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revvethasmythh · 1 year

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Still, as always, thinking about how Veth's story is such a complex look at womanhood and motherhood and what it means to be a woman and a mother who wants things. Because Veth's story is about wanting, just as much as it's about learning to be brave. Veth presumably comes from a very traditional small town, married her (effectively) high school sweetheart when she was quite young and had a child almost immediately, which, while based on love, might also have been an effort to fit in and become an independent adult in her town, away from the mockery of her brothers. The things people in town didn't like about her were her strangeness and her collections of bits and bobs and oddities. The shiny things that she wanted. In some ways, that was the wedge between her and her community, the strangeness of how she desired things and wantonly kept them. Even marrying and having a kid so young could be an extension of this. Veth wants things and strives to get them

All of that in heightened after she's turned into goblin. It becomes "the itch" to steal and to horde shiny, beautiful things, which is particularly poignant considering how ugly she finds herself, even uglier than she thought of herself when she was still a halfling. She wants to surround herself with beautiful things. She wants to help Caleb. She wants to be her again. She wants.

And it's okay for Nott the Brave to want things, because Nott the Brave exists outside of social contracts. She's already a monster--there's no need to pretend to fit in. It's freeing, to be able to want things as much as you want and people won't bat an eye. As much as she hated that body, she loved the freedom it gave her. The freedom to be transgressive in a way she was unable to be as Veth Brenatto. Because, much as she loves her family, isn't being a woman and mother something of a cage to her? Those labels put her in specific boxes, they determine how she should behave. So much of later development hinges on these questions: "What does it mean to be a good woman in this society? What does it mean to be a good mother?" She is SO hard on herself for not being with Luc enough, which is absolutely understandable, but she also wants this life of adventure. Does that make her a bad person? A bad mother? To want something that isn't her family?

And then Caleb. Probably the most unfortunate thing she wants, something she knows she can never have. Because she has Yeza and she loves him and he's her husband. They have a social contract that she must abide by. But Caleb's right there and she wants him. Does that make her a bad woman? Does that make her a bad wife? It's just one more thing that makes her different from her peers, her inability to be content with what she already has. And, at the end of the day, I think this is what we should think of when we talk about Veth's relationship with motherhood and womanhood. How transgressive it is for her to so deeply desire when clearly, from the way she grew up and the messages she internalized, it wasn't a woman's place to want more than she was afforded, nor was it a mother's.

#love the theme of veth wanting stuff. love it so much #anyway *blasts Trouble with Wanting and holds it up like boombox to all of you*#veth brenatto #the mighty nein #critical role #also can I just say that I'm still so impressed with how well sam navigated themes of womanhood and motherhood?#like he really. he really hit the nail on the head. showed the way those identities can be confining. how scary transgression can feel #this is prompted by nothing other than me having FEELINGS #nott the brave

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catgirlthecrazy · 2 years

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Let's play a game folks: Which Orders of the Knights Radiant Would Each Member of the Mighty Nein Belong to?

(Aka: the Stormlight Archive equivalent of sorting your favorite characters into Hogwarts Houses).

This is something that's been bouncing around in my head off and on for literal years. It's a little tricky, because a few of the Orders (Elsecallers, Stonewards, and Dustbringers especially) have received very little screentime so far; for those who need a refresher on what each of the orders is about, I'm mostly relying on the information on this webpage; it's also a decent primer on the Radiants for Critical Role fans who haven't read the Stormlight Archive and want to know WTF I'm talking about. I suspect the audience for this post is going to be small, but fuck it, I'm doing it anyways.

In descending order of certainty.

Jester: Lightweaver, easy. She's an artist, she deals in subterfuge and illusions a lot, and her speech to Caleb about how "we all lie sometimes" fits really well with their ideals. Lightweavers are also known for bringing joy to others through art and entertainment, and for helping others see the best in themselves. Both of those describe Jester to a T

(trying to imagine Artagan as her Cryptic, though, makes my brain segfault)

Beau: also easy, Truthwatcher. This order is very concerned with discovering and spreading knowledge, with a significant minority specifically interested in making sure those in power are being honest with the ones they lead. That's the entire guiding philosophy of the Cobalt Soul.

Yasha: Windrunner. For a long time I was really unsure about where she'd fit. Then I watched the episode where the Stormlord asked her why she fights, and her answer was "to protect." That's what the Windrunners are all about. Though I can't see her being part of a formal military hierarchy like Kaladin's Windrunners have; I think she'd operate independently or as part of a loosely organized group.

Also, they can fly.

Fjord: Willshaper. This order is all about freedom and exploration, and that's a perfect fit for a paladin who swore the Oath of the Open Sea. Willshapers are also one of the two Orders that can teleport, and Fjord has a shit ton of teleportation spells. Bonus: his pact weapon and Armor of Agathys already function like a Shardblade and Shardplate

Caleb: my gut says Elsecaller, though we don't know a ton about them. That order is described as thoughtful and wise, their oaths are themed around reaching your potential, and they tend to attract a lot of scholars. Much of Caleb's arc involved him trying to reach his fullest potential as a wizard. Plus, their Soulcasting abilities are a good match for Transmutation. However, I think you could also make a case for Dustbringer: their oaths are all about mastering yourself and the destructive abilities you wield. Plus they're the order most known for burning stuff.

Molly/Kingsley: Willshaper again. The description in the link provided literally says: "The Willshapers contain many gregarious and even flamboyant characters who make their own way, taking the path they choose." And doesn't that describe him to a T?

Essek: for a while I wanted to say Truthwatcher, because he's very keen on discovering knowledge and unlocking the secrets of dunamancy. And I do love the poignancy of him getting healing powers. But given that his entire arc is all about him realizing that he wants to be a better person, and struggling to figure out how to do that, I'm more inclined to put him with the Elsecallers. And it would be fitting for him to be in the same order as Caleb.

(it's a shame, though, that neither of the orders with gravity powers fit him at all)

Veth: Stoneward. This might seem odd at first glance, given that that order is known for attracting jocks and soldier types. But if Veth had one guiding principle, it's that once she's adopted you, she'll do just about anything for you. She's the one who gave us "the only choice we've consistently made is to take care of our friends." That fits the "I will be there when I am needed" ideal pretty well.

Caduceus: Him I'm least sure of. On a thematic level, Edgedancers are the best fit, since they're the order most known for healing, they attract a lot of clergy, and their spren are sapient plant people. On the other hand, the Edgedancer ideals are all about remembering the forgotten little people of society, and that's not really a Caduceus thing.

Edit: multiple commenters have convinced me that Caduceus, who devotes his life to tending the graves and remembering the stories of the dead, is in fact a perfect fit for the Edgedancers, so I stand corrected about that.

The one thing I can be absolutely sure of is that absolutely none of these chaotic, rule-breaking chucklefucks are Skybreakers.

#the stormlight archive #critical role #meta #my post

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eponymous-rose · 3 years

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Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E121 (Jan. 19, 2021)

Aaaand we're back! The epic pet montage at the start is still the greatest thing ever.

Tonight's guests? Matthew Mercer and Marisha Ray!

We begin with an extensive discussion of waffle farts. As you do.

Matt is asked what it's been like to get to build out the characters in the Tombtakers. Lucien is Matt's favorite, but they've all got some fun traits to them. "It's one of those rare experiences as a dungeon master where you get to watch your players combat with the necessity of playing along. The instinct is: fuck these guys, I want to fight them, we'll take their shit... or I guess we have to play nice. And they begrudgingly grit their teeth and I smile internally."

On the Lucien accent: "You guys are all so mean to Taliesin!" Matt knew his own take would be a "weird mutation" of Mollymauk's accent anyway.

How's Marisha feeling about a lot of her predictions panning out? "Aw, I mean, gee, me? What? Noooo. It's definitely vindicating, I'm not gonna lie, and rewarding, but I also know that I write a lot of shit down in that notebook that's never relevant ever again. It's definitely a good feeling to know that I didn't go on that fifteen-minute deep dive and was utterly wrong about everything I said." Matt: "I was super proud. I was just silently cheering you on as you went on these long tangents."

What does Lucien think of the Mighty Nein? "Lucien is definitely curious about why they're getting involved in his shit and what they're planning alongside them. One, he hates Beau because he doesn't like people who challenge his authority. He gravitates towards Jester to an extent because she's the most open, which from his standpoint makes her easiest to manipulate. He loves toying with curiosity, and so between Jester and Caleb, those are the two people that he's the most comfortable interacting with. Caduceus makes him feel a little weird. He's amused by them. Fjord to Lucien is one of the more guarded and less accessible at the moment."

Is Beau enjoying getting under Lucien's skin? "Beau's picking and poking still kind of stems from her defensiveness and guardedness and her feelings, in a lot of ways, and the way that she's coping with things. It's a few steps removed from her default and what she often resorts to when she starts throwing up those barriers. She still has in the back of her head that she's looking at her dead friend. It's her way of protecting herself if she can go, fuck you, I don't care about you. This isn't too dissimilar to the way she reacted when Yasha was brainwashed." Matt: "It's a unique social sparring match the whole time they're traveling side-by-side. It's unique to have an antagonistic force that you're--" Marisha: "That we're going camping with."

Navigating the Tombtaker/M9 relationship as a DM is "challenging. At any given moment, a wrong statement could escalate matters one way or the other. It's having to pay attention to a lot of things at all points in time to be ready for how those chain reactions can happen and where it might go." He likens it to trying to follow and participate in two different conversations simultaneously at a party.

On the note from Yasha: "Oh man, you guys. Oh, it was so sweet. I don't think Beau was expecting Yasha to be so forthcoming with everything, and so complimentary and eloquent. Beau is awkward with healthy relationships, so she doesn't know how to handle them. She's still processing that and wants to not ruin it. No, it was magical." Ashley told Marisha after the episode that she was trying to think of what to say and wound up basing it on what she would say about Marisha.

Cosplay of the Week: an amazing Vax (by stormfeather_cosplay, photograph by travi_b, both on Instagram)!

On using variations on the Wild Magic table: "I wanted to give it some variation to consequences. They took some of the tooth out of it from earlier editions. I knew it would be fun once I gave them the specifications of when these things would happen - players are just waiting for someone to roll a 20 or a 1 at all times."

Why is it so important to Beau that she and Yasha have a proper date? Part of it is a fresh start. "So much of Beau's past relationships have been rooted in some toxic behavior. Beau feels like, well, maybe we should just start from the beginning in the most us way possible: fighting through the tundra with our dead-ish friend."

The sci-fi-ish theme came toward the end of developing Aeor, but it mostly comes from rationalization. Matt is intrigued by how all these different societies want to usurp the gods... which has parallels with modern society. He notes that focusing more on the science of the magic means the aesthetics pull away to "instead facilitate the utility or the most direct route to the answers you want. You streamline as opposed to focusing on the aesthetics."

Beau’s reaction to all the weird magic stuff? “I think Beau’s just so focused on the pragmatic aspects of it all right now. There are greedy people with motives and the will and want to corrupt across all spans of cultures and times. She’s trying not to get lost in the magic, both proverbially and literally, of it all, and just trying to focus on the motives of these people at hand.”

In some ways, Matt was surprised by Caduceus’ strong reaction to the creepy woods. “It was the first major reveal that there are some other sides to the coin that he hadn’t learned about. I had no idea how he would react. It pushed him away more in ways than I expected.”

Fan art of the week: an amazing Lucien! (by oratorkayla on Twitter)

What’s Dagen’s motivation? “He’s definitely a man of his word when it comes to fulfilling a contract and getting the other half of his pay, but it’s not hard to see they’ve grown on him a little bit. He’s really good at getting around the tundra unseen and unnoticed.”

Brian: “In true Sam fashion-” Marisha, instantly: “OH MY GOD.”

Marisha: “Here’s the thing. Here’s the tea, okay? If I ever hear one more fucking person trying to claim that I’m ruining things by metagaming, I’m going to point to Sam. I’m expected to respond accordingly to Veth being a Sam troll. Gods damn him! Raven Queen curse upon him! Let chaos reign! He made me pull out my earphones, I can’t hear anything you’re saying. It’s frustrating because I’d be mad at it if it wasn’t so god damn funny.” Matt notes that at a different table this wouldn’t be great behavior, but they all know each other well enough (and check in with each other enough) that it’s comfortable teasing.

With a bit of a deeper pull, Matt is asked whether he knew Avantika would return someday? “I knew she was a fun, interesting option out there. The M9 still have in their grasp the single most important artifact, in Uk’otoa’s opinion, at the moment. As long as they carry that artifact, his eye of Sauron is upon them.” Matt notes that he has more encounter tables going, so a lot of the time even he’s not sure what’s going to happen.

Caduceus suggested contacting Essek, but Beau and Caleb nixed that idea. Does Beau trust him? “Gods no. Absolutely not. She can like Essek personally. As a person, he’s fine, I guess. But I think a lot of people might be forgetting that he’s kind of a war criminal and kind of set off a lot of bad things in motion with this war with the Empire and the Dynasty, because he wanted power and to know things. So now here he is, also in Aeor. Yeah. Just kinda putting two and two together there. It is another one of those things of, you’re walking that line on trying to keep him on your good side and having a mutually beneficial relationship before it could easily go completely south.”

On the Star Razor being a Vestige: “I don’t want this to be--- the Vestiges aren’t always a thing where it’s like, you get a Vestige and you get a Vestige! I want them to be still considered special and rare. This is one that had to be earned, it had to be reforged. I didn’t know the circumstances that would involve it coming about.” He based it on the circumstances of Fjord’s evolution into a paladin. “In essence, not only did he finish the creation of the sword, but he Awakened it at the same time as he made this transition. It is Exalted at this point, it’s in its final form.”

What does Beau think might lie ahead? “I have no idea. I am trying to abandon expectation when it comes to that. I know what we don’t know, and that’s it. Beau is trying to compensate for the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. I hope we can keep this tenuous relationship through to Aeor, because we need more answers before it explodes in our face. Beau, and Marisha, is hoping for a little more information before shit hits the fan.”

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long text post

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namyks · 3 years

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Themes in C2, and why Lucien makes for a perfect BBEG.

So, now that we’re coming up on the end of the campaign, I wanted to just talk about some of the themes of campaign 2. The three major themes that I found through out C2 are a group of broken people coming together to fight the whims of fate and becoming a found family, abuse, specifically from family, and fighting back against a corrupt authority. It’s not well written at all, but I’ve been wanting to talk about this stuff for awhile now. Under a read more, ‘cause this is long.

The first point I won’t talk about too much, as it’s literally one of the themes of almost any narrative focused ttrpg game. I will say that while the found family aspect of C2 was handled better than C1, as a result the world of Wildemount doesn’t feel as fleshed out. The MN are a naturally untrusting, and morally ambiguous group and as such, they never really set up roots anywhere. The closest we got was either Nicodranas or the Xorhaus, and those are more places to rest rather than an actual home. This also lead to them having significantly less connections than VM, with their only major allies being Yussa, Pumat, and Essek. They kind of have the respect of the Bright Queen, but that never really went anywhere. Having said all of that, one of the biggest strengths of C2 is that everybody had a well defined and established relationship with one another. Not to take potshots at C1, but some character relations were almost entirely ignored, outside of one quick dialogue between one another.

As far as abuse was concerned, almost every single member of the Nein was abused, with Molly and Cad being the exceptions that prove the rule. I don’t have to talk about Beau or Caleb, as their abuse and trauma was spelled out pretty easily. Yasha’s entire clan ruined her life because she loved the wrong person and forced her to Obann. Veth’s village seemed to see her, and treat her, as an outsider because she liked “weird” things, which lead her to doubting her own abilities and possibly being a root to her alcholism. Fjord had Sabian, the orphanage, and to an extent Vandren. Vandren’s abuse was more of showing toxic leadership to Fjord, which Fjord attempted to copy, up until he realized how shit it was and turned into the leader we saw in those last couple of episodes. And as much as we understand and can empathize with Marion, locking up a child and isolating her from people that weren’t either employees or clients inside of a house, regardless of how gilded it may be, is a horrible thing to do.

I don’t think any of the Nein particularly care for authority, and most are 100% down to topple corrupt regimes if they fuck with them. I remember at least Beau and Jester had specific instructions from the Cobalt Soul and Arty respectively to punish those that used their power for wrong. But even outside of that, Caleb wants to burn the assembly down so it can be remade to be better, Fjord seems to believe in interpersonal hierarchies/chains of command but has no trust in government institutions as shown by his mistrust of the BQ, and complete lack of want to get involved with Dwendalian politics unless they fucked with the Nein first.

As far as Lucien being the BBEG is concerned, I think he represents every one of the themes in a relatively unique way. Of course, they initially found out about him because they wanted to help out Molly, and that’s been one of the main ways they’ve been dealing with his bullshit, both narratively and from the boss fight. It’s also worth noting that he saw the Tomb Takers more as pawns and tools, rather than companions, which spits right in the face of how the Nein treat each other. Lucien’s monologue before he blew up the Somnovem is one of the things that really got me thinking about most of the Nein having abusive parental figures. He mentions wanting to be a parent to the hive-mind, and that just really resonated with me as a horribly shitty thing to do. He also attempts to gaslights the MN, and always pushes the responsibility of his shitty actions against them onto the Nein. The authoritative bit goes with his abusive nature, he’s a narcissist and wants everything else to share in his beliefs and ideals, and will force that on them via Cognoza if they refuse him.

All of this is so completely the opposite of how the Nein operate, that I can’t see anyone else working as a final boss other than the risen form of their old friend, who is pushing for things none of them would want, in a way none of them agree with.

Thanks for listening to me ramble if you got this far.

#Critical role #critical role spoilers

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multifandom-damnation · 4 years

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In anticipation for the Magnificent Mansion reveal next week, here are my ideas and decorations for the rooms:

Jester: like her childhood bedroom! There had to have been a reason for Caleb to ask to see it like that, right? Maybe the painting on the canopy moves, and the sheets on the bed are the royal green of the Traveler? There are hidden dicks everywhere, and the drawings on the walls are of the Nein and their adventures together. An easel with lots of pain, and a small shelf with romance novels (and some other things mixed in too).

Caduceus: it has to look like the Blooming Grove, right?? Stone walls like the inside of the temple, grass and flowers poking through the cracks and the windowsills, outside the window is the blushing cemetery. Maybe healthier than the last time they were there, an image of perfection, a prediction of what it looks like now that his family has completed their quest? A shrine to the Wildmother in the corner. A small station for him to make his tea. A mat for him to pray.

Fjord: I’m thinking that it would look like the captains quarters on a ship, but better? Like, polished oak walls, like being in a barrel. Gold trim, soft sheets. Also a shrine to the Wildmother. I don’t know if you can make individual sounds in the mansion, but it would sound like waves lapping against the side of the boat and the creaking of old, treated wood. The windows have shutters, because we know how Fjord feels about shutters.

Yasha: painted sort of how Jester painted her room in the Xhorhouse, but there’s more variation in the flowers, and it’s mainly things and fauna they’ve seen on their travels and they move like they’re caught in a gentle breeze. There’s a woman with long white hair braided with flowers around her shoulders, her back is to the rest of the room, so you can’t see her face. The ceiling, much like the mural on Jester’s canopy bed, is like a moving landscape because she likes to be outside, and lying on the bed staring up it changes from a starry nigh sky to a sunset to a sunrise to a stormy sky to a clear sky etc. A small shrine to the Stormlord, with lightning/storm imagery. A place to keep her harp. A tribute to Molly, like his coat as patterned wallpaper or something.

Beau: I can’t decide if her room would be like a bar or like a library, but I know that there will be lots of books and it might kind of be in the same theme as her Cobalt Soul/ Expositor colours. It’ll probably be more like a library though, with a personal bar with the rowdy sound of patrons in the background. Maybe a personal training area, or mini obstacle course, or one of those sand-bag dummies just to keep her occupied all the time? I don’t know, Beau’s kinda hard to do compared to the others.

Veth: I feel like he would give her the opportunity to rebuild her collections that she used to have! Lots of buttons and jewelry and things, maybe made as a collage on the walls. Somewhere for her to feel safe. I mean, they all want to feel safe, but I feel like after being a gobin for so long, Caleb would want Veth to feel like she has a home that she really belongs in. Soft cushions! Lots of pillows! Sequins and colour and frills! Judging by the clothes she buys, she would really appreciate colour and soft fabrics and stuff.

Caleb: I honestly don’t think he’d have a lot of expression in his room. Like, even though it’s his own home and it’s magically formed and stuff, it would still be in his usual monochromatic browns and greys nd stuff, you know? Maybe a portrait of his mother and father or a portrait of the Nein? I don’t know. It wouldn’t be quite as full of the love and thought that he would have put into the other Nein’s rooms.

(And thanks to @ cool-and-friendly for reminding me: Frumpkin absolutley has a room for himself that is the biggest cat jungle the world has ever seen, and similar to Scanlan and Pike’s room in Campaign 1, it’s connected by a door in the middle so they can visit/see eachother at any point, and Frumpkin can actually roam around freely without Caleb having to bamf him everywhere. Oh, the cat jungle?? IS ACTUALLY JUNGLE THEMED. I don’t know anything about cats but I’m assuming you mean like, those climbing huts??? Yeah. Real cool idea.)

I don’t know. This kind of went off on a tangent, but I’ve just been thinking about it and I wanted to lay all my thoughts down on paper before next episode so I can see how close or how far away I was. I think I might have got Jester’s room kinda right because of the conversation this ep, but who knows? Let me know what you think about my analysis!! I’d appreciate your thoughts!

#critical role #the mighty nein #what do you think?? i like thinking about stuff like this #im probably far off #but this was enjoyable but fun #tell me what you think!! i want to know if any of you agree with me or what your opinions are!

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