse than they feared. the Fire Ashari might have been completely destroyed. no one knows where the emperor is. no one knows where the council is. no one knows where Gilmore is. no one knows, but they have to do something about it

Matt lets them argue and worry and feel guilty and weak and scared and he doesn’t give them hope. Allura leaves. they set off to find survivors because they have absolutely no way of fixing anything on their own. the emperor is dead and Gilmore wasn’t far behind him.

this arc lasts for how much of the campaign? Matt can afford to tell this story slowly, and boy is he doing a phenomenal job. we didn’t even see Vox Machina build their ties here, but we can feel how much it hurts to have them severed. Allura’s tower. Gilmore. the emperor and his family. the city itself, still burning when they set out again in the morning.

I just...Matt made sure this story stood out. they were sent to Kraghammer and had no hesitation diving in to get the job done. the Briarwoods were introduced and VM broke the law to chase them down and get justice. Zadash falls but the M9 can ignore the war for now. the Iron Shepherds attack and they stop at absolutely nothing to chase them down. even with Obann, which is arguably the best cross-campaign equivalent given that they had to regroup and do side quests and grow stronger before they could defeat him--even then, they chased him down and threw themselves into battles they couldn’t win every opportunity they got.

they can’t do that here, and Matt makes sure to tell them that in the most heart-wrenching way possible. this isn’t about showing them a villain, it’s about showing them every single thing they could lose if they don’t win.

#this post is alternatively titled 'laura bailey and marisha ray cried so i'm already emotional about this arc'#listen. listen y'all #i'm obsessed with the chroma conclave already #critical role #anyway the lyrics #'there is this thing that is keeping everyone's lungs and lips locked / it is called fear and it's seeing a great renaissance'#is absolutely the first day as they're all arguing in the keep #it's allura grabbing keyleth by the shoulders and shaking her until she can pull herself together #it's vex throwing herself into helping people even though she's not the healer she's not the leader #it's the staff running to greet them before hurriedly nodding and agreeing to go help some more #it's vax whispering reassurances to an unconscious gilmore #and pike going to beg sarenrae for help #and keyleth somehow managing to reassure a room full of strangers on her own #as it turns out. plots about the end of the world as we know it hit pretty damn hard in 2020 #oh since it's mostly about him i guess i'll tag #matthew mercer

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galileo-keeper-of-night · 5 years

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Tight Hold

It's evening, they think, least the locals act like it's evening. End of the work day, just after supper time.

Most of the Nein went out for drinks, and a little fresh air, most being all but Caleb who wanted to do some reading, the small stack of history books that Essik left him more alluring than drink.

Caduceus had set out with the others, content in their companion ship, but something on the air niggled at him, giving him pause.

He tilted his head, raising his left ear to the wind and sniffling a little.

Cad: Hey, I think I'm a gonna head on back. I feel like I left the stove on. Or maybe forgot to water something.

Beau (not fully buying his change in heart) : You know we won't make you drink if you don't want to, that was a one time thing.

Cad (wrinkling his nose) : Naw something just tells me I need to be at the house right now.

Nott (shifting from foot to foot) : You want us to come back with you?

Cad: Naw, you kids go on and have fun. I've got plenty to entertain me. Besides, it's just a feeling.

Nott: If you're sure... We could always message Caleb?

Cad: OH no, it's fine. Really, let him study in quiet and peace. I think I need to go back though.

Caduceus heads back to Xhorhouse, still feeling the need to be there but not an increasing urgency. He pauses out side the house, closing his eyes, tilting his head slightly to the right, listening, smelling, allowing his goddess to guide him.

He is drawn to the tower, the wind whispers to him to wait, that he just need be there.

So to the top he goes, a stroll through the gardens and onto making tea. About an hour passes before a flicker of breeze tickles at his nose. Shortly after the hatch door opens with the muted creek of slow motion.

Caleb: "He knows, they know. Leaving would do no good, they'd look for you."

Caduceus can't see more than the shadowed outline of his friend, but the muttered monolog hits his ears and he can hear the fear sorrow and desperation.

Caleb staggers to the far side of the the tower top from the tree. He leans against the walled edge, back to the stone looking up at the spelled daylight jars.

"Ruin everything I touch. I won't watch another family die on my account. It's so beautiful here, they even brought a touch of sun into this heart of eternal darkness."

Caduceus had dealt with greif in many forms, he knew what Caleb's monolog was a build up to, and he wouldn't allow it, the Wild Mother wouldn't have it.

He chose to step forward, with out speaking, see if he would be noticed.

Caleb, alert and perceptive by nature snapped his eyes to his movements immediately. He gasped softly, several expressions passing over his features rapidly before settling on forced neutrality.

Caleb (not holding eye contact) : I thought you had left with the others?

Cad: I did, but have you ever had that feeling, like you've left something unattended, and you need to go back and take care of it before it is ruined?

Caduceus slowly takes a couple steps toward Caleb. He can smell the tears, and the flame on his wizard friend, and it becomes a fight not to let the worry show.

Caleb: Like a candle left burning or food on the hearth, ja?

Caleb was moving to meet him, almost like a moth drawn to candle light.

Cad: Sort of, but more urgent, more important.

Caleb: I..

Caduceus catches his eyes, and hopes that Caleb can see his concern and understanding. He knows Caleb is an intelligent man, and that there is no question that he is why Caduceus came back.

Caleb(rubbing the scars on his arm) : I'm not...

He trails off, gazing up at the lights, his eyes going unfocused.

Caleb: I will be the death of us all.

Caduceus reaches for Caleb but he jerks back

Cad (releases a sigh of resignation) : I doubt that. We've discussed this before, at Nott's home; everyone knows the risk and we are stronger together. Caleb, we're here to-

Caleb (hands balled in frustration, voice raised) : No you don't. Essik, he saw. He saw my memories, my past, my sin. The Ceberus Assembly, Academy, all of it. I didn't realize, it took awhile to feel the effect.

Caleb shudders, his voice cracking in a choked sob.

There was no stepping back this time, Caduceus used his height advantage and closed the small space engulfing Caleb in a hug.

#caleb widogast #caduceus clay #clayleb #critical role #human wizard #Furbolg Cleric #snippet

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