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straightforwardly) wrote2024-05-26 09:41 am
straightforwardly) wrote2024-05-26 09:41 am
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278 | brb tearing up over episode 50 of aerois
Episode 50 of High Rollers: Aerois was… wow. My heart was pounding so hard as I listened, and I actually stayed up later than I meant to last night (I’d put it on for entertainment while starting on a new crochet project, but I'd only wanted to work on it for thirty minutes or so before bed) because I just had to hear the resolution and fallout of everything.
I was genuinely surprised when the DM asked Trott why Lucius would risk so much to save Quill, because the answer felt obvious to me. Because it’s Birdie. And they’d already lost him once before. I think we’ve already established just how deeply Lucius cares about Quill, and I loved seeing it come into play here—Lucius giving up some off his hard-earned progress up the stairs, with that countdown ticking down, just to make sure that Quill isn’t utterly doomed. He fell so far; considering how narrowly Lucius made it at the end, Quill definitely would have been doomed otherwise, imo.
Such a good moment, in an episode filled with them. But to my surprise, it actually wasn’t my favorite moment, in the end, because there was also Aila and Lucius.
That moment where it genuinely looks like Lucius isn’t going to make it, after his critical fail with the rope, and he tells them to go through the portal and not wait on him already hit me hard in all the iddy feelings. But Aila’s reaction to that? The way she just snaps out that they’re not leaving anyone behind and they’re all getting through this together? God, that hit me hard in the emotions. Her character has grown so much, and that was on full display this episode. I love seeing just how fiercely she’s come to love them all. Also—I was thinking in an earlier episode (the one set after the PAX Live Show) how, in many ways, Quill and Aila are both shaping up to be the leaders of the group, aside from Lucius’ whole captain thing, and I feel like this episode also demonstrated that.
Almost everyone had a big moment, really. Sentry’s Divine Smite against Silveredge didn’t hit me as hard emotionally compared to everything else that was going on, but it was quite the cool moment, and it felt quite fitting that she was the one who ultimately took them down, considering that she’s the one who was bonded with Helios, and he cared so deeply about seeing Silveredge put to rest.
And Nova! This was such a huge moment for her character. Standing before the portal, seeing it on the verge of shutting down before her, and knowing she has the means to keep it open so that everyone could get out—but that would mean sacrificing Tiangong. Using them, as Starbane did. But if she didn’t—the other members of the party could fall, even if she personally had the time to survive.
And then coming up with a third option—of literally using her lifeforce to power the portal??? Wild. Truly something that only Nova could come up with. It was such a brutal scene, with brutal results in terms of how it impacted Nova (her withered arm!), and I kind of genuinely love that all that sacrifice only bought the party six more seconds. It really emphasizes just how powerful the Eterna are, that they’re capable of powering such things, and more.
And she just kept trying! First trying to give the portal even more (holy hell), and then, when she failed her constitution saving throw, refusing to go through the portal before she saw each and every one of their companions through it.
She and Aila together are the only reason Lucius survived this episode, because it turned out that when they all finally made it through the portal, that was in the final six seconds. Those six seconds that Nova won for them. /emotions, everywhere
Another detail I loved: how, when Lucius finally made it to the top of the stairs, Aila literally picks him up and just runs to and through the portal with him. And then how, right after her, Sentry picks up Quill and does the same. How determined they all are that they go through together, to not lose anyone, and how hard they try to make sure they succeed. /genuinely tearing up a little now, lol
So, yes. High on the tension, and high on the feelings. The emotional fallout once they all got back on the ship was good too. Aila continued on in her earlier emotional thread in the best way—she truly shined so bright this episode. The way she tells everyone that they have to “stop giving up”! And that conversation she had with Nova in the medical bay at the very end—how gentle and kind she is with her, in her own, typical Aila way. It was quite moving.
And obviously I loved that conversation Lucius had with Sentry—about how he’d been so certain that he was dead, and that strange peace he found with it in that moment. Seeing how hard his friends were fighting to save him, and appreciating it, feeling touched by it, but also believing that he wasn’t going to make it anyway and accepting that.
And Sentry shutting down right at the tailend of that conversation!! The worst (best) possible emotional moment!! I love that detail of how when, Aila calls for Quill for help, she straight-up forgets that they have messenger rings and just calls for him outloud, even though she has no idea where he is on the ship. It says a lot about her emotional state in that moment. And Quill, bby, I loved him so much in this scene—how he kept cool even though he was having all of his own emotions about seeing Sentry like that.
(I mentioned earlier having thoughts about him and Aila as leaders in the episode set after the PAX Live Show. To expand on that: basically, when the rest of the party find him and Aila unconscious at the start of the episode, they all—Lucius, Sentry, Nova—fly into an enormous panic. And that made me realize that, yeah, the voices of reason who’d usually pipe in during those moments, in their own ways—aka Quill and Aila—were exactly those who were missing.)
Sentry’s meltdown and panic when she realized what had happened was also so heart-wrenching. And I love how everyone else was all, nope, you have nothing to worry about that because we are fixing this, and everything else we need to do is going on the backburner until we can do that.
Finally, Nova’s dazed out ramblings in the hospital bed, and the way she (carefully) cuddles around Tiangong and tells them how much she loves them and would never use them like that… ;_;
So, yes. Lots of feelings this episode. So, so many feelings. The repercussions of this episode, both emotional and physical, are going to linger, I think.
I was genuinely surprised when the DM asked Trott why Lucius would risk so much to save Quill, because the answer felt obvious to me. Because it’s Birdie. And they’d already lost him once before. I think we’ve already established just how deeply Lucius cares about Quill, and I loved seeing it come into play here—Lucius giving up some off his hard-earned progress up the stairs, with that countdown ticking down, just to make sure that Quill isn’t utterly doomed. He fell so far; considering how narrowly Lucius made it at the end, Quill definitely would have been doomed otherwise, imo.
Such a good moment, in an episode filled with them. But to my surprise, it actually wasn’t my favorite moment, in the end, because there was also Aila and Lucius.
That moment where it genuinely looks like Lucius isn’t going to make it, after his critical fail with the rope, and he tells them to go through the portal and not wait on him already hit me hard in all the iddy feelings. But Aila’s reaction to that? The way she just snaps out that they’re not leaving anyone behind and they’re all getting through this together? God, that hit me hard in the emotions. Her character has grown so much, and that was on full display this episode. I love seeing just how fiercely she’s come to love them all. Also—I was thinking in an earlier episode (the one set after the PAX Live Show) how, in many ways, Quill and Aila are both shaping up to be the leaders of the group, aside from Lucius’ whole captain thing, and I feel like this episode also demonstrated that.
Almost everyone had a big moment, really. Sentry’s Divine Smite against Silveredge didn’t hit me as hard emotionally compared to everything else that was going on, but it was quite the cool moment, and it felt quite fitting that she was the one who ultimately took them down, considering that she’s the one who was bonded with Helios, and he cared so deeply about seeing Silveredge put to rest.
And Nova! This was such a huge moment for her character. Standing before the portal, seeing it on the verge of shutting down before her, and knowing she has the means to keep it open so that everyone could get out—but that would mean sacrificing Tiangong. Using them, as Starbane did. But if she didn’t—the other members of the party could fall, even if she personally had the time to survive.
And then coming up with a third option—of literally using her lifeforce to power the portal??? Wild. Truly something that only Nova could come up with. It was such a brutal scene, with brutal results in terms of how it impacted Nova (her withered arm!), and I kind of genuinely love that all that sacrifice only bought the party six more seconds. It really emphasizes just how powerful the Eterna are, that they’re capable of powering such things, and more.
And she just kept trying! First trying to give the portal even more (holy hell), and then, when she failed her constitution saving throw, refusing to go through the portal before she saw each and every one of their companions through it.
She and Aila together are the only reason Lucius survived this episode, because it turned out that when they all finally made it through the portal, that was in the final six seconds. Those six seconds that Nova won for them. /emotions, everywhere
Another detail I loved: how, when Lucius finally made it to the top of the stairs, Aila literally picks him up and just runs to and through the portal with him. And then how, right after her, Sentry picks up Quill and does the same. How determined they all are that they go through together, to not lose anyone, and how hard they try to make sure they succeed. /genuinely tearing up a little now, lol
So, yes. High on the tension, and high on the feelings. The emotional fallout once they all got back on the ship was good too. Aila continued on in her earlier emotional thread in the best way—she truly shined so bright this episode. The way she tells everyone that they have to “stop giving up”! And that conversation she had with Nova in the medical bay at the very end—how gentle and kind she is with her, in her own, typical Aila way. It was quite moving.
And obviously I loved that conversation Lucius had with Sentry—about how he’d been so certain that he was dead, and that strange peace he found with it in that moment. Seeing how hard his friends were fighting to save him, and appreciating it, feeling touched by it, but also believing that he wasn’t going to make it anyway and accepting that.
And Sentry shutting down right at the tailend of that conversation!! The worst (best) possible emotional moment!! I love that detail of how when, Aila calls for Quill for help, she straight-up forgets that they have messenger rings and just calls for him outloud, even though she has no idea where he is on the ship. It says a lot about her emotional state in that moment. And Quill, bby, I loved him so much in this scene—how he kept cool even though he was having all of his own emotions about seeing Sentry like that.
(I mentioned earlier having thoughts about him and Aila as leaders in the episode set after the PAX Live Show. To expand on that: basically, when the rest of the party find him and Aila unconscious at the start of the episode, they all—Lucius, Sentry, Nova—fly into an enormous panic. And that made me realize that, yeah, the voices of reason who’d usually pipe in during those moments, in their own ways—aka Quill and Aila—were exactly those who were missing.)
Sentry’s meltdown and panic when she realized what had happened was also so heart-wrenching. And I love how everyone else was all, nope, you have nothing to worry about that because we are fixing this, and everything else we need to do is going on the backburner until we can do that.
Finally, Nova’s dazed out ramblings in the hospital bed, and the way she (carefully) cuddles around Tiangong and tells them how much she loves them and would never use them like that… ;_;
So, yes. Lots of feelings this episode. So, so many feelings. The repercussions of this episode, both emotional and physical, are going to linger, I think.