my tlovm s2 theater viewing in a nutshell

maybe it’s just me but I got weird vibes from the “teen slang” bit last night? it felt uncomfortable…Aabria even mentioned how it was all AAVE and “why did y’all wait until I was here to do this” and they still kept going with the bit…

idk I know she said it in a lighthearted/joking way but I feel like the cast could have taken a hint and like. Stopped

brennan, bringing an absolutely masterful, tense, cinematic, beginning rp-sequence to an end: -and you wake up.

travis, speaking for all of us, voice quivering: i think i'm in the wrong class-

My favourite Critical Role verbal flubs:

‘Why a - why is you so mean to me???’

‘Snea snake’

‘Their brand new 5e setting, Aeorar. ... Ayroawra. Auroara.’

‘Let’s make ourselves a bit more suspicious.’

‘Wildmother, please watch over the cast - the crew!’

‘Looks like I ganked your new Robbie - your new friend’s body!’

‘Shiver and quiff’

Sorry! New spell! Don't judge me!

The funniest kind of critical role "critique" is always going to be the 'they present themselves as if they aren’t rich/a company no I will not give any examples' crowd. Like what does this even mean. They start literally every single episode with informing you they are professional voice actors. They have clearly advertised sponsors. They have an entire line of merch and an animated show. The production value of the set is bonkers. They run a charity foundation. Do you want them to start every episode with a blaring siren and a warning saying 'beware! company run content! we make money!!' Are you just angry that they are friends having fun as they make a living. Do you have any understanding of how money works.

I don't understand how some folks, both people who like and don't like shadowgast, seem to still want me to believe that Liam "caved" to Caleb and Essek being in a relationship because of fandom pressure and continues to go along with it halfheartedly only because of that even though he secretly hates it.

And meanwhile we have entirely unprompted asides like "Imagine two wizards—" "I do. Often."

The reason why fans of Fjord are so great is that we came into the two-shot like “FUCK YES. Maybe we’ll see Sabian, finally. Maybe we’ll get more Vandran. We’re going to see the boy KICK THAT SNAKE’S ASS.” And then Travis was like “actually, Vandran isn’t here, Sabian isn’t here, and Fjord is going to be having a full-blown trauma-induced mental breakdown” and we were like “FUCK YES.” Anyway don’t talk to me unless you can enjoy characters in this way.

My second (and last) post about this, but i'm really bothered by the people saying things like "he should have said something sooner" "he was doing it behind closed doors", activism should never be about how loud you are about it online, it's about trying to help people, it's about trying to do your best to stop what is happening, be it loudly or quietly, be it making big donations or doing your daily clicks, in the end what matters is the collective, so it doesn't matter that matt did his donations and called reps without disclosing it to the public it matters that he did it, period.

this was wayyy more prevalent during campaign 1 but why are so many people convinced EVERY EPISODE that the cast is drunk and/or high??? like have you guys never had fun before?? have you never gotten a little silly after sitting at a table with your friends for 4 hours??

i love knowing that dani will go up to cast members after an episode ends and tell them "that was the gayest thing i've ever seen."

Aabria describing an NPC as a "study in human averages" is the kind of line that warrants a triple take. One for the initial chuckle, another for the actual realization, and a third one to hold the full and well deserved reaction.

it's so funny bc regardless of what taliesin's actual plans or thoughts are re: ashton and fearne, whenever it's brought up he's just like ah yes my gremlin sister. my wonder twin. my chaos partner. the entire rest of the table literally falling over themselves to make the most blatant sex joke and we cut downstairs and ashton's just like "alright fearne let's test out every new ability on these sheets in order"

I've decided that I'm not over the "Orym is a manipulator and turning into a villain" takes yet so I'm going to apply that same logic to all of the Bell's Hells

Chetney: Losing control and attacking the party then turning around and being their friend and expecting that friendship in return is manipulative and abusive. Plus the trial he went through to harness the wolf was all about attacking them, how can they possible trust him after that. Not to mention attacking that one shop keeper for no reason and putting the party in further danger because she sent a bounty hunter after him. Very selfish behavior.

FCG: By continuously pushing his view on religion and the Changebringer on the party after they've made it clear they have no interest, FCG makes it clear that he's only thinking of himself. If they really cared about the party then they would respect their view on the gods. It's also very manipulative to try and convince the party that everything is a sign from the Changebringer, especially after they've disagreed multiple times.

Imogen: Defending the Ruby Vanguard and Liliana in front of Laudna, Fearne, and Orym was pretty fucked up. She clearly doesn't care about their trauma and is only thinking about how the red moon situation can benefit her.

Fearne: Stealing from both the party and NPCs puts everyone in danger, but she only thinks about the momentary happiness she gets from it. Ignoring the party when they tell her to not rush in to a situation or lie to someone for no reason shows her clear disregard for their wellbeing.

Ashton: They used party resources to upgrade their weapon without telling the rest of the group. What if someone else wanted to use the immovable rod? Plus the crystals on the end of the hammer could actually backfire and harm the party. It was selfish of him to do so and shows that they only care about what he can get from the group.

Laudna: When the party reunited all Laudna did was complain about her experience in Issylra and made the other group feel guilty about not suffering as much. FCG especially found new joy and a reason to live, but they felt like they couldn't talk about it in front of Laudna. Sure her feelings are valid but she should have thought about the other's feelings before trauma dumping.

See how ridiculous these all sound? It's so easy to twist any character choice in a way that fits your narrative. Orym has been open with the party since the beginning that he's been looking for the people for killed his husband and father for 6 years. Now that he finally has a lead and a way to bring them to justice, he asked the rest of the party to help and they all agreed. He's not manipulating them, he's been clear about his goals since the beginning and the party are all adults who are capable of disagreeing and not helping him.

The funny thing really about Kingsley thinking he can do Fjord's job as captain better than Fjord can is that Kingsley only knows how to be a captain because he's learning from Fjord.

So, anything Kingsley can do, well, Fjord taught him to do. Also, yanno, way harder to be good at your job when the person who wants your job is actively sabotaging everything you do.

Generally, it's pretty clear that Fjord isn't actually at all incompetent. He's a good captain who is stressed out of his mind, as Laura says such directly, and he's being purposefully tripped up and undermined at all turns by Kingsley, which Taliesin openly admits. Fjord DOES know what he's doing, it's just conditions (stress, Kingsley) are making it impossible to do it and do it well—and that's very different from "is incapable and incompetent / doesn't know how to do his job / is completely clueless".