"4-Sided Dive: Kiss and Tell" (4SDx16) is the sixteenth episode of 4-Sided Dive, discussing episodes of the third campaign up through "Embattled in Bassuras" (3x70) with guests Laura Bailey, Matt Mercer, Marisha Ray, and Sam Riegel.
Synopsis[]
An itchy Sam is the tavernkeeper for the evening after they all roll Laura's stolen dice. Side note: Sam is not good at reading from a teleprompter, thus putting to rest all rumors that Critical Role is scripted.
What the fuck is up with that, Imodna edition[]
- Dani joins the group for the Imodna discussion, sharing her seat with Omar. Marisha points out that "Imodna" sounds like diarrhea medicine, so Matt and Sam spend the rest of the show coming up with alternative ship names.
- Laura and Marisha did not talk about this off-screen (Kids: Do not try this at home. These guys have been playing together over 10 years and are familiar with each other's comfort levels.) and in fact had decided to portray a non-romantic, solid platonic female friendship, although they'd acknowledged the possibility romance could happen organically. Imogen found herself getting jealous, but had totally not planned the "Can I kiss you?" moment, fully expecting Laudna to say no. At the same time, Laudna was also experiencing jealousy.
- After the "You are my tether" talk,[1] Dani told them it was the gayest thing she'd ever seen. During the kiss scene, Imogen's comment that she didn't know if it was okay anymore referred to the fact that for the first time, she couldn't hear everything Laudna was thinking. They all reflect that Chetney, a joke character, has become one of the most comfortable to confide in since he doesn't really give a shit. In a weird way, the other characters all circle around him and Orym.
- Laudna's focus from the beginning was to give Imogen a better life than Laudna had.
- The snake ring that Imogen gave Laudna[2] was meant to tell her that even though they were angry at the moment, she still loved her.
- Relvin Temult's relationship with Imogen is complicated. His pain over losing Liliana spilled into his relationship with his daughter.
- Yes, Sam, they use magic when they're intimate.
- In non-Imodna news, Matt is now numb to choosing names that can be easily warped into something funny.
- Ronin calls to share some good news, which his mother cannot share if she doesn't want him to hate her when he gets older.
- Keyleth still has a lot of complicated emotions, but Marisha's favorite was when she said, "I've been angry for thirty years." Keyleth needs to move on, as it's hard to be romantic with a raven... and then Matt reminds them of Wildshape. They explore the possibilities of interspecies sex.
- Keyleth and Vax's story is still being told. He's come in to protect her in a moment of danger before, during the first assassination attempt by Otohan Thull in Zephrah, but every time he does, it's breaking the rules and he gets punished.
- Dani thinks Teven Klask was definitely Hottest Boi Ever. Sorry, Essek. Matt is trying to give everyone Red Buttons to push this campaign, and that's Fearne's. Teven likely knows Zerxus, although they're in different positions within the hierarchy: Teven is more of a field agent while Zerxus is "shackled to the side of Asmodeus." This, too, is sexy.
- Sam feels guilty for wanting to go see Dancer instead of D, but at least they resolved the Shithead story. Things are happening all over Exandria, and choosing the Devexian path would have meant discovering different threads. Sam is disappointed Dancer didn't absolve FCG, and Matt explains that doesn't happen in one hour.
- Dani points out that Matt just confirmed D = Devexian.
Tower of Inquiry[]
- What would your character do in the Age of Arcanum? FCG would be right at home, but no longer special. At first he was annoyed by being special, but now he kind of likes it, and is thinking of starting a cult. Lauda always wanted to be a powerful mage and that would be a good opportunity, although Matt points out class divisions then between magic-users and muggles were WAY worse.
- Favorite one-liner? "Life needs things to live."[3] "Are you pooping?"[4] "Your secret is safe with my indifference."[5] "I wish for you, in the future, to find someone who will mourn you when you are gone."[6] "Pain doesn't make people, it's love that makes people. The pain is inconsequential. It's love that saves them."[7] "We're gods!"[8] "I have an intelligence of six, I know what I'm doing.[9]
- Omar chooses the next question: What item in your inventory means a lot to you? For Laudna, Pâté. All the Chetney gifts. For Imogen, the Circlet of the Hidden Eye. For FCG, his Coin of the Changebringer. Sam has discovered Coin Boys on TikTok and decides maybe that's FCG's cult.
The Deep Dive[]
- Sam: How is FCG doing reuniting with Dancer and her new automatons? He's genuinely jealous that Dancer's moved on and doesn't miss him. She basically told him he's going to have to get over it because he's not going to get what he wants from her.
The Tower of Inquiry - Secret Word Edition[]
- Sam says "Kimothée", the secret word, and the tower miraculously still stands.
- How do they think inter-party relations have been changed by the recent party split? Sam thinks that Fearne and Orym have formed other connections, but a lot depends who is sitting where at the table, because it's hard to see some people. They think about table seating a lot, particularly for guests. Those on the ends are people they think can hold their own.
- Sam somehow pulls another Jenga block (witchcraft!) and Laura has to respect him the rest of her life.
- If your character taught a class, what would it be? Laudna: Composting. FCG: Breathwork, meditation, baking. Imogen: Future Farmers of America. Marwa: Scavenging.
Back to The Deep Dive[]
- Marisha: Describe Laudna's relationship with the eidolons and gods. Laudna doesn't think the gods like what she now is, and FCG's Turn Undead hitting her was confirmation of that. So she's looking for ways to handle things that don't rely on the gods.
- Laura: How is Imogen feeling about her mother? She sick of it. She wanted to believe the best of her mother and that she was redeemable, but apparently Liliana is not rescuable and Imogen is kind of over having hope.
- Sam mentions that you can beat a lie detector by clenching your buttocks. Matt says that's a myth.
- Matt: Looking forward to the Shattered Teeth? He's excited. It's a weird place, with a lot of reasons outside cultures haven't brought it into the mainstream. The destruction of Domunas definitely left an impact and the Teeth are "elementally tethered" by that. It's a very chaotic place. Sam wants to know if there's another continent on the other side of the flat world, and Matt tells him FCG just died. There are a lot of places, like under the ocean, that they haven't explored.
- Sam: Where did Shithead come from? It was Sam's original idea that FCG had an animal familiar with a love/hate relationship with him, but decided against it. He emailed it to Matt, and that was it.
- Marisha: What was it like to see Keyleth so wounded? It was sad, because everyone thinks of Keyleth as beefy and hard to kill.
- Laura: How does Imogen feel about the Brood Pit and All-Minds-Burn? The Grey Valley made her realize they needed to use everything possible to defeat this threat to the gods, even if it costs her her powers. The seed just seemed like a small piece of that.
- Matt: How do you feel about losing Ratanish? A little sad. Matt planned that to be a very hard battle, and Banishing Ratanish early changed the whole thing. Matt thought the party might have to flee, or Ratanish could flee and take news of the party back to Otohan.
The Tower of Inquiry - Part Trois[]
- Matt uses Divine Intervention to pull another block.
- Most heartbreaking/heartwarming things that have happened to your character? Laudna: "You lied!"[10] was sad, getting the ring was good. Imogen: Laudna dying was sad, making out with her was good. FCG: Learning he was a murderer was bad, falling in love with FRIDA was good. Matt: Eshteross's death was sad, watching Laudna and Imogen come together was good.
Gang Beasts[]
- Matt: All-Minds-Burn was a collaboration with Basheer, who helped him build the Hellcatch Valley.
- Marisha: How does it feel to have Delilah back? Matt says she never left, just diminished heavily.
- Sam: How did it feel to kill Shithead? It felt good to have closure and FCG is very happy about it.
- Laura: How does Imogen feel about the Reilora? She's not worried she's turning into one but she's worried about losing her powers and that her body's changing.
- Sam: Does he hope to run into D in the future? Yes, because he thinks he'll learn more about his origins.
- Matt: Why put Graz'tchar in the game? They were in the Grey Valley, and the sword is in the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, so Matt was curious about how someone other than Travis would react to it. But it went straight to Travis.
- Laura: Might Imogen give into the power of Ruidus? It's tempting, but she's worried about what it might do to her. On the other hand, power. So she might.
- Marisha: It's fun seeing Zephrah.
- Sam: How did FCG feel about going with Orym to Will and Derrig's gravesite? It was good to learn more about Orym's family, but FCG didn't know what to say because he didn't know much about them.
- Marisha: The dogfight over Zephrah was fun. Matt came up with the call signs on the spot.
- Matt: Shithead was more or less a revenant. His previous master was a necromancer and Shithead was locked into a permanent undying state.
- Marisha and Laura: Excited to tell Zhudanna about your relationship upgrade? She probably assumed they were in a relationship the whole time.
- Matt: What's up with the Dawnfather? He's under great stress and acting a little out of the ordinary. FCG plans to ask the Changebringer about the Lord of the Hells.
- Marisha: Laudna thinks Imogen might be turning into a Reilora.
Aftermath[]
- The next 4-Sided Dive will be the Halloween episode, so they randomly draw slips to determine the costumes the participants will wear: Party Alien, Witch Professor, New Jersey Swamp Monster, Luxury Puppy, and Thirst Trap Waluigi.
Trivia[]
Some of the alternative ship names for Imogen/Laudna floated during the episode were:
- Southern Gothic
- Horse Ghoul
- Giddy-yuck
- Riding Died-saddle
- Hee-yah!
- Horse and Buggy
- Ghost Rider
- Ghoul Ranch
References[]
- ↑ See "The Aurora Grows" (3x49) at 4:47:52.
- ↑ See "A Race for the Prize" (3x27) at 0:53:54.
- ↑ See "The Echo Tree" (1x63) at 1:15:50.
- ↑ See "Uthodurn" (2x73) at 3:27:47.
- ↑ See "Those Who Walk Away" (1x45) at 2:18:05.
- ↑ See "Dinner with the Devil" (2x110) at 3:23:07.
- ↑ See "Dinner with the Devil" (2x110) at 3:22:47.
- ↑ See "Taryon, My Wayward Son" (1x97) at 0:14:58.
- ↑ See "Arrival at Kraghammer" (1x01) at 0:41:22.
- ↑ See "To The Skies" (3x23) at 4:10:27.
Art: