No, but my players have received them when I’ve DMed. The writer David Mitchell has an exercise he uses to get into a character’s headspace: he writes a letter addressed to himself, in the voice of the character.
Yes! my regular home brew game is filled with people who work in the art industry so whenever we get to make our own props we really indulge. Our party split up and half of them went to go recruit mercenaries and the other half make wanted posters and information posters for our mission! it was hilariously silly seeing some people with artistic talent and some people with more imaginative talent work together to make a poster and mail a letter (my character is blind but wanted to help with the letter and the poster!) truly funny shenanigans and really nice scrap book tokens :) we also got a hand written note and map from out DM inside a codex!!!
Yes, I wrote in character diary entries about troubling dreams. I needed to leave for a few weeks while I recovered from surgery, and my DM wanted a reason. I said maybe I was having troubling sleep of someone in trouble, and I left a series of drawings from things I saw. Then my teammates had to follow the clues and come find where I went.
Sokudo has already died once and is still with the Party, so this is something I'll consider for when she bites the bullet for real if she dies as a Quori.
21:15 - "because you're not testing your fellow players to see how well they know your character's personal journey." Yeah, that's crazy, like, imagine if you left because none of the other characters remembered your mother's name or something, that would be so weird
I'm sure the other players will respect their character's death and not galavant their dead body around that character's family in the most disrespectful way possible.
The REALLY wild thing about Percy possibly refusing to come back is, Taliesin confirmed that if this had happened, he had a new character planned. The circus would come to Whitestone, led by an ostentatious purple Tiefling, doing a show on "The Terrible Tinker of Tal'Dorei". Yes, a certain iconic Campaign 2 character COULD'VE BEEN A CAMPAIGN 1 CHARACTER. Man, THAT would've been an alternate timeline...
@@MrJCTrix Almost wonder if that would've worked better. (Though Campaign 3 had a PC Blood Hunter that worked well) Liam's Campaign 3 character was also a Campaign 1 backup in case Vax died: a Halfling Ashari widower who'd been sent by Keyleth's father to help her through her grief. (The only difference is his dead husband would've been named Riegel, not Will)
That letter is so freaking Rothfuss. Creating deep meaning over things that most people take for granted. It's one of the reasons why, even though it's been decades since his series went on hiatus, there are still some of us who are desperately waiting for the third book.
The one thing with their resurrection rituals that always cracks me up is that nigh everyone tries to do an impassioned speech. They're theater kids at heart so I can't blame them. Watching them try to spin it as not being persuasion is always something.
Something I wish I’d mentioned in this video is that this is the first on-screen resurrection where everyone just does a speech or some other performance to attempt to convince the soul to return. With Vex, Percy and Zahra tried to use magical focuses to bring him back while Vax appealed to the Raven Queen, and with Grog, Vax did the same thing, but the others attempted to give him ale and a strength potion, a combo of persuasion (and another reference to Grog using ale to form connections, kind of!) and medically/magically boosting his stamina. We didn’t see Pike’s resurrection, but is the first time on-screen where they pretty much exclusively attempt powerful speeches. Now just imagine if I’d remembered to put that into the video! Wouldn’t that be neat? lol it’s okay, just a little rusty, we’re getting back into the swing of things 😂
One of the issues which comes from the resurrection skill challenge is exactly what skills can PC's even use? How can I use my Stealth, Sleight of Hand, and Survival skills? What good will Animal Handling, Athletics, and Acrobatics do? Deception, Insight, Nature?
@@StabbeyTheClown I think that's what makes them interesting though. You can't just blindly roll dice, you have to think like your character would. Maybe your character shows care through gentleness, and a good memory you share is that your character was gentle enough to a squirrel that it got close enough for their character to pet it, using animal handling to express that you want more moments like that. Maybe your character is a showboat and they try and do a routine through tears, sobbing that they had more bad tricks to show them and they can't die now because damnit I had a knife throw you wanted to see, using slight of hand. Maybe grief causes your character to act out physically, and in an act of strength, your character restrains themselves as to not disturb what could be the character's final resting place. Worst comes to worst, talk to your DM, workshop something. "Hey I want to contribute here, but I don't know how a medicine check could appeal to their soul even if it's my only good skill that hasn't been used already" and you can decide, together, that maybe you made a tincture that smelled of their favourite flower to rub under their nose or something to remind them of home and what they're missing if they don't return. There's a lot of opportunity, and I understand the instinct of "how is X skill useful here?" But that should invite a genuine question and discussion rather than a thought terminating exasperation of frustration.
30:24 I have always felt like the letter from Kerrek to Keyleth was just as much a letter from Patrick to Marisha. We all knew the hell she was being put through by so many of the terrible people in the audience and it felt like Patrick was trying to explain to those assholes what was really in her heart. and to Marisha that even tho it felt like she was being tormented, she would be ok and even better for it. Maybe I’m just reading into it. But I think Marisha needed that letter just as much as Keyleth did.
Your videos have been such a great help to me when it comes to becoming a better player and hopefully one day a great GM. You’ve taught me so many lessons and I went back to watch your first video and it’s amazing to see how far the series has grown. Here’s to better days ahead Mike ❤
Being real with you thats what I thought for a min when I watched even though I was binge-watching and it wasn't nearly as long since the feywild for me lmao and honestly, the thing that made my brain say 'Wait that's not it' was because like...whose else would it be? if she was preg the surprise of it wouldn't be who the father is
Good video, Mike, and definitely good lessons to glean from it, especially allowing oneself the time to feel the feels, and then get back to it. We're going to need community more than ever.
I think it makes sense that Grog Is leading the party when they’re inside the mansion. He was raised in a tribal community, and death to loved ones was probably easier to accept for him.
Hey, first time commenting but I've been following your channel for... a long time. I'm currently watching the mighty Nein campaign (ep 45) after I've watched the Vow Machina one over a two-year period, and I love listening to your comments, even if I'm not a player or a DM at DnD myself. I'm from France so very far away from US everyday life and politics, but just want to say I feel you and to send some support ! Keep up the good work it's amazing, and wish you and your family the best life you can in such chaotic times.
glad to see you back and hear that you were safe from the wildfires! that was a lot to stomach within such a short period of time. thank you for being back!
Man, I forgot about how Orthax's curse on Ripley's gun worked. That's an amazing detail I'd love to work into cursed items in future games: an additional curse layered on top of a normal Magic Item that could be removed with a Remove Curse or Greater Restoration or something like that. I don't know if you can say everything Patrick writes is long. He managed to write a two-book trilogy after all. (Sorry, Pat. I love you. I forgive you for taking as long as you need, even if it's forever, and I've enjoyed the stuff you've done instead of getting out book 3. I just can't resist the opportunity for the zing when I get one). Vax's advice for Kynan is important for all of us right now: Make ourselves useful instead of wallowing in our own pain. Such a waste that by default, only Metallic Dragons get to polymorph into humanoids in 5E. You shouldn't have to resort to homebrew or using the spellcasting variant rules to get subplots like Raishan. I do, but you should have to.
On the dragons, I like to reckon with it as a pride thing. Like, obviously you can do whatever you'd like with monsters in your own games, but going off how they're presented in the Monster Manual, I think it's an interesting distinction. Metallic dragons might realize that sometimes a dragon in it's fully realized form isn't the best answer for a situation. But Chromatic dragons, particularly Red dragons might just be too proud of their form to even consider masking it like that. It even accents the special part of dragons like Raishan, since their unique circumstances might have them forsake things like pride in exchange for the ability to further their own ends.
Fizban's actually now includes it in the list of variant abilities you can give any dragon. It's listed right alongside giving them things like Mimicry, Rejuvenation (like a Lich), and making dragons innate spellcasters. Give them whatever skills you want too. The exact wording is: "You can customize any dragon's stat block to reflect the dragon's unique character. Minor changes such as those below are easy to make and have no impact on a dragon's challenge rating." (note spellcasting is listed seperately from this)
Wow some people think you shouldn't have feelings and just exist to spit out content. Nice. Thanks for doing these, Mike, I enjoy all aspects of them. Keep up the good work and wishing good things for you and your family from Canada.
I ran a Mass Effect game and one of the players that had to leave around the time they hit level 7 due to RL moving. I wrote her out by inheriting her fathers company and becoming very rich after a lengthy legal battle. Right before the final battle at level 20, the group lost their ship in battle. So i got in touch with her and had her record a message to encourage the PCs and talk about a gift (she didn't know what it was, since i didnt know what it was yet). Anyway, they got the recording, along with a brand new ship with top of the line upgrades.
Stay strong Mike! Been telling all my friends that the fight didn't end last week, it just moved to a new front! This was one of my favorite episodes to listen to so far. I love how even with just voices these talented players convey so much emotion and completely change the mood of the game and the table. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on how TLoVM changed this part of the storyline, personally I think for TV it was a very good change, but I'd love to hear other perspectives!
Thank you for what you said at the end. I went though a personal sadness that was a long time coming yesterday, and I'm very much wallowing today. Christmas is going to look very different for me this year. It's overwhelming and scary. I've got a DnD session tomorrow with friends who have my back - sounds like the perfect way to pick myself up and get back to living.
This episode and the end of the previous one really showcase how much Grog and Scanlan can be the backbone of the group. It's Scanlan who gets Vox Machina together to kill Ripley and later keeps holding them together when they're breaking apart, sending everybody on the immediate things that need doing, laying out ways to mourn Percy (his "well we're not gonna let him sleep alone, are we" is so freaking *gentle* it breaks my heart every time). And it's Grog who, like you said, recognises that Vex and Keyleth are Absolutely Not Okay and they all need some hope and some rest. They really keep the group together in that moment, and I'm thinking of another down the road when they can't for various reasons - and things don't just get dire, they get bleak. Also I'm really glad you included the "Laughter! Laughter's back!" Laughter is so precious and important (and especially cathartic in this case) 💜
Just a reminder that no matter who sss voted in, this is not the end. We still are a resilient people and will find a way through whatever comes our way. Love wins!
I really love how, as Raishan is revealing herself and talking on the leverage she has over them, Percy does that hand motion like "okay we get it, you could kill us, you hold the cards, yadda yadda yadda, get to the interesting bit." He's back from death and back to being sassy
Hey Mike, love your videos and please take care, i know this is your job at this point but take care of yourself and your love ones we are gonna be here the moment you post something because your content is only great because you put effort and love to it, i doesnt help anybody if you are not in a good place, so i hope i talk for the CR and your own community when i say i hope to see your next video when you feel good enougth doing it. also, 69 niceeee!🤣
Glad your family is safe and you did not have to evacuate, but sorry things have been so difficult lately. It is good to remember that one of the goals of fascism is to keep you off balance, anxious, and afraid; so one form of resistance is to not give into that. I have made it a goal moving forward to do a better job at ignoring things which are clearly just intended to grab attention and inflame people, versus things which require action on my part (not to say that inflammatory nonsense doesn't require action sometimes). This has allowed me to cut back on a lot of unnecessary media consumption, which has, in turn, had a positive impact on my anxiety level.
My smartass self would tell everyone I have a death letter, and then the letter would just say on it "Today's death letter is the letter Y." Thank you Sesame Street
What I love about the letter, just a small thing, the way Rothfuss pronounces the name Kerrek it sounds like 'care'. Which makes the end "Kindly, Kerrek" sound like "Kindly care".
There is something so poignant that while they were appealing to Percy they were actually literally appealing to Talisan. And I never clocked why Marisha seemed to react so weirdly to the letter at first so that's good context. SPOILERS FOR THE CARTOON VERSION WHICH IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT BUT UP TO THIS EVENT IN THE CARTOON ALSO please don't spoil me I mention I am only on episode 8 starting nine soon My partner and I are watching the show and are only halfway through, ep 8. So Percy fell in 7 and I knew it was coming and already started tearing up, because even though I knew it wasn't permanent it was still sad. And then genuinely shocked when Ripley gets away. So the episode ended and he turned to me and asked "Does he really die?! Like Talisan makes a new character??" and I just shrugged and said we'll have to see. Then the next episode came and went. They Bury Percy and don't bring him back. I don't know what is happening I'm sad and watching really intently because like...is he really dead? They all fly and teleport around getting allies and armies to fight Thordak (because events aren't quite in order if you haven't seen the cartoon, Raishan revealed herself ages ago not post Percy's death) and I am so lost. They prep to fight Thordak and I saw out loud "are they really going to Thordak without him?(quickly add) without Talisan?" and my partner asks if his new charcarer should be here by now. I truthfully point out that all these events are many many episodes combined and they wouldn't make their friend sit out so long in a game. and I wonder out loud "maybe they wont be bringing in new characters for the cartoon..." (and I am partially thinking of someone else here) "is this the big change? Do they leave Talisan out for the rest?" (and here I mean do they really leave Percy dead) Basically, I am going through a whirlwind of emotions in the cartoon right now.
[39:00] F***! F***! F***! Mike, I was not planing on watching season one but instead enjoyed watching your Demystified videos to learn your advice and get up to speed with Nox Machina. Now I gonna have to watch Vox Machina and then come back to Demystified so I won't get spoiled. ... Guess it is Matt's fault for being such a great game master. 😉
Personally one of my characters dies, or another character in the campaign, myself or the other players will sit by the dm and do rolls for them to keep them involved until they’re either revived or a new character is introduced. Idk if this would work for every table, but we enjoy it
Sometimes I cannot hear the music at all and sometimes I cannot even focus on what you are saying, because of the music, Mike! This episode is one of the ones where I have a hard time focusing on what you're saying because the guitar is battling your voice!
I will always say that threat of death do not equal stakes like yeah if you favorite character dies and can't come back you'll feel it but you won't feel it any less if they can be revived. The journey to get them back the ritual or the magic spell or what not is just as compelling, as well as who does actually come back or what consequences they have to deal with for bring them back.
Death of a character can be meaningfully heart-wrenching, but it also can be empty and hollow. I have players that want to see their characters make it to the end of the story. The threat of death is still there, but it's so incredibly unlikely and usually has a story element behind it. There's so many other ways to create consequences and tension than just permanently removing a character. Stakes don't even need NPC deaths.
We were in a similar situation no fires but our internet has been out for weeks we can’t watch tv or do much of anything with out it our phones have a bit of internet so scrolling through social media is all we’ve been able to do and even that is iffy
What are all these big babies doing in the comments lmao love your videos mike and love your unabashedness with politics. Sorry so much shit has been thrown your way in life, i hope things take a turn for the better. Also i LOVE how Scanlan specifically handled things this episode.
"What are all these babies doing?" "I love your unabashedness with politics" so like which is it? Do you want people to have opinions or are we just committing to the hypocritical schtick?
@@mythtaker I’m sure you wouldn’t appreciate unabashed politics if they were opinions you disagree with. Only people I’ve seen complaining are the ones who didn’t get their candidate the win. Anyways, Ancient Orange Dragon bad or something like that. Kek
@@morganmcinroy4211 I find that to be a sad state of the world that no one can engage with disagreements. If you an only enjoy someone’s content solely based on their politics, you’re not really being challenged in any meaningful way, you’re just hearing what you want to hear. Listening to opposition is the most healthy thing one can do to not stay in a bubble.
If a creator I subscribed to started spouting off about politics that I morally and ethically disagreed with, I would unsubscribe and move on. No point in giving them the views. But it seems like that is something these babies can’t fathom. Gotta get that last word in. I hope Mike benefits from the engagement, but that their baby-shit comments don’t affect him.
I used to LOVE reading books. Now I only do when the power or internet is out and a silent book that relies on activating my hypee imagination can't quiet the distress in my mind so it just feels awful. The solution is probably to read books not only when I must...
This piece of advice is underrated. Got through 2 books of the faithful and fallen series during the blackouts on the east coast previously. When we get off the internet, the world isn’t as bad as our minds make it out to be when all we’re looking at is bad news.
Oh, the joys of having a new born with no power. It is sucks. I had plans of shipping my newborn and wife to relatives hundreds of miles away who had power. Luckly, the weather was nice and we still had gas. oh, the joys of having a newborn. The icky just keeps getting passed around the family for the next ten thousand years. Okay it is just feels like it.
7:05 Are calls of violence really fucking necessary holy shit. Dude, I love your content on the demysfied series, but can we not with threatening people.
@SupergeekMike "I can't imagine shooting the president" is basically the translation of your comment in the video. Sure you didn't directly say "I want to kill the president elect" but its implied. Don't get me wrong I hate trump but implying shooting the president elect I think is weird especially in this political climate where it could very well happen the next day. Just my take. I just don't get why people call for violance its seen too much already and its disappointing. Too much violence in the world already.
I'm sorry to hear you've got a bug going through your household right now. May you stay healthy, and everyone get well soon. Another great video! I love this episode of the campaign; I've probably re-watched parts of it more than any other episode. I always forget just how densely packed it is, though! All the aftermath of the battle at Glintshore, Scanlan's chat with Jarrett, Kerrek's letter, and the reveal at the end, all within a single game session? So much happens, and the entire cast's roleplay is in incredibly fine form as well.
Mike, excellent video as always. As for politics … man I wish there were easy answers. On matters political, I think we can agree completely the country just made one hell of a mistake last week. I'm saying that here because … I'm probably not going to watch that other video you plan to make around that. _IT IS_ your channel and your platform, as you've reminded people many times now, so I won't tell you how to run it. Even so, games are what I do because the world is run by ignorant assholes whose decisions are mostly bullshit. I can't fix that-I mean I vote, but this was the first time in literally 15 years that ANYONE I voted for actually won. So … I like my neat little partition between entertainment and "we're so screwed". Besides, I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican really. Which means I'm "the enemy" in both camps because there's only the two extremes anymore. If anyone's soliciting advice for NOW, I'd suggest picking the most important battles (yes I know it's all important) and concentrating on blocking the most idiotic crap from getting through-stuff like appeasing the guy who wants to start WWIII is a top priority. Appeasing the nutbag expansionist DID NOT work last century and a lot of people got hurt and worse because of it. My second thus far seems to be trying to stop the appointment of RFKJr, since he kinda sounds like the nameless one who just had to sell his media empire to The Onion (🤣). At least the latter priority might change, we'll see. I could give advice for the future … but nobody'd be listening. So take care of your family first, and encourage people to direct their energy where it can do the most good, because none of us have infinite energy … and if you go off on everything, it's gonna be hard to get people to listen. Dems did not just LOSE this election, they had their asses handed to them. Time to get strategic and focused if y'all wanna do ANYTHING.
I was always on the opposite side, I liked that the dragon attack wasn't their fault. Matt has a tendency in his campaigns that yes, while by the end they're fighting world-ending threats and saving it, but at the start the group is a bunch of nobodies. They're all small pieces of a much bigger puzzle, and I actually prefer the way Legend of Vox Machina handled it where (spoilers if you haven't seen the show) Keyleth asks if it's their fault for killing Brimscythe, but Percy almost immediately dismisses it, pointing out Kreig had been dismantling Emon's army before Vox Machina ever appeared. In his words: "This plan has long been in motion"
As you mentioned Turkey day I've been seeing lots of people taking a stand and planning not to attend with those who voted for the felon. They are separating themselves from those people showing them that their decisions have consequences and life will not proceed for them as it had before either.
Hey Mike, next time the power goes out try reading a book instead of doom scrolling. I'm sure it's healthier and waaay less stressful. Even reading on you phone is fine!
Thanks for the video. In regards to the politics: I would like to say we will get through this, sadly, that may not be true. Do what you can and maybe move if possible? The whole world is taking a turn though so I don't know where.
I keep seeing statements like, "I would like to say we will get through this, sadly, that may not be true." and I speak from a place of ignorance when I ask who is sending the executioner out to kill anyone? I don't understand this language. If the other side says "I don't believe there are more than two genders" I have never seen anyone in power say at the end of that sentence "so kill anyone who does not consider themselves part of those two". Maybe that isn't what you meant but I have heard similar sentiments from people on social media and I can't figure out if they believe people are actually in danger of bodily harm from the gov. or if it is a symbolic statement saying that people will not be able to identify as what they believe they are, so more of an "ego death" as opposed to a physical death if we want to use phycology terms
Wow all the people in the comments complaining about the discussion of politics, as if it doesn't effects everyone's day to day lives. If you don't like politics, or 'find it distasteful', all I can say is that it must people really nice to not have your rights and livelihood up for debate every 4 years. It's his channel, he can do what he wants with it, and this isn't an airport, you don't have to announce when you're leaving.
Some of y’all have a really short fuse when it comes to anyone mentioning their dislike of politics being talked about on this channel. It’s just immediate aggression, with no attempt at reasonable discussion.
I can’t speak for everyone you’re describing, and obviously I hope nobody is harassing anybody in the comments, but I can say that I haven’t seen anything that has gotten out of hand when coming from the people you’re referring to. In my experience, the debate usually goes as follows: Commenter #1’s argument: “I don’t want to see politics on this channel. I come to D&D for escapism, not politics.” Commenter #2’s counter-argument: “Oh well, it’s not your channel, it’s Mike’s.” Obviously if someone specifically debates the political argument I’m making (“You’re wrong about Trump,” etc.), there’s a more varied reply, as people debate the specific facts around the claims I made in said video. But as for what you’re talking about, I really haven’t seen much hostility - typically I just see a reply along the lines of, “It’s Mike’s channel, he can do what he wants.” So allow me to give you the platform to state your peace: What do you wish people were letting you say in response to that counter-argument?
@ I personally don’t really care one way or the other about the politics in your videos. It’s usually only a small portion overall (except for the videos that are only about that, but I don’t watch those), and the rest of the content is pretty good in my opinion. If it got to a point where I stopped liking what you make, I’d probably just stop watching. However, I have noticed that anytime someone else comments about their dislike, it’s usually met with many people (even in this video, the comments with the most replies are about that) being passive aggressive. Things to the effect of “it’s not an airport, no need to announce your departure” or “you must be privileged to not want to hear about politics” leave a bad taste in my mouth when I see them. It just seems like a bunch of people that were waiting for the chance to dog pile, if you get what I mean? (This part is edited in, but I did read back some of the comments and there is one with 10 replies currently that likes your politics but says “what’s up with all these big babies in the comments”. One reply even reiterates that. These are really just needless insults). Also, I personally wouldn’t say that “it’s Mike’s channel, he can do what he wants” is a very good counter argument. It’s true, but kind of irrelevant to the point. You could reasonably say that as a response to any criticism, and it really doesn’t add anything. “I wish Mike had talked about this moment in the episode” “Well, it’s his channel, he can do what he wants” “Hey Mike, you should talk about Dimension 20 at some point” “It’s Mike’s channel, so he can do what he wants” “You should talk about politics way more, like at least half the video” “It’s not your channel, it’s Mike’s” It just feels like an attempt to stop all discussion without actually engaging in it. Some people will even reply with that every time someone mentions that they don’t want to hear you talk about politics, and it happens on several of your videos that I’ve seen. I think tensions are really high right now, and some people are just trying to take that out on others in a place they won’t be disagreed with much. Now, there are definitely quite a few people who will become aggressive or insult you. I think one comment here said something like “stay in your lane” which is rude and uncalled for since you are basically always polite, and you definitely shouldn’t feel restricted purely to D&D or CR content.
@@Aplesedjr I definitely appreciate that you're being polite about this! I didn't assume that you were necessarily personally bothered by the political content itself, more just wishing the statement "It's Mike's channel" wasn't shutting down debate. And I don't think you're totally wrong that the debate essentially dies after that reply. However, I guess I'm essentially asking... what other discussion is there to be had? As an example, let's imagine I was just a casual acquaintance who invited people over for a barbecue. And as part of the invitation, there was an expectation that you were coming to hear me talk about subjects I was passionate about. And then after I talk about the topic on my mind, we all sit and chat, and I get to hear from all of you. And let's imagine, at one of these gatherings, I made a quick aside about politics. Someone might say, "Hey, man, I don't want to hear you talk about politics." I might respond, "Okay, but this is my house. If I want to talk about politics, I'm gonna do that." Now, sometimes the conversation continues past that point. If someone replies, "I came here to hear your thoughts about subjects you're passionate about, not politics," I might respond, "One of the subjects I'm passionate about is politics. I never promised you we wouldn't talk about politics - you came in assuming that the topic wouldn't come up. But once again, this is my house. If I want to talk about politics, I'm going to do so. You don't have to stay if that makes you uncomfortable, but I don't think I'm going to change what I discuss when I'm in my house." Maybe they'll say, "You discussing politics makes me feel unwelcome." But I'd reply, "Well, you're welcome to hang out if you also want to hear about politics. But if the politics bothers you, that's fine, you don't have to come back, but this is still my house, and I'm gonna discuss the topics important to me. If you want to talk about the politics I'm talking about, and debate these subjects, that's fine, let's do that! But if you're just asking me not to discuss this anymore, I just don't know if there's much to discuss beyond 'It's my house, I'm still gonna talk about the stuff that's important to me.'" And then let's imagine the person who complained about politics kept coming back. And every time they visited, they said, "I don't want to hear you talk about politics." Of course I might answer the same way, but now the other guests might start to chime in with their support. "He talks about politics a lot, and it's his house, you don't have to keep visiting." "He's not a waiter, this isn't a restaurant, you came here to hear his thoughts, if you don't want to hear them, then you don't have to keep accepting the invitation." And now, when someone new comes to the house, and complains when politics get brought up, there's a crowd of regulars who repeat the same arguments: "Maybe you don't want to hear about politics, but this isn't new for him. You don't have to come back, but this is his house, and it's unreasonable for him to never talk about politics." Sure, maybe it comes on strong, but from the perspective of the regular guests, they're just tired of people coming in and complaining about the same thing yet again. If that seems like a dog pile, I do apologize that it comes across that way, but it comes from a source of frustration at people coming in and continuing to offer what is essentially a relatively unhelpful critique. Because you said that the reply "It's Mike's channel" essentially "feels like an attempt to stop all discussion without actually engaging it in." But ironically, I think when people say "I don't want to hear you talk about politics"... that is ACTUALLY an attempt to stop all discussion without engaging it. They are literally saying, "I don't want to hear about this topic, so stop bringing it up." I can't think of anything else that would more obviously serve to shut down debate. If they got their way, we would literally stop all discussion on that subject without engaging in it. And ultimately, I think that's the reason it feels like there's no where for the debate to go from there. When someone just says "Stop it," the only way we can reply are to either say "Okay, I'll stop." or "No I'm gonna keep doing it." That's why I don't feel there's some great debate that's being lost when people say "No" - because there's not really any opportunity for anything more substantial based on their initial complaint.
@@SupergeekMike I always try to be polite in discussion. I’ve found it’s ultimately better in the long run for everyone, and it takes no effort on my part. Your example is definitely fair, though I’ll say that there is something I think that wasn’t considered. Which is that your videos aren’t something you invite people to as you might invite people to your home for a barbecue. They’re entirely public for anyone to see (barring region locks, but that’s beside the point) and comment on. If someone sees your video in their recommended, they’re likely to assume that you will generally stick to the topic presented in the title and thumbnail. These are usually CR and D&D, so I think people will get surprised when you mention politics at all and comment that they don’t like that. Simply saying they don’t want you to talk about politics and nothing else is of course itself not a good discussion starter. However, I think it would be best if people just kind of left them alone at that point. It’s sort of sad to see a dozens of comments about interesting stories people have about their own game experiences, or praise for you video, or something about the CR episode you’re discussing have no replies at all, while most of the one telling you to stop the political talk or talking about the people telling you to stop end up with way more replies than there should be. I wish that everyone who spent effort to comment “it’s Mike’s channel”, or an insult, or something passive aggressive would find a different comment to reply to. Now, you could reasonably argue that it’s ok to try to go against the people who tell you to stop talking about politics, since not doing anything incentivizes them to continue doing it. However, I imagine most people who do that probably don’t watch your channel very often, and thus don’t stick around long enough for that to make a difference. I don’t know if there’s a way to prove that, but I don’t ever recognize any specific accounts doing that over and over again, and I know from other UA-camrs that a pretty substantial number of viewers come from the video being recommended to them and not from their subscriptions. Like I said before, it’s reasonable to imagine that a lot of people find the politics to be unexpected in a bad way. Plus, anyone who does comment that sentiment repeatedly is probably doing it in the hopes that you will eventually do that. Which is ultimately similar to what the replies often say, since they want those comments to change as well. Ultimately, I think it’s kind of a waste of time in both cases. Everyone that interacts in that way really just pointlessly argue, and everyone ends up more angry and frustrated than they were before. What I want is for everyone to either have a real discussion, or not waste their own time.
It'll be fine man. Keep your head up. You're young, you'll get used to the lies and realize there's no difference between those people. Douche and a turd sandwich. How different would the world be if Garry Johnson had won in '16? Man the comedy...
I knew something.... I was like who is assum really there's no circle in Whitestone. I wasnt sure if he was a dragon or what but i caught right on to that and didnt trust it.
Really? You can't think of any current heads of state that you would want to see deposed and never come back? Outside of comics and D&D, death is pretty much the most permanent way of deposing someone.
Eh I think you're overblowing the ring thing. It was clearly an in-character, in-game letter. Which makes the ring an in-character, in-game ring. Not an out of game, real world ring. It was fine. Sure, don't include a $5000 actual white gold and diamond ring, but I doubt anyone would blow that kind of money on a dnd prop anyway, lets be real.
lol I don’t think she could tell what kind of ring it was through the envelope, but I do think she was starting to panic. And I just imagine how bad it would’ve been if instead of panic, she’d been EXCITED about getting the ring because of what it might’ve meant… 😬
No power means all you can do is scroll social media? Definitely don't think that would be my choice on how to use limited battery life.... Sounds more like a bad decision
I personally am a republican, however I still enjoy your content and have been religiously watching this series since I discovered it. I'm sorry to hear about the fires and sickness, sounds like your going through a pretty tough time right now. However, you can take solace in the fact that not every politically opposed individual has to be enemies. I know the fear and panic you are going through, gone through it many times myself. Think of it this way: It's only 4 more years (if that lol, depends on how many more attempts on his life there are). And after that, Trump will not be able to run for another term for the remainder of his life. I personally am looking forward to who our 50th president will be, that's a nice round title!
Absolutely no issue with you talking about politics, Mike. It’s cathartic, and a lot of your viewers are going through similar stuff to you. The UA-cam filter has pulled a lot of my recent comments for language, but I’m gonna try my best with this one. The 80s punk band with the word Kennedys in their name noticed that they were starting to draw a crowd that would nowadays vote for the guy who won the election. They wrote a song telling those fans what they should do, and I think D&D fans of a similar persuasion should do the same.
I cut ties with one of my players in the aftermath of the election, and I'm not even American. Some people might think it's extreme, but what's actually extreme is playing make believe violence with people who lack the maturity for it. Take care of yourselves, everyone.
I hear you, but he IS the creator. It's his content to do with as he sees fit, and if you dislike it... stop watching. He may lose viewers but at this point does he care?
If the politics of the channel creator (and the show he's reviewing) upsets you, you don't have to watch. Im sure you can find something else you'll enjoy wholeheartedly.
It's his video, and he's talked politics plenty of times before. Lots of people are rightfully upset about recent events, it's a big deal. You don't have to watch if you don't like it.
how about we stop talking about politics in general in your videos? I come here to enjoy DnD content and escape the state of our nation, not be reminded of it.
Ah, intresting wording. You'd have a better point if you ask what it has to do with *D&D/Critical Role* (although an argument can be made that the CR crew clearly hold political views that are against Trump's and would therefore add context to the story they're telling) because it definitely has a lot to do with *anything*.
I think that you think you’re too small to fall. I can look past the intro cuz I have family affected by those wildfires and I could get the headspace, but the joke about “I can’t imagine wishing harm to a head of state” was uncalled for. You’ve shown your true colors and I’m unsubscribing. At the end of the day, you’re just an upset and overwhelemd man taking care of your family. Good luck, and be safe.
I’m trying not to reply to comments as often, but I’m making an exception because the phrase “you lived through 2016” is very foolish, because (A) Trump was not the president in 2016, he was President from 2017-2020. And (B) yes, WE survived, but a LOT of people died in those 4 years, as a direct result of both his policies and his rhetoric. When he first took power, there was a rise in hate speech and hate crimes, including lethal ones. He did such a bad job with COVID, hundreds of thousands of people died when that never needed to happen. Also, you can just Google what economists believe will happen if Trump implements all of his economic promises, but the answers range from “another recession” to “another depression” - there aren’t many who think it’ll be GOOD, because Trump is a dangerous combination of stupid and evil. People are already learning he lied about tariffs as their companies have to pre-purchase a bunch of products before tariffs take effect, meaning they’re losing their Christmas bonuses because the company needs that money for goods they would normally purchase next year - because the tariffs Trump has described would actually just make everything more expensive. It’s gonna be bad, actually.
@ there have been more hate crime incidents reported under the Biden administration than under Trumps, looking at the 2023 vs 2019 DOJ stats. Covid was handled as best as it could be given the unknown nature of the disease at the time. Trump was more than willing to close the borders when reports first started coming in, and yes since covid came from wuhan it was pragmatic to be weary of Chinese nationals. Better to have that than doing what Pelosi said and “going to Chinatown and hugging a Chinese person”. Congress stifled attempts to slow the spread initially then placed all blame on the president once it was too late. At that point you have to choose between the economy or citizens, and even with how many died, people were chosen over economy. He also pushed through the vaccine with increased funding and support. That was “project warpspeed”. As far as economy goes, prices were down across the board during Trump’s first term as well as unemployment. People wanna say that was all Obama’s trickledown, but Trump’s policies kept it going strong until the pandemic. Biden’s administration gave out pennies in his stimulus cuz he was more concerned with giving housing to illegal immigrants, billions to Ukraine, and billions to Israel. I’m more inclined to believe that staying the course would’ve cost us way more. I believe that he’ll do well because I want him to do well for the sake of the country and it’s people. Just feels like you’re so blinded by hate of this guy that you want him to fail for the “I told you so”. I’ll eat my words if he does. I believe it will get better. Hopium
This comment is so insane and wrong in so many ways, I’m just going to sit in a chair and stare into space for a while. Imagine thinking nothing could have been done better about COVID when he was actively claiming a vaccine wouldn’t be necessary, politicizing masks, spread racist lies about the virus that led to a rise in hate crimes against Asian people (that’s probably the spike you’re seeing, along with his anti-trans rhetoric, and the unrelated rise in hate speech that came from Musk buying Twitter), insisting the country should re-open early (he specifically tried to insist everything would be fine by Easter, and then 4th of July, because like every Republican in 2020, he was specifically prioritizing the economy over the people, exactly like the mayor from Jaws), ignored experts and pawned off the COVID response on his unqualified son-in-law and Mike Pence, allowed the disease to spread specifically because they believed it would primarily effect Democratic voters, tried to reduce the amounts of testing because he insisted we only had so many cases because we test so much, hosted numerous super-spreader events, one of which killed Herman Cain, he showed up to a debate despite the fact that he HAD THE VIRUS, and jumped on every quick fix solution he could find, which led to him promoting a horse de-wormer instead of real medicine. And that’s all off the top of my head, like, come on, get REAL. There’s no point in debating your arguments on the economy when (A) I’m not smart enough to understand the economy, (B) leaving a UA-cam comment doesn’t entitle you to a point-by-point response; and (C) you’re so insanely wrong about the COVID situation that I feel like that says more than enough. You think he’ll do well because you WANT him to do well? So you’re just going to ignore his record and all the things he said on the campaign trail because you know that if he does a bad job, a lot of people will suffer, and you just… don’t want that to happen? So you’re willingly going into a state of denial? I specifically remember a lot of people doing that in 2017. “Maybe after the election, he’ll calm down.” He put kids in cages, banned travel from Muslim countries, tried to get rid of Obamacare with no replacement plan, and called Neo-Nazis “very fine people.” Oh yeah, and he also TRIED TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT. And because I’M confronting that very real possibility that he’ll do the things he said and people will suffer as a result, I’m only doing so for clout? And there’s literally no other reason I could be talking about politics besides trying to call my shot? Like, there’s no way I could be: - Processing my feelings in real time - Trying to reassure my audience that they’re not in this alone - Building a community that is prepared to take collective action to combat the corrupt policies of the Trump presidency whenever possible - Weeding people out of my community who don’t share my politics Sheesh. I need to lie down.
you're in for a Surprise, and you must have been not paying attention, because the last Trump Administration was a disaster. I know he gaslit half the country into believing otherwise, but there was damage. What policy do you think Trump is going to implement that will make prices drop by the way? tariffs? mass deportation? what was your favorite bill he passed last time that made your life better? no one is rooting for his failure. Project 2025 is the plan, and there is nothing good in there. Best case scenario is he doesn't do anything. LIke at all. Its already a circus and he isn't even president. right now Inflation is at 2.1% unemployment is at 4%, GDP is 3.4%, Infrastructure is being restored and built 1 million manufacturing Jobs, Stock market went from 14000 to 34000. We lead the nation in economic recovery from the pandemic. Record oil and energy production. You don't know how good we have it now, You trumpers have such a short memory. Houses were up 34%, inflation at 17%, unemployment at 8%, 400,000 more covid deaths than necessary. Trump made a deal with Saudi, and Russia to inflate gas prices, released Taliban and made a awful deal with them in the withdraw from Afghanistan, sent 1.9 billion to Turkey, Used taxpayer money to enrich his businesses. Did i mention that he refused to concede, and try to overturn the election. I mean i could go on, but this notion that Trump somehow did a good job is just outright false. He is at best s snake oil salesman, and you bought the oil.
Have you ever written an in-character letter for a D&D game?
No, but my players have received them when I’ve DMed.
The writer David Mitchell has an exercise he uses to get into a character’s headspace: he writes a letter addressed to himself, in the voice of the character.
@@SupergeekMike I think I might next campaign. Hopefully. Going more in depth with character stuff then I usually do.
Yes! my regular home brew game is filled with people who work in the art industry so whenever we get to make our own props we really indulge. Our party split up and half of them went to go recruit mercenaries and the other half make wanted posters and information posters for our mission! it was hilariously silly seeing some people with artistic talent and some people with more imaginative talent work together to make a poster and mail a letter (my character is blind but wanted to help with the letter and the poster!) truly funny shenanigans and really nice scrap book tokens :) we also got a hand written note and map from out DM inside a codex!!!
Yes, I wrote in character diary entries about troubling dreams. I needed to leave for a few weeks while I recovered from surgery, and my DM wanted a reason. I said maybe I was having troubling sleep of someone in trouble, and I left a series of drawings from things I saw. Then my teammates had to follow the clues and come find where I went.
Sokudo has already died once and is still with the Party, so this is something I'll consider for when she bites the bullet for real if she dies as a Quori.
21:15 - "because you're not testing your fellow players to see how well they know your character's personal journey."
Yeah, that's crazy, like, imagine if you left because none of the other characters remembered your mother's name or something, that would be so weird
I'm sure the other players will respect their character's death and not galavant their dead body around that character's family in the most disrespectful way possible.
Way to miss the point
There's something so very Scanlan about "give me the smallest gun and teach me to use it on weekends."
The REALLY wild thing about Percy possibly refusing to come back is, Taliesin confirmed that if this had happened, he had a new character planned. The circus would come to Whitestone, led by an ostentatious purple Tiefling, doing a show on "The Terrible Tinker of Tal'Dorei".
Yes, a certain iconic Campaign 2 character COULD'VE BEEN A CAMPAIGN 1 CHARACTER. Man, THAT would've been an alternate timeline...
taliesin also confirmed, if he had of made that certain character in campaign 1, he would have been a sorcerer not a blood hunter
@@MrJCTrix Almost wonder if that would've worked better. (Though Campaign 3 had a PC Blood Hunter that worked well)
Liam's Campaign 3 character was also a Campaign 1 backup in case Vax died: a Halfling Ashari widower who'd been sent by Keyleth's father to help her through her grief. (The only difference is his dead husband would've been named Riegel, not Will)
That letter is so freaking Rothfuss. Creating deep meaning over things that most people take for granted. It's one of the reasons why, even though it's been decades since his series went on hiatus, there are still some of us who are desperately waiting for the third book.
Glad you're back, and that you didn't have to evacuate!
Thank you!
I'm sorry Mike.
Thank you for continuing this series.
We should eke out every last joy and lesson from what is left while we can.
Welcome back Mike currently in a deep Red State and currently trying to boost mood and you’re helping greatly
My deepest condolences about your location, from someone in a blue area of Colorado.
The one thing with their resurrection rituals that always cracks me up is that nigh everyone tries to do an impassioned speech.
They're theater kids at heart so I can't blame them. Watching them try to spin it as not being persuasion is always something.
Something I wish I’d mentioned in this video is that this is the first on-screen resurrection where everyone just does a speech or some other performance to attempt to convince the soul to return. With Vex, Percy and Zahra tried to use magical focuses to bring him back while Vax appealed to the Raven Queen, and with Grog, Vax did the same thing, but the others attempted to give him ale and a strength potion, a combo of persuasion (and another reference to Grog using ale to form connections, kind of!) and medically/magically boosting his stamina. We didn’t see Pike’s resurrection, but is the first time on-screen where they pretty much exclusively attempt powerful speeches.
Now just imagine if I’d remembered to put that into the video! Wouldn’t that be neat? lol it’s okay, just a little rusty, we’re getting back into the swing of things 😂
One of the issues which comes from the resurrection skill challenge is exactly what skills can PC's even use? How can I use my Stealth, Sleight of Hand, and Survival skills? What good will Animal Handling, Athletics, and Acrobatics do? Deception, Insight, Nature?
@@StabbeyTheClown I think that's what makes them interesting though. You can't just blindly roll dice, you have to think like your character would. Maybe your character shows care through gentleness, and a good memory you share is that your character was gentle enough to a squirrel that it got close enough for their character to pet it, using animal handling to express that you want more moments like that. Maybe your character is a showboat and they try and do a routine through tears, sobbing that they had more bad tricks to show them and they can't die now because damnit I had a knife throw you wanted to see, using slight of hand. Maybe grief causes your character to act out physically, and in an act of strength, your character restrains themselves as to not disturb what could be the character's final resting place.
Worst comes to worst, talk to your DM, workshop something. "Hey I want to contribute here, but I don't know how a medicine check could appeal to their soul even if it's my only good skill that hasn't been used already" and you can decide, together, that maybe you made a tincture that smelled of their favourite flower to rub under their nose or something to remind them of home and what they're missing if they don't return.
There's a lot of opportunity, and I understand the instinct of "how is X skill useful here?" But that should invite a genuine question and discussion rather than a thought terminating exasperation of frustration.
30:24 I have always felt like the letter from Kerrek to Keyleth was just as much a letter from Patrick to Marisha. We all knew the hell she was being put through by so many of the terrible people in the audience and it felt like Patrick was trying to explain to those assholes what was really in her heart. and to Marisha that even tho it felt like she was being tormented, she would be ok and even better for it. Maybe I’m just reading into it. But I think Marisha needed that letter just as much as Keyleth did.
Glad to see you back, Mike. And glad your family is safe from the fires.
Your videos have been such a great help to me when it comes to becoming a better player and hopefully one day a great GM. You’ve taught me so many lessons and I went back to watch your first video and it’s amazing to see how far the series has grown. Here’s to better days ahead Mike ❤
Flashback to when everyone thought Vex was pregnant when she said, “it’s yours” because of how long it had been since the feywild arc.
Haha oh man I don’t think I’d heard that theory! Or if I did, I didn’t remember it. That’s wild!
@ I saw it in a couple comments on the episode lol. Wasn’t anything major.
Being real with you thats what I thought for a min when I watched even though I was binge-watching and it wasn't nearly as long since the feywild for me lmao
and honestly, the thing that made my brain say 'Wait that's not it' was because like...whose else would it be? if she was preg the surprise of it wouldn't be who the father is
I was just looking in the comments to see if anyone else had thought that originally! That was totally what I thought for months
This is a good channel. This is a good series. I like Mike.
Good video, Mike, and definitely good lessons to glean from it, especially allowing oneself the time to feel the feels, and then get back to it.
We're going to need community more than ever.
We're glad you're here too, Mike - take care of yourself and your family above all, we'll be here through thick and thin.
What a rollercoaster of emotions from the beginning to the end of episode.
I'm late to watch this video. But glad to see that you and your family are safe. Hope that your baby feels better soon
I think it makes sense that Grog Is leading the party when they’re inside the mansion. He was raised in a tribal community, and death to loved ones was probably easier to accept for him.
Hey, first time commenting but I've been following your channel for... a long time.
I'm currently watching the mighty Nein campaign (ep 45) after I've watched the Vow Machina one over a two-year period, and I love listening to your comments, even if I'm not a player or a DM at DnD myself.
I'm from France so very far away from US everyday life and politics, but just want to say I feel you and to send some support ! Keep up the good work it's amazing, and wish you and your family the best life you can in such chaotic times.
glad to see you back and hear that you were safe from the wildfires! that was a lot to stomach within such a short period of time. thank you for being back!
Welcome back Mike.
I've gone on a social media embargo since Nov 5. I am not looking at anything that isn't DnD content or old SNL eps on youtube.
@@telarr9164
Same.
It was always harmful anyway.
Welcome back, Mike! Glad you've got power back!
Man, I forgot about how Orthax's curse on Ripley's gun worked. That's an amazing detail I'd love to work into cursed items in future games: an additional curse layered on top of a normal Magic Item that could be removed with a Remove Curse or Greater Restoration or something like that.
I don't know if you can say everything Patrick writes is long. He managed to write a two-book trilogy after all. (Sorry, Pat. I love you. I forgive you for taking as long as you need, even if it's forever, and I've enjoyed the stuff you've done instead of getting out book 3. I just can't resist the opportunity for the zing when I get one).
Vax's advice for Kynan is important for all of us right now: Make ourselves useful instead of wallowing in our own pain.
Such a waste that by default, only Metallic Dragons get to polymorph into humanoids in 5E. You shouldn't have to resort to homebrew or using the spellcasting variant rules to get subplots like Raishan. I do, but you should have to.
On the dragons, I like to reckon with it as a pride thing. Like, obviously you can do whatever you'd like with monsters in your own games, but going off how they're presented in the Monster Manual, I think it's an interesting distinction.
Metallic dragons might realize that sometimes a dragon in it's fully realized form isn't the best answer for a situation. But Chromatic dragons, particularly Red dragons might just be too proud of their form to even consider masking it like that. It even accents the special part of dragons like Raishan, since their unique circumstances might have them forsake things like pride in exchange for the ability to further their own ends.
Fizban's actually now includes it in the list of variant abilities you can give any dragon. It's listed right alongside giving them things like Mimicry, Rejuvenation (like a Lich), and making dragons innate spellcasters. Give them whatever skills you want too.
The exact wording is:
"You can customize any dragon's stat block to reflect the dragon's unique character. Minor changes such as those below are easy to make and have no impact on a dragon's challenge rating." (note spellcasting is listed seperately from this)
Wow some people think you shouldn't have feelings and just exist to spit out content. Nice. Thanks for doing these, Mike, I enjoy all aspects of them. Keep up the good work and wishing good things for you and your family from Canada.
Glad to have you back, Mike!
Missed you man. It's been a rough week and a half but glad to see you back.
I love how grog is always the rock of the group.
I ran a Mass Effect game and one of the players that had to leave around the time they hit level 7 due to RL moving. I wrote her out by inheriting her fathers company and becoming very rich after a lengthy legal battle.
Right before the final battle at level 20, the group lost their ship in battle. So i got in touch with her and had her record a message to encourage the PCs and talk about a gift (she didn't know what it was, since i didnt know what it was yet).
Anyway, they got the recording, along with a brand new ship with top of the line upgrades.
Stay strong Mike! Been telling all my friends that the fight didn't end last week, it just moved to a new front!
This was one of my favorite episodes to listen to so far. I love how even with just voices these talented players convey so much emotion and completely change the mood of the game and the table. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on how TLoVM changed this part of the storyline, personally I think for TV it was a very good change, but I'd love to hear other perspectives!
Thank you for what you said at the end. I went though a personal sadness that was a long time coming yesterday, and I'm very much wallowing today. Christmas is going to look very different for me this year. It's overwhelming and scary. I've got a DnD session tomorrow with friends who have my back - sounds like the perfect way to pick myself up and get back to living.
This episode and the end of the previous one really showcase how much Grog and Scanlan can be the backbone of the group. It's Scanlan who gets Vox Machina together to kill Ripley and later keeps holding them together when they're breaking apart, sending everybody on the immediate things that need doing, laying out ways to mourn Percy (his "well we're not gonna let him sleep alone, are we" is so freaking *gentle* it breaks my heart every time). And it's Grog who, like you said, recognises that Vex and Keyleth are Absolutely Not Okay and they all need some hope and some rest. They really keep the group together in that moment, and I'm thinking of another down the road when they can't for various reasons - and things don't just get dire, they get bleak.
Also I'm really glad you included the "Laughter! Laughter's back!" Laughter is so precious and important (and especially cathartic in this case) 💜
Ah the NICE episode
Glad you're back
Just a reminder that no matter who sss voted in, this is not the end. We still are a resilient people and will find a way through whatever comes our way. Love wins!
Kerrek´s letter is Top 3 moment of all time. Unbelievable that it happens in the same episode as Percy´s resurrection.
That with the rishan reveal all in one episode. I’m someone that never watched this campaign’s stream so I had no idea. What a great episode
@@talikup truly incredible!
Welcome back, missed your videos! :)
Hey, family comes first, don't worry about it. Hope everyone feels better soon.
I really love how, as Raishan is revealing herself and talking on the leverage she has over them, Percy does that hand motion like "okay we get it, you could kill us, you hold the cards, yadda yadda yadda, get to the interesting bit." He's back from death and back to being sassy
But I love the care he shows his "little sisters". His voice is gentle, he's so kind.
Welcome back.
30:43 but what about the chair in the middle of the room mike?
DON’T GET ME STARTED 😂
@@SupergeekMike The defeated look on Matts face while he says 'It's just a chair!' never fails to crack me up :D
Great episode Mike!!!
Moving from Twitter to Bluesky. Glad you're there.
Welcome back. We’re with you.
Hey Mike, love your videos and please take care, i know this is your job at this point but take care of yourself and your love ones we are gonna be here the moment you post something because your content is only great because you put effort and love to it, i doesnt help anybody if you are not in a good place, so i hope i talk for the CR and your own community when i say i hope to see your next video when you feel good enougth doing it. also, 69 niceeee!🤣
Aww. Hope your little one feels better soon.
Glad your family is safe and you did not have to evacuate, but sorry things have been so difficult lately. It is good to remember that one of the goals of fascism is to keep you off balance, anxious, and afraid; so one form of resistance is to not give into that. I have made it a goal moving forward to do a better job at ignoring things which are clearly just intended to grab attention and inflame people, versus things which require action on my part (not to say that inflammatory nonsense doesn't require action sometimes). This has allowed me to cut back on a lot of unnecessary media consumption, which has, in turn, had a positive impact on my anxiety level.
Heartsick with you, but keep up the great work.
My smartass self would tell everyone I have a death letter, and then the letter would just say on it "Today's death letter is the letter Y." Thank you Sesame Street
What I love about the letter, just a small thing, the way Rothfuss pronounces the name Kerrek it sounds like 'care'.
Which makes the end "Kindly, Kerrek" sound like "Kindly care".
Sending love to all of you!
There is something so poignant that while they were appealing to Percy they were actually literally appealing to Talisan.
And I never clocked why Marisha seemed to react so weirdly to the letter at first so that's good context.
SPOILERS FOR THE CARTOON VERSION WHICH IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT BUT UP TO THIS EVENT IN THE CARTOON
ALSO please don't spoil me I mention I am only on episode 8 starting nine soon
My partner and I are watching the show and are only halfway through, ep 8. So Percy fell in 7 and I knew it was coming and already started tearing up, because even though I knew it wasn't permanent it was still sad. And then genuinely shocked when Ripley gets away. So the episode ended and he turned to me and asked "Does he really die?! Like Talisan makes a new character??" and I just shrugged and said we'll have to see.
Then the next episode came and went. They Bury Percy and don't bring him back. I don't know what is happening I'm sad and watching really intently because like...is he really dead?
They all fly and teleport around getting allies and armies to fight Thordak (because events aren't quite in order if you haven't seen the cartoon, Raishan revealed herself ages ago not post Percy's death) and I am so lost. They prep to fight Thordak and I saw out loud "are they really going to Thordak without him?(quickly add) without Talisan?" and my partner asks if his new charcarer should be here by now. I truthfully point out that all these events are many many episodes combined and they wouldn't make their friend sit out so long in a game. and I wonder out loud "maybe they wont be bringing in new characters for the cartoon..." (and I am partially thinking of someone else here) "is this the big change? Do they leave Talisan out for the rest?" (and here I mean do they really leave Percy dead)
Basically, I am going through a whirlwind of emotions in the cartoon right now.
[39:00] F***! F***! F***!
Mike, I was not planing on watching season one but instead enjoyed watching your Demystified videos to learn your advice and get up to speed with Nox Machina. Now I gonna have to watch Vox Machina and then come back to Demystified so I won't get spoiled.
... Guess it is Matt's fault for being such a great game master. 😉
Nice!
Personally one of my characters dies, or another character in the campaign, myself or the other players will sit by the dm and do rolls for them to keep them involved until they’re either revived or a new character is introduced. Idk if this would work for every table, but we enjoy it
Sometimes I cannot hear the music at all and sometimes I cannot even focus on what you are saying, because of the music, Mike! This episode is one of the ones where I have a hard time focusing on what you're saying because the guitar is battling your voice!
Maaaan I love Vox Machina!
I will always say that threat of death do not equal stakes like yeah if you favorite character dies and can't come back you'll feel it but you won't feel it any less if they can be revived. The journey to get them back the ritual or the magic spell or what not is just as compelling, as well as who does actually come back or what consequences they have to deal with for bring them back.
Death of a character can be meaningfully heart-wrenching, but it also can be empty and hollow. I have players that want to see their characters make it to the end of the story. The threat of death is still there, but it's so incredibly unlikely and usually has a story element behind it. There's so many other ways to create consequences and tension than just permanently removing a character. Stakes don't even need NPC deaths.
Talsien said at one point if Percy had stayed dead Mollymauk would have been introduced in vox machina instead of mighty nein
We were in a similar situation no fires but our internet has been out for weeks we can’t watch tv or do much of anything with out it our phones have a bit of internet so scrolling through social media is all we’ve been able to do and even that is iffy
What are all these big babies doing in the comments lmao love your videos mike and love your unabashedness with politics. Sorry so much shit has been thrown your way in life, i hope things take a turn for the better. Also i LOVE how Scanlan specifically handled things this episode.
"What are all these babies doing?" "I love your unabashedness with politics" so like which is it? Do you want people to have opinions or are we just committing to the hypocritical schtick?
@@mythtaker I’m sure you wouldn’t appreciate unabashed politics if they were opinions you disagree with. Only people I’ve seen complaining are the ones who didn’t get their candidate the win. Anyways, Ancient Orange Dragon bad or something like that. Kek
@@atrinoch7437 but I wouldn't watch them then? I would just click away and watch someone else
@@morganmcinroy4211 I find that to be a sad state of the world that no one can engage with disagreements. If you an only enjoy someone’s content solely based on their politics, you’re not really being challenged in any meaningful way, you’re just hearing what you want to hear. Listening to opposition is the most healthy thing one can do to not stay in a bubble.
If a creator I subscribed to started spouting off about politics that I morally and ethically disagreed with, I would unsubscribe and move on. No point in giving them the views.
But it seems like that is something these babies can’t fathom. Gotta get that last word in. I hope Mike benefits from the engagement, but that their baby-shit comments don’t affect him.
Genuine suggestion for the next time your house is without power: read a book instead of doom scrolling. By candlelight if you must.
I used to LOVE reading books.
Now I only do when the power or internet is out and a silent book that relies on activating my hypee imagination can't quiet the distress in my mind so it just feels awful.
The solution is probably to read books not only when I must...
This piece of advice is underrated. Got through 2 books of the faithful and fallen series during the blackouts on the east coast previously. When we get off the internet, the world isn’t as bad as our minds make it out to be when all we’re looking at is bad news.
Oh, the joys of having a new born with no power. It is sucks. I had plans of shipping my newborn and wife to relatives hundreds of miles away who had power. Luckly, the weather was nice and we still had gas.
oh, the joys of having a newborn. The icky just keeps getting passed around the family for the next ten thousand years. Okay it is just feels like it.
7:05 Are calls of violence really fucking necessary holy shit. Dude, I love your content on the demysfied series, but can we not with threatening people.
That’s a pretty big leap, who exactly did I “threaten” with violence or “call for” violence against?
@SupergeekMike "I can't imagine shooting the president" is basically the translation of your comment in the video. Sure you didn't directly say "I want to kill the president elect" but its implied.
Don't get me wrong I hate trump but implying shooting the president elect I think is weird especially in this political climate where it could very well happen the next day.
Just my take. I just don't get why people call for violance its seen too much already and its disappointing. Too much violence in the world already.
I'm sorry to hear you've got a bug going through your household right now. May you stay healthy, and everyone get well soon.
Another great video! I love this episode of the campaign; I've probably re-watched parts of it more than any other episode. I always forget just how densely packed it is, though! All the aftermath of the battle at Glintshore, Scanlan's chat with Jarrett, Kerrek's letter, and the reveal at the end, all within a single game session? So much happens, and the entire cast's roleplay is in incredibly fine form as well.
Ofcourse we'll wait:)
Mike, excellent video as always.
As for politics … man I wish there were easy answers. On matters political, I think we can agree completely the country just made one hell of a mistake last week. I'm saying that here because … I'm probably not going to watch that other video you plan to make around that. _IT IS_ your channel and your platform, as you've reminded people many times now, so I won't tell you how to run it. Even so, games are what I do because the world is run by ignorant assholes whose decisions are mostly bullshit. I can't fix that-I mean I vote, but this was the first time in literally 15 years that ANYONE I voted for actually won. So … I like my neat little partition between entertainment and "we're so screwed".
Besides, I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican really. Which means I'm "the enemy" in both camps because there's only the two extremes anymore. If anyone's soliciting advice for NOW, I'd suggest picking the most important battles (yes I know it's all important) and concentrating on blocking the most idiotic crap from getting through-stuff like appeasing the guy who wants to start WWIII is a top priority. Appeasing the nutbag expansionist DID NOT work last century and a lot of people got hurt and worse because of it. My second thus far seems to be trying to stop the appointment of RFKJr, since he kinda sounds like the nameless one who just had to sell his media empire to The Onion (🤣). At least the latter priority might change, we'll see.
I could give advice for the future … but nobody'd be listening. So take care of your family first, and encourage people to direct their energy where it can do the most good, because none of us have infinite energy … and if you go off on everything, it's gonna be hard to get people to listen. Dems did not just LOSE this election, they had their asses handed to them. Time to get strategic and focused if y'all wanna do ANYTHING.
I was always on the opposite side, I liked that the dragon attack wasn't their fault. Matt has a tendency in his campaigns that yes, while by the end they're fighting world-ending threats and saving it, but at the start the group is a bunch of nobodies. They're all small pieces of a much bigger puzzle, and I actually prefer the way Legend of Vox Machina handled it where (spoilers if you haven't seen the show)
Keyleth asks if it's their fault for killing Brimscythe, but Percy almost immediately dismisses it, pointing out Kreig had been dismantling Emon's army before Vox Machina ever appeared. In his words: "This plan has long been in motion"
I cant believe you guys lost :(
As you mentioned Turkey day I've been seeing lots of people taking a stand and planning not to attend with those who voted for the felon. They are separating themselves from those people showing them that their decisions have consequences and life will not proceed for them as it had before either.
Yeah, wow, I really can't imagine wanting vengeance on the Once and Future Monster. Crazy.
Ugh - I hated the constant teething colds.
Nice
Hey Mike, next time the power goes out try reading a book instead of doom scrolling. I'm sure it's healthier and waaay less stressful. Even reading on you phone is fine!
Thanks for the video. In regards to the politics: I would like to say we will get through this, sadly, that may not be true. Do what you can and maybe move if possible? The whole world is taking a turn though so I don't know where.
I keep seeing statements like, "I would like to say we will get through this, sadly, that may not be true." and I speak from a place of ignorance when I ask who is sending the executioner out to kill anyone? I don't understand this language. If the other side says "I don't believe there are more than two genders" I have never seen anyone in power say at the end of that sentence "so kill anyone who does not consider themselves part of those two". Maybe that isn't what you meant but I have heard similar sentiments from people on social media and I can't figure out if they believe people are actually in danger of bodily harm from the gov. or if it is a symbolic statement saying that people will not be able to identify as what they believe they are, so more of an "ego death" as opposed to a physical death if we want to use phycology terms
Wow all the people in the comments complaining about the discussion of politics, as if it doesn't effects everyone's day to day lives. If you don't like politics, or 'find it distasteful', all I can say is that it must people really nice to not have your rights and livelihood up for debate every 4 years. It's his channel, he can do what he wants with it, and this isn't an airport, you don't have to announce when you're leaving.
26:15 excellent but a little bit long.... Like the draft and wait for his next book
Some of y’all have a really short fuse when it comes to anyone mentioning their dislike of politics being talked about on this channel. It’s just immediate aggression, with no attempt at reasonable discussion.
I can’t speak for everyone you’re describing, and obviously I hope nobody is harassing anybody in the comments, but I can say that I haven’t seen anything that has gotten out of hand when coming from the people you’re referring to. In my experience, the debate usually goes as follows:
Commenter #1’s argument: “I don’t want to see politics on this channel. I come to D&D for escapism, not politics.”
Commenter #2’s counter-argument: “Oh well, it’s not your channel, it’s Mike’s.”
Obviously if someone specifically debates the political argument I’m making (“You’re wrong about Trump,” etc.), there’s a more varied reply, as people debate the specific facts around the claims I made in said video. But as for what you’re talking about, I really haven’t seen much hostility - typically I just see a reply along the lines of, “It’s Mike’s channel, he can do what he wants.”
So allow me to give you the platform to state your peace: What do you wish people were letting you say in response to that counter-argument?
@ I personally don’t really care one way or the other about the politics in your videos. It’s usually only a small portion overall (except for the videos that are only about that, but I don’t watch those), and the rest of the content is pretty good in my opinion. If it got to a point where I stopped liking what you make, I’d probably just stop watching.
However, I have noticed that anytime someone else comments about their dislike, it’s usually met with many people (even in this video, the comments with the most replies are about that) being passive aggressive. Things to the effect of “it’s not an airport, no need to announce your departure” or “you must be privileged to not want to hear about politics” leave a bad taste in my mouth when I see them. It just seems like a bunch of people that were waiting for the chance to dog pile, if you get what I mean? (This part is edited in, but I did read back some of the comments and there is one with 10 replies currently that likes your politics but says “what’s up with all these big babies in the comments”. One reply even reiterates that. These are really just needless insults).
Also, I personally wouldn’t say that “it’s Mike’s channel, he can do what he wants” is a very good counter argument. It’s true, but kind of irrelevant to the point. You could reasonably say that as a response to any criticism, and it really doesn’t add anything.
“I wish Mike had talked about this moment in the episode”
“Well, it’s his channel, he can do what he wants”
“Hey Mike, you should talk about Dimension 20 at some point”
“It’s Mike’s channel, so he can do what he wants”
“You should talk about politics way more, like at least half the video”
“It’s not your channel, it’s Mike’s”
It just feels like an attempt to stop all discussion without actually engaging in it. Some people will even reply with that every time someone mentions that they don’t want to hear you talk about politics, and it happens on several of your videos that I’ve seen. I think tensions are really high right now, and some people are just trying to take that out on others in a place they won’t be disagreed with much.
Now, there are definitely quite a few people who will become aggressive or insult you. I think one comment here said something like “stay in your lane” which is rude and uncalled for since you are basically always polite, and you definitely shouldn’t feel restricted purely to D&D or CR content.
@@Aplesedjr I definitely appreciate that you're being polite about this! I didn't assume that you were necessarily personally bothered by the political content itself, more just wishing the statement "It's Mike's channel" wasn't shutting down debate. And I don't think you're totally wrong that the debate essentially dies after that reply.
However, I guess I'm essentially asking... what other discussion is there to be had?
As an example, let's imagine I was just a casual acquaintance who invited people over for a barbecue. And as part of the invitation, there was an expectation that you were coming to hear me talk about subjects I was passionate about. And then after I talk about the topic on my mind, we all sit and chat, and I get to hear from all of you. And let's imagine, at one of these gatherings, I made a quick aside about politics. Someone might say, "Hey, man, I don't want to hear you talk about politics." I might respond, "Okay, but this is my house. If I want to talk about politics, I'm gonna do that."
Now, sometimes the conversation continues past that point. If someone replies, "I came here to hear your thoughts about subjects you're passionate about, not politics," I might respond, "One of the subjects I'm passionate about is politics. I never promised you we wouldn't talk about politics - you came in assuming that the topic wouldn't come up. But once again, this is my house. If I want to talk about politics, I'm going to do so. You don't have to stay if that makes you uncomfortable, but I don't think I'm going to change what I discuss when I'm in my house." Maybe they'll say, "You discussing politics makes me feel unwelcome." But I'd reply, "Well, you're welcome to hang out if you also want to hear about politics. But if the politics bothers you, that's fine, you don't have to come back, but this is still my house, and I'm gonna discuss the topics important to me. If you want to talk about the politics I'm talking about, and debate these subjects, that's fine, let's do that! But if you're just asking me not to discuss this anymore, I just don't know if there's much to discuss beyond 'It's my house, I'm still gonna talk about the stuff that's important to me.'"
And then let's imagine the person who complained about politics kept coming back. And every time they visited, they said, "I don't want to hear you talk about politics." Of course I might answer the same way, but now the other guests might start to chime in with their support. "He talks about politics a lot, and it's his house, you don't have to keep visiting." "He's not a waiter, this isn't a restaurant, you came here to hear his thoughts, if you don't want to hear them, then you don't have to keep accepting the invitation."
And now, when someone new comes to the house, and complains when politics get brought up, there's a crowd of regulars who repeat the same arguments: "Maybe you don't want to hear about politics, but this isn't new for him. You don't have to come back, but this is his house, and it's unreasonable for him to never talk about politics." Sure, maybe it comes on strong, but from the perspective of the regular guests, they're just tired of people coming in and complaining about the same thing yet again. If that seems like a dog pile, I do apologize that it comes across that way, but it comes from a source of frustration at people coming in and continuing to offer what is essentially a relatively unhelpful critique.
Because you said that the reply "It's Mike's channel" essentially "feels like an attempt to stop all discussion without actually engaging it in." But ironically, I think when people say "I don't want to hear you talk about politics"... that is ACTUALLY an attempt to stop all discussion without engaging it. They are literally saying, "I don't want to hear about this topic, so stop bringing it up." I can't think of anything else that would more obviously serve to shut down debate. If they got their way, we would literally stop all discussion on that subject without engaging in it.
And ultimately, I think that's the reason it feels like there's no where for the debate to go from there. When someone just says "Stop it," the only way we can reply are to either say "Okay, I'll stop." or "No I'm gonna keep doing it." That's why I don't feel there's some great debate that's being lost when people say "No" - because there's not really any opportunity for anything more substantial based on their initial complaint.
@@SupergeekMike I always try to be polite in discussion. I’ve found it’s ultimately better in the long run for everyone, and it takes no effort on my part.
Your example is definitely fair, though I’ll say that there is something I think that wasn’t considered. Which is that your videos aren’t something you invite people to as you might invite people to your home for a barbecue. They’re entirely public for anyone to see (barring region locks, but that’s beside the point) and comment on. If someone sees your video in their recommended, they’re likely to assume that you will generally stick to the topic presented in the title and thumbnail. These are usually CR and D&D, so I think people will get surprised when you mention politics at all and comment that they don’t like that.
Simply saying they don’t want you to talk about politics and nothing else is of course itself not a good discussion starter. However, I think it would be best if people just kind of left them alone at that point. It’s sort of sad to see a dozens of comments about interesting stories people have about their own game experiences, or praise for you video, or something about the CR episode you’re discussing have no replies at all, while most of the one telling you to stop the political talk or talking about the people telling you to stop end up with way more replies than there should be. I wish that everyone who spent effort to comment “it’s Mike’s channel”, or an insult, or something passive aggressive would find a different comment to reply to.
Now, you could reasonably argue that it’s ok to try to go against the people who tell you to stop talking about politics, since not doing anything incentivizes them to continue doing it. However, I imagine most people who do that probably don’t watch your channel very often, and thus don’t stick around long enough for that to make a difference. I don’t know if there’s a way to prove that, but I don’t ever recognize any specific accounts doing that over and over again, and I know from other UA-camrs that a pretty substantial number of viewers come from the video being recommended to them and not from their subscriptions. Like I said before, it’s reasonable to imagine that a lot of people find the politics to be unexpected in a bad way. Plus, anyone who does comment that sentiment repeatedly is probably doing it in the hopes that you will eventually do that. Which is ultimately similar to what the replies often say, since they want those comments to change as well.
Ultimately, I think it’s kind of a waste of time in both cases. Everyone that interacts in that way really just pointlessly argue, and everyone ends up more angry and frustrated than they were before. What I want is for everyone to either have a real discussion, or not waste their own time.
21:15 I see what you did there.
It'll be fine man. Keep your head up. You're young, you'll get used to the lies and realize there's no difference between those people. Douche and a turd sandwich. How different would the world be if Garry Johnson had won in '16? Man the comedy...
I knew something.... I was like who is assum really there's no circle in Whitestone. I wasnt sure if he was a dragon or what but i caught right on to that and didnt trust it.
Really? You can't think of any current heads of state that you would want to see deposed and never come back? Outside of comics and D&D, death is pretty much the most permanent way of deposing someone.
it was a joke…
I'm kinda sympathetic to Kynan, Vax has scummy to him and I can understand him holding a grudge.
I thought it was a bracelet...
Algorithm comment hehe
Algorithm comment of your comment.
I am so glad you're still breathing.[ don't worry I was also feeling miserable after the election🤢🤮🤢🤮 2 days straight lost 6 lb]
Damn bro.... keep it yourself im not here for real world stuff
Hey Mike
Doesnt matter what political side your on please dont encurge political killing of any kind
Eh I think you're overblowing the ring thing. It was clearly an in-character, in-game letter. Which makes the ring an in-character, in-game ring. Not an out of game, real world ring. It was fine. Sure, don't include a $5000 actual white gold and diamond ring, but I doubt anyone would blow that kind of money on a dnd prop anyway, lets be real.
lol I don’t think she could tell what kind of ring it was through the envelope, but I do think she was starting to panic. And I just imagine how bad it would’ve been if instead of panic, she’d been EXCITED about getting the ring because of what it might’ve meant… 😬
No power means all you can do is scroll social media? Definitely don't think that would be my choice on how to use limited battery life.... Sounds more like a bad decision
It was
I personally am a republican, however I still enjoy your content and have been religiously watching this series since I discovered it. I'm sorry to hear about the fires and sickness, sounds like your going through a pretty tough time right now. However, you can take solace in the fact that not every politically opposed individual has to be enemies. I know the fear and panic you are going through, gone through it many times myself. Think of it this way: It's only 4 more years (if that lol, depends on how many more attempts on his life there are). And after that, Trump will not be able to run for another term for the remainder of his life. I personally am looking forward to who our 50th president will be, that's a nice round title!
Absolutely no issue with you talking about politics, Mike. It’s cathartic, and a lot of your viewers are going through similar stuff to you.
The UA-cam filter has pulled a lot of my recent comments for language, but I’m gonna try my best with this one.
The 80s punk band with the word Kennedys in their name noticed that they were starting to draw a crowd that would nowadays vote for the guy who won the election. They wrote a song telling those fans what they should do, and I think D&D fans of a similar persuasion should do the same.
I cut ties with one of my players in the aftermath of the election, and I'm not even American. Some people might think it's extreme, but what's actually extreme is playing make believe violence with people who lack the maturity for it. Take care of yourselves, everyone.
Hey DnD youtuber, please dont bring politics into your content. Im not here for that and i dont intend to be.
He's literally always talked about politics. This is nothing new
I hear you, but he IS the creator. It's his content to do with as he sees fit, and if you dislike it... stop watching. He may lose viewers but at this point does he care?
If the politics of the channel creator (and the show he's reviewing) upsets you, you don't have to watch. Im sure you can find something else you'll enjoy wholeheartedly.
It's his video, and he's talked politics plenty of times before. Lots of people are rightfully upset about recent events, it's a big deal. You don't have to watch if you don't like it.
Or, ya know, he can keep doing whatever he wants and you can just... Run along now.
how about we stop talking about politics in general in your videos? I come here to enjoy DnD content and escape the state of our nation, not be reminded of it.
how about no
1 comment = bot account.
@Aurora_Lightbringer i can safely say that I'm not a bot, just a GM that find politics distasteful
@@sawer297then don't play
@@armorclasshero2103 that sounds like something a gatekeeper would say, and mike has openly said not to gatekeep this community
Orange man bad but what does that have to do with anything?
Ah, intresting wording.
You'd have a better point if you ask what it has to do with *D&D/Critical Role* (although an argument can be made that the CR crew clearly hold political views that are against Trump's and would therefore add context to the story they're telling) because it definitely has a lot to do with *anything*.
I think that you think you’re too small to fall. I can look past the intro cuz I have family affected by those wildfires and I could get the headspace, but the joke about “I can’t imagine wishing harm to a head of state” was uncalled for. You’ve shown your true colors and I’m unsubscribing. At the end of the day, you’re just an upset and overwhelemd man taking care of your family. Good luck, and be safe.
You mean like how T bird calls for the death of his enemies constantly? Pot meet kettle.
Bye! Don't worry, we won't miss you.
[IN MY BEST THE ROCK VOICE]
FINALLY
SUPERGEEK MIKE HAS COME BACK TO YOU TUBE
CAN YOU SMEEEEEELLLLLLLL WHAT THE MIKE IS COOKING
You’re all gonna be fine over the next 4 years. You lived through 2016, you’re gonna live through 2024. Enjoy the lower cost of living while it lasts
I’m trying not to reply to comments as often, but I’m making an exception because the phrase “you lived through 2016” is very foolish, because (A) Trump was not the president in 2016, he was President from 2017-2020. And (B) yes, WE survived, but a LOT of people died in those 4 years, as a direct result of both his policies and his rhetoric. When he first took power, there was a rise in hate speech and hate crimes, including lethal ones. He did such a bad job with COVID, hundreds of thousands of people died when that never needed to happen.
Also, you can just Google what economists believe will happen if Trump implements all of his economic promises, but the answers range from “another recession” to “another depression” - there aren’t many who think it’ll be GOOD, because Trump is a dangerous combination of stupid and evil. People are already learning he lied about tariffs as their companies have to pre-purchase a bunch of products before tariffs take effect, meaning they’re losing their Christmas bonuses because the company needs that money for goods they would normally purchase next year - because the tariffs Trump has described would actually just make everything more expensive.
It’s gonna be bad, actually.
@ there have been more hate crime incidents reported under the Biden administration than under Trumps, looking at the 2023 vs 2019 DOJ stats.
Covid was handled as best as it could be given the unknown nature of the disease at the time. Trump was more than willing to close the borders when reports first started coming in, and yes since covid came from wuhan it was pragmatic to be weary of Chinese nationals. Better to have that than doing what Pelosi said and “going to Chinatown and hugging a Chinese person”. Congress stifled attempts to slow the spread initially then placed all blame on the president once it was too late. At that point you have to choose between the economy or citizens, and even with how many died, people were chosen over economy. He also pushed through the vaccine with increased funding and support. That was “project warpspeed”.
As far as economy goes, prices were down across the board during Trump’s first term as well as unemployment. People wanna say that was all Obama’s trickledown, but Trump’s policies kept it going strong until the pandemic. Biden’s administration gave out pennies in his stimulus cuz he was more concerned with giving housing to illegal immigrants, billions to Ukraine, and billions to Israel. I’m more inclined to believe that staying the course would’ve cost us way more.
I believe that he’ll do well because I want him to do well for the sake of the country and it’s people. Just feels like you’re so blinded by hate of this guy that you want him to fail for the “I told you so”. I’ll eat my words if he does. I believe it will get better. Hopium
@@SupergeekMikehow about instead of praying on his failure, you pray he does better? Seems like you want things to get bad for the “I told you so”.
This comment is so insane and wrong in so many ways, I’m just going to sit in a chair and stare into space for a while. Imagine thinking nothing could have been done better about COVID when he was actively claiming a vaccine wouldn’t be necessary, politicizing masks, spread racist lies about the virus that led to a rise in hate crimes against Asian people (that’s probably the spike you’re seeing, along with his anti-trans rhetoric, and the unrelated rise in hate speech that came from Musk buying Twitter), insisting the country should re-open early (he specifically tried to insist everything would be fine by Easter, and then 4th of July, because like every Republican in 2020, he was specifically prioritizing the economy over the people, exactly like the mayor from Jaws), ignored experts and pawned off the COVID response on his unqualified son-in-law and Mike Pence, allowed the disease to spread specifically because they believed it would primarily effect Democratic voters, tried to reduce the amounts of testing because he insisted we only had so many cases because we test so much, hosted numerous super-spreader events, one of which killed Herman Cain, he showed up to a debate despite the fact that he HAD THE VIRUS, and jumped on every quick fix solution he could find, which led to him promoting a horse de-wormer instead of real medicine. And that’s all off the top of my head, like, come on, get REAL. There’s no point in debating your arguments on the economy when (A) I’m not smart enough to understand the economy, (B) leaving a UA-cam comment doesn’t entitle you to a point-by-point response; and (C) you’re so insanely wrong about the COVID situation that I feel like that says more than enough.
You think he’ll do well because you WANT him to do well? So you’re just going to ignore his record and all the things he said on the campaign trail because you know that if he does a bad job, a lot of people will suffer, and you just… don’t want that to happen? So you’re willingly going into a state of denial? I specifically remember a lot of people doing that in 2017. “Maybe after the election, he’ll calm down.” He put kids in cages, banned travel from Muslim countries, tried to get rid of Obamacare with no replacement plan, and called Neo-Nazis “very fine people.” Oh yeah, and he also TRIED TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT.
And because I’M confronting that very real possibility that he’ll do the things he said and people will suffer as a result, I’m only doing so for clout? And there’s literally no other reason I could be talking about politics besides trying to call my shot? Like, there’s no way I could be:
- Processing my feelings in real time
- Trying to reassure my audience that they’re not in this alone
- Building a community that is prepared to take collective action to combat the corrupt policies of the Trump presidency whenever possible
- Weeding people out of my community who don’t share my politics
Sheesh. I need to lie down.
you're in for a Surprise, and you must have been not paying attention, because the last Trump Administration was a disaster. I know he gaslit half the country into believing otherwise, but there was damage. What policy do you think Trump is going to implement that will make prices drop by the way? tariffs? mass deportation? what was your favorite bill he passed last time that made your life better? no one is rooting for his failure. Project 2025 is the plan, and there is nothing good in there. Best case scenario is he doesn't do anything. LIke at all. Its already a circus and he isn't even president. right now Inflation is at 2.1% unemployment is at 4%, GDP is 3.4%, Infrastructure is being restored and built 1 million manufacturing Jobs, Stock market went from 14000 to 34000. We lead the nation in economic recovery from the pandemic. Record oil and energy production. You don't know how good we have it now, You trumpers have such a short memory. Houses were up 34%, inflation at 17%, unemployment at 8%, 400,000 more covid deaths than necessary. Trump made a deal with Saudi, and Russia to inflate gas prices, released Taliban and made a awful deal with them in the withdraw from Afghanistan, sent 1.9 billion to Turkey, Used taxpayer money to enrich his businesses. Did i mention that he refused to concede, and try to overturn the election. I mean i could go on, but this notion that Trump somehow did a good job is just outright false. He is at best s snake oil salesman, and you bought the oil.