Talks Machina 74: Found & Lost

is the seventy-fourth episode of Talks Machina. Ashly Burch, Taliesin Jaffe, and Matthew Mercer discuss with host Brian Wayne Foster.

Synopsis

 * @ArseQueef: Matt and Ashly: How did you determine the information Keg had on the Iron Shepherds?
 * Erin Michaela: Ashly: How did Keg feel after being charmed by Caleb? What made her follow them into a very uphill battle after that?
 * @Alaktyrr: For Taliesin: Was that last blood maledict a desperation play? Knowing by that point that if Lorenzo hit you at all, it would be fatal?
 * Cas0707: Matt: Did Lorenzo feel in danger at any point during that fight?
 * Gif of the Week: Claudia Z aka Rndmanswrs4rndmqstns's Wildemount Breaking News gif.
 * @Dabananaknight: Taliesin: what was going through your mind when Matt asked for your final words? Was it hard to come up with Molly's response or was it easy?
 * @Tyrvani: Matt/Taliesin: There is some belief during the first campaign that VM were "Basically gods" and couldn't die. Do you think that Mollymauk's death is important as a reminder that mortality should be present in games, and helps the narrative overall?
 * @NuRhoSquared: To Ashly: How did you feel when Lorenzo's group showed abilities you didn't expect them to have?
 * Tommy Deibel: Taliesin: What were Molly's final thoughts?
 * @Technicolortech: For Matt: Were the Iron Shepherds always intended to be antagonists for the party down the line, or were they something new you came up with in the circumstance of having Fjord and Jester leave earlier?
 * Dani Carr: Ashly, Keg came across as very self-preservational, yet she chose to sacrifice herself to save the remaining Mighty Nein. Can you talk more about that decision?
 * Ashly will be present for and, then join the cast for  live at GenCon.
 * @Lickthecowhappy: Taliesin: Molly seems like the perfect candidate for Matt's Lingering Soul class. Considering your history of using Matt's Homebrew classes, will you consider taking it if offered?
 * Fanart of the Week: Emi Linders aka @jesttothenines's "To dust we return".
 * @XenaRose11: Matt: if Molly hadn't run to Lorenzo, do you think Beau would have been made his example instead?
 * @Dungeonsngeese: Taliesin: what did you do when you left the table after Molly's death.
 * @BearialGrounds: Ashly: What went through your head when Lorenzo made Keg bend her knee? Did you expect him to spare her?
 * @CrivensFeegle: Taliesin: Given Molly's apparent laissez faire attitude towards life, would he have considered his death at the hands of Lorenzo "worth it?"
 * @triciachicka: To Matt: I was really fearing no mercy from Lorenzo. How did you decide to have him spare the rest of the party? Did he fail against Keg's persuasion? Or were there other factors you included in your decision?
 * @Fawkes881: For Ashly: were you expecting the M9 to discover you were once a part of these slavers group so quickly?
 * OhDannyBoy94: Taliesin: What would Molly's parting wisdom or advice for each member of the Mighty Nein?
 * WKline9: Matt: If Yasha, Fjord, and Jester were in one of the cages, would it have been possible for any of them to have witnessed the death of our beloved Molly?
 * @spiritchrysalis: For Tal - The #CriticalRole fandom response to Molly's murder echoed how profoundly he's touched the hearts of many in a short time. From your perspective, what meaning and beauty do you see in Molly, and what takeaways stand out for you in our remembering him?

Talks Machina After Dark

 * Shogun1332: Matt, how do you feel about comparison between Lorenzo and Negan from The Walking Dead?
 * ToddMan7924: Talisin: Who out of the Nein would you want to see in Molly's coat?
 * SeraphinDream: Ashly, there's been a history of party members stealing from guests. How tempted is Keg to steal Nott's neverending flask?
 * MesterOzzy: Matt: Was a TPK a possibility if some rolls went a different way or were you purely Lord Have Merciful?
 * LittleRed10: Taliesin, what did Liam say to you after you left the table?
 * IshMishMish: Matt and Taliesin: Now that the new studio has had its blood sacrifice, do you think it will remain sated or will it demand more, thus becoming an ever growing maw of terror and/or annihilation?
 * MercyMe: Ashly, will Keg eventually grow a full beard?
 * Mandibar: Brian, what was Ashley's reaction?
 * CMGriffith35: Taliesin, how do you think Yasha will react when she finds that she has lost such an important companion in her life? We don't know a lot about her character, but it seems as though Molly and Yasha had quite a trusting friendship.
 * ShadowStorm0: Ashly, what was your favorite character interaction from the episode?
 * ?: Taliesin, why were you smiling when Molly was killed?
 * SeptisUnseelie: Matt, did killing Molly feel bittersweet in the revenge sense, considering Taliesin killed you in the first Vampire game?
 * Seedy88: Everyone (including Brian): What's the best lie you've ever told?

Quotations

 * Taliesin: "Cardio for the soul."
 * Brian: "Hot murder streak before dyin', that's the way to go."
 * Ashly: "In the one-shots people didn't die as much, there was a bit less dying."
 * Brian: "And we have another guest that's gonna come on and hopefully kill someone else too this week, I believe. I'm sorry Dani." Ashly: "Only I get to kill main characters, that's me, that's special for me."
 * Taliesin: "So I've spent the weekend rolling a new character."
 * Matt: "If they had kept the cart, they would have never caught up to them."
 * Matt: "I think the point got across, it happened to have a high cost."
 * Matt: "If Keg hadn't stepped up...it could have gotten worse."
 * Matt: "Lorenzo is a specific character, and there's a vanity to him, and there is a--an element of--he enjoys the power and wielding it over people that he knows fear him. And so you played into that, and that was, in that moment, really his flaw. And that saved a lot further hardship."
 * Ashly: "It didn't take that much convincing, really, at the end of the day, to join."
 * Matt: "He did not seem to feel threatened."
 * Matt: "You could say he felt very comfortable covered in oil."
 * Taliesin: "[Molly's] feelings on death and violence are pretty easy."
 * Taliesin: "Everything felt borrowed at this point. He was not somebody who felt a lot of ownership--he was aware that so much could go wrong at any moment that he just didn't really lean into it that hard. It was very much the 'oh I woke up, that's great, that's still working, whatever it was that's been working this long is still working, holy cow we're going to go for with it.' He was aware it was going to come eventually and it was probably going to come earlier rather than later."
 * Taliesin: "That was a very Molly way to go, bitchy and defiant until the very end."
 * Matt: "[Character death] hurts, but I think it's important."
 * Taliesin: "[Molly's final thoughts] were easy and simple and base...the easy and sustaining emotion of 'well fuck you too'. No fear. No panic. Just...goddamnit."
 * Brian: "Poor Dani had a hard Thursday night."
 * Taliesin: "[The Lingering Soul] is literally the opposite of Molly."
 * Matt: "People were like 'to cast that spell you'd have to be a 14th level fighter.' No, you don't know all the stuff behind the scenes, don't get excited."
 * Dani: "I cried really hard in your arms."
 * Taliesin: "I was having a panic attack...I don't even want to know what happens next."
 * Taliesin: "Life is short; eat a bagel...Do something to a bagel."
 * Taliesin: "Oh, I can be 22 again and terrible and it's great."
 * Taliesin: "[my next character] is a different kind of fabulous."
 * Taliesin: "Quick! Bring me my dice, I need to soak them in the tears of the DM."
 * Taliesin: "Make people deal with you but make sure it's always a positive and kind experience."
 * Ashly: "I was doing ok until you fuckers started crying!"