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straightforwardly) wrote2024-05-17 08:58 pm
straightforwardly) wrote2024-05-17 08:58 pm
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277 | aerois, episodes 43-44, aka more lucius family feelings & trauma hour
High Rollers: Aerois, episodes 43-44. Aka, iddy sibling + grief & mourning feelings hours for me!
So, I got completely and thoroughly Brookstoned, in a way that I, up until this point, never had been. I 100% fully and truly trusted Ellois! I was standing there thinking Quill was being a little overcautious with wanting to cast Zone of Truth on him before taking him into their confidence! When Lucius vouched for him, I was there nodding along! I think that the DM did a great job of dropping hints and clues that suddenly took on a new light once the truth was revealed; I was so shocked, but there were suddenly so many little things and moments that took on new meaning.
And not just things like his mentioning that his skills are with abjuration magic, or walking at the back of the group. I was actually pretty touched by that conversation where he talks to Lucius about how he’s worried about Lucius investing almost all of his inheritance into having an airship built—that he’s making rash decisions in his grief. It sounded like a legitimate concern that could be raised by someone who knows Lucius, but doesn’t know the full story behind his choices—but that conversation takes on a different tone entirely when you find out that he’s recently been scolded by an ally in his Lucius murder schemes who’s pissed at how much of “his” money Lucius has already ‘frittered away’ before they could have him killed!
Relatedly, poor Lucius—he trusted him so much. This is a man he’s known, trusted, and respected literally all of his life! And then it turns out that he’s trying to kill Lucius, and did arrange the deaths of his whole family! Trauma being heaped upon trauma over here. I got so emotional when Aila called out Aridan on his behalf.
The mention of assassins being sent to Kalie’s Rest does make me wonder. The DM once made a comment about how that encounter with Starbane (and the subsequent teleportation) was very much a thing that could (and then did) happen if all the pieces aligned just right, which to me implies that it wasn’t, however, the expected resolution to that arc in the abbey.
So now I’m thinking that he was planning on starting to drop breadcrumbs for the Gusthaven plot by having the party start encountering Ellois-sent assassins going after Lucius as they travel through Suvonna, but none of them knowing why Lucius is being targeted. Which sounds like would have been quite fun to hear play out!
Speaking of plot arcs that never happened—I do wish we could have gotten that planned lore for The Chains, if only because I want all the Gusthaven and Elenasto-related worldbuilding for potential fic.
Other things that gave me feelings: Edea being revealed as Moonstar!! I love how Quill did that, ahhh. So good. Also, she did have a secret girlfriend! Who, for some reason, was sitting around in Edea’s room while Edea was sneaking out to her workshop…?? I don’t fully get the logic of that, but whatever, I’m willing to accept it for the iddy goodness that is “sibling I thought was dead is actually alive”.
(I could have sworn that the description of the family picture mentioned her having blonde hair like Lucius, though? I’m going to have to go and double-check that at some point.)
I kind of love that the thing that convinces her that Lucius is actually himself and not an imposter is that, after discovering a secret room that no one knows about and accidentally killing Ellois in there, he just turns himself in to the authorities instead of just like. Closing the door and running away. The whole, ‘only my brother would be that naive’ thing was cute! And his apologizing for not having been there, and her telling him she’s glad he wasn’t (because he just would have been killed in the explosion as well!)... <3
Also… I know Edea just lost her girlfriend and all, but I really like Valera, and I kind of think she and Edea would get along quite well… slow burn captain of the Royal Guard/masked vigilante romance, yes/yes?
Finally, on a much lighter note, I was in the middle of grocery shopping while listening to the portion where they’re spending time in prison, and when Smeek’s ghost showed up, I had to push stop on the episode until I was done because I could not hold back my laughter.
So, I got completely and thoroughly Brookstoned, in a way that I, up until this point, never had been. I 100% fully and truly trusted Ellois! I was standing there thinking Quill was being a little overcautious with wanting to cast Zone of Truth on him before taking him into their confidence! When Lucius vouched for him, I was there nodding along! I think that the DM did a great job of dropping hints and clues that suddenly took on a new light once the truth was revealed; I was so shocked, but there were suddenly so many little things and moments that took on new meaning.
And not just things like his mentioning that his skills are with abjuration magic, or walking at the back of the group. I was actually pretty touched by that conversation where he talks to Lucius about how he’s worried about Lucius investing almost all of his inheritance into having an airship built—that he’s making rash decisions in his grief. It sounded like a legitimate concern that could be raised by someone who knows Lucius, but doesn’t know the full story behind his choices—but that conversation takes on a different tone entirely when you find out that he’s recently been scolded by an ally in his Lucius murder schemes who’s pissed at how much of “his” money Lucius has already ‘frittered away’ before they could have him killed!
Relatedly, poor Lucius—he trusted him so much. This is a man he’s known, trusted, and respected literally all of his life! And then it turns out that he’s trying to kill Lucius, and did arrange the deaths of his whole family! Trauma being heaped upon trauma over here. I got so emotional when Aila called out Aridan on his behalf.
The mention of assassins being sent to Kalie’s Rest does make me wonder. The DM once made a comment about how that encounter with Starbane (and the subsequent teleportation) was very much a thing that could (and then did) happen if all the pieces aligned just right, which to me implies that it wasn’t, however, the expected resolution to that arc in the abbey.
So now I’m thinking that he was planning on starting to drop breadcrumbs for the Gusthaven plot by having the party start encountering Ellois-sent assassins going after Lucius as they travel through Suvonna, but none of them knowing why Lucius is being targeted. Which sounds like would have been quite fun to hear play out!
Speaking of plot arcs that never happened—I do wish we could have gotten that planned lore for The Chains, if only because I want all the Gusthaven and Elenasto-related worldbuilding for potential fic.
Other things that gave me feelings: Edea being revealed as Moonstar!! I love how Quill did that, ahhh. So good. Also, she did have a secret girlfriend! Who, for some reason, was sitting around in Edea’s room while Edea was sneaking out to her workshop…?? I don’t fully get the logic of that, but whatever, I’m willing to accept it for the iddy goodness that is “sibling I thought was dead is actually alive”.
(I could have sworn that the description of the family picture mentioned her having blonde hair like Lucius, though? I’m going to have to go and double-check that at some point.)
I kind of love that the thing that convinces her that Lucius is actually himself and not an imposter is that, after discovering a secret room that no one knows about and accidentally killing Ellois in there, he just turns himself in to the authorities instead of just like. Closing the door and running away. The whole, ‘only my brother would be that naive’ thing was cute! And his apologizing for not having been there, and her telling him she’s glad he wasn’t (because he just would have been killed in the explosion as well!)... <3
Also… I know Edea just lost her girlfriend and all, but I really like Valera, and I kind of think she and Edea would get along quite well… slow burn captain of the Royal Guard/masked vigilante romance, yes/yes?
Finally, on a much lighter note, I was in the middle of grocery shopping while listening to the portion where they’re spending time in prison, and when Smeek’s ghost showed up, I had to push stop on the episode until I was done because I could not hold back my laughter.